The Star Cats stood inside the turbo elevator until it stopped at level 500. The top floor where the command center was located at.

The elevator doors opened, and Tyger was the first one to step into the center. The chamber was square with a big glass window in front. Six long computer panels stood in front of the window where the officers were working at their stations.

The staff wore gray and blue uniforms with Star Alliance insignias on their chests. They tapped their fingers on their panels, and some of them were talking loudly through their com-link headsets. Witnessing the alien vessel made them very busy.

“What is the report?” Patterson asked and stepped toward the center panel.

“Our fleet is intercepting the unknown vessel now,” said the African American officer.

Patterson spotted Tyger and the other Star Cats. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“We saw the vessel appearing outside,” said Tyger. “We wanted to know what is going on.”

Patterson gritted his teeth and looked at the window. The giant alien ship stopped after it completely moved out of the portal. Then the portal vanished behind it.

He couldn’t believe something like that could ever exist in their galaxy. Or did it came from their galaxy?

“We may stay until further notice. My hands are full right now.” Patterson walked up a woman officer. “What readings did you receive from it?”

“It is unlike anything we ever encountered,” said a woman officer. “The vessel is organic and 900 kilometers. There are billions of life signs within it, but they are unknown.”

“How is it organic? It looks like a giant rock.”

“It may appear as a rock,” said Maya. “The substance could be hardened organic materials to give the vessel its form. Kind of interesting.”

“Do you know where it came from?”

“Negative sir,” said the lady officer. “It came out of nowhere.”

Patterson turned to the black officer. “Open a channel to the commanding ship of the fleet.”

The black officer typed on his panel. “The channel is open for you now.”

Patterson approached the com-link. “This Admiral Patterson at Star Base 15. What is your situation?”

“This is Captain Cain of the Pacifist,” said the voice from the com-link. “We are attempting communication with the first contact. So far there is no reply.”

“Stay alert captain. I want to know everything that thing does.” Patterson never thought the Star Alliance would find intelligent life in the Milky Way Galaxy. Each breathable planet they colonized has strange alien life forms, which were hostile to the citizens. But none of them were intelligent beings. They were a bunch of animals, who were cute or dangerous.

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There were also strange alien ruins, scattered across the habitable worlds. Those ruins had proven the galaxy once had intelligent life. Now they were abandoned with no life signs at all. Many scientists theorized the ancient alien colonies left the galaxy, or something destroyed them. As far as the Star Alliance knew, they were alone in the galaxy. But witnessing the strange vessel had changed everything. Will this be the greatest historical moment in human history, or a great downfall to humanity.

“I remember reading about a quote from Stephen Hawking,” said Red. “He said if aliens visit us, the outcome would be the same when Columbus landed in America, which didn’t do well for the Native Americans. I never understand that quote. What did Columbus do to the Native Americans? Did he gave them too much vodka?”

Patterson glared at Red. “Let’s hope that will never happen to us.”

“Sir! Something is coming out of the vessel!” Captain Cain’s voice shouted.

Patterson beamed his eyes at the window.

He couldn’t see them, but it looked like a swarm of black dots were flowing toward the star fleet vessels.

“I don’t know what they are, but there are a lot,” said Captain Cain’s voice. “This must be some kind of response.”

Patterson widened his eyes. “Oh crap! Get out of there! They are-”

Captain Cain screamed as the black dots ripped through his ship. After his vessel exploded, the spots charged into the other vessels, ripping them apart too.

After they destroyed the fleet, the spots headed straight toward the starbase.

“Battle stations!” Patterson shouted. “Full-scale red alert!”

The officers switched the alarm on and yelled through their speakers, ordering the entire station to prepare for battle. Red lights flashed everywhere while everyone panic. Even the siren roared through Patterson’s eyes.

“Is there anything we can do sir?” Tyger asked.

Patterson looked at him. “Just stay with me, until I-”

The station shook as the black spots zoomed past the window. They looked like black needles, moving like speeding rockets.

Were they projectiles or little ships?

“Fire the cannons at them!” Patterson shouted.

Flashes from the energy cannons hit at the projectiles, but most of them spread out to avoid the blasts. There were too many of them, and they were moving too fast.

“Sir, one of those things crashed into the station!” the black officer shouted. “We got intruders on board!”

Patterson looked at a screen from a security camera on level 13. A sharp end of an alien vessel pierced through the wall inside a corridor. It opened as five strange creatures jumped out. They looked like blue ants, standing on two legs while carrying cocoon shaped weapons.

The ant soldiers approached the staff and shot them down. Explosions and fire screamed through the hallway.

“We got a hundred intruders!” the lady officer shouted. “Now there are a thousand!”

So those projectiles were little ships, containing a squad of alien soldiers. If they overrun the starbase, then wouldn’t be anyone left aboard.

“Contact the council!” Patterson shouted. “Let them know that we have-”

His words didn’t finish when one of the needle ships crashed through the glass window. The space vacuum exploded and sucked the ship back into space. All the staff got sucked out too while screaming for their lives.

Tyger grabbed Patterson’s hand while he held onto the panel. Air and debris roared past them until the blast shield closed over the broken window.

Everyone fell to the floor and got up. Patterson and the Star Cats were the only ones left inside the command center.

“We need to get the hell off this station!” Patterson shouted as he approached his panel.

He pulled out a light rifle from beneath his panel and held it up.

“How long did you kept that weapon under there?” Rila asked.

“As long as I needed it,” said Patterson as he loaded his weapon. “Now let’s get the hell out of here.”