World War Viterra

Part one of a short story I've developed about me and the people I work with reacting to the world going at war. Warning: Foul Language

World War Viterra

 

 

Tension Rising

 

 

The mid-spring sun was warm and bright as it shone on the huge metal seed bins of the canola plant just a mile west of Manitoba’s highway 75. Scores of pigeons flew in circles around the plant, consisting of a huge, square, four-story main building, in which the seed was crushed, extracted of its oil and then processed into cooking oil found in stores worldwide. To the west of it sat the six seed bins and the two concrete silos which stored the meal, a byproduct of crushing the canola seeds. South of the bins and silos was the rectangular three-story shipping/receiving building, where trucks unloaded the seed into a pit which transported it up leg conveyors and into the bins. Oil and meal was also loaded into trucks and rail cars at this location. Further north of the site was a warehouse with a work shop inside and the plant’s inventory of spare parts. To the east of that was the powerhouse, where the plant’s boilers and steam system sat under watch by power engineers. To the west, across the parking lot, was the scale building which weighed all incoming and outgoing customers and suppliers.

In this part of the world it was peaceful and mostly uneventful. Men and women went about their business as they always had, eagerly awaiting their days off and their pay cheques. A man driving the front-end loader dumped some garbage into the large refuse bin. An electrician changed a faulty lightbulb under one of the bins. Two millwrights leaving the plant made their way across the parking lot toward the warehouse. A freshly unloaded tandem box truck drove from shipping/receiving down the driveway that circled the seed bins and meal silos and passed through the shipping/receiving building back toward the scale house. A hired contractor drove around the site on his lawnmower, cutting grass while listening to music from his earphones. Everything was as it should be…

For now.

 

****

 

“Filter B is ready,” Randy mentioned to the man beside him. Randy, a robust red-haired young man sat in a large, black, high-backed chair in front of four monitors depicting the various stages of canola oil processing. At the moment one of the filters, which cleaned the oil of clay, DE and other solids was ready to be opened and cleaned. It was a simple task requiring minor physical work.

The middle-aged man seated only two inches to his left was short, pudgy and of Vietnamese origin. He lumbered up to his feet, grunting all the while, farted loudly, and then nodded. “Ok,” Phu said hoarsely. “I’ll go do Filter B…” He put on his hard-hat, his gloves, and his safety glasses and turned to leave. Suddenly, he turned around, removed his hat, glasses and gloves, and returned to his seat, pointing at something on the screen. “What’s the slurry at?”

Several time-consuming moments later he finally got up and left to do his initial task. Soon after he left Vince walked into the control room. He was Randy’s age but not as robust and with thick black hair instead of red. He walked to the radio and turned it on. “S**t’s going crazy in the Middle East right now,” he said to Randy.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah I was downstairs in the lunchroom and it’s all over the radio how the Russians are moving toward Iran and some oil fields and the Americans are pretty pissed right now. They say it could start a fight if the Russians don’t back off.”

The radio was turned up and just as Vince had said the announcer was talking about the conflict in the Middle East. “…and US President Barrack Obama is stating that if the Russian military does not remove its presence from the Iranian border and its oil fields that it will have no choice but to increase its Middle-Eastern military force. Russian President Vladimir Putin states that he is simply conducting a military exercise with neighboring Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan and hopes that the combined armies’ proximity to Syria and ISIS may urge the terrorist group to cease its acts of violence….”

“Something tells me the Russians aren’t there for peacekeeping,” Vince stated. “All year he’s been gathering old Soviet countries to his side. He’s just seeing how far he can go before the Americans do something about it.”

“Yeah, probably,” Randy said with a shrug. “Wouldn’t be a good thing if those two went at it though.”

“Bah,” Vince started, “just because he has a few friends and his money isn’t s**t anymore doesn’t mean he can stand a chance against the Americans. They’ll mop the floor with his soldiers’ blood and nothing else will come of it.”

The radio announcer stopped talking and resumed the music playlist. It started off with Thunderstruck from ACDC and with that Randy promptly unplugged the radio from the wall outlet. “Wouldn’t mind if those guys got caught in the crossfire…”

Vince just laughed.

Krista, middle-aged, blonde-haired, short and skinny walked quickly into the control room, on a mission as always. “Ok…I think that jug is in the back here…” she muttered to herself as she was wont to do. She opened the door to the back room and was gone in the blink of an eye.

“Always cleaning something, that one,” Randy said with a smile and shake of his head. Vince nodded in agreement.

The phone next to Randy suddenly rang. He noticed the number was from the scale house. He picked it up, thinking little of it, until he heard an unfamiliar voice on the other side.

“Is this the Plant Manager of this facility?” the gruff voice asked.

“Uh…no, he’s up in his office. I can give you his extension if you want.”

“No thanks. This is Captain Sam Whittaker of the Canadian Armed Forces. I need you to gather everyone who works here in this facility to meet me outside now.”

“Uh, it’ll take a while for everyone to get here. Some people are on their weekends.”

“This is a matter of national security, son. I need them all here as soon as they possibly can. Can you do that for me?”

“Um, yes sir. I’ll get on it…”

“Good.” And with that the phone hung up.

“What’s up?” Vince asked questioningly. “That didn’t sound like Russ was telling us a caustic truck was on its way.”

“I have to call everyone to get to the plant. Some captain wants everyone here.”

“Captain? What the hell?” Vince walked to the window and looked out across the site to the scale house about a hundred fifty yards away where he saw an army-green jeep with two soldiers standing beside it, weapons bared. A tall man with grey hair, dressed in an officer’s uniform, walked out of the scale house and into the jeep, followed by the soldiers. The jeep then made its way to the parking lot.

Krista walked out of the back room with a cleaning jug in her hand and was almost out the other door leading into the plant when Randy told her to put it away and get down to the parking lot.

“Looks pretty serious,” Vince said as he opened the door beside the window that led outside. “I think cleaning can wait.” Krista followed him out and Randy got on the two-way radio and told Phu about the situation before beginning his long list of calls.

It was a good two hours before almost every employee of the plant was accounted for. The plant itself had been shut down after being instructed to by the plant manager. Not everyone came; some were busy somewhere else and some didn’t want to be bothered on their days off.

“I know this all seems a bit of a shock to you all right now,” the captain started once everyone was listening, “but the situation in the Middle East as some of you I know are aware of has deteriorated. Russia has just invaded Iran and American intelligence is telling us that there is a sizeable Russian force on its far eastern coast, not far from Alaska. I don’t want any of you to panic but there is a real threat here. If Russia invades through Alaska we, as an ally to the United States, have to prepare for war. With the Middle East tied up as it is and Alberta and its oil in the path of a Russian invasion we need to ensure that we have the means to continue the war until its end. That is why I have an order here from the Parliament,” he then lifted a sheet of paper signed by the Prime Minister, “that states that any facility capable of aiding the military force will do so until the conflict has ended. Canola oil can be created into biodiesel and though it’s not our preferred fuel we will take what we can get and with this facility’s proximity to a major highway it will also serve as a rest stop for American forces coming up from the south.

“What that means for you is that starting today you will be producing biodiesel for the army until we have no more need of you. In the next week the Armed Forces and your managers, as well as Viterra upper management, will work together to retrofit this facility for maximum production of the highest quality biodiesel.”

“What happens to our jobs?” asked Lawrence, an older man with silver hair and a trademark handlebar moustache. “Are we all laid off…um, sir?”

“That’s the thing,” the captain said lightheartedly. “You all keep your jobs. It would be more work for us to train new employees for this facility which is why you can all stay here and continuing doing what you do. You will be trained on the processes of making biodiesel but from my understanding it’s not much different than what you are doing now so the learning curve shouldn’t be too sharp.”

“What happens if the Russians do invade Alaska?” asked Brandi, a young, attractive, buxom, blonde-haired mother of two. She appeared worried and almost frightened. “Do we still need to be here?”

“If such a thing does happen,” the captain said carefully and clearly, “we will need the biodiesel all the more and so this facility will be fortified and protected. You will be safe here, though we understand if some of you may wish to leave for somewhere safer.”

“What if we all leave?” Lawrence asked. “We’re not soldiers like you. We don’t want to die at work.”

The captain didn’t seem to like that question but made an effort to hide his displeasure. “If you all leave we will have no choice but to find new employees and hope that we can train them quickly or simply shut this place down. Know, however, that if you do abandon this facility and deny your own military its resources that you are, in effect, aiding the enemy. Consider it your patriotic duty to keep this place running at full potential. We need you as much as you need us.

“And may I remind you that if the situation worsens you will be well-protected. If, however, it appears that this place will be overrun or under serious threat we will force an evacuation which will ensure that you do not lose your lives needlessly.” He waited for any other voices but no one spoke up immediately. “Any other questions?”

“So basically we just continue on as normal?” Ryan, a large, bald-headed man asked.

“Once the new tanks and pumps and pipes and whatnot are installed, yes.”

Ryan pursed his lips and nodded.

“We are not asking you to sacrifice your lives here,” the captain added. “All we are asking is that you help us.”

“You’re not really asking anything when you just told us that this place is going to make biodiesel whether we want to or not,” Ryan said with a raised eyebrow and upraised hands. “You basically came down here and told us that we’re making biodiesel for the army now. That’s not asking anything.”

“Won’t that make us a target for the Russians?” Lawrence asked in contemplation.

“Before this place is in any threat of being targeted for bombings or any kind of destruction we will ensure that it is evacuated,” the increasingly reddening captain said through gritted teeth.

“Yeah ‘cause in World War Two the Germans made sure all their factories were evacuated before they were bombed, eh?” Ryan said with dripping sarcasm.

The captain, unable to take the arrogant comments any longer walked directly up the Ryan and looked down on him with a stern gaze that could cripple buildings. “I don’t appreciate your attitude about this serious matter, boy. Don’t you want to help your country?”

“All I know is that I don’t want to die,” Ryan said, unafraid.

“Then make me some biodiesel or the Russians will make damn sure you don’t live long.”

“Sir,” Vince said, summoning some courage to address the irate captain that reminded him of a bear towering over its next meal. “Do you think the Russians could really push this far east?”

The captain took a deep, calming breath and turned to Vince, giving Ryan one last hate-filled glare. “Chances are their advance will be stopped in Alaska before they ever reach our borders but we want to prepare for the worst. For all we know you’ll be producing canola oil again before the month is over. Like I’ve mentioned before, there really is no reason to panic.”

When all the questions had been answered and the captain had left, the trucks bearing new parts for biodiesel production were already coming down the gravel road towards the plant.

“If the army is as efficient at stopping the Russians as they are at getting us new parts this whole thing will blow over before our shift is over,” Vince noted to Randy, who nodded.

“I don’t know, though,” warned Eric, a young, intelligent black-haired lab technician who was well-versed in world events. “Putin’s not dumb. He won’t invade Alaska unless he knows he can win. He knows the US can kick his a*s pretty quick so he’s going to do something that’ll give him the upper hand. As much as I don’t want anything to happen I don’t think this war is going to be over so soon. I think the Army knows the same, which is why they’re preparing for the worse.”

“Well that makes me feel so much better,” Randy joked.

“Hey, I’m just saying what I think. I could be full of s**t, who knows.”

“Well you’re French, so of course you’re full of s**t,” said Steph, who approached the three. He was a relatively fit, bald-headed young man with a twisted sense of humor and no speech filter whatsoever.

“What are you talking about?” Eric said smiling, “You’re French too.”

“Yeah and I know I’m full of s**t. But still, crazy stuff eh?”

They all nodded solemnly to that.

“Oh well, if anything happens I’ll get my guns and my quad and I’ll go hunt myself some Ruskies.”

“Save some for us, eh?” Eric joked.

“I’ll think about it. Anyways, I gotta’ go. The Missus is texting me. The monsters are driving her up the wall.”

“Maybe sick them on the Russians.”

“F**k that. I want a chance to bag a few first.”

The day ended with construction already underway with cranes, many millwrights, pipefitters, electricians, welders and a host of others working as quickly as they could to make sure the canola processing plant was fit to pump out high quality biodiesel.

Everyone left the plant with a slight weight in their gut and a worrying thought that maybe their world was about to change dramatically. The news only told them that the Russians had advanced deep into Iran and were seizing oil fields by the hour. The American forces had not engaged them yet, wary as to what would happen if they did. Iran was no ally, though it was a member of UN, but nearby Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and UAE were good friends of the American government and if they came under threat of invasion the American forces would be quick to defend them. Many UN member states were urging the Americans into action but a war with Russia was not to be taken lightly. The United Kingdom and France had announced that if Russia does not cease its actions they will send defending forces to the Middle East to aid the Americans. Canada was also preparing to send a small force to the Middle East if the situation worsened while most of its armed forces would aid the Americans in fortifying Alaska, Yukon and British Columbia from threat of invasion. China was saying little and South Korea was reporting increased activity beyond the North Korean border. The UN was scheduling an emergency meeting to discuss Russia’s actions and decide on if war was the answer for Iran’s liberation.

The situation was tense and the world was holding its breath for what may be the start of something that could threaten the way of life of billions.

 

 

Action

 

 

By week’s end the plant was fully functional and ready for biodiesel production. Such improvements and modifications usually took more time to install but with the military breathing down everyone’s necks the work was done quickly.

It was Friday and the evening was creeping upon the operators in the control room. At the computer was Glen, a muscular young man with a full beard, a large chin that emphasized it well, and a great love of football and women. He was starting up conveyors and pumps as preparations were made to start the plant and begin processing biodiesel for the military. Behind him sat his supervisor, Steph, behind him was Steve, a barrel-chested heavily bearded young man, and RJ, an average sized young man with a shaved head with hints of blonde hair, somewhat squinted eyes, and an insatiable appetite for the opposite sex that dwarfed Glen’s own. Despite their qualities and differences the men worked well together and had started and shut the plant down numerous times.

Steph glanced up at the clock. It was six-thirty. Their twelve hour shift started and ended at seven and their relieving shift, led by Ray, would be coming through the door any minute. Infamous for somehow managing to avoid most shut-downs and start-ups it appeared that they would be left with the brunt of this one.

