The FTL gate was rapidly deconstructed and stowed back in Jen’s backpack. They wasted no time in setting up the hide where they would remain for a planned six-month reconnaissance mission. They’d also be on hand for any follow-up direct action missions now that contact via the EQP had been established.
Now there were three and it was time to settle in for the long haul.
Chapter Nineteen
April 20, 2062 Special Space Service HQ, Hereford, UK
Six months later and the three-person team had returned from Gaia, undetected and with no further engagements with the aliens. They had remained in remote forest the whole time; the only forays into alien facilities and settlements had been with the Hummingbird recon drones. They’d learnt a wealth of knowledge about the aliens, their planet and particularly their military—the most pressing concern. They had not come any closer to deciphering the alien language, but were hopeful that the team of linguists that had been assembled at WGA headquarters and at the NSA would eventually decipher the terabytes of transmissions they’d recorded and images of alien script they’d managed to survey.
A few days later they started their debrief, taking the best part of a week to complete it. Captains Jennifer Martin and Chris Buick, along with Sergeant Jonah Fitzroy, sat with Major-General James Hadley and his aide in his office overlooking the Hereford parade ground. Army recruits to the venerable SAS were forming up outside, fortunate that the mild spring had, for once, brought with it a pleasing amount of sunlight and warmth. The old brick building in which they sat provided modernised spaces while retaining the tall sash windows and high ornate ceilings from a bygone age.
“This being our fifth session so far and having seen every report you sent on a daily basis there’s no need to go through all the details again, just some of them,” started Hadley.
The three soldiers had enjoyed three days of R&R: time to have their first hot shower in months, their first proper meal and to reconnect with loved ones. It was by a wide margin the longest duration recon in triple-S history and was testament to the professionalism and grit of the two men and one woman of the patrol. Even though they were already well-built Special Forces soldiers, they’d come back looking like they’d spent six months body-building, such was the effect of operating unassisted with a heavy pack in one-hundred-twenty percent gravity. The toll it had taken on their joints, though, was not a welcome outcome. Their knee joints, in particular, probably needed repairs using the latest surgical techniques. Fresh and recuperated, they let General Hadley navigate to the remaining things he wanted covered in the mission report.
“So we now need to summarise what we have in the report. And just to reiterate: it’s important that the interpretation of your mission’s findings allows us to make the right decisions. By ‘us’ I mean WESTFOR and the Western Global Alliance political leaders. As you know, this will go to the highest levels in government. So, let’s start with the key findings...” said Hadley.
A round of “Yes sir,” followed as Hadley prepared to continue.
“First question is whether the aliens have managed to operationalize faster-than-light technology or was A-Patrol’s raid – Operation Rapid Denial – a success? You have some clear data on this from the microprobe readings. Maybe you can talk us though that, Sergeant,” Hadley suggested to Sergeant Jonah Fitzroy.
“Yes, sir. We’d tasked some of the microprobes to look away from the Gaian planetary surface into orbit and deeper space. In the fifth and six months of the deployment we detected eight gravimetric spikes, which, we’re told, match up with FTL transits out of and back into the Gaia system,” Jonah said.
“And, for clarity, how do we know this?” asked Hadley.
“Sir, the gravimetric signatures have been matched by WGA mission control in Seattle—James Trantham’s team. Without witnessing the jump, it’s the strongest evidence we’re going to get, so we’re told.”
Captain ‘Motor’ Buick was particularly downhearted about the failure of operation Rapid Denial. After all, it had cost two of his men’s lives in the attempt, and seemingly for nothing.
“We need to put a short line in saying why we think Rapid Denial failed. Something about being stored on a network or the FTL drive being moved to a separate location. Could’ve been either of those reasons. We’ll never know for sure unless we can start talking to the aliens or reading their language, which doesn’t seem very likely in the near future. Let’s move on to the next key question: military capability,” continued Hadley, flicking through the report on his unfurled scroll-tablet. “You only saw land, air and space—nothing naval. Weapons-wise you logged use of heavy, land vehicle mounted plasma and ballistic systems, both small arms and heavy calibre, mounted on land and air vehicles. Plus flak-producing missiles encountered by A-Patrol in space and particle beams detected by Pinta around the moon, Exelon. Bottom line is that, offensively, they’re way ahead of us,” said Hadley, continuing to summarize and clarify with the team.
They covered what they’d learnt about vehicles, armour, sensors, comms, tactics and personnel. They had no reliable data on alien planet-based force size but the picture on space-based weapons platforms made for an alarming story.
“In just the six months we were there, the microprobes witnessed an astonishing build-rate and massing of ships around Gaia. We had eyes on five major shipyards—three in orbit, one on each of Gaia’s two moons. Every month we saw three destroyers being produced from each orbital shipyard and an average of twenty smaller craft – fighters – from each of the moon-based facilities,” explained Jen, clearly feeling what they’d observed was something to be worried about.
