***
+ BEGIN TIMELINE DROP. This is a Timeline Project drop.
Source: Information from Darkside Base computer storage data.
There has been a good deal of interest surrounding the relative ease with which the bug nest ship was destroyed in the first Goldilocks bomb test, which took place in North Dakota. Initial reports suggested the ship was in North Dakota mining an unknown element. Darkside database information developed after the mission has provided more details.
The High Queen of the Invasion had censured the nest queen of the North Dakota ship, along with her colony. The nest queen insinuated the “poor prosecution of the invasion” could be seen as dereliction of duty. In punishment for the nest queen’s insolence, the High Queen banished the nest to North Dakota for the duration of the war. Most shipboard food and munitions were seized at gunpoint, leaving only 10% of normal supplies. They confiscated all DEW system power cores. While not totally defenseless, the military capability of the nest ship and flies were severely degraded. END TIMELINE DROP. +
***
The BugBlast operation took only a few minutes and served as an effective morale booster. But in reality, the actual cost of the operation was extraordinary. The bugs augmented the weak-link drive area ship defensive radar after the operation. Also, a minor change in tactics on the part of the bugs would likely have changed the outcome. On this mission the flier pilot bugs were too intent on getting close and personal. They should have stood off at a distance and used their rail guns and laser cannons.
The Goldilocks bomb definitely got the attention of the bugs. Almost immediately, an enemy ship uprooted from somewhere in Florida and planted in the center of the Ellipse at the National Mall in Washington D.C. It was an obvious warning. If we continued to destroy their ships, they would wreck the U.S. government. People, buildings, and all. The Pentagon would be a likely target too, since that is close to the mall.
The bugs didn’t do any damage. They just landed smack in the middle of the National Mall. It seems they want the government intact if possible. That must be part of the big plan in keeping with their care to maintain infrastructure. It would help with the ultimate subjection of the populace.
Grandad was definitely angry. We knew he had been working on a plan of action. The whole team assembled in Grandad’s lab expecting to hear all about the plan, but were surprised.
***
A CALL TO DUTY
Grandad threw up his hands. “How can I do it? I’m not strong enough.”
Grandad left the lab. We heard the front door slam. He was ... gone.
Rock’s brow was furled. He raised his hand, fingers spread, like he was releasing a question to the wind. “What is your grandad talking about? We need to be involved in this! Our capabilities could make a huge difference.”
Para interjected. “Take it easy on Grandad. This has all been really hard on him. He’s not a young guy any more. He feels responsible for us. But he understands the world needs us too.”
I understood what Grandad was saying. “Like Para said. Grandad is worried one of us will get hurt. He is having a hard time with that. Think about it. The responsibility he has, for us, in this. All the strain. He is having a hard time facing the possibility, or maybe even the probability, of us dying. It could happen you know. We could all die.”
Roll nodded. “I get the sentiment. We don’t have a choice though. Do we? We have to do this with or without your grandad. It is our responsibility to do so. Just saying.”
Rock drummed the table in contemplation. “We have to do this, though there is a much better chance of NOT dying if your grandad is with us. Statistically speaking. We need to convince him.”
We didn’t need to hear anything more from Para. She had been pestering Grandad several times a day to get the team up and moving to end the bugs.
“Let’s vote,” I said. “I’m in for the long haul. Wherever this bug war takes us, I’m in.”
Everyone agreed. It was unanimous. We would enter this war with or without Grandad. He came back about an hour later. We were all waiting in his lab.
I put on my serious-face. “Grandad, we had a meeting, and have decided to directly engage in the war effort. With or without you. Obviously, we want it to be with you. Like Rock said, statistically we will be safer with you. So, you really don’t have a choice in this. We are serious Grandfather!” I tried so hard to stay tough, but I started tearing up. “We all love you Grandad but we need to go and do our part to save the planet now. Or die trying.”
Grandad’s lip trembled a little. “Seems I don’t have a choice. Let’s do this thing then. But first, all of your parents need to sign off on it. We need to bring them in on our secret. I’ve been recalcitrant in not having done so already.”
I did see that little tear in your eye Grandad. But tell our parents? It would require a full-on military OPORD to pull that one off.
Roll chimed in. “Our dad will give us the okay if we insist. Right Rock?”
Rock thought about it. “Probably. We’ll point out we are not safe anywhere. Too bad we can’t get in the military and use these capabilities to counter the invasion. Military benefits include college tuition. Dad’s always worried about tuition expense. It doesn’t look like there’s much chance for a football scholarship now, not with the invasion. For that matter, what am I even talking about. Unless we win this thing, there will be no college.”
Grandad had a contemplative look. “No matter how we look at this, you’re on the right track. Direct involvement with the military will add legitimacy to our operations. It makes sense.”
Grandad, I mean Mr. T, made some calls. It is legal to serve in the military when you turn 17, as long as you have parental permission. And as it should happen, only recently, we were all 17 years old. Grandad had served in the military, though that was a long time ago. He didn’t finish his full time in the military. I think he ended up working on a DARPA project instead. But he still has Individual Ready Reserve status. He decided to see if he could pull in some favors. And he can be quite creative when the need arises.