Steve rolled his chair to the radio and turned the volume up, finding the silence unsettling. The last riffs of Enter Sandman by Metallica were fading out when the radio DJ began to speak. “So hey there, Winnipeg, I know we’ve all been trying to adjust to the soldiers and military vehicles passing through our city these past few days but it looks like it might go on for a little longer. By six o’ clock today Iran’s capital city of Tehran was captured by Russian forces. The rest of the country had been falling to the Russians all week and all that was left was Tehran. The Russian flag now flies over Iran… So um, I’m not sure how we should all take this but just flip your channels to the news. You’ll hear more about it there… Anyways, that’s all the news I have for now but if something else comes up you’ll hear it as soon as it does.”

“F**k, Farid must just be pissed right now,” Glen said about the radio announcement.

Steph nodded. “Yeah, that’s his home country right there. That’s gotta’ suck.”

“So does that make him Russian now?” RJ asked, his eyes still down on his phone.

The door leading into the plant opened up and in came Lawrence, Ray’s go-to computer screen specialist. Behind him was Marty, a round-headed and round-bellied young man with a sense of humor about anything and a keen taste for the finer things in life, like beer and hockey games.

“So I hear Farid doesn’t have a home anymore,” Marty said as he made his way to the coffee maker.

“Looks like it,” Steve replied.

As the minutes ticked away until shift-exchange Steph briefed Lawrence and Marty on the new processes installed and the changes to the processing. There were several new tanks and mixing machines and the process was slightly longer than making canola oil but it was understandable and something that could be learned relatively quickly by someone experienced with canola processing.

Only Steph remained when Ray and Rob finally showed up, the others gone home. Ray was a young man of Italian descent with a quick smile but a more cautious and apprehensive nature. The new processes of making biodiesel had intimidated him at first but with the substantial pay increase he had received he had decided to stick around and make an effort to learn them. Rob was a man of average height and stature with a somewhat saltier outlook on life than Ray, especially about his job. 

“F*****g train held us up for a good while,” Ray explained as he filled his Styrofoam cup with coffee. “It was going so slow too.”

“Yeah but it was hauling some pretty cool cargo,” Rob added. “I saw lots of army jeeps, cannons, and even some tanks. Looks like s**t is going to hit the fan soon.”

“Yeah…” Ray said in a notable tone of worry. “If anything does happen in Alaska I’m letting you guys know right now that I’m not sticking around. F**k that. I’m packing my wife and kids and heading south. What about you guys? Are you really all going to keep working?”

“Well I’m not too worried,” Marty said with a shrug. “I’m sure the Americans will hold them back. If they don’t, I’ll be surprised, but I guess then I’d pack up and find somewhere else to go. Until then I’ll keep going to work. War or not there’s always bills to pay.”

“Yeah, f*****g bills,” Rob grumbled.

“That captain said this place would be fortified if Alaska was invaded,” Lawrence reminded everyone. “Now I’m not sure what he means by that but if it’ll be protected I might stay and keep this place running.”

“You serious, Lawrence?” Ray asked in surprise.

“F**k no!” Lawrence exclaimed. “If things are looking bad in Alaska I’m getting the hell out of here, no questions asked. There’re some plants in the States I can apply to. I’m not risking my life for this shithole.”

“Haha, ok, you had me scared there for a minute.”

“Hey, where’s Jesse?” Rob asked as he looked around for their dark-skinned young shipping/receiving operator.

“AWOL again eh?” Ray noted with a disapproving shake of his head.

“Maybe he’s already saying ‘F**k it’ to this place and finding a job somewhere else,” Marty suggested.

 “That’s actually not a bad idea,” Lawrence said from his position at the monitors. “If this place runs smoothly we might as well start looking for other jobs online. Just in case.”

“I’m going to look for some regardless if this place runs good or not,” Rob stated. “I don’t give a s**t anymore. What are they going to do? Fire me? They need me more than I need this f*****g place.” He then stood up from his chair and walked into the small adjoining room in which sat another computer and set about searching for jobs in nearby provinces and states.

 

****

 

The plant was running quite well and during the night many tons of biodiesel were dumped into the massive holding tanks outside where they could be pumped into vehicles directly or stored in tanker cars which CN would then pick up and deliver to other locations via railroad. The radio had been playing on all night but there had been little news about the events in the Middle East. Western Powers and The Russian Federation bickered back and forth and threatened one another repeatedly but other than Russia enforcing its grip on Iran there had been no action anywhere else. Even the forces near Alaska had done nothing worth noting. North Korea had calmed down and China was still saying little. Saudi Arabia and the small countries bordering it pleaded for the Western Powers to act but no one wanted a war between Russia and the United Nations and the world’s fate hung on the edge of a knife. Fuel prices had nearly doubled and the price of certain foods and products had increased as well. Countries world-wide felt the impact of Russia’s actions and hoped a peaceful resolution could be achieved. President Vladimir Putin pleaded his case by saying that “annexing” Iran was a necessary step in stabilizing the Middle East and that together Russia, its allies, and Iran would live peacefully and put great effort in silencing ISIS and other terrorists group forever, a task he said the Americans could not do. When asked why an alliance with Iran could not have been simpler he bluntly replied by saying that he needed Iran’s strategic location and did not want to upset its people by installing Russian bases in their land. Now that it was a Russian state he could do as he pleased. It was clear that no country leader believed him but no matter how much they threatened and urged him to surrender Iran to its people he refused them, saying that the machine was now in motion and it was too late to turn back.

When Steph and his crew returned in the morning to relieve Ray and his men there was an urgent message on the radio that interrupted and silenced everyone.

“China has declared war on the United States!” the voice on the radio exclaimed. “China, with the backing of North Korea, a former rival, have both declared war on the United States and all of its allies by shooting down an American reconnaissance aircraft that was flying in their airspace. China declares that it had repeatedly told the American government to keep its aircraft out of its airspace but that now was the tipping point. They said that"Oh my god! Oh my gosh! Oh sh"dear…, I have just received word that all passenger jets flying near China’s airspace have been targeted and fighter jets have been sent out to drop them all out of the sky. China says it is sending a message to everyone and anyone that sides with the prideful Americans who think they control the world. As we speak passenger jets are falling from the sky…I can’t believe this. I…I’m sorry. I just…this is impossible to believe.

“Oh s**t…there’s more. Dear god there’s more.” She could be heard taking a deep breath. “There are now reports of entire fleets of North Korean and Chinese fleets heading eastward across the Pacific. All American ports on the west coast are on high-alert and are sending their own fleets to engage them. The islands of Hawaii and especially Pearl Harbor are preparing for an invasion. Japanese and Taiwanese ports have been blockaded by Chinese forces and South Korea is mobilizing its military in preparation for a second Korean War. The Philippines and southern Asian countries are preparing for the worst, pleading for aid, and Australia is mobilizing its Navy and Air Force for retaliatory attacks on China. As of yet Russia has not declared war on any Western power and is holding its position in Iran. For the moment, America and its allies are at war against North Korea and China, resuming the war they had in the early fifties. Let us…let us all hope the matter is resolved quickly…”

“Holy s**t…” Steph said amidst the silence in the room. All other men had nothing to say. They were at a complete loss of words. War had broken out. As of yet Alaska was not threatened but the fact that China and North Korea were heading towards the west coast of North America was enough to worry them all.

Finally, Lawrence, as he was readying to leave, tried to bring hope. “The Americans have bases in South Korea and Japan. They’ll capture China’s and North Korea’s capitals before they make it halfway to Hawaii. This war won’t last long, trust me.”

“Yeah, that’s what they said about World War One,” Rob remarked pessimistically.

 

****

 

Throughout the whole day Steph and his crew, as well as the other plant employees, kept their ears tuned to the radio and constantly searched the news online on the happenings of what appeared to be the Second Korean War. Throughout the day South Korea had been heavily bombed by aircraft and artillery alike but was holding strong, bolstered by the American forces based there. They had been preparing for this moment since the First Korean War’s ceasefire and were proving to be up to the task.

American aircraft carriers and destroyers were engaging Chinese and North Korean ships in the West Pacific, not far from Japan’s eastern coast. American submarines had been patrolling those waters and had sunk several ships only minutes after the declaration of war had been sent out. Attack aircraft bombed and fired missiles into slow-moving ships while fighter jets high above them engaged enemy fighters. American military technology was superior to the Chinese and North Koreans by far and they scored many victories in the first hours of the war. Drones snuck past large military ships and attacked the slower and more vulnerable supply and transport ships trailing the fleet.

Because of the time difference North America had received the declaration of war in the morning but the battles had begun in the late evening in the Pacific. Whether China wanted to use the night as cover or wanted to ensure that all of North America heard the declaration war as it woke up no one knew at the moment. With radar, sonar and GPS the time of day gave little advantage.

It was mid-afternoon at the plant when the radio announcer stated that it was early morning at the battlefields and the Chinese and North Korean losses appeared to be staggering. The North Koreans had lost all of their frigates as most had been of poor construction and obsolete design, seven submarines and ten missile boats. What remained of their navy lacked strength and was under threat of being completely destroyed. The Chinese, with a more modern navy and with far superior numbers of quality ships had fared much better. The only Chinese aircraft carrier had suffered damage but remained afloat and operational while five destroyers, six frigates, three submarines and a number of smaller ships now lay at the bottom of the ocean. The fighting had been fierce and every minute that passed allowed America to increase its strength as new ships from the mainland ports arrived to join the battle. The war was not a day old and, according to the radio announcer and many news websites, it appeared to be almost over. The might of the American Navy was immense and though it had lost three frigates, three destroyers, one submarine and had one damaged aircraft carrier the losses appeared only as scratches to the great number of warships entering the battlefield every hour. The full might of the American Navy was surging westward toward China and North Korea in an all-out assault intent on obliterating their enemy before it ever became a true threat to the North American continent. Australia’s Navy had secured the safety of Indonesia and had chased off Chinese ships from many neighboring islands while the British, French and other UN ships were en route to the Pacific to help subdue the Chinese and North Korean forces.

“Well, doesn’t look like we get to bag ourselves some Ruskies after all,” Steph said with a note of disappointment.

“This is going to be like the Iran war,” Steve said from his position at the monitors. “They’ll fight them back quick in the first few days but it’ll take forever to stop them in the cities. We won’t see any action here but they’ll get plenty in North Korea and China. It’s too bad because I was almost looking forward to drive my truck into some chink’s face.”

“Your truck is lifted too high,” Steph laughed. “You’ll just pass right over them.”

“F**k, you’re right,” Steve agreed with a laugh of his own.

“I’ll just blast them with my cannons,” Glen said from his chair. He curled his arms, making his triceps bulge, and kissed both of arms consecutively. “No way some little Chinese f**k is taking over my city.”

“Doesn’t look like the Chinese will be taking any city, though,” Steph reminded. “I wonder if we’ll have to keep making biodiesel.”

“Typical of this place,” RJ said, coming in from the back room and finding himself a seat. “They spend a week making this place into a biodiesel plant for nothing. Was reading up online and it looks like the Americans could be invading China and North Korea in a day or two.”

“Yeah we heard on the radio,” Glen said. “So much for the Second Korean War.”

“Pfft, I knew it wouldn’t last long. The Americans have f*****g drones and stealth fighter jets and s**t and what do the Chinese have?”

“Cheap s**t,” Steve answered.

“F*****g rights.”

Steph shrugged. “They might as well keep this place running. We’re probably making more money now than we were with canola oil.”

“Viterra doesn’t do biodiesel, though,” RJ reminded. “They’ll want this place back as a canola plant as soon as possible.”

“S**t, that means our wages get cut.”

“Probably.”

“Damn, that raise was pretty nice. Oh well, it’ll be back to the good old days.”

“I don’t think this place ever had good days, Steph,” Steve mentioned.

“No, I don’t think so,” Steph said with his familiar higher-pitched laugh. “Well, at least we still have jobs.”

“Yup,” was all that Glen said, his eyes down on his phone and his fingers busy as they typed away.

 

****

 

News reports continued to tell the tale of how American and now some UN ships were driving back the Chinese ships back to their ports. Air superiority had been the Americans’ from the start and the brief air battles at the beginning of the engagement had ended after a few hours’ time, the Chinese and North Korean planes fleeing back to their home hangars. The North Koreans had suffered heavy aerial losses while the Chinese had suffered only few. Chinese pilots were better trained and knew when a battle was not worth fighting and had not stayed in the air for long once the full might of the United States Navy, Marines and Air Force aerial units were aloft. The North Koreans had dared to keep flying and had suffered for it. Their inferior aircraft had been no match for the state of the art flying vehicles of the American military. During the rest of the battle the American jets and helicopters aided in the naval assault and patrolled the seas in search of any foolish ships or aircraft hoping to slip by them or attempt a sneak attack.

Japan’s blockade had been lifted early due to the fact that American ships, as well as the aircraft carrier USS George Washington had been at dock there. They fought through the few Chinese ships guarding the port and chased them off before joining the rest of America’s naval force.

By the end of the second day American carriers were close enough to launch aircraft against the Chinese mainland. North Korea was already under assault by South Korean and American ground forces and its forces were falling back steadily. Pyongyang, North Korea’s capital, was under threat of assault by the rapidly advancing forces and its leader King Jong Un was furious but stubborn, ordering more troops to head south to stop the Americans and South Koreans. He outnumbered the enemy greatly but South Korean troops were well-trained and tough and the American troops were even more so. Both allied nations also had more advanced weaponry and vehicles that the North Koreans, which aided them greatly.

News broadcasts and websites revealed that the American generals would focus their greater might against China as it was the far more difficult enemy. North Korea seemed already lost as even with the addition of more troops the advance toward its capital had barely slowed. China, however, had retreated its ships toward its ports and harbors and was using its proximity to mainland airfields to launch a renewed and more forceful aerial assault as well as launching missiles from the mainland against American ships just off the coast. This furious assault sunk several American ships and damaged many more before the American Navy held off its advance until its aircraft could subdue the threat. Until the aerial and missile assault could be stopped a land-based invasion of China was out of the question.

It was in the middle of this standoff that the world itself became under attack, not from ships, or jets, or guns but of an entirely modern weapon: computer software…or software users to be exact.

