Chapter 23
"The satellite feeds were faked. From what we can tell, Solms' forces were alerted when we accessed the satellites. They knew we were coming ahead of time," Justine admitted morosely. "They were NSA spy satellites, so we didn't even stop to consider that the video would be faked. Those birds have a hundred-twenty-eight bit, algorithmic encryption that changes every six hours, and are as close to impossible to hack as you can get. Up until now, they have been totally reliable. I'm sorry, John, Ben." She hung her head. "I let the team down."
Ben touched her mind; she blamed herself for the deaths of their people in Mexico. She felt that if she would have had her people take the time to dig deeper into the video signal, they might have discovered it was fake. Though they've never had to do it before, she should have insisted on it. She had been warned that Solms and his people were devious.
He quickly shared what he'd found with John, who took Justine in his arms. "Tina, this isn't your fault. There was no reason for you to doubt the satellite video. We did learn that they have the ability to hack into an NSA satellite though."
"No sir, we didn't," a young girl said as she entered the den. "Justy, I think we might have caught them fucking up. The signal to the satellite is still open!"
"Tell us what you've found, Nessa!" Justine replied, hope clear in her voice.
"They used a valid password to get into the NSA bird. It's an older satellite, and doesn't have the onboard memory of the new ones, so the fake video is a real-time upload from the ground. Since the bird would need two-way communication with the ground computers, the normal defenses against computer attack have been disabled so the satellite wouldn't be destroyed. We've managed to ride the signal back to the ground computer!" The girl called Nessa explained. "We're doing a full download of The Fortress' memory files!"
"How do we know the data is real, and not another set-up?" John asked.
"We don't really, sir, other than the shear size of the download. Even if it was totally fake, there would have to be some real data in there, or we would be able to tell it was bad data," Nessa explained.
"Hold it, if you're pulling that much data, they're going to know what's happening and shut down the link; are you using the safe system for the download?" Justine asked.
"Yeah, though we had to add a lot more RAM to it. As far as them shutting down the link... well, let's just say they might have some difficulty doing that; we locked them out." Nessa chuckled. "We expect them to kill the power anytime, but we should still get a good portion of their data before they do."
"You locked them out of their own computer system?" John asked.
"Yes sir; the connections were very subtle, but once we found them, it gave us full access to their computers. It wasn't really sloppiness on their part; they did try to cover their tracks and hide as much as they could, but they had to have a wide-open connection like this to use the satellite." Nessa grinned. "The NSA has dedicated computers for this, so if someone does exactly what we just did, all they can get to is the controller for the bird. Solms' folks must not have had time to get it set up."
"Did we ever get a real picture of the area around The Fortress?" Ben asked.
"Yep! Crystal clear, and scary as hell. That place is a lot bigger than we thought. The video is still being analyzed, but should be available to you soon," the girl said.
Looking at Justine, John said, "Let us know how much you get from them before they break the connection."
"Is there any way to find out how they got the password? Was it given to them, or stolen? Did they just get access or have they had it for a long time? If you guys stumble across any of those answers, please let one of us know right away?" Ben asked before either of the girls could leave.
"I'll cross-check that with NSA computers. Now that we know the password, it'll be a lot easier to trace," Justine said as she was leaving.
"Really good work, you two!" Ben called after them. Nessa gave him a brilliant smile as the door closed.
"This will limit our options," John said. "CNN has reported that the revolutionaries are firmly in control down there now. Considering the rapid response of the Mexican military, I think we can guess who their prime supporter is. We don't know what the relationship between the new Mexican regime and the United States is, but the Ambassador hasn't been recalled. If it isn't friendly, it's at least tolerated; either way, that's not good for us."
"No, it isn't, and I know you aren't going to like what I think is our only remaining option," Ben replied. "Two small teams, one primary, the other is the back-up. The rest of the company is on stand-by for when the shit hits the fan. The primary team is myself, Melissa, and Jenna. The secondary team is Kathryn, Chris, and Tabby. This will be a search and destroy mission. The primary target will be Solms, secondary targets are any and all of his advisors. Both teams will insert from the ocean, then split up. My team will head for the Fortress, while Kathryn heads for those fake fields. We should have enough firepower on us to blow a good portion of what we find into low orbit around Jupiter."
