[ WP ] It 's 2015 , and the Titanic has just sailed into New York Harbor .

`` Unidentified ship at marker Charlie, this is New York harbor. Please respond,'' Sam Andreotti said into the radio. 
 
 `` This is battleship Titanic. Evacuate pier sixty now. If I see one soul there, I'll punch a few holes in those shiny skyscrapers. You have three minutes.'' 
 
 Harbor master Williams stared at Sam. Sam and his colleagues stared at their boss. Three seconds later, the lazy Monday morning turned into a chaotic 20th of April. 
 
 `` Get your ships away from pier one. We treat this as a terror thread. Everything by the book.'' 
 
 Williams pushed the speed dial. `` Admiral Halstead, what's the emergency.'' 
 
 Williams replayed the message. The Admiral was quiet for a moment, then said, `` Proceed as planned.'' 
 
 `` Aye, sir,'' the Admiral heard before he hung up. 
 
 `` Landry, get me this X files spook on the phone. The NIS guy with the weird name and the even weirder ideas.'' 
 
 `` Captain Lindenmuller, Sir. Aye, Sir.'' 
 
 Corporal Landry was about to open the address book when he heard a knock on the door. 
 
 `` Come back later,'' Landry said. 
 
 `` Colonel Miller and Captain Lindenmuller, NIS. We need to speak to the Admiral.'' 
 
 Landry shot up, saluted, and hurried to wave the visitors in. 
 
 `` Get the subs in position anyway. Maybe these guys can storm into New York, but sure as hell, they wo n't leave it without paying,'' Halstead said and pushed a button. 
 
 `` General Amry, link the AWACS to NORAD, and Fleet Forces Command.'' 
 
 The admiral looked up. `` Get out, I'm busy.'' 
 
 `` Captain Lindenmuller, as ordered,'' Landry said. `` And Colonel Miller, his CO.'' 
 
 Halstead looked puzzled while Miller and Lindenmuller saluted. The captain began to unpack a laptop. 
 
 `` Colonel, what does this all mean?'' 
 
 `` The ship approaching New York is the former HMS Titanic, Sir. That is neither a joke nor the weird part.'' 
 
 `` Then get to the point, weird part or not,'' Halstead shouted. 
 
 The framed diplomas on the wall vibrated. Miller studied them for a moment. Whatever had happened in the last twenty minutes, whatever had caused it, by blind luck Halstead might be just the right man for the job. 
 
 Miller sighed. `` Unfortunately, the weird part is classified information. The...'' 
 
 `` I have security clearance Alpha-two. I can fire nuclear weapons without asking the president. Now shut up and tell me everything I need to know to do my job.'' 
 
 `` Aye, Sir. The point is this: If things go as we think they'll go, in less than two minutes, the president will commit treason and at this time, we'll invalidate his launch codes and activate yours.'' 
 
 `` Admiral Halstead, NORAD. We have five contacts in high earth orbit. They're not ours and both the Russians and the Chinese claim they're not theirs either.'' 
 
 Halstead pushed a button. `` Understood. Track and keep me updated.'' 
 
 `` Treason?'' Halstead asked as if he had n't just learned that a handful of UFOs parked over his head. 
 
 `` He killed his bodyguards, the vice president and most of the Senate. Then, he teleported from the Capitol to pier sixty in New York. We assume his hardware is not accurate enough for a teleport onto the ship and New York is the nearest harbor that can accommodate the Titanic.'' 
 
 `` That's murder, not treason,'' Halstead said. 
 
 `` If he puts a foot on the ship he gives himself into the hands of a foreign power. That's treason. Since you're sixth in succession and the other four are dead, you'll be Commander-in-Chief.'' 
 
 `` I have the feed from our UAV,'' Lindenmuller said. 
 
 The shaky video showed a single figure waiting on the dock. A huge ship approached the pier at an astounding speed. The admiral noticed something wrong: a ship this big should have a big bow wash. Instead, it glided through the dirty water without disturbing it more than a small tug would do. 
 
 After a moment the admiral really saw the ship for the first time. The outline was unmistakable. The funnels were gone, but the shape of the hull and the superstructure looked like in the movie. 
 
 The ship slowed down hard, then a gangway unfolded. The lone figure stepped onto the still-moving platform and into the ship. 
 
 `` That's it,'' Miller said. `` You're Commander-in-Chief, Admiral.'' 
 
 Lindenmuller grabbed the Admiral's hand and pushed it onto a device, not unlike a calculator. `` Nukes are coded to you now. Lieutenant Caldwell is outside, carrying your football.'' 
 
 `` Your orders, Sir?'' Miller straightened. 
 
 `` Number one, I want that ship back on the bottom of the ocean where it belongs. Number two, I want the whole truth. Weird parts included.'' 
 
 `` Aye, Sir. Lindenmuller.'' 
 
 `` Aye, Sir. A few months ago, an NSA analyst noticed somebody stole large amounts of hollow wire and microwave generators. According to our files, these are the same type of components that were used in the experiments on the USS Eldridge.'' 
 
 `` The Philadelphia experiment? The stealth ship,'' Halstead asked. 
 
