Alien: Rubicon (2024) Movie Script
1
Just a quick stop, then
we hit the road, promise.
Saturday, Uncle Robin
and his minion offspring
will beat us there and
we'll get the worst
camping spot again.
There are no worst spots.
There's just slightly
less desirable ones.
There are bad, terrible spots,
and we always get them
because we keep making
these quick stops.
Honey, new observatory,
new boss, new responsibilities.
Could have turned the job down.
Oh, yeah.
Hey, how is that new and
very expensive phone
working out for you?
Huh, kiddo?
Point taken.
I liked it better when you
worked at George Washington U.
My in there was pretty
much guaranteed.
Still is, champ.
I left on good terms.
I thought you hated
the people there.
No, no, I hate the politics,
not the people.
I liked being a professor at
the Space Policy Institute.
I didn't care for their politics
around their policies.
I prefer to get science
done efficiently.
How does that help me?
I'm still friends
with all the smart people.
That combined with your
straight As should do the rest.
Besides, now we got way
more time for camping.
Do we?
Because we're not getting
to that campsite for at least
another three hours.
And you still have to go in
and grab those papers.
And I'll be really quick.
Hey, pinky swear.
Wait, I'm going to go with you.
What?
I have to pee.
Ugh.
Hey.
Let's wait in the car, okay?
-You remember the code, right?
-Of course I do.
I'm just making sure.
It's got to be here.
Ah...
Woo!
I feel much better.
I just need two files,
then we're gone.
I can keep myself occupied.
Found them.
Could have waited until Tuesday.
No one else is working
until then.
No way. You're going to be
doing nothing but staring
at wide open night skies.
What better time to corroborate
our new findings?
Dad, look at this.
Probably just something
on the lens.
No, it's advancing
with each image.
Come on here, take a look.
Slide over.
What is it?
I've never seen any space junk
or spaceship like this,
at least that you've
shown me before.
Do you think this
has anything to do
with the fast burst
anomaly signal
that you picked up last year?
I mean, it's coming
from the same direction.
-The Rubicon signal?
-Yeah.
I don't know what
we're looking at,
but maybe I can figure
out the trajectory.
Hey, it's probably just private
sector, maybe even military.
You know, we're not always
made privy to their builds,
especially the
international ones.
We're usually made aware
of a launch date.
[alarm sounding]
Dr. Devlin, this is Dr. Morrow
at the Maryland Observatory.
We have a UAP sighting, possibly
military or maybe private,
but I'm not seeing anything
on the schedule.
Yeah, sending images
of coordinates now.
Adam, go wait outside.
But I want to listen.
Go. Change of plans.
Go back to the farmhouse.
-I'll be out in a minute.
-But I'm the one who found it.
Go. Now.
Yes, I'm still here.
Of course.
First sighting was at 0813.
Thank you, Dr. Morrow.
We'll be in touch.
Get me on the phone
with President McCoy
or SECDEF Greer, now.
Mr. President, sir,
I just confirmed the UAP
with Dr. Kate Devlin at NASA.
Are you sure it's not just
a failed satellite
that's falling out of orbit?
No, sir. It appears to be
a nearly perfect sphere.
No known configuration
matches this.
Russia and China
deny involvement.
They're watching it, too.
What's the trajectory?
NASA and our military
placed it directly
towards the East Coast, sir,
near New York City.
All right. All right, let's put
the National Guard on standby.
We'll issue a shelter in
place from Manhattan
that surrounds an area.
-That should do it.
-Will do, sir.
I'll also divert AWAC
to intercept the monitor.
No, Ashe. I want a lot
of eyeballs on this.
President McCoy saves the world.
Copy, sir.
Hello, chief?
Yes, put all carrier
strike groups on alert.
Everybody's sufficiently
scienced out.
Can we go have fun now?
Wait till you hear
what we found.
Is it more important
than camping?
Hey, I'm really sorry, honey,
but we gotta follow up
on something we found.
[coughing]
I found it.
Yes, champ.
You found.
[beeping]
Damn it.
Shouldn't gotten rid of the 250.
No way.
EV all the way.
You made the right choice, Dad.
What's wrong with that?
What am I doing wrong?
Whoa. We're zapped and we have
no idea how to fix it.
-Right, Dad?
-Hey, hey, we can fix this.
See?
Told you.
All right.
Seat belts.
Mr. President.
It's half the size
of the capital rotunda.
The estimate is
40 feet in diameter.
And it's just sitting there?
Yeah.
Well, sir, this
is our science advisor,
Dr. Grace Whitney.
Thank you, Secretary.
There's no detectable
activity in the UAP
since its arrival.
It's an anomaly.
Why is it an anomaly?
Mr. President,
it's a perfect sphere.
That's not natural,
except in geodes
and those would shatter
like glass on impact.
Couple with the fact
that no agency,
military intelligence,
or the scientific community
believes this is
of terrestrial origin.
Okay, we know what it isn't.
But what is it?
No, we can't ignore
the possibility
of an extraterrestrial
hostile threat.
We need to swiftly assess
the situation, sir.
Agreed.
We get an investigative team
on the ground right away.
Doctor, the scientist who
originally spotted the anomaly,
do you have any
background on him?
Yes, sir.
Dr. Jeff Morrow,
widower, two kids,
he is an astrophysicist
with a PhD from Caltech,
specializing in astrobiology.
He was at that space policy
institute just a few months ago.
He discovered that
fast radio anomaly,
the one that he nicknamed
the Rubicon signal.
You met him last year.
Yes, and you dismissed
his theory then.
He thought it was an
attempt at communication.
First contact.
That's why he named
it what he did.
Our entire universe would change
if this was extraterrestrial.
And no scientific community
ever confirmed that.
It was radio signals
emitted by hydrogen.
Unusual, yes, but not
completely unheard of.
In fact, most likely
some are saying
that it would be a neutron star
in its final death throws.
Or a precursor of a giant metal
ball falling from the sky.
He obviously knows his stuff.
He's not afraid to speak up.
And if we had
listened to him then,
we'd be in a better
position now.
I want him on the team.
Yes, sir.
Sir, we must consider
the potential dangers here.
I recommend full mobilization.
Ashe, I understand
your concern,
but we need more answers before
we start pointing guns at it.
No answer.
I told him it was urgent
and to call me back.
We don't have time for this.
Have them send a chopper.
Sir, there's got to be
people available
with similar or
better qualifications.
Maybe, but clearly, Morrow has
a clarity that they don't have.
And we need that now.
Grace, I want you to coordinate
the military and NASA.
Ashe, you have to make
sure that our troops
are prepared for any scenario.
Yes, sir.
Really, Adam?
A whole box of beef jerky?
When the aliens attack,
you'll be thanking me.
Dad, it's not
really aliens, right?
Why don't you kids go inside
and make some lunch, okay?
I'll finish up here.
Dad, it's only 9:30.
And I know when you're
dodging a question.
Going in the house.
[helicopter rotors]
Dad, what's going on?
I don't know.
You stay here.
Dr. Morrow?
Yes, I'm Dr. Morrow.
Captain Jaffe,
Patrick Space Force Base.
Kids, hey, go back to the car.
Is this about that dot
I found at the observatory?
Adam...
Well, is my son right?
I have orders from
President McCoy
to fly you directly to New York.
Fly me?
No, it's...
I'm sorry, Captain, I can't.
I'm on vacation with my kids.
Wait, why New York?
That object you found?
It's sitting in the East River.
Wait, but if it landed...
I mean, you have teams
to excavate that.
So you haven't excavated?
Why haven't you excavated?
What do you...
What do you need from me?
I'll explain to you in the air.
Let's go.
Leanne, is your cell
phone working yet?
No.
Our car lost power.
Then, suddenly,
our cell phones died,
and the car came back, but...
Maybe whatever's in New York,
hit one of our satellites
went into our orbit.
What's going on?
Okay, I'll go.
But under one condition.
Go where?
You leave a frequency
modulation radio with my kids.
You know, the old-school kind?
That way, I can stay in constant
communication with them,
especially if another
satellite goes down.
Dad, where are you going?
I'll get one.
I have to go to New York.
I'm going.
No, you're staying here
with your sister, okay?
If this is about that dot that
we found at the observatory,
then I'm the one that found it.
Leanne, Adam,
Captain Jaffe is going to
set you up with the radio.
We'll be in constant
communication.
Hope to be back
before tonight, okay?
This is all set up.
All you need to do is power it
on, push that button,
you can talk to your dad
in the helo.
Can we go now?
This sucks, and you know it.
I know. I'm sorry.
I love you guys.
-Love you, too.
-Okay.
I'll be back tonight, okay?
I promise.
Stay safe.
I don't suppose we can
drive there, right?
Soldier up, Doc.
The kids are watching.
You're going to save the
world for them.
Let's go.
Dad hates to fly.
It must really be important.
Now, we've established a solid
perimeter around the East River
and evacuated the press
and any civilians.
In the meantime,
we've deployed
surveillance drones
around the anomaly.
But there's been no activity
from the object?
Our reconnaissance team have
reported no change.
It's just sitting there.
No reaction whatsoever.
No signal, no light?
What is it, a ship and
the crew died on impact?
Or are they in hypersleep?
Or...
Or worse, are they
readying for an attack?
All good questions we hope
Dr. Morrow can help us answer.
What's the status of Morrow?
Somewhere over Pennsylvania.
Dr. Morrow is en route
with Captain Jaffe.
They should be here shortly.
But until they arrive,
as Secretary Greer mentioned,
we've deployed
surveillance drones.
National Guard is
evacuating Manhattan
and surrounding boroughs.
We cannot allow this
to turn into a circus.
No matter what,
that's going to take time.
New Yorkers will not
be told what to do.
It's a good idea to
get started though.
Thank you, sir.
We've also reached
out to key allies
and are sharing what little
information we have,
as well as coordinating
response strategies.
Are we the only country
with the UAP?
So far, there's been
no indication
of similar craft elsewhere.
I guess that's a good thing.
All right, gentlemen.
Keep me posted.
So you're telling me
the President's team at NASA
think the Rubicon signal
and this UAP are related?
Mm-hmm.
-So my son was right?
-Yep.
You were right predicting it was
some kind of communication.
Now we're hoping you can
figure out a way
to communicate with it.
Wait, do they think there's
life forms on board?
[chuckles]
That's another reason
you're here, Doc.
You're a xenobiologist.
You look for any life,
I look for any trouble.
It's a perfect team-up.
[radio beeps]
It's for you, Doc.
Hello?
Hey, Dad.
You got the radio to work.
Dad, we're watching the news
about that sphere in New York.
Isn't that where you're going?
Dad, they don't know what it is.
I don't think you're safe.
Listen, you stay inside, okay?
Do not leave unless you
hear directly from me
or Captain Jaffe, okay?
Okay, be careful.
Love you.
-[static]
-Leanne?
Leanne, I can't hear you, honey.
Honey?
I don't suppose there's
any way I can get you
to airlift my kids to
the West Coast?
If it comes to that,
we can look at our options.
Listen, Doc.
My folks live in Pennsylvania,
near the Ohio border.
It's not exactly the West Coast,
but if we need to
do something immediate,
we can make sure all the right
phone calls are made, all right?
Take care of your family.
Thank you, Captain.
We're in uncharted territory.
Yeah, that's why the
President wants us
to gather information
on this thing,
especially while
it's still unmoving.
Oh...
That reminds me.
What do you know about drones?
I mean, a little.
I bought one for my son.
I play with that thing
more than he does.
Well, that's good.
We need to launch
some at the sphere.
I need you to take readings and
gather information while I fly.
Think you can handle that?
Okay.
[rumbling]
You okay there, cowboy?
Captain Jaffe,
what's your location?
ETA, three minutes, sir.
Do you have all the
equipment you need?
We're readying the drone
protocol put in place
by Dr. Whitney, sir.
Where's the setup device?
It's a laptop in back.
You okay to get it?
[sighs]
[chuckles]
You okay, Doc?
Okay...
[sighs]
We need to get the
sensor readings
before we use any of
the more destructive equipment.
Okay, you get that started.
I'm gonna make sure
we're good elsewhere.
Copy.
Mr. President, we have
all the equipment
the Doc asked for.
Spectral analyzer,
infrared cameras,
sonic drones, red, green,
and UV lasers.
Good.
Gentlemen, stand by.
NASA has found no evidence of
further vehicular anomalies.
-Yet.
-Yet.
This may be the only one,
but they'll continue
to scan until
we give them the all-clear.
Let's hope so.
Situation report?
Should the anomaly react
in a hostile manner,
we are prepared to contain
or destroy it.
Destroy it?
We'll be ready,
Mr. President.
We have a Trident
sub in the harbor.
All torpedoes are fully
locked and loaded.
We have 10 fully-armed
Blackhawks in close proximity.
A phalanx of tanks
and mobile cannons
will be stationed offshore.
Five F-35s will be circling
at 20,000 feet. We're ready.
That's fine for the immediate
area, but what about the city?
What about Manhattan?
The National Guard is overseeing
EVACs out of the city,
and they're doing their best
to maintain order, sir.
Mr. President,
do you concur
that sufficient precautions are
in place for this operation?
I concur.
Captain Jaffe, did
you copy all that?
I did, sir.
Proceed.
Loud and clear.
Approaching the anomaly now,
sir.
We're heading in.
[phone ringing]
Gentlemen,
if you'll excuse me.
-You good?
-Mm-hmm.
FLIR cams are operational.
FLIR cams?
Forward looking
infrared cameras.
They see heat.
They work great
in smoke or dust.
Basically the brass
is seeing everything
we're seeing right now.
Okay.
Let's go say hello.
Passive scans are done.
No reaction from the UAP.
Telemetry readings are
flat across the board.
No additional heat.
Cold, radiation of any kind.
It's like it's not even there.
But we can see it so
we know it reflects light.
That makes me want to see
what a laser can do to it.
We should move on
to the physical testing.
This is physical testing.
Oh!
Mr. President, did you see that?
We all did.
The UAP is hostile.
General Vargas,
send in the Blackhawks.
Engage.
Sir, there's a chance
it was just maybe
reacting to what--
Captain, you may want
to get out of the way.
Copy that, sir.
I'm on it.
Shrapnel!
We're hit! Hang on!
We lost Jaffe's FLIR cam signal.
Get me a picture, people.
On it, sir.
Mr. President,
it attacked us again.
General, give it hell.
All forces, authorization
Alpha-Bravo-5-5.
Fire at will!
Where's that picture?
Network is down, sir.
I'm working on it.
Captain Jaffe, do you report?
Commander Chow, do you copy?
Somebody give me some
eyeballs on this now.
Hello? Report.
-[beeping]
-Aw, come on.
