What Did You Do in the War

By R. E. Link

A William Johnson story. This is book Zero, of the William Johnson Family series

Three large objects were heading towards Earth. Large enough to do real damage. Even more concerning, they didn’t look like asteroids at all. The three appeared to be rectangular. They were coming in fast, incredibly fast, on a collision course. Another notification alarm began sounding. The object’s trajectory and speed were changing. They were slowing and separating. Taking up positions around the Earth. The station supervisor activated the emergency alert system, and reached for the red phone.

Before anyone could react further, the visitors removed our eyes and ears from the sky. Without an understanding of how this could happen, orbital satellites began vanishing. Our ground based systems confirmed it. Somehow, they were being swept away. Foolishly, we stared at the monitor screens watching it happen, like rabbits watching the oncoming headlights, mesmerized by the mystery of it.

The war began on August 8. Without warning, they attacked. We were being exterminated, down to the last person on Earth. And in spite of our efforts to fight back, we couldn’t seem to stop them. That is, until William Johnson saved us.

Today, William Johnson has agreed to once again recount his experience of that crucial moment in time, when the fate of humanity was suspended, waiting for someone to do what was needed to tip the balance in its favor. He will tell the story with all the raw emotion those old memories will force upon him one more time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: R. E. Link
• Release date: Jun 1, 2022
• ISBN: 9798986214115

Book preview

R. E. Link

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WHAT DID YOU DO IN THE WAR

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Prequel to the William Johnson Family series

(Book Zero)

Copyright and Publishing

What Did You Do in the War, is a complete work of fiction created out of imagination. The characters are imaginary. The names were created at random and any resemblance, similarity or likeness to actual people, places, things or incidents is a coincidence.

Originally published as What Did You Do in the War: The Story as told by William Johnson. The Event That Saved The World, copyright © 2017.

What Did You Do in the War, copyright © February 2017, © 2021, © 2022 by R. E. Link. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced, copied or recorded, by any means know or unknown, nor stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the copyright holder.

Published by R. E. Link.

Third mass market publishing, May 2022.

Inquiries may be directed to: [e-mail]

Cover art and illustration by R. E. Link, Copyright © May 2022, by R. E. Link

Print Book ISBN: 979-8-9862141-0-8

E-Book ISBN: 979-8-9862141-1-5

Audio Book ISBN: 979-8-9862141-2-2

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3

Dedication

Dedicated to the real heroes of the world. They save us all, while we carry on, mostly unaware, benefitting from the sacrifice they make.

Thank you.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page

Copyright and Publishing

Dedication

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1:

Chapter 1 Episode 1-1 Incoming

Chapter 1 Episode 1-2 Resistance

Chapter 1 Episode 1-3 War’s End

Chapter 1 Episode 1-4 Aftermath

CHAPTER 2:

Chapter 2 Episode 2-1 Introduction

Chapter 2 Episode 2-2 The Story

Chapter 2 Episode 2-3 Recon

Chapter 2 Episode 2-4 The Village

Chapter 2 Episode 2-5 The Plaza

Chapter 2 Episode 2-6 Behind Enemy Lines

Chapter 2 Episode 2-7 Aliens in the Moonlight

Chapter 2 Episode 2-8 Garden Wall

Chapter 2 Episode 2-9 Trapped

Chapter 2 Episode 2-10 Decision

Chapter 2 Episode 2-11 Attack

Chapter 2 Episode 2-12 Capture and Recovery

Chapter 2 Episode 2-13 Attitudes

Chapter 2 Episode 2-14 Survivors

Chapter 2 Episode 2-15 Disappointment

Supplementals

Additional Titles by R. E. Link

Chapter 1

The Visitors

Episode 1-1

Incoming

Zebra-Alpha-Three was the designation for one of several stations of the planetary defense project, operated by NASA, as a member of the Asteroid Watch network. Their job was to identify object incursions within a section of near space that had the potential of colliding with Earth. Zebra-Alpha-Three was the first station to spot the incoming objects.