It was first noticed when UAV controllers were having difficulty piloting their vehicles. Some commands would not register and some simply shut down and fell from the sky for no apparent reason. After many attempts to remedy the situation the military leaders decided to call off all UAVs before they accidentally destroyed something they weren’t supposed to. The next problem came when the computers inside jet aircraft were experiencing difficulties. This threat proved to be even greater when an American jet launched a missile toward its own carrier, damaging its runway and killing five personnel. Thinking the pilot going rogue, as his radio had been turned off as well, his plane was shot down by the carrier itself. He managed to eject in time and when he landed in the water had a difficult time convincing the sailors aboard the ship to not fire upon him. Eventually, as more deadly accidents began to appear, it was quite apparent that the electronic components of some aircraft were malfunctioning and America had no choice but to land many of its aircraft before more acts of friendly fire continued to happen. Navigational information and communication came under attack next, blinding the American forces from the world around them. Satellite imagery was unavailable and radar stations everywhere systematically shut down. America and its allies were left in the dark. Because of this, not even the news reports had anything to say about it except that for the moment there was complete radio silence. Observers from civilian aircraft and boats couldn’t even send out text messages or emails because of the blackout. Other than the military forces in the immediate location of the battle no one else around the world knew what was happening.

A certain country, waiting for its time to strike, had it and acted.

 

 

Hour of Russia

 

 

While America’s North American and Pacific forces struggled to regain communication and control of their electronics Russia’s large and patient force in the north burst into action. Transport craft surged across the North Pacific as quickly as possible. Attack aircraft such as the mighty Su-34 took off from Russia’s single aircraft carrier sweeping down from the Arctic Ocean down toward the Bering Strait and immediately went to work destroying radar stations, radio towers, and any means of communication, hoping to keep the American forces based in Alaska blind for good. They were intercepted by the superior F-22 Raptor but with its electronics malfunctioning it could only attack with its 30mm cannon and though the Su-34 was a slower aircraft it was maneuverable enough to be a difficult target. With the Russians’ own aircraft at full operational capability any American interceptors were prime targets for Russia’s own fighter aircraft. Missiles streaked through the sky and exploded into the American jets. Sometimes their pilots were able to bail but without any warning alarms telling them of incoming missiles many pilots failed to do so in time.

With lack of communication the Russian aircraft created havoc in Alaska. The Air Force bases at Clear and Elmendorf were destroyed in minutes under heavy bombardment by the attacking Su-34s and Su25s. Any attempt to stop them with American aircraft was met by fierce missile attacks by escorting fighter jets. When all Air Force bases were damaged Russian bombers, such as the old but reliable propeller-driven Tu-95, finished the job, coming in later due to their slower speed and unleashed their payloads on the weakened bases. The Alaskan Marine, Army and even Coast Guard bases were also attacked once the Air Force ones had been dealt with.

In one hour all American bases had been attacked and damaged and within the span of two hours most were destroyed and out of commission. This paved the way for Russian invasion and transport aircraft flew over Anchorage, Fairbanks, and the small town of Valdez. From them jumped paratroopers with the mission of securing the towns and cities for invasion by sea. They encountered heavy fighting but with the element of surprise they scored a quick victory in Valdez and before long had the town secured. Anchorage and Fairbanks proved difficult to overtake with only men on foot and so for now the American forces held the Russians at bay.

 

****

 

“Finally,” Rob said as he refreshed a news website and there was new content on the Second Korean War. “Took long enough for new stuff to…” His voice cut off and his face paled considerably.

Lawrence, at the monitors, turned around and eyed Rob curiously. “What’s up, Rob?”

“I think we might need to start packing soon…”

“What is it?”

Rob rushed to the radio and turned it up when he heard an announcer come online and begin to speak.

“…during the communication blackout American forces in Alaska were blindsided by the Russian military. Where hours ago there was peace and Alaskans getting ready for bed there is now death and destruction and Russian ground forces moving down the highways, taking cities and towns along the way with little resistance, making it the first time in history that the United States, as well as North America, has been invaded by a foreign nation since the age of exploration. The initial bombings and aerial attacks that happened during the blackout have reduced America’s fighting force by a large fraction and now that landing crafts had beached themselves on Alaskan beaches Russian tanks and other armored vehicles are moving in. American President Barrack Obama has been notified and is sending a substantial military force north to Alaska. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper has allowed American forces to move freely through Canada on their way north to liberate Alaska from Russian hold. He is also sending a sizeable force of Canadian military men and vehicles to aid in the counter-attack.

“Meanwhile in the Pacific, during the blackout that only seemed to affect American and UN forces the Chinese have resumed their advance east and have broken through the American blockade with heavy losses to the United States. Three aircraft carriers are destroyed along with about two dozen destroyers and four amphibious assault ships. Without any missile guidance or reliable electronics on board their ships the Americans could do little to defend themselves. American submarines with no sense of direction surfaced to avoid collision where Chinese ships and aircraft were quick to attack them, sinking fifteen. Chinese ships are now chasing off the rest of the American and UN ships while a sizeable force is heading east toward Hawaii and North America.

“Europe is now preparing for war as well as Russian forces, accompanied by old Soviet countries, are surging west towards Poland, the unclaimed regions of Ukraine, Hungary and in the path of Germany, Austria and Italy. Finland is being attacked as I speak this report and Russian ships have been spotted patrolling the Baltic Sea. British, French and German forces are mobilizing and manning defenses, hoping to halt the Russian advance. With the attacks on Alaska forcing America’s hand against Russia the forces now bordering Iran are invading the country in hopes of driving the Russians out. With battlefields on three continents all over the world the Second Korean War has now evolved into what many are calling the Third World War. President Barrack Obama has this to say about Russia, China and North Korea’s actions…”

Rob turned the volume down and watched Lawrence’s reaction.

The old man pursed his lips, making his bushy moustache hide his mouth and then took a deep breath. “I don’t feel like packing up for nothing. It’s a lot of work and I’m too old for panicking about s**t if I don’t have to. They’ve invaded Alaska but they won’t be able to hold it. Give it a few days before planning your trip south, Rob. I wouldn’t worry too much yet.”

“They better push them back because I don’t want to hear my wife bitching at me to move for too long or I’ll go insane.”

“There’s no reason to panic. Alaska is far away, Rob, and you heard the news, we’ll be sending some of our soldiers with them so a huge force is going to meet the Russians and push them back to their country. Besides, what do we have here? Why would they come this way anyways?”

Rob shrugged. “I guess you’re right. Though I guess they might want to pass through on their way to Ottawa.”

“That means they’d have to go through British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan before making it here. Don’t you think that by the time they get here there’d be nothing left of their army? Canada might be a huge wide open country but the Americans have bases not too far from the border and they’d be sending troops up to help ours out the whole time. We’ll be fine.”

Ray suddenly rushed into the room from the plant, his face flushed and his eyes wide. “Did you guys f*****g hear? Did you hear what the Russians did?”

“Yes, Ray, we heard,” replied Lawrence calmly. “And just like I told Rob, there’s no reason to panic yet. They’re only in Alaska and they’d have to fight hard to ever make it here. We have nothing to worry about.”

Ray didn’t seem to hear him. He had dialed his home phone from his cellphone and was speaking with his wife in a voice full of alarm and worry. He moved to the small office room within the control room where the other computer was and closed the door, wanting privacy. He paced the floor, his hand often rubbing his head worriedly.

Lawrence glanced at him and just shook his head. “He worries too much. Until they cross the border into Manitoba I’m not even going to think about moving. I sure as hell won’t stay if they do make it here but why go through all the trouble of finding somewhere to stay and moving all your s**t when it’ll be all for nothing?”

Rob nodded but kept glancing at Ray and wondering if moving now was such a bad idea. Whether Russian forces made it to Manitoba or not he’d be safe. He’d have to find somewhere to move to, though, and then have to find another job, which he unsuccessfully did the several times he had searched online for one. He’d have to leave everyone he knew but…he would be safe.

Was it worth all that? He was a civilian after all. Even if Russian forces made it into Manitoba he wouldn’t be bothered too much, he hoped. He’d have to adjust to a new flag but there’s no way the Russians could hold Canada for long, not with America right next door. Things would be back to normal before he knew it. Lawrence was right; Ray was worrying too much.

Rob leaned back in his chair and tried to relax a little bit.

Despite his recent optimistic views, it was proving a difficult task.

 

****

 

Down on the main floor of the plant, in the lunchroom, sat four individuals, Krista, not the one that was always cleaning but a younger one that rarely missed a day at the gym, Guy, a middle-aged millwright that always sported a fantastic white beard, Mike, another millwright, younger than Guy but with white hair of his own, and Brandi, the plant administrator. The radio was turned down due to the dismal news and the four ate their lunches in silence.

Before long, Brandi could take the silence no more and said, “So, are you guys still going to work here if things get worse in Alaska?”

Guy grumbled. “Bah, they’ll get worse for the Russians. I’m not going anywhere. Too much work.”

“You think things will get better so soon?” Mike asked.

“Ah, f**k. Let me tell you something, buddy, there ain’t no country better at fighting than the Americans. They go broke spending their money on their army. They’ll win this fight; trust me, partner.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t worry too much about it, Brandi,” said Krista. “It’s probably safer to stay where you are than moving and getting in the way.”

Brandi tried to feel better. “Yeah…I just don’t want to be caught up in a warzone.”

“Well, no one here does but there’s no point going somewhere else when there isn’t a threat to us right now.”

“Maybe just pack up a few things to be safe, though,” Mike reasoned.

“Oh, I will,” Brandi reassured, her eyes wide. “I sure as hell will.” Off to the side of the lunchroom, in the foyer, was a staircase that led up to the lab on the second floor and then the conference room on the third. Bryan, the plant manager, and Brandi’s nemesis, walked down to the front door just ahead of the staircase and made his way across the parking lot to his car, on his way to satisfy his nicotine cravings. She narrowed her eyes as she watched him get into his car through the lunchroom windows. “He can stay until they’re right at his door. I won’t mind that…”

“Pfft, he’ll be long gone as soon as he hears they’re coming this way,” Guy said through a bite of steak. “He won’t stick around.”

“The army is in charge of this plant right now anyways, isn’t it?” Mike asked.

“More or less, buddy.”

“Then why is he still here?” asked Brandi. “Seriously, though, why is he here?”

She only received some shrugs in response.

“Someone needs to talk to Regina I guess,” Mike eventually answered with another shrug. “I’m sure the military has better things to do.”

“Maybe he likes you too much,” Krista said to Brandi with a laugh, which was joined by Mike’s and Guy’s.

“Ha! Yeah right…”

 

****

 

The week ended and on came the weekend and reports from southern Alaska stated that despite heavy resistance by American and Canadian troops the Russians were holding firm and steadily advancing, though at a much reduced rate. Frequent and unpredictable electrical malfunctions kept occurring for both Canadian and American forces which usually resulted in a retreat on their part. Ground forces didn’t rely on electronics as much as air and naval forces and they were able to hold their positions for a longer period of time than the other branches of the military but without air cover the Russian aircraft filled the sky and the ground troops were forced to fall back regardless before the bombs rained down on them.

Whitehorse, Yukon, was taken on Saturday and the Russians held it strongly as it had the only major highway to lead south toward the rest of Alaska, through British Columbia, and then the state of Washington and the populous west coast cities of America. Canadian and American forces would defend the highway at great cost if they needed to but with the steady advance of Chinese naval forces across the Pacific they feared they may be surrounded if the Chinese landed. They lacked the manpower to overthrow the Russians in Whitehorse but reinforcements were surging north and if the Chinese were held back from landing Yukon’s capital may be liberated before long.

Meanwhile, Alaska was almost completely Russian, as it had once been hundreds of years ago, save for a few towns on its southern panhandle. Russian submarines patrolled the Gulf of Alaska, seeking out any American or Canadian vessels intent on attempting a liberation of Anchorage or Valdez, making the waters a death trap.

Hawaii was attacked but held the Chinese off after most of the retreating American Navy had stationed there as a defending force. Instead of fleeing the Chinese Navy surrounded the chain of islands and along with Russian subs sweeping down from the north, Chinese submarines circled the area. American subs fought back but were outnumbered and had to choose their battles carefully. UN naval forces, as well as a large fleet of American vessels, waged fierce combat in the south Pacific against the Chinese Navy. Japan was heavily bombed now that its protective American shield was broken. Chinese ground forces were preparing to land and by the end of Sunday it appeared that they would do so soon. Taiwan was attacked on Sunday night and Indonesia, as well as small southern Asian nations like Vietnam and Laos, were under serious threat of invasion. The UN promised relief forces but with Europe busy defending itself against the Russian advance and American forces entangled in heavy fighting in the Middle East there were few countries that could lend aid. India rose to the occasion and sent as much naval forces as it could, including its aircraft carrier to the South Pacific but it remained wary as it noticed Pakistan mobilizing a large ground force. Until Pakistan’s intentions could be verified most of India’s ground troops would remain in northwestern area of the country. Australian forces moved north across the sea and aided greatly in the fighting as though their military was nowhere near the size of America’s it was advanced and highly trained and held its own against the Chinese forces. Monday morning saw Australian forces landing in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia and Vietnam, setting up defensive positions in anticipation of Chinese invasions.

Missiles sent from mainland America toward Chinese naval positions, which in theory would end the war, fell off course and few hit their targets as the continued electronic malfunctions now began to affect bases in North America. It was discovered that there was a massive cyber offensive underway, a battlefield no one expected. Top American programmers and even amateur hackers did their part to thwart the offensive and scored small victories but under pressure from advanced and anonymous enemies of great skill the battle waged on. Weapon systems that could be operated on analog or manual control were done so immediately, severely limiting their uses and effectiveness but ensuring that they remained in American hands and not the enemy’s.

American bases in European countries experienced the same hardships and by Tuesday morning some European bases began to experience malfunctions as well. This handicap ensured Russian victories as its armies continue advancing west, capturing cities and towns in Ukraine and Poland.

Despite all this, world leaders were optimistic that the war would end soon. Once the electronic malfunctions were remedied the full might of the allied forces could be put to use and Russia, China, and the now mostly defeated North Korea, would be pushed back and subdued. They encouraged the allied civilians to remain calm and be hopeful and to continue their lives as they normally would. Such words fell on deaf ears in Alaska, Yukon, Japan, Taiwan, Poland and Ukraine but it did seem to somewhat calm the rest of the allied populace.

Meanwhile, back at the plant, Phu and his crew chatted in the control room while Krista, the cleaning one, was out in the plant….cleaning…

“F*****g hackers,” Phu said with a laugh. “I should sign up to the military as a counter-hacker.”

