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Provided by explosiveskull https://twitter.com/kaboomskull

Mission Control, we've got an E.M. disturbance

radiating from 40 degrees port side.

Verify clearance of satellite traffic. Over.

Roger that, I.S.S.

There is a signature on your port side.

But JPL determines it may be

from a low-emission solar event.

Copy, Control, but we have no particle signature.

Captain Peters will be conducting a maintenance walk

and wants to confirm clearance.

I.S.S., we do have a visual of something unusual

on your port side.

If Captain Peters has prepped for that walk,

he may have a visual on what it is.

Uh, Mission Control, this is Captain Peters.

I... there is something outside of the craft.

Captain, there's a large mass just off your port side.

Radar and observatory telemetry

are trying to approximate what it is.

It might just be dust blown from our fuselage

from the evacuator valve.

Or... wait. I do have a visual.

It's dark. It appears to be...

At 6:08 standard times, Ukraine's Delta...

Henry, you're holding the handset too close

to the receiver again!

What I was saying was at 6:08 a.m. Eastern Standard Time,

Ukraine's Delta Observatory

recorded exactly what you predicted:

an increase in carbon dioxide and sodium

in the Martian troposphere.

You went to the P.A. system for that?

Doesn't that confirm it once and for all?

Well, I'm just looking at these latest images.

And?

I was correct.

Mount Olympus is going to erupt today.

See? I told you!

Yeah, it just picked a heck of a day to do it.

I mean, that confirms it.

I'm just trying to add a little fanfare, babe.

You just made history!

I mean, an eruption of Olympus Mons of this size

is unprecedented.

Most scientists thought the volcano was dormant.

Believe me, okay? I feel validated.

After 10 years of eye strain tracking topographical changes

and chemical signatures on Mount Olympus,

I was not gonna miss this.

I take it Junie didn't exactly take it okay

when you got called in.

She was livid.

I promised her I'd be with her today

for her post-surgery checkup when you called.

I mean, Mark's with her,

but I'm not gonna be winning a "Stepmother of the Year" award.

Look, I could take over for you.

You could give me a promotion.

I'm tired of hiding in your shadow anyway.

Yeah, and how would that look?

I can't promote you! You're my brother!

It would look like I'm playing favorites.

Yes! You are!

Besides, you owe me!

I owe you?

Absolutely!

All those times I covered for you.

I turned a blind eye when you took my Trans Am

out on your little midnight runs... wink.

All right, not worth a promotion.

You were 12.

Well, that's weird.

What is it?

Hang on. Let me get this up on the monitor.

Our telescope captured these three images

of Mars from 15 minutes ago.

Whoa.

Yeah, you see that?

That ejecta was traveling incredibly fast.

Is that from the initial eruption?

Looks like it.

Wow.

The amount of force to eject something like this

into the Martian orbit must have been immense.

I mean, at that speed, solid rock

would have disintegrated into the atmosphere.

Its outer shell must have some kind of crystallized element.

You know, now that it's an asteroid, given its heading,

it could qualify as an NEO.

You want me to sound the alert?

Yeah.

Cc all agencies: NASA, JPL,

meteorological societies, everybody.

It's also got this really weird chemical signature,

some kind of chloride gas.

And a huge draw-down of nitrogen along its path.

I can't figure out what's generating the chloride, though.

Wait a minute.

Hang on, these are all from Washington, D.C.

"All observatories on standby for military guidance."

Lieutenant, what's our elapsed time since the I.S.S. impact?

11 minutes, sir.

Oh, boy.

Check the security system. We've got company already.

Oh, that must be the military guidance

our alert warned us about.

Any additional intel from the Pentagon?

No, sir.

Only "Meet Dr. Allison Fisher at Falcon Observatory

and proceed according to briefing."

Listen to me carefully.

This is going to escalate quickly.

This is a threat response to an incoming asteroid.

- Do you understand? - Sir.

The Joint Chiefs did mention that the nature of the

object remains open until we can confirm it.

I understand that.

But if our messaging isn't precise,

every tinfoil hat within 100 miles will be there.

- Do you understand? - Sir!

Let's go.

Let's go see what they want?

All right.

I just got an alert.

"The I.S.S. has fallen off radar"?

What?

There were a dozen astronauts onboard that.

I worked with those guys for over a year.

Okay, it might just be a glitch in the receiver somewhere.

No, no, no, I mean, I know.

See this reading?

A large object got extremely close to their sensor.

It's roughly the same size of the object

we detected from Mars initially.

Hang on!

The trajectory model just traced its path

over the past few minutes all the way back to Mars.

This is the exact same ejecta we just saw.

How can that be?

Come on. That takes 14 minutes to get a radio signal from Mars.

Are you trying to tell me something ejected

from Mount Olympus going three million kilometers a minute?

Well, whether it's the same object or not,

predictive model gives it a 50% likelihood

of impact within 1200 miles of the city.

What can we do for you, si...

Dr. Allison Fisher?

I'm sorry. What's going on?

This facility is for authorized personnel only!

I'm General Reed from Fort Garrison, New York City.

That is Lieutenant Harris.

Okay, hold on.

General, General, we're doing sensitive work here.

I need confirmation from Command.

Right.

These are our official orders and a D.O.D. confirmation

for a national threat.

Here, give me these.

Excuse me, General!

Handing over this facility is not normally something we do!

I've been briefed on this facility

and understand that it is state-of-the-art.

- Is that correct? - Yeah.

It's equipped with nanometric laser guidance

a Deep Field telescopic range and meteor analysis lab.

That's exactly what we need to find out what this is,

what it's made of and where it's headed.

NASA and the other space stations sent out

a signal barrage with no response from it, sir.