“How do you know this wasn't their normal rate of production? After all, they do seem to be fighting at least one war on that far-off moon,” challenged Hadley.
“Yes, it’s true we saw further evidence of fighting on or around Exelon; although the probes’ cameras limited us to seeing a few flashes of light as best. What convinces us that the newly-minted ships are not for that particular fight is the fact that not a single one of them could be traced as actually going there,” she replied.
“So where did they go?” asked Hadley, having not fully assimilated this part of the story yet.
“Nowhere. Take a look at this,” she said with raised eyebrows as she turned her scroll-tablet around for the general to see. It showed a microprobe-photo of close to seventy ‘Type-1’ destroyers and several hundred fighters. The destroyers were of the type first seen by Santa Maria; three hundred metres long, sixty metres wide and bristling with hemispherical weapons emplacements. On several of the ships, the four circular engine nozzles at the aft glowed with power. It was a menacing display of alien space superiority that was conspicuously absent seven months earlier when the Santa Maria probe had arrived. The vast majority of them had been newly built; only a handful had arrived from other places in the star system.
“Not all of the photos are in the report yet and this plus what I’m about to show you are two of them,” she said, flicking to the next picture while still holding the wafer-thin scroll-tablet towards her commander, Hadley.
“What the hell is that? It’s enormous!” exclaimed Hadley, beginning to realise the implications of the recon photos.
It showed a gigantic, grey ship three times the size of the ‘Type-1’ destroyers, making it close to a kilometre long. It was dark grey and cuboidal in cross-section for the most part, with the trapezoidal bow sloping towards a flattened front.
“We think it’s a carrier, sir,” Jen said ominously.
“Why do we think it’s a carrier, Captain?” he asked, frowning.
“If you look carefully at the bottom-right of the frame you can just about see, from the resolution, a stream of fighters leaving a wide, low aperture in the ship’s hull,” she replied.
Hadley moved his eyes closer to the screen and squinted. “Yes, so you can.”
“So the question becomes: if this fleet isn't for the war on Exelon is it for
a war with Earth? Is it an invasion fleet?” asked Hadley, stony-faced with no trace of his usual joviality. He found the thought of the powerful alien fleet somehow making it to Earth far more frightening than the efficiency of the aliens’ industrial base. Constructing space structures of that size was notionally feasible for humanity, but politically, economically and practically it was decades away. He felt that their only long-term defence would be depriving the aliens of FTL and it was painfully apparent that that battle had already been lost on that count.
“The analysts’ judgment is that it’s an invasion fleet destined for somewhere, but the aliens would need to seriously scale up the FTL drive or gate to get anything but the fighters through. We’ve had the tech for years longer than the aliens and can still only generate a sphere large enough for a shuttle. Something big enough for that carrier... Well, the scientists don't know that it would even be feasible. Yet we have no evidence of any other wars they’re fighting, so what else is the fleet for?” Jen asked rhetorically, the lack of a clear conclusion weighing on her mind and showing in her pained expression.
“So what we’re going to report is that they have a fleet that could probably defeat everything we could throw at it and it’s only a matter of time until they could send at least their destroyers and fighters to Earth? Is that right?” asked Hadley, summarising.
“Sir, that’s broadly what we’re saying in the report, yes. The analysts think that they could simply send the fighters through an FTL gate on a one-way trip close enough to Earth not to worry about range and the need for the carrier. They also think that transiting the destroyers through is certainly possible and that they alone could more than wipe out all human space presence. Once access to space is lost we’d be at their mercy,” she replied.
“The recommendation to WESTFOR is to start thinking about countering this threat,” said Hadley, paraphrasing the report in front of him, “and for WGA governments to put their hands in their pockets and fund it as a priority.”
“Correct, sir, that’s about the size of it,” agreed Jen with Fitzroy and Buick nodding in unison.
“Well, as the number one recommendation, I can safely say I’ll be signing off on that and I’m sure McIver and the other top brass will too. Whether our political masters will see the wisdom of this is a wholly different matter,” sighed Hadley, having lost faith in the political establishment and its sociopathic tendencies a long time ago.
Operation Far Light had been an undeniable success, but what it had uncovered was a devastating exposé of alien industrial and military might. The nuclear attack on the alien base had surely been traced back to A-Patrol’s incursion and if the aliens were willing to negotiate a peace before, they were unlikely to do so now. That was assuming they followed a similar logic to humans, which was by no means guaranteed. For all they knew the aliens might actually admire warlike actions, perceiving them as a sign of strength, or have a different interpretation entirely. This was a completely different culture with no links whatsoever to those found on Earth and with possibly nothing in common with them either. But none of the signs looked good and they had to assume the worst for the sake of security. The gathering storm was going to be hard for the political establishment and the world to accept.
