{This story was inspired by the Star Shot mission.}
“It worked!” Sara exclaimed enthusiastically.
Pete couldn’t believe it. These readings couldn’t possibly been true. He was just doing a semester with Professor Sara, the campus’s nutty scientist, for an easy credit. She always gave her research assistants “A” for effort. But the experiment had worked and that meant he was a part of something that was truly historical!
Sara looked out of the port window. They had emerged from their wormhole right next to the planetary cluster scientists had determined were most likely to have earth like atmosphere. But they had to return. No worry. She came prepared. She hit the release button and her self perpetuating satellite unit was away. It’s purpose was to scan the planets and set up base on a nearby moon.
“Now what?” Pete asked nonchalantly. Still dumbfounded, he couldn’t be quite sure if this was just some trick the Professor was playing on him as some sort of psychological study. So, being a cautious sort, he had decided to play it cool.
“Now we return home!” Sara said with a cheerful grin. “Forget the rest of the semester. You’re getting an A. Go enjoy yourself. I gotta prepare for a little expedition.”
********
It was just like the first time. Only this time the newbies were seeming to insist that this was more their expedition than hers. Sara was possessive about her accomplishments. Pete was enjoying himself. Mostly kept to himself while adding a quip or two to the ongoing conversation from time to time. He seemed to be more interested in Rachel than actually having a conversation. At least Pete didn’t babble away.
Sara had found someone to look after her condo in about 2 weeks and hired on her friend Scott, one of the best quantum mechanistic of her generation, to work on a scaled down version of her large wormhole creation device and managed . He recommended a geologist so Rachel had ended up joining the group as well.
Pete, after deciding that this has been no psychological test but the real deal, had called back and practically insisted that he was the best man for handling the instruments citing his recent progression from regular flying to combat jet flying training as making him the best qualified for handling the navigation and flight requirements of the new system.
Then at the last minute she decided to take on a Biologist, David, in case they found anything living such as bacteria or singled celled lifeforms like those that had been found on Mars.
So with a crew of 4, Sara was feeling uncertain about whether her small craft with it’s one passenger cabin and restroom could handle all five of them. But hey! That was part of the adventure! She told herself constantly.
“OK, we’re ready for launch.” Scott exclaimed excitedly as Pete and Sara did a preflight systems check in the pilot's cabin.
*****
Everyone was on high alert. Word had come around that a strange craft had entered thier solar system and disappeared.
They had sent up an attack force to deal with the potential threat but in the 2 days it had taken in mobilizing thier often misused and long forgotten space force, the craft had disappeared.
They still couldn't believe it would be the denizens of their neighboring planet the booroo. They had bombarded that civilization from space while they were still in their industrial age so there was no way they could have a space craft that seemed to be more efficient than their own.They had decided they had only one choice left.
The invasion of Booroopo has begun.
****
“It worked!” Exclaimed Scott euphorically. “We did it!” Rachel exclaimed, “I don’t believe it!”
Pete grinned and Sara sighed. Scott and Rachel had been talking non-stop and with the almost verbatim repetition of what happened earlier, the first time when she had first made the experiment work, Sara was beginning to feel like she had taken too large of a crew on.
“OK”. Sara said her spirits rising as she saw the planetary system. “Prepare to the planet and set down on it’s moon. By now the drone and robot I sent ahead should have built the dome.”
Just then Rachel started laughing hysterically. “That’s what I was worried about” Rachel said a look of disbelief in her eyes. “What?” asked Sara as she pushed off the side window and moved towards the one Rachel was staring through.
“Aliens” Rachel giggle.
“Impossible!” David exclaimed.
“No way” Scott said being way too happy about it once again.
“This can’t possibly be good”, Sara said as she noticed the cluster of round ships heading towards them, rocket plumes at thier back.
The only one silent was Pete. He took a good long look at the alien fleet or armada as it moved towards them and decided that this was what he was here for. He moved to the pilot's chair.
“OK, guys. Everyone needs to get into their seat and buckle up. Sara can you please reset the wormhole generator so we can get out of her quickly.”
Suddenly everyone realized they might be in trouble and scrambled for their seats.
“You know it takes 2 hours for the battery to recharge” Sara said with fear beginning to creep into her voice.Within seconds a large vessel was looming large in their viewport and Pete tried to change their trajectory but it was too late.
