Defending Earth-Discovery Means Death (14 page)

• • •

“Rocky?”

“Yes, Willow.”

“The Feeder Fleet Leader is going to start the fleets moving in five days.”

Rocky sighed. He knew it was coming. “Amber, skip us back to Earth.”

“Why are we going back?”

“Jill, I want you to download all of the signatures you’ve collected to Commodore Nelson; Fleet can use them to attack later if we don’t survive. While we’re there, Willow, I want that conversation the Feeder Leader had with the other Feeders on that planet sent to Fleet Intelligence. Their conquered planets are left to fend for themselves and Fleet has to have something that they can use to take advantage of that situation.”

“Skip in three, two, one, now!”

Rocky lifted his communicator, “Jill, go and see your brother.”

“But we should leave right away.”

“Jill, the download of those signatures is going to take at least twelve hours. Go and see Jack.”

“Thank you, Rocky.” Rocky nodded and turned back to his panel. He hoped Commodore Nelson was able to make progress on his recommendations.

• • •

“Jack, where are you?”

“I’m at the manufacturing facility on Cuba.”

“Do you have enough time for me to visit?”

“YES! I’LL ALWAYS HAVE TIME TO SEE YOU!”

“I’m taking a shuttle. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”

“I am really look forward to seeing you.”

• • •

Jill sat down on the seat and took the small shuttle out of the light ship’s port. It wasn’t much larger than one of the old Harley Davidson’s that were used centuries earlier. However, it was much faster. It left the huge construction facility just outside Boston and arrived in Cuba in twenty minutes. She had to use the shuttles force field to fly above the lower atmosphere to avoid a sonic boom but it didn’t slow her down much. She came speeding into the lower atmosphere and realized she didn’t have the location of the factory where Jack was located. She saw the huge island below her and smiled. She could see the giant building from the edge of space. It was located at a site called Guantanamo. She slowed to avoid a sonic boom and headed toward the giant facility. It was even larger than Fleet’s main construction site outside Boston.

She landed the shuttle outside the main entrance and found Jack waiting on her in a ground transport. She turned off the shuttle’s systems and Jack shouted, “Get in!”

Jill opened the door and sat down as Jack leaned over and gave her a hug, “Where are we going?”

“To the beach.”

“Great!” Jack pulled off and lifted above the trees. He sped toward the shore and Jill smiled, “Boy they built this fast!”

“It was already started when we went to collect the data from that Feeder. How’s Rocky doing?”

“He’s fine. I convinced him to go and see his sister and it really helped.”

“That’s great.”

“Why didn’t Olivia join us?” Jack’s expression changed and Jill said, “What’s wrong?”

“She’s a little nervous about seeing you.”

“Why? I’ve not moved in on Rocky. We’re only friends.”

“That’s not the reason.”

“Then what is?” Jack shook his head and Jill’s mouth fell open. “The two of you are…”

Jack sighed, “Yes, we are!”

“Isn’t she a little…uhhh.”

“Too old for me?”

“Something like that.”

Jack lowered the transport to the sand and got out of the car. He opened the back and pulled out two beach chairs and a cooler. He handed them to Jill as he took out a large beach umbrella. They walked to the shoreline and Jack put the umbrella into the ground and extended it. Jill placed the two chairs in the shade and put the cooler between them. “What happened?”

Jack shrugged, “Genève came and asked me to take her back.”

Jill stared at Jack, “Really?”

“Really. She surprised me and I still don’t understand why Fleet allowed her to come to a top-secret location. I guess they looked her up and found she had clearances from when she initially worked with me. She convinced them she was my fiancé. Anyway, Olivia was with me when I sent her packing.”

Jill nodded, “I guess that told her that it was over between Rocky and her more than anything else that could happen.”

“It did. We went back to work and I could see her sorrow. I told her she would be fine, just give it some time. She asked me how I got over Genève so quickly.”

“What did you tell her?”

“I said that finding someone else really speeds up the process.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

“And?”

“She nodded and we continued working.”

“And?”

“Later that night, about three in the morning, she buzzed my communicator. She wanted to know what I meant by finding someone else. I told her she should open her eyes and she would know the answer. Then, I disconnected the call.”

