Jimmy's Dreams: Some Dreams Are Nightmares

by Saxon Andrew

  The President listened to them in silence as he stared at the wall monitor showing stars disappearing and said, “Make it happen and get working on finding something that can be used against it. Notify your contacts in Russia and China about what we’ve found. I want our best military suppliers to start working on developing a missile”

  “Yes, Mr. President.”

  The President sat back in his chair and decided to find out exactly where those asteroids were going to hit. He was going to make sure he was nowhere near the impact sites.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Jimmy shook his head and wished he could fly over the valley. Juan just contacted him and said he was assigned to be a commander of the American Space Shuttle’s crew. Juan knew what was coming and he could inadvertently change the dream by knowing in advance what he was up against. He had to know if the valley was in jeopardy and there was only one way to find out. He thought about it and decided. He contacted Alem, “I need you to crank up a helicopter.”

  “Why?”

  “I need to take a trip over the mountains. Get moving and I’ll meet you at the launch pad.”

  Í thought you ordered that all outside travel was prohibited.

  “I made the order, I can break it; now get moving.

  “Where are you going?” Summer asked.

  “I have to go look at the valley and the surrounding the surrounding areas.”

  “Why?”

  “I need to see if my dream has been changed. Juan has just let me know he’s been chosen to command one of the space shuttles. He could cause things to change if he changes the course of an asteroid.”

  “Can I come with you?” Rachel asked.

  “Yes, matter of fact, you and Summer can both come with me.”

  Candice looked at Summer and held out her arms. Ayet smiled and Summer handed him to Candice, “I’ll take care of our little man while you’re gone.”

  “Thanks, Mom.”

  Jimmy took a jacket out of a closet in the control room, “It’s going to be cold in the hangar.” Rachel and Summer took a coat out and then they jogged with Jimmy to the central tunnel’s entrance, where they boarded a magnetic cart. Jimmy closed the door and pressed a red button on the console. An alarm started beeping and the cart smoothly began accelerating. They watched people taking a leisurely walk in the tunnel beside the rails that ran under the valley between the two mountains on each side of the valley. They became blurs as the car reached maximum speed and then the cart smoothly came to a stop on the other side under the eastern mountain. It turned around the loop at the end and they exited. They went to the left elevator and were moved at high speed up the interior of the mountain. The door opened and they felt cold air hit them. It was winter and the chill was almost unbearable.

  They ran out to the launch pad and saw Alem already had the rotors turning and the heaters going full blast in the helicopter’s cabin. They boarded and Alem changed the pitch on the rotors and the large helicopter lifted out over the rugged terrain far below. “Where do you want to go?”

  “Take us below the clouds over the valley first.” Alem nodded and the helicopter rose over the top of the eastern mountain and began dropping through the white clouds. They were shaken but Jimmy closed his eyes and saw as they dropped through the cloud layer that the valley was unchanged from his dream. He shouted over the noise of the rotors, “Take us out of the valley toward France.”

  The helicopter rose quickly and then banked towed the west. It moved out of Switzerland and began flying over the flat lands in France. Jimmy closed his eyes as it cleared the top of the surrounding mountains and moved into the lowlands. The land in the foothills appeared just like it did in his dream. There was no change until they started flying over the French country side and he saw houses that were standing in his previous dream were now charred and blown flat. In his original dream, it was falling ashes that killed the population. It now appeared that there was a massive blast that caused the extreme desolation. He kept his eyes closed and after an hour he saw a crater forty miles south of Paris. It was ten miles across and twenty minutes later, he saw the ruins of Paris in the distance ahead of them. The Eiffel Tower was missing and the skyline showed the silhouette of blown out buildings. The shockwave from the impact had obviously played out on the lower mountain slopes but it had devastated the surrounding countries. He knew that the valley was not impacted by the meteor. That was what he had made the flight to know. These changes in his dream confirmed that something was going to happen differently when the shuttles attacked the asteroids. Juan was going to cause a change. “‘Take us back, Alem.”

  The Helicopter banked as Jimmy opened his eyes, looked down, and saw France as it normally appeared. “Dad.”

  “Yes, Rachel.”

  “I’ve seen something.”

  Jimmy turned to her, “What?”

  “When we left the launch pad, I closed my eyes and saw a long line of military vehicles moving on the road that leads toward the valley from the East.”

  “WHAT?”

  “There were so many tanks that I couldn’t count them all and the sky was filled with helicopters.”

  “What did the landscape look like, Rachel?”

  Rachel closed her eyes, “There is a very large black cloud rising thousands of feet over the horizon far behind them and there are a lot of ashes on the road they’re traveling.”

  “Is the ash still falling?”

  Rachel nodded, “It’s falling but not in huge amounts.”

  Jimmy’s eyes narrowed and he stared at the floor, “What are you thinking, Daddy?”

  Jimmy looked at Rachel and Summer, “A large meteor hit near Paris and that wasn’t in my original dream. It appears that one of the Asteroids, or more, have been broken up into smaller fragments.” He saw Summer’s fear and put his hand on her arm, “The valley is not affected. That’s what I came out here to confirm. However, I believe that Rachel’s dream takes place quickly after the major impacts, if there are any.”

