Chapter 22
Attack on Earth’s Destiny
Vice Admiral Cystrom stepped into the communications room and watched the three crew members at work. One of them saw him and smiled.
“Can we do anything for you, Vice Admiral?” Com Specialist Marth Prill asked.
“How long until we are close enough to contact our people on Earth?”
“Any day now, sir. We try every kyloon on the kyloon. We’re starting to get static and bits and pieces of voices. It shouldn’t be much longer.”
“Good. I want to be notified the loon it happens.”
“Yes, sir,” Prill replied.
Cystrom turned and walked back to the bridge anxiously. Lt. Hanze was on duty. He was staring at a blip on one of the sensors and frowning.
“Something wrong, Lieutenant?” Vice Admiral Cystrom asked.
“I don’t know. In the last few loons something has appeared on our long-range sensors.”
“What is it?”
“It’s hard to say but, whatever it is, we appear to be on the same course.”
“Is it a ship?” Cystrom asked.
“Don’t know. It appears to be traveling slightly faster than us. It has about the same mass.”
Cystrom frowned. “We need to find out what it is.”
“Yes, sir. I can send out a reconnaissance drone to take a look.”
“Do it!”
Lt. Hanze called down to the flight deck and ordered the drone sent out to identify the object.
“How long will it take to get out there?”
“We should have a visual in twenty or thirty loons.”
Vice Admiral Cystrom nodded. “I’m going to report this to the admiral. I’ll be back in ten.”
“Yes, sir,” Lt. Hanze replied.
Cystrom left the bridge and made his way to the admiral’s office. He stood before the security scanner. When it completed its scan, it announced his arrival.
“Come in,” the admiral said.
The admiral was seated at his desk, looking over some paperwork. He glanced up at Cystrom and smiled. “What can I do for you, Vice Admiral?”
“There is an unidentified object in close proximity to us,” Cystrom said. “I’ve dispatched a reconnaissance drone to get a visual. I thought you might want to be on the bridge when it comes on screen.”
“Yes, absolutely. What do you think it is?”
“I don’t know. Possibly a Loyalist shuttle. It seems to be traveling slightly faster than we are.”
“Hmm. That’s odd. I was told all our ships had the same maximum speed.”
“That’s what I understood as well.”
The admiral stood up and put on his coat, and they left to go back to the bridge.
“Atten-tion! Admirals on the bridge,” one of the crew announced. Everyone got to their feet. The admiral motioned for them to sit down.
“How much longer till we get a visual?” Vice Admiral Cystrom asked.
“Should be momentarily,” Lt. Hanze said.
All eyes were on the huge blank screen facing them. It began to flicker. Then a fuzzy object appeared in the distance.
“Can we zoom in on that?”
Lt. Hanze glanced over at one of his crew members. The man nodded and began typing some commands on his computer. “On it, sir.”
Suddenly the image grew larger. Everyone gasped as they recognized the big attack cruiser.
“That’s not Earth’s Destiny, is it, Lieutenant?” Vice Admiral Cystrom asked.
“Ah. I’m afraid it is, sir.”
Anger began welling in Evohn like he’d never felt it before. He stared at Earth’s Destiny in disbelief. “How could this be? How was it repaired so quickly?”
“And how was it able to catch up with us?” the admiral asked.
“I can’t believe this! The Loyalists have an attack cruiser!” Cystrom screamed. “I knew it was a mistake leaving Earth’s Destiny. Damn it! This is totally unacceptable!”
Lt. Hanze swallowed hard. “What should we do?”
“We can’t let it get to Earth before us,” Vice Admiral Cystrom insisted. “It will totally disrupt all of our plans.”
“But how can we stop it?” Lt. Hanze asked.
As they were talking, Lt. Lethrow walked onto the bridge. The admiral frowned at him.
“What’s wrong?” Lt. Lethrow asked.
Cystrom pointed to the screen. Lt. Lethrow’s eyes widened. “Holy Sandee. Earth’s Destiny.”
“We’re trying to understand how the Loyalists got Earth’s Destiny repaired and why it is traveling so fast,” the admiral explained.
Lt. Lethrow grew pale. “It must be Rossi Sincini’s doing,” he said.
“Who?”
“Rossi Sincini. He’s the engineer who designed and supervised the building of the FTL drives. He’s pretty much a genius. He’s the only one who could have done this.”
