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“This is a lot, Bill,” General Williams said to Colonel Withers after he had told him everything Captain Steele said during his discussions with him while he was being detained.
“Both of their stories agree,” Bill said.
“Major Werke thinks they are both saboteurs. If that’s the case, of course their stories will match.”
“What’s the chance of them both being saboteurs? They aren’t from the same ship. There is no way they could have planned their accidental meeting. There’s just no way.”
“I agree on that, Bill. Captain Gonzalez is a top officer; he was able to program and send code to the Earth Orbiters to prove our communication system was fully functional. I have a hard time believing he has anything to do with sabotage.”
“With that kind of talent, it is possible for the two to have been in communication.”
“Hmm. I just realized how dangerous Captain Gonzalez could be if he wanted to. But this proves nothing.”
“What options do we have, General?”
“Either way we look at it, we’ve got to be ready for an attack; whether it’s from Earth or these aliens. We stay at full alert.”
“Situation one,” Hal continued, “Earth is angry that we left. We start on diplomatic solutions right away. We either need to convince Earth to let us stay, or let us restock the Legacy with supplies so we can restart our journey. In this case, we would abandon the Stinson all together.”
“There isn’t enough room for everyone,” Colonel Withers said. “Even now, we are running out of supplies quickly. How do we choose who stays? Will Earth even let anyone stay?”
“Patching things up with Earth will be difficult. I’ll present myself to Earth, and they can try me for crimes against humanity. I will take full responsibility.”
“And what if this story about aliens is true?”
“Then we have one big fight on our hands. I’m not sure if it’s a fight we can win. If not all of the weaponry on Earth could stop them before, I don’t see how we can. The technology we would be up against is far superior to our own.”
“Captain Gonzalez stated they found a way to detect the enemy ships. Our men are working on this as we speak. However, we are approaching this with caution, in case he is a saboteur.”
“Even if we can detect them, we can only hold our own for so long. We got lucky.”
“There’s a chance there aren’t many of them left,” Bill said as he made his way over to the window. “If there were, I would think they would have sent another wave of attack.”
“This is true. But if we are to assume that what those two are telling us about the aliens is true, then we know there is another ship coming to Earth within the month. We may be in good shape now, but we would get slaughtered once it arrived.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes. The silence was broken when Hal’s PIC began to beep. “Yes, what is it?”
“General, our Scouts orbiting Earth are reporting that an enemy fighter has just left Earth and is headed their way.”
“Just one?”
“Yes, sir. It appears that it is trying to contact them using our frequencies and encryptions. What are your orders?”
“Have them bounce the signal to us and patch it through to me.”
“Roger that, sir.”
“It appears we might have some answers soon.”
After what seemed like forever, the PIC beeped again. “Everything is set, General, patching it through now.”
The communication link was weak and noisy, but they were both able to hear the voice on the other end when Hal turned up the volume.
“This is General Fobbs of the Montreal Resistance. Stinson, can you read me?”
Hal remembered hearing his name from Steele’s debriefing with the colonel.
“General Fobbs, this is General Williams from the Legacy. State your intentions.”
“The Legacy? The Legacy is back, too? This isn’t good,” Fobbs said. “General, we need to meet. I have invaluable information about the Ferus.”
“Follow our Scouts, they will escort you. How did you get this frequency and encryption?”
“Captain Steele left his damaged radio behind when he took one of our captured Ferus craft. We were able to repair it. General, I know the idea of aliens is hard to swallow. I’m bringing proof. We need to work together if mankind stands a chance.”
“Agreed.” Williams switched frequencies on his PIC. “Have the Scouts escort General Fobbs to the Legacy. Colonel Withers and I will meet him in the hangar once he arrives. Keep the Talons on alert in case this is a trick.”
“Roger, sir.” The PIC went quiet.
Hal set his PIC on his desk and yawned. “Bill, it’s best if we both try to get some rest.”
“Do you think it’s wise that we are potentially bringing the enemy right to us? This will give away our position.”
“We are fools to believe they don’t already know where we are. We moved far out of Earth’s orbit just so we would have time to respond to an attack if one came. As much as I don’t like it, this General Fobbs may be our only option at the moment.”
“You’re right, General. I’m going to retire to my quarters for a few hours.”
“I’ll have the bridge wake you once General Fobbs is within range.”
