First lady, Gillian Armstrong sat in the back of the black limousine. It was cruising along on it's way back to the White House. She was trying to unwind having attended yet another charity event.

This time it was all about the enviroment and how the Visitors could improve the state of the atmosphere, having been deteriorating over the last 100 years due to the use of fossil fuels.

Lead Visitor scientist Diana had headed a presentation with remarkable evidence that they had sent ships out with special stratasphere scanners to reveal the true extent of the damage.

Gillian sighed and rubbed her toes, it all went over her head and sometimes it felt like the Visitors were deliberately trying to overwhelm situations, deliberately making a situation far worse than it was, then coming up with a fantastic 'cure' to answer everybodies dreams.

She looked out to the passing buildings as she thought about whether she could talk to her husband about all of this. He had to be seen as impartial. She pulled out the pass from her purse. she chuckled, she the President's wife even had to have a special pass to be out after Martial law warranted.

The carphone then rang and she knew that it was Neil calling her. She picked it up and smiled, "Hi...I'm on my way...I should be with you in about twenty minutes, it would be nice to spend some quality time together..."

...

Neil Armstrong sat back in the oval office, the low lamp was on - his phone to his ear, "I'll look forward to it - I've got John coming over so that I can inform him personally of my disapproval of the way he has handled things - Martial law is taking it's toll - and I'm starting to feel the pressure as you all well know..."

"Okay...lets just hope he doesn't stay for too long", said Gillian.

"See you soon honey...I love you", Neil gently replaced the receiver. He stood up and rubbed his temples - Jesus, what had become of the world these last few weeks? It was starting to look like, however much unintentional, that the human race was rapidly loosing it's grip of running it's own planet.

Suddenly he saw the bright lights flood outside on the lawn.

"What the..."

In the dim light of the shadowery office, he marched up to the french doors, but he paused when one of his marine body guards came running out from the blinding light outside waving his hand and yelling out, "No sir! Don't come out here!"

And then he was pounded by streaks of electric blue. The guard was on the patio area outside the doors lifeless.

Neil's heart pounded as he backed away towards the far wall of the office. He had been expecting the Supreme Commander, not this outrage. He went to make for the door when the french doors crashed inward and no less than 6 fully armed Visitor shock troopers came in aiming their laser rifles straight at him.

A sharp female voice rang out from the blinding light outside the twisted doors, "There is NO escape for you Mr President - I suggest you come with us quietly"

Neil recognised the voice as belonging to Sub-Commander Michele of the flagship, he squinted and held his hand out to shield his eyes from the bright lights.

"Where is john! What is the meaning of this!"

Michele's boots crunched over the broken glass as she came forward and watched as her troops surrounded the President.

"We are about to up-step our mission - and you will ask too many unwanted questions..."

Neil shook his head puzzled, "Your mission? But you have come here to produce this life saving chemical you need..."

Michele narrowed her eyes at him sharply, "we are here for far more than that Mr President...", she turned her head and stood aside, "...Rosa"

Rosa the science officer came in with a huge syringe in her grasp. Neil's eyes homed in on it, "What the hell is that!"

Rosa came forward as two of the troops forced the president down onto his knees and Rosa stabbed the syringe in his shoulder.

Neil became instantly drowsy. It was all a blur as he was dragged through the snow like a dog and hurtled into the dark interior of a shuttle before a flash of blue put an end to his ordeal.

VVV

The skyfighter came out of the darkness and cruised high above the road where the First lady's limousine was on the approach to the White House.

It was flagging up in the center of the target finder, and the pilot pressed fire.

Gillian screamed in terror as a flash of blue hit the road ahead of them and the blast sent the vehicle flying up into the air turning onto it's side and crashed, skidding along until it came to a stop.

Gillian couldn't move, she coughed and realised her driver was dead, the blood trickling from his open mouth.

She then heard the army of footsteps coming her way and from where she lay, she could see the black boots outside the car.

And then a laser-rifle was in her face...

VVV

The drizzle came down from a murky sky as Ralph Harrison was doing a special feature at the chemical plant at Baltimore. The Visitor media cameras were present as was Commander Gerald and key workers from the most successful plant in the US.

Ralph wrapped up his feature, "So that is an update of how we of Earth are doing our bit to help our Visitor friends plight, from all of us here at the Baltimore facility - back to you Kristine..."

Ralph lowered his mic and looked at Gerald standing behind him, "Was that satisfactory?"

Gerald clapped his hands in a gesture, "fantastic, as always Ralph"

Alex Fisher and Adam went back to work. Rosemary Kennedy who had been one of the guests today made herself heard above everyone else, "and my husbands speech was excellent too may I add..."

