Mason was silent for a moment. “I think so,” he finally replied. “I don’t know of anyone on Earth that could have built something like that. That’s why I want all launches halted. I don’t want them to misconstrue the movements of our ships as being threatening.”
Jessica nodded and turned back to her console to begin transmitting Mason’s orders to Holbrook Station. “I just hope they’re friendly,” she commented in a strained voice, her heart racing.
“So do I,” Mason said as he continued to look at the screen. “Pamela, I want you to send a message to all of our mining operations, as well as all prospector and cargo ships. Until further notice, all communications are to be halted. Only in the case of an extreme emergency is anyone to send a message. Tell them an alien craft is approaching Earth and we’ll keep them informed as we get more information.”
“Yes, Sir,” Pamela replied as she stepped over to her command console and began speaking rapidly over her com unit to all the operators in the large room. There were lots of messages that needed to be sent out as rapidly as possible. Even as she passed on the orders, her eyes kept glancing nervously up at the viewscreen and the alien ship. She could feel the rising tension in the large Control Room.
“What do you think they want?” Drake asked as he gazed uneasily at the alien ship. His wife would be scared to death when she saw this thing on the news. Hell, a lot of people were going to be!
Luna City was now sending some close-ups of the ship, and it was evident that it was heavily armed. Large weapon turrets were visible upon the hull of the ship as well as numerous hatches that were now opening. Drake was glad that his family was here inside Vesta. His parents, his brother, his wife, and daughter were all safe in Smithfield.
“That thing’s armed,” Mason spoke, not liking what he was seeing. “Why would an exploration ship be covered in weapons?”
“We never even considered putting weapons on the Phoenix,” Drake responded as he looked intently at the weapon turrets on the alien ship.
He shook his head in worry, knowing he needed to call Larcy soon. He was sure it was only a matter of time before this breaking news was all over the major media outlets, most of which could be received in the homes of the people who lived in Smithfield.
“Sir,” another one of the operators broke in. “The United States government has been attempting to contact the aliens.” She paused for several moments as she continued to listen. “They are reporting that there has been no reply from the alien ship to any of their communication attempts.”
“I don’t like this at all,” muttered Drake, shaking his head.
They continued to watch as over the next half hour the alien ship continued its approach to Earth, finally settling into orbit twenty thousand kilometers above the planet. From several of the large open hatches on the ship, smaller vessels could be seen leaving and heading toward Earth.
“The United States has just raised their defense status,” Pamela reported uneasily as she monitored the main communication console and talked to the four communications specialists. “The U.K., Russia, Germany, France, China, Australia, Canada, and several others have followed suit. They are also launching interceptor aircraft, and the U.S. and the U.K. have just activated their missile defense grids.”
“This could get serious fast,” Drake said with a concerned look upon his face, looking over at Mason meaningfully. “Why won’t they speak to us, and where are all of those small craft going? What if a fighter jet shoots one down?”
“I don’t know,” Mason responded as his eyes gazed fixedly at the main viewscreen. He didn’t like the way this situation was developing. There were too many things that could go wrong.
For several heart-stopping minutes, they waited for additional information. At any moment, they expected to hear reports of one of the smaller alien ships being shot down.
“A special report is being broadcast over all media stations confirming the approach of the alien ship,” Pamela informed them with a pale look upon her face. “The people are being told to remain indoors and not to panic, that the world governments have the situation under control.”
“Like hell they do,” commented Drake, shaking his head. “They’re just as scared as we are.”
He knew he should go make a call to his wife and tell her not to worry. Larcy had a bad habit of overreacting to situations at times. It might not be a bad idea to ask his parents to go over to the house to help keep her calm.
Mason remained silent. He was looking at the alien spacecraft, noting that there was no visible sign of what type of propulsion it was using. The size of the craft, the obvious presence of numerous weapons, and its continued refusal to communicate worried him. This was a situation that could go south in an instant if anyone overreacted, and the small ships that were flying into the Earth’s atmosphere might just cause that to happen. All it would take would be for one of the fighter jets to shoot one down and they might find themselves in an interstellar war.
“How many of the small craft did Luna City detect leaving the ship?” Mason demanded as his eyes focused back on Pamela.
“Over thirty,” she replied as she checked a computer screen. “Luna City is reporting that each of the small ships is nearly two hundred meters across and similar in build to the mother ship.”
“I think I saw this movie a while back,” commented Drake dryly, glancing over at Mason. “It didn’t end well.”
“Pamela, contact all of our cargo ships that are currently in transit to Earth and turn them around,” Mason ordered after thinking the situation over. He was getting a bad feeling about this. “I want our ships to stay away from Earth space for the time being until we know more about these aliens.”
“Is there anything we need to do here?” asked Drake, raising his eyebrows. “What if one of their small ships heads out our way?”
Drake knew that all the major weapons that might be a threat to the aliens were located on Earth; none had been allowed to go out into space due to numerous treaties. Those treaties were aimed at keeping the solar system weapons free.
