New Earth: The Sedna/Kern Incident

By R.D. Pittman

The third installment of the New Earth Trilogy finds Alex Hanken facing the ultimate threat to the planet Earth. In the terrifying conclusion of this series Alex must not only summon his courage, but the nation's as well, to face what could very well be the end of mankind. Alex reconstitutes his team of specialists from the ranks of his own family, the FBI, the U.S. Navy Seals, and the two Russian spies that came together to help in restoring democracy to the United States in the second book of the trilogy.

A massive effort is put in motion to help prepare the nation for the impending disaster. The nation's economic might is unleashed against the backdrop of an unrelenting force of the universe moving toward the planet...a heartless, mindless entity that knows no geographic boundaries, speaks no language, and recognizes no God. While the world prepares for the inevitable rendezvous with fate, the story takes you around the globe so you can witness the drama that unfolds in people's lives and how they react to the reality they may perish very soon.

This book is about courage, faith, human nature, and what desperate people will do when they fear for their lives. But in the end it's about an American patriot that steps forward when the nation needs him the most.

• Language: English
• Publisher: eBookIt.com
• Release date: Apr 26, 2016
• ISBN: 9781456606022

Book preview

life.

Chapter One

Déjà vu

How is it that we just picked this up? Alex asked.

We have a satellite that’s an enhancement to the old Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) program, it is equipped with a device called a coronagraph, which blocks the sun’s surface glare so you can pick up large ejections and flares that would otherwise be invisible. The comet that created the disturbance in the asteroid belt, which the conspirators used to trick everyone during the coup d’etat, has been traveling in its altered elliptical orbit around the sun and headed back through our galaxy at an accelerated speed very close to the sun. We didn’t have access to the satellite until a month ago and picked up the trail of Sedna/Kern p236 coming out of its pass around the sun. There was no need to scan that area while the false program sent out what we thought were real-time images of asteroids heading toward earth. What the conspirators didn’t realize was they were preventing the scientists of the world from discovering the imminent threat from the comet until this past month. General, it’s going to strike the earth; it is two miles wide and ten miles long at the core, the tail is some four hundred thousand miles long. It will be here in one hundred eighty seven days, Kumar sat nervously wiping his brow.

Has this been verified by any other independent scientists? Alex asked.

Yes, we have independent verification from nine other observatories around the world, so if you’re thinking there is another rogue program at work, I’m afraid it’s not possible. Systems were delinked from one another to avoid that happening again. The data has been checked thoroughly by some of the best scientific minds in our field, it is incontrovertible.

Exactly what are we facing Professor Kumar? Alex asked.

It is an extremely large mass moving at an incredible speed. There is good news and bad news. The good news is that it is a comet, made up of gas, rock, small sand like particles, and some larger asteroid like bodies. The speed at which it is traveling will cause a large portion of the comet to burn up in the atmosphere. That’s the good news; the bad news is in the core of the comet we have detected numerous objects that will probably survive the entry into our atmosphere. This fact increases the likelihood of strikes affecting a larger portion of the earth’s surface. I can’t ever recall seeing a comet with such a dense concentration of independent bodies traveling in concert with it. I’m afraid we are in for a pummeling with hundreds of small to medium strikes. We could also see several large impacts on both land and in the oceans as this comet disintegrates over the earth’s surface.

Have you been able to pinpoint projected impact areas? Alex asked.

Yes, we have come to a consensus among ourselves that the first strikes will occur in the eastern Atlantic near the British Isles. With possible additional strikes occurring in the English Channel, then multiple ground and air explosions will hit France, Germany and Russia; resulting in catastrophic damage. If the comet splits into separate bodies and that is a distinct possibility, the Middle East and Asia as well as the Pacific Ocean could be hit in the same manner as Europe.

What’s your estimate of loss of life?

We estimate close to five hundred million people will die in the first scenario, if Sedna/Kern splits and hits the Middle East and Asian countries… then it becomes difficult to imagine the death toll much less predict. In my personal opinion we are looking at probably a billion lives lost within a week of the strikes, the death toll will almost double within sixty days as resources are depleted and disease pandemics set in.

Will we have a nuclear winter effect?