Gerald nodded as she clutched his arm, "...Gerald...dinner at our place tonight? We haven't had the pleasure of your company of late..."

The flagship commander smiled warmly at her, "I'm sure I can manage that, my dear..."

Rosemary beamed a smile in her over-glamerous dress, "Ohhh good!"

Edward and Ralph followed them to the waiting limousine - the December gloom making the atmosphere oppressive.

"I will see you later...",said Gerald as he watched her slip into the back and closed the door after her. Edward turned to Gerald before he jumped in on the opposite side, "I have heard that the President is in talks with the Supreme Commander aboard the flagship?"

"Yes...I'm sure he will be back very shortly..."

Edward smiled and after he too got into the Limo, it drove off soon after. Ralph came to the Visitors side, "I was wondering...the information I supplied you about that building near me..."

Gerald met his eyes, "Oh yes...it was very imformative Ralph...we stationed a surveillance team at the building and it was clearly being used as a safehouse for scientists...thank you Ralph"

The news-man swallowed down nervously, "You welcome...I'm at your service of course..."

VVV

Christmas was a sullen period as Martial Law continued to take it's toll on the population - and seasonal festivities were recommended to be a private celebration.

In the New Year - Toni Morrell accidently let it slip that she was a scientist to Kath Wagner. Kath bit her lip and watched Toni as she saw to Carla in the bedroom, then made a beeline for Sam in the lounge.

Sam sat back in the armchair and tossed the newspaper into the bin next to him, "more Visitor propaganda!"

"Sam - Toni's let it slip that she is a scientist!"

Sam looked up at her and nodded - it would've come out at some point, "yeah...she used to work at the research center at Memorial"

Kath was wide-eyed in surprize, that Sam could be so stupid, "But the Conspiracy!", she hissed at him, "She could be involved and you allow them to stay here!"

Sam met her gaze, "You really believe that this god damned conspiracy exists, do you?"

She shook her head at him, "YES...well...Maggie at work says it does"

Then the door opened and Ross Morrell entered with another guy close behind him. Kath stood up from the arm of the chair and frowned, "Who's this?"

It was Sam who answered as he stood up himself and went to shake the strangers hand, "This is Sean Steele - and he is recruiting, shall we say..."

Sean gave a her a reasuring smile, "Hi..."

Kath was puzzled, "recruiting? For what? Bus drivers?", she shot with some sarcasm.

Sam shook his head, "All in good time...now lets eat, we have alot to talk about..."

...

Over the meal, Sam informed Kath that himself and Ross had been meeting Sean for over a week.

Sean, an ex-cop, was now organising a band of people who were either suspicious or fed up with the so called friendly aliens from Sirius - who were gradually commandeering control of the country, especially since Martial Law had been enforced.

"So - if anybody can offer Sean anything that would help us fight this thing - that'll be just swell!", finished Sam at the head of the table.

Kath, sitting at his polar opposite, wasn't very amused, "What things? I really don't get any of this!"

Sean looked up from his meal, "the Visitors - they must have somekind of weakness..."

Toni took a sip of her white wine, "Yes...what about this conspiracy - does it really exist, because the people that have been arrested for being involved, wouldn't even entertain in keeping back medical breakthroughs..."

Sean waved a hand to dismiss it all, "I think it's a whole bunch of crap...like everything else that comes out of their overly too pretty faces...I think that this whole thing was set up for a reason...I think they wanted to get rid any real threat to them, and the only real threat to them is our scientists, it's a no brainer"

Toni agreed, "Without scientists, the human race is pretty much vulnerable"

"Yes...scientists are a real threat to their plans, because out of anybody on our damned planet, it would be them who'd learn of their true intentions", added Sean.

Toni shook her head, it all really started to make sense now, "Yes...people I worked with...doctors...professors...biochemists and life-researchers, they have disappeared without a trace...there has been rumours throughout the country"

Sean looked at her, "yeah...I had access to state enquires when I was a cop - the amount of missing persons that came up - they were all scientists"

Kath had be listening intently, but really wasn't buying it, "Oh come on! Just listen to yourselves for a minute - the Visitors, if you've all forgotten, came here as our friends - WE are helping them process this chemical they need to save their world...if they were really hostile, wouldn't they just killed us right from the start?"

Sean looked to all of them in turn, "IF the chemical is what they are really after...believe me, these aliens haven't travelled 8.7 billion light years to make some stupid chemical...they have a secret agenda, I'm sure of it...

...and we have to find out exactly what it is..."

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