Starfire

by B. V. Larson

  “Military satellites?” Clark asked mildly.

  “Yes, of course. Those hanging over Asia or which are scheduled to pass over the continent soon.”

  Despite the fact she couldn’t see him, Clark maintained his mild smile as he spoke to her.

  “How did they do it?” he asked.

  “Unknown.”

  Clark knew that she might not truly mean “unknown.” The method was probably known to someone, but they weren’t interested in relaying that information to him. He understood this and didn’t press the matter.

  “The loss of satellites,” he said carefully, “when combined with the loss of the space station—it would seem to be a matter of grave concern.”

  “Do you think so, Clark?” Clayworth chuckled unpleasantly. “Tell me, does this crisis excite you, or fill you with terror?”

  “Neither.”

  “Well then, you’re a fool. We’re blind. They could hit us at any moment.”

  “No, not entirely blind,” he said calmly. “We have assets on the ground in Russia. If their ICBMs fire, we’ll know, even if we don’t have a single radar station operating.”

  Clayworth hesitated. Clark knew that she had a big problem with the Russians. He suspected her mind was still locked in the first Cold War. That might not be a bad thing however, considering how today’s events were unfolding.

  “That’s what the military told me,” Clayworth admitted. “But why would the Russians do such a thing if they aren’t going to attack us?”

  “Let’s review the facts,” Clark suggested. “Given the nature of the attack and recent events, we can surmise the Russians are behind it—”

  “Oh really?”

  Clark ignored the interruption and continued in and even tone. “They wanted to blind us, and they did. There must be a purpose, but I’m at a loss to explain it.”

  Clayworth sighed. “I have more information, and I think now’s the time to share it. It’s out of your clearance zone, but I’m making an executive decision in that regard. Are you willing to accept that responsibility?”

  Clark felt his forehead doing something strange. It was cinching up. He found the sensation unpleasant and rubbed there, forcing it to relax again.

  “I accept the elevation and the new responsibility,” he said.

  “We’re not completely without eyes,” she said. “We have assets in the sky that apparently even they didn’t know about. There are a few deep probes—well, it doesn’t matter. What’s significant is that they’re reporting back with some very interesting telemetry.”

  “Tell me.”

  “They’ve launched, Clark.”

  He froze, making no reaction outwardly, but his heart was beating faster. He couldn’t slow it, even though he tried to do so.

  “They’ve launched what?” he asked, his voice still measured.

  “Something big. Something unprecedented. It burst through the sound barrier in seconds. It exited the atmosphere shortly afterward. It will pass by the Moon within hours.”

  Clark hesitated. He’d suspected something like this—but he’d dared to hope it wasn’t true. His mind raced with calculations. The speeds she was hinting at…they couldn’t be using conventional technology. She wasn’t talking about a chemical rocket.

  “What do you want me to do?” he asked.

  “We have to follow them.”

  “With what?”

  “Your ship.”

  He smiled in amusement. A hint of that came through in his voice, despite his best efforts. “That can’t happen. We aren’t ready. We won’t be for years—if ever.”

  “Clark, we don’t have years. Are you even listening to me? The Russians have leap-frogged us. They gambled everything, stimulating that rock they found under the ice cap and goading it into shining a beacon into space. All these years we’ve been underestimating them, and they’ve stoically built up for this day, this leap to victory.”

  “I don’t see how it’s possible. There must be another explanation.”

  “We took the slow road—your road—but they refused to do the same. They took a chance while we played it safe. We’ve failed our country.”

  Clark was silent for a few long seconds. He lowered his head and massaged his temples. He knew this was the conclusion that Clayworth wanted to reach, and so he was automatically suspicious of it. But given the evidence, he couldn’t come up with another valid scenario.

  “With that data, that speed…” he said, “well, the data does tend to support your version of events.”

  “I need that big brain farm of yours,” Clayworth said. “We've been storing all those sharp minds out there in the desert like bottles of fine wine in a cellar. I need all of them right now. The Russians obviously have their own ship. How they did it doesn’t matter anymore. Maybe the rock in Siberia had a core we didn’t know about. Or maybe they pulled a working propulsion system out of the other rock under the ice cap before transmitting that signal. Who cares? The time for investigation has passed. We must respond immediately.”

  “Madam Secretary, I can’t argue with what you’re saying, but I’m certain that if we try to fly this ship right now, we’ll abort every project we have in motion. Decades of work—”

  “Are already undone. Don’t you get it, man? They’re flying already! They’re leaving us in the dust! They’re following the signal they initiated. They’ll reach the receiver first, and they’ll capture another trove of technology. When they find another ship, or base, or ruin, or whatever the fuck is out there, they’ll use it to jump ahead of us again. It is our very cowardice—”

  Despite his natural aplomb, Clark was feeling ill. He was beginning to think she was right. He was beginning to see the big picture she was seeing. It wasn’t all paranoia on her part—it couldn’t be.

  “We couldn’t have known this would happen,” he said. “None of us foresaw it.”

  “Yes, well, now we do know. Now is the time to change our approach. We must bravely—no, that’s wrong. The brave go first. We’re behind, so we’re desperate, not brave. We must beat them out there, Clark, and your ship is the only vehicle that can possibly do it.”

