The Commander (16 page)

A young officer waiting in the hangar escorted Luke to the command bridge.

“Welcome aboard, Commander,” McGee greeted him.

“Thanks, Jared. What’s up?”

McGee nodded to a viewscreen of Amanda’s face. “She’s on-site,” he said. “Amanda, can you fill us in?”

Amanda nodded. “Commander, I’m in shuttle
Duffy
, over the Fiery Cross Reef in the Spratly Islands. Two separate groups of fishermen, from both the Philippines and Viet Nam, were sailing to the west of the reef. A Chinese destroyer decided they were infringing on Chinese territorial waters and sank them.”

Luke understood. The reef in the South China Sea was near equidistant from both Vietnam and the Philippines but nowhere close to China, who had claimed the waters some time ago. Although the Chinese government said they had legitimate sovereignty over the disputed territory, the international courts disagreed. It appeared that China was making a statement.

“Was it intentional?” Luke asked.

“Absolutely. I was on-site while the shooting was still going on.
Duffy
confirmed the transmitted orders were between the Chinese destroyer and its senior command. It was a deliberate attack by the Chinese, no doubt at all.
Duffy
recorded the authorization and the attack.”

“Are
you
safe?”

“Oh, yes. They don’t even know we’re here.”

“This is it, then. Don’t you think? The big test?” Luke asked.

“It is, Commander. You made promises and the entire world is going to watch how you handle this. This is make-or-break time.”

This sucks, is what it does
, Luke thought. His response would mean loss of life but it would establish the Alliance’s credibility and keep the flow of people coming in.

The one thing he could not lose was the pipeline that supplied his workforce. At the moment, their inbound flights were full. Kathy Lyons was ready to expand the number of newcomers. The recruiting engine Annie started building a year ago was working, and this was not the time to throw a wrench into the machinery. He looked at McGee.

“You were right, Jared. It had to be the Spratlys. I don’t know what the Chinese leadership are using for brains. What were they thinking?”

“That you wouldn’t take any action,” McGee replied. “They think because you’re American you’ll act like an American politician. They’re wrong about that. You’re the Commander of the Milky Way Alliance and you don’t have time for this kind of piddly shit.”

Luke laughed sourly at McGee’s choice of words, accurate though they were. “Okay, then. Are the lifeboats on the way?”

McGee nodded grimly. “They’re overhead.”

“Proceed, Captain,” Luke ordered. He took one of the seats next to the captain’s command chair to observe the plan they had developed during the previous days.

“
Masakatsu
,” McGee said aloud. “Take us to the north end of Fiery Cross Reef.”

“Course set, Captain,” the warship replied.

The spacecraft dove toward the earth. The ocean was a blur as the warship crossed the Pacific. The designated spot of land appeared in the distance, a simple white dot in an unsettled sea. As they zoomed toward it, the narrow rectangular island grew in size until Luke could discern the new runway on the reclaimed land. The warship floated just above the water at the northern tip of the island.

“Establish the force fields as we discussed, please,
Masakatsu
,” McGee ordered. “I’d like the bottom of the field to extend fifty feet below the surface of the ocean. Set the width to five thousand feet and angle it back from the center at thirty degrees.”

“The force field is in place, Captain.”

From the ground, the force field would be invisible. Only if someone was looking very closely would they see the wave tops splashing against an unyielding surface.

“Move forward at one knot,” McGee ordered. “Have the lifeboats land on the south end of the island with their doors open.”

“Course set, Captain. Landing boats arriving now.”

Luke walked over to the full height window at the front of the command bridge to watch what was happening. The tip of the force field reached the edge of the land. Like farmland in front of a giant plowshare, a broad strip of land curled up and was pushed aside, completely off the island. The depth of the South China Sea around the reef was over six thousand feet. The earth that had been so painstakingly reclaimed from the ocean floor was being shoved back into the sea in one inexorable push.

The island workers ran from the oncoming avalanche of mud and sand. A dozen space shuttles, colored brilliant white with large red crosses on their sides, landed at the southern tip.

For a brief moment, dozens of military soldiers stood their ground and fired weapons at the approaching warship. The impact of their bullets could not be seen; the projectiles simply bounced off the force field.
Seeing
the futility of their efforts, they broke and ran toward the waiting shuttles, along with the island workers.

As each shuttle became loaded with desperate Chinese islanders, it rose slowly into the sky, away from the doomed island. By the time the
Abe Masakatsu
was halfway down the runway, Fiery Cross Reef was completely deserted.

McGee updated his command. “Instruct half of the shuttles to drop off their survivors at the airport in Manila and the rest to do the same in Ho Chi Minh City. Increase speed to five knots.”

Luke had originally considered repatriating the civilians from the reef to Hong Kong, but Roth pushed for sending them to the allied capitals. “Let the injured parties decide what to do,” Roth had said.

“Mission complete,”
Masakatsu
announced. “Fiery Cross Reef no longer exists.”

“Understood,” McGee replied. “Do you have the location of the destroyer that sank the fishing boats?”

“Affirmative, Captain. The vessel is now twenty miles northwest of our position.”

“Take us there, please,
Masakatsu
.”

