Chapter 29: Interfaces

The Federation battleship USS Washington: 1:50 P.M.

Jessica handled the ship as though she was born to do it. The ship was shrugging off the enemy fire and her weapons were firing at the Washington D.C. shield trying to take it down. Turning her head she smiled at her husband and wife as the status reports came in from the fleet.

"Enemy shield down to 36% power," reported Lieutenant Akiko Fujimoto.

"Thanks, Akiko. Keep up the pressure," Tammy said just as Jessica screamed and the ship heeled to port and plunged towards the surface. Her crew tried to adjust the flight as gravity took over and pinned them to their chairs.

"Gravity generators are down, rebooting them now," shouted Stella Salaneo as she slid her fingers across the board and pressed several icons.

Tammy looked to where Jessica was curled up in a ball on the floor. Tears were running down her sister-wife's face. "JESSICA!" Tammy cried out as the gravitonic plates came up and rebalanced the gravity in the room.

Ken started shouting orders to the ship and the crew jumped to obey his orders, while Tammy went to Jessica and knelt beside her as she was crying.

"Jessica, honey what's wrong?" Tammy asked.

"Amy ... oh my god Amy is dead I can't feel her anymore," Jessica wailed out in pain and agony.

Ken felt a stab of pain deep in his heart. He prayed and hoped it was wrong but deep down he knew it wasn't as he issued his orders, "Stella, take us to Philadelphia. Order the fleet to continue Admiral Thompson's attack orders on the Washington shield. We must get it down, and destroy the American fleet."

"Disregard those orders," Tammy said as she stood up, walked over to her chair and sat down and took her command back, and continued as she looked at Ken, "Take care of Jessica, you're not an admiral now. The fleet is my responsibility."

Ken stood there looking at Tammy and then he slowly nodded his head, and went to Jessica as Tammy started issuing her orders. "Jessica, where is Amy?" Ken asked as he knelt beside her.

Jessica looked up at her husband and whimpered in pain, as she replied, "I don't know ... I just don't know. Her nano inhibiters were keeping her in touch with her capsule and they just cut off. Go get her and bring her home to me ... please."

"I will, can you order up a shuttle for me?" Ken asked.

"Yes ... your shuttle is ready. Good luck my love. Bring my sister home to me," Jessica said as she watched her husband.

"Jessica, can you cover me leaving the ship?" Ken asked as he stood up.

"Yes, go. Use the Flag Bridge shuttle," Jessica replied as she stood up. The ships systems came back online and the ship righted itself. She doubled her attack on the enemy shield protecting the capital of the United States.

Around the bridge, the crew jumped to their orders as the ship shuddered under the barrage of enemy fire that she was taking. Around the ship, the shield flared bright white as antimatter danced across the bottom of the hull.

Ken turned and walked off the bridge. Going into his day cabin, he quickly wrote a note and then handed it to Akiko.

"Akiko, my love, give this to Tammy when the battle is over," he asked as he handed it to her.

"I will, my love. Where are you going?" the beautiful Japanese girl asked.

"To my love Amy, she needs me," Ken said as he walked out the door.

He headed for the back of the command tower. Stepping into the small hangar, he looked at the assault shuttle, the three fighters and three bombers and walked to the shuttle. Going up the ramp, he walked to the cockpit and sat down in the left seat. Powering up the ships system, he aligned the nose up with the launch tube and shoved the throttle to full speed.

"I'm coming, Amy!" he said as the ship burst through the force field. Once outside the ship, the wings snapped out and the tail slid upward and he turned and headed for Philadelphia. Checking the speed he did a quick calculation, and knew he would be there in less than five minutes.

Flying at full speed with full stealth mode engaged, the city was soon in sight. Ken felt his heart break as he looked at the city that brought forth the great country he once called home. Circling the city, he saw that there were several major ground battles going on. Mechs were trying to take over the Philadelphia Naval Yard and the five Canine class destroyers sitting in the gantries. As he flew over the docks his eyes caught movement in the center of the naval storage facility. Doing a tight turn he stared in shock as he watched the old world war two cruiser USS Des Moines turn broadside to the Federation mechs closing on the gantries. The three turrets turned and then fired.

Explosions blossomed among his troops and three mechs were blown apart as the eight-inch rounds hit them dead center. Before he could react the ship went to rapid fire and Ken's eyes opened wide as he learned why the Des Moines class cruiser was considered the most deadly class of heavy cruiser ever built in the Second World War. The entire assault crumbled under the attack and the remaining units fell back in disarray.

