Mosar (Bright Horizons Book 3)

by Wilson Harp

  “Where did you meet?”

  “We actually were at college together. He was a business major, so nothing to do with my degree, but we both took art appreciation. We chatted a few times, but nothing serious. Then we met again when I started working at Hyler’s. I got a job in the mailroom and he was working in Accounting. We saw each other at lunch my first day there and he invited me to sit with him. A few weeks later, he asked me out.”

  “Well that’s wonderful,” Kitch said. She sipped her coffee. “And you’re getting better at making coffee.”

  “Dad made that,” Sara said. “He still won’t let me near the machine after what happened.”

  “It was $43 a pound Madagascar blend,” Kyle said as he sat down. “I had to throw the whole thing away.”

  “It wasn’t that bad, Dad. And it was two years ago. I’m a great cook, except for coffee.”

  “Kitch, it was worse than the stuff Anderson used to make.”

  “Oh my God, Sara!” Kitch said. “You should never treat coffee that way. When your dad throws away coffee, it means it’s bad.”

  “I bought him a new machine,” Sara said.

  “New machine?”

  “I said I had to throw the whole thing away,” said Kyle.

  “The machine?” asked Kitch.

  “Like I’m the first person to catch a coffee machine on fire,” said Sara.

  “Tell her about Greg,” said Kyle.

  “Geoff, Dad.” She turned to Kitch. “He does that on purpose.”

  Kitch frowned at Kyle. “Don’t be petty.”

  She turned back to Sara. “Now tell me about him. Is he tall?”

  “He is, I’ll show you,” she said as she pulled her phone out of her pocket. “Oh, he just texted me. He decided to blow off his friends and wants me to meet him for dinner. I’ll send you some pics of him if you want. But I need to go now.”

  “Sounds good, Sara. Have fun,” Kitch said as the young woman gathered her purse and headed out the door.

  “Not too much fun,” Kyle said as he watched his daughter slam the door behind her.

  “She’ll be fine, Kyle. You raised her well.”

  “I know, but you never stop worrying, you know?”

  “I can imagine. Does this Geoff check out okay? I can look into him for you.”

  “Geoffrey Talbott. 25 years old. Behind on a car payment last August. Parents are married. They live in Dayton, Ohio. His dad is a welder and his mom is a bookkeeper slash cashier at a natural foods market. He graduated cum laude with a degree in accounting. He speaks French, poorly, and has had two serious girlfriends. But has only told Sara about one.”

  Kitch smiled at Kyle. “How long before you looked into him?”

  “Third date. I like to give them a little privacy until I know Sara really likes them.”

  “Any red flags?”

  “No. Two speeding tickets, both before the age of eighteen. No juvenile record, no run-ins with anyone. Perfect attendance record at work last year.”

  “Your network is almost as good as someone else I know.”

  Kyle smirked. “Hey, did I tell you about the new station Sara showed me?”

  “No. Turn it on.”

  Kyle went over to his system and turned on some music. He made sure the speakers were pointed directly at one of the listening devices he had found. He was sure there were more, but a little music in one would obscure what he and Kitch were saying. Unless Wu had gone so far as to set up different channels for each device. Kyle frowned as he considered the idea. But there was nothing to be done.

  “What is Wu thinking? Does he believe the resolution will pass the general assembly?” Kyle asked as he sat on the couch.

  “I think he knows it will. You’re used to being around aliens, and so am I, but most people only remember the images from the Iltia’cor invasion and then the war against the Otina. Aliens are at best an oddity or a curiosity. But most humans are still scared of aliens. Wu’s proposal makes them feel safe.”

  “What about the Pelod? There are hundreds of them on the planet.”

  “Kyle, the Pelod are shapechangers. They look like us when they are on Earth, and that makes people even more uncomfortable. The law is clearly aimed at the Pelod, and if you are honest with yourself, you would like to know exactly how many Pelod are here. Smith hasn’t given us a hard number any time we have asked.”

