CH39
It is now 8 months later: (Early November)
Lucile had done her best to get the three Scouts onto the Evergreen, again with Jenn and Meg's help prior to them shutting down the AI and prior to moving it to the island that was only month's away from completing construction. The final tower still needed to be fitted out, however the major construction projects had been completed and the island was actually on its own power. They had obviously made a mad dash to complete the power plant.
Windmills, wave generators as well as solar power panels and solar hot water panels. In fact all of the windows of each tower could generate power, also each tower had a helicopter landing pad or shuttle landing pad if needed.
The three scouts were divided up into three sections of the Evergreen. One was designated to find its way to the cable routed to the existing AI unit that was part of the Evergreen. The second was headed for the Alexis's old teaching terminal when she was just a child. It had already been proven that it was still connected. While the third headed for the manufacturing area of the Evergreen.
It was hoped that they could get what they wanted from at least one of these locations.
Lucile then received a sudden data burst from one of her little toys. "I just received a tight beam data burst. The new AI is already off line and disconnected from the Evergreen AI, that Scout is proceeding to his secondary location." Lucile suddenly shows up to tell Rick, Kate and the boys. "He didn't have the time to attach to the cable prior to shut down." Lucile informs them.
While each Scout had a secondary location to go to, it was each primary that everyone was banking on. Still they had two Scouts left.
It was hours later while everyone in New York was asleep that Lucile got her second Data burst. This time from the unit at Alexis's old terminal. Lucile was in the living room dancing. "Natalie, Jim, you two still up?" Lucile calls out.
"Crystal has us still up yes, what's up?" Natalie responds back, while watching her husband try and get Crystal to stop crying since Natalie had failed.
"I have a data burst from one of the Scouts that contains the plans we need to manufacture Transmat wall jammers." Lucile tells her excited.
"That's great, forward the plans to my office computer and I'll get our contractor to start construction. Do Rick and Kate know?" Natalie was curious since it was really late there.
"Everyone here is asleep, I'll inform them first thing in the morning, since it can wait." Lucile responds back.
"This is excellent news Lucile, Rick and Kate are right, you are amazing." Natalie wishes she had one in her house.
Rick and Kate woke up when they heard Abby crying. "I'll be glad when she is a little older yet. She may be babbling and crawling like a rocket, but I really wish she could tell us what's wrong." Kate yawns as she gets out of bed and heads upstairs to Abby's room.
Rick was thinking. "Careful what you wish for." Since as fast as Abby was on her hands and knees, Rick feared she was going to be just as fast on two feet.
Lucile suddenly showed up in their bedroom just as Kate was walking out. "Richard, Kate, I have two data flashes with two different downloads." This got Kate to pull up short of the door. "You got the data for the jammers?" Kate was hopeful.
"I got that last night while you were asleep and informed Natalie and Jim. They will have the designs to their contractor later today. However I just got a second data burst from the same Scout.
You'll never guess what he has found. … Go ahead guess, guess, guess, guess." Lucile was excited.
"You found the cure for all cancers?" Rick offers up his first guess since he was willing to play along. "No, strike one." Lucile tells him. Getting Lucile to turn to look at Kate who wasn't willing to play and simply shrugs her shoulders, since she still had a crying baby to get to.
Lucile couldn't keep it to herself. "He found all the plans necessary to build another 6th generation AI unit meant to replace the one that is being transferred to the island. Likely meant for the second island." Lucile explains.
Rick was speechless and Kate could feel her mouth hit the floor and could no longer hear her baby crying for her. "Seriously?" Kate finds her voice, only to watch Lucile nod her head.
"Down to what is necessary to manufacture the components that make up the memory core. There is however a downside that is going to be hard to overcome." Lucile saw a problem.
Rick and Kate remain silent getting Lucile to continue. "Part of the new core is made up of diamonds, only those found in the atmosphere of Saturn." Lucile points out.
Kate held up her hand. "My diamonds." Kate really didn't want to part with her diamonds that her husband had given her.
"We will need a lot more than the few that you have, and none of the Scouts have the capacity to hold enough diamonds internally even if I could communicate with them." Lucile points out.
Kate steps up to Lucile. "Lucile could we communicate with them if we were on the Evergreen?"
"Any use of your communication disks will be monitored while on the Evergreen." Lucile shoots Kate down.
"Can we go to where one of the Scouts is located and do it by hand? Let him inform the others? If we need them we might as well start now." Kate offers.
"I know where Alexis's old room is located, I took her there almost daily for about a year." Rick offered.
"I'll get started on how to do it immediately." Lucile tells them and disappears. It allowed Kate to continue on to her crying daughter.
