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  “That and everything else,” said Amanda.

  “Don’t worry. I’m sure your dad laid into him. Were you surprised? I mean, we all know he’s a cowboy. What surprises me is that you two ever dated.”

  “He was different then. We were as close as could be. Then when his mom was killed, he just turned cold on me. I gave him some space but he just drifted away. Now it’s like he hates me.”

  “He doesn’t hate you, Mandy. Guys just change.”

  “No like that. Not overnight. I understand he was sad, but what did I ever do to him?”

  “Maybe he associates you with his mom. You should go for Paul anyway. He has black hair and blue eyes. He’s an engineer. He’s quiet, which is cool.”

  “Why don’t you go for him then?”

  “He’s not my type. You know I go for the crazy ones. Plus I have a boyfriend. At least I think I do.”

  Just then, Amanda’s attention was diverted to the other side of the cafeteria, where Ryan entered the room with Paul and Tanner at his side.

  Jill smacked her on the arm. “Better decide fast.”

  Amanda could feel her face turning red. “Hey, you’re supposed to be helping me. Do you have any idea how hard I’ve been training? Between the gym and the library, I’ve barely had time to sleep. And now we have this stupid lockdown to worry about.”

  They were interrupted when the third part of their trio, Nicole Gordon, made her way to the table. Nicole appeared to follow Amanda’s eyes as she spotted Ryan and his friends. “So we’re all guy watching today?” said Nicole. “I guess it beats worrying about lockdowns and training. I’ll call them over.”

  Nicole waived her arm in the air and Amanda grabbed it. “Nicole, wait. Don’t . . .”

  It was too late. The guys spotted Nicole and began heading toward their table.

  “You did it now,” said Jill.

  “Ryan,” said Jill as they approached, “don’t you think you owe Amanda an apology for getting us all killed?”

  “Jill, forget it,” said Amanda. “It’s over.”

  “It wasn’t over a few minutes ago,” said Jill.

  Amanda cringed and just wanted to hide under the table.

  “I didn’t get you guys killed,” said Ryan. “We still had a chance.”

  “Yeah,” said Tanner, “we didn’t bring out the big guns yet.”

  “What do you think,” Nicole said to Paul. “Do you think we should have waited for reinforcements?”

  “I’m not sure,” said Paul. “I’m an engineer, I just build the stuff.”

  “Guys, can we drop it?” said Amanda. “I mean this lockdown is a bigger issue right now, don’t you think?”

  “Your dad said it’s something we haven’t seen before,” said Ryan. “What do you think that means?”

  She was almost surprised he even spoke to her. “He told me the same thing,” she said. “It doesn’t sound good.”

  “I’m voting for aliens,” said Tanner. “That would be pretty cool, actually.”

  “Tanner, can you be serious for once?” said Nicole.

  “I am. We don’t know if it’s bad, so why all the worrying? It could be a bunch of little dudes like ET. Or apes. Maybe all we need are bananas.”

  “How did you ever get in this academy?” said Jill.

  “Weapons, baby. Weapons,” said Tanner.

  “Guys,” said Ryan. “Seriously, we don’t know what this is. But I’d bet anything it’s not an asteroid. Sooner or later, they’ll need to tell us, and we may need to be ready for anything.”

  “They won’t involve us,” said Tanner. “If anything they’ll make us incommunicado. We’ll go into mushroom mode.”

  “I think he’s right,” said Amanda. “Already we have a level two alert that nobody’s telling us anything about. Don’t you find that strange? A level two alert and then silence? Complete and total silence?”

  They all stood there staring at one another, contemplating it for a few seconds. Then Amanda just about jumped out of her seat when the bosun’s whistle sounded. An important announcement was coming.

