The Slave Race: A Time of Change

By Orlando

Life for Joe Peter’s is good, but it is about to change. Little does he know mankind’s future may depend on it. But will humanity be ready for the challenge…

An ancient alien nation has plans for this young world’s people, they have the technology and the need to succeed, but is arrogance their downfall… Mankind for the first time has the answer to the one question that has been asked down the centuries, …are we alone?

But what now? The world leaders each have their own agenda, so what is the next move? All in authority believe they have the right to dictate their own rules and boundaries, with their self-belief in what is right. But, in the eyes of the visitors, all of this is as insignificant as an anthill is to man.

Joe finds himself at the center of a race to save all that he loves…

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris UK
• Release date: Dec 12, 2019
• ISBN: 9781984592422

Orlando

Orlando is the star of Gap Yah, a comedy sketch that became a viral hit after being published on YouTube in 2010. It video became a viral hit, with 660,000 views in its first month. It has been viewed over five million times and was the winner of the 2010 YouTube Homegrown Comedy Hit of the Year. Orlando has reported for BBC London News, commented on horse racing and appeared as a guest on Big Brother's Big Mouth, and has been hailed as 'the most popular Sloane since Princess Diana'.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

A LARGE GROUP OF ships arrived in a distant galaxy; they had travelled many light-years looking for a new home. The scouts had reported back that they had found an ideal candidate, so here they were. They had long since been cast out. Matching the home planet had been impossible, until now.

Skawert and Jepheran were part of the ruling class, as so they had been tasked with finding the new homeworld for the Legardean race. Today the two Overlord’s were on the lead ships bridge.

Jepheran turned to his counterpart and nodding said: It seems the reports were true, the scan of the planet shows the northern hemisphere as the ideal location for us to settle.

Skawert, one of the older Overlord’s, reviewed the report. Looking up, he said, There is an emerging, pre-industrial, sentient race already on this planet, do we have an estimate of the population?

Jepheran looked to the ground team, who on hearing this question had begun checking. Responding, the team leader said, Yes, my lord, they are extremely primitive with minimal brain capacity. We estimate they number no more than 40,000, covering only about one per cent of the surface area. Pausing, he gestured to the overhead map, This is concentrated where we had proposed to settle.

Skawert’s face was as stone, he curtly replied, Send in the Creedish. Jepheran’s head spun around, and his skin colour changed, seeing this Skawert glared directly into his eyes, no words were said, but the inference was made. Jepheran being the younger Overlord, backed down, he had only been ascended a short while, so to voice any objection here would not be good.

The Creedish were a group of elite Legardean soldiers, armed with powerful weapons. The deadliest weapon in their armoury was the X Eliminator. It was a bomb of devastating capability; it was explicitly designed to wipe out biologicals. It left no residual footprint; the land was sterile, allowing repopulation with no side effects.

The Creedish Commander contacted the lead ship, My lords, I have reviewed the surface scan. I feel the most efficient way forward would be, to drop four X Eliminators, at the coordinates on your screen.

The reply came back quickly, Go ahead. Within the space of a breath, the planet’s surface changed forever.

From this point forward, it was known as Gardea. This was not unique, as many galaxies away, its namesake sat within a group of populated planets. These were a federation of worlds, all aligned within a framework of tolerance and equality.

CHAPTER 1

Unexpected Visit

T HE SMALL PLANET Fortm was mainly tropical, with vast desert plains separating the lush valleys where he lived. As such, it was abundant with available food.

Trelar was out foraging for the day’s food. He had to go out early, as the plants he searched for shrank back into the recesses of their host’s large, woody, bulbous trunks. He enjoyed this time as it was his time, a time to breathe in the fresh air before the intense midday heat. And it was, time away from the noise and busyness of his hive.

There were thirty-five in his hive, all of whom were dependent on him providing food and water for the day. Fortunately, the Strench plant was large and fleshy, so it was easy to collect if he got it at the right time, and it was light to carry. His long arms and broad back allowed him to take enough in two trips. This only left the water to collect; he had a cunning method for this. He had been working the last few cycles to construct a container that could be drawn along to the edge of the water. He had dug a channel to divert it into a waiting receptacle. It was almost complete, and today was the final test. He was looking forward to trying it out, plus some of the other hive heads were coming to see it in action as they would adopt it if it worked as he had described. It was a big day, and he intended to stamp his dominance on the valley by being the one to bring water to the hives.

The ‘Retail’s’ were a docile, non-aggressive race. They had no immediate predators the land crawlers were sand dwellers, and rarely ventured to the edge of the forest, because they were unable to get through the dense foliage.

