by Chris Hechtl
Epilogue
The next day Jayne and her people made preparations as most of the others went about putting the mall back into order. At two hours before dark there was a beautiful funeral for Jen and those that died in battle. The military even did full honors for all those that had died in the battle. There was an honor guard in full dress uniforms, twenty one gun salute, taps, and even a pass of F-22s. The aircraft flew over once and then one broke off in the classic missing man formation.
The president made a roaring speech, much like the Gettysburg address. Shane tried to listen as he stroked the girls' hair but his attention was elsewhere so he missed most of it.
Shane, his children and the surviving council were together. Hernandez was gone, they'd already cremated his body. Todd had died of his wounds the night before. Torres and Wayne were there, chewed up but alive. He'd need them more than ever in the coming days.
Torres was a bit bitter over her team, Tom, Quincy, and Ursilla had all died in the battle. They'd fought valiantly, standing in front of the tide to protect their fellow man. They would not be forgotten.
Jayne gently stroked Trina's hair. Trina held her hand and cried sadly. She took the girl into her arms and held her. The Newmans were near, Eddy ruffled his daughter's hair gently. She smiled up at him, then leaned closer, taking his good hand and squeezing his fingers.
It was televised worldwide for all to see. There were tears in many eyes as the coffins were stacked and then lit.
The inferno touched the sky. Shane turned and hugged his children close to his side, watching his wife, his love pass on into heaven.
...*...*...*...*...
Shane looked out over the changed landscape, stroking Trina's hair the next morning. Tori and Nick pointed to the planes flying in. The kids, hell, everyone was excited about everything going on. Things were finally starting to move, to change. Good. Tori looked up at him and then to the plane as it came in for a landing. It was a big one, a C-5 Galaxy loaded with men and material.
There were Apache helicopters stationed nearby, ready for instant action if called upon. Crews were working with his people, refueling their equipment and rebuilding the defenses with Bob. They even had Bob go over the base defenses, working with an engineering platoon flown in to do the job. He was glad.
He'd got a full night’s sleep, mostly because doc had slipped him a Mickey with Jayne's help. He'd been annoyed, but was forced to grudgingly agree that yes, he had looked like death warmed over, and yes the sleep had done him a world of good. Not that he was going to tell them that.
A year. Twelve long grueling months to the day since the invasion. Whatever happened beyond this point to humanity, the world had changed. Humanity has been dealt a blow both to its body and its mindset. They were no longer alone in the universe, they knew that now. They were no longer alone on their own planet. They would have to learn to adapt, or die. He glanced at the setting sun and then turned back to the kids.
They had a lot to do. They had to regain control of the planet, something that wasn't a safe bet by any means. They also needed to get some defenses in orbit. It was entirely possible that what they had here now was just the vanguard. The tip of the iceberg. They needed intel.
...*...*...*...*...
It was entirely possible that humanity was about to become a footnote in history, he mused darkly and then gently set that aside as he felt his wife's presence.
He turned watching absently as a woman came out cradling a newborn child in her arms. She looked down at the baby who was smiling beautifully. She looked up. “We named her Jen,” she said. The girls made appropriate cooing sounds. He smiled, feeling warmth. He closed his eyes, reveling in it. Feeling like Jen wasn't entirely gone from this Earth. His heart swelled as he remembered her, remembered her words. Treasured them for what they were; the gifts from the heart he would always remember.
“But where there is life there is hope. We'll remember that Jen. We'll remember that. I promise, we'll do our best,” he murmured watching the last plane land as the sun began to set.
THE END
How the story got started: (Author afterward)
I know, I know, a tired old alien invasion story right? Been there done that right? Well... it didn’t start out that way. Honest.
You'd think that I'd started this with something like Final Fantasy the 3D movie, Evolution, or something else in mind right? Not exactly. Blame Dawn of the Dead. That's right, a zombie flick. Lol.
I'd watched it before, and always thought about what I would do in such a situation. Then I watched it again in September 2011 and all those thoughts came back to me. I went to bed with them bouncing around. Somehow as I slept the zombies were replaced by aliens. (Hey, it’s my imagination, go figure. Get your own.)
When I woke around 3 AM I had a vivid idea of various scenes and aliens. Needless to say I didn't sleep the rest of the night. :)
I put the pieces together over time, and it grew and grew. I started making comparisons to television, movies, and books. I don't think there is a story, science fiction or otherwise that someone can't look at it and draw comparisons to something else. “Hey this is like such and such...”
Yup, what can I say, people and their imaginations... or better yet, great minds think alike and all that.
I originally started with only a handful of aliens. The 4 legged hell cats/hounds, the bipeds, and the fliers. As I started to browse my concept art files I started to draw in more material, then add it to the original story. It sort of grew with a life of its own. (That's when I realized it’s like Evolution or Final Fantasy) Then I started sculpting some of the aliens with Sculptris. That was fun.
