Bermuda Part One
By A.H.Treadwell
Copyright 2011 Anthony Hugh Treadwell
Published by Anthony Hugh Treadwell at Smashwords
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, brands, media, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. The author acknowledges the trademarked status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owners.
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Bermuda Part One
By A.H.Treadwell
Chapter One
January 28th 2080 - Elvien craft 'The Veridian' in high orbit above Earth.
Thalian looked at the view screen excitedly, rising from his large white chair in the middle of the command centre. Several of his colleagues at their consoles also looked excited by the discovery they had made several hours ago.
“Look at it!” exclaimed Thalian slowly as he grinned, placing his large fingers on his waist “It’s beautiful, don’t you agree Sims?” asked Thalian placing a hand on his friend's shoulder continuing to look at the large view screen in front of them.
“It certainly is Captain!” agreed Sim’s the first officer of the Elvien Craft the Veridian.
“This will make us famous my friend, all of us. Everyone on the ship will be remembered by our people for its discovery!” announced Thalian as he excitedly strolled around the command centre addressing those crew members present. They returned his enthusiasm with warm smiles and nods in agreement, their faces almost identical but for slight variations of markings on them and a tattooed symbol of what was their family crest on their forehead. Thalian sighed contentedly sitting back in the large seat he had left moments ago.
“Calara juice hot!” ordered Thalian pressing a button on the arm of his chair and awaiting the arrival of his order on the silver disc facing upward on the end of the arm rest. Several seconds later an unusual shaped glass long and thin with a slight twist appeared on the silver disc in a flicker of light. The glass had within it a blue liquid; he picked it up and held it with two of his large grey fingers.
“Everyone, please, please!” he motioned as he used his other hand offering that they order the same beverage. Less than a minute later all ten of the crew held the same kind of glass with the blue liquid inside in front of them, waiting for their Captain to speak once more. The blue liquid within was similar to that of an Earthly alcoholic drink and the occasion he felt warranted such a beverage, for not once in the millennia that the Elvien’s had been travelling through space had they discovered anything quite like this. Thalian stood once more as the crew turned from where they were sat or stood to face him.
“We’ve been out here a long time!” began Thalian thoughtfully as he addressed the crew present with more serious tone creeping into his voice. “I want to thank each of you for your efforts, your contribution to this crew and more importantly your obedience to my orders even though at times you may not have agreed!” he continued pausing for several seconds.
“This is an exciting time, a very exciting time for all of us on this ship. A chance for us to befriend a new species, to exchange knowledge and to make first contact! Endless possibilities await us!” he announced allowing the excitement back into his tone slightly.
“To new discoveries and enduring glory!” he announced raising his glass in front of him to toast the crew. They repeated his words and drank the beverage they each had in one gulp. Thalian sighed placing the glass back on the silver disc seconds later disappearing.
“Communications make contact with the council and report our discovery!” he ordered to the female crew member to his left who turned back around where she sat to face her console and immediately began tapping the black and green surface to raise a response.
“Establishing a connection Captain!” she reported still looking at her console. Her voice was soft and elegant as she spoke and she wore the standard uniform of the ship which consisted of a white jumpsuit of fine quality fabric with a black stripe which ran from the neck down to the sleeves of the arms and from under the arm from the top straight down the sides of the body and legs to the bottom of the trouser legs. On the left breast of the uniform the name of the ship was written in black writing in the Elvien Language along with the gold and silver emblem of Elumina the home world of the Elvien’s. The uniform was the same for everyone on the ship but varied depending on which ship you served. The uniform of the Decimus, the sister ship of the Veridian consisted of the reverse colors of the Veridian uniform but with the same emblem and the name of the Decimus in the Elvien Language and the Uniform of the Sorrentina consisted of blue with the stripes in white and the name of the ship in white also. It was the intention of the Council to distinguish the uniform to reflect what ship you served on however this was rumored to change and all uniforms would be the same. Although the progress of this transgression was unknown to the crew of the Veridian as they had been travelling through space for over 3 years but were shortly due to return. The only contact they had was to update the Council on their current status and submit a monthly report on their findings. The crew were however allowed two slots weekly to send messages to family or loved ones back on their home world whenever the signal permitted. Each ship was fitted with a powerful sensor which would pick up and detect buoys floating in space and transmit data. Any information transmitted would bounce from buoy to buoy until it reached the Home world which was light-years away. The return Journey would take them nearly one year to complete back to Elumina in order to debrief and re crew. The purpose of the Veridian was to explore and discover and in the three years that they had already been in space and away from home they had amassed hundreds of thousands of data files that were kept within the central network of the Veridian’s powerful computer core and it was encrypted so that no one but the captain and first officer could access it simultaneously with each of their handprints.
