Unit Two-Four [2014WC]

As John "freight-train" Black watched his team checking their gear before this final assault, he ran over what he knew about their target in his mind.

'In 1981 a neurologist named Francis Courbet found a way to transfer consciousness to an electronic medium. At first this consisted of only vague memories that were left behind in the still fresh brain tissue of a recently deceased subject. In most circumstances these were people that were slated as organ donors, or the homeless who's bodies were not claimed. Dr. Courbet would back-up the snippets that he found interesting as raw data files and transfer them to his home computer, hoping to ensure his work would live on in the event DARPA pulled his funding. In 1983 Dr. Courbet was given his choice of prisoners on death row, with the promise of using a willing and knowing subjects brain. The problem however lied in finding a prisoner who consented. Courbet chose a man named Gibson Charles who was sentenced to death in 1979 for the murder of fifteen police officers over the course of ten years. Charles, in his crimes, would either call in a false car jacking or pretend to be stranded on the side of the road until an officer arrived. The when he saw his opportunity he would jump the cop with a box cutter and slit his throat from behind. Dr. Courbet chose this man because he was highly intelligent, a Yale drop out to be exact, and most importantly because he was willing and in fact excited to have his memories saved from the blackness of his body's demise.'

Commander Black's thoughts were interrupted by his unit corporal. A woman that came to be affectionately known as Aunt B. Her real name was Melinda Hughes, but she hated that name and anyone who made the mistake to address her by it was destined for an infirmary trip. The name Aunt B came about when a Sergeant from her first unit thought it was a good idea to grab her behind in the chow line one day. Aunt B dropped and spun, sweeping the sergeants legs. As she stood she continued her twist coming to perfectly face the wide eyed sergeant now laying on his back. Without hesitation she jammed her right foot down into the mans exposed crotch. As the sergeant writhed in pain Aunt B bent to bring her head closer to the man so no one else would hear. "If you touch me again you wont have testicles to nurse back to health next time." She received two weeks latrine duty. The sergeant decided not to pursue a hearing. She truly was one tough B*%ch.

"Commander" she repeated. "Unit Two-Four is ready sir. We are still about twenty minutes out. Cloak is holding at 87%."

John took a moment to admire this woman. They had been through too much for words in the last two years. "Very good corporal, have the new weapons been issued?"

"No sir I was awaiting you order to do so." Replied B "But I must say sir I do not like attempting to keep this info from the rest of the unit. They are not fools, and talk is going around as to what is in those cases." she said with a slight edge.

"Well it is of little consequence now corporal. The time has come to inform them and we are way to far gone to turn back now." the commander countered. "So you have the order, bring them up to speed and I will be with you in a moment."

"Yes sir" grimaced the corporal. Walking away without giving a salute.

Black turned from the cargo hold and walked toward the cockpit, continuing his train of thought. 'So after his execution Dr. Courbet took the brain of Gibson Charles and put it on ice. Carrying it as swiftly as he could to the warehouse he called his lab, the DR. began extracting the sociopaths memories. What happened in the time after this and before DARPA cut his funding isn't exactly known. It is assumed that he backed up copy of the mad mans memories and added them to his collection at home. His handlers lost all contact with the Dr. in the next weeks. They pulled his funding and cleared everything from his lab, then burned it to the ground. They went to his home but he had fled, leaving behind most everything but some clothes and his home computer. He was not seen again until 1992 when a call came in to the local police office of a little town in New Mexico about a disgruntled elderly man at a electronics store. He was yelling that unless they found what he needed he would blow up the building and everyone in it. The description matched the Dr. and agents moved in. They located his new lab set up but by the time they arrived the Dr. was dead. Electrocuted; a thick gauge wire protruding from his temples.'

Commander Black reached the door that led to the cockpit. He pressed his right hand against the scanner that gave access. Had to have a heart beat and a heat signature. A new safety feature since the clankers were getting more advanced. The door opened into the ceiling sliding up effortlessly. Even after a month on this ship he still ducked when entering the cockpit.

Upon his entrance both pilots stood and saluted. 'Fly boys, by the book til' the end' Black thought. "At ease boys" he said as he put his hand on each's shoulder. "Its time to blind the world". The pilots glanced at each other then turned and sat at their stations.

"Activating emp mines." said the pilot. One of the best pilots Commander had seen, and only 16 years old. No way for a kid to live. "Okay" said the co-pilot "we have to deactivate the cloaks on the emp mines to detonate. The de-cloak will take less than a second but if the detonation is triggered to early then it will fail. If to late and the mines are detected some satellites might survive, and there will be a hole in the wall for ADAM to escape through." he took a breath "you have less than 2/10 of a second to detonate after I de-cloak to ensure the emps are not detected." The air of tension grew. All three men knew if this key aspect to the assault failed then every thing was for naught. Commander broke the silence. "No turning back now. You have been trained for situations as this, though admittedly not nearly as FUBAR, but now is the time. Get it done. Close any exit this f**ker might have." The pilots exchanged another worried glance. "Okay, de-cloaking emps in 5.....4.....3.....2.....1.....now!" A fraction of a second later the pilot activated detonation. If anyone on earth was looking up at that moment they would have seen the sky light up around the whole of the Earth. As ten thousand strategically placed emps went off simultaneously and took out every single satellite surrounding our planet in one fell swoop. Operation severed cord was a success. Now the real challenge began.

