The Day Everything Changed Example

The day the Earth stood still.
The day that mankind realised it was not alone in the universe.
The day that would be etched in history as mankind’s first extra-terrestrial contact.
And she had to have picked THIS suit?
“Madam President.” The voice spoke from across the table as the world seemed to click back into existence.
“Hmm, yes?”
“I believe that the Secretary of Defence’s question requires an answer.”
My mind clicked back into gear as the worries drifted for just a minute.
“Oh yes! An answer… Yes…”
There was an awkward silence before the Vice President covered my back.
“I believe the Secretary’s idea of a first strike measure of nuclear missile launches would be rather hasty at this moment.”
“I believe so too.” I quickly nodded and let out a soft cough. “A first strike at this moment would be a hasty move until we can talk with the other world leaders about this. If what the aliens say is true, then accommodating billions of people would be a world wide effort.”
“An effort that we cannot undertake with the worlds current economic state. We already have nations with starving populations, never mind the added struggle of an extra… what was it?” Spoke the Secretary of Agriculture.
“12 Billion.” The Secretary of Defence explained as he stared at the tablet in front of him.
“Ah yes, 12 Billion, a figure that is substantially higher than the actual population of the Earth at the current time. It is not just a question of economics but logistics too. Where will we put them?”
“Which is why I say we don’t let them in. We already have enough to deal with here on Earth, never mind aliens coming here and trying to squeeze in.” The Secretary of the Interior raised his finger.
“I am in agreement with the Secretary of the Interior, first of all it is a matter of security; even if we did have the land, supplies and the manpower to house, feed and locate these aliens; what about their technology. They are more advanced than anything we have ever seen, from a Security stand point; what is to stop them from just taking over?” The Secretary of Defence leaned forward in his chair.
“And how will we allocate how many of these alien refugee’s we accept into our nation? Will other countries pull their own weight?” The Secretary of State questioned.
Around her, the President was listening to the debates and she agreed with both sides. She had to make a decision. She was to meet with the United Nations in a few hours and then a few hours after that they were to meet the leader of the first ship.
The United Nations had put her in charge of this and she had to make sure not to mess it up.
She would be immortalised in the history books for this event.
So why did she decide to wear this stupid pink suit today of all days!

Chapter 2
~ Not so United Nations ~
Illustration – The United Nations Headquarters in New York
With a soft sigh, the President of the United States made her way through the front doors of the United Nation’s Headquarters in New York. Security was everywhere, this was not unusual but extra security had been set up around the meeting; after all, it was the first discussion of a possible Interplanetary war.
Aid – Madam President, are you feeling alright?
President – “Not really but I doubt that will stop me will it?
Aid – No ma’am.
The Aid smiled as she walked along with the President, the two heading to the main audience chamber. The doors of the chamber were opened by the UN security officers.
Inside the hall were the representatives of every member nation of the United Nation; no one had missed out on this meeting.
Illustration – View of the Entire United Nations senate hall
Heading straight to the podium at the head of the gathering, the President of the United States surveyed the gathering. Shifting the papers in her hands, the President took a moment to calm her heart before speaking.
President – Representatives of the Member States of the United Nations, thank you for coming at this historic moment in the history of our planet; and once again, I thank you for selecting me for the role to play in it.
*Illustration – President stood in front of many seated figures, various flags in front of their tables to signify which nation they are. *
~ An hour later… ~
French Representative – So what is the plan of action?
Russian Representative – What will happen if they attack?
Canadian Representative – Do we have contingency plans in place for an attack? Or will we be on the back foot?
French Representative – If there are really 12 billion of these Xer’on on the way, where will they go? Which nations will host the most?
German Representative – What if we say no? Where will they go? What are the humanitarian options
Chinese Representative – Humanitarian? They are not human, no matter how much they look like us. It could all be a trick, they could be using these humanoid ambassadors to lower our guard for an all out invasion.
Japanese Representative – We are already dealing with the aftermath of the earthquake six months ago, we do not have the resources to take in many of these refugee’s
Argentinian Representative – And what of their own home world? How was it destroyed?
Austrian Representative – And what will stop them from just doing it to our world too? To ruin our world and to abandon us to our doom!
United Kingdom Representative – They may have the resources to help us with many of our current problems; if they are as advanced as they say they are they can do so much for our world.
Polish Representative – I am in the position to agree with the United Kingdom Representative representative. Think of global warming, the ice caps! Pollution!
