Firefly
Chapter 22
It is now 3 months later
Liz knew this day had to come eventually. The Alliance was hurting and believed that some holdout Browns were fighting them back somehow so the Alliance had resorted to threats. One of the outer planets currently had nine Alliance military ships in orbit. The Alliance had announced that they would start bombing the planet and kill everyone if the people attacking them didn't turn themselves over. They had given them a deadline. Though they had conducted a bombing run an hour later but nothing since.
Everyone was aware of it. Frankie was sitting in his seat and warming up his systems with Liz and Rick this time right behind him. Kate had the kids in the kitchen. While the kids weren't much help she had them helping her make cookies. Mostly they were telling her which cookie they wanted and what they thought should go into a cookie.
A good part of the time they were in the way, however, Kate was great at this and was using what she wanted to use and effectively lying to them that this was what they'd asked for.
Then when the first batch came out and were cool enough to eat she gave each of them a cookie. "Is that the cookie you asked for?" Kate asked them. What she got back was a lot of smiles as both of them stuffed their face with a cookie while crumbs fell to the floor. "I knew you would like it," Kate told them and continued to bake cookies.
The really fancy cookies would come when they were older and actually helpful besides good at eating cookies.
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"What's the plan, boss?" Frankie was ready.
"We're going to respond. I want you at Chinon. Once there I want you to remain outside of the planet's orbit. Give it a quick scan. Then any military ship you find under the gross weight of a Longbow class I want you to attack and destroy. I want you to ignore anything else.
"Then you're going to jump to Bablicon and attack the Crete class that's sitting in orbit. All ten million tons of it and start blowing holes in it. I'm betting the admiral for this little fleet will be on that ship. After that we decide. Just be ready to jump for home," Liz said.
Frankie broke into a smile. He'd been wanting to test this fighter on the biggest ship the Alliance had ever built. A Crete class was a real monster and if the Alliance was going to bomb the planet the only ship they had in orbit that was capable of that was this Crete class ship.
"I have all green. Programming in first jump location and…jumping." As usual they saw a flash of light on their screen and the next was what they could see of the planet that was their destination.
"Scanning. Wow, they must have brought every ship they have out of storage they could find crew for. I'm reading one Tohoku class, four Trebuchet class, and eight old Patrol Boats. All the fighters are in the atmosphere." Frankie gave the engines a little kick and moved a little so he had a better line on the Tohoku class. All 5.5 million tons of it.
Liz offered an idea of how to fight it. "Stick with the engine area, babe. Deprive it of power and it's just another hunk of junk in orbit."
"Locking on target and…firing," Frankie announced. Just like all the other shots a ball filled with lightning struck out and touched the Alliance ship, causing damage. Two shots later and they all watched as the Alliance ship suddenly and unexpectedly just blew up in spectacular fashion.
"That was unexpected. I must have hit a vulnerable spot or simply gotten lucky." Frankie had wanted to at least see it go black. This was even better.
"Locking on my next target and…firing." Frankie started work on one of the Trebuchets that were each at 190 thousand tons. One more shot and it blew up just as spectacularly as the Tohoku class had.
"Looks like I have the attention of the Patrol Boats." Frankie watched as all of them broke orbit.
"See if you can bring them to you then jump to a new location and keep firing," Liz suggested.
Three shots later and another Trebuchet class blew up spectacularly.
"Plotting new jump location." Frankie saw all of the Patrol boats coming out his way. They may not be able to see him but they could see the weapon that he fired. Simply triangulate where those came from and that's where they should look.
Three shots later and he had one more Trebuchet to go. Patrol Boats were just that. They weren't meant to operate outside of the planet they were constructed on. They lacked the ability and fuel to make it to another planet. The Trebuchet on the other hand, could.
Three more shots and the last of the four Trebuchet was gone. "Here come the Patrol Boats again. Programming for the next jump," Frankie said.
"Jumping in 3…2…1. Jump complete. Still all greens. Commencing scan." Frankie thought this fight was going to be the real test.
"Jeez, I'm reading one Crete class at 10 million tons, one Tohoku class at 5.5 million tons, Three Longbow class at 640 thousand tons and four Victoria class at 80 thousand tons. I've heard of bigger fleets but this guy means business." Frankie was impressed.
"Engaging engines since I need to get into position first." Though as he did he saw something. "The Victoria class are breaking orbit," Frankie announced.
"Probably in response to a subspace message about what we've just done," Liz said. She really hated being here right now. This was not where she wanted to be. Attacking Alliance military ships including a Crete class was inevitable, but not like this.
"Just like last time, babe. Fire on the Crete class engineering section until it goes dark then move to another target. Just be ready to jump for home." These guys were bigger and more dangerous. Patrol Boats were only really big fighters for the most part.
"Locking on target and…firing," Frankie said.
He got off one more shot before the Crete class started firing blindly at where they thought he might be.
"Nice light show. One more shot then I'm moving." Frankie did just that after he fired his third shot.
Two shots later and they could tell they were doing some real damage.
