by Saxon Andrew
The Forbidden Wilds
Crossing the Styx
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 • Chapter Twenty-One
Epilogue
Books by Saxon Andrew
About Saxon Andrew
Introduction
The dangerous alien civilization in the Styx Nebula has finally brought all of humanity back together. The civilized planets in the Wilds and Union have combined forces to prevent the aliens from coming out of the Nebula to attack mankind’s populated planets. The Union has surrounded the nebula with its most advanced warships and is prepared to attack anything that appears out of the dust. But going inside the nebula has proven to be close to outright suicide; no warship that’s gone in to scout the nebula has come out. Something is going on and to delay finding out could prove to be disastrous.
• • •
Harold Gregory Wells checked his systems out and thought about his mission. He was called H.G. by all who knew him, and he liked having the same name as the ancient author H.G. Wells who wrote “War of the Worlds”. It was a fantasy ten thousand years ago but was a reality now. Humanity was at war with an alien civilization.
He was having second thoughts about volunteering for this mission, but it was too late now to change his mind. He hoped this mission would get him promoted to command a fleet and this was the fastest way to make that happen. He sighed and asked, “Computer, are all systems active?”
“All systems are checked out and fully operational, Commander.”
“Are the scanners programmed according to our mission profile?”
“They will remain passive until something is detected, Commander. They will then automatically go active and start transmitting data to Fleet.”
“Computer, I hope I don’t have to tell you that if you detect anything that we need to instantly start running?”
“That is what the mission profile demands.”
H.G. stared at the edge of the Styx Nebula in the distance and activated the gravity drive. He entered the coordinates of one of the aliens’ large space structures and pushed the thruster handle forward. His small warship entered the nebula at slow speed. Leaving a wake in the dust was extremely dangerous and he held the ship’s speed to less than a light year-per-hour.
H.G. tapped his communicator and asked, “Are you receiving my telemetry?”
“Yes, Captain. It’s loud and clear,” the communication operator in Fleet Operations replied.
H.G. stared at the passive monitor as his ship moved through the dust of the nebula.
• • •
Four uneventful days passed and H.G. began to slightly relax. Nothing appeared on the scanner and he slept when he could, usually when he was too tired to stay awake. On the fifth day, he was jerked out of a sound sleep when the computer announced loudly, “A SMALL HIGH-SPEED OBJECT IS MOVING IN ON US!!”
The Union Warship immediately went to full-speed and turned away from the object moving in on a collision course. The active scanners activated and H.G. saw the object was some kind of small missile. It moved through the dust without being damaged and was traveling far faster than his ship could fly through the nebula’s dust. The missile veered and cut the corner on his escape route and flew in at an incredible speed. He fired a blaster at the missile and the powerful beam split around the missile not touching it. He saw there was no escape and he braced himself on the arms of his chair. Surely the force field would stop it!
The missile flew in and went through the force field without slowing down. It hit the armored hull and released a bright flash. H.G. felt excruciating pain as his body turned to vapor. Just before he lost consciousness, he knew there would be no promotion.
The electrical systems in the warship began degrading instantly and the computer activated the self-destruct circuits and launched a tiny probe away from the stricken vessel. The small ship went up in a massive explosion leaving nothing but a large vapor cloud.
Chapter One
Two years had passed since the Wilds had united against the alien threat and Jingle had spent most of the time visiting many of the planets that were too dangerous to go to prior to the establishment of the new Wilds’ Government. She was greeted like a hero on all of them; the recordings of the aliens that were shared with all of humanity revealed she was one of the two Union Officers that discovered them and saved Barrow and the Wilds from attack. After a year, she changed her appearance to avoid all the adulation; it got old quick.
Now she was back on Bucket sitting at the bar with Dolly and Joesen. All of the regulars welcomed her with open arms and the first several days were spent renewing old friendships. She was telling them about all the interesting things she had seen out in the Wilds and they listened attentively.
Finally Dolly leaned forward on her barstool and Jingle heard it creak loudly. She looked at Joesen and said, “You need to replace this stool!”
Joesen nodded, walked around the bar, and moved another chair to Dolly’s regular place at the bar. Jingle’s eyes narrowed and Joesen shrugged, “There’s three more I can move.”
“Why don’t you replace them?!” Jingle asked.
Dolly waved a hand, “Joesen doesn’t like to waste money, Jingle.” Jingle closed her eyes and shook her head. “Besides, I’m going to lose some weight.”
Jingle’s eyes snapped open and he heard Joesen add, “She’s been doing that since the first chair gave it up.”
Dolly smiled, “I was listening to all you’ve told us, and I wish I could go to those places and see them for myself.”
