Jacob and Tiffany II NIS The Density Force BeginsEpisode 51
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Major Daniel Stone, U.S.M.C.
8:53 pm, November 3rd, 2006
2:53 pm November 4th, 2006 (local time)
It has been nearly three hours since I took command of this mess. Nearly eight hours since the teens started to attack the base, if the rumors could be believed. It was time to start to get a firmer picture of where we stand. "Okay, all, reports. Lou, you start. What's the status of the Density Force in and of itself?"
"All missions accomplished. The ships were redeployed as per orders as follows. The Princes of the Universe was sent to Eastern Jerusalem. Due to a conversation they had with Israeli authorities, they reacted by moving their ship west. They are currently maintaining position over Western Jerusalem in a bid to keep the Israelis from breaking out and overrunning Palestine. The Mary Ellen is en route to take up a flanking position. Fred hopes that will keep the hotheads on either side of the U.N. mandated border from going wild. The Mary Celeste is flying over the base, maintaining what Valerie calls a CAP, whatever that is."
"Combat Air Patrol." Ashley's mother interjected helpfully.
"Thanks. The Mary Celeste is doing that. The Flying Dutchman is headed towards Azerbaijan to take out Bin Laden. The Hades is under enemy control at this time."
"Alright, that's the offensive power taken care of. Ed, is it?" I asked one of the other kids who were running the liaison between the teen strike force that attacked the base and me. "I need a causality report. How many did you bring, and what's their current status?"
"Including all the ships, we had a total of 120 volunteers."
"A hundred twenty??? I wonder if Jacob knows he has that many friends?"
"Well Sir, some are his friends, but most are friends of his friends."
"Still, that so many cared is a testament to the high school. What's their current state?"
"Well, we have a hundred twenty volunteers. Twenty of them are on the ships. The remaining hundred landed on the base. At this point we have forty seven wounded. Of that, eight are serious and three are critical. Unfortunately, we think at least one is dead as well. He was shot in the head."
I didn't know what to say. On one hand, they suffered major casualties. On the other hand, they did attack a base full of United States Marines. That is not exactly the same as attacking a bunch of kids from a rival high school gang. The part that hurt most of all was they suffered them to help my son. But a small part of me wondered how a bunch of high school kids thought they could take a military base without penalty. At least nobody died. Yet. That we are sure of. Although that head wound sounds fatal. And we do have the best medics here. "Very well. It could have been worse. General Smith? What's the casualty numbers for the Marines?"
"Thirty Marines with various injury levels and several hundred Marines in what the docs describe as something similar to combat fatigue." Then Smith's voice tightened and his face flashed some rage. "Thirty six Marines dead as of this point."
I knew of nothing to say that would help the fact that thirty six Marines died. So I decided it was best for now to ignore the subject.
"Combat fatigue?" Ashley asked.
"Yes. Perhaps a better choice of words would be culture shock. They did what they could against the ships and failed miserably. That was a new experience for them. They had, make that we had, nothing in our training to teach us how do deal with this sort of thing."
"Okay. Guess this could have been much worse."
I saw Smith look like he wanted to take Ashley's head off for that comment. Somehow he resisted.
My cell phone rang. "Yes?... Jacob's getting better is good. What about Adam?... What do you mean?? You haven't seen him? I'll get back to you." I snapped my cell phone shut. "Lou. Contact whoever you guys sent to rescue Adam. Find out where the hell they are."
"No need Sir. We didn't send anybody."
"Why ever the hell not?"
"We had no idea Jacob had another brother."
I sighed. I should have known better. Just because they knew Jacob doesn't mean they know everything. But I did know one thing. Adam Stone had to be found. And I didn't care what I needed to do to get him back. The problem was I did not know where to start looking.
Ashley saw the dilemma on my face. "Sir? If I may?"
"Sure, if you think you can help."
She leaned over and whispered to one of the high school kids leaning against the wall.
"Be back in ten." The kid nodded and left the room.
