by Saxon Andrew
The recording disappeared and Glennon responded, “Are you saying that missile had the same frequency on its force field that our scout was using?”
“The evidence suggests that it did, Admiral. That missile is small, but it must have the capability of reading the frequency of a force field and change the one it’s using to match the ship targeted,” Jingle answered.
Glennon pressed a button and said, “I’m sending you the scouts recording of that missile’s ‘. Please watch it and tell me what you think.”
The recording started and Jingle watched the recording to the end. When it ended, it disappeared from the monitor and she stared at them. Alex saw her expression and asked, “What are we missing?” Jingle slowly shook her head and remained silent. “Jingle, you’ve seen something we’re missing.”
“I assume the flash that killed the pilot was a disruptor beam?” Jingle inquired.
“It was!” Glennon replied. Jingle blew out a hard breath and Glennon asked, “What do you see, Miss Jingle?”
“They’re using a disruptor beam for another reason other than killing the pilot.”
Alex sat back and watched Jingle closely. “What are you saying?” Glennon asked.
“Did all the scouts you lost self-destruct?”
Glennon shrugged, “We have no way of knowing. We do know the scout that made the recording self-destructed his ship.”
Alex stared at Jingle and said, “It appears they did.” Jingle turned to him and nodded.
“Why do you ask that?” Glennon asked.
Alex shook his head as Jingle answered, “They’re using a disruptor because they want to capture one of our ships. If they manage to make that happen, they’ll stop using disruptors and start using explosive warheads in those missiles.” Glennon’s expression showed he was confused, and Jingle continued, “I see you don’t see it.” Glennon slowly shook his head and Jingle added, “That’s what the aliens are after, Admiral. They can’t see or detect our ships. They’re after our stealth technology.”
Glennon’s eyes flew wide open, “Oh my God! If they get that…”
“Humanity is probably doomed,” Alex completed. Alex turned to Jingle, “Why didn’t the disruptor field stop it from killing the scouts?”
“It went off inside the field that blocks disruptor beams, Alex. The missile hit the ship’s hull, which is more than a hundred yards inside the stealth and disruptor fields. The aliens are hoping that they can disable a ship to the point where the self-destruct circuit fails. If that happens, then the missiles will be converted to high-explosive warheads and the next ships hit will be destroyed.” Jingle paused and then continued, “Since they’re still using the disruptor beam, the scouts must have self-destructed before they could scan the stealth circuitry.”
Glennon was shaking his head and Alex said as he stared at Jingle, “There’s a way around this, Sir.”
“HOW!?”
Alex turned to Glennon, “Come up with a way to change the force fields’ frequency extremely fast.”
Glennon’s eyes narrowed and Jingle interjected, “You can probably just change it as the missile rushes in but what happens if they’ve launched ten or more missiles? The first missile will be stopped by the force field, but the following missiles will detect the change in frequency. You also need to find out just how large an explosion the force field can handle. Alex is right, the force field must be able to change frequency quickly to survive.”
Alex nodded, “And once we find a way to do that, it has to be trialed against one of their warships.”
Glennon turned to Jingle, “Please plan to stay here until I notify you otherwise.”
Jingle blew out a hard breath, “I haven’t even arrived yet.”
“Just plan to stay until this issue is resolved. You’ve obviously seen things we missed, and I need your insights.”
Jingle shook her head and replied sullenly, “Yes Sir.”
Chapter Two
Jingle arrived at Fleet Headquarters and Alex met her at the landing site. Jingle emerged from the port and Alex smiled, “Good to see you, Jingle.”
Jingle frowned and replied, “Be honest, Alex. You don’t like me here and you know it.”
Alex’s smile disappeared, “Jingle, I consider you a good friend. I may disagree with things you do, but that doesn’t change how I feel about you. You saved my life numerous times and I still honor the memory of the times we spent in the Wilds.”
Jingle sighed, “I’m sorry. It’s good to see you as well. I don’t want to be an issue in this but Admiral Glennon is not giving me a choice.”
Alex nodded and turned toward the towering building next to the landing port. “How’s Dolly and Joesen?”
Jingle chuckled, “They don’t like me going back to the Union.”
“Do they still dislike me?”
“No, Alex. They respect you and don’t have any ill will toward you.”
“That’s good to hear. Glennon is waiting on us.” Jingle nodded and followed him into the building.
• • •
Jingle sat and watched the video of the missile again as Glennon sat silent with four of his senior officers sitting beside him. After it ended, Glennon turned to Jingle, “Have you thought of anything else we might have missed?”
“I’m wondering how those scouts were detected and followed.”
Alex spoke up, “So are we. That’s why I’m going to the cluster to find out how they’re doing it.”
“Not so fast, Admiral Berringer; I’ve not signed off on that…yet!”
Alex turned to Glennon, “Sir, you know this must be done. We have to find out what the aliens are doing inside the nebula.”
Jingle spoke up, “Couldn’t they be detected by probes they’ve put in place around the nebula?”
One of the officers shook his head, “I don’t think that is what’s doing this.”
Jingle turned to him, “Why not?”
