In addition to the ambassador, he left the flight crew of Captain Phillip Price of the USAF and Captain Park Ji-hyun from the South Korean Air Force to fly the shuttle. Neither of them had any close family back on Earth, and Calvin said that they had become rather close of late. They volunteered to stay together. As requested, Cabo Segundo Cristobal Contreras had stayed with the therapods, as had Private First Class Calhoun Spence. Sergeant Jacob Hylton and Corporal Berron Wayne had stayed with the humanoid civilization. In their place, he was returning with two members of each of the local civilizations. The medibot analyzed their physiologies and, although they could eat most Earth food, they’d need to take supplements while they were with the Terrans.
Captain Deutch wished he knew when they’d be coming back this way. Even if the ship came back, he found it unlikely that he would be with it, as he doubted that the chain of command would keep him on as commanding officer once they got back. He hoped to stay on as CO, but he would be surprised if he ever saw Epsilon Eridani again. Or the blackness of space.
He sighed. “Helmsman, set course for home. Full speed ahead!”
“Aye aye, sir! Headed home; full speed, aye!” replied the helmsman. “And away we go!” he said with a flourish as he pushed the button engaging the drive. It was not standard terminology, but everyone on the bridge understood the sentiment, and Captain Deutch let it pass without comment. This time.
They were on their way home.
* * * * *
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Terminal Building, Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach, VA, June 18, 2019
It was a beautiful early summer day in Virginia Beach. The sun was shining, and there were only a few clouds in the sky. Perhaps too nice, as the temperatures were expected to climb into the mid-90s, and the humidity was racing it to 100. A group of about 40 reporters were gathered in a roped-off area in front of the air station’s control tower. Although they were sweltering in the sun, a sense of excitement filled the group. Something was going on. Something different, and they were the ones that were going to cover it...but no one seemed to know exactly what ‘it’ was. “Any idea what this is all about?” asked the Channel 13 reporter to his colleague from Channel 10. A previous member of the navy, the Channel 13 reporter was very familiar with NAS Oceana, having been an F-18 electrician for three years prior to leaving the navy to pursue a career in broadcasting.
“None,” said the Channel 10 reporter, who also had prior military service, although his had been in the air force. “We were told that there was going to be something of international importance happening and to get our asses down here to cover it.”
“Yeah, that’s pretty much what we were told,” replied the Channel 13 reporter. “It’s weird, the navy specifically asked for my crew to come from the station.” He looked around the ramp area where the reporters were gathered. “I’ve been here plenty of times and, aside from the podium they have set up, it doesn’t look like there is anything different that I can see.” He looked up at the control tower, and continued, “It looks like there are a lot of folks up in the tower, and they’re all looking around like they’re expecting something. There must be someone or something important coming in.”
“They asked for my crew too,” commented the Channel 10 reporter. He paused as the terminal door opened and a large group of well-dressed men and women walked out, surrounded by another group of well-dressed men that had very intense looks on their faces as they scanned the surrounding area. “Wait a second,” he continued, “Oh my God! It’s the President of the United States!”
The group drew a collective breath as the reporters started recognizing members of the group walking toward them. The Channel 13 reporter was able to keep a more professional demeanor than his colleagues and instructed his cameraman to start filming. He added his own commentary to the shot. “This is Bob Davies with WVEC Channel 13 News. I’m here today at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach, where we have been waiting to see something that is expected to, and I quote, ‘monumentally alter the international landscape.’”
As the camera focused on the group walking toward the podium, Davies continued, “We don’t know what it is, but there seems to be a large group of dignitaries here, led by the President of the United States, who has arrived here unexpectedly. Along with our president, I recognize the prime ministers of Britain and Canada, as well as the president of Germany.”
He turned off the recording. The sense of excitement that previously infused the group grew exponentially as they recognized various members of the entourage. Davies, normally the reporter who covered the local military, didn’t recognize them on sight, but heard other reporters whisper that the heads of Australia, South Korea, India and Italy were also present. None of the international reporters present had been aware that the other heads of state were even in the country.
Something big was definitely going on.
The president walked up to the podium and was flanked by ten other men and women who stood just behind him. “Good afternoon,” welcomed the president. “I am very happy to be here today with the prime ministers of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and Japan, as well as the presidents of Germany, South Korea, India, Italy, Nigeria, and Chile. I will have a short statement, and then there will be a presentation. Unfortunately, we will not be able to answer questions afterward, but we will have a large media package for all of you.”
He paused and smiled. “51 nations came together on October 24, 1945,” he said, “in an effort to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations and promote social progress, better living standards and human rights. This was the founding of the United Nations. Since then, the U.N. has strived to do all of those things. While it has been successful in promoting peace and social progress around the world, many times it has been unable to do all of the things that its founders hoped for due to fighting amongst the nations.” He gave a small, wry smile. “On most of these occasions, the United States was one of those nations either blocking progress, or being blocked from doing something we thought was in our best interests.”
