by John Zakour
‘‘Tell him I’m not so sorry for shooting back,’’ I said.
I pulled the trigger. My shot hit GUS dead on. It didn’t really damage him but the force of the shot blew GUS out of Sputnik’s hand.
I pointed my gun between Sputnik’s eyes. ‘‘The next shot is for keeps,’’ I told him.
Sputnik snarled at me, holding his stinging right hand with his left. Limping over to the control panel he raised his arm. ‘‘This isn’t over yet.’’
‘‘I think it is,’’ I said, pulling the trigger. I didn’t really want to kill him, but I couldn’t let him doom fifteen billion people.
The bullet streaked out from gun toward Sputnik’s brain. It drew closer than closer then came to an abrupt halt, less than half a micrometer from making contact. The bullet fell to the floor.
‘‘DOS! Not again,’’ I shouted.
‘‘Zach, I could not let you kill my father,’’ Lea said.
Sputnik turned to Lea and Melda. ‘‘Thank you, my loved ones.’’ He bent down and picked up GUS with his left hand. He pointed GUS at me. ‘‘You should have killed me when you had your first shot.’’
I shook my head. ‘‘Not my style. Unless there is no other way.’’
Sputnik snickered. ‘‘Too bad. A true leader does what he wants when he wants.’’
‘‘Only a deranged one,’’ I said.
‘‘Oh, great, taunt the crazy man with the deadly weapon pointed right at you,’’ HARV said. ‘‘It amazes me you weren’t killed years ago.’’
Sputnik squeezed GUS’ trigger. Nothing happened.
‘‘GUS, I knew you couldn’t kill me!’’ I said.
‘‘Sorry, Mr. Zach, sir,’’ GUS said. ‘‘I would have killed you but something is blocking me.’’
‘‘What?’’ Sputnik and I both said at the same time.
‘‘It was me,’’ Lea said, walking toward her father. ‘‘I certainly cannot let you harm Zach.’’
‘‘Daughter, how could you?’’ Sputnik asked.
She lowered her eyes as she approached. ‘‘We were so wrong, Father, especially you.’’
Sputnik shook his head. ‘‘I am never wrong, only occasionally less right.’’
‘‘I cannot let you harm the Earth or the Moon,’’ Lea said determinedly. She was a person who had made up her mind.
Sputnik held open his arms. ‘‘But I only want what’s best for everybody.’’
Lea hugged him. ‘‘No, you only want what’s best for you.’’
Sputnik nodded. ‘‘Yes, everybody whose opinion matters.’’
Lea started to glow with energy. ‘‘Get out!’’ she ordered.
‘‘I can’t,’’ Sputnik said. ‘‘You are holding me too tight.’’
‘‘I was talking to everybody else,’’ Lea said. ‘‘Get out,’’ she ordered, both aloud and mentally. ‘‘Take the others with you. I have no intention of hurting anybody else, ever.’’
‘‘Ah, what about me?’’ Sputnik asked.
Lea shook her head. ‘‘You don’t count. As long as either of us breathe, Earth and the Moon won’t be safe.’’ She looked at him unflinchingly. ‘‘I will not have that.’’
‘‘But I am your father and your leader!’’ he shouted.
‘‘I didn’t choose you or vote for you,’’ she said.
Melda telekinetically lifted some of her other children from the ground. She started heading for the door. ‘‘Gather the others,’’ she said, ‘‘and run!’’
Carol and Elena were starting to come around. I bent down and shook each of them gently. ‘‘Come on ladies, rise and shine, quickly.’’
‘‘What hit me?’’ Carol asked. She then noticed the glowing Lea. ‘‘Oh, that’s not good.’’
Elena pushed herself up from the ground. ‘‘Depends on how you look at it.’’ Elena stared at her cousin and her uncle for a nano or two. She smiled, then softly said, ‘‘Wow.’’
‘‘Grab as many apes and people as you can with your minds and let’s get out of here before she blows.’’ I said. ‘‘Literally.’’
Elena and Carol picked up those Melda couldn’t carry in a telekinetic net.
‘‘Come on, let’s go,’’ I shouted, pointing to the door.
‘‘We know where the door is, Tió,’’ Carol scolded.