Illustration – The entire hall of people bursting into arguments as they tried to yell over each other, the President holding her head in her hands
Quickly standing up, the President announced to t he crowd as she raised her hands to them all.
President – I would like to thank everyone here today for their words, I will be diligent in my work to both protect our world, its people but also be supportive and an outreaching hand to the Xer’on people. We will show them that Humanity means compassion, that Humanity means friendship, that Humanity means cooperation and unity.
The President bowed her head to the rest of the room and took a deep breath.

Chapter 3
~ Face to Face ~
It had all been arranged and planned for weeks; ever since First Contact with the Xer’ons the world had been on a knife’s edge.
Nations whom were already so close to bombing each other were now even closer; their fingers now over the buttons of their missiles and nuclear weapons on the human-like Xer’ons.
Illustration 1 – A military chopper taking off from a Carrier, or making its way to land on a cargo ship or a cargo ship at sea
The meeting was to take place on large cargo ship in the middle of the Atlantic. Madam President sat on the chopper as it made its way from the CVN-72 USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier. The fleets of most of the worlds nations were surrounding the cargo ship and tensions were high.
PILOT – Madam President, we have confirmation from NORAD, the ambassadors ship is descending.
MADAM PRESIDENT – Thank you, please let me know when have landed.
PILOT – Won’t need to Ma’am, you can already seem them out your right window.
Illustration 2 – Xer’on ship descending through atmosphere and clouds with a ploom of water and steam as it lands in the water.
MADAM PRESIDENT – Wow.
PILOT – Wow indeed ma’am.
The ship in the water detached a small pod which began to rise and land carefully on the cargo ships front end while the chopper carrying Madam President landed on a pad built into the ship.
Leaving the chopper and watching the pilot take off once again, Madam President saw the Xer’on shuttle do the same, returning to the large craft it had detached from. Making her way across the metal gangways, Madam President saw the Xer’on envoy; the same figure she had spoken to several times over video and holographic link.
Now was the first time they would meet in person.
Illustration 3 a.b – Human female in fancy robes walking down a long metal gangway of the ship, the shuttle taking off in the background.
Madam President had noted their attire in the past, a mix of black, gold, brown and dark shades. It had an elegant yet Asian feel to it. Madam President imagined what their less than formal attire would be like. She always believed you can judge a culture a little not by their formal attire but by their informal styles.
Folding her arms across her chest with open palms facing outward, Madam President bowed her head slowly and recited the greeting she had been repeating ever since taking off from the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Madam President – Nu’ahn’sha Madam Ambassador.
The Xer’on Ambassador smiled and repeated the motion, this time opening her arms from its crossed position and swinging it out in a welcoming gesture.
Xer’on Ambassador – Nu’ahn’sha Madam President. You have really caught the nuances of our language, it is a rather difficult greeting to speak; especially for someone not of our culture.
Madam President – Thank you Madam Ambassador, I will admit I was practising it the entire way from the Carrier that brought me here.
Madam President chuckled softly as the Xer’on ambassador laughed too. Now they were up close and in person, they really did look human, but was it as the Secretary of Defence had said? Was this a trick?
She had to make sure that all this was on the level; for her nation, for her people, for the entire species.
Xer’on Ambassador – I have brought a gift for you and your people. I do hope that our discussions can come to some conclusion, I know that it will take time but we do have a little bit of a dead line.
Turning around, a small hovering carrier bed followed the Xer’on Ambassador and stopped between them. With a wave of her hand the container opened. Peering inside Madam President saw several more containers. The Xer’on Ambassador reached in and pulled out one box, opening the lid slowly.
Inside was various pieces of clothing, jewelry. The next box she pulled out contained vials of several colours, viscosities and size.
Xer’on Ambassador – Although we have only been in orbit for a short while, we have taken to creating serums for adaptation to your climates; various probes that you allowed to be sent down returned with air and contamination samples. From those samples we have developed these.
Illustration 4 – A box of Vials and liquids
Madam President – What are they?
Xer’on Ambassador – I believe the Terran term would be ‘Cures’. This one for what you have assigned as ‘the common cold’, this one for what you dubbed a ‘Chicken Pox’ and I believe this one, ah yes, this one is for what you call ‘HIV’
The President’s eyes widened as she stared at the box. Here was the cure for pretty much every known virus and disease in the world. This would solve so many problems all on its own!
