Characters created by: Rebecca Sugar

Chapter 4: The Day The Earth Stood Still

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The White House

Calvin Maheswaran was walking through the halls of the White House, with two men behind him.

"ANA is running a story saying we're covering up some kind of nuclear test experiment." said one of the men.

"Well tell them to run with it if they want to embarrass themselves." said Calvin, holding his suitcase.

"NASA's been on my butt all morning." said the other man, "They want to know our position."

"Our official position is… Well, we have no official position." stated Calvin as he walked into the White House elevator.

The two men stopped in annoyance.

"Oh come on, Calvin. What is going on?" said both simultaneously.

"Look, you guys, I honestly don't know what's going on. I'll get information from the President, okay?"

One of the men spoke.

"Alright…"

Calvin pressed the buttons on the elevator. The elevator door closed, and Calvin could feel his body being pushed up with the elevator.

Meanwhile At The Oval Office

In the Oval Office, the personal office for the President, several men in suits were sitting on sofas, in the middle a glass top table, with several coffee mugs on it. The President was standing in front of his desk.

One of the men sitting was Alexander Townsend, the Secretary of Defense. He had balding white hair, and was a bit taller than the President. One of them men at the sofa laid his papers onto the table.

"At the moment, our satellites are somewhat unreliable. Is it possible this thing may just pass us by?"

"Well, what if it doesn't "pass us by"?" said Townsend, "Why don't we retarget some ICBM's to blow it out of the sky?"

"And risk turning one falling object into many? I don't think so." said General Adams.

President Eisenstein intervened.

"We don't yet know enough about what we're dealing with to make any kind of intelligent judgements."

At that moment, Calvin stepped into the room, overhearing President Eisenstein's comment.

"Luckily the press is making up their own stories at this point. But that's not gonna keep…"

President Eisenstein hesitated his speech.

"We may need to upgrade to Defcon Three…"

"Absolutely." said Townsend, who turned to one of the generals, "General, contact NORAD. Tell them we've upgraded to Defcon Three."

"That's not what the President said…" interrupted General Adams.

As the two were arguing, Calvin whispered next to President Eisenstein.

"That's a little premature."

"I don't think so." whispered back Eisenstein.

One of the men stopped Townsend and Adams' argument.

"We have more than 50% of the Armed Forces out on weekend leave, not to mention the troops and commanders that are in town for the Fourth of July parade."

As the man spoke, a small group of high ranked Armed Forces officials entered the room, one holding a silver suitcase.

"Go ahead, Commander." said President Eisenstein.

One of the officials began speaking as the other laid the suitcase on the table and opening it.

"Our intelligence says that the object has settled into a stationary orbit."

"Well, that's good news." said Townsend.

"Uh, not really, sir." said the official.

The other man opened the suitcase, and inside displayed an infrared image of the massive object, but with many other smaller objects seen scattered under it.

"Part of it has broken off into several different pieces. Smaller than the whole, sir, yet over 15 miles in width."

Townsend looked up at the official.

"Where are they heading?"

"They should be entering our atmosphere within the next twenty five minutes."

President Eisenstein turned to the official, with a face of mild uneasiness.

Northern Desert, Iraq-Twenty Five Minutes Later

In the Northern Desert in Iraq, men, women and children emerged from their tents, drawn to a strange deep roar. They saw in the sky, the clouds were moving rapidly, and there was a strange glow from within them. The sound became louder, and louder.

Meanwhile In The Persian Gulf

On the Persian Gulf was the U.S.S. Peach. A large submarine, patrolling the great Gulf.

On board, the captain was walking through the halls of the submarine.

"This better be good."

As he reached the main radar room, another man in the room yelled out "Captain on deck!". The man walked up to one of the men on the radar.

"Sir, we're picking up total radar blockage over a 13 kilometer area."

The man examined the radar screen, which showed nothing.

"Let's do a diagnostic check-"

He was interrupted by the man.

"Excuse me, sir. The radar may not be working, but the infrared is totally off the map."

The man rose from his seat and walked over to a blank screen, he flipped a switch, turning on the infrared. The infrared showed something engulfing the whole screen in red. The man showed concern.

"Jeez."

He walked over to a phone and put it to his ear.

"Get me Atlantic Command on the line."

Pentagon

At the Pentagon, a man in uniform placed newly printed readings onto a clipboard. He walked over to another man on the phone. The man noticed, and spoke to the other end of the line.

"Hang on, sir."

He looked at the printed readings.

"Sir, we have range with incoming over Iraqi airspace."

"Second sighting?"

"Yes sir. This one just came in from the Persian Gulf."

The man spoke back into the phone.

"Correction, sir. We now have two confirmed visual contacts."

On the other end of the line was the General at the White House Oval Office. All around him, men in suits and Armed Forces officials were answering calls about various objects sighted all around the world.

