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When I walked into the office I blinked twice in surprise. The vice president of the Federation sat behind the desk. We’ve had dealings before, so I returned his smile.
“Major Ryvenbark. Good to see you again. I’m glad your last mission was so successful. I trust your next one will be just as successful.”
“Thank you. Nice of you to come.” I pointed at him. “But aren’t you in my chair? Ouch!”
Astrid slapped my shoulder.
“Ignore the major, Mr. Vice President. He flunked out of the diplomatic core.”
She walked over and extended her hand. “Such a pleasure to see you again, sir. We are honored by your visit.”
Mr. Anson stood up to shake her hand. “Thank you, Astrid. Unlike your husband, you would do very well in diplomatic service.”
He laughed. “But your husband is correct. I do have his chair.”
He eased around the desk and sat in one of the two black, cushioned chairs in front of the desk. Astrid took the second chair. I smiled and walked behind it and sat down.
“I assume you are not here just to wish us luck on our mission, Mr. vice president. So what can I do for you?”
“Your Raiders have semi-official status with the Federation, but you are not under our legal authority. So I need to request you allow us to send several scientists with you on your mission.”
“It’s a military mission and usually those don’t include civilians. It could be dangerous,” I said.
“It is also the most staggering scientific development in the last hundred years. That sphere out there holds mysteries and we’d like to solve some of them. We have two geniuses who have done remarkable work for the Federation and now want a close look at the sphere. Ever heard of Dr. Bay Boudoin?”
I nodded. “I’ve heard the name and know of her reputation. I would say she’s the best in her field. I think she’s the only one in her field. She combines several fields of study.”
“Yes. Dr. Ike Charbot also has a string of scientific discoveries on his resume. He’d like to be on the voyage too.”
“Don’t know him, but we should have plenty of room. We’re taking only the minimum personal necessary. So he will probably get his choice of cabins,” I said.
“Thank you, major. I will tell them. They are already in Belen’s headquarters, just in case you said yes. Dr. Boudoin has already gone over the very little information we have about the sphere. She thinks – based more on speculation than science – that it’s hollow inside – and could hold at least some of the aliens who built it.”
“Really? That would be nice. We could capture them and have a nice conversation. They can tell us why they sent the sphere to us.”
“One minor detail. While she thinks the sphere may be hollow, she has no idea yet how to get inside.”
“Doubt she would. She would need a little study for that. Maybe we can give her a chance to take a long look at it.”
He stood up. “Then I won’t waste any more of your time, major, except to say I wish you the best. Come home safely.”
“Thank you, Mr. vice president.”
He closed the door when he left. I looked at Astrid. “You know I tend to be a tad negative about politicians, but I’m beginning to respect Mr. Anson. He didn’t have to come by. The Federation could have ordered us to take the two scientists. He just wanted to wish us well.”
Astrid nodded. “That’s what I thought too.”
I flicked on a screen and looked at the sphere again. I also focused on the two silver ships flying with it, one above and one below.
“Why would the aliens send two ships along if the sphere is invincible?”
“That’s for you to figure out, honey.”
“I need a drink.”
“I’ll order you one. Order one for me too.”
There was a bigger screen on the office wall. I transferred the picture to the 72-inch screen. The sphere became bigger, but the switch didn’t result in any revelations. The Raiders had to defeat the two vessels before we investigated the sphere. If the ships were automated or manned by AIs, they would be a formidable opponent.
“Your eyes just lit up, Logan. You have an idea.”
“I sure do.”
I buzzed Belen and asked if my weapons officer had arrived yet.
“Lt. Remington Murdock came in earlier today raring to go. I told him he can have anything he wants. Just tell us what weapons you need and I’ll get them to you.”
“I want a half-dozen equator bombs and means of delivery, but I need the means of delivery modified, so is Science Officer Tekmann Jones here yet?
“His shuttle just arrived about three minutes ago. I’ll tell him to buzz you.”
It only took a minute for Tek to get a communicator. I explained to him what I needed.
“So can that be done?” I asked.
“Sure. Those modifications shouldn’t take long. Maybe a couple of days. I will need some specialized equipment, but I’m sure Ms. Morganthal can get it for us.”
“I have confidence in that too.”
When I hung up, Astrid placed a bourbon and coke in front of me. She sipped some wine.
“Looks like we have a plan.”
“We sure do. At least the first part of our overall plan. The rest will come later.” I frowned and gritted my teeth. “It’s tough to make battle plans when you know very little about your enemy.”
“But on the plus side, your enemy knows very little about you. Or the Raiders. The enemy doesn’t know just how tough and tenacious we can be. But he’s about to find out.”
I raised my glass. “To victory with no casualties.”
She raised her glass and clinked it against mine. “A very apt toast for military people.”
