America One: War of the Worlds

by T I WADE

  There was no response, and VIN put his hand in the air to warn the others not to talk.

  All VIN had been taught about interrogation back in his young days in Force Recon in the Marine Corp came back to him. It was time to learn where Homo sapiens stood in the solar system compared to these Matts.

  Everybody including Ryan stared at VIN waiting for him to say something. It took a full minute before the ex-Marine said his next word, and his fidgeted with the laser pistol, while he looked down at the ground.

  Mars looked at Commander Fob. He stood straight, but he seemed to be slightly afraid of what VIN’s next move would be. So was Roo, and Joanne who understood what was actually going on, placed a reassuring hand on her husband’s shoulder in front of her.

  VIN pulled the weapon up to his face and looked at it carefully. Then he looked at the commander.

  “Is that all you have to tell me?’ VIN asked in a cold tone.

  “I asked you if any of our other people survived?” asked the commander slowly, knowing that he was on dangerous ground.

  “No,” replied VIN in one word, and Joanne squeezed her husband’s shoulder again to keep him quiet. “I assumed the explosion was your power plant, but it still runs. You are lying to me Commander Fob, or you would be already dead, not nearly dead.”

  “No, the explosion wasn’t our power plant. We had the very large power plant for the spaceships and the crews, and the spaceship part of our base was in that direction,” the commander pointed to where the open hole in the ground now existed.

  “That is nothing but a deep hole in the ground bigger than this cavern,” VIN replied. “The tunnels are completely broken, and so is the other base. What was inside the other base, and why did you have such a long tunnel to get there?” VIN asked. The room as so silent that one could have heard a pin drop.

  The commander’s face screwed up he was thinking so hard. Now he knew that it was his spaceship hangar that had exploded, and that it seemed the blast had broken through all the protective sections his men had built along the tunnel. Also if he tried to telepathically contact any other in the other base or anywhere else in the solar system, these people would hear him. He was trapped, mentally and physically.

  “How did you get to me in here?” he asked, one question still burning in his brain. “It seems that your suits are good in vacuum space?”

  We entered through the big hole in the other area of your base,” VIN lied. “That area was blown up when the base attacked us a few years ago, and when my son lost his arm.”

  “Are their spaceships destroyed as well, the whole base?” the commander asked now looking rather shocked.

  “Yes” stated Mars angrily “and your men killed my pilot, my best friend. Dad shoot him!”

  Roo rushed forward and fell on his knees in front of VIN. Roo was the only team member who didn’t understand what was going on. “Please friend VIN. Don’t shoot Commander Fob. Please! We Earth Matts don’t like violence. Please don’t kill him and the children!”

  “Joanne, take your husband away,” ordered VIN turning around to Joanne and winking. “Shut him up in the toilet or something. Ryan will you help her please?”

  Roo was dragged away screaming into the river room, and the pleadings from the poor man was heard until a door closed, and his begging was silenced.

  There Joanne explained to her husband that his best friend VIN was only kidding. He was making the commander scared to get information, and slowly Roo calmed down while Ryan rejoined the group.

  “These stupid Earth Matts know nothing about war, not like you and me, hey commander?” smiled VIN directly looking the commander in the face. The commander suddenly realized that his predicament was far worse than he thought a few minutes earlier. These Tall People weren’t even nice to the Earth Matts he had often heard about. “You are the only Matts alive on this planet, commander. Europa, the white planet, I believe your headquarters we attack next.”

  Commander Fob now understood that these Tall People had the means to walk around in the vacuum of space, and they knew where the white planet was. It was called Gook in Matt, the planet had been Matt Headquarters for as long as the history scrolls said so, for over 200,000 Earth years, and he had been born there, as had over 500,000 other Matts in their history books.

  He began to understand that their second base—Mars had now been destroyed by the Earth’s Tall People he felt a twinge of sadness. The ancient Tall People had also destroyed their base on the blue planet 10,000 years ago. It had been on the same area of land that these people came from. He knew that because it was in the history scrolls, he had visited Earth himself 25 years ago, and had witnesses the Tall People’s destruction of their own satellites through their own intertribal fighting. He had watched with happiness, the complete destruction of everything orbiting the blue planet, thinking that his base on Mars was now safe for centuries to come.

  He hadn’t seen the surviving space craft surrounded by the same blue shield they had given to the Earth Matts so many centuries ago, and he had been shocked a few years later to see Tall People on his own planet.

  Now these Tall People were standing in his very own command center, and telling him that they knew about Gook. He suddenly wanted to see the globes outside in the Globe Room, to see if the reinforcements were on their way, the same reinforcements he had asked for 15 years ago. He tried to peer over the shoulder of the very tall metal Tall Person, who could think like him, and the man immediately saw his movement.

  “No, sorry Commander Fob, your globes are now ours,” he heard the tall metal person think to him, and then to the other metal person. “Mars, can you find something to blindfold the commander with, until we get a suit on him and out of here.”

  “You had better bind his hands behind his back” VIN stated to Mars in English, a language the commander didn’t understand.

