Lunar Module Two-Nine, en route to Moonbase
Two minutes later
Mobile One lifting off, SID reported, now en route to Moonbase.
"Dear God," Kelly mused hopefully, "we might actually pull this off."
But as he would later record in his own Commander's Journal, "I really should've known better. The events of the next few seconds made me swear never to harbour an optimistic SHADO-related thought ever again!"
Nyquist suddenly winced and put a hand to his head. Kelly noticed and turned to him concernedly. "What is it?"
"I...am not sure...something..." He winced again. "Something is wrong..."
And then things got about as wrong as they could.
RED ALERT! RED ALERT!
"What the -?"
SID repeated urgently, RED ALERT! UFO on positive track! Trajectory termination: Lunar surface - coordinates One-Two-Seven, Three-Zero-Nine! Predicted target: envoy UFO! All stations, RED ALERT!
"Where the hell did it come from?!" Kelly yelled in shock. He rapidly checked the LM's scanners; sure enough, there it was.
It hadn't been there a few seconds ago. Or had it? Dear God, have they improved their stealth tech? This is the Harmony Incident all over again -!
Unknown, SID reported. He could swear it sounded tense as it continued, UFO holding at twenty kilometres above envoy UFO. Attention: envoy UFO now lifting off.
"No," Andrew moaned. "Please, no...!"
"Mobile Three to Moonbase! Confirm UFO is -"
A hellishly bright light suddenly illuminated the lunar sky.
Mobile Three's CO screamed as the actinic sun-bright glare destroyed his retinas.
So did Nyquist. He reared up in his seat, clutching his head, and fell writhing to the deck, still screaming.
"Interceptors - move in! Return fire!" Kelly roared.
"Engaging!" Harmony answered tensely. "Sabrina, you're closest! Nail that bastard!" she spat.
The envoy UFO made barely ten metres above the lunar surface before the bolt of fire lanced down like the vengeance of Zeus. It didn't stand a chance; the energy bolt tore it apart. The tremendous explosion took out Mobile Two and its crew, except for Lieutenant Marks...that is, she didn't die in the explosion proper. Her suit was torn by a fragment of débris, and she suffocated and died in agony before she could apply a repair patch - not that she could have done so with an arm shattered by the same fragment that tore her suit. Mobile Three was hit and badly damaged, the pilot killed; without retinal transplants its CO, Mike Anders, would never see again.
They were hardly the last casualties of the day.
Interceptor Two avenged the dead; a single missile dispatched the attacking UFO, which had begun pursuit of Mobile One. "Oh no you don't, you treacherous fuckers!" Sabrina yelled furiously.
Moonbase, Control Sphere
Two seconds after the envoy UFO's destruction
As Gay watched aghast, trace after trace began appearing on the tracker. Where are they all coming from?!
Even SID could barely keep pace. UFO attack group detected on course Zero-Nine-Seven, One-Three-Four, Red, speed SOL 7. Second group detected on course Three-Two-Nine, One-Eight-Six, Blue, speed SOL 8. Third group detected on course Two-Two-Two -
"I hope that wasn't a stutter," Joan muttered darkly, with bleak humour.
- Two-Three-Seven, Green, speed SOL 8.1. Predicted group targets as follows:
Group designated Alpha: Moonbase. Recommend immediate launch of Beta and Gamma Flights.
Group designated Beta: this satellite. Onboard defences now armed. Request immediate response from Alpha Flight,SID added on its own initiative, following its prime directive (facetiously described in the source code comments as SMA, or 'the Save My Ass plea').
Group designated Gamma: Earth. Be advised: Interceptors are out of range! Closest Skydiver to Estimated Trajectory Termination: Skydiver One. Skydiver Four is close enough to ETT to assist in ten minutes if maximum velocity is maintained. Skydivers Two, Three and Five, stand by. Predicted target: SHADO HQ.
Alert: Beta is dividing. Group now designated Beta-One, predicted target still this satellite. Group designated Beta-Two: now closing on Lunar Module.
