by Murison, J W
What I do know is that we’re never going to find out until someone goes inside. The question left in my mind is whom, do we send in the scientists, diplomats or soldiers? One final question, will they wear environmental suits for protection or not?’
That started the ball rolling in a different direction. He had already made up his mind what he was going to do, but already knew better than try and bulldoze his way through this gathering of intellects. He would let them argue themselves to a standstill then make an informed decision on their behalf. He smiled inwardly at the thought.
Chapter 9
Colonel Howe headed up the six-man Special Forces team. With a slight inclination of his head he activated his comms.
‘Radio check.’
Everyman checked back plus the Ops room operator. He nodded to himself with satisfaction. They were lightly armed and dressed in white environmental suits. His whole body was pumped with adrenalin, every sense he had heightened, but he didn’t know if it was fear or exhilaration.
He would be the first human to enter an alien ship and meet an alien life form.
‘Ok you know the drill. As soon as the ship opens we move forward and stop. Let them get a good look at us. If they object to our weapons then they will probably close the hatch. We will then place our weapons to the side and move away from them.
If the hatch reopens, first three will move forward to the ramp. Last man to stay at the bottom of the ramp. Second man will stop at the door and I will move inside on my own. Anything strange happens at all then get out. If I haven’t came back within half an hour then get out.
If they don’t seem to have any objections to our weapons then we will all move forward together. Weapons will be slung and we will walk carefully and slowly. No one and I repeat no one is to even touch his weapons regardless of what happens, unless one of us drops dead and I mean shot, torn to pieces dead not drop dead from fright. Last man will stay at the entrance in case our radio signals fail to penetrate the hull to relay signals. Is that clear?’
They nodded their understanding. He radioed in their readiness and received an all-clear status in return. Now all they had to do was wait.
The sun kissed the top of the first ship and cast a long shadow, but nothing happened. They began to sweat in their suits but each man was a professional and ignored the discomfort. The whole side of the ship was bathed in sunlight before the door magically appeared and a silvered ramp extended down to the car park.
Howe’s heart began to hammer, ‘move out,’ he whispered into his mike. They advanced out into the car park in plain sight and stood there waiting for a response from the ship. He half expected to receive a recall from his own people, but neither was forthcoming.
Howe could hear the rasping breath of his colleagues behind as at least one of them began to hyperventilate and decided he had better move before someone passed out.
‘Move.’
Fresh adrenalin kicked in. It was so hard to walk calmly as every sense in their bodies was screaming out to run. They made it to the ramp and stopped. Howe indicated for the last man to wait at the entrance and disappeared inside, his number two following closely behind.
He squinted finding everything to bright, but no sooner had he thought it than the corridor began to dim. He thought it strange but moved farther in. The corridor they stood in seemed to run the length of the ship. He looked around and decided to try his comms.
‘How am I reading?’
‘Loud and clear,’ came the response. With a sigh of relief he turned to his people lining the corridor behind. He indicated with a finger, ‘come on get off the walls. Stand up straight and when we meet them look them straight in the eye.’
He headed towards the front of the ship. It was only a few seconds before an excited General Archibald spoke in his ear piece, ‘what can you see Howe?’
The Colonel paused, ‘nothing sir.’
‘You must be able to see something man?’
‘We’re in a long curving corridor. The walls seem to be made of metal, almost like polished steel. It was very bright when we first came in but either someone turned the lights down or our eyes have adjusted quickly. The walls are completely bare and I would say the height of the ceiling is probably a little higher than it would be for a human crew. There is no sign of anyone or anything. No doors no windows. I’m going to keep going until we find someone.’
He could almost feel the tension in the men behind him and chanced a glance. Much to his relief every man was doing as told and had their hands in front of them away from their weapons.
The corridor took a sharp turn blocking their view of the way ahead and he realised they must be approaching the front of the ship. With a pounding heart he walked boldly around the bend, his body prepared to take the violence of a hostile act.
To his surprise the final length of corridor was as empty as the first. His sigh of relief was picked up at HQ. General Archibald’s voice bursting into the silence made him jump.
‘What's happening now Colonel?’
Howe let out another long breath, ‘nothing sir. We’ve came to the end of the corridor and it looks like a dead end.’
‘Are you sure?’
‘No sir, but that’s what it looks like.’ Howe was cursing. He wished they had decided to take along the video units but no one was sure how an alien race that refused to be seen outside their own space ships would take to being videoed. So by a unanimous vote they had been left behind. Howe realised how valuable some direction from the scientists would be right now.
As if reading his thoughts Doctor Gordon, the male version came through his earphone, ‘remember you’re in an alien craft Colonel. Just because you don’t see a door it doesn't mean there isn’t one there.’
Howe nodded to himself, ‘yeah right Doc, good thinking.’ He felt the tension ease a little. His instincts had been screaming ‘trap’ at him for minutes now.
He approached the blank wall and stretched a hand out towards it without touching. Nothing happened. He shook his head in dismay.
