‘If it holds its current speed, it will do so in twenty-one days.’
‘What do you mean by that rider on your answer, Officer?’
‘Well, having seen its behavior over the last couple of days, it could be earlier or later or it may miss Europa altogether if it decides to accelerate or decelerate,’ he looked at Sienna and continued ‘linearly or angularly.’
‘Do you have any idea what it is? What do you mean by ‘if it decides’? How can a comet decide?’
‘Well sir, we think that it is not a comet.’
The General was getting impatient
‘And…?’
The officer shifted weight between his legs before answering
‘Well, there is a possibility that this could be first contact.’
There were hushed murmurs around the room.
‘You mean alien contact?’
‘Yes’
There were more murmurs, not very hushed this time. Sienna was taken aback by the admission of alien contact. She thought that the data was still suggestive at best and definitely needed substantiation. People had jumped to conclusions before and later had had egg on their faces. She had a sneaking suspicion that SIDC was not sharing all the information that it had.
She was all alone in that crowded room with mainly uniformed officers and a few bureaucrats, chatting and whispering to each other about the explosive submission of the officer from SIDC. Carter fielded many questions from the room and in essence, admitted to his findings being suggestive at best, but undeniably so. The approaching ‘Comet’ had changed directions midflight, without any known interference, and that smelt of intelligence propelling it. They had discounted all the other possibilities and what remained was that it had to be driven by someone or something for it to have changed its speed and direction, mid-flight.
The General stopped the grilling of the Officer and then walked up to him for a private discussion that lasted for a good five minutes. They both exited the room soon thereafter. Sienna did not know what to do. No one had left any instructions for her and everyone else still held on to their seats, discussing the developments amongst themselves. She sat their quietly, not wanting to be the first to leave.
The General came back to the room after ten minutes, alone. He called for attention and then addressed the gathering
‘I have discussed the matter with the President. She is in deliberation with her advisors. She will have a message for us shortly.’
Sienna was led to another room and asked to wait for the President’s word.
An hour later, Sienna was led back to the briefing hall, which was empty save for the General and a couple of other officers. The general waved her in as soon as she entered the room and made her sit on a chair opposite the LCD screen.
The screen flickered on in a moment and the Oval office insignia flashed on, followed by an image of the President, Sarah McGee.
Sienna looked up at the General who nodded at her and whispered
‘She’s live.’
Sienna froze at the words and nodded at the image on the screen.
President McGee nodded back, seated at her chair, in what looked like the Oval office.
‘Dr. Sienna, I will come straight to the point. I have been given to understand that we will be probably making first contact shortly. I hope your research agrees with the conclusion.’ She looked up at Sienna.
Sienna looked at the General and then nodded back at the screen.
The President continued
‘Well, if that is agreed upon, then let me tell you what we are going to do about it. I have formed a contingency team and would love to have you in the team. I hope you can join the team.’
Sienna nodded again
‘It would be an honor’ Sienna paused thinking of the right address ‘Madam President’.
‘Good. We are meeting tomorrow morning here in my office. Hope to see you then.’
She got up from her chair and the transmission cut back to the blue and white insignia of the President’s office.
Sienna turned around to look at the General who had a very serious countenance on by now. He looked at Sienna and said
‘I think I should not keep you here any longer. I have made arrangements for you to accompany us to White House tomorrow.’
Things had happened so fast that Sienna had not had time to think about anything. She turned around to ask something to the General who interrupted her instead,
‘One more thing Dr. Sienna. The President will appreciate and expect you to keep things quiet for now. We will take a call on that tomorrow after our meeting. Please do not tell anyone about what was discussed here today.’
‘But I am sure I am not the only one who is reaching the same conclusion. There must be other telescopes and other scientists around the world, who have been following the comet and have probably reached similar conclusions.’
‘I think we have reached everyone and all of them have agreed to keep things quiet for some time. The NATO and the big-five are in consultation and we have decided to maintain silence until we form some consensus regarding the handling of this thing.’
Sienna nodded and understood what was implied.
She walked out, escorted by a uniformed officer. The young receptionist at the entrance gave her a broad smile as she exited the building.
The oddity of the entire affair perplexed her as she was driving out of the gate. There was no need to have her in the briefing at all. She had not given any information, which the SIDC did not already have. Then why was she summoned?
And then it struck her.
‘Oh shit! All they wanted was to keep me quiet.’ She realized that all they wanted to do was to ask her not to go public with her findings and the ruse of having her there was to ask her to keep a lid on things.
‘Bastards!’ she cussed under her breath.
Chapter 3
The Secret
Langley Research Station,
Hampton, Virginia
22nd Jan 2019
Sienna decided to skip the short hop to Washington from Maryland. She had to get her research before she faced the POTUS, an acronym that was perhaps too funny to belong to the President of the United States. Alex, her husband, was returning home after spending a week with his old marine friends; a week spent trekking in the King’s Canyon National Park in California.
