Horizons

by Donald B McFarlane

  Standing back up, the pair moved off again at the same pace when a single shot rang out from the far side of the village. Mike instinctively stopped and dropped into the prone and took an aim in the general direction of the noise.

  “That was a 416, wasn’t it?” he asked regarding the sound made by a rifle similar to the one he and his team were carrying.

  The sergeant nodded.

  Mike toggled his comms unit. “Four Zero Alpha to all call-signs, send sit-rep.”

  The line was silent. “H Two Alpha, no change.” Came the reply from team two. Mike tried to slow his breath while he waited for a response from team three, but one never came.

  “Four Zero Alpha to H Two Alpha, move to H three’s last known position. We’ll RV there.” Mike looked at the sergeant. “Let’s move.”

  By the time they reached team three, it was too late. Team two was already on site, and the news wasn’t good. Both the men had single burn marks to their chests, which had bored right through their body armour and killed them where they stood. The fired shot had probably been a finger twitching, not an attempt at returning fire.

  Mike knelt down by the two men that he had served with for the past three years and removed his helmet, slamming it into the hard-packed Iraqi dirt with all his force.

  “Fuck!” he hissed. Sitting down he brought his gloved hands up to his face before running them through his receding hairline. Moving his hand down to his comms unit he set the bad news to his superiors.

  The instructions he was given were to wait for reinforcements, but Mike knew that whatever had done this had already slipped through their grasp. His two men died on the same line that the battle had flowed towards, and it probably meant that the assailants had continued off into the Iraqi desert in the same direction, one that would lead them directly towards the Syrian border and huge numbers of militants.

  Looking at the sky, Mike could hear the faint whisper of helicopters in the distance. Arriving just in time to collect the dead.

  30

  Rhea hadn’t moved from Joe’s side since he had been wounded on the beach almost two days earlier. Sitting on a small stool next to the medical bed that Joe was lying on, Rhea had to prop her head up to prevent her from nodding off. She was wiped out and was in need of a serious pick-me-up. Rising to her feet, she moved away from Joe’s still body and walked towards the entrance of the medical bay where he was being kept. A small trolley had been brought into the room with some beverages, and she was seeking some level of solace in a refreshing drink.

  The news hadn’t been all bad after the battle, she knew that Keegan and Lysa were alive aboard their Alliance vessel in orbit, and Sarah Chan and Doctor Ji-woon had remained unscathed atop the Planetary Command Ship smoking weed throughout the entire battle. Joe was their only casualty, but he wasn’t out of the woods yet. The juicer pack that the SC had administered to him had sent his body haywire. His liver and kidneys had failed, and on top of that, he was now missing half a leg. The ships doctor’s has told Rhea that the leg could easily be replaced by a prosthetic, but the damage to his organs was going to take an extended period of rehabilitation.

  Picking up a glass, Rhea stared blankly at the three jugs that were in front of her, touching all three, she took the one that was hot and poured out its contents. Bringing the cup to her lips, she blew on the steam before taking a small sip. The sensation of the hot liquid hitting her lips, tongue, then throat immediately made her feel more awake, and she rolled her shoulders and sensed a tingling feeling as the liquid hit her stomach.

  Turning sharply she retraced her steps to Joe's bed which sat in the middle of the stark white medical lab, which was empty except Joe and Rhea and two Canadian soldiers who had been wounded in the beach fighting and were also under sedation. Sitting back down on the stool, Rhea took a few more sips of the drink before setting the glass down on the table next to Joe’s bed. Reaching out, she took Joe’s hand as it lay next to his bed in hers, and squeezed tight. Like her colleagues, Rhea had never envisaged that she would be drawn into the middle of an intergalactic war when she had signed up with SETI. Little did she know, she was about to leave the shallow end and swim into deeper waters.

  “Doctor Stokes.” Dinalis gently prodded the females shoulder, “Doctor.”

  Rhea brought her head up from where had been resting on the side of Joe’s medical bed and blinked twice, trying to focus on Sector Prefect Dinalis who was standing by her side.

