Jack might as well have been hit by the taser again. A Fleet police officer grabbed the shackles on his wrists and unhooked them. Jack asked, "I'm free to go?"
The Fleet police officer said, "Yes."
Jack walked out of the courthouse, and three reporters seemed to wait on him. One shouted, "How'd it go, Jack? Did you make bail?"
A second shouted, "Is there gonna be a trial?"
Jack noticed his hover tank, which still sported battle scars from Delta, waited for him next to the courthouse steps. Wilson must have brought it down for him. He shouted at the journalists, "No, no trial!"
He smiled and climbed on board his tank…
Chapter 23
A.D. 2132
Lithor planet AB-137…
They named Steve Creech's Corvette The Attrition. They decelerated at one gravity and had another week's worth of travel time to reach AB-137, Fleet's name for a Lithorian planet that Steve Creech intended to burn with atomics. The ten person crew on board The Attrition suffered from stress, appropriately. They flew an untested craft and faced an unknown enemy. Steve didn't feel stressed. They pushed the craft through simulations, and it performed just like its name implied. Steve resigned himself at the beginning of the war that if it was his fate to die in space so be it.
The last day of deceleration approached, and Creech ordered, "Battle Stations." The crew members ran to their places--Gel-cushions so they could sustain significant gravities of acceleration. Creech called out, "Disconnect our extra fuel/food pods. Power up the scanners."
Julie read the scanner report. "Four ships detected in orbit, one is a Demon class, one is a Hornet, and the last two are Mongrel's Nests…"
"Pilot, aim for the Demon class. We're going to hit it with everything but atomics. All turrets aim forward."
The pilot called back, "I've got her in my sights!"
"Fire all weapons!"
Cannons and batteries all blazed at once, leaving streaks of light in their wake leading to the Demon class ship. The shields on the Demon flashed for a minute and then caved. The energy bolts cut into the hull rupturing it. Atmosphere jetted out of the holes, pushing the Demon into an uncontrolled spin. It would be a few moments before the weapons on The Attrition recharged. Steve ordered, "Turn to lock on to the Hornet."
The pilot said, "Yes, sir!"
The Hornet started to accelerate, slowly at first but then gaining speed. Steve called out, "Full throttle, chase her."
"Aye-aye."
The Attrition gained on the Hornet quickly. Steve ordered, "Get a lock on her. Fire at will."
The chief gunner fired all the cannons at once, rending a giant hole in the side of the Hornet causing it to spin out of control. Julie spoke up, "Captain, they've launched their Mongrels. They're coming straight at us."
"Pilot, target the Mongrel's Nests with the forward cannons. Nobody escapes. Turret gunners, target those Mongrels. Aim for the seam in the underbelly or the cockpit."
The Mongrel's Nests proved to be no match for The Attrition, and one by one, they cut the Mongrels into pieces.
The Attrition flew to the planet and found a rather large population center. They flew right down towards it. Creech ordered, "At 10km drop two of our atomics. Pull up once the atomics are away."
Pulse cannons of some sort fired at them as they descended, but the shields on The Attrition held firm.
Within a few moments the chief gunner shouted, "Atomics away."
The chief pilot pulled back on the stick and aimed her skyward. The blast rocked their ship. They broadcast on FTL, "Mission successful, planet AB-137 has been irradiated."
They went back to their extra fuel/food pods and secured them. They plotted a course for their next target and started the acceleration. A Private, one of the turret gunners, approached Steve Creech after the battle, in the mess hall, and thanked him.
"For what, Private?" Creech asked.
"For having some balls, Captain. We just took out a dozen ships. My CO back on Orion would have run."
"This isn't Orion. We've got a job to do."
