Jennifer was 17, and had had a passion for astronomy since she was 7. It had been her birthday a few days ago, and it was only now that she could use her new telescope due to the cloudiness of the sky. A cloudless night in the London suburb of Kingsmark was quite rare. Her neighbour, Jack Lloyd, was with her. Jack was 43, single, and also into astronomy as well. The two were good friends and would often stay up watching the stars.

Jennifer set it up and looked through it with awe. It was amazing. She turned it towards the planet Venus.

"Amazing," she muttered, and quickly got out her sketchpad. She made a sketch of the planet, and then noticed something near that region of space. It appeared to be close to Venus, but Jennifer knew it could be a long distance away from the planet in real life. She got out her charts and checked them. No, this was a completely new object.

"Take a look at this," she said to Jack. He looked through the telescope.

"Do you know what it is?"

"No, I've never seen it before."

"In that case, Jen, I think you've discovered a new asteroid or something like that."

Jennifer had told her parents of her discovery, and a few days later it was confirmed. Jennifer Smith, aged 17, and Jack Lloyd, aged 43, had discovered a new asteroid, about 550km in diameter. They decided to call it Verplaca, after the Roman God of family harmony. The astronomers worked out the asteroid's orbit. It would pass by Earth on its way around the Sun by a few hundred thousand miles, nothing to worry about as this would mean it would completely miss the Earth. The date of this pass-by - July 2nd.

Jennifer packed her bags for college, smiling to herself. Tonight was the night that Verplaca would be passing by.

As she left her front garden, she saw Jack Lloyd coming out of his house.

"Jennifer, you need to see this!"

"What?"

"Our asteroid. Its orbit has changed from the predicted one. Come and see."

Jack had a computer, and together he and Jennifer had worked out the predicted orbit of the asteroid. The computer now showed where the asteroid was, as opposed to where it should be.

"That's odd," muttered Jennifer. "It's moving towards the Moon."

"This is how it was 10 minutes ago," Jack told her.

"I hope it misses us," said Jennifer. "We don't want it to hit the Earth or something."

"I'm sure it's just the gravitational pull of the Moon," said Jack. "Maybe the asteroid will become a satellite to our satellite," he chuckled. "Anyway, you'd better get to college. We don't want you in detention tonight."

Whilst Jennifer and her friends attended college in Kingsmark, on the outer edge of London, in the centre Prime Minister John Flynn was looking at holiday brochures.

Parliament was on its summer recess until September, and John needed a holiday. There had been scandal in the party due to the Transport Secretary being caught having an affair with the Foreign Secretary's wife. John just wanted to get away from MPs, Parliament, scandal and sleaze.

Aged 52, John Flynn was satisfied with his life. His youngest child Lisa had just left home at 19 and number 10, Downing Street felt a little bit empty for John and his wife Margaret. They were due to visit Washington at the end of the month for a meeting with US President Tom Whitmore, a close friend of John's.

The telephone rang. John didn't bother answering it, though he hoped it wouldn't wake up his wife. The secretaries would answer it.

A few minutes later the secretary, Tina, knocked on the door.

"Come in," John called.

She did. "it's the Ministry of Defence. Something's come up."

"What? Are we under attack?"

"They wouldn't say." She handed him the phone.

"Flynn here.....SETI huh?.....they what?.....I see."

After the call had finished, Tina turned to the Prime Minister. "What was that about?"

"SETI in New Mexico have discovered an alien signal. However it seems to be coming from the Moon....."

Classes for Jennifer finished at half past two today, after which she could go home. She planned to help her friend Michelle Stanton prepare for a party being held that night. Jennifer had been invited but had declined, as tonight was the "big night." Stacy, the host, had laughed good naturally and had asked Jennifer to stay the night next week instead, to which she had agreed.

"I'll have to check my stars first though," she had joked.

Now she was in her English class, but for once not paying much attention. She was thinking about this strange change in orbit for her asteroid. What could have caused it? Maybe she and Jack had worked things out wrong and the asteroid was "correcting" them, so to speak. The mystery continued through the lesson, and on the short bus ride home as well.

"Darling, come on! We have to collect your sister from school." Elsie Shrapnel was trying to get her son Simon, aged 4, to get ready. They were going to pick up Joanna, aged 6, from her school. When Elsie finally got Simon in the car, she turned on the radio.

"...you're listening to BBC Radio 2, coming up next.....show. He'll be interviewing Michael.....live!"

The radio was skipping words. Elsie tried retuning it, but to no avail.

"We apologise for any disturbance, we're working on it.....we can," the radio announcer told her listeners. Elsie decided to just turn it off as she drove to the school.

The Prime Minister had called an emergency meeting of Parliament, and during the meeting news had arrived that the object was not going to "pass by" as the Chancellor Harry Hewlett had hoped.

News of the object had not been made public yet, although Jodrell Bank had now also picked it up, and that was why John had called this meeting, to discuss this. The Chancellor was speaking.

"Now it may just pass us by," he was saying. "For all we know it could be en route to the Sun or something."

"But if that's the case," an MP questioned, "why is it parking behind the Moon?"

Harry didn't know what to say to that. He started to mumble something when George Glover, the Secretary of Defence entered.

"We have news on this object," he told the Prime Minister. "Officials both here and in the USA have confirmed it. The object has broken up."

"Broken up, completely?"

"Not quite. 36 bits of it have broken off, and are approaching Earth. Each bit is small compared to the mother segment, however each bit is also 15 miles in diameter."

The House fell silent at the news.

Satellite News was experiencing some technical problems. For some reason, the picture on the award winning 24 hour news station was distorted. Technicians were working to solve the problem but to no avail. The station manager thought it was typical. The station had recently moved out of London into a new studio in Reading, Berkshire, and already there were problems.

