Construction of the Blakely Dam in the Ouachita National Forest had begun in 1948 and ended when the Chimera invaded North America and it became necessary to divert raw materials like steel and concrete into the war effort. But a significant amount of work had already been accomplished. The wedge-shaped dam was 231 feet high and more than a thousand feet wide. Two turbines had been installed but never brought online. Still, since it had a small auxiliary generator, the facility had enough power to meet its own needs. Something the humans who lived deep inside the dam were careful to conceal. The thickness of the steel-reinforced concrete all around him made President Thomas Voss feel that he and his staff were reasonably safe from detection as he clattered down a flight of metal stairs and arrived on the level below.
Pools of light led him between desks towards the glassed-in area that had originally been designed to function as the dam’s control room, but was now generally referred to as “the think tank.” Meaning the enclosure in which most of the presidential decisions were made.
A great deal had been accomplished since the harrowing journey south from Freedom Base One. Not only had the government reestablished itself deep within the dam, the vaccine production program had been restored and improved. Pack trains loaded with vaccine, and accompanied by federal marshals, were making their way out to communities throughout the southeast. That meant Voss was not only building political support but a healthy virus-resistant population from which an army could be recruited.
Of course, Voss still had the never-ending threat of the Chimera to contend with, as well as human predators like Judge Ramsey, the man responsible for the destruction of Freedom Base One and the deaths of thirty-six federal employees. Voss was determined to punish that outrage both as a way to prevent future attacks and as an example to others.
Which was why Cassie Aklin, Marvin Kawecki, and a civilian scout named Calvin Rawlings had been summoned to the think tank for an early-morning conference. A pot of coffee was sitting on a warmer and a buffet-style breakfast consisting of Spam, pancakes, and fresh berries was available. Voss rarely took time off to eat, so such meals were common.
There were greetings all around as the President loaded a plate with food and Aklin poured him a cup of coffee. After taking his place at the long, narrow table, Voss opened the meeting.
“Okay, you know the score. Monica Shaw was forced to work for this Ramsey character—and that’s how his people knew when and where to attack.
“And, based on what Shaw told me before she was killed, Ramsey is a lot more than a bandit. It’s his intention to destroy the federal government so that he can replace it with one of his own. So now that we’re up and running again it’s time for some payback. We know roughly where Ramsey is, so I’m sending Kawecki up to resolve the situation. Rawlings, you know the area between here and there; I’m counting on you to get our people through.”
Rawlings had shoulder-length hair, a high forehead, and a hooked nose. He nodded solemnly.
Kawecki frowned and put his fork down. “No offense, Mr. President, but you must be joking. We estimate that Ramsey has hundreds of armed regulators. How am I supposed to take them on with a dozen men?”
Voss finished chewing and swallowed. “You’re a captain in the United States Army! That means you can accomplish the impossible.”
Kawecki produced a snort of derision. “Thanks. We’ll be lucky if we get there—never mind the rest of it.”
Voss grinned. “Don’t be such a pessimist. Let’s plan for success rather than failure. And that brings us to the following problem: If—no when—you kill Ramsey, it will result in a power vacuum. So, unless we want to run the risk that someone even worse will be sucked in to replace him, it will be necessary to establish an entity that’s loyal to the real government. Which is to say us.”
“Oh, great,” Kawecki responded sarcastically. “Is there anything else, Mr. President? Should I make all the Chimera disappear while I’m at it?”
Voss blew steam off the surface of his coffee. “Yes,” he replied evenly. “That would be nice.”
Kawecki, Rawlings, and a force of twelve men left that night. They were on foot. But with the aid of sturdy mules, they weren’t required to carry anything other than their weapons, ammo, and some emergency gear. That allowed them to move quickly.
Of course the animals had their drawbacks, too. The mules were hard to conceal, had to be fed, and could be obstinate at times. But Kawecki figured the tradeoff would be worth it if he could keep his men fresh, carry a larger payload, and reach his destination quickly.
They traveled at night, with Rawlings scouting a mile or so ahead. Doing so was colder, but safer, and safety had priority. The civilian had a radio, which he used to guide the soldiers around obstacles. The route was a zigzag affair that followed secondary roads in a generally northwesterly direction. They passed through dozens of devastated hamlets, circled two Chimeran bases, and were forced to cope with Leapers, Grims, and a pack of feral dogs along the way. The dogs had been brazen enough to attack one of the mules in broad daylight before being wiped out. But it wasn’t until day four, when they were almost halfway to their destination, that the team ran into what Rawlings described as “a major freak show.”
It was about two in the morning when Kawecki ordered the men to hobble the mules and set them free to graze in an overgrown field while he and Sergeant Pasco went forward to meet Rawlings. As they closed in on the rendezvous, a glow appeared up ahead. The dark bulk of a hill prevented them from seeing the source of the light as the scout materialized out of the gloom. “Follow me,” the civilian said. “You won’t believe this.”
As Kawecki and Pasco followed Rawlings up a winding dirt road the glow grew brighter. Then, having arrived near the top of the hill, they dropped flat and crawled the last few yards. And what Kawecki saw at that point was unlike anything he’d ever seen before.
Stretched out in front of him was what looked like a football-field-sized sheet of glass. Except having been exposed to a lot of Chimeran tech, he suspected that the object was made of something akin to plastic.
Even so, the roof clearly weighed hundreds of tons and was held up off the ground by six iridescent pillars. Based on previous experience, Kawecki knew the supports were beams of coherent energy similar to those the stinks used for a wide variety of purposes. Some of the light was coming from the columns. Pole-mounted spots were responsible for the rest. Taken together, they illuminated the conical structures visible under the see-through lid.
They were pods. Thousands of pods. All planted in neat rows like a crop of vegetables and protected from the weather by the roof that floated above them. Could the plastic be darkened during the day? To shield the cocoons from the sun in the summer? Kawecki thought such a thing was possible.
“Look!” Pasco said from a position near the officer’s right elbow. “Titans!”
Kawecki saw that the noncom was correct. Two of the giants were patrolling the perimeter of the pod farm with cannons at the ready. That was interesting, but the real question was why? Did the hive-mind need more stinks to do its bidding? And if so, what did it plan to do with them? There was no way to know.
“Now that you’ve seen the freak show, let’s get out of here,” Rawlings said from his position off to the left. “I think it would be a good idea to swing west before heading north again.”
Kawecki shook his head. “Nope. There’s no way we can leave this place operational. Besides… those are people down there. Or they were. Every single one of us has been forced to bypass pods at one time or another. But not thousands of them. No, we’re going to put those folks out of their misery, and keep the total number of stinks down at the same time. The only question is how?”