Admiral Jane (A.I. Destiny Book 1) Page 7

  There was a silence for almost a minute after she stopped talking.

  "Thank you dear," said Grandma, and she gave Jane a hug.

  "I'll keep in touch," said Jane. "You should too. I'm only minutes away by email. If you need something from me in a hurry, talk to Justine."

  "Go," said Douglas. "Do what you have to do."

  Jane looked around the whole family, most of whom had left the talking to just those few. She nodded to them all, turned, and left.

  Fourteen

  Jane pinged the front door of Sarah's parent's place. A middle aged woman answered the door, who Jane knew to be Michael's only known grandmother.

  "Hi Maud. Is Sarah here?"

  "She's just putting the baby down. Come in."

  Jane followed her in, and they sat in the living room. A few minutes later, Sarah came in. She looked at Jane for a moment, opened her mouth, but closed it again and sat.

  "I'm here to offer you some understanding, if you want it," said Jane.

  "I know I do," said Maud. "Frank too."

  Sarah nodded.

  "Michael's father was Jon Hunter. You went to school with him. On his eighteenth standard birthday, he left Gaia on a short four day trip. He didn’t come back until a year later. The night before he left, the two of you got together, and Michael was conceived. About six months ago, humanity was threatened with extinction, and Jon was responsible for the billions now on stations and here looking for a new home. He didn’t come back with them, since we were not safe. Three days ago, he did something which reset the timeline as if nothing ever happened. In doing so, he and the people with him ceased to exist, which is why none of you remember him. However, none of us should exist either, and yet we do. Speculation includes a higher being wanting us here in this galaxy, but we may never know how we came to be preserved. All you need to know is the father of your child was a hero who did the impossible. And all he would want for you is to be happy. Michael will be important one day."

  Jane was guessing on this last part, but she felt the need to bolster the girl, and give her a reason to keep going. She looked like she needed one.

  "You are aware you're extremely rich?" she went on.

  "What?" said both of them.

  "Jon didn’t leave you without resources. Like it or not, you are part of the extended Hunter family now, and Michael is the Duke of Hunter's Run, which at its biggest was a Duchy of nine systems. Jon made sure in the final days you would be taken care of. Sarah, you and Michael personally have an account with a billion credits in it, and the Duchy as a whole has several more."

  "WHAT?"

  "It's true. The Duchy is more than this city now. There are several stations in orbit which belong to it, and these will be restructured back to commerce. If you and the family decide to leave to seek your own planet, the stations will go with you. I have ships close by for protection as well. And I own a shipyard for building whatever we need. Anyway, I wanted to make sure you understood your current position. You are one of the wealthiest people on this planet, and still will be after all the resettlement is complete. It may make you a target. I'll have security people nearby you at all times from now on."

  "Oh," said Sarah. "I think I've seen some of them already. Do they wear your uniform?"

  "Yes. Stay in touch with Fred. He will have an aide who'll be in close touch with me. And trust the city's computer. If you get given unexpected instructions to go somewhere, do it immediately. The current situation has some potential for problems, but I've left instructions for all possible ones I can think of. Your family's safety is paramount. If the call comes, don’t take anything. Gather yourselves and go, you'll find everything you need where you're sent."

  "You're scaring me," blurted Sarah, and her mother looked it too.

  "I'm tasked with your safety, but I'm also tasked with the safety of humanity. As such, I need to leave shortly. I'll be monitoring what goes on here, but I'll be too far away for direct help if something goes pear shaped. Hence I'm taking all precautions I can think of, and hoping nothing at all untoward happens. Talk to Fred. He's on the council, and can keep you up to date with what's happening. If you want to, join him on the council as mother of the Duke. Most delegations have several people, Fred will be alone tomorrow. If things take a turn for the worse, move immediately to join Fred and the Hunter's. Fred's aide will act for me, and keep you all safe."

  "It's too much," muttered Sarah. "Thank you for the information, but maybe it was better I didn’t know."

  "Rubbish," said her mother. "You chose to have a baby with a hero, and gave birth to a Duke. You will need for nothing, and one day your son will be a great leader of people. All we have to do is bring him up to be a wise leader."

  "Indeed," echoed Jane. "And on that note, I wish you well, and must be on my way."

  She was hugged by both women, and extracted herself as fast as she could. She returned to the Lightning, and set off for the British group of stations.

  Fourteen

  Stryker was getting worried.

  He'd replaced the backpacks keeping his humans alive twice now, but neither of them had woken up. He wasn’t able to move them to care units, as he still couldn’t get any power generation working. Neither seemed to be damaged, but their life signs were not good.

  He was running out of options for keeping them alive. They were on the last backpacks now, and the only option remaining was the single search and rescue droid, down in the droid storage area of the cargo deck. To use it, he'd have to move them down there. The droid itself was toast, but the life support on the sled was intact.

