Hi.. sorry for the time that this one took... and sorry if you find it lame... hopefully, you still like this after this chapter...
Chapter 23 - It is not an invasion!
"Good Morning, Sam, Jack"
"Morning, Malcolm," they smiled to the journalist.
"Yesterday, you told me about a ship that appeared in the DC sky and that, even though it was a friendly ship, there were repercussions. Can you tell me more about it?"
"We have been there before, you know?" Sam smiled. "We have been at the bridge of insanity with aliens coming for our collective heads, threatening to take the world. We knew they all came with the orders to kill us all, or worse, enslave us all. During those times, there was no time to hide nor run. Some people didn't get time to pray before they gave their lives for Earth's freedom."
"All those times we fought against them and came out of it a little scraped and bruised and roughed around the edges, there were many casualties, and we lost dear friends. But we kept the world free so people who didn't know about it at all could live freely and do what they love in the world you call home. We postponed doomsday, and the only ones who knew anything about it were the people in the front lines."
"Yet, that day was different, people had never seen or thought something like that ship could appear out of the blue beyond the movies, and nothing we saw or did before could prepare us for that day."
2034
Pandemonium.
That's the only fitting word to describe what was going out there.
By the time we went back to the Conference Room, they were already thousands of people filling the Mall. Every channel showed images of the so-called invasion and the people outside doing dumb things. The word "Doomsday" plagued the radio and tv stations. At my side, Jack observes the images, looking as dumbfounded as I feel.
"For crying out loud! It isn't even a huge ship! It is one tiny transport vessel, and they react as if it was a fleet! We had fleets before, and we didn't hear anyone saying the Armageddon is here, or pray for your lives! Geez. We didn't even get that guy with the 'Take me with you' sign!" Jack complains to no one in particular.
I, for instance, am not sure if I am supposed to laugh or cry or be desperate at the moment. Alas, I'm just sitting here hearing a bunch of crap about the end of the world while people who know not much about aliens are discussing the consequences of either telling the truth or trying to cover it. I can't help but pinch the bridge of my nose to try to stop an upcoming headache.
You know, only the higher-ups can make something as simple this complicated. There aren't that many options! We have been wasting time for them to decide if we are going with a twist or if we state: 'Hey! There are aliens out there! And guess what! These are our allies! Isn't that nice?'
Sure, that should be said with as many polysyllabic words as we could fit in to confuse the general population, and avoid questions like 'how can they be allies if we never knew about them before?' coming from the minds of the average Joe.
"Can you just please decide before people kill themselves to avoid slavery that won't come?" I interrupt them in a voice higher than I mean. Jack squeezes my hand.
"She's right. The more time we spend deciding what we should or shouldn't say, the more people will call it a day for good."
"We can't tell them the truth!" Someone says, and I am ready to slap some sense in their heads. A look at Jack tells me he's about there too.
"What would we say if we don't tell them the truth, uh? That it is some Hollywood-made vessel for a new upcoming movie?"
"It sounds like a good idea, Sir."
"That's enough!" I say, "let's tell them the goddamn truth! There are aliens out there, and these are friendly ones. People know it's utterly absurd to think we are alone in the galaxy, let alone in the galaxies."
"What about the Stargate?"
"We don't mention it," Jack says, and I have to agree with him.
"Why not?"
"Well, for starters, the person giving this speech shouldn't have all the knowledge we have about the Stargate if we are bringing it to the plate."
"And?"
"Geez, then I wonder why I am still called to fix stuff around," I mumble to myself, and I know Jack heard me because the corner of his lip twitches upwards.
"And… you don't have this all figured out yet. If we bring the Stargate up, then we must add a bunch of limits, which will mean that people will die while we are at it. We would need to call the other involved nations on this and so on. The best thing we can do is say 'Yup, the aliens are here, but they are harmless' while we leave General Mitchell to deal with foreign affairs."
"I have to agree with, the Secretary," I say. Duh! Like I wouldn't agree with him over whatever these people say, anyway. "Hey, can you put that one louder?" I ask, pointing to one TV showing air footage of people on the top of a building. It looks like Independence Day movie happening for real… well, without the ugly-looking aliens.
"People in this rooftop are insane; they are asking the aliens to take them with them. Someone should start doing something! They will jump collectively!" says a girl sounding desperate on tv.
"I guess that's my cue; I will tell the truth. Let's hope this doesn't backfire."
2050
"We have dealt with crazy psychotic power hungered Warlords with egos of the size of their ships. We faced them and defeated them. We freed people around the galaxy, but dealing with hysterical people… that, it wasn't our strong suit. Daniel was good at it, but he was unavailable."
"After our trip to the Nox vessel, we got stuck in a meeting trying to decide the outcome. Knowing that a bunch of youngsters was about to jump off the roof to meet the creator was the catalyst we needed to end the meeting and start the action."
2034
"Ladies and Gentleman, the President of the United States," someone announces, and Sam walks to the podium. I follow her and stand two steps behind. The flashes of cameras make us blink several times, the uncomfortable light on the eyes after being blinded by flashes is making its appearance with full force. I have to admit there's no other moment where I feel more vulnerable than when I can't see a thing, and I'm stuck in the middle of a crowd. I know Sam feels the same, so I try to enter her personal space to comfort her while I remain far away enough, so I don't look overprotective.
She squares her shoulders, and I feel myself doing the same. Probably half of the crew that came out with us did it. It's contagious if you have a military background.
"Ladies and Gentleman. I should say citizens of Earth. I don't know how I am supposed to do this without disappointing half of you. I can put this on complicated words, and I can confuse you more. I don't want to do either. Therefore, I'm here to state a simple truth. There won't be a fake, long, and boring speech today. It will be only the truth."