I liked the premise of this, it left me wanting to read more, so a good start

It does tend to jump a little around between the flashback and the new, which makes it a little hard to read though, maybe you could consider condensing it into one or two paragraphs or even making it italic in it's own paragraph to separate it from the main storyline.

Still watch your punctuation and grammar in a few places, simple misses can sometimes trip you up with writing, but definetely a good story so far. Looking forward to the next instalment.

S&F.

reply to post by 74Templar


Thanks for the tips, I italicised the scenes where he is thinking back. I admit to not being the best editor, so thanks for the help.

Part two is up now, I hope it is a little easier to follow.

Ok so I was instructed to add the future parts to the original thread.

Below is part2, and all subsequent parts will be posted here as well.

I hope y'all come back now y'hear?

After issuing a brief congratulations to the pilots the Commander left the cockpit. Heading now for the tech bay and his sparky, a volunteer named David Sun-li, he resumed his thoughts. - 'So the Dr had, in the time since his disappearance, figured out a way to transfer his entire consciousness to the electronic world. And with the rapid expansion of the world wide web it was no wonder they were never able to track down this new entity. What the Dr. had not considered in his attempt to ensure his spirit lived eternally was that those snippets of memories he had collected over the years actually held some of their former owners consciousness. Indeed it appears that when the Dr.'s consciousness entered the hard-drive of his computer, the files that contained the forgotten memories merged with his now encrypted spirit, muddying it. The entity that escaped the D.O.D. techs that day was no longer Dr. Courbet, but a hodge podge of different consciousness that continued to evolve. This new being came to be known as ADAM or Aligned Desire Against Mankind.'

'There were hints of ADAM hidden on the web in the years that followed. Airliners being hijacked with no hijackers, then crashed in the ocean. Railway safteys being overridden, causing more than one horrendous collision. Then in the latter years it got real serious. Military equipment was being taken over. Ordinance being dropped that wasnt ordered. The people in charge always keeping it quite. Hoping someone would come along and route out this hidden menace. However it wasn't until 2001 that things got bad. Four planes taken over, two crashed into buildings in NYC, one into the pentagon. National air defense given a ghost order to stand down. Communications between the heads of Government cut, no one to issue the orders to shoot the planes down. ADAM knew the act would be covered up. The current structure of the US would use the anger its people felt to strengthen their military superiority. Unknowing that this would in turn be the beginning of the end for human kind. In the war torn years that followed 9/11 ADAM continued to grow its influences in the electronic military infrastructure. The more technically advanced the militaries of the world got, the more dangerous ADAM became. Then in 2011 the final nail in our coffin. The President of the United States issued an order to fill the skies with unmanned drones. Because of shear numbers alone the air forces of the world stood no chance against the drones.'

The Commander rounded the final turn heading to the tech bay. As he approached the door raised and Sun-li the sparky came rushing out. "Commander Black!" he shouted. "Commander we have a problem, I don't think the new weapons will configure with the environ suits. The programming code for those damn bombs are in Russian and I cant get the suits to give an accurate detention signal." said Sun-li, his face paling.

"Then we will just use a standard remote detonator and set them off from the ship after extraction." Replied the commander.

"I thought of that as well sir but the detonators have a very limited signal range, I could boost the signal strength but it would take some time." He saw the question form on his commanders face and answered it unspoken. "More time than we have sir." Sun-li continued "The only option is to detonate from the surface then extract. Not the most appealing plan but our only option on a limited schedule."

The Commander rubbed his chin thoughtfully, deep wrinkles on his forehead. "Well we all knew the risks. If it becomes a suicide mission so be it." without another word the commander turned and walked back down the hall. Taking a right headed again for the hold. Leaving the sparky Sun-li staring at his back as he departed, wondering how the man could be so readily excepting of death.

As the commander walked a slight smile came upon his lips. Perhaps he was losing it; no matter now at the end of the world everyone was mad. At least he would soon be able join is daughter in eternity. He lost the only thing he loved in the world that day. - 'That day...the one every idiot with too much time on his hands preened about. December 21, 2012. How ironic that the overwhelming interest in the date is actually what decided its fate. ADAM chose that day to begin the drone wars, in part because of the amount of pure divisiveness that festered on the topic. Those in charge knew the Mayan hype was a sham, knowing that everyone in the world was anticipating something to occur. The amount of attention being paid would prevent any nation or rouge terrorist coalition to attack. The militarys of the world looked at this day as an off day. How wrong they were.'

'It started everywhere at once. Reports coming in of unresponsive drones. Then the ones on the ground activated, and before anyone knew what was going on over a million drones were in the skies of our planet. Air forces that were able to manage to get fighters in the air faired OK at first.

