1800 hours quickly came around and right at 1800 hours, Sergeant Mitchell entered our barracks. The men quickly got up and got into formation next to their bunks.
“It appears that you men can’t tell time,” Mitchell bellowed. “I did say to be in formation in front of this barracks at 1800 hours, not 1805, not 1810, or whenever the hell you finally felt like honoring me with your presence.”
“Yes Sergeant,” I replied. “Sorry Sergeant.”
“And look at these bunks, you’ve only been here for a few hours and they look like hell,” Mitchell continued. “Didn’t your last sergeant teach you how to make you bunk properly. What the hell kind of men did they send me. What are you doing standing there, are you expecting me to hold your hand and walk you through how to fix your bunk?”
The men quickly tightened up their bunks and returned to their positions at the foot of their bunks.
“This is the last time I expect to see something like this. I’m your sergeant, not your mother. This is an important assignment and if you are not up to it, if you don’t like sleeping in air conditioned comfort, tell me now, you can spend the balance of your time here somewhere a little less comfortable,” the sergeant glared at us. “I would also advise you to listen very carefully to what I say. When I give you an order, or instruct you to do something, I am not making a suggestion. I also do not make idle threats. Now that we understand each other, we have a job to do, instead of me having to teach you what you should have learned in basic training. You men did go through basic training?”
“Sergeant, if I may ask, why is this barracks so nice?” I asked. “The rest of this place looks like it belongs in an old western ghost town. I’ve never seen a barracks so clean and that has been air conditioned before.”
“This is a very special place as you will soon learn and we expect the people here to be alert and be ready to act, so we provide suitable accommodations to encourage the high degree of effort we require and expect,” Mitchell replied.
“I don’t understand,” I said.
“I understand,” Wilson grinned. “We have to keep our eyes open so we can report any of those special things we see around here. If you know what I mean.”
“Son, are you going to be a pain in my ass your entire time here?” Mitchell asked. “None of you understand a damn thing yet. Teaching you to understand is my job. That is what I am going to do now. If you don’t end up in the brig by the time we’re done, you may get the opportunity to enjoy the fine food served in our commissary before you start to earn your keep. Line up!”
“So much for being on vacation,” Joe whispered. “Care to reconsider that midnight break for the border?”
We followed the sergeant outside where the truck waited. None of us were very happy about getting into the back of the truck again after having had a shower and spending time in the airconditioned comfort of the barracks. However, we were already drenched in sweat once again and none of us wanted to express our discomfort to the sergeant. It seems we had gotten off on the wrong foot with Sergeant Mitchell and if we didn’t want the next sixty days to be the worst days of our lives, we needed avoid making matters worse. We all crawled into the back of the truck as the sergeant got into the cab of the truck, which we all agreed was probably air conditioned.
The truck started and we drove for ten minutes over a rocky unpaved road before the truck finally came to a stop. When we got out, we found ourselves at the far southern end of the base. All that was here was a fence, a small concrete bunker containing a coffee pot, some strange looking equipment that none of us had ever seen before and a radio. A small, what appeared to be a radar unit rotated slowly on the roof of the bunker. A small trench with a great view of sagebrush blowing across the barren desert had been constructed in front of the bunker ten feet from the cyclone fence. Except for the equipment inside the bunker, the place didn’t look very impressive, it looked like what we saw at the main part of the base, dull, weather beaten and abandoned.
The sergeant walked over to where we had gathered.
“This will be the post that you will man each night, starting tonight, from 2200 hours to 0600 hours.”
“Will the other group man this post during the day?” I asked.
“No, they will be manning a post like this one on the northern end of the base each night,” the sergeant replied. “It is not felt necessary to man the posts during the day.”
“Why isn’t any one here during the day?” I asked.
“No one has ever tried to get on the base before during the day,” the sergeant replied. “During the day it is easy to spot any intrusion attempts, under the cover of darkness, it is much harder to detect intruders and all past attempts to breach our defenses have all occurred at night.”
“What kind of attempts to get into the base have you had in the past?” Wilson asked.
“Nothing special, kids trying to get inside on a dare, things like that,” Mitchell replied. “But it is important that we don’t let anyone get on the base and discover what we have here.”
“What do we have here?” I asked.
“Have you ever heard of THAAD?” the sergeant asked.
“It is an antimissile system that is supposed to shoot down enemy missiles fired at our country,” I replied. “I thought the THAAD system was a mobile system, mounted on the back of trucks?”
“As the system has matured, they have been setting up a number of land-based systems to house the new missiles,” Mitchell replied. “By basing the missiles on land, they can concentrate a larger number of missiles that are ready to be launched at any one time to protect an area of the country. The number of missiles here are classified, but my guess is that there are at least fifty silos buried on this base. In order to be effective, it is important that the exact location of these missiles be kept secret, or the base could be targeted by a first strike attack. In that case, the base would end up launching all of its missiles to defend itself from attack, leaving the rest of the country vulnerable to attack.”
