by Charles Lamb
Bows were the traditional greeting in China, however, not reserved only for greetings. Bowing is a sign of respect, used for apologies or a display of gratitude. Generally, bows can be interpreted as the deeper the bow, the greater the intent. Jake’s interpretation of the bows before him was, four very sorry individuals with one apparently irritated that he had to be there at all.
Both Jake and Banks replied with a nod, but no bow. Per ALICE’s instructions, their response had to be less deferential than the Chinese, and Zan set that standard. The response did not go unnoticed either, as Jake saw a brief look of irritation on the Lieutenant Colonel’s face.
Jake waved one of the nearby bots forward, its tray containing ten earbuds. Jake pointed to the tray and then indicated the earbuds he possessed, already placed in his ears. Once each had retrieved his earbuds and placed them firmly in each ear, Jake spoke.
“Let me welcome you to the United States. This is Colonel Banks and I am Colonel Thomas. You may call me Jake,” Jake said with a flourish, knowing the Chinese were hearing flawless Mandarin.
With that, Lieutenant Colonel Zan took another step forward and began to speak. Jake could see the faces of the four officers’ pale as the man began to shout.
“This is outrageous. How dare you attack the sovereign territory of China! I demand to speak to your president this moment,” Zan shouted, then suddenly halted, as a shot rang out.
As Zan dropped to the floor in front of him, Jake could see the Major with his pistol drawn. With every gun in the hangar pointed at the man, he slowly placed his gun back in its holster. Stepping over the dead body of Zan, the Major bowed again, his actions repeated by those behind him. Straightening, he spoke.
“Please excuse the earlier rudeness. It would be my great pleasure to accept your welcome and call you Jake. I am Major Bo Chao, please call me Bo,” he said while extending his hand to shake.
----*----
After a tour of the facility and a quick review of all they knew on the Chinese situation, in the command center, Jake had the four officers settled in visitor’s quarters, allowing them to rest before dinner. It was very clear to Jake and Banks both, that the Chinese were both impressed and appalled at all they knew about them. Jake suspected that Patti’s analysts knew more about General Huang’s entire operation, then the combined four officers did.
It was evident that the good General believed in the segmentation of his command, so no one officer could perform a coup, and take it all away from him. It was also apparent that Major Chao was intelligent and potentially trustworthy enough to assume that command, for the short term at least. The three men with him deferred to his presence, but without apparent fear, more out of respect.
As they were settled, each man was provided a security escort, a situation none seemed too surprised over. Two members of the internal security force were stationed outside their quarters and were to act as his guide should the need arise. Jake had established the internal security units after the disaster at ALICE-9.
Rather than using potential military recruits for internal protection, these people were trained in civilian policing techniques. Subdue and control rather than kill and destroy. They took their jobs very seriously and were some of the best hand-to-hand people Jake had.
With them settled, Jake and Banks both headed off to their own quarters. With an hour before dinner, Jake took the opportunity to scan his inbox. He immediately noted Sara’s message and opened it for a quick scan. As he read, it was the last line that drew the biggest smile.
“Can I please come home?” was how she finished the message.
Hitting reply, Jake simply typed “YES!”
----*----
It had taken Ivan late into the night and much of the next day to convince enough people his was the right path. Even with permission from the Ataman and the Rata, he still had weeks of planning and preparations before he would be able to sail for America.
Fortunately for Ivan, anyone even remotely related to supporting the ships was volunteering to go along. This would be the first long distance voyage they had ever attempted. Unfortunately, the GLONASS navigation system was no longer functioning, so they would have to find their way the old fashion way.
Besides filling the ship's tanks with diesel, he had scrounged every useable barrel for added storage capacity. He had no idea how far down the American coast he would need to travel before he encountered a populated city.
He needed food and fuel, but was less concerned about armament, for while they would carry rounds for the guns, they would likely do little against the ship he had seen in the sky. The missiles might be of some use should things not go well, but they were a hit or miss to fire. Eighty plus years of storage did them little good.
Every now and then, as he was working through the giant list of issues he needed to address, Ivan wondered what was happening in the hills at the gold mine.
----*----
HeBak was wondering what the locals were so busy doing in the bay. His boredom was getting the better of him, as he watched the robotic mining equipment increase his fortunes with every cycle. As a form of amusement, he had taken to monitoring the lifeforms surrounding the bay.
After the enormous earth ship had passed harmlessly overhead, they had retreated from the banks of the lake and while three settled at the equipment drop site, the fourth had hurried back to the coast. At first, HeBak was concerned that he had been detected somehow at the bottom of the lake. While the fear had passed, his curiosity increased.
At the moment, they all seemed focused on one of the ancient seagoing vessels in the harbor. That alone gave HeBak comfort, as there was no way it could reach the landlocked body of water he currently called home. He continued to watch in bored fascination as they struggled to provision the ship.
