The Great War - Part 9
#9 of The Great War
This is the epilogue to the Great War, as the title may suggest, just something to give you a filler between the Great War and the next part in the larger story, "Starting Anew."
Epilogue
Davis was in his best dress blues, standing with McLintock, Wallace, and a number of other soldiers who survived the battle at El Paso. They were standing in line with a podium, on which stood the President, arranging his papers, the speech he so carefully arranged written on them. Before them were over three hundred coffins, each covered with an American flag, a large flag pole in the center of them all, devoid of any flag. All the bodies that were recovered from the battleground after it was over. Next to the billboard was a chorus and band, judging by their attire they were from the US Navy. Flanking the grounds were the draconic survivors, Saphyra and all her wing, and several others who had managed to survive the fighting and that final nuclear explosion, humanity's last resort before they would fall. Behind them all were the remains of El Paso, no longer smoking, but the area would be remembered for ages to come, with the charred black mountains. Behind the President, and the men, was a large billboard, holding a world map. Practicly the entire area, save for the US, parts of Mexico, mainly along the Pacific, Canada, and Australia, were shaded in grey, showing they had fallen.
"My fellow Americans. Our brothers and sisters in Canada, Mexico, and Australia..." The President begins. "Yesterday was an historic day. The end of the war that has raged for a number of years against the race known as Dragons." The cameras look over the dragons, raptor drones hovering overhead to take it all in. "And it was a day we learned how wrong we were when we thought we were alone in the Universe." he looks at a raptor reporter and smirks a bit. "We finally have the time, now, to grieve for our losses." He looks down. "Six billion dead...countries and cities gone..." He looks out over the coffins. "Before us lie all those we could recover from this final battle.
The rest, we could not recover. They sacrificed their lives, and their burials, to ensure that our race would live to see another day. But their names will live on." He says. "These countries, whose lines divided our race in the times before the War, have been sacrificed, but their names will live on." He says. "And so, let today will not only be to grieve and honor those we have lost, but all who have been lost. All six billion whose lives were cut short from our race, and also, the millions who have died on the dragon side." He says, looking at Saphyra. "For if we are to heal and forgive, we must both mourn."
With that, the honor guard goes to attention, takes aim, and fires. They repeat this six times, once for each service, Davis and his comrades saluting, along with the President. Then the chorus comes in, their voices grave and solemn:
"To fallen soldiers let us sing
Where no rockets fly nor bullets wing.
Our broken brothers let us bring
To the Mansions of the Lord."
A lone trumpet starts playing, giving more voice to the song, helping the chorus give its song strength, as soldiers give each other strength:
"No more bleeding, no more fight.
No prayers pleading through the night.
Just divine embrace, eternal light.
In the Mansions of the Lord."
A drum roll brings in the rest of the band, bearing full tribute.
"Where no mothers cry, and no children weep.
We will stand and guard, though the angels sleep.
All through the ages safely keep,
The Mansions of the Lord."
The drum rolls and beats twice to end the song, people noticing now the ground has a glowing whiteness to it around the coffins. Tears had leaked out from the eyes of many dragons as they had lowered their heads in tribute to the dead, a strange magic being worked now as Taps is played. The trumpeter lowers his instrument after he has finished, the last note echoing in the air, the white light fading, and all present somehow know that the souls of those killed, on all sides, in all corners of the Earth, are now resting in peace.
"Order Arms." Comes the order from the honor guard Sergeant, and the saluting hands promptly go back to their sides, all the military men at attention once more. The President speaks up now. "We must not let the mistakes we made in the past lead to another mistake that will cost us so much." he says, then takes a moment to wipe away one of his own tears. "We now know we are not alone, and that we are not the only race from Earth." He says. "In order to flourish, we must not only unite ourselves, but we must also unite with those from Earth. We must show them our values, and our honor." He says. "And with every step forward we take, let us remember these men, and these countries, that have perished to bring us here. We owe it to these people who have died." He looks around, letting his words sink in. "Thank you." With that, he steps back from the podium.
Saphyra watches him, and all the humans. Never before had she seen this kind of thing, this much honor given to the soldiers killed in war, and the civilians slaughtered as well. Perhaps it was because her race, and most of the other races, were monarchies. She looks at Davis in particular, and nods to herself. She'll learn a lot from humans, she's sure. Just as she's sure her race will learn a lot from them. She perks her head up as the US flag is raised up over the coffins on the flag pole in the middle of them, the band coming to life again, and the humans in one voice start singing their national anthem, one verse sticking in her mind.
"And the rocket's red glare! The bombs bursting in air! Gave proof through the night, that our flag was still there."
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The song which I have typed out here is called "Mansions of the Lord." It was played during the end credits of the movie We Were Soldiers, and at the funeral of Ronald Reagan. Contact me for a copy. Honor those who have sacrificed all for their country, no matter which country it is, whenever you listen to it.