After we drank, I urged her to go somewhere else.
“I love you, but if you stay I’ll focus on you and I need to focus on other things,” I said.
“I understand. But before I go, why don’t you tell me I’m the most beautiful girl in the galaxy and you’d find life dreary without me?”
“Didn’t I do that yesterday? You want to hear it again?”
“Yes. Would be nice.” She smiled. “I’m a romantic at heart.”
“You’re the most beautiful lady in the galaxy. If you had lived in past times, da Vinci would have kicked the Mona Lisa into the street and painted you. I’d be lost without you.”
“Ah, that is so sweet.” She walked over and kissed me, then headed for the door. “I’ll check back about dinner time.”
I looked back at the sphere and the two ships flying with it. I would need the equator bombs. That’s the nickname given to them because they can take out half a planet. If one half goes, the other half is toast too. But the plus with E-bombs is they can be fired, not just dropped. I would need to check with my weapons officer but, if I remembered correctly, they had a range of about twenty thousand miles. Another technological marvel. Hitting a target at twenty thousand miles is darn good shooting. In theory, the alien ships could maneuver and evade the E-bombs. But if my plan worked, the ships would be flying into the path of the E-bombs, not away from them. If all went well....
Those are unforgettable words in life and in the military. ‘If all goes well...’ You plan your best and then hope for the best.
Belen had sent me the information about the three planets in the Terlor system. I transferred them to the big screen. You can learn about your opponent by knowing what type of weapons he uses. It reveals what you’re up against.
Usually that’s true. But when I surveyed the surface of one of the planets, I wasn’t sure what the devastation revealed — if anything. The cities had not been bombed. All the buildings stood erect. Smaller towns showed no physical destruction. But there was no movement on the surface of the planet. The aliens must have used some type of chemical or biological weapon. It killed sentient beings on contact, but didn’t alter physical structures. But it must have been another weapon that dried up the atmosphere.
I frowned. Why not just use one or the other? If aliens disintegrate the atmosphere of a planet, everything on the surface and even below the surface dies. You don’t have to use a biological weapon. Double-kill. They possibly fired both weapons at the same time thinking one might not work. But both worked remarkably well.
A friend of mine, Major Walt Stetson, saw combat on a small, out-of-the-way planet a couple of years ago. I forgot the name of it. But during a fierce battle, one of his volleys hit an innocent. A woman who, sadly, was in the wrong place at the wrong time. In war innocent people die, but Walt agonized about that. He still remembers it. Not that he has to. Our memory drugs could wipe it from his brain. But he has refused to use them. It’s a reminder of the price of war.
One soul. One among the countless billions of sentient beings. How could a single individual be so important among the countless masses?
Yet she was. Each individual life is important. That’s one of our core beliefs.
But whoever or whatever was hidden inside the sphere, didn’t mind killing billions.
I sipped my drink. If my friend, professor Clu Ryker was here, we would have a discussion on that subject. Clu has an IQ just above 200. He’s always a fascinating conversationalist, especially in anthropological and philosophical matters. But this was no time for philosophical musings.
The second planet looked like about the same as the first. No life. Nothing moved. Not even bugs. Just emptiness and hollowness. No devastation wrought by bombs or other explosions. No large craters. No holes where a city should be. Just stillness. The stillness of a graveyard. How do you fight something like that?
With everything you’ve got. And more.
I flicked the screen back on the sphere. It had turned three planets in mass cemeteries, but it kept coming this way. Which told me it didn’t have to return home to reload. It had weapons galore. Which meant the Federation or, rather, Ryvenbark’s Raiders had to keep it from coming near to a fourth planet.
But there was no reason for the sphere to attack the three planets. Such viciousness is often puzzling to humans, but shouldn’t be.
There was no particular reason for Genghis Khan to travel west to conquer the rest of Asia and Europe, but he did. The Soviet Union was a huge nation, the largest in the world. It didn’t need the very small nations of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, but Stalin invaded and crushed them anyway. Then deported half of the population. Stalin and Mao killed tens of millions. With those two and others like them in our past, humans shouldn’t be surprised at the viciousness of other races.
When you’re fighting a war, the reason why the other guy started it is irrelevant. You can ask him that when he sues for peace.
There was one plus of having two ships flying, running interference for the sphere. It might be an indication that the sphere couldn’t perform aerial warfare. The two silver ships could indicate a weakness in space combat, which is entirely different from simply spraying toxins on a planet. Something to consider.
But did it need protection in space? If Federation scientists were correct, the outer rim was impenetrable. Our bombs, lasers, etc. were harmless against it.
And we didn’t have an antimatter weapon. That might take care of the sphere. Were the two silver defenders sent just in case...?
They would have to be destroyed first.
Then Raiders would take on the sphere.