April (72 page)

It did have a single light docking and tow grapple at each end. He expected to make them for general sale also, since they were dirt cheap. They could make a copy for about forty thousand dollars USNA, using obsolete scooter parts. They were assuming nobody would consider it as requiring a license to operate or certification, as it was more like a pallet truck or golf cart, than a actual vessel. It was only made to operate at two or three meters a second, max.

However the cargo on this platform was precious. The second Singh projector was mated with a fusion power source and a radar unit which cost much more than the cart. The expense was not a concern to Dave however, because he had 'liberated' it from the wreck of the
Cincinnati
. He was shocked when he went to get it, to see quite a few other items had been stripped from the shuttle in just a couple days. He was glad nobody had taken the radar before him. Heather had privately asked him to salvage a few other electronic things for her personally, when he pulled the radar and he had obliged her.

The way the shuttle had been damaged he realized most of it was worth saving. So he sent two of his crew to save the engines and their support gear first and then a secondary wish list. He had no doubt if it stayed parked there a few months even the airframe itself would be cut away slowly for the metals and it would just disappear. It didn't upset him. He just resolved to get his share.

So when they were done, they had two projectors to protect the station and two on scooters to do the same, or to move off and fire on other spacecraft or at the earth. The second scooter was equipped with two reflecting telescopes, which mounted at the end of booms. They were folded back for acceleration. The Singh projector could be fired from radar or by eye from one telescope. But to shoot at Earth targets especially, the two telescopes were moved about ten meters apart and the signals integrated electronically in a manner he didn't entirely understand, to resolve a much smaller object than they could do separately. Jeff had told him it was a technique astronomers used and it resolved such a fine image that the license plates on ground cars would be readable, if they were tipped to the sky.

Heather was working hard to compile a database of targets, from a commercial map program and a GPS source. She had also bought a subscription to Jane's and was trying to make a reference source for all the USNA and Chinese vessels known, both space and wet navy. She could not believe they still had not cut off their access to data. She determined if they did cut off her communications, she'd return the favor and target their deep sea cables and net backbones even before military targets. There was a nasty side to her down deep, that understood the need for excess in retribution. She could spend years developing targets and contingencies, but she ran out of time the next morning.

* * *

The Secretary of State was given the task of reading the announcement.

"The United States of North America in the face of a violent breakdown in civil order in the orbital habitat known as Mitsubishi 3 is establishing a quarantine and blockade of traffic to and from the station effective immediately, until such time as order is restored. Any space craft approaching or leaving the area of the habitat, will be subject to interception and search or seizure. Craft not on a trajectory which permit interception and boarding or resist are liable to be fired upon and destroyed with no further warning."

"As these pirates are not the honorable forces of a legal government, they will not be treated with the respect of honorable combatants, as prisoners of war, but as criminals and unlawful combatants. They and anyone supporting the illegal actions of these outlaws by voice or deed will be liable to summary execution on capture."

"We encourage those not associated with these acts, to report the movements or location of the leaders of these crimes, to aid in their capture and punishment. To this end we also offer a reward of five million dollars USNA to anyone bringing forward dead or alive Jon Davis, or any of the crew of the notorious vessel the
Happy Lewis,
to any Federal officer or embassy."

"So, we fight," Eddie said to his friends assembled to watch the screening when the Secretary finished.  "Putting a price on our heads irritates me. If you want to put a public price on President Hadley, I'll pop ten million Euro for his ears and any other small  extremities they want to trim. They can keep the main part of him. He should know what it feels like to be priced like a side of beef." It irritated him worse, that the price on their heads was quite low by recent standards.

"Did anyone doubt they'd make us fight?" Nam-Kah asked them rhetorically.

"You need to make a counter announcement Jon," Ajay urged him.

"How about some help composing it? Then I want a com broadcast, to call for a vote tonight approving it, because this will be a declaration of war," Jon explained.

"You mean a real formal declaration of war? I didn't think anyone did that anymore."

"They don't," Jon assured her. "It's about time somebody revived the noble custom. I don't want these Earthies to think this is just a minor matter, which will be settled quietly in a few days and forgotten, nor will it be left to fester unsettled. I intend for them to remember their surrender every day, the rest of their lives."

* * *

Jeff sat in Heather's apartment looking at the fish swimming in the aquarium Heather's mother maintained. It was a popular hobby and a great decoration. All but a few of the fish were insensitive to different G levels. They were almost as hardy as ants, which for some reason seemed to thrive better in zero G than any gravity at all. The gracefully moving striped forms were seen, but almost as a dream while his mind grappled with other things. The tank was a great aid to meditation. He had pictured the geometry of the material in a Singh projector and for some reason not connected to any particular known phenomena, he had this burning urge to know what would happen if the torus of strange material was spin as it interacted with a field.

He did not have a handle on why yet, but he was intuitively sure there would be a change in effect. There was a distance to go before all the little connections tickling him in his brain would condense, into a complete thought. He was going to be very careful loading the next couple projectors they were assembling, because he very much wanted a sample of the tricky quantum fluid to be left over.

Chapter 33

Jon thought most would stay at home for this vote. They had agreed to meet and propose new issues and vote every Saturday, until they had fleshed out a functional government. Then when it was proposed and passed, they would eventually drop down to once a month. After awhile perhaps even less. That was too far in the future to know about right now. So calling a Wednesday meeting was breaking the new rule already. Yet the cafeteria was filling rapidly, although it was a workday for many of them. After Muños called them to order again, he yielded the broadcast to Jon.

