by Randal Sloan
Julie sighed. “My father, if he could talk to me right now, would tell me I should have waited and let him take the blame. But if he could have been here, I think they would have only seen the revenge in his eyes. I have that but I do have genuine sorrow that we had to do this.”
Julie sat sadly beside Zeke, trying to deal with her emotions. They had just changed the world again. They would have to deal with the aftermath of what they had just done. They would have to finish the fight against the pirates of the Organization and their real backers. And then, I’m going to find my father, and we are going to have that wedding!
Epilogue
Julie was waiting in the control room of Space Tech Station. The time had finally come that she expected to be able to hear from her father’s ship. She knew it probably wouldn’t be immediately after their arrival that she would hear from them. They would be without power and disoriented, but as the hours went by she was more and more concerned. Plus, nothing yet on the detection equipment either. She realized now that she should have set the network up to send out a general broadcast across the projected area of space. That way she might have gotten a quicker response.
After some hours Zeke came to see her, finally talking her into going to rest, reminding her that they had agreed to give it 24 hours before she did anything else. They still had over 12 hours to wait and she couldn’t stay there the whole time.
Julie spent a restless night and was back in the control room very early. There she was looking over the data from all the detection equipment, and she realized that they had indeed picked up something but the AI had mis-categorized the data as a non-ship due to its speed. So her heart skipped a couple of beats. “They are there! But why haven’t they communicated?”
Picking up on her mental anguish, Zeke came to check on her. “Somebody’s got to fix this stupid AI,” she told him, pointing to the data.
“You’re right,” he told her. “Sorry I didn’t catch that.” He looked back up at her, knowing this was actually good news. “So they are there, just like you said they would be. Give it 6 more hours and we will go there if we haven’t heard from them.”
She nodded. “I know. Will you stay here with me?”
“You couldn’t drag me away.”
Suddenly the radio woke up. “Attention! Attention! This is Space Tech research vessel The Annette calling Earth. Please respond.”
Knowing that the answer would take minutes to reach them, Julie nevertheless sent an immediate answer. “This is Space Tech Station. Julie Randolph speaking. Send me your position Dad. I’m coming to get you! Space Tech Station out.”
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“This is VR News Reporter Johan Stettner, reporting live. We are looking at a scene of horrific devastation. I have never seen anything like this. Fires are still burning in some areas but there is nothing left where the Organization camp used to be except a huge crater. We don’t know for sure what has happened, but based on eye witness accounts, a large ball of fire was seen hurtling through the air seconds before the gigantic explosion occurred. There’s no way anyone in that camp could possibly still be alive.”
#
Julie Randolph was struggling greatly with what she had just done. She was staring at a Virtual Reality (VR) view port set up so she could look at the view of space around her. She was in a conference room on Space Tech Station, the large and still growing space station that Space Tech had orbiting the earth. Her view was alternating between one of the earth below and one of the stars as they moved along in their orbit. Her fiancé, Zeke Caldwell, was sitting beside her, trying to help her come to terms with what they had done, but he too was shocked to his core.
“Did we do the right thing?” Julie asked him. “I keep seeing the explosion, the fire and debris. So much death and destruction. I know the Organization was a terrible thing, but that camp had to have hundreds of men in it. Now they’re all just gone, wiped off the face of the earth, and we’re the reason for it.”
Zeke looked at her. “It is a terrible thing what we just did, and It’s important that we see it for what it is, but also that we remember why we did it. I really feel that we had no choice. The attacks this morning just cemented that in my mind.”
Zeke was referring to the terrorist attacks by the Organization just that morning. Julie had received an urgent VR message from her uncle, telling her to check her VR news. She had looked in horror at the scenes depicted. The Organization, the group of terrorists and pirates Space Tech was fighting against, had staged several attacks across the globe, many of them against Space Tech facilities, leading to several hundred injuries and a number of deaths. That was their response to her plea that she had made to them the day before, asking them to end their conflict peaceably.
Julie had sent out that plea to the Organization rank and file. Space Tech had struck a major blow against them, capturing their leaders in a daring raid. She had gone on that VR media cast, showing their captured leaders and asking them to turn themselves in peaceably. She had even offered amnesty for those who had not participated directly in their attacks. She had poured her heart into that broadcast, hoping against hope it would succeed.
But the Organization response was clear, leaving Julie and Zeke with almost no choice. Even without their leaders, they had still chosen to deal in death and destruction. That meant the two them saw clearly what would happen if they tried conventional solutions against the Organization. It would have been a fight to the last man, without a doubt. Julie was certain that they would have prevailed eventually, with all the resources of Space Tech and the probable assistance of the US government, but it would have been bad. A lot of innocent people would have died, just like those people this morning. A lot of them Space Tech employees.
