Battle for Earth

by Hammer Trollkin

  RUNNING. September 12th . 21:00 hours. Sequential event log. Subject, Roll, is at a public park with a male, late teens. Roll has consumed alcohol. Operative blood alcohol content is .07. Real time analysis ... Unresolved. Continuing historical event analysis.

  Roll has entered Jakes Pool and Stuff, a gaming establishment. No unusual conversational content.

  Roll is playing pool with a youth, early 20s. Scanning database, subject name Alex xxxx. No unusual conversational content.

  Warning! Aggressive tone and language from Alex xxxx directed at Roll.

  <*COMMUNAL. Communal, full interface established.>

  Alex: “You don’t make-out the real-speak goober? I’ll do the cushy-bye. Real slow for sleepy. Only ten bucks, goober? Fifty is the nifty. And the twenty from the past go. I’m turnt Billy. Got the frown all down. Need what’s mine manny. Or, gonna go orange on you Billy.”

  Roll: “Chill-off Alex. I got you. Filled the stash, forgot the cash. It’s good?”

  Alex: “You sleepy, Billy boy. Billy ... boy. Not good in the hood. A grind Billy. A mis-step to bust my rep. My rep Billy. Need the cash in MY stash. Dig deep Billy goober. Deeper or the creeper.”

  Roll: “Ten’s all I got but Tom’s on the green. A call away. Let’s go.”

  Alex: “Ahhhhh. Not the ringer. One is enough. Don’t need Tommy in the show. Two is too ... too ... too much. The shrooms, they are getting on me bad Billy. Hybrid boys. Real horrorshow. $#!@ $#!@ . Not in the mood no more. No more. Done Billy. You done Billy. Billy example. Pay Alex on time, all the time. The bugs all dead, time to get ahead. I am jumping all-in on the biz goober. Steppin up the grind, no cushy-bye time. Billy example. You gonna be my whippy post Billy boy.

  “James, get your @$# over, over, over with the old guy. Tell him, tell him, tell him stay put. Stay. Mind his biz. Orange is comin Billy. Comin for you, goober. Hey dip wick, get the, what’s it, the disk, the disk. The #&@$ disk. For the camera. It’s got the angle. Camera three, the disc for me.”

 

 

 

  ***

  RESET. RUNNING. Alex swung the heavy half of the broken pool cue in an overhead arch toward the top of Roll’s head. Roll had been backed into a corner and did not have time to move out of the way. He took note that Alex was swinging the cue with his right hand.

  Roll stepped in close to Alex to avoid the faster moving outer portion of the pool cue. As Roll stepped in arms forward, he made an X with his wrists, back of his wrists up with right wrist on top, a cradle to catch the impact of Alex’s wrist or the base of the cue stick.

  The meat of his lower arms faced up as he ducked slightly, bent his knees, and moved his arms up higher than his own head, hands unclenched. He aimed the top of his crossed arms at Alex’s own wrist hoping to catch it as it came down. His aim was true.

  As Alex’s wrist hit the padded muscle of Roll’s lower arms, the force of the impact threw the cue out of Alex’s hand and it bounded harmlessly off of Roll’s lower back. At the time of impact Roll was already pivoting his feet so that his back would be facing Alex.

  As he pivoted, he rolled his arms in order to grab Alex’s right wrist with both of his hands. Then in quick sequence Roll pulled and rotated Alex’s arm forward and up. Roll kept his own knees bent as he twisted his grip clockwise.

  Alex’s elbow was locked and facing down as Roll pulled Alex’s arm down onto his left shoulder, increasing the force by straightened his legs out of his moderate squat position. Roll was mindful to finish the move delicately. If he applied much force at all, Alex’s arm would break at the elbow.

  As it was, Alex had some very painful hyperextended ligaments. He would be fine with some ice, ibuprofen, and a few days of rest. Glass half-full.

  There was a lot of adrenalin involved. A broken elbow joint or torn tendons and ligaments, that scenario was certainly possible. Glass half-empty.

