Chapter 34: Squadron Briefing Room

NSS McDivitt, December 5, 2141
Squadron Briefing Room

The command staff of the McDivitt sat around a large table with maps and figures spread out. Tempers were flaring. “The only way I can see to get the Lake Baikal out of the asteroid belt is to drop to Z minus one thousand KM and we’ll avoid all major asteroids. Then we head south ... at...” Commander Kanopa made several calculations then came up with “Two hundred five degrees...”

“Where is that going?” asked Hilde as she looked up at the live map of the solar system. Two hundred five degrees was awful. “That’s nowhere close to Jupiter.”

“Jupiter is out of position,” said Tim Kanopa. “We can’t hit it for almost nine years. I’m looking at Saturn.”

“And how many years are we going to be escorting a plague infested ghost ship? Meanwhile half the Eastern Block is collecting plague infected corpses from Kōngchéng to air drop on Western Alliance cities!” shouted Hilde.

“Stop,” said Alan calmly. “We’re not going to tow Lake Baikal anywhere. We have to get back to Mars. I want to leave in three days.”

“Three days?” asked Captain Baker sharply. “That’s news to me.”

“We can’t just put a fence around it,” said Tim Kanopa.

“I’m going to vaporize it,” said Alan.

“What?” demanded Captain Schirra.

“We take a Mark 885 warhead, it’s a dial-a-duck...”

“A what?” asked Commander Sams from Intel.

“A dial-a-duck is a warhead that you can actually adjust the blast from kilotons to megatons. It’s all deuterium and tritium injection into the critical...”

“Thank you, Lieutenant Scarlett,” said Captain Schirra forcefully. “We get it, you know the bomb. What’s your plan?”

“I dial down the yield, tweak the Iridium and Tritium settings, cut back the deuterium and we have a fizzler that’s powerful enough to dose every virus in the Lake Baikal with enough X radiation to sterilize it, and a wave of heat energy that will melt the Lake Baikal into a ball of steel that any surviving virus cannot escape.”

“That’s it? Just poof? And it’s gone?” asked Commander Kanopa.

“Yeah,” shrugged Alan. “Just because a bomb was made to destroy cities, that doesn’t make it totally bad. I need two B71 bombs with a W855 warhead and this mission is over.”

“What’s the other bomb for?” asked Captain Baker.

“Kōngchéng.”

“We’re not going to bomb Mars,” said Captain Baker.

“No, you’re not, ma’am. I am. I’m the only Martian here, it’s my call. I get a day or so ahead of the McDivitt, we withdraw our people from Kōngchéng and the only thing you have to do when you pull into orbit is march in the victory parade.”

“NO! You will not do this! This plan is reckless and dangerous,” demanded Captain Schirra. “By God I order you...”

“My plan has already been approved by the President, Parliament, and Senate of Mars. Funds to pay for the bomb are being collected from private donors,” said Alan. “What’s the Navy’s Venmo number?”

“He’s been using the Scarlett Encryptor nonstop since you got here sir,” said Lewis Sams.

Alan glared at his commander. “You put me in charge. Let me finish this or space me. I will accept no other choices.”

“Estell was fucking right about you,” muttered Captain Schirra.

“What ... she told you not to hire me?”

“NO! She called me stupid for taking so long to make the decision.”