General Duffy and his elite troops rode a personnel carrier to escort Mallory Duncan to the waiting space shuttle. Behind them, Duffy's mechanized vehicles spread out around the facility.
The craft sat horizontally, a super jetliner. Duffy scanned his ID to open an airlock. Armed troops led the way as the group wound around the unused concrete hallways and through a bulkhead.
In the concourse, Duffy, Mallory Duncan and the troops jumped the line to board the shuttle first.
Mallory turned and extends her hand. "Thank you, General."
"It's a little preliminary for that," said Duffy. "Be well."
Mallory Duncan took her seat on the shuttle and strapped in. Then the other passengers piled in around her.
INVERNESS COMMAND CENTER.
Captain Seton retrieved the earth shuttle data. "Launch time has been advanced. Two minutes."
Mack took a seat and scrolled through the manifest.
"Where is she?"
"She?" said Seton.
"This manifest is tampered. Get me a hard scan of that shuttle."
"Yes sir."
Within the shuttle a voice counted down. "Twenty nine, twenty eight, twenty seven..."
The shuttle elevated to the vertical position on its platform.
Mallory Duncan gripped the armrests. All the passengers tensed. Suddenly lasers came to life scanning in a methodical pattern throughout the cabin. Everyone and everything was photographed in a flash.
Mallory Duncan saw the blue beams flare across her retina.
The shuttle's engines blasted fire in a deafening roar.
In the Inverness control tower, a flame plume appeared off on the horizon.
"There she goes," announced Seton. "Hawkings 3 is away."
"The scan?"
"Analyzing. Wait. Mismatch."
"Knew it."
"Passenger seventeen, is actually... Mallory Duncan?"
Mack smiled. "There. You see? Why don't you go and get lunch, Seton?"
"Now?"
"Yeah. Go. Move it." As Seton scurried out, Mack secured the door, alone in the security station. He called up DefenseNet.
"This is the Prime Minister."
A corporal of nineteen appeared on his screen. "Yes, sir!"
"Shoot down the Hawkings 3. Fire immediately."
"Confirm order? What?"
"Shoot down the shuttle. Now. Fire."
"Sir! There are more than eight hundred citizens aboard and enough deuterium to vaporize Daedalia."
Mack watched the shuttle climb into orbit out his window.
"...Belay the order. ...It was a test, a war game exercise. Excellent."
"Oh! Thank God!"
"Your situational analysis was spot on. I'll recommend you for a commendation, son."
"Thank you, sir. So much."
The door whooshed open and Mack stumbled out into the hall in a fog.
"Duffy. Scheming snake."
