Invasion of the Cryp'lar series (PREMISE)

(“Invasion of the Cryp’lar” series)

Book 1: Extinguish

2320: After the discovery of sentient life in the Andromeda galaxy, Dr. Michael Ruwan accidentally calls the sentience to Earth. When an unknown alien race threatens to put out the Sun for their own mysterious purposes, a vigilante group of Mars-based military forces have to devise a plan to stop them, before Earth enters a new Ice Age.

[OUTLINE]

Prologue

[12/06/2320][Description of Nobel Prize awards ceremony and Dr. Michael Ruwan being awarded the Nobel Prize ‘for the discovery of intelligent life in the Universe’. Suddenly, a low noise of whirring mechanics became louder and closer to the building and chunks of ceiling tiles flew from above the stage, as a large elongated spaceship of somewhat ‘alien’ technology charged through the studio and discharged a large concentration of red bolts of plasmatic electricity upon the audience and the surroundings among Dr. Ruwan. People screamed and panicked whilst trying to escape from the terror of whatever was inside that ship. A hatch opened from below the ship as it stopped on its course of rampage to hover above the ground, dropping half a dozen humanoid creatures onto the velvet stage behind Ruwan. The creatures were armoured lightly and held golden weapons that glinted in the moonlight and matched their black and gold armour permutations to the letter. The creatures spotted Dr. Ruwan and held their weapons above their waists, readying to fire.]

Chapter 1

[08/04/2320][PALM central barracks, Lunar Exploration Centre, Mars][Description of heavy lunar barracks half-buried in Mars’ red sand, with a rustic orange tinge to the dark metal, and a sandstorm blowing heavily outside. Inside, several groups of humans gather around an authoritative-looking member of personnel, who tells them about the harsh conditions and that the barracks was having a ‘green alert’ lockdown until the sandstorm had faded and it was clear for the patrols to move out. One squad of soldiers (Lucas/Samuel/Daniels/Harrison) are particularly disappointed when hearing the news; these are the slackers of the Planetary Assessment Lunar Military; an organisation which safeguarded Earth’s most valuable assets and investigated conditions present on other unknown planets. (These characters become important to the plot later on...) They discuss about Dr. Michael Ruwan’s latest findings on sentience in the Andromeda galaxy that was featured in the PALM daily electronic report issued to all soldiers to keep them updated about civilised planets that needed their help protecting. Strangely enough, there were no articles asking for their help, nor had there been for over half a decade! ]

The article read:   “It was recently reported that earlier this week, astrophysicist Michael Ruwan, PhD had discovered incoming transmissions from an unknown origin and managed to decode them accurately, but he did not receive a large enough signal to get the full message. Just yesterday, Ruwan perfected a two-way amplifier which would be put into space so clear communication between the species and us humans could be achieved; earlier today the testing proved successful and Dr. Ruwan is preparing to speak to these aliens for the first time later this afternoon.”

Chapter 2

[08/04/2320][APDR facility, Manhattan, New York][It was always a stressful time at the Astrophysics Development and Research facility and today was certainly no exception. Dr. Ruwan was sweating and pacing the floors of his laboratory for an inordinate amount of time, primarily thinking of what he should say to the aliens, then the excitement of him making first contact with extra-terrestrial life, then the horror of what he should/n’t say to the PRESS during his several interviews. He felt his brow was already caked in sweat and realised that he hadn’t stopped in his endless loop around the specimens and equipment laid out carefully along the tables of his lab. From the tests he had performed with his new machine and with decoding the transmissions, he was able to work out some words  of the aliens’ language from their tones and levels of incessant clicking noises made     from; presumably, to Dr. Ruwan; several mandibles possessed by these creatures.]

[An hour passed and his laboratory was full of camera crews, journalists and photographers bulging into the room, Ruwan making his best efforts to not allow them to knock over any of his work. And, in an instant, the whole event, the nervousness, the anxiety, all passed from Dr. Ruwan’s mind--for now. It was only a matter of time to see if his message had gotten across to the aliens...wait...he was sure there were some tones that he used in his transmission that differed from the creatures’ transmission which probably mean completely different things, but it wasn’t time to worry about that now as this was one of the only times that his mind was at rest and Ruwan wanted to enjoy the moment while it lasted.]

Chapter 3

[09/04/2320][PALM Central Barracks, Lunar Exploration Centre, Mars][The several groups of soldiers were still under lockdown as Mars sandstorms were known to last months without interference. The slackers huddled together on their daily routine, crowding around one news-magazine together, reading Dr. Michael Ruwan’s article once again, but something was different this time. Instead of reading aloud, they read to themselves – especially “however some communications errors have been admitted and several of Dr. Ruwan’s tones and clicks could be misconstrued as another. For the better or worse.” It was that last sentence that made them realise what potential situation they could have on their hands; these creatures could respond by coming here and offering their services to mankind and be our allies, or they could bring an armada with them, ready to burn our world.]

