Earth Ship Protectress: Book Two in the Freddy Anderson Chronicles (9 page)

Chapter 13
Presidential Visit

I
tensed up dramatically as I watched the incoming helicopter.

“What’s wrong?” asked the commander.

“Someone’s with her who can read minds. I feel her trying to sense everyone here and pick out emotions.”

“Is she hostile? Is the president in trouble?”

“No, and no,” I answered. “The president knows she reads minds. Her ability is rather weak but stronger than Katie’s. She doesn’t have the ability to control others. She reads and transmits, but that’s it. She has good mental shields, but her front mind is open and letting us know that they are not a threat. She knows I’m reading her. She says to say hello. She knows someone here.”

With that, I relaxed considerably and brightened up as I started toward the helicopter’s landing area. I was still too weak to move quickly and had to support myself on the commander, but my renewed enthusiasm was clear.

The commander and Colleen looked at each other and smiled. I could tell that Susan thought curiosity could sometimes be a good thing. Then it hit her, and she stopped suddenly and pulled me in her direction. “Can you control people, Freddy?”

“Sure,” I answered, still looking at the helicopter. “Why do you think that nasty spy didn’t move for a while when we talked? I made him think he was tied up tight, thus keeping him from using his legs and arms.”

She put two fingers on my chin and turned my face to her. “I don’t recall your ever doing that. Have you?”

“Only with animals that I wanted to get a closer look at, and after I do, I usually reward them. Most of the time, they come back on their own after that. Did you know that most birds have tiny little fluff under their wings, and bears have bad breath? I normally would not do that to a person, but the spy wanted to kill us. He didn’t like being found out. Not at all. I personally don’t think it’s right to control anyone. When I had to do that to him, it really upset me, as it goes against everything I believe.” I could feel my lips forming a pout. “I was afraid he’d harm one of my sisters. Did you know that—”

She put a finger to my lips. “You’re babbling.” She smiled and said, “Freddy, have more faith in our abilities. We’re here to protect
you
, not you us.”

I smiled meekly. “I know.”

The helicopter landed, and several people in black suits climbed out. When they started heading in our direction, eight girls from the team aimed fully automatic rifles at them and yelled, “Halt!” Two of the girls scanned the Secret Service personnel and removed their weapons, which made them very unhappy. Once unarmed, they were set in a group to the side and watched under guard. I recognized the president when she climbed out. She looked well and not a bit scared, but her emotions were exactly the opposite.

The young lady who climbed out next was reassuring the president that she was not in danger. She was about twelve or thirteen, and she was beautiful. She told the president that the reaction she was seeing was for my protection, and the girls surrounding them were thinking only of me. She said she felt no animosity at all. Then she looked at me and said to the president that the strongest emotion she sensed was fear of her, and that was coming from me.

I instantly raised my shields, and her eyes widened. She said, “He’s stronger than I am by a large multiple, but he’s not trying to read our minds. He is listening, however, to our transmitted thoughts, our emotions, and our spoken words. He knows what I’m saying, even from way over there.
By the way, Freddy, I’m four
teen.”

“Interesting,” said the president. She looked at me and asked the girl, “Melanie, if he’s so much stronger than you, how do you know he isn’t reading our thoughts?”

She giggled. “He thinks it’s immoral. He won’t do it unless he’s protecting himself or his
…
”
—she paused and tilted her head—“family. Be careful what you propose. He sees these girls as his family, and he’s very protective of them.”

The president said nothing more but visibly relaxed. This all happened very quickly as the president disembarked. The next person out was a navy admiral. It seemed like he was covered in gold, especially with all that trim on his hat and the gold stars and gold stripes running up his sleeves.

The next two people out were army generals. This did not go over very well with the team or the commander. She stopped when she saw them and turned around, placing me so that she was between the helicopter and me. I looked back over my shoulder as she took me back to my home. She was fuming mad, and with her, that meant she became deathly quiet. While we were walking, she said in her wrist communicator, “Full alert. Watch, I want to know every movement, both inside and outside this compound. Team, if you see anything out of the ordinary, I want to know about it now. I want those two generals”—she spat out the word—“under the barrel of a gun at all times. Take the civilians and the nonessential personnel inside. Scramble!”

I don’t think the generals liked it very much, being forced onto their knees, hands behind their heads, and with a cocked 9 mm pistol pressed against the backs of their necks. The admiral shouted orders that the team ignored. The president was not happy about guns being suddenly pointed in her direction either. Melanie dropped to her knees, closed her eyes, and started crying. Katie yelled to me, mentally, “
Get my niece out of there!”
I teleported Melanie to my home porch so she was away from the guns. I said through the window, “Don’t worry, Melanie. They won’t hurt you.” She looked surprised, and so did everyone else.

The commander said, “How did she do that?” The commander was so upset that Melanie could just disappear and reappear wherever she wanted that she pulled her gun. She had it cocked and was about to pull the trigger, but I placed my hand on her arm and said, “I did it, Susan. She was so scared, and I know that she’s not here to harm me. She’s Katie’s niece, and Katie yelled to get her away from there, so I did.”

Melanie knelt on the porch, trembling, so I looked at Colleen and said, “She needs comforting.”

Colleen immediately went outside and kneeled next to Melanie, while talking slowly and quietly, letting her know that no one wanted to harm her. “You’re safe here.”

The commander let the rest of the team in on what had happened, and then she turned to me to chew me out. “Freddy, please try to let us know when you’re going to pull something like that. You scared me half to death, and I almost shot the child out of a need to protect you.”

