X-Com – The Unknown Menace
Chapter Twenty-One – Messengers from the Stars
Millions of years before recorded human History
Zeta Two Reticuli star system, 37 light years from Earth
The alien species had fared well in their quest to prevent their extermination, already scheduled for when the astromechanics of the binary star system would cover their home planet to a mass of locked ice.
Seeking to avoid their extinction, they had developed interplanetary travel in what would be called a blink of an eye in cosmic terms. It allowed them to set their foot upon the majority of the other planets and moons that composed their star system. Their technological skills had already advanced greatly: not content with the limitations of their fragile physical bodies and their weak genetic pool, they turned also their attention to the unlocking of the very own secret of life itself.
In the middle of their planetary and scientific expansion, a discovery of great significante occurred: it seemed that the same physics behind their pendant doom had given them the key to their own survival. A rare mineral was found in the second planet and, upon examination of its characteristics the alien race discovered that it could be used to enable interstellar flight. That was a major boom to the Reticulans' hope of survival. They had already sent ships to colonize the most promising stars systems nearby, but the vessels would take millions of years to reach their destinations and most likely would never known if the effort was successful, since the distances involved meant that any message beamed back would only find their home planet long dead.
With this new discovery, the alien civilization bloomed, setting forth now in a cosmic journey of exploration, now that their concerns about survival had been lifted. Survey ships were immediately sent to the closest star systems and the aliens discovered that some of the planets were thriving with their own life. Generally they would be simple life forms, more concerned in reproducing themselves and surviving, sometimes even trying to eat or attack the Reticulans as they studied them. But in a few cases the aliens found out intelligent species, which were aware of the visitors' presence. Although their primitive cultures were not match for the aliens' technological and mental achievements, the Reticulans made no effort to conquer the, preferring to watch the newly found species with curiosity….and fear.
The discovery of life outside their own solar system had been long mentioned in old prophecies that had been long considered useless. But as their ships moved from one star system to another and reports came of other intelligent beings, a long-forgotten fear begun to emerge again into their collective mind. No one clearly understood the reasons behind it and no one dared to assume it, but lurking into their conscience there was the feeling that the blessings the universe had given them could be a bane. The Reticulans started to avoid any contact with other intelligent species. They started to visit them only to check for their technological advances and to stop any potential threat from ever emerging.
However, their exploration vessels continued to expand their empire when a most disturbing discovery happened. As they moved along into exploring star systems and colonizing the most promising planets, one of their expeditions reported back intriguing discoveries in a binary star system. Nine planets circled around one of the stars, the majority of them gas giants or lifeless rock balls, but in one of them there seen to have been a major cataclysm. The planet had been inhabited once by intelligent life, but something terrible had happened to them. The exploration vessel report that was beamed back showed images of blasted cities and ruins of massive monuments, destroyed by some sort of radioactive weapons. There was also evidence that dead civilization had once also tried to reach the stars, since there were also artifacts on the planet's moon surface.
There were no records of what had happened to them and the planet's environmental conditions made it clear that while it once was able to support a variety of life forms, it now was only marginally inhabitable. The examination of the expedition's findings brought few answers about what had happened to the alien civilization or what was its culture. The only firm conclusions were that the species that lived there had once placed all of their effort upon reaching the stars: the constructions still more or less intact replicated on the ground the patterns of the stars above, in the form of massive drawings made of carved rock. Other than it, they had destroyed themselves in a war whose reasons behind were unclear.
The discovery sent a shiver through the Reticulans' society, bringing back the great debate about what danger might be lurking around. Reluctantly, for the first time in their history they started to prepare for organized warfare, equipping their spacefaring vessels with weapons and using their genetic skills to bring major modifications into their own race.
Meanwhile the expedition had finished their sweep of the planets surrounding the main star of the twin system. The only unexplored feature left was its circling companion, a brown dwarf, a spatial object several hundred times the mass of the biggest gas giant planets. In comparison with the majority of stars in the galaxy, it had about one quarter of their size and less than half their temperature. It was a failed star, too small to develop the pressures that enabled hydrogen fusion to happen. But the brown dwarf wasn't completely dead: it was still emanating residual infrared light and heat, the energy that it still had left from its formation, when the initial pressures had enabled a different type of fusion.
So far such astronomical objects had been looked over by the aliens. In some cases it had been found that they had possessed satellites and that the heat and radiation warmed them enough to permit the development of life. But the abundance of more life abiding planets around normal stars had kept the aliens wait from those brown dwarfs. That had been the norm, until now.
Without being ordered or giving any explanation, the expedition traveled to the brown dwarf. Upon their arrival they reported several moons circling the failed star, some of them possessing an atmosphere and life-bearing conditions. They also announced their decision of descending into the most promising satellite. The message didn't stir much attention back on their homeworlds until time passed and the only thing heard from them was silence, inspite of the frequent hails.
In conjunction with other events, the Reticulans' leadership became deeply concerned. A strange presence was detected inside their collective mind at the same time that the expedition stopped reporting back. Another vessel was sent to the system to investigate, but contact was also lost with it. News of the occurrence soon spread to every colony and spaceship, resulting in social upheaval and soon outright rebellion, as their society became more and more divided about their course of action. Strife and civil war followed, the last concept until then unheard in their society, until finally the most powerful group emerged, the genetic pinnacle that had been specially developed for such a situation. Confident on their own mental powers and on their technology, they now assembled a large expedition was sent to destroy the unknown menace to their power that hid in the brown dwarf's moon.