"Uh-oh. I'm reading a number of ships leaving the Crete and Tohoku class. Scans suggest all bombers." Frankie was angry now.
"Making good on their threat," Liz muttered.
"Well now they've pissed me off. You should just learn to take your medicine and like it!" Frankie talked to them and not the two behind him.
Frankie gave the Crete class three more shots when he got an alert. "I've got a Victoria class inbound. Looks like they may have found a way to find me.
"One more shot then I'm jumping to the Tohoku class." A moment later his screen flashed white then his screen was filled with the rear end of a Tohoku class.
"Maybe a little close." Frankie wasn't sure this was where he had wanted to be, but he locked onto his target and fired.
Another alert had him looking. "I'm reading secondary explosions already. Might be time to move." Frankie spun, faced the Crete class, and applied power.
Since the Mohoku class was right behind him and the Crete class had its main weapons right up front he stopped his engines and just coasted.
"Let's see if I can do damage to this end before I go chasing bombers." Frankie did a scan to try and find everyone so he could plan ahead a little.
"Liz, scans show the Crete class, whatever its name is, is dark." Frankie was a little surprised. This thing was a monster and a normal fighter should have stood no chance against it.
"I have an idea." It was a bit dangerous and maybe stupid but if it worked it would solve a lot of problems. "Programming my next to last jump, and…jumping."
Frankie was right where he wanted to be this time. He was at the maximum reported range of his weapon. He locked onto the Crete class ship and fired.
"Scans show secondary explosions." Frankie was happy.
"Better get out of there, babe," Liz advised.
"Already way ahead of you. Jumping for home…now." A typical flash and a moment later Frankie was docking in the landing bay.
"Think it worked?" Frankie was curious since if it did it would save the planet.
"Only one way to find out." Liz headed for Rick's desk in his old quarters that she was using to determine where they attacked next.
Using his desk was a variation of using the Gateway. Technically she wasn't opening the Gateway, she was using a recording that they used to monitor the progress of not just the Alliance territories but also everywhere else. If they were going to stay hidden they needed to know what was going on.
Now Liz had her husband and Rick behind her. "Let's see what happened." Liz started a replay a little before Frankie jumped for home.
They watch as Frankie's shot came from nowhere and struck the Crete class ship and kept watching. Then another one came out and headed for the ship.
"That should have been my last shot before I jumped. My scans said internal explosions," Frankie mentioned.
Then they watched as the Crete class ship blew up and emitted this tremendous blast wave that caused the destruction of other ships around it.
"HOLY SHIT!" Rick had never seen anything like it before. "We never even came close to destroying a Crete class during the war. The damn things are so fracking big they were so impossible to destroy. Plus they were surrounded by other ships and waves of fighters."
"We actually have no idea what they use as a power source. Though seeing a wave like that gives us a clue. That pulse wave released something that destroyed everything within range. That Tohoku class, those Victoria class, and all the bombers that Crete class launched," Liz noted.
Frankie huffed out a laugh. "The single largest ship victory we had during the entire war." He couldn't believe it. "All thanks to one little fighter. That little Firefly hasn't even been hit yet to test the force field or the armor."
"You better make sure it never is tested, husband. That fighter is all we have. We lose it and this war is over. Everything we've done to date will be for nothing.
"Do you read me, soldier!" Liz turned on him since she knew back in the day she outranked her husband who outranked Rick.
"Loud and clear, sir!" Frankie was pissed. She had never done that except before they became a couple and certainly not after they got married.
"Don't screw this up, babe. We lost last time and look what happened to us. We lose again and it'll get worse. A lot worse," Liz cautioned him.
Frankie relaxed. "Yeah." She had a point and he knew it. "What's next, boss?"
That had Liz smiling since her husband wasn't mad at her any longer. "We study what they do for a few days after this. They've learned something today. So we wait to see what they do with that knowledge. They've never been in this position before." Liz really had no idea just what they were going to do.
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Nassana found them in the cafeteria and got all of them to gather around her.
"We have utilized the site you have shown us and this is what we have come up with to date. We are suggesting two large, I believe the term is Haciendas, on each side.
"For Liz and Frankie we have this." She showed them a floor plan. "The front door leads into an inner walled courtyard, trees, plants, and a little grass. That leads to the second door. This door opens onto a second inner courtyard that is larger. Mostly tile with with small areas of grass in each corner. Three of which will have trees while the fourth will have an outdoor intimate dining area.
"The Master suite is on one side and bedrooms two and three with a bathroom on the other. Kitchen in the corner and library in the other. In-between are the dining and living room.
"Up these stairs is the second floor above that same area. On the second floor is the family room, game room, and bathroom number three. Any garage building will be an out building"
"Now for Rick and Kate we have another Hacienda house. We have an open drive with a statue to someone in the middle. The drive goes to either side where there will be a garage to store transportation. To either side of the entrance can be a guest room with a bathroom for each.
"You pass under an enclosed bridge into the main center courtyard. What is in here is yet to be decided. Given that you have chosen a desert environment any amount of water is not suggested.