"That's affirmative." said General Adams, "Mr. President, we have another object sighted above the Golden coastline!"

Calvin walked up to Eisenstein and whispered to him.

"Alright." answered Eisenstein.

One of them men turned on the television in the office. The picture was a bit fuzzy from the previously known satellite broadcasting issues.

"General, you might want to watch this." said Eisenstein.

The television displayed a "Special Report" screen. A reporter's voice then spoke.

"Ladies and gentlemen…"

The screen then cut to the reporter speaking from the news desk.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are interrupting our regular broadcast to bring you extraordinary events taking place in the Russian Republic."

A witness spoke as images of a reporter in Russia was speaking into the camera, many people scattering behind him.

"This unexplained disturbance, and the hysteria that it's causing, are incredible."

The reporter on the screen pointed up to the sky, the camera turning in the direction of where the reporter was pointing, showing the clouds moving rapidly, and a mysterious glow from inside, all while a female reporter asked the witness a question.

"How would you describe what you are seeing?"

The image turned to a still recording overlooking the town, with the clouds moving over it.

"It is clearing the mountains…" said the witness, "Moving too slowly to be a comet or meteor. Widespread panic has gripped the countryside, as thousands have taken to the streets…"

The image then cut to a female reporter.

"It is confirmed. The unexplained phenomenon is heading for Moscow."

Then, General Adams, holding a phone, broke the silence in the room.

"Mr. President, we have an AWAC off the West Coast. ETA with contact point: three minutes."

Skies Over The Pacific Coastline, Golden State

In the skies of the Pacific Coastline, a plane was flying through the clouds. Inside, men at the radar were irritated.

"I don't understand it, sir. Side radar doesn't see it."

"This radar is blind! Nothing is registering!"

At the cockpit, pilot and co-pilot were sitting in their seats, with the co-pilot speaking into a microphone hooked up from his helmet.

"Negative, we have zero visibility. Visibility is at… zero."

The pilot spoke next.

"Command, this is Eagle Eye 370."

Back at the Oval Office, General Adams put the phone on speaker.

"Captain, the President is listening. Repeat what you just told me."

"We still have zero visibility..." said the pilot over the phone, "Instrumentation is malfunctioning. We can't get any kind of reading of what's in front of us…"

After a few seconds of silence, the pilot spoke again.

"Wait a minute. It may be clearing…"

The pilot and co-pilot noted an orange tint they were approaching through the cloud, thinking it was sunlight. But once they cleared the cloud, it was revealed to not be sunlight.

In front of them was a giant wall of fire. The co-pilot was frozen as the pilot was trying to pull up.

"Pull up! Pull up!"

As the pilot tried to pull up, systems were malfunctioning.

The plane headed straight for the wall of fire. The windows of the cockpit shattered, letting in the fire, which completely engulfed the inside of the plane.

Back at the Oval Office, an Armed Forces official was attempting to regain contact. He looked up and hung up the phone.

"Line's gone, sir."

The General beside him also hung up a phone.

"Two more have been spotted in the Atlantic. One heading towards Empire State, and the other headed straight for here."

"How much time do we have?" said one man.

"Less than ten minutes." answered the General.

Secretary of Defense Townsend walked to one of the men.

"Albert, organize a military escort."

"Mr. President, I strongly recommend we move you to a secure location immediately." said General Adams.

President Eisenstein looked to Calvin.

"Calvin, can we expect the same kind of panic we saw in Russia?"

"More than likely."

Townsend put his arm on Eisenstein's back.

"Mr. President, we can discuss this on the way."

Eisenstein spoke in a stoic tone.

"I'm not leaving…"

Calvin looked to Eisenstein in concern. Townsend was confused.

"But.. We have to maintain a working government."

The President turned to him.

"I want you to get the Vice President, the whole Cabinet, and Joint Chiefs, and take them to a secured location. But I'M staying. I don't wanna add to a public hysteria that's gonna cost lives."

He turned to Calvin.

"Calvin."

"Yes, sir?" he said as he walked up to President Eisenstein.

"We'll initiate the Emergency Broadcast System. We'll advise people not to panic, and that the best thing to do is to stay in their homes."

Calvin nodded.

"Yes sir. Roy! Dean!"

Two men followed Calvin as he walked out of the Oval Office. Townsend turned to behind him.

"And Alex, contact the cabinet members." he said, "Have them rendezvous here. We'll take them to NORAD."

As President Eisenstein moved to his desk, General Adams stepped up.

"Mr. President, with your permission, I'd like to remain at your side."

President Eisenstein looked down to the floor and smirked. He looked back up to General Adams.

"I had a feeling you would."

"And what happens if they do become hostile."

Eisenstein hesitated, staring into the General's eyes.