  Kyle rubbed his forehead. Taken in small bits, the argument seemed strong. The Pelod had been on Earth for a hundred years before humans knew about them. Aliens had invaded Earth less than five years ago. Earth had fought two separate wars with aliens in three years. And a planet should be able to know when an alien was visiting.

  But tracking them with satellite and making them register and report in monthly? It was just too much when taken as a whole.

  “Even if he convinces the majority of the general assembly that aliens have to be tracked, is it of much consequence?” Kitch asked. “I don’t like it, but how big of a problem will it be?”

  “This is exactly why it is a big problem,” said Kyle. “In the short term, it doesn’t seem like anything more than an inconvenience or a small invasion of privacy, but eventually we will get used to the idea. It won’t rub us the wrong way. Then we will see it as something that should be in place. We will go from seeing it as a necessary evil to just seeing it as necessary.”

  ‘What can we do, Kyle? He has every right to submit the resolution. There is nothing illegal about it.”

  “There never is. He plays it very close to the line. Never quite steps over.”

  “Like with India,” Kitch said.

  Kyle nodded. The war that shaped and hardened Kyle, Kitch and tens of thousands other soldiers was started when India invaded China. The Indians struck fast. They captured most of the Chinese nuclear sites in less than three days. The world was stunned, China most of all. They called for aid and the United States responded by calling a diplomatic council in Hawaii. On the first day of the meetings, the Indian Prime Minister and four members of his cabinet were murdered by a group of six men. A fierce gunfight erupted as the men tried to flee. They were cut down and it was soon discovered three of the men had been field agents for various organizations of the United States.

  Washington disavowed any knowledge of their actions or any connection to them at the time of the attack, but the Indian government and their people saw it as a betrayal. They rounded up American citizens in India and held them in camps. From there it escalated, and within a few months, American boots were on Indian soil.

  About a year after the war ended, Kyle had come across a few communiques that had some interesting information. It seemed some of the money in one of the assassin’s bank was traceable. It wasn’t a firm enough lead to bring any serious notice, but the trail led back to a defense official in China: Wu Shing. Kyle started looking into Wu’s background and discovered his office had leaked information to Indian Intelligence about a Chinese plan to establish a base in Kashmir. When the Indians sent some agents in to investigate, they were captured and imprisoned. Wu used that situation to advance himself and become a hero to the Chinese leadership. A few years later, his fingerprints were all over a move of troops that resulted in Indian and Chinese forces firing on one another.

  No one expected the Indians to declare war over a minor dispute, Wu included. But Wu seemed to find a silver lining in the situation. A series of deaths of Wu’s superiors during the war, deaths which all seemed to have components of fatal bad luck, resulted in Wu as Defense Minister. By that time, the United States had become involved and China offered plenty of support and intelligence, but very little in terms of materials or manpower.

  “Everywhere you turn in Wu’s history, someone dies right before his unanticipated advancement,” Kitch said. “We have to be careful.”

  “I agree,” Kyle said. “And let’s make special care we double check his proposals.”

  “Wu has never been this aggressive before, Kyle. He alwa
ys lets others take the lead. He sets things up and doesn’t draw attention to himself. What’s changed?”

  Kyle knew. He had been through it himself. “His wife passed away five years ago, Diane. He has no children, he has no other family.”

  “He wants a legacy,” she said.

  “I believe so. And he thinks the best way to get a legacy is to pander to the masses.”

  “If the public changed their mind about aliens?”

  “He would put out the welcome mat and make everyone believe it was his idea to bring them here.”

  Kitch stared into her coffee. “There is some comfort in knowing he isn’t a true believer. That means there might be some rationality to him.”

  “No,” said Kyle. “He is a true believer. He believes in himself and what is best for him. He believes in that with all of his heart. You can’t reason with a man like that. Everything they do is because of a scheme they have. They believe no one can best them. Wu is dangerous. If he were a true believer, he would be predictable. He isn’t.”

