›The lid must be warped out of shape and it’s jammed,‹ she guessed.
Assessing her situation, she noticed that the container was actually lying on its side. The heavy jolts during the collision with the alien spacecraft must have dislodged it.
›Wow, it was hard! I can barely believe the platform’s still standing!‹ She looked through a small gap from which she could see some light outside the container.
She heard heavy noises and saw shadows going by; something or somebody was moving heavy metal objects.
›Good! They’re already cleaning up the mess,‹ she hoped. ›I have to get myself noticed or I’ll land in the smelter!‹
As the noises came closer, she hammered her bare fists against the container walls until her hands became numb. Then she began kicking the walls …
Suddenly, the container was pushed on its side.
Uma screamed as she was thrown around inside the container.
»Damnit!« she yelled. »Be careful, I’m in here! Is nobody listening? Get me out of this thing!«
The noises stopped briefly, then the container was turned again, placed right side up.
»Open up!« Uma shouted angrily, and wiped the dirt from her protective suit helmet visor.
›They’ll laugh their heads off when they see me like this,‹ she thought, suddenly embarrassed.
Moments later, the lid was forced open and bright light shone into the container. A shadow appeared above her. She reached out with her arms – and screamed in pain.
Something had grabbed her and hauled her out of the container by brute force. Her head was slammed against one of the upper container edges. Uma saw two metal arms pulling her up, only to drop her on the floor beside the container. She took another hit to the head and fell unconscious for a couple of minutes.
›You’re going to be sorry for this treatment!‹ she thought after she awoke again.
She looked around – and froze!
›This isn’t Horkland!‹ she thought, terrified. ›It looks like a big hangar filled with junk.‹
Everything in the room had come from the platform. Bizarre looking robots were walking and driving around, inspecting the parts and larger objects retrieved from Horkland. If the robots didn’t understand the purpose of an object, they just threw it on an adjacent pile.
»Who are you? Where am I?« she asked loudly. She heard noises behind her and quickly turned around. More robots were standing behind her, surrounded by hedgehog-like beings.
›Aliens!‹ she thought in horror. ›Horkland’s been destroyed! They must have collected some debris and the container.‹
Uma tried to run, with no idea where she was going. She was held back by a tall robot, gripping her with steel claws. The robot began to cut through her protective suit and peeled it away. She felt no pain, but it didn’t take long before she was completely stripped.
Uma lay naked on the cold hangar floor, blushing and ashamed, gasping for air.
›This atmosphere contains less oxygen than on Earth!‹ she thought alarmed.
One of the hedgehog-like beings, no taller than 30 centimeters, approached Uma on its thin legs. Uma tried to cover her breasts and privates, but the robot pulled her arms and legs away from her body, exposing her mercilessly.
»You’re barbarians!« she yelled. »The Devil takes you!«
The stranger looked at her interestedly.
»Is the Devil stronger than you?« the being asked.
Uma knew about universal translation devices so she wasn’t surprised that the stranger could talk to her in English. She tried to free herself again, but gave it up as the robot pulled more strongly on her arms and legs.
»You’ll find out when you meet him!« she yelled defiantly and spit in the being’s face.
More and more of the beings surrounded her – they seemed to shiver.
»What do you want from me?« she yelled, tears running over her cheeks.
»I am Circle General Executioner,« the hedgehog-like being announced.
»What’s that supposed to mean? Who are you?«
»Resistance or submission?« another of them asked.
When Uma didn’t answer fast enough a couple of them jumped on her and pulled themselves up her legs and belly. Their legs extended slightly and pressed forcefully against her skin.
Uma screamed as hundreds of stingers pierced her flesh. Searing pain flooded her body before she fell unconscious.
Northern Lights
»The Blosphor is still in a stationary orbit over the North Pole!« an officer of the Strategic Defense Post announced. »It is within range of seven of our orbital laser batteries.«
»We’ll shoot only if we have no other choice,« Friedberg replied, watching the alien spaceship on the holo. »What about the evacuations? I’m still waiting for completion reports!«
»The populations of the affected sectors have been transferred to their assigned security zones, Sir. The Merinians have accepted many continental people into their underwater cities,« Ian Miles, the Secretary of Home-World Security replied.