January 24th, 2001
The White House, Washington D.C., US
On the way to brief the new sworn-in President on the alien situation, Williams still wondered what sort of man he would turn out to be like. The new president had been sworn into office four days ago, definitely ending the controversy over the vote count: the whole thing would now be something for historians to study, it seemed and that was also Williams' wish. The whole matter had brought concerns to him that the US didn't need to be involved in the middle of such a controversy while trying to fight the aliens.
For what he could see of the White House staff something was definitely different: new aides moving around the corridors, taking curious looks at him and even the Marine and Secret Service security guards seemed to be looked more alert. They had taken their time to check his ID, although after two years coming to see the President they already knew his face by now. It looked as if Vaughn's message upon being sworn in as President was true, that he wanted to quickly get on to business, after the political mess that the presidential election had turned out to be, with the recounts called by both candidates in several states. Which was fine with Williams, since New Year had only brought the defection of Indonesia to the aliens' camp. While the country didn't belong to the Council of Funding Nations, the effects of their turning into the aliens' side were causing a lot of instability in the area.. Indonesia was one of the most populous countries in the world and the defection had put Australia into a tight spot, since they had now an enemy sitting by their doorstep. X-Com was managing to keep the increasing alien incursions at bay but…barely and now it was extremely important to assure that the new Administration would be fully aware of the dramatic situation being fought on Earth's continents and atmosphere. But he was reassured because Vaughn had been briefed about the situation from the days of the presidential campaign and now it would be the time for him to act upon realities, not the needs to gain more votes.
When he finally entered the Situation Room and took a look at the people present, Williams realized in shock that the majority were strangers to him, although he recognized some of the faces from the congressional hearings that took place to appoint the new Cabinet. General Thompson and his new boss, Candace May, the new Director of Central Intelligence, were present, but everyone else who had been on the last meeting was gone, being replaced by new faces.
President Vaughn noticed his entry in the room and moved to greet him. As he approached Williams quickly recognized the look on his face that was the same stamped on all the banners, posters, television ads and so forth. Vaughn was on his mid fifties and his black hair was already starting to turn white at his sides. He also had a square chin and his eyebrows connected with one another over his small nose. "Mr. Williams, good morning and thank you for driving up here all the way from Langley on this terrible weather", he said smiling as both men shook hands. He then introduced him to the rest of his Cabinet and after proper greetings were exchanged, the meeting started.
"Mr. Williams, upon reading the reports you have brought to our attention before, we have wondered of the former Administration was not very lax on giving away money. In more than two years close to twenty-five billion dollars were given to X-Com and with what results? Are American troops more prepared and equipped to deal with the aliens, using X-Com's research? And I wouldn't exactly consider our country safe, when their activity is increasing every month."
"Sir, access to research data gathered by X-Com's scientists is limited due to security measures. And X-Com is doing the best they can in fighting the aliens. Those same reports also point out how the force has been extremely successful in dealing with any new tactics or weaponry developed by the aliens".
"Yes, but would they fight China, if they decide to invade the whole of Asia with legions of soldiers armed with the alien's weapons?"
"That could easily backfire into the aliens, sir. They would have to deal with these same troops later when they decide to take over Earth".
Vaughn got back on his chair and smiled, as if waiting for that argument. "The so-called argument about how the aliens will come down from the skies, like one of those science fiction movies. Mr. Williams, two years have passed from the first contact with the extraterrestrials and so far their activities have been quite limited in scope, wouldn't you say?"
"It depends on the perspective sir. They haven't performed any mass landings, if we look at the Siberian attack as a mere operation to ensure that the Russians and their laser were being kept out of the fight. However the numbers show that their activities…."
"You say it right. It depends on the perspective and so far I believe we have been taking the wrong perspective into this whole matter".
Williams realized that something had dramatically changed and looked at May. She replied his gaze with a beginning of a smile in her lips but kept silent. Vaughn continued: "Can't it be that they simply don't have the resources to take us all by force and instead need the help of other nations more sympathetic to their cause?"
"Sir, our estimates for the alien's forces based on the Solar system…."
"Your estimates! Like you said, educated guesses with few information to actually support them and that make no military sense at all, if you listen to the experts on the matter". He looked at General Smith, who started to speak as if it had been rehearsed.
"Mr. Williams, the Pentagon has been reviewing its war plans towards the aliens, taking a more conservative matter. The alien threat more and more seems to be of a local, not global issue. As an example, we have looked into the fact of why don't they use more of their forces in the attacks or even strike back at our ability to wage war, which would be the more logical thing to ensure a victory".
"General Smith, this discussion involves more than that. The aliens have their own political agenda and their military actions are dictated by it".
"Yes, their agenda" Vaughn continued. "One that has brought them many times in the past in contact with Earth, according to your own investigations. And yet, not a single time did they take over us in that period, when our weapons would be like children's toys, unable to hurt them. They have contacted other nations before in the past and they are doing it now. They are acting with the permission and help of countries like China and so on, nations with their own agendas. In fact, so similar that one might not think if those same countries haven't been talking to the aliens for a long time and setting up their plans since then. After all, historically speaking the Chinese and other 'social' societies have the form of government that most resembles the aliens: a multi-caste system, where the upper classes looked at the ruled as mere tools to be used, with no respect for human rights. This isn't an interplanetary war, Mr. Williams. No, this is a fight over different ways of life and some of our fellow humans are directly behind it. And to win it, we need first to isolate and contain these same nations before they destroy us".
