“Then you and your people can go on and explain everything that has happened. Janet and I will assist whenever you feel a need.”
Janet made a quick call to the FEMA control center, set up after the Splendid China disaster. She made arrangements to have every local police, fire and rescue units alerted of what was going to happen and their phone numbers would be displayed on TV as an assistant number. If they wanted any details they were to tune into Channel Nine.
When she got off the phone, she turned to Jeff and said, “You’re about to go down in history as being the first person to have discovered alien life forms.”
When they arrived at the station, a frenzy of activity had all ready begun. They were treated as celebrities and rushed inside to the control room that had been set up for the original investigation. It was now crowded with lights, cameras and all the personnel needed to put on a major news event. Jeff told the station manager how the president would speak first, very short, and introductory, with the General going next, then Janet, and finally Jeff. His manager said okay, and that they were ready and in-place.
Jeff went over to the General and Janet and said, “They’re ready as soon as you say go, sir.”
The General said, “I’ll call the president and if he’s ready we’ll go on the air in less than five minutes. Let’s hope E-1 is right about just pushing the clear button.”
A few minutes later, the message that had repeated for the past day on TVs around the country stopped and was replaced with a camera view of the president at the Oval Office. He spoke directly, “Recent events of the past few hours have been extraordinary to say the least. We can assure everyone that things are under control. For the next forty minutes or so, a series of speakers, each with his or her assigned area of expertise, will be addressing what I know is of interest to us all. Here now is General Stormer—”
The General was at the conference room table with dozens of microphones in front of him, Janet to his left, Jeff to his right. The producer signaled the time, three, two, one—
A bold lettered “Breaking News” was superimposed over their faces. General Stormer began, “My name is General Stormer and I’m a member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. To my left is Janet Harris from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and to my right is Jeff Stabinski from WFTV Channel 9 here in Orlando, Florida.
“We know the events of the past few days have been unprecedented over the history of mankind. We will now take time to explain what has happened and ask that you do not panic. The President of the United States is addressing the entire world as I speak now, the president having addressed our nation just moments ago. So that everyone understands what is happening you first need to know that the reason the president did not directly addressing our nation at this time is that we have an important issue to inform you about that must be announced immediately.
“A few days ago we discovered areas in central Florida that had unusual devastation. After investigating, we discovered it was from an alien spacecraft and made the decision to shoot it down. When our Airforce F-10s did the job, two other spaceships were discovered and were also shot down. These events in turn caused the Mother Ship to reveal herself, approach Earth and establish an orbit near our moon.
“Let me assure you that we have talked to this alien life form and established the fact that they are friendly. Their mission is not to harm Earth. Let me repeat— Their mission is not to harm Earth.
“Before all this is explained in detail we have agreed with the leader of the orbiting Mother Ship, E-1, to clear the areas around the aircraft we shot down. The reason for this is that the Mother Ship will destroy the downed ships within the next few hours of their own will. We therefore need to announce an evacuation only in central Florida in the areas within a ten-mile radius of these crafts. At this time, then, I’ll turn it over to Janet to let you know what counties must be evacuated immediately.”
Janet proceeded to announce the counties, cities and roads she wanted everyone to evacuate from, and immediately. Numbers of FEMA, police, fire and rescue were put up on the screen if anyone had questions or needed special assistance. She stressed this was a mandatory evacuation and anyone not leaving might inadvertently be killed by the force of the Mother Ship’s firepower when destroying the smaller spacecrafts. The National Guard will protect the evacuated areas and no one will be allowed in. It should be noted that looters would be shot on sight, period. No questions asked. I think that stresses the importance that no one remains in these areas.
When she was finished, Jeff was introduced and the events of the astonishing last few days were described in detail. He handled it like a professional anchorman, starting from his first sighting of the devastation. He directed questions back and forth to Janet and General Stormer, as deemed necessary.
Although it only took forty-five minutes to explain everything, the “Breaking News” would continue as the networks covered every angle. Jeff explained they would cover live, if possible, the destroying of the smaller alien crafts. Cameras were set up to observe the new moon and the downed aircraft as the twelfth hour approached.
The last thing announced was General Stormer’s warning that no one knows how the Mother Ship will destroy the smaller aircraft, so if they observe anything unusual don’t panic, that if answers are needed to call the numbers on the screen.
Between the plane flight back and the news conference, time was ticking closer to the twelve hours E-1 allotted to clear the area. As the General and Janet were finishing up their roles in the news conference, Woods called and asked for General Stormer. “Sir, we have our people out. Unfortunately, our F-10 pilots were never found. The scientists basically confirmed what E-1 said about us not learning anything from his ships.
“We videoed everything inside, including the overheads, but nothing else could be done. Have you heard anything new about how E-1 is supposed to do the elimination?”
The General replied, “Haven’t heard a word from anyone, but from my calculations we will know in about thirty minutes.
