Horizons

by Donald B McFarlane

  The cancer had sapped her body of strength, and she had lost a considerable amount of weight. She was light enough for the four Secret Service agents to carry with ease. A warm blanket had been placed over her before being brought off the plane, and only her head was visible, but it was enough to let anyone who saw her know that her condition was terminal.

  Joe quickly directed the agents to the shuttle, which was just metres away from where the 747 had come to a halt. As gently as possible, the two male and female agents set the First Lay down, and took their seats on the rear bench of the shuttle, providing a reassuring sight for the frail woman who looked on with trepidation.

  When the President reach the bottom of the flight of stairs, he didn’t slow his pace and immediately strode towards the shuttle, one agent by his side. The governor of Washington tried to say something to him, but the president just kept moving.

  Understanding the gravity of the situation, Joe, Rhea and Dinalis followed without bothering with introductions and stepped onto the shuttle seconds after the President. As soon as the shuttle's hatch was closed, Dinalis gave the order for the pilot to depart for Lasqueti. The ground disappeared rapidly beneath them in the small viewports on the side of the ship as it raced skyward.

  The President looked around the compartment and finally locked his eyes on Joe. “How long?”

  “About seven minutes, Sir.”

  The president nodded. “Fast ship.”

  Joe smiled because that was an understatement. The shuttle was probably already travelling faster than 2500 kilometres per hour and would cover the nearly 300 kilometres to Lasqueti faster than almost anything on the planet, and for those travelling in it, it was as smooth as could be desired.

  When the notice came that they were thirty seconds out, the side hatches of the ship both slid open, and the landing lights turned on. Joe leant out the side of the ship and saw the Ataries looming over the beach like it had since the day it arrived. A full detachment of Sentinels had been seconded from some of the ships in orbit to provide security for the arrival of the president, and just before the shuttle touched down, he spotted the doctor that had travelled from an Alliance hospital on Jaxos to supervise the treatment of the First Lady.

  Just as the ship came to a halt, the Secret Service agents were in position, and picked up their charge, and moving out of the shuttle behind Joe towards the ship.

  They walked at a quick pace, but not too fast as to disturb their cargo. The visiting doctor, from a race that Joe had never seen before was already taking bio-scans with a medical device and relaying data back to the med-bay. Once they were off the beach, they picked up their pace. The stability of the bridge allowed them to hasten their movements. All the time the president trailing the litter, with Joe, Dinalis, and Rhea all trailing expectedly behind.

  Once they were inside the ship, a blast of warm air hit them with a jolt and brought a weak smile to the First Lady’s face. The walk from the entrance of the ship to the med-bay took just two minutes, and once they were inside, it was out of the human's hands, and up to Alliance science to save the day.

  Placing the litter down on a hovering medical bed, the Alliance team, under the close guidance of the visiting doctor left the humans at the entrance of the room and proceeded to the operating theatre, and out of view.

  Even when the First Lady’s body was no longer in view, the president continued to stare towards the direction she had been taken. His eyes always on the verge of watering. Sensing an opportunity, Joe moved towards the President, and gently put his hand on his president’s shoulder.

  “Sir,” The president shifted his gaze and met Joe’s eyes. “Why don’t we go sit down and have something to drink.” The president nodded and turned away from the medical bay and slowly followed Joe.

  Thirty minutes, and two doubles of bourbon later, the president was more relaxed, and speaking with the Joe, Rhea and the rest of the Visitor Liaison Team in a room that had been allocated for the teams use.

  “Doctor Stokes, what is your opinion of this Jin-Mona character?” The president asked, taking another sip from his glass.

  “Well, Mr President, he’s not to be trifled with. It’s impossible to know how powerful he truly is.”

  “This guy makes Darth Vader look like an amateur.” Interjected Doctor Beck.

  That caught the president's attention. “Excuse me?”

