Teardrops In The Night Sky (Steven Gordon series) (4 page)

Chapter 7

G
eneral Archibald sighed wearily at the communications link to the President.  ‘It’s like the third world war down here sir.  We’re fighting with the scientists and the politicians, they in turn are fighting with each other and us.  Not to mention we’re also fighting with every other branch of the service for jurisdiction over these things.’

‘I thought I told you I wanted them moved.’

The General shook his head sadly, ‘we’ve been trying for day’s sir.  Even the biggest cranes we’ve brought in have been unable to lift them so much as an inch.  Then this afternoon one of them took off, lifting the inflatable hanger we had erected. 

Shot it twenty thousand feet into the air then let it float away before taking a slow tour round the city.  We had to get one of our aircraft to shoot up the hanger and bring it down in a controlled manner.  It hit the ground a mile from the city.  No one was hurt in the incident.’

‘And in the meantime General, every foreign satellite flying around the globe has been taking pictures of them; pictures which have been leaked to every news station in the world.

Every
line into the Whitehouse is red hot, with everyone from religious nuts to heads of states screaming down the line at me demanding an explanation.  What the hell am I supposed to do now General?  You were supposed to keep them under wraps.’

The general cringed inside, ‘I’m sorry sir, but I can’t be held accountable for the actions of the aliens.’

The President wiped his brow with a hankie, ‘no I don’t suppose you can.  Has there still been no attempt at communication from those inside?’

‘No sir.  Although some of the scientists believe their actions today were some form of communication.’

The President threw his arms into the air, ‘what form of communication was that?’

The General took a deep breath, ‘they believe that the aliens are
not willing to be kept a secret and that maybe the aliens think that knowledge is their protection.’

‘Protection from what, General?’

‘From us sir.’

‘Think they’ve been watching too many movies General?’

The General ignored the sarcastic twist in the Presidents voice.  ‘It’s always a possibility sir.  There is also a school of thought here that may be linked to that sir if I may.’

‘I’m sure
it couldn’t do any harm General; what is this school of thought?’

‘Some of the scientists think that the aliens may be monitoring our communication systems waiting for us to announce their arrival to the World
before initialising contact and if we don’t they may go elsewhere.’

The president sat forward sharply, ‘Where’s elsewhere?’

‘I don’t know sir.  It is believed they may have been watching us for a while that’s why they came to the institute.  It is the number one facility in the world for space research, but not the only one.  The English, French and Japanese, also have first class facilities.’

The President seemed startled, ‘do you think they could be right General?’

‘To be perfectly honest with you sir, the people here are a hundred times smarter than I am.’

‘They’re afraid we might drop the ball?’

‘Yes sir.’

‘I will take it under advisement General and give you a decision soon.  Now what about that other matter?’

‘I’ve run into a brick wall there too sir.  It turns out that the security guard is the son of the Doctors Gordon who run this institute.  To cap it all I have been informed by the security people here, that if we try to move him, they will fire on my troops to prevent it and I believe them sir.’

The President shook his head, ‘have you no control down there General?’

‘Very little sir, and I won’t either unless you’re willing to have a blood bath on your hands.  Tensions here are very high.  You have military people here who don’t even register on any military payroll.  I suggest you make one department responsible for security here and make them liaise with the scientists.  Then shift everyone else out.’

‘There is sense to that argument General.  Would you like to lead the military part of the mission?’

‘May I be candid sir?’

‘Yes do.’

‘Haven’t you got a nice little war for me somewhere?  I would much rather be there than here.’

The President smiled for the first time, ‘I’ll bear that in mind General.’

The comms link went dead and the General sat back with a sigh of relief.

Chapter 8

T
he scientist’s theories were proven correct.  The military presence was scaled down to two units.  One from the regular Army to provide all round protection for the institute with a Special Operations team as back up and to provide a quick reaction force.

The second was made up from the Air Force and consisted mainly of specialists.  Both came under the command of General Archibald, much to his distain.  H
e worked closely with Doctor Gordon while his wife Mary took over the field research.

Once they had sorted themselves out the President announced the arrival of the ships to the world media.  For two days anarchy seemed to reign, then as the media were allowed to film the ships, things began to calm down. 

The crowds that had gathered to view the ships began to disperse when they realised they could see more sat in front of their own TV sets. 

The ships themselves had been watching the broadcasts closely and when they had decided all that could be done to protect them was done, they took the next step forward.

Mary was arguing with General Archibald for the release of her son.  Considering he had shown no signs of any infection and every test had came back negative; however the General was adamant he was going to stay in isolation for at least six weeks.  The argument was raging back and forth when a wild eyed operator burst in.

‘Sir something’s happened.’

‘What?’

‘One of the ships has let down some sort of ramp and a door has opened in the side of the ship.’

They were on their feet and almost ran to the room that had been set up as an observation post.  Armed men had surrounded the ship in seconds.  The General called them back.

He turned to Mary, ‘the last thing I want is some nervous PFC firing a few rounds into our visitors.  What do you think our response should be now
Doctor. Gordon?’

‘All we can do is have our diplomatic team ready to receive them and wait.’

