Freedom Sun
Once upon a time I had this brilliant idea, that I stole from a famous author, to put out a quarterly publication. In it I would put various short stories, novellas, book reviews and two longer serialized pieces. Well, that fizzled after a year. My day job, which has always been hectic, got extremely busy and shut down my writing, along with my myriad other hobbies, for ages. Freedom Sun is one of those two serials that I was working on. It is a space opera with as much of a hard sci fi slant as I can give it. I've always been fascinated with the ancient astronaut theory. I especially liked how Battlestar Galactica put their twist on it. But I couldn't help ask, like so many writers have, what would we do if we found a space ship that was that old. And apparently a ship that was built by humans. I wanted to explore that question. As an added bonus I wondered what about the crew. Whenever you see a scenario like this, because it does happen often enough, the crew is long gone. What if the crew was still around? And with no memory of how they got to where they were. So I ran with it. I won't promise that it will be best seller material. And thats ok. Some of the best sci fi to me is pulp. Since this is being written piece by piece I've chosen to put it up as read only until I am done. You'll find that it is a bit rough in places and it will most assuredly be heavily edited when I am done. I hope that you enjoy it.
Chapter 1
The guard by the door held up his hand to block her approach. She stopped in front of him and held out her orders. Taking them he read through them before handing them back.
“Go on in Captain James. They’re waiting on you.”
The control room was dimly lit and hushed. Around the edges of the room stood rows of computer terminals with men and women hunched over them. The barrel chested man in the middle of the room turned and saw her.
“Alicia” he called. “Come on over here.”
Walking up to him she stopped and saluted. “General Stalls.”
“No need to stand on formality Alicia. Follow me, we have something I’d like you to see.”
She raised an eyebrow at him but followed after as he led her to a back room. He held the door open for her but she stopped in the doorway. Staring straight ahead her jaw fell open. There was a giant screen on the wall. Her eyes narrowed onto the image displayed on it and she couldn’t tear them away.
“If you step inside I’ll tell you everything” she heard in her ear. Jumping a little she stepped into the room. The General waved a man over from across the room.
“Captain James, I’d like you to meet Doctor Simons. Doctor Simons, this is Capt. Alicia James.”
Doctor Simons held out his hand to her. “Pleased to meet you Captain James.”
She caught her eyes drifting back up to the screen. “Likewise Doctor Simmons” she mumbled out.
“Simons.”
“What?”
“Simons, not Simmons.”
“My apology.”
“It’s quite alright Alicia” General Stalls interjected. “Everyone is distracted at first. Hell, I’ve been staring at this for days and I still have a hard time focusing on anything else. Shall we get down to business?”
“Yes General, please.”
He motioned to a conference table and they all sat. “Doctor Simons, would you care to begin?”
“Absolutely” he replied. He turned to Alicia and began “Three days ago the object that you see on the screen appeared over the northern hemisphere in geostationary orbit. Go ahead, I know you need to take it in some more.”
She nodded at him and turned her chair to face the screen. There, hanging in orbit, was what could only be a starship. It was massive, low slung and covered with blister pods.
She turned back to face the General and the Doctor. “How large is that thing?”
Doctor Simons pulled out a pair of glasses and placed them on his nose. “We estimate that it is roughly 1,500 meters long.”
“How could something this large come out of nowhere?”
“That’s what we intend to find out” said General Stalls.
Alicia’s pulse kicked in and she sat up a little straighter. “Where do I come into this?”
“If we have spotted this thing then you can rest assured that the Russian/Chinese space force is eyeballing it as well. We need to get to it first.”
“How do we propose to do that?”
“We have a shuttle ready to launch in two days. But we need a mission commander. That’s where you come in. If you are interested.”
Alicia clenched the bottom of her seat to keep from leaping out of it.
“Of course sir.”
“Good. I knew you were the man, er woman, for the job.”
She smiled. “No need to stand on ceremony today general. You could call me a monkey and I’d smile at it. Anything to get a chance at something like this.”
He smiled at her in return. “You’ll be leading a small team to explore this ship. There will be two astronauts to pilot the shuttle, you and four Special Forces. We’d like to send more but space is at a premium.”
Doctor Simons shifted in his seat. “Yes Doc, I know you want to tag along but you are going to have to wait until we have eyes on the ground so to speak.”
“Do any of these soldiers have any experience that would lend itself to this type of mission? And how do we know the occupants are going to let us just waltz on in?”
“For starters that ship has been dark since it arrived. No replies to radio, minimal electrical signals. I'm not sure any one is home. All the more reasons to stake a claim before the Commies get boots on deck. Secondly, no one has experience for a mission like this. Zero G warfare? That’s theoretical at best. We’ve got you the best amphibious soldiers that we could find however.”
“What are my mission orders?”
“Very simple. Infiltrate, observe and report. We need to be first on this. A discovery like this will change the balance of power on this planet for a hundred years at least. Once we know its secure we’ll start ferrying engineers and scientists aboard to see what makes it tick.”
Alicia nodded. “I won’t let you down sir.”
“God speed Captain.”
****
“Five, four, three, two, one, ignition.”
The sudden acceleration pushed Alicia back into her seat. The crash course she had received hadn’t prepared her for what she was now experiencing. She felt her stomach begin to roll. It must have been clear on her face. The soldier next to her rolled his head towards her and said “fight it back Cap. Don’t throw up. It has nowhere to go but behind you and no one will forgive you for that.”
She nodded weekly and swallowed. The pressure against her mounted until she thought she wouldn’t be able to take any more. “We have separation” she heard and shortly afterwards the pressure eased off. She felt gravity let go of her. If she hadn’t buzzed her hair off the night before it would be floating around her. She craned her neck to see through the front viewport. Ahead of them loomed their target.
“Damn” one of the soldiers said behind her. “That thing is huge.”
“Ten minutes to intercept” the pilot said. He and his copilot maneuvered the shuttle into position alongside the ship. The two of them muttered as they searched for a hatch or airlock.
“Are those scorch marks?”
“Holy cow, what could do that to a ship this size?”
“I’d hate to find out?”
“There” the copilot shouted. “That looks like an airlock right there.”
“Moving into position” the pilot replied. A minute later the thrusters brought them into position. The copilot released his harness and floated to the back of the shuttle where the EVA suits were stored.
“Alright boys” Alicia called out. “It’s time to get ready for work.”
She and the other soldiers released their own harnesses. After putting their own EVA suits on they began checking weapons. Rifles were attached to the suit with specially made slings.
“Are you ready” the copilot asked. Alicia met his eyes and could see how wide they were.
“We’re ready. Don’t worry; all you have to do is lead the way across. We’ll do the rest.”
He swallowed hard and nodded his head. All six of them moved into the airlock. “I’ll be monitoring from here” the captain said over the com system. “Good luck gentleman. And lady.”
The airlock cycled out the air and began to open. Alicia watched the universe come into view above her head. Her heart began to race and her breath fogged up the glass of her helmet.
“Deep breaths” she whispered to herself.
“Did you say something Cap” someone asked.
“Nope, just admiring the sights.”
When the doors were opened completely the copilot used his suits thruster pack to carry him across the gulf. Behind him he trailed a lightweight alloy cable. He landed lightly on the hull of the ship and attached the cable with a magnet to the ship. Turning around he gave a thumbs up to Alicia and her team.
“Come back across. If things go south I want you out of the line of fire” she ordered. He gave her another thumbs up and started back. She and her team attached themselves to the cable with clamps and started across. It would have been easier to use thrusters to boost across but there had been no time to train with them. Instead that had decided to go simple. The five of them landed on the ship and began checking the access hatch for a way in.
“Cap” Sgt. Perkins called. “I’ve got this panel open and I see what looks like a pull switch. Want me to give it a tug?”
“By all means Sarge, tug away. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“We could get blown into the endless depths of space” someone muttered.
“Small price to pay” Alicia said in reply. “Come on Sarge, we don’t have all day. Open this beast up.”
“Yes ma’am.”
He reached in, grabbed the switch and pulled. Nothing happened at first. He added his other hand and braced his legs on each side of the opening. Teeth gritted he strained until it finally began to move. He gave it a twist and the airlock began to open with a rumble they could feel through their feet.
“Good work Sarge. Greene, take point. I’m next. Sarge you bring up the rear.”
With the hatch open they floated into the airlock and spread out three dimensionally to cover each side plus the ceiling. Flashlights attached to rifles shown around the room.
“All clear Cap.”
“Sarge, think you can find a way to shut that hatch behind us” Alicia asked.
“I’m on it.”
He searched beside the open hatch and found a panel that lined up with the one outside; opening it up he saw a similar switch. He crossed himself and pulled it. This one gave much easier and the hatch slid shut sealing them in. At the same time air began to cycle into the room with a hiss. Alicia motioned her squad to move to the interior hatch.
“Alright gentlemen, we’re here. This is where the fun really begins.”
Sergeant Perkins pushed several buttons on what appeared to be a control panel and the hatch opened. Greene floated through with Alicia close behind. As soon as the two of them entered the corridor beyond they crashed to the deck.
“What the hell” Greene asked.
“Alicia leapt back up into a crouch. “There must be some kind of artificial gravity. Stand up soldier. Our job just got easier.”
Forewarned the rest of the squad stepped through to keep from falling. Stanwick came through last and pulled out a small device. He flipped a switch and it began to hum quietly before giving out a beep.
“Cap, this little doohickey says we got air. Like, breathable, good for human’s kinda air. Want us to pop the lids?”
Alicia thought for a second before breaking the seal on her helmet. It came off with a hiss and she took a short breath.
“Seems ok to me. Pop em off but be ready to put em back on at a moment’s notice.”
She hit the radio in her suit. “Insertion team to shuttle.”
“Go ahead Insertion Team.”
“We’re in and ready to do some sightseeing. I’ll check in in an hour.”
“Roger that. Be careful.”
“Which way Cap’ Perkins asked.
Alicia looked up and down the dark corridor.
“Toward the bow of the ship” she replied. “Hopefully the builders were enough like us that the command center can be found that way.”
“Do you want us to split up” Greene asked.
“Negative. Not until we are certain that we’re alone here.”
They moved together down the passageway leapfrogging past junctions. Alicia resisted the urge to branch off of the corridor that they were in. Along the wall they could see symbols painted periodically.
“What do you make of these” Corporal Watkins asked.
“Probably just section designations like you’d see on any ship” Alicia replied.
“They look familiar” Greene said.
“I didn’t know you spoke alien” said Watkins.
“Kiss it Watkins.”
“Now now boys, stay focused” Alicia said. “You can have a measuring contest later.”
“Yes ma’am.”
They stalked down the corridor for another twenty minutes before they passed an open double hatchway. Alicia motioned for them to stop and check it out before they continued.
“Watkins, watch the door. Greene, Perkins, Stanwick, you are with me. Let’s check this quick and get back on our way.”
The four of them moved through the opening and spread out. In front of them were rows of plants under UV light. There were several varieties of flowers, trees and what appeared to be vegetables.
“What the hell? It’s a freaking greenhouse” Stanwick whispered.
They four of them fanned out through the rows.
“Cap” called out Greene. “I think this is a rubber tree here.”
“I didn’t know you were a botanist” she replied.
“I used to stay with my grandma during the summers. Her house was full of these things. I swear that these are the same thing.”
“What the hell would aliens be doing with rubber trees from your grannies house?”
“I don’t know Cap, beats the hell out of me.”
“Cap” Greene yelled from. “They’ve got freaking zucchini here.”
“Something’s weird here boss” Perkins said. “Greene thinks the symbols on the wall look familiar. They’ve got a greenhouse full of zucchini and house plants. And did you notice that all the doors are just the right height for us?”
“I noticed” said Alicia. “Alright boys, this room is clear. Let’s keep moving.”
There was a shout from the corridor and a spurt of gunfire.
“Contact, contact! Watkins, report!”
The team ran, crouched over, back to the entrance. Watkins didn’t reply. Poking her head out of the hatchway Alicia saw his body lying on the deck.
“Cover me” she said to Greene. He and Stanwick pointed their rifles down each direction of the corridor while she ran to Watkins. Grabbing his feet she pulled him into the greenhouse. Placing a finger on his neck she found a slow but steady pulse.
“He’s alive” she said to the others.
“What got him” asked Perkins.
“No idea Sarge. We need to move though.”
“Keep going forward or back to the airlock?”
She chewed her lip for a moment before replying. “Airlock. We’re going with the better part of valor here. Perkins, get Watkins. Green, take point. Stanwick you’re on rear guard. Let’s head out.”
They hurried down the corridor training their rifles down each junction. As they moved Alicia hit the switch on her radio again.
“Insertion team to shuttle, come in.”
“Shuttle here. Go ahead Captain.”
“We’re headed back. One man down. We are not alone here. Repeat, we are not alone.”
“Roger that. Firing up the thrusters. Hurry home Cap.”
She closed the channel as they felt the deck shudder.
“What was that?”
Another shudder hit them. This time they could hear a thump at the same time. They froze in place with weapons trained in all directions.
Thump thump thump thump. Around the corner of the next junction came the sound of heavy running feet. A large metal figure came storming towards them. Triggers were squeezed and bullets flew in its direction only to deflect off.
“Fall back” called out Alicia.
Turning to run they spotted a team in position behind them with weapons trained. They wore all black head to toe. Alicia looked them up and down. Two arms. Two legs. One head. Not much taller than her. She froze a moment debating their options. Finally she lowered her rifle.
“Put em down guys. They got us.”
“Cap?”
She heard a final thump behind them. She jumped a little and turned to look back at the robot, or whatever it was. She peered at its face for a second before she realized that it wasn’t a robot. It was a man in what appeared to be mechanical armor.
“You heard me. We’re surrounded. Put em down.”
She set her weapon on the floor and raised her hands. Her men followed her example. Mentally she was kicking herself for letting them get the drop on her. A figure stepped forward and began kicking their rifles aside. He said something to her causing her to cock her head.
“Excuse me?”
He pulled off his mask to reveal a man in his mid-thirties with blonde hair and blue eyes.
“I asked who you were and how you got aboard this ship.”
“I’m Captain Alicia James. U.S. Air Force. The better question is how the hell do aliens like you know how to speak English.”
“That’s simple. We aren’t aliens. We’re human.”
Alicia put her hands down and rubbed her eyes. She could hear her men murmuring behind her. “How the hell am I going to explain this to my superiors?”
The man leaned in and said “Ma’am, if you’re answers don’t satisfy my captain you won’t have to worry about your superiors.”
Chapter 2
Alicia sat at what looked like a conference table. Her men sat too either side of her all wearing identical shackles on the wrists and ankles. Watkins was finally sitting up and someone had brought him an ice pack for his head. Around the room silent sentries stood guard. Their weapons weren’t like anything that she was used to but she had no desire to test their effectiveness. The soldiers with her gave their guards hard looks but they refused to make eye contact.
Just as she gave in and started drumming her fingers the hatch swished open and the blonde leader hustled in. Behind him another man sauntered in. Alicia caught herself eyeing him up and down. He had black hair with dark green eyes and a five o’clock shadow. He stopped in front of the table with his hands on his waist staring down at them.
“I’m Commander Terrance Delaney. Who are you and how did you get aboard this ship?”
Alicia stared up at him a minute before answering. “I am Captain Alicia James of the U.S. Air Force. Your ship appeared in orbit and was believed abandoned. We are a reconnaissance team sent to investigate.”
He rubbed his jaw thoughtfully as he looked at her. She opened her mouth to ask him a question when the intercom buzzed. He held up a finger stalling her.
“Delaney.”
“Commander” said a female voice. “We have our location plotted.”
“Thank you crewman. Have you found the Captain?”
“No sir.”
“He nodded. I'll be up in a minute.”
He leaned across the table at Alicia. “What have you done with our Captain? Where are my missing crew members?”
She sat back in her seat and shook her head. “I don't know what you're talking about. We didn't even see anyone until you captured us.”
He scratched his chin before making eye contact with the blonde. “Watch them. Get a medic to look at that one’s head.” He glanced at Alicia. “Captain James, if you'd follow me.”
The other soldiers bristled but she waved them down as she stood.
”Lead the way Commander.”
He inclined his head and motioned towards the door.
Alicia followed him as he walked stiff legged down the corridor. Over her shoulder she could see the movement of the guard following them. She turned her head slightly to see him better. He had a grim expression and clutched his weapon tightly. Alicia frowned as she turned her head back to the front.
”What's going on Commander?”
He threw a glance over his shoulder as he replied. “Captain James, I assure you that if I knew I would tell you.”
He turned back to the front. A short power walk brought them to the front of the ship. Alicia couldn't help but think about how this had been her team’s original destination. The hatch slid open onto the bridge. Or was it a flight deck? It was dimly lit but bustling with crewmembers going about their jobs.
A crewman leapt to attention. “Commander on deck!”
“Well that answers that question” Alicia mumbled to herself.
“What was that” captain Delaney asked.
“Nothing Commander, just wondering out loud.”
He nodded and turned to face his crew. “Situation?”
A female crew member stepped forward with a small flat device in her hand. She had dirty blonde hair pulled back and an earpiece in her right ear. “She gets to keep her hair” Alicia thought to herself. She stopped focusing on the commander and let her gaze drift around the flight deck. It was a large oval shaped room, dimly lit and full of equipment whose function she couldn’t even begin to guess at.
“Engineering reports at least 20 more minutes until engine restart.”
“What about tactical?”
“Offline until the power comes back up. Armory officer reports that we have magazines that are nearly depleted.”
“Sensors?”
“Radar and optical systems are functioning. Data is coming in. We've also been able to tap into the rudimentary satellites orbiting the planet.”
“What about the rest of the crew?”
“Medical and security teams are still going room by room waking others up. I don't have a complete roster of who is missing yet. But so far it's close to thirty percent.”
Commander Delaney looked up from his device and saw Alicia’s wide eyed stare. He gave her a small smile. “My apologies Captain James, welcome to the SCS Morrigan. I know it’s a lot to take in at first.”