I'm going to post that sometime soon if I haven't already. Check the Foundation 3D wip forum or other 3D sites. I like to say Google is your friend. :)
I've even taken the story and transformed the basic premise into a treatment for an MMO/FPS hybrid. I'm considering working on it now.
The story is open ended for a reason. Well, two reasons. I couldn't really see a small group managing to turn around a worldwide threat unless they did it in a clichéd, tired manner. (Oh, like finding the aliens weakness to something. Dur, citrus right?) So I left it open ended. We don't know how it will turn out, that's just one battle at the climax. It’s not the end, it might be the beginning. Who knows, stranger things have been known to happen.
Yes, I know about the now familiar complaint of my repetitive nature. Believe it or not, pete and repeat was deliberate in this. I wanted you to feel it. The change, the slogging of survival, the never ending on and on, hand to mouth, life or death, go out and do it all again over and over and over thing. I could say I got the idea from The Walking Dead, but I wrote this before that show aired. :)
Edit, 11/24/2013: Yes, I am still thinking about turning this into a UDK game. Still.
Oh, you may want to know about Moreno Valley. Yeah, let's just say I know it. ;) Sometimes it’s best to play in your own back yard. And yes, it has changed a bit since this writing. Quite a bit in some cases. That happens. I also took some liberties on streets and turns. I had thought about doing my home town in Maine, but the memory fades over time don'tcha know.
EDIT again, 2/1/14: Yes! Poon signed off on it with a minimum of corrections, so finally! Getting it out there! A few years later, but better late than never!
My blog is in the Appendix!
Chris
Appendix and Resources:
My blog:
http://cyberforge3d.blogspot.com/
Jory's Facebook Group:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/582559128466667/
Jory's Wikipedia site:
http://federation-datanet.wikia.com/wiki/Federation_AI_Historical_Datanet_Wiki
Youtube videos of the aliens in this book:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=juMxWwGUDZ0
http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show/19078
http://www.lyricsfreak.com/d/dolly+parton/hard+candy+christmas_20041836.html
http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15377
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Potassium_iodide
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acute_promyelocytic_leukemia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle
http://www.military-info.com/freebies/murphy.htm
Weapons:
http://www.ghajnsielem.com/places/fougasse.html
http://www.swampfox.info/SiteImages/websitephotos/Fougasse.jpg
http://billstclair.com/DoingFreedom/gen/0103/fig1.gif
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rocket-propelled_grenade
http://science.howstuffworks.com/rpg3.htm
http://future-weapons.org/xm307_heavy_machine_gun.php
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munroe_effect#Munroe
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mk_19_grenade_launcher
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gunship
Aliens:
http://powerlisting.wikia.com/wiki/Dermal_Armor
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Regeneration
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diapause
http://www.dandydesigns.org/id59.html
Sneak Peek
Here is a raw excerpt from Jethro: No Place Like Home the sequel to Jethro First to Fight.
...*...*...*...*...
The Marines planned to hit each of the ships in succession. The battlecruiser was the priority, she was still active to some degree, and most of the opposition was on that ship. Therefore she drew their hardest hitters.
Valenko's teams with the majority of their powered combat armor and combat experience drew the battlecruiser, the remaining Marines would hit the nearest ships once the shuttles became available. That meant getting the Marines in fast and the shuttles on their way to recycle for their next stop.
It also meant they were dangerously over extended, Valenko realized. There was little reserve, and Firefly was at least fifteen minutes out. She was staying carefully out of range of any ship that could come alive again, or worse, scuttle trying to take the Federation vessel with her.
The very real threat of a scuttle had more than one Marine concerned. They knew that they could buy it just as easily with an IED, Gauss round, or a knife though, so the wiser ones did their best to put the concern out of their minds.
As they went in Valenko got an update. He scanned it quickly, noting a highlighted section for his eyes specifically. There was a report of Marines on the battlecruiser but the bear wasn't certain what it meant. He checked the IFF as they went in. A handful of blue lights winked on, all clustered in one location. After a moment he started getting a feed from them. “Okay people, by the numbers. Expect heavy resistance Check your IFF, we've got friendlies on the ship. Jill, you are going to relieve them,” he ordered. The Neocanine nodded and hand signed to her people.
“They are getting hammered and may be punchy so let them know you are coming,” the bear said. The canine nodded. Valenko turned to Jethro. “Gunny, take your squad and hit the reactors, I'll take main engineering. Corporal Wade, you take the bridge.” Wade nodded her head and put her helmet on. “Sergei, hit the armory and secure it.”
“A bit like shutting the barn door you know,” the liger muttered. He hunched his shoulders when the bear gave him a dirty look. “Just saying,” he muttered.