They needed an excuse to be on the Evergreen and they needed a baby sitter. Both turned out to be easy and the next day Rick and Kate found themselves standing in the landing area of the Evergreen.
"One moment please." The guy behind the control panel told them from the other side of the glass. "Welcome to the Evergreen, I see you have dinner reservations and that Jenn and Meg have requested a moment of your time if you are available. Please provide your pass codes."
Rick and Kate were soon walking for the restaurant that had a magnificent view of the interior of the Evergreen. Just like last time, Kate stopped at the glass to look out onto the area. It didn't look like anything had changed. "It's still breathtaking." Kate commented, now trying to understand how they could have built something so huge.
They ordered their drinks and asked for a menu in English, since it made it easier on both of them now, since they hardly ever didn't use English.
"Perhaps we should decide to switch to a different language at home for a month. We are all getting rusty on the other languages that we all know." Kate offered, since she almost never used Russian anymore, and since her bracer worked off of Russian she needed to keep fluent.
"It'll make it hard on the boys, and I don't know if Amanda knows another language, but we can give it a try." Rick was willing. "Thanks babe." Kate was glad Rick was so willing.
The food was just like she remembered, this time however their waitress wasn't from Earth and they still didn't have to pay for anything.
The next stop was at Alexis's old classroom where they were met by Jenn and Meg just outside. Inside was one of the Scout's. "What are you after this time?" Meg was curious.
"We have found that the latest generation AI was made up of diamonds retrieved from Saturn and we actually have the plans on how to build one. There are three scouts presently onboard and we are going to have their small interior holding area filled with diamonds." Rick informs them.
"How much do you need and how much can they hold?" Meg asks, and after being told. "That is a drop in the bucket compared to what you need."
The four of them then spent the next hour coming up with a plan to get all the diamonds they needed off the Evergreen and still leave the Scout's behind on the Evergreen. "We can't get Lucile's help or her opinion from here." Rick points out. So they came up with a simple code that would either confirm or cancel their plans and let the Scout's do the work.
However since Rick and Kate didn't need to be anywhere, they went sightseeing instead. "NO! I'm not taking my shoes off. Your grass is just creepy." Kate was shaking her head when it came to letting the grass eat the dead skin off of her feet.
Still they did make a tour of the ship outside in the travel pods so that Kate could see the rings of Saturn up close and look out into space. "I haven't seen this view in years. It still feels weird. I feel like we're going to get sucked out into space any second." Kate conveys while holding onto Rick's arm.
"Maybe we can convince Disney to build an amusement park out in Earth orbit." Rick offers.
"No one could afford the tickets babe." Kate points out a flaw in her husband's plan.
"Maybe today, however maybe Abby will get a chance." Rick offers.
"I just want her to grow up and be happy and know love. We just have to survive first." Kate knew they were coming, just not when. Kate also wanted to be there for her, like she did all her children.
"What Kate?" Rick saw that look.
"I just suddenly had a thought about my mother. I've gone from a 19 year old who lost her mother to being a mother and using everything I remember of mine to help me with my children and she's never going to see any of them.
I really hate him babe." Kate meant Bracken, getting Rick to wipe away the beginning of the tears.
"Did you enjoy your stay?" Rick and Kate as asked as they step into the room to transmat back home.
"We did. … I'm still amazed that anyone could build a ship like this. It's a city in space." Kate confirms.
After the door is closed, Rick is able to open a transmat wall for home.
They step out out into their foyer with the plan of installing the EMP and stunner in the foyer somewhere while Alexis and Amanda had the boys and Abby at their house, or at their house in St. Marteen since Levi loved swimming.
Rick and Kate were organizing and just getting started with Lucile's help. "Something is happening." Lucile goes rigid and isn't looking at them anymore. "The Evergeen is issuing a universal recall for those people that are able or willing." Lucile tells them.
"Recall, for what?" Kate was caught off guard.
"The Evergreen is bugging out." Rick offers, getting Kate to look shocked with a little scared thrown in.
"Honji Shinhindrea?" Rick whispers. It was the only thing he could think of that would get the Evergreen to send out a recall.
"No, please no." Kate prayed, since Kate didn't think they were anywhere near ready.
Rick stepped over to one of the control panels and pressed a button. "Lucile put Kuan on the screen."
In a moment a version of the AI in China was on the screen. "Lucile had informed us that the Evergreen is sounding a recall order. Only one thing comes to mind for a reason." Rick tells her.
"Honji Shinhindrea." Kuan nods her head. "I have informed my sisters who are out at the moment. Regretfully our first two prototypes will not be complete for another three months at best. My apologies, but you are our only hope." Kuan and the triplets had hoped they had more time.
"Can either of you see them?" Rick asks, meaning Lucile as well.