“Captain, we are unable to establish a stable connection with Elumina!” reported the female officer to Thalian’s left.
He sighed disappointedly: “Can you make any kind of transmission?” he asked desperately.
“We can try sir but I doubt it will be clear. Even if we get a response to it, it may be unreadable!” replied the female. Thalian studied her face thoughtfully before answering.
“Try, and let's see what you get back!” he ordered. “What is the reason for the interference?” asked Thalian interestedly as they had not yet encountered anything in their travels that had this effect on their Communications system. The female crew member tapped several of the green touch keys on the black panel before answering.
“It appears the yellow star at the centre of this system is emitting high levels of solar energy which is interfering with communications!” she replied.
“How long will it take to move far enough away to send a clear signal?” Asked Sim’s as Thalian resumed his previous stance looking at the view screen. The female tapped several more keys.
“We would need to travel to the furthermost planet of this system, according to our data stream from the satellite that passed us its name is Pluto!” reported the crew member.
“And how long?” repeated Thalian patiently, continuing to look at the view screen.
“Calculating!” she reported efficiently. “Three months at maximum speed!” she replied knowing this was not what Thalian wanted to hear. This was only the second recorded deep space mission that Elumina had ever launched. The Decimus, which was an updated model of the Veridian was still being built in the shipyards around Elumina and would not be ready for launch for a further 18 months. The Veridian was due back in just over a year and had sent a signal to the home world just before entering the solar system notifying them of their position. Thalian went over in his mind how he could get round this obstacle. It would take them a year to reach Elumina and they were due back just over a year but the three month trip out o the system and then back to their current position would put them over due and there was a chance that the Council would request them back for the Decimus to return in its place.
He had been out here too long with his crew for another Captain and his crew to reap the glory. His grey brow furrowed as he looked at the blue, white and green mixed colored sphere before him on the view screen. At the very least he thought, he wanted First Contact even if it did cost him his captaincy for acting without the council's consent and returning back to Elumina late.
He dismissed himself from the bridge leaving his first officer in command ordering them to keep their position. As he walked along the white corridor with doors to the left and right he thought long and hard about what he intended to do. He had held the rank of captain for ten years of his life and considered himself an experienced officer. A chance like this did not come around that often and he wanted the glory to be his and the crew with which he travelled. Sims, his first officer would agree this was too exciting to ignore. Thalian reached his quarters sitting in the comfy armchair that lay before a large black screen similar to the screen on the bridge, which he had just left, with several taps on the remote on the arm of the chair the blue and green sphere reappeared and he sat back watching it.
“Humans!” he uttered interestedly as lists of data regarding the planet streamed down the left side of the image which continued to rotate slowly. It was pure chance that they had arrived at their present location and discovered the planet as they were monitoring a rogue comet passing through the system. Thalian sat watching the data scroll slowly down the screen revealing the Humans history. They had been fortunate enough to tap into a passing satellite and easily bypass the systems on board to obtain data about the Earth and it's inhabitants. He wanted to study the data for a while before making a final decision about what he intended to do. The council, he felt, would almost certainly send the Decimus upon its completion back so that they could make first contact. The Veridian had been gone a long time and required refitting and repairing as it had seen plenty of action in the near four years it had been travelling. They had travelled thousands of light years encountering a great many different environments and anomalies but they had not yet found an intelligent species similar to that of their own. Though these Humans were different in size and appearance Thalian could not help but feel they shared much in common with regard to the planet's history, there had been many wars, a similarity shared by the Elvien people and the thirst for knowledge and exploration made evident by the Humans attempts to travel through space.
Thalian sighed sitting back once more. He had not made the decision to captain this ship and embark on this mission, which was of high importance to the council to turn his back on one of the most important discoveries in their people's history. Though they themselves were significantly more advanced he felt they could learn a great deal by making the Humans an ally and sharing their knowledge. By doing so it would encourage the council that travel through space was an essential part of the Elvien society and that it must continue. It was no secret that the council were disheartened by the first deep space mission their people had embarked on, having discovered no intelligent life to speak of and it had cost them a great deal of resources to make the mission a reality. It was only due to the advancement of the engine systems that they allowed a second deep space mission to take place, enabling the ship to travel faster and longer than anything they had built before. Until that Mission, exploration had been limited to the Elvien system and the mining of a number of their planet's moons giving them more resources to continue space travel.
