Homecoming Chapter 14 (Serialized Novel)
Chapter 14
Back on Stephanie’s earth, the President along with all of the members of Operation Echo Tango One and their accompanying Marines remained in the descending elevator. Here, it was as if no time at all had elapsed since Stephanie’s freak accident and their encounter with the hostile alien forces. As far as they were concerned, she had passed by a truly horrific death, and in theory she had in transcending their concepts of the passage of space and time. With this belief etched in their mind, they were cradled into a perceived safety as the elevator lowered itself into the belly of the bunker, down into its underground tunnels.
“We need to regain the control of the situation,” the President continued, being one that liked to have the upper hand on a situation, and one of power. “We are going to hold a firm steadfast in the tunnels of the Pentagon. Nothing in or out. It is as if we are under Defcon One while we are there. Craig, I hope that you can be put to the test and know how to improvise your strategies of defense on the fly,” he finished as the elevator finished its descent.
“I’ll try my best, sir. I’d hate to let you down. I’d hate to let the nation down. The world it would seem,” Craig replied looking down, which really was his best as he was at a loss of words due to the recent events.
“It really is a shame about Stephanie. She was a bright light in this world, and she didn’t deserve to go out the way that she did. Do you think that we should reserve a moment of silence for her, the officers, and all other life that is meeting a tragic surmise in today’s horrendous unfolding of event? The whole thing is a tremendous tragedy to be honest. I always thought that first contact would put us in the galactic family of the universe and would be a monumental occasion. Almost like something out of Star Trek. I never thought that it would go this way. It didn’t have to go this way,” Erich put forth, he too looking at his shoes as if he was searching to see if they contained some unseen stain on them.
“Erich, the good book says in Ecclesiastes 3:1, ‘To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die,’ and this includes but it not limited to a time of mourning and a time to dance, as well as that of times of war and of peace. Your sentiment is noted Erich, but this is neither the time nor the place. There will be a time to mourn this tremendous loss of life, but not now. The situation calls us to act out against our alien opponent to prevent a further loss of life, and to make a stand for planet earth,” the President returned through gritted teeth as if he had given some kind of prolific speech in quoting the Holy Bible.
“I must say, the whole thing seems rather odd. It was strange that they did not seem wholeheartedly committed to their objective. It was as if they stopped just shy of their goal, as if the dedication to their goal or means to an end was just abruptly cut short. Why would they wreak such destruction in their wake from the start, just to stop when the leader of all the free world was in eyesight? For whatever reason, it doesn’t quite seem to add up. As if there was some other objective altogether, or that there was some unknown agent or variable that distracted or deterred them from their real purpose. I just don’t know what to make of it,” Erich observed, running his fingers through his curly mane of hair as if plainly in deep thought.
At that moment, the elevator pinged, and the great metallic door grinded open, as if the little conversation was their que to do so, like a kind of secret password. All chaos ensued within the great underground tavern. The sirens that lined its many tunnels and passageways continued to blare and flash alongside the walls in streaks of red and white. The soldiers frantically bustled about as if they had all but abandoned their posts, but even so, they hugged onto their rifles as if they were spooning with their wives at night.
“The President has arrived, all hands-on deck,” proclaimed a voice, and the soldiers stopped their efforts and directed their attention to the access elevator and the company that filled its contents.
“Progress report,” the President demanded of the nearest soldier to him as he marched his party out of the elevator, his Marines still closely encircling him shoulder to shoulder.
“Sir, it is an absolute nightmare,” the young officer answered through trembling hands that firmly clutched one of those metallic box clipboards. “Essentially, what we have is a two-front battlefield of the worse and most unimaginable proportions. All of the major countries and the vast majority of the United Nations question as to whether or not this is possibly an extinction level event, and in one way or another, each country is respectively resorting to their equivalent of a state of emergency. Some have gone dark in terms of communications. But to make matters worse, we have more than this alien invasion to concern ourselves with. We have just received intel that in a coup, Russia has invaded Ukraine, and that there are talks about their using nuclear force against us and other world powers, and quite possibly against our foreign adversary to establish themselves as the dominant group of this planet to the alien race,” the officer reported to the President through heavy breaths as if he had just come from running a marathon.
