Chapter 12

D-Minus 2 Months

Jared Griffin just knew he was developing a case of Hives. The first Capitan of a Challenger class to face a Case Zulu, only to have it devolve rapidly into a Case Delta. Only the single most complicated situation a Capitan could ever face.

Case Delta forced the Commander into situations so far unforeseen that no one had even tried to plan for them yet, and never would until they happened. Unthinkable, that’s how far outside the box they were. A proven Earth FG presence in conjunction with an Alien influence; the thing migraines were made for and from. He had to balance the threat of discovery by the FG against the proven facts that were under Alien influence. Shit like this should fall on much higher ranks in his humble opinion. That of course meant shit; he was stuck with a Case Delta.

“Sensor Section, find me a demonstration target. Intel — nail down for sure their prime world; I have to make some cold calls real soon now. We have trailed these people for three weeks. I don’t blame theme one bit for their caution. As a point of fact it makes me like them more, but this has to be their home system. Nail down those planetary specs and cycle the Boyd’s into the Stuart for Life Support maintenance, we go at 0900 of the Morning Watch tomorrow!”

It started with a simple stream on their most common communication channel which just happened to cover 95 % of the whole world’s bandwidth, “Good Morning, my name is Capitan Jared Griffin Commanding Officer of the J. E. B. Stuart and attached Squadron. We are part of the Provisional Colonial Fleet. First we would like to apologize for shooting at you; we thought you were a bunch of Froggies come to fight us.

Heplar Sinktaw needed a way out. If it looked like he was responsible for bringing these other humans into the Chulmurian system — Progeny? He would have none. ‘How to turn this around?’

“Captain Bradford, inform your fellow beings of your condition here and how your lives and their own hang in the balance.”

“Will do, but don’t see it helping. It’s not exactly like we are on the same team.”

“Same team?”

“Gaming reference, means on the same side with the same aim and goals. What I think we should do is just agree with whatever they say. They don’t seem to want to threaten us and we sure as hell can’t do a damn thing if they do start shooting.”

“You will talk to them Captain Bradford. I will listen.”

“Sure, and if you don’t like what I say you can always deny it later. That’s the ticket.”

“This is Bradford on the UN Africa. I am piloting for the owners of this system and I got to say you don’t want to make them mad. They took our ship like it was a cheap toy and got a lot more in reserve if you do make them mad. I would recommend you guys go back to where you came from and call it a victory. Elsewise I got nothing to add, I could but I am under instructions, if you know what I mean. But if you see anyone from the Federation let them know how it is. Just leave the Chulmu alone if you want to save your own skins.”

“We wish to correct that misconception, our communications Intercepts and Vampires of the ship Databases prove to us that the Commanders of that flight in fact come from the world we would call too damn cold to live on.

“Ok, they like the cold. You still better get the fuck outta’ here.”

“To prove our peaceful intent let us show you two things. First you have an asteroid in your belt labeled 19,201 in our mathematics. It’s only a couple of light seconds away. Right here,” he sent a data view with the location highlighted. “Watch it. — ‘Fargo, Stoneboy; drop and shoot’. . . Fleet Shield!”

Two Boyd’s suddenly appeared from under cloak and mere heartbeats later the massive stony asteroid became a massive spreading cloud of dust and debris from four Graser hits.

“If we had wanted to kill the Africa in Bolthole space, she would have been dead! We were trying to stop that ship! Second, allow me to send this data stream on our survey reports of this world in the Bolthole system which appears to match yours as to what I would assume you would call livability. We are prepared to discuss your use and or exploitation of that world. Fleet Uncloak, now.”

Suddenly the remaining twenty four Boyd’s appeared as well as the awesome bulk of the Challenger class that was the J. E. B. Stuart. Sleek, massive and deadly; she and her smaller compatriots hung in space like some giant hammer, calmly awaiting an answer.

Sinktaw saw his generations fading. “Bring us in the Bigman; we will design a talk to say words that promise nothing. Then I will inform my fathers, and through them the Decision Master, of what has transpired.”

* * *
Hank walked into the Inner Sanctum of Webb Enterprises, this time there was no challenge at all. Just showing up was his ticket in. He entered to see Andy staring at a combination map-diagram of Strike Masada; Hank was surprised by the amount of Green on that projection. He actually felt some of the uneasiness that had been troubling him for months recede. This he could live with! Unfortunately the feeling didn’t last.

