Bright Horizons

by Wilson Harp

  “Your lucky charm? I thought you would want him with the rest of the team.”

  Kyle smiled. “So you know about that. I admit, I have him on the mission because he is… lucky, in a manner of speaking. But he is also the best of the best and you may need him with you.”

  “I think we have a deal, Colonel. I need to pull Kitch and Ramirez into our meetings starting tomorrow for a more detailed look at their assignment.”

  Kyle nodded as the Ambassador gathered his folder from the desk, smiled and left the briefing room. After he had gone, Kyle looked over at the wall and the large ‘3’ that dominated one of the white boards.

  Three days until launch.

  Chapter 4

  15 May 2042

  The low murmur slowly faded to almost quiet as Kyle walked through the door. The rest of the Marines, the Ambassador and the rest of his team were there and the NASA personnel were following close behind him.

  Kyle nodded and the Marines went back to their idle chatter.

  “Colonel, looks like all personnel are here,” Lieutenant Colonel Howard “Cowboy” Jackson said as he looked over the room.

  “Is everyone suited up?” Cowboy asked in his booming voice.

  Greeted with a round of “Yes sirs”, he nodded and went over to the walkway hatch.

  “Good. Now we need to board and be ready for takeoff in ten minutes. I’ll check you on and make sure we are secure. Any questions? Let’s board ladies and gentlemen,” Cowboy said as he motioned to the walkway.

  Eight minutes later they were all secure in their seats and Cowboy was securing himself into the pilot’s seat.

  “Kennedy, this is STS Fletcher, all personnel are secure and the ship is ready for go. Over,” Cowboy said to the control tower.

  “Fletcher, all is secure. Begin prelaunch.”

  Kyle took a deep breath and tried to keep focus. All of his time in fighter jets, all of his time on the STT, had still not prepared him for space travel. He couldn’t help but think of Cindy and what she had told him of her first space flight. He had been excited to hear about it, but that was based on the fact that he knew he would never have to chance to go.

  Now he was nervous and a little overwhelmed by the feeling of riding what was essentially a giant roman candle out of the safety of the atmosphere.

  He was thinking about Cindy a lot today. It had been almost a year since the Endeavour was lost. For fifteen years Cindy had been the Martin that everyone in the family looked up to. Bill was an investment banker, and Kyle was a Marine, but Cindy was an astronaut!

  She had such a sense of normalcy about her job, but she worked in the last frontier. That’s how Kyle saw his sister; a pioneer, striving to understand and tame a new environment. And now she was gone and it was his turn to make history in this dark and foreboding arena.

  He took a deep breath and focused back on the discussion going on between Cowboy and the tower.

  “Life-hib system check a-ok, looks like we are go for launch Kennedy.”

  “Roger Fletcher, countdown commencing. Launch in nine minutes.”

  Kyle looked around, as best as he could, and saw Jennings doing the same. The two Marines were with Cowboy and Major Nestor, his co-pilot, in the cockpit. The rest of the mission’s crew were in the passenger compartments below.

  Cindy always told him that it was a thrill to be in the cockpit because you could watch space coming right at you. The engines kicked in and he felt, more than heard, the rumble of the boosters as they lit up. He sat back and recited the itinerary from launch to contact again.

  “T-minus thirty seconds.”

  Broken from his thoughts, Kyle instinctively checked his buckles to make sure they were firm. He felt the hum of the main engines whine to full speed.

  “T-minus ten seconds.”

  “Crew of the Fletcher, we are past the terminal launch point. God speed to us all,” Cowboy said over the intercom system.

  Kyle found himself mouthing the countdown, just as all kids have since the 1960’s and space launches were shown on television.

  “Liftoff Fletcher, Good luck gentlemen.”

  The final phrase was almost completely lost in the roar of the engines as Cowboy released the clamps and started the ascent.

  Kyle was shocked at how fast it really was. He had spent several years as a Marine fighter pilot and knew how to handle a Mach three bird, but he never expected a big, clumsy block of metal like this to feel so fast.

  Within seconds he could see the atmosphere thinning and the stars starting to make an appearance. The Shuttle jerked as the boosters fell away and there was a slight deceleration. The weight of the main tank slowed the Shuttle for a moment before enough fuel was burned off to continue their assault against gravity.

  A few seconds later and the atmosphere peeled back like a veil Before those in the cockpit was a bright, almost too bright, sky. Kyle couldn’t believe how bright it was, and just as suddenly, it went black. He realized that they had just passed from the sunlit portion of the earth orbit into the nighttime section.

  “Houston, this is Fletcher, we have achieved orbital position. Over.”

  “Proceed as scheduled Fletcher. Houston out.”

  Cowboy reached up and flipped a switch.

  “Crew and specialists onboard the Fletcher, we have achieved orbit. For the newbies among us, welcome to space. We will be in position to dock with the Space Station Galaxy in four hours, until then, sit back and relax. Each station has a video console. We are pleased to bring you fifty movies on demand. Unfortunately our space stewardesses are not with us this evening, so no peanuts or drink service. For those who thought ahead, pull out your lunch and have a snack before docking.”

  Immediately the chatter started up and Kyle exhaled slowly. He was in space. Outer Space. The thought was just unreal to him. In four hours he would be on the Space Station Galaxy and the crew of the Torpedo would be getting in position for the next phase.

  The Chinese and Russians apparently thought that the Torpedo was just a maneuvering engine to pull the Shuttle into the station for storage or repairs. Once the Shuttle is pulled into a position where they are sure no foreign satellite can see, it launches the Shuttle a short hop to the far side of the moon. From there, the Torpedo launches to the destination designated for that particular mission.

  Around ten hours from now, that destination would be Jupiter. Eleven days after that, the crew of the Fletcher would be the first humans to lay eyes on a bona fide alien.