A moment later Luke saw the Chinese destroyer. The large numerals on the bow, 173, identified it as the
Changsha
, one of China’s newest warships. It was a sleek, modern-looking vessel, over five hundred feet in length. Luke spotted the main gun near the bow. It was armed with surface-to-air missiles as well.

“Confirm this is the ship that sank the fishing boats,” McGee instructed.

“Confirmed, Captain,”
Masakatsu
replied.

“Put one round amidships, below the water line. One percent firing charge.” McGee looked at Luke. “Don’t want to cause too much collateral damage to the sea floor.”

Luke felt a minor
thump
in his feet, and the bow and stern of the Chinese destroyer lifted out of the water, a gaping tear in the middle of its hull. The spacecraft’s huge projectile had shattered the backbone of the enemy vessel, twisting the hull into an unnatural V-shape. The ends of the vessel settled again into the ocean, leaving the ship torn into two large sections.

“As soon as our lifeboats are empty have them return here to pick up survivors. Are there any other Chinese warships in this area,
Masakatsu
?” McGee asked.

“There are two similar class destroyers approximately one hundred miles to the north of our current position and the Liaoning Carrier Group another two hundred miles to the northwest of the destroyers, Captain.”

“Same treatment please,
Masakatsu
,” McGee ordered. “Fire when ready.”

The scene outside rushed by almost faster than Luke could follow. A moment later
Masakatsu
announced, “Mission complete, Captain.”

“Thank you,
Masakatsu
. Continue to have our lifeboats retrieve survivors. Please take us to Tiananmen Square in Beijing.”

A moment later the warship hovered over the famous landmark.

“You still a go with this, Commander?” McGee asked.

Luke was not okay with it at all. But he smothered the pain that sprang from human decency. “Proceed, Captain.”

The captain nodded once and said, “
Masakatsu
, target the large building to the west of the square known as the Great Hall of the People. One round at one percent. Confirm this will
not
result in a nuclear yield.”

“Confirmed, Captain.”

“Fire.”

Thump.

“Mission complete, Captain.”

The smoking wreckage, which used to be a symbol of the Chinese government, filled the viewing window. The resulting shockwave, although small, spread out across the city. A few other buildings collapsed until the force of the blast subsided near the inner ring road.

“Take us home, please,
Masakatsu
.”

The warship turned about, pointing to the sky, hiding the terrible view of devastation and replaced it with the darkness of outer space.

Luke’s thoughts remained with the ruins. Was it too harsh a gesture? Would the world condemn his actions and the loss of life? Or would they realize that he was serious and that extreme measures were necessary when compared to planetary destruction?

The old proverb came to mind:
None are so blind as those who will not see
. Wasn’t that Confucius? Patrick Henry? It didn’t matter. How myopic would the Chinese officials insist on staying rather than face the unforgiving realities of the planet’s peril?

If history was a guide, Luke would face a long period of condemnation. He would be burned in effigy for years to come and used by the Chinese government as an excuse to extract much more pain from China’s citizens than he had caused this day.

Luke wanted none of it. Right now he just wanted to grab Annie and take her back to their house in Baggs. He wanted to watch a football game with her and drink beer while shouting support for the home team. But he knew those days were gone. Several governments on Earth, one more after today, and many non-governmental organizations had put a price on his head. For better or worse, Luke accepted that he could no longer think of his birth planet as home.

“This is one big ship,” Luke commented to no one in particular. He was staring at the
Christopher Columbus
, their first-generation colony transport. The giant half sphere sat on the port-landing pad of the Isaac Newton Gateway space station. Spotlights illuminated the ship, although that was just for dramatic impact. The launching today was a milestone, and Amanda had pulled together a talented team to make it a memorable event.

Hundreds of chairs were arranged in neat rows in front of the outdoor stage. Adelia had arranged for a crowd protection field to be established around the festivities. Like its smaller but ever-present counterpart, that hung from the tool belt of every Moonbase employee, the crowd protection field maintained a breathable atmosphere for the visitors and kept the temperature reasonable.

Luke was glad they had made the decision to launch the ship from the Gateway rather than from the moon as they had originally planned. So far, the most memorable experience for the dignitaries was to walk out, seemingly unprotected, onto the landing pad. The view for many was overpowering. The glistening stars and the beautiful white swirls covering the blue globe below had brought more than one unprepared visitor to tears.

The Earth VIPs were overwhelmed with more than the beautiful location. The importance of the mission behind the pageantry could not be overstated.
Considering
his own lack of ability in diplomatic situations, Luke attended the ceremony on the condition he would not have to speak. Amanda readily agreed and seated him behind the main podium next to Annie. Amanda promised that when she gave him the sign, he would only have to stand and wave.

Amanda and Roth would make comments on behalf of the moon. The ship’s captain would make a few remarks promising to care for and protect all the colonists, and the secretary general of the United Nations would also give his blessing.

The UN’s participation was essential for Luke. He wanted to emphasize the world body’s importance. Luke explained over and over to the people planetside that until there was a single, unified world government, he would not provide replicators to the planet. He was convinced that it didn’t matter how many benefits such advanced technology promised. Only a world government could insure that the planet’s entire population, rather than an elite few, would reap the bounty.

