Earth Fall: Invasion : (Book One) Page 3

  “So what exactly is this crisis?” asked a woman.

  Lisa recognized the young woman as Brenda Olson who worked at Cal Tech. She was very prominent in the nuclear research field dealing with nuclear fusion.

  “What I am about to tell you is one of the world’s most highly guarded secrets. This will come as a shock to most of you but we’ve known of the existence of aliens for years. Back in early July 1947 a UFO crashed on a ranch northwest of Roswell, New Mexico. Everyone was told it was a weather balloon but it was actually a small interstellar spacecraft from a star system the Trellixians had recently attacked. The ship wasn’t designed for trips of more than a few light-years and its systems were taxed to the limit just to make it to Earth. Their life support was failing and the ship experienced numerous mechanical problems when it tried to land. Unfortunately for the crew it crashed, killing all but two.”

  “There were survivors?” asked Captain Olson, her eyes widening in disbelief. “All the conspiracy theories we’ve heard about Roswell for all of these years are true?”

  “Those conspiracy theories and stories were greatly exaggerated,” Major Lorre replied. “Some of them were leaked on purpose to help disguise what really occurred. The wilder the story the easier it was to hide the truth.”

  “So what is the real story?” asked another man sitting up front directly in front of Major Lorre.

  “Eleven aliens were on the ship and all but two of them died in the crash. One of the survivors died within a week and the other lived at Area 51 for twenty-two years. Upon speaking to the alien, the military intelligence officers were astonished and frightened by the tale of invasion he told. He brought recordings of the invasion of his world with him. The alien was convinced it was only a matter of time before these dangerous aliens found Earth. Our then-president called a special meeting and Strold, the alien survivor, told his story to a shocked group of world leaders and the brightest minds we could assemble. Those aliens that attacked and destroyed his world were the Trellixians.”

  This caused the room to erupt with questions as the young captains began to realize why they were here. A war was coming. A war against a dangerous alien enemy.

  “I’m amazed all of this remained a secret,” said another one of the captains, shaking his head. “How could something as momentous as this be kept from the news media?”

  “A damn weather balloon,” muttered one of the others. “The Army and Air Force told everyone it was a weather balloon and went to great lengths to discredit all the witnesses. People swore until the day they died they had seen alien bodies and a spaceship had crashed at Roswell.”

  “The weather balloon was a good cover story and, for the most part, it worked,” replied Major Lorre. “After meeting with the leaders of the most powerful countries in the world as well as a select group of scientists, the United States Government started to prepare. Our government formed a secret military alliance with a number of key countries across the globe to do everything possible to ready Earth for the coming of the Trellixians. Unfortunately our science was so far behind the aliens there wasn’t a lot that could be done initially. With the help of the alien survivor we were able to reverse-engineer some of their systems, particularly their computers.”

  Major Leslie Lorre paused and her voice took on a much more ominous tone. “We know the Trellixians are not here for peaceful reasons. The talks we’re currently conducting are the aliens’ way of learning where we’re vulnerable. We believe they’re greatly concerned about our nuclear weapons arsenals.”

  “From what Strold, our alien friend told us the Trellixians need new worlds for future colonization and don’t want to take over a radioactive cinder. That’s one of the reasons they’ve positioned their ships over key cities across the world. They have small shuttlecraft traveling from one ship to another almost constantly and they very seldom take the same path. We believe they’re scanning the surface to locate all our nuclear facilities, plus where all our nuclear armaments are stored.”

  “Are we ready for them?” asked someone from the back of the room.

  Major Lorre slowly shook her head. “No, the Trellixians came too soon. We have nothing which can defend our cities against their weapons.”

  “So what’ll happen?” asked another captain. “How are we to fight? Are we planning to surrender?”

  Major Lorre let out a deep sigh. “We’ll lose this war initially and take catastrophic losses across the planet. Most, if not all of the world’s major cities will be destroyed. Once that happens the Trellixians will land heavily armed soldiers to eliminate the rest of Earth’s population. We’ll resist them at every opportunity but they have superior weapons and casualties will be very high on our end. They also will have air superiority. They have come to Earth for only one purpose and that is to exterminate us. They will accept no offers to surrender. They will take no prisoners.”

  “Oh, my God!” cried out one of the women. “Then why are we here if it’s hopeless?”

  “I didn’t say it’s hopeless,” replied Major Lorre, her eyes focusing on the group. “We have some assets the Trellixians cannot locate, such as carefully hidden research and military installations to allow us to eventually fight back. However, before we can do that we need to learn as much as possible about the aliens’ weapons and technology. That’s where all of you come in. Each of you will be assigned to specific military units engaged in combat operations against the Trellixians, observing from a distance. We have designed special equipment you will be shown how to use to better analyze the science and technology the enemy possesses. We also want any examples of their technology we can get a hold of.”

  “Some of us are going to die,” spoke up the girl who had cried out earlier. “Maybe all of us.” She had a frightened look on her face.

