by Saxon Andrew
“I have the ship. Brooks?”
“I’m linked to you through Jangle.” Alex put the imprinting cap on and closed his eyes.
“Do you need me to take Belle?” Dolly asked.
“No, Brooks will handle the flying. You might take her while I’m being imprinted.”
Dolly’s lips pursed, “Don’t be so stingy; give her to me now!” Jingle giggled, handed Belle to Dolly, opened a bottle, and handed it to her. Belle was happy and appeared to feel right at home on the speeding warship.
• • •
They arrived above Britany and Jingle stood up, “I’m taking Dolly and Belle down to Gee’s.”
“Jingle, I’ve delayed the meeting for two days. Keep the shuttle and join us on New York in three days. I know you want to have some time with Gee and Mike didn’t have an issue with the delay.”
Jingle leaned in and kissed Alex, and said, “You are wonderful! I’ll see you in three days.”
“Have a great time, Love!”
Jingle handed Belle to Dolly and led her to the landing bay. Belle was asleep and remained asleep all the way down to the planet’s surface.
Chapter Two
Jingle struggled getting her uniform on and said in an exasperated tone, “I’M FAT!!”
Dolly burst out laughing, “You don’t know what fat is!!”
“No offense, Dolly, but this uniform must have shrunk while I was having Belle.” Gee started laughing and Jingle sighed, “I’m actually surprised I can get it on. I guess it could be worse.”
“You look the same to me Jingle,” Dolly replied.
“Cloth don’t lie, Dolly. I’ll just have to suck everything in.”
“When are you coming back?” Gee asked.
“In a couple of days, I hope. I’ll keep you notified on what’s going on. Dolly, when do you have to get back?”
“Take your time! I’m having the time of my life here.”
Jingle smiled, hugged them, and went outside to the small warship. She went on board and announced, “Close everything up and head for New York, Ringie.” The small warship lifted, headed toward orbit, and then went to full-speed. Three hours later, Jingle landed at Fleet Operations’ spaceport.
Alex met her outside the exit port and said, “I’ve mentioned to Admiral Glennon what you said about the possible responses open to the LMC Aliens and he agrees we need to come up with a plan.”
“Who’s going to be in the meeting?”
“Most of the Fleet Admirals.”
“Alex! I wanted a one-on-one with Mike.”
“Well, that’s water over the dam; they’re going to be there.” Jingle was shaking her head and Alex raised his hands, “I’m sorry!”
Jingle huffed out a breath and looked at him, “Next time, keep your mouth shut until I’m there! Now it’s going to be a fight.”
“What do you mean Jingle?”
“Wait and see.”
• • •
They entered the conference room and Mike motioned them to the table beside him. More than a hundred admirals were in attendance and they grew silent as Alex and Jingle took their seats. Glennon looked around the room and announced, “We are here to discuss what actions the Large Magellanic Cloud Aliens will take and how we will counter them. I’m opening the floor for comments.”
Admiral Wozniak immediately asked, “Has anything changed? Aren’t they still sending four of their warships on a regular schedule to scout Canis Major?”
“That remains the current situation but our stealth probes in the LMC reports they are close to wrapping up the war they’ve been fighting. Admiral, what do you think they’ll do once that war is over?”
“They’ll turn their full attention to Canis Major, Sir.” Wozniak answered.
Mike rolled his eyes and an admiral Jingle didn’t recognize stood up, “Sir, why wait on them to take action? We should take our Terminator fleets to the LMC, kick their butts around, and then tell them to stay away.”
Jingle glanced at Alex and Mike and saw they were actually considering the proposal. Mike turned to Jingle, “What do you think, Admiral?”
“I’d like to hold my thoughts until I’ve heard all of the proposals, if that meets with your agreement.”
Mike stared at her and then nodded. He turned back to the assembly and asked, “Does anyone else have a proposal?” The room was silent, and Mike’s eyes narrowed, “Are all of you suggesting that the only idea you have is to open hostilities against them?!”
