5 Short Stories
by Stephen Brandon
Copyright 2014 Stephen Brandon
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Thank you for downloading this ebook. This book remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this book, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from their favorite authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.
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Author's Note
This book is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, incidents, and dialogue are from the authors imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or other persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Real and fictional locations are used for background only.
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Comment by the author
Story 1 The Warriors Curse
Story 2 A Simple Battle Plan
Story 3 Self Defense
Story 4 The Artifact
Story 5 Extinct
About Stephen Brandon
Other books by Stephen Brandon
Connect with Stephen Brandon
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Acknowledgments
My wife has put up with me for over forty four years. Without her support and love I don't know who, what, or where I would be, so I thank her from the bottom of my heart!
I wish to thank a very smart young lady for proofing some of my stories for grammatical errors, thank you Rebecca White.
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Comment by the author
I only ask one thing. After you read these stories, please go to the end of the book and click on the link and let me know how you liked each story. A simple GOOD, BAD, TERRIBLE, QUIT POLUTING THE INTERNET WITH E-BOOKS, or any other comment will let me know which type of stories you like. I don't aim to please, because I write for my enjoyment, whether you like them or not. However, I do listen and sometimes change my mind.
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Story 1 The Warriors Curse
They dragged him from his hut and before the Captain of the attacking force. Lying of the ground, the one legged man struggled to sit up.
The guard put his foot in the old man's chest and shoved him flat.
The Captain said, “Stand him up, give him a stick to lean on.”
Once propped up and using both hands on the stick to steady himself the old man said, “Our warriors are out hunting to feed the women and children you slaughtered this morning. So shall it be for your soldiers. While you wage war and pillage your women and children shall starve. The strength of your soldiers arms will be as the strength of a woman. For every innocent you slaughter, one of yours will die. I give this as a soldiers curse upon you and your men and their children.”
The Captain in anger drew his knife and stabbed the old man in the heart, and got his blood upon his hands. Raising his knife for all to see he declared, “This old man was crazy.” Walking over to the rest of the village survivors he grabbed a young woman by the hair and drug her to the center fire ring. “Where are your men?” he roared.
“Our men are out hunting for food for the winter. Your men should be doing the same. You will not receive any satisfaction from killing and capturing our children, virgins, and old women. Our scent will remain on you and your men to drive them insane. Your men will dream about their women dying while they are out plundering. Your men shall..”
Before she could utter another word he buried his knife to the hilt in her chest and her blood spurted and ran down his arm.
“With the blood of a virgin and an old warrior, so shall it be.” chanted the rest of the women and children held prisoner. “So shall it be! So shall it be!!”
“Kill them all!”, screamed the Captain at his men.
Should we not take the prettiest women as plunder yelled one soldier from the rear?
“Kill them all!” screamed the Captain as an arrow buried itself in his throat. His soldiers stood transfixed and looked around.
Just inside the innermost ring of huts stood two young men with bows and arrows notched. Between them on the ground lay a small deer, tied by its legs to a pole. One of the young men said, “Leave this village now. And take the soldiers curse with you.”
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Story 2 A Simple Battle Plan
BRIEFING TO TROOPS:
Fourteen male adults have been identified as friendly to our side. Their pictures are on the cards passed out. Make every reasonable effort not to kill them, provided they are not with a group that is engaging you with weapons.
Enemy combatants are anyone that shoots at you, male or female.
Potential enemy combatants are any male old enough to have facial hair.
Deployment will start the minute you touch the ground. Some of you will parachute in to secure the drop zone. These will be followed by helicopter troops. These will be followed by airplanes full of soldiers with vehicles, more ammunition, food, and miscellaneous supplies.
All units deployed must be 16 kilometers from their deployment point within the first 24 hours. The reason for this mandatory distance is the Air Force will start carpet bombing 24 hours after the first troops are deployed. They will also be dropping various types of mines.
The exit location is the eastern border of the country and transportation will be on hand from day 25 to day 31. That means each unit will be required to advance 16 kilometers per day.
The planners of this operation expect that the enemy may try a scorched earth defense ahead of our advancing line. This will not work because logistics has plans that will be implemented to airdrop, ammunition, explosives, food, water, and fuel plus repair parts for vehicles deployed.
Previous attempts to subdue the enemy and their terrorist nation build have failed. Therefor this is a punitive war. 8000 soldiers will start on the western border of the country plus company and battalion size units dropped at strategic locations on the norther and southern borders.
No prisoners will be taken. No surrender of enemy combatants will be accepted. This information has been relayed to all the governments in the surrounding geographic area and they've been informed that if they deploy troops within the border of the target country they will be carpet bombed.
