Species 5319: First Contact

By Dalton S. Hendra

For the first time in human history, a day that many hoped would come and many more dreaded has arrived. Aliens have made first contact with a chaotic and divided Earth. The leaders of the world have a long list of questions for the extraterrestrial visitors, although none of them can be answered until first contact is officially made. Communicating with the new visitors proves far more challenging than many thought and falls on the shoulders of Dr. Malcolm McKinnon and his team. Can they establish communications before drastic and irreversible action is taken by the military? Is it even possible to talk to an alien species that has a language system unlike anything humanity has experienced before? Failure is not an option and yet victory does not seem possible in the circumstances. The gripping sequel to Species 5319: Arrival is an adventure unlike anything experienced by humanity before.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dalton S. Hendra
• Release date: Feb 15, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463725580

Dalton S. Hendra

Dalton S. Hendra is a science fiction writer based in Canada. He enjoyed watching TV shows and movies and being in nature, especially at the beach. Dalton S. Hendra is a pseudonym.

Book preview

Chapter 1: Fox News, Washington, DC

So let’s recap where we are right now, the anchor said as he looked down at his notes. President Jeffrey Wallace has lost the election to Scott Kinley, the Republican Governor of Texas. Republicans will control the White House and have secured a majority in the House of Representatives while the Democrats still control the Senate. And we can’t forget that history will be made when Virginia Governor Andrea Dease is sworn in as this country’s first female Vice President in a few short months. For more analysis on the race and what it means for America we turn to our political panel, who have been working through the night to bring you the latest coverage.

This is a historic night but it’s also more of the same, a pro-Republican panellist replied as he shook his head. President Kinley is going to have to deal with a split Congress and that means he is going to struggle to get any of his agenda passed. Right now the Senate is 52 to 48 in favour of the Democrats and I don’t see that changing. I do not see two Democrats switching sides to support his tax reform agenda, for example, and definitely not right to work. We’re going to see partisan bickering and political stalemate continue and that is bad for all Americans and bad for this country. His first challenge is dealing with the crippling economic recession and that is going to consume a lot of his time.

But it’s good for most taxpayers if his radical tax plan doesn’t go anywhere, a Wallace supporter retorted. "His so-called flat tax is a tax hike on the majority of Americans. It’s going to make the system even more unfair and is going to reduce tax revenue, driving up the deficit even higher! Congress is not going to support it, it’s dead on arrival and Republicans know it. That two-person Senate majority will enable the Democrats to protect social programs Americans depend on to survive from dangerous cuts proposed by Republicans, so thank God for that at least.

Kinley is going to have an even more difficult time getting anything done compared to Wallace since Wallace had, uhh, two years where the Democrats controlled Congress. Back in Texas, Kinley had a Republican majority and could get any bill he wanted passed. That’s not the case now, he is going to have to negotiate for everything and that’s something he’s not used to. That partisan stalemate you referred to is going to get even worse since neither Kinley nor his team have any experience in Washington and …

He has experience negotiating and making deals as CEO of Servico, another panellist added. Keep in mind that Servico was a large company when he sold it and he started that company from his parent’s garage. As a successful businessman he absolutely knows how to cut a deal and that is what America needs right now. He also has a very skilled political operator with Jack Demper as his Chief of Staff. Jack’s a quiet guy, he rarely gets in front of, uhh, a camera but he knows what he is doing and will get the job done. Other members of his team have experience in Washington and that will ensure a relatively smooth transition.

Alright, uhh, let’s talk about his family for a moment, the anchor said as images of the new First Family appeared on the screen. His wife, Jessica, has continued her career while her husband was Governor and came to only a handful of campaign events. That’s a big departure from most political spouses. Do you expect her to be an active First Lady?

She is going to need to be to help her husband, yes, a Republican replied. "Kinley didn’t need her to win the female vote, he had Andrea Dease do that for him. Jessica Kinley will step into her role and champion her own initiatives while softening her husband’s image. The First Lady position isn’t in the Constitution but it is a powerful one and is important for the White House to operate effectively. A lot of very important work is done by the First Lady and Jessica Kinley has a lot to contribute.

In terms of his family, uhh, his oldest daughter Lorraine is a very vocal Democrat and probably swung a House seat or two into the Democrats’ column. I think it’s a good thing that she is so active in politics, we need more young people to get engaged and go and vote. I expect to hear more from her in the future, she has a bright future ahead of her. I could even see her getting involved in politics in the future. His other two kids are in school so they probably won’t be living in the White House, at least not right away.

