The Pattern Ship (The Pattern Universe) (23 page)

He looked in JJ’s eyes and immediately knew who the unknown rebel was. Jake smiled at him triumphantly.

“So it was you, all the time, wasn’t it Jake?” Garner immediately accused his lifelong friend.

“Frank, Frank... Yes, you could not imagine how hard I found it to support you as you gave away our power and our strength.”

He walked up to the President, his arrogant bearing now showing in his manner, of one who had come into power and was about to exert it.

“You allowed a single alien being to command a great Nation and applauded him while on his instruction you brought our once great country to its knees. How could you do that to us, Frank?”

He wagged his finger at Garner.

“Still, this country will be great again, mark my words, Frank. We are going to undo all of the damage you have done. It starts here, today.

We have control of the Army, the Air Force and the Navy will fall into line as soon as they see a chain of command that can be followed and will keep them in strength. They need a leader, Frank. You aren’t one and neither is the new President.

Unfortunately, Frank, you have to go, as well as your successor.” He sighed as if it was regrettable, but Frank knew there was going to be no regret in it at all.

“Today we start a new government. One empowered with the strength of resolve and might.

We are about to take back control of our borders, repel all foreign influences and, oh yes, the most beautiful thing of all, we have the disarming codes for every single shield in the world. Including yours, Frank.”

He pointed a small control stick at Frank who actually felt it when his shield went down leaving him totally exposed to his enemy.

As Jake drew a weapon from his jacket and pointed it at him, Frank could only smile sadly, and wonder at his friend of so many years. How he could have been so wrong!

As the shot rang out Frank felt a great freeing up of his soul and as he did so, he saw the doors burst inwards and black-clad men leaping onto Jake overpowering him, his own shield failing to defend him.

His gun was wrested from him and once disarmed he was held in arm-locks by two strong Agents. Other dark suited figures were all over the room, their backs towards him as suddenly he felt heavier again and wondered as he felt drawn back into the Oval Office.

He staggered under his own weight, and was surprised when a black suited figure was there for him and helped him as he recovered.

“Are you all right, Mr President?” he asked through the balaclava’d helmet he wore.

“Yes... I... am. Yes! Thank you.” He grabbed the man and then let go as he remembered he had been shot.

“I am fine. I am not...” he felt around his body for anything to disprove his theory.

“I’m not injured.”

“Good!” the soldier said.

“We have secured the White House, all rebel forces have been disarmed, or neutralised and the leaders,” he pointed at Jefferson “have all been apprehended.”

Anne walked in, she had a cup of tea in her hand and was shaking like a leaf.

“Here you are, Mr President, you might need this!”

Frank took her hand and sat her down in his chair. She was white and visibly upset. She couldn't hold the cup any more so he took it from her gently and put it on the desk.

He turned to his sideboard swiftly taking two of his favourite crystal glasses and putting a fine brace of his favourite brandy in each, sat his butt on the desk looking at her as he handed her one.

She took it in both hands, the glasses were a tad heavy.

“Here’s to you Anne. Do you fancy a new job, a long way from here with plenty of challenges and an old fart to look after every day?”

“Yes, just as long as you’re the Old Fart!” She laughed nervously and drank a swig of the brandy nearly coughing it up as the fumes hit the back of her throat.

Frank smiled and looked out of the window realising what it was he had failed to notice before. That all of the soldiers were facing outwards; protecting the White house, protecting him. He silently prayed and gave thanks.

As calm and order was restored, the Secret Service Agents were allowed back in and other staff who had been cleared were allowed to come and go.

Frank and Anne sat through it all talking about his plan for the Space Council and as he did so he realised that there was now nothing to stop it becoming a reality.

It must have showed because Anne took hold of his hand reassuring him. Her strength had returned and with it her calm assurance that all was well with her world which for the most part included Frank Garner and everything he was and did. She would go wherever he did. Her love for this man unfailing in its resolve.