Friedberg nodded, satisfied.
»What’s happening on the Moon?« he inquired.
»Lunaport has been integrated into the alarm plans. Personnel and colonists have been moved to sub-lunar bunkers.«
Viktor Senitschko was standing beside Friedberg, watching the holo. »The spaceship’s defense shield is pulsating, look! They’re generating another energy field.«
Silently, Friedberg watched the events unfolding on the holo.
›What’s that supposed to be? Their demonstration?‹ he pondered.
»Don’t just look at it, do something! Analyze the nature of the field … Damnit, I need to know what I’m dealing with!« Friedberg shouted into the room. »Do I have to tell you everything?«
One hour later, the first results from the different science stations were in.
»Admiral, we’re registering an anomaly Earth’s magnetic field!« Victor Kushenkow, a Siberian climatologist reported.
Friedberg and Senitschko looked at each other.
»What do we know about it, Mr. Kushenkow?« Friedberg requested.
Kushenkow was so excited that he constantly drifted into his native Russian as he explained. Senitschko, however, understood him and interpreted.
»At first the magnetic field began to fluctuate near the North Pole,« Kushenkow continued. »A short time later, we registered a strong mobile magnetic pole. Now the magnetic field has collapsed!«
»Say that again!« Friedberg yelled in irritation and signaled Senitschko to translate.
»Earth’s magnetic field has collapsed – vanished!« Kushenkow repeated breathlessly.
»These … extraterrestrials!« Friedberg cursed aloud. »They don’t play around!«
Senitschko didn’t believe Kushenkow’s account. He wanted data from other terrestrial observation posts.
»Nobody could just turn off Earth’s magnetic field! It is a planetary field! We’ve had re-polarizations in the past, but they were natural processes originating in the Earth’s core. This must be a coincidence …,« Senitschko wondered.
»Senitschko , don’t you get it?« Friedberg asked impatiently. »Are you blind? It’s them demonstrating their might! What does that mean for us? Quick, I need an explanation … assessments. What are our options? No speculations! Face the facts!«
Senitschko paled and needed to sit down
»Loss of the planet’s magnetic field would leave us at the mercy of solar winds. That would be fatal for all living beings, even plant life!« he whispered.
Senitschko needed a moment to contemplate before he continued, »The sun’s unprotected radiation would kill us. If an eruption hits us we’re toast, literally!«
More outposts reported the collapse of the magnetic field. Very strong Polar Lights were visible in Southern Europe and Central America. Horrified people looked up to the skies. The demonstration was enough to make made it clear to Friedberg that resistance was futile!<
br />
Moxantans
Against the advice of her officers, Nok Daralamai had set out on a walking tour through the base. The invaders didn’t object to the free movement of base personnel, but they were everywhere. Nok wanted to see for herself what was going on in her base. Nuri Jawa and two soldiers of Nok’s personal guards went with her. The soldiers wore their weapons concealed and stayed in the background, with strict orders to act only if the commander’s or Nuri’s life was in danger. Nok encountered groups of extraterrestrials roaming and rummaging through the corridors and rooms. Hours after the general had left the base, reports of sporadic murders were still coming in. Nok had to control her temper whenever one of the invaders bumped her purposefully. They acted like ruthless victors. So far, though, they hadn’t seen fit to relieve the base crew of their weapons.
›… which is strange,‹ Nok thought. ›Why not disarm us? Are they really that sure of their own invincibility or have they turned just plain stupid? Do they think we’re cowards, shaking like leaves on a tree just because they call themselves the Circle of Victors?‹
She frowned at the damaged sections she saw on her walk through the base. Some of the equipment – energy conduits, communication hubs – were vandalized. One laboratory was completely destroyed, even the walls collapsed.
»They’re barbarians!« Nuri huffed.
