“It’s safe, Major Carter,” Jules said. “Take the chip.”
Carter used his remaining good hand and reached into the light, flinching anyway despite his training and resolve. The chip was floating, and he grabbed it, securing it in his fist as he pulled his hand free. “Got it.”
“The orbs are still attacking,” Harris said.
Carter opened his hand and looked at the chip, which was pulsating with light. Colors were bleeding from it and it looked like a rainbow on steroids. He made sure his head cam was looking straight at it. “Tell Maria it’s alright.”
He tucked the chip in his belt and used his free hand to unclasp the acid container. Tucking it under his right armpit, he used his left hand to open it. It was the size of a large thermos and it looked as if the long but slender chip would just fit inside.
“You can tell her yourself,” Jules said.
Carter shook his head. “I’ll finish the deed, but make sure she knows.” Carter then set the acid container on the only flat space he could find in front of himself and pulled the chip out of his belt.
“Two more bogies approaching, sir; you have about fifteen seconds,” Harris said from his vantage point.
“Get the hell out of there!” Jules ordered.
Carter sighed. “It’s fine, Commander. There’s no escaping them now, and don’t you fret none now, either. We knew what we signed up for. At least I hope we put a monkey wrench in their plans.”
There was a pause, and then Jules said, “You and your men are the bravest people I’ve ever met.”
“The honor was all ours,” Carter said, seeing a black shape move into the doorway. “Goodbye, Commander Monroe.”
He dropped the chip into the acid.
Chapter 18
Loose Ends
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC SPACE Command
Beijing, China
In the near future, Year 4, Day 205
“DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME, then, Director Lee?”
“Yes, General Zu. Your orders are perfectly clear.”
“Good,” Zu said. “See to it that the Divine Dragon also receives our latest orders and that there are no further miscommunications.”
“Yes, sir, it will be done,” Hun Lee said.
The general nodded at him, then turned and left with over a dozen advisors and the same number of security troops in his detail.
“Have a good day, sir,” Hun added for good measure, even though the general was most likely already out of earshot.
He stood waiting till the man and his entourage left, then sighed, closing his eyes.
“You alright, Boss?” Chon asked.
Lin approached to his other side. “You did the right thing, sir.”
“Why didn’t you tell us before?” Chang asked.
Hun sighed. “I didn’t want to put you at risk. There was no way to know whether or not General Wang would prevail.”
“Not after crossing that line,” Lin said, referring to the nuclear coup d’état he had attempted with the use of a tactical nuclear weapon.
Chon said, “No one could have known that there were any other generals opposed to Wang. We may have simply gotten lucky.”
“Did they capture General Wang?” Lin asked.
Hun shook his head. “They think they have him trapped in his command bunker, so they have isolated his power supply, though I was warned he may have a secondary, self-sustaining system and that I was to safeguard against any intrusion into our space systems.”
“That’s easy; the majority of them are fried,” Chang said
“Well, the ones that we repair each week.”
“What were General’s Zu’s orders, sir?” Chang lowered his head slightly, humbling himself since he dared to ask his superior’s business.
“No need for that, Chang,” Hun said kindly. “We will finally cooperate with the Soviets and the Americans and unify our planet in the interest of self-preservation.”
“Do you mean we will help them or they will help us?” Lin asked.
“Both,” Hun said. “It’s a new chapter in mankind’s history, and we had best learn how to get along on this small world that we all call home.”
“What now?” Chon asked.
“Now?” Hun repeated. “Now, we help the Americans get to Jupiter and stop that blasted alien device from sending us to the stone-age every week.”
“Sir?” Chang asked.
Hun looked at him. “You don’t think our civilization will give up the pinnacle of its cultural achievement, do you?”
“Which would be what, sir?” Lin asked.
“Why, television, of course.” The trio laughed, and Hun smiled at them. “Let’s get back to work.”
NSA SAFE HOUSE
Siberia, Russia
In the near future, Year 4, Day 210
“I CAN’T THANK YOU ENOUGH for your hospitality,” Vlad said, settling in and accepting the cup of hot tea, feeling Irina snuggling close beside him. “I can’t help but feel that we’re intruding.”
“Nonsense,” Igor said, taking his own cup in turn from his wife, Alla. “We’re happy to help you.”
“Children asleep?” Irina asked.
“Finally—they worked hard today, preparing for your arrival,” Alla said, taking her own seat opposite their guests and warming herself by the fire.
“They are adorable,” Irina noted with a smile.
“Yours will be, too, once they join you.” Alla gave a coy smile and a quick glance with her eyes only at Vladimir. The women suppressed a giggle and drank from their tea cups.
Igor frowned good-naturedly. “All in good time,” he said, turning to face Vlad. “You’re sure, then, that all is set?”
Vlad nodded. “Yes, though I seriously doubt this will fool the KGB for long. Eventually, they will do more than compare dental records and the amount of blood we left behind is woefully inadequate. The real question is how long will it take them to find out?”
