The world didn't sleep that night.
Within hours of Elara's broadcast, every major government on Earth had entered emergency mode. Military bases were locked down. Satellites shifted their orbits. Global communication networks overflowed with breaking news alerts.
Inside the Olympus chamber, the system tracked everything.
Adrian stood near the main console, watching a wall of live feeds from across the planet.
"Well," he muttered, "I think humanity finally believes us."
On one screen, the United Nations headquarters in New York was surrounded by military vehicles.
On another, fighter jets roared across the sky above Washington.
Across Europe, emergency meetings were being held in underground command centers.
Asia's space agencies had already begun preparing launch facilities.
Everywhere the same word was spreading.
Invasion.
Elara stood silently in the center of the chamber.
Her mind was half inside Olympus now.
The system's networks flowed through her thoughts like rivers of light.
Billions of data points.
Global communication signals.
Military command transmissions.
She could see the world reacting in real time.
"Olympus," she said quietly.
The system answered immediately.
GLOBAL RESPONSE STATUS
A massive map of Earth appeared.
Red lights marked areas of panic.
Yellow lights showed regions mobilizing military resources.
Green lights indicated governments cooperating with the Olympus defense program.
Adrian glanced at the map.
"Looks like the planet is split between panic and preparation."
Elara nodded.
"That's normal."
He smirked.
"You say that like alien invasions happen every week."
Before she could answer—
A new alert flashed across the screens.
GLOBAL EMERGENCY SUMMIT — CONNECTION REQUEST
Adrian sighed.
"Round two with the world leaders."
Elara opened the connection.
This time the meeting looked different.
Instead of dozens of voices talking at once, the council chamber was organized.
Military officials.
Scientists.
Political leaders.
All seated together in one massive conference hall.
Secretary-General Kovac stood at the center.
"Miss Vance," he said.
"Elara is fine," she replied.
He nodded.
"Elara."
His tone was serious.
"After reviewing Olympus data and confirming the satellite scans… the United Nations has reached a decision."
Adrian leaned forward slightly.
"Oh, this should be interesting."
Kovac continued.
"For the first time in history… all member nations have agreed to establish a unified planetary defense initiative."
Adrian blinked.
"Wait."
He looked at Elara.
"Did humanity just agree on something?"
She almost smiled.
Kovac went on.
"We are calling it the Earth Defense Coalition."
The name appeared across the screens.
EDC.
"Military resources from every nation will be placed under a shared command structure," Kovac explained.
Adrian whispered,
"Well I'll be damned."
The Secretary-General turned toward Elara again.
"And Olympus will act as the coalition's central coordination system."
Adrian looked impressed.
"Congratulations."
He nudged her slightly.
"You're officially running Earth's defense."
Elara ignored the comment.
"Where are we starting?"
Kovac gestured toward the scientists beside him.
One of them stepped forward.
Dr. Meera Khanna.
Head of orbital engineering for the Indian Space Agency.
"We've reviewed the blueprints Olympus provided for the orbital rail cannon," she said.
"And?"
"It's possible."
Adrian raised an eyebrow.
"That's the best news I've heard all day."
Dr. Khanna nodded.
"But the construction requirements are enormous."
She displayed the materials list.
Titanium alloys.
Superconductors.
Rare earth metals.
Energy reactors.
Adrian whistled softly.
"That's basically the entire industrial output of the planet."
"Yes."
Kovac added,
"That's why we're redirecting global manufacturing toward the project."
The screens showed factories around the world.
Automobile plants.
Shipyards.
Aerospace facilities.
All preparing to switch production.
Humanity was beginning to mobilize like it had during world wars.
But this time—
The battlefield was space.
Elara asked the question that mattered most.
"How long before construction begins?"
Dr. Khanna replied instantly.
"Thirty-six hours."
Adrian laughed.
"Humanity moves fast when extinction is involved."
Another scientist stepped forward.
"We've also begun planning additional defense layers."
New blueprints appeared.
Orbital missile platforms.
Satellite laser arrays.
Planetary sensor grids.
Adrian studied them.
"That's a full defense network."
"Yes," the scientist said.
"But even with Olympus guiding us… time is still our biggest problem."
Elara looked at the countdown again.
Nine months.
Adrian crossed his arms.
"So what happens when the alien fleet arrives?"
Kovac answered quietly.
"Then we fight."
The meeting continued for hours.
Plans were drawn.
Resources allocated.
Launch schedules established.
For the first time in history—
The entire planet was working together.
Finally, the connection ended.
The Olympus chamber fell silent again.
Adrian stretched his arms.
"Well."
He looked at the glowing core.
"Humanity officially joined the war."
Elara nodded slowly.
"Yes."
But Olympus suddenly displayed a new alert.
DEEP SPACE ACTIVITY DETECTED
Adrian frowned.
"That can't be good."
The alien ship appeared again on the holographic map.
But something had changed.
Multiple smaller objects were separating from the carrier.
Elara zoomed in.
Her eyes widened slightly.
"Scout ships."
Adrian's expression darkened.
"How many?"
Olympus counted them.
DEPLOYED UNITS: 12
Adrian stared at the screen.
"They're sending advance scouts already."
"Yes."
"But the carrier is still nine months away."
Elara watched the trajectory lines forming.
The scout ships were moving much faster.
Adrian's voice dropped.
"How long until those reach Earth?"
Olympus calculated.
The answer appeared on the screen.
ARRIVAL: 17 DAYS
Adrian cursed under his breath.
"Seventeen days?!"
Elara's mind raced.
Those scouts weren't invasion forces.
They were reconnaissance units.
Which meant the aliens wanted to study Earth before the fleet arrived.
Adrian leaned against the console again.
"So humanity has about two weeks before the first alien ships show up."
"Yes."
"And our orbital defenses aren't even started yet."
Elara stared at the approaching scouts.
"They're testing us."
Adrian sighed.
"Of course they are."
The Olympus core pulsed brighter again.
Because the war had just accelerated.
Humanity thought it had nine months to prepare.
But now…
The first battle was only seventeen days away.