by D F Capps
“We have to do better, people.”
Comments of frustration were flowing over the radio network.
“Attention Squadron One,” Hollis said over the radio. “I have been advised additional help is on the way. Tau Ceti ships will be joining you. Their ships are larger and taller than the Zeta Grey saucers and have multi-colored lights around them. Let’s eliminate any friendly fire casualties.”
“You heard the boss, people. Go get ’em!”
“Commander Zadanski?” came over the radio.
“Copy,” she replied.
“I am the commanding officer of a group of Tau Ceti ships. We will be joining you within the next ten seconds. Please take note that our ships have red and blue pulsing lights on them, both top and bottom.”
“Welcome aboard. I will pass the word. Red and blue pulsing lights are friendlies.”
“Thank you Commander. We are engaging Zeta Grey saucers now. Good hunting.”
Diane chuckled. Hunting, she thought. Under the circumstances, that wasn’t a bad term.
As dusk deepened into the darkness of night, The Zeta Grey saucers and the Tau Cetian saucers were easier to see. The cruise missiles were also easier to spot, but only from the back where the exhaust from the small jet engine could be seen.
Chapter 45
Diane was getting lined up on another Zeta Grey saucer when a Tau Ceti ship appeared out of nowhere and shot at the scout saucer. The saucer fired back at the same time it was hit by the Tau Ceti ship. The light flash from the saucer seemed to be deflected from the Tau Ceti ship just before it disappeared again.
A shield? she wondered. And how could they appear and disappear like that?
“Attention all Space Command fighter craft. Be advised that Tau Ceti ships may appear and disappear without warning. Verify all targets before opening fire,” Diane said.
The scout saucer was losing altitude, obviously damaged, but she targeted the saucer anyway and shot it again just to be sure. The battle was slowly turning in their favor. With the Tau Ceti ships targeting the Zeta Grey saucers, it left more Space Command fighters available to hunt down the remaining cruise missiles.
She and Buddha slipped over a ridge of mountains into the next valley, encountered two more Zeta Grey scout saucers, and quickly dispatched them. They were eighteen miles behind another cruise missile. In a matter of seconds they closed in and shot down the missile.
“You ever wonder if the warhead is going to detonate when we shoot one of them?” Buddha asked.
Her eyes opened wide and her eyebrows popped up. “Hadn’t even thought about that,” she replied. “Could that happen when they crash?” she asked.
“Apparently not,” he said, “based on the record so far.”
“Be advised,” Hollis’s voice came over the radio, “nuclear warheads have a fail safe system. They won’t detonate until they reach their targets. It’s GPS controlled.”
Diane sighed in relief. “You heard the boss, people. Get up close and personal with the cruise missiles. Every single one has to be shot down.”
She heard the information being repeated in Russian and Chinese over the radio.
“Less than two hundred missiles remain,” Ryan said. “That’s only one or two apiece.”
She and Buddha skipped over another set of mountains and closed in on another cruise missile. The number of Zeta Grey saucers they encountered was diminishing rapidly. She shot the cruise missile as Ryan was reporting the number of targets remaining.
“Under a hundred,” he said.
There wasn’t another cruise missile within their range, so Diane led Buddha up out of the valley and into the open night sky.
“Under fifty,” Ryan said. “We’re winning this.”
Within another four minutes the last cruise missile had been shot down and the Zeta Grey saucers had disappeared completely.
* * *
Rosaq watched the accumulating loss of hundreds of Zeta Grey scout saucers. The improved effectiveness of the Earth fighter craft was a development he hadn’t anticipated. His technicians were working on increasing the target acquisition speed to counter the rapid movements the enemy craft were making, but progress was slow—way too slow.
The other disturbing factor was the report of a new type of enemy craft that had joined the fight. He studied the images and performance characteristics of the new craft. He didn’t have to refer to the massive Zeta Grey database of spacecraft in the galaxy. These he knew from personal experience. They were Tau Cetian in construction.
Two possibilities came to mind: either the humans had purchased or traded something for the Tau Ceti craft, or the people of Tau Ceti were actively engaged in helping the Earth humans. Between the two options, help from the people of Tau Ceti was a far greater threat. With everything that had happened so far, he was reluctant to bring any more disturbing news to the Insectoid he reported to. He didn’t want to be replaced before his grand plan could be accomplished. He needed to get credit for conquering the planet before any decision was made regarding his future within the Zeta Grey organization.
He reviewed his options with the Insectoid. He needed something not just beneficial to the Corporate Alliance, but spectacular in order to offset the losses that had accumulated during his leadership. The Corporate Alliance was strictly profit driven, as was the Insectoid he reported to. He rationalized the delay in reporting to his superiors as needing more proof that the people of Tau Ceti were involved. He was just a few hours away from putting an end to the human rebellion once and for all. Just a few more hours and he would not incur the wrath of the insectoid above him.
Chapter 46
Diane called her squadron together to head home. The excitement and exuberance of their victory over the cruise missiles and Zeta Grey scout saucers was still spinning in her mind.