  Roll was about to finish the move with an elbow to Alex’s ribs, or lever Alex’s arm back into a control position, as he had been taught. But Alex let out a little whimper, even as he screamed, and Roll decided to just let go of the arm.

  Alex screamed, dropped to his knees holding the damaged elbow and said, “#@c&” .

  Four males started a slow walk toward Roll, spreading out as they came on. Identity, unknown. Conjecture, companions of Alex xxxx.

  Roll picked up a full-size pool cue and began a martial arts weapons kata specific to the bo-staff. It was a modified version of Tokemine No Kun. The display was quite impressive and convincing. The group stopped their advance and watched, waiting.

  Roll didn’t take his eyes off of the gang as he spoke to Alex. “I’ll bring your money tomorrow morning. It will be with the pool hall manager in an envelope.” Alex didn’t respond.

  Roll addressed the gang. “Are we done here?”

  They all nodded yes. Roll set the cue stick down and walked out of the pool hall. END.

  ***

  September 13 th We aren’t due back to the office until tomorrow, having been given 3 days R&R. Rest and relaxation. Aren’t those wonderful words? We all went to visit our families. Para and I told our folks that military life was exciting and rewarding. Our intelligence gathering operations have been a success, a help to the war effort. It’s all going to work out. But there is still a lot to do. We have to keep pressing on. You never know what those bugs might do next. Yup, isn’t Shockwave amazing. That sort of thing.

  It was nice to visit. But after a couple days we were ready to go back to the office. So much to do. The truth of it is, Para and I miss our parents and being at home so much! But it is hard not being able to talk openly about what we do. They have been so understanding. It’s still hard.

  Anyway, we were all back at the office early on September 13th . All of us except Roll. It wasn’t long before we were getting on Mr. T’s nerves. Too many questions. Mr. T decided to give us unlimited access to the top secret website which the government had provided. I just say government since there are so many agencies communicating with Mr. T. It’s hard to keep track.

  To our surprise, the general got all of us top secret clearance. Well, everyone except Muncle. Now we can read reports to our heart’s content. And, really, who cares if a monkey looks at a top secret report? With that clearance level, we will dig in deep and learn as much as we can before we invade the Moon base. Before we invade Darkside.

  That’s what they’ve been calling the enemy base on the Moon. You probably realize there is no actual dark side of the Moon, not exactly. The sun eventually shines on all parts of the Moon. The days and nights can be long but the sun eventually shines. Still, from Earth, we only see one side because the Moon is tidally locked to the Earth, with one side always facing us. From our perspective there is a dark side. And knowing of the bug military base, the term Darkside of the Moon takes on a whole new and accurate meaning.

  ***

  *COMMUNAL: Mr. T was in between conference calls. He passed the small conference room on the way to the break room. As he passed, the kids called out his name. More questions. He couldn’t help but admire their zeal. This was just not the best day for a lot of questions. And they should be out enjoying their well-deserved R&R.

  He had already given them full access to the Shockwave website and the myriad of reports touching all the subjects to which they had questions. They just didn’t know it yet. There had been no opportunity. Now, he took the time to provide the access codes and give a brief tutorial of t
he site intricacies. Even as he did that Mr. T couldn’t get over a nagging concern.

  Later in the day, Mr. T brought up the subject of his disquiet, speaking to no one in particular as he looked in on the team. “Where’s Roll?”

  Rock glanced up, hesitated, but with all eyes on him he shrugged. “I don’t know. He didn’t show up at the apartment last night. I’ve called him a few times but he hasn’t responded. It is technically a day off, right?”

  Mr. T cocked his head and laser-eyed Rock. “Is that normal for him? I mean, is it normal for him not to come home? I take it he didn’t tell you he would be out all night?”

  Rock was turning a little red under the scrutiny. “It is kind of a new thing. He’s done this a couple of times now.”

  Para jumped into the conversation as she actually jumped out of her chair. “Roll’s been drinking a lot and hanging out with some real losers.”

  Mr. T never took his eyes off Rock. “Is that right?”

