Bright Horizons (4 page)

“Everything
is under control, Lieutenant. We had a small breach in a seal in the inner
hatch.  We have the tools and manpower to get it fixed,” Cowboy said into his
com unit.

“Ok, just
remember, we can only take six more passengers in the Torpedo, so don’t screw
up the Fletcher too bad.”

“That’s a
Roger, we will make sure we are ready to go at the scheduled time. I’ll keep
you updated every ten minutes,” Cowboy replied.

“Roger
Commander, we will just keep the jump engine warm down here.”

Kyle
looked at Cowboy and raised his eyebrows.

“Colonel,
take your assigned team and let’s get this job done. I will keep you updated on
our progress.” Cowboy gave him a quick nod and headed back to the cockpit.

Kyle
looked back to the hatch and stepped towards it.

“Mister
Carter, let’s go. Mister Ambassador, you and your team will follow. Marines,
bring up the rear.”

Kyle
stepped forward and opened the outer hatch. A slight hiss made him wince and
the hot air of the alien vessel washing over him made him cringe. It smelled
faintly of ammonia and he was hoping the Hedali had not mistaken the
atmospheric needs of the human team.

Two more
steps took him to another hatch, which was opening as he approached. On the
other side was an Hedali. About five foot eight, maybe one hundred and forty
pounds if he was a human. Bipedal, slightly squarish face, what looked to be
scales on portions of his head. He stepped backwards three steps to the center
of the room.

“Welcome
friends.” The slightly quivering voice of the alien reminded Kyle of the old
actor Jimmy Stewart.

“Thank
you, friend. We bring peace,” Kyle responded as he stepped over the threshold
of the hatch doorway. Ambassador Thomas was very precise on what he should say
and when.

Kyle
immediately stepped to the left as he entered, with Carter stepping to the
right.  Miss Stuart entered behind him and moved to the left to stand by Kyle.
He was confused by this, but realized that with Cowboy bowing out, Ambassador
Thomas had changed the order. He coming in fourth must have meant something
that Kyle didn’t quite understand.

Ambassador
Thomas entered and took one step straight ahead to the Hedali who had opened
the door and greeted them.

“Thank
you, friend.  We are here to bring peace in your house,” Ambassador Thomas
slowly said. Both he and their Hedali friend bowed deeply with arms held to the
side.

The
Hedali looked at all four of the humans and then stepped forward.

“Greetings
to our house, may the peace you bring be added to what we have. I am Lon, an
officer of this vessel, and I was chosen for this honor because I learned to
speak your language quickly. Ambassador Thomas, I will be your translator for
our meeting.”

Lon
turned and motioned with his hand and a doorway opened. Kyle smirked a little
when he noticed that Lon was palming a small silver device in his other hand. A
little magic for the primitives, he thought.

Ambassador
Thomas took the lead and followed Lon through the doorway; Carter was close
behind filming as he looked around. Miss Stuart went next followed by Anderson,
Boone, Kitch and Ramirez who quickly crossed through the docking area. Kyle
turned as Kiskaliski, Jennings and Greene came into the small room.

A quick
calculation told Kyle that he had his Marines in three groups of four and he
was a little nervous dividing his forces like that.

His radio
crackled to life.

“Colonel,
Richards just told me that they need to seal the hatchway for about thirty
minutes in order for the seal to be secure. Is that going to be ok for you?”

“Roger
Commander, go ahead. The tour of the vessel just started, so we have some time.
Over.”

The hatch
on the Fletcher closed, and a slight hiss signaled that the seal had
reestablished proper pressure.

K-man
walked over to the doorway and looked down the hall.

“Just
under twenty meters, sir. Two meters wide. Four points of cover.”

K-man was
always the first looking to see how to defend his position. He sat back on his
heels and cradled his rifle. Kyle shook his head. While the rest of the Marines
had brought their sidearms, and Kitch. Greene and Ramirez had their M-31
rifles, K-man had brought his assigned sidearm, his grandfather’s 1911, his
M-31, and his favorite weapon, a Barrett 407 .50 caliber rifle. 

He hand
loaded his rounds for his baby, as he called it. He had a true gift, and with
that rifle it seemed almost like a magic gift.