  “What do you think his next move will be?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe restrictions on aliens on Earth. Stick to the bare minimum of the treaty with the Pelod and forbid any other aliens. Maybe blocking alien information or stopping research based on alien technology.”

  Kitch shook her head. “I know he would love to replace you as our galactic Ambassador.”

  “A’nacal wouldn’t allow that. There would be problems. But Wu might be looking for a new Commander of Earth Force.”

  Kitch snorted. “He’ll have to pry me out of that seat. Besides he needs a majority of the Security Council, and he doesn’t have enough support there.”

  “We just need to keep an eye on him, General.”

  “I agree. It’s only fair, he’s keeping a close eye on us. Did you know I found a device in my bedroom? I hope he gets good images of me snoring.”

  Kyle laughed. He and Kitch had both spent too many years in uniform to be too worked up over the lack of privacy.

  “What I want to know is how he got so good at surveillance? There is nothing in his past to indicate he is this skilled,” said Kyle.

  “What about Ocampo?” Kitch asked.

  “It’s interesting you bring him up,” Kyle said. “Lauro Ocampo has an incredible pedigree from everything I have seen, but I don’t know a single contact who has had dealings with him before four years ago.”

  “That’s odd. I assumed he was on the Chinese payroll.”

  “I assumed that as well. He’s Filipino, he speaks fluent Mandarin, his team is all Chinese, and yet when I talked to Shen and Quon, they said he came from the outside to head up Wu’s security.”

  “Who had him?”

  “Quon thinks he may have been brought in by a South American organization.”

  “Peruvian?” asked Kitch.

  Kyle shrugged. “Maybe Chilean or Brazilian. I’m not sure. Don’t have very many contacts down there.”

  “He doesn’t seem like a COMINT expert.”

  “I think he’s pretty new to the game. A lot of his work before seemed to be rather damp.”

  “Do they have someone we haven’t dredged up yet?”

  Kyle shook his head. “No, Ocampo is pretty brazen in his moves. He doesn’t seem to care to keep out of sight. It’s odd considering his background. Or lack of.”

  “Maybe he realized he had to be more assertive to get where he wanted to go. Audacious men win battles.”

  Kyle nodded. “Yeah, that’s what we taught our operatives, isn’t it? And Wu has climbed quickly since Ocampo was brought in.”

  “You think Ocampo might be directing Wu?”

  “Personally directing? No. Could be working for someone else, though. If so, they have clearly underestimated Wu’s desire for power and how hard it will be to dislodge him.”

  “I don’t know,” said Kitch. “Something just doesn’t sit right with me. I’m used to dealing with politicians. They annoy me, but I know how to handle them and how far they will actually go. With Wu… he makes me uncomfortable.”

  “You don’t think he would try to blackmail you, do you?”

  Kitch laughed. “With what? You know me, Kyle. I’m too busy to get into trouble. I haven’t even gotten a parking ticket in ten years.”

  “Maybe he could fabricate something.”

  Kitch wrinkled her nose at the suggestion. “No. If it was something like that, I would be fine. He feels… dangerous. I know he wouldn’t actually come after me, but sometimes I feel vulnerable.”

  “Why don’t you step up security? Maybe have Kiskaliski assign you a young gun from his team and have him work in civvies in your office.”

  “I don’t think I need to do that,” Kitch said.

  “Better safe than sorry, Diane.”

  “Maybe you should talk to K-Man, yourself.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “Wu can dispose of me through the security council. He has no say over who Earth’s ambassador is.”

  Kyle smiled. “I bet he would love to throw that particular treaty out. Then he wouldn’t have to have me hovering over him.”

  Diane looked at her phone.

  “Looks like I need to get back to work,” she said. “I wish you would get up to New York more often. I could use you hovering over him a lot more.”

  “I’ll try,” said Kyle. “But I’ll want to eat at Morton’s and it’s on you.”