A silent, black shadow crisscrossed the sand, it stopped. The shadow shrunk as the large, dull, black triangular object descended, hovering just above the scorching sand. The mound that had attracted its attention was now stationary. It had been moving in a straight line following a small surface-dwelling creature. This only crossed the sand from rock to rock when the lichen and plants were exhausted. The mound slowly rose to expose itself, a land crawler, these were long worm type creatures. They had small appendages protruding from each side near the front and rear. The head was evident as it held a large, gaping mouth, lined with hundreds of tiny, sharp teeth. From the centre of this came a prehensile tongue, this extended far from the mouth when catching prey. It was reliant on vibration to find its prey so was oblivious to the menacing black object now only metres above it.

As the land crawler readied to strike out, the object above opened a small panel on the underside and dropped a scanning head. Seconds later it retracted, and the ship retreated towards the mountain range in the distance.

Trelar was now on his second run. Each of his hands had three fingers, with a long, broad, and sharp nail at its end. He used them to cut the stem of the Strench, then gather it with his other hand. He then rolled it up and onto his back, where he had a line of spikes that ran down the full length of his spine to the tip of a short but powerful tail. The spikes were zigzagged, so they provided an ideal method of retaining the plants. His tail would then roll back up and clamp them down, stopping them from falling off. His people had refined this collection method so they could collect vast amounts in one go.

Deciding he had enough, he dropped from the trunk of the host plant on to the ground. Setting off back to camp, his finely tuned sense of smell and sharp vision were all he needed to ensure he was able to navigate through the dense woodland. Soon he was dropping off the load into the catcher; this was a large cage he had constructed. This allowed the food to be gathered and kept together while the hive workers processed it into edible food. He knew by now the other hive heads would be waiting by the river for him to demonstrate his water collection process. Turning, he jumped across and over the young who were already gathering to be fed. He growled, and they scattered. The other males backed away as he passed. He was their leader, and they needed to know it.

The river flowed fast and furiously over a ridge of sharp, deeply embedded rocks, causing the white foam to overflow into the basin below. Here the hive leaders had collected. There was tension in the air as this was an unusual event. They usually only got together if a hive needed fresh seed, then the females would exchange between colonies, ensuring new blood to keep the hive alive.

Trelar arrived, dropping down from above them, as his valley was higher, and further from the water than any of the others. His large feet planted themselves firmly on the sandy bank; his powerful legs easily absorbed the thirty-foot drop. The others growled and moved back.

He nodded and took the large bag off his back, placing it next to the deep pool he had dug, to the left of the basin. This was fed from a trough which was dammed up by a large stone.

He beckoned them around and opened the bag. Here, bag contains Cree nutshells, each plugged with vine stem. Taking one out, he passed it around. Some bit it, others smelled it, while most just nodded. This drop-in pool, sink to bottom. He took the bag that was made from a mesh from the Cree nut vine, and placed it into the pool. It sank slowly.

Overhead, but out of sight, the events below were being observed. The black ship hovered in the top of the trees silently, except for a very low hum. The moist air was making it harder to maintain a level and quiet position.

The nuts were now fully immersed, so Trelar pulled them up and dropping them on a large, flat rock took one out. He pulled the vine plug out and drank from the now full nut. The others stood back in surprise.

Trelar had by accident found that the shell of the nut was porous, but only one way, so the nuts filled with water and retained it. He looked around. The others all bowed their heads, accepting he was superior.

He smiled and led them to a large mound which he uncovered; there he had made a bag for each hive head. They accepted the bags and retreated to fill them, gathering closely around the pool. Trelar stood back high up on a rock, to survey his new increased hive.

At that point, the black ship moved in behind him. A door dropped from the end, and two thin, tall, oil skinned beings stepped forward. One pressed a long tube against Trelar’s side and pushed. Trelar collapsed on the spot and was scooped up into the ship. His kidnapping went unnoticed as he was swept away into the sky. Its search and sample mission over many galaxies was over.

It was time to go home; this sample seemed to fit all the criteria of a new slave race.

Joe Peters stretched out on the patio next to his wife, Jane. They had owned this holiday home in Fuerteventura for three years, but this was the first year they had managed to enjoy it themselves. The building work around them had now finished, so the only sounds were children playing next to their pools and the occasional passing car. Joe was thirty-two and had been married to Jane for twelve years. They were happy and enjoyed life to the full. He was a little overweight but in general fit. Jane was not the slim size ten she used to be but had managed to maintain a beautiful figure.

Joe leaned over and kissed his wife on the cheek. He said, Thirsty?

