Bright Horizons (3 page)

NASA
requires any mission specialist to have 30 hours on the STT before launch, so
for 8 hours a day, there were Marines on the edge of space. In two weeks, they
were all space ready by NASA’s standards, and--more importantly--in their own
minds.

The team
of Ramirez, Kiskaliski and Greene spent the rest of their time in a modified
STT practicing zero-g maneuvers and combat. They were always smiling and ready
for tales of their adventures any given day. They were Marines doing what
Marines do best; getting prepared for combat in any environment.

The
engineering team spent days pouring over manuals and blueprints before getting
to see the Shuttle up close and personal. The engineers at NASA were impressed
by how quickly the Marines picked up on some of the more subtle aspects of this
most quirky of vehicles. By the end of training, the Marines were able to do
all checks and repairs without asking for help from the engineers.

The
pilots took to the Shuttle controls like a bird takes to the air; that is to
say a lot of aborted launches and quite a few hard landings. But just like
those baby birds, they started getting the hang of it. Kyle and Kitch had more
experience with a wider variety of aircraft, but Captain Jennings had the
majority of his experience in transports. It was decided after three days that
Jennings would be the first choice in an emergency with Kitch and then Martin
as his back-ups.

The
diplomatic team had some problems, however.

“It’s not
political correctness, Colonel.” Ambassador Thomas was clearly frustrated by
the accusation “I just think it’s a better way for the Hidali to recognize some
of our social structure.”

“I fail
to see how having both of my female Marines as your escorts will accomplish
that objective.”

“As I’ve
said, Colonel, with myself, Miss Stuart, Major Anderson, Captain Boone and the
documentarian, we are four men and one woman. With both Major Kitch and
Sergeant Dolsen as the escorts, it would balance it to four men and three
women.”

“Yes, but
neither of them are on this mission to provide combat support.”

“They are
Marines. Every Marine a rifleman, right?”

Kyle took
a deep breath. He liked Ambassador Thomas, but at this moment he was very
unhappy with the skills that the man brought to the table. He felt a trap and
was trying to come up with a way out of it.

He
suddenly saw the opening.

“Mister
Ambassador, you want Anderson and Boone in civvies, right?  If the only
personnel in military uniform sent to escort you are both women, would that not
convey the idea that our military was made up of only one sex?”

Ambassador
Thomas sat back slowly and stared at Colonel Martin.

“Colonel,
I have always had a great deal of respect for you, but I now have more respect
and a bit of trepidation. That was a very good counter to my argument and one
that I have to admit puts my position at a disadvantage.”

The men
let a silence fill the room that held pure expectation. Ambassador Thomas
finally broke the spell.

“I want
Sergeant Dolsen and Sergeant Greene.”

“May I
ask why?”

“May I
ask why not?”

“Because
I need Dolsen in case there is a problem with the shuttle.”

“So Kitch
then.”

“Ok,
Kitch, but I want you to take Ramirez.”

“Your
lucky charm?  I thought you would want him with the rest of the team.”

Kyle
smiled. “So you know about that. I admit, I have him on the mission because he
is… lucky, in a manner of speaking. But he is also the best of the best and you
may need him with you.”

“I think
we have a deal, Colonel. I need to pull Kitch and Ramirez into our meetings
starting tomorrow for a more detailed look at their assignment.”

Kyle
nodded as the Ambassador gathered his folder from the desk, smiled and left the
briefing room. After he had gone, Kyle looked over at the wall and the large
‘3’ that dominated one of the white boards.

Three
days until launch.

Chapter 4

15 May 2042

The low murmur slowly
faded to almost quiet as Kyle walked through the door. The rest of the Marines,
the Ambassador and the rest of his team were there and the NASA personnel were
following close behind him.

Kyle
nodded and the Marines went back to their idle chatter.

“Colonel,
looks like all personnel are here,” Lieutenant Colonel Howard “Cowboy” Jackson
said as he looked over the room.

“Is
everyone suited up?” Cowboy asked in his booming voice.

Greeted
with a round of “Yes sirs”, he nodded and went over to the walkway hatch.

“Good.
Now we need to board and be ready for takeoff in ten minutes. I’ll check you on
and make sure we are secure. Any questions? Let’s board ladies and gentlemen,”
Cowboy said as he motioned to the walkway.

Eight
minutes later they were all secure in their seats and Cowboy was securing
himself into the pilot’s seat.

“Kennedy,
this is STS Fletcher, all personnel are secure and the ship is ready for go.
Over,” Cowboy said to the control tower.

“Fletcher,
all is secure. Begin prelaunch.”

Kyle took
a deep breath and tried to keep focus. All of his time in fighter jets, all of
his time on the STT, had still not prepared him for space travel. He couldn’t
help but think of Cindy and what she had told him of her first space flight. He
had been excited to hear about it, but that was based on the fact that he knew
he would never have to chance to go. 

