“Can they be repaired?” General Peebles asked, very concerned.
“Yes. We brought enough spare parts, but it’s going to take time.”
Peebles nodded looking about at the landscape for a moment. “Colonel,” he said turning to Lemay. “Establish a perimeter...one klick out. We’ll make camp here until our transportation has been repaired. Anyone not directly helping with the repairs should be assigned guard duty...full battle gear, and get a bug up. I don’t want to be surprised by Skawps or anything else.”
The Colonel saluted and turned to go.
“And Colonel...I need a personnel count...who exactly made it through.”
Lemay nodded.
Matt turned to Lieutenant Turnbull. “Check the ship, especially the electrical systems.”
“I’ll do a full diagnostic just to be sure,” Gary replied and headed back down the hill just as Lee Robertson and Gordon Rice walked up toward the General. They were an odd pair; Robertson was very tall, thin, and bald, whereas Rice was shorter, thick and broad, with a shock of very red hair and pale Gaelic features.
“As soon as you know anything concrete let me know,” the General said to Matt, who saluted and then moved off with Murphy and Harold. They all headed down to the ship together.
On the way, Matt studied the surrounding countryside. They’d landed, so to speak, in the middle of undulating grasslands. The immediate area was sporadically covered with large, jagged rocks, not quite boulders, which were strewn about in no particular pattern. The sky was now overcast, the clouds moving along very fast, and it was cool, the temperature probably in the middle sixties. He felt very exposed and half expected to see Skawps come pouring over the horizon, catching them in the open. Thankfully his fears were unfounded and the landscape remained empty, which was a blessing except for the fact that there were no people about either. The wind, whistling over the grassy hillsides, helped to give the area a very empty feel. Wherever they were, the countryside felt very, very desolate. One thing was sure however, they were not in Colorado anymore; there were no mountain peaks visible in any direction.
It took them nearly an hour to assess the damage to the ship and it wasn’t good. For some unknown reason the main engines were offline, and though the electrical systems were not a complete loss there was substantial damage. Matt helped Gary painstakingly check the wires and leads. Most were intact, but they found a few fused together in some strange places. Harold thoroughly checked the onboard computer systems and had to replace one memory card and a motherboard. Thankfully, the computers came back online rather quickly, even though the engines did not, but at least now they could use the ship’s computers to run the diagnostic tests. Gary and Murphy also took the time to check all four of the nuclear warheads and surprisingly found no damage at all. It was a puzzle, and when Matt finally left to check in with the General, both Gary and Harold were bent over the main drive taking turns throwing out possibilities and cussing like sailors. Murphy wisely kept out of their way.
As Matt stepped off the ship’s ramp he was surprised to find that the day had nearly left them, with the sun just dipping below the horizon. Surrounding the ship was a trio of hummers, each armed with a large M60, 7.62mm machine gun. Each gun was manned and positioned in way to cover as much ground as possible.
Matt nodded to the nearest guard.
“They get the hummers fixed?” He asked with a smile, but Colin, the nearest guard just scowled and shook his head.
“Pushed them in place,” he answered, never taking his eyes from the surrounding countryside. “Damned pain in the ass with all the rocks in the area.”
Matt nodded but made no further comment.
A full-fledged camp was beginning to take shape. Twenty tents were already erected and more were on the way up. At least one generator was running, supplying power for the camp lights and computers. He found the General’s command tent near the center of the encampment. A guard, Harris, stood watch at the opening and he waved Matt through with a slight shrug.
General Peebles and Colonel Lemay were deep in conversation with both Robertson and Rice. Gordon Rice was their one and only true doctor, but he also held a degree in history from Stanford. They were standing before a large map of England.
They all looked up as he entered.
“News?” Peebles asked simply.
“Not good. The engines are offline and there’s been some electrical damage, though it appears to be slight. We did manage to get the computers up and running, and Lieutenant Turnbull is sure that the warheads are undamaged...I’d like Sergeant Blish to look at them when he gets a chance.”
Sergeant Frank Blish was a soldier, but he was also a mechanical genius, and that now made him perhaps the most important man in the entire world.
The General nodded. “He’s going to be busy for the next week or so. It seems every electrical system that was operating during the trip across sustained some damage, some serious, some minimal. There’s no way to tell the reason for the disparity now, and frankly there’s really no point wasting time trying to find out. We won’t be using any more Doors for quite some time. The generators were undamaged, as were most of the battle gear computers, but have your men check theirs thoroughly, there have been reports of some minor computer problems.”
“We’ve made it across then?” Matt asked with a little wonder.
Peebles sighed and shrugged. “We don’t really know yet. We’re somewhere else that’s for sure. We do know that no Skawps have shown themselves, and with their sophisticated orbital tracking ships they would have been on us by now...but our limited patrols still have not come across any sign of human life in the area.”
“The bugs?” Matt asked referring to the small, remote control reconnaissance craft.
“We’ve kept them in close for now, only a five mile perimeter,” Colonel Lemay said knowing Matt was aware of the twenty mile radius the bugs could operate safely within.
