Part 1.

The Earth hung, dark and silent, in the stillness of space. No one was looking up at the stars that night. The human race was distracted, as war and devastation threatened to engulf them.

Without warning, the calm of space was shattered. A silent flash of lightning arced through the void, followed by a sharp electric crack. Where before there had been nothing, suddenly a ship appeared, rolling slowly, as if not in control of its flight. A series of explosions erupted from the side, causing the vessel to roll more violently. Anyone aboard would have been overwhelmed by the warning sirens, the roar of venting atmosphere, and the slamming of bulkhead pressure doors. One of the main engines was torn away from the hull and flung out into the depths of space, disintegrating into a blinding flash of light as the doomed hulk drifted ever closer towards the Earth. The ship spiralled ever closer to its doom, caught in the Earth's pull its fate was sealed. Within a matter of minutes, the shattered vessel was plummeting through the atmosphere, a bright fireball in the night sky, approaching its final resting place.

~

Prussia, 1806

“They say Bonaparte is in the Franconian Forest already, sir.”

Captain Claus Steinhauser glared at the young Lieutenant who had offered the information. “It matters little to me where Bonaparte is, Hauptmann Vogler. Wherever His Majesty tells us to fight him, that is were we shall go.”

“Of course,sir,” Vogler's expression matched the grim determination written across the faces of the soldiers marching slowly past them in a seemingly endless column. The war with France was barely two weeks old, and already Napoleon Bonaparte's Grande Army had beaten two Prussian forces and pushed deep into Prussia itself. “The men will stand, sir. Wherever it is we fight.”

Captain Steinhauser only nodded silently. Vogler was a young officer, inexperienced at anything other than shouting orders on a parade ground. He grimaced as he considered privately that most of the High Command was much the same. Steinhauser had spent most of his adult life in the army, and he could read his men well. They were determined, yes, but the fire was rapidly draining from them. The closer they got to the dreaded French army, the more Steinhauser overheard snatches of hushed conversation about the prowess of the French, that Napoleon was invincible. That this was a fool's errand. Maybe they would stand, as Vogler had promised, but Steinhauser thought it unlikely.

The Captain was roused from his thoughts by sudden cries of alarm from the marching soldiers. The orderly column stopped on its own as each man paused to look at the vast ball of fire streaking across the evening sky. As the fireball fell, a sudden roar followed it, shaking the ground and causing the horses to panic. Steinhauser struggled to reign in his mount, as the fireball vanished behind a wooded hill on the horizon. There was a silent, intense flash of light, followed a few seconds later by a blast that felt to Steinhauser like being kicked in the chest by a mule. Several officers were thrown from their horses, the animals scattering in all directions.

“What in God's name was that?” cried Vogler, as the young Lieutenant struggled to keep control of his own horse. “Some new weapon of Bonaparte's?”

“Not even the Devil himself has such a weapon, Hauptmann Vogler,” Steinhauser glared, hoping Vogler's foolish question did not infect the men with thoughts of French super-weapons. “Whatever it was, we should investigate. Take a squadron of your men, and come with me.”

“Yes, Captain!” Vogler saluted, his horse finally calm enough to let him take a hand from the reigns. “You men, with me!”

Leaving the Sergeants to regain control of the broken marching column, Steinhauser led the small group of cavalrymen away towards the hill where the object had crashed. By the time the small group of riders had reached the edge of the crater, the sun was going down. Most of trees along the hillside had been blown to the ground by the blast, many were still burning from the intense heat the object had generated. The object itself lay at the end of a long furrow, as if it had tried to alter its course across the sky from a dive to a long swoop, almost as a bird would try and land, but had hit the ground before it was fully able to correct itself.

“I have heard of falling stars.” Vogler murmured. “But I never expected one to look like that.”

“That is no star, Hauptmann,” Even in the growing darkness, it was clear that the object could not have been natural. Dismounting, the cavalrymen began to creep closer. The object was emitting a low hissing noise, and every now and then something would crack and spark loudly. As they approached the object, there was another loud hiss, and what appeared to be a doorway opened up in the side. Several of the men jumped back in alarm, others drawing their pistols and sabres, but nothing emerged. Steinhauser motioned them forward again.

“Whatever built this thing must be inside. Let us give it a warm, Prussian welcome!”

The men laughed, some brandishing their weapons and cheering. One by one, each of the soldiers climbed through the doorway, vanishing into the darkness of the object's interior. Captain Steinhauser checked his flintlock pistol, and satisfied it was in good working order, followed his men inside.

The scene inside the object was like nothing he had ever seen. A corridor of metal, bathed in a deep red light. From somewhere unseen there was a low moaning sound that rose and fell in regular intervals. Great jets of steam poured from broken pipes. Much of the corridor was badly mangled by the impact, but there seemed to be several other passageways and doors leading further into the wreckage. The men were huddled around the entrance, trying to see through the dim light.

“We should conduct several searches throughout this object,” Vogler's voice was hushed, as if in church. “If we split into groups we will be able to cover the area faster, and return to the column.”

Steinhauser agreed. “Very well, Hauptmann. Take a section and explore that passageway, I shall take the rest of the men and try the opposite direction. When you have completed your patrol, return to the entrance. We shall meet you here in one hour.”

“Yes, Captain,” Vogler flipped open his pocket watch, squinting through the dim light to make out the time. The two officers synchronised their watches, and with a curt nod to each other, set off into the darkness.

