Judgement Day and the Immediate Aftermath

Posted on Fri Jan 17th, 2025 @ 10:23pm by Colonel Silas Hunter & Corporal Nicholas Richards & Corporal Emma Callahan & Colonel James Colt

2,419 words; about a 12 minute read

Mission: Towers of the Void (Series Premiere)
Location: Fort Myer, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall
Timeline: July 27, 2024

Approx. 48 Hours After the Attack (Judgment Day)

The world above Fort Myer had been reduced to rubble. The once-pristine base was a scarred wasteland of craters, burnt-out vehicles, and collapsed buildings. Smoke still hung heavy in the air, the acrid stench of burning metal and scorched earth mixing with the ever-present tension of survival. Below ground, the survivors clung to what little hope remained, huddled in the dimly lit corridors of the underground command bunker. The underground bunker was rarely used. It wasn’t surprising the room was half equipped for what they needed it for.

Colonel Silas Hunter sat at the head of a makeshift planning table in the central operations room. The table itself was a salvaged piece of furniture, scratched and dented, but sturdy enough to support the stacks of paper maps and handwritten reports that had replaced the base’s once-reliable digital systems. A dim lantern cast flickering light across the room, illuminating the weary faces of the officers and soldiers gathered around him.

They were down to 40% of their original manpower—just under 200 soldiers left from a regiment that had numbered nearly 500. Supplies were running thin, morale was teetering, and the ever-present threat of Skynet’s forces loomed just outside the perimeter.

Silas rubbed his temples, exhaustion and grief weighing heavily on him. He’d lost too many good people over the past two days, including Major Marsh, his closest confidant and one of the base’s most competent leaders. Her absence left a hole not just in his command structure, but in his resolve.

But there was no time to mourn. He had a job to do.

“Report,” Silas said, his voice steady but quiet.

Captain Stone, the senior engineer on base, stepped forward. His uniform was grimy, his face streaked with soot, but his posture was resolute. “Perimeter defenses are holding for now, sir. We’ve set up fallback positions around the entrance. Sandbags, barricades, and what’s left of the motor pool vehicles are keeping the T-70s and T-1s at bay as well as our boys with those RPGs. Small arms seem to have little effect.”

“What about those Hunter-Killers?” Silas asked, his tone sharp.

Stone hesitated. “Well, we haven’t seen them since the opening attack so hopefully they’re gone.”

“Alright,” Silas muttered under his breath before turning to Lieutenant Sarah Cole, the acting logistics officer. “What about supplies?”

“Not good, sir,” she admitted, glancing down at her clipboard. “We’ve got enough food and water for another four days if we ration carefully. Ammunition is limited—we’re down to about 30% of our initial stockpile, and we’ve already scavenged everything usable from the surface.”

“What was our initial supply? This place should have had enough for two weeks?”

“Budget cuts sir. This place was never really stocked to 100%.”

Silas leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. The room was quiet for a moment.

~ En route to Fort Myer ~

Emma walked silently alongside James keeping her eyes peeled for any sign of trouble. She had to put aside her personal feelings as they walked, seeing the bodies of the deceased simply lying where they fell, debris everywhere. The silence was the hardest, the usual sounds of people going about their business no longer echoed, instead there was a deafening silence except for the sound of the crackling fires that were still burning. She looked towards James keeping her voice low. “You’re sure Fort Myer will still be there? It could have been destroyed.”

James looked over to Emma, they had left her parents' home with rucksacks loaded with canned food, bottled water and meds. They had walked in silence for a large part of the way. Their eyes bore witness to the destruction around them. They were both loaded for bear with weapons. James had a pistol about his waist as did Emma. Along with rifles slung over their shoulders, along with knives and other weapons stuffed in the rucksacks. "It will be there Emma." He said with a certainty that couldn't be denied. "It basically has a city below ground so even if the base above ground has been leveled. There will be an operational base below ground.

“Naturally” Emma answered sarcastically. “All hell breaks loose, and the cream of the crop get to hide away underground, while the rest of us have to fight to survive!” She shook her head. “I was raised a forced brat, as we’re affectionally known, but having been retired and left to fend to myself, I can things from the other side of the fence so-to-speak.”

