by Charles Lamb
Chapter 30
“Dakota?” Jake asked James, as he personally reported in on the newborn progress.
“Yes, once we reached a point of stability, she decided on the name Dakota. Alice-1 confirmed the choice,” James replied with a smile, his image in the display on Jake’s monitor in his room.
“Ok, makes sense, I suppose. How is Dakota coming along with assuming her duties?” Jake asked, referring to not only the management of the facility, but the resumption of weapons manufacturing as well. With what he was setting aside for the ships armories, the British, Chinese and now Australians, plus potential Russian forces, they were soon to be in short supply.
“She runs most of the facility now, but the weapons production is at 50% of capacity. That is only because the other ALICE’s are helping with things. I think it will still be several months before she will be ready for that on her own.”
While not great news, it was a positive. Half production was better than none at all.
----*----
“Jake, we are home,” Brian announced on the comm. link, as they dropped out of faster than light and started the four-day trek to earth.
“Glad to have you back. Do you have my ship?”
“Tucked away in Hangar Bay One. The Wawobash were quite excited to see the payment was in hand, bonus included. They also thanked us for removing the NeHaw cruiser dogging their shipping lanes,” Brian replied.
“Yeah, well, no sooner had you left, then a destroyer appeared to replace the cruiser. Once you get home, I think we need to call a brainstorming meeting on this. We can’t be chasing all over creation, just to run these things off.”
“Sounds good,” Brian replied and then cut the link.
“You have any ideas Kola?” Brian asked absently, as he considered the situation. If the NeHaw continued to run, they would eventually need to leave ships at every world they protected. He wasn’t even sure how many that was, but doubted they had the ships or the manpower for that.
“No good ones,” she replied.
----*----
Ivan caught Jake in his small maintenance room where he had stashed the Cobra and Ferrari from California. As he peered into the open doorway, he could see him under the hood, working on something black and deteriorating in his hands.
“And you say our ship is obsolete hardware?” Ivan asked as he stepped up next to Jake.
“This is art,” Jake replied, while collecting the pieces of what Ivan suspected was once a hose, dropping them in a trash can.
“And therapy I suspect?”
Jake looked up at the man, surprise on his face.
“I can see I better never underestimate you,” Jake replied with a smile.
“I have my outlets as well. You may not believe it, but at home I am the resident astronomer.”
“You want to go on the mission,” Jake stated more than asked.
“I can see we share a deep understanding of human nature,” Ivan replied without acknowledging Jake’s statement.
“Not my call. I gave the mission to Colonel Banks. You need to ask him.”
“Ah, but if you have no objections, then Colonel Banks would feel secure in his decision,” Ivan said with a smile.
“What do you think of the NeHaw we have captive?” Jake asked Ivan, apparently changing the subject.
Ivan stared into Jake’s eyes before forming his reply.
“Yobanyi karas” he replied solemnly.
“And that means?” Jake asked, his translator not catching the phrase.
“Useless fucking moron.”
“Ivan, I think you are an excellent choice to assist Colonel Banks,” Jake answered with a huge smile.
----*----
Jake watched as Ivan walked out of his workshop, probably on his way to find Edwin. Ivan wasn’t wrong when he suggested that this was Jake’s therapy. Jake needed some time to himself, as he tried to sort out the NeHaw blockade. He had conceded that the approach was brilliant, and while they could make it costly for the NeHaw, they couldn’t stop it.
There were also rumblings of dissatisfaction among the treaty planets. The period of prosperity that had grown between the NeHaw rout and the blockade had made them aware of how good life could be with free trade. He was getting subtle indications from the five treaty partner ambassadors that the future of Earth as an interplanetary leader was in question.
Then there was Ivan himself and the Russians. Banks had warned him that the Cossacks could be difficult, but he wasn’t quite prepared for just how difficult. While he hadn’t been able to visit them in person, he had sent a delegation with Ivan’s recommended gifts, in the form of supplies. Once they had introduced the holographic communicators, Jake had hosted several meetings with the Cossack Ataman.
They had been very grateful for the materials he had sent, mostly badly needed medical supplies. They were also quite interested in participating in the global fight for freedom. Unfortunately, their idea of a partnership was to arm them, and turn them loose to deal with the aliens. No matter how Jake tried to frame the concept, he could not convince them that a combined force was best.
Ivan cautioned Jake not to push, and time would be their ally in this discussion.
His last frustration was Sara. While he loved the woman with all his heart, the notion that he should just drop Becky and Sandy cold was not the right thing to do. He tried not to overplay his importance overall, but he suspected the effects on the young women would be no different from the last breakup he had, almost one hundred and sixty years ago.
Even more frustrating was the fact that he was being forced into cleaning up a mess he had predicted, and asked not to be a part of. It took every fiber of his being to not insert himself into the spy mission and run away from the entire thing.
----*----
MeHak made sure the loss of the cruiser, off the Wawobash home world, was the first item to be discussed at the council meeting. Even though the blockade was having a small, but measurable effect on the rebel planets, she needed to insure that the cost was placed firmly on those that had forced her to participate.