Let’s talk about the Tea Party movement for a bit. They made a strong challenge against Kinley and mainstream Republicans in the primaries and have an increased caucus in Congress. How is their caucus leader Wendy Eaton going to use her increased power and influence and would she really derail Kinley’s agenda? Silence filled the studio for a moment as the anchor waited for a reply.

That’s an excellent question, a former Democratic Senator replied. "It really depends on what Eaton’s goal is. She lost the Presidential nomination battle quite decisively, she was barely a factor and was forced to bow out early and there is certainly animosity between her and Kinley’s campaign. Many mainstream Republicans also blame her for enabling the Democrats to win the Senate due to Tea Party extremists she pushed onto the ballot that mainstream Republicans could not vote for. We need to keep in mind that the Tea Party Caucus isn’t as united as a lot of folks think. They have meetings sporadically and only really come together on major issues. It’s not like they have a cohesive platform or agenda that they push, it’s really issue-by-issue.

On tax reform, for example, they are pretty much united in support of Kinley’s flat tax, although they want the rate to be much lower. There are a lot of extremists in their group who are going to demand a balanced budget at all costs and will not vote for anything that doesn’t support that goal. They want radical cuts to government, in Medicare and so on and that will make it hard for Kinley to get anything through. The Republican party is very fractured and a lot of negotiation has to take place within the party to get anything done. Kinley has to deal with factions like the Freedom Caucus, who are even more powerful than the Tea Party and Democrats if he can’t get his own party on board.

Republicans are a big tent party, we always have been and always will be, replied one of the Republicans on the panel. There are a lot of diverse views and opinions in our party and that’s a good thing, it’s a healthy thing for democracy. At the end of the day the party will rally around a key initiative that unites us, like tax reform or cutting government red tape. The Tea Party can be very vocal but at the end of the day they are all Republicans and will support the President. The nomination contest is, uhh, is water under the bridge.

We need to take a short break soon but first I want to ask how President Kinley is going to approach the long list of international crises on his plate. We have, uhh, the Kurdish uprising, Iraq and Syria collapsing, Iran invading Iraq, uhh, Greece has a military government and so does China and, uhh, the list goes on. How will President Kinley respond to these issues and will he react any differently than President Wallace?

Neither he nor Dease have any foreign policy experience, a Republican panellist admitted. "But, uhh, he has met most key American allies and he is going to have a lot of highly experienced people in the Pentagon and State Department to give him advice. I expect him to pick very experienced people for his Cabinet, uhh, especially Defense and State. He’s said repeatedly during the campaign that he will rely on experts and that’s exactly what he is going to do and exactly what he needs to do.

Kinley’s foreign policy is going to be non-interventionist. He is going to be very reluctant to use military force, we won’t see an invasion of Iran or anything like that. Limited air strikes or targeted raids are more likely. Trade is something he has talked a lot about, he is very pro-free trade and will likely push for trade deals with the EU, uhh, and countries like Japan and South Korea. How he deals with China is going to be key and his options on that front are very limited. He’ll have to establish contact of some form with their military government and that will be controversial.

He did make some specific foreign policy pledges during the campaign and those will also have consequences, a Wallace supporter said. Withdrawing all US forces from Afghanistan, as he repeatedly promised to do, will hand that country over to the Taliban. It’s a naive move that will weaken our national security. Cancelling the F-35 program will also make America less safe and damage relations with our allies. It will let Russia and China develop a more advanced air force than us and is bad for global security and stability. The foreign policy agenda that Kinley has set out is going to make our country less safe and less secure and that’s why Democratic oversight in Congress is so critical.

Chapter 2: Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California

'Is this real?' Dr. Malcolm McKinnon wondered as he stared at the huge screen covering the wall. If it was then this moment was the culmination of everything he had worked for his entire life. The images looked real and yet his mind couldn’t accept them, not when the possibility still existed that this was somehow a massive prank. He shook his head slowly and blinked, inhaling a deep breath as his mind started racing. The creature on the screen clearly wasn't human or like anything else he had ever see before. The distorted, oval-shaped head, or what he supposed was a head, was supported by a slender neck and attached to a narrow body.

'Two pairs of arms,' he thought as he took in the defining characteristic that told him they were really dealing with an alien species. All four were raised in the air, the fingers manipulating something just outside of the camera’s range. Exactly what they were doing or how they had even gotten the rover were mysteries to be unravelled later. The only fact that he knew right now was that they were intelligent enough to manipulate one of the Mars rovers his country had launched to explore that red, dusty planet.

Dr. McKinnon? The white-coated man who had lead him into the room was standing in front of him, a frown on his wide, concerned face. He blinked as he realized two others were also looking at him, whispering to one another and glancing occasionally at the aliens at the screen.

