When the V’ren ship settles across Matt Marmaduke’s northern fields, it flattens nearly two hundred acres of prime crop. The ramp lowers, and Missouri’s first alien visitor walks into the sunlight. In measured words, Matt greets her—balancing local pride, corporate authority, and a farmer’s blunt pragmatism.
From the observation alcove of the VMS Kalnareth, senior V’ren officers watch Missouri fields and a dusty human truck come into focus. Ten thousand lives ride in stasis below decks. Translator units are prepped, landing plans are set, and the question remains: will they be welcomed—or merely tolerated?
As the alien refugee ship enters Earth’s atmosphere, Beacon technology takes control—slowing and cradling it toward an unknown landing site. Drones scatter, mapping the planet in real time. The search narrows to Missouri, where one stubborn former Amazon officer is about to become the most important man on the ground.
Summoned to Amazon’s highest chamber, General Leonard Octavius Wood briefs the corporate elite on eight alien ships and the sudden awakening of the Beacon Network. Rival megacorps circle like sharks, narrative control becomes paramount, and the first hours of humanity’s contact with another species are already slipping from containment.
When eight alien ships drop into the solar system, the long-silent Beacon Network roars to life. General Leonard Octavius Wood takes the first call—and learns a crippled colonial transport the size of a city is falling toward Earth. No one knows who built the Beacons, or why they’re answering now.