ALICE Space War

by Charles Lamb

  “It’s beautiful!” she replied as she fingered through the bolts of material.

  “So, you have come to steal more of our people?” one of the elders announced in jest as he greeted Ivan warmly.

  “Only the useful one’s so you need not worry!” Ivan replied with a laugh before embracing the speaker.

  “What trash have you come to dump on us now?” another asked as he indicated the two hovercycles now resting on the ground nearby.

  With that, Ivan walked the party over to the pair and explained how they worked. He could see their eyes light up as he talked of the possibilities. Placing two of the oldest on one of the hovercycles, he put his sister behind him on the other. Climbing aboard, he set the pair in sync mode, insuring the second mirrored everything his was instructed to do.

  Assured everyone was ready, he lifted both off the ground and slowly piloted the pair into town, where he expected a very warm welcome.

  Chapter 16

  As the morning of the wedding broke under a clear English sky, Jake was not so sure he was ready for the ramifications of the event. Besides the implications of Nigel and Jake’s families becoming one, something he hoped Bo and Ivan didn’t take in a negative light, it was the marriage itself that was troubling.

  He was extremely outspoken in his original opposition to the circumstances that he now found himself in. He was bound by parenthood to five women, none of whom he was actually obligated to by marriage. That fact alone made the pending ceremony very uncomfortable to him, particularly since Sara was to be seated right next to him.

  He was grateful that she had not repeated her demands that he cut all ties with the others, but he doubted she had either forgotten or changed her mind. With the declaration of renewed interest from Linda and Kathy and an implied desire from Jessie, he was on the verge of returning to the days of the rotation. In typical male fashion, he chose not to question the current state of affairs, selecting to wait and see if it resolved itself.

  Mentally dropping the subject, he turned his focus onto the security arrangements for the ceremony and surrounding area. After their visit to the Cathedral, Jake had passed on Father O’Reilly’s wish list to others to see it filled and delivered quickly. The note thanking him provided all the evidence he needed of its completion.

  He had been notified earlier that both Edwin, Robert and Bo had arrived in the transport delivering the goods from America, but had yet to meet up with either. For someone with no actual function in this wedding, he found his schedule particularly full. He still regularly scanned the intel reports relating the continued NeHaw harassment, sending instructions and proposing solutions.

  Designated as father to the groom, he was set upon to provide all that was required for the honor of the position. Besides hosting the rehearsal dinner, an event he had catered via ALICE-9 kitchens, stasis boxes, and a high-speed transport, he hit upon an idea for the Honeymoon gift.

  After running it past Helen, Nigel and Sara- all of whom approved it enthusiastically- he spent a considerable amount of time preparing the location to make sure it would be ready in time. In combination, he also drew upon the Marines in training to provide a platoon of infantry for boots on the ground here in London.

  Placed under the command of the SAS officer who had accompanied Nigel and himself, they were to insure there were no interruptions during the ceremony. If there were any objections to the duty, Jake heard nothing of it. He suspected the SAS hosts ensured the Americans enjoyed their time here.

  With all this going on, he had little time to check up on Robert and Bo after approving their attack plan. He reviewed their status reports as part of his daily morning reading, but had been unable to contact them directly. He presumed the subject would come up today at some point.

  Satisfied that he was a ready as he would ever be, he headed off to see if Sara required anything.

  ----*----

  Sara had spent the night with her sister Becky and Patti, as she expected to need their assistance in preparing for the wedding. Normally she would have wanted to be there for Gemma, but in her current condition, she knew she was more of a hindrance than a help.

  Her dress for the wedding had been delivered the day before, a special gift from ALICE. In trying it on, Sara found it especially easy to put on while appearing quite elegant. She wondered if it was in some small part an apology for the games they had played in blocking and then allowing her pregnancy.

  As the question went unasked, she simply remained thankful and dreamed of the day when this pregnancy would be over. It was during this introspection that a quiet knock came at the door.

  “Bonnie!” Sara cried as she opened the door to find her middle sister on the other side.

  “Oh my, look at you!” Bonnie replied as she hugged her older sister ever so gently.

  “When are you due?” she followed up as she came inside, motioning Sara to sit.

  “Not soon enough,” Becky answered for her as she and Patti came into the room from the adjoining bathroom.

  “My know it all sister tells me any day now, but I’ve been hearing that for a week!” Sara replied.

  “Are we getting ready here?” Bonnie asked, changing the subject before Becky could respond.

  “Yes, you are welcome to join us,” Patti replied as she gave Bonnie a hug.

  “Where is Robert?” Sara asked as she motioned to the closed door indicating he had not come with her.

  “Sulking somewhere. He and Colonel Bo have been building an invasion force to attack the NeHaw. They are ready to go now, but I told him they can wait one more day and come to the wedding.”

  “That went well, I am sure,” Patti replied sarcastically.

  ----*----

  Colonel Bo Chao and Major Robert Jacobson sat in one of the many lounge areas of the London facility, formally dressed and waiting. Bonnie had accompanied Robert for the wedding, but was presently seeking out her sisters, leaving the two men to fend for themselves.

