Part 27 (1/2)

He wasn't sure how he'd just kept pressing b.u.t.tons, hoping none of them was the self*destruct switch. Not a perfect method, but the best he could come up with.

Now it was talking to him, showing him pictures, instead of spraying perfume at him. The voice was pleasant, male, vaguely Celtic.

He'd called it Pad.

'Pad, when the leader went through his invasion plans, he said he could disable all the electrical equipment with an Ee and Pee something or other.'

'The EMP cannon.'

'In English?'

'The EMP cannon,' it repeated.

'Er... in shorter English words that, say, a small child would understand.'

'A...' it hesitated, whirred, '...gun that... uses electricity to create a... big magnet... that breaks electrical equipment.'

'A powerful weapon.'

'Yes.'

'A big weapon?'

'Yes.' There was an edge of impatience in Pad's voice.

'Where is it?'

'The EMP cannon runs the full length of the s.h.i.+p, from the engines at the rear to the parabolic projector at the front.'

'What defence is there against it?'

'None. It is crude, but totally effective. It is possible to s.h.i.+eld against small electromagnetic pulses, but this weapon can burn through all known s.h.i.+elding.'

'If the Ee and Pee cannon was disabled, then would the Onihrs be able to invade Earth?'

'They would encounter heavy resistance, and face twenty percent casualties. The probability of total victory is over ninety*nine percent, with a ninety*five percent chance of that victory within one day, a ninety*two percent chance of that victory within six hours. There is a fifteen percent chance of humans destroying their own civilisation with nuclear weapons rather than surrendering, or as an accidental or collateral consequence of the Onihr attack.'

'Would they go ahead with the invasion in those circ.u.mstances?'

Pad whirred. 'The EMP cannon is active, so no statistical data or precedent exists.'

Fitz mused on that for a while. Was a nuclear holocaust after a day of hopeless resistance any better than five minutes of no resistance at all? He was tempted to ask Pad.

It bought more time, that was certain.

Anji was definitely alive, the Doctor almost certainly was. Anji knew about the Onihrs, now, so perhaps the Doctor did. The two of them might only need a day to sort things out.

'How would I sabotage the Ee and Pee cannon?' he asked.

And Pad told him.

Baskerville was in the rear compartment with Anji, and he'd just called Dee in with them. Leo was safe in the c.o.c.kpit.

So Cosgrove and Mather were alone for the first time.

'Where's he taking us?' Cosgrove asked.

'No idea.'

'You don't have a GPS tracker?'

'If it was working, I'd know where we were, wouldn't I?'

They were both peering out of the window. They'd crossed the Black Sea. The terrain below looked like it could be the Ukraine. Equally, it could be Russia, or Georgia. Maybe even Eastern Turkey or Kurdistan. Five countries that just about covered the spectrum of political affiliations, none of which were entirely safe, three of which were in the middle of civil wars.

'We've a chance to agree strategy, while Baskerville's busy with that alien.'

President Mather's instinct was to keep his mouth shut, but then he remembered who he was talking to. Cosgrove had been entrusted with secrets that were kept from Prime Ministers and Presidents. Mather knew more than most he'd been CIA, he'd been an astronaut working on all three SDI projects, he'd been Secretary of State during the Canisian invasion. But he suspected Cosgrove knew more than he did.

'Those aliens,' Mather said. 'Do you recognise them?'

'No,' Cosgrove said. 'You?'

'No.'

'It adds another dimension to all this.'

'Makes a squabble between the United States and the Eurozone look insignificant? I suppose they'd be above all this.'

Cosgrove laughed. 'I was wondering if they'd take sides, actually. The Eurozone might be able to offer them something they want.'

'You, a loyal servant of Europe? We both know you'd fill in the Channel Tunnels given a chance.'

Cosgrove looked offended. 'I'm no Little Englander. There's not a drop of English blood in my veins. But, then, there's no such thing as Eurozone blood, is there? You've dealt with them, Felix. They're bloodless, faceless. There's no history, no values, just political expediency. All they want is someone else to pay their farmers and fight their wars for them. When I speak up, they offer to increase my salary. They've turned me into a mercenary mercenary. The only reason they have power is that there's not been a major war on their watch. And that record is going to come to an end, in a matter of weeks.'

'It might not.'

'You don't sound convinced.'

Mather took a deep breath. 'Well, perhaps that's because I know you're right.'

'It's madness, it's suicide, and it's inevitable.'

'Nothing is inevitable. Jonah... we've known each other for a long time.'

'Yes.'

'I trust you. More than pretty well any of my advisors.'