COMMAND ALERT OVERRIDE - Commander McAllister is in danger! COMMAND ALERT OVERRIDE, it repeated urgently. Intercept priority to Beta-Two immediately!
"Control to Alpha Flight," Gay commanded tensely, "alter course to Three-Two-Six, One-Nine-Zero, Blue - accelerate to SOL 4.1 and go for intercept. Control to Beta Flight: immediate launch. Gamma Flight: immediate launch."
As per SHADO protocol, if only one Interceptor flight was launched they were simply One, Two and Three. If more than one was spaceborne, the Greek prefix was added to distinguish them.
Beta Flight set a new launch record of sixty-eight seconds; so did Gamma, for a follow-up launch, of seventy-five seconds. Even as Beta Flight was lifting off the pads, Gay was rapping out new courses. It wasn't until later that it was realised she'd computed them, impossibly, in her head, before SID or the Moonbase computers could. The only reason she wasn't promoted for her actions - particularly those of the next few hours - was that given her place in the SHADO hierarchy, any promotion would have resulted in her displacing Alec Freeman or Paul Foster...
Lunar Module Two-Nine, en route to Moonbase
ETA 16 minutes
"W - what should I do, Commander?" the petrified pilot quavered, as the approach radar showed three bogies closing on them with alarming rapidity. He was only two months out of flight school, Kelly knew, and as a module pilot he'd probably never really expected ever to come under attack; for some reason the Aliens generally didn't bother with Lunar Modules - the Maddox Incident was very much an exception, as it had formed part of a larger strategy. But while Kelly fully understood and sympathised with his fear, he also couldn't take the time to mollycoddle the lad.
He would man up now, or he never would.
Unfortunately, there was really only one answer to Matthews' question. Kelly smiled bleakly. "Just stay on course," he replied calmly. "There's no point trying to evade; this isn't exactly an Interceptor you're flying. If you try, you'll most likely crash us. This crate isn't even armed. ETA?"
"Um, sixteen minutes, sir. I could accelerate -" the pilot suggested hopefully.
"No," Kelly shook his head, "no point. But we're not totally helpless." He simply had to grin at the expression of insane hope, à la Rincewind, that lit up the kid's face as he finished, "There's always the Interceptors."
Interceptor Alpha-One
Midway between Moon and SID
With the decisiveness noted by her instructors from day one, Harmony took the initiative. Something had to be done, she knew, or the Commander was toast. The LM was a big fat juicy target; there was no way it could evade. The Aliens would have to be mentally defective not to go for it, what with the Commander being aboard the thing. "Alpha Leader to Flight: I'm breaking formation! Two and Three: continue on course and engage group Beta-One!" she ordered determinedly even as she peeled off. "Protect SID at all costs! I'm goin' after Beta-Two!"
"We don't have orders for that, Harmony," Sabrina protested, "and you don't, either!"
"No-one's got time to give 'em," Harmony retorted, "so as your flight leader I'm orderin' you! Move that gorgeous spankable ass, you sexy bitch!"
"Two to Leader: Roger." Even in the midst of a battle for their lives and for the Earth, Sabrina couldn't help thinking: I knew she fancied me...yay!
She was right, too, as she would later discover to her delight, and utterly contrary to regulations, to wit: one SHADO officer (Harmony) striking - well, spanking - another (Sabrina). Needless to say, that wasn't the only breach of regulations which occurred...
"Three to Leader: Acknowledged. Good luck, One," Ingrid called.
"Luck is not a factor, not with these beauties we're flyin'. Pour it on, girls - Ludicrous Speed!"
Matching actions to words, she tightened the ICD field to near-maximum density, opened up her photon drive's throttle and gunned it for all it was worth. The resulting flare of light was later seen from Earth.
("Just a lens flare," was the official verdict delivered to the small group of amateur astronomers who saw it, "you were looking too close to the Sun."
"Yeah, right," they muttered sourly to themselves.)
Lunar Module Two-Nine, en route to Moonbase
ETA 12 minutes
"Commander," the pilot trembled, "we - we have incoming confirmed, ETA two minutes."
