The First Exoplanet

by T. J. Sedgwick

All of the recent missions had been military incursions to Gaia, and Sarah Townsley only knew what the public knew about those. She’d been transferred back to the more pedestrian-paced Citadel control centre ever since the probe programme had been put on hold the previous year. She didn’t mind as it allowed her to spend more time with the kids and her husband, Jason. The heady days of the Avendano missions had been the most exciting of her career she had to admit, but she’d badly needed to reconnect with her family again after the toll they’d taken on her time. Now she felt the balance was just right, though she still struggled to reconcile her desire to be involved with future probe missions with her personal life. I’ll take it as it comes, she thought to herself as she prepared to answer the video call from Captain Dietrich Smit. She found it slightly odd that he was calling outside of the twice daily scheduled calls. As the current commander of the space station, he would report, routinely, during the morning call at 7am and the evening call at 5pm. It was now 1:30pm and Townsley had just finished her post-lunch coffee.

  The moustached German wearing a blue jumpsuit, with the Space Force logo on his left breast pocket, looked even more serious than usual. His dark, bushy eyebrows drew together with his frown of focus as he greeted Townsley rather formally. “Good afternoon to you, Mrs Townsley. I trust you are well.”

  “Yes, I'm fine thank you. And you, Captain Smit?”

  “I was well until I saw what I saw,” he replied, shaking his head, seemingly unable to comprehend whatever it was that was eating him.

  “Go on…” Townsley urged hesitantly, with a growing sense of foreboding just from the stern German’s tone and expression.

  “Now I don't know if this is a hoax, but seventeen minutes ago we detected a gravity spike close to the station which matched up with an FTL jump signature. I checked with the Earth-based monitoring station directly and they confirmed the detection. I have no scheduled jumps in my system—do you?” Smit was pale and looked fearful.

  “No I do not. The next one is two weeks away…”

  “Well that’s not all. First, I was thinking it could be the Russians or Chinese; perhaps they’d somehow managed to get their FTL tech working, or more likely stolen ours. Anyway, two minutes after the spike we received this message via the short-range antenna sent on the twenty-one centimetre wavelength, usually kept clear still for SETI monitoring. I’m sending the transcript now and the audio file. You won’t believe this but it was a synthesized voice over the radio and its message is ... how do you say ... chilling. I think the aliens have spoken at last,” said the captain, with uncharacteristic fear is his voice.

  “Okay, let me have a listen to it. Please stand by, Captain Smit,” requested Townsley as she played the audio message. Some of her colleagues in the control room had taken an interest in her conversation and she decided to play the file over her workstation’s speakers so that they could hear. A second and third opinion might be needed if it was as serious as Smit had been implying. He was no fool and wouldn't be calling unless there was a good reason. Still, everyone makes mistakes, thought Townsley hopefully, as she played the file. Nothing could prepare her for what came next.

  “We are the beings from the planet you call Gaia. You declared war on us. Now you must surrender or be destroyed. No more of your attacks. No resistance when we arrive. Humans will live if you surrender. Many will die if you do not. Broadcast a message in this language from your next probe using only two words ‘WE SURRENDER’. All other broadcasts will be ignored. You have ten Gaian days to respond.”

  She sat there wide-eyed, as if she’d seen a ghost. Nobody spoke for several seconds as they absorbed what they’d heard. She finally let go of the breath that she’d held for too long and struggled for words.

  “Now you see,” remarked Smit, explaining his own uncharacteristic behaviour. He continued, “There is no way I can think of that this can be a hoax.”

  The mission control team pored over the data for hours, calling Director Trantham and several comms specialists into the investigation. There was no other explanation. The aliens had spoken for the first time and the message needed urgent dissemination.

  ***

  March 27, 2063 Presidential Television Address by the President of the United States of America, Stephen Powell

  “My fellow Americans, tonight I want to update you about what the United States and our allies having been doing to degrade and destroy the alien threat that has dominated the news and public discourse in recent months.

  “As Commander in Chief, my highest priority is the security of the American people and as the leading nation in the WGA we also have a responsibility to our allies and friends wherever they may be around the world and within the Solar System. One week ago today, the largest space force that humans had ever assembled set forth from Earth orbit and jumped successfully to Gaia. Like D-Day in World War Two, the Allied mission was to take the fight to the enemy and crush them on their territory before they could bring harm to our homelands.

  “None of our brave men and women of the military were involved in fighting roles; this was conducted by the use of battledroids. We appreciate the WGA advanced weapons and robotics teams that have provided us with the ability to spare our sons’ and daughters’ lives in this way. We targeted a total of one hundred and twenty alien destroyers, their kilometre-long supercarrier as wells as shipyards and an orbiting faster-than-light gate, which may have been used to jump to Earth. Thanks to our military and intelligence professionals, the world is safer than it was before this mission – Operation Stellar Shield – was launched. I can tell you tonight that we successfully destroyed the giant supercarrier, which was capable of carrying hundreds of alien fighters and dominating the battlespace. We also neutralised the FTL gate and three of the aliens’ shipyards. Seventy-two destroyers were wiped out completely and it is estimated that eight more have been severely damaged.

