“I don’t think so.”
“Please, let me explain and then you can judge for yourself.” When there was no response, Jack continued, “When the alien fleet found you and began boarding your ship, would your ship have survived had we not taken action against the enemy?”
“I don’t see the relevance,” Alpha answered. “The only reason they found us was because I exposed our position when we rescued you. To a large degree that conflict was your fault.”
“Alpha, that’s not the point,” Jack said, desperately trying to keep any hint of impatience from his voice. “Look at what happened to your colony on Epsilon Eri D and your cities on G3-Alpha. They were wiped out in quick, brutal attacks. This enemy is trying to exterminate you. Your race had no meaningful response to these attacks. The enemy just came in and killed everyone. The only time anyone survived was when we fought back.”
“One example doesn’t tell us anything,” Alpha countered.
“That’s not true,” Jack shot back. “You have several examples of attacks where they completely wiped out their targets. They don’t want to talk or negotiate with you; they want to remove any possible competition from this region of space.”
“Captain, you don’t have enough evidence to conclusively prove that.”
“No I don’t,” Jack answered solemnly. “But how sure are you that I’m wrong? What evidence do you even have that your next encounter will be any different than the others? This is about making the prudent move.”
An uneasy silence followed. Jack felt the urge to press his case further, but thought it more effective to give Alpha all the time he needed to evaluate the situation. Palmer looked to him and mouthed the words, “I don’t trust them.” Jack’s response was a simple nod.
“We have observed that your crew is not in full agreement with you,” Alpha finally said. “That in itself is enough for many here to resist your suggestion.”
“Alpha, that has no bearing on this discussion. Many of our people have their own doubts and fears. Hell, even I have my doubts. However, we also know how to choose between a set of unpalatable choices. We work for the greater good even when it means that we as individuals may suffer.” Jack paused to make his point, and then said, “I’m not going to hide my true motivation here. If this enemy is interested in exterminating advanced civilizations in this region of the galaxy, then that means Earth is at risk as well as your own worlds. We humans need to do whatever we can to protect Earth. In this case, I see us both benefitting from working together. We can do something to protect your people as well as ours.”
Again there was silence. He knew they were overanalyzing the situation, and felt it best to press the issue. They needed to understand how desperate the situation truly was, and said, “Alpha?”
“I understand your point,” Alpha said. “But I can’t make a decision for everyone on my vessel. This is something each individual needs to decide for themselves. What will complicate things is the fact that I can’t see how we can guarantee success.”
“There are no guarantees in life,” Jack shot back. “Sometimes you need to take a risk. Sometimes you need to sacrifice now for greater good. Let me at least lay out the exact plan I have in mind.”
“I will confer with the others, and contact you when we reach a decision. If at that time we require more information, you can present your plan.”
“I have one question,” Palmer said.
“Yes?” Alpha replied politely.
“What happens if you agree to work with us, and then some aboard your ship change their minds in the middle of the battle?”
Alpha ignored him and simply replied, “Captain, I will contact you shortly.”
Palmer looked at Jack, allowed several seconds to pass and said, “I think it’s safe to assume they’re listening to us right now.”
“Agreed,” Jack said reluctantly.
“Then how do we discuss this?” Palmer asked with frustration.
“Just be direct. It’s best if you speak your mind.”
“Understood,” Palmer replied. “Then consider this. You know me well, and know that I’ve got no problem with taking a stand and fighting.”
“That goes without saying.”
“But, I see two problems. First is their reliability. Alpha just ignored my question as if it weren’t a valid point. What if things start going bad and they decide to cut and run? We need to be able to count on them, and I can’t see that happening. I mean, he asked for guarantees of success, why can’t we ask for a much more realistic guarantee that they’ll stick to any agreement that they make?”
Jack just nodded at him.
“Second,” Palmer said, “and maybe more importantly, we still don’t even know if this enemy is interested in Earth. This really isn’t our battle, why are we trying to risk everything to get involved. You’ve made a lot of assumptions here. How do you know that you’re right?”
