“No sign of increased radiation outside the bunker,” added a civilian, sitting in front of a console full of computer screens. “We have confirmation NORAD has been taken out, as well as all the other major defense commands.”
“What about USNORTHCOM?” asked Mark. It was located at Peterson AFB.
Bennington shook his head. “No, it was hit before Cheyenne Mountain was taken out.”
Mark took in a deep breath. “Any messages as to who’s in command?”
“We’re not sure who is in charge at the moment though rumors are that General Mitchell escaped Washington, DC and is at a secure location,” added Lieutenant Bennington.
“Colonel Branson?”
“We did receive a message from him just before the attacks began. He’s at the deep underground bunker assigned to the 2nd Battalion.”
“It’s war, then,” said Captain Garcia, his face turning pale. Garcia had followed Dolan into the small Command Center. “I wonder who attacked first? I bet it was the aliens just like in the movie.”
“I’ve picked up reports of a lot of troop movements during the night and early this morning,” added Bennington. “From what I can tell from the reports we’ve received a planned evacuation began overnight. Before the bombs fell there was a concentrated effort to get as many military units as possible away from the cities and their bases.”
“What about Dallas and Houston?” asked Mark. His heart beat rapidly out of fear for his parents and sister. He just prayed they had taken his advice and left the cities earlier.
“Both hit by nukes. Nearly every major city has been hit by at least one and they’re still falling. We’ll get a list compiled. We did take out a number of the Trellixian battlecruisers over our cities.”
“How?” asked Mark, afraid of the answer.
“Reports indicate we used some of our bombers to hit them with nukes.”
“So we used nukes first,” said Garcia with a deep frown on his face as he thought about the nukes falling outside the bunker over the cities of the world.
Mark felt ill. Was it possible his own government had been responsible for the deaths of his sister and parents? He didn’t want to think of that possibility. Everything was happening too fast. Maybe his parents and Jennifer had left the cities before the nukes hit.
“Our government knew this would happen,” accused Captain Garcia, his expression angry. “They let our families die while we’re safe inside this bunker! Hell, those nukes they used may have killed millions of innocent Americans. How could they use nukes over our own cities?”
Mark took a deep breath. What Garcia had just said certainly seemed to be true. Mark wasn’t sure how the rest of the Rangers would take the news. This would greatly affect morale. Hell, even he was affected. What do you do when nearly everyone you knew were dead? Family, friends, and people you saw on TV every day, all gone. He knew several psychologists were on the base; now he understood why they had been included. His soldiers would need them. Hell, he would need one. Particularly if his own country had just killed his family.
“Captain Garcia, round up the other captains and have them assemble in the briefing room. They need to be informed of what’s happened. As soon as I can get in touch with Colonel Branson maybe I can find out why we’re so far out here in these mountains. There’s not a town within forty miles.”
Garcia looked at Mark critically. “Maybe that’s why we’re here, so the Trellixians can’t find us. We’re safe while everyone else is dying.”
“No use speculating,” replied Mark in a stern voice. “Go get the other captains and I’ll see if I can find out what’s going on.” Mark couldn’t blame Garcia for how he felt. Mark felt the same way.
“What about those three specialists sent here? They’re captains as well. They’ve been keeping to themselves and haven’t said too much.”
“Them too,” ordered Mark. “Maybe they know something we don’t.”
-
An hour later Mark stepped into the small briefing room. He had a list of the known targets the Trellixians had hit so far. If the list was correct nearly half of the world’s population was probably already dead. The list was pages long.
Everyone stood and saluted as Mark entered the room. Returning the salute, he ordered everyone to sit down. Thereafter, he passed out the lists he had brought of the known targets. For several long minutes there was complete silence as the captains studied the names of cities and bases which were no more. Everyone’s faces turned pale as they realized the enormity of the disaster that had struck the world.
-
“Oh, no, Portland’s on the list,” cried out Lisa. Her parents and Streth had been there. She seriously doubted if they had gotten out. For a moment she felt dizzy, realizing what she’d just lost. She felt as if her future had just been taken away from her. Had Professor Wilkens known this might happen? Why had she been spared?
-
“Los Angeles is too,” said Brenda with tears in her eyes. “My brother’s there.”
“We’ve all lost family today,” said Mark in a soft voice. “My sister is in Dallas and my parents are in Houston. Both were hit by nukes.”
“This will hit many of our Rangers hard,” said Captain Brian Stockton. “No one was expecting something like this.”
“They’re goddamn aliens,” said Captain Garcia angrily. “We should have expected this. What was our government thinking letting them bring their ships down over our cities?” Garcia looked accusingly at the three young captains. “Did our government know what would happen? Is that why we struck their ships first?”
“Did we?” asked Mark, looking at the three captains who had arrived a few weeks back. They had stayed together, seldom speaking to others. “If you know something I want to know what it is. Our survival may depend on it. Our government must have known something was off with the Trellixians or they wouldn’t have sent us out here to this hidden base and they wouldn’t have used nukes against the aliens.”
