Horizons

by Donald B McFarlane

  Setting the vial in the bio-scanner, Kio turned the device on and waited for it to run its scan. Once this was finished, the information was automatically transmitted to a Coalition communications relay station on the other side of The Reach before being sent back to Rancor.

  Turning away from the machine, Kio looked down the length of the ship, and closed his eyes and noted the silence that surrounded him. It wasn’t often that he had found himself alone on the ship. Normally his insertion partner would have been present to keep him company, only this time it was different.

  Moving to the bridge, he sat in the command chair and opened the blast shields that covered the bridge windows, allowing the stars to flood into view. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself to be swallowed by the vastness of the darkness, and slowly drifted to sleep.

  35

  It had been almost thirty minutes since the fire retardant airdrop, and there had been no sightings of the two infiltrators, and the British commander was starting to get antsy.

  “Sentinel Commander, this is Colonel Cundey, my forces are reporting no movement along the entire perimeter, and aerial surveillance has detected nothing. Please advise.”

  “They may be attempting to remove the retardant from their uniforms, or waiting for nightfall. We need to force their hand.” The SC stood up from his position and looked down at Doctor Stokes. “We need to drive them into an ambush.” The SC started moving towards the nearby shuttle with Rhea and the remainder of the soldiers in tow. “Start destroying the buildings that are on the far side of the village from your position, and then walk the threat towards you. The infiltrators will have no choice but to flee towards your location, where we shall capture them.”

  There was a pause in the radio traffic for a moment, then the Colonel came back on the net. “Cold Steel, Cold Steel, this Para actual, fire mission, over!”

  The SC reached the shuttle and waited for Doctor Stokes to join him. When she did, she looked at the machine. “What’s the plan?”

  “They are going to destroy the village to drive the enemy into a trap.” He said coldly. It was as if he had turned off his more organic personality and was all business, and killing was his business, and business was good.

  The shuttle took off and quickly moved to Colonel Cundey’s position, which was fifteen metres behind a firing line that had been set up to the north side of the village. The SC quickly dismounted and moved towards the Colonel, who was positioned behind a large rock just as the first rounds of artillery slammed into the far side of the village.

  The Colonel popped up from his post to check the first fall of shot and got back on the radio to the drone operator who was helping liaise the fire mission. When the call was finished, he looked at the SC who was towering over him.

  “What now?”

  The SC looked past the human towards the village. “We wait for the artillery to force them into the open, then we capture them.”

  The Colonel set down his handset. “And how do you propose we do that? They killed at least two of my men, and God knows how many militants.”

  “Once they are in the open, you will have your troops pin them down with weapons fire. I suspect your .50 calibre guns will be sufficient to keep them from taking too many risks. Once they are boxed in, I will capture them.”

  “You’re not worried about the threat they pose?”

  Another massive barrage of artillery descended on the town, shaking the ground that they stood on. Forcing Rhea and some of the soldiers nearby to duck down as a lone piece of debris flew over their heads and landed near the shuttle.

  Looking down at the Colonel, the SC leaned in until his head was only a few inches from the humans. “They do not pose a threat to me.”

  Standing back up, the SC moved around the Colonel and walked up to the skirmish line that had been established one hundred yards from the edge of the village. Laying down next to one of the soldiers, the SC focused the full might of his surveillance systems on the village. If the infiltrators were still in the village, they weren’t communicating on an open comms channel, and the suits were capable of giving off a zero thermal reading, making them all the more tricky to track.

  As the next barrage of high explosive rounds hit the village, the soldier closest to the SC started to inch closer to the giant robot. This movement did not go unnoticed, and the SC turned his attention to the young soldier who had a big grin on his face.

  “So, umm, where are your weapons?” The soldier asked as another set of explosions rocked the ground.

  The SC looked back to the village quickly, then back at the young man. “I won’t need them.”

