Eclipse (Bright Horizons Book 2)

by Wilson Harp

  “I think it’s what I may be able to do for you. I understand you are working on a project.”

  “Yeah, figured Kitch would fill you in. It’s a head-scratcher, that’s for sure.”

  “I bet. I just got some information that I think you will find useful. Seems that our friends the Pelod have been holding out on us when it came to some information.”

  “About mosar?” Carl asked.

  “Yeah. Turns out they didn’t even know about mosar until—“

  “They developed interstellar flight.”

  “Right. Wow, good job on figuring that out. I was kind of shooting in the dark there. What I was going to say, though, was until they met the Iltia’cor,” Kyle said.

  “The Iltia’cor? The Pelod first contact was with the Iltia’cor?”

  “That is affirmative.”

  “Interesting, but I don’t know how that helps.”

  “The Pelod were the first race that the Hedali ran into when they developed interstellar travel.”

  “Let me guess. Before the Hedali met the Pelod, they had never heard of mosar either.”

  “No, the Hedali had discovered mosar, but they hadn’t been alone in their system.”

  “What do you mean they hadn’t been alone?”

  “The Otina were already there. Had been for a couple of centuries. They were kidnapping Hedali and experimenting on them.”

  “So the Otina were already doing their stalk and grab act nine hundred years ago?”

  “No, they were already doing their act over two thousand years ago. And that is just as far back as the Pelod’s records go.”

  “Where are you getting this, Kyle?” Carl asked.

  “The Pelod gave me some of their records. They have started having their people kidnapped by the Otina again.”

  “Weren’t they supposed to have provided this when we signed the Earth-Mars accord?”

  “Technically they gave us everything they knew about the Otina, this information is extrapolation of theories and speculations.”

  “Clever. Didn’t want to upset a favorite customer in case business could start up again.”

  “That’s the way I see it. The point is, the Otina have that mysterious drifter vibe, but they have been drifting a long, long time.”

  “That gives me something to work with. Can you send any of that data over?”

  “Sorry Carl, the Pelod gave me the actual data as a member of the Lower Council. I can let you know what I find, but I can’t let anyone else who isn’t on the Council see it.”

  “Them’s the breaks,” Carl said. “You gave me a better direction to start going in. Thanks, Kyle.”

  “We’ll see you next weekend?”

  “Sure thing, wouldn’t miss a Martin cookout. Have a good day, Ambassador.”

  “You too, Doctor.”

  Carl sat back and looked at the ceiling after Kyle ended the call. He now knew that the interstellar travel date wasn’t a hard and fast start for each system developing mosar. He thought it might be near proximity of another race with mosar, but the Pelod and the Otina had been in the Earth system for almost two hundred years.

  He looked up a number for an old friend who was still in the Marines.

  “Can you connect me to General Davies, please.”

  After a short wait, the General was on the line.

  “This is General Davies, how may I help you?”

  “Hello General, this is Doctor Carl Williams. Was wondering if you could let me know if we could get a scan of any of the Otina POWs?”

  “I’ll have to check against regulations. The Treaty of the Stars is pretty explicit about treatment of POWs.”

  “The Otina aren’t signatories, General.”

  “No, but we are and we are sworn to uphold the law even if our prisoner’s haven’t,” General Davies replied.

  “Okay, okay. If it fits in regulations, can I get a scan? I want a mosar spec on about ten of them.”

  “I’ll check, Doctor, but I don’t see what that will tell you.”

  “That’s classified, General. No big deal, but I need those readings if I can get them.”

  “I’ll see what I can do, Doctor.”

  Carl hung up from the call and started looking through the data again. If he could date each race based upon the mosar in their system, he might be able to create a timeline of when mosar was introduced to each system.

  Then he would be able to determine how long humanity had before it was completely infected as well.

  Chapter 7

  K-man stared at the panel showing his men’s status. As he watched, the last few names went green indicating that their medical tests were finished and no problems were found.

  “Captain Gagne, we are all cleared,” he said. He turned to look at the Captain of the Berlin. “I can send Salazar the report and we can get our men the shore leave they desperately deserve.”

  “Sounds good, Colonel,” Gagne said. He was frowning, though, as he looked at his tablet. “Might be a small hitch in that plan, though.”

  A ding from K-man’s tablet told him that the hitch was from Salazar himself. K-man looked at the incoming message. A priority mission.

  K-man sighed and pulled up the communications tab. He found Salazar’s name and sent a connection request.

  The general’s face appeared almost instantly on the tablet.

  “I thought you would be in contact, Kiskaliski,” Salazar said. “I’m sorry to have to do this, but it comes straight from General Kitch’s office.”

  “My men need some R&R, sir. We’ve been in orbit around Ellison for five days now and they are going stir crazy.”

  “Understood, and they do deserve a break. They have five days. We are sending a couple of extra squads and some more scooters to your team. They will be assembled and at Ellison in five days,” Salazar said.

  “That isn’t enough time for any of my men or Captain Gagne’s men to schedule a ride to Earth, have a sandwich and make it back.”

  “Sorry, Colonel, that’s what we have to deal with. They can have their liberty at Ellison, but we need you back in the Kuiper Belt ASAP.”