'Other countries air forces were bombed into oblivion before pilots could hit the runway. In the first 12 hours the air forces of every country besides the US and China were gone, and more than 70% of the US and Chinas forces were hit on the ground. The ones who did manage to get into the air didn't last long. In less than two days ADAM had claimed air superiority over the entire planet. Thats when the bombing of the cities began. For two weeks ADAM waged a bombing campaign on every major city in the world. With all ground to air defenses compromised and no air to air option there was nothing to stop it. In the aftermath, as the dust settled and those who survived were scattered to the wind, ADAM began constructing its ground army.'

[END PT2]

[BEGINNING PT3]

As Commander Black walked back into the cargo hold he found his unit, dressed in their environ suits, standing at attention in front of Aunt B. She was dressing them down on the importance of belief; How if one man thought of failure it would mean failure for them all. As he approached she turned. "Attention! Commander on deck!" she bellowed.

"At ease unit." said Black, still smiling. "E.T.A. on first drop Corporal?" he asked.

"Just over five minutes out sir." replied the corporal. "Unit Two-Four is ready."

"Is that right?" smirked the Commander. "Unit Two-Four, are you ready?"

"HOO-RA" came the unanimous reply.

"Good, because if your not then all we have fought for in the last two years will be for nothing. All of our family's, all of our friends. Every good man and piece of # alike will have died for nothing. We are our kinds last hope. If we fail then ADAM will wipe out the last of us, no matter where we hide. Chances are good none of us will make it back, but there also good we can take this bastard with us. Its now or never Four-Two. Lets show this piece of # computer program that we ain't going quietly!"

---------

At that moment the cloaked ship began its decent towards the darkside of the moon. After its actions on 9/11 ADAM knew that the governments of the world would stop at nothing to hunt it down. Every trace of its existence would be destroyed. So out of a desire to create distance ADAM uploaded its core code into the D.O.D. supercomputer that was located on the secret military base on the back side of the moon. Known as Shadowlight, the compound was the headquarters of the true world elite. The shadowy group that pulled the strings of politics and religion around the world. However ADAM had no intent on controlling mankind, only in insuring its own survival. On Dec 21, 2012; When ADAM was unleashing hell on earth for the rest of humanity, the controlling elite got an aggravatingly merciful death. As they scrambled around issuing orders that would never be followed, trying to figure out what was happening on the earth below them, ADAM shut off the atmospheric generators and then evacuated the sealed compound of all remaining air. The system and facility flush took upwards of three minutes, so the inhabitants of the compound had some time to consider their fate. Some ran around fruitlessly looking for an escape, accomplishing nothing besides a quicker end to their own existence. Some prayed to various gods or deities to deliver them from this ambsase. Ironic in that they used the masses belief in these very gods to subjugate humanity; Again wasting their final breaths. The remaining few chose to sit and contemplate their fate. Taking shallow breaths these are the ones who survived the longest. Though it is doubtful that any found closure.

--------

As the ship approached drop point one the Commander gave some final thought to what had led them to this moment. - 'A few weeks after the bombings stopped the first clankers were reported. It was at least six months before the scattered populace of the world began to mount a comeback. In June of 2013 we launched our first attack on the main clanker production facility. Thrown together hastily the first generation clankers were not very mobile, and one person could often out run them or many people could easily destroy them. They quickly grew more advanced however and before the end of the year they had units that could run at speeds of 25-30 mph over bad terrain. The clankers were pushing us to the edge. That's when a ray of hope came. A scientist in Europe found a way to create a localised emp. It could be made small enough to be one man mobile, an emp backpack. The limited production power of the remaining survivors was put into overdrive, and by the middle of 2014 there were thousands of these devices around the planet. We had also come up with a plan.'

'The signals that controlled the clankers was back-traced, through four dummy towers to the main one in Aricebo. That is when we realised that the main signal was coming from the moon. It did not take much to convince the remaining military brass of the world that keeping the secrets of the past was no longer an option. We learned of the base known as Shadowlight that existed on the darkside of the moon. That through a satellite relay, people no civilian on earth had ever seen controlled our planet. We also gained access to the surviving tech of this secret society and hatched our plan. Twenty four teams from different countries would launch a collaborative assault on the station on the moon. Unit Two-Four was selected to do recon and drop the remaining emp's for the wall that would effectively cut off any chance of ADAM transmitting itself to safety.

'After successfully dropping the grid of emps, unit Two Four called in to confirm permission to return home. They got no reply. ADAM had intercepted some transmissions and knew of the alliance against it. A new breed of clanker was sent out to deal with the threat; huge metallic monstrosity's. The alliance positions held as best they could but were severely out gunned. In time each stronghold had fallen, the remaining survivors again scattered. After returning to their base Unit Two-Four realised the breadth of the destruction. There would not be another alliance, they were all that was left. Reinitialising their cloak they returned to orbit. After some deliberation it was determined that they were carrying enough killatonage in nuclear yield to decimate the compound on the moon, if they could get to it.'

"So this is where we find ourselves" said Commander Black with a thousand yard stare, speaking to no one and everyone. "Our enemy now as cut off as we are. We will either come out alive or take you down with us." As they approached drop point one Commander Black turned to them man who would hit the lunar soil first.

