“Your task now will be to realize the threat to your continued existence and the need to present a united effort to prepare yourselves. The guardian can and will help, but he or she cannot assure success without your full cooperation and united effort. If, as we have seen before, you continue to fight among yourselves, neither the guardian nor any amount of our technology or knowledge will help you. In fact, we will not help any single faction over another. You must organize and unite before you can hope to survive.
“Should you take up the mantle of a united people, don’t expect to be ushered into a new technological world immediately. It will take some time for your knowledge and development processes to grow at a pace that promises success. The guardian will assist with a pace that will yield the best results in the shortest time.
“We wish you success in your growth and hope that you will prepare to meet the threat that awaits. If we are all fortunate, we will have a safe and secure home and future. Thank you.”
And the message repeated as the ships continued to circle the Earth.
Stan and Danny were flying CS1, with Paul and Jan in CS2 trailing them.
“Here we are over Washington, DC. Danny, see anybody you know?” Stan joked.
“I know two really nice ladies there. Want to meet them?”
“I don’t think now’s the time. And let’s make sure we don’t violate the White House flight space. No sense getting everybody too excited.”
“True, true. Besides, before we turn west, we’re supposed to fly up the East Coast to New York—oh boy!”
“What is it?”
“We have company, or at least we will in a few minutes. Fast movers. Looks like they’re coming up from New Jersey, maybe Atlantic City.”
“Probably National Guard F16s from the 177th,” replied Stan. “How many?”
“Looks like two flights of two, and they’re really moving.”
“OK. Leave the stealth off. Our mission is to be peacefully seen and to broadcast the Host message. Make sure shields are up, and ensure Paul and Jan are set up the same. Have them close up.”
“Roger, calling them now,” said Danny as he started talking to CS2.
“Unidentified aircraft, this is Devil One on Guard with a flight of four F16s. You are in unauthorized air space and are directed to follow me to a landing, over.”
“What do you want to do, Stan?”
“Switch me to Guard freq.”
“Done. You’re up,” responded Danny.
“Devil One, this is CS1 with a flight of two. We are on a peaceful mission, as universal broadcasts have indicated. We cannot deviate from our flight plan and will be leaving your zone shortly.”
“CS1, Devil One. Comply or we will open fire.”
“Devil One, wish you wouldn’t, but do what you have to do,” said Stan calmly.
With that exchange, bright red tracers crossed the nose of the CS1 and 2.
“There are the warning shots, Stan,” Danny said.
“Yep, they’ll fire missiles in a minute when we don’t comply with their orders.”
“CS1, Devil One. That was your first and last warning. Turn right 90 degrees and descend to five thousand feet. Follow me to a landing.”
“No can do, Devil One,” said Stan.
No sooner had Stan mouthed these words than missiles flew from two of the pursuing F16s.
But nothing happened. The two missiles exploded harmlessly a quarter of a mile before reaching the target. The combat shuttle shields were working well.
Again, the jets fired missiles at the CS1 and 2, but again they failed.
“Those guys are getting frustrated, Stan,” Danny said jokingly.
“Yep, I would too. They’ll try guns next before they decide to give up.”
And Stan was right again. Bright red traces flashed from the lead two fighters, but again to no avail. Then the firing stopped and two of the four pursuers broke off and disappeared into the distance behind the two shuttles.
“Looks like two went RTB and the other two are trailing to observe,” Danny said as he strained to get a look behind the CS1.
“They’ll follow until they’re relieved. I expect that we’ll have company all across the country,” Stan replied.
And so it went across the United States. CS1 and 2 proceeded west toward California and Hawaii with a series of escorts until they were again in international air space.
The Aurora’s trip was similar. Interceptors of various nations threatened the old Host corvette and fired all their weapons at the relatively big ship. To no avail. Aurora just kept moving east without firing a shot. Until, however, they reached China.
The Chinese were still upset at the loss of the Chang’e 5 and 6 as well as Fan Lau and most of the people lost at Jiuquan. In their minds, the Aurora was responsible. They also knew that conventional weapons did not seem to work on the spaceship and planned accordingly.
Unknown to most Western weapons experts, the Chinese had adapted the HQ-16 Hongqi surface-to-air missile with a nuclear proximity warhead. And they were waiting for the Aurora with two of them.
“Contact!” said Ross Taylor. “Missile launch.”
“Where and what, Ross?”
“From Nagchu in Tibet, Commander. It’s a Chinese nuclear missile base.”
“They’re firing a ballistic missile at us?”
“Nope. It’s much smaller and faster. But it does have a nuclear signature,” said Ross with concern.
“Harry, will our shields hold against a nuclear detonation?” asked Van with alarm.
“In space, yes, Commander. But not in the planet’s atmosphere.”
“Wonderful. Pitch us up and accelerate. We can outrun it, can’t we?”
“This is a fast missile, Commander. We may not have time.”
“How much time do we have?”
“I calculate three minutes to impact, Commander.”
“Oh good. All the time in the world. Weapons range for lasers, Ross?”