“That’s what I was afraid of,” Said Pete with soft sigh.”Let's see how fast these alien ships can move”.
With that Pete switched to full speed & aimed to circle the 4th planet of the system and then head off for the moon base camp which they might be able to blow up as a decoy to escape.
“I’m glad you’re so calm about this”. David was scared. More than he had ever been in his life. His skin burned with fear and horror. Yes, he was a Xenobiologist and alien life forms was his specialty but this was crazy. He didn’t really believe in intelligent alien life forms because he had never seen one. It was the scientific thing to do in his profession.
“We should meet up and talk to them” Scott said excitedly.”They are an alien life form! We can learn so much”.
“Shut up Scott”. Sara had had enough of Scott's continuous excitement especially under these circumstances “It is one thing to make contact with an alien species in a field or meeting tribal like natives on the planet's surface, but if you would look you might notice that this is an army. A space faring army.”
Sara spoke in a monotone as if she was observing the situation from far away. Clearly she was just under control, though Pete. But hopefully enough to get the wormhole generator back up.
Look!” Rachel exclaimed, “The second planet has more vessels around them and they seem to be bombing the surface. We probably walked into a war.”
“Good news! We managed to outpace that fleet and… oh no!” Pete’s good news had become very bad news. They had circled the planet at full speed and come up on another group of vessels.
It happened so fast they were in too much shock to think. That couldn’t possibly be the side wall being cranked upon like a tin can could it?
“We’re screwed” David said in shock.
“Shut up.” Said Pete angrily. “Stay strong everyone, we can get through this. Everything will be fine”.
“I hope so.” Said a forlorn looking Rachel. “I knew something was gonna go wrong. I kept having a bad feeling about this trip. I just never thought it would be aliens.”
“O God!” Pete had come around to a better position to welcome the aliens as peacefully as possible and was staring through the gap in the shuttle wall in horror.
At least they seem to have a tunnel connecting thier ship to hers, Sara thought in a sort of dissociated way as if she were outside her body. That was why all the air hadn't rushed out of the cabin. Then she saw them.
Rachel screamed again and again. Scott just fainted with no preamble whatsoever. David was breathing hard.
That’s not an alien. Sara thought in a shocked voice. That’s an insect in a suit of armor! Then she started laughing hysterically.
*****
All five of the planetary hives of the Great Nations were on high alert. Word had passed around at lightning speed that the strange large metalic craft had not come from the Booroo but from another plant altogether on a mission of exploration while testing a new military weapon! These foreign beings has come to their planet across the ocean of space to conquer them or they would eventually. It’s what they had done to their neighbours. Everyone knew that they must learn as much about this alien life form as quickly as possible and subjugate them before they got subjugated themselves. The 5 Great Hive Nations declared war on the new race from across the stars. It had begun.
*****
When Sara awoke it was all dark. She could hear some whirring noises but no lights. As her eyes adjusted she noticed the ceiling was glowing a slight greenish color and she seemed to be sitting in some sort of chair. Her mouth went dry and she recalled what had happened.
“Can anyone hear me?” Sara said out loud and was greeted with a grunt.
“We can all hear you. Now be quite our captors don’t like it when we talk. I’ll try and fill you up on what has happened.”
That was good old Pete again. Always there with calm advice. She was glad she added the lanky but confident student to her group. But did she detect pain in his voice?
“I was the first to awake after they knocked us out” Pete said in a hushed strained voice.
“I have no idea where Scott is but David seems to have fallen silent after his interrogation. I think Rachel is dead.”
Sara’s helt fell. “What do you mean?”
“It’s simple, Sara. They want our technology because they feel we are a threat. It’s probably why Scott has disappeared. Didn’t you say you had brought him on the mission to replicate the device into something that didn’t fill your entire storage space?”
“Yes”
“Well, I think they figured it out”.
“How? Do they speak English?”
Pete laughed despite himself and immediately shut up.
“No hun. Now what I’m going to say is gonna sound scary but you need to listen to me or what happened to Rachel could happen to you.”
“OK” Sara felt relieved there was a way not to die.
“They communicate by inserting a device into various points on our head and body and then using a device of their own to communicate how they are feeling with images and actual emotion. There may have been a learning curve involved and since Rachel was the first that may have been the reason for her death. Though her squirming and screaming couldn’t have helped.”