Madam President – You don’t have the cure for Cancer in that box too do you?
Xer’on Ambassador – Oh no, we cannot do that with these. However our medical equipment can be easily calibrated to find and repair any cell damage or mutation. We can discuss the trade of technology in the medical field in our discussions.
The President was gob smacked, they were so advanced, beyond anything that Humanity would have in the near future.
Such a dangerous race to be allowed on the planet in such numbers that they became the dominant life form here.
With a deep breath, the President smiled and motioned to the nearby hatch.
Madam President – Then let us begin our negotiations.
Xer’on Ambassador – Yes, lets.
Illustration 5 – The two descending down into the lower hold of the cargo ship

Chapter 4
~ Negotiations ~
In one of the cargo holds of the vessel, a rather professional looking room with one short table at the centre; a pair of expensive and comfortable chairs were settled in front of a flag of each people; one the Xer’ons flag and the other an image of Earth.
Illustration – Two seats opposite each other on a small table, two flags hanging behind them.
Both figures moved and sat down in the seats, looking at each other with soft smiles.
President – Well this is going to be very interesting if I do say so Madam Ambassador.
Ambassador – Indeed, first contact is always the most interesting event of a culture; we are sorry that it had to come to this for your first interstellar event.
President – It is certainly a very serious issue we must work on. Everyone I know and have spoken to has multiple views on the situation.
Ambassador – I can believe that. I remember during first contact with the Shavalie that they were about to start a war before they wanted to talk; their culture was to be aggressive and then speak peace.
President – So there are many species out there?
Ambassador – There are hundreds, thousands. But if we proceed with the negotiations here, we can further interactions with other races; although you really should not have progressed to this age of interactions.
President – One thing we can say about Humanity is that we are adaptable.
The pair laughed softly before leaning forward to the table.
Ambassador – Well it is going to a lot to adapt with my people on the way.
President – If it is not rude of me to ask, what happened to your world?
The Ambassador bit her lip and rubbed her chin.
Ambassador – It was a terrible event, because of our hubris and when it was too late, we had to evacuate.
President – Why did your people not just move onto a colony or another world that you have instead of coming to Earth?
Ambassador – We do not have any colonies. Many centuries ago there was a war, a terrible war. After the war our culture shifted and became a more solitary culture; we decided to keep our people to one world. This was our punishment.
The President nodded and leaned forward onto the table.
President – We all have things in our past that we do not wish to remember. Humanity is not a shinning beacon of hope and peace. We have committed atrocities and our history is one of blood.
Ambassador – As is a common theme throughout the universe. Some of our people believe that it is the way all cultures are allowed to grow. Through blood and horror, the remembrance of the past brings peace and memory.
Discussions went on for hours, this would be the first of many and it would take time to negotiate a peaceful treaty.
She only hoped that it did not end in blood and horror.

Chapter 5
~ Negotiations In Progress ~
Illustration – Luxurious living room with large fire and various sofa’s.
Sipping a glass of wine, Madam President reached forward to wave her hand as she reclined back in her sofa.
President – …And I believe that the exchange of the Solar array extensions could rally help with the power needs of nations without access to the new ‘Grid’ proposed in Section 52-P-A.1125-G.
Ambassador – I agree, although installation of such arrays would require a Xer’on Service tech of level Than or higher, due to the nature of the connection to the Xer’on wireless network, it would be a security issue if someone was to try and reverse engineer the array.
The Xer’on Ambassador crossed her leg as she reclined back, sipping the wine gingerly before tilting her head.
Ambassador – This liquid is very interesting; what did you say it was called again?
President – It is called Red Wine, made from the fermentation of grapes.
Ambassador – Ah yes, Alcoholic fermentation. With the introduction of the food synthesisers, it has been a rare thing for the actual growth of food, never mind the fermentation of such agriculture. This is actually the first time I’ve had fermented fruit liquid.
President – You’ve never had wine? And you said you were how old?
Ambassador – In your Solar cycles, I would be two hundred and…
The Ambassador paused for a moment before tapping her chin with the rim of the glass.
Ambassador – Fifty three and a half.
The President chuckled softly before raising her glass in a toast.
President – Might I say that I congratulate you on your appearance for your age; you look nothing over twenty.
The Ambassador blushed heavily as she took another sip of the wine.
