by Don Viecelli
Kaye and Kurt sat down at the round meeting table in front of Dick’s desk. Dick came around his desk and sat with them. Kaye opened her notebook and logged on to the internal LAN system. Dick had several television sets on a wall across from them tuned to several different TV news stations with the volumes turned down to the point you could just hear them. If something of interest came up, Dick would turn the volume up and listen. Usually, though, he was just interested in the format and content of what was being delivered to compare to his station. Dick turned all the volumes off for this meeting. Kaye decided to start at the beginning.
“I received a call this morning on our way to the airport from my brother, Ryan. He and his friends are hiking this week at a place called Porcupine Mountains Wilderness State Park. It’s in the Upper Peninsula by Lake Superior. They saw something interesting last night in the park and decided to go check it out. It was a UFO crash. Ryan took pictures of the whole thing and sent them to me.”
“What do you mean by UFO?” Dick asked.
“Unidentified Flying Object. You know, flying saucer. Alien space ship,” Kaye said.
“Look, we don’t have time for junk like this. We’re a news station, not a science fiction cable network. What in the hell does this have to do with us?” Dick was getting angry at them just thinking about it.
“I know, Dick, but you need to see this video. I’m going to play it on your large TV screen. I viewed it at home and this is the first time anyone but Ryan, his friends and I have seen this. It will only take a few minutes.” Kaye played the video.
The video had an amateurish quality about it, just like what most home movies looked like, but it seemed to get better as it played. It started with the boys enjoying the sight of the Northern Lights visible in the night sky, the first signs of the UFO coming closer into view, the explosion and then the pieces of debris falling from the sky. The next section of the video showed the crash scene with burning pieces of wreckage all around them and then the pictures of the dead alien sitting in the seat with eyes open and the disk hanging around its neck. Occasionally, Ryan or Jason would say something about what they were seeing and then all of a sudden you could hear the engines of a helicopter approaching. Then the video suddenly ended. It lasted about fifteen minutes. Kaye looked at Dick and Kurt. They looked shocked.
“This is all there is on the crash, but Ryan and his friends have evidence besides the video of the UFO crash scene. They took the disk object that was around the dead alien’s neck and some other pieces from the wreckage. When Ryan called me this morning, he said he sent me this video file and wanted to give me the evidence from the crash site. I’m supposed to meet him in the UP at a town called Houghton as soon as possible. He says the whole park is being closed down by the government with state police and army troops everywhere. The Pentagon issued a press release saying it was a military test plane crash. It’s a cover-up. Ryan and his friends are trying not to be discovered with the evidence on them.”
“Kaye, this story is a bit too unbelievable for me. How do you know it’s not some sort of elaborate hoax? Would your brother do something like this to trick you?”
“No, Dick. I’m sure my brother is telling the truth. I called our affiliate radio station in Houghton this morning and the manager said it was just a military plane crash and the Pentagon is taking care of it. Here is a copy of the Pentagon press release that is being handed out to the press. It doesn’t say what is really going on. The government is hiding the real story and I think we should investigate right away. This could be the biggest story of all time, and as far as I know, we’re the only ones who know the truth.”
“There could be some other explanation, Kaye,” Dick countered. “The alien could be a fake or a dummy or who knows what. We need more proof before we put anything like this on the air.”
“Exactly, Dick. I agree with you, but we don’t have a lot of time. We have to get up there now and cover it before someone else gets the story. We have the inside scoop on this story only because of my brother and his friends. If we can get the evidence from my brother and have it analyzed, we should be able to prove if it’s alien or not. If it is, we have the story of a lifetime, a onetime deal. If nothing else, maybe the scoop on a cover-up or on a new weapon the military is trying to hide. Who knows what the military is up to. We need to find out.”
“All right. I can agree to that. It might be a new plane or weapon test that went wrong and that would be of interest to our viewers, maybe even the national news team in New York. I’ll send a team up there after you check with our sources to see what they know.”
“It has to be Kurt and I, Dick, no one else. We’re the ones who get the job and cover the story. This is my story, Dick, and I intend to run with it.” Kaye looked Dick in the eye and waited to see his reaction. He understood her meaning and quickly sized up the situation. Kaye has been his best news reporter covering special assignments for the past year and he knew she was ready for the big time. Maybe this would put her over the top. He envied her and wished he was young again and leading the charge on a great news story. Those were the good times and he missed them. Now he had to let others be the heroes in this business and just manage them. It was time to make a decision.
“Okay, Kaye. You two can handle it, but you’re going to need a way to get to the scene quickly. I’ll assign one of the news helicopters to you and Kurt. You can pick a sound person to take with you. Keep me advised on your progress and whether or not we can go on the air with something today. I’ll expect your report before the end of the day. And I’ll need a copy of the video file to prepare for the story. I’ll put someone on it to write the copy. When do you want to leave?”
