Truth-Seekers: Prometheus

Episode 03: First Contact

Previously on Truth-Seekers… Scott and his friends get in contact with an informant named AlienHunter. After witnessing his murder right in front of him, Scott loses hope. But then the three truth-seekers are kidnapped by who they soon discover is the real AlienHunter -- a woman who tells them to call her Victoria. The President addresses the nation, revealing that First Contact with an alien race is about to occur. But instead, Victoria believes that an alien invasion has begun.

---

The frat house was strangely silent as Xander watched the President on his small bedroom TV. He couldn’t believe what he had just heard. It wasn’t the part about the aliens though. The Meta Theta Pi house definitely knew full well by now that aliens existed. All of their Metagene powers came from an alien race after all. But the fact that the government just revealed it on television -- that he couldn’t believe.

Xander left his room, then ran downstairs into the common room excitedly. “Did you guys just see--?!” Xander exclaimed, until he noticed that the room was completely empty. “…that…?” His face turned from that of excitement to confusion. Where was everybody?

“Chris! Cassie!?” He called out to them. But the only reply Xander got in return was silence. “Very funny, guys! You can come out now!” But there was no movement whatsoever as the silence returned.

Xander quietly made his way into the kitchen. Upon seeing that someone had left the refrigerator door halfway open, he walked over and closed it. Something definitely wasn’t right here, Xander thought.

He used his Metagene ability to lift a glass pitcher from the sink. It was the best weapon he could find right now. As he walked, the pitcher followed him, levitating in mid-air.

Suddenly, two arms grabbed him from behind. This made Xander lose his concentration. The pitcher fell to the floor and shattered. Xander quickly turned around and found that the arms belonged to Cassie. She wrapped her arms around him tightly and sobbed.

“Cassie. What’s going on?” Xander asked.

“They’re-- They’re all gone.” Cassie told him. “Everyone.”

“Where? Where did they go?” Xander brushed a few strands of hair out of her face. And right after he dropped his hand, he got his answer. A dart hit Cassie’s neck, and within moments she became lifeless in his arms.

Xander slowly lowered Cassie to the floor, then removed the dart and tried to wake her up. “Cassie. Cassie!” But it was no use. She was unconscious.

He stood again and began looking around for a worthy weapon. But before Xander could find one, he felt a dart puncture his neck as well. His eyelids became droopy and he soon fell to the floor. Xander landed right next to Cassie. And just before passing out as well, he clumsily raised his arm and moved a few stray strands of hair out of her beautiful face for the last time.

---

A confused look appeared on Scott’s face upon Victoria’s words. “An invasion? It doesn’t look like that to me.”

“Trust me, that’s the way they want it to be.” Victoria told him. “These aliens will sneak in under the cover of a lie and then perform a surprise attack on the populace. It’s the quickest way to attain total domination.”

“What race of aliens are we talking about?” Scott asked. In the good old days with his brother, Scott had seen many different alien races.

“You wouldn’t know of them. This is their first large-scale visit to Earth.” Victoria replied. “Well.. Do you accept?”

“I’m.. not sure.” Scott said. “I mean, we have to be careful who we trust. Especially now.”

“I understand.” Victoria nodded. “However, time is fast running out. Perhaps I could prove myself to all of you.”

“How?” Jeff muttered, then glanced toward the others. They seemed to be trusting her more than he was. He still had a bad feeling about this.

“Scott can take a mission to visit one of these aliens that are already living in hiding here on Earth. You can convince him to tell you the truth about the invasion, then eradicate him if you like.” Victoria explained. “And since you, Jeff, seem more difficult to convince… how about I transport you to a government archive facility. I can get you inside and then you can read conspiracy truths to your heart’s content. You’ll also be picking up a very important file about the alien race we’re dealing with.”

“No.” Scott blurted out abruptly. “We shouldn’t be separated.”

“No, it’s okay.” Jeff said to Scott, then turned back toward Victoria. “I’ll do it.” Her offer was too good to pass up. All the answers that he’s looked for for so long were now being offered to him. Jeff had to take it. If it was a trap, he’d have to deal with that when it came up.

