Stormhaven Rising (Atlas and the Winds Book 1) (22 page)

“It’s not really that unusual a situation,” she explained. “Some younger western cultures tend to confuse possessiveness, and love. That’s what creates the monogamous dynamic. A lot of the world doesn’t work that way though.”

They strolled out onto the balcony while she continued. “The biggest problem people have in their marriages comes down to two things; insecurity, and dishonesty. And most of that comes from the fact that humans are simply not biologically monogamous creatures.” She leaned over the railing and looked down toward the stage. Music carried up to the balcony and she closed her eyes a minute before continuing. “Think about it. How many relationships are destroyed because one of the members cheats, and then has to lie to cover it up?”

“Probably most of them,” he admitted.

“So if you turn loose of the possessiveness and insecurity, then you take away the power that lies at the core of jealousy. You don’t have to worry about half-truths anymore and there’s no need to lie. It doesn’t matter.” She turned back toward him. “If you work at keeping the communications in the relationship open and honest, then it grows stronger if it is shared more widely.”

“Yeah that all sounds good on paper, but I don’t know if I could ever do it in the real world,” he admitted.

“Some people can’t, and that’s ok,” she said. “To me it’s a lot like being gay. Even if you aren’t, it’s ok for someone else to be."

“I can live with that,” he said.

She looped her arm around his, and led him down to the amphitheater just as the band kicked in to high gear. Part way through the evening, Cole joined them to rip through a dozen older jazz-rock tunes. Dave even relaxed enough that Viki convinced him to show off with a couple classic rock numbers.

Several hours later, when he was ready to call it a night, Viki grabbed his arm again. “Come on, I want to show you something,” she said, leading him away from the crowd and down the path to the East Spring.

Climbing a small rise, Dave could hear the sounds of running water tumbling over rocks along the side of the narrow trail. Viki leaned against him as they walked, holding his arm pressed against her.

Rounding a sharp bend, the path wove through a dense cluster of trees and opened onto a clearing that was invisible from anywhere else in the Biome. Stone terraces formed a waterfall with a half-dozen ledges that held individual rock pools. Steaming water overflowed and splashed from one level to the next in dancing cascade. Wisps of fog rose from the water and drifted across colored lights hidden in the trees. Tropical plants bunched around the edges of the clearing, providing a perfect backdrop and completing the illusion of a tropical island paradise.

Dave stopped, stunned by the exotic beauty of the grotto. Throughout the swirling waters groups of people lounged in various combinations. Dave recognized several of them from the amphitheater. A few even smiled and waved as Viki pulled him into the clearing. She turned loose of his arm and slipped in front of him.

“Come on,” she whispered. Staring into his eyes, she let her coverall fall to the ground. He offered no resistance when she eased his clothes to the ground beside hers. Feeling the gentle breeze blowing across his skin, he watched her settle into the closest of the pools. She reached toward him and he followed, still under her spell. Melting into the water, she pressed herself against him, exploring the parts of his body that most longed for her touch.

His mind drifted away, letting the moment became an eternity. Knowing that this was exactly what he’d needed.

***

Kryptonite and Ugly Plan-B

Washington:

The Situation Room was buried deep beneath the White House. It may have been a holdover from the second Cold War, but it was one of the places where Sylvia Hutton came to get a perspective on the world. She would sit and stare at the map on the wallscreen. The room itself was divided into two areas by a soundproof glass wall, and she could use the Conference Room without concern of being overheard, though she’d usually just sit and enjoy the quiet.

This morning though, silence eluded her. She’d been awake most of the night, running from dreams. The lingering screams that gave voice to her innermost fears still echoed in her memory. She paced across the plush carpeted floor trying to find her inner peace but every time she reached for it, her clarity evaporated into wisps of smoke.

Stopping, she leaned her forehead against the glass, staring at the immense screens in the other room and watching the clock tick away precious seconds. Digital maps displayed important hotspots throughout the world, their readouts summarizing where US assets were deployed.

Six red icons that represented the beginning of Hammerthrow held her eye. Burning like beacons, they held her transfixed. Florida, Texas, New Mexico, California, Utah and a moving one that hung over the Mid-Atlantic. Six red dots out of thousands of incidents spread across the globe, yet they were the most critical of all. If any of those six were to fail, everything else would be meaningless.

“Excuse me, Ma’am,” Norman Anderson said, startling her. She spun to face him, trying to hide both her surprise and what she’d been thinking.

“Yes Norm,” she said. “What is it?”

He studied her face for several seconds and she knew he’d seen inside before she’d snapped her mask into place. They’d known each other for years and in all that time he’d never been anything other than professional.

“Sylvia,” he said, surprising her with the familiarity in his tone. “Are you ok? You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

“I haven’t,” she said. “Not well, anyway.” She walked away from the window and sat down. “What can I do for you?”

“I want to discuss the long term plans for Hammerthrow security,” he said sitting down beside her. “I want to run an idea past you.”

“I’m all yours,” she said, glancing at the clock on the screen once more before turning to face the table. “I’ve got a half-hour before I meet with Al ... unless you think this is something he should be part of?”

“No Ma’am,” he said, shaking his head. “This is something that you need to decide alone.” She cocked an eyebrow but otherwise said nothing.

“I want you to consider declaring a state of national emergency,” he said.

“I figured we’d have this discussion somewhere down the road,” she said, “once the news of the asteroid gets out.” She stopped. “It hasn’t, has it?” she whispered.

“Not yet,” he reassured her. “I think you need to consider making the declaration proactively, and not reactively.”

“Why?” she said. “Wouldn’t that arouse more suspicion?”

