Sometimes revenge needs to be hot fresh and painful. After that first ever Swarm ship landed in Texas, just about everyone in the U.S. decided to get serious. Pictures of 'good ol' boys' with Swarm bodies draped across their pickup hoods went viral. Descriptions of what atrocities the Swarm would commit were the subject of documentaries of every network.

Once the threat became real, lines at recruiting stations for the regular armed forces stretched for blocks. It seemed that the old adage, 'you don't mess with Texas,' was being repeated across the globe.

The next invasion force was larger; it had landed in different parts of the earth, a week earlier. One of the ships landed at the junction of Barkly Highway and Burke Development Road, just over the river from the twenty eight hundred souls once in Concurry, Queensland, Australia. Pictures showed that the bastards had lined up the Barkly Highway leaving the town, with their main gangway.

Concurry, now a ghost town, sat empty. Those who could escape when the first of the Swarm troopers had descended from the west had done so. Those who did not, died that day. There were no head stones, no memorials, only satellite photos of stacked cubes being loaded onto some transport that the Confederacy called Armadillos. Those dead were almost forgotten in the rush to respond to the worldwide landings.

Jacob Griffin remembered. His wife of forty-three years, two children, their spouses, and his five died there. That morning he was ninety minutes away at Mount Isa Military Readiness Base. Old-timer truck drivers like him had taken over some of the local runs to free up younger men to serve in the military. Due back at Concurry for a good-bye dinner, his sons were on leave and would have had to report to Lavarack Barracks in two days, over in Townsville.

Jacob had been glad to get away from Betty three days a week. He loved the old girl but the introduction of those basic health nanites a few years ago had turned the old girl horny. Those nanites also had freed him from a dependence on Viagra. The problem stemmed from the fact that he was no longer eighteen.

Getting a chance to drive Big Jake once again, that gave him a purpose and a hard on. Having a classic American made Mac Superliner with a massive 71 Series Detroit Diesel engine set him apart. It made everyone else want to have a turn. He and Big Jake had logged several million kilometers together. Today they sat a hundred kilometers from home, powerless.

The Mount Isa Military Readiness Base had been constructed four years earlier to address the Swarm Threat. It primarily served as a home for the KC-X refueling tankers. Being isolated her secondary function became a quick resupply depot, having four machine shop replicators.

Plans sometimes must change. Being so close to an enemy-landing zone, evacuation for the base and Mount Isa had started four days earlier.

Once the loadmasters discovered what had happened to his family, they gave Jacob time to grieve. In the rush to move people and equipment, no one bothered him in the drivers' lounge. Sitting in a hidden corner, for all practical purposes, he became invisible. Two men wandered into the drivers' lounge where Jacob had secluded himself.

The door creaked open. "Parsons is on her way over. She needs a table for some maps. This is the closest room for all of us." Sounds of chairs could be heard sliding on the floor.

"Davy boy, we need to find a way to slow these things down short of using nukes on our own soil," the first man spoke bitterly.

The companion Davy answered. "Not much can get into the air, Frank. The Americans can't deploy their MOP bunker busters."

"The road is open," Frank offered. "The dickheads leave retreating traffic alone. Incoming gets fired upon."

Through the door came a woman who would dwarf a half-back line starter for the Brisbane Lions. Jacob recognized her uniform the olive green overalls with combat boots and a matching kepi, a Confederacy Marine. Two days earlier, he would have attacked her outright from rage. Since that awful day, he learned that the majority of the fleet protecting Earth had given their lives for the planet.

"Colonel Parsons, any news?" Davy asked.

She saluted and replied. "General Kruger, Colonel Solomon, I-"

"Today, please be Shelia, and I'm Frank," Jacob suddenly recognized the general from pictures on the wall at headquarters. "I need my whole brain, not just the military one."

Setting an attaché case on the table, she popped it open. "The Swarm south of here is in what is called a harvest right sweep." She removed a cylinder that revealed a map as it unrolled. "We have about a week before that sweep would threaten Mount Isa."

Davy looked at Shelia, "Is anyone doing anything but evacuation?"

"When you factor in the population density here, and at the other landing sites, we are on our own for a bit." She sat down, letting the men pore over the map. "Conventional forces from the region's Australian Defense Force units, and military bases will be able to hold them at bay. It will be a race between getting the correct forces here, and the start of them spitting out new troopers from the hive ship."

Frank restated a question that the media had bandied about for months. "Is there nothing conventional that can pierce the hull of a hive ship?"

"No."

The atmosphere of defeat tore into the emptiness of Jacob's heart. He wanted to be with Betty, had to be with Betty. He asked a question aloud. "What if you could get an explosive inside?"

The three of them turned to Jacob. Shelia spoke first. "What do you mean?"

"I was thinking about bunker busting, the way my dad did in the Pacific." Jacob walked to the table as he spoke. "He was an American Seabee. 'Four sticks of dynamite and a six foot chain put a damper on a Samurai.' Dad later admitted that a bulldozer would bury them."