  Turning back to the village just in time to see another set of explosions and the Colonel coming onto the British force's network. “Only two more salvos. Get ready. Only fire directly at the enemy forces with your small arms, use the fifty-cals to box them in, and then let the SC secure the threat.”

  As another salvo came in, the SC thought he caught a glimpse of movement in the town. This time a large amount of debris was flung skywards in all directions, and its impact was getting dangerously close to the humans. Focusing his optics, he spotted a second sign of movement as two reddish figures moved down a street that emptied out onto the desert, then dashed into a building that was on the edge of town.

  Breaking onto the comms net, he gave the good news. “Enemy contact. One hundred metres. My 12 o’clock. Cream building left of dirt road.” He cut the line.

  Knowing that the last barrage would drive them out of the village, he readied himself for action, but before he did so, he turned to the young soldier that was laying just one metre away from him. “It’s about to get hot.”

  Looking back to his front, he heard the notice that the last barrage of fire was inbound. The rounds were targeted just shy of the last row of houses that boarded the village, but close enough to kill anyone in those houses. The infiltrators probably knew that there was a trap waiting for them outside of the village, but to stay where they were meant serious injury or death, even with the Shimmer Suits providing them with some protection.

  Seconds before the final rounds impacted, and now visible to all the soldiers in position on the north side of the village, the two retardant covered operators dove out the rear window of the building, and immediately opened fire, spraying wildly at the soldiers who were to their front.

  A fraction of a second after they had made their dramatic bid at freedom, the SC had switched his engine to Combat Mode, letting off an audible roar to those nearby. It took a few seconds longer for the humans to react, but when they did, it was with a heavy volley of fire.

  Rifles and light machine guns were sending 5.56mm rounds at the Shimmer Suits, pounding the wearers but causing no real damage. The larger .50 calibre machine guns opened up with a ferocious roar and created a contained zone that boxed the red-clad suits in.

  Less than five seconds after the initial round had been fired, the SC was up and charging at the two operators who were shooting in all directions with their weapons while trying to shield their heads from the pounding of the small arms fire.

  By covering the 100 metres in just under three seconds, his back was accidentally peppered with dozens of bullets from friendly troops, but they bounced off harmlessly, and by the time he reached the two infiltrators, he had fired off a sonic pulse at them, which helped disorient them, stripped them of their weapons, picked one up in each arm, then flung their bodies face down on the hard Iraqi desert, pinning them down under the immense forces of his powerful arms.

  As the soldiers ran up to him in support, the SC was shouting orders at the detained operatives in Universal, something that the soldiers had never heard before. Before long, the SCs message had gotten through, and the two operators switched the cloaking system on their suits off, revealing the crimson coloured uniforms that they had been wearing, and their weapons, which the SC instructed the soldiers to handle with extreme care.

  Looking down at a set of zip-ties tha
t one of the soldiers had, the SC told him to get some stronger rope or chains in order to restrain the operators, since their suits gave them slight advantages in strength, securing them properly the first time was a paramount concern, and since there was an excellent chance that the aliens hadn’t taken molding tablets, they would die quickly without the suits for life support, so removing the suits was out of the question.

  Once the two operatives were secure, the SC brought them to their feet and started walking them towards the shuttle that had landed nearby. Before he could get very far, Colonel Cundey was demanding to know what the SCs intentions were with the prisoners.

  “I am taking them to the Planetary Command Ship for questioning.” The SC replied, not bothering to slow his pace.

  “But these,” the Colonel paused at looked at the two suits which were looming over him. “Things killed my men, they should stand trial here, or at least be detained until a tribunal can be convened to investigate this incident.”

  “You neither have the time nor the capability to interview these men. Their suits make them too dangerous for you to handle alone, and you are unable to communicate with them.”

  Rhea was trailing behind the robot as the machine made a beeline for the shuttle that hadn’t even touched down, but was hovering a few inches off the ground. She knew that the SC was right, but he was handling the entire affair in a rather quick manner.