“Sit down Hank and look at the gift you, Ric and Paul have given me.” Andy spun in his chair and faced Hank, “I don’t have to become Shiva, you guys have told me where they are not; I don’t mind smashing a place where I am pretty sure they are!”

“The data is current and pretty much reliable as these things go. Oliver Magnan put all of his work together and then I had a couple of ‘tourists’ go out and do a reality check. It’s as complete and honest as our sources permit. But most of this is from Paul Green and his network of smugglers. It’s good to watch capitalism in action and does help to keep my budget more in balance but, if Paul can find a way to make a little more on the side with some creative storytelling I wouldn’t put it past him.” Hank looked more closely at the map, memorizing it first and then looking for points of divergence, information shown where he had none.

“For all the help we give him Green ought to be a bit more open about his network, Ollie has some pegged but is a long way from being able to run things if Paul should meet with an untimely end. I suppose my biggest fear is that some of those ‘Green Areas’ reflect the color of money changing hands and not the political situation of the people controlling them.”

“Hank, I don’t care how I get Info, just that I get it. Although I understand your feelings. Just understand, the culture Paul’s people are operating in teaches smuggling as their second religion; right behind the Koran.

“The good part is the draw down of firepower needed for Strike Masada allows us leave six Challengers out in Bolthole II to keep an eye on these Chelmur or Chulmurians or whatever they call themselves. I really don’t give a shit; six Challengers can settle their hash fairly fast if they are stupid. Hank, they may be your next problem. I really think we need to make friends with these uh, whatever we are going to call them.”

“From what we gather their star is Chulmur, the planet they call Chulmu, an individual can be a Chulmur, Chulmu or any one of few other names depending on status. As a group the are ‘the Chulmu’ or Chelmurians. It’s all very complicated and I am not sure we have it yet. As much as we try and compare them to ourselves, make them wear our clothes, they really are alien. I don’t know that we are capable of ever understanding them or they us. If that turns out to be true we end up thinking thoughts that lead to genocide.”

“What else is there to say? This whole Chulmurian thing is going to keep stirring the pot. Who asked for that? I suppose in retrospect it was bound to happen but it couldn’t have come at a worse time. The first thing someone in my position does when a new situation arises is to try and get someone inside, failing that to at least get a handle on someone already there. I hardly know enough now to even start. At least they don’t know anything about this on Earth yet, but when they do, and depending on the reaction, it could play havoc with our plans. Can you tell how the UN and Sharif Yemeni might shuffle around their forces in response? Yemeni has not only intelligence but the military under his thumb now as well. M’butu’s faction has been routed.”

“That’s your job Hank. What I know is the sooner we kick things off the less chance of any changes that lead us into making targeting errors.”

“Targeting Errors, now there’s a nice euphemism. But I see your point. We need to have the final Inner Council session as soon as we can. Move up the date. There are too many unknowns and it makes me nervous.”

“About the Chelmurians Hank; a little while back you said you ‘hardly know where to start’. That means you at least have an inkling. Let’s hear it.”

“Well I wouldn’t call this a plan Andy, more of a hint of a dream but, I did a check on the Africa and all those Ollie could identify sent out for the colony prep. We have a pretty extensive dossier on one of them. Guy named Ellis Edgerton; people call him Bigman for obvious reasons. We were going to try and recruit him. Never got the chance as he took off for Alkes as a colonist. From what little we know he is some kind of minor power with the captured Earthers. It’s all problematical but if we could get in touch with him we might learn something.”

“So how would you get in touch with him? The Aliens control all the means of communications.”

“Two possibilities. Try and set up diplomatic relations. If that fails we’d have to send in a ship and let it get captured, hoping to smuggle in a means of getting information back out. Without knowing the extent of the alien’s technology or even if Edgerton would help us, there’s just to damn little to base a plan on.”

“I might be able to help out on the comm end,” Andy said. “We have a few tricks still under wraps in the lab that if they work out might do what you need. But if you end up sending a ship with someone to be captured; well just who might that be?”

Hank turned stock still, going over all the possibilities one more time before saying, — “Me.”

“Out of the question!” Andy exploded. You know too much and are too valuable right here where you are. You need to concentrate on dealing with the current situation. The Council will never go along with it and for good reason!”

“They will if you support me on this. Once the fight at Earth starts; it rolls to a finish. And afterwards Magnan on Earth and Emmet Clark can handle the cleanup that I would be doing. We need to deal with this new situation we can’t just base our plans on what we have seen so far. These Chulmu might have capabilities, or friends, that we have not seen yet. We should act as if they do and use every means to find out.”