“He must have been one of the saboteurs,” Lt. Hanze reasoned.
“Okay. Earth’s Destiny is here,” the admiral said. “We can’t change that fact, so what are we going to do about it?”
“You said it’s going faster than us?” Lt. Lethrow asked.
“Yes,” Lt. Hanze replied.
“Then we don’t have much time to attack it before it’s out of range. We have to intercept it soon.”
“Yes,” Vice Admiral Cystrom said. “Somebody figure out how much time we have.”
Several crew members began scrambling around. A few loons later one of them said, “We must engage them in the next two kyloons or they’ll be out of range.”
“How can we destroy a battle cruiser?” Lt. Hanze asked. “It has the same defenses we have. If we go after it with fighters they’ll just launch fighters back at us.”
“Do they even have fighters?” Lt. Lethrow asked. “We didn’t leave them any.”
“I’m sure they’ve fully loaded it with fighters,” Vice Admiral Cystrom said. “Lorin Boskie is not stupid. She probably laughed her head off when she found out Rossi Sincini had hijacked an attack cruiser.”
“There’s got to be something we can do,” the admiral pressed.
Cystrom raised his eyebrows. “Perhaps there is.”
Everyone looked at him expectantly. He smiled. “If we shoot a missile at the attack cruiser, its ionic shield will cause the missile to prematurely blow up, right?”
“Yes,” Lt. Lethrow agreed.
“But what if the fighter that fired the missile didn’t pull up after releasing it, but just kept on going straight at the battle cruiser? The ionic shield wouldn’t stop it.”
“No. But it would disable all of the fighter’s navigation and electronics.”
“Even so, its momentum would send it right into the battle cruiser, wouldn’t it? And if that fighter was full of bombs and explosive—”
“Right,” Lt. Lethrow interrupted. Then he added, “But the pilot would die, wouldn’t he?”
“Couldn’t you send it in unmanned, on autopilot?” Lt. Hanze asked.
“No. Not when you are dealing with an attack cruiser traveling FTL. A pilot is necessary to make numerous course corrections based on visual observation.”
“So, you’re talking about a suicide mission?” the admiral asked.
“Yes, exactly,” Vice Admiral Cystrom said.
“But who would be willing to do it?” Lt. Hanze asked tentatively.
“Oh, I know just the person,” Vice Admiral Cystrom said.
“Who?” the admiral asked.
“Our beloved ex–Vice Admiral; I’m sure he would like to be remembered as a hero rather than a traitor, don’t you think?”
The admiral smiled. “Yes, indeed. I’m sure he would.”
“What if he refuses?” Lt. Hanze asked.
“We won’t let him refuse,” Vice Admiral Cystrom said. “He will do this or he and his wife and children on Earth will die a slow, agonizing death.”
“But even if a fighter gets through the ionic shield, what’s to stop
them from blowing it up with their lasers?” Lt. Lethrow asked.
“They’ll only have a few tiks to destroy the fighter once it breaks through the ionic shield,” Lt Hanze noted. “Hopefully, by the time they figure out what happened it will be too late.”
“Yes, but we can’t take any chances,” Vice Admiral Cystrom said. “Vice Admiral Brunns will not be attacking the cruiser alone. He will be one of a hundred fighters attacking it, so Earth’s Destiny’s defenses will be taxed to their limit and it is unlikely they’ll be able to respond to a solo suicide assault.”
The admiral nodded. “Yes, that’s our best chance. I’ll go tell the Vice Admiral the good news. Lt. Lethrow. Prepare a battle plan and bring it to my office within ten loons.”
“Yes, sir,” Lt. Lethrow said.
Cystrom took Lt. Lethrow’s arm and said, “Come on. I’ll help you.”
The admiral went straight to Brunns’ quarters, where he was under house arrest. Lt. Muri had been visiting and was just leaving. The admiral stopped her.
“Lt. Muri. I’m glad you’re here. I’m going to need your help.”
“Yes, sir. What can I do for you?”
“Help me convince Brunns to do the right thing?”
Lt. Muri frowned but made no objection. She didn’t know what was in store for the Vice-Admiral but, whatever it was she was glad it was happening to him and not her. “Yes, sir,” she replied.
The guards on duty let the admiral and Lt. Muri in. Brunns looked up in surprise but didn’t say anything. The admiral took a deep breath and then explained the situation. Brunns put his head in his hands.