To some degree, but unlike a large asteroid strike, there will not be nearly the impact severity and the resultant ejection into the atmosphere. We may have one to two years of sun blockage at most. All that is caveated with, unless the comet stays intact and strikes the earth. General that would be what is known as an extinction level event…the extinction of man. But, if we are lucky we will have time to recover underground and restart crop and food production once the atmosphere stabilizes. Since you did such an outstanding job of preparing us for the false alarm, there is not much for us to do here in the U.S.

Professor, I can house around eighty thousand people in bunkers and at converted military bases, but that still leaves over two hundred fifty million Americans at risk. I’m not comfortable saying we don’t have much to do.

I apologize. I didn’t mean to marginalize the issue.

Do your scientists have a time frame in mind as to when they will announce this to the world?

That’s why I’m here, they’ve agreed to wait for you to make the announcement and they will back you up. It has been suggested you should make the statement before the United Nations with a worldwide broadcast.

Professor Kumar, I’m preparing to retire now that this dreadful affair with the overthrow of the government has passed. This is more appropriate for the President or President-elect to decide not me.

General, you are revered throughout the world, some religions have deified you, and people trust what you say. I am not sure the current President-elect will create the same sense of urgency that is needed to face this threat.

You do realize worldwide panic will break out, anarchy will spread everywhere and we may not survive that? All right, I will sit down with the President-elect and his newly formed Cabinet to express your desire, but he or President Cantwell may very well opt to make the announcement, I have no control over that decision.

Thank you General, I will wait to hear from you.

Alex buzzed Sandi’s office and asked her to come in. As Sandi walked in he turned and looked at her, she knew something was wrong, she had learned to pick up on his facial expressions… he had a look of desperation.

Alex, what’s wrong? she hurried to his side.

Alex’s hand began to tremble, his voice cracked; his stomach was churning as he relayed the startling news he and Professor Kumar had just discussed. They needed to start contingency planning immediately.

Dear God, Alex, this can’t be happening, please tell me this is not happening? Sandi sat down in a chair, she inhaled deeply aghast at the prospect of what he had just relayed to her. The emotions rushed forth overwhelming her; she began to cry with her hands to her face. With all that they had endured—all she had endured—to face the possibility that this nightmare may very well come true was just too much.

Alex sat down across from her and pulled his chair close. He placed his hands on her face, looked her directly in her eyes and spoke softly while she cried almost mournfully.

My sweet, dear Sandi, I am so sorry, I love you, and that love is what drives me to love life.

—Alex? tears streaming down her cheeks.

Honey, if I could make it go away I would, but this is real and we have children and grandchildren to think of, they’ll be looking to us for guidance and leadership, Alex tried to calm her while struggling to get himself under control.

Alex I’m so tired, we’ve given nearly everything we could to this country, you have performed magnificently …it’s just not fair. She became engulfed in the moment once again sobbing into her hands, shaking her head back and forth.

No…God no, it can’t be…please tell me this can’t be Alex?

Holding her hands in his, picking her chin up, and looking into those tear filled smoky blue eyes.

You have been my rock through all of this, look what we’ve accomplished, and all the trials we have been through together, you and I stood up to all the challenges. We’re an unbeatable team you and I, now don’t cry for us, cry for the millions who are going to vanish in six months. We have living people we must take care of, our family and close advisors, like Ted Jeffers and Pete Cernak. What about Tina and Mike? We don’t have the luxury of letting down, they need to be positioned to survive this, we’ve got to get organized and move quickly, Alex spoke softly to her.

Alex, you know I would walk through fire for you, tell me what you want me to do? Sandi said as she took a deep breath, lifted her chin, and straightened her back.

Right now, gather your strength, and remind yourself that I love you. I have to go to the President-elect and break the bad news. You are my strength always remember that.

Alex walked into the briefing room where the President-elect and his quickly convened Cabinet were seated.

Alex, we’re all here, you have the floor, President-elect Thomas Coble said.

Thank you Mr. President, Cabinet members. I have distressing news; this morning Professor Kumar of Cal Tech in Pasadena informed me that the comet Sedna/Kern p236 has changed its normal orbit and is in fact headed for an intercept with earth in approximately one hundred eighty-seven days.

For a brief moment there was an eerie silence, it was terror being held in abeyance by desperate people trying to cope with information so devastating that it took their breath away. Then, the first utterances from the shocked group of men and women penetrated the quiet.

