Cadets

by Edward Miller

  “You’re a pig,” said Amanda. She smiled. “A smart one, but a pig.”

  “Wanna roll in the mud?” said Tanner.

  “That’s great news, really,” she said, ignoring his comment. “Hopefully we’ll be able to put together a working model soon enough.” She went to the computer and called Paul over. “I’ve reworked the numbers, and I have it all on file for you to look at.”

  Amanda watched nervously as Paul stared at the screen scanning the data.

  “I don’t get it,” said Paul. “You’re taking the engine to overload. We’ll blow to smithereens. I hope that’s not your plan.”

  “Not overload,” said Amanda. “Actually a tenth of a second before overload.”

  Paul looked dumbfounded. Tanner said to Ryan, “And you say I’ve lost my mind?”

  “Wait,” said Amanda. You haven’t heard the rest.”

  “Oh, you mean the part where our ashes get scattered all over the place?” said Tanner. “You can skip that part.”

  “How are we going to trigger anything at a tenth of a second?” said Paul.

  “She wants to strap a Rolex to the controls,” said Tanner.

  Amanda was getting impatient and just stood there silent.

  “Guys,” said Ryan. “Let’s hear the rest.” Amanda was surprised, but grateful that Ryan had backed her up.

  “Anyway,” she said, “we can use the ship’s computers to shut down the overload. We can automate the engine shutdown at a tenth of a second, which should allow enough buildup of the particles to be successful.”

  “But the engine will be too hot,” said Paul. “We wouldn’t be able to engage light speed after that. We’d be sitting ducks. Not to mention the engine’s still likely to explode. Don’t you remember our tests during light-speed training last year, when one of the engines was just about to overload and blew up?”

  “That engine did overload,” said Amanda.

  “It was borderline,” said Paul. “But are we really gonna split hairs and take that chance?”

  “Look,” said Amanda, I’ll admit it’s risky. But we can test it. On a more positive note, even without light speed we’ll still have thrusters and sub-light drive and should be able to put enough space between us and the Altarrans until the light-speed engines restart.”

  “Should?” said Tanner. “This sounds like you’re should-ing all over yourself with this one.”

  “We have no other choice,” said Amanda. “Besides, I’ve thought this through. We just have to get the timing perfect.”

  “Ya think?” said Tanner.

  “There’s one other problem,” said Ryan.

  “What’s that?” said Amanda.

  “Even if this works as you planned it, we’re only gonna get one shot off from each of our ships before we have to bug out. Let’s not forget that they outnumber us almost three to one. Even with their shields down, their ships are more powerful than ours. Not to mention, they will return fire, you can bank on that, so we can’t stand there and trade punches with them. We’re gonna have to get our shots off, move out, get our light speed back up before they do, and make multiple runs at them.”

  “So, let me get all this straight,” said Paul. “We run the engines to near explosion; time them to shut down at one tenth of a second; pray to God that they don’t explode; fire our solar flares at the enemy, followed by our weapons; and then crawl away at sub-light speed hoping to get far enough away before their systems go back online. Then . . . we come back and do it all again. Did I get that right?” He took a deep breath.

  “That’s it exactly,” said Amanda.

  Paul stared at her for a few seconds.

  “Works for me,” he said.

  At first she thought he was kidding, but she could see that he was serious.

  “Guys,” said Tanner. “This is a suicide mission. There are so many ways this could go wrong, we’d need a computer just to tally them up.”

  “I don’t see a flood of ideas coming our way,” said Amanda. “Do you have a better idea? Does anyone? Because I’m all ears.”

  “Well then listen to this,” said Tanner. “No! Besides, from what I can see, you’re all legs.”

  Ignoring him, Amanda said, “Seriously, guys, I know this is dangerous, but it will work. I ran the simulation over a hundred times last night.”

  “Listen, Amanda,” said Tanner. “I’m not saying that it won’t work. I’m just saying that it’s dangerous as hell. In a perfect situation, maybe it’s repeatable. But we’re not gonna be in a perfect situation. We’re gonna be in space, under the most grueling circumstances and a lot of pressure. Not to mention an unpredictable enemy. One teensy little mistake and we’re all dead.”

  “And, if we don’t try, everyone on Earth is dead,” said Ryan. Amanda was relieved that someone else had spoken up, as she was starting to doubt herself. “Let’s at least run the test on the actual engine in the test chamber,” he continued. “If it works, we can try it out on the Nimitz. To be safe, we’ll run it via remote testing a few times. If that works, then we’ll try it with a skeleton crew. If we’re all still alive after that, then I say we run with it.”

  Amanda looked at Paul and Tanner. Paul still seemed okay with everything. It was Tanner she was worried about.

  “Okay,” said Tanner. “I’ll go with the majority. Let’s just hope the skeleton crew doesn’t end up as skeletons. And speaking of which,” he said, “who’s gonna be flying this baby?”

  “Oh my God,” said Amanda. “We have to tell Nicole and Jill.”

