Micah Gurley: Invasion Day: An Oral History of the Veech War

That’s why I made the decision I did at the Roanoke Valley. My son. We had watched the invasion on TV, of course. We saw the bombs drop on the major cities, but they didn’t explode, so we weren’t sure what happened. Then we saw those shuttles dropping by the thousands and the air battle that took place. The news was spotty back then, and they didn’t know any more than we did. All we knew was that aliens existed, and weren’t friendly. We were concerned.

Then another group of aliens showed up and attacked the first group. We could see the lights from the front porch. Very unnerving watching aliens battle in space. We knew the Veech landed soldiers not too far from us. That was enough to start getting people together, but it began before the Veech troops even reached us.

How so?

Looters, thieves, murderers, bullies, and just plain old, scared people. All of them came flowing out of the eastern cities, those that still had people. They all headed toward the mountains like it was a natural response ingrained in them. There was panic and hysteria everywhere. The highways became a parking lot, then became the world’s largest sidewalk, with millions heading west.

We began to form protective groups, just neighbors who looked after each other. They were the beginnings of what became the Army of Virginia. (Smiles.)I’m not sure who came up with that name, probably some civil war reenactor. Anyway, that was the start. My old man here knew all the old families from our area, both good and bad. He told them to get out of those hills and into the valley.

Our first meeting with the Veech came two weeks after they landed in D.C. We watched the first battle of D.C, and as you can imagine, it was hard to watch. A few days after that, the Veech started pushing out, scouting the area. Small groups.

We were lucky in that the Veech sent most of their troops to the north and south, to secure the eastern seaboard. There were a lot of military bases on the East Coast, and they needed to be dealt with before heading west. Those early battles cost the military dearly, but with the exception of the battle for D.C., most of the military pulled back orderly and calmly.

The Veech wanted a secure rear, and that probably saved us up here. We weren’t ready for any significant numbers of Veech. We didn’t have the numbers or oganization yet. We were fortunate to only face a few at first. They gave us time, and that led to us getting stronger, much stronger

They eventually entered the Roanoke Valley, heading to interstate 40 so they could scout west. They moved down interstate 81 as if they didn’t have a care in the world, completely bypassing Charlottesville. They were a confident bunch, which is understandable after those early battles.

The first group we encountered was small, about five of their hovering vehicles and maybe two hundred troops, no mechs. We had about a thousand people at the time, but we knew the land, and they no longer had uncontested control of the skies. We engaged them outside of Roanoke before they could turn our way.

It was a little tense. We knew they had some kind of shields, but we also knew they would come down after repeated hits. I positioned my people in the hills, around the interstate, from one to two hundred yards, buried in the woods. The distance wasn’t a problem for the guys. They were hunters, country boys, hillbillies, all very comfortable lying in wait for hours, and expert shots. They might talk a little slow, but they carry around high-powered hunting rifles. Much stronger than a 5.56 NATO round.

Our first volley didn’t kill many, honestly. The Veech reacted quickly, but our men spread wide, hugging the ground, and stayed in elevated positions. After five or six rounds apiece, their shields fell, and they went down. We had some machine guns placed further along to take out the vehicles, but we didn’t need them. After those vehicles shields went down, we plastered those things with hundreds of high-powered rounds a second. They fell as we chewed through them like butter. They weren’t armored. Veech reliance on shields became their downfall. Their tactics were almost non-existent, simple to the point of confusion. Their arrogance led them to believe a truth that was a mirage.

Two young men approach the table. They both nod respectfully to Jackson, then walk up and greet Jackson’s father:Mr. Thompson, we just wanted to say hello.

Mr. Thompson:Who’s that now?

Jackson:Pop, these are the Kingsley boys, Martha’s kids.

Mr. Thompson:Kingsley boys? Rascals both of them. (He laughs.)Good boys, good boys, you listen to your momma now, or I’ll whup you, hear? And stay away from those Yankees! They’ve come south!

The boys give small smiles, nod their heads, and walk away. Jackson puts his hand on his father’s hands as they begin to shake, then looks back at me as his father growls.

After that victory, our numbers skyrocketed. Before we knew it, we had over 30,000 men, with more pouring in. A lot of marines and Army soldiers showed up, those who had been cut off from the Army. Some came alone, others in broken fire squads and platoons. They soon flooded our army, along with more locals from up in the mountains. At the end of five years, we had over 200,000 men.

The battles got bigger and more difficult, but we never fell back, and we held the line. From Southern Georgia to Lake Erie, we stopped them. We began to push east after a year, meeting the Veech but always on our ground. The Veech’s air support gave us problems, especially once we came down out of the mountains, but the flyboys did an excellent job wearing them down. As the war progressed and we moved further east, the battles became bigger, but our air support grew more potent, and theirs weaker, until we surrounded and destroyed them at the 2nd battle of D.C.

There are rumors that you had problems with the U.S. military?

The problem wasn’t mine; it was theirs. For weeks after those first rushed battles, things got confused. The top brass had all been wiped out in D.C. and there was nobody to give orders. Then you had colonels and generals trying to take the initiative and make some offensive move without support from the other branches. It was chaos, or so I hear. (He shakes his head.)

Eventually, the president called up all military reserve, active, and non-active. I believe that was the last order he made before the Veech found him in his hole. Hell, I’d been out of the Army for fifteen years at the time, and I wasn’t going to leave Roanoke and my son. Veech patrols were getting bigger and bigger, all intelligence telling me they were about to head west. (Pauses.)No, I wasn’t leaving.

A Colonel showed up in a Black Hawk two days later. I believe I had about 20,000 men with me then, covering most of Virginia and into West Virginia. The colonel ordered me to report to top brass hiding in Colorado. I refused. I think he believed that since I was just a major all those years ago, I would be properly subordinate. (He laughs.)

That fellow piled out of his Black Hawk, strutting like a peacock, sure of himself. Some REMF coming to lay down the law. The kid must have been in his upper twenties, recently promoted due to death, no doubt. He was furious. Threatened me, my men, and everyone else around me with treason and told me the death penalty would be on the table. My men didn’t take kindly to that, but the man kept talking. I told him that my inactive-ready reserve had lapsed, but he still kept on. He finally asked me about my son, and then it stopped being amusing. Before he could say another word, I shoved my .45 into his mouth, and I told him if he opened his mouth again, I’d kill him. He didn’t. He got on his helicopter and took off.