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  neutron bomb.”

  “What’s a neutron bomb?”

  “A bomb that kills all living things but leaves the structures and equip-

  ment completely intact. It’s radiation on steroids.”

  “So, you want a one-time-use weapon.” Zeek shrugged. “I don’t know,

  I thought Princess Li Win looked interesting.”

  “You can’t be serious?”

  Zeek raised his eyebrows a few times with a smile. “All kidding aside,

  the A.I. could be a huge asset.”

  “An unstable A.I. could have the opposite effect.” Alex glanced over his

  shoulder to Wang, then focused back on the polished granite floor.

  “What would Kalibri think if you left his kindred to sit in some

  warehouse?”

  “I didn’t think of that…You know what, I think we can get access to the

  A.I. later. For now, let’s choose some thing else. You know, no matter how much money we get, we will never be able to acquire a nuclear weapon. We

  might need something like that with the Zorn.”

  “You think the Chinese government is simply going to hand over a

  nuclear weapon? There are a plethora of international laws to prevent that

  from occurring. We don’t have the means to handle such a thing safely

  and imagine if they decide to remote detonate it once it’s sitting in our

  bunker somewhere! Plus, we are supposed to believe they want to give us

  a nuclear weapon just so we can continue to dispose of their radioactive

  waste? Something doesn’t add up here, doesn’t make sense.”

  “Well, rumor lingers that the border between China and North Korea

  is littered with radioactive waste and it’s killing the land. The US may

  assume it’s poor handling by North Korea, but what if China is just using

  it as a dumping ground? The problem might be pretty dire for them. I

  think we take the bomb, put it in a box and leave it on the moon for now.

  24

  It would be safe there, and we would have access to it in case we ever need it. I’m sure this is their first step to get construction rights to build ships.

  What they really want is our technology, just like everyone else. It probably

  has nothing to do with the waste.”

  Alex’s phone rang in his pocket. He pulled it out, looking at the caller

  ID: it was his father. He tapped the button to ignore and made a mental

  note to call him back later.

  Zeek looked at Alex and shrugged. They turned around and walked the

  few steps back to Wang. Alex inclined his head to Wang. “We will accept

  the hydrogen bomb. Please put it in a space-worthy container and give us

  the ability to remote detonate it.”

  Wang’s face was passive, and his body folded over at his waist again.

  When he made eye contact with Alex again, he said, “I assume the deliver-

  ies will resume as scheduled?”

  “Yes, the containers will be picked up again. Please have the weapon

  ready for the next pick up. Call us when it’s ready.”

  “My leaders will be most pleased!”

  Ambassador Wang Lon backed away from Alex and Zeek, then left

  the building.

  Alex looked at his phone. Nine text messages waited for his attention.

  “Damn, I’m late.” Alex took off at a jog without a backward glance, leaving

  Zeek in the lobby area.

  “I guess I’ll see you later?” Zeek raised his voice but Alex didn’t

  acknowledge him.

  Minutes later, Alex reached his office. A few people were waiting in

  chairs outside, and a guard stood over them. He recognized the guard.

  “Ah, Curtis! Good to see you.” Alex clapped Curtis on the shoulder as they

  viewed the people sitting in the chairs before them. “My apologies for being

  late,” Alex said to them. “Which one of you arrived first?”

  A young man raised his hand. “I did, sir!” His blue eyes were wide and

  bright, and he was holding back a smile.

  “Well, you first, then.” Alex walked past the people and opened

  his office.

  The walls and doors of the office were glass, allowing Alex an unob-

  structed view of the world around him. When Alex entered the room, the

  25

  lights illuminated, and half of every wall became opaque from the waist down. The office had three main areas, and the layout was shaped like a Y.

  Where all three sections met, there was a large desk that looked like it was

  carved from a fallen tree. It was very large and had a slight curve to it. Several chairs sat on one side, while a single chair sat on the other.

  “Pick any chair you’d like.”

  The young man selected the closest chair and sat in it. Alex watched the

  young man peer into the other rooms. He wasn’t sure if the curiosity should

  be a mark of a good candidate, or if the lack of attention to Alex, who was

  waiting for eye contact, should be held in higher regard.

  Alex produced a fake cough. The young man snapped his attention

  to Alex.

  Just as Alex was about to speak, his data pad lit up like a christmas tree.

  The moment Alex touched the pad, it resumed normal brightness. On the

  screen was a short line of text.

  Captain, every moment this

  fabricator sits over here unused is

  another drop of statistical averages

  that you don’t survive the next Zorn

  attack. Also, I have portable weapon

  designs you can fabricate that will

  conform to your technology - Kalibri

  Alex roughly dragged his hand over his face and leaned back in his

  chair. Glancing at the amount of tasks he was alerted to address, he shud-

  dered at the significant figure, then tossed the data pad back onto the desk.

