The Tau Ceti Agenda

Disney World emergency teams began to flood through the hole in the virtual-effects dome and move toward them. Thomas waved the pistol up in front of him so they all could see it and stepped cautiously toward them. The emergency teams were shocked by the sight of the weapon and froze in their tracks.

'Nobody moves!' Thomas said. 'There are snipers with a bead on you right now. Any false moves and you will not get a second chance to explain it. Back through the opening slowly, and wait there until you are given further instructions.'

Michael and a squad of other agents pushed through the crowd from behind and then turned and forced them back with weapons at the ready. Once it looked like the Disney crew was under control, Kootie moved to his commander's side; he didn't seem to react to what a bloody mess he was.

'Marine One is on the ground and ready to go, sir.'

'Mr. President, let's get you and your family out of here,' Thomas said.

Chapter 3

October 31, 2388 AD

Sol System, Oort Cloud

Satuday, 5:25 AM, Earth Eastern Standard Time

'Happy Halloween, Lieutenant, and welcome aboard,' Executive Officer USMC Colonel Larry 'EndRun' Chekov welcomed Buckley to the flagship of the United States Navy, the U.S.S. Sienna Madira. The Madira was the pride and joy of the U.S. military might and was named for the most revered, popular, and heroic president in history. Every seaman in the service would give their right nut or ovary, whichever the case might be, to serve on her. The marine mecha pilot turned XO saluted the new main propulsion assistant as he stepped from the transport onto the deck.

'Thank you, sir,' Lieutenant Joseph Buckley II said, returning the salute. The new crew members filed out of the rapid transport behind them. They had been in hyperspace for nearly eleven and a half weeks on the small crowded ship, and Joe was looking forward to the wide- open spaces of the two-kilometers-long supercarrier flagship.

'The commanding officer wants to talk with you.' Chekov led Joe from the hangar deck up to the captain's office.

'Any reason why, sir?' Joe hesitated. 'I mean, we just off-loaded fifty new sailors and marines. Why me, uh, sir?'

'Son, that is for the Old Man to tell you, not me.' The XO nodded in the direction of the elevator and waited for the new crewman to join him. He tapped thirty-six, the doors closed, and it felt to Joe like they began moving backward. Finally, the backward motion stopped and the elevator moved upward for a few seconds.

'Have you managed to acquaint yourself with the blueprints of the ship yet?' the XO said, making small talk with the young officer.

'Yes, sir, Colonel,' Joe replied nervously. Buckley wasn't sure, but he didn't think that he had done anything to warrant the CO's attention in a bad way. Hell, he had been on board the transport, cramped in with fifty other sailors so close that he could smell what kind of toothpaste they each used—and when they didn't. Those damned marines could learn a thing or two about hygiene. There was one Army tankhead that was kind of easy on the eyes, and Buckley had tried on more than one occasion to make time with her only to be shot down.

Since he hadn't been able to implement his favorite pastime with the hot tankhead, he spent his time with his other love—supercarrier propulsion. He had been able to read and reread the Naval Ship's Technical Manual and the Ship Information Book several times. He even used his direct-to-mind (DTM) link with the transport's database to do some further reading on the Sienna Madira's history and design. Occasionally he would eat and sometimes sleep, and never did he get into any mischief or even slack any duties. So he was certain that he was clean. But being singled out by the CO on the first day of duty couldn't be good. He decided that the best approach would be to just keep his mouth shut and listen.

The two men exited the elevator and then wound through the large corridors of the supercarrier's upper decks. The dull gray metal bulkheads were lit by dim red exit signs and white fluorescent lighting overhead. Several times they would go up a ladder, walk a few meters across another corridor, and then go back down a ladder, only to travel a few meters more to go back up another ladder. Eventually they reached the elevator for the command tower and made it to the CO's office.

The XO tapped on the office door and waited for the captain to look up from his papers. 'Captain, Lieutenant Joseph Buckley, sir.'

'Yes. Come in, Lieutenant. Thank you, Larry. The rest of the crew is being taken care of, I take it?' Captain Wallace Jefferson asked his trusted XO.

'Yes, sir. Looks like a good bunch, sir.'

'Good, Larry. Carry on.' Jefferson nodded at his XO and longtime friend.

'Aye, sir,' Chekov answered. He nodded and winked at the captain and left Buckley standing at full attention. 'Good luck, Lieutenant,' he whispered with a chuckle on his way out of the CO's office.

'At ease, son.' Jefferson grinned and stood from his desk, offering Joe his hand. 'I just wanted to shake your hand.'

'Sir?' Joe took the captain's hand and shook it firmly, more confused than anything. The captain seemed sincere, and when he began speaking, Joe immediately understood what this was all about.

'Your father was a hull tech under my command on the day the damned Seppies did their mass exodus,' the captain said.

'Yes, sir. You wrote his letter, sir. I've read it many times, sir.' Joe choked down a lump that was starting to well up in his throat.

'If it hadn't been for Hull Technician Third Class Joe Buckley, we might have lost the ship and the fight. He gave the ultimate sacrifice so that we could stop those bloodthirsty heathens from destroying an entire city and the millions of people in it. Your father was a hero, and I'm proud to have had him serve under my command. We would have never known of his sacrifice had his AIC not downloaded a record of his actions just before they were both