  “We’ve seen part of Lord Soturi’s records. The parts that Sector Prefect Dinalis was able to obtain for us, and I have to tell you, he is incredibly powerful and capable of incredible acts of strength, both mental and physical.” Keegan continued.

  “Very well, Doctor Beck, but what are his intentions? He’s got several ships in orbit now, and he seems more aggressive on his stance on some issues than Dinalis did.”

  Keegan tilted his head from left to right and took another sip from his glass.

  “I think he wants to help us.” Interjected Lysa Janssen, “But I also believe that he is not in the mood to be delayed by what he would consider squabbling.”

  “Lysa is right, Mr President. I believe that he has our best interests in mind, he just might not be willing to put up with humanity dragging our heels on these five points.” Added Rhea.

  “He also suggested that the faster we achieve Alliance membership, the faster that we will be giving access to all forms of their technology. He even said that there was an excellent chance that we are going to be given a ship that will have a permanent human/alien crew.” Joe said.

  Taking another sip from his glass, the President looked around the room. “And the first area he’d like to start is medical care?”

  “That is right.” Replied Rhea.

  “Two hundred ships, eight hundred medical drones ready to deploy at a moments notice.” Keegan added.

  “Tomorrow, I will make an address on this issue. God knows that we have medical problems of our own in the US that they could tackle.” The President looked at Joe. “What diseases can they treat?”

  “They think they can cure everything from malaria to HIV. They also claim to have nourishment supplements to give to people who are suffering from malnutrition, which will at least get them on the road to recovery.” Rhea added, giving Joe a non-so-subtle wink.

  “What else has he proposed?” The president asked, taking another sip.

  Keegan let out a short laugh, and then shyly looked around the room. “They claim to have some massive machine that is specifically built to clean oceans. They want to land it in the Pacific.”

  That got the president's attention. “What do you mean by massive?”

  “Several miles long, several miles across. Reminds me of a giant octopus.” Beck commented.

  “Look, Mr President, those first two points are not going to be a massive issue, in our estimations. Neither is trying to do more to protect endangered species from extinction. The two points that are going to cause problems is the dramatic cutting of greenhouse emissions, and the reduction of global conflicts.” Ji-woon said, his face slightly flushed from his bourbon. “They aren’t going to help us with any tech to replace fossil fuels yet, and there are still a handful of major conflicts ongoing, plus dozens of minor wars being waged primarily in Africa and in Asia.” The South Korean took another sip of his drink. “And I don’t think we want to be asking the Alliance to send ground forces into those hot spots to try.”

  “The minute a Sentinel or an Alliance member kills a human, we’ve got the biggest shit-storm in history on our hands.” Interjected a usually quiet Doctor Chan. “And there is no way I can spin a positive message if that happens.”

  The president nodded and looked at his glass, which was nearly empty. “This is not going to be an easy or quick process.” He said dryly.

  Everyone in the room nodded. Joe knew that it was critical to accomplishing these five tasks they had been given as soon as possible. Every step they took towards Alliance membership would offer positive results. Lord Soturi, regardless of how h
e came across did promise that for every single step forward humanity made, it would be rewarded. The first of those gestures was the promised medical care, which could change hundreds of thousands of lives overnight.

  “Joe.” The President looked up from his glass. “What is your recommendation on how we proceed with the medical assistance that has been offered?”

  “Well, Sir, we,” Joe looked around the room, “All think that it would be best that the local authorities send requests for medical assistance to the UN, and then they give us that list, and we liaise with the Contact Team here. It would be critical that local authorities provide a secure environment for these shuttles to land, and a safe place for people to receive treatment.”

  The president nodded. “Sound advice.” The president took another sip, finishing off the glass. “One step at a time.” He checked his watch. His wife had been gone for almost forty-five minutes, and his level of concern hadn’t dissipated, but at least his heart rate had lowered thanks to the bourbon.

