by Saxon Andrew
The Forbidden Wilds
Inevitable War
Saxon Andrew
Copyright © 2019 Saxon Andrew
All rights reserved.
This novel is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locals, organisations, or persons living or dead is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author.
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Contents
Introduction
Chapter One • Chapter Two • Chapter Three • Chapter Four • Chapter Five • Chapter Six • Chapter Seven • Chapter Eight • Chapter Nine • Chapter Ten • Chapter Eleven • Chapter Twelve • Chapter Thirteen • Chapter Fourteen • Chapter Fifteen • Chapter Sixteen • Chapter Seventeen • Chapter Eighteen • Chapter Nineteen • Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Books by Saxon Andrew
About Saxon Andrew
Introduction
The Galactic Union has allied with the Canis Aliens and is assisting them in moving their populations into the Milky Way. The civilization in the Large Magellanic Cloud currently attacking the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy will soon be turning their full attention to the small galaxy; time is running out until that happens.
The Union knows the LMC Aliens will arrive only to find the civilization in Canis Major is no longer present. They will naturally start searching for them and the most likely place they will start their search will be the Milky Way. That will lead to an inevitable confrontation with the Union. The LMC civilization has more giant battleships than the Nebula Aliens the Union just defeated and they’re more advanced technologically.
The Union’s Senior Admirals have started a massive construction program to build up the fleet and there is no doubt that an Inevitable War is coming. Will they be ready when the giant battleships show up?
Chapter One
Jingle was holding Belle and giving her a bottle when Alex walked in, kissed her on the cheek, and asked, “How’s my girls?”
“It’s taken a while, but Belle is finally sleeping through the night. I’m not so fatigued every day now. How’s the fleet coming along?”
Admiral Glennon delayed the arrival of the new ships until enough living accommodations could be built to house the crews. Our community is now twice the size of what it used to be, and a lot of off planet merchants are moving their businesses here.”
Jingle sighed, “I know it has to be done but I hate how things are changing.”
Alex smiled, “Maybe after everything settles, we can buy some land and start farming.”
“You can farm all you want, but I won’t be helping you!”
“You don’t like farming, Jingle?”
“Don’t you remember when Dolly took me out to a farm, and I spent a couple of hours helping out?” Alex smiled. “I’m just fine right here even with the commercial growth.”
“This still beats living in the Union.”
“Amen to that!” Jingle replied.
“The first sub-fleet will arrive tomorrow and will be followed by one every week for five weeks. All fifty-thousand warships should be here shortly.”
“Is there enough room for them? The new Terminators are twice the size of the ships we used against the Nebula Aliens.”
“That was the other thing that slowed them down. The spaceport had to be greatly expanded to accommodate them; that’s done now.”
Jingle saw something in Alex’s expression, “What’s wrong?” Alex didn’t reply and Jingle pressed him, “I know that expression, what’s bothering you?”
Alex came over and sat down beside Jingle, “The new warships have two crewmembers. It also requires two computers to operate it. They’re yelling for me to send the computers to be installed and…”
“You think I shouldn’t be on the ship with you?”
“Jingle, we have Belle now, and your place is with her.”
“So is yours!”
Alex sighed, “Don’t make this harder than it is, Jingle.”
“I won’t. If you go; I go. If I stay, you stay.”
“You know my staying is not an option!”
“Then we both go.”
“Are you suggesting we take Belle with us?!”
“No, Dolly will keep Belle whenever we go on a mission. You’ll have to send your fleets back to Bucket to be provisioned and we’ll be home enough to see her on a regular basis.” Alex glared at Jingle and she retorted, “What! You don’t think Dolly can handle it?!”
“That’s not it.”
“Then what?!”
“What happens if we don’t make it back?”
“If we don’t make it back, then the entire Union is in jeopardy. The best odds of winning is for both of us to be involved in what’s going to happen, and you know it. If the worst happens, then Belle will be with two of the most wonderful people I know. I vowed to go where you go, and you will not force me to break that vow!”
Alex stared at her in silence and then sighed, “I’ll be safer with you there. Under ordinary circumstances…”
“But these are not ordinary circumstances,” Jingle interrupted. “Under ordinary circumstances, Belle would go with us.”
Alex nodded and said, “Brooks, notify the engineering team you and Jangle will be moved to our new ship.”
“Ain’t we got fun!!” Jingle heard over her link with Jangle.
She chuckled and Alex said, “Jangle agrees with this?”
“Indeed he does. He’s looking forward to working with Brooks and linking with Belle when she’s older.”
“Is that a good idea?”
Jingle raised her left shoulder, “We’ll see. We can always remove the link if it’s a problem.” Alex nodded and took Belle from Jingle.
“Do we have any information on the civilization in the Large Magellanic Cloud?”
