Alien Storm

by Don Viecelli

  “Sergeant, why don’t you help the reporters get their suits ready so you can escort us around the site. We need to film everything we can before nightfall. Major, please continue what you were doing and let’s get these trucks rolling. I would like to clear this whole area in the next few days if possible,” Dave said.

  “I think we can do that, Colonel. I’ll be around when you’re ready to be driven back to the helicopter.”

  “Thanks, Major. I’ll call you when we’re ready. All right, everyone. Let’s get some new air tanks and get sealed up.”

  Sergeant Carter led the group to the supply tent and helped them get ready for the site inspection. By this time, Kaye and her crew were pretty comfortable with the hazmat suits and know how everything worked. Once, the air tanks and headsets were tested, they were ready to go. They left the tent area in a single file with Sergeant Carter leading the way into the forest. The high arching tree branches blocked the light from shining through the leaves and everything took on a dark filtered look. Everybody walked in silence looking at the trail in front of them. Suddenly, the first signs of the crash appeared. Pieces of wreckage were scattered in random patterns on the ground around them from the impact with the trees above. The violence of the scene was highlighted by the appearance of markers and yellow tape that marked the spots in fifty-foot squares to aid the recovery and investigation process. Soon they were in the middle of the crash site.

  “Why is everything taped off, Colonel Hampton?” Kaye asked on the radio intercom from behind him.

  “It identifies where each piece of wreckage is found for later analysis and reconstruction.”

  “Reconstruction?” Kaye asked puzzled.

  “We plan to rebuild the spacecraft to see if we can figure out what happened and how it worked.”

  “I see. What are those markers for?” Kaye pointed to several brightly painted markers that were stuck in the ground close together in some of the squares.

  “That’s were we found the bodies, Kaye. Some were in pieces.”

  Kaye could visualize the scene and just looked on in silence. Then she noticed something up ahead that looked familiar. “Is that the seat where the dead alien was photographed?”

  “Yes, it is. It’s in your video file.”

  “Wow!” was all she could think to say. The impact of where she was and the reality of what she was looking at finally shook her. This was for real. There was no turning back. She had to get a picture of this. When she turned around, Kurt was already filming the scene. He had been doing so all the while they were walking through the forest. He was just as amazed at the scene as the rest of them were.

  They walked up to the upright seat. The area was taped off almost like a crime scene. Kaye, Debbie and Kurt began to prepare for a video shot. Dave decided to walk ahead to the worst part of the crash area and see if he could find Dan Tobias, the Chief Safety Specialist for the NTSB. As he got closer he could see several members of the search and recovery team still at work on the scene. The pieces of wreckage were much larger. Some of them were as big as a small room and the outer shell of the spacecraft was lying in several large pieces scattered in all directions from the center of the hole in the ground. As he approached, Dan Tobias looked up and recognized Dave’s face through the plastic mask. “Hello, Dave. I’m glad you’re back. How was the other crash site?”

  Dave had switched to the main radio channel so they could communicate on the radio. “They’re beginning to remove the wreckage, Dan. Your assistant, Walter, was pretty excited about what we’ve found. He says the pieces are not made of metal, but some other type of composite material, light weight and very strong. He doesn’t think it’s nuclear powered and the radiation levels are falling much to fast according to our physics. We should have an interesting time trying to figure it all out later at the base.”

  “Well, I can believe that. Things are just as unbelievable here. Look around at this mess.” He pointed to all the objects scattered around on the ground near the two of them. Some of it looked like communication or power equipment. They were in what looked like the remains of a control room. There was a broken window hole in the outer shell in front of him. He recognized the shape of the hole from the picture of the spacecraft he received from Commander Bonario on the ISS. How different everything looked now.

  “See anything unusual about this wreckage, Dave?”

  “Everything is unusual, Dan. This is a UFO for Christ’s sake.” He was getting impatient. It must be from lack of sleep he thought to himself.

