Legacy Of Korr (10 page)

Queen Carilia thought for a while. “We need to come out of hiding and announce our arrival to the entire world.”

“The United Nations had been in a vegetative state for fifty years,” the Egyptian President said. “This will shake things up. You’re welcome to stay here as long as you like, and we’ll help you in any way we can.”

“Thank you, but we must go to Australia. They need our help,” Shara said.

“What’s going on in Australia?” The Australian agent asked.

“An enemy is closing in on your shore as we speak.”

He was ready to say something else, but Mara motioned him to stop. “Don’t worry, agent. We won’t let anything happen to you. Make sure your armed forces stay out of our way, and we’ll intercept them before they reach your shores.”

The Australian agent nodded, but his face remained tense.

“That’s a good idea,” Jessica said. “I will come with you, and if you need anything, we’re more than happy to help.”

*****

December 22, 2030

Five aircraft carriers drifted west in the Tasman, approaching Australia’s Eastern Coast near Sydney under the cover of the darkness of night. Supporting vessels, submarines, and smaller ships accompanied the aircraft carriers as they floated outside the Australian Waters.

Aboard the giant vessels, thousands of armed forces personnel prepared for their first large-scale operation. Pilots climbed into their cockpits and soldiers jumped into tanks, helicopters, and small machines that transported ammunitions. They inspected and prepared cannons, missile launchers, and heavy guns before battle.

The Commander of the force motioned his communication officer to set up contact to send a message to the Australian government. Australians retrieved the alien and its spaceship, and every day they worked with the alien, they developed new weapons and technology. Every day, they became more powerful.

His infiltration team couldn’t recover the alien which left him one choice—a direct military intervention. A mission not about curiosity. But a mission for survival.

“It’s ready, Commander,” the Communication Officer said.

The Commander faced the communication device, his hands clasped behind his back. “To the Australian Prime Minister. This is our first and final message. Hand over the alien and the spaceship to our aircraft carriers in the Tasman, or we will launch a large-scale attack. If you refuse, your cities will fall, and your people will die. You have one hour to respond and two to deliver the alien assets. This is a onetime offer.”

If they knew what
was best for them, they would hand over the alien. He brought enough firepower to level the East Coast. If they mobilize their army to overwhelm him, he’d wipe them out with weapons of mass destruction.

This operation had one possible outcome. He would take the alien and the ship home with him.

*****

Noah sat across from Jackie Wheeler in her office. He’d known Jackie for years, and that’s why she agreed to meet with him on a short notice. She was on edge, which was understandable.

A large naval force laid siege to Australia. An unprecedented event. Many of these took place this week.

“What is it?”

Noah clenched his hands. “Don’t mobilize your forces.”

“Are you mad?”

“No, I’m asking you to trust me, and let the aliens handle it.”

“Aliens? Your aliens are sightseeing in Egypt. Not to mention they’re the reason this is happening.”

“Jackie, please.”

She motioned him to stop. “No.”

“They can hold their own, and the Queen is a force to be reckoned with.”

“You think four aliens can defeat an army with aircraft carriers, jets, helicopters, submarines, and weapons of mass destruction?”

Noah scowled. “I know they can.”

Jackie shot to her feet and waved her index finger in his face. “We’ll deal with this threat the way we trained. We’ll mobilize the Anzacs and defend our country.”

“You can’t mobilize enough forces to fend them off, and the US carriers can’t get here in time to save us.”

“We can try.”

Noah pulled out his phone, placed it on her desk, and streamed a video on the small hologram. “Do me a favor. Watch this.”

Jackie parted her lips to say something, but the video played. She had to look away if she wanted to avoid watching it. The video was a record of Mara’s battle with the US Army in Nevada. Jackie’s eyes widened.

Noah realized this was his time to strike. “Gather your forces, but don’t attack, not just yet. If they succeed, they save you the trouble. If they fail, they will buy you time to mobilize more soldiers. Don’t stand in their way. They’re not asking for our permission, Jackie. Whatever force you put together in a hurry will be crushed in the cross fire.”

