Star Wars Star Wars: Cold War

[CBRattler13]

This is an AU fiction story branching from the Star Wars: The Clone Wars episode S3: E18 The Citadel. If you haven’t watched it yet, or not recently, I highly recommend rewatching it for context in Chapter 1. This story will be told from the third-person point of view.

Chapter 1, Freezing Slumber

20 BBY

Jedi Temple, Coruscant

When his eyes landed upon the giant carbon-freezing machine, Kenobi let out a quiet sigh. He should’ve been more aware of what padawan meant by, “I’ve got a thought about that.” The reprogrammed battle-droids should’ve set off a mental alarm, or two. Yet, he never sees his padawan's plans coming. Every time they get assigned to a mission, Kenobi silently hopes that his padawan has finally matured to the point of picking a simple straightforward plan. Yet, he is always proven wrong. Kenobi briefly considered applauding his padawan for thinking outside the box, only for his train of thought to be interrupted.

“Master?”

He turned his head to look at the man standing next to him, his padawan Anakin Skywalker.

“Nothing,” he replied as he turned his gaze back towards the machine, and began approaching with Anakin next to him. As they got closer, clone troopers Rex, Cody, Fives, and Echo joined them as they walked up a small ramp, taking them right underneath the machine. On the floor of the raised platform were seven large circles, each separated from one another by a foot.

“This is your idea?” Kenobi asked as he looked at Anakin. “Carbon-freezing?”

Anakin briefly chuckled before looking at his master with a smirk on his face. They both stopped within a circle, and faced forward.

“Hey, you wanted to shield us from the life-form scanners,” He replied with a raised brow.

Kenobi only smirked as he turned forward again, mental admitting to the claim. Maybe he should heed Master Windu’s words about giving Anakin ideas.

“Uh, are we sure this thing is safe?” Fives asked carefully as he examined the giant freezer. “I don’t want to end up as a wall decoration.”

“Try to relax”, Kenobi replied as he turned back to look at the clone. “We’ll be unfrozen as soon as we arrive."

As he turned back forward, the word soon lingered in his mind. At that moment, a Ugnaught operating the machine inputted a code, springing it to life. The two Jedi briefly looked at each other before the platform began dropping. Their visions went white, as clouds of gas shot out from the various noozles.

“Soon….”

*****

Master Plo Kloon watched as the frozen carbonite block of Obi-Wan Kenobi was moved past him, and into the separatist shuttle. He remained silent as the large hangar bay opened, and the platform the shuttle was on extended to the outside world. The craft levitated up as its leg-like landing retracted. The craft tilted nose up, and blasted off from the pad. Watching as the craft left the atmosphere, he gave his goodbye. “May the force be with you.”

*****

R2-D2 sat in front of the navigation console, with his computer interface arm connecting him to it. If his calculations were right, which they always were, arrival at Lola Sayu would occur within the next five hours. He beeped happily to himself, yet another achievement for his brilliance. After retracting the arm, he returned to the center of the cockpit, monitoring the battle-droids. A feeling of boredom overcame him, as he turned to look out the window. The passing lights of hyperspace are always enjoyable, for the first few times. Once you get used to it though, it becomes dull. R2 let out a sad beep at the fact that his master was now a living ice cube. The astromech would kill for a maintenance check. He even began to wish he had someone to mess with, preferably Threepio. Heck, he would’ve begun teasing the clankers if they weren’t required for the mission. Disappointed, he let out a small chirp. His mopping was quickly interrupted by a red flashing light. The two droids piloting the ship looked down at the button, and then turned towards the astromech.

“General?” they replied in unison as the blue lights of warp speed turned crimson red.

Letting out a screech, he inserted his interface arm into the nav console. The ship violently shook as it left warp. The shuttle began to tumble, causing one of the battle droids to fly into one of the cockipts walls. R2 sat in silence as the craft faced a giant wormhole, which was quickly consuming the shuttle. With his robotic arm moving swiftly, he tried to redirect all power to the thrusters. Just as he inputted the command, the craft shook again as electric sparks began shooting out of the various command panels. As the same droid that was tossed around the cockpit regained his footing, he noticed that his hand was on one of the button panels. “Oh no,” was his final words as a violet shock sent him to the floor, rendering the droid completely motionless.

The computer was no longer responding to commands as the craft began to tumble again. Desperation overtook R2 as he tried inputting a command in a different console, no luck. The only thing he could do was watch as darkness consumed the ship.

*****

It seemed like time had frozen still, but his inbuilt clock indicated only five minutes had passed. The darkness vanished as stars returned to view. Though the tumble was continuing, R2 was confident that the wormhole had released them, but where? His built in star chart was one of the finest, but a precise location from the ship's nav computer would have helped. A close star came to view, as the two remaining B1 units covered their eye sensors. The next thing that came to view was both reassuring, and troubling. A giant planet loomed into view, as the shuttle steadily got closer. Its surface was made up of several large continents, and vast oceans. The most noticeable point was the white cap that was located at its most northern pole, and just so happened to be getting bigger. The stricken craft began to shutter as R2 detected a spike in temperature. Knowing what was next, the droid prepared itself. Letting out a series of beeps, the two pilots looked back at the astromech.

“You want us to do what?” one of the droids asked.

R2 repeated his message, this time with more vigor. The two pilots looked at each other before returning their gaze to R2.

“Whatever you say, General,” A droid replied as he grabbed the ship's yoke. Meanwhile, R2 turned and approached the large door of the cockpit. Then, he placed his arm within the nearby connector. Aware of its lack of power, R2 felt his power reserve drop as the door slowly opened. Letting out a tired chirp, he entered the storage compartment. Examining the carbonite bricks, he was relieved that they were intact, and still had power. As the door to the cockpit closed, R2 approached a nearby console and connected into it.