  Both men were quite anxious for the day’s activities to commence, as they had an invasion force preparing to board three Lanai transports headed to Kola at the edge of the solar system. As promised, they had eight tanks and six fighting vehicles modified and tested for the endeavor. In addition, they had two platoons of Chinese infantry in support.

  Besides their forces, Robert had verified that Kola contained two additional Combat Patrol ships and two squadrons of fighters ready and willing to cover their assault. In his communications with the ALICE ship, he swore Kola was chomping at the bit to see some action as well.

  As steward for the space station construction, she complained to him that she had been working in a support role while her sister was roaming the known universe, fighting battles to protect the Earth. Robert completely understood her frustrations.

  Both men intended on gaining Jake’s approval once the wedding was finished, to sneak off and begin loading their forces. The four-day trip to where Kola lay waiting was a necessary delay, but one they intended to make the best of by leaving Earth as soon as possible and training along the way.

  ----*----

  Colonel Edwin Banks had his own need to talk privately with Jake after the ceremony. Once the mystery of the NeHaw supply depot had been verified, he had reached out to Leftanant Atkins to prepare a mission plan. The goal was to take an SAS team into hostile space, secret themselves onto the planet undetected, and destroy the enemy resources there while escaping unharmed.

  Daniel had been quite enthusiastic about the idea, and had promptly volunteered to lead the effort, which came as no surprise to Banks. While Edwin didn’t envision leading the ground team himself, he had every intention of piloting the spacecraft.

  The Phantom was an integral part of the mission plan as it was the only ship currently available that could get the teams into position undetected. Of all the equipment required, it was the one absolute. It was during the planning phase that Edwin learned of Daniel’s request for specialized equipment. Although m
ost of it wouldn’t be ready in time, one particular piece of gear would be.

  ----*----

  After insuring that Sara had a proper means of transportation and escort to the wedding, Jake left the London Facility via the MI-6 secret exit and headed to Westminster Cathedral. He was surprised to find Edwin, Bo and Robert already on site and there to greet him.

  Of the three, only Robert was in a suit. The other two military men were splendid in their dress uniforms. Jake had to assume they were correct for the rank and nation as they were created eighty years after he went into stasis.

  “Fancy meeting you here!” Jake said as he exited the vehicle, his own Marine dress uniform an ALICE recreation. While the Mameluke Sword was a pain in the ass when sitting, he wouldn’t be without it.

  “We hoped to have a word before things got too hectic,” Edwin replied with nods from the other two men nearby.

  “Why am I suddenly worried?” Jake asked of the three men before him.

  “We simply request an early release, to begin the long voyage to the edge of the solar system,” Bo replied while motioning to include Robert in his statement.

  “And you want to join them?” Jake asked Banks, the surprise evident in his voice.

  Rather than replying, Banks presented Jake with a few sheets of folded paper from inside his dress uniform jacket. Reading through the sheets provided, he went back over each before speaking.

  “Are we sure about this?” he asked Banks, unsure what the other men knew about the information.

  “Straight out of Patti’s Pit. I believe they were trying to confirm the information from the same sources that corroborated your last soiree,” Banks replied, referring to the strike Jake had led on the alien base.

  “And the reply?” Jake asked.

  “Inconclusive, I am afraid. They could neither confirm nor deny the assumptions,” he said flatly.

  “Still, it’s worth a shot,” Jake said quietly more to himself.

  “Indeed. A strike on a major supply depot would be a significant blow,” Banks confirmed.

  “And you need the Phantom,” Jake suddenly blurted.

  “Yes, we do,” Banks confirmed with a smile.

  “That’s a lot of troops off planet, all at once. With both Kola and ALICE-3 as well,” Jake commented to all three this time.

  The three men just nodded in agreement, all apparently waiting for Jake’s reply. Turning his attention back to the papers in his hands, Jake wasn’t reading a word. All this effort kept coming back to the same thing, Patti’s earlier question, how are we going to win this war.

  “Ok, let’s do it,” Jake announced.

  “I have an SAS team ready to depart as soon as the nuptials are complete. Unfortunately, Leftanant Atkins is a member,” Banks said.

  “Then you get to tell Patti!” Jake replied as he waved the men inside the Cathedral.

  ----*----

  Sergeant Hillestad was busy recording the activity at their Target 2 vantage point. He was relieved that they had been able to recover three of the five drops without detection. In addition, he had no indications that the other two had been discovered, so he presumed they sat undisturbed, available at a later date should they need it.

  Resupplied now for the duration, they began the methodical survey of all three target locations. After several days of observations, it was his opinion that site 3 was only a supply depot, in support of 1 and 2. Since arriving, they had seen five NeHaw cruisers land for what he assumed was some kind of repair or upgrade.

  So far only one of the five had left the planet’s surface, with the remaining four still undergoing whatever the process was they came here for. As he watched, he attempted to document his observations, but frankly, he was a grunt and the technical aspects of what he was seeing escaped him.

  His main hope was, once the attack ships appeared at the edge of this system, the data he would transmit would be of some value to the tech geeks on board.

