by Ken Lozito
“The fact of the matter is we only have a few AR-71s and civilian assault rifles, some explosives for demolition, and reconnaissance drones. And only four of us have MPSs. We can’t go blindly into that base in hopes of stumbling onto where the others are being held. We need to take a closer look, and we need to stick together. I can’t have any of you running off on your own,” Connor said and looked pointedly at Gordon. “The purpose of reconnaissance is to gain information that we can use to plan a rescue.”
“Is a rescue even possible, sir?” Sims asked. “Just saying, is all.”
“What about the arch?” Banks asked.
Gordon looked at him. “What about it?”
“Look at the land near the harbor. Looks like it’s been recently flooded,” Banks replied.
Connor took another look around. New Earth was usually well lit even in the evenings, except in the valley of a mountain range. He could see an area where the sparse trees looked as if they'd been pushed over. In some places, it reached high up the cliffs on the other side of the harbor.
“Excuse me, sir,” Lockwood said. “What if the arch is some kind of gateway? What if we came through it?”
Connor looked back at the arch, his mind racing. They’d sent that call out to the CDF, but if Lockwood was right, there wouldn’t be anyone to receive the message. They were on their own, without any way to get home. Connor heard several of the others groan.
“We have to consider it, and I think Tommy’s right,” Connor said.
“This is crazy,” Diaz said. “Even for you.”
Connor gestured toward the arch. “If you have a better explanation, then let’s hear it.”
Diaz considered for a moment and shook his head.
“So you think we came through that thing? The subs and…”
Lockwood nodded. “And a whole lot of water. I have no idea how it would work. But if the arch we encountered on the bottom of the inland sea were to somehow be an actual gateway, literally opening the floodgates, would that provide enough force to push us several kilometers away?”
“But we were underwater,” Sims said.
Gordon rubbed his chin in thought. “The ballast tanks were filled with water, so if Mr. Lockwood is correct and we came through that thing, then we’d sink to the bottom. Remember, a submarine is a tube within another tube that fills with water. We were closer to the arch than the other sub.”
“So if the other submarine came through the arch at an angle, you think that’s how it could have wound up on the beach?” Diaz asked.
Connor shook his head. “That seems too convenient. I think whoever opened that gateway was expecting something to come through. For some reason, they missed us, but not the other sub. Or maybe they got confused since the vessels look the same. They could’ve pulled it out of the water.”
Banks blew out a breath. “What about the Minnow observer?”
Connor glanced around at the others. No one had an explanation, so he looked at Lockwood. “This is your theory.”
Lockwood frowned in thought. “I honestly don’t know. They could’ve come through like us, or perhaps they were too far away.”
Connor nodded, knowing the young man was right. They needed a closer look at the arch, but there were too many NEIIS in the area. They were climbing up the sides, and Connor wondered if the arch had been damaged.
They spent the next couple of hours watching the NEIIS base. Connor didn’t know what else to call it. Their body shapes resembled that of the NEIIS, at least as far as they could tell through their armor.
Gordon and the others were becoming increasingly impatient. They wanted things to happen right away, and that was never the case when it came to reconnaissance, which involved a lot of watching and waiting—learning the rhythm of their target and hopefully identifying the places that were most closely guarded. Chances were that the colonists would be held in one of those places.
They were hidden amid the brush at a higher vantage point just under five hundred meters away from the base.
Diaz crawled on his stomach and came to Connor’s side. “Sims is keeping watch on the civilians. He told me he wants extra pay for babysitting duty.”
Connor nodded and kept watching the base.
“If I were NEIIS military, where would I take my prisoners?” Diaz said thoughtfully.
“They might only look like them, but that’s beside the point. Think of this place as any other military base we’ve ever been on. There’ll be barracks, mess halls, armories, confinement areas, etc. Chances are that our people are being held in one of the buildings toward the center, the part that’s the most heavily protected. Difficult to get to, as well as escape from.”
Diaz blew out a long breath and shook his head. “I don’t want to say it, but I have to.”
“I know. We might be able to get in there and possibly find them, if we’re lucky. Getting out again is the problem.”
Diaz looked at him, almost relieved. “And here I thought I was going to have to convince you. I’m not opposed to risking my life, but that base is too well secured. You know it, and I know it. And I’m sure Sims and Alder can guess it.”
Connor swallowed hard, staring intently at the base, hoping to see something they’d missed before. The problem wasn’t that he was unwilling to chance sneaking onto the base himself, but they didn’t know what they were dealing with. How would they even get home once they rescued the others? They only had one shot at this, so a rescue and finding a way to get home had to be done at the same time. He tore his gaze away from the base and looked at Diaz. “His wife is there,” he said while thinking of Lenora. “Flint, Rollins. We can’t abandon them. I won’t do it.”
“Right, but if we go forward, we need to get help.”
Connor kept thinking about Lenora, how if she’d been taken prisoner, he’d find a way to tear that whole base apart to get to her. He understood exactly how Gordon felt. The NEIIS military base didn’t have walls surrounding it, but there must be defenses in place. The soldiers moved about the base as if it was inconceivable that they would be attacked. He wondered how long they’d been there. They appeared to be well armed and carried their weapons with the casual ease that came from years of experience.