Another kid grabbed a gun and followed him.
I waited impatiently as the ten minutes passed.
The kids returned with a Marine I didn't recognize.
We saw that the Marine had his arms tied very tightly indeed behind his back.
Ashley stepped away from the Marine so we could get a good look. "Folks, meet Colonel Gorkov. He has useful information. He just hasn't gotten around to spilling it."
I gave him a look. "This Marine was fighting for Colt?" I put as much contempt into the word 'Marine' as I possibly could.
"Yes Sir. He was captured running the secondary command post."
I looked at Gorkov as if he was the kind of stuff a garbage collector would turn up his nose at. "Tell them what they want to know."
Gorkov grimaced. "No. You are all traitors for resisting Colt." Then he turned to General Smith. "Are you going to let them treat me like this?"
Smith shook his head sadly. "What can I do about it?"
"You're a General. He's a Major and a traitor to boot. Order them to release me and stand down their activities."
"I can't."
"Why the hell not?"
"Because of you and Colt. By attacking his son you put all this in motion. Thanks to that bastard Colt, I'm not in command anymore. Your adherence to illegal orders caused god knows how much damage to this base. Plus the wounded on both sides. Even if I had the power to save your ass, I wouldn't."
I gave General Smith a grateful look. "Thank you Sir." Then I turned to Gorkov. "You have one last chance. Tell us where Colt sent Adam."
"Never. With any luck he's as dead as that traitor's other brother."
My hand went for my gun.
Ashley grabbed my hand. "There's a better way."
"I won't tell you anything either, bitch."
Mrs. Cork started forward.
"No, Mom. Let me."
"But Ashley..." her mother started.
"No mother. I have to do something. You and his mother wanted me to be involved in his life anyway. Right?"
Mrs. Cork reluctantly returned to where she had been standing.
Ashley turned to the prisoner. "Lou, clear me some space around the prisoner." She took General Smith's gun before he knew she was doing it. "Ken, if he twitches, shoot him."
Lou cleared a space as the prisoner sullenly stood there glaring at everybody.
"What do you have in mind?" I asked.
"Just you watch. Gorkov. Do you know who I am?"
"Of course I do. You're the slut currently sleeping with the traitor."
Mrs. Cork started getting angry again.
I put a hand on her shoulder. "Let her. She wanted this."
Ashley ignored the drama going on against the wall. "Close enough. I'm Ashley Cork. I am, fates willing, Jacob's next girlfriend. I'm also a proud American." She moved suddenly to rip the American flags off of Gorkov's uniform. "You are not fit to wear these." Then she tore the rank insignia off of his uniform. "You behavior today shows you have no rights to be an officer."
"Hey bitch, I earned those!"
"The only thing you earned is our contempt. Tell me exactly what orders Colt gave before fleeing the scene of the crime."
"Never. Colt's far more of an American than anybody in this room."
Ashley's foot connected with Gorkov's groin before we knew it was moving.
He dropped to his knees screaming.
Then Ashley did a roundhouse kick that slammed him to the floor. "Pull him to his knees."
Lou and another student did so.
Gorkov looked balefully at her. His nose was bleeding profusely.
"The only reason your head is still sitting on your shoulders is because you need it to talk." Ashley informed him. "That was round one. Next time you say no, I will shove a combat knife in your balls. The time after that, I'll shove a rifle up your ass. If you say no again, I'll pull the rifle trigger. After that whatever I do will just hurt more."
We all stared at her shocked.
She looked back. "Hey, I saw it in movie. It seemed appropriate for the moment. So, I'll ask you again Gorkov, where did that slug Colt send..."
"Adam." I interjected helpfully.
"Thank you. Where was Adam sent?"
"I don't know."
Ashley held out her hand. "A combat knife if you'd be so kind."
Gorkov got a panicked look on his face. "No, no, I'm telling the truth. All I was told is that he was sent north along a road the militants attacked a lot."
"Get a map." I said.
