There were only 52 hours remaining to zero. I had been given the day to travel home for a last visit before the hostilities commenced. The air taxi landed in front of my grandfather's barn. It was a familiar and welcome sight. Bessie stood in the fenced pen beside it, chewing at an open bale of hay. The smell of the farm filled the air as my parents came out onto my grandfather's porch to greet me.
We shared several minutes of hugs, smiles and small talk before I asked about my grandfather. He was in the house resting from his arthritis. When I came into the living room he was sitting in his favorite chair, reading a book with an afghan covering his legs. His eyes lit up as I approached.
I sat talking and holding his hand for an hour. I knew I was breaking the rules, but I wanted him to know where I had been, to know what I had seen. My parents sat listening intently as I told of the alien world and the creatures we encountered. I knew as I spoke that they would never tell others of that which I had told.
We talked through the afternoon and I informed them on nearly every detail of my year in space. My mother sat with an awkward look on her face. It was a look of shock and disbelief. Her little girl could not have possibly done these extraordinary things.
I then asked my father what they had done to prepare for the approaching war. He admitted that he had done little as running the farm without the usual help had kept his hours long. The local boys had all gone off to the cities to help with Earth's defensive efforts.
My grandfather then squeezed my hand and told me not to worry. They had a small stockpile of guns in the cellar and enough food to last them for many months. He tried his best to place my worries back upon my own troubles.
He had lived a long and happy life. I was still young. He and my father could protect themselves if the need arose. I was not to worry. His concern was for me and my crew. We would be the ones facing the ultimate danger. We would be the ones taking the biggest risk or making the ultimate sacrifice.
Our discussion soon turned to my physical shape and I told him of the benefits of the BGS and of the space walk in the plasma field. I told of my lengthened DNA and he remarked at how glowing and healthy my skin appeared. I then rolled up my sleeve and showed off a muscular bicep. It was bigger and more toned than most of the men he had known throughout his life.
He squeezed it with his still firm hands and nodded in approval. He was impressed with his granddaughter and feared for any alien that would be unlucky enough to venture close to her. As always, he used just the right words and boosted my confidence.
My parents had prepared a grand meal of steaks and corn on the grill. I split open a sweet potato nearly as big as a football and took a heaping portion of my mother's broccoli salad. Dinner ended with a slice of warm pumpkin pie and a dollop of whipped cream.
After the meal I helped my mother clean the dishes and then took a chair into the den with my grandfather for a few games of cribbage. It was a game he played for keeps and he skunked me as usual. Afterward we turned on the TV and watched old home movies as we sipped warm apple cider.
When the evening came to an end I lay in bed looking at the pictures on the wall of my old room. I had been the redneck farm girl. There was a picture of the first time I drove a tractor and one of the first squirrel I bagged with my pellet gun. There was the awkward prom dress picture with my boyfriend at the time; he was two inches shorter than I.
There was the picture of Liz and me playing in the creek just before she moved away. It had been a good childhood with a family who deeply cared and always inspired me to do my best. I struggled with the thought of being away from them once hostilities were to begin.
I turned off the lights and sat up on the edge of my bed staring off into the moonlit cornfield just across the drive. Would any of it be there when I returned? Would I return at all? It was into the wee hours of the morning before sleep finally came. In the comfort of my old familiar bed I slept as the dead sleep. I did not stir again until dawn.
We had a good wholesome farm breakfast before my ride settled down in the drive. I said my goodbyes as the tears flowed from my parent's eyes. I held back my own laments as to not add to their worries. When the air cab lifted off I broke down and sobbed for much of the two hour ride back to the base. I was a warrior and I was tough, but I still had emotions.
When I was once again re-united with my crew the zero-clock had dropped to 22 hours. The alien fleet was now well within the heliosphere, it would soon be amongst our planets and soon after that at our doorstep.
The day was spent in one briefing after another. We were given a breakdown of what we knew of the aliens. We were once again schooled upon their tactics and strategies and how we could best defend against them. We were then shown the videos of the squids that Shepard and I had taken on Alvin and then later again inside the mega-ship.
The Tacticians gave their estimates of the deadly range of their gravity weapons. The mega-ship could reach out in space and destroy a standard Defender at 22,000 kilometers. For the other large ships the best we had was an estimate. Battleships were given an 8,000 kilometer range, cruisers 2,000 kilometers and destroyers 500 kilometers. The alien fighters were deadly out to one kilometer.
In the year since Shepard and I had departed on our journey, the Defenders had received many upgrades. Shields were now 40% more effective, coil guns 30% and reactors 12%. Construction had also begun on a new class of ship. It would be our first destroyer and would be named the Brenner class.
The destroyer would be powered by two full size reactors. It's shielding would withstand a direct close hit from an alien fighter. It was believed that it would also repel a gravity weapon hit from the alien mega-ship at 100 kilometers. It would be a much needed addition to our defense, but would not be ready for the coming war.
The Brenner class would reach light-speed in one-minute, twelve-seconds and the shields would block asteroids the size of a bus at 52,000 SOL. A light year of space could be traveled in ten minutes when at that speed.
