She repeated, "JB. My son. You say this radar record shows ships coming in over New Jersey then back out, right? When the Witiko took my son they flew off the New Jersey coast."

  Stanton saw where she headed and tried to break the bad news gently, "Mrs. Stone, that may be true but the Atlantic Ocean is a heap of a big place. They could have headed all the way across to Europe if they wanted. Or up to Greenland."

  "No," Brewer corrected. "Okay, think for a second. Let's assume that the mystery ship that entered our air space before the assassination comes from the same place they took JB. Well if they took Jorge on a Stingray then they couldn't be too far off, Stingrays don't have great range. They burn a shit load of fuel." "They could have extra tanks," Stanton said. "Or maybe in-flight refueling." "They could," Jon agreed. "But we haven't seen anything to say they do." Lori chimed in, "Hey, it's a place to start."

  "And we have to start somewhere," Jon echoed. "Like Brett said, we don't have much in the way of solid evidence. But if The Order is behind this and if they have a base floating off the coast somewhere and we can find it that changes the whole equation. Besides, what's one of the first things Evan and Dante did when they signed this bull shit treaty? Remember?"

  Nina did, because the very idea of such a concession shocked her.

  "He restricted dreadnought flights to within our borders. That means only a few miles out to sea and that's it."

  "That's right," Jon nodded. "The type of condition I'd want if I had some kind of secret base within striking range of our east coast." "And Evan fell for it," Lori said. Stanton asked Jon, "So what is it you're planning to do?" "We're going to follow those radar blips off the coast and see what we can find."

  The phone at the head of the table buzzed. Jon stared at it. No one from the government had tried to contact him yet, although they had to be aware he had taken off with the Excalibur.

  In truth, he had done nothing outside his jurisdiction but sooner or later Dante would call to find out what he was up to. At that moment, either the game would be afoot or perhaps they could continue under the guise of a training mission for a few more days. He did not know. He did not feel comfortable with subterfuge.

  After letting it buzz a few more times, Jon answered the call and listened to the message from Woody "Bear" Ross. Jon then hung up the phone and promptly stood. "That was Bear, I have to get to the bridge." Lori noticed her husband's face grow ghastly white. "Jon? What is it?" "Let's go," he repeated in place of an answer.

  The group made their way to an elevator and rode the car one deck higher. Once there, they traversed a short corridor passed two of the handful of military sentries onboard, opened a bulkhead door, and walked onto the bridge.

  Half of the stations were manned, the rest empty for lack of crew. Ross stood among the monitors and controls that turned him into the Excalibur's 'brain.'

  A thin strand of misty cloud brushed across the bridge windows then cleared, providing a view of a massive silhouette hovering off the bow, blocking the Excalibur's path.

  The Chrysaor had come calling.

  26. Confrontation

  Two titans faced off in the middle of the night with no one to witness the confrontation; only the silent waters of the Atlantic below and the stars of a summer night above.

  The bridge of the Excalibur grew so quiet that the skeleton crew could hear the jet thrusters of the Chrysaor's alert fighters whizzing around the ship like wasps waiting to strike.

  Outside, far beyond the windows passed the tip of the bow, hovered the black silhouette of the opposing dreadnought. The moonlight flickered off thin veils of clouds in the short space between the ships.

  Woody "Bear" Ross-plugged into the command module in front of the Captain's chair-broke the silence.

  "Incoming transmission, General."

  Despite serving as the 'brain,' Ross knew the communication came for Brewer. A light flashed yellow on an empty station in front of the command area. Jon pushed a button on the panel, opening communications.

  Captain Kristy Kaufman's voice broadcast over a speaker. Everyone on the bridge heard her voice, but their eyes remained locked on the floating city blocking their path.

  "General Brewer, this is Captain Kaufman. I need to know why the Excalibur is out of dry dock without authorization."