  “So I must tell you – and it is with a heavy heart – that not all targets were neutralised. Even though the aliens’ capacity for war has been drastically degraded, at least forty destroyers remain. So you see that still we continue to face an alien threat, albeit a diminished one. We couldn’t erase every trace of evil from the star system and the remaining warships have the capacity to do great harm. That was the case before Operation Stellar Shield, and that remains true today. We have reasons to believe that the aliens have ethnically cleansed all other factions that once challenged them on Gaia and are currently fighting a bitter war with an unknown enemy on a distant moon of their star system. They are a vicious and warlike people who have responded to all reasonable attempts for dialogue with the barrel of a gun. So the fight must continue until they are ready to talk.

  “Since Operation Stellar Shield a further escalation of the threat has emerged as the aliens have spoken for the first time. Unfortunately, they have taken our olive branch – with which we sent them the means to communicate with us in English – and used it to threaten us. Three days ago, we received an ultimatum from the aliens asking for Earth’s total capitulation in twelve Earth-days from now. I want to make one thing clear to you now: we will never surrender to these beasts. They can come and we will fight them with everything we have. We will fight them in orbit, we will fight them in the skies and we will fight them on the ground. The Alliance military and those of our friends will ensure they never get that far though. We have robust plans in place to deal with them should they manage to get the stolen FTL technology working and reach our solar system. We have a powerful space force at our disposal, much of it classified. We are convinced that they have met their match. We will never back down and will never capitulate to their tyranny.

  “So we are confident and we are prepared, but I must ask you, my fellow Americans, to make preparations of your own. I will summarise them now, but urge you to read the notices you receive personally and publicly from government agencies in the coming days and weeks. Here is what I ask of you. There will be a call-up notice for all military reser
vists. There will be a recruitment drive for volunteers. All able-bodied men and women between the ages of eighteen and forty-five are encouraged to register their interest online or at their local military recruiting station. I have released funds for immediate training and equipment for all volunteers.

  “At times like these, some irresponsible citizens may be tempted to take advantage of the situation and engage in lawlessness, profiteering and hoarding of essential products. We will not tolerate this and I have agreed with all fifty state governors the use of location-specific curfews and emergency powers. Be assured that these will only ever be used to maintain law and order and ensure your safety. Once they are no longer deemed necessary, they will be stopped. But we cannot allow looting, theft or otherwise depriving others of essential items like food and medicine. The Federal Government and state governments are working on plans to ensure that essentials are equitably delivered to all who need them. We are also securing additional supplies as a precaution. Rest assured that we expect to be victorious while at the same time are being responsible and cautious. It is imperative that you continue about your daily business and keep the country and the economy running smoothly. If you can volunteer then please take the time to find out about the roles available on the military’s websites.

  “I know many Americans are concerned about this threat. Tonight I want you to know that the United States of America will meet it with strength and resolve. But this is not our fight alone. American and WGA power can make a decisive difference, but to maximise our defence we need to cooperate with other powers around the globe. I will be talking with world leaders in the coming days to see what more we can do should the threat escalate.

  “So, tonight, with these new measures agreed, and following consultations with allies abroad and Congress at home, I can announce that America will lead the Alliance and a broad coalition to repel any alien threat. I cannot reveal details of our plans publicly as we have every reason to believe that our communications are now being monitored. We are working towards countering this alien espionage and continue to use effective encryption methods, which thwart spying attempts. Even though our battle plans cannot be revealed our objective is clear: we will degrade and ultimately either destroy the aliens or persuade them to the negotiating table. Peaceful negotiations are what we had been striving for all along. We still live in hope that the aliens will see reason and decide to talk to us, as equals, with the benefits of trade and the exchange of culture and technology that would beckon.

  “So this is our strategy. We will not be driven from our planet. We will not surrender and we will not be defeated. We continue to hold out for peaceful coexistence, but this is in the hands of the aliens. America will continue to lead. We stand with people who fight for their own freedom, and we rally other nations on behalf of our common security and common humanity.

  “My administration has secured bipartisan support for this approach. I have the authority to address the alien threat. But I believe we are strongest as a nation when the president and Congress work together. So I welcome congressional support for this effort in order to show the world that Americans are united in confronting this danger. In this vein, we hope other nations will support the coalition and show leadership wherever they can.

  “I now ask that you please be prepared: any time we take military action, there are risks involved, especially to the servicemen and servicewomen who carry out these missions. My fellow Americans, we live in a time of great change. One and a half years ago, we uncovered the alien threat. We’ve had our hopes of peace dashed time and time again and now we stand at the threshold of a possible conflict. Yet, despite these disappointments, despite the uncertainty and the sense of foreboding, I am confident we will prevail. Despite all the divisions and discord within our democracy, I see the grit and determination and strength of the American people every single day, and that gives me confidence.