Due to the fact that they have eliminated almost all of our ground intelligence resources we will have not any method of determining who is armed and who is not. Anyone entering the countries border will be considered an enemy combatant.
Each of you will be given a card with local phrases. These will consist of, Come out with you hands up, Anyone not coming out with their hands up will be considered an enemy combatant and will be shot, Lay flat on the ground with your hands on your head, Stay on the ground until we leave. At that point the building they exited will be quickly searched. If there is any resistance or persons within the building explosives will be placed and the building will be destroyed.
Reasonable attempts will be made to refrain from destroying the countries manufacturing infrastructure. Factories and business will be quickly searched. If there is no resistance, then they will be left intact. If resistance is encountered, then they will be destroyed using explosives and fire.
Then the unit will advance and all persons laying on the ground left after a warning that they should remain on the ground.
Any tunnels or bunkers will have gasoline and or diesel poured down the entrances and then destroyed with explosives. Any heavy resistance at fortified locations will be considered enemy combatants. If the unit cannot advance and take the location within 2 hours the follo
wing actions will be implemented. The unit will surround the fortified location at the distance of 1 kilometer. Unit commander will contact Unit Seven and give location. At that time all soldiers surrounding the fortified location should have dug in. The fortified location will be bombed with bunker busters and then carpet bombed with mines. Warning signs will be placed every 1/2 kilometer around the fortified location. The unit will at that time move on to their next objective.
The attacked fortified location will be monitored. Any movement detected will automatically trigger a scorched earth attack using napalm.
WARNING TO ALL SOLDIERS: Rape and pillaging will not be tolerated. Anyone caught raping or having sex with a female will be immediately executed. All solders leaving the theater of operations will be searched. Any items not of military issue will be confiscated and they will be charged with pillaging.
COMPANY COMMANDER: Briefing under tab A.
BATTALION COMMANDERS: Briefing under tab B.
COMMUNICATIONS SECTIONS FROM SQUAD TO COMPANY: Frequencies and authentication under tab C.
COMPANY AND ABOVE COMMUNICAITONS SECTIONS: Frequencies and contacts listed under tab D.
GROUND WEAPONS AND AMMUNITION: Listed under tab E.
AIR WEAPONS AND AMMUNITION: Listed under tab F.
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Story 3 Self Defense
“Good morning gentlemen and ladies of the press. Today I will unveil a new self-defense system that our scientist and engineers have spent eight years developing and two years of construction.
“First let me review the recent history of the conflict between my country and the terrorist. Last year they launched 1807 missiles at civilian population centers. Year before last 2904 missiles. The reason for the decrease in missiles launched was the simple fact that our intelligence sources informed us of several shipments of missiles and our military stopped them.
“As you know from pictures and news reports the terrorist stockpile, store, and launch their missiles from civilian locations such as mosque, schools, apartment buildings, and hospitals. This needs to cease. The last military strike incursion into the terrorist held areas and destroyed 687 missiles mainly found stored in the basements of civilian apartment buildings and schools.
“The idea for our self-defense system was put out in an article published twelve years ago. The author listed was anonymous. It took two years of debate and soul searching for our civilian government to decide to implement the idea. The deciding factor was the chemical rocket that landed and killed over four hundred of our citizens.
“With the help of one of our allies a rocket interception system was developed and activated nine years ago. We now have a second part to our self-defense system and a third section is still under development. The second part we call FLASH BACK.
“It consist of detection arrays that use visual, thermal, and radar to detect the launch location of missiles launched over our borders. It is fully automatic, that means when I press this transmitter button the computers controlling the system will activate and no human will be able to influence or direct the system in any way. The system will determine the type rocket launched over our border and return a similar type missile and warhead.”
Suddenly an aide rushed onto the stage and whispered in the Presidents ear. The President held up his right hand and pressed the red button on the gray box!
With a sad face the president announced, “I'm sorry to have to activate the FLASH BACK system early, but my aide just informed me that twenty-three missiles were detected by our normal air-defense radar being launched. The first launch was four minutes ago. It's impact is estimated in another five minutes here in the capitol. If you will point your cameras out the south facing windows you will see one group of terrorist missiles headed toward us. Hopefully the IRON FIST, the first portion of our self-defense system will intercept and destroy them, however the terrorist have been launching more missiles in groups in an attempt to overpower our IRON FIST defense system.”
