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  “Yes, I can, and that’s a very good question, Commander. President Truman and those around him felt that the American people would be more than a little freaked out at the possibility of an alien invasion, and we also had a Cold War with the Soviet Union to be worried about at the same time. The Soviets, of course, had their own version of Area 51, but, we were more successful and there were times that we managed to sabotage anything related to them getting to the moon or getting anything else done in space other than spending time at one of their space stations. Everyone has been surprised by the rate technology on Earth has developed by leaps and bounds over the last nearly one hundred years, especially in the last fifty. Think of what would have happened if we introduced all of this new technology, personal computers, internet, computer guided weapons, satellite tracking, and everything else, all at once back in the 1960’s, what do you think might’ve happened then, Commander?”

  “I’m guessing we would have had a nuclear war with the Soviet Union, sir?”

  “Yes, we would have, Commander. The American people, including all of you, will never know just how close we came to obliteration over the whole Cuban Missile Crisis. If you include all of this new technology, the Soviets would have more than likely launched a first strike to prevent us from using all of the new technology on them. So, that’s why we kept it from the public for so long, and we will continue to do so until the President says otherwise. Anyone else have a question?”

  “Sir, when will we get to meet the alien?” asked a lieutenant.

  “Soon enough, Lieutenant. Ostoro has been a very valuable source of information for us these last sixty years, and he’s slowly accepted the situation he finds himself in. He is not one of those small, gray aliens that Hollywood has in their movies or TV shows, he’s tall, blue skinned, long-armed, and small eyed. Any others have questions?”

  “What’s the name of our new starship, sir? Would it happen to be the Enterprise?” an airman scoffed.

  “I’m sure everyone would think that would have been cool, but, naming it Enterprise would’ve been much too obvious, Airman, as would have Millennium Falcon, Galactica, Andromeda, Defiant, Voyager, and maybe even Prometheus or Daedalus. Besides, we probably would’ve had to pay for the rights to use those names from the movie studios, so we decided to name it the USS Reprisal. If there are no further questions, it’s time for all of you to get to training for this mission. Dismissed.” Bridger stated.

  Training for the Reprisal began the next day and it mostly involved being in a fully immersed computer simulator, basic virtual reality, while the Marines were practicing taking down enemies like they would normally do on Earth, including house to house warfare. Some of the engineers recruited for the mission asked the Area 51 engineers about the various systems of the Reprisal, the stardrive, shields, sensors, computer systems, and whether or not the ship would be equipped with gravity. The Area 51 engineers informed them that the ship did have gravity, through the use of an artificial gravity generator, which used a spinning superconductor, producing a powerful gravitomagnetic field. Nearly all of this technology was cloned off of the Ragnor ship, but the Area 51 engineers were one hundred positive all of it would work correctly.

  A week after the Reprisal crew arrived at Area 51, they met with Ostoro, who didn’t seem so thrilled to meet them. Bridger introduced the alien, who walked over to the podium, and said, “Greetings humans. I am Ostoro, a scout for the Ragnor before I was shot down by your primitive aircraft. As much as I dislike the fact that I’m here, I can really do nothing about it but cooperate with your military and government. General Bridger wants me to answer questions any of you might have, so lets begin,”

  Captain Kell was the first to speak, “I’d like to know if your people will conduct a massive planetary invasion of Earth,”

  “If my planet were to do such a thing, we would have done so by now. You humans are not nearly intelligent enough to go out into space or advanced enough to do anything but stay in orbit over your planet for forty plus years, with the small exception of your moon landings. I’ve been here so long, if I managed to escape, I could tell my people more about you than what has been known about your planet for the last few centuries,”

  “Ostoro, how do we know all the technology you’re helping us with will actually work when it comes right down to it?” asked Commander Brian O’Rourke, the chief engineer on the Reprisal.

  “Have you lived on your planet for however long you’ve been alive? Take a look around, my technology is responsible for all of you being in the Computer Age and Space Age. I helped out with your country being the first to break the sound barrier with aircraft designs coming straight off my ships’ computer database. Your world wide web is based off of my ships’ network, those robot rovers on Mars are based off of technology the Ragnor have, and those deep space probes your country have launched are powered by fusion engines that I helped design. I’m sure all of you remember the Y2K crisis from a few years ago, well, I helped Nanotech and all the other computer software companies fix that problem. If you want to know whether or not you can trust me or my technology, then I’ve just provided you the proof that you can trust me.”

  “How about other advanced civilizations out there, any others as hostile as your species?” asked a Marine.

  “Well, there are plenty of other somewhat advanced civilizations out in this vast galaxy. However, the Ragnor are the only ones who are intelligent and self-aware enough to know that we are the only ones who can bring order to every solar system that’s inhabited, including yours, humans.”

  That response brought derisive laughter and snide comments from nearly all the humans in the room, who have heard that all before from either completely evil human leaders like Hitler or over-the-top movie villains. General Bridger let this go on for five minutes before he stepped over to Ostoro, and told him to go ahead and go back to his quarters, and then Bridger said, “Alright people, enough is enough. We have a job to do, and making fun of Ostoro isn’t part of it, even though he brings it upon himself with that pathetically superior attitude he displays. After those of you who are training in simulations for operating the Reprisal are finished, we will have you conduct a real world test in about a month. This meeting is now over with, dismissed.”