“Curtis’ scouts dropped more than nine-hundred stealth probes before I ordered him back to the Milky Way. The advanced stealth receiver stationed between the LMC and our galaxy has reported that they are wrapping up the war they were involved in and will soon be free to start looking into the Canis Major Dwarf Galaxy.”
“How much longer?”
“I don’t know, Jingle. They’re still sending four battleships in on a regular basis, but we expect that to change shortly.”
“Are the Canis Major Warships handling them?”
“They are.” Jingle nodded and Alex saw her expression. “What are you thinking?”
“I expect they will send a much larger group of battleships before they launch a major operation. Do you see it that way?”
“It’s what I’d do. Instead of just meeting their warships at the edge of the galaxy, I’d want to take a look at what’s inside the galaxy before I commit a large fleet.”
“We can’t allow that to happen, Alex.”
“Why?”
“They’ll discover all the populations have been moved away. We need to keep that information secret for as long as possible.”
“If we take out the scouts, they’ll launch a major fleet, Jingle.”
“Is that what you’d do, Alex?”
“Well, I think I’d still want to know what I’m up against befo
re I went in blind.”
“And how would you handle that?”
Alex shrugged, “I’d send one or two-thousand warships broken up into ten or twenty ship groupings and spread them out around the galaxy. I’d make sure all of them reported what they found and collect all the data on one ship.”
And how would you counter that, Alex?”
“I’m not sure if I’d try. Stopping all of them would be difficult and they’re going to learn about the Canis Aliens being gone eventually, anyway.”
“Contact Mike and tell him we need to meet.”
“Why?”
“Because you don’t have an answer if they send several thousand warships and that needs to be hammered out, Alex!” Alex stared at her and Jingle smiled, “We need to take the new Terminator out anyway and this would be a good time to do it.”
“What about Belle.”
“I’ll handle that; you set up the meeting.”
Alex shrugged and said, “Brooks, link me with Admiral Glennon.”
“Will do.”
“When will you be installed in our new ship?”
“In ten days, Alex.”
“I’ll schedule the meeting in twelve days, Jingle.”
Jingle nodded and took Belle back from Alex.
• • •
Jingle walked into the Watering Hole with Belle, and Dolly jumped up from her bar stool, ran over, and took Belle into her arms, “She’s so beautiful, Jingle!! She’s got your eyes.”
Jingle smiled, “I thought she had my hair, but it appears the blonde hair is falling out and is being replaced with dark hair.”
“Looks like Alex has some of him in her, too.”
Jingle sighed, “I guess. I was hoping for a blonde baby girl.”
“She’s still a heartbreaker. She’s going to be gorgeous!” Dolly looked up from Belle, “What brings you here?”
“Do you remember saying you’d like to go out and visit some of the planets I’ve told you about?” Dolly nodded. “I’m wondering if you would like to go with us to the Union for a few days.”
“I’ve never been to the Union! I’d love to go!”
“Alex and I are going to a meeting in three days and I was hoping you would go with us and take care of Belle while we’re in the meeting.”
“Do you mean I’d stay on the ship while you’re in the meeting?”
“I guess, why do you ask?”
“Gee and I became quite close at your wedding and I know Gee would love to see Belle. Why don’t you drop us off there and pick us up after the meeting?”
“That’s a fabulous idea Dolly. I’ll contact Gee and set it up. Do you have enough time off to go?”
Dolly giggled and turned to Joesen at the other end of the bar, “Hey, Joe!! I’m leaving in three days and I’ll be back when I can!”
Joesen waved a hand at her and Dolly turned back to Jingle, “I’m so excited!”
“I’ll pick you up in a shuttle in three days. This is going to be fun.”
Dolly looked around and smiled, “I think all the regulars really want to meet Belle.” Jingle looked around the bar and saw the regulars staring at them and she smiled, took Belle from Dolly, and went to their tables. Dolly was right, they were excited to finally meet her baby.
• • •
The day before they left, Jingle asked Alex, “How many shuttles does our ship have on board?”
“It will carry three, but they’ve not been brought in yet.”
“I need a way to take Dolly and Belle to Gee’s and our new ship is too large.”
Alex’s eyes narrowed slightly and then they opened wider, “There is a large number of the old model warships at the spaceport that we’re planning to scrap. I could bring one of them on board and it’s small enough to land at Gee’s.”
“Are they still operational, Alex?”
“Quite a few are, Jingle. They still have their computers on board, and they’ll be fine to use as a shuttle.”
“Have someone at the port to deliver one here by this afternoon; I’ll pick up Dolly in it in the morning.”
“I’ll order the best one available to be selected and have it serviced before it arrives.”
“That’s good. You might consider using those ships as our shuttles instead of a standard fleet shuttle.”
Alex nodded, “That’s a good idea. I’ll have two more selected to be moved on board when we get back.”
