by Bob Blink
Sadly, the work was boring, and they had to stick around until the planet had broken free of the sun in case there were problems. Some worried there might be difficulties with this race, which was more advanced than most they encountered, and warrior-like from what could be gleaned from their communications. He hoped not. Only a few of the crew were warriors, the others, like him, were mechanics and technicians.
He pushed aside the thoughts. It was his turn to take the ferry and return to the starships for some time of rest before returning for his next month-long shift.
Chapter 18
International Videoconference
General Easystone scanned the various monitors to verify that all desired parties were on-line. The group was smaller than the last time, but that was by design. He, Bud Hollister, Dr. Allen, and Air Force General Markham were together here at the Pentagon. The Secretary of Defense had delegated the task of tracking the alien problem to him and he was working for the Vice President with other governments around the world.
In Los Angeles, a recovering Dr. Gelon and Colonel Gellman, who had brought him from the UCLA Medical Center to the El Segundo facility, were present. Dr. Gelon was in a wheel chair, and looked like he still belonged in his bed at the hospital. Young Tony wasn't present today. He had finished up at NSA some days earlier and he and Gwen had returned to Cal Tech to pursue their respective educational activities, with Tony feeling a bit pushed aside by the more senior individuals. For many reasons he was hoping that Dr. Gelon would be back at Cal Tech soon.
Halfway around the world the Russians and Chinese had linked in once again. General Sokolov and Dr. Bykov represented the Russians as usual, and General Ming Tao and his chief astronomer Shen Tai were present representing China. The other powers were still not a participant in these talks, something that General Easystone knew was going to have to change very soon given what had been learned.
"So there's no longer any doubt," General Sokolov said pointedly. He and his people had already taken a preliminary look at the images and video the recon team on the moon had forwarded back to Shackleton, which had in turn sent it back to Earth for whatever distribution the Secretary of Defense would authorize.
"I assume you haven't had a chance to debrief your team?" the General asked.
"They are in the process of returning to the base," Bud Hollister explained. "Communications are not great, and we haven't wanted to risk drawing unwanted attention their way. They are having enough trouble without that and have already lost a man to the rigors of the trip."
"There are a great many ships there," General Ming Tao said. "It would have been nice to explore deeper into the facility, and perhaps capture a couple of the beings that can be seen moving around in the background."
"That was not the intent of the mission," General Easystone reminded him. "Six marginally-armed men would have only thrown their lives away making such an attempt, with the only result of alerting these beings to our discovery of their facility."
"We don't even know if the barrier is resistant to entry," the Chinese General groused. "A more capable force is needed to probe this facility."
"That's not going to happen," General Easystone explained. "How many combatants do we have on the moon at this time? Combined, I mean. How long would it take to get more there? Even a hundred? On the moon, we have seen just how long it takes to relocate a force, and the difficulties they encounter. A forced attack with hundreds of heavily armed Special Forces troops is beyond our capability at this point. We are not yet technologically advanced enough to support armed conflict on the moon."
"Attempting to cross the barrier would have risked alerting the enemy to our presence," General Sokolov agreed. "But the General is correct on one thing. There appear to be a great many ships. Most of them are smaller in size, but a few we can see are of the size of those we projected from the photos of the close encounter asteroids. I am surprised that we never detected the smaller ones given the numbers. There must be hundreds of them."
"Our people believe they are using them as building blocks," Hollister said. "They may have been customized with key gear built in so they could land and quickly assemble whatever it is they have built there."
"Agreed," Sokolov replied. "But the number of smaller ships suggests they might have come here in some other vehicle. Some of my people don't believe a ship of that size is likely to be interstellar capable. I can't help but wonder where those ships must be."
An interesting speculation," General Easystone replied, wondering how anyone who didn't know the technology behind interstellar travel would hazard a guess as to what size of a ship would be required to complete such a journey.
"It doesn't matter," General Ming Tao interjected. "We have found them, we know this facility is somehow related to the damaging acceleration our world is being subjected to, so it is now time to eliminate them. General Sokolov, you claim to have nuclear weapons at your base, and I would hazard a guess that our American friends have them at their Tranquility base now as well. I suggest we use them as soon as possible and destroy this place before the aliens have an opportunity to learn of our discovery and take additional precautions."
So they did figure it out, General Easystone thought to himself. It wasn't surprising. The unplanned launch so soon after they had discussed the idea of a nuclear deterrent on the moon was a bit obvious.
"We have no idea whether such a move would be successful," General Sokolov replied. "That barrier might be able to withstand such an attack. We need additional information."
"Before we make any moves we should consider what might be the response from these beings and how we would deal with it," General Easystone said. "Once the aliens are aware we know about their facility and have been using assets on the moon to monitor it, I can very well imagine they might simply remove our presence from the moon entirely. From what we have seen that would very effectively eliminate our ability to keep an eye on them. Our orbital efforts weren't very impressive, and they could probably sweep all of our satellites from the skies as well. They might even decide it is prudent to do the same thing on Earth. I personally believe it would be better to learn more and then mount a coordinated attack."