"I don't think anyone is cream of the crop now Emma, we're all fighting for survival." James replied in a low tone. "My situation is the same as yours Emma as you well know the only difference is I am still active duty." He paused. "Come to think of it, we're all active duty. No one is retired anymore."

Emma opened her mouth to speak before closing it again simply nodding. Her eyes darted around their current area looking for any lurking dangers.

James looked toward the horizon and the slowly setting sun. "It will be dark and cold soon. Let's see what we can find in the way of shelter."

“Agreed” Emma nodded. “Let’s try and find basement properties, or shelters, something underground if we can. More cover for us, and more defensible.”

James nodded, "A excellent idea Emma." Offering his wife a tired smile. he looked around for any signs of a suitable shelter. "Let's try over that way." He pointed off to the right. "Looks like there might be something suitable for our needs over there."

Nodding Emma headed over to where James was pointing, what was left of an abandoned commercial building. “Let’s hope it’s got enough suitable cover, a basement refrigeration area would be good, it’d be thick enough to be shielded, and with power off it won’t be cold anymore.”

James led them to the ruins of the building. it was indeed a commercial building judging by the thick walls that were evident. Stepping between the debris, James glanced over to her. "Looks like we'll have suitable cover, I don't see a basement but let's keep looking and see what we can find."

Emma nodded, cautiously searching amongst the ruins until she found what she was looking for. “Over here.” She motioned to a debris covered hatch, if there were any survivors inside they would have found it almost impossible to lift the hatch from the inside with the debris on the top, “Lets uncover this, and get down inside.”

The pair worked quickly but not hastily as they removed the debris from the top of the hatch. it took several minutes but finally the hatch was uncovered. "Get a flashlight out Emma, I have no doubt it is going to be dark inside once we open the hatch." James said.

Emma nodded. “I’ll switch it on once we’re both inside the hatch, I don’t want to draw undue attention. Right now we’re getting lucky, I don’t think that’ll last long if we’re discovered.

"Okay, get it ready, I'm going to open the hatch." James said and lifted the hatch with a grunt as it swung open to reveal a dark interior. "Okay Emma, switch the light on and let's get inside." James said with a calm urgency.

--Outskirts of Washington, DC--

Nick and a few fellow survivors had been running for several days, avoiding attacks from Skynet and their ruthless warriors. Luckily for them, they hadn't had much trouble getting around and avoiding them, but it was still hard when you don't know what's around every corner or where you might find people.

One of the members of this small group was a military officer, who had the bright idea of heading to one of the local bases that had an underground complex to it that might've held people who survived as well. Not only that, but he was able to find food, water, and help with getting a fire started, even if it was for short periods of time. He didn't trust much, but he knew what to do in a pinch.

— Back at Fort Myer, Underground —

The day stretched on, and the once-bustling activity of Fort Myer had devolved into a grim exercise in frustration. Attempts to establish communication with the Pentagon or the White House were futile. Every radio frequency yielded nothing but static, and the emergency satellite uplink remained unresponsive. Occasionally, faint chatter broke through the silence—distorted voices, frantic and incomprehensible—but nothing consistent or actionable. It felt as though the entire region had been swallowed by a void of isolation.

Colonel Silas Hunter paced the dimly lit command center, his boots echoing softly against the concrete floor. Maps and papers cluttered the central table, hastily scribbled notes detailing troop movements inside the base, infrastructure damage, and increasingly desperate efforts to establish contact with higher command.

Captain Callahan, a senior infantry officer with sharp instincts and a steady demeanor, stood nearby as acting XO. The strain of the past two days was evident in her drawn features.

“We’ve sent pairs of runners to every nearby base, and still nothing,” Callahan said, setting a clipboard down with a sigh. “The last runners we sent to the Pentagon haven’t returned yet. If we can’t get through to command soon—”

“Hold the line,” Silas interrupted, his voice firm but steady. “Until we have orders or confirmation otherwise, we operate as if Fort Myer is the last functioning army command post in the region.”

Callahan hesitated, then nodded. The uncertainty in her eyes betrayed her unease. “Understood, sir.”

The dim red emergency lighting cast long shadows across the room, deepening the sense of unease. The silence that followed was heavy—until it was broken by hurried footsteps.