"Then God help us…"

Meanwhile At Worldwide Cable, Evergreen Valley

In the Worldwide Cable headquarters, people everywhere were either seated or standing, staring at televisions set everywhere, broadcasting the strange occurrences happening all around the world. A woman walked up to Peridot's office.

"Peridot, are you watching this?"

Peridot turned to her.

"Yes, I am. I'm trying to track this signal." she said as she listened to the same four beat droning noise on the speakers.

A piece of paper was printed, showing readings on the signal. Peridot grabbed the paper and examined it.

"The signal sounds terribly familiar." she thought, "It's reducing itself every time it recycles. In seven hours, it's going to…"

She looked up with widened eyes.

"Disappear…"

She turned to the television in her office. A reporter spoke.

"And here it is, live from Moscow."

The image cut to a view of the skies over Moscow. A glow could be seen in the clouds miles away.

"As you can see, the mysterious occurrence is heading straight towards the Russian capital. The Russian President has called for citizens not to panic and to wait it out."

Peridot was consumed with fear.

"It can't be… Oh my stars… Homeworld, you've finally arrived…"

She turned to the window, seeing everybody gathered around the TV's. She held the paper firmly in her hand and walked to the doorway. She took a deep breath and walked forward. She walked up to Andrew, with a group of employees, staring at the television, watching the President's emergency broadcast. Peridot locked her eyes down at her paper.

"Uh, Andrew, I've got a lock on the signal, but you're not gonna like it. I recognize the signal from my time back in my home planet…"

Her eyes looked back up at Andrew, who was still staring at the television, a worried look on his face.

"Andrew, are you listening?"

"Can you believe this?" said Andrew, not taking his eyes off the TV screen.

Peridot turned to the television Andrew was watching, it showed Calvin Maheswaran walking up onto the podium in the White House.

"Good afternoon. So far, the phenomenon has not caused any damage. We have to ask you to try to stay calm, and it's important for everyone not to panic."

Over in the RV in Imperial Valley, Golden, the Coolidge kids were watching the broadcast of Calvin.

"We have a fix on three of the occurrences about to appear over American cities."

The youngest Coolidge kid turned to his teenage sister.

"It's just unreal."

The sister called out for Jeremy.

"Hey, Jeremy, come here!"

Jeremy walked up to them, putting on his jacket.

Back at the Worldwide Cable headquarters in Delmarva, everyone was watching Calvin's speech.

"One is headed towards Los Angeles. The other two are on our eastern seaboard, headed towards Empire City and our nation's capitol."

A man walked up to Andrew.

"Andrew. The company CEO called and said that all employees are released from work right this minute. Everyone can leave the building freely."

Andrew turned and held his arms high.

"Okay, everyone! Everyone! You are now released from work duty! You may leave the building if you want, and can go home, or do whatever!"

He turned and ran off.

"Oh, I better call my mother."

Peridot stared at the television screen, worried about something only she knew.

Back at Imperial Valley, in a restaurant, Johnnie Coolidge, still in his drunken stupor, was sipping a cup of coffee.

Then, a group of men came in, laughing. One of them noticed Johnnie.

"Well look who we have here."

As the other man sat in a table behind Johnnie, the other sat beside him.

"Hey, John, I heard you were having trouble this morning. Dusted the wrong field."

Johnnie turned to him, exhausted from his stupor.

"Well, I understand you're probably still confused after your hostage experience."

One of the men in the back table laughed.

"Hostage experience? Did something happen to you, John?"

"Oh yeah." said the man next to Johnnie, "Seems years ago, our boy here was abducted by aliens."

The men started laughing and smirking.

"Hey, John, when the aliens took you up in their spaceship, did they do any… sexual things? Do you recall?"

The men started laughing uncontrollably, and so did the man next to Johnnie. Johnnie, annoyed, rose from his chair and walked towards the door.

Suddenly, everything in the garage started shaking violently. Everyone inside was confused. Johnnie saw out the window a terrifying sight, causing him to show a face of drunken fear.

Back at the RV, the Coolidge kids felt violent shaking. Cabinets opened, and glass plates fell from them, smashing to pieces on the floor. The teenage girl looked around.

"What's that?"

"Let's get out of here!" said Jeremy.

The kids ran out the door of the RV, and saw in the sky glowing rapidly moving clouds.

Meanwhile In Los Angeles…

A shadow loomed over Los Angeles. It was like a solar eclipse.

In a house on the outskirts of Los Angeles, an African American boy ran through the halls, wearing a beige hat backwards. He opened the door to his mother's bedroom.

"Mommy! Lookit!"

His mother, Talia Towner, groaned as she opened her eyes and looked to her son. She had messy black hair.

"It's too early, baby…"

She rested her head back onto the pillow. Her son closed the door.

