Chapter Two: First Contact

Walking the corridors of the Memento Mori Orbital Defense Station, Kody found himself getting turned around a lot looking for the officer’s briefing room. He had been on Defense Stations before, but the Memento Mori was far larger than any other. Even his AI, AMI, was finding it hard to navigate from the wrist device Kody had made for her.
Finally, after about an hour or so. Kody found his destination with the help of a Staff Sergeant. The door to the Briefing Room was secured with a biometric voice lock. Kody walked up and almost instantly, a screen next to the door came online and an electronic voice spoke. [You are approaching a secured area. Please state your name and designation.]
Kody cleared his throat. “Major Kody Leo Davidson, United Space Command Marine Corps, identification code 21178-00918!”
[ACCSESSING PLEASE WAIT.] It took a few moments before the computer spoke again. [Access cleared! Welcome Major Davidson]. Said the computer and the door opened almost at the same time, reviling about thirty high ranking officers inside.
Kody felt a little out of place since every other person there was of a general rank or higher, maybe one or two colonels. Why am I here? he thought to himself, as he walked through the room. Towards the center, Kody noticed his friend, Brandon Carter President of the United States and leader of the United Nations Federation. Next to Brandon stood Fleet Admiral Martin Gains, the head of the United Space Command. Kody made his way over when Brandon looked up before meeting him halfway. “Kody, I’m glad you could make.” Brandon said as he reached out to grab Kody’s hand and then a light hug.
“How could I refuse. You made this seem like something important,” Kody started. “and the fact that Admiral Gains made it an Order.”
“I told him that wouldn’t be necessary,” Brandon sighed.
“He must still be getting use to the fact that you out rank him.”
“You’d heard?”
“That you won the election two months ago. Yes, congratulations.” Replied Kody. “The UNF needs someone like you, Mr. President. As does the United States.”
“Thank you, I’m going to try and do the job justice.”
“You will, I have faith in you.”
“I appreciate it, and might I pass along some congratulations for you as well.”
“Congratulations? What do you mean?” Inquired Kody, looking a little confused.
“Your recent promotion of course,”
“But I haven’t been promoted. I've the same rank for over five years.” Kody stated.
“Oh, um. Forget I said anything than.”
“Too late Mr. President, spill it.”
Brandon sighed and paced a few feet and tapped the Fleet Admiral on the shoulder before whispering something in his ear. Soon after, Brandon returned to where Kody stood with the Admiral in tow close behind. The Admiral was a tall muscular man of his late-sixties with a military-style haircut the color of black with a little gray taking over. He was also quite decorated from the service ribbons on his jacket. He even had one from the Second Energy War twenty years ago. The same war that claimed both Kody’s parents. “Major?! Good to see you,”
“Thank you, sir. I’m honored to be here. Bran- President Carter said that I was to be promoted?”
“Yes, I have a special mission for you that would require a higher rank and security clearance.” said Gains.
“I’ll gladly accept, and perform any task you may have for me.”
“Good, glad to hear, Major.” Gains paused as an aid whispered in his ear. “Your promotion will begin right after another matter.”
“Yes sir!”
Admiral Gains walked over to the Holo-table and cleared his throat. “Attention, gather around!” he began. “Earlier this week a distress signal was detected on Aurora,”
“Sir, isn’t that Russian territory?” inquired an officer.
“Yes, President Sokolov requested that we go check it out as there are no Russian vessels in range at the moment.” Replied Brandon. “Upon request, Vice Admiral Gregory Armstrong was immediately dispatched with the second fleet, he should be there soon.” Said Gains.
“What did the signal state? Is it an attack?” said another officer.
“We believe it to be an attack, however, there was also some unknown glyphs that came with it.” Gain stated as he pulled the images up on the three dimensional screen.
Seeing the images, Kody’s eyes peaked up. “Excuse me Admiral? Can I have a copy of that message?” he asked.
“What is your reason, Major?”
“Those symbols look similar to those found on Mars for which my AI has mostly translated.”
“I like your initiative, Major. You’re A.I. has access for the duration of the meeting, transmission sent to your wrist communicator.”
“Thank you, Sir.” Kody replied before looking down at his communicator. “Alright AMI, you got access but a limited period.” He said in a lower voice.
“Already at work. Give me about five to ten minutes.” AMI said.
The Admiral continued on talking about the exact nature of the mission and what might have caused Aurora to go dark. It wasn’t long before Rear Admiral Gregory Armstrong rang in on the communication screen behind Fleet Admiral Gains and President Carter. Gains was the first to greet him. “Ah, Admiral. Status report! Has your fleet arrived at Aurora?”
“Not yet, Fleet Admiral. We just dropped out of hyperspace and are holding just outside of sensor range of the planet.”
“What does your own sensors read?”
“About thirty ships in orbit, not sure who yet. They’re not broadcasting any known radio frequencies.”
“Begin your approach to the planet, but use caution. This may be a ploy by the AR or CA. Turn on video.”
