“Please, Dr. Ogawa,” Bobby pleaded. “Get on board the shuttle. We have to go get Lcdr. Curtis and Dr. Saito right now. Before more bad guys show up at the apartment.”
“Who are you people?” Mizuki asked, shaking her head from sided to side in disbelief.
“I told you, my name is Bobby Danner. I’m one of the helmsmen from the Peggy Sue. Lcdr. Curtis is in the apartment with Dr. Saito. She’s the woman you talked to on the phone earlier. Look, we have to go now, they may be in danger. I can either leave you here, and you can explain what happened to the authorities, or you can get on board.”
Mizuki nodded yes, afraid to speak. Bobby hustled her up the airstair and forward to the flight deck, where he sat her in the co-pilot’s seat so he could keep an eye on her. “Listen to me, Mizuki. I need to concentrate on flying the shuttle, so please, please just sit there for a few minutes and don’t touch anything.”
“OK, Bobby,” Mizuki said in a quiet voice, her dark eyes looking into his. In the dark lighting the slightly pudgy lieutenant almost looked Japanese, thought Mizuki,
like a hero in a science fiction movie, rescuing the girl from the evil yakuza in his flying saucer.
Bobby quickly made the pinnace ready for flight and took off. The flight to Yuki’s apartment building took less than 30 seconds. Over the comm he called Gretchen, “Commander, could you flash the lights in the apartment on and off so I can be sure which one it is?”
“Roger that, Bobby. Flashing now.” The lights of one of the apartments on the building’s sixth floor blinked off and back on.
“OK, got it. Please stand back from the balcony while I back her in.” Gretchen acknowledged and Bobby positioned the rear of the shuttle just off the apartment’s balcony. “OK, Commander, I’m doing this blind. Tell me when the ramp will clear the edge and you can board.”
“Roger. Bring her back slowly.” A few seconds later a crunching and grinding sound came from the rear of the craft. “That should be good! Hold her there and lower the ramp!”
The ramp lowered until it touched down a couple of feet inside Yuki’s apartment. As soon as it did, Dr. Saito clambered on board carrying a small case and a couple of wicked looking samurai swords. The Doctor had changed his mind about taking a few other personal items with him while they waited for the shuttle’s arrival.
“I’m on Bobby,” Lcdr. Curtis yelled from the rear of the cabin, “button her up and make for orbit.”
The ramp closed and Tokyo rapidly dropped away beneath the accelerating shuttle. Mizuki unbuckled herself and bolted for the passenger compartment. There was much bowing and a rapid exchange of Japanese between the physicist and his assistant, ending in an embrace worthy of a father and daughter. Tears flowed down Mizuki’s cheeks.
After a few minutes, both Japanese scientists had regained their composure. “Mizuki,” said Yuki, “I would like you to meet Gretchen Curtis, she is both a dear friend and colleague, and my rescuer from the hands of the yakuza.”
Shyly, Mizuki bowed and said, “I am pleased to meet you, Lcdr. Curtis. I am sorry that I doubted you on the telephone and that I didn’t fully believe Bobby, even after he rescued me from the yakuza in front of the building.”
“It’s nice to meet you too, Dr. Ogawa. And don’t worry about that initial disbelief, we get that a lot,” Gretchen replied. “Don’t we Bobby?” she called to their pilot.
“Yes, Ma’am. That we do,” came the happy reply.
Chapter 7
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Under Billy Ray’s sure hand, the large shuttle floated in from the sea, black and silent against the night sky. On local radar it presented the same cross section as a large seabird, if it showed at all. The shuttle crossed the barrier islands and the waters of the Intracoastal, to settle on shore in a ragged opening in the canopy of southern pine. Though the surveillance drone had scanned the area for IR signatures prior to landing, the shuttle crew waited to see if their arrival attracted unwanted attention. After watching quietly for fifteen minutes, the rear boarding ramp lowered and the squad of four—three ex-SEALs and one former Green Beret—disembarked, heading for the camp, five kilometers away, where the imprisoned Marines were being held.
The former special forces operatives were in their natural element—infiltrating a hostile enemy position while facing astronomical odds. After crossing Mockup Road and working their way to within a kilometer of the prison camp entrance, they came across the rutted trail leading into the place. Speaking in low voices, JT and Chief Morgan discussed their next move. “I think we should get eyes on the camp itself, to be sure how far away it is and to get a rough headcount on the guards.”