“Can you think of anything that would give us a clue Matt?” Rice asked. Gordon was an on-again off-again friend of Matt’s. Mostly they discussed history or some philosophical topic. It was an intellectual friendship carried on usually while Matt was assigned medical duty and once while Matt was among the wounded. “Perhaps something with the sun or the planets? There has to be some clue as to “when” in time we are. It’s a twelve hundred year difference.”
“Twelve hundred years is a blink of an eye in the life of the stars and planets. Tonight we should be able to tell exactly how far north we are…if the skies clear...and if we are in the northern hemisphere as planned,” Matt replied, knowing he wasn’t coming up with anything substantial. “Our best bet would be to find someone and ask.”
Peebles nodded. “Just what Robertson suggested, but I don’t want to do any heavy exploring until we’re completely mobile. If anyone happens into our perimeter will persuade them to answer a few questions, but that doesn’t seem likely from the initial reconnaissance. The area seems very remote.”
“How many made it?” Matt finally asked, unable to contain his curiosity.
“Three hundred and forty-eight,” Colonel Lemay said and Matt’s face instantly fell. That was only about a third of the soldiers left in Colorado. Their mission would be much harder to complete with such a small contingent.
“Eve?”
All of them smiled. “She came through with Stuart, right after you. He’s been keeping her corralled and out of the way. She wants to go running,” Peebles said, slightly amused. Eve, at four, had never been outside before today. Her entire life experience was within the protective walls of NORAD.
“We’re slimmed down a bit, but I’m positive we have enough men to complete our mission. We are the best of the best!” Peebles added. It was not hard to guess at the negative thoughts swirling around him, but as the leader he needed to be strong, confident and above all optimistic.
Matt smiled. It was Commander Wilder’s favorite saying.
“Your job,” Peebles con
tinued, “is to get that ship back in operation. As soon as we’re sure the crossover was successful you will take off.”
“Yes Sir.”
They all nodded and Lemay followed Matt out into the cool night air. “I’ll try to get Blish free to look at the warheads sometime in the morning,” he said.
“I’d appreciate that Colonel,” Matt answered.
“Just get that ship online.”
§
It took three days before half of the trucks and most of the hummers were operable again. The engines of the alien ship were still offline, and a mystery. The diagnostic equipment could find no problems. On the bright side, there was absolutely no sign of any marauding Skawps, which was very encouraging, but likewise they found no evidence of people, at least in the relatively small safety perimeter General Peebles allowed them to search.
“The ship’s computers can find nothing wrong with the engines,” Major Thane reported to the General and Colonel Lemay just outside the command tent. The day was absolutely beautiful, with temperatures in the low sixties and a perfectly clear deep blue sky overhead. The first clear day since their arrival, though it’d only rained sporadically. Three soldiers sat quietly nearby, taking a quick break to enjoy the weather. They were clearly listening in, but the General paid it no mind. There was no need for secrets among the last of the human race. He would trust his life with any of his men and he knew the feeling was mutual.
“We’re going to send Sergeant Moore out with a squad to scout the area for any signs of life,” Peebles said finally. “Have you had a chance to look over the Bots?”
“No Sir,” Matt answered frowning.
They’d brought a pair of Bot Speedcruisers across with them. The Bot was a German designed two-seater ultra-light aircraft. They were the very same planes Matt, Duncan, Mark and Phil used to escape Peterson Air Base when things went south. Phil died soon after, Mark was ripped apart not three months later, and Duncan…Matt would rather not think of Duncan. The planes had a light, hard composite shell and were now modified with folded wings. It was a bit of a surprise when Commander Wilder decided to take them through the Door, towed behind a couple of trucks.
Though completely useless against the Skawps, the planes were now perfect for low altitude reconnaissance…that is if the Door functioned properly. They were sleek, light weight, and because their wings folded down upon themselves they were easy to move about when not flying. The planes were powered by a simple twin cylinder piston engine. The planes were very easy to operate and simple to repair. Though the engines had an output of only eighty horsepower, it was enough for the small planes to reach a top speed of just over one hundred miles an hour. And best of all they were very easy on gas. The General would use them when he needed a more accurate overall picture than the video the bugs could send back.
“I just sent Gardner over to have a look at them, perhaps you could help,” the General said. “I’d like the Captain up in the air in conjunction with the Moore’s squad on the ground. Do you have any objections to that, or see any possible dangers we may have over looked?”
Matt thought about it for a moment. If the Door was successful, the indigenous population would be of little or no danger to the airplane, and if there were Skawps around...well if there were any Skawps on the planet, their little group would have been located and exterminated long before now.
“I have no objections Sir. I’m as eager as the next to see where and when we are. It looks more and more like the Door may have actually worked,” Matt answered with a slight smile.
Peebles shook his head. “Yes eager, but be mindful. We need to take care that we don’t become too eager. We must be very careful. Even if the Door was successful, there are still a finite amount of us with which to complete this mission, and the Dark Ages were not called so out of whim.”
“Surely you don’t expect any trouble from the local population. Our technology is far superior....”