He looked back at the crewman beside him and asked “are we're certain of this data.” He indicated to the screen on the device.
“Yes sir, I've triple checked it.”
“Well Crewman Jones, pull up the image please.”
In the center of the deck was a large, flat, circular station that Alicia at first had thought was a table. That was until the image of a planet appeared floating above it. The image was a perfect 3D image of her planet in its entire blue green splendor.
Commander Delaney stepped forward to the station. “Ladies and gentleman, all data shows that the planet we are currently orbiting is Mars.”
There were gasps from around the room. Alicia looked around at all of the surprised expressions and furrowed her brow.
“Uhm, I'm sorry, but how is that a surprise? Didn't you know where you were headed?”
“It’s a surprise because the last time I was here this planet was a large red desert with a dozen domed cities.” He looked back at the Crewman Jones. “Have you been able to contact Earth or Fleet Command?”
“Negative sir, we haven't received any replies.”
“Did you say Earth” Alicia asked.
He swung his gaze back to her. “Yes, our base of operations was Earth. With a few exceptions that’s where our crew was from as well. Why?”
“Very few people still believe that men ever lived on Earth. But here you are claiming to be an earth ship.”
He scratched his chin again for a moment before looking back at her.
“Captain James, I think it's time that you and I had a sit down talk. Guard, would you remove her shackles please?”
The guard stiffened momentarily before saluting and unlocking her wrists and ankles. Rubbing her wrists she gave a polite nod to him.
Captain Delaney began, “what year is it by your calendar”?
“It's 540TE.”
“What does the TE stand for?”
“Terraform Era. Although no one is sure what that means.”
Delaney rocked back on his heels. His mouth fell open. He quickly shut it though before speaking again.
“That explains a little. I think. Five hundred years. Sheesh. Can it really be?”
“Well, maybe you'll explain it to me.”
Delaney went ran a hand through his hair and began to pace the deck. Alicia opened her mouth to say more but Delaney held up his hand to stop her.
“Please, just give me a minute. I believe, and the evidence seems to support my theory, that we’ve pulled a Rip Van Winkle and lost at least five hundred years. When we were here last Mars wasn’t fully terra-formed although the process was under way.”
“Rip Van who? And what was this ‘process’?”
Delaney smiled crookedly while and stopped pacing. “Rip van Winkle. It’s an old folk tale. Obviously it’s gotten lost.”
“Obviously. What process?”
“Pumping hot house gases into the atmosphere to heat up the planet. It was cold, barren and the atmosphere couldn’t support life. We set up settlements that protected the colonists at the same time that they filled the atmosphere with CO2. Once the atmosphere had heated up enough to sustain plant life a series of agricultural initiatives were set to take place to balance out the oxygen and nitrogen levels. In the meantime several asteroids containing water were being redirected to impact the planet.”
“And how do you suppose this ship, the SCS Morrigan, wound up here now? And what does SCS stand for?”
“Just a second Captain.” He turned around. “Jones, check the log and see if there is anything to explain what’s going on.”
He turned back to Alicia. “SCS stands for Sol Confederacy Ship. The Morrigan is a warship, top of the line, Man O War class. We were testing a new star drive out on the edge of the solar system. We came under attack, we didn't know by who but we suspected remaining rebel forces.”
“Rebels?”
Delaney heard her, he met her eyes as she asked but he didn’t answer. Instead he kept relating his story.
“We were outnumbered and attempted to use the jump drive to make it back to Earth. Apparently something went wrong. One minute we’re out close to Pluto and the next we're waking up on the floor. I have missing crew, expended ammunition and a Captain that has vanished. I’m orbiting a planet that was a barely alive the last time I saw it and is now covered in oceans. And then there is you and your crew ‘investigating’.”
“Waking up on the floor? I guess that explains why we didn’t see anyone when we first came aboard.”
Delaney nodded his head. “I woke up here on the command deck to an alert signal designed to go off when an airlock is opened from the outside. It took me awhile to wake up enough security to intercept you. That’s how you got so far without being apprehended.”
“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Hey, no offense intended, I’m just saying that…”
“Commander, I've got an incoming craft approaching from the Southern Hemisphere” a crewman interjected.
“Details.”
“Not much at this point. It's a small craft. Faintly similar to the shuttle orbiting alongside.”
“Have they tried to contact us?”
“Negative sir. Would you like me to hail them?”
“Proceed.”
While the crewman tried to raise the approaching ship Commander Delaney looked at Alicia and jerked his head towards the holo imager. She followed him over to it where he worked the controls. Soon a small floating shuttle hung in the air in front of them. She shook her head at the sight.
“Damn that's impressive.”
Delaney grinned. “You get used to it. Do you recognize this ship?”
“Yeah, that's the Russian/Chinese Alliances new Type IV Space Shuttle.”
Now it was Delaney's turn to shake his head. “I can't believe after five hundred years there is still a Russia, a China and a US.”
“Why wouldn't there be?”
“Those were the three main Earth powers that started settlements on Mars.”
“You keep saying that, but I've never heard of anything like that. To me Earth is just the third planet from the sun. The place that we tell old legends about that no one really believes.”
“You've really never heard any of this?”
She shook her head again. “That's a mystery that'll have to wait I guess. What can you tell me about the Russians and Chinese?”
“They've been allies for centuries. The two of them together have dominated the global economy for the last fifty. We've been locked into a sort of Cold War with them for a while now. And truthfully we've been losing. Why are you smiling?”
“Just thinking about how history repeats itself.”
At that point Jones interrupted. “Commander I've got someone on the horn but I'll be damned if I can understand them.”
“Put it on general speaker.”
There was a click and then from overhead an excited voice began jabbering. Delaney looked back to Alicia but she simply shrugged her shoulders. “I think Watkins speaks the lingo but I sure don't.”
Delaney glanced over at the security officer and nodded towards the door. The guard through him a salute before rushing out. The excited voice kept talking. Soon the guard returned with Watkins who stumbled onto the deck. His eyes were narrowed and his jaw was set. He stopped in the door and his face relaxed as he looked around before he whistled.
“Damn. Just look at this ship.”
When he saw the imager projecting the hologram of the shuttle his eyes went wide.
“Don't worry” Alicia called out. “You get used to it.”
He straightened his back. “Captain. Are you ok?”
She waved her hand at him. “Don't worry. I'm fine.”
She looked over at Delaney. “Commander, do you think we could remove his shackles?”
Delaney looked Watkins up and down. Watkins stiffened further and glared at him.
“I think that would be fine.”
The guard stepped forward to remove them. As he did Delaney asked “Mr. Watkins, can you understand what the men on that shuttle are saying to us?”
Watkins cocked his head and listened.
“He's telling you that you've violated the Russian/Chinese airspace.”
He rolled his eyes as he relayed that. “He's demanding that you identify yourself and prepare to be boarded.”
“Ballsy little bastard isn't he” Delaney mumbled. “Can you speak well enough to reply?”
Watkins looked at Alicia. When she motioned for him to continue he nodded his head. “Aye, commander.”
“Good. Please tell him that as we are in orbit of the planet it's impossible for us to have violated anyone's air space. Inform him that he is to stand down and return to the planet’s surface.”
Watkins rattled off his reply and they waited several minutes in silence.
“What are they waiting for” Jones asked.
“Likely he is communicating with his commanders on the surface” Alicia relied. Watkins eyes grew wide.
A short phrase came over the radio.
“What did he say” asked Delaney.
“He said this is our last chance before we are destroyed.”
“Commander" cried out Jones. “There is an airlock opening on the shuttle. I'm reading nukes sir!”
Alicia gasped. “They aren't supposed to put nukes in space. That goes against every treaty we have.”
“Well, I guess that treaty is out the window.” Delaney hit an intercom switch.
“Engineering.”
“Sam, how much longer to restart?”
“Ten more minutes sir.”
“We've got live nukes up here. Make it five.”
“Oh geez. Ok. Five minutes.”
The intercom clicked off. Alicia looked around and saw the tension on everyone's face. Delaney frowned and drummed his fingers on the imager.
“Commander!”
His head popped up.
“We've got incoming. I repeat incoming.”
“Dammit.” He hit the intercom again. “Sam, we've got inbound missiles. I need to be able to shoot back.”
“Coming online now sir.”
The dim lights brightened and more stations came on line.
“Tactical.”
“I've got lock now. Firing counter-missiles.”
“Put it on the imager” Delaney ordered.
The image changed to show the Morrigan. Off to the right and down Alicia could see the enemy shuttle and a dotted line showing the path of the incoming missile as well as the counter fire. She also saw something else. Her own people’s shuttle was still matching the Morrigan's orbit.
“Commander!”
Delaney's head whipped her way.
“Our people are still out there.”
“Oh hell." He turned to a young man on his right. "We need two birds on deck for possible rescue operations.”
Alicia tapped her foot as the two dots grew closer together. It seemed to take hours. It was actually a matter of seconds. When the two collided there was a flash of light. The ship rocked very slightly and several screens flickered but that was all. The shuttle that had brought her team into orbit didn't fare nearly as well.
“Commander, the shuttle is starting to drift. I think the EM pulse knocked their systems off line.”
“Get a rescue shuttle out to bring them into the....”
“We've got another nuclear signature sir! I think they're planning to fire on us again" the tactical officer yelled out.”
Tenacious aren't they" Delaney mumbled. "Ok, that tears it, take em out.”
“Yes Sir.”
The imager showed two missiles arcing away from the Morrigan towards the Russian/Chinese shuttle. There was another wink of light and then nothing.
“Target has been destroyed.”
Delaney nodded once. “Good. Have our rescue ships drag the damaged shuttle into Shuttle Bay Four.”
“The Commies are going to be pissed about their ship” Alicia said.
Delaney shrugged his shoulders. “We’ll deal with that when it comes up. Honestly I don’t expect to have many interactions with them after this.”
Crewman Jones approached him and he leaned forward so that she could whisper something in his ear. He straightened up and asked “are you certain”.
She nodded. He lips tightened and he gave a jerky nod.
“What’s going on” Alicia asked.
He looked up distractedly. “Our logs are wiped. Completely. Wherever we’ve been for five hundred years and whatever we’ve done is lost.”
“Damn. What are you going to do?”
“I have no idea yet. They don’t prepare you for things like this at Officer Training Academy.”
“What are you going to do with us” Alicia asked a few minutes later.
Delaney looked up at her and scratched his chin again without answering. Alicia couldn't decide if that habit of his was annoying or endearing. Finally the Commander looked at Alicia's ever present guard.
“Lieutenant Hogan, would you bring the rest of Captain James’ team to shuttle bay four?”
Alicia's pulse kicked up into a higher gear. “Shuttle bay four? Isn't that where you brought aboard our space shuttle?”
“That's right. I doubt that it's going to be ready to launch at the moment but if you have no objections I'll gladly offer you a ride home.”
“How polite of you. Are you going to walk me to the front door?”
He gave her a lopsided grin and several years seemed to fall off of his face. “Absolutely, but I'm not ready to meet your dad yet.”
“Ha” she snorted. “My dad is nothing compared to the admirals and generals that will want to talk to you.”
He rolled his eyes. “I doubt that the top Brass have changed too much in the last five hundred years. I think I can handle a meeting or two.”
He motioned to the crewman working the communications station. “Ensign Simpson, work with Captain James here and see if you can contact her nation’s ground control. Arrange a landing point and meeting if possible.”
The young man he was addressing threw him a hasty salute before motioning to Alicia. The two of them began discussing com channels. Delaney watched them work for a moment before turning around. He motioned for a yeoman. She hustled to his side and stood at attention.
“Yeoman, run down to shuttle bay four and check on the pilots of that shuttle. I'm sure they're a little rattled. Maybe get them some coffee. Captain James team should be on their way there now. Please check on them as well.”
She snapped a salute and hurried out. He leaned over his terminal and punched in commands. A frown grew on his face before he smacked a fist against the edge of the console. He looked around the deck until he spotted who he was searching for.
“Lieutenant Jones, I’m going down to the medical ward and then to engineering. Take charge up here.”
“Aye sir.”
“Captain James, would you like to see the rest of the ship?”
She jumped forward. “I’d love to! But shouldn’t I stay here to help coordinate a drop zone?”
“Good point. Do you think Watkins could help assist Ensign Simpson with it?”
“Go ahead Cap” Watkins said. “I can handle things up here.”
Alicia tapped her foot a moment before giving in. “Alright Commander. Lead the way.”
They walked through the hatch into the corridor. Two hundred yards down was a lift that took them up two levels.
“What was that about before we left the Flight Deck?”
He shook his head. “I was trying to pull up my personal log but it’s been wiped clean.”
“Damn. Whoever or whatever doesn’t want you to know whats going on was thorough.”
Another hundred yards had them standing in front of the medical ward. The hatch had the standard rod and snakes painted on its surface. It slid open at his approach.
“Doctor Bryce” he called out. A man in a white lab coat came around the corner of a glass screen wiping his hands. He had salt and pepper hair that was swept back from his brow.
“What can I do for you Commander?”
“Making my rounds. Trying to put together the pieces of what’s going on. This is Captain Alicia James head of the team that boarded while we were sleeping.”
Dr. Bryce smiled at Alicia and stuck out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Captain.”
She shook his hand. “The pleasure is all mine Doc.”
“How are your teams going getting everyone woken up” Delaney asked.
“We’ve cleared almost 60 percent of the ship. So far everyone has been fairly simple to wake up. It’s like they’re just in a very heavy sleep. What is going on? Have you figured out where we are or why everyone is unconscious?”
“We aren’t sure yet. All we know is that we are in orbit of Mars and we have lost somewhere around five hundred years.”
“Dear lord!” Dr. Bryce sat back into a seat. His eyes were locked on the wall in front of him.
“Are you sure” he finally asked.
“Not one hundred percent but I believe it. Wherever we were before we were here we were in a heck of a fight. Captain Royce and close to thirty percent of the crew is missing. Do we have any injured down here?”
Bryce shook his head. “No injuries but I haven’t seen at least two of my nurses. I suppose it’s possible that I won’t be seeing them.”
“Do something for me. All of the bridge logs, including mine, have been wiped. Check the medical files and see if there is anything.”
“Hold on just a second.”
He turned his seat around and began typing on his computer. His eyes narrowed and he spun his seat back to face Delaney.
“The last medical log I have is for a Crewman Smith having a cold. That was from the day before the Pluto test.”
Delaney nodded his head. “I was afraid of that. Have you had anyone in with any kind of injuries?”
“No real injuries. I’ve had several cases of nausea and migraines. I woke up in my office feeling a little green myself. However we got here doesn’t seem to have greatly affected us though.”
Delaney nodded his head but he was staring straight ahead lost in thought. “Ok Doc, keep me posted. I’ve got to get to engineering and then down to shuttle bay four. Keep an eye out for the Captain. Also, get me a list of missing personnel when your teams finish their sweeps.”
Doctor Bryce nodded his head but he was already turning back to his terminal. Alicia saw him rubbing his temples as they walked out. They headed towards the aft section. More crew members began passing them and true to Dr. Bryce’s report Alicia saw that many were rubbing their heads as they passed. It took them almost twenty minutes to make their way to engineering.
“Damn you’ve got a big ship here Commander.”
He smiled at her. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
The hatch slid open to reveal something one step from chaos. Engineers were moving everywhere carrying equipment and jostling each other as they moved. From a catwalk above the melee a harried engineer was shouting instructions. They walked through the throng towards an access ladder. The bustling mechanics and engineers almost unconsciously moved aside to let them pass.
As she cleared the top rung of the ladder a hand reached down to help her up. Alicia looked up to see the chief engineer standing above her. His face was covered in grease and sweat dripped from his brow. Reaching up she clasped her hand into the calloused hand and was pulled to her feet.
“And who might you be ma’am?”
“Captain James, US Air Force.”
He raised an eyebrow at her but before he could ask another question Delaney was there. “What’s the status chief?”
“The status is that more systems are blown than not. That’s why it took so long to get main power back up. What the hell happened to us?”
“I wish I could tell you Sam.” He briefly explained the situation to the engineer.
Sam scratched the side of his head and whistled softly. “Damn. When we get in it we get in deep don’t we?”
“You don’t lie that’s for sure. How long until everything is fully functional?”
“A couple of days at least. I don’t know what happened but our primary systems and most of our secondary systems are blown. We’ve got the main reactor back online however.”
“How does a reactor like that even go off line?”
“It’s not so much that energy wasn’t being generated. It was the system’s ability capture the output.”
“We’re not gonna blow up are we?”
“Nah. At least I don’t think so” Sam said with a grin.
Delaney rolled his eyes. “Alright, keep me updated. I’ll be getting ready for a landing mission.”
“Uhm, what kind of reactor are we talking about” Alicia asked. “Nuclear?”
Sam gave her a huge smile. “Oh, something way better than that Cap.”
He threw Delaney a questioning look. Delaney sighed and gave him a go ahead motion.
“If you’ll follow me ma’am I’ll show you.”
The trio climbed down the ladder and Sam lead them to the center of the engineering bay. Suspended from the ceiling was a large sphere.
“Alright boys” Sam said to his crew. “Crack it open.”
The sphere opened up and light began pouring out. Alicia felt her mouth drop open.
“What the hell is that?”
“A ball of super-heated gasses plasma undergoing thermonuclear fusion that’s being held together by artificial gravity.”
“A miniature star?”
“Yup.”
“You people built a miniature star to power your ship.”
“That about sums it up.”
She shook her head at the idea. “How long will it run?”
Sam shrugged. “A couple hundred years maybe. Longer with regular infusions hydrogen.”
Alicia was staring openly at the reactor until Delaney took her elbow. “Come on Alicia, I think it’s time to check on your team.”
She nodded and followed him. It took her a minute to realize that he had used her first name.
