Chapter 1
Cooper Household, Alexandria, Virginia
May 9, 2052ce
“Today, the American State Department has issued an order withdrawing all diplomats from the Peoples Republic of China and from the member nations of the Guangzhou Council. Reports from Europe seem to indicate the EU and UK will be making similar decisions as tensions between China and the West mount over the sinking of the Chinese Aircraft Carrier Zheng He by the Taiwanese Air Force three days ago.
President Krauter and Vice President Flores are rumored to have been moved out of the capital to secured and classified locations. According to sources around the beltway, Speaker of the House, James Wallace, is the highest ranking member of government still in D.C.
In other news, word of Russian mobilization on the EU border…”
Wendy Cooper turned the radio off as she pulled the rental car into the driveway of her suburban D.C. home. She’d been listening to the deteriorating situation during her entire drive from New York. A normal four hour journey on Interstate 95 ended up taking more than twelve. The panic on the roads reminded her of the stories her great grandfather told her about the Cuban Missile Crisis almost a hundred years ago. Air traffic in and out of the D.C. area had been on lock down resulting in her having to fly into Giuliani Airport in NYC from Heathrow in London.
Oh God, Dianna please be here, she thought opening the car door and darting across the yard to the front door of the house. She’d called her wife a dozen times since leaving New York but had never been able to make a connection.
All was still and silent.
Stopping at the front door Wendy turned and looked at the neighborhood. Compared to the insanity of the interstates and the chaos of the cities, the small community of Orchard View was a ghost town. There were no vehicles visible and every home appeared to be locked down. Normally there’d be children playing in the streets and the sounds of sprinklers and dogs would fill the air.
The silence scared her more than the cacophony of fear she’d just escaped. Hands shaking Wendy shoved the antiquated house key in the old fashioned lock and opened the door. Closing the door behind her Wendy threw her purse on the foray bench and rushed further into the house.
“Dianna, are you home?!” she yelled, scared by the fear and desperation in her own voice. “Dianna, please answer me!” Heart hammering in her chest Wendy raced to the stairs taking them two at a time to reach the second floor.
She has to be here. Please God she has to be here! the thought raced through her mind as she went from room to room throwing doors open only to reveal they were all unoccupied. No car in the driveway when I pulled up. Why didn’t I look in the garage first?
Dashing back down the stairs Wendy headed for the door linking the main house and the garage. The sequence of the last few days flashed through her mind. First the sinking of the Chinese ship followed by the threats of nuclear war. She’d been in London on the United Kingdom leg of her book tour while Dianna had been in Los Angeles visiting her mom. The plan had been to meet up in Dublin next week.
That’s not going to happen, she thought sadly.
When the Zheng He was destroyed she’d called Dianna and they’d decided to drop everything and head home. That was when communications went screwy and things got scary. What normally would have taken both of them less than a day, a coast to coast flight for Dianna and a transatlantic one for Wendy, ended up taking days. When they’d last talked, Dianna had been stranded at O’Hare in Chicago, but was certain she’d beat Wendy home.
Wendy threw the door open… the garage was empty.
Wendy Cooper collapsed to the floor and burst into tears.
That was when she heard the banging on the front door.
Chapter 2
Earth Orbit, Liberty Station (USA)
May 9, 2052ce
“Command, this is Liberty Station, come in,” United States Aerospace Force Colonel Carla Kane, commander of Liberty Station, said. Her eyes were locked on the small screen waiting for the video feed to come to life. Please respond! We have to tell you what we know, damnit!
She didn’t have to wait long.
“Liberty, this is Command,” the robust voice of the General Taylor Reyes answered. A heartbeat later the screen was filled with his dark, sharp-angled features. “It’s really good to see and hear you again, Carla.”
Carla breathed a silent sigh of relief
“Whatever the Chinese did has messed up communications on a global level. We’re sitting at about twenty-five percent capacity,” Taylor said rubbing a cheek. He was in desperate need of a shave.
“It wasn’t the Chinese, Taylor,” Carla said before he could continue.
“What do you mean it wasn’t the Chinese?” Taylor demanded. “The orbital burst happened just after those idiots in Taiwan sunk the Zheng He. Those morons in Taipei are going to get us all killed just because they wanted to have a dick measuring contest with Beijing. Do you have any solid evidence Carla? Because right now it’s looking like war might be inevitable. The Chinese Navy and ours are dancing off the South Korean coast, the North Koreans are saber rattling with their Chinese allies, and the Russians have been poking at Alaskan airspace for the last twenty-four hours.”
“I’ve been talking to the other Alliance Station Commanders and we can’t find any evidence that Shenzhen Station had any hand in the orbital burst,” Carla said staring her groundside counterpart in his dark eyes. “Damnit I can’t explain it, Taylor, but I think someone is playing a very nasty and very dangerous game with all of us. Sinclair on the Excalibur has had his scopes on Shenzhen for a month and he’s seen nothing out of the ordinary.”
Taylor looked uncertain.
“Damnit, Taylor. If we don’t ratchet this back we’re all going to be in deep trouble before much longer,” Carla seethed. “Let me talk to someone in D.C., I need to tell them what I think.”
Taylor looked hurt by the unspoken assessment that there was nothing he could do. Instead of reacting emotionally he went cold. “I’ll see what I can do, Carla. You might want to stay close to the radio because I have no idea if I’ll be able to give you a heads up or not—things are kind of crazy down here.”
He cut the connection before she could say anything else.
“I don’t think he liked that very much,” Chief Engineer Karl Sinclair said.
