The small group of officers and crew who had gathered to see off Ivanova and her party had finally dispersed allowing Anderson to continue with his work. He hadn't really wanted to be seen hanging around the shuttle bay while the Captain had been there, so had been forced to wait until her shuttle had departed from its bay. She had taken one of the smaller atmospheric shuttle, one of those with its own separate docking bay and airlock, while his shuttle was still sitting where he had landed in the main shuttle deck.
Anderson smiled when he noticed they way that the other shuttles in the main bay were being kept well away from his, and even several stacks of cargo crates had been moved to one side so not to crowd his vessel. 'They probably were afraid of scratching it and having to deal with me,' he thought as he opened the hatch leading into his shuttle's interior. Had one of the Rasputin crew actually seen what was hidden inside the Psi-Corp shuttle, they would have been in for a real shock. Where there were normally rows of seating there was instead racks of electronic equipment, all feeding off the shuttle's fusion reactor.
Picking up a small electronic toolbox, Anderson began careful test the various systems to ensure that everything was operating. Although the trip had run a lot smoother than he had expected and surprisingly there had been no trouble on their arrival, he was still worried that some tiny screw on a circuit board may have come loose and a single fault like that could ruin all the records he was supposed to collect. Given the limited space in the shuttle's interior, there hadn't been room to install backup systems, so every piece of equipment had to function correctly or he would risk losing valuable data.
Had anyone from Earthforce seen inside the shuttle, then they would possible have recognised the main console as similar to the systems that ran battle simulations everyone went through during their time at the academy. However, instead of placing the pilot into a projected artificial simulation, this machine projected a real event into a simulation so it could be recorded and viewed later. This was where Anderson would watch the coming events, making sure that everything went to his superior's liking.
Finally satisfied that all of his equipment had made it through the trip from Mars safely Anderson put aside his tools and began to active the main systems. Sitting in the chair of the projection system, he switched it on and scanned around local space. Unknown to the Rasputin's crew and Captain, the telepath had tapped into the cameras and sensors that covered the warships outer skin. Using the warship's own systems, he was able to see anything that the crew on the bridge of the warship could view.
Right now, all he could see was the Captain's shuttle plunging towards the planets atmosphere far below and the hulking shapes of the two troops transports off in the distance. There was no sign of the other warships, but Anderson assumed they were out of sight around the other side of the planet just now, recalling they had been assigned to patrol Proxima III until their departure. He wondered if their absence would be an issue for what was planned, but then decided that it would make little difference. After scanning around space a little more until he was satisfied that he was familiar enough with the system's controls, he switched it off and turned to the interstellar communications array.
Late last night, while most of the crew had been asleep, Anderson had snuck back into the shuttle bay and attacked a link to one of the Rasputin's main computer cables. It was fortunate for him that the cable ran almost directly beneath the shuttle bay as it carried data from the warship's sensors up to the bride. With the codes supplied by Kiel's associates it had not taken long to hack into the data line and he now had almost full access to all the same data that the Rasputin's crew received, as well as the warship's communications antennae. Typing in the frequency he had been given Anderson sat back and waited for the connection to be made.
Because of the distance to the recipient of his signal, currently little more than a few hours travel in real space, there was an almost instantaneous connection, and Anderson was rewarded for his efforts by the sight of the Centauri captain on his screen. The Centauri appeared tired to the telepath, perhaps the strain of avoiding detection by the Earthforce ships was beginning to tell.
"What is the password?" the Centauri captain asked in a voice that was nearly as tired and worn as his face. Anderson got the distinct impression that this Centauri was not a true believer in their cause, his mind just did not seem to be on the task he was appointed to carry out.
"Clark falls but the company survives," Anderson supplied.
"You must be Mr. Anderson then," The Centauri continued, his voice still sounding uninterested in the proceedings. "Are you ready to proceed?"
"Yes," Anderson replied. "You release the hounds when ever you are ready."
The Centauri captain nodded, touching a control out of sight of Anderson. "They will arrive in about four hours and are programmed not to fall into enemy hands so even if they are disabled in combat they will be destroyed. I assume you will be watching."
Anderson nodded. "That is correct. The operation will be monitored fully from this end."
"Very well. I wish you luck then Mr. Anderson." The communication was suddenly cut off as the Centauri captain pulled the plug at the other end.
