Chapter 599

The Ship

The first tight-beam transmission was garbled by distance, but the Ship interpreted enough of it for a general location of the alien ship as it neared the solar system. Much later, she received a clearer tight-beam as the scout followed the enormous alien ship partway across the solar system. Jeff, Arlene and Ann were sitting in the Captain’s Ready Room aboard Ship as they discussed strategies.

“I worry that our scout is going to be seen now that the alien ship is basically just sitting out there,” the Prime commented.

“Our shields are good, and the teams know the risks,” Arlene returned, “and we all know that we desperately need to keep track of that ship. Besides, our scouts are much, much faster than that behemoth and can escape if they are discovered.”

“They can’t outrun an energy bolt if they’re in real space,” the Prime reminded. “We don’t know the aliens’ mentality, either, but after the way they stopped that time and fired randomly all around their ship, I’m afraid that they will kill without bothering to warn first.

“Crap,” he continued, “I thought they might come blazing in, or maybe try to drop off their Paladins for sneak attacks. They might even have announced their intentions, but I didn’t expect them to stop off at Saturn and just sit there.”

“Well, at least we have gained some knowledge about them,” Ann commented.

“Yeah,” the Prime returned, “unfortunately, we now know that they don’t intend to pass on by. The question is, what the crap are they waiting for? It seems to me that if their mission were diplomatic, they would have come in openly while sending messages of greetings and so forth. Sitting out there watching isn’t sending a calming message. They’re observing and gathering information about our society – about our defenses, I would assume. Then again, maybe they don’t know that we know they’re there. Maybe I should correct that after all.”

“Contact them? That should shake them up,” Arlene offered.

“And precipitate something, perhaps,” Jeff said as he frowned. “I just don’t know what that something would be, but maybe I should think about finding that out very soon, hmmm.”

“What about the General?” Arlene asked.

As Jeff turned back to his daughter-wife, he noted the stress showing on her face. She’s too young to have this much responsibility, but what can I do? She’s by far the best I have for the job. Shit. Shit. Shit.

Before Arlene could say anything, Jeff motioned for Ship to replenish their coffee, then changed the subject slightly. “With the asteroid belt shut down for training because of the aliens, how are your people taking it?” he asked his daughter. “Better yet, let’s put it on the line. How prepared are your crews for a battle, overall? And while we’re at it, what about Bill and Kathy? Are they ready?”

Arlene deliberately took time to fix her coffee and take a sip as she thought. “I would have liked to have had the time to train more, especially with those two, but we can’t have everything we wish for. There are still some things that I never got to go over with Bill and Kathy, at least in real-time. But ... we’re still training through Ship’s Academy. It is, of course, basically the same, but no matter the realism – afterward – we always know it wasn’t real. There’s a feeling when you return from the asteroid belt that just isn’t there when it’s through Ship.

“My body seems to know the difference – however slight. Bottom line, we’re still doing Ship’s virtual training and trying to learn new attack plans as well as defensive ones. We even had scenarios where we protected Ship in conjunction with the gunners. And in case you don’t realize it, all your wives, in addition to Tosha and even Aiko, are training to be gunners.”

“I knew about Tosha and the others, of course, but I didn’t realize that Aiko...”

Arlene fought back a giggle. “Maybe it’s because she felt – and was – so helpless while married to that prick, but she’s taken to handgun training with a vengeance. And... the look in her eyes when she sits down in that gun module on Ship and puts her hands on the controls is almost scary. She is so tiny while sitting in that seat, but she is almost vicious when that gun comes alive. How she’ll do against incoming fighters is anybody’s guess, and that goes for all of us, of course, but if I had to bet, I would say that she’ll fire without hesitation.”

Jeff smiled at his daughter-wife. “I ... met her on the range last night, but she never got around to shooting. I just supposed that she was embarrassed around me...”

“She probably is,” Arlene agreed, “but Ship tells me that she’s on time for her training every day. Husband, we’re all sitting on Go and continuing to try to guess how the aliens will attack. But as far as our interceptor teams are concerned, all of it is just shooting in the dark. Earth is big, and we have only thirteen interceptors. And that doesn’t even include the space around the Earth. Those Paladins could be attacking anywhere on Earth before we even realize they’re coming. I sincerely hope that my teams don’t have to respond only to alien attacks, though. It’s hard to win if you’re always on the defensive. Surely, we can take the attack to them at least some of the time.”

Jeff turned a piercing gaze upon his daughter. “I do not want your group attacking that damn ship. That’s Ship’s job. As you just mentioned, there are only thirteen interceptors. Realistically, that simply isn’t enough to attack that thing. Hell, they have more weapon pods on that monster than we have interceptors. Don’t even think about engaging that damn ship. Stay with the Paladins and let Ship duke it out with the monster. And Arlene, please be conservative until you know the enemy – live to fight another day, and that’s an order.”

“She won’t do anything foolish,” Ann said as she reached to grasp her husband’s hand. “We’re all frustrated with the waiting.”