The rest of the interior was in as bad a state as the first corridor, as far as Steinhauser could make out. His section passed by several shattered glass screens that seemed to be displaying various unintelligible patterns. Some of the red lights were flickering, occasionally plunging the group into total darkness before restoring the ominous red glow. The low moaning sound was constant, and seemed to be coming from the very heart of the object itself.

The men were starting to get jumpy. Those with flintlocks were anxiously keeping their thumbs on the hammer, ready to cock and fire the weapons at a moment's notice.

“I don't like it,” muttered one of the troopers, “It feels like there's something watching me.”

Steinhauser felt the same way, but he couldn't let his men start jumping at shadows. “No one gave you permission to speak,” he growled. Suddenly the lights went out again. This time one of the men cried out in alarm, there was a dazzling flash as someone discharged their pistol into the darkness. The echo of the shot rang around the enclosed metal walls of the passage, nearly deafening them. An eternity seemed to pass before the lights finally flickered back to life. The corridor was full of smoke now, the result of the pistol shot. Several of the men were coughing and spluttering, trying to get the sulphurous smoke out of their lungs.

“Is everyone all right?” Steinhauser called, stifling a cough of his own. His ears were still ringing from the echoed blast, and his acquired ability to see in the darkness was ruined. Everyone seemed to think that they were in one piece, the pistol ball had evidently vanished harmlessly down the corridor. As his eyes began to accustom themselves to the low light again, Steinhauser began a quick head count.

“One, two, three, four, five...” His heart sank. “There were six of us when we started our search.”

A low murmur travelled around the patrol, as each trooper suddenly realised the Captain was right.

“It's Trooper Blasberg, Captain,” announced one of the soldiers, with a trace of a tremble in his voice. “He was with us before the lights went out.”

Steinhauser clenched his jaw. “He must have panicked when the shot was fired,” he reassured the men. “Once we find him, we should head back to the entrance to meet Hauptmann Vogler's section.”

The troopers agreed, but none of them sounded entirely convinced. The group began to move back down the corridor, periodically calling Blasberg's name, hoping against hope that the missing man would emerge from one of the many doorways or side passages.

As time passed with no sign of Blasberg, each man began turning pale. The patrol, which had been jumpy before, was now starting to show genuine fear. Their pace quickened, men began to see faces peering at them from behind every doorway. Then the lights went out again.

This time there was a sharp hiss as one of the side doors opened, more gunshots rang out before Steinhauser could order the men to hold their fire. The lead shot dinged off the metal surfaces, ricocheting into the darkness. There was a sudden flash of bright blue light, accompanied by a sharp buzzing sound, and a scream from one of the troopers. Then the door hissed again, and the man was gone.

“Gott im Himmel...” breathed one of the troopers.

Steinhauser felt a knot grip him in the pit of his stomach. “We should leave. Now.”

No one wanted to discover the fate of the two missing men. This time the patrol set off at a run, each man desperate to reach the safety of the entrance before they fell victim to whatever it was that inhabited the shadows. Then, from behind them, came the sound of heavy footsteps stamping on the metal floor of the passageway. The retreat suddenly became a rout, each man forgetting everything but the need to get away. Troopers clawed at each other, each determined not to be at the back of the group. Most dropped their weapons entirely in their effort to outpace their comrades.

A figure suddenly loomed out of a corridor leading away to the left. Another trooper was snatched from the group, the same brilliant blue buzzing flash, and the unfortunate man's scream the only evidence of him. A fourth man tripped in the mad panic, crashing loudly to the floor. The others didn't even pause to look back as the footsteps paused, and the inevitable buzz and scream rang out.

They were nearly at the entrance. “Vogler!” screamed Steinhauser, as he flung himself down the last corridor towards the entrance. From away in the direction that the other patrol had been heading he suddenly heard gunshots, and the same deathly screams.

Another figure emerged from a door to the right, carrying some sort of rifle. Steinhauser sprinted past, before the figure raised the weapon and sent a bolt of blue light into the back of his last trooper. The man spun around, as if struck by the blast of a passing cannonball, and hit the floor.

The entrance was just ahead, Steinhauser could see the moonlight spilling in through the doorway. Just one corner to go! The sounds of battle ahead had ended, and only the sounds of the footsteps crashing on the metallic floor rang out as Steinhauser summoned up the last of his strength to reach the door. It was too late.

From around the corner came one of the figures, blocking the only exit. Steinhauser stopped, panting hard from the precipitous flight. In the moonlight he could make out more of the figure's features. It seemed to be clad entirely in steel armour. The face, or at least, the front of its helmet, was expressionless, with two blank eyes and a short slit of a mouth being the only visible features. The two stood in silence for a moment, before Steinhauser raised his pistol.

“I don't know who you are, or what you want,” he growled, still gasping for breath. “But we are Prussian! You will not stop me!” The figure didn't move, but stood silent and resolute, blocking his escape. Steinhauser fired.

The lead bullet tore down the corridor, impacting harmlessly on the figure's chest, before dropping to the floor. Now the figure began to move towards him, one deliberate step at a time. Throwing away his useless pistol, Steinhauser drew his sabre, ready to make his last stand. Suddenly he felt a cold, metal hand grasp his shoulder from behind. He barely had time to look around to see another of the blank, metal faces staring at him, before the deadly buzzing blue light flashed. Instantly he felt his muscles let go. The Captain grimaced in pain as he sank to the ground. The figure in front of him stopped, barely inches from his face. As the blue light flickered, and Steinhauser began to black out, he saw the figure's mouth glow blue, and a deep, booming, unnatural voice droned through the darkness.

“WE WILL SURVIVE. WE WILL SURVIVE. WE WILL SURVIVVVVVE.”

~