Chapter 4

[12/06/2320][That was when Ruwan realised his mistake and what he had said, but seeing these creatures in the flesh warmed his heart, in a fearful way. He didn’t manage to physically receive his Prize, but he knew that his life’s work was standing before him; however, he did not realise how frighteningly advanced this species was and lost control of his emotions before them. Showing signs of mental weakness, the patrol of creatures marched him to a drop-ship that picked them up and took Ruwan back to the APDR facility in New York. After observing the language of the humans for several hundred-years, they managed to learn it as a secondary language, and explained this to Dr. Ruwan...before tearing down his machines with their laser pistols and blasters so that they could never be used to harm the Cryp’lar; this was when Ruwan discovered the name of the species; he ran to the call centre at the bottom of the building and looked behind to see the patrol of aliens in pursuit, shaded by darkness. Rumbling floors and shattered panels of glass indicated that another drop-ship had noticed Ruwan and was destroying the building to get to him. His foot synchronized with another rumbling from a plasma blast and he stumbled upon the floor, he looked up and couldn’t believe that he made it to the call centre from the top floor in six minutes flat. His leg was stuck under a surprisingly heavy sheet of glass but he eventually struggled free and lunged himself at the nearest videophone located on the far wall. Ruwan called the Lunar Exploration Centre and told them what had happened and to divert their resources to help Earth immediately from the aliens. After he hung up, breathless still, he turned to see all six Cryp’lar warriors readying their weapons once again at him.]

Chapter 5

[12/06/2320][PALM Central Barracks, Lunar Exploration Centre, Mars][The soldiers are relieved that they finally get to do something, but cannot help as the sandstorm is now worse than ever and is put on “Red Alert”, meaning that no one is allowed outside of the barracks no matter what. Realising they had to do something to help Earth as they felt empathetic towards Dr. Ruwan’s struggles, the squad of slackers disobeyed orders and left Mars in one of the escape pods that detach from the sides of the barracks. Fully equipping themselves before they left, the team has enough supplies to escape the invasion on Earth. Meanwhile, a huge Cryp’lar battle-cruiser that carried 1/3 of the armada with them had noticed the path that the squad took away from Mars and followed it to the Lunar Exploration Centre; there they deployed smaller drop-ships to drop enemy troops directly on top of the buildings to kill anyone inside, using their powerful laser cutters that were on the underside of all Cryp’lar drop-ships. Inside the barracks, the authoritative-looking member of personnel ordered the soldiers to get ready to fight back, as he knows it will be a perfect distraction away from Earth for most of the alien fleet.

Chapter 6

[13/06/2320][Cryp’lar TSC-008-M (Mothership)][Ruwan looked at his watch and knew it was well past midnight by the time he boarded the Cryp’lar Tactical Super Carrier, as a hostage, but endeavoured to investigate during his incarceration aboard the unknown vessel. He soon entered a room after passing many heavily armed and armoured warriors (most likely guards) and there he stared upon the Commander of the armada, Kuel’lar Shan, with his invasion fleet—Before The Seventh Moon—bombarding the planet below them. Shan asked Ruwan why humans would want to challenge the mighty Cryp’lar and suggested that it would be suicide for them. Then, Ruwan asked Shan why he was attacking Earth. “Earth? Your weak planet is a mere diversion from our true goal, we will extinguish your Sun and absorb it’s energy into holding tanks on our cruisers, then take it back home where we can harvest its true power for ourselves!” Shan stated. Ruwan immediately argued with this and suddenly a Cryp’lar guard held its staff towards Ruwan’s throat, pinning him against the wall as he struggled to break free. After a moment’s consideration, Shan approached Ruwan in his helpless state, face to face. “Do you like your precious Sun, do you feel its warmth every day, does it make you feel safe?” Shan asked this rhetorically, then backed up with anger: “Do you realise the power of our race, the majesty of our purpose...if we take the Sun, your people no longer feel safe, they can no longer feel its warmth, only the coldness of fear! You will freeze in eternal Winter, human scum! After he was sure the Commander had finished his speech, the guard holding him released Ruwan and delivered one swift kick to the abdomen, before joining Shan with his work.]

