Chapter 5 of my Sci-Fi story

Chapter 5


Stefan was presented with another of the montages of different soldiers' mind-recordings, this time, in the UNSF barracks on Earth.


Earth, February 4017


"Have you seen this load of bollocks?" Chris yells, turning on a news broadcast as he storms into the observation tower.

"UNSF coup? Surely someone would have told us if we were taking over the world?" I stare at the screen, looking away from the viewscreen for a moment. There is a loud blast, and energy shatters the viewscreen, incinerating the entire room.


Earth, February 4017


"General - the live mind-recordings from observation tower 10 just went out with a bang,"

"So they've come for us," I mutter, turning to my command post, "UNSF Earth regiment. This is your general speaking. The Galactic Union has come for us. We all knew this was coming, but we're ready for them - let's get rid of these aliens and start the fight again! Take defensive positions! Long live the UNS!"



Earth, February 4017


Two blasts from the anti-ship cannon - a cruiser crashes down into the sea surrounding Military Island, sending a massive tidal wave thundering into the concrete walls around the base. I take careful aim at the bridge of another cruiser, squeeze the trigger, but they return fire and their aim looks perfect.



Earth, February 4017


"General, I think we're surrounded - they've got cruisers above the Pacific, Indian and Antarctic Oceans coming in quick. Hopefully they'll try and land - we can take 'em on the ground!"

"Yes we can - have you noticed that no-one has seen an alien except for the spineless bastards who commanded us? I think they're probably puny little things, hiding behind their cruisers," I smirk, looking at the heavily defended beaches. Water-cruisers are arriving now, some of them emerging dramatically from beneath the sea, others charging forwards, leaving an enormous, turbulent wake behind them. I see the first one hit the beach, sending sand flying up into the air. The nose screeches open, slamming into the ground, but from up here, all I can see is blackness.

"Get me a mind-recording from the beach!" I snap.

"Will do, sir!"


Earth, February 4017


The sand is still settling from the nose's impact. I can't see much, but I know they're coming. So far, we only have one cruiser on this beach, which makes it easier for the gunners - like me. I aim the large energy cannon I am seated in at the cruiser's opening, and open fire. The energy blasts throw a large figure in the midst of the sand into silhouette. It looks to be about 5 meters tall, and with a very imposing physique. It was also carrying a very large gun, which had not started firing.

"It's OK guys! That's just their version of tanks - the footsoldiers will emerge soon! Fire into the cruiser!" shouts the colonel, energy rifle in hand. He's a brave guy - he could very easily be back at HQ, or at least in one of these cannons, but he's right at the front, with a small gun (well, relatively, you know - it's still enormous). It's a clever tactic - I feel ashamed, which makes me fight better, and I don't want him to go down, so I do my best to protect him.

Oh my God - the sand is all gone, and now we can see what's behind it. An army of those big tank-people has just come out of the cruiser, and our energy blasts are practically bouncing off their amour - it seems to be some sort of energy-proof material. That doesn't even exist in UNS territories! Even my cannon is useless - maybe a concentrated-energy blast will do it - they worked on the cruisers, why not on these things - they're probably made of the same thing. I'm aiming at the front guy; they all look the same anyway. Boom! He's down - a big hole in his amour!

"Everyone - use concentrated energy!" I scream, hoping everyone on the island would get the news. The big disadvantage of concentrated energy is the amount of energy it consumes. A gun that can fire off 300 shots of standard energy without a recharge, can muster maybe ten concentrated ones. Speeders have better ratios, more along the lines of 3:1 - but they rarely get the chance to use ten of those shots, let alone 100. The blasts filling the air are more intense now, but the aliens are returning fire, and inflicting heavy casualties. They target each turret with everything they can muster, then once it's destroyed, they move to the next one. They're halfway up the beach now, and I think another sea-cruiser is arriving. I count five kill so far, and I've just got my sixth. Someone just punctured the second cruiser, and it started rolling a bit to the side. I'm turning my turret to do the same thing - after all, the first one is here, it's too late, we might as well stop this second one getting to the beach. I've just blown a massive hole in the hull - I must have hit a fuel tank or something. Water is gushing in, and other turrets have done similar damage to the cruiser, and it looks like it's almost completely filled-up. I can just see the top of it now, and no aliens have emerged yet. I turn back left, but then I see the turret to my left has been destroyed, and it is my turn now. The first shot hits my energy reservoirs.


Earth, February 4017

"So, we have to use concentrated energy?" the mind-recorder asked me.

