by Saxon Andrew
Jess reached over and put the helmet over his head, “Are they able to track your transmissions?”
“I see your intent; I can prevent them from finding me by changing locations rapidly.”
“Please deliver the following message to them along with a list of their fifty most populous planets.”
Jess began speaking and the ship flashed away from the dead planet.
• • •
Hetzel was furious. His species would not be granted access to the Q ships after this foul up. He yelled into his monitor, “You will find that ship and destroy it.”
“Do you have any suggestions as to how we can make that happen?”
Hetzel knew the task was next to impossible. Suddenly his speaker emitted an electronic voice, “It is our understanding that you intend to destroy my planet. You should know that if you move forward with that plan, we will go to the following planets and destroy all of them.”
The message ended and Hetzel yelled, “Tell me you got a line on that transmission!”
“We actually got seven hundred different lines while it was being communicated. Apparently the ship changed location three times every second while broadcasting it. We can go to the last location but I suspect it won’t be there.”
Hetzel hit the panel with an arm and shook his head, “I’m going to have to tell the Governing Body what’s happened.”
“That isn’t good.”
“Tell me something I don’t know. However, the only way we’re going to catch that ship is to wait for it to return to that planet. You will take your two ships and remain close to the planet’s atmosphere it was stolen from and keep your weapons active. If it shows up, destroy it.”
“We’ll go there now.”
Hetzel waited and prepared himself for what he knew was coming. He swelled with a pull of atmosphere through his skin and pressed a button. A creature with a grey colored face appeared and he began speaking.
• • •
The President was shocked speechless at Mike’s comment and General Branton said, “He’s right, Mr. President.”
“What proof do you have?”
“I’ll play the recording of what happened but I need to lock in the security protocols before I sent it.”
“I’ll terminate this channel on my end and go down to the safe room under the White House; I’ll call you back from there. Those channels are all protected and encrypted.”
“Yes Sir. We’ll be standing by.”
Jack looked at Mike, “What do you know about this?”
“I met a young man about two years ago who was living in the desert. He told me a story about how his entire family disappeared without a trace while he was only thirty yards away. There was no sound when they disappeared and the police report on the incident verified his claim. It was categorized as an unexplained disappearance. He was convinced that the only plausible explanation was that they were abducted by aliens. He lived in the desert believing that if they came once, they could come again. I thought he was crazy for a long time but once I got to know him…well, he isn’t crazy.”
The President appeared on the wall monitor again, “Show me what you have.”
General Brandon looked at Mike, “It looks like you’re going to get your wish; I really hope you can help us understand what happened.”
Mike looked at the huge monitor and saw a U-Haul sitting in the desert. He watched the video intently and watched it freeze when two green colored creatures emerged and walked to a spot about thirty yards from the thing blocking the satellite’s view. The view moved in close and it was clear the two were not human. “I thought the one that went into the ship was human?”
“He appeared to be, Mr. President. This is where the attack started.”
Mike continued to watch the video without commenting and when the force field strobed with the first two Raptor’s missiles, the video froze. Inside the force field a spaceship was clearly visible.
The President asked, “How big is that thing?”
“Two hundred and twenty six yards long and sixty yards across.”
The video continued, showing the destruction of the first two Raptors just before the second two of Raptors came in and were blasted out of the sky by the spaceship’s defenses. The Raptor’s missiles once again revealed the spaceship. Mike watched the video intently and after another minute he took his eyes away.
General Thornton said, “The satellite Monitor recorded a heat source leave the area at a speed that was incredible. It went out of the atmosphere in less than ten seconds.”
The President stared at the last image and his brow furrowed, “Why weren’t the two trucks destroyed?”
“We don’t know, Mr. President.”
Mike said, “One of the two aliens on the ground extended the force field when the Apache arrived.”
Everyone in the room looked at Mike. Jack said, “How do you know that?”
Mike looked at General Thornton, “Will you run the video back when the Apache comes over the rise and freeze it.” The image on the screen changed and the next one showed an aerial view looking down at the Apache as it came over the rise. Mike said, “Please split the view showing the alien closest to the ship’s location and the Apache.”
The Lieutenant controlling the display made several adjustments and then the screen split into two images. “I want you to notice that this is the precise moment the Apache appeared. The noise of its approach would have been masked by the line of hills surrounding the depression. Start the video in slow motion and I want you to watch the alien closest to the spaceship.”
The video started and the Chiefs saw the Alien lift his arm and do something to his wrist. The two aliens immediately disappeared from view. Mike said, “While that alien extended the force field, the other one lifted its arm and pointed it at the Apache, causing the Apache to explode.”
The President stared at the video as it was rerun and said, “Did you see anything else, Mr. Sanders?”
“Go back to the area those two aliens went to.” The monitor changed and Mike said, “Now bring the view in close to that dark form in front of them.” The view moved in quickly and they saw a body of an alien lying in the sand.