“Keep talking Hank. Why you?”

“Because I know how little I know. If we do this it will be seat of the pants all the way. I’m not adverse to sending others into danger, but if I may flatter myself; I think I can look after the Colonies interests and have a better chance of pulling something like this off than anyone I know. Call it a matter of temperament.”

Andy leaned back and thought for a moment, “Hank, humor me for once and take Paul with you. Unless you can think of a better smuggler.”

With barely a pause Hank said, “Sure, and there might be a few others. No one is leaving for anywhere tomorrow or the next day and the situation could change. We have to try the diplomatic approach first. Who knows? It could work. But if that fails I’m your man. If it’s possible I think you should boost the priority on those new comm capabilities you mentioned, either way we are going to need them.”

“I might be able to go along with that. You mentioned another thing, M’butu and his fall from grace. I’ve read the report, know anything else?”

“A little. Jamil made it back to Detroit just before the coup. First thing he did was go out to see Bhutros. His father got him on a private flight back to Kenya and Jamil disappeared. The Islamic league isn’t holding back a thing; they are desperate to find him but so far no joy. We don’t know where he is either but Jamil can find us if he wants. He has a list of contact names. They’re false of course but if he does try and contact someone on that list, someone else will notice and start tracking him. It hasn’t been announced yet but Bhutros is far beyond the need for tracking.”

“No surprise there. What kind of good do you think Jamil can do us Hank?”

“Haven’t given it one hell of a lot of thought, after all — saving his sorry ass was your idea!”

“Ouch, I have to plead guilty to that. I guess I was more thinking, what was his state of mind when he left? I am trying to figure out if he is going to react like the Jamil I used to know.”

“Well Andy, he was stiff and constrained. He did not even engage in his usual petty power games. His eyes made him look like he was already somewhere else. That help?”

“Yep, he had to know about his dad before he left! He should probably be healed up from the plastic surgery by now and I know where he will be when we start kicking up the sandbox. His focus will be Hammad Geromadid, and how to get to him. No matter how much change he makes, I have a way of recognizing him that can only be him.”

“We need him alive for the aftermath down there,” Andy said. “We know the mob is going to try to move into the power gap. The rednecks in the Asheville, Atlanta and Birmingham arc will be slow to react and consolidate. The locals and the refuges from up North are going to need time to dig up those guns they buried and get moving. We need Jamil down in his African power base to slow the mob down. We know he’s crooked, ruthless and self-aggrandizing but, he’s not a coward and he ain’t stupid. He will link his Zulus up with the rednecks and squeeze the mob out, permanently. If for no other reason than to reduce the competition for all the graft!”

“But will your so called rednecks be willing to have anything to do with any faction Jamil still has influence over? It’s not like anyone will view him as a patriot son returned from the wars. Quite the contrary. He may not even surface. I’m not sure I would in his place. But if he does, and if these rednecks of yours end up working with him it has to be the strangest marriage since Colonel Sanders and the Chicken; forgive me for going all classical on you. — They will need to dismiss, make excuses for and overlook most anything he has ever had a hand in and instead blame the bad nasty past all on Bhutros.”

“Well to go classical right back; ‘A man sees what he wants to see and disregards the rest’ or more to the point, Necessity’s a Mother!”

“I don’t have any alternative to playing it your way Andy and hey — you might even be right.”

“Gee thanks Buddy, correct as you may be! Anyway, want a snort before the big meeting?” Andy shook a cigarette from the pack on his desk and reached for a bottle from the wet bar.

“Only one for me Andy,” Hank held up one finger while puffing a cigar to flame. When he had it drawing nicely he said, “Kaybe brought me in from the ranch, she was going to do a little shopping and I promised her lunch before she goes back. Maybe we’ll even have chicken.”

“Bring her to the meeting, we have a lunch all set up and someone will need to get this right in the press eventually. I have been reading her stories and columns and she does give us hell when we need it but never a hint she suspects something is going on behind the scenes. So I do believe we can trust her not to talk in advance, we probably should have invited her in from the historical sense long ago. Except for one thing, I overheard you say to Lincoln Ditmars when we started this.”

“Yeah? What was that? Couldn’t have been much if I let you overhear me.”