  ----*----

  Jake was standing off to one side, just inside the doors, as he watched the Cathedral fill with guests. He was mildly surprised at the number of people streaming in through the large double doors. He was even more surprised when Ivan showed up leading a delegation of Cossacks in full regalia.

  “Colonel, may I present my Ataman and the Starshina of the regions around Avacha Bay,” he announced while motioning to the group around him.

  “It is my pleasure,” Jake replied as the group filed in.

  At that point Ivan went through a series of introductions, leaving Jake’s head spinning with names he would never remember.

  “We should talk later, there is a lot going on,” Jake whispered to Ivan as he led the party further inside. The Cossack gave him a nod of understanding before disappearing in the crowd.

  A short time later, the group escorting Sara appeared, with the bride not far behind. Sara was quickly escorted to her place of honor, the advanced state of her pregnancy overriding any ceremonial duties.

  From that point on, it was something of a blur for Jake. He was sure what he witnessed was as close to a proper Catholic wedding ceremony as any he had ever seen in his previous life. Gemma was radiant in her gown and Jacob had selected the traditional English style tails, waistcoat, white bow tie, top hat, and all.

  Nigel and Helen sat across the way in the church, Helen awash in tears. Jake caught a wink from Nigel, the father of the bride beaming with pride. As the ceremony continued, he caught several of the women on his side of the aisle reaching for tissues as they dabbed at moist eyes.

  No sooner had they said their I DO’s than Sara grabbed Jake’s arm

  “It’s time,” she said suddenly.

  “Yes, I agree, it is about time this thing ended,” he replied, referring to the pair at the alter and the length of the ceremony.

  “No, Jake, it’s TIME!” Sara repeated, indicating her protruding belly.

  “Oh,” he responded as he reached past Sara to attract Becky’s attention.

  No sooner had Jacob and Gemma retreated down the aisle than the group ushered Sara, at a brisk pace, out a side door to a waiting vehicle. At this point, Jake handed off the family duties to an anxious Patti while he accompanied Sara and Becky.

  “Let Jacob know what’s happening,” he said quickly before the door closed in his face and the jeep sped away.

  Thankful for Becky’s care of Sara, he directed the driver to get them to the MI-6 building where they could catch the underground train car to the facility. Sara required the waiting stretcher once they reached the garage at MI-6, and the stretcher bearers did a double time getting her to the train car.

  The short train ride seemed to take forever and once at the facility station, a waiting gurney whisked Sara into the medical wing where they had a lengthy wait before Jake and Sara’s twin girls arrived. Their beaming Aunt Becky proudly introduced them to their mom and dad, one at a time.

  Eventually, Jake left an exhausted Sara and the twin’s in Becky’s good care while he went to spread the good news at the reception. The party was in full bloom by now, and he arrived just in time to help present the Iceland trip to Gemma and Jacob, as their honeymoon gift. He gave a toast explaining that a tropical vacation for someone who lived in Hawaii seemed somewhat redundant.

  Privately, he knew that a great effort had been made to locate and secure a place for the loving couple. He had been quite surprised to learn that a great number of Icelanders had survived the initial NeHaw attack. Fortunately for the remaining population, their previous self-sufficiency had enabled them to endure and flourish, even as isolated as they were.

  In the end, Jake and Nigel agreed on two locations for the young couple to relax and enjoy one another. Fortunately, both spots were quite remote and with ALICE on guard, their safety was assured. Besides, the locals they encountered in exploring other parts of the island were overjoyed to learn about the recovery, offering to assist in any way possible. Jake’s proposed gift had accidentally ignited another
recruitment drive.

  As for the honeymoon locations, Grjotagja in the north was selected for its wonderful cave setting. Once too hot to bathe in, it had since cooled to a more desirable water temperature. Only about thirty miles south was Viti, a volcanic crater that was open to the world, unlike Grjotagja. Each location provided a vastly differing experiences, but both magnificent in their own way.

  To facilitate travel between the two, one of the residence containers, identical to the ones placed in California and Australia, had been fitted with replusers. A simple request to ALICE and the unit was relocated to prepared sites next to each attraction. A small transport helicopter and jeep had also been provided should the couple wish to explore. Apparently overjoyed by the gift, both Gemma and Jacob appeared anxious to go.

  Quietly slipping out after the announcement, Jake was able to return to Sara’s room without incident. He had feared being sidelined by one of the many well-wishers in the room, but with the drinks flowing, he wasn’t sure how many people could even recognize him.

  “I was wondering when you would be back,” Sara commented as he entered the room.

  “I’m sorry, I thought you’d be sleeping. Jacob and Gemma say congrats by the way and they are happy you are doing ok,” Jake replied as he crossed the room and gave her a gentle kiss.

  The room they had placed Sara in was quite homey in Jake’s opinion, not like the more sterile rooms of the ALICE MED bay. He noted the empty bassinets near her bed.

  “Where are the girls?” Jake asked, referring to the nearest bassinet.

  “You know the nurses, they were whisked out of here the moment they started to fuss. I am supposed to be sleeping,” she replied.

  “We do need to give them names,” Jake stated as he moved a chair next to Sara’s bed.