An Untitled Novel

“Here we go” Basil said, stepping away while trying to untangle himself from wires. “And you’re sure it will work?” Spiro asked, questioning Basil’s confidence. “Well, one way to find out. Flip that switch and either it’ll work, or the whole city will go up in flames.” Basil replied in a joking manner. Spiro flipped the switch on the new UPS the two had just installed. Some RGB lights turned on and the city did not go up in flames. Basil gave a confident smile, although Spiro had an amused look.

Something in the back of Basil’s mind told him that Spiro found it amusing the man who built a makeshift Elthrice gunship struggled with basic electrical equipment. He couldn’t tell if it was the abyss reaching out; if it was, it wasn’t nearly as overt as it had been on the few occasions it seemed to scream information or intentions at him. Perhaps it was his intuition coupled with Spiro’s not wearing the mask of an intelligence official around him. Or maybe he was going insane, and it merely looked amusing as he nearly strangled himself in a mess of wire.

“There we go, you can now officially run Amigoso power through this and safely convert it to be compatible with any of my stuff. No more balcony generators for you my good sir.”

Spiro looked like he was going to reply, but ACE came over the speakers on the telecom device wired to the wormhole device they had just installed. “Basil, one of the federal agents we were monitoring cryptically implied one of their so-called ‘spectral guests’ showed up, left, and likely will return. Some social media users are already reporting a bunch of military looking activity in the area, and they are saying the swath of BLM land they blocked off is growing. It has reached the threshold for us to investigate in person.”

A sense of dread hit Basil. They had been monitoring this anomalous activity in the California desert for some time, but throughout it all, he kept telling himself that he and ACE were simply bored. The Elthrice, at least the ones he knew, were too weak to assault Earth. Besides, it sounded like they were hunting spies, and the Elthrice were always loud and aggressive. Nevertheless, he and ACE had put off installing the guns on the soon-to-be gunship that way it’d be ready to fly on a moment’s notice, and they were about to do so to investigate further.

“Alright, let’s go. You able to glean any new information on who’s actually there staking out the place?” Basil asked, sounding more confident towards the end of his statement. “Nothing other than that they are using outdated hardware, that being the reason I was able to intercept and decrypt some of their communication. Whether that is because they are there in a less than official capacity, or because they want to keep this under the radar, I am unable to determine.”

Spiro joined the conversation. “Basil, is there anything I can do to help?” Basil hesitated for a moment before replying. “Yeah, a second pair of hands who knows the Elthrice would be good. But if it actually looks like it could be the Elthrice I’ll probably go down and say hi, and do so as Elthrice given my history with what could be the same people who attacked me before. If I do so, you’ll probably need to stay behind on the craft, unless you can pull off a really good American impression." The two stepped into the unarmed gunship, door closing behind them, before Basil suddenly interjected. “Oh, and I should tell you about my mantel ahead of time; it might be a little surprising if I use it and you’re not expecting it.

“Mantel?” Spiro asked. “Something that keeps the Elthrice and non-Elthrice parts of me into their own little cozy corners of my brain” Basil began, before ACE started relaying information about their departure. While flying inconspicuously prevented them from leaving and re-entering the atmosphere, and thus required them to fly at a much slower speed than they would have using Elthrice crafts on Domum, they were quickly in international waters off the coast. Minutes turned to hours as ACE surveyed the situation and collected as much data as possible.

Eventually, ACE took them overhead; though as they remained out of range of the drones, and restricted data collection to sensors that would not give away their presence, ACE expressed frustration at the little data he was able to collect. Suddenly, however, ACE displayed information on the panels of the gunship as his voice came over the speakers. “We just got hit with radar. With our altitude and the craft’s material they shouldn’t know what we are yet; but we have a very short window until they point every sensor on the ground, in the air, and in orbit they have access to towards us. We either need to go now or announce ourselves.”

Basil took a deep breath. “Drop our altitude fast and turn on every sensor you can, make it look like we’re just arriving. Try to patch me into the radios you broke into. We don’t have an army, so if the Elthrice are actually coming we need to be there when it happens to wallop them immediately and get them to reconsider. We also need to look powerful enough that it’ll demand some respect from those on the ground, but we need to avoid spooking them. If they turn their sights on us we’ll give the Elthrice an advantage.”

“Alright, you’re tapped into their radios” ACE said, and Basil readied himself to make ‘first contact’. “Hello, I believe you made contact with, or are about to make contact with, a dangerous faction of beings I have experience with. I have come to assist you in preventing their spread.” Basil said through his mantle, the echo of a thousand whispers echoing out of the other’s radio and back through his as he spoke. “Identify yourself” a voice on the other side of the radio said, before adding “And tell me how you’re on this network.” Basil paused for a moment to think of how to respond. “You would not comprehend my name, so you may refer to me as X.” Basil lied, remembering the impact he felt when Aurora had said the same to him. Something in the back of his mind told him ‘X’ was a poor choice of name to randomly take on, but he continued regardless.

“As for your network, your key pairs are too simplistic.” The man on the other end seemed distracted, likely alerting others to the breach, but Basil continued. “I have come to assist you in expulsing those that I believe you have gathered to confront.” The man on the other side of the radio seemed confused and angry. “Do not interfere with us, tell us where you are and we will send-,” but Basil cut him off. “I will be arriving momentarily.” Several people began to speak simultaneously, but everybody went silent as their radios relayed the distinctive roar of an Elthrice craft cutting through atmosphere. Several surprised outbursts, followed by frantic speech, broke the radio silence.

The panels of the unarmed gunship lit up again, ACE relaying information collected from the newly running sensors. Two F-15s, both outdated models that should have been retired several years back, were closing in on their location quickly. “Who are you, and why are you here?” asked a rougher, older voice, which seemed to remain calm despite the others’ sounding somewhat frantic or unsure. Before Basil could respond, ACE relayed additional information: the F-15s had both target locked on them. “I already told you what you ask. You may refer to me as ‘X’; I am charged with the containment or destruction of those I believe you are aware of and expect to make contact with.” The calm man seemed to pause momentarily before replying with a quiet but authoritative voice. “Are you one of them, the ones you say we are here for?” Basil answered, a thousand whispers echoing in his reply. “Their kind, yes, but we do not share the same allegiances.”

The calm man seemed to hesitate for a moment, but the man spoke right as Basil began to wonder if he would not get a response. “This area is restricted; leave now and do not interfere. You may return when we give permission and speak with us further.” Basil took a similar silence, worried about starting a fight, but ultimately more concerned about letting the Elthrice gain a foothold. “That I cannot do. I believe the threat you face greatly exceeds your capabilities, and the containment of this faction is my utmost priority.” ACE spoke quickly. “Heat management or durability?” However, time constraints forced ACE to decide before Basil could respond.