by D F Capps
“I want you to defend this country and the planet from a very vicious and technologically advanced enemy,” Andrews said. He paused before continuing. “If this is what you really want to do, I have a paper for you to sign, giving a lawyer power of attorney to dispose of all of your property and to shut down everything that can be traced back to you. She will need all of your accounts and passwords. Are you in or out?”
McHenry was elated. “I’m in. Where do I sign?”
Compared to spending the rest of his life in a military prison, this was an unexpected gift. He wasn’t about to let it pass him by.
Hollis pulled his briefcase onto the table, opened it, and handed McHenry two single sheets of paper.
“Sign here and here.”
McHenry quickly read the document and signed both copies. “I assume you went through the same procedure?” he said, glancing at Hollis.
“I did,” Hollis replied, “almost a year ago. This is a listing of all of your accounts we have on record. Add anything not on the list and provide all passwords and PIN codes. Be thorough and complete with all details, this is not something you want hanging over your head. Am I clear?”
McHenry nodded. “Perfectly. So what am I going to be doing?”
“I’ll fill you in once we get to our destination,” Hollis said. “We have a private plane waiting for us.”
Chapter 4
Peggy Sue Behnke woke before dawn. Jasper the hybrid was back. She quickly dressed in her comfortable sweat suit. It was early Saturday morning, which meant two things: No school, and there would be more hubrids waiting for her downstairs. For eighteen years she had been forced into teaching the teenaged hubrids about life on planet Earth.
In the beginning she refused to cooperate with the Zeta Grey hybrids. That’s when they hurt her. They threatened to kill her and use her for food. The only way to stop the pain and stay alive was to do as they demanded. Over the years she found the Zeta Grey hybrids had no feelings and no sense of humor, but they would tolerate some attitude from her. It wasn’t much, but it allowed her to fight back in her own limited way. She just wished she could do something more useful to fight against them.
Eight young teenaged hubrids waited downstairs. She estimated the youngest to be about twelve or thirteen, and the oldest fifteen. They sat quietly waiting for her. She didn’t recognize any of them. A new class, she thought.
“Have you practiced speaking out loud?” she asked.
The young hubrids nodded. She closed her eyes and breathed out.
“Earth humans are verbal,” she said. “You have to speak. I know you communicate with each other mind-to-mind. Do the same thing out loud. Say the words rather than just thinking them.”
“It’s so slow,” one of them complained.
“Yes, it is,” Peggy Sue replied. “But if you don’t talk to the humans, you’ll never fit in. Is that what you want?”
Most of them shook their heads, but one of them said, “No.”
Peggy Sue smiled. “See? You can do it. Speak the words.”
She looked at the reluctant group in front of her. It’s a naturally shy age for them anyway, she thought. We just have to get through this.
“Today we practice introductions. Stand up and say, ‘Hi, I’m Bob. What’s your name?’ ”
A girl stood up and said, “Hi, I’m Bob.”
Peggy Sue started laughing.
The girl looked puzzled. “Did I say it wrong?”
“For a girl, the name would be Bobbie. Bob is a boy’s name.”
The young hubrids had been raised by the Zeta Greys without having been assigned names. They had a long way to go.
Chapter 5
A plain blue Chevy sedan was waiting for them as Admiral Hollis and General McHenry walked out of the glass sliding doors of the Albuquerque International Sunport. The bright New Mexico sun was warm and inviting, despite the air temperature being in the low twenties. McHenry took a deep breath of the cold, clear air.
“This has got to beat Washington and the Pentagon.”
“It does,” Hollis said. “All of the bureaucracy and politics of Washington and the Pentagon have been stripped away out here. You’ll be able to get back to what you do best—fighting to save our country and the planet.”
Hollis and McHenry climbed into the back seat of the sedan. Hollis nodded to the driver and they were on their way.
“So what will I be doing, really?”
“You are now part of the United States Space Command—the new Commanding Officer of the U.S. Space Command Army, actually—and you’ll report directly to me.”
McHenry was shocked. “Space Command? We’re going into outer space?”
Hollis nodded. “At some point.” He looked out the window for a moment.
He’s trying to figure out exactly how to word the explanation, McHenry thought. I’d be doing the same thing. It’s bottom line time.
“For now, there are several hundred underground bases occupied by small grey aliens, known as the Zeta Greys. They are very technologically advanced and ruthless in everything they do.”
McHenry nodded slightly. He had read a few highly classified documents about aliens, flying saucers, and underground bases. Apparently there was more than a modicum of truth behind them.
“How many enemy troops?”
Hollis shifted in his seat. “Ballpark? Around eighteen thousand.”
McHenry pushed his lips together. Eighteen thousand ruthless troops in hardened underground bases? This was a major military undertaking, with all of the associated risk and probably heavy casualties as well. This was full out war and not just some police action.
“And how many troops do we have?”
Hollis turned to face him. “In the Space Command Army? So far, you’re it.”
McHenry nodded slowly as the implications sunk in. “I see.” Hollis watched his reaction closely. “So I can pick my own people?”
“As long as they’re the best of the best, sure,” Hollis said. “We’ll run a complete security check on any candidates you may have before you approach them. Select only people you trust with your life. We have no room for mistakes or second thoughts.”