"You're right, I don't like it, and I'm pretty sure your ladies won't either. They'd have my balls if I approved this mission!" John said.
"No, they won't. This is what Kathryn and I were created for. We'll go in, and when we come out, there will be nothing but bodies behind us. I'm tired of these cock-suckers killing our people. This has to stop — now!"
John sighed. "Okay, give me a detailed plan once you get a look at the intel, and I'll consider it. I still think it's a suicide mission though, and for that reason, neither of us can order Jenna or Tabitha to do this. I'll only approve this if they agree. You'll have to deal with your wives."
"Agreed. I'll speak to Jenna and Tabby as well as my family. I'll only bring the mission briefing to you if I can get their agreement," Ben said.
"Ben, there is something else I need to talk to you about. A little while back, I spoke to my team leaders who in turn spoke to their teams. I also talked this over with my wives. Everyone approves my decision.
"As you know from reading me, I feel I'm getting too old to go on missions anymore. I've been wanting to retire but I couldn't hand over command to anyone else because it would have caused a rift in the ranks. The company has agreed that you would be the ideal candidate to take over from me.
"The whole company likes you, and even some of the men want to sleep with you. You have the natural ability to command, and even Jenna thinks all you need is more knowledge of military operations. Besides, I'll still be here to help; I was planning on asking you and your ladies if they would help us regress ourselves, and we would simply rejoin as 'new' recruits. Eventually, you could hand over command to Renee or Jenny. They then could hand it over to Kathryn or Amanda when it was time," John finished.
"You're telling me you want me to take over the company for you?" Ben asked.
"In a manner of speaking, yes. Remember, I'll still be here to help you run it. Well, after a couple months vacation that is." John grinned; "Give it some thought; talk it over with your wives. Nothing has to happen right now."
"John, are you sure about this? I mean, we really only just got to know one another. This is an awfully big decision."
"That's why you should talk it over with your wives, and give it some more thought."
Ben's family decided to talk it over in a big meeting with John's family. It was agreed that the company would be restructured for a rotating command position that would shift over to the next person in line every ten years. John and his three wives would 'retire' after the current crisis was resolved, and begin regression with Amanda and Diane's help.
Officially, they would be taking off to a secure location in order to enjoy their retirement without fear of retribution from the enemies the company had made. Carol was working on finding a suitable place that could be called the retirement home.
Justine reported that the access to the NSA satellite network was not a new thing. The password that Solms' people used was one of the original passwords programmed into the system.
Ben, John, Jenna, Tabitha, and Diane met with Justine in the black room to go over the 'real' surveillance video from The Fortress.
"As you can see, the area we thought ripening marijuana fields is producing a lot of heat. There are even slight radiological readings at this end," Justine explained. "Thermal imagining suggests that there is a good size tunnel leading under the hills to The Fortress, but we can't be sure because of the depth. There are several large pipelines of water coming from the ocean," she said, pointing out some straight blue lines. "... that we can't figure out. It's salt water; what good would that be to them? Anyway, there is considerable activity under whatever they are using to shield that area, but there is also something really big under there."
"It's a ship. The large waterlines from the ocean are for hydrogen. I don't know all that much about starship design, but I do know they need a lot of hydrogen," Diane said.
"Hydrogen huh? How much hydrogen?" John asked.
"Like I said, I don't know ship design, but I do remember my father telling me that it was too dangerous to store the amount of hydrogen needed to fuel even the smallest ships. The hydrogen was always created as it was being fueled to minimize the risk of detonation. The bigger ships never landed and got their hydrogen from other sources," Diane said. "The ships themselves had extensive safeguards to protect the fuel tanks from damage and rupture. The hydrogen is stored in a hyper-compressed state, and protected by a magnetic bottle. That's all I know about it."
"If we could get enough explosives in there, that would effectively eliminate Solms' plans for leaving the planet," John said.
"The hard part would be getting past the shielding. Not that it's hard to do, but if you collapsed the magnetic bottle, the whole base and the surrounding area would flood with hydrogen. Any fool within a mile with a lit cigarette would trigger an explosion that would look nuclear," Tabitha concluded. "If we can get in and out without being detected, the world would think it was an accident."