To the right is the library and master suite. To the left is media room, game room, and an office. Across the back are the dining room, kitchen, and great room. The great room will have thirty foot ceilings. Above the dining and kitchen are bedrooms two and three with bathrooms for each.
"Above the office and media rooms is a sitting room with a covered bridge leading to bedroom four with a bathroom. There is also a second living room with a fireplace. The entire second floor has floor to ceiling windows looking out onto the courtyard.
"Power for both places is handled by available solar panels and available wind farms. Potable water is supplied by drilling down to the aquifer that is not overly deep.
"For the island we are suggesting a bridge from each house. While on the island itself we are suggesting a barn to hold two horses on one end. On the other we are suggesting a common cooking area with a pergola and two small beach changing rooms for swimming.
Questions?" Nassana was done.
The four adults sat there, not sure just what to think. One was clearly larger than the other and yet both were really big.
Frankie and Liz had been making do living in a dome building that would fit in their new courtyard.
Kate had never even dreamed of living in a place so large. "The fourth bedroom, sitting area and living room areas are yours. You are moving with us."
"We have discussed your offer. At the moment we have agreed to one person per house for one year then cycle between the others for another year each. However we have not yet given up on you finding your parents. They would get the fourth bedroom, sitting and living room." Kate was ready to hug Nassana.
Rick, however, had a question. "Why the barn and horses?" If they were each going to have some type of transportation that needed a garage so why horses?
"You selected to live in a desert and expressed a wish that the house look Spanish using an adobe brick look. That told us white one foot thick outer walls. Orange tile roofs and wood accents for garage doors and balconies.
"This suggested to us that you might want horses for entertainment. And they could be ridden if one of you decided to go out hunting for meat instead of buying your food.
"If having two horses isn't enough we could remove the two guest cabins with a wood gate with a larger barn that could hold more horses to either side with the same wood gate in the middle," Nassana offered.
They were still speechless and didn't know just what to think.
"I can give you some time to think it over and offer changes or reject what we have come up with and we can start again." Nassana began to get up to leave.
"NO! …I mean I don't want you to start over. I just never expected to live in any place that looked like this. You and the others are amazing!" Kate loved it but just wasn't sure what she was going to do with so much space.
"We have also found a reputable contractor that is capable of building this. We estimate two plus years to construct all of it. Closer to three, actually, provided that he does not have any major delays.
"We have also found two places that might be interested in purchasing all three liters that you will need to sell to pay for his. We are still looking into what transportation devices are available that can be transported to your planet of choice," Nassana added and walked out on them.
"I don't believe these people." Liz was still shocked.
"How did you find this place again?" Frankie questioned Rick still in shock.
"Totally by accident. Their cloaking device wasn't working properly so bits of this place kept popping up." It sounded simple even if nearly impossible.
"And you think you have Demons haunting your soul? I'm sorry my friend but you have Angels looking after you. Both of you," Frankie argued.
"Serious Angels. They sent you to Kate and here you both are. Demons didn't have anything to do with that!" Liz hugged Kate with one arm when she spotted Kate wiping away tears.
"Back to the houses." Frankie redirected the subject. "This is just the floor plan. I'm really interested in just what they're thinking for interiors. So far they're reading my mind."
"I want to know if this area is available for purchase? Surely someone knows about this place, so why doesn't someone own this yet?" Liz inquired.
Rick shrugged. "My guess is that shark head thing in the ground and those nomads."
"Speaking of which?" Liz wondered.
"How do we keep them out of our compound? Burst up out of the ground and eat our horses, if we have horses, let alone eat us," Frankie asked.
"How many acres can we purchase?" Liz added.
"These two are being really quiet," Kate said since neither of the kids had said a word since Nassana had started. "You think they know something's happening?" Kate was worried about them. They were almost never this quiet.
"We can take them to Liara after this," Rick said, if that would make her happy.
"Can you believe that they're willing to come with us? Granted it's only two but she talked about cycling through the others." Liz was a little surprised at that.
"They're family. Maybe they've finally figured that out," Kate stated and went back to looking at her son trying to figure him out.
"I'll look our home over but I don't see anything I would want to change. Save for maybe something besides those two guest rooms. Need something besides that. I just don't know what," Rick commented.
"I like the horses. The kids could learn to ride them. I just don't know anything about horses. What do we feed them? What if they get sick?" Kate began to worry her lower lip.
"She has a point." Liz hated to admit it since horses did sound nice but she didn't know anything about horses, either. "How big is the closest city again?" Not that any of them knew so it was something they would need to do some research on.
"Sounds like the horses are gone. But I'm with Rick, I don't really see anything to change. We need to talk about interiors, though." Frankie got Liz to nod her head.
Then Frankie chuckled. "We still have to talk about this mine to reach what they've found. We need to buy all the land. Go get our hydro generators and plant them again." Frankie kept on chuckling until he stopped. "You think we could move our dome to where the mine is just in case? Too tired to go home?"
"We can talk about it while we talk about interiors." Liz smiled at him since she was already deciding on what she wanted to see and how she was going to get it.