Jesse's Starship 3: Joshua's Walls
Sequel to Mike’s War
Contents
Introduction
J
esse looked at Mike on the small monitor and shook his head, “Mike, I don’t know who’s behind this rebellion but it is starting to spread.”
“Jesse, you’re going to have to handle it internally. Alex tells me that his warriors are beginning to be asked by the locals when Sparta is going to come and invade Earth. The Warriors tell everyone that Sparta has no intention of conquering Earth and that the rumor is a fabrication. If you use Sparta’s Warriors to quell this uprising, you’ll only be confirming what the Rebels are saying. They already say that Sparta is already in control.”
“But I don’t have the resources to handle this. Everyone with any military experience was moved to Sparta in the initial exodus by the former government. Those who were left behind are not prepared to fight against anything. None of them have any military experience.”
“You’re just going to have to find volunteers to fill the ranks of your peacekeeping force and train them to do the job.”
“But while I’m training them to fight, the Rebels will be gaining ground. I need the Spartans to remove this menace.”
“We will defend the Alliance Engineers on Earth that are installing the new technology but that’s as far as I can allow them to go.”
Jesse shook his head, “Mike, the Rebels are attacking the new food and clothing installations after they’re up and running. There’s no way I can defend them all with the forces at my disposal. The Alliance won’t be able to build them fast enough to make a difference.”
Mike stared at Jesse and said, “I’ll ask Alex to send enough warriors to defend the installations until you have a strong enough force to take over the job. However, I hope you realize that their defense will take the majority of Sparta’s Warriors and tie them down on Earth. Sparta won’t be able to assist the Gracken against the Weg until you can handle this rebellion.”
“Mike, I wish there was another way but the Rebels are highly organized and very well trained. The Q ships have not been able to determine where they’re getting their weapons or training. They have the jump in getting their troops ready.”
“Tell me about this new weapon they’re using.”
Jesse picked up a small three-foot long tube and held it up in front of his monitor, “This is one we captured in their most recent attack.”
Mike’s eyes narrowed, “That doesn’t look very dangerous.”
Jesse took the tube and pushed on each end. The tube telescoped until it was two inches long, “This device is made of a material the Q ship scanners can’t detect. It’s small enough to hide in a pocket or purse and is invisible to any scanners we use at our public transportation sites.” Jesse picked up a small, inch long, pointed object. “This is what is fired through the tube when it’s fully extended.”
Mike moved the view in closer to the object as Jesse rotated it in front of his monitor. “Jesse, that looks a lot like a sliver.”
“It is remarkably similar to a sliver. It has a small propulsion charge that accelerates it out of the tube when it’s hit with compressed air. We’ve determined that a Rebel can simply blow into the tube and the dart is activated. It has a range of two hundred yards.”
“Does it have guidance?”
“No, and thank God for that. It does explode when it hits and can kill an unarmored warrior.”
Mike stared at Jesse and after a few moments of silence said, “I’m going to assume the Spartan armor and force fields are immune to it.”
“They are and I need armor for my new troops.”
Mike sighed and shook his head, “Jesse, I can’t give that to you.”
“Why not?”
“If your troops are wearing Spartan Armor, how will Earth’s population believe Sparta is not setting themselves up to take control of Earth?” Jesse’s brow furrowed and Mike quickly said, “Earth has come a long way from where it was under the last government but you know as well as I do that the citizens of Earth still feel strongly about Earth belonging to Earth and not an outside power. Their nationalistic feelings will drive millions to join the Rebels if they think Sparta is taking control.”
“I’m from Sparta.”
“Not really.”
“How can you say that? I was banished along with all the others during the first exodus.”
“Yes, but you are the one that saved Earth from destruction in the confrontation with the Alliance. The people of Earth see you as a savior and one of them. That’s why you were the perfect choice to lead the new government. If you use Sparta to put down this rebellion, all the goodwill you’ve built will be lost. You have to…no, you must handle this with Earth’s citizens using technology developed there.”
Jesse sighed and leaned back in his chair, “If it comes to that, there is going to be a huge loss of life in this conflict.”
“Use Adams and Jeanette to help you plan your response. They stayed on Earth and are viewed as heroes by Earth. You’ve got to handle this locally, Jesse.”
Jesse blew out a breath and slowly shook his head, “Mike, there are some days I wish I was back in the desert. Life was so much simpler then.”
Mike smiled, “Yes, it probably was for, both of us. However, stealing that Alliance Starship is what brought you and Elle together. Do you really want to go back to a life before her?”
“You always have the right answers, don’t you?”
Mike reached for his console and said just before the screen went dark, “You take what life gives you and find a way to make it work.”
Jesse stared at the dark display and felt Elle come up behind him and put her arms around his neck, “You know he’s right.”
Jesse reached up and took her hands in his, “I know. It’s just the current officers chosen to lead the volunteers are not doing a very good job getting our armies ready.”
“Then do what Mike suggested.”
“What is that?”
“Go and ask Adams and Jeanette what they would recommend.”
Jesse squeezed her hands and picked up his communicator.
C
aptain Josh Adams looked at Jesse and shook his head, “Sir, I’m a pilot in the Earth and Spartan Air Force. I have no experience in leading ground troops. I’m sure there are many more qualified than I am to take this position you’re offering.”
