Nanomachine War series Box Set

by Don Viecelli

  Doug closed his eyes to ignore the distraction and enjoy the moment before answering. “Nothing illegal, dear, but you know Tumil and James are still single. The ladies on Holtu are not shy about their intentions.”

  “So were you a good boy or do I have to remind you of our vows?” Jan smirked as Doug turned to face her.

  Now he was distracted. “Well, the Qumru women are very pretty. And it was hard watching Tumil and James flirt with them.” Doug smiled at Jan to make sure she knew he was teasing her. “You have nothing to worry about, dear. You’re the only one I want.” He kissed her wet lips and turned around. “Rub a little lower.”

  Jan smacked him on the butt and did as she was told. After a few minutes of massaging Doug’s back, Jan said, “Now it’s your turn.

  It was time for him to make it up to Jan for having a good old time with the boys last night. Good thing hangovers were a thing of the past, at least on Holtu, Doug thought. Paying the price never felt so good.

  *****

  The trip to the spaceport was short. Doug and Jan held hands as the transport vehicle flew them directly to the Holtu military landing zone. The view of Iconda receded swiftly behind them during the short ride.

  “I’m going to miss this place,” Jan said looking back at the city.

  “It was exciting, visiting another planet with real aliens living here. I imagine there are thousands of such planets in our galaxy,” Doug commented.

  “Tumil said there are. He’s visited many, but that all ended when the Yoyka invaded.

  Doug heard the sadness in Jan’s voice. There wasn’t much he could say except, “I know, but maybe we can change all that.”

  The transport vehicle landed and a voice in English told them they had arrived at their destination. There was no driver. The vehicle was totally automated.

  Vice Leader Di was waiting for them to get their bags and after his greeting said, “Please follow me. I will take you to the shuttle that will fly us into space.

  “Is Doctor Colbert and General Bradstone here?” Jan asked.

  “They are already aboard the shuttle.”

  “Are you coming with us, Di?” Doug asked, not sure what Di’s plans were.

  “Yes, I am joining you. My duties are not done.” He did not elaborate and Doug knew he would not learn anything more unless Di decided to tell him. Doug and Janice followed Di directly to the spacecraft that would take them into space.

  The spacecraft was a typical Holtu transport shuttle the Holtu military used to ferry Holtu troops from their spaceships. Once on board, Doug spotted James and General Bradstone near the front and he led Jan to open seats beside James. He placed their two carry on bags above the seat.

  “Hello, James. Glad to see you made it.”

  James looked tired. “I didn’t have a choice if I wanted to return to Mars.”

  “I heard you, Doug and Tumil had a fun time last night,” Jan said smiling.

  James looked at Jan and turned away red in the face. “We did. It was Tumil’s idea we meet the Qumru ladies of Iconda. They are very nice.” He didn’t elaborate anymore and looked out the window avoiding eye contact.

  Doug changed the subject quickly. “Do you know which spaceship is taking us home?”

  “Yes, it’s High Leader Altek’s warship, the Iconda.”

  Doug was not surprised, but wondered why Altek was taking them home instead of Vice Leader Di. He would ask Di when they got off the shuttle.

  It was time to depart. The warning light flashed above their heads indicating they need to fasten their seat belts as a precaution. A few minutes later the shuttle blasted off, straight up into the sky. Again, there was no sensation other than the view out the windows.

  “I still can’t get over how their antigravity negation systems work,” James said.

  “We’ll have them on all our new spaceships, once we begin building them,” Doug responded.

  Within seconds, they were in outer space and headed towards a very large warship they recognized from its appearance. They all knew by now that the Iconda was almost one Earth kilometer long and half as wide and looked like a large Earth battleship with its rectangular design and multiple platform deck levels.

  Janice looked one last time down towards the planet Holtu slowly rotating on its axis. “I’m going to miss Holtu. It’s a beautiful looking planet; just as lovely as Earth.”

