Discovering Alien Technology Part Two
Copyright© 2026 by GMet
Chapter 2
Thursday morning, we all ate a good breakfast and discussed strategy in our parents’ room after I had an early run and work out.
“In addition to NASA, the Federal government, the State of Florida, and the DOD will all have representatives there,” Reece informed us. “Amanda let me know that Alex and NASA has been pushing for funding to allow us to use existing facilities and their runways to continue testing and flying out of as well as to build our next ships. However, the governments, both Federal and State, want the revenue from our leases and taxes on our flights as well as our technology to be under the US flag. The DOD wants to use it as potential weapons as we fly faster and higher than even their most secret spy planes, so we have issues to be resolved.”
“If it gets too tense or confrontational, we’ll cut our losses and move back up north and build there,” I responded with a shrug. “We could always do a vertical takeoff to the moon if we had to.”
“And if they seize the ships and even us?” dad asked.
“The Canadian government won’t let that happen,” I said. “The ships won’t be able to be flown by human pilots and the P1 to P4 robot pilots can’t be controlled by them either. Worse case they self destruct. If negotiations don’t go well, we fly out immediately, maybe even on AddlerOne and AddlerTwo.”
“Hopefully cooler heads will prevail,” mom said. “But, just in case, let’s pack up and have our luggage put in the ships as a precaution.”
The ladies all rushed to pack our stuff and change so we would get there early. We left an hour early and parked as close to the hanger as we could. Dad and I carried a couple suitcases each over to the hanger and the pilot robots opened the door to each craft and quickly let us in. They had already retrieved the space suit I had made and placed it in AddlerTwo. We found a place to store the suitcases in each ship and then I gave them instructions verbally as Base and I also discussed a few options to have in place should the negotiations go haywire. As no one was around or suspecting anything, we made another trip to the SUV and got the rest of the luggage and stored them in the ships.
“What about the probes and the spare AIPS in testing?” dad asked.
The probes had landed half an hour after AddlerOne and were sitting on the frames that they had launched on. The AIPS in testing were locked down on cement frames and were still on or were turning on and off for wear and tear testing.
“We launch the probes the same time or before we take off if it goes south,” I said. “We’ll have to trigger the self destruct mechanism on the AIPS at the same time as a distraction.”
“You can do that?” he asked.
“Of course,” I replied. “I wasn’t going to leave these in someone else’s hands if things went wrong at some point.”
Dad just shook his head as we left the ships and the P robots locked them back up and got ready for a launch with humans on board just in case. That meant having oxygen available and flowing as we didn’t have enough space suits on board yet. The ladies joined us as we walked towards the building. I warned everyone to stick together and don’t drink or eat anything they put out just in case. The ladies bought a few water bottles from the vending machines as a precaution, though they thought I was being a bit paranoid.
‘Base, you have any additional information?’ I asked sub-vocally as we walked towards the conference room, still fifteen minutes early.
‘They have had discussions about what to do with us but there are no plans that I can find to kidnap you and your team at this moment,’ Base responded. ‘They won’t be happy if we take the ships and probes or destroy the AIPS but that is only the DOD. Others want the revenue that giving you a base to work out of down here will generate. I am monitoring all communication and as far as I can tell, you are not in danger today. If the deal does not go through, things might escalate in the near future but I think the moon launch would still be on early next week. We might want to consider landing the ships somewhere else after the moon trip if the negotiations go poorly.’
‘All good things to consider,’ I agreed. ‘Here’s hoping they go well.’
‘Agreed,’ Base replied.
When we entered the conference room there were already a few people sitting down while some of the others were getting coffee or pastries from the table at the side of the room.
“Good morning everyone,” I said as we found our seats with cards showing our names, titles and what company we were a part on one side of the table.
Quite a few people responded with a good morning as we sat down and got out our laptops. More people came in over the next fifteen minutes until all the seats were taken at the table and another dozen or more were taken along the walls behind the various factions.
