ship. We threw our hardest punch at them while they weren’t even looking; and they are still up and swinging. If we go toe to toe with them, we will lose.” The general, again, began to let his emotions bleed through, but thought better of it.
“Our best bet, sir, is to let them believe that we have been knocked out for the ten count. Let everybody in the stands go home. Then we get up and mount an attack when they are at their most vulnerable, after they are completely comfortable on this planet.”
“What you’re saying, Captain, is that we should just open the gates and allow them in?”
“Sir, in a way, yes.”
“We’ll just let those ‘things’ crawl all over our planet? It could be months before they relax their military grip.”
“That’s a possibility, sir.”
“We could be wiped out in that time period. Are you willing to take that risk? You said yourself you would rather go out fighting than become their evening meal. How, Captain, would we launch a full-scale invasion after they’re here? We’d have no means of communication that they wouldn’t have already tapped into. And where would we hide this onslaught? I’m sure they’ll have surveillance craft circling the globe for months just looking for stockpiles. After our little stunt with the shuttlecraft, they may not deem us a race worth retaining, they just might want to obliterate us. If your dog bites, you shoot him. That’s my biggest concern.”
The general had valid points and I could see the reasoning behind them, but in my gut, I felt that the joint chiefs-of-staff had erred. I believed they were taking a big step against mankind’s very existence.
“If we do not take action, the population of the world will give up even quicker. They will wonder what has happened to their respective militaries. They will be thinking, ‘If they don’t fight, then we won’t fight.'”
“Sir, the other side of that is equally as devastating. If they see the military taken out in a stroke, they will believe that they have no chance to stand up and fight either.”
“Hence my dilemma, Captain. But this is where you and a few of your friends come in.”
“How so, sir?”
“The president may or may not know about this. Either way, he hasn’t said anything. For almost a year now, I have been in the process of funding a militia.”
“Paul, sir?”
“Well, well, Captain, you certainly are full of surprises! Anyway I want you attached to his unit. I have no desire to see you wiped out in a stroke, as you call it.”
“But, sir?”
“No buts, Captain. If this really goes down as you think it will, I want men of your caliber waiting in the wings to rectify the wrongs that will have been committed.”
“We’re the back-up plan, sir?”
“Yes, and a very well funded back-up plan. I know Paul has something in the works now. He wants to get out from under our scrutiny, and I’m going to allow him that illusion.”
“Well, sir, now it’s my turn to be surprised. How did you know?”
“I have my ways.”
“You have a plant!”
“How I know is not important. I have made every attempt to know as little about his operation as possible. The less I know, the less I can tell anybody else. Yes, even the enemy, if it comes to that. My only dealings with Paul are financial and the occasional hard to find military equipment, as well as keeping all the federal bulldogs off his back. The FBI and the ATF are all over his training area, just waiting for a screw-up so they can shut that place down.”
“Sir, how can you possibly keep them at bay?”
“Well, I’ll be honest with you, son. The president is a very powerful man but he is not the most powerful. I have connections in this town and around the world that could make the president quiver in his boots, if he knew. I have given my assurances to these ‘connections’ that what is happening in the mountains of Colorado is of vital national and global security. The rest, well, the
“Our best bet, sir, is to let them believe that we have been knocked out for the ten count. Let everybody in the stands go home. Then we get up and mount an attack when they are at their most vulnerable, after they are completely comfortable on this planet.”
“What you’re saying, Captain, is that we should just open the gates and allow them in?”
“Sir, in a way, yes.”
“We’ll just let those ‘things’ crawl all over our planet? It could be months before they relax their military grip.”
“That’s a possibility, sir.”
“We could be wiped out in that time period. Are you willing to take that risk? You said yourself you would rather go out fighting than become their evening meal. How, Captain, would we launch a full-scale invasion after they’re here? We’d have no means of communication that they wouldn’t have already tapped into. And where would we hide this onslaught? I’m sure they’ll have surveillance craft circling the globe for months just looking for stockpiles. After our little stunt with the shuttlecraft, they may not deem us a race worth retaining, they just might want to obliterate us. If your dog bites, you shoot him. That’s my biggest concern.”
The general had valid points and I could see the reasoning behind them, but in my gut, I felt that the joint chiefs-of-staff had erred. I believed they were taking a big step against mankind’s very existence.
“If we do not take action, the population of the world will give up even quicker. They will wonder what has happened to their respective militaries. They will be thinking, ‘If they don’t fight, then we won’t fight.'”
“Sir, the other side of that is equally as devastating. If they see the military taken out in a stroke, they will believe that they have no chance to stand up and fight either.”
“Hence my dilemma, Captain. But this is where you and a few of your friends come in.”
“How so, sir?”
“The president may or may not know about this. Either way, he hasn’t said anything. For almost a year now, I have been in the process of funding a militia.”
“Paul, sir?”
“Well, well, Captain, you certainly are full of surprises! Anyway I want you attached to his unit. I have no desire to see you wiped out in a stroke, as you call it.”
“But, sir?”
“No buts, Captain. If this really goes down as you think it will, I want men of your caliber waiting in the wings to rectify the wrongs that will have been committed.”
“We’re the back-up plan, sir?”
“Yes, and a very well funded back-up plan. I know Paul has something in the works now. He wants to get out from under our scrutiny, and I’m going to allow him that illusion.”
“Well, sir, now it’s my turn to be surprised. How did you know?”
“I have my ways.”
“You have a plant!”
“How I know is not important. I have made every attempt to know as little about his operation as possible. The less I know, the less I can tell anybody else. Yes, even the enemy, if it comes to that. My only dealings with Paul are financial and the occasional hard to find military equipment, as well as keeping all the federal bulldogs off his back. The FBI and the ATF are all over his training area, just waiting for a screw-up so they can shut that place down.”
“Sir, how can you possibly keep them at bay?”
“Well, I’ll be honest with you, son. The president is a very powerful man but he is not the most powerful. I have connections in this town and around the world that could make the president quiver in his boots, if he knew. I have given my assurances to these ‘connections’ that what is happening in the mountains of Colorado is of vital national and global security. The rest, well, the
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