Politics

Capitan Daniels has to report the situation to the President. His crew awaits patiently in the space station Orion for what the President might say.

We reached Earth within four days, and we had to dock in the space station we built, called the Orion. The Orion fixed our hull, including our docking bay -- which is how we can exit our ship. When the entire crew was off the ship, Orion's maintenance crew started loading the Aeneid with more weapons, reading it for war.

I boarded a land cruiser, which is a ship that is built to go to Earth and back to the Orion. Although the Aeneid is perfectly able to go to and fro, our ships are built on Earth, it is far easier to use this smaller vessel.

When I returned to Earth, I had to write a report on the situation. I was ordered to go in front of a hearing to discuss the situation.

"Tell us what happened." The President told me.

"Well, sir, we reached Jupiter. As our mission stated, we started scanning the surface. Within seconds of that, a strange hyperspace window opened."

"When you say strange, you mean..."

"Our hyperspace windows are blue. The color, I have been told, is just the radiation that emits from the window and the color is a byproduct of the light reflecting of the radioactive particles. However, their window was red and blue. Hension later told me that this could be for any number of reasons, but since he wasn't at the sensor control's there would be no way to know for sure.

"Anyway, they started attacking right away. Their weapons, I am going to call them lasers for lack of a better word, were yellow in color and moved slowly. Now as the battle went on, their laser fire did come at us quicker, and Conway later informed me the intensity of the attacks grew less and less as time went on. We theorize that this is they realized our shields weakness, that the more we are hit the more of their weapon fire goes through -- we think their weakness is much different."

"What is it?"

"Well, thats a two fold question. The ones we know of is that when you hit them with a nuke, their shield either overloads, much like our shield would, or possibly the radiation from the blast effected their systems some how. The second one, another weakness both the Aeneid and the alien vessel have in common, when your in hyperspace your shields can not be activated. This is mainly because the Phoenix, which is the name for the operating system that controls the shields, could not function with the high radiation levels while in hyperspace -- it would actually disable our shields all together. We used this to attack them, and when we shoot the nuke at them -- we were able to destroy them with our light missiles and regular missiles."

"Of course, you did it in the nick of time, according to your report." The President commented.

"Yes, but I don't know how lucky we will be next time. They might send more then one ship, who knows."

"Do you think these aliens live on Jupiter, or..."

"We really have no idea. Before we could scan the surface, we were attacked and stopped our scans. But as soon as the scans started, they came."

"You don't think that that is why they came, because you were scanning?"

"Hension says my theory here is impossible, but I don't care. I think that the ship were told we started our scans, and they used some sort of wormhole to get from where ever the ship was to Jupiter."

"Your evidence for this is..."

"Call it a gut feeling."

There was a long pause. I looked around, not really sure what to do.

"All right. We will call you when we have your next mission ready. For now, go back to the Orion and wait."

The land ship took me from the White House back to the Orion, where my crew waited patiently. They wondered what the President said, are we really going to war? The one thing that is ringing through my mind is something my father once told me, God bless his grave, "Well, you know son what I always have said. The day we go out there," he said, pointing to the sky, "...is the day we find new adventures, new technology, and scariest of all..." he paused, looking at me with those old, wise eyes old men tend to get, "...thats the day we find a new war ground with a new enemy that could enslave us all, or even kill us."

I hope to the God above that is wrong, that we can handle this new enemy. The truth is, they have shown they are way ahead of us in war technology. In fact, the only way we survived is by the skin on our teeth. What if there was another ship? The Aeneid alone couldn't win a battle against two of their ships. A scary thought -- a thought that further proves my fathers fears.

When I arrived at the Orion, my crew was all in the lodge awaiting and talking of what has passed. Some looked at me with blank stares, others with a fearful gaze. Although I wasn't close to these people yet, I feel an adventure unlike anything mankind had embarked on before bringing us together closer then brothers and sisters, more like blood mates. 

"Well guys, looks like we are playing the waiting game a bit longer. The President didn't tell me anything, just to wait." I paused, and then looked at Hension, "What do you think about this new threat? How can they do what they do?"

"Honestly, Daniels, the technology is beyond us. I have long theorized that you could, if you had the energy and they right knowledge of physics, shoot atoms at an object that would look some type of laser blast. But, thanks to Conway, I was able to go over some scans of their weapons. Those yellow blasts weren't atomic, but something I have never come across. It could be, sir, that the reason we haven't been able to unlock the secrets of laser weapon technology like they have is because we simply are missing the key ingredient."

"Then," I said, "...we should go looking for it."

"Thats what the new Seeker class is for. It's a scientific starship made for exploration, I am hoping to get assigned to it." Conway said.

"When should it be complete?" I asked.

"I think it's about done, maybe a month or two longer."

"I know we have two battle cruisers on the way, one has been named, it's called the Virgil. Another one is more of a mothership, it can hold 50 TR-38's..." I said, however I was interrupted by Hension.

"Wait, a TR-38? Is that related to the TR-3B, the rumored top-sercret project?"  Hension asked.

"I can't comment on anything, because you don't have the clearance to know anything about the air craft other then it's real. The Aeneid has ten of them. And so will the Virgil. Every war ship will have a docking bay enough room for ten TR-38's. It's the only small craft that is able to fly in space."

"How is it powered? Can you tell us?" Conway asked.

"Even if you had the clearance, I am not the person to ask."

A General walks in the room and asks Hension, Conway, Lt. Crowder, Major Blacksmith and myself to the Briefing Room. We follow him in a silent walk.

"Mr. President, these are the men you asked for." The General said.

"Good evening, men. You are the best and brightest in your field, Hension and Conway in science, Blacksmith in weapons, Lt Crowder in navigation and Captain Daniels, you have the most experience with other life forms on other planets. I hereby give you all of you -- Hension, Conway, Blacksmith and Crowder -- full access to what the US Government knows about extra terrestrial life forms. Captain Daniels, I expect you to prep them with a summery of what we know and to show them our TR-38's."

"Yes sir." I said.

"Also, in two months we will go back to Jupiter with the Virgil and the Venus."

"Um, excuse me sir, but what is the Venus?" Hension asked.

"It's the first Seeker class vessel we have made. It will be ready in two months. The Aeneid and the Virgil will provide cover for the scientific vessel while it is doing a scan of the surface of Jupiter. We also will be rushing into production the carrier class, it wont have any weapons of its own but will be perfectly able to fly. Plus, the fifty TR-38's will provide enough cover for it, anyway. You are dismissed for now, a full briefing will be given in four weeks." He paused. "And Captain Daniels, stay here for a second while everyone leaves. I need a word with you alone."