"Sir, that was a rhetorical question," Davy stood to face Jacob. "It did not invite a response." The man turned red, whether from embarrassment or anger Jacob could not tell.

The general and the lady-colonel locked gazes. She nodded.

"Davy," the general placed his hand on Davy's forearm. "Let's think about this for a moment." The whole time, Shelia nodded.

"The AI from the Artemis Moon Base just confirmed that forty-five metric tons of Confed-E02 high explosives at least thirty meters into the main entrance should destroy the ship." Shelia looked back at the group. "The nearest factory replicator is four hours away. It would take it ten hours to create that amount."

Davy sat back down and pulled out a chair for Jacob. Davy then turned to Shelia. "How stable is the explosive?"

"A moment, let me ask the AI," Shelia nodded. "It requires a specific trigger component."

Davy held up both hands, crossing his fingers. "Does it have to be created in a factory replicator?"

"No, it does not," she answered after a pause.

"What if we include the food replicators in the city and on base and made some of it?"

A smile came across Shelia's face. "Using those resources along with the three machine shop units on base, it will take eight hours. With the Swarm on that harvest sweep, the road to the hive ship will be open for just over a day."

"Colonel Solomon," General Kruger continued, "get started on this." Davy stood and headed to the door.

"Starches and water need to be fed into the recycler," Shelia called to him.

Once Davy exited the room, the general turned to the remaining colonel. "Shelia, how do we deliver this?" He looked at the ceiling. "Any military vehicle that approaches is attacked."

"That, ma'am and sir, is my specialty." Jacob smiled.

Jacob looked at the additions on his truck. Big Jake now sported a solid cowcatcher wider than the front wheel track. A slotted screen protected the front windows. Plates hung over the tires. It made him think of that old movie Mad Max 2.

"Get anything out of the sleeper that you want, sir," a young man addressed him. "We will be installing the remote unit in fifteen minutes."

Jacob climbed inside. His home away from home, Big Jake brought him comfort. Lifting the mattress, he slipped into the clothes storage bin and closed it over himself. Jacob listened to the men install the remote system.

Once they exited the cab, Jacob counted to one hundred and slipped from his hiding place. A three-legged, three-armed black shiny contraption sat in the driver's seat. A rising sun bandana wrapped around what one might call the head.

"Greetings Jacob Griffin, I am the Artificial Intelligence located on the Artemis Moon Base." The voice came from the body of the contraption. "Do you intend to interfere with this operation?"

Caught and waiting to be hauled out of the cab, Jacob answered honestly. "I figured if I took this last trip, I could rest in the same place as my family."

"Based on the observations of Colonel Parsons, this was a distinct possibility." The AI paused. "While this vehicle was being loaded, all Swarm Hive Ships on the surface began emitting a localized damping field. It disrupts communications near those ships. This was an unforeseen possibility."

"What does that mean? I do not understand."

"Your offer to operate this vehicle has been accepted." Jacob felt a weight lift from him. "Will you accept service in the Confederacy?"

"Do I have to?"

"You could then order the robot to disengage so that you could occupy the driver seat."

"The old catch twenty-two," Jacob smiled. "I accept."

"Major Griffin, your acknowledgement of your commission is recorded."

"Robot, get out of my seat." The legs retracted completely. The arms lifted the body and 'walked' it to the passenger seat. Jacob slipped into the driver seat.

"The command to start the engine has been given."

Jacob flipped the necessary toggles to fire up Big Jake. Sixteen cylinders roared to life. The two-stroke diesel exhausts growled, angrily boiling over with torque. Jacob waited until the oil pressure stabilized. The turbo boost from the multiple compressors climbed to one and forty hundredths bars of pressure. Double clutching, he slipped the transmission into first. Fifty-three plus metric tons of payload, trailer and Big Jake eased from stationary to a slow roll.

Almost ten metric tons over what the law allowed for a single trailer, Jacob found he was plotting a route to avoid any weigh stations. It was an old habit from when he would run heavy, hauling mine debris from a dig to a dumpsite. Easing into second, he cleared the warehouse and picked up an escort of military police. Up shifting, he hovered at forty-five kilometers an hour. The streets to the main exit had all traffic blocked.

MPs waved him onto East Barkly Highway. Three kilometers later, the road turned right onto the bridge over the Leichhardt River. The entrance to the southbound lane of Barkly Highway beckoned. Jacob maintained a steady pace through the town of Mount Isa proper. Once on the roadway, he accelerated to one hundred ten kilometers an hour.

"Jacob, they have discovered that the robot is not driving the vehicle. You are driving faster than they instructed the robot."

"Sorry AI, the old boy runs best wound up a bit." Jacob wondered if this AI could understand the reference.

"The vehicle is more efficient at a slower rate. However there are Military Police vehicles in pursuit."

Jacob checked his mirrors. "How long do I have before they catch me?"

"Six minutes and seven seconds at present rates and accelerations."

