The number refused to leave Adrian's mind.
17 Days.
He stared at the countdown glowing across the Olympus display as if the timer itself had personally insulted him.
"Seventeen days," he repeated quietly.
Elara stood in the center of the chamber, the light of the Olympus core moving slowly across her face.
"Yes."
"That's not preparation time."
"No."
"That's panic time."
She didn't disagree.
The holographic projection of the alien carrier rotated slowly above them. Twelve smaller objects had already separated from the massive structure and were accelerating toward Earth.
Scout ships.
Adrian leaned closer to the display.
"They're moving fast."
Olympus updated the telemetry again.
The scout ships' velocity increased.
Their engines emitted energy signatures unlike anything human technology had produced.
Adrian shook his head.
"That propulsion system doesn't look chemical or nuclear."
Elara studied the data.
"It isn't."
"What is it?"
"Olympus thinks it's some form of gravitational drive."
Adrian blinked.
"Gravitational… as in bending space?"
"Yes."
He let out a low whistle.
"Great. So the aliens have physics we don't understand."
Before he could say anything else—
Another alert flashed across the chamber.
EARTH DEFENSE COALITION — PRIORITY SIGNAL
Elara opened the channel immediately.
The emergency council appeared again.
But this time the mood inside the chamber was very different.
The scientists looked pale.
Military officers were whispering urgently to each other.
Secretary-General Kovac spoke first.
"Elara."
"Yes?"
"We've seen the scout ships."
Adrian muttered under his breath.
"That didn't take long."
Kovac continued.
"Our orbital monitoring systems detected the objects three minutes ago."
Elara nodded.
"Olympus confirmed twelve units."
A military commander leaned forward.
"What are they?"
"Reconnaissance vessels."
"Meaning?"
"They'll scan Earth's defenses."
Adrian added,
"And probably test them."
The commander frowned.
"Test them how?"
Adrian shrugged.
"By attacking something."
The room went quiet.
One of the scientists spoke carefully.
"If those scouts arrive before the orbital defense network is built…"
Elara finished the sentence.
"Earth will have almost no protection."
Kovac rubbed his forehead.
"How long until the first one arrives?"
Olympus answered instantly.
ARRIVAL: 16 DAYS 22 HOURS
The timer ticked down slowly.
Adrian sighed.
"Well… humanity officially has two weeks to invent a space army."
The council ignored the comment.
Dr. Khanna appeared on the screen again.
"Construction of the orbital rail cannon begins tomorrow."
Adrian nodded.
"Good."
"But it won't be operational for at least four months."
He blinked.
"That's not good."
Another scientist stepped forward.
"There may be another option."
Elara looked at him.
"What?"
He opened a classified file.
Satellite defense systems appeared.
But these weren't new designs.
They were old.
Cold War–era weapon concepts.
Adrian frowned.
"Those look familiar."
The scientist explained.
"During the late twentieth century, several nations experimented with orbital weapons."
Kovac added,
"Most of those programs were abandoned."
Elara studied the blueprints.
"Why?"
"Because they were too dangerous."
Adrian laughed dryly.
"Well, extinction is also dangerous."
The scientist pointed to one of the designs.
"Project Helios."
A massive solar-powered laser platform.
"If we reactivate this design, we could deploy a prototype weapon in less than two weeks."
Elara's eyes narrowed slightly.
"Olympus?"
The system analyzed the blueprint.
PROJECT HELIOS — VIABLE
Adrian leaned closer.
"That thing could shoot down the scout ships?"
"Yes."
"How many?"
Olympus responded.
ESTIMATED INTERCEPT CAPACITY: 3 TARGETS
Adrian frowned.
"There are twelve scouts."
Elara nodded slowly.
"So Helios buys us time."
The council members exchanged looks.
Kovac finally spoke.
"Then we start building Helios immediately."
Orders began spreading across the planet.
Factories were redirected.
Launch vehicles prepared.
Space agencies began rushing engineers to assembly facilities.
Adrian watched the chaos unfold across Olympus.
"Humanity works fast under pressure."
Elara whispered,
"Pressure creates evolution."
The council meeting ended soon after.
Inside the Olympus chamber, silence returned again.
Adrian sat down heavily on the edge of the console.
"So… alien scouts arrive in seventeen days."
"Yes."
"And humanity's first defense weapon launches in about ten."
"Yes."
He looked at her.
"Think Helios will work?"
Elara stared at the incoming scouts.
"I hope so."
Because Olympus had just detected something new.
The alien scouts were transmitting signals.
Adrian noticed the change.
"What's that?"
Elara opened the data feed.
"It's a communication burst."
"Between the scouts?"
"No."
She pointed at the trajectory lines.
"They're talking to the carrier."
Adrian frowned.
"What would they say?"
Olympus began translating fragments of the signal.
Alien symbols appeared across the screen.
Then slowly…
Words.
Adrian leaned forward.
"Well?"
Elara read the translation.
Her expression changed slightly.
"What?"
She spoke quietly.
"They're reporting Earth's defense activity."
Adrian nodded.
"That makes sense."
But the next line appeared.
And the room went cold.
PLANET SHOWS UNEXPECTED TECHNOLOGICAL GROWTH
Adrian blinked.
"They noticed Olympus."
"Yes."
Another line appeared.
PROBABILITY OF RESISTANCE: INCREASING
Adrian crossed his arms.
"Well… at least they respect us."
The next message appeared.
And this one felt far worse.
ADJUSTING HARVEST STRATEGY
Adrian frowned.
"That sounds bad."
Elara whispered,
"Very bad."
Because Olympus had just updated the alien carrier's activity.
The massive ship had changed course slightly.
Adrian looked at the new trajectory.
"Wait…"
The ship's speed increased.
Faster than before.
Olympus recalculated the arrival time.
The number appeared on the screen.
Adrian stared at it.
"No way."
The countdown changed again.
CARRIER ARRIVAL: 6 MONTHS
The alien fleet had just cut its travel time almost in half.
Adrian whispered,
"They're speeding up."
Elara nodded slowly.
"They want to end this faster."
The Olympus core pulsed brighter behind them.
Because the war was accelerating.
Humanity had thought it had nine months.
Then seventeen days.
Now the main fleet would arrive in six months.
Adrian leaned back against the console.
"Well."
He exhaled slowly.
"This just became the worst countdown in human history."
Elara didn't respond.
She was staring at the approaching scouts.
Because Olympus had detected something else about them.
Something strange.
Adrian noticed her expression.
"What now?"
She zoomed into the scout ships' structure.
Internal scans appeared.
Adrian frowned.
"That doesn't look like a cockpit."
"It isn't."
"Then who's piloting them?"
Elara whispered,
"They aren't piloted."
The scans expanded.
Inside each scout ship was a biological structure.
Something organic.
Connected directly to the ship's systems.
Adrian felt a chill.
"You're telling me the ships are alive?"
"Not exactly."
She pointed to the neural structures.
"They're grown."
The realization hit them both at the same time.
The alien civilization wasn't just technologically advanced.
It was biologically integrated with its machines.
Adrian shook his head slowly.
"Okay."
He looked at the incoming scouts again.
"That's officially terrifying."
Elara nodded.
"Yes."
Because humanity wasn't preparing to fight machines.
It was preparing to fight a species that had evolved war itself.
And the first scouts would arrive in just over two weeks.
The war for Earth had officially begun.