Invasion

Chapter 2 - Suprise Contact

27th May 2071

"Brian? Brian!"

Who was at my door? It was a familiar voice, very agitated as well.

"Oh, yes?"

"What are you doing?! Have you seen the time? What's taking you so long to get out?!"

It was commander, or Mars Infinity Commander Jonathan Price, if you want to get complicated.

"I was... The alarm... Stopped working... Again"

I used it all the time, he fell for it about twice, then never again. I should come up with something different...

"I've heard that excuse before; many times, get up and get ready! Today is your day"

What the hell was he talking about? What's so special about today? I know recently the Hercules mission was cleaned up, people are still looking for the five bodies, but, didn't they get obliterated by a 'Death Ray'? Was he being sarcastic? Did he want me to search for the bodies? That would be ridiculous.

"Commander? Commander???"

He had left.

Maybe it was something that happened on Earth? The connection from here back to Earth is quite poor, so I don't really know what's happened on Earth the day before. It takes about a day or two to get to the connection tower, then an hour or so for the data to transmit to the hundreds of UHD holovisions in this facility. Despite the poor connection, the Mars Infinity base has some pretty nifty features; Earth-like artificial gravity and time, a large graphene coated glass dome, heat and intensity adjustable air showers, they're the best.

It's 8:21 MST, I really should be getting ready, my teaching shift is at 9! I roll over to the edge of the bed, and sit there staring at myself.

"Today's the day" I mutter.

***

I leave my room, slamming the door. I speed walk down the isles. I take a sharp left, and also slam into commander. He grabs me, pulls me away and gives me a smirk.

"Ah, follow me"

He spins around and walks towards the communication center. I proceed, looking at the staring eyes that align with mine. What's so spectacular about me? I've lost sight of commander. I spot him gazing at a computer talking to Anderson. I rush into the communication center, trying my best not to look half asleep. I slip next to him and watch the computer screen.

"Brian"

"Yes?"

"Listen, this important"

"I'm listening"

"Last night on Earth, a large explosion was observed in eastern Russia, killing millions. Early the next morning, researchers and the evacuation team recounted that the blast radius of the explosion was a colossal 50km, with a 15km crater diameter. Some civilians in Moscow explained they saw a bright light in the sky seconds before the explosion, just like what happened with Mitchell. The researches noticed that the ground was still extremely hot and burning, and could give anyone 3rd degree burns in an instant. We believe that this event could be related to the Hercules mission"

"What does this have to do with me?"

"Brian, your the best spacecraft pilot the world has ever seen. We need you to search for the origin of these attacks, before it's too late"

"You want me to go and find that killing machine?! These no chance I will come back alive"

"Brian; we need the data. I've already assigned you and your future parter Aurora Bright for the mission. You're the best pilots we have. She will arrive tomorrow at 8 MST, you both will be allocated to a room soon after. Find me at the meeting area half an hour earlier. Today you can plan and pack for tomorrow. Good luck"

He leaves the room without even a farewell. I look to Anderson and he just shrugs. What a late notice. It's hard to process all the information; when was she coming again? I exit the center and flop onto the closest chair. What the hell just happened.