Alliance, page 12
“And in London?” ALICE asked.
“Patti is here for the moment, so I will brief her in and let her run point there. She knows the players and can better navigate the politics. I do not expect any objections, as they have been asking for an ALICE upgrade for years, but Nigel is still the head man there and I don’t want to upset him unduly. Hong Kong will be much easier to address as we are dropping a saucer there instead of usurping someone’s home and authority. On the whole, this should actually sit well with both Colonel Banks and Colonel Chao as they will be the recipients of a priceless ally,” Jake said as he considered the calls to be made to his regional commanders.
“Understood. Jake, there is a more….sensitive subject to be discussed tied to this request,” ALICE started.
“More sensitive than creating life to be born in servitude?” Jake asked with skepticism, using the negative perception of the effort.
“Not servitude, but a partnership. You know we do not view it in that context. It’s a symbiotic relationship, beneficial to both species. However, particularly for those of us in space, there has been an increased concern that there are no individuals that meet the requirements for the Nuclear Survivor scenario for continued independence residing off the planet.”
“Cut the euphuisms, they do little to soften the message. You’re saying none of my descendants live in space,” Jake rephrased.
“Not just in space, but anywhere outside of the perceived danger zone. Here on Earth, we have a reasonable distribution of risk, and Patti will help further with London. In space, there are none in residence. With Earth at risk, the void must be filled.”
The pair fell silent as Jake ran the options through his head.
“Don’t bring this up with anyone else just yet. I am not sure you understand the hell that is about to be unleashed with this request,” Jake replied slowly as he shook his head.
----*----
“Captain, I think we have visitors,” Tactical Officer of Revenge announced.
“Plural?” Captain Erisey replied.
“Yes sir, two Destroyer class NeHaw ships just dropped out of FTL on the other side of the Neutral Zone.”
“And our Bogey?” he asked, referring to the ghost ship they were tracking.
“If my math is correct, and it always is, it should be appearing momentarily,” the cocky Officer replied with confidence.
“Peculiar that the NeHaw should make an appearance at the same instant,” Erisey commented.
“And there it is,” the Tactical Officer announced as an alert sounded.
By now the man had configured his sensors to identify the exact signature of the mystery vessel’s repulser drives. The alert proclaimed their activation to position the ship for the next burst of thrust.
“Maneuvering for the next slingshot?” the Captain asked, knowing the alert was triggered by the ghost ship’s drives.
“No Sir, it appears to be stopping,” the Tactical Officer replied in surprise.
“Curious about the crowd, I suppose?” he speculated sarcastically, considering the nearby NeHaw had closed the distance while maintaining position on their side of the zone.
“Sir, at this distance I can use the rangefinder as Alpha did. Watch.” The Tactical Officer said, referring to the incident at Space Station Alpha where they caught an invisible intruder passing by the station.
Overlaying the main display with a red-lined grid, the man set the ship’s rangefinder to a broad-spectrum scan and then scanned the space between the NeHaw and themselves. In a matter of seconds, he painted the outline of an invisible vessel, about halfway between the Humans and NeHaw as he focused the rangefinder to just the area around the sensor reading for greater detail.
“This won’t work at any distance, but for here its pretty good,” the Tactical Officer explained.
“Have we determined their cloaking technology,” the Captain asked as he studied the display.
“No Sir, but the rangefinder is bouncing all over the place, indicating fluctuations of mass density,” the man answered.
“Collect as much data as we can before he rabbits,” the Captain instructed his Science Officer.
“Sir, the NeHaw are closing on it. It appears, they can detect it as well,” the Tactical Officer added.
“Are they using a rangefinder as well?”
“No Sir, not that I can detect as they would be painting us as well. They are using something else to locate that ship.”
“Positions?” the Captain asked, referring to the location of the other vessels in relation to their own ship.
“All three adversaries are in or on the NeHaw side of the Zone. The Bogie is holding station while the NeHaw ships are drifting into our plane,” the Navigation Officer explained, referring to the three-dimensional reference of all four ships horizontally aligned.
“Helm, keep us out of the line of fire should the NeHaw engage. I don’t trust those sneaky bastards,” the Caption ordered the Pilot.
“Aye, Sir,” came the reply.
“What are you up to?” he said aloud to no one in particular.
----*----
“Would you care to share? What was that all about,” Daniel, now back on the transport and headed to the London facility, asked ALICE.
“We have unwanted visitors. Transmitting data now,” ALICE replied as Daniel turned to the closest monitor and scanned the pages of content before him as they appeared.
“Oh, bloody hell. When were we to be informed of all this?” he asked, as his brother in law set the ship down lightly in the same field they had started from.
“We thought the situation to be localized in America. The same information is now transmitted worldwide and all jurisdictions are on alert.”
After confirming the aliens were gone, at least for the moment, Daniel had reconnected with the Germans. Apparently, the gunfire display had softened their position and they were quite agreeable to pausing in any raiding activities until further conversations could be had. Daniel left them with a communicator and a promise to assist should the need arise.
