Forces of Destiny

by Robert Maxwell

  Everyone in the room crouched down at the sound of multiple gunfire as Matthew’s head instantly twisted around towards the sound of gunfire. The Joint Chiefs of staff got on their phones and computers.

  Matthew brought his rifle up to his shoulder and opened the door running into the Secretary of Defense's office where the sound of the gunfire intensified.

  Captain Jackson yelled in a muffled voice, “Gas, Gas, Gas.” He had a gas mask on and was in a chemical protective suit. He looked over at Matthew and said, “Get back into the office, the door is sealed from gas exposure. We are initiating chemical decontamination of the air in the bunker. Someone shot a zombie and its dead body released a gas that has infected others. A security team in chemical suits are hunting them now.”

  Matthew asked, “This Presidential command bunker is sealed, how did undead get in here?”

  Captain Jackson answered, “There are sleeping quarters on the second level. Either someone died in their sleep or someone had been hiding they were feeling sick and collapsed. The guard must have failed to follow protocol and evacuate the area immediately and kill the infected patient. Get in the office and shut the door to get an airtight seal.”

  Captain Jackson turned around and started to the front of the bunker.

  Matthew closed the door, took off his backpack and pulled out a chemical protection suit and small oxygen rebreather. He had to get to the jet to access the Arc Light central computer and then get a face to face meeting with the President to notify him that once the Echo Victory protocol was initiated it could not be rescinded. As he put the suit on the Secretary of Defense came out of the conference room. Matthew could see the Joint Chiefs of staff remained in the room busy working on their computers and phones probably to find out from their commands of what is going on. The door to the conference room closed.

  The Secretary of Defense said, “It is not my responsibility to clean up the failures of the Arc Light command by not having a Arc Light staff member obtainable by the President.”

  Matthew said, “You were specifically trained to contact Arc Light command once the President activated the Echo Victory protocol. Having the Arc Light liaison officer instantly available to the President was the primary safety net to ensure we knew if the protocol was activated. You conveying all the President’s orders to Arc Light command was the alternative backup plan. You were given this critical duty because you are only one of the handful people near the president with a high enough classified clearance. You flat out failed to pass on a critical classified Presidential order. You illegally withheld my access as the Arc Light commander to the President of the United States. When the Echo Victory protocol is activated that pushes the Secretary of Defense out of the chain of command and gives it to the Arc Light commander. Do not interfere with my command of Arc Light or my access to the President or I will have you arrested. Don’t even think about grabbing power in this vacuum at the expense of doing what is best to save as many of the survivors as possible. Do you understand or do I have the Joint Chief of staff arrest you right now?”

  The Secretary of Defense defiantly said, “How dare you threaten me. The current President of the United States has ordered you to dismantle the Arc Light program and now you say you are in charge and want to arrest me?”

  Matthew put the barrel of his handgun on the Secretary of Defense’s forehead. “The moment you said in front of witnesses that you disobeyed a direct order to pass on the President’s order to activate the Echo Victory protocol and then you denied me access to the President these both were grounds for arrest because the Arc Light program is the highest priority mission in the United States but I wanted to give you a chance which you failed. You are now under arrest. Try to cause a scene and ask others to help you resist arrest and I will kill you in less than a second before you can complete a sentence.”

  Matthew put on his rebreather and pulled up his hood. He took a second rebreather out his backpack and put it on the Secretary of Defense and then grabbed him by the back of his suit jacket and opened the office door breaking the airtight seal. The room outside the office was empty. Down the hallway was yelling and sounds of automatic gunfire.

  Matthew thought, time to fight my way through the undead to the jet. I can’t leave the Ex-Secretary of Defense alone to do any more damage. There are only a handful of survivors with the security clearance to know my power as an Arc Light program commander is only second to the President of the United States. If the Ex-Secretary of Defense yells out a lie that he was being kidnapped to anyone that would listen, I could be killed or detained which would put the Arc Light program in jeopardy.

  confirmation of death

  Classified Underground Medical Facility South East of Fort Richardson, Alaska

  Chapter 3

  Tracy made her way from the medical research command center to three rooms down the hallway to the communications center. Tracy established a secure connection with the Chicago research facility. She waited for a response to her initiating a meeting.

  Tracy felt a survivor's guilt that she was alive and the other scientists were not. It was her responsibility to cure this threat to the world. The weight of millions of those in a coma she could not save. She always knew the power of science. The almost invisible working of the world that man could understand and control but this infection was beyond the control of humanity. This pathogen was exploiting every vulnerability. It was disguising its origin. The infection refused to tell Tracy or any of the researchers why some got sick and why others were immune even after carrying it in their bodies.

  David’s voice came over the radio and said, “Tracy, it is good to know you are alive. What is your status.”

  Tracy said, “I am alive but the facility has been overrun with infected. All the research here is over. I found the last researcher and I watched her die. They haven’t been able to find a cure.”