Ambassador – Thank you Madam President, the medical advancements of the Xer’on are highly skilled at keeping us healthy, something that humanity will be able to share; although slowly as we cannot advance your civilisation too fast, doing so would mean your growth would out weigh your control of it.
President – You do not have to be so formal with me Ambassador, we have spent enough time together to be on a first name basis.
Ambassador – As are you Ma…Elyse.
President – Then it is settled Saeth. We may now proceed to the next stage of negotiations.
The Ambassador smiled softly before leaning forward in her chair.
Ambassador – What do you have in mind?
President – I was thinking perhaps our next negotiation could be over dinner? I make a mean casserole.
Ambassador – Why would a casserole be of a angry disposition?
The two paused before they both began to laugh deeply.
Ambassador – Are you not going to be busy with your mate?
With a soft sigh, the President scratched her chin and reclined in her seat as she looked over at a nearby photo of her and her husband, now ex-husband.
Illustration – Side table / living room furniture with a photo of the President and her husband
President – I’m afraid that Mr First-Lady is no longer going to be around; he decided it was a smart idea to have an affair with one of his assistants.
The Ambassador leaned forward and put her hand on the President’s hand, giving it a soft squeeze.
Ambassador – My condolences, I have had that experience in my own past with my first husband; however that led me to my current wife.
President – Ah yes, I remember in the brief, your culture is one of multi-gender romances. Our culture has only just begun to make that an acceptable one; you must think we are barbarians or uncultured outcasts.
Ambassador – Not at all, we have had time to change and grow, our histories vary between the cultures but a common thing I have noted in every race I have met is that we are all growing; even my own race has not reached much more further culturally than you own. It was the reason why our world was destroyed.
President – You are talking about the weapon?
Illustration – Image of a planet detonating from the inside out, spreading out into the void as ships attempt to flee.
Ambassador – Yes, a weapon from a far gone war, an old war of religion and beliefs. You see, even after casting off religion over a thousand years ago, the past still comes back to haunt us all.
President – My condolences. Let’s change the subject to a more lighter one than culture and religion! How is your wife?
The Ambassador went quiet and bit her lip, a rather human-like trait that the President had actually found an enduring and relaxing act.
Ambassador – She… has passed.
President – Oh my, I am so sorry. I should not have asked.
Ambassador – Not at all, it is fine. I asked about your mate so it was only a matter of converse that you would ask about mine.
The silence began to set in and the Ambassador leaned forward to sip her glass again.
Ambassador – She was on the home-world when the weapon detonated, part of the relief effort to get whoever she could off the world.
President – If you don’t mind me asking, don’t your people have that… back up system? What did you call it?
Ambassador – The Live-Wire Network, yes we do.
Pulling back her hair around the side of her ear, the Ambassador revealed a small implant connection port.
Illustration – Implant port behind the ambassador’s ear.
Ambassador – It is wireless and connects to the network, copying our consciousness and memories in case our physical bodies are destroyed.
President – And I’m guessing something went wrong?
Ambassador – Yes, the weapon caused a localised blackout of the network ahead of the blast wave, anyone in the region was unable to upload to the network. They were lost to the dying lands.
President – My condolences.
Ambassador – She would be proud of what we are both trying to do, we are trying to unite two races; she would have really liked you Elyse.
President – What was her name?
Ambassador – Damla.
The President raised her glass in the air.
President – To Damla.
The Ambassador slowly raised her own glass to clink against the other.
Ambassador – To Damla.
After a few moments of silence, the two sighed softly before the Ambassador turned back to the President.
Ambassador – Now, this angry casserole, tell me more.

Chapter 6
~ First Strike ~
*Illustration – A brightly lit military facility deep underground. A Bunker or silo with multiple dashboards and consoles around the room. Standing at the head of the biggest is a General looking figure and a soldier sat in a chair in front of it. *
Soldier 1 – Are you sure about this sir?
Chairman of the J.C.O.S – Absolutely.
Soldier 1 – But there was no word from the President, procedure is that we she is the one to do this sir.
Chairman of the J.C.O.S – The President has been compromised. She is with the Alien liar right now; we have a special operations team moving in on her as we speak, now. Do it.
Soldier 1 – I am afraid I cannot sir, it is against protocol and…
Chairman of the J.C.O.S – Do you want me to Court-Martial you son? Are you really willing to sell out your whole race on the fact that one woman, who has already proven she is in bed with the enemy, is not here to pat you on the back? Now do it!
