Here Comes Earth: Emergence (30 page)

There was something
wickedly beautiful about Ashima and from the way she was looking at me I was
pretty sure that 50 minutes or even 50 days wouldn’t be out of the question but
the truth was that I was more interested in her knowledge of how galactic
societies worked. That was knowledge I desperately needed to take the next
step.

I had been rehearsing in
my mind the various ways I might ask and honing arguments to use if they tried
to talk me out of it. Once I worked up the courage to ask how I might meet and
talk to a member of a Lower House the answer was somewhat anticlimactic, “DanDreken
and his daughter Malatina of House Gabloriel have been known to use the planet Dreken.
It is not far from here. If you want to speak to them, go there.”

ΔΔΔ

It turns out that Ashima
was willing to take me there and Anzio wasn’t going to let me leave him behind.
As for Semi… well, it appeared that anywhere Anzio went she would be going too.

It’s not that Ashima and
Semi expressed any confidence that DanDreken or his daughter would agree to
talk to us but they were willing to humor my attempt.

The team had spent several
impatient days preparing for the return to Earth while Anzio and I prepped for
our own journey. Mainly my preparation consisted of spending as much time as
possible with Ashima and other knowledgeable Coridians learning everything I
could about what might help get the attention of a Lower House.

I learned from Major
Reagan that Jaki and the Earth Team had not arrived back on Earth yet and that
we had managed to get a message through. I don’t think we were holding a lot of
confidence that the message was being received well or even believed but at
least Earth had been warned.

Most of the delay in
departure had been caused by Major Reagan’s insistence that all kinds of exotic
equipment be manufactured for the team to take with them. The Coridians still
wouldn’t give us anything in weaponry above what we usually carried but other
things like communications gear they didn’t give a second thought to. While
Major Reagan was stocking gear for every contingency the real coup was the ship
itself that the Coridian’s had loaned us.

Maybe ‘loan’ was too
strong a word but the Coridian’s were transporting the team back to Earth on a
ship that not only had defensive and offensive capabilities but also carried
mining abilities for system-wide raw material acquisition and extensive
printing and manufacturing capabilities. They weren’t giving us these
technologies – the ship and all its resources were apparently being placed
under the authority of Silva. Toni was also a part of a small Coridian crew
that would be travelling back to Earth.

If the Coridian’s had
decided to rally under Silva’s leadership it was fair to say there had also
been a subtle shift in our team. It wasn’t anything formal and while Major
Reagan was still very obviously in command he more and more deferred to Julie
for the Big Picture decisions. It was almost as if she’d become the military’s
civilian oversight – and no one was complaining.

Come to think of it
everyone seemed to be allowing me my own discretion as well. When I finally
explained my strategy to a small group that included both Julie and the Major they
simply incorporated what I was doing into their plans. I tried to make clear to
them how much of a longshot this was going to be but they didn’t seem to give
that much credence. They apparently had faith in me to achieve the impossible
and the pressure of that caused me to wake up in a cold sweat on at least one occasion.

I noticed Julie in a small
seating area talking with Toni and several other Coridians. It was the night
before we all started our separate journeys and our entire team was involved in
the Coridian version of a sendoff party; which to me, except for the number of
people in attendance, so far had been indistinguishable from all the other
receptions they seemed so fond of. The room was full and almost crowded –
although it would never be confused for any nightclub, concert, or other public
venue on Earth. The room was louder than any Coridian get-together I’d yet
experienced but it was just the low rumbling of so many conversations that
created the din.

The truth is Anzio and I
could have left that morning, but I wanted to be here for what I deep down
suspected could be a final farewell – and a last chance to see Julie and… what?
Tell her how I felt? Ask her to wait for me from a mission I probably wouldn’t
return?

Just then she looked up
and saw me. It was confusing for me the feelings I experienced when she broke
out in that incredible smile of hers. The next thing I knew she was standing
close in front of me saying that we needed to talk. I know she kept at least
one hand possessively on my forearm as we walked to a doorway and I simply
don’t remember entering the small empty chamber off the main gallery. I do
remember her in my arms, the smell of her hair, her body pressed closely to
mine, and the longest most natural kiss in all of existence. While still
holding on tight she whispered, “Come back to me Mark” and then with misty eyes
she turned and ran away.

I spent some time with my
thoughts before returning to the reception. At first I thought it must have
ended, so quiet was the room, but then I heard a sweet, almost ethereal voice
start to sing. The Coridians had an incredible fascination with our music and
everyone knew that Julie had the best voice most of us had ever experienced; so
I shouldn’t have been surprised to realize that it was her voice we were all so
captivated with. Except for a few Coridian males that were glancing around
apparently trying to figure out what all the fuss was about everyone in the
room, Largan, Coridian, and Earther alike, were mesmerized. I found myself
activating one of the new devices Major Reagan had given me, a holo-recorder. I
wanted to remember this.