She smiled and looked up. Mmm. Coldwater would be nice.

Joe stood and walked over to the kitchen; it was only a small, holiday home, but was ideal for their needs. After pouring two glasses, he made his way back out to the patio. At the same time, many other holidaymakers were also enjoying the sun and a quiet pace of life.

Bill Jeffery’s had worked at the ‘NASA’ space centre for the last twelve years. He had seen many advances and many strange things during that time. Currently, Bill was responsible for the monitoring of the Early Warning Attack Satellite System (EWASS). This was designed to give forewarning of any approaching objects from outer space. But he knew its main job was to monitor the movements of all earth-based launches. These typically, were new satellite’s being put into orbit.

Today was no different from any other. The team, which consisted of two operators and one controller, was, scanning the computer-controlled and digitally enhanced displays of ‘EWASS’. What the rest of the world didn’t know was that it also had a defence capability, that could be brought into action via the President’s command codes.

Fred was the head controller. Lucy and Peter were the operators. They would report to him if anything out of the ordinary happened. This was a problem, as nothing ever did. All launches were well advised in advance. All they had to do was monitor their course and make sure it went where it was supposed to.

Bill, as head of the department, had his own office which overlooked the control floor of ‘EWASS’. He often wondered who he had ticked off to get lumbered with this assignment. But it was a steady number leaving him time to pursue his one love, Golf.

Often, taking an extended lunch, as he was only a phone call away. Nobody ever questioned him since his department was not in the limelight.

Since his wife had died, he’d had nowhere to rush to. So would often be seen late at the office, overseeing the next shift, as ‘EWASS’ was monitored 24hrs a day.

The phone rang next to Bill; he glanced at the display on it. It was Fred’s extension, Hi, Fred.

Fred responded, Bill, sorry to bother you but look at ‘VDU 3’. He continued, You’ve been at this longer than me, so may have seen this before?

The tone of Fred was slightly strained, and Bill noticed it. OK, I’ll take a look, and call you back.

Bill could look at any display his team was using, just by selecting it from a soft menu on his pc. Turning, he nudged his mouse, then pressing the ‘print screen’ key, a list appeared, ‘VDU 3’ was third down, he selected it and pressed enter.

He wasn’t ready for what he saw; the screen came to life in a blaze of orange and white. Looking at it closely, he tried to decipher what he was seeing. He could make out a hard-shaped object, with what seemed a splash of white and orange behind it. As he watched it, the colours faded.

Bill picked up the phone to ask Fred what he thought it was, but already in the back of his mind, he knew it was a ‘UFO’.

It had been many millennia since this galaxy had seen such a vessel.

Fred answered immediately, Bill, what do you think?

Bill replied, I was going to ask you the same, except, I think it’s obvious.

Fred jumped in, You think it’s a… He paused; he was almost afraid to say it, as anybody who dared to say the word, had to be darn sure of what they had. …’UFO’ too. He blurted.

Yes, Bill replied, You had better swing all available imaging and audio on this and start recording everything.

OK, Fred said. He turned and started issuing orders to the rest of the team.

Bill redialled, but this time he was calling Chief of Staff, ‘James Cutter’.

Cutter, as always was at his desk, the buzzer went, Christine, his personal secretary’s voice came over the speaker, Sir, it’s Bill Jeffreys. She paused, waiting for a reply.

OK, put him through, Cutter liked Bill, and often played a round of golf with him, Hi Bill, what can I do for you, you’re not hoping for a rematch after last week? You beat me far too easily.

Bill laughed, but could not disguise the tension in his voice, No, ...No sorry, I think I may have something that will outshine my performance last week. Can you come down to my office?

Cutter picking up on his tone, frowned, then replied, OK, if you think it’s important, I can be there in say, five minutes.

Bill thanked him and turned to the bundle of photos, and music ruled paper that now covered his conference desk.

Fred was just finishing a conversation with ‘SETTIE’, the extra-terrestrial listening centre when he turned to Bill with a blank look, Nothing, not a thing, they haven’t heard anything, except static for approximately two minutes at the time we spotted the anomaly.

We’re the same, we only have visual, Bill said. Have you tasked the Hubble telescope yet?

Fred replied, Yes, we should get something shortly.

Connor Wilson had just had his twelfth birthday: his new bike was the latest in its type. The local shop described as an off-road adventure bike. He had been pestering his mum and dad all year since he had spotted it.

Now he was speeding down the small side street; this led to the lane which petered out, into the rolling hills of north Wales.

He had only been allowed the bike if he would wear one of the new fibreglass helmets. At first, he had been unhappy, but soon when his school mates started wearing them, he had agreed.

