Despite all the rhetoric being fired back and forth, everyone was marking time until Jove returned.
“Debra, I’m damn sick and tired being confined to this bunker, having to ask you every damn day what’s going on in the clean world,” Laughlin complained as Dawkins brought in the daily briefing.
“I don’t want to have to remind you that had you let those men go, and they had returned to the colony, you’d have been back in the real world long ago,” Dawkins said sardonically.
“Still pissed, I see.”
“Stuart, what you’ve done doesn’t make sense,” she said.
“Very little in politics makes sense. But if hanging onto them leads to us obtaining one of their ships, it’ll all be worth it.”
“At what cost? Do we really want to go to war with these people? They’ve done nothing wrong, committed no crime, and the community they belong to told us they don’t want any contact with us at all. What if their being here was the beginning of normalized relations between us and them? What if putting them in custody sabotaged the beginnings of diplomatic contact with our estranged cousins?” Dawkins speculated.
“That’s preposterous! If that was even remotely the case then when were they going to contact us? And why were they in Chicago? There isn’t one shred of proof that they were here for any purpose like contacting us, or any authority. You’re really reaching, Debra,” Laughlin accused.
Dawkins was silent. She wasn’t the least concerned whether she would be vindicated or not. What she worried about was how this one simple act would change the world, and possibly take down his presidency.
“Stuart, this isn’t a movie, or a book, this is your legacy that’s on the line. When this incident is written about, holding those two men is not going to be forgotten or discounted when the dust settles. If things turn out badly, people will remember you the same way they do President Bender.”
“What if everything turns out great? Dialogue with the separatists, sharing technology, maybe even immigration. Then what?” Laughlin countered.
“That’s a bullshit pipe dream and you know it. But don’t worry, I’m still with you one hundred percent. I just hope we don’t live to regret what happens in the next few days.” She looked so sad. The president couldn’t help but be moved by her passion, her conviction, but he was politically trapped. His position as the leader of the free world demanded vigilance in protecting America from threats, including those from technologically advanced African Americans.
“I’ll be back this afternoon. Let me know if there’s anything special you’d like me to bring,” Dawkins said, gathering her things. She got up and left the observation room without a backward look.
* * *
The lights were dimmed in the cell holding Lucius and Julius who were listening to members of the ground crew on their hidden communicators. Chuck briefed Lucius on when Christopher and Jove were due to make Earth orbit, while Sondra and Julius went over several scenarios for getting out of the building to one of the jumpers or even the whale. Every plan hinged on getting safely out of the building; after that there were many options for holing up until nightfall, then getting somewhere clear. But escaping custody was the kicker.
“Christopher is still not letting anyone know what he plans to do when he gets here. I spoke to Maxwell, Peanut, and Patricia, none of them have a clue. He was white hot when he found out about you guys getting picked up, but Peanut said he went into some kind of planning overdrive. The best part of whatever he’s planned to do is that he took the Jupiter-equipped jumpers. Those things are damn near indestructible, and with Andrea driving, he’s got the best damned combat-trained pilot we have. And Lenny was never caught on any of the hundreds of collection missions he ran getting our people from Earth to the moon. Is there anything else you want to know about?” Chuck asked.
Lucius tapped once on the earpiece, signaling he had something else he wanted to get an update on.
“Okay, tap when I hit it. Home … Peanut … Genesis … Jove …”
Tap.
“Okay, something about Jove. It’s not Chris. We covered that, okay then: Crew …”
Tap.
“Jove’s crew. One of them?”
Tap, Tap.
“Not them. Then the Svoboda crew?”
Tap.
“I’m guessing you want to know what’s going to happen to them?”
Tap.
“So far the news says that there will be a complete investigation. There’s likely to be charges against them for firing on Jove. President Laughlin is demanding they be arrested and held in U.S. custody for trial, but there’s also demand from the U.N. that they be tried in the International Criminal Court at The Hague. So far, everyone wants to fry that KGB colonel’s ass, even the French and British are gunning for him. But I think they’re doing so to take some of the heat off of them for building a bird with missiles in the first place. If you haven’t heard, Chris squashed the Svoboda ship down to nothing, but he made sure the crew was out of there first. I’m thinking that he may drop them off somewhere, but I have no idea where. At first I thought he would bring them to the colony, but that didn’t really make any sense. Someone sent the video of the attack to Earth and it went viral immediately. The whole world isn’t too happy about the state of affairs, and I think they’re privately worried about what we may do in response.
“In all the hubbub, no one’s said a damn thing about the soldiers stranded in our outpost; it’s like they don’t exist anymore. There’s so much swirling around about the colony, about us down here, I don’t think they know what to do. The president sent his press flunky out to make angry noises about the KGB guy’s attack, but they’re still holding you even though Chris told them they’d better let you go. Did they do anything other than finger and footprint you two?” Chuck inquired.
Tap, Tap.
“They know we live longer. Frankly, I’m surprised they haven’t taken blood samples from you. Not that it would help, Pat said that the changes her retrovirus make gets written directly into the DNA so they wouldn’t be able to tell exactly how it’s done. Are they feeding you okay?”
