Legend of Oria 1: Initial Contact

by James Campbell

  1:00 PM: Sheriff’s deputies attack Creyte stronghold

  Larson and his deputies had all reviewed the video by the time they met at the designated rendezvous point. No one had any idea of what these creatures were. As a result, they were packing as much heavy weaponry as they could carry. The team had dynamite, M16’s, and a mixture of other semi-automatic and fully automatic weaponry.

  Larson led his men to a location within 100 yards of where the pilot saw the creatures disappear into the mountainside. The team stopped and examined the site through binoculars. They wanted to be ready with a plan for whatever lay ahead of them. Slowly, the team started to head towards the Creyte stronghold. They hadn’t even covered more than a couple of steps when the ground in front of them exploded in a burst of flame. These creatures were firing at them with some high tech weaponry.

  Only two out of the six deputies made it back from the hailstorm in front of them. Those that survived crawled not feeling the pain from their severely burned bodies. They only felt pain from broken bones piercing their flesh and from their internal injuries.

  Larson reached up and felt his face. It had no feeling of its own. He was shocked to pull flakes of charcoal where there used to be flesh. Larson knew that death was close as he discovered charred flesh coving most of his tortured body. With a final effort, Larson managed to turn on his radio’s microphone. “Base, this is Larson. Our mission has failed. The creatures attacked us. Four of my men are dead. Tom and I are the only ones left. You need to bring in SWAT, or the Guard. We can’t hold out much longer. They’re armed.”

  A blackness swelled up inside of Larson, that blackness was death.

  2:00 PM: Sheriff Department calls in SWAT Team

  Ellen Thompson was on dispatch when Larson’s last message came in. She had seen some of the earlier footage and had a bad feeling about Larson’s operation. She had even suggested calling in someone from the outside. Larson, with his big ego, would have nothing to do with that. Now he was probably dead.

  Ellen called the state police dispatcher and informed him of the disaster in West Virginia. The state police dispatcher, Carlos Brown was a big friendly black man who frequently kidded Ellen about working for a small township. He wanted her to become a State Police dispatcher. When Carlos heard the distress in Ellen’s voice, he knew something bad happened. Ellen had worked as a dispatcher for so many years that not much upset her.

  “Ellen, slow down. What happened?”

  “Carlos, everyone’s dead! Larson took all of his deputies out this morning to investigate some creatures that killed and ate a bunch of people.”

  “What? What do you mean a bunch of creatures?”

  “Carlos, we have it on video tapes. I’ve never seen anything like it. Apparently not only are they vicious, they are heavily armed.”

  Carlos heard what Ellen was saying. He even understood her, but he had a hard time believing what she was telling him. “What do you mean they are heavily armed? What you’re saying doesn’t make sense.”

  “I know Carlos, I know. Let me email you a copy of the video. One of the last things Larson said before his signal went dead is that they are armed, call SWAT or the Guard.”

  Carlos was just receiving the first of the pictures Ellen emailed. He double clicked on them and could not believe what he was seeing. Carlos decided quickly to inform the Officer of the Day of the situation.

  3:00 PM: SWAT Team is destroyed by Creytes

  Captain Lee was just about to start his unit’s normal Saturday afternoon drills when his cell phone rang. It was Deputy Chief Lewis.

  “Yes Chief. What can I do for you today?”

  “Captain, I’ve just downloaded the situation into your briefing book. You and your two teams need to head to a cave just below Pete’s Bluff. From the looks of it, you better pack some heavy artillery.”

  “We’re ready. What’s the skinny?”

  “Sheriff Larson and a team of deputies were annihilated by some alien looking creatures earlier today. It appears that these creatures eat humans and Larson took his men and tried to stop them. We have received several reports of a massive explosion near that location. We believe that and his men are dead. Several hunters were able to get close enough to see Larson. They threw some stones a few feet in front of them and triggered another explosion. I don’t know what you’re going up against, but it doesn’t look good.”

  Lee assembled his men and went over the pictures downloaded into his electronic briefing book. The team discussed the situation for only a few minutes and then headed towards Pete’s Bluff.

  Lee sent one team above the cave opening. The other team approached from below, tracing Larson’s earlier steps. Lt. Miki commanded the team coming down the mountain. Lee headed the team coming from below.

  Lee and his company approached the site where Larson still lay, burned to death. About 10 yards in front was a large burned area. Lee tossed a small knife into the center of the burn area. Before it reached ground, he saw a light burst from the cave and moments later the knife was in the middle of a large explosion. If Lee had stood there, he would be dead, the same as Larson.

  Miki was approaching from above the cave entrance. Retilia detected his approach. He knew that he would have to destroy this team the same as the last one. Durinea’s disobedience certainly had revealed the Creytes’ true nature. It was only a matter of time before Helen Marshal and Ratherson knew of their propensity to eat humans. They would probably figure out the White House break-in as well. Retilia figured they could defend themselves against any weaponry that Earth possessed. The problem was Oria. Oria still lived and was free. If Oria managed to join the fight or managed to pass on some technology, Retilia’s small group was doomed. His small force was no match for an Azortec starship! Retilia knew he had to plan his escape from Earth.