  Major Lorre looked gravely over the group and slowly nodded. “Yes, there will be losses but our world and the human race is at stake. We desperately need the information you will be tasked with gathering. Each person in this room was specially selected based on recommendations from our leading scientists. In the coming weeks and months the situation may look grim or even hopeless but, as long as our secret installations survive, there will be hope for the future.”

  “We will break you up into smaller groups and go over in more detail what information and technology we’re seeking. You will also be briefed on some of the technology we’ve managed to reverse-engineer from the crashed Roswell spacecraft. This will not be easy but we will not allow the human race to die. We will fight these invaders and somehow we’ll find a way to win.”

  -

  A few days later Lisa was looking out the window of an H-92 transport helicopter. She could see mountains covered in forests with the taller peaks encased in snow.

  “Looks like the Rockies,” commented Captain Brenda Olson. “I’ve gone camping there with my parents every summer since I was ten.”

  Lisa nodded. “I’m from Portland, Oregon and we have a lot of mountains around.”

  “What do you think of all the equipment we have with us?” asked Captain Brett Masterson. “Some of it’s pretty damn technical.” Brett was a graduate from MIT with a degree in advanced engineering.

  Lisa looked at Brett and nodded. “Considering some of it has been designed from the tech they developed by studying the Roswell wreck, that’s understandable. One of the scanners is capable of detecting the actual power output of a Trellixian ship and can even scan its interior if its energy shield is down.”

  “An energy shield,” said Captain Olson, letting out a deep breath. “How do we shoot down a two-thousand-meter-long battlecruiser protected by an energy shield?”

  “We hit them now with tactical nuclear weapons while their shields are off,” suggested Brett. “From what we’ve been told none of their shields are currently operating.”

  Lisa shook her head. “They don’t want us to know they have energy shields. I also suspect as soon as they detect the approach of a nuclear warhead th
eir shields will activate automatically. It’s how I would have set the system up.”

  Brenda looked out the window, gazing at the mountains. “I don’t see any towns or cabins, major roads or even utility lines. Only a few fire roads are visible and those are few and far between. We’re really going where there are no people.”

  The helicopter suddenly descended to a small clearing next to a winding stream. With a gentle jar the helicopter set down and a couple soldiers quickly exited and opened the twin doors.

  Grabbing her pack and swinging it over her shoulder, Lisa stepped from the helicopter. Walking into the clearing she looked around, examining their surroundings.

  “There’s nothing here,” muttered Captain Masterson.

  “Someone will be here to pick you up shortly,” said one of the soldiers, unloading their equipment and stacking it a short distance from the helicopter.

  “How often do you make the trip up here?” asked Captain Olson as she took her pack off her shoulder and set it near the equipment.

  “About twice a week,” the solider replied. “If the three of you will step back we’ll be taking off.” The soldier went up the small rear ramp on the helicopter, shutting it.

  The three captains stepped out of the way, turning to watch the helicopter. It quickly rose into the sky, vanishing behind the nearby mountains.

  Brenda looked around and then sat on the ground near the equipment, leaning against her pack. “Might as well get comfortable,” she said. “Looks as if we might be here for a while.” There was a light wind, which barely stirred the tall trees surrounding them.

  “Talk about the middle of nowhere,” said Brett, looking around. “We’re way back in the mountains. Only a few hikers ever come in this far.”

  “I hope no bears are around,” said Brenda uneasily. “Quite a few black bears are in these mountains and I’ve even heard rumors a few grizzlies have moved back into Colorado.”

  “We have our pistols,” said Brett, touching the 9mm Glock secured in the holster at his waist. “A few rounds would probably scare off a bear.”

  Lisa walked over to their pile of equipment. She could hear the rushing water in the stream and even a few birds back in the woods. It was very peaceful here. It reminded her of the camping trips her family took in Portland when she was younger. A noise coming from the woods drew her attention.

  Emerging from the forest were three LTATVs—Lightweight Tactical All-Terrain Vehicles. They were camouflaged to blend in with their surroundings.

  The three vehicles came to a stop and an Army lieutenant climbed out of the first one, addressing the three young captains. “We’re here to take you to the base. Is that all of your equipment?”

  “Yes,” Brett replied. “Some of it’s pretty delicate, so be careful with it.”

  “Yes, sir,” the lieutenant replied as he motioned for the two privates driving the other two ATVs to help with the loading. He then turned toward the three captains. “Our base is a ways from here. It’ll take about an hour to get there. The terrain is pretty rough but we’ll drive slowly so as not to risk damaging your equipment.”

  As soon as the equipment was loaded each captain climbed in one of the ATVs, buckling themselves in.

  -

  The trip to the base seemed like a lot longer than an hour to Lisa. The lieutenant she rode with took great care to keep the ATV beneath the canopy of the forest. Several times they had to slow down and cross streams which came close to overflowing into the vehicles.

  “The streams are reinforced with concrete bottoms that you can’t see,” the lieutenant told Lisa. “We have half a dozen routes we can take to reach the pickup points. We’ve cleared just enough brush so we can get through and not look overly suspicious.”

  “There’s more than one route?”

  “Yes; several. We don’t want to leave any obvious trails that can be traced.”

