"OperationRoundhammer will hit the beach at celestial body 2064K." "This is a moon of the Chig's home planet." " I saw something." " Enemy?" "It kind of had eyes like us." "If this is some innocent life whose home is about to be turned into a devastated battlefield... do we try to warn it?" "Go!" "Go!" "" " Go!" "It's a single- enemy craft, sir." "Yes, Commander." "The rough code suggests the enemy is prepared to present a peace proposal." "Weinterrupt this program for a special bulletin." "And now, from the secretariat building,  Secretary General Diane Hayden." "Good evening, United Peoples of Earth." "Eighteen months and four days ago... the fierce winter storm of war seemed as distant in our history... as the last snowfall to a child retreating in the shade from the heat of the summer sun... until together, we trembled in the chill... as Secretary General Chartwell sat at this desk... and placed the Vesta/Tellus colony massacres... amongst days that will live in infamy." "The United Earth, incapable of dreaming another war... found herself unable to awaken from its awful nightmare." "This evening, however... she sleeps once again beneath the stars of peace." "Today, which in the perplexities of space travel will occur here two weeks from now... an alien envoy landed aboard the U. S. S. space carrier Saratoga...  with a proposal for a cease-fire." "We believe this proposal to be genuine, the envoy to be legitimate." "And I am relieved to announce that peace negotiations will commence immediately." "Wherever you stand on our Earth...  whether in the warm light of our sun or the pale light of the moon...  however you talk to God,  whether formally or by internal whisper...  ask that Earth's prayers for universal peace... be answered in the next hopeful hours." "Damn her." "I said not to jump the gun." "We now return to our regular broadcasting." "How can we not negotiate with that thing we have down in the hold... now that she's just told the entire world peace is at hand?" "I told her we had not confirmed...  whether it represented all the enemy, some of the enemy, or just itself... or if this were just a deception." "Ifitwereonlyhuman, I could look it in the eye." "I could get some kind of a feeling, a hunch...  anything that told me if this was the truth or a lie." "Colonel?" "I understand what you're saying, sir." "Evenwithan A. I.  I get a sense of the enemy." "But as I look at that thing... all I get is an odd feeling that this is either a beginning... or an end." "We thought we were alone." "We believed the universe was ours." "Until one night in 2063,  on an Earth colony 16 light- years away...  they struck." "And now we are at war." "My name is Lieutenant Colonel T. C. McQueen." "I'm an InVitro, a race of artificially gestated humans." "I command a Marine Corps squadron" " The 58th." "They call us the Wild Cards." "We fight when called- in space, on land and at sea." "To lose this war means more than defeat." "To surrender is to never go home." "All of us must rise to the call above and beyond." "No, not that one." "Just like this." "Imagine if it's over." "No more 60 pound rebreather packs till 4:00 in the morning." "No more mud, blood..." "A. I. 's or Chiggies." "No more..." "Wild Cards." "Theywon'tkeepasquadron of officers together during peacetime." "It was only the personnel shortage... that kept us together like this." "It was much more that held us together." "Think we would have been friends...  if we had met under different circumstances?" "Would we all hang out together?" "Will we be friends when the war is over?" "Definitely." "My dad had said that he was never closer to anybody...  than a group of guys that he went through boot with." "Then eight weeks later they got their orders, went their separate ways... and he never heard from any of'em again." "One of them came to his funeral." "We can request to stay together." "I'm sure they'd make an exception because of our war record." " I'd do it." " In a second." "If this crap's really over and the peace holds... my sentence would be up." "I'd be free to go home." "I'd do that in a second too." "" " Bless you, sir." "Commodore, LI DAR detects a battle group of enemy ships 250K MSKs from our position." "" " They're probably just keeping an eye on the peace talks." "If that Chig in the hold isn't a sanctioned envoy... that enemy battle group may not know a damned thing about any peace talks." "Let's see if they know about each other." "" "  Per your request, Admiral...  