“Why not?” Vince asked seriously from his position at the monitors. “They could probably use any help they could get.”

“I’m thinking about it,” Randy said with all seriousness. “I’d want to help out any way I can and this one way where I sure as hell can make a difference.”

Phu shrugged. “Meh, by the time I sign up the war will be over. Didn’t they impose sanctions on Russia and China? They’ll run out of money soon and it’ll have to end, no matter how far they make it.”

“Well, Randy, if you want there’s a number you can call,” Vince said as he opened up the web browser. “Just let me Google it.”

Randy was standing by the control room’s western window that revealed the scale house, the seed bins and the drive into the site as well as the surrounding fields and farmland. Coming into the driveway were several military jeeps and trucks, three armored transports and two LAVs. “I don’t think you’ll have to, Vince. Looks like I can just ask.”

“Huh?” Phu grunted. He walked over to the window and had a look. “Ah, yeah, I was told yesterday there would be some army guys coming here for refueling. You want to give me hand setting up the hoses?”

Randy nodded. “Yeah, I got questions to ask anyways.”

They met the military men, all dressed in full gear and helmets, in the plant’s northern parking lot. The man in charge, a captain, asked if they had fuel for his vehicles.

“Oh we got lots,” Phu replied with a chuckle. “Just pull up these tanks and we’ll load you up.”

The military vehicles did just that and Randy set up the pump and hose to the first one, one of the LAVs. He started the pump and began filling the tank. As he did so he spoke with the captain about helping with the cyber threat. Phu spoke to the other soldiers, asking various questions.

“I’ll let my superior know,” the captain said to Randy when the last vehicle was finished refueling. “If he is interested he’ll call you. I’ll give him your number if that’s fine with you.”

Randy nodded. “Yup, that works for me. Thank you, sir.”

“Oh, no problem. The attacks have slowed down a bit but we can use any help we can get so if they pick up again just expect a call.”

“Will do.” He glanced at a soldier closing the gas cap to one of the jeeps. “How does the biodiesel work in those things?”

The captain shrugged. “Mileage is a little shittier but what can you do when they want to save all the oil they have for the more expensive machinery that can’t be converted to biodiesel so easily. Until the Middle East is secured we’ll be using biodiesel.”

“Where are you guys headed?”

“We’re headed up to Winnipeg to plan defenses around it in case the Russians make it this far. We’re from Shilo and we’ve already got guys setting up barricades and defensive positions around Brandon. We were sent to the big city.”

“Are you guys going to be enough?”

“More are coming. We’re just planning and setting up defenses. We won’t stick around unless we have to.” He received a salute from a corporal who then announced that they were pressed for time and should get moving. The captain nodded to Randy and Phu, said his farewells, and within a few minutes the whole group of military vehicles was gone, leaving behind only clouds of gravel dust behind them.

“I wonder if they’ll set some up defenses around here,” Phu wondered aloud.

Randy shrugged. “The general said there would be some. The city’s more important though so maybe they’ll come here when they’re done.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, that’s true.”

 

****

 

Another day passed with little good news to report. The Russian, American and Canadian forces in Alaska were at a stand-off and neither force was backing down. Wanting to capture Juneau and its airport, the Russians were held off from reaching Haines and its ferry terminal. The Americans already had aerial defenses set up in Juneau, preventing the Russians from simply flying there over the allied ground forces. The malfunctions with electronics had ceased for the moment, at least in this area of the world, and America once again had air superiority, if only slightly. Canadian and American reinforcements were rushing up through British Columbia but surveillance aircraft reported that a large Russian ground force was moving south down highway 37, which traveled south through the mountains and then turned west toward Prince Rupert, which was south of the Haines, and in turn would have the American and Canadian units cut off and flanked on two sides. The force had substantial anti-aircraft defenses and several attempts to bomb the long line of vehicles had resulted in a high number of damaged and destroyed aircraft with minimal losses on the Russian side. Russian aircraft also escorted the line of vehicles, causing further grievances to American and Canadian pilots hoping to put a stop to the advance.

 In the Pacific, with the slight decrease in cyber attacks on the UN electronics, the Chinese Navy came under heavy attack and some of its invasion force had to split off the main group to attempt at holding off the pursuers. Missiles fired from the American mainland, the few that could be targeted properly, scored hits and sunk a few Chinese ships but there were many and they were quickly closing the gap between them and North America. The American and Canadian west coast boosted the production and installment of shore defenses. Mexico had yet to act, its President debating to go neutral or side with the Americans. His country was struggling with corruption and poor public order and amidst all that he did not know if he could mobilize a force strong enough to hold back the Chinese and yet keep what peace he had in his country. The American president and Canadian prime minister urged him to join them in the fight, promising aid from their own military if he needed it. The day ended without him making a decision.

Georgi, the supervisor on the night shift crew opposite Phu’s crew, was a balding Bulgarian man nearing middle-age that had the stamina and metabolism of someone half his age. He was constantly on the move and kept himself busy at nearly all times. Sitting at the computer was Farid, an Iranian man Georgi’s age that dressed well and always smelt strongly of cologne. He cared little for his home country, which he had left for a better life, and was simply glad that he had left when he had for he had no love of Russians. He kept a close eye on the progress in the battle of Iran and hoped the American forces, now aided by allied troops, crushed the Russians soundly.

Aaron, a middle-aged man that looked ten years younger, with somewhat curly dark hair and blue eyes sat in the trackmobile outside as Russ, a tall and lanky man loaded a meal car from inside one of the shipping/receiving offices. Every so often he would radio Aaron to move the meal car up or down the track to ensure that it was uniformly loaded.

Paul, a millwright apprentice that had once been a lead operator, sat in the control room, reading up on the war from his phone. For the moment he had no work and passed time talking with Georgi and Farid. He was a tall man with bushy hair, glasses and a calm demeanor. Little worried him but the war deeply interested him as it did all Canadians and Americans. He had a wife and three children, one just a baby, to care for and though he felt an urge to fight for his country he could not abandon his family. If any danger neared his home he had already decided that moving his family somewhere safer was top priority. He wanted his boys to grow into men and he wanted them to grow up with a father. Yet, despite his feelings and love for his family he could not put aside the urge to stand up against the enemy and show them that they could not simply take his home without a fight. He thought of what his wife would tell him and came to the conclusion that he would be of more use to his family if he was with them and not off somewhere fighting for his life and country. She’d tell him he grew up a country boy and was not a soldier, despite the fact that he could shoot a rife well, as many slain deer could attest. Deer didn’t shoot back at him, he could hear his wife telling him, and with a sigh he put down his phone.

“Are you staying, Georgi?” he asked the man as he munched on a block of cheese, his favorite food.

“Hmm?” he asked as he turned around in his chair. “Staying for what?”

“Are you staying if the Russians reach here?”

He swallowed his cheese and shook his head. “No. I came to this country years ago to live peacefully. I’m not going to fight. We have soldiers for that.”

“Yeah but didn’t you receive military training back in Bulgaria?”

He nodded and shrugged simultaneously. “Mmmmyeah but that was a long time ago and I have no guns or anything and you know how I am with blood.”

“Haha, oh yeah. That won’t help much in a war, I guess. Probably better if you leave then.”

“Mhm, much better.”

“I don’t have guns but I f****n’ want to shoot Russians,” Farid called from his chair. “Those fuckers can all die.”

“I have one I can lend you, Farid. If not I’m sure Steph has a few spares.”

“Good. If they come here I’m going to fight them back. Just you wait and see, buddy. Just you wait and see.”

“What will your wife say to that?”

“I don’t f****n’ care what she says. They’re not taking Canada like they did Iran. There’s one Iranian here who won’t surrender to them.”

“Yeah, don’t feel like getting on your knees for Russian dick eh?” Georgi joked.

“F**k that! I’ll chop them off and feed them mine.”

“Yeah they’d probably choke on your pubes,” Paul said with a laugh, which was joined by Georgi and Farid’s own.

Roger, a young man with curly brown hair and thirst for beer, cheap vehicles and easy women, came into the control room from the room in the back and sat in one of the chairs. He, being a journeyman millwright, was Paul’s partner and handed him the piece of paper with the night’s chores written on them. “What’s so funny here?”

Paul replied as he read the piece of paper. It would be an easy night. “Farid says he’ll choke the Russians with his pubes.”

Roger burst into laughter. “Yeah, that’s if the Americans don’t kill them all first.”

“You don’t think they’ll reach here?”

“Pfft, come on, Paul. Really? They’ll be stopped before they reach Alberta. The Americans will steamroll over them as soon as they fix the electronics on their planes and s**t. Maybe if the Americans weren’t fighting them they’d reach here.”

“You don’t think we’d be able to stop them?”

“No. Our army is a joke. We wouldn’t stand a chance alone. We should just merge with the States already. We’re basically the same.”

“Hey, whoah, whoah, there, Roger. What would we look forward to when the World Juniors are on? Nothing better than a Canada vs US hockey game.”

“Whatever, everything would be cheaper and we’d probably get better highways than the crappy ones we have now.”

“Our healthcare wouldn’t be free anymore,” argued Georgi. “I wouldn’t want what the Americans have.”

“Well just don’t get hurt and you’ll be fine.”

“Says the guy who broke his ankle a few years ago,” Paul chuckled. “How much do you think that would have cost you if you were in the States?”

“Yeah, yeah….ok you made your point…I still think their flag is cooler, though.”

 

****

 

The next morning came news that shattered the lives of every Manitoban. News reports were streamed on every radio station and Canadian television station. Even the Canadian Google page had a link to online news reports. When the Yukon and its capital had been invaded there had been quite an excitement and a mild panic but there was a substantial military force dealing with the Russians there and the panic died quickly. This news, however, was far more frightening.

Sneaking by the virtually unpopulated and unwatched northern passages in the Arctic Ocean a sizeable Russian invasion force had made its way into the Hudson Bay, avoiding detection due to the action in the west and the intense focus on it and the escorting force of high-altitude fighters that would destroy any reconnaissance aircraft they encountered. Once in the Hudson Bay the transport ships had unleashed their landing crafts in Churchill under the cover of night, taking the town within the span of one hour. With no roads leading further south transport and cargo aircraft picked up soldiers, vehicles and equipment and flew southwest toward the city of Thompson. Meeting no resistance whatsoever the aircraft landed on the city’s airport and took it easily. The city fell soon after without a fight. Now with a base in Northern Manitoba, the Russian forces waited until morning, once their numbers had grown, before heading south towards Winnipeg, the American border, and the populous cities of the Midwest and Great Lakes area.

With no forces to oppose them they made rapid progress and had reached the upper Interlake region before Canadian and American aircraft engaged them. The Russians came prepared with anti-aircraft weapons and downed several jets. The allied pilots had dealt the Russians a heavy blow, however, and forced them to halt their advance until they were reinforced by more troops and vehicles coming down from Thompson. For the moment, the Russian invasion in Manitoba was motionless but the Russians used the time to set up a defensive network of anti-aircraft weapons and spread their forces to make them a more difficult target. Russian fighter aircraft circled high above, ready to intercept any returning allied aircraft before they could drop their bombs and fire their missiles.

In response, American forces surged north across the border from bases in the south, joining up with the Canadian military and reaching Winnipeg quickly. The city was hurriedly fortified with artillery, radar stations, anti-aircraft turrets, sniper nests atop the highest buildings, barricades, and a number of other means of defense. A large force continued north to meet the Russians on the road before they ever reached Winnipeg.

The battle for Manitoba had begun.

 

 

From Plant to Fortress

 

 

“F**k, this is crazy,” Vince said from the plant’s parking lot as he, Randy and Eric looked up in the sky. Dotting the sky were many Chinook helicopters carrying artillery pieces, equipment and supplies coming from the south, their long blades whipping the air around them and creating a reverberating thunder. Higher up, and much faster, were fighter jets and ground attack aircraft streaking across the sky, headed for the Russian line coming down toward Winnipeg. The roar of their engines was loud but faded quickly as the pilots raced their craft at full throttle toward the engagement, over four hundred kilometers away. He squinted his eyes and thought he saw a massive AC-130 gunship high above the clouds, a huge four-engine propeller-driven converted Hercules aircraft equipped with a heavy armament consisting of gatling guns, cannons and some versions even carried a howitzer artillery cannon. A single gunship could bring great destruction on the enemy positions and he only wished he could see it in action.

“Those Yanks sure have a lot of planes,” Eric said as he rubbed his neck, aching from looking up for so long. “I don’t think Winnipeg is in any real danger anymore.”

“Doesn’t look that way,” Randy said. He then blinked his eyes, massaged his neck, and turned toward the plant. “Well, I guess that means we still have a job to do.”

“Yeah…” Eric and Vince groaned disappointingly.

Reluctantly, they entered the plant and began their work shift.

Not an hour later a vast procession of military jeeps and supply trucks, as well as civilian flatbed trucks and contractor vehicles drove down the gravel road toward the plant. Randy was up on one of the catwalks spanning from the plant to seed cleaner, which was situated between the seed bins, gathering seed samples for Eric in the lab when he noticed the dozens of vehicles turning into the driveway. He watched the flatbed trucks line up together and drop the forklifts they had secured to the back of their trailers. A small group of men entered the plant while the other soldiers and laborers began going to work. From the flatbed trailers sheets of metal were unloaded and Randy could tell even from a distance that they were thick. Ignoring an emptied seed truck trying to get through the tangle of vehicles one of the forklifts, laden with sheets of metal, drove to the plant’s entrance where contractors began drilling the sheets into the side of the building. Lifts and mobile booms from the plant were driven outside to aid the contractors with their work. Some extra machines were unloaded from newly arrived flatbed trucks to aid in speeding up the work.

It was clear to Randy that the plant was under fortification work and that the war was all too real to ignore now. He checked his phone but saw no notification telling him of a missed call. He would pay extra attention to it as he had a feeling he may be needed by the military soon. This may be the last time he ever went up to grab samples. With a glance up at the seed cleaner he decided that he didn’t mind that.