Carla turned to see the tall, lanky man frowning at her from across her empty office. “I didn’t hear you knock,” she said slumping into her seat and leaning her head back.
“That would be because I didn’t,” Karl said settling into the one visitors chair in the cramped office. He glanced out the window just in time to see North America pass by. The spin of Liberty Station produced three quarters Earth’s normal gravity, which provided an ever-changing view of the home world. “The crews are getting real tired, boss. And Sanchez is starting to drive them nuts.”
Carla shook her head. Major Ramon Sanchez was the Chief of Security and Tactical Officer on Liberty, he’d had the station running drills nonstop since the incident in the Taiwan Straits. He was good at this job, and a nice enough guy, but he was single minded when it came to defense.
“If things go tits up down there, we’ll be glad for his preparations,” Carla finally said.
“Fair enough,” Karl replied nodding thoughtfully. He reached into a breast pocket and pulled out a stick of gum. The smell of spearmint filled the small space as he unwrapped it and slipped it into his mouth. “Want some, skipper?” he asked.
“No,” she replied waving a hand. “I’m too likely to bite my own tongue.”
Silence filled the room while outside the surface of the Earth slid silently by.
Chapter 3
United States Space Command
Pacific Sub Station, Johnston (Kalama) Atoll
May 9, 2052ce
“She’s not happy, sir,” the civilian communications technician, Raymond Koenig, said. The NSA man had been at his station as long as Reyes had been, but didn’t look nearly as haggard.
“She has every right not to be,” Taylor said removing the headset and rubbing his eyes. He’d been on station for more than thirty-six hours and desperately needed sleep. Unfortunately he’d have to settle for a cup of coffee. “If the situation doesn’t get calmed down PDQ we’re all going to be very unhappy real soon.”
“Do you want me to patch you through to the shelters?” Raymond asked. “If things are as bad as she says maybe we should patch her through?”
“Maybe,” Taylor said shaking his head wearily. “The last thing I want to do is burden them with more problems which may or may not be relevant.”
“Perhaps you should let me be the judge of that, General Reyes,” a third voice said.
Taylor turned and found himself looking into the eyes of Amanda Krauter, President of the United States of America. The President, her staff, and the Joint Chiefs arrived at Johnston Atoll in the Pacific less than an hour earlier. He hadn’t expected her to find her way to the mission control area with so much else going on that needed her attention.
“I’m sorry, Madam President,” Taylor said straightening himself, while silently wishing he’d put on a fresh shirt the last time he’d been in his quarters. “I wasn’t going to make the decision for you, I just needed to process what Commander Kane relayed before taking it to you and the Joint Chiefs.”
“I understand General,” President Krauter said. “We’ve all been under significant strain the last few days.” Looking at the cramped space of the communications hub she sighed and took one of the empty seats. “Do you know what I was supposed to be doing today General Reyes?”
“No ma’am,” Taylor replied.
“I was supposed to be starting a vacation with my family,” she sighed. “Right now I should be on Air Force One with my husband and children on our way to England. Now my family’s trapped under this island, and the rest of the government is being spread out to shelters and facilities all over the country just in case.”
“I’m sorry, ma’am,” Taylor said uncertain how he was supposed to respond to the information. He’d never been a fan of the President and voted against her in both elections. But he was forced to admit she’d remained strong and reliable as the crisis with the Chinese developed.
“Thank you, but I doubt I’m the only one who’s had their entire world turned upside down in the last few days,” she said looking and sounding exhausted. “What about your family General?” she asked.
“I’m divorced ma’am,” Taylor said. “I have one son and he’s probably safer than any of us are at the moment.”
“How so?” Amanda asked sounding genuinely interested.
“He’s a security officer on Liberty ma’am,” he answered and despite the seriousness of their current situation Amanda could hear the pride in his voice.
“Well at least you have that,” she said nodding thoughtfully before she continued, “Now, do you believe I should hear what Commander Kane has to say?”
“Yes ma’am,” Taylor answered nodding. “Carla is one if the best we have. If she says she needs to speak with you then it must be important.”
“Alright,” President Krauter said smoothing her skirt and running a hand through her short graying hair, “patch me through and let’s hear what she has to say.”
Chapter 4
Reagan Aerospace Port, Washington D.C.
May 9, 2052ce
“I have to get to Alexandria now!” Dianna Cooper yelled at the blank faced man working the rental counter, the nametag on his freshly starched shirt read “Ian”. “I’ve been bounced from airport to airport over the last three days, I’ve slept in lobbies, and I’ve haven’t had a shower since Los Angeles. Then once I finally have a God’s damned flight out of Chicago and land here only to find that all of the buses and trains have been shut down because of the emergency, and there isn’t a single rental car to be had!”
She punctuated each point with a jab of her fingers in the man’s face and with each jab the customer service agent looked less and less impressed. She’d been getting that response from lackeys and representatives in half a dozen airports since she boarded the first flight in Los Angeles and only made it to Denver. That one had covered the most distance. Dianna was sick and tired of the runaround.
“Ma’am,” Ian droned, “there’s no need for you to point, shout, or curse at me.”
Dianna fought against the urge to jerk the officious little prick up by his collar and drag him over the high counter. Having been an avid cross-fitter and mixed martial arts enthusiast since she was a little girl she Dianna was pretty sure she could bend him into a pretzel before he could squeak. Then her rational part, the part which needed to be with Wendy as soon as possible, took over. Taking a cleansing second she stabilized herself and continued in a calmer voice.
“Please,” she said, “my wife is in Alexandria and I don’t know if she’s okay or not. I need to get home. All I need is some information on when I’ll be able to get a car. Someone has to have one.” To herself she thought, Fuck, I hope Carolyn got the message to check the house and find Wendy.