Then the President pulled from his jacket pocket his cellphone. After listening a few seconds he yelled, “Listen up”, and pressed the speaker phone button and placed the cellphone near the microphone on the podium he was standing behind. “Mr. President, the FLASH BACK system went online two minutes ago. So far it has launched thirty-three surface to surface missiles. I think one was an error, all attempts to self destruct that missile have failed. It contains a three kiloton fuel-air warhead and the targeting information displayed is the seaside resort that two terrorist missiles were launched from. What are your orders, Sir.”
The news media stood there with their mouths open.
The President then replied to the cellphone, “What is the status of IRON FIST and how many of the terrorist missiles have been shot down.”
“Sir all but five have been intercepted. Four of those are due to impact the capitol within seconds.”
“Thank you”, the President replied as he pressed the disconnect button on his cellphone. “Ladies and gentlemen of the press, I hope we survive and I also hope that your video broadcast were live. Thank you all.”
The last picture received at International News Service was the President kneeling beside the podium praying.
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The fires in the terrorist occupied area had hardly been extinguished when sixty-one missiles were launched across the border.
IRON FIST intercepted thirty seven before they hit populated areas. The FLASH BACK system replied with one missile. This was reported by several satellites observing the area. The nuclear warhead that exploded over the terrorist held areas broke windows five hundred miles away. Half the civilian communication satellites on that side of the planet were damaged by the EMP. Only seventeen military and spy satellites stopped transmitting.
The FLASH BACK system started transmitting from multiple locations requesting missile resupply. These messages were not answered by the military headquarters, because that morning a terrorist missile got through to its target.
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During the emergency meeting held six hours later at the UN an aide rushed in and turned on the big screen TV.
On the screen the head anchor of International News Service said, “I repeat, our sources reported the launch of an intercontinental missile from the ISIS forty minutes ago aimed at the eastern Mediterranean sea. It was intercepted, but still detonated at approximately 100,000 feet. However, the new FLASH BACK system reported on yesterday launched one missile. This missile is inbound to the launch area of the missile launched earlier. It appears that the FLASH BACK missile will impact in two or three minutes. The warhead in unknown, so I'll keep broadcasting as long as the satellites allow. To recap this special news flash, yesterday and earlier this morning local time terrorist launched approximately four hundred missiles. Satellite images showed a total of one hundred and seven impacts including the capitol and several military targets. The terrorist finally managed to overload the IRON FIST missile defense system. The new FLASH BACK system activated during the news conference at the capitol replied with many high explosive missiles and one fuel-air missile which completed destroyed the terrorist port city. This morning local time an estimated sixty terrorist missiles were launched and only three were intercepted. FLASH BACK replied with one missile into terrorist held territory. Estimated yield from our source was in the 20 mega-ton range. This was definitely a nuclear warhead missile. Forty-three minutes ago a missile was launched from central ISIS region and intercepted at roughly 32,000 feet over the eastern Mediterranean Sea. It was a nuclear missile. Any minute now the reply missile launched by FLASH BACK system will impact in centr........
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Everyone sat stunned until a man in uniform walked in and up to the chairman's position. Holding up his hand he loudly stated. “Three minutes ago our allies FLASH BACK defense system launched a reply to an attack by the ISIS. Th
is morning after the main terrorist missile attack we lost all contact with the civilian and military of our ally. The FLASH BACK missile detonated at ground level in the capitol of the ISIS. That was reported by satellites before the EMP fried every satellites within line of site. Seismic devices indicate seismic shock of 8 on the Richter Scale. This roughly indicates a 500 megaton warhead. The middle east is now in peril. Every country downwind will receive massive amounts of radioactive fallout.” Jamming his finger in his ear he said, “Repeat that!”
With a shocked look on his face the then said, “Some asshole just launched another ICBM toward the eastern Mediterranean. The FLASH BACK missile system is completely automated and run by computers. Contact your governments immediately and inform them that we do not know how many missiles or the warheads on them. If they launch anything the FLASH BACK system will continue to reply with nuclear missiles until it runs out.
“I also was informed that our special insertion teams report lethal levels of chemical contamination and no apparent survivors. That means those morons in the middle east are fighting a computer system, not their historical enemy.
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Story 4 The Artifact
On the moon a prospector stumbled over something. It was slick. Looking down he realized that his footprints reminded him of something, walking across a frozen pond scuffing the snow out of the way when he was a kid. Carefully he went to one knee and rubbed the surface. It looked like a coated solar cell. Carefully he pulled his emergency air hose connection loose and gave the surface a tiny blast of his suit air and then resealed the valve. Looking down again he realized that it was something like a solar cell panel under a layer of some kind of plastic. Leaning down on his arms he looked to the left and right. The perfectly smooth surface appeared to go on for hundreds of yards to his left.
Going back to his crawler he took his suit off and pondered the find.