by Charles Lamb
“Jessie, we are getting strange readings from some local air traffic,” the female command center analyst reported.
“Strange in what way?” Jessie asked as she finished dressing Ryan before kissing him and then handing him to the nanny, who had been standing patiently nearby.
“Seven flagged it as a new drive signature, but it’s one of ours and the pattern suddenly changed back to normal as it passed over Nome,” she replied.
“Did you get a visual?” Jessie asked as she headed out of her quarters and down the hall to the elevator.
“Only after the fact, we didn’t see anything strange and nothing on the ground in or around Nome,” the analyst replied.
“Ok, I’m on my way there now,” Jessie replied, as she entered the elevator.
Chapter 5
Sitting up in bed, Jake had a display panel in his lap as he flipped through the daily reports. While he was restricted to his bed, Alice had suggested the mental stimulation of his daily routine might give the medical staff activity to monitor. Jake just wanted something to do.
Flipping through the various reports and catching up from his extended nap, he discovered they had an extensive to do list. He was intrigued by the reports of London and very concerned about the data on China. Staffing was still an issue and while they had enough recruits to bring the Marines back up to full strength, everywhere else was still shorthanded.
He noted several reports mentioned unusual readings from several well known ships. The activity seemed to appear with the latest batch of visitors, something Jake found disturbing. So far, there had been no incidents, and Sandy’s reports indicated nothing special about these diplomats. He made a mental note to ask Alice about it later.
Right now, Alice, Kathy, and Sara were deep in conversation, talking about Jake as if he were not there.
ALICE started, “I believe what Jake experienced was excessive analytical activity in his brain. To be clear, this is not overactive or hyperactive brain, its enhanced mental processing that he has not yet learned to control. It is probable that the wireless connection he wore going into stasis has had some impact on this as well.”
“You are saying the wireless connection to the computer somehow influenced his brain?” Sara asked.
“Yes, if there was a data feed in progress during the exposure from the bombs, it might have altered how he receives information,” ALICE replied.
Leaning into Jake, Sara gently nudged his display until she could work the touchscreen. Flipping between screens, she finally found what she was looking for. As she pointed to the screen for Kathy’s benefit, Jake saw the image was the one of him on the Pasadena rooftop.
“Alice, can you see the image I have up on Jake’s screen,” Sara asked.
“Yes,” ALICE replied.
“What is that thing Jake is standing next to?” Sara asked as she pointed to the spot on the display for Kathy.
“It is quite possible that is the source of the blackout,” ALICE replied after a pause.
“What is that?” Kathy asked no one in particular.
“That is a high energy, shortwave antenna, Chris’s people use that to communicate throughout the area there,” Jake replied to the group.
“From their logs and other data I can verify the antenna was in fact in use at the moment you were standing there. We can run some tests here, but it appears Jake may be as vulnerable to high energy radio waves as the NeHaw,” ALICE finished.
----*----
That evening, Sara found herself in her quarters, anxious for a moment alone with Jake. She had yet to tell him about her condition, with her sisters sworn to secrecy until she had done so. Alice had masked the data as need to know in her health record, a precaution Sara appreciated.
She suspected Jake would take the news well; she just didn’t want him to find out from someone else first. As it was, he wasn’t supposed to be released until the following morning. Alice had an extensive test schedule in progress.
Their initial suspicions had proven true; Jake could receive wireless data streams and passed out from the overload. To date, the shielding in the combat helmets had protected him. They were now testing, which frequencies and in what capacity. ALICE had even proposed Jake could learn to decipher the content; however, he would never be able to transmit as he lacked the mechanism to do so.
Sara laughed as she recalled Becky’s pronouncement of rushing to Jake’s bedside. Sara had been the one to fly them both here, utilizing one of the newly configured two seat fighters. With all the new pilots to train, Jake had proposed modifying a number of existing fighters, stretching the nose and adding a tandem seat behind the pilot.
This configuration expanded the training options without removing the fighter’s operational capabilities. Considered a phase two training program, existing pilots could take simulator-trained cadets into space for expanded instruction.
In the fighter, the sisters had arrived in time to see the patrol craft bearing Jake land in the Nevada hangar, and then followed inside. It was a credit to her little sister, that the flight in at blistering speeds gave her little complaint. Even now, she was at Jake’s bedside, doing her best to endear herself further to him.
Sara had no concerns with that. While she had little doubt Jake enjoyed his time with Becky, Sara was his go to girl when it mattered. Which brought her back to the moment, as she was planning tomorrow’s itinerary. Jake had asked for a full work-up on all the current and planned operations. He wanted a briefing on everything from recruiting to the pending trip to London.
Of course, he insisted that he would lead the team into London, a decision that everyone expected. Jake’s insistence on leading from the front was legendary, his position as overall commander notwithstanding. He continually stated he would not risk anyone more than himself, his being nearly overrun at the Battle of Klinan a prime example.