  David asked, “How much of the facility have you been able to secure?”

  Tracy said, “I had to fight my way to the command center. They have the whole facility on lockdown, I haven’t been able to access how bad the containment breach is in each section.”

  David said, “Tracy you need to get out of there. Copy the research and get out of there.”

  Tracy said, “There still can be a chance. I can continue the research. There are hundreds of millions with a chance to be saved. There are future generations we need to save.”

  David said, “It is a question of your safety. There are undead that we don’t know how to kill yet. If you have those loose in that facility with you then you are in extreme danger. Also, no one knows if there are new sources of contamination in that breached facility. It is bad enough people in bio suits and clean rooms have become infected but to trap yourself in a research facility with a concentration of the infection is absolutely too dangerous. Collect the research and get out of there, that is an order Tracy.”

  Tracy asked, “What if we are days away from a cure?”

  David said, “Seventy of the best scientists in the country and half a trillion dollars in research could not find a cure. The time for focusing on finding a cure right now is over. We had our chance and our best resources failed. A normal infection takes years to find a cure or like the cold pathogen, we never conquered it. This is one of the most advanced infections we have ever seen. If in the future there is any chance this can even be cured with a lifetime of research and you are dead what are we going to do Tracy? If you are one of the handfuls of scientists or the only scientist left then your safety is critical for the world. Your orders are to come back Tracy. You did everything you could.”

  Tracy’s felt the weight of all those hanging on by a thread. When she was working on a cure no matter how slight of a hope she didn’t have to face that all of the millions of people in a coma depended on her and a handful of scientists. Now with all the scientists dead, the responsibility was undeniable. If she as a scientist in the most advanced medical facility in the world co
uld not help them that finally made her face the inevitable that those hundreds of millions were condemned to a slow death. She realized her desire to stay here and continue the research was a desire to hide from the pain of what was occurring in the world instead of accepting the reality that most of those millions were dead men walking, it only was a matter of time. Tracy thought, Dr. Ebert injected herself knowing there was no hope for a cure but didn’t want to face the same fears I am having of helplessness to save those sick in the world.

  Tracy said, “The Arc Light program failed to find a cure. We had everything and the infection still beat us. We were all arrogant to think we were untouchable with all of our medical technology and money. This infection is moving so fast and adapting at levels well beyond our understanding of science. Humanity has been outclassed. We thought ourselves to be the dominant species but this illness is going to educate us how fragile the life of humanity is.”

  David listening to the raw emotion in Tracy’s voice felt an immense fear start to well up inside him. There was a knowing deep within his consciousness his whole military career that he never took out of the emotional box he locked it in. David realized his fear locked away was now undeniable. It was the horror of humanity dying that had driven him in the latter part of his military career.

  David said, “Tracy. Come back to the Arc Light Chicago medical base. The Arc Light program most likely knew this was a no win scenario to fix anytime soon but regardless it tried with everything we had. Arc Light did amazing research but the infection is as smart as us. You will make a difference in this world no matter what happens to humanity. Tracy, the Arc Light program still has missions that will help anyone left alive so come back and help us make a difference for those left living.”

  Tracy thought of the dead body of Dr. Ebert. She looked at the blood smeared walls of the control room of the most advanced medical research facility in the world and realized the fight for a cure was over and said, “Affirmative. I’m coming home.”

  CRITICAL CARGO

  V55 Jet 50,000 Feet Over Utah

  Chapter 4

  The black Gulfstream V55 vertical liftoff jet was straining at six hundred and fifty miles per hour at 50,000 feet over Utah on automatic pilot towards the Chicago medical base. A warning light on the right wing was flashing but David was not going to slow down the return of the Arc Light energy source to the Chicago facility for scans that could reveal a possible cure. His risk paid off and he now intended to drive with extreme momentum towards finding a real cure to strike at the heart of the problem.

  Ben burst into the cockpit with a gas mask yelling, “Get your mask on and get to the back of the cargo hold now!”

  David reached for a gas mask in the cockpit escape gear and put it on. He ran with Ben to the back of the plane’s cargo hold in the cockpit to see Ashley pouring water on the Arc Light energy source causing steam to come off of it.

  Ben said, “This thing is rapidly giving off heat! It could explode and end our mission, we have to throw it off the plane now!”

  David looked at the Arc Light energy source crystal structures giving off waves of heat, he could feel the heat in the back of the plane thirty degrees hotter than normal.

  Ben screamed, “This was a Goddamn bad idea to bring an unknown, possibly off-world object onto an airborne plane that we are trapped on. Make the call and throw it off the plane now!”

  David’s eyes grew dark and focused which was the only clue to let Ben notice how deadly serious he was as his face remained calm. David said, “Get the medical treatment kit for heat stroke, it has a portable cooling unit and chemical ice packs. Also get the portable surgical refrigeration chest and empty the frozen whole units of blood and place the Arc Light crystal in it.”