As the small sphere on the view screen rotated slowly he imagined all of the possibilities that awaited the Elviens as a people.
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Chapter Two
Astronomy research Base – Florida January 29th 2080 11:25 am
Jack stood silently awaiting his Tutor’s reaction as he arched over the computer terminal studying the screen for any sign of what Jack had just told him.
“Well it was there last night!” protested Jack one of the trainee researchers at the Base.
“I see, and you didn’t think to place a trace marker on it to see where it went or to notify someone!” asked the Tutor. “I spend 3 years with all of you and this is the level of knowledge you have retained!?” he shouted rhetorically, frustrated with the pupil. Jack, along with the rest of the class was in their third year at the research Base and he had steadily begun to think the work was not for him.
Coming in every morning to be lectured by this man on how incompetent they all were was getting tedious and in comparison to what he potentially could have been doing he wondered at that moment why he continued to turn up.
“S-sir?!” responded a timid voice from the back of the class. The tutor looked around eyebrows raised and looking very agitated. He was an impatient man by nature anyway and had little tolerance for what he believed to be stupidity, everyday he would lose his temper over seemingly insignificant things and then proceed to ignore the class for at least thirty minutes dismissing any questions posed to him until he had snapped out of the particular mood he was in. How or why he had decided to become a lecturer Jack did not know. He was a tall man, very lean with a balding head and a large nose, most days he wore the same black suit with a white shirt and different coloured bow tie and he had worked at the Research centre for over twenty years. He was in his late fifties and clearly he had tired of the last six in which he had taken over the post of head tutor. Jack had thought once or twice about changing tutors however the reports he got from other classmates were that they were not much better.
“What is it now Belinda?” asked the Tutor wearily. Although most of the class were in their early twenties they were treated like children and more of a nuisance than the future researcher’s for the large base at which they studied.
There was a pause before the small and frightened voice spoke once more.
“Well young lady speak up we haven’t got all day!” he lectured arrogantly. Was that not why he was here thought Jack shaking his head. Across the room he studied the girl, 22 with blonde hair held in a ponytail, she wore big glasses and a brace around her teeth. Jack had never really paid her much attention but suddenly thought she could be quite pretty if she wanted to be, for what she wore to class was very dull in color and school girlish.
“It wasn’t a question Sir, the tracer you mentioned I put it on last night before I left!” she explained in her quiet voice. She had clearly done what Jack had not; it was a shame as he was more than capable of completing the task but he had been in a rush to get back and watch the Baseball game and gave little thought to putting a tracer on the object he had located in the upper atmosphere, dismissing it as a passing meteorite.
“Oh you did, did you!?” spoke the tutor sarcastically with a twisted smile. “let’s see then if anything I have taught you has sunk into that empty head of yours!” he added coldly as he leaned toward the screen of her flat monitor. She flushed red moving to allow him room as he squinted through the thick silver framed glasses he had just put on. As his eyes scrolled down the screen he pushed several keys and the screen changed producing her tracer which had formulated the shape of the object, the position of it and what its origin was likely to be. His eyes gradually widened as he realized the enormity of the findings he was viewing, he looked down the list that had appeared to the right of the image as it rotated in front of him.
“Right then, Lunch everyone!” he announced switching off the monitor quickly and turning to the group of twelve students.
“But sir, it’s only 11.25!” queried a male member of the class.
“You can have it now. Or we can work through the day until four thirty. The choice is yours!” he advised coldly placing his hands behind his back. The class although unsure started to get up and shuffle out of the relatively dark class room as continuing the class with no break at all did not sound like an idea they were willing to entertain.
As soon as the students left he switched back the monitor and placed a small data storage device into one of the ports to begin downloading the information he had just viewed. He then proceeded to delete those files from Belinda’s computer, which he had just used and hurried into his office. Several minutes later after a brief phone call another of the Tutors a man wearing a beige coloured suit stepped into the office. He too was tall with a dark brown moustache and side parted hair.
