The Next Warrior

Disembarkation - Part 12

The Marines' estimated time of arrival would be in four hours. That's how long mission strategists and tacticians had. There was, as yet, one last thing which had to be done.

As the minutes ticked away, the next phase of the operation was beginning. What plans could be made were written and encoded. Each commander reported to their commander above that their units were fit for the operations. After the last commander, the Marine General overseeing the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force reported in, there was silence on the officer's channel.

In a conference room many miles away from the waters of the South Caribbean, a man sat in a large chair at the head of his table. Gathered around the large oaken table in front of him sat many of the most powerful men and women in the United States. The smell of coffee from down the hall was thick, as it had been for the last three days, and as it would be for the next several more.

The man folded his hands to his face, leaning against his chin. He looked out to the holographic projection floating above the table before them. Points of blue and points of red circled around the nation far beyond them. For several minutes, he contemplated in the quiet as the two dozen others in the room held their breath awaiting his response. His eyes closed one last time. One couldn't know if it was a quiet moment of review, or a prayer for divine guidance. A very old General, finally broke the silence.

"Mr. President. All preparations are set..."

Silence hung as the crowded room stood breathless.

"What is your order?"

There had been no reply from the Venezuelan government. None of the UN demands had been met. Missiles and planes were at the ready. The first wave of troops were standing by off the coast.

"This was as good as it was going to ever be," thought the man everyone was anxiously waiting for. In those quiet seconds where the weight of the free world bore down on him, he thought of times such as this when great decisions were placed on the heads of a few great men. He remembered being just a young man when the Iraq War happened. That was his fear today. Would this war be just another endless conflict, one started with the best of intentions, but never with enough to stay the course? What of Korea, where a local conflict pulled in powers from across the globe? What if this night was just the beginning of something no one could see coming?

Then he thought of Ike. In a meeting not unlike this one, Dwight Eisenhower, then Supreme Allied Commander over the invasion forces given the mission to retake Europe in the final months of World War II, was responsible for giving the final order that set all things in motion. It was his final word that would begin the Normandy invasions and see tens of thousands of Americans die. Of course, had he not, victory in Europe would never have happened, as freedom demanded. He gave the order. "Now is not the time for inaction or second guessing. If we do this, we have to get it done."

The President's eyes at last opened. He put down his hands on the table before him, took one final breath, and exhaled a single word.

"Go."

A single word from high above. That's all it takes really, a single word from the right person. It rippled out a wave of action, moving men and machines all along the Western hemisphere. Automated macros had been initiated, which directed hundreds of thousands to know that the hour had come. Down this chain of events, messages would be sent out, communicating to each and every officer of the Task Force what their next actions should be. Bays across the country and across the sea were lit red, and planes began initiating for take-off. The heavy cannons of ships were loaded and vessels maneuvered themselves into their final resting positions. One hundred thousand people moved together, separated by distance, but through a single purpose, moved as one.

Back on the USS Tripoli, the Marines on the deck could feel it when the engines cut and the big ship came to a halt. Those on deck looked around to one another, then each looked back toward the still dim lights to the south beyond the edge of the sea.

At that moment, most already knew. They were at war.