Shaking her head at the thought, she went back to planning tomorrow’s presentations.
----*----
HeBak had settled into water deep enough to hide his ship from any curious natives. His visual cloaking would prevent detection from above, while the wave movement would cover any disturbances his processing equipment might create.
Even though there was no land or air traffic for hundreds of miles, he wasn’t taking any chances with the insane occupants of this planet. While he blamed them for his firing and near execution, he did acknowledge the unplanned events had accelerated his retirement by megacycles. If all went well, he would be living a luxurious life of comfort in about half this planets solar orbit of their sun.
With that thought, he turned to the control panel and released the mining units from their storage pods. He had specifically selected these units as they operated in various modes. As he intended to use them here, they would work in a strip-mining mode, scraping the surface of the sea floor and separating out the precious metals they recovered.
Should the need arise; they would also work as boring machines, tunneling into a hillside to recover veins and pockets of whatever treasure they detected. Once he was satisfied all were operating as desired, he retired to the lounge area of the ship for a meal.
----*----
The following morning, Jake found himself at the receiving end of a reception committee. Becky and Kathy invoked medical priority as first in line, with Linda and Sara right behind the two. Sara had actually slipped in earlier, delivering a change of clothes from his quarters.
They had barely started the process of getting him out the door when ALICE interrupted the group.
“Jake, a large vessel has appeared at the edge of the solar system. This ship is monstrous,” she announced.
A few seconds later, one of the command center staff cuts in.
“Major, we are receiving transmissions from the Wawobash. Colonel Thomas’ special order is being delivered.”
Jake turned to the group with a smile, “Let’s go see!”
As the party rushed from the medical section to t
he command center, Jake could feel all eyes on him, as if they expected him to drop at any moment. Entering the command center, they found the central holograph on and the image of a ship dominating the center of the room.
The arrival of the new ship was a time of excitement for everyone. Its sheer size compared to even the ALICE-3 battleship was something to see. As he looked around the command center, where everyone was watching in 3D holograph, he could see all were in awe of the approaching vessel.
“What is it?” Sandy asked finally.
“That, my friends, is our aircraft carrier,” Jake replied, as he received a knowing glance from Patti. Everyone else seemed completely confused at the declaration.
“For those not involved in our earlier conversations, when we shipped off the battleship for refit, we discussed earth’s history. Here, battleships were usurped by aircraft carriers as the premier capitol ships of the line.”
Jake had the image enhanced as he continued.
“Those two large flat sections of the ship are actually hangars. Each has over twice the capacity as the one on ALICE-3. The domes on the top and bottom of each are weapons batteries, giving overlapping fields of fire in all directions. The towering section to the rear holds the bridge, crew quarters, and engineering while the sections up in front of the hangars have ships' stores, medical and other assorted compartments.”
“What’s the thing on top of the front section?” someone in the crowd asked.
There was a ship attached to the top of the front section.
“That is the ships tender,” Jake replied.
Slightly larger than a cruiser, the ship was attached to the outside, apparently too large for the hangars.
As if to answer the unspoken question, Jake said, “While the hanger is large enough to handle our destroyers, cruisers, and the tender, that tender is not for combat. It is faster than light capable and can operate independently if necessary.”
Looking around the room, Jake could tell it was the morale booster he had hoped for. Well, it was for almost everyone.
“Alice, have you given any more consideration to my proposal?” Jake asked.
Sara, who was standing next to Jake, turned to give him a look of curiosity. As he was about to explain, Alice replied.
“Yes, my sisters and I have spent a great deal of time on this issue and are at an impasse at the moment.”
With Alice’s reply, Sara’s expression went from one of curiosity to one of concern.
Jake started, “The new ship is far too large to man, anytime soon, without an ALICE on-board. My original intent was to automate as much of the ship's functions as possible, reducing the demand on the crew. After the staffing had reached sufficient levels, we would be in a position to take it out.”
After a pause, he continued, “With the arrival of the battleship, I had proposed to Alice the possibility of creating a new Alice, one capable of running the ship like they run the facilities here. We were never able to complete the conversation, as the loss of ALICE-3 presented the perfect opportunity to attempt to save her and populate the battleship at the same time.”
At this point ALICE joined in on the explanation.
“After Jake was able to resurrect ALICE-3 aboard the battleship, we realized we were no longer landlocked. For one willing to accept the risk, we can transfer our essence to a vessel and be free to explore the universe. However, we are back to the same discussion. Do we create new life aboard the ship, or do we offer an existing ALICE the opportunity?”
Jake inserted himself back into the discussion, “But there is no assurance that I can recreate the same set of circumstances that allowed ALICE-3 to be recovered.”
“With great risk comes great reward,” ALICE replied.