Sara started crying.
“So be calm. Don’t move. And for heaven's sake be open to whatever emotion and image they get through to you in that machine of theirs.” Pete was sounding even more strained as if helping Sara was all that was keeping him together.
*****
The Afreenu had seen enough to know one thing for certain. This was an advanced culture with technology they didn’t have. They had thier flesh on the outside rather than on the inside as was normal. Thier first subject had clearly proven that.
That was enough information to determine that this was a national security threat and if there's one thing the Afreenu enjoyed more than peace it was war. A time of glory. Of conquest. Of new lands and technology. Not like the intellectually inferior species on the planet boorooopu, who bore a striking resemblance to this invaders, in that they too were stuck on the ground like a simple hive labourer in that they had no wings. An inferior species of some sort with technology to threaten the Afreenu. Time had come to attack and take what they needed to determine the civilization was destroyed or that they were not a threat.
Afreenu scientists claimed that they could make one of the fleshy - inside out - bipeds make devices that could do what the invaders ships had done. Travel far distances in the blink of an eye. As soon as that information was received, in another part of the planet, old dusty factories were fired up. Shipyards were brought back online. Because if there was one thing the Afreenu could could efficiently with thier hive mind was coordinate the whole species to attain specific goals in short periods of time.
*****
Colonel John looked at his screen in disbelief. There were asteroids heading right towards him. Huge ones. But that was impossible! Only a hour ago that space had been cleared.
“Zeta to Ground control. I think we have a problem”
*****
“Her staff at the University is saying she took a trip through a wormhole with all 4 missing people.”
Detective Bronson took the news matter-of-factly. There was no such thing as wormholes so he could dismiss that story at once. Unfortunately, that was his only lead so now he had to go to Professor Sara’s private condo and check out her personal lab.
He stared at the chief in his black uniform arrayed with his various medals. The years showing in the creases on his face and his white hair.
“You’re kidding, right?”
The chief look over at Detective Bronson from his screen. He had just been promoted and his blue uniform was crumpled as if he had slept in it. He hated Bronson's lack of cleanliness but his rugged good looks got him past allot of doors, since women seemed to control most of them and they seemed to like his blonde rakish looks. So Bronson had become Chief Robinsons go to guy for dealing with corporations and universities where women dominated.
“This is no joke.” Chief Robinson looked over his spectacles grimly. He was probably the last person in the world not to get his his fixed so he wouldn’t need glasses but he like it that way. He didn’t want to lasers in his eye. “You better go up and take a look at her apartment”.
Detective Bronson stood in Professor Sara’s apartment in disbelief. There was the blueprint of a wormhole generator on one wall with a machine that looked remarkably similar to the design on one side of the indoor hangar Sara had had installed.
“Hey chief! I think they may really have had obliterated themselves in some wormhole experiment” The detective said into his wrist communicator when the Chief answered.
“Nevermind that. I got a call from the office of General Classen”
“Who”
“A general in the air force”
“Oh”
He said that they wanted to confirm that a Professor Sara Anderson was missing and when I told em she was and we have a guy looking into it, they insisted on taking down her address and sending thier own team out there. Don’t for a moment think you can start a fight with the Feds like you did the last time Detective Bronson. If they want the apartment they can have it. I’m withdrawing all claims of jurisdiction.
“Yes sir” sighed Bronson. Last time had been a disaster.
Sure enough he could hear cars screeching outside the window. The Feds had arrived.
*****
General Classen was awoke with the ringing.
“I’m coming, I’m coming” he grumbled to the phone which couldn’t hear him anyways since he had turned the voice command functions off. He liked it that way. Phones weren't supposed to talk back to you.
“I’m here” the General barked into the phone. If he was being called this late by headquarters it had to be important.
“We have a report from Space Station Zeta that there are extremely large asteroids on a collision course to the station and Earth”
“What! I thought we have sensors to warn us months if not years in advance”
“Yes sir, we initially thought these may have been hidden behind some planetary mass and somehow approached unnoticed.”
“And now?”
“We think they might be ships”
“Why is that?”
“Cause we just received a message from the asteroids. Sir”
“I’m on my way.”
