Reconquest: Mother Earth

Chapter IV

The two dam operators jumped out of their chairs. It was times like these that Mitch had a hard time telling apart the good guys from the bad guys. These Iraqis were two frightened men caught in the wrong place at the wrong time. Being a combat veteran, Mitch knew that warfare was not all black and white. Although these two control room operators were not likely to fight back, Mitch had to be wary. The bad guys did not always wear black hats. However, if he saw the blue alien he would shoot it on sight. 

Two more SEALs entered the room. They apprehended and tied up the operators. Mitch got on his radio and contacted other team members. Within minutes, they had seized control of the dam without a single bullet being fired. Within the hour, they also took an adjacent power station and several buildings within the complex, without using any gunfire. The only injury occurred when a Grom commando was hurt while rappelling from the helicopter.  

The job was not done. They searched each building until dawn looking for explosives and potential saboteurs. Although he had reviewed the blueprint of the dam, he did not realize just how massive a structure it was until he was inside. Methodically, the SEALs and Groms searched, but did not find anything.  

When they were done, day was breaking in Iraq. Mitch conferred with Deborah about what he was going to do next. No wait. That was impossible. He had never worked with Deborah on any mission, let alone one in Iraq during the war.  

Since there had been no resistance, Mitch decided to free the dam operators and let them continue their work. This was not part of his original plan, but as was often the case, he had to adjust as he went along.  

Even though the raid had been successful, the danger was not over. The threat of the Fedayeen loyalists overtaking the dam and flooding Baghdad was very real. Mitch was not about to let his guard down. For the next six days, his team patrolled the dam and the surrounding area until the regular armed forces could arrive to relieve them.  

Mitch opened his eyes and looked around this strange room that he now found himself in. He was sure he was no longer in Baghdad. He had returned from combat. He knew this because he had been with Deborah. He had proposed to her.  

Mitch tried to stretch his mind and remember something, anything, about what had happened to him.  

Mitch continued to try to piece back his memory, but found it taxing. Before long, he fell asleep. 

Many hours later, he awoke with a fit. He clenched his hand into a loose fist. When he tried to elevate himself, his arms shook. He looked around the sterile room and knew he couldn't be in a military hospital, or for that matter any hospital he had ever seen.  

Nearby him on a table was an emerald green box that had all kinds of buttons and switches. The inscription on the machine had characters, which he presumed to be numbers and letters that were unlike any human language he had ever seen. He expected to be hooked up to IV tubes, but instead he had super thin tendrils that resembled the roots of a plant that fed from the machine into various parts of his body. The whole thing looked freaky, but he did not have the strength to remove it. 

He floated in and out of sleep over the next several hours. He would wake up only briefly before fatigue overwhelmed him. He felt like a baby, not having enough energy to sustain wakefulness for any significant period of time.  

He jumped back in his bed in fright. His head snapped forward. He tried to scream, but could only groan. He closed his eyes and opened them once more, hoping this nightmarish vision would leave.  

His heart beat like a jackhammer. He was not imagining things. A gigantic alien life form hovered over him. Its skin was light green, and its torso was long and lean.