Talosian Chronicles 6: Armageddon (7 page)

Alan nodded his thanks and sat down to begin eating his sandwich. Major Dentin had moved his vehicle closer to the pavilion but it was still at least fifty yards away. The man exited his vehicle and walked over to the tent. “First off, let me tell you that I’m sorry that I had to order that attack against you. That man was a moron and ignored everything you warned him against. As a result he stopped a stray bullet and had to be taken to a hospital. There are still a couple of his men running around here, but I don’t think there will be any more attacks – at least by us.”

“Do you need any help with the wounded? Did they all get out okay?” Alan asked.

The Major smiled; “We got the most seriously wounded out of here; the others will have to wait until morning. Since their wounds are not life-threatening, the choppers won’t risk flying at night. I appreciate your offer of help; however, I’m still worried about the repercussions of accepting your aid.”

“I’m not. If these people can help those men, I say let them,” another man said as he approached.

“This is Chief Warrant Officer Adams, our medic. Doc, this is Commander Carlton. Doc, if we let these people treat our soldiers, you know damn good and well that those soldiers will be put through every test imaginable once we get back to Fort Carson.”

“I’d still like them to take a look. I’m not comfortable with the conditions of a couple of those men. It was the fuckin’ spooks that ordered the grounding of the choppers until morning. I tried to tell them that we still had wounded out here, but unless it was directly life-threatening, they wouldn’t listen.”

Alan put his hand to the earpiece communicator he was wearing, “Andreya, who‘s still on duty?”

“Kevin and Sheryl,” came the reply.

Alan smiled. “Have them grab the portable med unit and get out here, fast. They are to wear side arms only.”

“Understood. They’ll be there in a minute.”

“Thank you, Commander. I think you might be right to assume this could be a trap. I haven’t seen those other spooks around for a few minutes,” Chief Adams said.

“Can I get either of you anything to eat or drink?” Alan offered. “I think your guard there could stand to be relieved as well; he looks tired.”

Actually the guard looked like he was ready to attack Alan for the sandwich and Pepsi. His stomach was growling loudly enough for the other three men to hear it.

“When’s your relief supposed to be here, Pitzini?” the major asked.

“He was supposed to be here twenty minutes ago, Sir,” the private said.

“Go get something to eat and tell your relief I want to see him ASAP,” the major said.

“Yessir!” The Private said as he ran off.

Just then Kevin and Sheryl trotted up carrying a large box between them.

“Doctor Adams, this is Kevin and Sheryl. Since they are part of a Raptor team, their rank is ‘Officer’. While on duty and our military, they are accorded the respect due to the first officer of a ship. The equivalent rank in your military would be that of Major. Take them to your wounded.” Alan turned to the two carrying the med unit. “No funny business. Do not draw your weapon unless you need to protect yourselves or your patient. With the shields, I really can’t see that happening. Just diagnose the young men unless it’s an emergency and Doctor Adams agrees.” The two nodded.

“Just for the record, I’m not a Doctor, I’m a Physicians Assistant, or PA. This way please.” He said as he led the two Raptor team members into the small camp that was being set up.

“He’s a good medic. He’s been with the unit for years,” the Major said as he watched them go.

“Before I came out here, Andreya told me that we’re going to have to ask you to move some of your vehicles before morning,” Alan said to change the subject. “The drones are ready to build more of the surface facilities.”

Another trooper trotted up and saluted the two men. “Sir, Pitzini said you wanted to see me?” he said to the Major.

“Do you have a reason for being twenty minutes late relieving the guard at this post?” the Major asked in an even voice.

“Sir, we were setting up the TOC and Sergeant Grimes told me to continue with that,” the trooper answered.

Dentin turned back to Alan; “Which vehicles do you need moved?”

Alan asked Andreya and got the information. He asked for the hologram to be displayed again, this time of the surface only – with the positions of the Army vehicles on it.

Alan pointed out the vehicles that needed to be moved and suggested new positions for them. After making sure he knew what was needed, the soldier ran off to get the Bradleys moved before it got too dark to do so safely.