  “Ryan, it seems that the commander knows about the incoming flights from Europa,” stated VIN.

  “I think it important to find out what is in the rest of this base,” replied Ryan. “Are you sure he doesn’t understand English?”

  “I don’t believe so, but I’m nearly there,” VIN replied as he watched his son rip off a piece of a space blanket and begin wrapping it around the Matt’s eyes.

  “I think as soon as we dress these kids, we need to leave here,” stated Ryan.

  “Joanne I need to sedate the commander. Do you have anything in your box of tricks, Doc?” asked VIN. Joanne nodded that she had.

  “Commander Fob. I will allow you and these three children to live, if you answer my questions truthfully,” carried on VIN thinking in Matt and looking at the commander’s face who couldn’t see him back. “If you answer my questions correctly, I will also ask our commander to declare peace with your people on the white planet. We know your spaceships are coming to this planet. We count 16 ships.” That made the commander relax slightly and the muscles of his face relaxed into a twitch a grin for a split second, thought VIN. He continued verbally in Matt. “Since you have 16 spaceships coming here, that means that your forces in the white planet have 16 less ships, and that will help our fleet of ships heading there right now. We knew about your base out there a long time ago, and since you attacked us here on the red planet, my commander felt it would even the battle if we attacked your white planet first. Also there is nothing left to attack here on this planet. Are you ready to answer my questions?”

  Commander Fob said nothing for a few minutes. His head was still swimming from the 15 years of sleep, the cold of the nitrogen, the bad news, and he needed to think clearly.

  “I am ready,” the commander replied softly.

  “Why did you attack our base when we asked your astronauts for peace?” VIN asked.

  “You Tall People tricked us many years ago on the blue planet. We came in peace to visit you from the white planet. We couldn’t find our tribe we left on your planet. The green and cool area we always visited them was a hot dry desert, so we lo
oked into the cooler areas to the south. There we found tall, dark people, who tried to kill us every time we tried to talk to them. We found a few people who looked like us, and we met with them. They did not speak our language, although they spoke one much the same. These short dark people couldn’t tell us anything about our people, so we headed north of the new desert. Here tall white people like you sent their animals they rode on to attack us. They attacked us every time we landed. They killed several of us, and then we moved to set up a base on the same land you come from.”

  “How do you know this?” VIN asked quite socked at this. These Matts had lived on the North American continent 3,000 years ago.

  “My ancestor, Commander Hoo documented these travels in our history scrolls,” replied Fob. “They lived on this land for two generations, setting up a base so that they could find the tribe we had lost. They never found them, and were repeatedly attacked by the local people, killing many on each side. We grew to hate all the Tall People on the blue planet, and our tribe vowed to attack them wherever we found them. We left the blue planet and set up this base. My ancestor, Commander Gut was the first commander, my father the tenth and I was the eleventh.”

  “And this is your command center?’ asked VIN. The Matt nodded. “If you had your spacecraft here, and your command center here, why did you build such long tunnels?”

  “We needed the water I think you have already found underneath, and the metals we needed to manufacture our base and spaceships was a long way from here. So we had to join the two areas up, and this base was made of two areas: the command center with the water, and the metal section with the builders. My ancestor, the fifth commander completed the tunnel when my father was very young, like that boy you first brought out of the chamber. That is my brother’s son, and my brother died flying one of our spacecraft you destroyed.”

  Slowly the other side of the story came together to those listening. There wasn’t much to do apart to make sure the children were warm, and the suits recharged.

  “So you attacked the base we Matts lived in because the Tall People had attacked you on the blue planet?” asked Roo. He had returned several minutes earlier, once he had calmed down, and as the commander had begun his story.

  “It is in my orders to do so, from my ancestors who built this base, and we must continue to do so until either we are all dead, or you leave us alone,” was the commander’s simple reply.

  “These Tall People only want peace,” added Roo. “My wife, that tall women sitting there was the ruler of that area you lived in. Now a younger person rules, and she and I, Ruler Roo have come here to rule our Matt base on the red planet. Does that mean you will always attack us, until we are no more?’ Roo asked the commander.

  “Yes,” replied the Commander. “We must do what it states in our history scrolls. My people on the white planet, many thousands of them with many spaceships have the same history scrolls, and we must do what our ancestors say.”

  “What happens if we leave you alone on the white planet, and you leave us alone on the red planet?” asked Ryan, who hadn’t spoken to the commander before.

  “If it is one day written in our history scrolls by the Ruler, then it will be so for our future generations,” replied Fob.

  “So which side of your base was the largest?” VIN asked trying to keep control of the situation.

  “Of course that side,” replied the commander. “This side was for all flight commanders, inventors, our pilots, and family only. The other side was for miners, builders, teachers, young pilots, and ranks lower than Commander.”

  “So the other side had more space ships than this side,” VIN asked.

  “No,” Commander Fob replied.

  “So that was why we destroyed 27 ships on the second attack, and when I lost my arm?” Mars injected, his father looking at him but staying quiet.

  Commander Fob stared at the younger man. He was puzzled. The younger man showed him his metal arm as proof of the battle.