“Lasers spinning up now. We’ll be ready and in effective range in two minutes, Commander.”
“No pressure, Ross. Fire when you have the range and are locked on.”
“Second contact! Another missile. Same type and location. Dorsal laser doesn’t have line of sight,” Ross said as he busied himself at his console. After a moment: “Ventral laser firing! Hit! Missile one, down. Oops!”
“‘Oops’? What’s ‘oops’?” asked Van.
“Ventral laser failed, Commander. Missile two still inbound.”
“Harry, roll ship! Bring our dorsal laser to bear…. now!” exclaimed Van.
“Rolling ship, Commander. Laser will be clear in thirty seconds.”
“That’s tight, Harry! Ross, status?”
“No sweat, boss. Wouldn’t want this to be too easy, would you?” he said with a big smile, then fired. “Hit!”
The ship rocked and bucked as the missile detonated short of its target.
By this time, Brice was on the bridge and had just regained his breath and footing after running from the armory to see what was happening. “You going to let them get away with that?” he asked.
“What?” asked Van, distracted.
“You can’t let them get away with that or they won’t have the respect necessary to join up with anybody. Unification would be in danger,” said Brice.
“I guess you’re right. Harry, how many of their missile sites do you have on sensors?”
“Twenty, Commander.”
“Hmm, you and Ross target half of them and open fire when you have a solution.”
“Why only half?” asked Brice.
“If we take them all out, other countries might try and take advantage. We have to leave them some defense,” said Van.
“Makes sense,” said Brice.
“Put the targets on the forward screens, Harry.”
“They are up, Commander,” said Harry as twenty red dots appeared across the representation of China’s territory.
“Targets selected and locked on,” said Ross as red circles appeared around ten of the twenty red dots. “Firing now.”
The hum of laser discharges reverberated throughout the ship. Slowly but with steady certainty, the circled red dots disappeared one by one from the overhead screens.
“Firing completed. All targets destroyed,” said Ross with great satisfaction.
From his standing position next to Van’s chair, Brice asked, “Now what?”
“Now we pick up the two shuttles and go back to the Moon base and then to Site R.”
But he was still full of despair and guilt at the missile he could not stop when this all began. Nearly two hundred thousand people dead! Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever be responsible for something like that. Why couldn’t I have just built my cabin and lived in peace and quiet?
But there’s no turning back.
CHAPTER 40
One night later at midnight Arizona time, the Enterprise and the Truman approached Site R. Van and Harry were at the controls of the Enterprise, with Brice, Ross, Jimmy, and Bobby suited up and ready for security duty. Stan and Danny remained at Moon base, and Paul and Jan piloted the Truman. Passengers in the Truman included Dick, Barbara, and Rose, the latter two still not enjoying each other’s presence.
“Harry, I’m not getting any response from Site R. How about you?” asked Van as they made their final approach to the site.
“No signals, Commander. But infrared sensors suggest both flight deck doors are open.”
“That would be extraordinarily good luck. Do you think Meier failed to close them when he left?”
“Very likely, Commander. He was probably using all his strength just to fly the B2. Nothing else likely mattered.”
“I have a visual now,” Van said, “and you’re right. The doors are open and the lights are on. And, with luck, nobody will be home!” He slowly eased the Enterprise down to the deck of Level 1.
After the uneventful landings, everyone from both shuttles took the elevator to Level 2 and entered the Ops Center. There was no sign of Meier and no Chad computer.
“Where’s the Chad computer, Harry?” asked Van.
“Unknown, Commander.”
“Can you restore control to us?”
“I believe so, Commander. It may take a few minutes.”
It took five minutes before Harry announced, “We again have control, Commander. I closed the Level 1 doors. We are secure.”
“Finally! Relax, everyone, and take a seat wherever you want. There are drinks in the fridge in the corner if you want something,” said Van. “Dick, what’s your assessment of the unification efforts we tried to start?”
“Before I comment, Barbara has some information she prepared as we were watching everything from Moon base. Barbara?”
Barbara rose to address the group, making an effort not to look at Van. “Thanks, Dick. As you all likely know, the Chinese lost their two working spacecraft and their base, Fan Lau. They may have more ships in production, but as of now, they are out of the race. The Russians lost Tycho base to the Chinese, but they retain the Pitchka and have a new operational Passaro III–class ship in their inventory, the Oryol. They are in the race.
“The Indians have purchased a number of Passaro III–class ships. They are definitely in the race, too, but it will take some time. The US has the Atlantis completed but untested. They are just in the race.
“The country with the greatest potential is Brazil. They currently are the number one producers of spacecraft in the world. The Japanese and the French are buying ships from Brazil but so far have nothing operational.
“In terms of geopolitics, the world is presently in a state of confusion. The UN has no idea what to do. NATO is not a player. In fact, all the traditional major powers are unable to step forth and take control or provide leadership.”
“Thanks, Barbara. A short and disturbing summary. It appears unlikely that the disjointed world leaders are going to solve this soon. I think we may have to intervene,” said Dick.
All heads quickly looked up, surprised to hear what Dick had just said.