Luke had gone through George’s archives and found dozens of studies where planets had suddenly received replicators. All of them had ended with the near extinction of their populations. He would not let that happen on Earth and believed the UN was the only world body that might start a movement to unification.

To help in that undertaking, Luke made sure every nation that joined the alliance had at least one representative colonist onboard the
Christopher Columbus
. The sponsoring nations also sent dignitaries to witness the launch. Most were senior officials, if not the actual heads of state. Luke encouraged their participation because he wanted them to see the new space station for themselves.
According
to Amanda, being
in
with the newly independent moon was the new
in
thing.

The Isaac Newton Gateway was certainly impressive when you stood on the landing pad in jeans and sneakers. The media described it as the largest manmade object in existence and that it could be seen from Earth with the naked eye. To Luke, the most important thing was that it launched the colony ships.

“It’s only half again the diameter of the Mars colony ship,” Annie observed, breaking into Luke’s musings. “That’s what Roth told me.”

“The Gateway?” Luke asked, confused by her statement.

“No, the colony ship. Hello? That’s why we’re here.”

Luke caught up with the conversation and looked again at the amazing spacecraft. “I know. And that gives it three times the volume and space for twice the people.”

“They’ll need a lot of spare equipment since they’re going to be further away.”

“I’m not complaining,” Luke said. “Just impressed. It looks good, especially on the Gateway’s landing pad. Adelia did a great job finishing so quickly.”

“Here come some more of the VIPs,” Annie said, pointing to one of the Earth shuttles just now landing near the colony ship. It looked like a toy next to the massive transport.

Luke watched the VIPs hobnobbing with each other. He leaned toward Annie. “Do me a favor and remind Roth one more time how much I hate participating in these ceremonies. I’m okay with being be on stage like today, but otherwise, keep me out of it.”

“Okay,” she said. “I promise.”

“I’ve been dealing with dignitaries for the last two weeks. Every time a new group comes to visit, I worry that one of them is going to stick a knife in my ribs.”

“I don’t think our security would let anyone with a knife get close to you, babe,” Annie said reassuringly. “And if you’re that worried, just wear a personal force field.”

“I’d rather get stabbed than lose track of one of those.”

Annie wrapped her hands around his arm. “Quit freaking out, would you?” she said. “You’ve seen the news reports. No one is blaming you for Fiery Cross. In fact, it’s the opposite. Most of the countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations were scared to death of China. Because of you, they finally feel safe. You gave China a bloody nose that no one else could. CNN said that it was like the entire world took a step back from World War Three.”

“That would be good, wouldn’t it?”

“Yes, very good. So quit worrying so much. It isn’t like you. Is there something else going on that you haven’t talked about?”

“Just the Bakkui. The latest probes found them in three systems now. They’re invading space now that was supposed to be free. They’re coming a lot faster that we thought.”

Annie shivered at his words. “Well, at least our own planetside mess is off the table now so you can concentrate outward.”

Amanda turned from the podium and gestured to Luke. He hadn’t been paying attention to what she said, but took his cue. He stood and waved broadly to the crowd. A few people called out for Luke to give a speech, but Amanda introduced Annie. Luke pulled Annie to her feet to stand beside him. She held on to his hand fiercely and waved in turn while camera flashes sparkled throughout the crowd.

Eventually, all the speeches were completed. The colony ship’s captain was the last. After her conclusion she jogged from the stage to the waiting ship, waving at the crowd as she did so. Once she entered the spacecraft, its massive cargo doors closed, and hundreds of spotlights focused on the base of the ship. Seconds later the vessel lifted slowly away from the landing pad, gradually picking up speed. At a height of five-thousand feet, the ship rotated until it was pointed ninety degrees from the vertical. It continued to accelerate for another sixty seconds and then with a sudden burst of speed it vanished from sight.

“Roth really nailed that one didn’t he?” Luke asked. “I would have never thought of staging a takeoff so dramatically. The crowd ate it up.”

Annie smiled at his comment. “You were the one who said the drone launch was anticlimactic. That’s why Roth came up with the slow-motion lift off.” She nodded at the cheering delegations in front of the stage. “That bunch doesn’t have a clue how fast we normally move.”

The audience applauded for several minutes. Luke took the opportunity to pull Annie from the dais. Delegates still managed to waylay him en route to his shuttle, but eventually he and Annie climbed aboard
Sadie.
The shuttle door closed and
Sadie
set course for Moonbase.

“
Starting
tomorrow,” Luke said, “I want you to clear your calendar. Can you do that?”

“Of course,” Annie replied. “Consider it done. I might have one or two things, but I’ll move them around to suit whatever you need.”

“I want to have a sit-down, just you, me, and Roth. We need to talk to George. Now that we’re so close to heading out to meet the Bakkui, there’s something I’ve started to wonder about and it worries me.”

“What’s that?” Annie asked.

Luke sighed heavily. “Sometimes I wonder if Sam actually meant it.”

“Meant what?”

“Just something he said,” Luke muttered. He didn’t want to talk about it at the moment, but he needed to ask George if the bomb in his head really was a joke.