Chapter 5

A Visit Home

Eddy skimmed the water on the course Jacob gave them. He kept the speed low enough to avoid a sonic boom and hoped no one was looking out to sea where they flew. The highway bridge was exactly as Jacob had said it would be. Eddy focused the ship monitor at the bridge, put the computer in control of course adjustments, and slowed their speed by half. All three held their breath as they flashed under the bridges so fast that their passage was a barely noticeable flicker.

"There's the theory of relativity for you," Leona said letting her breath out as she watched Eddy adjust the ship sensors to follow speed-blurred canyon terrain.

"What do you mean?" Eddy asked giving her a quick glance.

"We're traveling at less than half the speed of sound. At this speed it would take us months to reach the moon, we'd probably die of old age before we made it to the sun," Leona replied, gripping the arms of her seat.

"So what does that have to do with relativity?" Kevin laughed as he nervously studied the blur flashing by on both sides and below. "We're shooting through a tunnel with a blue roof is about all I can see."

"Einstein said speed was relative to the observer," Leona answered. "Going under that bridge and up this canyon is the fastest we've flown, at least to me, right now. Isn't that relativity?"

Eddy laughed heartily as the ship vaulted over the coastal mountains and turned with a stomach wrenching dive along the inland ridge, like a surfer riding high on a wave. "I don't think Einstein had quite that idea of relativity in mind when he figured out his theory."

"He would have if he'd been along for this ride," Leona grimaced as Eddy cut down the mountain and further into the wilderness to avoid a settled area where someone might see them.

"There's the old road Jacob was talking about," Kevin pointed ahead and to the right.

Eddy turned and they were flying back over the mountains and sliding toward the sea so quickly that Kevin barely had time to point the way to his family's farm. It was only moments until the ship settled into a small clearing behind the little farm house, which sat in a side canyon. They were seen immediately, nobody misses a solid gold clap of thunder. Neighbors across the main canyon yelled their greetings as Kevin and Leona stepped out of the ship and onto solid ground.

"Open house." Kevin yelled back. "Come on over and see this radical spaceship my dad made." He turned to Leona with a smile, put his arm around her waist and kissed her, "Leona and I are married now! We're home! We're alive! It's time to celebrate!"

Kevin and Leona walked under the shade of an oak and turned down a hillside trail to the house. A group of neighborhood children burst up the stairs and around the house before they themselves had reached it. The younger ones ran past Kevin and Leona mumbling their greetings as they ran wide-eyed to see the spaceship. The older among them paused long enough for a polite welcoming hug before they too ran up the hill. Eddy was surrounded by children as he stepped to the ground, he had stayed with the ship to shut down all but the essential systems required for a quick escape.

"It looks like Eddy will be busy for awhile," Kevin said. "Let's dig out some stuff to make the place more welcoming."

Kevin and Leona set out sawhorses and put plywood on them for tables. Upside down buckets supporting planks made instant benches. Leona brought printed bedspreads from India out of the house and spread them on the plywood tables while Kevin lit the barbecue. They had prepared seating for a hundred before the first adult neighbor arrived with bread, cheese, and cold watermelon and lemonaid drinks.

"Scott!" Kevin cried and gave him a hug. Leona relieved Scott's arms of food and more drinks.

Another neighbor, Jeffrey pulled his flute and clarinet out from under his arm and set them on a stone bench dug into a bank under the ferns in the cool shade of some banana plants and a fig tree. "Congratulations on your wedding," he said with a beaming smile. "Jeff and Lou are on their way, too. Is your extra guitar here?"

Kevin nodded and walked into the house. He returned with an armload of percussion instruments and two guitars, just as Andy arrived with conga drums and more food. Kevin's eyes smiled with happiness as he hugged each new arrival, he had been so busy as a fugitive and then a pioneer that he hadn't had time to notice how much he missed his life-long friends and neighbors. He held Leona's hand as their delayed wedding reception grew larger and more lively.

They looked uphill at the spaceship surrounded by people and realized just how many had come. "We're out of tables but I have enough planks to make a few more benches," he said, gazing fondly at his wife.