“I’m sorry ma’am, I have no information for you,” the man said with zero emotion. “The communications disruption is interring with our ability to track cars so I have no way of knowing when a free driver will arrive. I understand this is an inconvenience. All I can do is add you to the wait list until the situation has been resolved. Now there are a lot of people behind you so please step aside.”
It wasn’t the clearly rehearsed and memorized lines. It wasn’t the sheer hopelessness of the situation. It wasn’t even the clear uncaring of this little man with too much power. It was the nasal drone of his words and the mind-numbing monotone they were delivered in. That was what caused Dianna Cooper to snap.
“I’M NOT GOING ANYWHERE UNTIL I GET SOME ANSWERS!” Dianna screamed slamming both hands powerfully down on the counter.
Fear finally filled the young man’s mahogany face. Ah a real emotion, Dianna thought.
“M-Ma’am,” Ian stammered backing up in the narrow space behind the counter until his back touched the wall. “There’s no need to lose your temper, I’m sure we can…”
“Oh now you want to help? Now you give a damn?” Dianna laughed darkly.
“Look, let me call my supervisor and I’m sure he can help you,” Ian said. “There’s no need to do something you’ll regret.” If he’d stopped there things might have gone down differently.
Dianna hated being told what to do. Growing up her big sister, Holly, had treated her like a servant. If Holly was thirsty then it was Dianna’s job to get her a drink, if her room was dirty then Dianna had to clean it up, and if Holly did something wrong it was Dianna’s job to either cover it up or take the blame. For years she’d done what Holly said for two reasons. The first was fear, Holly was a mountain of a girl and even the bigger boys were afraid of her. The second was the simple fact that Dianna loved her big sister more than anyone else in the world.
Of course both fear and love have their limits.
Like with this customer service agent, the final straw had been something small—Holly had eaten Dianna’s dinner. By the age if sixteen Dianna had been deep in the world of cross-fit and mixed martial arts training and it’d been the night before a big competition when it happened. Their mother had made her a high protein dinner to prepare her for the competition and put it in the microwave for when she got back from the gym. When she’d arrived home exhausted and starving, she’s found a dirty plate in the sink and no dinner in the microwave.
She’d immediately stormed up the stairs and confronted her sister. It all ended with Holly’s broken nose and Dianna having to miss the competition due to a months grounding. As far as she was concerned twenty years later, it’d been worth it.
“There is no need to fly off the handle and act like an irate bitch,” Ian muttered.
Dianna knew he hadn’t meant to say it out loud and when his eyes went wide in terror her feeling was confirmed. That was her breaking point. She was tired, dirty, frustrated, scared, and just wanted to be home with her wife.
That was when Dianna Cooper, Captain in the United States Marine Corp, snapped.
Chapter 5
Cooper Household, Alexandria, Virginia
May 9, 2052ce
Maybe it’s Dianna, Wendy thought jumping to her feet. Excitement raced through her system at the thought of holding her wife in her arms again. Wait, why would Dianna knock? Who the hell is beating on my door?
The pounding continued this time followed by a voice—a voice Wendy was sure she recognized.
“Doc, open the door!” the young female voice demanded. “Damnit, Wendy, I know you’re in there. The engine of your car is still warm.”
Wendy raced through the back into the house, through the front hall, and threw the door open without checking who was there. In the back of her mind she knew Dianna would have raised holy hell if she’d known Wendy was throwing caution to the wind. That was one of the running battles in their thirteen years together. The door flew open and she found herself staring into large dark eyes.
“Oh thank the Gods!” Sergeant Carolyn Vie said throwing her arms around Wendy Copper and hugging her tight. “I thought for sure you were trapped on the interstate or worse still in New York.”
“Carolyn!” Wendy said breaking into sobs. “Oh thank God, it’s you. I got home and the neighborhood was deserted and I can’t find Dianna!”
“She’s okay,” Carolyn said reluctantly breaking the embrace. “She got a message to me via our battalion’s secure network. She was trapped in Chicago and trying to get a flight out last I heard. She asked me to find you and bring you to the base.”
Wendy nodded wiping tears from her cheeks.
“We need to pack you a bag and get moving, things are getting bad,” Carolyn said stepping into the house. As Dianna Cooper’s right hand in their Marine Force Recon company, she’d spent enough time in the house to be familiar with its layout.
“I know, I’ve been listening to the radio,” Wendy said shutting and locking the door. “Reminds me of the stories my grandpa told about the Cuban Missile Crisis.”
“Doc,” Carolyn said sadly, “you don’t know the half of it. The balloon could go up at any minute. The news hasn’t gotten the information yet, but the USS Reagan Carrier group was engaged by a North Korean sub three hours ago. No word on our losses yet, but odds are those bastards scored a good hit if the Pentagon is keeping it out if the press.”
“This can’t be happening,” Wendy whispered. The shock in her soft voice was thunderous. “This is like something out of one of those bad old television shows Di loves so damn much.”
“It’s really happening,” Carolyn muttered throwing objects wily-nily into a duffel bag. “I need to get you to the base PDQ.”
“Why?” Wendy asked stopping in the middle of the room. “Why are you taking me to the base? Shouldn’t you be getting ready to deploy or something?”
“Everything’s a confused mess,” Carolyn said shouldering the hastily packed duffel and urging Wendy toward the stairs. “There’s nowhere to mobilize to, the orders are all the same -dig in and wait. I have to be honest with you Doc that scares me more than if they told me I was on my way to Hong Kong to fight.”
