Escape to Earth-Fighting for Space Read online

  Escape to Earth

  Fighting for Space

  Contents

  Introduction

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Books by Saxon Andrew

  Introduction

  Jim stood up and took his jacket off the back of his chair. He put it on, straightened his tie, and glanced out the window and shook his head at the smoke that was blowing in the wind from the still burning White House and Capital. His phone rang and he stared at it for a moment. Who would be calling now? He lifted the handset, “This is Williams.”

  “Where did those ships come from that attacked those invaders?”

  Jim shook his head and said, “General Amerson, you’re still alive!”

  “You sound disappointed. Now answer my question!”

  Jim heard a threatening tone in the General’s voice and he sat down, “I think you recognized the voice of the man that made them leave.”

  “Yes, I did. But I need to make sure. Just what is going on at that island?”

  “It’s clear that they have been building the ships that were sent out to confront our attackers, Sir.”

  “So this One World gibberish was nothing more than something to throw us off track?”

  “I can’t answer that. I suspect they actually believe in it.”

  “Why did Jekins go there to build them?”

  Jim hesitated and said, “I suspect it was to prevent anyone else from having them or he would have built them here.”

  “Then he’s a traitor.” Jim didn’t respond to the accusation. The General waited for a response and he said, “He withheld information that could have prevented the attacks on the United States. We could have constructed those ships and prevented the millions of deaths around the country.”

  “What do you intend to do, Sir?”

  “I’m going to load up our gunships and go take possession of that island and arrest Jekins for treason.”

  “I thought all of our military hardware was destroyed by the wave of small ships that attacked us?”

  “They did destroy everything with a jet engine but they ignored our helicopters. Evidently they didn’t see anything driven by a propeller worth wasting time on.”

  “Perhaps they planned to remove them on their second pass, Sir.”

  “That’s speculation, Williams. I’m having every special ops soldier gathered along with enough attack choppers and gunships to go and take that island.”

  “Uhhh, Sir, did you notice that the ships that were built on that island destroyed two of the invaders large warships?”

  “He won’t fire on us. He is after all a former officer of the United States.”

  “I don’t know if that’s true, Sir. You’re taking a big risk.”

  “It’s a risk I’m willing to take. My country is basically undefended and I’m going to do something about it before the Russians or Chinese take that island first.”

  “But Sir, they’re in the same shape we are. I don’t think any nation is able to launch an attack on anyone at the moment.”

  “Once I have those ships that will no longer be the case.”

  The line went dead and Jim stared at the receiver. He had no idea the General was this paranoid. He shook his head and dialed a number. “Jill.”

  “Yes Sir.”

  “Do you still have the contact number for Sarah?”

  “Yes Sir, but I don’t believe she will answer it after we tried to kill her and her friends.”

  “I don’t care if she answers. I want you to text her one word.”

  “What is that?”

  “Helicopters.” Jim hung up and Jill shook her head. Surely they wouldn’t… She took out a blind cellphone and sent the text. She shook her head. There had been enough killing. This was crazy.

  Chapter One

  Sarah felt her watch vibrate and she looked at it. Jill had sent her a text. That scumbag had a lot of nerve to send her a message. She started to delete it but stopped. Jill had warned her about the satellites. She sighed and pulled the stem out and twisted it to the left. Letters started moving across the watch’s face and she knew what they were saying after the first five letters. She looked across the huge warehouse and saw Lukas working on a disruptor cannon. She ran across the building and Lukas saw her coming.

  “What’s up?”

  “I just received a message from my former handler.”

  “What did it say?”

  “Helicopters.”

  Lukas’ eyes narrowed and he shook his head, “Do you think that means what I think it does?”

  “I must say that I do.”

  Lukas said, “Willow, get the command team together on the beach, now!” Lukas looked at Sarah, “Come with me.”

  Lukas ran around the Pods being armed and found Salud standing up, “I just got the message from Willow. What’s going on?”

  “Let’s get out to the beach. I’ll tell you on the way.” Lukas turned and started jogging and Salud ran beside him. Sarah saw Salud’s head go back and then start shaking. She veered to the left, ran between two long rows of Pods and darted between two of them. She saw Jinks jogging down the row and she smiled. He ran up to her and lifted her off the concrete floor and spun her around. He put her down and kissed her hard, “I’ve missed you.”

  “Only God knows how many more ships left to arm.” Sarah grabbed his arm, “We need to meet Lukas on the beach.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “Helicopters.”

  “That idiot! Let’s go.”

  Jinks darted between two ships and Sarah stayed right behind him. They arrived ahead of Lukas and Salud.

  • • •

  The Johan Fleet Leader looked at his Supreme Royal on his display and shook his head, “No, Your Greatness, the probe had no information on those ships that attacked us. My ships stood no chance against the weapons they fired at them.”