A new hybrid of the BHD would allow acceleration in any direction making the flip maneuver a thing of the past. New sensors offered much higher resolution imagery and sensing and a redundant QE comm system made communications with Earth Command instantaneous. It was a marvel of human engineering in almost every aspect.
Our scientists and engineers had made progress with our gravity weapon allowing a potent projection out to one or two kilometers. It was only equal to that of the alien fighter but an understanding of its full function was beginning to build. There were hopes that a breakthrough would happen within the year.
Our Ghost had been modified with the latest enhancements. With 12 hours remaining to zero we were taken topside to the hangar where a technician was given the responsibility of training us on our new equipment. His name was Zack.
When we first approached the ship I took note of the lengthened chassis. I had wondered about Randy and Raven and why we were kept together when the Ghost only had seating for two. I nodded and let out a yell of approval as we stepped aboard. Zack was waiting in my chair.
As he turned to greet us our eyes met and there was an instant connection. I resisted the temptation to not let go when he greeted me and shook my hand. After an awkward but warm smile he cleared his throat and began giving us the tour of our newly modified Ghost Attack Fighter.
For a moment I chuckled to myself and wondered who had come up with the name for a fighting vessel where the acronym was GAF. My attention was quickly regained by the handsome young man describing the modifications with his steel blue eyes, chiseled cheeks and strong chin.
I soon looked downward in embarrassment when caught staring. I wanted to blame it on my raging hormones because of the lack of a BGS, but an appeal for any excuse would have only led to further uneasiness. When Zack had finished with his explanations he then turned and asked if I had any interest in having a beer at the base pub back below-ground. I accepted with a smile and we were soon seated at a table in the otherwise empty e
stablishment.
As we tinked our glasses together I asked Zack where he was from. He had grown up in a small town in Upper Michigan where his father owned a hardware and animal feed store. His summers were spent canoeing, hunting and fishing and his winters on the snowmobile racing circuit.
He counted 47 broken bones amongst his trophies and a consistent ranking in the top five of his racing class before the devastation of the carrier attack led him to join the Corps. We spent two hours talking about our families and homes before the call came for lights out.
As we walked slowly towards the pub door I held out my hand in an awkward attempt to say goodbye. He took it and drew me in close before whispering in my ear. He said I should come back when the fighting was over. He had confidence that I would return and that he would be waiting to continue our conversation when I did. As we parted he put forth a smile and a wink before turning down the hallway towards his quarters.
When I arrived back at my room a technician was waiting for me. I was getting a new BGS. As I followed the tech towards the dressing area I had nothing but thoughts of Zack rolling through my head. They were my first thoughts of romance in nearly two years... since most of the fighting had begun.
I was quickly pulled back to the reality of the moment when the tech pointed me into a dressing room where my new BGS was hanging. Within minutes the warm welcome sensation of being immersed in bio-gel returned.
I stood looking in the mirror at my physique and wondered what Zack would think if I again met with him. The suit was tight in all the right places showing off my near perfect human form. I then blushed for a moment when I noticed the tech looking at me admiring myself. With my self-indulgence party over, I turned back to the business of the new BGS.
The tech projected a holo-screen and began to talk about the enhancements to this particular suit. It was our latest and had several features that had yet to go mainstream. I eagerly awaited the run through on its abilities.
The new BGS had an improved filter pack that would last up to 45 days before requiring cleaning. The power packs would last 90 days on average and came with an emergency slot where a coin sized Sodium pellet could be inserted to gain an additional two days of operation.
But, the biggest improvement was in the active skin that was fully integrated into the suit and the helmet. The skin came with two levels of shielding. The first was a slight improvement over the last BGS offering the ability to safely move about in the highly charged stellar winds of the cosmos.
The second level was a fully functional active skin. With a single thought to my audio implant I could turn on the suit's active skin, rendering myself invisible. It was a significant drain on the power pack with each new coin sized Sodium pellet offering only an extra 10 minutes of activation.
I was also given a new gravity weapon sidearm. It would obliterate anything within 100 meters and was connected to a holo-targeting system within the helmet. It was deadly accurate. Each coin sized Sodium pellet was good for 25 shots at full power.
When connected to a small plug on the glove its active coating gave it the same invisible qualities as the BGS, its power would be drawn from the power pack. The tech called it a gravity pulse gun and remarked that the weapon also consumed a great deal of power, so if the need arose I should use it sparingly.
Testing had shown that the new BGS and weapon would drain the power pack completely in about six hours if used in a moderate fire-fight. When aboard our GAF we would be able to connect to the ship’s power or swap out power packs from our ship’s stores. There were enough power packs on-board to keep us running at a normal level for five years. When fighting, that number would drop dramatically.
The tech then moved on to the new food pack. It would now last 45 days before requiring a change. If the food pack ran dry or the filter pack clogged the bio-gel of the BGS would last five to seven days before we would begin to feel the impact. Testing had shown that when a BGS and its bio-gel reached saturation the suit would have to be removed within 48 hours before becoming toxic. When I asked exactly what toxic meant I was given a look that made it very clear... toxic meant death.