"The sensors on the Evergreen are better than anything Earth has, including the new Satellites that are in orbit. They will need to reach Jupiter or closer before they show up on LIDAR." Lucile answers the question.
"I will have my sisters prepare for their arrival in case they make it into Earth atmosphere. Please convey my prayers to your pilots. Knowing Kuku she will prepare a feast should we or when we are victorious." Kuan informs them.
"We will happily attend if invited." Kate liked her cooking and a celebration that they were still alive would be nice.
"I will see to it. … All my prayers." And Kuan ends communication.
"Inform Natalie and Jim." Rick asks of Lucile. "Already done." Lucile tells them.
"We need to get the boys and Abby, … and maybe Alexis and Amanda too." Kate mentions.
"You go get them, I'll go see if Jenn and L want to join us while we wait," Rick offers.
Kate kisses Rick. "Be safe babe and I'll see you shortly." And Kate opens a transmat wall and is gone.
Rick opens his own and is gone as well.
Rick shows up and finds Jenn and L sitting and talking. "Hi dad! …. What's up?" Jenn calls out noticing the look on her father's face.
"Lucile had noticed that the Evegreen has issued a recall notice. It sounds like they are preparing to bug out." Rick tells them after sitting on the coffee table to face both of them.
"Bugging out?" Jenn was caught off guard.
"But that would mean, …." L trails off. "That the Honji Shinhindrea are close." L was now scared.
"Our husband's." Jenn was now scared too.
"Don and Tom and their Marine friends are what stand between us and them. They're pilots and their good with Lucile's fighters, give them a chance girls." Rick reaches out to take a hand of each.
"MOM! … I mean Natalie!" L calls out.
"I've heard honey. Jim and I have the base on full alert. I need you two to go get Crystal from the baby sitter and keep her with you. Don, Tom and the others have been called in for pre-flight briefing. As soon as they show up on LIDAR we will launch them. We're also going to load up the three breaching pods that have finished construction, in case we get lucky.
You two are the wives of Marines, I need you to act like it now. Don, Tom and the others are well trained and have the best equipment we can build. They will get the job done. … Is Rick or Kate there with you yet?" Natalie responds.
"Dad is here." L answers.
"Rick! … I started pumping yesterday, there is a couple of days worth in the refrigerator. It might be best if everyone was at your home. The jammers have only just started construction." Natalie informs Rick.
"I'll go get Crystal and empty your refrigerator." L informs Natalie.
Rick is carrying all the baby supplies along with Crystal while Jenn and L have Alex and Allie, and watch as Rick opens a transmat wall for home.
By the time Rick and the girls get there Kate is already back with Alexis, Amanda and Abby. "Now what?" Amanda was the most afraid of the bunch.
"We're Marines. Now we watch our husbands kick their asses." Jenn tells her.
"Can you put the LIDAR up on the overhead projector Lucile?" Rick asks, since it would allow them to follow the battle.
"They are still not yet in range of LIDAR, however yes I can. It will be hours yet before our fighters and bombers are launched. However I am seeing the Evergreen is on the move. … It is showing up as a large rogue asteroid that is going to pass close to Earth.
It already has everyone who can see it like the United States Space Command on edge as they are questioning how it got this close without seeing it before now." Lucile informs them. "Oh, better make that China and Russia now as well." Lucile amends her statement.
It was late and it looked like the only ones who were going to get any sleep tonight were the boys and the babies. "I'll start making coffee." Rick offered and stepped into the kitchen.
"Can we win?" Amanda asks, since she knew the least about this amongst any of them.
"Depends on what they have sent. … Lucile you want to show here what they have." Rick asks.
"Lucile, maybe you shouldn't, Amanda is scared enough." Kate offers trying to protect her.
"Please mom, everyone else knows. It does mean our lives, does it not?" Amanda counters and Kate nods her head.
Lucile changes her form. "This is the primary fighter that they use. Over the years there have been modifications. In American terms, this would be version G. They do not have bombers like we have bombers, which are more like heavy fighters than bombers.
Next in size is a scout carrier that holds 8 fighters, maximum. It has minimal armor and minimal weapons. It is however fast and agile compared to their other ships.
Next in size is what Earth would call a destroyer. It carries no fighters, however it is more heavily armored and heavily armed. It has a single main gun along with a number of smaller guns on both sides, meant to combat fighters. It also has a number of missile tubes. A variant of this ship is used to insert a small number of ground troops.
Next is size is a cruiser and carrier. Each cruiser is effectively worth two destroyers and each carrier holds up to 36 fighters. A variant of the carrier is a drop carrier. It is effectively a troop transport that utilizes drop ships to transfer ground troops to a planet.