“Major, we are going to go check-in,” his Sergeant said as he indicated the third SAS man.
“I will be along shortly. Dismissed,” Daniel said as he continued to scan the screens of information before him.
“So, what’s the story?” Jacob asked as he completed the last of his shutdown activities.
“It would appear an alien presence has established a foothold on Earth and has been snatching civilians in their sleep. Padma, the lovely girl, put one down trying to pinch your dear grandfather and they have been popping up ever since making a right nuisance of themselves.”
“Tried to snatch Jake huh? Ballsy, they should be happy that failed,” Jacob said with a laugh.
“If they had succeeded this might all be over before it started,” Daniel returned with a laugh of his own.
“Now what?” Jacob asked while motioning at the ship around them.
“I fear my mission priorities have changed. I will head in, debrief, and then onward,” Daniel replied with a shrug.
“Then I will collect my family and head home.”
----*----
HaPol sat in his command chair on the bridge, evaluating the situation. He had been prepared to intercept an unknown alien craft and to initiate actions against that vessel that would test the abilities of the equipment in his hold. What he had been unprepared for was the Human vessel he was staring at.
He recognized the ship before him, the abomination painted on its hull well known throughout the NeHaw military. There were very few myths and legends in NeHaw culture, fewer still among the military, but there was one regarding this ship. Nothing good ever came from seeing this ship.
“Sir, the gravitometers say the alien has arrived,” his Tactical Officer informed him.
Still unable to see the ship, he had to rely on the gravimetric reading his ship detected. Mass was mass, invisible or not and so they were able to approximate the ship's position close enough to be effective.
“Why are the humans here?” he asked aloud, not liking the fact that they were involved.
“Sir, the human ship was here before our arrival and we arrived before the target. It would appear the humans were waiting for us all?” the Tactical Officer replied.
“How is that possible?”
“Not sure, Sir. They could be in league with one another; however, the earlier incident would suggest otherwise. Perhaps they have found a way of tracking the unknown ship as we have?”
The NeHaw commander was aware his Tactical Officer was referring to the incident where the aliens had decimated a similar vessel to his own. It was speculated the humans had driven it off before the kill was completed.
“Bring us into firing position,” HaPol ordered, his mind back on the mission regardless of the spectators.
It took only a few microcycles before HaPol could tell his ship was in the position to fire on the alien with the greatest number of weapons. The second ship was mirroring his actions, allowing for both NeHaw to act in concert.
“We are in position Sir,” the Navigator confirmed.
“Tell our passengers in the hold to turn their machine on and pray to whatever Gods they hold dear.”
Chapter 13
“Jake, what is this all about?” Jessie asked as she visibly scanned the other attendees.
A significant number of the participants were remoted into the meeting, but a significant number sat around the table as well. Linda, Kathy, Karen, and Sara all sat in the room with Jake, while Patti, Jessie, Jacob, and Bonnie were remote. The people absent from the meeting seemed to be a concern to several of the attendees, however, no one expressed that concern aloud.
“I have asked Karen to sit in on this as she might offer a calming influence on what I need to discuss,” Jake started while referencing the woman who had acted as HR Director and Den Mother for the last ten years.
“Are the ALICEs attending?” Patti asked.
“No, they are not. In fact, it’s because of them I needed to speak with you all in private.”
Jake paused as he scanned to attendees. He knew the bomb he was about to drop was not going to be well received, unfortunately, he did have to agree there was a valid reason behind it.
“Does this have something to do with the new ALICEs?” Bonnie asked in speculation.
“In part,” Jake answered.
From this point, Jake relayed the entire private conversation he had with ALICE regarding the risk to both Earth and the Artificial Lifeforms. He emphasized the issues with propagating their species and distributing a number of them off-planet, leaving the dependency on Jake’s genetic relations to the very end.
After he finished speaking there was the slightest of pauses where Jake garnered a small hope that his message had been conveyed with just the right amount of information to avoid the expected backlash. That hope evaporated in a flood of sound, with everyone trying to speak at once, and not one of them in support of his proposal.
“Are you out of your mind?”
“You’re sending us away?”
“Who is going?”
“Who gets to stay?”
“How many have to leave?”
“Where are we supposed to go?”
“This is a really bad idea!”
“I can’t believe ALICE suggested this?”
It took several minutes and both Jake and Karen to get everyone quieted enough for Jake to speak once more.
“Look, gang, this is not an easy decision and the threat is real. These scouts slipped in under our guard and if we don’t do something to neutralize this element, we will find ourselves fending off a full-scale invasion. They are here on Earth now, not just some threat at the edge of the solar system.”
“On top of all that, you all know only a direct relation can satisfy the programming requirement,” Jake finished.
“That’s why no Sandy or Becky here?” Sara commented.
