The Slaver Wars: Galactic Conflict (48 page)

“They
even tried flashing lights,” Jessica added as she looked at additional
information on a data screen. “There was no response to anything.”

“Now
what?” asked Drake, folding his arms across his chest as he looked over at
Mason. “Do we just let them sit there?”

“There
are reports of riots breaking out in several cities,” Jessica continued as she
listened to a number of media feeds that were coming in over several of her
screens. Her eyes took on a frightened look. “There is panic buying going on
,
with people stocking up on food, water, and other essentials. All the
stock exchanges across the world have been closed down to prevent panic selling
from devastating the markets.”

“It’s
only going to get worse the longer the aliens go without communicating,”
commented Drake, shaking his head.

“Pamela,”
one of the other communications specialists broke in. “The communications
shuttle is being ordered to back off to one hundred kilometers as a safety
precaution. They don’t want the aliens to feel the shuttle is a threat.”

“The
shuttle,” laughed Drake, arching his eyebrows. “I suspect the aliens don’t
consider the shuttle to be a threat at all. They are just ignoring it like
everything else.”

“I
just wish we knew what those smaller craft are up to,” spoke Mason, worriedly.
He had a bad feeling about all of this and those small craft concerned him.
What were they doing down on Earth, and why couldn’t they be detected?

-

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.

-

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.

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