It was 5.50pm. In 10 minutes it would be time for the 6 o'clock news. Roz Laleston, the anchorwoman, was due to start her "shift" with this broadcast.

"What stories do we have Dave?" she asked her assistant, Dave McCauley. She didn't know it, but Dave had a massive crush on her and would do anything for her. However he didn't have the courage to tell her.

"Oh, just some story about the Transport Secretary again. He's boring me now. All we talk about on the news is him."

"He does make some good news," Roz said as a technician walked past. She stopped him. "Is the picture any better yet?"

"Not yet," he replied. "It was a bit better a minute ago but has now got worse. Sound's OK though. It's odd, the radio's acting like this too."

As Roz walked off to use the toilet before she went on, the technician turned to Dave.

"Have you told her yet?"

"No," sighed Dave. "Every time I try I freeze up and talk about something else."

"Hang in there man," the technician said as he walked off. "You'll manage some day."

"Mummy, can I have a biscuit?" Simon Shrapnel asked his mother. Elsie obliged. "Here you go," she said, handing a biscuit to him.

"Thank you Mummy," Simon said as he ran into the garden with his sister Joanna. Elsie smiled at her kids and went to the refrigerator. Opening it up, she saw a slice of chocolate cake.

"Darling, it's your sister," Les Shrapnel called. Closing the fridge, Elsie took the telephone off her husband and spoke to her sister, who lived in Australia.

The sisters spoke for about 20 minutes before Elsie's sister screamed.

"What is it?" Elsie asked.

"There's something out the window!" her sister screamed down the phone. "In the sky! Fire!"

Jack was still monitoring his computer, but felt hungry. He hadn't had dinner, and it was about half past 6. He flicked on the TV as he entered the kitchen to make a sandwich. Jennifer would be over soon - she was at her friend's house until 7.30 - and he wanted to eat before she came.

When he came back in he sat down on the sofa and turned onto Satellite News. He wouldn't admit it of course but he had a bit of a crush on the anchorwoman. The first thing he noticed wasn't the story - the ex-Transport Secretary had been divorced by his wife for cheating on her with the Foreign Secretary's wife - but that the picture was distorted.

"We'll keep you updated on that," Roz Laleston announced, "and once again we apologise for the picture quality. The course of this is due to satellite problems, and we are working as fast as possible to solve it. We're going to take a break now, and we'll be back with the sports headlines."

This was what Jack had wanted. He sat patiently, eating his sandwich, as the adverts played. Suddenly Roz came back on.

"We interrupt your regular broadcast to being you this special news bulletin."

Jack watched as the news showed a giant fireball over Novomoskovsk. "Estimates suggest this thing is about 12-13 miles in diameter, and is believed to be heading in the direction of Moscow....."

In the Satellite News Centre, Roz continued with her broadcast. "The Russian Government is urging people not to panic."

Dave ran up to her and whispered something in her ears.

"Oh, shit," she muttered, before remembering she was on live TV. "This just in. A further phenomenon has been detected over the North Sea..."

Prime Minister John Flynn guessed the phenomenon, a giant fireball moving through the sky, had something to do with the object in space. Tina had burst in to tell the House about the reports on Satellite News, and everyone had turned onto the channel.

Astronomer Royal Charles Kechner entered the House of Commons. "We've just had confirmation from the MOD. One of the objects is definitely over the North Sea, and we think it is heading towards London. ETA about 20 minutes."

The MPs gasped and all began talking at once. John Flynn tried to gain calm, but when that failed he banged his fist angrily on the table.

"Please people, we need to quieten down and discuss this," he appealed.

"What's there to discuss?" an MP asked. "It's big and it's heading this way! Evacuate, that's what I say."

John turned to the Chancellor. The two were good friends and often advised each other on things. "What do you think, Harry?"

"I think that we should try and stay calm," Harry answered. "After all, this object may not be heading for London."

In another part of London, sisters Heather and Harriet Clark were leaving a restaurant. The two shared a flat nearby and Heather, 26, had taken Harriet, 24, out to dinner to take her mind off being dumped by her boyfriend.

They were in a taxi with their driver, Boynton Casey, who always called himself by his last name as he hated his first name. Casey drove them towards their flat.

"Feel better?" Heather asked.

"Yep," Harriet replied, a small smile developing. "He was a jerk. I would rather aliens destroy the Earth than go out with him again!" she chuckled.

Jennifer and her friend Michelle were in Michelle's bedroom. Jennifer was trying to help Michelle into a dress that was much too small for her. Michelle wanted to impress a boy, Jamie Castle, whom she had a crush on and Jennifer knew this.

"Hey girls, you heard the news?" Michelle's mother peered into the room.

"What?"

"Big news, it's on the TV!"

Jennifer and Michelle followed Mrs Stanton to another room, where about her husband was huddled around the TV. Roz Laleston was reading the latest update.

".....astronomers have no explanation for the sighting. It is moving too slowly to be a comet or meteor, theories are going around that this might be the debris from an asteroid....."

Jennifer froze at the word "asteroid". Could Verplaca be responsible for this? She didn't have time to think, as the house - and indeed all of London - began to rumble.

The MPs felt queasy as the House of Commons began shaking. Pens and mugs fell off tables, and everyone held onto their seats. It felt like a small earthquake.

"What the hell....?" wondered John Flynn, picking himself up and running out of the House with the Chancellor and a few other MPs behind him. What they saw took their breath away.

It was the phenomena, exactly the same as the one they'd seen on Satellite News. It was appearing over London, causing a giant shadow over the city. John and the MPs watched as St Paul's Cathedral was darkened, as Buckingham Palace was, as the Houses of Parliament were.

