Bright Horizons

by Wilson Harp

  The next ten days went quickly for everyone on the Fletcher. Lab number two was able to reach and maintain 112ºF. Combined with the space suits, the Hedali felt fairly comfortable.

  The nutritional needs of the Hedali were not as big of an issue as Ambassador Thomas was initially afraid of. They were able to eat and drink most of the provisions onboard for the crew. Surprisingly, they had many of the same reactions as the humans; chocolate and coffee were well liked while the chicken a la king and scrambled eggs from the MRE packs were uniformly despised.

  The level of mechanical engineering skill the humans possessed impressed the Hedali. Richards and Williams spent time showing them some of the concepts of mechanical motion by building small devises out of paper clips, screws and other spare parts. They also demonstrated how rifling worked in projectile weapons using a piece of PVC pipe and a ball bearing. This amazed the Hedali as the study of projectiles had long been abandoned by their scientists as useless in war.

  They were stunned as the Marines explained that even with their level of technology, they still carried knives, bayonets, and learned to fight unarmed.

  The Hedali explained that many of their weapons were based upon mosar, a concept that was clearly going to need more explanation. The weapons would create a wave of energy that would initiate an excited state in whatever material it touched. The excited state would continue to amplify to the point that the material would just disintegrate. The amount of power that each weapon used would determine how much energy the wave contained. That in turn would determine how much mass would be disintegrated each time the weapon was fired.

  Williams in particular was interested in how the reaction was controlled, but Firtulm and Giric, Firtulm’s aide, were both diplomats, while Lon was the ship steward and couldn’t explain the process in very much detail.

  All of the humans learned several Hedali words and phrases, and the Hedali all learned many English words and phrases. They were surprised that humanity had more than just a couple of languages, and this led to some long discussions among the aliens.

  The treaty that was the purpose of the mission had been signed, and Ambassador Thomas had been able to start work on several other agreements along the way. By the time the Fletcher and Torpedo cruised into position behind the Moon, there was a feeling of camaraderie among the humans for their alien friends.

  “Colonel, we have a transmission in Hedali coming in directly.”

  “Roger Cowboy.” Kyle had spent the last couple of hours in the lab housing the Hedali watching Ambassador Thomas negotiate an agreement that would put some human scientists onto a deep space research station that the Hedali had access to.

  “Excuse me Ambassador, but we have a transmission that I think Firtulm needs to take.”

  Kyle held out his com unit to Firtulm.

  “Thank you Colonel” he said putting the ear piece to the side of his head. He then started to speak rapidly.

  Kyle turned back to Ambassador Thomas. “What is it looking like?”

  “So far, very good. Our scientists would be protected guests of the Hedali, but would be highly restricted as to contact with other races. It looks like I might be able to get up to three to five scientists on board, one diplomat and a small security detail.”

  “How small?”

  “One or two, maybe three. Why? Are you interested? I think they would respond well to having people they can trust with them.”

  “I’ll think about it, Ambassador. It looks like they are ready to go,” Kyle said as he motioned over towards where Lon and Giric were removing their suits.

  Firtulm finished speaking and held out the com unit to Kyle, and motioned for Lon to convey a message to Kyle.

  “Colonel, thank you greatly for your timely rescue and hospitality. A small escort vessel is nearby and has asked permission to approach. They have modified their craft’s hatch to the specification for this ship and can dock with us within a few seconds. Will that be good?”

  “Yes, that would be fine.” He switched his com to intercom. “Cowboy, we have a Hedali ship wanting to dock. You’re the skipper.”

  “Roger Martin, they have my full permission.”

  “Lon, you can contact them and let them know it will be fine.” Kyle smiled at the Hedali.

  “Thank you, Colonel.”

  Lon pulled out the small device that he had explained was a short range communicator and spoke into it. Almost immediately there was a slight jerk felt through the shuttle and by the time Kyle had opened the hatch to the lab, the Hedali vessel had already docked.

