Five Weeks Ago

?Listen, why don?t you check in with your squad and tell them you?re ok, then I?ll tell you the story.? Holly said ?This will take a while.?

Joanna nodded and Bella and the others moved out of camera sight then Bella touched the Jammer: ?Angel-2 Actual, checking in.?

Lopez?s voice sounded on the radio, sounding slightly strange ?what happened boss? We lost your radio signal.?

?I walked into some kind of dead spot. Nothing to worry about. We?re still checking the basement level, it?s much more extensive than we thought. My comms could go down again at any moment, so you?re in charge while I?m gone.?

There was a pause then ?Rodger that, see you top side when you?re done.? The radio cut out and Bella reapplied the jammer.

?Well done sergeant.? Holly said ?now let me tell you what happened.?

Five weeks ago Holly Jaeger sat in her office and looked at the holographic map spinning before her. It showed Sigma-2?s a crater on Sigma-2?s central plains, the wire outline of the top part of what they?d found showed through the ground: the display was real time; she could see the work crews moving around it.

The alien ship, if that?s what it was, was in incredible good condition for something that must have been buried for millions of years. But here it was. . .

?Wait!? Joanna yelped ?An alien ship here? A million year old one? Why the hell wasn?t this in the briefing? This was supposed to be a goddamn pay dispute.?

Holly looked annoyed for a moment then sighed ?well we could hardly tell everyone we?d found it. There?s no commercial advantage in that, and I personally wanted to avoid too many corporate samurai bursting in trying to steal it.? she sighed ?though frankly I think maybe they?re welcome too it.? she looked down at the desk ?It was found on sonar mapping while setting about terraforming that area, orders came down from above that we were to keep it in house and investigate it with the resources we had so to avoid any leaks. But then yes, then came the pay dispute.?

. . . the attractive young exec looked up at the burley figure of the Union Rep, Jake ?Boss? Johnson with an unfriendly expression ?Mister Johnson. Surely you realise what you?re asking??

?Nothing more than fair compensation for doing work that is nothing like any of us signed on for.? Johnson growled ?none of my men wanted a gig pulling flying saucers out of the ground!?

?Your contract states labour as the company requires. This is what the company requires.? Holly glared ?you and your men were only hired because you?re cheaper than machines,

?So, you refused to give them a pay rise and so they what? Stole the ship?? Joanna interrupted again, much to Holly?s obvious displeasure. The sergeant though reasoned they had other things to do than sit around here telling tales.

?Right, they broke into the sight and boarded the ship? we don?t know what happened then, but somehow.? She looked at Naomi then back ?the ship altered them, fitted them with those implants. They make anyone talking to them, even on video link incredible suggestible and horny. Basically talking to them makes you their ****.? She looked at Naomi ?I don?t know the technical details but Naomi here has come up with something of a cure.?

Naomi looked unhappy ?I hope? It?s not nearly perfected yet. There are some side effects still.? Joanna didn?t like the sound of that, but still, she had to think what to do now?