"Good God," John muttered.

Jennifer froze as Roz described what was occurring over London. A second later Kingsmark fell into darkness.

She ran outside to see the phenomenon cover Kingsmark.

"It's huge," she whispered. And it was. The thing covered all of London. It was just after 6.45 in the evening, but it felt like 10.30 at night.

"This must be due to the asteroid," she thought.

Elsie Shrapnel had by now hung up the phone after her sister had described the thing in the sky and had called her children indoors. Her husband was watching the BBC's coverage of the phenomenon over the Atlantic that seemed to be heading for Madrid. It then switched back to the one over the North Sea. When their house fell into darkness, the children screamed. As Elsie comforted her children, Les Shrapnel ran outside to look.

"Oh my God..."

The people of London stood in silence watching the object. People in their cars pulled to a halt and got outside to watch it approach. Casey stopped his taxi too, and he and Harriet Clark got outside. Heather stayed inside and watched through the window. The M25, normally very busy, was stationary as everyone there stopped their cars too.

Then the fiery cloud faded away to reveal their dark interior. Alien spaceships. The ship took its place over London, with its centre directly over the Houses of Parliament. The ship stopped moving forward and instead began spinning around this centre point.

Down in the city, people began screaming as they took to the streets. Casey and Harriet got back into the taxi and he drove off towards their flat. The same thought was going through all three of their heads - we need to get out of here!

A similar scene was occurring worldwide, where the giant ships were. Nearly all of them were centred around centres of government, such as the White House in Washington, but some around very tall buildings such as Los Angeles' old First Interstate Tower.

The PM turned to the Chancellor.

"I think we'd better address the nation," he muttered.

Whilst his announcement was being written, John called US President Tom Whitmore.

"...so what's your official position Tom?" The two had no problems addressing each other by their first names.

"I'm staying in the White House," Tom Whitmore replied. "I will however be evacuating the Vice President, the Joint Chiefs and the Cabinet to a secure location. I'd advise you to do the same."

"Way ahead of you, Tom," John grinned. "As we speak the MoD are arranging transport of the Royal Family and Parliament. In fact," he checked his watch, "....they should be touching down at Buckingham Palace right about now."

At his house, Jack had watched the events of the day and had made the connection that the "asteroid" was really the alien mothership. He turned on the TV to watch the Royal Family stepping into heavily armed helicopters. The reporter was at Buckingham Palace.

"The Royal Family are being escorted away to a secure and secret location," the newscaster said. On the TV, the Queen waved to the small crowd that had developed around the Palace before getting in. The helicopters took off to the secret location. "Where they are going has not been revealed, but it has been said the government are also being evacuated there. Back to the studio."

Roz took over on the screen. "Thank you. We now cut to Jerusalem where another ship is hovering..."

Jack looked out of his window. The people of Kingsmark were also leaving, such as Mrs Jones across the street was putting her possessions into her car and leaving. He decided to do the same.

"When I named the asteroid," he muttered as he packed, "I named it after the Roman God of family harmony. I hope to God these things don't prove to be the opposite."

John Flynn and Tom Whitmore were continuing their conversation.

"I'm going to try and get as many people out of London as possible," John told his friend.

"Really?"

"Yes, I don't know if these things are hostile or not, but I'm not taking any chances. Some of the military are on their way in to help with the evacuation."

"My military are trying to contact them," Tom Whitmore replied. "People are leaving the cities though, it's amazing, their lives are in danger but still they're following all the road rules, such as staying on their own side of the freeway.....oh, sorry, got to go, Connie's just finished my speech. Bye for now."

As John hung up, his wife entered the room. "John, I've just called the children. Ben and James are making their way to your brother's." Ben and James were the couple's 22 year-old twin sons. Their uncle lived in the country where John hoped they would be safe. "And Lisa's on her way over." Daughter Lisa lived nearby.

"Good," John said, relieved his family were OK. "Let's wait for her and make sure we've got as many people out of London as we can."

"Mr Flynn, your broadcast is ready," Tina announced.

Jennifer said her goodbyes to the Stantons and ran home as fast as she could. When she got there, she saw her parents, Andy and Lois Smith, packing their car. The caravan was behind it and her parents were putting things into it. Jennifer was amazed at her mum. Lois was due to give birth very soon, yet here she was lifting boxes into the car.

Jennifer had been an only child for all her life, and when her mum and dad had told her she wouldn't be for much longer, she had been disgusted. A 17-year age gap? Jennifer was convinced it wouldn't work. Plus the thought of her parents doing it - even though she knew all couples did it, it still disgusted her slightly. Jennifer took a box off her mum and put it into the caravan.

"Mum, Dad, where are we going?"

"To your Grandma's in Bedford," Andy replied. "You've got 10 minutes to pack, I want to beat the traffic."

"Right!" called Jennifer as she went to her room. She flung open her wardrobe and threw as many of her clothes as she could into her suitcase. She also put as many on her as she could, in order to take more things. She then turned to her telescope. Quickly, she took the thing apart and put it back into its box. Then finally she picked up her personal possessions, a few photos, the diamond necklace her grandad had given her before he died, the cage housing her hamster Hammy, a few teddy bears and her favourite books. Her make up etc was left behind. She didn't think she'd need it.

Jennifer ran downstairs with her suitcase and telescope and put them in the back of the car. Looking next door, she saw Jack doing the same with his stuff. He saw Jennifer.

"Jen, give me a hand please," he called.

Jennifer ran into his house. The TV had pictures of ships above Los Angeles, Sao Paulo and Beijing. She helped him carry his stuff into his car.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"I don't know," he replied, "just away from the city."

