Gray Panthers: Battle for Earth (15 page)

Gray Panthers, Arizona

24 December 2127

Dan stood in the main hallway to the Nike’s cavern. He had promised himself he would shake the hand of every man taking part in the mission. Next to him Butch was doing the same, as he also respected the gesture and decided to share in the moment. As the last few stragglers were heading for the ship, he received an emergency call from Black.

"D2 we are screwed. Grub just notified me he intercepted communications that DHS is coming to stop our launch.  They have gunships and aircraft en-route. They should be here in 30 minutes."  Dan did not listen any further. Looking at Butch he simply said, "Shit has hit the fan, launch now!  Hostiles include armed copters and jets. God speed commander."  Dan grabbed his hand and gave it a quick shake as he turned to head for the front gates.  Just as Dan emerged into the sunlight he saw a shuttle launch, then seemed to just disappear as the defensive array was initiated, making it almost invisible to the naked eye.  Two minutes later, it appeared at ten thousand feet.  It was transmitting the IFF of the Nike as it headed south for the Mexican border.  Grub called Dan letting him know it was the young marine Lt. with his modified shuttle.  Dan looked at the shuttle again as it changed; it now appeared to be the Nike to the naked eye.  Grub confirmed the inbound aircraft have been diverted; they are now being vectored toward the shuttle.  "Grub, do all our shuttles have the abilities like Young's?" Dan asked.

"Lt. Young got tired of losing to the Gray Panthers sir, so he figured his own way to win; he refused to be out-cheated by anyone. I did not know he was going to launch sir. I can return his shuttle if you wish."

"No Grub, he has a plan. He was the only one with one, let him run with it.  As a matter of fact if his pursuers somehow were given wrong headings or something like that, that would help."

"Air team Avenger, this is secretary Winters of DHS, the mission is scrubbed, code Rabbit, confirm and return to base."  The scrambled radio transmission was legitimate. He recognized the secretary's voice.

"Avenger leader confirms, Avenger team RTB,” Agent Vargas ordered.

"Avenger ground force commander, this is Secretary Winters; mission is postponed 72 hours, acknowledge.  Hold at your staging points.  Do not interfere if any targets come near you.  Confirm this message and then go silent until you hear from me first, understood?"

"Avenger ground force commander confirms, out."

Grub was briefing Dan of the status as the ground started to shake and he looked up in time to see the Nike rapidly rising, soon lost in the clouds.  Grub confirmed there was no pursuit.  Grub then explained that DHS was making a raid because they intercepted a phone call made by one of the crew of the Nike saying, "The ship was loaded for bear and he felt sorry for anyone who tangled with it."  Dan laughed as he decided it was a good time to get Siggy elected president before he turned over any technology to the government.

  "Grub start Operation Snitch." Dan then called Siggy and told him it was time.  He was to get his friends to get controlling interest in the corporations that ran the main media outlets.  He then contacted his lobby group to see who he could control and those he could not.  Next he contacted operatives in the different states to start the grass root movement for the return to being a constitutional republic, instead of the socialist system in effect now.  He then called Siggy Jr. and told him Operation Snitch was in effect and that he would be in charge. 

   Every member of the crew that could was viewing a monitor as the sky went from blue to black.  The grav plates continued to do their job as no one noticed any change in the ship’s gravity.  "Captain to crew, Elvis has left the planet!"  Butch announced, wondering how many of the crew knew who Elvis was. The crew slapped each other on the back and cheered their ship, its crew, and its captain.  Butch had the intercept course set as he decided to do an informal walk through of the ship.  The stroll reminded him of just how different the ship was as he opened a hatch that was triple the size it had been previously to accommodate the space suits when worn.  The red green panel at every hatch was also a reminder that the next compartment may not have adequate atmosphere.  A short distance later Butch found himself looking at a series of hatches going into a storeroom. All were undogged.  “Nike, please register the panels to show this area is venting atmosphere.  Do not vent atmosphere, this is a training exercise only.” 

“Captain, I will set panels to show these compartments only venting atmosphere.  Do you want me to sound alarm also?” Nike asked in reply.

“Just the panels. I want to see who discovers it first; Life Support, or Engineering. Please record the time it takes as well as the corrective action taken.”