  Ben said, “What about levels of radiation that our equipment can’t read? What happens when we start losing team members from some type of unknown radiation exposure from this thing? The reaction causing the heat has to be giving off some after effects. I realize this cargo is critical but you’re risking all our lives with your command decision. What if you are wrong?”

  Jason yelled out, “I have an idea on how to cool it down.”

  David looked at Jason for a second and said, “Run it by Ashley.”

  David turned back to look into Ben’s eyes with a dominating stare of command and said, “Get the cooling gear started, then help Jason with his plan if it adds value. The alternative backup plan is we land the plane and deal with it on the ground. If you throw it out of the plane, you will be thrown out with it. Are those order clear Ben?”

  Ben saw the intensity in David’s eyes and knew he was serious that a violation of orders with something this important would not be tolerated.

  Ben paused for a long few seconds in a staring contest between two men that had killed hundreds and lost dozens under their commands. Ben blinked his eyes and said, “Affirmative.”

  David yelled out as he walked to the cockpit, “I am contacting General Knight to see if he has the need to know classified intel on what is causing this.”

  David looked behind him one final time before sitting down in the pilot’s seat. He could see Jason removing the metal computer panel from the command center in the middle of the plane. He turned towards the communication panel knowing Ashley would ensure Jason didn’t damage the plane enough to bring it down gutting it.

  David made an emergency code one transmission to Matthew on the communication screen in the cockpit.

  The seconds passed by like an eternity. David could feel his heart beating fast as he breathed in through the gas mask wondering what he was tasting in the air being scrubbed through the mask’s filter.

  The radio crackled with Mathews voice saying, “David, I show an encrypted communications link, go with emergency transmission, over.”

  David said, “The Arc Light energy source is giving out large amounts of heat, we do not know if it will explode or if this is a radiation threat. Do you need to know classified intel on it that would help?”

  Matthew replied over the radio, “The following is need to know, classified compartmented top secret. We have another Arc Light energy source in a classified facility called Eden base. When the two halves of the Arc Light energy source was separated, the object changed in physical appearance but I never heard of large amounts of heat being given off. Why did you separate the pieces?”

  David said, “We only found one piece, we are airborne away from the site we retrieved it at.”

  David paused to consider his options wondering if the Arc Light energy source would blow up without its companion piece. David said, “We have enough fuel to go back to the Barringer Meteorite crater and look for a possible second piece buried deeper in the crater. We will have to obtain more air support UAV resources to deal with killing the fast moving undead in the area.”

  Matthew replied over the radio, “Negative, you have new orders. Take all precautions to protect yourself from any dangers from the Arc Light energy source but as your priority mission, I need you to set a course for the coordinates I just sent you over the command computer in Idaho. I have lost contact with the President, Washington, D.C., has fallen. I am airborne heading to Yellow Pine Idaho now. I would have called you earlier with orders but I had to deal with securing a prisoner. He was the former Secretary of Defense. He tried to shut down the Arc Light mission and withheld classified mission orders from me passed to him from the original President that the Echo Victory protocol was activated.”

  David remembered the last time he was in Washington, D.C., visiting the graves of his fallen team members. David thought, now hundreds years of effort and the millions of lives sacrificed to start and protect the United States fell today along with Washington, D.C. My Arc Light team maybe the only remaining organized effort to keep America alive long enough to be rebuilt. We must keep America alive to honor the sacrifice of all the soldiers that helped form the country.

  The burden of being responsible for the lives of the
men under his command always consumed his drive to prevail even if that meant taking extreme risk with the lives he was responsible for. Now he carried the burden of being responsible for the lives of survivors trying to make it through the night in the shattered remains of Washington, D.C.

  David refocused on the now and asked, “What is the mission General?”

  Matthew replied over the radio, “Your team will rondevu with me at the rally point coordinates I sent. We will then proceed in my aircraft to the secret location of the Eden base to secure it at all costs. This is the Arc Light program’s most classified base, its value and classified programs are irreplaceable to the survival of humanity. I cannot contact the base and the base personnel failed the security check in protocols.”

  David thought, what irreplaceable secrets is the Eden base holding? How the hell can a secret base this important, have failed its security checks?

  David asked, “What do we know about the Eden base in size and purpose, sir?”

  Matthew over the radio said, “It’s layout and the top secret programs being run out of that base are need to know. My predecessor before he died was not able to brief me. That level of classified information is not accessible on our security computer network. The only intel I had been brief on about the Eden base was it contains another Arc Light energy source like you retrieved.”

  David asked, “What protocol are we following with the prisoner?”

  Matthew said, “I have the Ex-Secretary of Defense secured in the back of the aircraft in the holding cell. There is no time to drop him off, we will leave him in my aircraft while we secure the base. I have an explosive tracking collar on him if he tries to escape. We can’t risk him trying to shut down the Arc Light program if in the chaos he gets away.”

  David asked, “Any idea if we are going to have to fight our way into the Eden base?”