  Lee and Miki had no idea of what they were facing. They came to take on the Creytes with the best SWAT technology that the State of West Virginia could provide. It was no match for Creyte hand weaponry. Retilia ordered Durinea to fire on the two teams, annihilating the two teams in a series of large explosions.

  Carlos listened in on the SWAT radio frequency through their last moments of life. When the signals went dead, Carlos knew that the State’s best had encountered the same fate as had Larson and his deputies. Deputy Chief Lewis listened in to the SWAT frequency with Carlos. He wanted to be on hand if anything happened. What he did not expect to hear was the destruction West Virginia’s two best SWAT teams. Lewis knew that it was time to escalate this situation up to the U.S. Military. A move he did not want to make, because of the alleged attack by the U.S. Military on a local West Virginia sheriff office.

  4:30 PM: Pentagon - Martello discovers Helen/Creyte connection

  Martello managed to evade the MP sweep of the Laser Watch team. He had many connections within the various Pentagon security teams and managed to get an advance warning. Unfortunately, he did not get the warning in time to save Bronson. Martello knew that technically, the MP’s wanted him too. He also knew that for some reason, they would be unable to find him conducting research inside of the security office. Of course, the Sergeant that let him into the security office somehow didn’t connect Martello to the same Martello on the arrest warrant. The Sergeant greeted him as he always greeted him and asked Martello if knew of any other Martello’s that worked at the Pentagon.

  Martello didn’t have much time to get to the core of Helen Marshall and the Creytes. His friends couldn’t play this game forever. Martello decided to cash in on one of his White House connections. He suspected that if dirt existed on Helen, Ratherson would have it. Sure enough, when his friend downloaded and emailed him an encrypted copy of Helen’s file, it contained juicy dirt on Helen’s sordid past.

  Unfortunately, the details of Helen’s file weren’t sufficient to nail her. Martello needed to find a connection between the information in the White House files, Helen, and the Creytes. He started to pull up newspaper articles and some
internal reports on the White House break-in. A smile broke across his face as he read that a White House Database Manager and the IT Security Manager died shortly after the break-in. Interestingly the deaths had linkages to acts of cannibalism. Martello wasn’t sure what this meant. However, he knew that he was onto something. He just didn’t know what.

  Martello sat back in his chair trying to think through the various bits of information. A news report coming across the Pentagon monitors caught his attention. He saw several pictures of creatures. Martello immediately recognized Retilia. They were Creytes! Next, he watched several pictures of the Creytes eating people. That was it! Retilia must have led the White House break-in. That explained the ability of Retilia to control Helen, and connected the Creytes to the White House database. Martello was so excited about his discovery that he almost overlooked the fact that the West Virginia Police were in a war with the Creytes and losing big time!

  6:30 PM: Pentagon - SECDEF’s office

  Martello wasted no time after his discovery. He wormed his way into the detention center holding Bronson. After several minutes of intense conversation with the MP in charge, the MP finally agreed to let Martello talk to Bronson.

  Bronson saw MPs leading Martello down the corridor. He was in a foul mood having spent the entire day in jail. He spoke to no one all day, not even an attorney. Helen Marshal saw to it that that Bronson spoke to no one by declaring any conversation with Bronson a National Security risk. Of course, Martello knew his way around this constraint.

  Martello stopped just outside of Bronson’s cell and faced him. “Hello, General. I’ve been working to get you out of there. I think I’ve discovered something.”

  Bronson knew better than to ask Martello how he was able to avoid arrest and was able to acquire this opportunity to speak with him. It was best not to discuss some things. “Captain, by all means enlighten me on your discovery. I certainly would like to get out of here.”

  “General, I think the Creytes are blackmailing Helen into her position. I have evidence that the Creytes broke into the White House database. They were able to obtain the sordid past of Helen Marshal. In addition, it appears that the Creytes were seen earlier today eating people in West Virginia. There is a battle going on between the West Virginia Police and a Creyte stronghold. West Virginia has just requested the U.S. Military to assist them. The Creytes are the bad guys, not Oria.”

  Bronson smiled. “Excellent work Martello, who else knows?”

  “No one yet General. I’d like to get us together with the SECDEF and explain the situation. Unfortunately, Helen has him pretty tied up. I have a plan for that though.”

  Bronson chuckled. “I bet you do Captain. You know where to find me.”

  “Yes General. I’ll be back.”

  Martello headed out of the small detention center. His next stop was the Pentagon situation room. From the situation room it should be easier to get Wilson’s attention.

  John Wilson was in a heated discussion with Helen Marshal when the situation room alarm in his office went off. He broke off the conversation with Helen and headed directly to the situation room.

  Wilson was livid when he saw Martello standing in front of him and not detained like the rest of the Laser Watch team. “Captain Martello, what are you doing here? I’m going to get to the bottom of this. You and everyone who helped you will pay.”

  Martello replied in an equally strong voice. “Sir, please grant me one minute. If what I tell you is unacceptable, I will willingly cooperate with whatever punishment you want to send my way.”

