by Steve Hertig
Chapter 6
Minus: 19 Sept 2056
Although immediately disoriented from the transit, John still managed to take the required steps forward. He squinted in bright Caribbean sunlight from a nearby window of the villa. It felt humid as well as hot, and as his eyes adjusted to the light, a high-pitched screech from a green monkey darting across the floor and out the window shocked John's heart to racing.
"19 September 2056: 0921," Mikael announced, checking his sat-chron.
"Well that was very weird," John said and then took a deep breath.
"At least we made it before the quake," Dutch said, "and landing in daylight from darkness is always strange; just wait for the jet lag."
"Perimeter check," Dutch said to Mikael, and then they exited the villa out of separate doors, returning shortly to report all was clear.
The Minus villa didn't look much different from its Prime version except for a few more leaves in the large room they had selected for transit.
"We've got a six-hour hike to the site and more than half of that is a steep trail," John said looking over his gear.
John didn't mind hiking with a pack, but the camera with a large zoom lens was a pain, not to mention the ornithologist cap complete with an embossed, white Tropicbird.
They covered distance quickly on the road. As they made their way up to the beginning of the narrow, vegetated trail on Mount Piquet, John realized he was the only one with props for a cover. He wondered if the heavy camera was some kind of a first transit initiation.
"Com check," Dutch said activating their subdural link.
"Roger. Loud. Clear," John said awkwardly.
"Yup," Mikael added informally.
"The last few kilometers to the site were tough going," John said remembering the trail narrower and less traveled in Prime.
"Company," Mikael interrupted softly.
John couldn't hear anything, but then he made out the faint murmur of voices coming from the trail ahead.
"Captain, get your camera out and look like a birder," Dutch said quickly.
In a few moments, two men on an ATV towing a small trailer with a tarp over its load came into view from the trail ahead. As John stepped aside to let the ATV pass, the driver casually looked him over. The man behind the driver threw something at John's feet then turned and glared at him until the ATV was out of sight.
"They didn't look much like birders," Dutch observed.
"I agree," Mikael added, "and obviously not locals."
John picked up the strangers litter. "Snickers! What an asshole," he said stuffing the candy wrapper in a handy pocket of Mikael's pack.
"How much farther?" Dutch asked John.
"In about a half-hour we can leave the trail and walk the contour to the site," he replied.
"Let's hit the bush if we hear anything else. No sense taking chances," Mikael advised.
They made it up the trail to the point where John thought he and Carl had come out before in Prime, but it was still another half-hour to 13-C's sample site through dense vegetation. When they finally reached the edge of the boulder field at the base of the old landslide, they stopped for a water break.
"We've got time to set up the search grid with our pads' GPS before we set up camp, don't you think Master Guns?" John asked.
"We've got enough daylight so it shouldn't be a problem." Dutch said and then took a long drink from his water pack.
The old landslide debris was about two hundred meters wide and stretched at least three times that far along the lush slope. As they waited for GPS satellite acquisition, Mikael and John started out across the rough terrain. Dutch would make his grid points parallel to them, but down the slope.
Mikael was clambering over a large hummock when John noticed a person stand up from behind a boulder about ten meters in front of them. Luckily, the person was facing the other way.
"Mikael," John said as loud as he dared. With no response, he made a quick decision. He leapt up behind Mikael, grabbed his pack and pulled him backwards only to hear a sickening crack as Mikael fell, landing on his pack as well as John.
"Mikael, we've got company. Are you all right?" John whispered fearing the worst.
"I think my ankles broken," Mikael managed to say through clenched teeth. His pain was obvious.
"Master Guns, we've got company," John whispered into his com.
"Roger that. I've just seen them," Dutch replied. "We'd better backtrack and find some cover."
"We've got a problem," John said. "I think I just broke Mikael's ankle."
"I'm on my way," Dutch replied.
Dutch silently pushed through the undergrowth to join them, and then cautiously peered over the boulder.
"One about ten meters ahead," John said.
"We've got three more about fifty meters down slope," Dutch reported. "I guess this explains the guys on the ATV. We better get out of here."
"It's a half days hike back to the villa without carrying someone," Mikael said with a wince.
"Let's move so we can properly assess that ankle," Dutch said.
Wary to stay out of sight, they carried Mikael back along the trail and then stopped amidst a lush fern grove.
"Here's something for the pain, Mik," Dutch said handing him a capsule from a small pocket in the front his pack. "Now, let's look in this boot." He unlaced and then peered into the top of Mikael's boot. "It's starting to swell, but it doesn't look like a compound break," he said as he re-tightened the boot's laces.
"I'm sorry Mikael," John said.
"Not your fault my foot got caught," he said.
"You did good Doc. It was a tough break. Ah...sorry Mik," Dutch said through a grin to his friend.
Mikael managed a smile before wincing in pain again.