A map was brought.
"Your only hope of her not doing unlicensed surgery on you is for you to tell me where."
Gorkov brushed an area of the map with his chin.
"You sure? You really do not want to be wrong about this."
He nodded.
"You better be right, then." I added. Or else I'll do things to you that make her plans for you seem like a romantic date." I turned to look at Lou. "Detail two Dutchman craft to land. I'm going to assign fifteen Marines to each. They are to get there and rescue Adam. I don't care if they level the surrounding zip codes to do it. Is that clear?"
"Yes Sir." Lou turned towards his station.
"General Smith, I need you to create two teams of fifteen Marines each. Make it absolutely clear that they are under the commands of the ship's Captains."
"Okay, but I suggest that those kids be open to suggestions from trained Marines."
Lou turned and looked at General Smith. "We're not fools. We'll listen. And we will succeed. The current situation is proof of that."
Melanie 4:02pm, November 5th, 2006 9:02am November 6th, 2006 (local time) I wonder if my boyfriend is still... To find out, I stuck my head through the hatch to the bridge. Yep. He still is. This is ridiculous. He needs sleep like the rest of us. Kevin turned. He saw my face and paled a little. Excellent. The only time men obey women without question is when they are aroused... aroused or scared. "Kevin! Why the hell are you not in bed?" "I'm not tired." his yawn betrayed...
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Adam Stone 11:31 pm, November 4th, 2006 4:31 pm November 5th, 2006 (local time) The table was set up perfectly. There were two cups of tea with the rest of the tea set off to the side. The cups were positioned in front of the chairs. Condiments were close by. A small plate held crackers and cheese. All was indeed in readiness, I saw Jacob arrive. Jacob paused at the entrance to the mess hall. He clapped once. A member of the Density Force ran over to help him stand for a moment. Jacob...
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Personal log (voice), Tiffany French, Captain of the Flying Dutchman, 9 am, October 28th 2006. I sat in the command chair of the Flying Dutchman. Karen was right about one thing. With this ship, I can do anything. Anything at all. The only request Jacob had of me is that I flew no higher than 25 miles until after Jacob made his orbital flight. I had no problem with that. It was time to begin. "Joe, activate mission log." "Activated." "Let the record show that I, Tiffany Mary...
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Megan 10:30am I drove to the Stone farm as fast as I could. This morning I didn't care if I got ticketed. Hell, this morning I wouldn't cared if I had to run barefoot over shattered glass with a broken leg. There was just no way I was going to miss this appointment. It just wasn't going to happen. It wasn't every day that people got an invitation to become part of Stone's project. But that was not what had my mother thrilled. I was being given an exclusive. I was to be the first...
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Tiffany Personal log (voice), Tiffany French, Captain of the Flying Dutchman, 12:10am, November 1st, 2006 I grabbed my coke and slice of pizza and sat down on the sofa. "Did you see the way those tough guys ran when they saw that headless horseman image?" Lucy asked. "Did I?" Debbie laughed. "I saw them running past the gate. It was soooooo cool." "I bet." Mr. Mason added. "Ok everybody, you can enjoy the laughs later. Time to see how well we did. Karen, have you finished...
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Staff Sergeant Rogers. 11 am Tuesday, November 1st, 2006 I met my superior in the oddest place yet. The abandoned outhouse of an 18th century farm. I understood the need for secrecy, but I swear they were finding me some really out of the way places to meet at. I swear if satellite photography revealed the entrance to the mythical Greek underworld, they'd plan a meeting in it's lobby. "You're early." Major General Edwards informed me. I turned and saluted. He returned my salute....
Captain Amy 'Rolling Stone' Stone, USAF Sunday, 4:25am. "Rolling Stone, you are cleared for landing. Winds are adverse at 30 miles an hour." Adverse winds. Ha! I barely looked at the controls of the fighter. I didn't need too. Despite what my flight instructor said, there were only so many controls that were important at any one time. And I landed smoothly. I hopped out of the fighter and moved towards the pilots lounge. With luck, I had time to grab a quick bit of coffee and a...