  A month later, the crew for the Reprisal was ready to conduct the first real world flight test of the starship. It was a cool winter morning in the Nevada desert when everyone boarded for the test flight, and there was a nervous tension in the air among some of the astronauts who were used to going into space via space shuttle. Everyone reported to their stations and began pre-flight checks of the ships’ systems and co-ordinated with the Area 51 Control Center. Once Captain Kell was satisfied her ship was go for launch, she contacted Bridger, “This is Captain Kell, the Reprisal is ready to go, General,”

  “Acknowledged, Reprisal. The first system we want to test is the cloak, since the version the Ragnor had was easy to detect, at least it was for us back in ’47. If you would go ahead and cloak the ship, we will be able to see if the cloak actually makes the ship invisible through our sensors and visually through our digital video cameras,”

  A few seconds later, the Reprisal disappeared from sensors and visually from the cameras. The Control Center even switched to the old radar system and the ship was still not appearing on the scope, so infared was tried, and there was a trace amount of heat that was detected appearing around near where the engines were supposed to be, but Bridger and the Area 51 scientists hoped it would appear to be random if someone were to pick it up in space. The ship was designed to fly vertically once the engines and the guidance system was activated, so that was the next test, once the cloak was de-activated. The ship reappeared on sensors and began moving upward, and when it reached one thousand feet, the main engines activated and the Reprisal took off for orbit. Once in orbit, Area 51 could track the ship through various satellites and a tracking station in Australia, and even had someone on the International
Space Station watch for the Reprisal fly by the space station, but made sure nobody else on the station was paying attention to the sensors on board.

  “Reprisal, cloak and make a heading for Saturn, best possible speed, but just shy of using the faster than light drive. We want to see just how long it takes to make a round trip going sub-light speed. We have a question too, Reprisal, how’s the gravity working?” asked Bridger.

  “The generator is operating at peak efficiency, sir. It feels like we’re on Earth and there seems to be no ill effects. It would be nice if we could test the intertial dampeners at light speed, but that’ll have to wait. General, do you have any other orders for us?” asked Kell.

  “No, just make that trip and return. Next phase will be by order of the President, whenever that will be. Good luck, Area 51 signing off.”

  As the Reprisal cloaked, the Terrans on Mars were monitoring all traffic near Earth orbit when they thought they saw something leave Earth, but it vanished. Commander Lomanco was informed, he went to the Control Center, and asked, “Have you activated the cloak sensor, so that if it were a ship, we could find it and intercept it?”

  “We have, sir, it was the first thing we did. The sensor detects no ship out there that’s cloaked. From the readings we could get before it cloaked, it was of a configuration we have never seen before, so we don’t know if it belongs to the Ragnor or some other species we’ve never met.” answered one of the techs.

  “Have you extrapolated the possible flight path of this unkown ship?”

  “We have no other data besides detecting the ship leave Earth and cloak, sir,”

  “Could it have been a ship that someone on Earth could’ve built, say the United States?” asked the Commander.

  “It’s not very likely, sir. In the annals of recorded time, they just briefly acquired the means to leave their planet, albeit to just their moon and a couple probes to Mars. The most advanced kind of spacecraft they have are space shuttles, and those don’t even work properly. That ship couldn’t possibly be theirs; it must be some type of new Ragnor design, especially with that cloak we can’t seem to see through. Without any kind of data, I can’t theorize for you who, what, when, or where, sir.”

  “Well, keep monitoring Earth and see if you can’t detect that ship again. Our vigilance will pay off eventually. Keep up the good work.” ordered Lomanco.

  Six hours later, the Reprisal returned to Earth still cloaked and landed at Area 51. The engineers and scientists at the installation pored over the mission logs, the black box, and how the ship handled the round trip. The crew of the ship was then de-briefed and they were told to continue their training through the virtual reality simulations until the President let them know their mission was to proceed.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The Inauguration of the new President of the United States had been over with for a few hours when former Secretary of Defense Chris Carson met with the new Secretary of Defense, Tom Houston. Carson had tried to inform the previous administration of Area 51, but, since the President was a lame duck in his second term and the election had been only a few weeks away, he wanted next to nothing to do with Area 51 and didn’t want to make a decision. Leave it to the next president, he had said, let whomever it is deal with it. He had been justified with feeling that way, he had, after all, led the country through four pointless regional wars left over from the previous two administrations, which stretched the military even thinner, Congress constantly stonewalled whatever plans he had for the country, the economy was tanking, and everyone just seemed to think he was the worse president ever in the history of the United States. Carson wasn’t sure how Houston would react to this news about Area 51, but he hoped Houston would at least listen to him.

  “Tom, I have one more item I need to brief you on, before you get settled in,” Carson said, as Houston was moving some personal stuff into his new office.

