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Chapter 1

The admiral had been caught in the restroom. Actually nothing really happened during anyone's watch. At most there was an unannounced launch by some country. The problem countries like North Korea, Russia, or someone else were to blame for those. They didn't care what other nations thought. Or maybe that was the point. They wanted to catch everyone by surprise.

Admiral Overdun was still buckling his belt when he was finally back in his office. "What have we got?" His staff never got excited about anything and this event was no different. So this could be anything at all.

"We have an anomaly approximately 2.4 clicks from ISS," Captain Under told him.

"Let's see it." The admiral changed his vision to the largest screen. It wasn't really a visual Let's see it. It was simply a tactical of a radar contact. However, what they saw showed them that it was huge. Several times larger than the ISS.

"Contact the station. I want a visual of this. Surely they can see it," the admiral ordered.

It took almost ten minutes. "Receiving video now." Captain Under put what they got up on the big screen.

"What is that?" What they were all looking at looked like a big white ball with a large ring of gasses spinning around it very fast. It resembled a mini planet Saturn save for different colors.

"Radar, where's it going?" He didn't even know what it was yet but if he was right about the size it could do a lot of damage if it hit them.

"Checking… No movement. It's stationary at 2.4 clicks from ISS," Lieutenant Rodger answered.

"Ask ISS to give me a reading. I want to know the size." He had a distance but he was equally interested in just how big it was. However, he was also concerned how it had gotten there and not been spotted earlier and how was it just sitting there.

But they all had to wait until the crew on the ISS could find the equipment, then use it, and relay what they learned to them.

"Admiral… ISS indicates that the white ball is roughly 12 miles across. The gases that are still spinning make it roughly 126 miles wide," Captain Under reported.

"Good God. Ask ISS to check their orbit. Radar, give me a reading on the ISS. Something that big has to be affecting them and forcing them down into the upper atmosphere." They would burn up and kill everyone onboard if they didn't use the escape craft compliments of the Russians.

It only took a minute. "Radar shows them as stable," Lieutenant Rodger said.

Then a moment later, "ISS confirms that their orbit is stable," Captain Under relayed.

"How is that even possible? They're only 2.4 clicks away. Something that big has to be affecting them. This makes no sense. And what is it?" It had arrived without being seen and it was just sitting there doing nothing.

It might be doing nothing but there was one person he answered to and needed to contact so he picked up the phone. "This is Admiral Overdun at Space Command. I need to speak with the president. We have an uninvited guest.

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"No, Mr. President. It was not spotted inbound. It just suddenly showed up and hasn't moved. It doesn't appear to be affecting the ISS. They report that the station is stable and is not being affected," Admiral Overdun said. Then he listened.

"No, sir, it's just sitting there. The gases around it are still spinning and the center portion hasn't changed." Admiral Overdun then listened some more.

"I will check, sir." He held the old fashioned phone to his body. "Replay any signals we've received from the object since we spotted it and get ready to send a signal on every channel we have available. Tight beam only," Admiral Overdun ordered and waited.

"Checking now, sir," he told the president then put the handset back against his body. "Have ISS check to see if any electrical systems are being interfered with as well as any signal that they're receiving." They couldn't be lucky that an ET was that peaceful. Though he was thankful that so far there was only the one.

"Negative, sir. We have not received any communications and ISS has not found anything interfering with their systems nor are they receiving a signal," Admiral Overdun said. "We have not made any attempt at communications at this time, sir." He listened to what the president was both telling him and asking him.

"I'm not sure we can do that, Mr. President. Literally anyone with a telescope is going to be able to see this thing. From the observatories on mountain tops to the kid in his backyard with a telescope. It's too big and very bright. Once the object's on the dark side you might even be able to see it with the naked eye." He was betting it would just be a bright dot, but that would eventually get someone's attention.

Overdun listened for a moment. "No, sir. We have not contacted any other agencies or nations," the admiral assured him. "Yes, Mr. President." He hung up the phone. "Order ISS to keep an eye on the target 24 hours a day. Monitor and record everything. If it so much as blinks I want to be informed."

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As expected word got out fast that there was something out in space just beyond the International Space Station that was basically a bright light in the sky. Now every observatory that could on the planet was watching it and listening. So was everyone that had a telescope in their backyard or rooftop. That night the late night news was filled with speculation on just what it was.

Come morning it had moved on to what this meant for the human race.

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"You believe this, Beckett?" Espo asked while they were both in the breakroom watching the TV that was still talking about whatever it was.

"It's just a bunch of lights, Espo." Kate wasn't concerned about it being out there. She was more concerned that people would start to go nuts and she would end up with more dead bodies.