With everyone begging her
for a song she had chosen one made famous many years ago by a singer named
Mariah Carey. It was called ‘Hero.’ Julie’s eyes found me in the crowd and
although something in my eye was keeping me from seeing perfectly I could have
sworn she was looking only at me when she sang the last line; something about
finally realizing that there was a hero inside of me…

Major Mathew Reagan, US Army

“For the first time since
this mission started I’m finally in a situation I was trained for,” said Major
Mike ‘Iron Jaw’ Reynolds.

We were sitting in the
quarters the Coridians had assigned me in their ring above the Protectorate Planet
Larga. We’d just arrived earlier that day, met the Largans, and finally gotten
a message off to Earth. It was a tremendous burden off my shoulders; now at the
very least I’d done my duty to warn the world of the true alien threat. I’d had
nightmares about not being able to get a message home and then arriving at
Earth to find it was too late.

I’d thought I would feel
better once I’d relieved that burden but why then did I still feel tied-up in
knots?

 Now that most everyone
else had retired for the night I’d pulled Iron Jaw in for a private planning
session.

“I’m glad somebody feels
that way,” I responded.

“Well, Dr. Schein kind of put
it in perspective for me when she talked about taking out the Noridian ship.
Frankly Matt, I’ve been so consumed with either the immediate needs of keeping
everyone alive or the long term challenge of Noridia swallowing Earth that I was
overlooking the obvious next step - that Noridian ship that Jaki controls can
decimate Earth’s defenses. Julie’s right, it has to be taken out before we can
do anything else.”

Few commanders were
instinctively good at both strategic and tactical thinking. It was easy to
focus on the big picture and lose sight of the immediate next step or
conversely, not be able to think about anything other than staying alive for
the next 24 or 48 hours. Command school focused on this challenge and Mike was
making the kind of admission that few combat commanders would make - and it
wouldn’t be happening now if Mike didn’t trust me to both understand and to
make good decisions.

“Listen Mike, you’ve done
pretty well so far and I trust your judgment. As a matter of fact that’s a big
reason we need to talk; I need to make some decisions.”

I continued, “I’ll admit I
was relieved to hear back from the Coridians on Earth that Jaki hasn’t arrived
yet. I’m pretty confident that Silva’s people got our message through to the
President but I’ve been worried about what type of orders might come back
through the pipeline. I have no idea if Colonel Memphis or Dr. Helmer have been
sending messages back home but if they’ve convinced everyone that we’re the
rogue element we could be facing orders to stand down.”

“Now wouldn’t that be a
pretty pickle,” responded Major Reynolds.

“If those orders to stand
down did come through,” I continued. “I’m thinking I would have to disregard
them.”

There was a long silence
while we both leaned back in our chairs and looked at the ceiling, or looked at
anything else other than each other. I needed to know where Mike stood. Even
though he was good at playing the ‘I’m only a simple soldier’ act you don’t
reach his rank and carry his command record without being able to make tough
decisions. He knew exactly what I was asking him and he wasn’t going to give me
an answer until he’d thought it through.

The US military had for
decades now trained a doctrine of individual initiative. Unlike the old Soviet
or Chinese Armies where even high ranking commanders were afraid to make
important decisions (even critical on-the-spot improvisations while in the
throes of combat were ‘discouraged’), the US military encouraged everyone
working autonomously in the field – at any rank - to assess, adapt, and
overcome changing obstacles and circumstances. This versatility was a major
reason for many US military victories going back as far as WWII and beyond.

Of course, ‘autonomous’
was the key word. If your ranking superior was standing next to you and had
access to the same tactical information as you did you had better obey his or
her orders – because disobeying a direct order was an oath-breaking career
ender except for the most extreme of circumstances.

I was telling Mike that I was
prepared to disobey a direct order; possibly from the President of the United
States herself.

After a long while Mike
started talking. “It’s true that we’re in a unique position to know the
Noridian’s true agenda but we’ve forwarded that information to our government
and we can’t know what other information the President might be privy to that
we’re ignorant of. We have no legal right to disregard her orders.”

 After a pause he
continued, “On the other hand, disinformation is at the core of the Noridian aggression
and they will soon have a ship in Earth orbit that poses a clear and present
danger to our cities and our military infrastructure - and they have clearly demonstrated
their willingness to use that force against us. We will be, for a short window
of time, maybe the only ones on Earth in a position to remove that threat - and
our actions could very well be considered a continuation of our defense against
their unprovoked attack on Stiger.”

I was somewhat hopeful
that Mike might find a way to rationalize taking out the Noridian ship, perhaps
something as simple as telling me not to inform him of any such differing orders,
but he surprised me with what he said next.

“I’ve spent my whole
career trying to stay out of politics yet it’s affected me it at every turn.
Whether it’s watching good troops die in a war that nobody with a straight face
can give a good reason for us fighting or as simple as watching a numbnutz like
Memphis get promoted for how many asses he can kiss.

“This is probably the
first time in my entire career that it’s totally black and white for me; the
first time that I don’t feel the need to wonder about the motivations or just
need to take for granted the justice of our mission. I’m going to do everything
in my power to take out that ship and I don’t care if I have to kick ass on the
Noridians, the Coridians, or even the Joint Chiefs and the White House itself.