"Thank you for your patience. I feel we have to reply to the blockade quickly. Not wait until Saturday, to discuss it and respond. This is not something I could reply to on my own. Not only would I not presume to speak for all of you, but I want the USNA government to know what I am telling them was voted on and adopted. The principle item which may cause controversy is I wish to make a formal declaration of war. There are reasons for this. One is to bring into play a large body of international law, which deals with war. It will give other states a basis for intervening for us, in the face of their branding us as simple pirates or outlaws. Pirates and terrorists don't declare formal war."

"The other important thing is, having a formal start to a declared war provides a basis for having a formal termination of hostilities. I don't want us to live with the shadow of unresolved hostilities hanging over us every day, because we don't know when the USNA may see a chance to reverse matters and attack us anew if we don't have a formal surrender and peace."

"Let me read my proposed text and then I'll entertain suggestions and comments. Please, so we can all go home tonight, try to only propose something which is a matter of real importance, not a picky little detail of punctuation, or usage." He picked up the hard copy and read.

Some of the comments were insightful. He marked several revisions and explained a number of items patiently. Especially what he had to repeat several times, was he really was talking about the USNA surrendering not Home. Some of them found it a hard concept to believe, when he informed them he intended to win this war. Just the huge difference in size, made it seem impossible to a lot of people. It was about three hours, before the last person who spoke did not have someone else already standing, to be recognized.

Jon grabbed the opportunity to point out the time and beg a chance to put the revised statement to a vote. He got an approval and the revised version quickly passed. He particularly liked the addition Jeff had suggested. This time he didn't need to be told to read it live. He assumed it was their custom now. When there were several news services connected, awaiting his statement, Muños gave a formal intro and handed off to him.

"Peoples of the Earth, Moon and Mars, along with the other habitats of humanity, we must speak to you again. Following our declaration of independence, we have had our offer of peace rejected by the United States of North America."

"It is always a sad decision to choose conflict and bloodshed, instead of peace, especially when those who adopt war, are rarely the ones who must fight it and die. We find ourselves labeled bandits and pirates, undeserving of the laws governing warfare."

"A strange declaration to make in the face of the fact no fighter of Home is held  prisoner. Why the USNA would abandon their soldiers in our custody, to a suspension of the rules of civilized warfare, we don't understand. Perhaps they feel we will commit some atrocity against their combatants, which will cause others to scorn us, as they do.'

"If so they will be disappointed, as we intend to treat their captured soldiers with respect, even if they abandon them. If they wish to disregard the forms of ethical restraint, which have been the proper custom between nations so long, we cannot force civilized behavior upon them. We must ask the rest of humanity however: Who then is the one called pirate and who is actually acting the part?"

"These threats to our free travel and trade are unacceptable and constitute an act of war. Contrary to the picture painted by the USNA Secretary of State this morning, our statement of independence was voted on and expresses the will of the people of Home in assembly, with their votes attached herein as a footnote. We doubt the majority of the people of North America, would have voted to declare a state of war with the people of Home. We are sure they will never be given opportunity to vote on the issue. So, if the experience of war is forced upon them by their leaders, we can only hope they express their displeasure, at war being waged in their name by executive decree."

"We, the people of Home, do declare a state of war exists between the people of North America and the people of Home. We announce a counter declaration. We deny space to the United States of North America. No vessel may lift to orbit freely from the North American Continent. No military base or strategic resource which supports space travel, is exempt from our retribution. No facility for the production of spacecraft, from the firm which makes the smallest bolt, to the final assembly shed is exempt."

"No vessel may cross the oceans which separate the North American Continent from the civilized world, if we should choose to intercept it. No civilian aircraft of any nation may touch down on the North American continent, without being subject to destruction while there. No military aircraft may leave the Continent, without being subject to destruction in flight. No military base or vessel of North America is free from possible attack from this moment, wherever they are in the world. No governmental office, embassy, consulate, or official agency is exempt."

"We also follow another old custom. As you intend to harm us economically, we are issuing letters of marque and reprisal, to the merchant vessels which act as our militia, so they may seize prizes and regain some of the loss the blockade causes them."

"You have chosen war. When you sue for peace, we will tell you our terms."

"We plead with the other nations of earth not to place their citizens, or their treasure, in harm's way between us in our dispute. Our fight is not with you, unless you seek it as the government of North America has decided to do. If others act as allies against us, we shall expand our formal declaration of war to encompass them."

* * *

"I want these vermin wiped from the heavens." President Hadley screamed. "You have missiles. How long will it take to reprogram them for orbital interception? I want them blown from the sky."

"Peter, get hold of yourself man." The Secretary of Defense yelled at him. "The Japanese have a huge investment in this habitat. The damage using nuclear weapons on a civilian target would do with our own people, is nothing compared to how it would alienate us with our allies. There are very few things you could do which would be political suicide, but this is one of them. The damage a nuclear explosion in near Earth orbit would do on top of our lost satellites would be devastating, even worse if it happened over the territory of another nation. You might as well explode one right on their territory, as overhead for all the damage the EMP would do."

"They have to be punished," Hadley snarled through clutched teeth.

"Yes they do," he agreed, reasonably. "But it must be measured."

* * *

The
Happy Lewis
was already departed from Home and they were hurrying to stock the last consumables on board, so the
Home Boy
could join her soon in a lower orbit. They had targeting lists, if communication broke down with Home. The Singh projectors on Home would fire on Earth targets which were easier to locate and fixed, unless they were needed for defense. The two spaceships would also seek smaller targets, like aircraft and ships which were mobile and had to be identified by sight.