  Chapter 23

  Search For The Truth

  Admiral Thompson was running out of time and ideas. With less than seven days to go before the Altarrans’ ultimatum expired, he was on his way to visit an abandoned base that was a widely recognized hotbed of extraterrestrial folklore. Along with a staff of twenty clerks and the minister of defense for the United States, Ian Rupert, the admiral was preparing to land at Nevada Base 51, or as it was called in its heyday, Area 51.

  At first glance, there was little to see. The landscape was barren for miles. But what did one expect to see in the middle of the desert? The panoramic view did make Thompson wonder why the military would put a supposedly top secret base in a wide-open place, but then he recalled hearing that the airspace was tightly controlled and the entrance was well hidden. Not to mention, they used to refer to the airspace as Dreamland, as even top-clearance escorted visitors had to wear blindfolds when approaching. Most of the actual base was underground, and allegedly all its contents had been destroyed. At least that was the official line. Apparently, there were also a number of other underground bases here, connected by a secret subway system.

  They came upon what appeared to be two hangars and one large administrative building. They headed for the latter. Thompson was still steaming, and not just because of the weather.

  “You mind telling me,” he said to Rupert, who was sitting across the aisle from him to the left, “why I was never informed that a top secret base—one that was supposedly shut down and cleaned out over a hundred and fifty years ago—could still possibly be holding key information about alien contacts? I mean, I’m only in charge of Earth’s defense fleet. Just putting that out there.”

  “Oh sour grapes, Admiral,” said Rupert. “It’s unbecoming. I would think you’d be above that sort of thing. Nobody has set foot here for well over a century. And why would anyone want to?”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “The problem with you field commanders is you think there’s always something going on over your head. Well, I have news for you. If there’s something you need to know, you’ll know it.”

  “Really?” said Thompson. “What about those two civilizations I found? You remember them? I sent a full report to the government. I provided evidence that both planets were destroyed by unknown weapons unlike anything we’ve ever seen. Wouldn’t that constitute need-to-know? Or maybe that slipped your mind.”

  Rupert gave him a d
ismissive look. “As I recall, there was no proof whatsoever of an alien attack.”

  Thompson looked at his assistant, Ensign Morgan, and she rolled her eyes. “Well it looks like we have one now, doesn’t it?” he said, loud enough for Rupert to hear.

  The plane shifted, and Thompson saw they were making their final descent. It occurred to him that if they didn’t get some answers here, soon everyone on the planet would be making a final descent.

  As the plane touched down, he asked Morgan to coordinate the rest of his team in disembarking from the plane. He left first with Rupert, and they made their way to the main building, a plain white administrative office. The others followed behind.

  When they got there, the building was locked up tighter than a drum, but Rupert had the old access codes and surprisingly—or maybe not surprisingly—they still worked. Rupert pushed the door open and Thompson followed him inside. Ensign Morgan led the others in after them.

  The room was dark, as expected, but Rupert had a handheld floodlight, which he switched on and aimed around toward the bare walls. It was dead empty in there. In the dim light, Thompson could see a door at the far corner of the room.

  “That’s the door to the stairs, according to my map,” said Rupert. “We need to head down to the basement.” His voice echoed in the empty room.

  Thompson followed him through the door and down the stairs. Once there, Rupert placed the floodlight down and unfolded it so that it formed a small floor lamp. It provided dim but adequate lighting for the room. As the rest of the team descended the stairs, it sounded like a herd of elephants.

  Thompson looked around. Even in the muted light, he could see that the basement was completely empty, save for a lot of dust. Not only that, but it appeared to lead to another large room that also looked bare. Rupert picked the lamp back up and they proceeded to the next room.

  The more they walked, the more Thompson realized how vast the base was. The small administrative office upstairs was just a decoy. Underneath, the basement had to be at least two city blocks long, and it was built like a maze. Hallways broke off and went in all different directions, even diagonally sometimes. It would take forever to explore. Hell, at this rate, he wondered if they’d find their way back.

  Thompson was losing patience. “I assume there’s more than a maze full of empty basements here. I mean, if you want to play hide and seek, this is a helluva place to do it. But it’s not like we have all the time in the world.”

  “Admiral,” said Rupert, “do you think I would take you on a wild goose chase?”

  “Do you want me to answer that?”

  “This facility, for your information, held the most precious secrets ever denied. And while most of it has been removed, our records show there were old files left here when they closed it. Many old files.”

  “They must be invisible ones.”

  “Spare me your impatience, Admiral. When you achieve my position, you’ll have full privileges, but for now, let’s just say it’s above your pay grade.”

  Thompson looked back at Morgan and whispered, “God, I hate politicians.”

  She chuckled. “Shush. If he hears you he’ll talk even more.”

  But Rupert wasn’t listening. He had some type of device that resembled a laser pointer. Thompson watched as he pointed it at an electrical outlet on the wall. Within seconds, a portion of the wall opened and a lighted passageway appeared.

  Thompson wasn’t sure if he was impressed or annoyed. “What’s next, the yellow brick road?”

  They made their way down the corridor one by one. After about five minutes, they came to what appeared to be a dead end. This time the minister removed a device that looked like a tuning fork. He hit it against the wall and within seconds, the entire wall had disappeared and a vast room opened up.