“Sir, we know our newest warship is far more powerful than their battleships and we can just go and end this before it starts,” the young admiral stated.
The room was silent, and Jingle had all she could stand, “Exactly how do you know our new warship is more powerful than theirs?” Alex glanced at Jingle and knew her expression; things were about to get ugly.
“We’ve scanned one of the battleships that was destroyed in Canis Major and it doesn’t come close to matching up with the Terminators.”
Jingle’s lips pursed, “And you know for a fact they are sending their best warships to scout Canis Major, Admiral?” The young admiral blinked and was silent. “And you’ve seen video of the battles the LMC Aliens are fighting in the LMC?” The young admiral slowly sat down. “And the objective of our initial contact with them is to do what? After you answer that, tell me what the long-range objective is and how we’re going to insure it’s accomplished!”
The room was silent, and Jingle shook her head, “You want to rush in to an unknown situation without knowing for certain the capabilities of the enemy’s warships we’ll be facing? The short-term objective is to make sure we don’t get our hats handed to us before we confront them. That is what we should be focused on for the moment and during this meeting!”
Mike stared at Jingle and lowered his chin, “How would you handle this, Admiral?”
“Simply ask yourselves honestly what you think the LMC Civilization will do when they turn their attention to Canis Major. If you were in their place, would you launch a major attack?”
Admiral Roland stood up, “I’d do exactly what you’re suggesting; I’d send ships to take a good hard look at what I’m facing. None of the scouts they’ve sent so far have penetrated into Canis Major proper and they’re going to do that before they send a major fleet.”
“And what do you think will happen if they manage to pull that off, Tony?”
Tony looked at Jingle and replied, “They’ll see the Canis Civilization is no longer there. They would then turn their attention to finding where it went.”
“So, that means we can’t allow them to scout the galaxy; we must stop them outside Canis Major, right?” Jingle asked. Tony nodded and sat down.
The young admiral said, “We can use the Terminators to stop that from happening.”
Jingle closed her eyes, shook her head and Mike asked, “What’s wrong?”
“That admiral has Terminator on the brain. Are we going to be dumb enough to reveal our most powerful weapon to them up front. The Terminators are off the table!”
“Tell me why?” Mike asked.
“We must find out what we’re up against and that won’t happen until after we destroy the scouts they send. We have to make them think they’re still facing the Canis Civilization. We’ll use their warships to confront the LMC scouts but use the Union’s Triple Class Warships to remove them. We’ll use them again when they send the next units in as well.” Jingle turned to Mike, “We still have the Triple Class Warships to use, don’t we?”
Mike nodded, “But if they can’t stand up to their warships…”
Jingle interrupted, “Then we’ll see why and make sure the Terminators are ready before we commit them. I suspect the Triples won’t have to face a major attack and they should far outnumber the initial probes the LMC uses to scout Canis Major.” The room was silent as they thought about what Jingle said and she added after a few moments, “The initial objective is to prevent the LMC Aliens from penetrating into Canis Major and
learning the civilization has been moved.”
Mike stared at Jingle and then said, “They’re going to find out eventually.”
“That’s true. But we’re going to convince them that we killed them for sending ships into our galaxy and the same fate awaits them if they violate our space.”
The young admiral stood up, “And just how are we going to convince them we killed them if all the buildings on their planets are still standing with no damage!?”
Jingle looked at the Admiral and turned to Mike, “He’s starting to get on my nerves! Does he always start talking before he thinks?”
“It appears he does, Admiral Jingle,” Mike replied to her question.
Jingle stood up and walked off the podium to stand in front of the young admiral, “We’ve just fought a war against the Nebula Aliens, who had a disruptor that destroyed life without damaging structures. Do you happen to remember that weapon?!” The young admiral stared into Jingle’s eyes and then nodded. “We can duplicate that weapon, don’t you think?” The Admiral hesitated and nodded again. “Maybe you should consider keeping your mouth shut and listening from this moment forward instead of trying to impress someone. I can tell you it’s not working!!”
