(updated 04-17-2021)
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Message Received
"Much happened in the period after the 'Lampasas Massacre'. Despite all the pro-Alliance news coverage with promises of a better future, there were many doubters, critics and people fearful of change and aliens. During this period the terms 'fake news' and 'alt-facts' became part of the standard lexicon as certain segments of the media stoked fears and prejudices in the population. Only later, we discovered that the law firm Wolfram & Hart was paying off or influencing many of the organizations and sources involved with this negative media campaign. If not for 'The Sunnydale Accords', one has to wonder what the galaxy would look like today. Whatever your position and views are on how the Regent reacted, what happened to Kepler-22 is a stark and vivid reminder of what could have happened on Earth…"
— Excerpt from "Light vs. Darkness: War in the Shadows"
oOoOo
Lieutenant Isaiah Harden was having another quiet afternoon shift. He tried stifling a yawn, glancing at his monitor screen and then over at Orbital Control's main display screen at the front of the control room.
Not a lot of traffic today, he thought, noting the icons representing the ships entering and leaving Earth's orbit.
He took a drink of his coffee and stretched, trying to shake off the boredom. When he'd joined up, fantasies of traveling to the far ends of the galaxy and exploring strange new worlds filled his dreams.
The mundane reality of being a glorified air-traffic controller, monitoring and directing ships around the planet, muted those dreams. On the plus side, being stationed on one of the new space stations sitting in high stationary orbit around the planet allowed him to impress a few people. But it paled when compared to the many ships he directed daily, heading for the other planets in the Alliance on the other side of the galaxy.
At least it's a lot safer here than down there, Isaiah sighed as his thoughts drifted.
The horrible massacre at a hospital in Texas filled the news. The major news outlets were quoting the standard "No comment" from authorities while they were still investigating. This seemed at odds with a growing number of Internet sites posting that non-humans were behind the attack and murders.
Harden scoffed at such news. He'd talked and worked with many aliens. Other than looking different and coming from across the galaxy, these 'people' weren't much different from humans.
Still, quite a few articles were showing up in his web news feed, talking about a vast 'alien conspiracy'. He'd also overheard quite a few of the crew discussing the attack and this so-called conspiracy in the station's dining hall.
The voice coming over his headset ended any further thoughts about the news, conspiracies, and his life choices, "Lieutenant Harden?"
Isaiah shook off his thoughts, focusing on his job as he keyed his mic. Even though he was only a glorified air-traffic controller, it was still an important job. He had to direct all the ships coming and going from Earth to avoid collisions and accidents.
"Yes, what is it?"
The other voice sounded confused and worried, "Uh… I'm not sure, sir. I'm getting some strange readings. It looks like we have a spacefold occurring, b-but I've seen nothing this large before!"
Harden froze, trying to shake off his growing shock. His training kicked in, and he brought up the information on his monitor and the main display screen. An eerie quiet descended on the control room as everyone stared at the main display screen, watching the massive spacefold taking place.
I-It can't be the H-Haydonites… Their fleet's destroyed! They're defeated… They're gone! Harden thought, staring at his monitor in disbelief.
A scared and confused voice came over his headset, "S-Sir? W-What do we do?"
The voice snapped Harden out of his paralysis. He pushed the fear down, focusing on his job and what he needed to do, "Inform Defense Command and make sure they're seeing what we're seeing! Check the area where that spacefold point is forming for traffic and warn them to clear that area!" he said, snapping off rapid orders.
He didn't wait for acknowledgements as he tapped commands on his keyboard to bring up more information on his monitor to analyze the unfolding situation.
"Sir! Incoming message from Moon Base ALUCE!"
Harden nodded, keying his headset to take the message, "Orbital-One, here! Lieutenant Harden, speaking!"
There was a pause as Harden listened to the other voice coming from the moon base.
"Confirmed! We're also reading the beginning of a massive spacefold event!" Harden replied.
He quickly cut the channel and opened another channel to the space station, "Battle Stations! Battle Stations! Set station to Condition One Alert! Get the defense grid on-line!"
Another voice cut-off any further commands, "TRANSITION! WE HAVE SPACEFOLD TRANSITION!"
Isaiah stared at the main display screen as it brought up the section of space where the spacefold was occurring. His eyes widened in shock as icons—representing ships—appeared out of nowhere.
My god, he thought as more ships kept appearing.
"Sir! We're getting a scan of the ships!" a voice called out, grabbing Harden's attention.