I looked up at her, threw my arms around her waist, and started crying. I don’t know why I felt so relieved, but I did. She reached down and hugged me.

“I love you, Susan.”

“I love you too, sweetheart. You need to remember that our training is very much reactive, and you may not have time to stop what you set into motion next time. Please think before you act. Okay?”

“I’ll try. I’ll try real hard.”

“Good. Now let’s take care of what’s going on. Maggie, get to the house, and cover Freddy. Home, Shop, protect Freddy as per Order Five.” The commander headed back toward the helicopter.

“
Affirmative,”
Shop responded.

“
Affirmative,”
Home echoed.

I looked at the watch. “What’s Order Five?”

Marian said, “Order Five is for Home, Shop, and all resources to be stationed at full alert. All focused on protecting you. If Home or Shop detects anyone or anything that may harm you, they’re dead. If anyone enters this command base, or if someone on the base enters the house or the workshop without the direct permission of an authorized person, or if someone tries to tamper with any part of the base, shop, or house, the computers will notify us and destroy them without question.”

“The commander set that up?”

Marian laughed. “No, she ordered Maggie to do it. The commander is not very good with computers. She can run them, but programming and fixing them is not her forte.”

“You said
all
resources?”

“Yes.”

“Home
…
Shop
…
do not harm anyone under any orders given except mine at this time. Order Five is for watching and reporting only.”

“
Understood. Shop powering down Stingers and destr
oyer.”

“Home powering down lasers. Weapon systems powering down. Satellite weapons powering
down.”

Marian’s eyes went wide, and her mouth hung open as she looked at me with astonishment. I put my finger to my lips and said, “Don’t tell.”

Colleen brought Melanie into the house. “Freddy, this is Melanie Orgonna.”

Melanie looked at me and smiled a little. I put out my hand, and she took it. “Thank you for getting me away. Please don’t harm my boss.”

I said, “It’s not up to me. Please tell Katie that you’re all right before she blows a gasket and takes it out on that general she has under her gun.”

She looked blank for a second, and I could feel Katie relax just a little and the pain recede from the general, as the gun was backed off enough to allow the blood to flow to the back of his head again.

The commander was just about at the helicopter, and she was still fuming. When she came up among the generals, she saluted the admiral and turned to the president. “I have only one question, Madam President. Please give me a reason why I should not shoot these two right here and now. You received my orders to them. Any person affiliated with the army who sets foot within ten miles of Freddy is dead, and so is the general in charge of them. I thought that order was simple enough.”

I was shocked. I looked at Colleen and asked, “Did she really send a death threat to the army?”

“No, it was more like a promise. I’d like to know what’s going on, Freddy. Please repeat what’s being said.”

“The president is about to answer.”

“Commander James, please believe me when I say that I am the one who invited them here. I need this straightened out before it comes to bloodshed. It was very upsetting to receive their spy back with changes to his anatomy.” I giggled, but she continued. “These two are the top generals in the army, and I don’t need a war between the army and the navy. The losses on both sides would be extreme and would destroy this country.”

I pathed to Katie, “
Quick—tell the commander that I just said it would be a quick and very one-sided ba
ttle.”

“
Commander? Freddy wants you to know that it would be a very quick and one-sided battle.”

The commander turned back to the president. “You want Freddy to invent a way to take us to the stars. Let me tell you that he hates violence, but Katie tells me that he thinks the army would lose very quickly, and the navy would have few, if any, casualties. I’m not looking for a war, Madam President. I’m trying to do my job.”

“I understand, Commander.”

“I’m not sure you do, Madam President. Several months ago, I learned that Freddy believes the world is in big trouble. He’s building something that will protect us all from what he thinks is total destruction. He works himself nearly to death. He doesn’t need these army-related distractions, and I’m going to make damn sure that he doesn’t have them anymore. I owe it to you, the country, and the world.”

“He knows about the meteor, then?”

“Yes, he does. I only have a feeling; hopefully, you have more to tell us.”

“It’s big, Commander. The size of California, with ten times the mass. It’s estimated that it will just miss Earth, but it’s big enough to change our rotation and push us out of orbit. All life will stop. We didn’t know until we started using his scanners. They clearly show the beast.”

Colleen looked at me, startled. “Is this true, Freddy? Are we about to be hit by a huge meteor?”

“Oh, not for another two years. Wait until you get to scenario number sixty. The big problem is, I only have six more months to stop it, or even I won’t have the ability without causing other problems.”

“Then you’re attempting to do something?”

I looked at her and said quietly, “Why do you think I’ve been working so hard? Do you really think I enjoy working three or four days without food or rest, over and over again, for months?” I looked back outside. “Quiet now, please.”

The president said, “We have nothing that can stop it. We could fire all our missiles, but even if we could hit it, which is not likely, we wouldn’t move it one inch. Not at the speed it’s coming. Commander, it’s moving faster than the speed of light. Very few people know about it, and we need to keep it that way. We’ve looked at everything and everyone. Freddy is our only hope, and the world can’t afford for him to be sick in bed due to the stupid, foolish, childish maneuvers of the army. I came here to reassure Freddy that I will—and that these two generals will—make sure that he gets anything and everything he needs. Any help
…
”
She had tears in her eyes. “These two have come because they are willing to give their lives, right now, if that will get Freddy back to work. If it will make Freddy believe us, then I’ll take that gun and shoot them and me right now. We have loved ones too, and we’re scared. The vice president is ready to take over if we don’t return, and his orders are to help you in every way possible. Please, Commander. Let me talk to Freddy. Let me beg him to help us.”