Incoming

by Mel Todd

  Both the president and SecDef transferred their attention to the two.

  "How are you? Will you be able to go back tomorrow?"

  Albert and Beatrice exchanged glances then sank into chairs.

  "I don't believe that would be wise," Albert said slowly. Beatrice nodded her agreement as she lifted hands that trembled to pour water into a waiting glass.

  "Why?" The president managed to ask it without sounding accusatory or anything else.

  Beatrice replied, holding the glass of water, twisting it in her hands, focused on it rather than a person. "Even now I crave her. I understand you believe I would be fine by tomorrow. But just seeing her image makes me want to fall to my knees, to give her anything she might ask." Beatrice lifted bleak eyes to the room, and McKenna flinched back from them. "If she asked me to give her my life blood, I would open my veins for her and never blink. It's something that's going to haunt me for the rest of my life. The worst part of it all? I want it back. I want that total devotion, that love, that knowledge that my god stands in front of me."

  Albert shook his head. "You will never be able to trust us again. Even now I'm not sure why I still live with her displeasure."

  Everyone looked at them and the president sighed, turning to Harold. "You're promoted. You will lead and don't you dare take anything for your allergies. We can't give you nose filters as you would probably suffocate. Their blood is being tested but we can't get anything to make you immune by tomorrow." Carl darted a look at McKenna. "I assume you can't make him immune?"

  [No. He is not Kaylid. The nanobots would have nothing to work with.]

  "No. But I think I'm fine. Talking about her just kinda makes me queasy now. Fear and nausea at how close we came, but no desire to worship her."

  "Good. Then that's tomorrow. Harold, stay. We need to talk about the backup you'll have. Get your earpieces, and if you give the word, there will be snipers that will put a bullet in her brain. She is a nuclear weapon and needs to be treated that way."

  Harold paled, but came over and sat down, his handkerchief in his hand.

  "Ma'ams? Sir? I'll show you to your rooms." A young man had materialized at her elbow, and she jumped. With a shake of her head, she realized she did need food, the adrenaline had faded leaving hunger in its wake.

  "Sure."

  The three of them were efficiently delivered to their suite. "Room service will be up shortly. I took the liberty of ordering what you have eaten before and had them increase the protein and caloric contents. Press 101 on the phone if you need anything else. Thank you." With that he disappeared, and McKenna blinked.

  "Did either of you even get his name?"

  "Nope." Cass sat down, her face pale. "This is insane. Why didn't we know?"

  McKenna sank into another chair and lifting her hands. "I never saw them in my dreams. Did you?"

  "No. But it never occurred to me there was anything odd or wrong about that."

  That remark made McKenna think, and she remembered her host body had an odd thrill as it walked towards the ambassadors before she got pulled out of the scene.

  ~You should probably watch the news. You need to know what you're walking into.~ JD's voice had a weight to it that caused spikes of ice to crawl up McKenna's spine.

  Perc turned and flipped on the TV. It took him a moment to find TNN, but once he did they all fell silent. The news scrolled across the screen displaying the horror of what was going on in Istanbul and Shanghai.

  Chapter 32 - Breaking News

  TNN Breaking News Shanghai Landing

  "As everyone knows, today aliens are landing on Earth. This is a groundbreaking moment for the world. The shuttles have been spotted, and it looks like they will all be reaching their locations within a few minutes of each other. Other crews are covering the US New York landing and the Istanbul. I am Dominique Faris for TNN China. We are waiting to see the approach of the first alien ship to visit Earth. There, a silver ship is approaching." The woman talked into the camera, a microphone in her hand. Young, probably in her late twenties. Long dark hair in a braid that went down her back. Bright brown eyes in tan skin made her seem healthy and all but glowing on the screen. About two hundred yards behind her the camera caught greenery with people milling around.