The tyres gave a regular hum from the tarmac as he pumped the pedals; his heart was racing with exertion and excitement. The lane came up fast to the left, Connor glanced over his shoulder, as his dad had taught him, then banking over, he swept around the corner.

Miss Smith had just stepped out of the corner shop door as he flew by, he didn’t see her wave, he was too intent on reaching the small gap in the hedge at the end of the lane, from there freedom!

Joe stood on the patio, dressed in shorts and a light short-sleeved tee shirt.

Jane called out from the bedroom, What are you wearing on your feet, will sandals be OK?

Joe glanced down to his sports sandals and replied: Yeh no problem, that’s what I’ve got on. We’re only going up in a helicopter, nothing too strenuous.

She mumbled something in reply, but Joe didn’t catch it as the taxi had just pulled up out front, and the driver was walking towards him.

Olla, the driver raised his hand. Joe replied and turned back towards the bedroom, Taxi’s here.

Jane came rushing out, clipping her hair back as she slipped past Joe. He slid the door closed and locked it; by this time, the driver was back in the taxi talking on his radio. Joe slid in the back next to his wife, telling the driver to head to the Heliport.

They arrived fifteen minutes later, Joe paid him, and they both made their way over to the small office. It had an oversized, boldly painted sign overhead, announcing, ‘Pleasure Flights by Helicopter’.

Juan stepped out of the office, making his way over; he held out his hand and warmly greeted them, Lovely day for flying, you will have wonderful views over the island. His English was excellent; Joe was pleased as his own Spanish was terrible. Juan gestured for them to go into the office, ten minutes later, after paying, and signing the disclaimer forms, they were climbing off the tarmac.

Bill was looking harassed when Cutter arrived. Bill, Cutter held out his hand.

Bill took it, and gestured him to the seat next to him, I think we have a genuine ‘UFO’.

Cutter looked at him and smiled, You’re sure? But the smile faded as he saw that Bill was serious.

He replied, No, not absolutely, but all current evidence points that way.

What evidence? Cutter asked.

Bill produced the bundle of pictures, starting with the initial image. This was of a small, rectangular, black object, surrounded with a blaze of orange and white. Picture, after picture, the black object became larger. As the bright colours faded, the sharpness of the object was apparent; it was artificial.

Cutter paused, then looked up at Bill, OK, on face value, but how far away was it when we first spotted it.

Well to put it simply it appeared close to Jupiter.

Cutter scoffed, It appeared? How can it just appear? It must have flown in from somewhere.

Bill by now was losing his cool, he had been asking himself the very same questions, and was unable to come up with the answer, The visual and audio didn’t start until 08:33 this morning. The audio lasted for only two minutes. This has been confirmed by all of the listening stations ‘SETTIE’, and ‘EWASS’, are plugged into around the globe.

Cutter rose from his seat, and made his way over to the phone, dialling, he spoke firmly, but with no emotion, Get me the ‘Whitehouse’.

A few minutes later, he was relating the morning’s events to the President’s Chief adviser, Robin Singer.

From that point on, it took on a new level of importance. Every agency was put on alert, and all documentation and communications were classified.

Bill found himself sitting in the oval office with Cutter and Singer, going over again what they had found. Except by now, the object was just passing the moon, and a level of panic was setting in.

The President breezed in and asked for an update. Singer briefed him; by saying the object had been identified as four miles long, one mile high, and two miles deep, and its trajectory was directly towards the earth.

The President took a deep breath, How long before it reaches us?

Bill responded after Cutter looked toward him, Err, well, with its current rate of deceleration, fifty-eight minutes to enter our outer atmosphere.

The room was now full of brass from every discipline. Communiqués were coming in from all over the world, as the realisation of this object hit the world governments.

Cutter turned to the President, I think we should raise our alert status! A nod was all he needed; the country went to ‘DEFCON 3’.

Connor was looking up at the clouds for the second time that morning. His riding skills needed some honing, but as the ground was soft, and he was not riding too hard, he hadn’t hurt himself. He once again climbed back on and continued around the man-made track.

It had been cut by a local motocross team. It was used as a practice area: but at this time of the day, there was no one around.

His clothes by now were filthy, and his bike all mudded up, but he was having a great time.

He never gave the large shadow coming over the adjacent field a second glance; he was far too involved in staying on the track.

Miss Smith was standing outside the front door of her cottage; she had the third one in the row and had lived there all her life. Her mother had passed on five years earlier, so now she was on her own. She missed her but enjoyed the peace of solitude.