  “Prefect.” She said dryly.

  “Doctor, I need you to come with me at once, there has been an incident.”

  Rhea got control of her faculties and sat up straight on the stool, looking at Joe with a concerned look on her face. “Is Joe okay?”

  “Yes, Doctor,” The Prefect attempted a brief smile. “But we have serious matters to discuss.”

  Rhea nodded and stood to her feet, but before she departed, she bent down and gave Joe a kiss on his forehead. “I’ll be back, baby.”

  The Prefect moved towards the exit of the room swiftly with Rhea trailing him. As the pair exited the medical room onto the main hallway that ran the length of the ship, Rhea’s curiosity got the better of her.

  “What is going on, Prefect?”

  “There has been a Zeus incident.” He replied, still maintaining a steady pace.

  “A what?”

  “It is what some an organisation called NATO and other western militaries are calling an incursion by off-world forces.”

  “I thought that all the ships that had attacked had been beaten back?” She shook her head. “And I thought all the machines they had landed here had been destroyed.”

  “They had been.” Dinalis stopped and turned to face Rhea.

  “Do you know what day it is?”

  “Sure.” The replied curtly. “The seventh of December. The attack was just yesterday.”

  “It is the eighth.” Dinalis replied before continuing.

  “So what are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that this is the second incursion. An entirely separate incident.”

  “Is there any chance that after the battle, some Coalition forces slipped down to the planet and that is what this is?” she asked with a hint of trepidation in her voice.

  “No.” Dinalis shot back quickly. “After the battle, and after all the enemy ships had been sent into the sun, a complete bio-scan of the planet was conducted and no unauthorised off-world life forms or robotics were detected.”

  “Wait, if you can scan for either them, why not just do that again?”

  “We have conducted a vigorous sweep in the area where this incursion occurred, with no success. And that is a major problem.”

  The duo finally reached the main hall of the ship and quickly made their way to the lift platform that brought them up to the command centre where the rest of the Alliance Contact Team was already waiting, along with Doctor Ji-Woon and Sarah Chan.

  Dinalis and Rhea parted and took their perspective seats around the table. The absence of Joe was painfully obvious by his empty chair on Rhea’s right. In the centre of the table was a holographic image of Ship Master Pullo Obo.

  “Now that you have all arrived, I can confirm that hours ago a jump signature was detected near Earth. My ships have scoured the system and can find no trace of the vessel. Either they immediately jumped back out, or they are cloaked and still lurking nearby.” The burly commander of what was once the 73rd Reach Guard Garrison Squadron still had his arm in a sling and looked frustrated.

  “Thank you, Ship Master. Please keep us up to date on any developments.” Dinalis killed the hologram and looked around the table. “The jump was detected just a few hours ago. Shortly after that, there was an incident in the desert of Iraq.” Dinalis reached forward and hit a key on the table.

  “Zeus! I say again, Zeus!” The British voice was then cut off from the speakers.

  “That was a transmission from a military unit that is confident that they witnessed an incident involving
Coalition forces. Why they are there, what their intentions are, and where they are now is all unknown.” Dinalis tapped another key on the table, and a hologram of the Sentinel Commander was displayed.

  “Sentinel Commander, how are your preparations proceeding?”

  “On track, Sector Prefect.” Came a booming response.

  Dinalis looked up from the hologram at Rhea. “It is our suggestion, that you deploy with the Sentinel Commander to the Iraqi desert and start an investigation into what is actually going on there. Pick up the track of the Coalition forces, track them down, and neutralise them.”

  Rhea sat back in her chair and gave Dinalis a questioning look while simultaneously pointing at her chest. “Me?” She looked to her left and right. “I’m not a soldier.”

  Dinalis turned off the hologram and leant forward on the table. “Doctor, we cannot send forces to respond to this incident without a member of your team accompanying them. You are most senior in the absence of Major Hunt, and it is only logical that you should be the one to take this duty on.” Dinalis leaned back. “Doctor Ji-Woon has already spoken with many world leaders since this event took place, and they all acknowledge that this is an internal security matter, for humans to deal with, but they also note that this might be a threat that they cannot combat alone.”