"We've been on such a wild ride that our marriage didn't seem quite real until now," Leona smiled and gave Kevin a hug.

"I'm your husband. That's for sure," Kevin said, and then kissed her. "Now I better make more benches."

Eddy was grinning from ear to ear and showing everyone the spaceship when Kevin climbed the trail to find another stack of planks for benches. Music floated up the canyon and everyone stopped talking in order to hear the song.

"Space birds fly faster than light.

Built their ships and learned to fly.

Space birds fly,

into the black yet star filled sky.

Space birds fly.

Pioneers traveled far and wide.

Now they’re back in morning light,

they're to help help us shed our fright.

Thank you friends,

we're with you till the end.

Welcome friends.

Joy's back in our land.

Space birds fly, into the star filled sky."

The guitar and flute played into canyon silence behind Jeff Commons’ disturbing lyrics. Nobody spoke until the last flute echo teased its way into silence.

"Have times really been that bad?" Kevin asked quietly.

"President Bushleeg is the enemy of good."

"War is upon us."

"A huge army is marching this way."

"They have enough helicopters to darken the sky."

"It's HUNTA! HUNTA is coming!"

"Why is Helpful Unified Nuclear Tactical Advantage marching on Nation Pacifica?" Kevin asked. He was shocked by the ugly thought of such a mighty army headed their way.

Scott, one of Kevin's oldest friends, sat down heavily on the stack of planks Kevin had come for. "We think the United States of Earth is about to collapse, just like the old United States of America did," he said with a discouraged sigh. "President Bushleeg and the Owners are going to attack us to try and keep their own people from revolting. That's the best we can figure, anyway."

Scott's brother, Mathew, stuck his head out the spaceship door. "They're accusing the whales of terrorism," he said solemnly, and then burst out laughing. "It's been on the news. Can you imagine that? No telling what them terrorist whales and dolphins will do next!"

Kevin laughed briefly at Mathew's humor and then quickly explained the alliance between Ocean People, Delfinians, and the Pioneers. "Use must have figured it out," he concluded.

"Really?" Mathew exclaimed as he jumped to the ground. "That explains it, then. I guess everyone who won't do what they're told is a terrorist." Then he stuck his nose in the air and sashayed around pretending he was an upper-class corporation owner, "People who don't do as they're told are so difficult and unpleasant to deal with," he said, mockingly.

"Poor babies," Scott laughed. "But look at what we have for them," he said conspiratorially, pointing to the box Mathew was carrying. Scott was wearing his usual Hawaiian shirt, short pants and sandals on his feet. He reached for the package.

"No. I'll show him," Mathew said pulling the box back. Then he looked at Scott's crestfallen expression, "Okay," he said, relenting. "Let's both show them."

Mathew set the box on the ground and opened it. Inside was a spring loaded skeet shooter and various cups and cables, as well as a can of resin and catalyst. Scott bent over and pulled out a small ring with three thin cables attached to it. Each cable had a small lead weight clamped on the end.

"What is it?" Kevin asked.

"It's a weapon to stop tanks and helicopters." Scott answered. "Watch this."

Mathew had quickly begun mixing a small batch of resin in a miniature paper cup while Scott had been explaining his new gizmo. Scott saw that Mathew had finished mixing the resin and catalyst; Scott stood up and placed a mold on the plank where he had been sitting. The entire group, including Eddy, gathered to watch as Mathew poured the resin in the mold. Scott whistled to himself in concentration as he deftly twisted the three cables, carefully making a flat spiral into the mold, with the resin and catalyst. Mathew placed a shiny coin-sized piece of metal exactly in the middle of the central cable ring and Scott pressed a second mold on top of the first.

"It's a radio activated dynamite cap and brittle resin," Mathew said with a devious grin as he counted down looking at his watch. "Okay, Scotto. It's ready. Pull it out. These things don't take long to make," he added with an exaggerated conspiratorial wink and nod.

Scott opened the mold and scratched the edges of the casting smooth with his pocket knife before handing it to Kevin, who looked at a little frisbee in his hand. It was still warm from the chemical hardening reaction, he could plainly see the cables neatly spiraled inside the hardened resin. "This is a combination anti-tank and anti-helicopter weapon?" He asked incredulously.

