Darkness on a Pale Blue Stone (34 page)

"What's going on Vadim?" Jackie asked.

"Our scanners just found something," he answered. "They just found a
lot
of things."

"Really? What?" Andre asked.

"Here," Vadim said, pointing at a nearby screen. On it was an image of Earth. Scattered across the planet there were small colored dots. "Each dot corresponds to something we picked up. A few are distress beacons. Like this one..." Vadim pressed one of the dots. The speakers in the bay began to play what sounded like an emergency recording.

"...in case of national emergencies. If you hear this recording, find shelter and await further..."

"And this one," Vadim said.

"...
general distress. All military personnel are ordered to report to commanding..."
the recording played in Russian.

"Where are they coming from?" Andre asked.

"That's the odd thing," Vadim said. "All of them come from underground locations."

"Bunkers?" Jackie asked.

"It would seem."

"So someone must be alive."

"Not necessarily. All the them are just recordings. A variety of things could have triggered them."

"But why now? Why all of a sudden?" Andre asked.

"I don't know. There is also something else," Vadim said. He clicked on another dot. Relevant information popped up on the screen. "From what I can tell, most of what we picked up is coming from these. They seem to be unusual energy signatures, all around the world."

On a hunch, Jackie asked, "Are those the ships?"

Vadim marked the locations and brought up the data from August 3rd. Nearly a third of the ships led to the energy signatures.

"Wow. There they are," Jackie said.

"But where are the rest of them?" Andre wondered.

"Maybe they are turned off or something," Jackie guessed.

"What is most strange is that all of these appeared at the same time. What if they were always on but we couldn't pick them up until just now?" Vadim suggested.

The console began to sound an alert.

"What is it?" Andre asked.

"Someone, or something, is trying to access our files," Vadim replied. He began to investigate to see if it was merely a query or an intrusion.

"What if it's..." Jackie said, unwilling to finish her sentence.

"Why would the aliens need our files?" Andre questioned.

"I don't know. But this can't be good," she replied.

"I... I can't stop it," Vadim said.

"What do you mean?" Jackie asked.

"Whatever this is... it's not a normal connection. This is doing things that should not be possible. It's already starting accessing everything."

"You mean,
everything
?" Jackie asked, frightened.

"Yes. Unclassified and classified. There's only one thing we can do." Vadim pushed himself over to the pod's wall and opened a panel. Inside the wall was an array of humming computer hardware. Vadim flipped one of the switches. The humming stopped. A message appeared on the screen, warning the user that the computer had lost its connection to its data hard drives.

"What all did it get?" Jackie asked.

"There's no way to know," Vadim replied.

"Damn it."

Vadim tried to find more information on the computer about what had happened, but found nothing. Another alert sounded after he nearly given up.

"What is it this time?" Jackie asked.

"It's... a message."

Chapter 53

New Jacksonville - December 19, 2072

After the salvo of laser fire ended, the New Salvadorians put the weapons back into their containers. "
On!
" Gresson called through the megaphone device. The New Salvadorians began to cross the bridge, examining the dead. Adron and Gresson walked over to Hera's charred body.

"I'm sorry, Adron," Gresson said.

"Like I said, she chose this. It had to be done," Adron replied.

"Did they?" Jordan asked, her voice cracking from emotion. "Did any of them really choose this?" She didn't wait for an answer and headed back north for New Salvador.

"She'll be alright," Gresson said.

"I don't think any of us will ever be alright, Alex. Not after what we've done. Not after what we'll
have
to do. You were right. If there's one good thing to come from any of this, it's that it ends quickly. If that means getting help, so be it," Adron said.

They began to walk across the bridge. The asphalt was covered with bodies, splattered with blood, and littered with the weapons of the dead. Both men had a difficult time crossing without stepping on any of them. As they walked, the call of "
On!
" resounded from behind them. The signal was broadcasting again.

"The world is safe once more," Adron said softly, though he spoke with little relief.

As they walked some ways further, Gresson asked "Do you regret what we did? Saving these people? Not just today, but at all? We... we did what we had to do, so I do not."

"We did do what we had to, but I still regret it. I think regardless of coming here, we all still died a long time ago. Our lives merely exist now to do the most horrible thing in human history."

"To
stop
the most horrible thing in human history. We are stopping the worst genocide that has ever..."

"We have
committed
genocide. Our intentions do not matter. It was
our
actions that destroyed this world. And that is what we must live with."

"You can feel guilty all you want, Adron. But I've been with these people. I know that from the very beginning, we were right. Maybe this world's not worth saving. Maybe our race is not worth saving. But these people...
they
are worth saving. And I will die proud, knowing we did the right thing."

"I wish I thought like you, Alex. I truly do."

"Then think about this. Think about the future. Who's would have been brighter? Ours? Or our ancestors? And who deserved it?"

"I don't know. I
do
know they deserve their lives, and they deserve better than the ones they have now. But part of me wishes we had never come back. That we had just embraced death, taking the punishment that
we
deserved."

"I will not give up hope that our species can save itself. That we can choose to not make the same mistake twice. But Adron, if we want that, they need to know the truth."

"It's too big a risk. I'd rather let the future determine itself by chance than show them the path that led to our world."

"They can learn from it. They can do better!"

"You place far too much faith in the human race."

"It is not faith. I have been with them. I have seen a glimpse of what they can become. If we give our knowledge to the right people..."

"The right people? But what about the right people's children? And their children? And their children? How far down the generations are you willing to gamble that none of them will give in?"

Gresson sighed. "Giving into that fear could get us all killed."

"Or it could save us."

The two men looked at each other and, for the moment, agreed to disagree.