Now he
was nervous and a little overwhelmed by the feeling of riding what was
essentially a giant roman candle out of the safety of the atmosphere.

He was
thinking about Cindy a lot today. It had been almost a year since the Endeavour
was lost. For fifteen years Cindy had been the Martin that everyone in the
family looked up to. Bill was an investment banker, and Kyle was a Marine, but
Cindy was an astronaut!

She had
such a sense of normalcy about her job, but she worked in the last frontier.
That’s how Kyle saw his sister; a pioneer, striving to understand and tame a
new environment. And now she was gone and it was his turn to make history in
this dark and foreboding arena.

He took a
deep breath and focused back on the discussion going on between Cowboy and the
tower.

“Life-hib
system check a-ok, looks like we are go for launch Kennedy.”

“Roger
Fletcher, countdown commencing. Launch in nine minutes.”

Kyle
looked around, as best as he could, and saw Jennings doing the same. The two
Marines were with Cowboy and Major Nestor, his co-pilot, in the cockpit. The
rest of the mission’s crew were in the passenger compartments below.

Cindy
always told him that it was a thrill to be in the cockpit because you could
watch space coming right at you. The engines kicked in and he felt, more than
heard, the rumble of the boosters as they lit up. He sat back and recited the
itinerary from launch to contact again.

“T-minus
thirty seconds.”

Broken
from his thoughts, Kyle instinctively checked his buckles to make sure they
were firm. He felt the hum of the main engines whine to full speed.

“T-minus
ten seconds.”

“Crew of
the Fletcher, we are past the terminal launch point. God speed to us all,”
Cowboy said over the intercom system.

Kyle
found himself mouthing the countdown, just as all kids have since the 1960’s
and space launches were shown on television.

“Liftoff
Fletcher, Good luck gentlemen.”

The final
phrase was almost completely lost in the roar of the engines as Cowboy released
the clamps and started the ascent.

Kyle was
shocked at how fast it really was. He had spent several years as a Marine
fighter pilot and knew how to handle a Mach three bird, but he never expected a
big, clumsy block of metal like this to feel so fast.

Within
seconds he could see the atmosphere thinning and the stars starting to make an
appearance. The Shuttle jerked as the boosters fell away and there was a slight
deceleration.  The weight of the main tank slowed the Shuttle for a moment
before enough fuel was burned off to continue their assault against gravity.

A few
seconds later and the atmosphere peeled back like a veil  Before those in the
cockpit was a bright, almost too bright, sky. Kyle couldn’t believe how bright
it was, and just as suddenly, it went black. He realized that they had just
passed from the sunlit portion of the earth orbit into the nighttime section.

“Houston,
this is Fletcher, we have achieved orbital position. Over.”

“Proceed
as scheduled Fletcher. Houston out.”

Cowboy
reached up and flipped a switch.

“Crew and
specialists onboard the Fletcher, we have achieved orbit. For the newbies among
us, welcome to space. We will be in position to dock with the Space Station
Galaxy in four hours, until then, sit back and relax. Each station has a video
console. We are pleased to bring you fifty movies on demand. Unfortunately our
space stewardesses are not with us this evening, so no peanuts or drink
service. For those who thought ahead, pull out your lunch and have a snack
before docking.”

Immediately
the chatter started up and Kyle exhaled slowly. He was in space. Outer Space.
The thought was just unreal to him. In four hours he would be on the Space
Station Galaxy and the crew of the Torpedo would be getting in position for the
next phase.

The
Chinese and Russians apparently thought that the Torpedo was just a maneuvering
engine to pull the Shuttle into the station for storage or repairs. Once the
Shuttle is pulled into a position where they are sure no foreign satellite can
see, it launches the Shuttle a short hop to the far side of the moon. From
there, the Torpedo launches to the destination designated for that particular
mission.

Around
ten hours from now, that destination would be Jupiter. Eleven days after that,
the crew of the Fletcher would be the first humans to lay eyes on a bona fide
alien.

26 May 2042

“Houston,
this is Fletcher. We have assumed target location and are awaiting contact,
over.”

At this
distance from earth, the radio transmission would be delayed by thirty five
minutes or so. By the time Houston received Cowboy’s transmission it was hoped
that contact with the Hedali would have occurred.

Everyone
in the cockpit was anxiously looking out in every direction for anything that
might look like a spacecraft. Jupiter itself dominated over half of the field
of vision and the moon Io was clearly seen as well. Kyle just stared in wonder
at what he was seeing.

“Look
Cap, over there.” Major Nestor was pointing out the window. By the time Kyle
saw what he was looking for, it was apparent. A small metallic ship came
towards them at high speed. It was sleek and angular looking, but without
looking like it came off of a Hollywood set. It had no external lights that
Kyle could see, and no large windows or points of entry. As it got closer, Kyle
realized that it was at least ten times the size of the Shuttle. Size was very
hard to determine in space he realized.

