Plot

The game begins on a cold night in December 2004, as a train arrives through a tunnel to Silo, Tennessee. The protagonist of Mothership is a reporter working for the Pale Press, and has arrived in town to investigate the sudden reactivation of the mothership's laser beam under the ship. The craft had been stationary for years, with it now being used as a political center for the city's Martian elites, never moving from above the nuclear plant. But there are rumors brewing now, talk that the ship might be moved soon. By the time the Reporter arrives, all of Silo Valley is clamoring with rumors that the Martian capitol might be moved, the nuclear power plant might explode, or that the Martians are planning something sinister.

After entering the train station and registering in the Martian database, the reporter must exit the building and begin investigating the rampant rumors being thrown around town to get to the bottom of what's really happening inside the mothership. After taking a brief look at the cliffside overlook, the reporter can work their way down the hill into Calico county.

Calico county is a small, run down town filled with tired Americana, fast food, and gas stations. The main point of interest here is the Silo branch of the Pale Press, which the reporter was instructed to seek out for guidance in their quest. Once the press building is reached, the player will encounter the man running the place, Dennis Gray. A sleazy, slicked back country businessman, Dennis is one of the primary guiding characters for the first act of the story, and the reporter's boss.