"You'll forgive me if I don't act surprised," Kelly couldn't resist. "Hold your course, son."
"How can you be so calm, sir?!" the kid cried, losing what little cool he had left. "We're gonna die here!"
"No, you're not," a voice suddenly sounded cheerily over the radio. "They're mine, peeps!"
"That's how," Kelly smiled, placing a reassuring hand on Matthews' shoulder. In truth he was nowhere near as calm as he appeared, but that was par for the course. It would, he knew, be close...
C'mon, Harmony, get in range already and nail those bastards!
Interceptor Alpha-One
Closing for attack on Group Beta-Two
The 3-D targeting scope brought up the UFOs and the LM, projecting them on the cockpit's HUD. The LM's image was blinking an IFF, of course, so the targeting computer dismissed it. Crosshair lines of light lined up on the lead UFO along its x-, y- and z-axes as Harmony rapidly trimmed the Interceptor's course, zeroing in.
They crossed and turned red as the scanners locked on; her missiles automatically armed. Without hesitation, Harmony fired.
Eat hot nuclear death, alien scum!
The nuke detonated on impact, and the UFO exploded instantly. The second UFO veered clear of the detonation barely in time and returned fire, but the flurry of energy bolts was wasted on the decoys Harmony had simultaneously launched. She, however, did not waste her shot, nailing the UFO dead centre. She grinned in fierce delight.
The third UFO attempted a spinning breakaway manoeuvre, trying to duck around the LM to use her as cover - but to Harmony's surprise the LM suddenly jack-knifed, standing on her nose and twisting to port on her longitudinal axis...briefly giving her a clear line of fire. The pilot was obviously trying to help her out, a gesture she sorely appreciated, but the UFO was too close to the LM for missiles.
However, she had another ace up her sleeve...for she was flying a Command Interceptor.
The concept was brand new, courtesy of one Gay Bradley, involving the necessary sacrifice of two nuclear missiles and a few percentage points of delta-V in exchange for a rather nasty holdout - which Harmony now deployed. Ooh, you're not gonna like this, boys, she thought with savage, excited relish, not one bit - but I sure as hell am! She'd been looking forward to this ever since she'd received word of the wonderful new thing the techs had done to her beloved Interceptor on Mum's orders.
She switched to the brand-new beam weaponry and opened fire with the Hardbeam-4 Laser Lance, designed and manufactured by Westinghouse-General Dynamics, mounted on her Interceptor's tail fin. The hard, hot blue beam it generated possessed sufficient power to initiate nuclear fusion, and struck before the UFO had time to evade.
To Harmony's joy it carved the UFO as a brand-new scalpel might slice the tenderest Sunday roast lamb, whatever shielding the Alien craft possessed proving utterly useless against the Hardbeam-4's raw power.
As the wreck tumbled away from the LM, trailing fire and débris and proving beyond question the effectiveness of the Hardbeam-4 the very first time it had been deployed in actual combat, she grinned and executed a victory roll as she flashed past the LM. Cheers sounded over the comnet. "Anythin' else I can do for you, Commander?"
"You could tidy up a bit," Kelly laughed in faux criticism, well pleased with her performance, marksmanship and especially her initiative, "that was sloppy! It didn't even explode!"
At that moment, what remained of the UFO abruptly and obligingly detonated with a white flash. Harmony grinned again, thumbing her pert nose at the LM, if only they could've seen it. "There ya go, sir."
"Good work, Pilot, and thanks," Kelly told her, the moment of levity over. "Rejoin your squadron; they're going after SID."
"Not if I can help it, sir," Harmony intoned grimly. "Those fuckers are goin' down!"
Moonbase, under attack from Group Alpha
Ten minutes later
"Tank Two: attack vector One-Six-Five, Two-Zero-Nine, Green," Gay ordered fiercely, while Moonbase shook under multiple impacts. Two laser emplacements (both unmanned, thankfully) had already been hit and disabled. "Elevation three-five degrees. Free fire!"
"Tank Two, roger that. Firing," was Henry Osborne's reply as Tank Two's commander.
