A few days later Jennifer stood with John and Michael in a conference room at the military base. They were watching the president’s speech on a TV that had been wheeled in. The speech was taking place at an undisclosed location. The backdrop of the white house was digitally added during the broadcast.
The military people didn’t tell any of them why they were there of course, but Jennifer figured it out as soon as she was brought into the room on a wheel chair. Not wanting to spoil the surprise she kept quite when Michael asked why they were all there, and then started to speculate when nobody answered.
Jennifer was more interested in the president’s speech. She watched the television as the president walked to the podium. Lots of flashes from cameras went off, as he waited patiently for the room to settle down.
“Good evening,” he began. “First off I want to assure everyone that I, my staff, and your military will not rest until everyone is safe from these beings that threaten us from above. It is our highest priority, and indeed, our only priority. Despite what my critiques would lead you to believe, we are considering all possible avenues to achieve this goal.
“These aliens pose a significant threat. There is no denying that. It is perhaps the greatest threat we as a nation have ever faced. But we are a strong nation and are equal to this challenge. We will show these people from beyond our world, that we are not to be trifled with.
“To this end, I have decided on four courses of action.
“First, I have ordered all of our military personnel on the highest alert. All armed forces have been told to be ready for action at a moments notice. All reserves have been activated, and all state militias have been federalized. I have appointed my chief of staff, General Mac, to head this effort.
“Second, I am coordinating with the UN and all nations. It wasn’t long ago that some of these nations were considered enemies. Let me assure you the entire world is now united. Past bickering have been set aside. Everyone around the world is ready to face this threat together, and together we will be victorious.
“To this end, I have instructed the ambassador to the UN to coordinate with all the nations to unify our military forces under one command structure. I have instructed her to do this as quickly as possible. The entire world is threatened. We must present our enemy a united front. United we stand; divided we fall has always been the motto of the United States. It is true now, like it has always been.
“Third, I have ordered the head of NASA to head a board of the most intelligent, talented, and experienced scientist and engineers around the globe. These men and woman will combine their minds and come up with means of both defending and attacking our enemies wherever they are.
“It is no secret that we are not yet capable of attacking their ships while they are in orbit. That has to change. NASA has been ordered to put all of its resources into finding a way of attacking their ships while they are in orbit. To this end, I have submitted a request to congress for an unlimited amount of funds. A blank check if you will. NASA will use these funds to design and build whatever they need to meet their goal. When they are done, there will be no place these monsters can hide from us.
“I know none of these things help the people that have already been taken. I also all of you worry about who might be next. I assure you the military is doing all it can to protect everyone.
“It is also the duty of the government to protect the rights of its citizens. A few days ago these aliens captured several people. These people were taken aboard one of their spacecrafts in orbit. These brave Americans refused to be helpless victims. They rebelled against their captors, captured the ship, and managed to bring it back to earth.
“Many did not survive, and we honor their sacrifice. Most of the survivors were treated for their injuries and were released. We did keep four of these people in a military medical facility for observation. All four showed anomalies in their medical tests, and one was seriously injured in the crash.
“We don’t yet know what effect these anomalies will have on this group of people. Three of them do not show any outward appearance that anything is wrong. We will continue to observe and treat these citizens, but I no longer see a need to keep them at the hospital. Their doctors assured me they will be no harm in them going home, to either themselves or the people they come in contact with.
“I know many people think this is a mistake. They say these people are no longer who they claim to be. These allegations are false. We have found absolutely no evidence of these accusations.
“However, we will keep a close eye on them just in case. I have ordered a gps locator to be placed on each person. This device has been used many times to track criminals that have been put on probation. It has been proven a reliable way to track someone. I’m confident releasing them is a safe option, made safer by this device. Furthermore it is simply the right thing to do.
“Having said that, I’m ordering only three of the four to be released. Myra, Secretary of Defense Stone’s daughter, is still very ill. For reasons we don’t understand the ordeal has effected her more than the others. Her doctors feel it best that she be kept under observation for the time being, and I agree.”
Jennifer listened to him say these things in horror. What are they planning to do with her? How can I leave without her? Duke, I know you no longer love or trust me, but she is your daughter. How can you allow this to happen to her? Her thoughts screamed in her head drowning out the rest of the president’s speech.