  Rock decided he needed to pick at a fingernail. “Yeah. That’s basically true. He’s been a little off lately. He gets like this. Not the drinking part. But ever since we were little, he gets into these moods. You guys all know that. He snaps out of it though. I think he’ll be okay.”

  Para glared at Rock. “He won’t be okay if he falls in with Tony and that crowd. I think I saw him in that seedy pool hall playing pool with Alex. Alex reports to Tony, at least he used to.”

  Rock was getting a little defensive. “He’s not stupid Para.”

  “He’s acting kind of stupid right now!” Viz interjected. She put a hand over her mouth as though the words had jumped out unbidden. But she kept looking at Rock.

  Mr. T wasn’t sure what more they could do right then. “Let’s keep an eye on him. If he doesn’t check in within an hour or so, how about we go and find him?”

  We all nodded. Roll returned Rocks call, one of several calls, a short time later. He told him he was fine. Rock should mind his own business.

  ***

  NEMESIS 12

  + BEGIN TIMELINE DROP. This is a Timeline Project drop.

  Notes:

  1) This drop pertains to Nemesis 12 and related information.

  2) This is a unique use of the timeline drop. The drop was suggested by Viz, an authorized Timeline Project drop agent. The agent suggested the Timeline Project Oversight Department evaluate this drop.

  TIMELINE PROJECT OVERSIGHT DEPARTMENT: Be advised, the following is not an actual Report. The so-called interdepartmental briefing report was written approximately two months after the actual Nemesis event. The supposed interdepartmental briefing report, composed by Viz, was originally seized under Global Security Directive Three. It has now been released for use by the Timeline Project together with the Journal entry related to Nemesis 12.

  VIZ: The briefing report was merely journalism practice. Shockwave didn’t have any actual departments when I wrote the piece. I had no reason to communicate with, or report to any other agencies. My error was to treat the practice report as an actual document. I used my personal pad rather than writing within the Shockwave Journal, AND included a little [See Part II]-stamp.

  The original [See Part II]-stamp, had an embedded script which stated “there was one survivor who was rescued in a manner that would be hard for most people to believe.” I was trying out embedded holo-stamp scripts as a catchy attention grabber. Yeah, it was an attention grabber alright. But I didn’t directly mention quantum teleportation. And my personal pad was secured with the same encryption protocols as the Journal.

  It wasn’t long after I had finished the practice departmental briefing report and added the [See Part II]-stamp, that two special agents from the FBI dropped by and seized my pad. They were very serious and said I had committed a breach of Global Security Directive Three, whatever that was. They told me to never again write about Nemesis 12 or other matters of Global Security, under penalty of law. It wasn’t a stretch to think they might haul me in.

  I removed my normal Shockwave Journal post about our visit to the EDF and witnessing the actual Nemesis 12 event at their headquarters. That bothered me to no end since Nemesis 12 was an important mission with respect to the history of the bug invasion and the war effort in general.

  I may or may not have used an antique Polaroid Swinger camera to capture the post before deleting it. You never know what you might come up with in Grandad’s basement. The thing still works. Take a shot, count it down, zip off the picture. Only $19.95. In the 1960s. Anyway, that would be one way I could possibly have captured information to repost at a later date with no one the wiser. I eventually requested a + TIMELINE DROP + to tell the Nemesis 12 story. I knew some of the senators involved with project oversight would take an interest.

  Even though I have authorization to conduct a drop, it made sense to me to go this route, requesting and Oversight Department review. With that, the Timeline Project would have the final say and I would have some level of protection from government harassment. That is the history of why this section had to enter the Journal through the circuitous route of a +TIMELINE DROP+.

  ***

  BEGIN REPORT. Original Nemesis 12 Report. Opening statement. Body of text. This is not an actual briefing report.

  Nemesis 12. This is an interdepartmental briefing report developed from the Incident Report of the First Moon Expeditionary Force presented to The Cabinet, Earth Defense Force [Top Secret].

  Results of the First Lunar Expeditionary Force. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families and loved ones of those who did not return from the First Lunar Expeditionary Force. Many saw that courageous battle for the future of humanity as a terrible disaster.

