After centuries of failure man has finally found a gateway to the stars. The search for intelligent life once again gripped the scientific community. Unfortunately in their relentless persuit to achieve that goal, precautions were not taken. They neglected to realize the possibility of intelligent life finding them first, and it did. A spacecraft of alien origin slipped through the doorway, studied the system for a short time and fled quickly. Colonel Trent Collin, Earth's top agent, followed the intruders trail only to end up on a world barely into the industrial age. While he was busy hunting down his adversary, the real danger was happening on the intruders home world. The evil dictator of Empirius was already hatching a sinister plot to conquer Earth and enslave it's people.The Earth was soon thrust into a bitter conflict with the empire planet. It wasn't long before it became apparent that mankind was on the losing end of the war. Only a miracle could save the doomed world. Colonel Trent Collin made a discovery on the little world he was led to, an ancient but fully functional spaceship of immence power. The gigantic ship could deliver that, much needed, miracle the Earth was hoping for, but would he be in time or was it already too late.

3000 YEARS TO THE RESCUE

By Gregory L. Natale

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2009 Gregory L. Natale
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4389-7081-3

Chapter One

DISCOVERY

In the year 3125, man had conquered his solar system, mapping all of its planets and their moons. Dr. Roland Stafford, Earth's chief planetary scientist, was in orbit around Neptune when his scanners picked up a strange anomaly at the far range of Pluto. Upon relaying his findings to mission control, a battle cruiser was dispatched to assist him in ascertaining what it was. When they arrived, what they found was strange indeed. The thing was huge, dwarfing the battle cruiser. It was something, yet it was nothing. It resembled a large, circular sphere of blackness, like a black hole, but with no pull of gravity.

After months of study, it was determined to be a crack in the fabric of space itself. They knew of the existence of black holes and worm holes, but this was something completely new and unknown. Two probes were sent through and were not heard from again. As soon as they entered the void, their sensors ceased to function. Returning to the station on Saturn's moon Titan, Dr. Stafford and his staff were going over data on this rip in space. A satellite was placed at the site to monitor it while the research team on Titan tried to solve the mystery of it. Finally, after countless hours, going over all the data in his private office, Dr. Stafford came up with a fresh approach.

Another probe would be sent through, only this time a predetermined destination in space was chosen: a star in the constellation Orion. A yellow dwarf was chosen. The beacon was set to that point and the probe was sent through.

Almost instantly, information started coming in. Cheers erupted in the control room. Video was coming in almost immediately. The star known as O113 had six planets in orbit, and twenty-six moons. As the probe navigated through the system, one planet drew particular attention. The fourth from the sun showed many Earth-like characteristics. They decided to place the probe in orbit and do a complete scan.

Stunning videos of the surface were revealed on their screens. It was one massive ocean with a few small islands, and there was life. The land masses were mostly barren, although a few scattered forests were discovered, but the oceans were teeming with primitive life forms. The probe was then directed to enter the atmosphere for a closer look. Samples were taken of the land to be analyzed in the onboard laboratory of the probe. Then it was sent to take samples of the water. Maybe they could capture some of the life forms to study. It was decided to submerge the probe for some undersea video but the probe hit the water and bounced off. The water was so heavily concentrated with salt, the probe could not penetrate it. After a few attempts, the plan was abandoned, and the probe was sent back to the islands for further study.

At first, there seemed to be no life on the islands except for the trees and other plant life. The probe went from one patch of forest to another, finding nothing more than swarming insects and small mammals. When it came to the largest of the islands, much to their surprise, there were large creatures, with some intelligence, living there.

The probe was dropped to fifty feet above the surface for a closer look. The beings were about nine feet tall. They had double-jointed legs where a human's shoulder socket would be. They were scarlet red in color, with two green eyes, and a small mouth at the top of their trunk-like bodies. A double-jointed appendage protruded from the middle of the back, ending with a cup, like hand of a sort. They were using it to scoop something from a pool they had made in the middle of their little camp. They scooped up a thick red substance, raised it above the top of their body, leaned back on those long powerful legs, and poured the stuff into their mouth.

Dr. Stafford could hardly contain his excitement as he guided the probe down to take a sample of the substance. The creatures spotted the little craft as it descended toward them. The team was expecting the inhabitants to turn and run at the sight of the strange floating object, but they did not run. Before the team could touch the controls, the probe had been destroyed. It happened so quickly the stunned scientists had to replay the last segment, in slow motion, to see what had occurred.

The creatures waited until the probe was within twenty feet. They leaped onto the probe with those powerful legs. From their three-toed feet, six-inch talons tore into the skin of the craft as if it were made of paper, destroying it in a matter of seconds. The last working camera was darkened within seconds of their attack. The shock of the probe's destruction waned quickly. The team had received computer banks full of data to study. They could always send another probe, at a later date, if more information was required.