"It's ET, bro." Espo was still watching when Ryan joined him. Espo was loving it.

"It's all Jenny talked about this morning. Aliens from space. Now comes the question are they here to eat us? Blow up the planet or see if we have the ability to attack them," Ryan replied.

"Don't you two have something better to do before the captain gets back?" Kate asked both of them. Captain Montgomery had been suddenly called to 1PP early this morning right after Kate had gotten in. He didn't know when he would be back. However, Kate was betting money on him being called to a meeting with it being involved with the lights in the sky.

Now that everyone knew about it you could see it even in the daylight if you knew where to look. She had no doubt that people all over were on their roofs with their naked eye, to binoculars, to telescopes of all sizes, trying to get a good look at it.

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Kate was leaning or sort of sitting on a desk staring at her white board, willing it to tell her something. She was missing something, she just knew it. The problem was she couldn't figure out just what it was. The whole board was starting to look blurry. "Coffee, I need coffee."

The biggest issue with that thought was that the coffee there was terrible. If she was honest with herself it was worse than terrible. Still she took the glass carafe out, poured herself a cup, grabbed the creamer and poured in a little. Then she poured in even more from the bottle marked French Vanilla. They were both powders so she stirred and stirred and finally satisfied, she took a sip. And almost spit it out.

The rest of her cup went down the drain. "ESPO!" Kate yelled and watched him show up at the doorway. "Why can't this thing make something drinkable? How hard can it be?" The stupidly cheap machine she had at home made better coffee than this damn thing.

"It's the water. This building is old with really old plumbing from equally old city plumbing." Espo said, not sure he was right or even close. But it was an answer.

"My apartment's old. My coffee machine at home is cheap and it makes better coffee than this," Kate snapped. "The coffee shop down the street is on the same water and they make excellent coffee," she argued.

His voice showed his indifference. "So go down the street." Espo left her and went back to his desk.

Kate groaned. But spending money on coffee was the only way. So she went to her desk and got money out of her bag. "I'm going to get coffee," Kate told Espo and Ryan.

"I'll take a cup. Make it with a touch of cream and nutmeg," Ryan said.

"Me, too. Make it a triple shot of espresso with whipped cream and a little caramel," Espo ordered.

"Do I look like a barista to you two?" Kate growled; these two were taking it just a little too far. She held out her hand and waited for them to slap the money she was going to need to buy them coffee into it.

"Triple espresso, whipped cream and caramel. Coffee with cream with nutmeg." Kate groaned but she headed for the elevator. What she did for a decent cup of coffee.

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Roy was back and had gathered everyone around him on this floor so he could tell them what he had already told the floors below them. "Where's Beckett?" He didn't want to have to do this again.

"Here, sir." Kate showed up with a cup carrier that had three large cups of coffee in it. She was going to keep the change as payment for wear and tear on her boots, feet, and the delivery service she was providing.

"Okay, 1PP thinks the public is going to start to go nuts. For now everything's quiet, but certain people are going to decide now's a good time to start looting. While that isn't part of our job, there may be people that want to argue over who stole what and want what the other guy stole. That's where we're going to come in. I know we have cases already but be ready to go out on new calls to new bodies and be ready for a very cold reception from the public," Roy warned them. "When you go make sure you go with a unit when one is available. No one goes anywhere alone. Got that, Beckett?" Roy knew If there was anyone that was going to ignore this rule it was gong to be her.

"Yes, sir." Kate hated being singled out. She didn't need a babysitter which was basically what she was being told to do.

"See to it that you do. …For now back to work and be ready." Roy went to his office. He didn't know what it was out there, but whatever it was had just made his life more difficult.

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Kate was back to looking at her board and sipping at her hot coffee after handing over what Espo and Ryan had ordered.

The sound of her desk phone ringing got her attention. "Beckett." Kate listened then hung up. "Lanie has something," she told Espo and Ryan in case anyone was looking for her.

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"Hey Lanie, what have you got?" Hopefully it was something she could use.

"What do you think, girlfriend? We finally had an alien space ship." Lanie couldn't think of anything more exciting.

"Please tell me you didn't call me down here because of a new bright light in the sky?" Kate was really disappointed.

"Leave it to you to take the most exciting thing that's happened in a really long time and turn it into a bright light in the sky." Lanie couldn't believe her. Why couldn't she be excited for something, anything even?

"Dead body." Kate was down there for that and not some bright light in the sky that was just there and not doing anything.

"Have it your way, little Miss Boring." Lanie wished Kate would come out of her shell. "I finally got whatever it was off her body. I sent it in for analysis. This is what I found under that." Lanie took her over to the body to show her.

