Unknown War (Ch. 1)

“Mayday! Mayday! We are down! Repeat, WE ARE DOWN!!! Requesting assistance, coordin…” The radio chatter faded into static. Silence had overtaken the entire room. The Major’s breath quickening, she ordered the signal tracked, and immediately several lower-ranking officers bolted into action. The GIA’s Commanding General and its best men had been shot down behind enemy lines. The fate of the world was at stake.1

The General tapped the call button on his in-suit voice monitor, and then waited a few seconds. He was answered by a returned beep beep beep from a monitor that signaled some ten yards off. Soon another series of beeps sounded, showing on the radar to be around fifty yards to the north. The General pulled out his white-noise flare-gun, aimed it skyward, and tugged the trigger. A glowing, blue-and-white beam shot out of the barrel.2

The General sat on a nearby log… and waited. He removed his hat, and stroked his hair. ‘Why… not now...’ he thought, ‘We’re SEVENTY-THREE MILES AWAY FROM THE NEAREST FRIENDLIES!’ Tears filled his eyes. ‘THIS is what they trained me for… I will not fail my army… my world’ He stood up and looked to the sun. It shone through the jungle forest in gleaming rays, warming the earth beneath his feet. He was a warrior, strong and determined. The General reached into his pocket, and fingered the little cross he had bought when he had been a “normal” child, before they had found him… trained him. He brought the cross to his lips, and held it there. ‘Christ is my strength,’ he contemplated, ‘with Him… I can do anything…’3

With that, he returned the cross to his pocket. The bushes behind him rustled, and his hand shot to his holster. He quickly pulled out his pistol and dropped to his knees in a sharp one-eighty degree turn.4

“Slow down there, sir. It’s Lieutenant Jamerson.”5

Without saying a word, the General tapped his monitor, calling for a confirmation. He received one.6

“Dang it, lieutenant! Next time don’t sound so much like a bulldozer!” the General laughed. “You’d make the worst ambush ever!”7

Jamerson also laughed. “Sorry, sir. Sergeant Adams is only a few yards away. Should be here any moment.”8

Just as he finished, out of the bushes came the sergeant.9

“Good to see you, fellas.” The General sighed. “If I was alone at here… well let’s just say that wouldn’t be fun.”10

“No, sir, it would not be fun.” Snorted Adams. He was a hardcore soldier, brisk in manner and speech, laughing at nothing, smiling even less.11

“Well, let’s get goin’ and finding the rest o’ you Spec Ops monkeys,” the General sighed, standing up, placing his pack on his shoulders, “If the Flagpoles are any good, they’ll be on top of us within the hour.”12

They began a hike through the jungles of Senegal, a hike that would last them several weeks.13

After about a half hour of hiking and tapping the call buttons on their monitors, the trio came across a body.14

“Aw, man. It’s Brody.” Jamerson said, examining the body. “He must have died in the crash.”15

The General rolled him over, giving the body a thorough examination. “No,” he said, finalizing the inspection, and pointing to three parallel cuts on the neck that ran down to the stomach, “See these marks? He was slashed, by a Flaggie. We’re not alone. They’re quicker than I expected. Let’s move POGs.”16

They continued on, and over a mile later, they received a return signal on their monitors. Adams rushed forward, shouting, “IT’S SKINNER! IT’S SKINNER!”17

“ADAMS, STOP! THAT’S AN ORDER SERGEANT!” the General shouted.18

But the sergeant continued his reckless sprint. Suddenly, a tall, slender, gray-suited creature jumped in front of him. Adams slid to a stop. He scrambled to his feet, and began running toward the General and Jamerson. But the creature was too fast, and was on top of him in seconds. He raised his arm, and three claws shot out of his fist. The General seized Jamerson’s blaster carbine, kneeled, and aimed for the creature’s head. He fired, and dropped the creature where it stood. But it was too late, for the creature had brought his claws down upon Adams, and they remained sunken into his spine even after death.19

Jamerson stood, gaping in awe. “Y-you k-killed it, and in one sh-sh-shot!”20

But the General stood, handed him back his carbine, and continued walking without glancing back. “One of your soldiers just DIED, lieutenant! And all you do is stand dumbfounded at my shooting skills! I’m the General of the entire Gadian Interstellar Army for a REASON!” he shouted, angered by Jamerson’s childish behavior.21

At that moment, two more POGs (Personal Operative Guard) came sprawling out of the jungle.22

Jamerson introduced them: “Sir, this is Ma-“23

The General interrupted him, “Major Ingram and Captain Mau, I know, lieutenant. Remember, there’s a reason I’m General.” He turned to Ingram, “I would like to congratulate you, major, on being the first under-ranking, male officer in the GIA.”24

“No, sir, you’re the one deserving congratulations.” The Major replied. “You were the first, and a GENERAL!”25

The General let the conversation he had begun drop, and told the three officers standing before him, “Men, you already know this, but we are over seventy miles behind enemy lines. The Flaggies know we’re here. They already killed two of my men. The GIA wi---“26

Ingram, grimacing, interjected: “YOUR men?! What makes them YOUR men? They’re my men! And they’re DEAD! All because you wanted your little SURVEY of the land!”27

“Hmm.” The General sighed, sitting and stroking his hair once more. “Well, any other commanding officer would bite your head off for that behavior, major. And I SHOULD, remember that. But I won’t. Because I know what you’re feeling, exactly. Don’t think I don’t regret the loss of those men. But I am GENERAL, so YOU are my men, too! Now let’s get goin’! There’s an outpost about two miles Northeast of here.”28

Humbled, the major fell in behind the General, and the four of them trekked those two miles in the relative shade of the jungle forest.29

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