“I hate it,” Arlene sighed out before coming to her feet to pace. “Why don’t they do something? Oh, yeah,” she said as she spun toward her husband, “what about the fortress?”

“The fortress is stocked to the gills. Dave and Evie are keeping me posted, and they’re my liaison with Quinton. He’ll work with the local police, rescue services, and so forth – if and when the aliens attack. As we’ve discussed, if they attack and the populace finally believes that we are actually being attacked by aliens, you can look for mass hysteria all over the world – and a flood of locals once they hear about the fortress.”

“Our animals?” Arlene asked. “They...”

“They’re family too. They can stay in our suite aboard Ship. Ship said she could easily expand as necessary. She still insists that she will be the safest place once the attack is underway. Come to think of it, I’m going to tell Diana to start moving the family aboard now. We have duplicates of everything we need aboard, anyway, so all we have to do is get everyone moved and settled in with the animals.”

“Good,” Arlene said with emphasis. “We either all win, or we all lose. That way I don’t have to worry about anyone.”

“What about the General?” Ann asked.

“He’s had some meetings with people who have already been blocked, but telling a high-level politician that aliens might attack is akin to Chicken Little crying that the sky is falling. Even if Whitworth is believed, there is nothing that Earth can do other than having endless meetings to see which politician can get the edge over another one.

“I know that he has talked to several military commanders in other countries, but again, what can they do? Your interceptors and Ship will win this, or Earth will lose. Hell, we might go down in history as the ones who started an interstellar war.”

“Or finished it,” Arlene grimly said. “We will win. If those assholes attack this planet, they are going to regret it. I want Earth to do the history writing, not a group of aliens from halfway across the galaxy, or wherever they came from.”

“That makes two of us,” Jeff agreed. “Let’s get the family aboard and see if I can contact that ship. We might as well see if we can find out what they’re really up to.”

Saturn’s Rings – The Alien Ship

The Captain sat in the Commander’s office, but this time the Commander had refused to relinquish his seat to the Captain.

“I am your Captain. I will not have this disrespect.”

The commander sneered back. “At the moment, you are wearing a Captain’s uniform, but you have no authority, and if the First Officer ever realizes that you have foiled his security system, he will kill you. Now, what have you gleaned that might be of use to me?”

The Captain wanted – oh so badly – to put a hole in the Commander’s head, but he had no weapon, and the Commander certainly did. Restraining his temper, knowing that the Commander would be one of the first he would kill as soon as he regained his command, the Captain figuratively bit his tongue and answered, “My source thinks there is a way, but it will require a torch capable of cutting armor, and the passcodes for that section. Fortunately, I still have the codes, and I can obtain the torch, but I never thought I would have to use those codes. I am still not certain that this will work, but it is the only way that I can see to have even a chance of success.”

“It will be up to you. I will have to lead my Paladins; otherwise, the First will know that something is wrong.”

“I will need a weapon,” the Captain insisted.

“Not until I say so,” the Commander snapped back. “Besides, if I give you one now, I know that you will wear it, and the First will kill you on sight.”

Noticing, the Commander pointed at the Captain’s knees. “Are you an idiot? Anyone seeing you wearing those will figure it out instantly.”

“Oh,” the Captain said, stunned as he looked at his kneepads, “I forgot to take them off when I climbed down from the pipe shroud. Besides, the First doesn’t come into this section – cannot, with the corridor mutiny weapons continuing to be activated to seal off this area. Besides, you should try crawling that far. I had blisters on my knees before I found these.”

“You need to kill that Pipe Engineer/wanna be Warp Engineer, or whatever his title is, before he tells the First what you are doing.”

“I cannot do that. He is central to all our plans.”

“Well, you had better make sure he keeps quiet, or you are the one who is likely to be dead. I do not know why the First did not kill you when he had the chance. If you want to continue to live, you had better stay out of his way. I doubt that he will make that mistake again. Now, get out of my office and work on carrying out your mission.”

The Captain stood to glare at the Commander. “Without me, those plans will never go forth.”

“What you mean is your plans of recovering your authority will not go forth. My plans will work perfectly. I can always arrange for other happenings later when no one is expecting it. If you do manage, I will back you up, but you had better remember not to cross me. I will not be as forgiving as the First. As of now, the only thing about you that resembles a Captain is that uniform. Do you honestly believe that the First is going to allow you to live for our return to Base? I am your only hope, and you better remember that. You have, maybe for the first time in your life, what sounds like a decent idea, so make it work. But the timing has to be perfect.”

The First’s Quarters Aboard the Alien Ship

The First’s mind wandered as he worried over his Precog. Over the last months, (Interpreted) time had dragged for the aliens just as it had for the Prime’s people. As he frequently did, the First continued to take extra food to his quarters. A little later, he would walk back in with the two females he usually chose. They followed quietly behind him, their gaze properly downward as per their directive.