I watched the planet through the cockpit window, transfixed. Earth looked like shit at 100 miles up. You can see all of the ugliness that centuries of man had wreaked across her scarred visage. The North American Continent barren and brown, A dry singular path strait from Alaska to Russia where once ocean reigned. The fractured remnants of central Asia. The left overs of changed weather patterns that sent millions of civilians starving and with out homes or hope. Lawlessness that gave rise to mercs pretending to be cops in rough urban areas and literally getting away with murder Up here, it was obvious what the wages of our indifference to war was... I used to love being a pilot. Now it only brought pain, but at least it beat being on the ground.
I had seen my first magprop spacecraft when I was eighteen. My father, an Air Force colonel of no small repute, had worked me into the dreamland project. Its status was soon to be fully operational and in engagement to counter the deployment of magprops and next gen military tech of Incorporated States of India. Despite the ignorance of my abilities , it was not lost on me that I must of been something special to get assigned here one part top stuff and one part top brass...This is what I was born to fly. As I trained with the first squadron of magprops I knew we were the elite chosen to pilot these new sub space craft in the name of freedom and the American way of life.
Of course, I didn't set my sights on anything less than to be squadron leader. If I had chosen anything less the old man would expect nothing less of me. So I put the work in the sims and in the gym. Exhausting myself physically and mentally , learning ever aspect and nuance of magnetic propulsion and the magprop. By the end of third month our unit was declared battle ready with me as the alpha squad leader.
This is one of my last really good memories. Our first mission was to fly to India post haste for the destruction of the Indian canal system. All of it. This was to be a surprise attack to cripple a major pin in the Indian infrastructure. The magprop squadron were fast enough to accomplish the job in just under 23 minutes leaving behind a flooded bloody mess of destruction. Our fields that propelled us extended to repel anything that got in its way ,destroying dams, canals, nations... We thought with this decisive blow India would cease its expansionism maybe even surrender.
No such luck. As we returned home we engaged in our first dog fight. The Indians having the benefit of experience tore our squad apart. It was all we could manage to evade fire and regroup to our base in Greece behind the safety of our own e.m.p. curtains. My pilots died too quickly for my tastes, and I was angry at myself for letting them die. With our tails between our legs 6 out of 15 magprops made it back in one piece more or less. The ISI had only sent a squad of three to take us down.
We had to be more careful, more precise, better than our enemy so that shit like this did not happen again. To my surprise it would not happen again. In reaction to our use of magprops India let out its wraith at the USA and her allies. Our base was safe but it only preserved us to bear witness to our folly. Across the US cities atmospheres lit up with electro static discharge as lightning bolts clashed against out DEW defense system. This only extended over so much of our lands. Where they could not break through immediately electrobolts piled it on continuously, wearing down the DEW shield. Where bolts could get through , farm lands were turned to ash and lakes were boiled dry. Our introduction into this war had prompted the M.A.D. equation.
In the resulting hours our nations DEW shield failed and with it so did our restraint.
As the cities joined the rural areas in burning the US opened her silos from the land,sea,air,and space. Nukes belted their coastlines outer unprotected assets. DEW weapons of our own fried their waters and graze-lands, fast acting chemical and biological assets we deployed, rail cannons obliterated mountains storing military bases.
By the next day the war was over. Both sides had lost.
In the aftermath the coalition of non aligned nations invaded both the USA and the ISI. The leaders removed from power as people sought new leaders. Leaders that did not march the world to the war drum. A warning had been made self evident. We could destroy ourselves or we could chose NOT to destroy ourselves. After the war it was obvious we were gonna have to put everything we had as a species just into clean up an repair.
With the US and Indian populations leading the way as per the agreements of surrender at the treaty of Morocco. The warring nations that inflicted this mess on the Earth would be expected and required to do the most to correct it.
The remnants of my squad were re-assigned to dirt duty, hauling lunar dirt and asteroids to earth to replace the sterilized, irradiated earth and dried up waters. From Cracker jack Ace pilots of elite machines to guilt ridden civil servants working to amend the mistakes of unrestrained conflict.
Every trip home with new waters and uncontaminated dirt leads me back to earth. Back to the day we helped instigate the worst day in recorded history. Every stretch of burnt earth, every new mud bed that used to be ocean reminding me, condemning me for just following orders. It was so easy to do as you were told believing that accountability rested on the shoulders of the chain of command. Now as work to pay for my personal contributions I realize I always had a choice and I chose poorly.
May God have mercy on our children