Alex stood up at ten am and waited until everyone was quiet.
“Hello, my name is Alexander Stratton, from NASA and it is my pleasure to welcome everyone here to meet the Addler team and hopefully get some traction on the next steps in the incredible adventure they are on,” he said. “We witnessed not one but two of their space craft fly to outer space and do five orbits of the earth out past the outer limits of our satellites in forty minutes each lap. The satellites take a day to do that orbit in case anyone didn’t know how fantastic that time is. The plan is for a longer journey into space on Friday and then a trip to the moon for both ships on Monday and Tuesday, with orbits and surveys of the moon before coming back here.
Alex paused to look around and then continued, “This company has been in existence for just over a year and not only have they made two incredible space ships, but they have also revolutionized robots, batteries of all types, surgical robot units and replacement robotic limbs for the betterment of all mankind. Add in pollution scrubbers that are already reducing pollution in every city and country in the world, and several computer games that are the hottest games on earth and we can see that they are a company that we want to partner with. So, let’s hear from them with a quick presentation before we give our proposals. I give you Reece Owens, the coordinator for Addler Enterprises.”
“Thank you Mr. Stratton for that warm welcome and introduction,” Reece said after standing up. “I’m Reece Owens, Addler Enterprise’s coordinator with NASA and the CSA as well as their media coordinator. We are here today to hear proposals from NASA and others on setting up a base of operations in the US to build our next space ships, test them out and fly them to the moon, Mars and beyond. The ships will be bigger, haul more people and cargo and will help with the building of our space port. From this base, we propose to not only fly our missions but also provide space flights to interested parties, to either just be a space tourist, or to explore and colonize off world moons and planets. All of those non-mission flights would generate taxable revenue for us to help build all the ships and the space port we need to further supply the colonies.”
She paused for a second to look around and then continued, “This is not a pipedream; this will happen very soon. The ships, both the AddlerThree with it’s AddlerSix small ship to land on other planets, and the massive cargo ships, designated AddlerFour, as well as the Addler Space port are fully designed and ready to be built. We need a wide runway like the one here to launch the AddlerFour cargo ships as they are wider, thicker, and longer than the AddlerThree. The plan is to make one and then work on the next five to support the Space station build and other projects. The AddlerThree will be built in conjunction with the AddlerFour Cargo ship but will be put into operation to visit the moon and then Mars. Additional ships will be built but that one will be available, as well as our AddlerOne, to be used by whoever wishes to book a flight or an actual visit to another planet or moon. We will provide the means to fly in space at a reasonable cost and also to fly to other planets to anyone who can afford the cost. We will build sites on the moon and Mars to land, store and repair the space craft but have no plans to colonize any of them. We leave that to the governments or companies who contract with us. Addler will be your space flight service. Thank you for your interest in partnering with us.”
She sat down and I smiled at her as she look relieved that it was done.
“Thank you Reece, that was well said,” Alex stood up again. “As you will note, three of the Addler team are younger than what we normally deal with but have proved their competence over and over. Riley Owen is their testing coordinator, sitting beside Ben Addler, who is the president of the company and the holder of some forty patents with dozens more being filed by their legal team. I introduce you to Ben Addler, fifteen-year-old certified genius and the President of Addler Enterprises.”
“Thank you Mr. Stratton, sorry Alex,” I said when I saw his frown. “It’s hard not to be respectful of Mr. Stratton after knowing what he has done for NASA and the world over his long career. I thank you for helping get us the use of these facilities for testing and to help with the test flights. Those flights have proven out the ships and the Addler Ion Propulsion Systems or AIPS, as well as our other guidance and collision avoidance systems so we could fly through the ring of satellites and space debris without waiting for an available window. Our sensor emitter and detector arrays installed on our ships and with their accompanying probes provide a security in flight that is unparalleled in space and atmospheric flight. We can fly to the moon in one to two hours and to Mars in less than a week. Once we prove that early next week, we’ll be building a space craft, AddlerThree that will land on the moon but can also carry many passengers and some cargo. The first one will carry a lander, AddlerSix in it’s bay to investigate the landing site but both will also be able to land vertically or horizontally.”
