Nu Trilogy 1: The Esss Advance (22 page)

It was time for the next stage: expansion. The enhanced breed of bipeds was dominating their small world on one continent. The increased mental acuity of this species had resulted in their ability to adapt to both forest and plains. With several new genetic modifications, they were able to consume and digest both plant and animal tissue.

AlvaResh knew it was time to introduce controlled fire making, and the best way to do that was by example. Once learned, it would be passed on from generation to generation. Based on their own discovery of tool making and how that had spread throughout the continent in just five to six generations, the governor was hopeful that fire making would disseminate just as rapidly.

Once the fire-making skills reached the northern part of the continent, it would be much easier for population pressure to push groups into the colder climes of the adjoining lands and for them to live there successfully. Food storage over the winters would be the next necessary adaptation, and that could be introduced when the time was right.

The scout leader had consolidated all of the information the other two scouts had gathered and passed it back to base. Half of this planet had been surveyed, and the micro buoys had been dropped into the oceans around the land masses to measure the ocean currents. Now, it released several small receivers into orbit that would track the buoys and transmit the results back to base on a regular basis.

Scouts one and two were already back to work surveying the other half of the planet. It was the leader’s job to monitor how the other two were progressing and to provide information about any local threats to the survey team. The leader also had to keep watch for the locals’ laser-carrying ships. Staying out of range of those weapons was critical.

Air Force Colonel Salma Okello was the Alpha group leader. Her wing of four Chinese F-12 fighter jets was airborne out of Mwanza Airport on the shores of Lake Victoria, based upon a warning from the United Space Navy that they might have alien visitors. The wing would be on duty for the next four hours, at which point Beta group would take over.

The only problem Okello had was that her orders were still vague. They were to monitor the aliens if they landed. That was easy. They were to carry a full load of ordinance, including air-to-air and air-to-ground missiles. Their wings bristled with offensive weapons. Unfortunately, there were no rules of engagement. There had been an intimation that further orders might be forthcoming if contact was made, but that was little consolation to this commander with full team responsibility.

When the call came in, she placed all of these thoughts into the background.

“Alpha leader, this is Mwanza Control. We have confirmed inbound traffic heading toward the northern part of the lake in Ugandan territory. You are cleared to proceed at best speed to intercept and monitor activity.”

“Roger that,” Okello replied. “We are proceeding on a heading of zero degrees.”

She passed the orders to the rest of the wing, and they executed a ninety-degree turn to the north. They would reach the northern end of the lake in less than fifteen minutes. Hopefully, they would pick up the bogey on radar by then.

Fleet Admiral Brooks had anticipated the freshwater landing in Lake Victoria, and his warning to the ground-based air forces in Africa had been heeded. Now the fruits of that warning were about to be realized. One of the alien ships was approaching Lake Victoria and would probably be landing on one of the islands in the next few moments.

“Get me the Secretary,” Brooks ordered from the flag chair on the
Invincible
.

“Secretary Miller, sir,” Commander Santos replied.

“Secretary, they are about to land somewhere in Lake Victoria, as I anticipated. What are my operational guidelines?”

“The Council has authorized direct interference with the alien intelligence gathering. Any craft released to the surface of the lake from the main ship is fair game. They want to provoke some kind of response without actually firing directly on the alien vessel.”

“Thank you, Madam Secretary. I will keep you informed of our progress. I am also authorizing full defensive retaliatory strikes if our ships are fired upon. I can’t leave them hanging out there to dry without the ability to protect themselves.”

“Fair enough, Admiral Brooks. You have my authorization for full self-defensive measures.”

Scout one was inbound to the largest lake on this land mass for its next collection run when the call came in from the scout leader. This landing was not going to be as uneventful as previous ones. Apparently, the locals had dispatched four flying craft toward its anticipated landing site on an island in the lake. This should not prove to be a problem. It just had to be prepared for a little sport with these primitives if they chose to interfere with its duties.

Colonel Okello had already picked up the alien craft on radar when the next call came in.

“Alpha leader, this is Mwanza Control.”

“Mwanza, this is Alpha Leader. Over.”

“Alpha Leader, your engagement orders are as follows. Do not engage the alien ship. If it releases any kind of craft onto the surface of the lake, you are to destroy that craft once it has cleared the alien vessel. I repeat, destroy any released watercraft after it has cleared the alien vessel. Acknowledge.”

“Mwanza, we are free to destroy any released water craft once it has cleared the alien vessel.”

“Alpha Leader, you are also cleared to go in weapons hot in full defensive mode. If the alien vessel engages any of your team, you can go weapons free. Acknowledge.”

“Mwanza, we are weapons free to defend ourselves if attacked.”

This was much better. Clear rules of engagement were a blessing for the team leader. Now, where was this thing going to land? It appeared they were headed to an island south of Mayuge, Uganda.

“Alpha team, this is Alpha leader. Make your heading thirty-five degrees on my mark. Let’s beat this bastard to the landing zone. Mark!”

The wing of four F12s came about crisply on the new heading just as the alien vessel cleared their horizon from the northwest, coming in at a steep angle to the surface.

“Mwanza, this is Alpha Leader.”

“Mwanza.”

“We have the bogey in sight and are anticipating a landing on Nainaivi Island. Please alert local Ugandan authorities. We will establish a circular pattern around the island, recording and transmitting video to you in real time. Once the bogey has landed, we will make regular passes over it from multiple directions. Over.”

“Copy, Alpha Leader, we confirm receiving all four live video streams.”