  The screen cut away from the female reporter talking into the camera to zoom in on a sleek silver ship gliding down. Light reflected off it as it landed in a large park, sending sparks across the field. People were everywhere on the outskirts of the clearing as the video pans across the park. Phones held high in the air as the ship comes down. They are held back by an army of police officers, creating a barrier to the park. A small contingent surrounded by police in riot gear enters the clearing. The camera zooms in on them.

  "That must be the ambassadors here to meet our visitors. Though the amount of armed security is a bit concerning. I don't recognize any of those faces. Do you, Jeff?" The female reporter spoke off-screen. The camera didn't move from focusing on the scene playing out in the park.

  "No, Dominique. Though I do wish they had allowed us to move closer. This distance it's hard to see facial expressions. Can our camera man zoom in any closer?" Jeff said. His voice had the typical radio voice, deep, steady, each word clearly enunciated.

  "Unfortunately, no. He's using the new shoulder-attached version, and at this distant the clarity isn't as great. It moves as we do though, so if we do get to go closer there won't be any delay. But we have the boom microphone pointed towards them. If the breeze would die down, we would probably catch more of what they say." The camera flashed back to the young woman and other reporters near her, the overlap of their voices creating a hum of background noise.

  "Look, the door is opening to the ship!" Excitement filled Jeff's voice, and the background noise faded as the camera focused on the ship and the slowly opening portal. A ramp formed out of the ship itself and created a long sloping walkway. Harsh intakes of breath were heard over the rustling of people as they watched the first figures come down the ramp.

  A tall humanoid in the warrior form strides down. The fur on the body was pale orange with blue stripes over it. It resembled what a tiger might look like in this form but the chest seemed huge, blocking the camera's view. There was a flash of color in the middle of the arraigned guards, all in warrior form. Some dark brown, others pale tans. They all wore something like a skirt and most had a tail peeking out.

  "Is there a better view to see who's in the middle there?" Jeff asks. The view flipped for a minute to show an older man, late forties, dark blond hair, in a suit sitting in the network studio. "It looks like they've created an honor guard also?"

  "Yes, it seems that way. When they reach the representatives from the Chinese government, their positioning should change to allow us to see everything." Dominique's voice filled the screen as the camera flipped back to the two groups approaching each other. "Hmm, what's that scent? Are there flowers blooming around here?"

  Liquid language, distorted by the breeze and distance, floated through the silent space, then the guard surrounding the one in the middle moved out. They stepped away from the person they had protected, as if trying to make sure everyone got a good view of their representative.

  "Oh my. She's stunning," Dominique whispered, but the microphone pulled it into the feed.

  The camera focused on the being that had been revealed with the movement of the others. Cloaked in loose pants and a tunic of pure black, vivid purple hair fell to her waist. She turned displaying gentle curves favored in the Renaissance painters, with a face that arrested with silvery white skin, eyelashes and lips the same purple as her hair. Her eyes were too far away to pick up.

  "Dominique? What's happening?" Jeff asked as the reporters had all gone silent

  The camera wavered a bit, but steadied on the group. Oddly it seemed to start getting closer.

  "Dominique?" Jeff asked again, his voice a bit sharper.

  "She needs us. Can't you see how pretty she is?" Dominique's
voice seemed almost dreamy. The camera showed the delegation kneeling before the Elentrin, kissing her feet. All the Chinese security had knelt too, and around the perimeter the police keeping the people out were turning to look at the gathering of aliens. Cops were taking off their helmets and dropping their weapons. Slowly people were moving towards the gathering.

  "Dominique, why is the camera so close? The picture is excellent, but I thought we couldn't get that close. Has something happened? Why are people moving in?"

  "She needs us. We need to help her. We don't want her hurt." Dominique's words were sing-song, and the camera bounced around as it got closer. Now the image of the aliens was crystal clear, though at an odd angle, as if the cameraman was kneeling.

  A voice that sounded like music to the ears, even through the distortions of transmitting to the news station, filled the air talking.

