Alpha Class [Book 2]

by TS Paul

  Director Bigham looked away as the engine explosion claimed two victims. He could still hear their screams but only in his mind. His obligation to Majestic was fulfilled, his own family and life were still secure.

  But he didn’t like it.

  “Send the ‘Buck Rogers’ room back underground and re-stage this room. Make the tests appear to be real and call the investigation team. Notify them that we have had an accident involving a General officer.” The director looked at his three workers.

  What a waste.

  ~~~~~~

  “ADAM, did you get in?” Gin spoke into the air as she typed.

  >>Yes. We now have our first connection into Area 51. Use my link to get in. I want all databases drained and then purged of any information concerning TQB or our Queen. Track down all Majestic leads.<<

  “OK. Understood. We’ll get it done.” Amber looked at her sister for instruction. Teamwork was the way to go here. It was a shame about the General, but he wanted to shoot down the Empire's people. The very same people that saved both sisters from a fate worse than death. They owed everything to ADAM and the Queen he protected.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The President of the United States was happy. His ratings were high, job loss was low, and the stock market was stable. Much of the trouble and turmoil that woman and TQB had caused was finally settling down. Now if they could just stop the pods from flying around into US airspace. The technology would be nice to have too. He smiled at the thought of having that and leaving his mark on space.

  Big business had nothing on the power a President has. Even though this was a 24/7 job, he was able to take time and still squeeze a nap in now and then. It was only the shouting of the lawn service workers that woke him up. They were normally so quiet. He pulled the curtains to see what the dang commotion was all about and froze.

  “How dare they! This is the last straw!” The sight of the President in his pajamas was not an unusual sight for the Secret Service. That sight, though, at two o’clock in the afternoon in the Oval Office was a surprise.

  “Call the Army! Call the Air Force! Get General Vlákas in here and shoot them down!” The ruddy-faced President was shouting into his phone. If anyone was hopping mad, it was this man.

  Tyonna Knowles, the president’s Chief of Staff responded immediately. “Sir! Mr. President, what’s wrong?”

  “We have to shoot them down Ty, they are desecrating our national pride!”

  “Shoot down who?” Tyonna tried to calm her boss.

  “Them!” The president pointed out the window just as the Secretary of Defense ran in.

  “Sir, did you need me to…”

  “Marvin! Good, tell the military to shoot them down right now!” The president grabbed Marvin’s arm and dragged him over to the desk.

  “Sir, shoot who down?” Marvin Munsch stared as his boss and friend handed him a phone.

  Pulling the drapes aside the president pointed toward the Washington Monument. “Are all of you blind or something? Them!”

  Hovering over the tall structure was a monster-sized black pod and one of TQB’s Black Eagles.

  “Oh. Them.”

  ~~~~~~~

  “About a third of you are originally from the United States. How many of the rest of you know what the Washington Monument is?” Jeo looked into the camera.

  Everyone, but Maxim raised their hands. Ron turned toward his big friend. “You don’t?”

  “No. I never studied your former country. We were joining the Queen in space why worry about Earth?”

  “That’s a pretty efficient way of doing things, Maxim. Earth does have a few redeeming qualities. History and architecture for some.” The momentum of the pod slowed at just the right moment positioning them above the structure.

  “Take the Washington Monument. It was built to honor the first American President George Washington. It was to be part of a complex of monuments and buildings honoring the man. Construction was started in 1848 but not completed until 1888. For a span of one year, it was the tallest man-made structure in the world until Eiffel completed the tower.” Geo pointed to it below. The tall two-toned white obelisk stood amidst a circle of flags.

  “Originally it was supposed to be a Parthenon-style building surrounded by statues on columns of the original Declaration of Independence signers. A statue of Washington on a chariot was to be in the front. The obelisk was to be part of the building. That changed when the price for such a thing was tallied. The plan was modified to just the tower and the building. They started construction and in 1854 stopped again when the money ran out. Throughout the Civil War, it stood half completed. It wasn’t until the one-hundred-year anniversary of the United States as a country that government money was committed to the project and it was finished. Does anyone know why its two different colors on the outside?”

  Tina looked closer to the screen. “It is two colors.”

  “Remember what we talked about when it comes to mining and limitations. What happens if we dig out a stone from a mine today and then in ten years dig out another from the same mine?” Jeo had the pod go lower to about halfway down so they could see the color shift.

