It was a warm day for this late in the fall, and Captain Ferguson was stretched out on the ground trying to get a little rest, if not sleep, before it was necessary to get on the road again. The sun would be down in a couple of hours, and moving at night with the 'cats eyes' type of headlight was slow going at best. As he laid there, he thought back over the past.

He had been a good officer with the Special Forces over the years. The patrols he had led had always returned. Sometimes with a couple of wounded men. Once in a while however, they had to bring back one or two of their own that had fallen during the fight. Still, his ability to take men out, command them effectively in the field, and bring them back again, had caused him to move up through the ranks. He got noticed by higher command and was rewarded with promotion, more men, and more responsibility. He didn't regret it until the day about eight weeks ago when he had been ordered to report to his battalion headquarters. Ever since the arrival of those creatures being called the 'space brothers' he had been expecting this meeting. He felt he knew what would come next.

"At ease, Captain. Take a seat." The Colonel had said. "There are a few things we need to talk about."

Ferguson moved to the offered chair, and as he sat he could plainly see a thick manila folder with his name on it, on the desk in front of the Colonel.

"Captain, I've been going over your file. I must say, it is impressive. Take this operation you were on in Iraq. It says here that you led a couple of teams behind enemy lines, took out a communications center, and got out without a single man lost. Yet you were cited for 'Bravery Above and Beyond' and you were awarded the Purple Heart. How did that come about?"

"As the report says, Sir. We got in O.K. and found only minimal resistance which was quickly overcome. We set charges and pulled out for the pick up point. After that I'm not certain how it happened, but it seems we were spotted on the way out. We arrived at the pick up point just before the choppers came in. I posted men on the most likely avenue of enemy approach and on our flanks. The birds came in and I got my men on them, all except the last two. They were watching our flanks when I called them in. One man made it to the chopper without a problem, but the other man got hit on his way in. It was the first shot of the entire operation. I ordered the first chopper into the air, and told the other pilot that if I went down he was to leave immediately."

"You ordered him to leave you behind?"

"Sir, I thought that if I went down, there was no point in risking the rest of my men over a couple of corpses. Which we would have been if there had been more of the enemy. They were pretty upset over losing the communications center. As it was, I saw two men aiming at my downed man and fired on them. When I got to the down man, his wounds were minor and I helped in back to the Evac. Somewhere along the way I got a round through the leg. We got on board and got out of there."

"Have you ever read the after action reports of the men with you that day?"

"No Sir."

"They tell a slightly different story. They say that it wasn't two men you shot. It was five."

"I only saw the two."

"Quiet, Captain. They go on to tell how you burned off at least three magazines, while under fire. Then you throw the injured man over your shoulder and RAN back to the Evac. All the time you were running through a hail of automatic weapons fire. It was only after you had thrown your man aboard and while you stood in the door, suppling suppressing fire on the way up, that you got hit. Captain, you were mighty lucky that day."

"I prefer to think The Lord was watching over me."

The Colonels face suddenly changed as Captain Ferguson said those words.

"Yes, well that is one of the things we have to talk about. Captain surely you must know what the government has said about the 'space brothers'. They have presented concrete proof that they are the ones who originated the human race. How can you possibly cling to that false belief?"

"Because I don't believe these creatures are what they claim to be. There are a lot of questions about them that they haven't even tried to answer. And what they've shown us so far could have been tricked up in some movie studio."

"You're certainly a hard one to convince. What about the gestation tubes they have shown with people in them almost ready to come out? Then there were the ones that had been recently released that were in that accelerated school kind of thing they have on their ship?"

Captain Ferguson had smiled before answering. "That proves nothing, Sir. Except they know how to clone humans. We've known about that for some time now ourselves.Iwant to see they make a man just using dirt. THEN I'll believe."

"Don't you realize that you are putting your career at risk? And it is a very promising career from what I know about you and what I've read here."

"Sir, I'd be putting a lot more than that at risk if I believed these so called 'space brothers' are the ones who created us. So will anyone else who believes them without solid proof of what they say. I mentioned questions they don't answer before. Well, here's is my first one. If these creatures are so kind and loving that they simply had to come down here and save us from ourselves, why did they leave us alone in the first place? If they created us, they would have known about our true natures. They would have known, or should have known, that a need would arise for people of our profession. So why did they leave in the first place, and where is the proof of what they say?"

"What do you want? Their home address? They've shown us things that you can't deny."

"I don't deny they've shown us things. I deny what they have shown us, to date, is proof of anything. Those people in the tubes for example. If these guys are so advanced, and have been 'observing only' for whatever reason, for as long as they say they have been, the bodies in tubes could be clones of people that lived 1,000 years ago, but they would not be created beings in the Biblical sense."