He let loose with two missiles and a laser shot; one UFO vanished in a blaze of flame. Two more split up and returned fire, tearing up the lunar landscape all around the tank and pelting it with débris. One descended too low; a laser emplacement on the outskirts of Moonbase instantly picked it up, pivoted with smooth machine precision, locked on and destroyed it with a single blast. Very little débris remained to rain slowly down onto the Moon's surface.
Like the turbolasers of the Death Star, upon which their design had been based, the laser emplacements could fire at almost any elevation relative to the Moon's surface, even zero degrees, though of course they were equipped with interrupter templates to prevent them accidentally firing on each other or Moonbase.
(They could thank Brian Daley for mentioning that design innovation in his novel Han Solo At Stars' End and giving Kelly the idea.)
Attention, Moonbase Control, SID announced, Lunar Module on final approach - commit in sixteen seconds. Alert: UFOs closing in.
"Control to LM: engage manual control. Tank One, Gamma Flight: covering fire, now!"
"Leader to Control: Roger," Mark responded, as the Interceptors arrowed down towards Moonbase, where the LM was even now coming in to land...with energy bolts blazing all around her. She hadn't been hit yet because Moonbase's laser emplacements were doing a good job of keeping the constantly-weaving UFOs at bay, if proving unable to hit the damn things.
Tank One's commander didn't bother taking the time to acknowledge Gay's order, having been a U.S. Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant in his earlier life. Instead he simply got on with the job at hand, and shortly two UFOs were crashing to the ground and exploding, their guts carved out by the tank's deadly accurate (and manually-aimed!) laser fire. A third scored a hit, damaging the armour, but Interceptor Gamma-Two took a hand, levelling out and blasting it sideways. Tank One had deliberately refrained from firing at that particular UFO as it would've come down on top of Moonbase, showing the cool judgement expected of a Marine Corps Gunny.
"Nice shot, Two," the former Gunnery Sergeant complimented Lew.
"Pretty good yourself, Gunny," Lew riposted, "all that USMC sniper training wasn't wasted."
The Gunny, one Leroy James Gibson, grinned. He'd been rated High Expert with everything from a .22 popgun to the latest General Dynamics needlebeamer (though he preferred high-velocity rounds, old-school as he was); Kelly had wanted to jump for joy when the opportunity came up to recruit the man, feeling (correctly, as it turned out) he'd be ideally suited to serve as part of Moonbase's Ground Defence Force.
The combat injury he'd sustained to his right knee rendered him just unable, by a narrow but inarguable squeak, to meet USMC fitness standards, but those didn't apply on the surface of the Moon, with its one-sixth gee. He'd been offered the post almost as soon as he'd been discharged...and accepted almost before the recruiting officer could finish making the offer. Injury or not, he was a lifer and wasn't anywhere near ready to retire, and SHADO's offer meant he didn't have to.
Kelly felt only relief as his pilot made a hasty but surprisingly smooth landing. By the regulations he didn't need to say anything, but he felt the lad deserved it; for all his obvious and self-confessed terror he'd held it together, a tribute to the quality of his training and SHADO's personnel selection procedures. TAPS had got it right yet again. "Well done, Pilot," he nodded. "Talk about a baptism of fire, eh?"
"After this, sir," Matthews managed to quip shakily, "I think I'll get a job in a bank."
Kelly merely grinned and slapped him good-naturedly on the back. Only then did he remember Nyquist.
He was curled into a foetal ball on the deck, moaning softly, but uncurled like an armadillo at Kelly's gentle encouragement. "Come on, Andrew, we're outa here. We've landed."
"They're dead," Nyquist breathed barely audibly, tears streaming down his pale face, "I felt them die..."
"Get him to Medical, now," Kelly ordered as Moonbase personnel boarded the LM; gravity here was the Moon's natural one-sixth gee to facilitate easier takeoff, but they moved with trained ease. They gently helped Nyquist to his feet and nodded to the Commander. "Gay, what news do you have on Mobile One?"
"It's still approaching, Commander. No other UFOs have gotten close enough to attack it - though several have already tried."