Carol, Elena, Melda, and I moved out of the building as fast as we could with the others in tow.
‘‘How far away do we have to be to be safe?’’ I asked Melda as we excited the building.
She shook her head. ‘‘Too far.’’
Melda stopped running and threw open her arms. ‘‘I’ll create a force field.’’
Before I was able to say anything the Tracking and Blocking Station was engulfed by a burst of explosive energy. The force of the blow knocked us all to the ground. I looked up. Where the staion once stood was now a towering mushroom cloud.
‘‘Wow,’’ was all I could say.
I looked around at everybody. They were all stunned, but not in pieces. I took that as a good sign. ‘‘Are you all okay?’’
Carol and Elena both nodded yes. ‘‘Better than ever,’’ Elena said.
Priscilla jumped to her feet. ‘‘Takes more than a little subatomic blast to stop a good gorilla,’’ she said with a smile.
I stood up and moved to Melda who was lying on the ground in front of us. I touched her lightly on the shoulder. ‘‘Are you okay?’’ I asked.
‘‘My daughter and husband are dead, but I will live,’’ she said solemnly.
‘‘HARV, is Earth safe?’’ I asked.
‘‘Define safe,’’ HARV asked.
‘‘HARV!’’
‘‘Yes, the asteroid will miss the planet.’’
‘‘Phew,’’ I said, ‘‘then it’s over.’’
‘‘Well, we still have the little matter of two nuclear warheads heading straight for us,’’ HARV said.
HARV never was one to let my revel in the moment.
Chapter 42
‘‘HARV, put me in contact with Ona, ASAP,’’ I ordered.
‘‘Doing it now,’’ HARV said.
I waited. Nothing happened. The delay was very unlike HARV.
‘‘What’s going on, HARV?’’
‘‘Things are a bit slow, since she is in secret orbit around Earth with the rest of the World Council.’’
DOS, it didn’t take them long to abandon planet.
Priscilla hopped to my side. ‘‘Typical humans . . . Saving themselves when the going gets tough.’’
Ona’s holographic image broadcast itself from my communicator.
‘‘Oh, hi, Zach,’’ she said, as awkwardly as I’ve ever heard Ona say anything.
‘‘Ona, Earth is safe. Sputnik is dead. So is his daughter Lea. She was the one who killed all those council members.’’
‘‘That’s, ah, good to know, Zach.’’
‘‘You can call back your missiles now.’’
Silence. That’s never a good sign when dealing with politicians.
‘‘I said, you can call back your missiles now.’’
More silence, worse sign. Ona gave me the weakest smile of her life. ‘‘About that,’’ she said then stopped.
‘‘Yes?’’
‘‘I feel bad . . .’’
‘‘Because?’’
‘‘Real bad now,’’ Ona said.
‘‘Don’t tell me,’’ I said.
‘‘Okay,’’ Ona said, waving good-bye to the screen.
‘‘Tell me!’’ I shouted.
‘‘The missiles are non-stoppable and non-recallable,’’ she said.
‘‘Non-stoppable?’’
‘‘Well, technically they will stop, but not until they reach their target and detonate.’’
‘‘Why?’’
‘‘They are nuclear bombs, Zach. That’s what they do, hit things and blow up.’’
I sighed. ‘‘Why did you launch non-recallable missiles?’’
‘‘The
y are a defense against powerful psis. We wanted to make sure none of them could trick us into recalling the missiles.’’
‘‘So there’s no way out?’’
‘‘Zach, I can assure you, I and the other council members feel really, really, really awkward about this,’’ Ona said.
At that time, Electra and her fellow ARC members had joined us in the courtyard. Shara and her students were also there—the students must have freed her after we left.
Electra raced over and we embraced. I lifted her off the ground and gave her a kiss. Not just any kiss, the hardest yet the softest kiss I had ever given her. I’m a tough guy, yet I’ll admit that it made me tingle from my toes to the tip of my fedora.
‘‘Did I just hear what I thought I heard?’’ Electra asked me.
‘‘Afraid so,’’ I said, lowering her gently to the ground. ‘‘We’re dead, unless we can stop two missiles from coming at us.’’
Ona waved to Electra. ‘‘Hi, Electra, nice to see you again. Sorry it can’t be under less dire circumstances.’’
