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  "Simple. We blame everything on the locals. Hell, they're in our pocket, so it's about time that they got their hands dirty. Once the dust has settled, we'll get General Benitez to make a statement that the government has chosen Tohil to assist them during this transition period. The government might take some flak, but that's the beauty of a military dictatorship, they don't have to listen to their citizens, and once the ship is in our hands, no one is going to argue with us." John Robert leant forward and rested his elbows on the table. "That one ship will make us an overnight superpower. We'll be able to travel the stars, and with their technology, be masters of this world."

  Robert's last words were a little too much for one of the lead engineers sitting around the table. "You've lost your fucking mind! No one is going to stand for this. The Americans are going to come back down here and just take the ship back from us. Your precious electromagnetic gun hasn't even been tested against the Sentinel's, so God only knows if it will work. I haven't even heard a serious plan yet regarding alien detention. Where are you going to put them after you take over the ship? And how long do you think it will take you to get the ship operational? Only the SETI team and a few Americans have been inside the ship." The engineer waved his arms in the air. "No one in this room has ever been inside that ship."

  John Robert stood up with his hands raised. "I understand your concern." Looking down at his Blackberry, he tapped one key, and then looked back up. "Since it seems that you are no longer interested in taking part in this project, I think it would be best if you were to excuse yourself and allow us to carry on."

  The engineer picked up his notes, gave the room a once-over, and walked to the door in silence. Turning back, he gave the room a final glance before opening the door, and stepping out into the hallway, only to be met by three of the black-clad Tohil security operatives.

  Before the man could think twice, a taser was jabbed into his neck. As his body began to convulse, a piece of duct tape was put over his mouth, and his body quickly dumped into a large duffle bag that was lying on a flat trolley. The bag was zipped, and being pushed away before the door to the conference room closed itself.

  John Robert, who was still standing let out a deep sigh, before returning to his seat. "I am afraid, ladies and gentlemen that we are committed to this operation, and that there can be no loose ends. If the sight of poor Michaels being relieved of his responsibilities was a little much for your sensibilities, then perhaps you should reconsider your place at the table. There will be more blood spilt before everything is said and done, and you are more than welcome to join Michaels in retirement." A devilish smile crept across the man's face as he continued with his briefing. If there had been any doubt in the room about the obsession and drive that John Robert had, they were gone now.

  41

  The Oval Office was filled with all the necessary characters when the Secretary of Energy, Andy Barnham, finally arrived at five minutes past seven in the evening. "Sorry about that, George." He said to the President, taking his seat next to the Secretary of State.

  "That's fine Andy." The President looked at the Vice President, "Would you please continue, Sarah."

  "Well, Mr President, I think that it is evident that you should be in New York for the address. Doctor Hayes, our UN Ambassador, will meet Ranix at La Guardia, and ride with him to the UN Building. If you take Army One to Penn Station, you'll be able to avoid the poor weather, and arrive in NYC promptly."

  The President nodded. "Very true, I don't want to detract from Ranix's entrance, so we should plan to arrive after he does, and with as little fanfare as possible."

  The Secretary of Defence, George Garnier wanted to steer the conversation to a more important topic. "Mr President, regarding this test flight scheduled for Thursday, now that we don't have any military personnel in Paraguay, it will be harder for us to monitor the flight. I know that the Nation Reconnaissance Office will be able to have some footage of the flight from satellites, but not having a trailing aircraft to document the trip will severally limit the intelligence we gather. Not to mention what happens to that ship once it's fully operational. I've read all the reports that say the ship's weapons are non-functional, but that could be a lie."

  Nicholas Beaudrot, the President's Chief of Staff, agreed with the SECDEF. "Another pressing question, Mr President, is a jurisdictional one. If we allow that ship to remain in the hands of the aliens, which it looks like we are, does that mean that they'll operate out of Paraguay for the rest of their time here, or will they be free to go where ever they like? And what happens if something goes wrong during their test flight and a human gets hurt. What court is going to hold them accountable for their actions?"

  The National Security Advisor, Zach North jumped into the fray with vigour, not caring for the return of paranoia that had once been rife among members of the President's staff when the ship had first crashed in June. "Gentlemen, we've had nothing but progress since Major Hunt spoke with the Sentinel Commander the day the ship crashed, and on that day of all days, the visitors didn't kill a single human. I will admit that they needed our assistance to repair their ship and that they might be playing the long game, with the intention of turning hostile once their ship was repaired, but we've seen no indication that their intentions are hostile, not to mention the fact that they have shared with us a considerable amount about their technology and culture, so can we please move past this paranoia, and worry more about the UN address."

  After Zach's little rant the room fell silent for a few moments. Nick Beaudrot jotted down a few notes and tried not to make eye contact with his colleague after the rebuttal. The President cleared his throat loud enough for everyone in the room to hear, then moved on with the meeting.