  “Sentinel Commander, must we rush off so quickly?” She asked giving the burgundy Shimmer Suits a better inspection as they walked.

  “These teams would never be on their own, Doctor. Where there is one team, there is another. The faster we can get them back to the Ataries, the sooner we can determine the level of risk we are facing.”

  “The where?” She asked with a puzzled look on her face.

  “The PCS is called the Ataries, Doctor. Now, if you please, we must depart.” He pointed to the bench at the rear of the shuttle where she had spent the outbound journey.

  Reaching the shuttle, the SC shoved the two operatives onto the deck, turned quickly and took their weapons that two soldiers had been carrying, de-armed them, and then set them down inside the shuttle. Turning to the Colonel, the SC made the necessary pleasantries, and then stepped into the shuttle, hunching over slightly.

  Doctor Stokes shrugged, said her goodbyes to the Colonel, and then followed the SC into the shuttle. No sooner was she on board, the ship took off, the side hatch was shut, and the sound barrier was broken as the ship screamed north over western Russian, and towards Svalbard on its course over the Arctic towards British Columbia.

  36

  When the shuttle set down on the beach on Lasqueti Island, the mood was sombre. News had come in that another insertion team had landed in the area and had been in contact with Canadian soldiers patrolling the island. Some deaths had been reported, and one of the infiltrators had been killed, while a second had escaped.

  As the shuttle doors opened, a gust of cold air filled the cabin and sent a shiver down Rhea’s spine. It had been hot in Iraq, and returning to the cold north-west was not her idea of fun. Stepping out onto the moist sand of the beach, Rhea looked over the small corner of the island where she had spent the bulk of her childhood and noticed that there were still signs of the incursion by the Coalition forces that had resulted in severely injuring the man that was turning into her true love.

  Another thing that immediately stood out to her was the increased presence of Alliance troops and Sentinels, both light and conventional. It was the first time she had ever seen organic Alliance ground forces, and their presence was impossible to miss. Unlike the bulky appearance of the Sentinels, the organic troops were more ‘human’ in the way they looked and moved. Their uniforms were mostly grey in colour with splashes of green highlights, some even wore long capes, and all of them wore helmets.

  Following closely behind the SC as he moved the two prisoners towards the ship, Rhea couldn’t help but feel that a corner had been turned in her absence, and while she didn’t want to call the addition of the troops an occupation, it could certainly be interpreted that way to an outsider.

  As they reached the ship, they were met by two Light Sentinels who took one prisoner each and led them inside. Once they were through the passageway to the main hall of the ship, the two robots moved off with the infiltrators, and Rhea was met by Doctors Ji-woon, Beck, and Janssen.

  “Rhea!” Lysa Janssen proclaimed wrapping her arms around her colleague.

  Rhea embraced her friend and squeezed her tight. “I’m so glad to see you.” Rhea announced. “What happened up there?” She asked as she hadn’t seen Lysa or Keegan Beck since they had gone on board the Rock of Cromarden.

  “It was hell,” Lysa exclaimed. “I thought we were going to die, and the Ship Master was a brute.” She shook her head.

  “Easy now,” Keegan chimed in. “It was pretty hairy up there, but” he paused and looked at Rhea, “Pullo Obo did keep us alive.” He looked back at Rhea. “We’ve seen Joe, he’s awake now.”

  Rhea’s eyes lit up. “Really?”

  “Yeah, they woke him up about an hour ago.”

  Rhea smiled and started to move towards the medical bay. “What’s with all the troops outside?” Just as she asked that question, her eyes drifted to the edge of high command area and caught a glimpse of a tall figure, covered in a cloak, and felt a tingling sensation in her right ear.

  “Hello, Doctor Stokes.” A soft voice whispered to her.

  A look of panic came over Rhea’s face, and she quickly looked to her friends for answers.

  “Do not be alarmed.” The voice whispered again.