Connor watched the base and tried to think of a way they could find the others. The drones had a stealth mode, but its function was to hide them from New Earth predators. They weren’t CDF stealth recon drones.
Connor had a few ideas for distracting the enemy, but given the number of soldiers, he knew it would take multiple events to cause the chaos they’d need to rescue the others. And how experienced this fighting force was would determine how well those tactics would work. Every effective plan he and Diaz came up with required more than the eight of them and the equipment they had at their disposal.
Connor looked at the arch. A large group of soldiers were gathering into position with well-practiced efficiency. They took cover behind a line of barricades and readied their weapons, aiming them toward the archway. An alarm sounded, and the glowing lights at the base of the arch became brighter. A single orb shot up the interior of the arch and then back down the other side. The others joined Connor and Diaz. He gestured for Lockwood to come to the area next to him.
“Look sharp, kid.”
Connor had the recon drones focus on the arch and record what they were about to see. He heard a loud whine, as if massive gears were whirling into place. That was quickly followed by a series of emphatic slams that they could easily hear, even though they were half a kilometer away. The duration between the loud slams became shorter, and Connor noticed that the water rippled with each iteration. A blaze of light appeared in the center of the arch and quickly spread to the edges. At that point, darkness blocked Connor’s view of the soldiers on the other side of the arch. Then there was a blast of air and it took Connor a few moments to realize that the air was being sucked into the arch. Connor’s eyes widened and he felt a sudden drop in temperature as the air became co
oler. The wind howled as if it were being sucked into a vacuum, and they could feel the impact even where they were. There was nothing but a void in the middle of the arch, and Connor tried to see what the soldiers were doing behind it. The wind was so strong that the water in the harbor began to stream up into the air and straight into the void. There was a powerful slam, and Connor felt the ground vibrate beneath his body. He looked at the arch, and it appeared to have powered down. Soldiers scrambled around the base of it, checking the area.
Connor and the others backed away from the top of the hill and stood up.
“What the hell was that?” Diaz asked.
“I think…” Lockwood said and paused for a moment. “I think they opened a gateway to somewhere that didn’t have an atmosphere.”
Connor glanced at the arch.
“This is weird. This is too weird,” Diaz said.
“Any idea how it works?” Connor asked.
Lockwood shook his head. “No idea.”
“Why not?” Banks asked harshly.
“Because I’m an engineer, not a physicist,” Lockwood shot back and narrowed his gaze. “Do you know how it works?”
“That’s enough,” Connor said before Banks could muster a reply. “At least we know it still works.”
Gordon inhaled explosively and shook his head. “I don’t see how this helps.”
“Now we know for a fact how we got here, which means there has to be a way for us to get back home.”
“With an army of those things waiting for us?”
Sims hastened over to them and skidded to a stop. “Sir,” he said with an expression that said he couldn’t quite believe what he was about to say. “I got a reply to our distress beacon. It’s the CDF. It’s the Vigilant.”
33
Connor looked at the former communications engineer for a few moments.
The Vigilant…Sean…
“I have him right here,” Sims said, and gestured toward Connor. “The signal is coming through the recon drone we had in the upper atmosphere. They want to speak to you.”
Connor used his implants to access the comlink.
“Is that you, Connor?” Sean asked.
“Colonel Quinn, I can’t believe you’re here!”
There was a slight pause. “So you realize we’re a long way from home?”
“That’s one way to put it,” Connor said and proceeded to tell Sean about what had happened to them.
“Do you have the exact time when the incident on the submarine occurred?” Sean asked.
Connor told him.
“Stand by,” Sean replied. A few seconds passed before Sean continued. “You’re not going to believe this, but that matches up with the time we first transitioned to this universe.”
Connor listened as Sean quickly went through the theory the scientists on the Vigilant had come up with to explain what had happened. He didn’t know anything about multiverses or wormholes, although he knew a wormhole didn’t fit the context of what had happened to them.
“You’re right, this can’t be a coincidence. What’s the sitrep on the Vigilant?”
“We’ve encountered a hostile force near the planet. They’re strong, and we’re assuming the forces on the planet are equally as dangerous. We’ve taken significant damage, but we can still fight. I don’t think they were expecting to encounter us any more than we were them.”
“We’ve been scouting the area here. Have you detected any other bases on the planet?” Connor asked.
“Negative. Yours is the first signal we’ve detected. There are no signs of intelligent life anywhere else on the planet. In fact, our observation shows large swaths of the continent that are barren desert, with significant land areas where there’s little or no vegetation.”
Connor frowned in thought. “Then this might not be their home either.”
“Agreed. You said earlier that they’ve taken prisoners?”
“Yes, from the other submarine—five civilians and four former CDF, one of whom is an officer.”
There was a long pause, which Connor had expected. Flint and Rollins would have critical intel on the CDF and were now in the hands of the enemy. “Understood. What do you need from me?”
