TALL TALES

[Richie]

By putting our three well educated minds together I know we can find the solution to saving our planet.

And we did after 18hrs of sleepless painstaking checking then rechecking the EMP modifications we finally had the break thru and the solution to saving our planet. We were able to pierce the electromagnetic energy dome simply by aiming the EMP laser like pulse at the grounded alien craft. We tested it from all distances from 1000 m down to 100 m and each time the dome deactivated. We also needed to test it while airborn, so firstly the ship hovered at 1000m then the dome was activated and again the pulse deactivated it. The same was done from 500m with the same result.

To say the three boffins were elated was an understatement and they and the group even cracked open several bottles of Dom Perignon, much to the joy of Jenevieve. But not before the incredible news was immediately relayed to President Stevensen and the Chiefs of Staff of the ADF, who in turn contacted our allies with the plan to immediately modify all known EMP units to the exact specifications calculated by Wellham, Spring, Deseau.

The aliens were now at Earth's mercy.

 

[Grier]

"Well done indeed" said Peter to Richie and Jenevieve, "let's have another glass of the Champagne.
Fingers crossed the Global powers and Generals will orchestrate together the oblivion of these evil Aliens.
I spoke to Col Dunning who reassured me the dwindling Alien Crafts circling in the outer orbit to Earth are being constantly nuked by Russia, the US, the UK, Israel, Japan, Germany, France, China, North Korea, Iran, Germany, Estonia, India, Pakistan, ..., all nations of Earth working together in accord againt a common foe.
The rescue of captured humans is a serious consideration too.
Even Digger Reeves assembled a Corroboree of Elders to explain to them the Alien invasion. Ceremonies and Dances and Curses with pointing the bone to the skies.

It's a temporary reprieve for you though Richie, there's still the issue of the Fusion reactor and how to reverse engineer it.

As a Geo Chemist I want to spend more time working out what in our atmosphere is deadly to those Aliens.
I'd love a live specimen to do tests on. The crafts' atmosphere needs replicating too, for live Aliens.
I put this idea to Col Dunning who is telling his seniors, and upwards ... "

 

[Richie]

It's a temporary reprieve for you though Richie, there's still the issue of the Fusion reactor and how to reverse engineer it.

For another time Peter. This needs a global collaboration from the best minds in physics on our planet. Meanwhile my friends, I have a divorce and then a wedding to arrange. Isnt that so, looking at Jenevieve, mon amour, mon coeur.

Oui mon coeur. The wedding will be the biggest ever seen in Sydney, she giggles, yes Richie?

You bet mon cherie. After the honeymoon we intend working temporarily at Mt Stromlo Observatory as it survived the invasion with only minor damage, then permanently at the rebuilt ASA head office in Sydney. I will also insist that President Stevensen invites the team of Danish scientists that like us cracked the secret of the dome, to work on our team.

Then as one the assembled group raised their glasses and with a loud cheer in unison, to Richie and Jenevieve!

Digger chipped in with and also to Peter, the trio that saved our planet. Three of the biggest bloody cheers folks!!

The ensuing year the three now famous Australian scientists became Nobel Peace laureates and recipients of Australia's most prestigious award the Order of Australia while all other members of the team, Companions of the Order of Australia. In addition the team leaders were handed honorary American Presidential Medal of Freedom , European Heritage / Europa Nostra and French Légion D'honneur awards. Jenevieve with the full award. Turkiye with its Order of the State of the Republic of Turkiye award as did the Arabs with a Middle East Excellence Award. Russia was not about to miss our either with its honorary Order of Saint Andrew the Apostle the First-Called. While Denmark honored their scientific team with both the Grand Prize of the Danish Academy and the Elite Research Prize with both of those also given honorary to Drs Desau, Spring, Wellham...

 

[Richie]

I found this fascinating Terry.

War of the Worlds

 

[Grier]

Eventually Dr Peter Spring the Geo Chemist was back home in Perth only to fly East to Sydney to join up with a group of other Scientists invited to the US. Particularly Virology Researchers, an Immunologist, an Epidemiologist all lead by a brilliant Molecular Biologist called Freddy Fisher who lead the team in Los Angeles.
Analysing samples of Alien bodies, and even some live Aliens kept in sealed off areas with their favoured atmosphere to breath gave insight into our unwelcome Visitors. Ironically humans and dogs were just able to breathe their atmosphere but it too thin for us needing to breath harder. Our atmosphere was too dense and too full of things for them to handle, hence dying from severe anaphylactic shock quite rapidly in our atmosphere.

Later a Linguist and a psychologist started learning their language slowly trying to understand their mind sets. They were from Mars evolving from large burrowing insects and now inhabiting deep underground caverns tapping into the thermal heat of the planet and developing a huge network of underground tunnels and caverns, huge caverns some so big in the thermal sweet depths were lakes and even seas existed. A whole book load of cultivated vegetations like their giant Mushrooms and breeding of base food species like giant worms, even carnivorous plants as guards as needed. It was a culture akin to Bees and Ants, with Queens, Drones, Workers, Warriors ... where individuality was rare as was morality. A Mechanical like intelligence well practised in behaviours, not critical thinking.

