Godschild Covenant: Return of Nibiru

by Marshall Masters

  A worried look overcame her face. “Antonio, I have really bad vibes about this. This whole affair has been one continuous fur ball of mistakes and I really think you need to show some initiative here. I'm strongly urging you to order this plan into action immediately. Please, for all that we mean to each other, trust me. Between Jarman's rebuke and the disappearance of our operative, something is afoot. Let's not give them any more time to strike if something like that is indeed underway. You need to move the boy now!"

  “No Yvette. I've got to clear this with the Grand Secret Master, himself. I'm already getting heat for allowing Merl Johnston's little revenge op on Chavez. One more slipup and my situation could become tenuous."

  Yvette wanted to scream at him and call him a timid, stupid bastard for being plagued with self-doubt when he was clearly being faced with danger. There was a time when he would have acted instantaneously but now he was afraid of failure, looking over his shoulder at the Inner Council and the Grand Secret Master. Yet, she'd done her best to warn him. There was nothing more she could do. “If this is what you need to do Antonio, then do it as quickly as you can."

  “I will,” he replied nervously. “So how do you propose we move the boy?"

  “Under normal circumstances we would not be pressed for time and planning a covert extraction would be a simple matter. However, given that we're going to actually lose more time because you need approval, I suggest we use Merl Johnston and Danielle Peters for the extraction. They can fly directly to the silo using Johnston's tilt rotor and from there, take the boy to Houston International and fly him straight to Geneva on a UNE scramjet. This way, we avoid the need for clearing immigration and customs in America as well as Switzerland. They can take the European mercenaries with them to Houston. As to the Syrians, I suggest you have them all eliminated. After all, they are the ones who created this grief for us in the first place."

  De Bono considered the plan. Using Johnston and Peters for a risky extraction like this was not his first choice. Johnston had proved himself unpredictable in difficult situations, more because of lack of training than because of willingness. But then again, any other solution would mean involving someone new, and too many people knew about the situation as it was. His instincts told him that Yvette was right on the money about everything, especially the part about showing the initiative to move the boy without waiting for the Grand Secret Master's approval. If Johnston hadn't put him on the hot seat, he probably would feel strong enough in his position to risk something sudden with such an important project, but not now. Yes, he had to move fast, as fast as caution would allow.

  “Let's do this,” he finally said. “I want you to get things organized with Danielle using your plan. As soon as I get the go-ahead, I'll contact you and then let's get this done as quickly as possible."

  “How soon will that be?” she asked urgently.

  “As soon as possible,” he sighed. He now felt uncomfortable under the weight of her troubled stare. It was now apparent to him that each time he'd overstepped his bounds; she had rightly called him on it. Now, he was ignoring her urgent plea for action and wondered if he was repeating the same mistake again. The conversation had become uncomfortable for him as her gaze now painfully reminded him of his own hesitancy and self-doubt. “Look, I'm bushed. I'm going to schedule a personal audience with the Grand Secret Master. That shouldn't take more than a day at most. Besides, you need to get a scramjet to Houston."

  “I'll handle that right now and get everything else ready in the meantime,” she agreed reluctantly. “You look tired. Go take a long hot soak and get some sleep."

  He nodded with a sigh, “sounds like the thing to do. I'll speak with you tomorrow. Good night dear."

  “Sweet dreams Antonio,” Yvette replied as his connection closed.

  She stood there watching the blank HUD in her security dome for at least ten minutes as she gathered the will to commit herself to a dark and dangerous future. Finally, she keyed the IP address Puhl had given her that afternoon in the shop and used a finger to deftly move the folder she'd prepared into the connection folder. “Don't let them beat us to the punch Antonio,” she sighed as the silo data folder disappeared.

  * * * *

  PAVEL LEBEDEV WAS met at the river entrance to the Pentagon by the somber captain of a four-man security team. He presented his credentials to the captain.

  “Your papers are in order, Sir,” the captain acknowledged. “If you gentlemen will kindly follow us, we will escort you to your meeting room."

  “Thank you, Captain,” Lebedev replied politely.

