by Don Viecelli
“It will be so, Imperial Leader!” Anahta stood up to leave. He was just as anxious as Rahta to get this matter over with. He bowed, turned and walked out of the room.
The news about Qumru android soldiers on Holtu was a surprise to Rahta when he learned of it, but he felt it was nothing they could not easily deal with. Qum had already been captured. Holtu should fall just as easily from the might of his warships and superior weapons. This new planet Earth and the humans on it should be no harder to deal with than the Qumru had been. Capturing Earth would add new slave labor and resources to his vast space territories. The Yoykan Empire was unstoppable; of that his was supremely confident.
Chapter 41
The President
President Mary Anderson was sitting in the Cabinet Room waiting for everyone to be seated before beginning the meeting. Vice President Allen Denton was present and everyone except two Cabinet Members was in attendance. Allison Conley handed Mary some last minute notes and sat in a chair behind the President in front of the windows overlooking the Rose Garden. The sun was just beginning to poke through the clouds outside on what looked like another nice spring day.
Mary looked around the table to gauge the mood in the room. It was somber as to be expected. The news the President was about to give to the Cabinet Members was nothing to cheer about. “Let’s begin everyone. I know we’re all busy, so I’ll keep this meeting short. Before I brief everyone on the news from Mars, let’s cover what is happening here at home. Bill, give us your update first if you would.”
William Straiter was Secretary of Homeland Security. He was in his early forties, shorter than average sized man with a stocky build. You could tell he was athletic and most people in the room knew he played football in college. In spite of his tough looks, Bill Straiter was a natural born leader and very intelligent. “Certainly, Madam President. It’s been a busy week. We had protest rallies in our larger cities and some are even planned for today in Washington D.C. Our police forces are stretched to the limits, but fortunately few of the protests have been violent so far. Most people are only worried what the aliens plan to do next and if we are prepared for it. Thankfully, there have been no terrorist attacks here in our country and there are no known threats. The only fear of attack is from the aliens, Madam President.”
President Anderson went around the table asking for status updates and new developments from each of the thirteen Cabinet Members in the room. She saved the Secretary of Defense for last. “Carlo, please tell everyone where we stand on military defense.”
Carlo Russo was six feet tall with dark hair and brown eyes. He may have an Italian surname, but Mary knew he was a sixth generation American citizen and his English accent came straight from New York City. He served in the military for twenty years in the U.S. Army and reached the rank of Major before he left with a law degree and became a civilian lawyer. The President had no trouble with Congress in approving his appointment to the Cabinet to serve with only the second woman President of this country.
“All Military Forces are at DEFCON 3, Madam President. The Exercise term is called Round House! This means we are at increased readiness for any action. Our Air Force can mobilize in fifteen minutes upon your orders, Madam President. The next step would be DEFCON 2 if nuclear weapons are to be used.”
“How many people are in uniform, Secretary Russo?” Mary knew the number from reading the Presidents Daily Brief given to her each morning from the intelligence agencies, but she wanted everyone in the room to hear the answer.
“We have three million active service members, Madam President, with another two million in Army Reserves and the National Guard. They can be called up at any moment.”
“Will we need more people in our Armed Forces, Secretary Russo?” Mary looked straight at him.
“Not at this time, Madam President. Our forces are capable of defending our country from any enemy. The National Guard can be called upon to maintain order in our cities if necessary.”
Mary nodded her head. She felt the same way. The country had enough men and woman to defend themselves from any normal threat from another country, but that is not what they would face in the near future. The next war would be unlike anything humans have experienced in their entire history of civilization; it could become some sort of Nanomachine War!
“Thank you, Carlo. It’s time to update everyone here on the Mars situation. I received the latest information from UN Secretary-General Aleksy Gomulka who received his information from Director Douglas Martin. Since our last meeting, the situation on Mars has not changed much. No more uninfected humans were found and taken to the alien starship. However, it appears some of the Passenger Minds have been uploaded into new Qumru bodies. One of the Qumru is a leading scientist named Tumil. He offered to show us how to develop the preventive nano-agent solution that will protect our people from the Yoyka nanomachines, if injected in time. The only problem is developing enough of the nano-agents for our world population.”
“There are close to ten billion people on Earth. How will we be able to produce this nano-agent solution, test it and inject everyone before these Yoyka aliens try to infect everyone on Earth with their nanomachines?” Allen Denton grunted incredulously.
“I understand your doubts, Allen, but what other choice do we have? We must try to protect as many people as we can. Douglas Martin on the starship says the Yoyka are coming and soon. They will not stop with Mars. They will attack us one way or another. What they have done to the Qumru people is proof of this.
“We sent a space transport shuttle to Mars filled with armed Marines and equipped with nuclear missiles. It is unlikely they can defeat an alien spaceship with their advanced technology. But the Marines can try to prevent any infected persons on Mars from leaving and coming here to infect us. We will quarantine the planet. If necessary, we will eliminate all infected persons on Mars if we cannot find a cure.”
“You mean bomb the planet with nuclear missiles and kill everyone there?” Susan Liang, Secretary of State was alarmed.