“It must have taken several years just to build this,” said Captain Garcia, waving his arms about the bunker, continuing to stare at the three young captains. “How long has the government known about these damn aliens? Why didn’t they say something?”
-
The three young officers looked at each other. They had been given strict orders not to reveal what Major Lorre had told them. With what was occurring across the world they wondered if those orders still applied.
“I think our government suspected,” volunteered Captain Brett Masterson, being careful with his words. “It’s one of the reasons we were sent here. If something was to occur like what happened today, we have orders to investigate any Trellixian technology we can get our hands on as well as to observe their ships and troops in combat situations.”
Mark’s eyes narrowed as he studied the three. “So what you’re telling me is that if my Rangers are sent out on combat missions against the Trellixians at least one of you will be accompanying them?”
“Yes, sir,” replied Brett, his gaze meeting Mark’s. “Those are our orders.”
“What combat training have you received?” Mark wanted to know if these three young officers would be endangering his Rangers.
Brett hesitated. “We’ve all gone though basic and have been in the military for several years. Most of our assignments have been involved in the technical side of things.”
“That’s not good,” said Captain Garcia, shaking his head disapprovingly. “The three of you could get some good people killed.”
“A lot of good people have already died,” Lisa pointed out, still in shock over the death of her parents and Streth. “We have a job to do and we intend to carry it out.”
Brett reached into his pocket and took out an envelope. “I was told to give this to the commanding officer in case we went to DEFCON 1 and nuclear weapons were used.” He handed the envelope to Major Dolan.
-
Mark took the envelope and opened it. This should have
been Colonel Branson’s responsibility. Inside the envelope were two typed pages of orders. Mark quickly read them and then looked at the three young captains. “These orders come directly from the president. The safety of you three and the completion of your mission is a top priority. It’s one of the main reasons you have been assigned to this battalion and why we are so far away from civilization. We’re to remain hidden in this bunker for at least one month, unless ordered otherwise and then to send out reconnaissance missions with the goal of seeking out military units involved in combat against the Trellixians. It’s hoped by then our troops will have worked out some combat methods that might show some success against the enemy. During these missions we are not to engage the enemy unless there’s no other choice.”
“We’re just babysitters,” complained Captain Kyle Smith. “After what the Trellixians have done my people will want some payback.”
“They’ll get that opportunity eventually,” promised Mark. He felt the same way. “But first we have a mission to complete.”
After reading the orders and from what Captain Masterson had said, it was obvious the government had known about the Trellixians before they even arrived. It all started to make sense with some of the things Mark had observed and seen over the last month. He just wondered how all this would end.
-
Later Lisa, Brenda, and Brett returned to the quarters assigned to them. The bunker was deep under the mountain, and Lisa and Brenda were sharing quarters, with Brett staying across the hall. They met in Brett’s quarters.
“So what’s going on?” asked Brenda. “Surely we can talk about it among ourselves.”
“It’s confusing,” said Lisa. “Do any of you know Professor Wilkens?”
“Professor John Wilkens?” asked Brenda, her eyes opening wide. “I’ve heard of him and even gone to a few meetings where he presented papers on advanced physics. He’s one of the top scientists in the world. How do you know him?”
“I worked as an intern for him while I was earning my degree,” replied Lisa. “He promised when I graduated I could join him in his research, but then he changed his mind and asked if I would take a short stint in the military. He said once I was out I could go to work with him full time.”
“Wow!” exclaimed Brett with new respect in his eyes. “Just how smart are you?”
Lisa felt her face flush. “Both of you are just as smart or you wouldn’t be here.”
Lisa’s right,” said Brenda. “We know the governments of several nations have built underground research centers as well as secret military installations. This war with the Trellixians could go on for years.”
“They’ve had nearly eighty years to prepare,” added Brett, looking thoughtful. “What type of installations could you build with that much time?”
Lisa remained silent as she thought about the professor’s last words to her. He had said, ad astra—Latin for to the stars. Lisa felt a cold chill spread across her as she wondered just what the professor was working on. Maybe they weren’t looking for a way to defend Earth but a way to leave it. She decided she wouldn’t tell the others. She suspected the professor’s words were meant for her ears alone and no one else’s.
Later Lisa lay in her bed, holding back the tears, thinking about what she had lost that day. Her mom and dad, plus Streth. Her parents had both been worried when she had hurried off after her phone call calling her back to active duty. She had time to call Streth and speak with him briefly before she had to leave. He was upset about their planned trip to the mountains being canceled. Lisa had promised to make it up to him. It was hard to imagine never hearing his voice or seeing his playful smile again. The Trellixians had taken all that away from her. In the bed across from her she could hear Brenda sobbing quietly. Today was a day they would always remember for what they both had lost.
-
Battle Commander Balforr gazed down at the ravaged planet. Even its atmosphere looked darker from all the ash and contaminants hurled into the air from the nuclear blasts. Great pain had been taken to know just how many nuclear explosions it would take before nuclear winter set in. That was one thing the Trellixians didn’t want as it could wreck the fragile biosphere of the world below. It was one of the reasons seasoned troops were brought in to finish off the survivors after the nuclear bombardment was completed.