Soldier 1 – Sir. I… I can’t.
Chairman of the J.C.O.S – Fine. Corporals, remove this man and get me the Secondary team.
Illustration – Two Military Police soldiers leading a soldier away OR putting their hand on his shoulder
Approaching the pair at the console, two armed Military Police soldiers put their hands on the soldiers shoulder and guided him away. Within a few minutes the Second team arrived and stared at the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff standing over the console.
Soldier 2 – Sir? What is this about? Where is…
Chairman of the J.C.O.S – Son, did you not get the alert? We are at war. Man your post!
Soldier 2 – Sir?
Soldier 3 – Sir!
The pair quickly sat down at the controls and looked at each other with a nervous glance.
Chairman of the J.C.O.S – Prepare the system for activation.
Soldier 2 – Sir?
Soldier 3 – Sir?
Chairman of the J.C.O.S – You heard me! Now do it or I have you join your companion for a Court-Martial.
*Illustration – Two military soldiers sat at their seats in front of the console, reaching into their shirts to grab the chain key.
Slowly both soldiers reached into their clothes and pulled out the key hanging on their necklaces. One by one they put their keys into the slot in the console. With a look at each other then back to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, they nodded at each other in a series of three nods.
On the third they turned the keys.
*Illustration – Turning of the keys*
The room turned from its normal lighting to a deep red as the entire facility went into War Mode.
Chairman of the J.C.O.S slowly stepped over to the red phone hanging on the wall and lifted the receiver to his ear.
Chairman of the J.C.O.S – Yes, put me through.
After a moment of the phone buzzing, a voice spoke broken English through the line.
Chairman of the J.C.O.S – We have gone to Last Protocol, tell me the others have too?
The voice on the other side of the phone warbled and rang through the receiver, the two men at the console stations looking back at Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Chairman of the J.C.O.S – If you are wrong about this then its serious trouble for us all.
A moment later he nodded to himself and put down the phone. Turning back to the two men at the console, he walked over and began to put in the code known only to a dozen men and women in the highest positions of power of the country.
The lighting around them turned from red to green before the facility began to shake and rumble. The roar filled the room before dying away slowly.
Chairman of the J.C.O.S – Ladies and Gentleman, the United States has just launched its First Strike attack against the aliens; joining a multi-nation task force against the leaders who have been brainwashed by the foe.
Illustration – Image of missiles launching from an underground silo

Chapter 7
~ Retaliation ~
Illustration – Two figures stood back to back in the Presidents home, split down the middle by a line as one speaks into a mobile phone the other into an alien holographic hand held communicator.
President – What do you mean attack!
The President turned to look back at Xer’on Ambassador as they both spoke on their communication devices.
Ambassador – What was the damage to the ship?
The Ambassador held the holographic device in the palm of her hand, the mini-figure of the ships commander trying to steady themselves against an invisible console.
President – Who ordered the attack! I want them arrested immediately! We are in the middle of negotiations!
Ambassador – What has the Council decided?
President – How many launches! I want to speak with the Secretary of the Join Chiefs of Staff when he is arrested!
The two put down their communications devices and looked to each other.
Illustration – The two figures looking at each other from across the room, a large open space between them
President – What was the damage?
Ambassador – Serious, we have over twenty dead and another thirty injured. The ship can be repaired but it was a serious attack; it was lucky that our defences were able to intercept most of the missiles.
President – I am so sorry for what happened! It was not what we were planning! It was not what I had told them to do, it was a minority of people who organised this.
Ambassador – I understand that but the Council has decided for a retaliatory attack.
President – No no, that… that would be a bad idea. If your people attack then that would only give them more support to attack again; it would only be a spiral of disaster.
Ambassador – I know that, but it is the same with your people; the Council has to retaliate. They will only target the ones who attacked us. It will be clean, quick, decisive.
President – Please Saeth, we can stop this. We can talk about this.
Ambassador – There has already been talking Elyse. It is out of my hands right now. I am an Ambassador, the Council has decided. I… am sorry.
The President bit her lip and looked away, closing her eyes and sighing as she thought about what was about to happen.
President – Where are they targeting?
Looking down into her palm, the holographic display showed a series of locations and targets on the globe.
Illustration – A spinning projection of the Earth with several locations highlighted
President – Tatishchevo, Russia. Anchorage, Alaska, Berlin, German., Buenos Aires, Argentina. Belarus, Minsk.