Chapter 7

[13/06/2320][ESCAPE POD DELTA B-6 Crash Site][Description of smoke, dust and rubble filling the air and ground as each member steps out of the pod, coughing vigorously in turn. After exchanging humourus pleasantries, they decide to make their way to the highly damaged APDR facility, hoping to find Dr. Michael Ruwan that they have all read so much about. When they find that Ruwan has been taken, Harrison discovers that a drop-ship has spotted them and is blasting the weak spots of the tall building, causing it to eventually collapse under its own pressure, narrowly avoided Samuel from getting hurt. But, the squad was more than ready for when the drop-ship came back around and started landing troops onto ground level for a fire-fight with the soldiers. Pre-occupied with the fight, Lucas didn’t see the drop-ship swoop back around and shoot at him. KABOOM! After a direct attack by the ship, Lucas was left unconscious on the ground a few yards away from the fight, as the blast carried his body. Knowing that they were lost without their leader, the squad retreats to Lucas’ position so Samuel can reach a medical kit from the escape pod and treat Lucas. Meanwhile, Harrison and Davies were using heavy weaponry to mill through the seemingly-endless reinforcements that were being dropped down at the end of the street; the Cryp’lar were still getting too close to them, this was it. Desperate times called for desperate measures.]

Chapter 8

[13/06/2320][PALM Walkway B-2, Lunar Exploration Centre, Mars][Description of Cryp’lar advancing through a long corridor, whilst military forces are doing whatever they can to protect their side of the corridor, as it leads to the Centre Barracks and they need as much time as they can get. A leader of these forces issues military commands to the others and they respond without hesitation. Two spec-ops soldiers charge in front of the fighting troops with heavy, grey, flamethrowers in their hands. Their armour was significantly more than the general troops as to support the mass of the weapons that they specialized in using on the battlefield. Two streams of continuous flames surged out of the weapons simultaneously, burning the squad of advanced Cryp’lar troopers that were dumb enough not to retreat beforehand. As many of the components of the Cryp’lar armour were organically-based, the alien warriors were not able to hold back their inevitable deaths when matched with the heat coming from the advanced human war technology. The flames sparkled in the black visors of the specialist troopers, no expression on their emotionless faces, as if they were experienced in this sort of warfare before and have seen many horrors since their commissioning into the military. In a manner of seconds the hall was filled with smouldering ashes and burnt metal from the remaining armour. Before long twice as many Cryp’lar burst through the end of the corridor, determined to break through the human’s ‘blockade’ of soldiers. The leader of these troops ordered the spec-ops troopers to pull away from the frontline as they were needed elsewhere in other skirmishes around the Barracks, and continued to engage the new aliens with his original troops, who eventually became overwhelmed by the sheer number of Cryp’lar soldiers the enemy had at their disposal and were forced to retreat behind the steel barricade that was one of the entrances leading inside the Central Barracks. The corridor shook as what sounded like a medieval battering ram hammered down above the structure. The authoritative leader, tired from years of stress, watched in vain from the other side of the heavy door as empty alien drop-ships blasted plasma bolts at the door from high above what was left of the corridor’s long ceiling, smoking from the surge of energy pressured onto it moments before. At first, the bolts quickly dissipated against the reinforced metal of the door, then, after a moment’s silence, a huge blast impacted with the door with a force of energy that was large enough to shake the entire base. As the door was launched through the Barracks with an impressively frightening speed, a flash of red, electrified light filled the structure and blinded everyone in its path with its strong intensity.]

Chapter 9...

                                                                   Book 2: Vanquard

2326: During the planetary war between the mysterious Cryp’lar aliens and the humans, a squadron of breakaway military soldiers discovered the location of the Cryp’larian home world; Vanquard; and managed to unlock a few of its primitive secrets.

After six long years of bloodshed, surviving astrophysicist Dr. Ruwan decides to unlock his enemies’ true purposes for stealing the galaxies’ gas giants by fleeing from Earth, in its most desperate time of need.

Book 3: Resolute

2327: With the true intentions of the alien threat shown, weaknesses are found in their expansive militia that are delicate to the stability of their race’s very survival. Their life holding precious to them, the Cryp’lar would have no choice but to end the war and leave the Milky Way galaxy, or have they got one more card up their sleeve that could turn the war back into their favour?

Book 4: Aftermath

2340: A new generation is ushered in to help rebuild their world and it seems that the secrets of the war between the humans and Cryp’lar have not all been discovered; clues towards the events that occurred in the final days of the war are scattered amongst the ruins of an overwhelming empire. Alien helmets in the debris; recovered transmissions from a Dr. Michael Ruwan stay hidden; records of the war are erased on Earth and Vanquard; and a lone monument stands on Mars.