The shuttle continued its descent into the atmosphere. Flames covered the craft as it streaked through the sky, steadily warping the exterior panels. The flames subsided after a few minutes, revealing the ever growing pole. Letting out a robotic sigh, R2 shuttered as the shuttle systems roared to life. Pulling on the yoke, the shuttle began leveling off into a glide. With his power draining, the lights on R2 began to flicker.

“This gonna hurt,” one of the droids replied as he braced. The other followed suit as various warnings began blaring within the cockpit.

R2 turned his head towards the frozen people behind him. He briefly reflected on the memory of his first encounter with Anakin, and then his duel with R3-S6. He let out a beep, a pained yet joyful one, as he felt himself collide with the wall. As sparks flew, his vision went black.

---

That's Chapter 1 out of the way, I'm planning on getting Chapter 2 done within a few days. If you have any pointers on ways I can improve, please let me know.

 

[LordSunhawk]

This is a very interesting start to things, looking forward to seeing where this goes.

 

[CBRattler13]

Chapter 2, Delta 1

Many, many years later

1964 AD

Arctic Circle, Greenland

“I’ll give you all I’ve got to give. If you say you love me too. I may not have a lot to give, but what I got I’ll give to you. I don't care too much for money. Money can't buy me love.”

The pilot tapped his foot to the song's beat as it played over the headset. It was nothing more than a distraction to the constant roaring of four cyclone radials. His hands remained firm on the yoke of the WV-2 Warning Star, keeping it level at 2000ft over the frigid arctic below. He looked down at the various gauges within the cockpit, briefly checking over the oil pressure, and fuel levels. The latter was slightly concerning since the tanks were below fifty-percent. It wouldn’t be too much longer until he would have to turn for home. The door to the cockpit opened as one of the crew members assigned to radar operations entered. Both the pilot, and copilot turned to look at him.

“Radar picked up a surface contact 30 clicks out to the north east,” the crewmember spoke

“Do you think it's a boomer?” the pilot asked as the copilot grabbed the yoke and adjusted the planes heading towards the contact.

“It’s too hard to tell. The signal is faint,” he replied as the pilot nodded.

“Got it,” the pilot finished. As the crew member left the cockpit, the pilot turned forward.

“Should I resume the song?” the copilot asked.

“No, we need to focus.”

*****

As the flight continued, steadily getting closer to the contact, the pilot became a bit antsy. Repaitly tapped his finger against the yoke, he began processing the upcoming encounter. Even though he was only a pilot, he was aware of the unreliability of Soviet nuke boats. Three years prior, a boomer had a meltdown off Greenland's coast. Those that received radiation poisoning during the ordeal didn’t survive. Perhaps, it had happened again. A speck appeared on the horizon, as the contact neared to 15 miles. Grabbing a binocular from a bin on his left, he held it up to his face with his left hand, while the right remained on the yoke. A tall pillar was protruding from the polar surface, similar to that of a submarine's sail. However, something seemed off as he placed the binoculars in his lap and his left hand returned to the yoke. He pushed the stick forward, causing the aircraft's nose to drop. He only pulled back on the stick once the aircraft reached 800ft.

“What the hell is that?” the copilot asked as he looked through his own binocular.

The tall pillar was attached to a long tube. While its exterior was initially similar to that of a submarine, reinforcing the pilots theory, its color was a mix of gray, blue, and black. Just as the aircraft was about to fly over the object, the pilot tilted the aircraft wings, placing the object in perfect view. Finally, they could comprehend what the object truly was, and it was no boomer. With wide eyes, the pilots examined the craft's structure. It was around the same size as the WV-2’s fuselage, and it had metal bands around its top exterior, similar to a rib cage. Its nose, along with what appears to be glass, was completely crumpled in.

“My god,” the copilot muttered as the plane continued to circle the craft below.

“Radar, are you seeing this?” the pilot asked as he pressed a button on his headset.

“Yes! The radar is sounding like a wailing siren. I’ve never heard a tone this loud before,”

At that moment a sudden idea came to the pilot's mind as he grabbed the mic on his headset and brought it closer to his mouth.

“Take a picture. Take a picture!” he repeated.

A minute went by before a replay came back.

“Washington is going to love this.”

The pilot turned his head forward to look back down at the fuel gauge.

“Crap,” he muttered as the fuel gauge had dropped faster than anticipated.

“We need to bingo,” the pilot spoke as he looked at the copilot, who nodded in return.

As the plane's compass pointed to the south east, the pilot leveled out the wings, and initiated a slight climb. Still processing information, he reached up to a control panel above him, and flicked a switch. “This is Delta 1. Delta 1, over.”

*****

1 week later

The helicopter shook from side to side as it made its way through the blizzard. Other than the two pilots, there was one other passenger aboard. Dressed in a heavy olive drab winter jacket, his affiliation was declared by the single silver star on his left breast. He felt the helicopter's nose pitch up slightly as its forward movement slowed. Not long after, there was a loud thud as it came to a stop on the ground. The man got up from his seat and made his way to the door. Sliding it open, he departed the craft as freezing winter air blew in his face. As he partially covered his face with his left arm, he made out an approaching figure from the fog. He too began to approach, and once close enough, extended his right hand.

“Brigadier General Lee, Air Force.”

The other figure did the same, as the two shook hands.

“Agent Miller, CIA.”

Miller turned around as the two proceeded forward.