No response expected, Lieutenant.

Give the Falcon Observatory database a security lockdown.

Wait, wait. What are you doing?

It will take a bit for me to breach the observatory firewall.

But all live streams are secure and classified.

You cannot shut down our system!

We need to know what this object is made of.

We'll have a spectral analysis of it in a minute.

And what its dimensions are.

Okay. Well, initial data indicates that it's oblong...

Wait. What did you just do to our shared database?

We're closing the live international feed so deployment

of our military assets won't be compromised to our enemies.

Okay?

We need you to take us to your Command Center, now.

Christ.

No...

We fall under the UN Security clause.

All data between observatories has to flow both ways!

We can't gather data on a closed system!

Sir, Doctor Fisher does have a point:

If she receives updates from observatories further east,

she can precede our visual confirmation.

Lieutenant, protocol demands that we do not

advertise orbital security.

Yes, sir!

General, I strongly advise against locking down our system!

Doctor, I'm aware.

This is a matter of national security.

General, we have an open database for a reason!

Our counterparts in Ukraine were able to stream a burst

of carbon dioxide and sodium an hour

before we could detect it ourselv...

Dr. Fisher, it is imperative that we treat this

for what it is, a natural disaster

addressed by the United States military!

General, I need this database open!

Henry, please advise your sister not to mistake

her expertise in astronomy for a command position!

Sir, Henry is orbital reconnaissance.

I advise him!

I am the lead astronomer here and this is physics.

The more you devote to defense against humans,

the less you devote to defense against this threat.

Now I cannot... I will not let you in here

until this database is open and under my control!

It's yours, Dr. Fisher, it's yours.

Get me an updated heading.

Okay.

I've run an open-source program to ensure

that this database remains open... permanently.

Confirmed. Data is global.

Okay, I'll need continuous updates.

Hey, I just received an APB.

Space Force and my former commander are saying

they can't keep up with this object.

This thing made a 90-degree turn

seconds after entering the atmosphere.

I don't want to jump to conclusions here

but anything over a 30-degree trajectory adjustment,

that's a UFO.

Okay, it's an unusual descent,

but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a spacecraft.

Oh, that can't be right.

This says the object is slowing down.

JPL and NASA confirm that the object

is down to 800 kilometers an hour.

New projected updates, 58% likelihood

it's gonna impact D.C.

Something else has ejected from the Martian surface.

What?

This says nine objects flying in a V formation.

Come on, Allie, these are spacecraft.

Pentagon, Command Level Omega.

Orbital intel records incoming, zero-9 objects.

We've received priority alert.

All agencies have confirmed and all units are activated.

Standing by for coordinated response.

Okay. Henry, pull up a trajectory model.

Make it a sliding-base algorithm based on its current speed.

General, with this object in our atmosphere

and these nine other craft on the way,

this is no longer a natural disaster.

Okay, doctor, get me data on its propulsion.

The Air Force will need to know

the limits of its maneuverability.

Run a multi-source algorithm on a trajectory.

Map it to all known means of propulsion here on earth.

Done. This algorithm defaults to zero.

The thermal signature is zero.

I mean, it doesn't have an atmospheric wake.

It's like it doesn't have a propulsion system.

Okay. I'm reducing the polarized filter

and narrowing the lens aperture.

Try it again.

Nothing.

Come on, this telescope isn't missing anything.

Harris, make sure Command knows to get those jets in the air.

Sir!

Attention, all units!

This is Command Omega. We need all birds in the sky.

I need ground units there five minutes ago!

I repeat, all units, move out.

This is not a drill.

This is B-2 Spirit, en route.

What's our updated ETA?

40 minutes to impact to D.C.

Okay. Spectral imaging reports are complete

and no traces of ionization.

Thermal imaging still shows nothing.

Sir, the DOD says they need immediate intel

on the object's hull.

There's no way to tell, not yet anyway.

And according to the angle of its descent,

it's no longer heading to Washington, D.C.

It's going straight to New York City.

How can we be certain these bogeys

aren't from Russia or China?

General, nothing on Earth is capable of moving that fast

without breaking the sound barrier.

It's triggered a full global threat response!

The DOD is sending Air Force Captain Ogilvy

to manage logistics at the projected landing site.

These craft could be trying out the closest viable planet...

Earth.

Look, there are too many unknowns.

If the Pentagon gives the order,

all military will move to annihilate it.

Hang on!

It readjusted its heading again!

Okay. Predictive model show a 91% chance it's going

to land at Rockefeller State Park.

That's 25 miles north of Manhattan.

Look, we need firsthand intel on the ground

to assess its vulnerabilities.

Dr. Fisher? You're the expert on Mars environment.

What can you tell us from the field?

I can run telemetric scans to measure

its structural integrity,

maybe even get some samples of whatever life form

might be inside.

Hey, look. I served with Ogilvy.

If anybody's going to the landing site,

it's going to be me.

What? No.

Henry, you don't even know what kind of data I need.

- You're Recon. - Exactly.

Okay, that's my point.

We have nine incoming craft.

We need to supply real time scan data to the ground troops.

I can go there. I can set it up.

I can assess. I can do the tests.

It's your program.

Given Henry's prior military status,

it saves us time getting him clearance.

Doctor, I recommend you help us track the other nine objects.

You can join your brother after the landing zone is secure.

Okay, Henry, when you get to the landing site,

just send us live telemetrics of the ship's hull's density

and whatever else might be inside.

I'll keep it on a continuous scan.

Just be careful.

You're the only brother I got.

Pull back! Pull back! Let's go!

Fisher, you're with me. Get back to the perimeter.

Command said that the Falcon Observatory

was sending you over.