“The first scout was destroyed more than a year ago. In order to cover all entries into the cluster would require more than a billion probes and I don’t believe that the aliens could have possibly constructed that many since we attacked some of their warships.”
Jingle stared at him and shrugged, “They might have already built the probes and just added enough to give full coverage.”
The officer shook his head, “We have considered that possibility, but you didn’t encounter any of them when you and Admiral Berringer went into the cluster on your last mission. I just don’t believe they would have that many probes without a threat to them. The aliens at that time didn’t know that we knew about them and no one had ever gone in and attacked their ships. The first real threat was this imaginary civilization invading the Milky Way we convinced them existed. That didn’t happen until after your last mission and they’ve not had enough time to construct that many probes.”
Jingle smiled, “I see you’ve done your homework. If it’s not probes, how are they doing it?”
The room was silent, and Alex looked at Admiral Glennon, “Sir, with all due respect, the only way to find out is to go back in.”
Glennon looked at his staff, “Now is the time for you to make suggestions on how to do this.”
The same officer that spoke earlier said, “Admiral, being detected is not the only issue we’re facing here.”
“Go on,” Glennon replied.
“Sir, the only weapon we have to penetrate the alien’s force field is a DD Missile. We don’t even know if our current blasters will penetrate it. We also don’t know if our force fields will stand up to their blasters.”
Alex’s eyes narrowed, “We got a scan of the warships being built on the moons in the wilds.”
The officer chuckled, “In case you’ve forgotten, Admiral Berringer, none of the warships being build by Barrow for the aliens had blasters on them. The only blasters Barrow had to use were on their own warships; the disruptors were added to them.”
“If you think of something el
se, Admiral Wozniak, speak up,” Glennon ordered. He looked around the table, “Anything else?”
“Take a page from their book,” Jingle answered. Everyone turned to her. “The odds are good that they developed a missile that detects a force field frequency. Why can’t we do the same?”
Admiral Wozniak leaned forward, “If they developed a missile capable of doing that, I suspect they also know how to change their force field frequencies.”
“Why?” Jingle asked.
Wozniak hesitated and finally said, “Well, don’t the two go together?”
Jingle was silent and Glennon asked her, “Well?”
Jingle hoped Alex would see it, but he showed no inkling of what they were missing. Jingle sighed, “I really think all of you are far smarter and knowledgeable than me but I’m starting to wonder about that.” Alex lowered his head and shook it. Jingle hadn’t changed. Now she had insulted them and lost them.
Jingle stared at the officers and asked, “Would you develop a weapon system if you knew your enemy could easily come up with an answer to it?” The officers were silent, and Jingle continued, “You must keep in mind that their warships are huge with a large force field system. Changing the frequency of a force field with a system that complex can’t be done easily. I believe they think there is no possible counter to their new missile.” Everyone in the room stared at Jingle in silence and she shrugged, “I’m just saying.”
Glennon turned to Wozniak, “Is what she’s saying have any merit?”
Wozniak thought about it before answering, “I think we need to keep in mind that the aliens believe their blasters will keep any missiles launched at their ships at bay.”
“Why do you think that?” Alex asked.
“Because the small force field around that new missile prevented the scout’s blaster beam from penetrating it. What Miss Jingle is suggesting could be accurate. And I’m ashamed to say that possibility didn’t enter my mind.”
Jingle added, “And if that small force field stopped the scout’s blaster, how do you think our ships will fare against a fully operational force field on their warships?”
Glennon turned to Jingle, “If that’s true, why haven’t they come out of the nebula and attacked us?”
Jingle looked at Alex and he sighed, “One blaster beam may not penetrate them, Sir. But we outnumber their warships by the thousands.” Alex glanced at Jingle and saw her nod. “I suspect they’re staying inside the nebula until they can build enough new warships to challenge our fleets.”
Jingle added, “They’re also concerned about the fictitious alien civilization attacking the Milky Way. They won’t come out until they resolve that issue. Fortunately, our ships have not fired a DD Missile at one of their ships, so they aren’t aware that we made the attacks on their ships and the moons where they were building warships.”
Another officer spoke up, “Sir, it will take more than a year to develop a force field small enough for a missile.”
Jingle waited for someone to reply and sighed before saying, “You don’t need a force field.” Everyone turned to her. “All you need is a stealth field for the missiles and the aliens will never detect them.”
The officer who made the statement fell back in his chair and rolled his eyes, “I should have thought of that.”
Glennon looked at him, “Is putting a stealth field around the missile possible?”
“Yes Sir, it is.”
What about a system to allow the missile to change frequencies?”
“Don’t need it, Sir!” Glennon turned to Jingle. “All you need is a system that detects the force field frequency around the warship they’re attacking; it won’t need to change frequencies because the warship won’t be changing frequencies, if I’m right about it being too difficult to make happen.”
Glennon stared at Jingle and then turned to Admiral Scott, “Can a small missile carry a powerful enough warhead to damage their ships?”
“Sir, if the missile doesn’t have to penetrate the force field, it won’t take a large warhead to cause major destruction to the ship’s hull when it hits.”
