I nearly crapped my pants when I got the ping for the meeting.

At the time, I was deep in the basement of Tech Flex Tower, talking to Dr. Daves, Alice, as she preferred to be called.

Despite being a meeting request, it was not a request but a command. It was a meeting with Noah Elias-Willingham III, the CEO, owner, boss and general dictator of Flex Tech. I had been summoned to his office for 1 PM.

It was that scary to be summoned to see Noah. Meeting royalty would be less stressful and possibly easier. It meant that I had to rush and finish here quickly. One was always on time for a meeting with Noah, and on time really meant early. He could keep you waiting, never the other way around, if you valued your job, your sanity and humanity. His temper and disregard for other people were legendary.

The rumours and some of the truth I knew about Noah were just that scary.

I quickly finished talking to Alice, who was about to publish her latest paper on micro-scale particle accelerators — the culmination of billions of dollars of R&D from Flex Tech. Although she was the Lead on AI integration, she was the Head of R&D, and her name was top of the list of authors. Professor Gordon Brewer was the head of the actual project, but he was even nerdier than Alice and difficult to talk to. I felt torn, Alice was so excited and rambling, but the report needed her to be concise and focused. She had been all over the place since her lab assistant Kristy had left, and I needed to be gone so I could get ready for my meeting.

Somedays, I really hated the job.

My job was broad-ranging, from fact-checking and legal checking to making sure that any publications, external communications, or media views would positively impact the Flex Tech share price while not breaching the devil's version of our NDAs and social media policy. This research was cutting-edge for the rest of the world. In the R&D department, this was old news and a joke for the company – the paper was over three years old. It was just the first time Noah had let this R&D public, and we were publishing to keep people off our backs and keep Alice and Gordon placated. The research had to get out before any competitors sniffed out what had been uncovered, even though it was outdated, wrong and had been surpassed.

Alice didn't care about the share price or corporate competitiveness. All she wanted was for the science to be published and for some peer acknowledgement. I had almost cried at the butcher's job done to the research by the marketing and legal people, so I had actually to talk to the science nerds in question. The publication was a concession to Alice for her work, to keep her happy and to buy her silence or continued compliance. Even though it technically breached her NDA, she had permission from Noah himself to publish it. Lucky for me, I got caught between the legal team, the marketing team, the R&D department and the egotistical arsehole dictator of a boss.

I was not a science geek, but I was smart enough to know enough to cover the legal, marketing and science babble. The technology itself was impressive, and the things that were achieved since would make waves in most areas of society in the next couple of years. Alice's team had stabilised an accelerator that could spin a single atom around in a magnetic field the size of a dollar coin. They had taken the twenty-seven-kilometer Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland and reduced it to fit in a compact, although heavily shielded, office space. Like all accelerators, the more energy provided, the faster the particle went. That was what the paper covered. We have had three years of research since then.

Alice's research team had written the paper as a proof of concept and the math behind the research. From it, with some luck and a lot of money, someone could possibly produce highly unstable prototypes that would only last moments before losing coherence. The research secret seemed simple: more power and stronger magnetic fields, but the reality was scale. Even the Flex Tech laboratory was enormous for such a small experiment, and the power required was just as excessive. It was a reasonably predictable experiment until the energy reached the high gigawatt range. That's when the magic happened. It was also when power became an issue for nation-states or top ten multinationals. It was a staggering budget.

I remembered the first time she saw a stable wormhole. It was Stargate without the gate. It looked like a perfectly formed rip in reality. It was peeling or poking a hole through space and time. Maybe even brute force Hulk Smashing through something. Due to the power required, only five wormholes had been opened since the first. Each needed the Flex Tech board to sign off on the expenditure and some special backroom deal with our national power supplier. Rumour was that the experiment could sink the entire Queensland electricity supply.

I was lucky. I had witnessed all but the last two. Each time, they were just as beautiful, a quicksilver shimmer and light sky blue.

Sometimes, I really loved the job.

I was also fortunate to be able to see them live as I had no metal teeth fillings or surgical implants. Some research doctors, including Alice, were not so lucky and could only observe the video feeds due to old metal fillings or hip, shoulder, or knee replacements. Not only did the wormhole produce immense gravitational waves, but the unpredictable magnetic fluctuations would affect anything remotely magnetic or metallic within the five-meter shielded exclusion zone. Despite the costs, they had been a resounding success and were the sole focus of the R&D team now. Alice was both happy and sad because it took away from her AI project but also gained her a feather in her cap that most research scientists could only dream about.

I sighed, and was glad when Alice finally lost steam, I quickly finished and returned to my office. I had over an hour before the meeting but still needed to prepare. You didn't just go to a meeting with Noah; you went in prepped like it was a final exam or an execution. The meeting request was vague, but I had expected a meeting for him to sign off on the last publication I was putting together.

