Chapter 1
My father fought in the war against the invaders. He was part of the 138th company of the Royal Marines, which were the first ones equipped with the TG-109, and were the first ones to test them in action on the streets of Manchester. His company became famous after saving American Ambassadors who were able to make it out of London before it turned to dust. He does not speak about those days, no one does.
When London was hit in the war, they were unable to get Parliament out of the city, and the only remaining Royalty was Princess Helen. She was only sixteen and too young for Queen. In the new Government they agreed that when Princess Helen was old enough for the title, she would run the Government, but in the same way, as it had in the earlier government. My father now works as the Defense Minister for the new Government in Nottingham.
I am sixteen years old, and I just finished my last year of High School. Due to the millions of deaths in England during the war, we are short of workers, and sixteen is the new age of getting out of school.
It was June 19th, 2100. I was with my friend Caroline and my friend Nathan. The three of us hadp talked about joining the E.P.P since the invaders first arrived, when we were only children.
Caroline’s father was killed in the Battle of Munich, which lasted three months. We learned that the battle was the most fierce that was fought in the whole war. It turned out that Munich was their base of operations, and that’s why they had not given up until the last one had died. Caroline’s father was part of the 26th Royal Army, who are recognized for their high spirits and never giving up. Out of the eight thousand soldiers who started out in it, only two thousand three hundred and thirty-two came back.
The legacy of her father’s company made her want to join up and be a proud warrior like her father before her. Nathan, on the other hand, his father died in the first strike against London, and Nathan wants to avenge the death of his father.
The three of us were making our way to the E.P.P recruitment center, which was found in Nottingham.
¨Caroline, what branch do you want to join?¨ I asked.
“I want to be on the front lines, part of the Marines,¨ she responded,¨How about you Kyle?”
“I want to be in the Marines also. What do you want to be Nathan?” I asked looking over at him.
He looked over and said quietly,”I want to be a fighter pilot.”
Caroline and I chuckled,”That’s cool,” I responded.
He smiled and hit me softly,”Hey I’m going to be covering your ass when we are on their home planet,” he said laughing.
“That is a very good point,” Caroline responded with a smirk on her face.
We looked around, and there was still clear evidence of war. Some houses were never rebuilt, and still had huge holes in the side of the walls. In the farm fields you would still see craters by the artillery the invaders had used.
We finally made it into the recruitment center. There was a large, metal wall surrounding the facility. Once walking in there were three different buildings you could go into. The one on the far left said ¨Pilot,¨ and the one in the middle said,¨Marine,¨ and the one on the right side,¨Navy.¨
In front of those buildings were large numbers of people who were in line into the buildings. There were more people in the pilots and navy line than there were in the Marine line.
Caroline looked over at Nathan and smiled,¨Are you sure you want to be a pilot.¨
He laughed,¨Yeah I’m sure. I will see you guys later.¨
Nathan walked over to the line for the pilots, and I looked over at Caroline and smiled,¨Let’s go.¨
The two of us walked over into the line for the Marines. It only took fifteen minutes to make it into the building, and once in the building it took five minutes to get to the table, where men in green uniform sat.
I walked up to him, and stood at attention.
¨Name,¨ He said looking up at me.
¨Kyle Downing,¨ I replied.
¨Age?¨ he asked.
¨Sixteen sir,¨ I said.
¨Date of birth,¨ he continued.
¨March twelfth 2084,¨ I replied.
¨Alright, now please go into the door to the right, and go into the line at the end of the hallway,¨ he said, signing a paper and handing it to me.
I grabbed the paper, and walked over to the door. As I opened it I saw the line, which was smaller than I expected it to be.
I waited at the door, until Caroline walked in, and when she did the two of us walked down the hardwood hallway. When we reached the end of the line the two of us looked at each other and smiled. Caroline started to speak,
¨I have been waiting for this moment my whole life,¨ She said smiling
¨So have I, just the thought of taking the fight to the invaders makes a wave of the chills pass through me,¨ I replied.
¨I hope we get stationed in the same company,¨ Caroline paused and looked up at the ceiling,¨Wait I take that back, we would get in trouble,¨ She said laughing.
I laughed,¨I agree it would be fun being in the same company,” I replied.
We were getting near to the front of the line, and everyone was being put into different rooms. When it was my turn I looked back at Caroline and smiled,
¨Good luck.¨
A young lady, who seemed to be just a few years older than me, was standing there.
¨Please follow me,¨ she said smiling, and walking over to a door.
I followed behind her into a room, and she closed the door behind me. There was a bed on the far wall, and next to it was a little table with different kinds of stuff on it.
¨Please take a seat Kyle,¨ She said softly, walking over to the table.
I walked over to the bed and hopped onto it. She picked up something on the table and said,¨Let out your arm.¨
When I did so, she wrapped it around my arm and started to push on the thing, making my arm get tighter and tighter.
¨Alright good, now please get up and try to touch your toes,¨ she said.
I got off of the bed and tried to touch my toes, while she touched my back, and hit it softly with something.
¨Great, now I need you to strip down into your underwear,¨ she said, looking up at me.
¨Excuse me?¨ I asked.
¨Just do it. I have done this millions of times and I can care less,¨ she replied, rolling her eyes.
After she was done doing it she said,¨You see it wasn’t that bad¨
I pulled my pants back up, and she started to write something on a form. When she was done writing on it she handed it to me.
¨Out the door, and continue down the hallway,¨ she said, standing up and opening the door.