  Jimmy was silent for a few moments and then started shaking his head, “The one that hit in the US that caused Yellowstone to erupt has to take place or the ashes wouldn’t be covering the road. Looking at the time the prevailing winds would take to blow the ash cloud here, that convoy must be coming within two weeks after the impact in America. Some ashes would have fallen but the real ash clouds would still be a couple of weeks out. I know for certain that if an asteroid was broken up, it wasn’t the one that hits the United States.”

  “Why are they coming here?” Rachel asked.

  “They suspect that our facility is a place they can survive. They intend to remove us from it.”

  “Is there anything we can do?!” Summer asked.

  Jimmy activated his ear-link, “Suzette, I need you and Patrick in my office immediately. Bring a printout on the areas around the valley that our defenses currently cover.”

  “Is something wrong?”

  “Just do it, Suzette!”

  • • •

  They arrived back in the control center and Jimmy went to his computer and began pressing keys. Suzette and Patrick were already there and watched him rush in and go to his console. Suzette looked at Summer, “What’s going on?”

  “We’re going to be attacked by a large military convoy soon after the impacts.”

  Jimmy pulled up a satellite view of the land over the eastern mountain and pulled the view in closer. He centered the road that entered the valley from the east and looked at Suzette, “Is that road protected by our defenses against anything that moves toward us on it?”

  Suzette and Patrick laid out a map of the area covered by each cannon and began using a red marker to insert the coverage on the map Jimmy printed. After ten minutes, Jimmy stared at their map. He looked at them and said, “Our coverage is lacking. The hills block the cannons where the road enters that cutout ravine. We need another rail-cannon installed directly above the launch pads.”

  “We don’t have n
early enough time to make that happen, Jimmy!” Patrick replied.”

  “Why not?”

  “The tunnel to it would have to be dug to the top of the mountain above the launch pads and the wiring run more than five miles to the fire-control center. It took more than two years to build each of the existing bunkers and I doubt we have six months before the impacts.”

  Jimmy stared at the map in frustration and Rachel said, “Why not build one in one of the launch pad hangars?” Everyone looked at her and she shrugged.

  “That doesn’t answer the question of getting the wiring run in time,” Suzette said.

  “Make them where they can be operated manually or wireless.” Rachel suggested.

  “What?”

  “I’ve been wondering why you’ve been using wires to operate them. Wireless technology is probably just as fast since the distance between the hangar and the fire-control center is just a couple of miles. You could use magnetic fields and there would be no interference. The Cannons have a lock on targeting system and the degree of accuracy would only be affected by less than a foot.”

  Jimmy looked at them, “Can a rail-cannon be installed in a hangar in time and can you build the wireless controls.”

  Suzette shrugged, “I’m sure we can get the cannon built and installed in less than five months but the wireless controls are beyond my expertise.”

  Jimmy saw Patrick shaking his head and Rachel said, “I can build the wireless controls and set up a computer that operates the cannon in the fire-control center.”

  Jimmy stared at her and smiled, “Honey, you never cease to amaze me.” He looked at Suzette and Patrick, “Get moving.”

  Rachel said, “Uh, may I make one more suggestion.”

  “What is that, Honey.”

  “You can install a laser cannon in the roof of the hangar and have the turret hanging from the ceiling above the rail-cannon. They can both be slaved to the same fire controls and one person can operate them both. If they’re coming in with aircraft, the lasers are much more effective against them than the rail-cannons.” They stared at her and she smiled, “The laser can also be operated wirelessly.”

  Summer hugged Rachel and kissed her on top of her head. “Aww, Mom!”

  “Get used to it, Rachel. I’ll be kissing you on top of your head until the day you’re taller than me. At that point I’ll stand on a chair to do it.” Rachel giggled and hugged Summer.

  Jimmy said, “The three of you get moving!”

  Suzette looked at Rachel, “You will have to be the lead on this project.”

  Rachel nodded, “Get the cannons installed and leave the junction boxes on the controls open.”

  Jimmy looked at them, “If there’s time, I want a duplicate cannon installed on the other mountain in a hangar covering the road from the west.”

  “Will someone be attacking us from there?” Suzette asked.

  “I don’t know but I’d rather be safe than sorry. Rachel, I need you to come down and see if you can identify the type of tanks you saw in your dream.”

  I’ve already looked it up on my cellphone on the flight out. It’s a German Leopard Tank; it’s the German Army’s Main Battle Tank.”

  Jimmy activated his link, “Mom, go and find the German Project Managers and find out if all of the members of their teams arrived here.”

  “I’ll get on it.”

  Jimmy and Summer went to the cart and flew across the valley to the main facility. They walked to the Control Center and saw Candice walking down the hall toward them with Ayet holding one of her hands and a tall man was holding Ayet’s other hand, “Jimmy, this is Klaus Rubenstad. Tell Jimmy what you just told me,” Candice said.

  “One member of my team did not show up for recovery. I’ve attempted to contact him on his link without success.”

