Then all the windows went to static, and all the ship icons blinked out.
The Admiral sent a copy of the battle report to NATO and the other Fleet Admirals. He sent a priority message to all ships of the line. "Immediately set course for Earth and execute a high gravity jump, 1.5 gravities minimum. This is not a drill."
Within a day NATO leaked the news to the media. Fleet reminded everyone to stay calm, for they had four more fleets the size of the Primary Fleet, and they wouldn't be surprised by their cloaking device again.
The people of Earth mobilized like never before. Every country instituted an immediate draft. Every ship building facility on the planet geared for building warships. Fleet lifted the classified rating off the designs of their weapons systems and defenses. Hans Goldberg stepped forward with new ship designs, a Heavy Cruiser, with loads of firepower and two command decks; slow though, three point five gravities maximum acceleration. A Fighter class ship that he had been saving for the races, 10g acceleration. Hans figured they'd have a hard time finding pilots for them.
The Humans started christening ships on a daily basis. The commonwealth raged in NATO, as Fleet left them completely open to invasion. Fleet responded callously that they needed to get the situation under control, and against an unknown force, it makes sense to focus all the Human's forces in one place. The Kilken left small forces at each of their colonies but still fortified their homeworld.
The Humans waited and built their machines of war. They knew the Lithor would be coming. The only question remained when. Lithor are low gravity natives, so a high gravity jump seemed unlikely, which meant at least six months since the battle over their homeworld. The Humans built ten Heavy Cruisers in those months, not to mention hundreds of lighter ships.
Fleet kept one third of their ships at battle stations for eight hours at a time, so they'd be ready to fly no matter the hour. They still had no sensors to detect Dreadnaughts--they used eyes and just watched the stars. They trained the nav computers somewhat to compare star charts to the visible sky, but they didn't know if the software would actually work.
Two weeks after the six month mark, a blip appeared on the Admiral-on-duty's computer terminal. The software showed an anomaly: one of the stars in its view blinked out. The Admiral clicked a few buttons and transposed a star chart over the visible sky. A black spot that shouldn't be there sat between the stars. He shouted out, "Battle stations! Move to engage! Fire at will!"
The third of the fleet that waited at battle stations turned to target the black space and fired all their weapons at it. The Dreadnaught's cloak failed, and they got their first glimpse of a Dreadnaught when atmosphere and explosions jetted from its hull. The Humans in the fleet shouted and cheered. The Human's radar screens lit up like Christmas tree lights. Missiles launched from nine different directions, and Mongrels streaked from their motherships.
"Computer, calculate those missile trajectories!" The Admiral exclaimed.
The computer chirped back, "New York, Moscow, London, other major population centers…"
"Try to intercept those missiles!" He clicked a button on his computer and said, "Ground Units, activate missile defenses, now!"
The nine Dreadnaughts fired, dividing their damage between two Heavy Cruisers, but one only lost a command deck. The other lost both command decks and careened out of control. The Dreadnaughts launched another round of missiles.
The Human ships tried to get in the path of the oncoming missiles and activate their anti-missile defenses. They still couldn't see any of the Dreadnaughts. They just needed to get closer then the computer should pick them up.
More and more of the Human ships became green lights on the Admiral's tactical display, meaning they reached battle stations. The Human's weapons recharged, and they did their best to target the Dreadnaughts based on the missile smoke trails. One of the Heavy Cruisers was dead on target, and they took out another Dreadnaught.
The eight remaining Lithor ships launched another salvo of nuclear missiles at Earth. Fleet did its best to intercept them while fighting the Mongrels and Dreadnaughts. Earth's main population centers activated anti-missile defenses. The fleet battle raged.
One by one the Humans destroyed the invading Dreadnaughts. They lost four Heavy Cruisers by the end of it, and twenty or so lighter ships. Three missiles landed on Earth and detonated, one over New York, one London, and one Berlin. The devastation shocked the people of Earth. Fleet sent ships to reinforce the commonwealth planets.
