There was no disagreement.  Everyone knew that the aliens had signalled for help – and no one knew how long it would take for help to arrive.  If there was a large alien colony under the waves, help might well come sooner than later.  Ted couldn't imagine the Royal Navy abandoning Britannia as long as there was a hope of saving it, or even Nova Scotia.  No, the aliens would be on their way.  The only question was how long they had before the shit hit the fan.

“Good,” Ted said.  He rose to his feet.  “Dismissed.”

***

“It must have been horrifically dangerous down there,” Barbie said.

“It was,” Markus said, dramatically.  “And the worst of it was jumping out of the shuttle in a combat suit.”

The Marines had gone out of their way to tell him how horrific the whole experience was – and, if anything, they'd understated.  Maybe there were people who skydived for fun, but Markus had already decided he wasn't one of them.  He’d taken one look at the ground coming closer, his sense of perspective so badly screwed up that he’d been unsure if he was falling or rising, then closed his eyes tightly.  The whole experience had left him trembling in his suit, permanently hovering on the verge of throwing up until he’d finally hit the ground.

But there hadn't been any real danger, he knew, once they'd actually reached the ground.  The aliens hadn't tried to prevent them from landing or even reinforce the guards on the penal camp.  It was almost as if they wanted the POWs to be rescued.  But why?

He thought back through the recordings he’d taken – or borrowed from the Marines.  Was the whole world a subtle trap?  Or had the aliens simply decided not to risk more than a token attempt to defend the camp with Ark Royal hovering high overhead, ready to pour fire down onto alien defensive stations?  But if it was a trap, the aliens would have had to know that Ark Royal had survived Russia ...

The XO entered the briefing room, looking businesslike.  “Mister Yang, I need to speak with you,” he said, bluntly.  “Come with me.”

Markus smiled as he followed the XO out of the compartment, feeling several reporters staring at his retreating back.  No matter how they pretended, they knew that they weren't really capable of understanding what was going on.  No, the only way to do that was to have friends and allies – sources, rather – among the military crew.  Markus’s status within the group, already high because he had been allowed to embed with the Marines, would rise even higher if they thought he had the XO’s ear.

“I understand that you took recordings from the prison camp,” the XO said.  It wasn't a question.  “We would appreciate it if you kept them to yourself for the moment.”