  The three Hedali started making their way to the main crew compartment. They seemed eager to get back on a ship of their own. Kyle and Ambassador Thomas let them pass and followed them to the lower crew compartment. The rest of human crew, except Donovan, had assembled and were waiting to bid them farewell.

  At a nod from Cowboy, Richards opened the hatch and heat poured into the shuttle. Firtulm motioned Lon and Giric onto their ship and turned back to address his hosts.

  “Thank you. Peace you brought and peace you kept. Peace be with you until we meet again.”

  Ambassador Thomas said something to him in Hedali and both diplomats bowed deep to each other.

  Firtulm turned and went through the hatchway, pulling it shut behind him. A few seconds later the Hedali vessel undocked from the Fletcher and without effort disappeared into the starry sky.

  Chapter 6

  05 June 2042

  Kyle watched Ambassador Thomas as he flipped through a small stack of papers at the podium. The Pentagon hadn’t given any time to prepare for this meeting. In fact, Kyle’s stomach was still slightly stirred from the effects of gravity again. The Fletcher had touched down in the California desert just two hours ago, and they were expected to give a full report on the meeting, ambush and flight back with the Hedali.

  The doors at the back opened and a stream of people started into the room. Sharp dressed NASA officials interspersed with Pentagon based Senior Officers came in without the usual flurry of civilian secretaries and aides. The Secretary of State entered last and immediately took a seat near the front as everyone else chatted and exchanged pleasantries.

  “Madam Secretary, Director Wilcox, Operations Chief Samuels, Joint Chiefs, and all the others who I have rudely failed to mention by name. As you all know I am James Thomas, Former Ambassador to the U.N., United Kingdom, Saudi Arabia, and China. I am currently the Ambassador to the Hedali, a race of aliens that we have established contact with. Of course, there are less than eighty people total that are aware of that fact.”

  “Twenty one of those people were at the point of first contact. Almost all the others are in this room and will be brought up to speed on what happened in orbit around Jupiter and what happened during the voyage back to earth.”

  “Andrew Carter was our documentarian for the trip and has close to eighty hours of footage from our encounters. I will now show a clip of what transpired from the time we saw the alien ship to the incident that I’m sure you are all aware of.”

  Ambassador Thomas turned down the lights in the room. The video monitor lit up and Kyle felt a slight uneasiness as his face came into focus. He found himself watching those who were not on the Fletcher through the first several minutes. Most of the NASA officials were taking notes, Dr. Adam Crichton, Director of the National Science Center, leaned as far forward as he could when Lon first came into focus, and Secretary of State Milshoe simply played with a pencil while watching. Those who dwelt in the Pentagon sat expressionless with their arms crossed.

  The first time Kyle heard a sound was when Admiral Boxer and General Liston both chuckled as Lon palmed the door remote. Carter had managed to capture that on video. As Carter and his camera went down the hallway, Kyle started to pay close attention. The rooms that the team were shown seemed Spartan and devoid of decoration. Whether that was part of the Hedali culture or by conscious design Kyle could only speculate. Around twenty or maybe twenty five Hedali
could be seen on the video, several who appeared to be guards. They had a small metal tube attached to a small glass panel affixed to a harness on their chest.

  The Hedali all seemed very friendly and attentive to their guests, but since they had met other alien races, this first contact must not have been an odd occurrence. The humans were all very careful in what they said and how they behaved, and Kitch and Ramirez are seen being very careful in where they looked and in not touching their weapons.

  Finally the humans were brought into a room with a small table and two chairs. Kyle was a little surprised that he recognized Firtulm and Giric immediately. Firtulm rose and motioned for Ambassador Thomas to sit at the table. After both Ambassadors settled in, there was a brief exchange in Hedali and the tablet that contained the treaty passed back and forth several times as each Ambassador read every clause carefully.

  The sound of Kyle’s voice breaking over the communicators shattered the peaceful scene.

  “Marines! Boarding action in process, get the Ambassador out of there.”

