THE BRINK - OPERATION DEEP FLIGHT

by Marshall Huffman

  “Oh my God,” Susan yelled as she looked from one to the other.

  “Yeah, we are all looking pretty strange,” Luke said, probing the wires coming from his temples and running his hand over his bald head.

  Peter saw Susan reach up and touch her head as well and then close her eyes.

  “At least it’s not male pattern baldness,” Peter tried to joke.

  Susan was not in the least bit amused.

  “What the hell is going on?” Luke asked.

  “Well, we have talked to a race that is called the Bhakktah from the planet Bhakktahra. We call it Titan,” Peter said.

  “I knew it. In our very own solar system,” Susan said.

  “So it would seem. They are upset that we have been sending probes to their world. They don’t think much of us on earth. According to them all we do is make war.”

  “Hard to argue with that,” Luke said.

  “Yes. They have been here for over a 1000 of our years and they have never seen a time when we weren’t killing each other.”

  “So they are here to tell us to stop killing each other?” Susan asked.

  “No. They are here to destroy the earth.”

  “What?” Luke and Susan said in unison.

  “They are afraid we will come to their planet and eventually start a war with them. They intend to see that it doesn’t happen,” Peter told them.

  “By just killing us all,” Luke said.

  “Essentially, that is what they are saying.”

  “But there must be some other way,” Luke replied.

  “Right now they are pretty much set in their ways,” Peter told them.

  “Then we have to change their minds,” Susan replied.

  CHAPTER TWO

  - The Bhakktah -

  “How do we talk to them?” Luke asked.

  “They talk to us using telepathy. I assume that is what the devices on our head is for,” Peter replied.

  “Has anyone seen one of these…whatever?” Susan asked.

  “No. They have just talked to us through the devices on our heads,” Marcus replied.

  Peter didn’t say anything.

  “Why shave our heads?” she asked.

  “They removed all hair. I suppose it was to sterilize us during the procedure,” Peter said.

  “No way,” Susan said.

  “I’m afraid so.”

  She turned away from them and opened her robe and let out a little yelp.

  “So now what?”

  “You…listen,” the voice said in their heads.

  “Holy smokes,” Susan said, jumping at the sudden sound inside her head.

  “Too weird,” Luke added.

  “Listen…Bhakktah..no..want..kill..humans. We..kill...protect...our...world.”

  “But there are other ways. You don’t have to kill us all,” Marcus said.

  “Bhakktah..no..trust..humans…humans…

  Lie…always.”

  “Listen, Bhakktah…”

  “His name is DaJadar,” Peter said.

  They all looked at him in amazement that he knew the name.

  “How do…” Susan stammered.

  “DaJadar…you…can…say,”the Bhakktharan interrupted.

  “What’s that mean?” Luke asked.

  “He is saying that that is as close to pronouncing his name as we can get,” Peter replied.

  “Okay. DaJadar. Earth has good people and bad. Most are good but it is the few that start wars and do the killing. Destroying all of us because some are bad is wrong.”

  Nothing.

  “DaJadar?”

  “Many…bad…leaders…your…world…make..

  war…no…trust…leaders.”

  They all looked at each other. DaJadar was mostly right. Far too many of the world leaders were eager to start wars. If they have been here for a thousand years, they have seen one leader after another start wars with other nations. There has never been a day without a war taking place somewhere in this planet.

  “Do you have wars?” Susan asked.

  “Bhakktah..no..kill..Bhakktah..we...peace.”

  “Why now? Why are you wanting to destroy earth now?” Marcus asked.

  “Bhakktah...no...want...kill...humans.”

  “Then don’t. It seems simple enough to me.”

  “You…come…Bhakktahra...you…kill.”

  “What if we just don’t come to your world,” Susan said.

  “I’ve already suggested that. They don’t trust us to keep our word,” Peter told her.

  “Yes,” DaJadar sent to them.