  “Tonight, I ask for your support in carrying forward the defence of our great nation and our planet. I do so as a Commander in Chief who could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform. Our safety, our security depends upon our willingness to do what it takes to defend this nation and this planet and to uphold our civilization. Earth is our home. It is the birthplace of human civilization and the diversity of life that we have developed alongside. Earth is our sacred world wherein our cultures and religions have flourished. Earth is the only planet that can support our way of life as we know it and it shall remain ours by the will of God.

  “May God bless our world and may God bless the United States of America.”

  ***

  March 28, 2063 Hereford, UK

  Sergeant Matt Hart of the SSS sat at home with his wife Zara watching the evening news. She yawned and rested her head on his shoulder, pecking his neck with a simple but meaningful kiss, the everyday affection that helped bring warmth to their marriage and family life. The boys were already asleep in bed, Callum enjoying the story Hart read to him about space marines battling aliens on a far off planet. It was a little too close to real life for Hart who read it on autopilot while flashing back to his own all-too-real experiences. Why couldn’t Callum just ask for dinosaur books like his little brother?

  He was more than glad that they’d decided to use solely battledroids for Operation Stellar Shield. It had spared him from making the impossible decision: whether or not to forsake his military career and stay home to protect his family. He considered the alien attack only a matter of time and was deeply concerned by the response from the world powers. The US President’s speech the day before had dominated the news. It had done little to ease the state of fear that had descended on the US and had even, in the eyes of many commentators, made it worse. The news had shown panic buying, demonstrations and the ground swell of new members of the survivalist movement. British PM Carlton had made his own speech with a near identical account of Operation Stellar Shield, but there’d been no call-up, no curfews and no suggestion of rationing. In contrast to the US President, PM Carlton was trying to play down the threat; not to mention that the UK simply didn't have the money to spare and still seemed more concerned with following the advice from the Office of Budget Responsibility than defending the people.

  The British people, although influenced by events overseas, were taking the whole situation with surprisingly level heads. There had been some street protests and calls to action from opposition MPs, but nothing like what was happening in America and some other parts of the world. Even China had seen more public unrest than the UK. Hart understood politics well enough to realise that PM Carlton was playing it cool to avoid panic while probably working the defence plan in the background. But why hadn’t he seen any change in his schedule as a member of the elite SSS? No preparatory training exercises. No missions. His unit should be at the forefront of the defence. This wait-and-see attitude was making him uneasy. The thought that there was a split in the Alliance and that the government really wasn't taking the threat seriously worried him. If the Western allies couldn't agree a defence plan what hope was there for a unified global strategy against the aliens?

  As he sat there, looking at his wife and thinking of his little boys asleep in their warm beds upstairs, he knew how vulnerable they’d be without him around. He placed his arm around Zara and pulled her closer to his body, kissing her forehead tenderly. If society fell apart, as he felt it would quickly do should the aliens start raining down fire from the heavens, it’d revert to law of the jungle. The dark forces that dwelled in human minds, normally kept in check by law and order, would be set free to run riot like wolves among sheep. He made a decision there and then: tomorrow he would stock up on ration packs, bottled water and medicines, then he’d talk to Motor and some of his other close friends in the service and get himself tooled up—by legal means or otherwise.

  Maybe it was Hart’s mood, but he felt surer than ever that dark days were coming. It made him recall a famous quote that he’d learnt in school once; although he coul
dn’t remember who had said it or when:

  “The lamps are going out all over Europe; we shall not see them lit again in our lifetime.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  April 8, 2063 Earth Defence Coordination Centre, WGA Headquarters, Seattle

  “Sir, I’m sorry to call you out of your meeting but we’ve had a look at it and I think you need to know,” informed the worried looking Corporal Brown, the young, bespectacled radar specialist, looking up at Major-General Luca Guardini from his seat in front of the display bank. It was the day the aliens’ ultimatum expired and the whole world was on edge, but none more so than the men and women at the tip of the spear in the WGA Space Force. Corporal Brown had been on shift for three hours when the long-range radar array of the Alliance Citadel had identified the anomaly. It was a lot further away than had been expected and only one object had been painted. It was definitely not a fleet of destroyers and there were no gravimetric spikes, which would accompany the alien armada jumping into the Solar System. They could have missed it though; being so far from Earth it was probably outside of the monitoring range of the gravimetric monitoring network.

  “The system highlighted this, sir,” continued Corporal Brown, as he brought up a 3D representation of the object on his display. The data box made what Brown was about to say next superfluous as the intelligent Italian, General Guardini, studied the display.

  “The asteroid, 375 Nemesis,” confirmed Brown. “Ten kilometres wide with a mass of approximately one-point-one trillion metric tonnes.”

  “Okay, Corporal, I can see that, but why has it been flagged by the system? There are thousands of near-Earth asteroids and millions more elsewhere,” said Guardini with just a hint of an Italian accent, hoping dearly that what he feared was about to come next was all a big mistake by the junior radar specialist.