Kyle had
seen K-man drop fifty rounds from it in eighty-seven seconds. Since it only had
a ten round magazine, that included four swaps. When he asked the Range Master
what K-man’s score was after he left the area, he was informed that the young
Marine had scored thirty-seven “10”s, nine “9”s, and three “8”s over five
different lanes. It was generally agreed that the missing round had likely
channeled through an earlier shot too quick for the laser to catch.

That had
been ten years ago when Kyle had been placed as XO of Team Bravo, a loose
collection of operational commands that included Delta and Omega. Then Private
Zbigniew Kiskaliski became one of the top recruited individuals for many
missions that then Major Kyle Martin had oversight duties for.

Alex
might be my lucky charm, thought Kyle, but K-man is my block of C-4.

“Colonel,
we have a problem I think. Dandelion.” Cowboy’s voice was stressed and tight.

Kyle froze
as he heard the code word. He quickly switched his com unit to the private
channel he and Cowboy had agreed to at the beginning of the mission. Placing
the earpiece in his right ear, he brought his left hand up to cover his mouth
and switched his com to private.

“What is
it?”

“A second
vessel has entered the area and there is…”

“Yeah,
what?” Kyle was more shaken that Cowboy was so out of his normally controlled
manner than anything else.

“The
second ship was firing on the vessel that you are on right now. At least I
think so. There was a blue… wave, that washed over a part of the ship you are
on and it… dissolved.”

“What?
Are you sure? We didn’t feel a thing.”

“Yeah,
neither did we, but, Colonel…”

“Yeah? 
What?”

“There
was no explosion or ripping away of anything, the ship just… melted wherever
the blue touched.”

Kyle was
stunned. He knew that Cowboy wouldn’t be joking about something like this, but
it seemed unreal.

“Crap!
Colonel, the second ship has flown into the now open structure of the vessel we
are docked to. I have ordered Richards to get that hatch repaired now. I think
your vessel is being boarded Martin, get the Ambassador out of there!”

Kyle
immediately turned his com back to the standard channel.

“Marines!”
He shouted “Boarding action in process, get the Ambassador out of there.”

“Colonel,
moving now,” came the calm voice of Ramirez at the same time that the
Ambassador cut in.

“Colonel,
what is going on?”

“Ambassador,
we have confirmation of a vessel attacking and landing on the Hedali ship.”

“Ramirez,
let me go, Colonel, this is too important--”

The
Ambassadors complaint was cut off by several guttural screams and several loud
sounds that were, for lack of a better term, alien to Kyle.

“We’re
moving Colonel. We have intruders in our area. Kitch push forward.”

Kyle
unholstered his sidearm and looked at K-man.

“We have
hostiles incoming; none leave that corridor alive, Kiskaliski.”

“Understood
Colonel.”

K-man
brought his rifle to ready position while Greene went prone on the other side
of the doorway.

“Jennings,
keep an eye on that hatch door. As soon as Richards gives the green light, we
are heading back onto the Fletcher. Donovan, are you on the line?”

“Yeah
Colonel, we are hot down here. As soon as Cowboy gives me the go code, we will
make the jump.”

“Colonel,
we have three guests with us. Just letting you know. Twenty seconds out.”

“Roger
Kitch. Cowboy, we need room for three more, will that be a problem?”

“No
Colonel, we can accommodate.”

“Good.
Ramirez, how is it?”

“Hot
Colonel. I’m tailgating the party, but there is a lot of damage back here. It’s
a mess. How far out Kitch?”

“Two
rooms, you should hear us by now.”

K-man had
his hand by his ear when Kyle looked over.

“We hear
you. Marines!  Ready!”

At that
moment, Kitch came around the corner of the corridor in a dead run. Sweat was
pouring off of her face, but she looked in control. Stuart was being dragged
along by Anderson. Boone was basically pushing a Hedali and Ambassador Thomas
before him. Two more Hedali were running in front of Carter who was keeping
pace while managing to keep filming behind him.

A low
thumping enveloped the area four times in quick succession as Carter paused at
the back end of the corridor. Kyle moved away from the entrance of the small
room to allow Kitch and the others to take cover when he felt a blast of air.

“We’re
open Colonel!” Jennings shouted.

“Everybody
onto the Shuttle! Move!” Kyle ordered.

