*
The Peace Keeper magno-chopper was skimming in fast towards the military base. A young Marine acting as lookout on the parade ground nervously took aim with his Led Tex Rifle. Major Emsly rushed forward and snatched the rifle out of his hands. ‘That’s not our enemy, son,’ he said. ‘In fact, if not for the people on board that craft, we wouldn’t have the early warning that might just give us half a chance.’ He handed back the rifle. ‘Fetch them when they land and bring them here.’
‘Yes, sir,’ replied the soldier emphatically.
‘Your name is John, isn’t it?’
‘No, sir. James Murley.’ The young soldier stiffened into a salute and started to run in the direction of the magno-chopper. Emsly, however, grabbed him quickly with a restraining hand. ‘Hold on a moment. Let’s see where it finishes up, Murley. It’s liable to bounce around awhile before it’s done.’
The magno-chopper was now well over the island. Only a few miles away from the Marine base. Black smoke continued to pour from its catastrophically damaged tail. Its altitude continued in steady decline, dropping below the distant hills. A plume of smoke and dust marked its impact with the ground a moment later.
Emsly turned back to the young private. ‘Pretty good fIying. I would rate that crash as survivable. Take my Poison 130 Fast Tank and go get them. And if all you get is a dying breath, make sure that breath is spent on the subject of rats. I want to know if our missile misfire was sabotage. I want to know if someone intended for us to be trapped within our building with thousands of human eating rodents pouring in.’
Private Murley nodded and ran hard towards the motor-pool.
Emsly watched the smoke rising above the hills a moment longer, mulling over the extraordinary circumstances that were fast unfolding; he was reminded of what his first instructor told his class on their first day at Quantico: ‘War never gets old.’ He turned back to the defensive position being hastily assembled at the flagpole.