Another person walked it. It was a young man in a nice suite, obviously an aid to the administration of some sort. He said they would all taken out to the front of the building soon, where the press would be waiting.
He then began telling the group what to say and what not to say to the group. Nobody was really paying attention, least of all Jennifer. “Excuse me,” she told him. “I need to use the little girls room.” She left without waiting for the reply.
She found the restroom down the hall. It was empty thankfully. She locked herself in the nearest stall and began to cry. I’m sorry Myra, she thought to herself. I failed you. I wish you could have had a better mother. Maybe this wouldn’t have happened. Things would have been better if I had killed myself, but I can’t even do that right it seems. Tears ran down her face as those thoughts and similar things ran through her head.
It seemed like an eternity of agony, but eventually the aid came and got her for the press conference. She did her best to force herself to stop crying and clean herself up a bit. She walked with him towards the exit, trying to think of something good to tell the world.
John didn’t want to take another step towards the door. He was terrified of speaking in public. He had been apart of only two press conferences before, and they were disasters (as far as his performance at least). They didn’t let him take part of any more press conferences after that, which suited him just fine. Now he was forced to go out and speak when the entire world was watching?
He looked at Jennifer who had just joined them. There was something different about her face. It didn’t look like that when she left for the bathroom did she? She had a sad look as she passed him down the hall to the exit. Michael followed. The aid motioned for John to join them then brought up the rear.
John walked outside. The sunlight blinded him. It had been days since he had been outside. He waited for his eyes to adjust then followed Jennifer and Michael up to the makeshift podium with a table. The table had several chairs and microphones.
John took his chair next to Michael. He looked out at the sea of people, most of whom were snapping pictures. They had all been trying to ask questions at the same time while the group took their seats. It took the aid a few minutes to calm everyone down.
John spent most of the press conference hoping nobody would call on him. Most didn’t direct the questions to anyone specific. Michael seemed to enjoy thrilling the people with his tail of how they escaped. He embellished it a bit though. John almost corrected him on several occasions. He wanted too, but couldn’t make himself speak in front of so many people.
When he was asked a direct question, his answers were terse and to the point. They lacked so must detail, most of the time the reporter had to ask several follow up questions. Most of them gave up after the first follow up and just asked another question.
Halfway through the conference one of the reporters asked, “You have seem them up close and even fought them. Do you think we have a chance to beat them?”
Jennifer answered immediately, cutting off Michael. This surprised John. Jennifer had been almost as quite as he was. She seemed much more comfortable in front of the press, but tend to only speak when she needed to.
“Yes we can beat them,” she said. “We were unarmed and imprisoned and we won a small victory. From what I’ve seen their technology is about the same as ours, except for the space ship itself of course. I’m not saying it will be easy, but I have the utmost confidence in our military.”
John considered holding his tongue, but decided this time he had to speak. He couldn’t allow her to fill the world with false hope. It could prove dangerous. “Yes, what we have seen of their weapons isn’t that much more advanced, that is true,” he said. “However, just by the nature of possessing spacecraft that can so easily enter and leave Earth’s surface gives them a significant advantage. I’m not sure we can overcome it in the time we have. In fact, I’m pretty sure we can’t.”
Jennifer gave him a horrified look, as a warning to shut up. The reporter asked, “Are you saying we don’t stand a chance?”
John didn’t know how to answer the questions. “Um..Well,” he began to say.
Michael interrupted, “It doesn’t matter what advantage they might have. After having seen these aliens and fought against them, I can assure you they are not a godly people. God is on our side. He will not abandon us in our time of need.”
“I’m sure it gives them some advantage,” Jennifer said. “There technology, but we are also innovative and resourceful, especially when we need to be. I’m sure we will even the odds soon.”
A few more reporters asked John more follow up questions, but John fell back to being terse with his answers. Soon they stopped asking him questions again. There were a few more times in which John thought he should speak up. Michael tended to exaggerate a bit too much, and Jennifer, at times lied outright. But in the end, John decided to keep his mouth shut. He didn’t want to cause trouble.
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