General Branton said, “We went over that area with a fine-tooth comb. We discovered ten clumps of ash surrounding that area the aliens are standing on. When the ship departed, the form you see on the video now was also a clump of ash.”
“What conclusions can you draw from this, General?”
“It appears the alien was attacked by a group of ten armed bandits and managed to kill all of them.”
“Mr. Sanders, do you agree with that assessment?”
“I do; however, it appears one of them managed to get a shot off and hit the alien.”
“Why do you suggest that?”
“The two left the ship to find him. If you look at the video as they move toward the body, one of them has his arm extended in front of him. They were looking for him.” Mike paused, “It’s next to impossible to prevent ten attackers from getting a shot off if they have their weapons trained on you. One of the ten attackers managed to get a shot off and killed the Alien; those two came to check out why he hadn’t contacted them.”
General Thornton shook his head, “That doesn’t make sense. Where was that dead alien’s ship? If they came to check on him, there had to be two ships.”
“There were two, General. One of them was taken by the human you saw disappearing in the U-Haul .” The room exploded into shouts and Mike just stared at the monitor and smiled, “You did it; you son of a gun, you really did it.” Mike thought for a moment and said, “I need you to get someone on the ground in Phoenix to do some checking around.”
The room grew silent and General Thornton looked at the President who nodded, “What do you need?”
“I want you to check every gun shop in the city and see if any one purchased an H&K P-40 handgun.”
“Why?”
“I also need
you to go to every major grocery store on the east side of Phoenix and see if anyone came in with a U-Haul and purchased an extraordinary amount of groceries.”
The President said, “You think he sold the gun and used the money to buy groceries?”
“I do, Mr. President; and if that happened, my friend would have been able to access that dead alien’s ship and take control of it.”
Branton shook his head, “How can you say that?”
“The first U-Haul appeared out of nowhere. That had to mean it was under the force field unloading. He backed the second truck up; which makes me wonder who drove the second truck.”
The assistant said, “The truck was rented by an Elyse Moreland. She’s a student at the University of Arizona in Tucson.”
Mike thought furiously and looked at the Major, “See if you can find any missing person’s report with her name in it.”
The gathering watched the Major punch the keys on his terminal for a minute and then they saw the shock on his face, “It appears her father and brother mysteriously disappeared in the desert outside Albuquerque nine years ago.”
“Jess had to have contacted her to see what she remembered. It appears she went with him.”
“You keep saying he had control of the first alien’s ship. Just how can you really believe that?”
“That’s why I had to see the recording of what happened. You’ve missed all the evidence because you don’t know what to look for.”
Thornton leaned back in his chair, “Please educate us, Mr. Sanders.”
Mike heard the sarcasm in the General’s voice and he smiled, “Pull up that alien that extended the force field.” The alien appeared on the display. “Now bring the view in close enough to see what it has on its wrist.” The view moved in and after a moment they saw a black band around the alien’s wrist.
“Now go back to where the man gets out of the first truck. Freeze it when he extends his arm to close the door.” The view changed to the human getting out of the first U-Haul and it stopped as he reached to close the door. The view moved in quickly and then they saw an identical black band around the human’s arm. “When the first alien was killed, Jess must have been able to take its wristband.” Mike looked at the video expert, “Move the video to where the second truck disappeared and move it forward from there.”
The recording showed the larger U-Haul sitting in the desert. After five minutes, the group watching the recording started to get impatient. Mike looked at them and said, “Wait for it….” Suddenly, the second truck appeared for a moment and then disappeared again.
Mike smiled, “Now this isn’t going to be easy. I want you to focus on the area where the spaceship was located. I want you move the view in to the sand and keep it focused on where the ground under that ship is located. You can fast forward, starting from the moment the second reappeared for a moment.”
“I’ll set the system to automatically stop if any changes are detected.”
“That would be good, Lieutenant.”
The group watched the video and suddenly it froze. Mike smiled. The video began again in slow motion and they saw a depression in the sand that had sand falling into it from the edges. Mike said, “Keep the video on that depression and tell me if anything changes.” The video moved forward and suddenly stopped; the depression had disappeared.
The President stared at Mike, “Tell me what you see here, Mr. Sanders.”
“The ship that was there first left, leaving the depression. The second truck that was hidden appeared for a moment. According to the video’s timeline at the top, the second ship came in two seconds later causing the truck and depression in the sand to disappear. It appears my friend and the young woman left the planet with one of their spaceships.”
“Why would he do that?”
“For the reason he’s been living in the desert all these years; he’s going to find his family.”
The President stared at Mike and finally said, “How are you able to see these things everyone missed?”
Mike was silent but General Forester said, “He was our best satellite Monitor, Mr. President.”
“How were you able to lose someone with his ability?”