McHenry put his hand over his mouth and chin, thinking. It had been a while since he was involved with Special Forces units. He wondered who was still on active duty and who was dead.
“I’ve got a few people in mind that we can start with. What armaments do the aliens have?”
“Flying saucers, flash guns that can vaporize people, and particle beam weapons.”
McHenry raised his eyebrows. This was a long way from fighting terrorists where the U.S military had overwhelming air superiority and weapon technology. Now, it seemed, he was on the short side of that equation.
“I’ve read some classified documents indicating that flying saucers were real. Based on the performance characteristics I’ve seen, how do you even get close to one of them? None of our aircraft are capable of that level of speed or maneuverability.”
Hollis smiled for the first time since they met. “I’ll arrange for you to go for a ride in one of our new fighter craft. That’ll show you much more than I could ever explain.”
Two hours later they passed through a military blockade and checkpoint on westbound U.S. 60. Hollis handed the guard two ID cards. The guard verified the photos against their faces and called in the identification numbers and names. Once cleared, the guard handed the IDs back and saluted. Hollis passed the new ID card over to McHenry.
“Here you go. Welcome to your new life.”
McHenry studied the new ID card and took a deep breath.
“So why the blockade?”
Hollis hesitated again. McHenry could feel the bad news coming.
“You were in the brig when this all went down. Cover story is a massive spill of radioactive material. It’s going to take us months to clean up all of the debris. We came close to losing control of our planet to the Zeta Greys. We barely survived their attac
k on the base. We lost all of our fighter craft and more than half our people.”
Half an hour later their driver pulled off the highway to make room for a large flatbed truck painted in camo colors. A huge camo tarp covered something round that extended off the sides of the trailer by twenty feet on each side.
“Is that what I think it is?” McHenry asked.
Hollis watched as the truck passed. “If you’re thinking enemy saucer, then yes, that’s what it is.”
McHenry’s heart raced at the prospect of seeing one up close. “Can we stop so I can get a closer look?”
Hollis shook his head. “Not necessary. There’s plenty left on the way to the base.”
Twenty-five minutes later the driver turned south on a dirt road where a crew of men were installing a large, heavy cattle gate.
“Lessons learned,” Hollis said. “We thought because the location of the base was secret and inside a mountain, that we didn’t have to worry about strangers wandering in.”
McHenry smiled. “But they did?”
Hollis nodded. “Reporter for the New York Times. Just drove right in.”
Navy guys, he thought. They spend too much time on a ship with limited access. “And nobody saw him?”
Hollis shrugged. “We were in the middle of the battle for the base.”
Of course you were, he thought. “That’s exactly when you have to be prepared for unauthorized visitors. Hence the gate. How about guards?” McHenry asked.
Hollis pointed to a nearby hill. “Guard shack is out of sight. Personnel will be dressed as cowboys, appropriately armed, and on horseback.”
He’s thinking civilians are going to be the primary problem. “Okay. Snipers?”
Hollis pointed to the other hill on the left. “Six, with spotters, on rotating shifts.”
McHenry realized these people were completely unprepared for a war. Too much desk time and not enough experience in the dust and the mud.
Four miles farther down the road they pulled off and stopped. Seven soldiers carried a damaged saucer-shaped craft out of the scrub brush and loaded it onto the trailer of another truck.
“That thing’s got to be what, forty-five feet across? How much does it weigh?” McHenry asked.
“Surprisingly, about four hundred pounds.”
McHenry’s eyebrows rose. “What’s it made of?”
“Some kind of an alloy. Main components are Tellurium, Germanium, and some Polonium.”
Hollis opened his briefcase, pulled a sample of the metal out, and handed it to McHenry.
The metal was lighter than aluminum foil, a dull chrome color, and very flexible. He bent it over then crumpled it up into a ball in his palm. When he opened his hand the metal snapped back into its flat shape without a single mark or wrinkle on it.
“Characteristics?” McHenry asked.
“It won’t dissolve, burn, or react chemically. Stronger than armor plate steel when it’s stretched over a lightweight framework. We can cut it with a high power industrial laser, but that’s about it. Metal shears, cutting torches . . . nothing else touches it.”
McHenry looked at the small sheet in his hands.
“This doesn’t look like it was cut with a laser, how did we get a piece this size?”
Hollis gazed out the car window again. “If they crash into soft dirt, the saucers remain mostly intact. When they crash into solid rock, they shatter.”
McHenry nodded. “Sounds like it’s bulletproof.”
“It is,” Hollis replied.
McHenry studied the piece of metal again. “Then how do you shoot them down?”
“Particle beam cannon. That’s the only thing we have that can penetrate the skin of these things. Vaporizes the material.”
McHenry frowned. “Would that work against a main battle tank?”
Hollis nodded. “Yep. Put a six-inch hole right through it, front and back.”
“Cheech, that’s going to change everything we know about weapons and battle plans.”
“That’s why I wanted you here. We need a lot of help.”
* * *
Thirty minutes later they arrived at the entrance to Peregrine Base. The blue Chevy stopped a hundred feet short of a large saucer. Seabees were attaching a nylon strap harness to the large craft.