All day long the military hindered truck traffic and angered truckers coming to and from the plant to drop off or pick up a load. When men with guns got in your way, though, you tended to keep your comments to yourself and the truckers waited their turns. The plant building was covered in sheets of armored spaced steel. It would protect against bullets and weaker cannons but bombs and missiles would still get through. To protect against aircraft and tanks several turrets were flown in by Chinooks and placed atop the plant, the catwalks over the seed bins, the top of the legs, atop the shipping/receiving building, and even one on the powerhouse. Most were equipped with four 50 caliber machine guns each for use against personnel but the ones atop the legs were remote controlled missile turrets aimed at the sky, donated by the American military. A radar tower was erected next to one of the missile turrets and it was fed to a mobile radar station parked just beside the huge concrete silos. Two 105mm howitzer artillery cannons were placed on the east and west sides of the work site and one M777 howitzer artillery cannon was placed just north of the warehouse. These would fire on any advancing enemy from kilometers away, slowing their advance and giving time for the plant’s staff to flee, if the enemy ever reached that far south.

The work took several days, in which time the Russians had advanced to Grand Rapids and its hydroelectric dam but were held off by massed Canadian and American troops and vehicles. There was fierce fighting in the air as well as Russian aircraft engaged American and Canadian aircraft. Soldiers below looked up and saw dogfights that had not been so fierce since the First Korean War. Attack aircraft could not penetrate through the screen of fighters safely and the Allied forces had little aerial support. Helicopters flew low enough to not present themselves as targets to the enemy fighter jets but they were then vulnerable to attacks from the anti-aircraft vehicles, such as the Pantsir-S1 which was armed with up to twelve ground-to-air missiles as well as two rapid-fire 30mm cannons that could fire up to four kilometers away, though most of the vehicles were the older 9K22 Tunguskas with only eight missiles but two additional cannons. Due to the heavily forested environment around the battlefield the main fighting was restricted to the highway and fields or ditches to the side of it. Soldiers on both sides tried penetrating through forest to circle around the enemy and catch them from behind but that only resulted in heavy and chaotic fire-fighting and little progress was made.

At the plant, a small platoon of twenty-five Canadian soldiers was stationed as a protection unit with the aim of slowing down the enemy until the plant’s staff was evacuated, after which they would flee south to the town of Morris where a military base of operations was established.

Inside the lunchroom, Eric, Randy, Vince and Krista sat and ate their meals. Phu was upstairs on the computer, manning the plant’s controls and chatting with the platoon leader who was briefing him on the role he and his men would play in the coming days.

“It didn’t take long for them to slap some armour on this place,” Eric said as he glanced at the soldiers cleaning one of the 105mm cannons. “I wonder if we’ll need it.”

Vince shrugged. “If they push through Grand Rapids there won’t be much in their way except a few more small towns before they reach the city.”

“We’ll be fighting them the whole way there, though. It’s not like they’ll have nothing in front of them.”

“True.”

“And there’ll be more soldiers coming to back them up every day. I think we’ll be ok.”

“We better be,” said Krista, looking up from her pink phone. “I don’t want to spend my summer hiding in some f*****g basement.”

“You could catch up on some serious drinking,” Randy offered with a chuckle.

“Pff, yeah, but I want to have fun when I drink. Not much fun in a basement by yourself.”

Brandi suddenly burst into the room, purse slung across her shoulder and a box of supplies in her hands. “Well, I just wanted to say goodbye to all of you and that I hope you all have wonderful lives.”

“You’re leaving?” Krista asked quizzically.

“Um, yeah!” Brandi said, tossing her long blonde hair back from her eyes. “I’m not sticking around when the Russians are so close.”

“Where are you going?” Eric asked her.

“Turks and Caicos islands. I’ll be far from any war and I’ll have peace and quiet while I go tanning and swimming.” She looked to Krista. “Are you seriously staying?”

Krista shrugged and glanced outside at the soldiers. “The Russians aren’t here yet and there’s some good-looking guys to stare at here.”

“Hey!” Eric said in mock offense. “It’s not like there weren’t any before the soldiers got here. Come on now.”

“Oh yes, Eric, you’re so pretty,” Brandi said with a laugh.

“You’re damn right I am.”

“I’ll miss you guys, though. You really should leave…”

“When is your flight leaving?” Randy asked her.

“At like, four, so I should get my a*s in gear.”

“Holy s**t,” Eric exclaimed, looking at the clock, which showed a time of 1:15pm. “You’re not waiting for anything eh?”

“Um, no. I don’t want any part of this war. Fighting’s not my thing.” She looked down at herself and sighed. “I wish I had time to tone myself a bit more. I’ll look fat.”

The three men seated at the table rolled their eyes.

“You look fine, Brandi,” Vince said. “Don’t worry so much. Besides, you’ll have lots of time to do some swimming which will help with that.”

“Help with what?”

“Uh…help…keep you…in the great shape that you already are.” Phew, dodged that one, he thought.

“Ha, nice recovery there… But yeah, I need to get my a*s in gear or I’ll be late for my flight.”

“Hey wait,” Eric said. “Who’s going to do your work if you leave? Who’s going to do payroll?”

“I don’t give a s**t,” Brandi replied. “I told Bryan I was leaving today and it’s up to him to figure that out. But seriously, though, I have to go. You guys be careful and take care. I mean it.” She waved goodbye, feeling some moisture gather in her eyes and turned and left before any tears fell. She didn’t think she’d feel this way for co-workers and people she never really saw outside of work. She’d probably never see the again, though, and it pained her to realize that.

As she hurried across the parking lot toward her car Eric, Randy and Vince watched her attentively.

“I hate to see her go,” Eric started, “but it sure is nice to watch her leave.”

Randy and Vince both nodded.

Krista shook her head. “You guys…”

 

****

 

The days went by and Grand Rapids eventually fell to the Russians when they employed their multi-rocket launchers such as the BM-21 and the BM-30, both of them resembling trucks with long tubes or missile pods attached to their back end. There were even reports of three TOS-1s, Russia’s 24 barrel multi-rocket launcher normally saved for defense and not employed with any branch of the offensive military. It appeared the Russians had made an exception and brought them along for the invasion. When all three models of rocket launchers fired their scores of unguided rockets from kilometers away toward the defenders they created havoc and panic. Lightly armored vehicles exploded into balls of flame, defensive barricades were demolished and soldiers perished by the dozens. With the lull in the action the Russians pushed forward with their formidable T-90 tanks leading the way. Their Mi-24 attack helicopters rained destruction before the Americans and Canadians could reform a defensive posture. Air support came from high in the sky when A-10 Warthogs dove and fired their gatling guns into the advancing and unsuspecting helicopters, destroying several. The Russians, to the Allies’ horror, had predicted this and had used their helicopters as bait, hoping to entice the A-10s to reach lower altitude, which they did.

And then destroyed them with their anti-aircraft vehicles.

The Russian fighter jets prevented any more air support from aiding the beleaguered Allied forces and though the American Abrams tanks held off the advancing T-90s for a while they were soon overwhelmed and the Allies had no choice but to retreat. The only position with any defensible value was the small town of Ashern which was almost 250 kilometers to the south. Giving the Russians that much ground without a fight was not going to happen so it was decided that part of defending force would retreat to Ashern and fortify it with artillery, anti-aircraft guns and barricades while the rest of the force would harass the Russians the entire way there, hoping to demoralize and weaken them enough that once they reached Ashern they would be soundly defeated. All reinforcements would rally at Ashern, unless it appeared that the Russians were weakening, in which case they would advance north to bring aid to the harassing force. Air support was split between both forces to ensure the retreating one reached Ashern and the one that stayed behind wasn’t obliterated by Russia’s own aircraft.

Across the Altantic, French and British troops were mobilized and crossing over to Halifax and New York City where they would be sent to support the forces in Manitoba, British Columbia and Alaska. Due to the war in Europe their forces weren’t massive but both French and British leaders promised more troops as soon as the turmoil in Eastern Europe calmed down. Germany sent a small force of reinforcements to North America but it would arrive a few days later than the French and British.

Mexico, to America’s and Canada’s shock and disappointment, had declared itself a neutral country. Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto stated that Mexico did not have the means to support a war on its own lands and had been long debating declaring itself a neutral country for quite some time, long before the war started, which neither American President or Canadian Prime Minister could debate. Though this meant that the Chinese could not attack from Mexican lands, relieving the stress of America having to guard its southern border, it also meant there would be no Mexican military support.

The declaration came just before the Chinese navy was within range of a Mexican invasion, forcing them to reconsider. If they landed in Mexico, breaking the neutrality rule of no contact by any belligerent nation, they may entice other countries to rally against them. The Chinese Navy had suffered heavy losses during its trek across the Pacific and did not want to have to face any more opposition than it already was. It settled to swing a few fleets south and invade Nicaragua. Guatemala was closer but was part of the Rio Pact, which would bring in most of South and Central America to its side if it was attacked. China, wanting to focus its attention on America, chose a nation that had once been part of the Rio Pact but was no longer.

Nicaragua had chosen poorly when it decided to back out of the Rio Pact as its military was defeated in a day by the surge of invading Chinese. Now that the Chinese had a base of operations in Central America it could conduct raids and other invasions into the Caribbean, making states such as Florida, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisiana and Texas vulnerable. Panama, and its vital canal, was a member of the Rio Pact and if China wished no war with its allies it would have to sweep its own navy south, around the tip of South America and then back up north, halting any advance until it returned on the other side of Nicaragua to pick up its troops. This would give the Americans much time to invade Nicaragua and defeat the Chinese there.

But the Chinese had a vast navy and as one fleet had invaded Nicaragua others headed straight for California, Oregon, and Washington. America’s military, all branches of it, reinforced its western states with a heavy presence and prepared for the worst, even though the Navy and Air Force were already engaging the approaching Chinese.

By the end of the day, despite heavy resistance, the Chinese landed substantial forces in Florence, Oregon and Westport in northern California, making it the first time since the British and Canadians of 1814, that contiguous United States was invaded by a rival nation. The Chinese ground forces met heavy resistance and devastating losses in the first hours of their invasion but more landing craft reached the shores every minute and the Chinese had a vast amount of soldiers. Their aircraft relieved some of the pressure and their Navy shelled the Americans on land from the sea but land defenses such as guided missiles made it a danger for any ship to be too close to the mainland.

Amidst the Chinese invasion force was a mix of North Korean troops, poorly armed but in large numbers. The Chinese officers issued them first to land on the beaches, not for glory but to test the American defenses and to soak up the most bullets. China had little love for North Korea but a high number of dispensable troops came in handy when the enemy was as powerful as the United States of America.

Whether China would be able to retain its hold on America and push further inland was anyone’s guess but after three days of heavy fighting and no retreat it was apparent that the Chinese and North Koreans would hold on until the bitter end. It did not make matters any easier for the North Americans when Russian ships swept south from the Arctic Ocean and began attacking coastal towns and cities on the east coast. St. John’s, Newfoundland was heavily bombed and the island of Newfoundland was under great threat of invasion. Russian submarines snuck into the Saint Lawrence River and attacked ports, harbors, and riverside warehouses in Quebec, much like German U-boats had done in World War Two. British and French transport ships, delivering soldiers and equipment to North America, as well as those defending them, became under attack by the Russian Navy and by aircraft based in northern Manitoba, slowing their arrival times and putting them at risk of turning away or never arriving at all. There were no reports of a Russian invasion force heading for the East Coast but defenses were reinforced and military presence was made there anyhow. Canadian military forces were spread dangerously thin and though America had a far more numerous military it had forces all around the world, a large portion in the Middle East, a small force of soldiers based in Europe, a large portion in Alaska, British Columbia and Manitoba and a greater force defending its west coast. It had the men and equipment but if matters worsened it too would be spread thin. Its Navy was already tied up in the Pacific and the Mediterranean and preparing for a Caribbean invasion. What ships could be spared sailed into the Atlantic to defend it from the Russians.

For the employees at the plant, their focus was on the battle in their province. Russians were not making it easy. They had landed more soldiers and vehicles and now had three fronts. Their first front had advanced south and had fought fiercely to take Ashern but eventually did, pushing American and Canadian forces forty kilometers south to the tiny town on Eriksdale, where they set up what defenses they could. The second front was a result of the taking of Ashern. A large force of Russian reinforcements had come south to aid those taking the town but by the time they arrived it was taken and instead had headed east down highway 325 to begin its conquest of the towns on the western shore of Lake Winnipeg. Its main target was Gimli and its airport, which had once served the Canadian Air Force. Allied forces were already mobilizing to stop the second force in its tracks, however, and would make its progress difficult. The third front, the smallest, was in northwestern Manitoba in the town of Flin Flon which was more or less on the Saskatchewan border. There were reports and rumors stating that this force would invade through Saskatchewan and head to Alberta for its oil resources but for the moment it was not moving. Russia’s attention seemed to be on taking Winnipeg and reaching the American border as soon as possible.

 

****

 

Glen and Steve had just finished cleaning out a dust and dried seed buildup in the seed cleaner and, covered in dust, were now making their way down the long catwalk spanning from the top of the plant, across the road leading from the exit of shipping/receiving to the north parking lot, and to end between the bins. From this position they could see across the fields surrounding the site and east to the highway 75 and the small town of Ste. Agathe on the other side. The sight before them made the both of them pause to watch it for a little longer.

The highway 75, leading from Winnipeg south to the American border and beyond was tightly packed with traffic that crawled ahead at a walking pace. Cars’ roofs were stacked high with bags of supplies, trucks’ boxes were overfilled and people on bicycles or walking on foot were seen in great number. It appeared that the entire city of Winnipeg was heading south. The tumult of honking horns could be heard from their position clearly.

“Jesus Christ,” Steve said with shock, “has it really gotten that bad? Have they reached Winnipeg?”

Glen had no answer. He heard something over his head and looked up to see three helicopters heading toward the city. They were large and high in the sky but were moving at a steady pace. He assumed if Winnipeg was in trouble they’d be moving faster but he didn’t know much about helicopters and didn’t put much faith in his judgment.

Steve shook his head, still amazed at the amount of people that were heading south. “You might have a hard time getting home with this much traffic on the road.”

“Probably won’t be many people heading toward the city,” Glen said, wondering if he should consider following this exodus or chancing a drive home.

“That’s true.” Steve glanced sidelong at Glen for a moment, watching his reaction to the event. He appeared deep in thought and deeply concerned, which he fully expected him to be. “Are you going to pack up and leave?”

“I…I don’t know. I don’t want be called a coward for running away.”

“Dude, it’s f*****g war. You’re not a soldier. Hell, I might even start packing up.”