“So, I’m giving you the opportunity to go in the history books as a martyr,” the admiral said. “No one will ever know of your treason.”
“But I did nothing wrong,” Brunns complained. “Those letters were planted. I’ve never seen them before.”
“So you say, but do you deny that you left your wife and children on Earth quite wealthy?”
“No, but I just didn’t want them to suffer after I was gone. I never intended to return to them.”
“Why didn’t you bring your children back to Tarizon? That’s what you should have done.”
“They were too old. It would have been too traumatic for them.”
“Prove your innocence by making a martyr of yourself, Rugge. No one will doubt you if you destroy Earth’s Destiny.”
“What if I refuse?” the Vice Admiral asked meekly.
“Then you’ll die anyway. Tomorrow I’ll convene a court martial. You’ll be convicted of treason and your punishment will be ejection into space without life support. All who conspired with you, on Earth or Tarizon, will be also be executed as soon as they are identified, including your wife and children.”
Brunns grew pale and started to shake violently. Lt. Muri went over to him, put an arm around him and held him tightly. When he’d settled down she whispered in his ear, “Do the right thing. Make me proud.” He looked up at her, sighed, and nodded.
“I’ll give you ten loons to regain your composure, and then you’ll need to report to the flight deck,” the admiral said. “Lt. Muri. Stay with him and see to it that he reports on time.”
“Yes, sir,” Lt. Muri said.
The admiral left and went back to his quarters. Lt. Lethrow and Vice Admiral Cystrom were there working on the battle plan. They went over it with the admiral, and when he was satisfied it was as good as it could be, he began giving orders for its implementation. Then he contacted the other attack cruisers in the Fleet and advised them of the situation. It was agreed that two of the cruisers would be used in the attack on Earth’s Destiny and the others would continue on to Earth without interruption.
When the meeting with the admiral was over, Vice Admiral Cystrom and Lt. Lethrow went to the flight deck to check on preparations for the battle. Their primary concern was the suicide fighter. It had to be rigged with enough explosives and bombs to penetrate the lemdinium hull of the attack cruiser. The Vice Admiral was there inspecting the plane when they approached it.
“You need to try to fly into an open docking bay and get into the interior of the ship before the fighter detonates,” Vice Admiral Cystrom told him.
Brunns nodded.
“Stay in the middle of the pack so if you’re attacked with lasers they won’t hit you but rather the fighters around you.”
Brunns sighed. “Right.”
Evohn Cystrom wasn’t convinced Brunns would follow through with the assignment. He feared he would break off and make a run for freedom. It would be a futile escape attempt, as he’d run out of fuel and oxygen eventually and die anyway, but Cystrom realized he might prefer that over ejection into space without life support. So, after the pilots had been briefed for the mission, he asked for a volunteer to back up the Vice Admiral.
“You all know how important the success of this mission is,” Vice Admiral Cystrom told the pilots. “If Earth’s Destiny reaches Earth, then OCE might be seriously jeopardized. I know this is a horrible thing to ask, but we can’t trust the success of this mission to a traitor. If Brunns, for any reason, does not fly his fighter to glory, then we must have a backup fighter ready to do it for him. Therefore, I’m asking for a volunteer to stand ready should he turn out to be a coward.”
There were gasps from the pilots. They looked around anxiously. Nobody volunteered.
“If I don’t get a volunteer then I’ll pick someone randomly,” Cystrom warned them. “But the Vice Admiral will probably do his duty in any event, so it’s not necessarily a suicide assignment. And whoever volunteers will get a double promotion and the Medal of Valor.”
There was much conversation, and then a hand slowly went up. Vice Admiral Cystrom pointed to the man. “State your name please,” he asked.
“Second Lieutenant Ozzieh Ozwell, sir,” he said.
“Thank you, Captain Ozwell. You are an inspiration to us all.”
Ozwell smiled and nodded proudly. Everyone else breathed a sigh of relief.
While Lt. Lethrow and Vice Admiral Cystrom returned to the bridge, flight crews fitted Ozzieh Ozwell’s fighter identically to Vice Admiral Brunns’. Several loons later, the Purist Fleet’s flagship, Videl’s Revenge, was ready for its encounter with Earth’s Destiny. The second attack cruiser staying for the fight was Humanities Hope. When the signal was given, Lt. Lethrow and his first squadron of 100 fighters took off to attack Earth’s Destiny in flight and force it to stop and do battle.