[laser firing]
Can we get satellite
imagery of New York?
We're blind here.
-All forces, status reports.
-Commander Chow, sitrep.
JAFFE: Can anybody hear us?
Captain Jaffe, report.
We have communication.
Lost the FLIR cam, sir.
The enemy engaged and...
defeated our
entire defensive line.
Colonel, how soon can you
get them in the air?
Good. Do it.
Details, soldiers,
we lost visuals.
Sir, it extruded weapons
and fire directed
energy blasts at us.
Our armor and weapons were just
entirely ineffective against it.
Captain, are you in position
to observe and report
on the enemy's activities?
Affirmative, sir.
We'll maintain a flight status.
We've got three quarters of a
tank of fuel left to preserve.
Maintain an open radio channel.
You're our eyes and ears
until we get back up.
We're scrambling ten raptors
from McGuire.
They're about ten minutes out.
Excited to see some
payback, sir.
Let's get this son of a bitch.
Ashe, we need more fighters
from bases further out.
-Make it happen.
-Yes, sir.
Where the hell are my visuals?
We're working on it, sir.
Thank you.
We appreciate it.
Yes.
Confirmed.
Captain Jaffe, are
you still with us?
Sir, the UAP has retracted
its weapons
and it's headed towards
the city.
We believe it's trying to avoid
our counter strikes
by hiding amongst
a civilian structures.
I don't think that's
its plan, sir.
It's plowing through buildings
like their made of cardboard.
Ask them where it's headed.
Do you have any idea where
the sphere is headed?
We don't know its
intended destination.
It's headed inland
in a straight line,
ignoring all obstacles.
Just going right
through them, sir.
Captain, listen to me.
Protect yourself,
but we have to know
where that damn thing
is headed, you understand?
Understood. Copy that.
Loud and clear, Mr. President.
[rumbling]
This thing is clearly
headed somewhere.
It's had no deviation
whatsoever to its path.
Is the sphere firing
any sort of ordnance?
It doesn't need to.
It's just driving right
through everything.
General, let's call the mayor,
have him issue
a shelter in place order
for all the people
who didn't leave when
we told them to before.
Leaving now would be like
walking into a death trap.
Yes, sir.
We'll activate
the Civil Defense Network.
All the people
on the street
could take shelter
in the subway.
We've got to have
the streets clear.
Already on it, sir.
National Guard troops have
begun civilian evacs
for all cities along
the eastern seaboard.
We're telling everyone to move
far inland as possible.
All right. Include all the
neighboring states
because the whole east coast
is a war zone now.
Yes, sir.
Sir, I don't want to talk
out of turn,
but maybe it's time
to address the nation.
There might be a
lot of misinformation
going on out there.
Dr. Morrow!
Perhaps you should tend
to your own affairs.
No, no, he's right.
We need to tell the people
what's happening.
They are in the middle of it,
and there's no getting
around that.
The news stations are
all over it.
I need to address the nation.
What are you going to say?
I'm going to tell
them the truth.
Is this helicopter okay
after being hit by shrapnel?
Should we be
following the sphere?
Do we need to land?
We're fine, Doc.
Relax.
You handled yourself
pretty well back there
for someone who was
afraid of flying.
It's not that I'm afraid.
I... I just know
the safety percentages.
Sure.
That's fine, Doc.
I mean, everyone's afraid
of something, right?
What are you afraid of?
Me?
I'm a soldier.
I'm not allowed to be
afraid of anything.
I still see a lot of people
trying to get out.
[honking]
Evacuating a city is
never a fast process.
[gunfire]
Are they firing guns
at the sphere?
We have to get them
out of there.
No. We're too far away.
There's no time.
We have our orders.
They never had a chance.
Listen, that's going
to be all of us.
if we don't figure out a
way to stop that thing.
How? It destroys everything
that gets near it.
We observe, we report,
we work smart,
and we find a weakness.
If it has one.
Listen to me, Doc.
That's your job, is to find
a weakness in that thing.
Where did it come from?
What is that thing?
Captain, clear that area.
I got ten raptors
coming in weapons hot.
There's still thousands
of people out there
trying to get out.
Negative, General.
Massive civilian casualties
if you engage. Repeat....
Massive civilian casualties
if you engage.
Abort!
Your call, sir.
This is strike team leader.
Approaching the sphere.
Standing by.
Sir...
I may not have much
of a legacy after today,
but it won't be over this.
Abort.
Raptor commander,
abort strike.
I say again, abort strike.
Copy that, General.
Breaking off attack.
Bravo Alpha 10-10 confirmed.
Sir, you realize
a day will come
when you won't have that option.
And if that day comes,
if there is no option,
I will make that call.
Thank you, sir.
And I'll pray to God
it doesn't come to that.
Did you see that?
It slowed down for
the first time.
Okay, that's something.
But is it good or is it bad?
I don't know.
I can't tell if it slowed
because it liked the electricity
or if it didn't like it.
Either way, we need
to find out, though.
JAFFE: General Vargas...
We heard, it stopped.
Let's try and get closer without
attracting its attention.
And get us more intel now.
Copy that, sir.
Will do.
I'm going to call my kids
before we get too close.
Yeah.
REPORTER: The UAP is
continuing to move inland.
The amount of devastation
in its wake is staggering.
Here, you can see military
helicopters firing on it,
but there seems to be little
or no effect on the UAP.
It seems to have some sort
of shield...
[radio beeping]
Dad? Where are you?
Did you see those explosions
on the news?
What's going on?
Get Adam.
He's here.
Dad?
Are you okay?
I'm still in the helicopter.
Listen...
Are the phones working yet?
Yes.
Okay, good.
That's good.
Everything might be back.
Listen, I want you
to load up the car.
Pack up the cases of water.
The food, battery chargers,
this radio...
All of it.
Are we leaving?
I thought you said to stay.
No, I know.
I know, but I just
want you to be ready.
You got it?
Aren't we safe here?
You told us to stay here.
Yes, but I...
Just be ready for anything.
Get the car ready.
Listen, honey, I gotta go.
I love you guys.
I'll check back in later.
That was weird, right?
I'll pack the food,
you take care of the water?
Yeah.
Do you have any kids?
Yeah, I did.
I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to pry.
Yeah.
Hey, how low can
we get this thing?
I want to look on the other side
and see what the
electricity did to it.
I don't want to get so close
that it'll see us
as a threat, but...
Let me see what I can do, Doc.
[helicopter approaches]
Where'd they come from?
They shouldn't be here.
Civilian helicopter,
leave the area immediately.
You are in danger.
Repeat.
They're too close.
They're too close.
[alarm sounding]
Autogyro!
Brace yourself, Doc!
We're going down!
Hang on!
Sir, President Alexei Buryakov
has initiated a call
on the Moscow-Washington Line.
Fidelity checks confirmed?
Confirmed, vetted
and secure, sir.
We've also had an urgent request
from the General Secretary
of the Chinese
Military Commission.
Well, this could be
offers of assistance
or simply a situation update.
Regardless, I will take
my leave temporarily.
Orders, sir?
Standing orders.
Continue operations
I've currently established.
Yes, sir.
Give me General Trowell
on the line.
-Wait, my equipment!
-Leave it, Doc, let's move!
Easy, easy, soldier!
You guys are the luckiest
bastards I've ever seen,
because that thing,
that thing just took out
the rest of those news choppers
right after y'all went down.
There were more?
Private, where's your
commanding officer?
I'm it, sir.
I'm sorry about that.
We were securing an
evacuation when all of a sudden
that damn bowling ball breached
our positions in seconds.
Do you have a sat phone?
No, sir.
I was hoping maybe
you guys might...
Wait, there's one
on the chopper.
No, Doc, wait, no!
Doc, you okay?
[soldier groans]
Hang on, Shepherd, hang on.
Oh!
I'm okay.
Oh! Oh!
Easy.
-Damn!
-[screaming]
Easy, easy, easy, easy.
-Oh my God.
-Doc, are you hit?
No, I'm okay.
All right.
That should hold for now.
Stop the bleeding.
Captain, your vest.
Well, guess he was right.
I guess we're the lucky ones.
How's he doing?
He's all right for now,
but we got to get him some
real medical attention.
This phone's toast.
Where's your phone?
Okay...
Come on.
There we go.
There we go.
All right.
Wait, you don't
know the password.
Don't need one.
You can dial 911 from every
cell phone, even if it's locked.
Once I get an operator,
we'll be good to go.
Hopefully the cell towers
are still up.
Don't worry, Doc.
I'll have us in a helo back to
Washington as soon as possible.
Gentlemen, welcome
to Washington, D.C.
President McCoy is
temporarily engaged
in affairs of this state.
At ease, Captain.
-Thank you, sir.
-What does that mean?
It means when world leaders
call asking questions
about our situation,
he has to be the one to answer.
Understood.
Um... Who do we report to?
You're talking to him.
Secretary of Defense
Ashe Greer.
Dr. Morrow, Captain Jaffe,
we're grateful for the firsthand
intelligence you provided.
Thank you, sir.
Hopefully it's something
you can use.
Actually, a news helicopter did.
Really?
They captured a moment just
before it was shot down.
Well, let's take a look.
Dr. Morrow, we're about
to being a major operation.
It's something we can discuss
after this next engagement,
should it prove necessary.
Where is the sphere now?
About to enter the upper bay,
just north of the Jersey Shore.
Where we have four
Navy destroyers
waiting for it to clear
the civilian quadrant.
And once it enters the water,
it'll be subjected to a
fuselage of 10-inch shells,
as well as a simultaneous
missile aerial strike
from 10 F-22 Raptors.
We have a battery of tanks
on the Jersey side
to prevent its egress
from the bay.
Sir, conventional weapons don't
seem to work against it
it just destroys whatever
is perceives as a threat.
Nothing beats a try
but a failure, Dr. Morrow.
Satellite imaging on screen.
Mr. Secretary?
Spearhead, Talon.
You are weapons-free.
Fire at will.
This is Spearhead,
reading you loud and clear.
Commencing fire, sir.
[guns firing]
General, sitrep.
The attack appears
to be working, sir.
The sphere slowed down.
It could be adapting.
[alarms sounding]
Tankers, stand down!
Do not engage!
I repeat, do not engage!
All units, retreat!
Do not engage!
Get the hell out of there!
Analysis. We just lost a
lot of good people.
I need to know why.
It changed tactics.
It didn't even use
its beam weapons.
At all.
It took our own missiles
and used them against us.
They either just tested that
tactic for the first time,
or they just wanted us
to know they could do it.
Either way...
General, what are we
dealing with here?
I don't know.
But we need to find out.
So this is the footage
from the news helicopters?
Yes.
That's the last footage that
the news helicopter sent back.
There.
That's where it paused.
Do you see how the electricity
flows around the sphere?
We saw this in person.
It's like the electricity
is holding it there.
Or it's choosing to hold there.
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
And do you see how
the ripple effects on the sphere
right before
it plows into
the power station?
We saw the same effect when it
got hit by the 10-inch guns.
Yeah, but we didn't see
that ripple effect
when the drone pointed
the laser at it.
No, that first beam was
the equivalent of a cat toy.
It's essentially harmless,
but I believe it may have been
interpreted as a hostile act.
So, what's going
on here, Doctor?
And you are a doctor, right?
So is this an it,
or is it a they?
Is it a machine that
we have to break,
or is it some kind of alien
soldier that we need to kill?
I honestly don't know, sir, but
I'm not sure how that matters.
It matters to me.
Well, if there are
lifeforms on board,
they're very well protected.
And if it is akin to a drone,
then it's just going to
keep doing what it does
until it runs out of power.
We figured that out
for ourselves, Dr. Morrow.
Mr. President.
Mr. Secretary,
Dr. Morrow has the floor.
Yes, sir.
We have enough problems
without issues of respect.
Yes, sir.
Were your
discussions productive?
As much as they can be
with world leaders
who have access
to nuclear weapons
and are more concerned
about our lack of progress.
We appreciate your candor, sir.
The good news is that
they have offered access
to their military and
university science divisions.
Good. That's a lot of extra
brain power
and potential firepower
to bring to the table.
Well, let's make use of it.
Your respective counterparts
will be linking to you shortly.
Thank you, sir.
I'm looking forward to it, sir.
Let's go.
Dr. Whitney, has NASA reported
any further spheres or objects?
No, but they've got
all available observatories
and satellites
watching the skies.
Okay.
I believe we should follow up
on this observation
that electricity or
electromagnetic energy
in the power station
affected it.
I agree. But completely
correlating this data
is going to take a lot of time.
Which is the one thing
we have precious little of.
Thank you.
You aren't the only people who
have scientists on speed dial.
I've just received an
alternate plan
from the CERN think
tank in Geneva.
CERN?
The European Council
for Nuclear Research?
No, they run the Collider.
They run the largest particle
physics laboratory in the world.
They deal exclusively
with cutting-edge technology.
Yes, that's true, sir, but...
-Mr. Morrow.
-Doctor.
Doctor Morrow.
They have a workable plan.
Do you?
No.
Not as of yet, but that's
why we need more time
to analyze the data.
CERN has analyzed the data,
and they have a proposal
which we can implement now.
Doctor, sit down, please.
Mr. Secretary, proceed.
Thank you.
I've just received
confirmation that my colleagues
in CERN have designed
a definitive strike.
Why are we just
hearing about this now?
They're working
out the math, sir,
which you can
appreciate, doctor.
At any rate, they fill a direct
payload of liquid nitrogen
would freeze at least a portion
of the sphere
before it has a
chance to attack,
whereupon
repetitive direct hits
should crack it open like
an eggshell.
Yeah, it's like putting a
rubber ball in liquid nitrogen.
Drop it, it'll shatter
like glass.
What do you think, Dr. Morrow?
I mean, it's
technically viable, but...
But how the hell are you going
to get liquid nitrogen on it?
Are you going to drop
it from a tree?
General?
The Sikorsky King Stallion
can easily carry a tanker
full of liquid nitrogen.
Yeah, and the Warthog A-10s
have the precision accuracy
to pound that thing over
and over again,
'til they get the job done.
Get me Colonel Watt at the 87
Air Base Wing in the line.
Sir, you're going to
need somebody
to lase that target and
guide those gunners.
You've done enough, soldier.
You know that's
never the answer, sir.
Take care of
yourself, Captain.
I'll try, sir.
Can I just be the voice
of reason and point out
that we don't know what's
going to spill out
of that Easter egg
when you crack it open?
This is why we'll need a
trained observer in the field.
Thank you for
volunteering, Doctor.
Volunteering?
Yeah, come on, Doc.
Don't break up the team now.
Let's do this.
Let's go.
Good trick.
I'm glad they were
able to evacuate.
Me, too.
If we're pointing another
laser at the sphere,
we need to make sure
we do not miss.