Besides the loss of the expensive ship, the reduction in tribute collection had also come to light. The blockade ships had to come from somewhere, and that was vessels used to enforce other sectors. Privately, she had hand picked each vessel, using only those supporting the poorest and most docile areas of space. She was also shuttling losses from other areas of her budget into the expenses of the think tank coalition.
As she watched the heated exchange between her chosen antagonists and the think tank representatives, she made notes on the relevant tidbits that slipped while defending their efforts. An idea was forming in her head, and she needed time to work out the details.
----*----
Jessie was somewhat surprised to see Sara as she exited the transport from Nevada. She was even more surprised at the thanks for an invitation she had never extended. Chalking it up to crossed communications, she excitedly escorted her to the first in a series of storage rooms. Each formerly used as research hangars; they contained the art her teams had been recovering.
Still working in the western coast of Canada and the United States, they had recovered a substantial amount of painting, tapestries, and other perishable items. She couldn’t resist placing a few of the choice pieces on display, in various parts of each hangar. She justified it by explaining that it inspired the teams and those unable to go with them.
Sensing Sara was becoming tired, she suggested she accompany her to check on Ryan. The mention of her son with Jake seemed to strike a nerve at first, only to see Sara soften and agree. The two sat in Jessie’s quarters, Ryan finishing a bottle in Sara’s arms.
“Jessie, do you love Jake?” she asked without looking up from the boy in her arms.
Taken aback by the question, Jessie stuttered a bit before replying.
“I am very fond of him,” she said, “but no, I don’t love him.”
“So how would you feel
if Jake and I got married? For real, no more sharing.”
“Relieved,” she replied with a smile, “but I’m not your problem.”
Sara looked up from Ryan at the comment. Jessie could see Sara understood whom she was referring to.
“Do you think it’s fair?”
“What? That you want Jake to yourself. What does fair have to do with it? You have to decide if making an enemy of your sister is worth it,” Jessie said, dwelling on her own motivations for becoming involved with Jake. She still felt it was worth it.
“What should I do?” Sara asked, the pain in her voice evident. Hormones, Jessie said to herself, as she evaluated what advice to give.
“Go slow and don’t push. Jake is crazy about you and pressuring him to cut Becky out of his life will trouble him. The man has a weird sense of honor. This will strike him as cowardly and you will have been the cause of it.”
Jessie could see Sara considering her words as she went back to playing with Ryan. On a whim, she adds, “have you considered introducing her to that cute Lieutenant in London?”
----*----
Dallas landed the spy ship in her hangar, taking the transfer from Kola, and parking it next door to the NeHaw ship. The British Colonel and the Russian were already in house when the ship arrived, so they were the first to board and inspect it. She was not particularly keen on the plan the humans had dreamed up, but her sisters were without objection.
The flight plan the team had worked up had them stopping at a few key planets before finishing at the NeHaw home world. Besides gathering more detailed information on significant NeHaw allied worlds, it gave them test runs. If they remained undetected there, they stood a better chance of success later.
For now, she had an army of bots and technicians preparing to add the finishing touches to the ship. While it was necessary that the vessel appear to be an unarmed transport, they had reviewed the plans provided by the Wawobash. From these, they had located spots to hide custom-built rail guns, shielded in stasis bubbles. There would also be stasis shield generators, protecting the entire ship.
She didn’t understand the reference, but as they were working out the final design, Jake kept insisting the best offence, was a good defense.
----*----
After Gemma’s parents left Lanai, the couple had taken their relationship to the next level, as Jacob had heard it called. Gemma was now in Jacob’s quarters full time, her belongings relocated and his bathroom commandeered.
He hoped that this was more representative of her feelings for him and less about her attitude toward her mom. While the subject rarely came up for discussion, it hung over their heads like a black cloud. Unless she accepted Jacob as worthy of Gemma, they would never get a moments peace should they marry.
The thought of marriage was also a new one for Jacob, especially with the arrangement his grandfather had. Ever since his arrival and subsequent unspoken identification as the Great Leaders kin, he had avoided any relationships beyond the casual. Usually, either women questioned his motives as Jake’s grandson, or he questioned theirs as social climbers. Gemma was the first woman he felt completely comfortable with, and he was the one accused of social climbing.
It was with all of this in his head, that the message from his sister had come. She had proposed a joint visit, calling it a family vacation, in Nevada to see Jake. Jacob wondered what she had up her sleeve.
----*----
“Just like the good ol’days, right Alice,” Jake announced, as he ate in his room alone while going through the flood of information in his inbox.
“Do I detect a hint of longing in your voice?” ALICE asked in response.
“I have little doubt you are not aware of Sara’s recent attitude change.”
“Ah, yes. Due to the extreme hormonal changes, I believe it is quite common for pregnant females to become emotional. It is not unusual to have them make demands that males consider quite unreasonable.”
“Yes, but the others didn’t demand I cut Sara out of my life.”