Since most of a battle cruiser’s defenses required the ship’s entire power supply, an attack often forced the ship to slow down or stop completely before the defense systems could be fully powered up. Thus, the purpose of the initiating attack by Lt. Lethrow was twofold. First, they would force Earth’s Destiny to stop, which would allow the rest of the Fleet a chance to reach Earth first, and secondly, they would give the primary attack plan a better chance of success, because the enemy would already be distracted.
Although an attack cruiser had few defenses while traveling FTL, a moving target traveling at such a high velocity is difficult to hit. With Earth’s Destiny traveling faster than the Fleet they’d have only one opportunity to intercept it. If they missed now, they would never be able to catch it again.
Chapter 23
Joint Task Force
Stan joined his family Saturday night, spending the day with them on Sunday. Late Sunday night he drove into Dallas and stayed in his motel room. On Monday morning he walked to his office, entering through the back freight office. Jodie was in her office when Stan stuck his head inside.
“Good morning,” he said.
“Hey, Stan. How are you?”
“Fine.”
“And the family?”
“Just fine, and yours?”
“They are all quite well. We all had a great weekend.”
“Oh. Good to hear it.”
“See you, then,” Stan said and breathed a sigh of relief.
Stan continued toward his of
fice, but before he got there Maria intercepted him.
“Mo called.”
“He did? What did he want?”
“He wants you to meet him at DFW Airport at 1 p.m., Gate A38.”
Stan shook his head in disbelief. He’s got a lot of nerve. After leaving me in the dark for a year he suddenly demands I drop everything and meet him.. “Do I have any appointments?”
“Yes, but I’ve already switched them around. I knew you’d want to meet with Mo.”
“Thanks.”
“Oh, by the way: He said to bring a suitcase and clothes for a few days.”
“What?”
“Yeah, he didn’t say where you were going. I asked, but he said he’d tell you when you met.”
“Wonderful,” Stan groaned.
Stan couldn’t call Rebekah to let her know what was happening, so he wrote a short note and told Jodie to be sure Paul Thayer got it. She said she would. Stan wondered where he’d be traveling and for what purpose. Obviously things were heating up. He hoped the CIA was finally going to do something about the Tarizonian threat, but he wasn’t going to get his hopes up.
At 12:30 Stan drove into Terminal A’s parking garage. He walked into the terminal and found Gate A38. There was no sign of Mo, so he found a chair and sat. He wondered where Mo was sending him, how long he’d be gone, and how Rebekah and the kids would react when they found out he’d left town. At 12:55 Mo showed up, accompanied by another man. Mo shook Stan’s hand and introduced him to Marvin Snead of the FBI.
“So, where are we going?” Stan asked.
“Langley, Virginia,” Mo replied.
“CIA headquarters?” Stan asked.
“Yes,” Mo acknowledged. “Some folks want to talk to you, but let’s not discuss it now, okay?”
“Right,” Stan said.
“So, how’s your family?” Mo asked.
“They’re fine. They went on a Caribbean cruise for a couple of weeks.”
“Good. Bet they’ll have fun,” Mo said.
Their plane was called, and they boarded the nonstop flight to Washington National. During the flight, they talked about the weather, the Dallas Cowboys, and other topics to pass the time, but nothing was said about the purpose of the meeting. When they landed, a limo picked them up and took them to Langley. They were escorted to a big conference room with a large video screen at one end for teleconferencing. Stan took a seat next to Mo and the room filled up quickly. Five minutes later Agent Snead stood up.
“Ladies and gentlemen. I’d like to introduce you to Stan Turner from Dallas, Texas. You may have heard of him. He’s a fairly well-known criminal defense attorney.”
Heads nodded and people smiled in recognition. Stan nodded back appreciatively.
“Stan has done contract work for the Agency from time to time, and his last assignment was on the Tarizon Repopulation Project, which most of you knew nothing about until recently.
“Stan, for your information, this is a meeting of a joint task force recently commissioned by the President to assess the threat posed by the aliens from Tarizon who now live among us.”
Stan nodded.
“We’ve brought Mr. Turner here today to tell you about his son’s abduction and exile to Tarizon, as well as what he knows about the humans from Tarizon who have remained on Earth in violation of the treaty signed between the governments of Tarizon and the United States. Mr. Turner, why don’t you tell us how you got involved in the Tarizon Repopulation Project?”