  Clark heaved a huge sigh. “All right. I’ll do my best, sir.”

  “Not good enough. You’ll fly. You’ll achieve. There is no best, there is no near-miss. There is only victory or defeat.”

  “Can I at least ask, madam—where are we going?”

  “Europa.”

  “Europa…of course. I’ve got to make preparations now.”

  “Godspeed, Clark. You’re going to need it.”

  The line went dead.

  Chapter 36

  Area 51, Gamma Level

  Underground

  Dr. Linscott was still upset about Jenna’s role in this scientific research, but she was at a loss as to what to do about it. The way Clark was manipulating the young girl—it was slimy. When he brought her out to open the ship in the morning, she felt like she was watching a predator luring a child in a park.

  So far, she’d done nothing about it. That was the worst part. She’d just let it happen.

  Partly, she felt that it was because she was new. Everyone else was going along, and that made it harder to act. Then there was the ship. What a distraction! Her mind had been blanked with astonishment the first time she’d stepped inside. She’d wandered the scientific treasure trove as stunned and awed as a child herself.

  It wasn’t until the following day that her regrets come creeping back into her mind. She’d dreamt of the girl and looked for her at eating times. She must not have been among the general population, because she was nowhere to be seen unless it was time for her to do her trick.

  Instead of Jenna, Clark appeared at lunchtime. He seated himself across from Jackie. He had no tray, no papers or computer tablet. His fingers were laced together and his smile was fixed upon his face. He rarely blinked his eyes, but they weren’t probing and staring. They were, in fact, almost distant and glassy.

&
nbsp; “Major Clark,” she said, “would you like to join me?”

  “I believe I already have. My apologies.”

  “No problem.”

  “You seem troubled,” Clark said after a moment. “What’s on your mind?”

  “I’m wondering what part Jenna Brandt has to play in all this.”

  Clark seemed mildly surprised. “I see. She’s a critical element. A gifted girl who has an affinity with the ship.”

  “But why her?”

  “It runs in her family. The ship knows her and opens at her touch.”

  “That’s weird. Do her parents know she’s here?”

  “Yes. They definitely do.”

  Jackie frowned at him for a moment. He gently smiled back. She had the feeling he wasn’t being one hundred percent truthful with her, but she couldn’t figure out what was wrong.

  Major Clark restarted the stalled conversation. “What did you think of yesterday’s exploration?” he asked.

  “The ship was amazing. I’ve heard rumors all my life, of course. Everyone has. But I never truly believed we had an alien ship down here. Not even when I saw the thing. My mind wouldn’t accept it until I stepped inside.”

  “A natural enough response,” Clark said. “Your reaction was carefully orchestrated over the years by dedicated people.”

  “What do you mean?”

  His hands unclasped and slowly spread themselves out in a gesture that was almost apologetic, then he clasped them again.

  “I mean that we…fabricated a cover story. When doing so, it’s best to stick as closely as possible to the truth. That way when the truth squirms and slips out of one’s grasp, you can point to the near-truth. Everyone is thereby satisfied they’ve heard a wild story, a version of reality that’s been exaggerated.”

  She nodded thoughtfully. “I see. The experimental aircraft. Stealth bombers, things like that.”

  “Yes. All real projects. All real leaks. When a wilder story came out, it was quickly dismissed.”

  “Again, I thank you for the opportunity to work on this project. I assume you want my assessment of the ship’s engines?”

  Clark put up a cautioning hand. “First, let us discuss something else. You mentioned Jenna. Did you witness her opening the ship?”

  Jackie froze for a moment, then looked down at her food, stabbing a bite of canned peaches. “Not the first time. She seemed cute. She also seemed to be enjoying herself. I thought the cold was too dangerous, however. I still can’t believe you let her get so close alone.”

  “The ship would not harm her. What else did you notice?”

  Jackie was tired of beating around the bush. “I saw you badger her, manipulate her, and work her like a puppet on a string.”

  “How did that make you feel?”

  “Disgusted,” she said, not quite sure why she was telling him the truth. “I felt bad. I thought the others should have intervened. If I’d been here when she approached that ship for the first time—I probably would have.”

  “That’s why you weren’t here at that moment,” Clark explained. “The group suppressed their protective instincts, in part because they were in a group. They went along with something they didn’t like because the crowd allowed it. If I’d placed the girl in danger with just you and I alone, I’m sure you would have spoken up.”

  She blinked and frowned, wondering if he was right. She suspected he was, and that bothered her further.

  “You’re really a bastard, aren’t you?” she asked him, leaning forward over the table. “You planned all of this out.”

  Clark’s smile never wavered. His clasped hands stayed closed and calm. It was almost eerie to Jackie, who’d come from a family that openly expressed their emotions when the mood took them.

  “I’m a man with a great deal of responsibility, Dr. Linscott. I—”

  “Are you human, Clark?” she asked suddenly. “Or are you one of the aliens off that ship? Don’t answer that, I know your type. You’re just one more weirdo who went into psychology to figure out his own problems.”

