by Hatchett
“Joshua, where are you, and what are you doing?” the first technician asked.
“No time for that,” an older man next to Joshua said. “Get Grant Morrison here. Quickly.”
The two technicians looked at each other. The man was obviously used to giving orders and the fact that he knew of Grant Morrison made the technicians take notice.
“I’ll get him,” said the second technician as he made his way to the door.
As he left, Joshua talked the first technician through what he needed to do to make the communicator secure.
25
Harry and his colleagues waited patiently until Grant Morrison appeared in the holographic image.
By this time, Matt and Karen had moved closer to the device and said hello to their boss before anyone else could speak.
“Ah, Matt. Karen. I wondered what the hell was going on,” Grant admitted, “being dragged here by some madman spouting gibberish, but now it’s all beginning to make sense.”
“We don’t have time for pleasantries,” interrupted Harry. “I am Harry Wainwright and I need to speak to the PM, assuming she is still alive.”
“Well, Mr Wainwright…”
“Call me Harry.”
“Right. Harry. Well, Harry, that information is classified.”
“Boss?” It was Matt.
“Yes Matt?”
“Harry was with the PM when they captured Mason, so I’m sure she would want to speak to him. From what Karen and I know and have seen, she really should speak to him.”
“Karen?” Grant asked.
“I agree,” Karen confirmed.
Grant considered it for a few seconds before confirming that the PM was safe and well.
“We’ve been on high alert ever since all communications went down and the PM was taken to her private bunker under Number 10. Just as well because Number 10 is nothing more than a pile of rubble now. I will let her know and get back to you.
26
Half an hour later, the communicator lit up and the holographic cone grew. The group had been sitting around talking and enjoying some refreshments while they waited.
Harry quickly tapped the flashing panel before the light moved to form a picture of the PM.
“Harry, good to see you,” the PM said. “I was hoping you would be safe, and half expected you to find some way of getting in touch. I didn’t realise that you had kept some of the Laakuu technology for yourself, but I should have guessed.”
“Thank you, Prime Minister,” Harry began.
“Sam. I’d like to think we’re friends now and my friends call me Sam, or Samantha if I’ve done something wrong, which seems to be most of the time these days.”
“Sam it is, and it’s also good to see you fit and well. Before we go any further, Joshua needs to take you through a few steps to make your communicator secure.”
The PM seemed a little sceptical until Harry reminded her that Joshua certainly wouldn’t advertise his own location to Mason.
“It’s not his location I’m worried about,” the PM quipped before allowing Joshua to talk one of her aides through the process.
“So, Harry, we find ourselves in exactly the situation we were all afraid of,” Sam said, once Joshua had finished.
“Yes. Let me introduce everyone.”
Harry explained who everyone was and their roles. The PM was especially interested to see Jess for the first time, although she seemed fleetingly surprised by her appearance.
“I’ve heard so much about you, Jess,” Sam remarked, “and I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, but perhaps under better circumstances.”
“LIKEWISE,” Jess replied.
The PM stared at her for a few seconds longer, as if she couldn’t quite see what was looking for, then she turned her attention back to Harry.
“So, Harry. What’s the plan?” she asked.
Harry was taken a little off guard.
“I was hoping you were going to tell us that.”
“Not much to tell you at the moment except all our communications are down, our defensive and offensive systems are offline, and any manual attacks on their ships have proved ineffective and retaliation is swift and brutal. So, at the moment we are effectively sitting ducks. I don’t know what is happening around the World, but I would guess it’s much the same. So, it’s time to hunker down and see what transpires.”
Harry and the group looked stunned and a feeling of hopelessness spread around the room. Harry mentally shook himself.
“The Underground will be looking to find ways to fight back all around the World, I can assure you,” he said with determination.
“I don’t doubt it, Harry. What about here in the UK?”
“We have some ideas but wanted to speak to you before deciding anything.”
“OK. When you do decide, please keep me informed.”
“Will do,” Harry replied, as the PM switched off her communicator.
Harry sat back in his chair, thinking.
“Not the best news I’ve ever heard, but it could be worse. A lot worse. Let’s go update the others, then we all need to get some sleep before deciding what to do.”
27
Kinaejah watched all the action on his screens with a big smile on his face. He particularly enjoyed watching the foolish humans trying to fight back and get annihilated for their troubles. They would soon realise that the Laakuu were indestructible.
“Status report!” he ordered.
One of the new Elders on the far side of the room looked up from a screen.
“No casualties. All Category 1 targets destroyed.”
Kinaejah’s smile widened, but then he considered how easy it had been. There was simply no challenge, which was a little disappointing in a way. Being superior did get a little boring, but he was sure there was more fun to be had once they landed.
He thought about the human wars and the ‘shock and awe’ tactics followed by all that ‘hearts and minds’ bullshit. Well, he hoped he’d given them the shock and awe bit, and he hadn’t finished yet. As for hearts and minds, that was for the weak, and Kinaejah was far from weak.
“Start Phase 3 now then we’ll do Phase 4 in the morning when it’s light and when the full impact will be seen.”