“The base’s primary defensive shield will be operational before the morning. In three days, the fighters and other ships that will be stationed here will begin to arrive. We're building this base so that the American military can have personnel stationed here to act as liaison. We are adding helicopter landing areas and the runway will be long enough for you to land just about anything you want to land. We'll provide hangers for your craft as well since only our craft will be allowed below the surface into the main hanger facility,” Alan informed him.

“I can hear a ‘but’ coming. The spooks are going to go ballistic trying to get spies in here to capture some of your technology,” the Major countered.

“Yeah, they will. We have ways of knowing who is who. For one thing, we will issue the IDs that will be required for entry. We will man the guard posts controlling entry, and no unauthorized weapons will be allowed past the main gate. Those restrictions will go into effect when we bring the main shield online tomorrow. Basically, I’m kicking you guys out, but if you want to leave some troops for observers, I'll allow that, but only if they are unarmed. I’ll need to know about them by noon tomorrow.”

“What happens if we are ordered out and they drop a nuke on you? You are conveniently out in the desert,” asked Dentin.

Alan shrugged. “The shield can withstand the blast. As long as everyone is either underground or has their eyes protected the only thing that will do is kill a few million snakes and assorted bugs.” Alan didn’t tell him that two nukes would be enough to breach the shield.

“There is no weapon or force on this planet you are afraid of?” the Major asked.

“Actually, yes there is; the force of public opinion. What good would it do us to try to protect a people that have such distrust for us that they endanger themselves by continually trying to interfere with our work? We also fear the collateral damage caused by useless attacks against us by the native militaries. What we are trying to protect you all from is so much beyond your ability to defend against that your government has no clue how badly outmatched they really are.” He turned around and pointed at the Raptor. "You see that gun snuggled up against the nose of the Raptor there? That gun was designed for ship-to-ship combat in space. It can put a single round completely through an M1 Abrams tank from two hundred miles away with pinpoint accuracy and enough velocity to kill everyone in the tank from the impact alone. The laser cannons mounted on the wing tips can vaporize one unprotected human or a whole office building from orbit. We carry missiles that hold enough firepower to remove New York City from the face of the planet.

“Major, that is just one of
thousands
of combat craft we have. Now, the enemy that is coming here to destroy this planet has almost the same capabilities we do. Our ships are stronger and have more raw fire-power, but they will outnumber us radically. Their mission is to remove us from the universe. There is a much bigger picture here than no one on this planet wants to realize. The governments are too used to getting their own way when it comes to who does what. It is our sworn duty to protect you from them, but at the same time we also have to protect you from yourselves.” Alan finished.

“That sounds pretty arrogant, Commander. Why would we need you to protect us from ourselves? Shouldn’t we be allowed to make our own mistakes?”

“We do let you make those mistakes. I was speaking of the fact that we have stopped a hell of a lot of terrorist attacks oursleves and let information slip about others. We are taking other steps to get rid of some of the worst drug lords by working with Interpol and causing ‘accidents’ that destroy crops. We are not here to take over, Major. Nor are we here to tell anyone how to live. Our whole purpose is to protect this planet.”

“What about all the people starving, or suffering from disease? How can you let that continue?” Dentin countered.

“Actually, we haven’t been letting it continue. There is a small fleet of shuttles that make daily runs from the Moon to drop food and medical supplies in countries that need them. I'll grant that most of those supplies are probably being grabbed by bad people, but we do know that at least some of them are getting to those that need it.

"Have you noticed lately how many commercials there have been claiming that ‘your efforts have helped so many, and if you would just give more…’ Well, the money gained from donations hasn’t actually done much since it was all getting used up in the administrations of each organization. We’ve been dropping food and medicine into the worst spots for most of the last couple of years. Once this emergency is passed, maybe we can do more, but our main focus is going to be defense. It will be up to your people to help with damage control and dealing with the casualties. No matter how you slice it, there are going to be lots of casualties,” Alan said grimly.

It was getting dark, so Alan got a lantern from the replicator. “Can that thing really produce anything?” Dentin asked.