“Why?” Wendy asked stopping and taking Carolyn by the shoulder. “Why the hell does that scare you more?”
Reluctantly Carolyn stopped and turned to face Wendy. “Wendy, I need to get you to base before the order to move comes. All of us were given the unofficial word to bring family ASAP. If we’re digging in and bringing our families even though it’s against regs then that means someone up the chain thinks we’re gonna be attacked soon.”
“Dianna,” Wendy said so softly she wasn’t sure she’d actually said it until Carolyn responded.
“She knows where they’re gonna send us. As long as she can make it she’ll be okay,” she said resuming her descent down the stairs and toward the front door. Her near frenetic, almost panicked, pace was infectious. At the door Carolyn pulled a note pad out of her shirt pocket and scribbled a message. “But just in case we’ll leave her a note to let her know we’ll be there waiting.”
“Where’s that?” Wendy asked hurrying after her.
“Mount Weather,” Carolyn replied without looking back.
Chapter 6
Earth Orbit, Liberty Station (USA)
May 9, 2052
“No, Madam President,” Carla said trying to keep the irritation from her voice. “I have no actually proof it wasn’t the Chinese, but there’s also no proof that it was.”
She listened to the response in her earpiece, the expression in her face growing sourer by the second. Her opinion of what she was hearing was clear to Karl Sinclair and Ramon Sanchez. The two other members of the station’s command staff looked near as tired as the station commander.
“Yes, Madam President. I understand,” Carla said woodenly. “As of now we are weapons free, at the first sign of an enemy launch we are clear to return fire.”
Carla paused to listen.
“Yes, ma’am. I understand, no hesitation if the time comes. You can count on Liberty,” she paused then finished, “I understand and we’ll do our best. Kane out.”
Carla threw the earpiece onto her desk and slammed the heels of her hands against her forehead. “That woman won’t listen to a damn thing I say! She’s going to get us all killed!”
“There’s a lot going on down there,” Karl said cautiously. “She has a lot to juggle.”
“There’s a lot going on up here,” Ramon countered. “Damn near every station is armed to the teeth with weapons pointed not only at the planet, but at each other.”
“She’s right from her point of view,” Carla muttered reluctantly. “The Chinese and their allies are on highest alert, we’re just responding in kind. She says they still have talks going on in New Delhi but so far there’s been no progress.”
“The Indians can get anyone to talk,” Karl said hopefully. “Look what they did for the Brazilians and Argentineans.”
“They weren’t sitting on enough firepower to erase all life on Earth a hundred times over,” Ramon countered. “One false move and the planet gets cooked and with it the entire human race.”
“None of that matters for us anymore. The word has already been given and the pistol has been cocked. Gentlemen, we’re officially at Def Con 1,” Carla interjected. Pushing her chair back from her desk she got to her feet and unconsciously attempted to smooth the wrinkles in her shirt. Looking at Ramon she said coldly, “Major, you know what needs to be done.”
“Yes ma’am,” the officer said, his mask of professionalism firmly in place. “I’ll put the plan in motion.”
“There has to be another way,” Karl muttered staring at the bright blue globe outside the station widow. “It can’t all end like this, not when we’re so close to fixing the mistakes of the past.”
“I can’t speak for down there—that’s out of our hands, but maybe up here we might have a chance,” Carla replied tapping the surface of her desk and bringing up a current map of the orbital situation. “I need to talk to the other alliance stations,” she muttered looking at the bright blue dots representing the installations they could theoretically count on.
Outside, the blue planet hung quietly, its tranquility belaying the coming storm.
Chapter 7
United States Space Command
Pacific Sub Station, Johnston (Kalama) Atoll
May 9, 2052
“Will she pull the trigger when the time comes?” President Krauter asked taking off the headset and slumping in her seat. She didn’t even notice she said ‘when’ and not ‘if’. “Liberty and its satellites are our biggest guns, without them we don’t have a chance.”
“Carla is loyal and she understands the reality of the situation,” Taylor replied, also not noticing the terminology the President used. “If there’s anyone we can trust to do their duty no matter what, it’s Colonel Kane.”
The communications shack was deserted save for the General and the President. Agent Koenig had been ordered to take a rest several hours earlier and most of the base staff was doing the same. President Krauter had ordered everyone, including her Secret Service detail, out of the communications room while she spoke with Liberty station and she was in no hurry to bring them back in.
“It’s already tomorrow in D.C.,” Amanda muttered. “Morning is coming to America.”
“It’ll be here soon enough,” Taylor replied. The man’s eyes were heavy and sad in the dim light of the communications hub. “My grandfather used to talk about how when he was young, when the night came the world went quiet and you could rest. He lamented the rise of the twenty-four hour world and the reality that there was no more time to rest. I don’t know that world but it sounds like heaven.”
“I don’t remember that world either,” Amanda said. “My whole life I’ve operated on the time table of other people, it’d be nice not to have to for once.”
Before Taylor could respond the red lights mounted in the corners of the room started to flash and the alert siren filled the air. The doors of the room flew open and the Secret Service agents followed by the communications officers burst inside.
“What’s going on?” Amanda demanded jumping to her feet.
“There’s been a launch,” Taylor said pulling up the information before his people could get to their stations. “Telemetry from Colorado is showing multiple launches across the globe.” He turned and looked at the President of the United States of America, came to formal attention, and said, “Ma’am, the balloon is up. Permission to launch?”
Amanda nodded a clicking choking sound coming from her throat.