Chapter 19
Jake had discussed it with ALICE and Colonel Banks, before selecting the small dining facility on the quarter’s level to host the Chinese delegation. As opposed to dazzling them with the comfort and finery the facility could provide, he had chosen the alternative. While not wishing to offend them, he wanted to set a tone of normalcy.
Rather than directing everyone to the designated seating, obviously set aside for the occasion, he headed across the room. Leading the four to the counter, he demonstrated the method for ordering and receiving one’s chosen dishes.
The Chinese were fascinated, as they ordered in their native language and received, if not exactly, at least a close approximation of the dishes they requested. Once everyone was settled at a large table set to one side of the room, Jake proposed a toast. It was interesting to him that no one there had ordered anything alcoholic.
“To new partnerships,” Jake announced as he raised his water glass.
At the table with him were the four Chinese officers, Colonel Banks, and Linda as the facility's commander. Patti also attended, introduced only as Jake’s combat analyst. Normally Sara would have attended, as Jake’s second in command; however, she had not yet arrived from London.
Since he had not declared the facility off limits, there were people coming and going during the meal, something the Chinese likely didn’t expect. Jake gave them credit though as they took everything in stride, hardly revealing any sense of surprise. The same thing could not be said about his staff, however, as people openly gawked at the group set to one side of the room.
The conversation had been light and casual through the entire meal, but once everyone had completed the main course, Major Chao asked the question on everyone’s mind.
“So Jake, what now?” he asked, using Jake’s first name as had been suggested.
Jake surveyed the table, noting everyone was focused on the pending reply. Pausing to frame the answer, he took a breath.
“Bo, no one blames you men for the actions of General Huang. However, that being said, we are not prepared to allow a twenty five thousand man army to wander aimlessly about Asia,” Jake replied
“The question is then,
what are you prepared to allow?” the Major asked politely.
“I think that’s up to you,” Jake responded with a smile.
Continuing he added, “Colonel Banks and I have a proposal, one you should consider together, as it’s an all or nothing deal,” he finished. Considering Chao’s intervention with Zan earlier, he had little doubt Bo underestimated the discussion they were about to have.
“Shall we begin?” Bo asked in return.
“Edwin, if you would be so kind?” Jake asked Banks, using his given name for the first time.
----*----
It was late by the time Jake made his way back to his private quarters. The discussion that started in the dining hall had migrated into Jake’s office, off the command center. The motivation for the move was they needed access to the information Patti’s analysts had gathered. It’s not that ALICE couldn’t provide them what they required, it’s just that Jake was trying to be considerate to those not actually involved in the meeting.
Once there, they reviewed the entire Chinese order of battle. As they walked through each unit, Edwin would ask the four officers if they knew anything about the unit or its leadership. This was all in aid of the plan outlined in the dining hall.
The obvious solution was to bring the Chinese into the fold as a partner, like was proposed with the British. As simple as is sounded, logistically it was a nightmare. Besides the language barrier and the cultural challenges, the concept created the first real have’s verses have not’s. While Jake was prepared to outfit the entire London SAS force, the Chinese were likely to exhaust the inventory of several ALICE facilities. Eventually, those stores could be replaced, maybe.
Therefore, they would have to choose which units would be upgraded, and which would operate as currently outfitted. Moreover, that presumed they could get consensus among the ranks in each to join up. There, the cultural differences were a concern as Asia and the West had a poor history of cooperation in this area.
At the end of the evening, the four Chinese officers asked to confer privately, but they felt they had enough influence to make the plan workable. Jake laughed privately at the request, as with ALICE in constant contact, he would have liked that for himself. As a final point, Jake requested that the Chinese delegation consider elevating Major Chao to Colonel, effectively recognizing him as their leader and at a level equal to Jake and Edwin Banks.
So with the four Chinese officers sequestered in one of the four’s quarters, Jake had excused himself for the night, looking forward to a hot shower and a warm bed. He hurried down the hall from where he had dropped off the Chinese, anxious not to be sidetracked by a passerby.
Reaching his door unmolested, he quickly slipped inside, but was surprised to find Sara sitting on his couch, reading a book. It looked very old and leather bound, and on the table next to her stood a stack of several more volumes. It appeared she was well into reading the one in her hands as the pages appeared about equal on either side of the open book.
Looking up from her reading, a smile spread across her face. Setting the book down, she quickly rose and crossed the room, sliding into Jake’s embrace for a long lingering kiss. As she crossed to embrace him, Jake noted she was in a white silk robe, giving the impression it was all she wore. Though she was almost three months pregnant, he could find no sign of the pending birth on her figure.
Breaking the kiss, but not the embrace, Jake could hear her whisper.
“I missed you so much,” Sara said in his ear.
“I missed you too,” Jake replied, his eyes closed as he enjoyed the feel of her body pressed against his. The two stood entwined for minutes before Sara spoke again.
“I have a present for you,” she announced as she extricated herself from his grasp and returned to the book on the table. Picking it up she turned to present it to Jake, binding first.