Dutch looked at John and said, "It's not going to be good for Mik spending the night here much less hike back to the villa."
"Just keep the happy pills coming. I'll be okay," Mikael said.
"There's an alternative," John said.
"Let's hear it," Dutch said.
"I've friends about an hour from here," John said. "It's all downhill. And they have a car to get us back to the villa," he added.
"You're thinking of Prime friends," Dutch reminded him.
"Oh shit," John said. "Can we even ask them for help?"
"I guess they'll have to call it initiative when we get back," Dutch said.
Mikael had command authority when it came to interaction with locals, but with him out, it fell to Dutch.
It was already dark when they caught sight of the Andrew's home. John and Dutch had Mikael in a firefighters carry as they approached the house.
"Hello!" John called out from the bottom of the porch steps.
Louisa opened the door. "Oh my!" she said seeing Mikael in pain. "Come in. Come in."
John and Dutch laid Mikael gently on the sofa.
"Thank you for the help," John said. "In these times, we're grateful."
"I'm Louisa," she said. "War or no war, we had better get that leg raised and keep him warm." She went to the back of the house and returned with a pillow and blanket.
"Is it possible to get a ride into town?" John asked.
"Certainly, my husband will be back from the market anytime now," she said with a worried look on her face. "I think your friend may need more than the health clinic."
"We've got a private boat that can get him to Barbados," John said recalling the docks were not far from the villa.
"You better get him there as soon as you can by the looks of that leg. Would you like something to drink while we wait, water, tea, coffee?" Louisa asked.
"Coffee thanks," Dutch said and John nodded.
John followed her into the kitchen while Dutch kept an eye on Mikael and the driveway. "Ma'am, we were up on Piquet and there's lots of activity up there. Do you know what's going on?"
"It's been very exciting. Archeologists from Madrid are digging a Taino site," she explained.
John r
ecalled the Taino were the pre-European native people of the Caribbean and that their archeological sites were rare.
"They've just started excavating a few weeks ago," she explained as they returned to the living room, "but there's been people coming and going for months now. They hired my husband, Joseph, to take them back and forth from Fort-de-France. That's the only reason we have a gasoline ration for the van."
"You seem fairly untouched by the war." Dutch said as Louisa handed him a cup of coffee.
"It's been quiet for almost a year now, and we hope they are all too busy on the Asian fronts to worry about our little island," she said.
"I'm so sorry for this inconvenience," John said.
"Don't worry yourself," she studied his face and then smiled. "You take your coffee black, yes?"
John returned her smile remembering the same generous woman from Prime. "Yes and the same for my friend, thanks," he said as her husband arrived.
"Joseph," Louisa said. "Three men from have come down from Piquet, and one has a bad ankle. They need to get to the harbor in a hurry."
"No worries," he said, "I'll drive them."
"No Joseph," she said, "we can pick the van up later. We don't have to worry. These are good men and no complaining about the petroleum ration." She smiled at John.
"We probably need to get going," Dutch said setting his cup on a nearby table. He raised his eyebrows just enough to catch John's attention.
"Right," John agreed, "let's get Mikael in the van's back seat."
Joseph helped them carry Mikael to the old van. John kissed Louisa on the cheek and thanked them again. "Don't worry. We'll leave the van with the keys on the front right tire at the harbor, Mr. Andrews." John said through the driver's window as they pulled out of the drive and then gulped, realizing he would not have known Joseph's full name.
As they turned onto the road to Fort-de-France, John glanced in the rearview mirror to check on Mikael after the rough stretch of road from the Andrew's home.
"Hey," he said with a wince, "we should leave all our mission cash in the glove box."
Dutch nodded agreement in the mirror to John.
Prime: 6 Aug 2068
After picking Dutch and John up from Peterson just past noon, Jenny informed them of a conference in her office with Brigadier General Hal West as soon as they were back under the Mountain.
Still in their civilian hiking clothes, Dutch and John dropped their packs and took seats around the small table in Jenny's office. This was John's first time in her office. The general was already there.
"Good afternoon Captain Mackinac and Master Gunnery Sergeant Mathews," he said looking up from his pad. "It seems there were some interesting developments during your first transit captain."
Dutch and John gave the general and Jenny a recount of their mission in Minus Martinique.
"There was far more interaction with locals that we normally would have liked. But in this case, it could not have been helped," Jenny said taking up for her team before the general could comment.
"I've read Cherkin's preliminary account of the mission, too. It's circumstantial, but it appears like our enemies could have transit technology and were using it to look for the same thing we were," General West concluded as his pad alerted him to a message.
Looking at her team, Jenny said, "I agree completely General. It's too big of a coincidence in more than one respect."
"I've got a call with the SecDef," the general announced as he walked through the door of Jenny's office. Looking back he added, "The doctors say Cherkin's ankle was badly sprained with only a small hairline fracture. He should be up and around in a few days with fast-healing meds and a new syn-cast. I want your reports on my desk ASAP."
