THE BEGINNING Book Two (THE EVENT)

by Marshall Huffman

  Doctor Sullivan continued to issue commands on the keyboard and to write down notes on a piece of paper. Randy and Webber could only stand and watch. It was apparently good news because some of the tension in the room was vanishing. It wasn’t something you could see but it could be felt.

  Sullivan finally turned and said, “We still have some up there. So far we have eight located and will undoubtedly find more as the day goes on. So the good news is that some are still in orbit. How many, we will know by this time tomorrow. Of course we don’t know if they are active or can even be brought back online, but my calculations and recalibrations were correct,” he said smiling.

  “Congratulations doctor,” Webber said, shaking his hand.

  Randy shook it as well. The doctor was like a little kid; he was jabbering and running on about things neither of the men understood. Now that contact with the satellites was possible he was already working on the next step in his brain.

  “All aligned,” one of the women said, looking at her monitor.

  “Excellent. Start the Delta scan,” Sullivan replied.

  “Scanning,” came the reply.

  Webber and Randy had no idea what a Delta scan was but it must have been important by the look on the doctor’s face.

  “Zero telemetry,” the woman said dejectedly.

  “Re-align for mark two,” the doctor said.

  A few seconds later the man at a monitor said, “Alignment complete on mark two.”

  “Start the delta.” They waited.

  “Telemetry detected.”

  A loud yell was let out and Webber and Randy went along. They may not know exactly what it meant but it was apparent that it was a good thing.”

  After the noise died down, the man at the monitor said, “Do you want me to start the sequencing procedures?”

  “By all means,” the doctor said, smiling.

  “Starting sequencing now.”

  Randy felt like he was on a roller coaster. It would get quiet and then they would yell out. They were all quiet again, waiting for the next thrill.

  “I am receiving data,” the man said and everyone let out another loud yell. The cheering and clapping went on for several seconds.”

  “We have achieved a major breakthrough,” the doctor said excitedly.

  “I take it that this means you have established contact with one of the satellites and it is functioning.”

  “Correct Colonel. We are recording the data stream right now. It has a living module in its brain and we should be able to reprogram it from here.”

  “Living module?”

  “One that can receive input and change the parameters of its intended use. Many of our spy satellites have a chip that allows the satellite the ability to change the mission scope and expand or narrow its point of data collecting. We will have to decipher the downloaded material to determine if that is possible,” the doctor said.

  “Chips? I thought they were all fried,” Webber said.

  “They could have been but we speculated that the satellites in NEO might have survived.”

  “What in the world made you think that?” Webber asked.

  “Gut feeling.”

  “Gut feeling from a scientist? Now I’ve heard everything.”

  “I know it is a shock but we are human too.”

  “Apparently so. Now that you have talked...”

  “Interfaced.

  “Ah, my favorite word, how long will that take?” Webber asked.

  “Hard to say but hopefully not too much longer. Once we see what programming they are using and if it has a smart chip in it we can then reprogram it to other tasks.”

  “This is a big day for you Doctor Sullivan,” Randy said shaking his hand again.

  “Yes it is,” he replied.

  ~~

  “I hate to admit it,” Webber said after they were alone, “He is an arrogant bastard but a damn bright one.”

  “No doubt about it. I think when you are that gifted you have a tendency to sneer at the more mentally challenged,” Randy replied.

  “This station has become more important than ever. Much of what we accomplish will be the result of what happened here today. We are going to have to make sure this area is totally secure,” Webber said.

  “I agree but by what means?”

  “We are going to have to eliminate the Richfield group.”

  “I would like to talk more about the group,” Randy said.

  “Meaning?”

  “Are you sure we need to come to blows with them? I mean, after all, here we are starting over as a nation and what are we doing right off? Starting wars. We have already had the one group that was disposed of because of Pennsylvania and now we are getting ready to start in on another one. I still think we need to see if we can get them to lay down their arms without a lot of bloodshed. We have been given a chance to start differently than in the past. Do we have to go down that same road again?”

  “Randy, this is not of our choosing. As long as they stay in Utah, that’s fine. They can kill each other all they want but after all, it is your people we are most concerned about. If they venture down to Socorro then what? We simply don’t have the ability to react like we did before. It takes time for us to get tanks and artillery here from Colorado and they can move a lot faster than we can simply because of the difference in distance. What would you have us do?”

  “I don’t know. No one seems to want to go in and talk to them but can’t we try some other way first?”

  “And if we do send people in and they elect to kill them, then what? I appreciate what you’re saying. Honestly I do, but the fact is we need to do something. You know as well as anyone in this room how much has gone into this project. It is one of the most important missions we have facing us. It is our best hope of contacting other countries and even searching for survivors in our own country. That satellite link up is critical.”

  “I understand but I just think we are falling into the same destructive patterns of the past. I guess all I am asking is, does war have to follow every place man goes?”

