The Olympus chamber fell silent.
Every screen displayed the same number.
FLEET ARRIVAL: 4 MONTHS
Adrian stared at the timer as if it might suddenly change back.
It didn't.
"Well," he muttered slowly, "that escalated quickly."
Elara didn't move.
Her attention was still locked on the damaged alien scout drifting near the International Space Station.
The vessel had survived the satellite strike.
And worse—
It had learned from it.
"Olympus," she said quietly.
The system responded immediately.
ALIEN SCOUT STATUS: PARTIALLY DAMAGED
Adrian folded his arms.
"How partially?"
Elara zoomed into the scan.
The satellite strike had torn away a large section of the ship's organic armor.
But beneath it—
New tissue was already growing.
Adrian sighed.
"Self-repairing alien ships."
"Biological regeneration," Elara corrected.
"Same nightmare."
The scout rotated slowly, stabilizing itself in orbit.
Inside the ISS, the astronauts were still broadcasting live video.
Their voices trembled through the communication channel.
"Houston… the object is still active."
Adrian looked at the feed.
"Well, they're not wrong."
Elara analyzed the alien vessel again.
"Olympus detects increased neural activity inside the ship."
Adrian frowned.
"Meaning?"
"It's thinking."
The alien ship extended new sensor structures.
This time they weren't targeting the station.
They were pointing at Earth.
Adrian leaned closer to the display.
"What is it scanning now?"
Elara's eyes moved across the data.
"Military satellites."
"And?"
"Defense systems."
Adrian sighed.
"So it's mapping our weapons."
The council channel reopened suddenly.
Secretary-General Kovac appeared again.
"We just witnessed the strike."
Adrian nodded.
"First battle of the war."
A military commander leaned into the camera.
"Can we destroy the scout?"
Elara hesitated.
"Not with current systems."
Adrian added,
"And if we try again, we might just teach them more."
The commander frowned.
"So we just let it sit there?"
Elara watched the ship carefully.
"No."
Another alert appeared.
ALIEN SIGNAL DETECTED
The scout was transmitting again.
Olympus began translating immediately.
The alien language flowed across the screen like geometric symbols.
Then slowly…
Words.
Adrian read them aloud.
"Planetary defense response recorded."
Another line appeared.
"Primitive species shows unexpected aggression."
Adrian shrugged.
"Well, we're not exactly welcoming them."
The next message appeared.
And the room grew colder.
BEGIN MILITARY ANALYSIS
Elara whispered,
"They're studying how we fight."
Adrian crossed his arms.
"So the next time they attack…"
"They'll be ready."
The alien scout moved again.
This time away from the station.
The astronauts inside the ISS watched as it drifted backward into orbit.
One of them whispered into the radio,
"It's leaving."
Adrian frowned.
"Why?"
Elara answered quietly.
"Because it finished collecting data."
The alien signal continued.
Another line appeared.
PLANETARY DEFENSE LEVEL: LOW
Adrian muttered,
"Hey, that's rude."
But the next message was far worse.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: PRE-HARVEST SUPPRESSION
The council members reacted instantly.
"What does that mean?"
Elara's voice dropped.
"It means they want to weaken Earth before the fleet arrives."
Adrian blinked.
"That sounds bad."
"Very bad."
Because Olympus had just detected new movement from the scout.
The alien vessel changed orbit again.
This time toward a different target.
Adrian looked at the trajectory.
"Where's it going now?"
Elara zoomed in.
The path pointed directly toward Earth's surface.
But not randomly.
A specific location.
Adrian read the coordinates.
"Oh no."
"What?"
"That's the Pacific launch facility."
The site where Project Helios rockets were being prepared.
Elara's eyes widened slightly.
"They found it."
Adrian cursed.
"That scout knows exactly where our first weapon is being built."
The council erupted again.
Military officers shouted orders.
Air defense systems activated.
Missile batteries locked onto the incoming alien vessel.
But Elara already knew the truth.
"It's too fast."
The scout entered the upper atmosphere.
Its organic hull glowed as it resisted friction.
Adrian stared at the speed.
"That thing's moving like a meteor."
On the ground below, alarms rang through the Pacific launch complex.
Workers ran across the launch pads.
Emergency sirens screamed.
One of the Helios rockets was already on the pad.
Nearly ready for launch.
Adrian whispered,
"If that scout destroys the rockets…"
"Helios dies with them."
The alien ship descended lower.
And then—
It stopped.
Hovering high above the ocean.
Adrian frowned.
"That's strange."
The ship wasn't attacking yet.
Instead, it aimed its weapon again.
The same glowing energy cannon.
Elara analyzed the targeting beam.
"It's locking onto the launch facility."
Adrian clenched his jaw.
"If that fires…"
The beam charged.
Energy built rapidly inside the alien weapon.
But suddenly—
Another alert exploded across Olympus.
UNKNOWN SIGNAL DETECTED
Adrian blinked.
"What now?"
The signal wasn't from Earth.
And it wasn't from the scout.
It came from somewhere else in orbit.
Elara's eyes widened.
"Olympus just detected another object."
"Another scout?"
"No."
She zoomed the map outward.
A second alien ship appeared.
But this one was much larger.
Adrian stared.
"That wasn't in the fleet earlier."
"No."
The ship had been hidden behind the moon.
Watching.
Adrian whispered,
"So they sent two."
The second vessel transmitted a signal.
Olympus translated it instantly.
The message appeared across the screens.
SCOUT UNIT 3 — HOLD POSITION
The damaged scout immediately stopped charging its weapon.
Adrian frowned.
"Why would they stop the attack?"
The second ship responded.
Another message appeared.
PRIORITY CHANGE
The next line appeared slowly.
And it made everyone in the room freeze.
PRIMARY TARGET IDENTIFIED
Adrian whispered,
"Oh no…"
Elara already knew.
Because Olympus had just calculated the targeting coordinates.
The new alien ship wasn't aiming at the launch facility.
It wasn't aiming at a military base.
It was aiming at something far more important.
The screen zoomed toward a specific location on Earth.
Adrian stared at the name appearing on the display.
"Olympus facility."
The alien ship had just locked onto them.