Horizons

by Donald B McFarlane

  While Jose was busy taking a guided tour of the ship with the team's media expert, Sarah Chan, Joe was on the ship's top deck, which doubled as a terrace.

  Dinalis had wanted to show Joe the view, which was spectacular. The top of the Ataries rose roughly 50 metres above the waters of the Georgia Strait and had already attracted a few birds of prey using the height as a point from which to fish.

  “You had asked about ship defences.” Dinalis commented while looking off the port side of the ship.

  Joe nodded, “I had. Unlike the Epsilon, I don’t see any obvious weapons points.”

  “This ship is not designed for combat, nor is it designed to strike fear into our enemies, and with that in mind, all of the ships weapon systems are retractable.” Dinalis tapped a communicator on his wrist. “Guns up, top deck.” He ordered.

  In less than a second, two hatches slid open a metre from where Joe was standing, revealing a hidden compartment, and up rose a four-barrelled device on the top of a short post. The system spun 360 degrees quickly, then rotated to a horizontal position, then to a vertical position, before coming to rest with the barrels pointing at the deck of the ship.

  “Quad laser pulse cannons,” Dinalis noted as he walked over to the device. “Fully automated, and useful against light targets within medium range. Not something that would give another warship much trouble, but good enough against smaller threats.”

  Joe ran his hand down the length of one of the barrels. The system looked very straightforward and sleek to him. It was a very elegantly designed piece. It reminded him of the beautiful yet efficient simplicity of a straight razor when compared to more modern contrivances.

  “And as you can see, there is another unit at the rear of the ship.”

  Joe looked at the back of the ship, almost 500 yards away and noted the additional system. “Not a lot of protection for a ship of this size.” He noted.

  “True, but we have the 73rd in orbit.”

  Joe rolled his eyes, “Yeah.” He walked over to the end of the ship and looked out at the coastline of Lasqueti and focused on the water breaking over the rocky southern shore.

  Standing up, he turned and looked at Dinalis. The Sector Prefect had the same black Mohawk that Ranix sported, but a deeper tone of pale blue skin. “I have a favour to ask.”

  The Floxian moved to the side of the ship and leaned on the rim of the hull, and looked down into the dark, cold waters below. “Yes.”

  “Your health baths. Can they cure every disease on this planet?”

  “Impossible to tell without speaking to our Master Doctor. I would also venture to say that it would be a trial and error basis.”

  “I have been asked by the President of the United States to ask if his wife can receive treatment aboard this ship.” Joe moved towards Dinalis. “She’s dying from cancer, and probably doesn’t have long to live.”

  Dinalis continued to stare at the water with an expression on his face that gave Joe the impression that he was present in body, but not in mind. “Of course.” The alien blinked rapidly before standing up and looking at Joe. “When can she get here?”

  “Probably in a few days. I suspect that the President would like to visit her, along with the Canadian Prime Minister who would also like to visit. He has allowed us to stay here without any hesitation, I think granting him an audience would be more than fair.”

  “I agree. Communicate with your superiors and let us know how they wish to proceed. If the President’s wife’s medical records could be sent before her arrival, it would probably help.”

  Joe nodded. “Of course. And thank you.”

  8

  Just past six in the morning of the 5th of December Joe was woken by the sound of Toby barking outside, which was unusual for him, and was enough to get Joe out of bed to investigate. Slipping some readily available clothes on, Joe made his way downstairs, and out onto the front porch. The cold winter air hit Joe quickly, and he immediately regretted not putting on more layers.

  “Toby!” Joe yelled at the canine, but it did little to quiet the beast. Shaking his head, he moved forward, down the steps and towards the dog before something above him caught his attention.

  Slowly tilting his head back, he noticed that there was a small glowing light in the early morning sky, and it looked like it was getting bigger every second. Joe looked down and gave Toby a rub on his back. “It’s okay, buddy.”

  Joe knew that the recovery ship was arriving today, but he just didn’t think it would be so early. The departure of the Epsilon was a going to be a bit of a blow to the VLT morale and would create a void that the aliens on the Ataries would struggle to fill.

  The first hints of the day had started to reveal themselves to the east, even though Joe knew that sunrise wasn’t expected until closer to nine. Joe moved back into the warmth and comfort of the house and poured himself a cup of day old coffee.

  Picking up a wrist communicator he had been given, he slipped the slim device on and tapped it once. “Sentinel Commander.”

  A response came almost immediately. “Go.”

  “What’s the timeline for the departure of the Epsilon?” He knew that time was running out and he wanted to make one last trip to the ship to see Ranix and the rest of the crew before they left Earth.

  “The recovery ship should be on station in about two minutes. An inspection of the Epsilon will take another ten, followed up by one or two minutes to transfer the ship to the recovery vessel. I would say they’ll be off world in less than 30 minutes.”

  “Understood. I’ll meet you at the Epsilon in five.” Joe ended the call and ran upstairs into the bedroom. “Rhea.” He shook the mattress gently.

  Blinking her eyes open slowly, Rhea reached out and grabbed Joe’s arm, pulling him in close. “What’s up?”

