by Saxon Andrew
Everyone in the room stared at Suzette and Patrick in silence and Patrick said, “The magnetic pack is pretty powerful stuff.”
Jimmy closed his eyes and thought for a few moments and everyone watched him. He finally opened his eyes and said, “You used ten packs?”
“Yes.”
Jimmy looked at Summer who was furiously writing on a tablet and she put her pencil down and turned to see him staring at her. He saw her expression and turned to the group, “That steel-ball is probably going to pass the moon in a few days. I think you’re right that ten of those magnetic packs could accelerate a five-pound steel ball beyond escape velocity. That one-pound ball was no problem. The problem is how do we use this in a weapon?”
George Stallings was shaking his head, “I just don’t see how you could achieve more than twenty-five thousand miles per hour.”
Jimmy chuckled, “George, that’s a little less than seven-miles a second.” George nodded. “I’ve tested the magnet packs and they’ve accelerated protons faster than that.”
“But they have no mass to mention.”
“I only used one pack to do it, George. I believe they may have put that ball in orbit or shot it away from Earth entirely. There’s an easy way to find out.” Jimmy looked at Patrick and Suzette, “Let’s go do it again and use our high-speed recording devices to see.”
The entire room emptied and three hours later, Suzette and Patrick were asked to begin working on large magnetic cannons and a small arms version that could be carried by a soldier.
Three days later, the meeting ended and everyone left to go back to their homes. Jimmy stood by the Helicopter with Juan and smiled, “It’s really good to see you. Do you think you should retire and come join us here?”
“No! I must be in the loop to make sure the warriors who want to join us have a contact. Do you have any idea how long it’s going to be before the crap hits the fan?”
“Well, I saw it in 2005 and it’s 2011 now. I believe, and I truly don’t know why I do, that they will be here by 2018. That means they’ll probably be detected between 2015 to 2016.”
“I need to know the moment they’re seen, Jimmy.”
“Why?”
“Because my soldiers will need to turn in retirement papers and get out before they can join us.”
“They don’t need to wait until the last minute, Juan.”
“Oh! Why is that?”
“Because we are going to have to train them in the new arms we’re developing for them. We’ll pay them a hundred-thousand a year if they’re willing to stay here in the valley and not reveal what’s going on.”
“How will they be able to enjoy their funds if they’re stuck in this valley.”
“Make sure they get a passport before they show up and we’ll have Alem take them into one of the surrounding cities. I’ll impress on them that getting into trouble would not be a good thing.”
Juan started nodding and said, “I have ten members of my battalion that are ready to leave the service now. I’ll talk to them and see if they’re ready to make the move. I’ll tell the two best soldiers I know to retire and come here immediately. I would put them in command of the soldiers that come.”
“Who are they?”
Kellie Weston and Alponso Jackson.”
“I’ll keep an eye out for them. Juan, don’t allow your superiors to learn what you’re doing.”
“They could care less. With the downsizing of the military, we’re being encouraged to talk as many of our warriors as possible to get out. If anyone confronts me, I’ll just ask them if they’ve ever heard of an elite unit of mercenaries in Europe where a soldier could make that much money. I’ll tell them that they have been ordering me to get soldiers to retire and that a little lie to get them to leave isn’t a bad thing, is it? They’ll laugh and wish they had thought about it themselves.”
“What happens when the ones that leave tell their buddies what’s going on?”
“That will be up to you to make sure they don’t. They’ll listen and do what you order. Once they arrive and develop a sense of unity, it won’t be a problem.”
Jimmy nodded and gave Juan a bear hug, “Hurry back.”
Juan smiled, “I’ll be here at the appointed time, my friend.” Juan boarded the helicopter and Jimmy watched it lift and fly away. He walked back to the entrance of the giant facility and saw Nicky Irozo waiting on him.
“What’s up, Nicky?”
“I didn’t say anything in the meeting but it bothers me that no trace of aliens has appeared in all of the searches I’ve examined. We have no proof of their existence other than the triple-impacts and the giant odds of it being a natural event. We ought to have to have seen something by now.”
Jimmy smiled and shook his head, “I’m reasonably certain they have appeared on somebody’s images but were not recognized. How many astronomers focus on the asteroid belt and when they do, what are they looking for?” Nicky stared at Jimmy as he continued, “I would expect that more than ninety-nine percent of the images taken are of the largest asteroids circling the sun. The ones that are going to hit here are pretty much ignored and I suspect that if there are aliens out there, they will keep those asteroids between them and Earth to avoid being seen. I really hope you’re right, Nicky and there aren’t any out there.”
“And you’ve still not seen one in your dreams?”
“No, I haven’t,” Jimmy answered
“Well, something should happen that will give them away.”
“Why do you say that?” Jimmy asked.
“The average distance between the rocks in the asteroid belt is 600 miles. Three large size rocks are going to have to be brought together for this event to happen. That must be done long before they are turned toward Earth. I’ll let you know when the rock-herders start moving the cattle.”