  “It might be the same mine but is it the same vein of marble?” Nestor pursed his lips and stared at the monitor.

  “Exactly. The depth of the quarry they got the marble from had changed. They were unable to match the color properly. That is one of the drawbacks of taking forty years to build something.” Jeo smiled.

  “What about the rest of the buildings? Do they ever plan to build them?” Maxim asked.

  “I doubt it. The National Park Service is in control of it now. The only thing added in recent times is an elevator and that goofy looking little building. That is a screening booth that allows them to search tourists for bombs.”

  ~~~~~~

  “Mr. President, they aren’t showing up on our radar at all. None of our early warning systems noticed them.” Marvin set down the direct line to the Pentagon.

  “So, it takes the leader of the country to do their job for them? In my pajamas, no less!” The President had put one of his trademarked suits on. His daughter’s company did excellent work.

  “Sorry, Sir. They are sending several aircraft now. Local police have the area blocked off, and the Parks service is evacuating.” The Secretary of Defense was a bit flustered.

  “Can they shoot it down? General Vlákas promised me that we had the capability to do that!” Tyonna paced the floor a cell phone in each hand.

  “Tyonna they can try. The Joint Chiefs are saying short of crashing into the pod they have nothing to penetrate the shielding.” Marvin looked lost. Just before rushing in here he was notified that the General and his aide were killed in an accident at Groom Lake. Calling it Area 51 just made it sound mysterious.

  “Crash into it then. Surely there is a gung-ho pilot that will do that for me? If he’s killed, I will guarantee his family will be taken care of. The act of acquiring the technology this country needs to survive will make him a hero.” The President drew himself up and thrust out his chest.

  Marvin looked at his boss in shock. Suicide attack? “Sir, I will ask for volunteers.”

  “Tell them it’s for the protection of the country, and they will have my personal thanks.” Much calmer now the President asked Tyonna to get the independent press corps in. A photo op was a good idea. It would make him seem more presidential.

  ~~~~~~

  Peter was bored. He had been here before. Washington was not his favorite city. His Wechselbalg senses were thrown off by the buildings and people smells. Too many unwashed people crowded into small places.

  He could remember talking to Nathan Lowell about working in cities. Could he have ever been that young?

  “Excuse me, Sir?” To almost every Wechselbalg in the United States, Nathan was the boogie man. Mothers would tell their young that if they didn’t behave Nathan would come to see them. That was of course until Bethany Anne came into her own.
>
  “Hello, Pete. Behaving yourself here?” Nathan smiled, his white teeth giving Pete the shivers.

  “Yes, Sir. The team has been teaching me how to stand up for myself.”

  “Good. If you are going to be retrained, this team is your best choice. Listen to everything they say. I think you’re smart enough to know this is your only chance at redemption. If She doesn’t kill you, I would have to. You broke the only rule that matters. Now, what’s your question?” Nathan smiled at Pete once again.

  Pete was stunned for a moment. He was aware that death was the punishment but having the executioner tell you himself he would kill you? That was freaking scary. “How do you cope in cities?”

  “Cope? Speak plainly, kid. What do you mean?” Nathan peered down at Pete.

  “How… How do you deal with all the smells and noise? Every time we go to town all I can scent is the humans. Don’t they wash at all?”

  Nathan chuckled. “I understand. You spent too much time in a small farming town. Do you smell the team? Bethany Anne’s guards are human, do they smell?”

  “No. Not really. I mean after workouts or when they’ve been drinking with Bobcat and William I can. But that’s normal.” Pete turned to look at the main house.

  “What you scent is cities. They all smell like that. Like the physical training, you need to train your senses to not take so much in. Block out the common odors and concentrate on things like what guns and explosives smell like. Use your extra senses. Hearing is the same. Block it out. Humans who work in casinos or at the airports grow used to the background noises. If you were to ask someone who works in slots how they can work in all the noise they would most likely say ‘What noise?’ The same goes for you. Listen for what matters. It takes training, kid. Tell the team. They will help you.” Nathan touched Pete’s back as he walked off.

  Peter remembered that conversation like it was yesterday. It was one of the things that put him on the proper track both with the team and within himself. But he still thought most humans smelled funny.

  “Sir, we have inbound aircraft.” The EI controlling Peter’s ship chimed in.

  “Please show me.” A holographic map opened up on the pod’s control panel. Red dots representing the American fighters could be seen converging on the Capitol. It was just like France only worse.

