The Cresperian Alliance (35 page)
Read The Cresperian Alliance Online
Authors: Stephanie Osborn
The Secretary General nodded.
The broadcast ended and the news media filed out.
Terhune and Waterman looked at each other. “Damn big apple, Wayne,” Waterman commented finally.
"Who—the Snappers, or us?” Terhune commented whimsically. “Somebody's bit off more than they can chew, yeah. The question is, which one?"
Three days later, Fleets Alpha and Bravo were ready to depart. The experienced crew members of the original Fleet Alpha had been evenly divided between the two fleets, but no units had been disrupted in the process. In addition, not all of the Crispies had been allowed to go. The fear was, if the fleets did not succeed in liberating Cresperia, that the Cresperians would become extinct, so the majority of the refugees would remain on Earth, saving Jeri Leverson, Sira Tomlinson, Gordon Stuart, and Piki Bangler, whose human mates would be with them. For the time being they and their mates were placed aboard the
Lady Liberty
, in order to make best use of their perceptive abilities and intellects. Admiral Terhune, however, reserved the right to split them among ships before arrival at the Cresperian system.
"After all,” he pointed out, “if you're all on one ship, and that ship gets taken out, you all get taken out. It's the same reason the President and Vice President never fly together. And you four are just as important."
President Thomas Waterman and Vice President James Robertson watched together from a television in the White House as the final countdown trickled away. News crews around the world depicted the same scenes, over and over again.
Goodbyes were said, hugs exchanged. Ships were boarded.
Then, visible from brand new—and substantially improved—satellites in orbit, all over the surface of Earth, small specks ascended through the atmosphere into space.
They gathered at the L1 Lagrange point, between the Earth and the Moon.
"All ships ready?” Admiral Terhune demanded.
His first officer turned to the communications officer. “Yes sir. All decks are go for departure."
"
Lady Liberty
is a go,” Captain Renfield, Terhune's first officer, reported. “
Columbia
?"
"Go!"
"
Franklin
?"
"Go!"
"
Galactic
?"
"Go!"
"
Golda Meir
?"
"Go!"
When the checklist of ships had been completed, Terhune turned to his flagship's pilot, Douglas Bain. “Mr. Bain, set a course for the Cresperian system, maximum cruising speed."
"Aye, sir."
"Captain Renfield, begin Operation Snap, Crackle, Pop."
"Aye, Admiral."
The order was transmitted throughout the fleet. Seconds later, everyone felt the odd disorientation of entering unreality.
The satellite imagery of the two fleets was still being fed through worldwide news broadcasts when, abruptly, they all simultaneously disappeared from view.
President Waterman drew a deep breath. “'Godspeed, John Glenn,'” he murmured thoughtfully.
"Amen,” Vice President Robertson answered.
We would like to thank Dr. James K. Woosley for his assistance in helping us work out the purported “science” behind the unreality devices. He was invaluable in delving deep into the possible theories behind their function; his willingness to bat concepts and theories back and forth was not only useful, but considerable fun.
We would also like to thank author Mari Sloan for her invaluable brainstorming on human/alien peace talks! Thanks Mari!
Darrell Bain has always been a voracious reader and always wanted to be a writer but didn't get serious about it until he bought his first computer, a Tandy 1000 at age fifty, seventeen years ago. Being a very naive and trusting soul, he struggled for years with crooked agents and publishers which very nearly ended his writing career. Finally he turned to e-books and became almost an overnight success. Subsequently, he has won every major award offered in the e-book publishing industry.
Darrell Bain is the author of more than forty-seven novels and nonfiction works, ranging in genres from humor to adventure and thrillers to science fiction. He is also the author of more than two dozen short stories. He has collaborated with several authors, most notably and recently, Travis S. “Doc Travis” Taylor. These days he concentrates mostly on science fiction and suspense/thrillers with science fiction elements.
Darrell left school in the ninth grade and served thirteen years in the military, including two years in Vietnam. After leaving the army he attended college and has a B.S. in Medical Technology. He worked as a laboratory manager in Louisiana, Texas and Saudi Arabia then settled down with his wife Betty. They ran a Choose and Cut Christmas tree farm on their acreage in east Texas for many years. The farm became the backdrop for much of his humorous fiction and non-fiction. When back problems intervened, they closed the farm and Darrell became a full time writer. Within a few years his name became an icon for e-books, synonymous with success in E-book publishing and with most of his books now out in trade paperback he is rapidly gaining recognition in print.
Visit Darrell's web site: www.darrellbain.com
Stephanie Osborn
Stephanie Osborn is a former payload flight controller, a veteran of over twenty years of working in the civilian space program, as well as various military space defense programs. She has worked on numerous Space Shuttle flights and the International Space Station, and counts the training of astronauts on her resume. One of the astronauts she trained includes Kalpana Chawla, who died in the Columbia disaster.
She holds graduate and undergraduate degrees in four sciences: Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics, and she is “fluent” in several more, including Geology and Anatomy. She obtained her various degrees from Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, TN and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, TN.
Stephanie is currently retired from space work. She now happily “passes it forward,” tutoring math and science to students in the Huntsville area, elementary through college, while writing science fiction mysteries based on her knowledge, experience, and travels.
Stephanie's web site: www.stephanie-osborn.com
