The towering alien craft loomed over them from where it rested in a long scarred trench. The alpha team had wasted little time in securing the perimeter and so far nothing had escaped. Despite the great impact, the hull looked mostly intact and not wanting to take any chances the Site 51 response unit had deployed large spiked pylons that looked noticeably alien in design and marking. They were positioned in a loose circle and close by to them were heavy machine gun placements that would disintegrate anything that left the ship. To oversee the escalating situation on the ground, the Secretary of the Navy, James Forrestal arrived not long after everything was in place. He had made it absolutely clear that no one was permitted to enter the craft until he gave the order. Word had also reached him that a survivor of the alien ship had been recovered from the other downed transport vessel. But one friendly alien didn’t mean they all would be.
“We should use the A-bomb on this wreck. One less mess that way.”
The senior advisor that had joined him for this trip looked a little shaken by that statement. “And risk an incursion? It would create a whole other kind of mess, one we are not yet equipped for.”
“We know the Imp’s Deterrent overran Lazarus. It’s not out of the question that this ship may have fallen to a similar fate. We need to have all options on the table, and the last thing we need right now is a Deterrent outbreak on American soil. I considered us lucky to avoid the worst of it when things went awry in the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Asia itself…”
At that point, someone came on over the radio. “Sir, before we proceed. There’s someone that wants to help. I wanted them to rest and relocate but they were insistent.”
It didn’t take long for Forrestal to understand who Doctor Kate Underwood was referring to. He left the tent as a short distance away from base camp, a helicopter could be heard making land. He watched as the grey man wearing an American uniform approached him. The sight alone made James nervous but he remained impassive even if the alien stood taller than him and despite looking a little human, it had a noticeable curve in its ear shape. Even the pupils in his eyes were shaped like diamonds. The Secretary and his advisor met them halfway.
“I assume the Doctor made progress on your ability to communicate with us. I am James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy for the United States of America. Any questions you may have about this operation go through me or my advisor here,” James said holding out a hand.
The alien ignored the gesture and looked past him towards the wreckage. “If you possess a means to, destroy it. If you don’t, I know my way around the ship. I can destroy it from within.”
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“I have entertained the possibility,” James said returning his hand to his side. “But the ship also possesses rare technology. As much as I would like to do this the easy way, it’s too much for us to lose.”
“Then going inside is our only option,” The alien said. “Has anything come out?”
Forrestal shook his head. “Nothing yet. We have strike teams in place ready to enter at a moment’s notice.”
“If anything survived the crash. They’ll wait and then swarm you. Your people are not equipped for this”
“And you are?”
“I know every part of that ship, and the Welcome Wagon will be all the support I need. Any more is just feeding the Prim-Morte more meat.”
“I assure you, Xeno, this is not our first time dealing with Mortans. If you insist on going in with the Wagon, I can’t object since the contents of that ship will likely help us prepare for the inevitable arrival of any allies you may have.”
The alien looked surprised at how easily convinced James was. “Well, I know a few ways inside, the outside of the ship has hatches used by maintenance personnel to carry out outside work. Get me to one of those hatches and I can get the Wagon inside. I’ll get you all the data you could want but I must be allowed to destroy her afterwards.”
“Sounds like a deal.”
“I’m glad you two are getting along,” Captain Miller stated as the Welcome Wagon fell in behind him. “So am I right in saying, we get the data and blow the ship to high heaven, how does that sound, sir?”
“Are you confident in your team’s abilities Captain?”
“This is what the Welcome Wagon has been preparing for, ever since we were assigned to Site 51. If we fail, you can go to Plan B. We all know the bomb is ready for deployment. Especially since its power has already been demonstrated in Tokyo.”
The Secretary of Navy grimaced but looked over to the ruined vessel. “A dirty bomb is what that was. And nothing to do with us.”
“Sure,” said Miller.
“Since you’re confident, I’ll let you take the lead on this. But know this, you will be up against a force that decimated Lazarus. They won’t go easy on you… That’s if any of them are still alive of course. We can only hope the impact killed most of them. ”
“Appreciate the vote of confidence sir, we’ll prepare for insertion, and our new friend here can tell us where to find one of these hatches.”
“Then you best not hang around, you’re dismissed, Captain.”
The Welcome Wagon departed to one of the nearby tents, hesitant to follow, James patted the alien on the back. “You know that uniform suits you. Maybe it’s a sign of the future. I promise you, we don’t all bite. Besides, we need to leave a good impression, especially if more of you show up.”
“I think that’s more on me, and sorry I forgot to give you my name, it’s Vadir,” the alien said holding out his hand.
James chuckled at that and accepted the handshake. “Go, Captain Miller doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”
James and his advisor watched the alien stride away and they looked at each other. “Do you think we can trust this one?”
“I wish I had the answer to that, sir.”