Mary paused for a moment to let the statement sink in. “Yes, that is correct, but only if forced too. I am not the first person to say this. It has been discussed at the UN Security Council Meeting and approved as the last resort. We must do whatever is necessary to prevent the infection from reaching Earth or we may all become slaves to the Yoyka aliens.”
There was dead silence in the room as everyone contemplated what was at stake. Then Allen asked, “How soon will our Marines reach Mars?”
Carlo Russo answered, “The transport shuttle will arrive in eleven days. Our people on the Qumru starship have been advised what the Marines must do if the situation warrants.”
“What did they say, Madam President?” Susan asked looking at Mary.
“They understand the situation and said they will do everything they can to prevent this from happening. If a cure or antidote is available in time, none of this will be necessary. The Qumru have been working on the problem for some time now. They may even have found a way to reverse the effects of the Yoyka nanomachines, but they need time to test it. If the Yoyka arrive before they can find the solution, then the starship must leave us. We will be on our own.”
Mary signaled the meeting was over. It was time for everyone to go about their jobs and hope or pray that everything works out in the end. The alternative was not acceptable to anyone.
Chapter 42
The Starship
Another week had passed. Time was running out and everybody on board the starship Solruku knew it. Doug was helping Vice Leader Di supervise the final repairs to the ship. Di was standing on the Bridge in the Control Room running diagnostic tests on all operating systems. Doug entered the room through the elevator. Di spoke without looking up from his tablet. “Is everything completed, Director?”
“I believe so. The outer hull is secure. The communication lines are reconnected. Power has been turned on and the technicians are checking all the computer workstations now. A
re you ready to test the engines?”
“I am, but first I must confirm with the AI. Shonya, report on drive engine status.”
Shonya appeared next to Di. She had improved her hologram image and now stood in full height at five feet, six inches. She was dressed in the standard Qumru two-piece light blue uniform. Doug thought she looked almost real with features that highlighted her face and green eyes. She looked at both of them as she spoke. “I am ready to test the starship hyperdrive engines. All diagnostic tests have been run and results are within standard parameters. Before I begin, who shall I address as Captain of the Solruku?”
“I am Solruku’s Captain until further notice, Shonya, for the record. New crewmembers have been assigned to each control station. They will report to me for now.”
“Yes, Captain. I am ready to start engines. Where do you wish to go?”
“Change present orbit height to two thousand kilometers. Increase speed to forty thousand kilometers per hour.”
“Propulsion thrusters are firing now, Captain. I am adjusting inertia negation field to compensate for gravity change. Increasing speed as requested.”
Doug heard the sound of the engines fire, but nothing more. He felt the increase in gravity only momentarily as the large starship quickly gained altitude. He looked out the large windows in front of the Command Center Bridge. He saw the stars shift slightly as they climbed, but he did not feel any change in speed. The starship moved effortlessly through the dark open space.
He turned to Di. “What type of engines does this starship use?”
“The propulsion engines are Quantum Vacuum Thrusters called QVT or Q-thrusters. They are powered by zero-point field quantum energy particles; what you humans call ZPE. The Qumru scientists started replacing all nuclear fusion power systems one hundred years ago. Quantum energy is limitless and provides all the free energy we need to power the FTL hyperdrive system.”
Doug knew about ZPE power, but it was an experimental technology on Earth. All of Earth’s spacecraft used nuclear fusion power to drive their engines, but none had FTL capability yet.
“Do you think the Qumru people will share this drive technology with us?”
“I believe that is possible, once we get to Holtu. But first we must return your people to your home world.” Di looked at Doug and checked his monitoring screens to confirm the engines were operating flawlessly. He said to Shonya, “Keep us in this new orbit and speed and shut down all engines, Shonya. We will test the FTL drive later.”
“Shutting down propulsion thrusters now, Captain. Will maintain present orbit and speed as directed. Is anything else needed?”
“No, Shonya. That is all for now. Continue to monitor all systems and report if anything changes.” Shonya acknowledged the request and her hologram image disappeared.
Di turned to Doug and said, “The AI seems to be behaving normally now. I had to update her programming to try and find out what happened when this starship was taken over by the Yoyka.”
“Did you find anything?”
“It appears Shonya tried to prevent the starship from leaving Qum when she discovered the crewmembers were infected. She put out a distress call and I was sent to investigate. I was on Qum when the Yoyka infection was introduced. She helped me get on board the starship without being detected, but she had to delete some of her memory files to prevent the crew from knowing I was here. The crew reprogrammed her memory files to make her cooperate and fly the starship to Holtu where they planned to infect my home world. I was able to stop this by blowing a hole in the hull in the Command Center below the Bridge as you know.”
“Is Shonya fully restored now?” Doug assumed the AI was now under their full control.
“Shonya is back to normal and fully capable of operating this starship on her own if necessary. We must now prepare to leave Mars for Earth.”
“Have you contacted your commander and informed him of this?”
“Yes, High Leader Altek has been informed. He will arrive in five days, but we must leave before then.”
“The Yoyka will beat them here, won’t they?” Doug feared the answer.