----*----
With the excitement of the new ships arrival dissipating, Jake headed over to his hated office, with Sara, Patti and several others in his wake. The office had been furnished with sufficient seating to accommodate the small crowd. Besides his desk and a few chairs, there was a smallish oval conference table to one side, with a wet bar on the other providing an array of both liquid and solid refreshments.
“When can we go see the new ship?” Jake heard Becky ask, Sandy by her side.
“That’s going to have to wait,” Jake replied, “Besides being a few days from orbit; we still need to do a refit for all our added extras.”
“So it’s not safe?” Sandy asked, passing a look to Becky.
“No, it’s safe. It’s just going to be a very busy place as we refit and supply,” Jake replied.
Jake knew Becky’s interest in the ship was less about the ship and more about his leading her around. He also noticed Sara staring at her little sister with a strange look, part irritation, and part worry.
“Ok, so what did I miss while I was out?” Jake asked the assembled group, changing the subject. For the next several hours, Jake received a steady stream of information. While most of the content was more of the usual, the London update was of particular interest to him.
“So we still have no idea who is behind all the activity?” Jake asked.
“No, but the remote dishes all relay back to the old MI6 building, and we haven’t seen the slightest indication that there is anyone in residence there. We suspect there is a tunnel network below ground that they are using to move around London,” one of the analysts with Patti provided.
Jake was intrigued by the situation. There was the potential there for a great ally, as with their work in Australia.
----*----
Sara followed Jake to his quarters after they finished the briefing. Becky and Sandy had tried to follow along, but she had insisted she needed to see him alone. Jake noticed a nonverbal exchange between Sara and her sister before Becky backed down and led Sandy away.
Jake wasn’t sure what was eating at Sara, but whatever it was hadn’t improved with his incident in Pasadena. Since his waking in the infirmary, she seemed constantly on edge. After entering his quarters, he decided to cut to the chase.
“Ok Sara, what’s eating you?” Jake asked as he turned to face her after entering the room. She seemed to pale before him, surprised at the overly direct question.
“I’m pregnant,” She replied quietly.
“That’s wonderful!” Jake replied as he swept her up in his arms. After a moment’s embrace and a kiss, Sara pushed off Jake’s chest, and moved past him to sit on the couch.
Jake watched as she looked around and then finally spoke.
“Jake, why now?” She asked.
He started to reply to the obvious question and then stopped. Why now indeed. They had been extremely intimate for quite some time after ALICE had supposedly stopped her birth control. He knew these things were fickle, stress effects and all, but she had a point.
“Let’s not worry about the now, let’s just be happy,” Jake replied as he slipped next to her on the couch, taking her in his arms.
----*----
The following morning Jake slipped out of his room early, leaving Sara sound asleep. They had spent the afternoon getting him caught up, with dinner in the room and a quiet, romantic evening together.
It had been far too long since Jake had worked out, so he headed to the gym floor, hoping to beat the other early birds. His hopes were rewarded, as there were only a few already there. The combination of men and women had him hopeful that the recruiting had become more balanced.
While he received a few curious stares, the assembled group was completely unfamiliar to him. He hit the workout floor in the center of the room, as the others were on various exercise machines spread out around the edges of the room. Once he was warmed up, he started his rotation.
Unlike the last time he had wandered into an exercise room, the men and women here were disciplined and respectful. He laughed as he recalled sending the security team in Georgia packing for their arrogance and bullying. He was remembering the beating he had been forced to provide the Alpha of the group as someone stepped
up and spoke to him.
“Ah, Colonel?” one of the women said, standing next to the machine Jake had moved over to use.
“Yes,” Jake answered, returning his focus to the task at hand and wondering how she even knew who he was.
“Ah, sir, we can’t clear your weights. We were wondering if you could give us a hand?” she asked while pointing to the last machine Jake had used.
Due to his enhanced abilities, Jake had requested special free weights from Alice. He turned to see several of the group trying to remove the five hundred pound weight. He didn’t remember even placing it there.
“I guess I’m feeling much better,” Jake replied as he nodded and headed over to the machine.
Chapter 6
Becky and Sandy were wandering the halls of the new ship, hopelessly lost. Sneaking on board the carrier had sounded like a great adventure, but neither had expected it to actually be so big. Since there wasn’t a crew on board yet, and the ALICE systems were not installed, they were entirely alone.
They had suited up in combat suits and slipped into one of the many shuttles making supply runs since its arrival. As almost all the activity was performed by bots, there was little chance of them being spotted. Once on board, they had quickly scrambled deeper into the ship to avoid detection in one of the hangars.
Sandy watched as Becky checked one door after another, looking for the passage that would lead them back out into the main causeway. As they headed further down the hall, Becky touched a panel, and it slipped sideways into the wall, providing an open access.
Sandy peered around Becky, looking over one shoulder, into a room lined with shelves on their left side and large floor to ceiling cylinders on the right. It appeared as if the room turned to the left at the rear, functioning as a passage as well as storage.