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Beneath Cheyenne Mountain, General Alex Dreland felt the Command Center shake as another earthquake struck somewhere close by. To be felt inside the mountain indicated it had to be of strong intensity, as the complex rested on 1,380 special springs that could handle a thirty-megaton nuclear blast. From reports in the past hour West Spanish Peak in southern Colorado had erupted, spewing ash and magma across southern and central Colorado and the upper Texas Panhandle.
“Do we still have contact with Peterson Air force Base?” Dreland asked. Peterson was the nearest military airbase and part of the command network.
“No,” reported Colonel Allison, shaking his head. “The last communication we received from General Pittman indicated that they were evacuating to White Sands to help protect Jornada.”
Dreland nodded his head in understanding. He knew that for General Pittman to remain at Peterson would have been suicide.
“We’re losing contact with more of our military bases every hour,” Colonel Allison continued with growing worry on his face. “If this keeps up, we won’t be able to contact anyone in another twenty-four hours.”
General Dreland gazed at the multiple screens covering the huge wall of the operations room. Most were filled with static, while a few still showed views from operational satellites. “General Wainright has been speaking to Lawrence Henderson at Jornada. It seems they are going to try to evacuate as many people as they can to Luna City, Vesta, and Mars Central.”
“Evacuating Earth,” Allison responded, his face turning pale at the idea.
“I don’t think there’s any other choice,” replied Dreland, rubbing his forehead with his right hand. “Even our people here have reported that we will soon be in a nuclear winter scenario much worse than any predicted in our simulations.”
“What do you want us to do?” asked Allison, staring at the commanding general. He knew it was already too late for them to leave the complex with the ash coming down heavily outside.
“We contact all of the remaining military installations we can and have them send everything that flies to General Wainright and General Pittman at White Sands. Troops, planes, helicopters, supplies; anything that may help in moving survivors off the planet. I will also be issuing orders giving General Wainright full command of all surviving U.S. military forces.”
Colonel Allison nodded; he realized this was the end. His family had been living in Denver, and he knew he would never see his wife and young daughter again. The falling ash outside made travel impossible. He hoped their deaths would be quick.
General Dreland went to his office to sit down and pass on the necessary orders while they still had some communications ability. He had always been a dutiful commanding officer, and being placed in charge of the Cheyenne Mountain facility had been the highlight of his career. He found it fitting that this was where it would end.
Chapter Four
Lieutenant Wade Nelson awoke with a start. He opened his eyes and felt a brief moment of disorientation as the world around him slowly swam into sharp focus. He could hear moans and complaints from other men and women. Sitting up, he looked around; nothing seemed familiar. Where the hell was he? About a dozen other marines were in the small room looking as confused as he was at their new surroundings, a few of which he recognized.
They were in a rectangular room that seemed to be constructed of some type of gray metal, and there was a large metal hatch that served as a door. Two rows of narrow bunks stacked three high were against opposite walls. He felt something strange around his neck and reaching up, felt a thin round metal collar. It was no more than a quarter of an inch thick and felt cool and very smooth to the touch. He could detect no clasp or any way to remove it.
“Where the hell are we?” asked Private Phil Dawson, swinging down from the top bunk to land on the floor. He swayed unsteadily on his feet as he fought to keep his balance. “This sure as hell isn’t our regular marine barracks!” Then his right hand went to his neck, feeling the small metal collar, and a look of astonishment crossed his face as he looked over at Lieutenant Nelson. “Where did this come from, Lieutenant?”
“I don’t know,” answered Wade, as he saw that everyone in the room was wearing one. The collars were silver with a light bluish tint. “I would suggest that we leave them alone for now until we know what they’re for.”
“What’s going on?” asked Dawson, wanting an explanation. The last thing he remembered was going to sleep in his bunk.
“I don’t know,” replied Wade as he examined their surroundings more closely. The room they were in was about twelve feet wide and twenty feet long. On one end was the hatch and on the other were some narrow lockers and what looked like a normal door.
Lieutenant Nelson stood up and walked slowly over to the metal hatch, feeling surprised at how rubbery his legs were. His entire body felt weak and out of balance. Grasping the handle on the hatch, he tried to turn it but nothing happened; they were locked in. He wondered if they were on some type of navy ship. He just couldn’t remember how he had gotten here.
“We’re not going anywhere soon,” he spoke, turning back around to face the seven men and four women that were in the small room. “We’re locked in.”
One of the women sat back down on her bunk, looking frightened. “I don’t understand; the last thing I remember was being on guard duty at the main gate and now I’m here.”
“Does anyone remember anything?” asked Wade, looking around the small group. He noticed that a few of the marines were fully clothed while others were standing around in just their undergarments.
“I don’t remember anything other than going to bed,” one of the other women spoke as she opened several of the lockers to see what they contained. “We seem to have some spare uniforms in these lockers.”
Wade nodded as several of the group went over to find uniforms that would fit. After a few minutes, they were all fully dressed and standing around looking at one another. Everyone gathered around Wade waiting for an explanation since he was the only officer in the room other than Corporal Jamie Sterns and Corporal Brandon Perry.