  “I’m going to go and see if I can get any information on how things are going.” The president rose to his feet, and re-buttoned his shirt, and synched his tie back up. “Joe.” He started moving towards the door, “You all are doing a marvellous job. Thank you.” He reached the door, which automatically opened, and passed onto the hallway that lead to the central atrium of the ship, Joe right on his tail.

  After strolling down the corridor, he paused and turned to face Joe. “Joe. How does Colonel Hunt sound?”

  Joe’s eyes opened wide, and a look of shock came onto his face. “Excellent, Sir.” He beamed a smile at the president. “Thank you, sir.”

  “You’ve earned it.” The president looked down to the ships metal decking. “How’s the leg?”

  Joe looked down, then back up to the president. “As good as new, Sir.”

  “Good.” The president put his hand on Joe’s shoulder. “These are trying times we find ourselves in, Joe. They are exciting, challenging, and fraught with decisions that can tip the balance of history from a future that is beautiful and beneficial to all, or to a bleak, dark future.” The president drew Joe in a little closer, their faces just inches apart. “Joe, there is a war being fought across the galaxy, and we have been drawn into it. These are the planets most perilous hours, and we must be ready for whatever comes next.”

  41

  Ranix hadn’t seen the Epsilon since he had gone home for some much-needed rest and recovery. He had received a few communiqués from 7th Fleet, and Commodore Smid about some visitors from Alliance Intelligence, and Alliance Diplomacy to the 3rd Reconnaissance Squadrons headquarters shortly after his departure home, but there were no specifics on what they were visiting for, or why it concerned Ranix, but the minute he stepped back onto the ship, he knew something was different.

  Master Star Pilot Rais had beaten Ranix on board and was waiting for the newly promoted Ship Master, Junior Grade in the hangar bay, and the look on his face told Ranix a story.

  “What?” Ranix asked, dropping his kit backs just inside the hanger.

  “Well, all systems have been restored, most of the cosmetic damage to the hull has been repaired, we’ve got a full tank of water, weapons systems are fully restored, and the ship is ready for launch. Just waiting on the rest of the crew.” Rais reported dryly.

  “But?”

  “Fleet has made some serious modifications to the ship.”

  Ranix looked around the hanger bay. Nothing seemed out of place. The shuttle was where it was supposed to be. Everything looked like it had before they had crashed on Terra.

  “Follow me, Sir.” Rais turned and started walking away from the young Ship Master. Turning down the corridor that ran the length of the ship, Ranix noticed how the walls and deck plating had all been repaired and looked almost new. He wasn’t sure what had changed, but he sensed that something was out of place, and his suspicions were confirmed when they reached the bridge.

  Instead of the narrow, cramped bridge that he had expected to see with eight operations positions plus the pilot's position at the front, he found a completely renovated space that was almost three times the size of the original.

  “They’ve removed the intelligence suite on the deck above us, and put the heat dampeners that were on either side of the bridge up there, and moved at least two utility holds to somewhere else on the ship.” Rais commented.

  Ranix nodded in silence as he looked over the new bridge. The once tight space had been replaced with one that was much more open and appeared to house more science stations, along with what looked like new communications positions.

  “Why?” He asked.

  Rais smiled and moved over to one of the stations, and bent down and opened the hatch at the base of the station's chair, revealing the survival suit that was always stored there. “Have a look.”

  Ranix moved across the bridge and knelt down next to his pilot to examine the helmet, pulling it out from under the chair, and it hit him once he turned the suit over and looked at the back of the helmet where it was clearly marked in both Universal and English as for use by human personnel, not for Alliance staff.

  “Did you notice that almost everything is labelled?” Rais asked, pointing to a sign above the bridge entrance that was written in both Universal, and English.

  “No. I didn’t.” Ranix put the helmet back, closed the panel and stood back up. “I assume this means that we are not going back to the 3rd.”

