“It's Doctor Long,” she said, looking directly at him. She was not going to allow him to belittle or browbeat her.
“Doctor Long, I’m sure he meant no disrespect when he said that,” the President interjected.
“I’m just not much with titles, I guess” the Chief of Staff said.
“Good, then I can call you the President's Chief Gofor?” Dr. Long replied.
“I don’t think she is going to take much guff from you Harry,” the President said smiling.
“Yes sir. Sorry Doctor long. But can you think of another source to verify what you are telling us? This is just too... far-fetched for lack of a better word,” the Chief of Staff said.
“I can sir,” General ‘Iron Mike’ Nelson added before she should reply.
“General?”
“Sir, we could have our SSDW verify the transmission location. Now that Doctor Long has given us a general location we can get a fix,” he said.
“General, I would be glad to turn over all of our findings, including the beam width and the signature graphs if it would help speed up the process,” Doctor Long said, turning to face the General.
“That would be most helpful. The sooner we find out what is going on the better,” he said smiling.
“I would like to ask even more from you Doctor,” the President said.
“Sir?”
“Would you be willing to head up the project? I mean whatever it takes. Work with whomever you want and have access to whatever sites you need?”
“Ah, sir,” the General said.
“Yes General?”
“Some of our sites and equipment require the highest security clearance.”
“I can’t think of anyone with a higher authority than mine, can you General?”
“Well, no sir, but I mean Doctor Long has no clearance that I am aware of,” he protested.
“She does now,” the President said, looking directly at the General.
The General didn’t say anything further.
The SSDW project was known only to a handful of 'need to know' specialists and Doctor Long was not one of those who needed to know. This was not the time or place to fight this battle. He would wait until he had the President alone to wage this war.
“So Doctor, will you take on the project?” the President asked.
“Mr. President I don’t see how I could head up a project without knowing a great deal more than I do now. I mean SSDW aside, the problems would be phenomenal. For one thing, I don’t think the General would favor it and no matter what his orders, without his cooperation, I would not be able to achieve success,” she said, getting straight to the point.
The General was shocked that she was so blunt. He wasn’t used to such honesty. He inwardly smiled. He had to admit, he liked her style.
“You’re right. It was unwise of me to suggest such a plan of action without the General's input but Dr. Long has brought us some startling information. So let me ask you General, do you think it is conceivable that your team at SSDW could work with the doctor and help us find out what the heck is going on?”
The General thought for a few seconds and then said, “Sir, it would be a good match. I think Doctor Long has the spunk and the drive to get it done. Between her VLA and our system we should not only be able to verify the source and the destination but maybe even figure out what they are transmitting.”
“Excellent. Doctor Long?”
“I would like to speak with the General alone for a few minutes before I give you my answer. Is that acceptable?” she asked the President.
He looked surprised but said, “Certainly. I see nothing wrong with that.”
“Before we go I have one other piece of information I want to share with you. The other evening we picked up another transmission. This one was on the exact same frequency but from a different region. We traced it to the Tonga Trench area off the French Polynesian Islands.
“Oh my God,” someone said softly.
“We need to find out what is going on and damned fast. Dr. Long, General, I want this at the top of both of your lists of priorities right now,” the President said.
“General. Doctor Long,” the Chief of Staff said, “This way please.”
He led them to a small, lavishly appointed office with heavy curtains and a magnificent mahogany desk in the center of the room.
“You can talk in here. We will be waiting for you,” the Chief of Staff said, closing the door.
“General I am no fool. Please do not take me for one,” she said in a calm voice, “I can sense contempt a mile away. What the hell does a female know about all your secret space toys? Well sir, I can tell you that I have known about your SSDW program for years. I was consulted at the very beginning to see if it was even feasible. Your Space Satellite Defense Web also known to those on the inside as the Static-Static Distorted Wave was actually the brainchild of one of my coworkers and he proposed the idea to NASA. They turned it over to the military because of the Shuttle Program’s drain on resources. I can help your system pinpoint the source, if you do not put up roadblocks. I didn’t ask for this nor did I come here seeking glory. I was caught off guard just as much as you were. I don’t like the way the President handled it any more than you, but I can’t change that. So you decide. If you don’t want me playing with your toys, that’s fine by me. We will just tell him that the learning curve would be prohibitive and let it go at that.” She sat down on the edge of the desk.
The General didn’t answer for a minute, as was his style. He picked up a beautiful silver letter opener and felt its weight in his hands.