“This blizzard was unexpected. We had no warning about it, nor any indication. It simply came out of the blue,” the agent spoke as Lee looked at him. The brigadier general then looked at a vast amount of large lights neatly aligned. Their purpose became apparent, as a large aircraft roared by, and landed at the makeshift runway. Watching as the aircraft, its shape matching that of a C-130, slowled to a halt, Lee’s attention returned to the agent.

“The pentagon wants to know what you’ve found so far,” he spoke as Miller nodded.

“You should see for yourself,”

The two men looked forward to the scene in front of them. Large flood lights surrounded the giant craft, as many people were closely examining it. Near the craft were several large tents, with various scientists constantly leaving, and entering.

“The craft was buried under many layers of ice until just recently, some geological event must've forced it to the surface. Its entire structure of a strong metal compound, completely foreign to our planet. We’ve also detected small amounts of electromagnetic radiation, though it’s not dangerous,” Miller informed as the brigadier nodded. Lee briefly looked at a few workers, whom were beginning to dismantle the alien craft. The two men continued towards the rear of the ship, where a large group had gathered. Making their way through the crowd, both Miller, and Lee stopped as they watched a worker making his way through what appeared to be a large metal door. On the ground were two leg like objects, they were clearly grinded off from the craft. As he continued cutting through the metal, there was a large snap, as one of the doors dropped to the ground. Two individuals scurried out of the way, as the door fell over, sending snow into the air. Everyone’s gaze turned to the gaping black hole, leading deeper into the craft.

Agent Miller was the first to approach, as he pulled a small flashlight from a pocket, and raised it up next to his face. He stopped just outside of the crafts entrance, and examined it with his light. With his remaining hand, he used it to push himself up into the craft. A man came up behind him, holding a M1 Carbine. Miller simply held up his hand to the man, as he pulled a M1911 from his holster, and proceeded deeper. The craft itself was a tight fit, but this was exacerbated by several large slabs neatly aligned in the center of the room. White frost covered the entire surface of the crafts interior, making identifying anything useful difficult. He continued his way until being stopped by a wall, other than a roughly 3ft cylinder, there was nothing else. He turned and headed back the direction he came. He looked out the hole he entered, and saw Lee looking over the shoulder of the man with the carbine. Miller’s attention turned to the slabs, as he holstered his pistol, and began brushing off the frost. Initially, there was nothing, but as he reached for an indent on one of the slabs, he gasped as a face was revealed. He could make out a nose, and a pair of eyes. He turned to look back at the opening, seeing the man had raised his carbine. As the weapon slowly lowered, Miller's eyes went to Lee.

“You’ve got to see this.”

*****

Lined up on the ground were a total of 11 slabs, each with a human-like figure embedded within. Lee watched as an individual took a photograph of each slab. This person was then followed by another with a geiger counter, however no radiation was detected. As Miller came up from behind, Lee turned to face him.

“Certainly unexpected,” he replied as Miller nodded. Lee turned forward as the two of them continued to study the slabs.

“What now?” Miller asked.

“I have to notify the top brass about this,” Lee replied as another individual approached.

“Sir,” the man spoke as he saluted the brigadier.

“At ease,” Lee replied as the man's hand dropped to his side.

“The transport is ready for your departure,” he replied as Lee nodded, then the man turned, and walked away.

“Very well, I must head back to the states. I'll take these slabs, and other removed parts. The plan is to move the entire craft to Langley for research. How long do you think it’ll take for the recovery to be completed?” Lee asked.

“This blizzard pust us behind by some time. The best I can say is a week,” Miller replied as the brigadier shook his head.

“That’s not fast enough. The last thing any of us want is for the Soviets to get involved,”

“I am more than aware. I’ll see what I can do,” Miller replied.

*****

Lee stood within the giant cargo bay of the C-130, overseeing the move of the final slab. A group of ten men were pulling the slab up the ramp, which had small rollers placed on its bottom. Once within the aircraft the rollers were removed, and the slab was tied down. As the group of men began leaving the aircraft, Miller approached.

“That’s the last one. I’ll remain here, and supervise the complete removal of the craft. If anything happens, or we find something new, I’ll reach out,” he spoke as Lee faced him.

“Understood, godspeed agent,” Lee replied as he stretched out his arm, and shook Miller’s hand. As the agent walked down the ramp, it began to rise as the aircraft’s engines began spurring to life. Lee turned around and proceeded to a nearby seat, where he would remain for the rest of the flight.

---

Chapter 2 is now finished. Let me know what you think of the story so far, and if you have any ideas, feel free to share them.

 

[CrazedGamma1721]

Ohh this is a really great story I can’t wait for more although could you threadmark your chapters please other then that great work.

 

[CBRattler13]

Ohh this is a really great story I can’t wait for more although could you threadmark your chapters please other then that great work.

How do I set up the threadmarks?

 

[CrazedGamma1721]

How do I set up the threadmarks?

I do not know will have to ask for that.

 

[CBRattler13]

Chapter 3, Project Frozen Over

Langley Air Force Base, Virginia.

Lee was woken from his sleep as the aircraft landed. After collecting his senses, he moved his hand to the back of his neck. He had forgotten how uncomfortable seats on the Hercules could be. The plane turned onto a taxiway, and proceeded to the apron before stopping. Lee stood up from the chair, as the four Allison turboprops died down, and the large cargo door slowly opened. Briefly squinting as light entered the bay, he looked down at the influx of military personnel entering. Leaving them to their duties, he walked past them, and down the ramp. He briefly looked at the many vehicles in front of him, such as an old Brockway truck with a quick-way crane. Then, his attention shifted to a man who was clearly waiting for him. He was standing in front of a M151 Mutt.

“Brigadier General?” the man asked as Lee nodded. “General McKee is waiting for you in his office.”