The shuttle bay was full of people when they arrived. In the middle of the hanger deck was the shuttle that had brought her team; her team, including the pilots, who were huddled beside it. Several of them held mugs in their hands with steam floating out of them. Alicia stopped in front of them and they stood to salute her.
“Gentlemen, how is the coffee.”
“It’s a good brew cap but when are we going home” Stanwick asked. The others were openly glaring at Delaney beside her with the exception of Watkins. He hoisted his mug to him and took another sip.
“As soon as these earth boys can get their own shuttle ready.”
“Tough crowd” Delaney said to Alicia as they walked away. “Well Captain, we should be prepared to go in another hour. Ready to be back home?”
“And give up all this excitement?”
“You could always enlist.”
“Sorry spaceman, I already got a job.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “It was worth a try. Alright, let me go finish arranging this little venture of ours.”
Alicia threw him a mocking salute. He laughed and returned her salute with a rude gesture.
****
The shuttle broke atmosphere above the southern continent. Several of the passengers pressed their faces against viewports to stare at the land below as they descended. They hit a patch of turbulence that caused the shuttle to bounce around. One of the security officers bumped his forehead against the glass. He sat back rubbing his head looking sheepishly around. The team of soldiers from Mars looked a little green. The pilots, however, were tapping their feet and staring forwards toward the cockpit.
“Wait till we get a little lower and you can go forward” Delaney told them. The two, pilot and copilot, broke into huge grins.
“Boys and their damn toys” Alicia said with her own grin.
Delaney just shrugged. As they drew closer to their destination jet fighters took up position on either side of them. Delaney frowned when he spotted them but he understood their presence. He would have done the same thing. He leaned his head back and tried to relax.
“Contact, contact” the shuttle pilot yelled. “We’ve got incoming.”
Delaney was out of his harness and running forward. Alicia was hard on his heels. He crouched beside the pilot and looked at the screen.
“Are these your birds” he asked Alicia.
“They shouldn't be. Better to assume that they're hostile.”
His lips tightened as he nodded. “Contact ground control. Let them know that we have inbound aircraft. Possibly hostile. Am taking evasive action.”
The pilot nodded and hit controls on his station.
“We've got positive ID. Two Chinese fighters in bound.”
Suddenly to pilot swore. “Shit! Missiles. Break break!” The shuttle dropped suddenly. Alicia felt her stomach rise up at the rapid loss of gravity. She was glad that she had latched her harness back in place. It kept her secure in her seat. Across from her he could see through the far viewport. The fighter on that side was peeling off in response to the attack. She could hear the pilot chattering into his headset as the shuttle bobbed and weaved trying to break the missile lock.
Delaney looked at her with a smile on his face. “You aren't going to be sick are you?”
She frowned at him. “Why does everyone think a little maneuvering will make me throw up? I'm an air force captain for crying out loud. I've flown before.”
He threw his hands up. “Hey, I was just asking a question.”
He leaned forward and called to the pilot. “Hey Jimmy, are we going to do something about this situation or not?”
“Just waiting for the word boss. Didn't want to step on our escort's toes and do their job for them.”
“The word is go.”
“Roger that.”
The pilot, Jimmy, began pressing controls. The first control sent out an EMP ahead that knocked out the Nav systems of the incoming missiles. With no way to lock onto a target they began to plummet. The next control was for the targeting system. It beeped as the crosshairs centered on the attackers.
“We have a firing solution with the forward pulse cannons” he called over his shoulder.
“By all means, fire away.”
His finger stabbed down on the control and bright blue pulses leapt from the weapon ports. They crackled with energy and caused a boom as they broke the sound barrier. The fighters tried to evade but they weren't quiet fast enough. The shots punched a hole through one and sheared a wing off of another. The first one exploded in midair while the second one spiraled out of control. Thirty seconds later the hatch blew and a parachute blossomed above the jet.
Alicia realized that her mouth was hanging open. She closed it and swung her gaze back to meet Delaney's.
“Don't worry” he said with a grin. “You get used to it.”
“I'll never get used to that. If y'all had weapons like that, how did it all just disappear?”
It was Delaney's turn to frown. “That's what I plan on finding out.”
“What's your plan?”
“The first step, after meeting with your bosses, will be to move deeper into the system and check on Earth.”
“What do you expect to find?”
“Expect? I really don't know what to expect in a situation like this. They taught us about worst case scenarios in Officer Training." He gave a sideways grin. “They didn't cover what to do after your whole civilization vanishes.”
At that the moment the pilot called out. “Approaching the landing zone.”
The shuttle slowed and began to circle as it descended towards the courtyard designated as their landing spot. Their fighter escort flew on with their mission complete. Alicia felt a gentle bump. She followed the lead of those around her and unlatched her flight harness.
She heard a click followed by a hiss of hydraulics. Turning she watched the aft section of the shuttle lower into a ramp. Walking down the ramp she felt the spring of the grass under her feet. Standing across the courtyard was General Stalls. She threw him a crisp salute.
“At ease Captain. This is not exactly how I envisioned your mission being completed.”
“It wasn't my idea of a successful mission either. But, here we are. May I introduce you to Commander Delaney of the SCS Morrigan?”
Delaney offered his own salute before extending his hand. General Stalls took his hand and gave it a firm shake.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Commander. I have to confess that I never believed all the stories about Earth. I suppose that I’m going to have to reconsider some things however.”
“I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have” Delaney replied.
Alicia noticed the marines with them searching the area. One of them stiffened and touched the shoulder of his squad mate. He looked up and to the right. Alicia followed his gaze and felt her eyes narrow.
“General” she broke in. “What’s going on?”
Delaney looked up at her and then saw where she was looking. He spotted the snipers on the roof around them. He frowned as he looked back at General Stalls.
“What is going on here General?”
“I’m afraid that your little welcome party is just the prelude to further aggression. With this little cold war of ours about to heat up we are looking for an equalizer. That equalizer is your ship.”
Delaney leaned forward and locked eyes with him. “You’ll have my ship over my dead body.”
“If necessary that can be arranged.”
Chapter 3
Alicia sat at the conference table beside Delaney. Across from them sat Crewman Jones and the marine squad. Armed men ringed the room. She supposed she should be getting used to this situation. She made eye contact with Delaney and he winked at her. She cracked a smile but neither of them said anything. A moment later the door opened and a soldier walked in and saluted her.
“Captain James, General Stalls requests your presence.”
Alicia looked up from her seat but didn’t stand or return the salute. The soldier frowned down at her.
“Tell the General that if he wishes to speak to me I’ll be right here monitoring the treatment of our ‘guests’.”
“I don’t think you understand the weight behind his request.”
“Oh, I understand very well. I also understand that we invited the Command of the Morrigan down to meet with us in good faith and then took them prisoner. You can tell general Stalls that until he gets his head out of his ass he can take his request and shove it.”
The messengers face went through various contortions before he could speak. “Very well.”
He spun on his heel and stomped out of the room. The door had barely closed before Delaney and Jones burst into laughter.
Alicia cocked an eyebrow at them. “I’m glad to see my little act of insubordination is so amusing to you.”
Delaney wiped tears from his eyes. “You just have no idea how many generals I’ve wanted to say that too.”
“Probably as many as I have. I have to admit, it did feel good. That doesn’t change our situation however.”
“Our situation Captain? You on our side now?”
Alicia shook her head. “I just feel a certain responsibility for you.”
“How honorable of you. What do you think their game plan is?”
“Fairly straightforward I imagine. They’ll try to trade you for control of the Morrigan. Failing that they might settle for weapons tech, although I can’t foresee them just letting you run loose. Too much of a wildcard.”
Delaney nodded his head. “I was thinking along the same lines.”
Alicia ran a hand over her scalp. She could feel tiny prickles of hair beginning to grow back.
“Don’t worry” Delaney quipped, “I’ve always liked bald women.”
“Ha-ha, very funny.” She placed her hands back on the table but found herself tapping her fingers in sequence. Pinky to index. Over and over again.
“What I want to know is where my team is. They had better not be mistreating them.”
Delaney laid a hand over hers. He didn’t say anything just sat there giving what comfort he could through a simple touch. Alicia felt a little of the tension drain out of her.
What felt like hours later the door opened again. A squad of heavily armed soldiers marched in and took up position. General Stalls came in behind them red faced and puffing air. Behind him came another man in a suit. Alicia jumped to her feet. Delaney and his crew looked at her confusedly but followed her. She snapped to attention and offered a salute.
“Mr. President.” When she acknowledged him realization dawned on Delaney and he offered a salute of his own. The President returned their salute precisely.
“At ease please. Captain James I’d like to commend you on a job well done.”
“Thank you sir” she replied.
He turned to Delaney and extended a hand. “Commander, I’d like to apologize for how you and your crew have been treated. The military” he jerked his head towards Stalls who grew even redder, “Took things upon themselves. As soon as I learned what was going on I came to sort things out.”
“I thank you Mr. President. And exactly how are things to be sorted?”
Alicia winced at his wording. The President just chuckled. “To the point isn’t he?”
“It’s a character flaw I’m afraid.”
“I suffer from that same flaw. To answer your question, you are free to return to your ship at any time. Although I would like to speak with you before you go.”
Delaney gestured to the table and smiled. “I’m free at the moment. What would you like to talk about?”
The President sat and motioned to one of the guards. “Would you be so kind as to bring coffee and food for our guests?”
The guard nodded and hustled out of the room.
“We’re getting some racket from the Sino/Russian Alliance about the destruction of their shuttle as well as their fighters.”
Alicia sat up straighter. “Both incidents were unprovoked attacks by Chinese forces. An attack that also included nukes despite previous treaties forbidding them.”
The president cocked an eye towards her. “Can you prove that?”
Delaney chimed in. “I can have the footage from the attack sent down from Morrigan. That should quell any rumblings.”
“Excellent. Hopefully that will be enough to forestall a shooting war. Now, I’m curious what your plans are? I’ve read Captain James’ report on your situation and I’d like to know what comes next from you.”
Delaney shook his head. “I honestly don’t know yet. We’re lost here just trying to find our way. The next step will be to head straight for Earth and see if we can find any answers there.”
“We’d like to support you in any way possible. Of course we’d love to have access to anything you find out.”
“That’s a reasonable request. I’ll see that copies of any data are made available to you. I cannot offer any technology to you however.”
“I was afraid that you would say that. Ah well. We’re no worse off than we were. I would like to ask one more thing though. I’d like to assign a liaison to go with you.”
“Who did you have in mind?”
The President shifted his gaze to Alicia. It took her a second to realize what he was implying. Her heart leaped at the thought.
“Oh Hell yeah!” She clapped a hand over her mouth. “My apologies sir that just slipped out.”
He waved her apology away. “It’s quite alright. Commander is that acceptable to you.”
He found himself grinning. “Oh Hell yeah.”
Alicia raised a hand. “May I request my team be assigned as well?”
Delaney frowned. “I’m not sure I’d like an armed team on my ship.”
“I can assure you that we will follow all instructions while under your command. But I believe I’m correct when I say you could use the manpower.”
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Very well. Anybody else you’d like to bring along?”
“There is a Doctor Simons who I believe would jump at the chance to go along.”
Delaney nodded. “Very well” said then President. He slapped the table and rose from his chair. “That’s settled. I’ll see about having supplies prepared. God speed Commander. I hope you find what you are looking for.
****
Doctor Simons tripped coming off the shuttle ramp. Alicia had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. Already overburdened with bags, he had been staring open mouthed around the bay and his foot slipped sending him sprawling. The marines around him didn’t even bother to hide their laughter. It was good natured though and they promptly helped him back to his feet. Several even took his bags for him.
He pushed his glasses back up on his nose. “Thank you gentlemen, I seem to have lost my footing.”
Alicia looked at Delaney. “How long until we leave orbit?”
He glanced at his wristwatch. “Not for a few more hours. It’ll take that long to get the promised supplies picked up and unloaded. Wanna be on the bridge when we take off?”
“Oh hell yeah” she said jokingly.
He rolled his eyes at her. “Don’t know that it is inappropriate to speak to a superior officer in that manner” he said while shaking his finger at her.
“Hey, last I checked I was a Captain and you were a Commander.”
“Yeah yeah yeah. I’m still in charge of this tub so you just watch it.”
He waved a crewman over. “Will you show Captain James and her team to their quarters?”
The crewman gave him a crisp salute in rely. “If you all will follow me” he said.
Alicia waved to Delaney. “See you on the flight deck in a bit?”
“Can’t wait Captain.”
When they were out of the hangar and in the corridor the soldiers with her started laughing. “Someone has a new boyfriend” Stanwick joked.
“Oh shut up” Alicia said while shoving him away.
“Hey, we’ve seen how you two flirt” Perkins chimed in.
“Don’t worry cap” Said Greene, “We don’t blame you. Besides, that Crewman Jones is pretty cute. Thinking about asking her for a personal tour of the ship.”
“Yeah, you can keep thinking, but I saw her first” said Watkins.
“You boys can argue all you want but I outrank you both” Perkins said.
Alicia just rolled her eyes and was grateful that they were off of her case. Dr. Simons looked around at the arguing soldiers.
“Are they always like this?”
“Oh yeah Doc, every soldier I’ve ever met was like this. It keeps the boredom away. Sometimes it keeps the terror away.”
“Oh! So it’s a psychological release. We studied things like that in my undergrad.”
“Something like that Doc” Alicia said with a smile.
“These are your quarters” their guide cut in. “We’ve placed you all in the same section. If you need anything feel free to call.”
Alicia thanked him and walked into her new quarters. As an officer she rated a single as did Doctor Simons. The others were bunking two to a room.
Inside were more steel gray bulkheads. The only color in the room was the green of several potted plants. She threw her bag on the bed. Unzipping it she pulled out two small pictures and taped them to the wall. The first was an older couple posing, all smiles and comfortable embraces like most couples who have been together for years. The second was of a young girl with blonde hair in pigtails flying a kite.
****
The holo-imager showed the Morrigan orbiting Mars. Alicia shook her head again when she saw it. Her team stood around her and all but Watkins were staring open mouthed around them at the flight deck. Doctor Simons stood next to the holo-imager staring intently at the minute details of the image.
“Incredible” he said to no one.
“I take it that he is impressed” Delaney said from over her shoulder.
She nodded. “Looks like. We ready to get underway?”
“Near about. Excited?”
Her heart was pounding and she could feel excitement coursing through her. “Maybe a little.”
“Just a little?”
She held her fingers a half inch apart. “Just a little.”
“Ok then. Systems check” he called out.
“All systems report green across the board” Crewman Jones responded.
“Very well. Lay in course for Earth command.”
“Sub light or jump sir?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think we’re prepared to attempt another jump just yet. No telling where we’d end up. Sub light, best possible speed.”
“Aye sir.”
Alicia leaned over to ask “how long will it take us at that speed.”
“About two and a half weeks” Delaney replied. “At least that will give us plenty of time to sort everything out onboard ship.”
“Well, if we have nothing but time how about you show me some more of your ship later Commander?”
“I’d love to. How about I pick you up at O six hundred?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
****
O five thirty found Alicia staring into her mirror wondering what to do with herself. “No hair to fix” she mused out loud. “At least I brought a little bit of makeup.”
Unfortunately she wasn’t sure how dressed up to get. Well, as dressed up as one could get in a flight suit. She had already put on makeup and then washed it back off once. Now she was applying more as lightly as she could make it. “Why do I feel giddy” she asked her reflection. Too bad the mirror didn’t have any answers for her. When the door chime beeped her heart kicked into overdrive. She gripped the sink and took three deep breaths. By the time she opened the hatch she had her game face on.
“Good evening Commander” she said with a smile.
“Captain. Are you ready?”
“Absolutely. Where to first?”
“I thought we’d start with the atrium” he replied.
“Isn’t that where you first captured us? I’ve kinda already seen that place.”
It was his turn to smile. “You haven’t seen anything yet. Come on.”
They walked through the double hatch into the atrium. Despite having seen it before she still gasped at the sight. “It’s just so green. It’s weird to see so much plant life in space.”
“Not as weird as you think. Everything has a purpose. We grow fruits and vegetables to help with food stores. The trees and moss help replenish our oxygen. You might have noticed all the plants in your room.”
“Yeah, I wondered what was up with that.”
“Every room has several plants, everything from peace lilies to small rubber trees. It’s each crewmember’s responsibility to keep up with them. We even have a small botany staff on board to tend to this atrium and the hydroponic bays.”
“There can’t be enough to support everyone on board though” Alicia interjected.
“No, but they help take some of the load off of the atmospheric systems. And they have a certain psychological effect. They’re very calming.”
She looked around again. “I can see how that might be important on a long term mission.”
“Oh, just watch.” He walked over to a control panel on the wall and hit a button. The roof began to retract. Alicia gasped and turned to run.
Delaney laughed. “Relax. We’re still enclosed. That is a clear polymer. Just have a seat and enjoy the stars.”
She followed him over to a bench and sat down absentmindedly. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sight over her head.
“It’s beautiful.”
They sat that way for close to an hour before a call came from the flight deck. “Commander Delaney?”
Delaney sighed and touched his watch. “Delaney, what is it?”
“We’ve got something up here that you need to see.”
“I’ll be right there.” He turned back to Alicia. “Sorry Captain, we’re going to have to cut this short I’m afraid. Duty calls.”
“It’s fine. Mind if I join you?”
He smiled and offered a hand to help her up.
****
The first thing she looked for when they stepped onto the flight deck was the holo-imager. Anything that was happening would be represented there. All that was projected however was a swarm of black specks.
“What is that” she asked.
Jones glanced to Delaney and at his nod answered her. “It’s debris ma’am.”
“Debris? Debris from what?”
“We suspect it is debris from a force of at least two dozen Sol Confederation ships.”
Alicia gasped. “What could destroy two dozen ships like the Morrigan?”
Delaney shook his head. “God knows. Let’s see if we can collect some of that debris for further study.”
She shook her head again. Her mind spun while she tried to imagine what must have happened. From the way Delaney was rubbing his chin and staring at the imager he was likely wondering the same thing.
