1420 June 18th, 2020 CE

San Francisco, California

Their patrol vehicle barreled down the deserted street. Andrew held tightly onto the steering wheel. He looked around. “Where is Interstate 280?”

“There are signs on the street that will get us there.”

“Can you get a map out on your phone or something?”

“If you stopped driving like a maniac, we can just check the street signs.”

“Well, the entire city is being overrun, who won’t drive like a maniac.”

“You are gonna get us killed.”

“I’m driving at only 60 mph and there’s literally nobody here. We are way behind everybody and have no idea when those things are gonna get here. Just please check where we are.”

Terry tapped on his phone. “Ah. Okay, take the next right.”

As Andrew rounded the turn, the entire car tilted to the left, its right wheels spinning in the air. Jostled as the car slammed back onto the ground, Terry held onto the door “Jesus H. Christ!”

A few minutes later

In front of them were multiple police vehicles and a Humvee that formed a checkpoint of sorts.

“See we didn’t need the signs.”

“Next time, if we ever have to do another escape or something, I’m driving.”

Andrew and Terry got out of the vehicle. A police officer from the checkpoint approached them. “You guys alright?”

Andrew and Terry introduced themselves. “We are fine. I’m Officer Andrew Molanos from Richmond Station.”

“Officer Terry Grays, also from Richmond Station.”

“Corporal Anthony White from Mission Station. Did you say Richmond Station?”

“Yeah, why are you asking?”

“Ouch. Wasn’t that where the first reports of those monsters came from?”

Andrew nodded. “Oh yeah, I’m pretty sure I was the one who made that first report.”

“You were? Huh. Glad to see you are still alive. Well, surprised to see actually. We need all the officers we can get.”

Terry looked around at the couple other officers and Guardsmen. “Can you tell us what has been going on? Nobody seems to be communicating over the radio anymore.”

They walked towards the checkpoint. “I think we switched frequencies or something but that isn’t important right now. It’s not going well. The National Guard is in complete retreat. They are trying to reorganize and regroup. We have abandoned most of the city north of here.” Anthony pointed southwards. “The Ingleside Police Station is now the headquarters. The City College of San Francisco next to it has also become the main evacuation site. The various stadiums there and the parking lot are being used as landing areas for National Guard helicopters to ferry out civilians. People can also drive out of San Francisco using Interstate 280 but we are trying to control the flow of traffic so it keeps moving.”

“And what are we doing here?”

“Our orders are to hold this highway and that evacuation point. We will most likely be the last ones to leave unless the National Guard gets their shit together. I will call someone from HQ and see if they need you guys elsewhere. You will probably be staying here with me though.”

Irvington, California

Everyone stared bewilderedly at the destroyed and upside down Humvee. Sergeant Lumen waved at the students to snap them out of it. “Quickly! GO! GET ON.”

People started rushing into the trucks. Gunfire could be heard in the distance. Luke soon clambered onto one of the military trucks. The sand colored tarp covering the back of the truck had concealed how crowded it was inside. The truck was packed with students. Other than that, there was a soldier tending to a wounded soldier lying in the middle of everybody.

Luke sat down on the truck bed. He heard gunfire again. This time it sounded extremely close. Screams also came from outside. Luke looked out the back of the truck. A Humvee was driving towards them with a monster following it.

1433 June 18th, 2020 CE

San Jose International Airport (Forward Operating Base)

Colonel Bill Gunn looked increasingly worried as radio messages flooded in.

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The only thing he could do now was order a general retreat. The monsters had heavy firepower with them and easily dealt with the lightly armed National Guard. The heaviest weapon he had currently in his disposal are Humvees armed with .50 cal machine guns. He was gonna have to wait for more heavy weaponry in order to turn the tide.

A beacon of hope came to him in the form of someone rushing to him with a message.“Colonel!. The commander of the Marines that are arriving soon wants to speak to you.”

<<<“This is Colonel Henry Weiss, commander of the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Is this Colonel Gunn of the California Army National Guard?

“Yes, it is.”

“My forces will be arriving soon. What is the situation in San Francisco?”

“Thank god you guys are here. The front is collapsing. I currently have at my disposal just about 250 men. We had to throw together what we had at hand since we couldn’t get the entire 79th IBCT mobilized fast enough. Our top priority is getting people out. Holding defensive positions is no longer viable for us. My forces in San Francisco have been mostly pushed out and are in disarray. Elsewhere along the Bay Area, my forces are being forced to retreat but they are still organized. We are also severely lacking in air support since these monsters are shooting down the Air Force with ease.”

“Thanks for the information. I will be taking command once I arrive. AH-1Z Vipers will fly in low to avoid the enemy anti-air and will provide air support. I will patch you in with the squadron commander.”>>>

30 minutes later

MV-22 Ospreys landed all along one of the runways of the San Jose International Airport. Marines ran out from the backs of the Ospreys towards the hangars. Corporal Eric Lu was among the Marines.

As he got off of his osprey, Eric looked up just as three AH-1Z Vipers in formation flew by overhead. Besides him, Humvees were driving around on the runway of the airport. Carrying his service rifle, the M27 IAR, he ran with his fellow Marines. “Let's go. Let's go.”

“Move. Move. Move.”

A large number of soldiers crowded the hangar that they just entered. The aircraft hangar had been turned into a command center of sorts. Whiteboards and computers on desks were everywhere.

In a rather large open area in the hangar, Marines clad in combat crowded together and filled the space. Captain Dan Martinez, commander of their company, was standing in front of a large whiteboard with a map on it. “Alright, Echo Company, this is the current situation. To enable easier travel, most of northern San Jose has been cleared of civilians. Across the Bay Area, the National Guard is on retreat. They are the worst hit in San Francisco. The situation there is also the most dire because San Francisco is on a peninsula and can be cut off.” The captain traced his finger on a highway on the map. “Local law enforcement and National Guard have been pushed back to Interstate 280 and are desperately holding it as the main highway for evacuations.” He then pointed at an area on Interstate 280. “This is the City College of San Francisco, where they are evacuating civilians via helicopter. This is where this company and Fox Company will be headed to. However, each platoon from Fox Company has been assigned to protect various points along Interstate 280 so they will not accompany you the entire way to San Francisco. Elements from the battalion weapons company will be attached to this company. They will have Javelins, TOWs, and mortars with them. Those will be vital against these demons. We do not know much about these demons but we do know that they are hardy enough to take multiple rifle shots and can seemingly fling Humvees. This will be a retreating battle. Our goal is to protect the civilians and hold out until more forces arrive. The 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment is a few hours away and will bring heavier firepower. The rest of the 1st Marine Division will be pouring in too. Understood? Let’s go kill some demons, Marines, oorah!”

“Oorah!”

1733 June 18th, 2020 CE (Washington DC Time)

0046 Sun 48th, 196 AE

Off the coast of the Mach Imperium

A Machian battleship cruised lazily in the waters. It was an old battleship but it was one of the few battleships that the Mach Imperium had left after its war with America. Suddenly, a commotion occurred on the bridge.

“Captain! We are suffering from a hull breach and are flooding. Something punctured through the side of our ship!”

“Seal the areas where the flooding is occurring. Is this an enemy attack?”

“We are not certain, Captain. Whatever it was, it seemingly went through one side of our ships and out the other. However it's not exploding.”

A few minutes later

“There’s reports of even more flooding. It seems something has punctured our ship again. Captain, we might not be able to control this flooding.”

“Set course for homeport. Contact headquarters. We have to save this ship at all costs!”