The name rang a bell for Lee. McKee was a four star general within the airforce, and acting Vice Chief of Staff. He knew the man quite well. His eyes followed the man’s finger as he pointed at a large building in the distance, certainly the administration building. Initially, Lee was ushered into the jeep, but the man stopped him.

“One other thing, you should change your uniform sir,” the man spoke

Lee looked down at his body, realizing he was still wearing a heavy winter jacket. He snickered to himself as he stepped into the vehicle. The jeep lurched forward as it headed towards the building.

*****

As Lee walked down a hallway, he reached up to his collar. After making sure it was straight, he turned towards a door. On it was a plaque with the name “McKee” on it. Making a fist, he reached for the door.

“knock, knock”

“Come in,” a voice replied from the opposite side.

Opening the door, Lee looked down at the man sitting at a wooden desk. He appeared to be in his late fifties, and his head was mostly devoid of any hair. Various aviation related paintings were scattered around the room.

“Sir,” Lee saluted as he entered the office. The older man simply made a hand gesture, motioning the Brigadier General to the chair opposite of him. As Lee sat down, McKee grabbed a box of cigars. He held it out towards Lee, who simply shook his hand. McKee pulled back the box, and pulled out a cigar for himself.

“Enjoying the warmer weather?” McKee asked with a grin, earning a chuckle from Lee.

“I never thought I would miss the humidity.”

McKee’s attention turned down to a piece of paper on the desk. He grabbed it, and handed it towards Lee, who grabbed it.

“That is more, or less a summary of what we know so far about the alien craft. It arrived on the wire prior to your landing. My superior, along with Secretary McNamara will brief the President on the matter within the hour,” he spoke.

“Why wasn’t this done sooner?” Lee asked as he placed the paper back onto the desk.

“Getting the information ready for presentation takes time. Along with the fears of a spy ring finding out about the discovery. All precautions had to be taken, which delayed things.”

“Understandable,” Lee replied.

McKee shifted his position in the chair as he let out a puff of smoke.

“At this time, you're being assigned to lead Project Frozen Over. Your objective is to study the craft itself, and those human slabs mentioned in the report. Hopefully, we learn a thing or two from it. Scientists from NASA, and some of our boys from the AFCRC will be assigned to the project. Observers from the Navy will also be present, since they found it,” McKee spoke

“It’ll certainly be interesting to have squids around,” Lee replied, causing a grin to appear on McKee’s face.

“Currently, the items you brought back are being moved to Hangar 2 as we speak. Lead Scientist Beyer will be waiting for you there, he’s likely to have already started working. He’ll give you a rundown of the finer details, and tell you how to set up your reports on any findings. One week from now, you’ll be briefing all of the major generals, and secretaries at the pentagon. President Johnson will be there too, so no pressure. If you need anything, just give me a call,” McKee finished, as he stood up.

Lee stuck out his hand, causing McKee to reply with the same gesture. As their hands dropped, Lee raised his right hand into a salute, before turning towards the door.

*****

18 hours later

The typewriter clicked with every press of a key. Once a line was completed, a tap to the platen would start the next line. Lee had never struggled with the concept of writing reports. Unlike many within the military, he understood their importance. Though, his first report would be relatively short. Other than the long briefing from Beyer yesterday, there was only one discovery made. The ship's alloy structure is mostly made up of elements outside of the periodic table. Yet, small amounts of Iron, and Tungsten were discovered in several samples. The alloys themselves were relatively strong, yet are malleable under intense heat, or trauma. Beyer theorized that aircraft made out of this material would not only be lighter, but have better survivability. The observers from the navy had expressed interest in the scientist's theory, stating Grumman could use information from the project to modify their Super Tiger design, among others. Lee was about to begin writing the information down, when there was a knock at the door. As the door opened, the face of Beyer appeared. Beyer was relatively short compared to Lee, who had his roots from the midwest. The scientist always wore wire frame glasses, and spoke in a German accent, indicating his nationality.

“Come in,” Lee spoke as he ushered the scientist into his office. “Is there something you need?”

“Not at the moment. But, there is something I need to show you,”

“Alright,” Lee responded as he stood up from his desk. Walking around the obstruction, and heading out the door. The two men exited a trailer, which was serving as Lee's temporary office, and found themselves within the large interior of a hangar. About twenty feet ahead was a large tent-like structure. Various tubes extended from it, and connected to smaller buildings. In between the trailer, and tent structures were various crates, and military vehicles. As the two men reached the entrance of the structure, they moved aside the plastic strips that served as its door. Inside, many scientists wearing hazmat suits were examining pieces from the salvaged craft. Following Beyer, Lee walked down one of the tubes to a smaller structure. Moving aside the plastic strips, Lee’s eyes landed on the familiar eleven slabs.

“After some initial tests, we have concluded that most of them are humans.”

“Most?” Lee spoke with a raised brow. Beyer mounted Lee with his hand as he walked towards one the slabs. Lee stopped once beside him, and looked down at the person embedded in the slab.

“Subject A07 has a skull structure completely different from that of humans. Where hair would be on a human head, Subject A07 has a large bone structure. It is likely that this structure grows as the subject ages. Earlier today, one of my scientists created the term Saipens Corniger. That’s latin for wise horned man. We’ve also concluded that the subject is the only female of the eleven,” Beyer spoke as Lee nodded. The scientist's attention shifted to a different slab, causing Lee to follow after him.

“Out of the 11 subjects recovered, all but three of them have the exact same facial structure. Including this subject. Also, look at the armor he’s wearing. It’s likely made out of a plastic-like material, far better than what any current military has,” Beyer finished as he turned towards the general.