On the other side of the bridge, the astonished survivors of the Exterminator attack slowly began to advance toward the New Salvadorians, still unsure if it was all really over. They examined the figures lying on the highway, figures that minutes earlier had been the cause of primal terror.

Valdez met Gresson and Adron in the middle of the bridge. The general extended his hand to his president. "Thank you," he said quietly as Gresson accepted with his own. Valdez continued to walk toward the spot on the highway where his former wife had recently died.

Jake, Sean, and Lash were next to meet the two men.

"Thanks for coming back," Lash said.

"I think it's time we all started working together," Gresson said.

"We'd like that, very, very much," Jake said with a relieved grin.

Gresson looked over at the dejected Valdez. "Is he alright?"

"Rebeca was killed right in front of us," Lash said somberly.

Gresson shook his head in sorrow.

"So what happens now?" Sean asked.

"We clean this up, restore order in the city, and then begin an offensive," Gresson said.

"You convinced your people to help us?" Lash asked.

"I convinced them that if they did nothing tonight, there was no reason for us to be here at all. Moving forward, I think they will be more willing to join you. They can no longer deny the threat."

"So, no more secrets?"

"I am... stilling working on that."

Jake sighed. "Of course."

On the south side of the bridge, the Case family had arrived, along with Lucas and a few members of the council. Stunned, they surveyed the scene with uncertainty. A few minutes later, they regrouped with the others on the bridge.

"What happened?" Alice asked, the question they all had in mind. She was using a walking stick now due to her partial recovery over the past two months.

"The people from New Salvador. They saved us," Sean answered.

"How?" Michael asked.

"Laser rifles, apparently," Jake said, looking over at Gresson for confirmation.

"We saw the lights. That's why we came," Michael said.

"You had weapons to kill the Exterminators this whole time?" Adam angrily asked Gresson and Adron.

"Weapons that normally are useless. We temporarily turned off the signal to use them," Gresson explained.

"I thought turning it off, even for a short time, was a big risk?" Adam asked, assuming that they had once again been told a lie.

"It was. Alexander argued however that it was worth it to save you," Adron said, with disdain in his voice from Adam's ungratefulness.

Michael reached out his hand. "Thank you. We won't forget this," he said. Gresson and Adron excepted the gesture. A series of thanks were given from the others as well, except for Adam.

"For now, you have my thanks. But don't think you have my trust," Adam said.

Adron rolled his eyes. "How grateful."

Adam ignored him and asked, "So what do we do now?"

"We take care of the bodies," Gresson said.

"How do we do that?" Michael asked.

"Pile them on the ground. We use their weapons to burn them," Adron said.

"They deserve at least a decent burial," Lucas argued.

"A burial?" Adam asked in disbelief.

"Yes. Like you told us, and as we can see now, these are people. Not animals. They deserve respect."

"People
are
animals," Adron countered.

"What would you have us do, exactly?" Jake asked. "Create a memorial cemetery for our own enemies right outside our city?"

"There are going to be many more dead, and not just them," Lucas said. "The way we handle them today sets the example for what we do in the future. How would we want our enemies to handle our own dead?"

"Why would we care?" Adron asked in bewilderment. He gave Gresson a look.
These are the people you care so much about?
he thought.

"We bury them in graves by the north shore, with only a sign warning others of what happened to those that attacked us," Adam said. "They get their burials, and we make an example. Everyone wins."

"It's a waste," Adron said. "You don't need burials to place a sign, and a sign isn't going to deter their companions."

"It's not meant for them," Adam replied. "The Exterminators, or whatever they are, aren't the only ones New Jacksonville needs protection from."

"Let's just get this over with," Lash said. She walked over to a dead Exterminator and began to drag the body.

"Wait," Adam said. "First, we take anything of value." He reached down and picked up one of the flame-throwers. It was clunky and awkward to hold. Adam was surprised it was their primary weapon.

"No,
we
will take the weapons. And the suits," Adron said.

"Not a chance," Adam said.

"Enough," Gresson growled. "We set everything of value aside. Tomorrow, we meet and discuss this, along with exactly how we will be working together."

"Fine. But I don't like this," Adron said.

"Is this acceptable for New Jacksonville's council?" Gresson asked. The present members looked at each other.

Kelsey spoke first. "Tomorrow afternoon, once the dead have been dealt with and we can all rest, representatives from New Salvador and our council will meet at the high school to talk."

Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.

"Very well. Until then, we have work to do," Gresson said, reaching down for one of the bodies.

Chapter 54

New Jacksonville - December 19, 2072

"So, let's begin," Kelsey said, taking her seat. The Council of New Jacksonville and several representatives from New Salvador, including Adron, Gresson, and Jen, sat in the gym of Tomas Cortez Memorial High School, ready to negotiate.

"First, let's get something straight," Adam said. "If we are going to make some kind of alliance, we are going to be equal partners. Neither will have authority over the other."

The resulting discussion lasted for several minutes. A few members from both sides offered reasons why they should have a bigger say in the fight against the Exterminators. Brenda Wells even argued that New Salvador should be considered a district under the control of New Jacksonville's council. But eventually Adam's proposition was accepted by a majority vote on both sides. Those representing New Salvador took considerably more time to establish their vote. They insisted that unanimity was important to their decision making process, but eventually a near consensus was accepted as "close enough."

"In addendum to this, I believe Gresson should no longer be considered President of the United States," Adam said.

There were a few scoffs and dissenting murmurs. Kelsey disagreed, saying "Gresson was elected and the last thing we need is a violation of the democratic process. His continued presidency is not a violation of our first concession."