The experimentation had reached its finality with animal testing, it was time for long term human testing to find out if the oxygen generation capabilities were acceptable indefinitely. The technology worked, but the balance had to be worked out using the different genetically divergent spores.
The discovery of single celled organisms on Europa had been equally as important as the Helium 3 discoveries of Daniel Tehom. The foreign life forms although simple, unleashed a new era in human experimentation and discovery.
A particular type of plant like cell had been manipulated and mixed with common Sphagnum Moss which led to two different side effects. The moss grew a bright blood red instead of green, a wholly ornamental change. The benefit came in oxygen production and conversion from carbon dioxide. The Frerec Moss as it was called produced oxygen in amazingly efficient quantities.
The oxygen wasn’t the problem, it was the filtration. If the spores from the moss were inhaled the radioactive elements in the moss burned the lungs and lead to severe irreversible tissue damage.
The last project outline he had signed involving the Frerec moss had led to the death of two hundred high security inmates at the same prison.
“The filters are better this time sir, this is just a formality. It will work,” Rhett tried to satisfy his bosses questioning but was stopped short by a look of disapproval.
Not a word was spoken between them as Simon signed off on the project and sent Rhett to the door to do his work.
The days had grown long. For two years data had poured in from the extra solar observatories. More data than could be analyzed efficiently. Gerald Baker had been tapped to lead the team that poured over topographical spectrometer scans, photographs and radiation readings. Gerald was good, very good, but his team could only do so much. The amount of data being gathered was simply astounding.
The situation in New Mexico had gotten worse, skirmishes between California and the Texans had become common place. The United Kingdom had lost Iceland due to natural disaster and the whole of the European mainland had fallen to Socialism and was still embroiled by labor revolts.
“Mr. Tehom its Sven, I need to meet with you as soon as possible,” the ever vigilant Sven stammered into the phone.
“I am free now,” Simon answered back.
“I need to bring Trigg with me, let me grab him. We will both be right up,” and Sven let the line go dead.
When Sven and Trigg arrived they didn’t knock and Sven looked in a panic.
“Sir, we just lost one of our Republic airspace monitoring stations in New Mexico. This one behind…” Trigg was interrupted by Sven.
“They are coming.”
“Is everything ready?” Simon asked coldly.
“They will have no idea what is going on sir, we have been preparing for this, but so have they.”
“The Republic will fight the bulk of the battle, but you know, once the reds place a single boot on Consortium land they break treaty and open up a whole can of worms.”
“If they break treaty our hands are unbound,” Sven wanted to remind Simon of the firepower they commanded if pushed.
“This needs to be a measured response Sven, I do not want to push China and Russia into war. This isn’t about politics, this is personal. Push Oliver back into California with his tail between his legs, don’t launch him into China.” Simon knew that the Republic couldn’t handle a total all out war with all of the communist states at once.
Ever since Oliver Tehom had become the Communist Party Leader of the Americas tensions had increased exponentially. While China and Russia were still focusing on claiming Mars for their empire, Oliver wanted to settle old scores and conquer the rest of North America.
“I doubt Oliver has full approval for an all out war, at the very most they are letting the dog off his leash to test our military strength. All the more to keep our response measured and the real secrets under our hat if we can Sven.”
“Understood Sir.”
The pair exited the room and right on queue the phone rang.
“President Starkey, I have been expecting your call.”
“Yes sir we are ready,” Simon did his best to reassure the President. The Company had an obligation to the Republic, one Simon intended to honor for the sake of both of their causes.
“We have been expecting Oliver to make a play for west Texas for almost a decade now, to be honest he doesn’t stand a chance. Not if your intelligence reports on their level of armament are accurate,” Simon had long refused to be a part of global politics; it both frustrated and upset him.
“Once they cross the border they will have broken the treaty and we will act in the best interest of the Company and the Republic Mr. President.”
Once Simon hung up the phone he turned to watch Sven work on the briefing screens. Sven Rutledge was a warrior, his Scandinavian blood screamed Viking but his mind was that of a truly gifted warfare general.
Through Sven and almost unlimited scientific resources the Tehom Consortium had fully armed the Republic of Texas with weaponry that was a full three generations ahead of anything that California had at their disposal. The company still reserved the most dramatic weapons for themselves, things that the President of the Republic didn’t even know existed.
Simon demanded secrecy and discretion, an arms race would do the world no good at all given the political climate. At the same time he demanded that the Company be able to defend its own interests from both the Communists and the Republic, if it ever came to that.
Prepared for all eventualities. That is what my grandfather would have said.
Simon Tehom had worked hard to become his own man. No longer was he a boy thrown into the boots of his betters. Nine years in and he finally felt that the people of the Consortium had finally learned to trust him as they had his predecessor Daniel.
The communist troops began to cross into Texas almost totally unimpeded; the Republic lines had been drawn much farther east. The bulk of their force was conventional, tanks and infantry. Toward the back of their line California maintained a small battery of inaccurate rail guns, intended for the besieging of a large city but lacking the targeting ability for surgical precision.
