Free The Star Cross by Raymond L. Weil

we’re lucky—but I’m not planning on it.”
    “What
about the Moon, Mars, and the other colonies in the Solar System?” asked Dwight
Michaels. “Are they being evacuated?”
    “Some
are,” answered President Mayfield. “The Profiteers never went anywhere else in
the Solar System other than here at Earth.”
    “Why?”
asked Stroud. “Why us and not them?”
    “All
the money is here,” responded Michaels. “These Profiteers are after gold,
platinum, jewels, and anything else that can be turned into a quick profit. The
other colonies are dependent upon Earth to some extent for supplies and
support. Only the Moon and Mars are close to being self-sufficient.”
    “Most
of the smaller mining operations are to be evacuated to the larger colonies,”
Mayfield added. “The Europeans are shipping as many supplies to Mars as
possible. The Russians and the Chinese are doing the same thing with the moons
of Jupiter and Saturn, in the hope that their colonies will be spared.”
    “We
all have bases on the Moon,” Fleet Admiral Tomalson continued. “Most of those
are evacuated or being reduced to skeleton crews, until this crisis is over. A
few of the larger underground cities are being heavily supplied, and the people
who don’t come down to Earth will move into them.”
    “If
it’s ever over,” mumbled Stroud, with an angry glint in his eyes. “My office is
receiving thousands of calls each hour, demanding to know what our government will
do to protect the people. What do I tell them?”
    Mayfield
leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest, as he contemplated Stroud’s
question. It was a legitimate one. Every government office was swamped by
incoming calls, demanding to know what the government would do. The North
American Union didn’t have a big enough fleet to defend the whole Earth. If the
NAU still had their original ships of the fleet, then things might be
different. However, they didn’t. They had Admiral Vickers’s task group, and the
NAU couldn’t afford to risk it in a battle they couldn’t win. Most of the other
major powers had concentrated their explorations to inside the Solar System so
had never built warships. The NAU had signed agreements with all of them that
the NAU fleets would protect Earth in case of an attack or invasion. The NAU
had also accepted crews for several ships from contributing countries that had
helped to pay for the protective fleets.
    The
same thing with military forces. The air force would be shot down from the sky,
even with their modern attack jets. Ground units would just be bombed out of
existence from the enemies in orbit. The NAU and other countries would keep some
forces hidden and ready for when the opportunity presented itself to strike a
telling blow against the enemy, for everyone expected the Profiteers to return
in far greater force than before. So, for an unknown amount of time, the humans
of Earth would have to live as a conquered people.
    The
path of least resistance to the Profiteers would ensure that most of the people
on the planet survived. There was also a reasonable chance that the rural areas
would see little change in their daily lives, as the Profiteers were bound to
concentrate their activities in the metropolitan areas where most of the
planet’s riches were located.
    “When
the Profiteers return, I’ll make an announcement, explaining what must be
done,” Mayfield said, leaning forward and placing his hands on the large wooden
conference table. The wood felt cool to the touch. “We’ll tell our people that
the enemy has returned and to cooperate with them. There will be no armed
resistance, and all our efforts will be aimed at preserving this Union and our people.”
    General
Braid explained further. “Our Special Forces units will only be sent into
action if the Profiteers are intent on killing,” General Braid said, his face
taking on a deadly look. “If we lose citizens, then all holds are off. We’ll
engage the Profiteers