“Rule two, don’t feel compelled to salute, address, or treat us any other way than you would your neighbors. I am one of you, Tim here is one of you. Many of you have already become acquainted with Chief Petty Officer Tang since he’s been here. He’s as solid as they come, and he is also one of you. We’re not anyone special. Just combat-proven men who’ve seen a little more action than most, and who prefer to wear fatigues, sleep with our boots on, and shoot people on occasion. Now, I realize there are probably a thousand thoughts circling through your minds at current. So let’s downshift a minute. Any questions thus far?” Dave pointed left to a raised hand. “Yes, ma’am?”
Woo Tang whispered into his ear.
“Sorry, Mrs. Saunders. Please go ahead.”
“Amy.” She lowered her hand and rose awkwardly. “Did you bring anything to fight back with? You know we got attacked by a military drone, right?”
Dave held back long enough for her to retake her seat. “That’s a reasonable question and an altogether timely one. With any luck, my answer will set some minds at ease. One of the two-and-a-half-ton medium tactical vehicles we brought along has an MML multi-mission launch platform mounted to it. The MML has fifteen tubes, and inside each of them is a foursome of a very formidable, umbrella-sized, surface-to-air interceptor dubbed the MHTK. That stands for Miniature Hit-to-Kill. The missile system comes complete with a radar set, engagement control station, and a whole bunch of other cool doodads, most of which I couldn’t pronounce if I tried. It is unpacked, fully deployed, and actively scanning the sky as we speak.
“As Amy pointed out, the conclusion thus far is that a UAV, that’s an unmanned aerial vehicle, was employed in last Thursday’s attack. Drones have a relatively small footprint. They can fly high enough to hide from the human eyeball, but they can’t hide from radar, and that makes them particularly vulnerable to ground fire. My operators are on the job, highly caffeinated, and have their eyes peeled for unidentified flying objects. If anything is detected above us, we will fire on it and blow whatever it might be to kingdom come without hesitation.”
Another hand rose from the room’s opposite side. Dave went to acknowledge the petitioner, an appealing middle-aged woman with dark brown hair, noticing a friendly face he hadn’t seen in a while seated next to her. “Yes, ma’am…Mrs. Russell, I venture.”
“Yes, that’s right.” Michelle put her hand down. “You’ll have to excuse me, I don’t know much in terms of military anything. But these past few days have been hell on all of us; not knowing when or if another attack is coming has been too much. This missile system you’re referring to…is it foolproof?”
“Another reasonable question,” Dave began. “It’s an electronic device, designed and programmed to search, hunt down, and kill objects and other electronic devices in midair flight, and do so effectively. The MHTK was designed for counter-RAM, that’s detecting and taking out fast-moving indirect fire weapons such as rockets, artillery and mortars. By comparison, drones strafe low and fly slow, around one hundred seventy knots, that’s just under two hundred miles per hour, non-nautical. They lack countermeasures and have no means of defending themselves. The MHTK can acquire, intercept, and destroy targets up to three kilometers out, drones included. That said, only a fool would concede that an inanimate object devoid a human brain tasked with the complex function of active air defense as being foolproof. So, to your question, I must answer no. I have, however, witnessed this gizmo in action, and I can say with authority that it is very adept at the job for which it was designed. Having it here affords my people and me peace of mind, and as such, should offer something of the same for you.”
“Thank you,” replied Michelle, “and it does, which is a far cry from what we’ve been dealing with. But if it isn’t foolproof, there’s always a chance.”
Dave nodded. “Unfortunately, yes, there is. And it’s important for all of us to be real with ourselves. While I do have the capacity to ensure a reasonable modicum of safety and a temporary security blanket, I cannot guarantee full-on avoidance of further loss of life or property. We can mitigate, and we can defend against whatever may come, but until we get to the bottom of things and sort out all that demands it, the state of affairs here remains a gamble. Bearing that in mind, I would like to extend a recommendation; and please take it only as such, for now. I realize this valley is your home and you’ve all staked your claims here, but that doesn’t mean it has to be your Alamo. All of you should, therefore, bear in mind the possibility of evacuation.”
The group began to converse amongst themselves, overtaking the silence that had retained the room until this point.
Looking more agitated than most, Sarah Taylor spoke up. “Excuse me, Dave, is it? You just got here, when? Today? Have you any idea what else has been going on? My daughter is missing! She’s four—only four years old! And she hasn’t been home in over a week!”
Dave tried to intervene. “Yes, ma’am, I’m aware of—”
“Let me make this simple. There’s no way in hell we’re evacuating!” Sarah shrieked, tears forming beneath bulging eyelids. “We won’t be going anywhere! What a stupid idea! We’re not fucking leaving until we find Emily! You can take that to the bank!” She rose and stormed away and up the stairs.
Bryan Taylor stood and followed his wife, doing his best to offer