The Republic of Texas’ defense force was built to hold lines, not for invasion. Since its founding the Republic had never once attempted to expand beyond its pre-established borders. For that reason alone the bulk of the world had dismissed the Republic as one of the few hold outs of the nearly forgotten United States.
The first blows came from the Communist rail guns, using electrified magnetic rails a solid projectile was hurled over a hundred miles into enemy territory. However lacking sophisticated targeting computers the shells simply impacted the Texas desert doing little more than shake the earth and unnerve a few of the weaker defenders.
When the Two forces finally advanced upon each other the results were typical. California’s numbers counteracted Texas’ technology advantage. For every pair of boots the Republic could field, California had six. For every guided missile California launched, Texas would launch five. The two forces were at a stalemate, as they had always been.
Still the Tehom Consortium refrained from acting. Sven Rutledge was calm, patient and not prone to rash action. He simply waited.
For the better part of an hour the two bulls battered their heads together, Simon half hoped that a truce would be met and both sides would back away.
“Mr. Tehom, I think you should come down here now. A medium sized splinter force has broken off from their main offense and turned south toward us.” Sven looked up into the camera above him, knowing that Simon was watching.
“I will be right down.”
Oliver you fool, you cannot beat us. Has pride really clouded you that much?
By the time Simon had reached the situation room in the basement levels the first Californian troops began to roll past the fences two hundred miles north of the compound. Californian jets crossed into Tehom airspace about the same time.
“That’s it. We are no longer bound by the noncombatant treaty Mr. Tehom.” Trigg had been watching the screens carefully.
“Give them five miles in, I want them fully committed to the advance.” As Sven spoke three lieutenants repeated the orders into headsets and typed into computer terminals relaying the orders.
The jets above were instantly intercepted by an array of Anti-Aircraft beams which reacted at the speed of light. The pilots felt nothing, and had no chance to react, their airplanes simply erupted into flames and exploded without warning. The nuclear bombs they carried incinerated with them, their radiation signatures visible on the surveillance grids displayed on the various monitors in the room.
“They brought nukes, Oliver must mean business.” Simon tried to keep the mood light.
“Sven, no casualties on our side. I do not want to lose anyone. Just use the EM before they reach our line.” Simon watched the monitors with only a hint of trepidation.
Let’s get this over with so we can get back to work.
“Republic commander, Tehom Consortium requests a wide birth to the 102nd meridian.” Sven spoke into his own headset and waited for a response.
“On what timeline Consortium?”
“Thirty Minutes General.” Sven
“That is a negative Consortium, we have the advantage, we aim to press forward and kick these sons of bitches back out of Texas ASAP.”
“General…”
“Leave it Sven.” Simon put his hand on Sven’s shoulder.
The HEMPW-T51 or High Altitude Electromagnetic Pulse Weapon, Tehom Satellite 51 had originally been designed as a deep space radio observatory. Through its design evolution it had been weaponized and was capable of delivering a wide electromagnetic pulse across an oval shaped portion of the earth. The drawback was the size of the pulse. A safe operating field of five hundred miles was required due to the orbital altitude of the weapon and its capabilities. Everything that utilized electricity and electrical capacitors would be rendered permanently inoperable unless properly shielded. The technology was far from a secret; however, the HEMPW-T51 operated at a frequency seven times that of conventional electromagnetic pulse technology making shielding effectively impossible.
Simon picked up his phone and rang the Capitol.
“President Starkey, I need you back behind the 102nd in less than thirty minutes.” Simon needed to be careful with his tone so he wouldn’t set an ally on the defensive.
“My generals tell me that the Californian’s have divided their forces and we have an advantage. We cannot meet that timetable without dropping our pants and running in retreat.” The President responded in an agitated tone.
“It is not a retreat Starkey, you are getting out of the way of friendly fire. I am not asking permission, I am giving you an order. Just do it.” Simon spoke evenly and confidently into the phone, he was careful not to sound condescending or to come too close to wounding the President’s pride.
“You want us to turn tail and run, back to the 102nd meridian?”
“You understand me correctly, you will lose anything west of that line. You have thirty minutes.” Simon let the phone hang up and turned to Sven.
“Thank you Mr. Tehom, I cannot abide politicians.” Sven shook his head.
“Starkey just can’t afford to be seen as weak, by the people, by the Company, or by the Californians.” Simon paused. “Sven, when this is done. Let the communist boys go back to their families as long as they don’t advance. Let them retreat, by using Satellite 51 China and Russia are already going to have to take notice, it needs to be viewed at least in practice as a defensive weapon.”
“Understood Sir.”
***
Across the map, in a comfortable bunker complete with plush chairs and air conditioned rooms, Oliver Tehom directed the assault. Proving again he could push other men to their deaths, but refused to ever chance his own.
“We have crossed onto Tehom land Commander.” The voice chirped into Oliver’s ear.