  “I know that. But what’s missing here that’s so obvious from other crashes we’ve investigated?” He didn’t wait for Dave to answer. “There are no wires. No cables. Nothing we use for communication and power lines. Everything must be wireless, or else fiber optics of some sort. I don’t know how they do it. This technology is years ahead of ours. Look at this shell.” He rubbed his glove over the smooth service. “There are no weld marks or rivets. It’s all one piece. The fires didn’t damage it at all. It just wipes off. When we break this material down and reproduce it, it will revolutionize the industry.”

  Dan was obviously excited. Dave couldn’t help but be enthused as well. He was about to speak when he heard gunshots in the woods around them. He knew this shouldn’t be happening in a national park and it wasn’t hunting season. Someone was firing rifles. He quickly hit his emergency button and called for Sergeant Carter. “Sergeant Carter, what’s happening?”

  The sergeant heard the shots the same time as Colonel Hampton. “I don’t know, Colonel. Somebody is shooting. Let me call the major.” He used his radio to call Major Drew. “Major, we heard shots. What’s going on?”

  “I know, Sergeant. My men found some intruders south of you about a mile away. We tried to stop them and they fired at my men. We’re chasing them through the woods. Your team is safe. I’ll get back to you as soon as I find out what happened.”

  Dave heard the response. He quickly walked back to the group and explained what happened. “Don’t worry, everything is under control. I think you better go with Sergeant Carter and record the rest of the crash scene so we can leave as soon as possible. Sergeant, take them to see Dan Tobias. He’s by the main wreckage site. He’s got some things to show you.” He turned to Kaye. “I need to make some calls back at the command tent. I’ll wait for you there. Be careful. See you soon.” Kaye’s face looked a little disappointed, but she quickly recovered her composure.

  Dave left the group. He needed to talk to Major Drew and get more details on what happened. He also needed to send a report to General Anderson. He’s probably wondering what’s going on. Then he wanted to call the team at the Milwaukee Air Force Base. The medical team should have had time to start autopsies on the alien bodies. He had another team examining the strange disks and globe he sent them. Maybe they had something he could pass on to the President in his next report. It was getting darker. They had an hour before the sun would set behind the Porcupine Mountains.

  Chapter 19

  After decontamination, Dave searched for Major Drew and found him by his Humvee. He was talking with some of his men. “Major, what happened?”

  “We found two men in paramilitary camouflage trying to penetrate our parameter about a mile from the site. We ordered them to surrender and they fled. In the chase they started shooting and wounded one of my men. We returned fire, but they got away.”

  “Who were they?”

  “We don’t know. The state police are looking for them outside the park. The police captain says there’s a paramilitary group called the Freedom Liberation Movement who has a base camp around here. They’ve had some problems with them recently, but no-one ever shot at anybody before.”

  “I wonder what they wanted?”

  “They probably saw all the excitement around here and wanted to find out what’s going on. I’ve ordered some of my men to help the state police track them down. We’re waiting for permission to visit their base camp and see if we can find
the bastards who shot one of my men. They’re on private property, so the police need to get a search warrant.”

  “Okay, Major. Keep me informed. I don’t want to endanger my recovery team. I’ll pull everyone out for the night as soon as the TV reporters come in. Good luck on your search. I hope your man is okay.”

  “Thanks, Colonel. I’ll keep you posted.”

  Dave walked over to the command tent. He sat down at one of the computer screens and logged in to the satellite network and checked his messages. Nothing new from the General. He did see a video message from Dr. Ian Romonof, Deputy Director at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Doctor Romonof wanted to talk to him. He was sending someone to Milwaukee AFB to help out on the investigation. Dave switched to the voice-over-IP phone link and dialed the number. The doctor answered the phone on his computer in California, “Doctor Romonof here.”

  “Hello, Doctor Romonof. This is Colonel Hampton returning your call.” The satellite video image and audio link were fine.