  “EI? Take control of both pods and get us to the alternate location.” Unlike last time Peter barely had time to check his harness restraints before the pod was whisked away.

  ~~~~~

  The American President was still practicing his condolences speech when the two TQB aircraft zipped away from the Monument at speeds that were almost too fast to see. He turned to glare at his Secretary of Defense. “For this I blame you! You should have shot them down when I told you to!”

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  The much larger pod was speeding across the Pacific Ocean at half the speed it was capable of. It and the students within were unharmed from the recent difficulty in Washington, DC.

  “Can anyone guess what our destination is?” Jeo remarked speaking to the Alpha Class members.

  “Are we headed to the Australian base? Ron and I were there after the bad guys kidnapped us a few years ago.”

  With raised eyebrows, Jeo looked to Tina. “You were abducted? For real?”

  “Our entire class was. We were on a field trip and terrorists grabbed our bus. You were out in space, building the Queen’s ship when it happened. They attacked the Colorado base at the same time. Our class kidnapping was a distraction, or at least that’s what my Uncle John told me.” Tina reached over and took Ron’s hand.

  “I would take any statement by John Grimes as the honest truth. He is the Queen’s right hand. Why did you end up in Australia? I would believe that Colorado could’ve taken care of itself.”

  Giving Ron’s hand a squeeze Tina looked at the younger boy and smiled. Looking back at her screen she replied to Jeo. “Michael saved us along with the help of one of the attackers. This big guy named Boris switched sides and attacked the bad guys. With us safe, Michael rushed back to the base and was killed when a tactical nuclear bomb was set off.” A small tear ran down Tina’s face. Michael had been a friend.

  “Boris we know. He is our protector. Without him, all of us would have been killed a long time ago. This story is not something I know.” Yana stared at Tina.

  Boris was a force of nature in her lost homeland.

  “Yana’s right. Boris is why all the Russian kids and their families joined us. He saved many people. After the base attack, the government tried to move in, and Colorado wasn’t safe for us anymore. My mother took my brother and me to the underground base in Australia.” Tina reached over the seat and patted Maxim on his shoulder.

  Jeo looked surprised. Even out in the asteroid belt, he had heard parts of this story before. It amazed him these kids talked about it so calmly. “Sorry to disappoint you but we aren’t going to Australia. Anyone else care to hazard a guess?”

  “Romania.”

  “I’m sorry Ron. Did you say Romania? It’s in the opposite direction, but we could be taking a long way around. Why would we go there?” Jeo looked at him.

  “It’s where Michael and Stephen came from. TOM too. My dad said that was where TOM’s spaceship landed and stayed for a thousand years.”

  “Interesting. Sorry, Ron. Not Romania though that does sound like an interesting place to visit. I bet they have a lot of wide open spaces that would be a good place for Wechselbalg to hang out.” Jeo smiled.

  “One last guess. Anyone?”

  Yana spoke up. “I would guess Russia, but I know that is the wrong answer. Too much trouble there with our benefactor Boris’s secret war against the state. Too risky for us. China is my second guess, but they hate TQB too much to let us move about freely.”

  “You are right that China is wrong. Even though China surrendered to our Empire after attacking us, they are still trying to steal our technology. That would be a very unsafe place for us. As would Russia. Sorry, Yana. I can’t take you to your homeland.” Jeo’s smile was a sad one.

  “No. Russia isn’t my homeland anymore. My place is here in the new Empire we have sworn to. All of you are my family, and this is my homeland now.” Yana sat forward and motioned to everyone.

  “We have studied both modern and ancient architecture styles. Now we will take a look at one of the biggest things man has ever created, the Great Wall of China.” Jeo smiled.

  “But, you just said we weren’t going to China!” Maxim blurted out.

  “I did. The wall wasn’t built just in China or I should say the China as it exists today. Historically, China was a lot bigger than it is now. The Great Wall that most people are familiar with has only been in existence for a thousand years. There are parts of the wall over two thousand years old.” Jeo pulled up a map on the screen. It showed several colored lines tracing their way across China, Mongolia, Russia, and the Far Eastern section of India.

  Jeo pointed to a bunch of lines around the Northern part of modern China. “This is where the tourists all go. Those parts have been restored and are in the five or six-hundred-year range. The sections way up by Russia are right at a thousand years old.” Pictures flashed on the screen of neat and orderly sections of walls with guard towers and hundreds of tourists.