“Good, push forward with the jets. See if you can sneak a nuke in and make this easy.” Oliver had waited for this moment for over two decades and a visceral grin covered his face.
The sheer size of his force had guaranteed him victory, or so his generals had told him. The smaller force was the most advanced and had turned south toward their true goal. While the Chinese government had not given him troops or weapons for this assault they did bank roll it. Oliver knew he was being used to test the strength of the Republic of Texas and fully expected it to topple over once he leveled the Tehom Consortium to the ground.
“All fighters are down sir, no joy on the bombs.” The voice chirped again.
“Very well, we will do it the hard way. How long till you can reach the compound?”
“We have encountered no resistance so far sir, three hours tops.”
As his forces hundreds of miles away flooded into Texas, Oliver Tehom sat in his office smoking a cigar. The thick black kind that cost more by the box than his suit.
Oliver had sent spies and assassins against Simon Tehom, all had failed. He had personally bankrolled operations of sabotage and fraud against the Tehom Consortium, all of which had been discovered. Oliver secretly felt totally emasculated by his nephew Simon, the very mention of name enraged him to the point of fits.
Oliver had at first risen by the strength of his name, the Communist Party used him as a symbol and insult to the Republic. Eventually Oliver had managed to gain control over the party as a whole. He had killed Peter Reisner himself, a bullet to the back of the head while on the phone with his wife. Florian Walters met his death from his own secretary on orders from Oliver, a woman who had failed to kill Simon in her own mission had proved to be useful once she realized who was going to end up on top.
The larger Communist States had long seen the Californians as a backwater little satellite of their influence. His little coup barely even crossed the desks of senior party officials across the Pacific, as long as his little piece stayed red and followed orders Oliver had unlimited power within his own domain.
“I need an update.” Oliver barked into his microphone to be met only with static.
As he waited for a response his cellular phone rang.
“Hello Uncle Oliver.” Simon Tehom spoke and his smile could be felt across the miles.
“Simon? How did you get this number?”
“You forget so easily, the Tehom Consortium used to own your cellular carrier remember?”
“What do you want?”
“I called to inform you, it will be a few hours till you get the reports from the field.”
“I have my own… I don’t need you to give me the play by play!” Oliver was stammering with rage.
“As you know the countries of China and Russia signed in your stead the treaty of non-aggression between the Republic of Texas and the California Socialist State. In return, the Tehom Consortium agreed to not develop offensive weaponry beyond conventional means, and to not take offensive action. In return we were promised to be left out of any international conflict between the two sides.”
“That won’t matter once your little Consortium is burned to the ground!”
“You broke the treaty when you ordered your forces south. The correct strategy would have been to ignore the Consortium and head straight for Austin, you could have defeated the Republic and then come back for us later. But you got impatient and greedy Uncle.” Simon allowed his voice to tread heavily into patronization.
“Listen you little…”
“No you listen, because I want you to understand something. I killed your bomber and fighter pilots because I had no choice; you put nuclear weapons on those planes! I had no choice but to kill them. However, the bulk of your forces are welcome to retreat. But they will have to walk, they were targeted by our Tehom Sat 51 and all your machines, all your weapons, all your artillery is now scrap metal. Not a single soul inside of them was harmed, but the electromagnetic pulse
fried everything. It will take your commanders a while to get word to you I am sure. My reports show thousands of Californian infantry walking the supply line back into New Mexico, they will not be pursued by Republic forces. This is over Oliver, give it up and don’t come back to Texas.”
“I am going to kill you. You know that right.”
“You have tried that, nearly succeeded too. But as seems the theme with you, you just lack the balls to follow through and see the job is done. Goodbye Uncle.” Simon hung up the phone and Oliver heard the line go dead.
Oliver threw his phone into the bullet proof glass of his office window sending shattered pieces of plastic cellular technology across the room.
“He is lying, he has to be lying!”
“Julia get me satellite confirmation of our troop condition in Texas, NOW!” He screamed into the hallway outside his office.
Ten minutes later he was pacing nervously across the tiled floor in his office when he heard the slow tap of Julia’s high heels approaching his office. Her slow pace enraged him, he needed confirmation that Simon had lied to him.
When Julia opened the door Oliver had his back to her, his window filled the office with the bright light of a Californian sunset. He did not want to see her awkward beauty, he did not want to see her short red hair that framed her face, and he did not want to see the only woman that had ever turned down his sexual advances. As she approached his desk her cantor did not speed up or falter. He did not want her to see his tears of rage and fear. He did not speak so that his voice would not crack and give away his moment of weakness, he stared out the window into the sunset waiting for her to speak.
He did not see her wry smile, he did not see her low cut dress that teased at her breasts and belied her sexual nature, and he did not see the .45 caliber automatic she raised toward the back of his head and pulled the trigger. All he saw was a brief instant of flash and his own grey mass spread across the framed sunset in front of him before he fell to the floor.
Tehom: The Tehom Legacy Book One Page 6