The Science Officer focused on the satellite imaging controls and locked onto an image of a saucer style ship. Commander Nayven barked, “Red Alert! Temek, send a comm to Admiral Zoken, notifying him that the Q’Tueliens (QT’s) have entered Earth’s system.” He walked back to his chair in the center of the bridge and sat down. His eyes were narrowed and his voice had a note of hardness to it.
“Sopok, position us behind that moon. The QT’s don’t have the ability to see us from this far. I want the element of surprise when they get close enough for us to attack them. Be sure to keep us out of their possible line of sight as well as their sensor range.”
The Commander pulled a tablet out of the side of his chair and changed the images around so that he could get a good look at the QT’s ship.
Temek turned around in his seat to look at the Commander, “Sir, I have a response from Admiral Zoken.”
“Good, send it to my tablet.” Nayven changed the app on his tablet to the communication module. As he read the orders from his commanding officer, his mouth turned down, then his eyes drilled onto his pilot, Lieutenant Sopok. He slammed his fist down on the armrest of his seat.
‘For the love of Z’Girguan’s! We have been ordered to stay in the shadows and watch the QT’s. The President wants to know what they are up to. Unless they attack our warehouse, we are to take a watch and see approach.” He stood up and walked to his pilot.
“Sopok, use the moon to hide our ship. But don’t stay so far away that we can’t scan them.” He put his hand on his pilot’s shoulder for a moment before moving away.
The Commander walked to the science station. “Voken, can you access our satellite around Mars?” Even though this was not their solar system, they used the human’s names for the planets and had placed satellites in the orbit of several other planets in this solar system, besides Pluto.
“Sir, I should be able to ping a visual off the Mars satellite. Give me just a moment to get the imaging array synced to our systems.” The Science Officer quickly went through the protocols for tapping into one of their satellites and created a link between their ship and sensor array in orbit around Mars. “I have a visual of the QT’s ship, Sir.”
“Where are they?” the Commander barked out.
“They entered orbit above North America. The sensors do not show that they have sent a ship down to the planet, or even used their transporters yet. They appear to be scanning the planet. Would you like me to try and intercept their scans?” The Science Officer’s fingers were moving madly over his display while he hacked his way into the QT’s systems.
“Yes, keep a close eye on everything they are doing. Can you get a hidden link into their systems that will allow us to see everything?” the Commander asked.
“I have not found a QT system, or ship, that I have not been able to hack into.” Voken smirked as he puffed up his chest and finished loading the Trojan Horse virus. While the QT’s were busy trying to figure out what was happening with their systems, Voken was able to get inside and tap into everything they needed to determine what the enemy was up to.
“I am in, Sir. We can now see what they see, and even listen in on their comm’s.” Voken was very proud of what he had done. He held his head high and puffed his chest out.
“Good job, Captain. Now tell me what they are up to. Why are they here in our area of space?” The Commander looked at Voken and raised an eyebrow.
“Yes, Sir.” Voken looked back down to his display and thought to himself, ‘not even a minute to enjoy my win’.
Chapter Two
Captain Temek intercepted one transmission from the QT’s ship. He worked on the translation for less than a minute. Temek was a wiz with languages and had helped to program the latest universal translator they were now using.
The last attempt to implant the human slaves with the universal translator did not work so well. He hoped on this trip back to V’Zenia he would be able to work with their ship’s doctor to perfect the new technology. The last few humans who had been implanted ended up dead before they reached their home planet.
“Commander, I have translated a message the QT’s sent to their homeworld. They are here to see what we are up to. It seems they want human slaves as well.” The V’Zenians made an annual trip to Earth and abducted humans to be their slaves back home. Some of the women also became mates to the aliens. This had happened for over 150 years and the poor people of Earth have had no clue as to why some people vanished without a trace.
“That cannot be right. They are not compatible with humans. Why would they want them as their slaves? Do they not have plenty of lesser species to use in their own sector of the universe?” Commander Nayven got up and walked over to the Communication Officer’s workstation. His eyes narrowed while he read the translation himself. He did not believe that is why the QT’s had invaded the V’Zenian space.
A long time ago they signed a treaty and this part of space had been claimed by the V’Zenians. The QT’s never objected since it was so far away from their homeworld. It would take about nine Earth months to get to the QT’s homeworld from there.
“Sir, they are an insectoid species. Maybe they want to find a new food source?” Temek replied.
“Hmm, maybe. But this is a very long trip to obtain a new food source. There are many more planets which are close to their system that could provide what they need. No, I think it is something more. Keep listening to what they are saying. Have they decided to go down to the planet yet?”
“Not as far as I can tell, Sir. They have been scanning North America. But it seems their scans are focused on the Southwest quadrant of what is known as The United States of America.” The Comms Officer scratched his head and furrowed his brow.
“What is it? What are you scowling at?” Nayven peered over Temek’s shoulder and read what the Communication Officer had translated.