»The destruction is totally senseless, no rhyme or reason,« Nok remarked. »If we let them go on there’ll nothing left of the base – or us.«
Nuri Jawa was overwhelmed by the sheer extent of random destruction.
»Maybe their urge to destroy is some sort of a vent. They’re used to fighting with much more resistance,« Nuri suggested. »They keep provoking us with their senseless actions. They want a reaction from us. They come on like typical bullies.«
›Nuri’s probably right,‹ Nok thought.
»Unfortunately, barbarians that they are, they possess a much …,« she stopped talking as two of the invaders passed them in the corridor.
Nuri followed them with her eyes.
»Their aura is … ugly!« she proclaimed. »They’re sick! Not physically, but in their minds,« Nuri concluded.
Nok heard a faint moan ahead in the corridor. They found an injured man behind the corridor junction. According to his uniform, he belonged to the system technicians group.
Three extraterrestrials were standing near him, kicking and beating him.
Nok signaled her guards and slowly pulled her weapon. She could not abandon this man as if nothing had happened. Nuri understood and nodded. Slowly, Nok approached the strangers and paused, then bellowed at the top of her lungs, »What’s going on here? Let this man go … NOW!«
Nuri slipped by her and knelt by the injured man. He was bleeding from his eyes, ears, nose and mouth; whether from an unknown weapon or the beatings she couldn’t tell. Nuri placed her hands on the man’s forehead, which calmed him almost immediately. His breathing became normal. He felt her presence, but couldn’t see her, because of his swollen eyelids. He was unable to speak and swallowed hard. His mouth was filled with blood. The strangers had likely kicked his teeth in.
The aliens let go of the man and faced Nok with swaying movements.
»This individual didn’t cooperate! We have the right to kill it!« one of them snarled. The man’s pulse quickened and he breathed faster again as he heard these words.
»Okay, shhh, shhh …,« Nuri tried to calm him down and briefly closed her eyes. While Nok was looking sternly at the strangers, Nuri massaged the man’s temples, reading his aura, trying to find the extent of his injuries.
»Nobody gets killed here! I hope I have made myself clear!« Nok stated harshly. The three aliens seemed perplexed.
›They’re not sure of themselves,‹ Nok thought, surprised. ›They didn’t expect this.‹
It took the strangers a couple of seconds to recover from their shock.
»How dare you order a circle servant?« one of them replied with a threatening undertone. »Circle General Mindbreaker will deal with any resistance.«
Nuri looked up and shook her head slightly.
»The man was shot with a weapon which destroyed his brain cells and neurons. The damage to his brain is extensive. Brain cells cannot be regenerated! I cannot help this man,« Nuri explained angrily, glaring at the strangers dissecting glances.
Suddenly, the air crackled and energy shields activated around the extraterrestrials like soap bubbles. More of the beings arrived from an adjacent corridor. All of them were carrying heavy looking weapons at the end of their trunks.
Nok understood perfectly well.
›The bastards were waiting for a confrontation! They set us up!‹ she thought in alarm.
»This doesn’t look good,« Nuri whispered at Nok, nodding at the aliens’ numbers. »This man needs immediate help. We cannot afford an open fight.«
Eight of the strangers, armed and spoiling for a fight, faced Nok’s group. She had to make a decision. She slowly lowered her weapon.
The sounds the strangers made in response were undecipherable.
›They’re laughing at us!‹ Nok realized, and knew that there was no escape from this situation. ›Why don’t they shoot at us? Are they trying to make us lose control?‹
This was probably the worst situation Nok had faced in her career. She looked desperately for options but there weren’t any. Then she suddenly became aware of what she’d not been seeing – that a wall behind the strangers was disintegrating. She had to look twice before she saw a man appear behind the aliens. The man, dressed like a technician, put his finger to his lips, telling Nok and her team not to say a word. Nuri had seen him too and shielded the injured man with her body. Her eyes became starry; Nok knew that Nuri was “tasting” the technician’s aura.