“Woods, I want you to stay alert. I hope you can see what happens when these ships are destroyed and how it was done. I also want you to have your teams back onto the sites as soon as you feel it’s safe. Let’s see if we can learn anything from the ruins.”
Woods said, “I’ve already made arrangements for that, sir.”
General Stormer placed a call to the Director of the CIA and chose his words carefully. “Michael, remember what I said when we talked out on Pennsylvania Avenue? I just wanted to touch bases with you and make sure you’re covering this event in as much detail as possible, if you know what I mean. Hope everything is going fine.”
The Director replied, “Everything is going fine and I made extra arrangements for the special event. I’ll fill you in shortly.”
General Stormer felt comfortable they understood each other. Now it was just a waiting game.
With only a matter of minutes before E-1’s twelve-hour dead line was up, General Stormer, Janet and Jeff moved up to the helicopter pad on top of the station. The sun had not yet broke the horizon, yet the midsummer Florida humidity hit them like a slap in the face. But no one commented on the humidity because from where they were standing they could see the two moons in the dark early morning sky, an astronomic picnic! Maybe it was just human boredom of seeing our moon in its different phases from day to day that made the beauty of two moons side by side look so awesomely beautiful. It was also hard to believe that the beauty of the sister moon was unnatural. One was a rock that man had landed on and explored, the other an alien craft that had stopped for an unscheduled visit. As they watch this beautiful sister act, one of the sisters began turning a shade of light red, quickly becoming a darker red and progressing rapidly to brilliant orange. When it reached the pure color of orange like the morning sun, a streak from the surface of the alien moon was emitted like a bolt of lightning from a thundercloud and shot toward Earth. Everyone watched in awe as the streak le
ft the ship and proceeded toward Earth. The first bolt was followed by a second, then a third, a forth and then a fifth. They all could be seen as separate streaks in the sky heading for our Earth’s surface. When the fifth bolt left the Mother ship, her color reversed from the brilliant orange to the different shades of red until the sisters were twins again in the night sky.
General Stormer started to feel slightly uncomfortable. “Why five, what are they doing? Three doesn’t work?”
Jeff answered, “I don’t know, sir, but no matter what, it’s too late to do anything about it now.”
The General’s phone rang. It was Woods. “Sir, I saw five incoming strikes— What the hell is E-1 up to?”
“I don’t know. We’re at his mercy— Maybe he needs two for each of the big Collectors and one for the small defense ship. We’ll just have to wait and see,” the General replied.
As they watched the five bright white streaks approaching closer and closer, it seemed they were heading straight at them. But they stood gazing up in the clear Florida sky memorized by the beauty of the event.
Downstairs, the rest of the country watched on TV. Cameras from every angle were showing the incoming bolts of unknown energy. The General had told the country not to panic. He didn’t know how the alien ship would destroy the smaller downed ships. But what started out as an unbelievably beautiful sight was now making everyone wonder what was going to happen when the five streaks hit Earth.
Although it seemed a lifetime, the answer came almost immediately. From the top of the helicopter pad, General Stormer, Janet and Jeff saw a bright glow off in the distance, then darkness. The streaks came in so fast that they couldn’t judge what direction had been the incoming angle until they saw the glow. Jeff’s lightning chasing instinct took over as he started counting the seconds from the time he saw the glow to the expected roar of thunder, but there was no noise. The event was over.
Woods had positioned himself on the tallest building near Splendid China. From that point he was still a good ten miles away from the second downed Collector ship. He had watched everything with the naked eye until the bolt hit, then used his binoculars to see the results up close. The orange glow seemed to engulf only the Collector and dissipated almost immediately. Once gone, so was the Collector. Not only were there no signs of the Collector, but also he could see no debris, fires or signs that the Collector was ever there. The surrounding area was not touched or affected at all. The results were the same from his other spotters at the other two sites. As soon as he heard from them, he gave his teams of scientists and special agents the order to enter the areas.
Within minutes, General Stormer, Janet and Jeff headed to the control room to watch the replays on the big display screen. They saw the streak come in, then the glow, but didn’t know what had happened at the sites. As they watched replays at different angles taken by the TV cameras, the speakerphone rang, and it was Woods. “Did you see that? I can’t believe they shot a beam at something 240,000 miles away and hit it dead nuts. It destroyed the Collector and didn’t even burn the grass around it. I know your Air Force is proud of their new LASER guided bombs, but I’m sorry to say we’re a long way from this technology, General.”
The General replied, “I watched everything from atop the TV station building. It certainly was a sight to see, but couldn’t tell until you just told me how precise they were with their shooting. Thank God, they have the capabilities to do that. I envisioned mass destruction in the areas where the ships were down. Have you received reports from the other sites?”
Woods said, “Yes, sir, all three downed ships were disintegrated the exact same way and I’m sorry to say, so were our two F-10s. That explains why there were five light bolts. I guess E-1 figured our planes were hit by their defense ship and might have left some telltale signs of their weaponry. I have our teams going into the areas now to investigate, but I don’t think they’ll find much.”