“Within reason - yes. It can’t, for example, create a car; it simply isn’t big enough. But we do have units that are big enough; we use them primarily to build the smaller ships we use.”

“Where do you live, now? I know you said you are from here, but…” He left the rest unsaid.

Alan chuckled, “Actually I do still live on this planet. I can’t tell you where though; that will still have to remain a secret. My two teammates that went with Doc used to live on one of our bigger ships, the Battle Cruiser
Prometheus
.”

Dentin just shook his head in wonder. “It all seems so hard to believe. For years we’ve been told there is no such thing as aliens, and we are all alone in the universe. Now it seems we’ve been deluding ourselves all along.”

“Well, we are kinda off the beaten track spatially. However, the universe is a big place. There are literally hundreds of thousands of worlds capable of supporting life. The odds that Earth was the only one to have developed an intelligent species are astronomically small. It was bound to happen sooner or later that you find out about the rest of the universe. Hell, there are plenty of other species in this galaxy alone. Once the fighters begin to arrive, you will get to meet some members of those other species.”

Dentin looked shocked and somewhat ill. “You mean that there will be
real
aliens here? In three days?”

Alan chuckled; “Relax Major, the Benesians are really pretty nice people. Not to mention extremely beautiful. All the ones you will meet here will be female, since their society is predominantly female. Did you ever watch the movie ‘Lord of the Rings’?” When the Major nodded, Alan continued, “Well, these ladies look very much like the elves from that movie. Until you get to know them, they kinda act like that too. But don’t worry; they are very much on our side in this.”

TDF
Star Dancer

Equatorial Orbit

Earth, Sol Sector

When they got back to the office, Ian sat down and began issuing orders to the various departments he would need to institute the changes discussed in the meetings. He had just finished speaking to General Anders about the Earth based weapons of mass destruction when Alex got his attention.

"Sir, I think you need to see this; CNN is reporting about us," the woman said and activated the big wall monitor.

The screen came alive with a scene from somewhere in New York City. A semi attractive blond woman was reporting…

“…currently very little is known about the strange occurrences now reported in several major cities all over the world. No one seems to know exactly what's going on, but we do know that the people doing the work are part of the Terran Defense Forces currently defending our planet from space-based enemies. A New York City Police Officer, John Patrinowski, attempted to approach one of the sites earlier today to investigated what they were doing."

“Weirdest damn thing I ever seen! It was like tryin’ to walk through a wall that wasn’t there. I don’t know who these people think they are, but that is a public hazard! I don’t care if they did put out warning signs and barricades!” a rather rotund man dressed in a police officer's uniform said.

“Officer Patrinowski was not injured in any way in the attempt to cite the supposed illegal builders. Workers from the utility companies arrived a few minutes ago and asked the police to move the crowds back, away from the construction site. A representative for the gas utility told CNN that since no building permits have been issued for this project and it is evident that extensive excavation is being done; the likelihood was that the builders would soon strike the gas main that runs under this location. Workers have temporarily shut off the gas to this area until these people can be stopped and any damage can be repaired. Shortly after Officer Patrinowski’s attempt, National Guard troops entered the area and pushed the crowds back even further. I tried to speak with the National Guard commander but all he could say was ‘no comment’.

"We have been told, by our affiliate stations all over the country, and some abroad that several other projects have been undertaken and since completed by the Terran Defenses. We still do not know what those installations are, or what they could mean to us. All attempts to contact the Defense forces have been referred to the local government. The only comments received were that the installations were necessary and of no danger to the population. No further information has been released. Reporting from New York City, this is Janet Humpfries, CNN.”

“Thank you, Janet. Military forces around the world have been surrounding and isolating these installations. However, they do not appear to be trying to prevent the construction, but more to keep people safely away. In New Mexico, the US Army has surrounded an area once occupied by the small town of Talos. Talos was destroyed completely two years ago during an attack by supposed aliens.

“From all reports, this appears to be another building site, although this one is much larger than all other so far reported. In all cases, reports indicate the Terran Defense forces are the ones doing the building, but we have no idea what it they are building or even how. Eye-witnesses report that whole walls just appear as if by magic. Sections of rock and soil simply disappear as strange hovering machine of some type passes over them.