As the
humans and their Hedali refugees moved past him, he heard the staccato of an
automatic rifle. Kyle whipped back to see Ramirez tearing down the corridor. As
his second foot hit the floor of the corridor, a shorter figure leaned around
the corner pointing a black object at Ramirez. There were two thumps and two
blue waves in rapid succession; the pulses they had felt earlier were the
weapons of these aliens. Kyle’s heart leaped into his throat as he watched the
waves hit Alex in the middle of his back.

“I’m
hit!” Ramirez yelled as he threw himself into the small room.

Several
of the unknown assailants starting charging down the corridor. One pointed at
Martin standing in the doorway.

“Clear!”
Kyle shouted as he dove to the floor.

K-man
emptied his magazine in less than 2 seconds. The brass was starting to ring on
the floor when Kyle came to a stop. 

He looked
up to see Greene and Ramirez going through the hatch to the Fletcher. Carter
was quickly backing towards the hatch, filming the entire time.

Beside
Kyle was a Hedali who had fallen as he entered the room. He grabbed him and
pushed him towards the hatch while swinging around to make sure the room was
clear.

“K-man,
let’s go.”

K-Man
stood and started towards the hatchway when Kyle saw another alien stick his
head into the corridor and look down towards them.

As if by
a sixth sense, K-Man pulled his .45, turned and fired all in one swift motion.
The alien’s head exploded in a brownish splash.

Kyle
heard what he took to be a gasp from the Hedali he was holding up as Kiskaliski
ran by them and through the hatch.

Moving
forward, Kyle pulled his new companion through the hatch, down the tunnel and
into the Fletcher. He heard the hatch behind him seal shut, and heard Richards
give the all clear.

“Go
Donovan!” said Cowboy, and Kyle saw the Hedali ship swim quickly away from the
hatch window.

Chapter 5

Kyle would
have slumped against any wall available if he was able. The best he could
accomplish was to float listlessly in the space around the hatchway. He still
had his hand on the Hedali he had helped climb aboard and, realizing that might
be insulting, motioned to one of the other Hedali to come over and help.

As
the other Hedali, Kyle thought it might be Lon, came and escorted his shaken
companion to another area of the crew compartment, Kyle glanced back through
the window of the hatch. Jupiter had swung away from where he was looking, but
he could make out the edge of it slowly getting smaller.

“Are
you sure?  Nothing hurts?” Jennings was examining Alex’s back.

“No,
I’m not hurt. I feel fine,” growled Ramirez.

It
was obvious to Kyle that Alex must have been repeating himself. It was one of
the few things to make Alex frustrated; answering the same question over and
over.

“If
he says he is fine, then he’s fine Jennings,” Kyle said as he floated over to
where they were. “What happened, Alex? I saw you get hit.”

“I
did get hit, sir. Clear as day, it felt hot and there was a little pressure to
it. But I’m fine.” Ramirez was calming down a bit, but the adrenalin was still
coursing through his veins.

“Ok
Alex, but I want you to let me know if you so much as get a hang nail before we
get home.”

“Yes
sir.”

Kyle
decided that he needed to take control again. He plugged his com unit into the
shuttle’s intercom system.

“Let’s
evaluate what has happened and what happens next. We were apparently ambushed
by an enemy force, but we were able to extricate ourselves from it
successfully. We were also able to save several of our Hedali friends in the
process. What I need now is an accurate rundown of our situation. Donovan, is
the torpedo ok?”

“Yes
sir, we are functioning at 100%”

“Good.
Cowboy, how is the Shuttle?” Kyle asked the shuttle Commander.

“Richards,
status report.” Cowboy tossed the question to his chief engineer.

“Fletcher
is fine, sir, we got the hatch sealed completely before we got under way. 
Systems all look good, nothing out of the ordinary,” Richards reported.

“Good,
thank you. Ambassador Thomas, what are we looking at diplomatically?” Kyle
asked.

Ambassador
Thomas looked up at Kyle stunned. He was clearly in shock at what had happened.

“Mister
Ambassador, what’s the diplomatic situation?”

This
seemed to finally bring the Ambassador around.

“I
don’t know, Colonel. I think the first thing we need to do is see to the needs
of the Hedali. Since we rescued their representative, and I have the treaty
tablet in my hand, I think we can still seal this accord.”

Kyle
looked at what appeared to be a tablet computer in the Ambassador’s hands.
White and sleek looking, it was strangely familiar. Almost like the new Apple
iDesk. That would explain a lot.