“Matt, I told you back on
Stiger that I was willing to follow your lead,” he continued. “And I still am
but I need to know if you’re as committed as I am – even if we have to protect
our planet from threats both foreign and domestic.”

Now we were looking each
other in the eye and he took my extended hand and sealed our compact.

ΔΔΔ

“We need to get back to
Earth as fast as possible but there are a few things we need to do first.”

I was talking to the group
I had assembled in my quarters the next morning. Among others that included Iron
Jaw and Captain Garvais (his second in command), Dr. Spencer, Dr. Spelini, and Dr.
Decker, Silva, Toni, Semi, and Ashima, Captain Hiromi and of course Julie.

“Semi, will your people
provide us with a ship to head back to Earth?”

“Of course major.”

“What kind of ship?”

Semi started to answer but
Silva spoke first. “Major, I think I’ve anticipated your needs here. I’ll be
glad to go over all the specs with you but I can tell you that we will be able
to protect ourselves from the Noridians and we are prepared to establish much
more than just an outpost presence should you invite us to do so. We will be
equipped for a long duration stay and, short of giving you a direct technology
transfer, we can provide some considerable aid in areas of manufacturing and
medicine – with no strings attached.”

“Is this a change in your
policy towards Earth?” a somewhat surprised Dr. Decker asked.

“It’s not policy per se,”
Silva responded. “It’s more a matter of my fellow Coridians deciding to follow
my lead on this matter.”

“So you’re in charge of
the Coridian mission now?” I asked.

“In our own way yes major,
you could say that,” Silva responded while strongly holding eye contact.

I later learned that Silva
had done a little more than just anticipate some of our needs. Because he had
infiltrated our military there were databases on Larga that carried our armament
specs and he had used his influence to start printing matériel as soon as we’d
arrived.

Before the Noridians had
attacked us on Stiger there were 16 military personnel under my command
(including Iron Jaw but not including Silva). Now we were down to 6 shooters,
myself and Iron Jaw. Silva was holding strong on not giving us advanced
weaponry but he was going all out on providing us what we were used to.

Currently being printed were
ten of the US Special Forces preferred assault rifles; the M4A1 with the SOPMOD
(Special Operations Peculiar) Block 3 upgraded Accessory Kits.

The M4A1 was about as
perfect for our needs as you could get; it is a high-tech, multiple-use assault
rifle. It fires a high-velocity 5.56mm round that can take on body armor and is
effective for both close-in fighting as well as long-range targets. It carries
integrated optics and lasers as well as thermal and holographic sighting. It’s
effective in both daylight and night and can be quickly converted to a grenade
launcher or shotgun. It can also be fitted with a suppressor to minimize sound
and muzzle flash.

As a back-up weapon for
the shooters and self-defense for everyone else, all team members were being
provided with 9mm
M11 Sig Sauer P-228s. Smaller than the P-226 and easily
concealable, it was a good handgun for both the civilians and military.

Along with other tactical gear Silva was making sure we’d be well
equipped.

All of this would take a few days to produce but as much of a hurry as
we were in I deemed it essential.

“Julie, what is your best guess as to how the powers that be on Earth
received our report?”

“It’s almost impossible to say,” she responded. “It would largely depend
on what messages, if any, that Colonel Memphis has been allowed to send back to
Earth and what ‘spin’ they’ve put on the situation. The Noridians have to know
that we’ll head home. I’m just surprised that they’re not already there.”

“I think I can help with that,” Ashima interjected. “We were able to
monitor several Noridian ships deployed along the route from Stiger to Earth.
If you would have headed straight for Earth instead of coming to Larga you
would have been intercepted…”

“…and destroyed,” Dr. Spencer finished for her.

Ashima continued, “We think that Jaki was probably confident of
preventing your return to Earth and this gave you a small cushion of time, but
that cushion is now over and she is certainly on her way there as we speak.”

“The other advantage you have,” said Silva. “Is that the Noridians don’t
know about the Coridian presence on Earth and, although they might wonder,
they’re probably underestimating how much cooperation you’re receiving from us.
They therefore can’t know that you can get a message to your people and don’t
even know for sure that you’re still alive.”

“They know that their ship didn’t return from Stiger!”
Iron Jaw
declared.

“Yes,” Silva responded. “And they have to know it’s been destroyed but
they will certainly believe that Coridians did it in response to their
aggression. For all they know your entire team was wiped out according to
plan.”

“So,” Julie said. “There’s a good chance that Jaki is probably operating
under the assumption that she can still seduce Earth into accepting a protectorship.

“Semi,” Julie continued. “Those ships that were hoping to intercept us;
won’t they just go to Earth and reinforce Jaki? How many ships are we up
against?”

Semi thought for a moment and then responded, “I’d be surprised if it
worked out that way. In your culture there would be someone in charge that
could order ships around but our culture is different. Those ships responded to
a request for immediate help from a Noridian of high stature but once the
immediate need has passed they’ll be interested in resuming their own pursuits.
Unless Jaki could make a solid case that there was an imminent need for more
help she’s probably on her own. I just don’t think there would have been time
for her to rally more permanent support.”