Private 2nd class Swann, who's real name was Amur Hassin, was a 24 year old volunteer who happened to be in the US on a media tour on Dec 21, 2012. In the weeks of destruction that followed Hassin kept himself and the distant relatives he was visiting alive, moving from barn to barn in the Maine country side. His family was eventually killed by a clanker patrol when Hassin was out on a forage excursion. He never stopped blaming himself for letting them down. The name Swann came from his lanky physique and how he appeared to "fly" on the track. He was the first Iranian to win a gold medal in the 100 meter dash, beating the highly favored Usain Bolt in London in 2012, just months before the world changed. Now he found himself the key piece in the final battle to save humanity.
His mission was to make a first assault then retreat unseen to cover, causing a distraction to allow the rest of the unit to move into position. The fastest man on earth would now have to be the fastest man on the moon. His environ suit would be his greatest ally.

The environ suits have a built in gravity manipulator, using the recently discovered graviton particle to manipulate the gravity around the wearer, allowing Unit Two-Four to drop from the ship safely while still in the air. When on the ground the suit gave its wearer the ability to better move on the moons surface. They were also equipped with the same cloaking tech that the ship utilised.

"OK Swann" started Black, feeling he had aged ten years in this moment. "Your fast, your lethal, you can get this done. Move as quickly as you can without drawing attention to yourself, get to the outpost without being seen. Hit em hard then move back. Remember to stay on your toes, creates less blow-back from your steps. Hold in position A until all drops are secured. Once we go green the ship will double back and clear your way. We hit the compound as one, activate the devices then move back to the extraction point." Black drew an exaggerated breath. "You got that soldier?" he demanded.

"Yes sir!" replied Swann.

"Good...good. Remember Swann the key to all of this is belief. Belief drove Courbet. Belief created 2012. And belief will end this nightmare. I...no...we BELIEVE in you, and you will get this done." As the drop portal opened in the cargo bay floor both moved towards it. Commander black clasped the young mans shoulder as they both gave the lunar surface a look, despite the enormity of the moment neither could help but smile. Black faced Swann. "Gods speed soldier" he said as his throat swelled, reaching out his hand. In this final most intimate gesture Pr. Swann realised the reality of the situation, knowing now that the fear of death was mute he shed his hesitance and gained a new determination to get his job done. "I wont let you down sir, any of you." With a final nod the Swann turned and dove out the drop portal and into the fray.

[END PT3]

[PART 4]

As private Swann fell through the portal his environ suit quickly adjusted the gravity surrounding him, making him heavier and allowing Swann to fall at the same terminal velocity as if he were on earth.'100 feet to surface' came the first notification from the suit. Swann scanned the area as he fell, noting the clanker outpost that would serve as his target. No movement on the surface, clankers would probably remain inactive until a threat was detected. Just what he was hoping for. '40 feet to surface' the suit notified Swann. A slight adjustment in his weight, bringing his legs into a tuck, swann began to rotate. 'twenty feet to surface' came the next notification. Swann extend his legs again to slow the rotation. Five feet from the surface, with Swann upright again, the suit re-adjusted the gravity around him once more, this time to zero. For a brief moment Swann was weightless, then within a fraction of a second the suit readjusted again and softly dropped the Private to the lunar surface. Landing without disturbing the loose soil was key, ADAM's eyes were everywhere. "Man these suits are cool' thought Swann. As he surveyed the lunar surface he remained cloaked in his suit. The exterior of the suit even compensated to match the external temp to avoid being captured on IR. Rising from his crouch Swann looked up; no sign of the ship but would he have seen it were it there? He didn't know. Returning his attention to the surface he scanned the horizon. Still no movement, but he had a feeling the clankers here were probably the most advanced yet. "End of the world or not this is going to be fun" Swann said to himself, and with a #face grin took off at full sprint across the lunar surface towards his target. Running on his toes to lessen the kick back from his strides, the dust raised was barely discernible.

As Commander Black watched his Private begin his insertion on the drop down holographic display in the hold, Aunt B came walking up. "Sir there has been no activity detected from the shadowlight compound. If this SOB knows were coming it isn't showing its hand."

"Make no mistake corporal ADAM knows we are here. Its allowing us to make the first move. And when it does show, its going to have a killer hand." Replied Black. He turned and walked over to where the last emp was stored. "But like any good poker player I have an ace up my sleeve." He turned again to his Corporal. "You'r sure the bomb will emit only the em pulse when detonated?" Black asked.

"Thats what Sun-li says sir. It will knock out any electronics within a hundred foot radius and wont have any physical collateral damage." Confirmed Aunt B. "We'll set the detonation timer for fifteen seconds, just enough time to drop it on his head."

As Swann ran full tilt across the moon he checked his heads up display. Suit gravity was at .9G, adjusting Swann's weight to be equal to his weight on earth; minus the suit. Directly ahead was a sizable crater, right in his path. The suits' terrain mapper told the tale. Crater was over a hundred feet in diameter, going around would slow him down. "Screw it" Swann said to himself as he increased his pace. Ten paces out and Swann shifted his weight. Three paces he said a little prayer. One pace, right foot on the edge of the crater Swann Jumped. The suit instantly adjusted its gravity to .2G and it was official. The Swann was flying over a crater on the moon.