  Jon answered, "Kristy, last time I checked I don't answer to you. And I am authorized to change the Excalibur's duties as I see fit. She is my ship." "Excuse me, General, but my orders come from the Secretary of Defense." "What are your orders, Captain? Specifically." She explained, "To intercept your ship and ascertain your intentions." An F-15 flew close enough to shake the bridge window.

  "I will tell you my intentions, Captain. I am investigating evidence that recently came to light in regards to the assassination of Trevor Stone. I am acting in reaction to an imminent threat to our nation."

  Kaufman transmitted, "Sir, I'm afraid I need more information than that. Or, I guess, the Secretary of Defense will need more information than that. What is your course?"

  Jon leaned toward the speaker on the console and through clenched teeth told his opposite number, "That information is classified. But tell Dante Jones to come aboard my ship and I will share the info with him personally. Tell him we have a lot to discuss."

  "He's, well, he's not here, sir," Kaufman answered. "He's back in Washington."

  "Then I suggest you go back there and tell him what I just told you."

  The planes flew closer. The Chrysaor held its position.

  "I can't do that, sir."

  "What do you mean, you can't do that? Let me make it simple for you, Captain. As your superior officer I'm giving you a direct order. Stand down."

  "My orders-"

  "I just gave you new orders," General Brewer commanded. "Now you have a choice to make, Captain. You can get out of my way, or you can open fire on my ship." That struck a nerve with Kaufman. "Sir! I have no intention of-" "No? Isn't that what Dante told you to do?" "He-"

  "Answer me, Kristy! You are talking to Jon Brewer, not some damn politician. You will answer me."

  "I was…I was given orders to turn you back, with whatever means necessary."

  Brewer cut through all the political posturing, all the gray areas, all the back room chit-chats with winks and nods. He spelled it out for Kristy Kaufman.

  "The Secretary of Defense told you to come out here and shoot us out of the sky if you had to. So tell me Kristy, are you going to kill Bear, too? He's standing right here, next to me. What would Stonewall think? What would he tell you to do? I know you're close to Dante, but I can't believe you're going to follow orders as wrong as those. But then again, I didn't think Evan would allow the Witiko to take away Trevor's son, JB. You remember Jorge, don't you? Weren't you at the estate one year for his birthday party?"

  "What? Trevor's son? I don't believe that. I can't believe that."

  "I guess that's up to you. You decide who to believe. What does your gut tell you?"

  The Captain of the Chrysaor tried to find an easy way out: "I think… I think Dante and Evan are just interested in the fugitives. If they're not on your ship, then I see no reason to-"

  Jon would not let her take an easy way out. "They're right here, Captain, standing on my bridge. Nina, Ashley, and Rick Hauser are right here and Gordon Knox is in my sick bay. My wife and my daughter are onboard, too. You remember them, don't you? We started it all together, with Trevor. I remember the day you and Stonewall, Bear and Dustin and Benny came to the estate. Garrett told stories for hours and he had to keep reminding everyone that he knew he wasn't Stonewall Jackson. Do you remember that?"

  Silence for several long seconds. The planes continued to circle.

  "Yes."

  "What's happened since then, Kristy? How did we get here?" Jon's voiced carried not only over the speaker, but around the bridge. "Somewhere along the way we lost sight of what's really going on. Each year we had more and more bureaucrats; each year more side issues to distract us. There are politicians in Washington more worried about image and public relations than survival. They’re dancing around while the house is still burning." A hint of sadness came across the speaker: "The General, he knew how to boil things down to what was important." "I miss him, too," Brewer said. Ross muttered a soft "hoo-rah" from the command module. Jon continued, "What would he say right now?" Kristy chuckled and replied, "He'd say this is a fine pickle we've gotten ourselves in. Or something like that." Jon nodded, "Wow, yeah, that's exactly how he would put it." "I'm in a tough spot, General," she conceded. "I have friends on both sides."

  "You have to choose, Kristy. I thought I could keep it at arm's length, but I was wrong. It's up to those of us who've been a part of this since the beginning. We know the big picture and we worked too hard to come this far. We can't let it fall apart now. We have an obligation."

