We marched, rode or drove towards Bushy Park with rifles pointed forward. The BARD heroes took their pickup truck, with Animus in the back, while Phoenix Company squeezed into Alpha Platoon’s trucks. The Hummer and I led the way, while the Gladiator brought up the rear, driven by Imbiana and with one passenger - ‘Nina’.

Everyone was on edge. Communications were down across the city, and as we ran across squads of troops, several officers - including at least one brigadier - asked us what was going on.

Fortunately, Doyle’s diplomacy - and my looming bulk of armor - made sure we weren’t stopped for long.

I messaged Anne at one such stop.

: Colonel Braxton of the Second Regiment wants to know what his tanks should be doing. He’s got a dozen parked here.

: Let me check with the staff officers. You guys okay?

: Nothing’s hit us yet. Any idea what the enemy is doing?

: I’m keeping an eye on them. The rest of the ships have landed in Bushy Park and they’re unloading troops. A lot of troops.

: Airstrike?

: The close air support jets crashed when the Roar hit. They just folded up in mid-air.

: Any chance of artillery?

: We can’t get through to the artillery batteries with orders yet. Communications are down everywhere. And nobody wants to start shelling in the middle of London without knowing exactly where the target is.

: You can tell them.

: Not well enough. The shells could go off course and start hitting Hampton Court Palace. We need professional soldiers down there, folks who can eyeball and give precise grid coordinates.

: We’re on our way. How many aliens are there? Other than the Carnotaurs?

: … at least fifty thousand.

: Repeat that number? I thought you said fifty thousand.

: So far, at least fifty thousand Sarnak and Raptors. A smattering of Grizzeloids as well.

I gulped.

Fifty thousand Raptors and Sarnak….

The biggest raids we’d faced before were a few hundred. This was… madness.

Steady. There were a million soldiers here in London. All we had to do was get them to coordinate, and we’d have a shot at taking on the enemy.

Hell, given the circumstances, I wouldn’t be surprised if we actually used nukes sometime today. Though that would certainly kill a large chunk of the civilians we were trying to protect…

: Do we know the effects of the Roar? Casualties among the frontline soldiers deployed?

: All five thousand soldiers at ground zero are confirmed dead. I’ve made contact with nearby units, fifty per cent or more casualties. Tanks are a writeoff, the Carnotaurs just shrug off the shells and stomp on them - and that’s just the lesser ones. They’re trying to bring in airstrikes but we don’t have a line of communication to the planes.

: I’ve handed canisters of nanobots to runners, a thousand in each, and they’re getting the bots to field units, commanders, and to airbases outside the perimeter. From what we can tell, the jamming field covers most of London, outside is fine.

: That doesn’t make sense. Bushy Park isn’t in the exact centre of London. The field should be circular. Or spherical.

: I think it is. And that means the jammer isn’t in Bushy Park, it’s somewhere in the centre of town.

: I’m going to tell the Colonel. We may need to go house by house to find it.

: How did they get a jammer into the city before the attack?

: I’m guessing their equivalent of a Traveler jumped in, put the jammer in the centre of the city, and jumped out. Maybe they were supposed to land in the city centre but veered off and hit Bushy Park instead.

: Told the Colonel. Also, the Roar shattered the walls and partly collapsed the building at Hampton Court Palace. There’s a major shelter underneath it - at least five thousand people - so there’s no way they can use nukes there.

Five thousand people, in close proximity to Sarnak, Raptors and Carnotaurs…

: Getting as close as possible, then I’ll have Doyle’s men relay coordinates to you.

: Not going to help, they just got a shield tower up and running. Guess they came prepared.

: Could things get worse?

: … yeah, now they’re spreading across the park and adding more towers. And the Carnotaurs are off the leash.

: Dammit…

: Two of them - the Lesser Carnotaurs - breaking north-east, heading towards Richmond Park. Another heading north to Twickenham… crap. There’s a group of people there in the open…

: Soldiers?

: Civilians. Um, looks like their shelter’s flooded, and they’re coming up into the open … to avoid getting drowned. Right in the path of the Carnotaur.

: And the Sarnak are spreading out now…. Squads filtering out across the city. Oh, and they have those cloaked vehicles getting out too.

: What’s the Greater Carnotaur doing?

: He’s just sitting there and chilling. Doesn’t seem to be doing much. Um… the fourth Carnotaur, the one hanging around with him, just gave him a big tray with some massive slug-like lump of flesh…. Yeah, okay, that’s disgusting.

: Is he eating?

: Yeah. He’s ripping chunks off the sluglike lump and putting them in his mouth. Huh. And he just downed a can of some liquid, looks like soda.

: … a hundred-foot creature drank a can of soda?

: Their cans. The can is about five feet tall… Yeah, looks like Mr. Greater Carnotaur thinks he’s on a picnic.

: Okay, Colonel Spratt has a suggestion for you and Doyle. Take the road to Twickenham and try to get in the way of Carnotaur number three. Any military assets you run across on the way are ordered to follow you.

: Sure, but they’re not going to follow Doyle or me without orders.

: Ahem. I got in touch with Windsor. He says to inform Doyle that he’s being appointed Acting Major-General, with all relevant authority to requisition troops and resources.

Doyle’s eyes bulged when I told him the news. “That’s insane. I’m a Lieutenant.”

“Yeah, well, according to General Windsor, you’re now an acting Major-General.”

“Belessar… Windsor’s British Army, he can’t assign ranks in the U.S. Army.”

“Yeah well, it’s a Stratospheric Guard rank, and according to Windsor it’s been confirmed by Tony Hagman. Whoever that is.”

“General Tony Hagman is Commander of U.S. forces assigned to support NATO in Europe.”

“Then he can give you the rank, right? What’s the big deal?”

Doyle closed his eyes. “What’s the big deal, he says. Requisition all troops available and stop the alien invasion, he says. Whoever Hagman is, he says. Belessar, please don’t ever join the military.”

“One of my teachers suggested I apply to West Point.”

“I will pay you good money to not do that.”

“Fine, fine.”

“So Major-General, sir,” piped up Tucker, “what are our orders?”

“Yours are the same, soldier, keep marching and keep your eyes open.”

“Damn, and I was hoping we got some perks for being the General’s own unit.”

“Keep it up, Tucker, and you’ll find out exactly what perks a Major-General has. Kim. Take a motorbike, go back and tell all those colonels and majors sitting on their backsides to get their troops and follow us on the double. We’re heading to Twickenham.”

“Are they always like this?” Rhodia whispered to me.

“Not always. Times like this are a bit stressful.”

“You can say that again.”

: Heads up. Sarnak patrols inbound.