Several hours later a technician came to the flight deck to report. Delaney wasted no time on formalities. Taking the tech by the arm he led him to the captain’s ready room. Alicia wasn’t invited but she followed anyway.
“Report” Delaney said abruptly.
“The debris shows signs of high yield energy weapons as well as heightened radiation levels possibly from nukes. Carbon dating reveals that this particular battle took place over five hundred years ago.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes sir. Roughly ten percent of the debris was found to have a non-terrestrial origin.”
Alicia and Delaney exchanged a glance. “Non-terrestrial” she asked.
He shook his head. “Whoever attacked us at the edge of the system must not have been from around here. At least we apparently got some licks in before they wiped us out.”
He looked back at the technician. “Have we recovered any fragments large enough to give us any signs of their tech?”
“None yet I’m afraid and we are rapidly pulling away from the area.”
“I suspect we’ll have more opportunity to examine debris before this is all over.”
He dismissed the tech. When he was gone Delaney sat back in his seat and rubbed his eyes. Alicia resisted the urge to reach out and touch him.
****
The image on the holo-imager showed a revolving planet painted in blue and green. As they grew closer it was constantly updating with finer and finer details. Alicia, however, watched the crew more than she watched the image. As the image refined faces began to frown and mouths fell open.
“What am I looking at” Delaney asked.
Jones tried to speak several times before the words came out. “It looks like signs of multiple nuclear strikes as well as” her voice broke for a moment, “as well as massive strip mines on every continent.”
Alicia could see Delaney’s hands ball into fists by his side. “How is the background radiation level?”
Jones checked her readouts again. “Tolerable. Whoever nuked the planet must have spent some time and energy cleaning it up; likely to facilitate mining operations.”
“Very well then” Delaney replied. “Prepare a landing party. Someone has ransacked our house and I want to find out who it was.”
Chapter 4
“Morrigan to shuttle 1. I repeat, Morrigan to shuttle 1.”
Alicia tapped the communicator in her ear. “This is shuttle 1. Go ahead Morrigan.”
A smooth contralto voice said “Commander Delaney requests a report.”
Alicia smiled. “Worried is he?”
She looked through the front glass as if she could spot Morrigan from where they were. Never mind that she was holding position between the earth and the moon at L1. At the moment the earth was between them and the ship.
She heard laughter. “He says to quit being a smart ass and report.”
“Alright, alright. Shuttles 1-3 are holding formation. Approaching day side. Five minutes out from upper atmosphere where we will break formation and set down. Happy?”
Delaney's voice came over the wireless. “What did I say about being a smartass?”
“Sorry Cap. I'll try to tone it down.”
He sighed. “Just be careful. First sign of danger I want the shuttles in the air.”
The pilot signaled her attention forward. She gave him a thumbs up then cued her communicator again.
“Yes sir. Final approach starting now. I'll report back in two hours.”
****
A plate dropped onto the table across from her causing Alicia to snap her head up.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you” Delaney said as he sat down. In his hand he held a small mug with steam wafting out of it.
She shook her head. “It's ok. I was just lost in thought. Anything new?”
He took a sip out of his cup. “God bless your people for topping off our coffee supplies. I don't know where we went or what we did but we drank a lot of Java while we were there.”
She smiled and ran a finger over her head. Stubble was starting to crop up. “Is that why you came by, just to say thanks for getting you a cup of coffee?”
“Nope. We've found something.”
Alicia sat up straighter. “Tell me.”
His smile slipped away as he leaned closer. “The landscape has been butchered but we've found some ruins in what we believe was France.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. He smacked himself in the forehead. “Sorry. I forgot for a moment. France was a country in my time. Fairly prominent in its part of the world. They ate snails though. Never did understand that.”
Alicia gagged. “Ok, what's the plan?”
We need to do some exploring. I want to land three shuttles at various sites. I'd like you on shuttle one to investigate the ruins. Take that scientist of yours. I'm sure he's dying to get down there. The other two shuttles will land and explore two of the mining sites.”
“Do you want my men involved in this?”
He nodded. “Absolutely. We're too short handed to not include them. Round them up and head to the armory so we can get you outfitted. Ask for Smith.”
“Shouldn’t we just stick with what we already know?”
He grinned. “Oh, you have got to see the toys we have for you.”
He started to stand but Alicia set a hand on top of his.
“Can we finish our coffee before we get going?”
He smiled and sat back down. “Yes ma'am.”
****
Alicia felt a soft bump below her feet. She unsnapped her harness and bounced up.
“Alright boys, here we are again.”
Perkins and the rest of her team sat up straighter.
“Everyone have their new rifle?”
Ayes came from around the shuttle.
Alicia picked up her own weapon. It sat heavily in her arms. She remembered the Sergeant at Arms instructions on it.
****
“This is a RIP” said the stocky little man. “That stands for rail gun, infantry, portable. This a miniature version of the rail guns Morrigan has installed. They will put a whole through an entire platoon of men”
Hefting one from the stack in front of him he went through the sequence to load, charge and sight the weapon.
Looking up she had spotted Delaney standing at the back of the room. While the rest of her team familiarized themselves with their RIPs she picked her way through the group.
She threw him a lazy salute. He shook his head.
“It's just weird seeing that salute from someone who until a few weeks ago hadn't ever even heard of Sol Confederation.”
Alicia blinked. “Is that what y'all called yourselves?”
“Did I not mention that?”
“Nope. Not once.”
He shook his head again. “It's strange what survived and what disappeared while we were gone. None of this makes sense.”
“But that's not why you're here” Alicia said.
“Just checking in to see how your people were acclimating to our way of doing things.”
Alicia frowned. “Are you checking in or checking up on?”
Delaney shrugged. “A little of both honestly. We're happy to have your people here with us and I'm sure most of them have good intentions. But, I can't ignore the possibility that someone has ulterior motives for being here.”
Alicia swallowed. “I suppose I would see things that way if our positions were reversed. I guess my next question is field deployment. Will my team stay together or will you split us up?”
“I've pondered that for a while now. I think the benefits of keeping your team together outweigh the risks. They've trained together and know one another. Splitting them up would diminish their efficiency.
“I was hoping that was what you would decide. Now, when do we launch?”
“As soon as you're comfortable with your gear. Now get to work captain.”
She threw him a sharper salute and pivoted on her heals.
****
From memory Alicia slipped in the magazine and charged her RIP. A high pitched whine started that was the edge of her hearing. A red light on the side blinked. She counted three blinks and then on cue the light and the whine cut off.
“Alright boys, let's go.”
Her team followed her out into the predawn light and took up positions around the shuttle. Kneeling she scanned her rifle along the tree line.
“All clear” she called.
A moment later she heard a short yelped and something heavy hitting the ground. Spinning around she saw Doctor Simmons picking himself up at the foot of the ramp. Hustling over she helped him to his feet.
As she dusted I'm off she said “geez Simons, you really need to watch your step better. How many times is this?”
He sighed heavily “it's Simmons. Not Simons.”
He didn't see Alicia wink at the soldiers behind him. He was too busy staring wide eyed around him. “I just can't believe we're here. The first humans to stand on Earth.”
The pilot coughed behind them and glared at Simons.
The short scientist looked down at his feet and kicked at a rock. “What I meant to say was, uhm....”
“It's ok Doc, honest mistake” Alicia interjected. “This is weird for me too. We'll get used to it.”
She motioned to her right. “Those ruins we spotted are about half a mile that way. Green, I want you to take point. The rest of you spread out. No surprises. Let's go.”
Alicia walked alongside Simmons as they pushed through the thick woods. They had barely made it twenty yards before the men were forced to pull out machetes and hack out a path.
“Strange” Simmons said quietly.
Alicia looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
“We just flew on a spaceship that is so far ahead of our tech that I don't understand a tenth of it but here we are using machetes to get to where we need to be. Machetes. Big knives. After the wheel could there be an older level of tech?”
Alicia laughed. “Hey, sometimes low tech is the best tech.”
She heard Green shouting from out front. “Excuse me Doc. I need to check this out.”
She hurried forward. Green was standing in front of a pile of concrete poking it with his machete.”
“Hey Cap, I think we have arrived.”
Alicia nodded. “I have to defer to your expert opinion. You have the most experience hacking through bush after all.”
“Ha ha. Very funny for an officer.”
“I try, let's circle around and see if we can find a better way in.”
Green tested the edge on his machete before slashing again at the thick brush around them. The group made their way around the rubble until they reached an opening in the forest.
“Animal trail you think” he asked aloud.
“Dunno, maybe” Alicia replied. “Wasn't really sure that there would be much fauna left alive on this rock. Let's follow it in and see what we see.”
The trail led past the remnants of dozens of collapsed buildings. The group stared open mouthed at the piles of rubble.
“How tall were these buildings” Watkins whispered. Alicia found herself whispering back.
“I don't know. Huge. They must have built them big back then.”
Finally the path opened up into a clearing. In the middle sat a surviving building. It was crumbling but intact. The front was faced with faux pillars.
“Uhm, what's that red stuff on the front of the building” Perkins asked.
Simmons pushed his glasses back up and stepped forward. “It looks like writing of some kind. But I don't know what the substance could be.”
Alicia gulped. “I have a clue. Look over there.”
Her team looked to where she was pointing. Without orders they all moved closer. In front of the building was a pile of smooth stones and concrete slabs. Alicia heard someone gagging when they saw what was on top of the makeshift altar.
“Please tell me that's an animal” Green mumbled.
“I don't think so” Alicia replied. “Ok, times up. We're going now.”
“Captain, I must protest. We need to explore that building” Simmons exclaimed.
“Doc, I'm pretty sure those bloody symbols mean keep out. I don't think it’s worth it.”
“But we need to know what we're dealing with. Surely your men can handle anything that comes our way.”
Alicia chewed her lip for a moment. Finally she nodded. “You have ten minutes. No more. Hurry. Green, Perkins, you go with him. Do not let him out of your sight.”
The three of them skirted the altar and eased their way through the front entrance. When they were out of view Alicia keyed her communicator. “Shuttle one this is Capt. James. Patch me through to the Morrigan.”
There was a brief pause before she heard crewman Jones' voice. “This is Morrigan, go ahead Capt. James.”
“We've found a structure still standing in the middle of the ruins. There are signs of human habitation. We're exploring. Briefly.”
She paused a moment. “There are signs of ritual sacrifice.”
Another pause. “Roger that. We advise caution. Extract your team immediately at the first sign of hostiles.”
Alicia cut the transmission. “What did they think we'd do, invite the local cannibals for lunch?”
The men around her shook their heads ruefully but didn't take their eyes off of the tree line. Alicia checked her watch quickly before looking back through her scope. After a moment she checked again. When the time was up she hit her comm again.
“Alright boys, times up. Let's boogie.”
“We need more time in here Captain” Simmons whined.
“I'm sorry doc. We aren't spending any more time here today. We can always come back, but for now we're getting out.”
“Seriously I think you are over exaggerating our danger level. Besides, we have found a number of relatively well preserved texts that must be packed away correctly. There is no telling what we can glean from them.”
“Probably nothing to be honest. But even if we can we know where to find this place. Now let's go.”
She killed the comm link as he started to reply.
“Everyone be ready to move as soon as they clear the building.”
Moments later the three of them came out single file with Simmons in the middle. Alicia jerked the barrel of her RIP towards the trailhead. Her team fell in behind her. She entered the trail just as the first rock was thrown. It struck her in the head bringing her to her knees. Lights danced in her vision despite the helmet.
Screams came from behind her and a hand grabbed her elbow dragging her to her feet. More rocks flew followed by worse. Green screamed as a rough spear caught him in the thigh.
“Return fire” Alicia yelled. She shouldered her RIP and hit the trigger. A sound like swarming bees came from the gun as round after kinetic round shredded the foliage around them. More bees came from her team.
“Cease fire!”
The sounds stopped. Silence was all that she heard.
“I think we got em cap”
“Don't count on it. Somebody help Green. The rest of you let's go.”
She moved again. The next rock barely missed her head. She fired at random. A scream let her know that she had a lucky shot.
Move. Fire. Step. Fire. That was their progress through the forest back towards their shuttle.
Alicia keyed her comm. “Shuttle one this is Capt. James. We are under attack and moving your way. Prep for launch.”
“Roger that. Will relay to Morrigan and try to get eyes from on high.”
“Thanks shuttle one. James out.”
She shifted her rifle to fire again when a rock struck her hand. Crying out she lost her grip and dropped her rifle. More rocks and spears flew furiously. Behind them came a wave of dark bodies piling into her men. The buzzing of RIPs sounded but there weren't enough to turn the tide. Hands grasped her holding her down. Alicia struck back but she was wrestled to the ground. Hands closed on her neck. Gasping her vision grew dark until finally there was nothing.
The guard by the door held up his hand to block her approach. She stopped in front of him and held out her orders. Taking them he read through them before handing them back.
“Go on in Captain James. They’re waiting on you.”
The control room was dimly lit and hushed. Around the edges of the room stood rows of computer terminals with men and women hunched over them. The barrel chested man in the middle of the room turned and saw her.
“Alicia” he called. “Come on over here.”
Walking up to him she stopped and saluted. “General Stalls.”
“No need to stand on formality Alicia. Follow me, we have something I’d like you to see.”
She raised an eyebrow at him but followed after as he led her to a back room. He held the door open for her but she stopped in the doorway. Staring straight ahead her jaw fell open. There was a giant screen on the wall. Her eyes narrowed onto the image displayed on it and she couldn’t tear them away.
“If you step inside I’ll tell you everything” she heard in her ear. Jumping a little she stepped into the room. The General waved a man over from across the room.
“Captain James, I’d like you to meet Doctor Simons. Doctor Simons, this is Capt. Alicia James.”
Doctor Simons held out his hand to her. “Pleased to meet you Captain James.”
She caught her eyes drifting back up to the screen. “Likewise Doctor Simmons” she mumbled out.
“Simons.”
“What?”
“Simons, not Simmons.”
“My apology.”
“It’s quite alright Alicia” General Stalls interjected. “Everyone is distracted at first. Hell, I’ve been staring at this for days and I still have a hard time focusing on anything else. Shall we get down to business?”
“Yes General, please.”
He motioned to a conference table and they all sat. “Doctor Simons, would you care to begin?”
“Absolutely” he replied. He turned to Alicia and began “Three days ago the object that you see on the screen appeared over the northern hemisphere in geostationary orbit. Go ahead, I know you need to take it in some more.”
She nodded at him and turned her chair to face the screen. There, hanging in orbit, was what could only be a starship. It was massive, low slung and covered with blister pods.
She turned back to face the General and the Doctor. “How large is that thing?”
Doctor Simons pulled out a pair of glasses and placed them on his nose. “We estimate that it is roughly 1,500 meters long.”
“How could something this large come out of nowhere?”
“That’s what we intend to find out” said General Stalls.
Alicia’s pulse kicked in and she sat up a little straighter. “Where do I come into this?”
“If we have spotted this thing then you can rest assured that the Russian/Chinese space force is eyeballing it as well. We need to get to it first.”
“How do we propose to do that?”
“We have a shuttle ready to launch in two days. But we need a mission commander. That’s where you come in. If you are interested.”
Alicia clenched the bottom of her seat to keep from leaping out of it.
“Of course sir.”
“Good. I knew you were the man, er woman, for the job.”
She smiled. “No need to stand on ceremony today general. You could call me a monkey and I’d smile at it. Anything to get a chance at something like this.”
He smiled at her in return. “You’ll be leading a small team to explore this ship. There will be two astronauts to pilot the shuttle, you and four Special Forces. We’d like to send more but space is at a premium.”
Doctor Simons shifted in his seat. “Yes Doc, I know you want to tag along but you are going to have to wait until we have eyes on the ground so to speak.”
“Do any of these soldiers have any experience that would lend itself to this type of mission? And how do we know the occupants are going to let us just waltz on in?”
“For starters that ship has been dark since it arrived. No replies to radio, minimal electrical signals. I'm not sure any one is home. All the more reasons to stake a claim before the Commies get boots on deck. Secondly, no one has experience for a mission like this. Zero G warfare? That’s theoretical at best. We’ve got you the best amphibious soldiers that we could find however.”
“What are my mission orders?”
“Very simple. Infiltrate, observe and report. We need to be first on this. A discovery like this will change the balance of power on this planet for a hundred years at least. Once we know its secure we’ll start ferrying engineers and scientists aboard to see what makes it tick.”
Alicia nodded. “I won’t let you down sir.”
“God speed Captain.”
****
“Five, four, three, two, one, ignition.”
The sudden acceleration pushed Alicia back into her seat. The crash course she had received hadn’t prepared her for what she was now experiencing. She felt her stomach begin to roll. It must have been clear on her face. The soldier next to her rolled his head towards her and said “fight it back Cap. Don’t throw up. It has nowhere to go but behind you and no one will forgive you for that.”
She nodded weekly and swallowed. The pressure against her mounted until she thought she wouldn’t be able to take any more. “We have separation” she heard and shortly afterwards the pressure eased off. She felt gravity let go of her. If she hadn’t buzzed her hair off the night before it would be floating around her. She craned her neck to see through the front viewport. Ahead of them loomed their target.
“Damn” one of the soldiers said behind her. “That thing is huge.”
“Ten minutes to intercept” the pilot said. He and his copilot maneuvered the shuttle into position alongside the ship. The two of them muttered as they searched for a hatch or airlock.
“Are those scorch marks?”
“Holy cow, what could do that to a ship this size?”
“I’d hate to find out?”
“There” the copilot shouted. “That looks like an airlock right there.”
“Moving into position” the pilot replied. A minute later the thrusters brought them into position. The copilot released his harness and floated to the back of the shuttle where the EVA suits were stored.
“Alright boys” Alicia called out. “It’s time to get ready for work.”
