Stars & Empire: 10 Galactic Tales

by Jay Allan

  -o0o-

  One of the small alien ships was flying low over the ground in the United States as it scanned the cities and towns below. The crew of the ship knew it was invisible to any of the primitive detection technology available to this world. It was dark below, and none of the sleeping populace knew what was flying above them. Finally, the crew found what they were seeking. The ship slowly circled as its powerful computers confirmed that they had found what they had been sent to retrieve.

  The ship slowed and came to a stop five thousand meters above its intended target. Several small hatches opened, and powerful paralyzing beams shot out and played over the area below, knocking all forms of life unconscious. Once the crew of the alien ship was satisfied that all life forms below had been rendered helpless, the ship landed. It was time now to complete the primary part of their mission.

  Airlocks opened and ramps descended to the ground. The crew emerged and began spreading out across the small military base. They were dressed in dark suits of combat armor and stood nearly ten feet tall. Only a few were armed, as they expected no resistance due to the paralyzing beams. They began loading hundreds of unconscious Humans into the ship. They carried them into the ship two or three at a time since the suits of battle armor gave the wearers nearly superhuman strength. The small craft could hold over one thousand of the targeted Humans they had been sent to find. Once they were finished, they would return to the command ship, unload their unconscious Human cargo, and come back for more.

  -o0o—

  Mason had finally gone to his sister’s home to eat. There had been no further developments with the alien ship; it remained in orbit around the Earth and was still not communicating. Luna City had reported that they had spotted several of the smaller ships return and then later leave again. This made Mason nervous; he wondered what they could be up to. Drake and Pamela were still in the Control Center and would contact him if anything new developed.

  “What’s going on, Mason?” Susan asked as she placed the food on the table. She was deeply concerned about the alien ship.

  News about it was on all of the media stations, and the fact that her husband had gone off to one of his mining ventures didn’t help. She was concerned about Michael’s safety and didn’t know what she would do if something happened to him.

  “No one knows,” Mason replied as Susan sat down across from him. “The aliens are not communicating, so everyone is still in the dark as to why they’re here.”

  The two children had eaten earlier and gone over to a neighbors to play. Mason and his sister were very close, and she worked several hours a day at the main office reviewing the contracts that Mason managed to get signed. She had several business degrees and enjoyed working during the day while the kids were gone to school.

  “I wish Michael were here,” she said as she began eating her salad. She didn’t have much of an appetite. “I don’t like him being gone while something like this is occurring.”

  “The alien ship is at Earth,” Mason responded as he buttered a roll. His sister was an excellent cook, just as their mother had been. “We’ve cut off our communications with everyone except an occasional tight beam message to Luna City and Holbrook Station. The aliens may not even know that we’re out here.”

  “I hope not,” Susan replied as she reached for the salad dressing. “I spoke with Larcy earlier, and she’s really frightened. Drake’s parents came over to stay with her until he can come home.”

  “Drake was afraid this would frighten Larcy,” Mason responded as he took a bite of his roll. “So far the aliens are not communicating even though Luna City has reported seeing a number of small craft leave the larger ship, go to Earth, and then return only to leave for Earth again. Drake is still in the Control Center with Pamela. He should be going home in another hour or two if nothing new develops.”

  Susan stopped eating her salad and gazed across the table at Mason. “Why?” she asked, looking perplexed with her eyes focusing on her brother. “What are they up to? It almost sounds as if they’re hunting for something.”

  “I thought about that also,” confessed Mason, still feeling uneasy about the situation. “But I doubt if that’s the case, and if it is, why don’t they just tell us? If they need something, I’m sure the world governments would be willing to help.”

  “Is it true the ship is armed?” Susan asked in a lower voice. She had heard about this on the news earlier. One of the media stations had shown pictures of what looked like weapon turrets on the alien’s ship.

  Mason hesitated, but he knew there was no point in keeping that fact a secret from his sister. “Yes, it’s armed. Pretty heavily from the information that Luna City has sent us.”

  “What about Holbrook Station?” Susan asked with growing concern in her eyes. “What are they doing?”

  Susan was concerned because her brother-in-law was in charge of the large station where their cargo ships docked and unloaded their cargo for distribution to Earth. There were also nearly six hundred crewmembers on the space station as well.

  “I’ve ordered the station to do nothing,” answered Mason, knowing Susan was concerned and why. “I’ve stopped all traffic to and from the station as well as ordered all of our ships currently in transit to Holbrook to turn around and return here until we know more about what’s going on.”

  Susan nodded as she resumed eating her salad. It sounded to her as if Mason had done everything he could. “You don’t think they will come here, do you?”

  “I don’t know,” Mason replied evenly, not wanting to frighten his sister any more than she already was. “I’ve locked everything down and placed security guards at the main airlocks. If they do come, they will have a hard time getting in.”

  Mason had already wondered what he would do if the aliens were to show up at Vesta. He knew it might be wise to make a brief broadcast to the people in Smithfield telling them there was no reason to panic and to let them know that they were monitoring the situation at Earth.