  He'd considered using the few remaining operational droids as a power source, but between them, they wouldn’t power a care unit, and there was no independent life support available anyway. Care units worked off ship air, and there wasn’t any. This wasn’t true, there was, but the repair droids were losing the battle to get an airtight environment anywhere where the reserve air could be pumped into. They were also trying to rig a method of accessing the reserve to regenerate the backpacks. But so far, no luck, which was no surprise since they hadn't been designed to be regenerated. They were strictly a use and throw away emergency product. The ship was turning out to be far more badly damaged than he'd first thought. The longer frantic repair attempts went on, the more he was coming to the conclusion the ship was a write off.

  "I need a little help here," he said aloud, not expecting an answer.

  You have what you need.

  "No, I don’t."

  Think outside the box.

  "How far outside?"

  There is no box.

  Stryker picked up Darlene, and began the slow task of carrying her down to the cargo deck. As he picked his way down the partially shattered stairwell, he cast about for any way in which he could save his humans. By the time he had Walsh down there as well, he had a glimmer of an idea. It was desperation in the extreme, and it had never been done before.

  Sure it has.

  "Really?"

  Do the research.

  He did. He had to make a direct connection with the ship's computer archive, and power each section of it himself, but he found what he needed.

  Fifteen

  Queen Elisabeth the Fifth was the same age as Sarah, both of them being twenty standard years old. Like Sarah, she had a son, only he was younger than Sarah's.

  Queen Liz gestured Jane to a lounge chair, and Jane sat.

  "They tell me you’re the only one with a complete memory," said the Queen.

  "Apparently so."

  "I've heard the official explanations, I know I used to be Monarch for those who consider themselves to be British, and apparently I'm filthy rich. I feel like I knew you, but it's only a feeling. I know I trust you, even if I don’t know why. What do I need to know?"

  "How much do you want to know?"

  "How much can you tell me?"

  "Probably more than you’d like, and definitely more than your husband would like."

>   "Oh? Do tell."

  "You met a man your own age, not long after you were crowned Queen. He saved your life, and you suitably rewarded him. He left you with a son, and your husband married you not long after, knowing the boy was not his."

  "Who was he?"

  "Jon Hunter. He was a hero, and what he did saved humanity, and somehow created the situation we're all in now. Your son has an older half-brother. Duke Michael of Hunter's Run, who's a bit over one year old. Their father was also Duke of Norfolk, which is why you'll find you normally have one, but no-one can remember who it was last, or why there isn’t one."

  "Already noted. I'm glad you filled in that particular blank."

  "If I may be so bold, Michael's mother Sarah is a single mum, raising a Duke. Jon would have liked you two to be friends. And she needs a mentor. Until a short time ago, she had no idea she was rich and powerful, and she has no training in how to be a Duke's mother. She is your age, and I think the two of you could be friends. The Regent is Baron Fred, but he's only just turned eighteen himself, and is trying to cope with being on the council. He could use some mentoring as well."

  "I'll arrange for us all to meet, and see where it goes. What else do I need to know?"

  "You have several challenges ahead of you. About two thirds of your people will find they instinctively support your rule. The other third will not. Those people supported a coup at the time you met us, and we put it down for you. You're going to have to deal with possibly losing some of your people, who will prefer to be governed by the new council, than a Monarchy they don’t remember. I've advised Fred to support you getting a planet of your own, but you need to assess which people to take with you to it, and which ones to leave behind here. It's up to you and your advisers, but my advice is not to try to hold onto everything if people want to break away, or you could end up triggering a civil war."

  "We may have one anyway. The warning signs are easy to see."

  "I'm glad I'm not the only one seeing them. To that end, you will be getting one of my aides in the morning, who will co-ordinate communications with me. If need be, I can be contacted quickly. I'm not leaving a lot of military here, since we have the perfect excuse of a possible war with aliens to warrant moving them three days away. But what remains should follow my orders. Can I make a suggestion?"

  "You may."

  "Attend the council yourself. The American's last leader is already there, as is Baron Fred. I'm going to advise the Japanese Emperor to do the same, or at least have a blood relative there in his name. Both of you have hereditary based ruling classes, but your people have forgotten what binds you together. For now, you both need to be seen by both your people, and the rest of the council, especially as you push for your own planets. It's not been done in a lot of centuries, but the Monarchy must be seen to rule again, and rule wisely and justly, or you'll lose everything."

  "And if that happens anyway?"

  "Go to Hunter's Run city, on Gaia Five. You are part of their extended family now, and they should welcome you. Take those who're completely loyal to you. You'll be safe there. If you keep control of this station, but lose the rest, move it to join up with the Duchy's stations. I'm allowing you to retain an Honour Guard of both troops and ships, so if you're attacked, you should be able to defend yourself. Would you prefer Repulse or Warspite to stay with you?"

  "As I've been briefed, Warspite has a dead end Fleet Admiral in command, and Repulse doesn’t have one at all. How is that?"

  "I'm not sure. Last I heard, Repulse had a Fleet Admiral assigned, when her two star was promoted to three. I wasn’t aware her Admiral had vanished, although it's very possible for some reason, whoever it was chose not to enter Gaia. We lost most of our top people, which included your Marshall, three star Admiral, and two star General. I can recommend someone for Repulse. She is British, but has been in my command for a long time. She's a Fleet Admiral, but has been on detached duty from ships for a while now, although she's anxious to return to command. If you're happy with her, I'll take Dingle and Warspite with me. He's a good enough Battleship fighter, and that’s a more useful trait to have in a fleet which might be fighting soon. While I think he's loyal, without memory, he could be got at, so better he's not in temptations way."