Williams was aghast, seeing how the whole strategy that he had helped to define was being thrown out into the trash. "Mr. President, I see the logic behind your thinking but I can't possibly agree with it. The aliens want to dominate us. It hasn't happened yet and I cannot bring forward any proof.
But after dealing with them for such a long time, I'll bet all my money that will be a matter of time before they completely dominate us, either by a massive offensive or by turning us all into puppet states".
"Your thoughts have been deeply discussed and will be recorded, Mr. Williams. I thank you for your personal effort on this matter but this Administration doesn't think it will be necessary anymore".
Williams looked around in the room. All the faces seemed unsympathetic with his position, looking as if the yet unspoken decision had already been taken previous to the meeting. "Sir, does this means I'm being fired?"
Candace May replied for the President. "Mr. Williams, like the President said we appreciate your devotion to duty but right now it has been considered as misguided". She stopped, looking sympathetic at him. "I'm afraid your position at the National Intelligence Council is going through a review at the moment. However you will retain your former position at the CIA, in a matter deemed appropriate for your unique skills".
The whole world felt like it has turning into Williams and he looked upwards towards the sky, starting to feel scared about what might be coming. Vaughn simply looked at him, rubbing his hands. He was about to get up and leave when a final question came to his head.
"Sir, if I may ask, what will be the status of X-Com?" Vaughn shifted uncomfortably on his chair but the answer came from Smith. "The Joint Chiefs of Staff are still reviewing our position on that force and if the resources allocated wouldn't be better used on regular US forces".
Vaughn nodded to Smith. "Thank you General. To tell you the truth, I haven't really decided, Mr. Williams. I can't say I was pleased to hear two days ago that X-Com took down one of their large UFOs and that they hoarded its contents without waiting for the arrival of US forces. I was equally distressed when Mrs. May told me about X-Com's policy of restricting the information given to us. You don't treat your allies that way".
Williams shook his head. "That same policy prevented that the Chinese had access to any sensitive data before they decided to join the aliens' side, sir. It works either way".
"Maybe, but the Chinese now have direct access to that data through the aliens, while we are still being left in the dark. Don't think I don' appreciate the effort they are putting against defending our cities, but in the end line it's our civilians that are being targeted by the aliens. However, American forces should be defending them, not some multinational force that is outside our command and that might decide against our own interests".
"The leaders of North American Command, Colonels Johnson and Jackson are more than loyal to the US, sir".
"I'm not questioning their loyalty. What I'm questioning is our participation on a force where some of the participating nations have turned into the enemy's side. One might think of when that collaboration started and if the creation of this force wasn't a part of their plans. Furthermore, if that proves to be right we might be housing into our own soil a fifth column, even if their military leaders aren't aware of it. A fifth column to which we are giving money and our best minds and bases".
"X-Com is fully devoted into stopping the aliens sir!" The remark brought a frown into Vaughn's face and Williams knew that the discussion was over. "That might be. However, we are not in command and right now we need to focus our efforts. By spreading them through the use of this force we might as well be surrendering to the enemy's tactics. But that will be for this administration to decide, not you. Good day Mr. Williams and thank you for your presence here".
January 28th, 2001
CIA Headquarters, Langley, Virginia, US
Williams just had lunch at the cafeteria after a long prolonged meeting going over the projections regarding the estimates of current Chinese forces, something that was boring him to dead. But before heading back to his office, he made a stop to the restroom to take a leak. Like the rest of the building there wasn't anyone around, with the majority of the workers having already left to go to their homes. He made a mental note to remind his wife that he would be late today as the other occupant of the restroom left.
Ten seconds afterwards he heard the door swivel open again but he didn't bother to look. He only heard the sound of decisive steps on the floor and the door of one of the toilet cabinets behind him being opened. Then the noise repeated itself, as another door was slammed opened and another. He turned his head and saw Davis, wearing a civilian suit and opening all of the cabinets in a quick motion. "Davis! What are you doing? What are you doing here?"
The X-Com operative simply raised his finger to his lips and finished his sweep, after which he went to stand by the door. Meanwhile Williams had to stay right where he was since he wasn't done urinating yet. "Managed to come up with an excuse to fly over here and discuss the latest information on the aliens retrieved by X-Com. A bunch of non-sense and useless information, if you ask, but I need to talk to you about the UFO we shot down and recovered last week".
"You mean the intruder who got squashed by the new Firestorm? What's so special about it? You got it shot down and defeated the crew afterwards, didn't we?" The other man looked back at him, slightly turning his attention away from the entrance. "That's what the report we gave to CIA spooks say. However, there are some things that I've manage to convince X-Com to hold back for now until we have confirmation of them, due to their implications". He moved his index finger in a circle, meaning that he was talking about their 'special issue'".
By now Williams had lost all will to urinate and he zipped his fly back up. "What have you found inside it?" He moved to the sink to wash his hands.
"You don't want to know half about what we found inside that flying can. Besides a lot of supplies it carried a lot of equipment meant to process food onroute. And the aliens made sure that the fridge was full: for the human remains we recovered they must have stopped over somewhere in Asia to go shopping for groceries, if you get what I mean".
Williams felt lucky that he was right in front of the sink, in case his stomach would fail him. "Is that what it was? A Harvester? The radar tracks made available to us by NORAD picked up showed it to be a larger craft though".
Davis looked through the door to make sure no one eavesdropped into their conversation. "Doubtful. This thing was big and, besides food, it carried over twenty aliens, most of them combat troops and enough weapons and ammunition to equip a full company. And not to mention that it was also carrying a several assortment of other equipment, including several alien reproduction chambers. However, it was only lightly armored and it didn't carry that much weapons for its size. From what the intelligence exports back at the base say, it seems more of a transporter than an assault ship. Doesn't that make you think? ".