  Mason finished eating his meal and then spent some time talking to his sister before telling her good night and heading back to the Control Center. He would make a short announcement to the people in Smithfield, and then if nothing was occurring with the aliens he was going to turn in for the night. He had a feeling the next few days were going to be hectic, and he might not get a lot of sleep.

  CHAPTER 2

  Mason was back in the Control Center early the next morning. He noted with surprise that Pamela was also there, hovering over the communications console and talking to the four people on duty. Pamela was responsible for the Control Center and normally came in later so she could spread her time out over two operational shifts. Mason suspected it was the presence of the alien ship that had caused Pamela to come in so early.

  “Anything new?” Mason asked as he stepped over to the main communications console.

  He looked up at the large screens on the wall, noticing that they were still showing the alien ship. It looked exactly as it had the previous day, dark and unmoving. He had made a brief announcement the previous night over the city’s media stations about the aliens. He had asked everyone to remain calm and that he didn’t expect there to be any problems at Vesta or their mining operations.

  “No, it’s still just sitting there,” replied Pamela with a heavy frown as she listened to a news broadcast up on one of the screens. “However, we are starting to get a lot of missing person’s reports showing up all over the media stations, primarily military personnel. Civilians going to work this morning are reporting the troops at some of the bases are simply gone!”

  “Military troops,” uttered Mason, arching his eyebrows and feeling confused. Why would they be missing? “How dependable are these reports? It could just be panic reporting.”

  “Several of them have been confirmed,” Pamela replied as she called up some data on a computer screen. “We have one marine base in North Carolina with over twelve hundred personnel missing. The few people that are s
till on the base don’t recall seeing or hearing anything out of the ordinary during the night.”

  “How many reports do we have of missing military personnel?” asked Mason, looking over at Pamela with growing worry in his eyes.

  He knew if the aliens were responsible for these abductions, it could cause a massive panic in the civilian population. He also wondered how Earth’s military organizations would react. It might increase the threat level to the point that the military might attempt to shoot down some of the small alien ships if they could be found.

  “Over a dozen so far, and they’re mounting as new reports come in,” Pamela replied with deep concern in her voice. She looked over at Mason with confusion in her eyes. “Why are they taking military people?”

  “We don’t know what’s going on yet,” cautioned Mason, not wanting people to start feeling frightened. He could already detect the growing anxiety in the men and women in the Control Center. The quiet conversations, furtive looks, and the worried eyes that were watching the multiple viewscreens that were focused on the alien ship all hinted at deep unease for what was happening back on Earth. “Let’s wait until we hear something more definite from the government.”

  “The government has been strangely quiet this morning,” Jessica Lang commented from her position at the large console. She hoped her parents, who lived just outside of St. Louis, were safe. With the communications blackout that Mason had initiated she couldn’t call and check on them. “There have been no official announcements about the alien ship or the abductions.”

  “Do we have any reports from Holbrook Station?” asked Mason, hoping the station was still okay. The last thing he wanted to hear was that all the personnel on the station were missing also.

  “Yes,” replied Pamela, turning to face Mason. “Darren Kirby sent a brief message earlier that they are still seeing the alien small craft going back and forth between the Earth and the larger ship. They have several small telescopes they are using to keep an eye on what’s going on. He also asked if you would tell Susan that he and the station are still fine and not to worry.”

  Mason nodded as he heard the door to the Control Center open. Turning around, he saw that Drake had come in. Mason suspected that Drake was as anxious as he was to find out what was going on with the aliens. Mason quickly filled Drake in on the missing military personnel.

  “Do you think the aliens are abducting them?” Drake asked with a confused frown on his face. “Why take military personnel?”

  “I don’t know, but I don’t like this,” answered Mason, letting out a deep sigh. It made him realize just how vulnerable Holbrook Station and Vesta were. “Drake, how difficult would it be to place explosive charges in the ship tunnel to collapse it if it becomes necessary?”

  Drake looked at Mason in surprise, and then his eyes narrowed. This was something he hadn’t considered. “We have plenty of explosives that we use in the mining operations,” Drake responded as he thought about what would be needed to bring the long tunnel down. “Why would you want to collapse the ship tunnel?”

  “If the aliens are indeed abducting people, then I want to be prepared in case they come here,” Mason responded in a quieter voice as he thought over what he wanted to do. “We have over seventy thousand people in Smithfield. If the aliens show up and we collapse the tunnel, they might not want to make the effort to dig us out. It might encourage them to leave us alone.”

  Drake nodded his head in understanding. If they brought the tunnel down it would take them several months to open it back up. It would be a horrific job, but it could be done. “I will see to it right away.”

  Drake turned and left the Control Center, hoping the charges would never have to be set off. He also did not intend to tell his wife about the precautions they were taking with the tunnel. When he had left home, she was already watching the latest news reports with a frightened look on her face. His younger brother, Samuel, was coming over a little later to spend the day with her.