“Is there anything else?” Lee asked as Beyer reached for a nearby box. After grabbing the item, he brought it towards the Brigadier General. One the side of the box, was the word “Gloves” in bold black letters. Lee reached out and grabbed one of the gloves from the box. Making sure it was firmly on his right hand, Lee looked at the scientist, who motioned his hand towards the slab. Reaching out, and placing his hand on the chest of the subject, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

“It’s warm,” Lee spoke as Beyer nodded.

“I have a theory about that,” he spoke as he turned towards Lee. “It’s time to consider the possibility that extraterrestrials aren’t little green men with flying saucers, but are more similar to us than we realize. The subjects trapped within the ice could also be alive, the ice is mostly made out of carbon, and some tests have shown that the slabs themselves are hollow. Once we collect more data, we can draw a more concrete conclusion,” Beyer finished.

“Very well. I’ll leave you to conduct more research. In the meantime, I’ve got a report to finish,” he spoke as he turned, and walked out of the room.

*****

6 days later

The Pentagon, Washington D.C.

The conference room was dead silent as the many generals, and admirals waited for the final guest. Lee was taking the wait as an opportunity to scan through the papers within a folder, making sure each was in its proper spot. The double doors to the room opened, as everyone turned to face the source of the sound. This was immediately followed with all the guests rising to greet the guest. Following behind President Johnson were two other men. One was Secretary McNamara, while the other was unrecognizable to Lee. His purpose though, was easily distinguished by the black suitcase chained to his arm. As the man carrying the Football walked to a chair in the corner of the room, both the president, and secretary took a seat at the conference table. The only two items in front of the president were two phones. One was black, while the other was red.

“Good morning Mr. President,” one of the generals spoke as Johnson smiled.

“It would’ve been here sooner if it wasn’t for the traffic, and the Secret Service,” he remarked. “Now then, let us discuss the matter about the arctic aliens.”

The guests turned their heads towards Lee, who cleared his throat in response.

“After one week of analysis, I’m happy to announce that several discoveries have been made. The craft itself is made out of a alloy, the materials within the collected samples are outside of the periodic table. However, substitutes could be used to produce a similar material, one the Navy could use in its fighter projects. We’ve also determined that the craft itself had been under the ice for several centuries. The exact time though, we are still figuring that out,” Lee spoke as several of the generals, and admirals were taking notes.

“Interesting, were there any other discoveries made?” McNamara asked, making Lee nod.

“Yes, as you all know eleven slabs with human-like figures embedded within were found. Eight of the slabs have the exact same facial bone structure. Another is a completely different species from our own, an alien essentially. There’s one other thing too,”

“That is?” a general asked.

“My lead scientist believes the individuals within the slabs could still alive. Evidence collected over the past week has only emboldened his belief,” Lee replied.

“Do you believe him?” a general asked with a raised brow.

"We don't have the data yet to prove his claims. But, his past theories have a perfect track record of being proven. Only time will tell," Lee replied.

As the top military leaders nodded, Johnson let out a small sigh. Indicating his intention to speak.

"Yes Mr. President?" Lee asked.

"So far your project has been a benefit to our armed forces. I firmly believe that knowledge we can learn from this discovery can turn the tide of the cold war in our favor. But..." he spoke as he shifted his posture, "I don't understand why I've been kept in the dark so far. Since I'm the Commander in Chief, shouldn't I be allowed to inspect some of the recovered items for myself? Both Secretary McNamara, and I would like to see parts of this alien ships, including the alien you mentioned."

Secretary McNamara nodded in approval to the president's comments, as all eyes turned to Lee.

"Uh... of course, sir."

---

I've been busy for the past week, delaying this chapters release. My life will be even more busy in the coming weeks, so much so I won't be able to start Chapter 4 until early December. However, this wait will allow me to stamp out the finer details of the story, and plan for the next chapter. Tell me what you think so far, and feel free to share your ideas.

 

[Causeimboredrightnow]

Looking good so far, and looking forward to where you’re taking this.

Spoiler: Edits

“You have my approval.”

This is an awesome line to end the chapter on, but what is the president giving approval for? To try and wake them up? To dissect (or vivisect) them? To study the craft?

 

[The Whispering Monk]

This is an awesome line to end the chapter on, but what is the president giving approval for? To try and wake them up? To dissect (or vivisect) them? To study the craft?

Maybe that's the cliffhanger...

 

[CBRattler13]

Hello everyone, I have a small announcement to make. As for the plot I'm going to do for Chapter 4, I had to edit several part of the previous two chapters, Chapter 3 most notably. I recommend reading through the final part of Chapter 3 again to understand the build up to Chapter 4. Speaking of which, I'll be able to work on it sooner than I stated previously, and have it out sometime around, or right after Thanksgiving.

 

[CBRattler13]

Chapter 4, Waaaaaaaah

Andrews Air Force Base, Washington D.C.

Lee’s mind was racing as he paced within a large hangar. After taking several steps, he would turn around, and proceed to take the same number of steps before repeating. He stopped, and turned his head to the left. In the center of the hangar were three different items, each spaced from each by five feet. The first item was a panel from the craft, around 3ft wide, and 2ft tall. It was propped up on a metal stand. The second item was a cylindrical shape, with two leg-like features. Its height was around 3ft tall, and it was mostly white, with several features in blue. Beyer's scientists suggested it was some sort of drone. The third, and final, object was the most important. Held up by a medal stand, the slab of Subject A07 was on display. After examining each object for several seconds, Lee's head turned back forward.

“Something on your mind?” McKee asked as he approached. Walking alongside the general was Beyer.