“Make sure all the airlocks are secure, and place armed guards at the ones in the transit stations and a few in the spacedock,” Mason ordered as he thought about what they could do. “I want Vesta locked down tight until we better understand what’s going on.” He knew the thick metal airlocks would make it virtually impossible to break into the inhabited sections of the asteroid.
For once, he wished he had a larger security force. Crime was almost unknown in Smithfield. His security force only consisted of thirty men and women with light weapons such as pistols and small caliber assault rifles. They were all the treaties allowed.
“Where have those small craft gone?” demanded Mason, looking back at the viewscreen. The way those ships had headed toward Earth looked ominous. This was not how he had visualized a first contact situation.
He could hear people talking in the Control Center as they speculated about what the aliens wanted. He couldn’t blame them; this was making him nervous also. This would be their first contact with an alien species and from the look of their heavily armed ship; Mason wasn’t sure just how friendly they were going to be.
“We don’t know,” reported Pamela worriedly, turning around to face Mason. “Luna City and Holbrook Station lost track of them when they entered the Earth’s atmosphere, and it seems that no one on Earth can track them either. The United States has just upped their defense status to the next level and we can expect the others to do so shortly. They’re scrambling more fighters to find and intercept the alien ships that have entered the atmosphere. The United States government has ordered the fighters not to let the alien ships land unless they initiate communications first.”
“All we need is for someone to start shooting,” Drake muttered, his eyes growing wide at the developing situation on Earth. “We don’t need to start an interstellar war! If these aliens can build ships of that size, who knows what type of weapons they possess
.”
“A shuttle is being dispatched from the International Space Station to attempt to make contact,” Pamela added as new information appeared on her screen. She was staying busy trying to stay on top of everything as it occurred.
Mason nodded. The new International Space Station was much larger than the previous one that had been built back around the turn of the century. It currently had a crew of nearly seventy and was mostly a research facility. He wondered what that crew thought about the aliens.
Drake stepped over closer to the communications console so he could read some of the data coming in over the numerous screens. Most of it was from Luna City, and it was evident that they were feeling panic. The majority of Luna City was built deep underground, and was similar in many ways to Smithfield but on a much smaller scale. Instead of one large underground habitat, there were a dozen smaller ones. Over twenty-two thousand people called Luna City their home. Drake knew it had to be frightening for them, knowing how near the alien ship was. He also knew that there were very few weapons at Luna City. They were much like Vesta with a small police force equipped with only light weapons.
For the next hour, they continued to monitor the situation. The alien craft was still refusing to communicate, and no trace could be found of the thirty smaller ships that had entered the Earth’s atmosphere. Somehow, the ships were able to avoid or neutralize all of the Earth’s sophisticated detection equipment. Radar, LIDAR, and other sensor equipment could detect nothing. It was as if they had vanished.
“The shuttle from the International Space Station is nearing the alien ship,” Pamela reported anxiously. She turned to face Drake and Mason with a concerned look upon her normally calm face. “They are halting their approach at twenty kilometers and will attempt to communicate. Some of the scientists on Earth have suggested several different methods to initiate communications. A few feel the aliens may not have understood our first attempts. They will be transmitting a language primer based on numbers. It will contain several universal concepts and should form a basis for allowing the aliens to learn our language.”
“Why do I think it’s a waste of time?” muttered Drake, shaking his head doubtfully. “As large and advanced as that ship is they are bound to know how to communicate with us if they wanted to.” He shifted his weight over to his other foot. He had called his parents and they should have made it over to his house by now. He hoped Larcy was doing all right; he probably should give her a call when he had a chance.
“I think you’re right,” Mason said in agreement. “This whole thing seems kind of odd. If their ship is as advanced as it looks, they should have a method for initiating communications in first contact situations. Surely we’re not the first race they have come across.”
For several minutes, they waited tensely as Luna City and Holbrook Station monitored the communications attempts from the shuttle. Everyone held their breath as they waited for the aliens to reply, wondering what the alien’s first words would be.
“Nothing,” reported Pamela after several minutes had gone by with no response. She shook her head in growing worry. “They still will not communicate, and the crew of the shuttle have tried over half a dozen different methods of communication that the linguists down on Earth suggested.”
“They even tried flashing lights,” Jessica added as she looked at additional information on a data screen. “There was no response to anything.”
“Now what?” asked Drake, folding his arms across his chest as he looked over at Mason. “Do we just let them sit there?”
“There are reports of riots breaking out in several cities,” Jessica continued as she listened to a number of media feeds that were coming in over several of her screens. Her eyes took on a frightened look. “There is panic buying going on, with people stocking up on food, water, and other essentials. All the stock exchanges across the world have been closed down to prevent panic selling from devastating the markets.”
“It’s only going to get worse the longer the aliens go without communicating,” commented Drake, shaking his head.