“In your own way I think you were talking to everyone in the room. When Linc asked what you thought the chances of keeping our plans away from the light for ten years or more you told him. ‘Not likely but we just might, so long as we can keep secrets from our secrets and don’t even tell them what we are really about.’ “

One hour later they were in the main conference room at Webb waiting for Rob to start the meeting. Rob calmly waited, saying a few words here and there and before being cornered by Hank’s wife who kept him busy until everyone had hit the Lone Star provided buffet and wet bar. Then he begged her leave and began, “Ladies and Gentlemen, as this comes down to timing I would like the first report to be from General Webb on the Military. Andy, you have the stage!”

Andy was slow to move to the podium and said not a word until the holograph showing the Table of Organization and Elements (TOE) for Strike Fleet Earth was up. What the audience saw was a green box around everything.

“What this means is simply that we could go right now! The last unit to go green, which means Fully Mission Capable for our non-military, was decided today when Sally Ditmars and Becce Webb reported the Relief column and the Boyd screening elements as green. I personally would prefer to wait at least two more weeks. One week to stand these people down and give them some rest. The second week for ‘Let’s run though this One Last Time’ training that any paranoid Commander wants.”

“After that period, I say we go on any provocation. I don’t care what it is or against whom. Now this may be tempered by what Hank Carling has to say about the politics back on Earth. Hank, jump in here if you will!”

“To put forwards the most charitable view; things are bad on Earth. It’s a fire sale with the building still in flames and looters making off with the water hoses before the firetrucks are repossessed in bankruptcy court. The Islamic League has an uneasy control over the UN politically. Except in their Middle Eastern powerbase, France, and the Indonesian Religious Territories, it is only force — or threat of force that prevents the North American part of the population from rebelling and the world governmental structure from fragmenting. Redmond seems to have things on Mars locked down but the true situation there is very hard to read.”

“This mob that Andy talks about has always been a factor on Earth, but with the League in charge and the fall of Bhutros Mobutu it has taken on a much more public presence. Under the old regime they were almost an arm of the state, unofficial tax collectors. The Islamic League has other ideas and more than enough raw power that they, under normal conditions; and to use the fire sale analogy again; would cordon of the area, wait for the fire to die down, then sift through the rubble in the hopes of finding survivors to bury in the ashes.”

“What Plan Masada does is take out their base of support and will leave this mob holding a much larger fraction of Earth’s organized power than any government, even Mobutu’s, would let them hold. My main concerns are how we deal with the aftermath on the Colony Worlds, and making sense of where our discovery of the Chulmur fits in to all of this. Conditions on Earth I can monitor, at least to a degree, but I feel no particular obligation to direct their course. We can expend effort by over reaching but that is a political decision I leave to those responsible. Any questions?”

From a table where she was listening intently Katherine Bell Carling spoke up, “I’m not sure anyone wants me asking questions but if I wait till later I am sure I won’t get an answer so here goes: The situation on Earth isn’t much of a surprise, but what do you mean discovery of the Chulmur? Who or what is a Chulmur?”

Hank looked at Williams, “Do I fill her in; I’ll get no peace until I do?”

Andy glanced at Kaybe and saw her complexion wasn’t turning any shade of red. Good thing for Hank she missed the obvious pun.

“Go ahead, we can’t keep a lid on this whole alien thing much longer and any ideas concerning how to handle it will be welcome.” Rob was rather glad the question was finally in the open. Hank wasn’t the only one worried about what would come next.

Hank sketched out the details then turned things over to Andy for the windup.

Andy took center stage once more, “At this late date there are one or two others I would guess we can safely let in on the plan.” He mentioned a few names, actually close to a dozen, mostly from the University, and hearing no objections continued, “We control our own space and jump point whenever we so choose; and the UN is far to busy to worry about us. I am surprised they have not recalled the garrison from New Texas already. Hank says that due to past connections to the Mobutu clan their reliability is in question. No doubt, but we have always had plans for dealing with them so no problem on that front.”

Liam spoke up from the back, “You know in my Day job I am on pretty good terms with the FG’s Comm Officer. I get the feeling that he ain’t real interested in going back to Earth. Lost his wife to the shitty health care there and has his kids here, he lives downtown just so he can get them into the New Texas schooling system. We sorta’ gave him a break when we priced the systems for his kids.