“What now, Lieutenant?” Jamie asked, her eyes focusing on Wade. Jamie had been in the lieutenant’s unit and was relieved that he was here with them.
“We wait,” replied Wade, knowing they had no other choice. “We’re locked in and sooner or later someone is bound to come and unlock that hatch.”
“I wonder if this involves that alien ship?” asked Private Lisa Hays. She had been the one on guard duty.
“You think we’ve been abducted?” Private Dawson spoke, his eyes growing wide at the thought. “I’ve read about that in UFO books.”
“Abducted!” Private Eugene Russell spoke derisively with a halfhearted laugh. “That’s ridiculous.”
“We don’t know what’s happened,” Wade broke in with a frown. “We just need to wait and see how this plays out.”
The others nodded; they searched the small barrack like room and found no weapons of any type, not even a knife. They sat down on the bunks and began talking in quiet voices, stealing occasional furtive glances at the locked hatch. Everyone had the same questions on their mind. What was on the other side and where were they?
Wade wasn’t sure how much time had passed when they all heard a noise at the hatch. Their eyes instantly went to the metal handle as it slowly began to turn. The hatch swung inward, and everyone gasped at what was standing there. Wade slowly stood up and tried not to show panic.
A man was standing there, but one like Wade had never seen before. He was taller than Wade at well over six feet. His skin was a light red, and his arms seemed to be slightly longer than normal with long, narrow fingers on his hands. The face was humanoid with narrow eyes, no eyebrows, a wider than normal nose, and his ears were small. The most unusual thing was that there was no hair at all upon his head. Wade knew with a sinking feeling in his stomach that he was looking at an alien.
“Greetings,” the man spoke as h
is eyes swept across the room. “I am Marken of the Kivean race; I will be responsible for your group as long as you are on board this ship.”
“Ship?” spoke Wade, noting that Marken seemed to be unarmed other than what looked like a small metallic rod that he carried at his waist.
“Are you an alien?” Private Dawson asked his eyes growing wide at the thought. “Are you from the ship that was in orbit above the Earth?”
Marken eyed Dawson for a moment before replying. “Yes,” he spoke in a steady voice. “You and a number of others have been taken aboard to serve the Kleese.”
“Wait a minute,” spoke Wade, taking a cautious step closer to Marken. “We are marines and serve in the United States military, not for these Kleese you speak of. What’s going on?”
Marken eyed Wade and then motioned to someone behind him. It was the same with all new recruits. There would be some initial confusion followed by refusal to accept their new situation. He had been through this before and knew exactly what to do. In the end, they would do as told.
Everyone in the room stepped back as a tall metal figure suddenly appeared in the doorway. The figure stood ten feet tall and looked like a massive robot. Unlike Marken, this thing was obviously armed. The thing’s armor was nearly black with some dim red lights glowing at various junctures. The weapon it carried on its left arm was long and tubular and was focused on the marines. No one said anything as they gazed in shock at the metallic figure in front of them.
“This is a Type One battle suit,” Marken explained in a calm and lecturing voice, seeing that the appearance of the battle suit was having the desired affect. “You will all be trained to use it and become part of the Kleese military.”
“What if we refuse?” asked Corporal Stern, her eyes staring at the battle suit in astonishment. She had never seen anything like it before. It was beginning to sound as if they had indeed been abducted from Earth. This was like something out of a science fiction movie, only now it seemed that she was a part of it.
“That would not be wise,” Marken replied with a slight shake of his head. “I am sure that by now each of you have noticed the metal collars you are wearing. Each collar contains a chemical that when exposed to any type of light or air will explode. I can assure you the result is quiet messy and unpleasant.”
Corporal Stern’s right hand went to her collar and then fell back down as she gazed at Marken in bewilderment. She could not believe what she had just heard. “Why would you do such a thing? That’s barbaric!”
“It ensures obedience,” he replied in explanation. “Now, if everyone will follow me, we are due in the main indoctrination hall for your first briefing.”
“How is it that you can speak our language?” asked Wade, realizing that Marken was speaking nearly perfect English.
“I’m not,” Marken replied, his narrow eyes focusing sharply on Wade. “While you were asleep our medics emplaced small translation devices in your brains. They are programmed with all the known languages for this section of the galaxy.”
“You operated on our brains!” Private Dawson yelled, horrified at the thought as his hand went to his head, searching frantically for any sign of where they might have drilled a hole in his head.
“You won’t find and evidence of the procedure,” spoke Marken, growing tired of this group. “Now, follow me.” Marken turned and walked out of the door.
The being in the body armor indicated with his weapon that the marines should follow.
“I guess we have no choice,” commented Lieutenant Nelson, motioning for the others to follow him.
Nelson stepped out into a brightly lit corridor and fell in line behind Marken with the rest of his group close behind. The slight clanking noise from behind them indicated the individual in the body armor was following.