  “What’s the mission?”

  “The Otina grabbed Ramirez when he was heading out of system.”

  “They got Gunny Ramirez? Where? When?”

  “They found his transport derelict about a half light year from the system. It looks like the Otina have found a way to pull a ship in warp back into our space-time. We’re still working on the how. But this was four days ago. He is a major security risk for us, and we want him back.”

  “Alex will try to contact us and escape himself, sir,” K-man said.

  “I know, but we need to be in position to go get him when we get any information. Our best guess is he is in section 128 of the Kuiper Belt. That would be the closest place they could take him.”

  “I’ll start pulling up spec sheets and looking at the search pattern protocols, sir.”

  “We’re counting on you, K-man. This is the kind of mission we gave you command for. Salazar out.”

  Captain Gagne leaned back in his chair and covered his face with both hands. “There must be a thousand rocks in that sector that could hide an Otina base. And we’ll probably hit twenty bases with a careful search. That could be a year’s worth of work.”

  “You’re right,” K-man said. “The men aren’t going to like this one. We’ll be out a long time.”

  Gagne stood. “I’ll take the hit and tell my men first, you coordinate with Ellison and the scooter crews. They need time to get the provisions allocated and secured on the Berlin.”

  K-man nodded as he pulled up the communications codes. They would need to rotate out some of the men and bring in fresh recruits. Earth System Defense was the main front-line against the Otina and as such there was a high rate of turn-over. You just couldn’t keep a man in a combat situation for months at a time. Unless he was were an officer or his position required him to be on the front lines.

&n
bsp; Many of the soldiers, marines, sailors and airmen would be heading home to Earth when the Berlin left port again. But most of K-man’s hand picked men would be heading back out for another multi-month run without a chance to get home and see some loved ones. Without a chance to see their homes again, even.

  A life spent defending your home often meant you didn’t see what you were protecting for a long time. And often, what you did changed you so much that you didn’t fit in to that world ever again.

  K-man heard the ship’s intercom system kick on.

  “Crew of the Berlin, this is the Captain. I have some very good news for all of us and some very bad news for most of us. The good news is that we have been cleared by medical to start our liberty on Ellison station at the end of this announcement. The bad news is that if you do not have a confirmed reassignment, your liberty will be five days. We have a priority mission and as soon as the Berlin and her escorts are prepped, we are shipping out. For those who were hoping to get home during the three weeks liberty, I am sincerely sorry. Enjoy your liberty. You need to report back by 0600 on the 17th.”

  K-man pulled his comm unit out of his shirt pocket. By the time he got it up to his ear, it had already buzzed.

  “Kiskaliski,” he said. He knew who it was.

  “Sir, this is Lippor. Does this mean that we are on short liberty as well?”

  “Yes, Sergeant. I’m very sorry. Orders just came through a few minutes ago.”

  “Sir, this is heartbreaking, I must say. My grandfather is not doing well and I was hoping to get home to see him.”

  “Sorry, Lippor. I was looking forward to some time off myself. Klein will be the worst, though. He was going to go see his daughter.”

  “I forgot about that. I’ll see if I can intercept him before he does something stupid.”

  “Tell him that he needs to rent a room, call his wife and spend a few hours of quality video time with her and his new daughter. I’ll pick up the room tab for him. And spread the word that I’m buying first rounds at the canteen tonight.”

  “Yes, sir. Where are we off to?”

  “Bound by OPSEC, but you’ll know on the 17th.”

  “Great, out to the rocks again.”

  “Remember just the first round, Lippor. Kiskaliski out.”

  K-man set his comm unit to private and dropped it in his pocket.

  “Buying the first round? I thought you were a teetotaler,” Gagne said as he walked back in the small briefing room.

  “I am,” K-man said. “But most of my men will want to pound down more than their fair share tonight, and buying the first round lets them know I understand why.”

  “If you are willing to handle upset marines, mind calling my wife for me?”

  K-man smiled as he pulled up the incoming orders.

  “Vacation?” he asked Gagne.

  “Wedding,” the captain said.

  K-Man whistled low and shook his head.

  “Youngest daughter. They scheduled it two weeks from today. Planned it all around my guaranteed liberty.”

  Gagne walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a bottle of scotch and a glass.

  “You don’t mind if I have one, do you?” Gagne asked as he sat down across from K-man.

  “I would suggest more than one before you make that call, Skipper.”

  “She was already upset when I told her I was going to need medical clearance. I don’t know what she will do when I tell her I won’t be able to get home at all.”

  “Maybe you should wait until we are about to pull out,” K-man said as he tried not to laugh. “Last thing Ellison needs is an angry navy wife in a port full of hung-over marines.”

  Gagne laughed. “Yeah, those guys see enough danger, no use putting them in that line of fire.”

  Gagne poured enough that K-man could tell he was upset. The captain of the Berlin wasn’t a heavy drinker and in fact this was the first time that K-man had seen a bottle of liquor in his hand on the ship.

  “You served with Ramirez, right?” asked Gagne.

  “Yeah, we were in the Indian Theater and then we were with Ambassador Martin at the First Contact.”