The Colonel leaned back in his chair and breathed heavily. His displeasure plain on his face. He took a full minute to regain himself before speaking again.

"Captain, what I am about to tell you, is not to leave this room. Breathe a word of it, and I'll have you so far under the stockade they won't need to pump in light. Lava is very bright as I understand." He paused a moment to let his words sink in. "Captain, word from higher has it that sometime very soon, beliefs like yours will not be tolerated in the service. You better think about that as well."

"Sir, with all due respect, that is exactly what it comes down to. What do you believe? I know what I believe, and in whom I have placed my trust."

"TRUST! How can you trust something you can't even see?

Ferguson smiled. "Why not? You trust in things you can't see."

"Now you're getting ridiculous."

"Oh no Sir, I'm quite serious and prepared to prove it. Shall I?"

The Colonel eyed Ferguson strangely and said, "Go on."

"Would you come to the window?" After the Colonel joined him the Captain had continued. "Sir looking out here, would you show me the wind?"

"Are you kidding me? You can see it moving those trees and bushes."

"No Sir. What you have shown me is the effects of the wind. Please show me the wind."

"Wind is moving air, and air is invisable. What you ask is impossible."

"So, you can't see it, and yet you believe in it. You see the effects of the wind, you feel it on your face and in your hair, but you can't see it. Yet you still believe in it because of the things you CAN see. It is the same with my faith. The difference is that I see His hand in everything. You see coincidence, luck, or something like that. I don't believe in things like that."

"This is all well and good, right now, but soon it won't matter anymore. If you won't choose, the choice will be made for you."

"Sir are you asking me to choose between my faith and my loyalty to this nation?"

"No, Captain, I'm not. I AM advising you that the day is soon coming when you will have to make a choice."

"I've chosen. I want like to resign my commission." Ferguson said without a moments hesitation.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You're throwing away a career that could really take you places later. A lot of people have had their eye on you."

"I'm certain, Sir. I will trust in God."

"I thought it would be like that." The Colonel leaned forward and opened a drawer. Out of it he pulled the papers necessary. "These are ready. I want you to know something. You are the twelfth, and last man I've had to do this with. Here is a list of their names. I want you people off my base within two hours. If you can't carry it, it no longer belongs to you. THAT'S official.

Now the unofficial. Captain, between what I've read in your record, and what I've learned by serving with you, I've come to respect you. I don't agree with you and think you might be unbalanced, but the truth is we need every man we can get on the lines. Should you and these men choose to be around the front, acting independently of course, I think that I just might look the wrong way at the right time, as long as things aren't too obvious."

Such a short time ago that was. He had made his choice, as did those who would join him after that. Ten men joined him, the other two choosing to try to reunite with their families. Two men had been lost, while covering the retreat of the rest of them, after engaging the Chinese one night. Now here they were in the middle of nowhere, waiting for nightfall to start out again. Ferguson heard the sound of boot steps coming towards him.

"Sir, it'll be dark in two hours. You asked me to wake you." Sgt. Busby spoke softly.

"Thank you, Sgt. I was getting up anyway."

"Sir, can I ask you a kind of personal question?"

"Normally I wouldn't answer that kind. But these times aren't normal. Ask away, but don't be offended if I don't answer."

"I won't, Sir. Besides, it is a Christian kind of question. You know I wasn't like this very long ago. Some things still confuse me."

"Then by all means, ask your questions."

"Well Sir, are you sure we're supposed to be doing this? I mean, we broke off in the middle of a fight, grabbed these trucks and pulled out. We know after we did, the Chinese broke through the lines, because we dropped a bunch of 4.2 inch mortar rounds on them. They seem to be coming this way, do you think it has gotten personal with them and they are chasing us? How do we know we are doing the right thing."

"No Sargent, first of all, I don't think they are chasing us. Not after the hurting we put on them. Those men are coming this way because they have been ordered to do so. Just like we have been ordered to meet up with those civilians and help them however we can. As far as doing the right thing goes, do you believe we are doing what The Lord wants us to do?"

Busby smiled at the question. "Sir, that's about the only thing I'm sure of at this point. That angel, Michael, didn't leave any room for doubt about following you and whatever you say. I just don't see the sense in it. Wouldn't it be better to stop them back in the Rockies?"

"Sargent, I would think so as well. but we have been told to beat them to the town of Trinity, and defend it. I know I wouldn't do it that way. Then again, I wouldn't want to go against a giant with nothing but a sling and a stone. The Lord knows what he is doing. All we can do is trust and obey."


BW, Vietnam Vet

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If you missed the beginning of this exciting series, it started with Overthrown – Death of America. You can catch up on all of the previous installments here.