  The young man eyed him and the data pad a few times. Not a word nor

  syllable escaped his lips. His hands were so tightly squeezed together that

  they appeared locked in a mortal struggle for survival.

  Alex chuckled under his breath as he observed the young man in front

  of him. “What’s your name?” Alex picked up his data pad, which had all

  the application information waiting for him to review, despite he having

  studied it a few times by now.

  “Peter, sir!”

  “Look, Peter, if you’re going to be my guy, the guy I trust to do whatever

  26

  I ask, whenever I ask it, you’re going to have to drop the sirs. That’s not debatable, I am looking for someone who can pick up some of the slack I

  have been neglecting. I’ve got a lot of work piling up and I’m looking for

  some more hands.”

  “Uhh…Yes, okay!” Peter pressed his lips together, and his eyebrows met.

  Over the next three hours, Alex interviewed the three applicants. One

  of them stuck out as a favorite to him, although he was hesitant about

  selecting that applicant. He would need to talk to someone about his selec-

  tion first.

  He headed to the science division inside the Complex, where he knew

  he would find Amanda toiling away at a terminal or microscope.

  She was peering into an electron microscope when he arrived, her eyes

  focused on the screen in front of her, while her hands controlled various

  small knobs that adjusted the scaling and focus of the screen.

  “Hey, do you have a moment?” Alex whispered from behind her left ear.

  She moved her head closer to
his until her ear touched his lips, then she

  turned to face him with a smile. “Of course!”

  Alex looked around the room, making sure no one else would overhear

  his conversation. “I’m hiring an executive assistant, like most of us have

  been doing lately. Except…”

  Amanda looked her uncomfortable boyfriend over. He hardly ever

  stuttered, and he knew this would give away the problem. “It’s not a guy is

  it?” Her face froze as she uttered the last syllable.

  “I wouldn’t choose her If I didn’t have your support,” Alex blurted

  out, as though the whole sentence were one long word. He felt as though

  he couldn’t get that bit of information out fast enough to avoid uncon-

  scious conclusions.

  Amanda turned away from him. “Is she pretty?” Amanda’s voice

  sounded strained as she turned her attention back to the microscope.

  “I…I…guess so.” Alex looked on towards Amanda, wondering what

  she felt. The back of her head gave him no clues. Amanda slowly put her

  hand to her mouth, making Alex’s stomach drop to his feet. She took a

  deep breath. “Don’t lie. She must be very pretty for you to be this con-

  cerned about it.”

  Guilt chewed at Alex as he struggled to think of a way to both reassure

  27

  Amanda and escape the conversation. If he thought running would help, he might have taken off at a sprint. “You know what, I think this conversation isn’t necessary. I’ll choose one of the others.”

  He turned to leave the room and Amanda let out a burst of noise that

  Alex worried was laced with anger. He turned to look at her, fear making

  him cower a little as he started to scurry out of the room.

  He was confused to find Amanda doubled up in hysterical laughter.

  She even made a sound Alex hadn’t heard before, an unmistakable snort.

  Amanda quickly covered her mouth and laughed even harder, tears streak-

  ing down her face, as Alex turned to look at her, perplexed.

  “I take it you…don’t have a problem with this, then?” Alex made an

  odd face, relaxing a little in the wash of Amanda’ s amusement.

  “Oh, my love.” Amanda stood up and looked Alex in the eye. “You

  choose the best person for the job. But, know that if you ever cheat on

  me…I get to do the same.” She flicked her hair over her shoulder as she

  turned away from him and swayed her hips in an alluring way.

  “Wait, what?”

  “You heard me…You ever hear of a prenuptial agreement?” She looked

  back into the microscope.

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, consider this such an agreement.”

  “What if I don’t agree to that?”

  She returned her attention to Alex standing in the doorway. “Then you

  have two choices, you can either never cheat on me, making this whole

  conversation pointless, or you can leave me. If you can hold to this agree-

  ment, everything will work out fine.” She approached Alex slowly as she

  spoke and kissed him on the cheek and nudged him out of her office, leav-

  ing him alone in the hallway.

  Alex almost walked back inside. Common sense prevailed, how-

  ever; she was right. As long as he never cheated, the whole conversation

  was pointless.

  He walked back towards his office, lost in thought. Still, it was a bit

  of an odd agreement, yet many things about Amanda was a bit weird. He

  liked that about her.

  28

  * * *

  “Status of the Destiny?” Alex sat back in his cozy office chair. It would be the first time they used Alex’s conference room in any official capacity, and

  he found it decidedly exciting to have them all working there.

  “Most of the damaged sections of the hull and decking have been cut

  away. Technical repairs have already been completed, crews will be work-

  ing twenty-four-seven to repair the ship. It should be ready in about two

  weeks.” Timmy didn’t take his eyes off his data pad as he continued answer-

  ing questions from the repair teams via text message.

