[ WP ] A hostile Alien race arrives at Earth , But misinterpret the U.S. flag as a 50 Star systems strong government .

`` News from SATCORE, Mr. President.'' General Zahn rushed into the war room, his hands clutching a sheaf of paper so hard that his fingernails had torn through the first three pages. 
 
 He threw the paper onto the table and stood at attention. 
 
 `` China and Russia are gone, sir.'' 
 
 `` Gone?'' President Alden stood up from his chair. His shirt was rumpled and damp with sweat. His tie and jacket were gone, probably on the floor somewhere beneath other papers and computer tablets that had been thrown about with abandon. The two dozen other men in the room looked up with fear coloring their eyes and sweat clinging to their skin. 
 
 `` Yes, sir.'' The General's posture wavered for a moment before snapping back to attention, `` Completely desolated. Everything over two stories has been reduced to ash. Reports indicate that within the next seventeen hours, we will receive additional atmospheric disturbances from the expanding cloud of... debris.'' 
 
 The war room went silent, something which had n't occurred once since SATCORE first picked up the alien fleet. One minute there had been nothing out there, then there had been four thousand vessels, heading toward earth's orbit. It had been fourteen hours since that moment, and those ships had been busy. 
 
 `` Status of Africa?'' 
 
 `` They've carved through half the continent so far, sir. Very little remains after their attacks. South Africa is still reporting, but within the next three hours...'' A nameless analyst reported from the far end of the table, his face as pale as the overturned coffee cup in front of him. 
 
 `` South America?'' The President leaned forward, placing his hands flat on the polished wood, `` Anything?'' 
 
 `` Just Brazil, sir.'' General Zahn answered, `` They were the only ones left alive.'' 
 
 `` I do n't understand it.'' The President fell back into his chair with enough force that one of the wheels snapped off. He did n't even notice, `` They're systematically destroying our entire civilization... They burned Canada away in forty minutes! Why are we still alive... why is Brazil?'' 
 
 He looked around the room in desperation, but all he could see were reflections of his own expression. Exasperation, fear, sorrow... and utter confusion. 
 
 `` SIIIRRR!'' The scream of a man beyond the edge of sanity shook the room. They all turned as an aide slammed open the doors and rushed to the table, throwing yet another tablet onto the mess, `` There's a message, sir! We've decoded a message!'' 
 
 `` From who?'' The President stood up, all but running around the table to reach the tablet, `` Japan? Australia?'' 
 
 `` The invaders, sir!'' The aide's voice cracked at the end, his eyes wise and his hand absently scratching the back of his neck. 
 
 The President wasted no more words, he snagged the tablet and read it as fast as he could force his eyes to process the words. 
 
 He stopped, returned to his seat, and read it a second time. He laid the tablet down, looked up at the lights above the table, picked it up and read it again. 
 
 `` What the hell does this mean?'' 
 
 He threw the tablet down and it slid over the mess of papers and electronics, stopping in front of one of the chief justices that had ended up in the room more or less by accident during the panic, but had tried very hard to not be noticed and kicked out. He glanced around at the other people, wondering which one would make a grab from the offending message. No one was paying attention to it, they were all watching the President and his strange reaction. 
 
 The Chief Justice picked up the message and began reading. 
 
 >'' It is hereby recognized that your nation is of sufficient standing for inclusion ( but not guaranteed acceptance until the provisional verification of advertised claims is completed by the Algitani liaison officer assigned to the case ) into the Supreme Council of Systemic Control ( SCSC ). 
 
 > It is your right, as a considered nation ( CN ) to be aware of the fines and penalties for both: 
 
 > [ a ] False representation of system claims on the representational crests and flags assigned to your CN 
 
 > [ b ] Judicial or Military regulations in violation of the SCSC Frontier Charter of UGC-113.560 ( see attached documentation for further details. ) 
 
 > [ c ] Unlawful industrial, civilian, or military presences upon system bodies which have received a crest of claim from a previous CN. 
 
 > An Algitani liaison officer will arrive shortly to discus these penalties and answer any questions you may have about them, or the process of becoming a validated System Control Entity. Please stand by while the Unconsidered Nations ( UC ) are eradicated from the system bodies in this sector. 
 
 > All Glory to the Algitani. 
 > All Power to the SCSC. 
 

