Beyond the Shroud of the Universe Page 10
“Move up!” Master Chief commed as he picked his way through the rubble. The castle would need repairs too; pockmarks from shrapnel covered its façade, and almost all of the forward-facing windows had been shattered.
Master Chief waited for the rest of the platoon and then crossed the courtyard with them. As they approached the front door, they could feel the grinding of machinery in motion, and a familiar silver shape rose from the side of the hill below them, although this one had Arges’ logo on the side. It raced upward in a full power climb and was out of weapons range before anyone could think to shoot at it. Master Chief raised his laser rifle and fired several shots, anyway.
“Fuck!” he said in frustration as the ship disappeared into the sky.
“Hey Master Chief, this is Lieutenant Canada at the shuttle. I just tried to get Captain Train but couldn’t reach him. It looks like the entire Swiss police force is headed up the hill to you. Well, except for the group stopping here to arrest us, anyway.”
Chapter Seventeen
The Situation Room, Fleet Command HQ, Lake Pedam, Nigeria, October 7, 2021
A lieutenant poked his head into the meeting. “I’m sorry to interrupt, sir, but there is an incoming transmission for Admiral Wright from Terran President Nehru,” he said.
“Thank you,” Admiral Wright replied. “I’ve got it.” He pushed two buttons on the panel in front of him and his monitor came to life with an image of the Terran president already on it. This can’t be good, he thought. She never waits around for anyone.
“Yes, ma’am,” Admiral Wright said. “What can I do for you?”
“Did you authorize an assault on Arges’ home?” President Katrina Nehru asked.
“An assault on Arges home?” Admiral Wright asked. “No, I didn’t. Why? What happened?”
“He just complained to me that members of the Terran Space Navy attacked his house, killed his guards and threatened his very life. He has video documentation of all of this! Aren’t the Efreet big enough problems for you? Why do you feel the need to attack law-abiding Terran citizens too?”
“Uh, yes ma’am. The Efreet are enough trouble on their own,” the admiral replied. “I don’t know what was going on or who was doing it, but I will look into it immediately.”
“You don’t know who was involved?” President Nehru asked. “Your people assault one of the leading citizens of the Terran Republic and threaten the local police force, and you don’t know anything about it? Perhaps you have lost control of your forces and need to step down. You know what? That is a good idea. You are to arrest the perpetrators of this crime, then you are to tender your resignation to my office, immediately. It is obvious you are no longer in control of the people under your command.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he replied automatically, but the monitor had already gone dead as she terminated the connection. He looked up to see the concerned faces of his senior admirals and ship captains. “Does anyone know anything about the attack the president referenced?”
Heads shook all around the table.
“There’s only one unit I know of that would, or even could, try to take on the security at Arges’ mansion,” Admiral Wright said. “You are all dismissed. Captain Sheppard, please stay a moment.”
The meeting room emptied, somber looks on the faces of the men and women as they shuffled, heads down, out of the conference room.
“Yes sir?” Captain Sheppard asked after everyone had left. “You think it was Lieutenant Commander Hobbs’ platoon?”
“I know it was Lieutenant Commander Hobbs’ platoon,” Admiral Wright replied. “What I don’t know is why they did it. Sure, they sometimes do things that might be a little unorthodox, but there has always been a good reason for what they did in the past. You have been around them more than anyone else…have you ever known them to do something that completely defied reason or the rule of law?”
“Sir, I have known that group for as long as anyone, and I have worked closely with them on a number of occasions. They are courageous, aggressive and not afraid to do whatever they think needs to be done to save the human race. But to just attack someone’s house with no reason? No sir, that doesn’t make any sense to me. They must have had a reason, and a damn good one at that. I don’t have any idea what it might have been…but I know they didn’t just do that on a whim.”
“My thoughts, exactly,” Admiral Wright replied. “Unfortunately, my orders on this are quite clear. I am going to have to arrest them, and then I am going to have to tender my resignation.”
Admiral Wright paused for a moment, deep in thought, before looking up. “It would, however, be improper of me to arrest them without first confirming they were actually the ones responsible for the attack, so I suppose I need to call Arges to confirm the identities of the attackers. That might take…a while, as he is a busy man and might have fled. In the meantime, I would like you to find Lieutenant Commander Hobbs, if he was rescued from the Efreet, or Captain Train if he wasn’t, and use your best judgment on what needs to be done.”
“I understand, sir,” Captain Sheppard said.
“Do you?” Admiral Wright asked. His eyes narrowed. “Do you really? Because I can’t offer you any protection if this goes badly. I am probably done here, so it’s your own career that is on the line.”
“Yes sir, I know. I also know I wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for Lieutenant Commander Hobbs and his troops. I’ll do what needs to be done.”
“Thanks,” Admiral Wright replied. “Now, get the hell out of here. I’ve got some calls to make.”