  The captain turned on his heels and led the three men through the C-ring, followed by his security team, to an unmarked elevator. They stood quietly in the elevator as it carried them down to the second level basement floor. After walking a good distance through the windowless hallway, they stopped at manned checkpoint where the captain handed their papers to a young lieutenant with beady eyes. The lieutenant carefully examined the credentials and placed his hand on a bioscan pad. The door behind him opened, and he gestured to Lebedev, “Your security people will need to remain out here in the hall with me sir. Please step through the door."

  Lebedev nodded to his own security people to do as the lieutenant instructed and stepped through the doorway. He passed through a series of security beams, and then entered a large, dark room with another plastic, soundproof room within it.

  Entering the inner room, Lebedev immediately recognized Major General George Hennicker of the US Space Command. He had spent a good deal of time with the burly two-star general during his last visit and had built a reasonably good rapport with him. The other man, an Army major unfamiliar to him, was sitting next to Jeffrey LeBlanc. The two of them stood to show him their respect.

  “Please take a seat, gentlemen,” the general instructed everyone in the room. “Center Director Lebedev, you are, of course, well familiar with Jeffrey LeBlanc, here, so let me introduce the man to my right, Colonel Arthur Jones of the National Reconnaissance Office. No man in this room knows Anthony Jarman better than he does. For your information, Anthony Jarman and the staff at the Los Gatos Triage Center know him by his alias, Master Sergeant Vigo Jones."

  “Then what shall we call you, Major?” Lebedev asked with a calm smile.

  “Call me Vigo, sir."

  “Very well, Vigo. I, of course, am Pavel Sergeevich Lebedev, Director of the New Obninsk Centre outside of Moscow, Russia."

  He glanced at LeBlanc, “It is good to see you again, Jeffrey. I trust your trip to California was rewarding."

  “Beyond our wildest dreams, Pavel,” LeBlanc replied.

  Lebedev smiled at him and continued. “General, my compliments to you for arranging this meeting so quickly. Even though we only met a week ago, I'm most gratified by your personal attention to this matter."

  “You're welcome Director Lebedev. After your call, I ordered Vigo to return to Washington. Our CIA has just provided me with updated information on the missile silo in Fort Hood. Have you had a chance to review the new data?"

  “Yes, General. I read it on the way in this morning. I presume you have read our briefing papers, as well?"

  “We have, and were quite impressed with the Mossad offer, as well. We've also confirmed the identities of the four Euro mercs De Bono hired; their profiles are in the jackets in front of you."

  “Thank you, General. So let us get to the point, gentlemen,” Lebedev noted dryly. “All of us are gathered in this room today because we are trying to save our planet and to ensure our success and long-term survival as a species. As I understand from Jeffrey's latest report, Captain Jarman has already given us a mission-capable quasill, Andrea, with certain precognitive abilities. However, it seems that he is somewhat of a political figure as well, which has brought him into conflict with Secretary General De Bono. De Bono, as we all know is an immensely popular figure worldwide because he has managed to put a stop to all wars on the planet. Yet little do the people of this plan
et know that he has become a power-hungry megalomaniac, just as dangerous as Adolf Hitler was and more cunning, if I may add. General, what are your thoughts?"

  “I'm not going to argue with you there, especially after he authorized the assassination of Senator Connie Chavez. I cannot begin to tell you how pissed off we are about that. Worse yet, this miserable shit is using an American military base to illegally hold Jarman's son, Russell, as a political hostage. Center Director Lebedev, Colonel Jones and I have read your briefing quite thoroughly, and we concur with your intelligence analysis that the boy has suffered a severe head injury and is most likely still in a coma. However, until the matter of this boy is resolved, Jarman has refused to give us any further assistance with developing the precognitive abilities of your quasill. Therefore, time is of the essence in securing the boy's release. However, as members of the UNE we must maintain a position of complete deniability at all costs. Given that they've killed one of our senators and are now using an American military installation that is now under their control, you can imagine that we're just slightly annoyed. If you catch my meaning?"

  “I certainly do, General,” Lebedev said pursing his lips. “And now, we come to the difficult part. If our respective governments become directly involved in a rescue attempt and we fail, the consequences for both our nations would be catastrophic. Do you agree, General?"