  For perhaps the first time since she’d met him, Clark seemed surprised. He gave a short bark of laughter. “Two interesting theories. Sadly, no. I’m stuck here in reality with you and everyone else, Dr. Linscott. As I was saying, I have a grave responsibility to serve this nation, and I do so without reservation or apology.”

  She shook her head and sat back. “I don’t know. I don’t know if I can take this place for long.”

  Clark leaned forward. “You may have a chance to change your fate. If you don’t like it here, you can escape. We all can—if you are as talented as we hope you are.”

  “Escape? How?”

  Clark nodded toward the ship. “Make her fly, Dr. Linscott. Make her fly, and we’ll all leave this hole in the desert behind us.”

  Her jaw sagged, and she stared first at Clark, then at the ship. “If that thing can fly, why haven’t you done it already?”

  “Because the drive doesn’t work. The containment field—it won’t get into phase. It resonates and vibrates dangerously. We think that when it crashed, it was damaged in some way.”

  Jackie’s eyes left Clark. They went to the ship and stayed there. It was magical. To her, it was a siren singing an endless song of alluring power. She’d been thinking of it all night and all morning. In the afternoon they were scheduled to enter it again. She couldn’t wait for that. Even as she’d fretted about the child and Clark and getting out of this crazy place, she’d felt thrills in her stomach at the prospect of spending another afternoon inside that cold ship.

  “It’s lovely, isn’t it?” Clark asked.

  “What makes you think I’m as easily lured and distracted as a child?”

  “We all are, Dr. Linscott. One only has to know what flavor of ice cream is most effective.”

  She stared at the ship. Clark was irritating and creepy, but she had to admit he had her number. Feeling self-conscious, she pointedly looked back at her plate and took a bite of her ham sandwich. She shrugged.

  “What makes you think I want to fly in that deathtrap, even if I could get the engines going?”

  Clark’s smile widened. She wondered if it was a real one this time. He did seem amused.

  “What kind of a person blazes through school to the top of the physics department, studying every form of propulsion with an insatiable appetite? What kind of person follows up this passion with one of the few jobs in the world that continues in the same vein?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe an obsessive autistic or something. I’ve been called worse.”

  He shook his head slowly. “No. You aren’t into this for the joy of envisioning abstractions. You are into this for very practical reasons. You see the way of things—the way to the stars.”

  She glanced at him, then back at the ship again before she could stop herself.

  “We’ve had spaceflight for decades,” Clark continued, “but we’ve been stuck in a rut. Our ships don’t fly any faster than they did in the sixties. That won’t do—not for real exploration. The key to escaping this world is, and always has been, a new, faster drive.”

  “What you say is self-evident. But that doesn’t mean I’ll do anything unethical to achieve my lofty goals.”

  He looked her over thoughtfully. “I believe you,” he said, “and because you leave me no alternative, I’m elevating your security status.”

  “Again? Why?”

  “Because you need to understand what’s at stake. Because I can’t do what I have to do without your help. Frankly, I’m out of time to attempt anything subtle.”

  It was uncommonly open talk from a man like Clark, and it got her attention.

  He began to explain, and she listened. He told her of a new Space Race, and the more she heard of it, the more alarmed she became.

  When he was finished at last, he sincerely asked for her help.

  “Will you, Dr. Linscott, see this mission to the end? Will you repair my ship and get her to fly agai
n?”

  She sucked in a deep breath and let it out.

  “Yeah,” she said at last. “I’ll do it. I was going to try to walk out of here, Clark. I was going to make conditions if you didn’t let me. But now—okay. I’ll help you. This is your lucky day.”

  Clark’s old smile was back. “Why’s that?” he asked.

  “Because I think I already know how to fix the engines.”

  Clark’s smile broadened into a grin. This time the expression was a real one. Jackie was certain of it.

  Chapter 37

  Area 51, Main Gates

  Day

  Sandeep was sweating. The steering wheel under his hands was sticky and he kept shifting them to find a new dry spot.

  Brandt sat next to him. The man seemed to be made of stone. He didn’t smile or banter. He didn’t scowl, threaten or rage. Somehow, his total confidence made him more unnerving. His reputation had preceded him, and he knew he was in control of the situation.

  “The plan is simple,” Brandt said. “You roll up to the gate. Tell them it’s surprise-inspection time—I know you love to do that.”

  Sandeep took a breath then let it out. He wasn’t sure for a moment how to play this. He could keep quiet and go along with Brandt’s scheme, but he strongly doubted it would work. They’d be stopped and details would be expected. There had never been two surprise visits back-to-back. The guards would relay their suspicions, and Clark would lock everything down. Whatever fake ID Brandt had in his possession wouldn’t check out…and then the fireworks would start.

  The guards at the government facilities out here in the desert weren’t joking around. They had orders to shoot through the body of a hostage to kill the target. They would not hesitate unless someone in charge told them to, and out at the gates there were only armed troops.

  On the other hand, if he refused to go along with Brandt’s flawed plan, that could also result in a dead Sandeep.

  Going over it in his mind as the road ran out and the guard post came into sight, other thoughts came to Sandeep. He didn’t like Brandt’s situation. He didn’t like that his daughter was being held and used like a human tool.