Looked back over towards the lane, her eyes immediately stopped on the long thin black line now stretched across the sky. She then noticed the dark shadow it cast; a cold, fearful shiver ran down her back, at that moment, a bright but small flash shocked her. Dropping the keys, she was holding, they struck the floor, startling her. Picking them up, she quickly went into the house.

She drew the curtains, before sitting and staring into the fire. A cold foreboding had begun to develop in her mind.

Connor was starting to get tired, so he stopped, and pulled the bottle of juice from its carriage on the crossbar. His mum had filled it earlier that morning saying, he would need it if he were to be able to practice as the professionals did.

Popping the stopper and tipping his head back, the juice flowed down his throat, the flavour of blackcurrant burst across his taste buds. His eyes were closed as he relished the feeling and a sensation of satisfaction, but he winced, as a bright flash caught him full in the face. Dropping his head, he choked on the juice. Coughing, he rubbed his face and looked up. The sky was black, but as he stared in disbelief, it began to clear, as a thin black line drew away, over to his left. Connor slammed the bottle back into its holder, and kicked hard on the pedals, riding home faster than he knew he could, not daring to look up. But in his mind, he felt a strange coldness creeping in.

The Helicopter banked away from the Heliport. Joe and Jane were sitting on the bench seat in the back. They had extended harnesses, so we’re able to lean out of the open sides; this afforded them a far better view of the surrounding countryside.

Joe had paid extra to get exclusive use of the Helicopter; this meant they could move around from side to side, taking pictures.

Joe’s digital, ‘SLR’ camera, had an extra lens, allowing wide-angle pictures. This gave grand views of the moonscape that was Fuerteventura.

As they rose higher, the coastline became more visible. Joe had asked that they go towards Jandia, at the bottom of the island. This would take them over the lower mountain ranges, so the views would be breath-taking. From there, they would return, via the east side of the island, this was more natural and less spoilt.

Finally sweeping across the top, past Corralejo, then down past the capital, Porto Del Rosario, ending back at the Heliport.

He had planned this out carefully, as he intended to get a good record of the trip.

He clicked away as they passed Calta De Fuste, then turning inland, they headed towards Jandia, they would soon be at the lower Mountains.

Little did they realise how this trip would change their lives.

Behind them, the sky was being filled with a long, thin, black line. This line was advancing rapidly, getting thicker as it approached. The pilot was the first to spot it, Senior, look behind, I think we may have to land. A slight touch of panic was colouring his voice.

Joe, seeing this, swung out of the side door, and focused his camera, but what he saw through the viewfinder took his breath. Click, the picture was taken, but before, he could remove the camera from his face, a small, but piercing flash, came searing, through the viewfinder. Joe jerked and pulled back, OK, I’ll leave it to you, Juan, but make it quick, whatever that is, it’s coming up fast.

Juan dipped, and turned, coming to rest on an old dirt track. The dust was choking as the rotors spun to a rest.

Jane had been observing the, now large, black slab like objects approach; it passed over them, sweeping out to sea, rising, and increasing in speed.

She looked over to Joe, who had gone quiet, his face was blank, as he gripped his camera tightly.

Joe, she said, sliding over to him, and gripping his arm, she lightly squeezed.

His face changed, and he smiled at her, Yes, darling.

She smiled back, You OK?

Nodding, he responded, Yes, fine, that was fantastic. What do you think it was?

Shrugging, she replied, No idea, I doubt if anybody else has either.

Juan swung round in his chair; his arms were waving around. The stream of Spanish was impossible to understand. Joe and Jane just looked at each other and smiled. They knew the Spanish, were well known for their excited outbursts. Juan calmed a little, and climbed out of the cockpit, he walked around the back, checking all was well.

To Joe, this seemed unnecessary, but he realised it was just a way of Juan working off his nervous energy. Minutes later, they were airborne, the rest of the trip didn’t seem to hold Joe’s interest, and Jane noticed.

The world news was on a feeding frenzy. Every Government around the globe were being besieged with reporters, all wanting to know what this black, flying, slab was.

Reports were also coming in of strange occurrences; in Mexico, a small herd of cattle, and goats had gone missing. Plus whole vineyards that in the morning had been watered, but in the afternoon were gone.

In Iceland, a team of scientists had been monitoring the movements of some tagged Polar Bears, a mother, and two pups. They were astounded to find that the readings they were getting, had moved out over the sea, and were heading at high speed, towards Europe. They put it down to a malfunction in the equipment.

The wheat belts of America had also reported vast areas of golden wheat disappearing. Little did man realise that these reports were just a small part of the overall extraction, taking place all over the world?