“OK,” I nodded. “So what is our mission? I know we are to watch for intruders, then what? Do we just tell them to leave, or do we take them into custody?”
“Your job is to monitor this equipment,” the sergeant replied. “When the equipment tells you that there is someone approaching the fence, you are to call the command center and report what is going on. Command will send out a chopper to investigate.”
“That doesn’t seem so tough,” Wilson said.
“It’s not difficult, even a bunch of rejects like you men should be able to handle this,” Mitchell smiled.
“But why do you need five men to man this post?” I asked. “One or two men should be sufficient for a job like this.”
“The Brass considers this base to be of the highest priority and you will be the first line of defense,” Mitchell replied. “We are posting five men at this post to ensure that nothing goes wrong and it is your job to be sure that nothing does go wrong.”
“So what are these machines?” Wilson asked.
“These monitors are connected to a bank of motion detectors and infrared sensors,” the sergeant replied. “When one of these monitors detects anything, use your night vision goggles to identify the cause of the alert if you can, then call the command center to make your report. I want two of you to watch the monitors, the other three of you should scan the area using your night vision goggles in the event that the intruders somehow manage to evade the sensors. At 0600 hours a truck will arrive to take you back to your barracks. Any questions?”
“Where is the command center?” I asked.
“The command center for all base operations is located in the large hangar at the center of the base,” Mitchell replied.
“Do we get a tour of the command center too?” Wilson asked.
“No, in fact you are never to approach the command center, it is off limits,” Mitchell replied sternly. “Now, I want you to put these arm bands on and you are to wear them at all time
s while you are here on the base.”
As Mitchell handed out a blue vinyl arm band to each of us, Wilson asked, “What are these for?”
“They are GPS units so that we know where you are at all times,” Mitchell replied. “In the event you get taken hostage or are captured, we will know where to go to rescue you.”
“I thought all we had to worry about were drunk college kids out for kicks?” Joe asked.
“We want to be prepared for any unforeseen events,” Mitchell smiled.
“I know what these are really for,” Wilson whispered.
“Shut up, Wilson, and put on the damn armband,” I said. I knew there had to be some other reason we had to wear the armbands, but we could discuss that when the sergeant wasn’t with us. I didn’t want to piss him off anymore than we had already done today.
“How long was the last crew that manned this post here?” I asked to change the subject.
“We rotate men at this post every thirty to sixty days,” Mitchell replied. “It is important to keep fresh eyes and minds at this station, we can’t afford any screwups at this base. So, don’t screw up.”
“Now let’s go get something to eat,” Mitchell said. “I think you will find, that like this base, the mess hall is something special.”
“I bet the food will be out of this world,” Wilson snickered.
“Private Wilson,” What time will the truck pick you up tonight?” Mitchell growled.
“2200 hours,” Wilson replied.
“Correct, not 2205 hours, not even 2201 hours, 2200 hours exactly, I had better not find out you men weren’t waiting for the truck when it arrives tonight, or you will spend the rest of the week in the brig. Understood?”
“Understood Sergeant,” we all replied in unison.
Chapter 3
We were all in our bunks at the airconditioned barracks trying to catch some extra shuteye. It was easy to sleep in the air conditioning, especially after the big meal of pulled pork and fries we had eaten at the mess hall. We were stuffed and had probably over done it a little. The scene over at the mess hall reminded me of a hungry pack of lions that hadn’t eaten in a month. If they served chow like that every day, I was sure all of us would have to requisition larger uniforms by the time we left this assignment. The sergeant had been right when he said the food here was first class. We had the mess hall to ourselves and we could eat as much as we wanted. It was food and an atmosphere that we weren’t used to, is was so unlike the normal Army mess halls, it made us start to wonder what this place really was. But we were too stuffed and sleepy to think about much other than we wanted to sleep.
About 2100 hours someone shook my shoulder.
I slowly opened my eyes and was finally able to focus enough to recognize who was trying to wake me.
“Is it time to get up already?” I asked.
“No, we have an hour before the truck will be here,” Joe replied. “But I think we have a problem.”
“What’s wrong,” I asked as I slowly sat up in my bunk.
“Wilson isn’t here,” Joe replied. “You don’t think he took our talk about heading for the Mexican border seriously?”
I looked over at Wilson’s bunk and spotted his blue armband sitting on top of his pillow.
“No,” I grumbled. “Damn it, I know where he is. I just hope he doesn’t end up getting us all confined to the base.”
“Where is he?” Joe asked.
“If I was a betting man, I would put money on it that he is out looking for little green men,” I replied.
“He’s what?” Joe asked.
“I bet he is out looking for where they are keeping the alien body that he claims they have locked up here,” I added. “He took off his arm band and put it on his pillow so if they are tracking us, they will think he is still in his bunk.”
