I passed out from the pain as shock set in and the medics got to work. It took them a full hour to separate the mechanical arm from my shoulder, to stabilize me and get us ready to med-evac to Savannah. David and the girls sat helplessly by, now only able to watch as my life was in peril. David and the girls later said the flight to Savannah had seemed to take an eternity.
Once at the Military hospital in Savannah it took 16 hours to patch me up. I was told later that it had been touch and go for me because of the extent of the damage, but the doctors had done a tremendous job of keeping me alive.
I was also told later that the damage to my arm was too severe to save and that I would be outfitted with a prosthetic one once I had healed enough. They let me know that I would likely need several more operations over the coming years to get back some use of what was left of my shoulder. We spent the next four months at the army hospital in Savannah where I began my rehab and recovery.
Chapter 22
It had been six months since the alien craft had left. My life was filled from dawn until dusk with physical therapy, interviews, PR stunts and other meetings with world dignitaries. It seemed the population of the world felt they were in our debt.
Every movie company was hounding us, every news network covered whether we were having lunch with the Queen of England or breaking wind with some pro wrestler. And the gifts and "Thank You"s just kept coming in an endless stream.
By vote and generosity of the nations of the world I and my little family were the newest multimillionaires on the planet with each being granted one hundred million Dollars, tax free of course.
We were invited to every corner of the world and received a king’s welcome at the few we had time to attend. I had promised our president to keep the good citizen of the world tour going for at least six months in the hopes of bringing the world a little bit closer together. It was almost like an endless vacation with our every need and whim being catered to. Whatever we asked for was provided with the utmost of speed, respect and courtesy.
With my new bankroll and popularity the ladies were also out in force, throwing themselves before my feet. Ladies may not have been the proper term, but I was flattered none the less. My heart still belonged to one person. I had wondered how Renee was doing, if she was single and if she still had feelings for me.
On a trip back through the States I sent out an assistant to gather info. My eyes lit up when he returned and told me that she was still in Detroit and had never remarried. I was on the phone to her that evening and asked if I could see her. She accepted and I had my schedule changed for a meeting the following day.
I didn’t sleep much that night with the nervousness I was experiencing. On one hand I argued with myself that she would want me back because I had just saved the planet, while on the other I was wondering if she would want me back at all after the way I had treated her before our split.
My heart and my happiness were still heavily invested in her. And what would she think of my new family? My head was swirling with all the thoughts of once again seeing her.
She and her father had continued to roll in the money for the years after she and I divorced. Her mother had passed just before the invasion and she and her father had turned their vast wealth and resources towards helping those who had been displaced.
Their worth was now only a pittance of what it had been, but their lives had been greatly enriched by all the giving. It was funny that I now had all this new found wealth that I had so desired when younger, but I would be willing to give it all away in an instant to get her back.
Fortunes would be made and lost on our road back to normalcy. Politicians and even whole nations would no doubt rise and fall as they had throughout civilization. There was already bickering between our government and others over access to whatever technology the aliens had left behind and to whatever weapons we had used to defeat them. Except for the one fighter left on the beach there was no alien technology remaining. And that had been quickly skirted away to be studied before anyone else would know of its existence.
From the governments point of view the nations of the world were immediately invited to survey the area of the battle to see for themselves that the aliens had cleaned up after their losses. As far as our coil guns went they were not acknowledged. They were all now heavily guarded state secrets and would not make their way into anyone else's hands for a long, long time.
It would likely take our military scientists years to uncover the secrets of their technology, let alone being able to gain any advantage from it. I for one was glad it was in the hands of a free democracy, however imperfect it sometimes was. We had the same story to tell everywhere we went and that story included the robot sprayers doing a thorough job of tidying up.
David was set up for admission to MIT the coming fall. Not because of any need of an income in the future as each of the kids were now worth a hundred million all on their own, but because he was truly fascinated by engineering and wanted to make a contribution to society that was of his own making.
I had no doubt he would once again make his mark at some future venture. It also put him close enough to his grandparents where there would be frequent visits. We of course would be visiting with him every chance we had.
Rachel and Janie chose to stay with me and the adoption papers were already in the works. I couldn’t have been a prouder father of those two and I knew I would enjoy the closeness that we shared for the rest of my life.
Even though they really had no need of it, they were both eager to start back to school in the fall as well. Their lives from here on would no doubt be anything but normal, so any little bit of normalcy they felt they could get they would welcome.
My driver pulled up to Renee’s home on a Tuesday afternoon. She still lived in the same place Frank had purchased for us as our wedding gift. She had just returned from a morning of coordinating help for those less fortunate and was still standing in the drive.