The excitement of the discovery had Dr. Stafford and his team so buried in their work that they weren't paying much attention to anything else. They didn't notice as a spacecraft suddenly appeared in front of the rip. It was not the job of Stafford's team to monitor the entrance of the rip, although he shouldn't have dismissed the battle cruiser stationed there. Nevertheless, the appearance of the craft had not gone unnoticed. The military was watching the new discovery very closely. Any new unknown discovery could be a threat to planetary security. The moon base on Triton was given the task of keeping a close eye on the new phenomena. It was not long before their fears were realized.

Chapter Two

CONTACT

Alarms sounded as the planetary defense department was alerted to the intruder that suddenly appeared in the solar system. Upon arriving at the hub of the planetary defense grid, Commodore George Patron, commander of Earth's military affairs, was briefed on the situation. He immediately had the bases raise their shields which would make them invisible to probing scanners. He then had shield generators on full in case of attack. Satisfied with things for the moment, he turned to the ensign manning the base communications, and ordered, a little anger in his voice, "Get me Dr. Stafford on the horn, now!"

"Ye-Yes, sir," Ensign Conover stammered as he busied himself at the controls.

The transmitter had been buzzing for a while before the chief scientist answered. "This is Dr. Stafford, control; what is the meaning of interrupting my work? I was ..."

"Doctor," the commodore broke him off in midsentence, "have you looked at your monitors lately?"

"Why, no, Commodore," he answered, the sharpness in his tone gone. "I've been pretty busy going over all the data coming in from the probe. This is some fascinating stuff we're getting; why do you ask?"

"Well, Doctor, I suggest you have a look. It seems we have a visitor, and he just came through that space crack of yours."

"Yes, I see it, Commodore; a little large to be a probe," he surmised, rubbing his chin. Suddenly, the realization of what was occurring hit home. "I cannot believe it, Commodore; it is another race. When did it arrive?"

"About twenty minutes ago," he answered without emotion. "Doctor, could you come over to control? I'd rather not discuss the matter over the radio. Our discussion could be intercepted."

"Yes, Commodore, I see your point. I'll be over as soon as I ready the ship. This is an exciting discovery."

"Don't bother, Doc. I sent a military transport to fetch you already. It should be there any moment, and calm down will you?"

Minutes later the ship arrived. Dr. Stafford boarded and was whisked off to control. The trip took only about thirty minutes. Upon arriving, Dr. Stafford was met by military police and brought to the hub of the operations center on Earth's Moon for his meeting with the commodore. How would he explain his failure? He should have had someone keep an eye on the rip.

"Oh well, George is going to be pissed," he thought to himself as one of the guards opened the door to Patron's office.

"Well, hello, Doctor," the commodore exclaimed as he walked over to shake hands.

"Hello, George. I'm so sorry; I had no idea. The discovery was so exciting I forgot ..."

"All right, Doctor, settle down," Patron cut him off. "You're not here to get balled out. Watching the system for visitors is my job, not yours. I just want some detailed information on that space crack of yours, because that's where the thing came through. Do you think it came from that system you've been observing, O113?"

"No, it did not, George; the probe would have picked it up. I'm positive it is not from that system at all. What is it doing now, anything?"

"They're scanning, Doc; not having much luck though. It's probing our screens; they know there's something there, but that's all."

The indicator on the communications link lit up just then. The commodore punched a key in response. He was told by Ensign Conover that the probing had ceased, and the craft was slowly moving toward the inner planets, scanning them as it passed.

"What do you think, George? Should we try to make contact? This is exciting, beings from another world. I cannot wait to talk to them."

"Not just yet, Doc, I want to observe them for a while, see what else they try." He then turned to Conover. "Ensign, start scanning that ship," he ordered.

"Their screens are pretty good, sir. I'm not reading anything. I can tell you it is a small scout. It looks to be heavily armed, though. One life form registered before the screens went up. That's all I can give you at the moment, sir."

"All right, Ensign, stay alert for any changes. If it does anything funny, I want to know about it, immediately."

They watched the craft as it passed by Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn, scanning the planets and their moons. As the scanners passed over bases, it would pause, trying to probe their screening. Again and again, having no luck, the ship proceeded on its way toward Jupiter. Commodore Patron ordered four battle groups to ring a defensive posture around Earth as a precaution.

These groups consisted of eightfighter platforms, holding two hundred each: one hundred twenty scouts, eighty heavy cruisers, fifty-six heavy battleships, and eighteen of Earth's mightiest super dreadnaughts. Built in space, these ships were cities, with a crew of 40,000. These ships were self-sufficient and armed with all the latest weaponry Earth had to offer. After looking over their lines of defense, and being satisfied, Commodore Patron turned back, facing Dr. Stafford.

The doctor asked again. "Why not hail them George, see what they want? Aren't you curious why they came here? Another advanced life form; this could be the start of a new friendship."

"Or a deadly one, Doctor," came a somber answer. "Let's let them make first contact. I want to see how they react to the inability of their scanners to break through our shielding. I am curious to see if they try to attack them in any way. It could tip us as to their motives in our system. I must admit, this is very interesting."

As the ship neared Mars, it suddenly stopped and hung there silently, just on the dark side of the planet. Hidden from Earth's view, it seemed to be contemplating what to do next, but still didn't make any attempt to make contact. After two hours, the ship started to slowly make its way back to the rip.

