When the Gods Aren't Gods: Book Two of The Theogony Read Free

chief, looking at a monitor that showed the interior of the hangar and the shuttle that now had 25 feet out of the replicator, “but you know that they never work correctly when they come out of the replicator. We’ll be working on it for at least a day or two.”
    “Probably,” replied Calvin. “Do what you can, but don’t fly 02 again until its AI is happy. If anyone on Earth complains, have them comm me.”
    “Thank you sir,” answered the master chief. “That was really starting to worry me.”
    “If it worries you, master chief, it worries me,” said Calvin. “Let me know if you have any other problems.”
    “Aye aye, sir,” the master chief replied.

 
 
JFCC Space Operations Center, Vandenberg AFB, California, December 3, 2019
    “I’ve got gate activation!” cried the airman who monitored the stargate entry system for Strategic Command’s Joint Functional Component Command (JFCC) for Space. “Activation of Stargate #2!”
    “ Roger,” replied his supervisor, who knew that #2 was the ‘back door’ out of the Solar System. “Get me an ID on it ASAP!”
    The airman watched his instrumentation carefully, changing the brightness on one of his displays as if that would make it run faster. “It’s the Vella Gulf , sir!” he finally called. “The Vella Gulf’s back!”
    “Stand down all defenses!” ordered the supervisor. “Transmit ‘Welcome home’ to Captain Deutch and his crew, please.”
     
     
    * * * * *
     
     

Chapter Two
     

Conference Room, DUCC, Washington, DC, December 5, 2019
    President Bill Jacobs surveyed the faces of his cabinet from his position at the head of the large conference table in the Deep Underground Command Center (DUCC). Originally envisioned in 1963, the command center was built to provide a workplace for key decision makers that would be able to survive any attack made on the United States. The command center was built under the West Wing of the White House so that the president and his team could access it at a moment’s notice. It was the most secure facility on the planet, which made it the ideal place to hold strategy sessions. The only people that could penetrate its security were the Psiclopes. The president had already learned that trying to keep them out was just a waste of time, so he no longer bothered. He had nothing to hide from them, anyway, and more important things to do than worry about their spying.
    You could almost tell what the news was going to be just by looking at the faces, Jacobs thought. The Secretary of Defense talked in an animated manner with the Treasury Secretary. Obviously the Defense Department had something ‘new and vital’ that the Secretary of Defense needed to come up with funding for. Commerce and the Interior were in a heated argument over something, probably the opening of yet another mine in a national park somewhere. The Secretary of Energy looked guarded as he talked with Labor; it looked like both good news and bad news from both of them. All of his cabinet was in attendance; the Speaker of the House, the President pro tempore of the Senate and Lieutenant Commander Hobbs were also attending in an ex officio status. He nodded to the vice president, seated to his left, who called the meeting to order.
    “If I could have everyone’s attention,” said the vice president in a loud voice, “we’ll get this going. We have a lot to talk about , and the president thought that it would be good to have everyone in attendance.” He paused and looked at his notes. “It’s been six months since the Vella Gulf got back from its first mission. While there’s been a lot accomplished in that time, there remains a tremendous amount left to do. If an alien race invaded right now, we would not be prepared to stop it.”
    It was a harsh statement, but the president knew it was true. A little over a year previously, three aliens had made their presence on Earth known to Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) Shawn ‘Calvin’ Hobbs, who