Chapter 4: The Generals are Cooking?

“What can I do Sir?” Rowland asked Frank.

“Wash your hands, then I think Lucy and Mona needs a big strong guy.” Frank laughed as his chef’s hat slid down over an eyebrow.”

People were finding seats. Appeared to be around 300 to 400 seats. “What’s for dinner?”

“We just got in a thousand pounds of fresh potatoes. So baked potatoes, chilly, corn on the cob. Salad fixings on the salad bar. On the steam table are the fixings for biscuits and sausage gravy with sausages links.

Frank stood on a chair. It took a few minutes to quiet, “Men and women of the Air Force. We are happy you are here. We presented a plan to Congress that would have allowed you to be here long before now. Congress took half of the plan to eliminate all toxic fuel consumption then took two years to realize we might be vulnerable to alien attack. We did not argue even though we had won the battle with the little Greys.” Frank saw a lot of smiles.

“Your weapons on your jets would not have damaged any of the little Greys ships. Maybe your radar would have messed with their electronics. We don’t know.”

“Did all of you see the ship in the corner of the parking lot?” Frank saw many hands. “Those that haven’t when you have a bit of time, go look. Any comments of those who have touched it?”

“Big as a house. How many tons Sir.” Frank loved to hear Sir from this bunch. Maybe this is a better way. They are hungry.

“We think around 180 tons each. We had ten thousand of them come at us. A force of 120,000 beings against five thousand worldwide.”

Well, no one has gone to sleep. Frank thought loud enough for John to hear it and laugh.

“What might we have coming at us, Sir?”

‘What would you send?” Frank asked.

“Well, you proved 10,000 ships wasn’t good enough. I would think that if the enemy had any IQ, they would start at 100,000 ships sir and bigger would be better and they would need to rethink their guns.”

“Generals? Does any of this sound familiar?” Frank asked.

“Spot on Sir,” Brien said.

“I agree Sir!” Lucy said.

“General Lucy, I know you have been researching and testing the new lasers. Can you share?” Frank asked, “When we were fighting the little Greys, General Lucy burned out two lasers during the conflict.”

“Sir, we took two 775s, two 555s, and four 335s up to the North Atlantic equipped with eighteen of the new lasers. We found an iceberg. We shot all the lasers over a thousand times from five to ten seconds each time. No failures. Sir, we had seventeen of the lasers and none of them showed any sign of heat or even discoloration of any of the glass parts. On my ship, we fired one laser one hundred times with a duration of 5 to 15 minutes each like when we cut off the control of the big battleships of the Nanux. General Taylor, I recommend we get rid of all the old lasers and replace them with the new type.”

John stood up, “I agree, and I will call the President of Lockheed tomorrow.”

Ceca stood, “I agree Father John, I will ask my father tonight what he knows of this and report back in the morning.”

Brien stood, “I feel this is important enough for me to call dad.” Those that knew who the dad was applauded. Those that did not, asked, “Who is dad?”

“Sir, I’m Jason Bridgepoint, I was a Captain in the Air Force, what is so important about these lasers?”

“They are currently the primary weapon of the Space Force. They are deadly up to and sometimes beyond twenty miles. We have not found a shield that will stop them, reflect them, or even slow them down much. The same electronic shield that will stop your rockets, and bullets appear to not affect our lasers. We have a Major Curtis Taylor. He learned from his father when he soldered. Once the metal was hot then much more could be accomplished. He told us about the Curtis Kiss of Death. Once you burn a hole, do a circle within 24”. Frank said.

“Why 24”? Captain Bridgepoint asked.

“A 6” or 8” hole gives the enemy ship a minute or two. Some have been known to fire back. Some have found something to block the hole. A 24” hole gives that same crew only 5 to 6 seconds to react. If you have ten targets in front of you, in one minute you can give all ten of them a Curtis kiss of death with almost no chance of anyone of your targets shooting back at you.

“Wow, thank you, sir.” Captain Bridgepoint said, “Now I understand.”

“Why are you so reluctant to have the Air Force join the Cadets?”

“We brought in 10,000 Air Force into McCord/Ft. Lewis with our thinking we will get 7 or 8 thousand kids from the Tacoma area. Combine that with a few thousand here in Seattle and we have a division. It is still a royal mess. The Air Force scaped the bottom of their personnel barrel. Slowly we are eliminating the ones that don’t work. We have implemented the Baseball Program. If you want to read about it there is a copy on the bulletin board. If you are a doer and can take orders from someone ten years younger, then don’t worry about it.”

If you get a strike, you will know about it. If you get two, you will know about it. If you get three then you will be talking to me or one of my Commanding Officers. Because you will be on probation for a month or three. You get a fourth strike during your probationary period then you are out the door.

“Any Appeals?”

“Out of more than ninety “There’s the door!” there have been 9 or 10 appeals. They have gone nowhere. My cadets are smart and are the best of the best. They know how to stand up to the bullies. They have been schooled on how to document a problem. Please be part of the solution and not part of the problem.”

“My eyes ... because of my eyes, I lost my wings. I ran control in the DC area. Many of you I have talked to, General Lucy Taylor, General Brien Tripp, General Mona Jackson, and you Colonel Natasha King. Can I fly?”

“Do your glasses give you 20/20 vision?” Frank asked.

“Yes.”

There’s your answer.” Frank laughed, “Yes!”

“Yes.” The man bowed, then stood at attention, “Thank you, sir, “as he saluted with a big smile.