"Well, Doctor, we've played with this character long enough. I think it's time to get in touch with our visitor. Let's see just what they're up to, shall we?"

Turning to the Ensign Conover, the commodore ordered him to open all channels and make contact. All hailing frequencies were open but there was no reply from the alien craft. Patron impatiently waited for about thirty seconds, which was a long time for him, before issuing his next order. "Give them another hail, Ensign, and this time, insist on an answer."

"Maybe they don't read us, George. They probably do not speak our language, or maybe they just ..."

The commodore cut him off with a wave of his hand. "They read us all right, Doc. They read us just fine. I'm sure they have already decoded our language."

"Sir, they're powering up the engines. They're going to make a run for the rip, sir," reported the excited science officer.

"Weapons," the commodore yelled, "throw a tractor beam on that ship. Don't let him get away."

The beam shot out and grabbed the ship and held it for a moment, but just for a moment. A laser shot from the bow of the ship sheared it like a knife. As it shot away, another tractor beam lashed out and slowed the little ship again, but the result was the same. As hard as they tried, the beams could not hold, and the ship made it to the rip and slipped through.

"Damn!" yelled Dr. Stafford, "now we will never get to talk to them. You frightened them off, and they escaped."

"Not exactly, Doctor," the commodore smiled.

"What do you mean?"

"They left us a path right to their front door."

"Huh?"

Losing his smile, the commodore turned to his communications. "Where did they end up?" Patron inquired as he turned to face Conover.

"The ion trail leads to star L19, sir, 201,059 light years away, sir. The coordinates have been plotted and recorded."

The commodore looked at Dr. Stafford, smiling. The doctor felt a bit foolish. He should have remembered the ship could be tracked by the trail of ionized particles left in its wake.

"It looks like someone's going on a little trip, Doc," Patron exclaimed. He then turned to Ensign Conover. "Get me intelligence; I want our best agent, and get him up here in a hurry."

Before he finished speaking, Ensign Conover was in contact with Planetary Intelligence, relaying the order. "A short time later, I was on board a ship dispatched from Earth ..."

Commodore Patron and Dr. Stafford were waiting on the pad as the ship landed. The man they were waiting for was soon walking down the ramp to greet the two men. They then headed for the conference room so he could be briefed on the coming mission.

Chapter Three

COLONEL TRENT COLLIN

A member of the Intelligence branch of Earth's planetary defense, Colonel Trent Collin, had been summoned to the office of Commodore Patron for a briefing by the commodore and Dr. Stafford. Collin was the top agent in the intelligence community. Graduating top of the class from the Planetary Science Institute, he was quickly steered toward a field position in the agency and rapidly excelled to the top position on the force. Just the man for the mission, you might say. Sitting at the conference table, Collin was brought up to speed on the rip in space time and the recent encounter with the other ship. Excitement on his face, he couldn't wait to be on his way.

"How fascinating, a ship from another world. This is a welcome change. I'm getting tired of chasing murderers and drug kingpins all over the solar system. They're getting so predictable I seem to know their next move before they do. When do I leave?"

"Hold on, Colonel," Dr. Stafford interrupted. "This is going to be a very dangerous mission; we have a lot of preparation to do. A lot of details need to be worked out."

"We also have a new ship for you, Colonel, and a small surgical procedure to go with it," added the commodore."

The doctor, who knew me personally, put a hand on my shoulder. He had been a good friend to my parents. My father had been on Dr. Stafford's science team for eleven years. He was killed during a sudden meteor storm while mapping the canals on Mars two years ago. Stafford has been like a father to me ever since. He felt responsibility for the accident. I knew it was no one's fault. Space is a dangerous place to work, but he keeps blaming himself anyway.

"I just want to make sure you have all the latest technology and advantage we have to offer, Trent."

Not swayed by the doctor's concern, but knowing the man as I did, I rose to my feet and faced the elderly man and smiled brightly.

"Don't worry, Doc, my training will get me through anything, and I'll have you, and the agency, covering my back, of course."

"OK, gentleman," Patron interceded. "Colonel, shall we go have a look at your new ship? I want you to familiarize yourself with every inch of it, before you're sent on this mission."

"Yes sir, Commodore. I can't wait to see her; the sooner, the better."

As we entered the hangar, I couldn't suppress my excitement. Walking around the new ship, I noticed the nature of the new radical design; I turned to the commodore and said, "What a ship, sir."

"Let's have a look inside," Patron offered, with a smile and a wave of his hand. "Shall we? Her name is Patriot, first in this new class."

"Patriot," I repeated as I followed the commodore up the ramp. "Patriot; I like it, sir; it fits her."

"This is just the beginning, Colonel. There are some marvelous improvements. This ship is full of our newest technology. I think it will impress even you."

(Continues...)

Excerpted from 3000 YEARS TO THE RESCUEby Gregory L. Natale Copyright © 2009 by Gregory L. Natale. Excerpted by permission.
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