by WADE, T I
Even though Ryan had turned down joining the alliance, the Australians offered troops to patrol for any possible movements of soldiers entering the new perimeter from the south.
Ryan then sent a message asking the Libyan government for a couple of hundred troops, desert vehicles and aircraft to make an outer perimeter on his border with them. That would give the America One crew at least a week before soldiers who might try to sneak through the desert could attack the base. It was surprising what he could purchase for diamonds or gold, and he had plenty of that.
VIN knew an attack would come. The only question was how much time they would have, and how much work could be completed digging out the Matt base before things became hot.
Ryan asked for heavy-lift helicopters. Unfortunately, it was too far for Australian and Canadian helicopters, and they were all too large to be airlifted. Libya had one they could loan him, and Israel could help.
Chapter 6
Israel
The flight of nearly a dozen aircraft was already expected in Israel as they took off one by one starting at dawn. The four civilian jets headed out first, and then the F-15s ten minutes later for the 500-mile flight to the southern border of Israel, heading in directly up the Red Sea and over Eilat. The air tankers would then take off and refuel the fighters over the Red Sea until the civilian aircraft returned four hours later on their return flight. The meeting had been arranged at a large Israeli Air Force Base several miles west of Be’er Sheva.
Kathy and Ryan flew their own aircraft. Martin Brusk and Bob Mathews flew Jonesy’s Gulfstream, much to the frustration of the chief astronaut, who had realized that fishing might not be on the schedule in the near future. Seven of the space children flew in the two jets while the rest of the America One crew stayed behind. The U.S. former President flew in the jet loaned to him by the Canadian government, and the Aussie Prime Minister in his. The Libyan Head of State, also a friend of Israel, flew into the aircraft formation halfway to the border with two of his country’s F-15s joining the others.
The F-15s left the civilian aircraft at the border when several Israeli F-22 Raptors took over duty, and twenty minutes later the military airfield was abuzz with civilian jets.
“Shalom, Ryan,” said a longtime friend of his, one of the people he had met many years earlier. They hugged. He was the only person Ryan recognized out of the twenty or so men and women there to greet them. “You and your crew are safe in our country. You have my word.”
“Thank you,” Ryan replied, and he was introduced to the others. He was surprised to be introduced to the country’s top military leader, a woman about his age. While not bad looking, she appeared dangerous as a rattlesnake. Many ministers were there, as were several heads of the military departments.
His friend was now chief assistant to the country’s Prime Minister, a young man several years younger than he, and because this was a secret meeting, there was no fanfare for so many heads or former heads of state meeting together. Everyone seemed friendly, and once all were introduced including the children, they were led into a large conference room with one table and three dozen chairs around it. As there was not enough room, the kids sat along the sides of the room.
Ryan had been happy to see four Israeli children introduced to his NextGens, and they seemed to be getting along.
Coffee was served, then plates of orange and lemon baklava, and after twenty minutes the meeting came to order, and the guests were welcomed by Ryan’s friend who seemed to be the spokesman. Everyone at the table was introduced, even the children. Kathy, Ryan, and their two daughters Lunar and Pluto, on their best behavior and as usual sitting with Mars Noble and Saturn Jones, stood up and bowed as they were introduced, and all the kids had been warned to behave before the flight. To Kathy Richmond, her girls were growing up, as were the other two. Dressed in new clothes from the supplies brought in from Las Vegas, they certainly didn’t look like space adventurers, and she decided that when time allowed, they would have a new space uniform for America One.
Then the Prime Minister of Israel stood up to give his message. As the man began, her mind went over all the uniforms she had seen on television. None seemed perfect. Too flashy, even the ones from Star Trek and Star Wars, except for the simple black uniforms of Darth Vader’s crew. Her old Air Force blue had always been popular, and now that she was in the lands of cotton, maybe it was time to dress the crew.
While Kathy pondered, the Prime Minister thanked the dignitaries and the America One crew for attending, laid out what Israel had achieved by helping world peace for the last decade, and stated the country’s future actions if there was war in the Middle East.
“As many of you know,” the man said, “we in Israel have fought wars for our entire history. Maybe it’s our legacy to stay on Earth, but for hundreds of years we have always been prepared to defend our land and its people. We are still in that position today. Our government believes that we are and will remain in the forefront of technology, and that our small country will always survive. The world is at a crossroads, as it always is. New alliances are springing up, equalizing older powerhouses and keeping world order as they always have done. We have built and sold the latest defense equipment to many countries to protect themselves from others. Some appreciated the technology, but others let us down by not keeping their side of the bargain, which shows us how thin their governments and defenses really are. In today’s world it is the cleverest who survive. Mr. Richmond, this country believes that you and your crew are survivors. Welcome to the Land of Zion, and I now open this meeting for one hour of mutual discussion on how we can help each other, before I have a few words in private with Mr. Richmond.”
For the next hour, questions and answers flew over the long table, many directed toward Ryan. For the Israelis, having so many visitors at once from around the world was enlightening. To Ryan, it seemed that many of these people had never met, or had not spoken to each other for some time. Martin Brusk was welcomed as a long lost friend, an entrepreneur, and was offered assistance to set up a plant in the country. The Australian Prime Minister had several questions for the Israeli Prime Minister, who had in turn questions for the U.S. former President.