The next to make the drop was Private Lacne "chase" Manhattan. The son of a wealthy stock trader, Manhattan grew up in the lap of luxury. The only thing that saved him from the fate of every other person in NYC was the fact that he was in Pennsylvania reviewing a rural property his father was interested in purchasing. He got the name "Chase" from the bank and also in large part because of his ever unsuccessful attempts to swoon Aunt B. As such it was Aunt B who briefed him before his drop. "OK Chase, Swann will keep the attention in his direction. You should have a clear path to your designated target. Place the charge on the exterior wall and activate it. Each charge is synced with its designated detonator; no other detonator will set off your charge so don't lose that trigger. Retreat to the extraction point where all six bombs will be detonated simultaneously. We extract; then we are on our way home. Easy as pie." Aunt B took a breath attempting to maintain herself. She leaned in a little closer and pressed her lips to the glass face plate. "Stay safe and come back to me and ill give you a real ride when we get home, got it soldier?" she said low enough to only be heard by him.

"Ye....ss..sss sir...mam, umm sir. Yes sir." replied a stunned Manhattan.

"At ease soldier" said B with a wry smile on her face. They turned to face the drop portal. One final look between them and Chase jumped to join his mate on the surface.

Swann was hauling-ass when he made that leap, and for a brief moment he thought his trajectory would not break and he would float off into the void. Then, at the top his arc the suit added just a little gravity and he began the decent portion of his brief flight. Heart still pounding Swann regained his focus and just before he fell lower he caught a glimpse of the clanker out post. Dead ahead, time to kick the hornets nest. As he approached the opposite side of the crater the suit adjusted and he came to a soft landing on the other side. With no loss of momentum he continued his sprint towards his target and pulled the C-4 from the compartment on his hip. A block big enough to level a building on earth, he hoped it would suffice to draw the full attention of ADAM to him.

The next soldier to drop was the only female in the unit beside Aunt B. Private Selina Sanchez was a military brat from Fort Worth Texas. She was on the road headed for her mother who was diagnosed with cancer when the attacks of Dec 12, 2012 happened. She joined the volunteer service but six months previous to this mission and was the greenest of the unit. But she also showed that she would not be intimidated by anyone. During a training exercise while still in her first week she proved her spirit. Aunt B was running a brutal obstacle course in the rain. Every member including the commander took part in this exercise. Sanchez was bringing up the rear and B was in a particularly7 foul mood that day, the Corporal was hounding Sanchez as she came over the top of the cargo net. Continuing to give the private a hard time as she climbed down and bent over to collect her breath. "God dammit Sanchez get your ass in gear! get moving! Your going to die just like the rest of your family moving like that!" And that was it. the world went black in Sanchez's eyes, she pivoted, bringing her right hand up with all the force she could muster, and hit the corporal in the bottom of the jaw before she had a chance to react. Aunt B was knocked off of her feet, and landed unceremoniously in the mud of the course. As everyone present prepared for Aunt B to get up tear this rookie apart she did a most unexpected thing. She began to laugh. She layed back into the mud and laughed uncontrollably, tears forming in her eyes. After a moment of this hysteria, with everyone unmoving wondering if she had truly lost her mind, The corporal looked up at private Sanchez. "I was wondering when you were going to grow a pair, help me up" she said extending a hand to Sanchez. A momentary pause then Sanchez grabbed Aunt B's hand and helped her out of the mud. "I think your gonna be OK Sanchez, you can watch my back anytime." wiping the mud from her hands. "Now all of you get your asses in gear and finish this course!" After receiving the final briefing Private Sanchez turned and without a word dropped through the portal.

[END PART4]

I apologise for the horrible spelling and grammar in the last part. I posted it in a rush before heading to the doctor and didn't get a chance to review it as well as I would have liked. Been a busy few days.

Part 5 up tomorrow and I promise it will be cleaner.

reply to post by coven83


Epic story telling. I so much like everything being in one thread where I can follow the story so much easier!

It reads, honestly, like a sci-fi miniseries, and with a good editor you could send it out to become a TV mini-series or movie. Once a person gets used to your writing style, your story really flows. SnF.

Every installment makes me want to read the next! Keep em coming.

reply to post by Druid42


Yes my formatting and editing need some help, but my story telling is ok I think. As any good author will tell you no book is the work of one person, so if my novel ever does get published I wont have done it alone.

I thank you all for taking the time to read it and pass along polite criticism, I am not one to turn down good advice.

[PART 5]

Swann was now now crouched in a shallow crater about one hundred paces out from the clanker outpost. Still not one sign that it was active. If ADAM knew he was there it wasn't going to share that information. He gave brief thought to contacting the commander and to his surprise the suit opened up a comm channel. "Commander Black, this is Swann. I am one hundred paces out from the target. Moving in now to make contact."