Next in size is a battleship that is equal to 6 or possibly 8 cruisers depending on which variant it is. It has a small flight bay that can hold up to 4 fighters that are used mostly for scouting. There is however a variant that can hold up to 85 bombers that are used for planetary attacks.
Next in size is a dreadnought that is equal to 3 battleships. The single most dangerous ship they have at their disposal. A variant of this class is a troop transport that is meant to be capable of landing enough troops to take a planet.
The largest ship in their fleet is called a fleet carrier. It is slow and turns like a cow. It is however heavily armored though lightly armed except for the several hundred of fighters or bombers or drop ships. It is believed that most carry only fighters." Lucile knew it was scary. "It is theorized that they have hundreds of each class of ship save for the dreadnoughts and fleet carriers. Though they do have billions if not trillions of fighters.
Their most numerous class of ships are fighters and destroyers. Richard's planet has only ever encountered two dreadnoughts and 8 fleet carriers in their history." Lucile changes back to her form.
Amanda wasn't sure if she was still breathing. "And what do we have?" Amanda had never heard of Earth having any kind of ship even the size of a destroyer, let alone any of the others.
Lucile changes form again. "We presently have 8 fighters with 6 more in various stages of construction. As well as 6 bombers with 4 more in various stages of construction, that as I said are more like heavy fighters than bombers in the traditional sense." Lucile than splits to show an enemy fighter next to one of their fighters and then again with one of their bombers.
"I kinda like the look of ours better." Amanda comments, just wishing they had a lot more.
"There are also 2 operational breaching pods that can be utilized to try and take one of their ships, like a destroyer, intact and reverse engineer it. Plus our fighters are more heavily armed than theirs are. However as Don and Tom have encountered, their fighters have superior maneuverability and can literally turn on a dime. If we can somehow capture one we may be able to augment our design so they can do the same." Lucile informs Amanda.
"And the Evergreen is on the run?" Amanda asks.
"The Evergreen has no armor to speak of and no weaponry at all. A scout carrier with its 8 fighters could eventually destroy the Evergreen, its only defense is to run." Lucile knew that its Star Drive was superior.
"Nothing on LIDAR yet?" Rick asks, watching Lucile shake her head. "It may be days or hours, just depends on how long it took the Evergreen to react." Lucile tells them.
Kate was the first to wake up and found everyone asleep either on the sofa or in a chair. It was the ones in chairs, like Kate was that were likely going to have a neck that was going to give them trouble. Kate got up and headed for a bathroom to find some pain pills for the stiff necks and headaches that were sure to come and then start the coffee machine while searching the refrigerator to look for breakfast.
Amanda and Alexis had just gotten home from their zoos when Lucile called them and told them to come to New York. "MOM!?" Both of them called out as they reached the top of the stairs. It had been 3 days later and Natalie and Jim had shown up each day with Natalie leaving behind more pumped milk for Crystal.
Don, Tom and the others were trapped on base while they waited. Their ships were already armed and ready.
When the girls reached the kitchen where Kate, Jenn and L were located they could see the fear in their faces. "It's time isn't it?" Alexis asks.
Lucile shows herself. "Tom, Don and the others launched an hour ago and are already approaching Saturn. The Evergreen is presently on its way out of the system on the far side, headed for who knows where."
"Taking our DNA with them." Amanda whispers. It meant no cloning of organs and no baby for her and Alexis.
"How bad?" Alexis asks as she hears her father and brothers come up the stairs.
Lucile turns to watch them approach the girls. "LIDAR suggests 3 destroyers and 3 scout carriers."
"8 fighters per carrier and 3 destroyers against our 8 fighters and 6 bombers. Tom and Don are outnumbered 3 to 1." L was deflated. That number was bad enough, but to have to add 3 destroyers only made things worse.
Kate came around from being in the kitchen to wrap her arms around her daughter. "As Natalie tells us all the time. They're Marines honey. … And Lucile has given them the very best she has to give them." Kate points out.
"Put in on the overhead Lucile?" Rick asks of her as everyone turns to look at the projection TV screen.
It meant the only ones that were going to get a better view of what was coming where their guys in the fighters and bombers.
"This is Silver leader." Don's voice comes out over the speakers. "Remember, everyone stay with their wingman, do not get separated or do something stupid. Gold squadron, let us take the fighters while you concentrate on the destroyers. Concentrate on one at a time, and stay away from their flanks or those anti-fighter guns will cut you to pieces.
Let's show them what Marines are made of, check your lights and increase speed to flank. Remember they can turn on a dime. Our dance card is full, so let's empty it. Everyone break on my mark, …. NOW!" And they watch as the fighters break formation splitting up into pairs while the bombers appear to be breaking around the side to come head on with the destroyers, noticing that the scout carriers hang far to the back and actually look like they are leaving the system.