Dear God—heavens—lord help us—my God—how is this possible?—is this some kind of sick joke?—this can’t be happening. The tension became too much for some, several became nauseous and excused themselves. Others sat comatose, in disbelief at what they had just heard. Many stared expressionless off into space, their eyes glazed over.

My God Alex, in a little over six months? Why wasn’t there an earlier indication of this catastrophe coming our way? the President-elect inquired.

Unfortunately, the Circle’s false program prevented the scientists from adequately screening for this. They discovered it only a month ago after one of their deep space satellites became available and they had been properly repositioned. Professor Kumar and a host of world renowned experts have verified the findings and according to him the conclusion is incontrovertible.

The room began to fill up as the Cabinet members who left the room filed back in and others at the briefing table began to recover from the shock. Coble stood and paced around the table, one hand up to his chin, the other hand trailing behind him. He stopped—

Alex, this Cabinet—this President—are not prepared to handle this. We’ve just been elected to office. I haven’t even been sworn in and many of the Cabinet members don’t have their second in commands in place yet.

There was a general sense of agreement among all in attendance, nodding positively, some heads bowed, others still reeling from the revelation. But, what the President-elect said was in fact reality.

The President-elect’s National Security Advisor, Homer Bailey spoke.

Mr. President, General Hanken so ably organized the massive redeployment, and then single handedly put together a far reaching and comprehensive survival strategy. But I think what was most impressive was how he handled the country while President Betts was indisposed, vigorously pursuing the conspirators who were eventually brought to trial. It is my strongest recommendation he be given full reign to prepare the nation for this cataclysmic event. We simply do not have the luxury of time for all here to become acquainted with what has to be done and implement a strategy. General Hanken already has the strategy in place; let him execute it…that’s what he does best.

Homer, I’m inclined to agree with you. How do the rest of you feel about this suggestion? The President-elect polled his Cabinet. There was little hesitation on anyone’s part, they knew Bailey was right.

Well, I hate to be cast as a President who backed off from a challenge, but I can’t let pride get in the way. We are talking about a survival end game here. General Hanken you are the most valuable military man this country has had in a long time. You championed the nation and restored democracy. You’re a modern day hero, we need you to step in and take over. The people of the United States need you once again. Mr. President, this is your call you’re still the sitting President.

Arthur Cantwell, the current President, and the former Cabinet member who succeeded President Betts after his untimely death, stood to address the group.

General Hanken, you are hereby authorized to speak for and on behalf of this Presidency, to act, direct, and authorize such activity, and to spend necessary Treasury funds to insure that a viable survival strategy is in place. You may implement such policies for both domestic and foreign affairs as you deem necessary. I am also taking the extraordinary step of promoting you to a five star general, that way there is no question that you head up all military units of this country. Alex will you accept this monumental task before us all?

Mr. President, Professor Kumar and his group of scientists have suggested I go before the UN to announce this finding, do you wish me to take on that as well?

Yes, and that day or evening I will speak to the nation and explain, I’m sure to everyone’s relief, that you are in charge of our military forces and the all-important survival strategy.

Very well Mr. President, Cabinet members, I accept, and may God bless the United States in this time of peril. I’ll keep you informed of our progress and the details of my plan as they unfold.

Thank you, and God’s speed to you and your people.

The President reminded everyone this fell under the U.S. Secrets Act, not to divulge this information to anyone outside the room until Alex and the President had the chance to announce it.

The meeting was adjourned and Alex flew back to the Pentagon where Sandi was waiting in his office. She greeted him with a long kiss and a lingering rocking back and forth hug nothing said between them for a few brief moments. Until finally——

How’d the meeting go?

Obviously, they were stunned, I can’t even begin to describe the emotions that I witnessed come over everyone at that moment, it was surreal to say the least.

And?

They, excuse me, the President, put both you and I in charge of the survival plan again. We have absolute power to do whatever is necessary to get the nation ready for this disaster.

So what do we do next Alex?

I need you to get our team back together and have them report to the survival facility at Coeur d’Alene. I am reconstituting our original plan and reassigning staff accordingly, with modifications of course.

What about Elena and Andrade and their baby, your godson?