“Steph said he’ll fight. He might just be bullshitting but something tells me he’s not. You know how he is with his family. He’ll do anything for them. If he’s staying then I am too. I’m not going to run from this.”

“You’re f*****g crazy, man. This isn’t Call of Duty. This is real, dude. You get shot once and you die. There’s no coming back from that.”

Glen said nothing, his jaw set and his mind focused. He took a deep breath and continued on his way down the catwalk. Steve glanced once more at the highway and followed soon after, shaking his head in disbelief.

It would be a day later when the news reports would state that the Canadian government was speaking of conscription.

It would be a week later after that, when the Russians had advanced so far south that they were only slightly more than a dozen kilometers from the city of Winnipeg that the Canadian government would enact conscription, declaring that any man of physical capability to carry arms and fight for his country must do so. With the threat of Manitoba falling to the Russians and the Russians in the west advancing as far south as Prince George, British Columbia, there were few Canadian men that opposed the declaration, though many, fearing for their lives and having no taste for war, fled south to America.

 

 

Draft

 

 

Phu’s crew was at the plant when the conscription came into effect. The platoon leader of the guarding force of soldiers had been charged with seeking out those capable of serving for the military from the plant’s workforce. He understood that there needed a certain number of men to remain behind to ensure that the plant continued to run, especially now that there would be military vehicles coming in for refueling quite often due to the proximity of combat, thus he could only select a few.

Vince, having no wife or children, was immediately drafted. Eric, having a wife but no children was asked to join, but he volunteered instead. He had decided long ago that he would fight if he needed to and the time had come. Phu, middle-aged and not in the greatest of health, remained behind to keep the plant running. Krista, though separated in her marriage and having grown children, was allowed to remain behind. She was quite capable and had great stamina but Phu had urged the platoon leader to leave her with him to aid him in running the plant. She had almost argued against it but had decided not to. She had a grandchild that she wished to see again one day and thought the better of running headlong into bullets. Randy, having received no call and no word on joining the cyber task force, decided to join. Out of the millwrights that were present, all were married and most had children, save Ryan. He complained about it but he was drafted despite his resistance.

All but one of the shipping/receiving operators were married, parents or too old for drafting. Brandon was of age and physical build but his supervisor, Alvin, pleaded vehemently to spare him as he needed him to run the shipping/receiving and that if he left he would have no one. The platoon leader took him anyway, telling Alvin that Brandon was of age, was not married and was not a father, which forced him into service. Alvin continued to argue the matter but the platoon leader would have none of it.

When the draftees were all gathered"all five of them"the platoon leader ushered them into a military jeep and drove them off the work site. Vince sat at the end of the bench, toward the canvas flaps, and pushed one aside to have one last look at the plant. He glanced at the armour-plating on its sides, the turrets, and the other military vehicles and soldiers in the yard and gulped down his rising fear. His gut felt cold and he was hardly breathing. He wanted to defend his country and would not desert it but the fact that the Russians, despite having to fight the whole way, had made it just outside of Winnipeg made him realize that this enemy he was going to fight was not going to be an easy one.

“Where are we going?” Brandon asked, his face pale and his legs restless. “Do any of you know.”

“They have a base in Morris,” Eric replied. “So I guess we’re headed there.”

“What will we do there?”

“Probably get trained and then sent out to Winnipeg to defend it.”

“F*****g s**t…I don’t want to do this…I can’t do this.”

“Don’t worry so much, you’ll probably just get a cook’s job or something. You probably won’t even get to the front lines.”

“I f*****g hope so…”

“I’m going to the front lines, though.”

“Are you? Why?”

“Because I want to be there to put some bullets into those Russians when they show up.”

“You’re out of your mind…”

“What about you, Randy, Ryan, Vince? Where do you guys want to be?”

Randy shrugged. “Well, I kind of wanted to help out with all the hacking that was going on but I haven’t had any word on that yet.”

“Bah, I’m sure once you show them what you can do they’ll have you doing that. They’d be stupid not to.” He looked to Vince. “What about you, Vince?”

Vince made an expression of uncertainty. “I actually wouldn’t mind being a sniper, I guess. I’ve always been a decent shot and I’d probably be good at it, at least I’d hope so.” 

Eric nodded in approval. “Good, you can cover me when I go barging in guns blazing.”

Vince nodded and managed a smile. Talking about it helped somewhat. He suddenly had to grab the edge of the bench as the jeep drove into the ditch and headed south, towards Morris. The highway was too crowded with vehicles and people and the jeep driver sped down the ditch as quickly as he could, making for a bumpy ride. The driver notified them that he wouldn’t slow down for anyone so they had better hold on and get used to the bumps. He didn’t want to encourage any of the people fleeing the province to try and hitch a ride.

Brandon lost his lunch before they reached Morris and the other four didn’t blame him.

 

****

 

The new recruits were given the instructions on the basic training they would all go through and were told that they had three days to deal with personal belongings, households, family, and other personal matters before they would be picked up at a specified location and flown to the Canadian Forces Leadership and Recruit School in St.Jean-sur-Richelieu in the province of Quebec, far to the east, away from harm. Once they had their instructions they were shown around the Canadian Forces base, situated at the Morris Stampede fields, as well as a farmer’s field that stretched east up to the banks of the Red River. The United States Army base was situated further south of the town in a wide field where, in a rather American tribute, several baseball diamonds were located. It was a small base that acted more as a rest stop for the larger forces of the American army on its way up north from bigger bases across the border. From there they would head to Winnipeg to an old Canadian Army garrison site in the west end that was now abandoned and decrepit. It would serve as a joint-command base until a better one was found.

The plant employees were quickly driven around the base, where they saw the multitude of soldiers, officers, weapons, tents and vehicles. Some of the men and women in uniform waved at them, some glanced momentarily but most paid them no heed. A Chinook helicopter carrying a pallet of supplies was landing in a field as they passed it by and a LAV crossed their path, on its way to the other end of the base. Overhead, as the jeep was exiting the base, a formation of American F-15s, still rather low in the sky, zipped by, the roar of their engines and the passing air drowning out all other sounds until they were gone from sight in seconds.

“Just to give you a taste of what you’ll be working with once you come back,” the driver said as he made his way back north, toward the plant. “That and I have some time to kill.”

The five men exchanged glances of mixed emotions. Most were apprehensive and worrisome. Randy looked determined but was clearly deep in thought. Vince was still somewhat awestruck at the vehicles and equipment he had seen but had his mind full of conflicting thoughts as well. Eric, having a brother in the military, was more confident and sure of himself and sat straighter than the rest. Ryan still seemed angry about the situation and had his jaw locked tight. Brandon had his head in his hands and was struggling to take everything in.

Over the next few days the drafted men packed the belongings they would need to take with them, made financial arrangements with their banks and credit unions, said their farewells to friends, kissed their loved ones goodbye, promised to return to them, and met together at a nondescript bus stop in southern Winnipeg. The air was clear and crisp and they could hear the explosions of war happening a few dozen kilometers to the northwest. They were faint but no less poignant reminders of what was happening to the world around them.

Eric and Randy greeted Vince as he arrived and glanced about at the few dozen or so strangers standing around with them.

“I don’t see Ryan or Brandon anywhere,” Eric said with a smirk. “I guess they’re not coming.”

“Ryan didn’t look like he was going to join from the start,” Randy said. “I’d be surprised as hell if I saw him here.”

“Brandon wasn’t looking too hot either,” Vince added. “I don’t know where they’d go to dodge the draft; the Americans are fighting with us too.”

“Yeah but there’s no draft there,” Randy reminded. “They could maybe hide in States somewhere.”

“Wouldn’t the authorities there just send them back?”

Randy and Eric shrugged.

Two large buses finally arrived and the men all climbed in obediently.

“I thought we were being flown to Quebec?” Eric muttered to Randy in disappointment.

Randy shrugged. “Maybe it’s too dangerous with Russians flying around.”

Eric nodded. “You’re probably right. I’ll take the bus then!”

The drive across Ontario was long though scenic and they made several stops along the way. Vince and Randy took pictures on their phones while Eric simply enjoyed the sights with his eyes and locked them away in his sharp memory. They passed through Ottawa and Montreal and then began to head south. After several days of struggling to sleep on a noisy and bouncy bus they came to a gated drive with a small hut sitting between exit and egress roads with a traffic arm down, blocking the road. The man inside the hut asked the bus driver a few questions, read a bit of paperwork and then raised the arm. The buses drove ahead.

Located directly in front of the train of buses was a many-storied building that resembled an accordion in shape with several other smaller unremarkable buildings situated all around them. To their right a foot track circled around a white, rectangular building and several soldiers ran down its length, their pace steady, their focus strong and their breath stable. In the distance single prop planes took off into the air while others lowered to land. Vince recognized them as trainer aircraft where budding pilots honed their flying skills. He had always wanted to become a pilot and wondered if it was too late to fulfill his dream. He doubted he’d be able to make it through but he could always inquire.

They arrived at a gathering center were several other scores of fresh recruits were standing in neat rows and staring ahead at a rather young man. Though young he may look he commanded an aura of respect and authority and when the three men found their places amongst the crowd they stood straight and said nothing.

Eric shifted his eyes about as the commandant welcomed the new recruits, taking in the sight around him, wondering how his brother did when he first joined those several years ago. He glanced to his sides where Randy and Vince were standing. Randy was a statue, immobile, proud and immovable. Vince was straight as an arrow but his eyes kept shifting to the side whenever a plane took to the sky. His mind was always in the clouds, Eric thought. There was a uniform cheer and the large group was split apart into smaller groups and shown to their housing. Eric only caught the part when the commandant said their training would begin the next day.

The training for new recruits would be for twelve weeks consisting of elementary studies, physical training, and military strategy. Eric just remembered how his brother made it through and used that as inspiration to give it his all. He steadily played hockey in winter and was thus in rather good physical condition and wasn’t too worried about the physical training. Academic training was something he would probably deal with easily, he thought, remembering how simple high school had been. Military strategy may be somewhat new but he would do his best to learn it all well.

Randy was also hardly worried about the physical training, an avid baseball and hockey player himself, he shed little thought on that part of the training. As for the other areas of training he didn’t worry himself too much. He wasn’t an idiot and was quick to learn.

Vince, though not in horrible physical condition, was not an avid sports player like the other two and worried he may not pass the physical training. Military strategy worried him little as he was often researching military strategies and histories out of a sheer enjoyment of gathering the knowledge. He was fairly skilled academically and that bothered him but a little. Once housed in his room, he set about doing sit-ups and push-ups in an attempt to get a small boost of physical endurance before the real training took place. 

When it did begin, Randy and Eric excelled at it; hauling sandbags, pulling weights, running long distances, marching, and mastering the obstacle course came almost naturally to them. Vince struggled a little more but was determined and never gave up. Over the course of the first week he was getting better and was slowly catching up to the other two.

Seated under a tree and eating their lunch, the three men watched other recruits train. The women were an especially pleasant sight. One of them looked oddly familiar. She was easily mastering the course and was miles ahead of the others.

“Holy s**t,” Vince said through a mouthful of sandwich. “I think that’s Krista from the plant"the millwright!”

Randy’s eyes widened in surprise. “You’re right, it is her. She’s doing f*****g awesome.”

“Surprised that she’s here,” Eric said. “She has kids and husband.”

“She was always pushing herself to do more,” Vince reasoned. “This training looks like a walk in the park for her, though. She’s making the other ones look bad.”

“Hey there, f*****s,” said a familiar voice from behind them. “Since you’re down there you wanna’ give my balls a little jiggle?”

“Of all the f*****g people,” Eric said with a chuckle. He turned around to see Steph standing there with that wide grin of his. He clasped the man’s hand and patted his shoulder amiably. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“I volunteered and took a trip here, same as you. I’m here to f**k s**t up. How are you all doing?”

“Good, actually. Vince was having a tough time at first but he’s catching up.”

“Gotta’ lay off all that pop, Vinny,” Steph said, giving Vince a light kick to his knee. “But I can see your gut is gone. Good job.”

Vince rolled his eyes and smiled. “It wasn’t that much of a gut…”

“Oh I know. Was about the same as mine.” He patted his round midsection emphatically. “Anyways, I don’t want to have to suck no general’s c**k so I’ll be heading off. You got a few other familiar faces here too by the way.” He gestured to the side before turning and leaving to his assigned dwelling.

To their amazement they met Glen, RJ, Steve and another Steph that went by the nickname Junior, who happened to be Vince’s younger brother.

“Found this little shrimp tagging along,” RJ said to the three with a gesture to the younger Steph. “I thought he was our jester but it’s like as if he wants to train here or something.”

“Shut the f**k up, Jubes,” Junior spat back playfully. “I’m not much shorter than you.” He was greeted by his brother and the two exchanged stories and experiences.

“So how’s the training here?” Glen asked Randy. “Is there a lot of weight lifting?”

Randy shrugged one shoulder. “There’s a bit of everything. A lot of stamina training.”

“Ah f**k…the one thing I suck at…”

“Well looks like you’re fucked,” RJ said, placing a comforting hand on Glen’s shoulder. “It was nice knowing you. Now get the f**k out and let the real men become soldiers.”

“Yeah whatever. I didn’t come here to turn back. I’ll go through with it.” He noticed the fit young women training off to the side and whistled. “When do I get to wrestle with them?”

“You know that beard will have to come off eh?” Randy said to Steve who still retained his bushy brown beard. Glen had already shaved his. “Had to get rid of mine. Better kiss it goodbye tonight or they’ll shave it off tomorrow.”

“Damn, I’ve been growing this thing for years.” Steve rubbed his substantial facial hair almost lovingly. “I’ll miss it…”

“It’s a f*****g beard, dude,” RJ said with a raised eyebrow. “Get over it. You’ll probably look something like five percent more attractive anyway. These girls here might actually notice you.”

“F**k I want to punch you sometimes, Jube.”

RJ and the others just laughed.

 

****

 

Though the draft boosted Canada’s military strength it also greatly lessened the plant’s workforce. The crews were shifted about to balance their strengths and men with nothing left to lose were found, often on their way south to the United States, and employed. They were taught the most rudimentary and routine jobs while what was left of the experienced employees focused on the more advanced chores.

