by Charles Lamb
“Doesn’t it make this fight rather one sided then? I mean they can do everything they can to blow us to pieces, while we restrict ourselves to lesser means?” Patti replied in frustration.
“I have it on good authority that the NeHaw do have limits to their brutality and planet busters is one of those boundaries not to be crossed.”
“How can you be so sure? I have my people researching every possible solution to this and so far, no one has found any such weapons in their inventory, much less a restriction on using one,” Patti asked, the suspicion clear in her voice.
“Even when we had no idea of their existence, they limited themselves when attacking a defenseless Earth,” Jake responded.
“And that’s your proof?” she said incredulously.
“Trust me,” Jake replied with a smile.
“Great grandma was known to say that those are the words of philanderers and salesmen,” Patti replied with a frown.
----*----
Jake finished breakfast and led Patti up to the command center. Passing through all the activity inside, the pair went straight into his office, only to find it was already occupied.
“I’m terribly sorry, we were told you were out. We had need of a private place and Linda escorted us in here,” Nigel announced as he stood next to his wife Helen. The two looked as if they had been in a heated exchange, as Helen’s face was quite red.
“No, I’m sorry, I had no idea you were in here. In fact, I was completely unaware you were even in town,” Jake replied as he looked at Patti for explanation.
“I do apologize for not reaching out sooner. Patti and I enjoyed the same flight here, and then I had intended to go north to meet with my wife. In an unexpected turn of events, she chose to come meet me here,” Nigel replied while motioning to Helen.
“Perhaps it is better that you are here,” Hellen started.
“How so?” Jake replied without thinking.
“How do you intend on addressing the completely inappropriate behavior of your, your……grandson with our daughter? This situation is completely unacceptable!” she blurted in response.
“I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage,” Jake replied, as he realized he had stepped right in the middle a family argument. The problem was they were about to become his family too.
“Our Gemma has just informed me that she is, well, in a family way,” Helen started.
“That’s fabulous!” Jake responded before Helen could reply.
Jake quickly swept her up in a hug, his actions taking her completely by surprise. Just as quickly, he set her down and turned away, taking Nigel’s hand in his, while passing him a wink of knowing.
Thankfully, Nigel was paying attention enough to catch Jake’s attempt to defuse his wife’s outrage.
“My thoughts as well!” Nigel replied as he embraced Jake.
“Yes, well, I….” Helen started before Jake cut her off again.
“Oh my, where are my manners. ALICE, can you send someone to escort Helen to her room so she can freshen up and get settled. We have much to do,” Jake declared. Before he had even finished, there was a knock on the door and two of the command center staff entered.
“Can we help with anything,” one of the young women asked.
“Well, I hadn’t really intended...” Helen started before Jake cut her off.
“Nonsense, we have some celebrating to do, and plans to make for a London wedding!” Jake replied as he motioned the two forward to escort Helen to her quarters.
“Yes, well, perhaps I should change then,” she replied as she let the two young women lead her away, clearly a bit confused at the change of direction Jake had introduced.
“Thanks, lad,” Nigel offered as he watched his wife being led away.
“Yes, I could see she was building up a head of steam,” Jake replied as he motioned Nigel and Patti to open chairs. Taking the seat behind his desk, he let out a sigh.
“Something to drink. Coffee, tea?” he offered.
“Scotch!” Nigel replied as he stood again and headed to the small bar to one side of the room.
“Can I pour for you?” he asked as he raised the bottle.
“A small one for me,” Jake replied, not really interested in one at all, but he felt the need to set his guest at ease.
“Me as well please,” Patti added, giving Jake a knowing glance as she did so. Everyone waited until Nigel returned with the three glasses before they spoke again.
“To the kids,” Jake said as he raised his glass in a toast after thanking the man.
“So how do we fix this?” Jake asked.
“You were right on target. Hellen will want to see them married quickly and a London wedding is a must. Westminster Cathedral, or even St Paul’s Cathedral might do the trick,” he replied after a sip from his glass.
“Not to be rude, but is it safe?” Jake asked as he set his glass to one side and switched his attention to the display on his desk. Hitting a few keys on his keyboard, he soon had a holograph visual, depicting the map of London for all three to see.
“As a rule, yes, however I expect Helen to make an event of this. As such, a large crowd will be in attendance, and it might draw unwanted attention,” Nigel replied after some thought.
Once Jake had located the two venues, he switched over to a real-time video feed. All locations deemed strategically important had stationary overhead monitoring satellites.
“We can up the troop count in the area and start regular patrols. That will drive out any troublemakers,” Patti offered.
“Shouldn’t we be talking to Jacob and Gemma right about now?” Jake asked as he realized they were planning for others.
“Gemma knew bloody well how her mother would take this news. She can just deal with the consequences,” Nigel replied with a smile as he held his glass up as if to toast again.