I was wondering how long it would take for you

to come back to Space Force.

I loved my time on the I.S.S.

But I figured I was better served in Recon.

Well, you made the right choice today.

I.S.S. has been destroyed. We lost over a dozen men.

You didn't know.

Sorry, Henry.

I was afraid that was the case when we lost contact.

Look, we're gonna want payback for the I.S.S:

you, me, the DOD.

But honestly it doesn't make sense

to escalate a fight with nine incoming craft.

Okay, I'm live here at the landing site!

It's been over an hour since I started streaming.

Hey! Hey! Hey! Get outta here!

Get outta here! Get out!

This area's closed. Escort.

See what we're dealing with here?

I'm telling you, this whole situation

could blow up in our faces in a heartbeat.

We're shooing kids out of here,

getting people out of their houses

while the DOD is holding fire to cut the risk of retaliation.

If they decide to attack, what's the plan?

Pull back by 200, artillery.

Then every heavy weapon we have but a nuke.

And if that doesn't work?

Captain, the Pentagon says the other nine craft

are incoming northwest, 10 degrees.

Copy, Graves. Maintain combat formation.

Sustain the perimeter.

If heavy weapons don't work?

I don't know. Okay?

We've exhausted all possible signals

and frequencies trying to contact this thing.

Now I'm down to a speaker and a spotlight.

Look, I need to learn everything I can

about the creatures and their craft.

I need you to get me as close to that thing as possible.

I can take you to the front line.

But, remember, we're going in blind, Henry.

We don't know what could happen.

It's just sitting there waiting.

What do you think?

Listen, you were a scary man back in basic.

But this? We don't mess with this.

Get in, get your readings, get out, okay?

Yeah.

- Ready? - Yeah.

I'll take point position.

Sir? I received a request from 22nd Infantry.

OC says, quote, "General Reed knows we need to tear

"the throats out of whatever's on that ship.

Forward the strike request to Joint Chiefs."

Tell their CO to hold their fire.

We might be able to deescalate.

Sir.

Dr. Fisher, any updates?

Uh, yeah, uh...

I've got Henry sending live data.

Looks like radio waves are nominal,

infrared, thermal, optical, microwave...

Wait a minute.

We're getting a thermal reading.

There's movement inside the craft!

Okay.

Remember, if this goes south,

we've got the whole world ready to toast this thing.

I got soldiers posted there... there... and there.

News crews are about two hundred yards

behind us behind a barricade.

Take that as the initial fallback marker.

This is Pentagon, Omega, for General Reed.

Go for General Reed!

General, assets will be engaging the target

before it begins its next maneuver.

We have an Air Force coalition running

timed maneuvers spanning the entire northeast region.

If Falcon detects any further incoming, we may issue Defcon.

Copy, Omega.

Okay, they're at 28,000 feet.

Now they're circling back on New York, ETA 28 minutes.

Henry, their ships are closing in fast!

If you're gonna make contact, do it now!

Fisher, if we don't hear from these ships in 30 seconds,

there's a good chance the DOD

will launch a scorched-earth assault on them.

The line between action and intel is razor thin here.

Omega, we're standing by.

Copy. Astronomical intel will guide strategic response

until we decide otherwise.

We cannot afford loss of life even by an extraterrestrial.

Okay.

Let's try two short pulses with the light,

then one long pulse.

Okay.

Now try the same with the speaker.

Pull back! Pull back!

That sound came from under the ship!

There's something moving from under there,

but I can't tell what it is.

Thank you.

One of the spaceships is in the park now.

Dad, when is Allison coming home?

The news is saying that the ships actually came from Mars.

Wait. Is Allison still at the observatory?

That's what I'm trying to find out, honey.

Hey, how's your leg?

One to 10?

A seven. But, Dad, I don't wanna stay here.

I'd rather just deal with it at home.

Is Allison gonna have to go out there?

No, honey. She studies planets.

She doesn't have to deal with anything, you know...

dangerous.

Well, if you talk to her, can you tell her

that I'm not mad that she wasn't here while they fixed my leg?

And they're saying that the spaceships could be hostile.

And just... What if she...

Honey, Allie knows what she's doing.

She's safe, all right?

And she knows why you're upset.

Dad! Oh, my God! Look at this!

My God, the ship is opening.

Henry, you need to tell me what's going on down there now!

There's some kind of opening in the bottom of the ship.

I think they're coming out of the ship!

Look, Henry don't do anything stupid, okay?

Just get the data and get back here!

Henry, what do you see?

I think they're trying to communicate with us.

If they act aggressive, I'm gonna have to open fire.

Just make sure you do whatever it takes

to get away and get clear, okay?

Allie, we just made contact.

They're real.

Wait a minute!

That's Uncle Henry!

Captain, get out of there!

Henry, what's going on?

Ogilvy!

Open fire! Open fire!

Ah!

Sir! The craft fired a weapon

and destroyed all of our ground units completely!

All units! Pull back to perimeter within one mile!

Get all civilians in the vicinity inside!

Sir, I have received confirmation

that everything in that area is lost!

All the attack helicopters, all artillery,

and about 100 men... missing, sir.

Be prepared to evacuate!

Doctor, we need that data now.

Henry, do you copy?

Henry, come in!

Allie, they fired a weapon!

Some kind of laser!

Everything is on fire right now!

Everything's been vaporized!

Did you get the reading?

Yeah. Yeah, I got a reading.

It's five times more powerful than a bolt of lightning.

Their weapon system is electrical.

They're powering up again.

They're gonna fire their laser into the sky this time!

Ah!

Henry, were you able to assess the structure of the craft?

Yes!