“We’re not here to conquer Major; we’re here to convert the local population. We’re going to have to integrate with these people, and hopefully jumpstart their technological progress. It will require that we become very close to them, trust them. Intrigue and deception were not unknown in these times and if enough of my men fall to bad luck or evil deeds, then our hopes to succeed dim. We must not underestimate the challenges we are up against or the people who will ultimately oppose us, after all they will be human too.”
Major Matt Thane smiled, snapped to attention and saluted, quite sure that the mission was in very good hands. Commander Wilder had chosen his second in command well...almost as if the fate of Mankind depended on it.
General Peebles saluted back, immediately understanding the feelings behind the gesture. He also spared the tiniest smile.
“I’ve put Sergeant Moore in charge of choosing ten men to scout the area,” Colonel Lemay said interrupting the moment. “I’ve limited the search to twenty klicks in any one direction, and the men are to be back long before night fall. At this point we have a half a dozen hummers repaired but we will only be sending out two...Dr. Rice feels that the best direction to look would be south, though any direction seems as good as any other to me.”
“When do they leave?” Matt asked, wishing he was the one going up in the Bot , but he was also aware that while rank had its privileges, it also carried with it its share of detriments.
“High noon,” Lemay answered with a sardonic grin. “That gives you three hours to look over and prepare the Bot. Have Captain Gardner report to Sergeant Moore no later than eleven. The Sergeant will be heading up the scouting mission.”
“Yes Sir,” Matt said and headed off immediately. Captain John Gardner was delighted to be going up. He’d originally put in to join Matt aboard the Skawp ship but was passed over in favor of Murphy Giles, but he held no animosity. They all had a job to do and were very professional about it. They had to be, since none of them knew if they would live to see the next day, such realities tending to bring out camaraderie rather than competitiveness and petty jealousy.
The Bots were both in great shape, and one was completely undamaged and ready for flight in just twenty minutes. The spark plugs had to be replaced in the other which Matt did on his own, freeing up John to report to Sergeant Moore and go over the mission plans. After checking both planes over again, Matt recruited almost thirty men to help him walk a nearby field to free it of any large rocks. It took two passes and almost an hour before the Major was satisfied it was suitably free of dangerous obstacles. At noon everything was ready and the entire camp stopped their work and wandered over to see them off. Many of the spectators were donning their battle gear so that they could monitor the GBF, or General Battle Frequency, and the group’s progress. General Peebles had a receiver set up underneath an awning in the center of camp so that he and the rest of the officers could follow the progress together. The entire day took on the feeling of a celebration or holiday.
“Let me go John-John,” Eve said a she attempted to pull her hand from his. Her small legs were almost running as she moved alongside him toward the ultra-light. “I want to go in the airplane.”
John stopped and knelt beside her. “No my sweet. You need to stay here and take care of grumpy old Stuart,” he said as Stuart Greybon walked up to them.
“Stuart’s not grumpy,” Eve said simply, coming to her guardian’s defense and causing him to smile widely, “and anyway I want to go.”
“Well, you can’t this time, but someday I’ll take you up okay?”
“-kay,” she answered and rushed over into Stuart’s arms.
Matt shook John’s hand before he climbed into the sparse cockpit. The plane itself was unarmed, the Captain’s Browning 9mm sidearm the only weapon, but then the plane was never and was not now, meant to be an offensive weapon. He slipped on his helmet, which would keep him in contact with both the home base and Sergeant Moore on the ground.
“All systems go,” Gardner reported and thumbed the ignition
. The engine fired immediately and John started going through the pre-flight routine.
“Keep in close contact and tell us everything you see,” General Peebles demanded, speaking into his own radio as the Captain taxied the plane out into the cleared field.
“Yes Sir. All ready Sergeant,” he said as he gunned the engine and quickly accelerated to take off speed, “I’m going to gain a little altitude directly overhead and then we’ll head off to the south as planned.”
“Roger,” Moore responded and the hummers began to roll off slowly in that direction. The entire camp grew excited and tense, but Moore, a natural fighter, was finally at ease. Each Humvee carried five men, two up front, two in the rear and one soldier manning the large M60, 7.62mm machine gun, which was still in operation, though much changed with the coming of the computer age. The M60 was now a sophisticated weapon, integrated directly into the computerized battle gear which was centered largely in the oversized helmet that all the soldiers wore. Through the helmet, every soldier viewed the world virtually, which showed up on the interior of their opaque face plates. This allowed the soldiers to see the world from any number of angles, either from miniature cameras mounted on their helmet, weapon, from an overhead “bug,” or even from a camera of one of their fellow soldiers. It also allowed them to view the battlefield in visible light, infra-red, night vision, and microwaves, among other options. Smoke, dense fog, or the dark of night hid nothing from the soldier’s eyes. The sightings of the M60 now showed up electronically on the face plate and this allowed the soldier to put down extremely accurate fire on the enemy even while hunkering down behind cover. When operating the M18 assault rifle, cameras allowed the soldiers to hold the weapon out in order to see above obstacles or around corners while keeping the majority of their body out of harm’s way. It was truly a revolutionary development and allowed the common foot soldier to have access to more information on the battlefield than ever before, while having the ability to put down highly concentrated, highly accurate fire on the enemy, in any weather conditions, day or night.
The Temporal Knights Page 4
