" Global Conflict: Desolation "

PROLOGUE

Video log entry 29-11.05, dated 30th October, 2023, Private Donna Moreau… Location… somewhere in the capital, who the hell knows… used to be a school, this place, at least before the bombs came… Jenson, Marius, Weatherly, Simmons, they're all dead, along with 300 something civilians… the rest are holed up in one of the shelters… Davies is with me, I lost contact with Sokolov after he… he blew up those propane tanks… the platoon went after him, they had dogs, they were shooting at him and I don’t know how he could have survived… we’re all damned here, this war and those old men sitting cozy in their blast proof bunkers while young men get torn apart by their decisions… this war, their war, it always was their war and we paid the price in the end…

This is Captain Michael Davies of the British Special Air Service, G Squadron, Mobility Troop… I don’t know how we managed to survive that hell but somehow we’re alive, for how long however, we don’t know… Russian forces swept the field and my entire troop was captured… they’re dead by now; at least I hope they are… I hope they didn’t suffer… nobody needs to suffer anymore… nobody needs to feel any more afraid than they already are… I don’t know who will hear this, or even if someone will… which begs the question why am I running my mouth when I have nothing to say… maybe it is because after all that has happened, I still have a sliver of a shadow of faith… maybe because I still believe, that after all that has happened, maybe a squad of angels will drop down, pick us up and take us to the nearest pint of ice-cold stout… maybe we won’t have to choke on our own blood and the blood of our brothers and sisters and mothers and fathers and babies… maybe tomorrow the bombs will stop dropping, and the guns will cool and the machine of war will check its relentless surge… but I'm an old fool, what do I know…

There is no one else, just Davies and me, we had managed to find a car in this God forsaken place but it ran out of gas at the Square and we had to proceed on foot… we are somewhere north, what looks like a school… it was taken over when the occupation began… Russian armored battalions moved in, flattened half the city… they had the dogs with them, hundreds of them… they set them loose to find the sheltered… I watched those 4 girls get captured… the bastards… they took turns on them… they weren’t much older than Jessie… those monsters took them like they took everyone else and now we’re all that’s left…

The bombs will come because they need a level field; they want to make sure they are none left… Minsk needs to be cleared before they can advance further north, they will send the bombers and when they do… I would very much like to die now… at least when I die, my eyes won’t see more death and devastation and this cursed, blood-soaked tapestry will tear open and I will see the light, finally.

Pvt. Moreau snapped awake from her weary stupor, eyes pointing skyward, through the partially fallen ceiling. The entire sky was awash with smoke and the black clouds of war.

A distant rumble of engines; a squadron of jets; faint at first but steadily rising.

Eyes closing with a mixture of dreaded anticipation and a desire to be rid of this terrible turmoil, she let her head slump down to her chest, defeat spreading like wildfire through her body.

Bombers, I hear them… they’re coming to clear the path for the forces… my sister… Donna’s voice broke and tears welled up in her grief-stricken eyes, I never got to say goodbye, Jessie… I don’t know where you are, I don’t know who has you or even if… she couldn’t bring herself to voice out her greatest fear, as though saying it would somehow make it true. I don’t know if you got the chance to escape but… I love you sweetie… God save you… God save us…

God forsook us a long time ago, Private, he doesn’t want anything to do with the mess we have made of this world… they are the gods now, the ones with the bombers that are almost on us, they are the gods with their guns and their men and their might, they are the gods and soon they too will die… the gods will die, their bodies will rot and maggots will creep out of their eye sockets… the gods themselves will reek of death and decay and then… then there will be nothing left… there will be nothing and no one to mourn the dead, to remember what happened… there will…

Like a roaring thunder, the jets sounded their loudest in the sky, as though diving down for a strike. This prompted Cpt. Davies to look up at the sky. But there was no fear in his eye, rather a longing, as though he longed for death; to be rid of it once and for all.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of… Pvt. Moreau had closed her eyes. The silver cross bracelet that she had found in Bucharest clutched firmly in her hand, her prayer getting louder as the din of the engines drew closer. She could barely complete the verse, her sister’s face and their combined lives flashing before her tightly shut eyes when Captain Davies shouted jubilantly.