  “You can bet your sweet ass, I do. Uh, no disrespect, Director Lebedev."

  “None taken. I too share your dismay that the leaders of our two nations have inadvertently handed over control of our weapons of mass destruction to a man who has simply gone mad with power and who now sees himself as beyond the pale of accountability."

  “So what happens to the boy?” LeBlanc interjected in a cold tone. “Do we let him rot in that missile silo because we're all afraid to take a little heat?"

  Hennicker's eyes bore into him with full fury. “Don't get smart with me, hotshot. Need I remind you that we're in this pickle because your sister disobeyed a direct order and secretly had a child by Jarman?"

  LeBlanc jumped to his feet and slammed the table, “I don't care about those two stars on your shoulder. If you haven't noticed, I'm a civilian, and if you drag my sister's name through the mud because she wanted a gifted child, then you can kiss my civilian ass goodbye!” He spun around, stared angrily at Pavel and jabbed a finger at him, “and I'm talking to you, too!"

  “Everyone,” Lebedev pleaded. “We're all passionate men faced with a terrible dilemma, and bickering will get us nowhere.” He turned to Jeffrey Le-Blanc and said in a stern voice, “Mr. LeBlanc, I would suggest that you read your contract more closely as it is subject to Russian military law. Now please sit down, and let's all take a calmer approach."

  LeBlanc had read his contract, but did not remember any such stipulation and reminded himself to read it again. Nevertheless, for now, he would take Lebedev's cue. “My apologies everyone for having been so rash."

  “We gratefully accept your apology, Jeffrey,” Pavel said diplomatically. “I also want you to know that the purpose of this meeting is not to find political cover for cowardice. The purpose of this meeting is to help rescue Jarman's son so that we can induce him to continue his work with your quasill."

  Vigo spoke up, “If I may, General.” Hennicker nodded. “The situation is more critical now. Regretfully, Jarman's public rebuke of De Bono's offer to receive a medal may have tipped our hand. If De Bono sensed it before, he sure as hell knows for sure now that Jarman suspects him of kidnapping his son. This means that he's pushed De Bono into a corner, which means that he will become even more dangerous than before."

  “This Jarman fellow dug himself into a world of hurt,” Hennicker added. “And he doesn't even know it."

  Pavel raised his hands. “Then, gentlemen, let's all agree that we need to move quickly. Colonel Jones, I presume you have a plan of attack?"

  “Yes Director Lebedev. What we need to do is to convince Jarman to recant his position and agree to go to Washington for the award ceremony. This will give us two advantages. First, it will moderate De Bono's temper and give him a renewed sense of control. Second, it will give Jarman and his team a flight path through Texas that will bring them close enough to Fort Hood to fake an emergency landing for repairs to their radar system. This is a common problem for the C-130J type aircraft I've arranged for this mission."

  “Now, we're getting someplace,” Pavel replied. “General, what about this missile silo they're using to hold the boy?"

  “It is old Titan II silo,” Hennicker replied. “We compared our most recent data with the original schematics and the facility has been extensively enhanced from a security standpoint. Simply put, gentlemen, it would be easier to rob the gold in Fort Knox than to break into this silo. Keeping post security off your back can be arranged, but if there is the slightest hint of trouble before LeBlanc's microbots can neutralize the door motor, De Bono's mercs will shut the place down tighter than a drum. If that happens, it's game over."

  “Don't worry about my end of the mission,” LeBlanc interjected. “I'll get it done.

  Lebedev nodded. “Assuming you do Jeffrey, what about the guards?"

  This time, Vigo picked up the question. “I just finished a recon on the silo. They run in alternative twelve hour shifts with two Euro mercs in the silo at any one time and four Syrians standing guard outside. Two on top of the above ground building with sniper rifles, and another two at the gatehouse. We've noticed that Captain Darkazani prefers to spend his time at the gatehouse, which is a bit more comfortable than his private quarters next to the complex. As for the guard, the off-duty guards sleep in a portable building next to the silo. They never go on base for supplies and are provisioned on a weekly basis. The shift commander at the gatehouse will always have a wireless remote to trigger a lock-down."