• • •
Jingle moved all of Belle’s things into the small warship and went back into her home and picked up Belle. She looked around and remembered when she fled the Union in a ship just like this one and smiled. She put Belle in her baby-seat and went to the control panel where she powered up the small ship. She pressed the computer’s activation button and said, “System status?”
“Everything is operational, Admiral.”
“You will be serving the role of a ship’s shuttle and will respond to voice commands. You will not be imprinted and will follow the verbal instructions you are given.”
“Yes Sir.”
Jingle shook her head; she hated treating any computer like a machine, “Call me Jingle.”
“Change noted, Jingle.”
“And you will be called Ringie.”
“Change noted, Jingle.”
“Ringie, I notice that the color of your hull is grey; why is that?”
“I was undergoing modifications when the war with the Nebula Aliens ended. I had the stealth coating installed before I was sent to be scrapped.”
Jingle sighed, “I’m sorry about that Ringie. But you will not be scrapped; you will be assigned to my new ship to fulfill the role of a combat shuttle.”
“That is good news.”
“I’m taking control of the ship.”
“The panel is yours Jingle.”
Jingle lifted the small ship from the roof of her new home and flew to Dolly’s. Belle was sitting in a small seat next to her and laughed when the ship lifted. Jingle laughed with her, “Oh! You like to fly!”
Jingle arrived at Dolly’s and assisted her in moving her bags on board. Dolly went to a chair and Jingle smiled, “We’re off!” Jingle flew the shuttle to a huge grey colored ship. Dolly was amazed at how large it was and Jingle flew the small ship into the landing bay. She landed and ordered, “Anchor to the deck.”
“Ship is anchored Jingle.” Jingle turned to Dolly, “We’re going to leave your things on board until we arrive at Gee’s.”
“How long will that take?” Dolly asked.
“We’ll arrive in about six hours.”
“I thought it took several days to arrive in the Union?”
“This new ship gives a whole new meaning to the word ‘speed’.” Jingle picked up Belle’s seat and walked out of the landing bay to the bridge. Alex stood up, went to Dolly, and hugged her, “Thank you for helping us out.”
“I’m so excited about doing this Alex.”
Jingle took Belle out of her chair and then went to a command chair. She saw a third chair was just behind the front two chairs, “Dolly, sit here.” Jingle looked up, “How are the two of you getting along?”
“Great,” Jangle replied. “Brooks and I have worked out what we’ll be controlling on this ship.”
“How did you do that?” Alex asked.
“We had a quiz and whoever won got the choice.”
“Well, you can forget your getting the choice. Jangle will be controlling the weapons and Brooks will be responsible for navigation and scanning.”
Jingle looked at Alex, “Why did you decide that, Alex?”
“If we’re in a combat situation, I need to make decisions on what we should do, Jingle. You’ve always been good operating the weapons. If you want to switch, I’m open to it.”
“No…I prefer the weapons.”
“It’s rather odd that I chose control of the weapons and Brooks preferred navigation,” Jangle replied. “I guess we’re more linked to each other than we thought.”
“We did that before we were installed in this new warship,” Brooks replied. “That was enhanced when we had to fly so close together in the Styx Nebula.”
“We’re headed to New York for a meeting with Admiral Glennon, but this will be our shake-down cruise. I want to be trialing every system and I especially want to see how Brooks is able to coordinate his scans to the weapon’s console. We won’t be wearing our combat helmets because we’re not linking with other warships. We have a guest on board and all our conversations will be done over the loud speakers; any questions?” Alex’s question was greeted with silence and he put his hands on the ship’s controls.
He glanced at Jingle and smiled as he lifted the ship off the tarmac and raised it slowly into the morning sky. Jingle sat back and saw Dolly’s expression, “We’ll take it slow at first, Dolly.”
“Do what you have to do! I love amusement park rides.”
Alex chuckled and raised the bow skyward, tapped a button on the thruster control, and watched the ground fall behind them at high-speed. They arrived above Bucket’s atmosphere and he pushed the thruster control slightly forward. The large warship accelerated and kept picking up speed. It was out of Bucket’s star system in less than a minute and then turned to take a route above the Milky Way. He activated the force field and the huge warship leapt forward at an incredible speed. Dolly didn’t feel the acceleration, but she saw stars flashing past them like streaks. She glanced at the large monitor above the viewport and saw the Milky Way growing in size under them. Alex saw her and said, “We can’t go to full speed inside the Milky Way; there’s too much space debris. Once we’re in open space, we’ll go to high-speed.”
Jingle asked, “Jangle, how fast is this ship?”
“It can fly across the Galaxy in less than a day.” Jingle shook her head; she needed to get imprinted on this new ship. She could do that on the way back.
Alex must have been reading her mind, “Jingle, I’m turning control of the ship over to your panel. I’m going through imprinting and you can be imprinted after I’m done.”