DEATH, UPON US ALL, he screamed as the earth shook and the world around them exploded.

CHAPTER 1

0900 Hours, Friday - November 2nd, 2022

Location: USS Gerald R. Ford, 13 miles off Port Angeles

This is not summer camp Private. You wanted to play with the big boys, you got your wish. Now get back in line before I wash you out of this center like the horse crap off my front yard!

Hey Harrison, wake your ass up. It’s go time! Petty Officer First Class Nathan Harrison was shaken out of his stupor by Petty Officer Jonas, the voice of his old drill-sergeant still ringing in his ears. The rest of the team was rushing off to join the elite SAD-SOG conference, all hoping to get inducted into what was regarded as the most prestigious, and downright coolest branch of the United States Military and Intelligence Service Group.

Come on man, hurry up! Jonas almost shouted. Unless you want the Master Chief’s boot in your face, you better haul, now.

Shut it Jonas, I'm comin’. Just gotta collect my bearings, that’s all. This is a big day for me. My old man wanted me to be a big, important soldier. Hell, he got me my first BB gun when I was barely old enough to crap on my own! Harrison’s Louisiana drawl would often cut loose and emerge out of the well-disciplined military exterior.

He was a country boy, having been raised on a farm on the outskirts of a city for most of his life. You can take the boy out of the country, shove his buns in a suit and drop him off in Wall Street, his father would often say, twisting the classic line to his liking and to suit the moment each time, but you can never take the taste of good ol’ cornbread out of his country mouth and the love of the farmland out of his big ol’ heart!

Yeah I know your old man, bless him and your ma, she was the best. Jonas picked up his reports, clutched them in his hand as though afraid they would somehow escape, and walked out of the room, a bounce in his step.

The atmosphere had been electric ever since the draft had been announced. This was not the first time that the CIA had drafted SEALs into their ranks. Harrison knew it all too well, having been refused every time he had asked an audience with the representatives.

I do not have a say in this, Petty officer Harrison, they come and go as they please and they pick and choose whoever they want to pick and choose. If you want to join, I would suggest you step up your game, son. Master Chief Oswald was used to Harrison’s badgering. Every time he would see him, it would be the same; denial of any say in the situation and advice to improve.

Harrison watched the men hurry along in the hallway, steeling himself for the opportunity of a lifetime. This was the first time that such a draft had taken place. It was usually a summons into the main base of operations, through the commanding officers. The SEALs were among the favorites for the Special Activities Division of the Central Intelligence Agency and while it was no news that they had come out into the forefront with their recruitments, an uncharacteristic move in itself, they retained a level of secrecy that was impenetrable still.

These are trying times, Harrison thought to himself. Only last week, they had been on a training exercise in the Dive, training in extraction from underground locations. 5 days later, he was preparing to stand in front of representatives of the most elite intelligence agency on the planet.

This is gonna be my day, yes siree, he said to himself, elation in every nerve of his body. His evaluation reports in hand, Harrison strode out of the room and into the hallway, joining the last of the throng, into the conference room.

You go out there and make your family and your dad proud, boy. His father’s words rang through his mind as he stepped into the small auditorium.

As soon as he entered the room, his wary eyes shot straight towards the men in the crisp uniforms at the head of the area, regarding each SEAL with intense scrutiny. The ‘Gray Men’, as everybody else referred to them, had previously recruited some of Harrison’s former company, to join the elite ranks.

Settle down, people, barked Master Chief Burns, the single toughest man on the entire floating base. With a long, horizontal scar running down the length of his left cheek, he looked just as tough as he was, having seen more fighting than any other Navy SEAL in service.