“Nah. Pacing is just part of my waiting routine, according to my parents,” Lee replied as his eyes shifted to a group of approaching vehicles. Five cars, each painted black, entered the hangar in a uniform fashion. The third car was the longest, as it was a converted Lincoln Continental limousine. The line of cars stopped as several figures dressed in black emerged from the vehicles. One member of the Secret Service approached the limousine, and opened a passenger door. Johnson emerged from the vehicles, along with several of his secretaries, including McNamara.

“Mr. President,” McKee spoke as he saluted the president. Lee followed suit a second later.

“At ease,” Johnson replied as he put his hand out towards McKee. The general's hand dropped, as the two shook hands. Johnson's attention turned towards Lee, whom he began to approach.

“We meet again General,” he said as he shook Lee’s hand.

“It’s a pleasure to have you here sir,” he replied as he turned slightly, revealing the three objects behind him, “Shall we?”

As Lee, and Johnson approached the objects, they were followed by McKee, Beyer, various secretaries, and many members of the Secret Service.

“Why don’t we start with the alien?” Johnson asked as Lee turned to look at him.

“Of course,”

The two men stopped several feet in front of the large slab. Both General McKee, and Secretary McNamara approached from behind. Other than Lee, and Beyer, no one else had seen the slab in person before. All three of the higher ups had an amazed look on their faces.

“I’ll be damned,” McNamara spoke as Beyer approached. He stopped right next to Johnson.

“Beautiful isn’t she?” the scientist asked.

“Indeed,” Johnson replied as his eyes were locked at a certain area of the slab. The president then turned his head towards the scientist.

“Aren’t you the lead scientist who suggested that the alien in this slab is still alive?”

“Yes sir,”

“Do you still believe that?”

“Evidence I have collected since the start of Project Frozen Over has supported my theories. I will need to conduct more research in order to make a conclusion,” Beyer replied as he, and Johnson turned back towards the slab. The entire hangar remained silent for several seconds before McNamara cleared his throat.

“Shall we continue?” he asked as Lee nodded.

“Of course,” the Brigadier General responded.

The five men walked from the slab towards the cylindrical object. They stopped in front of it, and looked down at it. McNamara's eyes then shifted to Lee.

“Curious, what exactly is this?” the secretary asked.

“Honestly, I have no clue sir. The only reasonable thing Beyer, and his team could think of was it being some sort of drone. Like the navy's DASH helicopter,” Lee replied as Johnson turned towards him.

“May I touch it?” the president asked.

“Uh… yes sir. Beyer, do you have a glove by chance?” Lee asked as the scientist checked the pockets on his coat.

“I only have one,” he replied as he handed it to the president.

After making sure it was firmly on, Johnson reached out, and touched the object. Feeling its cold, and metal surface, he moved his hand towards the large black circle at the top of the object. He then moved his hand towards another circle, which was a grayish color, and just below the larger black circle. Johnson shifted his hand, placing his thumb on the circle. After holding it there for a second, he pushed it forward. He felt the circle move backwards, letting out a ‘click’ as it stopped. Lee briefly considered telling the president to not press anything, but dropped it once it was too late. As the president moved his thumb back, the color of the button changed to a red color. After a few seconds, it transitioned to blue. The eyes of five men widened, and they took a step back.

“I… Uh…” Johnson spoke as the top of the cylinder began to turn, similar to that of a head. The cylinder emitted several loud beeps, but the next sound sent them scurrying.

“Waaaaaaaah”

*****

R2 has found himself in many weird situations before, but this took the crown. As his optical receptor reactivated, it laid upon the five individuals before him. For some reason, either the realization he had somehow survived a fatal end, or the saggy facial features of a suited man in front of him, he let out one of his iconic screams. He watched the five individuals stagger backwards as two other individuals, both dressed in black, grabbed the shoulders of the suited man.

“Mr. President, we need to get you out of here,” one of the secret members spoke as the two men began to drag Johnson towards the limousine. Their actions were stopped as he wrestled himself from their control.

“Get your hands off me!” he ordered as other members of the secret service passed the president. The service members, along with several military guards, formed a defensive line between the object, and the president. They had pulled out their weapons, but didn’t raise them until the object let out several more beeps. R2 could only look at the vast amount of guns pointed towards him. He considered using his booster rockets to escape, but warnings indicating that they were no longer functional thwarted his plan. Infact, most of his equipment was inoperable. Luckily though, his legs, and utility arms were still operable. After letting out a sigh of relief in binary, he began to ponder the situation he was in. He had begun to remember the events leading up to the crash, and concluded that he must still be on the same planet. Though, he couldn’t get over their reaction to him. Why were they afraid of him? They know what astromechs are, right? Atleast, they didn't look like separatists.

*****

Lee, like everyone else within the hangar, stared at the cylinder. As a thought came to his mind, he turned his head towards one of the secret service members behind him.

“Do you have a crowbar or something?” he asked as the member nodded before turning, and dashing towards one of the cars. After several minutes he returned with a red crowbar in his hand. After handing it to Lee, the Brigadier General began approaching the cylinder. As he was doing this, the service members, and the guards lowered their weapons. Holding the tool by the shaft, he stopped several feet from the cylinder, which was now looking back at him. Pointing the flat heads towards it, he poked it, letting out a loud ‘thud’. The cylinder responded a second later.

“Hisssss”

Lee took several steps back, and the weapons in the room were raised again. R2 turned his head towards the left, mostly out of curiosity. His head stopped once he saw the slab displayed on the pole, and the face protruding from its surface. R2 steadily turned his entire body towards it, as Lee crouched down, and gently placed the crowbar on the ground. R2’s body tilted as his center foot extended from his body, and touched the floor. With his internal motors whirred to life as he began moving forwards towards the slab. The many armed personnel tracked the astromech with their weapons, but stopped once Lee held up his hand towards them. R2 moved to the opposite side of the slab, and tilted his body to look down at a button panel near the slab's bottom. After staring at it for several seconds, he let out a series of beeps. However, they only turned to look at each other, all with confused looks on their faces.