“A Spec Ops team would help with the rescue, along with a couple of extra combat suits. I have no idea how to get us home. The Vigilant is certainly not going to fit through the arch.”
“We have a few ideas about that. I’ll have two combat shuttles with a Spec Ops team deployed ASAP. As soon as you can organize a rescue, we’ll rendezvous. We don’t have time for finesse,” Sean said.
Things must be worse than he thought. “Understood. Do you have orbital bombardment capabilities? We could paint a few targets if it came down to it.”
“I’ll make sure the Spec Ops team brings adequate armament. Oh, and one more thing—it’s nice to be working with you again, General Gates.”
Connor’s brows pulled together tightly for a moment, and he shook his head. “Does that mean you’ll follow orders?”
Sean grinned. “Not until it’s official, sir.”
“One thing at a time. And you do know I’m retired, right?”
“You can keep telling yourself that. I recall when Noah kept trying to tell you he was only a consultant.”
Connor felt the edges of his lips begin to lift as he remembered Noah’s futile attempts not to join the CDF.
“A Spec Ops team will be deployed momentarily. We’ll be in comms blackout for two-hour intervals,” Sean said.
The comlink closed and the signal went offline. Connor relayed the information from Sean to the others.
“We still don’t know how this happened,” Diaz said.
“And we’re not gonna figure it out here,” Connor said.
“How long before help arrives?” Gordon asked.
“They’re facing hostiles out there, so it won’t be a direct approach. They have our position, and they’ll be in contact soon. This is a good thing, Gordon. We really needed their help. We’re going to be able to get them out now.”
Gordon nodded his head one time.
Connor had the archaeologist and his team keep watch on the NEIIS military base. Diaz, Sims, and Alder stayed with Connor.
“Alright, give us the real deal,” Diaz said.
“Sean didn’t go into much detail. They had a few clashes with enemy forces. That’s all I know. We didn’t have a lot of time, and Sean wanted us to focus on rescuing the others and getting intel about that base.”
Diaz grinned. “You trained them too well. How does it feel to be managed by your own protégé?”
Connor smiled. “He’s doing the job I trained him to do, and he’s got the high ground and all the assets. He doesn’t need me second-guessing him. But the Spec Ops team en route changes things for us. Sean did say we don’t have much time, so we’ll have to be quick. And now that we have some real assets, I’ve got a few ideas on how to use them.”
34
The comlink closed and Sean leaned back in his chair. If he hadn’t seen and heard Conner’s voice on his personal holoscreen, he wouldn’t have believed it was possible that he was on the planet.
“Boseman’s team is assembling on the main hangar deck. Two heavy combat shuttles are preparing for launch, Colonel,” Lieutenant Russo said.
“Understood. I want to speak to Captain Boseman before he departs,” Sean replied.
Major Brody came onto the bridge and headed for the Command Center. Sean had patched him into the comlink while he’d spoken with Connor, so his XO was up to speed.
“This day just keeps getting more interesting, doesn’t it?” Sean said.
“You have a knack for understatements, Colonel.”
Oriana glanced at him from the aux workstation near tactical, and Sean waved her over. “You were right, and it seems that there was a combination of events that brought us here. I’d like you to coordinate with Dr. Volker.”
“Of course. What do you need me to do?”
“Connor spoke about an arch that our new friends used to bring them into this universe. He said it wasn’t big enough for a ship like the Vigilant, so there’s a good chance that there’s another arch in the area. We haven’t observed any shipbuilding yards, which leads me to believe that the enemy ships aren’t from around here either.”
Brody blew out a breath and frowned in thought. “Agreed, but that doesn’t answer how we came to be here. We didn’t see anything like an arch or gateway near Sagan.”
“You’re right, but we didn’t do a thorough search of the debris field. At the time, we thought New Earth was in danger, so we might’ve missed something. The lack of alien presence out there indicates that perhaps this is something they don’t even know about,” Sean replied.
Oriana nodded. “This could be directly related to the NEIIS settlement that was found on the planet. Perhaps they were researching this technology.”
Sean shrugged. “We’re not going to figure all this out here. We need to focus on rescuing Connor and the others on the planet while also finding a way home. I have a job offer for you,” he said to Oriana. She arched an eyebrow at him and waited for him to continue. “I realize Dr. Volker is your superior, but I need an official liaison who can help bridge the gap between us—the CDF and Volker’s team.”
Oriana was the best choice for this role based on Sean’s experience with the other scientists. She was brilliant, and she’d been able to remain in control during their brief clash with the enemy.
“I’m not going to have time to explain everything to Dr. Volker,” Sean continued. “You’re here and aware of the situation, and you have the expertise and the background to convey the things I can’t explain to him.”
Sean watched as Oriana looked back at him and then at Major Brody. He could tell there was something she wanted to ask but wasn’t going to bring up with Major Brody there. Sean didn’t have time for this connection or attraction they shared. If she said no, he’d have to find somebody else. “What do you say? Can you help us out?”
