Darkness on a Pale Blue Stone (25 page)

"For good reason," Sanders growled. "Because of the DM Act, our nation is entirely incapable of defending itself. Because of you, we are overrun."

"You are an idiot if you think more weapons would have saved us," Gresson argued.

Their argument continued for a while, giving time for Lash to ask those around here, "The DM Act? I never really followed politics. What are they talking about?"

Jake gave her an incredulous look. "I thought everyone knew about that. Couple years ago, Gresson passed the Demilitarization Act, which shrank the size of the military or something."

"Wasn't just a U.S. thing either," Sean explained. "Most major nations agreed, under the DM Act, to cut spending for their militaries and to limit their size. It was a peacekeeping act Gresson got UN support for. A lot of people hated him for it."

"Apparently so did this general," Jordan said. "I don't know what all I should be telling you, but let's just say there was a secondary reason for the act. We didn't want massive armies taking everything over after the Arrival. This was a small step in that direction."

"Did it really do all that much?" Jake asked.

"No. Alex learned the hard way how complicated and ineffectual your politics could be."

"He had to become president to figure that out?" Jake commented.

Down below, the argument was growing heated. "Enough!" Gresson growled. "If I recall, President Reyes is in Europe, if he is still alive. That means he is no longer able to adequately run the office. As such, I am returning as president and order you to stand down."

Sanders let out a hysterical laugh. "I don't think so, Gresson," he said. He readied his gun, which was followed by those defending New Salvador aiming theirs.

"About to shoot the U.S. President in cold blood? Who is the traitor now, General?" Gresson asked.

"I'm no traitor!" Sanders nearly screamed. He clenched his gun tighter. "I die for this country. And I die, knowing you'll join me. Men!" The soldiers behind him reluctantly raised their guns.

"This is madness. General, I am relieving you of command," Valdez ordered, his gun drawn.

"Corporal Ryan, secure the colonel's weapon," Sanders ordered a soldier standing next to Valdez.

The corporal looked at Valdez. "I'm sorry. Sometimes it's the only way," Ryan said, pulling his weapon.

"No, wait!" Valdez exclaimed. The corporal turned around, took aim, and fired a bullet into General Sander's skull. The general's body collapsed onto the metal remains of a car he had been standing on, rolled off, and landed on the ground. A collective gasp was made by both the troops and those on the wall. Sean had jumped back at the sound of the gun, nearly falling backwards off the wall, if not for Jordan's quick grasp.

"We had to do it eventually, sir," Ryan told Valdez. Valdez silently nodded, though he was visibly upset by the execution he had just witnessed.

"Weapons down," Gresson called back to those on the wall. They obeyed.

"Weapons down," Valdez echoed to the marines and soldiers. They slowly did as asked, many unsettled by their general's demise. Valdez approached Gresson, watched closely by hundreds of pairs of eyes. Valdez stopped a few feet away. The two men stared at each other for several seconds. Valdez stood up straight, raised his hand in salute, and said, "Mr. President!" A thunderous repetition of the action occurred among the hundreds of soldiers and marines behind him.

Gresson nodded and said, "At ease." Valdez and his troops lowered their arms.

"Perhaps we could find a place to talk, Mr. President?" Valdez asked.

"Come with me," Gresson said. He led Valdez into New Salvador once the colonel gave temporary command of the troops to another officer.

Gresson led Valdez to his home. Inside, a surprised Case family and Lucas greeted them.

"Can we have the room?" Gresson asked. The others stepped outside. The two of them sat down in the living room.

"What happened?" Gresson asked Valdez.

"I eventually talked to Sanders, like you asked. As soon as he heard that you would be at a military base, though, he demanded we leave immediately. It seemed odd at first, his wanting to get down here so fast. Before then, he had always taken...
extreme
steps to protect the capital and refused to leave for anything. But now knowing he was behind the assassination... Well, I guess his rush makes sense. It also makes me realize it's a good thing you got out of D.C. when you did."