Anderson switched off the communication system and sat back. All he had to do now was wait until their test subjects arrived and then the fun would begin. Thinking about what was about to happen he counted himself lucky he was on board the biggest warship around the planet and not on the surface or on one of the smaller Omega class destroyers because when the test began things around Proxima were going to get very interesting indeed.
Proxima III is usually described as a desert world, but beneath the surface were vast reservoirs of water that Earth scientists concluded were the last remnants of an ancient system of seas and oceans that had once covered the planet's surface. Why they vanished the scientists were unable to explain, but in a few places water still came to surface and occasionally even produced a small lake or spring fed stream. One of these places was right beneath the gleaming metallic structure that was Reagan Dome, the capital city of the Proxima system.
When the first Hyperspace capable survey ships sent from Earth arrived in the system they had landed close to the very spot where the dome now sat and after only a day of surveying the surrounding they found the spring that was much later to become the water supply for a city of nearly three hundred thousand. In that spring they also discovered primitive life, carbon based life forms similar to those on Earth and that single discovery was the primary reason the planet was chosen as the site for Earth's first interstellar colony.
Of course, they were not to know about the other life forms that lived in the more remote regions of the planet and beneath its rocky surface, creatures a lot more dangerous than even the largest predators found on Earth. When the first colonists arrived in early 2164, they soon found out about the monstrous predators that roam the deserts and there were many deaths before humanity eventually triumphed over the beasts of Proxima, or at least learned how to avoid them, and the colony was born.
Over the nearly one hundred years since the planet was settled the population expanded rapidly as Earth's government offered concessions for anyone who wanted to leave the overcrowded homeworld and settle in this new colony. With a young and hardworking labour force and land to spare the heavy industry that had so polluted Earth in the past soon followed the colonists, many setting up their factories on Proxima.
This industry is what made Proxima such an important planet now. Almost half of the Earth Alliance's largest mining and manufacturing corporations had their headquarters in the Proxima system, most taking advantage of the lower tax rate levied there. During the civil war, Proxima III was the first planet Clark's forces tried to retake, and during the liberation, it was the first Sheridan freed. Both leaders had known that whoever had control of the planet would likely win the war, as neither side could continue fighting for long without the parts for weapons and ships that came from Proxima III's factories, not to mention the food from the vast protein factories that supplied nearly a quarter of the Alliance.
This is mind it did surprise some when the people of Proxima rejected the offer of independence in the recently held referendum. Of all the worlds in the Earth Alliance, it was perhaps the most capable of independence, with a breathable atmosphere and strong economic ties with other worlds. The offer of lower taxes by acting president Susanna Luchenko, who knew to lose the Proxima system was to lose any chance of regaining government for her party, was enough to swing the people of the planet behind the no vote. Instead, the planet now had a new semi-autonomous status, which really meant that little had changed. To most, the only significant change to Proxima is that the people would now elect a president to represent them in the Alliance senate, rather than have a governor appointed by Earth.
Right now, that president, the newly elected Jan Mitrovic, was guiding Susan Ivanova and the rest of the Earthforce officers from the shuttle landing strip toward the gigantic dome that housed the capital city. Reagan Dome was built atop a small hill that rose out of the rocky desert and while the atmosphere of the planet was breathable by humans, the dome was built to protect the city's population from the fierce dust storm that occasionally raged across the desert world. In the distance, past tall dunes of reddish sand Susan could see a range of jagged hills, which shone brightly with reflected sunlight in the slowly darkening landscape. In the other direction, the sun had just dropped below the horizon, and as Susan knew from the information Earthforce had given her about the planet that meant the temperature was about to drop, very sharply.
Still the president and his party did not seem to concerned about the coming cold night, and were instead walking leisurely towards the dome, while at the same time pointing out the major sites. Susan had tried to keep interested, but she could only look at so many factories before she was bored. Most of the structures the president pointed out looked much the same to her, so instead she looked around on her own, while at the same time nodding pleasantly whenever the president spoke to her.
The president himself was hardly the great revolutionary leader she had imagined, in fact she had been quite shocked when he called her on the Rasputin earlier. She had expected a much younger man, not the short, ageing man who had greeted her. He had the look of a business executive and not a freedom fighter, and when he spoke that impression only grew stronger. He wasn't exactly a very fit man either, and he was puffing slightly from the exertion of walking the short distance they had travelled from the shuttle landing strip. While she could understand him wanting to give her a tour of his planet, she did wonder why they hadn't just taken the shuttle train from the landing strip into the city, it would have been much easier.