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Wednesday, November 2nd, 2006 Chapter 76 Military reporter for the Stars and Stripes 12:04 am November 2nd, 2006 (5:04 pm local time, Palestine) This was the strangest trial I ever attended. The Commandant on the Parris Island Marine Base Training Camp is not the sort of defendant I expected to meet on my beat in the Middle East. And he was on trial for piracy. Not even in my most drunk and drugged party state in college would I have thought this would happen. The defendant looked...
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Fred 9:50pm Jacob watched everybody from the chair he was sitting on. He finished his beer and looked at it for a moment. Then he put it down. I grabbed Dave as he passed by. "Can I get another Killiens?" "Sure. I never knew you were into the imported stuff." "I'm not. But Jacob likes it." "Not the Jacob?" "Yep. He's in the chair in the corner." "Will wonders never cease. Take as many as you want. Nobody will ever believe I provided beer for Jacob Stone." I went over to...
Lt. Anna 'Thunderfeet' Cork 9 pm November 2nd, 2006 2 pm November 3rd, 2006 (local time) I caught up with Ashley as she was leaving the gym. "Did you think any more about what I said about Jacob?" "No!" Ashley snapped. "No? Why not?" "Because I've bigger issues to deal with than some guy." she said with some anger. I finally turned to look at her. Ashley had a look on her face that reminded me of the time I had to tell my husband I smashed the Trans Am into a china shop. It...
Captain Amy 'Rolling Stone' Stone, USAF Sunday, 12:20pm I banged my fist on the computer desk in frustration. "Six times I've checked now and still no response." I muttered in disgust about the situation. "Six times! This should not be possible." I seriously wanted to shove the computer through the bulkhead. "What's wrong?" Anna 'Thunderfeet' Cork asked. She had a concerned look on her face. "Is the stress of the routine finally getting to you?" "I can't reach Jacob to...
General Colt 4:12 pm, November 3rd, 2006 10:12 am November 4th, 2006 (local time) I drove away from any conceivable major target. My job here was nearly finished. By now any Association agents will be pulling out. But before that they would no doubt have killed Stone and everybody that was with him. I chuckled to myself. The funny thing about it all was that I never had to order them to do so. Their orders said that neither they nor their prisoners were to fall into enemy hands. But their...
Karl 5 pm, Tuesday, November 1st, 2006 I closed my geology textbook as the mantle clock chimed five o'clock. It was time. They say we nerds are clever plotters. Tonight I was going to prove them right. If what I'm thinking works out, let's just say that I'll be very happy. I went upstairs to take a quick shower. Afterwards I looked through clothes for something that would not provoke Julia. I was going to take a big risk tonight. Selecting clothes that would not upset her was the...
Libra 2:15 pm The conference room was as bland as possible. There was nothing that would give any immediate clue either as to the owner, or the owner's tastes. It was in a building designed to be so ordinary that nobody would notice it, even if they were staring right at it. I arrived and looked at the other eleven seated at the table. As was traditional, none of us spoke. We all exchanged computerized greetings. Sagittarius looked around and then bent over the keyboard in front him. As...
Mr. Bacon 9:50 am November 3rd, 2006 I put the phone down. Last time I received this many calls, there was a rumor a TV crew was coming to film part of a show at the high school. Every time the phone rang, I wanted to throw the phone against the wall. And every time I picked up the phone, it was the same thing. The phone rang. Like now I bet. I hit the speakerphone again. "Yes?" "This is Mrs. Luxor. I'm calling because I received a call from your truant officer about my son." "Yes...
Bill 11:45 am, November 2nd, 2006 "Bill? Do you have a moment?" I checked my watch. "Sure. I'm not in any rush, given what's on the menu." "What, they let the Home Ec class cook lunch?" "I wish they did. It would at least be looking better than what I'm seeing over there. What can I help you with?" "Come outside with me." I followed him curiously. "Rumor has it, you can give students advice almost as good as your father." "True. But if it's that important, you should...