‘There doesn’t seem to be any door Doctor, is the way out still open?’
‘Yes it’s still open Colonel. How close are you standing to it?’
‘Arms length.’
‘There's still no sign of any panels?’
‘Absolutely nothing,’ he could almost hear the Doctor shake his head in disappointment.
‘Then maybe you should explore the corridor in the other direction as far as it will go then return to the point you are now.’
General Archibald’s voice come over, ‘I concur with that Colonel. We’ll discuss the next move when you get back.’
The Colonel nodded to his men and they began to turn back. With a growing sense of disappointment he gave the wall one last look. Instinctively he reached out to slap it and disappeared.
His yell of fear brought an instantaneous response from the other members of his team. They whipped round to find the Colonel gone. Weapons were grabbed and cocked. Men shouted, the General and scientists shouted.
Sergeant ‘Beaver’ Mitowsky levelled his weapon and charged the blank wall. At the last second he put all his weight behind his shoulder expecting great resistance from the solid looking wall, and disappeared. The rest of the men just stood there for a moment completely stunned.
Beaver crashed into a mortified Colonel Howe as he struggled to his feet. Both men tumbled across the floor with a howl of pain. Frantically Howe tried to struggle free.
‘Shit! Sorry Colonel.’
‘Beaver, is that you on my back?’
‘Yes sir.’
‘Then get the hell off me.’
‘Yes sir.’
Men’s voices screamed in his ear, ‘shut up,’ he roared down the comms. A deathly silence ensued as everyone held their breaths. Both men struggled to their feet. Howe was red faced in embarrassment as he imagined how they must have looked to the aliens but when he was finally able to gain his feet and look around he foun
d they were alone.
Beaver was mimicking his actions and found his voice first, ‘where are they sir?’
Howe shook his head, ‘I don’t know.’
It was all the excuse General Archibald needed. He almost screamed in Howe’s earpiece, ‘what the hell happened Colonel?’
Howe sighed, ‘I found the door sir and by the looks of it I’m now in the control room or bridge if you want to call it that but there's no one here. I’m beginning to get the feeling the ships deserted.’
‘Ok Colonel, stand by for instructions.’
The line went quiet again. The Colonel walked back to the door and shuffled closer and closer until it suddenly disappeared. He found himself staring down the barrels of his own men’s automatic weapons.
‘What did I tell you about those things, have you seen anyone drop down dead yet? Stop pissing about out here and get inside!’
They followed him back inside. There were consoles scattered around the bridge. He realised it was laid out somewhat like the Starship Enterprise in the movies. There were only two real differences. There was no captain’s chair in the middle and none of the consoles had any markings on them, nor anything else for that matter. Everything had the same sheen of polished steel.
He almost reached out and touched what would have been the navigator’s position but immediately thought better of it. He caught Beaver shuffling along the wall and went over.
‘What are you doing?’
‘Well it came to mind sir, that we couldn’t see that door, everything’s seamless. We could have passed a dozen doors coming down that corridor and never noticed them. So I figured the only way we’re going to find another is by running our hands along the wall to see if one opens.’
Howe nodded, ‘good idea.’
The Generals voice snapped down their comms, ‘don’t touch anything until we give the go ahead.’
The Colonel had to stop himself from sighing out loud, ‘yes ok sir,’ but a nod at Beaver told him that the Colonel was getting sick of the restraints being placed on them and to carry on with his search, which he did with a grin. He found a door in the centre of the room and another mirroring the one they had entered at the opposite side.
Another nod told Beaver that was enough for now and they settled down to wait until the powers that be, came to a decision. Howe felt the feeling of frustration begin to be replaced by one of elation. So he wasn’t the first man from Earth to meet an alien but he was the first to step onto an alien craft, and if it really was deserted, the implications of that suddenly became very inviting.
Chapter 10
The arguments raged back and forth across the table for two hours before the General decided to put an end to it.
‘That’s enough ladies and gentlemen. I want three military teams put together with a scientist in charge of each. Our first task will be to ascertain there are no aliens aboard and the ship is indeed empty.
I want you to take all the recording equipment you deem necessary to map out the inside of the ship. The President will be here in a few hours and I want to have something concrete to show him, so get going.’
The meeting broke up quickly. Steven’s father was the first scientist to be chosen while it was deemed too risky to put his mother in the ship at the same time. So she had to wait for the first footage to be beamed back to the operations room.
Doctor Quail a brilliant young scientist of 27 was chosen as the second scientist and Doctor Gail Wishaw a top physicist as the third. They were ready within the hour and then spent the next few hours searching through the ship.
The President of the United States arrived while the search was still continuing and joined in the silent visual at the screens as they made their way through the ship. Occasionally he asked a question and Mary Gordon found herself with the task of answering them.
‘Do you really think its empty Doctor Gordon?’
‘It seems to be sir.’
‘Couldn’t the aliens have some sort of cloaking device?’
‘You mean they may be watching our behaviour sir?’