  "Before we continue with the discussion about the UN address, I think that one thing should be clear about my intentions towards the alien presence on this planet." The President looked around the table quickly. "I will do any and everything to support them in their endeavours as I have said from the start, but I do agree with some of what Nick just said. We do need to get a clear idea of what their intentions are once the ship is repaired, since they can't go home, and they are currently dependent on our highly purified water for fuel, which means they need our assistance for the time being, but where they'll choose to keep their ship is another question, because if I'm reading these intelligence reports correctly from Major Hunt, Paraguay might not be their best long-term option."

  42

  Just as Ranix was sitting down into a plush 2017 Cadillac Escalade with Yuli, a United States Air Force Boeing C40 Extended Range Clipper was landing at Mariscal Estigarribia Airport. It was a quarter to one in the morning, and there was still a chill in the air.

  "Good morning." Joe said, turning around in the front passenger seat to face the aliens. Sitting next to him in the driver's seat was Lieutenant Colonel Almada, who flicked on the vehicle's headlights, and started driving away from the ship.

  Ranix activated a hovering translation device and replied. "Good morning to you, Major."

  "We're going to join a regularly scheduled supply run on the way down to the airport. Don't want to attract too much attention from the people that are now camped outside the gate and along the road." Joe said.

  "Thank you." Ranix replied.

  The Escalade joined up with three large cargo vans in the centre of the Tohil village and a pair of Paraguayan army Humvees, and two black Tohil security vehicles. While it might have seemed like a lot of protection to Ranix and Yuli, it was the regular security provided to any convoy leaving the site.

  The eight-vehicle convoy slowly made their way on the winding roads to the main gate that would lead them to road south. There was thick cloud cover that morning, and without the moon, the countryside was pitch black. Upon reaching the gate, the vehicles were greeted with the standard warm reception from the people that had been allowed to camp outside the fence.

  Joe could see a few campfires burning, and several peo
ple shining flashlights at the convoy, trying to see if there was anything out of the ordinary. Tohil had anticipated that there would be a significant amount of interest in Ranix's departure from the crash site, leading to his speech in New York, so Tohil had flown down John Robert's personal Gulfstream G650 jet to Mariscal Estigarribia the previous evening, and then had a helicopter fly to their village shortly thereafter, and then down to the airport, followed by the Gulfstream flying off. The charade had worked, and the entire press corps that had been present had reported that Ranix had already left the country for the United States. So when the regularly scheduled Wednesday morning supply convoy passed by, there was very little excitement or reason to suspect anything was afoot.

  After an hour of driving, the vehicles pulled into a sleepy Doctor Luis Maris Argana International Airport. The USAF Clipper was in the centre of the runway with old fuel trucks loading the nearly 8000 gallons of Jet A-1 fuel necessary to fly the Boeing the 4500 miles to New York City.

  Joe was the first to jump out when the Escalade rolled to a stop. "Right. Let's do this quickly." He said before moving to the rear of the vehicle, and opening the trunk. Inside were two suitcases that contained Ranix and Yuli's own effects. Setting the two bags down, he moved towards the passenger staircase that was already next to the aircraft and quickly scampered up to the open hatch.

  The aircraft had been configured to carry VIPs and had a large seating area that looked very similar to a first class cabin on a civilian aircraft. Joe entered the cockpit and found the two pilots going over navigational details for the upcoming flight.

  "Good morning, gentlemen."

  The co-pilot looked back at Joe. "Morning Major. We're just about ready to get out of here. Just to let you know, we've got four Combat Controllers, and two Pararescue men on board in case we have to ditch or have technical issues."

  "Well, it is good to know the Air Force has planned for any contingency." Exiting the cockpit, Joe headed down the stairs next to the aircraft where he found Ranix and Yuli standing with Lieutenant Colonel Almada.

  "Good luck, Communications Officer." Joe stuck out his hand.

  "Thank you." Ranix shook Joe's hand with a firm grip. "I am looking forward to seeing one of your planets cities in person, and hopefully this will give us an opportunity to cement our two cultures relations."

  "I hope so."

  Joe watched as the two started to climb the stairs to the waiting aircraft. A woman in a US Air Force dress uniform had appeared in the doorway and was beaming a charming smile as the two aliens approached.

  Looking at his friend, he cocked his head to one side, "It will be interesting to see how this all turns out." Joe said in his best Spanish.

  "True." Almada looked at his watch. "Shall we get out of here?"

  "Yeah. I need some sleep."

  The two turned and left the visitors in the hands of the aircrew. It would take another hour to drive back to the Tohil village, and Joe had plenty to think about with the test flight planned for just over 48 hours away. As the Escalade pulled out of the airport, and into the darkness that was rural Paraguay, Joe wondered to himself where he would be right now if he hadn't been with Martin's special forces team the day that the course of human history changed forever.

  43

  The ninth and final member of Nikita's strike team arrived at the safe house at five in the morning. They had all had a breakfast of yoghurt mixed with muesli and pumpkin seeds on top, banana, multi-grain toast and fresh jam along with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice prepared by the team's sniper, Master Sergeant Ivan Kamera.

  Clearing away the dishes, the team moved into the living room for Nikita's final briefing. "Gentlemen, you've all studied the plans I gave you, and we all know the terrain we're going to fight on. Remember that when this mission is accomplished, the team will disband, and all of us will go our separate ways. I trust all of you have left your go-bags in satisfactory drop locations." He got nods from all those in attendance.

