by Jack L Knapp
“I’ll decide whether my language is called for or not! What the fuck do you want?”
“I want to make peace. Is that reason enough to call you?” The president’s voice had risen. Two strong-willed men found themselves in conflict.
“Make peace how? I’ve never done anything to harm you, or for that matter the USA. Now you want to press the reset button and sing folk songs together, all buddies again?”
“Back off. Right now. If you can’t do that, then I’ve wasted my time. A lot of people are likely to get killed if you’re not willing to listen. Some of them will be people you’re responsible for. Is that clear enough, or shall we end this?”
“I’ll listen. No guarantees. As for who might get killed, you should remember something. I know where you live, is that clear enough?”
“Is that a threat, Sneyd?”
“You’re goddamned right it is. Are you aware that the North Koreans fired a missile at our base on the moon? They killed some good men, my men!”
“I didn’t know that. You’re sure?”
“I know about my dead employees, and I know who fired the missile. By the way, last I heard, your people weren’t admitting that the North Koreans had a hydrogen bomb. They did, at least one. That’s what they hit Moonbase with.”
“Mister Sneyd, I knew nothing of this. I didn’t know they had that kind of weapon, and when they tested their long range missile, it broke apart in the stratosphere.”
“It didn’t break up. It worked almost perfectly; the warhead blew up less than a mile from Moonbase.”
“That’s worrisome, Mister Sneyd. Kim is unstable. Our contacts within the Chinese government consider him a loose cannon. They have some influence over him, but that’s not the same as control. I’m not sure how much help we can give you.”
“I don’t need your help.” The president filed that bald statement away; he would think about it later. “But since you’re on the phone, there’s something else. If you really want peace between NFI and the USA, leave word with your comm center. When I call, they forward the call immediately. No stalling, I don’t have time for that.”
“Agreed. I’ll see to it. What else?”
“We have something in common after all. Do you know about the object we found?”
“The one in space? I’ve had only a sketchy report, more rumor than anything. You don’t know anything about it, not really, is what the report said.”
“Close. We’ve got some guesses, no hard knowledge. I’m going to send an expedition to see what we can find out. Are you interested in providing some of the scientific staff? Full sharing of all findings?”
This time, the answer was delayed, only a few seconds but it was noticeable. “I’ll agree in principle. We’ll need to work out the details. Can I appoint someone to work with you or your chief of mission?”
“Do that. You understand, this puts everything else on the back burner? It didn’t come from Earth. I have no idea yet what it means, a great opportunity or a great danger, but you can figure the people who put it there are more technically advanced than we are. It’s been there for some time but we’re only now able to find it.”
“I see what you mean. I won’t hide anything from you. Is that acceptable?”
“It is. Get your team together, limit the number to ten. More than that you don’t need, fewer might not be enough to make a breakthrough. If one is even possible.”
“I’ll see to it. Mister Sneyd, can I call you back? I’ve got an urgent message that’s just coming in.”
“Take your message. Sure, call my secretary and we can arrange a time. We’re both too busy to answer unexpected calls.”
“I’ll see to it.”
The call ended and the president leaned back in his chair. For once, looking at the furnishings didn’t help. History, tradition...and maybe none of it meant anything. Sneyd, rude bastard that he was, had hit the nail on the head. There was another civilization out there somewhere, and they were more advanced than anything on Earth.
Pressing the button, he answered the call. Moments later, he sat bolt upright. “Yes, send them in. Is it the full National Security Council?”
The door opened and a small delegation entered. “Mister President, there have been developments. We recommend you increase our readiness status immediately. War is not imminent, but significant events are occurring.”
“Keep talking.”
“Mister President, Pyongyang has been heavily damaged by what appears to be an air strike. Kim Jong Un has not been heard from, although I must caution that there are no reports of his death at this time. Fighting has broken out along the Demilitarized Zone. Both sides have issued statements blaming the other.”
“Predictable. I don’t suppose it matters. Let historians sort it out. Anything else?”
“There have been incidents in Russia and China. They appear to be domestic in origin, and may or may not be significant. It’s too soon to tell.”
“That’s all the CIA has to report? Okay, keep me informed. Local, we can deal with the aftermath. Rebellion, revolution, that’s more serious. Have someone look into it. What else?”
“Russia and China have issued a joint declaration. They’ve declared their airspace closed except for their own aircraft. They threaten to shoot down any intruder, and they specifically included NFI’s ships in this. Do we have a response at this time, maybe close our own air space?”