"Yeah, it seems so - but our troops aren't able to recharge - that's not gonna work for long. We have to start pulling back - open portals to the central complex, for everyone - make every soldier we have stand around the orbital guns and this fortress - then see if they can get near us. And get all non-essential support staff and prep portals opening in the warehouse,"

The portal officer turned round and looked up at me, "Where is the destination?"

"Put in the co-ordinates for the ruins of New York - I have some friends there who could use the supplies. Comms - open a channel to 01210,"

"Erm - OK, sir,"

The comms channel was broadcast onto the wall opposite me. A familiar, haggard, unshaven face popped up, scowling,

"No, mate, we can't help you. They've come for you, I couldn't care less - I'm safe here!"

"I love you too, Lucas. Listen - we can't hold much longer. Instead of letting them take all our weapons and research, I'm portalling it to New York. And, if we get a chance, we're coming too - all the survivors of the UNSF Earth regiment will join your rebellion and fight these fuckers however you decide," I said dramatically.

"Well, we'll be glad to welcome you - just don't send all your stuff to New York, whatever you do! They haven't seen us from satellites, 'cos we're never too thickly spread. Half a billion troops and all your supplies will show up on their sensors like a bright red bull's-eye, and then all those aliens, who are currently carving through your base, will realize that North America lost its lethal radiation a thousand years ago, and we'll be finished, as will free humanity. So spread it out - so long as we know where they are, we'll get to them in the end, and your soldiers can find us pretty easily,"

"Sure thing - so I'll divide it in between cities? Or city ruins, I suppose..."



New York, 8 August 3045, 3:00



    Secretary of Defense Samson turned from the screen to his leader,"President - half of our arsenal is out of action - I don't know what those bastards did, but we're running at half our usual number of tactical warheads,"

"Shit. So do we return fire?" President Clina spoke through her hands, which were covering her face as she leaned back in her chair.

"Well this is an act of war by China, ma'am- I don't see that we have a choice,"

"Yes - but what does that achieve - those warheads are enough to reduce this country to a wasteland - why waste more lives? If we escalate, it won't save the USA's population, will it?"

"I understand your concerns, ma'am. But what about the other NATO countries? What about Brazil, Japan? If we, the world leader, allow China to ride rough-shod over international law, then there'll be no stopping them. If you want to minimise casualties, I understand, however - I recommend a couple of strikes on the capital and their military bases, followed by a full-scale invasion of the China," SecDef Samson slammed his hand on the table angrily, furious that his country had been attacked like this on his watch. He felt powerless to stop the destruction of 75% of American cities, the deaths of at least 300 million people, aroun 50% of the population.

"I think... I think you're right. I wish we could take the moral high ground, but we have to return fire, if only to warn Beijing off attacking our allies. I'm giving you full powers for military strikes, and send two warheads to Beijing - make sure they aren't destroyed by an interceptor!"

"Two on Beijing, one for the bases, okay!"


Science Report, December 3995

    The conclusion we have drawn from the tests taken in Chicago is that the North American continent remains uninhabitable. While we did not risk visiting other cities, many of which sustained heavier bombardment during the First Nuclear War, we are almost certain that the high concentration of nuclear warheads which struck this continent have rendered most areas uninhabitable. This was caused by the clashes in between different warheads creating new forms of radiation which have still not disappeared. We recommend further test in the next century - there is a chance that the radiation will have changed by 4100.


Earth, February 4017


"Yeah - do you have any idea how soon it will arrive?"

"Well it depends how long we last - I don't want to flee straight away - it'll be a blow for everyone's morale, but I want to bring maximum strength to the rebellion"

"I agree - don't run like a bunch of cowards, but don't fight to the last man. Somewhere in between is ideal," said the rebel commander, smiling.

"Sometimes, Lucas, you confuse me so fucking much, it's unbelievable," I sighed.

"You love me really," he smiled slightly, "Don't worry, you'll know when to leave,"

"I know. See you soon," I switched off the screen, looking for updates from my mind-recording monitors.

"What's happening out there?"

"We've pulled back to the citadel, for the most part - a couple of squads couldn't make it back, they've dug in the best they can, but they won't last long. As for the citadel, it looks better - we've got tons and tons of guns pointing outwards, impassable barricades, and so many soldiers around it that every alien that arrives is getting destroyed. But more cruisers are coming, and I think they're about to commence bombardment, which isn't good,"

"Why didn't they do that from the start?" I asked no one in particular. An intelligence officer who had been slouching against a wall, his analysis useless until now, stepped forward,

"Well, they want to show the rest of the ex-UNS that their ground forces are as unbeatable as the space ones to discourage ground resistance. If they can show Galactic Union forces overwhelming the UNSF on their turf, with infantry - our strong point, apparently, well, all hope is lost, y'know?"

