Jesse's Starship (30 page)

Hetzel looked at him, “Do you have an answer?”

“No.”

“I didn’t think you would.”

“Before you die, I’ll try to get you an answer. I don’t see any way to save you.”

“I knew that when I withdrew my forces.”

The Commander of the Guards said, “The Assembly has called for you.” The Advocate nodded and led Hetzel through the huge door.

• • •

The huge room was full and the Representatives were talking quietly among themselves. The Neman Delegation was shocked at one of their species being called a traitor. The room grew silent as Hetzel stepped up to a platform. The Assembly grew silent and Hetzel looked at them. As the Leader started his tirade, he lowered his head.

The Leader finished and called for the Assembly to vote for execution.

The Assembly’s Rules Official said, “The Advocate of the accused will be given an equal time to defend his client.”

The Advocate stood next to Hetzel and said, “Hetzel knew he would be executed for not attacking that planet. He was asked a question by one of the species that inhabits that planet and he found he couldn’t answer it. It was that question that caused him to call off his ships.” The Advocate stepped away from the platform and the Rules Official stared at him. After a moment, he said, “You still have time to defend your client.”

The Advocate stepped up to the platform, “Unfortunately, I cannot answer the question either. I understand why he did it but I’m unable to defend him without an answer.” The Advocate stepped away.

The huge Dorian stood up and said, “I call for a vote for execution.”

A Cystan representative stood up and pressed his panel. The Rules Official said, “The Cystan has requested to speak. You have four minutes.”

The gray colored Cystan said, “I’m curious; what was the question?”

The Rules Official looked at the Advocate, “Please answer the Cystan’s question.”

The Advocate said, “Was he asking me or the accused?”

The Rules Official looked at the Cystan. “I’d like to hear from the accused.”

The Rules Official said, “You must vote on whether or not the accused will be allowed to speak. Please vote now.” The Leader saw the members of the Assembly press their panels. Their vote surprised him. “The vote is unanimous. The accused will answer the Cystan’s question.”

Hetzel looked up and took a breath. “I learned that the family of the being who had possession of one of our most advanced ships was being held in our Holding Facility. I offered to take those of his species being held there to a habitable planet and allow them to start a new civilization if he would turn our ship back over to us.” Hetzel saw the Assembly digesting his offer. “He asked if I would then go and destroy his home world. I told him I would do exactly that. I further stated that his species was one of the five nastiest species my civilization has ever found. They would endanger anyone they encountered.” Hetzel paused, “He then said that my civilization had killed more intelligent beings that all five of those nasty civilizations combined. He asked what that made us.” Hetzel lowered his head. The Assembly was silent.

The Leader stood up and yelled, “It makes us safe; I call for the vote now!” The Rules Official stared at Hetzel and looked at the Leader. “I said, NOW!”

The Rules Official looked at the Assembly and said, “You will vote on whether the Accused will be executed.” The Assembly made no move. After a few moments, the Neman pressed their panel. The other Assembly Members started pressing their panels.

Hetzel stood in the center of the huge room and felt at peace. Whatever happened, he knew he had made the right choice. He wished he had an answer before he died.

The Rules Official looked at his panel and said, “All have voted and ninety five percent have voted together.” The Rules Official turned and looked at the Leader, “The Cystan has included a second issue to be voted on along with the first which is the right of any member of the Assembly.”

“What issue?”

“On the question of the accused execution, the majority have rejected it. On the issue of replacing you as Leader of the Assembly, they have also voted to end your leadership.”

The Dorian jumped up, “Are all of you insane; this is ludicrous. That vote has no merit.”

The Rules Official looked at the guards, “Please remove the former Leader and take him back to his home world. If he shows further disrespect to the Assembly, we will take a vote of execution on his behavior.” The Dorian closed his mouth and left the room in silence.

The Cystan stood and looked at Hetzel, “What is that being going to do with our ship?”

“He intends to remove his planet’s ability to make war. He hopes to force peace on them until they learn how to embrace it as a way of life.”