  Gagne nodded as he swirled the scotch in his glass.

  “You’ve been killing Otina longer than anyone, I guess.”

  K-man looked up from his tablet. “I never thought of it that way. Although Ramirez was the first to kill one. He shot one that was pursuing the team as they were racing to the Fletcher.”

  Gagne took a drink and set the glass on a side table.

  “What a life we lead,” he said.

  K-man turned off his tablet and set it down on the chair next to him. He could tell that the captain needed to talk.

  “I know you were in the Indian theater, Captain. Why did you re-up when the Iltia war started?”

  Gagne shrugged. “What else was I going to do? I had experience as a ship’s captain and Earth needed me. I had only resigned my commission for about a year before the invasion. I figured they might need someone who was familiar with command and system controls.”

  He looked around at the briefing room. “Not much different than the AEGIS cruiser I skippered in the Indian War. Less ports to see out of, no chance of running the bottom, but pretty close to the same.”

  “The crews the same?”

  “Mostly. On the water is was all U.S. crews. Here we get a mix of all different nations. Most get along okay. Have to make sure no one gets too hot, make sure no one gets too offended. But sailors are sailors. If I can get them to take their roles seriously and they do their jobs properly, the ship runs smooth.” Gagne took a long sip of his whisky. “I have a very smooth running ship, K-man. I hope I can hand her over to someone else one day.”

  “How long?”

  The captain shrugged. “Wife wants me to resign after this hitch. Might do it. Kids are married, or soon will be. Have a couple of grandkids I could spend time with. Could take up painting, I guess.”

  “You paint?” K-man asked.

  Gagne snorted. “No. Not yet. Just always looked relaxing, you know? Just a blank canvas, a bunch of paint and brushes. Just creating.”

  K-man nodded.

  “What about you, K-man?” Gagne asked. “What do you see yourself doing after you get out?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never really thought about it. I joined when I was 17, the day I graduated High School. It’s been 15 years now. Almost half my life in the Corp. I guess in another twenty years or so, I’ll retire. But I don’t have a lot to go back to. My mom died when I was a kid and my dad… he wasn’t much of a father. He drank himself to death when I was 23. I was in India at the time. Didn’t go home for the funeral. I went to his grave when I got back to the States, but didn’t know what to say.”

  “The Corp is your family.”

  “The Corp is my family.”

  “And Ramirez?”

  K-man chuckled. “Like an older brother who can’t stay out of trouble.”

  “We’ll get him back for you. When they figure out where he is, I’ll park this boat right on his doorstep.”

  K-man stood up.

  “Thanks, Skipper. I know you’ll get us there. We just have to rely upon the techs to figure out where he is,” K-man said.

  “Take care, Colonel. Anything you need, don’t hesitate to ask.”

  K-man left the ready room and headed for his quarters.

  Lippor met him coming out of the mess.

  “Sir, I’ve heard some rumors. Are they true?” Lippor asked.

  “I’m sure some rumors are true and some are not, Lippor. Which ones are you asking about?”

  “Search and rescue mission. That’s what I’ve heard, that this is a search and rescue mission.”

  “That could be, we’ll be getting more information in the next few days.”

  “Gunny Ramirez?”

  K-man stopped and looked at the young officer. “Where did that name come up?”

  “Greenaway. He was running some data search
es and it looks like Gunny Ramirez’s transport to Iltia was hit by some Otina.”

  “Get Greenaway and bring him to my quarters, Lippor.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  K-man stalked to his briefing room. He was irritated that news had gotten out about Ramirez, but he was also a little impressed with his company’s computer tech for having dug the information up in just a few minutes.

  K-man arrived in his office and was pulling up the reports when Lippor, Greenaway and Golding came to the door.

  “Captain, why are you here?” K-man asked.

  “I was the one who suggested to Greenaway that he might find something interesting in the data. I figure if you are going to chew him and Lippor out, I might as well get it at the same time,” Captain Golding said.

  K-man nodded. “Come in and secure the door behind you.”

  The three marines stepped in and Lippor shut the door firmly behind them.

  “Have a seat,” K-man told his subordinates. He motioned to the array of chairs lining the wall as he continued to pull up the reports he wanted.

  The men sat as they waited on their commanding officer.

  K-man finished pulling together the reports he wanted, sorted them into the order he needed, and put the first one up on the screen opposite the chairs that his men sat in.

  “This is the report that Greenaway found.” He looked at the young Lieutenant. “Correct?”

  Greenaway nodded. “Yes, sir.”

  K-man clicked the spacebar on his keyboard pulling up the next report.

  “This is the official order that I received less than an hour ago. We are on a hunt for Gunnery Sergeant Ramirez.”

  The three men nodded.

  “This is a classified report of what happened on the Hedali ship on the day of the First Contact. I was one of four human witnesses to the event.”

  The men across from K-man leaned closer to read the report. It was a fairly simple and short write up about how an alien shot Gunny Ramirez in the back with some weapon and it had no effect on him.

  “That must have confused them,” Lippor said as he finished reading.

  “For the milliseconds that they were alive, I believe it did,” K-man said. “I cleared the hallway of six of them to cover our retreat onto the Fletcher.”