Eden's War (A Distant Eden) Read Online Free PDF Page B

“Damn. Adrian its genius! It’s pure, bloody genius. You’re right, those ships are not built to withstand a direct explosion. Just one or two hits can sink most of them, and hitting them in the rudder even makes sinking them unnecessary, although I think that would sink most of them anyway. Damn! We can sink them all without losing one of our own in the process.” Then, more soberly the Admiral said “You’re also right about the challenge though. Getting enough of these made, all up and down the coast, is going to be the real challenge here. How do you think we’re going to do that?”
    Adrian replied, “We set up six locations on each coast where boats can be quickly retrofitted. We send out by runner a set of code keys that are to be distributed by hand across the country as fast as possible. I’ll come back to that in a minute. When we have the code keys distributed – and that has to happen very fast – we’ll broadcast by ham radio across the country, in code, the entire story of what we’re up against. The full story, the full set of choices. We ask for help from all former Americans to get to the shore, gather up as many boats as they can, and take them to their closest retrofit location. Others are to break into warehouses to get the materials to multiple locations that we’ll identify. We’ll send trucks or helicopters to gather the materials at those collection points, and take them to the nearest retrofit location.”
    Adrian paused for a long moment. “The key is to mobilize every able-bodied person in this country. We have to depend on their judgment that our assessment and response are correct. If they believe us, if we don’t keep any secrets about this operation, we just might pull it off. First we have to reach them in code. We have to move so fast that if the Chinese break the code it won’t matter,” Adrian stood without realizing it. “We have to put these boats together and get them out there and hit the invasion fleet before the Chinese can figure out what happened. If they figure it out too soon, they’ll figure out a defense, and the whole game will change – and not in our favor.”
    Linda saw the raw intensity of Adrian at that moment. His body is as rigid as iron, muscles popping like he’s in a hard workout. He’s on a mission now, a full-out, no holds barred, kill-the-enemy-right-now, mission. He has his plan in mind and is launching it, right here, right now. My God, that intensity is chilling, I wouldn’t want to be a Chinese out there on that ocean… they’re already dead. And he is going to pull this nation together in a way that none of us could ever have imagined.
    Adrian looked at Linda, he could see what she was thinking as clear as day. He gave her a little smile, then turned back to the table.
    “Here’s the detailed plan.” Adrian unrolled a large scale highway map of the former United States.

Chapter 5
    R ace saddled her horse and slung her gear over the back of the saddle. She picked up the rifle leaning on the corral rail and shoved it tightly into the leather scabbard that had been specifically designed for it. She double checked the saddle bag full of code sheets, each printed on waterproof paper. The bag also contained a map showing the known locations of ham operators in her assigned area. Having already said her goodbyes, she effortlessly lifted herself into the saddle, and hit the horse’s flanks with her heels. It took off at a fast trot, Bear loping along behind.
    This horse’s peculiar trot was jarring for the rider, but natural to the horse, and was a pace she knew the horse could keep up all day. Race knew what to do: she fully relaxed all the muscles in her body not actually needed for keeping her in the saddle, and semi-relaxed all of the muscles she did need. It took practice to do that, a certain kind of posture in the saddle, the posture seen in old paintings of cowboys at work. A slumping kind of look. A casual, yet athletic pose.