Major Wolcott, you have the floor. One of the SAD-SOG members stepped forward, as complete silence fell on the squadrons, each member giving their undivided attention to the man up front.

Gentlemen, I believe there is no need to remind anyone how important it is that what you hear and see in this room, never reach any other ear, Major Wolcott began, his demeanor exhibiting an icy calm that was characteristic of the CIA. Every ounce of his attention turned to the Major; Harrison began to listen as the latter laid out the most recent of military plans.

CHAPTER 2

Time: 2009 Hours, Friday - November 2nd, 2022

The Base - Location Classified

Leopard is in place, General, carrying through now. The excited voice of the operator registered in the ears of the stone-faced General, the latter’s face beginning to crack a leer.

Good, very good. The General had been waiting for this meeting for over 9 months and finally, it was happening. All the plans, all the exercises, all the long and grueling hours of hard work and espionage had finally reached fruition, as the monitor in front of him began to come alive with an incoming transmission. Voices, a few at first, alternating from man to man, muddled in the beginning but slowly beginning to clear.

Finally we are in their midst, the General thought to himself. He had served his country for 41 years, dedicated his life to the service of the motherland, given the blood in his veins, the sweat on his brow and the tears in his eyes, all of it and more, just to see his country prosper. Finally the moment was here when his sacrifice and the sacrifices of his men would bear fruit.

We have no word on the location of this base, yet. The voice coming through the speakers was still dotted with the hiss of static. Gentleman, this has been the focus of the majority of our intelligence effort, and I’ll be damned before I let the enemy change their location again.

This is the best chance we have gotten since Operation Hit’n’Run and I am not prepared to let this pass. You are the best that our country has to offer, the best in the world, the pride of the people, and it is your responsibility, each and every one of you, to stay true to the flag. Static again, more intense this time.

Suddenly, the static cleared as the voice came through the speakers once again.

There have been 19 attacks in the last 5 months alone. They have been more active than ever and their funds are flowing into all the wrong hands. We have to prevent that from happening. We will be selecting eight men from among you, who will then be reporting directly to operations command. Their teams and missions will be assigned to them at the time of their first briefing.

Good, tell me everything you can, svoloch, the General thought to himself, reveling within at the sudden barrage of revelations.

We need 3 teams for the initial infiltration, on all three fronts. The rest of you will continue operating as instructed. New orders have been issued to your commanding officers and you are to return to them immediately. Remember gentlemen, all of you, the ones in this room, the rest of the people aboard this vessel, the ones at home or abroad, all of you have sworn an oath to protect this country at all costs. Now is the time to honor that oath. The enemy moves closer to us, to our brothers and our loved ones as we speak and unless we put the entirety of our efforts towards stopping its advance, there will be nothing left to protect. They do not care who gets in their path, they will burn them all. They have murdered our brothers, our sons and they will pay for this and you are the ones who are going to make them pay. We are the saviors, we are the last line of defense between the enemy and the rest of the world and unless we do something about it, there will be nothing left to fight for.

The elation that the General had felt when the signal had been established slowly dripped off his face, to be replaced with cold fury. They call themselves saviors, protectors, liberators … Barely able to contain his anger, the General muttered through gritted teeth and a jaw quivering with anger. "After murdering our own women and children, after burning our own elderly and feeble, after committing all manner of crimes towards our people, they have the nerve to call themselves the last line of defense. No, you son of a fatherless whore, you are the one who will pay, for all that you have done to me, to my son, to my own flesh and blood, and to my people. You will pay for the blood that you have spilled in the name of ‘world peace’, you will pay for all the death that you brought upon my people in your thirst for resources and wealth… you gluttonous pigs took what was never yours to take, you spread your filth throughout the world, disguised in your smooth rhetoric. You may have fooled the governments but I know you. I know what lurked in the deepest fathoms of your ruthless hearts. And now, I know what you plan to do. Death awaits you, svoloch."