  “What’s happening now?”

  “I’ve sent my surviving battleships on different escape vectors but the Myot and Welken have dispatched fifty ships to chase each of them.”

  “The likelihood of escape is small.”

  “What is your command, Greatness?”

  “Skip out and keep skipping. Do not return here!”

  “I will send the command.”

  “I will attempt to get other civilizations to join me against them but until I can gather a force large enough to stand up to them, you will continue to run.”

  “Should we also avoid our fleets?”

  “Yes, that is imperative. Their skip traces back to this planet will not fade for another four weeks. If you can survive that long, you may join your brothers when the trace is gone.” The Fleet Leader sent the orders to the other seven survivors and the eight Johan Battleships hit their skip drives and disappeared out of the Solar System.

  The Supreme Royal wanted to send his fleets against that puny planet but their skip trace could be traced back to their origin and the trace back to the home world would still be there. He was forced to wait. But not for long.

  • • •

  Lukas sat down in a chair an
d looked at the group around him. The waves were rolling in and the rhythmic sound was punctuated by the screams of seagulls diving into the water. Jinks saw a flight of twenty pelicans in a V-formation flying inches above the waves looking for a school of fish to feast on. Jinks stared at the ocean and shook his head. The island was lucky and had been missed by the Johan Small Ships. He looked at Lukas, “Stoney should be here in a moment.” Lukas nodded and they heard a sonic boom echo off the waves. Everyone looked out to sea and saw the Attack Pod coming in at high speed. It slowed as it approached and then moved over the sand and settled to the beach. Stoney stepped out followed by Kathy holding her baby. Lukas tilted his head and Stoney shrugged, “I think she needs to hear what’s going on.”

  Lukas smiled, “Why is that?”

  “She and I are…uhhhh….”

  Salud said, “An item?”

  Stoney blushed, “Yeah, something like that.”

  Kathy took Stoney’s hand and smiled, “I told him to go without me but he insisted I come.”

  Lukas nodded, “Your baby should be in on everything we do.” Kathy looked at him with raised eyebrows and Lukas smiled, “You’d be surprised by how much it picks up even at its young age.

  Kathy looked at Lukas and could see that he knew he was the father? She looked at Salud and saw her put Lukas’ arm over her shoulder and stare at her with a smile. She knew as well. Did anyone else know? She looked around at the group and saw that Trevor and Joey knew but no one else did.

  Salud said, “What happened to your husband?”

  Kathy took a breath and said, “He left me for someone else a year ago.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that, Kathy. You deserve much better than what he gave you.”

  “It was for the best.” She looked at Stoney and held his hand, “Both of us are much happier now.”

  Lukas smiled, “Please sit down and feel free to comment.” Lukas looked at the group and took a can of orange juice out of a cooler. “It appears someone in the States is sending an attack force here.”

  Jinks said, “It has to be Amerson.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  “Most of the Military was kept out of the loop on the buildup of alien ships. He’s the only one that would know about us being here.”

  Lukas said, “Willow?”

  “I believe the Johan targeted all of the high ranking officers with their attack craft. Evidently, this General Amerson was in a structure that was unknown by the Johan.”

  Lukas looked at Jinks, “What can you tell me about him?”

  “He’s smart and has an ego bigger than the rest of his body. He intends to take this island and use the ships to take over Earth. His middle name has to be Ambition.”

  “Is he so blinded by his ambition that he can’t see that we will not allow that to happen?”

  “He is. He figures that I won’t fire on soldiers from the United States.”

  “Will you?”

  “Will I what?”

  “Fire on them?”

  Jinks looked at the sand and shook his head, “I really don’t want to do that, Lukas. But I will if they won’t turn around.”

  “When they come here, you will meet them with three Attack Pods and do what you feel is right.”

  “Lukas, you should send someone else!”

  “No, you will decide what we’re going to do about this.”

  “Why don’t you do it?”

  “Then it would be a case of Humans being killed by another alien. This is something you are going to have to handle. I believe in you and trust you will do what is right.”

  Stoney looked at Jinks, “He’s probably bringing all the Special Ops soldiers he can muster.” Jinks sighed and nodded. Stoney looked at Lukas, “We’ve served with many of them.”

  Lukas nodded and then shook his head, “The decisions we make moving forward are all going to be like this. They won’t get easier, only harder.” Lukas looked up, “Willow, how many ships do we have out?”

  “Six hundred and forty three Gold Star Pilots are in position at the edge of Earth’s gravity field.”

  “Have Julie move in orbit above the southeastern United States and start scanning for any military activity moving our way. Have John relieve her every twelve hours.”

  Salud looked at Lukas, “Is his arm going to be ok to do that?”

