Lost in Magadan: Extraterrestrials on Earth

“Fighting the Ondagra will not be easy, but you will perform better than this training exercise suggests. You were not wearing armor during the training exercise. Some of you had weapons that were capable of killing an Ondagra, but you were not trained in how to use those weapons. Once training is complete, your chances against a Large Gray, as you call us, will be much improved.”

“Not that I don’t appreciate it, but why are you helping us to fight your own kind?” Snap asked.

“I had a falling out with our leader here on Earth, Nox Bellator. He is secretly trying to rule the Earth through proxy corporations and shadow governments. I have grown to appreciate the freedom and creativity that some humans enjoy. Nox would slowly destroy all of that,” Ater explained.

“Are you the only Ondagra working with the U.S. Government?” Snap asked.

“I am now. I originally came here with a delegation of Ondagra in 1954. There were 40 of us sent here to work with the Americans. Nox was trying to play both sides of the cold war. After a long series of unfortunate events, all of them returned home in the early eighties.”

“Except you.”

“I could have returned home. Nox wanted me to leave this place. But I grew to dislike Nox’s way of doing things. It’s not that I love Americans, it’s that I really dislike Nox Bellator.”

Snap knew he could not begin to understand the Ondagra’s facial expressions, but he sensed he could trust this Ondagra. “So, how did we do for our first training exercise?”

“Compared to previous groups, you did remarkably well. Many squads take far higher casualties before the simulation ends. Over half of the time, I kill the entire squad before they can neutralize me.”

“During the first training exercise, back in the desert compound, after taking out the terrorists, why were our laser cannons not effective against you?” Snap questioned.

“The Ondagra developed their armor among a group of solar systems where there are several warring planets. The primary enemies of the Ondagra use directed energy weapons, not ballistic weapons. For a thousand years the Ondagra have been developing armor to defend against lasers and beam weapons, but we have not focused on projectiles, like bullets. Don’t misunderstand, the Ondagra’s armor will stop small caliber bullets, but it will break down under a barrage of sub-machine gun fire or high caliber weapons. That is why the 50 BMG works so well.”

“Easy, we all get outfitted with 50 caliber rifles and go hunting,” Ryan Taylor said with a laugh.

“Not so simple,” Ater replied. “The GM6M Lynx sniper rifle has a five-round magazine, and compared to a particle beam accelerator, it has an incredibly slow rate of fire. The Large Gray will be able to fire 100 lethal particle beams at you for each high caliber projectile fired at him. It’s like charging a machine gun nest with a musket,” Ater cautioned.

“That’s right,” Snap said. “Targeting Ater with that heavy rifle was not easy.”

“Pistol rounds like 9 mm, or 45 are pretty much ineffective against Ondagra armor. Larger rounds, like .308 or 7.62x39 may be effective with multiple strikes from a fully automatic weapon. There are very few conventional, man-portable weapons that deliver a lethal blow to the Ondagra’s armor. As you saw, the 50 BMG Lynx is one of the few that will deliver a kill strike with one hit.”

“So, will we each be issued one of those?” James Martin asked.

“No. Four of these will be issued to your squad. Remember, I said man-portable. There are several squad based weapons that will effectively take out Ondagra armor. The mini-gun will easily slice through his armor and deliver multiple kill shots per second.”

“Now that’s what I’m talking about,” said Justin Thomas.

“Normally, squad weapons require multiple soldiers to operate, but, in your FALOS suit, you will easily be able to carry a mini-gun and thousands of rounds of ammunition.”

“How many of those will we get?” Snap asked.

“Four squad members will have mini-guns. A FALOS suit and mini-gun is almost an even match against Ondagra armor. Remember, even with a mini-gun, the Ondagra has an advantage,” Ater cautioned the squad.

“What’s that?” asked Miller.

“The FALOS suit can only carry a few thousand rounds of armor piercing ammunition. The Ondagra’s particle accelerator weapon has unlimited shots and is much lighter than a mini-gun,” Ater replied.

“So, what’s next in our training, Ater?” Snap asked.

“The rest of the day will be spent debriefing you on the Ondagra threat to global and national security; on their technology, types of crafts, weapons and weaknesses. Tomorrow you will begin training on a new piece of equipment; I think you will enjoy it.”

The team sat through several hours of presentations from various speakers, including combat veterans, DOD contractors, National Security Agency representatives, and scientists. After the training and briefings, the squad was dismissed to their temporary quarters for the evening.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Granite Peak Installation