Battle for the Earth (27 page)

Tannacha could then concentrate on making his human Sybotes and getting ready for the colonisation of Earth.

Sutan had put this plan to his commanders for approval. One and all, they agreed it was an excellent plan. The meeting was brought to a close and Sutan returned to his bridge to check the progress of the battle group.

**

Marie gasped, and called out for Jumouk.

‘They’re not in the asteroid belt any more. They must have just gone off into hyper-space.’

Jumouk began scrolling through the visual display screens.

‘That’s them on their way then. Probably gives us two days. Pausanias has assured me that the defences on the Mars base are up to the job.’

‘Doesn’t that really depend on what they throw at us? Bear in mind that will give them twelve battle cruisers.’

Jumouk nodded in agreement.

‘Well, I’m sorry, Marie. We just can’t anticipate the outcome of this one.’

Lee had now joined them.

‘I’m afraid Jumouk’s right, Marie. The ball really is in their court this time.’

‘Still, all’s not lost yet. We’ve got this amazing base. We’ll just need to see what Pausanias can pull out the hat.’

‘Marie, will you warn Finney what to expect, and tell him to pass it on to Mark? To be honest I think Mark might be at the sharp end first.’

‘No problem, Jumouk, consider it done.’

With that Marie headed off in the direction of the communications console.

Jumouk shook his head at Lee.

‘It doesn’t look good, Lee. Is there really nothing we can do?’

‘I think we’re just going to have to see how it goes, I can’t think of anything we can do to stop the Annunaki battle group now.’

‘I’m afraid the war on Earth might now be lost, but we must do everything we can to protect the civilians on this base. There is a possibility that if they get Earth they might leave us alone.’

‘I believe that might be wishful thinking, Jumouk. Don’t forget how unforgiving they are.’

Marie rejoined them. She wasn’t told about the last part of their conversation.

‘That’s Finney up to date. Mind you, he’s not too happy. There’s nothing going on in London since the Annunakis pulled out. Personally speaking, I think he’s bored.’

‘Next time you speak to him, tell him to make the most of the peace and quiet I don’t think it’s going to stay that way for long.’

Jumouk spotted the ever-elusive Pausanias and made his excuses to Lee and Marie.

‘I just need to have another word with Pausanias. Will you both excuse me for now?’

With that he took his leave and ushered Pausanias into one of the annexes leading off the main control room.

‘Pausanias, I need to know the full capabilities of this base. The Annunaki battle group that was at Nibiru will be here in around two days, and I still have very little knowledge of this base.’

Pausanias rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

‘Jumouk, I am sorry but you are going to have to be patient with me when I say we have nothing to fear here.’

‘I hear what you’re saying, but how can you be so sure we won’t have a problem, when they will have twelve battle cruisers to our two?’

‘As I say, Jumouk, you’re going to have to trust me for the time being. But do not worry, my friend. All will become clear in good time.’

Jumouk shook his head firmly.

‘There is obviously something you’re not telling me, and I don’t understand why you’re not keeping me in the loop.’

Pausanias smiled. He had to give Jumouk ten out of ten for persistence.

‘Very well, my friend, let me show you something that will help ease your mind.’

He gestured for Jumouk to follow him.

As they entered the turbo-lift, Pausanias punched a code into the control panel and a whole new panel appeared next to the original one. He selected a level and section Jumouk was unaware existed. When the turbo-lift came to a standstill they entered a long, well-lit corridor. Pausanias paused and ran his finger tip over a strip of foil on the wall. A small four-seater floating craft appeared to rise from the floor in front of them. Pausanias gestured for Jumouk to take a seat in the craft.

Pausanias then selected some digits from the control panel, and the craft shot off on what seemed to be a predetermined course, coming to a stop after three minutes at a pair of large twin doors. They dismounted and Pausanias again ran his finger tip lightly over a strip of foil on the wall. The doors slid open and the two entered a large room filled with consoles and three-dimensional imagery.

The doors closed behind them and Pausanias went directly to a large depiction of what looked like Mars. As the by-now thoroughly mystified Jumouk joined him, Pausanias began to explain:

‘This is the heart of our defences. As you can see on this depiction of Mars, we have pulse weapons stations all around the planet intensifying around the entrance to the base. These are defensive positions.’

Jumouk was impressed. The defences did appear to be well positioned and formidable.

‘We also have offensive positions which target any incoming craft with pinpoint accuracy at a range of up to ten thousand miles. These are not just pulse weapons, they are beam technology. The beam is less than a human hair in width and is invisible to the naked eye. It travels at the speed of light and - before you ask - no, it isn’t a laser beam.’

Jumouk looked dumbfounded.

‘How powerful is it?’

‘The beam is inert antimatter and only becomes active at critical mass. If you imagine standing at the top of a set of ladders with a cup full of syrup: if you dribble the syrup from the cup in a fine stream, a puddle forms when it hits the floor. The beam works on the same principle: it puddles and builds up on the target’s atoms reaching critical mass after a few fractions of a second.’

‘And the result?’

‘Devastating. It would tear a battle cruiser apart in a second.’

Jumouk wandered round the depiction of Mars, nodding his head approvingly.

‘You seem to have it all well thought out, Pausanias. I have to say I don’t think the defences could be any better.’

‘Thank you, Jumouk. I assume I have put your mind is at ease now.’

Jumouk had moved away from the Mars depiction and was wandering around some of the other consoles that were dotted around the room, acknowledging the operators as he passed them.

‘These other consoles, do they also play a part in the defence strategy?’

