"I'm getting too old for this shit." Richard Samuels said to himself as he leaned back in his chair in the Oval Office. The 46th President of the United States still maintained a full head of black hair , but he suspected the grey would start to creep in soon . He was approaching forty five years of age after all. Presidents did not age well.
He had been on the phone to the Russian Foreign Minister for the best part of an hour and was getting nowhere in regards to the latest plan for a ceasefire in Syria. The war there had dragged on for ten years and there was still no end in sight.
"Listen Sergei, the administration's position remains unchanged. You end all support for the Assad regime, and we will end all support for the Syrian opposition. It's the only way to get both sides to the negotiating table. Tell Vladimir I won't compromise on this. I don't care what Donald said about it, I'm President now not him."
There was a sudden knock on the Oval Office door. Without waiting for an answer a figure walked in holding a folder full of papers. Steven Lamb, the National Security Adviser had entered the room.
The President sighed, he knew he wouldn't be interupted on such an important call without good reason.
"Sergei I will arrange another call with you tomorrow, I have a meeting to attend. Goodbye Foreign Minister." Richard said hanging up the phone.
"How bad?" Richard asked the National Security Adviser. The short bald man took a deep breath before handing the folder in his and over to the President.
"Last night NASA reported that a possible comet had impacted Charon, Pluto's moon. In the last hour these photos were sent back from the Hubble of the aftermath of the impact." Steve said. He looked nervous.
The President looked at the photos showing Charon before the impact and another one shortly after the impact and one more taken several hours after last one was what took him by surprise. Where Charon had been there was now a massive metallic object that looked vaguely similar to a set of kitchen tongs with a blue light surrounded by spinning metal hoops.
"Steve, what am I looking at ?" Richard said scratching his head.
"When the comet hit Charon, it shattered the moon and this...thing...was left in its place. Charon was never a moon..." at that, the National Security Adviser started to struggle for words .
"So what the hell is it?" Richard said in irritation. He hated when people don't get to the point
. "It's uh...It appears to be an ancient alien construction that had been encased in ice. There is no sign of the comet that struck it, which has baffled NASA as it's the only theory they currently have on why Charon suddenly shattered." Steve responded.
"So there's an alien spaceship sitting next to Pluto ?" The President said , struggling to take in what he was hearing. Was this some kind of joke?
"NASA doesn't know what it is, but they don't think it's a spacecraft. They think it has another purpose. Perhaps an observation post that have long since been abandoned. What the real worry is is that clearly it was there to observe humanity. I think we need to study this object and learn more about whoever created it. Obviously that will require a massive undertaking to physically reach the object which means pumping billions of dollars into NASA. "
The President thought it through for a moment "We will need to brief the House and the Senate if we want the additional funding. The real question is do we tell the public ?"
"Thus far only senior officials at NASA know about it. The Joint Chiefs and the Secretary of Defense are being briefed as we speak. Other than that this information is highly classified . I think we should hold back on telling the public at least until we know more about..."
The National Security Adviser felt a vibration in his pocket as his government issue blackberry started to ring. He frowned as he took it out to check the number. The Administrator of NASA. He answered and put the phone on loudspeaker .
"Administrator Deacon, you are on with the President." Steve said.
"I'll cut straight to the chase. We just received more images back from the Hubble. There are now several dozen spacecraft next to the alien object. There are different types of craft of different sizes. Some look around the size of a jumbo jet, others are over a mile in length. So far they are remaining stationary next to the where Charon had been. Its now vital we begin preparations for a first contact scenario ."
The President closed his eyes and rubbed his head. Was this a dream?
"So, do you think they are hostile ?" Richard asked knowing full well it was impossible to know the answer at this stage. He found talking difficult. His mouth was dry. This was such a surreal situation. He had always been a big sci fi fan but never in a millions years believed he would be at the forefront of humanitys first contact with Alien life.
"Well Mr President, allow me to answer your question by asking another. When you go to greet your neighbours for the first time after moving to a new house, do you take your extended family, friends and work colleagues along in a huge fleet of vehicles ?"
It was a rhetorical question. The President knew where he was going with this.
"Of course you don't." The NASA administrator answered his own question. Now I can't obviously speak for these beings, for all we know showing up in a huge armada is their idea of peace, but from a human standpoint this is a show of force. I think we need to prepare for the worst."
"I see," Richard said at a loss for words. "Keep me updated."
"Will do, sir."
The President turned to the National Security Adviser.
"Convene the National Security Council in an hour from now, we need to discuss our options for defending the county in the event things get ugly.. I also want you to contact the heads of NATO states as well as the Russians and let them know what's going on. We should address the UN General Assembly tomorrow and let the nation's of the world know so they can prepare . We should form a united front in the event the aliens are hostile. Absolutely no leaks to the public , I want to keep the lid on this until we know more about them . The last thing we need is a mass panic."
"Yes Mr President." The National Security Adviser said as he exited the Oval Office to make the necessary arrangements.
"Damn, I need a drink." Richard said to himself once he was alone in the Oval with just his thoughts for company.