She tapped the desk with her fingers. He felt bad for her. A hundred years of figureheads in the Defense Ministry, and she had to face this in her first year. But, she was vulnerable, and he had a job to do.

Noah moved in for the kill. “I sat down with one of them, and my gut tells me we can trust them.”

“If your gut is wrong, we’ll share a cell.”

Noah chuckled. “That will never happen.”

“Overconfident, are we?”

“No, you’ll go to women’s prison.”

Jackie smiled for the first time, but it was brief. “I hope you’re right, for both our sakes.”

“I’m.”

“Okay, I’ll buy you some time.”

“Thank you,” Noah said and left her office.

He called Alex to tell him the outcome of his meeting with Jackie, and Alex told him the alien convoy was heading to Capital Hill.

Noah got into his car. He assured Jackie the aliens would defeat the powerful army, knocking on their doors. But what if he was wrong?

What if he overestimated the aliens or underestimated their enemy? Would the East Coast pay the price? Was Matt right to chastise him? Was he the same reckless man that got half his team killed? If so, he’d raised the ante. Three major cities were at stake.

Noah shook his head to dismiss the negative thoughts and drove to Capital Hill. The second he received this assignment, he knew he’d have to make these tough calls, and so did those who hired him. Many were comfortable pointing the blame after the fact. Yet they appointed him to make those decisions every chance they got.

Damn bureaucrats. His anger surfaced again. Years of quiet and peaceful living couldn’t heal the wounds. He never confronted those who let him down. He walked away. It was the Australian thing to do. But maybe he should’ve thrown a punch or two, stormed out, and slammed the door in their faces. In
his
face.

He dialed another number.

“Sir, I wasn’t—”

Noah interrupted the ever-nervous scientist. “I need you in Capital Hill with your equipment, Edward.”

He could hear noise on the line before Edward’s voice came through. “Who would you like me to monitor?”

“All of them.”

“Okay.”

“Thanks Edward,” Noah said and hung up.

He arrived in Capital Hill in time to see history in the making – The First Fleet 2.0. A large golden ship hovered in the sky above the building. Those who didn’t see the ship had to hear the loud humming sound. Noah could forget his meticulous plan to announce the alien’s existence to the world. In ten minutes, this scene would be all over TV channels and news websites.

Noah joined the PM and his staff outside the building. He watched, but he didn’t know what to make of it. Would the major powers fight or unite over this? One of them made their intentions known with an all-out invasion, and the rest were considering their options.

The spaceship landed, and the Queen exited meters away from the entrance. She looked older than her apparition in the vision Shara had shown him.

Out of the small, silver ships, Shara and two similar-looking aliens emerged and rushed to follow the Queen.

The PM put an-election-campaign-worthy sparkling smile on his face. “Your Majesty, welcome to Australia!”

“Thank you.”

“It’s an honor—”

The Queen interrupted the PM. “We can exchange niceties after we deal with the intruders.”

*****

In anticipation of the upcoming battle, Mara and her sisters landed their ship and called their silver guardian. But first, their mother had to convince the country’s Prime Minister to stay out of their way.

“Our Minister for Defense is preparing for war,” the PM said.

The Queen’s eyes narrowed. “Can you summon enough forces in time to defeat them?”

His face tensed, and he hesitated for a moment. “We have to try.”

“No, you don’t. We are here and we’re ready. Let my daughters handle it.”

The PM shook his head. “With all due respect, Queen Carilia. It’s a large force.”

She smiled. “My daughters are powerful.”

Noah lost his patience. He tapped the PM’s shoulder. “I asked Jackie to step back and let the Queen and her daughters handle it.”

The PM was about to pull out his hair. “You did what?”

Mara intervened before things escalated. “We’re wasting precious time. Let us try first. You can summon your forces—in case you need them.”

The PM considered her offer. “Ok.”

