Michael Blair hurried in, looking flustered, and came through between the Terrans and Hyadeans who were watching. “What’s happening? I heard there was something big,” he said. Luodine turned from the console and summarized. “Oh my God!” Blair breathed.
“Whoever dreamed this up isn’t someone I’d want to play poker with,” Nacey said. “They’re stretched out to the limit—hanging on until the fleet from Hawaii gets within support range.” He pointed at a situation display map on one of the walls. “Obviously, the aim is to get viable land-based air flying from Mexico to pincer those carriers that are coming up. If they pull it off . . .” He drew a breath, shook his head, and left it at that.
Wyvex reappeared with Orzin in tow. Luodine and Nacey repeated the story. By this time, the Chinese spokeswoman was reporting Mexican government troops protecting Union air bases changing sides and opening them to the rebels.
Luodine was excited. The entire Union position in the south seemed to be collapsing. Reports since yesterday had described them as all but halted in Texas, with armor and other units standing down or coming over to the Federation en masse. She stared at the wall screen showing the map and saw the Pacific Coast secure, Alaska a part of the Federation in all but declaration, Canada on the verge of allying formally. All that was propping the Union up now was their Hyadean backing. And she and the others at the mission were revealing its true nature to the people of Chryse already. Surely it couldn’t last much longer now.
Only then did she become aware of a shrill tone emanating from one of the consoles across the room. Orzin turned his head sharply in alarm; at the same instant, an eerie wail started somewhere outside the building, rising in pitch and volume. A screen illuminated, showing a map of the Los Angeles coast with an inset of Hyadean symbols. On it was a line beginning from a point twenty miles or so out in the ocean and passing right over the mission’s location on Carson Street. The line bore a red dot moving steadily inland. A Hyadean voice in public-address mode filled the room. “Alert! Alert! Submarine missile launch detected thirty-one kilometers, bearing two-twenty degrees. Three of them, heading directly at us. Estimated impact forty-two seconds. Evacuate immediately!” Wyvex translated for the Terrans, his voice cracking.
Luodine felt her mouth turn dry. Orzin turned a dazed face to the room. “Get out of the building as fast as you can. Keep it orderly. Use the stairs at both ends. . . .”
Even as he spoke, figures were sliding up out of chairs and converging toward the door, some forcing to get ahead, others refusing to yield as survival instincts took over; a few remained unmoving, transfixed in disbelief. Luodine found herself being drawn forward into the crush pressing to get through the door, conscious of a raw smell of fear all around, somehow being contained just short of panic. Somebody behind her was whimpering, shoving her in the back. Luodine jabbed back savagely with a elbow. There was an eternity of jostling, pushing, frightened voices, some blows. Then she was out in the corridor, running with the bodies around her, colliding with others coming out of doorways, running again, through onto crowded stairs . . . even though she knew already that they were never going to make it.
Luodine was still on the stairs between the third and second floors when the three missiles hit their target precisely at five-second intervals. Sending three had been insurance against possible defenses that had failed to materialize. Each of them carried a Hyadean catalyzed hydrogen warhead of power intermediate between high explosive and nuclear, and was capable of taking out a city block.
* * *
The flyer was over Seal Beach, when the synthetic voice of the vehicle’s supervisory AI issued from the forward panel. “Attention, please. Situation irregularity. We have lost our destination beacon and ground coordination transmission. Request instructions.” Cade, startled, looked at Marie, then across at Luke. Luke shook his head to say he didn’t know what they were supposed to do, either.