Why?
We have to keep it pinpointed
on the coat of ice
formed by the liquid nitrogen,
not the sphere's surface.
If we do, it might...
it might notice us.
I'm keeping us at a distance
that seems to be safe, Doc.
We stay at least 200 feet away,
it's ignoring us.
Okay. Okay.
I'm trusting you.
I'll keep the bird steady.
You do your part.
Ice, guns, shatter.
The hogs are locked
in on the beam.
This will be over in no time.
Trust me.
You know what
I don't understand?
Where is it going?
Why is it going there so slowly?
It's like it...
it's like they
want us to shoot at it.
Look, I don't have a
problem with that, Doc.
This thing has killed
thousands of people.
It needs to be stopped,
put down hard, now.
This thing just
doesn't make sense.
Look, it doesn't need to.
It just needs to be dead.
Hammer, this a sky watch.
We're in position.
Drop the payload.
Please work.
Come on.
-Yeah, direct hit!
-Yes!
Lase the target, Doc.
Right there, top of the sphere.
Strike team, target is lit.
Take this bastard out, now.
Damn it!
The ice is disintegrated, but...
The sphere looks undamaged.
It's not moving, though.
Maybe it was affected.
All right. I'm going to call
for them to make another run.
Wait, wait. Hold on.
Do not fire.
Look. There.
At the bottom.
It's beginning to ripple.
Just like it did before
the last attacks.
All right. I'm backing off to
give the Warthogs clearance.
Call off the second wave!
We all need to evac now.
Abort! Abort!
Hang on!
Land this thing right now.
We're the only other
target in the sky.
Good call, Doc.
Hang on!
Whoa, whoa whoa!
[alarm blaring]
Oh, I'm gonna be sick!
Stow it, doctor.
Do it outside.
We got a long ride back.
[vomits]
Ugh...
McGuire, this is Skywatch.
The operation
was a total failure.
Repeat, total failure.
Returning to base.
Damn it!
The sphere is now firing beams
and destroying power stations.
There's parts of
New Jersey without power.
Did the sphere change course?
No, on the same course,
south through New Jersey.
But electrical power
stations within
a 20-mile radius are
blowing up.
It's crippling our
infrastructure.
We need other options.
This damn metal ball
cannot be impervious
to everything we have.
It's either deflected
or defeated
every single conventional weapon
that we've thrown at it.
The Royal Canadian Air Force
is dispatching
a squadron of CE-145C
vigilance aircraft,
ETA is four hours out.
Having more eyes on the sky
is a good thing,
but we need superior firepower.
Has anybody else
offered anything?
We've shared every bit of intel
with the scientific community
and the military of all nations.
They're working on their
own data analysis.
They'll all help
in their own way,
but they're all worried
they might be next,
so they don't want to draw
attention to themselves,
and I can't say
that I blame them.
CERN is working
out another plan.
When Dr. Morrow returns,
have him integrate himself
with all of these
scientific agencies.
This is no longer
just an American problem.
Yes, sir.
Make sure he gets access to that
video he's been asking about.
If he's on to something,
we're going to need it pronto.
Assembling it now.
Let's have that video sent up
to the SATCOM room,
have copies sent over to
JPL, NASA, and Space Lab,
and any other armchair
space nerd that Morrow trusts.
Absolutely, sir.
Let's go, people.
We're not living in a vacuum.
Let's get some eyeballs on this.
Where's Captain Jaffe now?
He should be landing
in McGuire by now.
All right, Doc.
Coming up on the base.
Thank God.
We're setting down.
I am never, ever getting back on
one of those things ever again.
Truth is,
I've done much worse,
so you need to
walk it off, Doc.
We've got way bigger problems
to deal with.
You're right, Captain.
I'm... I'm sorry.
Look at you.
Starting to rub off on you.
Make a soldier out of you yet.
I got to check in.
Let's go.
Captain, I know
we lost a lot of people.
I know we're missing something.
I'm missing something.
Hey, do not go down
that path, Doc.
NASA and CERN haven't
figured out a way
to stop that damn thing.
Do not do that to yourself.
You know what I keep
going back to?
I keep thinking about that
incident at the power plant.
I mean, you saw it, right?
It stopped for a reason.
Yeah.
Just, I just need
to figure out why.
Okay.
What do you need?
I need to look at all
the available data.
Wait, do we have access
to that footage here?
Yeah, I can get it.
Okay.
I also need to talk
to Dr. Devlin at NASA.
Okay, there's a phone
in the office. Come on.
There you go.
I'll be back.
[phone rings]
Devlin here.
Dr. Devlin, it's Dr. Morrow.
Has your agency detected
any other spheres in orbit?
No.
Well, anyone else?
ESA? Ruscosmos?
No, no one's reported anything.
Would you be able to backtrack
and give an estimate
on its point of origin?
Already on it.
We detected a faint
radiation trail
that we've been backtracking.
Well, where's it
leading back to?
Deep space.
Jeff, your, um...
Your fast radio burst theory.
Your Rubicon signal.
We said it was a
random burst of noise.
You said it was an
attempt at first contact.
Okay, it doesn't...
We have concluded the source
of the radiation trail
and the FRB have
the same point of origin.
Oh.
Hang on, Jeff, we may have
something for you.
No.
No?
No, what?
Dr. Morrow,
your FRB was a warning.
We found even more spheres.
And they're in our solar
system close to Jupiter.
Dr. Morrow we may have...
a doomsday situation
on our hands.
Ten spheres situated
around Jupiter.
Are you kidding me?
NASA tracked the origin
of the first sphere.
It's the same exact location of
Dr. Morrow's fast radio burst.
The Rubicon signal.
That he said was
extraterrestrial communication.
The origin point
led us to these.
Ten more spheres.
Ready to attack at
a moment's notice.
Jesus, we're struggling
with one.
Sir, we need to
alert our allies.
I'm very sorry, sir,
but there's more.
What am I looking at here?
In addition to the ten spheres,
Dr. Morrow and Dr. Devlin
believe that it's actually
a fleet.
Extraterrestrial ships ready
to finish the job.
Has this been verified?
It's the same exact location
as Dr. Morrow's FRB.
It doesn't make any sense.
Why would ET give us a roadmap
to where they're hiding?
Well, we don't think
that's what they did.
We think that the last planet
that they destroyed
was a warning to us.
A bit of a jump in logic there.
Possibly.
But NASA is retargeting the
Hubble and the James Webb,
so we will know soon enough.
This is an
extraterrestrial fleet.
It is the most
logical conclusion
given the available data, sir.
Now, is this fleet en route?
We don't know, but NASA
is checking as we speak.
If they start to advance...
We think that they're going
to send the 10 ships
near Jupiter first.
I mean, it could just
be more drones.
But I guess we
shouldn't rule out
something like a first
wave of alien soldiers.
Either way, Mr. President,
it would be prudent to
assume that
we are facing an
imminent hostile invasion.
Get me Captain Jaffe
and Dr. Morrow on the horn.
Come on.
Patch me through
to Captain Jaffe.
All right, let's go.
[phone rings]
This is Captain Jaffe.
Captain Jaffe, do you have
Dr. Morrow there with you?
Yes, sir.
It's the President.
Sir, may I put you
on speakerphone?
Please.
Dr. Morrow, are there any
further details
you can provide me
with regarding this fleet?
You seem to be the only one
who had any idea
that there was potentially
something out there
three months ago.
I see you talked
to Dr. Whitney.
Sir, after studying this sphere,
I am fully convinced
that it is a probe.
A probe?
Yeah, it's collecting
our data, sir.
Probing our defenses.
I kept asking myself why.
Why is it moving so slowly?
Like it wants us
to shoot at it.
Which we have been.
Just like we're
supposed to, sir.
Every time we attack it,
it just relays our defenses
to its main fleet.
The units we discovered
near Jupiter.
That's the real invading
force.
And they'll destroy us all.
Whether through
unmanned weaponry
or full-on alien soldiers.
We need to be prepared
for it all.
What is this based on?
It's empirical, sir.
But Dr. Devlin thinks it's
a possibility, too.
But that's it.
That's all I got.
Anyone else?
Mr. President, I concur
with Dr. Devlin
and Dr. Morrow.
JAFFE: I do, too, sir.
This is a basic
military strategy.
It's assembling its forces.
It's sending out its scouts
to verify
enemy position and strength.
It's going to soften up
its targets
and invade when the resistance
has been eliminated.
Where is this sphere now?
It's just outside
of Baltimore, sir.
Where it's been
systematically targeting
our electrical
power substations.
I have family in Baltimore.
All of Baltimore
has been evacuated.
Half the Eastern seaboard
is without power.
They've obviously
been studying us
and our power grid
in great detail.
How long before the sphere
is in DC?
We've extrapolated
this all based on its movement
since its arrival.
How did you figure
out the path?
All right.
I believe that it is slow
walking to the people's house,
which is the real seat
of power in this country,
and is going to be gathering
data all along the way.
As you said, Dr. Morrow.
Two hours and seven minutes
until it reaches
this exact location, sir.
And then?
That'll be the showdown.
Captain Jaffe, Dr. Morrow.
the CERN plan is a failure.
We need you here in
DC to formulate
a new plan of attack
if you are willing.
Yes, sir.
VARGAS: Marine 1 is en route
to pick you up over and out.
I know.
We have to be in DC ASAP.
My house might be in the direct
line of the sphere's path.
-I've got to get my kids.
-[busy signal]
You told them to pack up
the truck and be ready to go.
I'm sure they can
clear the area.
You heard those guys.
Half the Eastern seaboard
is without power.
All right. I'll send a detail
to secure your kids
on the way to DC.
Captain, I have to get my kids.
No. We need to
get to Washington.
I will send soldiers
to retrieve your family.
That's not good enough.
Those Army guys are out
there doing Army stuff.
I need to guarantee
my kids are safe.
Fine. I'll go.
You get into that chopper
to Washington right now.
And I'll get your kids,
I swear.
Thank you, Captain Jaffe.
It's Sean.
Thank you, Sean.
It's approaching
the outskirts of the city, sir.
All of DC has been evacuated.
All non-essential personnel have
been moved to a safer location.
Mr. President, we should
consider moving
to a secure location as well.
I agree, sir.
Dr. Morrow, Captain Jaffe
just checked in.
He's about to pick up your kids.
Thank you, sir.
I'm very grateful.
-You're welcome.
-Family first.
That's the motto I ran on.
That's why I voted for you, sir.
Dr. Devlin reports that
the fleet hasn't moved,
nor have the 10 spheres
near Jupiter.
So they're definitely waiting
for the sphere
to reach the capital.
Sir, joint special operations
have arranged for
experimental railguns
to be deployed
within five hours.
Five hours?
They're installed
on our destroyers.
That's how long it's going
to take to unmount them
and fly them to this location.
How long until the sphere
gets here?
An hour and 52 minutes, sir.
Is there any branch of
the military
that can deploy something?
No, sir.
Nothing that wouldn't hurt
us as much as it hurt them.
You've got to give me something.
Anything.
There's got to be something.
You are missing something,
General.
Give me 15 minutes, sir.
I believe I may have something.
[rotors approaching]
Leanne, something's coming.
It's the sphere.
We've got to go now.
It's not the sphere.
It's Dad!
Adam!
Dad! Dad!
Hang on.
Don't get too close.
-We've got to move.
-Where's Dad?
He's doing his job.
Mine is to keep you safe.
Move. Let's go.
Come on. Go!
Let's go, kids.
Come on. Move!
Wait.
We need to go back.
-We left our stuff.
-Strap in and hold on.
Adam, it doesn't matter.
We'll buy new stuff.
Should be a fun ride.
Now remember,
up until this point,
the sphere plowed through
a dozen buildings
without even blinking.
And then suddenly, it slows down
at a power station.
Why?
The electrical discharge
from the transformers.
Yes.
Why there?
Because of this.
Now it took me forever
to notice this,
but we may have found
a potential weakness.
Doc, what are we looking for?
So, frame two.
There's a blur
distortion here.
And then frame A, it's gone.
Now it's easy to miss,
but the fact is,
the sphere is sharp up
until here,
and then it goes soft
at this point,
right as it plows
through the buildings.
And this means what exactly?
It means it has a force field.
That's the attenuation
of light
through an intense
magnetic field.
Yes. And that's
the critical point.
Not only does it
have a force field,
it doesn't have it
on all the time.
Why not?
I can answer that.
It's a major power drain.
Precisely.
It's needs something
strong enough to shrug off
all the stuff you've
been throwing at it.
But that requires
massive amounts of energy.
So I've combed through
all the available video footage
I could find between every
interaction with the sphere.
Watch.
On, off.
On, off.
On, off.
Now it's subtle,
but it's unmistakably there.
The clear interaction
between photons
and an electromagnetic field
strong enough to pull
them off course.
But why didn't
we see this before?
We were too far away.
Frankly, too busy
evading explosions.
Well, we wouldn't have
caught it at all
if you and Captain Jaffe
hadn't risked your lives
to report the attack.
Footage those news helicopters
captured was instrumental.
Sir, I believe we might have
a possible turning point.
Explain, you gotta
explain that, Doctor.
Sir, every time we attack
this thing,
it turns on its force field.
Any time it wants
to bulldoze something,
it turns on its force field.
I think that maybe...
Maybe...
It's vulnerable when
its field is not on.
Well, what about New York when
you hit it with a laser pointer?
No, you already had all your
assault weapons on the field.
All I did was ring the bell up
for round one.
He's right.
That sphere engaged every piece
of ordnance we threw at it.
Took out our Blackhawks,
our F-35s,
our tanks, our mobile artillery.
And it kept moving
inland for more.
Everything that this thing
does is either a weapons test
or an assets crippler.
Our power grid infrastructure.
Correct.
All right, so how do we
use this knowledge?
Okay, we know the
unexpected surge
from the power plant
caught it by surprise.
And it stopped short
before it could turn
the field back on
and protect it.
So it's only active when
a threat is perceived?
Otherwise it conserves power.
So we need to isolate it
and throw something
it can't see and prepare for?
We might be able to
penetrate its defenses.
What can we throw at this
that we haven't already?
What about an EMF?
Yes.
Yes, our own
electromagnetic field.
I mention that because
the White House
has a lot of pulse generators
in its surrounding buildings
in case of unknown attacks.
Well, if we could use those,
we could possibly set up a trap.
Find an area where we
can bombard it with EMF pulses
and hopefully
we catch it by surprise.
Weaken its shielding
and disrupt it.
How do you get it
into the trap?
What's the bait?
That's the easy part, sir.
We know exactly where it's going
and how it's getting there.
Speaking of coming and going,
where are my kids?
Dr. Whitney, has the captain
checked in?