“Shit. Well, that just takes the cake doesn’t it. Thank you for that grim news soldier. As you were,” the President said with a little pat on the officer’s shoulders, and as quick as he had appeared before them, he fled into the bowels of the chamber. “Alright, I need everyone to listen up. This is very important,” the President declared with a clasp of his hands. “As of now, we are to proceed as if we are at Defcon One. Bearing that in mind, I am going to retreat back to the Pentagon which will act as a fortress, and which will be the place that we hold our defensive. All of you will be remaining here to guard the interdimensional portal from any possible intrusive hostile attack. Operation Echo Tango One will be accompanying me on the trip back to the Pentagon and will be assisting with said defensive. I am going to relieve my security to this place for the purpose of the previous order. Is that all received and well understood?” President Biden implored of his courageous troops.
Cries of, “Sir, yes sir,” thundered throughout the depths of the hallowed cave and echoed against its many rocky walls, which was matched only by the sounds of the stomping boots. There was then a brief pause, and then there came a clamoring as the small militia set out to taking up their various posts and stations that their purpose called for, as if they had rehearsed it previously in some kind of scrimmage or drill. It astonished every last member of Operation Echo Tango One to watch as they clambered and climbed into the many hovering tanks that outlined the rocky bunker. Just as they could not believe the sight before them as these beasts came to life and positioned themselves so that their colossal cannons pointed down each of the long tunnels, with others still aimed at the interdimensional portal itself. But that in itself was not the end of their efforts. There came the sound of beating feet, and the many soldiers lined the walls of all the passageways, pointing their rifles down the halls, bayonet in the forward direction in front of them. As for the President’s Marine security and guard, they took their positions all around the monolith that was the portal, just as the officer manning the computer that locked in the destination keyed in the corresponding functions into the device. Through all this chaos, the President sauntered forth towards the portal, leading all of Operation Echo Tango One with him, and he did so with a certain calm that was enviable.
“Just like before. One at a time, with me leading at the front,” the President said upon arriving at the alien device that could transport them throughout all of time and space. As they neared it, there was another tremendous humming and surge as the foreign apparatus drew up energy from the surrounding foreign elementals and the power supply. Like a fire being stoked in a fireplace, the purplish black void of a bubble that did flicker like a flame grew in its size, and it was at this time that the President stepped into it and vanished from sight, leading the way for the rest of the party to follow suit. To this end, they all entered into the extraterrestrial veil that was all ebbing and webbing to and fro just as they had before, with the exception that they were not followed by the President’s Marines.
Having passed through the twilight zone offered by the rippling cloak that was the teleportation device, the President and the six other souls that made up his party were welcomed by another homecoming party in the Pentagon’s underbelly. The commotion there was equal to or greater to the scene at Area 51. Soldiers frantically rushed in ever y which direction, but they all stopped in their tracks as the group appeared before them.
“The President has arrived, all hands-on deck,” a voice shouted from somewhere off to the side of them, and just as before, another solider approached him to give him a status report of the events as they unfolded. This time, the officer in question was much older, looking to have some real grit to him, not to mention years of experience under his belt. He also seemed much more headstrong than his counterpart that was now half a continent away.
“If I may have everyone’s attention. I am sure that you have received word from Area 51, but we have entered into a state of emergency, and we have gone to Defcon One. It grieves me to have to be the bearer of bad news, but I am afraid to say that it seems that the eleventh hour is upon us. Some very difficult decisions lie ahead of us that will not only have very last consequences and ramifications for the entire nation, but also for the rest of the world. But I encourage you not to let that strike fear into your hearts. We may find ourselves at a two-pronged attack, both of this world, and of the skies up above. Be that as it may, we will make it known that as a collective, we made our stand, and stood up for planet earth, and that we would not go quietly into the night,” the President bellowed, his most profound speech yet, which did have the effect of causing inspiration in the hearts of all present, even faint little Erich. “That being said, I would like to have another status report if there is one,” he heralded, looking to the commanding officer next to him. Immediately he took to approaching the President, and he withdrew a tablet from out of the waistband of his pants and brought it before him and the President so that they could better view the information that it contained.