“Agreed, Chief. It would be good to have an estimate of how fast they can respond and in what force,” JT said.
“Right,” the head SEAL replied. “Phil, Bud, go check it out. We’ll scout for a good ambush site.” The two SEALs silently acknowledged and slipped quietly away through the undergrowth.
“We should look for a place where the canopy opens up around the trail. The clearer a place we have for the shuttle to touch down the better.”
“From what I saw of the landing site, that thing has no problem knocking trees aside. Why look for a clearing?”
“The shuttle’s repulsors can certainly uproot and toss these pine trees aside,” JT replied. “And wouldn’t it be a bitch if we rescued the jar heads only to have them taken out by flying lumber?”
“Probably ruin their entire day,” Morgan agreed. “So we need to find a reasonable clearing and set the ambush just before it on the way into the camp.”
“My thinking exactly, Chief.”
Lcdr. Curtis’ Shuttle, Arriving At The Peggy Sue
The Captain once again found himself awaiting the arrival of a shuttle full of rescued captives. As the shuttle from Tokyo finished docking, Ludmilla joined him outside of the airlock. “I thought you would like to know that the Chief is stable and resting,” she said, answering Jack’s unasked question. “Thank goodness for Dr. Carmichael and his OR nurse. Without them, it would have been risky for me to operate on the Chief’s shoulder wound alone. As it was, Dr. Carmichael performed the surgery and I assisted. He seems very competent, his nurse Giselle as well.”
“That’s great news, Doctor,” Jack said, relief obvious on his face. “I’m just happy no one else was wounded, or worse.”
“Say it, Jack,” Ludmilla said, guilt clouding her ice-blue eyes. “I was wrong to go. Worse, I endangered others doing so.”
“Ludmilla, there are often ill advised things that honor or duty demand we do,” he replied. “I sent the Marines and part of the crew into harm’s way on the station in Beta Comae, and as a result four of them died.”
“That was different, Jack. We needed to know if the probe’s message was passed on,” Ludmilla said, never one to make excuses or sugar coat things. “I didn’t need to talk to ROSCOSMOS face to face. I could have used the video link. And if I had the Chief would not be in sickbay, recovering from a gunshot wound that could have killed him.”
“If you had not gone, the extent of Russia’s treachery and the complicity of the UN would have remained hidden. We might have been lured into a more serious trap. Did you know, they invited me to address the Security Counsel in person?”
“Really? You were not considering accepting, were you?”
“If everything had gone well with your visit, I might have been tempted. Now it’s obvious that I would not have returned from such a trip.”
“My country tries to kidnap me at gun point, Yuki’s does kidnap him and turns him over to hoodlums, and the United States secretly imprisons a squad of its own Marines. It seems that every hand is against us, Jack.”
“The actions of the U.S. are the most inexplicable. Those Marines didn’t volunteer for the mission, they were put at risk in the service of their country,” Jack said angrily. “They should have been greeted as heroes, instead they have been held covertly—suspected terrorists receive better treatment.”
The sound of the passenger ramp lowering could be heard from within the airlock. Moments later the indicator on the airlock control panel changed to green and the door slid open. Gretchen Curtis descended the airstair and, seeing the Captain, came to attention and saluted. “Permission to come aboard, Sir?”
Jack returned her salute and said, “Permission granted, Commander. Welcome back.”
Yuki appeared next, followed by a slender young Japanese woman. He stopped before the Captain and bowed formally. “Captain, I thank you most humbly for rescuing my assistant and myself. The dishonorable actions of my nation’s government have shamed me deeply. If you will have me, I wish to join your crew permanently.”
Jack returned Yuki’s bow and then stepped forward and shook his hand. “Dr. Saito, I would be honored for you to join my crew on a permanent basis. I also understand that you have brought a colleague along.”
“Yes, Captain,” Yuki said, with a genuine smile. “May I present my colleague, Dr. Mizuki Ogawa? She joined my laboratory as a post-doctorate researcher just prior to my trip to the ISS. I am hoping that room for her can be found on board as well.”