She and the other soldiers released their own harnesses. After putting their own EVA suits on they began checking weapons. Rifles were attached to the suit with specially made slings.
“Are you ready” the copilot asked. Alicia met his eyes and could see how wide they were.
“We’re ready. Don’t worry; all you have to do is lead the way across. We’ll do the rest.”
He swallowed hard and nodded his head. All six of them moved into the airlock. “I’ll be monitoring from here” the captain said over the com system. “Good luck gentleman. And lady.”
The airlock cycled out the air and began to open. Alicia watched the universe come into view above her head. Her heart began to race and her breath fogged up the glass of her helmet.
“Deep breaths” she whispered to herself.
“Did you say something Cap” someone asked.
“Nope, just admiring the sights.”
When the doors were opened completely the copilot used his suits thruster pack to carry him across the gulf. Behind him he trailed a lightweight alloy cable. He landed lightly on the hull of the ship and attached the cable with a magnet to the ship. Turning around he gave a thumbs up to Alicia and her team.
“Come back across. If things go south I want you out of the line of fire” she ordered. He gave her another thumbs up and started back. She and her team attached themselves to the cable with clamps and started across. It would have been easier to use thrusters to boost across but there had been no time to train with them. Instead that had decided to go simple. The five of them landed on the ship and began checking the access hatch for a way in.
“Cap” Sgt. Perkins called. “I’ve got this panel open and I see what looks like a pull switch. Want me to give it a tug?”
“By all means Sarge, tug away. What’s the worst that could happen?”
“We could get blown into the endless depths of space” someone muttered.
“Small price to pay” Alicia said in reply. “Come on Sarge, we don’t have all day. Open this beast up.”
“Yes ma’am.”
He reached in, grabbed the switch and pulled. Nothing happened at first. He added his other hand and braced his legs on each side of the opening. Teeth gritted he strained until it finally began to move. He gave it a twist and the airlock began to open with a rumble they could feel through their feet.
“Good work Sarge. Greene, take point. I’m next. Sarge you bring up the rear.”
With the hatch open they floated into the airlock and spread out three dimensionally to cover each side plus the ceiling. Flashlights attached to rifles shown around the room.
“All clear Cap.”
“Sarge, think you can find a way to shut that hatch behind us” Alicia asked.
“I’m on it.”
He searched beside the open hatch and found a panel that lined up with the one outside; opening it up he saw a similar switch. He crossed himself and pulled it. This one gave much easier and the hatch slid shut sealing them in. At the same time air began to cycle into the room with a hiss. Alicia motioned her squad to move to the interior hatch.
“Alright gentlemen, we’re here. This is where the fun really begins.”
Sergeant Perkins pushed several buttons on what appeared to be a control panel and the hatch opened. Greene floated through with Alicia close behind. As soon as the two of them entered the corridor beyond they crashed to the deck.
“What the hell” Greene asked.
“Alicia leapt back up into a crouch. “There must be some kind of artificial gravity. Stand up soldier. Our job just got easier.”
Forewarned the rest of the squad stepped through to keep from falling. Stanwick came through last and pulled out a small device. He flipped a switch and it began to hum quietly before giving out a beep.
“Cap, this little doohickey says we got air. Like, breathable, good for human’s kinda air. Want us to pop the lids?”
Alicia thought for a second before breaking the seal on her helmet. It came off with a hiss and she took a short breath.
“Seems ok to me. Pop em off but be ready to put em back on at a moment’s notice.”
She hit the radio in her suit. “Insertion team to shuttle.”
“Go ahead Insertion Team.”
“We’re in and ready to do some sightseeing. I’ll check in in an hour.”
“Roger that. Be careful.”
“Which way Cap’ Perkins asked.
Alicia looked up and down the dark corridor.
“Toward the bow of the ship” she replied. “Hopefully the builders were enough like us that the command center can be found that way.”
“Do you want us to split up” Greene asked.
“Negative. Not until we are certain that we’re alone here.”
They moved together down the passageway leapfrogging past junctions. Alicia resisted the urge to branch off of the corridor that they were in. Along the wall they could see symbols painted periodically.
“What do you make of these” Corporal Watkins asked.
“Probably just section designations like you’d see on any ship” Alicia replied.
“They look familiar” Greene said.
“I didn’t know you spoke alien” said Watkins.
“Kiss it Watkins.”
“Now now boys, stay focused” Alicia said. “You can have a measuring contest later.”
“Yes ma’am.”
They stalked down the corridor for another twenty minutes before they passed an open double hatchway. Alicia motioned for them to stop and check it out before they continued.
“Watkins, watch the door. Greene, Perkins, Stanwick, you are with me. Let’s check this quick and get back on our way.”
The four of them moved through the opening and spread out. In front of them were rows of plants under UV light. There were several varieties of flowers, trees and what appeared to be vegetables.
“What the hell? It’s a freaking greenhouse” Stanwick whispered.
They four of them fanned out through the rows.
“Cap” called out Greene. “I think this is a rubber tree here.”
“I didn’t know you were a botanist” she replied.
“I used to stay with my grandma during the summers. Her house was full of these things. I swear that these are the same thing.”
“What the hell would aliens be doing with rubber trees from your grannies house?”
“I don’t know Cap, beats the hell out of me.”
“Cap” Greene yelled from. “They’ve got freaking zucchini here.”
“Something’s weird here boss” Perkins said. “Greene thinks the symbols on the wall look familiar. They’ve got a greenhouse full of zucchini and house plants. And did you notice that all the doors are just the right height for us?”
“I noticed” said Alicia. “Alright boys, this room is clear. Let’s keep moving.”
There was a shout from the corridor and a spurt of gunfire.
“Contact, contact! Watkins, report!”
The team ran, crouched over, back to the entrance. Watkins didn’t reply. Poking her head out of the hatchway Alicia saw his body lying on the deck.
“Cover me” she said to Greene. He and Stanwick pointed their rifles down each direction of the corridor while she ran to Watkins. Grabbing his feet she pulled him into the greenhouse. Placing a finger on his neck she found a slow but steady pulse.
“He’s alive” she said to the others.
“What got him” asked Perkins.
“No idea Sarge. We need to move though.”
“Keep going forward or back to the airlock?”
She chewed her lip for a moment before replying. “Airlock. We’re going with the better part of valor here. Perkins, get Watkins. Green, take point. Stanwick you’re on rear guard. Let’s head out.”
They hurried down the corridor training their rifles down each junction. As they moved Alicia hit the switch on her radio again.
“Insertion team to shuttle, come in.”
“Shuttle here. Go ahead Captain.”
“We’re headed back. One man down. We are not alone here. Repeat, we are not alone.”
“Roger that. Firing up the thrusters. Hurry home Cap.”
She closed the channel as they felt the deck shudder.
“What was that?”
Another shudder hit them. This time they could hear a thump at the same time. They froze in place with weapons trained in all directions.
Thump thump thump thump. Around the corner of the next junction came the sound of heavy running feet. A large metal figure came storming towards them. Triggers were squeezed and bullets flew in its direction only to deflect off.
“Fall back” called out Alicia.
Turning to run they spotted a team in position behind them with weapons trained. They wore all black head to toe. Alicia looked them up and down. Two arms. Two legs. One head. Not much taller than her. She froze a moment debating their options. Finally she lowered her rifle.
“Put em down guys. They got us.”
“Cap?”
She heard a final thump behind them. She jumped a little and turned to look back at the robot, or whatever it was. She peered at its face for a second before she realized that it wasn’t a robot. It was a man in what appeared to be mechanical armor.
“You heard me. We’re surrounded. Put em down.”
She set her weapon on the floor and raised her hands. Her men followed her example. Mentally she was kicking herself for letting them get the drop on her. A figure stepped forward and began kicking their rifles aside. He said something to her causing her to cock her head.
“Excuse me?”
He pulled off his mask to reveal a man in his mid-thirties with blonde hair and blue eyes.
“I asked who you were and how you got aboard this ship.”
“I’m Captain Alicia James. U.S. Air Force. The better question is how the hell do aliens like you know how to speak English.”
“That’s simple. We aren’t aliens. We’re human.”
Alicia put her hands down and rubbed her eyes. She could hear her men murmuring behind her. “How the hell am I going to explain this to my superiors?”
The man leaned in and said “Ma’am, if you’re answers don’t satisfy my captain you won’t have to worry about your superiors.”
Chapter 2
Alicia sat at what looked like a conference table. Her men sat too either side of her all wearing identical shackles on the wrists and ankles. Watkins was finally sitting up and someone had brought him an ice pack for his head. Around the room silent sentries stood guard. Their weapons weren’t like anything that she was used to but she had no desire to test their effectiveness. The soldiers with her gave their guards hard looks but they refused to make eye contact.
Just as she gave in and started drumming her fingers the hatch swished open and the blonde leader hustled in. Behind him another man sauntered in. Alicia caught herself eyeing him up and down. He had black hair with dark green eyes and a five o’clock shadow. He stopped in front of the table with his hands on his waist staring down at them.
“I’m Commander Terrance Delaney. Who are you and how did you get aboard this ship?”
Alicia stared up at him a minute before answering. “I am Captain Alicia James of the U.S. Air Force. Your ship appeared in orbit and was believed abandoned. We are a reconnaissance team sent to investigate.”
He rubbed his jaw thoughtfully as he looked at her. She opened her mouth to ask him a question when the intercom buzzed. He held up a finger stalling her.
“Delaney.”
“Commander” said a female voice. “We have our location plotted.”
“Thank you crewman. Have you found the Captain?”
“No sir.”
“He nodded. I'll be up in a minute.”
He leaned across the table at Alicia. “What have you done with our Captain? Where are my missing crew members?”
She sat back in her seat and shook her head. “I don't know what you're talking about. We didn't even see anyone until you captured us.”
He scratched his chin before making eye contact with the blonde. “Watch them. Get a medic to look at that one’s head.” He glanced at Alicia. “Captain James, if you'd follow me.”
The other soldiers bristled but she waved them down as she stood.
”Lead the way Commander.”
He inclined his head and motioned towards the door.
Alicia followed him as he walked stiff legged down the corridor. Over her shoulder she could see the movement of the guard following them. She turned her head slightly to see him better. He had a grim expression and clutched his weapon tightly. Alicia frowned as she turned her head back to the front.
”What's going on Commander?”
He threw a glance over his shoulder as he replied. “Captain James, I assure you that if I knew I would tell you.”
He turned back to the front. A short power walk brought them to the front of the ship. Alicia couldn't help but think about how this had been her team’s original destination. The hatch slid open onto the bridge. Or was it a flight deck? It was dimly lit but bustling with crewmembers going about their jobs.
A crewman leapt to attention. “Commander on deck!”
“Well that answers that question” Alicia mumbled to herself.
“What was that” captain Delaney asked.
“Nothing Commander, just wondering out loud.”
He nodded and turned to face his crew. “Situation?”
A female crew member stepped forward with a small flat device in her hand. She had dirty blonde hair pulled back and an earpiece in her right ear. “She gets to keep her hair” Alicia thought to herself. She stopped focusing on the commander and let her gaze drift around the flight deck. It was a large oval shaped room, dimly lit and full of equipment whose function she couldn’t even begin to guess at.
“Engineering reports at least 20 more minutes until engine restart.”
“What about tactical?”
“Offline until the power comes back up. Armory officer reports that we have magazines that are nearly depleted.”
“Sensors?”
“Radar and optical systems are functioning. Data is coming in. We've also been able to tap into the rudimentary satellites orbiting the planet.”
“What about the rest of the crew?”
“Medical and security teams are still going room by room waking others up. I don't have a complete roster of who is missing yet. But so far it's close to thirty percent.”
Commander Delaney looked up from his device and saw Alicia’s wide eyed stare. He gave her a small smile. “My apologies Captain James, welcome to the SCS Morrigan. I know it’s a lot to take in at first.”
He looked back at the crewman beside him and asked “are we're certain of this data.” He indicated to the screen on the device.
“Yes sir, I've triple checked it.”
“Well Crewman Jones, pull up the image please.”
In the center of the deck was a large, flat, circular station that Alicia at first had thought was a table. That was until the image of a planet appeared floating above it. The image was a perfect 3D image of her planet in its entire blue green splendor.
Commander Delaney stepped forward to the station. “Ladies and gentleman, all data shows that the planet we are currently orbiting is Mars.”
There were gasps from around the room. Alicia looked around at all of the surprised expressions and furrowed her brow.
“Uhm, I'm sorry, but how is that a surprise? Didn't you know where you were headed?”
“It’s a surprise because the last time I was here this planet was a large red desert with a dozen domed cities.” He looked back at the Crewman Jones. “Have you been able to contact Earth or Fleet Command?”
“Negative sir, we haven't received any replies.”
“Did you say Earth” Alicia asked.
He swung his gaze back to her. “Yes, our base of operations was Earth. With a few exceptions that’s where our crew was from as well. Why?”
“Very few people still believe that men ever lived on Earth. But here you are claiming to be an earth ship.”
He scratched his chin again for a moment before looking back at her.
“Captain James, I think it's time that you and I had a sit down talk. Guard, would you remove her shackles please?”
The guard stiffened momentarily before saluting and unlocking her wrists and ankles. Rubbing her wrists she gave a polite nod to him.
Captain Delaney began, “what year is it by your calendar”?
“It's 540TE.”
“What does the TE stand for?”
“Terraform Era. Although no one is sure what that means.”
Delaney rocked back on his heels. His mouth fell open. He quickly shut it though before speaking again.
“That explains a little. I think. Five hundred years. Sheesh. Can it really be?”
“Well, maybe you'll explain it to me.”
Delaney went ran a hand through his hair and began to pace the deck. Alicia opened her mouth to say more but Delaney held up his hand to stop her.
“Please, just give me a minute. I believe, and the evidence seems to support my theory, that we’ve pulled a Rip Van Winkle and lost at least five hundred years. When we were here last Mars wasn’t fully terra-formed although the process was under way.”
“Rip Van who? And what was this ‘process’?”
Delaney smiled crookedly while and stopped pacing. “Rip van Winkle. It’s an old folk tale. Obviously it’s gotten lost.”
“Obviously. What process?”
“Pumping hot house gases into the atmosphere to heat up the planet. It was cold, barren and the atmosphere couldn’t support life. We set up settlements that protected the colonists at the same time that they filled the atmosphere with CO2. Once the atmosphere had heated up enough to sustain plant life a series of agricultural initiatives were set to take place to balance out the oxygen and nitrogen levels. In the meantime several asteroids containing water were being redirected to impact the planet.”
“And how do you suppose this ship, the SCS Morrigan, wound up here now? And what does SCS stand for?”
“Just a second Captain.” He turned around. “Jones, check the log and see if there is anything to explain what’s going on.”
He turned back to Alicia. “SCS stands for Sol Confederacy Ship. The Morrigan is a warship, top of the line, Man O War class. We were testing a new star drive out on the edge of the solar system. We came under attack, we didn't know by who but we suspected remaining rebel forces.”
“Rebels?”
Delaney heard her, he met her eyes as she asked but he didn’t answer. Instead he kept relating his story.
“We were outnumbered and attempted to use the jump drive to make it back to Earth. Apparently something went wrong. One minute we’re out close to Pluto and the next we're waking up on the floor. I have missing crew, expended ammunition and a Captain that has vanished. I’m orbiting a planet that was a barely alive the last time I saw it and is now covered in oceans. And then there is you and your crew ‘investigating’.”
“Waking up on the floor? I guess that explains why we didn’t see anyone when we first came aboard.”
Delaney nodded his head. “I woke up here on the command deck to an alert signal designed to go off when an airlock is opened from the outside. It took me awhile to wake up enough security to intercept you. That’s how you got so far without being apprehended.”
“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence.”
“Hey, no offense intended, I’m just saying that…”
“Commander, I've got an incoming craft approaching from the Southern Hemisphere” a crewman interjected.
“Details.”
“Not much at this point. It's a small craft. Faintly similar to the shuttle orbiting alongside.”
“Have they tried to contact us?”
“Negative sir. Would you like me to hail them?”
“Proceed.”
While the crewman tried to raise the approaching ship Commander Delaney looked at Alicia and jerked his head towards the holo imager. She followed him over to it where he worked the controls. Soon a small floating shuttle hung in the air in front of them. She shook her head at the sight.
“Damn that's impressive.”
Delaney grinned. “You get used to it. Do you recognize this ship?”
“Yeah, that's the Russian/Chinese Alliances new Type IV Space Shuttle.”
Now it was Delaney's turn to shake his head. “I can't believe after five hundred years there is still a Russia, a China and a US.”
“Why wouldn't there be?”
“Those were the three main Earth powers that started settlements on Mars.”
“You keep saying that, but I've never heard of anything like that. To me Earth is just the third planet from the sun. The place that we tell old legends about that no one really believes.”
“You've really never heard any of this?”
She shook her head again. “That's a mystery that'll have to wait I guess. What can you tell me about the Russians and Chinese?”
“They've been allies for centuries. The two of them together have dominated the global economy for the last fifty. We've been locked into a sort of Cold War with them for a while now. And truthfully we've been losing. Why are you smiling?”
“Just thinking about how history repeats itself.”
At that point Jones interrupted. “Commander I've got someone on the horn but I'll be damned if I can understand them.”
“Put it on general speaker.”
There was a click and then from overhead an excited voice began jabbering. Delaney looked back to Alicia but she simply shrugged her shoulders. “I think Watkins speaks the lingo but I sure don't.”
Delaney glanced over at the security officer and nodded towards the door. The guard through him a salute before rushing out. The excited voice kept talking. Soon the guard returned with Watkins who stumbled onto the deck. His eyes were narrowed and his jaw was set. He stopped in the door and his face relaxed as he looked around before he whistled.
“Damn. Just look at this ship.”
When he saw the imager projecting the hologram of the shuttle his eyes went wide.
“Don't worry” Alicia called out. “You get used to it.”
He straightened his back. “Captain. Are you ok?”
