Chapter 601

The Prime sat in his command seat on Ship’s bridge as she remained in geosynchronous orbit twenty-two thousand miles and change above the Earth. The scouts had warped back and forth, giving updates on the alien ship’s speed and location, always with at least one continuing to follow the alien ship.

Jeff shared his thoughts with Ship. Surely the aliens will launch their Paladins long before the ship reaches Earth. If I were in charge of those things, I would launch them well away, scattering them to come in from every direction. Is their disdain of Earth’s supposed inadequate defenses so strong that they are going to use a simple frontal attack? Of course, they’re unaware of you, but they know about our interceptors, and we did everything we could to make it seem as if we had a large number of them.

They saw what those interceptors could do, yet their ship is halfway across our system, and it still hasn’t launched its fighters. And ... this brings up yet another major decision for me. If they continue to wait to launch, do I use you to attack the Paladins as soon as they’re launched? Unless they are the most arrogant group I’ve ever encountered, they will scatter their fighters, maybe into groups of two, and hit the Earth in widely diverse areas. Oh, hell, what do I know? No one has ever encountered an alien race, let alone one seemingly bent upon world subjugation.

I suppose, from their viewpoint, they don’t have to worry about Earth’s reaction or her defenses, but disregarding our interceptors is a mistake – and a serious one at that. I have some of the best fighter pilots in the world, and those pilots have been trained by you to fly and fight your interceptors. You have told me that you spent many millennia developing and enhancing yourself and your fighters. You said that you were confident that your interceptors would overcome the Paladins despite the difference in size. I hope and pray that you’re right because two of my wives will be leading that fight.

The aliens’ Paladins are bigger, have a larger crew, and those crews probably have experience in subjugating other worlds. Had it not been for that Captain’s display of anger and blatant bellowing out of his intentions, I would have revealed you and tried to dissuade the aliens from attacking. But ... if I do that, I will give away, probably, our only tactical advantage – surprise.

You said that you were confident that your invisibility shield will continue to function, at least until you fire your weapons, but the more videos I see of that monster, the more worried I become.

Ship spoke aloud. “I designed myself to be a warship – not a giant freighter with a few guns.”

“A few? If that thing has a few guns, I wonder what a lot of guns would look like.”

Ship ignored his comment, but went on, “I have sufficient offensive weaponry, and your wives are supplementing my point defense. The guns they will use are AI enhanced, but having a person to add the ‘human’ element will make them doubly effective. Also, I have gained knowledge from the First Officer’s comments, and then more from their Captain’s ... deranged screaming. I strongly suspect that this race has done this many times, and I am almost certain that they have won every time they have come in contact with another race. I further suspect that is caused, mainly, by their advanced technology, both in their spacecraft and their weapons.

“Extrapolating from that,” she continued, “it is reasonable to assume that they have developed and perfected their attack strategy until they are absolutely certain that it will work – hence their, perhaps, overconfident approach to Earth. I think that they do not just expect to win. They know that they will win. To use one of your phrases about war – expect the unexpected. They intend to obliterate any force foolish enough to array itself against them. I fully intend to destroy that overconfidence.”

“Well, that certainly agrees with the information our scouts have garnered. But ... that doesn’t make me feel any better. Were it not for you, Earth would stand no chance at all. It seems obvious that any race without a sufficiently armed space-going fleet would have zero chance against them. In other words, Earth would be doomed without you.”

“But I am here, and I will protect Earth, you and your family from the Miadax, as they refer to themselves. Should you give the order, I can surprise them and destroy their ship while they are still hiding in Saturn’s rings.”

The Prime let out a long sigh. “And I should probably let you, but then I would wonder how many females and children I had ordered killed. I have no problem firing on the Paladins after they are launched. Their intent will be obvious then. That first alien – the First Officer – wanted to trade. There seems to be a power struggle going on. Let’s give him a chance, but I want to stop that ship before it comes within effective firing range of the Earth.

“From our scout’s observations when they were practicing with that big rock, the alien ship stopped and waited for its Paladins to make their attack runs before the ship moved closer. I think it would be safe to assume that the distance the ship moved to before firing was its optimal range. I want to make sure that we stop the alien ship well before that distance.”

“That seems logical,” Ship agreed.

“We will warn them. If they continue to approach, we will fire on their ship, but I want you to maintain your invisibility for as long as possible. I want you to be a surprise – a surprise that will destroy them.”