As they walked, they saw other aliens leading more soldiers from Earth. Some were obviously of the same race as Marken, but several others were just as obviously not. All were humanoid in form, but with minor differences ranging from skin color to general body build.
“I don’t like this at all,” Corporal Stern whispered worriedly as she stepped up next to Wade. “What do they want with us, and is this ship still in orbit over Earth?”
“I think we’re about to find out,” Wade said as they approached a large wide open hatch where other soldiers and their escorts were already entering.
Going inside, Wade and his group were hustled forward and put in formation with other soldiers already waiting. The assembly hall was massive, and soon close to ten thousand men and women from Earth were lined up in separate sections with their towering escorts prominently intermixed.
There was an upraised section in front of them where a number of higher-ranking military officers were standing. Wade instantly checked their rank, seeing a general and several colonels. Once everyone was inside, the general stepped up to the front and looked over the group. His face looked tired and his eyes weary from what had happened. Two of the red-skinned aliens of Marken’s race stood next to him.
The general looked over the assembled soldiers and then glanced at one of the two aliens next to him, who nodded his head. Taking a deep breath, the general began to speak. “I am General Mitchell. I know this is very strange to all of you, but we are on board the large spaceship that went into orbit above our planet several days ago.”
At this revelation, a number of soldiers began mumbling, as they hadn’t realized that much time had gone by or where they were. Men and women began looking around with growing concern on their faces.
“This ship is from the Kleese Empire, and we have been conscripted to fight for them in an ongoing war between them and two other large galactic civilizations.”
More people began to talk as they were having difficulty understanding what the general was saying. It sounded as if they would never be going home again. A feeling of general uneasiness spread over the assembled soldiers as they turned their attention back to the general.
“What if we refuse to fight?” a soldier in one of the front lines yelled out. “I’m not fighting for no God damn alien!”
“Nor am I!” another spoke loudly. A few others nodded in agreement as the talking in the large hall grew even more animated.
A hatch behind General Mitchell suddenly slid open, and the room instantly fell silent when they saw what entered. It looked like a giant tarantula, but had a large hair covered chest in the front that rose up into the air with a large triangular shaped head on top and strange looking multifaceted eyes. Two arms extended from its upper chest ending in what looked to be hands with seven long digits. The creature was carrying a small control box as it came to stand next to the general and the two other aliens. The creature was large, with its body and six legs reaching nearly eight feet in width and seven feet in height.
“You will obey,” the creature spoke in a deadly voice that showed no sympathy for the plight of the Humans in the room. “You have been chosen to serve the Kleese, and refusal is not an option.”
“And if we don’t?” challenged the first soldier who had spoken, stepping forward and glaring at the creature on the platform in defiance.
The creature studied the small control box it was carrying for a moment and then seemed to gently touch its surface. A resounding explosion echoed through the hall as the collar around the offending soldier’s neck detonated. Several soldiers next to the unfortunate individual fell back injured, and everyone panicked as they saw the headless body slump to the floor.
“You will obey or die,” the alien spider spoke as it turned and left the way that it had entered.
One of the red-skinned aliens looked on unsympathetically and then spoke. “Your injured will be treated in the ship’s medical facilities. Training will begin in the morning to prepare you for your first deployment. Those of you found to be unfit to operate our battle suits will be eliminated, so I suggest you get some rest and be prepared.”
“We will now return to your section of the ship
,” spoke Marken, looking over the small group he was in charge of. “In that section you will find food supplies as well as other essential items we felt you might need. Take only what you need for today; it will need to last.”
“Was that a Kleese?” asked Private Dawson, hesitantly.
Marken found and gazed at Dawson disapprovingly. “Yes and their orders are never to be questioned.”
“Are we still in orbit above Earth?” Dawson asked in a subdued voice.
“No,” Marken replied as he turned to head for the exit. “We left Earth long ago, and you will never see it again.”
-
Later, they were all back in their quarters talking over what had happened. Once they had left the large assembly hall, they had been taken to another large room where massive amounts of supplies were stored. They had found MREs, toiletries, and additional uniforms. Following Marken’s instructions, they took back with them what they would need for the rest of the day and for their morning meal. They also found a restroom facility similar to what they were familiar with behind the small door at the far end of their quarters next to the lockers.
“What are we going to do, Lieutenant?” Private Eugene Russell asked with concern in his deep voice as he slowly chewed and swallowed the last piece of the roll that had come inside his meal. Eugene was a large man and had joined the marines in order to stay away from the gangs that surrounded and controlled the neighborhood his family lived in. “It sounds as if we’re never going to see home again.”
Wade was quiet for a long moment as he mulled over an answer. He needed to talk to the higher level officers and see what they said. Surely, they would know more. The briefing they had just attended had been more to intimidate everyone than anything else. “I don’t know, Private Russell,” Wade replied in an even voice. “For now, we’re at their mercy. These damn collars around our necks don’t leave us much choice. You all saw what happened in the assembly hall.”
Galactic Empire Wars: Destruction (The Galactic Empire Wars) Page 7