Tap.
“How’s Julius doing?”
Tap.
“Good. Sondra told me she’s usually chatting with him at night. By the way, the others are still hanging around downtown at the hotel. They’ve been working with Sondra on contingencies for what to do if you get released from custody. What I think would be easiest would be for all of you to grab a boat, head out into the middle of the lake, then hop aboard the whale once it gets to the surface and then blast straight up out of here. It’s getting you out of that fucking building that I can’t figure out. You have any ideas?”
Tap, Tap.
“How about any of your old contacts? Is there someone who I can get hold of who has some kind of influence?”
Tap, Tap.
“Shit. I thought about backing the jumper into the building and smashing through to the cell. I could probably do it without tearing down the floor, but only as the last resort.”
Tap.
Chuck laughed. “So I guess we just wait for Chris to play his hand.”
Tap.
“G2 says that your earpieces are only good for four or five more days without recharging them. Is there an electrical outlet in the cell?”
Tap, Tap.
“Damn! G2 says that if you can get them close to flowing current, they can grab a charge that way. Is there any way you can get them near the cell’s light?”
Tap, Tap.
“I guess we’re just going to have to hope Chris can wind this thing up right away after he arrives.”
Tap.
“I’m going to sign off now and let you save the battery. Say hey to Julius for me,” Chuck said.
Tap.
“G2?”
“Yes, Chuck. How may I
be of assistance?”
“Connect me to Christopher.”
A few moments later Christopher was on the line. “It’s good to hear from you, brother. How goes it?”
“I should be asking you, tearing a hole through space like that. How are you? How did the jumpers perform?” Chuck asked.
“Nary a hiccup for the whole flight. G3 says the only complaint the Jove crew has mentioned is the fact that our pulling them along doesn’t impart any gravity on their ship, they’re all still weightless. But shaving months off the return trip seems to be more than adequate compensation for their troubles. How are Lucius and Julius doing?”
“They seem fine. They’re being left completely alone. Lucius and I think they’re going to be used as bargaining chips for one of our jumpers,” said Chuck.
“Fat chance. If I have to calculate what the odds of that happening I’d put them at slim and none, with slim having left town. If they do that, it’ll be the stupidest move they could chose.”
“Even dumber than sending soldiers to the moon?”
“Way dumber than that.”
“Feel like giving me the heads-up on what you’ve got planned?”
Chuck could almost see the grin on Christopher’s face as he said, “Nope! But don’t worry, you only have two more days until you see the razzle-dazzle I have planned.”
“You smug bastard. You’re enjoying all this secrecy, aren’t you?”
“I admit that I am. But there’s a damn good reason for it. What you, Max and Pat don’t know, you can’t try to talk me out of. All of you would try. So I’m not saying a thing. But don’t worry, neither Andrea nor Lenny is going to let me do anything too crazy.”
“They damn well better not. This is serious shit, Chris. The last thing we need is you getting hurt, or worse.”
“Ain’t gonna happen. By the way, Andrea wants to say hello. I’m going to sign off and hit the sack. I want to be well rested by the time we hit atmo, we may not be getting much sleep for a while.”
“Right on, brother. I’ll catch you tomorrow.”
“Chuck?” Andrea announced.
“Hey, girl! How’s the trip been?”
“The white-knuckle ride of a lifetime. By the way, I’m wearing the headset,” she said quietly.
“Good. What can you tell me about what Chris has planned?” Chuck asked, confident she could talk without Christopher overhearing.
“Not a peep. And don’t worry, he’s listening to music and reading something Peanut sent to him on his pad. He can’t hear me,” she assured him.
“So he hasn’t said anything about what he’s planning to do?”
“No. He’s plenty mad at the Russian guy for shooting the missiles at the habitat, but frankly I was surprised he didn’t space the guy, or crush him like he did their ship. He’s been pretty calm on the trip; some light conversation and working with Peanut on the FTL probe. Apparently Peanut and TJ are going to load the probe up with a clone of Genesis to run the experiments and control the probe when it leaves our dimension. It all sounds very cool. If it leads to FTL travel, then I want to be the first one to go to another star!” she said excitedly.
“When it’s safe,” Chuck reminded her.
“Right! But you knew what I meant. To be one of the first to reach another star would be the ultimate mission!”
“You know it! Please, keep my brother safe. His temper can get him in trouble if no one’s there to check it.”
“I already know. It was Max and Pat who made me swap jumpers with Lenny to keep an eye on Chris and keep him safe. I’m not about to let anything happen to him, believe that! Same thing with the guys in the other jumper, they’d take a missile for Chris just like I would. If I learn anything, I’ll give you a call. Gotta go. He’s getting ready to go to sleep. I’ll catch you tomorrow,” she said.
“Good night, and thanks for all you do,” Chuck said, signing off.
* * *
John was dozing, having had an extremely long day, as they were furiously running experiments, preparing to bring the ship into orbit and perform the system shutdown. His compartment door slid open quietly and someone slipped inside, closing the door quickly. John climbed to consciousness as someone was sliding under the blanket with him. As he started to say something, Bianca said, “Shhh, I just wanted to sleep with someone. No, not someone, with you. I’m not asking for anything more than to be with you. We don’t have to do anything more than that. And if you insist, I will leave.”