  “Why, Hello, Colonel. Thanks for calling me back. I wanted to tell you I sent Bill Murphy, our senior computer scientist from New Mexico, to help in your investigation. He’s probably at the base now. You haven’t met Bill yet, but he’s an expert in his field and should be able to assist you with those disk objects. If you don’t mind, I also plan to fly out with one of my assistants to look at those engines you’ve found. I’m sure they’re going to revolutionize space propulsion systems. We need to study them.”

  “I appreciate your help, Doctor. I’ll send you instructions where you can stay. We’re moving one of the engines today, so it should be at the base sometime tomorrow. I’ll give Mr. Murphy a call and see how he’s doing. I look forward to working with you again.”

  “The pleasure is all mine, Colonel. Thanks for inviting us.” They ended the call.

  Before Dave could make his second call, he received an alert tone on the computer informing him he had an urgent video message. It was from the medical examiner in Milwaukee who was performing the autopsies on the dead aliens. He opened the message. A woman he didn’t recognize was on the screen. She had dark brown hair and a narrow face. She seemed to be in her late forties and was very serious looking. She introduced herself. “Colonel Hampton, I’m Doctor Sara Aimes. I’m the chief medical examiner here at the hospital. We’ve finished the first autopsy and I need to talk to you as soon as possible. My phone number is attached. I look forward to your call.” The message ended.

  Dave hit the return button and waited for the call to be processed. Within a few seconds, Dr. Aimes appeared on the computer screen. “Hello, Doctor Aimes, this is Colonel Dave Hampton. How can I help you?”

  “Hello, Colonel Hampton. It’s nice to meet you at last. This case is very unusual, Colonel, to say the least. We’ve uncovered something you need to see for yourself. When can you get down here?”

  “How important is it, Doctor? I’m pretty busy up here as you can imagine.”

  “It has to do with the brain tissue and those disks you found, Colonel. Somebody named Bill Murphy from JPL is pretty excited about it. I didn’t want to give any details over the phone line.”

  “This is a secure link, Doctor. What did you find?”

  “All right, Colonel. The dead aliens have some sort of chip device implanted into their brains. It seems to control the disks you found. That is, the disks seem to respond to the aliens when they’re near the bodies. We’re still trying to figure out how it works.”

  Colonel Hampton was silent for a moment. He was curious as well. It might be worth the trip just to see what they found. If he left right away, he could be there in two hours. He could return tomorrow morning. Besides, the information would be useful in his report to the general. “I could be there in two hours. Can you wait for me?”

  “Yes, that’s no problem. We work late around here. Anyway, we still have to complete the autopsies. I look forward to meeting you in person, Colonel.”

  “Me, too, Doctor Aimes. Tell Mr. Murphy I look forward to meeting him as well. I’ll see you in two hours.”

  Dave disconnected the call. He needed to make travel plans. He decided he would wait for Sergeant Carter to return with the TV crew and inform them of his new travel plans. He was a little disappointed he would not be able to spend more time with Kaye. He was hoping they could meet this evening for a few drinks or even dinner, but duty called as usual. It has been a long time since he felt like spending time with a woman; almost two years since his divorce. He had forgotten what it felt like. He was not a lonely person and his work kept him very busy, but he was getting tired of the single life. He wanted to settle down and be with someone again. His former wife was supportive and he kept involved with his two kids, but he needed something more. He wanted to get to know Kaye better and wondered how he could do that. He put the thought on hold and went back to work. He had to send a status report to General Anderson and see if he could arrange a helicopter flight with Major Cole. Colonel Feldman would have to fill in for him at the command center until he got back. At least things were pretty organized and the investigation was proceeding according to schedule.

  Dave looked at his watch. It was almost 1800 hours. They had two more hours of daylight. He would inform the search and recovery team to stop for the day. He was still concerned about the shooting incident. He used the radio to check in with Sergeant Carter. “Sergeant Carter, can you hear me?”

  “Yes, sir. Loud and clear.”

  “How’s the TV crew doing?”

  “They’re almost done, Colonel. We’re heading back in a few minutes.”