He worked out a contract to get us into the military developing counter-invasion intel. It didn’t hurt that he offered to do all the work using his own funds. It wouldn’t have to cost the government anything. He said he wanted to do his part, though he wanted a seal of legitimacy.
Then he finished off with a by-the-way. There was this group of promising 17-year-old youth who could help him out. With parental consent, could they have some sort of standing in the military? The branch of service wouldn’t matter.
Mr. T’s work with DARPA was well known. His expertise with AI systems fit in with intelligence gathering. That combination must have sounded pretty good. The need for better intel was substantial. The offer for free service was acknowledged, but that wouldn’t really work. The military doesn’t operate in that manner. Thanks anyway.
We were thinking army, but it turned out the Marines had just the spot for Mr. T and his team, housed within a Signals Intelligence Unit. SIGINT. No one had been able to intercept communications from the bugs, despite what was learned during the Battle for Los Angeles. The bugs flipped a switch or something and their communications went dark. The only subsequent intercepts were from channels left open by the bugs, likely left open on purpose. COMINT, communications intelligence, and ELINT, electronics intelligence, had gotten nowhere.
Mr. T received assurances we would have a good deal of autonomy. What about basic training and combat training? If Mr. T certified the team had, at the minimum, an equivalent level of training, they would accept it. With grandad around we had been in a kind of boot camp for almost 10 years already. In a manner of speaking. There was already a good deal of team cohesion and discipline. We were in good physical condition. We had taken wilderness survival courses. We could all qualify as marksmen.
Background checks would be a requirement for the team. Those would have to take place right away. There would be required te
sts of the written kind, especially for “those youngsters.” But for good old Mr. T, the team testing could be done at some convenient point in the future. Keep so-and-so in the loop. Thank you for your continuing service. Etc. Etc.
Our parents signed the documents. As it was, they took no thought that we were only 17. To them, that was just a number on a page. They already thought of us as adults and trusted our capacity to make reasoned and rational choices, even for something as important as this. I suppose we already knew they felt that way, but it gladdened our hearts to hear it anyway.
Of course, they expressed their fear for our safety. But Signals Intelligence didn’t sound so bad. And it was obvious there was no place that was actually safe unless you headed for the wilderness. Mr. T assured all of our parents; the government would take care of the cost of college; we would have nothing but the finest education. On top of that, our team would be involved in ground-breaking technologies. Yeah, there wasn’t a doubt in my mind that there would be a whole lot of ground-breaking involved in what we would be doing.
We were as honest as we could be and even said there would be times of danger in our work. With the invasion, everyone was in danger all the time anyway. And we were in good hands with Mr. T. He would be the direct supervisor in our SIGINT department. We had been spending most of our time at Mr. Ts house anyway. Since the invasion we had been “working in the lab” as employees of Grandad. That was fine with all concerned. They trusted Grandad. And they knew his basement lab was built like a bomb-shelter. It was the safest place in the area.
But we would now need a good deal of autonomy, so there was no mention of staying close to home while doing our SIGINT work. No one would suspect we were still working out of the lab. We didn’t have to worry too much about being spotted in the neighborhood. No one ventured far from their homes. Besides, when in public, we were disguised.
Wherever this thing took us, we would be sure to keep a close eye on our zone. There have been no recent bug incursions in our local area. But if they were to come anywhere near our folks, there would be nothing that could stop Para and me from intervening.
***
+ BEGIN TIMELINE DROP. This is a Trollkin AI drop.
Note: General information drop test.
No one in the family knew. Viz and Para’s parents joined a resistance group to fight the bugs the day after signing the document presented by Mr. T. Having the girls work in a signal intelligence branch of the military seemed a good option, given the circumstances of the invasion. Now they could all be active in the effort to throw off the bug invaders.
There were a lot of displaced persons, many from southern California, that needed help. Camps had been established at several locations in the Olympic Mountains. Bugs didn’t seem to like mountains or large bodies of water. They hate rain. The Olympic Mountains are near large bodies of water and there is plenty of rain. Helicopter transports from Joint Base Lewis-McCord had moved tents, cots, medical supplies, and food to the remote locations. The bugs didn’t take much notice of the helicopters heading out to the isolated areas. After the camps were supplied, several routes were established to relocate people.
The bugs tolerated certain types of transportation. Such as railroad shipment of edibles and basic necessities. They mostly looked the other way when it came to short-haul truckers; railroad station to storage warehouse to retail stores. Of course, actually going to a grocery store was taking a risk. A bug patrol or a flier could show up anywhere at any time. Terror. Cargo ships were given free passage. Even small boat traffic was fairly safe. Bugs definitely took notice if there were vehicles traveling the roadways in a convoy.
Whenever possible the government still wanted people to shelter in place in urban areas as they distributed supplies curbside. But the refugee population continued to increase.
Viz and Para’s parents helped to move some of those refugees along a lightly traveled roadway near Puget Sound. The route skirted the north end of Case Inlet of Puget Sound and then hugged the Hood Canal to the town of Hoodsport. From there they headed into the Olympic Mountains.