 `` Yes, Sir. Although we do n't know what the purpose of the experiment really was. It was conducted behind everybody's back, by this man.'' Lindenmuller projected a grainy black-and-white photograph. 
 
 `` That's President Reilly,'' Halstead said. 
 
 `` We noticed the semblance too. We noticed another: The thefts have been perpetrated by a ship that was described as'a submarine that looked like the Titanic'. We even found the salvage operator who raised the ship and the shipyard who repaired it. We also found a number of human remains in the ashes of both places.'' 
 
 `` Who paid for all this?'' Halstead began to wander around his office. 
 
 `` The CIA. A black account.'' 
 
 `` Reilly worked for the CIA before.'' Halstead swiped imaginary dust from his framed'Tactician of the Year 1996' diploma. 
 
 `` We think, he's a stranded alien and built the ship to go home.'' 
 
 `` Kind of obvious, UFOs in orbit on the same day the president goes on a rampage,'' Halstead sneered. `` Why the Titanic? What's with the microwaves?'' 
 
 `` The wire produces a force field when you send microwaves through it. It's possible that it influences gravity.'' 
 
 `` I still do n't get it. If he needed a hull, he could have bought ten ships for the price to the salvage,'' Halstead said while he cleaned the'Strategist of the Year 1996' diploma. 
 
 `` It's the composition of the metal, Sir. We checked with Robert Ballard and the Brits. The steel for the hull of the Titanic had some unusual additives. Nobody knew who had requested this composition.'' 
 
 `` Let me guess, the iceberg was no iceberg either. The ship has been sunk on purpose,'' Admiral Halstead said. 
 
 `` How do you know,'' Colonel Miller asked. He had obtained the information just two days ago from a corrupt Russian archivist. 
 
 `` Somebody on this planet knows exactly what Reilly does and sabotages him since 1912. Reilly is n't stranded here. He's on the run and they are about to get him.'' 
 
 `` Sir, we dismissed this theory already. Too many...'' 
 
 Halstead looked up, through the ceiling. `` It does n't matter. The guys who want him, do. Do we know enough about the force field to build one?'' 
 
 `` NASA and JPL are at it. They can levitate a table already.'' 
 
 Halstead pushed a button on his phone. `` Air Combat Command, Commander-in-Chief. Go to DEFCON 2. Tell the Russians and the Chinese. I want everything in the air that can lift a nuclear weapon into low earth orbit. In the next days, a ninehundred-feet UFO will launch and try to break the UFO blockade. Check with NORAD for gaps in their coverage. I want that launching UFO vaporised.'' 
 
 `` NORAD, relay these orders to the waiting UFOs. Tight beam. Reilly must not listen in. Understood?'' 
 
 Two days later, former president Reilly was nothing but a radioactive memory. Halstead used the time to read the files on UFOs. Especially the Roswell incident got him thinking. The little grey bastards were dishonest, arrogant, but mortal. None of them had survived the experiments, but each of them had taught the xenobiologists a lot. 
 
 Reilly's farewell letter was also an interesting read. Addressed to the next president, it explained why Reilly had left his planet. The little grey bastards were indeed a nasty bunch. Halstead received it ten minutes after the nuke had gone off. His curses echoed through the White House. 
 
 A day after the fireworks, a small craft landed in the Arizona desert. 
 
 `` Welcome to Earth, I'm president Halstead.'' 
 
 `` We are ambassador Draak,'' the little grey figure with the large black eyes said. `` We are satisfied, Halstead, with the destruction of the traitor.'' 
 
 `` My pleasure, ambassador. We considered him a traitor too. I think, this is the beginning of a wonderful friendship. We can learn so much from each other.'' 
 
 `` That is impossible, human. You have nothing to teach us. The best you can expect is that we do n't eradicate you.'' 
 
 `` I understand, ambassador. You are so much more advanced than we are. I'm still impressed by your blockade. Only five ships to close off a whole planet. What a strategy.'' 
 
 The alien looked at the Admiral. His black, unmoving eyes were hard to read. `` Yes, we are. We will leave now.'' 
 
 `` Please, take these presents as a sign of goodwill. We fabricated one for each of your ships. It's a detailed model of our planet, made from the finest wood. If nothing, you can sell it as primitive art when you get home.'' 
 
 `` We will take your presents as a sign of your submission.'' 
 
 Halstead nodded. Soldiers carried the boxes to the UFO's ramp. The presents floated inside on their own. 
 
 Two hours later, NORAD observed the small craft to make a tour to each big ship. The craft stayed inside for six minutes before leaving again. When the craft was inside the last UFO, Halstead pushed a button. 
 
 `` That will teach you trick me into killing your version of Julian Assange,'' Halstead said quietly as the machine transmitted his orders to the five boxes in high orbit. 
 
 `` NASA, NORAD, this is Halstead, Wait for an hour for the poison to disperse, then launch the capsules. I hope your astronauts are quick learners. I want the five ships in Area 51 by midnight. If those bastards ever return, I'll ram an armada of battleships up their little grey asses.'' 
 
 Halstead took a brush and cleaned his diplomas. 