Stan smiled tentatively. “Well, it started when my son was at Boy Scout camp at Possum Kingdom Lake in Central Texas. One day he called to tell me there had been a terrible jeep accident and one of his friends had been killed. The driver of the vehicle was the junior assistant scoutmaster, and he was initially charged with negligent homicide. Since I was an attorney and I knew the defendant, Steven Caldwell, he asked me to represent him. That’s when the alien presence first surfaced. When I asked Steven what had happened to cause him to drive off a cliff, he said he was distracted and mesmerized by an alien spacecraft hovering overhead.
“Of course, I didn’t believe him and tried to find other explanations for what had happened, but he stuck tenaciously to his story. The charges against Steven were bumped up to murder when it was learned that the victim and Steven had a common girlfriend.
“In conducting my murder investigation I came across irrefutable evidence of an alien presence on Earth. In fact, my son Peter and I actually saw an alien spacecraft emerge from Cactus Island, which sits in the middle of Possum Kingdom Lake, and fly off overhead. Eventually I got Steven off by proving that a local businessman flew a strange-looking experimental airplane over the lake in order to add credibility to the Steven Caldwell story. The inference that the same aircraft might have been what Steven saw on the night of the accident was enough to create reasonable doubt, although I personally wasn’t satisfied we’d adequately explained the incident.”
Many of the members began whispering to one another and taking notes frantically. Stan waited for them to quiet down.
“About the same time, Mo here referred a divorce case to our firm,” he continued. “My partner took Cheryl Windsor’s case against her husband, Martin. What nobody told us was that Martin Windsor was actually an alien from Tarizon. The divorce case quickly turned to a murder defense when Martin Windsor disappeared and Cheryl’s children were kidnaped.
“Once again, as we conducted our investigation, things got strange. People would be there one minute and then disappear. Several crime scenes were left so clean as to be free of any forensic evidence whatsoever, and the authorities were at a loss to explain how it could have been done. It was obvious that we were dealing with something or somebody quite extraordinary.
“When the trial began, one of my staff spotted one of the Windsor children’s kidnapers. This man had eluded us in the past by simply disappearing at will. We began to suspect he had some sort of memory erasing device, which he used to disorient people and make them forget they’d seen him. We knew that we had to stop him from using that device or he’d simply continue to disappear whenever he needed to, so we set up a trap to get him arrested so quickly and unexpectedly that he wouldn’t have the opportunity to use the device.
“The plan worked so well that not only was the man arrested but we also managed to recover his memory altering device.”
“Do you still have it?” Agent Snead asked excitedly.
“No, it was stolen from my safety deposit box that very night.”
There was a general sigh of disappointment.
“So, you can’t prove that such a device exists?” Mo asked.
“I don’t have to. The aliens used it or one like it twice during the trial. The man who had been arrested managed to escape before he could testify, and our client was abducted right out of the courtroom while she was in the middle of her testimony. Neither action could have been carried out without the aid of such a device.”
“Mr. Turner,” said another of the meeting’s participants. “I’m Captain John Morgan, Army Intelligence. I read the reports of your trial, and while it is certainly bizarre, the general consensus is that some friend of your client managed to explode a chemical agent in the courtroom that temporarily rendered everyone unconscious. I find it hard to believe there is a device that can actually erase memories.”
Stan cleared his throat. “Believe me, I was as skeptical as anyone about the existence of this device, but I know it exists because it’s been used on me several times. And the spaceships use the same technology when they fly over people on the ground. They flash a blue light as they pass that makes any witnesses forget what they saw.”
Captain Morgan laughed. “That’s preposterous.”
“I guess you’re the type of person who has to see something to believe it, right?”
Captain Morgan nodded.
“Well, this isn’t as good as the real thing,” Stan said, “but I did take a picture of the memory gun, as we ca
lled it.”
He slipped his hand into his coat pocket and pulled out an envelope. He slid it across the table to Captain Morgan. Morgan picked it up eagerly and opened it. His eyes widened as he studied it. A minute later he looked up at Stan and then passed the photograph to the person next to him.
“Okay, fine,” he said. “But photographs can be faked.”
Stan shook his head. “My son’s abduction was not faked. I promise you that.”