“Around the world the response seems to be the same; military forces are surrounding, isolating and observing as many locations as possible. We have been told that there are several of these sites all over the United States as well as the rest of the world. We will keep you up to date as more reports come in."

Ian muted the television as a commercial came on. "Well, it's about damn time, we've only been building stuff down there for three months now. I guess it doesn't rate headlines unless it happens in a major city!"

"I don;t think that's it, Sir," Alex replied. "I think the government had a gag order placed on any reports like this. Obviously, that order has been released."

"Yeah, that would follow, wouldn't it? I really don't think those idiots down there were ever going to tell the people what was going on," Ian replied.

"Considering how people, as a group, normally react to news of this type, I can understand their reluctance, Sir," Alex began. "However, I think they might have made a mistake by not telling them right away. They should have told them immediately. That way, most of the trouble generated by it could have been dealt with by this point and we wouldn't have to deal with them now, when we need to focus on preparing the defenses."

"You're probably right, Alex. However, it is what it is and you'll notice that they still haven't actually said anything to the public yet," Ian replied.

"No, they haven't, but I think they are getting ready too. Why else would they lift the information blackout?" Alex replied. A soft beep was heard and she looked down at her terminal. "Sir, the Secretary General is calling."

"It's only been an hour since the meeting, I wonder what he needs?" Ian asked, rhetorically. "Put him through please."

The smiling face of the Secretary General of the UN came up on Ian's monitor. "Good Morning, Admiral. I'm sorry to call back so soon after the meeting, but I thought you would like to know that the General Assembly has reached agreement and is already acting on the information you gave us. Very soon, the Major world leaders will be addressing the people to begin telling them of the threat. They will be doing so in stages, the first of which should be very soon. They will not be telling the people an attack is imminent, but instead will be telling the people that our location is no longer a secret. Adding the bunkers and defenses you are building are necessary steps in the defense of the planet."

"Not exactly the truth, but not exactly a lie either. By the time the attack is close enough to evacuate to the shelters, the people will be to busy running for their lives to accuse anyone of a cover-up." Ian nodded, reluctantly. "While it's not ideal, I suppose it's the best that can be expected for now."

"I thought it was a step in the right direction at least," the SecGen agreed. "One of the other things they will be announcing is that your forces are not to be interfered with. DId you see the CNN report from New York?"

Ian nodded. "I did, it makes us look like invaders."

"I know, but that should be changing shortly. There will be a general order given that will tell everyone that your people do not need building permits, and as they will not be public installations, no inspection will be required. Military units will be dispatched to at least the more public locations to help protect them. I was asked to pass along to you that if you could equip those small units as well as the local police on the fly, that will certainly help," the man asked with raised eyebrows.

"We can do that. It will make it a lot easier. There's a lot of people we need to get armor and weapons too. I was in the process of writing up the guidelines for that order when you called. I can certainly add that to it," Ian replied.

"Sir, the President of the United States is about to make an announcement," Alex said quietly.

The Secretary General and Ian quickly said their good-byes as Alex un-muted the monitor displaying CNN.

“Ladies and Gentleman, In a few moments, the President will make a statement and if time permits, he will take a few questions after his announcement. As usual, please hold your questions until the President has finished speaking.” The Press Secretary said, giving the standard instructions to the White House Press Corps. "Ladies and Gentlemen, the President of the United States."

The man stepped back as the assembled reporters stood and began polite applause.

The middle-aged man that was the current President of the United States of America walked out to the podium. He had a very serious expression on his face and looked tired even though it was early morning in Washington D.C.

He held up his hand to quell the applause and asked the reporters to be seated. "Ladies and Gentlemen, in an unprecedented agreement by all the leaders of the world, we are cooperating with the Terran Defense Forces in the construction of special civil defense shelters as well as other types of defensive installations in order to better defend our home from orbital attack.