“Nigel asked what you might enjoy from London. I said you liked history and to read. This is the complete works of Charles Lamb. Nigel said it has several first editions in the collection and all printed in the mid 1800’s,” Sara finished while presenting the leather bound volume to him.
As Jake accepted the volume, Sara turned and headed to the bedroom doorway.
“After you are done with that, I can give you my present,” she said, looking over one shoulder at him. As she reached the door, she let the robe fall, confirming his earlier suspicions.
----*----
Brian was starting to get impatient. He was well aware that Jake had the Chinese to deal with, but the status of the carrier and Kola in particular was getting critical. Ignoring the fact that the South Dakota facility was on what amounted to borrowed time, with all the other ALICE’s lending a hand in running things there.
There was the issue of ship’s crew shortages and the more they prepared for operations the more they discovered shortfalls in personnel. Without an on-board ALICE soon, they would have to cease preparations. Overburdened people make mistakes, and this was no place for mistakes. Just yesterday, they had almost lost two crew members to a loading snafu, where a remotely operated fighter had almost crushed them on arrival.
Unfortunately, everyone agreed that Jake really needed to be the one to prepare the onboard systems, as he had done for ALICE-3 on the battleship. Though he had left the solar system before she came online, Jake had been the one to configure the firmware and file loaders for the support techs to execute at the appropriate time. Therefore, with no other option but to wait, Brian shot a quick reminder to Jake, hoping to escalate his concerns.
----*----
Becky was sitting with Sandy in one of the common rooms shared by the staff in their off hours. Sandy was obviously depressed and traumatized by the loss of Lance Corporal Ramirez. As such, she was attempting to withdraw and isolate herself from everyone around her. With guidance from ALICE-2, or Dallas, as she liked to be called, Becky was preventing that from happening.
All around the two, men, and women were talking and laughing. There were couples and small groups gathered in various parts of the room, playing games, eating, or just interacting in some fashion. Becky was bound and determined to get Sandy to come back to them if it took all her personal and professional time.
The selfish part of her was chaffing at the lost opportunity with Jake. While Sara was in London, she could be his number one girl. However, the nurturing side of her was overruling those thoughts. Becky knew she was selfish and self-centered, but she was also very good at what she did, and that was helping people.
In this case, it wasn’t just anyone she was helping either, it was Sandy, her closest friend. In many ways, she thought of Sandy more like a sister than a friend. Considering all that they had been through together from the day Jake rescued them, they were closer than sisters.
Although they had cut back on the medications, Sandy was still very lethargic and distant. Becky watched as Sandy stared out across the room, seeing but not registering all that was happening around them. Suddenly, she spoke to Becky.
“Do you think they all know?” Sandy asked without turning to look at Becky.
“Know what honey?” Becky asked in return.
“That Alicia died because of me,” she replied after a long pause.
----*----
Jake woke to the sounds of Sara in the bathroom. It took him a moment to register what was going on, as he was usually the one up before anyone else.
“Good morning,” Sara said as she emerged from the other room and kissed his cheek.
“You are up early?” Jake said as more of a statement than a question.
“London time,” was all Sara said in reply.
“Ah,” Jake responded in a knowing tone. With their high-speed transports, the global traveling was playing havoc with everyone’s internal clocks.
“Breakfast is being delivered in the other room,” she said with a smile, “I’m not ready to share you just yet,” she finished in way of an explanation.
With that as a motivator, Jake slid out o
f bed and grabbed a quick shower. By the time he dried and changed, he found Sara nibbling at her food while she patiently waited for him to dress and join her.
“Is it cold?” Jake asked as he grabbed one of the two chairs he had for the small table.
“No, it arrived while you were dressing, I asked Alice to try and time its arrival accordingly,” she replied with a smile and then took a proper bite.
Jake noticed a calmness in Sara that had been missing for weeks. While he would have liked to attribute it to last night’s intimacy, he suspected it was more likely she had made peace with whatever demon had been eating at her.
----*----
Jessie was frustrated beyond anything she had ever experienced in her life. While the concept of collecting and preserving the world's art treasures excited her and was simple in thought, bringing those thoughts into action was huge. After her conversation with Jake, and his silly notion that an antique sports car compared to a Da Vinci, she had set to the agreed task of scoping out the effort.
Pulling a team together of likeminded individuals, she held brainstorming sessions to try to scope out their efforts. These quickly degraded into arguments over what qualified as great art and what was just old stuff. It became all too clear to Jessie that she was going to have to set boundaries.
Once everyone accepted that they were only going after the most perishable pieces from the top museums to start with, they then argued about what those were. While no one disputed the Metropolitan Art, the National Gallery, the Louvre and the Smithsonian qualified, Seven was providing information regarding private collections as well. There were pieces by all the great masters in those private holdings, stored in vaults around the world.
This in turn burst the bubble of Jessie’s final grand vision. She had secretly envisioned turning a few of the hangar research areas into grand showrooms, displaying the world’s great masterpieces all in one location. By Seven’s estimate, they would need all of the three locations to store the crated art, floor to ceiling.