"A transport ship? But for what? When they perform attacks they use their Terror Ships and if this was an invasion there would be hundreds of landing craft, not just one". Davis nodded. "Remember our late Mr. Owens? Most of the government personnel files regarding him have been mysteriously deleted or lost in a number of computer malfunctions. However, I've called American Express and using a number of excuses managed to have a copy of the expenses he placed upon his credit card for the year before he died. He was several times close to the area where the UFO was shot down, namely in northern New Mexico. And the craft was flying a straight course as if it had a destiny. Now what can it be so important over there that the aliens are shipping stuff to there with Mr. Owens also stopping by to say hello?"
The realization nearly made Williams drop the paper he was using to rinse his hands. He looked at Davis: "We have to get to New Mexico at once. There must be some sort of alien operation going over there".
"Get ready to travel at my notice during the next week. I'll let you know later to where and when". Before Davis could say anything else, the former FBI agent simply left the restroom, leaving him alone. He threw the paper into the waste bin, realigned his tie knot and went back to his office.
February 6th, 2001
Albuquerque, New Mexico, US
The small diner where Davis and Williams where having breakfast was close to the motel where they had checked in the night before, both men using fake identifications and paying in cash. The retrieval of the large UFO had been completed by X-Com personnel a week ago and the direction of its intention flight path and the other information available pointed that the presumable alien base would be located more to the north. Before heading there, however, both men wanted to check the lead of Mr. Sam Owens and his whereabouts in New Mexico before his death. The trouble had been that, so far, they had scarce information.
Finishing his eggs with pancakes, Williams took a sip of his coffee and asked Davis. "So, where do we start now that we are here?" The X-Com operative took out a manila file from a briefcase he was carrying and handed it to Williams. He opened and saw a map of New Mexico, divided by counties and with each one having a number on them. "What is this?"
Davis went back to finishing his breakfast but talked in the middle of the bites into his French toast. "I did some queries into local law enforcement agencies regarding if they had reported any strange lights in the sky in the past six months, from ever since the government recognized the existence of UFOs. These are the results".
"You have to be kidding me. Nearly each one shows dozens of reports, which isn't surprising if you consider that everyone in the whole country is now discussing about the flying saucers. I wouldn't consider the majority of this reports reliable and we don't have time to go through all of them".
"Dead right on that one. But have you mentioned that some places don't report any UFOs at all? Don't you think it's strange, considering all the fuss the ET Papers made?" That sounded to Williams as bizarre, but it was better than visiting all of the local police forces. "So you are suggesting that we go to these other places, where no UFO incidents have been reported?"
"Or probably that the folks around there are so used to them that they have never bothered to mention them". The logic still didn't appeal too much for Williams, but he decided that it was better than nothing. He put the paper back to the others on the manila folder and handed it back to him.
But as he moved his arm, the folder hit Davis' coffee cup, with the whole hot content spilling over the table and making the other man jump back on his chair and drop his silverware on the plate. "Careful!" Williams put the folder on the side of the table and immediately picked up a napkin and started to clean the mess. A waitress came by two minutes later and helped him out, afterwards asking if Davis would like another cup of coffee. He politely refused and excused himself to the restroom to clean the coffee stains on his pants.
Finally, when they arrive they asked for the check and left some dollar bills to pay for it. But as Williams was getting up his hip hit one corner of the folder and it dropped noisily, spreading its contents all over the floor. "Seemed to have awaken with the wrong foot today" He mumbled towards Davis as he crouched to pick up all the papers and afterwards follow the other man on their way out.
On the table next to Williams and Davis, Evan Blake was still wondering about what he had just seen. Vaughn had been sworn in already, but it would take some time before any announcement to be made by the government about the UFO situation, if ever. Blake knew that the Federal Government was suspicious enough to try to keep a lid on every secret. He had flown to Indian Springs to do research into the Roswell incident and about a supposed UFO that had been tracked by NORAD over the area, according to one of his sources. He was considering on how to make a boring story interesting, especially when he hadn't been too enthusiastical about a wild goose chase ordered by his editor just because the matter was hot right now, when all of the action now was at Washington.
But that had all changed the minute he took notice of the commotion regarding both men in front of him. And of the symbol he had seen on one of the documents when one had dropped a folder on the ground by accident. He had only cached a glimpse of it, but the white circle with a red X he had seen on the header of it made him remind of a something he had seen more than a year ago. The same symbol of the strange aircraft spotted on the terrorist attack on LA, which remained as elusive as the whereabouts of Colonel Johnson. It was obvious to him by now that the force must be responsible for investigating the ET incidents. And if he got to them, who knows what information about the aliens he could get? He tried to see how both men were but during the time it took him to remind of where he had seen the symbol they were already on their way to the exit.
Leaving a twenty-dollar bill over his table, he grabbed his notes and quickly stuffed them inside his bag. Heading the door, he searched for the two men that had just left, hoping to follow them. He nearly bumped on the way out into one of the locals, sporting a Texas Cowboys cap and some really worn out jeans and shirt. He failed to notice that the man also mimicked his actions, getting into a pick-up where another individual had already the engine running and taking down the same route that Blake had just taken on his pursuit.
February 7th, 2001
Nearby Dulce, Jicarilla Apache Reservation, New Mexico, US
The last town they had passed on their way to here could be already considered the end of the world but the city after looked even worse. There the local police chief had dismissed the claims of alien craft, telling that if there really were aliens they would be more interested into other places than his town.