So a few minutes ago, on the deadline Julie had given the Organization, they had dropped a 100-kiloton equivalent kinetic mass weapon on the Organization’s main terrorist camp, Julie and Zeke together pushing the button that ordered the AI to launch the strike. The destruction was unbelievable, much worse than what Julie had thought it would be. The weapon had come in as a great ball of fire to strike the center of the Organization camp, producing a gigantic explosion that rivaled that of a thermonuclear bomb, throwing up a huge cloud of fire and debris, leaving a tremendous crater where the camp had been.
The terrorist training camp, all their equipment, their ammunition dump, and all the rest of their support systems were just gone. Anyone within the camp was dead. For the many violent terrorists that had been there, Julie couldn’t shed a tear. They deserved it. But she knew that a camp that size would have had many support people and not all of them had deserved what had happened to them. And although some had been there because they wanted to, some had not been there by choice, forced their by family or tribal members.
Julie shook her head sadly. “I know, and the thought of months watching them stage their attacks as we worked to take them all out was more than I could stand. All the innocent people who would have been caught in the cross-fire. But it sounded so clean in my mind. A quick surgical strike. There was nothing clean about what we just did.”
Zeke pulled her close. “No, it wasn’t. I don’t think we will ever forget what we did and how bad it was. But that means we will have to work that much harder to make sure we never have to do it again.”
Julie nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. “Yes, you’re right. And we’ve got to make sure no one has access to it, not even the US government. I am really glad that we are dealing with President Scott and not someone else.”
Zeke nodded. The two of them were waiting for a call from the US President, which they expected any moment. Just then their VR system paged them.
#
Ted Randolph felt like he had just ridden a roller coaster ride. He had been called to a conference room on Sp
ace Tech Station, along with other family and friends. No one had known what was going on. Then Julie had come into the room.
Turning on a VR newscast for all to see but leaving it muted, Julie told them quietly, “I am sorry to say the Organization ignored our 24 hour deadline and refused to surrender, instead staging the attacks you all heard about this morning. I have…” and she paused, amending her statement at Zeke’s prompt, “Zeke and I have taken action to correct that problem. We have eliminated almost all of the Organization’s earthbound assets.”
“What have you done?” Ted demanded, staring at the VR broadcast, which continually showed the tremendous destruction of the Organization camp. “I knew your father was up to something but nothing like this.” He stared at the obvious devastation visible on the newscast.
“Very simply, we dropped a 100-kiloton kinetic weapon on the Organization’s main headquarters to completely destroy it and all their nearby assets. I’ve known for some time I was going to have to do this, despite doing everything I could do to prevent it. So know that I am horrified at what we did, but I’m not sorry, either. I am praying that we never have to do it again, but understand this, I will do whatever it takes to make sure my friends and family, this company, and the world are safe from the likes of the Organization and anyone else in the world who believes like they do.” Her proclamation rang with the strength of her commitment to it.
“And that is why we are here, isn’t it? You didn’t dare leave anyone that they might think would be leverage down there where they could get to them,” Ted had replied, his anger spilling into his voice.
“No, I didn’t and you wouldn’t have either,” Julie told him, her glare just as big as his. “Who knows what could have happened? The US government might decide to use the latest version of the Patriot Act to arrest all of you to get to me. Mobs of people might attack you, blaming you for what I just did.” Then she softened a little. “You are all our guests here for just a little while I negotiate this issue. It really shouldn’t take very long. I am going to make it very clear that I won’t use this unless I absolutely have to, but I will if I have to.”
Ted looked at her with dawning understanding. “That’s why you have been so adamant about getting our station defenses online and all of our backup food sources in operation.” It had only been yesterday that the two of them had laughed about the plans to build the automated asteroid farms. Something out of a futuristic Sci-Fi book she had told him at the time. Apparently very near future. But he now saw the reason for her rush to get them up and running. Plus the AI controlled defensive system was even more powerful than he had anticipated them needing. Now he was glad to have it.
Julie just nodded. “In a word, yes.” She gave him a weak smile. When he didn’t comment further, she went on, “Zeke and I are going next door to wait for the call from the President. I will come back to talk with you when we are finished.” She walked out without saying another word.
Now he was left with his thoughts. He looked up as Carla came over to talk with him. “Are you ok?” she asked him, looking him in the eyes. Ted just looked at her for a moment, this woman who had come to mean so much to him.
Seeing she had his full attention, Carla went on, “Even if you don’t agree with what they just did, they need our support now. All of us.” She stared him down until he gave her a smile.
Her declaration had caused Ted to re-think why he was so angry. He looked at Carla with understanding. “You’re right. I think my anger is just misplaced. I’m more worried about what this means to the two of them. I’m not sure just how Julie and her future family will be treated by everyone because of this. Will they be ostracized, treated as villains instead of the heroes they are?”
Carla gave him a sad smile. “I know it’s a terrible thing to see, but we know what the Organization was willing to do. I for one agree with Julie’s choice. How many more people would have had to die as a result of this evil group before they were stopped? Hopefully everyone will see it that way too. The terrorist attacks this morning by them should help with that.”