Hadley sat back in his office chair alone, fearing that there was enough doubt, enough alternative scenarios in play to allow procrastination and diversion from the politicians with their myriad agendas. The never-ending queue of problems facing the world’s governments on the overpopulated, poverty-ridden Earth called relentlessly for attention. The hope that the FTL technology had brought of being able to find a second Earth had gone badly wrong. The resources that they’d hoped would be used for exploration would now be diverted towards a desperate race against time in defence of the planet—or, perhaps, they wouldn't and humanity would just continue to muddle through until the consistently hostile aliens turned up on Earth’s doorstep. That was a visit none of them looked forward to. Only the hopelessly deluded peaceniks and the uninformed welcomed the aliens’ arrival. Hadley tried to reconcile and simplify his private thoughts. Fight or flight, or, perhaps, fight and flight? They had the technology to do both, but was there the will? Was there the time?
***
May 16, 2062 WGA Leader’s Summit
“Immigration, housing and the health service are the British electorate’s concerns and the mandate to spend a penny more than already allocated on most other things is out of the question. Austerity is top of the agenda and is vital to restore faith the UK’s credit rating. We’ve already allocated half a percent of GDP for the next four years to WGA civilian and military space so the proposal on the table of quadrupling that for the foreseeable future is simply out of the question. My advisers tell me that the chance of alien attack is remote. Yes, we agree they know where we came from. Yes, we agree they know we sent probes. We also agree that they know we were behind the nuclear blast. But our scientists tell us there is insufficient evidence on their FTL program to conclude they’ll be sending an invasion force to Earth. We think it’s alarmist and premature,” said British Prime Minister Michael Carlton to the four leaders – from the US, Germany, Russia and China – present in the closed session at 10 Downing Street.
“So what do you propose then, Michael?” asked US President Stephen Powell. The tall, handsome second-termer was sitting opposite PM Carlton in the Downing Street conference room.
“We propose sending another reconnaissance mission before we commit to this enormous increase in funding. The Alliance will, by the end of the year, have completed the upgrade of the gravimetric early warning stations, which, as we know, will look out for the tell-tale signature of an FTL transit to within the Earth-Moon system. We support the on-going effort to establish this around-the-clock, full-sky monitoring of near-Earth gravimetric disturbances, which should give us an early warning of an alien arrival. The follow-up reconnaissance mission and the gravimetric early warning network are the immediate steps we think the Alliance should be, and are, taking. They are prudent, cost-effective and the responsible things to do. Anything else will be politically impossible for me as things stand right now.”
The Oxford-educated British prime minister took a sip from his water and looked to the other leaders present, trying to read their reactions. The German, Russian and Chinese leaders were all fluent English speakers, which allowed this unprecedented level of human contact between leaders so often flanked by an entourage of aides, which sometimes seemed to hinder communication rather than help it. The WESTFOR report had been played down by the political establishment in the UK and globally to avoid panic and prevent an explosion of conspiracy theories taking root in the mainstream media. Only a sanitised version had been released publicly with no mention of a wholly hostile alien race. There was also no mention of the Special Forces missions or the nuclear detonation. Most of all, though, no mention of the alien military build-up and the fact they’d gotten hold of the revolutionary FTL technology due to a virus caused by the Russians because of their endemic mistrust of everyone and everything. It was the Americans who had insisted on bringing them back into the fold along with the Chinese. The argument was that humanity would need everything at its disposal if the aliens managed to bridge the gap to Earth. There was more at stake that factional in-fighting, which is how many had come to view the alliances and nation states of Earth.
It was election year in Britain and, even though Carlton could not stand for a third term, the Conservative Party, which he led, was desperate to hold on to political power. If it mattered to the electorate, it mattered to them; if it didn't then it barely made it onto the radar screen. The reality of a hostile alien species had not, for the most part, permeated the political elite’s schools of thought. There was such a history of alien invasion stories in popular culture going back to the early twentieth century that separating facts from fiction seemed too great a task for many contemporary minds. The cost of funding a defence against a threat tha
t may never come was very real, whereas the threat itself seemed very theoretical.
US President Stephen Powell was in the middle of his second term, having been elected two years earlier in 2060. The Republican president checked his notes, coughed, and started going through his bullet points in his typically methodical fashion, weaving them into an argument. With an economy that had narrowly avoided the recession that had swept across Europe, the Alliance’s patriarchal member had more room in its budget to fund a defence. There were still reservations and divisions, which meant that full support was far from guaranteed. After the preamble, President Powell edged towards the question of ‘countering the alien threat’, as the WESTFOR report had portrayed it.
“Michael, you, of course, need to do what is right for your country’s economy and we have heard similar from our other European member states. The recession in Europe was savage and calls for austerity and structural changes to national economies. We appreciate the continued support of the Special Space Service and concur that further intel is vital. Where our views depart from those of our European allies is in the urgency and the resolve with which we need to approach this threat. We propose three things that need to be started even before we’ve gathered further intel,” said President Powell, taking a sideways glance at German PM, Wolfgang Fischer, a diligent note-taker and technocrat, who, for once, looked up reflexively from his scroll-tab.
The First Exoplanet Page 29