Ray had left, leaving Lawrence, who was still uncertain as to whether he should stay or go, with Rob and Marty. Their other members, two men both by the name of Jesse, had fled south. One was married and might have been able to avoid the draft but the other was not and had no taste for war. Lawrence, as was custom, took over the computer tasks while Rob taught the two new employees, two older men that wished to help their country instead of fleeing it, whatever he could without overworking them. Marty took over lab duties.

George, a working man until the end, remained and was more fortunate than others to retain most of his crew. Farid, Aaron and Russ continued their usual duties while his lab tech, Steven, had left to avoid the draft. Luckily he was given a replacement, an experienced lab tech by the name of Jitou who was a married father with a bad leg, giving him complete draft immunity. He had once been a lab tech before being given a higher position in the laboratory but was happy to help and return to his old position. Despite his arguments and complaints the lab’s supervisor, Mike, was given all of Jitou’s jobs as well as his own, something he would protest about for many days to come.

Paul was shifted over to Steph’s crew considering there was nothing left of it. He managed to talk Ryan, who was preparing to leave the country, into returning to the plant and after lengthy talks with the plant’s platoon leader had secured his immunity to the draft, stating that without Ryan the plant would shut down. With Winnipeg’s fate on the edge of a blade the platoon leader had decided that every bit of biofuel would be needed for the war effort and had reluctantly submitted to Paul’s requests. This still left him horribly undermanned but he was saved when Viterra’s headquarters in Regina, Saskatchewan, sent him two men that had recently worked in a canola plant and would be easy to teach what little they didn’t know about the current process. Their lab tech, Michael, had left to avoid the war along with Ben, another crewmember, but the company had fortunately managed to find a replacement from another plant.

Phu had lost most of his men but had been given a replacement for Eric in the lab, an old formerly fired employee by the name of Brent, who had avoided the draft by claiming to be mentally challenged, which wasn’t difficult for him to replicate. He was a rather odd individual, accustomed to talking to himself and spontaneously bursting into fits of rage for no particular reason but he was all the company could find on such short notice and he would have to do for now. Two women took the places of Vince and Randy, which pleased Krista and worried Phu. One took the computer controls easily and the other was a fitness nut who was one of the few people in the entire plant with the stamina and speed to follow Krista around as she taught her the everyday tasks.

Shipping/receiving duties were fully manned by the shipping/receiving crew, day and night, whereas before the plant operators tended to shipping/receiving duties during the night and weekends. Extra men from various areas were given jobs in shipping/receiving and though some proved difficult to train some did fairly well. Since most of Canada’s young men were either dodging the draft or training for war this left only the unhealthy and the old to work with.

It did not take long, a few short days really, for the plant’s management to begin hiring more able-bodied women who had avoided the draft by being married or mothers, or both, into the plant’s workforce. As more feminine faces began appearing around the worksite it was clear to all there that history was repeating itself. As they had done in both world wars the women were beginning to man the more customary male-oriented trades. Several of the plant worker’s wives had expressed interest but most were discouraged with a variety of excuses. Some stated that it would be too physically demanding, others said that it would too unsanitary and dirty of a job, and others simply told the truth and said they’d grow tired of seeing them every minute of every day.

Mooch, a shipping/receiving worker for many years, had dodged a bullet when he managed to discourage his own wife, a rather loud and expressive individual he dubbed Hagbag, from joining him with the shipping/receiving duties. She annoyed him enough with her constant and regular phone calls at work he didn’t think his lingering aneurysm would be able to withstand her if she was by his side for twelve hours a day, most likely bickering and complaining the entire time about anything and everything and nothing all at once. Though he was currently training a woman how to pilot the shipping/receiving’s trackmobile, a small rail locomotive, he did not mind for she was easy on the eyes and an impressively quick learner. It was a great improvement to the illiterate homeless man he had been training the day before.

The military, American and Canadian, was driving in for refueling often and steadily. Production was at full pace to meet the military’s demands but luckily for the plant and its employees there was plenty of biofuel to go around and there was never any shortage. Though the military traffic often interfered with the farmers and drivers delivering or picking up product there was a rudimentary system emplaced which helped to ease the impact and regulate flow.

Meanwhile, in the rest of the world, things were looking grim for the enemies of Russia and China. Having been given military access through Russia and its allies’ lands, China had sent a massive force northwest through Kazakhstan which then swept south through Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan and into Iran to bolster Russian forces fighting the determined Americans there. This upset the balance of power and soon gave the aggressors the upper hand as American forces were slowly pushed back. Another Chinese force kept moving west through Kazakhstan and Russia to take part in the European theatre of war. China also sent a naval force across the Indian Ocean, all the while battling Indian, Australian and a few American naval forces, to southern Iran and into the Persian Gulf. Threatening war on Saudi Arabia’s oil-rich lands China demanded it stand down and declare itself neutral. United States argued against it and promised military assistance. As much money as Saudi Arabia made with American exports, most of its great revenue came from Asia, especially China, and it succumbed to Chinese demands, declaring itself neutral and out of the conflict. This did not cease exports to America but it also did not cease any to China as well, making it all the more difficult for the Western Alliance. Yemen, Oman, UAE, and all other countries of Arabia followed suit with Saudi Arabia and voted to remain out of the conflict. They all wished that in doing so China and Russia would leave them be.

It was not long after their declarations of neutrality that Chinese warships began sinking oil tankers destined for Europe or North America. Unwilling to stand up to the ever-increasing Chinese naval presence the Arabian countries began to divert more ships towards China and less to other destinations, especially North America. America’s lifeline of oil was now beginning to strangle itself.

Western Europe was also feeling the sting. Since Russia exported much of its resources, especially oil, to the rest of Europe its sudden cut was felt greatly by all. Germany could not last long without Russian oil and though it was ready to fight it would need outside assistance if it wished to hold out for any extended period of time. Poland was almost completely taken and both Ukraine and Finland had fallen, despite the latter country having declared itself neutral for decades. Rumors were spreading that Russia was exacting revenge on the Finns for the many Russian lives lost during the Winter War of the late 1930’s. Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia, as well as Belarus, joined the Russian military effort and helped it overrun nearly all of Poland. The only Polish cities remaining were the far western ones of Szczecin and Wroclaw and a few scattered western towns. Once they were taken Russian forces would be moving against Germany, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Sweden, a neutral country, was ignored, and though Norway had stood up bravely Russia’s fleet had hammered its own hard and once Russian soldiers landed it did not take long for the country of five million to fall. This now gave Russia a clear avenue for a naval invasion of the British Isles. The British would not let it happen, however, and immediately sent large aerial forces to Norway to bomb Russia into retreat while all the while preparing its navy for a Norwegian invasion. This of course forced Britain to hold back some its aid to Germany and North America as it focused on defending its own lands. France sent most of its forces to Germany in an attempt to hold back the Russian flood before it ever reached its borders while sending some to Britain, the Middle East and North America, leaving its own borders scantily defended. This forced the French government to consider enacting conscription in an attempt to keep itself moderately defended in the event Russia managed to push that far west.  

In North America, Canada boosted oil output to levels never before seen in its history, all the while defending itself from Russian invasion with America’s aid. Europe needed resources to stay alive and United States and Canada sent as much as they could across the Atlantic. American, Canadian, British and French ships escorted the valuable resources, defending them from Russian warships and submarines. Russia’s presence in the Atlantic was scattered and sparse at best and few cargo vessels and oil tankers were damaged and even fewer were sunk. Despite these successes the situation on land was quite different. Chinese forces were holding strong in California and Oregon and though they had advanced little they were proving capable of standing up to American efforts. Prince Rupert, British Columbia, was under attack and Prince George to the east of it was under serious threat of invasion as American and Canadian armies fought fiercely to defend the roads leading up to it.

In the Manitoban campaign, Winnipeg was still untouched but Selkirk to the northeast of it was under attack and Russian forces were almost within range of an artillery bombardment of the capital. For the moment America had air superiority over Winnipeg which prevented Russian aircraft from bombing the city from the air but there remained occasional electrical mishaps which momentarily gave Russian aircraft some breathing room. The Russian army in Flin Flon had finally begun to move and was heading southwest towards Regina and Saskatoon on its way to Alberta to halt and seize Canada’s oil production. This force was smaller and was more easily dealt with as it had only made it as far as Prince Albert, three hundred kilometers south of Flin Flon, before it was pushed back north to the banks of Big Sandy Lake, cutting its progress in half. Using the forest, swampy land and the lake itself as a barrier the Russians dug in and defended until reinforcements could arrive before attempting another push south.

Iqaluit, capital of the Nunavut territory, was captured and used a base of operations for Russian naval forces defending the Northwestern passages from any Canadian or American attempt to invade their bases in northern Manitoba.

The Chinese navy working its way around the southern tip of South America was closely monitored by satellite and surveillance aircraft. It harbored a substantial anti-aircraft defense and no aerial attack was made on it yet. America now relied heavily on Canadian and Venezuelan oil and a substantial naval force was placed just outside the South American country’s waters to defend it from any Chinese attack once its navy began moving north along the South American coast. Chinese forces in Nicaragua were engaged by American and Canadian Special Forces as well as American Navy Seals and US President Obama promised an invasion from Marines in the near future to liberate the country. The Special Forces and Seals, skilled and powerful as they were, could only hope to harass and annoy the massive Chinese force based in the small country but they did as well as they could, hoping to soften up its defenses prior to the invasion by the Marines.

The world was in the thick of combat and only the continents of Africa and Antarctica appeared relatively unaffected by it all. It was quite possible the former would feel the sting of war soon enough as had happened in previous world wars but for now it looked on as the world fought bloody battles for supremacy and for self-defense. Some Africans even placed bets on who would rise as victor. Whatever the outcome, its effect would hardly be felt in the Dark Continent. For better or for worse, most Africans preferred it that way.

 

 

The Warrior’s Way

 

 

Basic training went well, for the most part, for the co-workers and friends. Vince had reconditioned himself rather well and had lost a bit of weight and gained more strength and stamina. Eric and Randy had improved in all aspects. Steph, Junior and Steve were also improved and fitter than ever before. Glen’s overblown ego had encouraged the drill sergeants to focus on him a little more than the others, pushing him harder and working him on his weakness, his stamina. RJ’s mouth had given him an unfavorable reputation among the officers and drill sergeants and he had suffered for it but had not given up. He was determined to show them that he could put his money where his mouth was.

They had met up with Krista several times during their training and were not surprised to discover that she was the top of her class and was told by her officers that she was showing great promise and potential.

What did surprise them was the arrival of some other familiar faces, friends and family members and even former co-workers. A young man with dark hair and ear hoops by the name of Julien had met them and told them of his failed draft dodging. He didn’t want to become a soldier and hoped that he’d be kicked out soon so he could avoid the war completely. RJ and Glen told them of how the drill sergeants favored men that didn’t put up their greatest effort and wished him luck on the extra attention he was certain to receive. They encountered another young man by the name of Derek that had once worked in shipping/receiving. He was physically strong but, like Glen, had a problem with stamina and during his training an intense anger was revealed to have budded from him. After harassing a fellow female trainee to the point of near violence he had been punished and worked so hard that in frustration he quit and walked out.

Someone every plant worker was overjoyed to see, along with every other man in the training yard, made her appearance one day. Courtney, Julien’s younger sister, was fit, attractive and had a rather bulbous yet perfectly formed back end that captivated every pair of male eyes in her vicinity. She greeted them in her customary friendly manner, as surprised to see them as they were her, and after chatting with them for a few minutes went off to train with the other new recruits. The men’s eyes lingered until they were called by their superior.

“How much you guys want to bet I’ll tap that before we’re out of here?” RJ wagered confidently.

Steve, beaming wide, stretched his arms over his head and cracked his knuckles as he did so. “Been there, done that.”

The normally cocky and mouthy RJ had little to say to that and simply turned away.

Throughout the weeks of training the military officers overlooking the recruits’ progress noticed that the group from the canola plant worked well together. Almost without any direction they worked as a team and helped one another when faced with difficult challenges. In mock combat training they showed the ability to stay together and ensure that no one was left behind or alone and worked off one another’s strengths and weaknesses. Although three of them had begun basic training sooner than the rest the remainder of the training was scheduled so that they would all be at the same level and finish together. The officers all agreed that once they were ready for combat they would be put together as a group.

During this time, about halfway into the training, news reports revealed a dreadful story. Footage of the north end of Winnipeg in flames cycled through news broadcasts around the world. Russian rocket-launching vehicles had showered the city in a hail of flaming missiles in an attempt to lower morale and make it easier for them to claim it. American and Canadian forces retaliated powerfully with heavy air attacks that destroyed many of the rocket-launching vehicles and an artillery barrage of their own, forcing the Russians to plan their next move carefully. Winnipeg was heavily defended and most of the roads into it were mined and surrounding fields were pocketed with tank traps, trenches, more mines, and barricades. Despite the well-placed defenses it was painfully clear that Winnipeg would soon be invaded. Selkirk fell a few days later, allowing more Russian forces to turn south toward the capital city. The province itself was acting against the defenders as its flat land, full of fields and grassland, offered little strategic value and made it easy for Russian ground forces to traverse and attack from almost any side. Without any environmental obstacles, save the occasional river, swamp or thick forest, to slow the Russian advance Canadian and American defending forces were spread thinner in an effort to save the city from being surrounded. British Columbia looked to be saved when a large force of American reinforcements made its way north to Prince George but soon after that Chinese ships that managed to make it across the Pacific landed a massive army just south of Seattle near the town of Aberdeen. Any other American forces on its way north were diverted toward the Chinese landing site and British Columbia would receive no more reinforcements until the Chinese threat was dealt with. For the moment, however, Russia was held back from any further southern progress.

            California and Oregon had yet to be rid of its Chinese invaders and both invading forces had now managed to push further inland and one force was beginning to advance slowly south, toward the highly populated southern California cities. The other force moved north toward Seattle and Vancouver. The US Navy was heavily engaged in the Caribbean, battling Chinese warships and holding them back from reaching their ground forces in Nicaragua and from invading any southern American states. With no aircraft carrier within the fleet, the Chinese ships were under great threat from the aerial attacks sent by the two American carriers sailing in the sea ahead of them. Anti-aircraft measures kept some of the aircraft away but there were always a few that slipped by, especially the stealthy B2 bombers and F-22 fighters. This slowed Chinese progress greatly and instead of waiting for the ships to arrive the Chinese forces in Nicaragua began confiscating their own from the country’s own stock. They weren’t warships and would sink easily if attacked but they may be able to allow the ground forces to reach the southern tip of Texas if the Chinese Navy could distract the Americans long enough. Chinese High Command began preparing an invasion plan.