Janie, Rachel and Heinz stayed in the limo. When I got out it took every ounce of my strength to keep myself from running to her. I walked nervously toward her, took her hand and stared into her beautiful blue eyes. There were a million "Sorry"s I was ready to say, but nothing came out and I just stood there staring at her. She then pulled me close for a long tight hug and as the tears came I knew I would be a happy man for the rest of my life.
Even with all my earlier transgressions, I had somehow been blessed. The world was alive and I was surrounded by people that I loved who also loved me. My depression of being alone was over.
Our bunker and farm complex had been designated as a national historical site and would no doubt one day be a popular travel destination for vacationers. It had served us well those few years and I knew that we would each miss it in one way or another. Janie with her chickens and cows, Rachel with her garden and David with his tinkering, they would all be missed, but never forgotten.
I had tracked down Pete's parents who were still in good health and made a generous sum of money available to them. Even though I had only known Pete for a short time he had still been my best friend and had accounted for much of our success against the invaders. His parents would be well cared for in their final years.
With all my happiness, with all my fame and popularity and with my new found wealth, I still had the fact buried deep down in the back of my mind that our alien foes would one day return. Would we be ready for them? Would they come in larger numbers? Would they have newer and more powerful ships, weapons and shields? These were all questions that could drive a man crazy if he were to dwell on them for long.
So that day I decided, since I had no control over those events, I was just going to tuck those thoughts neatly away in the back of my mind, they were no longer going to bother me. I would spend the next few years funding Renee and Frank’s humanitarian efforts before we turned it all over to a foundation. I looked forward to spending time with Renee and keeping tabs on David, Rachel and Janie who were all now young
adults and were thriving.
The rest of the world would obsess over the aliens for years to come and I was all too happy to turn the reins of that obsession over too them. As I write these last thoughts, my feet are propped up on the railing of our houseboat, with a fishing line in the water.
As the Sun begins to set, Renee is sitting beside me reading with Heinz lying beside us on the deck, the girls are out riding their jet skis. The world still has its problems and probably forever will, but for Renee, the girls and I, it has just been the beginning of the eve of another perfect peaceful day.
What's Next!
This Human is asking for your help!
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I sincerely hope you have enjoyed reading this book. The first chapter of the next book in the series is provided below, I hope you enjoy it as well. Or, get the next in the series, SODIUM:3 Fusion, now!
SODIUM
3 Fusion
Chapter 1
Alarms were sounding all over. Four satellites had been destroyed. The last time this happened was almost 70 years before during the SODIUM Apocalypse. Bases were on high alert. Fighters and warships scrambled. The world was on edge. The Media were all asking if the aliens had returned. The Commander-in-Chief had not yet given the answer.
During the SODIUM Apocalypse (S.A.) three large alien craft descended on the Tampa, Florida area. Armed with gravity wave concussion weapons they flattened the city, killing every human being. The alien attackers then proceeded to move across the state cutting a wide swath, first crushing and destroying Orlando and finally the Daytona Beach area.
The attack only lasted a few days, but the cities and the surrounding suburbs for a 100 mile wide path had been completely annihilated. Only a handful of survivors remained.
The aliens were met with futile resistance as their technologies were far superior to that of Mankind. They demanded that no radio broadcasts of any type be made and no aircraft leave the ground. They gave notice that all humans remaining on the peninsula of Florida be removed. For three weeks every resource available was used to make that happen.
Ships could not sail in the Eastern Atlantic or Gulf Coast regions. Any violations would be met with swift retribution. The governments of the United States and the rest of the world quickly capitulated to the aliens demands and a peaceful co-existence ensued.
The alien ships had come to mine Sodium from the oceans. The bloodbath had been a warning that they were not to be trifled with. A group of four had managed to stay alive in Central Florida. During the aftermath, with no communications, they were unaware of the survival of the rest of the world.
For more than three years they struggled to rebuild some semblance of a normal life… a sustainable life. For more than three years they cowered under the protection of any cover they could find. During that time they worked feverishly on a weapon they hoped to be able to use for hunting. It was a coil gun made with a mystery technology that one of the survivors had received as a young boy. It had been thrust into his hand by an old stranger while on a family vacation.
With the computer wizardry of a teenage survivor the coil gun soon became a formidable weapon. It was far more powerful than the survivors had ever dreamed. With the new weapon the group decided it was time for Mankind to take back what was rightfully theirs. It was time for revenge.
A set of hard-fought ambushes ensued destroying two of the immense alien craft and driving the third from the planet. Only then did they learn that the rest of the world was still alive. The S.A. had changed the course of man.