“Oh, yes,” Morgan said. “Tell us about that.”
Stan related the story of Peter’s disappearance and Mo’s revelation that Peter had been abducted. Mo was asked to confirm the story and he did. Stan went on to tell the group about Kulchz and his first assignment from the CIA to defend Charlotte Winzell.
“That’s how I know for sure they abducted him. I was shown videos of him on Tarizon.”
“How many times did you see these videos?” Captain Morgan asked.
“Twice. Once when he first got there and was taken to a hotel and later at a restaurant where I saw him meeting a judge of some sort who was going to hire him as an intern.”
“Did you hear anything else about your son?”
“Just that he’d joined the military and was going to fight with the Loyalist side in the civil war.”
“Did Kulchz tell you about that?”
“No. Kulchz had assigned me an intern, Tehra Connolly. She told me that.”
“He assigned you an intern?” Captain Morgan asked.
Stan told them about Tehra and how they had become close. He also told them about Tehra’s pregnancy.
“You got her pregnant?” Captain Morgan asked.
“Apparently. I don’t have any memory of it.”
There were muted chuckles from around the room.
“You think she used the memory gun on you?”
“No, she didn’t have to. She was part seafolken, and when seafolken women make love they bite the male and inject a chemical that enhances the sexual experience. However, one of the side effects is that the male has no memory of the event.”
More chuckles and some outright laughter.
Agent Snead cleared his throat. “Okay, Mr. Turner. Tell us about your last encounter with the aliens.”
Stan told them about his rescue of Tehra and the other Loyalists from Lake Tawokoni, about taking them to the Double T Ranch in Wylie, and about the subsequent attack by TGA fighters.
“Alien fighters attacked you?” Captain Morgan asked incredulously.
“Yes, there were at least three of them.”
“Describe them for us.”
“There are two slender fuselages joined together by a cockpit in between them. Kind of like a giant tuning fork.”
“How big were they?”
“About the size of one of our modern jet fighters.”
“Hmm. What kind of weapons did they fire at you?”
“I don’t know. Things just started blowing up. We had to take cover pretty quickly.”
“Did you see missiles? Death rays? What exactly?”
“Yes I did see a missile trail just before the house exploded. There were also bursts of what looked like straight lightning.”
“Straight lightning?”
“Yes, like a bolt of lightning but perfectly straight like a beam of light, except it gave off a lot of heat and whatever it hit exploded.”
There were murmurs amongst the delegates, and the mood became somber.
“This woman who helped you hide the Loyalist aliens, is she available to testify?”
“I haven’t talked to her in a while, but I don’t know why not.”
“Good. Some corroboration would be helpful.”
“I’ll call her when I get back to Dallas.”
“No need,” Captain Morgan said. “Just tell Agent Snead where she can be found. He’ll contact her.”
“All right,” Stan said.
“That’s all for now, Mr. Turner.” Agent Snead said.
“Don’t leave the planet,” Captain Morgan added.
The chuckles and stifled laughter made Stan wonder if they believed a word he’d said.
Mo turned to Stan. “Don’t mind them. They’re still in denial. They just found out about the Tarizon Repopulation Project last week so it’s still a little hard for them to swallow.”
Stan glared at the task force members. “What? You all think this is a joke? They took my son, for godsakes. They’ve been watching my family. I had to put them in hiding. I took a great risk coming here and leaving them alone.”
“And we appreciate that, but you’ve got to understand how bizarre this whole thing sounds,” Captain Morgan said.
“I know it sounds bizarre,” Stan countered, “but I assure you it’s real.”
“You know what would really convince us of this alien threat?” Captain Morgan asked as he leaned forward in his chair.
“What’s that?” Stan asked.
“If one of the aliens came and testified.”
Mo shook his head. “Not likely. The ones who are still here are involved in the conspiracy, so I don’t think they’ll be saying much. Plus, the President has made it crystal clear that this investigation is to be kept secret and we are not to do anything to attract the attention of the press.”
“Actually,” Stan said, “I can bring an alien to you for questioning. I talked to him yesterday and he’s agreed to help in any way he can as long as his identity is kept secret and you give him immunity and political asylum.”
Morgan fell back into his chair. “Really? This isn’t an Earthchild, but a full-blood Tarizonian?”