Finally he laid it down and said, “Doctor Long, you are something else. I have to hand it to you, you are intelligent, assertive, and dedicated. I like that. Hell, I wish more of the people under my command had as much going for them. I like you. Really, I do. But don’t cop that ‘female bravo attitude’ with me. I see women who think they have grown balls every day and it doesn’t faze me in the least. I’m an old warrior and I spit little girls who act that way out like spent chewing tobacco. I'm not politically correct and have little respect for those who are. Aside from that, we can get along. Just don’t try to come eye to eye with me doctor. This isn’t one of those movies where the girl runs around in a tight outfit kicking men’s butts. Anyone who tries that with me will end up in the hospital or dead. Now, if you can deal with that part, we will be able to work together just fine. So, because I do love my country and I do think your hypothesis has credibility, I am willing to put aside your last little speech and work toward a common goal. My major concern is having any civilian giving the orders. That doesn’t sit too well with me and it would not sit well with the SSDW team. That’s the real bottom line. Look. Let’s do this. You can have access to whatever you need but you let me assign one of my people to co-head the project. I will intercede only if you run into problems.”
She looked him directly in the eyes before answering, trying to decide how she should respond.
Finally, she simply said, “I believe you General. I understand the problem. Sorry for the speech but if we can get over that then okay that works for me. And I have to give credit where credit is due.”
“What’s that?” he asked.
“At least you didn’t say I was smart, assertive, and had great legs,” she laughed.
The General laughed as well and said, “Well, you do as a matter of fact, but I didn’t think this was quite the right time to mention it.”
“At least you were smart enough not to say it. General, I think we will get along just fine,” she said, holding out her hand.
The General shook it and was relieved to find she had a firm handshake. He hated the wimpy ones. They made their way back to the meeting room and sat down.
“So?” the President asked.
“Sir,” the General said, “We think your idea was splendid and have wholeheartedly agreed to collaborate on this project.”
“Doctor Long?” he asked.
&nbs
p; “Yes sir. The General and I see eye to eye on this. I have asked him to supply me with an assistant who would share the responsibility of overseeing the project. It only makes sense. I will have to run back and forth between the sites and will need someone with whom to share the responsibility and make decisions. The General has generously agreed.”
The President looked at them for some time before saying, “Fine. Whatever it takes. All right doctor, gentlemen, we have work to do.”
The President stood up and started for the door as a way of ending the meeting. Kind of a strange bird, Doctor Long thought as he walked out of the room.
CHAPTER EIGHT
- STATIC-STATIC-DISTORTED WAVE BASE –
“Doctor Long, this is Major Harold Riker. He is the man responsible for keeping the SSDW up and operational. This is who we come to for answers,” General Keller said by way of introduction.
“Pleased to meet you Major Riker. I head the VLA program and I am somewhat familiar with your system,” she said, shaking his hand.
She had dressed in slacks and a blouse that was buttoned to the top. There was no use getting off on the wrong foot she had wisely decided.
“Yes Doctor. I know quite a bit about you already. Brigadier General Nelson called me and personally gave me your background,” he informed her.
“Did he? How nice of the General,” she said, suppressing a smile.
“If you are ready, we can begin with a tour and I’ll go over the equipment and procedures,” the Major said.
“Doctor Long, I will leave you in the capable hands of the Major. Let me know if you need anything,” he said. The Major saluted as he departed.
“Kind of stuffy, isn’t he?” Susan asked after he left.
“I hadn’t noticed,” the Major said and then smiled.
He was going to like working with this lady. They spend the entire morning going over the various sections, displays and protocol procedures that were involved with the operation of the satellite defense system.
By the end of the day she had a fairly good idea of the capabilities and how they could use the VLA to determine the transmission origination point. They worked long into the night, formulating a plan of action and agreeing to areas of responsibility. Even with all of this equipment and hers, she knew they faced a difficult task.
One of the first obstacles would be getting the two systems to link-up and to communicate with each other. It wouldn’t be quite as simple as they make it look in the movies. It would take days, perhaps even weeks to begin to search the heavens for the transmission source.
She quickly learned that Major Riker not only had an excellent grasp of the project parameters but was not overbearing with his position in the military. He was straightforward when he disagreed but never tried to use the ‘RHIP’, rank has its privilege, approach as so many military people tend to do when things don’t go their way. One day merged into another as they struggled to link the two vastly different systems together. Finally, after five grueling days, they had some measure of success. It was time for Susan to head back to her domain and make the necessary final adjustments.
“Doctor Long, it has been a pleasure working with you. I have to tell you, you are one great person to work with. I really mean that.”
“Major Riker, I feel the same about you. I wasn’t sure what I would have to deal with but you have far exceeded my wildest expectations. Give me a couple of days to get caught up at my office and then we can begin. I think the first thing I’m going to do is sleep for twenty-four hours straight,” she joked.
“I doubt it. I know that’s your intention now but when you get back you will start going over all of this again in your head and before you know it, there you will be, right at your station, starting to work,” he predicted.
“I hate to admit it, but you are probably right,” she said as she departed.