  The room erupted into chaos when part of the far bulkhead melted away as Ambassador Thomas grabbed his com unit.

  Kyle had seen this video twice before and was trying to focus on new things each time. He was watching the Hedali guards carefully this time; watching to see how they reacted to the Otina attack.

  There were two Hedali guards in the conference room when the wall melted. The first never got his weapon off his chest as he dissolved into nothingness as he was hit with a pulsing blue wave. The second Hedali guard pulled his weapon and fired into the breached bulkhead and stepped forward in an attempt to screen the others fleeing the room.

  The sound of a couple of bursts from Ramirez’s M-31 was evident as Carter and the rest of the team started running down the corridor. A few Hedali guards were seen running towards the conference room, and the blue glow of the Otina weapons was reflected once in a display panel.

  As Carter got to the final hallway to the Fletcher, he turned himself about and filmed Ramirez running about eight meters back. Just as the camera stabilized, an Otina stepped out into the hallway and lifted his weapon. Ramirez spun and fired his M-31. He had obviously switched to full auto as his wall of lead caught the Otina before he could fire. Another Otina appeared a second later and Carter’s camera was whipped back towards Kyle, Greene and Kiskaliski. As Carter ran past Kyle, he spun once again and was able catch Ramirez flying around the corner at a dead run.

  An Otina popped around the corner just behind him, raised his weapon and fired twice. Both blue waves hit Ramirez in the back.

  Kyle suddenly understood what was happening. As the other Otina came around the corner, the one who had fired at Ramirez was just standing there. He lifted his arm and pointed down the corridor…

  “Freeze the video!” Kyle said suddenly and much louder than he meant too. The video kept running, at this point K-man was punching holes in the Otina with his Barrett.

  “Stop the vid and go back,” Kyle said, this time looking directly at Carter.

  Carter paused the video as Ambassador Thomas came over to Kyle.

  “What’s the matter, Colonel?” he whispered in Kyle’s ear.

  “The Otina. They aren’t acting right. Go back to the point where Ramirez was hit and move forward at half speed.”

  Carter nodded and the video started running backwards.

  The dignitaries in the room were staring alternately between Kyle and the screen. As the video moved back to where Kyle had indicated, he walked to the front and picked up a laser pointer.

  The video started again, at half speed, and Kyle pointed out what he had seen. The Otina dropped the weapon to his side and just stood there for a good two seconds as his fellow aliens came into the hallway. Just as Ramirez dove past the camera, the Otina who had fired lifted his hand and pointed down the hallway. He wasn’t pointing at Kyle, as Kyle had thought during the event, he was pointing at Ramirez.

  “Ok, Carter freeze the vid.”

  Kyle looked out at the audience and found what he was looking for. General Liston had gone white as a sheet and K-Man, Ramirez, Williams, and Greene looked shell shocked.

  Secretary of State Milshoe spoke up. “What are we looking at, Colonel?”

  “Murder,” whispered General Holt. “We cut them down as they were lowering their weapons.”

  Kyle pointed at Carter and indicated to start forward again slowly. Indeed, just before Kiskaliski started firing again, all of the Otina had stopped moving forward and the tips of their weapons were dropping.

  “Not murder, Holt. They were trying to kill our team,” said General Liston. “But this does bring up a lot of questions.”

  “What kinds of questions, General?” asked Secretary Milshoe.

  “Well Madame Secretary, in combat you never ask questions when things fall your way. But afterwards, you have to figure out why things fell your way and see if you can replicate them. I think it is clear that the Otina were taken by surprise when Gunnery Sergeant Ramirez was not killed by their weapons. But this leads us to more questions like: Why wasn’t he killed? Why was it so surprising that skilled soldiers stopped their attack? Why were they attacking in the first place with weapons that didn’t harm us? Did they know we were going to be there? Did they know who we were? And so on.”

  “Thank you General Liston. Colonel Martin, have any of these questions been answered yet?”