The strange, ‘slab-like ship’, as the world press had dubbed it, had zigzagged all over the surface of the globe, taking samples of anything, and everything. The only thing it hadn’t yet sampled was people!

Cutter now headed up a team of scientists from all disciplines, plus a high-ranking officer from every armed force. The ‘CIA’ and ‘FBI’ also had their people there, this was all in line with a dusty, and little-known document, ‘USA a Response to First Contact’, or as it was dubbed, ‘RFC’.

These had all been assembled in one of the largest, and deepest situation rooms in the Pentagon. Bill, as head of ‘EWASS’, was also there. He had set up a direct link to his offices and had second, by second reports, on the location, and movements of the ‘UFO’. The ‘US President’, was not there, as it had been deemed unsafe to move him from the deep bunker at the Whitehouse.

Gentlemen, Cutter spoke firmly, so the room went quiet. I want an updated report from each of your areas, as to your role, and involvement in, ‘RFC’; and I want it by 16:00hrs. They all looked at the sizeable, analogue display. It hung from the ceiling, in the centre of the room, and read 15:23; a hum started around the room.

Cutting through it he continued, But first, Bill, can you give us a rundown on the movements of…, he paused, then looked around the table, …what are we calling this ‘UFO’? as ‘UFO’ seems so much like a movie.

There was impatience in his voice. No one answered, so Bill spoke up, The team, back at ‘EWASS’, has christened it ‘SG’, after, ‘Speedy Gonzalez’, due to the remarkable way it darts from place, to place.

Cutter smiled, which was unusual, Well it’s not original, but it will do for now, he continued, As I was saying, Bill, can you give us an update on ‘SG’?

He started by bringing up a large display of the mapped course, ‘SG’ had followed since entering the atmosphere. The rotating picture of the earth had a red line that followed the continents, detouring to each primary water mass, then back to the landmasses.

Bill spoke, Well from our analysis; it seems that ‘SG ‘is scanning over the earth, in what could only be described as a seek, and find, pattern. We think that if you tie in all of the strange reports about things going missing, from animals to wheat, that has been coming in, ‘SG’ is collecting samples.

A murmur came from around the table, a voice broke through, No no, you’re assuming far too much, on what do you base that? It is just supposition! The voice introduced herself as, Professor Taylor.

Cutter scanned the documentation in front of him, Professor Taylor. She looked over, Your specialist area is colonisation and migration? His eyes focused on her, she realised, she now had the full attention of the complete room.

He continued, So based on that, do you have another theory?

Well not really, it is just that we have had no reports of people disappearing, and if ‘SG’ was in fact, collecting samples, why not collect an example, of evidently, the most intelligent life form on the earth?

Cutter scanned the room, OK, it seems we have some work ahead of us. I want answers and theories. The Professor has asked an excellent question, let’s get to work.

As people started moving away from the table, Cutter reminded them, that each section head was to report back to him at 16:00, with what his area could offer.

Connor arrived home; the gate was locked, stumbling off his bike, he leaned over it, and flicked the latch. The gate swung open, and he staggered into the yard.

His mum was at the sink; she saw he was in some sort of distress, quickly she made her way out to him, Connor, Connor. He didn’t respond; he just looked up at her; his eyes were vacant.

She screamed out, Bernard, Bernard, help; something is wrong with Connor. She held him close, and he went limp. Bernard ran in from the shop and swept the boy up in his powerful arms.

He was the local butcher, and as so was used to carrying heavy sides of meat; he looked into his face, but there was no recognition. Fear gripped him, Connor! His deep voice was warm but firm, the boy’s eyes opened, briefly, his mouth moved, but he made no sound.

The meeting convened again; it was 16:00. Each department head gave an overview of what his team would be expected to provide, in first contact scenarios, plus, how they could currently help.

Cutter listened, then asked a general question to all-present, OK, thank you. We seem to have covered most of the contingency requirements, but the question of what we do next still lies unanswered.

The response he got back was almost unanimous, do nothing. ‘SG’, had not attempted to contact, or interact, with any humans; also, it moved around so fast that it was impossible to intercept by any current methods.

Bill spoke up after Cutter had summarised what had been discussed, Sir, I don’t fully agree with that.

Oh, Cutter responded.

Bill, continued, Well, what I am trying to say is, we should at least try to communicate on some sort of level.

Cutter looked closely at Bill, then nodded, What did you have in mind?

He responded, The team at ‘EWASS’, have come up with a possible method of blanket transmission, this would mean, ‘SG’ couldn’t fail but fall into its path. All we have to decide is what, and how to say it, he paused, then said, But that, I am afraid is out of my area.

