May 31, 2030, 5.00 PM

Valour Headquarters, New York, NY

I got up from my seat abruptly, covering my mouth as I stifled an incoming burst of laughter. However, I couldn't hold it back, and eventually let it all out, elbowing the table multiple times as I guffawed uncontrollably. I had already noticed that no one else had found it as funny as I did, but I was just unable to abstain from finding what they were saying to be a joke.

"So, y'all saying that the Earth is gonna be swarmed by them green Martians tomorrow?" I questioned sarcastically, before proceeding to chortle again.

However, the leader of Valour, Mr. Edward Cornwall, did not take my indifferent response to the imminent danger of some alien attack well. He stood up as quickly as I had done previously, kicking his chair backwards and banging the table with both his hands furiously. "Silence!" he ordered as he glared at me, his bloodshot left eye intimidating me successfully. "Your insolence will cost over hundreds of thousands of people their lives! This calamity that the G-23 extra-terrestrials will create is no game to play with! Do you understand?"

As such, I finally ceased to take the situation so lightly. "Yes sir," I responded, lowering myself back onto my cushioned chair. Looking around the room once more, I understood that everyone was rather serious. Thus, I was somewhat convinced that they were telling the truth about these unknown extra-terrestrials plotting to drive a mass attack against us. However, I still had my doubts about this.

I joined Valour to defend citizens of countries which are about to fall to military coups or invasions. This was the sole reason for the establishment of the organisation. However, they somehow decided to start investigating extraterrestrial life, then claim that an extraterrestrial attack was imminent. Now, how would any layman like me believe that?

Nevertheless, I could already sense the deep level of seriousness that every member in the committee had. Thus, I tried my best to keep an open mind and listen to what they had to say before prejudicing against them. I nodded and gestured to Cornwall to continue with sharing their plan.

"I hope that you won't perceive the rest of this information as a joke," he shook his head dubiously in dismay. "This was as early as we could detect the incoming attack. Even NASA isn't aware of it as of now. However, one of our experimental spacecrafts has come across a large amount of radiation that cannot be emitted by any manmade object. After some observation, we have identified an unknown massive object moving towards Earth whilst carefully avoiding the other planets."

He then stood up shakily, limping towards a table positioned against a wall, below the projector screen. He picked up some kind of remote control, before aiming it at the laptop on the table. As a result, a moving display flashed onto the screen, showing what seemed to be the trajectory of the incoming spaceship. "As you can see from here, the spacecraft has been traversing in a way such that it detours just to move far from the other planets in the solar system, but has been gradually making its way towards Earth," he elaborated on the diagram.

"So, where exactly on Earth is this UFO heading to?" I questioned impatiently, before he could go on about the spacecraft. After all, I was starting to become a concerned being as much as any other human being would be.

"We can't really tell," he answered in a gruff voice. "However, if it continues with its pattern of skipping the other planets and going towards us, it is bound to arrive in Eastern US or Eastern Canada at around 8 pm tomorrow," he added on in a more concerned tone this time as he got back into his seat.

He mumbled on about other somewhat less important things regarding this imminent attack, but I had already tuned it out all out. I placed my elbow against the table and rested my cheek on it, thinking about the vague information that had been provided. Something more important, however, was the fact that there didn't seem to be much of a reason for me to be specifically picked out to listen in to this meeting. There were easily millions of soldiers in Valour, so I wasn't quite to sure why I was handpicked to be placed alongside the directors of the organisation. And this was what I truly cared about.

"So, why am I here?" I cut in as Cornwall was still rambling on. "What even is my task? Y'all haven't given me nothing except some information that would be really good for any citizen to know."

Stunned for a moment after realising that I wasn't listening in at all, Cornwall cleared his throat, frowning as he tried to get himself together to answer another one of my questions. "There is absolutely no way that you can be allowed to release this information to the public. Not even your friends or family. You'll cause mass panic, hysteria and violent crimes to spark everywhere that could kill even more than this incoming calamity has guaranteed to already!" he freaked out the moment I mentioned passing on this information to others.

"Woah, man. Relax. I just want to know why I've even been selected to attend this meeting. I mean, I've got nothing special as compared to any of your other millions of employees and soldiers," I said in a calm manner.

"Well, actually, you do," he disproved with a change of tone.

"I'm sorry?"

"Nothing. All you need to know is what to do. And I'll tell you that right now."

I scratched my head, curious to know what it was that made me special. I didn't know if Cornwall had simply responded to my statement subconsciously, or if he had truly meant what he said—that I was indeed special in some way. However, it didn't seem like he was going to tell me nothing, so I reluctantly waited to hear my task.

"You'll remain in Chicago and go about your daily life as usual. As I had mentioned before, you are not to leak any of this information to the public, including friends and family, even if you trust them. However, you are to keep on a lookout for a man named Adam Colton. We will try as much as possible to locate him and update you on details about him and his whereabouts. You are to ensure that he comes with us, alive, so that we can hopefully get some assistance from him, and you simultaneously," he finally revealed.

I furrowed my brows, wondering who the hell Adam Colton was and why I had anything to do with him. There was no way that I could help Valour in any way if I didn't even know the man. Then again, I shouldn't have questioned them. I was quite thoroughly convinced that an alien attack was imminent, and that I should do anything to help innocent people. After all, that was what Valour stood for.

Although, if the attack were not to happen,somebody's ass would be about to get whooped.