I smiled at her while walking out, and waiting a little bit down the hallway was Caroline. I walked down to next to her, and the two of us continued down the hallway.
“I think this is the point when they see if we get accepted or not,”Caroline said to me smiling.
“Yeah, I hope the two of us go into the same company,” I replied looking at her.
She went silent for a moment,”Do you think we will ever be leaving the ship, or do you think we will be able to go onto planets,” Caroline said.
“I would think we could go on planets, since scientists were able to make a field around the planet to give it oxygen and so on,” I began thinking when the breaking edge technology was used on the moon.
“Well we would have to be on the ship to protect the sailors if the invaders get onto the ship,” She replied.
The two of us reached another line, and at the end of it you could see the military officers signing people’s papers, and smiling at them. We stood silently, not knowing what to expect.
When it was finally my turn I walked up to the person, who was wearing a brown uniform and black helmet that held the symbol of the E.P.P, which was the earth and an arch around it.
I handed him the paper, standing there nervously. He looked through the paper and looked up at me, with a little smile on his face,
“Congratulations. You are now part of the Earth Marine Corps,” he said, stamping the paper and putting it into a pile,”You are going to be part of the 138th Marine Company, and you are going to need to report to Essex for military training in three days.”
“The 138th,”I repeated.
“Is that a problem?” The recruiter asked.
“No sir, it’s just my father fought for that company during the war,” I replied, a slight smile on my face.
He took out my paper again, and looked at my name, and looked up to me,”You are the son of Jonathan Downing?” He asked, looking up at me shocked.
“Yes sir,” I replied.
He stood up and shook my hand,”It is a privilege to meet you,” he replied.
I looked at him confused,”All he did was fight in the war,” I replied.
He smiled,”No son, he did great things fo-”
“Corporal Forland stop chatting,” Someone said, walking up to him,
“Yes sir,” he replied.
I looked at the corporal, and walked away out of the door.
When I was out of the door it was right where we had begun out, and the line seemed to have gotten bigger. I walked over to a metal bench and sat down, waiting for Caroline to come out.
When the door opened, and her long hair was in sight, I immediately stood up.
“What company are you in?” I asked.
“The 138th, how about you?” She replied smiling.
A smile appeared on my face,”I am in that company also, we will be fighting together,” I replied, giving her a hug.
The two of us stood there hugging for a little bit. As we let go the two of us walked out of the building, the line of all the different sections longer. We walked to the front gate of the wall and made our way out, looking back at the recruitment center one last time.
The two of us decided that we were going to walk around the city, looking at all of the things that laid within. There were people on the streets, walking around the city like they had before the war. The city was still going under repairs, but it was back to normal. Except the population of the city dropped drastically.
While walking down the street the two of us began to speak,
“What do you think it will be like? Fighting in space” Caroline asked.
I paused for a moment,”I don’t know, but it will be quite the adventure,” I replied looking over at her.
“I am scared of what to expect,” She replied looking down at the ground.
“So am I, but we will be in it together and the two of us will watch eachothers back,” I replied.
“Does your father agree with you joining?” Caroline asked.
“He does, does your mother?” I replied.
“No, she didn’t want me to go.” She replied,”Don’t tell her I signed up.”
“I won’t, I promise,” I said smiling.
We were now at the end of the street, and I looked over at Carlone,”Do you want to go home?” I asked.
“Yes,” she replied smiling.
The two of us walked out of the city, and made our way down the road to the outskirts of the city, where most of the people live now. The two of us split our ways and headed to our homes.
As I stepped foot into the home I saw my mother standing off to the side, sitting on the couch in front of the television. I walked over to her and smiled,
“I am part of the regiment dad was in,” I said smiling.
She looked up and smiled,”Oh that’s great, you should tell your father,” She replied.
“Is he home?” I asked.
“No he is at the parliament. They are discussing ways to make it to the planet that the Hostem came from,” She replied.
“The Hostem?” I asked.
“Oh yes, they found the planet they came from. They came from the planet Hostem, or that’s what they named it anyway.” She replied.
“That’s great,”I replied,”We get to take the fight to them.”
“Are they planning on sending the fleet?” I asked her.
“I don’t know yet, but I am sure your father will tell us when he gets home. He should be home soon,” She said smiling.
I smiled and walked out of the living room. I went up the stairs that lead to the second floor and made my way to my bedroom. As I got into it I took out a bag, and placed it onto my bed. I went over to my dresser and took out some pairs of clothing, and put them into the bag. That was all I was going to bring sense the military was going to supply me with everything I would need.
I set the bag next to the door out of my room, and when the bottom of the bag hit the soft carpeted floor I heard the front door open. I quickly walked out of my room and made my way down the stairs. At the bottom I saw my father standing there, his brown uniform full of metals from the war.
He looked over and smiled,”How are you Kyle?”
“I am doing fine. I have great news,” I paused for a moment,”I am with the 138th, the same company you fought in.”
“You made it?” He asked smiling,”That’s great.”
“Yeah, but I have a question,” I said to him.
“What is it?” He replied still smiling.
“So I learned that we found out where the invaders came from, and I am wondering if we are sending the fleet.” I said to him, not looking at him in the eyes.
He paused for a moment,”Well we are talking about sending two of our destroyers out towards the planet, and seeing if these invaders are in control of any other planets, or if they have any bases around us,” he replied,”But after that I do not know.”
He smiled, and walked into the other room, where my mother was now standing. I smiled at the thought that I could be going to take the war back to them.
