CHAPTER 1
February 2134.
Battle of the Pennines. The morning’s stagnant air was cold and murky, concealing fifty thousand souls, each intent on our demise. They came bearing the cross and a taste for blood. Their leader, sat hundreds of miles away, cowardly in his thrown, awaiting news of our annihilation and the acquisition of a newfound power. In his possession, he planned to conquer the world and rule with the shackles of theocratic autocracy.
Only one people stood in his way, a final bastion of pluralism and tolerance. One where various faiths and none live harmoniously, bound by the glue of secularism. We dared stand against oppression and the regression of science – secularists, humanists and freethinkers.
The enemy marched into position, aware of our general proximity made ambiguous by the rolling fog. A long stretch of hills stood eighty metres downrange.
Their confidence echoed through sporadic chanting - a demand to challenge them there and then, referring to us as ‘infidels.’ And despite our inferior numbers, the enemy was to encounter another adversary: science.
At first, they heard a distant rumble edging nearer. Tongues silenced as they strained to obtain their first glance of us.
The Valley fell silent as the fog fragmented, unveiling our reviled ‘infidels.’ Black figures lined the hilltop ahead. Our march continued downhill, creating a criss-cross formation on the hillside. The clunking of polyminium armour must have added to the intimidation factor.
Our soldiers halted before the front line reached the base. After a few seconds, they fronted their five-foot shields.
The enemy was disturbed by the large-eyed figures, believing us to be demonic in nature. They fixed bayonets on their semi-automatic rifles in a hurried fashion. As they did, many became transfixed by another unusual noise - one of rushing air and a high-pitch hum. When they gazed back, above the hillside, a dozen objects radiated an orange hue through the fog. Our saucer shaped aircraft presented the enemy with an uncomfortable truth: we possessed an air force.