Chapter 24
A.D. 2115
Open communications…
Three months, with a team of Human scientists, they cracked the Lithor language. At least one language, the predominant one. The Lithorian homeworld consisted of two hundred and fourteen countries at least. With three ongoing major wars, apparently over natural resources. The wars seemed to quiet down the longer the Fleet warships stayed in orbit. Huge disparages existed between a few rich nations and many poor ones. Technologically similar to twenty-first century Earth, and they used up almost all of the planet's natural resources.
They still had slavery and a profitable slave trade. Corporations would raid poor nations, those that could barely feed their people, let alone field an advanced military. They had religion it seemed, with some similarity to Human and Kilken religions, although some supported cannibalism based on the cooking shows on their TV. Humans set up a new broadcast, this time, "We come in peace," in what they thought would be proper Lithorian.
The largest, richest nation on Lithor responded with, "We too are peaceful." Even though that nation led one of the ongoing wars over natural resources: crude oil and uranium mines to be specific.
The Fleet scientists tried, "We would like to exchange cultural items with you."
The Lithor smiled. He had two sets of canines on each side and six biting teeth across the middle of his mouth. "In exchange for technology?"
"Perhaps in time we could exchange technology." The Humans had preplanned for that statement--they made sure they had the language right.
"Let us trade language and culture first. That is acceptable."
A.D. 2116
A gift for the Lithor…
The biggest problem facing Lithor as a whole could be summed up in one word: overpopulation. Their growth rate teetered on geometric, families with twenty-plus children populated the globe, from rich states to poor states. A Lithorian female gave birth to up to eight young at a time. The Humans and Kilken felt very strongly that they plotted a course of self destruction. They would reach critical mass and throw their entire globe into a giant war.
Humans sat down and explained to the Lithor that Humans and Kilken divided space up into two halves, one for Kilken to colonize, one for Humans, that they drew a line, more of a three dimensional plane, in between their homeworlds. Lithor would have to agree to divide space up equally, so that the Lithors would have their own space to colonize. All the Lithor governments agreed to the treaty with the Human and Kilken. Then the Humans and Kilken handed star drive technology to the Lithor on a silver platter, giving them abundant cheap power as well.
* * *
Very quietly, Fleet ordered more advanced weapons systems from the G.E.S.C. Once again Hans took the design lead, and they started on their second generation systems. He designed this new batch of devices dead sober.
Chapter 25
A.D. 2133
Amber…
Jack sped home to see Lexi. She made him promise to not get in trouble again. The top brass orchestrated a party for the ground forces that cleared out Delta. They pinned another medal on Jack and took over the officer's club for the festivities. Kai and Jack set a date for their dinner party. Lexi suggested a rib roast. Kai smiled and said that would be fine. Jack went back to training his squad the next day. With another dozen brand spanking new hovers to pass out, he hoped for a good bunch of recruits. He had three more days to wait until the tests. Colonel Henderson left him a voice message. Lexi replied, "I would have gotten it, but it was from her…"
Jack played the message. "I know you have practice in the morning. Please appoint a second to run your squad and report to my office in the AM hours. This is an order."
Jack called Kevin and asked him to run the squad through a mock battle and then to the obstacle course. Kevin agreed.
Jack didn't know why he planned to go see Colonel Henderson. There had to be a way
to get a different doctor for him to see. He really didn't feel like he needed to talk to one anyway, feeling rage in the heat of battle had to be a common thing.
He knocked on her office door, and she called out, "Enter."
Jack stepped into the office and sat down in the big fluffy chair.
"How are you feeling today?" Henderson asked.
"I feel fine, ma'am."
"I'm glad you made my appointment."
"Yes," Jack said.
Colonel Henderson turned her back on him and filled a glass with the red liquid and took pills out of a paper packet and then motioned for Jack to take them. Jack sighed deeply but took the pills and drank all the liquid. He didn't know why. He didn't want to be doped up. Colonel Henderson knew why. The drug the nurse injected into his neck acted as a strong suggestion medicine. Colonel Henderson could have suggested almost anything, and Jack would have been compelled to do it. It is very rarely given.