A corporal burst into the command room, breathless and wide-eyed. “Sir! A runner has returned!”

Silas’s attention snapped to the door just as a disheveled figure stumbled in. Private Daniels was covered in dirt, blood, and sweat, his uniform torn and his breathing ragged. He braced himself against the wall, his eyes darting around the room as though searching for reassurance.

“Private Daniels,” Silas said, stepping forward, his tone calm but commanding. “Report.”

Daniels took a shaky breath, struggling to steady himself under the weight of the room’s attention. Every eye was on him.

“I made it as far as the outskirts of the Pentagon, sir,” he began, his voice trembling. “It’s… it’s bad. The entire area is under heavy attack. Machines everywhere—Hunter-Killers, ground units, those damn skeleton-looking things. It’s chaos out there.”

“Did you make contact with anyone? Any generals?” Callahan pressed, her voice sharp but tinged with urgency.

Daniels shook his head, his face pale. “I couldn’t get close enough. The roads are clogged with wreckage, and the machines… they’re targeting anything that moves. My squadmate Gonzalez… he didn’t make it. One of those skeleton things crushed him. I barely made it back.”

Before Silas could respond, a faint mechanical whine cut through the air. The sound grew louder with each passing second, a mechanical hum that sent a chill through the command center.

Daniels’s face drained of color. “It followed me,” he whispered. “One of the drones… it’s here.”

The corporal from earlier ran back into the command center, panic evident in his voice. “Sir, a Hunter-Killer drone is approaching!”

“Callahan, get the anti-air teams ready,” Silas ordered immediately.

“Yes, sir!” Callahan replied, sprinting from the room toward the defensive positions at the base entrance.

Outside, the whine of the Hunter-Killer grew deafening. The sleek, metallic drone soared over the treetops, its plasma cannons glowing an ominous blue in the fading light. Soldiers on the ground opened fire with rifles, but the bullets ricocheted harmlessly off its armored hull. The drone retaliated with precision, its plasma fire incinerating a parked Humvee and sending nearby troops scrambling for cover. Callahan made it to the front as debris spew everywhere.

Two teams manned Stinger missile launchers at the perimeter. The right-side team locked onto the drone, but on the left, a malfunctioning trigger left the second launcher offline as the team worked on fixing it.The right-side team fired first.

“Target locked!” a soldier yelled as the missile streaked skyward. The Hunter-Killer banked sharply, narrowly evading the projectile. The missile detonated in the distance, lighting up the evening sky with a harmless burst.

“Reload!” Callahan barked as the team scrambled to prepare another shot. She turned to the left launcher, where the crew was frantically fixing the jam. “Hurry up, Left!”

The drone circled around, its cannons charging for another strike. Flames and smoke billowed from its earlier assault, casting eerie shadows across the base.

“We’re ready!” the left team finally shouted.

“Fire!” Callahan ordered.

The left launcher roared to life, sending a missile streaking toward the Hunter-Killer. This time, the drone hesitated, struggling to evade while maintaining its targeting solution. The missile found its mark, slamming into the drone’s left engine. The explosion sent the machine into a tailspin, its glowing plasma cannons flickering out as it plummeted toward the ground.

The Hunter-Killer crashed at the edge of the base with a thunderous impact, sending up a plume of smoke and debris. Soldiers erupted into cheers, but their celebration was short-lived.

The drone was able to fire a missile before getting hit. It streaked toward the base’s entrance.

“Hit the deck!” Callahan yelled, throwing herself to the ground as the missile struck above the entrance to the underground bunker. The explosion rocked the area, showering the soldiers with concrete, brick, and dirt. Dust filled the air, and for a moment, silence reigned.

--Washington, DC--

About an hour or two had passed since Nick and the survivors decided to head into DC proper. As they were walking into the outskirts of a neighborhood, they could all feel the ground shaking, after what felt like an explosion, maybe even underground. One of the survivors asked, "What in the heck was that?"

Nick looked around and said, "Could it have been an explosion?"

The team had shrugged, but found the direction the explosion came from. Hopefully, it wasn't too far and hopefully, it wasn't at the base that they were walking toward.

To Be Continued on Part 2.

 

RSS Feed