The Alien Whisperer: Book 3

by Ira Tabankin

  Kalteck suggested they mount the new shield generators on an asteroid and test it, Rhett and Stykes quickly agreed. Once a group of shield generators and one of the new small reactors were mounted on the rock Kalteck took his ship and attacked the asteroid which survived all of his attempts to destroy it. Stykes sent a squadron of Piranhas which also couldn’t crack the shields. Rhett smiled at Stykes, “Captain, it looks like we may have found a solution to our problem. On the other hand, the solution also pointed out another weakness, our Piranha’s weapons aren’t powerful enough. If a squadron of them can’t crack our own shields, how are they going to crack the enemy’s?”

  “Damn, that’s a point I hadn’t thought of. What do you think we can do to improve the Piranhas?”

  “I’m thinking we need to reduce the number of small emitters and focus the energy though two larger emitters.”

  “It might work.”

  Rhett thought a moment, “Let’s modify one and try it.” Kalteck used his implant to chat with Rhett, “My friend I am overly concerned about the timing of the two Neanderthal ships. I wonder if they are receiving information from spies in your government or ones in your ship development group. There may even be androids on your own staff.”

  “Androids?”

  “Yes, they are the only way. However, I do not know how they could have transmitted the information to the Neanderthals. I wonder… I am going to take my ship and see if my worst fear is correct.”

  “You’re thinking there’s a hidden stealth relay station or retransmission probe near Earth, aren’t you? Could they have managed that without us knowing it?”

  “Maggots. They have been coming to Earth for many years. They could have dropped one off for the Neanderthals. I’ll let you know what I find.”

  “Before you leave, we need a way to locate every one of those androids and we need a way to jam their transmissions. Do you have any ideas? I am very worried they’re spying on everything we’re doing. The proof appears to be the timing of the Neanderthals.”

  “Let me see what I locate. I will stay in touch. My AI will stay in constant contact with your personal AI. Does the captain know you have your own AI?”

  “Not to my knowledge. I know he assumes my implant is much more advanced than his, but so far, he hasn’t mentioned or questioned me on what I’m wearing or what’s in my cabin. I don’t think he has realized AIs could be made so small as to fit onto my belt.”

  “Good, there are many aspects of our technology he doesn’t need to know.”

  “My friend be careful. If anything happens to you, who will drink beer with me?”

  Kalteck laughed, “I’ll return. So far in our little games, you owe me over fifty cases of beer and I want them, so I’ll be back. Keep them cold for me.”

  @@@@@

  Rhett was amazed at the vast improvements and expansion in the Titan base over the previous six months since he’d last been there. On the second week at the base, he was met for breakfast by the base’s commanding officer who’d been inspecting small fighter bases on the other moons. Rear Admiral Denver smiled, “Admiral, welcome back. I’m sorry I wasn’t here when you arrived.”

  “No problem, I understand the important inspection mission you were carrying out. Tell me about the new bases?”

  “They’re coming along very well. I’m stationing at least one and usually two squadrons of Piranhas at every base. My goal is to have twenty such small bases in addition to the main base here. That way we’ll have fighters in this sector even if they take out this base.”

  “I noticed the new rail gun and plasma guns being installed. Do you have enough power for them and the base itself?”

  Smiling Denver responded, “Earth sent me six additional nuclear reactors they pulled from submarines they were going to deactivate so we now have power to spare. I’m working with my engineers and nanites to install shield generators to help protect the base.”

  “Did you get the new stealth generators?”

  “Yes, thank you. I understand I have them due to you giving a direct order to send them to me.”

  “I did. Earth’s first defense has to be out here on the edge of the system, hence these bases need all of the defense technology and weapons we can install on them. When are you planning on beginning the base on Pluto?”

  Admiral Denver broadly smiled, “I was hoping to surprise you, but it appears you already know. We’ve already established the first temporary base with two squadrons. I hope to have the main underground base operational in nine months. I love those robots and nanites. They never rest or sleep and they don’t need to be fed. Each robot can carry a ton of materials so one can do the work of many humans and we’re not risking human lives out there until they’ve sealed a section of the base and pressurized it.”

  “Excellent, you’re doing better than we hoped.”

  The two stopped at a large monitor which showed the damaged Enterprise. Admiral Denver shook his head, “We are sorry to hear about the damage to the Enterprise, but we’re also overjoyed you managed to destroy the alien ships. You’ve given all humanity hope we can win the upcoming battle.”

  Rhett nodded, “Admiral, thank you. I had very little to do with the battle, Captain Stykes performed superbly. I am enormously proud of him. I am going to award him the Space Force Cross for his actions in the battle. I want to thank you for pulling your people and robots off of their projects to help repair the Enterprise.”

  “It’s my pleasure. I reviewed the new shield generators and reactor ideas. I like them very much. I plan to use the idea as we’re installing our shield generators here and on Pluto. By the way, did you know we received our first two squadrons of the Piranha Mark 2s?”