“Is it trying to speak?” McNamara asked as McKee turned towards Beyer.

“Morse?” he asked the scientist, who responded by shaking his head. Everyone’s eyes returned to the astromech who repeated the same line of beeps again, only louder this time. R2 would’ve let out a groan if he could. He inched closer to the slab, and a small feature opened as a small arm appeared. The arm extended towards one of the buttons, and pressed it. The once gray panel turned wide, as loud cracking sounds were emitted from the slab. Lee took a step back as the figure within the slab steadily turned red. A cloud of gas was emitted, which quickly vanished. The gas covered the figure, which fell face first onto the concrete floor. Two chrome colored cylinders fell off the figure upon hitting the floor, and stopped rolling after several inches. Lee was the first to approach as he looked down with wide eyes. The top of the figure's head was a mix of blue, and white. There was also a ponytail feature which stopped just below the neck line. The figure's skin was an orange color, while the clothing was mostly red, with black leggings.

“My god…” Lee muttered as he pulled a handkerchief out of a pocket on his uniform. He lowered himself onto one knee, and put the cloth into his hand. Then, he reached out and grabbed the figure's arm. Though it felt cold initially, he could feel the heat steadily rising. He pushed the arm upwards with some effort, which flipped the figure onto its back. A crowd had gathered around Lee as their eyes laid on the female before them. Lee carefully studied her facial features, including the white marks on her face. He was also listened to the figures breathing, though it sounded awfully weak. His attention shifted to the astromech beside him, which was in the process of reaching for one of the metal cylinders on the ground. As R2’s arm touched the object, Lee quickly snatched the item out of his grasp. The general stood up at the same time, towering over the astromech below. R2 let out an angry series of beeps as he rushed towards Lee’s leg. A loud ‘thud’ occurred as the droid hit his leg.

“Oww… son of a… Someone restrain that thing!” he ordered as several guards, and secret service members tackled the droid. Once seeing that the droid had been pinned down, he turned his attention to the item in his hand. He studied the black lines of the item, and the different bits scattered over its surface. It reminded him of a sword handle, and he briefly considered pushing a red button on its side. However, he changed his mind.

“Someone get Langley on the line...”

*****

Langley Air Force Base, Virginia

Lee, and Beyer looked through the window into the room in front of them. Inside, the alien was placed in a hospital bed, and was connected to both a heart rate monitor, and a IV. After letting out a quiet sigh, Lee turned his head towards the scientist.

“I was just notified about director McCone’s visit tomorrow. You can add that to the growing guest list. Have you collected any blood samples yet?” he asked.

“Ja, we also collected several skin samples too. We’ll have results in the coming days,” he replied. Just as he finished, a series of beeps came from their left. Both men turned their heads towards the astromech chained to a pillar.

“Sometime soon we’ll deal with that thing. At least the top brass will enjoy looking at it,” Lee spoke as he turned to walk away. After taking a step, he groaned slightly after using the leg hit by R2. Letting out a sigh, we steadily limped away. The astromech let out a series of beeps, as if he was laughing.

---

I want to thank LordSunhawk for giving me the idea for this chapter. Also, I wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving!

 

[CBRattler13]

Chapter 5, Making History

Langley Air Force Base, Virginia

Lee typed away on his typewriter as he turned his lead to look up at a clock mounted on the nearby wall. Seeing that it was fifteen past eleven, he let out a yawn as he continued typing. He could feel that his eyelids were becoming more heavy as he wrote about the lack of amnesia used to keep Subject A07 unconscious. Beyer insisted the drug not be used, citing it could act like a toxin for the alien. As he finished a line, he leaned back from the machine, and let out a sigh.

“It wouldn’t hurt to close my eyes for a few minutes,” he thought as his eyelids were steadily becoming heavier. Bringing his left hand up to his brow, he closed his eyes.

“Ring… Ring…”

Lee’s eyes shot open, as his head raised from the table in front of them. He turned his head to look at the phone before him. Grabbing the handle, he brought it up next to hir ear.

“Brigadier General Lee speaking,” he spoke as he listened to the voice on the other end. After listening, for several seconds his eyes widened.

“What do you mean she’s waking up,” he asked as he stood up. After several seconds, he dropped the phone, and dashed out of his office. Shoving the door of the trailer open, Lee bolted towards the tent structure before him. Once inside, he briskly walked towards Beyer, who turned to look at him. Lee stopped next to the scientist, as both men peered into the room before them.

“Increases in brain wave activity means she's becoming conscious. It shouldn’t be too much longer until she wakes up,” Beyer spoke as Lee nodded. Lee’s attention briefly turned to the various scientists setting up various devices, including a camera. The Brigadier General turned his head towards the nearby cylinder chained to a wall. As its one black eye stared at him, he rolled his eyes before looking forward again at the subject.

***

Darkness. All there was darkness. Her senses were in a spin as numbness overtook her. As the aches in her body began to steadily die down, one of her eyes cracked open. The light blinded her as her other eye opened. Even though her mind wasn’t exactly quite aware of her surroundings, that didn’t stop her from looking around the room. She turned her head towards a chrome colored pole next to her. Hanging from it was a bag with a clear liquid in it. Her eyes followed a tube all the way down to where it was connected into her arm. She tried to move her right arm, only to find it had been chained to the bed's railing. It was the same case for her other arm. After trying to get her arms free for several seconds, she gave up as her eyes looked up at the large mirror in front of her, which covered most of the wall. Underneath the mirror was a table, which had a globe on it. On the opposite side of the mirror, everyone watching had wide eyes as the camera's tape rolls were spinning. A man came up behind Lee and tapped his shoulder.