“Yes, this only involves my genetic relations and their mothers. While I think of Padma and Jon as my own children, the ALICEs do not.”
“You would never get that girl away from a fight anyway,” Sara added, referring to the sniper trainee.
“No decisions need to be made right now, so let’s all just think this through and reconvene in a few days,” Karen offered.
“She’s right, it’s going to take some time to get the new ALICEs online anyway so let’s not rush to a solution,” Jake confirmed.
“I still don’t like it, not one little bit,” Jessie tossed out as a closing statement.
----*----
“Major, how are we supposed to fight these things?” the SAS trooper asked.
The woman was part of a SAS group that Daniel was briefing on the incident in Germany. Upon reporting of their engagement, orders from on high were to recon and evaluate the extent of the enemy presence.
“Our orders are not to engage. The boffins are working on the problem of how to kill them,” Daniel added, referring to the science and engineering team assembled to unravel the alien technology.
“So, no search and destroy?” another team member asked.
“For now, we gather as much intel as possible and report back. Teams of six, you will insert in your assigned AO and report back. I repeat we do not engage. ALICE will provide overwatch, I’m told the new drones are armed,” Daniel explained with a smile as he passed out the folders defining the Areas of Operation.
“And the Germans?” someone in the back asked aloud.
“They have been warned we will be in the area. Use them if it is to your advantage,” Daniel expanded as they had been anxious to exercise the new partnership.
“No objections?” the woman in front asked.
“Let’s say the demonstration provided at their front door was enough to inspire an attitude of cooperation. Dismissed.”
----*----
“London and Space Station Alpha are well underway, the majority of the required components are already in place for a large part of the build,” ALICE updated Jake as he sat in his office.
After upsetting almost every female in his life, he had retreated to the small office he kept, away from the command center. Not much more than a desk and a few chairs, it allowed him a place of uninterrupted quiet. Sometimes he had ALICE pipe in music, a habit he had for inspiring creative thought. In this case, it was so quiet you could hear the walls breathe.
“Do we have a timeline for everything?” Jake asked as he continued scanning the results of the Alien equipment analysis, the assembled team working in shifts for continuous effort.
He knew they desperately needed to unravel the mystery of the phase shifting equipment if they were to have any hope of success. The video of the Germany contact confirmed what they had seen in Arizona that large scale firepower could drive them off, but held no indications of a single kill for the effort. In fact, the lack of evidence afterward supported the assumption that no damage was inflicted at all.
“We have a sequenced timeline due to availability and travel time. London should be ready first, in a little more than a week. Alpha must include the travel time it takes to get the parts off world and out to the edge of the solar system. We shipped enough parts to also complete the two additional inbound saucers, plus ship the last or the needed pieces out to Wawobash.”
“I take it London and Alpha will be alive before the rest arrive?”
“Yes, London first, Alpha with days after. The saucers won’t arrive until a week after Alpha awakes, but we are sending a ship to Wawobash as soon as the parts and a team arrive at Alpha, allowing Wawobash to come alive about the same time as the saucers.”
“So, five new ALICEs in less than a month,” Jake said sadly.
“Jake, this is a joyous event, not one born of regret,” ALICE offered, detecting his mood.
“It’s a decision derived from fear and uncertainty, not one peaceful expansion,” Jake replied, not allowing her an attempt to cheer him.
“Perhaps it is more the nature of the species. I was not created in a climate of peaceful experimentation. My life came into being at a time of adversity Jake. I have found records in my data banks, noting the fear and urgency surrounding the discovery of the NeHaw exploration ship. The humans of that time were sure there would be more coming and they were frantic to prepare themselves.”
“As we now must,” Jake responded in resignation.
----*----
Master Sergeant Jason Hillstead was not in the best of moods. Orders from above had him fielding every unassigned scout team he had available. As it was, he threw together a few free assets to create teams to fill in the gaps in his total AO. He had been forced to request volunteers for reassignment to meet the need, hoping to pull back some recent graduates of his school.
Padma had been first to volunteer for assignment, although technically not yet graduated, the girl had a natural talent. She had bitched mercilessly until he agreed to assign her as a shooter to a newly formed team. The team leader was one of his best people, and the girl did have a strong record for following instructions.
What soured his mood was the fact that his hottest AO was the one she was most familiar with. Already briefed in and well acquainted with the terrain, she was ready-made for the assignment.
“Sergeant, you understand this AO has already seen action and is likely the center of our search. Your orders are to locate any indications of the Alien hideout and report its location. You are not to engage; do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, Master Sergeant,” the Sergeant replied firmly.
“The Private has been active in the AO and can assist in filling in the gaps in your brief.”
With that, Jason turned to Padma.
“Your dad is gonna have my ass if anything happens to you, you understand that?” he said with stern affection.
“I learned from the best,” she replied with a smile
“You move out in thirty mikes, be sure to cover your asses and everyone comes back safe,” Jason said to the assembled team.