  “Do you have his link-frequency?”

  “Yes, it’s 10A59E780,”

  Jimmy loaded the frequency into the computer and saw that the link was still live but it wasn’t being answered. Jimmy huffed and said very deliberately, “I would highly recommend that you not approach our property.” He pressed a button and severed the link from the system. He turned to the German, “It looks like you had a government agent in your team, Klaus.”

  “He was always asking questions.”

  “What does he know about our facility?”

  “Nothing but he does know that we were coming here to survive what’s coming.”

  “That would do it!” Jimmy replied.

  “What’s he going to do.”

  “I believe he will be coming with a German Armored Brigade or Division to take possession of our peaceful valley.”

  Klaus’ face turned red, “Is there anything we can do to stop them?”

  Jimmy shrugged, “Stop being peaceful. You need to get your group organized to get the hydroponics started. We’re going to need those gardens and they should be your priority; we have others assigned to defend the community.”

  “I was in the Army twenty years ago.”

  “If it comes down to it, all of us might be in the army rather quickly. But let’s see what we’re up against first. We have about eleven months before impact to prepare.” He pressed a button and said, “Kellie, I need you and Alponso to come meet me in the control room.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “We’re going to have uninvited guests showing up soon after the impacts with an armored column. They’ll be coming in on the eastern-road and I need you to come up with a plan on how to deal with them.”

  “On our way, Sir.”

  Jimmy looked at Candice and Summer, “We’re really fortunate that all of the most powerful nations aren’t showing up to take the valley. I think their being tied up with getting the shuttles ready has prevented them from looking for survival locations.”

  “Are you sure this German Column will be the only one attacking us?”

  “No, but I know they won’t be coming from France, it’s pretty much history. It would take the others too long to get here and their heavy cargo jets won’t operate with the heavy ashes in the atmosphere; it will clog their intakes. I also don’t believe China and Russians know about us.”

  “Is that why you limited the numbers coming from their countries? Summer asked.

  “Yes. Those countries know when a dog barks in the night and keep a very close eye on their scientists. It was too big of a risk to try and move them here.”

  “Jimmy, should I be worried?”

  “Summer, it won’t do any good. We’ve planned to defend the valley and just have to believe we’ll hold on to it.” Summer sighed heavily and nodded.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Colonel Juan Alverez sat in the command chair on the Space Shuttle Endeavor. It was on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center and it was oriented differently from past launches. The shuttle was on the side of the of the Atlas rocket away from where the reporters and news crews were recording the launch. It had taken nine-months to get it ready for launch. The asteroids were only six-weeks out and time was growing short.

  He checked his systems again and looked at his co-pilot, “Missile check?”

  “They’re reading optimum, Sir.”

  Juan nodded and thought back to his briefing a month ago.

  • • •

  General Willingham had them in a secure facility and said, “From this moment forward, you will have no contact with anyone outside of your launch crew. Is that clear?!”

  “YES, SIR!”

  The General stared at them and said, “Our scientists have been able to make a determination of where those three asteroids are going to hit. The center one is going to hit the United States dead center.” The gathered officers felt immediate fear at the announcement and General Willingham continued, “We’ve been forced to take a couse of action we have not revealed to the other two countries assisting us.” He paused and said, “We have worked around the clock in a mad rush and have been able to make three special missiles th
at only your shuttle will have on board.”

  “Is that why we’ve waited until the last minute to launch, Sir?” Mellie asked.

  “Lt. Green, it took every minute we’ve taken just to get the three shuttles operational. We’ll only have one opportunity to make this work.

  “What kind of missiles are we carrying, Sir?” Juan asked.

  “They will have small thrusters built into them that will allow a tracking system to steer them to their target. They will be attached to the outer hull of Endeavor and colored to match the color of Endeavor’s hull. We are hoping that the steam rising from the frozen liquid fuel will prevent them from being seen. The rocket will be oriented so the shuttle is toward the ocean and we will prevent any air traffic over the ocean. They will be close to the Atlas’s hull so they should go unnoticed.”

  “What’s going on, Sir?” Juan asked.

  “We believe the shuttles will come under attack by an alien space ship and this is the only way we can attempt to stop the asteroid headed toward the US.” The Crew all looked at each other and the General said to Juan, “You don’t look surprised by this.”

  “I’ve been wondering just how three asteroids spaced exactly in a straight line could possibly happen. Aliens causing this doesn’t sound all that implausible, Sir.”

  “We’re announcing over the news channels that you will be launching forty miles from the asteroids. You will launch the three space-missiles eighty miles out.”

  “Will we have time to get out of the blast radius, Sir?” Captain Wisecup asked.

  “God only knows, Captain. I’d suggest going vertical at full power once you launch the missiles. Col. Alverez, evasion will be your responsibility.” The General paused and said, “All of you were chosen because you are single and said you have no attachments. I don’t want you to think this is a suicide mission but, if it’s not, it’s the closest I’ve ever seen to one. If any of you want out, now is the time to tell me.” No one spoke and the General said, “I respect you for your courage and I wish there was some way to avoid sending you on this mission.”