“What’s all the urgency Emil!” protested the man as he entered the office sitting on the chair in front of the Tutor’s desk. Emil, Jack’s Tutor, wore an excited smile as he rotated the monitor with ease so that his colleague could see it.
"Do you realize what this means Bruce?" asked Emil excitedly. “We are going to be famous my friend!” added Emil selfishly. The man who had just entered moved forward studying the screen closely, after several seconds he too raised his eyebrows looking from the screen to Emil who sat with his fingers pressed together sitting back in his large chair.
“This is unbelievable!” exclaimed the man quietly. “How did you find it?” he asked interestedly looking from the screen to Emil.
“One of my students put a trace marker on it last night before leaving. It was initially found by Jack!” he answered.
“Drayton?” asked Bruce seeking clarity and frowning.
“The very same my friend!” answered Emil smiling wickedly.
“I thought you said he was a brainless wonder!” exclaimed Bruce.
“I say that about all the kids!” answered Emil waving his hand as if swatting away an invisible fly. “Some of them are quite bright, but they are morons!” he added.
“Do they know about this!” asked Bruce nodding at the screen in front of him.
“I dismissed them for Lunch as soon as I realized what we could be dealing with!” advised Emil. “Finally I may be able to retire and enjoy life!” he added distantly as he stared up at the ceiling leaning back in his chair.
“This needs to go to the Pentagon right away!” replied Bruce not quite believing what he saw as he looked back at the screen.
“And it will. But first, I need your word that we will tell them we made the discovery! We’ll split the royalties whatever they may be fifty fifty, what do you say?” asked Emil, his face lighting up at the thought of being rich.
“I don’t know Emil. Rightfully the findings aren’t ours!” replied Bruce apprehensively.
“Don’t be a fool Bruce. How long have we worked here on minimal pay! I’m due to retire in three years, you think the payout from this place is going to give me the life I deserve!” answered Emil bitterly.
“Well no, but we are all in the same situation!” contested Bruce. “What about the other Tutors?” he asked.
“Damn the others. You and I can come out of this with a fortune, enough so Margaret can have that operation the government won’t pay for!” tempted Emil trying to get his colleague to see sense. Bruce sat thoughtfully stroking his thick moustache. His wife Margaret had been wheel chair bound for five years thanks to a hit and run driver who had careered into them drunkenly on the way home from one of the balls that the base used to hold once a year. The accident resulted in Bruce escaping with a fractured arm and a broken nose, whilst Margaret had been paralyzed from the waist down, which had taken an enormous toll on their once very happy marriage. It had also rendered them unable to have children together, a fact which over the years had begun to drive them apart. Being in their early forties they could both still adopt and the operation on Margaret’s back would mean the use of her legs once again and the ability, as she had put it, to be a proper mother.
He continued looking at Emil thoughtfully. Unlike his friend and colleague whose bitterness for some reason had grown over the years, he was motivated by the thought of being able to bond with his wife once more and be happy as they had always been before the accident.
“Alright Emil, let’s do it!” conceded Bruce. He knew it was wrong, taking the discovery of something as big as this from another and he silently vowed to ensure the boy would receive some of whatever fortune they would be awarded with.
"I'll get General Hanks on the phone!" advised Emil as both Men looked at the image which made up the skeleton structure of the Veridian craft high above them.
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The Veridian – 29th January 2080 11:30am
Thalian walked through the white metal door with two large oval window panes leading to the command centre of his ship. He looked around as most of the crew faced him looking for new orders or a direction as to what he wanted them to do. He paused thoughtfully in the centre of the large room.
“Is there any indication that they know we are here?!” asked Thalian. Several of the crew began busying themselves to find the answer. A male officer to his right turned back to him to speak:
“Although we can’t make out the language we are fairly certain that the Humans do not know of our presence!” he advised turning back to the console.
“Captain, we are attempting to interlink with the Humans computer network to try and translate some of their language so we are able to communicate our intent!” advised the female Communications officer to his left. He smiled, they already knew of his intentions. This was likely due to Sims his first officer who he had known for eight years. He turned to Sims who had appeared at his side.
“You know me too well old friend!” he smiled turning his head slightly to address Sims.
“No harm in being prepared Captain, although as first officer I feel obliged to point out that without the consult of the council our presence or contact with these beings is prohibited!” advised Sims already aware that Thalian had considered this. He simply nodded once to show he had understood.