  “But now that we know you don’t want us there, we can stop sending probes to your world,” Luke said.

  “Humans…lie.”

  “Not if you are going to destroy us,” Marcus added.

  “You…lay…table…DaJadar…explain.”

  “What do you think?” Luke asked.

  “I can’t see we have much choice,” Peter said.

  “I agree,” Susan added

  “I’m sorry I drug you into this,” Peter told Susan as she was getting on the table.

  “I came of my own freewill. This is not your fault,” she said and smiled at him then laid down.

  The bubbles covered them and in seconds they were in a deep sleep.

  ***

  They awoke, finding themselves back on the Chameleon at sea.

  It had been a strange awakening aboard the USS Chameleon, DSV-1. Admiral Marcus, Dr. Luke Hall, Dr. Peter Ferris, and Dr. Susan Long, all seemed fine but the rest of the crew appeared to be in some sort of trance. They would respond and perform their duties, but they were not normal.

  Luke felt his head in hopes it had all been a dream but it was real. Peter, Susan, and Marcus all had them attached to their heads.

  “What about the rest of the crew? They don’t have them,” Luke said.

  “You’re right, but they seem to be in some sort of trance-like state,” Marcus said.

  “I feel a little strange myself,” Luke replied.

  “You have always been a little strange,” Peter teased.

  “Where are we?” Luke asked.

  “As weird as it seems, we are only a few miles from Pearl Harbor,” Marcus informed them.

  “What? How could that be? I mean, how did we get here?” Peter asked.

  “You know just as much about this as I do, but that’s where we are.”

  “What date is this?” Luke asked. They all looked at their watches.

  “Something is wrong with mine. It says today is the 23rd,”

  “Mine too. That means we have been gone for five....no, six days. That can’t be,” Luke said.

  “Man, this is some weird dream I’m having,” Peter muttered.

  “I’m glad to see that Sonar Man, Scott and Machinist Mate, Cain are still with us,” Marcus said.

  “I’m not sure I understand any of what has happened,” Susan said.

  “I do,” Peter said.

  “You do?” they all said in unison. Peter looked at each of them.

  “Yes. The Bhakktah have implanted information in each of our brains. It will be triggered at the appropriate time. Just as it is being done right now. We are to go to Pearl Harbor and immediately contact the President of the United States. We are to arrange to see him as soon as possible.”

  Marcus added, “The Chameleon and the crew are to remain here until needed.”

  “Whoa. This is strange,” Peter said. I didn’t even know I was going to say that.

  “We will all know what to do at the appropriate time,” Susan said.

  Her eyes got wide when she realized that she had just said that, “Boy. That just popped into my brain.”

  “That seems to be how it works,” Peter told her.

  “Was that just a test to show us how it works?” Marcus asked.

  “A small demonstration,” Luke said, realizing that his device must have been activated as well.

  “This is going to take some getting use
d to. It’s definitely a strange feeling,” Susan said.

  Marcus went about getting the Chameleon on the correct course for Pearl Harbor. They would arrive within two hours. A check of the ship showed that little, if any, of their supplies had been depleted. It was obvious that the Bhakktah had placed them here. How it was done was a complete mystery.

  “Come to 150 feet.”

  “150 feet,” the control man said in a monotone voice.

  “Would one of you check and see just who we are missing? For some reason I know Rawlings and Price are gone. Are there any others missing as well?” Marcus said.

  “They are all here. I just did a quick head count,” Peter told Marcus.

  “At least we don’t have that problem to deal with. Admiral Zoren will be another matter. He is going to be very upset that his men are missing.” Marcus said.

  “Come to periscope depth.”

  A few minutes later the Chameleon was at twenty-five feet and Marcus was looking through the view finder. He activated the 360 degrees sweep camera to make sure they were in the clear. He saw a tanker bearing 240 degrees at 5,000 yards but nothing else. They sent a burst transmission to alert the shipyard that the Chameleon would be arriving within the hour. Peter and the others made a detailed check of the sub to make sure it was ready for docking. Everything was in order.

