Richmond, Virginia NBC 12:

"Breaking news in Virginia, Richmond.

Around 1:30 this morning we received several calls into the newsroom from residents in the suburb of Chesterfield. They reported hearing loud noises and bright flashes of light coming from the nearby Pocahontas State Park. Others reported hearing helicopter rotors and heavy machinery. Some even claimed to have seen some sort of unidentified flying object hovering overhead.

Our news crews out this morning found the entire State Park cordoned off by the National Guard. When we asked the guardsmen what was going on, they told us that the area was off limits to the general public, as a routine training mission was in progress.

However after further inquiries to local officials, we were informed that the National Guard had never given any advanced notification of the exercises to local authorities. We will continue to monitor the situation, and bring updates as soon as they come to hand...

Also, many of you in Richmond reported seeing a large fireball in the sky last night. We've had reports from as far as Norfolk of people seeing the sky light up. While the fireball and National Guard activity seems coincidental, we have been assured by Astronomy Professor Jones Feld of the University of Richmond that what many of us saw last night was indeed a meteor burning up in the atmosphere and that it is unlikely the object ever made landfall.

So, what do you think Richmond? Is the fireball and National Guard activity connected? Do you think residents in Chesterfield actually saw a real UFO, or was it just helicopters involved in the Guard exercises? Tell us what you think on our Facebook Page, there you'll find a special NBC 12 Poll on the subject. And if you saw anything last night, let us know on Twitter.

In other news, investors have been happy with the current increase in the Dow Jones, with it and other markets up more than forty points with news of a tentative peace deal being reached by the UN between China and Tibet..."

CNN World News:

"And news just in... we've just received several reports that President North of the United States had called together her Cabinet and the National Security Council for an emergency meeting earlier this morning. We do not yet know the details as to why the President called this meeting, but some of our sources within the White House are hinting at an imminent terror plot. We will be following this story and many of the other lead stories throughout this morning's newscast..."

ABC:

"And now to Washington D.C.. Reports are just coming in of heavily increased police presence in downtown Washington…. whether this is related or not to the emergency meeting of the National Security Council the President called earlier this morning is yet to be determined..."

CBS:

"We can confirm now that the National Guard has been deployed into downtown Washington D.C. Police and Guardsmen are evacuating downtown businesses and government offices. Reports also indicate increased security presence in cities across the nation. We cannot confirm at this time, but sources close to the situation in the nation's capital are telling us there is an evolving terror plot against the United States and that increased security across the nation is in response to this imminent threat."

Fox News:

"Breaking news. We have just been informed by the FAA that all flights into Reagan International Airport, Washington D.C. have been diverted. All flights out of Reagan International have also been cancelled. We do not know, at this time, if this is related to the terrorism reports coming out of the capital. Stay tuned for further details..."

CNBC:

"What started out as an excellent day for investors has suddenly turned sour as the market reacts to reports of a terror plot in the Nation's Capital. The Dow has lost the earlier gains it made this morning. The NASDAQ has lost over 20 points while the S&P is down over 35. So, Emily, what do you make of this recent turn of events and what do you think it means for investors later on today?"

NBC:

"In the newest of a string of breaking news developments this morning, we have just received word that the crew of the International Space Station was forced to make an emergency escape from the station earlier this morning due to reported chlorine leaks. We've been told the crew has successfully splashed down in the Southern Pacific and are being retrieved as we speak by combined efforts of both the Australian and American Navy."

MSNBC:

"We have just received an official statement from the D.C. Metropolitan Police and National Guard on the ongoing situation in the Nation's Capital. They are asking all residents of Washington D.C. and the greater metropolitan district to stay in place, do not commute into work or venture into the Nation's Capital. If you are at work in downtown Washington D.C., you are being advised to head home immediately. All major thoroughfares into D.C. are being converted to outbound traffic only. This includes Interstate's 295, 395, 695 and 66. For the safety of everyone in the D.C. area, please remain calm. Listen to local authorities and broadcasts as the situation progresses."

CBS:

"We can now confirm at this time that Washington D.C. and the greater metropolitan area are under full mandatory evacuation. The US Army has been called in to help with the evacuation. We do not know yet why, but it is believed there is an active terror plot in the Nation's Capital. After this short break, we will be back with more live coverage from Washington."