The question and the response were a formality. The nano second the launches were detected hard programmed systems kicked into action and the American response was in motion before the words left Taylor’s lips. Still the formalities had to be maintained if they were to keep their sanity.
“Ma’am, there’s nothing more we can do for the moment,” Taylor said losing his military formality and looking at the large screen showing the trails of uncounted missiles. “Why don’t you go below and see your family, they need you now. You can monitor the situation from your office just as easily as you can from here.”
“If anything changes,” she said staring at the same screen.
“I’ll call you immediately,” Taylor replied.
Without another word Amanda Krauter left the room.
Chapter 8
Reagan Aerospace Port, Washington D.C.
May 10, 2052
Dianna was seething in the security cell when the building shook and sirens started blaring.
She’d awoken three hours earlier with a splitting headache and a fragmented memory. One second she was struggling with four figures and cursing herself for not running when the security guards showed up just in time to save the car rental agent from a world class beating. Dianna still had no idea when the guards were called, but it had to have been long before she lost it. Then her body went rigid, her vision filled with blackness, and she was sure her heart stopped. In retrospect she was pretty sure one of those TSA rent-a-cops used a stun baton on her when she wasn’t looking.
The sounds of multiple sirens coupled with flashing emergency lights in the airports small jail banished all thoughts of her arrest. Once more her focus turned toward getting to Wendy who was so painfully close yet impossible to reach.
“Hey!” she screamed through the narrow bars. “Hey let me out!”
The sounds of feet pounding on concrete filled the hall in front of her tiny cell. The pounding was quickly replaced by the face of the same young security officer who she was pretty sure had stunned and cuffed her earlier. The haughtiness on his bronze face was now filled with naked panic.
“Let me out, kid,” Dianna said using her best no nonsense command voice. “Damnit I’m a Marine I need to get to my post!”
“I can’t let you out,” the man- no, he was really more a boy, said looking from his key card to the cells lock. “I don’t know what to do,” he mumbled. “None of the radios are working right… there’s no response from the rest of the guys.”
“Let me out of this cell,” Dianna said forcing herself to be calm. “The war has started. That shaking we felt was probably a low yield high altitude burst to kill communications,” she said having no idea if she was right, but it sounded good so she went with it. “We have to get as far from Washington as we can. The cities close in air defenses will keep the bombs at bay for awhile, but the umbrella isn’t complete and some will get through.”
“I need to talk to Corporal Renner,” the guard said clearly not hearing anything Dianna was saying. He keyed the mic on his shoulder and spoke, “Corporal Renner this is Morawski, come in please.”
The radio was silent.
“There’s not even any static!” Dianna shouted slamming a hand against the bars so hard pain raced up her muscular arm. “The radios are dead. They could be in the next room and not fucking hear you!”
“Renner this is Morawski, come in damnit,” he said again ignoring her. Panic was replacing the detached shock in his voice. “Renner, I need instructions.”
Dianna would have kicked herself for not noticing the third person entering the room, but under the circumstances she was willing to give herself a pass. Morawski was edging closer and closer to hysteria as he continued to call a man Dianna was pretty certain might be dead. Her eyes and ears were so focused on the guard that she didn’t register the presence of the new player until he was behind Morawski. One second he was standing in front of her and in the next he was falling to the ground revealing a moderately burned and bloodied figure behind him holding a stun baton.
It took Dianna a few moments to recognize the man.
“Ian?” she whispered in shock. The bored-looking, vaguely attractive, young man behind the rental counter had been replaced by this creature standing before her. “Oh Gods Ian, what happened to you?”
“Blast blew out the windows and shook the building,” he said, his voice distorted by the burns on his face. “Something exploded. I have no idea what. It might have been one of the old gas lines. I don’t know those damn things were still being used.”
“Why are you here Ian?” Dianna asked. The soldier side of her asserted control and she prepared herself for this man to attack her as some kind of last minute retribution before he died.
It didn’t happen.
Ian dropped to his knees in front of the cell, placed his forehead against the bars, and wept. “I’m sorry. I so fucking sorry,” he sobbed.
Dianna stared at him in shock.
“I could have gotten you home to your wife. There was a car and driver available, but you just got under my skin so I lied to you.” He never looked at her as he spoke. “Now we’re all going to die.”
Shock and rage fought for control inside of Dianna. Using an old trick she’d learn at Annapolis she closed her eyes, took in a lungful of air through her nose, and then let it out slowly through her mouth. Her emotions temporarily set to the side, she opened her eyes, knelt down in front of the bars, and spoke to Ian.
“If you think we’re already dead why did you come here Ian?” she asked surprised by the calm in her own voice. “Why didn’t you just try to get away or find help?”
He looked up and she saw tears mixed with blood running down his face. “To get you out of here. I tried to convince Andrew to let you out,” he said indicating the crumpled form of the security guard, “but he was already half out of his mind with shock.”
Dianna nodded. She’d seen that first hand.
“I’m gonna get you out so you can try to find your wife,” Ian continued pushing the still form of Andrew over and searching his pockets. “At least you’ll have a chance to say goodbye and be together at the end.” A look of satisfaction crossed his blistered face as he fished a thick black key card from a pocket.
“Was there a mushroom cloud?” Dianna asked as Ian struggled to his feet.
“I didn’t see one,” he mumbled sliding the key card into the slot. The light on the device shifted from red to green and the bolt disengaged. He continued, “But we probably soaked up enough radiation by now to finish us off.”
The door opened and he stepped aside for Dianna to exit.