“I have good news for you sir. It comes directly out of Dubai,” the informant began, rubbing his index finger lengthwise against the screen to bring up a video for his Commander and Chief.
“I see, what exactly is it that I am looking at,” the President queried with a quizzical look etched across his face that showed equal parts curiosity as It did his age.
“Our intel has collected this video of a kind of victory in the battle that is waging right now. Based on the video, it can be ascertained that there are two opposing sides to this alien warfare, and that we have friendlies in this fight. From what we can discern there are four differing spacecrafts at present, and the ones that are pyramidal and parabolic in their composition are that of the hostile extraterrestrials. The ones that have the more triangular and spherical ones seem to be having their own confrontation with them. Anyways, the video details what is being considered a victory for both them and us,” the soldier said passing the little black table off to the President.
The video that the President watched was very graphic and violent in all of its contents. It showed three monumental spherical vessels colliding into an unperceivable force field with a tremendous crash, and two others crashing into one of the large pyramidal vessels. The result of this conflict was that a great chunk of the latter vehicle broke off from it, and breaking out of its orbit, fell with resounding ripples of dust and wreckage into the city of Dubai, to the sound of many cries of its residents.
“The video offers tremendous insight. It not only shows that somehow this force field of theirs can be penetrated, but that these spacecrafts of theirs can be destroyed by the right agents. The only thing that we have to solve for now is that unknown variable of what force we have that could possibly have the same effect on them,” the soldier before the President said in a way that almost denoted that he was proud of himself for the conclusions that he had reached in watching the video.
“Very good. Thank you soldier,” the President said, clasping his hands together in front of him and shaking them slowly as if he were praying to some unforeseeable God. “Now, if you could do me the biggest service, I would like it if you could procure me up a table, seven chairs, and a whiteboard with pen if you can. If not, any platform will do, and maybe some drafting papers with their writing utensils,” the President beseeched of the seasoned military veteran. “If I can have everyone’s attention, the President went on, now addressing the entirety of the cave with a loud booming voice so that it would carry out through all of its contents. “We are to make this a fortress that is under lock and key. I am going to need to have it that you organize half of your men to guard both the tunnels and the portal in anticipation of an attack, so that we are more prepared than when we were hit at Area 51. Meanwhile, I am going to convene with my group here in Operation Echo Tango One so that we can strategize as to how to proceed from here in the midst of our little situation,” he then went on to declare to the open chamber.
It was not one minute latter that three burly men arrived before them; their arms burdened with various objects. One of the men clung unto one of those plastic, off-white folding tables that folded at each of its four legs. Another carried seven dark brown folding chairs underneath his arms. The last man awkwardly held a whiteboard with its corresponding tripod out in front of him. Meanwhile, the President pointed to the area just in front of the platform holding the portal in which they stood on. Likened to a German Shephard obeying the commands demanded of it for a treat, the three soldiers, dressed in their brown and beige military fatigues, came to an abrupt stop, and began assembling a little meeting area with the materials that they had on hand. In so doing, it was hard not to be impressed with the observable idiosyncratic nature in which all the soldier operated under, doing all things in uniform unison. This was not only detectable in the officers in front of them, but throughout all the bunkers interiors. For it so transpired that when the last foot soldier had taken his station and role within the depth of that mighty bunker, the last of the chairs was unfolded and set down before them, so that in the commotion of that tavern, it was as if the outfit was acting as one breathing organism, or under some kind of collective group think.
