“Aye, sir. Shooting tubes one and two. Torpedoes away.”

“Ten seconds to impact. Seven … six … five…”

The two projectiles plow through the turbulent sea toward the rising mass. Fifty feet before impact, the warheads strike an invisible force field and detonate.

Aboard the John C. Stennis.

“Admiral, the Scranton reports direct hits, but no damage. The object appears to be shielded within a force field, and it’s still rising.”

All eyes stare at the row of UAV monitors. Hovering two hundred feet above the sea, the Predator’s cameras reveal a ring of bubbles forming along the surface.

“Here she comes!”

The ovoid mass violates the surface like a dome-shaped iceberg, its girth sinking, then bobbing until it finds its equilibrium atop the churning sea. UAV close-ups of the scorched iridium surface reveal a network of jagged metallic escarpments and crater-size indentations.

Sensors transmit computer-enhanced images of the alien vessel’s design. Dominique stares at the three-dimensional holographic image. Twenty-three tubular appendages dangle below the remains of the vessel, giving her the impression of an enormous mechanical man-of-war.

“Contact our air wings,” the admiral commands. “Open fire.”

The joint strike fighters break from formation and launch a salvo of SLAMMER missiles. The weapons explode just above the islandlike mass, the multiple detonations momentarily revealing the presence of a neon blue force field.

The CNO swears aloud. “The goddam thing’s sealed within a protective field, just like its drones. Captain Ramirez—”

“Aye, sir.”

“Order the JSFs to clear the target area. Launch two Tomahawks. Let’s see how powerful this field really is.”

Dominique covers her ears as a thunderous boom shudders the warship.

The guidance systems of the two Tomahawk missiles have been dismantled to prevent the Guardian’s array from disrupting their trajectory. Launched at point-blank range, the warheads slam into their target, the double blast sending a fireball racing skyward, momentarily blinding the real-time camera images of the circling UAVs.

The pictures return. The vessel is still intact.

And then something happens.

Mechanical motion appears along the center region of the floating mass, followed by an intense green flash of light.

The beacon is coming from an opening in the alien hull casing, but it is not a hatch, as in the top of a submarine, nor is it a rip or tear. Shards of iridium appear to be peeling open in layers, then folding back, away from the vortex of energy.

From out of the emerald green luminescence appears—a being.

The hulking form pushes through headfirst.