Ancient Birthright (58 page)

The Vice President leaned further across the desk, and went nose to nose with the President. “What have you done now? General McAlister is under house arrest at NORAD, and his laser weapon unit has been shut down.”

The President continued to giggle. “I’ve got a secret and I’m not going to tell you what it is,” he taunted.

“Are you feeling okay, Mr. President?”

“I’ve never felt better. I’m going to be King of the United States, and you can’t stop me. My family will be the first royal dynasty established in this country. Next year when I get rid of Congress, I’m going to have the biggest coronation celebration the world has ever seen.”

The Vice President turned and ran to the door. “Get a medical team in here immediately, I think the President is having a breakdown.”

The President was giggling again as he tried to climb on his desk. “I’m King of the country.” His desk chair rolled backward just as he stepped up on it, and his chin hit the desk blotter causing him to bite his tongue.

One of the Secret Service detail helped him into his chair as the Doctor and his support staff rushed in. The Secret Service agent grabbed some tissues from the box on the desk and tried holding them to the President’s mouth to contain the blood. “Take your hands off me. No one is permitted to touch the royal personage without express permission,” yelled the President as he spit blood across his desk. “I want this man executed at once, and then bring me his head on a gold platter.”

The medical assistants held the President while the doctor prepared an injection. It took several attempts and help by the Secret Service detail to get the sedative injected.

The Vice President leaned through the office door and spoke to the President’s secretary, “Call the congressional leaders and ask them to come here as soon as possible, and find the President’s Chief of Staff. I’ll need to speak to him, too. I will be assuming leadership of the government while the President is incapacitated.”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Vice President. No one has seen the Chief of Staff since the President got the call about his wife’s arrest. He ran out of here that morning and left the grounds.”

“Okay, send in his assistant. And will you please get NORAD for me? I need to find out what’s happening with General McAlister.”

The medical staff wheeled the President out of his office. His hands restrained in wide softly padded cuffs. He a trickle of blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. One of the medical team held a cold pack to the side of his face where a large bruise was forming.

“I have NORAD on line one, Mr. Vice President. It’s General Crookman,” the secretary said.

“While I take this call, could you call someone from the cleaning staff to take care of the President’s desk?

“General Crookman, this is the Vice President. The President has been taken ill, and I have temporarily assumed his duties. Please tell me the status of General McAlister and his laser weapon unit.”

“We released the General as the President ordered, yesterday. He arrived at Kirtland several hours later. Our latest reports are that his unit is operational and should open fire on the alien ship in a little over five minutes. That was the first clear window we could give him, but it will only last for seven minutes. They will have to cease fire for three hours and four minutes before they can resume.”

“General Crookman, I want you to have General McAlister stand down immediately. He is not to fire that weapon. In fact, I want his unit to render the laser incapable of firing. You will then get General McAlister back to NORAD to stand charges.”

“I’m on the phone to the ALS unit now, sir. I’m sorry, sir. They’re not picking up the direct line. I’ll call Kirtland and get someone to physically go to the installation and give them the new orders.”

“How long will that take?”

“Too long to stop them from firing.”

“Can you tie me into your radio transmitters for the southwest?”

“Yes, sir.”

The Vice President could hear shouted commands in the background.

“What frequency, Sir?”

“Let’s try the Andrews alert flight frequency first. That was the last one they were talking on.”

“We’re ready, Sir. Whatever you say in the phone will be transmitted.”

“
Jerrod
or Reedn, this is the Vice President. Please respond, this is an emergency.”

A second later, “Mr. Vice President, I didn’t expect to hear from you so soon.”

“Reedn, listen carefully. Do you still have Sergeant Wainwright aboard?”

“Yes. We are just about to land at NRAO.”

“Good, I need you to fly to Kirtland as fast as possible. Don’t worry about sonic booms or breaking glass. They are about to attack your colony ship with the laser weapon. I am ordering Sergeant Wainwright and Airman Mayes to stop that laser from firing at all costs.”