Kaye was relieved. She got her story. Now it was time to get moving. She smiled and said, “Thanks, Dick. We won’t let you down.” Before she could get up from the table, Kurt pointed to one of the TV screens on the wall. “Turn up the TV, Dick. I think I see something on the crash.”
Dick picked up the remote and turned up the volume. They caught sight of a news reporter commenting on a military crash up in the UP. The commentator didn’t show any pictures of a plane crash, but did show a person in fishing gear whom had just come from the park. The news reporter was interviewing the fisherman when the volume came up. “…and what did you see on the lake while you were fishing, sir?” the reporter asked.
“I saw a bunch of guys in yellow suits. They were getting off of helicopters near the shore and were carrying some kind of black boxes with them. They were military people I think,” he said.
The camera cut back to the TV reporter who said, “It looks like the military is worried about some sort of contamination hazard near the crash site. The person in charge of the crash investigation here at the park said he could not comment on the situation, other than to say the Pentagon has everything under control and there was nothing to worry about. Back to you, John.”
Kaye, Kurt and Dick listened to the rest of the news story, but there was no information concerning a UFO. Dick finally said, “I think you better get moving on this, Kaye. Good luck.”
Chapter 12
Upper Peninsula, MI:
Dave was sound asleep on a cot in the search and recovery tent when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He was in the middle of a dream. It seemed very real. He was talking with his father who had passed away two years ago. He was trying to explain what they found at the crash site. His father seemed to know all about it and was explaining its purpose when Dave felt something on his shoulder. Dave tried to shake it off. He wanted more time with his Dad. Finally, his father said goodbye and told him to tell his mother he was all right and he loved her. The shaking continued. “Colonel Hampton, it’s time to get up. Colonel, are you awake?” It was Sergeant Carter calling his name.
“Yeah, give me a minute,” Dave said. He slowly sat up on the cot and tried to clear the cobwebs from his brain. He was coming out of a deep sleep and it was hard to focus his thinking. He tried to remember w
hat he had been dreaming. It had to do something with his father. It was lost now. The sunlight pouring into the tent helped clear the grogginess away. “What time is it, Sergeant?”
“It’s 1000 hours, sir. You wanted to be wakened now. Do you feel better?”
“I’m fine, Sergeant Carter. Just tired, that’s all. How’s it going? Did you find anything else?”
“Yes, sir. We found two more disks. You need to see this, Colonel?”
The sergeant had brought the objects with him to the tent. He still had his contamination suit on, but the plastic facemask was off. On the table to one side of the cot was the globe object with a blinking deep blue light coming from one of the larger panels on top of the globe. Beside the globe were all three disks, two covered with dirt and smudge marks from burning debris, but undamaged as far as they could see. The disk objects looked to be in excellent condition as if they were somehow unbreakable. Obviously, they were built to survive even a plane crash and you had to wonder why, but the real curiosity was the disks were all glowing with a soft bluish light surrounding the entire surface.
“What’s causing the glow, Sergeant Carter?” Dave asked.
“We don’t know, Colonel. We did what you suggested and searched the crash site with this globe and sure enough, we found the disks. Each disk produced a new light on the globe. So far, there are three lights illuminated and the blinking light turned a deeper blue each time we found one of the disks. There may be one disk missing if this extra panel is any indication. We didn’t find it in the search. The disks started glowing when the sun came up, sir. Watch. If you cover them up with something, the glowing stops.”
“The Sun could be recharging them, Sergeant,” Dave replied. He wondered why he specifically said the Sun. “We’ll let the NASA scientists figure it out. I think you’re right about a fourth disk. It must have belonged to the dead alien we found in his seat with the footprints all around him. Somebody out there has his disk and we need to find it. How’s the search and recovery operation going?”
“More of your investigators arrived while you were asleep, Colonel. They’ve been over the whole area. We didn’t find any more bodies. The biohazard team is taking soil samples now. We’ve taken photographs of the wreckage and the crash area. Everything is taped off in 50-squarefoot sections. The fires are all out. The truck crew said they would be here in another couple of hours. We’re waiting for what you want to do next, sir.”
“All right, Sergeant. Good job. I need to contact NASA to see who they want to send out to see the wreckage. Then we can start hauling this stuff to Milwaukee for staging and analysis. Let me make some calls and I’ll get back to you. Why don’t you and your men take a break for a couple of hours? You deserve it, Sergeant Carter.”
“Thank you, sir. I’ll tell the men. We’ll be ready to go again after they have lunch, sir.” The sergeant saluted Dave and walked out of the tent. Dave looked a little closer at the objects on the table. He picked up one of the disks. It fit easily into the palm of his hand. It was very light. The material seemed to be some sort of metal, but he couldn’t be sure. There were no holes, buttons or displays of any kind. Each disk had a different symbol on the top, which was convex. The bottom was flat. Each disk had a chain attached for wearing it around ones neck. Obviously, the aliens wore it on their bodies, but for what purpose Dave could only guess. The bluish light illuminated the entire object in a soft glow but he felt no heat or sensation of any kind. The light seemed to emanate from the entire surface of each disk. He laid the object back down on the table and finished getting dressed to go back to work.