  “No wonder they had an economic crisis back then,” said Thompson. “This place had to cost the taxpayers a damn fortune.” The room was filled with boxes upon boxes, piled from floor to ceiling. They had to be at least five rows deep. He turned to Morgan. “Why don’t you pair everyone up into teams and have them start looking through these boxes?”

  “Will do, sir,” she said.

  “Anything referring to an extraterrestrial landing,” he said, “I need it sent to me immediately. From the look of it, it’s going to be a few days at least. See to it that supplies are brought in for the duration, and some proper lighting. For now, I’m going to look for the offices and see if I can find anything that may be of any use. Then I better get back to Headquarters. You’re in charge, Morgan.”

  “Got it, sir.”

  “Oh, and contact me personally if you find anything that jumps out at you.”

  “Lord, I hope nothing jumps out at me,” she said. “Don’t worry, I’ll send you updates every twelve hours. Safe trip back to Headquarters, sir.”

  Glad to have things in Morgan’s reliable hands, Thompson continued down the corridor with his own flashlight and came upon another large room. This was obviously some type of medical area. There were hospital beds and some very old medical supplies. Some of the beds resembled old-fashioned critical care units with heart monitors and brain monitors. Experimentation maybe? Either way, the place gave him a bad feeling. He was beginning to think the Altarran commander was right. Maybe his people did land on Earth and were captured. Considering all the files and equipment they had in here, it wasn’t too much of a stretch to think that someone, perhaps the Altarrans, or maybe even other aliens, could have been kept here.

  Continuing down the hall, he made his way into another area that looked like a row of offices. One in particular caught his eye. The nameplate was still on the door: General Robert Williamson, CO. Could it be? The door was partially open. He entered the office. Other than a chair and a desk with a bookshelf over it, the room was empty. Something about the desk sparked a memory, though. It resembled one that his great-grandfather had owned and passed down to the family, a mahogany secretary with a fold-down desk and a number of hidden compartments. Perhaps this one had similar compartments.

  Sitting down in the extremely dusty chair, Thompson started opening the drawers. “Come on, General,” he said out loud. “You weren’t so crazy after all. Please tell me you have something else for us besides that damn amulet.”

  After about five minutes of looking and quite a bit of sneezing, he had found nothing. If he was going to find something from Williamson, this would have been the place. “Dammit,” he said, “why couldn’t you give us something more to go on, you old bastard?”

  After he put the final drawer back in place, he decided to feel around the molding above the desk, just below the bookshelf. It was elaborately designed, which sometimes meant there were compartments built in. He kept pushing on the different sections until he felt one give way a little. He applied some pressure to it, and lo and behold, a secret compartment popped out, spewing dust right into his face. When he was done sneezing and coughing, he saw something.

  Inside the compartment was a piece of paper in a clear plastic bag. The paper looked to be in surprisingly good shape. “Well, what do we have here?” He took it out and carefully unfolded it. One side of the page was blank. Turning it over, he noticed some writing at the top. It was plain and clear. He stared at it, trying to make sense of it.

  The Queen is with her loyal subjects

  Inside the truth is sealed

  Only the worthy who see the ten

  Shall have the path revealed

  What the hell did that mean? He kept going over the passage in his head. What queen? The truth is sealed inside where? And what did “the ten” refer to? None of this made any sense. He wondered if this was some kind of cryptic message or the ravings of a lunatic. And why would he have kept it hidden where nobody would find it? Or maybe that was the point. Maybe he wanted to hide it until he could send it to someone, but never got the chance. That sounded more likely than anything. “What was it, Williamson?” he said. “Were you nuts or were you trying to
leave someone a hint?”

  Thompson heard footsteps coming his way. He folded the note quickly and put it into his pocket just as the door opened. It was Rupert, shining a flashlight on him. “Well, Admiral,” said Rupert. “Did you find anything of interest? I thought I heard talking.”

  Thompson stood up, his body hiding the secret compartment. “Not a damn thing,” he said. “I tend to talk to myself when I reach a dead end. You should try it sometime. I checked every drawer and every nook and cranny in here. It looks like we’re out of luck unless there’s something in all those boxes we found.”

  “Let’s do hope they find something then,” said Rupert. “I’d hate to think we may have come all this way for nothing. As for me, I’m afraid I have to return to Washington. I’ll leave the instructions needed to get in and out with your assistant. Shall we go, Admiral? I’m sure you have more pressing issues waiting for you at Defense Fleet Headquarters.”

  “All right, Minister,” said Thompson. “To the transport it is.”

  Making sure that Rupert wasn’t looking back, Thompson followed the minister out of the room and back toward the area they had come from. For some reason he didn’t trust Rupert. Then again, he didn’t like politicians in general. But something in Rupert’s demeanor just felt all wrong to him. It was as if it was a bother for him to be here, almost as if he couldn’t care less whether anything useful was found at the base. Or, for that matter, that there was an impending alien invasion of the planet. He was just too casual about it all. Or maybe that was part of his public office training.

  One thing the admiral did know was that General Williamson had left the piece of paper there for a reason. It was the only paper in the entire desk, and it was in a hidden compartment. Now he had to figure out what that reason was, and the clock was ticking.

  Chapter 24

  Preliminary Testing