  “I think maybe they have, Madame Secretary. The Hedali that accompanied us back to Earth space were rather disturbed about Gunnery Sergeant Ramirez not being killed. At the time I felt that they were truly disturbed by what they saw, but put it out of my mind until we could discuss it later. The reaction of the Otina makes it clear that there was something more at work than what we thought. Discovering the full extent of this reaction should be our number one military priority.”

  “I agree, Colonel Martin,” said Admiral Boxer. “This is the number one priority. Make sure that every member of the team is debriefed specifically about the Hedali reaction to Ramirez being hit by their weapon.”

  “Ambassador Thomas, is that all of this incident, was there any more of the footage that is essential to see?” Secretary Milshoe asked.

  “The footage was essentially over Madam Secretary, we will have some analysts continue to go over the footage, but for the purposes of this meeting, we are done,” replied Thomas, even as he continued to look at the vid-screen.

  “Then let us discuss a few other points. First, we need to expand our teams. We need to bring in more experts and more staff. I expect a 20% increase from each team in the next two weeks. They must be eligible for the security clearance and they must meet the highest level of quality for this assignment,” Secretary Milshoe said.

  She stopped speaking suddenly and looked over at CIA Director Wilcox.

  “Dave, I think we need to make a trip to the White House tomorrow. Make sure to get Frank Wiseman there. We need to tell him,” she said.

  Kyle was a bit stunned that the President’s Chief of Staff didn’t know about the mission or possibly even the existence of the Hedali. It seemed clear, then, that the President himself did not know. Plausible deniability was obviously the order of the day.

  “The second issue we need to deal with is the agreement that Ambassador Thomas secured concerning the deep space research station. We have been invited to send three scientists to the station as guests of the Hedali. Chief Samuels, I would like NASA to coordinate with Dr. Crichton and the National Science Center to get us the best scientists to go there. You will have no restrictions beyond security issues. Are there any questions or any other issues we need to deal with today?”

  A few people stirred and looked around.

  Secretary Milshoe stood and gathered her papers.

  “Gentlemen, thank you for your time. It was important that we see this as soon as possible. It is still in the vital interest of our country to ascertain the full military, scientific, social and political i
mplications of this event. While you must be aware that what you have participated in is still under the highest security we can manage, your country, and indeed I feel the whole of humanity, owes you a debt for acting as the first pioneers in this endeavor. That is all for this meeting, we will set up a schedule for debriefing.”

  Instead of people leaving the room, everyone who wasn’t on the Fletcher was trying to corner someone who was. Kyle was able to get most of his Marines out of the room in a couple of minutes, but as they started heading back to the barracks, he noticed that Williams and Ramirez were missing. Just as he headed back, he saw them coming with a crowd of dignitaries behind them.

  “You will all get a chance to debrief him later, but we really need sleep now” Williams was yelling back at the crowd as Ramirez was trying hard not to run down the hall.

  Kyle parked himself in the center of the hallway and stared at the crowd. They slowed their speed and by the time Ramirez and Williams got to him, the crowd was starting to break up.

  Kyle turned and went back into the barracks. “Get some rest Marines then grab some food. It looks like we will be here for a while.”

  09 June 2042

  The schedule of debriefings was brutal for most of the team. Four or five sessions with teams of interviewers. Doctors were brought in to probe, prod and test every aspect of the team’s health. Psychiatrists sat behind one way mirror analyzing every word, facial expression and body movement. Greene had a case of food poisoning that quarantined the base for a solid day until they were sure it wasn’t an alien disease manifesting itself.

  But the meeting that Kyle was currently going to was different. Williams and he were asked to be there by a NASA biologist named Schroeder. He opened the door and walked into a small lab that looked disconcertingly like a high school chemistry class room.

  Williams was sitting there with a dog-eared Faulkner novel on a stool in the corner. He looked up and nodded at Kyle. “Colonel, good to see they haven’t debriefed you to a pulp yet.”