CHAPTER NINE
- THE PENTAGON-
General Durance had just left a high level briefing with the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He sat in his office with the blinds drawn and poured himself a stiff shot of single malt Scotch. What he had just heard was making his skin crawl. Signals from outer space being directed to the Pacific Ocean. It had to be a mistake. Surely it was just some strange background radiation, bouncing off of Saturn and landing on Earth. Aliens from another world? He couldn’t fathom such a possibility. But what if it was true? Why are they sending signals here and to whom? Someone or something has to be receiving them. But in the middle of the ocean? That didn’t make any sense to him at all. He finished his drink and decided to call his old friend, Admiral Zoren.
“Admiral Zoren’s Office,” a pleasant voice said over the phone.
“This is General Durance. Tell Zoe I would like to speak to him.”
“Just one minute General. He just got back from a briefing a few minutes ago,” the voice said. No shit Sherlock, he thought.
“Willie, I expected your call. You must have just finished your first Cardhu and are starting to work on the second one,” the Admiral said, referring to the brand of Scotch the General preferred.
“Stop it. People will think we are married,” the General shot back and then added, “That was some briefing wasn’t it?”
“That has got to be the understatement of the year. Look, you know the walls have ears around this place. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if they had our phones bugged. Why don’t we meet at the usual place in, oh say, one hour?” the Admiral suggested.
“Consider it done. See you then,” the General said, hanging up the phone. He spent the next several minutes rearranging his schedule for the afternoon. He left the Pentagon and had his driver take him to the Arlington National Cemetery.
He strolled leisurely along the winding path, past the neat rows of America’s fallen military men and women, until he reached the JFK memorial. He bowed his head and said a quick prayer for his fallen commander-in-chief. He had not personally liked the man or what he stood for but no commander deserved to die by a coward’s bullets. A few minutes later Admiral Zoren strolled up and stood beside him.
“Never thought much of him personally but I think even less of the sons of bitches that killed him,” the Admiral said.
“You mean the CIA?” the General said.
“Oh hell. Don’t start that crap again. You know damn good and well that LBJ was in on it,” the Admiral argued.
“Hey, I'm not saying he wasn’t in on it but the CIA damn sure was involved,” Durance insisted.
“Ancient history. Can’t change it anyway. I just hope I live long enough for those fools on the Warren Commission to get strung up by the balls.”
“They will be dead and their asses rotting in hell before the truth ever comes out,” Durance replied.
“If it ever comes out,” the Admiral added.
“So what about today? What do you make of all of that crap?” Durance asked as they walked along the path.
“I guess it hasn’t really sunk in. Not really. Signals emanating from space to the Pacific Ocean? I mean I’ve always thought there were other life forms in space but I didn’t really expect to find then so close by. You know, all the Mars talk and such is hogwash mostly. But this, I just don’t know.”
Durance walked in silence for a ways before saying, “Well it makes sense to me that if someone or something is sending signals to Earth they damn sure expect someone or something to hear those signals. That opens up the possibility of alien beings on our planet.”
“We don’t know that for sure yet. This could just be some sort of cock and bull story to get more funding. Hell, we do it all the time. What makes you think the civilians aren’t doing the same thing?” the Admiral asked.
“You think they would go all the way to the President with such a plot?”
“Why not? We do,” the Admiral said.
“Yeah, but he knows we are full of shit. It’s how the game is played,” the General protested.
“It’s tough to get funding
now days. Maybe they have learned our secrets at last. Scare the people just enough to get what you want. Times are tough for scientists these days. The bleeding hearts want to give all the money away to the lazy and underprivileged, whatever the hell that means,” the Admiral said bitterly.
“Still. I think there is more to this. I think we should start to draw up some plans for how to deal with this in case it is real,” the General insisted.
“What kind of plans? You mean military action?” Zoren asked.
“No. Civilian plans,” the General said sarcastically, “Look Zoe, I don’t want to wake up and find some strange creatures from outer space taking over the earth while I sit around playing pocket pool. We have no real contingency plan for such an action and I think we should at least give it some serious thought. If this is for real, the President will want one damned quick and we should be ahead of him on that,” the General said.
“It isn’t very hard being ahead of that duffus,” the Admiral scoffed.
“That’s for damn sure but, nevertheless we should make some preliminary strike plans.”
“Alright. Let’s get General Peterson in on this as well,” the Admiral suggested.
“Oh hell. The Army? They can’t hit their asses with both hands at the same time,” Durance protested.
“That’s true enough but he is one of us and we can trust him to keep his mouth shut. He has some great snitches in the White House as well and can keep us informed,” Zoren responded.
“Army intelligence. Just the thought makes me shudder,” Durance replied.
“Not a pretty picture but we may find him useful.”
“All right Zoe. You bring him in. I’ll get started on the Air Force end. Let Peterson draw up the Army’s roll and you handle the Navy side. Let’s plan an initial meeting for one week from today. Use the Georgetown safehouse,” Durance said.
“Okay. Let’s not talk again until then. I don’t want to get anyone sniffing our way just yet,” Zoren suggested.
“One week from today. Eighteen hundred hours,” Durance said and started down a side path while the Admiral continued on.
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