Electra gave Ona a polite nod. ‘‘So, Earth is going to destroy the Moon,’’ Electra said.
‘‘ ’Fraid so,’’ Ona and I both said.
‘‘Oh, some of this may be my fault,’’ Shara sighed.
‘‘Some of this?’’ I said.
‘‘No use pointing fingers now, Zachary,’’ Shara said.
‘‘Could we crash shuttles into the missiles?’’ Electra asked.
Ona’s image shook her head. ‘‘No go. The missiles are intelligent; they would avoid any incoming objects or shuttles.’’
‘‘Then let’s use the reflector beam on them,’’ I said.
‘‘But you said the control station has been destroyed,’’ Ona said.
‘‘HARV can still control the beam. Right, HARV?’’
‘‘Sure, only the missiles are smaller and faster than the killer asteroids the deflector beam is built to be used against,’’ HARV answered.
‘‘But you can do it,’’ I said.
HARV shook his head yes. He thought for a nano, then shook his head no.
‘‘What is it, yes or no?’’ I asked.
‘‘Both,’’ HARV answered. ‘‘I can deflect one of the missiles but not both of them in time.’’
‘‘Ah, why not?’’ I asked. ‘‘Hit one with one beam, hit the other with the backup beam.’’
HARV put up one finger, ‘‘One, it’s more complicated to hit a missile than an asteroid.’’
‘‘Yeah, but you’re good at math and stuff. You can do it.’’
‘‘True,’’ HARV said as he put up a second finger. ‘‘But two, the feedback from Lea’s explosion destroyed the backup beam.’’
‘‘You should have led with that one,’’ I said.
‘‘You’re right. This probably wasn’t the time to build suspense.’’ HARV took a step back. ‘‘Sorry about that,’’ he said. ‘‘I believe I am feeling a bit of sorrow as I have grown fond of the Moon.’’
I turned to Priscilla. ‘‘Any chance you can get a team over to the beam and fix it?’’
‘‘Sure, sweetie,’’ she said. ‘‘We can have it up and running in twelve hours.’’
‘‘We don’t have nearly that much time,’’ HARV said.
‘‘I didn’t say it was a good chance,’’ Priscilla said.
Electra turned to me. ‘‘Sweetie?’’
‘‘It’s a pet name.’’ I looked at Melda. ‘‘How many escape shuttles are ready to go?’’
‘‘One . . .’’
‘‘Ah, that’s not all that helpful.’’
‘‘Sorry,’’ she said. ‘‘Planning for failure wasn’t one of Bo’s stronger points.’’
That may have been one of the great understatements of all time.
‘‘How much time before you can prep more shuttles?’’ I asked.
‘‘Thirty minutes,’’ she said.
‘‘How long until the missiles hit?’’ I asked HARV.
‘‘Twenty minutes.’’
‘‘Oh, that won’t work,’’ I said.
HARV, patted me on the shoulder. ‘‘Very good, Zach. I wish I could think away the other missile, but I can’t.’’
That triggered something in my brain. I smiled.
‘‘He’s happy,’’ HARV said. ‘‘Yep, he’s finally snapped.’’
‘‘You can’t think them away, but we’re surrounded by the biggest collection of psi power ever.’’
I turned and Elena and Carol were by my side.
‘‘Can you guys do it?’’
Melda looked at me like I was crazy. It was a look I was very used to. ‘‘It’s a relatively small object, traveling thousands of kilometers an hour in the vastness of space.’’
‘‘Is that a yes?’’
‘‘Yes!’’ Elena answered.
Melda spun toward her. ‘‘I know you are powerful girl, but not THAT powerful.’’
Elena shook her head. ‘‘Alone, maybe not, at least not easily. But together, we can do it.’’
Melda just shook her head.
I turned toward Carol. ‘‘What do you think?’’
‘‘I don’t think we’ve got anything to lose, except maybe a bit of pride.’’
‘‘Then do it!’’
Elena was the first to lock and load. She spread open her arms, tilted her head back, and stared deep into the Moon sky. Carol was next, mimicking Elena. Melda shook her head again.
Elena looked at her and said, ‘‘Do it!’’