I’ll call Kleskova this afternoon to tell him the bad news and ask if we may bring them back to the U.S.; I’ll offer him and some of his key people the same refuge, Alex stated.

Okay, it looks like I’ve got a lot of work to do. I love you Alex, and I have total confidence you will get us through this. Sandi stood and kissed him, then went to her office, sat down, and holding back the tears began the process of pulling everyone back together again.

Alex placed a call to President Kleskova and spent a good hour and a half on the phone filling him in on the details. Kleskova was genuinely moved when Alex offered to house him and family in the Coeur d’ Alene survival shelter, but respectfully declined saying his country would need him there. They would implement a crash program to build as many survival facilities as possible. Alex said he would send the punch list he used for staffing and equipping his various facilities by courier. Alex would then dispatch the private jet to St. Petersburg to pick up Elena and Andrade.

My friend, whatever fate hands us, you have shown yourself to be a valued ally and it has been an honor to know you, we will stay in close contact as the date draws near, Kleskova finished the call.

After finishing his call with President Kleskova, Alex called Elena and Andrade to tell them he was sending the corporate jet to pick them up the next day. Elena and Andrade began packing immediately; she had to consider the baby now, not just her and Andrade. They packed clothes, legal documents, and a one-year supply of prescription medicine for the baby. Elena and Andrade were ready and praying that Alex would once again come to their rescue. They knew the Soviets would not provide the kind of survival facilities Alex would prepare.

Alex’s work was far from over for the day; next on the agenda was Admiral Hanover, the Pacific Fleet Commander, he briefed him on what was to happen around July 1st of the coming year.

Felix, I want you to begin redeploying your carriers and support ships to the Gulf of Mexico. Then mobilize your west coast personnel to begin shifting men and material at least two hundred fifty miles inland along the entire west coast. Start immediately to stockpile food and medical supplies to support your entire command for two years in the high desert area of southern California. That means setting up bivouac areas all around Hemet, Palm Springs and Lancaster. You’ll need water, fuel and portable generators. Think of it as a mass migration eastward and your people will be living a Spartan life for at least two years. If the event passes and there’s no threat to the west coast…we can always return. Let’s hope that’s the case.

Jesus Christ Alex, I can’t believe this is happening. How much authority do I have to get what I need from vendors, some of these people may try to put me off with a long production schedule?

Felix, if someone pointed a gun to my head and said, ‘You either give me what I want now or I’ll shoot you and deal with the next in line,’ I might be persuaded to listen, Alex replied.

That’s what I needed to hear, I’m calling my key division officers for an emergency meeting in two hours. We will implement plans tonight and be running at full steam by tomorrow morning. We need to get a jump on January 2nd, because all hell will break loose after that.

Felix, one last thing, send the west coast Seal detachment to Coeur d’Alene and keep me posted on your progress.

Alex made one more call later that afternoon to Harlan Monroe at Ft. Lewis in Washington State. Monroe was as stunned as Admiral Hanover, but understood the urgency of getting things underway immediately before the ensuing chaos set in.

Harlan, you have the facility managers numbers, contact them and have everyone ready for a conference call tomorrow at nine a.m. eastern time.

Consider it done, talk to you tomorrow at nine.

Sandi walked in and sat down with a long face and forlorn look.

The kids were so upset, they feel their whole world is slipping away, they feel cheated. We’re going to have some adjustment issues I fear, Sandi said.

Yeah, I guess if I was in their shoes, I’d feel the same way. But we can’t let them go out and throw a pity party. We’ve got to get them involved, keep them busy, maintain their focus on the big picture. I’ll make you a deal, you handle the girls and the babies, and I’ll handle Curt, Mike, Bill, and Andrade. You and the girls did such a good job handling the supplies and food distribution before let’s put the girls on task for replenishing the supplies at the facilities nationwide.

That’s an excellent idea, I’ll have them rotate and take care of the babies one day then work the vendors the next day. With Elena it gives me four people to handle the mission, that should work, Sandi said.

When we get to Coeur d’ Alene, I’ll assign more staff to help you with the workload.

Alex was particularly attentive to Sandi that night. He knew she was feeling vulnerable. Maybe it was the challenge he was facing that was causing his testosterone levels to spike. Sandi had never seen Alex so aggressive yet tender in bed before. He picked her up and gently laid her back down on the bed and kissed her softly.