Uhh, yes, that's me. ‘Come on, you were trained for this!’ he thought, forcing his brain into overdrive as the man nodded. So, when did we start receiving these images? The NASA badge and his nervous appearance marked him as a technician monitoring signals received from the rover.

Just over four hours ago, Sir. They’re from the Curiosity rover, on Mars.

Curiosity? Isn't that the new one we just put up there? He frowned at the dated, dark-green floor as his mind raced, dredging up all the articles and papers he had read about the rover.

Yes, that’s right. The transmission is being routed through Odyssey, that’s the relay satellite we have in Mars’ orbit. The signal went dark about four hours ago before being re-established as you can see on the screen. Many missions had been launched to the red planet during the short time the human race had started to explore space, although most of them had failed. The fact that the rover had survived the long, treacherous journey was a miracle and a testament to humanity’s ingenuity.

Do we know anything more? Is the rover still on Mars? Can we control the cameras or anything else? In an automatic gesture he pulled out his notebook and started to write down thoughts before they vanished in the swirling whirlwind that was consuming his mind.

There are some additional images we received, but we haven’t started to analyze them yet. We have them printed in a separate room. We don't know the location of the rover, uhh, it doesn't appear to be on the planet based on what we can see in the background, but we can't detect where it is. There hasn't been an attempt to control the cameras or the engine yet, we've been instructed not to do anything until you arrive. He nodded as he squinted at the image, noting that the alien took up most of the screen.

Are you Dr. McKinnon? He looked up at a man dressed in one of the black military uniforms marched towards him, a hard look on his face. Based on his posture and stance he outranked the other soldiers guarding the room, although there were no markings on his uniform. A handgun was strapped to his waist but he wasn’t holding a large assault rifle like the other soldiers in the room were.

Yes, that's me. He slipped a hand into his pocket and withdrew his ID card, which the man ignored.

Please come with me, I know you have a lot of questions, the officer said as he pivoted slightly and raised his voice. I need the rest of you to remain here for the time being. He caught the other scientists exchanging worried glances as he followed him out of the room, trying to hold back the torrent of questions building up in his head. Two soldiers standing guard in the hallway straightened slightly as their commanding officer walked by. Another pair of soldiers were guarding the door to a nearby meeting room as they walked inside.

So, who are you? The astrophysicist asked in a low voice once the door was securely closed behind them. Equipment filled the space, which was looked like a temporary command post. The officer ignored him as he walked to a table and flicked the switch on a small, black box. In a normal situation he would have asked what the device, which was emitting a low hum, was for but this was anything but normal. The history of humanity had just been rewritten and there was no time for irrelevant questions.

You can call me Commander Fraser. Before we continue I need you to give me your cellphone and any other electronic devices on your person and to step inside this device. Malcolm opened his mouth to object before handing over his cellphone and watch and stepping into the airport-style full-body scanner. Hold your hands above your head. Something whirred and beeped as Commander Fraser stared at a screen for a moment before giving a curt nod. Good, you may step out now.

What, uhh, what is going on, exactly? I have security clearance for, uhh, for this already.

The first contact protocol was initiated the moment that NASA analysts reported the presence of an alien species in the solar system, Sir. You literally wrote the book on this, we are following the protocol that you and your team have established. In the event of an off-planet first contact scenario, it is imperative to ensure complete security and strictly control all communications. If anything leaks we would face a breakdown in law and order. Malcolm nodded as he realized they were following the protocol, which was drafted years ago and something that had felt more like a game than reality.

Yes, uhh, so you and, uhh, your team have fully secured the facility? As leader of the Pentagon’s First Contact Team he was in charge of the situation until stated otherwise. Technically speaking he was a civilian contractor but Fraser and his men would probably defer to him, for the time being at least. He was one of a few people on the planet who had spent time working on the practical logistics of first contact with a sentient alien species, after all.

Yes Sir, that’s correct. We arrived shortly after first contact was confirmed and I am confident that nothing has been leaked. Nobody inside the JPL complex has been permitted to leave and all communications and transmission lines exiting this facility are disabled or being strictly controlled. The facility is on internal power for the time being. I am confident that security protocols have been followed and fully applied. Very shortly President Wallace and President-elect Kinley will be escorted to Air Force One and Air Force Two and others in the line of succession are being secured as well.

Good, good, he muttered as he stared at the floor for a moment. So, uhh, Kinley won the election? He had gone to bed before the media had called the race, although the polls had given the Republican a small edge so it wasn’t really a surprise.

