shuddered. “Mike saved you, he saved me, a dozen other girls and possibly our very planet; and he did it for you. His love for you was so strong, he overcame insurmountable odds.”
“Girls, can I get you anything?” Mrs. Carody stepped into the room to see how things were going, and was relieved to see her daughter crying; at least it was an emotion. It was far better than the slack jawed expression she had transfixed on her face for the past few weeks.
Chapter 11
“General Burkhalter, we are exactly two hours from our rendezvous point with ‘Little Rock’.” This was the code name assigned to the mission. “We are awaiting your instructions before we proceed.”
“General Weston, you’re three hours ahead of schedule,” a weary Burkhalter noted. “But not unexpected from you and your troops. I want you to proceed with caution, General. I want this matter dealt with as quietly as possible, if you are fired upon, I want you to return fire in kind. But let me be clear, General, I do not want an escalation. If you are fired upon by small arms I want you to return small arms fire. Don’t bring the A-1 Abrams into the fray just yet. Let them see them and maybe they’ll decide to back down. I want this over as quickly as possible and I want two of our own returned as well.”
“Sir, I’m not following you. We have personnel in there?”
“Yes, one undercover... A Captain Moirane, and a Captain Talbot whose whereabouts has not been known for over twenty-four hours. General Weston, I want them alive.”
“Sir, understood. Over and out.”
“General Burkhalter?”
“What is it, Lieutenant? Can’t you see that I’m a little busy here.”
“Sir, I think you’re about to become a lot busier.”
“What is it, Lieutenant?” The general was in no mood for verbal jousting with a boot lieutenant.
“Sir, the mother ship is lit up like a Christmas tree on the infrared.”
That grabbed the general’s attention like jumping into a cold mountain stream on a hot summer day. He nearly ran across the control room, temporarily incognizant of all military decorum. But it went completely unnoticed. Everyone’s gaze was transfixed on the computer screen that was monitoring the mother ship’s orbit.
“Lieutenant, switch to visual mode.”
“Yes, sir.” The lieutenant no sooner switched to visual mode when a complete and utter, uneasy silence filled the room. Thousands of small craft were exiting the ship. It looked more like a mass exodus of bees from a hive. Unfortunately, however, it appeared to be a swarm of killer bees, all headed for planet Earth. They stretched for hundreds of miles. The lieutenant felt that the sheer weight of this offensive would push the Earth out of its orbit to go veering off into some equally unlucky mass. A radar operator wept openly; most though, were either too stunned or too lodged in disbelief to show much of any emotion.
“So this is how it ends,” the general said, more to himself than to any one in particular. “ I always figured it’d be the Chinese. Lieutenant! Get the president on the phone. Lieutenant!” The lieutenant snapped around.
“Sir?!” The glaze that had begun to form around his eyes like that of a condemned man being led to the electric chair briefly vanished.
“Get the president on the line, and then go to DefCon 5.”
“Sir, only the president can give the order for DefCon 5,” the lieutenant sputtered.
“I really don’t think the president is going to mind this one time, Lieutenant; and I don’t want to waste another five minutes waiting for the answer I already know is coming.” And somehow, Lieutenant, I don’t think that any mistake I make tonight will be noticed at all tomorrow. But the general merely thought the latter; he had no desire to send his entire staff into a panic, no matter how he felt.
Chapter 12
General Weston felt a certain unease from the depths of his soul. What it was, he couldn’t identify. He
“Girls, can I get you anything?” Mrs. Carody stepped into the room to see how things were going, and was relieved to see her daughter crying; at least it was an emotion. It was far better than the slack jawed expression she had transfixed on her face for the past few weeks.
Chapter 11
“General Burkhalter, we are exactly two hours from our rendezvous point with ‘Little Rock’.” This was the code name assigned to the mission. “We are awaiting your instructions before we proceed.”
“General Weston, you’re three hours ahead of schedule,” a weary Burkhalter noted. “But not unexpected from you and your troops. I want you to proceed with caution, General. I want this matter dealt with as quietly as possible, if you are fired upon, I want you to return fire in kind. But let me be clear, General, I do not want an escalation. If you are fired upon by small arms I want you to return small arms fire. Don’t bring the A-1 Abrams into the fray just yet. Let them see them and maybe they’ll decide to back down. I want this over as quickly as possible and I want two of our own returned as well.”
“Sir, I’m not following you. We have personnel in there?”
“Yes, one undercover... A Captain Moirane, and a Captain Talbot whose whereabouts has not been known for over twenty-four hours. General Weston, I want them alive.”
“Sir, understood. Over and out.”
“General Burkhalter?”
“What is it, Lieutenant? Can’t you see that I’m a little busy here.”
“Sir, I think you’re about to become a lot busier.”
“What is it, Lieutenant?” The general was in no mood for verbal jousting with a boot lieutenant.
“Sir, the mother ship is lit up like a Christmas tree on the infrared.”
That grabbed the general’s attention like jumping into a cold mountain stream on a hot summer day. He nearly ran across the control room, temporarily incognizant of all military decorum. But it went completely unnoticed. Everyone’s gaze was transfixed on the computer screen that was monitoring the mother ship’s orbit.
“Lieutenant, switch to visual mode.”
“Yes, sir.” The lieutenant no sooner switched to visual mode when a complete and utter, uneasy silence filled the room. Thousands of small craft were exiting the ship. It looked more like a mass exodus of bees from a hive. Unfortunately, however, it appeared to be a swarm of killer bees, all headed for planet Earth. They stretched for hundreds of miles. The lieutenant felt that the sheer weight of this offensive would push the Earth out of its orbit to go veering off into some equally unlucky mass. A radar operator wept openly; most though, were either too stunned or too lodged in disbelief to show much of any emotion.
“So this is how it ends,” the general said, more to himself than to any one in particular. “ I always figured it’d be the Chinese. Lieutenant! Get the president on the phone. Lieutenant!” The lieutenant snapped around.
“Sir?!” The glaze that had begun to form around his eyes like that of a condemned man being led to the electric chair briefly vanished.
“Get the president on the line, and then go to DefCon 5.”
“Sir, only the president can give the order for DefCon 5,” the lieutenant sputtered.
“I really don’t think the president is going to mind this one time, Lieutenant; and I don’t want to waste another five minutes waiting for the answer I already know is coming.” And somehow, Lieutenant, I don’t think that any mistake I make tonight will be noticed at all tomorrow. But the general merely thought the latter; he had no desire to send his entire staff into a panic, no matter how he felt.
Chapter 12
General Weston felt a certain unease from the depths of his soul. What it was, he couldn’t identify. He
Similar Books