“Ok,
Richards, see if you can find some thermal space suits for our guests. Cowboy,
is there any way we can raise the temperature for them?”

“I
think we can close off one of the lab rooms and open those heating vents to
full. If we close off the vents in the other labs, we might be able to get it
to 100º or so,” Cowboy replied.

“With
the thermal suits, I think they will be ok. Chilly, but ok,” Richards added.

The
three Hedali had been frantically talking together during this time. Finally
one of them made his way over the crew gathered around Kyle.

“Colonel,
Ambassador, may I speak?” the Hedali asked.

Ambassador
Thomas took control. “Yes Lon, please. What is it you need to say?”

“We
are rather cold on your vessel, did I hear you say that you were going to try
and help us stay warm?”

“Yes,
we will.”

“Good,
we are fine for a few more hours, but the sooner we can get warm, the better it
will be for us.”

“Of
course, we will make every effort to be quick in meeting your needs.”

“Thank
you.”

Lon
paused for a second, just long enough that Kyle thought he sensed an uneasiness
as to what he would say next.

“Our
Ambassador, Firtulm, has a few… how would you explain? Elements of confusion
regarding what happened back on our vessel. May I ask the Colonel and that
Marine”, he pointed at K-Man, “a few questions.”

Ambassador
Thomas cut his eyes to Kyle, and seeing him nod, quickly said “Of course, Lon,
they would be happy to answer your questions.”

“Thank
you.” Lon turned back to Firtulm, the Hedali that Kyle had dragged aboard the
Fletcher, and spoke for a few seconds more.

K-man
maneuvered over to where Kyle and Ambassador Thomas were and waited with them.

“Just
answer the questions as simply and as honestly as you can. If you have any
hesitancy, it might appear as if we are hiding something,” the Ambassador
whispered.

“What
if we need to hide something?” asked K-man in the same low whisper.

Kyle
stared at him until he looked towards his feet.

“What
did your mother teach you, Sergeant? If you can’t say something nice, don’t say
anything at all. The same here, if you can’t say the truth, then keep your
mouth shut and let me talk. You suck at lying.”

To
an outsider, it would have seemed humorous, but both Kyle and Kiskaliski knew
that this was a direct order from Colonel to Sergeant.

Lon
turned to face them.

“Colonel
Martin, may I ask about the condition of the Marine who was shot?”

“He’s
doing well, thank you for your concern.”

“I
am not concerned Colonel Martin, I am frightened. He should not be well. He
should not be.”

Kyle
carefully considered what to say next.

“I
don’t understand why that should scare you. Should you not be happy that he
survived?”

“Yes
and no. He was hit by a
tilsoc
, a very advanced weapon. It should have
dissipated his form immediately. Instead, he is very much there. When Firtulm
saw the enemy fire on your Marine, he felt great fear that a human would be
lost at his meeting. But when he saw your Marine run by him, he felt great fear
that this meeting would be the end of his career. The weapon he was hit with
should have… no… it must have destroyed him. And yet it did not.”

Kyle
could clearly sense the nervousness and fear in Lon.

“It
will be fine, Lon, maybe Ramirez will feel some effects later; maybe he just
caught a portion of it.”

Lon
shut his eyes and bobbed up and down a little.

“No
Colonel Martin, you don’t understand. If even a portion of the wave were to
touch him or you or the ship, 192 kilograms of material would have been
dissipated. That is simply the way the physics of the weapon works.”

Kyle
was stunned. He suddenly felt very sympathetic for the Hedali, as they had
witnessed the truly impossible in their mind. Kyle believed in miracles and
Divine intervention. He had seen enough of them in combat; and he knew that to
see something truly impossible was very upsetting, even if it ended with a good
result.

“Ok
Lon, let’s look into that later. What other questions do you have for us?”

Ambassador
Thomas looked at Kyle with an exasperated expression. He didn’t like the abrupt
change in the conversation apparently.

“Yes,
Colonel Martin, we will discuss that later when more information is available.
The next question I have is to this Marine of yours…  Kiskaliski?”

“You
can call me K-man if that would be easier.”

“Thank
you. What did you do to the Otina that were in the corridor?”

“I
shot them.”

“With
what?”

K-Man
held his rifle out to Lon. The Hedali visibly shrank back from it.

“I
apologize K-man, I cannot touch a weapon without proper training. What kind of
weapon is it?”