Melda sighed. She stepped to the left of Elena, took a deep breath and struck a pose very similar to Elena’s.
HARV watched, scratching his head. ‘‘What’s next? We’ll all hold hands and sing ‘Kumbaya’?’’
I pointed at him. ‘‘You got any better ideas?’’
HARV hung his head. ‘‘Sadly, no.’’
‘‘Then you do your job and let the psis do theirs.’’
HARV acknowledged me with a nod. ‘‘I’m on it now!’’
‘‘What’s happening there?’’ Ona’s image shouted from over the com. ‘‘I’m a spoiled billionaire politician. I hate not knowing what’s going on.’’
‘‘We’re trying something.’’ I paused for a nano. ‘‘A bit different.’’
‘‘What?’’ Ona ordered.
‘‘HARV is going to deflect one of the missiles past the planet.’’
‘‘That doesn’t sound that odd. But that only accounts for one of the missiles.’’
I pulled my collar away from my throat. ‘‘Yeah, the other part of our plan is where things get a wee bit desperate,’’ I conceded.
‘‘What is it, Zach?’’
‘‘Can’t I just tell you if it works? If not, I’d rather die with dignity.’’
‘‘Zach, it can’t be that crazy.’’
‘‘I have Carol, Elena, and Melda trying to think the missile past us.’’
Ona shook her head. ‘‘I stand corrected.’’
Threa popped her head into the picture. ‘‘Greetings, Zach!’’ she said with a wave. She looked at Ona, ‘‘I heard what Zach said. I don’t think the idea is that far-fetched.’’
I sighed. ‘‘Great, we’re dead . . .’’
Threa glared at the screen. ‘‘I heard that, Zach!’’
I turned my attention to the three psis. ‘‘How are you ladies doing?’’
‘‘Don’t ask,’’ Carol said, without looking at me.
‘‘Too late,’’ I said.
Shara, Aprill, and Windee walked up to us. ‘‘Let us help,’’ Shara said.
I shrugged. ‘‘Be my guest.’’
Shara and Aprill joined the others in their poses.
‘‘Any luck?’’ I asked.
‘‘It might be easier if you were quiet for a while,’’ Carol said.
‘‘I’ll take that as a no,’’ I said.
‘‘We need more brainpower,’’ Elena said.
‘‘Well, there are
a couple thousand more psis on the planet,’’ Shara told her.
Elena cracked a slight smile. ‘‘I am linking them in now,’’ she said.
‘‘How many of them?’’ I asked.
‘‘All of them,’’ she said.
‘‘Oh.’’
‘‘They have seen what sitting back and doing nothing has gotten them. They are finally ready to help,’’ Elena said.
I wasn’t sure if Elena had coerced them all or if they had all seen the light on their own. I figured it was probably something in between. I’ve learned there aren’t many absolutes in life. The sooner we accept that life is filled with many gray-shaded areas that are neither one thing or the other but instead a combination of many things, the better we’ll all be.
There was silence for a few minutes as the psis concentrated on the skies. It was as if the entire population of the Moon was holding its breath, which, in a way, it was.
While the psis did their mental linking, I checked in on HARV. He was actually having better success. He had spotted the lead missile and was locking in on it.
‘‘When are you going to be ready, HARV?’’ I asked.
‘‘When I tell you I’m ready,’’ he said.
It seems everybody was a bit touchy.
I turned my attention back to the psis. They were all soaked with perspiration. ‘‘I hate to be a pest but I don’t think we have a lot of time,’’ I said.
‘‘Tió, we can see the incoming missile with our mind’s eyes, but we can’t get a lock on it; the picture is blurry,’’ Carol said.
‘‘We need more psis to lend us their energy,’’ Elena said.
‘‘But we are already linking all the psis on the Moon,’’ Shara chipped in.
I looked at Ona’s image. ‘‘We need the Earth psi population to join in.’’
Sure the percentage of the psis on the Moon was far greater than the percentage of psis on Earth. Earth, though, was much bigger and therefore housed many more psis. I figured there had to be at least twenty thousand more psis on Earth. If we could get a fraction of them to help it would double or triple our numbers.
Ona pushed herself back from the table a bit. ‘‘Ah, that may be a bit tricky.’’