They opened a portal of some kind in the front of the craft,

though it appears seamless.

When the creature came out, it looks like

they were trying to acclimate themselves to our environment.

You know, they changed colors, kind of like an octopus.

Okay.

Look, I ran an initial profile of the data you sent.

Looks like their hulls appear to be made of

a calcium, iron, carbon alloy.

It's interacting with some kind of biological matter.

But it also emitted massive amounts of chlorine.

But's not producing any ozone.

Okay, what about the skin?

You said it was changing colors like an octopus?

Henry?

Henry, come in!

Omega, C-double-zero... all units!

The target has... the city!

All nine targets are descending to 50,000 feet...!

Theta Command, NASA, Falcon,

pull back to Bravo Point Garrison!

Sir, they're scrapping field reconnaissance

and ordering all posts to fall back.

Doctor, you should pack up whatever provisions you need

and leave with us immediately.

General, I can't leave with you!

If you want me to stay and process data,

I need the telescope, the imaging programs,

the laboratory!

Doctor, this city, this whole area,

may be reduced to ashes soon.

They're starting to evacuate the city now.

But my family is in the city. I can't leave them.

I understand, but you're a mission critical resource.

I can't let you just go out into an active military zone.

Well, you're not detaining me, are you?

No, absolutely not. You are a civilian.

You're under no obligation to follow orders.

I am imploring you, work with me

and you will save lives.

I'm sorry, General. I can't go with you.

Look, I can pack up some equipment

and set up a makeshift lab once my family's safe

and out of the city.

But I can't go with you.

Okay, look.

Take your radio, stay in contact with me.

Do what you can.

Any info you can give to me will be helpful.

Okay.

Let's go!

Hey, what's going on?

Are you and Henry safe?

Henry was at the landing zone. He made it out alive.

I'm heading over to pick you up right now.

If the other spacecraft head to the city

and something happens to either one of us...

Is Junie okay?

Yeah, she's doing better,

but I think her leg is still bothering her.

Getting her in and out of the cab this morning

didn't help either.

Well, let her know I'm coming to pick both of you up.

I'm going to take you guys to the bunker

at your family's farm.

So we're evacuating then?

Yes, we're evacuating asap!

Look, have her ready, I'm almost there.

Okay. Hey, listen.

Be careful.

- I love you. - I love you.

All stations prepare to move all non-critical patients...

Dad, what's going on?

We gotta get out of here right away.

Is Allison coming?

Yep, she's on her way right now.

And we're gonna go to Grandma and Grandpa's farm

until it's safer to come back.

You ready? Hold on to me.

Falcon intel? This is Fisher. Do you copy?

Falcon, this is Fisher. Do you copy?

I was worried you weren't gonna make it back.

There are a lot of people working really hard

to make sure all of us are okay, including me.

Hey, Allie, you really think running into gridlock's

the best way to go?

Honey, I hear what you're saying,

but staying here is not gonna help us either.

You see what they did?

Yeah, I did. We both did.

We gotta get out before they lock us down

and the ships start attacking the city.

How's your leg?

I'm doing okay right now.

They only had to put in four more pins.

Only four, huh?

If I move too quick, it's like a stabbing pain.

We're gonna get you somewhere safe and sound.

And promise me you're not gonna do any more rail slides

off of three flights of stairs?

Okay, it's called a grind

and it was only one flight of stairs, and I promise.

Are we even gonna make it out of here?

Yeah. We'll be okay once we get past the Queensboro Bridge.

They're they are!

They're flying in formation.

Dispatch! This is Captain Fisher from Falcon intel!

Come in!

Captain, this is Command Dispatch.

We... all incoming...

Command Dispatch, this is Captain Fisher.

All of our transport's been destroyed!

We need Evac now! Come in!

This is General Reed. Go for Henry Fisher.

This is Fisher! Go, go!

Presence of the nine of craft is creating

an electromagnetic disturbance...

Get out now! Get out now!

Please, this is our only way out of the city.

Get out, both of you, now! Now!

You okay?

- Yeah, okay. - Are you okay?

Hey, are you heading south?

I'm sorry. We can't take you where you need to go.

Rebecca, we need to get to my mom.

Come on! No, no, no, no!

This is my ID right here.

I'm a former military officer.

Please. I just came from the landing site.

I work in an observatory!

We're doing research on the attack.

Please?

He did just stop us from getting mugged.

But you said we're out of gas.

We're not stopping for gasoline!

- Okay, get in. - Thank you.

The first ship to land just joined the other nine.

You guys, look at this.

I'm so scared. I don't know what to tell you.

They made it into the city.

There's no way of attacking them now

without endangering everyone.

I've seen like 50 fighter jets keep circling around.

I don't know what they're gonna do.

People are, like, evacuating.

The city is in chaos!

The bunker is around back.

Well, make yourself at home.

- You okay? - Yeah.

Do you really think we're gonna be able to stop them?

Don't worry about that right now, okay?

The military is doing everything they can

to keep us safe and I'm trying to help.

What are you setting up?

A lab, kind of like we have at work.

It doesn't look like much of a lab.

Oh, yeah? How many labs did you bring?

What is that?

This is a picture of what NASA believes to be

bacteria taken from the sample from our Mars Rover Opportunity.

And this is from the meteorite that hit earth

about a year ago verified to be from Mars.

And this is a picture of the ship's hull taken this morning.

When I saw the hull, I wanted to compare them.

They all look the same.

Yeah.

Yeah, that's because the ship's hull

is an iron, calcium, carbon protein alloy.

And then both the Rover sample

and the meteorite samples show these vacuoles of calcium

left behind from some unidentified chemical process.

But see, this calcification process occurred

extremely rapidly.

