“Sterling’s alive?”
“Yes, sir, the evidence does suggest that.”
“Who planted the bomb? The Chinese?”
“That would be my guess, sir.”
“On the one hand, we have a tragedy of epic proportions. On the other hand, we have the greatest news since the collapse.”
“Indeed, sir.”
“What can we do for the cruise ships? What’s their status?”
“Sir, the Freedom of the Seas is sixty-seven percent submerged. Barring another impact from the submarine, she will go down in less than ten minutes. The Independence of the Seas has received four direct impacts and is twenty-three percent submerged; she will go down in less than twenty minutes. The Voyager of the Seas managed to maneuver herself behind the first two ships which bought her time while the submarine changes course to intercept. She is continuing to deploy her lifeboats to aide in the rescue mission.”
“Do we have any assets that can stage a rescue?”
“No, sir, we do not. There are no vessels within range.”
“How far off the coast are they?”
“Fifty-two miles, sir.”
“God help them.”
The Pacific States of America was facing the greatest challenge of its short history. Previous to the demise of the UAE, the PSA went to great lengths to liberate the tired and desperate refugees who were brave enough to attempt to make it across their borders. With the threat of the UAE weakening by the day, the PSA could not accommodate the millions of people attempting to enter their peaceful sanctuary. Hal, the trusted artificial intelligence securing the PSA, soon had to repel the droves of people streaming cross the border. Howard Beck’s dream of returning the former United States to her former glory now became a futile endeavor. The only way his dream would come to fruition would be to reassemble the broken pieces of the entire nation. He had assumed that Simon Sterling would at least hold the country together until his defeat. Howard never dreamed the UAE would be vanquished in a single day. With a Chinese invasion force on the shores of California, Howard would soon find his worse fears had become a reality.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Maxwell Harris couldn’t feel his left leg. The nerve branching off from his crushed L2 vertebra had been pinched in his broken spine. He’d lost sensation in most of his groin and buttocks and could barely feel his right leg. All Max could do was stare at the stars shining through the hole in the bridge’s roof…and scream.
Max dragged himself across the floor to the lifeless body of Captain Konkoly and groped about for his radio, relieved to find it lodged securely in the dead man’s pocket.
“Help! I need help! This is Maxwell Harris, I’m trapped on the bridge and I need help!”
Four hundred nine yards away, one of Hal’s drones picked up the transmission and flew to the bridge. “Sir, this is Hal. Help is on the way; you are safe.”
“My wife! Please find my wife!”
“I’m here, Max!” Elizabeth Harris said as she climbed through the shattered doors leading into the bridge.
“I broke my back. I can’t move my legs.”
“You’re alive, sweetie! Let’s get you out of here.” Elizabeth motioned to the small drone hovering nearby. “Hal?”
“Yes, ma’am. I have a larger drone en route that will assist you in evacuating the ship.” Seconds later, a massive drone landed on the bridge. Arms and legs snapped out from its side as it stood upright and became a Hal robot. The anthropomorphic extension of Hal’s programming looked like a headless human. In the center of the robot’s chest was a bright red, glowing fish-eye lens in honor of Hal’s namesake. “Ma’am, if you will assist me, we can get you both out of here.”
“Hal, you’re a lifesaver.” Elizabeth and the Hal robot took Max by the arms and stood him up. The robot extended both arms and cradled Max like a baby. The pain was more than Max could bear.
“Max, honey, we’re getting you out of here.” Two six-inch metal plates extended from the robot’s knees and Elizabeth stepped on, wrapping her arms around the Hal robot’s torso. “Hal, can you carry us both?”
“Yes, ma’am, I can carry three times this weight. Hold on. I’m going to fly you to the nearest lifeboat.” With thrusters blazing from the robots arms and feet, the three hovered out of the bridge and slowly descended at a forty-five degree angle towards the nearest lifeboat.
“Sir, I have transported Max and Elizabeth to the safety of a lifeboat.”
“That’s good news! Thank you, Old Man.”
“You are welcome, sir.”
“Are they okay?”
“Sir, Elizabeth is fine. Max, on the other hand, is severely injured. My scans detect that his L2 vertebra has been shattered and the L2 nerve pinched. He is almost completely paralyzed from the waist down.”
Dammit, Max. Why can’t you catch a break? “What’s the status on the third cruise ship?”
“Sir, the majority of the crew is on lifeboats. The submarine has intercepted the third ship and has opened fire.”
“This is a nightmare. We should be doing something.”
“Sir, my drones are doing a great deal to help.”
“What about our stealth jets? Are we within range? How many can they hold?”
“Two of the jets are down for maintenance. The other ten can make it there in fourteen minutes. Each can hold twelve.”
“Launch them immediately. Evacuate as many as you can; don’t waste a second.”
“Yes, sir. They will have to land in California.”
“That’s fine. Make it happen.”
“Yes, sir. The stealth jets are already in the air.”
“I doubt we’ll get that lucky, but if the sub is still in the water, sink the fucker to the bottom of the Pacific.”
“I will endeavor to do so, sir.”
“Weapons, status report.”
“Captain, all three vessels are damaged beyond repair and will sink.”
“I must say I’ve never seen cruise ships used to transport a military force.”
The XO, proud of his knowledge of history, interjected. “Captain, the Americans used cruise ships to transport troops to the European theater during World War II.”
“Is that so? Fascinating. Well, they won’t be doing so this time around. The UAE will regret trying to double-cross the Chinese. Governor Butler will pay for this betrayal. Our invasion force will see to that.”
“Max, honey, wake up.” Elizabeth Harris planted kisses on her husband’s clammy forehead.
“Ma’am, if I may? I’m a medic.”
“What are you waiting for? Yes, please.”
The lifeboat was at capacity. The medic stood up and made his way over to Elizabeth. He placed his palm on Max’s chest, and checked the pulse on his neck. Fifteen seconds passed before he spoke.
“Given his condition, he’s fine for the time being. His pulse is weak, but steady; so is his breathing. He just passed out from the shock.”
“Sir, I concur.”
“What the hell is that?” The medic pointed at the briefcase-sized contraption, its red fish-eye ablaze, hovering off the starboard bow.
Elizabeth smile. “You’ve never met Hal?”
“Hal? Beck’s A.I.? I thought he was in Beck Castle.”
Elizabeth gazed fondly at the robot hovering nearby. “Honestly, I think Hal is everywhere.”
“Ma’am, I assure you I am not omnipresent.”
“Just a figure of speech, Hal.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Hal, what’s the plan? We need to get out of here.”
“I am going to deploy a drone for every lifeboat. Each drone will attach to the rear of the ship and act as a motor. I estimate that we will make it to the California coast in seventy-five minutes.”