  Wilson never wanted to arrest the Laser Watch team in the first place. Therefore, it was easy to grant this one request. “Captain, you have exactly one minute.”

  “Sir, the State of West Virginia is at war with a Creyte stronghold as we speak. Earlier today the Creytes were discovered eating some campers.”

  Wilson’s anger turned to shock. “This doesn’t make sense. I’ve had several conversations with Commander Retilia today. There doesn’t appear to be any conflicts.”

  “I can’t explain that, Mr. Wilson. However, I can explain why Helen Marshal is so supportive of the Creytes. The Creytes are blackmailing her. They are the ones who broke into the White House database. That database contains dirt on Helen. They are using it to blackmail her. Further, check the news consoles here and you will see the battle raging in West Virginia. I’m surprised no one told you. West Virginia is requesting DOD to assist them in destroying the Creytes.”

  Wilson abruptly broke away from Martello and headed to one of the news consoles. He was horrified at the reports. One of the officers working the console showed Wilson several photos of the Creytes eating humans. One of them clearly was Retilia. Wilson turned to the duty officer and ordered him to pass the word down to the MP’s to have Bronson, Sloan, and their teams meet with him in his office immediately. He also ordered the officer to send several MP’s and place Helen Marshal under arrest. He would deal with Ratherson later.

  13

  Sunday June 4

  12 AM: Army Special Ops Called In

  It seemed like a lifetime to Bronson since he left the White House with Wilson and Sloan. At first, Ratherson was angry with Wilson for freeing Sloan and himself. However, his mood quickly changed when he saw some of the latest newscasts and the research package assembled by Martello. Ratherson actually became quite docile. Bronson had never seen him that quiet before. It was clear they needed to take action against the Creytes. Ratherson essentially gave Bronson and Sloan a blank check and ordered them to do whatever it takes.

  Bronson and Sloan worked many hours considering various alternatives to take on the Creytes. They called in many of the Pentagon’s top strategists and scientists before settling on a plan that required the Azortec laser technology as developed by GeoTechnology. Microbot-swarms would supplement the laser weapon systems. Bronson would work with GeoTechnology to outfit Air Force fighters and a STAR Hawks space shuttle with the new laser systems. Sloan would organize a Special Forces unit and the microbot-swarms.

  Bronson knew that he was on a tight time line with no time to waste. Once they settled on a strategy, Bronson immediately called his friend, Peter Franklin, to get GeoTechnology working on building and installing laser systems.

  Peter Franklin was in a deep sleep when his phone rang. When he answered the phone, he was only somewhat surprised to hear Bronson’s voice. “Hello Stewart, What’s up?”

  “Peter, we need your help. The Creytes are successfully blocking all our attacks from the police special response units. Since they have much of the same types of technology that we possess, we don’t believe our Special Forces will have a different result, that is, without a new edge.”

  Franklin’s mind was quickly waking up and racing through areas where he thought that he could be assistance. “I agree. We’re working on a lot of projects at GeoTechnology. Which one did you have in mind?”

  “Peter, we need the laser system you’re working on. I want to mount them under F-35’s and a larger one in one of our space shuttles. They must be operational by tomorrow morning.”

  “Tomorrow morning!” shouted Peter into the handset. ‘Stewart, you’re asking a lot!”

  “I know Peter. We’re running out of precious time here. These Creytes have to be stopped, and quite frankly, our current firepower won’t make an impact without those lasers.”

  “We’ll get right on it. Is it safe to presume that Colonels Henley and Johnson are our contacts?”

  “Yes, they will be coordinating our efforts. Johnson will handle the F-35’s and Henley the STAR Hawk shuttles. If you run into any problems, and I mean ANY problems, call me immediately.”

  “Then let me get started Stewart. It will probably take several hours to contact my team and get them going.”

  Bronson had already anticipated this issue. “Johnson is working on that now. Air Force helicopters are already in route to pick up your team. We have fighter transports on call to fly any n
ecessary personnel to Florida. This is a top priority, straight from Ratherson himself. We have no choice!”

  Franklin felt shocked by the extent and speed that Bronson wanted to proceed. “Stewart, what’s going on? This sounds extreme.”

  Bronson sensing the concern in his friend’s voice responded. “Peter, we are in a very dangerous situation. What you may have seen on TV is only part of the story. Now that they know we are onto them, we fear that they will act quickly against us.”

  Peter took a deep breath before speaking next. “We may need more than those lasers. They probably can easily take out our F-35’s.”

  “You may be right. What else do you have in mind?”

  “Stewart, do you remember the Army’s microbot?”

  “Of course, I’m thinking about using them as well. However, I didn’t think they had any offensive capabilities.”

  “They don’t officially. Unofficially, that’s a different story.”

  The General snorted, “There are always multiple stories with you.”

  Franklin ignored Bronson’s last remark. “Stewart, we have adopted a micro version of some Oria’s laser technology to the microbots. Imagine a swarm of thousands of these microbots, each with the explosive engine that drives Oria’s laser technology. They can be controlled from a central command center and used to launch a swarm of micro-bombs at the enemy.”

  “Impressive. Where are we going to get thousands of microbots complete with explosive devices?”