Dave ate some cold breakfast cereal at the food tent and got a cup of hot coffee. He needed a shower and a shave, but decided he could do that later when he hitched a ride over to the park’s visitor center where the command operations were. He wanted to take another look at the crash site now that it was light outside. It was hard to visualize the overall scope of an operation in the dark. He needed to check on the rest of the search and recovery team to see how they were coping and if they needed anything for the investigation. There was a whole set of procedures to follow and it was his job to make sure they were completed before a single item was moved to the staging area in Milwaukee. He also needed to check his email and make a few calls, one to the general to see if he had any new orders and one to the NASA office to ask for some help on the investigation. He was going to need some serious scientific help on this investigation because the unique circumstance. He decided to call NASA first and then call General Anderson.
Dave opened his notebook and turned on the power. As he waited for the notebook to power up, he noticed a different screen image pop up on the display unit. “That’s funny,” he said to himself. The notebook began running some program he wasn’t familiar with and data files seemed to rapidly come and go as if they were being scanned. It looked like the computer was running a download program of some sort. He tried to stop the program, but nothing he tried worked. Finally, he turned the power switch off. The first thoughts he had was that the notebook was defective and he didn’t have time to fix it or find another one and what an inconvenient time to have a problem. He decided to try the satellite phone instead. When he turned it on, a similar problem occurred. The phone seemed to go crazy as if there were some sort of interference affecting it, and then the whole personal organizer file with names and numbers just scrolled rapidly by on his color screen until they were gone. Then the phone returned to normal. Dave decided to turn the notebook back on to see if he could connect to the phone to make a data call. The notebook started to repeat the previous episode. He picked it up to watch the screen as he walked with it over to get another cup of coffee on the other side of the tent. When he got to the coffee pot, the notebook cleared up and the main desktop screen magically appeared. The problem seemed to go away and he felt relieved. He pored himself a new cup of coffee and walked back to his seat by his cot. As soon as he got within fifteen feet of the seat, the notebook started to run the search program again and started downloading files.
Dave was getting mad at the thing when he sat his coffee down and looked up at the table with the disks on it and a crazy thought came to him. “No way,” he said to himself. He picked up the notebook and walked away from the table. At approximately fifteen feet, the notebook stopped downloading and returned to the normal operating screen. Just to make sure he repeated the procedure until he convinced himself what was happening. The alien objects were interfering with his computer. They were communicating somehow and downloading his data. That wasn’t good, he thought to himself, but then he thought that if the objects could take data from his notebook, then maybe he could take data from the objects. Now that would be of extreme interest to NASA and everyone else. It was worth mentioning to someone.
Dave moved away from the alien objects and used his notebook to find the NASA number he needed from his contact list. He connected the notebook to his satellite phone and searched for an open line. He called Dr. Ian Romonof, Deputy Director and Chief Scientist of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California and filled him in the UFO situation and what he needed. The director was aware of the UFO encounter with the ISS and that a crash investigation had been set up by General Anderson. He seemed extremely pleased to be asked to play a role in the investigation. Dave explained that the crash scene was available for his inspection if he wished to visit, but what he really needed was a team of experts to join his investigation team in Milwaukee to conduct a thorough analysis of the wreckage and other items and to help reassemble the spacecraft as best as they could. He then explained what he had just learned about the alien objects and what they did to his computer and phone. The director got very excited about this and said he had just the scientist to investigate it. The whole project could very well take months to complete. The director agreed with Dave’s assessment of the situation, thanked him for the offer and said he would get back to him before the day was over. They ended the call.
Dave then checked his email and read the most important ones. General Anderson had sent a brief message on the meeting he had with the President this morning and wanted to talk to him as soon as possible. Dave sent a reply that he would call him within the hour, but that he needed to check the crash investigation progress first. Then Dave disconnected the satellite communication line and put away his notebook. He decided it was time to suit up and check in with his team. He assigned a man to keep an eye on the alien objects. There were several soldiers working in the clean tent now and one of them helped him put on his contamination suit. As soon as he was checked and cleared for entry, he walked to the crash site for his inspection.
The day was warm and partly cloudy and the suit was hot. The crash site was not that large compared to other investigations Dave handled, but it was getting very complicated. This crash site looked to be approximately two hundred yards long by one hundred yards wide with the main impact area approximately one hundred yards long by 50 yards wide. The debris covered a wide area because the UFO seemed to break apart in the air as it hit the treetops coming down at a steep angle. Most of the debris was fairly small in size, but there were a few large pieces of wreckage scattered about now that he could see through the broken trees. Everything was marked off in squares to be recorded and photographed prior to removal. It would make things easier for the reassembly team at the air base. There wasn’t much color to the debris. He wasn’t sure if it was due to the crash or if everything was just made from similar looking material.