“He sounds very much like someone I would like.”

Hetzel smiled, “He hasn’t been deceptive in dealing with us. He could have destroyed our planets but refused to do it unless we killed his planet. I’m not sure he would have done it if we did.”

The Cystan stared at Hetzel, “Do you have an answer to your question?”

Hetzel shook his head, “No, I do not.”

“Perhaps you will lead us and find the answer; I, too, don’t have an answer.”

Hetzel looked out at the Assembly and said, “Perhaps he’s showing us now. Maybe we should give violent civilizations the opportunity to learn another path before we just blast them away.”

“Will you bring him to speak with us?”

“Will you authorize the removal of the death sentence?”

“I will. Let us know what you find out…Leader.”

Hetzel’s face showed his confusion. The Rules Official announced, “The vote for removal of the former Leader also included a vote to place Hetzel in his place.” The Assembly stood and began cheering their new Leader. Hetzel looked at his Advocate and heard him say, “We all need that question answered.” Hetzel nodded and looked out at the Assembly.

“J
ess.”

“Yes, Mike.”

“Have you determined what you are going to be able to do when they launch the nuclear missiles?”

Jess looked at Elle and Tilly and shook his head, “Mike, we’re caught in an impossible scenario.”

“What do you mean?”

“If the submarine that launches against Washington uses a Cruise Missile, and I really think that’s what they’ll do, we can’t hit it from orbit. We’ll have to come into the atmosphere to hit it.”

“Why?”

“That area on the east coast is one of the most populated in the country. That beam will hit the missile as well as anything under it. There could be a massive loss of life if that happens. Can you see that?”

“I do.”

“And if the launch against the Chinese Government is also done with a Cruise Missile, we would have to go down to the surface to shoot it down as well. I hope I don’t have to mention loss of life in China? We think the launch against Moscow will be with a ballistic missile. The launch would have to be done a long way from Moscow in the North Sea. We can get to the ballistic missile in time to hit it before it reaches apogee and eliminate it. However, China is on the opposite side of the planet from the United States and though we’re good, we’re not that good. We can’t move at our top speed through Earth’s atmosphere. The hurricane force winds it would cause would wreak havoc on millions. We can stop the Russian launch and either the China or United States launch; we can’t stop both.”

“Can’t you take out the submarine in China and come back to stop the other two?”

“Mike, there are twelve nuclear submarines off the coast of China. That missile could be launched from one of the Chinese Subs, a Russian Sub, or even one of ours. There’s no way of knowing which one is going to launch.”

“Should you just take them all out?”

“The French, Japanese, and God knows how many other countries might have their subs in the area as well. It is not our intention to arbitrarily kill members of the military without an opportunity afforded for them to avoid it.”

“But millions will die. If you take out those subs…”

“Numbers don’t justify being wrong, Mike.”

“Sometimes, a hard choice must be made.”

“That’s how the aliens justify killing planets.”

Mike shook his head and knew Jess was right. “I guess you can only do what you can do.”

“I’m going to have to live with that after this is over and I hope I don’t spend the rest of my life second guessing myself.”

“I’ll keep you posted on what we’re doing.”

“Thanks, Mike.”

Jess sat back in his chair and Elle came over and hugged him, “I’m proud of you.”

“Tell me that after millions have been vaporized by a nuclear blast.”

“My feelings won’t change. I’m so lucky you found me.”

Jess smiled slightly, “I genuinely feel I got the best of that deal.”

Tilly smiled, “That’s how you really know it’s love.” They looked at her and she smiled, “Both Mike and I feel we were the winner in having the other in our marriage. You’re very fortunate to have each other.”

• • •

Medusa looked at his communication screen and said, “I want the launches delayed until I hear what the President has to say. I now believe he knows what we’re planning and he may be offering to surrender. Keep your panel hot to send the launch order.”

Mamba nodded, “Yes Sir.”