CNN:

"For more on the crisis in D.C., we've brought in our counterterrorism expert Mitch Lawrence, the former Director of the CIA and longtime contributor to CNN. Mitch, what kind of a terrorist attack could we be looking at to elicit calling in the US Army to help with such a large evacuation order?"

"Well Andrew, there are several possible types of attacks that could warrant such a massive response by the US, none of which I'm afraid are good. Due to the sudden nature of the evacuation, and the fact that the entire D.C. area is under mandatory evacuation, I would say we're looking at a terrorist plot involving some sort of weapon of mass destruction. For such large scale evacuation, Biological or Chemical weapons could be involved. Either of these would affect large areas of the city, and could kill thousands. There is of course the very real possibility that a terrorist organization managed to smuggle a small-scale nuclear device into the nation's capital, from a dirty bomb that would irradiate large sections of the city, to an actual nuclear bomb, which of course could destroy much of the city."

"So you believe that a terror attack on the nation's capital is imminent?"

"Well, the possibility certainly exists. But some things just don't add up Andrew. When I was with the CIA, we would almost always have advanced notice of any terror plot. It was seldom the terrorist would catch us off guard, and often when they did, they were more likely to be lone wolf terrorist. This situation however is vastly different. If this situation were terrorist related, I would find it hard to believe the US Government did not have some sort of advanced notification."

"So you don't believe this is terrorist related?"

"I don't know Andrew. I can't help but feel that this all doesn't add up. There's something we're missing here, something perhaps larger than what we've imagined so far."

BBC:

"And there's late breaking news this evening out of the United States. A major terrorist plot has the American Government evacuating their capital Washington D.C.. What you are seeing are live shots as police and soldiers escort civilians out of the city. It appears the evacuations are quite extensive, all metro rail lines and busses are being used in the evacuation.

And we have just got word that the British Prime Minister is in an emergency session with Parliament, presumably over what is happening across the Atlantic."

NBC Universal Regular Programming (Sister Stations) 3:00 pm:

'Like sand through an hour glass so are the days of our liv... Beeeeeep... 5...4...3...2...1...'

"Hello, I am NBC correspondent Timothy Riles reporting from our New York City headquarters. We interrupt our regular scheduled programming to breaking news coming out of Washington D.C.. Just a few minutes ago at 2:53 Eastern Standard Time the United States military ordered a mandatory evacuation of the entire D.C. metropolitan area. For our viewers in D.C who are watching this, we have been asked to advise you to wait for army transports for evacuation. I repeat, the Military does not want citizens evacuating by themselves. Depending on where you live, you may be asked to go to the nearest Washington Metro Station for evacuation. Residents who are not directly in the city but in the greater D.C. Maryland and Virginia areas are advised to take shelter in their basements or find a place low to the ground and remain until authorities arrive.

For the rest of our viewers, I have just been informed that the FAA has taken the unprecedented step of grounding all commercial and passenger flights across the country. All Domestic and International flights have been grounded and cancelled.

We have received no statement from the government yet as to the reason for these urgent evacuations. We suspect it may have something to do with the emergency meeting the President held earlier this morning with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and UN. For more we are joined now by our Capitol Hill correspondent Kelly Wolf. Kelly, could you describe to the folks at home what exactly is happening down there?"

"Yes, thank you Timothy. As you can see we are actually reporting from the south lawn of the White House near the Rose Garden. We were moved here from the Capitol Building by the army. First though, we just received word that the President will in fact be making an emergency address to the nation shortly. We will bring that to you as soon as we can."

"That's good to know Kelly, but how serious would you say this situation is?"

"Well Tim, it was on our way here that we saw how massive of an evacuation this actually is. We passed hundreds of buses and army transports being loaded with people; some were leaving the city already. We saw patrols of soldiers and Washington Police going through the streets checking each house and apartment for people who aren't obeying the evacuation order..."

"Is it just the army Kelly, or are there other branches helping with the evacuation as well?"