“Certainly, Doctor,” Jack said and then bowing slightly toward the young woman added, “welcome aboard Dr. Ogawa. Any friend of Dr. Saito’s is certainly welcome here.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Mizuki replied, respectfully looking down at the deck. “If Bobby had not rescued me, I don’t know what would have happened.”
Bobby?
the Captain thought,
he’s a hell of a pilot but I never would have expected individual heroics on a clandestine mission planetside.
“I look forward to Commander Curtis’ full report once everyone is back on board and settled in,” he replied, directing an inquiring glance at his second in command.
“I am forgetting my manners. Dr. Ogawa, this is Dr. Tropsha, the ship’s head medical officer and also a member of the science staff. If you need anything or have any questions please do not hesitate to ask her or any of the other ship’s officers.”
“Yes, welcome aboard Dr. Ogawa. Come with me and we will have some tea,” Ludmilla said, taking Mizuki in hand. “You can ask me questions and later I will show you around the ship…”
As the two women walked away, Jack looked at Gretchen and said, “Well done, Commander, I look forward to hearing all about your mission. I’m calling a meeting in my quarters in two hours. Hopefully we will have a progress report from the mission to free the Marines by then.”
Camp Lejeune, North Carolina
Jones and Kowalski returned from scouting the prison camp a little over an hour after they set out. “The camp is just over a kilometer away,” reported Phil Kowalski. “There are eight guards with M4s, plus a couple of dogs. It’ll take ‘em at least 10 minutes if they come flat out, more if they come cautious like.”
“Yeah, I’d worry more about the dogs than the guards. Do these ray gun thingies work on dogs?” asked Bud Jones. The rescue party was armed with only stunners, the Captain had insisted. Jack told the special operators that if they could not rescue the prisoners using stealth and cunning he would have to assign them different duty. The SEALs took the bait, but were now having second thoughts about being practically unarmed in the midst of 40,000 Marines.
“They will knock down anything with a nervous system up to the size of a full grown bear,” JT answered. “Just remember that maximum range is around 10 meters.”
“Great,” said Jones. “They got M4s and we got pop guns.”
“At least they’re quiet,” JT said, “and what noise they do make doesn’t sound like weapons fire.”
“Knock off the chatter, Bud,” Chief Morgan ordered. “Let’s get the charges set and ourselves into position. We don’t want to get caught with our shorts around our ankles if the bus comes back early.”
Captain’s Quarters, Peggy Sue
Assembled in the sitting room of the Captain’s quarters were the ship’s inner circle: Lcdr. Curtis, Dr. Tropsha and Dr. Gupta. Missing were the Chief, who was recovering from surgery on his injured shoulder, and Lt. Bear, who was on extended shore leave. They were talking over a video conference link with TK Parker at his station in the Outback. The subject was world reaction to their announcement of the impending alien threat.
“It looks like Dr. Tropsha’s shoot out with the UN in Vienna has made the news everywhere. The nitwit in the White House issued a statement condemning the act and labeling the crew of the Peggy Sue outlaws,” TK was saying. “Then that super giant ass from the UN held a press conference and said y’all were worse than Somali pirates.”
“The Secretary General said that?” asked Ludmilla.
“Yes indeed. Thought that pompous popinjay was gonna have an aneurysm right there on the air. Too bad he didn’t, the perfidious asshole.”
“And the announcement about the alien threat is being ignored?” asked Jack.
“That or made fun of, son. The British Prime Minister, the President of France, the German Chancellor, China’s Premier, all have denounced or scoffed at our announcement. Even worse, the public is ignoring it. Face it, the world has seen too many bad science fiction movies to be impressed by video of a real battle with aliens. Hell, one network had their film critics review the firefight on the Moon. They said the special effects were second rate and the slow motion when people fell was hokey.”
“Hokey? We were on the Moon for goodness sake. That is how the local gravity acts!” Rajiv was more outraged by the news media’s lack of scientific understanding than the political impact of such remarks.
“Perhaps we should have added some loud explosions and zapping ray-gun sounds,” added Gretchen sarcastically. “Has there been any mention of our rescue of Dr. Saito?”
“Not a peep. Hell, they can’t very well complain about us snatching him since they insist he died on the ISS months ago. No, there’s not a politician on Earth who sees acknowledging the alien threat as in their own best interest.”