“Sir, Secretary McNamara is on the phone. He wishes to speak with you,” the Brigadier General nodded as he turned, and followed the man towards a phone on the nearby wall. Picking it up, he raised it to his head.

“Brigadier General Lee speaking.”

“She’s finally waking up right?”

“Yes sir,” Lee replied as the secretary let out a sigh.

“You're going to have to initiate first contact with the alien Lee,” McNamara spoke as Lee’s eyes widened.

“Sir…”

“Listen Lee, you're the only one available for the task. The president is… occupied at the moment. Other high ranking military officials are out of state, or asleep. It's four o’clock in the morning. Just, try to interact with it. Maybe get it to speak a word or two. Think of it as your mark on history, so no pressure,” the Secretary spoke as a smirk appeared on Lee’s face.

“Understood sir, over and out,” Lee replied as he hung up the phone, and began to approach Beyer. Stopping beside him, the scientist turned to look at him.

“Secretary McNamara has ordered me to initiate first contact. Wish me luck,” Lee spoke as he turned and approached a door that led to the inside of the room. He reached for the door handle, and grabbed it. Letting out a sigh, he began to slowly pull the handle down. It wasn’t until the handle was half way down before the subject turned her lead to look at the opening door. Both her, and Lee’s eyes locked as he entered the room. He briefly turned away to gently close the door behind him, but then turned towards her again. Silence filled the room as the two individuals studied each other. After inhaling, Lee finally spoke.

“I presume you must be wondering what's going on.”

“Heh, no kidding,” the Subject replied as Lee’s eyes shot open.

“You… you understand me?” he asked as he brought his right hand to his chest.

“Why wouldn’t I? You're a human,” she replied as Lee’s eyes went wider. This was certainly not how he expected this interaction to go. He turned to look at a chair next to it. Taking a step back, he sat down as his right hand went to his temple. It was at that moment, that he had forgotten his manners.

“I am Brigadier General Lee of the United States Air Force,”

“I’m Ahsoka Tano, of the Jedi Order,” she replied as Lee raised a brow.

“Jedi Order, what’s that?”

“You know… peacekeepers of the galaxy,” she replied as Lee had a blank expression on his face. It was after seeing his face, that a question dawned on her.

“What planet am I on?”

“You're on Earth.”

“Earth?”

“Yes, more specifically we’re in the country of the United States of America,” he spoke as his head turned to the conveniently placed globe to his left. Grabbing it, he spun it around until his home country was facing Ahsoka. He also brought up his remaining hand, and pointed towards the state of Virginia. As he placed the globe back onto the table, Ahsoka spoke.

“That’s great, but how did I get here?”

“Several weeks ago the ship you were found in was discovered in the arctic circle. It was subsequently brought here, where you were freed by a white tin can, more or less,” he replied as a smile appeared on Ahsoka’s face.

“Is his head reflective, with blue bits over it?”

“Yes.”

“That’s Artoo,” she replied. On the other side of the mirror, every scientist was so fixated on Ahsoka, that they didn’t notice the astromech welding his way out of the chains. Right as they broke, he grabbed both ends with his arms and slowly lowered them to the ground. Letting out a chuckle, he turned and proceeded away. He had more pressing matters to attend to. After mentioning his name, Ahsoka let out a yawn as Lee stood up.

“You must be feeling tired. When Artoo freed you, you just dropped to the ground like a corpse. You’ve been out for a solid week.”

“A week?!” she yelled as she sat up.

“Hey, take it easy. Get some rest, there’s a lot of people who would like to meet you,” he finished as she nodded and laid back down. Lee turned towards the door and proceeded out. After gently closing the door, he proceeded towards Beyer. Once he stopped in front of the scientist, did the camera stop rolling.

“Let’s wrap it. See if you can get multiple copies of the tape. I know that the top brass would love…” he abruptly stopped as his eyes widened.

“What is it?” Beyer asked as he turned towards the direction Lee was staring in. Before them was a pillar with severed metal chains laying on the ground.

“Shit.”

***

“Get the base commander on the line and tell him to send a security detachment to Hangar 2,” Lee spoke as a Lieutenant nodded and headed for a nearby phone. Lee’s attention shifted to Beyer who approached him.

“You were only taking Ahsoka for a few minutes, it couldn’t have gotten far. I suggest we go check the remaining slabs,” the scientist suggested as Lee nodded. The two men proceeded through a set of tubes until reaching the room where the slabs were stored. The room was pitch black, as Lee reached for a nearby switch. After flicking the lights on, the two mens eyes laid on the astromech staring back at them. Their attention quickly turned to the ten figures laying in front of their respective slabs.

“Great…” Lee muttered a he approached the figures laying on the ground. However, R2 quickly turned towards him, and deployed one of his arms. The droid let out a series of beeps, a warning for the Brigadier General.

"Move aside Artoo," he added as he reached for a figure whose attire was mix of black, and brown. Right before his hand touched the figure, Artoo's arm sent out a lightning shock, hitting Lee's hand.

"Oww!" he yelped as he stepped back. After examining his hand, he groaned as his eyes locked onto the astromech. As footsteps became audible behind him, both men turned towards the approaching Lieutenant.

"Uhh... the base commander wants to know if you need anything else," he spoke.

"A medical ward would be nice," Lee replied.

---

Sorry for the wait on this chapter. I had some writers block when I was writing it, and a health issue made it hard for me to focus on this story. At least this chapter is out now. I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas, and a happy new year.

 

[Agent23]

You have my attention, this is promising.