  “We are near the outer harbor. I don’t like to surface this far out but I think it would be better if we did this time,” Marcus said.

  “Blow the remaining ballast and bring her to the surface,” he ordered. Marcus and Peter went to the conning tower and within a few minutes they were using the thrusters to maneuver next to a submarine tender, the AS-31 Hunley. Sailors were lining up along the rails to get a look at the strange submarine that had just surfaced.

  “What the hell is that thing?” the officer of the deck asked, when they were tied off.

  CHAPTER THREE

  - Hawaii -

  “Request permission to come on board. It’s a deep diver, USS Chameleon, DSV-1.” Marcus said, saluting the flag first then the OOD.

  “Permission granted,” the officer said, saluting back looking wide eyed at the five of them with their strange looking heads..

  “Deep diver? How deep?” he said staring at Marcus’s head.

  “Sorry, that’s classified. I need to see your skipper right away,”

  “If you will follow boson mate, Thomas, he will be glad to show you the way.”

  “Right this way, sir,” the boson mate said as he started up the nearest ladder.

  A few minutes later he was knocking on the stateroom door of the Captain.

  “Enter,” a deep voice said.

  “I’m Admiral Marcus. I just arrived on the DSV-1 Chameleon.”

  He looked up and his mouth fell open.

  “Admiral? Sorry sir. I wasn’t expecting an Admiral to be the skipper of a sub. Is something wrong with your head sir?”

  “Don’t worry about that Captain. All I need is for someone to make arrangements for me to get to the base commander as quickly as possible.”

  “Yes sir. I have a car at the pier. I’ll have my driver take you there right away.”

  “I would appreciate that very much. I need to get a couple of my crew and we will be on our way.”

  “I’ll call down to the OOD and see that it is taken care of.”

  “Thank you Captain,” he said nodding, “I hope to meet you again when I have more time.” Marcus shook his hand.

  “It would be a pleasure sir,” the Captain said, thinking that this was indeed a very strange encounter.

  Marcus returned to the Chameleon and collected Peter, Luke, and Susan. As expected, it caused quite a commotion when the sailors discovered that a woman had been on board the Chameleon. Cat calls resonated through the passageways as she walked through. ‘Sailors, what are you going to do?’ she thought to herself. They carried on even though she had a bald head and wires sticking out.

  Marcus instructed the driver to take them to the base commander’s office ASAP. When they arrived, they were immediately taken to Admiral Farnsworth’s office.

  Everyone was staring at them. The Admiral about fell out of his chair when he saw Marcus.

  “Admiral Marcus. We certainly didn’t expect you to turn up here. I was under the impression that you would be returning to Guam.”

  “To tell the truth, so were we,” Marcus said.

  “I don’t think I follow you.”

  “Listen, I’ll make this short. I need a secure line to the White House. This is Top Secret and urgent. Can you arrange such a thing?” Marcus asked.

  “I can do better than that. As you know the Commander for the Pacific Fleet is right here. His office has a direct link to the White House. It’s not only scrambled but swept four times a day just for good measure,” Farnsworth told him.

  “That’s exactly what we need. Can you arrange for us to use it?”

  “Let me make a quick call,” he said, still looking at the device on the Admiral's head.

  He was trying to not be too obvious but the four bald heads with wires coming out of them were pretty hard to overlook.

  Farnsworth called the Commander and arrangements were quickly made. They were to proceed to his headquarters. It was only a short drive to his office. His aide was waiting at the front steps when they arrived.

  Once again everyone gawked at them including the Commander.

  “Admiral Marcus? Pleasure to meet you sir. Admiral Kay is waiting. He just had a quick sweep of the line performed. It’s as secure as we can make it. If you will follow me, I’ll take you to the Admiral.”

