Susan nodded as she resumed eating her salad. It sounded to her as if Mason had done everything he could. “You don’t think they will come here, do you?”
“I don’t know,” Mason replied evenly, not wanting to frighten his sister any more than she already was. “I’ve locked everything down and placed security guards at the main airlocks. If they do come, they will have a hard time getting in.”
Mason had already wondered what he would do if the aliens were to show up at Vesta. He knew it might be wise to make a brief broadcast to the people in Smithfield telling them there was no reason to panic and to let them know that they were monitoring the situation at Earth.
Mason finished eating his meal and then spent some time talking to his sister before telling her good night and heading back to the Control Center. He would make a short announcement to the people in Smithfield, and then if nothing was occurring with the aliens he was going to turn in for the night. He had a feeling the next few days were going to be hectic, and he might not get a lot of sleep.
Chapter Two
Mason was back in the Control Center early the next morning. He noted with surprise that Pamela was also there, hovering over the communications console and talking to the four people on duty. Pamela was responsible for the Control Center and normally came in later so she could spread her time out over two operational shifts. Mason suspected it was the presence of the alien ship that had caused Pamela to come in so early.
“Anything new?” Mason asked as he stepped over to the main communications console.
He looked up at the large screens on the wall, noticing that they were still showing the alien ship. It looked exactly as it had the previous day, dark and unmoving. He had made a brief announcement the previous night over the city’s media stations about the aliens. He had asked everyone to remain calm and that he didn’t expect there to be any problems at Vesta or their mining operations.
“No, it’s still just sitting there,” replied Pamela with a heavy frown as she listened to a news broadcast up on one of the screens. “However, we are starting to get a lot of missing person’s reports showing up all over the media stations, primarily military personnel. Civilians going to work this morning are reporting the troops at some of the bases are simply gone!”
“Military troops,” uttered Mason, arching his eyebrows and feeling confused. Why would they be missing? “How dependable are these reports? It could just be panic reporting.”
“Several of them have been confirmed,” Pamela replied as she called up some data on a computer screen. “We have one marine base in North Carolina with over twelve hundred personnel missing. The few people that are still on the base don’t recall seeing or hearing anything out of the ordinary during the night.”
“How many reports do we have of missing military personnel?” asked Mason, looking over at Pamela with growing worry in his eyes.
He knew if the aliens were responsible for these abductions, it could cause a massive panic in the civilian population. He also wondered how Earth’s military organizations would react. It might increase the threat level to the point that the military might attempt to shoot down some of the small alien ships if they could be found.
“Over a dozen so far, and they’re mounting as new reports come in,” Pamela replied with deep concern in her voice. She looked over at Mason with confusion in her eyes. “Why are they taking military people?”
“We don’t know what’s going on yet,” cautioned Mason, not wanting people to start feeling frightened. He could already detect the growing anxiety in the men and women in the Control Center. The quiet conversations, furtive looks, and the worried eyes that were watching the multiple viewscreens that were focused on the alien ship all hinted at deep unease for what was happening back on Earth. “Let’s wait until we hear something more definite from the government.”
“The government has been strangely quiet this morning,” Jessica Lang commented from her position at the large console. She hoped her parents, who lived just outside of St. Louis, were safe. With the communications blackout that Mason had initiated she couldn’t call and check on them. “There have been no official announcements about the alien ship or the abductions.”
“Do we have any reports from Holbrook Station?” asked Mason, hoping the station was still okay. The last thing he wanted to hear was that all the personnel on the station were missing also.
“Yes,” replied Pamela, turning to face Mason. “Darren Kirby sent a brief message earlier that they are still seeing the alien small craft going back and forth between the Earth and the larger ship. They have several small telescopes they are using to keep an eye on what’s going on. He also asked if you would tell Susan that he and the station are still fine and not to worry.”
Mason nodded as he heard the door to the Control Center open. Turning around, he saw that Drake had come in. Mason suspected that Drake was as anxious as he was to find out what was going on with the aliens. Mason quickly filled Drake in on the missing military personnel.
“Do you think the aliens are abducting them?” Drake asked with a confused frown on his face. “Why take military personnel?”
“I don’t know, but I don’t like this,” answered Mason, letting out a deep sigh. It made him realize just how vulnerable Holbrook Station and Vesta were. “Drake, how difficult would it be to place explosive charges in the ship tunnel to collapse it if it becomes necessary?”
Drake looked at Mason in surprise, and then his eyes narrowed. This was something he hadn’t considered. “We have plenty of explosives that we use in the mining operations,” Drake responded as he thought about what would be needed to bring the long tunnel down. “Why would you want to collapse the ship tunnel?”
“If the aliens are indeed abducting people, then I want to be prepared in case they come here,” Mason responded in a quieter voice as he thought over what he wanted to do. “We have over seventy thousand people in Smithfield. If the aliens show up and we collapse the tunnel, they might not want to make the effort to dig us out. It might encourage them to leave us alone.”
Drake nodded his head in understanding. If they brought the tunnel down it would take them several months to open it back up. It would be a horrific job, but it could be done. “I will see to it right away.”
