“I've been in the military so damn long, all I know is the Navy way of life.”

“It's different. At least compared to the way things were before Invasion Day,” Alicia replied, silencing herself for a moment as a group of several Ancient soldiers marched past them, seamless black boots digging into the crumble of road.

“It's like everyone finally realizes how precious the gift of life truly is. Before, society was about the perfect living room suit, color coordinating ties and state of the art games that were so very important, but shouldn't have been.”

“Living room suits? Really?” Jackson said with a chuckle.

“You know what I mean,” Alicia replied playfully. “Now people appreciate the beauty of a sunset and spend as much time as possible with people they love. Guess they always wonder if it will be their last chance.”

“Alien invasions have a way of doing that.” Jackson replied with sarcasm, his joke immediately met head on by a slap across the arm, Alicia then grabbing his hand with a smile painted to her face.

The next few minutes, both soldiers for the survival of Humanity kissed deeply, Jackson laying on top of her perfected body; their breaths heard, even felt by the other.

“The Gods have cursed us.” one of the Ancients said aloud, marching with a group of their lowest ranking warriors as rain began to pour down onto the welcoming soil.

“Indeed. The filth of this planet is almost unbearable.” another replied, never knowing he marched only feet from the spot that two lovers became one soul unified, giving themselves to one another in the most sensual ways imaginable.

 

“They approach!” one of the men yelled, joined quickly by other armed citizens who watched the horizon surrounding New Kinneston.

As the common men turned makeshift soldiers readied themselves, preparing for certain death against a far superior enemy of much greater numbers, they glanced to one another.

They had been neighbors, some of them even good friends. Before Invasion Day, many had been co-workers, members of the same churches and, if nothing more, recognizable from past encounters in town. They had looked out for one another in more peaceful times, watching each other raise children and building the most stable life possible for those around them.

Yet here they were. Laying on the ground outside of a house which bordered town, each man holding some type of rifle in hand. A few even held pistols, but it was no matter. Their guns had been designed for hunting game, not slaying superior life forms from the heavens.

“Hold!” the Ancient in charge demanded. Having been the next in line and watching his Templar fall in the battle for Washington City, Riac was different in many ways.

Physically, he was much larger, much stronger than the Templar who had commanded them before. Strategically, he was more cautious. He had seen thousands of his own kind slain because of haste, and he knew that many names could indeed befit him, but hasty was not one of them.

“What is that chatter coming across your radio?” he asked sternly, his communications officer raising the volume of their long-range unit.

“I say again,” a man's voice rang out against the crackling of mechanical static. “Lieutenant Jackson Ayers, Norfolk Naval Base, requesting priority level one air strike.”

“Damn,” Jackson said with disgust. “The signal isn't reaching anyone nearby!” he added.

“We may need a second plan,” Alicia replied. “I think they're onto us.” she added as the Ancients had started to survey the area around them, looking hard through battlefield binoculars.

“I say again...” he added with despair, holding the mic of the mobile communicator near his mouth. “This is...”

“Lieutenant Jackson Ayers, this is Lieutenant Timothy Spears. Good to hear you're alive old buddy. Awaiting coordinates.” a man's voice replied, bringing instant joy to the faces of both Jackson and Alicia.

“Crap,” Jackson said. “I have no idea what our coordinates are, not even roughly?” Jackson said to Alicia.

She shrugged. They were near New Kinneston, but that would be of no use to an inbound pilot.

“My father gave me this damn watch,” Jackson said, his voice shaking from anger as he quickly removed his Naval combat watch. “I'm really starting to hate these fuckers.” he added, quickly going into a sprint and throwing the watch, which was weighted by a casing of heavy aluminum and thickened glass.

The watch landed only feet from the large group of Ancient warriors, a couple of which spotted Jackson in the act.

“Should I start throwing rocks as well?” Alicia asked, her words drenched in both confusion and sarcasm.

“Lieutenant Spears,” Jackson said, scowling at Alicia for a moment. “My tracking beacon number is one-seven-one-four-nine, air strike the marker when ready.” he added.

“There's a marker built into my watch,” Jackson said, his attention turning to Alicia. “Just a little trick I picked up while you were coordinating furniture.”

“Ties. Coordinating ties, smart ass.” Alicia replied with a huge grin, Ancient bullets zipping into their direction as the sky born enemy did its best to assess how many Resistance fighters were nearby.

“It must be a small group, I'm not picking up much on thermal scan.” one of the Ancient Officers said.

“Good. Form a tactical assault...” Riac replied, his words cut short by the thunderous sound of planes above.

Two F-14 fighters, each bearing the United States Naval Seal and carrying JDAM bombs. It was a surreal sight, watching planes that were put into flight back in 1970 and having long-since been retired, defeating such an advanced foe.

As the JDAM bombs struck ground, an inferno of fiery death consumed a majority of the Ancient warriors, badly injuring those who remained.

A second pass saw the planes chew what they could of the remaining Ancients up with machine gun fire, though few shells struck home as the fighter planes thundered by at top speed. Daylight had arrived, and with it came several more Naval jets in the distance, chasing Ancient warplanes back to their nests of hatred.

“Lieutenant Ayers, would you like us to relay your coordinates for a search and rescue?” a voice asked, more than likely a RIO on-board one of the jets flying past.

Jackson had considered both possible outcomes, thinking of this very decision all night. Return to his duty in Norfolk and continue a military life of fighting Ancients, or return to Washington City with Alicia and pursue the one emotion that had long eluded him.