When the tech had completed a full check of the suit we began our walk back to my quarters. I asked if my crew had been given the same upgrade to which she replied "No". Shepard had received the new BGS but Randy and Raven would be in their old suits. Since manufacturing had only just begun on this version most crewmen would be wearing what they already had.
As I lay back on my anti-grav mattress my thoughts once again made their way back to the topic of Zack. He was handsome, physically fit, intelligent and best of all he had an interest in me. But my thoughts of Zack were short lived as the sleep meds from the new BGS took hold. I quickly drifted off into a very adult dream.
Chapter 7
The morning was spent in briefing after briefing. By noon the crews were being assembled in the launch hangars. The alien fleet had passed Neptune and would be upon us shortly. On the ground the factories continued to hum. Even with the battle for Earth underway we would be in need of a resupply at some point. The years of contributions by Earth's populations were ready to be put to the test.
I wanted badly to make one final call to my family, but I knew it was not possible. I was left to use my grandfather's words to bolster my confidence. In turn I attempted a strong face for my crew.
We soon boarded our GAF and began the ritual system checks. I hesitated for a moment and took note of the new controls on the weapons holo-screen. The new gravity weapon had been installed on our ship overnight in an attempt to give us any advantage that could be had.
Only five such units were made available throughout the fleet. Randy immediately began poring over the manual while Shepard added the new weapon to the simulation hack she had previously loaded onto our computer. We would have two hours at our defensive station waiting on the alien fleet's arrival and Randy planned on using every minute of it to familiarize himself with the new technology.
As the orders came in the Defender squadrons lifted off one by one. Just as with the battle against the carrier, half of the ships would take up position behind the Moon and half behind the protection of Earth. I was to lead a four ship squadron of GAFs from a starting location behind the Moon.
Command had positioned sensors throughout the solar system in an attempt to give them better "ears" on what the aliens were up to since we had partially broken their language and communications. They hoped to gain knowledge of the alien's plans before they were put into action.
When we reached our station behind the Moon, Randy began running simulations using the gravity pulse weapon. I decided to take up the same challenge in a simulation of my own. For most of an hour I turned and fired and speed off, I flipped and dove and again fired. The gravity pulse gun, with its ability to be steered, was quickly becoming my weapon of choice.
In my excitement over its abilities I checked in with Randy to see how he was progressing. He was struggling. I wondered if my newly increased reaction times were giving me an advantage that Randy just did not have. His frustration only grew as we continued the simulations. I stepped in with the command decision to control the gravity pulse gun while I flew. Randy was glad to be rid of it.
Our final half hour was spent checking and rechecking the ship’s systems. The alien fleet had passed the orbits of Saturn, then Jupiter and then Mars. Tensions were building as we were now only minutes from battle. I took a moment to give a final morale boosting speech.
We were here, defending our world, our families and our lives. All of our achievements as a race had brought us to this point in time. We would now have to summon the courage, to rely on our skills and abilities, to step forward and give it our best.
I stated that we should not go into battle with fear but instead with determination and respite. This day was our day, was Man's day, we were going to crush these alien invaders and return to our homes and families as heroes. Earth would not be conquered on this day.
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Our tactical orders then flashed on our holo-screens. Our team would eventually be attacking a cruiser along with four squads of Defenders. We would first be given a quadrant with the task of clearing it of alien fighters before proceeding on to attack the cruiser.
The Tacticians and Battle Planners had laid out waypoints for our squadrons to follow once the go-ahead was received. We would be in the third tranche of ships out of six to move into battle.
We watched patiently as the battle timer on our holo-screens ticked down from ten minutes, to five and then to one. I looked around at my crew and gave a wink and a nod to each. When the timer hit zero, our screens began to light up with ship movements.
When the outer perimeter of the alien fleet came within firing range of the space based mobile coil guns the first shots were fired. Two alien fighters immediately exploded. With the signal given our first tranche of Defenders entered the battle from behind the Moon.
On our holo-screens green blips could be seen dancing around and between yellow ones... our Defenders were engaging the enemy. Our status screen had displays of "Kill Count" and "Death Count". I thought it a bad idea to show in real-time what our casualties were. The numbers on each began to accumulate.
The mobile coil guns were relentless in their automated hunting of alien fighters. The "Kill Count" had quickly reached 30 fighters when the alien fleet made its first bold move. A cruiser and two destroyers speed their way towards the mobile guns.
The cruiser used its powerful gravity weapon to shield the destroyers from the mobile guns wrath while the destroyers began to pick away at the mobile guns one by one. A helpless feeling was developing in my gut as I watched the battle playing out before me.
Command soon countered the alien strategy with the launch of more than 5,000 newly enhanced Drillers to which the aliens also had a response. More than 3,000 of the alien fighters were dispatched. My holo-screen was soon awash in multi-colored blips weaving in and out, circling each other as the battle expanded.
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