The Apocalypse Contract

CHAPTER 47 - LISA

Corporal Lisa Bolokowski had met her share of famous and powerful people in her time as chief assistant to General Michael (Big Mike) Hollstoffer. She had met the President three times, talked to multiple members of Congress, and had even shaken hands with Lady Gaga at a fancy Washington DC dinner party. The person she was now walking toward, however, had her more excited than any of those.

"Doctor DeGrassi," she greeted the smartly dressed gray haired woman, "I trust you had no problems getting through security."

"Oh this is not my first time at the Pentagon," she replied, "I know the drill."

"Of course. You previously served on the Space Weapons Non-Proliferation Civilian Advisory Board. Can I take your coat?"

"No, that's quite alright. I have a tendency to get cold, so I like to keep it close. How about we just get to it." The professor checked her watch. "My schedule is actually rather full today."

"Of course. I'll lead the way. Everyone else is already in the conference room." They began a winding journey through the maze of Pentagon corridors. "I've actually been a fan of your work for some time. I just recently finished your latest book, Exobiology, the Last Frontier of Science."

The professor laughed. "Personally, I thought that title was a bit overwrought, but my publisher said it demoed well."

"Well, whatever its name, it was wonderful. I'll definitely never watch a Star Trek episode in quite the same way."

"Yeah, a lot of Trekkies were a bit upset with that section. Not my intention, I can assure you."

Lisa spared a glance over her shoulder. "Oh, I'm not like that. I can separate my love of a good show from a scientific critique of their depiction of alien life. I found that chapter very illuminating, really. Oh, here we are. So this meeting room is actually a SCIF, so you'll need to leave your phone and any other electronic devices outside in one of these cubbies."

DeGrassi raised an eyebrow but stowed her iPhone while Lisa used her keycard to open the door. Inside were three other people.

"Gwen, so good to see you again," one of them greeted the professor.

"Nice to see you too, Christoph."

He stood and pulled out a chair for her. "I trust Mary and the kids are doing well?"

"Oh yes, very. They send their regards. Your Christmas present was far too generous, however. A bottle of wine from the Vatican's own vineyard? You are spoiling Mary and forcing me to up my game. Now I don't know what I'll get her for our anniversary."

Christoph only grinned and offered no apology.

"Well, I see some of you already know each other," Lisa observed, "but I should probably make introductions and go over the official agenda." She pulled out her notes. "So as you know, this is the Civilian Advisory Board on Alien Contact, operating under the authority of Space Force."

"Wait, this briefing book says Air Force all over it," one of the other attendees interrupted.

Lisa turned to him. He was a balding man wearing wire rimmed glasses and a t-shirt declaring 'I Want To Believe'. "Yes, that's true, Mr. Penworth. This board used to be under the Air Force but was moved to Space Force a few years ago. Nobody thought to update the briefing book. You may notice it is more than a decade out of date. That is one of the reasons you are all here. And please don't bring up that Air Force thing with the General when he gets here. He thought he was going to be selected for Air Force Chief of Staff under the new President, and he isn't totally happy that he ended up with Space Force instead."