Isaiah's jaw dropped at hearing the identity of the ships arriving, his eyes still locked on the main display screen as more and more ships flashed into existence.
oOoOo
"With confused reports still coming in, the White House and Space Defense Command have yet to release any official statements about what is happening. According to the last reports, the Alliance Grand Fleet was in the Sargas System, eliminating a small force of Haydonites that escaped the destruction of their homeworld. Our latest information puts the fleet size in orbit at nearly thirty thousand ships… of which at least twenty-five thousand are Invid Mollusk-Class carriers. We have learned that an emergency session of the UN Security Council has summoned Alliance representatives to address and answer questions about why the Grand Fleet is here. Despite repeated inquiries, Alliance representatives have not responded publicly, only issuing a 'No Comment' so far. There are also reports the Alliance Council on Tirol is an emergency session where Earth's representatives are demanding an explanation for the fleet's presence here…"
Faith and Giles turned away from the television, mirroring the same expression while glaring at Rachel.
"Tell me this isn't your doing?" Giles said, struggling with a mix of emotions while shaking his head and squeezing the bridge of his nose.
Rachel didn't back down under their glares, nor was she going to apologize for her actions, "Fight fire with fire, I always say."
"B-But thirty-thousand ships!" Giles stammered, trying to grasp what Rachel had unleashed with her actions.
Rachel smirked, "Plus, if my math is correct, at least twelve million Invid fighters and Shock troopers. That's not including the drone fighters and Veritechs in the fleet."
Giles paled, trying to absorb the numbers being thrown about and the implications. He took a deep breath, trying to regain some control, "Rachel… I care for you deeply, b-but t-this!"
He let out a resigned sigh, pointing to the TV, "What you did… You've gone too far!"
Giles was going to say more, but Faith stepped in. Her worries and concerns were on more personal issues, "Can you give us a moment? I need to speak to Rachel… alone."
The request surprised Giles, shifting his gaze between Faith, holding Alex, and Rachel, as he tried figuring out what was going on. After a moment, seeing he wasn't getting anywhere, he shrugged in defeat and left the room.
Faith waited until the door was closed before getting into it with Rachel, "What did you do?"
"As I told you… All I did was send a message," Rachel replied.
A growing wave of anger mixed in with Faith's fears and worries, giving Rachel a withering glare, "You sent a message to him? Didn't you?"
Rachel didn't back down under Faith's glare, "Of course I did! He is Alex's father!"
Rachel's outburst unleashed the proverbial elephant out into the open. Faith's heart pounded and her legs shook as the room began spinning. Even though she admitted the truth to herself, it was different hearing someone else say your secrets out loud.
Faith struggled for a moment, taking deep breaths to regain control. Even then panicked thoughts raced through her head as she met Rachel's eyes, "H-How did you know?" she mumbled.
Rachel sighed. She stepped closer, gazing at Alex and smiling, then meeting Faith's eyes with sympathy, "You forget I knew Paul when he was a child. I can see the family resemblance. Plus… Alex was his father's name."
Faith struggled to keep her emotions under control, "He's not Paul! Paul's dead!"
Rachel gave her another sympathetic look. This wasn't the time to argue or for her to explain her theories—and her hopes—about the Regent.
A long moment of silence passed before Faith spoke, hesitantly, "D-Did you tell him about the baby?"
"No… I only told him you were in danger. I said that The First Evil attacked and tried to kill you, and that a lot of innocent people died," Rachel whispered, shaking her head.
Faith sighed in relief, glad that her secret was still safe, "T-Thank-you."
"Don't thank me yet. You've got another problem besides him," Rachel sighed, nodding to the baby.
"W-What problem?" Faith stammered.
"So far, the Alliance has kept the Invid Regent's appearance under wraps. I figure that's all about to go sideways now," Rachel said.
Faith gave Rachel a confused look, "Yeah, so what's the problem?"
"How long do you think it will be before someone tracks you down and asks for a reaction when they find out about the Regent?"
The implications hit home hard as Faith's eyes widened in shock.
"And, I bet you never told Andy about you and Paul." Rachel said, shaking her head slowly.
The guilt and shame of what she'd done came roaring back as Faith struggled with what Rachel was trying to prepare her for, "N-No, I didn't. He knows I was with someone on the Arcadia Mission. I didn't go into any details about Paul and I."
