The home front revolution

Orders

The last two months had flown by for George he spent the whole time training it was hard work but he was used to it. He meet with his friends for what could potentially be the last time, which was something that he was well used to. He would meet people make friends and then move on with his life he knew that he had next week off and he was dying to see his wife Sarah again.

He practiced his marching in the morning and rested throughout the rest of the day because he would be practicing a battle drill later that night. It was going to be huge the entire company was involved it was going to be massive.

George decided to head to the bar to rest until the drill he was pretty pumped about it and felt he needed to share his emotions with his comrades. He walked through the door and sat next to a group he liked. He won't say that they were friends because when he got drafted somewhere else chances were he wouldn't ever see them again.

He felt closest with Jim the guys who he had helped deal with the protestors they both felt the same way about their jobs. They never talked about how they felt about what they did. It was an unspoken rules everyone has their own reason for joining the army and that reason was theirs and theirs alone. However in George and Jim's case there was no need to discuss it they both loved their country and wanted to protect it.

"So, where are you heading after tonight?" Jim asked casually.

"Well unless my orders say otherwise I think I'll be on leave for the next month or so." George said with a smile.

"You lucky bastard." Jim replied in a deep tone of voice which contrasted the grin on his face.
"How about you?"

"Well I've been training long enough so I'm going to be shipped off to some distant place. It's most likely going to be Chad or Columbia." Jim said there was a faint sense of foreboding in his voice.

"Which one do you thinks worse?" George said half joking. Jim thought about it for a while.

"I don't know in Chad I could get my head cut off by some crazy fanatic and in Colombia I might get my head cut off by a psychotic drug lord. Tough choice." George laughed and so did Jim but there was a lot of truth in what he was saying the people he was going to be fighting were more intense than ever before.

"Well you don't join the army to meet nice people do you?" George added to which Jim laughed and shook his head.
"True, true but war has changed now its not like it used to be." Jim said suddenly turning serious.
"What do you mean?" George asked.
"You know we haven't had a proper war in over a century." Jim said.

"Proper war?"

"You know country on country war where both sides wear uniforms and wave flags." George nodded he knew what he meant and he doubted that it would ever change. The world was too political too complex to have a straight up war a string of alliances were forged to stop that. He then remembered the ETS and thought how that would change war even further. It would make war more and more secretive everything would be done in the shadows.

"What time is it." George asked changing the subject.

"12:30. Shit we better go."

George and Jim left the bar together and headed towards the exit when they were stopped by an officer.
"Not you." The officer said looking at George. The officer was aged fifty something and had grey hair and sun worn skin.

"Excuse me?" George asked confused.

"General Adams wants to have a word with you." The officer said his face gave away no emotion.

"Did I do something wrong?" George asked.

"I don't know." Replied the officer honestly.

"Alright." Said George and the officer lead him away he looked back and Jim in confusion as he was lead away.

George followed the officer he was very confused he had no idea what it was that he General wanted to speak with him about. In his subconscious George was worried that he was being cut from the army. He knows that he wasn't very fit if he was failing consistently they might have decided to discharge him. He realized that wasn't plausible because if he was being discharged that wouldn't have warranted the involvement of a General. George felt like a schoolboy being sent into the headmasters for a telling off.

The walk was long and finally concluded when he reached the officer's quarters in which General Adams was currently staying. He walked inside everything was organized meticulously. Nothing was out of place the room lacked any signs of personality.

"Sit down." General Adams commanded and George obeyed. "Do you know why you were sent here?" Adams asked it took George a second to realize it wasn't a rhetorical question.

"No sir." He replied.

"Well it has come to my attention that you are a very good soldier in fact you are one of the best in this country." George couldn't believe what he was hearing he wanted to feel proud of him but it didn't feel right. He hadn't been superior to any of the other soldiers at all. His thoughts were interrupted as the General began speaking again. "Do you know why you are one of the best soldiers in the country?"
"Umm my skill are good?" George replied unsure whether or not it was the right thing to say. It wasn't. The general laughed out loud.

"You!" He said he didn't raise his voice but he said the words very forcefully. "No its not that." He said then paused for a bit as he struggled to put his thoughts into words. "You have the body of a stick insect, although its alright now when you first came you had the worst marksmanship I had ever seen. However despite this you joined the army and you gave everything for your country. You now against all odds have a decent track record. Two confirmed kills both clean the last one I heard was just a few months ago yes?"

George struggled to absorb all the information he had just been given and he still didn't know what his point was. "Yes sir, in Chad" was all that George was able to say. The general took in a deep breath before he continued.

"This is why I am offering a special job to you because I am confident in your loyalty. How would you like to have a job on board the Elite Targeting System?" The General said he even managed to smile at the end.
"Sir I..." George began but he was cut off by the general.
"Before you make up your mind you might like to know I am aware that next month you were supposed to have leave. However to compensate if you do the job for one month you will be paid four times your normal pay. Any additional work on the Elite Target system will be paid three times your normal pay."

"Of course, I accept." George replied without thinking.

"Good" Said the general with a nod "I had a feeling you'd say so. I'm afraid you missed the battle drill but at least you'll be some extra rest."

As George walked out he thought about what he had just gotten himself into he had just agreed to work on the ETS. He had supported the ETS but working on it himself was something entirely different. He had killed people before horrible people who deserved to die. Yet that was different he was up close they were trying to kill him and his friends. Killing someone from space was something else something different. George thought about it for a while he decided he could do it but it was going to take him a while to accept it.