"Follow us to Bedford," she told him.

"Jennifer!" Andy called. She got into her car, with the caravan attached, and the Smiths pulled away, set for Bedford. A few seconds later, Jack Lloyd started his car and followed them.

Helicopters were transporting MPs and other important Government people away from London. After consulting the MOD, John had decided to arrange for the Government members and their families to be taken to RAF Hill Cross, an RAF base a few miles from Bedford built in the 1960's. From the outside, the base was just a normal RAF base, but unknown to anyone except the Prime Minister, the MOD, MI5, MI6 and certain others, it was also a secret base, where the Government would be able to operate fully. John felt it was the best place to stay safe and still be able to run the Government should the worst happen. It was commonly known as the "British Area 51" by those who knew of its existence. The Royal Family and top military aides were there waiting.

John had decided he would be the last person to leave, and Chancellor Harry Hewlett had decided to stay with his friend. Defence Secretary George Glover had also stayed, as had Margaret and Lisa Flynn who had by now joined her family. Tina was also still there, writing another speech for John. He had told her go, but she'd refused, saying she'd go if he went.

John was once again addressing the nation. In their flat, Heather and Harriet Clark were watching him as they packed.

".....and I stress again how important it is that anyone leaving London remains calm and obeys the military. It is essential that we remain focused and steady at all times. In other cities not affected by this ship, the best thing to do would be to stay in your homes. No further ships have been spotted entering our atmosphere for a few hours now, so we think no more will arrive over British soil. Please stay at home allowing us to get people out of London. Should extra ships arrive, please leave in a calm and orderly fashion. Thank you."

"Hazel's not going to like that," muttered Heather. Hazel was their friend who lived in Birmingham. "She told me over the phone she wanted to get out of there PDQ."

"Are you packed?" Harriet asked her sister.

"Yep," she replied, trying to do up her suitcase.

"Right, let's go," Harriet said, "Casey is waiting for us." The taxi driver had dropped them off, gone to his own house just down the street to pick up a few possessions, and then came back to pick up the Clarks.

As they left their flat (and after Heather had locked it - just in case!) they saw their neighbour, Ms Randall.

"Are you leaving too?" Heather asked her.

"Naw, these aliens only want the government. Don't blame 'em either. They'll leave the rest of us alone. They'll abduct the PM and that'll be that." Ms Randall was certain about it.

"Come on, you must get out of here. Come with us."

Ms Randall refused, and as much as she hated to do it Heather had to leave her there so she could get into the taxi.

John finished his speech and the channels returned to coverage of the event worldwide. George Glover turned to him.

"We've just received news from the helicopter, the next batch of MPs are taking off now," he said.

"Great," answered John. "How about the evacuation of London?"

"The city's about 50% vacant," George informed him. It was now half past 11.

"5 hours and half empty," John muttered.

"Well, we do have 6 million people to get out," George replied, "and the traffic jams are horrendous."

The Shrapnel family had packed as much as they could into their car and had set off. After 30 minutes, Simon asked his mum, "Where are we?"

"We're at the end of our road, dear," Elsie told him, trying not to sound worried. The car advanced another foot.

"The Prime Minister has called for a complete evacuation of Greater London," the radio announcer said. Heather, Harriet and Casey listened impatiently from the taxi. They were stuck in traffic. Unfortunately, London was not designed for mass evacuations.

Casey honked his horn. "Hurry up," he called.

He got his wish - sort of, as traffic advanced a further 3 feet. Casey didn't know it of course, but the Smiths were also stuck in traffic. Luckily, they were a bit further out. Everything had been fine until they'd hit the M25. Andy didn't wish to use the motorway - the radio advised him not to, but they'd been stuck at the junction for an hour, as people tried to get on and off to get away. Also, Lois was feeling very sick.

"Damn this traffic," she muttered. "Why couldn't these damn aliens have invaded when we were in Manchester last weekend?"

"Because I was waiting for them," Jennifer said sadly. She'd persuaded her dad to go to Manchester earlier so she would be back in London with her telescope for July 2nd, to watch the asteroid pass by - which of course, had been the alien ship. And it wasn't passing by.....

Big Ben chimed in 1am. John Flynn listened to the clock. All the time he'd lived in Downing Street, he'd always loved listening to the clock ringing in the hour.

He hoped it wouldn't be for the last time.

"Man, that is the longest time I have ever been on air!" Roz Laleston told Dave McCauley as she washed her face. She had been on air for 6 hours almost non-stop. "Just my luck I had to be reading the news when these space loonies arrived."

"You going home?" Dave asked.

"No," Roz said as she dried herself. "There's no way I'll get there now. Luckily my dog is safe. During my break I phoned my neighbours. They're taking him with them."

"Good idea," said Dave. "Only someone as pretty, and as beautiful, as you..."

"Pardon?" Roz asked. "I couldn't hear you, you were mumbling."

"Never mind," said Dave quietly.

The Clarks had advanced one mile in 2 hours.

"I hope these things don't turn nasty," Heather said.

"Did you phone Mum?" Harriet asked.

"Yes, luckily she was in Tilbury for the day," her sister replied. "She either stayed there or drove further out. She's safe."

"Good, that had been bugging me," Harriet replied. "Casey, did you phone any friends?"

Casey had no family left, but plenty of friends. "Yeah, they were OK," he answered.

The radio announcer continued his speech. "And this is just in, from Los Angeles! UFO fanatics have gathered on the city's rooftops to welcome the new arrivals, particularly the First Interstate where the centre of the ship is above....."

"Idiots," smiled Heather.