She picked Alex up at the airport and made a stopover at her office in Langley Research Centre, the LRC before driving to their home in the staff quarters of LRC. They stayed alone, both their daughters having enrolled as freshmen undergraduates in the University of Florida.
Sienna herself was a Gator, had personally gently vetoed other universities, and nudged them in favor of Florida.
Sienna’s father had retired as a General in the US Army and it was in one of the military parties there that Sienna had first met Alex, then Lieutenant Alex Dunbar. They had both been attracted to each other instantly. Despite Sienna’s prior resolutions about never marrying within military, she and Alex walked down the aisle within a year of that first meeting.
Things had progressed fast between them.
He had been quite prudish for an Army Lieutenant and Sienna had had to take the lead. Another reason for his reticence could have been that he was dating the daughter of such a high-ranking officer. They had kissed tenderly on their first date and on the third date, after a month of their first meeting, she had pushed forward and gotten inside his pants. However, when she shed her clothes before him, he had been quite the tiger she had expected him to be. The prude had transformed into a gentle, loving brute and Sienna was left a very sore, ticklish, happy and satisfied woman on the morning after her third date.
They had now a good twenty married years between them. Alex was discharged from the Army two years ago. Alex’s promising military career was cut short by a tenuous racism charge that saw him just short of being dishonorably discharged from the Army. The charges had been brought on after a bedlam
of a drunken binge, where Alex and three of his friends had beaten a colored officer to near death. He had said some offensive things about Alex and Alex had been too drunk to control himself. Despite Alex’s claims of having been provoked, the racism charges had struck in front of a white female military judge. The only concession he got was that he was allowed to put down his papers voluntarily which he was entitled to anyway after giving twenty-three years to the Army. He had thus retired as Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Dunbar at the age of forty-one and was a full time husband and father to his family now.
***
Alex never took out the frustration of his life on Sienna, and had managed to keep his sanity about him. He had not drowned his sorrows in alcohol, nor had he indulged in drugs or the like. The disappointment was just there, the regret and the sense of loss, just simmering within him, deep under the surface, while he put a brave, sane face in front of his wife and his grown up daughters. Camping with former colleagues retired from the Army and a few other friends, took his mind off things. They trekked and climbed during the day, camped in the wilderness in the night, fished in the waters of the creek, talked of their shared past over a continuous supply of beers and then rolled over to a tired drunken sleep in their tents. The hard work of a raw natural trail and the venting off of steam amongst friends did a world of good to his senses.
A week in the wilderness did something else too. It had stoked Alex’s desire to the hilt. After reaching home, he had been frisky with Sienna all evening while she had been busy preparing her notes for her meeting with the POTUS. Alex got his chance finally, late in the night when a very dreary Sienna climbed into the bed at half past midnight. Both of them still shared a very healthy conjugal life and enjoyed every bit of intimacy between them.
And so it was between them that night…
But when Alex climbed over Si for a third time, she balked
‘Hey mister. That’s enough for the night’
‘And who says so’ Alex replied as his hands brushed her breast lightly. Si held his hand and drew it away, giggling and pleading
‘Please spare this forty four year old girl. This is bordering on torture. I am going to lodge a complaint against you.’
‘I don’t care honey. I am ready to face jail time for you’ his hands roamed inwards brushing against the firmness of her breasts yet again.
‘Hey you!’ Si screamed ‘Why don’t you go have an affair or something? I swear I won’t mind.’
Alex chuckled
‘Never knew my prim and proper wife was so kinky!’
‘Kinky my foot’ replied Si as she tried to squirm out of Alex’s tightening embrace. She felt her thighs brush against the hardness between his legs and gasped
‘You are a satyr! You nincompoop! Now let me go this instant or I will call 911 and tell them that you are trying to kill your wife’
‘Yeah right! Killing by extreme pleasure. I like how it sounds’ Alex snuggled even closer to Si, wedging his bulging groin against the soft touch of her naked thighs.
Si was startled by his erection and blurted
‘Okay I’ll tell you a secret. I’ll tell you why I had been to the NSA today.’
Alex stopped. He had been asking her about it all day but she had been evasive and he had at last taken the hint and dropped the matter.
Sienna continued ‘The reason I went to NSA today was because of the possibility of first contact.’
‘What? First contact as in alien contact? You mean fucking ET?’ Alex’s voice had a touch of incredulity and his pulse had quickened a bit.
‘What kind of possibility are we talking about?’ Alex’s voice was abuzz with excitement.
‘Yep! Damned serious possibility of Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence. Gosh! I should not have told you that. You made me break protocol and breach national security’ Sienna whispered in a conspiratorial tone, breaking into a giggle at the end of the sentence.
‘Hey are you really serious?’ Alex asked again, this time more serious than before.
‘Yes!’ Sienna hissed into Alex’s ear, while brushing her hands against Alex’s groin, the hardness gone now.