  "Thank you. I know you want to help me. Please bring me all of your Kaylid. Those of yours that turned into animals. They can help me, protect my people. I need your help. Surely you want to help me? And I can take those who might have hurt others. I can save them." Her lilting voice pulled at them and people murmured in agreement.

  "I am one of those, how may I help you my lady?" a man called out, kneeling at the outskirts. The camera shifted to look at the man. A low keening sound came from others around him.

  "Rise, one of my guards will take you to the ship. Any others, please go with him." A few people rose, but the camera shifted back, letting her face fill its view. Her eyes were a pale lavender that all but glowed as she smiled, a slight twist at the corner of her mouths. "The rest of you go, find the others and bring them to me. I will take them someplace better where they can help me." She paused and smiled. "Oh, and if any children have been affected, bring them to me. I love children. Go now, find them, bring them to me."

  People began to rise and move away, the camera did too. Turning to face Dominique who still knelt, a look of rapture on her face.

  "Dominique, are you okay? What is all that?" His voice was tight, sharper than normal.

  "She needs shifters. All shifters should come here. She needs us. We have to help her."

  The feed cut replaced by Jeff sitting in the news room, his face pale, and the sounds of frantic talking in the background. "Due to issues with our crew on the ground in Shanghai, we are terminating the feed until we can figure out what's going on. In thirty minutes we should have the feed on the ground crew for Istanbul, showing the landing of the aliens there."

  Jeff's voice had lost the bright enthusiasm it had held earlier. He glanced down at the paper in his hands and swallowed. "This has just been received. The Chinese government has requested all shifters report to the meadow to aid the Elentrin Thelia. All parents with shifters are being told to bring their children to the Elentrin as a gift." He stumbled over that last word. "What? Who was on the Chinese delegation?"

  He lifted his hand to his ear and listened for a moment, then his eyes widened. "I see. Apparently Xianang Yang was one of the delegates. He is the chairperson of the Central Military Commission and can control all media in China. Per his own memos, the leaders of the Chinese government are being invited to an outdoor buffet with the Elentrin, to meet her. Arrangements are already being made to set up a huge tent with tables and food for this party in three hours."

  With wide eyes he looked past the camera at someone. "What is going on?"

  TNN Breaking News Istanbul Landing

  "Jeff Silver here for TNN. After what happened in Shanghai, messages have been sent to the officials in Istanbul, but no word yet if they have taken anything seriously, or if the messages were delivered in time. The meeting in the US is happening now and while information has been passed on, we don't know what caused the strange behavior, or if the right people have been reached. By the time the people in Shanghai started acting weird, the shuttle would have already landed in New York. One is approaching a square in Istanbul now." He cleared his throat and reached for a glass of water, taking a sip before continuing. "We still don't know what is behind this, or if it is all an elaborate hoax. Our crews in Istanbul are being told to stand far back to help avoid being caught up in anything."

  Another clearing of the throat and a wistful glance at the water. "Now we are going live to Samuel Arons, our onsite reporter. Sam, are you there?"

  "Yes, Jeff. As you can see ,we're on top of one of the hotels with the tripod set up and focused on this. It's a large area, but they have cleared out most spectators. Can you think of anything else we need to know?"

  "Don't get close to them until we see what happens." Jeff's voice was dry, but it remained off screen.

  "I hear that. Zoom in, here they come." The same familiar silver shape came in, lowering down to the square in a display of precision maneuvering. Interestingly, there didn't seem to be much wind displacement like a helicopter would have caused.

  The ship landed and the same formation seen in Shanghai came out, but this time a head with shocking yellow could be seen, taller than those providing protection. The camera zoomed in and as they moved apart revealed a man.

  "Whoa. He could model as Adonis and no one would doubt it," Sam muttered as the camera zoomed in. About six feet tall, yellow hair, canary yellow, topped a face of pure, clean, strong lines. The body, hidden under another tunic and loose pants, hinted at muscles and strength. He just screamed sexual health and power.