Yes. The captain has
brought your kids
to his parents' home
in Pennsylvania.
And then they're going to
head to Tobyhanna Army Depot.
Thank you.
Okay, commandeer
all resources necessary
to implement this plan,
Mr. Secretary.
Yes, sir.
What do we do once
the sphere has been stunned?
Blow it up.
No, nothing you've hit it
with affects it.
We don't know what will work.
We haven't thrown
everything at it yet.
Are you suggesting
we go nuclear on it?
No, absolutely not.
We need to isolate it and throw
everything we got left at it.
Cluster, combustible,
chemical, whatever.
How do you isolate
a floating ball?
I don't know, Dr. Morrow.
Why don't you tell me?
Enough.
We need ideas, okay?
In the meantime, let's just work
on getting this EMF in place.
The bunkers.
The underground bunkers
in the White House.
Are they...
Do we have access to those here?
It's not like that, Dr. Morrow.
Okay, but if we can find a
place along the sphere's path
that aligns with the
underground maze of bunkers,
then we can spring...
I'm not following
you, Doctor.
Okay.
Look, I know I'm not from here,
but I know there
are bunkers here.
Some place where the senators
and the president go to be safe.
Right?
Yes, there is.
Okay, we find a place
along the sphere's path,
then we open one up,
create a hole,
and then we bombard it
with the EMF blast.
It falls into this
concrete area,
and then you, General,
you just, you go at it.
You just hit it with everything
you got, all right?
Full court press, kitchen sink,
whole nine yards, everything,
everything you got,
but no nukes.
That's your plan, huh?
Yeah.
All right, let's
make this happen.
Really?
Hey, good, bad,
it's the only plan
I'm hearing in this room
right now.
You're right, Mr. President.
We'll survey the area for
the best site right away.
Good. You have only
about 80 minutes.
Get the demolition team ready.
About three would do it.
Four to be sure.
Once it's in,
we isolate it,
then we throw everything
we got at it.
Dr. Morrow?
That simultaneous
attack combined
with the EMF bombardment?
Even in its battle mode,
we might stand a chance.
But we'll only have seconds,
if that much before it
turns back on its defenses.
We should move to the
fallout shelter
beneath the Capitol building.
We'll be much safer there.
Agreed.
Let's go, everyone, now.
Good job, Dr. Morrow.
Come on, move it, soldier.
It's right at Lafayette Square,
it's the perfect place.
It's so damn close
to the White House.
It's in direct path, so we're
going to have plenty of room.
All right, look,
no one is going to miss
Andrew Jackson's statues,
so go ahead, blow that up.
Our EMF generators
will be deployed
here, here, here, and here.
Now, the sphere is going
to destroy the White House.
We're going to weaken the sphere
with the EMF pulse blast
and then blow a crater open,
drop the sphere
into the hole, and then what?
A squadron of F-15s from
Langley and Seymore Johnson
will target the sphere with
side-winder missiles.
But the sphere has been
turned to ballistic missiles
back on themselves.
Yes, sir. It's why we're
using multiple waves, sir.
The hope is that the sphere will
be weakened by the EMF field.
Our fighters will be able
to launch their missiles
then retreat to a safe distance.
Attention!
Yes, sir.
As you were.
So four squadrons consisting
of five F-15s each
will attack, then circle
back for a second pass?
There will be a continuous
barrage of bullets and shells,
as well, from our ground forces.
So the combined barrage with
the EMF pulse blasts
will weaken it and hopefully
burn out the force field?
That's our hope, sir.
Projected casualties, General?
For our ground troops,
80 percent, sir.
Oh, God.
Yes.
This is our last stand, sir.
Every man and woman on that line
understands what will
happen here today.
And they all
showed up for duty.
Well, let's make
sure that this day
is a day we can all be proud of,
no matter the outcome.
Yes, sir.
History will judge.
Now, we ignored the Rubicon's
signal when it first appears.
But we will not ignore it now.
Now, where is the sphere and
how soon can we be ready to go?
It's in direct route
for the capital, sir.
It's one click out.
And it doesn't know
that we are here.
I hope not.
Another question I have
is, why us?
Well, why D.C.?
Well, why doesn't it attack New
York or Los Angeles,
London, Tokyo, Sao Paulo?
Why doesn't it attack
the major population centers?
It's testing us.
It knows that if it can
take us down in D.C.,
then it can take the
whole world down with it.
Doctor, are you not
sure about all this?
No, sir.
Not entirely.
But there has to be a reason
why they haven't unleashed
their full army yet.
Dr. Morrow might be on
to something, Mr. President.
They could be trying
to eliminate
their biggest threat to
assert their dominance.
Sir, the EMFs are in position.
Thank you.
It's time.
Here we go.
All teams ready.
Standing by, sir.
The field is yours, General.
Demolition team,
confirm target coordinates.
T minus 35 seconds.
-35 seconds.
-35 seconds. Copy that.
Sky team, land team on one.
10, 9,
8, 7, 6,
5, 4, 3,
2, 1.
Engage.
Fire in the hole.
It's rippling.
It's analyzing the attack.
Keep it off balance.
Keep hitting it.
Increase the EMF pulses.
Just keep it overwhelmed.
Get it in the hole, Morales.
It missed.
That means it's working, right?
It missed.
It's in the hole.
Blow that damn thing up!
Captain, status report.
Captain, do you copy?
We lost visuals.
There's too much smoke.
Did we get it?
Spotter, target status.
Negative, sir,
no visual.
Sanders, updates.
Ordinance confirmed
and deployed.
Did we get it?
Can't tell.
Is there a spectral graph?
Anything?
It's too much damn smoke.
Screw it. Hit it again.
All units, resume attack.
Fire at will.
Blackhawks, EMFs on.
Converge on sphere.
All teams, danger close.
Exercise extreme caution.
[gunfire]
Anything?
Nothing yet, sir.
[alarm sounds]
Com line 32 down.
43 down.
Captain, hello.
113, 264 down.
Captain, status report.
What was that?
Status report, Captain.
Did it work?
Does that mean we won?
We don't know.
You saw how it destroyed
everything around it.
That was the final death throes
of a once formidable enemy.
The brave men and women who
sacrificed their lives
to see it finally destroyed
will not soon be forgotten.
On this day, that
would be written
as a new chapter in
American history.
One where Americans
showed what they do best.
We do not bow to those
who wish to see us destroyed.
[phone rings]
You're goddamn right, sir.
Mr. President, our contact
in Moscow
says they're getting
some odd readings.
[phone vibrates]
-Mr. President.
-Yes.
I got a message from the
strategic air defense, Norad.
10?
10 spheres just dropped
into our atmosphere?
This is far from over.
It's just begun.
How did they get here so fast?
Weren't they at Jupiter?
It doesn't matter.
They're here already.
That's what that red flash was.
They were summoning backup.
A beacon.
What did we do now?
We could barely handle one.
All right, Ashe, you got to
get down the horn
and alert all the world leaders
that at least the EMF
will potentially
stun the sphere.
Yes, sir. I'll have my people
call right away.
We have a few more options
on the table, sir.
All right, let's explore
the least extreme first.
We'll have time for
the others later.
Sir, we start lobbing
nukes at this thing,
the entire planet
will be uninhabitable.
We're not lobbing
nukes anywhere, okay?
We're not lobbing nukes.
Relaying our EMF strategy every
military force is a good start.
There's not enough
EMFs on the planet.
Sir, another sphere
is headed this way.
Sir, we should evacuate
while there's still time.
No. No, there's no way to run.
There's no time.
I wouldn't leave anyway.
But you should all leave now.
Not a chance, sir.
We have a chance to stop it
while we're here, sir.
For the sake of
the entire planet, I'm...
I'm staying, too.
Okay.
What do we do now?
Well, about six years ago
in the previous administration,
we approved an orbital satellite
carrying munitions to ISS.
Are you telling me we have
a weapons platform in orbit?
That's a violation of
every International Space Treaty
and agreement, Ashe.
Understood.
But we had reason to
suspect the Russians
were already doing this.
What kind of weapons
are we talking about?
Missiles?
Nukes? EMFs?
-Lasers.
-Not EMFs.
No.
But lasers can be used
to generate
electromagnetic radiation within
a specific wavelength frequency.
We might get lucky.
Okay.
So where are they?
On the International
Space Station?
No, sir.
We never got that far.
They're circling the Earth,
waiting to be docked.
Or launched? We're going to
talk about this later, Ashe.
Can you communicate with
these satellites?
I need to make a few calls.
I'm going to call my kids.
Moscow, Paris, and London.
They've just reported
the sphere's made landfall.
They've initiated combat, sir.
God...
God help us.
There's no tentative
probing anymore.
Any engagement is final.
Doctor, what's the ETA in
the sphere targeting all DC?
Honestly, any moment.
Unless they're targeting
higher population centers
like Los Angeles or New York.
Listen to me.
We are Earth's last hope.
We don't get those
satellites online,
it is over, people.
Yes, sir.
We call it in our last fighters.
We're setting up a perimeter
of tanks and mobile utilities.
What about the EMF units?
We're not sure if they'll
still be effective.
We have no way to coordinate
with the EMFs once they arrive.
Skywatch, to Talon. Over.
Sean?
Get him up on comms.
Skywatch, Talon here.
What's your 20?
Ready to land, Talon.
I got a job for you, son.
I thought I missed the party.
Looks like I'm right on time.
Sean, it's so good
to hear your voice.
My kids?
On the outskirts of
Pittsburgh right now.
With my parents.
Probably eating some cookies.
Thank you.
We take care of our own, Doc.
General, how can
I be of service?
Stand by, Captain.
Copy that, sir.
We're going to zap it
first with the EMFs.
Then all batteries,
fire on incoming bogies,
all interceptors,
fire on incoming bogies.
Take this out of my sky.
We just knocked it off course,
that's all.
It just bought us some time.
[phone rings]
Devlin here.
We've initiated contact
with the orbital platform
and are attempting to activate
the laser targeting systems.
Are we ready?
We believe all
satellite targeting systems
have been
successfully activated.
What do you mean,
believe?
They've never been tested, sir.
Some diagnostics did not
respond fully.
How many?
All of them think they're on.
They just never fully
passed a weapons check.
What does that even mean?
If it fails,
we'd be alerting the enemy.
Now, are we a go, sir?
The timing on this
is very critical.
Every affected country has
to know exactly
when to blast the sphere and
we will zap them then.
Are these satellites in
the correct orbital positions
to target the spheres?
The satellites are in
a geostationary orbit
and their weapons are aimed
at the same capital cities
that the spheres
chose to target.
We've given every
military commander
all the info we've learned.
I hope it's sufficient.
Sir, the sphere is active.
We're not ready yet.
We need to fire
the lasers now, sir.
No, you can't defeat the
spheres with normal weapons.
We need those lasers.
We need the EMFs.
Have you alerted
all the leaders?
Russian and Italy
are the last ones.
Wait.
I've got Italy's coordinates.
Still waiting on Russia.
Sir!
Sir, the sphere is three minutes
away and closing fast.
Hold.
Give me the President of
Russia on the phone.
Give me Captain Jaffe on
the line.
-Line four.
-Captain Jaffe.
What do you need, Doc?
Do you still have those portable
EMFs from your last skirmish?
We have three Blackhawks in
the vicinity with the EMFs.
Great.
Use them to stall the sphere.
We just need a little more time.
You hear that, Captain?
Loud and clear.
You stall them,
but you do not engage.
Copy that.
Man, this thing just
won't give up.
EMFs are engaged.
Is it slowing down?
Target locked.
Missile away.
-Contact.
-Result?
Shaken, but not stirred.
The sphere is still
headed in this direction.
How many more
missiles do you got?
One more.
I'm going to close for this one.
Sean, remember,
no less than 200 feet.
No can do, Doc.
I'm taking this one
right into its heart.
Take care of your family, Doc.
Got some great kids there.
Charge and ready to deploy, sir.
Missile locked.
Fire the jam laser.
Missile away.
[alarm sounding]
-Fire!
-Fire!
[rumbling]
Attack it with everything
we've got left!
Fire!
It's getting closer.
Oh, this will work.
It has to.
I hope you're right, doctor.
[rumbling]
This whole place is coming down.
Out, out, everyone out.
Get the president
out of here, now.
Everyone, let's go!
Everybody out, let's go!
Move, move, move!
Let's go.
Let's go, now.
Doctor, now, let's go!
[screams]
Hey, I think we found someone!
Over here, hurry!
I can't believe you
two got here so fast.
We were right by
an air base, Dad.
It was easy to hitch a ride.
Especially since everyone
wanted to make sure
we got here before you woke up.
It was all over the news.
There were aliens
inside the ship.
Wait, those weren't drones?
No, at least the ones
near Jupiter weren't.
But the news said that it
was likely
the first wave of
alien soldiers.
But the ships have
all been destroyed,
and everything
inside of them.
The president said you did that?
You blew them all up?
No, we did that.
Our team.
Well, you guys kicked ass.
What about Captain Jaffe?
He, uh...
He kicked the most ass
out of any of us.
This way, sir. He's just
through these curtains.
I'll tell you about it later.
Hello, uh, president
and, uh, doctor.
Are we supposed to salute?
Is everyone...
Everyone made it
out of the bunker.
Everything is fine, son.
We wanted to show you this.
What's this?
That is your Rubicon signal.
You were right all along.
You were also right
it didn't matter that
there were aliens inside.
But as soon as they realized
that we could break their toys,
they left the playground
and went straight home.
Let's go.
I'm just sorry it took me
so long to figure out
how to beat them, sir.
But you did it.
And I want you on
my staff, Dr. Morrow.
Well, that's...
it's very
flattering, sir, but, um...
I actually wanted to
stay out of politics.
Well, maybe part-time
consultant.
You think about it.
The country needs you.
Okay.
Thank you, sir.
I'll...
I'll think about it.
Whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
-Sean!
-Captain Jaffe?
You're alive?
Yeah.
You're kidding me, right?
POTUS, president of
the United States,
offers you a full-time position
and you'll think about it?
What's there to think about?
Well, I didn't say no, sir.
I...
It's a big decision.
Come on, man.
So, you must be the young man
who first spotted the UAP.
On behalf of a grateful
country, I want to thank you.
Thank you, Mr. President.
You know, I could do a lot
more if I had a job at NASA.
Sir.
Well, the word intern
comes to mind.
Paid, of course.
What about you, young lady?
Oh, um, I've had enough
space drama
to last me a lifetime, so...
I understand.
Um, however, Earth and
environmental studies...
Oh, my area of interest.
I am in need of an assistant.
Oh, a job offer?
Mm-hmm.
Then I accept.
Well, looks like we're going
to be in D.C. for a while.