I mean, over days, not years.

I think the aliens might have sent this meteorite

to test how our atmosphere would affect them.

Which could give us clues on how to stop them.

Allison, look at this!

What's... What's going on?

What's that?

The car's dead.

It's an electromagnetic pulse.

Luckily this device is shielded from EMPs.

Yeah, but why are they shooting straight up into the sky?

Well, their weapons give off a huge electrical charge.

But I mean, it could be deliberate,

to give off those EMPs,

to knock out electricity as far as possible.

Allie? Come in, Allie. This is Henry.

Looks like they're headed east. Can you confirm that?

Allie?

- Any signal? - Nothing.

It's dead.

Did you see that?

Our weapons barely scratched them!

Yeah, it's like they have some sort of shield.

You know, Henry managed to get a reading from

the actual blast off the ship's heat ray.

He said the charge was electrical,

but didn't generate any ozone.

Isn't that the smell you get after a lightning strike?

Yes, that's right.

But it generated a ton of chlorine.

Okay.

All right, so they fire electricity straight up

into the air not to create ozone

but because they know will interact with the sodium

in our water vapor in our atmosphere.

They're trying to create their own chlorofluorocarbons

to destroy our ozone layer!

Yeah, but why would they want to do that?

Because Mars doesn't have an ozone layer.

They know they won't survive unless they can

turn earth into a new Mars!

I mean, the ozone elimination, the nitrogen depletion,

thinning of the atmosphere?

That's why they have the energy shields!

Because they know that their organic systems

will most likely fail when exposed to our atmosphere,

leaving behind calcium deposits

just like the ones in that picture!

All the electronics were knocked out by an electromagnetic pulse.

How could an electromagnetic pulse knock out my car?

I don't get it.

Look, a pulse like that is far-reaching.

It affects the earth's magnetic field.

It's like a solar flare or an atomic bomb.

You're not saying they detonated a nuclear weapon, are you?

Oh, no, no.

They would have taken us out with that.

Listen, the Department of Defense is trying

every tactical maneuver to come up with a good defense.

Dropping a nuclear bomb on New York City

doesn't make any sense right now.

My mom's in a nursing home on the island.

Alina...

That smell is much stronger out here now.

Are we getting poisoned right now?

No, listen.

Given their advanced technology,

if they were really gonna deploy some sort of agent,

it would have killed us already.

Look, if we can make it to the observatory,

it's protected by the military.

And once it's safe, we can go find your mom.

Alina, you saw the video of what that ship

did to those helicopters.

Now there's 10 of them.

Well, we have no radio. The car battery's fried.

The observatory's only a few miles away.

It's time to start walking.

Thank you for helping us to the observatory.

And thank you for helping us back there.

Thanks for giving me a ride.

I just don't understand why they're attacking us.

Well, since there haven't been any more than

the initial 10 aircraft,

I suspect they're using New York City

as a trial run for a much larger attack.

If that's the case, that means they intend on staying here.

And if they intend on staying here,

they're gonna have to make this place a lot more

habitable like Mars.

How do you know they're from Mars?

We confirmed it through our telescopes at the observatory.

Their ships produce a chloride gas which kills nitrogen.

If they wanna make this more habitable,

they're gonna have to make our atmosphere ozone-free.

But that would take a long time, wouldn't it?

'Cause there's only 10 of them, right?

Not necessarily.

I mean, their ships produce a chlorofluorocarbon gas.

This gas rapidly destroys our atmosphere.

And if they're gonna make earth more habitable like Mars,

they're gonna have to eliminate the ozone

and leave nothing but oxygen.

And that would affect the mass of the entire planet?

That can't be possible.

If they ignite the oxygen, it will burn off the oceans.

And the earth is mostly ocean.

Which would make the Earth's gravitational pull

the same as Mars.

I can't get what I need here.

I have to go back.

What are you doing?

I need to go to the observatory. It's the only way.

What?

Look, we're safe here for a while,

but not forever, and not for long.

They had troops, Air Force, heavy weapons

all surrounding them, all firing at them

trying to stop them, and it did nothing.

- Allie... - And now they are on the move

and we don't know where they're going or how fast

or what else they can do.

But we know they want to wipe us out, as much as possible.

Someone's gotta stop them.

Allie...

I have to stop them.

Allison, you cannot go back out there!

Listen, when they evacuated us this morning,

I wanted the military just to wipe them out!

I thought they would, but they didn't.

Look, they sent one of their top generals to me this morning

because NASA doesn't even know what they're doing.

They consulted me.

The only way to make sure the aliens

don't get to you and Junie is to stop them!

I have been studying Mars my entire life.

I can beat them.

Do you understand what I'm saying?

Allie...

The car's parked underground.

It shouldn't have been affected by the EMP.

Allison, no!

Honey, I know, okay? I know.

But we have to be strong to get through this together, okay?

- Yeah. - Okay.

You guys will be safe here, okay?

- I love you. - I love you.

I am coming back.

Sir, I can't get

our communication systems back online.

We need to establish a new perimeter outside of the city.

No. No.

You saw the footage with your own eyes.

Our troops were routed every time they went to engage them.

Sir... the D.O.D. has evacuated several military installations

throughout New York State,

with transport straight to the Pentagon.

We may want to consider doing the same.

Did they evacuate this one?

No, sir.

It's just that some of the other officers recommended...

What? What? That we evacuate?

Sir.

Until the Pentagon gives the order, we stay!

You saved the data from the observatory, pull it up.

Yes, sir.

Lieutenant...

Lieutenant, listen to me.

We can run. I hear you.

We can run or we can stay

and defend peoples' lives.

These creatures have an energy shield.