Jesse tilted his head to the left and then back up, “There are many that could accept it and many more that want it, but there aren’t many that could take it and use it the way it needs be used. I need someone that will take the necessary actions to get this rebellion under control and so far no one has stepped up to the plate and made a difference. It’s starting to get out of hand.”
Josh blew out a breath and looked at Prissy standing beside him in her Earth Air Force dress uniform. “What do you think, Prissy?”
“Josh, we control the air above the planet. It’s controlling the dirt that’s holding everything up. Someone is going to have to get dirty facing the Rebels on the ground. The development of the undetectable new weapons being used by the rebels represents a real danger to the transformation of Alliance Technology. You’ve seen the number of attacks are increasing by the day.”
“Prissy, I just turned eighteen. I know I’ll be seen as too young for this and besides, we need to plan a wedding.”
“Josh, I want that more than you can imagine but getting Earth pacified so we can start assisting the Gracken against the Weg comes ahead of our personal wishes. The Government is not making any headway in this fight and we can’t, in good conscience, leave while Earth is losing to the Rebels. That’s why we stayed here, isn’t it? To help Jesse get things up and running?”
Josh sighed as he looked out across the space port at a Spartan transport arriving from orbit. He turned to Jesse, “Sir, you know there will be a high level of resentment among Earth’s senior officers if I’m promoted ahead of them to command this new force you’re putting together.”
“They’ll get over it. I wasn’t much older than you when I took control of Earth’s Government. If resentment is all you have to worry about, your problems are small compared to mine. I need someone that will do what needs doing and most of the officers leading our troops refuse to do what’s necessary. I almost think they’re working with the Rebels but the truth is they are inexperienced. I hate to say it, but I need a Spartan Commander over Earth’s troops to get things moving. Your parents and you are Earth Born and are accepted by everyone on the planet as being one of them.” Josh stared at Jesse as he continued, “You and Pricilla are not viewed as outsiders. I can’t use Sparta’s Military Forces to eliminate these Rebels. Their entire mantra is that Sparta is going to conquer Earth and place everyone in servitude to them. Using Sparta to defeat them will be a recruiting tool they’ll capitalize on to swell their ranks. It would send the rebellion spiraling out of control.”
Josh shook his head, “Are you telling me that we’re not going to be able to use Spartan Armor?”
“I am. Nor are you going to use the other advanced weapons the Alliance has developed to fight the Weg.”
Josh shook his head, “That places everyone I’d be commanding in jeopardy to the new darts being used by the Rebels. Without force fields, our casualties could be enormous.”
Jesse shrugged, “Well, maybe.”
“Maybe?”
“Earth has developed its own armor and we’ve made a few changes to it that should make a difference.”
“Such as?”
“The power to the leg units has been increased and your running speed can exceed seventy miles an hour.”
“Go on.”
“The new programing in the Combat Helmets can track darts fired at you as they’re coming in. It will pick up the charge used to accelerate them and allow you time to move out of the dart’s path. The darts don’t have homing capability and their range is somewhat limited. You should be able to avoid most of them.”
Prissy smirked, “The darts can’t be extremely fast. They’re mainly a high pressure blow gun fired from close range. You’ll have an instant to try and doge them.”
Josh looked at her, “They’re faster than you think; they accelerate to the speed of a bullet thirty yards out from the tube.” Prissy nodded. He turned back to Jesse, “Will the dart still penetrate Earth’s armor?”
“Yes, but they won’t penetrate the shields that your force will be carrying.”
Prissy said, “Shields?”
Jesse nodded, “Part of the new weapon package your troops will be carrying is an extremely lightweight, round shield that will expand from a rod attached to one of their legs. It can be used in conjunction with the new software to deflect incoming darts.”
Josh chuckled, “I thought you were talking about a force field.”
“If we used those, the Rebels would accuse us of using Spartans to attack them.”
“Why don’t we do just that and put an end to this nonsense.”
“Do what?”
“Use the Spartan Warriors to clean this mess up.”
Jesse sighed, “You don’t know how much I really want to do just that. However, half of Sparta’s Warriors are guarding the installation of the Alliance food and clothing centers because the engineers doing the work are prime targets of the Rebels. The Spartans are developing close ties to Earth’s populations during this process and if I use them to kill the opposition, then the lie they’re using about Sparta taking control of Earth would have some credibility. The rush of Earth’s population to join the Rebels would throw us back two years in what we’ve done to achieve goodwill. No, I have to do this with the warriors I can find and train on Earth.”
Josh listened and stared at Jesse’s eyes. After a moment he said, “You’re not telling me something.”
Prissy looked at Josh and then back at Jesse and saw his eyebrows come together. There was something else. Jesse nodded, “We’re received a piece of intelligence that the Rebels have possession of a nuclear warhead.”
Josh shook his head, “How can that be!?! The Q ships would pick it up anywhere on the planet.”
“Not if it’s hidden in a nuclear power plant.”
Prissy said, “If they try to move it, we’d see it.”
“I’m not so sure about that, Captain Adams. The Q ships can’t detect the case around the darts being fired by the Rebels now. They have developed some kind of material that blocks all of the Q ship’s scans. My intelligence staff is worried that if they actually do have a nuke, they could use this new material to hide it from us.”
Josh tried one more time, “I’m an Air Force Officer, Jesse. The pilots I command respect me because of my flying skills. I don’t possess the skills to be an infantry Commander.”