With that, Kinaejah stood and floated out of the room, heading for his accommodation.
Thaejah knew that Phase 3 meant instructing the Battlecruisers to take out all designated Category 2 targets; bridges, railway stations, hospitals, relay stations, phone masts, historical sites and buildings, moving vehicles and the like. Then there was Phase 4 and Phase 5.
He looked around at his fellow Elders. One or two of Kinaejah’s staunchest supporters had wide grins on their faces, but he noticed that there were also one or two with troubled looks. It was time for him to rest, so he excused himself and headed for his new room next to Kinaejah.
As Kinaejah looked around his opulent new accommodation, he thought about Phase 4, his crowning glory. It would be the real shock and awe for everyone still alive in the morning; when the Mothership and two Inter-Galactic Cruisers entered the Earth’s atmosphere.
In a way, it was a shame the broadcasters were no longer able to beam the pictures around the planet, and it was too early for the Laakuu to set up their own communications system and broadcast it themselves. A lost opportunity, but there would be others.
The humans might have seen Independence Day and a host of other alien invasion films, but that was complete drivel compared to what was actually coming. Nothing could prepare them for what was to come. If they seriously thought that an alcoholic ex-pilot could fly a plane into the Mothership and everything would be fine and dandy, then they were in for the biggest shock of their lives and were effectively already dead.
Which reminded him, it would be good to make sure all the World’s leaders were also dead; the rest of the population would then be like headless chickens. He could see it now, particularly the ‘headless’ part. It would have to be done u
p close and personal, and broadcast to the whole World.
28
Overnight, the Battlecruisers and drones combined to take out Category 2 targets across the globe, with little or no resistance from those on the ground.
By 7.00am the following morning, all was quiet in London, except for the intermittent crashes from falling masonry, the odd person rummaging through the rubble and the sound of church bells.
As time moved on, those brave enough, or stupid enough, left their homes to start looting and gathering food and supplies to take home.
In a number of towns and cities there were full scale riots and not a policeman in sight. Indeed, most of the police were also taking part in the looting and their attempts to benefit by using police cars with flashing lights and sirens were wasted because they were completely ignored.
It would become a case of survival of the fittest…and strongest. People were trampled, beaten to death or shot or knifed for a loaf of bread. Civilisation was crumbling. Fast.
The looting spread from the high streets and shopping centres to nearby residential areas as goods ran out. Those not quick enough to react were burgled in front of their eyes, children screaming and holding onto their parents as they looked on in horror or were beaten or killed if they put up any fight.
Those with cellars were moving what they could underground, locking and barricading their doors to prevent others breaking in.
The survivalists with their own bunkers were sitting pretty in their concrete caves, surrounded by weapons, food and water which would last them years. Many had their own electricity supply through generators and solar panels and were following their own manual and ideas for surviving. This was what the years of planning and storing gear had been all about and they were excited that they would now be able to test their theories. All the years of being laughed at and ridiculed had been worth it. Who was laughing now?
In their record shop called ‘This is Vinyl Tap’ in Mitcham, South London, Pete, Sam and Jimmy had just finished moving the final bits and pieces into the cellar and had blockaded the door. As they sold vinyl records, they didn’t think their store would be a target for looters, but they couldn’t take any chances.
Like all members of the Underground, preparations had already been in place and it was just a matter of implementing their plans. The generator was on and they had electricity.
“Fancy a cuppa?” Jimmy asked, as Pete and Sam slumped into their mismatched chairs and sighed heavily.
“Can do,” Sam confirmed. “I can see were going to be doing nothing but drinking tea and waiting for some time.
“We can always put some music on,” Pete suggested.
“We can’t go back up yet,” Sam cautioned.
“Don’t worry, I brought my box of smash hits down,” Pete replied, looking as if he was about to go fetch it from the other side of the room.
“Maybe later,” Sam said. “We don’t really want to be making any noise and attracting attention. Plus, we need to get the radio on and see if anyone’s online.”
“I’ll do it,” Jimmy volunteered, switching on the kettle then moving across to a desk and switching on the radio. He dialled it onto the Underground’s frequency and turned up the volume, but there was nothing coming through yet.
He went back to the kettle, found three cups and started spooning in coffee and sugar. Just as well they all liked it black.
“Aren’t we going to say something?” Pete asked, nodding towards the radio.
“We’re supposed to keep as silent as possible in case we can be traced,” Sam explained. “So, we check in every half hour.”
“What’s the time?” Pete asked.
“Nearly half past,” Sam replied, looking at his watch. “Go on then, Jimmy. Do the honours.”
Jimmy waited for the kettle to boil and finished making the drinks. He then handed them around and went back to the desk.
He sat down and leant forward to the microphone and pressed the button.
“This is Vinyl Tap, all OK,” he said and clicked off.
They sat in silence for a few seconds before they got a response.
“This is The Manor. Stand by.”
They were pleased and relieved to hear Hannah’s voice. She had effectively told them to remain silent and stay offline until the Harrys’ decided the next steps.