“Alright. So it’s settled. I’ll go make the arrangements.” Victoria then left the room.

“What are you doing?” Scott almost exclaimed once he was sure Victoria was out of earshot. He then got to his feet and faced Jeff.

“It’s all the truths that I’ve been--” Jeff began.

“But it might be a trap--” Scott interrupted him.

“Don’t try and change my mind, Scott.” Jeff said clearly. “I know what I’m doing.”

---

The alien spacecraft was now approaching Earth. They had finally arrived at their destination. But the ship had barely passed by the moon when an alarm sounded inside. The spacecraft’s computer had detected other ships within Earth’s orbit and the protocols it had been programmed to do immediately went into effect. The hibernating alien/human hybrid was awakened and her eyes slowly opened.

---

Scott and Britt were delivered back to her apartment blindfolded. It was either that or be knocked out again in order to keep Victoria’s location a secret. She actually gave them the option.

As the van pulled away and out of the parking lot, Scott fished a slip of paper out of his pocket and showed it to Britt. The address written on it didn’t seem that far away. “We have work to do.” Scott told her.

“Wait. You’re actually going to do it?” Britt asked.

“Of course.” Scott replied. “And fast. We need to get this out of the way before moving forward.”

“And you trust this woman?” Britt told him. “Because I don’t think I do.”

“We’re doing this to prove that we can trust her. Weren’t you listening?” Scott began to make his way toward his car, but Britt stopped him.

“Is your brother this foolish?” she asked.

Scott turned back to Britt. “Sometimes. Especially when he wants to protect those he loves.” Once he noticed what he had said, Scott turned and began walking toward his car. Britt gave up the argument and then followed close behind.

---

The alien/human hybrid girl slipped the full-body suit over her thin frame and zipped it up. She looked like any average human teenager, unlike her alien teammates in the other hibernation tubes behind her. But mentally, she was a lot more advanced.

Upon reaching the main computer console, the hybrid saw why she was awakened prematurely. The other spacecraft that it had detected were already moving into place all over the planet. She feared that they had already arrived too late.

---

Scott and Britt had finally arrived at the address Victoria had given them. He parked the car a little down the road from the house itself. Because they had been interrupted during their supper, the two had made a brief stop at a fast food place before arriving here. Now the sun was beginning to set and the darkness of night was approaching to take its place.

Scott put aside the fast food trash and sighed. “I hope Jeff is alright.”

“Well, by how you explained what he said.. he probably deserves whatever he gets by this point.” Britt told him.

“Britt!” Scott exclaimed.

“Kidding! For the most part anyway.” Britt explained. “But I swear, he must even more foolish than you.”

Scott grimaced. “Are you ready?”

“Of course not. But.. let’s get this over with.” Britt told him.

They had mulled over their plan for whoever waited inside during their brief meal. And Scott was now pretty sure that they were ready.

Scott and Britt exited the car at nearly the same time and made their way to the front door of the house they had been looking for. Scott made it there first and knocked on the door. After a few moments with no answer, Scott knocked again a little louder. This time, the door slowly swung open a few inches by itself. The door had been left open.

Britt then reached up and pushed the door open further. The room beyond was surprisingly empty, except for a table, a chair and a laptop computer.

“Hello?” Scott called, then looked to Victoria’s note again for the man’s name. “Mr. Driscoll?” There was no immediate response, so Scott and Britt cautiously walked into the house.

---

As the black car drove down the street toward its destination, Jeff looked out one of the backseat windows and watched as the unknowing world raced by. There were so many people out there who were enslaved by their government and didn’t even know it. It was due to the fraudulent money system that now controls the world. John F. Kennedy tried to taken down that system and look what they did to him. And as the car continued down the road, the more Jeff believed that his end was fast approaching as well.

At last, Jeff decided to speak to the men in black suits who he suspected were escorting him to his demise. “So.. where are we really going?”

“Someplace.. safe.” the driver replied. “Your new home.”

Jeff lightly sighed, closed his eyes momentarily, then turned his eyes back toward the window. Suddenly, the ignorant world out there didn’t look so bad.