The General gave the orders and the diplomatic team made their way on to the car park where they began a long vigil.  By the middle of the afternoon one of them had fainted, so seats and drinks were rushed out to the waiting men.

As the sun began to go down the ramp was retracted and the door disappeared.  Confusion reigned.  There was a great fear that the ships were going to leave but they never moved. 

Emergency discussions were held most of the night, but eventually the General called them to a halt.  The continual arguing and speculation were getting them nowhere.  The General decided that the only thing they could really do was wait and see what they did next.

The following morning at sunrise
the ship opened up again.  There followed another long day of waiting to see if anyone emerged, but at sunrise the same thing happened and it was back to the conference room.

Archibald was exhausted but he knew they couldn’t leave without coming up with a new plan.  He listened to the argument rage back and forth for an hour before stamping down on them.

He slammed the table with the palm of his hand, ‘enough.  Ladies and Gentlemen we have been around this a hundred times and it’s getting us nowhere.  We need to move forward.  Now I like the proposal put forward by the Doctors Gordon.  It definitely seems to be some form of invitation.

The question is why won’t they come out?  Do they perceive some form of threat that we haven’t noticed?  I don’t believe
Doctor. Gilmores theory.  A society that advanced must have environmental suits, suitable for our atmosphere.  Is it a cultural thing?  They have made the invitation we must accept.  I don’t know.

What I do know is that we’re never going to find out until someone goes inside.  The question left in my m
ind is whom,  do we send in the scientists, diplomats or soldiers?  One final question, will they wear environmental suits for protection or not?’

That started the ball rolling in a different direction.  He had already made up his mind what he was going to do, but already knew better than try and bulldoze his way through this gathering of intellects.  He would let them argue themselves to a standstill then make an informed decision on their behalf.  He smiled inwardly at the thought.

Chapter 9

C
olonel Howe headed up the six-man Special Forces team.  With a slight inclination of his head he activated his comms.

‘Radio check.’

Everyman checked back plus the Ops room operator.  He nodded to himself with satisfaction.  They were lightly armed and dressed in white environmental suits.  His whole body was pumped with adrenalin, every sense he had heightened, but he didn’t know if it was fear or exhilaration. 

He would be the first human to enter an alien ship and meet an alien life form.

‘Ok you know the drill.  As soon as the ship opens we move forward and stop.  Let them get a good look at us.  If they object to our weapons then they will probably close the hatch.  We will then place our weapons to the side and move away from them. 

If the hatch reopens, first three will move forward to the ramp.  Last man to stay at the bottom of the ramp.  Second man will stop at the door and I will move inside on my own.  Anything strange happens at all then get out.  If I haven’t came back within half an hour then get out.

If they don’t seem to have any objections to our weapons then we will all move forward together.  Weapons will be slung and we will walk carefully and slowly.  No one and I repeat no one is to even touch his weapons regardless of what happens, unless one of us drops dead and I mean shot, torn to pieces dead not drop dead from fright.  Last man will stay at the entrance in case our radio signals fail to penetrate the hull to relay signals.  Is that clear?’

They nodded their understanding.  He radioed in their readiness and received an all-clear status in return.  Now all they had to do was wait. 

The sun kissed the top of the first ship and cast a long shadow, but nothing happened.  They began to sweat in their suits but each man was a professional and ignored the discomfort.  The whole side of the ship was bathed in sunlight before the door magically appeared and a silvered ramp extended down to the car park.

Howe’s heart began to hammer, ‘move out,’ he whispered into his mike.  They advanced out into the car park in plain sight and stood there waiting for a response from the ship.  He half expected to receive a recall from his own people, but neither was forthcoming. 

Howe could hear the rasping breath of his colleagues behind as at least one of them began to hyperventilate and decided he had better move before someone passed out.

‘Move.’

Fresh adrenalin kicked in.  It was so hard to walk calmly as every sense in their bodies was screaming out to run.  They made it to the ramp and stopped.  Howe indicated for the last man to wait at the entrance and disappeared inside, his number two following closely behind.

He squinted finding everything to bright, but no sooner had he thought it than the corridor began to dim.  He thought it strange but moved farther in.  The corridor they stood in seemed to run the length of the ship.  He looked around and decided to try his comms.

‘How am I reading?’

‘Loud and clear,’ came the response.  With a sigh of relief he turned to his people lining the corridor behind.  He indicated with a finger, ‘come on get off the walls.  Stand up straight and when we meet them look them straight in the eye.’

He headed towards the front of the ship.  It was only a few seconds before an excited General Archibald spoke in his ear piece, ‘what can you see Howe?’

The Colonel paused, ‘nothing sir.’

‘You must be able to see something man?’

‘We’re in a long curving corridor.  The walls seem to be made of metal, almost like polished steel.  It was very bright when we first came in but either someone turned the lights down or our eyes have adjusted quickly.  The walls are completely bare and I would say the height of the ceiling is probably a little higher than it would be for a human crew.  There is no sign of anyone or anything.  No doors no windows.  I’m going to keep going until we find someone.’

He could almost feel the tension in the men behind him and chanced a glance.  Much to his relief every man was doing as told and had their hands in front of them away from their weapons.