“I expect they will arrive in three or four days. We must be gone by then.”
Doug understood what that meant. The people left on Mars were doomed to be controlled by the Yoyka and treated like slaves. All activity on Mars was now dedicated to mining and processing heavy metals for Yoyka use. Communications on the surface was strictly reserved for work activities. The people acted like worker ants and behaved like emotionless robots. Free will was gone; it was clearly observed through video feeds and recorded through long range camera lens from the starship. Doug could no longer communicate with the UN Deputy Secretary Haruto Nakamura or Colonel Hayward Jackson. All direct communication with the people on Mars was cut off.
“Have you figured out where Utor went?” Doug asked looking at a video image of Mars passing below the starship.
“His spacecraft has been detected on Mars at the Haffen City Spaceport. I believe he is waiting for the Yoyka masters to arrive,” Di said impassively.
“Isn’t there anything we can do for my people down there?”
“No, not before we find a reversing agent to the Yoyka nanomachines,” Di said unequivocally.
Doug changed the subject before leaving to find Jan. “Are all the Qumru you regenerated bodies for awake?”
Vice Leader Di stopped what he was doing at the controls and looked at Doug. “All are now functional. The Qumru who can help me run this starship are now uploading systems operation data through neural network transfer. Once that is completed, we will be ready to leave Mars. The others are helping Tumil prepare the preventative nano-agent solution for your people. First Chair Cleota will join us in the meeting room in one hour to discuss our return to Holtu.”
Doug looked one more time out the front window on the Command Center Bridge and decided it was time to leave. “I’m going down to the Research Center to find Jan. I’ll return for the meeting with Cleota.”
Doug left the Control Room and took the elevator down to Level 11 where the Medical and Science Research labs were located. The room was filled will people from Mars as well as several Qumru aliens who were working with Tumil, the chief scientist from Qum.
Doug found Janice, Doctor Chang-Woo Mun and Doctor James Colbert standing together next to Tumil watching something intently on one of the large computer monitors. Doug approached without speaking and looked at what they were watching. Tiny nanobots, visible in different colors on the view screen, were attacking each other in a violent display of viciousness. The gold-green nanomachines were trying to attach themselves to nerve endings that looked to Doug to be pieces of brain tissue. These must be the Yoyka nanomachines infecting the brain, Doug thought to himself. He tapped Jan’s shoulder, “What’s going on?”
Jan turned around and smiled. She explained what is happening on the screen. “This is Tumil’s latest test of the preventative nano-agent solution. The gold-green nanobots are the Yoyka nanomachines that attach to the neurons in an infected human brain tissue. I brought samples with me from Mars.
“Neurons are the cells in the brain that transmit information to all the other nerve cells in the body. There are over one hundred billion neurons in the human brain; but not all are connected to the memory and thinking portions of the brain, called the cerebrum or cortex.”
Jan turned to show Doug another image of a human brain on a second computer. “This brain scan is from another patient of mine whose infection I was trying to treat on Mars. This is the portion of the human brain that is infected with Yoyka nanomachines. It’s completely covered in gold-green nanomachines. This is the portion of our brain that controls our thoughts and actions. The Yoyka nanomachines attach themselves to these portions of the brain to completely control us.”
Jan turned back to the other view screen and continued her explanation to Doug, “The silver nanobots are the preventive nano-agent solution created by Tumil. The
y are attacking the Yoyka nanomachines and destroying them before they reach the nerve cells or neurons. So far that’s all we can do.
“Tumil is searching for a weakness in the Yoyka material construction that would allow his nano-agents to defeat them even after they attach to the neurons. If he can find the weakness, then we can develop a real nano-agent antidote to clean the infected tissue and hopefully save the host.”
The demonstration ended. Tumil turned to the humans around him. “We are ready!”
“Ready for what?” Doug asked looking at all the smiling faces.
Jan said, “We are ready to inject the preventative nano-agent solution in all the humans on this starship. They will be able to go back home soon.”
Doug understood their happiness, but he also knew this would not happen. He slowly scanned their faces and broke the bad news. “No one is going back to Mars. We are leaving for Earth soon. Vice Leader Di plans to drop us off on Earth and head for Holtu before the Yoyka arrive. We have two days at the most to leave for Earth.
The smiles faded as reality set in. Mars was lost. Now they had to prepare to save Earth.
Chapter 43
Yoyka Arrive
Doug Martin and Marine Captain Shirley Tills entered the Solruku Control Room Bridge to check with Vice Leader Di about departure time. The previous two days had been a whirlwind of activity preparing the large starship to leave Mars and travel to Earth to drop off the human passengers.
Doug approached Di who was conferring with Shonya standing at his side looking at a holographic image of the solar system. “Hello, Di, Shonya. Captain Tills and I were wondering when we’re leaving?”
“Shonya is powering up the engines now, Doug. We...”
Di’s response was interrupted by a blaring warning sound heard throughout the Command Center. A red icon appeared on the hologram centered above the projection stand. Shonya clarified, “The Yoyka has arrived. Their spaceship exited hyperspace on the fringe of this solar system beyond the eleventh planet.”