"But they failed - look at the fight we're putting up - this should be a beacon!"

"I'm afraid not - they've got footage of a glorious beach landing and lots of UNSF casualties, eventually they'll have our surrender or our total defeat, so to the unknowing masses, the Union wins, you see?"

"Then counter that propaganda with our own! Transmit mind-recordings of our own glorious victories - a montage of all of it! Encourage people to resist, make them think they can win!" I yelled fervently.

"Sure, but an effective montage takes time to put together," he replied uneasily.

"Right - send all our non-classified mind-recordings to the rebels, they're doing nothing, they'll have fun with it. Then, put together a crude basic thing and send it out ASAP. We'll put together a polished one after this is over,"

"Yes, sir - good idea!"

I turned to the mind-recordings again, signaling that the interview was over. My troops were putting together as good a defense as could be expected - they were, after all, outnumbered and outgunned and every other cliché that described military inferiority. The aliens were taking heavy casualties, but it was only because they were arriving at the citadel piecemeal. While their strategy was costly, it stopped us reforming too much and getting into a better position, which is what we wanted to be doing, before their reinforcements arrived with artillery and air support, which would be the death-blow. In fact, I was planning to flee as soon as the first artillery blows landed. The retreat would have to be gradual, or it would look very suspicious and the Union would throw an anti-portal shield over us, which would fuck everything up.

"Look sir - cruisers everywhere - all directions, all physical escapes covered,"

"Despite everything, I can't help admiring that," I sighed, looking at the enormous cruisers, human and alien converging around the citadel.

"Well, admire the speeders they've just released - there are a lot of them, sir,"

"Shit - shoot as many down as possible, they can't get to the citadel - we're not that prepared for their kind of mass speeder assault!"

But it was already too late - their speeders hurtled in, crushing most of our anti-air defenses in less than a minute, and starting to strafe the fortress. The walls shook and a few technicians were knocked to the ground.

"Alright, fuck it, let's go! All non-essential technicians who wish to surrender, stay here, and the rest of you get to the warehouses and portal to the rebellion,"

"Where are the rebels based?" asked a communications officer.

"Nice try - all those who are joining them will find out. The rest won't, it's very simple - the Union wants to find these rebels more than anything right now, we can't afford to give away any information,"

There was a massive stampede as 90% of the technicians declared themselves non-essential and flooded towards the portals in the warehouse. However, five technicians approached me, looking defiant. I recognized them from an intelligence report that flagged potential dissenters against the UNS. They had been unusually bright since the alien invasion, and the day the Galactic Union declared itself, I caught one of them with a grin on his face and he was the one who talked to me first,

"We don't want to help overthrow the first good government this galaxy has had in centuries and we won't go to your little rebel friends," he growled.

"When I signed up, I signed up as a soldier, not a pawn for your politics, sir," his friend chipped in.

"Well... I'll hand you over to the Union, see what they do to you,"

The viewscreen flashed on, "No! They could have heard where the base is, and if the G.U gets them, they'll squeeze every drop of information they can get out of them. They either come with you, or they don't leave the building - if those bastards get released, you'll be refused access to our bases, so think hard about your next step, Samson,"

"Lucas - we're supposed to be the bloody good guys - we don't execute humans - that's the Union's job," I pleaded, ignoring the technicians' muttering.

"I've told you my opinion - it's not changing, Samson," Lucas said coldly, his jaw set.

"Ok, fuck it. Portal people - open portals near all soldiers that are safe - for those who are being overwhelmed, tell them to retreat to the warehouses. Send every portal to a different US city, and then send their co-ordinates to the rebels with the highest encryption possible. Once you have evacuated the most soldiers you can, close the portals, collect mind-recordings, and get to the portals yourselves, and I'll see you in America!"

I heard resounding cheers throughout the citadel, bringing a smile to my face. It faded like a shadow under a floodlight when I turned to look at the five technicians.

"So, you heard my friend's view. If you want to flee with the rest of us, you still can, you'll be treated fine, and you may even come round to our point of view eventually. That or, you die here, I'm afraid. I don't want to kill any of my own men, but I'm left with no other choice,"

"Fuck that, my life is worth more than my political ideas," growled one of them.

"Where do we get to the portals?"