"Actually we've seen both the National Guard and the regular Army helping with evacuations. As I mentioned the local police are helping as well. What's interesting Tim is before we left the Capitol Building when the evacuation order first came through, several Chinook Helicopters landed just outside. Out of them appeared several dozen soldiers, but what was strange was they were wearing black armor, I've never seen anything quite like it. Whoever they were, they weren't regular army. The last we saw of them, they were rushing into the Capitol Building presumably to evacuate congress."

"Have you seen or has there been any indications that the army is sending in weapons?"

"Actually one of our crew members reported seeing military tanks driving down 15th Street as we were turning into the White House from Pennsylvania Ave. So it looks like they are. All of the soldiers were carrying assault rifles. Also, it's worth mentioning that the Washington Monument grounds and the Ellipse have both become evacuation zones. Since we arrived here, we've been watching a constant stream of Chinook Helicopters come and go evacu... "

"Kelly, what was that?"

"Sorry Tim, that was two Air Force Interceptors making another fly-by. The Jets have been making fly-by's every few minutes since the evacuations started."

"Kelly, have you received any word from the Army or the White House as to the reason for the evacuation? Or do you think that will be covered in the President's address?"

"No Tim, there hasn't been. But as you can see whatever the threat is, it is quite serious. When I asked the soldiers they stated there it was an imminent threat and that we were being taken to the White House for our own safety."

"Hmm, well we just received confirmation here that the President will be making her address to the nation at 3:10 EST. Did you notice by chance what was..."

"Just a sec, Tim... Ralph, pan the camera south. Tim... Where the Jets just disappeared... there appears to be something coming out of the clouds to the south..."

"Kelly? Were those explosions that..."

"Oh my God!..."

CNN:

"Breaking News! We are going live to our D.C cameras. What you are seeing is... my God it's simply impossible! There... there appears to be ships, massive - massive ships descending through the air towards the nation's capital!

Did you see those jets? I hope those pilots ejected...

As you can see... The... the ships, spacecraft have just landed next to the Washington Monument... They... they're massive!

John, did you see that! Those ships just destroyed an entire city block! I hope no one was inside those buildings...

I sure did! The Military's missiles seem to be having little effect on the ships, they appear to have some sort of shielding preventing the explosions from impacting….

And we just lost the feed..."

CNBC:

"All financial markets have shut down, with after hour trading showing a massive sell off of the US dollar as news of the invasion spreads across world markets."

Fox News:

"There you have it folks... my God... our nation's capital is under attack by... I can't believe I'm going to say this... aliens. Their intentions, whatever they are, are not friendly, I can tell you that... as what we've managed to see from the capital so far has been nothing but images of utter and complete devastation"

CBS:

"At this hour, this is what we do know.

At 3 o'clock this afternoon, an unknown alien force descended on the Nation's Capital. The United States Army had been evacuating the Capital from what we thought, at the time, was an imminent terror attack. It's clear now that what the government knew was coming was far, far worse.

The United States government has declared emergency powers and has locked down all major cities across the country. The US Military is currently fighting the invading forces with limited success from what we've managed to see so far. Missiles do not affect the large ships that have landed outside the White House near the Washington Monument. Air Force fighter jets are being picked off at a frightening pace.

However, the picture of what is actually going on, both in and around the capital has been severely dampened. All news feeds and communications in and out of the area are being blocked, so it's hard to tell what is actually going on. We do not know who is causing the communications blackout, whether it's the US Military, or the alien invaders. However, we do know that Congress and the President are safe according to reports from our Washington D.C. affiliates.

Also, there are a total of 9 massive ships that have been spotted along the Eastern Seaboard. Of the 9, 6 ships are smaller and look like large tan H's. These smaller ships are the ones that have landed in the Capital. It is believed they are some sort of transport ship for an invading army, though we don't actually know what that army looks like due to the information blackout. We have also received reports that some of these transport ships have landed near Quantico, Virginia, the Marine Corps Base just south of Washington D.C.. We do not know what the condition of the Marine Base is at this time, or whether it is also being attacked.

The last 3 larger ships have been reported to be hovering above rural Virginia, around 20 miles west of Washington D.C.. One source reports that they must be at least a mile long... We cannot confirm this at this time, but will hopefully have coverage from an affiliate in the area soon.

It is also known that all flights to and from the United States have been diverted and cancelled, and that all international flights in-flight across the world are being forced to land at the nearest possible locations. The UN has issued to all airlines a world-wide grounding order for all flights.