‘Yes that sort of thing.’
Mary took a deep breath, ‘it is always a possibility, but chances are, there are so many of our people in there now someone would have bumped into one of them accidentally by now.’
‘Fascinating, we’re really viewing the interior of an alien ship.’
Mary smiled at his enthusiasm. The President’s eyes sparkled with delight. He reminded her of a small boy in a toyshop. For a moment her thoughts swung onto her own son who still sat in an isolation chamber deep within the facility. She had asked the President for a reprieve, but he had listened to the military commanders and refused to let him out of the isolation chamber.
‘We still haven’t been able to access the second ship have we Doctor?’
‘No sir?’
‘Do you think that maybe the aliens are in there watching us?’
‘You mean to see how we behave?’
‘Yes.’
‘It is a possibility we have considered sir, but we just don’t know.’
General Archibald leaned forward deciding to add to her comments, ‘just in case they are sir, everyone has been warned to be on their best behaviour.’
The President lifted an eyebrow, ‘of course General, that’s why your men are all still armed.’
The General leaned back out of ridicules way and Mary thought she detected a darkening beneath the ebony skin.
The President went on, ‘knowing what I do about the human race I to would think twice about showing my face to armed men. Especially if I looked radically different.’
Mary almost laughed as the General squirmed, ‘I deemed it a necessary precaution sir.’
‘Of course General you were completely right.’
The President smiled amiably at the General who almost sighed out loud with relief. He was off the hook and he knew he had done the right thing, but the President was now telling him to back off a little and for the moment the burden of command seemed a little lighter. He would slowly cut back the armed troops to a perimeter out of small arms range.
Mary had a question of her own to ask, ‘Mr. President, the whole world is now aware of these ships, are you going to invite scientists from other countries to assist us?’
The President re-crossed his legs, ‘not at the moment Doctor, I want to learn as much as possible about these ships.’
‘Do you think other countries will stand for that sir?’
‘We’re still the most powerful country on this planet Doctor Gordon, they have no choice. Oh don’t worry; in time we will invite other scientists to view them if they are still here.’
The look the President gave her, left her in no doubts her own nationality would be held up by the United States like a badge. A badge that said look, we do let foreign scientists on board the ships. It would be a propaganda move to keep others away while they stole as much information and technology as possible; she felt in her gut that they would keep it to themselves.
Disappointment blossomed in her heart and she began to wonder how long they would suffer her and her family’s presence at the institute. Or how long it would be before they were shuffled onto another project.
No, she decided they would need to keep them there to keep up appearances, but wondered if the only thing they would be allowed to inspect was the broom cupboard. That’s if they could ever find it.
Even the President began to comment on how blank everything was. Every monitor showed the same scene. Room after featureless room, it was perplexing.
Deep in the bowls of the institute Buzz had just commented on the same thing to Steven. He had patched into one of the monitors and dragged it over to the big window of his cell. They sat on either side of the glass watching one of the groups progress.
Buzz shook his head, ‘how are they supposed to fly that thing if there ain’t no controls.’
‘Maybe they control it with their minds.’
Buzz looked at his friend quizzically, ‘yeah, mind control, that would work. Wouldn’t need any dials or switches with that, good thinking buddy. Only one problem though.’
‘What's that?’
‘We humans aren’t telepathic. We can’t control our mouths let alone our minds. So I hope they don’t expect us to fly the bloody thing.’
Amusement glittered in Steven’s eyes for a moment, ‘I don’t know Buzz, when I touched that ship I felt something. I don’t know what it was but it was something.’
Steven jumped as Buzz thumped the glass hard, ‘thought I told you to stop talking like that. Christ man they’ll never let you out of here. All they’ll do is add a little padding.’
The amusement retuned to Steven’s eyes as he noted the concern on his friend’s face, ‘ok I’ll try not to. Do you know when they’re letting me out of here yet?’
Buzz shifted uncomfortably, ‘word is not yet pal. Hang on in there, they can’t keep you in there forever.’
‘I'm beginning to think they can.’
The trouble was Buzz was beginning to believe the same thing and wondered what they would do to them if he sprang Steven. He shuddered involuntarily as a vision of them being cut down in a hail of bullets passed through his mind.
Steven noticed, ‘you feeling ok Buzz?’
‘Yeah partner, just hang on in there.’
Chapter 11
The following day things picked up a pace. Most of the soldiers were drawn back and carefully selected teams of scientists swarmed all over the ship.
Brian and Mary Gordon found themselves slipped onto the back burner. A man neither had heard of before appeared on the scene and took over the operation from them. He never explained what he was a scientist of, but it was obvious the Pentagon trusted him.
Mary wrinkled her nose every time he came near. Almost six foot tall he was dressed in what looked like hand me downs. His personal hygiene fared no better. He had long black hair and a black beard both unkempt. Mary could smell his unwashed body from a meter away and thought close up she could also detect the smell of urine, but what she disliked about him most was his wild black eyes.