"Well, if you don't want your marriage to blow-up, you'd better get your story straight!" Rachel sighed, gesturing towards the TV, "Things are about to get more complicated."
oOoOo
General Coulson waited anxiously for the shuttle's door to open, so he could disembark. His mission weighed on his thoughts as it seemed to take forever for the airlock on his shuttle to cycle open and he could exit.
The buzz of activity greeted Coulson as he finally stepped out on to the hanger deck of the SDF-4. Flight crews were working diligently, servicing rows of drone fighters.
His surprise and alarm grew at seeing the drones armed with full combat weapon loadouts. An officer coming towards him caught his attention, bringing him back to the reason he was up here.
A young Tirolian lieutenant came to attention in front of him, presenting a crisp salute, "General Coulson,"
"Yes," Coulson replied, returning the salute.
"The Regent is expecting you. He's on the observation deck. If you will follow me, sir," the Tirolian said.
Coulson nodded, following the Lieutenant. It didn't take long to reach the observation deck.
The General entered the room to find the Regent sitting in one of the swivel chairs at the conference table with the chair turned towards the huge observation widow. Coulson noted the Regent studying the blue and white world.
The General waited for the Regent to acknowledge him, but after a long period of silence, he cleared his throat to announce his presence.
"Yes, General," the Regent said with his back still turned to Coulson.
"Sir, I'm here on behalf of the White House and the UN Security Council. They all—"
The Regent cut Coulson off, "They all want to know why I'm here with the Grand Fleet and what my intentions are."
"Yes, sir! That's the gist of it," Coulson paused, "Sir, why are you here?" he said, trying to keep his voice emotionless.
The Regent didn't immediately answer, but after a long pause he finally replied, "General, I'm here because there is a threat to this planet. A cancer… if you will, that is hanging over this planet and its people. I am here to remove it!"
Coulson shuddered at the hard hate-filled tone in the Regent's voice, "Sir… I'm confused. I'm not aware of any threat to the planet that requires you here! Respectively, sir… You're here without approval and orders! What will you do when the Alliance Council orders you to withdraw?"
The Regent spun his chair to face Coulson, causing the General to shudder again at seeing the Regent's expression, "I've already explained to the fleet why we are here. I told those that didn't want to follow me they could remain behind with no consequences and I wouldn't think any less of them. As you can see… the fleet has made their choice."
A cold, deathly fear gripped Coulson as he realized how seriously the situation was spinning out of control.
My God! With the Grand Fleet backing him, he could do… anything!
Coulson scrambled to head off the looming disaster he saw coming, "Sir! You can't go against the Alliance! What will the Regess think?"
The Regent didn't bat an eye, "I have the full support of the Regess! She is most vehement in her support of whatever action I take to resolve this situation!"
A sickening sensation gripped Coulson. Even though he'd expected something like this, the reality made this situation even direr and scarier. A chilling thought griped the General.
This is how Caesar got started…
Coulson knew that what he said and did next could have dangerous repercussions, so he needed to tread carefully, "Sir, maybe if we back up. What attack are you talking about?"
The Regent leaned forward and pressed a button on the conference table console. A display screen on the wall came alive, bringing up a news broadcast from Earth.
Stunned and grief-stricken parents, escorted by emergency personnel, filled the screen, while the news anchor provided all the gruesome details about an attack at a hospital in Texas.
A confused Coulson watched the news report, trying to figure out why this had set off the Regent. He'd heard about the horrific attack, but he had no involvement with the investigation. The local authorities were handling the investigation.
If this was the reason for the Regent to bring the Grand Fleet to Earth, then there was something more serious going on. He would need to make some inquiries and dig deeper into this when he got planet-side.
The problem was that he needed to cool down the situation and buy some time, so he could find a way out before it spiraled further out of control.
Coulson took a deep breath, hoping his plea would work, "Sir, I need some time to get up to speed on this attack and find out what is going on. If you give me a chance, I'm sure I can find a way of dealing with this threat… without having to take extreme measures."
The Regent took a moment to consider the General's plea. Every thought and impulse was to strike now, but a small voice of common sense echoed in his head. He gave Coulson a hard glare, "General, you have twenty-four hours to show me something. Then, I will take matters into my own hands!"
oOoOo
"Sir… General Coulson, sir?"
Coulson's eyes snapped open. He hadn't realized he'd drifted off, and it took him a moment to remember where he was.
"Uh, yes?" he said, stifling a yawn.
"We're here, sir," the driver replied.