"Aye, sir," Master Guns replied as the general left.
John looked at Dutch and saw fatigue for the first time since the mission started. He had not left Mikael's side since Miami.
"Dutch," John said, "I'll take your pack down to the lab to check in when I take Mikael's."
"Thanks Doc," Dutch said. "Ms. Scott, if there is nothing else I've got a date with a shower," he added already out the door.
"See you tomorrow at 0800 for a team debriefing on the mission," she called after him.
"So what did you think of your first transit?" Jenny asked John.
"To be honest, it was disorienting. The temperature and daylight were a jolt, and then there was this monkey. It took a few minutes to compose myself." John walked over to inspect the telescope in the corner of Jenny's office.
"Don't worry, everyone goes through it," she said.
"Nice scope," he said changing the subject.
"It's a Dobsonian. I hand ground the objective myself. On a clear night up here, it feels like you can see into the very center of the galaxy," she said wistfully. "My uncle has an a timber lease a few kilometers west of here that is well out of the light pollution of the neighboring towns. We'll have to take it up there sometime."
"That sounds great." John said and then sighed. "Where to from here with Martinique?"
"The general will brief the SecDef, and if I know the SecDef, I doubt we'll be going back anytime soon; it's too risky," she said.
"And just how well do you know the SecDef?" John joked.
"You don't know?" Jenny asked. "He's my husband," she said just as klaxons sounded the emergency evacuation alarm and then the intercom ordered everyone to evacuate the complex. It was no drill.
"We can't leave the TRs unattended," Jenny said handing Mikael's pack to John and hefting Dutch's to her shoulder.
Jenny and John joined the throng of personnel making their way topside. Once outside, they proceeded to the designated muster point. There were rumors in the crowd of an explosion in one of the physics labs.
"Listen," Jenny said.
"I can barely hear anything over the crowd noise," John said and then he heard faint pops of gunfire growing louder along with distant explosions.
"I bet that's air defense at Peterson," Jenny said. "We have to get out of the open and get these TRs to safety. I just don't think back under the Mountain is a good idea."
John spotted a M989 at the other end of the parking lot where they had assembled. "How 'bout that?" he said running towards the truck.
"Remember that good star-gazing spot I told you about?" she asked rhetorically, sliding into the truck's driver's seat.
"Yeah," he said as the truck accelerated and the Mountain's ground defenses started to engage the attackers.
Shots began raining down from the mountainside on the now fleeing crowd. John heard several pings off the vehicle as Jenny ground the truck's transmission into third gear.
"How in hell did they get inside the base," Jenny said as they past the last security checkpoint and pulled out onto the main road.
Several minutes later, she turned west on a dirt road just south of the complex to head up a valley and into the Rockys.
John, glancing in the side-mirror, saw a small aircraft amid the cloud of dust kicked up by the heavy truck. "Oh shit!" he said and jerked the truck's wheel from Jenny hard right just as the aircraft fired a missile.
In what seemed like slow motion, they both watched it pass the cab as Jenny somehow managed to regain control over the truck. The missile exploded only meters in front of them bursting the windshield.
Another concussion rocked the truck tipping it severely to the left until it slowly fell over, stopping on the driver's side on the road's centerline.
Stunned, they both managed to scramble out of John's door. Fragments of the windshield clung in their hair and covered their clothes.
"I've got to get the packs," Jenny said nearly breathless while reaching through the smashed windscreen.
John saw the tiny aircraft perform a perfect Immelmann turn, and then re-center just above the road for another attack run. "It's coming back!" John yelled. "We have got to go," he said pulling her out of the truck causing them both and the mission packs to fall on the
dirt road.
"Run!" Jenny screamed.
"You're telling me!" John said getting to his feet with her help.
They only got a few meters, when the truck exploded sending them both to the ground again.
Back on her feet. Jenny yelled "Over there!" She was running again, heading for a cliff face with several large overhangs.
They heard automatic rifle fire from the top of the cliff just as they made it under a large ledge.
"We can't stay here," Jenny said still huffing but staring past him.
"What is it?" he said and turned to see what had caught her attention. A sketch of a large snake with black diamonds down the length of its body covered most of the rock face.
"A petroglyph. We have to get these set up," she said pulling a TR case from a mission pack.
John stared at the aircraft as it made another low pass just a few meters from them. There was no cockpit and no pilot.
"It's a fucking RPA," he cursed as the tiny drone flew past and flashed a green laser that caused him to blink. "I think it's got our position!" he yelled watching it fly out of sight along the cliff.
"Just another sec," Jenny pleaded.
"It's started another pass," John said as the tiny aircraft reappeared. "We may not have another sec—"
"Go. Go!" Jenny screamed, shoving John between the pair of TR as the ledge exploded.