“This has to end!” The president looked around the assembled group of reporters as if it were their fault. Bob Davies was sure that the steely-eyed look he gave the cameras was meant to strike fear into the hearts of any evil-doers that were watching. Davies didn’t know if it worked with them, but it certainly made him want to toe the line. The president continued, “I’m sure that many of you have heard the term, ‘new world order.’ We are here today to announce the formation of the first real new world order.”
“Due to events beyond our control, we have become aware that we need to put division behind us. We are here today to announce an executive agreement to form a new, unified world government. Between us, we bring together over one quarter of the world’s population, including four of the ten most populous nations. I call on Congress to revoke all previous treaties and ratify the one that I am sending it, the Treaty for the Defense of Sol. The rest of the presidents and prime ministers here call upon their legislative branches to do similarly, and we invite the other nations of this planet to join us in this endeavor.”
“I want to be very clear on this. This agreement is not a play to curry favor with anyone, or grandstand, or conduct any of the political maneuvering that you have seen in the past. We no longer have time for these things. This is a straightforward attempt to end division on this planet. I know that many people throughout the world no longer believe in politics and politicians. The time has come to put that skepticism behind us and move forward as a united planet. As a sign of our good intentions, we have tried to place the site of this new government at the center of our planet, so that none of the nations that previously squabbled will have an advantage. The site of the new government will be in Abuja, in the country of Nigeria. I want to thank Abasi Oyinlola, the president of Nigeria, for donating the land that will become the site of the Terran World Government.” The c
ameras moved to President Oyinlola, who waved, smiling broadly.
The cameras came back to the president at the podium in time to see the look on his face soften. The president gave the cameras his best ‘you can trust me’ smile. “Now, I know I’ve given you a lot to think about, and I wish that it ended there. The fact of the matter is that the time for talking is past; we need to implement these reforms right now. I mentioned before that there had been some events beyond our control that had driven us to accelerate this process of peace and unity. It’s time to show you what I mean.”
All of the heads of state surrounding the podium turned and faced the airfield, looking up. Seeing where they were looking, the reporters looked up, as well. Within seconds, a silver shape could be seen high overhead the airfield, which grew quickly as it descended. As it grew and gained clarity, it was apparent that it was not of earthly origin. Although it flew, the craft had no discernible wings or propellers or jet engines.
It dropped fast enough to make most of the people watching uncomfortable. As it reached an altitude of 200 feet, it slowed noticeably and coasted to a gentle landing on Runway 5, touching down on the eight sets of landing gear that extended from it. Now that it stopped, Davies saw that it looked like nothing he had ever seen before. The spaceship, for it had to be a spaceship (‘oh my god, it’s a real, live spaceship,’ one part of his brain gibbered), was huge. Using one of the 56-feet long F-18s that were sitting on the ramp as a guide, he estimated that the ship was about 1,300 feet long, 160 feet wide, and 130 feet tall. And holy crap, it was a spaceship!
The ship was generally cylindrical for most of its length but had slightly larger caps on both ends like stunted mushrooms. For the last 100 feet on both ends of the ship, these caps extended about 50 feet further out from the rest of the ship. Looking closer, he saw that there were smaller ships attached to it. On one end, there appeared to be a ship that was shaped like a spade and another one that was boxier in nature; the other end had two of the spade-shaped ships. He guessed that the parasites must be three fighters and a shuttle. There was a lot of space around the caps that seemed empty; should there be more of the smaller ships? Were they flying overhead out of sight right now? Along the side of the ship were nine large doors near the top of it and 27 smaller doors that ran along the bottom half of it. In between the doors, ten dishes were mounted on some sort of gimbal system. Davies had no idea what was behind the doors, but he was an avid science fiction fan (some would say “nut”) and guessed that the dishes were some sort of laser defense system and the doors must be missile ports. On top of the ship, there was some sort of superstructure, although it was difficult to see from where he was standing. He wished he was in the tower so that he could have had a better view.
Davies looked over to find his cameraman staring blankly at the spaceship with his mouth open. Davies slapped him on the back. “Start filming, damn it, you’re missing it!” The cameraman gave a small start and then brought the camera up to his shoulder just in time to catch a ramp come down from the left end of the ship. Looking around, he saw that almost half the people present were staring blankly at the spaceship the same way, as their brains refused to process what they were looking at. They were going to get the scoop on some of them, although they had missed out on filming the spaceship as it descended. Maybe he could trade with one of the others later, he hoped.
He looked back to the ship in time to see soldiers in space suits start coming down the ramp in pairs. At least they looked like they were soldiers; they appeared to be carrying some sort of rifles. The space suits didn’t have helmets, and their heads looked...
“Bob!” said the cameraman, who was able to zoom in on the soldiers with his camera. “Those guys look like humans. I can’t be sure, but it looks like some of them have U.S. flags on their shoulders. What the hell is going on?”
