Reverberations by D. Ward Cornell

Author:D. Ward Cornell [Cornell, D. Ward]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Published: 2023-07-17T14:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER 11: QUAGMIRE

[05.14.2035] WHITE HOUSE

Thelma told me it would be a mistake, but I did it anyway. Two more psychic attacks, hitting most of the world, then the spectacular take down of a Dominion scout ship—all recorded by Space Force.

How did I get a scout ship? The Harza spotted one about six hundred light-years away. Sam and Mark tracked it down, then disabled it with our new narrow-beam psychic weapon.

They punched a few holes in the hull, draining all the atmosphere, before sending a pair of bots aboard to make sure there were no spiders still alive. Then, they loaded it into the shuttle bay and brought it home. From there, it was simple staging—a psychic attack. The shuttle spotted, chased, and blown to smithereens at the instant the psychic attack stopped. Almost all the debris burned up in the atmosphere.

At one level, the mission accomplished exactly what I wanted—widespread, but mild, panic, the public demanding completion of the space force build out, and a massive surge in my popularity. It also got me a summons to the White House.

I arrive in the roped off area set up for me and am immediately greeted by the secret service team. “Dr. Wimberly? It’s been a while.”

Amazingly, I remember this guy’s name. “Willy, good to see you again.”

“Have one of those spider-nightmares hit you yet?” he asks in a quiet voice.

“Several times.”

“Man-oh-man, they totally creep me out.”

“We’ll have better defenses against their attacks before they come in earnest,” I say, then add, “which they probably never will.”

Willy turns me over to his more taciturn colleague. “ID?” she asks.

Fifteen minutes later, I’m escorted into the Oval Office.

“Dr. Wimberly, welcome home,” the president greets, hand outstretched. “I trust you know Laura and Jack.”

I exchange greetings with Attorney General Laura Joyner and FBI Director Jackson Gardner.

President Powell casts her full attention on me. “I’ll cut directly to the chase. I don’t think your extended trips into space, the use of an Iknosan battlecruiser, or interference in the affairs of other worlds are legal activities. I also think you have done great harm to the United States and the people of the world through your meddling with the Dominion.”

She picks up a folder on her desk, then slaps it back down.

“I’ve just received the FBI’s preliminary report on your recent activities,” she says. “And I believe I have the evidence I need to press the case that you have broken several Federal laws.”

She nods to Director Garner, who pushes the play button on an old-fashion recording machine of some sort.

“Did you, or did you not, fire a weapon at a Dominion war ship while conducting the rescue on Zemelja?”

I don’t recognize the voice, but assume it is that of an investigator.

“A weapon? No. It was more like hundreds of weapons. Horrific weapons, more powerful than anything imaginable. They make nukes look like a cap gun.”

Anger grows within at the sound of Quinn’s voice.

“No one should be allowed to have weapons like that. One of the ones he used started consuming a gas giant before it burned out.

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