Susan looked at him with a little concern wondering if he was going to survive the still long walk to the city. Looking up, the city actually had not seemed to come any closer, the size of the dome that covered it skewing her sense of distance. Fortunately for Mitrovic's health, he didn't intend on walking all the way overland to the city. Instead, he stopped outside a low building a short distance from the landing strip.
"We have arranged transport to the new Earthforce headquarters," he said as he pointed towards the building.
"Isn't it in the city?" asked Captain James, the commander of the Apollo.
The President shook his head and look somewhat apologetically at the small group of officers in front of him. "I am afraid not, there was no room for the structure that Earthforce wanted. So we had to build it away from the city, but don't worry there will soon be a proper transport system from Reagan to the new fortress."
Susan nodded with bored disinterest, until she noticed for the first time the tracks leading away from the building off into the desert, and realised that whatever transport the President had arranged it was land based, not a shuttle or similar vehicle as she had first thought. "Why didn't we just take our shuttle there?" she asked, slightly annoyed at the delay. She wasn't happy about the whole ceremony idea to start with and now it looked like it was going to take even longer than she had imagined.
"Umm, well the hanger we put aside for shuttle landings isn't ready yet either, and neither is the landing strip. We have haven't really had time to finish most of the structure yet, it will a couple of months at least before it is fully operational." The President stopped as a horrible growling noise came from the low structure in front of them. A large, ugly looking vehicle leapt out of it's garage and screeched to a stop beside them, it's tracked wheels throwing sand in all directions, including over its future passengers. Brushing off the sand, Mitrovic continued, "so instead we have arranged for you to use one of our crawlers.
The vehicle was still making a lot of noise, but the volume had decreased a lot as it sat idling waiting for it's passengers. "I hope it is soundproofed inside," Captain James grumbled as the President hustled everyone up the ladder into the main cabin of the crawler.
In fact, despite the external appearance of the vehicle, it was quite pleasant inside, with cushioned seats and heating. Susan took a seat near one of the windows so she could watch the planet's surface passing by. In fact it was growing too dark to see much at all, but the regions near the factories were floodlit so she would be able to see something as they travelled towards the new Earthforce base.
President Mitrovic was the last on board, shutting the exterior door behind him. "Well I hope you are all comfortable," he said as he took his seat at the front of the cabin. When there was a murmur of agreement, he nodded as if pleased and gave the driver the order for their trip to begin.
The cabin lurched as the crawler set off toward the base, but after it had picked up speed, the ride soon smoothed out considerably. Susan looked around the cabin to see where the rest of her party was sitting. Major Logan was sitting next to the Apollo's Captain and the President, just in front of Susan and the other two destroyer captains, while Talia, Lieutenant-Commander Schmitt and Dr. Kozlowski were sitting on the other side of the cabin from Susan. The rest of the passengers had taken seats to the rear of the cabin. She noticed that Kozlowski still had the same device that he had been playing with earlier, some sort of diagnostic tool by the look of it.
Sighing softly at the way Talia's blonde hair looked so beautiful against the dark window behind her, Susan dragged her eyes away and instead tried to concentrate on the landscape that was speeding past her window. For some reason, the sandy dunes and rough, broken rocks rushing past outside were strangely hypnotic and the hour-long trip to the base passed almost unnoticed.
Before Susan knew it the sand had given way to a gently sloping, rocky hillside as the crawler made its way up to the fortress the Proxima government was constructing to house the twenty thousand Earthforce troops that were to being assigned to protect the planet. She hadn't known what to expect, but the sight of tall wall of stone was certainly wasn't how she imagined the base would look like.
It wasn't until she was inside that Susan realised how the place had been built. Somehow the construction team had managed to carve out the inside a gigantic chunk of rock that rose out of the desert. The Earthforce base had been built inside of this mountain of rock, providing it with better protection than any concrete or steel structure would have. Susan was immediately reminded of the Narn capital with its tall stone fortresses. Most of those were gone now, destroyed in the Centauri mass driver bombardment, but when they had still stood, Susan imagined that they must have looked much like this fortress.
"Pretty impressive is it not Captain," President Mitrovic said as he noticed her interest.