the alien envoy alleges this transmission will alter the enemy battle group... a hundred clicks laterally as a display of the envoy's validity." "The fleet stands in full readiness, sir." " Go ahead, Colonel." " Yes, sir." "It's for real." "S" " I'm sorry, man." "It's" " It's the weird cabbage they serve in the mess." "I won't miss Hawkes's aggressive flatulence." "It's clear on your 6:00." "That cabbage was good, wasn't it, Hawkes?" "It's an InVitro thing." "I wanted to bring you up to date." "Looks like the envoy is legit." "Each side will now present each other with a list of criteria to be met... before negotiations can begin... including a list ofTellus and Vesta colony prisoners." "It looks good." "Sir, you saw it." "What does a Chig look like?" "Admiral Stenner doesn't want it talked about, so I won't." "Colonel, what'll you do if the war's over?" "Well..." "I'll find a quiet place, alone... and ask forgiveness for the lives I've taken." "Then I'll pull out the accordion...  get naked and polka around the flight deck." "Pray for war." "Did you know Coop's sentence is up?" "I can go home." "To what?" "I'll miss you guys." "But I'm glad it's over." "Except for Nathan." "Even if the war ends, it's not over." "Thisistheenemyenvoy's response to our list of demands." "It wants the chief executive officer of Aero-Tech..." "E. Alan Wayne, to attend the peace talks." "Get on it." "To meet our first demand, here is a list of colonials held in enemy captivity." "They've agreed that the moment peace talks commence... they will be transferred to an ISSAPC and returned to the Saratoga." "Gentlemen,  our enemy is cooperating." "Maybe this thing is for real." "West, here it is." "They've published the list of surviving colonial hostages." "Way to go, West." "All right." "Colonel, is this really gonna happen?" "Well, as soon as E. Alan Wayne arrives, the talks will begin." " The prisoners are to be" " No, I don't mean those details." "The Chig down in the hole, you've seen it." "What's your feeling?" "Is this a lie?" "So far, its intentions are honorable." "But I don't know, West." "There's something about it." "Sir, I need to know." "I get a lot from a person, looking into their eyes." "Hell, even an animal." "I can look in a dog's eyes and know if it's gonna bite me." "But this Chig" "Its eyes are so black." "Empty." "Yet brilliant." "" " Sir?" "What did the rest of it look like?" "We won't say nothin'." "Almost a human-shaped head... whitish- pink skin, gills." "Does it have a..." "protruding lower jaw?" "Who told you?" "Colonel, I need to see it." "We told it." " Told it what?" " On Anvil." "We believed it to be the last of a species... that would be destroyed by Operation Roundhammer, and we told it." "The enemy knows our battle plans." "Shuttle5 -niner-72 , you are clear to land on pad five." "Roger, two." "Clear on five." " Mr. Wayne." " Yeah." " Welcome to the U. S. S. Saratoga,  sir." " Boys." " May we escort you to your quarters?" " Sure." "Sure." "Here." "A Roosevelt dime, minted in 2015... the year they stopped making 'em... and the year Aero-Tech was incorporated." "Treat yourselves.|" " Sir, I'm sorry." "This way." " Thank you." "  Mr. Wayne." " Mm-hmm?" "Can you give us Aero-Tech's posture on the peace talks?" "Our posture, uh, is an angry one." "The brave, peace-loving heroes of Vesta and Tellus were more than just colonists." "They were family." "Their unprovoked massacre will not be quickly forgotten." " Thank you." "Thank you, Mr. Wayne." " Excuse us." "Right this way, sir." "Imagine, if on the morning ofJune 6, 1944... we give the Nazis a call advising them that the Allies would be landing on Omaha Beach!" "You people are supposed to be the best there is." "What the hell were you thinking?" "Sir, we believed an encounter with an unknown extraterrestrial form... to be the sole remaining" "I don't care what you thought." "There's no excuse for what you've done." "Admiral, this is undoubtedly a... colossal M. C. S." "However, it does flush out a motive for the enemy's sudden peace initiative." "It indicates they know we'd kick their ass if we landed." "We should strike now and put them away." "Or it's a stall while they double back troops to Anvil." "It's either one or the other." "Either scenario, we go in now, achieve peace our way." "Sir, to atone, may I volunteer the 58th to monitor enemy troop movement?" "You people don't know the enemy when you see it." "No." "Request denied." "You are out of this war." "Admiral, this squadron is the finest" "Pending further disciplinary action." "Now, get out of my sight." "Whew." "What have we got here?" "The mice are hunchbacked option, I see." "Very civilized." "Why am I here?" "" " What do the Chigs want with me?" "This is a strange one, sir." "Unlike any of the others." "Just sits there." "Doesn't want to give anything away." "These peace talks, they legitimate?" "No." "They already have all the advantages." "They're up to something." "Do they know anything more than they already know?" "Well, frankly, Mr. Wayne, they already know all they need to know." "Hmm.