The General realized the car wasn't moving. He shook off the tiredness weighing on him. The last twenty-four hours were a blur of conference calls, briefings and meetings with what seemed like an unending line of politicians, police and military officials.
Parked at their destination, Coulson took a moment to gaze out the car window and take in the scenery. Compared to the frantic pace of the last few hours, the small house projected a peaceful scene. The only dark cloud hanging over the peaceful scene were the heavily armed marines patrolling the area.
Coulson's phone buzzed, ending his moment of reverie. The number on the phone's call display dispelled any thoughts of not answering. Coulson took a deep breath as he answered his phone.
"Yes, Mr. President!"
Coulson struggled to keep from yawning as he listened to his Commander-in-Chief.
"Yes, sir… I have no updates on what is happening in the Pacific. I haven't pushed to break the blockade around Easter Island. I think—" Coulson paused, listening to the President.
"No, sir. I would advise against trying to break the blockade. Transports have been evacuating people from the island. We just don't know why."
Coulson paused again, "Yes, sir. For now, we've kept the press in the dark, but I don't know how long that will continue. Uh-huh… Yes, sir. I understand… Goodbye, sir."
Coulson sighed, trying to shake off the stress pulling on him. His gaze again turned to the nondescript house. The only reason he was here was that he'd run out of options. If they were going to avoid any bloodshed, then he hoped that because the Regent looked like Admiral Coleiro, the woman in the house would have some sway over him. There was no evidence to support his theory, he was going on gut instinct now.
If she can't talk any sense into him, then we're all screwed…
Coulson got out of the car and headed to the house, not knowing what kind of reception he would receive. He knocked on the door. An older man answered the door, and Coulson tried not to laugh seeing the older man's reaction.
"G-General Coulson!" Giles stammered in surprise.
Coulson struggled for a moment to recall the man's name, "It's Giles? Isn't it?"
"Yes… Please come in," Giles said, opening the door and inviting the General in.
As Coulson stepped into the house, another voice greeted him, but it wasn't as friendly, "Hello, sir. What brings you here?"
Coulson flashed a small smile at seeing Rachel Larson. He immediately saw she was not happy about him being here.
"Hello, Chief. Looks like retirement is agreeing with you," he said, trying to smooth over her obvious hostility.
Rachel was having none of that, "Yes, sir. I'm enjoying not having to take orders anymore, so I'll repeat my question. What brings you here?"
Coulson sighed, seeing that Rachel wasn't going to cut him any slack, "I'm here to see Faith. Is she here?"
"Yeah, I'm here," Faith called out, entering the room, carrying a baby, followed by another man.
Coulson put on his best diplomatic face, "Hello, Faith. I was wondering if I could speak to you… in private."
Faith shook her head, "No, whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of everybody here."
The tiredness and stress weighed on Coulson. He wasn't about to get into an argument over trivial matters. There was too much at stake. He shrugged in resignation, "As you've probably heard, the Grand fleet has arrived here."
He noted the people nod before continuing on, "What isn't public knowledge is that the Fleet is here because of the attack on the hospital you were in."
The General picked up on the looks exchanged between Giles, Faith and Rachel. He caught a look of defiance in Rachel's eyes, which confirmed his suspicions of who had contacted the Regent.
"Get to your point, General!" Faith demanded while rocking her child.
Coulson took a moment because he wasn't sure how his news would go over with everyone, especially Faith, "Are you aware the Invid Regent looks exactly like Admiral Paul Coleiro."
Coulson noted the other man's expression and body language at the mention of the Admiral's name. It became apparent the other man wasn't happy from the glare he was giving Faith. Whatever was going on with Faith and this man paled compared to the threat currently orbiting Earth.
"Yeah, I know," Faith sighed, picking up on Andy's unhappiness.
She'd tried to prepare Andy, but it was still shocking to find out the "Paul" she once pined for was none other than Admiral Coleiro. His confidence wasn't exactly brimming over, knowing the man—considered an Alliance hero and a legend—had been his wife's lover.
To say he was feeling a little betrayed and deceived would be an understatement. Faith tried reassuring Andy, but it was a lot to take in. Now, he was being asked to grin and bear it while a General was in their house talking to his wife about her dead boyfriend.
What made it worse was finding out that one of the Invid leaders, who helped to liberate Earth and destroyed the Haydonites appeared to look like her dead boyfriend.