"Very," she replied softly, slightly in awe at the sight that now greeted her. Beyond the wall, or rather the cliff face, the crawler had rumbled through a long, well lit, tunnel. Before long it arrived in a gigantic, multi-levelled hanger that seemed to be the heart of the whole fortress. Three other similar tunnels ran off in the other compass directions, while around her was collected an array of vehicles, including at least six other crawlers and a row of Thunderbolt fighters that to be brand new.
Their crawler slowly pulled up next to what looked like a lift and as soon as it had stopped Mitrovic got to his feet and said, "This is our stop, everyone off." He then took the lead, opening the door and climbing down the ladder leading out of the cabin.
The Earthforce officers soon followed, out into the slightly chilly hanger. Susan was struck by how quiet the place was now that the crawler's engine had been switched off. The hanger appeared empty, apart from the silent shapes of other vehicles. The President however did not stand around long enough for her to get a good look though, quickly hustling everyone into the nearby lift.
The doors opened into what appeared to be almost another world. Gone was the dim chill of the hanger and in its place a large, warm, and well-lit room filled with people and life. Looking around Susan realised that they must be somewhere near the top of the fortress. She could see windows lining every wall, real windows too, not holographic facsimiles like on her ship. The room was large, but no where near as big as the hanger below so the mountain that the fortress had been carved out of must grow a lot narrower the higher it went.
An officer in the brown of the Earthforce ground troops spotted their arrival and made his way across the crowded room to meet them. As he approached, Susan saw that his uniform bore the insignia of a Colonel, and realised that this must be the commander of the new base, Colonel Kroehn. Although effectively the same rank as Susan and the other destroyer captains, he had been given command of the system's defence, which meant that Susan would have to answer to him during the time the Rasputin was here in the Proxima system.
As he made his way through the crowded room, Susan took the time to appraise her new commander. He looked about fifty or so, with thinning brown hair that retained most of its colour and with a neatly trimmed beard. Somehow, he seemed to lack presence though. Someone had once told her that when she was in C&C on Babylon 5 she commanded by her very presence. She didn't really believe that, but no matter what she might have thought about herself, she could not imagine Colonel Kroehn ever leading people that way. He had the look of a politician more than a military leader, although considering the sensitive nature of his new posting that was probably understandable.
Still, he had a charming voice as he welcomed her and the other guests to the party. His greeting was brief though as he turned his attention to the President and guided him aside for a private chat, leaving Susan and her party to mingle with the rest of the guests. This really was what Susan hated most about these events. She didn't know anyone in the room, but by the lack of Earthforce uniforms, she assumed they were probably important political and economic leaders from Proxima.
Several of the guests recognised Susan and greeted her warmly, greetings she returned as briefly as possible. One of the guests, the owner of one of the major mining companies, insisted on dragging her around to meet all of his friends for nearly half an hour until finally she managed to escape. Free for a few moments, she picked up a drink from a waiter's tray and looked around the room for the rest of party from the Rasputin.
It took her a while to spot everyone in the constantly shift mass of humanity, but eventually she managed to locate her crewmembers. Major Logan was engaged in a very animated discussion with a small group of Earthforce officers, the only others in the room apart from the Colonel and the group that had arrived with Susan. She at least was happy, and so was Nathan Kozlowski who was ignoring the party around him and was still busy concentrating on his work, or whatever he had been doing all day with that diagnostic tool he was still fiddling with.
Then she spotted the President and Alister Schmitt who were on the far side of the room talking with Colonel Kroehn and two of the other destroyer captains, to whom she still hadn't been introduced. Deciding to remedy that situation Susan set out through the crowd, slightly urgently when she noticed the mining magnate, who's name she couldn't remember, heading towards her again.
She was only half way across the room however when a hand snaked out of the crowd and gripped her wrist. "There you are Captain," Talia said in a silky voice. "I have been looking forward to getting you alone. We have so much to chat about after all."
"We have nothing at all to discuss," Susan said coldly, while inside her heart fought with her mind. The telepath looked even more beautiful than ever tonight, dressed in a long emerald green dress that Susan though really set off her blonde hair nicely. It was a style she had not seen on Talia before but then this was not really Talia, she had to remind herself again.