Alex whispered as he gazed into her mesmerizing smoky blue eyes.

I have never loved someone as much as I love you, you are my life, I’ve loved you across time. And I will love you until time comes to an end.

Alex, your passion was on a different level tonight, instead of making love to me, you made me feel loved. It is very important to me and I love you so much for that. Also…we need more comets to threaten earth. Alex felt her passion and understood her humor…he would come to rely heavily on both as precious time passed.

Chapter Two

Gearing Up

Alex had the Pentagon operator connect all his former facility managers to his secure phone in his Pentagon office for the nine o’clock conference call.

Agnes is everyone on the line? Alex asked.

Yes General, I took a roll call and everyone on the list is present.

Thank you Agnes, now route this through the scrambler and disconnect your side.

Yes sir.

"Good morning ladies and gentlemen, I assume all of you are familiar with what we’re now facing. As of this moment I’m implementing the survival strategy that was in place before. Everyone from the west coast to the east coast will assume your original positions, you are to immediately inspect your facilities, determine what material and supplies you will need for a sustained two-year period post event. All military commanders are to reassign your military units as before, get critical armor and airplanes into their respective locations for storage, our depots have been untouched and are in good shape. Admiral Hanover is heading up a task force to move most west coast Naval, Marine and Army personnel inland and will set up bivouac areas in eastern California. The Pacific Fleet is being moved to the Gulf of Mexico, the submarine units will stay on duty at their assigned locations until shortly before the comet hits the earth, then they will go into deep waters to ride out any tsunamis that may develop in the Pacific. The several thousand civilian technical specialists are being notified and will be dispatched to their originally assigned facilities. I will establish my headquarters at the Coeur d’Alene facility. We will maintain communication using the same numbers and terminal prefixes as before. On January 2nd I will announce to the world what we have learned and as you can imagine pandemonium will reign supreme.

That’s why you must work non-stop from this moment on to be prepared before the whole fabric of society breaks down. You must get your supplies and foodstuffs ordered and in transit before wholesale riots take place. People are going to panic, your facilities could come under siege, therefore you must ensure all adequate security measures are taken. I’m placing at your disposal three hundred heavy cargo planes at Air Force bases across the nation to move men and material and to retrieve supplies and food at vendor locations throughout the country. Colonel Brad Cole at Nellis will coordinate the utilization of these planes to meet your mission requirements. Now I’m open to questions, Alex paused and waited.

General, who do we take orders from, you or the President or the new President-elect when he is inaugurated? Admiral Byers asked.

President Cantwell will address the nation on the day I appear at the UN, he will explain that I’m in control of the entire survival strategy as the President-elect and the Cabinet would not be up to speed to handle the threat. Remember, they haven’t even been sworn in yet. Oh yes, and one final note. He promoted me to a fifth star as a congratulations on a job well done, but the more I think about it, I’m not so sure, laughter could be heard in the background.

To answer your question you will take your orders from me for now.

What if the President issues a conflicting order? General Tymes asked.

I’ll see to it that he doesn’t General, Alex responded.

How do you propose to keep him from doing that? Monroe interjected.

They’re both reasonable men, bear in mind Cantwell literally abdicated his authority to me.

General, what if these vendors say they can’t release that much inventory at one time or they put us off for weeks or months? the General followed up.

I want all of you to pay close attention to what I say, if you encounter even the slightest resistance, you tell them this, that General Hanken has your GPS coordinates locked, if my trucks or one of my planes pulls up to your dock and the requested material is not there well, you don’t even want to know what happens next." Murmurs of approval could be heard in the background.

Seriously though, we’re not going to go around threatening people with cruise missile strikes, just remind them that General Hanken has a long memory, he’ll not forget those who are a friend, but he will definitely remember those who aren’t. More cheers and clapping in approval.

General, you mentioned possible sieges at our facilities, how far do we go in dealing with civilians? General Paul Amos of Nellis AFB asked.

"Paul, regrettably we must ensure the integrity of these facilities, remember many of these facilities are not just military. We’ll have critical civilian personnel at some sites to help restart the country after the event. To answer your question, I want a kill zone clearly marked with signs to that effect; these zones are