"Copy that Swann, hold current position until all of two-four make their drops." Came the reply.

The shadowlight compound was huge. A roughly square shaped compound that was built in the bottom of a very large crater. There were five plasma shield generators disguised as lunar rocks surrounding the rim of the crater. Effectively shielding the compound from any type of aerial assault, not even a nuclear detonation would knock out this shield. However there was a crack in these defenses. The shield oscillated at specific frequency which prevented any fast moving object from breaching. But it would not prevent one or multiple individuals from walking right through and initiating a ground attack. An idea that was broached during the facilities construction. The powers in charge scoffed at this notion however, the only technology capable of such an assault was in their possession so they did not consider this a real threat. After ADAM took control of the compound it set the automated production robots to work building the out building that came to be called the clanker out post. It is assumed that this building is being used as a production facility for the more advanced clankers.

The plan that Black and Aunt B came up with was multi faceted. There were six drop points, one for each member of the unit, at a thousand paces out from the rim of the crater. private Swann would be dropped first, and make his way to the clanker outpost. He would hold position one hundred paces out from his target until all other members were in place. Placing a small charge onto the outside of the outpost he would retreat to the crater at a hundred paces and detonate, getting ADAM's attention while the rest of the unit made their approach. After the rest of the unit was safely into the crater the ship would offer cover for Swann to make his approach. Each of the newly designed high yield nuclear devices would have to be activated individually. The new devices were nicknamed "poppers" because they deceptively small for a nuclear device. Each one weighing only ten pounds, but with an impressive yield of Ten megatons. After deploying the nukes around the exterior of the compound the unit would re-group at the extraction point. The detonation commands would be given from the extraction point simultaneously. The blast of the nukes would be contained within the very plasma shield that was intended to protect the facility. This would however ensure it's complete destruction as the blast reverberated around inside the artificial dome. The unit would extract and be back on their way home, to begin to rebuild their world.

At the drop portal Aunt B stood looking down on to the lunar surface. 'When I dreamed of going to the moon as a little girl, this isn't exactly what I had in mind.' She thought to herself.

"We've been through a whole hell'of'a lot, haven't we Melinda?" asked the commander as he appeared beside her. She gave a little chuckle, brazen ass.

"No doubt Johnathan, no doubt" she replied. And it was true. This man had saved her life more than once, and vice versa. He was the only one she allowed to address her by her real name.

"Well, here we stand on the precipice of time. With only thing left to do jump, and see if humanity can truly fly." Said Black. She wondered if there was any humor in his statement, then decided she didn't perceive any.

Raising an eyebrow Aunt B inquired. "A warrior with a poets heart John? I never knew." She turned her back to the portal, now facing her commander. "But a more accurate analogy I couldn't imagine" Looking into his eyes they shared a moment of quite admiration. "See you at the extraction point". she said dropping backwards through the portal, and was gone.

As the ship turned and headed for the fifth drop point the soldier who was next came walking up to Commander Black. Henry "Bleeding Gums" Murphey was huge. A six foot seven black man who weighed north of 300 pounds and had hands as big as dinner plates. He grew up in the swamps of Mississippi, learning from his father the trade of his kin, gator huntin'. When he was twelve he jumped out of his fathers gator boat right on to the back of a fifteen foot'er that had eatin his dog. When he hit the gator it rolled then dove and took Henry down to the bottom of the swamp with it. Panicking his father moved from side to side of the little boat praying his wasn't lizard lunch. Launching himself out of the water Murphey threw the head of the gator into the boat at his fathers feet. "Tat's goin on ma wall pop" he said to his father, shinning a grimy smile, the now decapitated body of the gator rising to the surface behind him. He truly cast an imposing presence, giving most people he met pause when introduced. He was however a gentle giant and hated violence. The name Bleeding gums was given to him by Pr. Manhattan. Saying that his name, appearance and love of the saxophone reminded him of a character from a evening cartoon. The name stuck however when Murphey overheard the member of a different unit bad mouth his Corporal. He punched the man in the mouth once, knocking out all but four of the mans teeth. Dislike of violence or not he would not tolerate anyone putting down a woman, especially his corporal. As Commander Black studied the man he began to wonder if he was going to fit through the drop portal or if they would have to open the cargo bay door. Looking at him with those teddy bear eyes Murphey eased his Commander's mind. "Dont worry ur'sef boss, just like jumpin into'a gator pit. Only them rascals is metal. I see ya eye'n that port hole, might have'a grease me up a bit; but ill fit, I wont let'ya down sir. You've my word." said the big man.

With a chuckle the Commander placed his hand on the big mans back. "Don't get your self killed out there alright Murph? The world is far too short on good people to lose one like you. Ill see you back at the extraction point." said Black. With a broad smile the huge cajun stepped from the ship, and Black couldn't help but marvel at the fact that there had not been any tension in him before this most important mission.

As the ship turned, heading to the final drop point, Commander Black keyed up his comm link. "Swann report."

After a heartbeat Swann came back "Damn Commander I thought you guys left me." he said coyly.

