CHAPTER 47
THERE WAS UTTER QUIET in the room. Could understand that. Galactic royal politics was confusing as hell. And even more surprising. I was, frankly, almost as surprised by this as I’d been when I’d first discovered Jeff was royalty. Nice to know that I wasn’t so jaded that things like this still threw me. And everyone else, based on the expressions of most of the room.
Chose to be the one to break the shocked silence. “Wow. Well, that’s a handy thing to have in our back pockets should we need it. I’m saying these next words as the First Lady, though. Someone needs to call Congress into an immediate emergency session. Anyone not in town can be whisked here via a nice team of Field agents and the nearest gate. Anyone refusing to show up within the next, oh, let’s call it two hours, will be considered a traitor and tossed into jail.”
“That’s a tad extreme,” Antoinette said, voice loaded with disapproval.
“Is it? Oh, I’m sorry, I thought an absolute tonnage of aliens were arriving, with an armada of deadly killers right behind them. My bad. I’m sure we have all the time in the freaking world. Let’s all call it a night, sleep in, and hang by the pool tomorrow, what say?”
The room went still again. Quieter than it had been when Muddy had stomped his foot or Jeff had bellowed or Alexander had shared that the Royal Family was going strong on Earth. Apparently everyone was waiting to see if we were about to get into a Girl Fight. Wondered that myself.
Antoinette actually tried to stare me down. I was impressed. She folded fast, but still, gave her props for trying. “I apologize for speaking out of turn.”
“Whatever and as if I care. I do that all the time. It isn’t that you spoke, it’s what you were trying to say that was the issue. And, I’m going to channel Muddy and say that you need to listen, really listen, to what I’m about to say.”
She locked eyes with me again. “I’m listening.”
“You have no freaking idea of what’s coming. But I do. Many of us in this room do. And you will stop worrying about protocol right now. In what I’m going to bet is less than twelve hours, all of Earth’s precious protocols are going to be shattered, potentially forever.”
“You’re talking about our constitution, our laws,” Antoinette said.
“I’m talking about our survival. When the Themnir arrive, our world will be changed forever. Because, unlike the last couple of invasions, these aliens don’t plan to leave. We will either become a nation of aliens or we will likely perish. If we had the luxury of time, sure, we’d follow all the protocols. But we don’t.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Oh, but I do, I really and truly do. Unless we all work together, faster than we ever have before, what’s chasing the people fleeing here for protection will destroy us. Ergo, I’m going for more than a tad extreme—I’m going Full Monty Extreme, and if you don’t like it, then it point-blank sucks to be you, because I refuse to allow your clucking over meaningless crap to be the reason I, my husband, our nation, and our world aren’t ready for the biggest test we’ve ever had.”
“And in this test,” Jeff said, “failure means the death of every living soul on this planet. So, should anyone else feel that Kitty’s overstating things, you can feel free to get the hell out. I want solutions and actionable plans, not roadblocks.”
No one moved, no one spoke. Wondered if everyone was taking my sales wisdom to heart or if we’d just scared the crap out of them. Kind of hoped it was the latter, but was unwilling to bet on it.
McMillan cleared his throat, breaking the tense silence. “I’ll send out the call to the Senate.”
“And I will send the call to the House,” Nathalie Gagnon-Brewer added quickly. “I have more influence as Secretary of Transportation than I did as a Representative.” She looked at the other Cabinet members, who all nodded and said they’d help with calling all the various congresspeople.
“I’ll get the military on high alert, but with the admonition that we cannot fire on these people,” Uncle Mort said. “However, we’ll need to have Jeff involved in all of that, because we’re going to have a lot of pushback.”
“Tell them that it didn’t work when the Z’porrah invaded the last time, and it won’t work now,” I suggested. Of course, it hadn’t worked because of ACE. Had no idea if ACE could or should do that again—he’d been harmed by all he’d had to do, and I didn’t want him that near to his version of death again, let alone risking Jamie.
Jeff nodded. “Whatever we need to do, Mort, let’s make it happen, because I don’t want us firing on innocents.”
“I don’t want us wasting firepower we’re going to need the moment the Aicirtap arrive. With the Z’porrah fleet coming merrily behind them.”
“Kitty’s point is the key one,” Chuckie said to Uncle Mort. “Make sure you make it clear that we do have enemies arriving, they’re just coming a little later than the friendlies who are fleeing from them.”
“Guy, Thomas, and I will also make calls,” Lillian Culver said. “I can guarantee that you’ll have a full Congress before midnight.”
“We will contact the Cleophese,” Bettini, the Head Spokespenguin for the Shantanu, said. “If they are willing to come, they will make formidable shock troops. However, it will take them time to arrive as they cannot travel as the rest of us do.”
“Even one Cleophese would be a huge help. More would be wonderful.” Terrifying, since they looked like Cthulhu and his pals, but they’d helped us repel the Z’porrah from the Alpha Centauri system and that meant they could do it again.
“We will have the rest of our system on alert and ready to fight,” Alexander said. The rest of the Planetary Council nodded. “Our ships can arrive quickly so we can hold them until such time as Earth is prepared for support to arrive.”
“And that is why I like to work with all of you.”
“However, you can’t leave the Alpha Centauri system unguarded,” Chuckie said. “Because the Z’porrah could easily make a detour and take over your system if all of your fighting forces are here, protecting Earth against the Aicirtap.” He jerked. “Oh. Oh no.”
He and I looked at each other. “Crap. That’s exactly what they’re going to do, isn’t it?”
“It’s a sound strategy,” Uncle Mort said. “Meaning that we can’t actually have the backup just discussed. The Z’porrah taking over the Alpha Centauri system is no more desirable than them taking over ours.”
Looked at Wruck and the Turleens. “We need a rundown on all the races that are coming. Full workups, starting with what they look like, what they eat and drink, how they reproduce, what their political structure is, who they like and who they hate in the Greater Galactic Community, and anything else you can think of, specifically which of them can and are willing to fight, and how they do so. John, I don’t care if your data is out of date—it’s still more than any of us on Earth have.”
“Translated into every language we can,” Chuckie added. “Because we’ll need to advise the other world leaders of what’s going on and they’ll need the same information.”
“We can do that,” Dew said. “We have a star manual that already has most of this information in it.”
“There is one issue,” Muddy said. “As soon as the Themnir land they will request to meet with you. And you will not be together.”
“Means we can meet more of them as opposed to less of them, because we know they’re not all going to land in the same place. We call that a win-win. And before you argue that one, Muddy, trust me when I say that I need to get to the Middle East.”
“Will the Themnir have anyone else on their ship?” Chuckie asked Wruck.
“Unlikely.” Wruck sighed. “I’d hoped they wouldn’t be the first ones to arrive.”
That got the room’s attention. “Why?” Jeff asked, Commander in Chief Voice on Full.
“Not for any bad reason,” Wruck said. “Only . . . to humans . . . well . . .” He looked at the Turleens for confirmation.
Muddy nodded. “I agree, but hopefully they can adapt.”
“Well what?” I asked. “And adapt to what, whom, or how?”
Wruck heaved a sigh. “To humans the Themnir will look like giant slugs.”