Sacrifice:The Shenkar War (16 page)

             
It became apparent that the instructors could not teach him any more. He then pulled any information the database he could find on all forms of martial arts and sword use in the event he might be able to learn something new. Liam still partook in practice, but to get any real type of workout, he would fight five or six of the instructors at once. Even then, Liam held back for fear of injuring his teachers. In the flight simulators, only Evan could best him, but every day Crystal and Tim improved and soon were giving him a run for his money as well. Evan, on the other hand, had no match in the simulator; he gave new meaning to the word perfection when describing his flying.

             
All of them itched to get back to the real thing. The little taste of flying a Scorpion fighter during the demonstration only made it harder to return to the simulators. Every day after training, Liam, Evan, and the rest of Necro Squadron would freshen up and then sneak into the hangar that held a squadron of Scorpion fighters. They would spend the next few hours drinking beers, examining the fighters, and speaking of what was to come.

Hanscom Air Force Base, Scorpion Hangar

              Liam handed a beer up to Evan, who sat in the cockpit of one of the Scorpion fighters. Evan didn’t take the beer, only wrinkled his nose at it.

             
“
Sorry, Evan, no martinis; you will have to settle for beer. At least it’s an Irish ale,” Liam teased.

             
Evan sighed but then took the beer.

             
“
So have any of you heard the news on our departure date?” asked Steve.

             
Everyone turned to stare at Steve. The look on his face plainly showed he knew they didn’t have this information. After a very long pause, April let out an exasperated noise.
“
Will you stop screwing around and tell us already, you ass!” she yelled.

             
“
Yeah, Steve, you know we don’t know the date, so just spill it,” said Tim.

             
“
Well, it seems we are to depart the day after tomorrow,” said Steve, looking first from one face to the next to see everyone’s reactions.

             
“
Who did you hear this from?” asked Evan.

             
At this, Steve looked at his hands, seemly examining something very interesting that Liam couldn’t see. As he shifted his feet, he mumbled in a low voice Liam could barely hear.
“
Well . . . I didn’t exactly hear it. More like I saw the information somewhere.”

             
“
And where exactly did you see this information?” said Tim inquisitively.

             
“
I . . . well . . . sorta pulled it from a computer in the Level Five physics lab.”

             
“
And how did you get into the lab?” Liam asked, taking a step closer to Steve.

             
“
Uhhh . . . well, I didn’t exactly get into the lab. I sorta hacked into the system from an outside computer.”

             
“
Sorta hacked into it? Those computers are supposed to be impossible to hack . . . I’m impressed,” said Tim, sounding as if he meant every word.

             
Feeling rather pleased with himself, Steve looked up and smiled at Tim
.

             
“
Really? You mean it? Thanks!” he said excitedly.

             
Liam looked at Evan, who looked at Crystal. Then all looked at Tim, who just shrugged.

             
“
Well, I AM impressed. I rather fancy myself as very skilled with computers, and I know I couldn’t hack those computers,” he said defensively.

             
Liam just threw his hands up in the air as he looked to the ceiling.

             
“
Okay, whatever . . . so we are leaving day after tomorrow,” he said.

             
“
I guess we had better pack . . . I need to get a hold of a case of gin and vermouth for my martinis,” said Evan.

             
“
Ugh . . . that is something I will never agree with you on. I think I will stick to beer,” said Liam with a disgusted look on his face.

             
“
I am partial to scotch on the rocks personally,” came a voice from behind them.

             
Heads turning, they all came face-to-face with General Frank Kelvin. Everyone snapped to attention, saluting the General.

             
“
At ease. So do you mind telling me what you are all doing in a restricted area?” asked Kelvin.

             
Everyone looked to Liam, who sighed and turned to Kelvin.
              “
Sir, we were just looking at the Scorpions. We will be headed out soon, and we wanted to study every aspect of them while we had the chance,” he explained.

             
Kelvin studied Liam for several seconds, then looked to the rest of the group to study them in turn. After several seconds of this, he turned back to Liam.

             
“
Well, here’s at least one group I feel confident about. I have monitored your group: you all work harder than any other group and you all work well together. Well, Lieutenant Commander, it’s late, so you better get all your people off to bed.”

             
Liam stood confused for a several seconds, wondering who the General had been speaking to before it hit him.
“
Uh . . . sir? I think you are mistaken . . . I am only a Lieutenant,” stammered Liam.

             
Reaching into his jacket pocket, Kelvin pulled out a small blue velvet box and stretched his hand out.

             
“
Actually, I do believe I had it correct, young man. You have already demonstrated that you are a leader and an authority figure. I think you would make a good squadron leader.”

             
Liam took the box stunned, unable to say anything at first. Opening the box, he saw two gold clusters: the insignia of a Lieutenant Commander. Finally finding his voice, he looked up the General and snapped a salute.

             
“
Thank you, sir! I will try not to let you down, sir!”

             
“
Thank me by destroying as many as those Shenkar as you can.”

             
“
That is already our plan, sir. I have someone . . . uh, people I care about whom I will not let the Shenkar hurt.”