It took all of his resolution to finally turn back to the information spilling through the speakers, to keep his head in the task at hand. Death will come to them, he thought, in due time.

CHAPTER 3

Good going Harrison, always knew you were headed for big things; looks like I was right all along, Master Chief Burns said in an admiring tone, smiling for the first time since he had heard of the alleged capture and interrogation of one of the top associates of Tovi Almon, the notorious double agent who had released the names of all the active CIA personnel in the West African region. Chief Burns had smiled and cracked open a bottle of Craig, followed by an entire case. The atmosphere in the entire base had been celebratory, as the agent’s capture had revealed to them the existence of a top-secret network that had been operating under the noses of the world’s governments. While this capture and subsequent jumping into action of the US clandestine forces had alienated some of the closest allies of the US from them, it was cause for celebration for the soldiers responsible for the capture nevertheless.

Thank you, Sir, Harrison replied, a smile spreading across his face as well. This was what he had been dreaming of since the day he had heard what the Special Activities Division gets up to on a daily basis. Espionage, spycraft, secrecy, the crème de la crème of the United States Armed and Intelligence Forces and now he was one of them.

The meeting had been brief and the objective had been explained without betraying too much information. Typical CIA, Harrison thought, reveal just enough to entice and attract, never too much to give the enemy anything to use against them. He knew that what the intelligence officers had told them in the meeting was only the tip of the iceberg, and that the real truth was something far graver.

Something of this scale, from the military point of view, had not happened for over six and a half decades.

Fresh out of the Marine Corps Boot Camp, he had made it a point to visit a veterans’ home every chance he got, to hear their stories. Almost every visit would be filled to the brim with tales of wartime, and opinions on how the world had finally settled down, how it had become too complacent, too ‘politically correct’ to fight.

If only they knew what state the world was in at the moment. Ever since the intelligence forces of the United States had decided to pick up their operational and recruitment momentum, the entirety of the armed forces had been in a constant fervor. Departments had begun to merge, people were being drafted left, right and center. As far as Harrison could remember, he had only heard stories of a movement of this scale.

When the second Great War had begun, every man and boy able to bear arms had been drafted into the military, at least every man and boy who volunteered. The armies of the world had stepped into the various fields of battle and the skies had been painted with the black of ash and soot. The veterans that Harrison had met in his time would always recount how they had to rely on sheer force of will and courage to survive; in a time when all men had to lean on, was each other and their own God-given strength. Those old heroes would then pray for such a time to never return, for their sons and daughters to never have to see a world at war again.

Hearing them then, Harrison would scoff and wonder; how could it not? Why was the country, and all the other countries, building weapons and war machines, if not in preparation for a conflict bigger than the world had ever seen? Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not in a year or fifty, but some day it was going to break out. Some day the buttons will be pressed, the missiles will be let loose, the bombs will be dropped, and people will die in their millions.

No need for the formality, son, you’re way above my pay grade now! Master Chief Burns turned around, the smile plastered firmly on his face, as he made his way back to the quarters.

Yes I am Chief, yes I am, Harrison whispered under his breath, his mouth spreading into a toothy grinned as the image of his former commanding officer springing to salute him filled his mind. I’m headin’ for the big leagues baby!

CHAPTER 4

To,

Mrs. Barbara Wilkins,

8182, 44th Lane, Nashville Grove, San Francisco

Dated: Monday - July 29th, 2022

Dear Nana,

I know I promised to write early, in fact I promised to write every week… and I know that Jess really hates me right now but hear me out okay, I’m still your girl and always will be! So, remember I told you that I’m gonna be on a different base for the quarter? Well, we’re here and I finally got to see the trucks up close and maaan, I was blown away! These things are huge, they’re at least 30 tons each, and that’s without all the guns and ammo! I tried to take a picture but they said it was classified, which is stupid coz they announced the tests and all, but yeah, they’re trying to keep it all hush hush for some reason. So yeah I saw them and guess what, I’m gonna be riding in them for the next tour! God I am so excited for this!