|" "Will they use it?" "You know they will." "Well, you're paid to tell me what I don't know." " So get out of my face." "" "You're fired." "Looks like we might be joining you as civilians, Coop." "After all we've been through,  to be drummed out at peacetime." "Atten-hut!" "As you were.|" "Colonel, the lab coats tell me because of this cold... my attendance at the peace talks could potentially endanger the enemy." "My request of Admiral Stenner, who remains furious... is that you attend as representative of the Saratoga." "He acquiesced, pending your physical and a green light from the docs." "I'd be proud, sir." "My whole life, I have dreamed of being a part of such an historic occasion... and now, to be sidelined because of a damn cold." "Get some rest, sir." "Ourintent is peace through understanding." "Gentlemen." "Ambassador." "It has been predetermined that at this time...  the surviving Tellus and Vesta colonists... who've all been transferred safely to an ISSAPC... and are holding on celestial body 2064R... would be granted permission to return to the Saratoga." "Agreed." "Conference room to command center." "Transmit the code provided by the Ambassador." "Roger that." "ISSAPC Homeward Bound confirms takeoff." "The colonists are on their way." "Thank you, Ambassador." "Let us, as we say, Ambassador... take your lead toward an understanding." "Every person on Earth would like to hear why hundreds of, frankly, innocent lives... were taken by the attack on the Vesta and Tellus colonies." "Ask Mr. Wayne." "He knew we were there." "The only thing I know now, what I knew before... is the Chig's capacity for lies." "Our moon, where you were to invade with Roundhammer, is sacred" "Where our life began." "It is still where we go to be born." "An Aero" " Tech unmanned probe landed on this moon." "  Correct?" " I th" "Contact with that probe was lost hours after it was launched." "We destroyed it after transmitting a warning to stay away." "There was an unintelligible blast of radio static." "You knew." "All right, you claim to have sent a signal, one we can't decipher." "Even if this lie is true... we settled two billion miles away." "How can you lay sole claim to the universe?" "How can you claim the Earth?" "It's our home." "We originated there." "So did we." "300,000 years ago...  like you do now..." "We searched for our origins." "Unfamiliar minerals were discovered on our sacred moon." "It was determined to be cosmic debris...  from a planet impacted by a comet." "This was before there was life." "We searched for centuries... found the closest planet...  with the exact mineral composition to be Earth." "We can prove early amino acids on Earth...  were a part of debris which landed on our moon...  and our life began." "Evolved differently, faster." "We are from the same place." "Let me remind everybody that this is totally hypothetical." "It's unsubstantiated." "It goes against all the scientific evidence...  that we at Aero-Tech have given, that we humans have gathered." "We are you." "You are murderous." "You are bloodthirsty." " You are barbarous, treacherous. !" " We have watched you while you were in caves." " You should be destroyed." " That is all Earth has ever been." " Every last monstrous Chig!" " That is why we told you to stay away." "How did this happen?" "Who is responsible?" "We're investigating that, sir." "Answer my question." "How did it get a bomb in there?" "Who's responsible?" "Who's responsible?" "Saratoga to Homeward Bound." "Therehasbeen an executive action on board." "Advise, you are on red alert." "Repeat, red alert." "Enemy may engage in retaliatory strike on hostages." " Speak of the devil." "" "We got a mess of bogeys closing, 50 MSKs." "" "  Twelve o'clock high." "  " "Watch your 6:00. !" "Watch your 6:00. !" "    " "The Homeward Bound APC is disabled." "Position midrange between the Saratoga and the enemy's position." "Place the 59 Ready Reserves squadron on alert." "Inform Captain Peng I want his people ready to fly in ten mikes." "Negative." "Belay that last." "I want the 58 on this rescue." "Sir, Admiral Stenner had confined them" "Shuffle up the Wild Cards!" "And deal 'em." "Main engine gimbal complete." "H2 tank pressurization okay." "Master arms switch... safe." "  Five- eight, clear for departure." " Let's go get her." "Saratoga to Wild Cards." "Be advised." "Confirmed enemy squadron 750K MSKs out... from position of Homeward Bound and closing hard." "Roger that, Saratoga." "Wild Cards, this is the 59...  