Europe’s situation was deteriorating slowly. Germany was in the thick of it and the Russian army was nearly within artillery range of Berlin. With most of its Air Force in North America dealing with the American and Canadian aircraft Russia could only use its few remaining aircraft to offer the ground forces air support when absolutely needed. This gave Germany, France and Britain air superiority but with the rapid ground force progress it seemed for naught. French and German soldiers dug in and held back the Russian flood with blood and bullets. British ground forces stationed themselves in the Czech Republic and for a few weeks held back the Russian forces but once they were bolstered by Chinese men and vehicles the British began falling back.

The Middle-East was in shambles. American forces were continuously withdrawing from Iran as more and more Chinese soldiers surged into the war-torn country to Russia’s aid. America pleaded for Pakistan to take up arms and attack Iran from the east, a move that would surely give the American military a chance to counter-attack and squeeze the Russian and Chinese armies out of the country once and for all.

Pakistan refused. China and Pakistan had excellent relations and both nations’ armies often trained together. US President Barrack Obama knew this and pressed Pakistan no further in hopes that it may at least declare itself neutral and not side with China. China had other ideas, however, and Pakistani leaders were tempted into declaring China an ally in the war effort and send it troops and equipment. The Pakistani military did not mobilize but its leaders did begin talking about their country’s part in the war.

India had been invaded by China at about the same time Chinese troops were travelling across Kazakhstan toward Russian armies in the Middle-East and Europe. Pakistan and India were rival nations and the former worried that if it did not send China aid that its relations with its neighbor would deteriorate and drastically affect its financial future. For the moment, however, Pakistan’s armies remained inside its borders as the war talks continued.

“How can Russia and China keep fighting?” Vince asked as he read the newspaper one weekend in the barracks. “China’s biggest buyer was America and Russia is losing tons of money in cutting off fuel to the rest of Europe. Where are they getting their money?”

Eric shrugged. “I’m thinking that’s the reason both countries are fighting so aggressively. They both know they can’t last long without their trade agreements with other nations so they’re sending everything they have and hoping for a quick victory. It’s been two months of this war, though, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to end any time soon.”

“Maybe Russia and China will just end up giving up,” Randy said hopefully. “Without money to keep the armies fighting they might have no choice.”

“They’ve come too far to just give up now.” Eric had a glance at the newspaper and shook his head as he returned to cleaning his rifle. “No, they’ll both find a way to keep going. Russia is known for continuing wars when everything looks hopeless. Putin won’t dare end this war until he has what he wants.”

“Which is?”

“Everything.”

“That f****r isn’t taking Winnipeg,” Vince growled. “We’ve got one more month of training and then I think we ship out.”

“We’re supposed to be doing advanced training before that,” Eric explained. “That might take another few months.”

“By the time we’re out Winnipeg and Manitoba will be Russian!”

Eric shrugged. “I don’t like it either but they don’t want to be sending men to die. They want to be sending soldiers to claim victory.”

“S**t, eh,” Vince said as he read another report. “It says here Russia invaded Scotland last week but was met with so much resistance that the soldiers turned around and fled back to their ships before all of them had even disembarked. Those Scottish don’t take kindly to outsiders, it seems.”

“They’ll keep trying, though,” Eric stated. “With Norway full of Russians it’s only a matter of time before England and Scotland are invaded.”

“If those Chinese link up with them in Norway it’ll be even worse for them…”

            “Hey,” RJ called from his bed, all sprawled out and half-asleep, “you guys want to shut up? I’m trying to sleep here.”

            “If the sergeant catches you like this he’ll give you hell,” Randy warned.

“I don’t give a s**t…”

Randy chuckled. “I think Steve is trying to hook up with Courtney again…”

“What?!” RJ immediately sat up and swung out of bed, wiping sleep from his eyes. “Like f**k he is.” Moments later he was out of the barracks and on his way to find the pretty brunette.

Weeks came and went and realizing the dire situation Manitoba was in, Canadian Forces Command declared that weapons training would be increased in the latter stages of basic training so that more troops could be sent out sooner before Canada was split in two and Russia reached the American Midwest border.

The men from the canola plant were all grouped together at a shooting range practising with various firearms while officers watched over them and the other recruits. Krista and Courtney were there as well. Neither of them had shot many firearms in their lives and required a bit more time before they grew comfortable with the rifles and pistols in their hands. As for the men, Vince, Steph, Junior and Eric were avid hunters and had fired many rounds out of various firearms in their lives and were naturally good shots. The officers training them were impressed and soon had them trying firearms of higher calibre. Glen, Steve and RJ’s stubbornness and overconfidence in themselves had them ignoring their trainers’ tips and were taking a bit more time than the others. Randy was learning quickly and developing into a rather decent shot.

As they trained with their weapons they were judged on their skills and temperaments and placed in different situations and scenarios to decide where they’d be placed on the battlefield once they were put in an actual combat situation. Glen, Rj, Steve, Steph and Eric were shown to be aggressive and energetic soldiers, willing to charge headlong into combat without a fear in the world. Junior was fast and aggressive as well but preferred a stealthier approach and was not quick to rush. Randy was cautious but determined and was always there to fill the gap wherever aid was needed. Vince was often at the back of the group, picking out missed targets and surveying the battlefield from afar, judging where his abilities would be best used before moving into action. Their trainers noted all of this and could see that this group was developing into a fighting force of its own. Once Courtney and Krista were thrown into the mix the group gained even more cohesiveness and mobility, further improving the group’s overall performance. Krista had the aggressiveness and stamina to be a frontline fighter and Courtney showed an interest in ensuring that each member of the group was in good condition and had enough ammunition.

Instead of mixing them with other recruits and losing that bond the officers in charge of them decided that it would be best to send them together to wherever they would be deployed. As the final days of basic training approached all ten Manitobans were placed in a line in front of their chief officer and told of what was to become of them.

“You have all shown great promise and have transformed into fine men and women I would be proud to send into battle,” he said. “I and the other officers and trainers have noticed a special bond that links all of you together, a bond that makes each of your strengths overlap one another, improving your overall effectiveness and nearly wiping out any weaknesses amongst you.

“In two days you will be finished here and instead of being sent to advanced training, as is customary, you will be sent to the front lines to aid our beleaguered soldiers and their allies, as will most of these recruits. It is imperative that we prevent the enemy from reaching the American border and simultaneously splitting our country in two halves, cutting the east from the west. Considering that Manitoba is your home province it was decided that you will be placed in your own platoon, with a few other recruits to bolster your force, and sent there to defend it from the enemy. You have all shown me that you are capable of working together as team quite well and I am confident that with your support, Winnipeg, and the province of Manitoba, will soon be free of any Russian presence.”

The man went on about the duties of a soldier and how an army was only as strong as its weakest link. He mentioned the importance of obedience, eyeing RJ meaningfully as he did so, and that whoever would be placed as their platoon leader should be offered the highest respect. The talk went on for a few minutes before he saluted them all, after which he was saluted in turn, and then turned and left.

The final two days of basic training went by quickly and before they knew it they were on a plane back to Manitoba. It landed in Steinbach, a southeastern town in Manitoba that was not yet threatened by the Russians, where several military transports awaited them.

They embarked upon them and watched the fields pass them by. The air was warm as summer was in full swing. The sun was shining and very few clouds dotted the sky. Traffic grew scarcer the nearer the transports approached Winnipeg. Travelling down the Trans-Canada highway offered the passengers views of farmers tending to fields and livestock as if all was well. Despite the war the country and the world still needed food and Manitoba, being a part of Canada’s breadbasket, needed its fields tended to and its livestock cared for. The farmers were not forced by law to remain in their fields and most seemed to be doing it out of sheer necessity or stubbornness.

“I never thought being a farmer would be badass but these guys here are pretty f*****g brave,” RJ said as he watched a farmer spray pesticide over his field as military helicopters flew overhead.

“The fields won’t tend themselves,” Krista said. “And the army needs food.”

The drive was mostly uneventful until they were about a dozen kilometers outside the Winnipeg perimeter. They started out as simple contrails in the sky, as many airliners left behind, and it took a few moments for the passengers to realize the oddness in that considering the Winnipeg airport had been closed to civilian aircraft for many weeks already. There was a single white contrail coming up from the ground and it appeared to be heading directly toward the four parallel ones in the sky. Everyone lifted the side flaps of the truck they were in and looked up at the event. The single white line eventually met with the leading edge of the four parallel ones and a bright flash was seen for a moment. After that the four parallel lines were a dark grey and began descending and angling toward the highway. As the seconds ticked by the leading edge of the line glimmered in the sun and revealed itself to be an aircraft, as everyone had long suspected already. It was a four-engine aircraft and Vince and Randy classified it as a Russian Tupolev Tu-96 long-range bomber. Its four propeller-driven engines were all in flames and it was diving through the sky at incredible speed, the roar of its engines filling the air. Whatever had come up from the ground to hit it, most likely an anti-aircraft missile, and had severely damaged its fuselage and the resulting explosion appeared to have sent a vast amount of shrapnel into the engines, damaging the propellers and the engines themselves. So entranced were they all by the sight of the descending aircraft that it took them a few moments to realize that it was falling directly in their path. The jeep’s driver hit the brakes hard, sending everyone tumbling to the front of the box in a tangled mess. The line of transports and escorting Humvees came to a complete stop as the massive aircraft slammed into the highway in a massive explosion of fuel and unexploded bombs. The shockwave shook the transport vehicles and their escorts and flipped the lead one on its side. Pieces of the airplane went soaring in every direction and one sliced through the canvas of one jeep and another embedded itself into a Humvee’s engine. When the situation calmed down all soldiers exited the vehicles and examined the scene before them.

The highway half a mile ahead was burning brightly and fiercely and covered in a tangled mess of metal. Black smoke drifted high in the sky and the smell of melted metal and burning rubber permeated the air. Everyone save Steph, who literally had no sense of smell, covered their noses from the powerful scent. The flipped jeep and damaged Humvee were left where they were as the other vehicles backed away and turned around to find a detour. Since the other lanes across the median were free of traffic the transport and escort vehicles simply crossed it and turned toward the oncoming traffic, which there was none of. The soldiers left without a transport were split equally amongst those remaining as were the soldiers of the downed Humvee. Without delay the vehicles drove on, passing the wreckage and leaving it behind them as a grim reminder of what lay ahead.

The war suddenly felt all too real for the canola plant workers-turned-soldiers. They would be facing far more dangerous situations once inside the city limits and would do so until they were dead or given leave.

Vince glanced back at the flaming wreckage of the Russian bomber in the distance and was suddenly glad that he had not become a pilot.

“Five clicks until we reach the Perimeter highway,” the driver called back to the passengers in the box.

“Five clicks until we get into the s**t,” Steph said with a forced smile, trying to lighten the mood. It didn’t work.

Rising columns of black smoke could be seen drifting amongst the skyscrapers of Winnipeg’s skyline and a multitude of helicopters flew through the air like birds of prey, ensuring that the defending forces on the ground were properly supported. The truck drove under the Perimeter highway overpass, guarded by Canadian forces, and everyone inside held their weapons tighter and readied themselves. Earlier reports stated that the Russians were still mostly focused in the north end and putting up a good fight as they tried to take the airport, which was heavily defended. The transport trucks were coming in from the city’s east end but that did not mean that some Russian forces hadn’t snuck in and were preparing an ambush for the reinforcements before they ever reached the main force.

Nothing happened, however, and the transport trucks delivered their passengers to the main force based in Assiniboine Park, less than two kilometers from Winnipeg’s Richardson Airport. Another base was situated at the Forks, in Winnipeg’s downtown district, and a third was situated further east in an industrial park not far from Winnipeg’s largest rail yard, Symington Yards.

Once they stepped out of the truck they were met by an officer who immediately led them to the rest of their group and sent the force of twenty five to a briefing station where they would receive their orders. A young man by the name of Corporal Tanning would lead them and they would be placed at the Polo Park Shopping Center to protect it and the nearby highway intersection from any Russian forces that somehow managed to make it that far. The more experienced soldiers were situated north of that position and at the airport to the west of it to defend it from the Russians who were already engaging them. As of yet not a single enemy soldier had been spotted at the city’s largest mall but they would be positioned there nonetheless, just as a precaution.

“We have our orders,” Corporal Tanning told his platoon without looking them in the eyes. “Now let’s suit up and get moving.” He appeared nervous and perhaps slightly afraid as well. The rest of the platoon exchanged glances before embarking in their Humvees and trucks.

“So this it,” Vince said to Eric, who sat beside him in the transport truck. “We’re at war.”

“Yup...if I can just get to shoot one Russian before it’s over I’ll be fine with that.”

“I never thought I’d ever become a soldier,” Krista admitted. “I just couldn’t stand by and run away without at least fighting back otherwise why go through all that fitness training, eh?”

RJ glanced to Courtney, who sat to his right, and placed a hand on her knee. “You know, Courtney, this could be the last day we get to see each other. We should maybe make sure it’s a good one.”

“Nice try, RJ,” Courtney said with a light laugh that did not last long.

There were a few chuckles but most were cut short when the sound of automatic fire could be heard in the distance. Artillery explosions were heard and the sound of several helicopters’ rotor blades whipping the air above them as the attack aircraft flew toward the commotion. Moments later there was the sound of missiles being launched and chainguns firing, their many barrels spinning at rapid speeds as a stream of bullets shot forth toward the enemy.

“Now we’re in the s**t,” Steph said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice.

No one replied or commented. No one had to. His words rang true.

They were now soldiers of the Third World War.

There was no turning back now.

There was only war.

Only war… 

Author's Note

I know it is a large block of text, I have thought of splitting it into four parts for easier reading. Until I do, I hope it's not too much trouble as it is now.

Reviews

[BryanCX]

What a great chapter here you got. Very intense and intrigued story here. This is literally buying a great author's book and reading it. Try to cut the story into some part, so that it is not too long!

BrX

[GreatGustav]

I've thought of maybe cutting it into a few smaller parts for this website. Maybe into four smaller pieces. I will consider it and thank you for taking the time to review! I appreciate it. :)