John turned on his side and pulled her in front of him, spooning her from behind as she re-tucked the blanket to keep them from drifting out of the bed.
“Thank you,” she whispered as she pulled his arm across her stomach and hugged it close.
By now John was completely awake, hoping no errant thought would produce an embarrassing reaction that put her off. But as he relaxed, he figured she was a big girl and knew the risk. Almost as if she read his thoughts, she snuggled her bottom closer to his midsection, almost making him chuckle. But her breathing was getting slower and quieter as she dropped off to sleep. It wasn’t long before exhaustion forced John asleep a few minutes later.
They both had their best sleep of the entire voyage, John sleeping through the night for the first time in months, having always been awakened by dreams, anxieties, and even the sensation of falling that weightlessness caused often shocking him awake.
When John awoke he could tell that Bianca was lightly dozing. When he stirred, she stretched and smiled at him over her shoulder. Then she wiggled her bottom against him, making him aware of his obvious physical condition.
“Why thank you, John. A girl likes to know she’s appreciated,” she said, causing him to give an amused grunt in reply.
“I’m not going to apologize for something completely out of my control!” he said with a low chuckle.
She ground against him once again and said, “Completely?”
“Hey, I didn’t say I didn’t like it. But you know how it is. Now let me ask you this? What if someone sees you floating out of here?”
“Are you ashamed we just slept together? I don’t know about you but I had the best sleep in weeks. I’m sorry if you think I’m teasing you, I don’t mean to. If you feel the need—”
“Stop! I’m smart enough to appreciate your being here, and I can leave it at that without hurt feelings.”
She turned under the covers to face him, and gave him a friendly kiss. “I like you. I told you that when we started the mission. But if anyone has had one hell of a mission it’s you. We have one more day before we hit Earth orbit. I don’t know if going any further would be a good or a bad thing, but I’m not blind to what you went through. When we get back on Earth I would love to spend some time with you. This isn’t a lark, or my wanting a plaything without regard for your feelings. But this,” she said lightly grasping his hardness, “is very interesting to me because of who it’s attached to, not as some kind of convenient toy. Are you sure you wouldn’t like some help with it?” she asked, smiling.
“Let’s make a deal. Why don’t we get through the next few days, and do whatever tests NASA is going to put us through when we’re back on Earth. Once we’re given the all clear, let’s have a quiet night out, dinner and conversation, and see how it goes?”
She squeezed him once and let go, kissed him, then reached back and untucked the blanket. As she tucked John back in, she said, “I’m going to hold you to that, John.” She kissed him once more, this time with a hint of passion. At the door, she quickly looked both ways and pulled herself out of the compartment. Once she closed the door, John exhaled, grinning in expectation of their night to come.
Chapter 34
COLORS
Andrea and Lenny slid Jove into Earth orbit less than half a mile from the SkyHub space station. As the twin jumpers released Jove from their tractor hold, Lenny took co
ntrol of the squashed blob of metal that was the remains of Svoboda. Once Jove was released and orbiting free, Christopher radioed to Dr. Roscoe that the crew of the Svoboda was to stay put, and to keep them confined to the emergency compartment until further notice. She agreed, but when she began to ask for clarification, Christopher cut the connection.
“So that’s done,” Andrea said. “Now what?” she asked.
“Now you plot a course to Star City in Russia. Lenny?” he called out.
“Yeah, skipper, what up?”
“Andrea is plotting a course to the Svoboda’s mission control center in Star City, Russia. I’d like you to follow us, maybe a hundred yards behind, so we can split up in a hurry if things get hairy, and I want you to drop that piece of shit right through the roof of their space command center,” Christopher explained.
“No shit?” Lenny asked, laughing.
“No shit!”
“Lead on. I’m going to dig the hell out of this.”
Andrea had G3 put the course up on her screen and then she broke orbit and angled into the atmosphere. They were currently over the east coast of North America so they headed east and north, traveling toward Russia. Andrea took it easy, even though the U.S. military could easily follow their course. According to the intelligence G3 was gathering, the U.S. wasn’t sharing any tracking data with Russia or anyone else. And, since their ships were invisible to radar, the only means of detection available to the Russian air force was visual observation.
When they were a few hundred miles from the Russian space port, Andrea slowed their forward progress, dropping to 150 knots to allow the authorities to see them coming.
Very quickly the two jumpers were surrounded by a squadron of fighters, ordering them to land. Both Andrea and Lenny had their shields jacked up as high as possible just in case someone got trigger-happy and decided to fire a missile or two at them. Christopher directed G3 to transmit a warning in Russian to steer clear of their ships, and that they were going to the Star City space port. It obviously worked as the fighters backed off a respectable distance and bracketed the two ships all the way to the perimeter of the base. Then G3 broadcast a warning to evacuate the command center as they hovered above the building. Seconds later people began streaming out of the building below, trying to get as far away from the structure as they could. When no one had left the building for over a minute, Christopher radioed Lenny to drop the remnants of Svoboda through the roof.
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