Realizing its furtive movements through the cramped tunnel were no longer necessary, the creature abandoned its stealthy approach and crawled faster towards its prey.
Though already scared enough because she couldn’t see what was coming or how close it was, Lucy’s imagination increased her fear as she imagined the thing biting at her feet and legs, devouring her from the toes up. She whimpered as adrenaline coursed through her bloodstream and pushed her onward.
CHAPTER 2
First Incursion
FIGHTING THE GUSTS that blew across the choppy sea, the helicopter swooped towards the colossal iceberg and hovered a foot above the ledge of ice at the end of the tunnel the scientists and Haax had used to escape from the spaceship. A six-man team stepped out with weapons held ready to suppress any threat and formed a defensive position around the tunnel entrance. The seventh team member, who rarely ventured so close to the action and whose thoughts had dwelt on the alien monsters since he had been informed of their presence aboard the spaceship, wasn’t so eager to leave the relative safety of the helicopter. He reluctantly stepped onto the ice with his eyes focused on the dark tunnel opening. As the helicopter rose into the air behind him, spraying his back with wind and ice, he knelt behind the defensive team, placed a rigid plastic case on the ground and speedily assembled a small drone. He stepped back and used the control pad to power up its four spinning rotors and watched the drone rise into the air. He moved it forward, spun it around and peered at the small screen attached to the remote control. The high-definition image of the armed men caught in the drone’s camera was crystal clear.
Sergeant Vincent Monroe, the battle-hardened squadron leader, glanced at the drone hovering in front of him and then at its operator. “All set, Fitch?”
Fitch nodded, wishing the Sergeant would lower his voice so he didn’t draw any monsters that might be close by to them.
Sergeant Monroe spoke into his helmet mic, “Alpha Team leader to Control, are you receiving the feeds?”
The men gathered in the hastily set up control room aboard the container ship, Starlight—charted at great expense by the American military and stationed a short distance from the large iceberg—stared at the screens showing feeds from Alpha Team’s helmet-cams and the drone.
Corporal Giles Norton cast his gaze over each screen before answering, “All crisp and clear, Sergeant. Send in the drone.”
Every eye in the control room followed the drone’s progress through the tunnel. Its bright light reflected off the ice tube it sped along before it reached the spaceship and emerged into the large hangar. The men gasped at the group of spacecraft caught in the drone’s light.
Rear Admiral Thaddeus Thomson, the officer in charge of the salvage mission, pointed at the screen showing the drone’s feed. “They must be the smaller spaceships the scientists mentioned.”
Todd Fleming, NASA’s chief science advisor, and Bradley Clines, head of NASA’s R&D program, almost salivated as they studied the impressive shuttlecraft the drone focused on. “The technology aboard even one of those crafts could advance us hundreds or even thousands of years,” said Fleming. “It’s imperative we salvage one.”
“Two would be better,” added Charles Mason, the British representative, who was determined Britain would not be left empty-handed when the salvage mission was completed and the spoils allocated. The frosty reception he had received from Admiral Thomson when they had first met hinted that sharing alien technology was not high on the man’s list of priorities.
“I wonder what propulsion they use,” pondered Clines aloud. When he had first been informed of the unbelievable discovery and alien monsters he was certain the scientists had been mistaken and had suffered a group hallucination brought on by gases trapped underground. It was only after he had seen the photographic evidence and satellite scans of the spaceship were his doubts firmly banished. His dream and those of many of his fellow colleagues might now be realized in their lifetime; humans would travel to far-flung planets and perhaps even visit new galaxies, something they had only dreamed of doing before. He almost shook with anticipation of the wonders to be discovered.
“Does it really matter?” said Admiral Thomson, a little irritably. Though he knew the importance of the discovery and its possible benefits to mankind and humans ever constant desire to explore space, he first had to complete the mission assigned to him by the President of the United States of America. If the damn scientists and engineers would just let him be to concentrate and get on with it, there would be plenty of time for them to drool over and play with their new toys later.
“Anything has to be better than strapping two giant fuel-bombs to every shuttle you shoot into space.” He found it hard to believe astronauts were prepared to take the risk, especially after the horrific 1983 Challenger disaster.
Mason glanced at the Admiral and felt it provident he reinforced Britain’s involvement in the mission in case it failed to go as planned. “If all we manage to salvage is one of the small spacecraft, our joint mission will still be a success.”
Thomson glared at Mason. He had been against letting the British aboard and had seen no reason to hide the fact from the pompous man. However, the President insisted their English allies be involved, up to a point. He briefly wondered when that point would be reached. If the decision had been his to make it would have already passed. He returned his gaze to the fascinating images relayed from the spaceship and watched the drone fly around one of the larger cargo transport vessels and hover in front of a large door.
Corporal Norton pointed at the screen. “If the power’s still on and that door opens, we’ll have access to the cargo bay and the hundreds of storage pods the scientists described.”
Admiral Thomson’s orders included the securing of the Aladdin’s cave of alien stores and he was keen to fulfill the mission parameters as soon as possible before something went wrong. The huge spaceship and what lay inside was an unknown he wasn’t altogether comfortable dealing with. To add to an already difficult situation, a storm was heading their way.
“Send Alpha Team in to find out if the door opens. If it doesn’t, we’ll have to cut through it,” ordered Thomson. “According to the scientists the cargo bay will be free of monsters, but warn them not to enter the next room until it’s been gassed. That’s the domain of those alien insects.” Even with the firepower each man carried, Thomson knew they wouldn’t be much use against thousands of things so small and deadly. A delay so early in the mission would be disastrous to his timetable.
Corporal Norton relayed the Admiral’s instructions to the Alpha Team leader.
The drone flew back to the ice tunnel and observed the marines approaching the hangar. Fitch walked slower at the rear as he continued controlling the drone. When a deep-throated shriek pierced the silence, he spun the drone and sped it across the room to seek out the source.