Butch started to look at his watch as the Klaxon started, followed by the announcement that stores area 16 through 20 was venting atmosphere and to stay clear of the area until all clear was announced.  Butch walked back to the furthest compartment and sat down on a crate and waited.  Two minutes later the first pair of responders got to the outermost hatch and dogged it as they stepped inside.  Both were wearing their space suits and were looking down at the hand held detector as they continued toward the captain dogging each hatch behind them as they went.  Butch repressed a smile when he saw the utter look of surprise on the first man’s face as he entered the last compartment and saw the captain sitting there watching him.  “Very good Dooley, you can secure from exercise.”  Butch then nodded as he walked by the two men.  When he got to the last hatch and opened it to the compartment way, there were a half dozen more men in suits ready to assist as needed.  “Nike, please reset all panels,” Butch vocalized as he waved his hand over the hatch panel turning from red to green.  “That was easy enough wasn’t it gentlemen?”  Butch asked as they looked at the panel in wonder as he left the area. 

Butch voiced his disappointment to the department heads at his discovery of the series of hatches left undogged and suggested each department find their own way to reinforce the importance of dogging hatches in space.  Butch also sent a message to Abby suggesting when they build the next ship to use automated hatches that would close when in space and not open unless it detected someone approaching the hatchway.

“All hands, this is the XO. We will soon be in firing position.  Prepare to launch shuttles.  All sections report status.” 

Butch looked at the XO and was pleased with the way things were going.  Looking over the bridge crew, Butch put his hand over his face to hide his smile as he vocalized to Red, “Let’s let Mr. Moon be the hero of the day to save Earth.”  In a regular voice he then said, “XO has the ship.”

Red smiled, then said, “Jr. Officer of the deck has the ship, commence operations at your discretion.”

“Aye Aye Sir, I have the deck.”

“All stations, this is Mr. Moon. Launch shuttles one through twenty. Flight leads, report in when in position.  Weapons, confirm when you are ready to fire and that shuttles are clear.” 

"Bridge, Shuttle Ops, all flights report they are in position."

"Weapons, bridge, you are cleared to Beam, nine shots per mission plan.

The bridge and entire crew watched the monitors as the Beamer cut through the asteroid nine times watching the beam go through the asteroid.  The asteroid slowly separated into ten parts, as a small debris field covered the entire area like a cloud. 

"Sensors, Bridge, conduct a thorough scan before the shuttles go in. Let me know if you find anything interesting."

"Bridge, Sensors, Aye Aye."

"Bridge, Sensors, Targets 5, 6, 7, are heavy concentrations of platinum; other targets nothing detected of value or that are hazardous."

"Shuttle Ops, change 1 to plan, proceed as planned with all targets except 5, 6, and 7.  We will need a plan to try to recover those targets if possible, at no risk.  Let me know when you have a solution.  All shuttles be careful of the debris field. Tractor away any parts that could be hazardous to flight.  Bridge Out"

Butch looked at Red and quietly told him, "Keep an eye on young Mr. Moon. He has some great potential.  I wish I had thought about any salvage."

Six of the shuttles herded the three chunks of the asteroid toward the moon, planning to use their tow beams to land the chunks softly onto the moon surface for future recovery.  The remainders of the asteroids segments were towed into a new trajectory that would not be a hazard to Earth.  Once the shuttles were recovered, the Nike followed the six remaining shuttles as they headed towards the moon.  The shuttles paired off into three flights with the asteroid chunk leading two shuttles toward the moon with the occasionally course correction managed by the lead shuttle pilot in each formation.  The new trajectory had the segments heading for an area slightly south of the Peary Crater. 

Butch recovered the shuttles as the Nike assumed a heading to land a quarter mile north of the crater. The Nike started to shake slightly as it began to let down. Inside, the inertial dampeners kept the crew of the ship from feeling any sensation at all.  As the Nike touched down on the surface, the ship settled almost a foot into the ground before it settled and the ship’s arms were extended to provide additional stability.

"Bridge to all sections, welcome to the moon.  All sections report any damage.  First assessment team will depart through mid-hatch in 12 hours, after all sensor scans have been completed.  Captain out."  Butch looked at Red and smiled as he was finally able to realize his childhood dream of going to the moon.  "Well Red we made it to the moon and saved the world. Think we should ask for a raise?"  Red just laughed as he continued to look over each station ensuring nothing had been overlooked.

Gray Panthers, Arizona

24 December 2127

Dan once again wished to be anywhere else as he found himself having to address the media.  "Ladies and gentlemen of the media. I have been asked to say a few words about the success of our launch of the Nike.  As many of you know last week we had our initial launch, a short trip to Hawaii with members of the FAA to certify our crafts airworthiness.  We had planned to ask NASA to do the same thing on this voyage when we were informed secretly that an asteroid would soon impact Earth.  The entire crew of the Nike volunteered for the immediate mission to save our world.  There will be videos of the actual operation available to the media showing the Asteroid 1999 RQ36 being cut into small pieces and then having their course changed to miss Earth. 