"Congratulations on your fight for Delta. You scored a very high kill ratio. You're one of our best hover tank pilots."
"Thank you, ma'am." Jack already started to feel the affects of the drugs the Colonel gave him. The big fluffy chair started to suck him in.
"You also killed more of the Human shields than the other pilots. You likely knew that though didn't you?"
"Yes."
"How does that make you feel?" She asked.
"How do you think it makes me feel? Like shit."
"I don't think we need to discuss the battle for Delta. At the same time, you were obviously upset about it. You assaulted two of my orderlies…"
"They put their hands on me first," Jack said.
The chair had definitely started to suck Jack into it, keeping the room from spinning at least.
Colonel Henderson punched a few keys on a keyboard. "Yes, they did, Jack… Are you feeling OK?"
"No, I'm not feeling OK."
"Can you make it to the couch? Maybe you'll feel better, if you lay down."
Jack stood up, and the room definitely wanted to spin. He stumbled forward, towards the couch, and collapsed on it.
"Is that better?" She asked.
Jack answered with a snore.
"We still need to talk about your rage some more. I need to understand it better; I need to know what triggers it. I need to know how it feels. You'll stay awake and answer my questions, won't you?"
"Yes, ma'am."
* * *
Jack woke up on Colonel Henderson's couch, sat up and noticed a piece of paper taped to his chest. A handwritten note, it read, "You're fit for duty, Sergeant. Your next appointment will be in six months. Colonel Henderson."
'Good,' thought Jack.
The day of the test, to pass out new hovers, arrived, and Jack got to spend all day sitting behind a desk again. He did pass out all twelve new hovers though. The squad had 28 tanks total now. Kai came over for dinner with a female Kilken. Kai introduced her as Sheila. She was short, even for a Kilken. She wasn't much taller than Jack's knees, but she was wide, almost as wide at the shoulders as Lexi's hips. Sheila's first comment on seeing the babies, "They're fat!"
Kai grabbed her hand and squeezed. "They're chubby compared to ours, Sheila."
"We call that baby fat," Lexi said. "They'll thin up when they start walking around…"
Sheila's eyes opened wide, and her fists clenched. "Start walking? They can't walk?"
"No," Jack replied. "They can only crawl on all fours for now…"
"They're very different from Kilken babies, but they're cute…"
"I can set Ruth on the couch, and she'll stay up there," Lexi said. "Little Jack Jr. though, he's figured out how to climb down. He won't give me a moment's peace."
"It's a very good sign, an active baby," Kai said. "Soon they'll be running around screaming all the time, if they're like Kilken babies."
Sheila reached over and touched Kai on the elbow. "What would you know about babies, Kai?"
"I'm older than you, Sheila. I remember what it was like when the squad had a few babies to manage. You were one of those babies if I recall correctly."
"Oh, yeah."
Lexi smiled. "Let's eat. The rib roast is ready. Jack, you can help me slice it."
Jack said, "Sure," and followed her into the kitchen. It crossed into his mind that she always gets the rib roast for guests, and she could just get ribeye steaks and save Jack from slicing them. Then in his mind, he realized he'd be spending the evening working the grill, if she did that.
Lexi whispered to Jack, once they were in the kitchen, "Are they a couple?"
"I don't know. I don't really know Kilken beliefs in that regard, and I know that the suicide squads handle themselves differently than mainstream Kilken society."
"Try and get them separated, so I can ask Sheila."
"Why don't you ask for Sheila's help in the kitchen when we're done?" Jack said.
"Good idea."
Jack sliced the rib roast into four slabs of meat and carried the platter out into the dinning room. Lexi carried corn on the cob and green beans out to the table.
Sheila smiled at Lexi. "We aren't a couple, but Kai and I do have an arrangement. Kilken have very good ears…"
Lexi laughed loud and bright. "I'd have never guessed you could hear me all the way in there, sorry if I'm being nosey."