The Lithor opened an FTL channel to Fleet high command and offered a ceasefire or a long standing peace agreement, if one could be reached. A Fleet Admiral presented their proposals to NATO. The representative from the United States opened an FTL channel to Lithor and asked quite simply, "You dropped three a-bombs on our cities, and you sue for peace, are you joking?"
"No joke. It's our custom to offer peace after a show of force. We have twenty-three billion Lithor. We can and will out-build your shipbuilding efforts and ultimately defeat you."
"We shall see, who can out-build who." Then he turned off the FTL communication and howled, "Let there be war!"
Chapter 37
A.D. 2135
Viral revenge…
Jack's video terminal rang. He turned away from his battle screen showing the last of the fights on the playing field. Jack pushed the button, and Lexi appeared. Jack said, "Hello."
"We're having a dinner party tonight," she said.
"Oh, who's coming over?"
"Nobody you don't know."
"How many people," he said. "I'll stop and get wine."
"Eight, counting us," Lexi said.
"Three bottles then…"
"Ok, yeah, that should be enough."
Jack began to wonder who would be coming to dinner, and Lexi could have easily told him. Oh well. He stopped at the store on the way home and picked up three bottles of white wine made on Orion. He parked his hover tank in its garage and went inside his house. His second in command, Kevin, waited for him, and a strikingly beautiful woman stood next to him. Blond hair, blue eyes, healthy curves, perfect makeup, black dress, the face of an angel…
Jack smiled and approached the woman. "You must be Amy. I've heard Kevin talk about how beautiful you are for ages it seems. I never really believed him until now."
Amy smiled. "Thank you."
Meghan and Johnathon both got up from the couch and joined Jack in the dining room. Lexi came out of the kitchen with a big bowl of salad and said, "I figured I'd invite Kevin and Amy, since Kevin is your acting second, even though he is still a Corporal. And I know Amy from Fleet's MIA support groups…"
It crossed through Jack's mind that Lexi was working the politics, and he didn't mind. "I sent the paperwork to Wilson for Kevin's Sergeant's stripe last week."
"Good, 'cause they have one on the way, and baby clothes are expensive."
Kevin chuckled.
"We've only been back on Orion a few weeks…" Jack said.
"We were away for two years," Kevin said. "What, I was supposed to wait?"
Everybody laughed or smiled at that one.
There was a knock on the door, and Jack said, "I'll get it."
He opened the door. Kai, Sheila, and one of the Kilken young waited on the other side. Jack said, "It's good to see you."
The Kilken child looked impossibly short, with rippled, lean muscles and sharp pointy teeth. Kai patted the Kilken child on the head. "I was pleased when Lexi invited us."
She set the dining room table for six and a card table for Jack Jr. and Ruth. Lexi stepped out of the kitchen this time with a green bean casserole and a basket of dinner rolls. She asked, "Kai, is it ok with you to sit at the small table with the kids?"
Kai replied, "Certainly, madam."
Lexi brought out a brisket, and they proceeded to drink the wine and eat the food. Once people finished, Meghan said, "Johnathon, tell them what you've been working on."
"No."
Meghan smiled a pat
ient smile. She knew she would get her way if she worked at it long enough. Her better half could last maybe three days at the most without copulating, and she could go longer. "Please."
"No. It's still classified," he said with a frown.
"Jack and Kevin both have clearances, and it only effects them."
"We think we have it," Johnathon said. "A virus that kills Lithor that doesn't harm Humans. I actually helped piece together some of the DNA chains."
Jack set his fork down and looked at the younger man across the table. "Go on."
"Now that we have it, we want to test it on live Lithor. We've infected Humans, and they're ok, although they become a carrier to the virus."
"Where are you going to find live Lithor?" Kevin asked. "And why bother to use a virus when we can deploy an atomic just as easily?"
"Well, your next offensive, you're supposed to be bringing some back for us. The virus is a defensive weapon. If they come to Orion and invade, we release the virus. Even if they overcome our defenses, the virus kills them all in the end."
"Interesting…" Jack said. "Our next offensive will be so that you can have lab rats."