  “What the hell?” She stopped in her tracks and looked back up at the person in the cloak, but they had vanished from view. Looking at Lysa, she opened her mouth to ask a question but thought it sounded too crazy to ask, just as Lysa answered her question for her.

  “Did you hear a voice?”

  “Yes.”

  “We all have heard it. It’s the person who is taking over responsibility for the planet.”

  “What do you mean, responsibility?” Rhea asked

  “The Alliance has decided that the threat level is too high for the moment, so they’ve sent someone to supervise Sector Prefect Dinalis and his team.” Keegan answered.

  “How did they get inside my head?” Lysa asked, alarmed at the thought of another psychic being aboard.

  Charles Ji-woon let out a laugh. “That is his least impressive party trick.” He said sarcastically.

  Keegan shook his head and put his arm over Rhea’s shoulder. “Let’s just go see Joe, shall we?”

  Resting comfortably in the med-bay, just where she had left him hours ago was Major Joseph Hunt. Minus one leg, though.

  “Hey,” Joe murmured as Rhea came into view. “How you doin’?”

  Rhea sat down on the side of the bed and wrapped her arms around Joe, tears running down her eyes. “Don’t ever do that to me again!” she proclaimed.

  “Do what?” Joe said. A grin working its way onto his face. “It’s just a scratch.”

  Rhea sat up and gave Joe a concerned look. “Don’t ever put yourself in a position where I think I’m going to lose you.” She stated and jammed a forefinger into his chest.

  Joe nodded and looked at the rest of his colleagues. “What’s the latest and greatest?”

  Keegan shrugged his shoulders, Lysa shook her head, and Charles just smiled. “Lots. Seems we’ve had some visitors since your incapacitation.”

  “So the attack was repelled?” Joe asked.

  “It was. But since then some spies have been sent to Earth.” Charles replied.

  “Spies?”

  Rhea looked at Joe. “Infiltrators, or something like that. The Sentinel Commander and I just came back from Iraq. We captured two of them there.”

  Joe shot up in bed. “You went to fucking Iraqi?” He demanded

  “Yes, but look,” she ran her hand over the armour she was still wearing. “
I was wearing this, and the big guy was with me.”

  Joe slumped back onto the bed. “I wish you wouldn’t take those kinds of risks.”

  “I have as much right as you, or anyone on this team for that matter to take risks, mister.”

  “Perhaps.” Joe sighed. “Any word on when I’m getting out of here?” He asked the group.

  They all shook their heads in unison. Rhea leant forward and gave Joe a kiss on the cheek. “Listen, baby, I need to get out of this armour, and freshen up.” She gave him another kiss. “I’ll be back in a bit, okay?” Joe gave her hand a squeeze and watched her stand up and watched her walk off with the rest of the team.

  Laying back down on the bed, he didn’t have a chance to enjoy his own thoughts, because as soon as his teammates were out of view, Dinalis walked into the room and moved towards the bed.

  “Major Hunt, how are you feeling?” The Sector Prefect asked.

  “Fine thank you.” Joe sat himself up again. “I’ve heard that there has been another attack by the Coalition.

  “I am not sure that you would call this an attack. Probably more of an information-gathering campaign.”

  “I hear that you have two captives.”

  “We do. Capturing Coalition forces at this stage of the war is rare. Ground battles rarely leave survivors, and battles in space result in the immediate destruction of enemy vessels. This will present a unique opportunity to gather information on their plan for this world, and knowledge about the Coalition. They will be turned over to Fleet Intelligence for questioning.”

  “I’m surprised that they sent a team of spies here after a full frontal attack.” Joe commented.

  “I suspect that they did not expect the level of resistance that they met on their first attempt, and if the Raider you encountered on the Epsilon only reported one ship, perhaps they expected only a token force. Now,” Dinalis paused and tilted his head from left to right. “They want to discover what could be so valuable to the Alliance, and why we would bother defending a planet beyond The Reach.”