When the Devil Dances

When the Devil Dances by John Ringo

Call me not false, beloved,
If, from your scarce-known breast

So little time removed,
In other arms I rest.

For this more ancient bride,
Whom coldly I embrace,

Was constant at my side
Before I saw thy face.

Live, then, whom Life shall cure,
Almost, of Memory,

And leave us to endure
Its immortality.

— Rudyard Kipling

“The Bridegroom”

Epitaphs of the War

Dedicated to:

Thomas Burnett, 38, father of three, and all the other warriors of flight 93.

They died that others might live.

Posleen Invasion Timeline

October 9, 2004 — First Landing Five Globes: Landings: Fredericksburg, Central Africa, S.E. Asia, Uzbekistan.

July 28, 2005 — First Wave 62 Globes: Primary Landings: East Coast North America, Australia, India.

August 15, 2005 — Last Transmission: Australian Defense Command, Alice Springs.

April 12, 2006 — Second Wave 45 Globes: Primary Landings: China, South America, West Coast N.A., Middle East, S.E. Asia.

May 14, 2006 — Last Transmission: Chinese Red Army, Xianging.

May 28, 2006 — Last Transmission: Turkic Alliance, Jalalabad.

June 18, 2006 — Last Transmission: Combined Indochina Command, Angkor Wat.

December 19, 2006 — Last Transmission: Allies of the Book, Jerusalem.

January 23, 2007 — Battle of L3: Loss of Supermonitor Lexington, Task Fleet 4.2.

February 17, 2007 — Battle of Titan Base.

March 27, 2007 — Third Wave 73 Globes: Landings: Europe, North Africa, India II, South America II.

April 30, 2007 — Last Transmission: Islamic Defense Forces, Khartoum.

July 5, 2007 — Last Transmission: Indian Defense Force, Gujarrat.

August 25, 2007 — Last Transmission: Forces of Bolivar, Paraguay.

September 24, 2007 — First Battle of Irmansul: Loss of Supermonitor Enterprise, Yamato, Halsey, Lexington II, Kuznetsov, Victory, Bismarck. Task Fleets 77.1, 4.4, 11.

December 17, 2007 — Second Battle of Earth: Loss of Supermonitor Moscow, Honshu, Mao. Task Fleet 7.1, 4.1, 14.

December 18, 2007 — Fourth Wave 65 Globes: Primary Landings: China II, East Coast North America II, Europe II, India III.

March 14, 2008 — Last Transmission: European Union Forces, Innsbruck.

August 28, 2008 — Fifth Wave 64 Globes: Primary Landings: West Coast North America II, East Coast North America III, Russia, Central Asia, South Africa, South America III.

September 17, 2008 — Last Transmission: Grand African Alliance, Pietermaritzburg.

October 12, 2008 — Last Transmission: Red Army, Nizhny Novgorod.

October 21, 2008 — Official Determination: No coherent field forces outside of North America.

November 14, 2008 — Second Battle of Irmansul: Loss of Supermonitor Lexington III, Yamato II, Task Fleet 14.

December 1, 2008 — Senate Select Committee classified report: Earth Human Population Estimate 1.4 billion Posleen Population Estimate: In excess of 12 billion.

May 26, 2009 — Last operational Posleen force destroyed on Irmansul.

CHAPTER 1 Clayton, GA, United States, Sol III 2325 EDT Friday September 11, 2009 ad

The Commando’s Prayer

Give me, my God, what you still have;
give me what no one asks for.
I do not ask for wealth, nor success,
nor even health.

People ask you so often, God, for all that,
that you cannot have any left.

Give me, my God, what you still have.
Give me what people refuse to accept from you.
I want insecurity and disquietude;
I want turmoil and brawl.

And if you should give them to me,
my God, once and for all,
let me be sure to have them always,
for I will not always
have the courage to ask for them.

— Corporal Zirnheld

Special Air Service

1942