Overrun (36 page)

Rone lowered her eyes and wrung
her hands under the table while Kobus continued.

“With each and every
psychological discussion of Barnes that has come up, there has always been a
small threat that seems to repeatedly surface. It’s small, very small. But it’s
there. It’s been there and overlooked each and every time, because of this
man’s intelligence.”

Rone brought her hands above the
table and tried not to ball them into fists.

“Barnes is a genius. A very good
man to have on any crew. But not on a mission like this. Signs of paranoia have
always been present. Small miniscule signs, many times overlooked because of
his overcompensation of intelligence and wealth of technical skill. But I tell
you, this is a threat. His actions in situations of pressure have always caused
the scientists working on his research small amounts of concern. And it’s for
this very reason we cannot let this be the man to bring the Hideaway down. He
cannot be allowed the risk.

Given the step-ups in security
clearances and the initiation of the Vulture Program since they went up, it is
in my opinion he would not have been cleared for this mission if the selection
process had been made at a later date. He is only a pilot, gifted in technical
intelligence like all of us. He is not a Vulture soldier as none of us are.
Neither of them are.

We have to take that into
consideration. We cannot make the mistake of assuming that both or even one of
them is going to act rationally. Especially after they figure out the extreme
status of this situation as Dr. Korcheck has just pointed out."

The lights in the briefing room
dimmed again. Everything around the group echoed the groan of tortured steal.

"We also have to take into
consideration that we are under attack," Rone shot back. "The
security of this dome and its scientific facilities are threatened. If we don't
at least bring them out of hibernation now, they could be up there
forever."

"Since I have joined this
team, both myself and a large amount of my colleagues have been second-guessing
the ability of Major Jeffrey Barnes to handle such a command. We have even gone
so far as to recommend that this man’s hibernation simply be terminated."

"You've been what?"
Rone turned on him in disbelief. "How dare you make these recommendations
and accusations without my consultation! How dare you go behind my back…”

"It has never been withheld
from your knowledge! We have submitted numerous reports to the dome governing
bodies!" Kobus shouted back. "You do know that! We don't think he can
do it! And that is why we have to keep them down!"

Another explosion flashed across
the monitor. At the same time, the entire room tilted slightly to one side.
Drinks splashed across the floor, and sparks spit from swinging lights. A
female scientist in the back of the room toppled sideways from her chair. Two
men next to her hurried to help her regain her seat. The sound of rushing
footsteps pounded just outside the doorway.

"I think what we have to do
here is plan for the possibility that this facility may be destroyed," Lt.
Commander Corrado said forebodingly from the front of the battle-rocked room.
Bright flames on the monitor cast an eerie illusion of their jagged tips
licking over the sides of both his shoulders in the dimness. The smoke from
cigarettes made it seem more like reality. "The ignition of the Death Wall
may not save us. Right now we have to plan for that. Everything else should be
set aside," he said pointing at Rone and Kobus. "There is a good
chance the J.G.U. will get through."

"That does raise questions,
doesn't it?" the quiet strong voice came again from the back of the room.

"Please continue Dr.
Korcheck," Corrado said taking a step back and inviting him with a wave of
his hands to come up and take the floor.

"They could quite possibly
be up there forever," Korcheck continued to speak before Corrado finished
his sentence. Korcheck pushed his chair away from the table and stood. He
stepped slowly to the front of the room talking as he did.

"We might not have been
lying to their families when we told them they died a few years back."
Corrado moved away and sat down when Korcheck reached the head of the table.
"Their fate might really be decided.

“If the security of this dome is
compromised, there will be nothing for them to come back to," he looked
around the room eyeing each person in the room. "We will all be dead. And
all the years we've put into this. All the people who are suffering or have
already died will have done so for nothing. And then the question will be
‘why?’.

“If the Beam Cannon Hardware is
never used, in so many years there might not be anyone left alive on this
planet to even ask it. The J.G.U. are nowhere near capable of producing
technology like this. It's the reason they are here."

The room was silent. Long bits
of burned ash dangled from still lit cigarettes. The monitor at the front of
the meeting room had finally been switched off.

"But think about this. I
mean really thing about it. The Beam Cannon Hardware will still be up there
completely unmanned. An easy salvage for the J.G.U. if the war for us does not
go well. A simple space retrieval once they figure out its coordinates."

Explosions rocked the dome for
another time. Hands grabbed for coffee on the table and an anchor to keep
bodies from flying from their spots at the table. Near the back of the room,
another one of the female scientists began to cry softly near Korcheck’s vacant
seat.

"But that's just it,
Korcheck," Kobus spat. "They don't know anything about this."

"They will if the security
of this dome is compromised."

"What if we are
destroyed?" Kobus fired back again. "Everyone that ever knew about
Project Hideaway will be dead. If we wake the pilots up, they could come down
here and bring the technology right to them. Hand it right over to the J.G.U.
End the war immediately by giving them precisely what they want."

"Not necessarily,"
Korcheck argued. "Safeguards have been built into the Hideaway systems to
prevent this type of unauthorized return."