“I understand your concerns,” Jack said.
“More importantly,” Palmer continued, “we need to be one-hundred percent sure that we get all of our tactical information back to Earth. Relying on Don’s transmission is too risky.”
“As I said earlier, the risks of inaction are too great. Even if there was only a one-in-four chance that I’m right, could you in good conscience give up this chance to protect Earth?”
“You’re speaking as if you had a hint of what the odds really are.”
“Palmer, it’s pointless to go over this again right now. Our need to stay and fight has already been decided.”
“By you,” Palmer shot back.
“Yes!” Jack answered harshly. “Unless you can give me anything close to a guarantee that we won’t be putting Earth at risk by retreating, then that’s exactly how we’ll be proceeding.”
Palmer just stared back at him.
Jack gave him a second and calmly said, “Let’s wait to see what they say. I’ll call you back down here as soon as I hear something.”
“Understood sir,” Palmer replied as he got up and left.
Chapter 34 – July 30, 2124; 10:30:00
Jack stepped back to let Palmer and Masako review a schematic of the star system. The Kuiper belt objects to be mined were clearly marked with green circles; the expected approach vector of the enemy fleet was depicted as a yellow line diving in from the upper right corner of the screen. Despite Palmer’s initial resistance, his tactical input was proving exceptionally valuable. In addition, Masako’s expertise in geology was a more than adequate substitute for Don’s background; she had succeeded in identifying several features in the small icy bodies where explosive charges would yield a maximum number of fragments. True, Don should have been there too; but as he put it, he “wasn’t going to have his hand in any goddamned suicide mission.” At least the plan was starting to come together. What remained, however, was perhaps his biggest hurdle: convincing a superior alien civilization to trust their ‘primitive’ guests and fight this enemy.
“Sir,” Palmer said, “we still need to decide when it would be best to detonate the charges.”
“I’m still leaning strongly towards Kurt’s idea of blowing them at the last second, when their fleet is nearly on top of them. It would be like a shotgun blast.”
“There’s sense in that. However, even with the improvements we’ve come up with, I think it relies too much on them being close enough to the targets. We can’t guarantee that. Even a few hundred kilometer variation in their position could give them enough time to avoid being hit. I know you’re counting on the debris fields we’re going to set up ahead of time to limit their room for maneuvering, but I’m worried it’ll still give them a chance.”
Jack took a breath before replying, “I don’t see that we have much of a choice. The only alternative I see would be to detonate them now to create a large field of debris directly in their path – like a natural mine field. But I think we both agreed there’s too great a chance that they have the technology to see that debris ahead of
time. In that case it’d be simple for them to steer around it.”
“There aren’t any good choices,” Palmer said shaking his head. “We really don’t know enough about their capabilities. Sir, I think you should reconsider the idea of abandoning this altogether and simply returning to Earth with the intelligence we’ve gathered. Especially since we still don’t even know if Alpha will agree to any of this; or if we can even rely on him.”
Jack knew Palmer’s concerns were too valid to be summarily dismissed, but he had to prevent them from sliding back into earlier debates. “Palmer, the real issue is the fact that the risk of inaction is just too great – we have to take a stand,” he said with a slight edge. Then continuing in a more conciliatory tone, “You’re right that there are no sure bets here, but keep in mind that as with any other battle plan, it really boils down to maximizing our odds – there are no certainties.”
Palmer stared back emotionlessly.
“Captain,” Alpha’s voice said, “please do not say anything. The others on your ship cannot hear me. I need you to excuse yourself so that we can talk in private.”
Jack’s wanted to repeat his earlier admonition to Alpha that anything he had to say needed to be said to his entire crew. However, the simple act of saying that aloud would alert Palmer to the fact that Alpha was trying to hide something. Angry at being backed into a corner, Jack simply held his tongue and turned to stare at the screen.