I paused to take a drink of water from my bottle before continuing, “This build won’t take long with our robots helping. The plan is to be ready for a return back to the moon by the end of the year or early in 2026 with robots first and then humans. While that is happening an AddlerFour cargo ship will be built as well as modules for the space port on the moon and then the Addler Space Station so we can begin that build in 2026 as well. We would like to find multiple places to do this so that is why we’re here today to hopefully listen to your proposals. Thank you in advance for your hard work in expediting this process.”
“Thank you Ben,” Alex said as he stood up while I sat down. “Alright, from our side, we have the Federal government with Brent Severs as the spokesperson, the State of Florida with Arlene Radison as the spokesperson, and the Department of Defence with General Edward Morton as their head. I will act as NASA’s spokesperson for this meeting.”
He looked around and continued after a pause, “NASA has been working with Addler for about seven to eight weeks and frankly we are astounded at their progress. From a design completed in May of this year, they’ve built AIPS units, guidance and anti-collision hardware and software, then two space ships and now have flown them into space. These devices and space ships far exceed what anyone else has built or have on their drawing tables right now. These are the real deal as are these people. We wish to continue to partner with them and are willing to give them the buildings and access to our runways and vertical launch facilities for their probes so that we can assist, learn and participate in their further activities and endeavours. We have the buildings and the open capacity on the runway and the small vertical launch pad. This is a no-brainer for us. We gain much more than we have to give to be involved with them. We may not be the only partner or facility that they will use, as they plan to have at least one up in Canada, but we can be their first partner after Canada and be an important partner in the future of mankind’s journey into space. We see no downside to our proposal to provide them with one of our major buildings and access to the runway and other test facilities. That is our proposal and we’ll hear from the Federal Government next as they fund us. Brent Severs is our next speaker.”
“Good morning ladies and gentlemen, we are happy to be here to discuss such monumental endeavours,” the older man said with a smile. “My name is Brent Severs as Mr. Stanton stated, and I have been assigned by the President to oversee this entire enterprise. Others on my team will deal with the political negotiations between countries and the State of Florida and your company, the financial aspects of the leasing, taxation and any deals made on such, and the tie-in with the FAA that will be needed. Any other items that come up will of course be added to our purview.”
I nodded as he paused.
“It is the mandate of the Federal government and the President that we partner with Addler Enterprises to continue with these test flights using NASA’s facilities at Cape Canaveral, using the original deal to provide these facilities and help with flight control up to and including the moon flights next week,” he continued. “NASA and Addler are both finding this extremely beneficial so we are happy to assist and share resources and data.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” I remarked. “I hear a ‘but’ coming though.”
“Not necessarily,” Brent commented. “We are willing to back NASA’s proposal to let you use one of their large buildings nearby for your use and continued flight support on the runway just outside of this building. However, it won’t be free of charge as your first deal. We propose a lease agreement for the building and a per flight cost for each flight, whether it be a test, Addler mission or commercial flight from this site. Additionally, the cost of the control group for each flight will be determined and charged back to you. I’ll provide you with the proposed costs for each separately.”
“I’ll wait to comment on that until after we review your proposed costs,” I responded.
“Understandable,” Brent replied. “Furthermore, your revenue from each commercial or mission flight will be taxed at normal company rates for both the Federal and State taxes. That will include any minerals or other items of a potential commercial value that you land here in Florida or any other state in time.”
“And who and how will determine that value?” I inquired.
“We have some time to set up a rate and a procedure for various minerals or other items,” Brent responded. “We will not be taxing anything leaving from earth at this time, just charging for the use of our runway and people.”
I just nodded as we expected all of this, we just needed the various rates they would charge and the tax rates.