“I meant to ask you about these damn armbands,” Joe said. “Why do they need to track us, the sergeant knows where we are every minute of the day, he has us on a short lease. We can’t go to the bathroom without him knowing about it.”
“I’m not sure, I really haven’t thought about it much yet,” I smiled. “Wilson says the bands are so they can track us in case we get abducted by aliens.”
“Right,” Joe laughed. “That sounds like Wilson. Do you think we should go look for him before someone else finds him?”
“No, the sergeant would lock us all up if he found us out wandering around the base. He said the command center is off limits, and if I’m right, that’s where Wilson is,” I replied. “If the sergeant catches him, that’s his problem. We need to stay here and be ready for the truck when it gets here at 2200 hours sharp.”
“If Wilson isn’t back by then?” Joe asked.
“Then it’s his ass, not mine,” I replied. “I told him to behave himself. This is his problem, not ours. Get the guys up and let’s get ready to go on duty.”
“If the sergeant shows up at our post tonight and Wilson isn’t with us, what do we say?” Joe asked looking conflicted.
“We tell the truth, we don’t know where he is,” I growled as I got up and headed for the head. “I’m not lying for him, he got himself into this, and if he gets caught, he will have to get himself out of it.”
Ten minutes before the truck was due to arrive, Wilson finally crept back into the barracks.
“Where the hell have you been?” I asked as the others looked at Wilson.
Wilson was drenched with sweat and was dirty as hell, but he had a large smile across his face.
“This place is amazing,” Wilson grinned. “You should see inside the command center. They have big screens mounted on the walls everywhere and guess what they are watching on the monitors?”
“Since the base is an antimissile defense center, I would imagine they would be projecting radar images looking for early signs of a ballistic missile being launched somewhere in the world,” I replied. “Didn’t I tell you not to do anything stupid? You’re going to get us all in trouble.”
“They are using the big screens to monitor space,” Wilson said. “They are watching space. You know there is only one reason to watch space. They are looking for alien space craft or they are trying to communicate with someone out there. I wouldn’t doubt that they have been in secret communications with some alien group now for years.”
“If they are watching space, they are watching it because ballistic missiles travel through the lower layers of space on the way to their target. The THAAD system is made to intercept incoming missiles in space before they begin their descent back into the atmosphere,” I said. “Wilson, I don’t have time to discuss this nonsense with you now. Put your damn armband back on and get your ass out in front of this building before the truck gets here. The sergeant is probably hiding out there somewhere just watching to be sure we are out of here by 2200 hours.”
Wilson slipped his armband on as we all hurried to get out in front of the barracks.
We managed to beat the truck by a margin of only a few seconds.
We had no sooner jumped into the truck, than the truck pulled out and began its trek to take us to the lookout post.
The driver apparently had strict orders not to hang around the barracks or wait for any stragglers.
“You know how there is no sign of any activity on the base during the day? You know how this place looks deserted?” Wilson asked shortly after the truck pulled away from the barracks. “You wouldn’t believe all the activity near the main hanger now that it is dark. I was able to sneak inside the building. Do you know there are four levels below ground in that hangar? Why would a missile base need to have four levels underground? What are they keeping down there that they don’t want anyone to see?”
“Did you ever think that maybe that is where they keep the missiles,” I replied. “They wouldn’t just leave them lying around out in the open where everyone could see them, Look Wilson, I don’t think we should be talking about this here. If the driver hears us and tells Sergeant Mitchell, your ass
will be in big trouble. We can talk about it later.”
The back of the truck was silent the remainder of the bumpy ride to the lookout post, however even in the dark I could see the big satisfied grin on Wilson’s face.
When we reached the lookout post, I said, “Wilson, you will be in the bunker with me watching the monitors. Al, Joe and Bud, I want you three to use the night vision goggles and to scan the fence line from the trench. If things get too boring, we’ll change places every few hours to break up the monotony.”
“Sounds good to me,” Joe said as he slid a pair of night vision goggles down over his face. He laughed as he looked at Wilson and I standing there in front of him.
“Maybe you should let Wilson use these,” Joe laughed. “It makes everyone look like little green men.”
“Funny,” I replied. “Just make sure you stay alert. I wouldn’t put it past Mitchell to have someone crawling around out there as some kind of test to see that we are doing our jobs. If any of you finds that you can’t stay awake, just make sure that all of you don’t fall asleep at the same time.”
“Don’t worry, we got this,” Joe said, then he, Al and Bud went outside and took up their assigned positions in the trench.
The others had been outside for only a few seconds when Wilson started telling me what he had seen, “I watched at least ten different medical units go into the command center, why would they need all those medical units unless they were doing some kind of medical experiments?”
“I don’t care what they are doing in the command center, that’s none of our business,” I sighed.
Apocalypse- the Plan Page 3