“I don’t think so,” Dianna said looking at the lock, the lights, and the abandoned guard station with its glowing computer screen. “If the detonation had been strong enough to kill us with splash over radiation, all the electronics would’ve been fried in the EMP. Or at least unshielded stuff like the lock and lights would’ve been.”
“So what was it?” Ian asked a little hope in his voice.
“I don’t know, maybe something conventional hit the airport,” she replied shrugging her shoulders. “My point is, we’re not dead yet and even if we’d had a nuclear near miss I still wouldn’t assume I was dead. Have you ever heard of the Hibakusha?” she asked kneeling down and stripping equipment from the unconscious guard.
Ian shook his head.
“They were the Japanese survivors of the bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” she grunted rolling Andrew over to undo his tactical belt. “Even the radiation from two messy and primitive fission bombs didn’t kill them outright. Many of them lived a long time. Some of them lived well into the early twenty-first century,” she finished buckling the belt around her waist before adding a thin tactical vest. I’ll leave out the long term health complications and mutations, she thought turning her eyes to the supply locker.
“So we might make it?” Ian said more to himself than to Dianna.
Ignoring him for the moment Dianna used the ring of old fashioned keys she pulled from Andrews belt and opened the locker. She whistled loudly at the contents.
“What did you find?” Andrew asked.
“Do you know how to use one of these?” Diana asked pulling out an old school M-4 Carbine.
“I grew up in the hills,” Ian said taking the weapon from Dianna and expertly working the bolt. “I grew up knowing how to do this.”
“Good,” Dianna said turning her attention back to the locker. “First we gear up, then we find a ride.”
“I might have an idea on that front,” Ian said taking one of the extra security jumpsuits from the pile Dianna was making.
“Good,” Dianna growled slapping a clip into the compact pistol she’d removed from the locker. “We get out of here and then we find Wendy.”
Chapter 9
The Road Between Alexandria and Mount Weather
May 10, 2052
“Where were they heading out here in the middle of nowhere? And for that matter what ran them off the road? I haven’t seen another vehicle for the last hour,” Wendy asked not looking at Carolyn. Her eyes were locked on the scene of chaos on the road.
Carolyn maneuvered the Humvee carefully around the overturned RV, which was half on and half off the road and blocking their side of the one lane country road. Several figures were scattered around the vehicle, it was impossible to determine if the family group members were alive or dead.
“The driver might have been looking directly into the flash of the detonation,” Carolyn said woodenly not wanting to dwell on the scene before them.
“STOP!” Wendy yelled suddenly.
Carolyn slammed her foot on the break and both women were only saved the fate of careening into the bulletproof windshield by their seat belts. Stepping out from the front end of the over turned RV was a little girl of maybe five years.
Wend unbuckled her belt, opened the door, and stepped out before Carolyn could say anything. Carolyn was only a heartbeat behind her due to the need of shifting the Humvee into park.
“Don’t be afraid,” Wendy said doing her best to stay calm and not spook the little girl. “My name is Wendy and this is my friend Carolyn.”
“Hi kiddo,” Carolyn said quietly from just behind Wendy.
“What’s your name?” Wendy continued purposefully not looking at the three bodies nearby—she was pretty sure they were dead. “Are you okay sweetie?”
The little girl didn’t answer. Blood trickled slowly from a gash on her head and she stared past them in obvious shock. Wendy dropped her caution and hurried to the little girl’s side to examine her injuries. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized they all appeared to be superficial.
“Maya,” a hoarse voice said from the group of seemingly dead people. “Her name is Maya.”
“That’s a pretty name,” Carolyn said turning her attention to the speaker. The woman had several obvious bone breaks and blood frothed from her nose and mouth as she spoke. Next to her a man and young boy laid both clearly dead after closer inspection.
“It’s a family name,” the woman coughed, blood flecked spittle flying from her mouth. “Is she okay?” she asked once the coughing stopped.
Carolyn looked to Wendy who nodded.
“Yes,” Carolyn said turning her attention back to the woman who was clearly fading fast. The Marine suspected the only reason the woman was still alive was from willpower generated over concern for her daughter.
“We were heading to our cabin,” the woman coughed again and pain wracked her pale form. “We have a shelter there and I told Greg and Maya we’d be safe there.”
Carolyn assumed Greg was the little boy.
“We thought we had enough time,” the woman continued, “but we were wrong. Bennett was driving and the flash blinded him and we went off the road. He and Greg were killed in the wreck, but Maya,” she coughed weakly, “she is fine… It’s a miracle… I’m not so good…”
“Wendy’s a doctor,” Carolyn said looking at the woman’s wounds and shuddering internally. “She’ll get you stabilized and we’ll get to safety.”
“No…” the woman responded now sobbing and coughing. “I’m dying, I know that.”
Carolyn had no idea to respond to that. This wasn’t a Marine taken down in battle that knew the risks and took their chances—this was a Mom. This was a normal American woman. She shouldn’t have to be here dying in the middle of a tertiary road in the Virginia mountains. Instead of saying anything she took the woman’s rapidly cooling hand in her own.
It seemed to be the right thing to do.
“My daughter,” the woman said smiling softly at Carolyn.
“We’ll take care of her,” Carolyn said trying and failing to fight back tears.
“The shelter… I need to give you directions,” the woman said fighting the impossible fight to stay conscious.”
“We have a safe place,” Carolyn said gently squeezing her hand. “I promise she’ll be okay.”
The woman nodded. Her eyes fluttered, her breathing slowed, and what little strength left in her grip disappeared. One second a person inhabited the body in front of her and the next it was just a corpse.
“Is she gone?” Wendy asked placing a hand on Carolyn’s shoulder.