The sky brightened to the north, shattering the darkness with a brilliance she had never seen before. The fighter craft in her squadron were violently pushed back as the electromagnetic shock wave passed. She turned her craft away to protect their eyes from the light. As the intensity of the light faded she turned to see what happened. Diane’s squadron recovered rapidly, all turning to face the rising mushroom cloud to the north. A massive shock wave spread quickly across the land with a giant fireball spreading out and rising in the center, consuming everything it encountered.
“Location?” Diane asked.
“Calculating . . .” Ryan said.
Diane closed her eyes.
“St. Petersburg,” Ryan said softly.
“But we stopped all of the missiles—all of them!”
“I know,” Ryan replied. “There was no missile on my scope. Nothing was even close to St. Petersburg—nothing!”
Diane sat with her mouth open. “How did this happen?”
She ran everything through her mind again.
“Base, this is Jink. Do we have any final targets figured out for the cruise missiles?”
“Checking . . .”
She sat hovering in place. Something was wrong with what just happened. It felt so wrong.
“Jink?” It was Hollis’s voice. “We have destinations plotted for every cruise missile. Moscow had multiple missiles assigned to it. Aside from that, every other target was a military base or installation.”
“Anything targeting St. Petersburg?” she asked.
“Nothing. Why? What happened?”
“St. Petersburg was just destroyed by a nuclear detonation. We’re watching the mushroom cloud rising right now.”
There was a long pause before Hollis answered. “Commander, bring your squadron home. You’re needed here now.”
“Yes, sir.”
Chapter 47
Sean Wells was on the phone with Ed, his editor, bringing him up to date on his contact with Peggy Sue Behnke. A sharp, loud crackle from the cell phone made him wince. It was followed by the sound of dead air. Sean looked at his phone, disconnected, and called Ed back. Nothing happened. No ringing,
no voicemail, nothing. He disconnected and called again. Still nothing.
He frowned and called his number at the New York Times. Nothing there either, not even his voicemail.
“Please turn off all electronic devices,” the flight attendant said. “We will be landing in Sheridan, Wyoming in fifteen minutes.”
He hated these small puddle-jumper flights. At least this one offered cell phone service; something he hadn’t anticipated. He put his phone in his pocket and checked around the small plane. Of the twelve seats, only nine were taken. He was the only one wearing a suit. Everyone else was in casual clothes, some wearing cowboy hats and fuzzy leather vests. As he glanced back down the narrow aisle, he counted four people wearing cowboy boots. He shook his head. That far out in the sticks, he thought.
The plane landed smoothly and taxied over to the small terminal. Sean grabbed his travel bag and walked down the four steps to the pavement, then in through the sliding glass doors. All of the people in the terminal were watching a large screen TV on the side wall. A reporter from one of the major news channels had a grim look on his face. Sean could barely make out what the reporter was saying, even though the room was totally silent. He pushed his way closer to the TV screen.
“Approximately twenty-three minutes ago we lost contact with our affiliate station in New York City,” the reporter said. “Twitter has exploded with reports of a huge mushroom cloud over New York City.” The reporter paused, pressing his right forefinger to his ear. “I have been informed that we have a video from a security camera. I am told the content of the video is very disturbing.”
The video showed a busy street in a commercial district.
“We are looking east on a street in Newark, New Jersey,” the reporter said.
The screen turned a bright white for two seconds, and then the image gradually returned. Wisps of smoke appeared on the power pole and on the electric cable leading to the building on the right. Cars veered to the side of the street, some colliding with parked cars. People got out of their cars, shielding their eyes from the light, turning to the large fireball rising into the sky.
The shock wave hit, tumbling cars along the street, and sweeping people from view. Signs blew off buildings, windows shattered, trees were uprooted, and fell onto buildings and sidewalks. Some structures collapsed as others burst into flames.
“I have been informed that the location of the camera is approximately ten miles from New York City,” the reporter said.
Sean’s knees buckled and he dropped slowly to the floor.
A woman near him bent down. “Sir? Are you all right?”
Images of Ed came into his mind. Memories of the New York Times offices, his apartment, his friends, and his favorite places to eat were spinning in his head.
“Sir? Can you hear me?”
Gone, he thought. It’s all gone. He felt numb and disconnected from everything around him. How can it all be gone?
“Sir, my name is Kathy, and I’m a nurse. Look at me. Can you tell me your name?”
Sean struggled to open his mouth, but no words were coming out. She placed her fingers on his throat to check his pulse.
“I need some help,” Kathy yelled. “Help me get him into a chair.”
Two large men wearing cowboy hats picked him up and carried him over to a chair in the terminal waiting area.
“Sir, can you tell me your name?”
Sean looked around at the cluster of people standing around him and refocused on the woman. “Sean . . . Sean Wells.”
“Where are you from, Mr. Wells?”
Sean glanced at the TV screen. “New York. I’m a reporter for the New York Times.”