“Have faith, my friend,” Igor began. “We have worked long and hard on facilitating your escape. The cadavers from the Irkutsk academy, coupled with the molds taken of your teeth, will be more than enough to assuage any suspicion until it is far too late. I daresay, with the world in chaos, the truth of your fate will never be known in Moscow.”
“Did the fire have to be that destructive? I worry that we put our firefighters at risk with that conflagration,” Vlad said.
“A necessary step in ensuring that no evidence of your departure remained,” Igor explained. “From what I understand, the timing is perfect. The electrical wave hit this evening and set off sparks from an unsecured appliance, causing the fire, while a small rupture in the gas line added to its intensity. In due time, they will find what remains of your teeth and the ash from a male and female body along with charred bone fragments in what was once your bed. We cannot line the dots up any clearer for them to piece together.”
“Excuse me for saying, but you seem to have a rather astute knowledge of this plan, not to mention a rather ... how shall I say, a rich vocabulary for a simple....” Vlad was starting to struggle in asking something rather delicate of the man.
Igor laughed loudly, and Alla said, “Hush, or you’ll wake the children.”
“Sorry, honey,” Igor said, lowering his voice and setting his cup down. “Mister Berdenko, we are educated, both my wife and I, as well as our children, at the university. We live like peasants because the state feels threatened when we act as though we are ... educated and informed. Our son and daughter-in-law are suffering internment for being intellectuals—independent thinkers, if you will. For that, we offer our assistance, and one day hope that we may live in peace with our freedom intact. It is quite alright for you to see us and make assumptions. It’s actually better that way.”
Vlad nodded. “Do you know what we ... I mean, what I did?”
Irina elbowed him in the ribs. “You said it correctly the first time. What we did.”
“Fine,” Vlad corrected himself
, “What we did?”
Igor shook his head. “No. I was told weeks ago to prepare for someone who would do something for freedom. When our handler arrived after the first electronic blast, he hand-carried a message and a small explanation saying that you would help save the world, and that we were to do everything to facilitate your escape from the regime.”
“Save the world?” Vlad asked, somewhat embarrassed.
“Something to that effect,” Igor clarified. “Those may be my words, but the message was that you were doing something important and vital for mankind.”
“That was all?” Vlad pressed.
“Yes.”
Alla added, “That is all we need to know.”
“What of Natasha?” Vlad asked, referring to their handler from Korsk.
“She’s already on her way to Mongolia, and from there, to India. She will be free soon enough,” Igor said.
The group sat quietly for a few moments, enjoying their tea and listening to the cracks, pops, and hissing of the firewood as it ignited from the roaring fire in the hearth.
Finally, Irina asked the Federovs, “What will you do?”
Alla answered, joy and contentment in her voice. “That is the beauty of all this. When you leave, our son and his wife, along with our grandchildren, will accompany you outside of the country. They will soon be free.”
“The Americans can do this?” Vlad asked, skepticism obvious in his voice.
“With our help, yes,” Igor said.
“And you two?”
Igor smiled. “Do not worry about us. We have plans here, with many others.”
“I’m hesitant to ask,” Vlad said.
“Then don’t,” Igor replied. “Let it suffice to say that once this crisis is over, our autocratic regime will face yet another revolution ... but that fight is not for you two and not for our children and our grandchildren. Your work is over.”
Irina pressed herself closer to Vlad. “I agree. We have done our part. Time for us, now.”
Vlad set his own cup down on a side table, then held Irina’s free hand in both of his and looked at her intently. “I hope you’re right. I hope we did the right thing.”
BLACK INFINITY
On approach to Mars
In the near future, Year 4, Day 236
“READ YOU LOUD AND CLEAR, Jules,” Craig said. “Telemetry showing we should intersect on the far side of Mars, exit vector at 272 degrees.”
“Concur,” Jules said. “You’re three days late, by the way.”
“I know,” Craig said. “I had to slow down in order to pick you up. This ship can really move. It’s delta-v pickup is phenomenal.”
“I read the telemetry data that you sent to us yesterday. The impulse is impressive. I’ve already begun the calculations on our trajectory to Jupiter and will pass them on to you and Houston once MAX confirms them.”
“So now you’re faster than our quantum computer?”
“Nah,” Jules said, “I simply prefer to work them out myself and get that warm, fuzzy feeling when MAX tells me I’m right.”
“Agreed,” Craig said. “Much better than those ‘oh shit’ moments when you’re wrong.”
“I don’t have any of those,” she said, feeling cocky today, “and you’re not going to either. Not on this trip.”
“Making history once wasn’t enough for you?” he teased.
“I’m coming along for the ride on this one,” Julie clarified. “This will be all you and Maria.”
“Roger that,” Craig said. “I’m looking forward to picking you two up, and you can tell Ed that was meant in a good way.”
“Looking forward to seeing you, too.”
RED HORIZON
On exit from Mars
In the near future, Year 4, Day 237
“BURN COMPLETE, COMMANDER,” Neil said from the cockpit of the Red Horizon. “Telemetry shows our vector within ten percent of one degree.”