Drake turned and left the Control Center, hoping the charges would never have to be set off. He also did not intend to tell his wife about the precautions they were taking with the tunnel. When he had left home, she was already watching the latest news reports with a frightened look on her face. His younger brother, Samuel, was coming over a little later to spend the day with her.
Mason watched Drake leave and then went over and sat down in a chair close to the command console where Pamela was. From here, he could watch and see everything that was going on in the Control Center. He suspected it was going to be a long day.
-
On Earth, the world’s governments were starting to panic. Confirmed reports of military troops being taken were now coming in from all across the globe. China, Russia, the U. K., and others were confirming that thousands of troops were missing from their bases. In the United States alone, the estimate was close to ten thousand.
Beneath the White House in the presidential bunker, President Barnes was meeting with his military leaders. General Adams had a look of deep distress on his face as he stood to address the group.
“We keep losing more troops every hour,” Adams reported, grim faced. “We managed to go back and recover some of the security footage from several of our bases to see if we could find out what’s going on. You’re not going to like it.”
On a large viewscreen, a massive figure appeared. It stood ten feet tall and was made out of some type of dark grayish looking metal. They watched as it carried two unconscious soldiers back to its ship and then returned for more.
“What are those?” President Barnes choked out, looking at the screen in shock. “Are those some type of robots?”
“We don’t believe so,” Alvin Winters the president’s science advisor replied. “We think there are living beings inside, and what we are seeing is some type of battle armor. It gives the operator tremendous strength and mobility. We have been looking at something similar ourselves, but are years away from producing even a prototype.”
“Can we take them out?” the head of one of the security agencies asked. “We can equip our troops with armor piercing rounds that might be able to penetrate those suits.”
“We don’t know and don’t want to try,” replied Adams, looking across the table at the man who had asked the question. “So far the raids have been limited to military facilities; no civilian areas have been hit. If this is some type of sophisticated battle armor the damage the aliens could inflict if they decided to use it in that capacity could be horrendous. It is also questionable if any of our conventional weapons, even using armor piercing rounds, could harm it.”
“What’s wrong with our soldiers?” President Barnes asked as he watched the screen. “They look as if they’re unconscious.”
“We believe the aliens are using some type of knockout gas or unknown technology to immobilize our troops,” General Adams explained as he looked down at several reports in front of him. “With your permission, I would like to put more of our fighters up in the air and try to intercept these alien ships as they enter our atmosphere. I would also like to assign some helicopter gunships to patrolling the perimeter of our military bases.”
“Then what?” replied Barnes doubtfully, looking over at Adams. “Look at that monster ship sitting up there in orbit. If we fire upon or even destroy one of their smaller ships, how is it going to react? Do we have any weapons that could even damage something of that size?”
“But what else are we to do?” General Adams asked in a rising voice. He knew his troops couldn’t fight something wearing this sophisticated battle armor. His only hope was to stop the ships themselves. “We can’t let them keep taking out troops and do nothing. Our people should at least be allowed to fight back!”
“I don’t know,” President Barnes responded, his voice filled with doubt.
“You said earlier that if we got into a fight with these invaders, the results could be devastating.”
“Against their battle armor,” replied Adams, defensively. “Their small ships are the best target. If we could hit them with a missile, it might be possible to bring them down. Our defensive missile grid is designed for just this type of threat.”
“The grid was designed to take out inbound nukes,” President Barnes reminded the general, “Not inbound alien spaceships. What if we take one of their ships out and then they retaliate against our cities? We could be talking about millions of casualties!”
“I don’t think it matters,” spoke Winters, shaking his head. “From what we have been able to observe of their big ship and the small ones, their technology is far ahead of ours. I doubt if we have any weapon that can significantly damage them. All we might do with such an attack is make them angry.”
President Barnes was silent for a moment and then turned toward the Secretary of Defense and General Adams. “Do you have any practical way to attack the alien ships that has a reasonable chance of success?”
Adams was silent for a moment as he gazed back at the president. “No, Mr. President,” he finally admitted, his eyes looking down at the table. “Any missile we launch they could probably shoot down, and our shuttles are not armed. We have no weapons on the International Space Station, and Holbrook Station isn’t armed either. The treaties we have signed prohibit any type of heavy or dangerous weapons from being deployed in space.”
“Which brings up another question,” President Barnes said, looking at Winters and General Adams. “Why haven’t they abducted the people on the space stations or Luna City? It seems to me they would be the easiest to take.”
“They don’t want the people on the Moon or the stations,” replied Winters, arching his eyebrows. “That’s not what they’re after.” The science advisor looked over at General Adams, waiting for him to explain. The two had already discussed this possible scenario.
Adams was silent, and then looked directly into the president’s eyes. “For some reason they want trained military troops, which seems to indicate they have a use for them.”
“That ship is heavily armed,” Winters reminded the president, taking a deep breath he continued. “They may be taking our troops to fight a war!”
The room became silent as President Barnes leaned back in his chair, his eyes growing wide. “Fight for them,” he uttered in a stunned voice. “Like mercenaries? What can we do to stop them, and why won’t they talk to us?”