"Wasn't my decision to make. I'm just privy to the plan. We need to know if the virus kills them."
Lexi chirped, "Well, does anyone want dessert?"
Kevin asked, "What do you have?"
"Chocolate chip cookies for the kids, chocolate cake, and an apple pie."
"Do you have ice cream for the pie?"
"Yes," Lexi said.
"I'll have apple pie and ice cream," Kevin said.
Amy said, "Chocolate cake, but only a small piece."
"Cookies for us!" Kai said, as the small army of children laughed.
Meghan said, "I'll help you in the kitchen."
"Chocolate cake for me, a big piece," Jack said.
Johnathon said, "Get me some apple pie, Meghan."
"Back to the topic at hand… What are the odds the computer is giving this virus of killing Lithor?"
"Two hundred and thirty-seven percent. It contains DNA from three viral strains that are all deadly to Lithor."
"What about Kilken," Kai asked. "What is it going to do to us?"
"Nothing worse than a common cold, runny nose, headache, that kind of thing. Once enough of the virus is ready, they're going to deploy them on Kilken planets. Although the odds of a Lithorian invasion of a Kilken planet are extremely remote. They'll more likely use nukes against the Kilken."
Kai looked off in the distance. "Like they did against our home planet."
Lexi and Meghan returned from the kitchen with dessert for everyone.
After they finished with dessert, they heard a knock on the door. Lexi smiled. "Now, who could that be?"
Jack said, "I guess I'll go see…"
He opened the door and there stood Wilson. "Hello, Colonel."
"It's Wilson to you, Jack. You know that."
"Come in, Wilson."
He stepped into the house. Lexi called out, "I saved you a plate, like you asked, Colonel."
"Thanks, Lexi," Wilson said.
Jack and Wilson sat down at the table, and Lexi brought out a plate of food, which Wilson dove right into. Jack asked, "Wilson, do you know about this new viral weapon?"
Wilson paused and swallowed, looked up, and said, "Yes, how do you know about it?"
"One of the designers is Johnathon Parks, my future brother-in-law," and Jack pointed at Johnathon.
Meghan hissed. "Who says he's your future brother-in-law?"
"The way you two run around together…"
"We're just having fun. We're not that serious, right, Johnathon?"
Johnathon looked shell shocked. "I don't know, Meghan. You know I love you."
"That's the first time you've said so!"
Lexi quickly tried to change the subject. "Wilson, any news on Kevin's sergeant's stripe?"
Wilson looked up. "Ha ha, I just got the news back from high command that it went through this afternoon."
Meghan eyed Johnathon. "Since when do you love me?"
Johnathon looked around like a cornered rat. "It's been that way for some time now, Meghan…"
"You've never talked about marriage, or kids, not even a hint here or there…"
"Well, I want to finish school."
Meghan blushed. "You could tell me you love me once in a while…"
Johnathon paused. "I will…"
Wilson successfully changed the subject by opening a bottle of champagne he'd brought with him.
* * *
The next day, after Jack finished with the hover tank battle, a message waited for him on his desktop terminal. From a Captain Barnes, and the name didn't ring a bell for Jack. The message read, "Please return my call." So Jack pressed the return call button. It rang twice, and Captain Barnes answered. Jack identified him immediately as the instructor that had lost to Sarah.
"Hello, Lieutenant Grean, thanks for returning my call," Barnes said.
"No problem, Captain. What's this about?"
"This recruit of yours, Sarah. I'd like you to drop her from your unit. She never passed the test. She only scored two points."
"She won the fight, Captain. She's not a recruit. She's a Fleet Private." Jack knew no other commanders would take her, not with her record. Kicking her out of his unit would be the same as kicking her out of Fleet.
"As a favor to a superior officer," Barnes said. "Cut the girl from your unit."
"I don't owe you any favors, Captain."
"Well, look at it this way. If you do this, then I'll owe you a favor…"
Jack paused, not sure of the proper etiquette in this scenario. "No thanks, Captain. She was assigned to my unit, and until she proves herself incapable, she'll be with us."