“I apologize for placing you in this situation, however, what I need to discuss with you must be done alone, and unfortunately, must be done immediately. I will wait a moment for you to find a suitable place.”
“Captain?” Palmer said politely.
“Retreat is not an option,” Jack said reflexively as his mind searched for an excuse to leave the room. The problem was, most everything could be done by comm. unit or computer. “Let me go talk Don in person again and see if I can coax him down here. In the meantime, call Kurt. A few more sets of eyes on this problem wouldn’t hurt.”
“Yes sir,” Palmer said with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.
Jack headed quickly into the hallway and then ducked into his office which was only a few meters away.
“Captain,” Alpha said as Jack closed the door, “there have been some disturbing developments here.”
“Explain,” Jack replied tersely.
“Too many aboard my vessel refuse to participate with any plan you propose. They will not try to fight them.”
“Don’t you understand what I’ve been talking about?” Jack shot back. “This is a fleet whose sole purpose is to destroy you, and probably us. You can’t seriously…”
“I understand the situation completely,” Alpha cut in impatiently.
“Then what are you going to do about it?”
“What do you mean?” Alpha asked with genuine confusion. “I can’t do anything.”
“Yes, you can. We are facing a clear and unambiguous threat. Doing nothing is the same as committing suicide. So, I’m asking you, what will you do about this?”
“You’re putting me in an impossible position…”
“I don’t care!” Jack nearly screamed. “Hell, I’m not even putting you in any position: they are! If we weren’t here, you’d probably be dead by now.”
“I can’t make a decision that affects everyone.”
“Of course you can. You’re doing that right now by not taking action. You know the consequence of just sitting still.”
There was no answer.
Jack seethed at the indecision and said, “Let me put it to you this way. If you do something without telling the others – and I think you already are by having this conversation with me – will they do anything to stop you?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s clear to me they can’t make any decisions on their own – at least anything where they can’t be one-hundred percent certain of the outcome. That means you can use their indecision against them. So, I’ll ask you again, if you go against them and help us, will they stop you?”
“Against them? We don’t have ‘for’ or ‘against’ in our civilization. We don’t have conflict. Do you even hear what you’re saying?” Alpha asked indignantly.
“Of course I do!” Jack shot back. “Are you really going to play ignorant with me – an inferior, primitive being? You do have conflict. Whether you want to admit it is completely irrelevant. Now I’ll ask again: if you go against them, will they do anything?”
“No one’s ever done anything like that before.”
“You’re not answering my goddamned question!”
“I don’t know,” Alpha answered, his voice trailing of indecisively.
“Yes,” Jack replied sternly. “Yes, you do know. It’s a simple calculation. Will they unanimously decide to use force to stop you? Keep in mind the fact you’re facing a clear danger to your lives and they won’t choose to fight. All you would be doing is breaking some unwritten rule or custom.”
Before Alpha could respond, there was a knock at Jack’s office door.
Knowing it was likely Palmer, Jack said, “Enter.”
As Palmer came in, Jack said, “Close the door behind you.”
“Yes sir,” was the man’s flat response.
“Alpha just contacted me asking for details on our plan.”
“Captain?” was the alien’s confused response.
Palmer’s fixed expression told Jack he didn’t hear Alpha’s statement. Palmer simply said, “Do you think we’re ready to present it? I mean we still have…” Palmer paused noticeably as he searched for a polite way of expressing his doubts, “…have uncertainties.”
“At this point we have enough to go on.” Taking a deep breath, Jack continued, “Alpha, Commander Palmer is here with me now. We are ready to discuss the situation with you.”
Jack was relieved when Alpha chose to play along as he said, “I am here captain.”
Jack ignored Palmer’s glare as he said, “Alpha, you still have access to our computer systems, correct?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
“The plan is on the terminal in the conference room down the hall – I assume you can access the file directly.”
“I see it,” was the terse response.