“Pamela,” one of the other communications specialists broke in. “The communications shuttle is being ordered to back off to one hundred kilometers as a safety precaution. They don’t want the aliens to feel the shuttle is a threat.”
“The shuttle,” laughed Drake, arching his eyebrows. “I suspect the aliens don’t consider the shuttle to be a threat at all. They are just ignoring it like everything else.”
“I just wish we knew what those smaller craft are up to,” spoke Mason, worriedly. He had a bad feeling about all of this and those small craft concerned him. What were they doing down on Earth, and why couldn’t they be detected?
-
One of the small alien ships was flying low over the ground in the United States as it scanned the cities and towns below. The crew of the ship knew it was invisible to any of the primitive detection technology available to this world. It was dark below, and none of the sleeping populace knew what was flying above them. Finally, the crew found what they were seeking. The ship slowly circled as its powerful computers confirmed that they had found what they had been sent to retrieve.
The ship slowed and came to a stop five thousand meters above its intended target. Several small hatches opened, and powerful paralyzing beams shot out and played over the area below, knocking all forms of life unconscious. Once the crew of the alien ship was satisfied that all life forms below had been rendered helpless, the ship landed. It was time now to complete the primary part of their mission.
Airlocks opened and ramps descended to the ground. The crew emerged and began spreading out across the small military base. They were dressed in dark suits of combat armor and stood nearly ten feet tall. Only a few were armed, as they expected no resistance due to the paralyzing beams. They began loading hundreds of unconscious Humans into the ship. They carried them into the ship two or three at a time since the suits of battle armor gave the wearers nearly superhuman strength. The small craft could hold over one thousand of the targeted Humans they had been sent to find. Once they were finished, they would return to the command ship, unload their unconscious Human cargo, and come back for more.
-
Mason had finally gone to his sister’s home to eat. There had been no further developments with the alien ship; it remained in orbit around the Earth and was still not communicating. Luna City had reported that they had spotted several of the smaller ships return and then later leave again. This made Mason nervous; he wondered what they could be up to. Drake and Pamela were still in the Control Center and would contact him if anything new developed.
“What’s going on, Mason?” Susan asked as she placed the food on the table. She was deeply concerned about the alien ship.
News about it was on all of the media stations, and the fact that her husband had gone off to one of his mining ventures didn’t help. She was concerned about Michael’s safety and didn’t know what she would do if something happened to him.
“No one knows,” Mason replied as Susan sat down across from him. “The aliens are not communicating, so everyone is still in the dark as to why they’re here.”
The two children had eaten earlier and gone over to a neighbors to play. Mason and his sister were very close, and she worked several hours a day at the main office reviewing the contracts that Mason managed to get signed. She had several business degrees and enjoyed working during the day while the kids were gone to school.
“I wish Michael were here,” she said as she began eating her salad. She didn’t have much of an appetite. “I don’t like him being gone while something like this is occurring.”
“The alien ship is at Earth,” Mason responded as he buttered a roll. His sister was an excellent cook, just as their mother had been. “We’ve cut off our communications with everyone except an occasional tight beam message to Luna City and Holbrook Station. The aliens may not even know that we’re out here.”
“I hope not,” Susan repl
ied as she reached for the salad dressing. “I spoke with Larcy earlier, and she’s really frightened. Drake’s parents came over to stay with her until he can come home.”
“Drake was afraid this would frighten Larcy,” Mason responded as he took a bite of his roll. “So far the aliens are not communicating even though Luna City has reported seeing a number of small craft leave the larger ship, go to Earth, and then return only to leave for Earth again. Drake is still in the Control Center with Pamela. He should be going home in another hour or two if nothing new develops.”
Susan stopped eating her salad and gazed across the table at Mason. “Why?” she asked, looking perplexed with her eyes focusing on her brother. “What are they up to? It almost sounds as if they’re hunting for something.”
“I thought about that also,” confessed Mason, still feeling uneasy about the situation. “But I doubt if that’s the case, and if it is, why don’t they just tell us? If they need something, I’m sure the world governments would be willing to help.”
“Is it true the ship is armed?” Susan asked in a lower voice. She had heard about this on the news earlier. One of the media stations had shown pictures of what looked like weapon turrets on the alien’s ship.
Mason hesitated, but he knew there was no point in keeping that fact a secret from his sister. “Yes, it’s armed. Pretty heavily from the information that Luna City has sent us.”
“What about Holbrook Station?” Susan asked with growing concern in her eyes. “What are they doing?”
Susan was concerned because her brother-in-law was in charge of the large station where their cargo ships docked and unloaded their cargo for distribution to Earth. There were also nearly six hundred crewmembers on the space station as well.
“I’ve ordered the station to do nothing,” answered Mason, knowing Susan was concerned and why. “I’ve stopped all traffic to and from the station as well as ordered all of our ships currently in transit to Holbrook to turn around and return here until we know more about what’s going on.”
Galactic Empire Wars: Destruction (The Galactic Empire Wars) Page 2