Lance Corporal Flack 1 pm, October 31st, 2006 (4 am the next day, local time) I sat there staring at my chicken. It was all very nice and good. But I would have killed for a slice of old english pizza. I went and got some dessert. After this I was going back to my tent. As I reached my table again I overheard an interesting conversation at the table next to me. The conversation got far more interesting when somebody came up to the table. I'm not sure what assignment the Special Forces...
Lt. Anna Cork 3:30 pm, November 2nd, 2006 (8:30 am November 3rd, local time) I was doing something my job as a fighter pilot didn't give me enough time to do. I was waiting outside the guest barracks to pounce on Ashley. It wasn't that I expected her to be up to no good or anything like that. I just needed some mother-daughter time with Ashley. Ashley walked by a few minutes later. She was carrying her gym bag. "Where are you going?" She patted her gym bag. "I'm off to practice my...
An Association Agent 6:03 am November 3rd, 2006 I looked around. The Philadelphia Naval Yard had been closed several years ago by a short sighted congress. But at least our friends were able to slow things down so the ships they thought were going to be sold for scrap to pay for their bleeding heart liberal programs were saved. It was aboard one such ship that the Association had a base. A lot of us found it rather funny that someplace this ship was listed as scraped and sold. Those...
Jacob Personal log (voice), J. J. Stone, Captain of the Hades, 12:33am, October 30th 2006. I just keep doing stupid things. Anybody with an ounce of sense would still be in bed. A full ounce of sense isn't even required to know that. A tenth of an ounce would do. But that fucking military once again involved themselves in my life. I don't want to hate them. Really, I do not. But how can I respect them when every behavior they show ranges from the tactless to tonight's attempt of...
Karl 8:53am Somebody must have seriously lost their minds. Either it was me shortly after I walked in to the office and I'm dreaming what I just heard, or it was the school staff. "Why me?" I was flabbergasted. "Remember what happened the last time you guys put somebody 'different' through the Program? Don't you guys know what will happen the moment I show my scrawny ass naked in that hallway? Wasn't last week bad enough?" I looked at them like they were experiments that had...
4pm I went into the usual chat room online. Maybe PuckPusher 3000 would be on today. She really seems to be an interesting young lady. Of course with my luck she's 43, weighs 305 pounds and is male. To quote a Meatloaf song, 'you never can be too sure about the girl'. Me? You can be sure about me. I'm Karl Whittiker. German on my mother's side, English on my father's. I turned 18 last year. Despite the promises of my ex, I remained a virgin. In fact I broke up with her that night. I...
Tiffany Personal log (voice), Tiffany French, Captain of the Flying Dutchman, 9:35am, October 31st, 2006 I'd like to say the class was interesting. I would, but it would be a lie. The fact is I did not give a damn about the recent deaths of Arafat and Sharon. It's true that I was sitting in current events class. Current events to me involves rock singers and television. That and medical science. The teacher was going on. "Those of us with relatives in the Middle East may be more aware...
Kevin 10:30am, October 28th, 2006. I watched Jacob's ship land at the side of the school field. He got out and came over. As he limped my way, I saw he was dressed in his normal outfit. That was going to have to change. Then again, I really wasn't comfortable with what was going down here anyway. Jacob had little sports experience outside of watching the Olympics. It was true he was the manager of the soccer team. Sports wise, that's mainly a social job. He didn't need any sports...
Krissy 2:58 pm, November 4th, 2006 8:58 am November 5th, 2006 (local time) "Are you sure?" my boyfriend asked. He had an unsure look on his face. It was so cute. "Yes. It's better for me to do it. Remember what you said in the hallway?" "Yes. But moments ago I realized that I was more concerned about you." "That's sweet. Don't worry. I can handle it." "What could possibly have happened that was so bad?" the annoying visitor asked, his attitude up there with nails on...