  Mason watched Drake leave and then went over and sat down in a chair close to the command console where Pamela was. From here, he could watch and see everything that was going on in the Control Center. He suspected it was going to be a long day.

  -o0o-

  On Earth, the world’s governments were starting to panic. Confirmed reports of military troops being taken were now coming in from all across the globe. China, Russia, the U.K., and others were confirming that thousands of troops were missing from their bases. In the United States alone, the estimate was close to ten thousand.

  Beneath the White House in the presidential bunker, President Barnes was meeting with his military leaders. General Adams had a look of deep distress on his face as he stood to address the group.

  “We keep losing more troops every hour,” Adams reported, grim faced. “We managed to go back and recover some of the security footage from several of our bases to see if we could find out what’s going on. You’re not going to like it.”

  On a large viewscreen, a massive figure appeared. It stood ten feet tall and was made out of some type of dark grayish looking metal. They watched as it carried two unconscious soldiers back to its ship and then returned for more.

  “What are those?” President Barnes choked out, looking at the screen in shock. “Are those some type of robots?”

  “We don’t believe so,” Alvin Winters the president’s science advisor replied. “We think there are living beings inside, and what we are seeing is some type of battle armor. It gives the operator tremendous strength and mobility. We have been looking at something similar ourselves, but are years away from producing even a prototype.”

  “Can we take them out?” the head of one of the security agencies asked. “We can equip our troops with armor piercing rounds that might be able to penetrate those suits.”

  “We don’t know and don’t want to try,” replied Adams, looking across the table at the man who had asked the question. “So far the raids have been limited to military facilities; no civilian areas have been hit. If this is some type of sophisticated battle armor the damage the aliens could inflict if they decided to use it in that capacity could be horrendous. It is also questionable if any of our conventional weapons, even using armor piercing rounds, could harm it.”

  “What’s wrong with our soldiers?” President Barnes asked as he watched the screen. “They look as if they’re unconscious.”

  “We believe the aliens are using some type of knockout gas or unknown technology to immobilize our troops,” General Adams explained as he looked down at several reports in front of him. “With your permission, I would like to put more of our fighters up in the air and try to intercept these alien ships as they enter our atmosphere. I would also like to assign some helicopter gunships to patrolling the perimeter of our military bases.”

  “Then what?” replied Barnes doubtfully, looking over at Adams. “Look at that monster ship sitting up there in orbit. If we fire upon or even destroy one of their smaller ships, how is it going to react? Do we have any weapons that could even damage something of that size?”

  “But what else are we to do?” General Adams asked in a rising voice. He knew his troops couldn’t fight something wearing this sophisticated battle armor. His only hope was to stop the ships themselves. “We can’t let them keep taking out troops and do nothing. Our people should at least be allowed to fight back!”

  “I don’t know,” President Barnes responded, his voice filled with doubt.

  “You said earlier that if we got into a fight with these invaders, the results could be devastating.”

  “Against their battle armor,” replied Adams, defensively. “Their small ships are the best target. If we could hit them with a missile, it might be possible to bring them down. Our defensive missile grid is designed for just this type of threat.”

  “The grid was designed to take out inbound nukes,” President Barnes reminded the general, “Not inbound alien spaceships. What if we take one of their ships ou
t and then they retaliate against our cities? We could be talking about millions of casualties!”

  “I don’t think it matters,” spoke Winters, shaking his head. “From what we have been able to observe of their big ship and the small ones, their technology is far ahead of ours. I doubt if we have any weapon that can significantly damage them. All we might do with such an attack is make them angry.”

  President Barnes was silent for a moment and then turned toward the Secretary of Defense and General Adams. “Do you have any practical way to attack the alien ships that has a reasonable chance of success?”

  Adams was silent for a moment as he gazed back at the president. “No, Mr. President,” he finally admitted, his eyes looking down at the table. “Any missile we launch they could probably shoot down, and our shuttles are not armed. We have no weapons on the International Space Station, and Holbrook Station isn’t armed either. The treaties we have signed prohibit any type of heavy or dangerous weapons from being deployed in space.”

  “Which brings up another question,” President Barnes said, looking at Winters and General Adams. “Why haven’t they abducted the people on the space stations or Luna City? It seems to me they would be the easiest to take.”

  “They don’t want the people on the Moon or the stations,” replied Winters, arching his eyebrows. “That’s not what they’re after.” The science advisor looked over at General Adams, waiting for him to explain. The two had already discussed this possible scenario.

  Adams was silent, and then looked directly into the president’s eyes. “For some reason they want trained military troops, which seems to indicate they have a use for them.”

  “That ship is heavily armed,” Winters reminded the president, taking a deep breath he continued. “They may be taking our troops to fight a war!”

  The room became silent as President Barnes leaned back in his chair, his eyes growing wide. “Fight for them,” he uttered in a stunned voice. “Like mercenaries? What can we do to stop them, and why won’t they talk to us?”