Talosian Chronicles 6: Armageddon by Ben Winston Read Free Book Online Page B

fighting continued, the massive explosions ignored by the armored Marines.
    The scene changed to another group, this time in the United States. The fight here was on a much larger scale, tanks and mechs stalked the battlefield laying waste to the countryside in an effort to kill the other soldiers. Bright streaks of light shot down from the skies and destroyed a small town and the Alliance troops using as cover. The camera panned back and up, showing the bright tracks of missiles or kinetic mass weapons coming down. The enemy fleet had made it to orbit.
    The camera did not stop there, it pulled back, high up into the atmosphere, so far that the curve of the planet could be seen. Below, mushroom clouds and bright bursts of light showed the impacts of orbital weapons leaving craters and starting fires that burned out of control. Still the battle continued as the camera returned to orbit to show the Alliance ships in 'close' battle with the enemy that had struck the planet. It had been a sobering and all too realistic sight.
    As the video slowly faded out, Ian swallowed the lump in his throat.
    "Ladies and Gentlemen, what you just witnessed was a tactical simulation based on our current strength and what we believe the enemy will be bringing." Ian took a sip of water. "I said it was based on our current strength. Several months ago I asked all of you for your help. I will admit, you have helped, but it is no where near the level we actually need. As it is right now, we are short on ship's crew, Marines and fighter pilots. One of the reasons for this is that our recruiters are being hampered by the very liaison officers that are supposed to be assisting us. I have seen dozens of reports of groups of potential recruits being scared off by these liaison officers. We no longer have the option of playing around like this. As of right now, your liaison officers will no longer be included in recruiting missions. We need the people to defend our planet; we do not have the time to fuck around like this!
    "As I asked for before, I need a full division of soldiers from each of you, I also need the same again in fighter pilots and navy personnel. If we do not get them, then we will find them among the general population. We no longer have the time to play politics, and worry about who is the biggest kid on the block anymore. We need those people or we are all going to die, it's that simple!" Ian said and closed his eyes to get his anger back under control.
    "People, I apologize for speaking so rudely to all of you, but these games your playing have to stop now. We have one more video prepared for you, this one shows the probable outcomes of this battle. The first is the ideal outcome, we defeat the enemy before they arrive at the planet. The second, is the most probable outcome provided we can get the help we asked for, and the last… well, the last is what's going to happen if we continue to play these stupid games." Ian nodded to Alex and she played the videos.
    The three scenes all played out, in the first one, the only people that died, died in space and were the crews of the ships and fighter pilots that gave their lives stopping the enemy advance. Ian thought it was a very conservative as far as damage, with the enemy making several mistakes in judgment and the Alliance forces exploiting all of them.
    The second scene was far more realistic, showing the damage the planet would take from orbital bombardment and the cities destroyed when their shields failed. However, there were still survivors and other cities had not been destroyed. There was still green areas were crops could be grown and people could rebuild their lives.
    The final scene however was one of total horror. Alliance ships burned in space as the remains of their atmosphere bled out of them. Below on Earth, heavy bombardment from meteors and nuclear missiles were systematically turning the entire surface black and brown. The enemy ships puled back, past the now destroyed