by Don Viecelli
“Very well, High Commander, we shall return to Yoykan and prepare our attack on Holtu. But first, we shall show these humans of Earth what we are capable of.”
High Commander Anahta knew from experience what the Imperial Leader meant. Whenever they invade a new planet, they not only infect the people with their nanomachines, they select a target and completely destroy it. Sometimes it’s just a populated city of governance or a military complex. Other times it’s a colony planet or moon. This solar system had many such targets. Rahta only had to choose one.
“Let’s see what the Qumru starship does when we approach it. Prepare to leave this planet. Keep Utor on our ship to get more information about Holtu and the androids.”
“Preparing to depart now, Imperial Leader.” Anahta ordered one of his staff to escort Utor back to the holding room where the other three Qumru crewmembers were being held.
As Anahta prepared to take the Yoykan Malee out of Mars orbit, he noticed a human spacecraft was approaching the planet. It was travelling at a much slower speed and would not arrive for another human day, but it was going to have to be dealt with.
“Imperial Leader, what should we do about the human spaceship approaching this planet?”
Rahta simply said, “Destroy it as we pass. It will show these humans we mean business.”
Chapter 48
USS Illinois
Captain Jason Weston was in command of the USS Illinois, a medium sized space transport ship outfitted for space rescue missions, which performs services in space similar to that of the US Coast Guard service, a military branch of the US Armed Forces used for maritime law enforcement duties on Earth. However, in this case, the USS Illinois was on its way to Mars on a special mission to make contact with the Qumru starship and secondarily, to try and stop whatever was happening on the surface of Mars.
Captain Weston took off his hat and brushed back his short blond hair. He stood six feet tall and was approaching forty-five years old, but had the figure and stamina of a man ten years younger. Normally calm in stressful situations he was currently frustrated. The problem most affecting his mission is the time lag between when a spaceship leaves Earth and travels to a planet like Mars 48.8 million miles away. Things can change dramatically. The USS Illinois left Earth 29 days ago travelling at a speed of 70,000 kilometers per hour, the fastest speed human spacecraft can go using early model fusion drive engines. The latest communication with the Johnson Space Center, Mission Control, was the first alien starship from Qum had left Mars arriving at Earth within hours. Then a second alien warship appeared and was now orbiting Mars. The situation had gone from the friendly expectations of first alien contact to possible attack from a hostile, incredibly large alien spaceship.
“What should we do, Captain?” Commander Susan Potter asked for the second time. Susan was shorter than Jason at five feet six inches and had short black hair and brown eyes on a pretty face and well proportioned figure. She was new on the transport ship, but almost matched Jason’s experience in performing missions in space for the US Space Force. Jason had complete trust in her judgment on complicated tasks.
Jason was facing a dilemma. He was on a straight approach to Mars and could not easily adjust course now to avoid the planet and the hostile alien warship that was getting closer by the hour. “We need to put more distance between us and that warship.”
“What about Mars?” Commander Potter asked looking at the viewing screen showing the planet in full view.
“From what we know from Mission Control, this warship is hostile. We need to steer clear. Besides, I don’t think there are many colonists left on Mars and all of them are probably infected.”
“So, we return home?” Susan knew that was unlikely as soon as she said it.
“Our latest orders stand. We go into orbit around Mars and send a team down to investigate what’s happening on the surface. But, I don’t know what that warship is going to do. Look at the size of it? It’s bigger that an aircraft carrier!”
“What if it comes toward us, Captain?” Susan wondered out loud. “We won’t be able to outrun it.”
Jason pondered the question. “No, we won’t be able to outrun it. You better arm the nuclear missiles. We may need them.”
Susan looked troubled. She knew the original mission objectives were no longer relevant. The Qumru starship had returned to Earth with the remaining Mars colonists not infected with the nanomachines. Now, a second alien warship appeared and had recently sent infected colonists from Mars to Earth. It was obviously a blatant alien attack on the human species and the start of a space war. Susan never imagined they would have to consider their final option to use nuclear missiles on a target.
Jason was about to give orders to change course and fly further around Mars when the alien warship started to move.
“Sir, the alien vessel is moving out of its orbit!” the navigation officer confirmed.
Jason studied the radar screen and noticed the obvious. “It’s headed right for us. Sound the alarm. Everyone at their stations! Full protective suits on— now!”
Fear was not an uncommon emotion among space travelers, especially military personnel on special missions. They trained rigorously to minimize its effects. Jason strapped himself into his chair as did everyone else. There were thirty souls aboard the USS Illinois. All but four were military. The UN diplomats were probably sick to their stomachs, but there was nothing James could do about that now. He was busy wondering how he was going to save his ship and everyone on board.
“The alien vessel is approaching faster, Captain!” Susan reported. “Still on course to pass by us within five minutes!”
“Missiles ready to fire?” Jason asked his crew.
“Armed and ready to fire, sir!” the weapons officer answered with certainty.
Jason knew he could not be the first to fire on an alien vessel no matter the consequences. He also knew this alien spaceship was probably hostile due to the situation on Mars. But he did not have all the facts he needed to make the decision to fire first. He had to wait and try to protect his ship as best as he could.