The General asked, “Did you see or hear anything unusual when it happened?”
Woods replied, “There was no sound, the streaks came in, the Collector started to glow, then seemed to evaporate. The only thing unusual was after the ship was destroyed, I could smell the same strong odor that was in the defense ship after I went in to investigate it.”
General Stormer thought for a second then said, “Okay, E-1 has done what he said he would do, I think the danger is past. We all have been up going on what now, twenty-four hours? I want everyone to get some sleep and meet at the control room at noon. If anything unusual comes up, you’ll be called.
“Woods, call Donemore and tell her the same.”
Jeff and Janet had listened to the whole conversation and were obviously relieved this ordeal was over. The General looked at them when he hung up the speakerphone and said. “You two did an excellent job on the broadcast tonight, now go home and get some rest. We’ll meet at noon.”
13
JANET MOVED OVER TO JEFF’S SIDE AS HE DROVE home, gently resting her head on his shoulder. “Thank god, E-1 has the capacity of precision elimination, as I was afraid we were going to have major destruction and casualties in the areas we evacuated. If that had happened, nothing the public would have been told would have prevented panic and we would have had a big mess on our hands. But now, I can’t wait to get to your house, have a glass of wine, take a shower, mess around and get some sleep,” she said, giggling to make sure he understood.
Jeff was preoccupied, and no response meant he was looking straight down the road in deep thought.
“Penny for your thoughts,” Janet said, as she softly whispered in his ear, then bit it gently to get his attention.
Jeff seemed startled, sat up straighter and said, “I’m sorry, what did you say?
Janet smiled and just said, “I’m looking forward to getting some much needed rest.”
When they reached Jeff’s house and walked inside, he poured some wine. As he handed her the glass, he slipped his arm around her, kissed her and gently tipped his glass to hers. “You look extremely beautiful, and I think you mentioned something about messing around—”
Again Janet smiled and softly replied, “You were a thousand miles away when I was talking to you in the car, but the one thing you remembered was me saying let’s mess around. I’m going to take a shower and then wait for my lover in the bedroom.”
Somewhat confused over the moment, Jeff looked at Janet and kissed her tenderly and said he would use the other bathroom and see her soon in the bedroom.
They made passionate love for a long time.
It was like they were making up for the moment only a short time ago, when they thought they were about to die and not have the chance to touch each other again. Finally, exhaustion set in and they fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Jeff slept a few hours, then started tossing and turning. His mind was as Janet had put it, a thousand miles away. Actually, the events of the past few days were weighting heavily on his psyche. He lay in bed and reviewed everything that was bothering him and finally decided to get up and make a call, as quietly as possible.
Jeff slipped out of bed, trying not to disturb Janet and went to his lightning chasing hobby room. He made a call to his friend, Allen, at the Kennedy Space Center. Allen was a NASA scientist that did research on the different levels of our atmosphere and what effects they might have on the Space Shuttle and other launches from the center. Jeff’s sense of time was so screwed up from the trip up and back from Washington and the news conference, he was surprised that he reached Allen. “I didn’t really expect to get through to you this early,” Jeff explained.
Allen said, “What do you mean early, it’s nine o’clock, bro’! I know you’re a celebrity now but us clock punchers have to be to work at eight. I watched your broadcast, some amazing things have happened these past few days, and I’m glad you were part of it. What can I do for you, my friend.”
Jeff said, “Have you seen anything unusual in your tests of our atmosphere?”
Allen labored a bit then said, “That’s a pretty broad question, Jeff. What’s on your mind, maybe I can narrow it down.”
Jeff thought a moment, then said, “On my flight to Washington, I was somewhat surprised to see the aurora borealis in all its glory across the sky. As a meteorologist, I know what it is, but also know it’s unusual to see it this far south of the North Pole. But then, on the return flight to Orlando, I watched it all the way to the airport!” Allen perked up and asked, “You saw it as far south as Orlando? Wow, Jeff, if I didn’t know you were a meteorologist, I’d say you were crazy. We haven’t concentrated on the ionosphere in a long time. Let me do some research and call you back.”
After Jeff got off the phone he sat down at his computer and got on the Internet to do some research of his own. He typed “northern lights” into his search request and scanned the first ten results. He touched on “Auroras” and read, “Aurora, commonly known as the ‘northern or southern lights,’ are spectacular light shows resulting from the interaction of charged particles from the sun with the atmosphere of the earth. Such events are quite frequently seen from high northern or southern latitudes. Only during times of large geomagnetic disturbance (such as March 13-14, 1989) are they seen from more equatorial latitudes.”
Okay, Jeff thought, there must have been a large geomagnetic disturbance, so let’s look that up. Again he typed in his search request and read through some of the titles the search returned. This time the articles referred to the Earth’s Magnetosphere, Ionosphere, Solar Winds, Fair Weather and Lightning.
BAD RAIN: A SCI-FICTION THRILLER Page 14