Yes, we are.
Just a quick stop, then
we hit the road, promise.
Saturday, Uncle Robin
and his minion offspring
will beat us there and
we'll get the worst
camping spot again.
There are no worst spots.
There's just slightly
less desirable ones.
There are bad, terrible spots,
and we always get them
because we keep making
these quick stops.
Honey, new observatory,
new boss, new responsibilities.
Could have turned the job down.
Oh, yeah.
Hey, how is that new and
very expensive phone
working out for you?
Huh, kiddo?
Point taken.
I liked it better when you
worked at George Washington U.
My in there was pretty
much guaranteed.
Still is, champ.
I left on good terms.
I thought you hated
the people there.
No, no, I hate the politics,
not the people.
I liked being a professor at
the Space Policy Institute.
I didn't care for their politics
around their policies.
I prefer to get science
done efficiently.
How does that help me?
I'm still friends
with all the smart people.
That combined with your
straight As should do the rest.
Besides, now we got way
more time for camping.
Do we?
Because we're not getting
to that campsite for at least
another three hours.
And you still have to go in
and grab those papers.
And I'll be really quick.
Hey, pinky swear.
Wait, I'm going to go with you.
What?
I have to pee.
Ugh.
Hey.
Let's wait in the car, okay?
-You remember the code, right?
-Of course I do.
I'm just making sure.
It's got to be here.
Ah...
Woo!
I feel much better.
I just need two files,
then we're gone.
I can keep myself occupied.
Found them.
Could have waited until Tuesday.
No one else is working
until then.
No way. You're going to be
doing nothing but staring
at wide open night skies.
What better time to corroborate
our new findings?
Dad, look at this.
Probably just something
on the lens.
No, it's advancing
with each image.
Come on here, take a look.
Slide over.
What is it?
I've never seen any space junk
or spaceship like this,
at least that you've
shown me before.
Do you think this
has anything to do
with the fast burst
anomaly signal
that you picked up last year?
I mean, it's coming
from the same direction.
-The Rubicon signal?
-Yeah.
I don't know what
we're looking at,
but maybe I can figure
out the trajectory.
Hey, it's probably just private
sector, maybe even military.
You know, we're not always
made privy to their builds,
especially the
international ones.
We're usually made aware
of a launch date.
[alarm sounding]
Dr. Devlin, this is Dr. Morrow
at the Maryland Observatory.
We have a UAP sighting, possibly
military or maybe private,
but I'm not seeing anything
on the schedule.
Yeah, sending images
of coordinates now.
Adam, go wait outside.
But I want to listen.
Go. Change of plans.
Go back to the farmhouse.
-I'll be out in a minute.
-But I'm the one who found it.
Go. Now.
Yes, I'm still here.
Of course.
First sighting was at 0813.
Thank you, Dr. Morrow.
We'll be in touch.
Get me on the phone
with President McCoy
or SECDEF Greer, now.
Mr. President, sir,
I just confirmed the UAP
with Dr. Kate Devlin at NASA.
Are you sure it's not just
a failed satellite
that's falling out of orbit?
No, sir. It appears to be
a nearly perfect sphere.
No known configuration
matches this.
Russia and China
deny involvement.
They're watching it, too.
What's the trajectory?
NASA and our military
placed it directly
towards the East Coast, sir,
near New York City.
All right. All right, let's put
the National Guard on standby.
We'll issue a shelter in
place from Manhattan
that surrounds an area.
-That should do it.
-Will do, sir.
I'll also divert AWAC
to intercept the monitor.
No, Ashe. I want a lot
of eyeballs on this.
President McCoy saves the world.
Copy, sir.
Hello, chief?
Yes, put all carrier
strike groups on alert.
Everybody's sufficiently
scienced out.
Can we go have fun now?
Wait till you hear
what we found.
Is it more important
than camping?
Hey, I'm really sorry, honey,
but we gotta follow up
on something we found.
[coughing]
I found it.
Yes, champ.
You found.
[beeping]
Damn it.
Shouldn't gotten rid of the 250.
No way.
EV all the way.
You made the right choice, Dad.
What's wrong with that?
What am I doing wrong?
Whoa. We're zapped and we have
no idea how to fix it.
-Right, Dad?
-Hey, hey, we can fix this.
See?
Told you.
All right.
Seat belts.
Mr. President.
It's half the size
of the capital rotunda.
The estimate is
40 feet in diameter.
And it's just sitting there?
Yeah.
Well, sir, this
is our science advisor,
Dr. Grace Whitney.
Thank you, Secretary.
There's no detectable
activity in the UAP
since its arrival.
It's an anomaly.
Why is it an anomaly?
Mr. President,
it's a perfect sphere.
That's not natural,
except in geodes
and those would shatter
like glass on impact.
Couple with the fact
that no agency,
military intelligence,
or the scientific community
believes this is
of terrestrial origin.
Okay, we know what it isn't.
But what is it?
No, we can't ignore
the possibility
of an extraterrestrial
hostile threat.
We need to swiftly assess
the situation, sir.
Agreed.
We get an investigative team
on the ground right away.
Doctor, the scientist who
originally spotted the anomaly,
do you have any
background on him?
Yes, sir.
Dr. Jeff Morrow,
widower, two kids,
he is an astrophysicist
with a PhD from Caltech,
specializing in astrobiology.
He was at that space policy
institute just a few months ago.
He discovered that
fast radio anomaly,
the one that he nicknamed
the Rubicon signal.
You met him last year.
Yes, and you dismissed
his theory then.
He thought it was an
attempt at communication.
First contact.
That's why he named
it what he did.
Our entire universe would change
if this was extraterrestrial.
And no scientific community
ever confirmed that.
It was radio signals
emitted by hydrogen.
Unusual, yes, but not
completely unheard of.
In fact, most likely
some are saying
that it would be a neutron star
in its final death throws.
Or a precursor of a giant metal
ball falling from the sky.
He obviously knows his stuff.
He's not afraid to speak up.
And if we had
listened to him then,
we'd be in a better
position now.
I want him on the team.
Yes, sir.
Sir, we must consider
the potential dangers here.
I recommend full mobilization.
Ashe, I understand
your concern,
but we need more answers before
we start pointing guns at it.
No answer.
I told him it was urgent
and to call me back.
We don't have time for this.
Have them send a chopper.
Sir, there's got to be
people available
with similar or
better qualifications.
Maybe, but clearly, Morrow has
a clarity that they don't have.
And we need that now.
Grace, I want you to coordinate
the military and NASA.
Ashe, you have to make
sure that our troops
are prepared for any scenario.
Yes, sir.
Really, Adam?
A whole box of beef jerky?
When the aliens attack,
you'll be thanking me.
Dad, it's not
really aliens, right?
Why don't you kids go inside
and make some lunch, okay?
I'll finish up here.
Dad, it's only 9:30.
And I know when you're
dodging a question.
Going in the house.
[helicopter rotors]
Dad, what's going on?
I don't know.
You stay here.
Dr. Morrow?
Yes, I'm Dr. Morrow.
Captain Jaffe,
Patrick Space Force Base.
Kids, hey, go back to the car.
Is this about that dot
I found at the observatory?
Adam...
Well, is my son right?
I have orders from
President McCoy
to fly you directly to New York.
Fly me?
No, it's...
I'm sorry, Captain, I can't.
I'm on vacation with my kids.
Wait, why New York?
That object you found?
It's sitting in the East River.
Wait, but if it landed...
I mean, you have teams
to excavate that.
So you haven't excavated?
Why haven't you excavated?
What do you...
What do you need from me?
I'll explain to you in the air.
Let's go.
Leanne, is your cell
phone working yet?
No.
Our car lost power.
Then, suddenly,
our cell phones died,
and the car came back, but...
Maybe whatever's in New York,
hit one of our satellites
went into our orbit.
What's going on?
Okay, I'll go.
But under one condition.
Go where?
You leave a frequency
modulation radio with my kids.
You know, the old-school kind?
That way, I can stay in constant
communication with them,
especially if another
satellite goes down.
Dad, where are you going?
I'll get one.
I have to go to New York.
I'm going.
No, you're staying here
with your sister, okay?
If this is about that dot that
we found at the observatory,
then I'm the one that found it.
Leanne, Adam,
Captain Jaffe is going to
set you up with the radio.
We'll be in constant
communication.
Hope to be back
before tonight, okay?
This is all set up.
All you need to do is power it
on, push that button,
you can talk to your dad
in the helo.
Can we go now?
This sucks, and you know it.
I know. I'm sorry.
I love you guys.
-Love you, too.
-Okay.
I'll be back tonight, okay?
I promise.
Stay safe.
I don't suppose we can
drive there, right?
Soldier up, Doc.
The kids are watching.
You're going to save the
world for them.
Let's go.
Dad hates to fly.
It must really be important.
Now, we've established a solid
perimeter around the East River
and evacuated the press
and any civilians.
In the meantime,
we've deployed
surveillance drones
around the anomaly.
But there's been no activity
from the object?
Our reconnaissance team have
reported no change.
It's just sitting there.
No reaction whatsoever.
No signal, no light?
What is it, a ship and
the crew died on impact?
Or are they in hypersleep?
Or...
Or worse, are they
readying for an attack?
All good questions we hope
Dr. Morrow can help us answer.
What's the status of Morrow?
Somewhere over Pennsylvania.
Dr. Morrow is en route
with Captain Jaffe.
They should be here shortly.
But until they arrive,
as Secretary Greer mentioned,
we've deployed
surveillance drones.
National Guard is
evacuating Manhattan
and surrounding boroughs.
We cannot allow this
to turn into a circus.
No matter what,
that's going to take time.
New Yorkers will not
be told what to do.
It's a good idea to
get started though.
Thank you, sir.
We've also reached
out to key allies
and are sharing what little
information we have,
as well as coordinating
response strategies.
Are we the only country
with the UAP?
So far, there's been
no indication
of similar craft elsewhere.
I guess that's a good thing.
All right, gentlemen.
Keep me posted.
So you're telling me
the President's team at NASA
think the Rubicon signal
and this UAP are related?
Mm-hmm.
-So my son was right?
-Yep.
You were right predicting it was
some kind of communication.
Now we're hoping you can
figure out a way
to communicate with it.
Wait, do they think there's
life forms on board?
[chuckles]
That's another reason
you're here, Doc.
You're a xenobiologist.
You look for any life,
I look for any trouble.
It's a perfect team-up.
[radio beeps]
It's for you, Doc.
Hello?
Hey, Dad.
You got the radio to work.
Dad, we're watching the news
about that sphere in New York.
Isn't that where you're going?
Dad, they don't know what it is.
I don't think you're safe.
Listen, you stay inside, okay?
Do not leave unless you
hear directly from me
or Captain Jaffe, okay?
Okay, be careful.
Love you.
-[static]
-Leanne?
Leanne, I can't hear you, honey.
Honey?
I don't suppose there's
any way I can get you
to airlift my kids to
the West Coast?
If it comes to that,
we can look at our options.
Listen, Doc.
My folks live in Pennsylvania,
near the Ohio border.
It's not exactly the West Coast,
but if we need to
do something immediate,
we can make sure all the right
phone calls are made, all right?
Take care of your family.
Thank you, Captain.
We're in uncharted territory.
Yeah, that's why the
President wants us
to gather information
on this thing,
especially while
it's still unmoving.
Oh...
That reminds me.
What do you know about drones?
I mean, a little.
I bought one for my son.
I play with that thing
more than he does.
Well, that's good.
We need to launch
some at the sphere.
I need you to take readings and
gather information while I fly.
Think you can handle that?
Okay.
[rumbling]
You okay there, cowboy?
Captain Jaffe,
what's your location?
ETA, three minutes, sir.
Do you have all the
equipment you need?
We're readying the drone
protocol put in place
by Dr. Whitney, sir.
Where's the setup device?
It's a laptop in back.
You okay to get it?
[sighs]
[chuckles]
You okay, Doc?
Okay...
[sighs]
We need to get the
sensor readings
before we use any of
the more destructive equipment.
Okay, you get that started.
I'm gonna make sure
we're good elsewhere.
Copy.
Mr. President, we have
all the equipment
the Doc asked for.
Spectral analyzer,
infrared cameras,
sonic drones, red, green,
and UV lasers.
Good.
Gentlemen, stand by.
NASA has found no evidence of
further vehicular anomalies.
-Yet.
-Yet.
This may be the only one,
but they'll continue
to scan until
we give them the all-clear.
Let's hope so.
Situation report?
Should the anomaly react
in a hostile manner,
we are prepared to contain
or destroy it.
Destroy it?
We'll be ready,
Mr. President.
We have a Trident
sub in the harbor.
All torpedoes are fully
locked and loaded.
We have 10 fully-armed
Blackhawks in close proximity.
A phalanx of tanks
and mobile cannons
will be stationed offshore.
Five F-35s will be circling
at 20,000 feet. We're ready.
That's fine for the immediate
area, but what about the city?
What about Manhattan?
The National Guard is overseeing
EVACs out of the city,
and they're doing their best
to maintain order, sir.
Mr. President,
do you concur
that sufficient precautions are
in place for this operation?
I concur.
Captain Jaffe, did
you copy all that?
I did, sir.
Proceed.
Loud and clear.
Approaching the anomaly now,
sir.
We're heading in.
[phone ringing]
Gentlemen,
if you'll excuse me.
-You good?
-Mm-hmm.
FLIR cams are operational.
FLIR cams?
Forward looking
infrared cameras.
They see heat.
They work great
in smoke or dust.
Basically the brass
is seeing everything
we're seeing right now.
Okay.
Let's go say hello.
Passive scans are done.
No reaction from the UAP.
Telemetry readings are
flat across the board.
No additional heat.
Cold, radiation of any kind.
It's like it's not even there.
But we can see it so
we know it reflects light.
That makes me want to see
what a laser can do to it.
We should move on
to the physical testing.
This is physical testing.
Oh!
Mr. President, did you see that?
We all did.
The UAP is hostile.
General Vargas,
send in the Blackhawks.
Engage.
Sir, there's a chance
it was just maybe
reacting to what--
Captain, you may want
to get out of the way.
Copy that, sir.
I'm on it.
Shrapnel!
We're hit! Hang on!
We lost Jaffe's FLIR cam signal.
Get me a picture, people.
On it, sir.
Mr. President,
it attacked us again.
General, give it hell.
All forces, authorization
Alpha-Bravo-5-5.
Fire at will!
Where's that picture?
Network is down, sir.
I'm working on it.
Captain Jaffe, do you report?
Commander Chow, do you copy?
Somebody give me some
eyeballs on this now.
Hello? Report.
-[beeping]
-Aw, come on.
[laser firing]
Can we get satellite
imagery of New York?
We're blind here.