She waved her hand at him. “Don't worry. I'm fine.”
She looked over at Delaney. “Commander, do you think we could remove his shackles?”
Delaney looked Watkins up and down. Watkins stiffened further and glared at him.
“I think that would be fine.”
The guard stepped forward to remove them. As he did Delaney asked “Mr. Watkins, can you understand what the men on that shuttle are saying to us?”
Watkins cocked his head and listened.
“He's telling you that you've violated the Russian/Chinese airspace.”
He rolled his eyes as he relayed that. “He's demanding that you identify yourself and prepare to be boarded.”
“Ballsy little bastard isn't he” Delaney mumbled. “Can you speak well enough to reply?”
Watkins looked at Alicia. When she motioned for him to continue he nodded his head. “Aye, commander.”
“Good. Please tell him that as we are in orbit of the planet it's impossible for us to have violated anyone's air space. Inform him that he is to stand down and return to the planet’s surface.”
Watkins rattled off his reply and they waited several minutes in silence.
“What are they waiting for” Jones asked.
“Likely he is communicating with his commanders on the surface” Alicia relied. Watkins eyes grew wide.
A short phrase came over the radio.
“What did he say” asked Delaney.
“He said this is our last chance before we are destroyed.”
“Commander" cried out Jones. “There is an airlock opening on the shuttle. I'm reading nukes sir!”
Alicia gasped. “They aren't supposed to put nukes in space. That goes against every treaty we have.”
“Well, I guess that treaty is out the window.” Delaney hit an intercom switch.
“Engineering.”
“Sam, how much longer to restart?”
“Ten more minutes sir.”
“We've got live nukes up here. Make it five.”
“Oh geez. Ok. Five minutes.”
The intercom clicked off. Alicia looked around and saw the tension on everyone's face. Delaney frowned and drummed his fingers on the imager.
“Commander!”
His head popped up.
“We've got incoming. I repeat incoming.”
“Dammit.” He hit the intercom again. “Sam, we've got inbound missiles. I need to be able to shoot back.”
“Coming online now sir.”
The dim lights brightened and more stations came on line.
“Tactical.”
“I've got lock now. Firing counter-missiles.”
“Put it on the imager” Delaney ordered.
The image changed to show the Morrigan. Off to the right and down Alicia could see the enemy shuttle and a dotted line showing the path of the incoming missile as well as the counter fire. She also saw something else. Her own people’s shuttle was still matching the Morrigan's orbit.
“Commander!”
Delaney's head whipped her way.
“Our people are still out there.”
“Oh hell." He turned to a young man on his right. "We need two birds on deck for possible rescue operations.”
Alicia tapped her foot as the two dots grew closer together. It seemed to take hours. It was actually a matter of seconds. When the two collided there was a flash of light. The ship rocked very slightly and several screens flickered but that was all. The shuttle that had brought her team into orbit didn't fare nearly as well.
“Commander, the shuttle is starting to drift. I think the EM pulse knocked their systems off line.”
“Get a rescue shuttle out to bring them into the....”
“We've got another nuclear signature sir! I think they're planning to fire on us again" the tactical officer yelled out.”
Tenacious aren't they" Delaney mumbled. "Ok, that tears it, take em out.”
“Yes Sir.”
The imager showed two missiles arcing away from the Morrigan towards the Russian/Chinese shuttle. There was another wink of light and then nothing.
“Target has been destroyed.”
Delaney nodded once. “Good. Have our rescue ships drag the damaged shuttle into Shuttle Bay Four.”
“The Commies are going to be pissed about their ship” Alicia said.
Delaney shrugged his shoulders. “We’ll deal with that when it comes up. Honestly I don’t expect to have many interactions with them after this.”
Crewman Jones approached him and he leaned forward so that she could whisper something in his ear. He straightened up and asked “are you certain”.
She nodded. He lips tightened and he gave a jerky nod.
“What’s going on” Alicia asked.
He looked up distractedly. “Our logs are wiped. Completely. Wherever we’ve been for five hundred years and whatever we’ve done is lost.”
“Damn. What are you going to do?”
“I have no idea yet. They don’t prepare you for things like this at Officer Training Academy.”
“What are you going to do with us” Alicia asked a few minutes later.
Delaney looked up at her and scratched his chin again without answering. Alicia couldn't decide if that habit of his was annoying or endearing. Finally the Commander looked at Alicia's ever present guard.
“Lieutenant Hogan, would you bring the rest of Captain James’ team to shuttle bay four?”
Alicia's pulse kicked up into a higher gear. “Shuttle bay four? Isn't that where you brought aboard our space shuttle?”
“That's right. I doubt that it's going to be ready to launch at the moment but if you have no objections I'll gladly offer you a ride home.”
“How polite of you. Are you going to walk me to the front door?”
He gave her a lopsided grin and several years seemed to fall off of his face. “Absolutely, but I'm not ready to meet your dad yet.”
“Ha” she snorted. “My dad is nothing compared to the admirals and generals that will want to talk to you.”
He rolled his eyes. “I doubt that the top Brass have changed too much in the last five hundred years. I think I can handle a meeting or two.”
He motioned to the crewman working the communications station. “Ensign Simpson, work with Captain James here and see if you can contact her nation’s ground control. Arrange a landing point and meeting if possible.”
The young man he was addressing threw him a hasty salute before motioning to Alicia. The two of them began discussing com channels. Delaney watched them work for a moment before turning around. He motioned for a yeoman. She hustled to his side and stood at attention.
“Yeoman, run down to shuttle bay four and check on the pilots of that shuttle. I'm sure they're a little rattled. Maybe get them some coffee. Captain James team should be on their way there now. Please check on them as well.”
She snapped a salute and hurried out. He leaned over his terminal and punched in commands. A frown grew on his face before he smacked a fist against the edge of the console. He looked around the deck until he spotted who he was searching for.
“Lieutenant Jones, I’m going down to the medical ward and then to engineering. Take charge up here.”
“Aye sir.”
“Captain James, would you like to see the rest of the ship?”
She jumped forward. “I’d love to! But shouldn’t I stay here to help coordinate a drop zone?”
“Good point. Do you think Watkins could help assist Ensign Simpson with it?”
“Go ahead Cap” Watkins said. “I can handle things up here.”
Alicia tapped her foot a moment before giving in. “Alright Commander. Lead the way.”
They walked through the hatch into the corridor. Two hundred yards down was a lift that took them up two levels.
“What was that about before we left the Flight Deck?”
He shook his head. “I was trying to pull up my personal log but it’s been wiped clean.”
“Damn. Whoever or whatever doesn’t want you to know whats going on was thorough.”
Another hundred yards had them standing in front of the medical ward. The hatch had the standard rod and snakes painted on its surface. It slid open at his approach.
“Doctor Bryce” he called out. A man in a white lab coat came around the corner of a glass screen wiping his hands. He had salt and pepper hair that was swept back from his brow.
“What can I do for you Commander?”
“Making my rounds. Trying to put together the pieces of what’s going on. This is Captain Alicia James head of the team that boarded while we were sleeping.”
Dr. Bryce smiled at Alicia and stuck out his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Captain.”
She shook his hand. “The pleasure is all mine Doc.”
“How are your teams going getting everyone woken up” Delaney asked.
“We’ve cleared almost 60 percent of the ship. So far everyone has been fairly simple to wake up. It’s like they’re just in a very heavy sleep. What is going on? Have you figured out where we are or why everyone is unconscious?”
“We aren’t sure yet. All we know is that we are in orbit of Mars and we have lost somewhere around five hundred years.”
“Dear lord!” Dr. Bryce sat back into a seat. His eyes were locked on the wall in front of him.
“Are you sure” he finally asked.
“Not one hundred percent but I believe it. Wherever we were before we were here we were in a heck of a fight. Captain Royce and close to thirty percent of the crew is missing. Do we have any injured down here?”
Bryce shook his head. “No injuries but I haven’t seen at least two of my nurses. I suppose it’s possible that I won’t be seeing them.”
“Do something for me. All of the bridge logs, including mine, have been wiped. Check the medical files and see if there is anything.”
“Hold on just a second.”
He turned his seat around and began typing on his computer. His eyes narrowed and he spun his seat back to face Delaney.
“The last medical log I have is for a Crewman Smith having a cold. That was from the day before the Pluto test.”
Delaney nodded his head. “I was afraid of that. Have you had anyone in with any kind of injuries?”
“No real injuries. I’ve had several cases of nausea and migraines. I woke up in my office feeling a little green myself. However we got here doesn’t seem to have greatly affected us though.”
Delaney nodded his head but he was staring straight ahead lost in thought. “Ok Doc, keep me posted. I’ve got to get to engineering and then down to shuttle bay four. Keep an eye out for the Captain. Also, get me a list of missing personnel when your teams finish their sweeps.”
Doctor Bryce nodded his head but he was already turning back to his terminal. Alicia saw him rubbing his temples as they walked out. They headed towards the aft section. More crew members began passing them and true to Dr. Bryce’s report Alicia saw that many were rubbing their heads as they passed. It took them almost twenty minutes to make their way to engineering.
“Damn you’ve got a big ship here Commander.”
He smiled at her. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
The hatch slid open to reveal something one step from chaos. Engineers were moving everywhere carrying equipment and jostling each other as they moved. From a catwalk above the melee a harried engineer was shouting instructions. They walked through the throng towards an access ladder. The bustling mechanics and engineers almost unconsciously moved aside to let them pass.
As she cleared the top rung of the ladder a hand reached down to help her up. Alicia looked up to see the chief engineer standing above her. His face was covered in grease and sweat dripped from his brow. Reaching up she clasped her hand into the calloused hand and was pulled to her feet.
“And who might you be ma’am?”
“Captain James, US Air Force.”
He raised an eyebrow at her but before he could ask another question Delaney was there. “What’s the status chief?”
“The status is that more systems are blown than not. That’s why it took so long to get main power back up. What the hell happened to us?”
“I wish I could tell you Sam.” He briefly explained the situation to the engineer.
Sam scratched the side of his head and whistled softly. “Damn. When we get in it we get in deep don’t we?”
“You don’t lie that’s for sure. How long until everything is fully functional?”
“A couple of days at least. I don’t know what happened but our primary systems and most of our secondary systems are blown. We’ve got the main reactor back online however.”
“How does a reactor like that even go off line?”
“It’s not so much that energy wasn’t being generated. It was the system’s ability capture the output.”
“We’re not gonna blow up are we?”
“Nah. At least I don’t think so” Sam said with a grin.
Delaney rolled his eyes. “Alright, keep me updated. I’ll be getting ready for a landing mission.”
“Uhm, what kind of reactor are we talking about” Alicia asked. “Nuclear?”
Sam gave her a huge smile. “Oh, something way better than that Cap.”
He threw Delaney a questioning look. Delaney sighed and gave him a go ahead motion.
“If you’ll follow me ma’am I’ll show you.”
The trio climbed down the ladder and Sam lead them to the center of the engineering bay. Suspended from the ceiling was a large sphere.
“Alright boys” Sam said to his crew. “Crack it open.”
The sphere opened up and light began pouring out. Alicia felt her mouth drop open.
“What the hell is that?”
“A ball of super-heated gasses plasma undergoing thermonuclear fusion that’s being held together by artificial gravity.”
“A miniature star?”
“Yup.”
“You people built a miniature star to power your ship.”
“That about sums it up.”
She shook her head at the idea. “How long will it run?”
Sam shrugged. “A couple hundred years maybe. Longer with regular infusions hydrogen.”
Alicia was staring openly at the reactor until Delaney took her elbow. “Come on Alicia, I think it’s time to check on your team.”
She nodded and followed him. It took her a minute to realize that he had used her first name.
The shuttle bay was full of people when they arrived. In the middle of the hanger deck was the shuttle that had brought her team; her team, including the pilots, who were huddled beside it. Several of them held mugs in their hands with steam floating out of them. Alicia stopped in front of them and they stood to salute her.
“Gentlemen, how is the coffee.”
“It’s a good brew cap but when are we going home” Stanwick asked. The others were openly glaring at Delaney beside her with the exception of Watkins. He hoisted his mug to him and took another sip.
“As soon as these earth boys can get their own shuttle ready.”
“Tough crowd” Delaney said to Alicia as they walked away. “Well Captain, we should be prepared to go in another hour. Ready to be back home?”
“And give up all this excitement?”
“You could always enlist.”
“Sorry spaceman, I already got a job.”
He shrugged his shoulders. “It was worth a try. Alright, let me go finish arranging this little venture of ours.”
Alicia threw him a mocking salute. He laughed and returned her salute with a rude gesture.
****
The shuttle broke atmosphere above the southern continent. Several of the passengers pressed their faces against viewports to stare at the land below as they descended. They hit a patch of turbulence that caused the shuttle to bounce around. One of the security officers bumped his forehead against the glass. He sat back rubbing his head looking sheepishly around. The team of soldiers from Mars looked a little green. The pilots, however, were tapping their feet and staring forwards toward the cockpit.
“Wait till we get a little lower and you can go forward” Delaney told them. The two, pilot and copilot, broke into huge grins.
“Boys and their damn toys” Alicia said with her own grin.
Delaney just shrugged. As they drew closer to their destination jet fighters took up position on either side of them. Delaney frowned when he spotted them but he understood their presence. He would have done the same thing. He leaned his head back and tried to relax.
“Contact, contact” the shuttle pilot yelled. “We’ve got incoming.”
Delaney was out of his harness and running forward. Alicia was hard on his heels. He crouched beside the pilot and looked at the screen.
“Are these your birds” he asked Alicia.
“They shouldn't be. Better to assume that they're hostile.”
His lips tightened as he nodded. “Contact ground control. Let them know that we have inbound aircraft. Possibly hostile. Am taking evasive action.”
The pilot nodded and hit controls on his station.
“We've got positive ID. Two Chinese fighters in bound.”
Suddenly to pilot swore. “Shit! Missiles. Break break!” The shuttle dropped suddenly. Alicia felt her stomach rise up at the rapid loss of gravity. She was glad that she had latched her harness back in place. It kept her secure in her seat. Across from her he could see through the far viewport. The fighter on that side was peeling off in response to the attack. She could hear the pilot chattering into his headset as the shuttle bobbed and weaved trying to break the missile lock.
Delaney looked at her with a smile on his face. “You aren't going to be sick are you?”
She frowned at him. “Why does everyone think a little maneuvering will make me throw up? I'm an air force captain for crying out loud. I've flown before.”
He threw his hands up. “Hey, I was just asking a question.”
He leaned forward and called to the pilot. “Hey Jimmy, are we going to do something about this situation or not?”
“Just waiting for the word boss. Didn't want to step on our escort's toes and do their job for them.”
“The word is go.”
“Roger that.”
The pilot, Jimmy, began pressing controls. The first control sent out an EMP ahead that knocked out the Nav systems of the incoming missiles. With no way to lock onto a target they began to plummet. The next control was for the targeting system. It beeped as the crosshairs centered on the attackers.
“We have a firing solution with the forward pulse cannons” he called over his shoulder.
“By all means, fire away.”
His finger stabbed down on the control and bright blue pulses leapt from the weapon ports. They crackled with energy and caused a boom as they broke the sound barrier. The fighters tried to evade but they weren't quiet fast enough. The shots punched a hole through one and sheared a wing off of another. The first one exploded in midair while the second one spiraled out of control. Thirty seconds later the hatch blew and a parachute blossomed above the jet.
Alicia realized that her mouth was hanging open. She closed it and swung her gaze back to meet Delaney's.
“Don't worry” he said with a grin. “You get used to it.”
“I'll never get used to that. If y'all had weapons like that, how did it all just disappear?”
It was Delaney's turn to frown. “That's what I plan on finding out.”
“What's your plan?”
“The first step, after meeting with your bosses, will be to move deeper into the system and check on Earth.”
“What do you expect to find?”
“Expect? I really don't know what to expect in a situation like this. They taught us about worst case scenarios in Officer Training." He gave a sideways grin. “They didn't cover what to do after your whole civilization vanishes.”
At that the moment the pilot called out. “Approaching the landing zone.”
The shuttle slowed and began to circle as it descended towards the courtyard designated as their landing spot. Their fighter escort flew on with their mission complete. Alicia felt a gentle bump. She followed the lead of those around her and unlatched her flight harness.
She heard a click followed by a hiss of hydraulics. Turning she watched the aft section of the shuttle lower into a ramp. Walking down the ramp she felt the spring of the grass under her feet. Standing across the courtyard was General Stalls. She threw him a crisp salute.
“At ease Captain. This is not exactly how I envisioned your mission being completed.”
“It wasn't my idea of a successful mission either. But, here we are. May I introduce you to Commander Delaney of the SCS Morrigan?”
Delaney offered his own salute before extending his hand. General Stalls took his hand and gave it a firm shake.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you Commander. I have to confess that I never believed all the stories about Earth. I suppose that I’m going to have to reconsider some things however.”
“I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have” Delaney replied.
Alicia noticed the marines with them searching the area. One of them stiffened and touched the shoulder of his squad mate. He looked up and to the right. Alicia followed his gaze and felt her eyes narrow.
“General” she broke in. “What’s going on?”
Delaney looked up at her and then saw where she was looking. He spotted the snipers on the roof around them. He frowned as he looked back at General Stalls.
“What is going on here General?”
“I’m afraid that your little welcome party is just the prelude to further aggression. With this little cold war of ours about to heat up we are looking for an equalizer. That equalizer is your ship.”
Delaney leaned forward and locked eyes with him. “You’ll have my ship over my dead body.”
“If necessary that can be arranged.”
Chapter 3
Alicia sat at the conference table beside Delaney. Across from them sat Crewman Jones and the marine squad. Armed men ringed the room. She supposed she should be getting used to this situation. She made eye contact with Delaney and he winked at her. She cracked a smile but neither of them said anything. A moment later the door opened and a soldier walked in and saluted her.
“Captain James, General Stalls requests your presence.”