  Alex looked at Timmy and smiled, then glanced over to Renee and

  Jackie. “How did our segment do last night?” He noticed another person

  he had not yet met holding a camera, but turned his attention back to the

  job at hand.

  “As you suspected, the public was quick to defend you. The senators

  that opposed you are facing a lot of heat from their constituents. I suspect

  they will have short careers in political office. There is a small group form-

  ing with the idea that if it weren’t for you, the aliens would never have

  come. No one is giving them much attention. North Korea is not doing

  too good right now, either. It seems most of the leadership and political

  families were killed in the attack. There’s a mass exodus from the country

  into South Korea.” Renee took a deep breath and crossed her legs under

  the table. “Over the last couple months, I’ve had an independent company

  conduct polling on you and the UEF. I had no intention of telling you

  about it, except now I think the polling results were leaked and you should

  know about them.”

  “Why would you—”

  Renee cut him off. “The simple reason is that it allows me to do my job

  better, and I can get a feel for what kind of message would or would not be

  accepted at any given moment.”

  Alex looked around the room, slightly disturbed but mostly embar-

  rassed. The only person who was smiling in the room at that moment

  was Gloria.

  “What?” Alex asked her. He scratched his nose and fidgeted with his

  right ear.

  29

  “Oh, nothing. I am curious as to where this is going, is all.” Gloria, like everyone at the table, was wearing the UEF uniform now. Everyone, that is,

  except for Timmy and Jorge, who were in jeans and t-shirts.

  Alex looked up and took in a deep breath, let it out slowly and looked

  over at Renee to continue. “Alright, lay it on me. What do the polls say?”

  “Well…Like I said, I started a couple months ago, before the attack,

  with a handful of yes or no questions asked. Is Alex a good leader? Sixty-

  eight percent responded ‘yes’. Do you support the UEF? Seventy-six per-

  cent said ‘yes’. The latest poll closed a few hours ago. It has Alex is a good leader at eighty-four percent and support for the UEF at ninety percent.”

  Renee drooped her head slightly and focused on the table in front of

  her. “Alex, numbers like these are epic, mythical, and unprecedented…

  I bet—”

  “That’s enough. Thank you for your attention to detail. Mason, have

  you kept in touch with Jerry? How are things going at the training facilities?”

  “Spoke to him moments ago, everything is going well there. He’s not

  expecting any problems.”

  “Alex?”

  Everyone turned to look at Jack.

  “I have worked in my field for quite some time, and I have to tell you,

  I am very concerned right now about another type of attack,” he said, look-

  ing Alex in the eye.

  The mood suddenly shifted. Jack had everyone’s attention, and he

  wilted a little under it but kept going.

  “Let’s pretend that you’re part of a government or organization that
/>   tried to bring down the UEF but failed. They view us as an obstacle or

  enemy that needs to be dealt with. You failed in your first attempt, and

  it was an epic public failure. Now an alien race has come an attacked the

  Earth. Your political enemy has unprecedented public support. What

  things might you be concerned about?”

  Alex displayed no reaction as he considered Jack’s words.

  “If there were another attack coming, it would be subtle.” Laura said

  slowly, in her ‘thinking while I’m talking’ voice.

  The room’s attention shifted to Laura. She ignored them, watching

  Jack, waiting for an answer to her question. He stared at her for a few

  30

  seconds, then his eyes flicked over her, taking in her long blonde hair and athletic figure. His cheeks pinked a little and he looked away from her.

  Alex was sure he heard Jorge mutter, “Dibs!” as Timmy adjusted

  his posture.

  “Uh. Yes, its old-school but I think that would do it. Or they might use

  a gimp.” Jack sat like a stone.

  “A what, a gimp?” Alex leaned forward.

  “Yeah, someone so dedicated to the task that they might sacrifice them-

  selves to see it done.”

  “Like a bomber?”

  “Yeah, like a bomber, but not a bomber, that would be too public.

  More intimate, like a one-on-one encounter. Poison, knife or push off a

  ledge, that sort of thing. Something that might draw attention but can be

  easily covered up.”

  Laura eyed Alex, who returned her gaze levelly. “Here I was thinking

  you were being egotistical.”

  Cindy eyed Laura with a critical eye. “About what?”

  “He told me that being his assistant would put me in harm’s way and

  that it came with the job.”

  “Why would you take a job position like that?” Cindy crossed her arms

  and leaned back in her chair. “No offense, but it seems like a singularly

  stupid thing to do.”

  “Well, my whole life I’ve had to fight. From the moment I was born,

  possibly even before that, my father hated me. He only took it out on my

  mother, see…It was her fault I wasn’t a boy. As I got older, it became older

  guys who wanted more than a dinner and a movie. Then it was peers at

  work because I was too pretty to be taken seriously. I’ve had porn directors,

  movie producers, talent agencies all try to offer me something.

  “The only thing I wanted to do was make a difference. So, I got involved