Ambassador – Fifteen targets, all military. Civilian casualties will be minimal. I am sorry Elyse.
President – I just hope this does not start a war.
Ambassador – Me too, me too.
The President closed her eyes and prayed to whatever Gods there were that this would not escalate too far.

Chapter 8
~ Death ~
Illustration – A meeting with various military officers, officials and joint chiefs
Secretary of Defence – They have destroyed several of our military bases! They have attacked and killed many soldiers.
President – The Xer’on are not to blame for the deaths, they are the defenders in this!
New Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – They have destroyed several key missile bases.
President – Missile bases that were used to fire upon their ship!
New Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff – Madam President, we should retaliate with the full force of our military
President – Absolutely not!
Secretary of Defence – They have attacked us!
President – Because they attacked us first!
The President sighed and shook her head as she looked at the room
President – We are in negotiations with an advanced alien species; they need help and we are trying to help them then you morons decide to go around my back and attack them!
Vice President – Madam President, I don’t think calling them moron’s is an appropriate term.
President – I do not care, I am calling it as I see it. If there was a picture in the dictionary beside the word Moron there would be your faces. Who decides to attack a Superior enemy without even any thought to what might happen!
Secretary of Defence – We had intelligence that…
President – Intelligence is one thing I believe you have nothing of.
The room went silent as they all stared at the President.
President – If you think you can go behind my back once again, I will have every single one of you put in prison for treason. If you so much as make a move behind my back again; I will make sure none of you see the light of day for the rest of your life!
The President stared into the eyes of each and everyone of the people in the room for a second before sitting back down.
President – Now, let’s get back to work on the peace talks.
The doors to the room burst open and an official rushed in, they whispered to the Secretary of Defence.
Secretary of Defence – Madam President. There has been another attack.
President – Who!
Secretary of Defence – Several nations have launched retaliatory attacks; Russia, Korea, Japan just to name a few.
President – Get me the Xer’on Ambassador this instance! We need to clear this up before it turns into a full scale war!
Secretary of Defence – Madam President, the Ambassador’s shuttle was taken down by Russian Sukhoi Su-57’s five minutes ago.

Chapter 9
~ War ~
High above the cities of Earth, the Xer’on ship had its weapons ready, charging and aimed to attack.
Illustration – Space ships over Earth with charging weapons.
Elyse hurried through to the Oval Office and quickly activated the communication system that Saeth had set up for her. With several hesitant gestures as she tried to remember how to activate the alien holographic device, Elyse smiled when the holographic emitter began to glow.
She waited a moment for the green light to turn blue before beginning to speak.
Illustration – The President stood in front of a holographic display in the Oval Office
President – This is the Elyse Shepard, the President of the United States of America and the envoy to the Xer’on on behalf of Earth. Please, if you can hear me reply to this message.
She waited a few seconds before repeating herself. It was on her fifth repetition that she got a response
Captain – This is the Captain of the Xer’on ship Prothan, this is a secure channel; please cease transmission immediately.
President – Ambassador Esau gave me this communication system so that I may contact her in serious incidents, I believe…
She did not even get to finish her words as the Captain on the other side of the holographic channel appeared before her. He looked like any Human male except for the uniform and clothes he wore. The dull brown and almost ancient Asian themed clothing.
Illustration – Captain of the Vessel and President stood either side of each other speaking in Oval Office.
Captain – Ambassador Esau was assassinated on her return to the Prothan. This is an act of war by several of your nations. The Council has taken the position for a retaliatory attack. I am giving you the courtesy of this warning because of the work you and Saeth have done.
President – Captain, please. There has to be something we can do to stop this.
Captain – It is a council decision to proceed with this, I am only a soldier and I am only following orders.
President – There were many people in Earths history claiming to only be following orders; but some of them could have done something. I am sure that in your cultures history there events, places and times that even a single person could change the course.
The Captain went silent as he looked off to one side. His voice coming through sullen and soft a moment later.
Captain – There is nothing I can do Madam President. Our people are scared, the Council is only trying to do the best for our people.
President – I am sure there is something that can help stop a full blown war. If our two people go to war, what will happen to the land below us? It will be destroyed, desolate. Do you want to see war destroy another birthplace?
The Captain went quiet again and took a slow breath.