“In short, we plan on setting up debris fields to funnel the incoming ships into a bottleneck near several larger Kuiper belt objects. At that point we’ll…”
“There’s no need to elaborate, captain. The notes you recorded and the schematics in your files explain the idea clearly enough.”
Slightly taken aback by the Alpha’s abruptness, Jack paused for a second before saying, “Please review this and let us know your answer. I don’t need to remind you that we need to act as soon as possible.”
“Captain, I don’t appreciate you’re putting me in this position,” Alpha said.
Palmer obviously didn’t hear the statement as he said, “Captain, what about the uncertainties?”
Jack answered both of them simultaneously, “I don’t care about that right now. The time for debating this is over. We’ll take care of the details before we act.” Jack took a breath before he said, “Alpha, we’ll need to know what you can provide in the next few hours. Palmer, get Don and Kurt. We’re going to detonate the mines when they’re on top of them. work out the details of the timing with them.”
“Yes sir,” Palmer said as he stood up and left the room.
Jack sat alone, unsure of whether Alpha had ended communications. As the silence persisted, his impatience got the better of him and he called out, “Alpha.”
There was no answer.
He got up from his desk, walked to the door, but stopped short of exiting. He needed an answer, but knew he was at their mercy. The seconds ticked by and the frustration boiled within him as he mulled over their options again. The problem was, there were no other options. It was painfully obvious that fear and inaction weren’t choices. Alpha should see this; he should know better. Jack stared at the
door but didn’t want to leave. A smile crept across his faced as he realized that it was his own fear of facing Palmer without definitive commitment from Alpha that was keeping him there. They didn’t have time for these games. He sat back down and simply waited quietly. Barely a minute more passed before he called out again, “Alpha.”
As expected, there was no answer.
“Damn it,” he whispered to himself.
Before he could formulate his next thought, he heard the alien’s voice again, “They will not assist you.”
“That I know,” Jack replied without surprise. “Will you?”
“I don’t think I have a choice,” Alpha said softly.
“Neither of us do. How much assistance can you provide?”
“Our ships are not capable of waging battle. We don’t have weapons, defenses…”
“I know,” Jack said softly. “The plan is designed for us to do most of the work. We just need your technology to pull this off.”
“It will require that I … I lie to them.”
“Is telling the truth and dying a better choice?” Jack said calmly.
There was no response. Jack allowed only a few second to pass before he said, “Alpha, do you…”
“I can create the explosives you need: antimatter charges of various sizes,” Alpha said. “Plus I can get you a couple small ships to plant them on the targets. Any more than that will be a problem.”
“We may need a little more help than that,” Jack answered.
“That is all I can do for now.”
Chapter 35 – July 31, 2124
The small alien pod took them quickly to their target. Though it was the third of four Kuiper belt objects on which he’d be laying explosives, Alpha’s technology still unnerved Jack. Its controls relied on a fully immersive virtual reality and used a direct link to his visual cortex. He saw nothing of their ship, nor of Nadya who was seated behind him. Instead, his eyes told him he was floating alone, unprotected, in open space.
The rapidly growing, dark gray disk of their target loomed in front of him. Designated KB26, it was an uneven spheroid almost two hundred kilometers across. The ship’s external lamps revealed dozens of jagged ice mountains rising from the small world, their mottled grey surfaces contrasting sharply against their long inky black shadows. A smooth expanse lay ahead; it had the look of an ancient sea of slush that froze in place while pressing up against the mountains. Their craft swooped in low over the range with unreal speed. Looking to the horizon, Jack could easily see the curvature of the planetoid’s surface despite their low altitude. The surreal scene was mesmerizing, however knowledge of their impending battle kept drawing his eyes back to the stars. There he studied a cluster of lights that rivaled the brightest stars in the Earth’s sky; belying their almost tranquil appearance, they were the engines of the incoming enemy fleet. It wasn’t their presence that bothered him. He’d already accepted the coming battle as inevitable. Their number was the problem; there should have been hundreds ships, not a mere couple dozen.
Prelude to Extinction Page 39
