“I want a full report from Moon colonists on the effectiveness of the weapons we are sending them. Meanwhile, relying on the reports you made for us, we are equipping as many of the units as possible.”
“So we do nothing?”
“I will not risk ground troops until we have re-equipped as best as possible as per your recommendations, Major.”
“And what about Europe? Africa? We are just going to let them all die?”
“At this stage we’d just be adding more bodies to the pile, Major. Let’s make sure that when we move we have enough muscle to make a dent.”
Taylor lowered his head. Yet more inaction and delaying on the General’s part was a depressing and ever more common experience. He knew that every action would be on the General’s shoulders, but he also knew that the time had come to act.
“I want reports the second those weapons have seen action, Major.”
“Yes, Sir.”
Lt. Rains looked amazed at the readings on their equipment. He had been space trained as per regulations, but he never envisaged the speed at which they were blasting towards the Moon. Beside him sat Lieutenant Perez, who’d been his co-pilot for several years.
“Never thought to be in this seat, Eddie.”
“We got the best seats in the house, my friend. Delivering help to the needy and riding in probably the fastest ship that has ever existed. We’re having a blast!”
“Let’s just hope its fast enough,” Perez replied wearily.
The Moon colony was now in sight, a vast ugly city to their Earth dwelling eyes. Like Taylor, they could never understand why anyone would want to live there. They still had no idea on the sort of scanning and surveillance equipment the invaders used. They had never travelled into a combat situation without a thorough understanding of their enemy, let alone such a fear of them.
Speed and surprise were the only tools to hand for the few brave pilots rocketing towards the Moon at speed. Taylor had already predicted they would have an absolute maximum of five minutes on the ground before encountering trouble. Previous experience showed that they would have the guns to take on a small group of fighters, but not any great numbers.
The landing zone was a barren and desolate area a kilometre from the edge of the colony. To even the well- trained eye it was every bit as untouched by humanity as it appeared. To anyone who knew better, beneath the surface was a military bunker and tunnel system leading to various parts of the colony.
“What if we get hit by ground troops, Eddie? We haven’t planned for that possibility.”
“Then we’re fucked. Planning has been as good as can be, now it’s down to luck.”
“Hardly reassuring!”
“If you wanted certainty, Perez, you should have worked at a desk.”
Perez nodded with a grin. They both loved their work, the thrill of the high-speed combat aircraft and exhilaration they experienced through much of their work. Now for the first time ever their stomachs churned as their own mortality become uncomfortably apparent.
“This is it!” shouted Eddie.
The two craft tore across the lunar landscape at blinding speeds just a hundred metres above the surface.
“Be ready on the guns!”
“They better be ready for us!” screamed Perez.
Eddie closely watched the heads up display in the cockpit, carefully timing their rapid drop onto the landing zone. Just a hundred metres short of the target area, and still with no sign of life, he put the thrusters on full reverse bringing the ship to a sudden and violent landing exactly where he’d been told to land. All four of the men were still doubtful of the intel and the ability of the surviving colonists to be there waiting for them.
He immediately powered down the engines to silence the scene and draw as little attention to them as possible. They could only hope that their presence had gone unnoticed but they knew that was too much to hope for. Rains reached forward and tapped the display, bringing up the under slung cameras on the craft. For a moment they saw nothing but the same boring rocks that spread as far as the eye could see beyond the colony.
“Think we hit the right spot?” asked Perez.
“We hit the right co-ordinates, that’s for sure.”
“Great, suits fucked it up again…”
Before he could say another word the ground opened between the two vessels, just metres away from the landing sleds.
“Holy shit!”
The opening was thirty metres wide and disguised the man-made structure below. On the cameras they could see a platform rising to the surface with dozens of people suited up and ready to get to work.
“We are in business, Eddie!”
He hit the cargo doors as the massive platform rose to the level of their side doors. The pilots had been ordered to stay in their seats at all times. They wanted nothing more than to greet their comrades, but they had to be ready to leave or operate weapons at a moment’s notice.
Eddie watched the screens intently, rocking back and forth with the stress and excitement of it all. Perez scanned the skies with his monitors and camera displays, sneaking a peak at the colonists every few seconds. They set on the supplies like a swarm. They were highly organised and efficient, just as the pilots had hoped, but never expected.
Rains typed into the display monitors in the docking bay, the only way they had to communicate with the colonists. His message read ‘three minutes remaining’. A man on the decking bay looked up at their cameras and gave a nod in recognition.
“They’re brave sons of bitches,” said Perez.
“What else could they be?” replied Eddie.
“What ya mean?”
“With this enemy, you either run or you fight. They had no place to run.”
“They could have just given up, accepting a quick death.”
He nodded in acknowledgement. There was no doubt that it took balls to combat a vastly superior enemy when isolated from Earth. In just two minutes the colonists had shifted half of the payloads of the two ships, an impressive feat. Desperation was pushing them to work faster than any crew back at the base.
“Any sign of trouble?” asked Eddie.
“Nothing yet, but you know those bastards, damn bitch to see them. Plus we’re exposed from every angle here.”
“Just a little longer.”
Perez’s eyes shot across the cockpit glass in front of them.
“What the hell was that?”
“What? What did you see?” shouted Eddie.
“I don’t know, maybe something.”
He hit the keyboard violently, signalling for the ground crew to shift their butts. Perez’s instincts were rarely wrong, a fact Eddie wished was not the case now.
“Be ready on the guns, this is gonna be a hot exit!”
“I never expected anything else. Riding with you is never boring, Eddie!”
Rains looked down at the screen, the colonists were unloading the last few of the crates. One of them walked up to the camera he was watching them on. He looked directly into the lens and held his thumb up with a grateful nod, followed by a salute. Eddie was as chilled out as any man could be, but the sentiment brought tears to his eyes.
He knew it would likely to be a fight to get home, but for them it was just in and out, back to a safe home. For the Lunar colonists it was going to be a war with no end in sight. He typed one last message into the display box, ‘good luck friend’.
“We’ve got incoming!” Perez shouted.