General Adams looked at the president and then replied in a grim voice. “Nothing, if Winters is right, we have no weapons that will be effective against these aliens. There is nothing we can do to stop them from taking whomever and whatever they want. They’re not talking to us because they don’t believe it’s necessary.”
-
On Holbrook Station, Darren Kirby sat in the Control Center, his eyes focused on the main viewscreen, which was showing a close up of the alien ship. They were trying to collect as much data on the alien as possible to study later. Holbrook station was built as a massive wheel with six spokes connected to a large central hub. It had artificial gravity and a crew of six hundred.
“I wished we had some damn weapons,” Shirley Melvin commented as she came back into the Control Center from her latest rounds of the station. Once every two hours, she was making a quick tour of the station to ensure everything was as secure as they could make it.
There were six docking ports on the outer wheel and she had just finished inspecting them to make sure they were secure. She had placed four crewmembers at each one with orders to report anything strange, particularly a ship attempting to dock. They were prepared to jam the airlocks if necessary so they wouldn’t open.
Darren looked at his second in command with a frown. “I don’t think we want to be firing off any weapons inside a space station,” he chided. “So far the aliens are ignoring us; perhaps they will continue to do so.”
Shirley brushed her long blonde hair back behind her shoulders and nodded. “I realize that; it’s just frightening knowing how defenseless we are.”
Darren looked around the Control Center. There were twenty people operating the different consoles that oversaw the massive station. Everyone seemed to be going about their jobs even though there was a lot less talking than normal. He knew everyone was feeling considerable stress over the situation with the aliens.
Studying the main viewscreen, he looked at the alien ship. There were dozens of massive weapon turrets visible, and it was impossible to tell what was hidden behind some of those closed hatches. The ship’s hull was not smooth; it was covered with various types of unknown devices, indentations, and small structures. To Darren this ship seemed to be built for war, and that thought was extremely worrisome. If that was correct, then why had they come to Earth’s solar system?
-
Michael Kirby was at one of his larger mining operations after dropping off some equipment at his most recent prospecting site. He was sitting in the cockpit of his prospecting ship, the Raven. The small ship was fifty meters long and held a crew of twelve.
“I wish we knew more about what the hell is going on!” his second in command uttered in growing frustration. “Can’t we send a message back to Vesta and ask?”
Michael looked over at Brian Jones and shook his head. “You know we can’t do that, Brian. We’re under strict orders to maintain radio silence and to stay at the mining site until Vesta signals the all clear.”
“Aliens,” Brian oathed, his eyes narrowing. “Where the hell did they come from? We’ve been out in the solar system for decades and they never put in an appearance. Now all of a sudden here they are!”
“It had to happen sooner or later,” responded Michael. They were listening to the communic
ations channels, seeing what news they could find. They were picking up a few media stations from Earth, but they sounded more panicked than anything else. He wished he were home with Susan and the kids. He knew this entire situation had to be worrying her. At least Mason was back at Vesta. “Look, even Mason is building an interstellar ship. He just needs the star drive. If we someday go off exploring the galaxy and discover intelligent life in another system it will be us who will be considered the aliens.”
Brian mulled that thought over for a moment and finally nodded his head. “I guess you’re right; it’s just hard to sit here doing nothing.”
“Why don’t you go check on the mine?” suggested Michael, knowing Brian just needed something to do.
The small asteroid they were on was nearly six kilometers in diameter. They had sunk a mineshaft to the asteroid’s center and were in the process of mining a lucky find of gold and gemstones, which would fetch a good price on the Earth precious metal’s markets. They had also found some platinum. Michael had a crew of twenty men and women working the mine in a three-shift operation.
Much of the operation was automated, and the miners primarily watched over the equipment and implemented occasional repairs. They had built temporary quarters in a small auxiliary mineshaft beneath the surface since this operation was going to last for a while. They had dug the shaft and then put in several rooms off the side for sleeping and eating. It was sealed tight with a double airlock for safety. While they weren’t the greatest quarters in the world, they were still quite comfortable.
If this had been a smaller operation, the mining crew would be living and working out of the ship. Michael went out of his way to make sure his crews had everything they needed. He had a reputation for having one of the best safety records of all the prospectors. He also had the best crews.
Michael had eight mining properties he was currently working. He also had leads on half a dozen more potentially new mining sites. The plan had been to check several of them out on this trip, but now he was not so sure. The Raven was one of the newer prospecting ships and he usually felt safe in her, but not when it came to aliens. For now, he would stay docked to the asteroid and wait this thing out, and then return to Vesta to find out what had happened. His eyes strayed to the ship’s sensor system, which was scanning everything within ten thousand kilometers of the asteroid. So far, nothing unusual had shown up on the sensors. Michael just hoped it stayed that way. He was also concerned about his brother, Darren. Holbrook Station was very close to the alien ship and Michael greatly feared that Darren was in the middle of everything.
Galactic Empire Wars: Destruction (The Galactic Empire Wars) Page 3