“If I tell you where it is you must let us go... you have to stop the attacks and needless killings.” Said the man, with hesitation in his tone, as he lowered his hand and placed it on his knee.
“What is your name, Issonian? I do admire someone with a little resolve.” Said Ettimis, as he leaned forward.
“Pr, Pr, Prat.” Said the man. The fear evident in his voice.
“Well Prat of Issa, I do promise to let all of you go back to your planet and we will leave. That is, if you tell me what I need to know before I lose my patience.” Said Ettimis, his voice rising in anger as he continued to speak.
Prat raised his hand to the hologram again, pointing to an area several miles north east of the town deep in the rugged terrain of the mountains. The hologram continued to zoom as Prat held his outstretched finger. The image quickly exposing an opening in the ground surrounded by several military vehicles and personnel.
“Good, you did good Prat. Now as promised, let them go.” Said Ettimis as he began to walk away.
Oret quickly followed Ettimis, with the sounds of the men screaming echoing from behind. Amongst the screams and shouts, the sounds of the mechanism of the door could be heard, followed by a gust of air. Then silence, with neither Oret nor Ettimis looking back.
“President...” Said Oret, followed by a pause.
“Well, what is it Oret.” Said Ettimis, as he stopped and looked directly at Oret.
“President, the region that Prat... That the man from Issa, pointed out. Well, the union ship is believed to have possibly survived re-entry and may have crashed in those mountains.”
“The Union ship survived Re-entry? You believe, Oret... and is in the one area we now know may hold aillinium? And you are telling me this now?” Said Ettimis. The irritation in his voice overwhelmingly evident.
“Yes President. I was in the process of redirecting some troops from the area to check for the ship and possible survivors... when you ordered me to retrieve those men.” Continued Oret.
“Fix your mistake Vice President. Find that ship and destroy it. Ensure any evidence of survivors is destroyed. And get me my aillinium or it will be you drifting into space next. Oret,” said Ettimis as he turned and walked away.
“Redirect nearby troops to the following locations, I will be accompanying this vessel to the surface. This our top priority. We must secure this storage site, and search and destroy the union ship.” Said Oret, sitting in the centre chair on the bridge of a large ship preparing to head to the surface.
The location Prat point appeared as a large holographic image in the centre of the room, as Oret placed the sphere into the console in front of him. Throughout the bridge of the ship, communication staff began to work the mechanisms at their stations, activating their radios and relaying the orders.
IX
The door at the top of the stairs shattered into thousands of pieces, sending fragments of wood down the stairway. The pressure from the blast rushed by Jacob, carrying fragments of wood and debris as it threw him off balance and knocked him to the hard floor. Sounds of shouting and gun fire filled the room as Jacob stumbled forward in the dark, towards the flipped over table. Guided by the flashes of rifles, he sat down beside Darren, who leaned over the top of the table while periodically firing towards the top of the stairs. After several seconds of chaotic exchange of gunfire, the room became deafening silence; Until pierced by the clanking sound of metal bouncing down the wooden stairwell, periodically striking the hard stone wall. A blinding flash and ear shattering bang exploded through basement, quickly filling the small room with dense smoke.
With nowhere to go, sounds of coughing and gaging could be heard all around as Jacob struggled for air in the thick noxious cloud. Covering his mouth with hit sweater, Jacob looked over the table towards the staircase, as he heard Orm call out an incomprehensible roar between coughs, as he blindly fired his weapons up the stairwell. Feeling the rush of someone move by him, Jacob stared through the darkness trying to identify the faint silhouettes that danced in the dense smoke, vaguely illuminated by the flashes of weapons. Seeing Orm and Dawn moving up the stairs, Darren quickly followed to the floor above to help push back the invaders advances. Leaving Jacob and the others alone in basement. Seconds passed by as minutes with the smoke quickly dissipating, as Jacob waited in the darkness hearing only the sounds of foots steps and shooting from above. With his thoughts moving to Tom and Maggie, Jacob turned and peered through the thick black void hearing nothing but the commotion upstairs and the sound of his own breathing. Overcome by a sudden feeling of uneasiness, he began to back up slowly and make is way towards the stairs.
Dawn suddenly appeared in the doorway at the top of the stairs with a flashlight she had taken form an invader. Startled, Jacob looked straight up at the beam of light as he froze. Unsure if it was a soldier or one of the