“Not closed, but maybe a limited response? We don’t want any fighting to spill over into our zone. Exclude the Russians, the Chinese, and their close allies from US airspace. Our allies should be informed that their airplanes will be inspected, but not considered hostile solely by virtue of national origin. Gin up an announcement, cross every I and dot every T.”
“Should we also exclude NFI’s ships, Mister President?”
“No. NFI’s ships are to be considered friendly as of now.” There were looks of surprise, even astonishment, around the circle.
“Yes, Mister President.”
“So we’ve got a war breaking out in Korea, and someone bombed Pyongyang. Do we know who?”
“Mister President, we believe the strike was conducted by NFI’s ships.”
The president felt a chill; the hairs on the back of his neck stirred. Suddenly Sneyd’s comment made perfect sense. But a strike that destroyed part of a city...
None of this found its way into his tone. “We’ll want to be sure, won’t we? Schedule a meeting with the full council tomorrow, say nine o’clock? I’ll want position papers, whatever the CIA can find out, recommendations. This is not our war, not so far. Tell me more about this strike; nuclear weapons? You said Pyongyang was heavily damaged?”
“Yes, Mister President. The strike destroyed several of the residences Kim is known to use, but not all of them. There were casualties, we don’t yet have an estimate. The area around Kim’s palaces is exclusive; the only homes in that area are used by senior officials in his government. A number of them are almost certainly dead.”
The president thought for a moment. “General, the North Korean Army is directed from the top down. What will the loss of the command structure do?”
“We can’t say at this time, Mister President. Satellite coverage is partially blocked by smoke and dust. We infer the locations where the fireballs hit for the time being, and we should have a precise location after the air clears. We know the fireballs...meteors, most likely...came from space, which suggests NFI is responsible. No missiles, no nuclear weapons. But North Korea has an arsenal of nukes, and if the South Koreans begin rolling their army up, they may use them.”
“Do we respond, General? Your recommendation?”
“It’s a political decision, Mister President. We may want to send a message, don’t use nukes. But if we do, China may decide to come in. China and Russia have huge stockpiles, and they share a border. If one goes nuke, the other may also jump in. If the nuclear cat gets out of the bag, India, Pakistan, maybe Israel will feel
encouraged to use theirs. Mister President, no offense intended, but this is why they pay you the big bucks. The decision is above my pay grade.”
The president looked at each member of the National Security Council in turn. The decision pressed in on him. What to do, what not to do?
He realized suddenly that many of his predecessors had faced similar crises, where a single wrong step could lead to America’s destruction. Nuclear winter...he suddenly smiled. Maybe that would reverse global warming!
But what of the extraterrestrials? What if they arrived and found humanity convulsed, war threatening to destroy all of humanity? What would they do?
What would they do?
The End
of
NFI: New Frontiers, Incorporated
The series will continue in Book Three, NEO:Near Earth Object
Books by the author:
The Wizards Series:
Combat Wizard
Wizard at Work
Talent
Veil of Time
Siberian Wizard (forthcoming)
The Darwin’s World Series:
Darwin’s World
The Trek
Home
The Return (forthcoming)
The New Frontiers Series
The Ship: Book One, The New Frontiers Series
NFI: Book Two, the New Frontiers Series
Novella
Hands
Short Stories
Ants
About the Author:
Jack Knapp is a former soldier and science teacher, now a professional writer. He’s a member of Mensa and the Society for Creative Anachronism.
He’s reinvented himself a number of times over the years. Currently, in addition to writing novels, he’s an amateur scientist (global climate change), musician, and commentator on national and international affairs.
Jack spends far too much time on Facebook, but still manages to write about 2500 words a day. He expects to complete at least three novels in 2016. one in each series. The second novel in the New Frontiers Series is NFI: New Frontiers, Inc, the third (NEO, for Near Earth Object). The Ship and NFI are available through Amazon’s Kindle store, and NEO should be ready late in 2016. The
Jack also updates his Facebook Author’s page at least weekly. Log in for the latest information about the work-in-progress (currently The Return, the fourth book in the Darwin’s World Series) and other topics dealing with writing and independent publishing.
http:jlknapp505.com (nonfiction essays)
http:jacklknapp.com (topics in writing and publishing)
https://www.facebook.com/Jack-L-Knapp-456875297748593/
Table of Contents
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
Books by the author:
About the Author:
