Read Online Sanctuary (Jezebel's Ladder Book 3) by Scott Rhine - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Scott Rhine
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the
device caused devastating tornados. We could sweep the Chinese space cities up
with cyclones and eliminate the threat. If they want our tech, we’ll shove it
up their asses!”
Yvette said, “We can’t, or we’ll break
our charter. The aliens wouldn’t let us into the control room. We couldn’t be
allowed to infect the greater gathering of souls.”
“That’s fine by me,” Lou shouted.
“Then nobody gets it. People down there don’t deserve a better life. Let them drown in their own filth and decay!”
Herkemer held up a hand. “Only
countries can fight like that.”
“So we declare our independence!”
With great difficulty, Zeiss
squeezed out words. “I hurt, too. But we’re here to lead and save people, not
kill.”
“Then do something. Burma and Nigeria have drafted a resolution. In about six hours, the anti-space coalition is going
to ask for the pages, and the UN is going to cave. They’ll build their own
teams to come up here.”
“Sensei said pages won’t be needed
once we’re inside,” Zeiss reminded his wife.
“So you’re saying we should all
climb inside the pods early?” Red asked. “Once we’re through, the pages on Earth
will go blank?”
“That would minimize damage and
what the enemy can demand,” Herk said. “Then they wouldn’t dare attack us—there
wouldn’t be anyone else to send if they did.”
“Do you think that matters to the
Saudis?” Lou asked. “They like the way things are now.”
Oleander stroked his back to calm
him. He took world events personally, much like Johann did. She tried to gently
guide Lou into the adult course of action. “It would buy us time to unlock more
here. We’d have about 114 hours after entering the control room to find some
solution. It’s what we’ve trained all our lives for. If we can’t think of
anything by then, we could still go the revenge route.”
Toby double-checked the remote
monitors of the two women who had volunteered. “We’ll come out of these pods
better than when we go in. I’d stake my life on it.”
“All in favor?” asked Zeiss.
Eventually, everyone awake in the
room raised a hand. Herk asked, “What about Crandall? Will the pages go away
with him out there?”
“No,” Red answered. “But Sensei
made vague noises about sterilizing the outer regions before we could have
access to the shuttle again. Everything has to be purified by water or fire.”
“People who don’t decontaminate in
these pods are going to die?” asked Herk.
“I don’t make the rules,” Red said.
“When Active lives are being lost, aliens start categorizing in absolutes in
order to protect the ones left.”
Over the radio, they tried unsuccessfully
to convince Crandall to join them. In the end, Herk said, “Pause recording.”
“Paused,” Crandall echoed over the
link. “What do want to say that Big Brother can’t hear?”
“If you’re not coming in, you have
to be part of our oil slick.”
“What?”
“When submarines are trying to fool
the surface ships dropping depth charges, they release spare fuel and dead
bodies.”
“Is that a threat?”
“We’ll send out the two empty suits
with the other debris we have. The seats in Ascension are removable.
When we don’t need the acceleration couches or extra radiation shielding, the
flip-down panels built into the walls are good enough. You can claim you were
the only survivor because of your EVA suit and Override talent.”
They could hear the crinkle as
Crandall nodded. “It could work for a while, and buy you all some time while
you cycle through the filtration process. How do I explain your death, Herk?
You have the same gear and qualifications as I do.”
He replied, “Tell them you couldn’t
drag me away from my wife’s body before the walls closed. You can ride Seraph back to help moon base and save a lot of lives. They won’t survive without you.
Maybe our enemies won’t go after the part of our families that survived if they
think
device caused devastating tornados. We could sweep the Chinese space cities up
with cyclones and eliminate the threat. If they want our tech, we’ll shove it
up their asses!”
Yvette said, “We can’t, or we’ll break
our charter. The aliens wouldn’t let us into the control room. We couldn’t be
allowed to infect the greater gathering of souls.”
“That’s fine by me,” Lou shouted.
“Then nobody gets it. People down there don’t deserve a better life. Let them drown in their own filth and decay!”
Herkemer held up a hand. “Only
countries can fight like that.”
“So we declare our independence!”
With great difficulty, Zeiss
squeezed out words. “I hurt, too. But we’re here to lead and save people, not
kill.”
“Then do something. Burma and Nigeria have drafted a resolution. In about six hours, the anti-space coalition is going
to ask for the pages, and the UN is going to cave. They’ll build their own
teams to come up here.”
“Sensei said pages won’t be needed
once we’re inside,” Zeiss reminded his wife.
“So you’re saying we should all
climb inside the pods early?” Red asked. “Once we’re through, the pages on Earth
will go blank?”
“That would minimize damage and
what the enemy can demand,” Herk said. “Then they wouldn’t dare attack us—there
wouldn’t be anyone else to send if they did.”
“Do you think that matters to the
Saudis?” Lou asked. “They like the way things are now.”
Oleander stroked his back to calm
him. He took world events personally, much like Johann did. She tried to gently
guide Lou into the adult course of action. “It would buy us time to unlock more
here. We’d have about 114 hours after entering the control room to find some
solution. It’s what we’ve trained all our lives for. If we can’t think of
anything by then, we could still go the revenge route.”
Toby double-checked the remote
monitors of the two women who had volunteered. “We’ll come out of these pods
better than when we go in. I’d stake my life on it.”
“All in favor?” asked Zeiss.
Eventually, everyone awake in the
room raised a hand. Herk asked, “What about Crandall? Will the pages go away
with him out there?”
“No,” Red answered. “But Sensei
made vague noises about sterilizing the outer regions before we could have
access to the shuttle again. Everything has to be purified by water or fire.”
“People who don’t decontaminate in
these pods are going to die?” asked Herk.
“I don’t make the rules,” Red said.
“When Active lives are being lost, aliens start categorizing in absolutes in
order to protect the ones left.”
Over the radio, they tried unsuccessfully
to convince Crandall to join them. In the end, Herk said, “Pause recording.”
“Paused,” Crandall echoed over the
link. “What do want to say that Big Brother can’t hear?”
“If you’re not coming in, you have
to be part of our oil slick.”
“What?”
“When submarines are trying to fool
the surface ships dropping depth charges, they release spare fuel and dead
bodies.”
“Is that a threat?”
“We’ll send out the two empty suits
with the other debris we have. The seats in Ascension are removable.
When we don’t need the acceleration couches or extra radiation shielding, the
flip-down panels built into the walls are good enough. You can claim you were
the only survivor because of your EVA suit and Override talent.”
They could hear the crinkle as
Crandall nodded. “It could work for a while, and buy you all some time while
you cycle through the filtration process. How do I explain your death, Herk?
You have the same gear and qualifications as I do.”
He replied, “Tell them you couldn’t
drag me away from my wife’s body before the walls closed. You can ride Seraph back to help moon base and save a lot of lives. They won’t survive without you.
Maybe our enemies won’t go after the part of our families that survived if they
think
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