Kai said, "Let's eat, I'm starved."
They ate in silence for a bit. Once everyone seemed to be finished, Kai spoke up, "Sergeant, I brought you something. It's from one of our fallen comrades…"
Kai undid a belt on his waist and let loose a large knife. He handed it to Jack. He drew it from its sheath, and it glinted like titanium, with a razor sharp edge and a finely serrated edge. Kai spoke, "The blade is titanium. The hilt is steel. Open the end of it…"
Jack unscrewed the end of the hilt, and a chunk of rock spilled out of it. Jack caught it.
"It's flint," Kai said. "In ancient times, flint and steel were used to start fires. This way you won't go into battle without flame. That knife is at least seven generations old. It predates our squad's history."
Jack smiled. "And you're giving it to me?"
"If you like it..."
Some members of Fleet carried knives in battle. It wouldn't be that uncommon. "I like it. Thank you, Kai. I shall wear it."
* * *
With 28 hovers to command, Jack split them into two squads and let Kevin command one of them. They trained day in and day out. Kevin's squad got good. They won about one third of the time.
Meghan started her university courses, some of which she had in tandem with John's courses. She liked it. They wanted to get an apartment. Their student subsidies could have paid for one, but Johnathon's parents wouldn't have it. They wanted to keep John home, and they didn't mind having Meghan around the house, even for breakfast.
Jack played with his babies. Jack Junior carried his stuffed bear with the scary teeth and claws just about everywhere he went. Jack got to feed them and put them to sleep. Frankly, Jack found it to be a lot of work, good for the soul kind of work, but time consuming. He finally asked Lexi how she did it…
"For one thing, I'm down to three online classes in college. I'm not slated to graduate for six more years at this pace."
"Six more years?"
"I'd like to think I could take more classes, but I think I'd just fail them. There's only so much time left with three of the grimy things."
"Maybe they're old enough for day-care?" Jack asked.
"The elder ones are almost ready for day-care. Meghan suggested I just get a job at a day-care center."
"That would seem like cruel and unusual punishment to me…"
Lexi poked him on the chest, hard. "Me, too."
* * *
They had a solid month of layover on Orion before word came down the pike again. This time they'd be going after the last Human world overrun by Lithor. They called the planet Amber. It teemed with highly evolved life forms and a plethora of edible plants. Scans
from a scoutship indicated no real ship presence there, just transports coming through roughly once a month. They brought an extra 200 men in armored suits, raising that total to 500, plus Jack's 28 hovers, and 25 Kilken. The plan would be the same. Jack and Wilson discussed it and neither liked it. Lithor didn't seem capable of learning at a great speed, but they would learn, given enough time. They landed a half dozen kilometers south of the population center in the early morning hours and proceeded on the ground to the outskirts of the city.
Jack started his sensor loop. He started noticing a very odd signal on his sensor readout. It showed red, but it didn't show as infantry or a big tank. He radioed Wilson, "I've got a weird signal here. Does the tactical computer show what it is?"
"No, the shipboard computer isn't showing what they are either…"
"I have a bad feeling about this…" Jack said. He did have a bad feeling about this: everything had been so easy so far.
"Stay cool. Finish your sweep."
Jack flew past the halfway mark. He kept seeing those odd signals. One blipped on close to the edge of his sweep, and he turned to get a look at it. It looked like a game pod, but with two tubes jutting out of it. Jack radioed to Wilson, "I think they're turrets of some kind…"
"We're seeing tons of movement on the ground. Rejoin formation now and proceed to your targets," Wilson said.
Jack wrenched back his left control stick to gain altitude and punched the accelerator down, flying high over the city. Energy pulses of some kind came from below; and a few of them connected with his shield. It dropped twenty percent from just a handful of blasts. Jack radioed, "Those are definitely turrets of some kind, Major Wilson."
R.A.E.C.E. Genesis Page 15