  "But I have orders."

  "Then fire on my ship, Captain. Does that seem like the right thing to do? If it does, let's fight this out right here where there's no witnesses to see what fools we can be."

  "I don't…I don't want to do that."

  "It doesn't matter what you want," he corrected sternly. "What matters is what you have to do. It’s been that way since Trevor knocked on my door after the monsters came. If it was about what we wanted to do, then we would have stayed curled up in that lakeside house and let the world die. It's about what we have to do. Trevor knew that. Reverend Johnny knew that. Stonewall knew that. And you know that." Jon turned to Ross and ordered, "Forward, one-quarter." "Sir?" "You heard me. Forward, one-quarter."

  Brewer returned his attention to the speaker and the Chrysaor.

  "We're going now, Kristy. Put your planes back on your deck and get out of my way, or we're going to ram you. The decision is yours. Do what you have to do."

  The Excalibur's engines thrust the gigantic ship forward on a collision course with the other titan.

  Ross warned, "She can be stubborn, general."

  Jon glared at the former football player and said, "So can I."

  The silhouette grew in the bridge windows. Moonbeams reflected of portals and hatches, bulkheads and gun ports. Lori Brewer grabbed her husband's hand and while he kept a stoic picture painted on his face, he returned her grip hard.

  The Chrysaor sunk beneath the bow descending more than five hundred feet in a matter of seconds. The jets stopped buzzing and returned to their flight deck.

  Kristy Kaufman sent another message. "When they find out that I let you go, they'll just order Hoth to intercept you. He's not far away, and he won't be swayed by sentiment, General."

  "I know," Brewer said.

  Ashley asked, "You think General Hoth is a part of it?"

  Jon glossed over with a simple, "No," leaving Nina to explain, "General Hoth is a good man, but he's by the book. Listen, as far as he's concerned, his orders come from Dante now. He'll follow those orders, no matter what."

  The Chrysaor set a leisurely course west toward the mainland. The Excalibur traveled north by northeast.

  – A fireball sun rose over the eastern horizon, its rays filled the bridge with a golden glow. Beneath that sun and the mammoth battleship nothing but calm Atlantic Ocean.

  After taking a two hour nap, Brewer returned to the control center and met with Bear who had worked as the "brain" of the ship for hours.

  "You need a break," Jon placed a hand on Ross’ shoulder as he stepped from the command module, relieved. "And thanks for everything, especially last night. I mean wow, it got a little close there."

  "You don't need to thank me, sir. I'm your first officer. You say the word, and I'll jump."

  Jon knew part of that loyalty came from the innate character of Woody Ross, maybe from his football days when team work and discipline helped his University of Miami Hurricanes win a national title. But he also knew that a man named "Stonewall" McAllister had left his mark on those he had pulled from the ruins during that first year; people like Bear Ross and Kristy Kaufman.

  Ross and Brewer parted ways with the former headed toward the exit and the latter stepping into the 'brain' compartment. Before either reached their destination, the bright rays of sun shining into the cockpit flickered.

  Shouts and curses rang out among the bridge crew.

  Jon raised a hand above his eyes to block the rays and stared outside. There, at the tip of the bow, appeared two Witiko Stingrays bouncing up as if launched from springs below. They hovered in front of the Excalibur for a second then their lasers fired with streaming beams of energy hitting two spots at the front of the ship. Jon saw debris rise from the hull there and felt the entire dreadnought shimmy. The Stingrays raced forward, growing fast in the window. Stanton hauled himself out from beneath a control panel and shouted, "They’re going to take out the bridge!" Jon entered the command module and accessed a control screen, frantically pushing an icon on the touchscreen display.

  The heavy duty bridge shield slid shut over the windows just as the Witiko lasers fired again. That shield glowed red, chunks of Steel Plus cracked and fell, a beam of sunlight and a gust of air blew in through a freshly burned hole. Had the shield closed a second slower, the entire bridge crew would have been killed.