  “The Epsilon is leaving shortly. We need to head to the ship if we want to say goodbye.”

  Rhea propped herself up and looked at the clock next to the bed. “This early.”

  “I know. The recovery ship is already on its way down.” Joe stood up and put his watch on, and stuffed his camera into his trouser pocket. “Where’s the sat-phone?”

  “On top of the dresser,” Rhea said, swinging her legs off the bed. “Why are they leaving at this hour? Sarah’s not going to be happy about the news crews not being prepped.”

  “Tough. Jose is here, so at least he’ll be able to document their departure.”

  Satellite phone in hand, Joe started dialling the White House. “I’ll meet you downstairs in two minutes.” Joe blew her a kiss before walking out of the bedroom, heading down the hall, and banging on the door of the room that Keegan and Charles Ji-woon were sharing.

  “Rise and shine, boys!” Joe barked as he threw the door open. “The Epsilon is leaving, so we need to get down there asap.”

  Joe didn’t bother waiting for a reply as he continued down the hall to the room that Sarah Chan and Lysa Jannsen were sharing. “Ladies!” Joe opened the door and found both women up and already dressing.

  “We’re coming, Major.” The sleepy looking media expert said.

  Bringing the phone up to his ear, Joe got the White House operator and was quickly transferred to the President’s mobile phone. “Mr President. Just thought you should know, the Epsilon is leaving shortly.”

  The President had been alerted to the arrival of the recovery ship from NASA moments earlier. Joe was next asked about if he had made the request for access to the medical facilities aboard the Ataries.

  “I have, Sir. They can’t guarantee anything, but they are willing to try. They can see your wife anytime you like.”

  After a few other housekeeping items, the call was ended, and Joe made his way downstairs, and into what once was Rhea’s father's office, but had since been converted into a small editing room for Jose that doubled as his sleeping quarters.

  “Jose, show time.” Joe flicked the lights on and left the door open as he returned to the kitchen and took another sip f
rom the room temperature coffee he had previously poured for himself.

  Looking back into the living room, Joe noticed Rhea walk through wearing a bright yellow down jacket. “Rhea.” Joe put the cup down and trotted out after her, grabbing his red puffer jacket on the way out the door.

  Striding off the porch, Joe noticed that Rhea had stopped and was looking towards the sky. Joe stopped next to her and put on his jacket before joining her in looking up.

  “Holy shit!” He exclaimed.

  Hovering less than 100 metres above them was the recovery ship, and it had completely blotted out the sky. The ship was just over one kilometre long from nose to tail, and at least three hundred metres wide at thickest point.

  “That thing is big.” Rhea added. The pair started walking towards the Epsilon, which already had a significant amount of activity swarming around it. Joe could make out several Sentinels moving about, along with several members of the crew. Just as they were reaching the ship, the shuttlecraft took off and flew up to the recovery ship.

  Ranix was outside and approached the two humans. “It appears we’ll be leaving earlier than expected.” They shook hands. “I was worried that this day would never come, but now that it is here, I am saddened.”

  Joe smiled and gave Ranix a light pat on the arm. “Well, you know where we are, and we’re not going anywhere.”

  Rhea looked up at the massive ship that was hanging in the sky. “What will you do now?”

  “We’ve all been given a few days leave. Then it’s back to work. They are taking the ship to Traxis for repairs. Once it’s fit for service, it’s back to the 3rd Reconnaissance Squadron and back into the fight.”

  Joe looked up at the recovery ship, then back down to the Epsilon. “How are they getting your ship up there?” He pointed at the massive ship that was silently loitering over the island.

  “A tractor beam.”

  “And where is the rest of the crew?”

  “Some of them have already boarded the recovery ship. All the mecha has been shut down except the Sentinel Commander.”

  Ranix continued on about the process that would take place to get the Epsilon securely tucked into the much larger ship, while Joe watched the members of the VLT begin to congregate near the Epsilon and began offering their goodbyes to Sulvan and Prure who were waiting to board the next shuttle up to the recovery ship.

  Joe was surprised that the crew was departing in such a quiet fashion, but he knew that the representatives on the PCS were now humanities primary point of contact.

  “What’s the plan once you take off?”

  “The Ship Master of recovery ship said we need to gather enough water to make the jump all the way to Traxis, which will take a few hours. Once that has been completed and the water purified, we’ll jump.”

  Keegan had mentioned his interest the previous evening of the possibility of spending some time on one of the ships that made up the 73rd Squadron in orbit. Doctor Jannsen had been intrigued by the idea, and they had agreed to approach Ranix in the morning about the prospect of such a visit.

  While Joe was still talking to Ranix, Keegan and Lysa walked over after saying their goodbyes to Sulvan and Prure, and immediately brought up the proposal. Joe automatically approved the action, while Ranix stated that it would be at the discretion of Dinalis, who as head of the Contact Team was responsible for the safety of the humans that they were in contact with, and had jurisdictional control over individual access to Alliance resources, ships and technology.

  “Let me contact him.” Ranix tapped his uniforms comms unit. “Ranix to Planet Command Ship.”