All at once, people started talking around the table.

Cutter sat back and waited, gradually the voices died down, so he spoke; OK, any ideas?

Alex Scott spoke first, Alex Scott, ‘Oral and Written Communication, Pennsylvania University’. This is something that I’ve done extensive work on. I feel we should issue a binary-based data stream, detailing the basic building blocks of the universe, i.e. the composition of water, things like that. Then, follow it with a simple hello string, that bids a response.

Others around the table concurred, but all agreed on the importance of getting the first response.

Cutter thought for a moment, then standing, he leant forward on to the table, So, you think this might get some form of an answer?

Scott nodded, he coloured slightly, but no one noticed, Yes, I’m not sure how or with what they would respond, but I think at least, we would get something.

Cutter turned to Bill, Can ‘EWASS’ work with Mr Scott’s team, and put this together today?

Bill looked over to Scott, then at Cutter, Yes, no problem, we’ll get right on it.

Miss Smith felt sleepy, so she decided to go to bed; as it was relatively early, she lay down on top of the covers. Her head felt cold to the touch, but she was warm. The darkness that seemed to be closing in on her had gone. She closed her eyes and was soon asleep.

At the same time, Connor was being put to bed. His father had fetched the local Doctor; who said Connor could have low blood sugar, which could cause that sort of fainting. After checking him, he told them to give him a warm sweet drink, and let him rest, but they must check on him every half hour.

Natalie, Connor’s mum, tucked him up and kissed him on the forehead. He made a small murmuring sound and smiled, she sat next to his bed, on a chair that Bernard had brought in.

He stood at the bottom and shook his head, I don’t understand it, he had a good dinner, didn’t he?

Natalie looked up at him, Of course, do you think I would let him go out without eating.

Bernard mumbled something and left the room. She settled back and gazed at her son; he was now breathing steady and looked peaceful. She was calm again and knew Bernard was just worried.

Joe and Jane arrived back at the apartment; Jane paid the taxi driver, and they made their way in.

Joe turned to Jane, while he was looking for the keys, I think I’m going for a little siesta, all the excitement has worn me out.

Jane tipped her head to one side, Tired? You? Well, that’s a first. OK, I think I’ll go down to the ‘Chipmunk’, they have satellite ‘TV’, maybe there’s something on the news about that strange slab thing we saw!

Joe nodded, OK. and walked in; turning, he made his way to the bedroom, he was asleep in minutes.

Jane slid the door closed and made her way down the path that led to the street. From there, it was a two-minute walk to the local café; they regularly went here for their breakfast, as it was cheap and good.

The owners were from Kent and had been here for three and a half years. At first, it had been a struggle, as only a few of the new apartments were sold. Many of the established holiday homes, further down the mountain, had perfectly good restaurants of their own. They had stuck at it, and now it was paying off.

Terry and Gill were cleaning up after the usual dinnertime rush as Jane walked in. Terry looked up, Hi Jane, how’re things?

Jane smiled, Fine, any chance of a coffee?

Terry turned, making his way over to the counter, Sure, no problem, you on your own?

Jane smiled, Yeh, he’s, spark out, we’ve been on that helicopter trip we were telling you about.

Gill broke in, Great, how was it?

Well, Jane turned to see Gill’s head pop up from behind the counter. The trip was superb, but ten minutes in, we were buzzed by this huge black slab, it just flew by, you must have seen it?

Terry responded, Yes, but only for a few seconds, it seemed to come out of nowhere, then whoosh, it was gone.

Jane then filled them in on the details, as Terry placed the coffee down. Gill came over to sit next to her.

The ‘TV’ was on in the background as always, just at that point, a news flash from ‘CNN’, America’s leading news service, broke into the existing program. Jane looked up and gestured for Terry to turn it up; the announcer appeared with a large image of the slab; she had spoken about, behind him.

He launched into a report on the sightings of this object, which he was calling ‘SG’, why, wasn’t explained. He then stated that the ‘President of the United States’, was due to make an announcement.

Terry turned to the girls, Must be something the yanks are testing. Jane nodded, but deep down, she knew it was nothing like anything man could make.

Cutter’s team had been working furiously to build some sort of profile of the movements, and actions, of ‘SG’. Plus, what would be the possible steps needed, if its intentions were aggressive, or passive?

The President had decided to address the nation to try and alleviate any worries they may have. The real reason was that he was dropping in the polls, and something like this was a golden opportunity to show the nation, he was in touch and cared about the people.

Bill had seen through this, so hadn’t bothered to gather around one of the large monitor’s in the command centre. The decision to try to communicate with ‘SG’, had been given the green light. So instead, he was confirming the actions needed with his team.