From the video view of Rear Admiral Armstrong’s flagship, the Achilles-class Battleship - Inquisitor, everyone in the meeting room waited for more details on this situation. Slowly the unknown ships came into view. There looked to be about seven ‘Titan’ sized battleships, and a dozen frigates and what looked like carriers situated in geo-sequenced orbit around Aurora. Still no markings on the ships or who they might belong to but giving that there was several ‘Titan’ like ships, it was a fair guess that they were not of any Earth fleet. Admiral Gains broke the silence. “Greg, do not engage. This may be a First Contact. Open a channel and connect it here?”
Armstrong opened a comm-line directed towards the unknown ships and President Carter begin to communicate with who or what was on-board. “This is President Brandon Carter of the Earth Alliance, United Nations Federation. You are currently trespassing in neutral space! Please state your intentions.”
Brandon and the Fleet Admiral continued trying to open who, or whatever was on the ship for several minutes. Moments before Admiral Armstrong and First Fleet were within weapon and scanning range, Kody received an urgent ping on his comm device. It was AMI, she had completed a partial translation and was worried. “Kody, can you talk? It’s important.” She said through a private channel.
“What is it, AMI? Did you get the message translated?”
“Not quite, only that it was a warning from Aurora.”
“If that is true? Than why is in an unknown language?”
“I can’t say for sure, but it may have gotten picked up by those ships in orbit around the planet.”
“It’s possible. If the ships were close enough, than any signal would automatically be received by them rather than our own comm relays. What does the warning state?”
“Still translating, but you need to tell Fleet Admiral Gains to order Armstrong to hold back until I can find out more.”
“FLEET ADMIRAL!” Kody said standing up.
“Yes, Major?” replied Gains.
“You need to order First Fleet to break off.”
“What is your reasoning?”
“The planet was attacked and wiped out. My A.I., AMI, did a partial translation. It’s a warning for anyone in the area to stay away.”
“Are you sure, Major?”
“Not completely, but I believe that we should air on the side caution till we know more.”
“I do admit, that something doesn’t quite sit right.” Gains said as he turned to the speaker. “Admiral Armstrong, this Fleet Admiral Gains. We have new information. Break off your approach and fall back to a safe distance.”
“Can’t do that, sir I’m now within weapons range.”
“Do not engage! I repeat, DO NOT ENGAGE! This is an order!”
“FUCK OFF, GAINS! I’m about to destroy the enemy.”
“Admiral Gregory Armstrong! This is an order from your President, do not attack, fall back!” ordered Brandon.
“Mr. President, Fleet Admiral, we lost comms to the Inquisitor.” Said a radio techie. “But we still have video.”
“Any other ships with an open comm?”
“Yes, Japanese cruiser, the Hirota Kei.”
“Patch in General Yasutake Tomiichi”
“I already tried. Seems we’re being blocked”
“Source?”
“The Inquisitor.”
Brandon turned to Gains. “It seems that Armstrong doesn’t want us communicating with the rest of the fleet.”
“He will be court marshaled for this.”
Suddenly, one officer pointed that the unknown ships had opened fire on First Fleet, and in the moments that followed, the video transmission was cut off leaving everyone in the meeting room blind to what was happening in the Rina System. “Get the transmission back!” ordered Gains.
“I’m trying, but I’m no longer receiving any RF from any USC ship the system.”
“Jesus, get me something! I want to know what’s happening!” stated Gains.
“I am detecting the Vladimir Putin deep space comm relay in the area.”
“Get President Sokolov on the Holo! I want access to that Relay yesterday!” Ordered Brandon.
The holo-comm ringed for several minutes, and in that time Fleet Admiral Gains and Brandon looked as if they were getting a little worried. Like they feared that the worst may have happened. Admiral Armstrong was a hardass, not to mention deeply stubborn, but he would never attack an unknown enemy unprovoked. Since Article 5, section 3 of the rules of engagement in an unknown situation prevented any military personal from acting, for fear such an action could result in war.
After a good five or ten minutes, Russian President, Dimitri Sokolov, of the New Soviet Union, picked up. “Hello, President Carter? What is the reason for your call? Did you investigate why Aurora went dark?”
“Yes, Mr. President. In fact, that’s why I’m calling. We just lost contact with our Fleet in the area,”
“How can I help?”
“We need access to the Vladimir Putin Comm Relay to determine what has happen.”
“Granted, sending over authorization code – channel four,”
“Did you get that?” Gains asked the Radio Tech.
“Yes, give me a minute to connect” replied the Techie. “All right, signal is coming through just fine, but I’m detecting a lot of radiation, but no UNF frequencies or any other for that matter.”
“Can you read anything?” asked Brandon.
“Negative, there nothing…wait! I am now detecting two ships, UNFBS Dakota and the UNF frigate, Liberty. I’m also detecting massive reactor damage coming from both of them.”
“Patch me through to the Dakota.” Said Gains.
It took several moment to get a clear channel opened with the Dakota as her comms array must have been damaged in the battle. Plus, most of the text from the comm relay was in Russian. After another minute or two, the Techie broke the silence. “And…there! You have a direct line to the Dakota.”