“In exchange for all of this, we expect a reduced rate for flights that we contract with you as well as preferred status for scheduling,” was the next point. “Additionally, we would require access to the space port with several free accommodations and docking ports for our ships.”
“Is that all?” I asked, trying not to lose my temper.
“At this time, but there are several political points on top of the financial ones that I should point out,” was Brent’s response. “All ships that fly or built here are to have the US flag as the largest on the ship. We will permit the Canadian flag to be slightly smaller but any other country’s flag will be of lesser size and prominence. Addler Enterprises will need to have a US division opened up, preferably in the state of Florida. Finally, all pilots will come from the NASA corps of astronauts.”
I just sat there and waited.
“That is all we have at the present,” Brent said before sitting down.
“Florida, you’re up, Miss Radison,” Alex said, not bothering to get up.
“In addition to the normal taxation of revenue and the establishment of a division here, Florida requires a tax on each flight for pollution, both chemical and noise,” Arlene Radison stated without introducing herself. “Inspections will be required to ensure each space ship is certified and what it is carrying up to space or down to land here. Coordination between FAA, NASA and state agencies will be required for all tests and flights so we can warn our citizens and all craft in the area of potential dangers. Finally, any of your team, including yourself, will need state and federal work permits to be involved in any tests, flights or work done in the United States.”
She sat down and I just looked at my team and then Alex.
“Finally, we have the Department of Defence, General Morton,” Alex said.
The general stood and spoke, “The Department of Defence has issues with this type of new technology in the hands of civilians. We will need a ship for our dissection and another for our use going forward. Any and all builds will have our oversight and we will need the full designs and test prototypes for each new invention being used. All flights and missions will be under the purview of the DOD going forward.”
He sat down and I looked around at everyone for a moment before speaking.
“You seem to have conflicting messages and goals between each other, and I’m not sure which one takes precedence,” I started. “I will say that this technology is owned by Addler and as such is not subject to DOD oversight or demands. That would a non-starter right off and we might as well conclude our meeting now. On all other issues that have been suggested, we would need the exact amounts that you would be charging us for leases, fees, taxes, costs per person, etcetera so we can make an informed decision on each one. Do you have the full proposals in writing you can email to us now?”
Everyone nodded so I gave them Reece’s email address and we soon received the proposals from the groups.
“Thank you, we will review all of these and get back to you when we can,” I told everyone. “Are we still allowed to fly our next mission into space tomorrow and to the moon on Monday?”
Alex looked at Brent who answered without looking at the General.
“Yes, that has already been authorized through NASA and agreed to by the President and myself,” Brent stated.
The general was fuming but didn’t speak.
“Alright, we will review and get back to you soon on your proposals,” I stated. “Thank you for your time.”
I stood up and all of us left the room, giving nods and hand shakes to those who offered, accepting business cards from them as well. I shook my head when someone wanted to talk and led the way past the car and into the hanger. We went up the ramp of AddlerOne and shut it for a second.
“Okay, they probably can’t listen in here, but we don’t have long,” I stated. “My suggestion is that the ladies and one of the men fly home commercial as soon as possible today and work with the Canadian government to allow us to land at Dryden or Winnipeg. Whoever is left tries to get both flights at once as another test and then have the ships land in Dryden or Winnipeg instead of back here. The probes can land there as well or at the test mining site. Whoever is still here will trigger the self destruct on the two AIPS and then leave while they are distracted. Hopefully, a commercial flight will take off soon so he can make it back to Canada without being stopped. Any dissenters?”
“I’ll stay for the flights,” dad stated. “You’re too valuable to be held hostage. I think you should all leave now after you let the P robots know the score. I’ll need to know how to self destruct the AIPS without hurting anyone and how do we launch the probes?”