---

“Hello? Mr. Driscoll?” Scott called out again. And again, there was no reply except for a slight echo from the nearly empty room. He then looked to the open laptop computer and a basic desktop greeted him on the screen. Scott reached for the attached computer mouse, but a new voice froze him in place for a moment.

“I wouldn’t touch that if I were you.” stated the voice. Scott quickly turned and saw Victoria entering the room from the next room. And within her right hand she held a gun aimed at Scott. Victoria motioned with her gun for Britt to join Scott and she did.

“What are you doing here?” Britt asked her before Scott could.

“I think you already know.” Victoria replied, then smirked.

“There is no Mr. Driscoll.” Scott stated.

“See? Told ya.” Victoria confirmed, still smiling.

“Where did you take Jeff?” Scott asked.

“Someplace safe.” Victoria told them. “Why did all of you go along with this so easily?”

“Because even if it was a trap, there was still a possibility to get some answers.” Scott said, then smiled. “And we have.”

“Really…” Victoria’s smile faded slightly now.

“It is an alien invasion. You took us on a wild goose chase to insure that it happened. And I was sure of it the moment you came into the room.” Scott told her. “But why?”

“That’s for you.. not to find out.” Victoria told him.

“So.. what happens next?” Scott asked.

“Brittany will probably join Jeff.” Victoria explained. “But you, Scott, are way too dangerous to allow to live. Especially after what’s planned for tonight.”

As they talked, Britt noticed that Victoria seemed to have begun paying more attention to Scott than to Britt. She took a quick look at Scott out of the corner of her eye. And then Scott did the same. That was the sign. It was time.

Britt returned her gaze toward Victoria. But at the same time, Britt slowly reached behind her back. Then she quickly pulled out the gun hidden there and aimed it toward the woman. Upon that action, Victoria redirected her gun toward Britt. “Drop it. Now!” Britt demanded.

Victoria stood silently and stared Britt down for a few moments, then finally complied and dropped the gun. Scott quickly kicked the gun away from her, then picked it up for himself.

“Your silly submissiveness has doomed your planet, Scott.” Victoria stated. “The invasion begins tonight and now there‘s nothing you can do about it.” She smiled once again.

“…What? No. No. You’re lying.” Scott said, beginning to overflow with emotion. It couldn’t be true… could it?

“I assure you that I am not.” Victoria proclaimed.

“Why have you done this.. to your own planet?” Scott pleaded.

Victoria smiled more than ever. In fact, she almost laughed. “The craft should be appearing in the skies anytime now. See for yourself.” She slowly motioned toward the large living room window. Victoria was then quite surprised when both of them looked toward the window. Britt only looked at the window for a moment, but that was long enough.

When they both looked back, they both discovered that Victoria was already gone. Scott immediately ran through the entryway that Victoria had mostly likely used to make her exit, but the connecting room -- the kitchen -- was also empty. He then ran out the back door. Scott was greeted by an almost dark and empty backyard. There was no sign of Victoria out there either. How could she have possibly gotten away so quickly?

Scott then turned his eyes back to the sky. The sun had now set and darkness had taken over. Stars twinkled above. There wasn’t as many as Scott remembered in his childhood, but-- Scott suddenly noticed that something seemed not right about the stars tonight. Then he remembered what Victoria had said and assumed it was just his paranoid mind seeing things that weren’t really there. Because that’s what all of that was -- it was all just a ploy so that she could escape.

Britt walked out on the porch and joined Scott. “She out here? I looked through the house and nothing.”

“No.” Scott replied. “She must already be gone by now. Are you alright?”

“Yeah.” Britt lightly smiled. “I--” As she looked to the sky, Britt’s smile disappeared, as well as the color out of her face.

“What’s wrong?” Scott asked her.

“Scott.. look!” was all that Britt could say.

Scott immediately looked to the sky in the direction that Britt was pointing.. and saw what she saw. Scott’s face now changed to match Britt’s. The lights above them moved unlike any aircraft as it moved across the sky. And the spacecraft blotted out the stars. Where had such a large craft come from so suddenly?