“It’s
heavily modified fifty caliber sniper rifle.”

“But
what kind of weapon?”

K-man
looked at Kyle with a puzzled look on his face.

“It’s
a projectile weapon, Lon,” Ambassador Thomas offered. “Show him a bullet,
Sergeant.”

K-man
pulled a magazine from his belt and popped a round out with his thumb.

It
floated slowly towards Lon as he stared at it in wonder.

“How
is it propelled from the weapon?” he asked in a much quieter voice than before.

K-man
took the round in his hand and held it up for Lon to see.

“An
explosive charge is set in this brass case, the round itself is secured in
front of the explosive. There is a pin that strikes the round inside the
weapon. It detonates the explosive and forces the projectile down the barrel of
the weapon.”

Lon
stared at the round as K-man explained the process. He then turned back to the
other Hedali and started speaking frantically. The other Hedali spoke in a
brief, halting manner until it was obvious that Lon was describing the weapon
that Kiskaliski had used.

They
were quiet until he was done. The third Hedali spoke softly to Lon for a few
minutes, and Lon then turned back to the humans.

“Did
the Otina die instantly when you used your weapon?” he asked K-man.

“I
don’t know. If they had been human, they would likely have died before they hit
the ground. But I don’t know if their bodies are the same as ours.”

“How
do you aim your weapon?”

“I
have a digital scope showing where each round will strike when I pull the
trigger.”

“The
last one you killed, you used a different weapon. Why?”

“I
was out of ammunition in my main weapon, so I used a weapon that was ready.”

“And
how did you aim that weapon?”

“I
didn’t. There wasn’t time. I pointed and fired.”

Lon
just stared at him.

“I
do not understand your humor, forgive me. I must ask again, how did you aim
your second weapon?”

“I
didn’t aim it. I am used to firing the weapon, so I pointed it at what I wished
to hit, and I was accurate enough to hit my target.”

Lon
turned and spoke to his fellow Hedali for just a few seconds before turning
back to the humans.

“We
are concerned with what you are telling us. This is rather odd to us. We had no
idea that a projectile using a simple explosive could kill that effectively. We
are also amazed that you can aim so precisely at such distance without aid of a
computer. Yes, we are very concerned.”

Ambassador
Thomas looked intently at Lon for a few seconds.

“Lon,
we are not familiar with many of your technologies or understanding of science
as well. We are looking forward to learning much from the Hedali. Perhaps the
Hedali can learn from us as well?”

“Yes,
that would appear to be the situation. I must admit, I never thought that we
would be learning so much in such a short amount of time. You have impressed
us. We look forward to seeing more of your abilities and technologies.”

Richards
cleared his throat as he neared the small group. “Excuse me Colonel, we have
the suits available for our guests now.”

“Thank
you Richards. Lon, we have some suits that will hold your body heat in. We are
also warming one of our labs for you now; we hope it will be warm enough for
you.”

“Thank
you, Colonel.”

“Do
you need anything to eat or drink?”

“Maybe. 
How long will this journey to your planet take.”

“Around
ten days, or 240 hours.”

Lon
turned back to his people and spoke briefly.

“Thank
you Colonel. Yes, we will definitely need food and drink. Several times in
fact.  Can we contact our people?”

“Of
course, Lon,” Kyle said, flipping on his com unit. “Cowboy, can we get a relay
ready for the Hedali when we hit another pocket?”

The
field that the Torpedo created interfered with communications, but there were
regular intervals that seemed to open during a run that allowed for short
periods of communication.

“Sure
thing, Colonel. We have a pocket coming up in twenty minutes. I’ll try to get
the relay set up. We will have another one at 1435.”

“Great,
thanks. Lon, we will be able to send a message to the Hedali in just over six
hours. In the meantime, what kind of food and drink do you need?”

The
next ten days went quickly for everyone on the Fletcher. Lab number two was
able to reach and maintain 112ºF.  Combined with the space suits, the Hedali
felt fairly comfortable. 

The
nutritional needs of the Hedali were not as big of an issue as Ambassador
Thomas was initially afraid of. They were able to eat and drink most of the
provisions onboard for the crew. Surprisingly, they had many of the same
reactions as the humans; chocolate and coffee were well liked while the chicken
a la king and scrambled eggs from the MRE packs were uniformly despised.