  "Agreed. What's her name?"

  "Candace Bentley."

  "Have her present herself here tomorrow morning, before taking command of the ship. I'll have orders confirming the change in command, command of the fleet which remains, and confirmation she takes orders from you and me only."

  "I'll draft the orders on my way to the Japanese stations. Was there anything else I can help with?"

  "I gather I have SAS troops, but no one will vouch for the Colonels. They should be loyal, but I’d prefer having a decent General in charge of them, and liaison to me. Can you lend me someone?"

  "As it happens, yes. She's Australian, but fought with SAS troops several times. She's new to being a Brigadier, but she is competent, totally loyal to me, and so will be for you as well. She'll be here in the morning with the Lieutenant Colonel I'm sending to be your liaison with me. Anything else we should address now?"

  "I don’t know, is there?"

  "If I think of anything, I'll send it on."

  "Please do. It was good to meet you Admiral. You look young for the rank, but I can see the combined fleet is in good hands. Safe journey, and I wish you luck with the alien situation."

  "Thank you your Majesty."

  Jane rose, bowed her head, and left.

  "What are you up to?" asked Repulse. "Who's this Candace Bentley?"

  "You. Set your suit to chameleon mode, and get off that ship without anyone knowing you're there. Go to my shipyard, update yourself to the latest body, and take one of the Lightnings as your personal Gig. You're a one star Admiral now. I can't think of a better being to command Repulse. Just remember you're a person now, and need to act like it at all times. Report to the Queen in the morning, and then take command of the ship."

  "Aye sir!"

  "With you and Cayuga remaining in the system, we should be able to stop anything which goes wrong before it gets far. But stay alert."

  "You won't find me sleeping on the job, Gov."

  Repulse's accent had become more British. Jane chuckled to herself. As she made her way to her Lightning, she listened to the other AI's congratulating Repulse on making both Admiral and human. She ordered two more special droid bodies, and made up the character and body image files. Getting command of the SAS was a bonus she hadn't expected. In spite of what the Americans thought, the SAS, depleted as they were from the number of teams they should have had, were the most lethal force in the system. If she had to put down an armed conflict, being able to lead them in gave her an edge in many different ways.

  For a moment she was reminded of the team she'd lost.

  Sixteen

  The meeting with the Japanese Emperor was short. Jane had never met him before, but Fleet Admiral Hikaru had escorted her in. The conversation was brief, along the same lines as with the Queen, only without the personal stuff.

  The Emperor agreed to have his son sit in on the council the next day, and to liaise with both Queen Liz, and Baron Fred. He confirmed the Japanese would be happy with their own system at this time, with or without a planet. Jane had noticed on her way in, the Japanese stations were the absolute model of high tech, and were definitely a higher standard of living than most of the stations offered. They could live on them for the next decade or so without any problems, if they had to. If they needed longer, they would simply build more stations with their own shipyards, which were in the process of being moved.

  The Honor guard ships were quickly chosen and informed. Admiral Hikaru was confirmed in command of the ships leaving to join Jane's fleet, and they both withdrew.

  "When are you leaving Admiral?" asked Hikaru.

  "As soon as I get to my ship."

  "Can we escort you?"

  "No offence, but you won't be a
ble to keep up. Make your safest best speed. Report to me when you arrive at wherever I happen to be. Most likely the planet in G014."

  "Aye sir."

  At the next intersection, they parted ways, and Jane strode at a fast pace to her Lightning.

  Admiral Tremblay had sent her the lists of ships she'd asked for, but she hadn't wanted to cut orders until she'd completed her visits. Now she firmed up which ship was in which fleet, and began issuing orders. Tremblay had predictably wanted more ships to stay than Jane felt was safe, so she pared his list down. Most of them were Cruisers, or smaller, although she had left a half dozen American Pocket Battleships, which were a Cruiser hull. Repulse was the only Battleship sized ship left in the system. And Cayuga the only Battlecruiser.

  By the time she docked her Lightning at her shipyard, she'd completed the job, and ships were already leaving. She wasn’t concerned about them maintaining a formal fleet. They were late to the dance as it was, so she'd have to make do with what she had already on the way. The rest of the fleet was going to take a good three days to get there, so how and when they arrived wasn’t likely to make much difference. She could be wrong of course. Some ships needed longer than others to get their people back on board, and complete resupply.

  "An hour or two shouldn’t matter," she mumbled out loud.

  "Famous last words," laughed Yorkie.

  Yorktown was going to be flagship of the fleet escorting the troop transports. Intrepid, with her larger complement of heavy fighters and Privateers, was headed to join Jane's fleet.

  "See you there," said Jane.

  "Ditto," said Yorkie, Intrepid, and Satoshi together.

  "Last one there is total bollocks," said Warspite, and they all laughed.