A serious expression filled Thalian’s grey face. He turned around walking several paces to his chair and sat down keying several digits on the console situated on the arm.
“All crewmen, this is the Captain speaking. As you know yesterday morning we entered the orbit of a planet very similar to that of our own. Upon preliminary scans we have found that this Planet, Earth, is home to a species known as Humans. Although not as advanced as our own civilisation there is much we can learn from them and they appear to be an intelligent race. It is my intention to make first contact with them. If we do not do so now another crew will claim the discovery and we will have lost our chance to make history and gain a potential ally. I am well aware of the repercussions for my actions and I alone will assume full responsibility rendering the rest of this crew blameless! Any objections will be noted in the ship’s databanks! Thalian out.” He finished standing once again deep in thought about what he was about to do. He had spent a sleepless night deciding what action to take and although he had a family back on Elumina the most he would get as punishment for not consulting the council would be having his captaincy revoked.
“Helm, move to a low orbit and enter the atmosphere!” he ordered the male officer sat in front of the view screen.
“Yes sir!” obeyed the male as the ship began to move toward Earth and the image of the planet got bigger in the view screen.
“Communications send out a signal, all frequencies, and all languages known to us. Tell whoever picks it up that we are on a mission of peace to make first contact!” commanded Thalian. The officer began tapping furiously at her console to obey the instruction.
“It will be several minutes Captain before the signal will transmit in the Human language!” she advised and Thalian nodded to acknowledge.
“What do you think of this plan?” asked Thalian as Sims turned to look at him from his own seat at the captain’s side.
“We are breaking orders. The result of it could mean your Captaincy is taken away and you would undoubtedly be suspended from active service. However, we have travelled the stars for over three years. We are only the second deep space mission ever launched in our planets history and we are the only ship that has journeyed this far into space. If you are happy with the risk of never captaining a star craft again, so should the crew with your orders!” advised Sims reassuringly and firmly. Thalian nodded as he looked at the view screen.
“Entering the atmosphere captain, we may hit turbulence for a short time!” advised the helmsman.
“Understood, take us in!” he replied confidently as the ship began to shake penetrating the Earth’s upper atmosphere. The image of Earth on the view screen began to fade to orange as the heat from entering the atmosphere enveloped the ship. As they sat waiting the hull let out a loud groan all around them and several consoles nearly emitted sparks and burned out. The crew members nearby extinguished the flames that had quickly developed from the small explosion.
“How much more of this Helmsman?” asked the Captain, concerned for the welfare of the ship. It had after all been nearly four years since its last service in the shipyards and he wondered of all the anomalies they had encountered how it had affected the ship itself and its integrity.
“Ten seconds sir!” shouted the helmsman over the loud groans and creeks from the wear of the hull against the atmosphere and the heat.
“Communications, has the signal been transmitted?” he asked over the noise.
“Yes sir but only partially!” she replied as her console exploded causing her to fall from her seat onto the white floor. Thalian quickly got up to help her but she was unconscious.
“Medical, Dr Triasta to the Bridge!” shouted Sims pressing a button on the console at his seat. Thalian felt the pulse in her long neck; she was still alive, though only part of their message had been delivered. The ship shook violently causing several of the crew to cling to their consoles. Another explosion nearby caused the crew to try and shield themselves as ne flames sprang up from the console. A crewman nearby quickly moved toward the flames struggling to keep his balance and began to extinguish them. The lights on the bridge which had momentarily gone out were restored as the noise around them died down and the ship began to glide through the Earth air thousands of feet above the surface. The ship itself was over seven hundred meters long and two hundred meters wide forming a triangular shape. It was made of Corvos metal, derived from one of the moon’s that orbited Elumina and it was hard and extremely durable against most elements or obstacles it was put against. The view screen came back to life showing bright blue sky and wisps of white cloud.
“It looks just like Elumina!” exclaimed Sims as the form of a land mass entered the view of the screen in the far distance.
“Yes it does!” agreed Thalian looking in aware at the image that lay on the screen as the ship maintained its course smoothly. The doctor appeared on the bridge and immediately advised her assistants to place the fallen crew member onto the stretcher they had brought with them.
"I need a damage report as soon as is possible Sims!" advised Thalian continuing to look at the screen ahead.