‘Wow, I did not know that alien contact could make my satyr husband impotent in a few seconds’ Sienna chuckled at her words, stroking him in her hands.
Alex prodded her again and Sienna told him everything that had taken place in the morning. It was a weight off Sienna’s shoulders too. She hated keeping things from Alex.
The Big Break-Up
NSA Headquarters, Fort George G. Meade,
Maryland, USA
23rd Jan 2019
Less than twenty-four hours later, Sienna was sitting in the NSA briefing room yet again. She had received an urgent summons in the morning, asking her essentially to drop everything and report to the NSA headquarters ASAP. Mandy Newton, her colleague at Rossetta had called her while she was on the way, to tell her that they had been locked out of their lab that morning. NSA guards had sealed the premises and were not allowing access to anyone. Everyone at her office knew that she had been summoned to the NSA the day before and Mandy wanted an explanation. Sienna was not in a position to give out any information and felt bad cutting off Mandy’s call. Someone at NSA better have a bloody good reason for their actions.
The NSA briefing hall was full by nine and Nicholas Carter from SIDC took over the proceedings. General Marshall was absent and Sienna was informed that he was with the President at the White House and that they were a part of the meeting too. Carter spread a star-chart on his desk and that was projected on the screen. He pointed to a dot on the screen, which Sienna instantly identified to be Europa. Carter started his presentation
‘This is a star-chart from yesterday night and the point over here is the Jovian moon, Europa’ he then pointed to a very faint dot adjacent to Europa and continued, ‘and this is Masaoka, the comet in question.’ He waited a couple of seconds and before the old buzzards in the room could squint their eyes enough to have a good look at the comet, he removed the chart and put a fresh star-chart paper on the table, continuing
‘And this is what Masaoka did late last night…’
There were two fainter dots now with a distance of about a mm between them.
‘Did it break up?’ Sienna had asked the question, a little startled at how loud her voice had been in the desk microphone.
Carter looked at her and replied,
‘Well it did that and then did something even stranger’ Carter removed the chart and put another paper on the desk,
‘It vanished!’
The paper showed that the dot that had moved apart had simply vanished off the chart. Carter replaced that chart with yet another one where the dot had re-appeared, about a centimeter away from the dot near Europa.
‘How could that be possible?’ Sienna murmured. The entire room heard her murmur, the desk mike having betrayed the privacy of her expression.
Carter looked at her and shrugged his shoulders
‘I haven’t the slightest idea. But it did the vanishing act twice more and is now roughly twenty million miles from where it started’
The general with the medals jumped in,
‘Where is it heading?’
Carter addressed him and continued,
‘Well, last night the comet had positioned itself near Europa, after which it broke up into two unequal parts, the smaller one heading away from the larger part. Plotting the dot’s vanishings and re-appearances, it seems it is headed towards us!’
The implications hung in the silence of the room, a heavy silence that could be cut away into pieces. The President’s voice cut in,
‘What do we do now? When is it reaching us?’
Carter flinched.
‘Err…I have no idea Madam President. It is moving erratically, and vanishing and re-appearing at a very different point in space. Our predictions wouldn’t work with something behaving like that and...’
He had no idea what to add, and he ended up not say anyt
hing else.
The President’s line went dead and Carter turned his attention to the room. He answered a few other queries but had nothing more to offer. Sienna slipped out of the room, made some enquiries regarding the sealing of her lab, but to no avail. A helpful junior officer vaguely surmised that the order could have come from way above and that he had no idea about that.
Chapter 4
First Contact: Before Time
LRC Quarters
Hampton, Virginia
24thJan 2019
Sienna headed home straight from the NSA headquarters. She decided to reveal all that transpired to Alex, the oath of secrecy be damned.
That had kept him awake for the entire night, thinking about what was about to happen. He woke Sienna up in the middle of the night to talk about it. She was strangely calm about the whole thing. He was having goose bumps just thinking about the hows and whats of this whole first contact thing. Who and what will ET be like? What will be their attitude towards Earth and its people? Will they come in peace? There was little doubt that they would be technologically more advanced than us. How advanced? With the best of our efforts we have just about managed to scratch the boundaries of our Solar System. And ET probably had travelled light years to reach here. Will they be ET or just their machines?
The question of our lonesomeness in the whole Universe was about to be answered. Whether or not the answer will be to our liking, was the bigger concern now.
Alex did not have a great feeling about the whole thing. If the worst case scenarios panned out, the humans were grossly underprepared to face an attack from an enemy that maybe a century, a millennia, or even a million years more advanced than them… Gosh!
The questions were endless and Alex’s sleep was truly shot.
***
Rut-tut-tut….
The rapport of a sub-machine gun was all too familiar to Alex. He woke up with a start, from what little sleep he had slipped into, towards morning. It was seven in the bedside clock and it was still pretty dark outside. The gun fire rattled off in the distance yet again. Alex’ senses were on alert and he felt the hair on his neck stand up.
Exodus (The Domus Series Book 2) Page 3
