Science Fiction Microstory Contest discussion
Congrats to G.C. Groover, Two-time Champion of the Science Fiction Microstory Contest
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I told my wife I was a two-timer now and she got all angry; what's that about?? ;-)

By G.C. Groover
Copyright © 2018
It was about T-minus 3 hours when I stepped into the Ready Room of Fleet Troop Carrier Solomon Islands looking for a way to calm my nerves. Pacing the length of the ship wasn’t doing it for me, so I let out a nervous sigh and took a load off, propping my backside on one of our firecrackers: a 20 gigaton thermonuclear seeker. They do a great job clearing out potential landing zones but the bonus is that they provide a jarhead with a comfortable place to park it.
We won’t be using firecrackers on this operation, at least not yet. After much consideration, the big brains upstairs had figured out that the Moon - Earth’s Moon - our Moon - wasn’t inert after all, and that the alien presence that had remained hidden there for unknown years (or decades) must be highly developed. This newly discovered probe could mean the beginning of the end for the human race, and we had to learn everything we could about it before we blew it out of existence with the nukes. The really scary part was that we had been there so many times before and we hadn’t noticed a thing. Now that we knew, it was impossible to look up in the sky and not feel like someone (something?) was watching. I sighed again.
I almost jumped out of my skin when a voice said, “Nervous, Brenner?”
In my sober reflection I hadn’t even noticed my boss, Gunnery Sergeant Davis, sitting on a firecracker of his own just ten feet away. He was quietly cleaning his disassembled blaster, not even looking in my direction as he focused on the task at hand.
I swallowed. “I guess so Gunny. Aren’t you even a little scared?”
There was a click as Davis snapped the trigger into place. He looked up and said “Nope. And before you ask me why not, I’m going to go ahead and tell you.” He picked up the barrel assembly and slid it onto the discharge rail. “It’s because we’ve been there before.”
“Yes, I know that,” I said, “but we didn’t know what it really was!”
Gunny Davis pushed in the button, locking the barrel in place. “You’ve misunderstood me, Brenner.”
He rapidly put the blaster together, each snap and click of assembly serving to emphasize his points. “We were there because they were there before: the Veterans. They were there in Fort Nassau and Tripoli, stormed the Halls of Montezuma, and held the line in Bellau Wood. They raised the flag at Iwo Jima and battled back after Tet, cementing the deal at Hue. They stood the watch when the wall fell in Berlin, died in the canals on Mars and flew victorious in the skies of Trappist-1e.”
The focus ring clicked into place on the blaster as Davis completed assembly. “The Veterans that fought and died before us are here with us now, at this moment, watching over us. Now some of them died and some of them didn’t, but they each carried the torch until they couldn’t and now it’s our turn. And that’s another reason why I’m not scared; because I know that on the day I die, there will be someone here right beside me who will pick up that torch and carry it through to victory.”
Gunny Davis stood up and holstered his blaster, his wiry frame rigid as he stood at attention.
“Remember the Veterans when we go down there today, Brenner. They are there to help us shine, and we are there to keep alive the creed and traditions that they paid for with their sweat, their blood, and their lives. So gear up Marine, it’s time for us to go to work! Didn’t you know? Today is Veteran’s Day.”
It was four hours later on the surface of the Moon - Earth’s Moon - our Moon, that Gunnery Sergeant Davis and many others fell in defense of our world. The probe wasn’t on the Moon; the probe was the Moon. I wondered how many silent years had passed since the gigantic and improbable vehicle of destruction had been deployed? How long had they watched? And now that we had stuck our hand into the hornet’s nest, how long would it be until the first wave of invaders would flood the Earth? All I know is that I will be waiting, torch in hand.