"If we try to destroy that facility, then we will know for certain whether it is possible," the Chinese General replied, anxious to move swiftly ahead. "Besides, my scientists tell me that the physics of a nuclear explosion suggests that there is nothing one could construct that withstand the blast and temperatures unleashed."
Bykov nodded minutely suggesting he was of a similar mind.
"And whether we succeed or fail, what about the facilities that must exist on Earth?" Bud Hollister asked. "Even if we were successful, we would be alerting them to the danger they face and perhaps trigger reprisals before we are ready to respond."
"There are other reasons I don't think we should move rashly," Dr. Gelon said, his voice clearly weaker than they'd ever heard it before. He still had a long way to go to return back to full health after the three surgeries he had endured since the attack. "Consider the accelerations that alerted us to this whole situation. Most of the solar system is unaffected. But, the Earth and the moon are both being relocated in tandem, moving together into the new orbit. That suggests to me that both have facilities of this type or something similar somewhere on the surface, and both bodies are being moved by these aliens. To destroy the base on the moon, even assuming we are capable of doing so, might terminate the moon's acceleration but not that of the Earth. That could conceivably strip the moon away from the Earth, or run it into us, neither of which is particularly desirable."
Air Force General Markham noted the look that General Ming Tao gave his astronomer, who minutely moved his head indicating he didn't agree.
"Our attempts at finding any such projects on Earth have not met with any success," the Chinese astronomer noted. "I assume everyone else has seen the failure to locate a similar anomaly as we have?"
Both Bykov and Dr. Allen nodde
d their heads. "We are still processing, and we have divided the Earth into a grid, ten miles on a side, but thus far nothing has been revealed. The magnetic fields are processed for each grid, and the current readings subtracted from what was present a month or so ago. Thus far, we have seen nothing like the very distinctive pattern that Tony Symmes found on the moon."
"Our approach has been somewhat different, but we have had a similar lack of success," Dr. Bykov admitted. "I am beginning to believe that the facility we seek is under the oceans as we feared, because like Dr. Gelon I believe it must exist, and yet we cannot locate anything that points to it."
"It is too bad we cannot grab one of these aliens and question him," Ming Tao noted.
"Such dreaming is pointless," Hollister replied. "They have only been spotted on the moon, and we already indicated we lack any means for serious military action, either covert or open attack. Besides, would they even speak our language if you had one under your control?"
"I cannot help but wonder how long we can allow this acceleration to continue before it no longer matters. We all agree that we lack any means of undoing what has already taken place. When does the change reach a point we are doomed regardless of our actions?"
"The initial effects are slow," Dr. Gelon replied. "I'm certain your scientists have told you this. It has been less than a year, and even then the net effect of the acceleration won't be catastrophic. Granted, there will be changes that man will have to adapt to, and some land areas that will become less habitable, but survival won't be in question. Not yet. While a speedy end to the acceleration is desirable, I cannot see taking foolish and ill-planned actions when we have months before the first year has passed."
"There's also the matter of consulting other countries before we act," General Easystone added. "A move to go to war seems a no brainer, but our major allies would not look positively if we were to take such action without reviewing the situation with them."
"I thought we agreed we couldn't risk the leaks," General Sokolov said.
"The President and our Congress have insisted that the major countries be informed of what we have learned. The entire human race is at risk, and they feel they should have some say in how we go about confronting this enemy."
"Which countries?" General Ming Tao asked.
"That hasn't been decided. We should make a list between us," Bud Hollister suggested. "We can choose twenty or twenty-five we consider the major powers, and agree to inform them. Hopefully by the time we can schedule a meeting to inform them, we will have had better luck with our searches here on Earth. Several are already politely asking questions. Do not forget that we have representatives from France, Australia, and Japan at Shackleton, and they are aware we sent out a team. Their people have been inquiring what the purpose of the mission was, and what we learned. They have noted the length and failure of anyone to return as yet, and are reaching the obvious conclusions."
"We risk losing the advantage we have gained," Complained General Ming Tao. "We should act now, while this enemy is unaware of what we have learned. We cannot know how much they are able to monitor of our discussions."
"What do you think?" Bud Hollister asked General Easystone later when they were alone.
"We can't keep this silent much longer. I sympathize with Ming Tao, but I also think Dr. Gelon might have hit upon something important. There are risks to any action, and in this case the greatest risk might not be direct retaliation from these aliens. I think we should be ready to act quickly if the need arises, and I hope more than I can express that we have some luck finding those Earth-based facilities damn soon."