  “Good. I want you to tell the rest of the recovery team to call it quits for the day. I want the National Guard to search the area and make sure it’s safe and secure for the night.”

  “Understood, Colonel. We’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  Dave turned off his radio unit. He went outside the tent to find Major Drew and inform him to be ready to drive them to the helicopter in twenty minutes. Then he called Major Cole on his radio to tell him to have the helicopter at the pickup point in half an hour. He asked Major Cole if he could get permission to fly him to Milwaukee for the night. It was an important trip and he didn’t have time to find another means of transportation. Dave was waiting by the Humvee when Sergeant Carter and Kaye emerged from the clean tent. Kaye’s headgear and gloves were in her hand. She smiled when she saw Dave and walked over to him. “Well, Colonel, are you ready for that interview now?”

  “I’m afraid I have some bad news.” He decided to be bold and see how she reacted. “I won’t be able to meet you for drinks tonight. I have to fly to Milwaukee to see something they found during the autopsies.”

  Kaye looked disappointed, but Dave couldn’t be sure it was from not doing the interview she wanted or because he was not going to be able to meet with her tonight. Kaye looked him in the eyes. “I’m sorry to hear that. Is this an excuse to avoid our interview, or me?” She looked amused. “Maybe I should go with you. We need to see the bodies some time you know.”

  Dave smiled back. “No and no. Not this time. I have to make this a fast trip and be back here tomorrow morning. I’ll let you see the bodies soon, I promise. Maybe we can discuss this over dinner tomorrow?” He was pushing it, he knew, but he had to know one way or the other.

  “Are you asking me for a date, Colonel?” Kaye watched him squirm a little and smiled at his reaction.

  “I guess I am, Miss Weston. I’ll pick the place if you pick the time.”

  “Call me Kaye, Colonel, if I can call you Dave. Eight o’clock would be fine, but you have to give me that interview in the morning.”

  “I promise, Kaye. Dave is fine.” They were both smiling at each other when they heard the others coming up behind them. The brief exchange was over for the time being. They both felt excited. The attraction was real and they both knew it.

  Major Drew appeared from the command tent. He had a cup of coffee in his hands. He approached the group. Dave
called over to him. “We’re ready to go, Major.”

  They all got into the Humvee for the trip back to the helicopter. When they reached the helicopter, Major Cole started the engine. Dave directed Kaye and the others to get on board. He reached his hand out to Major Drew. “Thanks for the ride, Major. I hope you find the people responsible for shooting your man. Keep me informed so I can tell my team what happened tomorrow.”

  “Will do, Colonel. We’ll find them.” He drove off, away from the crash site up the old mining trail to the main road where his search team was gathering. Dave jumped on board the helicopter and Major Cole immediately took off.

  The ride back to the visitor center was uneventful. Nobody felt like talking over the engine noise. They just looked at the sun setting behind the Porcupine Mountains. The clouds were breaking and it looked like another clear, warm night ahead. The helicopter broke over the mountain ridge and flew low over the lake straight for the visitor center parking lot. When they landed, Colonel Feldman was waiting for them.

  Dave got out first. He helped Kaye and Debbie get down. Then Kurt jumped down. They all walked towards Colonel Feldman. “How was your trip, Colonel?”

  “Everything was going fine until we heard the shots. Major Drew and his men are getting ready to try and find the men responsible.”

  “I know. They just picked up the wounded guardsman and took him to the Duluth Air Force Base by helicopter for treatment. It was just a shoulder wound. By the way, here are your bags. You’re all set to leave. Major Cole will fly you to Milwaukee Air Force Base as you requested.”

  “Thanks, Colonel Feldman. Could you please take our guests back to the visitor center? They need to make arrangements to get to their hotel tonight.”

  “My pleasure, Colonel. This way, everyone. Have a save trip, Colonel Hampton.”

  As they were walking away, Dave pulled Kaye aside. “Kaye, here’s my card. My satellite phone number is on the back. Please call me if anything comes up.” He felt like saying something more, but decided not to.