coming up on your 12:00, 3:00 and 9:00." "If we could get to the cockpit,  I could reboot the auxiliary power." "But I can't open the hatch without an external battery." "We can only sit and wait." "There... in the sky." "  " "Poppin' a chub in three, two, one." "" " Got it." "Peng to Wild Cards." "Home base advising us to engage closing enemy squadron." "We'll take 'em out and get 'em off your back." "Roger that." "We are proceeding with transfer and will return to home base." "See you there." "This one's mine." "Once, twice, dice, shoot." "Better luck next time." "God, what smells so rank?" "Fifty- ninth Reserve to Wild Cards." "We're in a real hairy one." "Kanga and Roo are down." " Enemy is superior." "Request- " "Let's get our people out of there." "WegotChigfighters 500 MSKs and closing fast." "We're not home yet." "It'sgonnabe rainingChigs in five Mikes." "Let's scramble." "Don't worry." "I'm right behind you." " Wang, let's go." "" "Hoorah, jumped her back." "We can fly this bird home." "Wang, West, transfer." "We gotta scramble." "West, this doubles our weapons." "She'll have a better chance of making it home." "We all will." "You fly, I fight." "Captain." "We're flying this APC back." "We're on your 3:00." "Roger that." "Hawkes, stations. 'Phousse, shotgun." "Okay, strap yourselves in!" "This flight's gonna suck, and we don't serve peanuts." "Saratoga, this is King of Hearts." "We are 425KMSKs out." "Closing on planet 2063 Yankee." "Bandits on our 6:00 and closing." "Right here!" "" " That was bad!" "That was worse!" "We got it hot up here!" "Hangon." "We 'recomin'in tight on your 7:00." "Captain, we got a vehicle full of civilians." "We cannot engage in A. C. M." "Eh, it'll give them something to talk about." "  " "Yes!" "Yes!" "Come on." "Hoo-yah!" "Got 'em!" "I'mnotreading any more bandits." "Looks like they all turned tail and" " Oh, God." "West. !" "West. !" "Are you in position tojudy the captain and Damphousse?" "Vansen!" "Vansen!" "Damphousse!" "This is Vansen." "The planet's gravity got us." "We're going down." "West to Vansen." "Hold on." "We're coming after you." "Secure the colonists." "Use the personal rescue enclosures." "Negative!" "Damphousse is out." "I'm not leavin' her." "We'll fire a deorbiter burn... and hope the chutes make touchdown... survivable." " We'll intercept." "  Nathan. !" " Take her home." "" "Roger that." "Semper fi...  my friend." "Chig squadron bearing down." "West to Hawkes." "Manually disengage the cargo hold from the APC fuselage." "Disengaging in five, four, three, two, one!" "Wang, get in the cockpit." "We gotta dump the cargo hold...  before we hard dock with the colonists." "I can't." "We got incoming." "I gotta provide cover." "Chigsquadronbearingdown." "Providing cover." "  " " Automatic weapons systems are down." "  Wang, get up here. !" "I can't!" "I'm going to the manual turret in the cargo bay." "Come on. !" "Hurry up, Paul." "Get up here. !" " Let's go, Chiggie man." " -  " "West, open the cargo air lock door." "It's controlled by the cargo auxiliary power." "It won't open." "Take 'em home." "What do you mean?" "Paul, there's no time." "Get up here." "Wang!" "Wang, no!" "Damn it, Wang!" " Hoorah!" "" "We're there." "Lieutenants Winslow, Shankowicz, Hooliac, Nelson... this is for you!" "Inboundshuttle, you are clear for Pad 6." "Now that it's over, I'm scared." "Vansen, Wang, and Damphousse?" " I" " No." "It should not have been you." "It shouldn't be me." "But it is." "At least you'll be going home." "West." "A shower and a meal, and I'm gone." "You've gotta get back to Earth." "The war here's gonna get pretty hairy." "All colonists, please board." "All flight crews,  disperse from the loading bay." "I believe in you." "I believe in all of you." "Stand by for shuttle departure." "Stand by for shuttle departure." "We're ready, Lieutenant." "Man, I thought..." "you were Wang." "What are you doin'?" "Now I know how she felt her whole life." ""I lost my mother and father on the same day. "" "Semper fi." "Always faithful, my friend." "Watch your hands." "Watch your hands."