Luckily, the takeover only lasted six months by the time he was arrested and charged with treason. Trevil had virtually sold the United States to the Russians and the Chinese. He cared only for making what he saw was a really good deal and had no regards for the common man.
Trevil caused the trial of a lifetime and almost all of his supporters resisted the trial and targeted any witnesses to taint their testimony. It had quickly got out of control and was the very cause of all the riots in the streets and the unruliness.
Zach hoped he could fight that illegal takeover in court because he knew he would have won. But the trip back to Earth from Earth II took a minimum of six months in travel time just to return. There was just no way to speed that trip up with the technology that has now.
He would help his people more from Earth II and chose not to fight that battle to reclaim the highest office. He felt relief as soon as his Vice President Cole had gotten sworn in, as he should have been the day Zach left Earth.
It still troubled Zach about receiving those dire messages. He knew it was only a matter of time he would have to do something about the situation on Earth.
He paced the floor as they went over ideas with his mother Syra on how best to help the United States and still stay out of its international affairs.
Zach was aware of the troubles President Cole had for a long time. Trevil caused most of those problems, even though he was still in prison awaiting trial for serious crimes against the United States.
The next message that came in a visual format. They had everyone in the War Room from Earth present that day in Earth II’s War Room via video feed, and it made communications so much better than their old system before the upgrades. They completed the upgrades just in time, Syra thought and her son Zach!
Then President Cole spoke to President Caldiron and said, “My friend and colleague, someone is setting fires in random places!” he also said, “If these fires continue to get out of control, I will have a nation-wide crisis on my hands!”
President Caldiron replied, “We will send Ellead and Ohtron along with a few surprises to help you right away.”
Zach enjoyed any time he and Cole talked because they always got caught up on old news from Earth. But when the conference call ended, Syra directed everyone to work on the War Room specifics.
Never on the planet, had Zhian used their warlike technologies against anything but an inanimate object. But these were desperate times, and this was one of Syra’s greatest fears.
It was against Zhian protocol to interfere with a country pitting it against another and so forth. So Syra explained to everyone they would need to avoid an international incident at all costs. It was absolutely necessary to resolve the problems the United States was having without involving any foreign nations.
The problem was that the Russians had already embedded themselves in almost every facet of the government, and no single department could be trusted anymore.
One thing for certain, Syra and her people needed to work around the clock to figure out how to deal with the fires and those that were starting them. As soon as one fire got put out, more fires appeared in random places. And those types of messages continued to be reported back to Earth II.
The last time Ellead and Ohtron were on Earth, they had delivered and put in place some safety and communication equipment in several places in the U.S. in order to monitor it. This took place back when Zach was forced out of the White House and it had been taken over by Trevil.
Those pieces of equipment hidden from prying eyes and in locations where only President Cole knew where they were had given Earth II some advantages.
The stations they set up on Earth could not help Cole in the latest of these deliberate fires. That would be a different matter altogether for Ellead and Ohtron to have to deal with when they finally arrive back on Earth.
Ellead and Ohtron were being fitted with everything they needed to combat as much of the problems as they could. But they were not expected to arrive on Earth for at least another four months.
Just about everyone expected the fires to have been stopped and taken care of by the time Ellead arrived on Earth, but Zach believed this was just the beginning of the all the fires.
Zach felt somewhat at ease just knowing help was on the way to battle the fires and to be there in case of more fires.
But new fires did continue to be reported every couple of months while Ellead and Ohtron were in route to Earth.
It was his hope they did not have to reveal the true nature of the Zachary Caldiron Monument that still stands on the White House lawn.
The monument was untouchable by man, all they could do was stand back and look at it. Zach hoped to never have to use the monument for its intended purpose.
On the base of the monument has a print of a hand, once they fit their hand in the one on the monument, that would open a beam between Earth and Earth II.
Zach thought it was odd that the Zhian engineers instructed Ellead and Ohtron to set that up. But he understood why the more he learned about the monument’s capabilities. That monument was to protect Earth and the United States no matter who might end up in power.
Zach was very intrigued by the Zhian technology placed inside the monument and in the tip of his finger as he pointed toward Earth II.
The monument of him was filled with Zhian technologies and they were stored right there in plain sight.
President Cole’s concerns were that the enemy setting these fires not only kills everything living it touches, but it also hurts the environment and quality of air everyone must count on to breathe and to survive. This certainly weighed heavily on his mind, especially every time a new fire was started.
In the state of California, they have a lot of fires every year, and many times for various reasons. But each fire was set to cause as much damage as it could and this gave Cole a lot to be concerned about.