Kathy looked to the TV screen, then closed her eyes. “Oh, God.”
* * *
Diane joined Hollis, McHenry, Novak, and Pedder in Hollis’s office.
“Both St. Petersburg and New York City have been destroyed by thermonuclear weapons,” Hollis said.
She shook her head. “I don’t understand. St. Petersburg was never a target. How did it get hit? And New York? Why not Washington, D.C. and Moscow? If this was a normal war, both of those cities would have been the first to be attacked.” Hollis stared at her. “Plus the involvement of the Zeta Greys protecting the missiles . . .”
“She’s got a point,” McHenry said. “Why not take out the political centers first? Why hit purely civilian targets and leave the political centers in place? It doesn’t make any sense.”
Hollis drummed his fingers on his desk for a moment then nodded. “You’re right. It doesn’t make sense. Something else has to be taking place. The only reason to leave the political structure in place is that someone still needs it functioning. But why?”
Chapter 48
Senator Stevens walked out of the main doors of the Capitol building and straight to the large cluster of reporters.
“What happened to New York City?”
“Did the Russians bomb us?”
“Can you confirm it was a nuclear bomb?”
“Are we at war?”
Stevens raised a hand and waited for the questions to subside. “Here is what we know at this time: The assassination of President Andrews was not planned or carried out by the Russians. President Harper agreed to give the FBI twenty-four hours to further investigate the attack on the White House and the assassination of Andrews. The FBI has since learned that a group of mercenaries, unrelated to the Russians, was responsible for the attack. President Harper did not wait for proof from the FBI as he agreed to do. Instead, he ordered a nuclear first strike against Russian cities. One missile got through the Russian defenses and destroyed the city of St. Petersburg. Because of that, the Russians launched a nuclear tipped missile that targeted New York City.
“Harper has proven he is incapable of handling the immense power associated with the presidency. He has committed the most atrocious of war crimes by ordering an unprovoked nuclear attack on millions of innocent people. I am publically calling for the immediate arrest of President Harper for crimes against humanity. He must be arrested and removed from power before he can escalate an already tragic set of events into a global nuclear war.”
One of Senator Stevens’s aides rushed over and handed him a slip of paper. Stevens looked at the note and nodded.
“I have just received word that the FBI has taken Harper into custody and that he is being charged with the first degree murder of approximately five million people.”
The crowd of reporters didn’t hesitate.
“Who will be president?”
“What will happen to Harper?”
“Will there be more attacks?”
Stevens raised his hand again and waited for the questions to stop.
“We have a well-established line of succession for the presidency. The Speaker of the House, Congressman Leland Abbott, is already at the White House under secret service protection and will be sworn in within minutes. That’s all I have at this time.”
* * *
Sean was brought into a private room at the Sheridan airport. Kathy was on her phone, apparently talking with a doctor. The idea that he needed a doctor was still a fuzzy concept floating in his mind. Physically, he hadn’t been injured, but his body wasn’t responding well to his attempts to get moving. He felt disoriented and distracted. He wondered why he was here, in Sheridan, Wyoming.
He couldn’t remember.
Chapter 49
Leland Abbott held his left hand on an obviously aged Bible, raised his right hand, and recited the oath of office to become the next President of the United States. He completed the few necessary pieces of paperwork and walked to the rose garden where reporters were packed around the podium with the presidential seal on the front. He held a grim expression as he stepped up to the microphones.
“A terrifying series of events has brought me to this position today.” He glanced around at the crowd. “The world stands on the brink of a global nuclear war. I am deeply ashamed that our country has been the
one to initiate a war that could very well bring the end to life on our planet. Every country, every person in the world, looks to me to see if we will have war.
“I stand before you, and the people of the world, to tell you that there will be no more war. I am taking the first step to put an end to war forever. I hereby order all military branches of the United States of America to destroy all of the machines of war. Take all of the warships out to sea and sink them. Destroy all warplanes, tanks, and military support for anything to do with war. Destroy all of the munitions, guns, missiles, and weapons of any sort. When all of the machines of war have been destroyed, I am ordering all military men and women to be released and returned to civilian life. Only when the world is free of the machines of war, and the soldiers who use them, will humanity have peace.
“I also implore all other nations around the world to follow my example: Destroy the machines of war and dismiss your military people. If your leaders will not follow my example, replace them with someone who will. Now is the time for a complete and lasting peace. The world cannot survive one more minute of war and armed conflicts. It ends here. It ends now. Beginning with us.”
The reporters and news crews stood in stunned silence as Abbott turned and walked back to the White House. A rush of questions rose from the crowd, only to be answered by Abbott closing the door to the White House behind him, ending any further discussion.
* * *
“No, no, no!” Kaplan screamed when he heard President Abbott’s speech over the radio. “We can win! We have the power. The opportunity is now. We must destroy Russia and anyone who takes a stand against us.”
He grabbed his satellite phone and punched in the number to connect him with USAP317. He typed in what he wanted to say and disconnected. Now all he had to do was wait for the response.