  “Tumil says Qum is even more splendid looking from space than Earth or Holtu. I hope to see it one day,” James said.

  Doug didn’t comment. He watched the planet recede from view as their shuttle prepared to enter the large hangar bay on Levels 10 through 12. The massive doors were open and the shuttle silently passed through the invisible atmosphere containment barrier to land. They felt a small jolt as the shuttle set down on the deck of the Iconda and the hangar bay doors closed behind them.

  The all clear light came on and Di opened the exit door for everyone to depart the shuttle. Di waited below to further guide them. Doug handed their carry on bags to another Holtu officer when Di directed them. “Follow me. We have been requested to join High Leader Altek in the Command Center.”

  That seemed unusual to Doug and the others. Doug did not think they would see Altek so soon once on board the warship. They followed Di as he led them through the massive ship to an elevator that would take them to the top deck of the Iconda.

  High Leader Altek was waiting for them to arrive in his small office. He welcomed them on board his ship. “It’s good to see all of you again.” He was not using a translator device. The Holtu’s were quick learners of English. Doug and the others still needed their translators when communicating with most Holtu androids and other Qumru people.

  General Bradstone spoke for the group, “It’s good to be going back home, High Leader Altek. We didn’t know you would be the one taking us there.”

  “That is why I summoned you here first. I wanted to inform you of the reason why I am returning to your solar system. As you know, we have made improvements in our FTL hyperdrive system. We will be testing the system on this flight to your home planets.”

  “What do you mean?” James asked.

  “The Iconda is the first warship to have the faster FTL hyperdrive. There will be no need to enter the cryostasis chambers on your trip home.”

  The last time Doug and the other humans were on the Iconda travelling to Holtu it took 60 days to reach the planet. They used the sleep chambers for almost a month.

  “How long are you saying it will take us to reach Mars?” Doug asked realizing what was happening.

  “In your time, only twenty hours!”

  Doug was pleased. They were about to travel 20 thousand light years in only 20 hours instead of 60 days. It was going to be a very fast trip.

  General Bradstone was even more delighted. He had already calculated the significance in military terms. It would change the very way the war with the Yoyka would be fought. The Yoyka advantage over Holtu in military strength just got a lot weaker.

  Chapter 25

  Mars

  They were home—Mars. Doug and Janice watched the red planet grow in size as they descended on a shuttle from the Iconda to land at the Mars Spaceport in Haffen City. It seemed like an eternity since they left.

  “It feels good to be home,” Jan said holding Doug’s hand.

  “I know. There’s so much to do; I don’t know where to start.”

  “I know what I want; Mars food!” James said. Everyone chuckled.

  Doug looked over at General Bradstone. “What are your plans, General?”

  “I’ll stay for a few days to review troop status. Then you and I need to visit Earth.”

  Doug sighed and nodded his head. He turned to Jan. “I have to see my boss at the UN and then the President to finish the Military Alliance contract. We’ll have some time to settle in before I leave.”

  “Well, we do need to finish the baby’s room, and I need to see our family doctor for a checkup before you le
ave. I have plenty of work to do while you’re gone.”

  The shuttle slowed down quickly as it prepared to land on the surface. Once the wheels were on the ground, it rolled inside the covered Spaceport dome where the passengers could depart and enter the main terminal.

  Recently promoted Lieutenant Colonel Shirley Tills was waiting for them at the exit. She saluted General Bradstone and Doug. They returned the salute.

  “Good morning sirs; Doctor Martin, Doctor Colbert; it’s good to see everyone. I’m glad you made it back to Mars safely.”

  “It’s good to be back,” Bradstone said. “Thank you for keeping us informed of the situation here while we were gone.”

  “Not a problem, sir. The military buildup is going according to plan, sir.”

  Tills escorted the group to the subway system where she and the General planned to check in at the military base facility nearby. James was headed back to his home as were Doug and Jan. They would see each other again tomorrow morning for a meeting at the UN Building where Doug still works as the acting UN Deputy Secretary.

