Ten Minutes Prior to the Emergency Broadcast

President Foster:

I sat rigidly in my chair aboard the National Airborne Operations Center, my hands clenched tightly together. Despite the calm demeanor I tried to project, I couldn't hide the deep-seated fear in my eyes as I stared at the screens displaying live feeds of the approaching planet.

"Mr. President," General Hayes began, his voice steady despite the circumstances, "the planetary barrier we had in place has failed. Its collapse coincided precisely with Planet X's approach. We are still trying to understand if there was a direct interaction, but the timing is... unfortunate, to say the least."

My face paled. The barrier had been Earth's clandestine shield, a high-energy grid developed in secret over decades with the help of Russia, China, and dozens of other nations. The public had never been aware of its existence, nor the danger it was meant to protect against.

"What are our options?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. I knew the answer but had to ask, had to hope there was something we had overlooked.

General Hayes exchanged a look with Dr. Emily Stanton, our chief scientific advisor. She stepped forward, her face somber. "Sir, with the barrier down, our options to defend against whatever Planet X brings with it are significantly limited. We estimate that we have only ten minutes before it arrives due to its increased velocity. Once it does, we expect that communications may be lost as the interference we observed surrounding it encapsulates the Earth."

"And the military?" I pressed, looking for any sliver of a chance to take action further than we already had.

"We have enacted Operation Starfall," Hayes responded, pausing to let the impact of those words sink in. "All branches of the military are currently deploying to their designated rally points across the country. We're setting up defensive positions, ensuring that our Judicator missiles and area of denial systems are ready." Hayes looked grave. “Mr. President, we are out of time. We did not expect the speed at which this event would arrive.”

I nodded slowly, absorbing the weight of our situation. "So, we're essentially powerless to do anything else?"

"In terms of offense, yes," Dr. Stanton confirmed. "Our science and technology have limits, Mr. President. This event... it's beyond our control."

The room fell silent, the only sounds the distant hum of the plane's engines and the soft beeps from the monitors. My thoughts wandered to my family, to the citizens of the nation, and to the world at large. We had long ago discovered the possibility of this threat and had enacted the planetary barrier as our primary defense against it, but now that was gone, and our contingency plan was limited.

"We need to focus on what we can control," I finally said, my voice firm, clinging to my role as president. "We need to warn the people and give them every chance we can to survive whatever is to come."

General Hayes nodded. "We have the emergency broadcast system ready for you."

"Then we need to warn them now before our lines of communication are taken from us," I said, thinking of the panic that must already be setting in.

"As you wish, Mr. President," Dr. Stanton said. She paused before adding, "Sir, there may still be a slim chance. Our teams are exploring every theoretical avenue, anything that might mitigate the effects of this."

"Keep me updated, Emily. Any glimmer of hope, we pursue it," I instructed, my resolve hardening.

As the team dispersed to their tasks, I looked out the small, reinforced window of the plane. Below, the Earth seemed peaceful, unmarred by the chaos I knew would soon unfold. I wondered if there was more I could have done, if the barrier could have been strengthened, if we had missed some crucial calculation.

But deep down, I knew we were at the mercy of the event that was coming, and all we could do was face it with dignity and the will to protect humanity as long as we could.