"Watch this," Mathew said, reaching for the mini frisbee and loading it into the spring loaded skeet flinger. "See that little antennae on the end? There's a radio and batteries in the handle. Here's the trigger," he said pointing at a little button at the top of the handle.

"Throw it up the mountain, away from the people," Scott suggested.

Mathew laughed out loud using a semi-crazy cackle he had memorized from a movie. He climbed on top of a big rock where everyone could see him from the party below. "Watch this!" He cried acting as the master of ceremonial suspense, waiting until everyone was ready. Then he hurled the resin frisbee so it whizzed right over everyone and then on into the canyon below. It flew straight and fast. Mathew watched carefully and then pushed the trigger button. There was a loud bang and puff of smoke. Three long cables flew out of the smoke and a spinning bolo tightly wrapped itself around the top branch of a tree.

"He's been practicing," Scott said, grinning fondly at his brother with pride.

"We've set up small, mobile factories everywhere," Mathew said excitedly. "These things are cheap, cables that miss their target can be found and used again. We've already made more than two hundred thousand launchers."

"I'd hate to be in a helicopter and have one of those things tangle up in my props," Kevin mused. "Somebody is sure to get killed. The Admiral doesn't want anybody hurt if we can help it," he concluded.

"We've thought of that," Scott said. Twenty-five thousand of these things have been distributed in Native American high desert lands. They are going to ambush a tank battalion and see if the United States gets the message."

"Do you really believe these things will stop a tank?" Eddy asked.

"If enough of them get cables wrapped in their tracks and axle bearings they'll at least have to stop and untangle the mess before an axle is scored or a bearing burns out," Scott answered.

"They'll get the idea," Mathew agreed. "HUNTA has to come through where the native americans are and there has been plenty of time for them to practice." Mathew glanced around with shifty eyes and lowered his voice like a character in a movie, "This isn't the only weapon we've developed, either."

"Mathew!" Scott admonished sternly. "Don't even talk about it!"

"The Admiral should know what your up to," Eddy said, quietly. "If you jokers somehow start the war that ends human kind it will be tens of millions of years before another intelligent species rises from the ashes. That's what the delfinians and The Admiral are worried about."

"Eddy's right, you know," Kevin said.

"Okay." Scott answered. "The other weapon is already in place. There are thousands of them scattered across Use, from the Rocky Mountains East, and from the far north all the way south to Central America. They are way more low-tech than the bolo slinger."

"What is it?" Eddy demanded as everyone moved closer to hear.

"Don’t get uppity on us, friend space man,” Scott’s voice took on an almost threatening icy edge, he actually admonished Eddy. “HUNTA is after us. Remember? You just now showed up on the scene. Helpful Unified Nuclear Tactical Advantage is at our back door, think on that, Buddy. HUNTA! Got that?"

Scott took a deep breath, looked Eddie in the eye and let silence linger for a heart beat or two. "We face HUNTA with old car springs, pipe, and chain from the junkyard," Scott said, proudly and calmly. "I scrounged the parts for the first fifteen or twenty myself. The very first one worked perfectly and the new models are even better."

"So what is it?"

"Go to the junk yard and look around for an automobile or truck coil spring, then find some pipe it slides into. Cut a piece of pipe three or four times longer than the spring and weld a piece of flat plate steel on one end. Bolt the spring down to the flat plate and burn a round hole in the center of the plate with a slot coming off one place. Make it look like a skeleton key hole. The chain fits fine in the round part and a link can be locked into the key slot, it holds the chain which holds the spring compressed."

"I've got the picture," Kevin said. "Car spring compressed inside pipe. What does it do?"

"Give him time," Mathew laughed. "This is the best part."

"Bolt another piece of flat plate on top of the spring, the piece of chain hangs from this plate and passes on down through the bottom hole. Put the launcher on legs and use an old junkyard car jack to pull the chain out through the bottom and compress the spring. All you have to do is pull the jack sideways a little to slide the chain into the locking slot. Then remove the jack." Scott grinned, "It really works neat, Kevin."