"Shit, they need help," Ken said as he activated his com, and said, "Any air unit; the assault on the Naval Yard needs help. The USS Des Moines just blew the assault force to shreds. As he watched the ship continued to fire and then her five-inch guns opened up on the ground assault. As the air units swept in to neutralize her, the ships thirty-six antiaircraft batteries opened up on the attacking Federation ships.

"Son of a bitch! Look out, her anti-aircraft guns are firing antimatter warheads," shouted a voice over the com system.

Ken watched as six fighters and three bombers were swatted out of the sky like cardboard. Ken started arming his weapon systems as he said a silent prayer for a fighting lady about to be blown up. Dropping down to wave top level, he sighted all the lasers on the starboard side of the ship and let loose as a dozen more fighters were blown out of the air.

Twenty-four lasers ripped into the side of the ship and an explosion blossomed out of her side as he hit the main magazine on the bow and the forward section of the seventeen thousand ton ship blew apart. The lasers had touched off the stored warheads and shattered the hull. As he flew over the ship, the cruiser tilted up and started to roll over taking many of her crew with her to the bottom of the river.

Ken watched as some of the crew scrambled off the sinking hull. Tears rolled down his cheeks as he circled the shattered hulk and looked at the American flag lying on the oily waters.

"Damn you, Kincaide!" he said.

He turned on the com system and caught the report that Amy was at the Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Typing commands into the computer system he found the hospital and headed for it.

Molly shoved passed the doctor and ran into the operating room and came to a stop as she looked at the covered body lying on the table. Taking a deep breath and sending a prayer that she wasn't too late, she dropped her bag on the tray. Her trembling hand reached out and gripped the sheet and she ripped it back and blanched as she looked at her friend's badly injured body. She pulled the scanner out as Jimmy, Amy and the Doctor Johnson came into the room.

"Look, I'm sorry. I tried my best, but her wounds were too severe," Ike said.

"Ye of little faith," Molly said as she scanned her friends body and detected the nanobots were working overtime to keep her and the baby alive. They were supplying her system with the required nutrients to keep both of them going. They had put all her internal organs into stasis. With a smile Molly pulled out several nano injectors and started injecting the microscopic robots into her friend.

"Is she going to be ok?" Commander Hutcheson asked.

"She will be, but only if we get her back to the ship, and into her capsule," Molly said as she slapped nanobandages over the open wounds and covered the remains of her left hand that had been cut off due to the massive damage it had taken from shrapnel.

"Impossible, there is no heart beat or brain activity. Your friend is dead, and nothing we have can bring her back to life," Ike said to the woman.

"Nothing you have, but not what we have. Amy will be back in command of the battleship Washington in less than an hour if I can get her on the ship..." Molly stopped talking as Ken walked through the door.

"Mister President. What are you doing here?" Jimmy blurted out.

"Why wouldn't I be here? I have come to take my loved one home to be buried," Ken said as he walked to the table and looked down on his beautiful wife.

"Ken, she's not dead. We need to get her to the ship and I mean yesterday. Where is your fucking security?" Molly asked as she contained to work.

"Back on the ship..."

Molly looked at Ken in horror and snapped, "DAMN IT, KEN! YOU'RE THE PRESEDENT OF THE FEDERATION!" Molly stopped as she realized she was yelling at Ken and then continued, "I'm sorry for yelling, but you are the president! You must be protected!"

"I know, but something's I must do," Ken said.

"I know, Ken, but we are in the middle of a war. You must think, first," Molly said as she packed up her kit and then looked at the doctor and stopped as she said, "Jimmy, get Amy to the shuttle I have work to do here."

"Ok, but I will be back to guard your back," Jimmy said as he walked over and started to pick Amy up.

Ken reached out and stopped him, and said, "No! I will carry her. She's my wife, you're the marine. Jimmy, just get me to my ship so I can take her home."

Ken gently picked Amy up as Molly walked over to the doctor and started talking to him. Jimmy opened the door, and Ken followed him and smiled at Tina as she ran over.

"Is she?" Tina started to ask.

"She's alive, we need to get her out of here," Ken said.

The American battlecruiser USS Defiant: 2:00 P.M.

President Kincaide walked onto the bridge of the USS Defiant and sat down in his seat. Wiping the sweat from his forehead from the nervous ride from the cruiser Athena, he looked at the tactical display and listened to the reports coming in. He knew it wasn't good. Rubbing his chin, he knew his masters wouldn't be happy, but maybe these ships would make them less angry. Turning he looked at the helmsman and communications officer and said, "Notify all commands to enter Alpha One Nine into their helm computers. We fold in one minute."

"Aye-aye, Mister President, I'm sending your message now," replied the com officer.

The orders went out, and the fold engines started coming online.

The Federation Battleship USS Washington: 2:02 P.M.