To meet him, you had to be on your best game ever. You also had to be early, just in case. With everything I thought was needed regarding the upcoming publication, the legal team signoff, and Noah's signoff – yes, I thought that it needed that, as he could be a little unpredictable prick at times and may need reminding that he had indeed signed off on this. For a brilliant tech billionaire, Noah could be a pretty obtuse and ignorant asshat.

I also had the press release ready for him to read, modify and approve, with the speech, which he would need to practice when this paper publication bombshell dropped. It was exciting, and it was going to be big. It was big enough that most employees had already taken their stock options and were excited for the next round of funding that would come. I did not really care about that, but some more cash was always handy.

At 12:40, I was outside the office.

From the outside, it looked like a pretty standard for the office of someone trying to put you in your place. The large wood and polished brass reception desk where his latest bimbo PA usually sat. A brass, chrome, polished wood coffee station and bar demarked the waiting area with a large coffee table and several plush leather chairs. The room had tasteful art and expensive coffee table books that I am sure were never read.

I waited impatiently near the bimbo desk, as it was called in the non-managers staffroom. I waited in the cool, darkened room.

It was unusual that his PA was away from her desk; his latest hire was a bit more efficient than his previous bimbos. She was, as usual for Noah’s PA, supermodel material. She was a tourist attraction amongst the male staff members and the objectification was not discouraged by Noah or her. It was a common rumour about Noah and his bimbo’s activities. Just another one of the things that I detested about the man.

Since the desk was empty and the door to the office was slightly ajar, I slowly approached.

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With a blush, as I heard noises that confirmed those rumours, I quickly returned to the waiting room to make a strong coffee, debating if it needed extra zing from the bar. Out of spite, I read the expensive coffee table book about super yachts. Noah’s yacht was featured.

I really hated the man.

I sat as far away from the door as possible, ignoring the noise. At 1:20 and after another coffee, the bimbo came out of the office. She was immaculately dressed and looked stunning in her office casual attire. Her gold-digging had obviously paid for her dresses, as it was an expensive design that I recognised from the little celebrity TV I watched.

I sighed.

I would never be brave enough to wear an article of clothing that cost more than my entire wardrobe. Once the bimbo was seated and ready, she called, "Amy, Noah will see you now." Despite her professional tone and ignoring that we both knew what she was doing, her attitude made me angry.

I had met his wife, and for some reason, Noah's wife seemed relatively normal and sane. She didn't deserve what this bitch was doing or the prick she married. It just ramped up my dislike for her boss.

Fuck them both.

Quashing the need to go pee, blaming the coffee, not the inherent nerves, I downed the last of my coffee, smoothed out my clothes and went inside the lair of the demon king of Flex Tech. I meekly stormed in.

"Ams," he started.

Fuck I hated him. I smiled.

I was not fond of the pet name he used, it was a power thing that he knew it pushed buttons. He pushed all the way if he saw weakness, taking any advantage he could.

He got right into it, "Since you know about Project Noah's Ark and I have an open spot, you’re on it. I had to let Jules and Ash go. They are out, and you are on board. Sign this or hand in your resignation." He passed a bundle of papers across to her.

Wow. Left field, and so not what I was expecting. I knew next to nothing about the project other than the stupid name Noah's Ark. It was a super-secret project that only a few selected were in on, yet everyone knew about it. Noah loyalists and bootlickers were in. The plebs and commoners were out.

I had only directly heard about it a couple of weeks ago when I overheard Ashley and Juliette talking about it. I knew the name and the deadline for completion, roughly two months from now. Everything seemed aimed at this timeline without being linked to the secret, not a secret project. The actual details were a super well-kept secret. Like, don't even ask about it secret. Career-ending secret, as obviously Juliette and Ashley had shown.

"Sure. I'll read it and get to HR today."

"No. Sign now. HR don't get to see this." His predator grin made me pause.

I looked at the document he had given me. It was large. It made my existing thick NDA look like a two-page pamphlet.

Noah was tapping his foot, which is never a good sign. I skimmed the document and had to initial it in twenty-three places and sign the last two pages. I could sum it up in one sentence: I could not talk to anyone about this without explicit instructions from Noah. It was dumping extra duties on me on top of my existing ones.

After I signed it, he smiled, "Our lawyer will brief you, and then you will get a file this afternoon. Once you are onboard, you will have to attend all the relevant meetings. I trust you, Ams. You bring some skills to the party that we need."

"Thank you, sir. I'll read the files."

"Good, good."

It was his dismissal.

I fled.

What the hell was I getting myself into?

I got nothing done after that, just staring vacantly at my computer monitor in my office, stunned. One of the corporate runners delivered the Noah's Ark documents after a quick legal debrief that could be summed up as keep your mouth shut or else. The file I received included a one-use thumb drive with biometric authentication. This was over the top, even for Flex Tech.

I had a horrible feeling about this.

I called Allen in IT. "Hey, Allen, Amy here."

"Amy, long time. What trouble now? Need another laptop? Or are we getting that beer like we keep saying we should?"