Suddenly, everything in the room started shaking. Talia's boyfriend, Air Force captain Joshua Madison, who was sleeping next to her, was woken up by the shaking. He rose from the bed and looked around.

"Is it an earthquake?"

"Not even a four pointer…" said Talia, "Go back to sleep."

Joshua did go back to sleep.

Back in Washington, the city was also being engulfed by a large shadow. In the Oval Office, little Kayla ran in, holding her teddy bear, and passing by people everywhere in the room.

"Daddy!"

President Eisenstein looked to her, immediately putting down his papers, and holding his arms out to her.

"What are you doing here?"

He picked her up and rested her on his shoulder.

"You should be down in the shelter."

"What's going on?" said Kayla.

Suddenly, the light from the windows dimmed as the massive shadow enveloped over the White House. Eisenstein and Kayla turned their heads to the windows.

At Empire City, some kids were playing basketball. In the middle of their game, they all turned to a loud noise. A taxi driver stopped his car in the middle of driving, causing other cars to smash into each other's fenders. The man closed the door as he walked from his taxi, seemingly in a trance, mouth agape. Everyone gathered to see it.

Breaking through the clouds was one of the massive dome crafts. People in the city looked up to see the craft fly above them. A cop stopped his car in the middle of a four way avenue in the middle of the city. He got out of his police car as other cars behind him made a line, smashing into each other. A truck ran right into his car, pushing it away. The cop looked back for a second, but soon turned back to the massive object in the sky. People started panicking and scattering around. The craft stopped just as its center was situated above the Empire State Building.

The same happened in Washington. The center of the craft stopped on top of the White House.

President Eisenstein, Calvin, and everyone else was standing at the front entrance of the White House, looking up at the massive craft.

Calvin, with a fear-stricken face, spoke.

"Now what do we do?"

President Eisenstein did not look away from the craft as he spoke.

"Address the nation. There's gonna be a lot of frightened people out there."

Calvin leaned in closer behind Eisenstein.

"Yeah… I'm one of them…"

Back at Worldwide Cable, Peridot stared into the TV screen in her office. It showed a broadcast of the massive craft over Empire City.

"And here you have it folks." said the reporter, "A massive alien spacecraft is hovering over Empire City. Why these alien visitors are here, we have no idea."

Peridot was consumed with fear.

"They're here…"

Back in Los Angeles, Talia's Bernese Mountain Dog, Frederick, came into the bedroom, holding one of Joshua's shoes. He jumped onto the bed and laid the shoe down in front of Joshua.

"Hey hey hey." said Joshua, as he rose up from bed.

Talia smiled.

"He's just trying to impress you."

Joshua got out of bed in his boxer shorts and grabbed some green pants to put on over it.

"Well if you want to impress me, you need to get a job, and stop slobbering on my shoes."

Joshua walked out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. He looked out the window to see the neighbors, grabbing suitcases and placing them on the top of their car.

"I don't believe this. Hey Talia! Neighbors are movin' out! Guess they got tired of all these quakes… A little shake, and they runnin'..."

A minute later, Josh was in the kitchen. He turned on the television, which displayed a map of Golden State.

"The Fire Department is advising people not to get on their phones."

"Hey Talia! There's something on the news about the quakes!"

Just then, Talia's son peeked through the doggy door. He crawled through. Josh noticed him.

"What's up man?"

"Hey, Josh." said the kid.

"What you been doin' out there?"

"Shootin' the aliens."

"Oh, you shootin' aliens, huh?" said Josh, as the kid walked up to him, "You think you so tough? Turn around, let me see what you got here."

The kid giggled as Josh tickled his armpits. Talia and Frederick came in.

"Alright, Frederick, come on, let's get you something to eat." said Talia.

Joshua walked up to Talia and kissed her neck.

"Oh, no watch out." said Talia, "Watch it, baby."

"I'll go grab the paper." said Joshua as he walked off.

"Alright."

Outside, Joshua nearly tripped over the kid's little bike. He jumped with one leg.

"Ah! Darn…"

He grabbed the newspaper from the ground and read it. He noticed something at the corner of his eye. He turned to the right to see neighbors standing out in their yard, looking straight forward, one took a picture with his phone.

"Come on, honey, let's go!" he heard to his left.

He turned to slowly to his left to see another family place suitcases in the trunk of their car, and then closed it.

Then, Josh heard a helicopter pass over him. He looked up to see it not too far from the ground. Following it with his eyes, he saw in front of him, hovering over Los Angeles was one of the massive dome crafts. There were several helicopters flying around the craft and the area.

Josh was frozen in shock as Talia walked up to him with a cup of coffee.

"Babe. You want the rest of this coffee?"

Josh didn't say anything, and didn't look away from the massive craft.

"Babe…"

Talia looked to where Josh had his attention to. She was then frozen in shock as well. Talia's son jumped out between them, holding his toy blaster.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"