Solacium

Ch 10: General Hoffield

Location: AREA 51

A few hours earlier...

"Sir, the unidentifiable craft is approaching our atmosphere," Private Lucas announced from his chair beside me. His dumbfounded expression was illuminated by the bright screen in front of him.

I frowned, leaning over his chair to take a look at the monitor for myself. Just as Private Lucas had said, there it was. An unknown flying object entering Earth's upper atmosphere manifested as a small red blip on a screen.

For the past couple of hours, we had been monitoring the atmosphere after receiving various satellite images of a UFO headed toward Earth. At first glance, we were relatively undisturbed, believing it to be a meteor or another satellite that had fallen off its course. However, we soon realized how wrong we were.

As the object grew closer, the satellite images became more and more clear. That's when we realized we were dealing with something else entirely. Upon receiving these images, the base was a whirlwind of red flashing screens, screeching alarms, and rushing bodies all trying to figure out what the hell was headed our way. The chaos only worsened once we found out what exactly it was we were dealing with.

In the past, we received various tips and claims of UFO sightings. Though usually after some investigation, we could chalk it down to an overly paranoid glimpse of unauthorized military exploration or even on a rare occasion, high-tech Russian spy drones.

However, the skies have been empty since the War ended and left the world in complete ruin. Aside from the occasional satellite failure or small incoming meteors, we rarely dealt with anything to warrant real alarm. After all, military facilities were the first main targets of nuclear attacks during the early days of the War. As a result, only some covert operations remained intact, ourselves included. Without military crafts spanning the skies, our jobs had become infuriatingly mundane.

As years passed, more and more facilities began dropping off of the radar and far as I knew, we were one of the last functional government facilities left. We were lucky that Area 51's location was located in the middle of nowhere, and as a result, our bunkers survived the nuclear shock waves and provided us with protection from the devastating radiation. We also had rations, an expansive greenhouse, and freshwater wells, so, despite all the chaos, things were going smoothly for us.

Until today, that was.

"Sir!" Private Lucas called again, forcing me out of my thoughts to refocus on the young soldier.

Once he had my attention, he spoke again. "The UFO has just entered the stratosphere. What are your orders, sir?" He rushed out, looking away from the monitor to await my orders. His panicked eyes searched my grim face as I kept my focus on the monitor, watching the red blip on the screen grow nearer.

I pictured the satellite images in my mind once again, still unbelieving of what I had seen depicted. A sleek silver spacecraft, unlike anything I had ever seen, was photographed entering Earth's thermosphere. Now, only minutes later, it was currently cutting through Earth's stratosphere at an uncanny velocity.

I clenched my jaw.

"Trajectory report," I spoke finally, crossing my arms across my chest.

Private Lucas nodded quickly and turned back to study the monitor again. His eyes flicked across the screen as he typed quickly on his keyboard. Suddenly, a red line stemming from the blip appeared on the monitor, pointing toward a map of the United States.

Private Lucas looked over the monitor's results for a moment before speaking. "It looks like it's headed toward the West Coast of the United States." He pointed out the predicted path of the red blip on the screen.