             
Looking at Liam closely, Kelvin smiled before he spoke.
“
I understand. Is there anything your squadron needs before you all depart the day after tomorrow, as I am sure Mr. Barrows has already informed you?”

Kelvin smiled again at the looks of shock on all their faces. Turning his head to look at Steve, he spoke.
“
You are not as good as you think you are at covering your tracks, Lieutenant Barrows. Don’t worry--it was one of my men who discovered the intrusion, and seeing as no real harm was done, it will stay between us.”

             
“
T-t-thank you, sir,” stammered Steve.

             
“
Anyway, all of you get to your quarters and get some rest,” said Kelvin. Then he turned and walked from the hangar.

White House, Washington, DC

              “
The sendoff is set for tomorrow at 6:00 p.m. EST. You and the rest of the world dignitaries will be in attendance, as well as the special guest the Prime Minister of the UK is bringing. You will start the ceremony with a speech; then, once that is done, you will introduce the men and women of the EDF
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. Following that, the Templar pilots will enter,” explained the President’s aide.

             
“
Is everything set on that particular part of the ceremony I asked you about earlier? Is our guest all set?” asked the President.

             
“
Yes, sir, I made the arrangements personally. In addition, I called the facility today, and the cycles are being shipped as we speak and should be delivered by tonight. Once the ceremony is completed, you and the rest of the dignitaries will proceed to one of the new Omega shuttles that will be waiting to take you all to the EDF
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for the post-ceremony segment where you all will be given a tour. Your shuttle will precede the crew’s shuttles and will be escorted by the squadron of Scorpion fighters we have stationed on base. Once you and the crew’s shuttles have securely landed aboard the
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, then we will shuttle up the media to broadcast our tour. When you have completed the tour, the media will then be shuttled back to the base while you and the dignitaries proceed on to the shipyards for a tour of those facilities.”

             
“
Thank you, Jane. If there are any changes, please inform me; otherwise, that will be all for now,” said the President.

             
“
Yes, sir,” said Jane, and then she gathered her notes and left.

Leaning back in his chair, the President rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands. How tired he felt. He couldn’t remember the last time he
’d had a good night’s sleep. Even when he served in the Air Force, flying F-16s during Desert Storm, he never had been so tired. He was in his third year in office, and it had been a tough time since his election. The beginning of his presidency had been focused on cleaning up the mess left by the Iraq War, and then the Avian influenza pandemic had struck. Always he was making tough decisions that cost so many lives yet were for the greater good.

             
Now, once again, he was a day away from possibly sending over five hundred men and women to their certain deaths for a greater good. All this made him start to think of whether there was a higher power. He had never been a religious man, not taking much stock in it. He always felt religion had been the cause of more problems than necessary. But now he was starting to consider taking up praying on a regular basis. For even if the EDF
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succeeded in its delaying of the Shenkar fleet, they still needed all the luck they could get if they were to complete the fleet in time and properly train them.

             
In truth, President Sheehan had been considering volunteering himself as a pilot if he thought he could get past his friend, General Kelvin. Frank would never let him into a cockpit, even if he thought it would make a difference. While his life wasn’t any more valuable than the common American citizen, he still was the President, and if they were to succeed in this, he wanted to be there to lead the survivors in rebuilding the world and not leave it to someone who might jump on the chance to create their own private empire.

             
Leaning forward again, he shuffled through the many papers spread across his desk: reports on how the shipyards were doing with the construction, reports on the training of the men and women who would operate the ships and fighters, and finally, the reports on religious groups. They were causing trouble over the impending attack on Earth, stating that it was Judgment Day and that now was the time to repent in order to make it to heaven. While most of the religious groups were just speech givers, there were a few minor groups that had tried on several occasions to penetrate training areas or even to find a way to the shipyards in attempts to sabotage everything, stating it was the will of God. All of this was another reason he had no use for religion. The reports seemed endless, and he had to read through every one. This was going to be another very long day with yet many more to follow.

Hanscom Air Force Base

              The Air Force marching band flared to life, shattering the low buzz of conversation inside of the large hangar. President Sheehan heard the announcer say his name, and he stepped on to the stage, waving to the crowd before him. The announcer continued introducing the rest of the world dignitaries as President Sheehan made his way to his seat. Taking his seat, he looked around the hangar; everything appeared as it should. The stage was built to the rear of the hangar with the media positioned directly in front, separated only by the marching band. Two large sets of bleachers sat on either side of the stage, slightly forward and diagonally away from the stage.

             
As the dignitaries took their seats, the crew of the EDF
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was introduced. Men and women dressed in the blue-and-gray uniforms of the new Earth Defense Force entered from the rear of the hangar, moved across the stage, and continued on to the set of bleachers to the left. As the final crew member took his seat on the bleachers, the presenter was off again, announcing the pilots of the Templar Order. Men and women entered once again, but to tell who was who would be hard, for all wore the segmented armored black suits with helmets donned to conceal their faces. Every one of them had a deactivated plasma sword hanging from their belts. As the pilots seated themselves on the set of bleachers to the right of the stage, the band stopped and the announcer once again introduced President Adam Sheehan.