"No, nothing like that, just some personal stuff. Can you recommend some security consultants, people who are like, is it grey hats?"

"Hackers? What's going on, Amy? Anything I can do to help?"

"Just home security and stuff, away from work. Don't want to mix them up. You know, setting up a network and wanting some cameras. After all the bank and insurance hacks and all those car thefts, you know, I want some security."

I knew Allen was not a fan of Noah, but he was one of our best IT people in that he could relate to people well for an IT guy. There were better IT people, but boy, were they weird.

"One second." There was a click and some static, "I hear you. I know someone. They ain't cheap. Ah, sure. I'll send your details to a friend, Venus. She should get in contact. Her team are not total people people, so I can't pass on her deets, but she will be in contact."

Did he say deets? Who says that?

"God damn Allen you are lame, no one says deets, but thanks. You're the best. We should catch up for that raincheck beer sometime."

"Can't do it soon. We are all working overtime now. Someone ordered up big, and it's a rushed job from the top. In a few weeks, sure.

"Sounds good. Thanks."

If I was getting in deep, I wanted some options. I did not trust Noah, and my paranoia sense was kicking in. I had not felt it this strongly since Dad passed away, and his bastard lawyer partners covered their asses and made him the scapegoat. I sighed and opened the thumb drive on my laptop.

Later, stunned, I sat staring at the screen.

Fuck. I was fucked. The world was fucked.

I had signed a deal with the devil, and we were betraying the human race.

This was so much worse than I had imagined.

They had killed Kirsty. We all knew she had quit or been let go, and no one had been able to contact her since. Now I knew why.

Ash and Juliette!

Had they been killed? Some things started to make sense.

The files and videos on the thumb drive were insane.

I had missed it by fortune, being in the right place at the wrong time. It was the last two wormhole openings.

We made first contact after opening the fourth wormhole just over five months ago. The first one I had missed seeing. 

Instead of passing it up to the appropriate government or international channels, Noah saw profit and led the negotiations. The most egotistical, spoilt man-child in history made a deal with an alien race and tried to screw them over.

I watched the videos and read the reports dozens of times. It didn't get better.

Two-way communication was established through the wormhole, then there was some technology sharing – they gave us the technology to build a proper stable portal. Then we met.

The aliens.

Real live aliens. None of this fake Area 51 shit, these were the real deal.

The video was recorded in high definition and from multiple angles. I watched as a being appeared through a man-sized portal.

Humanoid, at least. Tall, masculine. A faint scale pattern over its skin. No hair and eyes that were either cat or serpentine. Shockingly, it spoke perfect English with a clipped British accent.

There was not a lot of video of the alien other than when it entered, exited the portal, and went into the briefing room. I reread the reports.

Luckily for us, the energy required to establish the portal was immense, and the creature, or the Karassian, could not stay in our environment for long due to our lower energy levels here on Earth. Noah didn't video the meetings, all the reports were handwritten, and all the critical information was redacted.

I did manage to piece together the general idea behind Project Noah's Ark.

The Karass Collective were a race interested in adding Earth to their collective. As he was calling himself, Sarnah, the Karass Ambassador to Earth, was very blunt. Earth would join the collective the easy way or the hard way.

Noah took the easy way. In exchange for building energy transfer stations around the globe, so the Karass had a beachhead into Earth, Noah and 100 others at each station would be given preferential status over the rest of the subjugated people. The Karass would enslave the rest of the population and use them in their ongoing war efforts. The seven human leaders would rule the population as long as they met their quotas.

It was here that Kirsty objected, and she was dead for that. She was killed outright. The video was edited, but what happened was obvious.

That, more than anything else, sealed the deal. Noah was given seven devices to distribute to anchor the portals for the beachhead. He was also given 700 vials of an energy matrix that would enhance his chosen few so that they would stand above the rest of humanity.

Sarnah's timeline left us just under two months before the invasion.

Lucky for me, I was now in Noah's chosen 100. Fuck, all because Ash and Jules had slipped up.

Instead of helping the world, Noah had lined his pockets, and the other six stones had been auctioned off and given to some of the world's worst people. Tech billionaires, Cartel Bosses, Dictators and corrupt politicians. It was sickening. Noah was selling as long as someone was in the right geographic area and had deep pockets.

My new job was coordinating between them and ensuring everything was kept anonymous and secret. Noah and I were the only two people who knew where the seven stones went to, even then I was not sure, I just knew where they went, not who. Noah, he didn't care what happened after he got the money and the stones were couriered away; none of us knew what the stones were for, he just knew that people were paying larges sums for them. All we knew was that they would activate in two months and give us access to the Karass energy matrix, allowing easier access to Earth for the Karassian invasion.

Everyone on the project had an appointment with the company doctor ten days before the invasion. We were to receive an injection of the energy serum ten days before the attack.

Fuck. Fuck.

My next meeting with Noah was in a week.