next? Ahmi can't continue to be in charge of the United Separatist Republic, as she calls it. The U.S. can and will forcibly take the system, but there would be terrorist activity for decades and decades, until every last Separatist is found and killed, if it isn't handled delicately. And who is to say that the next president will have the fortitude your father has had in dealing with them. After all, no matter how much
'What are you two saying?'
'We have a plan in mind to take out the heads of all the cells in the Separatist movement and remove their desire and ability to resist the U.S.'
'How?'
'It is our family that has caused this mess for humanity for so long. We are going to take on the responsibility to clean it up,' Sehera added. 'The Separatists are dug in much deeper in our society than the general public knows. There are moles in Congress and the Senate. There are moles here in the White House. There are moles in every colony and territory. There are CEOs and other officers of big corporations and conglomerates involved that will have to be removed from their positions of power.'
'How?'
'The three of us, Captain Jack Boland, Nancy Penzington, and Thomas Washington, are going to end this thing covertly, quietly, and quickly. We'll do it in a way that history will never know about, but mankind will be the better for. We'll start with the Separatist cell leaders today. Over the next year, we'll deal with the others.' Moore clicked the remote on his bed and raised the back of it a bit to make him a little more comfortable. 'We can't and we will not do this if you aren't with us, Dee. And your mother and I are serious when we say that we will not do this if you don't want to. We can go on the way things are, and you can live your life as you have been. Although we will need to put more security on you.'
'I'm in, Daddy. What do I do?'
'That's my girl. Your mother will talk with you about that while I'm in surgery.'
'So, there is one thing I need to understand,' Dee said. 'My grandma was an evil twisted psycho nut batshit crazy bitch?'
Sehera let out a rueful chuckle. 'Like father, like daughter.'
Chapter 34
July 1, 2394 AD
Ross 128, Arcadia
Friday, 4:45 PM, Earth Eastern Standard Time
'On my way,' he said audibly. 'COB, we'd better get back upstairs.'
'Understood, sir.' Charlie shook the hand of another wounded Marine pilot, call sign Deuce, as they made their way out of the postoperative ward. The marine would probably be paralyzed for days, until her new spinal column section that had been printed and implanted could heal and her brain could figure out which reconnected nerve went to what body part. It would take her weeks of rehab to relearn how to walk, run, fight, and fly mecha again.
'Hell of a mess, Charlie.'
'Yes, sir. That QMT tech saved a lot of lives. We sure could have used it at the Oort or during the Exodus,' the COB said. 'Or back in the old days, or—'
'Didn't save them all, COB. We still have a lot of letters to write.'
'Yes, sir.' They turned the corner of the corridor out to the elevator. The COB depressed the button, and they waited patiently.
'Any word on the QMT facility controls, sir?'
'Uncle Timmy says that Ramy's Robots took it. It has been swept, and the warrant officers have it working. They've already QMTed up and down between it and the orbital facility several times. We should be able to operate the QMT facility in a matter of minutes.'
'Damn good news, Admiral.'
'Indeed.'
The elevator ride didn't take long, and after having been with the wounded for a while, neither of them was in the mood to talk a whole bunch. Seeing that many of America's finest maimed, dismembered, and disfigured was disheartening to say the least. On the up side, none of the wounded had low spirits and none of them felt bad about what they had done. That in itself was uplifting. The doors slid open, and it was time to get back to work.
'Admiral on