“What happened then?”

“Fifteen minutes later, she knocked on my door.”

Jill smiled, “She broke the code.”

“She did.”

“Why is she nervous about seeing me?”

“She thinks you have a very low opinion of her and would disapprove of our being together.”

“Do you trust her?”

“I have to say I do.”

Jill leaned over and hugged Jack. “What about her made you fall for her?”

“Jill, she’s incredibly intelligent, brave, witty, and I know she would die to defend me. She’s doesn’t have an oversized ego and doesn’t really realize just how beautiful she is. She grew on me.”

“What about the age difference?”

“She’ll be fifty nine when I’m fifty three. That’s not so much.”

“I guess when you look at it that way, it isn’t.”

Jack stared at Jill, “How do you feel about this?”

“I think you’ve made a good choice. However, it’s how you feel about this, not what I think.”

“Your opinion is extremely important to me.”

“If I told you to break it off, would you?”

Jack stared at her and, after a moment, shook his head, “No, I wouldn’t.”

Jill’s smile was instant, “You have my blessings.”

Jack lifted his communicator, “We’re at the beach, bring a chair.”

Jill and Jack talked about all that had happened and Jill told him about what happened at the community where he killed the Feeder. They were talking when they heard behind them, “Ahem.”

Jill turned and saw Olivia standing with a beach chair. She looked extremely nervous. Jill leapt out of her chair and ran to Olivia. She hugged her tightly and smiled, “Both of you so deserve each other. I know you’ll be happy.”

Olivia hugged Jill and smiled, “I was so worried you wouldn’t like me loving your brother.”

Jill took the chair and placed it beside hers, “Have you learned a lesson?”

“You know I have. Whatever we do, we’ll do it together.”

“Good, when is the wedding.”

Olivia looked at Jack, “We haven’t even thought about a wedding.”

Jill looked at Jack, “You haven’t asked her?”

“Jill, things shouldn’t be rushed.”

“Are you holding out for a better offer?”

“Jiiilllllll!”

“I’m just saying.”

“I don’t know if she’s willing to marry me.”

“Ask her and see.”

Jack shook his head in frustration and looked at Olivia, “Would you?”

“Would I what?”

Jack blew out a huge breath and knelt in front of Olivia, “Will you marry me?”

Olivia pulled him up, “Of course I will.”

Jack kissed her and then turned to Jill, “Now I’m here without a ring and it’s all your fault.”

“That means she can pick it out with you. Trust me, most women would like to have a say in what the ring looks like they will wear for the rest of their lives.”

Jack looked at Olivia, “Is that true?”

Olivia’s smile was huge, “It is.”

“Let’s sit down and talk about the wedding.”

Olivia and Jill sat down and Jack listened to them laugh and squeal as they discussed how to plan the perfect wedding. After an hour, Jack said, “Will you and Admiral Stone be here for the wedding?”

Jill’s face clouded over and she sighed, “Probably not. We’re about to enter the critical phase of our mission.”

Olivia stared at Jill and said, “How long will you be here?”

“Five days. Then we’re shipping out.”

Olivia looked at Jack, “We’ll be married in three days.”

“WHAT?”

“Three days, Jack. If Jill’s not there, no wedding would be right for us. She’s more important than some extravagant event.”

Jill shook her head, “Olivia, I can’t let you do this.”

“It’s not letting us do anything. Your being there will be critical to our happiness when we look back on it.”

Jack smiled, “I agree. We’ll let you know what our plans are and if you’ll tell Admiral Stone that he’s invited as well, we’d appreciate it.”

Jill stared at them and sighed, “I’ll let him know.”

Olivia hugged her, “Thank you. I should do it but I don’t want to cause him pain again.”

Jill nodded and didn’t look forward to being the bearer of this news. She wondered how Rocky was going to take it.

J
ill returned to the construction facility and found Rocky in the conference room with Rear Admiral Gibbons. She entered and Rocky motioned her to a chair. Gibbons hesitated and looked back at Rocky, “I just don’t see how this is going to help us. If we take the initiative and start attacking the occupied planets, it will divert the Feeder’s attention from the cluster you’re attempting to focus them on.”