"What does the spring launcher launch?" Eddy asked. He had to admit to himself it was an interesting idea but had a nagging fear he really didn't want to tell the Admiral the complete story.

"Bolt one end of a spool of high quality cable to the top plate that pulls down into the pipe with the spring. Nail the launcher legs to the ground with some cut up old reinforcing bar steel pins and a sledge hammer. Then tap the chain out of the locking slot with a fairly long handled hammer or steel bar; out flies the cable spool, it unwinds right over whatever you are aiming at."

"You've got thousands of these things ready to go?" Kevin asked.

"Yep."

"What are they aimed at?" Leona asked.

"Power lines. We start with the nukes and the Niagara Falls trunk lines."

"I can't believe the United States still uses nuclear power," Mathew grumbled. "Everyone knows nukes belch huge invisible clouds of radioactive elements every minute of every day."

"It's as bad as decomposing plastic absorbed into our bodies; A gross crime against everything alive," Scott agreed. "War criminals use nukes to make the stuff to make bombs. There is no peaceful use for the atom. Now they say it saves on carbon pollution, what a con job. And the good people who work in them don't even know they've been duped."

"How can those creeps who own the nukes keep a straight face and claim nuclear power is pollution-free?" Mathew asked, still grumbling.

"Wait a minute," Eddy interrupted. "Forget nuclear power, for now. We need to solve the launcher question: Your launchers send a cable over high-power transmission lines and short them out so they melt and break. Is that your plan?"

"Yep. Then the power grid shuts down and the United States of Earth blacks out and feints," Mathew chortled.

"What about hospitals and other emergency services?" Kevin asked. "I don't like this idea."

"Hey! We're being attacked," Scott retorted. He was somewhat hurt by his friend's less than enthusiastic response to his inventions. "Get it straight, Kevin, just like I told Eddy. None of this is our idea. And the launcher is only for a last resort, in case we're losing," Scott gritted his teeth and pursed his lips. "Anyway, hospitals have emergency power."

"I'm sorry, Scott," said Kevin, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder. "I can see you're trying to be nonviolent even though this is a war you didn't start. Do you have guns, too?"

"We probably would if he found a junk yard full of them," Mathew said slapping his brother on the back and laughing heartily.

"Let's go play some music and eat," Kevin suggested grabbing Scott's hand and pulling him to his feet. That's when the group at the spaceship noticed the entire party was silent. Everybody had been listening, even the kids. The music started as if on cue.

"I've gotta buddy named General Scott,

he rounded up an army when they put him on the spot.

He and his brother fought Use to the end,

scrounged in the junk yards without a penny to spend.

Then along came Kevin with a pretty new wife,

Leona, she told him, 'we've got no time for strife.'

Ocean Folks joined with the Pioneer Crew,

then the owners of Use hung their heads and withdrew.

Not a shot was fired to be heard 'round the world,

'cause the Owners of Use ..... What rhymes with world?"

A melodic flute segued in neatly and finished with a haunting melody that rhymed perfectly while tickling everyone's imagination. The drums beat wildly as the flute echoed to its finale. Kevin stopped at the edge of the crowd of friends, which had grown much larger than it was when he'd walked up to the spaceship for more planks. He stood with the planks on his hunched shoulders and shouted out an introduction for Eddy.

"Please meet Eddy McGregor, youngest pilot in history and now Pioneer Fleet Commander for Earth Base One. He's a veteran of battles hard fought and won."

A tremendous cheer rose to greet Eddy. People were elbow to elbow and beginning to stretch up the mountainside, new arrivals were appearingin a steady stream. Leona worked her way to Kevin as he handed the planks into the crowd. A saxophone and violin were wailing with a guido and a line-up of guitars. People were dancing in the orchard when police and a forest ranger suddenly appeared, waving their arms for attention.

"Who's place is this?" one of the policemen hollered into the happy din.

Kevin and Leona worked their way through the crowd to the police. The forest ranger was standing behind them with a bemused expression, already eating a plate of bean and rice casserole. "It's our family's farm," Kevin said, his voice raised over the party, which had turned back to the fun at hand once he and Leona took over the problem. "This is our wedding reception."

