Bite Size Stories

Tales of the Space Corps III

*** Weekend Write-In for Dec 06 2019 ***

"stand": In 500+ words, tell what happens when someone makes a stand

DATELINE: 2180 - EARTH OCCUPATION YEAR 19

It has been nearly twenty years since Rex Dexter made the ultimate sacrifice and destroyed 70% of the invading alien fleet, including the weapons the armada from space were planning to use to decimate 80% of the Earth's surface.

With their WOMD's mostly destroyed and their armed forces reduced to only several million, the invaders were forced into a ground war. They struck first, against major metropolitan centres across the world - in the United States, these included Washington DC, New York, Future City, Chicago, Houston, Miami, Pheonix, Los Angeles and more.

All fell quickly, bar New York and Future City, with the latter holding out under the command of the one US General who refused to disband his troops when the quisling government ordered a complete surrender.

Fighting lasted roughly ten months, before authoritarian elements of the political structure forced a coup in the interests of 'peace and co-operation'. By 2162 the invaders were establishing their rule over occupied America and expanding outwards to reinforce their mechs across the globe.

By that time Cynde Dexter had given birth to her daughter, Roxanne, and as soon as she was able, joined the civilian resistance in the New York zone, thinking only of the fight ahead and raising her baby amid the chaos. Around her, others cursed the name of Dexter and lamented the 'fact' that their great hero had abandoned them. If only they knew the truth, but Cynde couldn't tell them - she didn't know herself. But she had faith that if Rex wasn't there to fight and die for Earth, it was because he had already done so, elsewhere.

And along with stories of former adventurer turned rebel General, the now aged Richard Evans, she would tell little Roxanne tales of her father and share her thoughts that somehow, in some manner, the lights in the atmosphere on the eve of the invasion, they had something to do with Rex. Cynde never stopped believing, even when others scorned. Her heart told her, as bad as it had gotten, if not for her husband, it may well have been worse.

***

2180. The ruins of central Manhattan.

Roxanne checked her energon charge. Rifle operating at 65% capacity, which had to be good enough. She could lower the energy beam intensity setting to stun - for this afternoon and this afternoon alone, killing meks was not the priority. Her mom was injured and she'd spent the past few hours locating meds. Now all she had to do was get back and move her mom back from the line.

The rebellion had been three years in the making, and nobody really believed it would succeed, but that wasn't the point. If they effected an all out push, they could break clear of the New York dome and re-establish contact with Future City, New Jersey. Unlike NYC, the dome in FC was under human control. Almost two decades and General Evan's army command had held a US City as a free state.

Roxy couldn't imagine what it was like to live free. To walk around in daylight, not scurry like a rat, underground and through the darkened rubble, avoiding mek patrols and the occasional sighting of ... them. The overlords. Not to mention the admittedly rare sightings of DRUS troops.

The daughter of Rex Dexter had never seen any DRUS as New York was pretty much an abandoned zone, but she'd heard from her mom that the Democratic Republic of the United States were a bunch of dark uniformed fascists who enabled the occupation, fooling themselves into thinking they were equal partners to the masters. Cynde had scoffed at the notion, saying that sooner or later the aliens would take back the autonomy they'd granted their quislin...