The War of Pawns (The Human Chronicles -- Book Three) (19 page)

Chapter Twenty-Four

“My Lord!” a tech called out from the left side of the bridge. “The Human ship just released two bolts!”

The Juireans all rushed to their screens just in time to see an almost pure white ball of energy easily penetrate through the first diffusion screen of the battlecruiser closest to the Human spaceship. Even though the
UN-444
was over 500 kilometers away, the intensity of the bolts still lit up the bridge through the forward viewport. Then immediately after the first bolt, a second one lashed out toward the cruiser. The white hot ball of electricity easily passed through the hole in the diffusion shield and struck the outer hull of the ship. Milliseconds later, the bolt penetrated the hull and ignited with the atmosphere inside. The ship suddenly blew outward, just a sudden bright flash, and then a billion pieces of debris spreading out in all directions.

“Return fire!” Strategist Canel cried out.

Blue-white bolts of energy erupted from no fewer than eight cruisers in the immediate vicinity of the Human ship. Each bolt almost simultaneously impacted the surface hull; if there had been a diffusion screen, the intensity of the charges was enough to overload it in an instance. The smooth and sleek, disk-shape spaceship simply disintegrated.

From where he stood behind Canel, Yan’wal felt the anger well up inside him. He had been tricked, and in the process had lost a heavy battlecruiser, as well as two of his most trusted aides.

“Strategist Canel,” he called out in a voice that could be heard throughout the expansive bridge of the
UN-444
, “proceed with the attack!”

Chapter Twenty-Five

Captain Nat Allen was a man of power and prestige, and well-known within the halls of the Pentagon. As one of the highest ranking officers in the SEALs, he carried incredible clout, so he had no difficulty being invited to join the other brass in the main war room to watch the progress of the negotiations taking place at the very edge of the solar system.

He had learned that another Klin ship was on station about three hundred thousand kilometers from the negotiator’s ship, and that they were channeling a running commentary of the negotiations through their special communication relays. As he was told, the delay from what was happening nearly a light year away was only about two seconds. The Klin technology was truly amazing.

But what Allen had been most disappointed to learn was that the actual negotiations were not being broadcast. Instead, an emotionless and obvious alien voice was narrating a static picture of the Klin negotiating ship.

“The Juireans have agreed to the meeting,” the voice had announced about an hour ago, as the room had exploded into cheers. This was a good start. So many people in the room had been afraid the Klin ship would simply be vaporized as the Juireans streaked by on their way to Earth. Agreeing to a meeting at least gave Humanity a slim chance at salvation.

“The Juirean shuttle is now approaching the ship.”

The image on the wall-sized screen had shown the approaching Juirean shuttlecraft, and how it had disappeared inside the bowls of the larger ship. Allen marveled at the clarity of the image, knowing that the other Klin ship taking the image was nearly the same distance as from D.C. to the moon. It just went to show him how primitive Human science and technology was.

He silently prayed for the success of the negotiations. The last thing he wanted to do was go up against a foe as advanced as either of these alien species. It would be like a modern soldier, with all his gear, going up against an ancient Roman soldier. The simple truth was, the Roman soldier would be dead before he even knew he was in a fight.

That would be the same for us
, Allen thought.
They wouldn’t even break a sweat.

The next half an hour was an exercise in boredom. The alien voice would occasionally speak up and say ‘Negotiations are continuing,” and each time it did, everyone in the room would jump, and then look embarrassingly around at the others in the room.

“It’s like watching paint dry,” someone commented in the dimly lit room.

“Yeah. It would be better with a soundtrack—”

Suddenly the entire room lit up as the large screen on the wall washed-out completely. Then the alien voice came through the speakers. “The Juireans have fired on the negotiators.” The voice was amazingly calm.

As the screen adjusted for the brightness, Allen could see half a dozen or more balls of blue-white fire closing on the Klin ship. He couldn’t see where they came from, but they seemed to be closing on the ship from all directions.

And then it was over. The image showed a brief flash of bright light, and then the ship was gone.