Alex sighed and knew Jingle had made a new enemy. But it became a moot issue when Mike said, “Admiral Wolfe, you’re dismissed and demoted back to Captain. Admiral Jingle is right; you’ve made no valuable suggestions and resist any other suggestion being made without due consideration. Leave now!” Admiral Wolfe glared into Jingle’s eyes, then stepped out of the row, and left the conference room.
Another Admiral stood up and said, “Sir, I thought his question was a good one.”
Jingle turned to the Admiral, “And how would you go about making your concern known, Admiral?”
“Sir, I’d ask you how you’d do that?”
“And not challenge the suggestion before you had an answer, right?” Jingle asked.
“Yes Sir.”
“That’s the difference between you and Admiral Wolfe. He wants to diminish those around him instead of working to assist the effort taking place here.” Jingle turned and walked back to the podium.
“So how do we handle the first aliens’ probe, Admiral Jingle?” Mike asked.
“I don’t know. Ask Alex, he’s the military genius.” Alex’s head went back, and Jingle said, “Just make sure whatever you plan makes it appear the Canis Major Warships appear to be the ones that confront them.”
The corner of Alex’s mouth went up and he turned to the assembly, “Most of the old Canis warships are still holding position outside their galaxy. They can be detected by the LMC warships and they will move in on them the moment they’re detected. Concurrently with that, we will have several thousand of the Triple Warships using their stealth coatings to remain invisible and they will move in and target the LMC warships with their blasters. I want it clear that we will not reveal our missiles during this initial contact. We will fire on every scout they send simultaneously so that none of them can communicate with their leaders.”
Jingle turned to Mike, “You should order the Triples to Canis now. You should also have some freighters there to handle provisions while they’re waiting for the LMC scouts to arrive. By the way, how many Triples do we have to use?”
“Fifty thousand,” Mike answered.
Jingle’s expression showed her surprise, “Do you have pilots for all of them or will you have to move pilots from the Terminators?’
“We replaced the former pilots with new pilots from the Wilds. They’re inexperienced but this will give them an opportunity to learn how to fight their warships.”
Jingle thought a moment and said, “Sir, I recommend you rescind Admiral Wolfe’s demotion and put him in command of the Triples.”
“Why would I do that?”
“Sir, he wants to fight and that’s what we’ll need during this initial phase. He didn’t make an admiral’s rank without deserving it. His only fault is being young, and experience is the best answer to that liability.”
Mike stared at Jingle and then sighed. He turned to Rollie, “Make it happen.” Rollie nodded and lifted his communicator. Mike turned to Alex, “What happens next?”
Alex shrugged, “They’ll send another probing force and we’ll have to confront it as well. We’ll have enough Triples there to confront it; I don’t expect them to send huge numbers in until they discover what’s going on. I also expect that if there is a difference in their warships, they’ll be sending the best in on the second round.”
“And if our Triples can’t handle them?” Mike asked.
“We’ll free them up to use their defense missiles, Sir.”
Mike nodded and asked, “You will be present during both actions, I trust.”
Alex didn’t look at Jingle but answered, “Yes Sir.”
Mike looked around the room, “This meeting is adjourned.”
Jingle turned to Alex, “Do you understand now why we should have met with Mike alone!?”
“Yes dear.”
Mike stood up and asked, “Do you intend to stay in Canis Major until the attack?”
Alex turned to him, “No Sir. We can get to Canis Major in less than two hours from Bucket. The stealth probes we have outside the LMC will give us five hours warning if any of their warships leave their galaxy.”
Mike stared at them before saying, “I want you there before hostilities break out!!”
“Sir, do you prefer I resign from the Navy?” Jingle asked. Mike’s eyes narrowed. “Sir, I have a baby and we will be present before any hostilities break out, however, I will not sit in a ship waiting for them to launch an attack. We’ll have all the data the moment the probes report it and will be issuing orders before we arrive. If that doesn’t suit you, I offer my resignation now!!”