  "Wait, what is that?" Jeff's voice hit a sharp note as the lead politicians started to smile, then drop down to their knees. "It's happening again. Sam, do not go down there."

  "Okay, that is creepy as all get-out. I've interviewed one of those men, that's an Iman who is almost militant about Shari'a law. He'd never bow to anyone." Sam's voice was thin, a slight tremble in it. "What is that over there? Is that guy running towards them?"

  The camera shifted and zoomed in on a man in a mullah running full speed toward them, his hands up in the air, showing he held nothing.

  "What is he doing?" Jeff asked even as the man kept running.

  There was a pause, then Sam replied, his voice heavy with dread. "Oh please, don't be doing what I think you're doing." The camera didn't move, focused on the man running closer and closer. The guards in warrior form lifted their weapons pointed at the man.

  Liquid language poured out from the male and light erupted from their weapons. The man's head exploded in a shower of red blood that vanished before it hit the ground.

  "Oh my god. They killed him-"

  Before he could finish his sentence, an explosion filled the camera view, filling the screen with red, beige, and fire.

  "Oh shit, it was a suicide bomber." Jeff's voice filled the overlay, making it the primary sound over people screaming. The camera didn't move, focused on the aftermath of the explosion. The beautiful Adonis crumpled to the ground with two of the five warrior forms. The three left scanned the area, then as if on a synchronized command, brought up their weapons and aimed. Bright red light exploded from their weapons, leaving a trail of bodies and odd-colored blood behind them. By the time they finished strafing across the square, only the dead and dying remained.

  "Holy shit," The words came out of both Jeff and Sam at the same time while the camera wavered. The remaining guard scanned the area then did a double time trot to the shuttle which lifted in the air shortly afterward.

  "Did we just see a suicide bomber kill the alien representatives?" Jeff's voice came across as hollow, as the camera played over the bodies lying in the square.

  "I think we did. What in the world happens next?" Sam's voice was just as hollow, as the camera kept moving back and forth over the humans and the aliens.

  "I don't know. But if someone doesn't get me some vodka I'm not going to make it through the next hour." Jeff's voice had a tightness to it that echoed everything wrong with what the camera displayed so dispassionately.

  Chapter 34 - Girding Loins

  All eyes are focused on New York again today. With China quickly
devolving into an odd chaos. The effect these Elentrin seem to have on people is creepy. And already other ships are coming down in areas around Shanghai collecting shifters. China has locked down all external communications. The only official communication going out right now is that the Elentrin are our friends and all shifters should come to the ships to help the Elentrin. The level at which they have managed to worm their way into China, a notoriously xenophobic government, is terrifying. ~TNN Invasion Report

  They watched in horror at the information coming out of the two other landing spots. Only the knock of room service pulled their attention away from the news. McKenna opened the door to let a young woman push in a cart full of food. A minute later she was gone, delicious smells filling the room.

  "Shut it off. There isn't anything we can do about them now. We need to focus on tomorrow. But now we know the consequences of one path. And we'll have to wait to see what the consequences of the other will be. Maybe by morning we'll know if we should follow Istanbul's lead?"

  They fell silent, the images of what occurred in Shanghai etched into their brains. Food was eaten, silent goodnights given, and McKenna rushed towards sleep, desperate to not be awake and having to think about all of this.

  She stood at attention, the Elentrin pacing back and forth in front of her. Ash stood to her right, his body perfectly still, not even that shockingly white tail twitched.

  "What happened? How did anyone stand against my presence? The chemical cocktail was designed specifically for this species. Per our records, we were here about five hundred reyans ago. No species would change enough to have their evolution prevent the effectiveness of our Glory, we are always worshiped. I want to know exactly who I skin for this. Not having their awe is not acceptable." Her words, though musical and almost a song, cut across all of them like a whip.

  "Unknown, Siret. Your Glory did work on many of them, but one seemed immune and another seemed to fight it off." Ash spoke carefully, his voice flatter than Wefor's, almost a computer replying.