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I cleaned myself up, trying to make myself look as presentable as possible, and gave Aleandro a quick kiss goodbye, knowing I’d catch up with him later.
Footsteps hurried after me. “Camille, there you are,” Mike said. “I have the president on video coms.”
Oh shit. I had been half expecting the call, but I still felt unprepared. I was a mess as well—it was hard to stay smart and professional when the world as we knew it had fallen apart and we were fighting for survival—plus I’d just gotten thoroughly ravished by Aleandro. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d washed my hair, instead mostly tying it into a knot at the top of my head to keep it out of my face while I worked. Things had certainly changed. I remembered how I’d always preened and primped myself ready for work, knowing I’d be exchanging flirtatious little moments with Aleandro, and that Mike would check out my ass as I bent over the radio, and Casey would hold my eye a moment too long when we were discussing planetary missions. But then I guessed they were all looking a little more rough and ready now, too. Mike’s stubble was certainly longer than it ever had been.
“I’m on my way,” I replied.
“There’s something else, too. The Trad ship has gone into orbit, but it’s still not using it’s shielding. We can still see it.”
“Why have they done that?”
He lifted his eyebrows. “Why do you think?”
“They’re preparing for battle,” I said.
“Exactly.”
Together, we hurried up to our workspace at the top of the Observatory. Casey was waiting for us, and he gave me a quick smile as we stepped into the room. Irus and Leif were both already present, as was Sergeant Byrd. They all gave me a brief nod to say hello, but I noted how Irus didn’t quite meet my eye. He knew I’d seen him.
I hated to think I’d kept the president waiting. Through the glass dome above our heads, the Trad spacecraft was clearly visible, yet they’d still made no attempt at communication. Those bastards were playing with us again.
Mike had already pulled down a large screen from the ceiling which was used for video calling. It was blank for the moment, so I assumed the call had ended while he’d gone to find me.
He went to his station.
“Making connection with the White House,” he said, using voice control to operate the screen, “in five...four...three...two...”
And he fell silent as an image of the president sitting behind her desk in the Oval Office appeared on screen.
I stepped forward. “Madam President. I apologize for keeping you waiting.” I remembered what I’d been doing to occupy me and willed my cheeks not to burn. “It’s good to speak with you again.”
“You, too, Ms. Harran, though I wish it was under different circumstances. It appears the Trads are keen to keep us on our toes.”
“They certainly are.”
Our president always left me in awe. Even during these crazy times, she was poised, eloquent, and refined. Where I felt like a scruffy mess, she was smartly dressed in a pant suit, her hair beautifully styled, her brown skin flawless. She still had that air of calm and sensibility that had gotten her elected in the first place.
“I understand you have one of their ships with you in Las Vegas?”
“Unfortunately, yes. It appeared a couple of hours ago. It’s gone back into orbit now but it’s still visible to us on radar. We think they’ve made their point perfectly clear, however. They were hiding before, but now they’re not.”
“We have the same situation here in Washington. Reports are in from New York, San Francisco, and Chicago. The local Observatories are all putting together plans about what to do about it.”
Sergeant Byrd joined me at my side. “If I may, Madam President, I believe we should take an offensive tactic rather than defensive. We can’t allow them to think they can bully us into doing whatever they want.”
I nodded. “I agree. We have four Athion rocket ships here that are ready to attack. The Trad ship might be bigger, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do some damage.”
She frowned slightly and steepled her fingers to her lips. “What about the launch of Exodus? It’s scheduled for less than a week now. The lottery is due to be called in a matter of days.”
I ducked my head in a nod, my stomach roiling at the thought of the results of the lottery. “We believe the Trad ship is here to prevent Project Exodus from ever happening. They must have gotten word about what we had planned, and this is their way of preventing the Athions helping us. If the ship is still somewhere above us when Exodus is due to launch, we couldn’t possibly take the risk. There will be one hundred innocent women on board, and if there is any chance of this going wrong, the launch will have to be grounded. If something happens to the women, there will be no chance of any other missions going to Athion—people simply won’t take the risk—and I believe the Trads are perfectly aware of this.”
The president nodded. “Thank you, Miss Harran. I agree with you one hundred percent. Our priority is with the safety of the women remaining on Earth, and we won’t be taking any chances with their lives.”
Though I knew she was saying the right thing, I couldn’t help the surge of disappointment closing over my throat and prickling my eyes with tears. I cleared my throat and pulled myself back together. I didn’t want anyone to see how badly this affected me.
Irus stepped in. “I’ve heard from other Custo teams as well, Madam President. They’ve all been redirected to Earth to deal with this new threat. We’re aware that it’s most likely the presence of Athions on Earth that’s caused the Trads to increase their presence here.”
“I think their presence has already been more than felt, but we thank you and your kind for your support.”
He ducked his head in a small bow. “Of course.”
“You all have my approval to do whatever it takes to fight the Trad ships,” she said. “This is America, and we don’t negotiate with terrorists, human or otherwise. Just make sure you keep me updated about your plans, and I’ll make sure the other areas where the Trad ships have appeared will coordinate with you. It’s important that we’re seen as a united front.”
“We will. Thank you, Madam President.”
Her face vanished off screen, and we all turned to each other.
Sergeant Byrd lifted his eyebrows. “Looks like we’re going to war.”