A macabre and sexy tale with an unexpected twist transcending 80 years.
Chapter One: Space Junk?
The object hurtling towards the Earth was roughly 25 feet long and was approximately five feet in diameter. Its free-fall was picked up by several military as well as civilian observation stations on and around the Pacific Ocean.
Was it a rogue missile, which wandered away from its course? The radar signature was nothing like what was known about the products of rival nations. "It's probably what's left of some soviet space station or rocket. Maybe it's one of our own," said Lt.Colonel Jim Hartman, looking at the screen with disinterest.
"All the same, we better have a look," Dr.Francis Speer was a civilian. He had spent 25 years at NASA's SETI project before joining the Navy as a consultant. He often pondered his life in search of extra-terrestrials. He had travelled the world, found several planets, and comets and published in every major scientific journal. Yet he felt his life was wasted.
"We know more about outer space than we know about the sea", he couldn't remember who said this, but it was true. So he switched to ocean research.
There wasn't much to do these days. Advances in early warning technology had made the threat of a missile attack virtually redundant. He knew his presence was mostly thanks to the influence of a few high-ranking friends who thought the middle-aged scientist pauper deserved a comfortable retirement.
"Its not emitting any radio signals. And it doesn't seem to be under its own power," said another officer studying the progress.
The team watched as the object hurtled towards impact.
"There should be a visual", said the Colonel. Rushing out of the bridge. The whole team followed. The rest of the crew were already on deck pointing at the sky.
"There!" pointed Frank. There was an endless white streak across the brilliant blue sky. At the tip was a ball of fire, like a comet. Its progress appeared slow, but he knew if was moving at several hundred feet per second. It disappeared at the horizon. No explosion. No plume of gas. It was too far to see the splash.
They were aboard the Odyssey. A large and well-equipped, yet aging research vessel. It was pure coincidence that they were in the area. Several naval vessels were on the way to the site. So were a few aircraft. But they were the closest.
Frank was now running behind Lt.Col Hartman towards the onboard helicopter. At last! some excitement for the day.