“It would,” he admitted, “but if you used a declaration of emergency to invoke the Presidential Emergency Powers Act, we’d have a lot more tools to keep–”

“By throwing out the Constitution,” she said, shaking her head. “I’m not ready to do that.”

“Please hear me out,” he said. “There are powers you’d have at your disposal to keep this secure. We’re now facing the real risk of exposure from sources that we have no influence over. Countries like China."

She was still shaking her head so he went on. “If you make the declaration, we can shut down the domestic risk. We can control ninety-nine percent of the domestic news under the Powers Act. Without it, what’s said in China is read by Americans almost instantly.”

“No,” she said. “We can’t do it just to make our jobs easier.”

“It’s not about making the job easier,” he said. “It’s about making it possible at all. Without it, I don’t think we’ll be able to keep containment for much longer.”

“Isn’t our policy on re-qualifying the press working?” she challenged. “I thought that was why we did it.”

“That was a stop-gap,” he said. “Putting a finger in the dyke for the moment. What we really need to do is to build a concrete wall around the situation and let the dyke crumble.”

She pushed back from the table and stood up, feeling the need to be pacing again. She stopped and stared at him, wondering if he was as comfortable with the idea of burying civil rights as he sounded.

“If you do this,” he said, “we can take preventative steps to protect the country from itself. The reality is that we’re facing an event that will strike more fear into the hearts of the people than anything we’ve faced. The revisions that were added to the PEPA were put there to help us mitigate the threat of terror. How can this not count as terrifying?”

He walked over to the window and looked out at the tactical display. “If that isn’t a reason to declare an emergency, then nothing is."

“I can’t,” she said. “Not yet."

***

Houston:

“Joshua, have you got a minute?” Carter Anthony stuck his head through the open door, seeing the Director holding a stack of papers.

“Sure, if you talk really fast we might have about that.” He gestured for the astronomer to follow him into his office. The two men had already developed a comfortable working relationship. Since Carter had actually managed to bend enough arms to get the Gensix delivered, Lange had learned he was a go-to person for solving problems.

“I filed my report on the conference with the bosses, and I’ve got a couple microseconds to waste before the next crisis,” Lange said, flopping down behind his desk.

“I’d guess, from your tone, it wasn’t a Kumbaya moment in San Francisco?” Carter said, sitting across from him.

“We didn’t expect China to play nice,” he said, “but when JAXA and the ESA told us to go screw ourselves it reached a new pinnacle of fun.”

“They actually did that?” Carter asked.

“Sure did, right along with the rest of them,” Lange said. “Since we can’t hang their asses in front of the world, they figured, and I’m quoting here,
they’d use their resources for something else.”

“Something else?” Carter said. “What can they do on their own?"

“No kidding,” Joshua said, glancing over Carter’s shoulder at the closed-circuit feed from the assembly hangar where they were unloading the
Liberty
. “Who’d have guessed they wouldn’t be willing to support the project. We’re all in this together aren’t we?"

“You’d think so,” Carter said sadly.

“So what’s up?” Lange asked, changing the subject. “Not a problem with your office already?” They’d actually cut a hole through the wall from the Director’s outer office into what had been a computer room next door to make him an office. It was small and had no windows, but it meant that the astronomer was always available. They shared a secretary and the reception area, but since Carter wasn’t officially on NASA’s payroll it kept people from asking too many questions.

“Nah, we’re good there,” Carter said, looking down at his hands. “I want to throw an idea at you."

“I’m all ears.” Joshua leaned back and stared at the astronomer.

“I was wondering if anyone was considering an Ugly Plan-B?” Carter asked.

“Not really,” he said. “I mean you’re the guy in charge of planning. If you don’t have faith in your own idea then maybe we need to talk?”

“Sure I do, but you know the saying, ‘Have faith in Allah, but tether your camel,’” Carter said.

“Are you thinking we should build a second missile?"

“No, but I’d like to explore alternatives.” Carter twisted in his chair to look at the picture on the screen across the room. “What if someone drops a wrench out there and breaks something?"

“Then we fix it. We’ve got parts,” Joshua said.

“Yeah, but we don’t have time. Two or three delays and we’d be shit outta luck. If somebody doesn’t choke it here on the ground, the odds are someone’s going to do it in orbit. Weren’t you the one bitching about all those rookies cobbling the bomb together?”

“We’re doing the best we can,” Joshua said.

“I know, and I’m sure as hell not trying to shoot anybody down,” Carter said. “My real concern is that, even if we don’t blow it anywhere, it still might not be enough.”

“I read your memo, one-in-ten odds,” Joshua said. “You’re quite an optimist.”

“No, I’m not. I’m a realist,” Carter said, leaning forward. “That’s why I like having a second option.”

“So what’re you thinking? You can’t be considering that beam weapon Dr. Numbnuts mentioned?” Joshua said, grimacing.

“Actually I have a different idea,” he said. “I’m proposing a fall-back position.”

“If it’s not another weapon, then what’s left? You said yourself that there’s nowhere to hide,” Joshua frowned, shaking his head.

“Not here,” Carter said. “What if we set up a shelter on the moon? We can put enough people in it to come back and rebuild once the dust settles.”

“How do you propose we do that?” He stood up, walking around his desk to pick up a stack of papers off the shelf. Tossing them at Carter, he said, “That’s our part of the budget for Hammerthrow. If the cash wasn’t coming from the military, we wouldn’t be able to build the missile itself from our funds. I don’t see room in there for a trillion-dollar line-item like a lunar colony.”

“I’m not saying that we start building tomorrow,” Carter said, restacking the pages. “But once Alpha’s re-crewed and the heavy components are up there, what’s NASA going to be doing? Playing taxi service for the military? Answering phones for the astronauts?