Bright Horizons (19 page)

“This
way, sir.” Sergeant Wills signaled to Kyle off to the right. A blast from the
opposite end of the hall said that K-Man’s team was heading towards the
auxiliary elevator leading to the communications array. That meant that
Salazar’s team would descend further down the first shaft to the main computer
room.

Kyle
started after Wills when he heard the sound of automatic fire and the high buzz
of the Otina laser weapons. A marine staggered out of the doorway that he had
seen Wills and the rest of his men duck into. Kyle reached him and helped him
sit down in the hallway. A large portion of his arm was blackened and burned
and he was gasping heavily.

“Wait
here son, help will be here soon,” Kyle said as he activated the alert button
on the marine’s helmet.

“Go
get her, sir,” the marine mumbled out as he slumped against the wall. “I’ll be
fine. Go.”

Kyle
heard “Grenades” shouted by a marine as he stood from tending the wounded
warrior. He suddenly felt the concussion blast behind him followed by screams
of pain. He barely kept his feet as he turned to the doorway. Heavy smoke was
coming out of the entrance and a quick look in the room told him that something
had gone dreadfully wrong.

The
room was about twelve meters long with a far doorway. Lab equipment and
examination tables lay jumbled along the walls and there were several Otina
lying still. But there were also a half dozen marines lying still as well, most
within five meters of the door Kyle was standing in. The other half of the
squad were moving, some barely, and he saw Wills crawling back to the door.

An
Otina appeared at the far doorway and Kyle raised his rifle to fire.

“No!”
shouted Wills through his pain. “Cease fire!”

Kyle
lifted his finger from the trigger and looked at the doorway that framed the
Otina. There seemed to be a light blue shimmer.

Kyle
dropped to a knee, rifle still at the ready and looked at the Otina just staring
at him.

“What
is that, Wills?” Kyle asked as the sergeant got near.

“I
don’t know, sir.” The sergeant sounded healthier than he looked. “Our grenades
blew back on us. Any Otina on this side took the blast, but the shrapnel seemed
to bounce off that blue field.”

“An
inertial shield,” Kyle said out loud while silently cursing Smith. When they
had asked the Pelod if the Iltia’cor had any inertial shield technology, he had
hesitated before he said no. He hesitated because he knew the Otina had
developed it.

Kyle
took a grenade out from his satchel when Wills grabbed his leg. “No sir, you
can’t. The prisoners are in stasis tubes in that room. Rolling a grenade in
will kill the Otina, but it will kill them as well.”

Two
other of the wounded marines had made it back to the doorway with Kyle and
Wills when he decided what he had to do.

“How
many are in there?” Kyle asked.

“I
counted six that made it past the door. Maybe a couple of more already in
there,” said one of the marines.

“You
men cover that door. Turn your rifles to single and if they come out, pop
them,” Kyle said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes. I’ll have the medics right
behind me.”

Kyle
jumped up and ran back to the elevator. He signaled the engineers that he
needed to come up and contacted Andrews. “Get my gear out of storage,” he
simply ordered.

A
few minutes later he was running up the steps to the Hedali transport. He saw
all of his gear laying out when he stepped over and picked up his marine saber.

“Sir,
you came back for your saber?” Andrews asked.

“It’s
not just a ceremonial weapon,” said Kyle as he ducked back out of the vessel.
He ran hard and fast, calling to the medics that the way was clear down to the
second floor hallway. The engineers had him down the elevator and, like
promised, he had the medics coming right behind him.

He
turned the corner into the Otina lab and saw that a fourth wounded marine had
joined Wills at the near doorway.

“Have
any of them stuck their heads out?” asked Kyle.

“No
sir, one keeps peeking around the corner looking at us, but so far he has
stayed behind the field.”

“Sir?”
another of the marines asked. “What do you think you are doing?”

Kyle
pulled the scabbard from his saber and let it fall to the floor. With his left
hand he drew his KA-BAR. He started walking towards the far door.

“I’m
going to go get my sister.”

Chapter 20

“Hold still,
General.” Doctor Amanda Reeling was trying to look at the small wound on the
back of his shoulder.

“I
thought you were a geologist or something, Amanda. How were you on the Danube?”
Kyle asked.

“I
am, but I was an LPN before I fell in love with inorganic chemistry and went
back to school. When the war broke out, I felt I owed it to Emily to join up.
They didn’t need a lot of geologists, but they did need nurses.”

Kyle
felt his sister squeeze his hand and looked down at her.

“I
still can’t believe this,” Cindy said.

“I
know, sis, but you are safe now.”

Kiskaliski
stood nearby watching another of the medics who was patching up Sergeant Wills.
The grenade shrapnel was mostly absorbed by his body armor and aside from some
severe bruising and a few minor punctures and lacerations, he would be fine.
Three of the marines in the Otina lab were not so lucky, and the Earth forces
lost twelve in all. The rescued prisoners and the most seriously injured
marines were put aboard the Danube, and each of the other vessels took a couple
of medics to treat the minor injuries. Cindy was supposed to go on the medical
scooter, but she was insistent that she stay with her brother. When Kyle mentioned
that he was heading straight to the Iltia system, K-man asked permission from
Salazar to accompany the General.