  “I destroyed none of your crew,” Mars stated. “I was flying an Earth Matt ship. Actually I was flying Commander Joot’s spaceship. He was a good friend of mine, the Matt commander your brother killed in the first attack,” Mars stated.

  “That ship has no weapons,” Commander Fob replied.

  “Correct commander. Your brave pilots from the other side knew that it was a Matt ship, but still they shot me down.”

  Commander Fob shook his head. “They were only to attack Tall People spaceships, not our own, and there were not twenty-seven ships, unless new ships had arrived from the white planet.

  Nobody said anything for a few minutes, then one of the children groaned, and the two medics attended the boy.

  “So how many of your people died in here? We only counted 5 bodies outside?” VIN asked.

  “You are correct. Our flight commanders and two inventors. The rest of my crew, and pilots died in the explosion. Forty in all,” was Fob’s reply.

  “And the second explosion?” VIN asked.

  “Were there any survivors?” Fob asked.

  “No,” replied Mars.

  “Forty-five pilots, 21 builders of spaceships, 21 growers of food, 21 miners of metals, 20 children and I believe 3 teachers of the children, soon to be Inventors. My wife was one of the growers of food, and she and I were separated when the explosion occurred. I have said enough, do what you want of me and the children, and I hope our ships arrive from the white planet and kill you all. Even you Ruler Roo, who has taken a Tall People wife.”

  VIN nodded, and Joanne smiled at the commander kindly when she gave him the sedative.

  “I’m not angry with you commander,” she stated in perfect Matt. “I just hope you all forgive us one day for all our bad deeds against your people. What I am giving you will make you sleep, and Ruler Roo and I will make sure the three children live.”

  Being a small man, the sedative meant for somebody of VIN’s size, the commander was asleep seconds after Joanne gave him her speech.

  “It’s time to get out of here,” stated Ryan in English. “Well done Noble family, at least we know what we are up against us from next door. First we need to get these children, ourselves, and both shuttles back to the Retreat. It seems the lines of communications have been broken from here. I’m sure he is scared to communicate telepathically since you guys will hear what he says.”

  “I would have heard the commander thinking to the others,” replied VIN. “He didn’t try, I believe.”

  “At least we know that there must be still enemy spacecraft on this plant,” added Mars. “We only destroyed seven in the second battle.”

  “And 137 Matts, minus the killed pilots, could still be alive” added Maggie.

  I only remember seeing one single seat fighter during the battle,” stated Mars.

  “It had a yellow nose in front of the pilot?” VIN asked.

  “Jonesy and I blew one up with a yellow nose and so did Allen Saunders in SB-I during the first battle. He wrote it in his report,” stated Maggie.

  “Talk to me Maggie, you are ex-Air force. What do the numbers represent, the difference between pilots and ships? They don’t tally,” asked Ryan.

  “We have two flights of 16 ships heading towards this planet. It seems the commanders fly single seat aircraft. That means two wings of seven, each with a flight commander,” Maggie replied. “Fob stated that there were flight commanders here, and who died in the explosion. The first battle was only five ships. I assume Fob’s brother was the flight commander. Why he had four spaceships including his when they come in flights of seven, I can’t tell you. Maybe repairs were going on, or parts were needed with two of his ships, but I think a nearly two dozen aircraft in the hangar blowing up certainly must have added to the explosion. The explosions we saw when their aircraft blew up were certainly very powerful explosions. They must have several craft in the other section. It sounds like only one flight commander was there at the time of the explosion. He died when they attacked Mars an
d the others. The other one died here. All I can say Ryan is that there are still too many aircraft over on the other side with maybe one commander to lead them. Whether they can fly or not is not a number I want to attack, with two shuttles.”

  Chapter 9

  A New Home for Many

  It took a whole day to get everyone back to the shuttles. The children were given a tiny sedative to keep them asleep and they were dressed into the spacesuits.

  By the time this was done, Max had completed a full three-hour rest period, and he headed down the tunnel with the train.

  Jonesy had reached the Retreat, was collecting three more crewmembers to help carry the gold and had just enough fuel to do one more trip to the tunnels and back.

  The first group were ushered into the cavern, fully suited up when Max arrived and opened the door. Patricia, Maggie, Joanne and the three children literally spilled out of the cavern when the door opened, each holding a child.

  Luckily, no damage was done to any of the suits, and VIN, Roo, Ryan and Mars had no choice but to wait in the closed command center for the air pressure to return. Their suits needed recharging.

  Max took Joanne and the smallest child up first. Joanne lay on her back on the forward carriage and held the child in her arms as Max guided them up the tunnel. There Saturn was ready to carry the child back to the shuttle. Joanne followed, saw the others still carrying the gold squares into the cargo holds, and began work as her suit was freshly charged.

  Max returned with the canister Saturn had carried to the tunnel with the extra suit, and this time he returned with Patricia and the next child. Saturn was back on the flight deck, but gave Patricia help over the intercom where to take the child.

  Maggie was next, and Max completed the three journeys in two hours 10 minutes. He had just time to head down one more time.