Parol
By Cobra Commander
Author's Note: All characters are herein fictional and are not meant to depict any real known persons.
Chairs were already squeaking, and the presentation hadn't even started yet. A low murmur hovered above the air of the men who were dressed semi-casually. There were no suits or military outfits; merely an office casual tone to the crowd bearing clipboards and journals. Some smoked, some sat, some drank, and some sighed. They had been waiting to hear the report of the ill-fated recovery team Renegade, whose vessel, the Tower, was destroyed brutally by an unknown force only seventy-two hours ago. At long last, a thin and wiry individual sporting thick glasses stepped up to the podium and loosened his tie. Nervously he looked at his watch before taking a sip of water, then looked to the back of the room for the final go-ahead.
None of his superiors were back there, so he paused, smiling at the crowd and informing them that they would have to be patient for just a few more minutes. But the reporting crew was going for accuracy, and the longer they stalled these men, the larger and more ridiculous the rumors became.
The press wasn't jumping up and down for the story; that method had stopped long ago. They were lucky enough that the Confederacy was letting them even know that something had happened in the Koprulu Sector. Censorship in the media had become so overbearing that reporters and journalists learned to never press an issue if they knew that information would be given voluntarily.
Finally, a short, stocky man came out of the back and gave the thumbs-up to his comrade, going straight to the stage and sitting next to him. The man in the glasses tapped the microphone and received the pleasant noise of feedback through the speakers. He cringed, then leaned forward.
"Can everybody hear me?" he asked. There was no response. The man sighed and put his hands in his pockets. "Now I'm sure everyone is curious of the situation, and probably even more curious as to why the Confederacy isn't bothering to cover it up." This was met with some laughter as well as heckling, but the nervous speaker continued. "You've already heard of the reports of the 'xenomorphs' found on several outlying colonies, and that these creatures have slaughtered a good amount of people," he paused. "Before I go any further, are there any questions about the xenomorphs?"
A few hands went up. He pointed at an individual in the first row.
"Thanks, Dave. Yeah, I'm just curious as to what the hell they look like? We haven't seen any pictures. At least I know I haven't."
Dave nodded as he took another sip of water and loosened his tie even further.
"No, that's a good point. I'm not sure what photos have been disclosed at this point." He turned to the stocky man. "You know of any?" The stocky man threw his hands up and shook his head; he didn't know. Dave turned back to the crowd and gave a sympathetic smile. "Sorry, I don't think we have any right now, or at least none that have been approved for release. I'm told that they're reptilian-like in appearance, but they operate like insects. Something like that. We honestly don't have many details on them right now, but rest assured we'll get it out to you. Any others?"
Only one hand went up, the other had decided to stay down.
"Thanks. Uh, just about how many of theses 'xenomorphs' are there? And what is the Confederacy doing to keep them under control?"
"Another good question," Dave said as he ruffled through some papers. "Estimates by scouts indicate anywhere from 1,000 to 400,000 xenomorphs in the Koprulu Sector. Now, the way they operate is still unknown, but they've been sticking mainly to the badland-type planets. It's hard to keep track of them since their reproduction styles are pretty unorthodox. However, we're fairly positive that once the Confederacy finds the hive, they'll have no trouble destroying it.
"General Duke issued a statement – and I believe it was available on your way in – saying that he thinks once you destroy the hive, the rest of the outlying colonies will die off in succession. The 'domino theory' if you will. But he also stated that several extermination squads are being sent throughout the sector to deal with the threat, and that by this time next year all of them should have been eliminated, if everything goes as planned."
The man then stood up with his notepad and waved his pencil in the air. Dave acknowledged him, pointing to him and nodding.
"What about the incident on Chau Sara?" he asked. Dave cocked his head in confusion. He leaned forward, shaking his head.
"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about."
The man looked around. "I doubt I'm the only one who's heard of this. It was rumored that a band of these 'xenomorphs' were found on Chau Sara, and that a group calling themselves 'Cerberus Unit' came in and dealt with the situation, saving scientists in a nearby facility."
Dave smiled and chuckled. "I'm sorry, but I honestly have no idea-"
"And they killed a magistrate."
There was no more laughter. The mood became frighteningly real, and the reporter stared deeply into Dave's complexion, but Dave truly knew nothing of the incident. His comrade, however, sitting next to him, kept a solemn tone on his face, having heard the strange reports himself.
"I'm sorry, but I know nothing of the incident." There was a long pause as the reporter sat down. "Are there any other questions about the xenomorphs?" Nothing. "All right, then. I'll move right along. All I have for you are facts right now, and afterwards I'll turn you over to Mr. Burkley here for questions.
"Okay, approximately seventy-two hours ago, the Confederate search and recovery team Renegade lost contact with their people on Mar Sara. There were only a few brief and panicky transmissions between the recovery vessels and the main ship, the Tower, before contact between the two stopped.
"The team was there to investigate the disappearance of two missing space shuttles; the Confederate battlecruiser Archerica and the cargo freighter Lansdale 31-02M. Upon arriving at the scene, the team found remains of both ships, but also reported finding the remnants of an unknown vessel. Now, they said that 'they had found Terran for sure, but were not positive about the rest,' but that does not confirm these details. A squadron has yet to be dispatched to that area, but we are expecting that order to be given within the next few hours.
"Even though a thorough investigation has not been committed yet, officials believe that the craft that destroyed the Tower was not of Confederate standing. They also believe that it may not have been human, given the sheer size of the vessel being recorded on various radar monitors. Apparently the ship was able to cloak itself from radar detection, then appeared willingly over the Tower before destroying it."
Dave looked around, watching as the men scribbled every golden word that left his mouth. He waited a moment, then looked to Burkley.
"I'm now going to hand you over to Mr. Burkley for questions."
Dave stepped down, taking his glass of water and sitting in Burkley's chair.
Burkley adjusted his shirt and rolled up his sleeves. He shuffled some papers before laying them down on the podium and adjusting the position of the microphone.
"Now, uh, my colleague here may have alarmed you a bit with the talk of all these strange happenings, but I assure you that none of this is confirmed, so there is no reason for panic. We have no reason to believe that the vessel that destroyed the Tower wasn't human. The only strange factor was its ability to cloak; but we all know that wraiths can cloak themselves. Sure, sure, wraiths are much smaller, but you have to keep in mind that sooner or later someone would have to figure out how to cloak larger ships.
"Also, before you ask, we don't know of any survivors. None have come forward, and there were no records showing any derelict vessels entering the atmosphere of any nearby planets." He stopped and cleared his throat. "Questions?"
Every hand in the room shot through the roof. Burkley pointed randomly to a gentleman in the first row.
"If it wasn't aliens, does the Confederacy have any suspected outside groups or pirates in mind?" Burkley shook his head, no.
"What is the probability that aliens did cause this?"
"Well," started Burkley, "I suppose it's as good as any old human doing it. It's hard to say. We're not really sure of anything right now. But like Mr. Harrison said earlier, we expect a squadron to be deployed to the scene shortly."
"Could the xenomorphs be responsible for this?"
Burkley laughed. "No, no I don't think so. You see, the xenomorphs aren't that smart. Their methods of traveling aren't nearly as sophisticated as ours, and they certainly aren't capable of such mass destruction."
"But is it possible?"
Burkley sighed. "No, it isn't. Can we steer this away from the xenomorphs? I've already stated that they're not responsible nor could they be. The xenomorphs aren't capable of things like that. Yes, they have attacked a few colonies, but they can't possibly have organized attacks that can bring down something of that size. Besides, they are being closely monitored by General Duke and his Alpha Squadron. So please, don't worry.
"The situation is under control."