Glennon glanced at Alex before asking to Admiral Scott, “How long will it take to build some of these missiles you’re talking about?”
“We can build them by hand, Sir. Mass assembly isn’t possible now, but we should be able to build a small number of them.”
“I asked you how long?!”
Scott looked at Wozniak and saw him shrug. He turned to Glennon and replied, “Sir, if I pull enough of our best electronic engineers and metallurgists off what they’re currently working on, we can possibly have them ready in three weeks.”
“Do it in two weeks!” Glennon responded. He turned to Alex and said, “I guess you get your wish, Admiral Berringer. Plan to leave when the missiles are ready.”
“Sir!” Admiral Wozniak interrupted. Glennon turned to him. “It is going to take three weeks at best.” Glennon’s eyes narrowed and Wozniak continued, “We’re not just going to build the missiles, Sir. We’re also modifying their ships.”
“In what way?”
“Sir, we’re going to install two of the new reactors on board.”
“Why?”
“Because we know their current blasters won’t penetrate the alien’s force field. All the studies we’ve completed say that the new reactors will power a blaster beam such that it would have an identical force on the area it hits that a DD Missile would cause. The pressures on the hull would be the same.”
“You need to start updating your fleets, Admiral,” Jingle suggested.
“That could take years.”
“Sir, if you can’t bring Mohammed to the mountain, take the mountain to Mohammed. Move everything you need to refit them to planets in the Wilds and make the modifications to them there. I know Bucket has more than enough room for you to do a lot of the work and there are thousands of other planets that will build whatever facilities you need to do this. They know you’d be doing it to defend them. All you need do is transport what is needed to them.”
Glennon stared at Jingle and she saw the wheels turning in his mind. After a moment, he turned to Admiral Scott, “You have your three weeks. Make it happen.” He turned to Alex and Jingle, “You will remain here until your ships are ready to go.”
“By here, do you mean in the Union, Sir?” Jingle asked.
“Why do you ask?”
“I’d like to visit my family and friends while I’m here, Sir.”
Glennon nodded, “Just make sure we can contact you.”
“Yes Sir.”
• • •
Alex and Jingle left the meeting and Alex commented, “That was quite a show you put on in there.”
Jingle stopped and punched him on his shoulder, “You were no help! I kept waiting for you to tell them the obvious and you looked as dumb as them.”
Alex rubbed his shoulder and shook his head, “Hey!” After a moment he took a deep breath, “Jingle, I’ve lost a lot since I came back to the Union. My critical thinking has suffered from being in such a structured environment. I’ve lost the skill at seeing possibilities. Have you come up with what could be detecting our ships?”
Jingle’s angry expression vanished, “No, I don’t have a clue.”
“Neither do I. I’ll see you later.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to be with the scientists building that new missile and installing the new reactors.”
Jingle sighed, “See you.” Alex walked away and Jingle went to her ship. Time and distance hadn’t made any difference between them.
• • •
Jingle walked to her chair and took a deep breath. She looked up and said, “Well?”
“You pretty much stole the show, Jingle.”
Jingle closed her eyes and shook her head, “You know it was my connection to you that allowed me to see those things.”
“They have computers and they choose not to use them. Alex has not
been on Brooks for a while and his link has faded; that’s why he wasn’t up to the task of helping you,” Jangle noted.
“I’m not that smart.”
“Yes, you are. I only provide data to help you follow your thoughts to their logical conclusion. Between the two of us, we’re better than someone alone. So what happens now?”
“I’m going to see Gee.”
“Is that a good idea? The last time you spoke to her it didn’t turn out well.”
“In case you missed it, there was no discussion. She screamed at me and I didn’t get a word in the conversation before she ended the contact.”
“She said she never wanted to see you again, Jingle.”
“I know…but…I have to try.”
“Be ready to run!”
Jingle giggled, “Take me there Jangle.”
• • •
Jingle walked up the walkway to Gee’s house and hesitated a long time before ringing the doorbell. A young, good-looking man, came to the door and smiled, “May I help you?”
“Is Gee in?”
The man stared at Jingle for a moment and said loudly over his shoulder, “Gee, there’s someone to see you.”
“Who is it?”
The man kept his eyes on Jingle and raised his eyebrows. “Tell her it’s Jingle.”
The man’s head immediately tilted, and he shouted, “It’s Jingle!”
Jingle heard the curse word outside the door. Gee rushed to the front door, pushed by the man, and pushed Jingle in the chest with both hands, “YOU AREN’T WELCOME HERE!!”
Jingle staggered back and managed to catch her balance. Her tears were falling as Gee moved forward and pushed her again, “HOW COULD YOU HAVE STAYED AWAY!?!”
Jingle lowered her head, “Gee, I was rejected by another man who chose another woman ahead of me. He was here and I just couldn’t bear seeing him again. I’m so sorry!”
Gee saw Jingle’s tears and said sternly, “What happened?!”
Jingle looked up into her eyes, “I was exactly what you said I am, a hard-headed, stubborn, sarcastic, woman. He decided he couldn’t accept that and chose someone else.”