Hal watched Bill leave. He knew he should get some sleep, too, but he was too anxious about what General Fobbs was going to show him as proof that the aliens existed. He also knew that this was their best chance at getting the real story of exactly what had happened to Earth. He thought about going down to the holding cells to talk to Captains Gonzalez and Steele to hear their stories personally, but he resisted the urge to second-guess Colonel Withers. He trusted his judgment.
A half-hour after Bill had gone off to get some sleep, his PIC beeped. “Yes?” he answered.
“General Fobbs is requesting that he leave the escorts behind because they are slowing him down. He says he could make it here much quicker using the alien fighter’s speed,” his communications officer said.
Hal thought about it for a moment. He was extremely anxious to talk with him, but he couldn’t help think that this could be what he needs to spring his trap.
He keyed the PIC. “Go ahead and allow it, but I want the weapons officer to keep an eye on him the whole time. I want to know immediately if he does anything out of the ordinary. Tell him to get here as fast as he can”
“Yes, sir. We’re also detecting a large object heading towards Earth. At its current speed, we estimate it to arrive in two weeks.”
“I want you to make sure we always keep eyes on it…understood?”
“Yes, sir. One more thing, sir. General Fobbs wanted me to tell you that our counterattack was very successful. He says we destroyed most of what they had for fighters and that his intelligence people say they only have a few fighters left. But the aliens are expecting reinforcements. He just thought you would like to know.”
“Thank you.”
“Sir, if I may ask, what is going on? Aliens?”
Hal thought for a moment and realized that the entire crew must be completely confused as to what was going on. But now was not the time, and he didn’t want panic to spread throughout the ship.
“Please keep these conversations private for now. I’ll be giving an announcement shortly, and will explain everything then. Until then, secrecy is paramount, understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
He knew he was going to have to give that announcement soon. The idea of an alien force wasn’t something that could be kept secret, not even by the best soldier.
After only a couple more hours, his PIC beeped again.
“Sir, General Fobbs will be here in about a half-hour,” the communications officer said.
“Thank you. Have Colonel Trexlor and Colonel Jordan meet me in the hangar debriefing room. Also, contact Colonel Withers and tell him to meet us there as well.”
“Yes, sir.”
Hal thought about bringing in Colonel Jessup, too, but then thought better of it. He knew Trexlor, an engineer from the Stinson, was working with him on the problem of detecting these alien fighters, and he didn’t want to completely stop their work during this meeting. Time was critical.
By the time he got to the debriefing room, both Trexlor and Jordan were already there waiting for him. Moments after he sat down, Colonel Withers walked in.
“I hope you were able to get some rest, Colonel,” Hal said.
Bill nodded. Good, Hal thought, he needed his men to be well rested for this meeting.
“Shortly after we spoke to General Fobbs, we detected a large object heading towards Earth. We estimate it is due to arrive in about two weeks.”
“So this means the Ferus story is real?” Bill asked.
Hal could tell Bill was anxious for this to be true to help validate his faith in Captain Steele. Hal also wished Captain Gonzalez was innocent as well.
“Yes, we believe so,” Hal said. “We’ve contacted General Fobbs and gave him our position. The craft General Fobbs is piloting is much faster than our Scouts. We told him to leave them behind and get here as quickly as he could. He should be here soon.”
Hal looked over to Colonel Trexlor and nodded telling him it was time for him to give his presentation. Trexlor began working on his computer and an image appeared on the wall showing a large green square.
“This is the flight analysis of the battle using all available sensors. This is the Stinson just prior to the attack, and these smaller green squares are our Talons.” Trexlor pointed to a few small green squares moving around the large one.
“Now watch what happens when we add in the gravity sensor configuration that Captain Gonzalez suggested.” The screen lit up with about twenty-five or so small red triangles. “These are the enemy.”
“So then, we have a fighting chance,” Bill said.
“Well, yes and no,” Trexlor went on. “After analyzing the data further, these craft are way more maneuverable than we first thought. If they knew we were locked on to them, they should be able to shake us with ease. Once General Fobbs gets here with this enemy fighter craft, we should be able to know more.”
Hal was extremely impressed that Captain Gonzalez found another way to solve a complex problem. He sincerely hoped he was on his side. His alien detection was exactly what they needed to help raise their chances of survival. He made a mental note to make sure he was released from custody as soon as possible. Seemed to Hal that all of this just proved they were innocent, which meant they still didn’t know who the real saboteur was.
“Do we know why they haven’t launched another attack?” Colonel Jordan asked.