Nothing would through it, but it isn't perfect.

I don't care what enemy we're dealing with.

No one has unlimited resources.

We will find out their imperfection

and we will use it to destroy them.

This is Fisher to Falcon Observatory!

Fisher to Falcon Observatory!

Come in, Falcon!

Sir! Sir, excuse me.

Ma'am, what are you doing here?

I have to get back...

New York is under a mandatory evacuation or shelter in place.

There's no foot traffic through here!

I have business with General Reed at the Falcon Observatory.

I'm Dr. Allison Fisher.

This is an active war zone admitting

only authorized personnel.

Okay.

The observatory's quite a way away,

probably another five miles.

Has anyone been able to reestablish communication?

There's some generators, most of them fried.

But we were able to charge up some of the radios.

They're huddling back up.

They split apart, attack us and huddle back up.

They're Tripods, That's what the Command called them.

Easton? What do you see?

They're about two miles out from me, Sergeant.

I saw them just above the tree line.

Yeah.

They started attacking some residential areas.

It was a slaughterhouse.

We weren't able to retreat fast enough.

Planes dropping out of the sky,

bodies everywhere like shadows.

Ashes everywhere.

You heard the radio. It's about two miles that way.

What's your business with the general?

I... I have to get to the observatory.

I have intel on the Martians that might help us

develop a weapon to use against them.

But I have to get to the observatory lab to run the test!

This is Sergeant Holleran to Intel One.

Intel One, go!

I have Dr. Allison Fisher from Falcon requesting

transpo to the theater.

The enemy got within three hundred yards

of the observatory about an hour ago.

Without planes or satellites, we can't tell if

the observatory's still standing.

Sergeant, have any of your units been able

to inflict damage on the Tripods?

Not that I've seen, but we'll get them.

We're sending in some big tanks with big guns

like you've never seen before, heavy-duty stuff,

top secret stuff.

I need you to take me straight to the front line.

Trust me, you don't want to see what those things can do.

I know exactly what they can do!

Right now, I need to get close enough to study them

to get a good idea how they operate,

what their weaknesses are.

Otherwise, there's a good chance our weapons

won't even scratch them.

We have to move now!

Look!

They're powering up again. Get down!

They're gonna fire into the atmosphere!

Get down! Get down!

Stay back. Stay right there.

They're spreading apart right now, you see?

They're about to attack.

I don't get it.

Our weapons are not even affecting them!

They will. We have more coming in.

You have to stay here, stay safe.

You have to make it to the observatory.

Wait, wait! Where are you going?

Those are my men. I gotta do my part.

Wait, no!

Oh!

Are they going to fire again?

Run! Go!

Please! Help me, please!

Get it off me! Help me, please!

- Come on. - Get it off me!

- Please get it off me, please! - Pull, pull!

Get it off me! Get it off me!

- Please, get it off me! - Pull!

Get it off me! Ah!

Go, go! Come on.

Those creatures or whatever they were,

how were they able to take down an entire bridge?

Seemed like they were drawn straight to us,

like they were trying to kill us!

Okay, hold on.

I think they're drawn to anything organic.

You see, it's like a Kudzu vine on steroids.

Wait. What does that mean?

When I was stationed in Japan,

they had these vines, these Kudzu vines.

And the locals had to constantly prune them down

or kill them, or anything.

Otherwise, they would overtake the village.

So the Martians planted an invasive species?

They're trying to. That's basically it.

By feeding on nitrogen,

they could have this placed terraformed in a week.

Just stick to the tree line and be quiet.

Run!

Come on!

Come on! In here! Come here, come here!

Go! Go, go, go! Go, go, go!

That way. That way... now!

Come on! Get inside! Get inside!

Get cloth under the door! Block the windows!

There's still people out there!

- Open the door! - No! Don't open it!

Don't open the door!

What do we do now?

I don't know, but I have to get to the observatory

or all of this data is for nothing.

Play the footage from Central Park again.

You can see it. Here.

An F-35 collides with the shield.

No effect on the spacecraft.

Wait. Stop right there.

What's that?

It's an interference pattern on the screen.

It can't always handle high-resolution images

from the observatory.

It stops right beyond the spacecraft.

What's the resolution on this laptop?

1080.

And these are interference wavelengths, Lieutenant?

The energy shield is vibrating at an incredibly high frequency.

If conventional weapons won't work in a frequency this dense,

then not even radiation will break through.

We'd need something measuring 400 kilojoules at least,

and an ultrahigh Hertz.

We have laser weapons both here and at the Pentagon, right?

All our military-grade laser weapons

have been disabled from the EMP.

The Falcon Observatory has a laser.

Can it be modified to fire on them?

Theoretically, we could route all the energy to the laser

and recalibrate it to fire at an extremely high frequency.

But all the observatory systems are shut down

because of the EMP.

Doesn't matter.

Send a priority alert over their network

repeating every 15 minutes.

Give them the specifications.

Let's just hope one of them,

you know, makes it back in time to receive it.

Sir.

Hey, hey, hey! Over here, over here.

Get down!

I know where there's shelter.

- I'm Chris. - Allison.

Those are the others.

We were on the south bridge when these gigantic red vines

pulled the whole bridge down.

Me and a few others made it out.

But the machines, they just kept following

and killing us in herds.

They've been hunting and killing us since the bridge.

They followed us right into the trees and started eating us.

Wait. That's...

That's why they didn't just start

spraying the planet and planting.

They don't have any food,

so they have to eat us to keep going.

You said the vines were red and they move independently?

Yeah.

They just kept...

There it is. We're almost there.

Okay, let's go.

Hey, Chris? What are you doing?

I'm an aircraft mechanic.