When you are trying to flee alien invaders, having a 4 year old son and a 6 year old daughter in the back of the car can make you even more stressed out than usual. Les and Elsie Shrapnel were trying to keep their kids occupied as their car moved forward very slowly.

"Are we there yet?" Joanna asked for the 312th time.

"Can I have a biscuit please?" Simon asked. When told he couldn't - they were all gone, the family had been in the car for 5 hours - Simon went into a sulk. Les sighed as he advanced another few inches.

2.15am. John had checked up on the state of the military. Some were helping the evacuation, some were on standby for a counter attack. John hoped this wouldn't be needed. The TV was on, this time on Sky News, featuring the ship over Washington DC.

"...the helicopters have taken off. The US Government hopes they should be able to communicate with the visitors, with a sign of peace."

The helicopters flew towards a part of the ship. "The authorities have decided that this is the front of the ship. Operation Welcome Wagon should get there in a matter of minutes..."

The Smiths were listening to the event on the radio.

"...Operation Welcome Wagon is broadcasting a mathematical sign of peace to the visitors. We hope it succeeds. The helicopters are still broadcasting.....wait, wait, something is happening, the aliens are responding!"

"...the ship is opening up," Sky's Washington correspondent told her viewers. The live picture from the television of 10 Downing Street showed the events. The Flynns and their entourage of Harry, George and Tina, watched in silence. A few seconds later, this silence turned into a silence of shock as Operation Welcome Wagon was hit by an alien fire.

"Oh my God, it's falling, it's been hit and it's falling," the announcer said. The telephone rang as the TV switched back to the Sky News studios and Bob Friend, the Sky News anchorman, said "And our prayers go out to the wives and children of those brave pilots, indeed, God help us all."

Tina walked over with the phone, which she had answered.

"It's President Whitmore," she said. John took the phone.

"Tom, what is it?"

"You have to get out of London," Tom hissed. "Now."

"Why, what's wrong?" asked John, though deep down he could guess what Tom would say.

"I'll pass you to David Levinson," Tom answered. "He can tell you everything. I have to speak to the Russian president, the Canadian government, make sure Patricia is safe....." Tom passed the phone over to David.

The Prime Minister knew this Levinson person - or more rather, of him. He and his wife had been visiting Washington on a state visit and had had the misfortune to see the then Senator Whitmore involved in a fist fight with this man. As he recalled, David's ex wife Connie was now working with Tom. John had met her on that state visit to Washington, she seemed like a nice person.

"Mr Levinson, hello, this is Prime Minister John Flynn....."

"Tina, who was that?" Margaret Flynn asked.

"President Whitmore," Tina answered. "He sounded very worried."

John ran to his wife, his conversation finished. "Quick," he said to George Glover, "call a helicopter here at once! We're leaving."

"Why?" Lisa Flynn asked.

"They're going to attack. A 'friend' of Tom's has figured it out. At 2.42am, they're going to attack. Hidden signals in our own satellites."

"Oh my God!" Harry exclaimed. The rest stood in silence.

The helicopter arrived. The Flynn family, Harry, George and Tina got in and the helicopter took off. John was pleased that they were the only 6 people involved with the Government left in London. All the other MPs and their families were safe at RAF Hill Cross.

John just hoped as many people as possible had got out of London as they could.

The Smiths listened in horror as Operation Welcome Wagon was blown out of the sky. By now they had cleared the M25 junction and were a few miles out of London.

Jennifer looked at her watch. 2.38. She looked behind to see if Jack was behind them. He wasn't.

"Oh my God, where's Jack?" she whispered.

Les and Elsie were glad their children hadn't heard what had happened to Operation Welcome Wagon. After a lot of time and effort, they had managed to get Simon and Joanna to sleep.

"My God!" Les whispered.

"This is bad," Elsie replied. "If they blow up just one helicopter, what could they do to us? To London? To the world?"

"Maybe they don't like helicopters, just like we don't like flies," Les suggested. Elsie wasn't so sure. She looked behind her towards the ship for the umpteenth time.

Casey's taxi was still stuck in traffic. Nearby was a tube station for the London Underground. "I suppose..." he muttered, thinking out loud, but Heather, who was looking back towards the ship, interrupted him.

"My God, it's opening up!"

The Smiths could see the green light coming from the ship from where they were, 14 miles away from it. The ship could still be seen, and the Smiths had gotten their first good look at the whole thing. It was huge.

They stood there in silence watching the ship open up. Jennifer was still looking around for Jack, guessing he must have been separated from them at the junction.

"Looks like they're going to abduct someone," Lois whispered, hoping it would turn out she was joking. Andy looked at his wife, worried. He hoped this wouldn't affect the pregnancy that much. He knew Lois was under a lot of stress - indeed, everyone on Earth was - and he hoped she would be OK.

The Prime Minister's helicopter was almost out of London. John looked at his watch. 2.41. One minute - until what? He suspected this green light centred on Big Ben had something to do with it.

Big Ben's minute hand advanced one minute. 2.42am.

BANG! Big Ben exploded, taking the rest of the Houses of Parliament with it. A giant fire mushroom started expanding from the Houses.

"Oh my God," John whispered, holding the hands of his wife and daughter. The giant fire mushroom continued expanding, taking everything in its path. Buildings were decimated, tress flattened, cars thrown around like toys. The Prime Minister's helicopter flew just high enough to escape the flames, but not high enough to risk having what had happened to Operation Welcome Wagon happen to it.

The fire mushroom reached the empty Buckingham Palace, destroying it. In the other direction, the Millennium Dome was swept away. St Paul's Cathedral, which had been lucky to have survived bombing raids in World War II, found that its luck had run out.