Carolyn nodded before getting slowly to her feet. “We need to get moving Doc. The mountain doors will only be open as long as the radiation count stays in the safe range. Once it passes the threshold the doors will be locked and anyone on the outside will be dead.”
“Then we better get moving,” Wendy said. She hesitated looking back toward Alexandria and D.C., looking back toward her old life, looking for Dianna.
“She’ll make it,” Carolyn said. “The Captain’s a tough bitch.”
“You’re right,” Wendy replied wiping her eyes with her free hand, the other held one of Maya’s. She turned her gaze to the traumatized little girl. “Come on sweetie we have to go… Do you wanna say goodbye?”
Saying nothing Maya released Wendy’s hand walked to the Humvee, never looking at the still forms of her family. Wendy looked at Carolyn who shrugged her shoulders. There wasn’t enough time for them to deal with the little girl’s damage.
Later, Wendy thought, we’ll deal with this after we’re safe. Working on instinct she searched the area around the RV and picked out the sight of a leather purse with silver buckles. Not over-thinking her decision Wendy scooped it up and headed for the Humvee.
“What’s that for?” Carolyn asked slipping behind the wheel.
“I hope there are some pictures of her family in here—something so she won’t forget them,” Wendy mumbled searching the bag.
Behind them in the back seat the little girl was silent.
Chapter 10
United States Space Command
Pacific Sub Station, Johnston (Kalama) Atoll
May 10, 2052
The lower levels of the base were still intact. The point defense system on the island’s surface knocked down the first two warheads headed for the Pacific Command and Control Center. However the third, a sub launched Chinese warhead, scored a direct hit. Where once a terra-formed tropical island covered with a few buildings and runways had been, there was a smoking water filled crater. The top five levels of the installation were either destroyed outright or flooded in seconds. If the watertight doors hadn’t been sealed beforehand the bottom seven levels would have shared the fate of the upper ones.
“Are you okay Madam President?” Taylor asked.
The President, her family, and the command staff had sheltered in the VIP quarters while the General had been with his people in the command center. Once he was sure the rest of the installation was going to hold, he made locating them his priority.
“I’ve been better General,” she replied stepping into the concrete hallway and closing the door to the VIP Quarters. “Everyone down here made it through, but there was a second when the lights went out…” she trailed off with a shiver.
“Yes ma’am, it was dicey there for a minute,” Taylor said nodding and gesturing for her to follow him to command. He talked as they walked. “We lost the top five levels of the base, but projections said we’d lose six so we’re doing better than we thought we would. Casualties appear to be light, sixty-four confirmed lost with another dozen too injured to work at the moment.”
“Do we know who fired first General?” she asked with bitter anger in her tone.
“No ma’am,” he said dejectedly. “I can tell you it was an orbital launch, but we never received enough telemetry data from Liberty to ascertain who.”
“What about the base?” she asked swiping her ID on the card reader. She half expected it not to work and breathed a sigh of relief when the light changed to green and the door to the command center opened with a hiss.
“The reactor survived more or less undamaged. The engineers say we’ll have steady power for the foreseeable future,” Taylor answered. “Supplies are stored on level twelve so there’s no problem there either.”
“I’m sensing a ‘but’,” Amanda said settling into a chair at the small conference table in the front of the command center. “Spill it Taylor, the time for niceties is over.”
“We haven’t been able to launch the buoy,” he said woodenly.
All the sensor and communications equipment had been destroyed when the warhead detonated on the surface rendering Johnston Atoll, or what was left of it, deaf, dumb, and blind. The Buoy was a rugged compact unit designed to be deployed once the fighting was over in order to reestablish communications.
“Was is destroyed in the blast?” she asked pinching the bridge of her nose.
“No ma’am,” Taylor replied. “We think the wireless connection was burned out by the EMP and the physical linkage…” he hesitated before finishing his thought. “Ma’am the old hard lines are ancient. Some of them date back to the First Cold War.”
“So you have no idea why they failed, they just failed,” President Krauter grunted in irritation.
“Yes Ma’am,” Taylor admitted.
“So until we figure out how to repair and launch the Buoy we’re completely cut off?” she continued looking accusingly at the dark display screen dominating the compact room. “Right now there could be a Chinese lead fleet above us and there’s no way we’d know.”
Taylor shook his head.
Above them the world burned.
Chapter 11
Earth Orbit, Liberty Station (USA)
May 10, 2052
“Major Sanchez, what’s the status of the point defense guns?” Carla yelled into the command circuit.
In the hours since the first launches, Liberty station had beaten back more than a dozen attacks. There were thirteen major stations in Earth’s orbit, but none of them were what bothered Carla. Any attack from a station proper would be easily detected and dealt with. The problems came from the hundreds of satellites, some of which were military stealth models, and micro stations in low Earth orbit. Those stations were the orbital equivalent of weapons platforms. They were heavily armored and armed. Carla was sure the first launches came from one of these platforms.
“Commander Kane this is Lieutenant Reyes,” the voice of Sanchez’s number two replied. “Major Sanchez is in weapons control working with engineering, he had an idea on improving counter firing efficiency.” The young officer sounded exhausted.
We’re all exhausted kiddo, Carla thought darkly. I hope to God we get to wake up the next time we go to sleep. Out loud she responded, “What’s the situation with the rail guns Lieutenant? That last salvo nearly made it through.”
“Interference from the orbital burst,” Reyes answered. “We didn’t get slammed with EMP like groundside or the low Earth orbit stations, but we’re catching some residual interference. That’s what the major’s working on.”