As they were leaving the city a most disturbing occurrence happened: Davis kept checking is rear-view mirror for a long time and, after a while took a turn into the wrong direction. Feeling puzzled, Williams picked up the map to check and said to Davis: "You just took the wrong turn. You're supposed to have gone straight on the highway we were going".
The other man still kept his eyes on the mirror. "We are being followed". The first reaction of Williams was to turn around and look to the back, thinking that he would see a car on their tail, but nothing was on sight on the road. "How can you tell? I see nothing out there".
"I've spotted it only this morning when we left the motel. It's a simple passenger car with one man inside, but he was on our tail when we go out of the last city and it turned the same way as we did. There!"
Looking at the distance, Williams only saw a silhouette of a vehicle. He couldn't even say what type of car it was. "Aren't you just getting a little paranoid?"
Davis looked at him. "I've done this for years chasing KGB agents. I should know something about this otherwise they wouldn't have made me subdirector on the FBI".
Giving up to press the argument, Williams said. "OK, it's your call. What should we do about it?"
"We head out for our next destination, pretending that we just took a wrong turn and go our own business. Let's wait and see what he and his friends are up to". That worried Williams. "You think there's more?"
Keeping his eyes forward, he replied. "Unless he's a complete amateur, there has to be more people assigned to following us. One man simply cannot keep surveillance for hours without loosing his target. Whatever you do, don't ever show that you are aware of him. He might react to that".
"React?" Williams started to have a bad feeling. "Yeah. Open the glove compartment and take out the gun that's there". He did and found a Beretta 9mm pistol inside, underneath the driving manual of the car. As Williams took it out by its barrel Davis asked. "Have you ever used one?"
"No. I'm just a CIA analyst, not an operative".
"Well, Mr. Analyst, on the right there's the safety. To fire it, just take the safety off, pull back the top into you to load a round, point it and press the trigger. The clip contains fifteen bullets". Williams grabbed it by the holster. "I supposed you have one already".
His shoulders shrugged. "One never knows what might show up. Better to be prepared for all circumstances".
"Who do you think it might be back there?"
"Who knows? Maybe someone back at the Agency decided that you are a security risk, now that you have been put off the alien situation. Probably they asked the Bureau to keep an eye to see what you are doing taking off from Washington in such a rush. Or maybe it's the other thing that we have discussed before…"
Williams' voice was scared. "How will we know?"
"Depends on what they might try. But try to look relaxed when we get to our next destination". He went back to driving and Williams tried to put away the thought as they made a turn back into the main road. After a while they reached a sign that marked the beginning of a Native American reservation.
When they reached the town in the middle of the reservation, it looked nothing more than a agglomeration of houses and trailers all cluttered up on the sides of the highway, with children playing on the side of the street. As Davis drove towards the reservation police office Williams looked at the local folks and wondered why would anyone live in such an inhospid location.
The ex-FBI operative parked the car on front of a white prefabricated building in the parking lot, which was nothing more than a section of dry flat earth with sparse vegetation. They both got out of the rented Chevrolet at the same time as the reservation police chief had gotten out of the small building and moved in their direction. He wore blue denim jeans tucked inside black cowboy boot, together with a dark gray shirt and a black tie. Only the cowboy hat and the insignia pinned to his chest pointed his position as a policeman. "Can I help you gentlemen?"
Davis produced his wallet from his pocket while answering, "Sheriff Lonewolf? I'm Michael Kaminsky of the FBI. I tried to contact you before but you didn't respond…" The Apache looked carefully at the fake id that Davis was showing him, before answering the unspoken question. "You want to know about the flying craft, the UFOs as you call them. Who is this other man?"
Davis seemed to be lost for a minute with the man's bluntness. "This is Mr. Franks, he is here on an advisory position to the Bureau. Sheriff, why do you think we are here to investigate such a matter?"
"Mr. Kaminsky, just because we live in a reservation that doesn't mean that I don't pay attention to the news outside. The work I have around here is either petty crime or minor offenses. And occasionally someone might got injured or killed in a brawl, but even that wouldn't be enough to bring the attention of the FBI".
"Excuse me sheriff, but why would we came here then? You have been one of the few counties in the state that hasn't made any reports about them". The Apache took his eyes off both men to look at the distant mountain shapes on the horizon. "No one here has bothered to make such report, because some between us have kept the knowledge about know what they are and are used to seeing them. Those are not police matters but of the spiritual world".
The explanations of the man defied any logic to Williams. "Spiritual matters? Chief Lonewolf, it's essential to every human being on this planet that we learn more about them. What information can you give us regarding the UFOs?" The Native American looked back at him, giving him a twisting sensation on his stomach. "You ask for more of what I can tell you". He headed back towards the office. "You can leave now. There's nothing here for you".
"Sheriff, hold on a minute! We are here on official business and we are requiring your collaboration. We need to know if any UFOs have been seen or reported in the area". The Apache stopped by the door. "I am telling you that here you won't find what you seek".
As he went back into the building, Williams turned to Davis. "Great. Now what we do?" The X-Com official stood there, thinking for a minute before replying to Williams. "We look for what we want without his help. We can't force him to be cooperative". Williams looked up and down the street. "Yeah, any ideas on how to start?"
Davis was about to respond as a figure came around the pre-fabricated building and approached them both. It was a woman well into his forties, with a skin tone that identified her also as an Apache. She had an aquiline nose that looked familiar to Williams, although he had no idea why. "You are from Washington aren't you?" She asked both.