“You wanted to see one up close—this is your chance,” Hollis said. “There are a lot of the small saucers around, but this is the only large one left.”
McHenry slowly walked under the rim of the saucer. This is amazing, he thought. “Troop transport, or battleship?”
“Troop transport. We know six of them came in from outer space. We shot down one over the Pacific Ocean, and took out three, here, in the battle for the base. The Russians took out one. So did the Chinese.”
McHenry stopped and stared at him. “We’re working with the Russians and the Chinese?”
Hollis nodded. “If it weren’t for them, the U.S. Space Command would have died at the hands of the Zeta Greys.”
This was a very different world from what he knew. McHenry looked at the giant saucer. “How many troops in each one?”
“Two hundred eighty small Greys, plus a tall Grey commander and two tall Grey pilots.”
McHenry climbed the ramp to see the interior. The multiple slanted rows with body-shaped indentations drew his interest.
“The recesses. This is the shape and size of the Zeta Greys?”
Hollis turned in a slow circle, looking at the indentations before nodding. “The workers, yes. We found out they don’t really sleep. Two hours lying in the recess and they are good to go for the rest of the day.”
McHenry continued to study the interior of the saucer. “I don’t see any places for food or sanitary facilities.”
Hollis breathed out slowly. “The Zeta Greys don’t need them. They don’t eat or have a digestive system, per se. No lungs, so they don’t need to breathe as we do. Nutrition comes from a liquid, absorbed through the skin, once every six weeks.”
McHenry’s mouth dropped open. “Wow. Talk about hardened troops. So, limited supply lines?”
Hollis nodded. “Right now we have an electromagnetic planetary shield in place so the Zeta Greys are cut off from external supplies, but they have an interconnecting system of tunnels and high-speed transit vehicles. I’m estimating they have decades of supplies in their underground bases.”
McHenry paused to consider the implications. “So we need to think and plan long term.”
Hollis shook his head. “Unfortunately, we may not have that luxury. If they manage to take out a few of our transmitting stations, they could bring in hundreds, if not thousands of saucers. We’re still at high risk. Those alien underground bases have to be eliminated as soon as possible.”
“Block-buster nukes should do the job. Where are the bases?”
Hollis shook his head again. “Unfortunately, most of the bases are located in semi-populated places. Only three major bases are isolated: one in Alaska, one in Bolivia, and one in the Ural Mountains of Russia. Most of the saucer traffic comes and goes in the rural areas. They access the rest of the bases through their extensive tunnel system.”
McHenry and Hollis walked out of the saucer to the heavy thump of a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. It hovered overhead as the rigging crew attached the nylon-web harness to the hook on the end of the lifting cable. In a matter of just a few minutes, the rigging crew was clear and the saucer was hoisted into the air.
“Where’s it headed?” McHenry asked.
Hollis shaded his eyes from the bright sun as he watched the saucer disappear in the west. “The Painted Desert area in Arizona.”
McHenry took a deep breath. “Okay. So what happened inside our base?”
Chapter 6
“I need more.”
“What?” investigative reporter Sean Wells asked. He thought Ed Schultz, his editor at the New York Times, was being unreasonable. “You’ve got the photos of dead aliens, crashed saucers, killed and wounded U.S. sold
iers . . . We’ve been invaded by aliens. Isn’t that enough?”
Ed shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong. The photos are great, the basic storyline is great, but you’re telling me these aliens abducted thousands of people—used some of them for food, for crying out loud. But you’re not showing me a single victim. Where are the photos and the interviews of people who have been abducted?”
“It’s a war story,” Sean insisted. “This is about the battle for the planet.”
Ed shook his head again. “You know as well as I do that every good story, war stories included, are people stories.” He tapped the pages in front of him. “Where are the people in your story?”
Sean glanced out the window at the city of New York. Everyone he knew inside the U.S. Space Command and Ceti Research were working in highly classified positions. He couldn’t quote or identify any of them. Not even the people who had died.
“We can run with ‘UFOs are real’, or ‘ETs are real,’ or ‘we’re not alone in the universe.’ Isn’t that a big enough story all by itself?”
Ed was still shaking his head. “I’ve talked with the owners of the paper. We’re not opening this can of worms without the complete story. What are we supposed to do? Tell our readers we’ve been invaded by aliens and we’ll get back to them next month, or the month after that, when we figure out the rest of the story? Come on, Wells, you know how this works!”
Sean looked up at the ceiling. He was the only one who had the photos and the story. No one else had any idea what had happened. This was the opportunity of a lifetime. Couldn’t Ed see that? He drummed his fingers on the armrest of the chair and looked around the room. He hated to admit it, but Ed had a point. The story was great now, but with interviews from abduction victims? That would be a blockbuster.
He closed his eyes and nodded. “Okay, you’re right. I’ll find the victims and add the interviews.”
Chapter 7
“This is what I wanted you to see,” Theo said.
Diane Zadanski leaned forward and looked into the inside of the fighter still under construction. The Zeta Grey saucer incursions had come to a halt, so she took the opportunity to visit Theo at Ceti Research in Arizona.