“Okay,” Carla said nodding even thought there was no one in the office to see her. She’d been on the command bridge until an hour ago when she decided what she needed was a little quiet to process events. “Have him update me when he comes back up.”
“Yes ma’am,” Reyes said before signing off.
Carla leaned back in her chair and was on the verge of passing out when a knock on her closed door brought her back up to reality. “Come in,” she barked, her heart hammering.
Karl Sinclair walked in looking worse than she felt.
“Sit down Karl,” Carla said indicating the only other seat in the closet sized office. “What’s the situation?”
“We’re soaking up the rads,” he said a look of ecstasy spreading on his face as the weight came off his legs. “But it could be worse, there might be issues later, but that’s for medical to determine. For right now the shielding is adequate.”
“Sanchez has defense under control,” he continued hesitating.
“Spill it Chief,” Carla ordered unaware how much she sounded like the woman trapped beneath the radiation saturated waters of the Pacific. “Just put all the bad shit out on the table right now, I have no desire to be blindsided later.”
“Six months,” the engineer said stonily.
“Six months and then what?” Carla asked having a bad feeling she knew what the man was going to say. He didn’t disappoint.
“No matter how hard we ration and recycle, we’ll start running out of essential supplies in six months max,” he answered.
Instead of replying Carla reached into her desk and pulled out a bottle of brown liquid. She turned it so Sinclair could see the name “The Baton” on the label.
“I knew you were hiding the good stuff,” the engineer laughed despite himself.
“Two bottles,” the station commander said breaking the seal on the bottle and pulling the cork. “I smuggled two bottles in on my last trip from groundside.” Rummaging in the same drawer she brought out two shot glasses and filled them before pushing one towards Sinclair. “Have a drink with me Chief, but just one.”
Karl took the offered drink and stared at the brown liquid sadly.
“We’re gonna make it Chief,” she said raising her own glass into the air. “Until we meet again.”
They both downed the drinks.
“What did that mean?” he asked once they were finished. “The toast I mean.”
“Something my grandparents used to say to one another when they went places separately. It was the last thing I said to my mom when I left Earth,” she said turning to look out the window at Earth, its atmosphere was filled with smoke and debris.
Chapter 12
Main Gate, Outside Mount Weather
May 10, 2052
The Aerospace Port Security Truck sat open and abandoned less than twenty meters from the massive round door embedded in the mountainside. The security hut lay abandoned and forlorn in the quiet. The trip from D.C. had been easier than Dianna expected with most of the citizenry having fled, been killed in the first blast, or safely ensconced for the moment below ground. They’d made good time and even managed to get out of the D.C. metro area before the real bombs made it past the defensive systems.
It’d all been for naught.
“Open the doors God damnit!” Dianna growled into the speaker box. “My name is Captain Dianna Cooper United States Marine Corp. My wife and my jarheads are in there! Now open the doors and let us in.”
“There’s no one listening,” Ian said from behind her. His words were muffled by the dirty bandages wrapped around his head. “Or if they are, they’re ignoring us.”
“Open the fucking doors!” Dianna roared kicking the massive chunk of metal in question. “For the love of God you’re killing us!” she screamed dropping to her knees in front of the door sobbing and pounding her fists impotently in rage. “You’re killing us…”
“Dianna we have to go,” Ian whispered kneeling next to her and wrapping an arm around her trembling shoulders. “The radiation’s coming and we need to get under cover.”
“She’s just on the other side, Ian,” Dianna sobbed. All the rage and fear dissolving into wet sadness. “She’s just on the other side… Why won’t they let us in?”
“I camp in these hills all the time,” Ian said holding the incredibly strong but extremely fragile woman close. “There are deep caves and abandoned mines all over the place, we have the supplies in the truck. If we hurry we can get underground before it gets too bad up here.”
Dianna nodded not saying anything.
Slowly they both got to their feet.
They had a lot to do and very little time in which to do it in.
Epilogue
B Gate, Outside Mount Weather
May 10, 2052ce
“We have to get inside and close the door!” Carolyn Vie called from the open hatch. Her smooth South Asian face was filled with real unvarnished terror. “Please Doc, if you aren’t on the inside in the next few minutes you’ll be stuck out here.” Throwing decorum to the wind Carolyn stormed outside, grabbed her by her shoulder, spun her around, and screamed in her face. “Wendy, you’ll die out here!”
Wendy looked toward her home, toward the place where her home had been. Despite the height of the mountains and thickness of the forest the last of the mushroom cloud was still clear in the sky. The wind blew toward the blast as opposed to from it but it wouldn’t be long before radiation from the blasts to the west blanketed the area.
“We can’t leave her out here,” Wendy whispered.
“Wendy,” Carolyn said placing a hand on her shoulder, “she’s probably already dead and even if she’s not, she will be soon.”
Wendy whipped around ready to scream at the young woman. Ready to tear into her and call her every vile name she could think of. Ready to scratch, bite, kick, and punch her until she took those vile words back. Ready to hurt her like she’d just been hurt. The words and rage died instantly.
Tears streamed down Carolyn’s face.
Wendy threw her arms around the terrified young woman and pulled her in close. “I’m sorry Carolyn,” she whispered. “Let’s go inside.”
Carolyn nodded unable to speak.
Wendy released her embrace, slipped her hand into Carolyn’s, and led the younger woman through the bulkhead and into the mountain. Not releasing Carolyn’s hand she turned and closed the pressure door. The light above the door turned red and the sounds of the bolts closing and the air lock pressurizing was thunderous compared to the silence outside.
The light turned green.
“Goodbye Di,” Wendy whispered, “I love you.”