The War

It’s been almost two years to the day that the enemy launched its first long range deep penetrating bombs or just L-Bomb for short. Whatever you wanna call it, we weren’t ready. We couldn’t have begun to prepare for a sneak attack like that. It literally came out of nowhere. Truth be told, we’re still feeling the effects. A quarter of my men still suffer from PTSD after surviving that blast. Even I had to do a stent in the med bay on that fateful day. To make matters worse it took us 3 months later before we could drop an L-Bomb of our own.

Today I’m meeting with the top brass to discuss the future of this war. There has been some talk of them wanting to go nuclear but I pray it hasn’t come to this. Truth be told it would be poetic to hit em back harder on the same day they struck us down. But nuclear wars can get messy, let's hope it doesn’t come down to that. Honestly I haven’t made my mind up which way I will sway if the topic comes up.

I put on my neatly pressed uniform, and begin pinning my medals. They feel a bit heavier today than usual. Even my stripes seem to be weighing me down this morning. I’ve been fighting this good fight for so many years now, to think in a matter of hours I’ll be discussing plans to possibly never have to fight again. It all feels surreal, but it’s time.

I step out from my quarters and my escort is prompt and patiently waiting. “Not today private, I think I’ll walk. I need to get a good look at the faces around here.” I say to the young soldier standing at attention. I put my hand on his shoulder and take a long look into his young nervous eyes. He’s probably never seen an ounce of combat and driving me around is the closest he’s ever come to having a real assignment but he’s a valued part of this militia and it takes all kinds to keep this well oiled machine turning. I salute the young lad and begin my walk to General Grogan’s office. I want to get a good look at the soldiers who fight in this cause. A good look at all the soldiers this decision can save and/or lose.

Outside the sun is bright, but the breeze is nice. Soldiers in basic training run pass granting me a wide berth and saluting mid stride. They look eager, well, tired and eager. They look hungry for a fight. I’m sure many of them are still harboring feelings about the L-bomb and the destruction left in its wake. A lot of the buildings here are still in need of repair and reconstruction; it's a constant reminder of a battle lost.

I arrive at the general’s office a tad late and I can already hear General Spurlock’s raspy voice through the door calling for calamity. I slip in unnoticed and take a stand in the back taking in Spurlock’s rant. “The time to take the offensive is now!” He shouts. “We’ve been playing defense in this war for far too long and even at our best defensive measures, we have still fallen short. Why not give them a taste of what we have suffered over the last two years?”

“But General Spurlock, an L-Bomb is hardly on a nuclear scale. Think of what you’re saying here, we were hit with a rock and now you want to run them over with your car!” General Edwards shouts.

“Hit by a rock? You tell that to the fourteen hundred soldiers that were struck that day.” Spurlock rebuts. There’s a silence in the room that carries so much weight. Grogan gives the room a chance to breathe then takes the floor.

”Look gentleman, just because we can hit back harder doesn’t mean we should or that we have to. However we do have to be able to take responsibility for the damage we create. We have the capability to drop L-Bombs now so maybe we can continue to-“

“It’s not enough!” Spurlock shouts, slamming his fist against the table. “If we entered this war to play nice with our enemy we might as well call them a friend.” Spurlock is visibly upset and is turning red as a beet the more the conversation continues. Grogan is noticeably frustrated, tossing his glasses across the military strategy notes before him and rubbing his forehead. “What do you think of all this General Simpson?” He asks, and I quickly take my seat at the table, glance over the strategy notes and join the conversation.

“I see both sides of the coin, but I think the question we really need to be asking is ‘What is the quickest path to peace?’ We all have fought countless enemies before this one and we’ve never had to resort to such measures but this is a formidable foe.”

“Exactly so you agree with me then?” Spurlock asks.

”No. He’s saying that he agrees with me!” Edwards says.

”Quiet both of you! He’s saying how much more destruction will it take to get to peace?” Gorgan yells.

I try to explain myself further but the three of them continue on, each arguably valid in their own right. I don’t even bother anymore and continue to read over the paperwork. The tension of this meeting is so thick you can use it as a bulletproof vest. We have one for, one against, and one neutral. Which means lucky me, I’m the swing vote.

“We aren’t ready to launch a full scale attack like that yet, let’s regroup and refority our defenses then maybe in a year or two-“

”A year or two, do you hear yourself man?” Spurlock shouts.

“Gentleman if I may.” I say raising my hand as if I need permission to take the floor. “We have heard so much about what we are capable of doing and not capable of doing but can we please go over what we know about the enemy. That should be the deciding factor as to how we proceed.” I quickly thumb through meeting points while I have their attention and silence. “Here General Edwards, on page 7 section 2 subsection C, the enemy defense is expected to be low now, and an offensive attack may catch them off guard and devastate them enough to go into peace talks. General Gorgan, page 38 section 1 explicitly details our surplus of supplies and building materials. The excess materials can be used to further extend healthy relations once peace talks have successfully concluded. Finally General Spurlock on page 16, the details of such a nuclear attack are outlined in grave detail. Before you get too comfortable with dropping a nuke, I need you to remember that these are human lives here, and we will become one with the enemy should this attack be successful.”

The three men study their aforementioned sections. Eagerness turns into understanding. Hesitation turns into willingness. Morality turns into compassionate warfare. If this is the quickest way to achieve peace, then I support it. If we can lay down our defenses and the enemy will lay down their weapons once and for all, then I am happy to sign off on nuclear warfare. “Well gentleman I think that just about wraps this up. Are we all in agreement.” Gorgan asks. Smiles and nods are all around the table. Spurlock and Edwards even shake hands when they were just inches away from cutting each other’s throats. “Well then, I’ll give our recommendation to the president.”

D-Day

It’s September 29th the day we were first hit with an L-Bomb and we’re commemorating it with our fighter pilot in the air ready to drop a nuclear payload. The four of us reconvene once again in General Gorgan’s office and watch live footage of our offensive. Our pilot has entered enemy airspace and we all sit at the table holding our breath. It’s now or never. “Bombs away” the pilot announces as we sit and watch from a small screen. He confronts the enemy, totally taking her by surprise. He drops to one knee, opens a small velvet box and releases the bomb. She launches an L-Bomb, “I love you.” she says. And we return fire with our own L-Bomb “I love you back. Will you marry me?” We watch the small monitor and all our hearts stop in unison. Everything rides on this moment. Will we have peace or be back in the trenches? The small diamond nuclear bomb hangs in the balance. “Of course I will!” She screams. We all breathe a sigh of relief that this is finally over. Mission briefings, and battle tactic reports are tossed in the air as we cheer and shout. Everyone is throwing around handshakes and champagne is in every glass. Finally there is peace in our time, but now the real work begins. Now two enemies in the war for love become one.

-End