She pauses and looks at the crowd. 'Well, a truth' she tells me using our link, and I try not to smile at her comment.
"For centuries, people around the globe wondered about the existence of life outside the limitation of our world. Scientists from all around focused on finding an answer to the question, 'are we alone in the universe?'. Today, despite being terrified of the consequences of what I am about to say, I am here to tell the truth. I can answer that question without a margin of error. No. we aren't. There are other life forms living freely around the known galaxies."
The crowd murmurs became a full blast when she finished that sentence. She raises her hands, asking for silence, and the crowd shuts down. It's always amazing to see something like that, the respect one person can get from a raging group. It's so exhilarating and so damn hot! If we weren't in this situation, I would… inhale… exhale... You can't sport a you-know-what in public! For cryin' out loud, man! You aren't fifteen anymore!
"These life forms aren't a threat to Earth as it is today."
Ha! Good one, I have to ask her how she comes up with things like that. I wonder what would happen if the people knew this isn't the first time we are visited.
"The people on that ship does NOT come to destroy us. They came to keep an Intergalactic Safety Treaty. They want to make sure we are ok. They mean no harm; they seek only peace in the galaxies. Earth peace, however, is still in our hands. Only humans can help humans to reach the desired world peace finally. Thank you."
The minute she says thank you, the crowd explodes with questions. We knew it wouldn't be an easy task.
"Madame President, Mr. Secretary, are you saying we have signed an Intergalactic Safety Treaty with Aliens?"
"Yes," we both said curtly. We agreed via the link the fewer things we get out of the bag, the lesser reason there will be to bury us down. We don't want to be the ones who would let the world know we have been taking part in an intergalactic war for the better part of a decade. Or was it a full decade?
"Do you know the life forms aboard the ship?"
"Yes."
"What are they called?"
Oh, well… 'names?' I ask Sam trough our link. She smiles, telling me, 'sneaky answer, I like it!'
"Adalsteinn, Bryjna, Karsyn, Braylin, Ryrie, Jessame, Teegan and Keegan."
"How do they look?"
"Like not humans," I answer.
"Like the Roswell Gray Description?"
"No. They have mostly human features, but it's easy to say they aren't human, but humanoid," Sam answers. It is hard to explain how they look.
"We will give a ball in their honor, that way they can get to meet the current situation of Earth by their means," I say.
Sam looks at me surprised, and then I realize what I've just done. Oh, well… It's already done.
2050
"So, we gave them some part of the truth and at the spur of the moment…" Sam sighed, looking at Jack.
"We, well, I, said we would give a Welcome to Earth ball for them. It was a bad idea; I knew it the moment the phrase left my mouth."
"What's the deal with having a ball?"
2035
"Mr. Secretary, with all due respect, sir. What the hell were you thinking?"
"Yeah, yeah. I know. I figured that much as soon as it left my mouth."
"And there's no way we are not doing it at this point," Sam supported him.
"Can… can someone explain to me why such a fuss for a ball? It is just gathering people to dance, some food, some drinks…"
"Yes, well, we could start with the drinks and food since the Asgards don't eat the same food we eat, nor do the Nox, the Alterans are vegetarians and the Furlings, they do smoothies… all the time," Sam explained, resting her head on her hands.
"We could give them a crash course on spirits tasting, why not?" Jack added sarcastically.
"Let's not start fiddling with security, do you know how hard it is to pull an Inauguration day? That's the level of security we will need. We are not talking about some friendly alien that hopped here. We are talking about the whole Council."
"A party with ALL the council members is a nice target. They can easily beam the Councilors out or to blow the whole thing up. It's a strategical nightmare."
"Strategical nightmare or not, we are doing this," Sam affirmed. "We will need their help."
"What are you thinking?" Jack asked.
"Nox defenses, remember?"
2050
"You'll see, Malcolm, strictly talking about security, pulling out a ball with presidents from all over the world is a pain in the ass."
"Having aliens added to the mess, even things you'll typically pass as nothing too important, like food and beverages, are more complicated than in just-humans meetings."
"But you did it?"
"We did, we couldn't take it back."
"So we talked with them."
2035
"The thing is, I kind of gave my word... on Public TV,"
"What is Public Tee Vee?"
"It's like the communications globe, but it goes all day for a nation. Some other countries can get a copy of what it was said," Jack tried to explain.
"Well, except we can't fix what was out on public tv even if the message wasn't right," Sam added to explain the reasons further.
"If I understand properly, Councilor Samantha, you gave your word to your people. Why do you doubt then?"
"It's a security issue. You'll see, Earth is not as peaceful as the places you might visit or where you live. We are worried something can happen to you while being down there."
"You can protect us with your own means," said Teegan. "What's the real reason?"
"We will be there together. The whole Council in the same place."
"You fear someone could kill us all."
"Yes. We had some Goau'ld running freely on Earth before. Therefore, we don't want to put you at risk."
"We will help Councilors. Karsyn and I will create some defense method for you."
"And... food?" Jack winced.
"Human food is something I am not willing to test," Jessame said. "We have enough food and beverages to add to your banquet that wouldn't be an issue."
"Yes!" Jack added with a victory dance.
"Jack!" Sam hissed.
"Sorry, I am just happy with this outcome."
2050
"The Council members helped, we satisfied the Presidents of other countries when they could meet with them. We had to use the Ivanhoe as a travel agency, but it was the least we could do to help the rest of the Nations with such short notice."
"Drunk Jessame was fun to watch," Jack grinned, and Sam snorted.
"I still remember, Jessame's face while saying 'I like your grape juice'"