Talia laughed, a cold laugh that shattered any lingering illusions Susan might have had about her. "You really should learn to get over what happened in the past Captain." While still holding Susan's arm in a vice like grip Talia reached up with her other hand and gently stroked the Captain's cheek. Her voice dropped to a low whisper that barely carried above the noise of the other conversations in the room. "I mean there is no reason we can't still be friends. It was me, after all, who bought us together before. If it hadn't been for me whispering in her ear then she would have never ended up in your arms, and you can't say you didn't enjoy that. I do have her memories remember."
"You are not Talia though," Susan said as she tugged her arm free. "You are just a Psi-Corp monster that controls her body. You don't remember what we had together, there is no way you can imagine what I felt."
Talia smiled. "I know you still love her Captain." She laughed again. "It is really quite pathetic to think that after all this time you still can't forget, put the past behind you. If you would like perhaps I could make you forget. Psi-Corp has some good techniques for erasing old, unwanted memories." Talia slowed her words as she finished the sentence almost spelling out the last three words and leaving Susan in doubt what memories, or rather what personality, she was talking about erasing.
Susan looked angrily at the creature in front of her. "Just because I still feel for Talia does not mean that I have even the slightest feelings for you. I detest everything you have become, and I ever catch you trying to do anything in my mind I will stick you in the nearest airlock and open the doors myself."
"You wouldn't do that Captain so don't try that tired old threat on me. You are still a helpless romantic and think there is some way to bring your Talia back, don't you. Well let me assure you that she is dead and there is no way she will ever return." Talia slipped closer and ran her hand lovingly down Susan's arm. "That doesn't mean that you can't have with me what you had with her."
"You can't be serious," Susan said incredulously.
"Why not," Talia replied in a slightly hurt tone. "You still are a very attractive woman Captain, and as I said, I have the memories of our time together." She moved even closer and lowered her voice further. "You know Captain, I still remember everything about you, every little detail. What you like and dislike, where you like to be touched, what pleases you. I could give you more pleasure than you could possibly imagine."
"But you don't have all of Talia's memories do you," Susan said suddenly. "I know you don't. There is no way you remember everything that happened between us. If you did I wouldn't be here now." With that comment, she pulled away from Talia and left her standing in the middle of the room.
Staring after her with a slightly confused expression Talia wondered what she had meant by that last comment. She shrugged, thinking perhaps Anderson was right and Ivanova had really lost her mind. Certainly, it was plainly obvious the Captain was still in love with her. She had not missed all the little glances Susan had sent her way since she came aboard. As Anderson had predicted she was having the desired effect, leaving Susan distracted and therefore less likely to be able to prevent the Psi-Corp operative from performing his mission. She didn't know what that mission was but it must be important if Psi-Corp had been able to spare her from the research program.
Pleased with herself after her efforts tonight ,Talia left the room and wandered down the hall towards the bathrooms. To amuse herself she scanned the minds of those who were watching her, enjoying the lustful thoughts of group of older businessmen near the exit. She made sure to give them a little smile as she passed. 'After all,' she thought. 'There is no harm in keeping my options open.'
As Talia left the room, one person was watching her with less than pleasant thoughts. Major Lillian Logan had seen the way that the Captain had been upset by the telepath's comments, although she hadn't been close enough to actually hear what was being said. The Major, like most humans who lacked telepathic abilities of their own didn't really like telepaths, or Psi-Corp and the thought of the Captain being tormented by one did not leave a very good taste in her mouth at all.
She wasn't exactly sure if the telepath had been tormenting the Captain, but Susan certainly didn't seem happy by her words so that was close enough for Lily. Excusing herself from the small group of officers she had been chatting with, she made her way across the room towards the same hall Talia had just taken.
It took her sometime to cross the crowded room and by the time she made it to the bathroom door, the telepath was just about to leave. Lily stopped her with an upraised hand and pushed Talia back into the bathroom. Once out of sight of the main room, she shoved the telepath up against the wall and said fiercely, "now you listen to me you cold-hearted bitch. If I ever catch you annoying the Captain again you will answer to me."
Talia smiled, despite the fact that the Major was an experienced solider trained in the arts of war. "What ever happens between the Captain and me is nothing to do with you, Major Logan," she said calmly, seemingly undisturbed by the Lily's threat.
"I think it is," Lily said, her voice still carrying more than a hint of anger. "The Captain is not only a friend, but also my commanding officer and if you do anything to hurt her I will make you pay. We look after each other in Earthforce, not like you telepaths."