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Chapter Three
Department of Defense Washington – January 29th 2080 11:50am
As midday approached Major Johnson stood with his hands behind his back awaiting acknowledgement patiently. The General, a middle aged man with graying hair and a breast full of medals stood in front of him leaning over an administrative officer who was not fond of the smoke from the cigar the general had in his hand.
“Major Johnson!” began the general with his back still turned as he straightened looking at the large flat screen at the forefront of the room showing a map of the United states and several satellite images correcting themselves due to their distortion.
“Yes sir!?” replied the Major obediently.
“Damn fine work out their boy, damn fine work!” exclaimed the general turning to face him. “I’ll see you and your unit get a medal for that!” advised the general beaming as he perched on the end of the desk he had just loomed over.
“What’s left of them sir. I’m sure they will be honored!” replied Major Johnson mutinously. The General’s expression changed slightly flickering of annoyance before he returned to his beaming smile.
“Come to my office!” instructed the General as he led the way past a row of consoles with other uniformed staff sat busy doing whatever it was that they did. The Major followed keeping pace up a flight of stairs and along the platform situated on the right of the large room running to the end of the wall on which the large screen was situated. They passed several doors before the General opened the one leading to his office and sat down behind his desk. He motioned for the Major to sit down however he showed his preference to stand by resuming his previous stance.
“Have I done something to offend you Major?” asked the general unconcerned but more out of social etiquette for there was something clearly on Major Johnson’s mind as he remained rigid in position.
“Not exactly sir!” replied Major Johnson calmly.
“Then why, when a senior officer has courteously asked you to sit do you still stand?” asked the General whose patience was waning.
“I was sat for most of the trip here s...”
“Sit down!” shouted the General before Johnson could finish. He begrudgingly obeyed sitting on the seat the other side of the general’s desk.
“That’s better!” taunted the General beaming once more. He was clearly a man who liked to be listened to and did not tolerate the slightest of insubordination; as a result he lacked people skills and never joined in any of the jokes or outings socially with colleagues. He was also a man of little patience observed Major Johnson as he looked at his superior; he still wore a mutinous expression and wanted to convey his own thoughts and feelings for they had been weighing him down since the mission he and his men had undertaken less than a week ago. A mission given to him by the General himself.
“Well, let’s hear it!” said the General expecting the Major’s outlook on the mission as he sat back waiting for the response.
“That mission was suicide Sir, ill thought out and disproportionate to the outcome!” advised the Major calmly.
“Go on!” urged the General as he puffed on his cigar seemingly taking little notice of the Major’s concerns.
“Fifteen of us went in and only five came out. Because of Intelligence that a Splinter group of Mexicans have banded with the Colombians and are developing nuclear weapons?!” advised the Major who clearly did not believe the intelligence had any weight to it.
“You’re not permitted to know of the bigger picture Major!” advised the General impatiently as he put out his cigar leaning forward. “You will go where I tell you to go, Do what I tell you to do and carry out whatever order I see fit to give or you will suffer the consequences, which for your information will not be pleasant. I didn’t get where I am crying about lost comrades or the morality or legality of a mission. I got to where I am because I didn’t give a damn and I got the job done. Now get out of my office and think about how you address me in future!” growled the General with gritted teeth.
Major Johnson remained rigid looking into the General’s eyes and realizing fully what he had suspected all along, that the General did not cherish life as he did and evidently only cared about completing a mission despite the losses and fulfilling the goal in its entirety. Nevertheless Johnson was still puzzled about the plans he and his men had procured and the secrecy surrounding them, they had not been sent specifically to retrieve them however as they were the only documents that looked remotely like plans for weaponry in that dusty and very messy office he thought it prudent to ensure their safe keeping. He continued to look at the General defiantly as he remembered briefly the sudden change in the General’s voice when he had reported the findings and the urgency in which he wanted the team returned to American soil. Too late, thought Johnson as ten of the fifteen men had already been killed and although they had returned a little under a week ago he continued to think it strange that the blueprints they had found seemed to have been protected by the enemy within the structure which they had successfully infiltrated.
His thoughts were interrupted by a female voice as she entered the room
“Sir!?” she began as the general looked round Johnson.
