AL:ICE-9

by Charles Lamb

  It was during a pause in the conversation, when Jake turned to Patti and asked, “So what don’t you want to tell me?”

  “How did you know?” Patti asked, as the surprise was evident on her face.

  “My ex got that look when something bad came up, like she wrecked the car or ruined my favorite t-shirt. You know the ones with the half-naked hula girls. Genetics are a bitch.”

  “I’m not sure I like the association,” she fired back, “but yes, we do need to talk and I didn’t want to include this in the general presentation.”

  “So give” Jake said.

  “To put it flatly, we don’t know what’s next,” she stated.

  “What do you mean, what’s next?” Linda asked.

  “I mean up to this point we always had some indication of what the NeHaw might do next. However, as of now we are so far off the map, we have absolutely no idea of their next move. There are no references in any of the NeHaw manuals or Treaty materials to anything remotely like this situation. And remember, everything I just presented was our best guess, we have no real means of validating it.”

  Jake thought about that for a moment and then said, “Ok so let’s talk this through. First, we assume they know about the RF bombs, stasis shields and the rail guns, so coming here in any standard faster than light ships are out of the question. With our three re-enforced cruisers and their newest battleship, they would be out matched.”

  “Jake, can’t they just boost their shields to protect themselves from the RF?” Sara asked,

  “Even with updated RF shielding, that much high energy close up is still a viable weapon. It won’t work from a distance, it would have to be something like a space landmine. They would have to be right on top of it, but yeah we still have some life in that option.”

  “What about non-standard ships?” Patti asked.

  “That’s my thought. I imagine the NeHaw are dusting off all the abandoned and obsoleted technology they have on record, searching for a solution to this as well. Our one saving grace is they have a long way to go to get here and anything sturdy enough to stop a rail gun round is going to travel slowly.”

  “Why are you so sure about that?” Patti asked.

  “As a matter of reference, a traditional human top end heavy weapon is a 30mm machine gun. A 30mm diameter lead bullet weights 14oz. and travels at approximately 3,000 feet per second. Depleted Uranium is almost 70 percent denser than lead and the rail guns use 2 inch diameter rounds, or 51mm for you math challenged people,” Jake added while looking at Sara.

  At that, Sara stuck her tongue out at Jake.

  Continuing with a smile, he said, “It’s also longer so let’s just say its 3 pounds of hardened metal flying at 12,000 feet per second. For you non-physics types, Force equals Mass times Acceleration, but in our case acceleration equals velocity divided by time. For this discussion, time is a constant because in space, there is no deceleration whereas on earth, gravity and atmospheric drag slows the projectile over time.”

  At this point Jake paused to survey the collection of blank expressions, “OK, so in simpler terms, that equates to about 4 times the mass and 4 times the velocity of a 30mm round. Or to make it even simpler, a 30mm as described hits with 122,378 foot pounds of force over 1.1 square inch surface area while the rail gun is 6,713,287 foot pounds over 3.1 square inch area. Final numbers are, the 30mm hits with 111,253 pounds per square inch while the rail gun is 2,165,576 pounds per square inch. That makes the rail gun about 20 times more lethal.”

  Everyone sat staring at Jake. Finally, Patti asked, “Jake, why do you know all that?”

  “I did the math before asking ALICE to build them. Engineer, remember?”

  “And all that means?” Linda asked, clearly not wanting any more physics lectures.

  Jake paused a minute, and then said, “When we patched the NeHaw ships, we found holes that went through three decks before the round stopped. Some in the bow area where its narrower, went completely through, top to bottom. They sent the battleship because it was so thick it could take the pounding. If they want to take us on here, they needed hardened hulls. I think that means we get a breather, maybe even a few years before they can produce a threat.”

  No one spoke for a few seconds, mulling over the implications of Jake’s analysis. Finally, Jake asked, “Ok ALICE, you have been conspicuously quite at a time when you traditionally have some input?”

  “I always enjoy watching fuzzy logic at work,” she replied.

  “My sisters and I came to the same conclusion while working with Patti, however as the question was not asked, we chose to wait and see what you came up with separately, thus corroborating our conclusion.”

  As Jake saw Patti puffing up, clearly taking exception to the comment, he jumped in, “So we agree. The NeHaw won’t come anytime soon?”

  “We agree, but for completely different reasons. First, the NeHaw are a long-lived people, so what is urgent to you, would not be measured in the same time span for them, as you would expect. Fast can be years, not minutes.”

  “As for the required technology to overcome their challenges here, they aren’t inventors, they acquire. We believe they are currently pressuring subjugated peoples into resolving this dilemma for them. Repressed cultures do not move faster than the least tolerated rate of progress.”

  “Finally we believe that the developments in this sector have created some level of discord throughout NeHaw space. As was so eloquently explained by Patti earlier, every NeHaw controlled planet is a repeater of information. We would expect that the five Treaty planets disseminated their status throughout the network. Most likely the NeHaw are re-enforcing various locations throughout their controlled space right now.”

  Jake caught the suck up. Clearly, ALICE knew she upset Patti with her earlier comment.