The UN itself is currently in an emergency meeting in New York. World leaders from across the globe are meeting either in person or via telecommunication to discuss the current invasion.

Many countries across the world have declared martial law in order to head off any panic and unrest, but this does not seem to be working. As of only a few minutes ago, we've received reports of mass rioting and looting in over 80 countries, and over 140 of the world's largest cities.

We do not know who these alien invaders are... but we ask that everyone remains calm in this time of crisis.

NBC:

"And we've just received word that the President of the United States, Lisa M. North, has been critically wounded in an attack on the White House by the Alien invaders. We have been told she is in critical condition and has been transported to an undisclosed military hospital for treatment. We are also being told that Vice President James R. Elliott has taken over as acting President and Commander and Chief of the United States until such a time that President North has recovered enough to take over again.

We are also being told that our acting President, President Elliot will be giving an emergency speech to the nation.

We now go live to the President of the United States, James R. Elliott as he gives his emergency address to the nation on the Invasion of D.C..

"My fellow Americans and citizens of the world, it brings me no pleasure to come before you today as the President of the United States. I would first like to assure those at home that the President, Lisa M. North is alive, but is not..."

Entertainment Weekly:

"Oh My God! Aliens! Aliens are invading Earth! We have the latest scoop on who they are, what they are, if their friendly... or if you can expect us to be friends with them soon... all only on Entertainment Weekly!"

BBC:

"As you can see, the pictures of destruction speak for themselves... We can now see exactly what the alien invaders look like, metal droids of some sort, killing without mercy or care... Marching through the streets of a once proud Capital city..."

ABC:

"We have several eyewitness on the phone from D.C."

"Tell us Mrs. Hudson, what are you seeing?"

"Oh it's just awful! The robots are so scary, and they're everywhere! I've thought they'd come bursting through my door like they have to our... to our... Oh my..."

"Mrs. Hudson, what happened to your neighbors?"

"They're all dead! They killed them all, every single one of them! The children, oh the poor dears."

CNN:

"As we continue our coverage of the Invasion of D.C., we've been informed that over 100 nations have sent or are sending military support to help defend the United States. The real question to be asked is where is the rest of our Military? The response to the invasion so far has been what some experts are calling, abysmal. One expert went as far as saying that the US is holding back its forces, but for what purpose remains to be seen..."

MSNBC:

"And now we're getting reports of mysterious White Armored soldiers fighting alongside the US military in the streets of Washington... There... what you're seeing now are pictures of the soldiers in action. As you can see, their weaponry is far more advanced than our own... You can see what appear to be laser or plasma bolts..."

HNN:

"And in other news, we've just received reports from the GAR that it has lost two of its Star Destroyers, the Resolute and the Negotiator in the far outer rim. The Star Destroyers are the flagships of the two renowned Jedi Generals Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi. The generals are presumed missing with the ships, along with several battalions of the 501st Legion, 212th Attack Battalion and the 442nd Siege Battalion, the latter of which had been rescued after abandoning their own severely damaged Star Destroyer.

The Separatist Alliance has not claimed responsibility for the missing destroyers, and while Chancellor Palpatine is aware of the situation, when we asked him if he would try to send out a rescue fleet, he responded with saying that the Republic could not afford at the moment to lose or risk any more resources to find the missing destroyers. He continued by saying that, while tragic if the two destroyers are indeed lost, the Republic will continue to fight the CIS with every bit of determination as it has done in the past month..."

"But the question remains, where are they lost?"

A/N: Well…. I'm still here. : )

Sorry it took so long to update... Not my intention but life seldom lets me do what I want to when it comes to the story...

And yes, this is an interlude of sorts... after this chapter and a few more small updates that will tie up some loose plot ends, some major events will occur that will define the plot for the rest of the story... I'm excited to be getting near to writing out those events... but I'm not there yet.

Anyways, I'd like to thank MS CT-782 for her amazing Beta work on this chapter, and all the other's she's worked on, I'm very appreciative.

Hope you all enjoyed this long overdue update, stay tuned for more in the coming weeks, or months... depending on how much time I get to write. (Blame college : )

As always, please leave a review, thanks,

-Sly