  “Whatever you need to tell me, why wasn’t it part of the official briefing when I got the job?”

  “What I’m about to tell you is classified beyond official, on the record, where everyone knows, kind of briefing I could give you. Currently, not even the President of the United States knows this secret, but he will have to know once I tell you, because it’s time for him to make a decision on what to do next. I need for you to follow me to the Pentagon Conference Room, where you will be briefed on this secret and meet some of the more important people of the project.”

  A few minutes later, both men walked into the Conference Room, where General Bridger, Captain Kell, and a couple of scientists were sitting at a table waiting for the Secretaries of Defense. They were introduced to each other, they shook hands, everyone but Bridger sat down, who handed everyone folders, and then he went to a computer and projected the program on the computer onto the screen at the front of the room. Area 51’s logo was the first to appear, causing Houston to raise his eyebrows, and whispered to Carson, “Area 51? Are you freaking kidding me?”

  “Sorry, but Area 51 does exist and has since 1947. Before you make up your mind, Houston, watch the presentation General Bridger has brought with him, it is quite enlightening. I watched this same video when I became Secretary of Defense, just remember to be open-minded and everything that never seemed to make sense, will soon make sense.”

  “This is all so very cryptic and slightly frightening given how serious you seem. However, I will be patient and listen to the presentation, afterwards though, we’ll see just how serious this is.” remarked Houston.

  Houston watched the presentation and read the classified documents in the folder, all of which was pretty hard for him to believe. He always heard the rumors, as had everyone else in the United States, about aliens, Roswell, Area 51, men in black, and every other rumor those crazy conspiracy theorists came up with. He really wanted to believe that Carson, Bridger, and these others were playing a joke on him, but they seemed so serious, so he figured he would listen, play along, and then decide what he would do next once this briefing was all over. Three long hours later, Bridger finished, and then asked Houston if he had any questions. Houston answered, “Haven’t we already seen this movie?” he sarcastically said, “Do I have questions? You unload this on me on practically my first day on the job and you want to know if I have questions? First of all, are you serious about this cloak and dagger secrecy of Area 51?”

  “Quite serious, sir,” answered Bridger.

  “Well, if you were serious, then your security is pretty piss poor if you ask me. For one thing, there was that investigation by Fox Television a few years back about an alien autopsy, then there are lots of conspiracies about Area 51 and Roswell together, and all of those movies, including Independence Day, saying that Area 51 was in Nevada and it had aliens and a ship housed there. Now, I find out most everything about what I’ve heard is true, so sorry, if I find most of this hard to believe. I require hard and solid proof, people, not just a fancy video presentation and a classified folder.”

  “Well, we do have hard proof, Mr. Secretary, and we can take you to see the proof.” stated Bridger.

  “Fine then, lead the way.”

  Carson, Bridger, and the others led Houston to the parking lot, where they got into a van and drove to Andrews Air Force Base. Once on the base, they made their way to a hangar, which was guarded by heavily armed men in black military outfits. Houston followed the others inside, which appeared to him to be an empty hangar; he turned to Carson and asked, “What is this, some sort of trick?”

  “Patience, Mr. Secretary,” answered Carson, “Captain Kell, would you do the honors?”

  Captain Kell spoke into what appeared to Houston to be a small cell phone, when something began appearing out of thin air. Less than thirty seconds later, the Reprisal appeared, shocking the new Secretary of Defense. He walked around the ship, touched it a couple of times, and then said, “Well, this is definitely hard proof. What do you call it?”

  “We call it the USS Reprisal. Want a tour, sir?” asked Bri
dger.

  “Yes, I do, as a matter of fact. Since I’m touring the ship, why not a trip to Area 51 while we’re at it?”

  “The trip has already been arranged, sir. Now, please follow me and we’ll give you the grand tour of the Reprisal.” stated Bridger.

  They toured the engine room, sick bay, the crew quarters, recreation room, astrometrics, mess hall, and finally the bridge. The ship was currently fully staffed, minus the Marines, so they had to fly across the country to meet them, but the Secretary of Defense Houston was able to meet most of the crew. Once they made their way to the bridge, Captain Kell ordered the ship to be prepped for launch, including cloaking the ship, and five minutes later, they left Andrews. The Reprisal flew into orbit and to show Houston how well the ship flew, Kell ordered a pass around the moon, which seemed to awe the Secretary of Defense. Once Kell felt Houston was sufficiently impressed, the Reprisal re-entered Earth and flew to Area 51 and landed. Houston was given the grand tour of the secret installation and was shocked when he met Ostoro, who was his usual blustery and grumpy self. Once Houston felt he was completely informed of everything that had been and was going on with Area 51, he told Bridger that he would inform the President within the next few days.

  Two days later, Houston went to the White House, entered the Oval Office, and said to the President, who was sitting at his desk reading some kind of document, “President O’Bana, there is something I need to talk to you about, and you may need to clear your schedule for the next few hours, sir.”

  “What’s so earth shattering that I need to clear my schedule, Tom? Has North Korea or Iran launched a nuke or something?”