- 21 -

Zeke arrived at the Fortress at 08:20am in his new A-Grav car, a fast streamlined shuttle that used some form of cell technology the boffins had put together for propulsion. Meanwhile they had taken the anti-gravity technology and geared it to set heights so that they could develop a multi-level free way within the cities.

Pod had disabled the Fortress shield as well as all of fields within the buildings, including personal shields. There were no additional responses from Security, which made Zeke wonder what was going on. The Fortress was supposed to be properly manned and secure; yet, here he was not even being hailed on the communication channels set aside for arrivals.

Pod confirmed that Ferris was still here and in his office, no further information was available. For some reason all monitoring systems seemed to be giving unreliable results. Zeke suspected that the scattering technology employed by the Pentagon was also employed here in an upgraded format. He also believed, but Pod hadn’t confirmed either way, that there were other advances not declared and utilised here. He would have to tread carefully.

The rest of the rebellion had been resolved. All of the other conspirators had been picked up and it left just Ferris to be collected. They could have done it by D-Field transfer, but Zeke thought it better to manage it himself. Pod had its hands full with managing just about everything in the aftermath of the attempt on President Garner.

It had been a close run thing while also having to be in a position to coordinate the removal of all of the officers and sergeants. Any of the men who knew what the objective was, that would follow orders and were suspected of being complicit in the conspiracy, had been transferred to Pod’s Island location. They would then be monitored by the additional Hover Globes Pod had manufactured until something could be done about them. That would be up to the new President to deal with.

The enlisted men had wandered around for a bit, in the absence of any superior, or communication equipment which had mysteriously disappeared, they eventually phoned home to be told to stand down and return to barracks. Only one unit had to be intercepted by Pod as they attempted to carry out the last order given. All of them were removed to the Island.

Schaeffer, probably the most prominent military figure in the Pentagon couldn’t exactly run and hide and was relieved of his command on arrival in Washington. He had travelled with his co-conspirator Jake Jefferson who, after trying to assassinate President Garner, was swiftly transported together with Schaeffer by Pod to the same location as the others who were left in the cavern where Pod first built the T-Ship.

There was nothing there, but water and game. They would remain there until such time as order had been restored and then the new President would have the opportunity of dealing with them however it was deemed acceptable.

The Island, the conspirators were on, was far from shipping lanes and there were no communication facilities. They were, in effect, imprisoned. Only Pod knew the exact location.

Zeke noted that the Fortress, normally a hive of activity, was now almost silent except for a few guards on the roof and realised that the place had been shut down in anticipation of the coup. He smiled.

He knew where Ferris’ office was and made his way to the floor where they had their meetings. Ferris liked his position as CIC of the Fortress and had availed himself of every convenience on offer.

His office was a place of grandeur befitting a future President in waiting. Zeke found him sitting in his chair sucking on a black cheroot, immaculately turned out for a victorious arrival at Washington’s most famous of houses. He was strangely not surprised at all. He actually appeared pleased to see Zeke.

“Well! If it isn’t the Alien Minder himself, glad you could drop by, Zeke.”

“That’s good Ferris, because I came here to tell you your plot to overthrow the government failed this morning. Every single conspirator has been rounded up without a shot being fired. Now, that’s a pretty poor show for an ex-Marine wouldn’t you say, Ferris?”

“Oh, I guessed it would,” Ferris agreed. “Those goons thought they could run a country. I knew they couldn’t run a spoon race. They were just the cannon fodder, in true Marine style.”

Zeke was astounded. He had not considered Ferris to be anything other than an over-promoted Sergeant. To even consider that he could out think some of the top bods at the Pentagon came as a surprise. Yet here was Ferris, cool as cucumber, telling him they were goons and he knew it. It must be the Alacite he has been taking, thought Zeke.

“So, what was it all been for, then, Ferris. You didn’t look that stupid when we first met.”