“Please do, Nicky. I know you still have doubts about this and I’m glad you do. You will do everything in your power to prove me wrong and I really appreciate it.” Jimmy paused and said, “How long would it take them to move three asteroids that size together?”
“It will take a little longer than two years for them to leave the asteroid belt and arrive at Earth orbit. They’ll have to start about three years before that manipulating the asteroids’ orbits to bring them together. That is what I’m focusing in on finding.”
Jimmy nodded, “Let me know if anything happens.” Nicky nodded and walked out toward a helicopter from Germany that was dropping out of the clouds.
Jimmy watched Nicky board the helicopter and thought about all the people coming to seek shelter in the valley. Someone was going to slip up and let the cat out of the bag. It wasn’t that they wanted to do it but the numbers coming made the odds of it happening too big for it not to. He decided to contact each of the Project’s managers and impress upon them not to reveal the location of the Project to those they were bringing until the absolute last moment. Nicky’s intense study of the asteroid belt would not go unnoticed by his peers and if anyone saw his work…well…that could cause some sticky issues. He decided that it was time he and Summer moved here and started working on the valley’s defenses.
• • •
Jimmy looked at the calendar and said goodbye to 2014. The Project in the valley had made tremendous progress and was getting close to wrapping up. There were the thousands of little items that drive you crazy but the bulk of the items were done. Half of the people involved in the project were already living underground and the Swiss had not given them any real issues. His dream came true the year before when Summer delivered their baby boy. They decided to name him Ayet John Carpenter after his two grandfathers.
He also had a shock soon after the baby was born when Audrey’s mother contacted him and told him to come and get his daughter, she had no intention of raising the little brat. It appeared that Audrey left school because she had achieved her goal and was pregnant with Jimmy’s child. Jimmy was stunned by the call and went to his mother to discus
s it.
The mother told him that her husband had pulled a gun in a drunken rage and pointed it at the little girl intending to kill her. Audrey threw herself in front of her daughter and was shot instead. The father realized what he had done and turned the gun on himself. The mother knew Jimmy was the father and offered to sign the brat over to him if he would just come and take her off her hands.
He talked about it with Candice and she suggested that he would need to ask Summer about the situation. He called Summer in to his mother’s quarters and they all agreed that they should accept her into their home.
Jimmy and Summer flew to California and had an attorney meet them at the mother’s address. They drove up in a rental car and saw a young girl wearing shabby clothes sitting on a swing in the front yard. She watched them get out of the car, stopped the swing, and stared at them as they walked up. Jimmy immediately noticed she had her mother’s hair and dainty features but it was clear she had his blue eyes and they were staring at both of them as they walked up. “My grandmother is waiting for you inside,” the girl said in a monotone voice.
Jimmy stared at her and asked, “Do you know what’s going on?”
“I’ve listened to her scream and yell since my grandfather killed my mother about you coming to take me off her hands,” she said with a shrug.
Summer asked her, “How do you feel about that?”
“Does it matter?”
“Yes, it matter’s,” Jimmy interrupted.
The girl lowered her eyes, “I learned who you are by hearing my mother bragging about tricking you into a relationship with her.” She looked up at Jimmy, “You aren’t responsible for me.”
Jimmy shook his head, “Honestly, I never knew you existed until your grandmother called.”
“I suspected as much.”
Summer stared at her and said, “You sound pretty mature for someone your age.”
The girl looked at Summer and decided to answer her, “Living in this family will age anyone. Everyone is a taker and there’s not much giving. My mother was no different. There is no love in the house behind me.”
Summer sighed, “I’m sorry about your mother.”
The girl shook her head slowly, “She loved me in her own way and I really loved her, too. She should have gotten her degree but she dropped out when I came along. It’s been a struggle for her to support me and I know grandma will not make the effort.”
“What’s your name?” Summer asked.
“Rachel.”
Jimmy sighed and said, “Rachel, if you had to say, how difficult are you to get along with?”
“I can entertain myself with a computer and a library. Why do you ask?”
“Because I am your father and, though I don’t know you, I want you to be a part of my family, if you’re willing.”
“Did you love my mother?”
Jimmy stared at Rachel, glanced at Summer for a moment, and then said, “Yes, I did, but I found out that she was using me and that shattered our relationship.”
Rachel smiled softly, “I’ve wondered where my ability to love comes from. There’s none in this family I’ve been living with. If you’re willing to take me, I’ll do all I can not to be a problem. Anywhere is better than here.”
Jimmy walked up and lifted Rachel off the swing and gave her a hug. He kissed her on top of her head and said, “Get your things together.” Rachel looked up at him and started weeping. Summer rushed over and took her in her arms and held her tight, “Jimmy, you go and do what needs to be done. I’ll be here with her.”
Jimmy nodded and turned toward the house. Before he and the attorney could enter, they heard a loud bang. They rushed in and found the grandmother had joined her husband. Jimmy called the police and the attorney said, “You need to take her and leave now! I’ll represent you and handle all the legal details but you’ll be tied up in court for the next five years if you don’t get her out of here now.”