Alicia looked up from her seat but didn’t stand or return the salute. The soldier frowned down at her.
“Tell the General that if he wishes to speak to me I’ll be right here monitoring the treatment of our ‘guests’.”
“I don’t think you understand the weight behind his request.”
“Oh, I understand very well. I also understand that we invited the Command of the Morrigan down to meet with us in good faith and then took them prisoner. You can tell general Stalls that until he gets his head out of his ass he can take his request and shove it.”
The messengers face went through various contortions before he could speak. “Very well.”
He spun on his heel and stomped out of the room. The door had barely closed before Delaney and Jones burst into laughter.
Alicia cocked an eyebrow at them. “I’m glad to see my little act of insubordination is so amusing to you.”
Delaney wiped tears from his eyes. “You just have no idea how many generals I’ve wanted to say that too.”
“Probably as many as I have. I have to admit, it did feel good. That doesn’t change our situation however.”
“Our situation Captain? You on our side now?”
Alicia shook her head. “I just feel a certain responsibility for you.”
“How honorable of you. What do you think their game plan is?”
“Fairly straightforward I imagine. They’ll try to trade you for control of the Morrigan. Failing that they might settle for weapons tech, although I can’t foresee them just letting you run loose. Too much of a wildcard.”
Delaney nodded his head. “I was thinking along the same lines.”
Alicia ran a hand over her scalp. She could feel tiny prickles of hair beginning to grow back.
“Don’t worry” Delaney quipped, “I’ve always liked bald women.”
“Ha-ha, very funny.” She placed her hands back on the table but found herself tapping her fingers in sequence. Pinky to index. Over and over again.
“What I want to know is where my team is. They had better not be mistreating them.”
Delaney laid a hand over hers. He didn’t say anything just sat there giving what comfort he could through a simple touch. Alicia felt a little of the tension drain out of her.
What felt like hours later the door opened again. A squad of heavily armed soldiers marched in and took up position. General Stalls came in behind them red faced and puffing air. Behind him came another man in a suit. Alicia jumped to her feet. Delaney and his crew looked at her confusedly but followed her. She snapped to attention and offered a salute.
“Mr. President.” When she acknowledged him realization dawned on Delaney and he offered a salute of his own. The President returned their salute precisely.
“At ease please. Captain James I’d like to commend you on a job well done.”
“Thank you sir” she replied.
He turned to Delaney and extended a hand. “Commander, I’d like to apologize for how you and your crew have been treated. The military” he jerked his head towards Stalls who grew even redder, “Took things upon themselves. As soon as I learned what was going on I came to sort things out.”
“I thank you Mr. President. And exactly how are things to be sorted?”
Alicia winced at his wording. The President just chuckled. “To the point isn’t he?”
“It’s a character flaw I’m afraid.”
“I suffer from that same flaw. To answer your question, you are free to return to your ship at any time. Although I would like to speak with you before you go.”
Delaney gestured to the table and smiled. “I’m free at the moment. What would you like to talk about?”
The President sat and motioned to one of the guards. “Would you be so kind as to bring coffee and food for our guests?”
The guard nodded and hustled out of the room.
“We’re getting some racket from the Sino/Russian Alliance about the destruction of their shuttle as well as their fighters.”
Alicia sat up straighter. “Both incidents were unprovoked attacks by Chinese forces. An attack that also included nukes despite previous treaties forbidding them.”
The president cocked an eye towards her. “Can you prove that?”
Delaney chimed in. “I can have the footage from the attack sent down from Morrigan. That should quell any rumblings.”
“Excellent. Hopefully that will be enough to forestall a shooting war. Now, I’m curious what your plans are? I’ve read Captain James’ report on your situation and I’d like to know what comes next from you.”
Delaney shook his head. “I honestly don’t know yet. We’re lost here just trying to find our way. The next step will be to head straight for Earth and see if we can find any answers there.”
“We’d like to support you in any way possible. Of course we’d love to have access to anything you find out.”
“That’s a reasonable request. I’ll see that copies of any data are made available to you. I cannot offer any technology to you however.”
“I was afraid that you would say that. Ah well. We’re no worse off than we were. I would like to ask one more thing though. I’d like to assign a liaison to go with you.”
“Who did you have in mind?”
The President shifted his gaze to Alicia. It took her a second to realize what he was implying. Her heart leaped at the thought.
“Oh Hell yeah!” She clapped a hand over her mouth. “My apologies sir that just slipped out.”
He waved her apology away. “It’s quite alright. Commander is that acceptable to you.”
He found himself grinning. “Oh Hell yeah.”
Alicia raised a hand. “May I request my team be assigned as well?”
Delaney frowned. “I’m not sure I’d like an armed team on my ship.”
“I can assure you that we will follow all instructions while under your command. But I believe I’m correct when I say you could use the manpower.”
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Very well. Anybody else you’d like to bring along?”
“There is a Doctor Simons who I believe would jump at the chance to go along.”
Delaney nodded. “Very well” said then President. He slapped the table and rose from his chair. “That’s settled. I’ll see about having supplies prepared. God speed Commander. I hope you find what you are looking for.
****
Doctor Simons tripped coming off the shuttle ramp. Alicia had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. Already overburdened with bags, he had been staring open mouthed around the bay and his foot slipped sending him sprawling. The marines around him didn’t even bother to hide their laughter. It was good natured though and they promptly helped him back to his feet. Several even took his bags for him.
He pushed his glasses back up on his nose. “Thank you gentlemen, I seem to have lost my footing.”
Alicia looked at Delaney. “How long until we leave orbit?”
He glanced at his wristwatch. “Not for a few more hours. It’ll take that long to get the promised supplies picked up and unloaded. Wanna be on the bridge when we take off?”
“Oh hell yeah” she said jokingly.
He rolled his eyes at her. “Don’t know that it is inappropriate to speak to a superior officer in that manner” he said while shaking his finger at her.
“Hey, last I checked I was a Captain and you were a Commander.”
“Yeah yeah yeah. I’m still in charge of this tub so you just watch it.”
He waved a crewman over. “Will you show Captain James and her team to their quarters?”
The crewman gave him a crisp salute in rely. “If you all will follow me” he said.
Alicia waved to Delaney. “See you on the flight deck in a bit?”
“Can’t wait Captain.”
When they were out of the hangar and in the corridor the soldiers with her started laughing. “Someone has a new boyfriend” Stanwick joked.
“Oh shut up” Alicia said while shoving him away.
“Hey, we’ve seen how you two flirt” Perkins chimed in.
“Don’t worry cap” Said Greene, “We don’t blame you. Besides, that Crewman Jones is pretty cute. Thinking about asking her for a personal tour of the ship.”
“Yeah, you can keep thinking, but I saw her first” said Watkins.
“You boys can argue all you want but I outrank you both” Perkins said.
Alicia just rolled her eyes and was grateful that they were off of her case. Dr. Simons looked around at the arguing soldiers.
“Are they always like this?”
“Oh yeah Doc, every soldier I’ve ever met was like this. It keeps the boredom away. Sometimes it keeps the terror away.”
“Oh! So it’s a psychological release. We studied things like that in my undergrad.”
“Something like that Doc” Alicia said with a smile.
“These are your quarters” their guide cut in. “We’ve placed you all in the same section. If you need anything feel free to call.”
Alicia thanked him and walked into her new quarters. As an officer she rated a single as did Doctor Simons. The others were bunking two to a room.
Inside were more steel gray bulkheads. The only color in the room was the green of several potted plants. She threw her bag on the bed. Unzipping it she pulled out two small pictures and taped them to the wall. The first was an older couple posing, all smiles and comfortable embraces like most couples who have been together for years. The second was of a young girl with blonde hair in pigtails flying a kite.
****
The holo-imager showed the Morrigan orbiting Mars. Alicia shook her head again when she saw it. Her team stood around her and all but Watkins were staring open mouthed around them at the flight deck. Doctor Simons stood next to the holo-imager staring intently at the minute details of the image.
“Incredible” he said to no one.
“I take it that he is impressed” Delaney said from over her shoulder.
She nodded. “Looks like. We ready to get underway?”
“Near about. Excited?”
Her heart was pounding and she could feel excitement coursing through her. “Maybe a little.”
“Just a little?”
She held her fingers a half inch apart. “Just a little.”
“Ok then. Systems check” he called out.
“All systems report green across the board” Crewman Jones responded.
“Very well. Lay in course for Earth command.”
“Sub light or jump sir?”
He shook his head. “I don’t think we’re prepared to attempt another jump just yet. No telling where we’d end up. Sub light, best possible speed.”
“Aye sir.”
Alicia leaned over to ask “how long will it take us at that speed.”
“About two and a half weeks” Delaney replied. “At least that will give us plenty of time to sort everything out onboard ship.”
“Well, if we have nothing but time how about you show me some more of your ship later Commander?”
“I’d love to. How about I pick you up at O six hundred?”
“Sounds like a plan.”
****
O five thirty found Alicia staring into her mirror wondering what to do with herself. “No hair to fix” she mused out loud. “At least I brought a little bit of makeup.”
Unfortunately she wasn’t sure how dressed up to get. Well, as dressed up as one could get in a flight suit. She had already put on makeup and then washed it back off once. Now she was applying more as lightly as she could make it. “Why do I feel giddy” she asked her reflection. Too bad the mirror didn’t have any answers for her. When the door chime beeped her heart kicked into overdrive. She gripped the sink and took three deep breaths. By the time she opened the hatch she had her game face on.
“Good evening Commander” she said with a smile.
“Captain. Are you ready?”
“Absolutely. Where to first?”
“I thought we’d start with the atrium” he replied.
“Isn’t that where you first captured us? I’ve kinda already seen that place.”
It was his turn to smile. “You haven’t seen anything yet. Come on.”
They walked through the double hatch into the atrium. Despite having seen it before she still gasped at the sight. “It’s just so green. It’s weird to see so much plant life in space.”
“Not as weird as you think. Everything has a purpose. We grow fruits and vegetables to help with food stores. The trees and moss help replenish our oxygen. You might have noticed all the plants in your room.”
“Yeah, I wondered what was up with that.”
“Every room has several plants, everything from peace lilies to small rubber trees. It’s each crewmember’s responsibility to keep up with them. We even have a small botany staff on board to tend to this atrium and the hydroponic bays.”
“There can’t be enough to support everyone on board though” Alicia interjected.
“No, but they help take some of the load off of the atmospheric systems. And they have a certain psychological effect. They’re very calming.”
She looked around again. “I can see how that might be important on a long term mission.”
“Oh, just watch.” He walked over to a control panel on the wall and hit a button. The roof began to retract. Alicia gasped and turned to run.
Delaney laughed. “Relax. We’re still enclosed. That is a clear polymer. Just have a seat and enjoy the stars.”
She followed him over to a bench and sat down absentmindedly. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from the sight over her head.
“It’s beautiful.”
They sat that way for close to an hour before a call came from the flight deck. “Commander Delaney?”
Delaney sighed and touched his watch. “Delaney, what is it?”
“We’ve got something up here that you need to see.”
“I’ll be right there.” He turned back to Alicia. “Sorry Captain, we’re going to have to cut this short I’m afraid. Duty calls.”
“It’s fine. Mind if I join you?”
He smiled and offered a hand to help her up.
****
The first thing she looked for when they stepped onto the flight deck was the holo-imager. Anything that was happening would be represented there. All that was projected however was a swarm of black specks.
“What is that” she asked.
Jones glanced to Delaney and at his nod answered her. “It’s debris ma’am.”
“Debris? Debris from what?”
“We suspect it is debris from a force of at least two dozen Sol Confederation ships.”
Alicia gasped. “What could destroy two dozen ships like the Morrigan?”
Delaney shook his head. “God knows. Let’s see if we can collect some of that debris for further study.”
She shook her head again. Her mind spun while she tried to imagine what must have happened. From the way Delaney was rubbing his chin and staring at the imager he was likely wondering the same thing.
Several hours later a technician came to the flight deck to report. Delaney wasted no time on formalities. Taking the tech by the arm he led him to the captain’s ready room. Alicia wasn’t invited but she followed anyway.
“Report” Delaney said abruptly.
“The debris shows signs of high yield energy weapons as well as heightened radiation levels possibly from nukes. Carbon dating reveals that this particular battle took place over five hundred years ago.”
“Anything else?”
“Yes sir. Roughly ten percent of the debris was found to have a non-terrestrial origin.”
Alicia and Delaney exchanged a glance. “Non-terrestrial” she asked.
He shook his head. “Whoever attacked us at the edge of the system must not have been from around here. At least we apparently got some licks in before they wiped us out.”
He looked back at the technician. “Have we recovered any fragments large enough to give us any signs of their tech?”
“None yet I’m afraid and we are rapidly pulling away from the area.”
“I suspect we’ll have more opportunity to examine debris before this is all over.”
He dismissed the tech. When he was gone Delaney sat back in his seat and rubbed his eyes. Alicia resisted the urge to reach out and touch him.
****
The image on the holo-imager showed a revolving planet painted in blue and green. As they grew closer it was constantly updating with finer and finer details. Alicia, however, watched the crew more than she watched the image. As the image refined faces began to frown and mouths fell open.
“What am I looking at” Delaney asked.
Jones tried to speak several times before the words came out. “It looks like signs of multiple nuclear strikes as well as” her voice broke for a moment, “as well as massive strip mines on every continent.”
Alicia could see Delaney’s hands ball into fists by his side. “How is the background radiation level?”
Jones checked her readouts again. “Tolerable. Whoever nuked the planet must have spent some time and energy cleaning it up; likely to facilitate mining operations.”
“Very well then” Delaney replied. “Prepare a landing party. Someone has ransacked our house and I want to find out who it was.”
Chapter 4
“Morrigan to shuttle 1. I repeat, Morrigan to shuttle 1.”
Alicia tapped the communicator in her ear. “This is shuttle 1. Go ahead Morrigan.”
A smooth contralto voice said “Commander Delaney requests a report.”
Alicia smiled. “Worried is he?”
She looked through the front glass as if she could spot Morrigan from where they were. Never mind that she was holding position between the earth and the moon at L1. At the moment the earth was between them and the ship.
She heard laughter. “He says to quit being a smart ass and report.”
“Alright, alright. Shuttles 1-3 are holding formation. Approaching day side. Five minutes out from upper atmosphere where we will break formation and set down. Happy?”
Delaney's voice came over the wireless. “What did I say about being a smartass?”
“Sorry Cap. I'll try to tone it down.”
He sighed. “Just be careful. First sign of danger I want the shuttles in the air.”
The pilot signaled her attention forward. She gave him a thumbs up then cued her communicator again.
“Yes sir. Final approach starting now. I'll report back in two hours.”
****
A plate dropped onto the table across from her causing Alicia to snap her head up.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you” Delaney said as he sat down. In his hand he held a small mug with steam wafting out of it.
She shook her head. “It's ok. I was just lost in thought. Anything new?”
He took a sip out of his cup. “God bless your people for topping off our coffee supplies. I don't know where we went or what we did but we drank a lot of Java while we were there.”
She smiled and ran a finger over her head. Stubble was starting to crop up. “Is that why you came by, just to say thanks for getting you a cup of coffee?”
“Nope. We've found something.”
Alicia sat up straighter. “Tell me.”
His smile slipped away as he leaned closer. “The landscape has been butchered but we've found some ruins in what we believe was France.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. He smacked himself in the forehead. “Sorry. I forgot for a moment. France was a country in my time. Fairly prominent in its part of the world. They ate snails though. Never did understand that.”
Alicia gagged. “Ok, what's the plan?”
We need to do some exploring. I want to land three shuttles at various sites. I'd like you on shuttle one to investigate the ruins. Take that scientist of yours. I'm sure he's dying to get down there. The other two shuttles will land and explore two of the mining sites.”
“Do you want my men involved in this?”
He nodded. “Absolutely. We're too short handed to not include them. Round them up and head to the armory so we can get you outfitted. Ask for Smith.”
“Shouldn’t we just stick with what we already know?”
He grinned. “Oh, you have got to see the toys we have for you.”
He started to stand but Alicia set a hand on top of his.
“Can we finish our coffee before we get going?”
He smiled and sat back down. “Yes ma'am.”
****
Alicia felt a soft bump below her feet. She unsnapped her harness and bounced up.
“Alright boys, here we are again.”
Perkins and the rest of her team sat up straighter.
“Everyone have their new rifle?”
Ayes came from around the shuttle.
Alicia picked up her own weapon. It sat heavily in her arms. She remembered the Sergeant at Arms instructions on it.
****
“This is a RIP” said the stocky little man. “That stands for rail gun, infantry, portable. This a miniature version of the rail guns Morrigan has installed. They will put a whole through an entire platoon of men”
Hefting one from the stack in front of him he went through the sequence to load, charge and sight the weapon.
Looking up she had spotted Delaney standing at the back of the room. While the rest of her team familiarized themselves with their RIPs she picked her way through the group.
She threw him a lazy salute. He shook his head.
“It's just weird seeing that salute from someone who until a few weeks ago hadn't ever even heard of Sol Confederation.”
Alicia blinked. “Is that what y'all called yourselves?”
“Did I not mention that?”
“Nope. Not once.”
He shook his head again. “It's strange what survived and what disappeared while we were gone. None of this makes sense.”
“But that's not why you're here” Alicia said.
“Just checking in to see how your people were acclimating to our way of doing things.”
Alicia frowned. “Are you checking in or checking up on?”
Delaney shrugged. “A little of both honestly. We're happy to have your people here with us and I'm sure most of them have good intentions. But, I can't ignore the possibility that someone has ulterior motives for being here.”
Alicia swallowed. “I suppose I would see things that way if our positions were reversed. I guess my next question is field deployment. Will my team stay together or will you split us up?”
“I've pondered that for a while now. I think the benefits of keeping your team together outweigh the risks. They've trained together and know one another. Splitting them up would diminish their efficiency.
“I was hoping that was what you would decide. Now, when do we launch?”