In her flat, Ms Randall was having a cup of tea. She still thought there was nothing to worry about - until she heard screaming outside. She looked out of her window as the fire mushroom headed towards her. It would be the last thing she ever saw.

The Shrapnels saw the wall of destruction heading towards them. There was nowhere else to go. They knew they were done for.

Les and Elsie each pulled a child to the front of the car, and for the last few seconds of their lives the Shrapnel family held hands and cuddled, until the wait was over.

At the Satellite News Centre in Reading, the staff watched in horror as they imagined what was going on. They had seen the beam coming out of the ship seconds before it blew up the station's Central London cameras. Their correspondent there had lost his life, they knew that for sure, but would the fire get out as far as Reading?

The giant ship could be seen in the distance from the studios. There was every chance Reading would be destroyed. Who knew, maybe the ships were destroying the entire world at once!

Roz and her colleagues all held each other's hands. On her left was Dave, clutching her hand.

It might be the end of the world, but at least I'll die holding the woman I love, he thought.

The Smiths watched the green light suddenly turn a yellowy colour, at precisely 2.42am (Jennifer had set her watch exactly with Big Ben's clock). The thing began expanding, and it was then that the Smiths realised what was happening. The yellow light was fire.

They were watching the destruction of London.

"This green light is mysterious," the radio announcer reported. "Who knows what's going to happen, the history of our world is about to change, forever."

"Yeah, like we didn't know that," muttered Heather Clark.

"It's....oh my God, fire! A giant fire cloud, sweeping towards me, destroying everything in its....." The radio cut off.

Casey looked around. He could see the fire mushroom approaching them.

"Quick!" he hissed, exiting the taxi. The Clark sisters ran after him into the Tube station, as did many other drivers. They were just in time. The fire of destruction swept the taxi and other cars away, and destroyed the building housing the station, but somehow missed the underground area due to the doors being closed. Or something like that. No one knew how, but it was a miracle.

"Are we the only ones left?" Heather asked her sister.

"Who knows," Harriet replied.

Silence fell in the Tube Station.

From their caravan, Jennifer and her family watched the fire destroying what was left of London. She hoped her friends had got out in time. She wondered if Michelle and Stacy were OK - if they were still alive. And then there was Jack as well. Where was he?

Jennifer looked up to the alien ship. It was starting to move. She and her family ran into the caravan as the ship started to fly over them.

Roz felt Dave's hand let go of her own. Looking up, she realised she wasn't dead. The fire hadn't hit them! She followed Dave over to a window and looked out. They could still see the alien ship, and when they looked closely enough they could make out the fires that were destroying London.

"What's it doing?" Dave asked her, referring to the ship. By now they had been joined by their colleagues. They were thankful they were still alive, but were in no mood for celebrating.

"It's moving!" Roz said quietly.

The Prime Minister's helicopter was heading towards RAF Hill Cross, when the group heard a rumbling behind them. Looking back, John saw the alien ship heading towards them.

"It's moving!" he yelled to the pilot. "And it's heading this way!" The pilot decided it would be best to land the helicopter. Down below was some woodland. He thought it would offer them a place to hide. The pilot skilfully descended the helicopter down into the trees, just as the alien craft started moving over them.

The Flynns looked up in amazement. They'd seen the ship before of course but couldn't help themselves. Only George didn't look up. He had spotted a caravan nearby.

"Sir," he said to the Prime Minister, "people are over there. Do you think we should go over?"

"Um, yes," John replied, "I am a bit hungry, actually."

The Prime Minister and his entourage moved through the trees to the caravan when they spotted a man walking towards them.

"Halt, who goes there?" yelled the man.

"It's the Prime Minister," John answered.

The man relaxed. "Sorry, didn't recognise you."

"Can we use your caravan for food etc?" John asked.

"Um, OK," the man told him. "Name's Andy Smith, Mr Flynn. And this is my wife Lois and daughter Jennifer."

"I know you from somewhere," John Flynn told Jennifer. "Aren't you...?"

"The co-discoverer of this thing?" asked Jennifer. "Yes, sadly, although I thought it was an asteroid."

"Thought so," said John. "I remembered seeing you in the newspapers."

As the rest of the group joined the Smiths in their caravan, George turned to John.

"Where do you think it's heading?"

"I'd say Birmingham. Get in touch with the MOD as quickly as you can. They have to evacuate the city, quickly!"

Since Sky, the BBC and most other TV studios had been based in London, Satellite News had an advantage in that they had suffered hardly any damage, being based in Reading. The station had acquired the latest news.

"The MOD had advised people in Birmingham not to panic. It is estimated that panicking helped many people in London to not get out in time, so please, stay calm and stay organised!" the news anchor said.

"I think I've got it!" Heather Clark yelled down the line of survivors. She pushed away some rubble and saw the early morning sky. "Yes, we're out!"

She led Harriet, Casey and the other survivors out of the remains of the Tube Station. Amongst them were the Patel family, a homeless man named Connor, and a man carrying a computer in a box. Once everyone was out, they looked at the ruins of London. They also noticed that the alien ship had disappeared.

"It's moved on," Heather guessed.

The fires were beginning to go out due to a heavy rainstorm that was occurring over London. 4 year old Mohammed Patel turned to his father, Sanjeev. "Daddy, I'm hungry."

"Sorry son, I don't think there's any food around," his father said. Harriet felt sorry for the boy, the only child amongst the group. She reached into her handbag and found a small pack of Jelly Babies.

"Here you go," she said to the boy. Mohammed was thrilled with the food, and thanked Harriet before eating it. His father turned to her too.

"Thank you," he said gratefully, "but where do you think we can find food around here?"

"Maybe a McDonald's survived or something," joked the man with the computer. He put it down next to him. Harriet saw his name on the box, for it said "Property of Jack Lloyd."