"I assumed he was just making sure I was not an impostor. I guess what he really held me for was to tie up loose ends."

"Had I known..." Valdez shook his head.

"You couldn't have."

"I knew he hated the DM Act. Hell, everyone did. He rustled a lot of feathers trying to stop it. But to plan an assassination? It's... it's insanity." Valdez sighed. "For the record, you made the right decision passing that act."

"You don't need to cover your ass, Valdez."

"I'm not trying to. It's my honest opinion. But what I'm trying to say is that you shouldn't blame yourself, if you are. You couldn't have known the Exterminators would be coming. Not passing the DM Act wouldn't have changed anything. Our weapons aren't proving very effective anyway."

Gresson leaned back in his seat. He was unsure how much he wanted to tell Valdez.
If I told him I knew all along, how many more questions will he raise? If I don't tell him, how will I explain what I know about their ships?
Gresson thought. He recalled Valdez's last sentence after a moment. "Your weapons aren't effective? What do you mean?"

"Since you left Quantico, the whole area has gone to hell. We've been taking on thousands of them, but our guns don't seem to..."

Gresson sat up straight. "
Thousands
?"

Valdez nodded. "At least. We've been involved in plenty of little skirmishes all across Virginia, Maryland, and Pennsylvania. They haven't attempted another major attack since they lit up half of Philadelphia. Though to be honest, I don't fully expect the capital to be standing when we go back. But if your orders are to keep D.C., we'll go back and hold it or find someway to save it if they're already there."

"No. For now, take your troops to Jacksonville. You will stay there until we can formulate a strategy to take them out."

"Understood," Valdez replied, reluctantly. He hated the idea of Washington D.C. having only a few forces left to defend it, but he knew Gresson was right. Without an idea of how to cause any real damage, the best option was to stay put.

"I should ask you about your corporal. Ryan, I think his name was. You seemed well aware of his intentions..." Gresson started.

Valdez sighed. "The general had it coming. He may have been crazy before, and I suppose we know that for certain now, but this whole... 'situation'... drove him over the edge. Corporal Ryan was one of many who thought that desperate actions were necessary. Until today, I didn't agree and had ordered him to stand down."

"I see. I'm not going to tell you how to handle your troops, but I will say that respect for the chain of command is something we'll need to rely on in the future."

"You wish Ryan hadn't shot him?"

"Not at all. I am just hoping that what happened today doesn't start a precedent."

Valdez nodded. "Agreed."

"Well, you should get back to it. Until we can define a strategy for an attack..."

"Forgive me, but you said 'we' again. If I may ask, who are you referring to? The people here at this base? What exactly is this place?" Valdez asked.

"All of us are on the same side, whether any of our people realize it yet. What I will say is that it is, and has been, my people's job to stop this invasion. So far, we have not succeeded. But with your help, we will."

"If you and your people can find a way to kill these bastards, we'll have your back."

Gresson nodded in thanks. The two men stood up and headed for the door.

"Ah, before you go, Colonel. As of now, you are
General
Valdez. It is only fitting that you take Sanders' place."

Valdez nodded slowly. "I appreciate it, Mr. President."

They walked outside and made preparations for the soldiers and marines to head for Jacksonville. Gresson felt cautiously optimistic now that there was a military force standing at the ready, but he was disturbed that, if Valdez was right, thousands of 'Exterminators' had survived. While the fact that people were still alive proved that some part of the plan had gone right, it was clear that something had gone terribly wrong.

Chapter 36

New Salvador - August 27, 2072

The marines left in the early evening. The New Salvadorians began to leave the wall and put away the defenses. Jake, Lash, and Sean returned to the Gresson's home.

"What happened?" Alice asked as they stepped inside.

The three of them took turns explaining the standoff, its violent end, and the departure of the military forces.

"So they were headed to Jacksonville? Why?" Lucas asked.

Lash shrugged. "From what we could overhear from Valdez... oh, who apparently is a general now... they are just going there and awaiting 'further orders.'"

