Reconquest: Mother Earth

Chapter IV

Part 2 

Chapter IV 

Five Years Later

Mitch opened his eyes and let out a low groan. He closed them quickly, the brightly lit room scalding his eyes, and released another groan. He tried to move his hand, but it would not respond.  

Mitch opened his left eyelid slowly. He tried to look around, but did not have the strength to move his head more than a few centimeters.  

His lower lip trembled involuntarily. Where was he? He felt pain, soreness and intense sluggishness. Every time he attempted to move, his slow mind and weak body thwarted him.  

He slightly curled his fingers. It was not much, but it was more than he could do a few minutes ago. He made a great deal of effort to elevate his head, but still could not.  

For now, he gave up trying to move. He was expending too much effort and not getting results. Instead, he stared at the white ceiling.  

Half-formed memories flooded Mitch's head. What had happened?  

Mitch was back in the naval base in Kuwait. He had been called in by his commander - he couldn't remember the man's name. His commander told Mitch that they needed to overtake and control the Dartayun Dam, a major hydroelectric source an hour northeast of Baghdad. Intel indicated that Fedayeen and Baathist loyalists were going to bomb the dam and flood Baghdad downstream.  

This would be a joint mission between Mitch's SEAL team and a squad of Polish Grom commandos. Prior to the strike, Mitch and his team tried to simulate scenarios that could happen when they tried to overtake the Dartayun Dam.  

Two nights before the mission, Mitch met with the Polish squad leader. They split the teams up and located several key locations within the structure to hit first. Mitch did not like the idea of collaborating with the Polish commandos. He was unfamiliar with their tactics, and familiarity was one of the things that made his team excel. In addition, Mitch had lattitude in his missions to employ whatever tactics necessary to accomplish his goals. If their methods did not mesh with that of the Grom team, then this could lead to trouble.  

The night before striking the dam, Mitch felt the normal tightening in his stomach he got before a major operation. He hardly slept that evening, going over all eventualities, even though he knew that once the action started, anything was possible.  

They set into action the following evening. It was a clear, moonless night, too quiet for Mitch's liking.  

Four Pave Low special-operations helicopters took off from the base in Kuwait. It took five hours to reach their destination. On the way to the dam, each helicopter had to be fueled in midair by a KC-130 tanker.  

The beginning of the mission turned out to be dicey. The helicopters had to hover over the dam while weaving through a maze of high-powered lines. When the choppers established their position, the SEALs and Groms rappelled down thick ropes and onto the upper level of the dam with extreme stealth. Speed was of the essence.  

Mitch was the first one down, setting the pace for the others. He hit the ground and sprinted with his machine gun held at chest level. He had the layout of the dam memorized and knew precisely where to go. At the end of the walkway, he reached the power plant control room and found an alien with blue skin and eight limbs screaming at the top of its lungs.  

Mitch shook his head violently. Alien creatures in Iraq? That made no sense.  

He broke through the door. Inside were two dam operators. He yelled surrender in Arabic repeatedly with his machine gun raised and aimed at them. He scanned the room and found no alien creatures, but of course there wouldn't be any.