Jingle stared at Dolly and replied, “Tell you what. If you can lose fifty pounds, I’ll take you out with me.”
“REALLY?!”
“Fifty pounds, Dolly. Being overweight is bad for your health and you know it!”
Dolly sighed, “I know…but it’s just so hard.”
Jingle felt the link to her ship activate, “Jingle, I have a message coming in from Admiral Glennon. He wants to speak with you when you have a moment.”
“At least it’s not an emergency or he’d demand to talk with me now, Jangle.” Jingle replied.
“Jingle, his voice has tones that are concerning.”
Jingle looked at Dolly and Joesen, “I need to take a call. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” Jingle walked out of the bar to the warship parked in a reserve spot for her. She entered and said, “Get him on the monitor, Jangle.” A moment later, Admiral Glennon appeared, “What’s going on, Admiral?”
“Do you have a few minutes Jingle?”
“Take as long as you need.”
Glennon released a heavy sigh before beginning, “Eleven of our warships have been destroyed inside the nebula over the last four months.”
“What? How did that happen?”
“We had no idea until the last warship destroyed did an active scan while it was under attack and sent the data to us. The aliens have developed a small high-speed missile that destroyed the ship.”
“I thought our force fields would stop anything before it hit the ship?”
“So did we. This missile went through the force field like it didn’t exist.”
Jingle hesitated and asked, “Why are you telling me about this?” Glennon stared at her for a moment in silence and Jingle added, “Come on! I know you have a reason.”
“Admiral Berringer is taking another warship into the nebula.” Jingle’s expression didn’t change and Glennon sighed, “I know you and he have parted ways and he says that you have no desire to be around him. But I don’t want him to go alone.”
“He’s an idiot! Besides, why would you send an admiral to scout the nebula?”
“He insists he has more experience scouting the aliens than anyone in fleet and I’ve run out of arguments to stop him.”
“Then just order him not to do it!!”
“Jingle, I really don’t have an argument to stop him and he says if I send another pilot into the nebula to be killed, their blood will be on my hands.”
“Like I said, he’s an idiot.”
“I’m activating your commission and ordering you to go with him.”
“Wait just a damn minute; my time in the military is over!!”
“You agreed that if we serviced your ship you would remain on standby status in the event we need you, Jingle!”
“But that was only if another emergency arose!”
“AND THIS ISN’T AN EMERGENCY?!”
“You know that I can’t stop him, Admiral.”
“You can if you outrank him.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m promoting you to Full Admiral and you’ll outrank him.”
“That should prevent him from going altogether,” Jingle responded.
“That’s what I’m hoping, Jingle.”
Jingle closed her eyes and shook her head before asking, “Do I get an Admiral’s pay?”
“Yes, you do.”
Jingle thought about it for a long moment and then looked Admiral Glennon in the eyes on her monitor, “Let’s do this. Tell him I’ve been promoted and that he will report to me. If he calls it off, you don’t need to make the promotion, problem solved, and I can go about my business.” Jingle paused and smiled, “Can you come up with enough arguments to justify promoting me?”
“I can.”
“Then do it.”
“Why are you against the promotion, Jingle?”
“Because it would be foolish to send me out there in command. I’ve been out of the picture for two years and Alex has been involved in what’s happening in the cluster that entire time.”
“I’ll let you know what’s going on.”
Jingle nodded and ended the call. She knew Alex and wasn’t sure if he would back off. He could be very hard-headed. Jingle chuckled, but not as hard-headed as her. She left the ship and went back in the Watering Hole.
• • •
Jingle started drinking Dolly’s concoction and thought about a missile that was not stopped by a force field. Somewhere between sobriety and inebriation, it hit her. She stumbled out of the bar that evening and passed out in Dolly’s home.
• • •
The next morning, Jingle woke with a headache that hit her like twin sledgehammers. She forced herself to lie still and, after fifteen minutes, it eased off. Dolly came in with a glass of water and four aspirin, she handed them to Jingle and said, “That should end your pain.”
Jingle swallowed them and sat on the edge of the bed. She linked to Jangle and heard him say, “I decided to give you enough time to recover.”
“Before what?”
“Alex has asked you to contact him when you’re vertical.”
Jingle blew out a hard sigh and stood up, “Dolly, I need to take another call.”
“I’ll drive you to the Watering Hole.”
“I greatly appreciate it.”
• • •
They arrived at the front of the bar and Joesen came out and headed toward her ship with a bucket of water and a scrub brush. Jingle stopped and Joesen raised his hands, “Jingle, I had no idea he did this.”
“Did what?”