“We just touched down at NARO. Colonel Bitman and his security detail are waiting outside. Should we take them with us?”

“Yes, if you can do it quickly. The laser will be opening fire in less than three minutes.”

In the background the Vice President heard, “We need you and the entire detail on board as fast as possible. We have an emergency mission ordered by the Vice President.”

“Lifting off now, Sir, we should be at the laser installation in just over a minute.”

Chapter-69

Colonel Bitman called his men together, ordering Sergeant Wainwright to brief the mission. When Wainwright was finished, Bitman detailed several men to take over the Starfire optical telescope and stop it from tracking the
Universe Explorer
. Two more were assigned the task of locating the power lines for the laser facility and shutting them down. The remaining eight men, including Colonel Bitman, would take the laser complex.

“We’re coming up on the laser facility now.” Reedn brought
Jerrod
to a stop ten feet from the main doors to the facility.

Jerrod
opened the hatch and extended the stairs. Men rushed down the steps and jumped the last few feet to the ground before the steps had completely extended.

Bitman grabbed the knob of the building’s main entrance door and found it locked. “Airman Mayes, open the door, please.”

Mayes grabbed the knob in one powerful hand and twisted. Bitman heard a snap as the lock mechanism broke, and Airman Mayes pulled the door partway open before he grasped it by the sides and tore the hinges from the doorframe. He tossed the door away, and was the first through the opening lifting his rifle to his shoulder.

Bitman ordered, “Spread out in teams of two. Find the firing control room. Our orders are to stop this weapon from firing at all costs.”

Bitman, Wainwright, and Mayes ran down the main hallway to the room at the far end. Bitman could see a portion of the room on the other side through the small window set high in the door. “This is it. I can see General McAlister and what looks like a large control room. Airman Mayes, the door please.”

The door was unlocked, but Mayes treated it as he had the outer door. The sound of hinges ripping out of the doorframe alerted the room’s occupants that they weren’t alone.

Bitman jumped through the door followed by Sergeant Wainwright and Airman Mayes, “Stand down. We have orders from the acting President to render this weapon incapable of firing. The first man to make a move to fire the laser will be shot.”

“I have my orders directly from the President, and they are to destroy that spaceship,” General McAlister said as he lunged for the firing switch.

Sergeant Wainwright swung his rifle, drawing a bead on McAlister, when he was bumped from behind. Mayes launched a flying tackle that brought McAlister to a crashing stop against the control panel.

The sound of an M16 on full auto rattled through the room just before the lights went out. Dim emergency lighting came on to provide enough light for Mayes and Wainwright to herd McAlister and his men from the building. Another burst of rifle fire was heard, then the sound of shattering glass. A few moments later, the men detailed to take out the power and keep the Starfire telescope from tracking the
Universe Explorer,
ran up and reported to Colonel Bitman. “Mission successful Colonel.”

“Did you destroy the telescope?”

“No, Sir. We took out the focusing lens for the laser.”

“Good job, men,” Colonel Bitman said.

General McAlister sat on the ground still dazed from his contact with the control panel and two-hundred and thirty pounds of Airman Mayes. The rest of his men stared open-mouthed at
Jerrod
and the four souls outlined by the hatch. Saigg and Reedn flanked Beldon and Cindy. Cindy held Reedn’s hand while Beldon had his hand on Saigg’s shoulder.

A convoy of Air Force vehicles roared into the complex, skidding to a halt as additional security personnel bailed out to join the group around General McAlister and his men. Colonel Bitman came to attention and exchanged salutes with the officer commanding the troops.

They introduced themselves, and Colonel Bitman gave a full report of his orders and actions. Colonel Avery, the Kirtland Base Commander, ordered his detail to detain General McAlister and his men.

“Colonel Bitman, the Vice President would like to speak to you and the Base Commander,” Reedn called.

Bitman ushered the Base Commander into
Jerrod
as Sergeant Wainwright got his men ready to board.