“As soon as you're comfortable with your gear. Now get to work captain.”
She threw him a sharper salute and pivoted on her heals.
****
From memory Alicia slipped in the magazine and charged her RIP. A high pitched whine started that was the edge of her hearing. A red light on the side blinked. She counted three blinks and then on cue the light and the whine cut off.
“Alright boys, let's go.”
Her team followed her out into the predawn light and took up positions around the shuttle. Kneeling she scanned her rifle along the tree line.
“All clear” she called.
A moment later she heard a short yelped and something heavy hitting the ground. Spinning around she saw Doctor Simmons picking himself up at the foot of the ramp. Hustling over she helped him to his feet.
As she dusted I'm off she said “geez Simons, you really need to watch your step better. How many times is this?”
He sighed heavily “it's Simmons. Not Simons.”
He didn't see Alicia wink at the soldiers behind him. He was too busy staring wide eyed around him. “I just can't believe we're here. The first humans to stand on Earth.”
The pilot coughed behind them and glared at Simons.
The short scientist looked down at his feet and kicked at a rock. “What I meant to say was, uhm....”
“It's ok Doc, honest mistake” Alicia interjected. “This is weird for me too. We'll get used to it.”
She motioned to her right. “Those ruins we spotted are about half a mile that way. Green, I want you to take point. The rest of you spread out. No surprises. Let's go.”
Alicia walked alongside Simmons as they pushed through the thick woods. They had barely made it twenty yards before the men were forced to pull out machetes and hack out a path.
“Strange” Simmons said quietly.
Alicia looked at him out of the corner of her eye.
“We just flew on a spaceship that is so far ahead of our tech that I don't understand a tenth of it but here we are using machetes to get to where we need to be. Machetes. Big knives. After the wheel could there be an older level of tech?”
Alicia laughed. “Hey, sometimes low tech is the best tech.”
She heard Green shouting from out front. “Excuse me Doc. I need to check this out.”
She hurried forward. Green was standing in front of a pile of concrete poking it with his machete.”
“Hey Cap, I think we have arrived.”
Alicia nodded. “I have to defer to your expert opinion. You have the most experience hacking through bush after all.”
“Ha ha. Very funny for an officer.”
“I try, let's circle around and see if we can find a better way in.”
Green tested the edge on his machete before slashing again at the thick brush around them. The group made their way around the rubble until they reached an opening in the forest.
“Animal trail you think” he asked aloud.
“Dunno, maybe” Alicia replied. “Wasn't really sure that there would be much fauna left alive on this rock. Let's follow it in and see what we see.”
The trail led past the remnants of dozens of collapsed buildings. The group stared open mouthed at the piles of rubble.
“How tall were these buildings” Watkins whispered. Alicia found herself whispering back.
“I don't know. Huge. They must have built them big back then.”
Finally the path opened up into a clearing. In the middle sat a surviving building. It was crumbling but intact. The front was faced with faux pillars.
“Uhm, what's that red stuff on the front of the building” Perkins asked.
Simmons pushed his glasses back up and stepped forward. “It looks like writing of some kind. But I don't know what the substance could be.”
Alicia gulped. “I have a clue. Look over there.”
Her team looked to where she was pointing. Without orders they all moved closer. In front of the building was a pile of smooth stones and concrete slabs. Alicia heard someone gagging when they saw what was on top of the makeshift altar.
“Please tell me that's an animal” Green mumbled.
“I don't think so” Alicia replied. “Ok, times up. We're going now.”
“Captain, I must protest. We need to explore that building” Simmons exclaimed.
“Doc, I'm pretty sure those bloody symbols mean keep out. I don't think it’s worth it.”
“But we need to know what we're dealing with. Surely your men can handle anything that comes our way.”
Alicia chewed her lip for a moment. Finally she nodded. “You have ten minutes. No more. Hurry. Green, Perkins, you go with him. Do not let him out of your sight.”
The three of them skirted the altar and eased their way through the front entrance. When they were out of view Alicia keyed her communicator. “Shuttle one this is Capt. James. Patch me through to the Morrigan.”
There was a brief pause before she heard crewman Jones' voice. “This is Morrigan, go ahead Capt. James.”
“We've found a structure still standing in the middle of the ruins. There are signs of human habitation. We're exploring. Briefly.”
She paused a moment. “There are signs of ritual sacrifice.”
Another pause. “Roger that. We advise caution. Extract your team immediately at the first sign of hostiles.”
Alicia cut the transmission. “What did they think we'd do, invite the local cannibals for lunch?”
The men around her shook their heads ruefully but didn't take their eyes off of the tree line. Alicia checked her watch quickly before looking back through her scope. After a moment she checked again. When the time was up she hit her comm again.
“Alright boys, times up. Let's boogie.”
“We need more time in here Captain” Simmons whined.
“I'm sorry doc. We aren't spending any more time here today. We can always come back, but for now we're getting out.”
“Seriously I think you are over exaggerating our danger level. Besides, we have found a number of relatively well preserved texts that must be packed away correctly. There is no telling what we can glean from them.”
“Probably nothing to be honest. But even if we can we know where to find this place. Now let's go.”
She killed the comm link as he started to reply.
“Everyone be ready to move as soon as they clear the building.”
Moments later the three of them came out single file with Simmons in the middle. Alicia jerked the barrel of her RIP towards the trailhead. Her team fell in behind her. She entered the trail just as the first rock was thrown. It struck her in the head bringing her to her knees. Lights danced in her vision despite the helmet.
Screams came from behind her and a hand grabbed her elbow dragging her to her feet. More rocks flew followed by worse. Green screamed as a rough spear caught him in the thigh.
“Return fire” Alicia yelled. She shouldered her RIP and hit the trigger. A sound like swarming bees came from the gun as round after kinetic round shredded the foliage around them. More bees came from her team.
“Cease fire!”
The sounds stopped. Silence was all that she heard.
“I think we got em cap”
“Don't count on it. Somebody help Green. The rest of you let's go.”
She moved again. The next rock barely missed her head. She fired at random. A scream let her know that she had a lucky shot.
Move. Fire. Step. Fire. That was their progress through the forest back towards their shuttle.
Alicia keyed her comm. “Shuttle one this is Capt. James. We are under attack and moving your way. Prep for launch.”
“Roger that. Will relay to Morrigan and try to get eyes from on high.”
“Thanks shuttle one. James out.”
She shifted her rifle to fire again when a rock struck her hand. Crying out she lost her grip and dropped her rifle. More rocks and spears flew furiously. Behind them came a wave of dark bodies piling into her men. The buzzing of RIPs sounded but there weren't enough to turn the tide. Hands grasped her holding her down. Alicia struck back but she was wrestled to the ground. Hands closed on her neck. Gasping her vision grew dark until finally there was nothing.
Chapter 5
Water dripping on her face woke her up. Rolling her head over she saw stone walls of a cave around them. Dim, flickering light came from around a bend in the tunnel showing shadowy shapes lying around her. Trying to move she discovered that her wrists and ankles were bound. The rope around her wrists was so tight that she could barely feel her hands.
“Wake up” she whispered. When no one responded she whispered louder. Her heart was pounding.
Moans came from all around her. Straining she sat up. “Sound off.”
The men around her slowly and quietly answered her. When everyone had chimed in she spoke again.
“Can anyone get their hands or feet free?”
Grunts and groans came from all around her for a moment followed by sighs.
“I’ll take that as a no. Green, talk to me. How's your leg?"
"As good as we could hope. The suit coated it with some kinda gunk. It stunk but it stopped the bleeding."
"Good. Anyone else hurt?"
"I think my head my be splitting open" came a quiet voice.
"Doc is that you" asked Alicia.
"It is indeed. And I'm having difficulties focusing for any length of time."
"It sounds like a concussion. Don't worry, as soon as we're back onboard Mortigan we'll get you fixed up."
"Do you think that they'll find us" Simons asked.
"No worries there. We all have trackers seen into our clothing. At least that's what they told us during our mission briefing. You just lay back and enjoy our little adventure."
"I can't say that I'm too keen on this excursion at the moment" he replied weakly.
"Just keep and calm and...." She trailed off. Down the tunnel came the sound of chanting. Soon afterwards flickering torchlight brightened the chamber that they were being held in. A mass of men came into view led by a gray haired man leaning on a staff. On either side of him walked two tall, muscular men. They were wearing animal skins and their faces were painted with alternating stripes of white and black. In their hands they carried spears and on their waists were stone hatchets. From the back of the mass men chanted and danced. Others beat on hand drums while they chanted a high pitched counter melody. Suddenly the older man leading them called out while raising both hands above his head. When he slammed his staff down the cacophony stopped. Silence took hold.
The gray haired old man shuffled to the where Alicia and her men lay. He stopped beside Perkins and poked him with his staff. Perkins snarled at him and lashed out with a bound foot. The old man stepped back quicker than Alicia thought he would. Even quicker one of his guards, who Alicia was thinking of as Brute number one, kicked Perkins in the ribs. Perkins groaned but clamped his mouth shut stifling a scream. Gray hair rattled off something guttural.
"Sorry gramps, me no speakee caveman" Perkins grunted out.
Gray hair raised his staff again.
"Hey, over here" Alicia yelled out. "If you want to talk you come talk to me."
Gray hair shuffled over to her and stooped to look her in the face. His eyes went wide as he looked her up and down. He turned to the man on his left and gargled out something. Brute number two grabbed her under the shoulders and jerked her to her feet. Her head spun she was stood up so quickly. Her team all started shouting at once.
"Enough" Alicia yelled out and they went silent. Blinking she said "let's see if we can figure out what they intend to do to us."
Gray hair started talking again. Alicia just shook her head.
"I'm sorry old man. I don't understand you."
The old man pursed his lips and narrows his eyes. He mumbled something else to her but when she shrugged her shoulders he threw his hands up. He looked at brute number one and rattled off something.
"Hey Cap" Rhodes , one of the marines from Morrigan, said. "Something about what they're saying seems familiar."
"You speak post apocalyptic cave talk?"
He shook his head. "I don't think it's just random gibberish. It sounds a little like German with a little French."
"You speak either of those?"
"A little. My mom was a language teacher."
"Then carry on marine. See if you can get something across."
Rhodes said something only slightly less guttural than Gray Hair who whipped his head towards Rhodes. Cocking his head he listened as Rhodes continued to speak haltingly. Finally he pointed with his staff towards the marine. Brutes one and two jerked him to his feet across from Alicia. Gray Hair faced him and proceeded to rattle off a stream of speech. Rhodes got wide eyed and shook his head.
"He's going too fast for me cap." He said something to their captor who stopped talking. When he started up he spoke much slower.
"Are you getting this Rhodes?"
"Yes ma'am. Somewhat. He says that we violated a holy place and killed many of their warriors. He ain't too happy with us."
"I figured that part. Tell him we're sorry and if he'll let us go then we'll never bother them again."
Rhodes nodded and started speaking to Gray Hair again. After he replied to Rhodes he gestured with his staff again. Several others of his party ran back up the tunnel.
"Uhm, Cap" Rhodes interjected. "I think we have a problem."
"No shit. Only one problem?"
Rhodes started shaking. "They think that we are demons. And they intend to sacrifice us to their gods."
Alicia felt her heart rate speed up. "Oh. That figures. Did he say when or how?"
"Uh, I'm thinking very soon."
The men around Gray Hair reacted suddenly. They grabbed Alicia and her men and picked them up. Carrying them roughly down the tunnels Alicia kicked and twisted to get free. The man holding her dropped her and hit her in the head with a club. She saw stars and felt herself go limp.
They carried them into a larger cavern. In the middle, surrounded by torches, was a stone alter. Grooves cut into angled into stone troughs on either side. Standing behind the alter was a man. Naked accept for a carved and painted mask he held a stone dagger in one hand. Voices from the shadows around the wall began chanting.
Alicia felt herself laid down. Hands grasped her and she felt her clothes being pulled. One of the men used his own dagger to cut her clothing free. Cold damp air raised goosebumps on her skin. And then cold stone was under her back. Her chords were undone and her limbs were pulled taut. Distantly she could hear her men yelling. Her head was still spinning too bad to fight back.
The masked man leaned over her. Alicia swore at him and spat on his mask. A little must have gotten into and eye slit because he stood up blinking his eyes. The chanting grew louder. As he raised his knife above his head Alicia closed her eyes.
Water dripping on her face woke her up. Rolling her head over she saw stone walls of a cave around them. Dim, flickering light came from around a bend in the tunnel showing shadowy shapes lying around her. Trying to move she discovered that her wrists and ankles were bound. The rope around her wrists was so tight that she could barely feel her hands.
“Wake up” she whispered. When no one responded she whispered louder. Her heart was pounding.
Moans came from all around her. Straining she sat up. “Sound off.”
The men around her slowly and quietly answered her. When everyone had chimed in she spoke again.
“Can anyone get their hands or feet free?”
Grunts and groans came from all around her for a moment followed by sighs.
“I’ll take that as a no. Green, talk to me. How's your leg?"
"As good as we could hope. The suit coated it with some kinda gunk. It stunk but it stopped the bleeding."
"Good. Anyone else hurt?"
"I think my head my be splitting open" came a quiet voice.
"Doc is that you" asked Alicia.
"It is indeed. And I'm having difficulties focusing for any length of time."
"It sounds like a concussion. Don't worry, as soon as we're back onboard Mortigan we'll get you fixed up."
"Do you think that they'll find us" Simons asked.
"No worries there. We all have trackers seen into our clothing. At least that's what they told us during our mission briefing. You just lay back and enjoy our little adventure."
"I can't say that I'm too keen on this excursion at the moment" he replied weakly.
"Just keep and calm and...." She trailed off. Down the tunnel came the sound of chanting. Soon afterwards flickering torchlight brightened the chamber that they were being held in. A mass of men came into view led by a gray haired man leaning on a staff. On either side of him walked two tall, muscular men. They were wearing animal skins and their faces were painted with alternating stripes of white and black. In their hands they carried spears and on their waists were stone hatchets. From the back of the mass men chanted and danced. Others beat on hand drums while they chanted a high pitched counter melody. Suddenly the older man leading them called out while raising both hands above his head. When he slammed his staff down the cacophony stopped. Silence took hold.
The gray haired old man shuffled to the where Alicia and her men lay. He stopped beside Perkins and poked him with his staff. Perkins snarled at him and lashed out with a bound foot. The old man stepped back quicker than Alicia thought he would. Even quicker one of his guards, who Alicia was thinking of as Brute number one, kicked Perkins in the ribs. Perkins groaned but clamped his mouth shut stifling a scream. Gray hair rattled off something guttural.
"Sorry gramps, me no speakee caveman" Perkins grunted out.
Gray hair raised his staff again.
"Hey, over here" Alicia yelled out. "If you want to talk you come talk to me."
Gray hair shuffled over to her and stooped to look her in the face. His eyes went wide as he looked her up and down. He turned to the man on his left and gargled out something. Brute number two grabbed her under the shoulders and jerked her to her feet. Her head spun she was stood up so quickly. Her team all started shouting at once.
"Enough" Alicia yelled out and they went silent. Blinking she said "let's see if we can figure out what they intend to do to us."
Gray hair started talking again. Alicia just shook her head.
"I'm sorry old man. I don't understand you."
The old man pursed his lips and narrows his eyes. He mumbled something else to her but when she shrugged her shoulders he threw his hands up. He looked at brute number one and rattled off something.
"Hey Cap" Rhodes , one of the marines from Morrigan, said. "Something about what they're saying seems familiar."
"You speak post apocalyptic cave talk?"
He shook his head. "I don't think it's just random gibberish. It sounds a little like German with a little French."
"You speak either of those?"
"A little. My mom was a language teacher."
"Then carry on marine. See if you can get something across."
Rhodes said something only slightly less guttural than Gray Hair who whipped his head towards Rhodes. Cocking his head he listened as Rhodes continued to speak haltingly. Finally he pointed with his staff towards the marine. Brutes one and two jerked him to his feet across from Alicia. Gray Hair faced him and proceeded to rattle off a stream of speech. Rhodes got wide eyed and shook his head.
"He's going too fast for me cap." He said something to their captor who stopped talking. When he started up he spoke much slower.
"Are you getting this Rhodes?"
"Yes ma'am. Somewhat. He says that we violated a holy place and killed many of their warriors. He ain't too happy with us."
"I figured that part. Tell him we're sorry and if he'll let us go then we'll never bother them again."
Rhodes nodded and started speaking to Gray Hair again. After he replied to Rhodes he gestured with his staff again. Several others of his party ran back up the tunnel.
"Uhm, Cap" Rhodes interjected. "I think we have a problem."
"No shit. Only one problem?"
Rhodes started shaking. "They think that we are demons. And they intend to sacrifice us to their gods."
Alicia felt her heart rate speed up. "Oh. That figures. Did he say when or how?"
"Uh, I'm thinking very soon."
The men around Gray Hair reacted suddenly. They grabbed Alicia and her men and picked them up. Carrying them roughly down the tunnels Alicia kicked and twisted to get free. The man holding her dropped her and hit her in the head with a club. She saw stars and felt herself go limp.
They carried them into a larger cavern. In the middle, surrounded by torches, was a stone alter. Grooves cut into angled into stone troughs on either side. Standing behind the alter was a man. Naked accept for a carved and painted mask he held a stone dagger in one hand. Voices from the shadows around the wall began chanting.
Alicia felt herself laid down. Hands grasped her and she felt her clothes being pulled. One of the men used his own dagger to cut her clothing free. Cold damp air raised goosebumps on her skin. And then cold stone was under her back. Her chords were undone and her limbs were pulled taut. Distantly she could hear her men yelling. Her head was still spinning too bad to fight back.
The masked man leaned over her. Alicia swore at him and spat on his mask. A little must have gotten into and eye slit because he stood up blinking his eyes. The chanting grew louder. As he raised his knife above his head Alicia closed her eyes.