“This is true; however the other women did not enter into the arrangement for the same reasons as Sara. Each had their own motivations, but for Sara, it is love.”
This was the closest Jake had ever gotten to a direct admission that Alice had manipulated the others into participating. Even though it was all water under the bridge, he still held a slight resentment.
“And Sandy and Becky?” Jake asked, as they were truly the root of the issue now.
“Yes, the infatuation of youth, sibling rivalry, and an infusion of hero worship. Sandy might actually have the purer motivation of young love, which, given the incident in China, would devastate her should you reject her now.”
“And Becky can be outright evil if crossed,” Jake said with a laugh. Although the comment was made as a joke, he doubted she would take rejection lightly.
Any further discussion on the subject was dropped as he came across several messages, all apparently related. Patti was brining Nigel and his wife for a visit, and Jacob was scheduled to return at the same time. Sara had also indicated she was headed home then as well.
Jake thought of Patti and Jacob as his children, the whole grandpa thing more of a joke to them considering the closeness in ages. Not even ten years their elder, he had thought Patti was another Alice plant when he had first met her. The resemblance to his ex-wife had been unnerving, though he had not recognized the connection at the time.
This convergence of family had the smell of manipulation to it; he just wasn’t sure who was pulling the strings. The addition of Nigel and Helen also confused him.
----*----
Edwin was in the hangar with the ship they intended to use to slip into NeHaw space undetected. While he was not an engineer, nor a scientist, he had a sense of what was going on. The little robots that the ALICE systems controlled fascinated him. Were it not for his understanding of how they worked, he could easily be deceived into thinking each was an individual being.
As he and the Russian watched, the little metal minions moved about the ship with a focused intent. Each one had a task to complete, although they sometimes worked in concert with one another. The tablet he held, displayed the laundry list of items that had been outlined before the vessel's arrival. Checking the latest update, he could see that over half were completed, and they would soon be free to go.
As he considered the man standing beside him, Edwin had grown to like the Ivan quite a bit in the last few days. When first approached on the subject, he had been hesitant to include the man on the mission. While it was not unusual for his SAS teams to include an outsider on short notice, this was different.
Edwin had originally intended to take only one other, beyond the NeHaw. With that limited number of resources, he needed a tight cohesion between the team member he chose. The Russian was an unknown quantity. The last few days together had shown him the man was extremely intelligent, resourceful and had a dry sense of humor that only a Brit could truly appreciate. He was also impressed at how aggressively the man had attacked his English lessons, working to insure there would be no need for translators between the two humans.
The NeHaw, on the other hand, was unavoidable for this trip. Should they run into a checkpoint or some unexpected challenge, having him on board was a necessity. Edwin didn’t trust the being one bit, but its fascination with the gold it its ships hold, was insuring that he would behave.
Chapter 31
“Are you sure you want to do this Jacob?” Lanai asked as Jacob climbed into one of the small helicopters. He was suited up in a complete combat suit, helmet in place, and started to strap himself into one of the seats up front.
“Yes, I’m positive,” he replied as he stowed one of the 5.56mm combat rifles in a rack between the seats. Once settled in place, he made sure his hands and feet weren’t touching any of the flight controls. Even though he had a good idea of how they worked, he had yet to take any instruction.
“You do know how to fly thi
s thing, right?” He asked Lanai.
“Of course I can, are you ready then?”
“Let’s go!” Jacob replied.
As he watched out the front of the helicopter, it rose and then slid forward until it was directly under the main hangar door above. At that point, it started to rise swiftly, until it was up in the night air. Flipping to night vision, Jacob could see the ground below as the helicopter headed west.
Almost immediately, they were over water and then he could see the island of Maui appear within the limits of the night vision.
“You said Lahaina, right?” Lanai asked as she corrected their flight path.
“Yes, we should find it there. If not, then we can jump to Ka’anapali,” he replied.
As they neared the city, Jacob switched to infrared, looking for the telltale heat blooms of body heat. It was his intention, that by making this trip so late at night, he might avoid running into any residents. Also, by using one of the small, electric helicopters, he hoped to avoid attracting unwanted attention. He just wanted to slip in, retrieve his item, and slip out again.
Playing in his favor, the islands had been hit hard in the NeHaw attack, leaving them very lightly populated. With a peak population of close to 2 million before the attack, they estimated now that there was less than 10 percent of the population left. That fact also meant that the cities were left almost untouched.
With the scanner showing green, he had Lanai set the helicopter down at the end of the main street in downtown Lahaina. Landing in a parking lot, Jacob could see a giant Banyan tree across the street. Pulling the rifle from its rack and checking that the 200 round magazine was in its well along the top of the barrel, he exited the craft and began moving up the street.
Although the moon was only partially visible, his night vision gave him the impression of daylight. Checking both sides of the street, he moved as quietly as possible, trying not to trip over any of the debris scattered about. Broken branches, awnings from the buildings and other pieces of trash cluttered the street and sidewalk.