"Why, yes, madam. We are here on official mission to the FBI". Davis presented his credential looked at her in attention. "We have been sent here to investigate a strange phenomenon and we could use any…"
"I know why you are here. My name is Gloria and I help out my brother with the paperwork and the calls sometimes. I saw when your request for information came and my brother told me not to answer back". Davis raised an eyebrow. "Sheriff Lonewolf is your brother? Madam, if you don't mind me telling you this he could be a little more helpful".
"He has always looked at the UFOs with fear and awe. We lived all our childhood hearing stories about the beings from the sky and seeing the lights. He and most of the folks prefer not to think about the subject, specially since we started to see them almost every week".
"Every week? For how long?" Williams started to wonder for how long the possible base had been operating.
"I don't know, months, could be years. We hardly pay attention to them anymore. Sometimes they fly over the camp, others we just see them at a distance. I always thought that you had something to do with them and seeing you here asking for them struck me as strange".
"And you never thought of telling this to anyone?"
"Why should we? Anyone would just think it to be a story made-up by some drunken Indian who had mistaken a street light for a UFO. And this has been going on for many generations. They came, do their business and they go, leaving us alone".
"Just how do you know that madam?" Williams was dumbstruck.
"The tales told by our elders. And the paintings on the caves close to the mesa".
"Can you take us there? It's important that we see them". She looked at the sedan they were driving with reprovation. "Yes, but we need to get authorization from the tribal council and we can't drive there on your car. There's a dirt road that will get us close but we will have to make some miles through hard terrain. We will have to take my jeep". She pointed at a red jeep parked a little away from them and Davis nodded. "Then if you won't mind, please let's get the authorization necessary to see the caves".
Some time later they were riding on the Sheriff's sister Grand Cherokee jeep on their way to the natural caverns that she had mentioned. Before they had been introduced to the shaman of the tribe as she had introduced him, who simply looked at them as they approached the porch where he was seated on and nodded. Williams and Davis looked as she talked to him but they couldn't hear her words. When she came back she told him that they had permission since she was already expecting them. That brought looks of suspicion from them to her, but she dismissed them, saying. "He says that to most of the people who came here and ask the same thing, to visit some part of the reservation. My brother is also into that same mystical thing. I prefer to keep myself in both worlds at the same time".
The dirt track ended on the top of a small elevation that was standing in the middle of all the gullies that made the terrain of most of the reservation. The whole time Davis had kept an eye on the road behind them, trying to look for the presence of their tail but finding nothing. "Now we walk from here", she said before taking a backpack and looking at their shoes. "I hope these are good for walking. We still have to hike for almost mile before we get there".
Both men followed her, with Williams in the middle and Davis closing the rear. After looking at the brown and red landscape over them started to bother the CIA analyst, he started to ask questions at the woman. "Miss Lonewolf, how do you know about this place?"
She didn't even bother to look back while picking the trail and answering them. "Me and my brother used to come here a lot when we were kids. My grandfather told us about the paintings, telling that our ancestors made them to represent the messengers from the stars".
Williams almost slipped as he stepped upon a rock that was loose. "What else did he say about them?"
"I can't remember: I was a while and he died soon afterwards. And until I started seeing the lights in the sky hovering around the mesa I didn't believe him much on that story".
They had now entered a deeper gully, with its sides towering the trio. As they walked inside it, Williams felt entrapped as if the earth walls would engulf them. "What mesa are you talking about?"
"The Archuletta Mesa. It's over that hill". She pointed into her right indicating an elevation that Williams was only able to barely see the top. "The lights go there?"
They had now entered a large area on the small canyon where they were walking. "Yes. I only saw them there once many years ago. I thought it was the military since there was a time that their helicopters were all around the sky. But they have gone there a number of times". She stopped in the middle of the area.
Davis had finally reached their position and Williams was breathing while Gloria didn't seem troubled by the hike at all. "It's there". She pointed to a darker area of the small enclosured space where they were standing.
Following her, Williams and Davis soon found out that it led into a natural cave, dug by an ancient underground river. She took out two flashlights out of her backpack, gave one to Davis and entered. As she started to lighten the way ahead she warned them. "Watch your feet! The whole ground is littered with stones".
Williams tried to take care on his step by he bumped into a couple of heavy rocks that hurt his toes. Finally the movement of the light indicated that she had stopped. Both men moved to join her, in the middle of an underground cave, pointing her flashlight to a portion of the wall above.
In the orange almost flat wall Williams started to notice figures painted into a variety of colors. Some were animals like snakes and foxes, while others consisted of birds, all having some sort of a symmetrical configuration. The other drawings were geometrical shapes, but finally he saw what he was looking for.
The figure was of a large head, its external contours in black while the face itself was in white, with two dark slanted eyes with the shape of teardrops. As the CIA analyst recognized one and his brain took notice of what he should be looking for, he quickly spotted others drawn in the walls. Pointing them to Davis he asked him: "Recognize something?"
"Yeah, I guess we found the people from the stars. But we still need…". A gunshot noise followed by a human scream made him quickly turn into the direction of the entrance. Two human figures could be seen standing against the faint light coming out from it.
Without thinking, Davis threw his flashlight at the direction of both men while reaching for his belt. The lamp spun on the air still on, illuminating portions of the wall for a second until another gunshot was heard. Sparks suddenly came out of it and the light died, followed by the sound of it crashing on the ground.
