SW10: Summer of Discontent #5: The Strike

[Scott Eiler]

The Summer of Discontent

Part 5:  The Strike

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WORLD JOURNAL MONTHLY
June 21, 2011

THE STRIKE!
The Plan to Save the Earth Comes Together!

Correspondent:  Aaron B. Jeremy

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What Has Gone Before:  There's a Plan to defeat the next great winter by 
moving the Earth back to its old orbit. 
(http://www.eilertech.com/stories/2011/discontent1.txt )  After much 
effort, The Plan is finally ready.

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Major Paul S. Terry, U.S. Navy - Retired, was in his rowboat on Saranac 
Lake that morning as usual.  The Trillions had landed there last year. 
But he'd been fishing there long before that.  No reason to stop now. 
For some reason, the constant humming of the spaceship attracted the fish.

The aliens had their guardians out, with umbilical cords back to their 
ships.  But they'd always let him pass.  Today was no different.

Major Terry rowed his ship near the shore, nearest the mile-tall 
spaceship of The Trillions.  Then he said in a voice not his own, "It is 
time."

Another body came out from his!  It was Ellipsis!

---

Several days ago, at the local Veterans' Administration office, Major 
Terry had gone to receive his pension check as usual.  An official was 
waiting for him there.  He talked about a Federal agent who would use 
some sort of secret hyper-body protocol to inhabit the Major's body and 
watch the aliens!  Major Terry agreed then.

Now, the Major knew this mission was much more than observation.  He 
wasn't angry, though.  He'd have done his patriotic duty anyway.  Now 
his job was to stay out of the way.  Major Terry was always ready; his 
fisherman vest was buoyant.  As Ellipsis rose into the air, the Major 
dived overboard!

Good call.  Alien death rays destroyed the rowboat!  But Ellipsis 
blasted the spaceship with mostly-invisible energy.  Its constant 
humming went silent!  Major Terry had gotten him inside the aliens's 
defensive line.

Other U.S. heroes appeared on the shoreline in bursts of flame!  Major 
Terry could tell the Mighty Tim was arriving.  They started fighting the 
alien guardians.

Ellipsis posed in mid-sky.  Several guardians went down!  He must have 
smashed their minds!

Ellipsis flew to the spaceship.  Its wall stopped him - but only for 
five seconds.  He dissolved it and flew through!

The Mighty Tim disappeared in his burst of flame, carrying one Asian 
guy.  Major Terry guessed, they'd gone inside the spaceship.

Mighty Tim came out - with Ellipsis.  Mighty Tim said, "We have control."

Ellipsis laid his hands on him, and said, "The blockade comes down now. 
  *We Will Break Through.*"

But then someone *else* appeared in a burst of flame!  Some girl dressed 
like Sherlock Holmes said, "Peace!  We've opened it!  Do what you have to!"

Mighty Tim looked around, and said, "Pam!"

The Bride of the Ultimate Darkness was there, along with her Best Man. 
She said, "We're still on!"

Darkness covered the sky - and not just that.  The *only* light came 
from the energy field of Ellipsis and the flames of the Mighty Tim's 
battle staff, plus a few other heroes with energy powers.  Everything 
else was dark.

Some of the Earth heroes on the shoreline were howling.  They'd gone 
crazy!  Major Terry felt like going into fetal position himself - only 
he was floating in Saranac Lake!

Then the sky came back!  The people's howling died down.

Mighty Tim asked, "Is that it?"

The Bride said, "Yes.  *New* new orbit."

Major Terry had made it to shore by then.  He waded up and asked, "What 
*was* that?"

The Bride of Darkness was tired, but she still spoke first.  "That was 
Ultimate Darkness.  It just changed the Earth's orbit."

"*That's* what this is about?"

"Yeah."

"But can we *get* the old orbit back now?  We're out toward Mars now!"

The other heroes looked at the Bride as she spoke.  "It won't be the old 
orbit.  But hopefully it beats the last one."

The Mighty Tim joined in.  "It'll still be a little cold.  We'll find 
out whether that's a good cure for Global Warming, or not quite good 
enough for Global Cooling.  Maybe we can fix it later.  But President 
Obama's ready to take the blame either way.  He says he's used to being 
hated for his compromise solutions.  But yeah, I supported this compromise."

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Technicians swarmed in after the heroes had secured the area.  Major 
Terry found out from them...

The Earth's trajectory had indeed been changed.  Earth's orbit would now 
be 372.5 days, with closest approach to the sun at Earth's old orbit 
again, on the 23rd of July 2011.

Major Terry hoped it would be good enough.

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Author's Notes:

Phew.  Finally.  It may not be perfect, but I'm definitely done writing it.

I *do* have more stuff I can be writing, and the next RACC High Concept 
Challenge might shake some loose.  But I might take a break for a bit. 
Cover art time?  Probably...

Crusher Joe Corrigan (should the U.S. Vice-President be mentioned in 
this story) is a character created by Joe Fucile.  Barack Obama (should 
the President be mentioned) was created by his mommy and daddy.  All 
other characters in this fiction are copyright 2011, Eiler Technical 
Enterprises.  All this year's stories are online at 
http://www.eilertech.com/stories/2011/.

-- 
(signed) Scott Eiler  8{D> -------- http://www.eilertech.com/ ---------

Turns out I'm an anally-fixated oedipal paranoid with 
south-of-the-border schizophrenic delusions...  But never mind, I've 
found me the ideal job.  I'm going to run for President!

- Major Honey, scripted by Grant Morrison, Doom Patrol #46, August 1991.