Ted nodded. “Why did my brother have to start all this and leave her to do the dirty work? I think that is the other reason I’m so upset. The weight of the responsibility she is under has to be tremendous.”
Carla agreed with him. “That’s why I think we have to all support her. She needs to know that we are behind her and that we will do whatever we need to do to back that up.”
“Thank you for reminding me of what’s really important. I’m going to send her a VR telling her just that.” He pulled up his VR, Carla watching as he entered, “Sorry for sounding so angry. Just wanted you to know, we are all behind you 100%.” He stopped a minute, then added. “Love you!” When Carla nodded her agreement with the message, he hit send.
Ted had another idea. “She’s probably right that it will be ok for most of us to return to earth pretty soon. But with all the work Julie is doing out here in space, I’m betting she is going to be living up here on the space station more or less permanently. We need to start thinking about what she will need up here to do that.” Seeing the thoughtful look on Carla’s face, he went on. “We will need to expand the Admin module for office space. What do you want to bet in a few years, this will be for Space Tech the real corporate office? And it won’t be long before they will need their own family module. Since it looks like we are stuck here, why don’t we all see what we can come up with?”
Carla looked at him incredulously. “You are right! They will need that, and they will need it sooner than you think, as soon as they have the wedding. Their own honeymoon suite. But the most important thing you did was tell me. It is definitely going to need a woman’s touch.” Before he knew it, Emily and Caitlyn were there helping too. And they were talking about stuff like schools and labs and recreational areas. What had he done?
#
Julie’s VR interface buzzed her to tell her she had a call coming in. A very nervous Caitlyn appeared. “I have the President of the United States on the line.”
Julie gave her a smile. “Yes, we’ll take it in here. Keep close in case I need you to make travel arrangements.”
Caitlyn nodded and connected the VR call. Julie was not surprised to see a rather stressed looking President. Most of that her fault. "Yes, sir. We have been expecting you,” she told him.
President Scott was someone that Julie and Zeke both greatly admired. He really cared for the people in the US and in the world. As Commander in Chief, he had demonstrated how much he cared for the men and women serving in the US armed services. Julie had first talked to him on a VR conference call when as Miranda he had called her personally to thank her for helping to rescue her classmates from the coup in Kinza. That seemed such a long time ago now.
Julie had been even more impressed with President Scott in person when a few weeks ago she and Zeke had met with him negotiating the release of the world changing power and AI systems Space Tech that was introducing, all a result of her and Zeke’s work. She had treasured her time with his wife, Catherine, who had been a close friend to Julie’s mother. Even in that short time, she and the First Lady had formed a very strong relationship.
Right now the President had a tough job. He got straight to the point. "I hope you understand what a big ruckus you have raised down here. It’s a political hot potato right now. No one other than me and a few others are exactly sure what just happened, but the timing of it pretty well pointed to you. I, of course, know exactly what you did, but so far I have released only a generic message. I assume you are planning to release a statement shortly?” When Julie nodded, he went on. “I will need to be able to respond, but I have no idea what I’m going to say. So I propose we meet in person to talk about it. Would you be willing to come to my summer home again tomorrow morning if I guarantee your safety and give you diplomatic immunity? Then we can release a joint statement. Hopefully that will keep the wolves at bay. A lot of people are angry, but a lot more of them are ter
rified. Terrified that you will do this again.”
"Yes, that is a good solution. What time is breakfast?" Julie asked him. "More Kinza coffee would be in order too, don't you think?"
"Seven again will work for us. And a very big yes on the coffee. You are an angel. My wife just keeps raving about your special blend. Oh, and speaking of my wife, she says you need to come in your special new ship. I imagine she wants to see it or something like that."
Julie knew that last was a code telling her that the First Lady had seen something in a vision. And Julie knew enough about her visions to know that they always came true. Not that it mattered. Julie was already expecting trouble. "I don't plan to go anywhere again without my special little ship, so tell her I'll bring it along with the coffee."
"Be safe. I don't control anything outside our airspace."
Sadly, Julie suspected, he didn't completely control everything within the US airspace. She might not have visions yet like the First Lady but she did have strong premonitions that she had learned to not ignore. "Thank you, sir. I plan to take every precaution."
If the President had really known about her ship, he would be worried for whoever was stupid enough to try anything with her. But then he probably did know about it. He had tremendous intelligence assets, continually amazing her with how he knew so much about her plans. She still hadn't figured out who had been the source of information on Julie’s obsession with coffee, which the President and First Lady had both somehow known about before their last visit.
As soon as the President disconnected from the call, Julie turned to Zeke. "I'm going to go release that statement that we have prepared. I guess I am the one to put the public face on it anyway. It's actually for the best. That way you get to remain anonymous."
"Like I've said many times, love. Let them see the pretty face, and hopefully they will melt just like I do," Julie touched Zeke's arm affectionately. No matter what the world thought, she knew how Zeke felt about her. She needed his love right now.
