out there. The term ‘war zone,’ usually seen on television referring to cities in foreign countries, now definitely applied to New York. It was a complete disaster zone.
Fires raged across the city from all the explosions. Burned-out cars, blown-out storefronts, shattered windows, and crumbled walls were commonplace. So far the fighting had mostly been contained within Manhattan; the aliens had used Central Park as a staging point to deposit fighters. The Air Force had scrambled a couple of bombers, aiming to take out a wave the second they materialized. Despite their fighter escort, the bombers were shot down before they could get close.
Leo doubted they would stay confined to Manhattan for long. They would find new areas to drop their troops, and the fighting would spread out on multiple fronts until the entire city was engulfed. Captain Decker had told them that the other six ‘chosen’ cities were fighting similar battles. The war was global, but not as global as it could have been.
When it came to the alien attack, there had been two surprises. The first was that the fighting wasn’t constant. Yesterday, as darkness had started to fall, the alien troops had retreated back to the mothership. Whether they didn’t have enough troops to staff shifts to maintain an around-the-clock attack or they just couldn’t hack fighting in the dark, no one knew. Whatever the reason, it was a very welcome respite. They were granted time to get reinforcements, and fresh troops into position. Leo and his unit had also managed to get some quality rest, an unexpected bonus.
The other surprise had more to do with the alien strategy. The military were limited by what they could put into the field. They had to load planes, get trucks into position; they were ill-equipped to fight a war on their own soil. However, the aliens weren’t limited in the same way. Within minutes, the mothership could be above anywhere on Earth, and they could beam down alien troops anywhere where they would face no resistance. They didn’t have to meet the Earth military in battle; they could catch them out with lightning-fast attacks all over the globe.
That would be near impossible to defend against. Perhaps that was why the aliens weren’t taking that strategy. They wanted Earth subjugated, not destroyed. Therefore, they had to take out the military; they had to break the back of the resistance in order to win.
Before Leo and his squad could leave, Captain Decker stopped them.
“Hold up, we have new orders,” Decker barked.
The unit gathered on the side of the hangar again, in the same spot they’d had to receive their briefing the previous day.
“Area 51 sent a team last night down to Mexico, to some shrine. Long story short, they think it’s a transport device to another world. Apparently there is some legend about a superweapon. We should be so lucky, right? Anyway, this robot probe vanished in a flash of light. They aren’t sure what happened to it, but it disappeared. Colonel Clark is assigning our unit to check it out,” Decker explained bluntly.
Leo frowned. “We’re two men short, sir,” he pointed out quietly. They were also a long way from Mexico. A fresh unit from Camp Pendleton would surely be a better choice. Not that he was questioning the decision of a colonel; that was way above his paygrade.
“That doesn’t matter; we’re together as a unit. It’s a mad scramble out there. Colonel says we’re the closest special forces unit that’s mission ready. Grab your gear. Wheels up in ten,” Decker ordered.
“Hey Frasier, if we’re heading into the unknown, let’s cover our bases, yeah? Grab a little extra gear,” Staff Sergeant Ortiz suggested.
“Good idea,” Leo said distractedly. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
Leo leaned against the side of the hangar and pulled out his cellphone. He had tried his parents again last night but hadn’t been able to get a connection. Earlier this morning, the phone had rung
Fires raged across the city from all the explosions. Burned-out cars, blown-out storefronts, shattered windows, and crumbled walls were commonplace. So far the fighting had mostly been contained within Manhattan; the aliens had used Central Park as a staging point to deposit fighters. The Air Force had scrambled a couple of bombers, aiming to take out a wave the second they materialized. Despite their fighter escort, the bombers were shot down before they could get close.
Leo doubted they would stay confined to Manhattan for long. They would find new areas to drop their troops, and the fighting would spread out on multiple fronts until the entire city was engulfed. Captain Decker had told them that the other six ‘chosen’ cities were fighting similar battles. The war was global, but not as global as it could have been.
When it came to the alien attack, there had been two surprises. The first was that the fighting wasn’t constant. Yesterday, as darkness had started to fall, the alien troops had retreated back to the mothership. Whether they didn’t have enough troops to staff shifts to maintain an around-the-clock attack or they just couldn’t hack fighting in the dark, no one knew. Whatever the reason, it was a very welcome respite. They were granted time to get reinforcements, and fresh troops into position. Leo and his unit had also managed to get some quality rest, an unexpected bonus.
The other surprise had more to do with the alien strategy. The military were limited by what they could put into the field. They had to load planes, get trucks into position; they were ill-equipped to fight a war on their own soil. However, the aliens weren’t limited in the same way. Within minutes, the mothership could be above anywhere on Earth, and they could beam down alien troops anywhere where they would face no resistance. They didn’t have to meet the Earth military in battle; they could catch them out with lightning-fast attacks all over the globe.
That would be near impossible to defend against. Perhaps that was why the aliens weren’t taking that strategy. They wanted Earth subjugated, not destroyed. Therefore, they had to take out the military; they had to break the back of the resistance in order to win.
Before Leo and his squad could leave, Captain Decker stopped them.
“Hold up, we have new orders,” Decker barked.
The unit gathered on the side of the hangar again, in the same spot they’d had to receive their briefing the previous day.
“Area 51 sent a team last night down to Mexico, to some shrine. Long story short, they think it’s a transport device to another world. Apparently there is some legend about a superweapon. We should be so lucky, right? Anyway, this robot probe vanished in a flash of light. They aren’t sure what happened to it, but it disappeared. Colonel Clark is assigning our unit to check it out,” Decker explained bluntly.
Leo frowned. “We’re two men short, sir,” he pointed out quietly. They were also a long way from Mexico. A fresh unit from Camp Pendleton would surely be a better choice. Not that he was questioning the decision of a colonel; that was way above his paygrade.
“That doesn’t matter; we’re together as a unit. It’s a mad scramble out there. Colonel says we’re the closest special forces unit that’s mission ready. Grab your gear. Wheels up in ten,” Decker ordered.
“Hey Frasier, if we’re heading into the unknown, let’s cover our bases, yeah? Grab a little extra gear,” Staff Sergeant Ortiz suggested.
“Good idea,” Leo said distractedly. “I’ll be there in a minute.”
Leo leaned against the side of the hangar and pulled out his cellphone. He had tried his parents again last night but hadn’t been able to get a connection. Earlier this morning, the phone had rung
Similar Books