I grinned with relief, "Thank you. You can check that map-screen over there, it's displaying all portal-points in the citadel,"

Four technicians ran off to check the map, but one of them remained, the defiance still etched into his face. He was tall and handsome, a hard worker and a good friend to many people. He was not one of the bad guys, but he used to have very anti-UNS opinions, so it was natural that he would accept the Galactic Union.

"Listen, don't be stupid. Do you think the Union will let you live? They'll torture all the information out of you and then execute you like they executed the Director-General and the millions of soldiers who died in the invasion. I know the UNS had flaws, but the Galactic Union is setting up a government system that is even worse!"

"This is just the transition. The human components of the government have all been chosen for their pro-democracy views - they used to be campaigners for freedom and universal votes, now they're in power!"

"They're god-damn puppets! They have no power; the aliens are the ones dictating policy, with no regard for human interests!"

More powerful energy blasts began striking the citadel, damaging solar panels and generators. The main lights stopped functioning, and very soon we were left with only emergency lighting. The lights flickered on and off around us, while severed cables sent sparks dancing across the floor like mad insects.

"You just think that because if the Union is successful, you're out of a job, because their military is better than ours!"

"Glad to hear it. Listen, mate - I don't give a fuck about your arguments. I have to try and leave this place too. Are you sure you don't want to come with me?"

He looked back at me calmly, not answering. I lowered my hand to the energy pistol at my waist, gripping its barrel hesitantly. It was cold to the touch, despite having been in contact with my body since this morning.

"I'll take that as a no," I said, attempting to keep my voice neutral and even. I drew my pistol and aimed it at his chest. My conscience got the better of me and I tried to change his mind,
"Last chance, mate - think about it - is it worth your life?"

"That's your decision to make - and if you decide to squeeze that trigger, you'll have to live with it until the government finds you, General,"

"What's that supposed to mean?"
"You've got a death warrant on you! The first Union soldier that sees you will shoot you, no questions asked, whether you kill me or not,"

"That's a price I'm willing to pay for being a free man and liberating my fellow humans, which may not be something you understand,"

"Very well, whatever helps you sleep at night. Haven't you got a portal to catch?" he said evenly, smirking slightly. I squeezed the trigger and the flash of the energy blast traversing the space in between us seemed like the flash of the technician's soul departing to wherever souls went.

I swiveled round, found the room to be empty, and jogged over to the portal display I had showed the other technicians - it showed the amount of soldiers to have gone through each portal. Off the top of my head, there were about ten million soldiers on this island. Assuming half of them survived the initial assault, five million people should have gone through the portals by now. It seemed my guess had been pessimistic, though - six million people had entered a portal, most of which had closed now. The nearest one to me was in a supply room in the deepest basement level.

I rolled my eyes, and muttered,

"Why the hell did they put these things so far away from everyone?"

My journey was as follows - I had to cross the command center and get to one of the portal lifts, which would spit me out in the basement, which I would then have to cross to reach the exit portal. As I read the map, this seemed long, given the size of the rooms involved, but not too dangerous. That was before a devastating energy blast struck the wall of the citadel and disintegrated it. The daylight surged in through the smoke, forcing my eyes shut, as I tried to regain my hearing.

Slowly, my eyelids reopened, but I could not do much more than squint. I saw human shapes coming towards me silhouetted against more flashes of light, these ones less powerful than the first. When my eyesight returned, I quickly understood the situation. The alien cruisers had arrived in force, and they obviously had some crazily powerful weapon which had forced all the soldiers who were still fighting into a desperate retreat to the citadel, where they were now being routed by the superior firepower of the aliens.

"Project my voice," I muttered to the computer, then called out much louder this time, "All UNS soldiers, get to the evac point in B10. All other portals are being shut as of now," I closed down every single other portal, knowing that I had just sealed a lot of my soldier's fates. But we could not risk getting followed. Now I ran to the portal lift, followed by a dazed crowd of soldiers, some wounded and being carried, others limping along, all of them broken and defeated.

"C'mon guys! We'll make it out of here alive! Just don't look back! Get the wounded through the portal lift first, then follow two by two - do not cause stampedes or trample anyone - there is no use in panicking," I kept my voice even and calming, because if the seeds of panic in my army's hearts were allowed to sprout, they would become easy pickings for the aliens.


