“And you believe the only way to prevent that is for us to recall the Icebreaker and declare a cease-fire?” Tyson asked. “After these beings have already attacked us and killed millions of innocent people?”
“If we continue to escalate this pointless conflict with them, they’re going to exterminate all of us in a few hours anyway,” he said. “Admiral Vance is wrong. Launching the Icebreaker at Europa won’t stop the second or third wave of their armada from attacking us—quite the opposite. It will seal their decision to destroy us!”
“He’s right,” I said. “We have to take this chance. Humanity has nothing to lose—nothing we’re not going to lose anyway. We can go down fighting, but we’ll still end up extinct.”
Dr. Tyson nodded. “Unfortunately, it may already be too late for us to convince the EDA command to act on this information,” he said. “Admiral Vance still isn’t answering our calls, and the second wave of the attack is only minutes away.”
“The Icebreaker will be within firing range just a few minutes after that,” Shostak added. “Perhaps the Europans timed it that way?”
“Don’t bother contacting Admiral Vance,” my father said. “He won’t listen.”
“You’re damn right, I won’t,” Admiral Vance said as his face appeared in a video window alongside the half dozen others on the call.
I blinked in surprise. Apparently Vance knew a few QComm tricks of his own.
“I’ve listened to about as much of this treasonous talk as I can stomach,” he said, and reached up and tapped his QComm screen several times in rapid succession. One by one, each member of the Armistice Council was disconnected from the conference call. When he was done, only my father and I remained on the line with him. His haggard face grew to fill half my display, scowling at us in crystal-clear high-definition.
“Don’t bother trying to call the council back,” he told us. “I’ve just locked all of their QComms, so don’t hold your breath for them to call you either.”
My father didn’t respond right away. He just glared at his old comrade in silence over the video link for a long moment.
“How long have you known about that weaponized Envoy lander, Archie?” my dad finally asked. “How long have you known that we’re the ones who started this war?”
“I found out when they put me in charge,” he said. “And by then, it no longer mattered. And it most definitely does not matter now.” He paused. “Whether or not they lured us into this war is irrelevant at this point. Can’t you see that, Xavier? We’re fighting for the survival of our species! Informing the world that humanity may have accidentally incited this conflict wouldn’t help the situation.”
“Accidentally?” I said. “Nixon had NASA send a nuke as our first olive branch, Dr. Strangelove!”
“You and your son need to give up on this nonsense, General,” Vance said. “I need you both back on the front lines, right now, before the second wave makes landfall.”
My dad shook his head. “No, Archie,” he said. “We’re done fighting. Both of us.”
Vance frowned. “Funny. I never pegged you for a deserter—or a coward.”
“The Europans know about the Icebreaker, Admiral,” my father said. “They have to. Their technology is slightly more advanced than ours. You noticed that, right?”
Vance snorted. “If they’ve spotted the Icebreaker, why haven’t they destroyed it?”
“Because they’re waiting to see if you’ll actually use it, you obtuse prick!” my father shouted back. “That’s the whole reason they’re attacking us in waves instead of all at once! Don’t you see? They’re testing us!” He lowered his voice. “Archie, listen to me, man. This is how we survive. They’re giving us a chance to reconsider—to think all of this through, instead of blindly retaliating, just like we’ve always done in the past!”
“We’ve had this argument before, X.” Vance shook his head. “Many times. You know I’m not going to risk the survival of the human species on some big fat maybe that you cooked up because you’ve seen too many old movies.” He pointed up. “Those things—whatever they are—have already killed millions of innocent human beings, and I’m not going to recall our last chance to destroy them before they destroy us. I don’t care who else you’ve convinced of your asinine fairy tale. The decision is made.”
“Archie,” my father repeated, struggling to remain calm, “I’m telling you right now, if you launch those nukes at their home, you’re ensuring the destruction of ours!”
Vance studied him for a moment, then tapped his wristwatch.
“I guess we’ll find out which who’s right in about twenty-three minutes,” he replied. Before my father could reply, Vance hung up, leaving the two of us alone on the line together. My father’s face enlarged to fill my whole QComm display. He looked utterly defeated for a second. But then he broke into a broad smile.
“Oh well,” he said. “I guess this means we go to Plan B.”
I shook my head. “Remind me what Plan B was again?”