Krissy 7:10 am, Tuesday, November 1st, 2006 I went down to a breakfast of burnt toast. This was nothing new. In case I hadn't mentioned it, both of my parents are in public service. My mother works on the hospital's ambulance. My father is a policeman in Annapolis. Dad's shifts are never constant and mother got called in. Both have to leave often and suddenly. I trashed the burnt toast. Then I put a couple of English muffins in the toaster and waited. Any minute now. The phone...
Monday Chapter 27 Jacob Personal log (voice), J. J. Stone, Captain of the Hades, 12:03am, October 30th 2006. Somebody was once reported to have said, 'I'm going to bed now. Someone please wake me if there's any other way we can screw up tonight.' The bed part was excellent advice. The problem was that moving made me feel really sick. My stomach was queasy and it felt like there was a gang of rioting musicians playing poorly on purpose in my head. If this was the result of getting...
Julia 12:12 pm, November 3rd, 2006 I got lunch and looked for a seat in my usual area. For some reason, empty seats didn't seem to be so hard to find today. At least lunch didn't look like road kill today. It always helps the digestion when I am able to in fact eat the food. As I sat down, I realized that the lunchroom was a bit emptier than normal. I gave a quick check out the window. Nope, no blizzard. As far as I knew there was no special events going on today that would give that...
Krissy 11:43 am, November 4th, 2006 5:43 am November 5th, 2006 (local time) Soup? After all the time I've been in this school, does the cafeteria staff think I am stupid enough to eat their soup? I've heard even the biology department won't touch it. I'm betting it would only take two or three lightning bolts to change it into some new life form. I joined the crowds of students grabbing only chips and sodas. "Hey Krissy." I turned. It was Frank. "Hey Frank what's up? Frank...
Personal log (voice), J. J. Stone, Captain of the Hades, 9:19pm, October 29th 2006. I must be seriously insane. Crazier than anybody has yet accused me of being. There can be no other reason for what I'm doing tonight. I hit a few more keystrokes. I had another problem. I was once invited to this party. However I was not sure the guest of honor wanted me there today. Good thing it was a costume party. I had already changed into my costume. A wooden leg encasing my bad leg and some makeup...
Karl 10:25am The bidding was getting hot. "Nineteen fifty." "Twenty." "Twenty two." "Twenty three." Time to get involved. "Twenty five." "Twenty six." the guy I outbid came back. "Twenty seven." the guy he last outbid called. "Twenty eight." "Twenty nine." I saw the two of them double checking their wallets. That wasn't going to help them. I still had all the money I received because my parents made me work when everybody else was doing their Halloween...
General Hambright 11:40 pm, November 3rd, 2006 5:40 pm November 4th, 2006 (local time) I've never seen so much of our military might planned to be concentrated on such a small area of land. Oh sure, I remember my grandfather's stories about D-Day and a few other of battles World War Two. But there had been no real question about whether we should have fought these battles. Hitler had to be taken down. Then it wasn't just a matter of principle, it hadn't been for years by that time. The...
Ashley's stepfather 6:08 pm November 2nd, 2006 11:08 am November 3rd, 2006 (local time) I was sitting in a cabin so far in the middle of nowhere that most people got lost at least five times looking for the place. It was the one place I could go to escape the vultures who were circling after that bitch of a coach lied like she had. Luckily I was coming home from a business trip in Boston when the story broke. I came here and asked my best friend to watch the house. He had a few choice...
Captain Amy 'Rolling Stone' Stone, U.S.A.F. 3am. (1 pm local time.) I stood on the windswept deck of the carrier waiting for the Hades to land. I was not the only person. Besides me was Thunderfeet. She wanted to know why her daughter was aboard. Also beside me was Vice Admiral Bright. He wanted to meet my son, try and convince him to at least respect the Navy. He was carrying a radio set tuned to the tower frequency. That alone was attracting a crowd. I think every off duty person...