With Maps of Mars the Martian Alien prisoners were coaxed, bribed and tricked into pointing out where their populations were densest and only a few regions that were advanced technically. Typically deeper societies were more advanced.

Despite his happy marriage to Jenevieve, now pregnant, Richie was head hunted to reverse engineer the Alien Craft's Fussion engine. Riches and fame followed.
Only recently Richie and his team cracked it, an amazing source of cheap power able to provide very Green Energy.
Enough power to explore anywhere in our solar system, and beyond.
Another Noble prize for Physics was given to Richie.

There were international moves afoot to send a manned mission to Mars, in a tough armed space ship convoy well equipped and shield piercing EMP and shields of their own, and smart tactical nukes, all using Fusion power.
The major powers like the US, EU, China, Russia and a Coalition of Eastern Pacific nations lie Japan, S Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, ... all wanted in....
Peter was keen to Volunteer as a now renowned Geo Chemist and when accepted was offered a highly lucrative package and extensive training. He helped design a compact lab for such a venture.

 

[Richie]

There were international moves afoot to send a manned mission to Mars, in a tough armed space ship convoy well equipped and shield piercing EMP and shields of their own, and smart tactical nukes, all using Fusion power.
The major powers like the US, EU, China, Russia and a Coalition of Eastern Pacific nations lie Japan, S Korea, Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, ... all wanted in....
Peter was keen to Volunteer as a now renowned Geo Chemist and when accepted was offered a highly lucrative package and extensive training. He helped design a compact lab for such a venture.

The three famous Australian scientists Wellham, Spring, Desau were chosen to lead the Mars expedition which was now in its later stages of preparation. They also invited the head of the Danish team that also discovered the secret of the alien dome, Hans Kristian Folbig. With Wellhams Fusion energy powering the Mars Probe space craft convoy the travel time from Earth to the mysterious Red Planet had been reduced by half to only six months.

Richie had to break the news to his new wife, who was now a mother with a bouncing baby girl, Yvette, that the expedition was a preliminary one of exploration and not the later planned colonization expedition on which families would be permitted. Naturally she was bitterly disappointed but understood.

Grier

 

[Grier]

The Mars craft now called the "Crimson Stalker" was built in the US with Dr Wellham overseeing its construction particularly its powerful Fusion engine and its own variable frequency force shield. Thinking is that Mars doesn't have variable frequency shields? That thought and adoption was Dr Wellham's insight. He reckoned Martian's long, long lived technology had stagnated into a one use solution, like ants.

Some say Dr Wellham is going for a well deserved Nobel Physics prize hat trick! Some even talk of anti-gravity he once alluded to!

Impressive is Earths Crimson Stalker's array of weaponry: Lasers, variable frequency EMP able to disrupt the Martians' defence domes, automated heavy rapid fire machine guns able to take out drones, personell and missiles. The Crimson Stalker also has artillery, missiles, bombs including some tactical Nuclear smart missile bombs. Easy to deploy at distance with Mars' light gravity and thin atmosphere.
The Tough armour too with titanium and laminated ceramic sheets. Flares, defence missiles, ... smoke, ... EMP bursts ,,,
The best of the best with now many united Nations on the same page. Most Global wars ceased, or were put on the back burner, to fund the common threat and help the existential fight together to save humanity.
India, Pakistan, Saudis, Iraq and Iran were working together.
The Crimson Stalker was also equipped with a small fusion powered shuttle craft and a dozen multifunctional drones.

Following a design idea of the Martian craft a "spinning" disc shape was adopted to normalise by centrifugal force a type of gravity to Earth's. Lighter at the the centre and heavier at the extremes but a sweet pseudo gravity between the edges and centre of the Disc. That was the crew's habitat. The Fusion engine was at the centre and armaments at the edges.
The crew was diverse with many Scientists, Engineers, Doctors, Biologists, Linguists who learnt their language, a
psychologist/diplomat with nice looks ... Military Officer Astronaugnts, and Peter a Geo Chemist and Richie an acclaimed Physicist.
Almost two dozen crew in total from many nations.

Earth was now constructing another two Crimson Stalker Craft led by China and Europe. Also the US was further tweaking and improving the crafts' design as they prepare for their next constructions, which has many global partners like Russia, Brazil, ... to name a few.
A blessing some say this human unity is working in step.