-All forces, status reports.
-Commander Chow, sitrep.
JAFFE: Can anybody hear us?
Captain Jaffe, report.
We have communication.
Lost the FLIR cam, sir.
The enemy engaged and...
defeated our
entire defensive line.
Colonel, how soon can you
get them in the air?
Good. Do it.
Details, soldiers,
we lost visuals.
Sir, it extruded weapons
and fire directed
energy blasts at us.
Our armor and weapons were just
entirely ineffective against it.
Captain, are you in position
to observe and report
on the enemy's activities?
Affirmative, sir.
We'll maintain a flight status.
We've got three quarters of a
tank of fuel left to preserve.
Maintain an open radio channel.
You're our eyes and ears
until we get back up.
We're scrambling ten raptors
from McGuire.
They're about ten minutes out.
Excited to see some
payback, sir.
Let's get this son of a bitch.
Ashe, we need more fighters
from bases further out.
-Make it happen.
-Yes, sir.
Where the hell are my visuals?
We're working on it, sir.
Thank you.
We appreciate it.
Yes.
Confirmed.
Captain Jaffe, are
you still with us?
Sir, the UAP has retracted
its weapons
and it's headed towards
the city.
We believe it's trying to avoid
our counter strikes
by hiding amongst
a civilian structures.
I don't think that's
its plan, sir.
It's plowing through buildings
like their made of cardboard.
Ask them where it's headed.
Do you have any idea where
the sphere is headed?
We don't know its
intended destination.
It's headed inland
in a straight line,
ignoring all obstacles.
Just going right
through them, sir.
Captain, listen to me.
Protect yourself,
but we have to know
where that damn thing
is headed, you understand?
Understood. Copy that.
Loud and clear, Mr. President.
[rumbling]
This thing is clearly
headed somewhere.
It's had no deviation
whatsoever to its path.
Is the sphere firing
any sort of ordnance?
It doesn't need to.
It's just driving right
through everything.
General, let's call the mayor,
have him issue
a shelter in place order
for all the people
who didn't leave when
we told them to before.
Leaving now would be like
walking into a death trap.
Yes, sir.
We'll activate
the Civil Defense Network.
All the people
on the street
could take shelter
in the subway.
We've got to have
the streets clear.
Already on it, sir.
National Guard troops have
begun civilian evacs
for all cities along
the eastern seaboard.
We're telling everyone to move
far inland as possible.
All right. Include all the
neighboring states
because the whole east coast
is a war zone now.
Yes, sir.
Sir, I don't want to talk
out of turn,
but maybe it's time
to address the nation.
There might be a
lot of misinformation
going on out there.
Dr. Morrow!
Perhaps you should tend
to your own affairs.
No, no, he's right.
We need to tell the people
what's happening.
They are in the middle of it,
and there's no getting
around that.
The news stations are
all over it.
I need to address the nation.
What are you going to say?
I'm going to tell
them the truth.
Is this helicopter okay
after being hit by shrapnel?
Should we be
following the sphere?
Do we need to land?
We're fine, Doc.
Relax.
You handled yourself
pretty well back there
for someone who was
afraid of flying.
It's not that I'm afraid.
I... I just know
the safety percentages.
Sure.
That's fine, Doc.
I mean, everyone's afraid
of something, right?
What are you afraid of?
Me?
I'm a soldier.
I'm not allowed to be
afraid of anything.
I still see a lot of people
trying to get out.
[honking]
Evacuating a city is
never a fast process.
[gunfire]
Are they firing guns
at the sphere?
We have to get them
out of there.
No. We're too far away.
There's no time.
We have our orders.
They never had a chance.
Listen, that's going
to be all of us.
if we don't figure out a
way to stop that thing.
How? It destroys everything
that gets near it.
We observe, we report,
we work smart,
and we find a weakness.
If it has one.
Listen to me, Doc.
That's your job, is to find
a weakness in that thing.
Where did it come from?
What is that thing?
Captain, clear that area.
I got ten raptors
coming in weapons hot.
There's still thousands
of people out there
trying to get out.
Negative, General.
Massive civilian casualties
if you engage. Repeat....
Massive civilian casualties
if you engage.
Abort!
Your call, sir.
This is strike team leader.
Approaching the sphere.
Standing by.
Sir...
I may not have much
of a legacy after today,
but it won't be over this.
Abort.
Raptor commander,
abort strike.
I say again, abort strike.
Copy that, General.
Breaking off attack.
Bravo Alpha 10-10 confirmed.
Sir, you realize
a day will come
when you won't have that option.
And if that day comes,
if there is no option,
I will make that call.
Thank you, sir.
And I'll pray to God
it doesn't come to that.
Did you see that?
It slowed down for
the first time.
Okay, that's something.
But is it good or is it bad?
I don't know.
I can't tell if it slowed
because it liked the electricity
or if it didn't like it.
Either way, we need
to find out, though.
JAFFE: General Vargas...
We heard, it stopped.
Let's try and get closer without
attracting its attention.
And get us more intel now.
Copy that, sir.
Will do.
I'm going to call my kids
before we get too close.
Yeah.
REPORTER: The UAP is
continuing to move inland.
The amount of devastation
in its wake is staggering.
Here, you can see military
helicopters firing on it,
but there seems to be little
or no effect on the UAP.
It seems to have some sort
of shield...
[radio beeping]
Dad? Where are you?
Did you see those explosions
on the news?
What's going on?
Get Adam.
He's here.
Dad?
Are you okay?
I'm still in the helicopter.
Listen...
Are the phones working yet?
Yes.
Okay, good.
That's good.
Everything might be back.
Listen, I want you
to load up the car.
Pack up the cases of water.
The food, battery chargers,
this radio...
All of it.
Are we leaving?
I thought you said to stay.
No, I know.
I know, but I just
want you to be ready.
You got it?
Aren't we safe here?
You told us to stay here.
Yes, but I...
Just be ready for anything.
Get the car ready.
Listen, honey, I gotta go.
I love you guys.
I'll check back in later.
That was weird, right?
I'll pack the food,
you take care of the water?
Yeah.
Do you have any kids?
Yeah, I did.
I'm sorry.
I didn't mean to pry.
Yeah.
Hey, how low can
we get this thing?
I want to look on the other side
and see what the
electricity did to it.
I don't want to get so close
that it'll see us
as a threat, but...
Let me see what I can do, Doc.
[helicopter approaches]
Where'd they come from?
They shouldn't be here.
Civilian helicopter,
leave the area immediately.
You are in danger.
Repeat.
They're too close.
They're too close.
[alarm sounding]
Autogyro!
Brace yourself, Doc!
We're going down!
Hang on!
Sir, President Alexei Buryakov
has initiated a call
on the Moscow-Washington Line.
Fidelity checks confirmed?
Confirmed, vetted
and secure, sir.
We've also had an urgent request
from the General Secretary
of the Chinese
Military Commission.
Well, this could be
offers of assistance
or simply a situation update.
Regardless, I will take
my leave temporarily.
Orders, sir?
Standing orders.
Continue operations
I've currently established.
Yes, sir.
Give me General Trowell
on the line.
-Wait, my equipment!
-Leave it, Doc, let's move!
Easy, easy, soldier!
You guys are the luckiest
bastards I've ever seen,
because that thing,
that thing just took out
the rest of those news choppers
right after y'all went down.
There were more?
Private, where's your
commanding officer?
I'm it, sir.
I'm sorry about that.
We were securing an
evacuation when all of a sudden
that damn bowling ball breached
our positions in seconds.
Do you have a sat phone?
No, sir.
I was hoping maybe
you guys might...
Wait, there's one
on the chopper.
No, Doc, wait, no!
Doc, you okay?
[soldier groans]
Hang on, Shepherd, hang on.
Oh!
I'm okay.
Oh! Oh!
Easy.
-Damn!
-[screaming]
Easy, easy, easy, easy.
-Oh my God.
-Doc, are you hit?
No, I'm okay.
All right.
That should hold for now.
Stop the bleeding.
Captain, your vest.
Well, guess he was right.
I guess we're the lucky ones.
How's he doing?
He's all right for now,
but we got to get him some
real medical attention.
This phone's toast.
Where's your phone?
Okay...
Come on.
There we go.
There we go.
All right.
Wait, you don't
know the password.
Don't need one.
You can dial 911 from every
cell phone, even if it's locked.
Once I get an operator,
we'll be good to go.
Hopefully the cell towers
are still up.
Don't worry, Doc.
I'll have us in a helo back to
Washington as soon as possible.
Gentlemen, welcome
to Washington, D.C.
President McCoy is
temporarily engaged
in affairs of this state.
At ease, Captain.
-Thank you, sir.
-What does that mean?
It means when world leaders
call asking questions
about our situation,
he has to be the one to answer.
Understood.
Um... Who do we report to?
You're talking to him.
Secretary of Defense
Ashe Greer.
Dr. Morrow, Captain Jaffe,
we're grateful for the firsthand
intelligence you provided.
Thank you, sir.
Hopefully it's something
you can use.
Actually, a news helicopter did.
Really?
They captured a moment just
before it was shot down.
Well, let's take a look.
Dr. Morrow, we're about
to being a major operation.
It's something we can discuss
after this next engagement,
should it prove necessary.
Where is the sphere now?
About to enter the upper bay,
just north of the Jersey Shore.
Where we have four
Navy destroyers
waiting for it to clear
the civilian quadrant.
And once it enters the water,
it'll be subjected to a
fuselage of 10-inch shells,
as well as a simultaneous
missile aerial strike
from 10 F-22 Raptors.
We have a battery of tanks
on the Jersey side
to prevent its egress
from the bay.
Sir, conventional weapons don't
seem to work against it
it just destroys whatever
is perceives as a threat.
Nothing beats a try
but a failure, Dr. Morrow.
Satellite imaging on screen.
Mr. Secretary?
Spearhead, Talon.
You are weapons-free.
Fire at will.
This is Spearhead,
reading you loud and clear.
Commencing fire, sir.
[guns firing]
General, sitrep.
The attack appears
to be working, sir.
The sphere slowed down.
It could be adapting.
[alarms sounding]
Tankers, stand down!
Do not engage!
I repeat, do not engage!
All units, retreat!
Do not engage!
Get the hell out of there!
Analysis. We just lost a
lot of good people.
I need to know why.
It changed tactics.
It didn't even use
its beam weapons.
At all.
It took our own missiles
and used them against us.
They either just tested that
tactic for the first time,
or they just wanted us
to know they could do it.
Either way...
General, what are we
dealing with here?
I don't know.
But we need to find out.
So this is the footage
from the news helicopters?
Yes.
That's the last footage that
the news helicopter sent back.
There.
That's where it paused.
Do you see how the electricity
flows around the sphere?
We saw this in person.
It's like the electricity
is holding it there.
Or it's choosing to hold there.
Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
And do you see how
the ripple effects on the sphere
right before
it plows into
the power station?
We saw the same effect when it
got hit by the 10-inch guns.
Yeah, but we didn't see
that ripple effect
when the drone pointed
the laser at it.
No, that first beam was
the equivalent of a cat toy.
It's essentially harmless,
but I believe it may have been
interpreted as a hostile act.
So, what's going
on here, Doctor?
And you are a doctor, right?
So is this an it,
or is it a they?
Is it a machine that
we have to break,
or is it some kind of alien
soldier that we need to kill?
I honestly don't know, sir, but
I'm not sure how that matters.
It matters to me.
Well, if there are
lifeforms on board,
they're very well protected.
And if it is akin to a drone,
then it's just going to
keep doing what it does
until it runs out of power.
We figured that out
for ourselves, Dr. Morrow.
Mr. President.
Mr. Secretary,
Dr. Morrow has the floor.
Yes, sir.
We have enough problems
without issues of respect.
Yes, sir.
Were your
discussions productive?
As much as they can be
with world leaders
who have access
to nuclear weapons
and are more concerned
about our lack of progress.
We appreciate your candor, sir.
The good news is that
they have offered access
to their military and
university science divisions.
Good. That's a lot of extra
brain power
and potential firepower
to bring to the table.
Well, let's make use of it.
Your respective counterparts
will be linking to you shortly.
Thank you, sir.
I'm looking forward to it, sir.
Let's go.
Dr. Whitney, has NASA reported
any further spheres or objects?
No, but they've got
all available observatories
and satellites
watching the skies.
Okay.
I believe we should follow up
on this observation
that electricity or
electromagnetic energy
in the power station
affected it.
I agree. But completely
correlating this data
is going to take a lot of time.
Which is the one thing
we have precious little of.
Thank you.
You aren't the only people who
have scientists on speed dial.
I've just received an
alternate plan
from the CERN think
tank in Geneva.
CERN?
The European Council
for Nuclear Research?
No, they run the Collider.
They run the largest particle
physics laboratory in the world.
They deal exclusively
with cutting-edge technology.
Yes, that's true, sir, but...
-Mr. Morrow.
-Doctor.
Doctor Morrow.
They have a workable plan.
Do you?
No.
Not as of yet, but that's
why we need more time
to analyze the data.
CERN has analyzed the data,
and they have a proposal
which we can implement now.
Doctor, sit down, please.
Mr. Secretary, proceed.
Thank you.
I've just received
confirmation that my colleagues
in CERN have designed
a definitive strike.
Why are we just
hearing about this now?
They're working
out the math, sir,
which you can
appreciate, doctor.
At any rate, they fill a direct
payload of liquid nitrogen
would freeze at least a portion
of the sphere
before it has a
chance to attack,
whereupon
repetitive direct hits
should crack it open like
an eggshell.
Yeah, it's like putting a
rubber ball in liquid nitrogen.
Drop it, it'll shatter
like glass.
What do you think, Dr. Morrow?
I mean, it's
technically viable, but...
But how the hell are you going
to get liquid nitrogen on it?
Are you going to drop
it from a tree?
General?
The Sikorsky King Stallion
can easily carry a tanker
full of liquid nitrogen.
Yeah, and the Warthog A-10s
have the precision accuracy
to pound that thing over
and over again,
'til they get the job done.
Get me Colonel Watt at the 87
Air Base Wing in the line.
Sir, you're going to
need somebody
to lase that target and
guide those gunners.
You've done enough, soldier.
You know that's
never the answer, sir.
Take care of
yourself, Captain.
I'll try, sir.
Can I just be the voice
of reason and point out
that we don't know what's
going to spill out
of that Easter egg
when you crack it open?
This is why we'll need a
trained observer in the field.
Thank you for
volunteering, Doctor.
Volunteering?
Yeah, come on, Doc.
Don't break up the team now.
Let's do this.
Let's go.
Good trick.
I'm glad they were
able to evacuate.
Me, too.
If we're pointing another
laser at the sphere,
we need to make sure
we do not miss.