Barnes rubbed at his bald skull with his hands. "You're making a mistake, Lieutenant."
"I'll take my chances, Captain. Sarah's a fighter, as she proved in the ring with you."
Barnes slammed his fists down on his desk. "She only hit me twice!"
"Yes, and if I recall correctly, they had to haul you off to medical."
Captain Barnes' face turned beet red, and he disconnected.
Jack figured it wouldn't be the last he'd hear of Barnes, and within two days he got an official summons to a review court. They wanted to review Sarah's status and wanted Jack there as her commanding officer.
Jack saw Sarah read the news. She walked up to Jack's desk and asked, "What is this?"
"Remember that instructor you fought at the test? He wants you out of Fleet. Apparently, he doesn't like you very much."
"Out of Fleet?"
"Relax, it's just a review. It should go fine."
The next day Jack and Sarah went to the review court early and took seats on the right half of the court. The bench had room for five people and each place had a nameplate. Jack started reading the names for no reason, one read, "Rear Admiral Barnes." Great, thought Jack.
Captain Barnes stepped into the courtroom and took a seat on the left. Sarah asked, "Do I get a lawyer?"
Jack replied, "No, I don't think so."
A bailiff entered the chambers and said, "All rise."
Five judges in robes stepped out from a door and took their places at the bench. The center one looked up from a stack of papers and said, "Private, Lieutenant, approach the bench."
Jack and Sarah stepped forward. The center judge said, "What is in question here is whether Sarah passed her martial arts test, as she only scored two points. The judges made a mistake. They never counted to 15 seconds to see if Captain Barnes could proceed."
Jack smirked. "Because medical called a medi-evac before fifteen seconds passed."
Rear Admiral Barnes growled. "She needs to finish the test: one more point on Captain Barnes."
A slow growl of his own escaped Jack's lip, the kind of rumbling growl you'd expect from a large, black bear. "She shouldn't have to face Barnes again. He's twice her size. Let her face a random opponent, if
she needs to be tested again."
Captain Barnes shouted, "She'll fight me!"
All the judges looked at him and sighed.
Jack smiled a wicked smile. "The judges at the test said she won. If Captain Barnes is so desperate to fight someone, he can fight me."
Captain Barnes stood up and stormed out of the courtroom. The center judge asked, "Are we done here?"
Rear Admiral Barnes tapped his fingers on his desk. "Yes, we're done. The girl can stay."
"Good, court is adjourned."
Jack and Sarah left the courtroom and proceeded to the practice field.
* * *
Three days passed uneventfully when Sarah showed up at the hangar with black and blue bruises on her face. Jack stood up from his desk and approached her as she climbed into her suit. He shouted, "Sarah!"
Sarah paused and looked at the floor.
"What happened?" Jack asked.
Sarah just looked at him. "Barnes happened. He was waiting for us at our quarters. He had this metal pipe…"
"Where's Rob?"
Sarah sniffled a bit. "Rob… He just kept getting back up… Medical hauled him off…"
"You're going to medical, too," Jack said. "Right now."
"No, I want to practice today." She stepped into her suit and activated the armor, stepping away from its power station.
"Computer, Suit Shutdown, Code Sarah, Authorization Grean."
Sarah's suit shutdown and opened its armor, so Sarah could get out. She grimaced. "You have a computer code in place to shutdown just my suit?"
"Yes. Now, get to medical. That's an order."
"Can I call an evac, so people don't stare at me?"
"Yes, call an evac."
She called for one from a terminal, and Jack went back to his computer. He paged the hospital first and asked about Rob.
A rather cheerful doctor answered his call. "Lieutenant Grean, I expected to hear from you."
"How's Rob, Doctor?"
"He's a tough one. He'll be ok, a skull fracture, broken jaw, three broken ribs that punctured a lung, and a broken arm. He'll be good as new in 24 hours, but we're keeping him for tests on the regrown tissue for another 24. If you need him back, we can release him without the tests."
R.A.E.C.E. Genesis Page 24