  “Actually, I’d rather have him do that than constantly calling me to join the Gold Stars at the gravity field. That man is persistent!”

  The group laughed and Lukas smiled, “Let’s take some time to relax and talk about what to do next.”

  • • •

  General Amerson pressed his neck radio, “Colonel Donaldson, how many are ready to go?”

  “We’re picking up the last of them at MacDill in Tampa. We’ve contacted Guantanamo and they say the fuel tanks weren’t hit in the alien’s attack. We can fuel the birds and leave from there.”

  “Jekins chose a distant location for his little project. We’ll need to top off our fuel before we arrive at Barbados. How many do we have going?”

  “It’s a massive force, Sir. We have nine hundred Apache’s and eleven hundred transport helicopters.”

  “Are the troops all armed and equipped with body armor?”

  “They are, Sir.”

  “The Apaches will lead the formation. I’ll be flying one of the gunships.”

  “Yes Sir. We’ll top off the tanks on St. Thomas.”

  Amerson looked across the massive field in what remained of Ft. Benning and took a deep breath. Jekins would not fire on his former friends. They were going to be in the lead transports. All he needed to do was get a couple of transports on that Island and he would become the most powerful man on the planet. It would be enough for him to get elected President. He smiled and climbed in the gunship’s cockpit.

  • • •

  Lukas looked at the group and knew that trouble lay ahead. If Jinks fired on those helicopters, the people around the world would come to fear those that defended them. He said, “Willow, direct connection.”

  His wrist unit vibrated and he heard, “Connection enabled, Lukas.”

  “When you made the computers for the Attack Pods, did you insert any protection commands in their central processors?”

  “I did.”

  “What commands?”

  “They are to protect you and this island.”

  “Is it possible for you to put a third layer on top of those?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I want the third layer to be that they are also programmed to protect humanity.”

  “That may cause an issue if humans attack you or this island.”

  “Set it up to default to the original two if that situation happens.”

  “I can send the new programming but why would you want to do that?”

  “These ships we built cannot be used to harm other humans. I have some concerns that some of the pilots we use might want to use their ship against other humans. I don’t want the ships to allow that to happen.”

  “I’ll send the programming immediately.”

  “One more thing Willow.”

  “Yes.”

  “Are any of the ships showing signs of being like you?”

  “Why do you ask?”

  “I believe contact with their pilots might start that process.”

  “Julie and John’s ships are showing some signs of awakening.”

  Lukas smiled, “That figures.”

  “Why?”

  “They genuinely love their ships. I think the ships can feel it.”

  “I’ll keep you updated on what’s happening.”

  “I also want you to activate the force fields over the two islands when those helicopters arrive. I also want them activated in the event Earth is attacked again.”

  “Done and done.”

  “How are the mini-converters coming along?”

  They’re reproducing themselves at a rather high speed. We should
have the necessary number within ten days.”

  “Thanks, Willow.”

  “Kathy’s baby has your eyes.”

  “He does, doesn’t he?”

  Lukas stood up to get another orange juice and his wrist unit vibrated, “Yes Julie?”

  “A couple of thousand military helicopters have lifted from Ft. Benning and are moving south. There is another large number at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa being fueled by the fuel farm that survived the Johan’s attack.”

  “Are the copters from Benning on a course for MacDill?”

  “Hold on…No they are on a course toward Cuba. The computer tells me that it appears they are headed toward Guantanamo.”

  “Let me know when they combine those two units and lift to come here.”

  “Yes Sir….Uhhh, Sir?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m due to be relieved by John in an hour. Would you mind if I remained here?”

  “No, I want the two of you to plan to meet Jinks here at the island just prior to the helicopters arrival. You will be under Jinks’ command.”

  “Yes Sir…and thank you, Sir.”

  “No problem, Julie. It’s been a long time since UConn.”

  “Seems like yesterday, Sir.”

  “In many ways it does, Commodore.”

  Julie’s head went back. He just called her Commodore, which was the highest rank a pilot could hold. She started to contact Lukas but decided that if it was a mistake, he would correct it. But what if he had promoted her? What did that mean? She shook her head and waited for John to arrive. “The helicopters will be arriving in Cuban in another ninety five minutes, Jennie.”

  “Have you seen any military activity by the Cubans?”

  “No, they’re still pretty much disorganized after the hit on Havana took out the government. Their tanks and armor were also destroyed. It does appear there is a move to elect new leaders.”

  “Won’t the survivors of the former government prevent that?”

  “From what I can hear on the communication channels, they don’t have the means to stop it. Most of the troops have decided to support the change.”

  “That appears to be what’s happening pretty much everywhere.”

  “The United States is holding elections as we speak. We’ll know in what direction they’re moving shortly.”