  "Excellent." He checked his watch. "It is now zero six fifteen. We will depart this location at the bottom of the hour, and head to respective positions."

  The nine men took a few minutes and shook the hand of other team members. Due to the style of the ambush that Nikita had prepared, some of the men would not be together during the initial moments of the attack, and many suspected that they were on a suicide mission, regardless of how positive Nikita had been about their chances.

  As the hands on the wall clock slowly crept towards half-past six, the men put on their raincoats and headed out the door.

  Nikita walked to his car with the teams close quarters battle specialist, Senior Sergeant Georgiy Zakharov. It was still raining heavily which was a double-edged sword for the strike team, but they all knew that the missions likelihood of success was helped by the rain that was supposed to continue throughout the day.

  44

  At about the same time that Nikita's men were taking up their final positions in New York City, Tohil was in the last stage of deporting as many potential witnesses as possible from the village down to the airport for the special showing of Lawrence of Arabia on a large screen that they had erected in one of the hangers.

  An announcement had been made at breakfast that there would be a showing of the classic film, and an extensive lunch buffet available to all who wished, although Tohil was able to shoo away their most junior people by just telling them to attend the screening. Most of the Mammoet engineers had chosen to go, so when nine in the morning finally rolled around, there were only about three dozen people that Tohil needed to ask more sternly to leave the area, and after they had been sent packing from the area, Tohil waited for the remainder of those to wake up before asking them to leave.

  Joe knew something was wrong when he emerged from his quarters at half past nine in the morning. His head ached slightly from the previous night's drinking, but his judgement was still intact. Other than the light mist that was falling, he quickly noted that the armoured vehicles that had been positioned near the Tohil headquarters building were missing, and the usual hustle and bustle that was to be expected at this hour was completely gone. In fact, there was no one not dressed in a Tohil uniform or a Paraguayan military uniform in sight.

  Closing the door to the SETI living quarters behind him, he moved towards the dining hall, the ground wet underneath his Converse. When he was about ten yards from the entrance to the dining room, Doctor Temple flung the door open and came storming towards Joe, and he looked anything but happy.

  "Bobby, what's going on?" he asked.

  Bobby threw his arms towards the heavens and looked skyward. "We've been ordered back to the airport."

  Joe stopped and looked at the big American with a confused look on his face. "Who has ordered us back to the airport?"

  "Lieutenant General Erico. He said that all non-military and all junior Tohil personnel must return to the airport by noon, or we'll be forcibly removed."

  Joe took another look around the area. "It looks like most people have already split." He commented.

  "Yeah. The reporters and the camera crews were driven out about an hour ago, and Doctor Stokes is the only other member of the SETI team still here." Doctor Temple moved closer to Joe, and whispered into his ear. "2 to 1 they're going to make a play for the ship, now that it's repaired." He stepped back and stared into Joe's eyes.

  "I need to make a phone call." Joe pulled out the satellite phone that was in his cargo pocket and quickly punched in the number for the White House switchboard. Looking back at Bobby, "I've got a bad feeling about this." As Joe waited for his call to be answered, he continued to scan the area when he caught sight of Doctor Stokes emerging from the housing building.

  Once the operator on the other end of the phone picked up, he was quickly transferred to the President's living quarters. The conversation was quick and to the point. There had been no reports from any intelligence agency that there was going to be a push on the crash site by either
the Paraguayan military or Tohil, but Joe's observations were cause for some panic. After a few seconds of listening, Joe said his pleasantries and hung up.

  By the time he had put the phone back in his pocket, Rhea had walked over and had a worried look on her face. "What's going on?"

  Joe looked at his girlfriend and then scanned their surroundings again. "I think there is going to be trouble."

  "What kind of trouble?" She asked while looking around the area.

  "We've been asked to leave the area, and return to the airport." Bobby said dryly.

  As the trio stood silently in the lightly falling rain, Joe spotted one of Lieutenant Colonel Almada's men a short distance away. "If you'll excuse me."

  Joe left the two doctors at a quick jog and reached the young Special Forces sergeant in short order. "Have you seen Almada?" Joe asked in his best Spanish, and he was immediately given his local counterparts location.

  Running off to find his friend, he made quick time jogging towards the paved road that had been constructed leading towards the visitors ship, where he found a new checkpoint manned by members of the Tohil security team, looking ominous in their black uniforms.

  "I need to see Lieutenant Colonel Almada," Joe said to the guard standing closest to him. "And where did this gate come from?" He put his hands down on a makeshift metal gate that had been strung across the road. Perhaps even more disconcerting than the addition of the gate was the fact that two of the armoured vehicles were now stationed on the other side of the barrier, facing towards the ship which was sitting a few hundred yards away.

  "Just a moment, Major." The guard replied in a South African accent.

  Looking back towards the group of buildings, Joe noticed John Robert standing outside of the Tohil command building. The tall Canadian was wearing his trademark trench coat and seemed to be staring at Joe.