“What?” barked the General as Major Johnson got up and began to walk out of the room as instructed. The woman who had entered wore the same kind of uniform but was clearly a lower rank than he. The Major had served with the U.S Army for over ten years and was nearing his thirtieth birthday. He had just returned from a mission during which he had lost ten of his unit, which he was furious about. Had it been for a loftier cause he would not have felt the officer’s who were killed died in vain however they had been out numbered 15 to one despite the intelligence they had been given that the fortress they had to penetrate held no more than 50 people. The overall result was a poor one for there were no signs of any kind of nuclear weapons or even the development of them however they had discovered something entirely different, designs for a large structure, which the Major nor any of his men had any clue as to what the designs were for, although they were of a scientific nature. Nevertheless his superiors felt that the mission had been a success even though the loss of life was two-thirds their compliment.
“Major!” called the General, leaning over the piece of paper he had just been handed as the woman to his left stood to attention.
“Sir?!” replied the Major turning around to face the General once more as he had begun to leave the room.
“I have a new task for you, close the door!” advised the general sitting back in his seat taking up the piece of paper and studying it.
“What the hell is it?” asked the General quietly and rhetorically as he studied the satellite images and the data he had been handed looking confused. It was something he had never seen before in his thirty years in the army, from what he had seen during those years this object appeared to him to be a jet or plane of some kind as he twisted and turned the image before him inclining his head to make more sense of it. “What’s its heading?” asked the General.
“Heading toward the Eastern Seaboard, E.T.A one hour Sir!” replied the female still at attention. The general raised his eyebrows looking at the Major as though he’d been caught by surprise. “All of our systems have gone down too Sir, there’s only a strange message on our screens, I don’t know what it is!”
The General pressed several keys powering up his own system confirming what the woman had just told him. On it was an unfinished message in a language he had never seen before.
“Assemble a team Major, alert the Navy to be on guard and the Air force, intercept it and find out what the hell it is!” ordered the General.
“Yes Sir!” replied the Major as he turned walking quickly out of the room into the main hub where they had been minutes before. He walked along the elevated railings turning left down a long white corridor, which had pictures on the wall of Army and Air Force men and women who had served their country distinctively. It was his dream to one day be on this wall or one similar where people could read about the accomplishments he had in his career. As he retrieved his phone from his side pocket as he walked he punched in the number of his second in command Miles Banks.
“Miles, gather what men you can, we have incoming, and tell Perry to make sure the choppers are fuelled!” he ordered as he made a right into the large reception crossing the large image of the eagle on the shiny floor. He quickly jumped into the waiting jeep and the driver pulled off to the barracks five miles away.
“Trouble Major?!” asked the inquisitive and young man sitting in the driver seat.
“We’ll soon find out!” replied the Major cryptically as he did not know what it was he would be intercepting with his men as was the way most of the time he thought as he anxiously read the document he had been given.
Several radio messages later after alerting the Air Force and Navy Johnson arrived at the Barracks hurrying into the hanger and through to the briefing room where his men were assembled in full combat gear ready to intercept the craft.
“Good Morning!” greeted the major walking into the room and to the large whiteboard past the desks all lined neatly in rows of 8. There were about thirty men in their company who were sat patiently, some chewing gum and others twisting their pen in their hand awaiting their orders.
“Darcy, when you’re ready please!” requested the Major to the woman at the back of the room operating the projector. The lights went out in the room and a map appeared on the whiteboard behind him. This was however no ordinary map, depending on what sector you wanted to view it would show it in 2-d, 3-d or you could manipulate it to show paths, roads, the interior of buildings, nearly anything. The colors varied from green to blue to yellow each representing a different element to the map.
“Zoom out!” requested the Major as he studied the map to get his bearings. As the map became smaller a black object appeared moving steadily toward the Eastern United States Seaboard.
“This is our target! Origin unknown, we have been ordered to intercept it and find out what it is. Command believe it to be some kind of Jet, they are talking with the EU and Russian and Chinese governments as we speak!” advised the Major.
"Wow, that's a first!" called out one of the men, knowing that he had voiced what everyone was thinking. The governments rarely collaborated or even spoke these days and so to be making contact with them now was a surprise to them all.
“What do we do when we find this thing?” asked another of the men in the group before him.
“Attempt to make contact, protect our shores if necessary, those are the orders!” advised the Major. “Any more questions?” he asked looking around the room, he always hated this part simply because half of the time he only knew as much as they did and was kept in the dark about aspects of most missions that the General felt was ‘need to know’ only. They looked back at him accepting that he could only tell them what he knew; one of the men to the rear of the group raised his hand.