  The aide was more diplomatic about the strange appearance of the people he had just met. He discretely escorted them to Admiral Kay's office.

  “Admiral Kay, this is Dr. Luther Hall, Dr. Susan Long, and Dr. Peter Ferris. They were with me on the Chameleon,” Marcus said, by way of introduction.

  “What the...? What’s wrong with your head?” he sputtered.

  “Sir, I would be happy to explain but I need to make an urgent call to the President at this time.”

  The Admiral continued to stare a few seconds more then he said, “Admiral Marcus. I must say you come with some mighty impressive credentials. The Secretary of the Navy himself sent me a communiqué telling me that you are to be rendered whatever assistant you require. That in itself is highly unusual. I notified them the minute we found out you were headed here. We weren’t as prepared as we might have been. We thought you were headed back to Guam. Admiral Marcus, pardon me for asking again, but what in the blazes do you people have attached to your heads?”

  “Sir, it’s a long story and I would be happy to share it with you once I get clearance from the President. Right now I need to make that urgent call and see what my orders are.”

  “Alright. I’ll wait until later to find out what this is all about. This line,” he said holding up a phone, “is direct to the President.”

  “Thank you, sir. He is expecting my call.”

  “Then we shouldn’t keep the boss waiting. I’m going to go over to the OPS Center. Do you know how long you will need my office?”

  “Sir, I shouldn’t think it will take more than a few minutes.”

  “Fine. I’ll return in about an hour. That should give you plenty of time. If you need anything, anything at all, just let Captain Davits, my aide, know. He is instructed to give you whatever assistance you need. Now, if you will excuse me, I’ll be on my way.”

  “Thank you Admiral. I will make our stay as painless for you as possible.”

  “No problem. No problem at all. I would still like to know more about that non-regulation headgear,” he muttered, as he closed the door.

  “Here we go,” Marcus said, and picked up the phone.

  He pressed the one button and the phone made a series of tones.

  “Signals office. Who is calling Please?”

  “Signals, this is Admiral Marcus. I’m calling for the Presid
ent.”

  “Please verify your service number and place of birth.”

  “3207-92-9990, Bainbridge, Georgia.”

  “Your original service number please?”

  “Sorry. 7751430.”

  “That is correct Admiral Marcus, if you will wait just a moment, I will inform the President that you are on the line.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  - Hawaii -

  A few seconds later, “Admiral. Glad you turned up. We have been sitting on pins and needles. What in the world have you been up to?” the President asked.

  “Thank you sir. We are certainly glad to be back. Mr. President. Please. We need to meet with you. It is urgent that we meet with you as soon as possible. I don’t mean to be overly dramatic, but the simple truth is that the future of the entire world is hanging in the balance. We must meet as soon as it can be arranged.”

  “Are you all right Admiral? What are you talking about? Does this mean you found an alien life form down there?”

  “Sir, please believe me. It is urgent that we meet. Time is critical. We have been successful in making contact. It is as we suspected. There is so much to tell you and it must be done in person. Doctor Ferris, Doctor Long, and Doctor Hall are all required to attend the meeting as well.”

  “Admiral this is most unusual. I know Doctor Ferris and Doctor Long but who is Doctor Hall?”

  “We are all of the key people responsible for the Chameleon and the ones who made contact with the Bhakktah. Sir, they are vital to the meeting. Each of us has a report that must be presented. When you hear what we have to say, you will better understand,” Marcus told him.

  “Bak what? I don’t understand a word of this. Never mind, you can tell me when you get here. All right Admiral. I am authorizing a B-1 to get you back here as fast as possible. I know you are under a great deal of strain. I can hear it in your voice. Admiral, are you being threatened right now?”

  “No sir. Not in that sense of the word. Sir, we just need to get to you with this information as quickly as possible.”

  “You are almost here. I’ll have the arrangements made immediately. You stay in Pearl Harbor until the plane gets there.”