Jimmy took a seat next to Sam and Pete.
“At least they’re online,” Jimmy mused.
“Yeah, I thought they would be,” Sam agreed. “We just need to wait and see who else comes online.”
“Fancy a game of cards?” Jimmy asked brightly.
Pete rolled his eyes and stared at the ceiling, causing Sam to smile. Jimmy loved his cards, and there was nothing better to do at the moment.
“Go on then,” Sam confirmed, and Jimmy jumped up and scurried over to a set of shelves against the wall to grab a pack.
Over the next two hours, another eight locations in the UK signed in over the airwaves.
29
The following morning a refreshed and revitalised Kinaejah glided into the main room without glancing at anyone and took his seat, conjuring holographic screens.
“Status?” he demanded.
“All Category 2 targets have been destroyed,” Kasaejah replied. “Waiting to go to Phase 4.”
“Good,” Kinaejah said, looking at Kasaejah with a smile and nodding. He looked around the other seats and noticed that Thaejah, Badaejah, Judaejah and Torjah’s seats were empty. Raejah, Hidaejah, Verdaejah, Manaejah, Zamaejah and Denaejah were all present.
“Where are the rest?” Kinaejah demanded.
“They haven’t arrived yet,” Denaejah replied.
“I can see that,” Kinaejah hissed. “I said ‘where are they’?”
“I don’t know,” Denaejah admitted, beginning to cringe. “Should we send some guards to find them?”
Kinaejah thought about it.
“No. They’ll be here soon. Kasaejah, start Phase 4.”
Kasaejah quickly moved his claws across one of his screens, not wanting to incur Kinaejah’s wrath for any delay. As he did so, there was a slight rumbling throughout the Mothership as it started moving slowly towards the Earth, just two hundred kilometres away. Looking through the outer skins to either side, Kinaejah could see the two Inter-Galactic Cruisers also rumble into life.
All three craft continued their slow decent, passing the Karman line at one hundred kilometres without generating the atmospheric heating that faster moving objects would normally cause. They descended through the Thermosphere before hitting the Mesosphere at eighty kilometres and the Stratosphere at fifty kilometres before hitting the Troposphere at twelve kilometres.
The Mothership headed for London where it settled ten kilometres above the city, casting a perpetual dusk over all the remaining buildings and streets. An unnatural silence fell as the remaining population left their buildings and stared up at the spaceship in awe and trepidation, before fleeing back to what was left of their homes. Birds stopped singing and the only sound that could be heard was the wind howling between the remaining buildings and the odd intermittent crash as unstable materials continued to fall to the ground.
The two Inter-Galactic cruisers separated, one going to settle over Washington DC and the other above Moscow. These cities had also been annihilated and other than the odd retaliatory rifle shots or RPG’s aimed at the massive craft, which made no difference whatsoever, little else moved or happened.
On board the Mothership, Kinaejah watched events on his screen, a permanent smile etched onto his face. He stood up and moved across to the outer skin and looked out, seeing the Kent coastline and the English Channel in the distance. He knew that he really should be looking down over Washington, mainly as a show of ultimate World domination, but the UK was personal. This was his land.
After a few moments gazing around, Kinaejah went and sat back down. The screens floating around him showed the destruction all across the globe.
/> As he looked at the screens, Thaejah, Badaejah, Judaejah and Torjah glided into the room and took their seats, getting some curious looks from their fellow Elders.
“Good of you to join us,” Kinaejah said sarcastically, a scowl on his face. “Nothing important I hope?”
“Morning Kinaejah,” Thaejah replied. “Apologies for being late. I was more worn out than I thought. Yesterday was a very busy day after all.”
Kinaejah looked between Badaejah, Judaejah and Torjah suspiciously.
“And what’s your excuses?” Kinaejah asked, still staring them down.
“We happened to meet up outside the room and just got talking,” Thaejah explained.
“I wasn’t asking you,” Kinaejah said, turning on Thaejah, “I was asking them.”
“As Thaejah explained…” Torjah started but was interrupted by Kinaejah raising his hand.
“Enough!” Kinaejah ordered. “Kasaejah, start Phase 5.”
Kasaejah moved his hands across his screens.
“Let the cull commence!” Kinaejah shouted.
30
‘Cull? What cull?’ Thaejah wondered. Phase 5 was supposed to be the final phase. The phase where the Laakuu were going to put feet on the ground, round up surviving humans and put them to work. The humans would be forced to construct new cities like the ones on their home planet, which would look like nothing on Earth. Phase 5 would also involve the eradication of certain animal and plant species, the ones which were harmful to the Laakuu unless they took the necessary inoculations. What was going on?
“I thought that Phase 5…” Thaejah started but stopped when he saw that Kinaejah had raised his hand.
“That is now Phase 6,” Kinaejah said.
Thaejah thought back to what Kinaejah had said when he gave the order, ‘let the cull begin’. He couldn’t possibly mean…
“What did you mean by ‘cull’?” Thaejah asked carefully.