  Rais nodded silently. “I checked the ships supply manifest. Our rations have been altered to support the humans. I think they’ve automated some systems on the ship, but I would ask the Master Engineer before jumping to any conclusions.” Rais moved towards the front of the bridge to where his flight station was located. “These systems are a newer operating system than the ship previously used to run on.” He pointed to a cluster of dials and buttons on the left of the panel. “These systems are specifically designed for inter-atmosphere flight.”

  Before Ranix could comment, the hatch to the bridge was opened, and in strode Commodore Smid and Admiral Taark and another officer that Ranix didn’t recognise.

  “Ship Master Ranix, please join us.” The Commodore instructed.

  Ranix quickly moved across the bridge to meet the trio and was introduced to the third member of the Commodore’s party, Vice-Admiral Utee.

  “I’m sure that you have noticed some modifications to the ship already.” Commented the vice-admiral.

  “I have, Sir.”

  “Your mission, once your crew has boarded, and all pre-launch checks are complete, is to jump to Terra, and return to Mechcharga with the humans from the Visitor Liaison Team.” Utee instructed.

  “Sir?”

  Admiral Taark moved forward, “This is a diplomatic mission, of the highest importance to the Alliance, Ranix.”

  Ranix swallowed hard and looked at the Admiral. “Of course. So the humans are expecting my arrival?”

  “Not yet, but our representatives will inform them before your arrival.” Added the vice-admiral. “The Princess wishes to have a dialogue with the humans, in person, and we would like you to facilitate that request.”

  “Of course, Sir, but the Epsilon looks like she’s been given a fairly serious makeover.”

  “That is correct. This ship is now going to be part of a joint Alliance-Terran force that fleet command is planning on developing.” Utee continued. “We don’t have a name yet, or a timeline, or any other ships for that matter, so as of this moment, you and the Epsilon are it.”

  Ranix took a step back and looked around the bridge, then back to the trio. “The ship and its crew are ready for any mission, at any time.”

  Smid gave Ranix a pat on the arm. “Excellent.” He was smiling. “We’re going to look around the rest of the ship, and I believe that the Admiral is going to eat with Master Doctor Prure, so you can carry on with your duties.”

  Ranix gave a mini-bow and watched as the senior officers exited the bridge, leaving hi
m alone with Rais. Shaking his head, he turned to face the seasoned pilot. “Did you hear any of that?”

  “I did.” The pilot looked around the bridge, then back to Ranix. “Fleet has got something up their sleeve.” He commented.

  Ranix moved to the command chair and sat down in it. “Yeah.” He looked down at the arms of the chair, the controls were different from the last chair he had used, and they would take some effort to master. Looking back up at Rais, he asked the one question that had been on his mind since he had walked back onboard. “Do you think that this has anything to do with that Coalition attack?”

  Rais crossed his arms and looked at the floor. “Possibly. If you believe what fleet tells us, they’ve reinforced the number of forces around Terra following the almost total destruction of that Reach Guard unit. Perhaps they expect another attack and want to better relations with the humans before that happens.”

  “Yeah, but what does Terra have that fleet wants?” Ranix ran his hands over the chairs controls softly. “Other than having a viable source of fighting personnel, that world has nothing to offer the Alliance. If anything, it will be a burden on fleet resources.”

  “You’re thinking too logically, young one. The discovery of a new world past the Reach has bolstered morale back home. At least that's what I felt when I visited my family. It’s the first good news we’ve had in years. If we can get Terra into the Alliance, it’ll breathe new life into the struggle against the Coalition.”

  “That’s one of my concerns. We always say we’re fighting the Coalition, not the Pohjois.” Ranix looked at the ceiling. “This war makes less and less sense to me with every passing day. The worlds of the Core are almost entirely without life. Those that occupy those planets are criminals, pirates, and warlords all fighting for the scraps. And I don’t know the last time we had a Coalition prisoner. Standing orders are to destroy their ships after every encounter, regardless if life-signs are still present.” Ranix shook his head. “I don’t know.”