Captain – But where can we go? There seems to be no place for the Xer’on on Earth. Where will we go?
The President’s gaze drifted around the room, to the various artifacts she had collected over the years; her eyes finally landing on the small rock in the corner of the office.
Illustration – Various collections of items in Oval Office, ending on a moon rock
President – Oh god! Why did I never think of this before!
Quickly the President turned around and stared through the rear window of the Oval Office. It was dark outside and high in the sky was the full face of the moon.
*Illustration – The moon shining across the guarden of the White House through the Oval Office Window
Captain – Think of what Madam President?
President – The Moon!
Captain – Your moon?
President – Yes the Moon!
Captain – What about the moon?
President – You could live there!
Captain – But there is no atmosphere? No fertile lands and structures. It would be like living in a desert.
President – But we can change it, can’t we? What was it that Saeth called it?
Captain – You mean Terraforming? But that would take a century at least. The fleet is due within the next few of your Sol years.
President – But we can create habitats, we can create cities to house your people. It would be harsh but once the Terraforming has finished, you’d have an entire world! You would have a whole world to yourself!
The Captain’s face slowly turned from a frown to burrow into thought, a moment later he began to nod. Working the mathematics out in his mind.
Captain – It could work, possibly. The Council will have to be told.
President – Can you send them a message? Or let me speak to them via this link?
Captain – I will do even better Madam President, I will do even better. Prepare for matter translation.
President – Matter what?
In a sudden flash of energy, the President disappeared from the Oval Office.
*Illustration – The President being transported out of the Oval Office.*

Chapter 10
~ Home ~
Illustration – Start on a black screen, the stars slowly twinkling into view with each progressive tap
Space.
The Void.
An inky darkness.
Endless nothingness.
Not so empty anymore.
Illustration – Image of NORAD Cheyenne mountain complex.
The secret installation under NORAD picked them up first, directing NASA and the other Space Agencies of the world to the arrival. Five years and the hard work of the entire world had come to this.
Illustration – Image of a General standing over a man at a console.
Soldier – Sir, we have detection on the edges of the system.
General – Can you confirm that it is them?
Soldier – IFF has them as blue sir.
General – Get me the White House on the line.
Illustration – The White House exterior, cuts to an interior Oval Office from behind the desk; the person in the chair not visible.
Unknown Voice – So today is the day then. They are finally here.
Official – Yes it has.
Unknown Voice – Is she here?
Official – Yes, just entering now, want me to show them in?
Unknown Voice – Yes please.
Illustration – Door of the Oval Office opens and Xer’on Ambassador Saeth walks in, a second transition followed by Elyse.
Elyse – Good Morning Mr President, I am assuming I am on time?
President – As always Madam Ambassador. How was the flight from Luna Spaceport?
Elyse – Smoothly thanks to those new stabilisers the Germans have developed.
Saeth – Thank you.
Elyse – Oh shush Saeth, we all know who it was that convinced the Council to pass along that tech.
The Xer’on ambassador grins as she turns to Elyse before making a mock bow.
Saeth – I must be picking up some of your Terran sarcasm, my lessons are going well it seems.
President – Do you have communication with the Flotilla?
Saeth – I do, the Artificial Intelligence on the ship has begun to wake up the crew of the vessels and the command staff are already preparing the landing procedures.
Elyse – All of it has come to this. To today.
President – All of your hand work Madam Terran Ambassador.
Elyse – I can’t take all the credit Mister President. We all came to this together. All of humanity and the Xer’on have worked to this day.
Saeth – I have to agree with the President, Elyse. You were the one who held it all together; when our people were on the brink of war you stopped them. You made this future possible.
Elyse – Oh shut up, you would say that wouldn’t you.
Saeth – It is why you married me.
The President stands up from behind his desk and pats down his jacket.
President – We better get going to the Laika Space Port.
Saeth – I cannot believe you all named your first space port after a dog.
Elyse – Hey, that dog was the first Earthling into space.
Saeth – I cannot believe you launched a dog into space, you Terran’s really are odd.
Elyse – Maybe that’s why you love us so much?
Saeth – Maybe it is.
The Xer’on Ambassador and the Terran Ambassador; Saeth Esau-Shepard and Elyse Esau-Shepard reached out and linked hands, following the President of the United States of America to an awaiting hover-limo.
Illustration – Two linked hands as they walk outside. The hands in focus while the exterior out of focus.