The police officer in charge eyed Kevin and Leona, then glanced at Scott and Mathew, who had quietly slid out of the crowd and stood behind them. They were quickly joined by Eddy. "I've seen you two on TV," the officer said. "You're on the Use most wanted list of terrorists."

"Yeah, along with the whales and dolphins," Mathew said sarcastically, just loud enough to be heard.

Steve, the forest ranger, choked on his salad but otherwise kept silent. The policeman heard him and turned, "What's so funny?" He asked the ranger.

"Great party," the ranger mumbled with his mouth full. "Congratulations." He said nodding to Kevin and Leona while balancing a fork full of salad. "Good food, too." Ranger Steve smiled at the police, he knew them. They all knew and respected Steve the forest ranger for his fire duty.

Andy, slightly taller than most, about the same height as the forest ranger, squeezed into line with Scott, Eddy, and Mathew, behind Kevin and Leona. "Is there some kind of a problem, Officer?" he asked, smiling pleasantly.

The officer in charge let a suppressed grin spread across his face. "The road is blocked. We had to put up police barricades. Is that enough of a problem for you?"

"Sounds like the good 'ol days to me," was the response.

"Things are getting out of hand," the policeman said. "There's about fifty monks in orange robes who've set up a portable kitchen on a hill that way," he said pointing west.

"Wow!" Andy exclaimed. "That's my sister's place, I should tell her what's going on at her place."

“There are hundreds of people there. Monks are ringing little cymbals and chanting. There's more music and food there than here."

"I'll go find her," Andy said over his shoulder as he disappeared into the celebration. His voice was replaced by the whopping roar of a hovering news helicopter, which had popped over the ridge from the direction of town, it began filming the spaceship.

The police officer who had been doing all the talking covered one ear and was trying to hear his radio. He glanced at Kevin and Leona, who stood by with growing nervousness. "I'm going to go warm up ship systems," Eddy said.

"May I come watch?" Mathew asked squeezing through the crowd after him.

The officer in charge turned to Kevin and Leona. "News broadcasts are saying there is a celebrity wedding going on. You have been identified and your spaceship is being shown on all channels as I speak. People are abandoning their cars behind police blockades and hiking in from every direction." He hunched his shoulders involuntarily as a military spotter plane buzzed in low.

"It's time to leave!" Kevin shouted. He took Leona's hand and then shoved Scott's shoulder. "You're coming with us. Let's go!" A squadron of fighter jets screamed over the hill as they ran up the trail to the spaceship.

"I don't think the corporation owners will send in a military attack on live tv," Scott said panting up the hill. "Do you?"

"Let's hope not," Kevin answered as they ran into the ship.

Eddy pointed to a folding crew seat next to Mathew, who was already strapped into one. Scott dove for it as Kevin swung the door shut shouting to everyone at the party, "Cover your ears." He then jumped into his seat noting that Leona was already in her place.

The fighter jets screamed over again. A loud boom announced Eddy had moved the spaceship up the mountain and away from the party. The ship moved so fast human eyes saw it simply disappear and then reappear. The news helicopter crew saw them hovering above a higher ridge, the chopper turned and slowly chased after them. They were was still on live TV.

"Move in closer to the helicopter so they can get a good shot," Scott suggested.

Eddy nodded and drifted toward the helicopter while at the same time putting more distance between the ship and the crowds below. He watched the jet fighters turning back toward them again. A second squadron was coming straight at them from the sea.

The road below was totally blocked by cars, just as the policeman had told them. They were high enough for everyone below to see. Time froze as the jets closed in. The helicopter turned to photograph the fighter jets and then dove into the canyon depth for safety. Thousands of people watched, holding their breath. The helicopter and tv camera turned back just in time for billions of people watching live tv to see a golden flash and hear a tremendous boom.

The spaceship vanished from sight. Some said they could see a small speck disappearing into the distance, most said all there was to see was a golden flash stretching straight to heaven. A few claimed there was some kind of harmonic mixed in and the sonic boom sounded almost like a song.

President Bushleeg didn't care what anyone said. He was livid. He had seen Kevin and Leona's wedding reception on tv. He was totally irate. The rebels had escaped his fighters and then moved a communication satellite so he, President Bushleeg, could negotiate release of the submarine. And the Admiral was refusing to talk to anyone but him.