Kate took a closer look. "That looks like a burn."

"Third degree burn, to be precise. It would have to be hot and stay there long enough to do this kind of damage. Too big to be a simple cigarette burn or even a branding iron. I've scraped off what's left of the skin and sent it to be analyzed as well," Lanie said. "We won't hear anything for at least a day or two."

"Burn. Not enough to kill her," Kate stated as Lanie shook her head. "But someone covered it up with something. But why would our killer carry something like that with him and why cover it up at all? He killed her, wasn't that enough?" Now Kate had a new mystery.

"She may have covered it herself with what she had available. But I can tell you something that helped with the burn." Lanie retrieved her file so she could get this right. "I found a tiny portion of white phosphorus."

"White phosphorus? Where would she get her hands on that stuff?" It sounded like military to her.

"White phosphorus is used in fertilizers, food additives, and cleaning compounds. While very small amounts used to be used in the past in pesticides though it's also used in fireworks," Lanie explained.

"Fireworks are illegal in New York. She doesn't work in the food industry and she didn't have a garden anywhere. Thanks, Lanie." That was actually helpful.

"You wouldn't happen to have a telescope would you?" Lanie called after her, knowing that she didn't but maybe they could find one.

Kate kept walking while shaking her head. She had a dead body and had no time for some new light in the sky that didn't affect her.

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It was now a week later and Kate answered the door expecting to find Lanie on the other side who was, she noticed, holding a bottle of wine. "What's with the wine?" Kate asked since she had one out already.

"A celebration. The white light hasn't done anything for a week and there aren't any riots going on anywhere so all is peaceful," Lanie announced and entered while Kate locked the door behind her.

"Not entirely peaceful," Kate countered. She'd solved the case on the day the light had shown up and solved the one after that. She had tomorrow off and the day after provided she didn't get a call.

"That's the human race for you," Lanie shrugged and got glasses out of the cupboard and a corkscrew to open her bottle. "Until we have a reason not to kill each other we're both never going to lose our jobs."

"I'll celebrate that day easily." Kate would give up her job if people stopped killing each other today if it happened. Now what she would do if they did was another question, but she would cross that bridge when it came. However, that was never going to happen so it didn't matter.

"So what do you think it is?" Lanie asked as she handed Kate her glass filled with wine.

"A white light," Kate replied. She sat on her sofa, took a drink, and was happy that Lanie had done well. It was a good bottle.

"Please, even I can see that. I mean what are they hiding? What do they look like? Why are they here?" Lanie was full of questions.

"It's done nothing but sit there and done nothing else but put out light. Why can't it be just that?" Kate asked, annoyed at all the interest in just a light.

"Okay then. How did it get there without being seen? Someone sent it," Lanie countered.

"Well until it does something besides having people keep asking me what I think, it's done nothing to change my life or anyone else's." Kate wasn't interested.

"You really need to get a life. You need to get out more." Lanie was worried for her.

"I have a life, thank you. I like my life. It's very fulfilling," Kate insisted.

"Finding your mother's killer. That's not a life, that's stubborn." Lanie was more worried now.

"I'm determined, not stubborn or fanatic before you go there as well." Kate didn't think she was doing anything wrong.

"How about single-minded to the detriment of all else. What does your dad say about your determination to find your mother's killer?" Lanie wondered if she had even asked him or cared what he thought.

"I don't need his approval on how to live my life." Lanie was her best friend but trying to talk her out of finding out who killed her mother and getting her to stop was pissing her off.

Lanie was saved when both of their cell phones began ringing.

"I've been ordered into the precinct," Kate said after Lanie hung up.

"Me, too. Wonder what's up? Maybe the Martians have landed," Lanie grinned as she teased.

"There are no little green men," Kate said, knowing full well that there was no life on Mars.

"Of course not, that's because they're little gray guys with big black eyes. Just don't end up on one of their examination tables, Kate," Lanie half joked with her but was half serious.

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They both barely made it anywhere let alone to the precinct. Something was going on and Kate had a really bad feeling about it.

Lanie went with her instead of going to the morgue. She felt safer there than where she worked.

"Beckett, you need to see this." Espo was somehow already there, though she saw no sign of Ryan or Roy.

Espo went into the breakroom and pointed at the TV. Kate, Lanie, and everyone else was looking at the TV that was showing this big pyramid sitting on the grass. It was large, almost all white, though maybe it looked like marble because there was a bit of gray in it.

There was a very bright light in the very center and it lit up everything around it.

"It just landed there a moment ago," Espo explained as everyone watched the TV.

"The white glow looks a lot like that bright light in the sky," Lanie pointed out as she watched.

One week of nothing and now this.