Then the governor of California started receiving hate messages. These fires had been started deliberately just weeks before Thanksgiving and already over 1,500 families had been displaced and that number was rising daily.
Cole was well aware that if it had not been for such a dry summer, they would have been better prepared. The fires would not be so out of control.
President Cole knew mother nature sometimes hands you a dry summer. But Cole often wished he could just control the weather; he would make it rain right on top of those fires to put them out and nowhere else!
The problem was everybody wanted it to rain, but with the rains always came flooding and mudslides. With that, more lives would be lost and the only hope he could see as those files burning out naturally. But the wind never died down.
Meanwhile, on Earth II James read his wish list to the engineers and specialized bots and anyone else who could help him out in his quest.
Item one: Build a rescue ship or two designed to carry a large group in an emergency from Earth to Earth II, but it is critical it be able to travel at least twice the speed if not more than the capabilities Ellead already has.
Item Two: Send what’s needed from Earth II to help fix environmental issues on Earth especially in the United States.
Item Three: Ask Earth for volunteers and then screen them, offering ownership in exchange for farming and building on the land of Earth II.
Item Four: Shuttle scientists from Earth to Earth II and back to share technologies.
Item Five: Send assistance to Earth for domestic or foreign issues on the United States soil in its defense.
Item Six: Assign a Zhian as an ambassador to Earth to represent Earth II.
James assured everyone that the list was only the beginning and he had a lot more ideas forthcoming. He requested everyone concentrate on these finer points for now. The list was divided up and Zach asked everyone to work diligently because this was truly a race against time.
The list would change over and over again as James worked through his ideas and most of the time, the new list would not res
emble the first one in any way.
They were reminded that the distance to travel to Earth took a minimum of six months and six months to return, and that was not counting the time spent on Earth.
He realized that rescue ships, even one at best, were a year away. But he felt in his heart that there would be a time Earth would need that type of assistance, and they would be ready for it.
Both James and Zach explained at the meeting that any ideas on how to speed up the process of the rescue ships and any other ideas to assist Earth should be brought to his attention as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, messages continued to come in from Earth and from President Cole addressing all critical areas to the attention of Syra, James, and Zach.
The items from James were entered into the core of the Zhian Sphere to calculate each idea and what was feasible and what wasn’t over the next several months.
But the list was changed so many times, the Zhian Sphere eventually complained that perhaps he should calculate the rescue ships and put everything else on temporary hold. He based his reasoning on the dire situation on Earth.
With all the new discoveries on Earth II, things began to get very exciting now.
What they discovered and learned by the Zhian Sphere calculations of some of the problems given him of late, was that if you combine the blue crystal, opaque crystal, and the rare blue crystals you would not only move in time and space, but the speed with which it allowed one to travel would feel virtually instant from one place to another.
A vast amount of new technologies could be based on this discovery to the betterment of mankind and the Zhians and Earthlings on Earth II.
The risk, of course, was that they needed to come up with a new coating on this new ship that would protect it and allow it to move easily within time and space.
When James received the news, he sent his research team to search for the new materials they discovered on their expeditions and see if it would work for what they needed it to do.
By now, everyone knew exactly what James needed and all manpower and brainpower they had were now put to work around the clock. From the looks of things on Earth, they would need this ship or ships sooner rather than later.
All the inhabitants of Earth II knew time was against them. They knew folks in the United States that were determined to break the system. To destroy democracy and to reshape America to fit the image they had of it.
But no one expected a six-page manifesto to be printed in The Washington Post by the person or persons responsible for all the fires.
The Washington Post did accept it because they knew it was not worth calling that person’s bluff. Other news outlets refused to allow it to go to print.
The manifesto was signed, The Armageddon Executioner. They were not taking chances and obviously, the writer of the manifesto meant business.
Once the manifesto was published, locations were given to The Washington Post where large batches of anthrax were located, which were found in five large cities across five States. It had been thoroughly planned and if it had been executed, millions or more would have died.
President Cole was gravely concerned because of the list of disasters the Armageddon Executioner planned for the United States. And there simply were no hints as to the identity of the person or persons behind such a plot.
The list stated that the first deaths would be by the fire which had already consumed hundreds of thousands of acres across California and three other states.
The death toll rose and now reached 6,350 lives lost. Many were still unaccounted for, and this caused a great deal of concern.
There was no doubt in anyone’s minds that those fires would start up again and soon. There would be no rest for the weary and they would keep a watchful eye for the latest threats.
When the manifesto listed the spread of anthrax in those same five states authorities had been able to stop it.
The anthrax plan was serious, and there was no reason to think otherwise. The authorities were glad to have been led to anthrax before that plan was executed.