“I’m
telling you, it was amazing. I never saw anything like it.” Wills was telling
K-man. “The General came in, pulled his saber from its sheath, grabbed his
KA-BAR from his belt and just ran into the blue field. I don’t think the Otina
knew what was happening.”

K-man
nodded. “I saw the results of his action. I was pretty stunned, and I never
thought I would be stunned again.”

Kyle
rolled his eyes. “You were both trained to know that a knife is the deadliest
weapon in an enclosed environment.”

“A
knife, yeah, but a sword? Why did you think to go get a sword?” K-man asked.

Kyle
was about to speak when he heard his sister start to laugh. All three of the
marine’s looked at her to see what was so funny.

“You
mean he doesn’t tell everyone?” she asked.

“Tell
everyone what?” Wills asked.

“Cindy,
it’s no big deal. Just drop it,” Kyle said quietly.

“No,
don’t drop it, what does he tell everyone?” insisted K-Man.

“When
he first graduated the Academy, it was all he told anyone who would listen. He
was the fencing champion his senior year. He thought it was the biggest deal in
the world and he wouldn’t shut up about it,” Cindy said as tears of laughter streaked
down her cheeks.

“Well…,”
Kyle cleared his throat. “I guess it did pay off today, didn’t it?”

They
all laughed at that.

Cindy
moved closer to her brother as the two medics finished up their work and
started to pack up their kits. “How long has it been since we were taken from
the Endeavor?” Cindy asked finally.

“Two
years, ten months and twelve days,” said Kyle.

“And
who were the other two humans with us?” she inquired.

“One
was Chinese and we were able to get some information about him. The other was
in such shock that we couldn’t get him to say anything or even acknowledge
whether he understood us,” Doctor Reeling said as she came back over and sat
with them.

“I
know there is obviously a lot of information that I am missing, but can someone
bring me up to speed. Aliens, interstellar travel, my brother rescuing me… I’m
a little lost,” Cindy said to Kyle.

“Let’s
start with the basics. The aliens that captured you are called the Otina. The
aliens who gave us this ship are called the Hedali.”

“Uh
huh. And who gave us those other ships?” Cindy asked.

“We
built them,” Wills answered.

“We?
As in NASA?”

“No,
we as in Earth,” Kyle replied.

“When
the Iltia’cor invaded and tried to take us over, it kind of consolidated us as
a race,” K-man added.

“Wait…
invaded? Aliens invaded Earth?” Cindy was clearly befuddled.

“They
tried to. Didn’t do very well at it. But they started the war by trying to
invade,” Wills said.

“War?”

Kyle
pulled her close to him. “Yes, sis, we are at war. But it should be over soon.
We have closed in on the Iltia system and by the time we get there, the battle
should be won.”

“Get
there? I thought we were heading to Earth?”

“No,
we are four days from the Iltia system. I need to be there for the surrender
and then we have to sign a treaty that will bring Earth officially into the
galactic system. Then we will go back to Earth. We should have you back home in
about nine days,” said Kyle.

“Nine
days? How far are we going?”

“The
Iltia system is 117 light-years from Earth.”

Cindy
stood up and looked around the small vessel. “Listen up everyone, and I’m
serious about this. Does anyone have anything to drink?”

For
the next four days, Cindy was filled in on what had happened since she was
taken captive. From the first encounter with the Hedali and Otina, to the
murder of Emily Troy and the invasion of the Iltia’cor, and all the way up to
the raid on the Otina base that resulted in her rescue. The new technologies,
the amazing advances, and the day to day plodding of people’s lives all seemed
to thrill and excite her.

She
never volunteered any information about what she had to endure, and Kyle
understood that hearing the new and fascinating stories was a good diversion
for her. When she took her turn sleeping in the sleeping cabin, Kyle would sit
just outside and listen to her whimper and sometimes even scream as her dreams
brought back the tortures and experiments that the Otina inflicted on her.

Even
though Kyle was pre-occupied with his sister being alive and safe, he still had
work to do. He had received some last minute transmissions from the Grant just
before it left Ellison for the Iltia system. Because he would not be present at
the battle, and could quite possibly miss the surrender and treaty signing as
well, the Earth Council had promoted Kitch to full General and had appointed
her Supreme Commander of Earth Forces.

Kyle
was glad the decision had been made and was surprised at the relief he felt
that it wasn’t he who was chosen. He was also pleased at the initial reports
from the Iltia system. From the rendezvous locations around the system where
the cruisers would start the assault, Earth forces were picking up Iltia’cor
communications. The aliens were in disarray with at least three separate
factions trying to take charge.

Further
bolstering Kyle’s mood was the news that the communications array on the Otina
base was taken intact and could be used on Earth fairly quickly.

“Sir,
we are coming up on the rendezvous point. You said you wanted to be alerted to
our arrival.” Andrews said. Kyle walked to the front of the ship and realized
that the other five passengers were doing the same.

The
warp field dropped and out the front window Kyle could see a few scooters and a
sled.

“Hemingway,
this is Earth Transport Three.”