“That’s strange,” said the Ann, General’s wife to her daughter as she watched Tom run towards a military vehicle that had shown up in the middle of the night. “He always wears his uniform when he leaves, even on emergencies. I hope everything is OK!”
*****
“General Classen! Welcome to the emergency bunker.” The President said nonchalantly
“What is this I’m hearing about aliens?”
‘See for yourself” said the Prez as as he played back the recording
“Hi,” said a disheveled and frightened woman on the screen with a glowing green background with multiple wires attached to her head and body
“My name is Professor Sandra Anderson of Princeton University, just call me Sara, everyone does. In short, I built a wormhole generation device, I call it a WGD, and decided to check out a planetary cluster I saw on my first successful experiment. I didn't tell anyone what I was up to. I’m so sorry.”
The screen crackled and the General could hear a thrumming sound in the background.
The screen focused again and there was another line running from her head and she seemed to be crying.
“The Afree want me to tell you they want your surrender.” Sara said calmly.
There was another crackle and when she reappeared she had another a red line emerging across her cheek.
‘Friggin insects I mean what beautiful beings you are’ Sara seemed to say off to the side at one of her captors and then turned her head towards the camera
“I mean Afreenu. They are like large insects, similar to hornet back on earth, and communicate mentally. Probably psychic in nature but they are technologically savvy enough…”
Screen crackled again
She had a grin on her face as if she had just figured out the funniest joke in the world.
“They have accepted you surrender and are landing ships around major population centers
We seem to have lost something in translation. Maybe they are saying you should surrender by the time we land. In any case, this is going to be our only message. Sorry to whoever hears this and i’m sorry for what I have done.” Now Sara was weeping openly.
“What do you think”? Asked the President.
The General had paled but seem to gather himself together.
“I think she’s in shock”
“Yeah, well, that’s a given.”
“Yeah, so where are the ships? In those asteroids?” Asked the General.
“Actually, the closest asteroid has started circling earth, so we’re guessing the asteroids ARE their ships, somehow... we have Sara’s schematics of her wormhole device and a half built prototype so I have a team working on making her invention work. I want you to prepare an action report to prepare our army for an alien invasion of unknown capability.” The President had clearly been thinking this through carefully.
Yes sir.” General classen thought for a second and replied, “I guess we should call up all our emergency reserves and the National Guard while I put together a network of manufacturing and science teams. I’m confident we can beat this threat”
“We are detecting a landing in the middle of Africa, Mr President.” came the sullen voice of the secretary through the comm.
“Largest continent. Makes sense.” Said the President,
“Let's see what we have here. Put up the stalittle feed.” Said General Classen frowning.
The satellite feed came on. Then everything went dark, including the lights. When emergency lights kicked in there was no satellite feed. The invasion has begun.
*****
The Afreenu began their subjugation campaign of these strange beings that had intruded upon thier lives. The Afreenu were methodical in their conquest. They started landing early in the morning in waves. Always at dawn. Always big cities at a time. Always in waves. The invasion lasted for about 10 days. Weapons worked. But there were always more alien ships. The army estimated they had killed at least 10 million alien ships but they still kept on coming. While the technology wasn’t so powerful as to make the alien invaders invincible they did have numbers of the kind which was just incredible. No weapon could wipe them out. When Governments started calling for nukes their nuclear installation were invaded in swarms as if they were waiting for the order or maybe they could follow radio waves. No one knew how but no nuclear weapons had taken off. Some had exploded but didn’t seem to get farther from the ground than a few hundred feet, so the devastation was the other incredible thing that was happening.
The cities became black holes. No information was getting in or out. The suburbs were in turmoil and mass migrations had begun to the countryside. People in the countryside had begun to dig in. Still others headed out into the forests to set up bunkers and “rebel” bases as they were sure would be needed at some time in the future if anyone ever figured out how to stop these invaders. Nevertheless some people had decided to die fighting for their freedoms while others had limits, lines they would not cross, which generally began and ended with any danger to their lives so they were prepared to surrender as soon as they were asked to. Many were praying for just that, a message to surrender. So far there had been no communication between the people and the aliens that anyone knew of, just more cities disappearing under a cloud of smog that became impenetrable… at least, no one who went in ever returned.
Copyright A.E.Abedi
Food for thought:
No comments:
Post a Comment