Reconquest: Mother Earth

Chapter XVII

Chapter XVII

Mitch had gathered over one hundred fifty of his troops in the community center. The center was a multi-purpose room that acted as a meeting place, dining room, concert hall, and in this case a war room. Standing on a stage in front of a podium, Mitch addressed his troops, who sat on folding chairs. Normally, he outlined his plans on a blackboard, but with this many people, he used an overhead projector.  

The audience gave him rapt attention. There were no side conversations, or people staring at the ceiling.  

"It's going to be a little different this time, boys." Mitch paused, realizing there were a number of women here. He still had a hard time getting used to that. He had always fought alongside men. Although he wasn't crazy about females on the front lines, he didn't have the luxury of being choosy.  

"Up until now, we've hit and run," Mitch continued. "It's time to raise the bar. There's an alien settlement northeast of here, a little too close for comfort. When you have pests in your house, you exterminate them, and that's what we're going to do." 

Murmurs sounded. The troops had concerned looks.  

"Everyone here has seen the devastation the aliens have caused. I'm the only one who didn't see the totality of their invasion, but the aliens have gotten fat and lazy. They think we're insignificant, and pose them no harm. Their defenses are a joke. Despite our numerous attacks, they still haven't adequately defended themselves." Mitch paused. "We're going to use that in our favor. 

"Our reports indicate that there are between eight and twelve aliens here." Mitch clicked onto his first slide. "These are pictures taken from the Global Hawk." He used a pointer and traced over a sharp, angular structure. "This is the center of their activities. I'm not sure what their business is and I don't care." He went to the next shot. "These are modular houses. Our goal is to attack while they're inside. They seem to be nocturnal and congregate inside of these modular units in the early hours of the morning. We're going to strike them from the air and finish them on the ground. Then we clear the area." 

Jay Menza, a former marine, raised his hand. Menza was five years younger than Mitch. He had a long scar that ran from his eyelid to his jaw. Long and lean, he was one of the most athletic men on Mitch's team. "I get the part about killing them, but why do you want to clear the area afterward?" 

Mitch stepped in front of the projector and faced the audience. "This settlement has been around for less than a week. My hope is that the other aliens they deal with don't know about this location and won't know to look around here if they try finding it. Any other questions?" 

There were no more.  

"This won't be easy. It's our most dangerous mission yet, but we have to protect what is ours. We might not have much, just this little patch of ground, but it's ours." 

Mitch gave specific instructions for each of the teams. "We leave at 0400. I have confidence in each of you. Tomorrow we fight for more than just our little community. Tomorrow we fight for humanity!"  

All of the other missions they had conducted were table setters for this one. This would take his fight against the aliens to a new level. So much of his future, of the community's future would ride on this. Failure was not an option.  

***

Mitch contacted Corey Goss on the radio. Despite a sleepless night fret with worry, today he felt calm. If he could kill the sweeper and those aliens at the mine, he could handle this. Cruise missiles had served him well in Iraq, and he had faith they would work here. Granted the US military had used these same weapons, but he had the element of surprise in his favor. In a way it was fortunate for him that the aliens routed the humans in the first go around, since there was still quite a bit of armament left that went unused.