Solacium

Ch 29: General Hoffield

Finally. I thought as I made my way through the compound. The sound of my boots clicking against the concrete floor echoed throughout the long, dimly lit hallway. All the while, my dark eyes scanned the notebook in my hands, reading the hastily jotted-down observations.

The ship's makeup is unknown, using metals not found on the periodic table. It is safe to conclude that the ship, and its owner, are not from Earth.

After reading the last part, I closed the book in my hands. Years and years of endless searching had finally paid off. At long last, I had found the owner of the UFO, and low and behold, he was not of this Earth. He was proof of extraterrestrial life and a potential future for humanity to continue among the stars. I had captured perhaps the only remaining shard of hope for our species, and I would be damned if I let this opportunity slip through my fingers.

Picking up my pace, I came to an elevator at the end of the hall. A smile briefly crossed my face when I remembered the enticing challenge of hauling the alien down here. I could still see the bright flashes of gunfire as he broke out of his containment cell, sending my men flying into the walls in an attempt to escape. But we were on my turf now, and I was well prepared.

Taking out my 12-gauge shotgun, I began firing as he raced down the hall toward the exit. Soon my men joined me, and after a few well-aimed shots, he went down. We then rushed him to his new holding cell on the basement level of our facility, and there was no chance for him to escape now.

Though it would be entertaining to see him try, I mused as I approached the elevator door.

I typed in my passcode and the keypad lifted to reveal a scanner. Placing my palm flat on the scanner, it read my prints before flashing green and opening the elevator doors with a ding. I stepped inside and began the descent to pay another visit to my newest guest.

A few moments later, the elevator doors opened to reveal a long hallway leading toward a singular cell at the end. Walking down the hallway, the armed guards that lined the walls saluted me as I passed. I marched up to the door to the cell before scanning myself in once again. Once cleared, the metal doors squeaked and groaned as they slid open to the large room.

On one side was the spacecraft that we had collected from the forest. Per my orders, it was chained to the ground and surrounded by a group of researchers led by a genius in aerospace engineering; Dr. Philip Wright.

Walking over to the men, I found Dr. Wright and stepped behind him. He startled, turning quickly around to regard me. His glasses had slid down his nose from the effort, and he pushed them up as he looked up at me and the notebook in my hand.

"Your notes, Doctor," I said, holding out the notebook to him.

Dr. Wright blinked at me, looking at the book in disbelief. "I was looking for that this morning, how did you-"

"This is my facility, Doctor. I took the liberty of debriefing myself on your work. Though I must say I am disappointed, I thought you would know more by now. It doesn't take a genius to see this ship is not from Earth..."

"Well, it's difficult, you see, none of the ship's materials act like those found on Earth," Dr. Weight spluttered, glancing nervously at the gun strapped to my hip and my tight-lipped frown. "Not to mention the ship is severely damaged, and the parts that are not are decorated in an unknown alphabet of pictographs..."

"Well tick tok doctor, it would be a waste to put a bullet through such a valuable mind..." I warned, and Dr. Wright swallowed.

"Absolutely useless," I cursed under my breath, pivoting away from the sniveling doctor. I shifted my attention to the other side of the room where another group of my men guarded the main prize; the alien.