Chapter Fourteen “New Neighbors” For nearly two cycles they had been able to view the small spot of blue from the forward view ports. At first it was only visible via the use of visual enhancers. Over time the small spot became larger, as the view became more spectacular every passing minucycle. Crew members would take turns at the view ports during their rest periods and among the crew there was an overwhelming feel of enjoyment. The fact they were getting closer to their destination meant there was much more work to be done than normal. In addition to normal ship functions there was now the need for preparations to allow the shuttles to leave the ship and travel into the atmosphere of the planet. There were six shuttles onboard the ship. Each shuttle was designed to carry a crew of three, as well as room for up to nine passengers. There was a small cargo area for carrying the equipment necessary to examine the atmosphere for compatibility with their species. It would be a slow process before the shuttles eventually would land on the Earth and allow selected representatives to make contact with the planet inhabitants. After this happened, the assimilation of their people with the Earth inhabitants would commence. It was hoped they would be able to land the ship on the planet surface, to allow the crew to disembark in a much faster manner than using the small shuttles. However, there would be many variables involved in the decision making process for this stage of assimilation. Since he was a small child, Zetchka yearned for the minucycle marking their arrival to Earth. Now, as they drew closer to the blue planet; he could only feel unease as the thought of implementing the Sixth Directive weighed heavily on his mind. It had been more than seventeen cycles since the discovery of the Sixth Directive, and not a single minucycle had passed that Zetchka didn’t ask himself what he would do when it became time to implement it. It was a question to which he still had no answer. As he stared through the view port his thoughts were disturbed by an Operations Officer. He acknowledged the Officer’s information and proceeded to take his Command Position on the Operation Deck. As he took his position he placed his finger on a communication crystal and gave the order to launch the first shuttle. Peter had just finished drilling his last hole of the day. It had been a very hot day and he felt exhausted. He was completely covered with white dust; and in combination with his sweat, the dust had now formed into a paste. It was on days like these he enjoyed stopping by the local lake and just jump in with all his clothes on. It was strange to him that even after taking a swim he still seemed able to be covered with the white powder when he got home. Tomorrow, he would move on to the next step of the job. He would be placing sticks of dynamite into the drilled holes. The explosives would all be wired together and upon their ignition, a swath of the ridge approximately ten feet deep would crumble to the depth of the quarry floor. But for today, the job was complete and he began to pack up his equipment and load it onto the truck. It was at that moment he heard the emergency sirens. The sirens were put in place to alert the local residents of a pending emergency. They would go off for a period of three minutes. It was the responsibility of the residents to immediately respond to any alert and then determine a proper response to whatever the situation was. This was the first time the sirens had ever been activated. Peter and the other workers from the quarry rushed to the office to see if they had any information coming over the radio. The secretary and office manager both motioned for the workers to be quiet. There was a bulletin they were trying to listen to and as each worker entered the small office it was more difficult to hear the emergency information. Each and every person within hearing distance of the siren had immediately raced through their mind about what it could be to set off the Emergency broadcast. In nearly every instance their thoughts turned to the possibility of the Earth being struck by another flare. “What’s going on?” A worker whispered to the Secretary. “I don’t know….they’re saying something about some type of objects up in the sky!” This statement only increased the collective fear of the group. It was only a few seconds after the comment they heard what sounded like a huge explosion in the sky above them. The sound made most of the men jump in surprise and a few of them immediately ran outside and looked up above them. They could see what appeared to be a narrow white cloud streaking across the sky. They stood in awe of the sight, and then heard yet another loud explosion. Ted Cooper was the oldest man in the crew. He was the only one who didn’t cringe at the unknown sounds they were hearing. In fact, he was smiling. “I haven’t heard one of those for a very long time!” He said excitedly. “What the hell is it?” Asked several members of the group. “That’s what is called a sonic boom. Something is flying around up there, and it’s going so fast it’s moving faster than the speed of sound….and when ya do that, it makes a big boom sound”. They watched as the streak became no longer visible. The white trail it left behind began to become fuzzy and spread apart, eventually disappearing altogether. The report on the radio was now only repeating the same information as it had already reported. The group left the quarry and went to their respective homes and other destinations. Peter drove directly to his Father’s house. Kevin had moved the television out onto the porch so he could stay sitting in his favorite chair. The tv was reporting the same information as the radio had been before. It then began to show a video of some sort of object flying above New St. Louis. It was hard to make out exactly what the object was, but one thing was for certain. It wasn’t one of the Pony Express planes! Peter looked at his Father and wondered if he would be able to recognize the object. Perhaps it was a different type of plane from the past that someone had managed to get operating again. “So, what do ya think Pop?” he asked tentatively, as a better view of the strange object came onto the screen. “I would say……it looks like we’re getting new neighbors.”
Posted on: Sun, 21 Jul 2013 05:28:59 +0000
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