“I hope you can all make this out,” he said, flicking the blue shapes with his index finger.

Sophie gasped. It was the image of the ship from her dreams—the same ship they had encountered outside the mountain before Sergeant Overton and his men had rescued them.

“Meet Eve, the first extraterrestrial organic drone ever discovered. She’s made mostly of water, along with an electronic force field and a couple of elements that won’t show up on your high school chemistry teacher’s periodic table. We are calling these invaders the Organics. We found Eve submerged in an uncharted lake in the remote wilderness of Alaska in 2055. It was around the same time scientists realized the magnetic interference during the solar storms had originated from beneath the surface of Mars. Now, we still don’t know what’s down there. President Bolton’s administration refused to fund any research vessels, so we can only guess that Eve and the source of the magnetic interference are related. What we do know is this: 2055 was their first attempt at exterminating us. We have all seen enough B movies to know how the story goes. Aliens come to Earth for our resources and we fight back, finding a way to kill them through bacteria, nukes, or good old-fashioned hand-to-hand combat. Well, not this time.” Dr. Hoffman paused again to take another sip of water and glance at his watch.

“I’m sorry; time is of the essence, and I am running out of it. I’ll make the rest of this quick. We got lucky in 2055. The Organics failed at their first attempt, but they won’t fail in their second. This is why we have put so much funding into the biosphere projects. After the failure of their first mission, all our hope is riding on you. If you are getting this message, then it’s too late for the rest of us. My role model as a child, Stephen Hawking, was right when he compared a modern alien invasion to the European invasion of North America. It did not end well for the indigenous people, and it won’t end well for us. The storms of 2055 made it very clear. They want us dead.”

A staffer rushed into the room behind him, interrupting the presentation. “Dr. Hoffman, they’re coming!”

The command center’s lights flickered and began to fade as the doctor turned to face the camera again. “You must go—”

Before Dr. Hoffman could finish his sentence the image vanished and darkness flooded over the room.

“The Organics? What the fuck!” Timothy yelled, running both hands through his curly hair.

“We must go where?” Holly asked, her pale face almost glowing in the dim room.

Sophie stood and placed her hands on both aching ears, massaging the small medical devices inserted there. “Alexia, is that the entire message?”

“I’m afraid so, Dr. Winston. It must have been recorded and sent shortly before the disruption happened outside.”

“What’s that mean?” Timothy asked, his eye twitching frantically.

“Mr. Roberts, sit the fuck down before I have my men restrain you,” Sergeant Overton bellowed, rising from his metal seat. “Sounds like it wasn’t the Chinese after all, Finley,” he said, shooting the young Marine a quick grin. “What we have on our hands here is an invasion. And what do Marines do during an invasion?”