Although it had not become a perfect world, the peoples of Earth and their governments had learned to cooperate and settle arguments without the use of a sword. Each nation retained a military as real trust was something that only existed on the surface. A peaceful co-existence of nations had continued but with an always watchful eye.
I was in transition from my previous gig with a fighter wing to my new assignment in the Astronaut Corps. If a fight was coming I reasoned that chances were good that I would be involved. I had applied repeatedly to the USAC only to be rejected due to several infractions on my otherwise stellar record.
I was a great pilot but I sometimes neglected to follow the rules. A Mach two beach flyover to impress a girlfriend and a drunken fight in the Officer’s lounge were two of my stable of infractions. I was sure I had only been allowed to stay in the service due to my family connections.
My Great Uncle, David Brenner, was revered throughout the world. He was our nation’s top scientist. This was the same David Brenner who as a teenager had helped defeat the aliens during the S.A. As his Great Nephew I had many doors opened to me throughout my still young career.
The first was in college... where I was not always the best student. Next was in the Naval Academy where I had stepped on a few toes of high ranking Officers. My commission as a UAV pilot had surely only been granted out of respect for my Great Uncle. And now, my acceptance into the newly formed USAC was likely also from his doing.
After the S.A., David Brenner and his team of nearly 40 top scientists had been working diligently on high priority projects. It had taken almost three years to gain entry into the lone damaged alien fighter that had survived. Up until that day only a handful of scientists, restricted military personnel and the President himself were aware of the craft's existence.
The world had been told there was no surviving wreckage from the S.A. All had been led to believe the remaining alien craft had left the planet after cleaning up any wreckage. That statement had been true except for this one remaining vessel.
The alien fighter had been outfitted with a canister of highly corrosive liquid. When disabled the craft would release the canister which would in turn cover the ship with a corrosive mist. Within ten minutes the craft would dissolve into nothingness. My Uncle had narrowly escaped death when that very canister was being removed from the lone wrecked alien craft.
The canister firing mechanism had been damaged during the S.A. when a coil gun projectile had knocked the fighter from the sky. The technicians removing the canister had unwittingly re-activated the trigger when pulling it from the craft. The canister had been placed on a table 30 feet away from the alien craft when the accident occurred. The result had been the death of three technicians and the two scientists who had been overseeing their efforts.
David Brenner had only walked away moments before for a cup of coffee. A substantial portion of one side of the fuselage and of one wing of the alien craft had been dissolved by the mist. Only the quick action by a support team member had prevented the complete destruction of the vessel. With the mist spreading out from the canister the team member had jumped into a tug attached to the front of the craft and began pulling it away.
He had crashed the tug through a hangar door while pulling the ship to safety. David Brenner, the remaining scientists and the other workers had scrambled for the hangar exits. Minutes after the alien craft had been pulled into an adjacent hangar, the first hangar collapsed. Luckily, the brief moment of exposure to the open skies had not been enough for the alien fighter's existence to be discovered.
For three years David Brenner and his team had been busily attempting to learn the secrets of the invaders. One benefit that had been derived from the canister mishap was that the interior of the ship had been exposed. With the vessel open David and the other sc
ientists had managed to discover the secret of the alien craft's power system... Sodium fusion.
A simple fusion reactor, coupled with a generous supply of Sodium, could keep the craft fully powered and in flight for many months. Over the following years David Brenner and his team had unlocked the technology of the Sodium fusion reactor.
In addition to understanding the alien's power system the team had also replicated and then greatly enhanced its performance and efficiency. With the abundance of Sodium on the Earth and with the enormous power generated by a single reactor the United States had seen a new energy renaissance.
With the world no longer dependent on fossil fuels and with an abundant supply of clean cheap energy, world perspectives had changed dramatically. Every nation had been offered the power free in return for renewed diplomacy and friendly cooperation.
For security and control reasons the reactors all remained in the United States under heavy guard. The power was broadcast to the other nations of the world using gigantic Tesla coils. For 70 years the system had worked. For 70 years Man had been largely at peace.
One defense company that had risen dramatically after the discovery of Sodium fusion was Arsonics Corporation. With their prowess in aircraft power systems they had landed crucial contracts in the outfitting of new aircraft with nano-reactor power systems.
The contracts were lucrative and the advances brought about by the company engineers soon placed Arsonics at the forefront of power system manufacturing and integration. During those years the United States had greatly enhanced its military capability. The aircraft of the US armed forces had been outfitted with high efficiency coil guns, nano-reactors and electric turbines.
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