“We
read you Earth Transport Three, welcome to the Iltia system. I trust all went
well?” the voice of Colonel “Cowboy” Jackson greeted the crew.

Kyle
motioned for an ear piece from Leonard who handed one to him.

“Cowboy!
Good to hear your voice, I guess the Hemingway got a few of those new engines?”
Kyle said.

“Indeed
sir, she is a tiger once again. Was your mission successful?”

“Yes
it was. We have successfully rescued the crew of the Endeavor and are on our
way to driving the Otina from our system.”

Cindy
pulled on Kyle’s arm. “Tell him I said hello.”

“My
sister is here and she says hello,” Kyle smiled at his sister.

“Good
to hear you are alive, Cindy. We’ll get together back on Earth. I know Maggie
will be thrilled to see you again. I don’t know if you were aware, sir, but
your sister and my wife were a major team of pranksters.”

Kyle
laughed at that before bringing them back to focus on news of the war. “I guess
everything went well here or I would be reading all sorts of reports.”

“Yes
sir, we had some serious damage to the Rome, lost several hundred men there,
but otherwise it went very well. You do have some reports coming your way,
transmitting them now, some battle reports and navigational coordinates to the
fourth planet in the system which is where the surrender ceremony and treaty
signing will take place. You guys better high tail it if you want to make it in
time.”

“Roger,
Cowboy. Thanks for the reports,” Kyle handed the earpiece back to Leonard as
Andrews powered up the warp field engines again.

“How
long will it be before we get to the planet?” Cindy asked Kyle.

Kyle
checked his tablet for the coordinates. “Looks like a short hop into the
system, then a seven hour run to the planet.”

“Will
they have a full sized bathtub?” she asked as Kyle laughed at her.

The
formal surrender ceremony was already scheduled to have begun by the time Kyle
stepped out of the small Hedali landing craft and walked down the four short
steps to the ground. For the last two years he had spent a large amount of time
in space, but this was the first time he had ever stepped on an alien planet.
The docking area was crowded with Earth forces of seemingly dozens of nations
and military organizations.

“This
is crazy, Kyle, did you ever think we would be on another planet like this?
It’s like something out of a movie,” Cindy said.

Kyle
took his sister’s hand and smiled at her. “Come on, let’s get to the ceremony.
They said it was in the large blue and silver building.”

Andrews,
Leonard and the rest of the passengers of the transport were right behind them
as they made their way through the crowd. Soon small groups of Iltia’cor could
be seen, huddled together, moving quickly from building to building. Kyle
wondered how these Human invaders were being viewed by the people of this
planet.

“Sir!
General Martin! Sir!” Kyle heard someone call to him. He looked around and
finally spotted a young Air Force Captain waving his arm above his head. Kyle
recognized him as Captain Mitchell, one of Kitch’s aides.

“Sir,
I was told to get you to the ceremony as soon as you landed. It’s already
begun. Please hurry,” he said as he turned and started moving towards an exit.

It
took about twenty minutes to navigate through the crowds and buildings to get
to a plain metal door. The door opened and Captain Mitchell entered and pressed
a button after everyone in Kyle’s party made their way into the elevator. They
quickly moved up the building before the lift stopped and the doors opened into
a large spacious room. The ceiling was a good thirty feet high and there were
dozens of humans and Iltia’cor milling about.

“This
way, sir,” Captain Mitchell said “They are on the dais near the windows.
Although it looks like the ceremony is over.”

Kyle
saw Kitch first. She was in full dress uniform with her four stars shining on
her shoulder. Next to her was Chancellor Thomas speaking with an Iltia’cor in a
sharp looking white military uniform. Alex and Williams were on the dais along
with Admiral Boxer, General Liston, and General Davies. Surprisingly, there was
a Junniji with them along with several other Iltia’cor.

Kyle
approached the platform and issued a salute. Alex was the first to see him and
motioned to get Kitch’s attention. She turned, smiled, and sharply returned
Kyle’s salute.

“Reporting
as ordered, Ma’am,” Kyle said.

“You’re
late, General. I will have to consider that in my review,” Kitch said with a
smile.

“Cindy!”
Alex yelled as he saw Kyle’s sister standing off to the side. He practically
jumped off the platform to hug her.

Williams
came over and saluted Kyle. “Good to see you, sir.”

“Good
to be seen, Sergeant Major,” Kyle said as he returned the salute.

Alex
had finished hugging Cindy when he saw Doctor Reeling and started hugging her
as well.

“Cindy,”
Kyle said. “Come up here, I want you to meet a few people.”

Kitch
extended her hand and said “It’s a pleasure to meet you Cindy, Kyle has spoken
of you often. I’m so glad he was able to get you back.”

Williams
patted Kyle on the back and nodded toward Thomas. Leaving his sister to meet
and greet the officers that were starting to move over to her, he took a few
steps over to where the Chancellor was speaking with the Iltia’cor in the white
uniform.

“Chancellor,
sorry I was delayed,” Kyle said shaking the hand of Earth’s representative.

“Glad
you could make it, General.” He turned to the Iltia’cor and said. “This is
General Martin who directed our war and had great input on the treaty.”