The phone was sitting in front of him quietly when the Navy Secretary rushed in, with barely a knock.

"Mr. President. Nation Pacifica is sending hundreds of ships from almost every port. Our blockade is spread too thin to hold them back."

"What are you saying, man? How many ships do they have?"

"Way more than we thought. Radar screen counts indicate they have thousands more than they reported to us." Neither the President or the Navy Secretary knew that Jacob had organized the fishing fleets to join the relief convoys as they left the harbors. Radar screen counts included almost every fishing boat that could float.

"What do you propose to do?" President Bushleeg asked.

"Bring in more ships, Sir."

"Get on it. Get those ships moving."

"I'd like to, but there's a problem, Sir."

The President sighed, he was beginning to not like being president. "What's the problem, Mr. Secretary? Spill it. What's the problem?"

"Gas money."

"Gas money?"

"We have almost one hundred ships sitting in foreign ports because their fuel tanks are empty. Sir, this blockade has put quite a strain on navy finances. Chasing around in circles after all those lost submarines used up the last of our reserves. We were holding our breath and hoping to hold out until the new budget year but this submarine fiasco has broken the bank."

"I see. Hmm. You better load a cargo plane with some nice new bills and fly the cash directly to our ship captains so they can buy fuel."

"Won't work. We tried it."

"What are you talking about?"

"Remember that terrorist dictator we tossed out so we could introduce freedom and democracy?"

"Which one?"

"I forget exactly. It was five or six months ago."

"So, what's your point?"

"We found two hundred million dollars hidden in his barn. It was baled and stacked with the hay,"

"And?"

"We flew it to the ships so they could buy fuel but nobody will take our money. They want Chinese money. They said our money was only good for buying stuff from the United States, and since we don't make anything they want, it's worthless."

"So use Chinese money, we have tons of it. I happen to know they buy our bonds with their extra money."

"I know, we thought of that. But it's only virtual money, on the internet."

"The internet? What are you talking about?"

"Virtual money is just electronic computer digits. There's no actual cash. The Chinese buy our bonds. We print the paper money and then pay them interest on the virtual money they spent to back our imaginary money. It works fine until you run out of gas."

"Mr. Secretary. Money buys anything and everything, that's all I know. My aides will give you a requisition to pump fuel from the strategic reserves. Fill up enough tankers to go and get all of our navy's war ships."

President Bushleeg picked up the phone and told his aides to give the Navy Secretary some gas for his war ships. "Once you've done that, send Bank Chairman Homespun to my office, on the double."

"Chairman Homespun is unavailable, Mr. President. He's gone to the annual duck hunting trip with Supreme Court Justices and Corporate Owners."

"Darn. I used to be part of that group before I became president. Where are they?"

"Well, I'm not supposed to know they really aren't duck hunting."

"Look, everybody knows that 'duck hunting' means looking for easy money. Now tell me where they are," President Bushleeg demanded.

"Yes, Sir. They're at the exclusive Roofmart V.I.P. Lounge, at the mall. There's a 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door. Nobody can go in there."

"I can't have my Bank Chairman hanging out at the mall at a time like this. I'll go get him myself. They'll have to let the President in."

"If you say so, Sir."

President Bushleeg decided to walk to the mall, thinking it would be quicker than ordering a limo. Roofmart, the largest consumer supplier on earth had satisfied the huge market of government bureaucrats by leasing a park in front of the new Capitol Building, which had been built on higher ground, out of reach of rising sea level.

The news had called it a win-win move to boost much needed anti-terrorist funding without raising taxes. Roofmart had wisely begun an extensive program of building bureaucrat malls when teenagers rediscovered normal fun and started going to the beach or the park instead of the mall.

Roofmart's progress was obvious to him as he walked across the parking lot between his office and the back door of the V.I.P. Lounge. Artful, realistic paintings of flowers and meadows on the garbage dumpsters struck him as particularly classy. The President allowed himself a moment to relax and enjoy the fresh air before he reached to open the back door and enter the plush world of important people and high finance.

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