The Primary Bridge of the Alien Ship

“Any luck?” the First Officer asked as he knelt beside Helm and the Science Officer who had half his body jammed into the recess under Helm’s station.

“If I had the proper tools, it would be fairly straightforward, but all I have are my pocket tools that I always carry. Unfortunately, that means that I will have to find the correct artery for the hatch with minimal equipment. Once I find that, I have to shunt the computer into the correct path in order for me to tell it to open the hatch – if I can convince it that I have the authority to do that. But there are only a few thousand arteries, so I should be able to do it in something less than my lifetime,” he finished sarcastically.

“You have been at it for many hours. (Interpreted) Take a break and eat something.”

The Science Officer looked at the food the Steward brought him and frowned. “This is too much food. We are on half rations, right?”

“This is your ration,” the Steward assured him.

“Eat and rest for thirty minutes,” (Interpreted), the First told him. “You need all your faculties about you.”

After getting the Steward aside, “Those are your rations that you supplemented his with, are they not?”

“He has far more need of them than I do,” the Steward defended.

“Supplement his with my portion the next time,” the First quietly told him.

“Sir, I am only the...”

“We have covered this before. You are just as much a part of this crew as any of us. We will alternate until he unlocks the hatch.”

“Yes, First.”

“Can any of us relieve you?” the First asked the Science Officer much later.

“No,” he said while shaking his head. “If I lose my place, I will have to start all over again. Please, allow me to work without distractions.”

The First Officer returned to his command seat and tried to stretch out, his body tired and his mind numb from his trying to come up with a way to get out of the sealed bridge. Has that bastard moved us closer to the planet? I could feel a vibration, so I know we were moving under impulse power, but with our artificial gravity, there is little difference unless we exceed our acceleration dampers’ capabilities. Shit! How did I manage to let him do this to us? I should have thrown that bastard in a cell. Better yet, I should have let him bleed out when I shot him.

I suppose I had some idea about taking him back to Base and convincing the High Command that he is insane. Instead, he will gut this planet, kill half the inhabitants and go home a fucking hero. Shit. Shit. Shit!

Ship

Arlene and Ann had told their sister-wives goodbye in the duplicate sitting room on Ship. On the bridge, emotions were again running high as they told Diana and Selina goodbye as they prepared to leave.

“Come back to me,” Diana said as she hugged both girls.

“We’re good at what we do,” Arlene assured her, “and we have the best interceptor there is.”

“Our AI kicks ass,” Ann inserted.

When Jeff hugged them, he whispered, “Remember what we talked about, and above all, weigh the situation carefully. You are too few for a standup fight, so hit and run. Oh, crap, we’ve gone over and over your tactics. You know what you’re doing. Give ‘em hell.”

A little later on the flight deck, the General and Colonel sat in on Arlene’s final meeting with the crews that were going with them. When it ended, Colonel Matthews brought everyone to attention before he and the General saluted the aviators, and Whitworth wished them God’s speed. Arlene and Ann must have remembered their academy training because there was a grin on Jeff’s face as they returned near-perfect salutes. Moments later, the three interceptors that were going on the mission moved toward the forcefields of the airlocks and slid through.

Whitworth turned to Jeff. “I’ve warned several key people, but even those who believed me said they didn’t dare say anything before we are actually attacked. A couple said that they would go on alert but would be using it as a drill in case nothing actually happened.”

Jeff shrugged. “I’m not sure that it would make a difference, anyway. Should they attack our bases, some might get off a missile or two, but you can bet those Paladins have shields. Who knows whether they will stand up to a missile or not, but I’m very afraid that they will.”

“Well, we have all done all we can. It’s up to Arlene and her crews ... and Ship, but every time I look at the enhanced vids of that monster...”

“I will not allow the alien ship to bombard the Earth,” Ship broke in to say. “I remind you that my shields channel the energy that strikes them into another dimension. I can also channel that energy, if need be, to strengthen my own shields. I also have weapons that should overcome the alien ship’s shields. My primary concern is the Paladins. We know little about them, but if they scatter as my Prime thinks they will, it will be up to the interceptors to destroy most of them. I cannot go chasing Paladins all over, once the mother ship is in near space. I remind you that with your order, I could destroy their ship long before it reaches Earth...”

“And any noncombatants on it as well,” Jeff finished for her. “Once the Ship is much closer to Earth, I will warn them. If they continue, you may fire, but I will not start an interstellar war without cause.”

Turning fully to the General, “Sir, do you wish to take over. I will tell Ship to obey your orders.”