"Thanks." Jacob mashed the accelerator. Billows of black smoke blasted from the stacks. Jacob still had four gears he rarely used. Despite the weight, Big Jake thundered ahead.

"I have convinced General Kruger to stop the pursuit."

"Thanks AI," Jacob kept watching the road. In the absence of oncoming traffic, he straightened the curves.

"Over the next rise, Sa'arm troops are in the roadway. You cannot avoid them. Slowing to a hundred ten kilometers an hour will reduce the probability that struck bodies will hit the windshield."

Topping the rise, Jacob could see the enemy in his path. Using the jake brake, he slowed the truck. The resonance in the exhaust could cause houses to vibrate. The closest trooper to the road turned toward him. Striking the first trooper had a negligible effect on Big Jake. By the seventh trooper, some type of small explosions began popping on the front and sides of Big Jake.

Jacob slammed heavily in the seat belts. A bright flash bounced off the cowcatcher. One of the technicians had mentioned that it was made of hull armor from a battlewagon. His eyes cleared quickly and he could see the road again.

A small cart was rolled onto the road, challenging him. Big Jake shuddered and jolted to the right. Jacob glimpsed the cart spinning in the air, shedding parts. Sparks shot from the road.

Jacob could see the ramp. Particles of light bounced off the cab. The passenger side of the windshield shattered. Stinging bites peppered the right side of his face and arm. Jacob's vision blurred. He was tired. Liquid poured down his face. He was so tired.

He was sleepy. He was twenty kilometers from home. He could radio his Betty. Big Jake began to wander from shoulder to shoulder.

"Break, break for Tiger-boy." The voice came from the CB radio. "Break, break for Tiger-boy." The repeated voice sounded so familiar. It was Betty.

Grabbing the mike, Jacob called to his wife. "Break this is Tiger-boy. Is that you Rose-petal?"

"It's me, Tiger-boy. How long till you're home?"

"I'm almost there, Rose-petal."

"Hurry honey, the boys are here for supper."

"Colonel Parsons, the major is not responding," The AI whispered into her implant. "He his speaking into the mike of the Citizen Band Radio, it is inactive."

Sub-vocally Shelia asked, "How much longer does he have until..."

"I am no longer in radio contact with the robot. Visual contact is applicable." The pause was longer than Shelia was accustomed to. "The major's vehicle is picking up speed. He has increased his rate to one hundred forty-five kilometers per hour and is accelerating. The Sa'arm troopers will be unable to attempt to impede him with any more vehicles. His trajectory will place him on centre with the hive ship gangway."

Jacob dropped the mike. Big Jake still accelerated. The angle of incline overcame the front suspension. Sparks erupted from the cowcatcher as it ploughed up the gangway. The drive wheels still turned. Big Jake slowed very little while climbing the gangway. The last two meters of the trailer bounced through the opening. Fifty plus tons of force used the armored cowcatcher to peel away the internal walls of the hive ship.

The cargo instantly became gas that tried its best to expand at mach fifty. The pressure wave pushed on anything, seeking a chance to escape and seek equilibrium.

Two things were formed in that instant. Griffin crater would remind every human that one person could make a difference. The second, only the AIs observing the battle on Earth ever speculated about. Swarm troops suddenly began viciously attacking any moving large vehicles that approached a hive ship.

Two days later, Colonel Shelia Parsons and General Frank Kruger entered the home of Jacob Griffin. There were signs of struggle, overturned furniture, scorch marks on the interior. In the bedrooms, natural hiding places were ransacked. Dark stains on the carpet marked the end of each family member. Several of the rooms remained untouched. In one of them, a hanging microphone swung from a cord in the breeze introduced from the open doors.

There wasn't a dining room. Where it should have been, a piano and organ sat, along with shelves of sheet music. "Frank, this piano has been pulled from the wall." She pointed at a silhouette of darker paneling.

Frank knelt, staring at the floor behind the piano. "It was slid into this spot; there are scratches on the floor."

Shelia grabbed his shoulder. Frank froze. Shelia shoved the piano heavily into the wall. The sudden stop caused a massive sound of a non-harmonious cord.

A pull handle was revealed. Frank yanked it open.

Shelia did not call sub-vocally. "I need a 'Kitten' to my location with a transport pad, now!"

Light hurt Mattie's eyes. It had been dark for so long. The monsters had come, she and the little kids hid in the storm cellar. The hurt from the hunger had ended. They had run out of snacks two days ago. A curved door like those she had seen on a Dr. Who episode lifted away. A giant blonde woman came into focus slowly.

"Honey, Honey, can you hear me?" Her voice was soft and kind.

Mattie nodded yes. She saw no one in the room she recognized.

"Your sister and cousins are going to live with me."

Mattie nodded again. Tears welled in her eyes. The giant-lady picked her up. That let Mattie start crying. At nine years of age, she understood what that meant for her family. Mattie hugged as hard as she could. The giant swayed. "It will get better Mattie." That whisper was repeated several times. Each time, Mattie believed her a bit more.