  Chapter 4

  Strange Invaders

  Admiral Benjamin “Flash” Thompson entered his office at the UEDF Headquarters. Though it was five years ago, it seemed like yesterday when, at 40 years old, he’d been the youngest person ever to reach the rank of Fleet Admiral. That was just one of the reasons he’d earned the nickname Flash, which, according to his buddy Frank, was inspired by the name of a superstar jock in the Spider-Man comics. Ironically, he never read comics. He didn’t have time, even as a teen. He couldn’t help his success. It just seemed like everything he did was at full speed. It was the only way he knew how to work. And of course he always finished ahead of everyone else. Some people said he was lucky, but he always told them it was funny how the harder he worked, the luckier he got.

  As he sat down in his chair, he looked at the picture on his desk. It was the last picture taken with his wife and sons before she was killed. If there were only one day he could change, it would have been the fateful day he chose to tend to work matters over family—the day he should have taken Ryan to the academy.

  He started looking through the daily reports. It appeared that this was just another routine day, when his communication system started beeping. “Command Headquarters, Thompson speaking,” he answered.

  The young officer on the viewer was fidgeting and seemed a bit anxious. “Ensign Cooper here, sir.”

  “I know who it is, Ensign. Your name comes through on the feed. I’m assuming you have a message for me.”

  “I . . . I just received a level one contact from our deep space outpost on Pluto, sir.”

  Thompson had to be sure he had heard right. “Are you sure it was a level one contact?” This would have meant that they had a confirmed visual of an incoming extraterrestrial presence.

  “Yes, sir,” replied Cooper. “When we issued the level two alert, we only had a sensor reading. They were too far out to get any visuals. But we’ve got them now, sir, and it’s plain as day. I’m going to send you the actual transmission from Lieutenant Haywood as well as the video feed he sent me. Coming your way now, sir.”

  As the video feed came across his screen, Thompson stood up. The hairs on the back of his neck tingled as the image of a fleet of unknown ships appeared. They were much sleeker than Earth’s ships, and they appeared to be longer. Their design was obviously alien. “Ensign Cooper, keep this to yourself. Do you understand me? This is a level one protocol.”

  The ensign nodded. “Any other orders, Admiral?”

  “Yes. Contact Lieutenant Haywood and tell him to rig his base for silent running. I do not want his position compromised. Get that to him immediately.”

  “Understood, Admiral. I’ll contact him now. Cooper out.”

  Twenty-seven years in the fleet and nothing had ever come close to this. Sure there were the two planets they had found during the first years of obtaining light speed. They were Earth-like planets that had been devastated by obvious signs of an attack and were now barren. It was unknown whether the devastation had been caused by the inhabitants or by an alien attack. The political leaders back on Earth had been divided on the question of adding defense capabilities to the Earth Space Fleet. Debates had flown back and forth as they tried to determine whether or not to turn the deep space exploration units into a military branch. Deciding to err on the side of caution and create more jobs for the civilian population, the leaders of the world had finally agreed to start the United Earth Defense Fleet and arm all deep space ships, with the caveat that their primary purpose would still be exploration.

  Now in his fifth year as commander of the UEDF, Thompson found himself in a position that no military officer had had to deal with since the world had barely averted World War III in 2090. His mind was racing with all the procedures that had to be set in motion. “First things first,” he said to himself. He pressed the intercom that connected him to his assistant. “Ensign Morgan,
get me the president of the Global Council. Tell him we’re upgrading from a code two alert to a code one level one emergency.”

  Morgan’s reply was immediate. “Yes, sir,” she said. “Contacting him now. I’ll put him through as soon as I reach him.”

  “Thank you,” he said. While he waited, he replayed the video of the unknown ships. He wondered who or what was inside them. What did they want? His thoughts were interrupted by his assistant.

  “Admiral, I have President Hawking on a secure video feed. I’m putting him through to you now.”

  President Hawking had recently been elected. The contest had been heated, and he had narrowly defeated his opponent, Neville Ashcroft. Many on the planet wanted to scale down the military. Luckily for Thompson, Hawking understood the need for defense.

  “Mr. President, I’m sorry to bother you, but we have a situation.”