“They are focused on the last area we were at, Sir- Roswell, New Mexico.” Temek looked up to Nayven quickly before looking back down to his screen.
“How could they know where we were on the planet? Have they been watching us?” Nayven wondered aloud.
The Science Officer found something of interest. “Commander, I think I found some technology that should not be here. I doubt this is their first trip here.” He pointed to a map on his screen once the Commander stood behind him. “That is a QT tower in the state of New Mexico. My sensors are also picking up another one in the European continent. The QT’s have been monitoring us and our activities here for quite some time.”
The Commander barked, “Temek, send a comm to the Admiral letting him know what Voken just discovered. I think it is time we showed ourselves to our new neighbors.” The Commander’s face twisted in a cruel grin as he walked back to his chair and pulled his tablet out to review the video and audio from their Trojan Horse.
“Sir, the Admiral would like to video chat with you. Do you want it on your tablet?”
“Yes.” The Commander sat up straight and prepared to speak with his commanding officer.
The message showed up in a 3D model above the tablet’s screen. The Admiral’s bust was displayed in a full-color image hovering above the twelve-inch screen. The Admiral was a tall man, over seven feet tall, but you couldn’t tell from the hologram.
You could tell he was not human, like all of the warriors on this ship. The Admiral had veins that pulsed different colors of the rainbow according to his mood. Right then, his veins were pulsing a sharp, black color in the 3D hologram. “Nayven, what are those slimy insectoids doing on our planet? We have a treaty with them that they will not enter our space without permission from us. How long have they been coming to our planet?”
“Admiral, I do not know yet. We need to capture a couple of them to obtain those answers. I also believe we need to take those towers off the planet right away sir. We have no idea if they can damage the planet, or its population. It is better to take the alien tech away before any humans discover it. Or worse, its ori
gin.”
“Yes, I agree with you, as does the President. You have orders to attack that ship and destroy it. Do not let them leave. Try to keep a few bridge officers alive long enough to get the information we need After that, I don’t care if you pull their appendages off one at a time. They have no right to be here, or to be monitoring us either.”
“Yes, Admiral. I will contact you when we have some answers.” Nayven disconnected the communication and looked back to his bridge crew who had been listening to the entire conversation.
“You heard the Admiral, I want that ship destroyed!” Nayven pounded his frustration out on the armrest of his chair. “Locate all of the QT’s tech on the planet’s surface. Also, scan the entire system to see if they have placed any satellites anywhere at all. Then, check our own satellites to see if they have done anything to them. I don’t want the QT’s to have a backdoor into our systems.”
Everyone got to work trying to find any technology that belonged to the QT’s. Nayven’s Security Officer approached him. “Commander, I believe I have just the weapon to use for our ‘friends’. I brought along a new torpedo to test out once we entered the badlands. Central Security had tasked me with testing their latest design. I know that they wanted to see if it could pierce the QT’s shields but we didn’t have any viable targets, until now.”
“I want you to also have our standard laser cannons and torpedoes on standby in case the new shield busters don’t work.” The Commander stood up and followed his Security Officer, Lieutenant Zelork, to his workstation.
Nayven knew all about the new weaponry. As a ship’s Commander, he had been in a top secret meeting to discuss the new torpedoes. He had actually volunteered his ship to test the new design.
The mood on the bridge began to change, from one of boredom to that of excitement. The warriors focused on their workstations, but they all had a bit of a smirk on their faces as they considered the battle they were preparing for.
Chapter Three
“Listen up, I know we have the element of surprise here. In the past, we have always won against our enemies. Don’t get overconfident. The QT’s have invested heavily in new technology. We don’t know everything they have right now. For all we know, we are their new testing ground. Focus on your task and don’t let anything go to your head,” the Commander announced to his bridge crew.
He continued, “I want to wait and see if they send a crew down to the planet. Then we will attack. I need to grab a few of them for interrogation. So we will wait and see what they do.”
Captain Temek was an average height for his species, almost seven Earth feet tall. He was a human/V’Zenian hybrid, also known as a VZ hybrid. One of his parents was human. The standard family unit for hybrids was a V’Zenian father and a human mother. One more reason they needed to protect their planet full of humans. Not all were destined to become slaves, some became mates.
“Sir, they have just sent a team to the planet. I see traces of transporter use. I have locked on to their away team. Should I bring them here?” Captain Temek smiled as he kept his eyes on the QT’s who transported to the surface.
“Where did they land?” the Commander asked.
“It is strange. They are near an empty part of the New Mexico desert. The coordinates put them close to the tower in that region.”
“I really need to know what those towers do. Can you keep a lock on them so that their ship can’t bring them back?” The Commander looked at his Comm Officer.
“Yes, I can transport them here as soon as you give the command.”
“Then do it once we make our move. I want those insectoids before they can be transported back to their ship.” The Commander then announced on the ship’s intercom, “Prepare for battle. We are going to engage the enemy who has invaded our sovereign space.”