The Yoykan Malee headed straight for them without concern the tiny Earth spacecraft could do them any harm. Alarm warnings started to sound and vibrate throughout the USS Illinois. Jason and everyone on board waited breathlessly as the alien spacecraft flew towards them without changing course.
Rahta sat in his special command chair and watched as High Commander Anahta gave orders to approach the small human spacecraft. If Rahta commanded, Anahta could have sent one of their troop transport spaceships to destroy the human spacecraft from a distance, but that would not serve Rahta’s purpose. He wanted the humans to experience fear of his power before they died.
“We are ready to fire, Imperial Leader!” Anahta said loudly for all to hear on the Flight Deck.
A control officer at one of the command stations spoke up, “High Commander, I detect nuclear weapons on that human spacecraft!”
“Nuclear weapons? So they didn’t come in peace!” Rahta laughed at his own joke.
“Our energy shields are at maximum power, Imperial Leader. They cannot hurt us with their nuclear missiles,” Anahta said with confidence.
“Then, destroy them now!” Rahta commanded.
Anahta ordered his crew to target the human spacecraft and shoot a single high powered laser beam from a distance of just over one thousand kilometers. The human spacecraft would have no defense against it.
A single high powered laser beam shot out from the alien spaceship. Captain Weston had just enough time to order the firing of five nuclear tipped missiles at the attacker before the laser beam sliced through a middle cross section of the USS Illinois, cutting it completely in half. Half of the passengers on board the spacecraft died instantly from the laser beam and the internal explosions afterwards. The remaining two pieces of the spacecraft tumbled away from each other spewing debris and gases from the explosions. The chances for any survivors were low. Even if some of them sur
vived the attack, they would die from lack of oxygen in a matter of hours. The first space battle with the Yoyka and humans had lost with no chance of success.
Rahta viewed the destruction of the human spacecraft with satisfaction. It was a pitiful battle and still Rahta gloated. “What puny adversaries! They deserve to be enslaved by my empire!”
Anahta was more reserved, but agreed with the assessment. He had one other task to perform while he viewed the dying light from the explosions. He ordered antimissile laser fire to destroy the five nuclear missiles fired from the dying spacecraft. Secretly, he admired the courage of the human captain of that spacecraft knowing his life was doomed, but still willing to defend his ship and fight back. It was something to remember that these humans were not cowards and could have been worthy adversaries if they had the space technology to wage war.
Within seconds five more bright explosions lighted up the dark space outside as the laser beams destroyed all five nuclear missiles before they could reach the Yoykan Malee. Even if one of them had made it through their defensive systems, the energy shield that protected the warship would not have been penetrated. It could survive several fifty megaton nuclear explosions without damage to the hull. The humans had no chance at all of harming the Yoykan Malee.
Anahta checked his course headings as they raced towards the blue planet. At ten percent the speed of light, they would reach Earth under one human hour. It was time to pick an Earth target to destroy the humans would remember forever.
Chapter 49
Chaos on Earth
President Anderson was working in the White House Oval Office when Allison Conley knocked on the door and entered. She was holding her comtablet that displayed an important message she needed to tell the President.
“Good afternoon, Allison. What’s the problem now?” Mary noticed the pained expression on her face.
“Bad news, Madam President! The USS Illinois has been attacked and destroyed on its way to Mars!”
Mary took a deep breath and laid her pen down on the desk. She was stunned. “What happened?”
“The DOD says the alien spaceship that was orbiting Mars approached the USS Illinois and used some sort of laser beam weapon to destroy our transport ship without warning.”
“Are there any survivors?” Mary quickly realized there was little hope anyone could rescue any survivors so far away in space. Now, it was undeniable. The Yoyka aliens were hostile and would more than likely attack Earth.
“Not that we know of, Madam President. Secretary Russo would like to meet with you in the Situation Room as soon as he can get General Bradstone to attend. He says it’s important that you attend.”
“I see. All right, let me know when we must leave. Since you are here, is there any word what’s happening in Miami?” Allison knew what the President was referring to.
“Yes, there’s good news. The preventative nano-agent solution provided by the Qumru seems to be working. The Yoyka infection has been stopped from spreading outside the containment area. Most of Miami away from the airport is safe now. The people are not rioting in the streets anymore.”
Mary nodded her head, pleased with the news. “We need to get the nano-agent to other cities immediately. Call the CDC and see if they agree.”
“We don’t know the long term affects from the nano-agent, Madam President,” Allison admitted as she looked up the number of the CDC director in Atlanta.
“It’s a risk I’m willing to take, Allison, to stop the contagion from spreading more than it has. Ten of our cities are in chaos. The National Guard says if we do nothing, we will lose millions of citizens. It’s worse in other counties. Europe and Asia are warning we could lose entire cities in days if we can’t stop it from spreading. I feel like I’m watching a zombie movie, only it’s for real!”
“I understand, Madam President. I’ll call the director of the CDC as soon as I leave the office. By the way, The UN Secretary-General wants to talk with you. He says it’s important.”