“That’s it,” reported Second Officer Jaltor. “We don’t dare use any more nuclear weapons or the planet will reach a tipping point. We have used many more than normal due to the numerous military installations on the planet.”
Balforr nodded. They couldn’t take out every major city but they had annihilated all the missile bases and major military installations. Trellixian ground troops would have to handle the rest.
“Contact Battle Commander Traven and tell him he can land his troops late tomorrow. The radiation levels should have dropped enough by then for our soldiers to be safe in their combat armor.”
Balforr watched as Jaltor went to the communications console to send the message. He strongly suspected Traven’s soldiers would meet strong resistance. However, the Humans had never fought against Trellixians in combat armor or seen Trellixian hover tanks. Traven would also be deploying attack craft specially built to take out fortifications. Traven had over four hundred thousand soldiers on board his remaining forty troop ships which should be more than enough to conquer this world and cleanse it of Human life.
-
Several days passed and Major Dolan had received new orders from Colonel Branson. It would be a few days yet before the colonel could make it to the base but he wanted Mark to send out small patrols. Tens of thousands of civilians were fleeing into the mountains. The exact number wasn’t known. Some were escorted by military units and others were completely on their own. The patrols were to use the ATVs to round up as many civilians as possible and escort them to designated locations where emergency supplies had been hidden. Colonel Branson also wanted Mark to use several of his Ranger companies to secure the immediate area to ensure no civilians or fleeting military units were missed.
Mark had been supplied with a list of the hidden caches and he was amazed at how many there were. Mark had also pointed out he had orders not to leave the base for thirty days. Colonel Branson informed Mark he was aware of those orders but due to the large influx of civilians and possibly other military units fleeing into the mountains those orders had been modified. However, keeping the location of the base a secret was still of utmost importance and Mark was to do nothing which would endanger that.
-
Mark was once more in the briefing room with the four captains in charge of the Ranger companies: Captain Juan Garcia, Captain Daniel Grumman, Captain Brian Stockton, and Captain Kyle Smith. Mark had explained to them their current orders.
“Escorting civilians,” muttered Captain Garcia, shaking his head. “It’s not what I was trained to do. I would rather spend my time hunting the aliens. I understand they look like goddamn lizards. Nothing like that should be walking around on Earth. Not on our planet!”
The other captains nodded their agreement.
“We’re not babysitters,” muttered Captain Stockton. “We should be out there hunting the aliens and making them pay for what they’ve done. Many of our Rangers have lost their families. Wives, children, brothers, sisters and probably nearly everyone else close to them. They are demanding we take the fight to the enemy. What am I supposed to tell them?”
“I’m sure in the future we’ll all get our chance at the aliens,” replied Mark, understanding what his captains were feeling. “However, for now our main priority is preserving as much of the civilian population as possible. From the latest reports the alien invasion fleet has begun landing troops. Their troops are equipped with body armor that’s nearly impervious to weapons fire. They also have some type of hover tank as well as air support. So far they’re staying near the larger cities and are involved in eradicating survivors there.”
“Have we tried to s
urrender?” asked Captain Stockton.
“There will be no surrender,” answered Mark, his eyes narrowing. “The Trellixians are looking for living space and that’s why they came here.” This was information Colonel Branson had revealed to Mark as well as a few other things.
“They want to exterminate us,” muttered Captain Garcia. “They’re treating us just like roaches. It’s that damn movie all over again.”
“Roaches are pretty hard to kill,” commented Captain Stockton. “They’ve been around for millions of years.”
Captain Smith took a deep breath and then looked at Mark. “How many of the ATVs do we want to risk on these rescue missions?”
“We have sixteen,” replied Mark. “We’ll send out eight. Four men to each ATV.” There was a large map laid out on the table. “Most of the civilians will be coming from the east.” Mark pointed to a section of the map. “If you notice, twenty supply caches are in these locations marked in green. These are far enough back in the mountains to offer some protection as well as being in heavily forested areas.”
Captain Stockton stood to better examine the map. “A lot of thinking went into this,” he said after a few moments. “Those locations have no major roads or even fire roads near them. The civilians will have to hike in.”
“That was the general idea,” replied Mark. “The Trellixians will have a hard time finding people in those surroundings. It may be months before they even try.”
“That’s difficult terrain,” said Stockton as he examined the map. “It won’t be easy to get the civilians there—especially with women and children and that’ll be a tough hike.”
“So how do we want to do this?” asked Captain Grumman.
Mark stood and looked at the four officers. “We’ll send out two ATVs from each company. They’ll proceed to a specified quadrant on the map and begin their search. They’ll spend two days gathering survivors and then have a Ranger escort them to one of the caches. Once the first group is on the way they will proceed to the next search area in their quadrant and do the same.”
Earth Fall: Invasion : (Book One) Page 7