"Three months ago, acting on the advice of Admiral Ian Williams as well as the Commanding Officer of the Alliance of Races, Admiral H'joles, we allowed the engineers of the Terran Defense Forces to begin the construction of these facilities in all countries of the world. Here, in the United States, these facilities are being built on public property where ever possible. In some cases, the Terran Defense Force has assume the purchase of the property required.

"Some of these installations will be purely defensive, such as shield generators capable of defending a city from nuclear attack or orbital kinetic attack. Other installations will, by necessity, be defensive weapons emplacements such as missile batteries and anti-aircraft guns. The shield generators and the weapons will be manned and maintained by Terran Defense Personnel.

"We are also allowing the construction of a fighter base in the New Mexico desert near the former town of Talos, New Mexico. That base will be one of six others built around the world in select locations for the sole and exclusive purpose of defending our world from non-Alliance forces.

"In the event of an emergency, the Terran Defense Forces will assist our own military by providing advanced weapons and armor so they may stand a chance of surviving an encounter with an enemy that makes it to our world." As was his tradition, the President sat aside the prepared statement and looked up at the reports directly.

"I know exactly what a lot of you are thinking; 'Oh my god! We're going to be attacked!'" He chuckled and shook his head. "Folks, as unprecedented as all this is, it's by no means a reason for anyone to panic. What's really going on here is that, we finally got a chance to finish analyzing all the data from the Caldarian attack. We realized how woefully unprepared we are for a large scale attack of that nature. Yes, it will mean the United States allowing what amounts to be a foreign power to station troops and fighter craft on American soil.

"I won't lie to you; the thought didn't set very well with a lot of folks. That being said, we cannot, in all honesty consider these troops to 'foreign' in this context even though some of them will not be 'human'. No, we will not have direct control of those defensive assets, that will remain with Admiral Williams acting under the orders of Admiral H'joles of the Alliance and the Terran Ruling Council.

"I've mentioned a few things that most of you have no idea what I'm talking about; What is this Alliance of Races? Who is this Admiral H'joles? And probably most important, how and why are we trusting them this much? You're questions about the Alliance of Races will have to wait a few days; we plan on preparing a broadcast that will explain all of that far better than I can do in this setting. For now, what's important is that there is a galactic Alliance of sentient aliens out there that has been protecting us from the knowledge of the existence of extra-terrestrials because there is a war going on out there; the nature of which will be included in that presentation I mentioned earlier.

"That policy was blown out the window by the arrival and subsequent attack of the Caldarian ship. At that point, they could no longer keep us hidden from the forces trying to conquer the rest of the Galaxy. Will we ever be attacked? I don't think anyone knows for certain, but the possibility does exist, and that is the reason for building of these defenses. That's all this is, nothing more, nothing less.

"In this action, as with all actions they have undertaken on our behalf, the Terran Defense Forces do not care what country we are from, what our religious beliefs are, or even what we think of them; they have always asserted themselves to be protectors of the entire planet. Nothing they have ever done has caused anyone to doubt that fact. We have nothing fear from them or the Alliance of Races, they are only trying to make sure we are kept safe. I don't think we can really fault them for that.

"The last thing I wanted to make clear was that our planet, Earth, is not a formal member of the Alliance of Races. However, the Terran Defense Forces are. Earth does not yet have a single governing body, which is a requirement for membership. However, as the Terran Defense Forces are and always have been supporting the Alliance, they have been granted membership. Because of their membership, the military might of the entire Alliance of Races has also sworn to protect us. We are effectively a protectorate of the Alliance, which means they will protect us, but we are not governed by them." He grinned. "That doesn't mean they can't offer advice; these defensive measure make sense.

"Now, as you can imagine, we're pretty darn busy, but I'll take a few questions before I have to get back." He pointed to one young women. "You're new here aren't you?"

The woman blushed. "Yes Mister President, Marissa Travis, Terran News Services."

The president looked surprised. "That was fast! You have a question Ms Travis?"

"Yes Sir; with the new level of cooperation between countries, as well as with our defense forces, has there been any indications of possible trade agreements of non-technology goods such as food stuffs or minerals?"