  “What’s the issue?” said Hawking.

  “We have a code one level one situation. I need your permission to prepare the fleet for a full response.”

  There was a brief moment of silence on the other end. “Admiral, are you absolutely sure? Do you have visual confirmation?”

  “Yes, Mr. President. Forwarding it to you as we speak. I think we need a meeting with the Defense Council immediately. I do not want to waste any time. At their current speed, we estimate these ships will be here in less than two weeks. The best course of action would be to send the fleet to intercept them.”

  The president seemed to be mulling over this information. “Do we have any idea of their intentions? Has any attempt been made to contact them?”

  “Not yet, sir. We wouldn’t want to alert them until we can ascertain their motives. I’d rather discuss all of this with you in person before we meet with the defense ministers and the Global Committee. If you could call a meeting for 2200 hours, that will give everyone twelve hours to get to the conference room at the Pentagon. Let’s meet an hour ahead of time.”

  “I’ll make it happen, Admiral. I’ll see you at 2100 hours.”

  “Understood, sir.” The communication ended. Thompson took one last look at the picture of his wife and sons. Pressing a link on his holograph viewer, he pulled up a file he prayed would not have to be implemented. The top secret file opened, and the heading PLANETARY DEFENSIVE MEASURES jumped off the image at him like a bad dream. He deactivated the viewer and started to make preparations for the upcoming meeting. No doubt, it was going to be a long and trying day.

  Chapter 5

  A Momentous Decision

  Admiral Thompson entered the vast chamber used for official meetings and took his seat. It appeared that all parties were in attendance. The secretary of the Global Committee stood up and called the president to the podium.

  “Ladies and gentlemen of the committee,” said Hawking. “We have called this emergency meeting due to an unknown deep space contact. Without further delay, I am asking the head of our Defense Fleet to speak.”

  Thompson stood up and made his way to the podium. There was an obvious air of tension in the audience, which included the six defense ministers, one from each participating continent, along with other constituents, including deputy assistants and the vice president. The Global Committee had been formed in the year 2100, following the global nuclear crisis of ’90.

  Once everyone quieted down, he surveyed the crowd and started speaking. “Ladies and gentlemen. As many of you know, we have a deep space outpost at the far edge of our solar system. The long-range scanning base is in orbit above Pluto, with a small sub-surface base on the planet as well. At 0800 hours today, we received a call from one of the officers on watch. If you will look at the screen above me, you will see what our scanners picked up.”

  A gasp emerged from the defense ministers as they watched the screen. Questions started to come in rapid-fire fashion. “Who are they?” said one man.

  “Are they headed our way?” said another.

  “Do we know what their intentions are?” said a woman at the far end of the room.

  The admiral held up his hands. “Please. I need all of you to listen. We do not have any answers as of this time. They are not yet in communication range. Even if and when they are, we do not know if we can communicate with them.”

  Another attendee shouted out, a gruff sort of man Thompson had seen somewhere before, maybe at a conference. “So, what do you know?” he said.

  Thompson was grim. “We know nothing. What I’m proposing to do is send the majority of the fleet to meet them before they get here. At their current speed, they’ll be in our solar system in ten days. It is imperative that we ascertain their intent and do so before they reach Earth. Now, I’m asking for a vote. By the laws of the committee, we must have a majority in favor for any action to be taken. I’ve spoken with the president, and he agrees that this is the best course of action. Can I see a show of hands? Who’s in favor of sending a greeting party?”

  The minister from Europe, a Frenchman, interjected, “Wait a moment. I call for a discussion.”

  Thompson wasn’t surprised. There were always a few politicians who resisted military confrontation, more often than not, the Europeans. Defense Minister Legrande was one of them.

  Well, he figured, he might as well get this over with. “The chair recognizes Minister Legrande,” said Thompson. “State your point.”