“Dave Shalmar said that Paul’s organization has been approached by some lower NCO types about black market false papers. We checked them out and they are all pretty similar, no family back on earth and have girlfriends here, some of whom surprisingly enough aren’t even Hank or Ric’s plants. The rest seem pretty much loyal to Jamil and a paycheck and would probably just as soon leave. Just change the locks on the doors and promise them a ride home, they are not going to be much trouble at all.

Hank and Andy looked at each other and raised eyebrows were the order of the day, “Water Cooler Intel,” Andy quipped. “See any problem with that Hank? It pretty well matches what we were thinking anyway.”

Hank just shrugged his shoulders and Andy continued, “OK, in summation we can go tomorrow morning but, I have requested the additional two weeks to have everyone rested and ready. Events could force our hand for sure but, I just don’t see anything coming that soon. Any questions?”

The room remained silent and when it was obvious no further questions were on the way Kaybe said, “Tell me more about these Aliens!”

* * *
Sally Ditmars (Sally Polinsky in all but her professional capacity) climbed out of the flitter Becce Webb had set down in the last space at the Lone Star. At first she had sworn that it would not fit, then she thought; just maybe, yet she had watched the woman she now knew as “Croc” slide it in like a glove.

“Now I can see why my husband Pete hates flying anywhere with me,” Sally said. “Good thing he isn’t with us because he thinks I cut things a little close!” Sally looked to the side and asked sweetly, “Think you left us room to squeeze out the door?”

“Out the roof hatch and slide down the front. That’s how I always do it,” Becce said. “So long as we aren’t the first to leave no problems!”

Sally had learned many things in the past months and never to underestimate Becce Webb was one of them. When Rob Williams and her father had dropped the hammer, the one nailing in place what her role was to be, it almost flattened her. She was to lead through the jump point the first relief supply fleet to a planet and system that had just been pounded flat by Attack Fleet Earth! Of the fact that Earth was going to get pounded she had no doubt, what troubled her still was what might be missed and left mobile. Her freighters were fast, that was a given, but they had neither gun nor missile on them. They were the ultimate sitting ducks!

That thought had kept her awake many a night until confiding with her husband Pete, a Boyd pilot in Becce Webb’s Alpha Squadron commented, “You don’t think we are just going to leave you hanging do you? I know it’s not spelled out in the OPLAN but, no man or woman left behind applies to you and yours also. Carrying guns ain’t the only definition of guts!”

Still her head ached from the debriefing she and Becce had gone through in the Black Hole at Webb Enterprises. It was fairly clear that Andy, Chris or Warrick were not leaving any stone unturned at this late date. If she had not known already that D-Day was close at hand these drawn and driven faces would have clued her in!

Entering the big common room, the one Liza Morgan had set up as a classroom, she was amazed at the number of people she saw. The kids were to pack for the trip to New Masada tomorrow and all of their parent and grand-parents were here for this ceremony. As the only adult with no child in the game she had to ask Liza what this was all about. Approaching Liza, she was startled by the first words out of the Lady’s mouth, was Liza some kind of mind reader? “And you Young Lady want to know what all of this is about, don’t you?”

Sally’s jaw dropped, just flapping in the wind, as the supremely poised Liza waved her into a chair.

“All of these children, and children they are even with the magnificent education we endeavor to provide, are just too specialized. Think about it Sally, sooner or later they will be involved in their various family businesses. Not one of them had a business background before getting into this program. Oh, they all know how to balance an account book from their Math classes but, they have no feel at all for what it takes to run a business.”

“Look at the Webb grandkids, their Great Grandma and Grandpa just built the biggest business in Human History. It’s not what they were mostly trained for, that’s for certain, but they knew how. Linda convinced me that knowledge needs to get passed on and what better field than Lone Star LLC as a training block. Oh, I know there’s an underlying motive — that’s expected from any Webb. But that doesn’t mean that it’s a bad idea.”

“We teach these kids the basics of business. And the field trip out to New Masada takes them out of harms way. They leave tomorrow, before anything can possibly happen. We knew we were going to take them out of harms way; that’s been a given for quite a while. And this business school thing was the easiest sell I could make. Even the FG types who come by swallow that snake oil complete with hook, line, and sinker. They are going to learn a lot out there that they will never forget, more than just business. Even if they never use a bit directly it is a good foundation learning experience. You probably more so than myself know that Rob, Walt, Warrick, Chris, Hank and Andy are fixing to do something I don’t want to think about.”

“All I know is that they are trusting the most precious cargo in their worlds to me!”

D-minus 3 Weeks

Page Author | OldDog March 27th, 2009