To his Security Officer, he said, “I will need a full team of warriors to be waiting in the Beta cell block holding room. We will beam the QT’s there once we have them. Also, have your best interrogator ready. I want to know why they are here and how long they have been coming to Earth.” The Commander fisted his hand and slammed it into his other palm.
“Yes, sir. I will handle the team personally.” Zelork responded before going back to his workstation.
“Sergeant Vierian, I have an assignment for you. I need you to gather your best warriors and prepare to interrogate the QT’s spies. They will be sent to the Beta cells interrogation room soon. Be there and be ready. I will join you once we have them.” Zelork went back to planning the arsenal he was going to use on the QT’s ship after giving his orders to the Sgt.
Nayven rarely got nervous or excited, except right before a battle. He relished the feelings his body experienced since it was so rare for him to experience anything intense. He felt a chill go down his spine as he thought about how they were about to destroy the QT’s and the information they were going to bring home to their President.
This Commander knew he was going to rise high up in the ranks, and this one battle could be the catalyst to start it all for him.
The Commander stood in front of his chair and looked at each member on his bridge. “Today, we are going to show the QT’s that they cannot get away with breaking our treaty. I want that ship completely destroyed. However, we must do this without letting any debris make it through Earth’s atmosphere. I want that ship broken up into small pieces that will burn up completely upon re-entry.”
He sat down in his chair as each bridge officer nodded their understanding to him. “Zelork, do you have weapons online and ready?”
“Yes, sir. I have them targeted with two of our new VZL torpedoes, or shield busters, as you called them.” The Security officer held his hand over the button that would launch the torpedoes into history, as long as they did what they were designed to do. Zelork felt it all through his body, the tension from the excitement of what was to come, the clammy hands of anticipation, and the wide eyes as he waited impatiently for the order to fire. It was almost too much for him, he had to pull his hand back before his instincts took over and he pushed the button prematurely.
Captain Temek also held his hand over a button, waiting for the order to transport the enemy aliens to their holding cells to be interrogated. He felt the thrill of what was to come along with the frustration of waiting. The Captain thought they should just take the aliens on the planet right then and there. But he knew why the Commander was waiting. It would show their hand too soon if he hit the button now. So he waited with baited breath while the Commander reviewed the data before giving his order to fire.
The Commander felt the energy on the bridge, it fueled his desire for battle as well. He knew his crew well enough to know that each and every one of them was just waiting for his order. He hated waiting, but he wanted to make sure they didn’t jump the gun. “Sopok, quickly take us within firing range of the enemy ship. Don’t let them see us until the last minute. Can you use the curvature of the Moon and the Earth to hide us until we are in position?”
“I can use them to hide us but not the entire way. They will see us coming if they are looking. But they won’t have much time to do anything about it. I anticipate them to have a forty-five second window to raise their shields before we are able to fire.”
“That should be enough time. Temek, once they see us, grab the QT’s and send them to our waiting warriors.” The Commander buckled into his seat.
He noticed a trickle of sweat running down Zelork’s face. “Zelork, are you ready?”
“Yes, sir!” Zelork loudly announced.
“Sopok, you have a GO!” The Commander looked over to Zelork and nodded to his Security Officer who responded with a smile as he turned back to his workstation and waited for the moment they were within firing range.
Chapter Four
The ship quickly made its way out from behind the moon and toward the enemy. They used the Earth to hide their movement for as long as possible.
“Sir, they have already discovered us! They
have raised their shields and are heading our way.” The Science Officer reviewed the scans once more and confirmed they were in fact, on their way.
“Zelork, as soon as you have a shot, take it! Temek, grab those aliens on the planet and get them here now!” The Commander pounded his hand on his chair. “Someone, tell me how they knew we were here? Have they tapped into our satellites? Or did they upgrade their sensor array? Voken, get someone on your team on this right now!” the Commander yelled.
“Torpedoes on their way! Ten seconds until they hit the QT’s ship. Five, four, three, two. We have detonation!” Everyone on the bridge yelled their excitement.
Voken was watching his sensors to verify the damage. “Wait! The torpedoes have caused significant damage, but the ship is not destroyed.”
Temek spoke up, “I cannot get a lock on them. They are blocking my attempts to grab them, sir.” Temek was working furiously trying to get the lock back on the QT’s he previously had a lock on.
“We will worry about the enemy on Earth shortly. Zelork, what is the status of the enemy ship? Can we send more torpedoes and finish the job?” The Commander stood up and walked to the Security Officer’s station.
“We have one shield buster left. I suggest we use standard torpedoes and laser cannons, if we can get a little closer. I would prefer to save that last torpedo in case we need it.”
“I agree, Zelork. Start targeting them with standard torpedoes and fire when ready. Sopok, get us closer as fast as you can, but not too close in case we do get a good shot on their engineering section. I need them blown to smithereens before they start to fall into Earth’s orbit.” The Commander ran a hand through his long, dark hair as he considered his next move.
The Expanding Universe Page 36