John had wanted to get to Hill Cross as quickly as possible, for obvious reasons. As they were preparing to leave - the Smiths wanted to get to Bedford - Lois let out a cry. Instinctually, Andy and Jennifer ran to her.

"You OK Mum?" Jennifer asked?

"I think it may be time!" Lois panted.

John and Margaret Flynn came over. "Mrs Smith, are you OK?"

"We need a hospital!" Andy said to them, slightly panicked. The Flynns made up their mind.

"Come with us, we can get you to a hospital quicker. And we'll even pick up your mother on the way." He smiled to them, letting them know. Everything would be OK.

"Jack, why are you dragging that box around?" Heather asked Jack as the group searched for food, survivors or transportation. So far they had found none.

"Oh, I was taking it with me when leaving the city," Jack explained. "When those ships opened up, I grabbed my computer, my bags and went into the Tube Station - thought I might have a better chance down there. So I was safe with it before the attack - luckily. Anyway, it was expensive!" he chuckled.

"Hey look!" Casey called. "Over here!" The group turned to see the taxi driver. Next to him was the ruins of a bus station.

"Maybe there's a bus," he told them. "Start digging."

The people of Birmingham had ignored their PM's advice when the ship had arrived over London. Worried they would be next, they too had evacuated. People were leaving Birmingham quickly, and the city was about 60% empty by the time the ship was first spotted. Similar evacuations were taking place in Liverpool, Manchester, Glasgow and other main cities across the United Kingdom.

It was now about half past five in the morning, July 3rd. The sun would be rising soon. For Heather and her group, this was good news, their torch battery was beginning to run out.

The digging had proved successful. The canteen had survived remarkably well, and the survivors helped themselves to the food. Connor and Jack had also managed to find a working bus, that had been protected by a stone wall. Once they were refreshed, the group boarded the bus, taking with them Jack's computer and further food for the trip.

"Where shall we go?" Casey, the driver, asked.

"Bedford," Jack said. "That's where I was going when I got separated from my group. That's where we'll go."

No-one else saw a problem with that, so Casey started driving off. A street sign told them the remains of the M1 were near, so Casey at least knew where he was.

The Prime Minister's helicopter arrived at RAF Hill Cross. The Smiths, and Lois' mother Martha Angell who had been picked up as John had promised, were with them. MOD personnel had arrived to meet them.

"Quick, get this woman to the hospital!" John ordered them, referring to the hospital in the secret complex. When he had told the Smiths, as well as Tina who had also been unaware of the secret complex, they had naturally been surprised but also relieved.

"Mr Flynn, your brother, his family and your sons have just arrived at the base," an aide told the Prime Minister

"Good, good, let them in." John answered.

When everyone was deep underground in the complex, John and George were speaking to Field Marshall Gerald Thornton-Blithe, the highest rank in the British Army.

"Our radar confirms it, the ship is heading for Birmingham," he said.

John turned to George.

"What weapons have we got?" George Glover asked. When he was told, he said, "Attack."

"Don't worry Mrs Smith, you're OK, it was a fake contraction," the doctor told Lois. "Probably bought on by the stress. Now take it easy, you're safe down here." Lois' family and Margaret Flynn, who had been there the whole time, looked relieved. Lois was told to have some rest and they left her alone for a while to do so.

"This place is amazing," Jennifer said to Margaret. "Did you know about it?"

"No, actually, I didn't until today," Margaret replied. "I was quite surprised when I found out - John told me after President Whitmore rang him to tell him about the ships in the first place - just like you were. Anyway, you seem a bit down. Is everything OK?"

"Well, no," Jennifer said, noticing her father was busy conforming Grandma Martha who was very scared for her daughter. "I'm still not too happy about this baby idea. I mean, 17 years!"

"I was in the same situation," said Margaret. "When I was 16, my mum gave birth to my little brother. And like you I wasn't too happy. But when I saw him for the first time, I loved him straight away, and I've never stopped. I'm worried about him though, he's in the RAF and I don't know where he is right now." 

"One of my friends is missing," Jennifer answered and told her about Jack. As she finished, Harry approached them.

"Bad news," he said. "The damn ships have a shield!"

It was true. RAF fighter planes had tried to attack the alien craft over the by now 70% empty Birmingham. However they had discovered the shields too late. The small alien fighters that had come out of the destroyer in a huge swarm had destroyed most of the planes, and they too had shields. The RAF didn't have a chance.

Reports were coming into Hill Cross from around the world.

"Sir, we've just had reports that all military bases in the West Midlands area are being attacked by the fighters..."

"We've just got news from Turkey, the ship over Istanbul is heading for Ankara!"

"What are we going to do now?" John asked Field Marshall Thornton-Blithe. The response was "Evacuate all military bases. Get planes, weapons and personnel away from these shits. Then pray to God."

The bus had by now exited London, and the rubble was getting smaller. The rain had put out most of the fires, but the group hadn't met any other survivors on their journey.

By now they were on the M25. The motorway was empty, which was very odd and also scary at the same time. Harriet guessed that anyone who would normally be using it had been killed in the blast.

"Best run on this road ever," muttered Casey.

BANG! The alien ship blew Birmingham, Britain's second city, to pieces. The 30% or so of the population who hadn't managed to get out in time screamed as the wall of fire engulfed the city. The scene was repeating itself around the world, as the second round of cities - including Brussels, Chicago, St Petersburg and Kobe - were hit.

The destruction of Brussels - by the same ship that had blown Paris away - destroyed NATO and the EU headquarters. At Hill Cross, the military lost contact with both.

John sat down and sighed loudly.

"Now what do we do?"

