CHAPTER 128: President
"Mr. President, these facts are in order.
"Six days ago, Japan picked up a unique signal in their neutrino telescope. It occurred a second time a couple of hours later. They have spent the last few days checking their instruments. There is nothing wrong with them.
"On cross-checking with NORAD I found that a satellite appeared in low orbit about the same time. It's kind of a weird satellite but there's no doubt it's there. A few hours later it moved into high orbit. The timing of its move corresponds with the second signal. Infrared monitoring indicates that it is being rolled every few hours to provide even sun exposure. It is not continuously rotating but is rotated every few hours at a fast rate. If its using normal RCS, the fuel consumption required to do so is very high, like whoever built this thing neither has a budget, nor knows what they are doing.
"At the same time, somebody was buying up diving pressure suits in London. He didn't seem to want wetsuits or drysuits, but only pressure suits and tanks. It would appear he didn't want any helmets either but that doesn't sound right. Paid cash, and if the owner wasn't there, took the items and left cash on the floor.
"Five and a half days ago, Great Britain's ICBM early warning systems detected a missile in the boost phase over Great Britain tracking south-east as though launched into the correct orbital inclination to intercept the International Space Station. The instrument readouts appear to be wrong. It indicates nine stages were detected, with equal burn times, total energy output, and acceleration. At least one of those things cannot be correct.
"Approximately five days ago something happened on the space station. The occupants have turned off all the cameras and disabled the ground control and we have not been able to get useful information out of them. I have double-checked with Moscow, and they are furious. We should be prepared to extend asylum to the cosmonauts, but that is the least of our worries. The space station telemetry suggests that it has been resupplied by someone and currently has more occupants than expected.
"Our man did send one report claiming the space station is in no need of supplies anytime soon. Here I note he did not say it was resupplied, but only that it was not in need of supplies. He also reported there is some kind of fringe uprising in Great Britain that we should be looking into. I have made inquiry with the CIA and they have not yet responded with anything other then they are trying to get something on it. Somebody cold called me half an hour ago and tried to get some information out of me. Whoever it was knows that starship is there.
"At this time we know of no powers who can resupply the International Space Station but ourselves and the Russians. Neither have done so.
"A few hours ago Japan picked up the signal again. Mr. President, this signal can only be one possible thing: an antimatter power source, and given its rate tracking across the sky, it is certainly moving faster than light. NORAD indicates something detached from the space station yesterday, drifted for about half an orbit, then left in a straight line. This corresponds with the third signal.
"The data supports only one conclusion. There is a fringe group within Great Britain, and it is at war with itself, has obtained space launch capability, has some way of masking its existence on or near the ground, and does not regard us as a threat. We must now regard them as a potential threat because they have some way of obtaining large amounts of antimatter. We don't know who they are yet and they aren't interested in talking."
"Get me the astronaut" the president said.
A phone was produced. It took a few minutes to get the astronaut on the other end.
"I have received an extensive report involving someone unexpected with launch capability and an antimatter drive of some kind. Is there anything you would like to tell us?"
"I have the schematics for a warp drive and have seen it work."
"Find a way to get us copies on the ground."
"Yes, sir!"
"Thank you." Click.
"Mr. Williams, our man says he has schematics for a warp drive. In your opinion is this consistent with the evidence."
"It is, but it still doesn't make a ton of sense. In any case, I wouldn't pass up an opportunity to get schematics of a working warp drive either."
"If those schematics check out I'll have to write him a pardon for AWOL. Pull the CIA. See if you can find out anything about that fringe group. The last thing we want is the KGB getting there first."
Lord Voldermort was fuming mad and casting Crucio with the slightest provocation, so the death eater was trembling when he brought the news. "The CIA has been called down upon our heads. I don't think you wanted to fight all the world so soon."
But this Voldermort is not capricious. "Watch your bearing mister. But you are right, it is far too soon. We stick to the old rules. Obliviate is our best weapon as it was for the ministry before we arrived. Your saving grace is that it was Moody who leaked knowledge of us and not any of you."
Bellatrix Black had only now returned. With St. Mungo's in hand, getting her fitted with an artificial arm was an easy matter. It was time. Mad- Eye and his companions were going down. Harry Potter was the only wildcard, but they had faced off before and Harry lost.
"Lord Voldermort, I have something to add."
"Proceed Mr. Bronze."
"Mad-Eye Moody has recently gained the ability to sustain transfiguration permanently, or at least for days. That starship wasn't constructed, it was transfigured."
"Crucio." Three seconds later, "You can't transfigure something that does not exist. Everybody knows this."
"They don't have one. Nobody's got one. Nobody knows how. I've tried to get news of such a thing from the muggle world, everybody thinks its science fiction."
"You've got guts at least. Now go, and search again. I don't want to hear it until you've got an answer."
Bellatrix spoke. "I found some traces from the silly guards at the ministry. They had occulemency barriers. Nothing Bellatrix can't handle. They know something's up. A muggle has a phoenix and appears to be the leader of the group. That muggle, see, he doesn't have any occulemency barriers. One of them had a quick look in his mind. He thinks he invented the starship. That silly muggle also thinks someone can transfigure part of an object and so have the transfiguration stick. But how can a wizard transfigure part of an object?"
"I heard tell of a first year student who cut the inner wall of Azkaban."