“Say that again,” said Brice.
“I said, I think we are going to have to intervene.”
“I’m afraid to ask, Dick, but what does that mean?” asked Van suspiciously.
“You have to go public as the guardian,” said Dick.
“You’re kidding, aren’t you?” asked Van after he regained his composure.
“No. I’m quite serious. Recall that in his message to Earth, Admiral Spector singled out the guardian as the Host’s choice to help humans to advance and survive. Whether you fully realize it or not, Van, you are the guardian he was talking about. They are expecting to hear from you.”
“He is right, Commander. You are the guardian,” said Harry.
Van suddenly realized the realities associated with his agreements with Harry and the Host. Me, the guardian of Earth and humans everywhere? No, this goes way past what Harry and I talked about.
“No way!” Van blurted out, partly as a response to his own thoughts.
Everyone went silent.
Dick was first to speak. “You are, Van, whether you like it or not.”
“Well I don’t like it. I visualized working behind the scenes, not in front of everyone in the world.”
“Situations change, and we all have to change with them. In truth, there is nobody or anything else that can help as much as you right now,” Dick said.
Change indeed, thought Van. There has been nothing but change since Harry and the Host entered my life. Change and death. Two hundred thousand killed in the blink of an eye because of my decisions. And if I thought it was tough to address seventy-five unknown people, what will it be like to address billions?
Then Rose took his hand and spoke. “I agree with Dick and Harry. You are needed. Not just by your friends here, but by everyone everywhere. There is nobody else.”
Somehow, Rose’s words made a difference. They calmed him. The future didn’t seem quite as bleak, especially with her around.
“OK, maybe I am a guardian of sorts. And maybe I was foolish not to think a stronger hand would be needed or that I might be the one. As I said, I just thought I could do what was necessary behind the scenes. Guess not at this point, however. Clearly I could use some help here. Any ideas?”
“I believe we need to propose a new type of world government not based on the UN template. Call it the Earth Federation, if you like, with a president and perhaps a senate made up of a single representative from each country, and with the president elected by the senate for a term of office yet to be determined,” said Dick.
“Interesting concept. But why not have the guardian act as the chief executive and run for as long as he deems necessary?” said Brice.
Van shuddered at the thought. But he was rescued by Dick.
“If I understand the intent of the Host, the guardian is intended to help with the construction of a new government if necessary, but not take an active role. He may make strong suggestions and will likely control the rate of technology flow. He will also likely be the resolver of disputes as well as a strong moral guide. Early on he will also likely have control of the major space forces, and with the help of a responsible federation space minister, for example, shape the federation forces of the future.”
Starting to warm to the whole idea, Van added, “I think I like the concept of an Earth Federation with a president and a senate, but I don’t see the guardian as being the president. If I’m to do this, I see myself assisted by a strong, experienced deputy like you, Dick, for the formation of the federation, perhaps with some of the US Constitution thrown in. I will want to have control of the early space forces, but I do approve of something like a federation space minister to train and form the forces of the future. Furthermore, I think that man is Gen. Dimitry Anikin, based on how I saw him perform in this crisis.”
Van was on a roll. “Perhaps several of you, inc
luding Harry, could refine these thoughts and make a proposal in the next day or so. Questions or comments? No? Then let’s get going. Oh, one more thing. We may provide access to the Moon base for construction and other projects. But for the time being, Mars base will be secret and off limits to everyone but us.”
“Before everyone goes, I do have a suggestion,” said Rose. “We need uniforms, perhaps like the gray ones used by the Host. I suggest that we either fabricate some or send a ship to Mars base and pick some up. We do want to look professional, don’t we?”
But few people paid attention to her as they left the room…. except for Van.
“I think you’re right, Rose. Good idea. I’ll have Harry fabricate a few and later send one of the combat shuttles to Mars base to pick up some uniforms and anything else we need.”
“Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. This is Allison Cooper with the latest news. As a follow-up to the recent stunning revelation that we are not alone in the universe, I have with me from Houston the NASA director of operations, Mr. Fred Reynolds. Mr. Reynolds….”
Allison Cooper’s transmission and, indeed, all transmissions around the world, were cut off. In their place was the image of a seated man in a well-tailored gray uniform with no badges or markings. He had dark brown hair with gray at the temples, green eyes, and was about forty years of age. His head also was slightly larger than normal.
“Good evening,” said the man with a smile. Later it would be noted that every country heard him in their native language. “Earlier this week you were addressed by Admiral Spector of the Galactic Host. The admiral represents a race that was all but destroyed by an aggressive alien race known as the Arkon. Before their defeat, the Host seeded Earth with technology and information that will help us prepare for and defeat the Arkon when they come. The Arkon have arrived earlier than anticipated. It was only a scout ship that arrived here, and it was defeated thanks to the forethought of the Host. However, we don’t know if the scout ship was able to get a message away to their home system. But even if they did not, that ship will be missed at some point and others will come looking for it.
Immortal Guardian: Hoast Saga Book 2 (Host Saga) Page 27