Now it was a waiting game, if you could call cruising at over 1,000 kilometers per hour a waiting game.

Scout one went for the northern tip of the island. Four of the local aircraft were already flying around the landing site when it executed its landing. So far they had not interfered.

Once the scout vessel had settled just off the point of the island, scout one began its normal procedure of releasing the water-sampling craft out into the lake. Unlike the day before, there was no rush to get the craft back before the locals arrived. They were already here and watching. Therefore, it started lowering the ship between its landing legs.

Since there was no rush, it settled for the standard distance from the ship for the measuring point in this body of water. The readings did not need to be clouded by the actual landing.

As it was preparing and dispatching the sampler, it kept its attention on the four local aircraft. They were buzzing around the ship like angry pests. Well, maybe it would get a chance to swat a few of these pests today.

As team leader, Colonel Okello held back from making any of the flybys like the remainder of the team. Her responsibility was to command the team and remain in contact with Mwanza control, and that could be handled best from a distance. Because of that, she did not see the small watercraft exit from under the alien vessel and head out into the lake. It was Lt. Benjamin Yambasu who first spotted the craft on his flyby.

“Alpha three, as spotter you have the honor,” Okello said. “Weapons free as soon as the craft reaches five hundred meters from the ship.”

“Roger, Alpha leader,” Yambasu replied as he made a sweeping turn to come back around and attack the small watercraft at an angle perpendicular to its direction of travel. He designated the watercraft on his targeting system and spun up his air-to-ground CH-19J anti-ship missile, which was certainly overkill for such a small boat. Then, from two kilometers away, he released the missile.

“Missile away and on target.”

Those were his last words as two powerful laser beams sprang from the alien ship and tore apart both his aircraft and the missile.

Colonel Okello caught the whole sequence from her nose camera as well as through the jet’s canopy. This was the first true action she had seen firsthand as an air force pilot, and she was stunned by the brutal force displayed by the alien ship. However, being in command had its responsibilities, and the rest of the wing still needed her guidance.

“Alpha one and Alpha two, withdraw to twenty kilometers. Keep evenly spaced in a circle around this bastard. We are going to unload everything we have at the same time from that distance and see if we can’t break through that defense.

“Mwanza control, this is Alpha leader,” she continued. “Alpha three is down with no survivor. I repeat, no survivor. We are going weapons free in three minutes from a range of twenty kilometers on the alien vessel.”

“Alpha leader, this is Mwanza control. We copy weapons free in three minutes. Good hunting.”

Scout one was very satisfied with its limited response to their attack on the sampler. There was no way these locals were going to interfere with the survey. In fact, the other three aircraft had withdrawn a considerable distance from his ship and had stopped their annoying flybys.

The sampler was now in place and drawing a sample from well below the surface of the water. In just a short while, it could pick up the sampler and go to the next body of water, a long, slim lake nearby. That’s when the purple warning light started pulsing its warning.

Scout one turned to the console and saw that these upstarts were now attacking its ship directly. All three had released weapons that were closing rapidly. In this case, there was nothing for it to do. The program to protect the ship had already been loaded, and the six laser pods came online automatically, spitting laser fire at both the incoming missiles and the three pesky aircraft. At the speed of light, twelve missiles and three aircraft exploded and plummeted into the water as little more than burned out junk.

When the sampler was winched back aboard, the scout craft rose above the lake and veered slightly to the southwest for the next sample collection. Meanwhile, scout one organized its report for the scout leader regarding this latest contact.

Richard was incredulous. The aliens had shot down four jet fighters over Lake Victoria, and all of the other news outlets knew nothing about it? That was going to end right here and right now! His second special addition in less than a year would blast this news all over New York City. Half a million copies would solve that problem.

Twenty-four hours later, the TV news analysts were going crazy. Four military aircraft shot out of the air over Lake Victoria! What the hell was the military thinking? Firing at an alien spacecraft? Where was the Space Navy when you needed them? How could they let the aliens get away with this? Why would they antagonize the alien saviors of the planet? Did they want everyone killed?

The hawks and the doves were going ballistic, but in opposite directions. The hawks wanted the Navy to shoot the aliens out of the air everywhere above Earth. They wanted the countries around the world to fire missiles at the aliens every time they got within range. The doves wanted the aliens left alone completely. Firing on the aliens could get everybody killed! Why not just let them do their thing and keep a close watch? Why weren’t we trying to communicate with them? Surely their intentions were honorable and they were only here to help us out of our current environmental dilemma!

Richard, on the other hand, had the next real scoop from the naval intelligence division, according to “The Insider.” The aliens were sampling Earth’s various water supplies and possibly measuring the planet’s ocean currents. This could all be a precursor to taking over Earth for their own occupation.

Printing this in the
Rag
would be a blockbuster of a story that would certainly get his newspaper shut down permanently. But not printing this would leave the rest of the world in the dark about what might actually be happening! How could he print this and still protect himself and his newspaper?

That’s when the idea came to him. He would publish the story about naval intelligence’s interpretation of events, and right alongside would be a plea to his new readership that they stand with him and the
New York Rag
to prevent the shutdown of the paper. He would write the story about the possible government interference himself, referencing all of the contacts and warnings from the FBI over past stories. The size of his expanding readership might just be enough to rally people to camp out around his office to prevent the shutdown. After all, freedom of the press was still a part of the constitution, even if the government was ignoring the law of the land in its dealings with the public more and more frequently.