  They finally reached their destination. It felt good to be home. Doug opened the door for Jan and carried in their bags. The air was musty smelling, so Doug turned up the air circulation unit.

  “Would you like something to eat?” Jan asked.

  “That would be nice. I’ll unpack and help you in a minute.”

  After a brief lunch, Jan decided to take a nap. She was tired from the long trip. Doug needed to catch up on messages from his office, so he spent the rest of the afternoon working at his computer screen. Tomorrow was going to be a very busy day back on Mars, but there was nowhere else in the universe he wanted to be right now, but home with his beautiful, pregnant wife.

  *****

  The meeting at Doug’s UN office the next morning began promptly at 8 am. Doug, James, General Bradstone and Lieutenant Colonel Shirley Tills were sitting at the small conference table. James connected the video conferencing system with several other military people so everyone could hear and see what was going on.

  Doug let Tills have the floor. She had a lot of material to cover and was ready to begin the presentation requested by General Bradstone.

  “First of all, let me say I’m glad everyone made it back safely from Holtu. It sounds like you all had a wonderful and productive trip. I can’t imagine what you have seen on another alien planet. Now, I would like you to see what we have been doing while you were gone.”

  Tills put the first graph on the overhead screen. “Our troop strength on Mars has been increased to over fifty thousand; all under the UN Space Strike Force command. At least ten thousand are experienced jet pilots waiting for final training on Zoltu fighters, General.

  “Back on Earth, the UN Space Strike Force has been increased to thirty million troops; one month ahead of schedule. All are in advanced training under High Alert Status in each of their respective countries. The US in particular now has five million troops in our armed forces. We are at full military strength, General; the first time in our history since World War Two.

  “We are in desperate need of Zoltu space fighters for pilot training purposes. Now that you are back, General, you can help us get the weapons and training we need from the Holtu military so we can prepare our troops for the battles to come.”

  Lieutenant Colonel Tills continued her presentation for the next twenty minutes with questions and answers along the way until the General said he had seen enough.

  “Thank you Colonel Tills. Your presentation of our current military situation was very thorough and highlighted what must be done to get our troops up to fighting standards. I will take this information to our military and government leaders as soon as possible. I would like you to know that our meetings with the Holtu and Qumru leaders on Holtu led to a successful Military Alliance. I want to congratulate Colonel Doug Martin for his leadership and negotiation skills in getting this done.

  “The Holtu have promised full cooperation in providing the training our military troops and pilots will need. As you know, the five hundred UNSSF pilots and Navy personnel we brought with us to Holtu have returned fully trained to fly Zoltu fighters and serve as crewmembers on Holtu warships. They in turn will begin immediately to train others on Mars. In addition, the Holtu androids with the help of the Qumru people have made dramatic improvements in FTL hyperdrive systems. The Yoyka do not have this capability. We must keep this a secret as long as possible. It gives us a decidedly great military advantage over the Yoyka. That’s all I have to say for this meeting.”

  Doug sensed it was time to conclude the meeting. “This meeting is adjourned. We all have a lot of work to do, so let’s get to it. Just so you know, General Bradstone and I will travel to Earth for high level meetings in two days. We will return a day or two later. Thank you, Lieutenant Colonel Tills for running this place while we were gone. I know it wasn’t easy. We’ll talk more later.”

  The meeting ended and everyone departed. The next two days would be a whirlwind of activity until Doug and General Bradstone took a fast Holtu shuttle to Earth.

  Chapter 26

  Trip To Earth

  The trip to Earth was quick, just under one hour. Doug sat with General Bradstone and Vice Leader Di behind the two human pilots controlling the Zoltu space fighter. The surprising news was Doug recognized the two pilots as soon as General Bradstone introduced them while in flight.

  “Captain Jason Weston is piloting the Zoltu home. Commander Susan Potter is acting as co-pilot. They were on the USS Illinois when the Yoykan Malee destroyed their space shuttle.”