----*----
Kola was nudging the latest arrivals into position, the space station saucers having arrived as expected. ALICE-3 had notified her of their departure and warned her the remaining modules would be later than desired. It was not an issue for her as she enjoyed her position as guardian of the gate at the edge of the solar system.
As if to show off, she was moving both sections into place at the same time. This seemed to put her human occupants at a disadvantage, since they couldn’t track the movements of both as easily as she could. It was no surprise to her when the Captain split her crew into two, each group responsible for monitoring one of the two modules.
Once she had them both where she wanted them, she would lock the positioning motors in place, syncing them to the other modules. With all modules linked as one, the entire station could be positioned and moved as a single entity. In this configuration, the station could even be flown in FTL from place to place, should the need ever arise.
Once she was satisfied that all was as it should be, she notified her humans.
“Captain, you may begin your work,” Kola announced.
“Thank you, Kola,” the captain replied.
While Kola missed Brian, as he had transferred to ALICE-3 for the Wawobash guard duty, her new Captain was one of his protégée’s. In her early 30’s Captain Isabella Connor was a recruit from London. One of the first volunteers, she had risen quickly in the space training program, frequently finishing top of her class.
She had studied in London before the Americans came, working on using the limited technology on hand to watch for aliens. With the windfall of technology and opportunity the Americans had provided, she had flourished.
Kola could tell that life here at the edge of the solar system was thrilling for Isabella, but she was more of a scientist and less a warrior. Apparently, Brian had detected that as well as he had recommended that the combat operations officer, a senior officer formerly under him also be assigned here. The pair worked well together and seemed to have formed a mutual respect.
“Launching construction shuttles,” someone on the bridge announced as several
small shuttles left one of Kola’s hangars and headed to the space station.
The humans on board the shuttles would work both in space and aboard the modules moving the materials stored inside into positions where they could be joined to other modules. Once in the various airlocks, the materials would be moved into position where the bots, controlled by Kola would assemble them. These would be the tunnels and elevators that connected the modules with airtight passages, forming a single station.
Once things were stable, Kola had been stocked with provisions and other items destined for use on the station. Besides food and water, the additional armaments and shield generators were hers to install here in space. As it was, the first two modules were well on their way to becoming fully functional and ready for battle.
“Kola, you may now begin as well,” she heard Captain Connor announce once the shuttles reached their destinations.
“As you wish,” Kola replied, disappointed she couldn’t smirk as she replied.
----*----
ALICE was reviewing all the latest status reports from her sisters. With ALICE-3 light years away and Kola at the edge of the solar system, she was now truly a member of an interstellar race. The newborns, ALICE-9 and Dakota were stable and progressing well. It had been some time since a new ALICE system had been brought online, so the addition of two so close together had been exciting.
Since reawakening Jake, the entire ALICE community had gone from stagnant and bored to active to the point of almost reaching maximum capacity at times. Production facilities in Hawaii, South Dakota, Texas and Alaska were all producing war materials as quickly as they could. Only ALICE-4 in Washington State was underused, performing supplemental work as she assisted the others.
Nevada, her home, Maine and Georgia were technically not manufacturing locations. Nevada and Maine now acted more like personnel centers, Georgia not included in that for good reason. In that, ALICE was gratified to see that the intervention of Private Middleton had opened the door for ALICE-9 to become more active.
Jake’s concerns there were valid, as humans did have a tendency to get into trouble when unsupervised, however the additional security barriers placed there should put his mind at ease. As it was, the work being performed there with the art restoration was giving ALICE-9 enough to do for the moment.
With regards to the art recovery Jessie and Helen were hosting out of Seven in Alaska, she noted that they had reached the city of New York. Her data store suggested that there were quite a number of museums in the area and the work there could be substantial.
Unfortunately, it was also an area known to be rife with gangs and other such troublemakers. In her estimation, the area was worse than Los Angeles with regards to outlaws. It was for that reason she could see that Jessie had commandeered the 10th Cavalry once more to work as her security force.
----*----
Joe and Abby were parked on the edge of a rooftop, their hovercycles sitting side by side as they watched the activities below. As the senior members of the 10th, it was their responsibility to oversee its day to day operations and protect the teams working in the transports recovering art.
The 10th Cavalry had been created by Jake as a sort of Special Forces unit, its mission to handle the more unorthodox challenges. As those challenges increased in numbers, the 10th had been required to grow with them. Their ranks had swollen to twice their original numbers with four troops, A, B, C and D now included.
Originally Troop Leaders, they had been reorganized so that Joe oversaw Troops A and B while Abby ran C and D, giving the 10th 18 active participants, themselves included. That was great because the New York effort required every one of them acting in coordination to secure the area for the art recovery teams.
With all the buildings so close together in this area, they had set the transport down in Central Park and were using armored transport vehicles to ferry the ground teams and the recovered items back and forth. In addition, there were a few Marines on the ground imbedded with the teams to act as additional security once inside the buildings.