Faith eyed Andy and could tell that her omitting the part about the Regent looking like Paul was going off like a hand grenade. She realized it had been a mistake not to tell him, but it had been hard enough just opening up and telling him about her and Paul.
I'm going to have to deal with this later…
Coulson studied the couple, reading the tension between them, but turned his focus on Faith, still holding her baby. He'd only had enough time to get a basic background briefing on what she'd been doing since Earth's liberation. There wasn't much there, but his gut was sending him signals he was missing something.
If she knew the Regent looked like the Admiral, why hasn't she said or done anything about it? If she loved him so much, then why wasn't she screaming to find out more about his death or attempt to see the Regent?
The questions popping up in his head nagged at him, but this wasn't the time or place to drag this out. Right now, there were more important problems to deal with, but he made a mental note to ask his intelligence people to dig deeper.
Faith struggled with obvious growing discomfort at having her personal life dragged out in front of Andy, "So, what do you want?"
Coulson didn't hesitate or hold back, "We have a problem with the Regent. He's threatening to take action against those that attacked the hospital you were in. He's given me twenty-four hours to deal with it, and I've run out of time! I'm hoping that I can get you to talk to the Regent. Maybe you can convince him to listen to reason and stand down."
Coulson noted the flash of anger on Faith's husband's face when he asked her to meet with the Regent.
"Why her? What can she do to talk this… this alien?" Andy growled, no longer content to sit idly by and listen to all this.
Fortunately, Giles stepped in, trying to calm down the rising tensions, "Surely, the Alliance will order him to stand down?"
Rachel's snort of derision caught Coulson by surprise. He shook his head wearily, "The Alliance has issued orders for the Regent and the Grand Fleet to return to Tirol. They have refused."
"W-What is he going to do?" Giles stammered, his face filled with shock as he grasped the seriousness of the situation.
Coulson shook his head in frustration. There were too many questions and not enough answers and information, "That's the problem! We don't know what he and the fleet will do! From the information I have, it was the 'Harbingers of Death' that attacked the hospital, yes?"
"Those bastards tried to take my baby!" Faith snarled.
Coulson nodded, "I know. From the information I have, these 'Bringers' act as servants for The First Evil."
Giles nodded, "Yes, they act as The First Evil's foot soldiers, doing all his dirty work."
Giles paused, taking a moment to consider everything he knew about The First Evil, "You're thinking the Regent will hit back at The First?"
"Yes, I expect the Regent to retaliate and try to hit The First, but how do you hit back at something that you can't kill?" Coulson said, adding a shrug.
Giles tried putting himself in the Regent's shoes to figure out what his plan was, "General, is there anything else that you haven't told us?"
Coulson sighed, "We've kept this quiet, but the Invid landed an enormous force in the Pacific."
Giles gasped, "What are they doing?"
"So far there's been no shooting. They've setup a blockade around Easter Island. Nothing is getting in or out. We've had reports of Marines and Invid Shock Troopers landing on the island and evacuating the inhabitants."
Giles's jaw dropped, "Y-You said Easter Island?" he stammered.
The expression on Giles's face caused Coulson's stomach to churn with growing anxiety and worry, "Why? What's so important about Easter Island?"
Giles was breathing harder as he grasped the Regent's plan, "There's a Hellmouth on Easter Island. You said they were evacuating the inhabitants?"
Shock and disbelief rippled across Coulson's face as Giles's words registered in his tired mind.
Jesus! He wouldn't…? Hell, what am I thinking of course he would do something like that!
Coulson was already reaching for his cellphone when it suddenly began buzzing. A sense of foreboding filled him, seeing the call display. A part of him didn't want to answer it, but he did anyway.
"Coulson, here."
Everyone watched the General as he engaged in what was apparently a one-sided call. The General didn't say a word during the brief call, but it was obvious by his face that it was bad news.
"Yes, sir. I understand. Thank you, sir," Coulson said, ending the call.
A sense of dread filled everyone in the room as they stared at the General. Giles braced himself for bad news as he spoke, "What happened?"
The news of what happened along with the lack of sleep pressed down on Coulson. All he wanted to do was grab some sleep, but realized that he wouldn't be getting any proper sleep soon. He took a deep breath to compose himself and then exhaled.
His voice whispered, but it seemed to echo in the silence now hanging over the room, "Ten minutes ago, the SDF-4 moved into a lower orbit. She fired several salvos from her main gun… they destroyed Easter Island!"