Mary looked out the windows in the Oval Office. The sun was shining and it looked like a beautiful day. It was hard to believe the rest of the world was in chaos. She knew it would only get worse before the sun went down.”
“I’ll call Aleksy now. I need to talk to him as well. Tell the others about the meeting in the Situation Room. I want everyone there to know about the nano-agent solution.”
Allison nodded in acknowledgement and left the room. Mary used the desk phone voice activator to dial UN Secretary-General Aleksy Gomulka and waited for him to answer.
“Hello, Madam President. I was expecting your call,” Aleksy answered with his strong polish accent.
“What can I do for you, Mister Secretary?” Mary had no time to waste.
“I have news from Director Douglas Martin. He says he would like to set up a meeting with you and bring one of the Qumru aliens to the White House.”
Mary paused for a moment before answering. “I think that would be a good idea. How soon can this be arranged?”
“He says it’s important that you meet and wishes to fly up later today from Houston, Texas.”
“I’ll have Allison make the arrangements and call you back. By the way, Aleksy, I have good news about the Qumru nano-agent solution. It works! It stops the Yoyka nanomachines from infecting people, if they get the preventative solution first. You know it also spreads by contact. We are testing in on people in Miami where one of the first outbreaks occurred. I have a meeting with the National Security Council soon and will let everyone know we need to consider deploying it at all the outbreak cities.”
“That is very good news, Madam President. I am meeting with the Security Council in one hour. I will tell them the news if that is okay.”
“Tell them we will make arrangements through your office to spread the nano-agent solution. It will take the use of human volunteers to spread the preventative solution by contact at first since we do not have enough solution to inject people, but it will spread faster this way I am told.”
“We need this nano-agent solution badly, Madam President. Our cities cannot contain the spread of the infection. By the end of the day, millions will be infected in other cities around the world. We need anything that will stop the spread of this inhuman contagion!”
Mary ended the call and spent another fifteen minutes reviewing the reports of chaos occurring in cities where the Yoyka dropped off infected Mars colonists. In isolated cases, the local populace tried killing the colonists instead of putting them in isolation compounds. The news media was full of horrible stories of people killing each other in panic over the spread of the infection. Mass exoduses of people were fleeing the major infected cities. It was causing panic to spread out of control. Some countries were threatening to use nuclear weapons on their cities and even neighboring countries to try and stop the spread of the nanomachines. If nothing was done soon to try and stop the panic, the world would explode.
Mary looked up when Allison returned and poked her head in the room. “It’s time, Madam President.
Mary picked up the reports she was reading and tucked them inside the folder to take with her. She followed Allison down the hall to the elevator that would take them to the Situation Room in the West Wing basement. When she entered the room everyone stood up.
“Please be seated. Bring me up to speed, Secretary Russo.”
“The alien warship that was orbiting Mars and attacked the USS Illinois is now headed for Earth!”
“When will it arrive?” Mary hoped they had time to prepare defenses.
“Within the next thirty minutes, Madam President! They can travel much faster than anything we have,” Russo wiped sweat from his eyes.
“We have to assume it will attack Earth. What will we do?” Mary waited for Russo or General Bradstone to respond.
Bradstone said, “We are prepared to fire nuclear missiles once they pass the Moon, Madam President.”
“Will that stop them?”
“Probably not.
The USS Illinois fired five nuclear missiles at the spaceship before it was destroyed by a high energy laser beam. The warship easily intercepted them. I expect they have an antimissile weapon system that can take care of any attacking missiles. They can also just out fly them if they must.”
“Then what can we do, General?” Vice President Allen Denton demanded loudly.
General Bradstone looked Allen directly in the eye. “Every nuclear capable country on Earth will fire their missiles at the spaceship. Some will be timed to explode early, others later. We will try and confuse it, or at least slow it down. As a last resort we will use Skynet, our space satellite laser defense system. It was originally designed to defend against spy satellites and nuclear missile attack. But we can use it on the alien warship once it passes the Moon.”
Complete silence filled the room while everyone looked at each other. Skynet was a secret military space program and not everyone in the room knew it actually existed.
“What about other countries? Do they have a similar weapon?” one of the other Secretaries asked General Bradstone.
“Russia and China both have similar systems in space. They will be notified we intend to use our system as soon as we see what happens with the missile attack.”
Mary posed a different question. “What about the Qumru starship? Can it help defend us from attack?”
“I have been informed the Qumru will stay and help us if they can. They only have defensive capabilities, which amount to an energy shield against attack and the ability to shoot down missiles aimed at their starship. It the Yoyka warship cannot be stopped, they must leave for Holtu to protect their starship and the passenger minds on board.”
Mary never felt so powerless in all her years of public service. To be at the mercy of an unyielding alien menace was beginning to make her angry. “Do whatever you must, General. At least we can show them we won’t give up our world without a fight!”
Mary changed the subject one more time and kept it brief. She informed everybody of the Qumru preventative nano-agent solution and how they would use it to stop the Yoyka nanomachines from infecting more people on Earth. At least the Yoyka would not succeed in turning every living human being on Earth into zombie slaves to do their bidding. As far as Mary was concerned, it would take more than one Yoyka warship to subdue the people of Earth.