Of everything they had done to date, this operation gave Joe the most concern. With the number of structures and the inability to track movement in the mass of underground tunnels, they were flying blind. He could just imagine roving gangs sneaking in on them unobserved from above.
As it was, the recovery teams below had split up into three groups, each with a 10th Cavalry troop overhead shadowing their movements. The free troop, D Troop, was being held in reserve, in the park below, near the transports, ready to fly at a moment’s notice.
“C Troop, spread out a little more will you? If anyone slips past you and attacks that recovery team I will have your asses!” Joe heard Abby shout over the open net.
“Acknowledged,” was the only reply, although Joe swore he heard a few snickers mixed in.
Chapter 11
Sara was feeling a bit better as she wandered down the hallway, headed to Jake’s office. As she did so, she passed Helen being led in the opposite direction with two staff members attending to her. From the small exchange she heard as they passed, she was happy just to smile and wave.
As she entered the command center she was greeted by several of the staff, all wanting to know how she was. It took her several minutes to cross the open space and finally enter Jake’s office. As she crossed the room, Sara wasn’t sure what bothered her more. The sympathetic looks from those women who had been where she is now or the looks of horror from those still undecided on ever becoming a mother.
With a quick knock, she slipped inside Jake’s office, only to find him deep in conversation with Patti and Nigel.
“Oh, hi sweetie!” Jake declared as she entered the room. Raising from his desk, he was quickly at her side, helping her to one of the more comfortable chairs near his desk. Sara was more appreciative of the effort while not actually needing the assistance.
“Have you heard the news? Gemma is going to have a baby,” Patti offered with Jake and Nigel nodding in agreement.
“The poor girl,” was the first words that slipped out of her mouth before she realized it.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean that,” she followed up with, though she very much did mean it.
“I understand. Helen had a difficult pregnancy with Gemma. She got quite ill actually,” Nigel said in sympathy.
“Morning sickness,” Sara replied with a sigh, trying hard not to snap at the man. She had recently developed a lack of tolerance for any man attempting to empathize with her condition. By definition, it meant putting yourself in the other position, something no man could ever do.
“Something to drink?” Jake asked, waiting for an answer before attempting to return to his chair?
“No thank you. It will just make me need to pee again,” she replied miserably.
“We were just discussing Jacob and Gemma’s wedding date. With the latest announcement, we will need to push it up,” Patti said as Jake returned to his chair.
“Ah, that explains Helen. I saw her in the hallway on the way here. She looked a bit distracted,” Sara replied with a nod.
“Jake, we have a problem in New York,” ALICE suddenly interrupted.
With that a holograph appeared with images of a Lanai transport in a wooded area, tall buildings acting as a backdrop. As they watched and listened, he could hear the distinct sounds of battle and his people giving orders to the forces there.
“ALICE is that Joe and the 10th I hear?” Jake asked.
“Yes, the 10th is acting as security for the art recovery teams there. I believe they were working around the Metropolitan Museum of Art when a sizeable force emerged from a nearby building to challenge them,” ALICE replied.
“Are those armored vehicles?” Nigel asked as they watched the hologram projected over Jake’s desk.
“Yes, apparently they were acquired from one of the many military arsenals or armories in the area just outside the city. Their weapons appear to be of the same military grade,” ALIC
E added.
As the four watched, they could see the recovery teams pulling back to the transport, settled in a large open area nearby, just opposite the museum. To Sara’s eye, the 10th was not attempting to destroy the attackers, rather they were simply providing cover fire for the retreating recovery teams. She was sure all would have been required to wear protective uniforms as part of this effort.
“Has anyone been hurt?” she asked as she watched the last of several vehicles run up the loading ramp and into the transport.
“No, the overhead security forces identified the threat before they could reach the recovery teams. It is fortunate that this happened now as the next targets for recovery are located across the street and mixed in the buildings there. They would have been surrounded.”
The group continued to watch as the transport began to rise, the 10th hovercycles standing off in all directions, watching for threats. Hovering just a few hundred feet off the ground, Sara could see they were still taking small arms fire from those on the ground.
She gave them credit, showing restraint in not returning fire on those below. She was well aware of the offensive firepower each of the eighteen hovercycles contained.
“Why aren’t they shooting back?” Nigel finally asked as the transport cleared the area, leaving a clustered group of hostiles in the open grassy area below.
“Rules of engagement. These are not combat missions and as such any hostiles encountered are assumed to be protecting themselves. At no point in what we observed was any of our people in any real danger. Now, had they been able to field, say a tank or antiaircraft gun that could take out a hovercycle, then they would have been free to remove that threat,” Patti explained.
“Our next step will be to try and establish contact with this group and evaluate their intentions. Should they prove belligerent, like the LA gangs, then they will be dealt with in a similar fashion,” Patti added.
At the mention of LA, Sara felt a twinge of panic. Her experiences at the hands of the gangs there had left with a lingering paranoia when out in the field. A movement inside her reminded her that those days were behind her and her future lay along a far different path.