  Rhea looked at Charles, who gave her a sheepish nod, then back to Dinalis. “When do we leave?”

  31

  The shuttle landed on the beach an hour after Rhea had been told she was being dispatched to the Middle East. She had been sure to take Joe’s always present sat phone with her to keep the President of the United States, plus the Canadian Prime Minister up to date with her progress.

  The PCS armourer had prepared a suit like the one Joe had worn earlier, over some protest, from Rhea, which she had been assured, would protect her. The suit had been hastily painted in a light sand colour to offer her some opportunity to blend into the desert environment she was heading to. Over her shoulder, she carried a backpack, with some food and water, and to complete her ensemble, her Dior sunglasses were ever present.

  Looking up at the Sentinel Commander, Rhea felt a rush of excitement come over her. This would be the first time she was taking the lead in any action with the aliens. While she was anxious about the health of her partner, she knew that this opportunity would never have come if he was one hundred percent healthy.

  “Are you ready, Doctor?” the machine asked.

  “Yes.”

  The machine led off towards the shuttle, which had been seconded to this mission from the medical ship that was in orbit, at a swift pace. The shuttle had a set of wings that ran atop the main body with a pair of engines at each end, and a pair of energy cannons under each wing. The side of the shuttle had opened showing a large, but simple cargo area with a single canvas bench running along the back of the space.

  Entering the shuttle, Rhea noted how minimalistic in design it was. When she sat down on the bench she noted how there were no advanced pieces of electronics or display panels in the vessel, it was bare bones, and other than the Sentinel Commander, the space was empty.

  Leaning over her, Rhea watched as the SC tapped a small white button next to her shoulder which activated the restraints, which ran diagonally across her body, and over her lap, and automatically synched themselves down.

  “Not too tight?” The machine asked.

  “Fine, thank you.”

  Trying to relax, Rhea watched as the SC moved towards the front of the shuttle, where the cockpit was visible and gave some instructions to the pilots, which almost immediately resulted in the shuttle lifting off from the soft sand of the beach towards the sky.

  “We are on the way.” The SC commented, walking back to Rhea. Finding a spot on the deck in front of her, the hulking machine, which had been forced to duck down since he had walked into the shuttle, sat. “The trip should take roughly four hours.”

  Rhea nodded silently. “What is the plan when we arrive?” she asked. She knew the broad strokes of what had been reported, but she wasn’t clear on how they were supposed to solve the problem. Everyone involved knew that the people of Earth were on edge from the attack two days ago. Vancouver was still burning, thousands were dead, the United States Air Force had suffered its worst casualties since the World War Two, and the possibility of off-world infiltrators was going to be the straw that broke the camels back with humanity. The possibility that someone or something from the Coalition had arrived on Earth and slaughtered an entire village of militants and a pair of British soldiers was just going to make matters worse.

  “Once we arrive on site, we need to interview the witnesses and gather as many facts as possible. Once that has been accomplished, we will proceed as we see fit.”

  Rhea leant back on the wall of the shuttle and looked up at the ceiling, which was a void of design and characteristics just like the rest of the cargo area they were sitting in. Closing her eyes, she tried to slow her heart rate and relax.

  When the door of the shuttle slid open, the heat of the Iraqi desert blew into the cargo hold and hit Rhea like a wave. It was winter in Vancouver, and the heat was a shock to her system. Putting her sunglasses on, she tapped the white button next to her position, which released the seat restraints, allowing her to stand, and stretch her legs after the flight, which on the canvas bench, had not been comfortable.

  The Sentinel Commander had already exited the shuttle, and she could tell that the engines were starting to powering off. Walking towards the light, Rhea shouldered her backpack and adjusted the armour she was wearing, which she was still trying to get used to.