‘Yes, the system is fully automated. Once a threat has been identified, the system takes over and determines the best ways of dealing with it. When the threat has been dealt with, the system then returns to a monitoring mode.’

‘How can it tell what is a threat and what is not a threat?’

‘The system is monitored by two operators at all times. It identifies activity, then simply asks if that activity is a threat. If weapons fire is detected, the system reacts automatically.’

As Jumouk strolled round the room he seemed pretty well satisfied.

‘Shall we return to the main control room now, Jumouk?’

Jumouk didn’t really want to go back to the control room; he would much rather have stayed on to explore this level of the base, which he had never seen before. But under the circumstances he felt that he had probably had his fair share of revelations for the day. Besides, now that Pausanias was being a little more cooperative, he didn’t want to push his luck and alienate him.

‘Yes, that would be fine, and thank you again for the guided tour.’

**

Back in the control room Marie asked Jumouk if he wanted to go for a tea or coffee in one of the annexes. It was pretty obvious what her intention was. She wanted to know what Jumouk had seen, but didn’t like to ask outright.

Sitting at the coffee table and sipping a hot latte, Marie brought the conversation delicately around to the subject of where Jumouk and Pausanias had been.

‘Did Pausanias manage to set your mind at rest, then?’

‘Yes, he certainly did, Marie. I think I can confidently say this base seems extremely secure, no matter what happens.’

Marie took another sip of her coffee.

‘I had a look at the defence console in the control room, but it’s not exactly self-explanatory. I know Pausanias ran through a brief explanation of it with me, but as far as I could make out it’s mainly automatic.’

Jumouk nodded.

‘It is. In fact, the whole system is fully automated and as a back-up measure has two of Pausanias’s people monitoring it at all times.’

Marie was reluctant to ask outright exactly where they had gone, but she did feel she was being put off a bit.

Jumouk wanted to speak to Lee soon to reassure him that at least the Mars base and its occupants were safe.

Fiona meanwhile had her work cut out, organising the settlement of the new arrivals at the Mars base. This was a tough challenge, but she did have the help of Pausanias’s staff, and was amazed at how well organised they were, and how many people this base seemed able to support.

The food replication machines in the numerous dining areas were excellent. They could produce anything, and what was more, it tasted like the real thing! Everybody was more or less settled in and seemed contented. Pausanias’s staff were helping out with any problems, even down to medical requirements. There were two fully equipped hospitals, fully staffed by trained nurses and doctors, even if they were Pausanias’s people. It was almost as if the human population had been expected.

**

Fiona joined Marie at the coffee table, after Jumouk had left to track down Lee.

‘How is the settling-in going, Fiona?’

‘Great. Pausanias’s people have been worth their weight in gold. You would almost have thought they had planned for this somehow.’

‘To be honest, Fiona, right now I would believe anything. This place is just unbelievable!’

Fiona ordered a green tea from one of the Android waitresses. She had quite taken to green tea thanks to Lee’s penchant for it.

‘What’s going to happen to all the people left on Earth?’

‘I really don’t know, Fiona. What I do know is we’ve got our work cut out for us up here.’

Lee joined them at the table. Jumouk had already brought him up to date regarding the security of the Mars base.

‘Hi, Fiona. Long time no see. Is that you finished getting everyone settled in?’

‘More or less, thank you, Lee. Initially, anyway. It’s going to take time for everyone to get used to this base. Did you know they’ve got six digital cinemas here?’

‘I hear there’s two hospitals as well. Has anyone seen anything of Grant?’

Marie and Fiona looked at each other, then shook their heads in unison.

**

Grant was indeed busy, doing what he liked best. As the Mars terrain flashed fifty feet below him, his assault craft weaved and bobbed between the craters and mounds on the surface of the planet. If it hadn’t been for the situation and the predicament they were in, this could have been idyllic. He felt like Buck Rogers.

At least five craft were circumnavigating the planet’s surface at any one time. With the Annunaki battle group on the move nothing was getting left to chance, and Grant couldn’t help but put himself in the front line.

He was just passing over Simud Valles just slightly northwest of where the Mars Pathfinder had landed back in July 1997, when his communicator snapped into life.

‘Grant, come in. Grant.’

It was Lee.

‘Grant, can you hear me, over?’

‘Yes, sir. What can I do for you, over?’

‘Grant, can you return to base ASAP, over?’

‘Sure thing, sir. See you in ten. Anything wrong, over?’

Grant had already changed course.

‘No, we just need to speak to you. Thanks, Grant. Over and out.’

Grant was beginning to feel a bit like a schoolboy who had just been caught playing truant.

The Mars base was located under the shadow of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in our solar system. The main entrance to the base was below and sheltered by a place called the blocks in the Olympus Mons. Although technically not on Olympus Mons, they were pretty close, and made excellent cover for the entrance to the base. The surrounding areas had suffered from sand displacement over the years with craft landing and taking off in the lower Mars gravity, but it was still an ideal location.

Grant brought his assault craft into land within the protective force field surrounding the entrance to the base, and headed to the turbo-lifts concealed within the blocks.

Jumouk and Lee were waiting for him in a large conference room. Like everything on the Mars base the room was very practical, but tastefully decorated, with the emphasis on comfort. Grant entered and took a seat facing Jumouk and Lee. Lee began:

‘Thanks for coming so quickly, Grant. Time seems to be of the essence nowadays. Jumouk has raised an issue regarding the people left on Earth. It looks like we’re not going to be able to intervene when the Annunaki start to find the Dropas bases, and the defences round the bases are only going to hold for so long.’