"I think the Captain is a big girl and can look after herself Major," Talia said, still smiling. "Personally I think you are just jealous. You are interested in find your own way into the Captain's bed and you don't like the competition."
Lily's eyes narrowed and pulled the telepath towards her and then pushed her away hard, so Talia was thrown across the room and onto the floor. Talia though didn't seem bothered though, as she picked herself up and smoothed out her dress. With an angry look still on her face, the Major began to approach Talia again. Whatever she had intended on doing though was put on hold as she felt an invisible hand punch her in the chest and throw her back against the wall behind her, her head cracking against the stone wall with a sickening thud.
Lying on the floor, bruised, and bleeding freely from a cut on her head, Talia walked quietly over to her side and looked down at her. "You really shouldn't threaten me Major. You don't understand what I am capable of."
Lily tried to pull herself to her feet, realising now that she had bitten off much more than she could chew this time. Before she could get up though, she felt something tighten around her throat. Her hands immediately leapt to her defence, but there was nothing solid there. Despite that fact, she was beginning to find breathing difficultly and her vision was starting to blur, almost as if someone was choking the life out of her.
Talia knelt beside the major, who had collapsed to the floor again, and said harshly, "Consider this a warning Major. If you ever threaten me again, I will do more than just shut off the air to your lungs. Next time I will crush every bone in your body, and don't think I can't do it. Psi-Corp has been training my abilities quite considerably over the past two years. If I wanted to I could crush you like I would an ant."
Then she was gone and Lily found she could breath again, although her throat still hurt as though someone had been crushing it in a vice. Clambering back to her feet she stared at the telepath's back with hatred in her eyes, as Talia headed back out into the crowded room. Reaching up to her head she realised that her hair was matted with fresh blood, and so was the wall and decided it might be a good idea to clean up a bit first, before someone else came into the room and thought someone had been murdered.
As she washed the blood from her hair and hands and tried to stop the cut on her head from bleeding, she made a vow never to take on the telepath again without at least a few of her men to back her up. It wasn't that she feared Talia, but anyone who could toss her across the room with just a thought deserved some respect. There was one thing she knew though, and that was that the telepath had to go, no matter what.
Susan leaned back against the wall next to one of the large windows that dominated the room. Outside it was now dark and she could see very little, except the bright lights of the city and the factories in the distance. Inside the party was in full swing, but she didn't really feel part of it. The encounter with Talia earlier had really set the tone for the evening and it had only worsened as the night had gone on.
After listening to the Colonel and the President drone on for nearly an hour about the new fortress, discussing the smallest unimportant details, she had drifted away. Their conversation still assaulted her ears from close by, but she was not close enough for their voices to rise too far above the background din of the rest of the room. Alister Schmitt had vanished from the group shortly after she had arrived, and after she had listened to the two leaders talk, she had soon found out why.
Snatching another glass off the tray, this one containing a local fruit juice, she had wandered away and sought solace by looking out into the dark night outside. Of course, by her internal clock, which was still aligned with the normal twenty-four hour cycle maintained on the Rasputin, it was not late enough to be night. In fact, back on the Rasputin and the other warships the time would have only been just after one in the afternoon, but on Proxima with its much longer day it was just entering the planet's sixteen hour night.
Hearing someone calling for the president, Susan turned away from the window and back to face the party, or the welcoming ceremony as the Mitrovic insisted on calling it. One of the President's aides, a man she remembered sitting in the rear of the crawler cabin during the trip to the fortress was rushing through the crowd of guests. He was in such a hurry that he bumped one of the waiters, spilling a tray of drinks all over the expensive dress of one businessman's date. Susan's almost laughed at the incident, but any amusement soon turned to concern though when she noticed the hurriedly whispered conversation going on between the aide and the President.
Sensing by the way the President's normal jovial face was growing increasingly alarmed that something important must have happened, she threaded her way past the small group of partygoers who separated her from the President. "What is going on," she asked as she reached the President's side.
President Mitrovic looked up from his conversation when Susan arrived, a visible look of relief on his face. "Captain, good I was just about to send someone to find you. It is terrible. You must do all you can to help us."
"I am sure I will Mr. President," she assured him. "Just as soon as you tell me what exactly is going on that is so terrible."
"Someone is attacking the planet," he said, an edge of desperation in his voice. "And I have all the business and political leaders from across the entire system here to tell them how safe I am keeping them. It is a tragedy. You must to do something to help us!"