  Stepping off the hard metal deck onto the hard pack Iraqi sand, she felt the heat beating down on her face at the same time as the suit suddenly performed its first parlour trick, and started to feed cold air around her torso, arms and legs. With a sudden sense of comfort, Rhea took a few more paces away from the shuttle, and spotting the SC, and moved off towards him.

  The towering machine was having a conversation with a tall man in a set of fatigues as Rhea walked up to them.

  “I will have to insist that you leave your weapons on your ship.” Rhea heard the man say as she joined them.

  “Everything alright?” She asked the man who was just over six foot tall and standing with a very defensive posture.

  “You must be Doctor Stokes.” The man put out his hand, which she shook.

  “I am.”

  “Lieutenant Colonel Angus Cundey, Second Battalion, Parachute Regiment, at your service.” The man bowed slightly before releasing her hand.

  “Please to meet you, Colonel.”

  “I was just telling the Sentinel Commander that this area is now under my control, and I must respectfully ask that he leaves his weapons on the shuttle.”

  Rhea looked up at the large robot, then back at the officer. “If you think that will make you feel safer Colonel, then it’s fine with me.” She looked up at the SC, “Let’s get on with it.”

  Without responding the SC turned around and marched back to the shuttle to relieve himself of his arms.

  Looking back at the Colonel, Rhea smiled to lighten the mood. “So, Colonel, what is going on?” She asked, looking around at her surroundings, which consisted of a series of buildings resembling a town square.

  “What you see around you,” the Colonel pointed to a body that was lying in the street twenty metres away, “Is the result of a one-sided contest between over one thousand militants, and an unknown party. That’s why you are here.”

  The SC returned its head on a swivel. “How many of the bodies have you buried?” The machine asked.

  “Most of them, we wanted to leave somewhere they fell, to give you a clear understanding of the flow of the battle.” Came the reply.

  The Sentinel spotted the dead man that the Colonel had pointed out to Rhea, and immediately started moving towards it. “I need to examine that body.” He said, moving off at his usual brisk pace with Rhea and the Colonel trail
ing them.

  Reaching the body, the SC knelt down and ran a full spectrum scan on the body, which was already starting to show signs of decomposition. “This man was killed by what is known as electro-bio-shock.” He stood up and looked at the humans that were standing by his side. “The weapons I carry employs energy beams to punch holes into their targets. The system that killed this man is designed to deliver a huge electric shock to the internal organs of any biological, killing them instantly. Even a glancing shot will kill the victim.”

  Rhea knelt down and looked the body over. The burn mark on the man’s shirt was only the size of a quarter, and other than the decomposition, there were no visible signs of trauma.

  “Why would they use a weapon that electrocutes people?” she asked, standing back up.

  “Because it is very effective.” The SC commented. “The Alliance does not use such weapons, and they were banned during the time of the Empire. Electrocution is considered unethical.” Looking around the town, the SC scanned the rest of the area that was in his field of vision. “So, Colonel. This is clearly the work of the Coalition organics. Sentinels would not carry these kinds of weapons.”

  The Colonel nodded. “Right, then where did they come from?”

  “Have you discovered anything out of the ordinary in or around the village?” The machine asked.

  “Nothing.” Came the reply.

  “Can we speak to the witnesses?” Rhea asked.

  “Of course.” The Colonel said, pulling a handheld radio from his waistband.

  Rhea looked at the SC, “What are you thinking?” she asked

  “We need to discover how these forces arrived here. If we can do that, we might be able to learn more about them, and their capabilities.”

  “Major Tattersall will be here shortly.”

  “Thank you, Colonel.” Rhea slowly turned in a full circle, looking around the village. She could still see some areas that had bloodstained patches on the ground, and there were brass casings scattered everywhere. Down the main street that ran to the north, Rhea could make out a section of soldiers and some vehicles in a defensive position. Looking to the sky, she noted how there wasn’t a cloud visible. Other than the sense of gloom that hung over the village, there was a very tranquil and calm feeling that Rhea could sense emanating from some unknown source.