It was 9:47 p.m. Greenwich time, on August 8th, in the year 2020, when the SENTRY automated tracking computer detected three unidentified objects approaching Earth on a collision course. An automated notifier sounded calling attention to the observation. The four crew members of the station set their coffee cups down and pushed themselves away from the break room table. Returning to their workstations, they began the verification protocols.

The work had become routine, and often tiresome. In the beginning, the crew was certain they would be instrumental in combing the heavens, searching for danger, and sounding the intervention alarm to save the Earth. They would be heroes, or so they dreamed. But they quickly learned that these events occurred quite regularly, especially at this time of the year. In fact, over the past four months, there have been five other incidents called out by the SENTRY system. Those turned out to be a few chunks of rock, left over from an asteroid collision of long ago. Interesting, but not as exciting as the first time the SENTRY alarm had sounded. Then it was a rush of adrenalin. Now, it was just part of the usual routine.

At the moment, the size of the objects was unknown. However, if it followed the usual pattern, these rocks were just big enough to be picked up by the SENTRY system, but small enough that should they collide with Earth, they would burn up in the atmosphere. No damage, no harm, no foul. That’s usually how it went. But still, it never hurt to check, which was why Zebra-Alpha-Three existed.

They began their verification protocols by connecting to SENTRY system. Retrieving the visuals, and other sensor data collected, they directed the files to the appropriate sub-systems. The size, shape, and origin path of the objects would be determined by those systems. Protocol required a human inspection of the data before the alarm could be sounded. This was required to prevent false alarms from impeding the believability, and therefore efficiency of the response force.

Within minutes, that information came back, and it was more than concerning. Three large objects were heading towards Earth. Large enough to do real damage. It was odd that they had just suddenly appeared. None of the Sky Watch systems had picked them earlier. Now they were in the Near Earth Zone. And even more concerning, they didn’t look like asteroids at all. The three appeared to be the same size and shape. Rectangular. They were coming in fast, incredibly fast, on a collision course. Now the adrenalin was pumping. Another notification alarm began sounding. The object’s trajectory and speed were changing. They were slowing and separating. Taking up positions around the Earth. The station supervisor activated the emergency alert system, and reached for the red phone.

There was a moment of confusion and indecision by everyone who received the alert. These were not celestial bodies being flung around by the tug of gravity. These were controlled objects, with controlled movement. In that moment, some felt vindicated. Finally, proof had arrived that we were not alone in the universe. Others felt fear and panic. And it was quite a letdown for many others. Until that moment, they believed we were the chosen creations of God. The only beings in the universe. Now we had visitors at our doorstep. Their beliefs were called into question, and they were in shock. Unfortunately, that was not the last shock to come.

Before anyone could react further, the visitors removed our eyes and ears from the sky. Without an understanding of how this could happen, orbital satellites began vanishing. Our ground based systems confirmed it. Somehow, they were being swept away. Foolishly, we stared at the monitor screens watching it happen, like rabbits watching the oncoming headlights, mesmerized by the mystery of it. Then another alarm sounded. Command ordered all forces to the highest alert.

We faced an unbelievable situation. It was as surprising to us, as it was devastating. Within an instant, much of our technology became inoperable. Worldwide communications ceased to exist. Whole countries found themselves isolated from the rest of the world, and on their own. There was no calling for a help. There were no relay systems circling the Earth. No remote internet, and no more GPS. Anything that depended upon a satellite became useless. And that turned out to be quite a lot more than we had realized.

Then, another shock. The International Space Station broke orbit, and fell into the atmosphere. Ground stations captured the disaster. It looked like the station was being pushed out of orbit. Desperate calls went out by the crew, but they were not heard. The radio relay points were no longer in place to do their job. Within moments, the station became a giant fireball, burning up as gravity pulled it back