Bitman introduced the Base Commander to everyone, and then followed Reedn to the bridge. “Mr. Vice President, this is Colonel Bitman and I have Colonel Avery, Kirtland’s Base Commander here with me.”

“Thank you Colonel Bitman, Reedn, and
Jerrod
for your excellent work in stopping what would have been another tragedy,” The Vice President said. “Colonel Avery, please see that General McAlister is placed under detention and have him transported to NORAD as soon as possible. Use the remainder of his unit to disassemble the laser weapon, and put it in storage until we have completed our investigation.”

“Colonel Bitman, I have detected a helicopter flying along a burn scar in the desert,”
Jerrod
reported. “If they remain on their present course, they will reach this installation in eight minutes.”

“Who was just speaking?” asked Colonel Avery in a startled voice.

“That was
Jerrod
. He’s the smart ship you’re on,” Reedn said.

“We need to go before any more people show up.” Bitman said. “Colonel Avery, it was a pleasure meeting you, and please watch The Discovery Network this weekend. All your questions will be answered.” Colonel Bitman escorted Colonel Avery to the entry hatch.

“We’re heading back to NRAO to drop off Colonel Bitman and his men, and then we’ll be returning to the Moon base,” Reedn told the Vice President. “If any other emergencies come up give us a call. Beldon’s Internet videophone address is Manin.Themoon or you can reach us through Harold Metzler’s office at The Discovery Network.”

Chapter-70

Beldon and Saigg stood together in the cavernous hangar as the two PTO’s returned from their first space-debris gathering mission. Each ship had a crew of two. One piloted by Dantee with Mandy Metzler as her assistant, and the other held Tuuan and Josh Metzler. The kids talked the engineers into modifying the nose of each ship, so that they now sported large clamshell-shaped mesh baskets that operated remotely from within the ship. At the press of a button, the clamshell halves would open and provide two semicircular nets fifty feet across. The bottom of the clamshell halves were lined with a variation of the sealant they’d taken to the Russian craft. The coating was as sticky as the sealant but did not harden when in a vacuum. An object that contacted the material, would bond to the clamshell. It stuck there until freed by spraying a release agent on the glue that then turned into a dry organic powder.

The two friends watched as the first PTO cycled through the airlock. Its capture basket filled with small satellites, hand tools, pieces of booster engines and heat shields. Beldon even saw several individual screws and bolts stuck to the capture material. The second PTO took a little longer to complete its cycle. It looked like a bird that had captured a large dragonfly. The PTO’s capture basket held a single large machine with long solar panels sticking out each side. The solar panels were so long they just barely cleared the doors of the airlock. A large hole in the side of the satellite attested to the reason for its classification as space junk.

“What do the markings on the surface of the large satellite mean?” Saigg asked.

“The largest letters, U.S.A. stand for the United States of America as you might remember from the atlas I sent, and the smaller letters and numbers identify this as a KH-9 type satellite,” Beldon explained. “When I was in high school, I did a term paper on space surveillance satellites. This is an old military surveillance satellite that used cameras and radio receivers to collect intelligence information while it was over other countries.”

“Another five or six missions like this and the
Universe Explorer
will have enough aluminum to shift from its parking orbit around the Moon into close Earth orbit,” Saigg said.

“Why don’t you have them use the smart ships?”

“The engineers couldn’t figure a way to rig the catch clamshells to the nose of the smart ships. We don’t know enough about their construction to risk damaging them. The PTO’s are a known technology that we can repair and modify. I’m unwilling to risk a limited non-renewable resource, like the smart ships to do a task that can be done with a ship we can repair or replace if necessary.”

“Makes sense,” Beldon said.

“With the
Universe Explorer
arriving in a few hours, we’ll have more PTOs available to collect the dead satellites and space debris. It’ll take a while to modify them with the clamshells.”

“Given the time, could you bioengineer the collection nets to grow directly from the PTO’s nose?”

“I believe so,” Saigg said. “I would have to check with the bioengineering staff to be sure, but it would take years to grow a PTO of the size needed.”