  The Colonel just arched his eyebrows and shrugged his shoulders.

  “Couldn’t we find some way to contact them?”

  “I doubt if an envoy will accomplish much. It sounds like they are just a bunch of thugs that are taking advantage of the situation. Hell, they could cross over into Colorado and we would have to fight from a defensive position. I want to have first strike capabilities, not a retaliatory strike,” Webber replied.

  “How do we know they won’t listen to reason? Maybe all they need is for someone to tell them that it has to stop and they need to focus on building a future, not destroying what we have left,” Randy argued.

  “Randy, I don’t know. What I do know is that if I sent representatives in there the likelihood of them coming out alive is slim to none. I simply won’t put my men in such a position.”

  “What if someone wanted to volunteer to try?”

  “Who would be that dumb...for Christ sakes, you can’t be suggesting that you will go? Rachel just had a baby. You are a new father. No way am I going allow you to go into a situation like that. It’s far too risky.”

  “With the right backup, I am sure we could at least let them know what they are up against. There is every chance they might listen.”

  “Let me think about it and I’ll get back to you on that,” Webber said.

  ~~

  By the time Randy and the Colonel were ready to fly back to Colorado Springs, Doctor Sullivan’s group had located twenty-seven satellites and nine were still functioning.

  “This has been a momentous day, Webber said to Sullivan as they were boarding the plane.”

  “Yes. Yes it has. A colossal day! Now we can move on to the next big challenge. We will start that process in a few days. It will take that long to analyze the data and figure out which ones are the most likely to be re-programmable from here.”

  “Once again, congratulations,” Webber s
aid shaking the doctor’s hand.

  “Are you going back too?” he asked Randy.

  “Yes, but I’ll be back in a couple of days. I want to see how Rachel is doing.”

  “Rachel? Ah, your wife.”

  “Yes. She gave birth to my daughter a couple of days ago.”

  “I see. Well, we will just move along with the project.”

  “Do you need anything else at present?”

  “Nothing that I can think of,” he said.

  ~~

  The Colonel and Randy boarded the plane and settled in. It would be another long and boring flight.

  “Have you given my proposal any more thought?”

  “Of course, that is all I have been thinking about. Trying to weigh out the pros and cons of having you go in there. I can’t say that I think much of the idea. I believe it is far too dangerous.”

  “But what if you had our forces there but out of sight? If I get in trouble they could come in and do whatever it takes.”

  “That is assuming we would know you were in trouble. They could kill you inside one of the buildings and we wouldn’t know it until it was too late. We are not faster than a speeding bullet you know.”

  “I understand the risk, but it’s still one I am willing to take.”

  “Are you? You had better think about that. I’ll tell you what. You talk it over with Rachel and see what she says, then come talk to me.”

  “I was going to do that anyway,” Randy said.

  “Then let’s just leave it like that for now.”

  ~~

  “Are you crazy?” Rachel said standing up from the table.

  “Rach, it’s not as dangerous as it sounds.”

  “No, it’s even more dangerous! I know you. You have put a no risk spin on this when in fact it is the direct opposite. I can’t even believe Colonel Webber would ask you to do such a stupid thing,” she said.

  “He didn’t ask me. I asked him.”

  Rachel looked at him in disbelief.

  “Did your IQ just take a vacation? Even if we were not married and it was like before I would throw a fit but now you are married man and we have a child. A child Randy! I sure as hell don’t want to raise her without her father. You made a promise to me when we decided to have this baby that you would be there to help raise her. What happened to that?”

  “But I may be able to prevent hundreds of deaths. They probably don’t realize that there are options available to them.”

  “That is so you. You always think you can just go waltzing into something and it will turn out right. Well Randy, all I can say is that you had better not do that this time. I am not just going to stand by and act like a shy little girl and have you go traipsing off to someplace where you could get killed just because you are an outsider.”

  “I won’t get killed. I’m not stupid you know?” he said defensively.

  “You couldn’t prove it by me if you really thought I would just say yes to this insane plan of yours,” she said.

  They continued to talk long into the night but it was no use. Rachel was not going to give in. Randy almost said at one point that there was little she could do to stop him but thought better of it. It was a good thing he kept the thought to himself.

  ~~

  “I rather thought so,” Colonel Webber said, smiling quickly.

  “Women,” Randy replied.

  “Yeah, I agree. It’s a good thing we have them or we would be doing stupid things all the time.

  “I didn’t mean it like that.”

  “Maybe not, but I happen to agree with Rachel on this. I could not guarantee your safety and even if Rachel had gone along with you I was not going to let you go in there,” the Colonel said.

  “So what are you going to do?”

  “We have drawn up a plan that will give them the option of surrendering before we take offensive action. I am not entirely comfortable because it takes away the element of surprise but in the interest of saving those that don’t want to fight, I have reluctantly given in on that point,” the Colonel explained.

  “How are you going to do this?”