“Fleet Command to USCBS Dakota, come in?!”
[static]
“Dakota come in, this is Fleet Admiral Martin Gains?! Do you copy?”
More static… “Fleet Command? This is Sergeant Haden Evens of the Dakota. Do you read me? Over.”
“Yes, yes, we read Sergeant. Where is General Hopkins?” inquired Gains.
“Dead! As with most of the other officers. I am current the only ranking officer left.”
“I see. Status report than Sergeant. What happened?”
“Just what you may have suspected. The unknown vessels that attacked Aurora attacked us. The Inquisitor was among the first ships destroyed. We put a hell of a fight afterwards, but it was for not. Soon after the Dakota became disabled the enemy ships jumped into hyperspace.”
“Any other intel you can provide? What of the planet? Any survivors?” asked Brandon.
“I can’t say our sensors are currently offline, but after the beating we just took, I’d be surprised if anyone were left.”
“I see. Hurry and get back so we can debrief further, Sergeant.”
“Yes Sir. As soon as our reactor is repaired, we’ll head that way. Dakota out!”
Gains motioned his hand across his throat telling the Techie to cut the transmission before he turned back towards the holo-transmission of Russian President Dimitri Sokolov. “Did you get all that?”
“I did, yes. I’m saddened that the planet couldn’t be saved, but I’m not surprised. A recovery team will dispatch to recover any data packs on the surface. Sokolov out!”
“жесткий.” said Brandon speaking in Russian as he pushed himself up from his seat. “Do we still have access to the relay?”
“Fraid not. The Russian president cut our connection the moment his holo-call ended. I did get something from the Dakota’s transmission.”
“Like what?” asked Gains.
“Hyperspace trail…from the enemy ships”
“Can you trace where they went?”
“Possibly? I’ll need a couple hours.”
“Get on it than and report back,”
“Yes, sir”

****

A couple hours later, Kody sat on stage in the assembly room of the Memento Mori as President Carter made an important address about what have just happened in the Rina System and what the United Space Command’s response to the crisis would be. Looking around, Kody noticed the Fleet Admiral near the end with Commanders Hendricks and Bistro next to him. Then there was the Commander of the Marine Corps, Haiden Glenn and Vice President Elliot Baxter.
In the crowd that were present, Kody noticed his uncle, Seth Davidson, he didn’t see his daughter, Amy or his uncle’s wife Julia. Guess their back home. Kody thought. He wasn’t too surprised not to see Amy there, she was after all still having trouble getting around after the attack on Harmony by the AR five years ago. Kody than turned back to Brandon and listened closely to his speech.
“Good evening my fellow Americans and citizens of the United Nations Federation. I speak to you today on an important matter that may very well affect the future of each and every colony in the galaxy because it would seem that we are not alone. For the first time since we started settling the stars, First Contact has been made.” He stopped to turn the page of his speech before continuing. “Sadly, however, our First Contact was less than ideal for it cost us an entire space fleet consisting of over 87,000 personnel from a variety of member nations of the UNF along with 7,000,000 Russian citizens from the planet Aurora. We do not yet know who these alien lifeforms are, or what their reasons may be, but one thing is for certain. They have declared all-out war and we will respond in kind. While the government of the United States and the union of the United Nation Federation will remain open to possible talks of peace and friendship, such an act of aggression will not be tolerated. With the agreement of the joint chiefs and world leaders, I am organizing a specialized fleet to search the habited systems for this new enemy. I will now pass this on to Commander of the Marine Corps - Haiden Glenn. Commander?”
“Thank you, Mr. President. Let me begin with saying that the USC Marine Corps is behind you fully in this conflict. With that said, with his dedicated service and loyalty to this nation and alliance, I hereby, promote Major Kody Davidson to the rank of Colonel! Major, please step forward.”
Kody stood up, straightened his service jacket and walked forward. As Sutton removed Kody’s Major golden oak leaves before replacing them with the silver eagles associated with those of a Colonel, Vice President Baxter spoke to the promotion. “The United Nations Federation government and Marine Corps has recognized that Major Kody Davidson has met and fulfilled all the necessary responsibilities and duties of the rank of Major. With the approval of the president of the United Nations Federation and the recommendation of the military review board, Major Kody Davidson is here by and immediately promoted to the rank of Colonel of the United Space Command Marine Corps.”
Finishing up placing Kody’s new rank insignia, Commander Glenn stepped back before clearing his throat. “Raise your right hand and repeat after me. I, insert name,”
“I, Kody Davidson,”
“having been appointed a Colonel in the United Space Command Marine Corps…”
“having been appointed a Colonel in the Space Command Marine Corps,”
“do solemnly swear that I will support and defend Earth and her colonies against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the office upon which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
“I solemnly swear that I will support and defend Earth and her colonies against all enemies, foreign and domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the office upon which I am about to enter. So help me God.”
“Then by the authority vested in me by the United Space Command, I name you Colonel of the United Space Command Marine Corps.”
“Thank You, sir! I won’t let you down” Kody said saluting.