  Lisa leaned back as the ATV bounced over the rough forest floor. Several times she was jarred so hard she would have fallen out if not for the safety harness she wore. Looking in the back she checked the equipment, making sure it was secure. Everything seemed fine and she was certain the lieutenant knew what he was doing.

  -

  Mark heard the sounds of the ATVs before they appeared through the forest. He was in a small clearing next to a towering mountain cliff with a slight overhang so one could stand directly beneath the cliff and not be seen. Camouflage netting had been installed to conceal what was in the cliff wall: a large metal door which led to a concealed base deep within.

  “More newbies,” said Captain Garcia, watching the ATVs. “I wonder who they are?”

  “I’m not sure,” Mark replied as the ATVs came to a stop. “We just had orders to pick them up and bring them here. They’re supposed to be scientist types.”

  “Any word as to what’s going on?”

  “No,” Mark replied. He had spoken to Colonel Branson the day before who was at another, larger base. “The extent of what I know is all our Ranger battalions have been deployed to the mountains. We’re supposed to keep a low profile and do everything possible not to be spotted.”

  Garcia gestured to the metal door set in the cliff face behind him. “That base must have taken years to build. What I want to know is why we’re way out here in the middle of nowhere. I’ve done some scouting and nothing’s here but the base. What are we defending? The government knows something it’s not telling us.”

  Mark nodded. This concerned him as it left no way for any of them to contact their families. “There’s a communications blackout.”

  “That’s for sure,” muttered Garcia. He then spoke in a lower voice. “I talked to several of the men I know who have cell phones. None of them are working. All our signals are either being jammed or not getting out.”

  “We have the communications set in the base. It seems to be working fine.”

  “It’s a secure landline,” replied Garcia. “It’s hard telling how far underground the cable is. I tried to check the other day with a metal detector and couldn’t pick it up. That damn thing’s buried deep as if they didn’t want anyone to ever find it.”

  Mark nodded again. They were pretty well out of touch with what was going on around the world as far as the aliens were concerned. The only news they received was from regimental headquarters’ daily communications transmissions. It deeply concerned Mark as he didn’t know if his parents were still in Houston or if his sister was still in Dallas, and he had no way of finding out.

  Chapter Three

  President Drummond shook his head as he listened to the latest offers from the Trellixians. They had requested to use some of their medical staff to examine various humans across the planet to determine what medical procedures would best serve the human race. The latest offers included a possible cure for cancer and the ability to extend human life by fifteen to twenty years.

  “It’s just another excuse to send their shuttles flying across our skies,” said General Mitchell with a disgruntled sigh. “We’ve confirmed they’re using their scanners to search every sector of Earth for hidden nuclear weapons.”

  Maggie Rayne, the secretary of state, stood and walked to get some water. After pouring herself a glass she took a long drink before turning toward the general with the glass still in her right hand. “How much longer can we delay them? Some of the other governments are getting restless.”

  “Not much longer,” replied General Mitchell, looking at the latest reports he had spread out on a small table. “The aliens are already a little suspicious by some of the delays we’ve put in front of them. They’re confused why we aren’t more interested in examining some of their advanced technology.”

  “Did we explain to them everything needs to go through the United Nations?” asked President Drummond. They had decided to use the UN as an excuse to drag this out since nothing could be accomplished quickly in the General Assembly. There was always too much infighting and suspicion between the third-world countries.


  “Yes,” answered Dwight Meadows. “I get the impression they don’t believe us.”

  “We’re running out of time,” Vice President Katelyn Hathaway said from where she sat on one of the twin sofas in the office. “They’ll figure out what we’re up to soon.”

  “STRATCOM has detected more Trellixian battlecruisers near Neptune this morning,” added Meadows grimly. “Twenty more of the big battlecruisers and forty-six of what we believe to be troop ships. The troop ships are massive and may contain as many as ten thousand soldiers each plus their equipment.”

  “The beginning of their invasion force,” said Vice President Hathaway, blinking her eyes. “It won’t be much longer now.”

  “Do we have our military units ready?” asked President Drummond, looking at General Mitchell. Drummond had known this day would come; it was just hard to accept it was finally here.

  Mitchell nodded. “All the secure bases and installations are fully staffed and operational. Secondary bases received their military units earlier this week. We’ve even moved several squadrons of F-22 Raptors and some of our more advanced F-35 Lightnings to secure out-of-the-way bunkers. The runways are hidden and covered with a special artificial turf that looks like grass. If the opportunity comes to use them against the enemy, we can.”

  “What about the rest of our military units?”

  Mitchell took a deep breath. “We’ve dispersed as many as possible but we can’t move too many or it will look suspicious. We’ve made arrangements to disperse more as soon as hostilities start.”

  President Drummond shifted his gaze to Vice President Hathaway. “Katelyn, it’s time for you and the others to go to the secure facilities we’ve set up to carry on our government.”

  The vice president’s eyes widened. “What about you? When will you be evacuating?”

  Drummond’s gaze took on a distant look. “Not until the very end. If necessary I can go to the secure facility beneath the White House if I can’t get out in time.”