“Right this way, we don’t have a moment to waste,” the President said, motioning to the area that had been erected before him. It was assembled so that there were three chairs on either side of the able, with one situated at its head. It was here that the whiteboard was conveniently located at a slant. And it was here that each member of Operation Echo Tango One followed the President’s orders and situated themselves around the table. With a solemn silence all of the men took their seats at the table, so that on the left-hand side sat Craig, Clint, and David, with Arturo, Robert, and Erich sitting on the opposing right hand side. Both Craig’s and Clints were at the forefront of the table nearest its head, where they assumed the President would situate himself.
“Craig, I’m going to need you to draw out a visualization board for us as we map out our strategy here,” the President instructed Craig, with a little jerk of the head in the direction of the whiteboard and its tripod. “On that note, given everything that we know Craig, what do you reckon that we should do about the situation that we find ourselves in? This is really a question that only Craig has experience enough to answer, but for all intents and purposes, I open the question up for the rest of the group,” the President inquired of Craig and the rest of Operation Echo Tango One, standing at the head of the table, rather than sitting.
“To be perfectly honest, I don’t think I am on any level qualified to analyze, access, or give any kind of evaluation of the situation at hand. It goes beyond anything fathomed. In all my preparation, education, training, and experience, I have never encountered a scenario such as this one. Everything that I have dealt with has had to do with military strategies concerning the people of this work, and the agencies of their weapons from biochemical warfare to nuclear strikes. I don’t think that there is a nation that has considered the possibility of a war of both the people of earth and of extraterrestrial origin. On that note, I will give it my best and all, and say that I would start with the obvious in that we have to take into consideration all aspects of what is taking place, and in so doing, avoid a battle on two-fronts at all costs. Military leaders Bernard Montgomery, Douglas MacArthur, and Dwight Eisenhower are but a handful of a long list that have said something to the degree to never fight a two-front war. Just look at history. Nothing illustrates this better than the World Wars and what happened to Hitler in starting a two-front war with the Russians so that he could concentrate his efforts on the French and the allies,” Craig answered as he took his place by the whiteboard.
“That is wonderful feedback and insight that you have Craig. So, what I am hearing from you is that we should concentrate our efforts on just one group in particular to begin with. Is that approximation correct,” the President implored.
“If the case, I say that we focus our efforts on those blasted Russians. With the whole world in such a panic, it’s hard to estimate whether or not they will finally find the gall to use nuclear force under such pressure. It’s always been an issue with them. In any case, I figure if they are talking about using their nukes on us, that its best that we use ours on them before they get the chance to do the same to us. God, how this reminds me of the Cuban Missel Crisis all over again. Unless there are alternative weapons or methodologies that I am unawares of. But building off of the previous discussion I thought that was the general consensus amongst us in terms of these blasted aliens. Blast them all to hell I say. At any rate, I think it makes the most sense to deal with the Russians because as it were, we currently have friendlies distracting them for the moment in all of this, and it seems that it would not be as difficult to deal with the Russians as opposed to them. I vote that we take care of them, then deal with these aliens,” Clint passionately chimed in, slamming his hand on the table at the end for effect, and to show how terribly upset he was by the whole situation.
“Clint, calm thyself. There are other, less destructive ways that we can go about this. There are in fact other options and strategies that we can employ. It is my suggestion that we get ahold of all acting interceptor teams, and have them ready all their interceptor missiles, and to keep an eye out for all Russian activity at this time. They also buy us time and act as a counterattack that will stop any nuclear weapons should they be launched. Perhaps we hadn’t talk about using nuclear force until it has been leveraged against us. The Russians know that we have the interceptor stations and I dare say that they wouldn’t waste their weapons on the fly. Especially if this turns out to be a bluff out of fear. Although there is no saying as to whether or not they will really use them against the extraterrestrials. After all, we are essentially thinking of the same approach. Fear can make a man do very foolish things indeed,” David offered, rubbing the whiskers of his chin like a sage in deep and profound concentration.
“I think that it goes without saying that all Interceptor stations should keep a watchful and vigilant eye out at this time. I think that the equivalent of it is being used by all nations at this time. At least the ones that could afford them. Nevertheless, put that on the board per part of our strategy Craig,” the President said with a slight laugh as if he was responding to the most obvious thing in the world.