I spent five minutes with the P robots and Base getting things organized on each item. AddlerTwo would just go ahead and take off anyway if we didn’t get permission and the probes would launch first via a command from P1 a half an hour prior, even though it would look like dad did the command. The signal to self destruct would be done with the flights in air and already high up in the atmosphere. I assured dad that the self destruct was actually mostly internal on the power unit that creates the ions as the actual ion thrusters were not unique to our design. It would look like it melted more than exploded. It wouldn’t cause a big distraction but at least a concern, hopefully enough for dad to drive to the civilian airport and catch a flight.
Everyone gathered our suitcases and we piled back into the SUV. Dad drove us to the Melbourne Airport while the ladies were booking flights to Toronto and on to Winnipeg from there. Dad and I discussed various scenarios for tomorrow, including just saving the AddlerOne and hoping for the best with AddlerTwo or starting the flight earlier than the AddlerOne return. He would find another hotel for the night and then drive to the Cape for the flights in the morning and then back to the airport and check in his car there before boarding the plane. They had him booked Friday on two or three flights to different places with a connecting flight to Toronto. He would take the next flight up when he got to the airport. He stopped for a minute before he got to the airport to properly say goodbye and then proceeded to the drop-off zone.
“Don’t worry too much about setting off the self destruct or the second flight; I do all of that,” I told him quietly. “Get out when it suits you best after AddlerOne is up. Use the ‘I have to go to the bathroom’ excuse and head out. I’ll have P3 and P4 get the AddlerTwo in the air right after you’re in your vehicle. I’ll monitor all the cameras in the control room so I’ll see and hear everything inside and out. I’ll give the actual commands to the P robots and the probes while you act as if you were commanding the probe or AddlerOne.”
“Alright, I’ll see how it goes,” dad replied. “Take care of the ladies and I’ll see you soon enough. Work on the government to let us land.”
“Will do, on all accounts,” I replied. “Good luck and thanks.”
“You too,” he said before I closed the door and watched him pull away.
I followed the women into the airport and we got through security and onto the plane without the FBI or DOD stopping us. We were still nervous, even after the flight to Detroit took off as we still had to get out of country. I was sitting alone as mom and Rachel and Reece and Riley were sitting together in the two seats rows in front of me. I just looked out the window and had a conversation with Base sub-vocally.
‘Well, that didn’t go according to plan,’ I started.
‘I’ve found that humans rarely react as I predict,’ Base responded. ‘The important thing is that we’re getting you and the ladies safe and I and the P robots will do what we can to ensure your father gets away as well. The ships will be fine if tomorrow’s first test flight goes off as planned. AddlerTwo can take off right after the first one goes into space. I can self destruct the AIPS at any time and there isn’t much left there that is of importance if the probes are gone. I can go and erase any data from their servers and laptops if things get worse.”
‘All true,’ I agreed. ‘We need to monitor my dad’s progress and stop any attempt to hold him.’
‘I will disrupt communications from the cape when he leaves the building after or during AddlerTwo’s takeoff and the self destruction of the AIPS,’ he replied. ‘I cannot stop a physical altercation once they are near him but I will do my best to stop cars, access to various areas, communication to the airport and other airports and so on. I can shut down the entire eastern seaboard’s electricity and cellular activity if required and will monitor all communications to ascertain if he is being looked for.’
‘Okay, let’s not hurt anyone or potentially cause massive issues that could harm people in surgery or anything like that until we absolutely have to,’ I said. ‘I doubt they would do anything to actually harm him once all the tech is out of the States. We’ll play it by ear as things progress.’
‘Understood and I agree,’ Base stated.
I pulled out my laptop and worked on a plan for landing AddlerOne and AddlerTwo in Winnipeg or Dryden. It made more sense to land in Winnipeg and lease a hanger for now so there wouldn’t be any potential danger of overshooting the runway in Dryden. I leaned over and mentioned that to mom and she agreed and said they were already working on that. I smiled and sat back. They served a lunch meal if you wanted to pay for it so I made sure everyone got something to eat. I picked a turkey bun and chips while they picked a chicken salad.