"Run!" a soldier yelled. Above ground the sound of alien fighters, like the ones that had attacked the RAF bases, could be heard. Luckily the complex was 16 floors below ground, but all the same everyone in it ran deeper underground. Cameras showing the surface were scattered around, and everyone could see what was going off.

"It must be aiming for us," Harry whispered. He didn't know why he was whispering, but he was.

Then suddenly the firing stopped, and the alien fighters moved off. There was silence in the complex, then Field Marshall Thornton-Blithe spoke.

"They were aiming for the base, not the complex. I doubt they even know it's here."

"That's a relief," said John.

The bus was on the road to Bedford when the alien fighters flew overhead. One of them spotted the bus and fired at it. Casey only just managed to swerve the bus to safety. As a fire started where the missile had hit the road, the alien attacker moved off. Guessing the aliens thought they had hit the bus, Casey decided to get away when the time was right.

That time was a few minutes later. Mrs Patel covered her son's eyes as the alien fighters started attacking something. Connor checked with the atlas in the bus.

"There's an RAF base near here, guess that's what they want," he told everyone.

A tunnel was ahead, so Casey hid the bus inside. To take their minds off what was going on, Heather suggested everyone play a game.

"How about 'I went to the shops'? You know you say something and then the next person has to repeat it plus add something else. I'll start. I went to the shops and bought an apple."

Harriet grinned as she continued. "I went to the shops and bought an apple and a camel." Everyone laughed at this slightly silly suggestion, and then added their own. After the fighting stopped, and the aliens moved off, the group got back on the bus and drove on. A nearby sign said "RAF Hill Cross", and Heather spoke to Jack and Casey.

"Let's check for survivors." They agreed, thinking if any military personnel were still alive, they would be needed, and Casey drove into the base.

"The alien attackers have been attacking RAF and military bases across the country," Roz told her viewers. "Most of our forces were unable to leave the bases in time..."

"General, how are our forces?" John Flynn asked General Davis, a high ranking general in the complex.

"We're down to 17%," Davis replied. "We've managed to get some of our forces out of Europe to Egypt, along with other European forces."

"Good," John said as Tina came in. "Mr Flynn, there's a bus load of people outside!"

John joined the people in the elevator going up, after seeing the bus on the one camera that had survived the alien attack. They headed outside - John, Harry, Tina, Margaret, Jennifer and Davis - to see the bus stop and a man getting out.

"Halt!" snapped General Davis, "who goes there?"

The man stepped back. "Boynton Casey, sir, and a small group of survivors."

"Let them out," John told the General. As the group walked out, Jennifer recognised someone.

"Jack!"

She ran to her friend, who smiled at her. "You survived!"

"Yeah, well, after we got separated, I ended up next to a Tube Station, where I took shelter and met these people."

The group were all escorted down to the complex, taking everything out of the bus such as food, the atlas and Jack's computer. When everyone was safely down in the complex, they began to relax.

In the Sinai, Egypt, where the European forces had been evacuated, the mood was tense. Cairo had been blown away by an alien ship, and although it had then moved on to Tripoli, the forces were still worried that a ship would come for them. That aside, the Sinai was one of the safest places in the world for armies and air forces to head for.

Group Captain Pete Wellsworth surveyed his squadron. He wondered where his sister was. He'd seen a helicopter leave London on the news just before the cameras - and everything else in the city - were destroyed. His sister was of course the Prime Minister's wife, Margaret Flynn. The radio was on, the BBC World Service broadcasting from a makeshift HQ away from any cities.

"...reports are unclear to the number of lives lost but Portsmouth and much of the British Navy was destroyed by alien fighters. Ships at sea have also been hit, bringing our Navy down to 12%. In other news, it has also been confirmed that America's First Lady, Marilyn Whitmore, was killed in the blast from LA. President Whitmore himself is on route to New Mexico..."

"I don't believe it," Pete muttered. The Navy gone? He remembered hearing about how the navy would be evacuated from Portsmouth and go out to sea, obviously that wasn't enough.

"Sir?"

"Yes, what is it?"

"Planes from the Greek air forces have just arrived."

"Are they as affected as us?"

"Not as bad sir, Greece hasn't been touched by these bastards...yet."

The telephone rang, and the Prime Minister answered.

"Hello.....Tom? .....you're where?" It was President Whitmore. John covered the mouthpiece and said to Margaret and the others around him, "He's in Area 51! It's real!"

He spoke back into the phone for a few minutes until Tom suddenly interrupted John with some news that had just reached him... "what? They got one?.....amazing.....absolutely amazing.....OK, let me know of any further progress!"

He hung up. "Some fighter pilot managed to capture one of these bastards," he explained. "The Area 51 staff are examining it now."

"Sir, we've just received news, an alien ship is heading for the Sinai," an aide burst in. John replied, "Then get our forces out of there!"

"We've just received orders to evacuate!" Pete alerted his squadron. "The ship will be here in about 10 minutes! Move it, movie it, move it!"

The Royal Air Force took to the skies, heading for the United Kingdom. Now ship free (the ship over Birmingham had now left the UK and was en route to Oslo, Norway), the home country offered them a good place to regroup. The British forces were clear of the area as the giant ship approached it. As soon as it arrived, it let out the fighters which went on to destroy the aircraft and personnel who had not yet left. The Belgians suffered the most.

Avoiding any major cities and ships, what was left of the RAF flew towards Hill Cross.

"Mum, are you OK?" Jennifer asked Lois.

"Yes dear, I'm fine, I just wish this baby would come out already!" Lois joked. Martha turned to her.

"You were just the same when you were born," she said. Lois smiled a bit as the baby kicked some more. Any day now, she thought.