  26 May 2042

  “Houston, this is Fletcher. We have assumed target location and are awaiting contact, over.”

  At this distance from earth, the radio transmission would be delayed by thirty five minutes or so. By the time Houston received Cowboy’s transmission it was hoped that contact with the Hedali would have occurred.

  Everyone in the cockpit was anxiously looking out in every direction for anything that might look like a spacecraft. Jupiter itself dominated over half of the field of vision and the moon Io was clearly seen as well. Kyle just stared in wonder at what he was seeing.

  “Look Cap, over there.” Major Nestor was pointing out the window. By the time Kyle saw what he was looking for, it was apparent. A small metallic ship came towards them at high speed. It was sleek and angular looking, but without looking like it came off of a Hollywood set. It had no external lights that Kyle could see, and no large windows or points of entry. As it got closer, Kyle realized that it was at least ten times the size of the Shuttle. Size was very hard to determine in space he realized.

  As the Shuttle approached the alien ship, it slowed and then came to a stop with a slight jostle.

  “Whoa, we are moving, and fast,” said Cowboy.

  “We must be caught in their tractor beam,” Nestor nervously laughed.

  In just a few seconds it was realized that was exactly what had happened as the Fletcher was being pulled in a fast, but gentle, manner towards the alien craft.

  Kyle realized t
hat there was no chatter on the com, and he wanted to reassure his Marines, so he started narrating what was happening.

  “Marines, we have visual contact with the alien craft. They have apparently started pulling us towards their craft. I can see a small hatch on the side of their hull. It looks a lot like the docking hatch on the Galaxy. Any questions?”

  A lot of “No sirs” followed, some in hushed tones.

  Cowboy unbelted himself and looked back at Kyle. “Colonel, let’s get ready. You first, and I’ll follow.”

  Kyle released the multitude of latches holding him into the seat. He went down the ladder to the lower crew compartment.

  “Marines, get geared up, we will be docking soon,” Kyle said as he moved through the secured crew to the hatch.

  He could hear the rustle of movement and the metallic clinking of their harnesses being unbuckled as he stood at the hatch looking through the small window.

  Suddenly the moment was on him. Through a small window in the hatch on the fast approaching alien vessel, Kyle saw a small face. It was peering back at him. This was, in fact, the first verified time that a human saw an intelligent alien life form.

  “Colonel, are you ok?”

  Kyle turned to see a tall man with sandy hair and a short goatee staring at the screen of a small hand camera. The lens was focused on Kyle’s face.

  “Yes, Mister Carter. I’m ok. I just saw my first alien, that’s all.”

  Carter smiled. “Good, because I was able to catch the moment on video.”

  The enormity of this day, of this hour, was starting to creep up on all of them. For the first time Kyle was completely convinced that Carter was actually needed on this mission. This event should be recorded for future generations of humanity.

  “Mister Carter, you will be the third human to step onto an alien vessel. Are you ready for that?”

  “Yeah, I’m ready, but man, I can’t believe how scared I am at the same time.”

  Me too, thought Kyle as he slapped the young man on the back and gave him a reassuring smile.

  The sound of Marines strapping on gear and checking weapons faded to the background of Kyle’s mind as he looked back out the hatch window. His alien friend was gone, but the alien craft was only yards away. A few seconds later the ships touched and there was a click as the hatch locked into place.

  Kyle was glad he was holding onto a handhold as gravity slammed him into the floor of the shuttle. Some mild cursing and grunts came from behind him.

  “Ok Marines, I don’t think any of us were expecting that. Our Hedali friends have artificial gravity technology and when we hooked up, it apparently transferred to the Fletcher. Don’t just sit there, let’s keep getting ready.”

  A quick look over his team didn’t indicate anyone having any serious problems, so Kyle went back to looking through the hatch window.

  The green light on the control panel lit up indicating that the atmosphere on the other side of the inner door was stable and suitable for the humans on the Fletcher. Kyle reached over and picked up the intercom microphone.

  “Marines, listen up. Mister Ambassador, Mister Carter, crew of the Fletcher. We are now in the operational phase of this mission. The assigned personnel will enter the alien vessel where the signing of the treaty will take place. This portion of the mission should be completed in 145 minutes, that’s two hours and twenty five minutes for the officers.” Kyle replaced the microphone and turned back to his anxious, ready Marines.

  “Ok Jarheads, let’s do this,” he said as he gave them reassuring smiles and nods.

  Kyle reached over to the handle and opened the door. There was a slight pressure change right at the door, and suddenly a red light started flashing.

  “Colonel please step away, Richards, check the seal,” Cowboy said, quickly taking command.

  Kyle moved back quickly as the NASA Engineer dashed forward.

  “We have a seal breach sir, but not bad. We can fix it, but it might take a while.”

  The red light shut off as Richards applied some sort of adhesive from a tube over where he had quickly spotted the leak.

  “Good job Richards, keep us updated on your progress.”

  “Will do Commander” said Richards as he started sorting through an equipment bin. “Williams, I need you and Ranke to run a Phase II diagnostic on the internal hatch system. Hollis, I need you to assist me on the repatch, and Dolsen, get on the bot and give me an external look at our docking position.”

  The Marines responded immediately to Lieutenant Richards orders.

  “Cowboy, what the hell is going on up there? I almost crapped myself when that siren went off.” Lieutenant Donovan was livid. He and Lieutenant Morton were the “drivers” of the torpedo, which meant that they were the engineers who hit the button that launched the torpedo along its preplanned route. They were also two of only a handful of engineers who could even start to contemplate how to fix the Torpedo if things went wrong. While they could leave under their own power, and sometimes did for maintenance, they did not want two shuttles in one year to be lost on one of their missions.

  “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 m
agic 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.