Her mother motioned the pilots to take off. The Royal Ship ascended, glowed, and vibrated in a rhythmic pattern. The vibration continued for a few minutes as it spread the defensive shield. From the base of the ship, the Royal Guardians emerged and traveled to Mara and formed a single row in front of her.

Mara touched the top of the guardians one by one to communicate the details of the battle. In response, they hissed and glowed. The gasps, open mouths, and wide eyes hinted at how amazed the officials were by what they saw.

“A mild reaction compared to our last visit,” the Queen said, smiling. “The silver and golden spherical objects are our mechanical guardians. They are powerful and efficient war machines.”

“And the green halo?” The PM asked.

Mara pointed at the ship. “It’s a defensive shield that will protect your cities. Now, I need to send the intruders a fair warning.”

“Please follow me,” a man next to the PM said.

A minute later, she was in a room full of electronic devices. The man motioned the technician who switched on the Radio and moved out of the way.

Mara faced the device. “This is a message to the intruders. I’m Mara, daughter of Carilia and Princess of Korr. We received your message and we decline. You threaten innocent people with death and peaceful cities with destruction, but you don’t know your enemy.”

Whoever the Commander of the invasion force was, he was listening. If he expected them to surrender, he would be disappointed.

“If you retreat now,” Mara said, “we will not attack you. But if you continue your mission, we will destroy your vessels with weapons—the likes of which you’ve never seen. You may have numbers, but you’re outmatched. Retreat or burn.”

Mara stopped talking and stepped back, staring at the radio and waiting for a response. The invaders weren’t likely to respond or would respond by opening fire. Either way, she didn’t expect them to admit the error of their ways and turn their vessels around.

A voice came through the radio. “I don’t need an hour, Mara, daughter of Carilia. You have no idea what you and your family are up against. I’m coming for you.”

The message ended, and the war began.

*****

“Send the jets,” the Commander of the naval force said to his first officer aboard an aircraft carrier.

Before long, a hundred fighter jets screamed in the sky above the Tasman headed toward the East Coast of Australia. They disappeared in the horizon as they closed in on Sydney. Their rockets and bombs set the water and shore alight.

“Jet Seven to base,” the lead pilot said, his voice nervous. “There is a green energy barrier engulfing the city. Should we try to go through it?”

They used defensive capabilities, and since his source confirmed Australians had no defensive shields, it had to be the aliens’. No telling how strong it was or how long would it hold.

“Negative, Jet Seven. Fire at the shield from a safe distance,” the Commander said.

Explosions echoed in the distance before the pilot’s voice came through the radio. “We can’t penetrate it, sir.”

Cursing under his breath, the Commander banged his fist against the wall above the radio. “Fire everything you have. Take the damned thing down.”

Even from a distance, the deafening sounds of rockets, bombs, and guided missiles filled the air. The shield wouldn’t stand this kind of fire, nothing would, he thought.

“It’s still there, sir,” the pilot said.

You didn’t think it would be this easy, did you?
The voice exploded in his head. An angry, loud, feminine voice.

The Commander covered his ears before he realized it wouldn’t help since the voice was
inside
his head. He strode outside the command center into the deck to find the source of the sound.

In the air, between his aircraft carrier and the shore, three aliens hovered. Each had a small, silver sphere orbiting her, and in front of them, five large golden spheres lined up in a straight line.

“Forget the shield. Focus fire on the aliens and their robots,” he said to his first officer who’d followed him. The officer rushed inside to convey the message.

The jets doubled back and attacked the aliens with their missiles and heavy rounds. And heavy guns, laser beams, and rockets from the carriers exploded around them with enough heat to evaporate the sea dry.

Smoke and fire covered the area. The Commander couldn’t see over ten meters ahead. The jet engines roared as they returned to launch another attack, and another, and another.

Nothing and no one could survive this. Aboard the aircraft carrier, the Commander’s confidence matched his bloodlust. The jets circled and returned to the battle field as the smoke cleared to assess the situation. Instead, the Commander gasped at the sight of the aliens and their untouched robots.