• • •

The newscasters were given an announcement and the word went out around the world. The President of the United States was going to address the United Nations and his speech was going to radically change his country’s role in world Politics. It was also going to radically change how the United States was governed. Both political parties began decrying the announcement, saying the President couldn’t make a radical change without their consent. Every news organization began speculating on what was going to be said and the Medusa began to think he might just be turning the country over. He, along with billions of others, stopped what they were doing and waited to hear what he had to say.

• • •

The President was announced and he walked to the podium and looked out at the world’s representatives. He took a deep breath and said, “I am going to play two recordings and will tell you what they are after they’re completed. The news stations here have been given a copy of the recording and may start the videos now.” The government agents nodded to the newscasters and they started the videos simultaneously with the one being shown on every representative’s display. They saw the Apache and four Raptors shot down by a spaceship in the desert in Arizona. The next video was taken from a satellite as two missiles were launched at the two glowing force fields above the planet. The missile’s hit the two fields and the explosion temporarily blinded the satellite.

A moment later, it came back on line and the two glowing fields were still in orbit above Earth. The video showed the two fields move and start firing at other satellites. The recording ended when one of the fields approached the satellite and the view suddenly went dark. Every representative started yelling and the President stood in silence and waited. After ten minutes, the representatives grew quiet as they saw the President’s expression. The news stations commentators remained silent waiting on the President to speak. Around the world, people were glued to their televisions.

• • •

The President looked at the cameras and said, “What you just saw happened six weeks ago. I found out about it by accident, my Joint Chiefs were not going to tell me; they say I needed plausible deniability. I discovered a few seconds before they were launched that the United States has a satellite in orbit with nuclear missiles on board. The missiles you saw hitting those alien ships were nuclear; they had no effect on them. The two ships removed every object in orbit above Earth including the International Space Station. I know almost all of you have noticed the loss of satellite signal. The most obvious clue is the loss of all GPS signals. I also know most people believe that the government has hidden the truth about the existence of aliens for decades; to my knowledge, this is the first real evidence they exist.”

The President looked at his notes and said, “What you didn’t see in those videos is that a young man managed to hijack one of the alien ships and escape off the planet with it. I suspect most of you will find that difficult, if not impossible, to believe; but that theft is the only thing that has saved our planet from total destruction.” The Assembly began shouting again and the President waited.

Calls began pouring in to the news stations and most of them were convinced the President was fabricating the entire thing. The President nodded and the Agents handed the news reporters another recording. The main monitor in the General Assembly suddenly activated and the Representatives saw a picture of a planet that was not Earth. The view moved in toward the huge city on the surface and they saw a different species in the city going about their lives. Fox News contacted a science fiction producer and he stated, “We do not have the technology to manufacture that clear a picture of a city like that. That picture has to be real. The other news stations played the producer’s remarks while the Assembly was in bedlam; the calls claiming the entire thing was a lie stopped.

The Assembly finally grew silent and the President nodded. Another picture appeared showing a blasted rock without an atmosphere hanging in space. The President said, “Those two photos are of the same planet.” The revelation was greeted with silence so thick you could cut it. “The images were taken by the young man and woman who left with that alien spaceship. They discovered Earth has been targeted for destruction because of our use of nuclear weapons on our own species. We were given fifty years after the bombing of Japan to remove our most powerful weapons and live in peace. Failure to do that within that required time caused a death sentence to be issued. The ship they managed to steal was here to make that happen.”

Representatives began calling to be recognized and the President shook his head, “You will hear all of it before I answer your questions.” He stared at the Assembly and those standing sat down. “I know the first question you have would be why haven’t they carried out their sentence? The ship that was stolen can be used to destroy the alien’s planets and they delayed to prevent the young man from attacking them in retribution. Our death sentence still stands and will be carried out if they can find a way to remove that rogue ship that threatens them. The reason they are taking this action is they believe humans are a danger to any species they bump up against. If they had doubts about it; our first action was to launch nuclear missiles at their ships. We confirmed to them our willingness to attack first.”