  In that all ships and their crews were lost; it definitely was a disaster. . Yet, intelligence data gathered by the expeditionary force supplied critical information necessary to conduct the next phase of the war effort. With that perspective, the mission was a brilliant success. It is not an exaggeration to declare, we are here today because of those brave souls.

  10 bug nest ships were positioned in blockade formation toward Earth approximately 25,000 miles (40,000 km) from the Moon. The Earth strike force consisted of 12 military spacecraft of the Nemesis class and one reconnaissance craft.

  Nemesis class ships are based on a platform first developed under the XS-1 Program. Engine type and fuel requirements are listed as classified. Actual performance data of the Nemesis ships suggests they used powerful but conventional solid-fuel rocket propulsion systems.

  The weapon systems were sophisticated, consisting of high acceleration thermonuclear missiles and an advanced directed energy weapon system. Six of the ships were equipped with lasers based on upgraded HELLADS project models. The other six ships used a next-gen extremely high output fiber laser system specifically designed for offensive capability. There had not been enough time to upgrade all of the weapon systems to the more powerful fiber laser system.

  The next-gen energy weapons would qualify as pulsing laser cannons, with some similarity to the weapons used by the bugs. Though these DEW (directed energy weapon) systems were more powerful than those used in prior battles, such as at the Battle for Los Angeles, they were still underpowered as compared to the bug systems. Yet, these machines and weapon systems were the apex of human military and technological achievement.

  The Nemesis ships had been newly coated with a reflective film designed specifically to shield them from the DEW weapon systems used by the bugs. More than one engineer agreed with the remark: the thin film evokes only a thin hope of protection.

  Even before the actual invasion, there were government officials around the world who knew extraterrestrials were watching the Earth. They wanted to have a means to counter an attack. The Nemesis ships had been under secret construction for years, a battle group consisting of 12 ships. It would have been ideal to have additional time to improve the fleet using back-engineered enemy propulsion and weapons technology. But time was running out.


  The attack force was designated Nemesis 12. There was an additional reconnaissance craft assigned to the expeditionary force. That craft was a highly modified unmanned vehicle using an X-37C spaceplane platform powered by a newly developed fusion reactor. The ship was given the codename BugEye. Miniaturized fusion plants were already in use on military aircraft, though prior to BugEye they were largely experimental.

  Though highly classified, it is our understanding the spaceplane power plant incorporated design breakthroughs developed from the study of bug nest ship fusion plants. Bug ships likely use a magnetized target fusion process. More specifically, a hybrid magnetic and inertial containment system. The propellant (fuel) was likely hydrogen in a mix with the nuclear catalysts Deuterium and Helium-3. Here’s the rundown. The fuel product would be magnetically confined as it was quickly heated to a plasma state by the squeeze of inertial confinement. The thrusters eject the resulting plasma at high velocity as reaction mass.

  Military design engineers suspect bug nest ships have a secondary plasma tank providing an afterburner effect to gain additional thrust as needed. Hot spent fusion material would be vented into the afterburner tank of cold hydrogen fuel to increase reaction mass flow.

  BugEye evidently incorporated similar fusion rocket technology, though without the more complex afterburner technology.

  The mission operational plan had two imperatives. One was to engage the enemy blockade with an intent to destroy it. Test data suggested a relatively brief laser attack could overcome the shielding of a bug nest ship. Their energy shields are not primarily designed to deflect light. The laser cannons deployed on the Nemesis ships were specifically tuned to devastate the hull material of bug ships.

  The second imperative was to gather information. Reconnaissance was needed to establish the location of the enemy base on the Moon, to allow takeover or destruction. The Earth strike force would attempt to draw the enemy ships away from the planned route of the reconnaissance ship. BugEye could, in theory, reach 20% light speed, .2C. There would not be enough time to accelerate to that velocity. It was deemed too risky to send the ship on the 20-hour acceleration run that would be required to reach full speed. That would risk detection and interdiction by the much faster bug contingent.