“Armored Cavalry!” General Davis slapped a hand on his desktop. “Now we’re talkin’!”
“Yes, sir,” said Holly Lewis, standing military-straight in front of his desk. “Ten Abrams main battle tanks, thirteen Bradley armored troop carriers, mortar tracks, command tracks, the works.”
“Praise God!” Davis almost wept with elation. “Are they battle-capable?”
“They’re taking on a full load of ammo as we speak. Then they’ll come north from New Mexico on Interstate 25. We can expect them here late tomorrow night.”
“This is the best news of my life!” Davis exulted. “And you say you’ve got more good news?”
“Yes, sir. A ham operator in Albuquerque passed along a message from Pasadena. Some JPL folks are going to photograph Phaeon Crater with the Clementine 3 probe.”
Davis couldn’t believe his ears. “How can they do that?”
“They’re rigging a TV news antenna to transmit the commands. That should be at fourteen hundred hours tomorrow according to their plan.”
Davis felt hope rising where only doubt and worry had been moments before. “Holly, I’ve been praying for a miracle. Now it seems like two of them are on the way—a fighting force and a way to see who we’re up against at Phaeon. Those JPL folks might just pull it off. They always get their spacecraft to do the impossible. Maybe they’ve got one last miracle left in ’em.”
She smiled. “Let’s hope so, Matt. That’s all I’ve got for now.”
“That’s plenty,” Davis grinned at her. She performed a smooth about face and left as he punched a button on his intercom. His aide said, “Sir?”
Davis smiled for the first time in days. “Lieutenant, I want an officer’s meeting in fifteen minutes. Make sure no one misses it short of a Purple Heart. In the meantime don’t disturb me unless it’s extremely urgent. I’ve got some reading to catch up on.” He let go of the intercom button and picked up the book he had been reading before Holly walked in. Part of a set he had appropriated from an Army general who had gone missing-in-action on the first day of the attack, this volume was entitled Defensive Fortifications. He put it back on his bookshelf and pulled down another. Tank Warfare. He leafed through and began reading Chapter Five, Rapid Long-Range Assault.