  The ship responded almost instantly. “Go ahead Communications Officer.”

  “Can you connect me with Sector Prefect Dinalis.”

  Ranix looked at Joe, then at a keen pair of scientists. “If he approves the excursion, the recovery ship is scheduled to depart within the hour. We can transfer you to one of the ships in the system via shuttlecraft when we break orbit.

  “Excellent.” Keegan was smiling from ear to ear.

  Joe knew that spending a day or two aboard a fully staffed, fully operational warship would be a big step in the right direction for building relations with the Alliance. Showing that there was the possibility of long-term compatibility was key to showing the world that they were building a lasting relationship.

  It was a few moments before Dinalis was able to respond. “This is Dinalis.”

  “Sir, I have a request from the VLT to have two of its members spend time on one of the ships that have been assigned to this sector.”

  There was a pause. Joe could almost make out a conversation that Dinalis was having with someone else in the background.

  “What about their breathing requirements?”

  Joe looked at Keegan, then Lysa, then back to Ranix. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “Could we take the moulding tablets?” Lysa asked cautiously.

  “I need to make some enquiries here.” Dinalis could be heard shouting at someone. “I will say yes, but we will confirm that the moulding tablets will first work on the two VLT members and that one of the Ship Masters is happy with entertaining them for a few days.”

  The line went dead.

  Joe looked at Keegan and Lysa with a smile on his face. “I suppose you better go pack.”

  As the two scientists started to make their way back to the house, Joe looked at Ranix and gave him a light pat on the back. “It sounds like they’re happy.”

  9

  270 light years away from Earth was a trinary star system with one inhabited world that was bathed in light every hour of every day since it was formed millennia ago. The constant sunlight made life on Rancor 7 hard, and something that was difficult for visitors to get used to, but a planet as remote of Rancor 7 was rarely visited, and while it may have been a popular holiday destination during the time of the Empire, it was now a sparsely populated backwater world and an uneventful player in the Pohjois Periphery.

  One feature that did make Rancor unique, however, was its close proximity, in celestial terms to Earth, and very close to the border with the Etelainen Periphery and Alliance forces. A small outpost on the southern continent of the planet was home to the only Coalition outpost in the system, and it was also the point of origin for a Rancorian Light Raider that had gone missing in the Sol System.

  The loss of one ship was not something that Coalition forces would usually consider odd, but since the ship in question had been sent to investigate an Alliance transmission from beyond The Reach, it made the situation all the more curious.

  The station commanders office was sparse and devoid of any individual touches. The grey metal walls were functional and reflected some of the same qualities of the leader, cold, and without flare.

  A circular desk occupied the centre of the room, with a single chair, and three additional chairs along the wall where the door was located. The desk itself had an old data terminal on it and a single mug with a steady stream of steam billowing from it.

  Sat in the three chairs were the three individuals that the base commander was hoping could explain to him that had happened to his missing ship.

  “Backup and refresh my memory on this transmission you detected.” The commander’s gaze was focused on his chief of intelligence, who sat nervously in his chair.

  “We detected a weak, unsecured transmission from beyond The Reach. The signal gave a location, and indicated that there was an Alliance ship marooned and that the ship was heavily damaged.” The officer shifted in his seat. “We concluded that the ship was the same ship that was engaged off Ares V and jumped away before it could be destroyed or captured.”

  The commander nodded before continuing his line of questioning. “And what did you do with this information?”

  “I informed the section leader for the reconnaissance division.”

  The commander shifted his gaze. “Once you had this information, how did you proceed?”

  The section lead
er dried his palms on his uniform before speaking. “I dispatched a Light Raider to investigate.”

  “And you didn’t suspect anything out of the ordinary?”

  “No, sir.”

  “Nothing at all suspicious about a message from beyond The Reach, and you send one ship.”

  “There were indications from the intelligence section that the ship was already heavily damaged, and the Raider was instructed to conduct a sweep of the system and not engage.”

  The commander nodded before looking at his second in command. “It appears that the Raider got more than it could handle.” He looked at his monitor. “And if the ship was as damaged as you suggest, it should not have been an issue for the Raider to handle alone.” He paused, took a sip from his mug. “The Alliance must be up to something. What forces do we have available?”

  The third officer checked a portable data pad quickly. “We have ten ships on station that could deploy now.”

  “Ten should do.” The commander interjected. “Lead the task force personally, and find out what the Alliance is doing beyond The Reach.” The base commander shifted his attention back to his intelligence officer. “Next time you receive any mysterious signals, make sure to bring them to my attention.”

  “Sir.”

  The commander looked back at his datapad and waved his arm, dismissing his subordinates.

  10

  When the recovery ship finally took off, the Epsilon stowed carefully inside its massive bulk, it had two additional passengers. Dinalis had convinced the Ship Master for the ancient dreadnought that served as the 73rds command ship that two human passengers wouldn’t inconvenience his ability to control the system.

  Once the recovery ship broke orbit, it dispatched one of its shuttles to transport Keegan and Lysa to Alliance Vessel Rock of Cromarden, a ship that was rumoured to have been in service with the Sabirian Union before it had joined the Empire.