“Quinn take your people and secure the main axis points. Once we cut the bastards off we can go through them one pocket at a time if we have to.”
“Consider it done br'er bear sir,” the Neo Hyena said.
“Cute. Panashe, secure the CIC and back up bridge. Pick the one you are closest to and then go from there.”
“Aye sir.”
“Each of you have secondary objectives once the primaries are secured. If we take heavy casualties regroup on Quinn or wherever we've got the largest amount of people.”
“Sir, we're not going in the boat bay or lock...” Private Quiposki said.
“Hell no! Don't do what they'll expect! The pilots know to hit the breaches. Seal up people! Buddy check!” The bear growled, closing his visor.
“Shit,” Sergei muttered, closing his visor and then checking himself and then his buddy.
---( | ) --- ( | )---
“Sir, we've got to do something! They are all over the ship!”
“Damn flea ridden lice! Frack them!” A voice with authority snarled. “We're done for, but the least we can do is take these bastards with us! Engineering! Overload the reactors!”
“Engineering link is down sir!”
“Then damn it do it from here! Do the same for the engines!”
“Yes sir! The self destruct though?”
“It's dead. That damn computer virus took it out. I wish it was online, but this will work just as well. Hell, over pressurize the fuel system and then vent it into the life support.”
“Sir?” A startled voice replied. There was a sound of a smack that even made the Marine wince. If he could hear it from here, even with his enhanced hearing and listening device than he knew it had to have hurt.
“Do it!”
“Aye aye sir! Venting... it'll take some time to build up pressure!”
“Just get it done. You two, see anything?”
“Someone's at the door,” a voice growled. “Just waiting for him to stick his head around the corner so we can blow it off,” the voice continued.
Private Bart Quiposki frowned thoughtfully. He had overheard the officers and ratings on the bridge snarling about the self destruct. He replayed the conversation in his mind as he glanced back to the rest of his squad. Two were down, light wounds. They didn't have a medic with them so Hart and Debs were trying to treat Corporal Wade and PFC Nahele the best they could. That cut their squad almost in half.
“Venting in five sir!” The rating said. Bart glanced towards the bridge and then sighed, resting his head against the bulkhead briefly and closed his eyes.
“Fine then,” the Horathian officer said. Bart frowned. “If anyone comes in overload the reactors and then destroy your station,” the man growled.
“With what sir?” the rating asked, voice quivering in fright.
“I don't know! Just hold them off for five more minutes! You can at least do that right?”
Bart frowned. He had to do something, something no doubt stupid. He did a quick inventory. Unfortunately he was fresh out of flashbangs, the two centimeter spherical grenades were about the only thing he could use on the bridge. He checked the squad through his link but found they were out too, the fighting to get to this point had been intense.
He did a quick peak with the tip of his weapon, under the barrel of his C-42 Impaler was a tiny camera. Gauss rounds hammered into the corner he was behind as he withdrew the weapon. Not good, he thought, checking the recording. They had the hatch and corridor leading up to it bracketed with cross fire. Anyone who stepped into it was dead meat.
Time to buck it up the chain of command. He flipped open his link to the panther. “Gunny, they're working on blowing the ship!”
“Then do something about it!” The panther snarled back. From the background sound he was in the middle of combat and didn't need the distraction.
“I was afraid you'd say that,” the Marine muttered closing the link. He was tempted to throw a breaching charge but decided against it. Knowing his luck it would go off and blow the ship or they'd catch it and throw it back. He glanced back at the rest of the squad. None of them were looking at him for the moment. He was point man, the rest of the squad was waiting on him.
He hit the alert button. Debs, L'rna, Hart, Paige, Seven, Tigger, and Niner looked up. “We've got the shitty end of the stick,” Bart said. “Debs, Hart, get them stable then follow the rest of us in. On three,” he said. He pulled an MRE out as the others set up. Bart balled it up to look like a grenade and then threw it over his shoulder down the corridor. He counted three with the fingers of his free hand and then moved as fast as he could.
“Frack! Grenade!”
Bart heard the pirates hysterically ye
ll grenade and grinned as he turned the corner and charged, weapon firing to keep the enemy's heads down.
He knew it wouldn't be enough though as someone blindly pointed a Gauss rifle around the corner and opened up with it.
---( | ) --- ( | )---
Jethro noted the map changed, he glanced at it. He was slipping past the opposition with his armor's cloak and then tearing them apart with lethal efficiency. He paused, noting the green of the bridge but an exclamation point. He checked around him and then hit it. He froze briefly when the IFF of one of his people blinked red. “Damn,” he muttered.
Rounds began to pepper the area where he had last been. “Yeah, I'm coming,” he growled, deep in his throat. He still had some work to do, some pirates to send to hell in a fitting tribute to the fallen Marine.
You can read more of the story sometime in the spring/ summer of 2014! I hope. :D