  Both pilots turned around and shook hands with Doug. “I recognize both of you now. We met on the Solruku spaceship with First Chair Cleota.”

  “We were lucky the Solruku was passing by when our ship was cut in two. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be here now,” Jason proclaimed. Susan nodded her head in agreement.

  “Jason and Susan were both on the training mission to Holtu with us, Doug,” General Bradstone explained. “They will help train our future Zoltu pilots for the war.”

  “I didn’t see either of you on High Leader Altek’s warship, but then there were several hundred pilots on the ship,” Doug said.

  “We were all kept very busy in training. But I must say, these fighters can fly themselves with the automated AIC control system. We can use these fighters as drones if we wish too.”

  “I plan to undergo the training myself as soon as I get back to Mars. I flew fighter jets off aircraft carriers during my Navy pilot days, Captain. I hope to get back to it when we meet up with the Yoyka.”

  “I hope you do, Colonel. My goal is to captain a warship soon. I have a score of my own to settle with the Yoyka.” Jason turned back to the control screen to prepare for Earth atmosphere entry. Their destination was Andrews Air Force Base near Washington DC. Doug, General Bradstone and Di had a meeting scheduled with President Mary Anderson in the Whitehouse with the UN Secretary-General Alejandro Garcia Lopez to go over the Holtu and Qumru Galactic Military Alliance. Then off to more meetings for the rest of their stay on Earth.

  The Zoltu fighter landed without incident at Andrews. Both Doug and General Bradstone felt the effects of Earth Gravity, but since they had spent almost two weeks on Holtu and only a brief three days on Mars before returning to Earth, they could walk without difficulty. Two military vehicles were waiting to pick them up. One would take Doug and his two companions to the Whitehouse. The other would transport Captain Weston and Commander Potter to the Pentagon for thorough debriefings on Holtu spacecraft operation and weapon capabilities. Then both of them would be assigned to the UN Space Strike Force pilot training facilities to help the war effort.

  The trip to the White House brought back dark memories of the Yoyka invasion and nanomachine contagion that almost destroyed Earth only five months ago. Doug fought back the negative emotions this caused and tried to focus on the present. Earth was no longer defenseless against a superior alien race. There was hope no
w for a better outcome.

  The White House was 15 miles from Andrews Air Force Base. The ride took 34 minutes via the Suitland Parkway that crossed over the Anacostia River via the Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge. Doug watched the scenery and buildings pass by out the window. The fall weather was still warm. Everything smelled fresh and clean. It felt good to be back on Earth.

  “Who will be at this meeting?” Vice Leader Di asked Doug as they neared their destination.

  “President Mary Anderson, her Chief of Staff Allison Conley and UN Secretary-General Alejandro Garcia Lopez from Switzerland will meet with us to discuss the Galactic Military Alliance contract before we go to the National Security Conference meeting to discuss military defense issues.”

  They reached the White House and drove to the Northwest Appointment Gate and were cleared through for the drive up to the front White House entrance. As they exited the vehicle, they were met at the door by Allison Conley.

  “It’s good to see you again, General Bradstone; Colonel Martin; Vice Leader Di. The President is waiting to meet with you. Please follow me.”

  Doug commented as they walked, “I forgot how warm it can be in DC this time of year.”

  “Yes, fall can be warmer than normal in Washington, but it’s nice and cool inside.”

  Allison led the way to the Oval Office in the West Wing. She nodded to the two security officers standing in the hallway, knocked on the President’s door, opened it and walked in. “Everyone is here, Madam President.” Alejandro Garcia Lopez was standing with the President by the windows overlooking the South Lawn. Allison introduced everyone.

  “Welcome, General Bradstone; Colonel Martin; Vice Leader Di. It’s so good to see you all again. Please, let’s all sit down and talk.”

  Mary asked her secretary to bring in some cold drinks as everyone found a seat. “I heard from Alejandro that the negotiations with the Holtu and Qumru leaders were successful. But first, tell me about your trip. What’s it like on Holtu?”