Williams's vision was then filled by the bright light of a laser being fired in the dark confines of the cave. Finding himself blind he moved towards one of the walls, hitting his head against it on the process. "Kill the light! Don't move!" He heard Davis say a moment later. Gloria shut down the remaining flashlight, leaving them all into a sea of pitch black.
Only then did he remind himself of the pistol that he had left back at their car. He wished that he had remembered to bring it along. Moments passed and nothing could be seen from the entrance and he could only hear the sound of the humans breathing inside. There was no indication of where Davis or Gloria might be, although he had an idea of their positions.
Deciding to shift his position he started to come out from the recess on the wall where he was hiding. But as soon as his arm started to move, a gunshot was again heard, followed by extreme pain above his left elbow that made him scream and close his eyes.
He didn't saw what happened afterwards and only the glow of the laser going through his closed eyelids told him that Davis had fired his laser pistol again. Some time later, which to him seemed to be countless minutes, he heard the X-Com agent shout: "All clear".
The light went back on again and looking at his arm Williams saw that a bullet had hit it over the elbow. Gloria came by and taking a look said: "It's bleeding but you're lucky. It didn't hit any major artery or bone, just went through the flesh and got out by the other side". Going back to her backpack, she took out a first aid kit from her back and started to help him.
When she was done, both of them moved outside. Two figures were standing by the entrance, apparently dead, with their guns pushed away from them. To Williams they seemed more like locals but he couldn't be sure. As they both reached the clear area outside he saw Davis still holding his pistol and pointing it at another figure who was moving towards him slowly.
"For Christ's sake! I've just been shot! What do you think you are doin'?" The voice was familiar to Williams. Evan Blake had his hands both up and had now stopped upon Davis' indication. The X-Com agent then dropped him with a kick to the back of his knees that made him hit the ground heavily. "What the hell is going on here?" Blake demanded as Davis made a quick search on him, looking for any concealed weapons.
Satisfied with his search, Davis then backed away and motioned him to get up, still keeping his laser pistol trailed on the figure. When Blake got up he started dusting off his clothes before he noticed Williams and Gloria standing at the entrance of the cave. "You!" He pointed angrily at him. "You are into some serious trouble mister! You're a liar who just tried to kill me. I will have your head over this! Neonazi groups my ass! You are going to tell me what is really going on concerning the aliens!"
Ignoring him, Williams looked at Davis who spoke: "I don't think he's with them. My bet is that they were about to jump on us when he appeared and ruined their plans". Taking his aim slightly off Blake, he added: "The question remains though: what are you doing here and why were you following us?"
"Why should I answer that?" Davis pointed back the pistol at him. "Why should you not? I've just been shot twice by these dead fellows back there and I had to kill them". The next lines make Williams nearly jump before he reasoned that it might be a bluff. "Makes me no difference if you join them".
Blake seemed as if he was still extremely angry. "I saw you yesterday on Albuquerque. I was about to head out for Roswell to make a story about the supposed crash there but I decided that you should be here for some reason regarding the aliens".
Davis still wasn't satisfied. "Go on"
"When you left the reservation on the jeep my car had some problems with the terrain and I was delayed. I eventually came to the place where you parked, only to find a pick-up truck next to yours. I took me some guessing but I finally discovered where you headed out. But when I arrived here someone took a shot at me and I hid until you forced me out. Satisfied now?"
Davis looked back at him but was interrupted by Gloria, who had stood silent until now but had finally decided to make some questions of her own. "Mr. Franks, who were those people back there? What is happening?"
"Mr. Franks?!" Blake's tone of voice showed his disbelief. "Is that how you go now, Mr. Williams?" Seeing his astonished face, the journalism continued. "Yeah, I know your real name alright. I'd only wish that I could have a recording of what you told me. My readers and Congress would just love to know that a member of the CIA is performing some sort of illegal operation in the US".
She moved away from Williams. "CIA? I thought you told my brother that you were working for the FBI!"
As Williams started to think of a plausible explanation, Davis moved closer to him, now with his pistol pointed downwards and started scanning the area. "We need to get to safer location. They might have back-up". Looking back at the entrance of the cave, he lowered his voice and concluded: "And they are not humans. I guess we can say that we found what we were looking for".
The CIA analyst nodded and carefully moving his uninjured arm reached for one pocket and took out his identification. Opening the wallet he presented his identification for both Gloria and Blake to see. "He's right. I do belong to the CIA and my name is Williams. And this gentlemen here is Mr. Davis, a Subdirector of the FBI".
The journalist took great care to examine the card. "OK, now that we know who you are, why don't you mind telling us what is happening here and who were those men? I still don't trust someone who has lied to me before".
A million explanations rushed through Williams' mind. He wanted to simply tell them the whole story since he was getting tired of the lies. He decided to tell only part of it. "We are a part of a secret investigation regarding the presence of an unknown force on the US. My reasons for lying to you before are quite simple: we are trying to find out what their intentions are and we don't want to alarm the public. Furthermore, we have found that they can be aggressive when we interfere in their activities. I decided it would be best for your own health if you didn't pursue the matter too much".
Blake's face turned into a scowl of suspicion while Gloria simply looked at the sky and seemed distant. The journalist wasn't satisfied and kept pursuing the subject. "Why should I believe you? You have lied to me before".
His arm hurting, Williams decided that they should follow Davis' advice. He pointed to the entrance of the cave. "Go back there and check the bodies: they are not human. Look at their eyes and tell me afterwards what's the feeling of knowing that they walk among us undetected".