  “No, I must have missed that. I didn’t know they’d completed the testing.”

  “The truth is, they didn’t, but the President ordered them into production anyway. I received orders that she is sending you replacement squadrons for the Enterprise.”

  Rhett pulled up the data on the Mark 2 fighter. He reviewed the data and smiled. More powerful reactor, quicker and faster acceleration, stronger shields, and a larger centrally mounted rail gun which they mounted under the ship to gain the required length. They’ve done a hell of a job in a short time. I can’t wait till Kalteck returns and we test the fighters against his ship.

  Rhett settled his staff into offices in the base so they could work while the Enterprise was being repaired. Rhett used the time to check on the other Monitor class ships, he learned the Russians decided to incorporate the changes from the Enterprise into their ship and the Chinese, who were already nine months behind the Russians, decided to move ahead with the original design because otherwise they’d fall further behind.

  The Americans decided to update both the Lincoln and Patrick Henry with the upgrades being performed to the Enterprise. Both Monitors were moved into orbit while the additional reactors were being manufactured and the new shield generators were prepared so two additional monitors could be started.

  Without the Ford Class carriers to steal compartments from, contracts were issued to the companies which built all types of ships. The Bechtel Corporation was issued contracts for A1C nuclear reactors which were improved Ford Class reactors. The A1C reactors generated more than 1100MW compared to the 700MW the A1B reactors in the Washington. The second flight of three American monitors, MC 04 the Jefferson, MC 05, the Franklin, and MC 06 the John Adams were enlarged to hold the two matter/antimatter reactors and four A1C nuclear reactors plus a further improvement in shield generators and due to the size increase, their main rail gun/plasma tube was enlarged by 25%. The ships also carried a fifth wing of Piranha Mark 2s.

  Rhett hitched a ride back to Earth in a Piranha Mark 2 to check on the progress of the second flight of Monitors. While he could check the plans through his implant, he wanted to hold face to face meetings with the designers and to get a firsthand look at the plans for a less expensive small class of ships, one they settled on the name to h
onor the surface ships, the new class were called Battleships or BB. The Battleships were going to be named after the American states like the World War Two ships. The first was named BB 64, Montana, which was going to be the next battleship if the Second World War had continued. The follow-on ships were named, BB 65, Ohio, BB 66, Maine, BB 67, New Hampshire, and BB 68, Louisiana. The Montana, Ohio. Maine and New Hampshire had been ordered as the Second World War was ending and they were cancelled before their keels had been laid.

  The Russians decided to name their new ships after their major cities. Their newest Battleships were named Moscow and St. Petersburg. The Chinese decided to name their ships after their famous leaders, their second Monitor was named, Mao. The Chinese had a chance to modify the designs of all of the ships since they were behind due to the explosion of their first antimatter reactor. They increased the thickness of the ship’s armor and overlaid it with a new formula of ceramic woven mesh armor over laid with depleted uranium. Not having the large nuclear reactors from aircraft carriers, the Chinese installed eight submarine reactors in the Mao, the Sun Tzu was too far along to modify without causing even a longer delay. As the size of the ship grew, the Chinese decided to increase the number of fighters she carried. China’s second Monitor was named the Wu Qi, she was even larger than the Sun Tzu and even larger than the American Monitors, she was the largest war ship ever built by any Earth nation. She was two and half miles long.

  Rhett had reviewed this data through his implant. He softly whistled when he mentally opened the file folders which listed the specifications of the new ships, especially the Wu Qi which impressed him.

  Upon arriving in orbit over Earth, Rhett was surprised at the changes he saw. Many of the dead or out of date satellites had been removed from orbit. There were also four completed orbital defense stations and six larger ones under construction. Each looked like a giant erector set being assembled in orbit.

  As Rhett’s fighter drew past each orbital station, the station rendered honors to the Fleet Admiral by firing a burst of fireworks to welcome him home from his victory. The pilot said, “Sir, it looks like the entire planet heard about your victory…”

  “LT, it wasn’t much of a victory. We got smacked and lost a lot of good people and our first space war ship is out of service due to that little victory.”

  “Sir, you defeated two much larger ships and brought the Enterprise home. You’re our first hero in this new war. Every media site has been talking about you and how you defeated the Neanderthals.”

  “It wasn’t much of a fight. I’m not the hero, the true heroes were those who fought and lost their lives trying to save their friends and the ship itself. If you’d been there and seen the bodies torn apart or those who got sucked out of the ship into space, most of whom we’ll never find, you would realize how sad this victory was.”

  “Yes, sir. Some were sucked out of the ship? Did they have protective suits?”