Mike blew out a breath, “I’d rather lose every admiral in that meeting than lose you, Admiral Jingle. Do what you must do.”
“Thank you, Sir.” Mike turned and walked away, and Alex turned to Jingle, “You’re lucky he didn’t accept it.”
Jingle giggled, “He knows what he’d be losing. He won’t do that.”
Alex sighed and put his arm over her shoulder and hugged her, “Let’s go pick up Belle. I’ve missed her.”
• • •
Tears were falling as they prepared to leave, and Gee said in a shaky voice, “I’m going to miss both of you sooo much!”
Dolly hugged her and Alex shook Clay’s hand, “You have a good wife, Clay.”
“I know. She makes every day a joyous occasion.”
Dolly stepped back and said, “We’ve got to do something about this!” Gee and Jingle turned to her. “You should move to Bucket!”
Clay smiled and shook his head, “My work is here, Dolly.”
“What sort of work do you do?”
Clay shrugged, “I sell and repair computers. I don’t think there’s a place for me on Bucket!!”
“That’s where you’re wrong! Bucket is modernizing and there is a huge market for computers among the population. Currently computers are being ordered from off planet.”
“Dolly, I can’t afford to open a store there!”
Dolly smiled broadly, “Tell you what; Joesen and I will back you and provide all the capital you need to open a store. All we’ll want in return is ten percent of the profits.”
“Dolly, that’s crazy!” Gee responded.
“I know the frustration my friends are experiencing getting a computer. Do you have a supplier you can use?”
“Well, yes…”
“Then it’s settled.”
Dolly turned to Gee, “And we need help in the Watering Hole, Gee! How much do you make now?”
“Dolly slow down!”
“Gee, how much!?”
“Twelve hundred credits a week.”
“If you’re willing to learn how to manage the Watering Hole, we’ll pay you twenty-five hundred credits a week.”
“You’re kidding!
”
“No, I’m not. Joesen and I have discussed it but haven’t found anyone acceptable to do it. It will free up Joesen for him and me to start enjoying more time together.”
Clay looked at Gee and she shrugged. Clay turned to Dolly, “It’s going to take at least two-hundred-thousand credits to open a proper store, Dolly. And that doesn’t include the retail space. The rent will probably be huge.”
“We’ve just bought the store next to the Watering Hole and we’ll include the rent in our ten percent.” Clay hesitated and Dolly quickly added, “We’ll provide you half-a-million credits to get the store open and it can repaid through the business’s expenses.”
“Do you honestly think there’s a market for computers on Bucket?”
“You have no idea just how large it is and how fast it’s going to grow. Now is the time to get your foot in the door!”
Alex glanced at Jingle and said to Clay, “I need a civilian liaison on my staff on Bucket and you can have the job if you want it.”
Dolly jerked around to Alex, “Don’t stick your nose in a business proposition, Alex Wade Berringer! This could be a gold mine for both of us.”
Clay tilted his head and said to Dolly, “You sound pretty certain about that.”
“Tell you what; I’ll have the store built and supplied and all you have to do is find someone for me to hire to run it. I’ll pay you a hundred-thousand credits just to do that. But you’ll be turning your back on a huge money-maker.”
Everyone stared at Dolly and she shrugged, “I’m never wrong about things business. I expect the first-year profits to exceed two million.”
Alex smiled and turned to Gee, “What about you being my liaison?”
“ALEX!!”
Alex turned to Dolly, “I suspect Clay and Gee are about ready to start a family.” He looked at them and they nodded. “My liaison will work during the day and at some evening events. The manager of the Watering Hole will have to work days and nights, right?”
Dolly sighed, “Yes.”
“Then Gee would be better suited to work for me.”
“How much does it pay?” Gee asked.
“Five-thousand credits a week.” Everyone stared at Alex and he raised his hands, “The Union’s Military pays its civilian employees handsomely to prevent outside businesses stealing them.”