The corridor took a sharp turn blocking their view of the way ahead and he realised they must be approaching the front of the ship.  With a pounding heart he walked boldly around the bend, his body prepared to take the violence of a hostile act.

To his surprise the final length of corridor was as empty as the first.  His sigh of relief was picked up at HQ.  General Archibald’s voice bursting into the silence made him jump.

‘What's happening now Colonel?’

Howe let out another long breath, ‘nothing sir.  We’ve came to the end of the corridor and it looks like a dead end.’

‘Are you sure?’

‘No sir, but that’s what it looks like.’  Howe was cursing.  He wished they had decided to take along the video units but no one was sure how an alien race that refused to be seen outside their own space ships would take to being videoed.  So by a unanimous vote they had been left behind.  Howe realised how valuable some direction from the scientists would be right now.

As if reading his thoughts
Doctor Gordon, the male version came through his earphone, ‘remember you’re in an alien craft Colonel.  Just because you don’t see a door it doesn't mean there isn’t one there.’

Howe nodded to himself, ‘yeah right Doc, good thinking.’  He felt the tension ease a little.  His instincts had been screaming ‘trap’ at him for minutes now.

He approached the blank wall and stretched a hand out towards it without touching.  Nothing happened.  He shook his head in dismay.

‘There doesn’t seem to be any door Doctor, is the way out still open?’

‘Yes it’s still open Colonel.  How close are you standing to it?’

‘Arms length.’

‘There's still no sign of any panels?’

‘Absolutely nothing,’ he could almost hear the Doctor shake his head in disappointment.

‘Then maybe you should explore the corridor in the other direction as far as it will go then return to the point you are now.’

General Archibald’s voice come over, ‘I concur with that Colonel.  We’ll discuss the next move when you get back.’

The Colonel nodded to his men and they began to turn back.  With a growing sense of disappointment he gave the wall one last look.  Instinctively he reached out to slap it and disappeared.

His yell of fear brought an instantaneous response from the other members of his team.  They whipped round to find the Colonel gone.  Weapons were grabbed and cocked.  Men shouted, the General and scientists shouted.

Sergeant ‘Beaver’ Mitowsky levelled his weapon and charged the blank wall.  At the last second he put all his weight behind his shoulder expecting great resistance from the solid looking wall, and disappeared.  The rest of the men just stood there for a moment completely stunned.

Beaver crashed into a mortified Colonel Howe as he struggled to his feet.  Both men tumbled across the floor with a howl of pain.  Frantically Howe tried to struggle free.

‘Shit! Sorry Colonel.’

‘Beaver, is that you on my back?’

‘Yes sir.’

‘Then get the
hell off me.’

‘Yes sir.’

Men’s voices screamed in his ear, ‘shut up,’ he roared down the comms.  A deathly silence ensued as everyone held their breaths.  Both men struggled to their feet.  Howe was red faced in embarrassment as he imagined how they must have looked to the aliens but when he was finally able to gain his feet and look around he found they were alone.

Beaver was mimicking his actions and found his voice first, ‘where are they sir?’

Howe shook his head, ‘I don’t know.’

It was all the excuse General Archibald needed.  He almost screamed in Howe’s earpiece, ‘what the hell happened Colonel?’

Howe sighed, ‘I found the door sir and by the looks of it I’m now in the control room or bridge if you want to call it that but there's no one here.  I’m beginning to get the feeling the ships deserted.’

‘Ok Colonel, stand by for instructions.’

The line went quiet again.  The Colonel walked back to the door and shuffled closer and closer until it suddenly disappeared.  He found himself staring down the barrels of his own men’s automatic weapons.

‘What did I tell you about those things, have you seen anyone drop down dead yet?  Stop pissin
g about out here and get inside!’

They followed him back inside.  There were consoles scattered around the bridge.  He realised it was l
aid out somewhat like the Starship Enterprise in the movies.  There were only two real differences.  There was no captain’s chair in the middle and none of the consoles had any markings on them, nor anything else for that matter.  Everything had the same sheen of polished steel.

He almost reached out and touched wha
t would have been the navigator’s position but immediately thought better of it.  He caught Beaver shuffling along the wall and went over.

‘What are you doing?’

‘Well it came to mind sir, that we couldn’t see that door, everything’s seamless.  We could have passed a dozen doors coming down that corridor and never noticed them.  So I figured the only way we’re going to find another is by running our hands along the wall to see if one opens.’

Howe nodded, ‘good idea.’

The Generals voice snapped down their comms, ‘don’t touch anything until we give the go ahead.’

The Colonel had to stop himself from sighing out loud, ‘yes ok sir,’ but a nod at Beaver told him that the Colonel was getting sick of the restraints being placed on them and to carry on with his search, which he did with a grin.  He found a door in the centre of the room and another mirroring the one they had entered at the opposite side.

Another nod told Beaver that was enough for now and they settled down to wait until the powers that be, came to a decision.  Howe felt the feeling of frustration begin to be replaced by one of elation.  So he wasn’t the first man from Earth to meet an alien but he was the first to step onto an alien craft, and if it really was deserted, the implications of that suddenly became very inviting.