The world, which had been teetering on the brink of an internal war, was suddenly united in a single, profound moment of absolute shock.
The satellite footage was stark, undeniable, and terrifying. It played on a continuous loop in every command center, on every news broadcast, in every corner of the globe. It showed a patch of empty sky over the South African veld. Then, a silent tearing of reality. A fleet of sleek, obsidian vessels, shaped like predatory insects, bled into existence from a non-space that hurt the eyes to look at. Their movements were not governed by aerodynamics, but by a casual, contemptuous mastery of physics that humanity could only dream of.
The world's first contact with an alien intelligence was not a message of peace or a declaration of war. It was the cold, indifferent efficiency of a farmer harvesting a crop. The dark siphons, the drained crystals, the silent, instantaneous departure—it was an act so far beyond humanity's technological and military capabilities that it rendered all of Earth's internal squabbles absurd.
The fragile, bickering alliances of man were suddenly revealed for what they were: the petty arguments of ants on a picnic blanket, oblivious to the boot about to descend.
United Nations Security Council, Emergency Session (Virtual)
The holographic chamber was a tense arena of accusation and fear. Queen Xhosa's avatar was a shimmering, furious statue of righteous anger.
"Your internal reports called the South African reserve 'impenetrable'!" she thundered, her voice booming through the chamber, directed at the grim-faced avatar of Director Thorne. "It was guarded by two hundred LAAU Awakened and your own automated defense systems! And it fell in five minutes without a single human casualty, because they didn't even see our soldiers as a threat worth eliminating!"
"Our intelligence was based on terrestrial threats, Your Majesty," Thorne replied, his voice a cold, infuriating calm. "We were preparing for a war. This was pest control. These... 'Star Vultures,' as the media has dubbed them, possess technology that is, conservatively, several centuries ahead of our own."
The Russian ambassador's avatar flickered to life. "And what is your proposed solution to this... pest problem, Director Thorne?"
Thorne's expression became a mask of grave, statesmanlike concern. He was not a director of a research academy now; he was the self-appointed guardian of humanity. "The events in South Africa have proven one thing beyond any doubt. Our fractured, regional approach to this global crisis is a fatal weakness. We have Awakened scattered across the globe, operating under a dozen different command structures, with no unified strategy. It is inefficient. It is suicidal."
He paused, letting the weight of his words settle on the silent, watching avatars.
"The Pan-European American Alliance proposes an immediate activation of the Global Security Mandate, Article 7. A unified global command structure for all Awakened assets. One leader, one strategy, one army. To ensure efficiency and impartiality, the Alliance, possessing the most advanced command and control infrastructure, is prepared to take operational command of this new global force."
The silence in the chamber was replaced by an uproar of furious, overlapping voices.
"An Alliance puppet army!" the Russian ambassador roared. "This is a power grab!" shouted the Chinese representative. "You would use this crisis to build an empire!" Queen Xhosa accused.
Thorne did not raise his voice. He simply waited for the outrage to subside. "It is not an empire," he said, his voice cutting through the noise, cold and sharp. "It is survival. The clock is ticking. The enemy has shown their hand. We can either stand together under one banner, or we can be harvested, one nation at a time. The choice is yours."
He knew they would refuse. He knew they would see it for the naked power play it was. But the seed was planted. He had positioned himself not as a conqueror, but as a reluctant savior. And as the world's fear grew, he knew, sooner or later, they would have no choice but to turn to him. The vultures from the void had just handed him the perfect justification for the empire he had always planned to build.