I worked for a company in New Mexico for over 30 years.

The engine looked intact from outside.

The fuel gauge would show empty if there's a leak.

This plane's off because a circuit was broken on impact.

And generally, there's a small tool kit

up above the copilot side for emergency fixes.

And if you can give me a hand and maybe it moves off...

you can seal the connection to the fuel regulator.

Chris, keep it down.

I'm pretty sure they're gone.

Please, please, please, please.

Chris, they're right outside.

Okay, quick!

Shut all the blinds!

Keep it down!

Don't let them hear us.

What's it doing?

It's just standing there.

The sun's starting to go down.

It's not even moving. It's just...

It's like it's standing at attention.

I can't stay here.

I've got to get to the observatory.

But I know if one of us goes out there,

it's just gonna pick us right off on the grass.

Well, we can't just leave it out there waiting for it to kill us.

It's just like it's guarding the plane.

We're just going to have to stay here until it leaves.

Try to keep quiet.

Hey.

Where are you going?

Chris?

Chris?

What are you doing?

Looks like they got cold turkey sandwiches.

Want one?

Kinda.

Thanks.

The cockpit radio's broken,

but I think I can fix a couple shorted wires.

Lets wait until they're gone to do that.

It's a good idea, though.

Things hurting pretty bad, huh?

Yeah. It still hurts pretty bad.

Okay, hang on.

Here.

Here. Lift your arm.

It still stings.

You think those Tripod creatures sleep?

Just close your eyes.

Try to get some rest.

I'll take the first watch.

No, no. I'll do it.

You're with the Defense Department.

You'll need to focus.

I'll take the first watch

I'll wake you up in a few hours.

Thanks.

What was that?

It's moving again!

And it just fired at something outside!

Chris!

Chris, no! We gotta go!

I fixed the plane and we ain't going out without a fight!

Let's see them stop a flying missile!

No, Chris, stop!

Shit!

Sure you're all right?

Yeah. You know I can't just lay there.

I'll drive me insane.

Well, just watch the leg then.

I don't know what the hell those things did,

but the wiring around the house is totally fried.

Even with the generator, it's gonna take days

before I can get this place back up and running

without an electrician.

Well, I'm sure Uncle Henry could fix it.

Yeah. I could do it too if I had all the time in the world.

So, what? Your schedule's packed now?

Totally packed.

Hey, take it easy, will you?

I don't want you to hurt yourself again.

I mean, I know you're bored

and you want to help out, but you don't have to rush.

Do you think Allison's gonna be okay?

I hope so, Junie.

We'll just have to wait 'til she gets back.

She'll make it back.

Oh, my God!

It's an arm from one of the machines!

Get down! Get on the floor.

Junie, did it hurt you?

No. I'm fine. It didn't hurt me.

Are you okay?

Yeah, I am.

It sounded like something was calling to it.

Either way, Dad, you saved my life.

That was incredible.

Just get some rest.

The smoke's cleared.

Now, the observatory's a mile down the main road.

I'm sorry. We can't go with you, Henry.

Even if there might still be danger in Manhattan,

we have to go there.

Thanks for helping me.

Thank you for helping us.

Be safe.

Ah!

Ah!

Allie?

Are you in here?

Allie, this is Henry.

Come in.

Allie, this is Henry! Come in!

Stay where you are, wherever you are.

Please, just give me something, give me something!

I need to know you're there!

Allie...

I'm going to the engine room.

I'm gonna check the lighting.

Ha!

- Allie! - Henry!

- Oh, my God. - I'm so glad you made it.

Where are Junie and Mark? Are they okay?

God, I hope so.

I had to leave them at the farmhouse.

I haven't been able to check on them.

But, Henry, I saw one.

I saw one of the Martians.

Outside the machine?

No, face-to-face, just outside their cockpit.

Wait. Have you seen the red weeds?

Yeah. One of them tried to choke me out

in the middle of the woods.

They tried to kill us on the south bridge.

Who's us?

Well, I spent the day yesterday traveling with two girls.

We traveled together, then I spent the night in a cabin.

Where did you guys hide out?

Long story.

But you know what the Martians are doing, right?

Yes. They're trying to change earth into a new Mars.

They're trying to destroy all the nitrogen

in the atmosphere by planting nitrogen-gobbling crops.

Once they're down to nothing but oxygen,

they'll ignite the atmosphere

and that's going to vaporize the ocean.

That reduces earth's mass!

Yeah, and that, in addition to breaking up our ozone layer,

ought to make our planet pretty much like home to them.

Okay.

So I took this specimen about an hour ago

and it's jet black, right?

If my theory is correct, when it's exposed to bacteria,

it'll turn white and die.

I saw it happen to this Martian

that consumed a man with a badly infected arm.

Eww.

Yeah, it just turned bone white and died within minutes.

Is that an alert?

I opened the message board, it's from 12 hours ago.

Here, hold on. The whole system is scrambled.

I have to let it run before I can restart it.

All right.

So Mars has half the oxygen content than earth does.

So its species have to over-produce hemoglobin

to take in as much oxygen as possible.

So like our blood, the iron is critical for oxygen absorption.

So they create twice as much of it.

Now you were able to run a scan on their skin

before the first attack, remember?

Yeah.

It was calcium, carbon, protein and iron.

Now I suspect when these creatures die,

their vascular system seizes,

and then drains all the iron from its body.

Sort of like how our lymphatic system pushes fluid.

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking.

So all we have to do is isolate what bacteria

the Martians are susceptible to.

When the iron drains,

it's just gonna leave the calcium,

turning them bone white.

Just like when they retreated back into the ship, right?

That's right.