»It’s Hassan Khalil,« Nok whispered. »He must have escaped from his cell again!«
Suddenly, the aliens turned and noticed Khalil. The man wasn’t impressed at all. He fixated on the strangers and their defense shields simply collapsed with a loud bang. The air inside the corridor smelled of ozone. The invaders showed signs of nervousness for the first time.
»You are resisting us! All of you will pay for this!« one of the invaders said in an evil-sounding hiss and aimed his weapon at Khalil.
Hassan Khalil just looked at them calmly.
›Is he playing with them?‹ she pondered.
Moments later the being who had threatened to kill all of them discharged his weapon.
Hassan didn’t react, merely let the being shoot at him. The invaders uttered strange noises and then all of them opened fire at him.
Hassan was enveloped in a faintly glowing energy field that withstood the attackers’ weapon energy effortlessly.
›The Globuster defense shield!‹ Nok thought, stunned.
Seconds later, one of the attackers turned into a bluish energy spiral. His body slowly disappeared in a bright cloud and discharged into a high voltage conduit along the ceiling. The alien being was gone!
»Matter-energy transformation,« Khalil remarked dryly. »Unfortunately … it cannot be reversed when used against living organisms.
Nok Daralamai gnawed on her lower lip; she got the gist.
Before the other strangers could react, spiderweb-thin extensions grew from Hassan’s fingers and drilled themselves into their unprotected torsos.
The beings squeaked briefly and then found themselves standing motionless before Hassan.
»What are you doing?« Nok whispered and looked around. »If more of them show up then we’ll have an uncontrollable escalation!«
»Don’t worry, Commander,« Hassan whispered back. »Nobody will come. I can feel and see where they are. My senses have broadened; all rooms of this base are lying openly before my eyes. I can hear what the people are saying, their pain, their sorrows … all their emotions.«
»How do you do that, Hassan?« Nuri got up and tried again to read his aura, in vain. She could vaguely taste his aura, but
was not able to interpret it.
»Your aura is veiled … I’ve never experienced this before,« she admitted.
Hassan Khalil retracted his web and looked at the strangers, who just turned around and walked away through the corridor in an opposite direction, paying no attention to their surroundings.
»They call themselves Moxantans and come from a far sector of the galaxy,« Hassan explained softly.
He turned around and walked through the wall breach he had created. He signaled Nok and her team to follow him. Nok, however, commanded her guards to attend the injured man and to call for medical assistance before she followed Hassan and Nuri, and the wall closed after her again, as if nothing had occurred in the corridor.
Favor
The horrifying news traveled around the globe in minutes. The collapse of the Earth’s magnetic field brought on mass hysteria in some cities. The Home-World Security Services had their hands full. They had to balance telling the people the truth with strong security measures. Many voices, civilian as well as Fleet, wanted Friedberg to take action and force the alien space craft to its measures. Friedberg fought to keep calm and level headed.
The collapse of the magnetic field had affected the animal world first. Doves and migratory birds began showing orientation difficulties and behavioral dysfunctions almost immediately. Certain deep-ocean bacterial cultures, dependent on the magnetic field, were detected floating toward the surface. The seas were colored red.
Energy charged solar particle streams penetrated the upper atmospheric layers, ionized the air and caused brilliant displays all over the globe. Humans didn’t sense the higher levels of radioactive emissions, but weather stations and scientific observation posts registered a drastic increase of activity in the atmosphere and the planet’s surface.
Meteorologists warned the population to remain inside their shelters and bunkers or to flee to the submarine cities, where the deep layers of water could reduce the emissions to a bearable degree.
The scientists worked feverishly to learn how the intruders had disrupted the magnetic field. They speculated about magnetic anti-poles emitted by the bolide manipulating the magnetic field. Others argued that the enemy had tampered with the Earth’s core, the actual field generator for the planet. They concocted so many differing explanations it was obvious they had absolutely no clue!
NEBULAR Collection 4 - Second Reserve: Episodes 17 - 21 Page 25
