Endangered Species Ch. 49 - End

And with that, I lived to negotiate another day.

Ch. 56

As a sign of good faith, I brought my sniper in from his hide. Bruce Perriman was allowed to stay armed as my bodyguard. I had to defuse the hostilities, and the Major had relationships with the remaining command staff. The General had been out of line; torturing prisoners and executions without a military tribunal were capital offenses. While I slept, he sat outside my door talking with other officers who wanted to know about Pack Life.

At sunset, I waited on the rooftop of the command building with Colonel Morse as members of the 627^th Communications Squadron hooked up the components of their field radio. "You are lucky to have a working radio," I commented.

"We got lucky," she replied. "We put this together with spare parts we found in the basement in mylar bags and surplus equipment boxed for salvage. Everything on the planes and everything that was in service got fried."

Her airmen finished the work, and the senior NCO did the radio check with Northern Command. "Stand by for Colonel Morse," he said after completing security protocols. He turned over his headphones to Colonel Morse and a second set to me. We'd have to share the microphone. "This is Major General Howard Gage, Commanding General of Northern Command. Where the hell is General Payne?"

I let the Colonel handle the answer.

It took her a few minutes to update the General on recent events, and he wasn't happy about it. "You mean this rebel commander showed up, killed the Base Commander and two of his men, and you haven't stood her against the wall and executed her yet? What the hell is wrong with you, Colonel?"

"Sir, she has a nuclear weapon ready to detonate somewhere outside the fence."

"And you think that because she told you she does?"

I'd had enough. "I have a nuclear weapon under my authority, General." I rattled off the model and the serial number of the device. "Mutual Assured Destruction is not my preference, but it does give me protection."

"I don't believe you. Ensign."

"Alpha Summers, General. I ceased being in the United States Military when you issued orders to kill your troops."

There was a pause. "That's where you are wrong, Ensign. You can't just leave the military service in wartime. That's desertion, plus we can add murder and insurrection to the list. If you lay down your arms, surrender the nuclear weapons, and turn over Kitsap to the Colonel, you and your people can live."

I was getting tired of this bullshit. "That isn't going to happen. General, when was the last time you were off your base?"

"I fail to see how that is relevant."

"You have your guns, tunnels, and fences while the citizens around you are dying. You think you are still the baddest motherfuckers in the valley, but Kitsap proved you are not. The truth is that you are hiding. You don't own the countryside, General. My people do, and we are saving people that you abandoned. My werewolves own the night. We thrive in a world that will kill you. If you are smart, you'll recognize your limitations and get on board with the society I'm creating. I'm willing to work with you to rebuild our country."

"You work FOR me, Ensign, or I will destroy you and your kind."

"With nuclear weapons off the table, you don't have the power to destroy us."

The General laughed. "I have the entire United States Military at my command, Summers. I have all the power I need."

I didn't have time for this shit. "Your military doesn't have the will or the ability to beat us. Fuck around and find out, General." I'd had enough, and he wasn't listening. "I guess I have to go over your head. Who is the President, and where can I find him to open negotiations?"

"What do you mean?"

"We have one, don't we? A Commander in Chief with control of our nuclear weapons? I risked my life to get a message from my submarine commander to the National Command Authority. Only the President can authorize a nuclear strike. Who is it?"

There was a pause. "I don't know," the General finally said. "We haven't established communications with anyone east of the Mississippi."

The General planned a nuclear strike on Kitsap without Presidential orders. What the fuck? "I've warned you, General. Leave us alone, and we'll leave you alone. Alpha Summers out." I took the headphones off and walked away.

Bruce was at my side a moment later. "That didn't go well."

"General Gage is hiding in a Colorado bunker," I replied. "This base is my worry. The soldiers and airmen here can be an asset or an enemy, depending on how the Colonel breaks."

"I'm not sure she'd get people to follow her if she wanted to attack us. There are too many friends on our side, and you've done nothing but try to help them."

I had to hope. We returned to the conference room, where the rest of the staff gathered. Colonel Morse came down five minutes later, and she didn't look happy. We all waited until she took her seat at the conference table. "General Gage has declared war on Alpha Summers and the werewolves of the Pacific Northwest," she began. "He has ordered me to eliminate them and retake the base."

Of course, he did. "I have no desire to fight you," I said evenly.

"And I'm not stupid enough to do that," Colonel Morse replied. "My orders are clear, however."

"They are also illegal," Major Perriman said from behind my chair. "Only Congress has the Constitutional authority to declare war, just as the President is the only one who can authorize a nuclear strike."

"You are correct, Major. I took an oath, the same one you all took. I swore to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. The General believes you to be our enemy. I disagree; I think you can help us save ourselves and the survivors of this region."

I leaned forward. "You are going to disobey a direct order?"

"I am the military authority here, Alpha Summers. I am responsible for the men and women under my command, and I'm not too proud to admit I've failed them. You are correct about our food supplies running out. We've failed to adapt, and that will be our death if we don't change. We need to sweep the surrounding areas for survivors and supplies. Your words about hiding in the bunker while the citizens suffer are true. We need your help, Angela. We need to survive and save our people."

Finally, a pragmatic person was in charge! "They are my people too, Colonel. I would be happy to help."

She looked around the room, then at me. "I propose a peace treaty between us, ending this conflict before it can begin. If you aren't my enemy, I'm not violating orders."

It was an elegant solution. "Do you wish to take the change, knowing your Pack position may not be at the same level as your military rank?"

"No. I don't want any more questions about my loyalty. I would remain in command of the base and military personnel here."

"I will need to establish a Pack, or at least a sub-Pack, here on the base to help you. Will you allow those who wish to take the change to do so, knowing they will end up switching their allegiance to me and perhaps an Alpha I designate?"

"I will, though I hope you leave me a few people!"

I laughed at that. "What will you tell General Gage?"

The Colonel rolled her eyes. "Nothing. My radio broke, and it might take a few weeks to establish communications again. By then, it will be too late to change anything."

The peace treaty was signed an hour later. Colonel Morse and I met with groups of her people throughout the night, informing them of the changes and giving out new orders. Major Perriman took his motorcycle north, rounding up a hundred volunteers to help create the Lewis Pack.

I limited the number of turns that first night to three hundred. The first to take the bite was Ranger Captain Josh Wenzel. When his wolf emerged three days later, it was an Alpha.

A week later, I said goodbye to Alpha Wenzel and Colonel Morse. I left Colonel Tester and Melanie as the Alpha pair at Kitsap, with Betas in charge of the groups that had returned to their previous Pack lands. The Packs continued to grow as they brought in survivors, and they didn't need me anymore.

Bruce Perriman held the back door to the second armored Humvee open for me. I got in, noting my security detail was ready to go. Alpha Wenzel sent six of his former soldiers to protect me, and our vehicles carried plenty of extra fuel and food for our trip.

We headed east through the Cascade Range, a map of known Packs before the solar flare in my hand. The Moon Goddess made me her prophetess, and her word needed to spread beyond Puget Sound.

The End

"I figure, if a girl wants to be a legend, she should go ahead and be one." -Martha Jane Cannary, aka Calamity Jane