"Visitors' Arrival: Book 3 of the LUNAR SERIES."

THREE WEEKS LATER.ABOARD THE SOL GOVERNANCE RECONNAISSANCE SHIP, #081; APPROACHING THE OUTER REGION OF THE KUIPER BELT…

“There’s been another mass-abduction, Respect,” Tellmondonian Hausa disciple AdamEve informed.He was at the ship’s comm system, monitoring the news throughout the solar system.

The elder Respect winced for sadness and disappointment.He was at #081’s command chair.“Where?”

“A grouping of space habitats near The Asteropia!”

“Is it me, or does it seem like the Visitors are abducting more Tell’s lately,” Olith, a middle-aged Hausanite, said from her station.

“Where the hell do the Visitors keep all our people,” Lau’reign, in her thirties, asked as she walked over to another station in the ship’s command suite.“What are we up to now?Over four-hundred thousand that the Visitors have snatched?”

“Now, now, my brothers and sisters,” Respect Hausa lightly admonished from his command station.“Let’s not forget to respect our Visitors from Sol’s rim!Remember, they did not instigate this conflict.”

Many of the Hausanite crew in the command suite glanced at one another.It was clear that some of Respect Hausa’s followers were beginning to lose their adoration for the Visitors!After weeks of the Protectors of the Seeds quickly spreading out in large groups of teams throughout Sol to gather the remaining Seedlings that were still in the hands of other Hausanite disciples, they were finally near the Kuiper section of the solar system!

Scores of similar ships, issued by the Sol Governance, were following #081.Just as Mary Brushwell and Admiral Reshma Shan—whom was back on Pacificalis Island on Erth—had planned, the Hausanite followers from all over Sol had voluntarily handed over the Seeds they were protecting to Respect Hausa’s Governance-created agency, “The Protectors’ Return.”The Protectors’ fleet was on its last leg of returning those very Seeds that the Asteropian scientists had harvested from a very distant region in the Kuiper belt.But the Visitors’ abduction of groups of humans throughout Sol were only getting larger in scope, and occurring more often!

“At least we’re finally less than a day from the Kuiper belt,” the Respect reminded his command crew, trying to encourage them.

‘Yes, Respect,’ came the uniform response from the whole command crew in the suite.The only two people that did not return the chant were Officers Daren Hopkins and Chase Tuuk. They were the required two Governance officers aboard #081, and each and every ship of The Protectors’ Return fleet.That was one of the few prerequisites that Prime Governor Valerio had pushed, after the Governance Council voted to let Respect Hausa and his followers form their own mission.

Mary was commanding another Governance Reconnaissance ship, #271.Her team was in the midst of The Protectors’ Return fleet…and it was from that ship that Respect Hausa had gotten an emergency contact from!

“Respect Hausa,” the ship’s Sentient said over a series of alarms as the interior lights switched to bright-red, “a series of the fleet’s ships are in immediate danger of being targeted by the Visitors!”

Before the Respect even had time to respond, there was a direct comm from Mary.Respect Hausa answered as his command crew of Hausanite disciples were, now, working more like Governance officers!

“Hausa—!”

“I know, I know,” he yelled back over the comm!“I’m switching to fleet-wide communique, Mary…Ok, Followers, remember we planned this out just in case, so let’s be calm and implement what we practiced!We only have a few seconds, so we’ve got to make this count!”

Respect Hausa cut the open-comm and looked over at Lau’reign.“All the Seeds loaded?”

“Yes, Respect,” she responded after a quick glance in her instruments.

Respect Hausa began another series of command until #081’s Sentient interrupted.

“Respect…the Visitors’ approach has halted!”

Everyone in the command suite froze!The communications of the other commanders of each Reconnaissance ship could be heard in the moment of silence.

By approximately two miles, what was one enormously bright ball of light had undergone a mitosis split by several other balls of light, though those subsequent structures were smaller than the prototype.Given it was space, there was no sound.However, like the tiny Seeds that were apprehended by humans throughout Sol, there were degrees of vibrations felt by everyone in every ship of The Protectors’ Return fleet!Even some of the equipment aboard every ship had rattled or dropped to the floor, with the artificial gravity at work!

The spheres shimmered a tiny bit, and there was even some pulsing to them.The several spheres were spread out by miles between each one, and the largest ball was equidistantly in the center of that configuration.The Hausanite Protectors might as well had been near a small sun—but, without the heat!

There was a cry from everyone in #081!For no one had anticipated the Visitors’ presence to be such an awe!Many in the ship whispered to themselves some form of prayer.Some were shocked into utter silence!All had to shield their eyes with their hands, due to the brilliance of the Visitors…and that was with each, respective Reconnaissance ships’ sun-blocker!

“All ships, hold off on the ejection!Repeat, hold off on ejection,” Respect Hausa finally said into the fleet-wide comm.“And make sure your ship’s sun-protector is in working condition…it’s no joke when I say we could all get some form of radiation sickness from the Visitors’ very presence!”

“With respect, Sir,” one of the scores of commanders, Darkened Energy, said over the comm, “but shouldn’t we simply give them the Seeds now?That’s what both sides are here for!”

“And what if they misinterpret our ejecting a multitude of Seeds as a mass of sorties,” Respect Hausa shot back.His response, indeed, cooled down the explosion of voices over the fleet’s comm.

“What are we doing, Respect Hausa,” Mary put to him softly, but with enough urgency and formality to indicate to him it was time to make a decision!

Governance Officers Hopkins and Tuuk, from their respective stations, gave the Respect a questioning look…as per that required two Governance officers per Protectors’ ship, the two Governance military troopers were to, physically, take over the command of the vessel should the situation get too hot for whomever was in command of the ship.Or, should Respect Hausa or any of his commanding disciples become incapacitated.But the Respect waved them off with one of his thin hands with a firm nod that he was ok.

He connected to the fleet-wide channel again.“Respect Hausa, here…like I said, we’re going to hold off on launching the Seeds toward the Visitors.I don’t want them to mistake our actions as an assault!From what some of our scientists told me back on Asteropia, with their technological superiority to humans, the Visitors may, possibly, have the ability to obliterate Erth with one bomb!

“So, I’m not going to risk Humanity’s existence on one rash move!I’m going to eject one of the Seedlings we have on #081…let them see our intentions, and what we have.”The Respect cut the comm.

The Respect looked around the command suite, verifying one more time with the crew’s reaction, that what he was planning was even plausible.

“Sentient…”

“Yes, Respect, I attentively listened to your statements…I am releasing one of the cases containing one, singular Seedling now.”

It all seemed so anticlimactic.There was no thud or shaking of #081.

“Have we been recording our encounter, Sentient,” Respect Hausa asked during the quiet time, just as the tiny case being ejected out into open space finally showed up on the ship’s monitors.“Should something go wrong I want you to make sure this event’s recording is sent to Sol-core…in case Humanity could glean something from this.I just hope our blessed Visitors are as—”