  “Our people will basically attack from three sides. We have a larger fighting force than they and we have far superior firepower and some very deadly weapons. Add to that the six planes that can drop bombs and I am confident we can destroy them if they try to stand and fight.”

  “So how are you going to let them have a chance to lay down their arms if they don’t want to fight?”

  “We will fire two 68 mm. rounds with shells that will explode overhead releasing pamphlets. The pamphlets have detailed instructions on how to surrender. They will have one hour after that.”

  “What about those that don’t get the pamphlets in time.”

  “They will. Everyone in the city will know something has happened. The explosive charges will be loud enough to be heard by people five miles away.”

  “There is still no guarantee that they will get into the hands of the right people, the ones that are in control.”

  “It doesn’t matter. Anyone that picks one up will have a chance to surrender. After the hour is up, we attack. It won’t give them a lot of time either way but at least they will have been warned. Here,” he said, handing him one of leaflets.

  Randy had to admit, it made it abundantly clear what steps they had to take and what the consequences would be if they chose to stand and fight. The only thing that wasn’t mentioned was the air power that we had at our disposal. That would be our ace in the hole.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  USA

  “Captain Forbes, do you think you could take charge of another assault?”

  “Yes sir,” the Captain replied.

  “Good. Here is the information I have from our most recent intel.” Webber said, rolling out a large map of Utah.

  “This is where the Richfield gang is based. They have been expanding into New Mexico and that makes us mighty uncomfortable. We don’t have the resources to send a large contingent to New Mexico with the Salt Lake Freemen so close to us. What I want you to do is come up with a plan that accomplishes two things. The first is to try to get them to lay down their weapons. If that can be accomplished, no bloodshed would have to take place on either side. Secondly, if the first action does not produce the desired results, I want to eliminate them as a threat to New Mexico. Can you handle that?”

  “Absolutely, what kind of fire power will be allocated?”

  “Take your pick. You can use the planes we have that carry bombs as well. They are loading iron bombs on them as we speak. We also will have three of the old Patton tanks ready to support you. We don’t have many rounds for those old tanks but just the sight of them might do the trick,” Webber told him.

  “That’s excellent. I don’t see them as much of a problem if we don’t give them time to either organize or take off.”

  “You’re probably going to have to get a pretty tight circle around that place or they will slip out,” Webber said.

  “I’ll work up a plan and have it ready by tomorrow.”

  “Then I’ll leave you to work it out.”

  Captain Forbs went to work immediately on a plan to deliver notification to the Richmond group without allowing them enough time to get their defenses ready.

  “Colonel Webber, I would like to go along on this mission,” Randy said.

  “What in God’s name for? We don’t need untrained civilians getting in the way. This is a military matter and you are simply not military. It’s out of the question.”

  “So now the military determines what I can and can’t do?”

  “Look Randy,” he said, rubbing his eyes, “I have a great deal of admiration and respect for you but no one can do what they want to do all the time. Sometimes others know more about the dangers being faced and they have to be the ones that make those kind of judgment calls. This is one of those times. You may not like it but...well, there it is. You are not going and that’s final.”

  �
��Yes sir, Colonel Sir,” Randy said, giving a mock salute.

  He turned and stormed out the door.

  “What was that all about?” Captain Forbs asked.

  “Nothing really. Just a case of wishful thinking getting run over by reality.”

  “I take it he wanted to go along.”

  “Correct. The last thing you need is a civilian to keep track of while everything else is going on. If he approaches you, which I think he may, you tell him in no uncertain terms that he is not going,” Webber said.

  “Don’t worry about that Colonel,” the Captain replied.

  ~~

  It had taken four days to get to the staging point. Captain Forbs went over the plans one more time before splitting the groups into three attack sections. One of the most important elements was not being detected until they were in place and ready.

  The only means of communication was the use of runners, a painfully slow method with a degree of risk involved. If one of the runners was spotted it could alert the enemy and force a confrontation before everything was ready. Forbs gave each team one day to get into their assigned positions. Runners were to be used only when absolutely necessary and to report any unexpected events. As always, the worst part was waiting.

  The snipers had finished camouflaging their ghillie suits and had started to work their way forward toward the town. Forward observers were also inching their way toward the enemy to determine the strength and general location they were operating out of. By noon he could no longer tell where the forward observers or the snipers were. They had once again disappeared into the earth.

  At 15:00 hours a runner came looking for the Captain.

  “Captain Forbs. I can show you on the map where they appear to be headquartered.”

  “Really? I didn’t expect that so quickly,” Forbs said rolling out the map on the hood of a Hummer.

  “Okay, we are right here,” he said pointing, “This area is all open fields. Interstate 70 runs right through the middle of town. That is kind of weird in its own right. Anyway, they appear to be located in two main areas. Some are scattered out in the town but the actual headquarters is here.” He said pointing to a large building flanked by I-70 to the west and South Street.