“What its been for, Mr Callaghan, is money and power. I have amassed quite a nice fortune selling technology on the black market. You would be surprised at how many people will pay for exclusive developments coming out of the Fortress. Stuff you are not even aware of.

You see Callaghan, I discovered something quite important about the alien patterns that we were given. They had been handed to us as was, no improvements, no design changes. They were originals. Don’t you think that strange?”

“Not really, Ferris, it represented a massive advance on our technology,” Zeke replied wondering where this was going, but having an inkling.

“Its strange, Callaghan, an alien race superior to us, using blueprints it had copied from thousands of other species with technical know-how only used them as they were designed.” He pointed his cheroot at the piles of drawings and blueprints on his desk representing the latest technology on the planet.

“The reason, my Ferrazine friend is the aliens were users not innovators. They had what they copied and could build it, but they couldn’t modify a darned thing. They were just mobile factories; obtain raw materials, manufacture it, utilise it.”

He stood and walked around the desk to put himself level with Zeke.

“The scientists here were all innovators. Do you realise what happens when you give a new toy to these guys? They tear it apart and don’t put it back together until they have understood every single component. Then they redesign it and build it anew, but better. They know the technology so they find different applications for it.”

Zeke prepared for an assault by Ferris, he knew he was probably as fast or even faster than he was. He had seen the medical reports and had never considered that Ferris would be a threat to him. He regretted that now.

“Oh, you look surprised, Zeke. You with the all-seeing, all-hearing Alien and his compootah. Ah yes, sorry I forgot, he’s gone off hunting for his brothers and sisters. Ha! well, its just you and me, then.”

“You can’t win Ferris, you’re on your own. If you resist me, you will be hunted down, there’s no escape for you here.” Zeke tried to talk him down, at the same time preparing himself for the showdown he could see coming.

Ferris wasn’t finished. “I agreed to be you, Zeke, I took the Ferrazite and incorporated it into my body, I let the scientists do what they had to do. They kept me alive by blood transfusion as my body began to mutate, but unlike you I haven’t stopped Zeke, and my brain is as powerful now as any of the scientists that work for me, my body is tougher even than yours. I'm not impregnable I can’t stop a bullet, but I know I can squeeze the life out of you.”

“Well, I wondered if you were man enough to give it a try Ferris, you didn’t do so well the last time.”

Ferris laughed. “I don’t need to try Callaghan, I already beat you. Besides, I have more important things to do. I only waited because I knew you would come personally and I had gone to so much trouble to prepare a nice surprise for you.”

Zeke didn’t understand what he meant. He could easily match him, it wouldn’t be pleasant, but he wasn’t going to just let him go.

Ferris turned and walked past him with his new lightening speed, as he did he pressed one of the buttons on his jacket. He was still only yards from him, and Zeke wondered if he could take him before he got to the door.

As he went to cut him off and tackle him, using his Ferrazine enhanced speed, Zeke unexpectedly bounced backwards hitting a force field between them. The speed of impact bounced Zeke all the way back to the desk.

Unhurt, he stood and looked around to find a way to reach Ferris before he walked out of the door.

“Ah, you thought to take me, Zeke. Well I could give you the opportunity, but I know there are more troops on their way in and you were just the advance party, so I don’t want to hang around and play fight with you, even though I can beat you with my improved skills.”

Walking up to the field Zeke felt its pressure against his hand. He tried to push through the field, but as he did so, he felt it move towards him.

It forced him to step back pressing him further into the centre of the room.

He angled across in an attempt to find the edge of the field or to reach one of the side doors, but it was blocked off there. Moving back to the desk he found he couldn’t reach it, the field was now behind him as well.

Zeke was completely trapped in a cubed forcefield. One he didn’t have the over-ride codes for, unless Pod responded to his call for help. He was mentally calling it, but there was no response and he wondered if the signal was being blocked somehow.

“You won’t get away Ferris, there isn’t a place in the world you can hide.” Zeke shouted, his mind now calling for Pod’s assistance with desperate urgency.