“So they either don’t like us peeking at them, or they’re coming,” Jack said.
“Anything from the next system in?” Kris asked.
“Nothing, but remember we’re dealing with a lot of speed-of-light lag time.”
“How can I forget?” Kris muttered. “Thank you, Captain. Now, if you don’t mind, I have reports to catch up on. Running the fleet around on my string is fun, but I’ve got these two other hats, and I’ve got to wear them.”
Captain Drago withdrew.
“You know, Kris, you need a chief of staff,” Jack said.
“You applying for the job?”
“Nope. I got to drop down and do Marine stuff. The Alwans are now making hunting rifles and smokeless ammo. They’ve got a lot more power and range. They’re working night and day to arm the colonials and as many Alwans as want to fight. It’s surprising how many do. The hold of the elders is slipping away as the aliens get closer.”
“So what are you doing?”
“Ada has drawn up an evacuation plan. If the aliens get through you, we don’t intend to give them any big targets. And when they come dirtside, we’ll be waiting for them. My Marines are training the locals to hit something from four hundred meters.”
“Until they steal your air and water, or gas you, you’ll put up quite a fight.”
“Who knows, maybe you won’t be as dead as you could be. Maybe you can come charging back with a fleet to blast them out of orbit and save us poor settlers’ hides.”
“Happy thoughts. I thought you Marines were pessimists.”
“We just have to save our optimism for the right time.”
“Like when your back is against the wall, huh?”
“I’ll miss you while I’m dirtside.”
“I’ll miss you, too. And yes, I’ll try to stay safe and stay human.”
Jack gave her a kiss, then went on his way. She waited until the scent of him was pulled away by the air circulation, then dove into her reports. Good, the first 20-inch laser was up and holding a charge. It even worked when test fired.
While she was gone, the two last Star Line cargo ships had been respun into four smaller vessels and sent off to the asteroid belt. Big ships were nice, but when you needed them in four different places, smaller was better.
The miners had arrived at the second gas giant and were already digging into two moons. The third was a problem. It had a water ocean beneath a kilometer of ice. They were hunting for an island, but so far had found none. They doubted they would.
That gas giant might only have two battle moons.
So, of course, Beta Jump would be the one the raiders looked to use.
Kris sent a “well done” to all concerned with each project. It was nice to let them know the boss was watching and happy.
Kris went to sleep that night wishing Jack were in bed to distract her. She could not stop her mind from whirling from one project to another. She found herself staring at the overhead at 0200. She fell asleep only to find herself being chased by Vicky Peterwald and a dozen ugly bug-eyed monsters. Vicky insisted Kris dress for a ball. The monsters didn’t say anything but had huge teeth. Kris wasn’t about to let them get close.
At 0730 the next morning, Kris was awakened by a knock at her door. The aliens had made their move.
49
“The aliens have jumped from Hot Datum 2 to a system only three jumps out,” Captain Drago reported to Kris in her day cabin. She was still in her sleep shorts and tank top.
“How’d they go from five jumps out to only three?” Kris demanded.
“It was always possible,” Nelly answered. “We covered all the jump points in a system, but some of the jumps take you farther than others, even if you stay at half a gee and no spin. This was one of the long ones, and why I said we had to cover six jumps.”
“Thank you, Nelly. Are there any more surprise double jumps that I don’t know?”
“No, Kris. There were a few jumps outside the six that went to four. To get to the closer systems, you have to be in one we’re monitoring.”
“Okay, they’ve jumped closer, faster. What do the probes show?” Kris said, moving on.
“They blasted the buoy when they came through the jump. The reporter buoy across the system immediately jumped in to let us know we had a hot datum. The receiving buoy then dropped back into the invaded system. It’s likely filling up with lots and lots of reactors.”
“How soon before they can jump to the next system?”
“Assuming the mother ship doesn’t go above one gee, we’ve got four days plus before they get here. If the baby monsters put on two gees, we’ve got less than two days.”
“So we wait and see,” Kris said, and went to shower and dress.
She took the reports that had kept her awake most of the night to breakfast with her and was asking for updates even as she ate. Pipra must have gotten even less sleep because she had them flowing back to Kris before she finished eating. The diggers were working on both Hellburner bases. Still no luck with the third. The lasers were doing well. All the Smart MetalTM from dirtside was back. Did Kris want to return it to the frigates it had been borrowed from or spin out more ships using the new lasers?
Kris thought long and hard on that question but had no one to talk it over with. Jack was dirtside, and Penny was flossing some lion’s teeth. This issue didn’t seem appropriate to Abby’s pay grade. She was pretty sure Captain Drago would vote for getting his armor back.
When she dropped by the bridge to ask him, Drago surprised her by thinking long and hard. “Yes, I’d like the armor back, but that will take yard time, and it would be nice to have more targets to confuse the aliens’ aim. Hard choice. How will you crew these new warships?”
“Good question. Bring back the Navy folks dirtside. Throw in some Alwans. See if anyone in the yard or station wants to ship out for the fight. There are merchant crews on the ships we’re likely to spin into frigates.”
Drago grinned. “You think they’ll be any more enthusiastic than they were when you shanghaied them into staying here?”
“I kind of thought with the aliens this close, they’d see the benefit of fighting.”
“Or running.”
Kris had gotten used to thinking in heroic mode. Should she offer her civilians a chance to go home, like she had the Fleet of Discovery? She shook her head. Unescorted, any transport was likely to end up boarded and dead. It could also give away too much information.
No, Kris would have to figure out a way to keep those unwilling to fight somewhere out of harm’s way, or at least not in her line of fire.
“I take it that you’d like your armor back? If I can get any effective fighting out of these jumped-up merchant hulls, I should consider it a bonus.”
“Untrained. Inexperienced. No practice either as a ship’s company or in formation. They strike me as more a hazard to navigation than as a fighting force.”
“Thanks for your advice. I’ll talk to the yard about rotating BatRon 1 and Div 10 frigates through the yard.”
“You do that and make it happen soonest. The hairs on the back of my neck are standing at attention.”
Kris really didn’t want to do what she had to do next. Shipyard artificers were a limited skill set. Still, in a few days, she’d be desperate for war fighters. Kris found Admiral Benson, ret., in his office, with his feet up on his desk, watching the analysis of the latest laser test firings. He seemed happy.
“Admiral, have I got a deal for you.”
The old Navy man put his feet down, leaned forward, and scowled. “My wife warned me when I took this job that you’d be saying that to me one day.”
“We’ve got all the Smart Metal back from dirtside. I need it pumped back into the frigates. Can you do it in the yard, or should we try to do it pierside?”
“It will go faster in the yard, what with the new reactor Mitsubishi loaned me. Bring the ships in tomorrow, and we can probably do all nine in one day.”