As expected, the Imperial fleet (I was now confident in calling it that) arrived in orbit, and it was, as was predicted, about 40 hours from my talk with the Joint Chiefs and the President. During that time, I was given a cell phone, as well as a notebook computer, and the usual keycards and ID badges that would let me into just about any government facility I would ever want to be in.
I also had the opportunity to return home and get some more of my belongings. I had not thought to pick up my Star Wars: Behind the Magic CD set when I gotten the chance before, and I felt it would also be an important resource. I also figured that in the event that they landed, my Star Wars phrasebook might be helpful.
As I had discovered, this fleet was more than Star Destroyers. We could now count 12 smaller support ships. Based on the size and shape of each, I built a full list: 6 Imperator-class Star Destroyers, 2 Victory-class Star Destroyers, 4 vintage Dreadnaughts, 3 Carrack Light Cruisers, and 3 Corellian Corvettes. The corvettes surprised me. I had not been aware of the Empire ever having used them before; err, in Lucas-time, at least. We continued to monitor them.
I was on my way back to the Imperial War Room, as I was calling it, from lunch when I got a call on my phone. It was from one of the personnel monitoring the situation.
“Sir, you wanted to know when we had anything unusual happening. Well, appear to have something coming down. It should be planet side in 20 minutes.”
I just about spit my Big Mac all over the inside of the car.
“Sir, are you alright??” I heard on the phone.
“Yes, I’m fine.” I replied. “Can you estimate the size of the ship?”
“We don’t have to, thanks to your books.” I had left my Essential Guides in the war room. I didn’t need them as much as the other people, and I wanted to make sure we all had access to the information we would need. “We’ve identified the ship as a Lambda-class Shuttle.”
“Good job. Where does it appear it is going to land?” I asked.
“Our current best guess is somewhere in the Appalachian Mountains, but we have no idea what might happen after they get into the atmosphere.”
“Alright. Have you notified the President?”
“Yes sir. He wanted to hear from you as soon as you got off the phone with me.” He replied.
“Keep me apprised of any changes. Bye.”
I could have been a little more polite about that, but I didn’t want to keep the President waiting. I had on speed dial, as anyone with his number should. He said that he was on his way to the airport, so he could board the Presidential helicopter and arrive at the landing site. I recommended that a team of marines or something like that also be included. In the event that this turned into a shooting match, secret service would not be enough. He also said he would be waiting for me. I told him I had something to pick up, and that I would be right there.
I went to the war room and picked up my phrasebook. I had no idea what they might sound like, but if they didn’t understand English, I’d probably have to fall back on something like Huttese. It promised to make things difficult otherwise. On the way to the airport, I wondered to myself why they might have decided to land in the middle of nowhere.
As we flew, we got regular updates via phone about the estimated location of the landing shuttle. I could feel a few butterflies starting to form in my stomach, but I was used to that by now. After about 20 minutes, we landed. It was a clearing about the size of half a football field, and it was the only one in the flight path of the shuttle. I hoped that we would all fit in it once they landed.
It was silent at first, and then I could hear a very faint sound. Based on what I remembered of the ship when it took off in Return of the Jedi, I knew what it was. They were coming.
Within 5 minutes, the ship had landed. As I thought, they took up most of the clearing.
As was customary on Lambda Shuttles, we soon saw a ramp come down out of the neck of the ship. As I expected, a man in an Imperial uniform walked out, flanked by 2 white-clad stormtroopers. I was not quite sure, but it appeared that his rank plaque indicated he was a Captain. He stepped forward, as did I.
“Hello. Welcome to Earth.” I said.
The Imperial looked slightly confused.
“Hello. Welcome to Earth.” I said again.
He still appeared confused but this time said, “The Empire has no records of any humans ever inhabiting this area of space, yet we are able to speak the same language?”
It was my turn to be slightly confused. “Indeed we do speak the same language. When I said hello the first time, you have a confused look on your face and I thought you didn’t understand me. As I said, welcome to Earth. I am a representative of the planet’s most influential and usually considered most powerful country, the United States of America.”
“And I am Captain Briera of the Imperial Star Destroyer Motivator. We had been ordered to this region of space to quell an uprising, and were surprised when we picked up a low-band transmission. After completing our work, we were granted permission to investigate it. And now we are here. I come as a representative of the Galactic Empire.” Breira said in reply.
“Well, it’s an honor to have you here.” I began. “Tell us something about this Galactic Empire. How big is it? Who or what leads it? Would you allow us to become a part of it? That kind of stuff.”
“Please, please. There will be time for questions later. I simply came down to introduce myself, make sure you were aware of our presence, and also show that our purpose for being here is a peaceful one.”
“I understand Captain. Perhaps we could set up a time for your next visit. How about in 24 Earth hours? That will be one rotation of the planet. And why don’t we meet here again. We can fly you elsewhere for our discussion.” I asked.
“Excellent. I will be back then.”
“Oh, Captain, two last quick things. Number one, you do not need to come down with any armed guards. We have no reason to put you in harm’s way. Your ships could easily lay waste to the planet if something did happen to you. Number two, is more of a personal request. I was quickly looking over the side arms of your guards. They do not appear to be like any weapons we have on this planet. We use projectile-based weapons. Would you allow me to squeeze off a round or two with one??”
“I don’t see why not. If you use chemical propellant slug throwers, and you’ve never seen the technology before, these should be a big surprise to you.” The Imperial was quick to show off.
What a rush this would be. The first human from Earth to fire a real Star Wars blaster. As Captain Briera turned to one of his stormtroopers for his weapon, I also turned. I asked the Marine personnel that had accompanied us for a helmet to shoot at. At first they were hesitant, but the President made it happen. I walked off about 20M to set down the helmet, and when I got back the rifle was waiting for me.
“This is a Blastech E-11 Blaster Rifle. Effective range of 100M, and a maximum range of 300M.”
I asked. “Semi-automatic??”
The captain nodded his head.
I took the weapon. It was lighter than it looked, leading me to believe that the material was some alloy we had not yet discovered. I aimed, and shot twice, putting two holes in the Marine helmet. The blaster bolt when clear through both the front and back of helmet and even scorched the ground a little. I returned the rifle.
“Wow, that was something.” I exclaimed.
With that the Captain bid us farewell, returned to his shuttle, and left. As soon as he had left, I walked to the slightly smoking helmet and picked it up. I inspected to ground, and started to pull up some of the grass. It was then that the President, marines and secret service c