“If I may speak and offer up both an analogy and a proposition. At the time of the Revolutionary War, the native people were visited by an enigmatic prophet of theirs. He offered them this bit of advice. The prophet held up a bundled of branches tied together by a fine twine. Then he preceded to try and break them apart which they did not. This prophet said that they were likened to the twigs. That together, they were stronger and would not fold to the foreigners. After that, he proceeded to remove the twine, and one by one, he began to snap the twigs. At this point, he went on to give light to the fact that like the twigs, that if they separated, they would fall. In a way, it was the origin point of the idiom, united we stand, divided we fall. Not long after war, the indigenous people were tricked into joining both sides of the battlefield, to fight for a freedom that should have already belonged to them, and with it began the decent and regression of their immense suffrage and loss. Now, what I am getting at with this, is that are planet numbers some nine billion souls. We have always wondered if there was some uniting force that could bring peace amongst us. Maybe there is no one nation that can defeat this enemy, but perhaps as a united people we have a change. If it were at all possible, I would suggest we initiate conversations with the Russians concerning whether or not we can join forces, and in so doing, set an example to the rest of the world to follow suit, especially if the most conflicting nations can find the heart to do so,” Arturo offered to the ground, with eyes that sparkled with all the compassion of the world.
“I agree with the communications expert. I think if we are to conduct ourselves in this manner, in having to consider nuclear threats and utilization, that we must at the very least discuss the ramifications of doing so. I will start by saying that I am fond of Arturo’s recommendation as a more humane way of dealing with the situation. That is, if the Russians are willing to listen. Speaking to the previous point there is a considerable weight in having a conversation about the consequences of nuclear force. I think we should note this force field that seems to surround their spacecrafts. As a people, we know what the profound impact of an atomic bomb is like. Similarly, we know that this force field can be penetrated, but we do not know by what means. It then becomes a question as to whether or not the weapons can reach their designated target, or if they will falter in breaking through this device of theirs. To this end, it is almost unfathomable to consider what such an atomic impact in midair would be like. Would the force field absorb such an impact, and if not, how would this play out? If it does not, we would have to consider for fallout and radiation as if it was seeping out and pouring out midair in the very ethers, or at least it would seem that this would be the case; the very atmosphere of our planet having to deal with the effects of our weapons of mass destruction. Not only that, but we would also have to be mindful that it does not affect those more friendly aliens that have been helping us, just as we would have to consider how they would counter such an action, if they have more destructive weapons, not to mention the great loss of life that we are looking at. These are but a few of the variables that we must contemplate and muse over at length as we proceed in this matter,” added Robert after much thought.
“I thank the both of you for your valuable insights. Craig, having heard from both Arturo and Robert, I want you to draw it out that we implement conversations with Russia as part of our larger strategy. We can have it that we prepare for the case of a nuclear attack from the Russians with the Interceptor stations, while we start these communications to the effect that Arturo has suggested. We will continue thusly. Are there any other suggestions?” the President pressed further.
“Once we have dealt with the Russians and will see how they will proceed in these matters, we can consider what we will do afterwards as it relates with the alien forces. I’m sure it has become a question the world over as to what penetrates these force fields of theirs. While atomic weapons may be a bit extreme, may I propose the possibility of using EMP payloads? That somehow, these can disable these spacecrafts of theirs. From what we have gathered, it seemed that our allies in the skies had success in their concentrating on one specific area. So maybe we could also suggest an experimental flyby where several groups of our aircrafts drop these payloads into a targeted area to any affect?” Craig said, as he looked over all the things he had written down on the whiteboard with a look of satisfaction.
“I like the sounds of that Craig. You put that on the board as well, and I’ll begin conversations with Putin on the double. This meeting is adjourned for now. We will commence after I have talked with the hot-headed Russian leader. Wish me luck,” the President said with a little nod of the head, and then he made his way away from the group, so that he could make a call on a phone that was red and seldom if ever used.