  Jon put on goggles and an earpiece, taking full control of the ship as "brain" in the command module. Displays relayed damage information, weapons readiness, and a visual image of the attacking ships, but the radar showed blank.

  A series of warnings explained to Brewer exactly what the Witiko had hit with their first volley:

  PRIMARY BATTERY ENERGY CONDUIT INOPERATIONAL; DAMAGE TO HULL PLATES 117, 118, 119, 130,131,132.

  Jon knew the dreadnought schematics well enough to translate the computer gobbledygook into practical information. In their first volley, the Witiko had knocked out the topside "boppers" with two perfectly-aimed shots, causing tremendous damage to the ship’s fighting capability.

  And they nearly took out the bridge with another shot.

  A voice came through the communications array: "This is Chancellor D'Trayne of the Witiko. Your presence here is in violation of the treaty. Turn back or you will be destroyed."

  – Evan sat on the veranda unwrapping the shell from a hardboiled egg with one hand and holding a portable phone with the other. A glass of Florida orange juice waited in front of the President alongside toast and a slab of fresh bacon. While he worked to peel the egg, his wife paged through the day's newspaper.

  A clear sky and a light breeze made it an absolutely wonderful Sunday morning. The birds chirped. All seemed right in the world.

  However, a phone call from Roos spoiled Evan's mood and-if that were not bad enough-the sight of Dante Jones marching toward him soured the President's peace completely.

  First things first.

  "Tell Tucker to give up. If he hasn't found the girl by now he's not going to find her. The locals have probably been running him in circles protecting the little rug rat. What? No. I want him and you back here for the Wednesday press conference. I need as many friendly faces around as I can get. Who? Keep Shepherd isolated for now. I won't be sure how I want to use him until later this morning. I'll let you know. Good bye, Ray."

  "Trouble?" Sharon asked without looking away from the newspaper.

  "Just a few rough spots. Nothing to fret over, my dear," he knew she would not fret anyway. Sharon had her revenge. Since Trevor's deliverance into agony she had grown bored. That boredom made Evan nervous, but he would deal with that later. Next came Dante.

  "The Chrysaor didn't stop them," the President guessed before the Secretary of Defense could speak. "I doubted they would. Captain Kaufman may share your bed on occasion, but her loyalties lay with the original band of survivors. It's like an exclusive club or something."

  Dante tried to make amends for the misstep: "I dispatched attack subs from shore patrol to track the Excalibur. They can't, you know, engage but they'll let us know what he's up to. They should catch them sometime this morning if their course holds."

  Evan focused on the last pieces of shell stuck to the egg.

  "You needn't worry, Dante. I have it on good authority that Chancellor D'Trayne will personally intercept the Excalibur with two of their Stingrays. That will be the end of that."

  The President's lack of military knowledge shocked Jones.

  "You're kidding, right? They might do some damage, but a dreadnought will take out two Stingrays."

  Godfrey bit into the egg, chewed, and told Jones: "Usually, yes. That's why I provided the Chancellor with the Excalibur's blue prints and specifications. That should even the odds."

  – "Fox one, fox two. Two heat seekers away," Brett Stanton echoed the commands Jon Brewer entered from his station at the 'brain' of the ship, serving as a translator of the action for Lori Brewer who hovered at the bridge entrance.

  Outside, two missiles fired in pursuit of the Witiko ships as the Stingrays made their third dive-bomb style attack on the top side of the dreadnought. Each time their lasers hit sensitive spots, the weaker bulkheads, and defensive emplacements, then they cut their dive off sharp and climbed again above the Excalibur.

  With each pass, Jon fired infrared sidewinders. The missiles climbed in pursuit of the fast-moving attackers who seemed like bumblebees trying to strike an elephant. But Jon's elephant lacked tusks. The Stingrays did not appear on any radar scopes and hence were immune to radar-locking munitions. Worse, their first strike destroyed the top side main batteries, meaning only the belly boppers remained.