CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
A shocked silence had gripped the White House communications room.
The readout screen still held the computer’s acknowledgments of the three codes required to unlock the Omega trigger. The release sequence of the safety interlocks was recorded, showing POSITIVE at each stage, and beneath those was the final confirmation that the firing command had been issued.
“Please repeat that message,” Nash whispered to the image of General Miller that was staring out at him from an adjacent screen.
“Confirm negative function,” Miller recited. “Device Omega has not activated. Repeat—has not activated. Firing command acknowledgment received and indicates local defusing procedure has been implemented.”
“My God...!” Schroder breathed. “Do you realize what we almost did? There were only two people up there who knew the location and the defusing procedure. Krantz isn’t even on Janus anymore. It can only mean that Linsay must have got there. It was right next to the fusion plant.”
“Not necessarily,” Belford said woodenly. “How do you know it wasn’t Spartacus that defused it?”
“That’s impossible’.” Schroder protested.
Belford smiled humorlessly. “Impossible? Who says so? How many other things were supposed to have been impossible?” He looked at Nash. “It’s building an impregnable fortress out there and equipping itself with ships. It’s already started cannibalizing Janus so we know it’s running short of materials. The next obvious thing for it to do will be to send out missions to search for more. It’ll be on the Moon inside a week. Once it gets control of that there will be no stopping it ever.”
“What else can we do?” Nash asked, spreading his arms despairingly.
“Inertial missiles,” Belford answered. “Launched on pure ballistic trajectories without any guidance systems that can be burned out by X-rays. Also shielded to protect against premature detonation...internal time fuses so they don’t rely on any form of remote control that might get jammed.”
“It could still get locked out by antimissile missiles,” Nash pointed out.
“Spartacus hasn’t used anything like that—yet!” Belford replied. “All the more reason to move fast—like now!”
“How long would it take?” Nash asked.
“We could probably try launching the missiles we’ve got out there on ballistic courses right now. They’re not shielded but it’d only need one to get through. We can use nukes now. In the meantime we start adding shielding to a reserve supply back here straightaway. I reckon we could have the job done and get them to Janus in about...aw, say twenty-four hours.”
Nash looked at Schroder.
“Why not?” Schroder sighed with defeat and shrugged wearily. “It doesn’t make any difference now. We might as well—“ Miller’s voice interrupted from the screen. He sounded incredulous:
“A report has just come in from Surveillance...They think there’s still somebody alive on Janus.”
Schroder and Belford leaped forward to crowd behind Nash at the panel.
“Well...?” Nash demanded after an agony of seconds had passed.
“Report being checked now,” Miller replied.
“It’s not possible,” Belford whispered, white-faced.
“He did make it,” Schroder said in wondering tones. “It has to be Linsay...It has to be...He did get there...”
Then Miller spoke again. This time his voice was unable to conceal excitement.
“It’s positive, repeat—positive! Human figures positively identified on Detroit. They’re at the place where Linsay’s assault went in. Normal communications are not functioning but they’ve set up a visual beacon and commenced signaling. First message being decoded now. We’ll put it on the beam, channel six.”
“Put channel six up on one of these screens,” Nash snapped at the officer manning the console behind them. Another eternity passed while they waited. Then Miller spoke again.
“More human figures have been identified on the Hub. There are quite a few moving around the large hole that the assault wave came out of. There are two more standing in a partly open airlock farther around on the south side. A lot of waving and moving around...Looks like the war’s over. We’re continuing to scan for signs of any more.”
And then, at last, another of the screens suddenly came to life. The message on it read:
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED. SPARTACUS DEACTIVATED. REPEAT—SPARTACUS DEACTIVATED. JANUS NOW FULLY SECURED. GET US OFF THIS GODDAM PLACE.
LINSAY.