As the
Shuttle approached the alien ship, it slowed and then came to a stop with a
slight jostle.

“Whoa, we
are moving, and fast,” said Cowboy.

“We must
be caught in their tractor beam,” Nestor nervously laughed.

In just a
few seconds it was realized that was exactly what had happened as the Fletcher
was being pulled in a fast, but gentle, manner towards the alien craft.

Kyle
realized that there was no chatter on the com, and he wanted to reassure his
Marines, so he started narrating what was happening.

“Marines,
we have visual contact with the alien craft. They have apparently started
pulling us towards their craft. I can see a small hatch on the side of their
hull. It looks a lot like the docking hatch on the Galaxy. Any questions?”

A lot of
“No sirs” followed, some in hushed tones.

Cowboy
unbelted himself and looked back at Kyle. “Colonel, let’s get ready. You first,
and I’ll follow.”

Kyle
released the multitude of latches holding him into the seat. He went down the
ladder to the lower crew compartment.

“Marines,
get geared up, we will be docking soon,” Kyle said as he moved through the
secured crew to the hatch.

He could
hear the rustle of movement and the metallic clinking of their harnesses being
unbuckled as he stood at the hatch looking through the small window.

Suddenly
the moment was on him. Through a small window in the hatch on the fast
approaching alien vessel, Kyle saw a small face. It was peering back at him.
This was, in fact, the first verified time that a human saw an intelligent
alien life form.

“Colonel,
are you ok?”

Kyle
turned to see a tall man with sandy hair and a short goatee staring at the
screen of a small hand camera. The lens was focused on Kyle’s face.

“Yes,
Mister Carter. I’m ok. I just saw my first alien, that’s all.”

Carter
smiled. “Good, because I was able to catch the moment on video.”

The
enormity of this day, of this hour, was starting to creep up on all of them.
For the first time Kyle was completely convinced that Carter was actually
needed on this mission. This event should be recorded for future generations of
humanity.

“Mister
Carter, you will be the third human to step onto an alien vessel. Are you ready
for that?”

“Yeah,
I’m ready, but man, I can’t believe how scared I am at the same time.”

Me too,
thought Kyle as he slapped the young man on the back and gave him a reassuring
smile.

The sound
of Marines strapping on gear and checking weapons faded to the background of
Kyle’s mind as he looked back out the hatch window. His alien friend was gone,
but the alien craft was only yards away. A few seconds later the ships touched
and there was a click as the hatch locked into place.

Kyle was
glad he was holding onto a handhold as gravity slammed him into the floor of
the shuttle. Some mild cursing and grunts came from behind him.

“Ok
Marines, I don’t think any of us were expecting that. Our Hedali friends have
artificial gravity technology and when we hooked up, it apparently transferred
to the Fletcher. Don’t just sit there, let’s keep getting ready.”

A quick
look over his team didn’t indicate anyone having any serious problems, so Kyle
went back to looking through the hatch window.

The green
light on the control panel lit up indicating that the atmosphere on the other
side of the inner door was stable and suitable for the humans on the Fletcher.
Kyle reached over and picked up the intercom microphone.

“Marines,
listen up.  Mister Ambassador, Mister Carter, crew of the Fletcher. We are now
in the operational phase of this mission. The assigned personnel will enter the
alien vessel where the signing of the treaty will take place. This portion of
the mission should be completed in 145 minutes, that’s two hours and twenty
five minutes for the officers.” Kyle replaced the microphone and turned back to
his anxious, ready Marines.

“Ok
Jarheads, let’s do this,” he said as he gave them reassuring smiles and nods.

Kyle
reached over to the handle and opened the door. There was a slight pressure
change right at the door, and suddenly a red light started flashing.

“Colonel
please step away, Richards, check the seal,” Cowboy said, quickly taking
command.

Kyle
moved back quickly as the NASA Engineer dashed forward.

“We have
a seal breach sir, but not bad. We can fix it, but it might take a while.”

The red
light shut off as Richards applied some sort of adhesive from a tube over where
he had quickly spotted the leak.

“Good job
Richards, keep us updated on your progress.”

“Will do
Commander” said Richards as he started sorting through an equipment bin.
“Williams, I need you and Ranke to run a Phase II diagnostic on the internal
hatch system. Hollis, I need you to assist me on the repatch, and Dolsen, get
on the bot and give me an external look at our docking position.”

The
Marines responded immediately to Lieutenant Richards orders.

“Cowboy,
what the hell is going on up there? I almost crapped myself when that siren
went off.” Lieutenant Donovan was livid. He and Lieutenant Morton were the
“drivers” of the torpedo, which meant that they were the engineers who hit the
button that launched the torpedo along its preplanned route. They were also two
of only a handful of engineers who could even start to contemplate how to fix
the Torpedo if things went wrong. While they could leave under their own power,
and sometimes did for maintenance, they did not want two shuttles in one year
to be lost on one of their missions.