Joesen pointed at the bow of the ship and all the numbers and letters had been removed. In their place was a single word, CLAPPER. Jingle’s head went back and Joesen started quickly talking, “You know Jamison is an artist and he said that since you were no longer in the military it was ridiculous to have your ship named with letters and numbers. I have no idea how he removed them, but I’ve tried to remove that word from the hull and have failed; Nothing I’ve tried has any effect on the paint.”
Jingle shook her head and Dolly laughed, “Jamison is an excellent artist. He paints things around town that no one has been able to remove.”
“Why did he choose Clapper?” Jingle asked.
Joesen sighed, “Well, Jingle, Jangle, and Clapper; they all have characteristics of a bell.”
Jingle stared at the beautiful script and sighed, “I guess it fits. See you in a few minutes.” Jingle went into the ship and was glad to be out of the sun; the bright light was bringing back her headache. She sat down in her chair and took a few minutes getting her thoughts organized. She finally said, “Jangle, contact Alex.”
Alex appeared on her monitor in an instant and Jingle smiled, “I see you’ve been waiting for me to contact you.”
“Jingle, this is no laughing matter!”
“Who’s laughing? You’ve always been compulsive about anything you don’t like.”
Alex glared at her, “So you know about being promoted over me?”
“Admiral Glennon contacted me about going back to the nebula.”
“You can’t do that!!”
“Why not?”
“Because you’re too pretty to die!”
“And you aren’t?” Jingle snapped back.
“You know I’m nothing special to look at. You need to turn down this promotion but if you don’t, I’m still going to the nebula!”
“Why? You’ve got others to do the hard work. You should stay back and command your units.”
“Jingle, if the aliens have developed a missile capable of taking out our warships, what happens next?” Jingle was silent and Alex continued, “That missile we recorded is small with a capital S. How many of those missiles could just one of their warships carry on board?”
Jingle paused before saying, “I actually haven’t seen the missile.”
“Then you’re crazy to even think about going to the nebula.”
“And so are you!”
“I’ve told you in the past that I’m not important, but mankind is. I must do this; I stand a better chance of surviving.” Jingle stared at him and all the memories came back of the times they spent in the nebula. Jingle sighed and shook her head. “What?” Alex asked.
“I think I know how that missile made it through our force fields.” Alex blinked and Jingle looked into his eyes, “I’m coming back to discuss this with Admiral Glennon. Let him know I’m on the way.” Alex stared at her and she ended the contact.
• • •
Jingle left the ship and went inside the bar. She went to the barstool beside Dolly and shrugged, “I need to go back to the Union.”
“Why, I thought you were through with it.”
“Well, an issue arisen and I need to attend a meeting.”
“Will you be gone long?” Jingle shrugged. “Don’t get into trouble, Jingle!”
“I’ll do what I can.”
“Do I need to take you home to pick up some cl
othes?”
“No, Dolly. I have plenty on board.” Joesen was busy with some customers and Jingle smiled, “Tell Joesen I’ll see him later.”
“Be safe, Jingle.” Jingle nodded and left the bar.
• • •
She boarded the Clapper and Jangle asked, “Are you sure about this?”
“I guess.”
“You should just let him handle this.”
Jingle sighed, “I know…but he could have killed me and didn’t. I owe him.”
“Don’t you think you’ve paid that debt?”
“Jangle, that’s a debt that keeps on giving.”
“Alright, let’s go see what destiny has ahead of us.” The Clapper lifted and moved away from Bucket.
• • •
Jingle sat in her chair and dreaded going back. But…she hadn’t seen Gee since she got married and it would be good to see her; if she wasn’t still furious that she didn’t come to the wedding.
Suddenly her monitor activated, and she saw Alex and Admiral Glennon on it. “Jingle, Admiral Berringer says you may know how that missile made it through our scout’s force field.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t figured it out,” Jingle replied.
“Why do you say that?”
Jingle nodded at Alex on the monitor, “He knows but for some reason hasn’t put it together.”
Alex’s eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed, “What are you talking about?”
Jingle rolled her eyes, “Both of you are clearly smarter than I am, and you don’t see it?”
Alex glared at her and responded, “Why don’t you educate us on what we’re missing.”
“Jangle, pull up the initial recordings Alex made in the nebula. Fast-forward to the recording showing the two giant alien warships.” The recording appeared on the monitor and they watched the two giant ships move in side-by-side. Alex watched the recording and said loudly, “YOU’RE RIGHT! I FORGOT ABOUT THIS!”
“Right about what, Berringer?”
“Those two warships moved together through their force fields. My ship surmised at the time that their force fields were operating on the same frequency and could pass through each other.”