Yes Sir, that’s correct. Neither POTUS nor POTUS-elect have been notified about the event. Their security teams have been alerted to a non-specific threat, however. We’re at DEFCON 2 and will go to DEFCON 1 following orders from the President. ‘Jesus Christ,’ McKinnon thought as he hoped they wouldn’t need to use ballistic missiles. There was always a happy ending in Hollywood but that was fiction and they had to live in the real world with permanent consequences.

Good, we’ll, uhh, I’ll have to brief them soon. We, uhh, I guess a few of your SEALS are going to augment the Secret Service?

I’m not at liberty to provide those details, Dr. McKinnon. The officer stiffened slightly as Malcolm realized he wasn’t going to even tell him which service branch the black-uniformed soldiers worked for. That meant they were taking security very, very seriously and raised his anxiety to new heights. I need you back in that room to continue first contact procedures. The scientist nodded as he turned to follow him back into the hallway before he spotted a familiar object on the table that made him pause.

Are you confiscating my phone? The government-issued device was supposed to be secure and apparently had encryption that even the National Security Agency couldn't break.

Yes I am. Any form of uncontrolled communication outside of this facility is a security threat and is not permitted. ‘And it’s all your fault,’ he thought as he recalled redrafting that section after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The worst-case scenarios that his team had imagined involved military resources being split between maintaining law and order and defending the planet against an alien invasion.

The MARS rover technicians, do they have security clearance? I'm going to need them to operate the rover and respond to the, uhh, message. ‘Can the rover even transmit a message?’ he wondered as he made a mental note to get technical details on the rover as quickly as possible.

They will be available to assist your team but they will not be permitted to directly communicate with the aliens. This facility is under lockdown until further notice and we have explained the security protocols to them. The rest of your team has been contacted and is on the way, we have a room set up with equipment that you are going to need. 'Jesus, this is really happening,' he thought with a sudden sense of awe and wonder. His team had spent years discussing what would happen if an alien species made first contact with humans and had run hundreds of simulations, most of which included the survival of humanity and the planet Earth.

The aliens were continuing to manipulate something just outside of the camera view as he walked back into the room. Another alien had appeared just to the left, confirming that there were at least two of them. A million questions were about to be asked and so far his team had precisely zero answers. This was a moment that Hollywood had imagined over and over again and that he and his team had discussed, but none of that had prepared him for the moment to actually arrive.

Chapter 3: Governor’s Mansion, Austin, Texas

Alright Scott, are you ready for this? President-elect Scott Kinley nodded as he took a moment to look around the room. During the years there had been many important meetings here, sitting on the overstuffed chairs and talking about legislation, the budget and election campaigns. This phone call, however, was going to be the most important of his entire career. Neither his business experience as CEO nor his years in politics were enough to prepare him for the swirling mix of emotions and thoughts filling his mind at that moment.

I, uhh, I think so. Is he calling to concede?

Yes, I believe so. He nodded as he accepted the phone from Jack Demper, his Chief of Staff, campaign manager, longtime friend and political operator. Most of his staff were at his official campaign headquarters, handling the media and the millions of other inquiries that flooded in during an election. It was just like the Governor’s race but with much higher stakes. Secret Service agents were outside the door, of course, just like they had been for the last few months and would be for the next four years.

This is Scott Kinley speaking.

Please hold for President Wallace. ‘So I get to wait,’ he thought as he watched Jack working at something on the small tablet he carried with him everywhere he went.

Hi there Scott, how are you doing?

I'm doing well Mr. President. Thank you for the call. Despite the rhetoric of the campaign, Jeffrey Wallace had done a decent job as President in the circumstances and it always paid to be civil. They had only talked a few times during the campaign but that was enough to start building a rapport, which would hopefully ensure a smooth transition.

Well, let me start by saying congratulations, Scott. You and your team ran a great campaign, it was close a few times there, but, uhh, the people decided in the end. And please, call me Jeff.

Thank you Jeff, I appreciate that. It was very close in a few places, especially Florida. His heart hammered in his chest for a moment as he wondered if the Democrats were going to challenge the official results. It wouldn’t change the outcome but it would distract the media from his transition and inauguration. Jack could spin that to his advantage, of course, but they had enough to do without the distraction.

There might be a recount or two but my campaign won't be challenging the overall results. I'll be making my concession speech shortly. Now, uhh, I would like to talk about the transition. I would like to invite you and your team to the White House in a couple of days so we can start planning the transition. And we'll need to start getting you briefed on national security issues as soon as possible, I’ll arrange that with the Pentagon. All of it was standard for a Presidential transition, of course, but