As soon as they had hit the dirt road again, Davis put down his sidearm and took out a cellular phone from one of his coat's jackets. Williams took his eyes off the road for an instant to look through the rear mirror at Davis "Is that thing secure?" He also looked at Gloria, as asking if Davis should say anything in front of her.
"Yes. The antenna can actually tap into one of our satellites. And the encryption codes it uses were developed using alien algoritms, from what they told me. Even the NSA can't break into this stuff". He dialed a number and waiting for the phone to be picked up on the other side. "This is Davis, clearance Iota-Red-Seven, password Seven-Six-Delta-Zero-Beta-Eleven. I want you to secure this line and connect me to the Colonel". A female computer generated voice replied to him. "Verifing voice print of clearance and password… accepted….transferring call to Colonel Robinson's desk….please stand by".
After a couple of minutes waiting and afterwards dealing with the Colonel's personal secretary, Robinson's voice finally came, slightly troubled. "Major Davis, first where are you and second what are you doing? You have failed to report for two days. I was not sure what motive I would give the FBI to start searching for you: treason or a pure case of a missing person and I'm hoping you could enlighten me Major".
"Colonel, I can explain all later but for now there are more pressing matters. We…" He looked at Blake and Williams, who seemed to have the bleeding from his arm contained for now. Gloria had removed a revolver from the front glove compartment and was constantly checking the mirror. They had decided to leave Blake's car behind so that they could move fast. The journalism had gone inside the cave to check the hybrid's bodies and had come out speechless but more willing to cooperate.
Looking through his rearview mirror Davis saw nothing behind them. Keeping his voice low and wishing that Robinson would be able to make out his words, he continued: "We have managed to locate the place to where the alien transport was heading. They have a base here sir! Right on the middle of the US! And we need to act right now before they can prepare their defenses for an attack".
Silence only greeted him for some seconds, before the Colonel replied. "Major, where and with whom are you?"
"Sir, the base is located in New Mexico, close to the town of Dulce. There's a mesa there and the aliens have built it on a natural cave system. It's well-concealed but it show appear on a detailed scan of the area". Noticing that Williams had moved forwards to eavesdrop on the conversation he looked at the rearview mirror and saw him looking in apprehension and he remembered the bodies they had left there, besides the fact that they were carrying two other unauthorized persons. He dismissed it for now, considering that would be time to deal with both later and locked his gaze into Williams, telling him to trust him and keep his mouth quiet for now.
"Major, I hope that you are right. I will put every asset we have looking into it and you call you back as soon as we have some results. Meanwhile stay clear of the area and ready to hear from us. Robinson out". Davis hung up the phone and Williams asked. "What did they say?"
"They are going to make some scans and have told us to stay put. I'm going to drive us back to the camp so that we can retrieve our cars and then we will all head for some motel a little away from here. We can check your arm there. Just try not to move it for now".
The analyst, still holding his arm, wasn't completely successful in trying to ignore the pain as he answered. "Gloria thinks that the bullet came through it. I think for now it's fine".
Blake had listened to the exchange of words silent. He then casually asked: "Now tell me, is the nowhere to be found Colonel Johnson coming at the scene? I heard one mention a Colonel and I presume that you just talked to him and I'd sure like to ask him some questions about what has been going on since he disappeared from the regular US military".
Both Davis and Williams avoided responding to Blake's question, preferring to keep their faces straightforward. Gloria sensed something peculiar at the whole question, but wisely decided to keep herself out of the whole business.
"Mr. Blake, we can discuss all that happened later, when we reach a safe position. I must also contact my…." Williams looked at the other occupants and corrected himself, "the office at Washington". Davis shook his head and looked also at them, the meaning of his gesture saying to Williams: they have seen and heard too much already and we can't risk any leaks on this type of information. Williams thought for it a second and kept his eyes on the road afterwards. This people can't be more involved into this. And they cannot find out anything about X-Com, no matter what it costs.
"We will Mr. Williams. We will. And I'm most anxious to hear some of your explanations to this whole matter".
Santa Fe, New Mexico, US
"Why is it taking so long?" Williams kept pacing around the motel room that they had just rented with his arm restrained by a piece of white gauze that hung from his neck. Seated on a chair close to the window, Davis thought for a moment. "I dunno. Maybe they are trying to check the information first". Using his hand he moved aside the curtain and looked outside. The Sun was already setting on the horizon.
"Who is they?" The other voice made both men look at Blake who was still with them, seated on one of the beds. "The military organization to whom you work?"
They refrained to any reply, which made Blake only to continue. "Deny it if you prefer. I know about how Williams and a number of other military key personnel all of the sudden disappeared from sight a couple of years ago. I also have indications that something strange is going around Area 51 in Nevada. Isn't that enough to prove that the government is doing something secret for a while on the subject".
He had pressed the subject all the way on the trip from the caves. Unable to take the verbal barbs of the man anymore Williams exploded. "Mr. Blake, what do you wish?!"
Evan faced him square on. "I know that the government knows much more than it has admitted into public. Supposedly you should be investigating their intentions. Well after what I've seen today you already knew about that. What else are you hiding and why?"
"This whole matter will come out one day Mr. Blake. Believe me it will".
"Sir, I'm not your enemy damn it! Don't you think I can't keep a secret?" Looking straight at him Williams replied: "Some secrets might come back and kill you".
"You mean him?" Blake pointed at Davis. "No. You are free to go if you so desire. But trust me on this: there are hidden forces of which you have no idea of their power and reach. If you want an advice, keep yourself away from them or next time the aliens might fire at you with the specific propose of removing you out of the scene".
André Galvão, 2002