“He’s the one that used the satellite system to find Wolf Group. He did it without orders and sent the relief team in without orders as well.”
The President looked at Mike, “That caused quite a stir.”
“They’re alive; they didn’t deserve to be abandoned.”
“Mr. Sanders, will you consider acting as one of my aides in determining what’s going on and keep me informed?”
“I will not report to the military again, Sir.”
“I’m not asking you to do that; I need someone to help me understand what’s happening here. I can see you appear to be eminently qualified to do it.”
“Sir, if I agree to do this, will you guarantee the safety of my family?”
“Why would they be in danger?”
“Because the leaders of our Military think they know what’s best and will not take lightly having their plans revealed.”
The four Chiefs started looking at each other. The President saw them and said, “If anything happens to your family, I will personally have the four officers in this room stripped of their ranks and pensions and start a trial to uncover how it happened.”
“That’s not good enough, Sir.”
“What do you want?”
“I want them taken to Cheyenne Mountain until this crisis is resolved”
Branton’s brow furrowed, “Why would you want that?”
“Will you do it Mr. President?”
The President looked at General Forester, “You will have the responsibility of getting them there safely.” The General nodded and spoke quickly into a handset. “I agree with General Thornton, why would you want them moved to Cheyenne Mountain?”
“Sir, I’ve dealt with our military leaders for ten years. I know them better than I know my own children. They did everything in their power to prevent your and Senator Ingram from gaining access to this information. Actually, they went beyond even what they should have been willing to do. That means they had to delay you learning about this before they initiated a response to the destruction of our aircraft.”
Mike saw the four Chiefs were staring bullets at him but he didn’t care. “What do you mean?”
“I was in the Satellite Corp for ten years and I know pretty much everything there is to know about what’s circling our planet. However, there was a launch fifteen years ago that I was not allowed to investigate. I believe that satellite has nuclear missiles on board and they’re planning to use it to take a shot at the alien’s ships.”
The room grew deathly silent. The President stared at the Generals, “I don’t know about a satellite with nuclear weapons on board.”
Mike said, “Plausible deniability, Mr. President.”
“Is what he is saying true?”
No one said a word.
“If you intend to keep your positions, you will answer my question.”
General Thornton said, “Yes, Mr. President, it is.”
“And are you launching an attack?”
Thornton glanced up at the clock above the monitor and said, “It was launched thirty seconds ago.”
The President said, “Guards, you will place the four Chiefs under arrest and you will go round up that treasonous Admiral I just fired and place him under arrest as well.”
Thornton shook his head, “You know we had to respond to this attack, Mr. President.”
“I don’t totally disagree with you; however, that is not a decision that the Constitution allows you to make. That is where your treason lies.” The guards pulled their handguns and escorted the four out of the room. The President looked at Mike, “Who can I trust?”
“That’s the sad part, Mr. President; no one. And the bad thing about it is that this information isn’t secret.”
“What do you mean?”
�
�The Soviets have satellites that can watch our birds and determine what they’re viewing. Captain Tyler told me that a Soviet Satellite was not far from the one he used to record what happened. I suspect they saw what happened and they have no idea what really happened. You might want to open a dialogue with them.”
Jack looked at his cell phone and lifted it to his ear. He said, “Do what they tell you!” Jack then glanced at his cell phone and said, “That was Tilly; she said an Apache came in and three men dressed in black were approaching the farmhouse with weapons drawn.”
Mike shook his head and said, “You can start with General Forester to find out where she’s been taken.”
The President stared at Mike and for the first time in office he wondered who was really in control.
• • •
Tilly sat in a room with a blindfold on with her arms and legs bound to a chair. She sat still and listened to her surroundings. She knew someone was sitting in the room with her. She couldn’t hear him; but she smelled him. Living in the desert heightens one sense of smell. She replayed the three rushing into the house and throwing a bag over her head. It was at least a two hour flight in an Apache and she knew they had to be within four hundred miles of Phoenix. She could tell by the sound of the rotors on the helicopter that it was flying at its maximum speed. She focused on the images of the black clad men that had taken her and suddenly remembered something. She said, “I really hope none of you have any family members that are still alive.” Silence greeted her remark.
The soldier in the room with her thought this lady was one cool customer. He looked at the one way mirror and knew his teammates were listening in on what she was saying. He lowered his voice and said, “And just why is that?”
“My husband will find out who you are; he is brilliant beyond your belief and he will expose your treason to the world and make sure your families are brought out into the open to share your shame.” The soldier remained silent. Tilly decided to play her gambit, “Your fellow warriors will also disown you and never accept you back into their ranks.”
“What are you talking about old woman?”
“I saw the collar on your uniform when you pulled the bag over my head; that uniform is worn by our Seals. You think you’re doing something to protect our country but you’re wrong. It is that mistake in judgment that will have your fellow warriors condemn you.”