 

[Richie]

In addition to Peter and Richie, there were two other Australian scientists on the Crimson Stalker 1 Mars Probe expedition, noted biologist Dr Mary Adams, the eminent surgeon Mr Charlie Tsi. An additional 51 others also, the Aussie contingent of special forces of the Free World Space Force led by Orville 'Tex' Dunning' who the two boffins had wanted when told there was to be a combat 'boots on the ground' component added to the expedition. Dunning's second and third in charge were Major Steve Manners and Captain Wally Gustafson. All three had seen distinguished service in Vietnam and were recipients of their nations most prestigious war time decoration for bravery beyond the call of duty, the Australian Military Medal . Leading the F W S F were the US/Canada North American combined forces, with additional soldiers from France, Germany, UK, Poland, the three Baltic States, Ukraine, Scandinavia, India Japan and South Korea. They were to travel in six fusion powered armed DART craft, built at ASA Cape York, to escort Crimson Stalker I thru the vast expanse of the Universe to the mysterious Red Planet...


Crimson Stalker 1 on its test flite.

 

[Richie]

I found this fascinating Terry.

War of the Worlds

Have you read it.

 

[Grier]

Have you read it.

No, but I've watched two movies based on the book.

I've been a bit crook recently, hence my absences.
I suspect it's a bit of food poisoning.

 

[Grier]

The test flight went very well with a few tweaks here and there to fine tune the Crimson Stalker. The next test flight is a spin around the Moon and even land to test out more systems like its shuttle .. .

Richie was very busy with tweaking the Fusion Engine with the Engineers. The shuttle and some drones need testing too, along with weapons and shields. The shuttle will test fire on the Crimson Stalker's shields.
Major Steve Manners, Captain Wally Gustafson and Col Dunning were impressive in their strategic and cautious ideas on how to approach the Martians. For instance quietly Surveying Mars' two small moons Phobos and Deimos.

Peter pulled out a couple of maps of Mars pointing out where the high tech Matian bases were.
Col Dunning said "From interrogating captured Martians the two advanced groups have very deep underground bases in Hellas Planitia and Argyre Planitia near the icy Southern pole where ice is abundant and hence lots of water. There's a good possibility they may have bases on Mars' moons.
See maps below.

 

[Richie]

No, but I've watched two movies based on the book.

I've been a bit crook recently, hence my absences.
I suspect it's a bit of food poisoning.

Thats no good mate. Better now. What caused it do you think?

 

[Richie]

No, but I've watched two movies based on the book.

Not the same. This is about the making of the George Pal 1953 film. I found it fascinating.

 

[Richie]

After fine tuning the CA 1 fusion engine it headed for the test flite to the moon which went without a hitch as did the testing of the shuttle and its test firing of the dome on the mother ship. Then the huge craft left the lunar planet and returned safely, while back on Earth Wellham and his engineers were fine tuning the smaller fusion engines of the DART escort craft. At the nearby army/airforce base the large FW special forces were completing their daily exercise. Everything was 100 percent now for the expeditions estimated blast off time of 10am on Saturday morning, a mere 36 hrs away.

Richie then rushed home to spent one last day with Jenevieve, Yvette and their two Havanese pooches. It was a trip of mixed emotions for the couple, joy and sorrow, as the two were expected to be apart for between 16 to 18 months and the tension J felt from the likelihood of her husband facing danger was palpitable and she ran into Richies arms tears streaming down her cheeks...

Please be careful mom coeur.

I will mon amour. I will probably be staying on the mother ship for most of the time after first exploring the specified polar region.

A small ASA DART squadron on nite patrol. These nifty little escort craft also boast a smaller Wellham Fusion power box and like the mother ship are protected against attack by the ASA DOME, soon to be a standard addition to all FWSF military craft...

 

[Richie]

Terry hope you dont mind me pinching this pic.

 

[Grier]

Terry hope you dont mind me pinching this pic.

No worries Craig. It's a good one.

I'm better today and suspect a lettuce I took too long to use? I always rinse them well, but ... all trashed now. I do like my salads and fruit though.

 

[Grier]

After fine tuning the CA 1 fusion engine it headed for the test flite to the moon which went without a hitch as did the testing of the shuttle and its test firing of the dome on the mother ship. Then the huge craft left the lunar planet and returned safely, while back on Earth Wellham and his engineers were fine tuning the smaller fusion engines of the DART escort craft. At the nearby army/airforce base the large FW special forces were completing their daily exercise. Everything was 100 percent now for the expeditions estimated blast off time of 10am on Saturday morning, a mere 36 hrs away
View attachment 3765
A small ASA DART squadron on nite patrol. These nifty little escort craft also boast a smaller Wellham Fusion power box and like the mother ship are protected against attack by the ASA DOME, soon to be a standard addition to all FWSF military craft...

The Moon's tests went very well with the shields of the Crimson Stalker being throughly tested by its Shuttle craft "Lark" amidst a flock of 'Darts' peppering away at it.
And enjoyable fun was bounching around in low gravity with the new smart space suits.
Peter was testing out a pair of ASA Dart drones doing geological scans and testing out their mining/sampling functions on Moondust drifts and holes on the surface.
There's precious minerals like Thorium...
"It'd be dangerous on Mars with much deeper dust holes" said Peter "there's lots of very deep drift Dust holes where we suspect the advanced Martians to be, like the Hellas and Argyre Planitias near the south pole. Dust deposits can be hundreds of meters to a couple of kilometers thick.