“What happens if we fail in that effort?”

“Then they’ll start searching in another direction. If we attack the occupied planets, that will turn them in our direction. Most of them are located in our direction.”

“So you’re of the opinion that if we fail, they will give up the search and start communicating with their conquered galaxies?”

Gibbons’ eyes narrowed and he thought for a moment. “No, I didn’t say that. But if they change the direction of their search and come up empty handed, they might start normal operations.”

“I suspect if we fail, Fleet will send other ships to keep them moving away from our cluster. At some point we are going to have to see if we can remove them from their conquered galaxies. It would be better to start working on that sooner rather than later.”

“What do you have in mind, Sir?”

“There is a planet that deserves to be freed from these monsters.”

Gibbons stared at Rocky and said, “The Kerits?” Rocky nodded. Gibbons looked at his assistant and said, “Contact Captain Bowles and have him pull up the maps of where the Kerit Planet is located. Have him check and see what line it’s located on.” Commodore Greene nodded and stepped out of the room. Gibbons turned back to Rocky, “That planet, if my memory serves me well, is located more than a billion light years from the Alliance. If the line between it and the Feeder’s Central Planets is not in line with us, it might be feasible.”

Jill smiled, “I’ve already checked on that, Sir.”

Everyone turned to her and Gibbons said, “Do tell. Why would you have done that?”

“I’ve been fascinated with Nicole and her species since I read their history. Actually, the line is not far off the line leading here but if one takes the leading edge of the Feeder advance, it is more than ninety degrees away from us. The planet is located on the extreme right end of their territory.”

“Do you have it in your wrist unit?”

“Yes Sir.”

“Put it up on the monitor.” Jill took her wrist unit off and put it in the small cradle on the large conference table. Gibbons activated the cradle and a star map appeared on the wall monitor. Gibbons said, “Computer, show me the line running from the Feeder Central planets through the planet designated on the map.” Everyone watched the monitor and saw a red line run from the middle of Feeder Space through the planet. “Increase the scale and show me how close that line is to our galaxy.” The image changed and Gibbons shook his head, “You’re right, that line is not far from our cluster.”

“Yes, but it passes through six other clusters before it passes outside the Virgo Cluster and it goes directly toward the Coma Cluster. If the Feeders follow their normal pattern, they will stay on that line and pass our cluster.”

Gibbons looked at Rocky, “Sir, this is not something we should gamble on. The risk is too high.”

“I don’t think it’s a gamble, Admiral. If someone attacked one of our planets, where would we go to find out who did it?”

Gibbons sat back in his chair as his assistant entered the room. “We have the information. Take a seat.” He thought about the question and looked at Rocky, “I think I would start looking in the direction of where our ships had been operating.”

“Why not on a line directly from Earth?”

Gibbons tilted his head, “That doesn’t make sense. And you’ve made your point. Since the line from the front of their advance is ninety degrees away from our cluster that is where they would probably go first.”

“The planets are isolated and are not in communication with the Feeder’s Leadership, you can do this with a minimum chance of being discovered.”

“Give me some time to check into when Mr. Axel’s device will be available to be installed in our armor. I’ll let you know what we find out.”

“I suspect we’ll be in Feeder Space by the time you make that determination. You should discuss this with the High Leader and decide what to do.”

Gibbons nodded and stood up, “I should have an initial determination made before you skip out in four days. I’ll let you know what we find out.”

“That would be good, Admiral.” The attendee’s stood and left the conference room. Rocky looked at Jill, “You’re back pretty quick.”

“Jack asked me to deliver an invitation to you.”

“Invitation?”

Jill gritted her teeth mentally and said, “Jack and Olivia are getting married in three days and we’re invited to the wedding. I was wondering if you would be my escort.”

Rocky stared at her and his eyes narrowed, “When did this happen?”

“He asked her today so that I could be there when they do it. It appears Genève tried to get Jack to take her back while you were still unconscious in the hospital. They started caring for each other then.”

“I wondered how long it would take Olivia to fall for him.”