Unknown Wars (Ch. 3)

That night, after Major Ingram and the General had set up a small camp  under the cover of the palms, the four of them sat around a campfire, staring into the smoke of their B-Ration meals cooking. The stars shone through the branches of the trees, and the moon dimly lit their downcast faces.1

“Well…” the General began. “We did okay today. More than just okay,” he laughed, “we broke into a Flaggie outpost, stole a hover-car… thing… yeah, but, I mean… we just compromised an entire base’s defenses, and stole from under their noses, or whatever they use to smell.”2

They all smiled.3

“They were never unbeatable, sir. We just have yet to find their major weakness, like every other race we’ve fought off,” Ingram said.4

“Hey, for now, let’s forget the ranks.” The General pleaded, “We’re stuck out here in this awful devil’s war, and we don’t need formalities. The only time rank will be prevalent is in combat, and when orders are being given. Other than that, we’re just soldiers fightin’ for the sake of humanity, of our families… our homes.” His head sank down into his hands.5

Mau gawked at the General, bewildered. He wondered at the complex personality the General had displayed. It was a personality that evoked both admiration and hatred.6

“So…” he continued, “where y’all from?”7

“Well, sir… er, what’re we supposed to call you, since we can’t call you ‘sir’?” Mau asked.8

“Well…”9

“Does anybody know your real name?” Ingram inquired.10

“Uh… no,” the General replied. “Not even the recruitment managers. I deleted all evidence of… me.”11

“Right… um, ok… why?” Jamerson asked, confused.12

“I didn’t want anything, nothing, to remind me of home.”13

“Ahh, I see. Well how’re we going to address you, without saying ‘sir’?”14

“You’re not.”15

“Well, sir… uh, I mean… that won’t really work.”16

“Alright, alright. Just call me HK: my initials.”17

“OK. Well I’m from London,” Ingram said.18

“Ooooh… British,” Mau laughed. “I’m from Seattle, Washington.”19

“Well I guess I’m the only one here born in a place where you don’t get pale,” Jamerson jested, and then told the team he was from Dallas, Texas.20

“What about you, HK?” Mau asked, snickering at the sound of calling one by their initials.21

“OK, OK. Drop the nickname, my middle name’s Michael,” the General said impatiently.22

“Alright, Mike, where’re you from?”23

“All over the place.”24

“Huh?”25

“All I can remember is I’m an American. Don’t forget I’m tryin’ to forget about life… before they brought me to the Army.”26

“So how’d they track you guys?” Jamerson quickly said, forgetting the conversation that had obviously made “Mike” uncomfortable. “They found me when I was on vacation in Hawaii. Found out later that they had tracked me for three years.”27

“They picked me up at a gas station in downtown Seattle,” Mau began. “My brother saw me go, so they had to take him to. Now he’s workin’ ground crew back in the Gades.”28

“They watched me for seven years before they decided I’d make it,” Ingram contributed. “So then they somehow made my Dad’s car break down, and they slid me out of it while he wasn’t watching.”29

The General chuckled. “Only thing I can remember is that I’m genetically engineered, born in a hospital somewhere in the U.S. Took me right after I was born.”30

“Wow. It must be one heck of a brain-teaser to think about your past, huh Mike?” Jamerson asked.31

“Yeah. Well, I try not to think about it.”32

“Hey, Mike. Since you’re a General, you should know the answer to this, everyone back at the barracks, heck, every guy in the Army, is wondering why only the girls get the high ranks.”33

“Ah, I guess I’ll tell you. Well, when the GIA formed, the leaders were determined to make it the most efficient military ever. They were themselves teens, mostly children of rich people, therefore well funded. They had all run off from their homes, and, with the money they’d taken, decided to fund and create a little gang. This “gang” soon turned into the first humans to discover faster-than-light travel and lasers small enough to be handheld. They then started a program to search for and “kidnap” the smartest, most agile, strongest teenage people they could find. And you wonder… why teenagers? Well, in their initial studies and quest to form the most efficient military, they found the adult mind to be too narrowed by so many years of living in similar environments, but the teenage mind had yet to be narrowed, and most of the time is full of questions, searching and hoping for the “best” parts of life. And with further studying, they discovered that women, well teenage girls, when properly trained, are much more efficient, quicker, cleverer tacticians than their male counterparts.34

“As the GIA grew, it required a base of operations. In its search, it discovered a tropical archipelago several miles north of the Equator in the North Pacific. They named it the “Gades”. This chain of islands was plagued by vicious thunderstorms. They began building secure structures that could withstand the storms, and then created the first cloaking device known to man. Massive in size, they could fit it nowhere but on the main island, and consequently chose to use it to further guard their secret Army. This was all in the year 1993.35

“By 1995, they made the first contact with alien species. Ever since, they have met sixteen alien races, only one of which has been friendly. That friendly race, however primitive, owns a planet with incredibly valuable resources.  They found metals that cannot be penetrated by bullets, lasers, or nearly any projectile force. The rest of the alien races had to be fought off. Five of them are extinct because of the GIA’s efforts; the other eleven are too decimated to create any possible threat.36

“In the year 2003, the GIA made contact with the race we’ve christened the Flagpoles, of course we all know why. They’re as tall as ostriches, and they’re shiny silver too. This race is the only one we have ever contacted that stands a chance against us, but, not only does it stand a chance, it will most likely defeat us, and then continue on, aiming for the extinction of the human race.”37

“Well, that was a little more than I asked for, Mike, but I would’ve asked about that stuff sooner or later,” Jamerson remarked.38

The General laughed, “Sorry about that, Jamerson.”39

“Call me Eric.”40

“Sure thing. What about you two? What’re your names?”41

“Mine’s Luke,” Mau answered.42

“I’m Sean,” Ingram muttered.43

“What’s up with you British?” Mau asked.44

“Aw, nothin’. I just hate this life. I want to go home.”45

“We’ll get there someday,” the General smiled.46

“How ‘bout we all get some rest? We’ve had a rough day,” Eric suggested. “I’ll take first watch.”47

“Thanks, Jamer… er, sorry, Eric,” the General said, dousing the fire, and removing his sleeping bag from his pack. “Goodnight all.”48

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