Future History

"Holy shit!" said Manuel as he and Billy came up the stairs.

Maria turned and went to him, hugging him fiercely. He hugged her back. Billy went to another monitor off to the side and tapped several keys. Nodding at the pictures that came up, he turned to John.

"Colonel, everything looks to be in order, sir," said Billy.

"What this, Billy?" asked Maria looking at the screens he had activated.

"That is the internal surveillance system. It will show you the entire complex," replied Billy.

"Outside, too?"

"Yes."

"Show me the tanks, please?" asked Maria.

Nodding, Billy chuckled as he pointed at one of the panels. He touched the screen and it appeared on another screen to the right of the one he touched. Maria gasped at all the tanks, row upon row of M1A2 Abrams, and they were all her father's now. Tears once again started to roll down her eyes.

"You all right Maria?" asked John. "I do hope those are tears of joy."

"They are Colonel. They are," replied Maria looking up at John without embarrassment.

"Good. Because this is a good thing. Sergio, you should start moving your people up here. All of them."

"Of course. But can I just take a minute?" asked Sergio standing in front of the screen with all the tanks.

"Helicopters too," said Manuel pointing at the spaces behind all the tanks.

"All right, Maria, Manuel, go get our people organized and start moving them up here. Have Captain Latoya call me. Channel four," said Sergio.

"Right away, sir," replied Maria, dragging Manuel with her.

"Billy, show them the way out," said John. "And on the way, have Nick and Peter get their asses up here."

"Aye, sir," said Billy as he turned to catch up with Maria and Manuel.

Chapter 51

John and Michelle, with the rest of their team, were headed home once again. This time they were riding. With the extra fuel tanks and a promise for refueling when they landed, Sergio had no problem letting two of his men fly John and his, home. As there were hardly any Chicoms left in the southern half of America, there was no risk now to fly.

They had spent a week training Sergio's people to operate the command center. John figured that most of the troops there could operate a tank or helicopter. Michelle had spent the week in the infirmary checking all of the people at the complex. She had help from a couple of nurses and some Corpsmen. She only found a few of the women to be in distress and some of the men trying to do too much. Overall the group was in good health.

When they left on an early morning, everyone who needed to be looked at by Michelle had. John left Sergio some orders about recruiting more people. If he was unable to recruit them, he was to call Ed and he would move some good people down there to help out. They were to take in any civilians that were in need. Sergio nodded as he said goodbye.

When they landed in a clearing just to the south of their complex, there was a fuel truck waiting in the trees. When John jumped out of the chopper, it rolled out and up to the helicopter for refueling. The pilot cut his engines as John's team along with three more teams circled the chopper facing out.

"Colonel, we haven't run into any Chicoms since you left, sir," said Major Touhe.

"Good, thank you, Major," replied John.

It only took fifteen minutes to refuel the chopper. It started right up and took off for home. John was happy to be back where everything was green again. The tanker truck and all the people headed into the trees.

For the next year, preparations continued for the taking back of America. Ed with a group of other strategists across the country prepared each of the complexes for the coming all-out war. Those in and to the west of the Rockies would be held in reserve. The ones in the south were to deploy along the border and the sea to make sure no more Chicoms landed. The complexes to the north would start hit and run strikes against any Chicom base, convoy, or patrol.

One day in May, Ed sat back in his chair at the command console and breathed a sigh of relief. John looked over at him wondering what was wrong.

"Ed?" asked John softly.

"Eh... oh, nothing. We are ready to hit back. Hard," said Ed smiling at John.

"When?" asked John.

"Tomorrow, if we want. But the command group thought that we should wait until July 4th."

"Ah, yes, that date does have a lot of significance to us, does it not?"

"It surely does my friend. But, to be ready, and then wait for two months, seems like a waste, and could cause our troops to become lax."

"So, when do we move?" asked John.

"Monday, May tenth."

"A week from now?" yelped John.

"Yes. Go, ready your company. Make sure the doctor and nurses are ready too. We move out at 0500."

John stood up, snapped to attention, and saluted his friend and commander.

"Aye, sir." John turned and left the command center.

It was finally time to kick the Chicoms out of America.

Then the day came.

In the southeast from Florida to Texas 18 armored divisions suddenly appeared, and along with them, 14 infantry divisions. Out of Texas, three air wings appeared in the sky.

Along both coasts, saboteurs destroyed any ports still open. All through the Midwest, the Chi-Com started to mobilize to confront the forces now heading for them. Great air battles took place in the skies over the advancing columns of US forces. The US aircraft destroyed most of the Chi-Com air assaults but some got through causing some damage and loss of life, only to be shot down as they tried to return to their airbases.

The two columns met along the 39th parallel in the Midwest. The landscape was flat and visibility was miles. For two months, they fought. Thousands on both sides died; thousands more were wounded and maimed. Both Michelle and Susan worked in aid stations on the front lines. John commands a company to protect them.

Eventually, as all things do, the fighting stopped. Most of the Chi-Com soldiers surrendered. Some units go underground and the Americans had to hunt them down. For those that surrender, the Americans returned them home. Those that didn't, died at the hands of the troops that found them, without remorse or trial.

Susan and Mark return to Kentucky and took up residence in Marion. Ed returns to Dryden, Virginia, and his family. Michelle and John stay in Kentucky. They have both lost their families and only have each other along with Susan and her family. Michelle and Susan start a practice in Marion. John took over the job as caretaker of the western Kentucky Tactical Defense Command base. Most bases, now stripped bare will need restocking, but that is for the new government to decide. John only hopes this time they get things right before those bases were needed again.

The war crimes trial started a year after the end of the invasion of America. That the people of America suffered under the boot of China is irrefutable and someone was going to pay for the people killed and tortured by the invaders. But that's a different story that is still to be written by the courts of the people of the United States of America.