"Those safeguards can
easily be defeated and you know that. What kind of a deterrent is death, when
you, as far as you know, are the only two people left alive either in your
country or on the planet. There is nothing for them to lose.

With this in mind, there is that
chance, a great one in my opinion, they will risk unauthorized return and try
to come back. We can't risk that happening."

"The nukes would prevent
that, Doctor," Rone spoke up again. "Any tampering with the safeguard
equipment or the follow-through of unauthorized mission plans would result in
annihilation of the ship. And this scenario is almost guaranteed not to happen
due to other safeguarding measures aimed individually at the pilots.”

But right now, they are
vulnerable in space. Especially if they are down. There is nothing to prevent
the J.G.U. from flying right up to the sleeping ship and taking it over."

"What nukes?" Korcheck
asked suddenly looking startled. "The implementation of nuclear devices
into the Beam Cannon Hardware is not something ever…”

"If the pilots are awake,
no matter what the safeguards are, their is always the possibility they can
come down!" Kobus shouted ignoring Korcheck and slamming his fist on the
table. What if the plan fails and the United States ends up losing this war.
You will be risking paving the way for J.G.U. success. Their kind would
ultimately survive while the memory of ours will forever be lost."

"You would rather have no
one use this technology?!" Korcheck raised his voice back at Kobus.
"You would rather the entire world should die in the case of our
government's defeat. This is the kind of immoral and irresponsible thinking
that has brought us to this point today, Kobus!"

"Dr. Korcheck," Lt.
Commander Corrado stood from the table and moved towards his initial place at
the front. "That will…"

The loudest explosion yet
interrupted his sentence and threw him to the floor. Chairs overturned and
throngs of legs lifted backward into the air.

The force of the explosion
knocked Korcheck from his feet and across the table in front of Kobus.

"Korcheck!" Kobus, one
of few who managed to continue standing, raged. "Your leftist views are of
no use here!” His finger jabbed at every word with rabid accusation towards the
young scientist’s face.

Korcheck, sprawled across the
top of the table, rolled over to face Kobus. The blast had thrown him so close
the tip of his nose was less than a few inches from being touched by Kobus’
outstretched finger.

"Be advised, all dome
personnel!" a mechanical voice sounded from the corridor and every
communication channel open in the room. "The Death Wall has been lit.
Repeat. The Death Wall has been lit. Stand by for battle status reports. Tower
report to commence in sixty seconds."

Lt. Commander Dome Leader Steven
Corrado reached across the table and helped Korcheck roll himself off and back
to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Chris," he
said. The room shook again. Many of the scientists began to abandon the meeting
and head towards the door content in the knowledge their own personal views
would not alter the tide of this debate. "I think we're going to have to
keep them down. Maintaining their hibernation and leaving them up there with
the chance they may never wake up is a small price to pay for the safety and
security of their cargo."

"I disagree," Dr. Rone
said standing and walking towards the front of the room. A small group of men
and women stayed behind to witness the outcome of the discussion.

"There is no more time to
disagree," Kobus hissed through closed teeth.

"He's right, Dr.
Rone," the Lt. Commander agreed.

"Sir..." Korcheck
tried one last time.

"Sir," Dr. Rone said
interrupting Korcheck and stepping purposely ahead of Kobus. Her petite
determined figure then separated him from the dome commander. "I think the
best thing we can do is wake them up. At least give the hardware some thinking
breathing guardians if anything. Guardians against being discovered."

"Or guardians against ever
being used," Korcheck added.

"Doctors Rone and
Korcheck," Kobus' voice was calmer and more controlled. "…taking the
chance that these two men may float in their sleep for all eternity is
necessary when considering the fact that waking them up could risk the
possibility of the technology, our technology, falling into the hands of the
J.G.U. If we die, then by God so will they."

Rone, Korcheck, Kobus, and the
small group of remaining scientists stood in a half circle before Lt. Commander
Dome Leader Corrado at the head of the room. For the next moment, they all were
silent. The confusion and ruckus coming from the outer corridors were becoming
more intense.

"I agree," the dome
commander said firmly. "Does anyone else wish to be heard?"

The faces of the remaining were
rigid, but no one spoke. Some resignedly shook their heads while others looked
apprehensively towards the door.

"You're talking about the
future of life on our planet…" Korcheck pleaded his case one last time.
Kobus had already turned his back and headed towards the corridor.

The lights to the meeting room
dimmed again and went completely dark. A few seconds passed, and then the
emergency lighting cast an orange glow about the room. More scientists headed
for the door leaving only two to remain with the dome commander.

"Everyone back up your
data," the Corrado called after the retreating personnel. "All
cloaking shields are down, so send it up to the satellite and ship
archives…"

The commander walked from the
table and moved towards the door. He turned to look back at Rone and Korcheck
still standing in the darkened briefing room.

"…just in case," he
finished. "Return to your stations, doctors. Make your back-ups. While
there is still time."

And with that he was gone, the
meeting to decide the fate of the Hideaway having now become officially
complete.

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Overrun:
Project Hideaway
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