A hangar full of ADI-88 Interceptors appeared on the screen, and I felt my jaw go involuntarily slack. They looked exactly like the drones I’d piloted in Armada, down to the last detail. Another photo appeared, showing thousands of ATHIDs standing in formation under powerful floodlights in some secret concrete bunker. Finally, a photo of a single Sentinel mech was displayed, and I heard Lex mutter “whoa” under her breath. It looked just like one of the Sentinels in the game, and just as huge.
“You’re looking at the real reason for the recent global financial crisis—all of human civilization’s technology, industry, and natural resources have been leveraged to the hilt in our effort to ensure that we have the firepower necessary to repel the invaders’ superior numbers and advanced weaponry. And now, at long last, our forces are ready for deployment.”
More photos were displayed on the screen, showing thousands of real Interceptors, Sentinels, and ATHIDs stored in hidden locations around the world, waiting for battle. I felt an involuntary surge of pride for my species, and the technological miracles we had accomplished in an effort to ensure our own survival.
“We have constructed millions of these drones and hidden them in strategic locations all over the globe, ready for deployment,” the admiral continued. “When the invasion begins, civilian recruits around the world will be able to use their gaming platforms to take control of these stockpiled drone forces using the enemy’s instantaneous quantum communication link technology. This global network of military defense drones will be our only hope to even the odds that are stacked against us all.”
The EDA crest appeared on the screen behind the admiral once again.
“The Alliance’s international forces have already managed to thwart dozens of enemy scouting mission to Earth, and these engagements have helped us collect an enormous amount of data on their ships, weapons, and tactics,” he said. “And we’ve fed every ounce of that data into the Terra Firma and Armada training simulations, to ensure that they would be effective in preparing you to face real enemy drones in combat. So all of you people have been fighting a simulated version of this war for years.” He smiled grimly. “Now it’s time for the real thing.”
He clasped his hands behind his back, and his expression softened. “I know how frightening all of this must be for some of you,” he said. “We can’t force you to risk your lives and join our ranks. But you should all know by now that you won’t be able to hide from this war by running back to your homes. And your friends and families won’t be able to hide from it either. No one anywhere on Earth can hide. These creatures, whatever they are, are coming to exterminate us all. If we don’t stop them, humanity will cease to exist.”
He rested both hands on the podium and angled his gaze downward, as if addressing the recruits seated in the first row.
“But we are going to stop them. If all seven billion members of the human race unite in the face of this threat, and we fight back as one species and one planet, with every ounce of strength we have, we can win this war. I know it. And that starts right now, with each of you.”
A cheer slowly rose from the audience. I didn’t add my voice to it, and neither did Lex. But she nodded slowly, as if resigning herself to Admiral Vance’s call to action. Down on the stage, the admiral paused to straighten his posture, and when he spoke again, the calm edge had returned to his voice.
“Even though the Europan vanguard won’t reach our lunar perimeter for another eight hours, we have reason to believe the enemy may be preparing to launch a sneak attack sometime today, before the rest of the fleet begins to arrive. Over the past few days, dozens of Europan scout ships have been spotted in our atmosphere, and several of them were observed conducting surveillance on EDA installations and outposts like this one.”
He pointed to a map of the world that had just appeared on the screen behind him, which was scattered with flashing red dots indicating the locations of the scout ship sightings. Most of them were near largely populated cities, but one was flashing right over my hometown.
“We still have no way of tracking these Europan scout ships, so their current position remains unknown. However, we—”
We heard a low, rumbling boom from somewhere far above us, like a muffled detonation, followed by a fierce tremor that shook the entire auditorium, like a brief earthquake. A few people screamed; then a warning klaxon began to wail.
“Red alert. This installation is under attack,” a synthesized female voice announced over the PA system. “All personnel report to your battle stations immediately. Repeat—this installation is under attack. Red alert.”
Lex and I exchanged looks of disbelief.
“Seriously?” she said. “This can’t really be happening right now, can it?”