  Standing, the minister paused and looked at each of the members of the council. “My esteemed colleagues, it is my position that we are moving too fast. Who is to say if these ships are headed for Earth? They could be passing through our system. Perhaps they are headed elsewhere. If we confront them, we could be causing the very attack that we are fearing.” The room filled with the murmuring of the defense secretaries and their deputies.

  The next person to request the floor was Vice President Curtis Roberts. Thompson shot a quick glance at President Hawking. The president returned the look with a slight nod. Thompson knew the only way Hawking had been able to win the election was to ally himself with a candidate who was the opposite of him. Roberts was just that. “You have the floor, Mr. Vice President,” said Thompson.

  The vice president echoed the sentiment of Minister Legrande. In fact, he went one step further, indicating that sending an unmanned ship would be the best way to attempt contact.

  There were two other ministers who voiced their concerns as well, but the majority was leaning toward Admiral Thompson’s point of view.

  After forty-five minutes of debate, Admiral Thompson decided to make another brief statement. “If one ship was headed our way, I’d concur with Minister Legrande. But with fifty ships coming toward us? I’m concerned. Let’s not forget the two devastated planets we found. I’d rather be prepared for the worst case scenario. Are there any others who wish to speak?”

  Seeing that the rest of the ministers remained seated, he continued, “No one? Then at this time I call for a vote.”

  In the event of a tie, the president would decide. Each member had mobile devices to vote at their seats. Within seconds, all the votes had been submitted. The secretary of the committee looked at the vote and gave the results to the admiral.

  “By a vote of nine ayes, five nays, and one abstention, it is the decree of the committee to intercept the oncoming ships,” said Thompson. “I will take my leave and return to Headquarters to prepare the fleet for departure. If I may make another suggestion, Mr. President?”

  The president nodded. “By all means, Admiral.”

  “The fleet systems are already on level one alert. I would do the same for all of Earth’s land forces as well as the planetary laser cannons and missiles, sir.”

  “Understood, Admiral. I will see to it. And Admiral?”

  “Yes, Mr. President.”

  “God speed and a safe return.”

  “Thank you, Mr. President.” Thompson left and made his way back to Command Headquarters. It was time to scramble the fleet.

  Chapter 6

  Recall

 
Ryan was counting down the days before the final competition for the Golden Cadet Award. Even with the base on lockdown, the academy was still running its normal routine, with one exception. Nobody was allowed to approach the planet, and nobody was allowed to leave. Other than that, it was business as usual. Of course, there was an air of trepidation throughout the base.

  Ryan’s focus for the moment was on doing well in the final competition. Winning the award guaranteed you a posting of your choice. You could pick an assignment on any ship or station within the fleet. And to top it off, instead of starting out as an ensign, the recipient of the award graduated with the rank of second lieutenant. In order to win, you had to have the highest grade point average, the best scores in all simulations, and high grades in hand-to-hand combat. He knew Amanda would be just as determined as he was. And she’d never let him forget it if she won. In many ways, he wished he were facing anyone but her in the competition. But he couldn’t get distracted by any of that.

  As he entered the gym, he was surprised to see Paul and Tanner.

  “This has to be a dream,” he said. “Both of you here at the gym? To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  “We are here, Mr. Thompson,” said Tanner, “to assist in your training, and to ensure you don’t bring shame to our gender by letting Amanda beat you in the physical endurance part of the competition.”

  Ryan laughed. “I think I’ll manage, but thanks for caring.”

  “I have to ask, Ry, how the hell did you let her get away? I mean, she’s one hot redhead if I have to admit.”

  “Tanner, are you sure you really want to go there?” said Paul.

  “Trust me,” said Ryan. “You don’t. She’s beautiful, but, just . . . don’t.”

  “There you go dodging the question again,” said Tanner. “You should run for office.”

  “Changing the subject,” said Paul, “when are we going to get the next announcement?”

  “Yeah, what’s up with that?” said Tanner. “We got an announcement saying, ‘Stay tuned for an important announcement.’ Who sends an announcement to announce an announcement?”