Then Scott realized that what Victoria has said was true -- the alien invasion was beginning right before their eyes.. and Scott had allowed it to happen. “Britt.” Scott sighed. “We need to go. Now.”

“Where?” Britt asked.

Scott looked to the sky and the humongous spacecraft once again. “Someplace safe.” Scott told her.

---

The alien/human hybrid watched from her spacecraft helplessly as the enemy decloaked their craft and revealed themselves across the planet. The worry on her face became more apparent as she realized that the first wave of attacks were about to begin.

Suddenly, another alarm sounded throughout the ship. She consulted the console and learned that another attack was coming. Another spacecraft was preparing to fire at her ship. She reacted right away in order to power up the weapons system. But it was too late. A huge orange-yellow beam of light shot through space and hit their craft. The blast rocked the ship to one side, nearly knocking the girl off her feet.

And then they all began to fall to Earth. The girl tried her best to stop the ship, but she soon learned that it was no use. The Earth kept getting closer and closer on the viewscreen as she tried her best to survive the imminent crash. She turned and looked toward her crew members still in hibernation sleep, then back toward the viewscreen. The worry on her beautiful face was now joined by fear.

---

Scott and Britt made it back to her apartment, packed up some important things very quickly, then took off again. Scott had asked Britt to drive Jeff’s RV, and after some arguing, she did. She drove the RV in front of him now, as he kept his eye on the craft behind them. It had come as a surprise out of nowhere. Now they had to run as far as they had to in order to survive and battle another day. Scott sensed that there was going to be a lot of these days ahead of them now.

As he watched in the rearview mirror, the center of the large spacecraft continued a brighter and brighter orange-yellow color. And all of sudden, a similarly-colored beam of light came out of the spot and struck the Earth below. And within moments, the ground beneath their vehicles shook in response.

Britt immediately pulled the RV over to the side of the road, and so Scott followed suit. They both jumped out of their cars and then looked back at the town that they had left behind. Upon seeing what was happening, Britt’s mouth fell open in shock. “Oh my god. She was telling the truth.”

Scott noticed how scared she was. He ran up to her and wrapped his arms around her. For a few moments, Britt welcomed him.. but then she saw something over his shoulder and pushed him away. “What?” Scott asked.

“Look.” Britt muttered, as if she were so frightened that she could barely speak the words at all.

Scott turned back toward town and immediately saw what had gotten Britt so shaken up. A huge wall of yellow-orange flame was heading straight for them and it was coming upon them fast. As it advanced, it set houses, cars and whatever else it touched aflame. A few people in nearby houses were quickly running to their cars in order to escape.

“Oh, shit.” Scott muttered. “Go! Go! Go!” It wasn’t until after he screamed that he noticed that Britt was already jumping back behind the wheel of the RV. Scott jumped back into his own car and the two of them quickly took off down the street.

Scott watched nervously through the rearview mirror as the massive flames engulfed everything they left behind. It was then that he noticed that the flames were approaching too quickly. They would soon be set aflame as well. But they were driving as fast as they could. There was nothing more he could do…

The two vehicles raced past the Sacramento city limits sign. And then as Scott watched in the rearview mirror, the immense wall of flame abruptly dissipated right as it reached the sign. The massive damage to the city and fires were left behind however.

Scott pushed down on the car’s brake, then turned back and stopped where the destruction had ended. Beyond that point, not a single building or living thing was left untouched. Everything was burning. A few houses that he had passed were no longer standing. A little further away, Scott also thought he saw a few cars further down the road. Those people hadn’t escaped alive.

Operation Prometheus, Scott remembered. The god who brought fire down to Earth.. Had done so once again. And what must be thousands have suffered and died. Scott feared that this was only just the beginning. And he was right.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Coming up on Truth-Seekers… Cities around the world lie in ruin after the first wave of attacks from an alien race whose intent is invasion. Scott and Britt try to regroup after this surprising turn of events. Meanwhile, an alien/human hybrid girl arrives on Earth and goes out in search of allies on a planet she does not know.