Davies had no idea. They certainly looked like humans from what he could see, but if the U.S. had a ship like that, it was the best kept secret since the F-117 stealth fighter. No, he decided, it was an even better kept secret than that.
Ten pairs of men (and women! he noted) marched down the ramp. Wait a minute! The last pair had tails! And lizard heads. Walking lizards? What the hell are they? Once all of them were off the ramp, the soldiers stopped marching in unison, with their feet coming together so crisply that Davies could hear it several hundred feet away. The soldiers faced the center and presented arms just like he had seen American soldiers do hundreds of times in his life. What the hell was going on?
Then the aliens came down the ramp. Shorter than the soldiers by over two feet, on average, the three figures that came down the ramp next also had disproportionately large heads. “It looks like...yeah, they do. They have six fingers!” the cameraman whispered.
The cameraman’s comment broke Davies’ reverie, and he realized that he should have been recording something himself while this was going on. Damn! He had allowed himself to get wrapped up in the moment. Oh, well, he thought, at least he could add voice over to the tape later. As the aliens reached the end of the ceremonial guard, a bus pulled up, and they got into it. Everyone had been wrapped up watching the aliens; they hadn’t seen the bus driving up. Once the aliens were on the bus, the soldiers boarded it, as well, and it drove over to where the heads of state were waiting.
As the bus stopped, Davies started describing the events as the soldiers again provided a ceremonial honor guard. The soldiers marched off the bus in pairs without a single voiced command. Having done an honor guard once, Davies knew that it wasn’t an easy thing to do, and he wondered how they were able to pull it off so flawlessly. As the men and women formed up and faced to the center, he could see the flags of the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, Chile, India and Australia represented on individual shoulders in the group. The lizards had a flag on their shoulders too...but it was no flag he had ever seen. They looked even stranger up close. Davies looked at the monitor of the camera as his cameraman zoomed in, and he could see every scale on their heads. They each looked like a baby T. Rex, right down to the mouthful of killer teeth! If they weren’t real, their make-up artists should get some sort of academy award. The presidents and prime ministers were beaming at their soldiers, obviously proud at how well the soldiers represented their countries. Once again, the soldiers presented arms in perfect unison, and the short aliens walked out of the bus to meet the receiving line of heads of state at the end of the honor guard.
Seen up close, the aliens appeared even shorter than they had from further away, and their larger heads were even more noticeable. His cameraman called it correctly; the aliens had six fingers on each hand. Reaching the President of the United States at the end of the receiving line, they moved to stand next to the podium. Davies laughed to himself as he saw the one flaw in the proceedings. If the aliens had to use the podium, no one would be able to see them; it was as tall as they were.
As the people moved back to the podium, the soldiers shouldered their weapons as one, and then they moved to stand behind the heads of state. Once again, they stopped at the same time, brought their rifles to their sides and assumed the position of parade rest. The first person in line, Lieutenant Paul Train, came and stood next to the president at the podium.
“On behalf of the governments represented here,” said the American president, “as well as the rest of humanity, I would like to formally welcome Brontes, Steropes and Arges to Planet Earth. These three individuals represent the Psiclopes race from the Alliance of Civilizations. They were stranded here and asked for our help in making it back to their planet. The nations represented here all volunteered to help, and the soldiers that you see are some of the troops that accompanied them on their journey home.”
“Unfortunately, they were not able to make it back to the Psiclopes’ home world. A number of other, hostile, alien civilizations stand between us and their home planet, and they weren’t able to find a way around them safely. This is the reason w
e need to form a world government. The Alliance of Civilizations among the stars has failed. This Alliance held the galaxy together for tens of thousands of years, watching over developing planets and protecting them from hostile, aggressive races that would either seek to control the weaker races...or worse.” He didn’t elaborate on what ‘or worse’ meant, but Davies could immediately think of several things that were worse. “Just as with the fall of the Roman Empire on Earth, the end of the Alliance has left many of these races without any sort of oversight, and many of them are running wild throughout the galaxy, raping and pillaging as they go.” He paused to let that sink in.
“At this time, we do not believe that any of them know that we exist. This is our chance to come together, to pool our resources as a civilization, and to erect the defenses we need to ensure our collective safety for when they do find us. This is why we need a world government; we need it to guide our Terran society and begin building the defenses we will need in the coming years.”
He indicated Night, who stood at attention next to him, looking every bit like the elite officer he was. “We already have a cadre of soldiers, like Lieutenant Paul Train here, who has been out to other planets and has successfully fought some of these hostile races. We will use the skills that the soldiers gained to train a larger planetary military, united against our exosolar enemies.”
“Our forces also brought back alien technology that we will use to manufacture the things that our planet needs to defend itself. Many of you will remember Lieutenant Shawn Hobbs, who was one of our heroes in the war last year. Now Lieutenant Commander Hobbs, he personally led the capture of this equipment from a planet light years away. This device is large enough to allow the construction of the space fighters that you can see attached to the front and back of the starship on the runway.”
Theogony 1: Janissaries Page 32