The room suddenly erupted in a beehive of activity, as generals and admirals and clean-cut young men in blue suits picked up landlines or pulled out their smartphones and began all talking at once. The voices were deafening, and Allen noticed they all carried in them the sound of sheer panic.

For his part, Captain Nat Allen walked calmly to the nearest exit, and as he did so, pressed the button three times on the small transmitter in his pocket.

Then he was out the door, and headed for the closest exit out of the gargantuan Pentagon building. His wife and two sons should be in West Virginia by now, on I-68, heading west. If all went according to plan, he would meet up with them at Carrie’s sister’s house just outside of Morgantown, if he could get out of the city in time.
 
Hopefully, the town of 33,000 would be small enough to be missed by the Hell that was about to rain down upon the planet Earth.

Chapter-Twenty-Six

Lt. Andy Tobias felt his heart rise up in his chest, and he suddenly felt dizzy. He had tried desperately – apparently to no avail – to prepare himself for the moment when the signal from Captain Allen came through. He tripled checked the results. Yes, it was three beeps, not one. The mission was a ‘Go!’ That meant that the negotiations had failed, and that the Earth would soon be attacked by overwhelming alien forces.

As he sent the ‘Go’ order out to the other SEAL commanders, his only hope was that Adam Cain was right, and that the Klin
would
intervene to prevent the entire destruction of the Human race. Only time would tell. But for now, Lt. Andy Tobias had his own operation to initiate.

Yet before he slipped out the door of the DEVGRP building at Dam Neck, he had a call to make. He had no qualms making it, not in light of recent events. In a few hours, all national security concerns would fly out the window. Besides, he had promised.

He dialed the number and heard it begin to ring. But then the rings continued, soon to be replaced with a recorded greeting in the voice of Maria Cain.

“Hello, Maria. This is Andy Tobias. I know it’s been a while, but I have some very important news for, plus some instructions I need you to follow to the ‘tee.’ First of all, I want to tell you that Adam
is
alive. I know this will come as a shock to you, but he is back, and he’s well.

“But that is not the main reason for my call. You have to listen to me very carefully, Maria. Something really bad is about to happen, and I need you and Cassie to leave Virginia Beach immediately. There is a real danger coming this way, and you must go either south into North Carolina or west on 58 toward Emporia –
and you must leave now
. Don’t take time to question this or to pack. Just go. You have to get as far away from the city as possible, as fast as possible. You know I wouldn’t be saying this just to scare you. This is serious. You must go now.

“And another thing. Whatever you hear about Adam, just know that what they say is
not
true. Adam is a hero. He has been through a harrowing experience, and he has done everything in his power to prevent what’s about to happen.

“Now don’t think about it. Just get in your car and go. You don’t have much time. Goodbye, Maria. And good luck to you and Cassie.”

He pressed the ‘end call’ button, and then sat for a moment staring at the phone. Then he took a deep breath, rose from the chair and grabbed the duffle bag sitting on the floor next to his desk. “This is gonna be some shit,” he said to the empty room as he headed for the door. “Might as well get it over with…”

All across the country, as well as other secret locations around the globe, cell phones rang or text messages were received. Hundreds of members of the Naval Special Warfare Command jumped into action. All had prepared evacuation routes out of their various cities or bases, and most already had their gear and families packed. The initial message had said families could be included, but that it was imperative that no delays occur. From San Diego to Virginia Beach – and points beyond – hundreds of people were hustled into cars, SUV’s and trucks, and were soon merging onto highways, heading for the nearest desert, the mountain or any other place as far away from the cities as possible. Others, who had boats, were pulling away from docks and heading for open water.

Wives and children were frightened, but they also knew their husbands were privy to information not available to the general public. This made them obey without question, but it also scared the hell out of them.

Some of the SEALs and their families had broken security and made calls to mothers and fathers, sisters and brothers, telling them not to ask questions, but to just get out of the major population centers as soon as possible. Since the SEALs themselves had not been briefed on the actual threat facing them, none could say for sure what was about to happen. This concerned the military personnel and their families even more. All they knew was that the order was unit-wide, which meant something really big was coming down.