"Suggesting that this was a genuine peace initiative and is now a bloody coup d'état," Kelly snarled. "They want to eliminate the envoy as a 'traitor', damn them! When Mobile One arrives, have it met by armed personnel - and let it in. Tank Three should be the closest; order them to give covering fire."
"Yes, sir," Gay answered.
SKY 1, engaging Group Gamma
189,000 feet above Britain and descending
Sancho Villez, Peter Carlin's protégé and successor, had no personal axe to grind with the Aliens. He'd never suffered losses of family or friends at their hands. That didn't stop him hating their guts (which, he mused angrily, they'd probably stolen from human victims) for all they'd done - especially today. This was supposed to be a peace mission, dammit, he fumed. We were supposed to be going home. Now...oh, the hell with it. "Targets in sight - engaging," was all he said. He opened fire immediately he came into range.
Two UFOs exploded together; a third fired in response. He barely evaded the blast and fired again, scoring a minor hit. To his surprise, the UFO dropped like a stone. So did others, which were still out of range of his missiles. "What the -?"
Yet again, SID exercised its AI-generated initiative and answered him. Trajectory termination: SHADO HQ. SKY 1, alter course to One-Two-Zero, Zero-One-Six, Red. SKY 4 closing on your position, ETA two minutes. Mobiles One, Two and Three: advise immediate deployment around SHADO HQ. Prepare for attack.
Sancho followed the UFOs down.
They seemed to be heading directly for SHADO HQ - until Gertrude Stein, Captain of Skydiver 4, put in a word... consisting of a pair of air-to-air missiles. These hit and destroyed the lead UFO.
"No closer, lads," Gertrude quipped. "If you want a piece of SHADO HQ, you've got to come through me!"
The second UFO fired, until Sancho took it out in similar fashion. "Nice shot, Gertrude," he sent.
"Not bad yourself. Oh, wait, they're splitting up - looks like we'll both have our hands full."
"At least until SKY 2, 3 and 5 get here," he answered. "Mobiles 1, 2 and 3: if any of them get past us, and there are a hell of a lot of them, they're all yours."
"Mobile 1 to SKY 1: Roger. We have the Mobile weapons, plus the new HW-17s. We're ready."
That, in fact, was putting it mildly. The CO of Mobile 1, Lieutenant Harry Morse, had had a similar background to Penelope, the difference being that he liked combat, the more violent the better. He'd ordered the other members of the Mobile crew to engage via the Mobile's weapons, while he had disembarked and was now powering up his HW-17. He was looking forward to trying it out; he'd heard from Penelope that it was a gun that meant business.
Before long he got the chance, as a group of UFOs had made it past SKY 1 and 4. As the first came into range, he fired before the Mobile did. With a roar the HW-17 did what its designers had intended it should. A UFO erupted spectacularly. Two more returned fire, but now Mobile 1 took a hand, and its missiles blew them apart.
But there were more UFOs, and they quickly identified Morse as a target, opening fire on his position before he could find cover. Another UFO was destroyed even as he was hit and vaporised. Ironically his last thought was: Fuck, this is LIFE!
Mobile 2's CO, Grace Carver, had had a thing for him, though he'd never known it. She sobbed, grieving for him, even as she opened fire and annihilated the UFOs which had killed him. Then the return fire hit Mobile 2.
All they saw was a tremendous flash; the blast of the impact was so loud they never heard it. But Mobile 2 had received a retrofit: the newest armour, which Phyllis hoped could withstand Alien firepower.
It did.
SKY 5 arrived at nearly Mach 4 and bought them a brief respite by taking out several UFOs at once. Shakily she asked her crew, "Is...is everyone okay?"
She received unsteady affirmation from each member. One, the most junior, quavered, "What...what the hell was that? Were we hit?"
Grace shuddered. "I think so. Phyllis will be pleased, she had high hopes for this new armour." She grinned and thumped a bulkhead. "Way to go, Phyllis!"
The junior wondered, "How come we got it and not Mobile 1? Wouldn't that be more logical?"