Fred had received the data stream and was loading it into the buffer of the burst transmitter. From here, he only had to pinpoint ‘SG’ within one hundred miles, and he could task the nearest satellite to send it. This would take no longer than twenty seconds; the burst of data would then take a further six seconds.

He was excited, as this is what he had joined the program for; at last, he was doing something that could make a difference.

Bill’s voice in his earpiece brought him back to earth, Fred all looks well, can you confirm?

Fred responded, Yes, yes, I have loaded the buffers, now all I need is the go-ahead to locate, and send.

Great, Bill was pleased, We are just waiting on the President to complete his announcement. He intends to tell the world that we are going to try and communicate with ‘SG’, only then can we go!

CHAPTER 2

The First Fourteen

J OE HAD BEEN asleep for twenty minutes when a low but penetrating hum woke him. He shook his head and rubbed his eyes, but he could hardly see. The hum grew slightly louder, and his sight cleared enough for him to walk over to the window. He pulled open the shutters, a light-flooded in, straining he looked out.

On the drive stood a tall, narrow, triangular object. A panel or door was lying on the ground, like a ramp.

Joe closed his eyes, thinking he was still asleep; opening them didn’t change a thing.

He quickly turned and stumbled towards the bedroom door, but as he did, he realised that someone was blocking it, Who are you? What are you doing in my house?

The questions fell on deaf ears. The only reaction was what looked like an arm rising, and in that instant, Joe’s lights went out.

The first, of fourteen, had been abducted.

Lucy, one of Fred’s Operators, buzzed into Fred’s earpiece, Hang on Bill,

Fred clicked the toggle switch on his waistband controller, Lucy’s voice came over clear, Fred, you need to see this; something, or things, are coming out of ‘SG’!

Fred moved quickly over to where Lucy was sitting. She was right; he could see a stream of smaller shapes, leaving ‘SG’.

How many Lucy, and where are they going?

She quickly counted them, and marked them for tracking, Thirteen, I have marked them, but it seems they are fanning out all over the world.

Fred moved away, pausing, he turned, OK, keep a lock on each of them; I want an update every three minutes. She nodded while concentrating on the console.

Bill, sorry for putting you on hold, but we have a development.

Bill shifted in his seat, Go ahead, what is it?

Fred filled him in on what had just happened. Bill’s reaction and questions were the same. Fred had it under control, Right make sure you get this transposed, and over to my console so that I can update Cutter. Keep the updates coming, speak to you soon.

Bill rose and quickly went into the central control room; all personnel, except Cutter, were watching the President’s address.

He looked up, Bill? Bill sat next to him, and in a low voice, updated him with current events, immediately he called for the team to assemble.

Once ready, Cutter stood up, Thirteen small objects have left ‘SG’. They are currently heading in all directions around the globe.

The room erupted, Cutter bellowed out, Quiet down, I am about to update the President, and will be back shortly. You are to all start analysing the data coming through from ‘EWASS’. I want to know what they are and where they are going? Turning back to Bill, he said, Can you update them, and make sure they stay on point? Cutter turned and left the room.

Bill pointed towards the large monitors; the image now showed ‘SG’ at the North Pole. The small objects were visible. You will see, by the wide dispersal, that each ship, if that’s what they are, seems to be following a defined path. My people at ‘EWASS’, are focusing on the nearest, and are collecting as much data as possible. This data is being piped here as before, so please make use of it as you see fit. ‘Chief of Staff’, Cutter, will want some answers as to what they are, and if they are a threat, when he gets back, Bill sat back down and took a deep breath, ‘what next?’ he thought to himself.

Connor’s mum woke with a start; she hadn’t intended to fall asleep and felt annoyed with herself. She leant over towards Connor; he was sound asleep with regular breathing. Standing slowly, she quietly left the room and went down the stairs, pausing at the bedroom door first, to check he hadn’t stirred.

Connor was her only son, they had tried since to have another child, but it had never happened. Still, he was all she had dreamed of and more. Reaching the bottom, she turned right and made her way into the courtyard that led to the shop. The doorway to the back of the shop was closed, as always.

Her husband was passionate about hygiene, so she always ensured she had a clean piny on when she joined him behind the counter. He was in the back when she went in, the leg of lamb he was boning lay in front of him.

He turned with an expectant look on his face, How’s Connor?

She smiled, and reassured him all was well, I just popped down to get a drink, do you want one?

Bernard was well known for his pint mug of tea, he gestured over to the half-empty one on the side, "Yes, please, that one’s cold now, I forgot