Having the girls in a relatively safe situation allowed Viz and Para’s parents to help in this way. If the girls were at home, they would have been too concerned for their safety to leave them alone. They had considered explaining the opportunity and asking Pops, Mr. T, to watch the girls. But they knew the girls would have insisted on helping with the refugees. It had all worked out for the best. END TIMELINE DROP. +
***
So, just like that, we were in the military. Sort of. We were definitely military-ish. Mr. T said there was no need for a formal boot camp. A good deal of the necessary disciplines had been instilled through martial arts training, wilderness camps, and shooting. There would still be a need to become more disciplined. He said we had done well in the action to save the little kids on the Narrows Bridge. We were declared fit for duty with the qualification of a need to develop better team cohesion and tactics.
Our barracks aren’t so bad either. Para and I already have a bedroom we share at Grandad’s house, going way back. Rock and Roll set up in a room downstairs across from the main lab area. They have cots that are actually rather comfy. Or they can sleep on a couch. Not too bad for military life. We were now at liberty to make our plans as a team and fully utilize our team extreme force multipliers.
For that we would need to better understand our enemy and develop effective tactics involving our force multiplying capabilities. We would begin our SIGINT work with the bug nest at the Capital Mall. Perhaps you read the Goldilocks report, Bugblast. For this mission we developed our own OPORD directive. There were Rules of Engagement, Target Intelligence Information gathering, General Order of Battle development, Preplanned Support derivation. Even as we developed a team strategy to help end the bug invasion, it was necessary to work on team tactics to enable each step toward victory.
The area around the nest ship was divided into 12-zones, like on an old analog clock. The ship, in the middle of the Ellipse, would be dead center. Due north, toward the White House, was 12 o’clock. With that, we could communicate target locations by calling out a zone number and a distance from the ship using meters. We practiced using that system a bunch of times before the operation. It was hard at first to eyeball distances. It helped to think of 100-meters as the distance of a football field. Mr. T wrangled us some very good optics with calibration marks to help with distance calls.
There would be three teams. Two assault teams and an overwatch situated within the observation deck of the Washington Monument, to spot targets of opportunity and watch for danger. Only one assault team would be in play at a time. When not attacking, the other team would port to the safe base, the observation deck, to avoid friendly fire and regroup.
We would try to set up each encounter with a large number of bugs between our assault team and the ship. There was less chance of one of our teams getting blasted from the ship that way. Also, ship rail guns and DEW weapons are not mounted on the exterior. They are deployed through special hatch areas around the ship. It takes a few seconds to roll out the guns and fire; hopefully enough time for a tactical porting retreat.
We wanted to work on tactics but we didn’t want to disclose our porting capability. Rock did some recon work and took pictures of the area all around the bug ship. This nest ship had dug in especially deep. They must have done some blasting on the way down. There were large mounds of dirt all around the area. The mounds could be used for porting cover. The bugs might wonder how we were sneaking onto the grounds, but we hoped they wouldn’t record an actual porting event.
This was a risky operation on several levels. Really, the mission should have been authorized by the military chain of command. What if the op went sideways? Grandad verified the mall area had been evacuated, including the pentagon, so no lives would be in jeopardy. Well, other than our own. Hopefully the bugs wouldn’t decide to wreck any of the buildings. The call to action was just so strong.
There was concern the bugs might retaliate if we got too carried away with the assault. To mitigate against that eventuality we decided to limit the carnage. Even so, we would push our goal, to determine how to physically and mentally overwhelm our enemy. We had practiced some team tactics and wanted to see if those tactics would work in a real war zone against this enemy. There would be opportunity to test some ordnance and determine bug response to attack. We would use low yield charges to limit the damage, this time around.
The bottom line? To know and understand this enemy, it would be necessary to get close, and look them in the eye. It seemed as though they could be easily provoked into a mindless rage. Any kind of rage could certainly be turned to our advantage. An angry person can’t think well. It was likely the same with bugs.
No Para, you don’t really have to look one in the eye. What are you thinking girl? Oh, you are definitely going to go hand to claw with one of those monsters? I’m not sure what to even say to that.
***
THE SEAT OF POWER
August 29 th We divided into our three team configuration. Para and Roll would be a team. Para could test her fighting skills. A small soft human female smashing bugs would be an excellent way to provoke them. We wanted to mess with their heads even as we tried to understand them better. Roll would get to use team porting in an operational setting and port-drop ordnance.
Rock and Mr. T would be a team. Mr. T would try out the effectiveness of different types of ammunition for his .50 cal. Rock would get his shot at porting in an operational setting, try different types of 6.8 ammo, and port-drop explosives.
Muncle and I would be the spotters. We would also try out my cloaking ability. Great. There was no better way that I could think of, to make me responsible for everyone’s life.
“Grandad, if I mess up one of you could get killed. How could I live with myself?”
“This team configuration makes the most sense. An overwatch position will impact the success of the mission, especially if invisible. That’s a force multiplier we can’t neglect. Hopefully, it will work. We aren’t certain of their scanning capabilities. Viz-”
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