"That would be the problem; they have a laser fence setup around the whole perimeter. There's only one gate, and they have patrols outside the fence. From other reports, they have other forms of detection inside the fence. For all intents, the place is impenetrable," Justine said.
"It's only impenetrable if you are uninvited, and even then, I wouldn't be so sure about it," Ben said. "There's a way in there, even if we don't see it yet. It's just going to require some thought. It's getting late; let's take a break, and meet back here in the morning. Maybe one of us can see the trick to this after we sleep on it."
John sighed in relief. He's been worried that Ben would jump at the least possibility of getting into the compound and press for the operation. Jenna and Tabby where convinced that Ben could walk on water, and would have agreed with him regardless of the risk. So what if Ben actually could walk on water? This assault was suicide no matter how you sliced it, and no type of frontal assault would stand a chance of success. When Ben suggested taking a break, John almost collapsed in relief. It never even occurred to John that perhaps Ben had caved in too easily.
It took John totally by surprise the next morning when Amanda showed up in Ben's place and informed the company that Ben and Kathryn had left the night before.
"They left last night, and severed the mental ties between themselves and us," Amanda said, frowning. "I had to hold Megan for hours when they did that. They did leave you a message." She placed her hand on the table and concentrated. Ben and Kathryn appeared on the big wall monitor.
"Hello, everyone. I can only assume that you know Kathryn and I are gone, and I think you know where. Before you get mad, remember that this is what we were designed for and meant to do," Ben said.
Kathryn nodded in agreement with her husband. "In our time with you, we have come to care a great deal about all the people there at the ranch. So much so, that we couldn't risk any more of their lives by making another attempt at The Fortress. We've already lost too many new friends."
"You are very correct, John; there is no feasible way that a successful assault can be made against The Fortress by the teams. However, Kathryn and I can make it," Ben said.
"Our biggest problem is going to be getting out of Mexico once this happens. In fact, if you take another look at Justine's new information, there is a strong possibility that we will be labeled as terrorists before we can make it back across the border," Kathryn added.
"That's where we will need your help. In two days, I'll need Justine's data team to anonymously dump all the information she has on the election conspiracy, as well as all the non-technical information from The Fortress, onto the internet. Please include all the intelligence agency information as well. Make sure as much as possible is provable. With luck, we'll be able to make it back to you in the resulting chaos," Ben said. "Trust me; I know exactly what I'm asking you to do.
"John, I'd make damn sure I had plenty of supplies stored, because there is a strong possibility the US Government won't survive. I'd say it is almost certain that the new Mexican government won't. Just make damn sure that none of the information is traceable back to us."
"The effects of the data dump won't hit immediately, and we've planned for that," Kathryn said. "In three or four days, one of us will detonate the fuel tanks on the ship. By that time, the whole event will most likely be ignored by the news agencies."
Ben looked out at them from the screen like he could actually see them. "There is one other reason we didn't want anyone else along this time; I believe the military term is called collateral damage. Jenna once told me about the toll taking a persons life has on your soul, and I agree with her. Kathryn and I are going to have a heavy price to pay for the lives of the innocents that will be lost. It is a price we would not have anyone else share."
"We've severed all connections with everyone in an effort not to be detected, and to spare everyone the emotional trauma we will be feeling. We also didn't want you talking us out of this. Don't worry about us; we will be coming back," Kathryn said. "Jenna and her wife, as well as Tabitha, have dates with us in six days. Jenna will have twins, and Tabitha will have a little girl that will grow to be as beautiful as her mother."
Ben smiled at them from the screen. "Wish us luck, and keep an eye on The Fortress. See ya when we get home." The screen went blank.
John had sat down in his chair and was still staring at the screen in disbelief. "They're insane; there is no way they can pull this off."
"Yes, they can, and will. I can prove it," Tabitha said.
"Oh? Just how can you prove something that hasn't happened yet?" John asked.
Tabitha kicked her boots off, and quickly stripped off her
cover-alls. She sat on the table in front of John and spread her legs
wide, showing him her totally hairless pussy. She reached down and
pulled her labia apart. "Because, as you can see, I'm still a virgin.
If he isn't here to make me pregnant in six days, I will be
going after him to make sure he does. He knows this, and he would never
risk my life like that."