“We should be fine, then,” Jules noted, looking at the main console on board Red Two. “Preparing to detach.”
“Roger that,” Neil said. “MAX has uploaded the course correction into your computer. It’s very minor, from what I can tell.”
“Understood. Detaching now.”
The video feed showed the Martian lander, now converted for deep space flight, detaching from the massive mother ship. Navigation thrusters used compressed nitrogen to push it away and put some distance between the two ships.
“You’re good to go,” Neil said.
“Roger that. The Red Horizon is yours, Commander Sullivan,” Jules said, addressing him formally as a way of showing her second-in-command respect.
“Thank you, Jules,” he replied, using the informal to show his appreciation.
She changed the topic. “I hope you rigged the extra dual rockets correctly, Dave.”
“I did the best I could, considering they’re Chinese,” Dave said. “The pair are solid, and we’ve kept their propellent in the supplemental tanks to ensure they burn as designed. You should take off like a bat out of hell.”
John Royal added, “Commander Monroe better, because Craig is already flying like a bat out of hell. He’s closing in on us at a superior velocity despite our burn.”
Neil spoke. “That’s why Dave rigged the extra two-pack. The only variable was that we had to use the Chinese-stated rate of thrust for the calculation. If it’s on the low side, Commander Alders and the Black Infinity will fly right by Commander Monroe.”
“Craig will continue his deceleration burn and allow us to dock, eventually,” Jules said. “It will impact our arrival time, though, and Earth is paying the price for every week we delay.”
“Well, the trajectories and calculated burns were brilliant,” Neil said. “I think you gave us, and Earth, as much hope and time as possible.”
“It should have,” Dave Dakos said. “We spent an entire month lengthening our elliptic orbit around Mars. That really added to our escape velocity once we boosted.”
“External heat during the last orbit was approaching 200 degrees on our planetside,” John noted. “I think Commander Monroe timed that about as well as possible.”
“Yeah, I’m glad we’re not making another orbit around Mars. We’ll heat up enough to match its red color,” Dave joked.
Then, Doctor Hill cut in unexpectedly: “Sorry to interrupt. I have a request from Major Carter to speak with Commander Monroe.”
“Go ahead,” Jules said. “Put him on.”
There was a pause then the familiar and welcome Southern drawl of Major Carter was heard. “Commander Monroe, I wanted to wish you luck before you left us and to let you know that I object to not being able to accompany you right now.”
No one was sure why or how the alien chip that Major Carter destroyed was able to function out of the force field or static holder that it was first found floating in, but the most agreed-upon theory was that the chip exerted some sort of non-detectable, localized, communications medium similar to Bluetooth technology.
Once placed in acid, it had exploded and, while the entire base and orbs shut down, the resulting blast had scarred the SEAL team commander for life. The man would require extensive skin grafts over the next couple of years. Doctor Hill had done what he could, but final treatment would have to wait till they returned to Earth. In the end, they had accomplished their task of stopping the alien construct from manufacturing any more of the unknown probes, which had finally been measured as ten times the size of the smaller orbs encountered within the construct.
“Thank you, Major, but don’t feel bad about it. You and your men did a fantastic job back there. You saved us all.”
“That was what we signed up for,” Carter said, “though I didn’t think it would pan out the way it did.”
Jules hesitated for a moment then spoke with as much sincerity as she could muster. “Listen, Major Carter, without getting too sentimental for you, you and your men need to know how much we appreciate what you did and the sacrif
ices you incurred for our safety, even if you did sign up for it. We will always remember what you and your team did on Mars, and so will history.”
“You’re most kind, Commander,” Carter said. “Both Anderson and Murphy would have been pleased to hear your words. I’ll make sure to convey them to their families.”
“We can do that together,” Jules said. “Let’s make a date to ensure that happens. You and I will pay a personal visit to each man’s family when we return home.”
“Deal,” Carter said. “Now, without me sounding too gung-ho, please do me a favor and kick their asses when you get there. Take that son of a bitch offline.”
Jules chuckled. “That’s the plan, Major. Craig’s bringing us two thermo-nuclear warheads so we can give them a big hello when we arrive.”
“That’s enough, Major,” Hill said. “I need you to rest and let the skin grafts take their course. Time’s up.”
“I gotta go, Commander; Doctor’s orders. Best of luck to you,” Carter finished.
“Thank you, Major. The same to you and your men.”
Neil spoke, “Jules, do you still want to address our fellow commanders before you go?”
“That would be ideal.”
“Alright. John has both of them on standby. I’m patching you through to Commander Temshenko first.”
There was a pause as the frequency was changed. “Commander Temshenko?” Jules asked.
“Here,” Yuri said.
“I wanted to thank you for the propellant and assistance in retrieving your wounded, as well as ours, and let you know that we couldn’t have prevailed without the assistance of your special forces. Your help is most appreciated.”
“The honor was ours,” Yuri said. “Colonel Popov wanted me to pass along our thanks as well, for the care that your Doctor Hill provided to him and his men.”
“Not a problem,” Jules said. “How’s he doing, by the way?”
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