"Stow it Swann it's time to focus. Everyone's in place awaiting your distraction. Its time soldier, light that candle." Black gave the order.

"Copy that sir, time to start the show." replied Swann. Leaping from the crater rim he ran full-tilt at his target.

At that same moment the ship came over the final drop point. Commander black issued one final order to the crew. "Captain you copy?" he asked as the suit keyed in the pilot.

"Go ahead Commander." the pilot came back

"Swann is lighting the candle now, get over there and give him cover when those clankers come his way. Once he is in the crater move back and await the extraction order. Do not engage beyond his approach, you boys are our only way off of this rock." He stepped up to the drop portal. "Good luck men." And with that the final member of Two-Four was falling to the lunar surface.

[END PART 5]

[PART 6]

Swann was at the outpost, still no sign of any clankers. He took the block of C4 he was carrying and placed it on the exterior wall of the clanker production facility. He reached down to the hip compartment of his suit and retrieved the digital detonator. Setting the timer for thirty seconds he attached the unit to the C4, and activated it. As Swann turned to retreat to the crater he just came from he saw them. Clankers were de-cloaking everywhere, there were hundreds. He had just run through a mine field of clankers in sleep mode. '#' thought Swann 'the electronic signature of the detonator must have triggered them' There was no way he could make it to the crater. Looking to his right he noticed that the way appeared less clogged by clankers. One way or another he had to get away from this wall.

Reaching to his other hip compartment Swann pulled loose the only weapon the unit was carrying. An extendable shock stick that, when the tip contacted any metallic surface, would release a burst of 50,000 volts. Affectionately dubbed Boom Stick by the alliance it was a weapon of last resort against the clankers on Earth. The ineffectiveness of projectiles in low gravity however made them the ideal choice for combat on this mission. With a flick of the wrist Swann extended his Boom Stick and rushed at the nearest clanker to his right. The Clanker was still facing away and Swann was still cloaked but the clanker knew he was coming somehow, and turning swung its right metallic arm with destructive intent. The attack came quickly and Swann was barely able duck below the swing. He slid under the blow and jammed the boom stick up into the torso of the clanker. Instantly frying the clankers electronics, thusly shutting down its own gravity manipulators, the force of the burst sent the war machine flying hundreds of paces, taking down a few more clankers when it landed. But that was all it took, every clanker turned to look in his direction.

Swann was moving fast now, only 15 seconds left, as he came upon the next clanker. This one, a newer model, side stepped Swanns attack with the boom stick; it brought its left arm in hard with a blow to the side of the environ suit. Swann was sent spiraling to the ground, the majority of the force from the blow was absorbed by the suit but it was enough to take him off of his feet and knocked out his cloak. He landed hard on lunar soil and slid to a stop at the edge of a small crater. The clanker was already walking towards Swann, moving in for the death blow, when his suit gave the five second count down for the C4 detonation.

Five....Swann stood, Four......The clanker closed; only a few paces out, Three.......Swann threw the boom stick like spear at the clanker, Two.......the clanker parries avoiding the boom stick, and gives Swann the second he needed, One.......Swann dives into the shallow crater behind where he landed. There is no sound from the explosion, the only sign Swann has that it went off is the debris flying overhead. The proximity of the clanker to the outpost and the force of the concussion wave were sufficient to knock it off of its feet, unfortunately for Swann however it landed in the crater he now occupied. A now defenseless Swann spun and looked up where he sat, right into the faux face of the rising clanker. With no way out Swann prepared his mind for the black to come, then he noticed it. Something falling above them, headed strait for the crater. For a moment Swann was puzzled, then the realization hit him and turned his back to the object and the clanker that was preparing to strike.

The modified emp fell from the ship just moments after the C4 charge on the outpost went hot. As it dropped the pilots watched the clanker that had landed in the crater with Swann begin to stand. "Cmon..cmon muther#er go..." the pilot prayed as the clanker raised its arm to bring down on the defenses Swann. He saw Swann look up and the realization come across his face. The clanker must have noticed it as well for just a moment prior to crushing the Pr. into the lunar soil it held the blow and looked up.

At 25 feet from the surface the modified emp went off. A brilliant blast of light and a discharge of em particles, but no radiation. Sun-li had done a fine job. The em pulse traveled fast, more than the speed of sound, and all the clankers surrounding the outpost dropped. The one above Swann was slightly shielded by the crater but was inevitably fried. It gave Swann a final look and attempted strike, then its CPU was toast and ADAMs control was lost. The clanker fell to the soil, with Pr. Swann just avoiding being crushed by the thousand pound paper weight. With a smile Swann keyed in his mike. "Distraction initiated Commander". he said as he climbed over the downed clanker and look over the rim of the shallow crater to survey the damage. The emp had worked like a charm, discharging the em pulse but no radiation. The clankers in a hundred paces elliptical from the crater were all down, and the ones farther out were making their way towards the outpost, opening a door for the rest of the unit.

"Copy that Swann, good work." Black jumped on the channel. "Unit Two-Four move in, Swann opened up a window lets get this done before it closes." With that each member of the unit began to move to their designated targets, the final assault of mankind began its last phase.