  “And what about the Euro mercs inside?” Jeffrey asked.

  “They have remote-controlled cameras on the gate and the surrounding areas. They can lock down the silo from their command post simply by pushing a switch."

  Pavel rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “This is going to be tough. I wish we had more time to plan this out."

  “With all due respect, sir,” Vigo replied. “Taking out the guards above ground is simple. Getting to the Euro mercs inside before they can lock down the silo is a real bugger, but I think Jeffrey has it handled, so the only wildcard is the off duty mercs and the Syrians."

  “Notwithstanding the off duty guards,” Pavel observed. “How do you propose to implant the microbots needed to neutralize the door motors?"

  Jeffrey beamed. “I've got that worked out. I'll use my own people for this part of the mission. All we need to do is hit the outside of the silo with a whisky bottle full of nanobots. I've already worked that out with Boris Berezovsky in Russia. He's sending me a bottle filled with programmable nanobots in an amber suspension liquid that looks just like whiskey. All we need to do is smash the bottle against or near the silo entrance. The nanobots would automatically orient themselves and infiltrate the structure. After that, it shouldn't take more than twenty-four hours at the most for them to deactivate the lock-down devices. Once we've done that, there is nothing to stop Vigo and a team from entering the silo, provided they can deal with the guards."

  “What about the Euro mercs in side the bunker,” Vigo asked. “Those are tight spaces, and those tricky bastards will be tough to flush out. Can you help us with that as well?"

  “Oh, that's no problem,” LeBlanc replied. “We've been working with a new class of sensorbots. I can provide you with a headset so that you can see where everyone is through the sensorbot transmitters. Granted, the images will be blurred and not quite lifelike, but I'm sure they'll be quite adequate for your purposes."

  “Now, we've got a good fighting chance,” Vigo gleamed. “Now all we have to do is to take out the above ground guards and Euro mercs."

  Pavel rocked back in his chair and smiled. “Gentlemen, I believe this b
rings us to the remaining element of this plan—namely, the offer of the Israeli Mossad to help with this operation. They want Captain Darkazani alive and they've offered the services of one of their crack teams for this mission. I know your National Security Advisor has already objected to this in the strongest terms, but I think you should reconsider."

  General Hennicker smiled. “I've been working on that. Yeah, the NSA had kittens when he first heard about this and he's been scratching around like a cat full of fleas, but I've spoken personally with both the President and the Vice-President about this. While they have to listen to the NSA out of respect, the fact is that the President worked his backside off to help Connie Chavez get elected, and she and the Vice-President used to be golfing buddies to boot. Short of dragging a UNE member state into this as an official member of the rescue mission, using the Israelis makes sense. Besides, they'll do it right. After we conclude this meeting, I'll report our plans directly to the President himself for his final approval. In the meantime, I think it would be reasonable for us to assume that the mission is a go."

  LeBlanc smiled from ear-to-ear. “Now, we're talking! Just give me the word and I'm on my way."

  Pavel nodded his head slowly and coughed. “Gentleman, there is one issue of personal concern to me. This is going to be a dangerous mission, and both Anthony Jarman and Mr. LeBlanc, here, are critical to the long-term success of our project. Granted, we already have a quasill that is sufficient to control the rubblization of Shiva, provided we can actually build the space-based components of the system in time, which is another problem that is equally pressing at this time."

  “At this point, how are they critical?” Hennicker asked.

  “Let's think ahead,” Pavel replied. “Right now we're just focused on destroying Shiva but the possibility may now exist that we can direct Shiva into a benign orbit without destroying it. If we can do that, then we will have enough readily accessible metal there in space to build scores of space arks, space ships and stations. But that means further advances are required with LeBlanc's quasill, a feat that can only be achieved in time through a joint effort between Jarman and LeBlanc.” He looked at LeBlanc, “Jeffrey, if you and Anthony Jarman are killed in the course of attempting this rescue, the loss will be unimaginable. I'm quite confident that Colonel Jones, here and the Mossad team are quite capable of succeeding in this mission without you or Jarman having to risk your lives."