  “So by hook or by crook, we all agree we have time to deal with this?” Jake offered.

  “Yes” ALICE replied.

  “With that, I am going to bed,” Linda declared, standing up, and kissing Jake on the cheek. She turned and headed to the door with Patti in her wake. Sara repeated the motion but added, “sleep well” with a knowing smile before turning and following the others.

  As Jake was getting up, he stopped and turned to the door, not remembering if he saw Sandy leave with the others. In fact, he did not recall her in the last part of the conversation either. Moving slowly to the bedroom door, he peered around the corner.

  Sure enough, Sandy was in his bed, covers pulled up to her neck and apparently sound asleep. He quietly moved to the far side of the bed and changed into a pair of running shorts. With his ribs still wrapped in the elastic bandage, he carefully slid between the sheets. Reaching out slowly he found the middle of her back, completely bare.

  Rolling onto his right side and taking care not to anger his left, he snuggled up behind her. While trying not to wake her, he slid his arm, first around her waist and then his hand up to the center of her bare chest. Considering her sizeable bust line, this was no immediate task. With his head on her pillow next to her head, he noted a recognizable change in her breathing. He whispered in her ear, “You can stay, but be very gentle with me.”

  With that, he could feel her sliding back until her entire bare body was pressing up against him.

  ----*----

  The next morning Jake wandered into the familiar small dining facility on the same floor as his quarters. Before the onslaught of new recruits, this was their primary gathering place, but now it looked so small to him, and quite crowded. Sandy was already there with Sara and Kathy, having left Jake earlier that morning after a shower together. He was moving slowly, and she needed a change of clothes, so off she went, in her typical, “I just got some” happy mood.

  He smiled, acknowledging the three as he went over to the counter to order and collect his breakfast. While waiting the few short minutes it took to arrive, he turned to see the three in what appeared to be a hushed conversation. So they would not be overhe
ad by the surrounding tables, all three were leaning in closely. Jake laughed to himself thinking that with the dull roar in here, they could likely yell and no one would take notice.

  Grabbing his tray, he headed directly to the three, sliding into a seat next to Sara and resisting the urge to give her a kiss. He realized all three were deserving of the same greeting. Not so distracted that he failed to notice the change in their overall posture, he asked, “So what’s up?”

  “Nothing,” Sara replied, looking somewhat guilty, “why would you ask that?”

  “From over there,” Jake answered, indicating the serving stations, “it looked like you were plotting something.”

  “Who, us?” Kathy asked, batting her eyelashes.

  “Speaking of guilty,” Sara added, trying to change the subject, “wandering in at almost 10am for breakfast makes people wonder why you were up so late last night?”

  “10am!” Sandy blurted, jumping up and darting for the door.

  “Bye” she managed over her shoulder as she headed out at a hurried pace, leaving the three staring after her, completely confused.

  ----*----

  Since leaving Jake’s room last night, a sense of excitement filled Sara. The thought that they might actually get a few YEARS respite from the wave after wave of NeHaw aggression was too much to hope. She had immediately started formulating a plan to secret away with Jake for some long overdue rest and relaxation.

  After the last engagement against the battleship, Jake had been making a habit of traveling between the ALICE facilities overseeing his “Special Project.” It was all very hush, hush and if you were involved, you were sworn to secrecy. Whenever Sara pressed him on it, all he would say is, “all in good time.” The strangest part was none of the rotation women was involved in any of it. In the past, Jake had always included at least one of them and usually Sara. Even Patti, the one outsider, usually had some limited involvement in Jake’s plans, but not now. She was suspicious Jacob, Patti’s brother, was, but couldn’t verify it.

  The idea that she might actually make this trip just her and Jake however, lasted about as long as it took to see Sandy slink off into his bedroom, while everyone else was engrossed in discussion. Therefore, after excusing herself last night, she headed to her own room and started contacting all the others with her idea. Their responses totally caught her off guard.

  Linda and Kathy, both new mothers, couldn’t imagine leaving the babies alone so soon. In addition to that, neither would even consider anywhere that might require wearing a swimsuit. Jessie just laughed at the notion of any travel, so unless they were going to R & R in Alaska, she was a no go.

  Bonnie had been the most perplexing of all. As the one who delivered first, Julie was the oldest of the babies and well established with a nanny. None of her excuses made any sense to Sara, and if she didn’t know better, she thought Bonnie was looking for reasons not to go with them.

  Becky however, was the exact opposite. She was more than supportive of the idea and was suggesting that maybe Sara should consider skipping this trip altogether. Once Sara explained, in no uncertain terms, that wasn’t an option, she started suggesting more reasonable options for a larger group.

  Sandy wasn’t available until this morning and Sara was lucky enough to catch her at breakfast before Jake’s untimely arrival. She was ever so enthusiastic, completely unfazed by the idea that there would be more than just her and Jake. The conversation was cut short however, by Jake’s appearance. However, Sandy was able to finish that she was happy with whatever Sara set up.

  The sudden outburst and exit had startled Sara, apparently as much as the others. Then again she thought, as brilliant a people person as Sandy was, her inner teenager appeared at the most unusual times.