At the five other drop points the soldiers of Unit Four-Two began their insertion, moving slow so as to not alert any of the growing number of clankers now headed in the direction of Swann.

Back in the crater Swann couldn't help but feel all hope might be lost for him. He knew that this would be tough but there had to be a thousand clankers between him and the crater which held the shadowlight compound. With no ballistic weaponry at his disposal the outcome of his mission was now in serious doubt. As Swann was attempting to come up with a way out of this the Pilot of the ship came over his comm. "Swann you copy?"

"Yeah I'm here; for now. Thanks for that popper, but it just pissed of the nest." replied Swann. He thought he was going to be sick when the kid pilot started laughing.

"No worries Swann. This baby comes equipped with a modified kinetic bombardment ordinance." said the pilot still laughing.

"What the hell are you talking about, and it better be good cause I have a # load of pissed off clankers headed my way." replied Swann

"OK" the pilot came back "Basically they are tungsten and depleted uranium rods with little rockets attached for extra punch in low gravity. You know what, let me just show you." The pilot banked the ship, selected the desired ordinance and targeted the first wave of clankers headed towards the outpost. Rear thrusters engaged and the ship began its bombing strafe. As the ship, still cloaked, flew over the heads of the clankers the tungsten rods fell from their launch pods. Each rod was a foot long and weighed 10 pounds, after the rockets engaged each held energy equivalent to an rpg, and the ship was equipped with five thousand. The ordinance was dropped from 500 ft. At 250 ft the rockets engaged, and to a unit the clankers looked up as the heavens rained vengeance. Metal body parts were strewn everywhere.

Swann watched the first of the clankers explode from the impact of the wave of destruction. The ship was clearing him a path strait to the crater, and Swann had no interest in staying here so he hopped over the edge of the shallow crater and was running again. 'I knew this was going to be fun' thought Swann as he ran, again wearing that #faced grin. He ran in the wake of devastation left by the metal rain, jumping over still twitching clanker body parts. As he looked forward the last of the rods fell and his path to the shadowlight crater was clear. The pilot came over the comm. "Roads paved Pr. Swann, bring home the pain. We'll see you back at extraction."

"Copy that. Thanks kid, you saved my ass twice today." Replied Swann.

The first member of Unit Two-Four to reach the crater rim was Pr. Manhattan. As he ran up to the imposing plasma shield he dropped behind the shield generator that was disguised as a rock. Looking around he saw the dust raised from the kinetic weapon drop. Thinking this was a good sign he turned and approached the final few steps to the shield edge. The shield wall shimmered and churned, charged with a power that was beyond the limited knowledge of the young soldier. He looked into the depth of the artificial wall and watched his refection twist and contort. Raising his hand to the obstruction he reached out and touched his destiny. The plasma shield gave no resistance to this intrusion, Chase' suit covered hand glided through smoothly. A slight chill trickled down the young mans spine and he pulled his hand out quickly. Chastising himself for being a coward he redrew his determination. "Alright Chase, we pull this off then the woman of your dreams is yours." he said to himself. With improper images of Aunt B floating in his mind Pr. Manhattan stepped into the compound perimeter.

As Manhatten was stepping through, the next soldier to arrive hit the shield running. It was Aunt B and she had a pissed off clanker on her heels, a "hound" unit. The small four legged clankers were the third generation, first seen in early 2013. They were far more agile than there two legged predecessors, and faster than a human. They were still very vulnerable however, and once one leg was taken out the unit was finished.

Aunt B was still ten paces out and the clanker was closing fast. She wasn't going to make it, time to turn and fight.
Every tactic she had been taught for close quarter combat would be ineffective against a hound unit. 'Cmon girl think' she thought, now eight paces out. As she neared the shield she could see the loping clankers distorted reflection in its shimmering surface, and thats when an idea came to her. At five paces out she slowed; at three paces she turned. Two paces and Aunt B dropped backwards, her bottom hitting the lunar soil at the same moment the hound unit leaped for the attack. A pace and a half out from a plasma shield on the moon, with a very large robot dog flying through the air to kill her, Aunt B pulled out her boom stick. As the clanker fell toward her she extended the boom stick and thrust it into the exposed abdomen of the unit, while simultaneously bringing up her legs, bending her knees to accept the initial impact. The clanker fell stunned onto her up turned soles',she then pushed up allowing the now incapacitated clankers' momentum to carry it sailing past. Her left knee popped and threatened to buckle, droping the full weight of the metal monster on to her, but she had just enough to hold the weight. The hound unit clanker passed through the plasma shield and landed in a heap inside the compound perimeter. Breathing hard Aunt B lay on the dirt of our planets natural satellite and looked up, or down, at the earth they were all trying to save.

[END PART 6]

Great story-telling!
I can imagine this being some type of series on the SyFy channel! I'd watch it!



I decided to do a story for the contest too... nice and short.... and different

Mate - that's awesome stuff.

I'm stoked that I came across this epic tale...........now, where can I download the Movie??

Flag and starred out to the max!