He wasn't to know it, but Grace had asked the exact same question when 2 received the new armour. She gave the same response the Commander had: "The Aliens understand logic even better than we do. So they'd be expecting Mobile 1 to be retrofitted first. That," she grinned again, "is why this Mobile was first."
"Oh. Crafty bugger, isn't he?"
"Hey," she chided, "that's the Commander you're talking about." He looked chastised, until she grinned a third time. "But yes, he is."
Then they were occupied with a new group of UFOs, and opened fire on them. As each UFO exploded, she thought savagely:
That one's for you, Harry!
They were hit again, but this time it was a glancing shot rather than a direct hit - and SKY 3, piloted by Maryam Chandrasegmavar, destroyed the UFO which had fired it.
"Shalom, Mobile 2," she called merrily as she flew past.
Moon Mobile One, under attack
En route to Moonbase
"Mobile One to Moonbase: holding course, under fire, ETA seventeen minutes - or less if I can manage it! Control, you need to have medical personnel standing by."
"Are you injured, Lieutenant?"
"No, Colonel, it's not me - there's something wrong with our...guest," she reported uneasily, glancing back. The Alien was swaying unsteadily in his seat, to the extent that she'd had to engage the restraints. His expression, as far as she could see it through the tinted visor and the green liquid, was...stricken. "I'm no doctor, but he looks ill. I thought I heard him scream a little while ago -"
"When the envoy UFO exploded?" Commander McAllister interjected suddenly.
"Um, yes, sir," Frost answered, wrenching the Mobile's controls as yet another energy bolt, a ranging shot, sought her out. But the attacking UFO was forced to pull away by an answering laser shot from Interceptor Beta-One which, like Harmony's, was a Command Interceptor. A second shot from Beta-One scored a hit; the UFO careered out of control and impacted against an outcrop of rock, detonating violently. Frost was suffused with sweat and had nearly wet herself again; that had been way too close.
Christ, it's no wonder the Commander asked for volunteers! They really want to kill this poor guy...and me!
"If that's a coincidence, I'll eat a Moon rock," he growled. "Make all possible speed, Lieutenant - forget the safety margins. That's an order."
Frost acknowledged and gunned the Mobile. Its flight computer queried the command; she keyed in an override. Immediately, to her surprise, the craft's velocity increased by nearly a third.
She realised abruptly why the Commander had ordered her to leave her crew behind - without them and their suits, the Mobile was somewhat lighter...and therefore capable of greater speed. He saw it coming, she marvelled, he's just like Straker - he knew this would happen!
(She was half right; he'd suspected the possibility of betrayal on the Aliens' side. The coup d'état was a favourite strategy of military bodies in the human world, too. That, of course, was why he'd asked for volunteers.)
Frost sent a silent prayer for her crew, left out there on the Moon's surface. They had plenty of Oh-Two, of course, and she'd be back for them in an hour or so...less, if possible...
Please let them make it okay, she begged of whomever, willing the Mobile to still greater speed.
She made it back to Moonbase in considerably less than seventeen minutes, but the moment she broke cover and sped over open ground towards the docking bay a UFO flashed down, energy weapons blazing, and this time she was sure they were going to die.
Frost was surprised how oddly calm she felt about that.
She had time to consider that she had no regrets per se. She'd had a good life before joining SHADO, and a better one since. She'd seen and done things most people couldn't even imagine, such as making love on the Moon with her naked body bathed in Earthlight, and now she was about to die only a few hundred miles from where men first walked on the surface of this new world - over 238,000 miles from her birthplace of Oxford. How many people could say that?
It could, she reflected, have been a hell of a lot worse. At least it would be quick...
She began a silent goodbye to her lovers - one serious on Moonbase and the other, more of a Friend With Benefits (a woman), serving in SHADO HQ. But it seemed Life wasn't done with her just yet, as it wasn't long before Tank Three brought the UFO down with a fusillade of laser and missile shots; it crashed and exploded just outside Moonbase's perimeter. Tiny pieces of débris rained down on her Mobile, creating an unnerving rattling sound. One particularly large fragment hit hard, denting the hull and causing a minor pressure leak.