Anyway, how’s Jess? I know she’s probably home for the summer and digging in my closet right now… Well, she deserves it, poor baby, she’s probably scared half the time with all these reports of airstrikes over the South and how they’ve got those android things in there, and those sleeper agents… Me, I think that’s a load of bull coz if there were killer robots and sleeper agents, you think we’d be alive right now!? Hell, they would have taken over and put us all in hamster cages! But to be honest, I don’t know what to believe right now. I’m stuck in here with the grunt battalions and we don’t know anything about the outside world… We didn’t even believe this could happen. It was all over the news that they were gonna start a new war with all the weapons they were making and all that. I didn’t tell Jess that but I read it in a holler that the government was preparing for all out combat and I knew I wanted in so I enlisted. I still feel bad about leaving you and Jessie behind. I knew she was gonna be upset but dad would have wanted this and I couldn’t disappoint him you know. But yeah, I had to go and I knew jess was gonna understand and she did, brave girl.

I celebrated her birthday here, you’re gonna have to tell her! Yeah, I had a cake and all. Well, Max kinda ate the cake but I got a decent piece and I sang happy birthday and all! They wouldn’t let me send a video coz they were afraid someone was gonna intercept the signal and try to reach out to me and recruit me or something. Gosh they’re getting really paranoid but I can’t blame them, we’re officially in a state of war and there are protocols to follow.

I miss home though… I miss your honey glazed ham and that awesome sweet potato soufflé and the sweet tea… they only have coffee over here and it tastes like moose pee… but the pasta and garlic bread is kinda good, almost as good as old Foggy’s place. But I miss my bed and I miss my baby sister and I miss you. They haven’t yet told anyone when the tours will be over, or if they’ll be over at all coz it’s all hands on deck at the moment and they need all the hands they can get.

Anyway, I need to hustle on out of here before they confiscate this letter too, so yeah I’ll write to you as soon as I can. Hopefully there won’t be much excitement in the field, coz if there isn’t; I may get a chance to write even quicker. Love you and miss you so much, love you loads Nana!

Donna

Attached Post Statement:

Jessie, sweetie, I’m so sorry I had to leave you like this but you know how I got called away to the FOB, even though I was to be stationed near home where I could even visit every now and then. But yeah they sent me away and I miss you soo sooo soooo much… You know I even celebrated your birthday and made a video too but they took it so then I had no means of talking to you. Really hoping to get some stability in this tour thing so I can write and talk to you more coz it’s so hard being out here without the baby sister that I have known all my life and love with all my heart. I promise I’m gonna come back honey, pinky swear. I gotta go now babe, hope you’re doing great in school and having fun with all my clothes! Seriously though, you need to stay out of my things, you know I’m gonna get you for it when I come home! Love you tons Jess, see you soon!

End Statement.

Private Donna Moreau held the letter to her as if she was drowning in an unknown sea and this was the only lifeline that could bring her back to her loved ones. Her parents were gone, she had only her sister and her beloved aunt in the whole wide world and for the first time since her enlistment, she felt alone and scared, despite having an entire platoon of loyal friends to support her.

You’re gonna let me have that or what? the mail officer snapped at her, forcing her to reluctantly let go of the letter. It needed to reach her Nana and sister, they needed to know that although she was abroad and that she would be stationed here for a while, she was okay and that she was gonna come back to them soon. They needed to know that, even if it was a lie.

What am I doing here? I’m a 20 year old girl from Michigan, what the hell did I get myself into, she muttered to herself, not audible enough to make herself heard but just enough so that she could hear the nervousness in her own voice. Deep down she knew that she was making her father proud, that he would be looking down at her with a smile on his face and a proud thumbs up, as was his go-to gesture! But somewhere inside her heart she also knew that a time may come when she would have to