Ryan did not answer several questions about his new base, except to ask if the military departments could offer him detection equipment to repel human invaders. A couple of the generals smiled. Only when the hour was at an end did the questions cut closer to the bone. Ryan was invited into a second, smaller room, and sat with the Israeli Prime Minister. Both men said nothing until the door was closed.
“Mr. Richmond, I did some homework on your family heritage. Did you know that your father’s grandfather left this area, Eilat to be precise, for America at the end of the First World War In 1919?”
“Yes, my father told me of my great grandfather’s move to New York, and then Chicago in 1921,” replied Ryan. “My grandfather saw the growth in the job market in Las Vegas during the Second World War in 1942 and moved to Henderson, Nevada. Not a religious man, and very poor, he raised us outside the Jewish faith. My grandfather married an American woman, a Presbyterian, as did my father. My mother was Baptist, and I feel that our Jewish faith got lost somewhere more than half a century ago.”
The Israeli Prime Minister said, “So unfortunate, that this country has lost so many good people over the last century. The world is certainly a melting pot, and one day we might all disappear into its brew. Until then, some of us will resist the invitation. Mr. Richmond, how can we help each other?”
Ryan was prepared for this question. “Mr. Prime Minister. I cannot help you with what you probably want from me and my crew,” he began carefully. “On our journey, we have seen and found many miraculous things. I wouldn’t believe what you would describe to me, if you were in my shoes. So I will not describe what we have found, as we don’t even understand how the cosmos works yet. So, how can I explain it to you? Can you understand that?”
“If you and the best scientists in the world cannot und
erstand your new ideas, then I certainly wouldn’t,” smiled the man in return.
“Exactly,” replied Ryan. “And my situation is that when we do begin to learn about our new ideas, then many down here will kill me and my crew to get them. That is the one and only reason that I do not want to subject the world to technology that is not possible in our science books and journals.”
“So you have found new technology?” the Prime Minister asked carefully.
“Yes, but nothing we can understand today, tomorrow or maybe even in a decade’s time,” replied Ryan.
“What sort of technology? Please give me an idea of what you have found. Is it a weapon, or something to strike terror here on Earth?”
“No, far simpler than that: it’s Cold Fusion,” was Ryan’s reply.
The Prime Minister smiled. “Yes, a power source we, and the rest of the world, have worked hard to develop, but as yet with no luck. I was thinking you might have found something really new and exciting out there in the solar system.”
It was Ryan’s turn to smile. “The solar system is a grain of sand in the universe, and what my crew and I have seen out there is a grain of sand on a grain of sand.”
“I ask you for one thing, Mr. Richmond, in return for surveillance equipment for your new desert territory.”
Ryan said nothing.
“Cold Fusion will certainly aid us in the defense of our state, the State of Israel. You seem fond of children. You saw the four children we brought to our meeting? Two boys and two girls, ten to twelve years old, and all sons and daughters of our most prominent scientists.”
Ryan nodded.
“If you won’t or cannot teach us your new technology, could you at least teach our children? Take them with you, and one day return them to a better Earth with the knowledge and ability to keep our small nation safe from the beasts of prey out there. If you do, and return them to our country one day in the future, you may have all the help we can offer you. That is all I ask.”
Ryan thought about the offer. The Prime Minister pressed a button and Ryan’s old friend entered with two fresh small cups of coffee and some more baklava, something Ryan had found himself to be rather partial to. The man left and Ryan helped himself, still deep in thought.
“I will agree to your suggestion, Mr. Prime Minister, if I can also take children from a few other countries. We have a problem in space. All our babies born are girls. Our medical staff believe it is due to a lack of gravity. That is the only reason we all can fathom why.”
“Go on,” the Prime Minister said.
“I will be happy to take the two boys. I will only take boy children. The gene pool aboard America One will be strong for generations to come, and I will teach your young men what they need to know. We start school aboard ship at the age of three. My oldest daughter Lunar, at eleven, is already at university level and will complete her schooling toward the end of her fourteenth year. At fifteen, she will begin to study flight and space survival. Compared to what I remember about school here on Earth, she will be as educated at fourteen as any student here on Earth at twenty-five.”
The Prime Minister smiled, pleased.
“Our children also start early, albeit not as early as yours. The two boys are the very best we have and I believe will catch up quickly. In our hospitals we have some of the best researchers and doctors. Many studied in the States and China until they were forced to return. I think taking children from other countries is a sound idea. If you could teach them peace and education, then when they return, they could turn this badly run planet into a place of peace for all mankind.”
At that suggestion, a new plan began to form in Ryan’s mind.
Then the Israeli Prime Minister made a statement that made Ryan go ice cold. “It seems you are collecting international children already, and girls I might add.” The man smiled, already having been warned that Ryan wouldn’t know what he was talking about. “Your old American friend didn’t tell you?”
Ryan indicated that he didn’t.