  ----*----

  After breakfast, Jake had excused himself, stating he wanted to try to get some work done. With that, Sara announced she was off to the command center on some errand of her own, though Jake noted she had chosen not to expand on it. Kathy, the last of the three, declared she was going to have a little more coffee and then head off to medical for her normal shift.

  Instead of finding a vacant office, Jake just returned to his room and grabbing a seat at the desk, hit the display button on his terminal and set about reviewing his personal communications. Jake directed ALICE to classify information on his “Special Project” for his eyes only. This was in contradiction to most of the daily reports, which were available to all staff personnel unless they involved things like personal medical information.

  As a rule Jake hated keeping secrets, if you were good enough to recruit and passed the ALICEs two-week post recruitment psych evaluation, you can be trusted. This information, however, would become disruptive once out, so he wanted all his ducks in a row first.

  Jacob reported he was finished with the first 10 prototypes, per Jake’s request, and the test results had proven better than expected. Both Abby and Joe, Jake’s personally selected testers, had reported their satisfaction with the initial two prototypes and the expanded test group all reported similar results with a minimum of requested changes. Jake could hardly wait to get his own shot at one but knew that had to wait.

  In separate communications, both Abby and Joe had reported on the other assigned activities outside of the testing work they were performing. Each assured Jake that their training was on schedule and that the individual and joint exercises he had assigned them were on track for completion within the next two weeks. They both expressed a desire for Jake to allow them to demonstrate how effective their newly acquired skills would be in practical use.

  Jake was quite positive, given their personal relationship, that both Joe and Abby knew exactly what the other was sending him. However, Jake could separate out just enough from each to feel confident they were in fact progressing right on schedule and to the necessary level of excellence. He knew what he needed for this project to succeed.

  The last few months had Jake concerned over the ever-escalating aggression, both at home, and in space. If things continued on this track, he was going to find himself in a two front war with dissention on earth and with the NeHaw above. With the NeHaw, he had hoped to be using the stasis shields, rail guns, and RF bombs in a direct run on their home world. With that, he could knock them so far back on their heels, earth could have time to rebuild in earnest.

  Now that he understood they didn’t exactly know where the home world was, the rail guns upset the faster than light field generation and while the RF bombs would make great land mines, the NeHaw would explode them far sooner and much farther out, minimizing their effectiveness. However, doing a planetary bombardment like the one earth had received had distinct possibilities.

  Never being the kind of person who wallowed in self-pity, this simply meant that Jake had to focus on front two for immediate actionable resolution. Jake had always maintained two daily routines since he started this new life. The first was his daily workout, it wasn’t always first thing in the morning and with these ribs it was on hold, but he would do some form of exercise. The second was a review of all the status reports provided from every ALICE location and community patrol.

  The internal reports he scanned for irregularities. When organizations start to become routine, the odd items jump off the page and foretell trouble. The community reports gave Jake a sense of the world at large, or rather the parts they were directly influencing. If one area increased the quantity or type of supplies they ordered and the ALICE team in that region hadn’t indicated additional activities there, Jake would have ALICE increase observations. He hated to think of it as spying, more like dad installing a GPS in the kid’s car. It never hurts to know where they are going.

  In most cases, the observations revealed increased hostile activity by outside factions. The whole idea of community patrols had been to create and support safe zones around the civilized communities. The need arose from outside lawlessness and the patrols were there to ensure stability. They weren’t cops, th
ey didn’t enforce local laws necessarily, although rape, murder and other such severe violations were exceptions. It was up to the towns inside the stable zones to create and enforce their own local ideas of the civil code.

  The patrol ensured that the raiding and pillaging elements remained unwelcome and these communities prospered without fear of the loss of all that they worked so hard to achieve. Unfortunately, as is all too painfully obvious at times, only the threat of force prevents the most aggressive of types from having things their way.

  This too, was why Jake had such a hard and fast rule about those allowed to join the patrols. Considered a high honor, it was second only to direct recruitment into an ALICE facility. Once you became a member, it was more than just common knowledge of the consequences around abusing their position. Anything from punishment to banishment was possible by their communities.

  The communities knew lack of enforcement meant the risk of losing all support. All members considered getting local punishment as getting off easy, for if they called in Jake to intervene, well, the well-known incident at Kern had the usual embellishment. While not technically an abuse of patrol, it certainly was abuse of a community under Jake’s watchful eye.

  With all his correspondence and paperwork caught up, Jake stretched, wincing only a little, then got up and headed out to see what trouble the others were getting into.

  Chapter 5

  MeHak had been head of the High Council for many, many megacycles. She was the supreme leader of over a thousand worlds and controlled NeHaw interests throughout the multiple galaxies they managed. Ignoring the occasional token concession to other council members on issues of lesser importance, she always got her way.

  Therefore, saying she was at her wits end over these catastrophic failures in some backwater sector, was a complete and total understatement. The loss of five, top of the line, combat vessels, and the year’s tribute of the entire sector was intolerable. The whole reason those four battle cruisers patrolled that sector instead of the smaller and more common destroyer class was to prevent this very thing from occurring.