Eventually, we landed Detroit and walked to the next gate with no issues. Half an hour later, after we all used the washrooms and purchased some carryon drinks, we boarded the flight to Toronto. No one jumped out and stopped the flight from taking off and soon we were up in the air flying north east up to Toronto. It took another hour and a quarter to get there and we again found washrooms near the gate for the flight to Winnipeg. We had a two hour wait so we found a table at one of the nearby restaurants and had a proper meal.
After ordering, mom spoke up, “Jean from CSA has agreed to help authorize a landing in Winnipeg if necessary and I’ve booked the hanger for a month to start. We’ll be on hand to ensure the landing and storage goes smoothly before we get a flight to Dryden. Hopefully, dad will join us there tomorrow night sometime.”
“Good, Winnipeg might be a good second site to build and fly out of in the future,” I replied.
“Perhaps, we’ll see how the Dryden proposal goes first and then explore Winnipeg as an alternative or even the first site if the proposal goes haywire,” mom stated. “We’re hearing rumblings that residents and the town council don’t want to expand or have us flying a lot of space ships out of there, even thought it’s ten minutes out of town.”
“Jesus, nothing is going right with this stuff,” I complained. “Winnipeg will probably have the same complaints with noise. We’ll need to build on a deserted island somewhere or in the middle of the tundra or a desert.”
“While that might be the easiest to get approved, you’re not going to get anyone to join you there,” Reese stated. “We need people to run the space port and we need to be close to highways to receive and ship goods to and from there and we can’t afford to put in rail lines or buy a ship to do that right now.”
I just stuck my tongue out at her and everyone laughed. Our food came out quickly and the conversation turned to being back home for an extended stay. The girls were going to reconnect with Teigan and Sage Forester after over a month away while the mothers would be airing out the houses. I had a lot to do as well, like working on the AddlerFive personal space craft designs, adapting power units and batteries for various other uses, developing a shield for space craft from those power units as well as drafting the build schedules for AddlerThree and AddlerFour and the space port.
After dinner, we waited near the gate for our plane to arrive for another hour before finally boarding. This time I got to sit beside Riley and she snuggled in under the blanket. Hands roamed but we didn’t make any messes. It was late when we landed and we just got three rooms at the Grand Winnipeg Airport hotel, attached to the airport so we didn’t have to rent a car or Uber to it. We had quick showers and I fell asleep in the king-sized bed, alone for the first time in a month.
I got up early and worked out in the hotel gym while having a conversation with Base.
‘I’ve been thinking about our flights today, why don’t we do the moon flight with both of them now and orbit the moon a couple of times while scanning the surface?’ I asked sub-vocally.
‘It would be a good finish to our testing and I see nothing stopping us from doing that when both are in space,’ Base responded. ‘No one needs to know until we actually do it and Reece can put it out to the media once the ships are safely back here in Winnipeg. Shall I prepare P1 through P4 and the probes?’
‘Yes, the more I think about it, why not?’ I agreed. ‘It will show them down there we don’t need them to go to the moon and beyond. I’d warn dad but they are probably watching and listening to his communications. It will have to be a surprise to him as well.’
“Very well, I have informed them and we will switch to the new flight plan once your dad is away from Cape Canaveral,’ Base stated. ‘Launch of AddlerOne is in two hours, plenty of time for you to finish your workout, shower and have breakfast with the ladies. I will monitor everything for you and pipe in video to your laptop once you are back in your room. I have eyes on your dad as he is eating breakfast in his new hotel’s restaurant right now.’
‘Thanks Base, I better get to it then,’ I responded and sped up my workout.
After finishing up in the gym, I went back upstairs and had a shower. I decided to order breakfast in and got enough for everyone. I let the waiter in when he knocked on the door and he wheeled in a tray and put everything on the table. I gave him a big tip and then texted both sets of ladies that breakfast was in my room.
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