“According to General Fobbs,” Williams started, “we took out most of what they had for fighters in that battle. His intelligence says that there are a few fighters left, but they don’t want to risk it; they are waiting for reinforcements.”
“If they aren’t going to attack us, then we should be able to transport the civilian population to the surface,” Bill said hopefully.
“We’ve thought about that,” Hal said. “It’s just too risky. We would have to make hundreds of trips to the surface with our transports, which leaves them exposed to attacks. If we want to save civilian lives, there is only one solution.”
Hal knew that the Stinson and Legacy were designed to make only one surface landing. Once they landed, they wouldn’t be able to take off again.
“It would have to be the Legacy,” Bill said. “The Stinson is too far gone to make a reentry.”
Hal nodded in agreement. “We start preparing the Legacy to make reentry right away. Once General Fobbs gets here, we discuss the best place to put her down. We make the Stinson as battle ready as possible. It could be a suicide mission for those left onboard.”
“I’ll do it. She’s my ship now that General Helon is gone,” Bill said courageously.
Hal was impressed with Bill’s quick decision. He had grown into a leader very quickly and had done a superb job.
“I suggest we release Steele and Gonzalez,” Bill said as he picked up his PIC to call Major Werke.
“Yes, Colonel.” Major Werke’s voice seemed out of breath.
“I want you to release Captain Steele and Captain Gonzalez.”
“Colonel, there’s a problem. They’ve escaped.”
Hal didn’t like what he was hearing.
“Their story is confirmed, I want you-”
“They’ve killed two of the Legacy’s security personnel. Security entered the cell to break up a fight between Steele and Gonzalez, and they were overtaken. They’ve taken Captain Deerfield hostage. My men are tracking them down now.”
“Captain, I want them taken alive.”
“They’ve got a hostage. We’ll do what we can, but her life comes first.”
“It doesn’t make sense, Werke. Steele hasn’t been violent before. He’s innocent, why would he start now?”
“I don’t know, sir. All I know is that we have a serious situation on our hands, and we will handle it the best we can. I’ve asked the Legacy’s head of security, Major Keller, to protect the civilians. I didn’t want him going after Steele and Gonzalez. They killed his men, and I don’t want Keller to make it personal. You have my word, we’ll do everything we can to bring them in safely.”
“Roger that, Major Werke. Keep me updated,” Bill said angrily. “I’m sorry General, I’m not sure what’s going on. This is unlike Captain Steele.”
Hal’s PIC beeped and he read that General Fobbs had just landed.
“The same goes for Captain Gonzalez. He’s always been a top officer. Security will deal with this. We will focus on General Fobbs. I’ve just got word, he’s here.”
While they waited for the general to arrive, Hal stood up and went to the corner of the room where he couldn’t be heard by the others. He keyed his PIC.
“Major Keller?” Hal asked.
“Yes, sir?”
“I would like you to confirm Major Werke’s story about Captain Gonzalez and Captain Steele killing two of your men, then escaping while taking Captain Deerfield hostage.”
“Sir? I have not been made aware of any of my men missing, let alone dead. Please hold.”
A few minutes went by before he responded back.
“Sir? It looks like Captains Gonzalez and Steele did break out of prison, but with Captain Deerfield’s help apparently. Major Werke is not responding to my calls. What is going on, sir?”
Hal was thinking quickly. If Steele and Gonzalez weren’t involved with the sabotages, then who else had access and the knowledge to do these acts of terrorism, he thought. It could only be one person.
“Major, I want you to take Major Werke into custody immediately!”
“Yes, sir. I’ll contact you as soon as it is done.”
He only hoped he could catch him in time before Werke could kill Steele or Gonzalez. Hopefully Grace was successful in keeping those two alive before they arrested Werke.
He saw Bill stand up and head toward him.
“Sorry, General, but I couldn’t help but overhear. Arrest Werke?
Hal quickly filled him in on how he had proved Werke was lying to him earlier.
“I hope those three make it. We really need them.”
“Agreed. Now let’s see what General Fobbs has to say,” Hal said as he nodded his head in the direction of the opening door where the general was coming in, escorted by a couple of security guards.
“Gentlemen,” Fobbs said as he quickly introduced himself to everyone and then sat down.
Hal waited until everyone was properly introduced. “General, we are anxious to hear your report. I’ve already told them what you told us over the radio. I know time is critical, but I think it would be good for all of us to hear from you how it all started. What in the world happened?”
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