I am happy to say they have completed their mission and have continued to the moon, where they have landed near the north rim of Peary Crater.  Their new mission will be to mine, and process Helium 3.  Once we have operations established, we plan to provide cheap energy for every city in America.  No longer will man need to rape the earth for our energy needs.  No longer will the old need to worry about freezing to death in the winter because they could not pay their electric bills, or die of heat exhaustion in the summer.  We will also share this with the entire world once we have setup our own country.  Helium 3 is safe and has nothing toxic to further damage mother Earth.  It will also provide thousands of jobs once we start to convert our system to this cheap, safe fuel source.  Any state that doesn't want our energy we will not bother with.  I apologize as I have things I need to do so I will leave you in the capable hands of Ms. Juanita Jorge to answer any questions you may have. Merry Christmas." 

Gray Panthers, Arizona

25 December 2127

Siggy Jr. could not believe the incriminating information he was receiving on almost every politician and political backer. The information was in the yottabytes of data, as he used the AI Vengeance to sort the info and recommend action.  Soon media outlets that previously were careful in their reporting to avoid any news were competing with each other to see who could be more sensational in their reporting.  Graft, payoffs, recorded admissions of officials disgusted with their country, outright targeting of their political enemies.  Documentation showing hundreds of thousands of citizens had been jailed, or coerced to follow orders by the government.  At random times the most disturbing reports were aired on all the major networks at the same time without approval.  Government and law departments could find no way to trace how the broadcasts were being engineered.  Every email account received links to those videos that were not acceptable to view during normal hours.  Targeting was set for each state and their elected officials.

The true state of the union was revealed and that the national debt could never be paid off.  Community leaders were uncovered in all their illegal activities.  People started to rise up demanding justice.  The Attorney General amazingly did not have any reports appear publicly against his name, as justice was demanded.  He could not believe his good luck until he was in his office and an apparition appeared before him in a black cloak. He immediately recognized it as the grim reaper.  The skeletal hand protruded from the cloak holding a long list. He could read the list as it was held up to him.  He started to hyperventilate as he fell back into his chair.  The list he had been reading changed and instead of his crimes being listed, the word justice appeared in red as if written in blood.  The apparition threw the list high in the air toward the quivering attorney general as the list ignited in flames then vanished into thin air.  He could now hear a voice that was low and gravelly, "The Day of Judgment is near, and if you want to be saved you must join the repentant ones and strike down the evil that plagues this country."  The apparition then bent over to look the man in the eyes. When the man saw the bright red globes the apparition had for eyes he wet himself as the apparition simply pointed his skeletal finger at him then vanished in a huge flame that covered the office.  He looked around his office; at first relieved, then started to cry then weep.  Dan watched the monitor as the episode ended and smiled as he turned to Abby, “I think if I saw the Grim Reaper like that I’d lose it too.”

“No Dan, you were the Grim Reaper, days gone by,” Abdul said, remembering the Iran War.

  Hours later, for the first time in his career, the attorney general began to enforce the laws.  Numerous politicians who had been revealed did not even wait for justice but instead either quit or retired. They then used their fortunes to disappear.  Those who were of the imperial families that had ruled for generations could not believe it was happening and took the coward’s way out when the media was not there to protect them.  Numerous new political parties began to spring up. The most popular one was the most surprising because it had two items on its platform; justice and jobs.  Its leader, an attorney who was also a veteran, was the most popular of the new candidates, Sigmund "Siggy" Goldstein.

Special elections were convened for almost every position as members of both the house and senate either retired or quit in exchange for not being prosecuted.  The president and vice president agreed to step down after a special election provided their replacements in lieu of impeachment.

  During the upheaval, the North Korean government decided it was a perfect time to invade the south.  Miraculously as Kim Tu-bong addressed the Supreme People’s Assembly to order the invasion, a rogue comet unknown to anybody entered the Earth's atmosphere hitting the assembly leaving a half-mile crater.  The now leaderless country of North Korea quickly came under control of General Li Gun-mo, who ruthlessly purged the surviving old regime, then followed with reunification with South Korea.

“You know some would call us war criminals for helping that rock drop on North Korea,” Red said as he sipped his coffee and reported his mission as a success to Butch.

“I agree Red, we can’t play god, but I’m willing to meet my maker with a clear conscience on this one.  How many million lives were saved by our actions do you think?”  Butch replied.

“Enough for me to have no trouble sleeping at night I guess,” Red replied as he finished drinking his coffee in the ward room.