Hollister nodded. "And I'm damn glad the Chinese economy faltered a few years back and they don't have a base with warheads on the moon. I believe these discussions would be moot if they had."
Chapter 19
Australian Aborigines
Jarli Burarrwanga and his brother Mori had spent the past day and a half cautiously making their way toward the strange vision they had spotted from afar as they made their way across the desert searching for an answer as to what might have befallen their cousin Barnum. Barnum had been one obsessed with the old ways, and believed in testing himself against the desert as he wandered far and wide into places no sane man, even a native Australian Aborigine, would normally go. He carried nothing but the traditional gear, and was often gone for months creating worry among the relatives, but he'd always returned, his grin at their concern wide and reassuring. But several years ago he'd set off on his favorite walkabout, heading toward Perth and the ocean, far to the west, a trip he made periodically through a desert he knew well. Most were not concerned at this adventure, but this time he hadn't returned with his bright smile and tales of Dreamland.
Jarli thought often of his cousin, and even though he could not rightly refer to him aloud by his name, he wanted to know what had happened to the man who had taught him so much when they'd been youngsters together. Jarli knew the route Barnum would have taken, at least mostly so, and finally decided he would tackle the forbidding desert himself and see if he could find the answers to his cousin's disappearance. His brother Mori had elected to come along, claiming no one other than Barnum should venture alone into the harsh Outback.
They chose to go on foot. A vehicle would make it hard to spot sign, if any might exist after all this time, but would also be unable to follow the kind of route their cousin would have taken, and they'd be forced to leave it, then return later and re-travel an alternate route. That seemed too much trouble. They were better equipped in other ways, taking a select collection of modern survival gear, their phones, and in addition to traditional knives and spears, both carried relatively modern weapons.
Jarli would have liked to carry one of the military-style M16s because the ammunition was light, as were the rifles. But he didn't have access to one, and therefore he settled for an old, scratched and worn but functional Winchester lever action .30-30. He loaded it with a full tube of seven rounds, and brought no extra cartridges. Ammo was heavy, and he didn't really believe he'd have a need for the weapon, but was simply being prudent in his approach. Brother Mori brought his old pump shotgun, with a double handful of shells.
They had been walking the desert for several weeks when they spotted the aberration on the skyline one morning. They knew they were on the right path having found the remains of several old, but distinctively built fire pits that Barnum would have made. The path they would have followed would not have taken them toward the aberration, bypassing it by more than a day's walk to the south. But both agreed that if it had been here three years earlier when Barnum had passed this way, he would have been unable to bypass it without having a look. That meant they must look as well.
They approached cautiously, sensing this was something unusual, and something that did not belong here. They scouted around the entire circumference of the strange camp, or city, or whatever it was, spotting the infrequent movement of strange looking creatures within. Both were convinced this was where Barnum had met his end.
Mori was intent on going under the smoky cover that shielded the city from the sun and to some degree from view. Jarli was convinced that wasn't a wise move. They didn't know how many of the strange creatures there were, or what they were, but he'd seen enough to know they were outnumbered. Quietly they argued, but Mori wasn't to be dissuaded, and Jarli wasn't willing to risk going forward. He wanted to find someplace with cell phone coverage, and call for armed assistance. He suspected the Gabbas would want to know about this place.
In the end, they each followed their own counsel. Mori moved forward, while Jarli stayed back, concealed, and prepared to help defend his foolish brother should the need arise. Mori reached the boundary, and stealthily crossed under and inside the strange area they had examined for almost a full day. It didn't take long for Jarli to see that his brother's entry had not gone unnoticed. Quick activity developed from the main structure inside the area, with several of the creatures charging out and heading
directly toward where his brother hid, now looking to back out, but without a means of doing so without revealing himself.
Jarli unlimbered the rifle, and fired into the nearest of the creatures, which he could now see were not human, but looked like very large bats. Surprisingly they were intelligent, and carried a strange weapon. He was taking aim at a second of the creatures when Mori, apparently deciding he'd been spotted, jumped up and started shooting his shotgun, downing several of the creatures before one unleashed some strange kind of white fire into his brother. Jarli watched as Mori simply melted away.
The Bat creatures apparently weren't certain if Mori had help or had been alone. The shots Jarli had fired were only witnessed by creatures who had been killed. It might be brave to defend his lost brother's honor, but it would also be foolish. No one would know what happened to them, just as no one had known what happened to Barnum. The Outback would be blamed where something far more dangerous and unnatural would be overlooked.
Jarli lowered the hammer on his Winchester and looked behind him. He moved slowly and carefully, knowing movement was the great revealer, finally finding a spot where he could find cover and disappear from all but the most skilled of trackers. The Aborigine people were very skilled in this way. He was able to watch as the bat creatures examined the area for a long time, then finally gave up and returned inside their special barrier. He didn't try to leave until dark.
Chapter 20
Washington, DC
Pentagon