“Absolutely. He didn’t want to leave his family, so he’s stayed here. He can tell you all about the program and whatever you want to know about Tarizon.”
“When can you get him here?”
“How about tomorrow late afternoon? I’ll fly back to Dallas and pick him up and bring him straight here. That will give you time to get with the attorney general and put everything in writing before he talks. He and his family will need protection after he testifies.”
Captain Morgan looked around the room and heads nodded. “I think we can agree to that. Mo, you and Agent Snead should go with Mr. Turner. Maybe you should get some backup from the FBI’s Dallas office. What’s the alien’s name?”
Stan sighed. “Ah. Don’t take offense, but the aliens pretty much know everything that’s going on. I wouldn’t be alerting anyone else or even talking about this amongst yourselves for now. That’s why I’m not going to give you his name. I promised him he’d be protected.”
“And that’s exactly why we need his identity,” Captain Morgan insisted. “So we can get some protection over there right now. We don’t want our only cooperative alien witness disappearing. Besides, how can we get the paperwork you want if we don’t know his name?” Morgan asked.
“Just leave the name blank. You can fill it in after he gets here. If nobody knows who he is they won’t be looking for him.”
“I don’t think the attorney general is going to give immunity to an unknown person,” Morgan said.
“He’s right, Stan,” Snead agreed. “We should get your friend under protective custody immediately. You need to tell us who it is.”
Stan looked at Snead. He wondered if he could trust him. Then he realized his own analysis had been flawed.
“Maybe you’re right,” he said finally. “Even if I didn’t tell you who it was, the aliens could figure it out pretty quickly. Okay, the man’s name is Gabriel Winzell. You’ll need to protect his wife and children, too. If the aliens are holding any of them as hostages, Gabe will be worthless to you.”
Stan gave them Gabe’s address and his description. “Don’t let them question him until I get there. Tell him I’m coming. He trusts me, but if he gets spooked he’ll clam up. And remember what I told you about the memory gun. If you let them use it on you, they’ll be in and out and you won’t even know they were there.”
Snead nodded and left
before Stan finished. “Don’t worry, Stan,” Mo said. “They’ll just keep the Winzells safe until we get there.”
“Yeah, sure they will,” Stan said. He shook his head. “They don’t understand what they’re up against.”
Mo shrugged. “Come on. Let’s see when the next flight leaves for Dallas.”
When Agent Snead rejoined them after his call to the LA office of the FBI, he checked for flights to Dallas but found there weren’t any until morning, so he and Mo took Stan to dinner. After they’d eaten they went to a hotel and each checked into a room for the night. Later they met in the hotel bar for a drink.
“So, Agent Snead,” Stan said. “Are you a believer now or are you still skeptical?”
“Well, I’ve known Mo for a long time, and if he says we’ve had a secret arrangement with a planet called Tarizon for the last forty years, well then, we must have. What would be the point of lying about something like that?”
“But you’ll feel a lot better when you see some hard proof, right?” Stan suggested.
Snead laughed. “You’ve got that right.”
“Well, do you remember the robbery of the First American National Bank of Dallas a couple of years ago? Agent Lot of the Dallas FBI office handled that investigation.”
“I heard something about it.”
“The thieves got in and back out of the vault, carrying the contents of a safety deposit box, without any evidence that the vault was even opened.”
“Right. I remember. That was a strange case.”
“Well, it was the aliens who got into the vault without setting off any of its many alarms or leaving any trace of anyone having been there. But they did manage to remove the contents of my safety deposit box, which, coincidentally, contained the alien memory gun.”
“Really?”
“Yes. Call Agent Lot. I’m sure he’s still shaking his head over it. I couldn’t tell him about the aliens as I’m sure you can appreciate.”
Agent Snead’s cell phone rang. He flipped it open and put it to his ear. As he listened his eyes widened. He looked at Stan, shook his head, and then closed the phone.
“What?” Stan asked expectantly.
“They’re gone. The apartment is completely empty and there is no sign of them.”
“Damn it!” Stan yelled. “I knew this would happen.”
“Something else kind of strange happened,” Agent Snead said. “It seems several of the Winzells’ neighbors had to be taken to the local emergency room this afternoon. They all apparently fainted for no known reason and were found unconscious.”
Stan nodded. “The memory gun. I warned you about the memory gun.”
Tarizon, Conquest Earth, Tarizon Trilogy Vol 3 Page 27
