We had time for a short nap, then we had to return to one of the captured nest ships. Mr. T was supposed to undergo a short debriefing with the commanding officer of the operation, who rolled up shortly after our return. Yeah, he rolled up in an Abrams M1A3 tank bedecked with an enormous flag. Right behind the tank are ranks of military vehicles and limousines. High-ranking military brass and politicians. Now the Intelinet vans are pulling in. Time for some photos with...
Hey, guys, anyone know who the brass with the tank might be?
Oh. I guess he’s a major general, the commander of a newly formed division or something.
There were photos taken of the general with his hand on the bug ship, flashing a thumbs up sign. He called some of the special ops guys over, those that had secured the ship, after we had cleared it. Finally, he looked over at us. We were all lounging on our field packs, just chilling. We were still so tired. I remember hoping we wouldn’t get into trouble for not having regulation Marine field packs. My pack was from REI. But we were wearing standard BDUs, the special helmets Grandad had gotten us, and our IVs.
I was seriously debating whether or not I should take off the uncomfortable helmet, but decided the length of my hair might get me in trouble. I had managed to pack most of it under the helmet. Para made a point of actually putting on her field jacket to hide her hair, tucking it under carefully and pulling up her collar. It was, like, 80-degrees, and she was starting to work up a sheen.
Well, you were Para! Okay, I had forgotten to bring my jacket, otherwise I would have done the same. Jackets are great pack stuffing for a better lounging effect. And to hide out of regulation things, like long hair.
Mr. T had managed to wander off somewhere. Nowhere in sight. The general was still looking at us. Rock mumbled something about it would probably be a good idea to at least stand up. We all jumped up and gave a decent near-salute. The general shook his head a little, but then he returned the salute, smiled, and called us over.
He looked us over real close. “They tell me you’re the crew that did all this. You and your Mr. T. I’ll track him down in a minute. I’m glad to make your acquaintance. General Fitzpatrick...”
He shook all of our hands as we gave our operative names only, which the reporters reported. After that he moved off to do whatever business is conducted by a major general. Mr. T showed up a few minutes later. He said he was tired and it was time to head back home. We slipped behind some bushes and ported.
After a nice nap I woke to Mr. T calling us to the living room. I thought I heard that Morse code sound, beep, b-beep, beep, of a special news report. That’s probably what actually woke me. The rest were in the kitchen making a snack. We all hurried to the living room. It might be good news for a change. The report had just started.
... in what the military is calling Operation BrightLight, all enemy nest ships have been either captured or destroyed. At approximately noon Eastern Standard Time a coordinated worldwide military operation against all enemy positions resulted in a decisive victory for humanity. Here is some footage provided by the EDF, the Earth Defense Forces, Coalition Office. It shows the synchronized destruction of a number of the enemy nest ships. We apologize for the quality of the video. The EDF did give caution, the enemy may still have reserve forces off-world. They gave their assurance of an ultimate victory ...
Everyone is looking at me. What was I doing? I’m so tired lately. Did I fall asleep again? I hope I wasn’t drooling or something. I heard part of the Intelinet news report. They called the operation BrightLight. That was cool, using my operation name and all.
“What you guys looking at? Operation BrightLight is a pretty good name, isn’t it?”
They’re still looking at me, all concerned. Fine, I’ll look for myself. Let’s see. Recorder settings, pull up the time stamp for the news report. Beep, b-beep, beep. There’s the start of the news report. Adjust the angle. And there I am mumbling. I’m sleep-talking for goodness sakes. It almost looks like I’m in a trance, eyes half closed. What am I saying? Volume.
Oh, I remember studying this stuff, the stuff I’m mumbling about. It’s from an article. I read that part of the article a bunch of times trying to better understand the basics of a nuclear detonation, prior to the BrightLight op. The thought of using nukes bothered me. I know, there was no other choice. I must have memorized part of the article.
No wonder they were all staring at me as I mumbled. “Immediately after a nuclear explosion there is a bright flash of light followed by a massive pressure wave that moves outward from the site of detonation. It accelerates the air following just behind the pressure wave to a very high velocity. That’s the blast effect. It’s all one enormous shockwave. There is tremendous heat from the nuclear fireball, intense lethal x-ray pulses, and deadly nuclear radiation. The bomb debris and contaminated material from the blast area result in fallout that is highly radioactive and can be spread over a large area.”
They are still looking at me. Let’s see if I can work up a good scowl. “So, I’m sleep-talking a little these days. I’m fine. Get over it.”
I hate being a part of turning anything into nuclear dust. Well, anything except maybe a bug queen. There is no way around it though. We have to do it. I feel a fit of inspiration coming on. It’s about time our little team had a name. Shockwave. It just seems