“Then you had better ask the young university girl that I was told is now part of your crew whether her father knows she is with you.”
Ryan’s face went white, and he stared at the man, trying to figure out what he was getting at.
“Mr. Richmond, now I believe you don’t know, and your former President unfortunately made a promise to the girl not to tell you, but he asked me to let you in on this secret since he couldn’t.”
“She is an adult. I don’t know her real name, and she seems good at physics. I don’t see where you and my old friend are going with this?”
“Joanne Dithers, the only daughter of the current President of the United States, is in your crew.” Ryan looked at him, and the Prime Minister was sure that Ryan’s jaw would drop off the end of his face.
“A plant?” was all Ryan could think of saying.
“I don’t think so,” was the reply. “It seems that father and daughter don’t get on well together, and our mutual friend told me that this young lady is a genius in her field, so let her down lightly, Mr. Richmond.”
The meeting came to an end. Both men felt happy at what they had got out of it, and Ryan was to be delivered the latest Israeli surveillance equipment, a large lift helicopter and two earthmoving machines to help him set up his base. Ryan agreed to take the two boys with him.
Upon leaving the private meeting, he made a beeline to his old friend who was talking to a few generals. The former President, seeing that the message had been delivered, excused himself from the others.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Ryan asked. He didn’t know if he was angry, or just shell-shocked.
“I’m sorry, Ryan. I spoke to her when I recognized her at your base. I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw her. I asked her directly and she made me promise first, before she actually told me she was Joanne Dithers. I kept my word, but figured how to tell you without it. I didn’t tell you, and she and her father dislike each other as much as you and he do. Nobody gets on with the President. He is a mean SOB. Even his Vice President refuses to be on the same stage as he is, and now the President wants to extend his own term of office. I just don’t believe the American people will allow him, but I’m sure he won’t give them the chance. Our old country, Ryan, has gone all the way back to a lousy dictatorship.”
“I can’t take her with me,” Ryan replied.
“Well, she is a consenting adult over 21. You believe in freedom and the rights of an individual. I believe you will be going against your beliefs just because she is somebody, and believe you me, she is well-liked with the younger generations in the U.S. I believe Ms. Dithers has as much pulling power with the young people in the United States as her father has a lack of it. She has rubbed his face in the dirt more than anybody else has dared to. I believe that the government actually tried to silence her at one time with a car accident about a year ago, and her father went ballistic when he found out. Three generals lost their jobs and disappeared from view. Even though he hates her, and vice versa, there is a bond between them, and you now have a great strong anti-government supporter in your team. Whether she stays with you, Ryan, that is your decision alone.”
After thanking the Israelis for their honesty and hospitality, two aircraft left and flew back over the Red Sea, passing a massive helicopter moving down the same piece of sea several thousand feet below them.
“That, Ryan, is the largest helicopter in the world,” said Bob Mathews over the radio. He was flying Jonesy’s aircraft, as Martin Brusk and the Aussie Prime Minister wanted to talk with the Israelis some more. “Russian, built by MIG, an Mi-26 I think it is called, latest model, and it can hoist one of your Bradleys, just barely. That is as pretty an aircraft as the Dead Chicken. It has range, power and fantastic lift capacity. With that buddy, your lifting problems are over.”
The former President, his job done, flew back to Canada while it was safe to do so. He was too old to follow Ryan; his chance to go into space had passed, bu
t he was happy to be of help for a future peaceful world.
Chapter 7
The Pig’s Snout
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Ryan asked the blonde girl a few hours later back on the airfield.
“That SOB told you?” she demanded angrily.
“No, he did not,” was the reply. “I was told by somebody in Israel about you being the President’s daughter.” By this time Ryan had cooled down. The girl seemed pretty feisty to him. She certainly didn’t take any crap from Hans her beau, and his daughters got on with her extremely well.
“Well, if I had told you, I would still be in the U.S.,” she replied. “I really want to get away from this planet. Like you, Mr. Richmond, I don’t fit in here. Maybe sometime in the future, but certainly not when the likes of my father are in power. I’m young, I can learn, I want to give 100%, and I promise when we return one day, I will be useful.”
Ryan told her that he would consider her staying, but first he wanted to speak to his wife. Often even the famous Ryan Richmond needed help and the calming voice of his wife.
For the rest of that night, he, Kathy and their two daughters talked and discussed the future of the NextGens. The massive helicopter came in, as did two Israeli cargo aircraft carrying equipment and excavation gear, and by midnight all were gone and the airfield was quiet again.
Over the next few days, waiting for the runway to be completed, Ryan thought out his new NextGen plan with his family. Then he talked with Captain Pete and VIN up in America One, and they came to an agreement. If they could take one or two children from several countries, maybe when they returned, these children would change the politics of the planet for the better.
At the same time, with a smaller helicopter coming in with a small group of Israeli surveillance specialists, some of Ryan’s crew were airlifted into the volcanic crater, the only high ground around them. The crater lip was set up with camera and radar equipment. Ryan told the visitors that the crater was of no importance, and that at least the altitude gave them an extra surveillance boundary, as the live footage from cameras could be used back at the new airstrip.