  “Lombardi’s, and that’s as much as you get.” Kitch said as she stood.

  “Deal. As long as you don’t tell Sara.”

  Chapter 4

  The tube was bulky, but easy enough for the three men to move down the length of the ship.

  Cowboy stood in the doorway of the cockpit as the tube approached. He watched as they maneuvered the container into the command room and then joined them.

  “One Otina, as ordered,” Williams said.

  “Supply pod has detached,” said Cowboy. “It’s heading back to Earth and we are ready to go.”

  “That was quick,” said Fields.

  “Guess they didn’t want someone to change their mind and try to hitch a ride back home,” Alex said. “Let’s get this popsicle unfrozen so we can get this mission going.”

  “So you have the coordinates?” Williams asked.

  “No,” Cowboy said. “I have no clue where we are going.”

  “Well, that’s comforting,” said Alex. “Nothing like relying on nothing but an enemy resource to get us where we are going.”

  “Let’s not view our guest as the enemy, Ramirez. Our lives are in his hands as certainly as his life is in ours hands,” said Cowboy.

  “And besides, he probably has some good stories to tell,” said Fields.

  “And maybe he isn’t good at poker,” Cowboy added with a smirk.

  Alex and Fields laughed.

  “I guess it’s time,” Alex said. “Are you ready to initiate the drive?”

  “We’re ready,” Cowboy said. “I better go get the nav computer set up. Williams, if you would retrieve our guest so he can reveal our destination.”

  Williams smiled at the ridiculous banter and keyed in the security code. There was a hiss as the rejuvenation tube vented the gasses which had slowed the life processes of the encased Otina. The hope was mosar would also go into a torpor and would not be able to communicate the location or movement of its host.

  The monitors showed the steady rise in temperature and the increase in brainwave activity in seconds. Various beeps from the container seemed to indicate other issues Alex could only guess were positive signs.

  The door to the chamber clicked and Williams opened a latch. The door started to open, but caught on something.

  “There is a second latch. Near the bottom,” a voice from inside the tube said. “Please release that one as well.”

  Williams bent down and released the second latch.

  “Now step away as I try to salvage my dramatic entrance.”

/>   Everyone stepped back from the tube.

  The door swung open and from the foggy interior, Warlord Jii stepped forward. He raised his hands as he cleared the tube itself and looked around. Alex, Williams and Fields looked at each other in confusion. They had not been told what to do when Jii emerged.

  “Ah. I really thought there would be more of you here,” Jii said. “Quite disappointing. And you released me in the command room. I was hoping it would be in the common room.”

  “Sorry, Warlord Jii. We were told we should revive you when we reached the departure point and you would plot the coordinates for the rest of our journey,” Williams said. “I just thought it would be quicker to have you already near the cockpit so you could get the coordinates entered as soon as possible.”

  Jii looked at Williams as if he were seeing a human for the first time. “I suppose we don’t need an inspirational speech. Although I did practice it quite a bit. I’ll just plot the coordinates and we can be on our way.”

  Alex nudged Fields and motioned to the door with a nod.

  “No, no, Sergeant Ramirez,” said Jii as he stepped over to the doorway. “No need to leave the room. I’ll just plot the coordinates and then we can go to the common room together. We will probably need someone to stay in the cockpit to make sure none of the alarms go off, but that is merely because of tradition and protocol more than necessity. We will have several weeks to get to know each other and prepare for our task before our first drop out of warp.”

  “Several weeks?” Williams asked.

  “Yes. Several weeks. Nine weeks and four days by Earth reckoning to be more precise.”

  “We will be quite a long way from our present location,” Williams said.

  “Indeed, Doctor Williams. We will be on the edge of the galactic core. Our final destination is inside the core itself.”

  Jii walked into the small cockpit and approached the data station along the wall. Jii entered the encoded sequence which unlocked the navigation system.

  “This may seem like a lot of extra work, but we can’t let mosar communicate what we are doing or exactly the path we will take to our destination.”