Jimmy nodded, ran over and grabbed Summer and Rachel’s hand, and said to Summer, “We need to get to the airport.”
Summer nodded and they drove away five minutes before the police showed up. They boarded their private jet and were over international waters in an hour. They flew over Canada on the return trip and were back in Switzerland sixteen hours later. Eleven-year old Rachel Carpenter entered a world that captured her mind and gripped it with a passion. Summer found out that Audrey was right, her daughter was something special.
• • •
Jimmy loved Summer so much for opening her heart to a child that wasn’t hers. She accepted Rachel into their family and the two were pretty much inseparable. Rachel carried Ayet wherever she went and the baby was constantly looking for her whenever she wasn’t around. And Rachel was smart…very smart.
Jimmy sighed and looked at the rapidly growing defenses hidden in the mountains around the valley. He ordered another series of power generators to be installed under the first eight in the waterfall, the power requirements were more than he anticipated. The community was growing faster than he anticipated.
He felt the phone case on his belt vibrating and he took out the Ear-link. “Jimmy!”
He felt a cold wind blow over his soul, “Yes, Nicky.”
“Two asteroids are missing from their former orbits.” Jimmy sat down and Nicky said, “I’ve mapped the asteroid belt to a fare-thee-well over the last five years and two are no longer in their former positions. They were moved out of their orbits while Earth was on the other side of the sun from them.”
“Where are they?”
“That’s going to take some time. But the ones that are missing match the projected sizes we’ve discussed. I thought you were somewhat looney about all this but it’s me that’s the crazy one. I suspect two-years to herd the three asteroids together and then another two-years for them to arrive. You now know how much time you have to be ready.”
“When are you coming, Nicky?”
“I can’t keep tabs on what’s going on there; I need to be here at the observatory.” Nicky paused and said, “You were right, Jimmy. Those two missing asteroids were too far apart to have caused them to leave orbit. Some outside agency is doing this and I hope I can deal with this terror I’m feeling.”
“Find them and you might find evidence of who is doing this. The terror will become bearable over time, my friend.”
“Finding them won’t happen easily, Jimmy. They’ll be doing the work while we’re on the other side of the sun. I’ll let you know what I find out.”
“Be careful, Nicky.” The line went off and Jimmy remained in his chair. He pressed a button and called Summer, “Nicky says two asteroids are missing. The match up with the size we’ve projected.”
“Where are you?!”
“My office.”
“I’ll be right there!” Jimmy put his head in his hands and shook it. His fear was rising and his heart was hammering in his chest, when Summer and Rachel carrying Ayet rushed through his office door and wrapped him up in their arms. They rocked him gently until he found his courage.
Chapter Eleven
Nicky ended the contact with Jimmy and began using the Spritzer Space telescope to start a fast sweep of the asteroid belt looking for infrared heat signatures. He called in a debt from a college in Chile and had him use a series of the very large array to make a scan of the asteroid belt and keep it quiet. Ramos agreed to simply tell his associates that he was going to make a test run of the active arrays and check out how they were working together. He ran the test for a week and sent the results to Nicky in a private message.
“Nicky, what are you hoping to find?”
“Ramos, I’ve found a conflict of data in my computer and I need another source to confirm my data is not corrupted.”
“That’s a good story, what’s the real one?”
“I can’t say right now but you’ll be the first to know when I can release the information.”
“Is that a promise, Nicky? I can lose my position over this
.”
“Get real, Ramos. Without you that project is doomed and they know it. I’ll let you know as soon as I can.”
The line went dead and Ramos stared at the dead handset. He thought for a few minutes and pressed a button on his panel, “Dorey, do you have the last map that was done of the asteroid belt?”
“It’s over five years old.”
“Send it to my computer in a file.”
“I’ll have it to you within the hour.”
“Thanks, Dorey.” Ramos hung up and entered the data he had sent Nicky into his software tracking program. He waited for an hour and then loaded in the map of the Asteroid Belt from five years earlier and entered a series of commands into his computer. He waited and saw the program running. He turned off the screen and left the program running. This program could take a week to complete. He left his office and went out to check on the new arrays coming on line. There was just so much to do.
• • •
“Sir.”
“Yes.”
“Do you remember the report on magnetic fields emanating from the weather satellites?”
“No, I don’t believe I do. What are you talking about?”
“One of the former Hawk-eye controllers reported detecting intermittent magnetic fields around the weather satellites a few years back. I remember checking out it out when I came on duty and found that he was right about them. The reason for them was attributed to magnetic locking clamps on the camera lens in the satellites motors and I pretty much ignored them after that.”
“What’s the problem?”
“They’re no longer intermittent. They’re pretty much there all the time.”
The Air Force Captain came over and looked at the screen and saw the controller was right. “What do you think is causing it?”
“It could be equipment failure but Hawk-eye three and four are also showing a magnetic field around them.”
“What’s going on, Jenson?”
“Sir, “I really don’t know but the pattern of the magnetic field is vibrating in a pattern that reminds me of communication frequencies.”