  “They didn’t have any suits. As soon as the hull was breached, and the internal and external shields gave way they were sucked out. They died almost instantly, almost, but they felt the vacuum of space suck the oxygen out of them and the cold which almost instantly flash froze them. Their eyes froze and exploded, their lungs froze, their brain went last, so they felt themselves dying and in the instant before they died, they knew they’d never see their loved ones again. Most of them will be buried in empty coffins because we couldn’t recover their bodies. I’ll never forget the scenes of the bodies being blown out of the damaged hull…”

  “Sir, I’m sorry to interrupt, but we’ve been ordered by the President to put down at Andrews. She would like to see you as soon as possible.”

  “Are they still using the White House?”

  “No, sir. The message says we’ll be met by the Secret Service who will take you to her.”

  “Thank you. Please confirm the message.” Rhett watched the orange/red glow work its way up the fighter as they began their reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. The Piranhas didn’t have the antigravity drives like the larger ships and Kalteck’s, so they relied on their armor to dissipate the heat of reentry. The ride was bumpy when they hit pockets of dense air. Once they broken through one hundred thousand feet, they were met by four new Piranhas which had taken off from Andrews to escort them. The pilot broke Rhett’s concentration, “Sir, our escort has arrived, we’re to follow them down.”

  “Follow their orders and follow them to Andrews.” Said Rhett who was suddenly noticeably quiet.

  The pilot wondered what had overcome the Admiral. “Yes, sir.”

  Rhett’s fighter landed as the four escorts zoomed over the runway at 800Mph. Three large black armored vehicles met Rhett as he climbed down the ladder. A Secret Service agent approached Rhett, “Sir, may we see your hand so we can confirm your ID?”

  “Of course.”

  “Thank you, if you would please take a seat with us, we’ve been ordered to take you to meet the President.”

  “Yes, sir. I have a small bag in the plane’s cargo hold.”

  “We’ll get it. We have a sealed envelope for you in the vehicle.”

  Rhett couldn’t see out of the windows or even straight ahead. The tinting on the side windows blocked vision in or out. There was a solid partition between the front and rear seats. Two agents sat in the front of the vehicle while Rhett sat alone in the back, he had no idea where they were going or how long the ride was going to take. “Hey up there, can we stop so I can use the rest room, I didn’t get a chance to stop before we left Andrews.”

  “Yeah, nope, sorry. We’ll be at our destination in less than another hour. You’re used to being in space, you can hold it because we can’t stop.”

  “Okay. Can you tell me where we’re going?”

  “No.”

  Rhett felt the car descend a slop and make a series or sharp turns, always to the right. He thought, wherever we’re going, we’re here and it’s underground. It’s not Raven Rock, we drove too long. It could be Mount Weather, but the last time I was there, there wasn’t an underground curving ramp. It has to be someplace new, someplace to allow the government to operate during the attack. Someplace people wouldn’t easily find or if they could, they wouldn’t easily be able to break in. I bet the President moved her office here. I wonder if the rest of the government is here too.

  “Admiral, please open your left side door and walk to the elevator. Show your ID to the camera and look into the retina scanner. The elevator door will open when the system confirms your ID. The elevator will take you to meet the President. We’ll be here to take you back when the meeting’s over.”

  Chapter 16

  There are over 200 billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy. When we look into our night sky, we can only see some of the stars, many of the stars have planets orbiting them. When American’s look up, they can see various constellations, most of which were named by the ancient Greeks. One such constellation, called Orion’s belt, is made up of three stars in a row. The middle star in Orion’s belt contained a massive solar system that held fourteen planets, five of them were inhabited.

  The beings who lived in the system called their home N’Gri, there were over 22 billion of them, they prided themselves as being the universe’s best warriors. They were ruled by an emperor whose family had ruled the system for over two million years. The Ngzt family was made up of the emperor and his extended family comprised of over ten thousand, all of whom were in the military. The emperor had nine wives and a group of nine slave females he spent an hour every afternoon with.

  The Ngzt Emperor claimed he could trace his family all the way back to their original home world before the overlords scooped them up and transplanted them to their new home. The overlords supported their children with gifts of education, technology, and the training how to be super soldiers. The emperor ruled over a council of elders and a royal governor who ruled each planet in the system.

  Orbiting above their home world were fifty massive planetary def
ense bases, the smallest was five hundred miles across, while the largest was eight hundred. There was a massive shipyard orbiting the sixth planet which built the race’s massive warships. The ships were unique in the Milky Way in that each was constructed of two massive saucer modules connected together through a central tunnel structure. The ships were built in sections and assembled together over the sixth planet. The emperor had ordered ten of the massive ships built every ninety days.

  Millions of slaves worked around the clock mining the minerals and working on the second planet where the system’s antimatter was created. The overlords had demanded the Emperor have 2,000 of the massive ships completed by a certain star date, a date which was rapidly approaching, and the emperor knew he was currently 617 ships short. The overlords were the only beings which scared the emperor. They had proven their power by removing their ancestors from their ancient home and then when, only a thousand years ago, one of the emperor’s ancestors thought he could face down the overlords they destroyed a planet to prove the overlords’ power over them.