God, that was really too close! Better get in there already!
Moonbase, Moon Mobile Docking Bay
Two minutes later
"Take him straight to Medical," was Commander McAllister's only comment to the medics. "Well done, Frost."
"Sir," she inquired, fearing the answer, "my crew?"
He hesitated, but she deserved the truth. He'd received word of their fate while she was en route; a small group of UFOs had picked up on an easy target and fired on Frost's crew en passant - they'd tried and failed to find cover in time. There were no survivors. "I'm...sorry, Abigail." Her face fell, stricken. "But I can tell you they went down fighting; they took out one UFO with their rocket launcher and damaged another - Gamma-Three finished it off."
"But...I...I left them behind..." she murmured, sounding dazed and near tears.
"By my order," Kelly insisted, squeezing her shoulder for emphasis and comfort. "It wasn't your fault. Don't even think of blaming yourself."
She would anyway, he knew too well. It was the price of command. Whatever happened to your subordinates was your fault, whether it was by a superior officer's orders or not. But she was inured to such losses; they all were. She'd punish herself for a while, realise she didn't deserve it, grieve in private and move on...as she had to.
As they would all have to...if they survived the day.
That was by no means certain - especially given what happened next.
SID reported suddenly:
Alert! New group of UFOs detected, estimated numbers eighty - repeat, eighty, eight-zero, UFOs incoming!
Understandable looks of utter horror and despair were exchanged between various personnel at this news, for all the tight discipline they were supposed to show. At least two broke down, and there were even screams.
Dear God, was Kelly's horrified thought as he arrived at Medical, there's no way we can fight off that many! They'll overwhelm us!
Is this the end...?
"Order all forces to regroup," Kelly ordered Gay, trying hard not to sound desperate even while knowing the battle - the war - hell, their world - was surely lost. "All Interceptors rearm at SID or Moonbase, whichever's closest! Hold them off as long as you can!" He found himself mentally echoing Captain Mifune as he and his fellow APC operators geared up for battle with the Machines: If it's our time to die, then it's our time. But if we have to give these bastards our lives, WE GIVE 'EM HELL BEFORE WE DO!
He nearly said it, too.
It was at that point that everything changed, forever.
"Wait!" Nyquist cried, struggling in the grip of the medics, one of whom was trying to sedate him. "Damn you, let me go! Commander, I can help! I CAN STOP THIS!" he cried, his voice rising almost to a scream.
"Hold it," Kelly ordered them tersely, raising a hand. "How?" he addressed Nyquist, not daring to hope.
"I sense some of the incoming forces are moderates, Commander," Nyquist informed him hurriedly, "though the military are not aware of that! They have been infiltrated! But I have one question for you: do you trust me?"
That was a hell of a question to ask at this juncture, surely!
But Kelly suddenly saw what he meant; telepathic communication was two-way...
If he was wrong, if Nyquist was a double agent or the military faction took control of him - even after all Nyquist had done in the cause of peace, Kelly still couldn't rule out either possibility - doubtless all the UFOs would attack and SHADO would surely be doomed...and Earth would be virtually defenceless.
Then again, without SHADO Earth was defenceless!
But if the military faction really didn't know about the moderates in their midst...
There was a reason why Ed had called it 'Project Hope'. That was what Kelly had to cling to.
He recalled his own words to the IAC:
"Risk all, to win all - or die trying!"
If ever there was a time to take a risk in the name of hope, it was surely now.
So he did.
His jaw set. "Do it." And if I'm wrong, he growled to himself, drawing his concealed sidearm, you die first, pal.
Nyquist got the message even without reading Kelly's mind; he nodded soberly. He stiffened, and his face screwed up in utter concentration and apparent pain. Once or twice he nodded, as if addressing someone only he could see. His hands moved jerkily. Finally he sighed, with sweat streaming down his ashen face and blood trickling from one nostril. His gaze hardened, fixed on Kelly as he spoke just one word:
"Now."