Why?
We have to keep it pinpointed
on the coat of ice
formed by the liquid nitrogen,
not the sphere's surface.
If we do, it might...
it might notice us.
I'm keeping us at a distance
that seems to be safe, Doc.
We stay at least 200 feet away,
it's ignoring us.
Okay. Okay.
I'm trusting you.
I'll keep the bird steady.
You do your part.
Ice, guns, shatter.
The hogs are locked
in on the beam.
This will be over in no time.
Trust me.
You know what
I don't understand?
Where is it going?
Why is it going there so slowly?
It's like it...
it's like they
want us to shoot at it.
Look, I don't have a
problem with that, Doc.
This thing has killed
thousands of people.
It needs to be stopped,
put down hard, now.
This thing just
doesn't make sense.
Look, it doesn't need to.
It just needs to be dead.
Hammer, this a sky watch.
We're in position.
Drop the payload.
Please work.
Come on.
-Yeah, direct hit!
-Yes!
Lase the target, Doc.
Right there, top of the sphere.
Strike team, target is lit.
Take this bastard out, now.
Damn it!
The ice is disintegrated, but...
The sphere looks undamaged.
It's not moving, though.
Maybe it was affected.
All right. I'm going to call
for them to make another run.
Wait, wait. Hold on.
Do not fire.
Look. There.
At the bottom.
It's beginning to ripple.
Just like it did before
the last attacks.
All right. I'm backing off to
give the Warthogs clearance.
Call off the second wave!
We all need to evac now.
Abort! Abort!
Hang on!
Land this thing right now.
We're the only other
target in the sky.
Good call, Doc.
Hang on!
Whoa, whoa whoa!
[alarm blaring]
Oh, I'm gonna be sick!
Stow it, doctor.
Do it outside.
We got a long ride back.
[vomits]
Ugh...
McGuire, this is Skywatch.
The operation
was a total failure.
Repeat, total failure.
Returning to base.
Damn it!
The sphere is now firing beams
and destroying power stations.
There's parts of
New Jersey without power.
Did the sphere change course?
No, on the same course,
south through New Jersey.
But electrical power
stations within
a 20-mile radius are
blowing up.
It's crippling our
infrastructure.
We need other options.
This damn metal ball
cannot be impervious
to everything we have.
It's either deflected
or defeated
every single conventional weapon
that we've thrown at it.
The Royal Canadian Air Force
is dispatching
a squadron of CE-145C
vigilance aircraft,
ETA is four hours out.
Having more eyes on the sky
is a good thing,
but we need superior firepower.
Has anybody else
offered anything?
We've shared every bit of intel
with the scientific community
and the military of all nations.
They're working on their
own data analysis.
They'll all help
in their own way,
but they're all worried
they might be next,
so they don't want to draw
attention to themselves,
and I can't say
that I blame them.
CERN is working
out another plan.
When Dr. Morrow returns,
have him integrate himself
with all of these
scientific agencies.
This is no longer
just an American problem.
Yes, sir.
Make sure he gets access to that
video he's been asking about.
If he's on to something,
we're going to need it pronto.
Assembling it now.
Let's have that video sent up
to the SATCOM room,
have copies sent over to
JPL, NASA, and Space Lab,
and any other armchair
space nerd that Morrow trusts.
Absolutely, sir.
Let's go, people.
We're not living in a vacuum.
Let's get some eyeballs on this.
Where's Captain Jaffe now?
He should be landing
in McGuire by now.
All right, Doc.
Coming up on the base.
Thank God.
We're setting down.
I am never, ever getting back on
one of those things ever again.
Truth is,
I've done much worse,
so you need to
walk it off, Doc.
We've got way bigger problems
to deal with.
You're right, Captain.
I'm... I'm sorry.
Look at you.
Starting to rub off on you.
Make a soldier out of you yet.
I got to check in.
Let's go.
Captain, I know
we lost a lot of people.
I know we're missing something.
I'm missing something.
Hey, do not go down
that path, Doc.
NASA and CERN haven't
figured out a way
to stop that damn thing.
Do not do that to yourself.
You know what I keep
going back to?
I keep thinking about that
incident at the power plant.
I mean, you saw it, right?
It stopped for a reason.
Yeah.
Just, I just need
to figure out why.
Okay.
What do you need?
I need to look at all
the available data.
Wait, do we have access
to that footage here?
Yeah, I can get it.
Okay.
I also need to talk
to Dr. Devlin at NASA.
Okay, there's a phone
in the office. Come on.
There you go.
I'll be back.
[phone rings]
Devlin here.
Dr. Devlin, it's Dr. Morrow.
Has your agency detected
any other spheres in orbit?
No.
Well, anyone else?
ESA? Ruscosmos?
No, no one's reported anything.
Would you be able to backtrack
and give an estimate
on its point of origin?
Already on it.
We detected a faint
radiation trail
that we've been backtracking.
Well, where's it
leading back to?
Deep space.
Jeff, your, um...
Your fast radio burst theory.
Your Rubicon signal.
We said it was a
random burst of noise.
You said it was an
attempt at first contact.
Okay, it doesn't...
We have concluded the source
of the radiation trail
and the FRB have
the same point of origin.
Oh.
Hang on, Jeff, we may have
something for you.
No.
No?
No, what?
Dr. Morrow,
your FRB was a warning.
We found even more spheres.
And they're in our solar
system close to Jupiter.
Dr. Morrow we may have...
a doomsday situation
on our hands.
Ten spheres situated
around Jupiter.
Are you kidding me?
NASA tracked the origin
of the first sphere.
It's the same exact location of
Dr. Morrow's fast radio burst.
The Rubicon signal.
That he said was
extraterrestrial communication.
The origin point
led us to these.
Ten more spheres.
Ready to attack at
a moment's notice.
Jesus, we're struggling
with one.
Sir, we need to
alert our allies.
I'm very sorry, sir,
but there's more.
What am I looking at here?
In addition to the ten spheres,
Dr. Morrow and Dr. Devlin
believe that it's actually
a fleet.
Extraterrestrial ships ready
to finish the job.
Has this been verified?
It's the same exact location
as Dr. Morrow's FRB.
It doesn't make any sense.
Why would ET give us a roadmap
to where they're hiding?
Well, we don't think
that's what they did.
We think that the last planet
that they destroyed
was a warning to us.
A bit of a jump in logic there.
Possibly.
But NASA is retargeting the
Hubble and the James Webb,
so we will know soon enough.
This is an
extraterrestrial fleet.
It is the most
logical conclusion
given the available data, sir.
Now, is this fleet en route?
We don't know, but NASA
is checking as we speak.
If they start to advance...
We think that they're going
to send the 10 ships
near Jupiter first.
I mean, it could just
be more drones.
But I guess we
shouldn't rule out
something like a first
wave of alien soldiers.
Either way, Mr. President,
it would be prudent to
assume that
we are facing an
imminent hostile invasion.
Get me Captain Jaffe
and Dr. Morrow on the horn.
Come on.
Patch me through
to Captain Jaffe.
All right, let's go.
[phone rings]
This is Captain Jaffe.
Captain Jaffe, do you have
Dr. Morrow there with you?
Yes, sir.
It's the President.
Sir, may I put you
on speakerphone?
Please.
Dr. Morrow, are there any
further details
you can provide me
with regarding this fleet?
You seem to be the only one
who had any idea
that there was potentially
something out there
three months ago.
I see you talked
to Dr. Whitney.
Sir, after studying this sphere,
I am fully convinced
that it is a probe.
A probe?
Yeah, it's collecting
our data, sir.
Probing our defenses.
I kept asking myself why.
Why is it moving so slowly?
Like it wants us
to shoot at it.
Which we have been.
Just like we're
supposed to, sir.
Every time we attack it,
it just relays our defenses
to its main fleet.
The units we discovered
near Jupiter.
That's the real invading
force.
And they'll destroy us all.
Whether through
unmanned weaponry
or full-on alien soldiers.
We need to be prepared
for it all.
What is this based on?
It's empirical, sir.
But Dr. Devlin thinks it's
a possibility, too.
But that's it.
That's all I got.
Anyone else?
Mr. President, I concur
with Dr. Devlin
and Dr. Morrow.
JAFFE: I do, too, sir.
This is a basic
military strategy.
It's assembling its forces.
It's sending out its scouts
to verify
enemy position and strength.
It's going to soften up
its targets
and invade when the resistance
has been eliminated.
Where is this sphere now?
It's just outside
of Baltimore, sir.
Where it's been
systematically targeting
our electrical
power substations.
I have family in Baltimore.
All of Baltimore
has been evacuated.
Half the Eastern seaboard
is without power.
They've obviously
been studying us
and our power grid
in great detail.
How long before the sphere
is in DC?
We've extrapolated
this all based on its movement
since its arrival.
How did you figure
out the path?
All right.
I believe that it is slow
walking to the people's house,
which is the real seat
of power in this country,
and is going to be gathering
data all along the way.
As you said, Dr. Morrow.
Two hours and seven minutes
until it reaches
this exact location, sir.
And then?
That'll be the showdown.
Captain Jaffe, Dr. Morrow.
the CERN plan is a failure.
We need you here in
DC to formulate
a new plan of attack
if you are willing.
Yes, sir.
VARGAS: Marine 1 is en route
to pick you up over and out.
I know.
We have to be in DC ASAP.
My house might be in the direct
line of the sphere's path.
-I've got to get my kids.
-[busy signal]
You told them to pack up
the truck and be ready to go.
I'm sure they can
clear the area.
You heard those guys.
Half the Eastern seaboard
is without power.
All right. I'll send a detail
to secure your kids
on the way to DC.
Captain, I have to get my kids.
No. We need to
get to Washington.
I will send soldiers
to retrieve your family.
That's not good enough.
Those Army guys are out
there doing Army stuff.
I need to guarantee
my kids are safe.
Fine. I'll go.
You get into that chopper
to Washington right now.
And I'll get your kids,
I swear.
Thank you, Captain Jaffe.
It's Sean.
Thank you, Sean.
It's approaching
the outskirts of the city, sir.
All of DC has been evacuated.
All non-essential personnel have
been moved to a safer location.
Mr. President, we should
consider moving
to a secure location as well.
I agree, sir.
Dr. Morrow, Captain Jaffe
just checked in.
He's about to pick up your kids.
Thank you, sir.
I'm very grateful.
-You're welcome.
-Family first.
That's the motto I ran on.
That's why I voted for you, sir.
Dr. Devlin reports that
the fleet hasn't moved,
nor have the 10 spheres
near Jupiter.
So they're definitely waiting
for the sphere
to reach the capital.
Sir, joint special operations
have arranged for
experimental railguns
to be deployed
within five hours.
Five hours?
They're installed
on our destroyers.
That's how long it's going
to take to unmount them
and fly them to this location.
How long until the sphere
gets here?
An hour and 52 minutes, sir.
Is there any branch of
the military
that can deploy something?
No, sir.
Nothing that wouldn't hurt
us as much as it hurt them.
You've got to give me something.
Anything.
There's got to be something.
You are missing something,
General.
Give me 15 minutes, sir.
I believe I may have something.
[rotors approaching]
Leanne, something's coming.
It's the sphere.
We've got to go now.
It's not the sphere.
It's Dad!
Adam!
Dad! Dad!
Hang on.
Don't get too close.
-We've got to move.
-Where's Dad?
He's doing his job.
Mine is to keep you safe.
Move. Let's go.
Come on. Go!
Let's go, kids.
Come on. Move!
Wait.
We need to go back.
-We left our stuff.
-Strap in and hold on.
Adam, it doesn't matter.
We'll buy new stuff.
Should be a fun ride.
Now remember,
up until this point,
the sphere plowed through
a dozen buildings
without even blinking.
And then suddenly, it slows down
at a power station.
Why?
The electrical discharge
from the transformers.
Yes.
Why there?
Because of this.
Now it took me forever
to notice this,
but we may have found
a potential weakness.
Doc, what are we looking for?
So, frame two.
There's a blur
distortion here.
And then frame A, it's gone.
Now it's easy to miss,
but the fact is,
the sphere is sharp up
until here,
and then it goes soft
at this point,
right as it plows
through the buildings.
And this means what exactly?
It means it has a force field.
That's the attenuation
of light
through an intense
magnetic field.
Yes. And that's
the critical point.
Not only does it
have a force field,
it doesn't have it
on all the time.
Why not?
I can answer that.
It's a major power drain.
Precisely.
It's needs something
strong enough to shrug off
all the stuff you've
been throwing at it.
But that requires
massive amounts of energy.
So I've combed through
all the available video footage
I could find between every
interaction with the sphere.
Watch.
On, off.
On, off.
On, off.
Now it's subtle,
but it's unmistakably there.
The clear interaction
between photons
and an electromagnetic field
strong enough to pull
them off course.
But why didn't
we see this before?
We were too far away.
Frankly, too busy
evading explosions.
Well, we wouldn't have
caught it at all
if you and Captain Jaffe
hadn't risked your lives
to report the attack.
Footage those news helicopters
captured was instrumental.
Sir, I believe we might have
a possible turning point.
Explain, you gotta
explain that, Doctor.
Sir, every time we attack
this thing,
it turns on its force field.
Any time it wants
to bulldoze something,
it turns on its force field.
I think that maybe...
Maybe...
It's vulnerable when
its field is not on.
Well, what about New York when
you hit it with a laser pointer?
No, you already had all your
assault weapons on the field.
All I did was ring the bell up
for round one.
He's right.
That sphere engaged every piece
of ordnance we threw at it.
Took out our Blackhawks,
our F-35s,
our tanks, our mobile artillery.
And it kept moving
inland for more.
Everything that this thing
does is either a weapons test
or an assets crippler.
Our power grid infrastructure.
Correct.
All right, so how do we
use this knowledge?
Okay, we know the
unexpected surge
from the power plant
caught it by surprise.
And it stopped short
before it could turn
the field back on
and protect it.
So it's only active when
a threat is perceived?
Otherwise it conserves power.
So we need to isolate it
and throw something
it can't see and prepare for?
We might be able to
penetrate its defenses.
What can we throw at this
that we haven't already?
What about an EMF?
Yes.
Yes, our own
electromagnetic field.
I mention that because
the White House
has a lot of pulse generators
in its surrounding buildings
in case of unknown attacks.
Well, if we could use those,
we could possibly set up a trap.
Find an area where we
can bombard it with EMF pulses
and hopefully
we catch it by surprise.
Weaken its shielding
and disrupt it.
How do you get it
into the trap?
What's the bait?
That's the easy part, sir.
We know exactly where it's going
and how it's getting there.
Speaking of coming and going,
where are my kids?
Dr. Whitney, has the captain
checked in?