The man next to him stood up. “That is George Sullivan. I’m his friend Clarence Carpenter. I was almost a major when the music at the Airforce stopped. I want to make this work. Not only for me but for all of us and many of our friends. If you agree to be part of the solution, then stand up with me. Possibly in a few weeks, we can call up our wives and say hey, guess what, I’ve got sparks in my hair again. These last three years have been the worst in my life, I want to change that. I want my kids back. I can see myself flying in with a 445 and land on the lawn. STAND UP if you agree with me. Come on George.” Clarence got George to his feet then he pulled the guy on the other side. Slowly they all stood up. John and Jenny did too along with all the Cadets in the Center.

As the seconds on the clock ticked, two or three others stood. It was like the reverse of dominos.

Jenny looked around then motioned for Rowland and Delilah to look. Beth was over by the bookcase sitting on the floor. Her Jimmy was sitting in her lap, the two of them were reading a book. Jimmy was pointing and asking questions and Beth was engaged being with her son. Gaia was with them holding Bert the same way as Beth was holding Jimmy. They too were looking at a picture book. Gaia would say dog, then go “ruff”. Cat then she would “meow”. The four were enjoying the moment.

Frank with six of his Generals standing behind, “Attention Please.”

“Officers of the United States Space Cadets raise your right hand and repeat after me. I swear to obey and uphold the Constitution of the United States. I will defend it to the best of my ability against all enemies, Foreign, Domestic, and Alien so help me God. May God Bless our country and our world. At ease Officers of the US Space Cadets. Please turn to your brother or sister next to you and congratulate them.” Frank turned to John, “Father.” There were all the Generals including General Byrd from Chicago along with General Lloyd. Frank with his white tie stepped back into the spot that John vacated as he stepped forward into Frank’s.

“I will be leading you in the Lord’s Prayer. Edgar Cayce told us The Lord’s Prayer is the key to opening all the major chakras of the human body. Take a deep breath and allow your body to relax. Feel the love of a loved one as you take them around the world, letting them pilot the Spaceship. You have them take pictures of dozens of the landmarks, Mt. Everest, Mt. Fuji, the many mountains in the Cascades, the Space Needle, the Panama Canal, and the Suez. Feel the excitement, hear the laughter. Many of you have had a torn relationship. See yourself looking into the eyes of that loved one of old. Is there enough love in you to be able to say, “The promise of tomorrow, is all things can be healed if we want?” Let’s go to God and find out the possibilities.”

“Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom comes. Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Open your eyes and go forward, say hello to God our Father.”

Gaia handed John, Bert, “Hi son. Are you ready to say hi to God?” Jenny wrapped her arms around both John and Bert, kissing both on the cheeks.

“Hi, my men,” Jenny said as John kissed her on her cheek.

President Tripp and his wife had come in through the Star Gate along with four of his SS. Bill and Nancy had entered, following the twelve pilots from the Funston run. Twelve of the 775 widebodies models E. They had made three round trips for a total of over 10,000 passengers. Four thousand Families. Setting a new one-day record for US Space Corp. Space Corp got paid through the State Department. Different budgets and different rates. General Ceca had two handfuls of Eagles (Full Bird Colonels).

“General Ceca, may I speak?” Tony asked.

“Hold your words. How many today?” Ceca asked.

“We broke all records. Over 10,000 today, Sir.” Willa said.

“And you guys conspired together to give me a day off.” Ceca looked at all the guilty faces, “Thank You. Carol and Jenny gave me three healings. I’m feeling much better.”

“We’ve voted you to be the best boss we’ve ever had.” Brad was hiding behind Tony when he said it.

“My body is just getting used to being a woman, but I do feel a whole lot better.” Ceca smiled, “Now Tony?”

“You were involved in a battle with some spider creatures that like Humans for lunch?” Tony asked.

“Breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They were not interested in Buffalos, so we blew them up.” Ceca smiled.

“Why were you not home relaxing?” Willa asked.

“We had a wedding of Rowland and Delilah. They had CAKE!” Ceca laughed.

“Lord Heat said it took twelve charges of Antimatter to take care of the Control ship.”

“That was after we lit it up with two of our 10-pound charges.”

“Sir, did they have cloaking?”

“Yes, but those big ships blocked out the star fields behind them along with our sun.”

“Did that feel like a day off?” Gloria asked.

“YES! Even so, I had to make the Earth and Galaxy safe for you guys.” Ceca rolled her eyes.

“Yes Sir. Let us know when you need another day off, please.” Gloria laughed, “Oh congratulations on your promotion.”

“Look what I have for you guys and gals!” Ceca held her hands out with the Eagles.

Tony whispered, “All eight of us?”

Ceca smiled from ear to ear while nodding her head yes.

“Holy Cow!” Several of them whispered.

John and Jenny were watching Beth Taylor and little Jimmy. Beth was sitting in a Christ Port with Jimmy sitting on the arm. Jimmy jumped down and ran into God disappearing for a bit.

Gaia came up and took Her mother’s hand, “OH, oh!” She said just above a whisper.

Four or five minutes later Jimmy came out looking the same but was also not the same.

“What happened?” Jenny said holding onto both John and Gaia.

“I’d say he is about 4” taller and ten pounds heavier.” John looked to his daughter Gaia who was trying to hide behind her mother.

Jenny glanced at John then turned to Gaia, “Is that what you have been doing every day?”

“Yes, mommy.” Gaia was looking at her shoes.

“Come on Daddy. Let’s talk to God.” Jenny pulled the two to God.

The president had come up to John just as Jenny had him moving towards God, “One-second honey.” John said, “Yes Mr. President.