So we can ID them one by one with the library's ID function

until we identify which bacterium

is acidic enough to kill the living skin tissue.

All right, Yeah, how do we know that's even gonna work?

Because their vascular structure

is a closed system just like ours.

They need twice the iron to deliver oxygen on Mars, right?

Okay.

So that's twice the red blood cells.

That'll only leave half the room for white blood cells.

Henry, they have no immune system.

Okay, so I've separated a single bacterium.

You run the program and tell me how it identifies it.

Okay, got it.

The program says... Clostridium perfrigens.

Common name is gangrene.

That's perfect.

The alien I took the sample off of died seconds later.

So it's must have only had trace amounts of gangrene.

- Okay, that's not it. - That's not it.

Let's try again.

All right, let me get another sample up here.

- Okay, you ready? - Yeah.

Okay, this one is Pleomorphic bacteria.

That's just common blood-borne bacterium.

All right, here goes nothing...

and it did nothing.

There's got to be at least 12 strains

of bacteria on this sample.

Oh, Jesus.

They're getting closer.

Can we do three or four of these at a time?

No, unfortunately not.

That would compromise the results.

Okay, go!

Okay, That is... streptococcus.

That's the common strep.

All right.

That's it! That's it.

Well, okay, no, that's just the first sample.

That's just the control.

Now I've gotta reproduce the experiment.

And...

- That's it! Right there! - There it is.

- It's the strep. - Oh, God!

Jesus.

This is U2 Spirit, over.

Is anyone else still flying?

Copy, Spirit. This is Rex, over.

Copy, Rex, I have visual on the Tripods.

Payload is primed.

This close to the city? Are you sure?

Rex!

That's it! Weapons hot! Let's smoke these bastards!

What we got?

Okay. Well, that's from the last EMT.

I mean, it glitched the whole system.

It's still formatting.

- What's it say? - It's four columns.

The first one is 400, 400.

That's just over and over again.

And KJ, KJ, repeat KJ.

Okay, that's kilojoules.

Boom.

Oof.

Okay, that's definitely a fire fight.

They're definitely getting closer.

Would imagine there are troops on the ground

that are probably just trying to hold their position.

What's the third column say?

181818 and then khz, khz.

That's kilohertz.

So they're talking about the heat ray?

No. This is five times the strength of an electrical bolt.

Electricity doesn't cycle that fast.

This is light-based.

Okay, so what were they saying about kilojoules?

Well, the 400 is 400.

The 18 is five times the frequency of a light ray.

If they're not talking about a heat ray,

they're talking about a laser.

Okay, okay, and the last column?

Just "Reed" over and over again, every 15 minutes for hours.

The fact that there's a frequency

that's corresponding to a high-powered laser tells me

this is a weapon we can use against the aliens.

So if we max out our laser,

we could penetrate their energy shields.

I mean, theoretically.

I mean it could.

It could, it could, it could. It could!

Ours is designed for guidance, though.

I mean, it's not meant as a weapon.

We could maybe get one, maybe two, shots off.

Then the whole thing's just gonna melt down

- and we'll be sitting ducks. - Right, right, right.

Okay, if you could fire on one of them and breach its hull,

I could use their smoke delivery system and fire on the rest.

You mean climb inside the machine?

Yeah.

When I took the sample from the alien,

I saw the smoke container in its cockpit.

I could use the reagents to make a lethal dose.

I think 500 parts per milliliter should do it.

Yeah, I could spray it into the smoke delivery system

in the Tripod and then fire on the rest of them.

Oh, God!

We may deploy their smoke, that will kill you.

No. We have all this lab equipment.

We got chemical protective masks.

We have the sprayer we spray on meteorites.

- We could protect ourselves. - Okay.

Here.

Fill this up to the top.

By the time they get here, we will generate enough.

Okay.

And working.

I wish we could do something to lure them right here.

Use the PA system.

You get the mic close enough to the receiver, it feeds back.

You think that's gonna work?

It's not gonna sound human.

That's strep, be careful of it.

Let's give it a shot.

All right, let's see if they take the bait.

It's on its way.

Allie, the power to the laser is on maximum.

Power resources say it's gonna hold.

I can see it! It's just over the tree line!

I'm driving the solution, heading outside!

Shit!

Allie, don't go! It's not holding!

The circuit didn't hold! Don't go! Hold still!

Henry, we don't have much time!

They're gonna be within range to fire their heat rays any second!

Okay...

Okay, I rerouted all the power from everything

that is not the laser.

I mean, there's no telling how many times

I can fire this thing before it just blows up.

Just do it. It's all we got.

What's their trajectory?

Aim the laser directly east. You'll see it any second.

Henry, it's here.

God.

I got it.

I got it, I got it, I got it.

Yes!

Allie, are you there? I just wanna hear from you.

Ready to fire.

Henry!

Aah!

Oh!

Ah!

No!

Over here!

Come on, over here!

Come on, you son of a bitch!

General Reed! General Reed!

Over here!

Their shields are down!

Here!

No! Over here!

We saw the laser firing on the ridge all the way from the base!

We knew you were trying to take them out!

- Keep circling! - Over here!

Over here! Over here!

Guys, look at me!

Come on.

Ugh! Oh!

Allie!

Allie!

Come here.

I knew you could do it.

Come here. Come here, sit down.

I told you, you're the only brother I got.

We did it! I knew we would!

You're pretty smart. Runs in the family, I think.

Shut up, Henry.

You made it. Thank God.

Wait, Junie!

Is Junie okay?

- Mom! - Baby.

I was afraid you weren't gonna make it back!

How's your leg?

It's better. Everything feels better.

I agree, everything feels better.

Hey. How are you doing?

Oh my God.

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