"Well, it's good to know the army is nearby, at least," Alice said. "I'd feel better, though, if they had taken this place and secured its... equipment."

"What are you talking about?" Sean asked. Jake and Lash's curious stares asked the same question.

"There's something I need to tell you," Michael said. "You should sit down."

They did and Michael slowly explained that the cause of the blackout, the signal that had destroyed the lives of millions, which they had all thought their journey's purpose was to destroy, was located only a few hundred feet away. He also explained how they had no choice but to leave it on.

Aside from several curses from Lash and Jake, no one said anything in response. They sat in the living room feeling angry, but unsure at whom their anger should be directed.

"Why the
hell
didn't Gresson tell us?" Lash finally said, feeling betrayed.

"He said he didn't think we would understand," Michael replied bitterly.

"Yeah, no shit," Jake growled.

"But he's right," Alice said. "If what he said is true, there is no other choice. It had to be done. We can't let our emotions distract us from that."

"The important part is 'if what he said is true.' Are we even sure that was the real signal?" Jake asked.

"I saw it myself," Michael said. "Hell, I fixed the damn thing. I couldn't understand it all and it's a lot more complex than Project Blackout, but based on what I
could
figure out, that thing is what's putting out that signal. No doubt about it."

"Alright. So, now the Exterminators don't have their ships, but we still have to kill them. Did Gresson say what the plan was for that?" Lash asked.

"Well, the military is part of it," Michael said. "He wants them to help track down the Exterminators."

"This all still doesn't make sense," Sean said. "How did everyone here know the Exterminators were coming? How did they know what kind of signal would knock out their ships?"

"When Gresson gets back, I assume we will all have a lot of questions for him," Michael said.

They all continued to talk and wait for Gresson and Jen to come home, but by late that night, neither had. The group decided to get some sleep, though for most of them, the night was restless. Too many questions needed to be answered.

The next morning, an exhausted Jen came home. Marie was the first to greet her.

"We all have a lot of questions..." she started.

Jen shook her head. "Not now," she mumbled, before heading straight for her bedroom and locking the door.

The group anxiously waited for Jen to come out or Gresson to come home for the next few hours. They were picking out food from the kitchen for lunch when the front door opened and Gresson, equally as exhausted as his wife, burst inside. He ignored everyone and headed for the bedroom.

"They're ready," he told Jen through the door. She answered it a few seconds later and the two of them left as quickly as they had arrived.

As the door slammed behind them, Jake called out, "Where the hell are you going?"

Michael looked out the window. A crowd of people were heading into the large building in the middle of the base. "It looks like another council meeting," he said.

"This time we aren't missing it," Lash said.

"How do we get in there without being seen?" Jake asked. "I still doubt they will just be cool with us crashing their party."

"Hold on," Michael said, still looking out the window. Everyone waited. "Okay, looks like they're all inside this time."

"People aren't just chilling outside like last time?" Jake asked.

"No. From the looks of it, everyone is taking it more seriously. Jen and Gresson were the last ones to go in," Michael said.

"I'm not waiting for another chance," Lash said. She headed outside.

"Let's do this," Jake said, following. Sean and Adam also joined, while the others watched them from the doorway.

The courtyard was eerily quiet as the four of them crossed over to the large building in the center of New Salvador. Quietly they made their way along the wall, listening for anything inside. They soon reached the front entrance, but still heard nothing.

"Did they really go in there?" Sean whispered.

"Let's find out," Lash said, slowly pulling open the door. She peered inside for a moment, then swung the door wide open, which surprised Jake, Sean, and Adam.

"What are you doing?" Jake whispered.

"There's no one here," Lash said.

Everyone gathered around the doorway and looked inside. The room was massive and empty, except for a collection of chairs scattered in no particular order. There were no doors leading to separate rooms. From what the four of them could see, everyone from New Salvador had come in and vanished.

"Whoa," Sean said, looking around for somewhere they all could have gone.

"Wait. Michael said there was a bunker under the base. Maybe there is a way down somewhere in here. Everyone check around for..." Lash started to say.