The bombings listed in his manifesto were worrisome because the manifesto did not name the companies which were his targets or any hints of the locations.
However, there were many hints to keep authorities busy for a very long time.
Another threat was tainted food supply. Random factories would be infected and not notice for some time as the poison would take months to show any symptoms. With a lot of farms receiving pesticides from the same source and other material, every angle was considered.
The last real threat was the destruction and utter collapse of the government of the United States. Areas listed due for the Armageddon Executioner targets were financial institutions, taking the value of the dollar to zero.
Every news channel on cable news had taken the manifesto and analyzed every single word and no one was able to agree on any version of what the manifesto meant or what was happening or why.
Meanwhile, back on Earth II, Zach and James received a copy of the manifesto from President Cole and forwarded it to the Zhian Sphere for analysis. If anyone could pull a profile of this killer from a text, it would be the massive computer system of Zhian Sphere.
If the owner of the manifesto had always kept a low profile, not even the Zhian Sphere could help.
The Zhian Sphere database had hundreds of thousands of individual profiles collected since it first landed on Earth over 40 years ago. If there was anyone that could fit the profile of the Armageddon Executioner, Zhian Sphere’s core systems would find them if it were at all possible.
But until then, the fires continued to spread and the president and what few government officials were behind him anxiously awaited Ellead and Ohtron’s arrivals.
It had been nearly six months since the fires were started and some had still continued to burn despite the efforts to prevent them or put them out.
The winds had fanned the flames, and they continued to blow strong and spread the fire faster than firefighters could put them out.
The one thing the authorities figured out was that there was a pattern to the fires, and they would give this information to Ellead and Ohtron when they finally arrive on Earth.
The authorities would be able to analyze the information and track the fire starter to his doorstep. They would do this no matter how many were involved with the help of the core computer systems of Zhian Sphere.
It was finally arrival day and Ellead along with Ohtron in his cargo bay with a lot of useful things to fight the fires and send data back to the Zhian Sphere. Things were bound to get better, thought President Cole.
Captain Jerry Wadsworth volunteered to ride in Ellead but would need several of the captain’s men, so they could assist the ship Ellead in his firefighting duties.
The ceremony was a short one because there were many protestors who did not like an alien ship flying in their skies.
Captain Wadsworth insisted the number 127 be put on the side of Ellead temporarily because it was his engine number when he first started out as a firefighter many years ago and he was close to retirement.
Security was so beefed up everyone thought the President of the United States was in the field with the firefighting equipment that day, and no one could get anywhere near Ellead. Security was also beefed up because there were all those factions all across the U.S. who hated the very thought of aliens or alien technology being on American soil.
Captain Wadsworth remembered the day Ellead landed on the White House lawn and dreamed of flying the machine every day since then and now he would get his chance.
All he would need to do is sit and look at the visuals and advise Ellead of what to do next to combat the fires.
There had been a lot of discussions on who should have this honor, and Wadsworth won. This was something he wanted more than even winning a lottery! Some things he just had a passion about and money were not necessarily it.
Some folks were saying he was so thrilled his
closest friends and family feared he’d die from the excitement before he retired in less than a month. It’s just that it was difficult for the old man to hold back his emotions these days. He blamed it on old age, but it was really his love for life.
Every news station reporter and the camera had been set up 24 hours earlier, and the operators slept beside their equipment and well into the early morning hours in order to be ready for the big day.
There were thousands of flashes from the cameras as the captain and his men boarded Ellead. One reporter and cameraman named Tom Hansen would send the visuals back to CNN headquarters from inside Ellead.
“Welcome aboard Captain Jerry Wadsworth and Tom Hansen, please sit at the main console,” Ellead spoke and his voice carried throughout his ship.
The firefighter captain said, “Men, take a seat and buckle up!”
Each of those six men had seats with a window view and direct communication with the captain. A quick rundown on Elleads abilities and these safety protocols was just preliminary, but they understood its importance.
The men listened and memorized every word Ellead had to say over the com systems and quickly buckled up. This would be a day they would tell their grandchildren about whenever they had them.
Each man noticed a bag to their right, meant to use should they get sick. They were instructed to have nothing to eat nor drink before boarding and they would later be glad they took the advice.
No sooner than Ellead lifted off to fight the fires, messages came in on all network channels that a ship from another world had been on American soil, foreign nations were on a full alert!
President Cole thought that after all this time they would have adjusted to the thought. But many would never stand for the concept, no matter what good technologies were discovered.
A few other smaller countries protested Ellead wasn’t helping them and was favoring the United States. Most of the other countries’ citizens felt Ellead should aid them and they felt they had problems much greater than fires in different places.
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