Yes. The captain has
brought your kids
to his parents' home
in Pennsylvania.
And then they're going to
head to Tobyhanna Army Depot.
Thank you.
Okay, commandeer
all resources necessary
to implement this plan,
Mr. Secretary.
Yes, sir.
What do we do once
the sphere has been stunned?
Blow it up.
No, nothing you've hit it
with affects it.
We don't know what will work.
We haven't thrown
everything at it yet.
Are you suggesting
we go nuclear on it?
No, absolutely not.
We need to isolate it and throw
everything we got left at it.
Cluster, combustible,
chemical, whatever.
How do you isolate
a floating ball?
I don't know, Dr. Morrow.
Why don't you tell me?
Enough.
We need ideas, okay?
In the meantime, let's just work
on getting this EMF in place.
The bunkers.
The underground bunkers
in the White House.
Are they...
Do we have access to those here?
It's not like that, Dr. Morrow.
Okay, but if we can find a
place along the sphere's path
that aligns with the
underground maze of bunkers,
then we can spring...
I'm not following
you, Doctor.
Okay.
Look, I know I'm not from here,
but I know there
are bunkers here.
Some place where the senators
and the president go to be safe.
Right?
Yes, there is.
Okay, we find a place
along the sphere's path,
then we open one up,
create a hole,
and then we bombard it
with the EMF blast.
It falls into this
concrete area,
and then you, General,
you just, you go at it.
You just hit it with everything
you got, all right?
Full court press, kitchen sink,
whole nine yards, everything,
everything you got,
but no nukes.
That's your plan, huh?
Yeah.
All right, let's
make this happen.
Really?
Hey, good, bad,
it's the only plan
I'm hearing in this room
right now.
You're right, Mr. President.
We'll survey the area for
the best site right away.
Good. You have only
about 80 minutes.
Get the demolition team ready.
About three would do it.
Four to be sure.
Once it's in,
we isolate it,
then we throw everything
we got at it.
Dr. Morrow?
That simultaneous
attack combined
with the EMF bombardment?
Even in its battle mode,
we might stand a chance.
But we'll only have seconds,
if that much before it
turns back on its defenses.
We should move to the
fallout shelter
beneath the Capitol building.
We'll be much safer there.
Agreed.
Let's go, everyone, now.
Good job, Dr. Morrow.
Come on, move it, soldier.
It's right at Lafayette Square,
it's the perfect place.
It's so damn close
to the White House.
It's in direct path, so we're
going to have plenty of room.
All right, look,
no one is going to miss
Andrew Jackson's statues,
so go ahead, blow that up.
Our EMF generators
will be deployed
here, here, here, and here.
Now, the sphere is going
to destroy the White House.
We're going to weaken the sphere
with the EMF pulse blast
and then blow a crater open,
drop the sphere
into the hole, and then what?
A squadron of F-15s from
Langley and Seymore Johnson
will target the sphere with
side-winder missiles.
But the sphere has been
turned to ballistic missiles
back on themselves.
Yes, sir. It's why we're
using multiple waves, sir.
The hope is that the sphere will
be weakened by the EMF field.
Our fighters will be able
to launch their missiles
then retreat to a safe distance.
Attention!
Yes, sir.
As you were.
So four squadrons consisting
of five F-15s each
will attack, then circle
back for a second pass?
There will be a continuous
barrage of bullets and shells,
as well, from our ground forces.
So the combined barrage with
the EMF pulse blasts
will weaken it and hopefully
burn out the force field?
That's our hope, sir.
Projected casualties, General?
For our ground troops,
80 percent, sir.
Oh, God.
Yes.
This is our last stand, sir.
Every man and woman on that line
understands what will
happen here today.
And they all
showed up for duty.
Well, let's make
sure that this day
is a day we can all be proud of,
no matter the outcome.
Yes, sir.
History will judge.
Now, we ignored the Rubicon's
signal when it first appears.
But we will not ignore it now.
Now, where is the sphere and
how soon can we be ready to go?
It's in direct route
for the capital, sir.
It's one click out.
And it doesn't know
that we are here.
I hope not.
Another question I have
is, why us?
Well, why D.C.?
Well, why doesn't it attack New
York or Los Angeles,
London, Tokyo, Sao Paulo?
Why doesn't it attack
the major population centers?
It's testing us.
It knows that if it can
take us down in D.C.,
then it can take the
whole world down with it.
Doctor, are you not
sure about all this?
No, sir.
Not entirely.
But there has to be a reason
why they haven't unleashed
their full army yet.
Dr. Morrow might be on
to something, Mr. President.
They could be trying
to eliminate
their biggest threat to
assert their dominance.
Sir, the EMFs are in position.
Thank you.
It's time.
Here we go.
All teams ready.
Standing by, sir.
The field is yours, General.
Demolition team,
confirm target coordinates.
T minus 35 seconds.
-35 seconds.
-35 seconds. Copy that.
Sky team, land team on one.
10, 9,
8, 7, 6,
5, 4, 3,
2, 1.
Engage.
Fire in the hole.
It's rippling.
It's analyzing the attack.
Keep it off balance.
Keep hitting it.
Increase the EMF pulses.
Just keep it overwhelmed.
Get it in the hole, Morales.
It missed.
That means it's working, right?
It missed.
It's in the hole.
Blow that damn thing up!
Captain, status report.
Captain, do you copy?
We lost visuals.
There's too much smoke.
Did we get it?
Spotter, target status.
Negative, sir,
no visual.
Sanders, updates.
Ordinance confirmed
and deployed.
Did we get it?
Can't tell.
Is there a spectral graph?
Anything?
It's too much damn smoke.
Screw it. Hit it again.
All units, resume attack.
Fire at will.
Blackhawks, EMFs on.
Converge on sphere.
All teams, danger close.
Exercise extreme caution.
[gunfire]
Anything?
Nothing yet, sir.
[alarm sounds]
Com line 32 down.
43 down.
Captain, hello.
113, 264 down.
Captain, status report.
What was that?
Status report, Captain.
Did it work?
Does that mean we won?
We don't know.
You saw how it destroyed
everything around it.
That was the final death throes
of a once formidable enemy.
The brave men and women who
sacrificed their lives
to see it finally destroyed
will not soon be forgotten.
On this day, that
would be written
as a new chapter in
American history.
One where Americans
showed what they do best.
We do not bow to those
who wish to see us destroyed.
[phone rings]
You're goddamn right, sir.
Mr. President, our contact
in Moscow
says they're getting
some odd readings.
[phone vibrates]
-Mr. President.
-Yes.
I got a message from the
strategic air defense, Norad.
10?
10 spheres just dropped
into our atmosphere?
This is far from over.
It's just begun.
How did they get here so fast?
Weren't they at Jupiter?
It doesn't matter.
They're here already.
That's what that red flash was.
They were summoning backup.
A beacon.
What did we do now?
We could barely handle one.
All right, Ashe, you got to
get down the horn
and alert all the world leaders
that at least the EMF
will potentially
stun the sphere.
Yes, sir. I'll have my people
call right away.
We have a few more options
on the table, sir.
All right, let's explore
the least extreme first.
We'll have time for
the others later.
Sir, we start lobbing
nukes at this thing,
the entire planet
will be uninhabitable.
We're not lobbing
nukes anywhere, okay?
We're not lobbing nukes.
Relaying our EMF strategy every
military force is a good start.
There's not enough
EMFs on the planet.
Sir, another sphere
is headed this way.
Sir, we should evacuate
while there's still time.
No. No, there's no way to run.
There's no time.
I wouldn't leave anyway.
But you should all leave now.
Not a chance, sir.
We have a chance to stop it
while we're here, sir.
For the sake of
the entire planet, I'm...
I'm staying, too.
Okay.
What do we do now?
Well, about six years ago
in the previous administration,
we approved an orbital satellite
carrying munitions to ISS.
Are you telling me we have
a weapons platform in orbit?
That's a violation of
every International Space Treaty
and agreement, Ashe.
Understood.
But we had reason to
suspect the Russians
were already doing this.
What kind of weapons
are we talking about?
Missiles?
Nukes? EMFs?
-Lasers.
-Not EMFs.
No.
But lasers can be used
to generate
electromagnetic radiation within
a specific wavelength frequency.
We might get lucky.
Okay.
So where are they?
On the International
Space Station?
No, sir.
We never got that far.
They're circling the Earth,
waiting to be docked.
Or launched? We're going to
talk about this later, Ashe.
Can you communicate with
these satellites?
I need to make a few calls.
I'm going to call my kids.
Moscow, Paris, and London.
They've just reported
the sphere's made landfall.
They've initiated combat, sir.
God...
God help us.
There's no tentative
probing anymore.
Any engagement is final.
Doctor, what's the ETA in
the sphere targeting all DC?
Honestly, any moment.
Unless they're targeting
higher population centers
like Los Angeles or New York.
Listen to me.
We are Earth's last hope.
We don't get those
satellites online,
it is over, people.
Yes, sir.
We call it in our last fighters.
We're setting up a perimeter
of tanks and mobile utilities.
What about the EMF units?
We're not sure if they'll
still be effective.
We have no way to coordinate
with the EMFs once they arrive.
Skywatch, to Talon. Over.
Sean?
Get him up on comms.
Skywatch, Talon here.
What's your 20?
Ready to land, Talon.
I got a job for you, son.
I thought I missed the party.
Looks like I'm right on time.
Sean, it's so good
to hear your voice.
My kids?
On the outskirts of
Pittsburgh right now.
With my parents.
Probably eating some cookies.
Thank you.
We take care of our own, Doc.
General, how can
I be of service?
Stand by, Captain.
Copy that, sir.
We're going to zap it
first with the EMFs.
Then all batteries,
fire on incoming bogies,
all interceptors,
fire on incoming bogies.
Take this out of my sky.
We just knocked it off course,
that's all.
It just bought us some time.
[phone rings]
Devlin here.
We've initiated contact
with the orbital platform
and are attempting to activate
the laser targeting systems.
Are we ready?
We believe all
satellite targeting systems
have been
successfully activated.
What do you mean,
believe?
They've never been tested, sir.
Some diagnostics did not
respond fully.
How many?
All of them think they're on.
They just never fully
passed a weapons check.
What does that even mean?
If it fails,
we'd be alerting the enemy.
Now, are we a go, sir?
The timing on this
is very critical.
Every affected country has
to know exactly
when to blast the sphere and
we will zap them then.
Are these satellites in
the correct orbital positions
to target the spheres?
The satellites are in
a geostationary orbit
and their weapons are aimed
at the same capital cities
that the spheres
chose to target.
We've given every
military commander
all the info we've learned.
I hope it's sufficient.
Sir, the sphere is active.
We're not ready yet.
We need to fire
the lasers now, sir.
No, you can't defeat the
spheres with normal weapons.
We need those lasers.
We need the EMFs.
Have you alerted
all the leaders?
Russian and Italy
are the last ones.
Wait.
I've got Italy's coordinates.
Still waiting on Russia.
Sir!
Sir, the sphere is three minutes
away and closing fast.
Hold.
Give me the President of
Russia on the phone.
Give me Captain Jaffe on
the line.
-Line four.
-Captain Jaffe.
What do you need, Doc?
Do you still have those portable
EMFs from your last skirmish?
We have three Blackhawks in
the vicinity with the EMFs.
Great.
Use them to stall the sphere.
We just need a little more time.
You hear that, Captain?
Loud and clear.
You stall them,
but you do not engage.
Copy that.
Man, this thing just
won't give up.
EMFs are engaged.
Is it slowing down?
Target locked.
Missile away.
-Contact.
-Result?
Shaken, but not stirred.
The sphere is still
headed in this direction.
How many more
missiles do you got?
One more.
I'm going to close for this one.
Sean, remember,
no less than 200 feet.
No can do, Doc.
I'm taking this one
right into its heart.
Take care of your family, Doc.
Got some great kids there.
Charge and ready to deploy, sir.
Missile locked.
Fire the jam laser.
Missile away.
[alarm sounding]
-Fire!
-Fire!
[rumbling]
Attack it with everything
we've got left!
Fire!
It's getting closer.
Oh, this will work.
It has to.
I hope you're right, doctor.
[rumbling]
This whole place is coming down.
Out, out, everyone out.
Get the president
out of here, now.
Everyone, let's go!
Everybody out, let's go!
Move, move, move!
Let's go.
Let's go, now.
Doctor, now, let's go!
[screams]
Hey, I think we found someone!
Over here, hurry!
I can't believe you
two got here so fast.
We were right by
an air base, Dad.
It was easy to hitch a ride.
Especially since everyone
wanted to make sure
we got here before you woke up.
It was all over the news.
There were aliens
inside the ship.
Wait, those weren't drones?
No, at least the ones
near Jupiter weren't.
But the news said that it
was likely
the first wave of
alien soldiers.
But the ships have
all been destroyed,
and everything
inside of them.
The president said you did that?
You blew them all up?
No, we did that.
Our team.
Well, you guys kicked ass.
What about Captain Jaffe?
He, uh...
He kicked the most ass
out of any of us.
This way, sir. He's just
through these curtains.
I'll tell you about it later.
Hello, uh, president
and, uh, doctor.
Are we supposed to salute?
Is everyone...
Everyone made it
out of the bunker.
Everything is fine, son.
We wanted to show you this.
What's this?
That is your Rubicon signal.
You were right all along.
You were also right
it didn't matter that
there were aliens inside.
But as soon as they realized
that we could break their toys,
they left the playground
and went straight home.
Let's go.
I'm just sorry it took me
so long to figure out
how to beat them, sir.
But you did it.
And I want you on
my staff, Dr. Morrow.
Well, that's...
it's very
flattering, sir, but, um...
I actually wanted to
stay out of politics.
Well, maybe part-time
consultant.
You think about it.
The country needs you.
Okay.
Thank you, sir.
I'll...
I'll think about it.
Whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
-Sean!
-Captain Jaffe?
You're alive?
Yeah.
You're kidding me, right?
POTUS, president of
the United States,
offers you a full-time position
and you'll think about it?
What's there to think about?
Well, I didn't say no, sir.
I...
It's a big decision.
Come on, man.
So, you must be the young man
who first spotted the UAP.
On behalf of a grateful
country, I want to thank you.
Thank you, Mr. President.
You know, I could do a lot
more if I had a job at NASA.
Sir.
Well, the word intern
comes to mind.
Paid, of course.
What about you, young lady?
Oh, um, I've had enough
space drama
to last me a lifetime, so...
I understand.
Um, however, Earth and
environmental studies...
Oh, my area of interest.
I am in need of an assistant.
Oh, a job offer?
Mm-hmm.
Then I accept.
Well, looks like we're going
to be in D.C. for a while.
Yes, we are.