Earth, February 4017, half an hour later


I was standing at the back of the line, holding an energy rifle I had found lying around. The aliens were arriving at the citadel, with their artillery and space cruisers providing covering fire. I was not sure what had taken them so long, until a couple of blue flashes indicated that we did have some feeble cover from space, and more importantly, a very efficient anti-intruders system. Energy mines were going off everywhere, automatic turrets held up aliens for minutes at a time and recently, the cherry on top of our defense system - a river's course was changed, pointing it directly at the main access route to the citadel, which was packed with aliens and their vehicles, most of which were now ruined. Even after all that, there was still one surprise left for the aliens.

"Project voice to the whole island," I demanded of the computer system, before issuing my ultimatum, "Galactic Union troops, listen up! You have killed my men without provocation, destroyed much of my base, despite our position as the army of the ruling government, which was supposedly integrated into the Union. But you underestimated us! What you thought would have been a quick lightning assault lasted well over three hours, causing you heavy losses and much humiliation, I daresay. Well, we're going to add to that humiliation now. The UNSF lives on, even if its base is gone. To prove this, I'm going to destroy the whole Australian continent in half an hour, taking you all with it. UNSF soldiers, I apologize now to you. We held out as long as we could up here, we gave you the best chance to join us we could, but we couldn't do enough. Just know that you will be remembered and the fight against the Union doesn't end here! Long live the United Nations of Space!" I called, punching the air. There were only about a dozen soldiers left in the command center, but their cheers filled the room, echoing off the walls. My rousing speech had motivated them and all those who heard it, which was its intention - I knew the aliens wouldn't believe that we had the capacity to destroy a continent, so they would ignore my warning. However, the humans knew about the secrets hidden in the Indian and Pacific Oceans very well, and they were ready for it. The last soldiers stepped through the portal lift, and with a final glance around the command center, which for the first time since the dawn of time, was being walked in by a species other than man, I jumped into the lift, barely avoiding the energy blast that hit the ground behind me.

As soon as I arrived in the basement, the crazy dash to the evac portal began. Before I had even stood up, I could see energy blasts and fire, and I knew something was wrong, I grabbed a passing colonel by the arm and asked him what was happening,

"General Samson - they came into the basement from that end - they're mowing us down as we run!"

"Shit! Have they reached the portal end?" I groaned.

"Not yet - they're in those big fuck-off tank walker things, so they're having trouble navigating the storage containers and all the bullshit we keep down here,"

"Ok, good! Run, mate, let's get to that portal and shut it down!" I yelled, sprinting towards the faint blue light in the wall of the hellish room.

I don't actually remember much of that retreat, just constantly dodging energy blasts, and at one point, I stripped off my fluorescent general's jacket, because it was like an energy magnet - it was very visible from a distance, and the aliens obviously recognized it for what it was. When I arrived at the portal, the colonel was no longer by my side, but I had no recollection of him falling. He wasn't the only one to fall. As I stood, hesitating by the portal, I watched many soldiers collapse to the ground after receiving an overdose of energy in the back.

"What are you waiting for, General?" someone screamed as he threw himself into the portal. I realized there was no point waiting any longer. There were very few soldiers left living in the basement, and those who were alive were so far away that they had no chance of reaching the portal in one piece. I stepped through it, and arrived in the ruins of New York, surrounded by about a hundred thousand tired UNSF personnel, huddled in the shells of skyscrapers.

"Sorry, guys," I muttered, as I pressed a button on my wrist watch, sealing the portal. As I did so, another portal opened in the sky, and a grey cruiser exited it.

"Shit, they found us. Now it's all finished, isn't it?" groaned a couple of people in the crowd. The aliens had somehow followed us here, and we had led them straight to the rebels too.

"Well, it was nice knowing you all. Good fighting, guys," I called out, knowing that it was hardly good leadership, but I'm only human after all.

The cruiser descended towards us, and we shuffled aside, attempting to create a landing zone for it - if it was filled with aliens, we wanted to be at maximum strength to try and fight them away, so letting half of our meager forces get crushed by the cruiser was not on our to-do list.

With a dramatic hiss of steam, the front of the cruiser sunk into the ground, and a group of dark figures emerged from the steam, bringing flashbacks to many soldiers of the Union's beach landing.

"Samson, you twat - I told you to spread them out! We didn't want to have to bring out the cruiser!" Lucas's voice echoed against the hills.

"My god - do you take pleasure in scaring us shitless? You absolute bastard, after all we've been through!" I said indignantly, before cracking a smile. A massive wave of laughter slowly spread through the crowd, until all the tensions of the past hours was released, the survivors of the Union's attack realizing that there were very strong chances that, for the time being, they were safe.