Bachelor Enlisted Quarters, NAS Oceana, Virginia Beach, VA, October 7, 2021
Master Chief slammed his suit down on the couch in his room and tossed the rest of his gear onto it. The day couldn’t get any worse. Half of the platoon wiped out, the CO abducted by an overgrown fairy and the XO dead. And now he had to go file all of the paperwork because he was the senior person remaining in the unit. He kicked the couch in his frustration and broke the bottom board with his augmented strength.
Great, now he’d have to pay for that too. What else could go wrong?
A smear from floor to ceiling appeared on the other side of the room, and it coalesced into a uniformed black man wearing the insignia of a captain in the Terran Space Navy. As the transporter beam cleared, Master Chief recognized Captain James Sheppard, the commanding officer of the Vella Gulf.
“Uh, hi sir,” Master Chief said, recovering from the shock of seeing someone beam in. No one was supposed to use the transporter system, as none of the Terrans had been scanned. Without a molecular scan, the person being transported ran a much higher chance of being incorrectly combined on the opposite end, or ending up off target. Both outcomes were usually fatal. “Can I help you?”
“I hope so. Where is Lieutenant Commander Hobbs?”
“I don’t know, sir. He was taken away by that bastard Nightsong.”
“Where?”
“I don’t know, sir. He left the planet in a spaceship, but that was in the other universe, so I have no idea. He could be anywhere.”
“Well, what about Captain Train? Where’s he?”
“Dead, sir. Arges killed him. We just delivered his body to the morgue.”
Captain Sheppard’s gaze narrowed. “Just tell me one thing, Master Chief. Was there a reason for attacking Arges’ mansion?”
Master Chief met his eyes. “Yes sir,” he said without a trace of doubt. “Arges is the person behind all of this. He has been helping the Iranians and the Efreet.”
Captain Sheppard looked into Master Chief’s eyes, searching for deception, but didn’t find any. He nodded. “Okay, Master Chief,” he said. “I believe you. Grab your gear. We’re beaming out of here.”
“Beaming out, sir?” Master Chief asked. “I didn’t think we were supposed to use the transporter.”
“We’re not,” Captain Sheppard said, “but Fleet Command is looking for you, and they are going to arrest you. We’ve got to get you out o
f here.”
“Arrest me?” Master Chief exploded. “Arrest me for what?” Even as he asked the question, he began picking up his gear.
“Arges has filed charges against you and the rest of the platoon for attacking his home,” Captain Sheppard replied. “They specifically name you as the leader of the invasion force that killed most of his security detail and destroyed millions of dollars of his property. He also said you attacked him because he found out your platoon was helping the Iranians.”
Master Chief dropped his gear. “What? That little rat bastard accused us of attacking him? He’s the one who has been helping Nightsong and the Iranians!”
“Apparently, he also has a video of you saying that you hate him and want to kill him.”
“Well, of course I want to kill the little son of a bitch; he’s been helping the enemy!”
“Do you have any evidence of that?”
“Well no, not really.”
“That’s the problem. He has video of your attack on his castle and a recording of you threatening to kill him.
“He killed Captain Train!”
“He says it was in self-defense.” Captain Sheppard sent Master Chief an audio file. “Is this your voice?”
“Go slowly and kill everyone that isn’t part of the platoon.”
“Well yeah, I said that, but it was on a secure comm set and it’s taken out of context. We were taking heavy fire, and they had just canceled out our suits’ invisibility.”
“He says you threatened to kill everyone there.”
“But, but…he’s lying!”
“Yeah, well you’ve been had by a master manipulator,” Captain Sheppard said. He nodded to Master Chief’s gear, still sitting on the floor. “Grab your gear; we’ve really got to get out of here. I hear the Swiss are standing in line to get their hands on you. Did you really threaten to tear off the police chief’s arms and beat him to death with them?”
Before Master Chief could answer, a window opened up in his mind, and Admiral Wright appeared in it.
“Master Chief Ryan O’Leary,” Admiral Wright said, “you are under military arrest for a variety of crimes stemming from the assault on Arges’ mansion. You are to proceed immediately to the brig and turn yourself in.”
“Sir, you have to know all of that is bullshit,” Master Chief replied. “Captain Sheppard just told me about the charges, and you have to know they’re all bogus.”
“Captain Sheppard is with you?”
“Yes sir, he’s standing right here.”
There was a pause, and then Captain Sheppard was brought into the conversation.
“Captain Sheppard, you are to take Master Chief O’Leary and the other members of his platoon into custody.”
“Yes sir, I am rounding them up,” Captain Sheppard replied.
“Good; see that you do,” Admiral Wright said. “Wright, out.” The windows all closed.
“Oh, shit,” Master Chief said.
“See,” Captain Sheppard said. “I told you it was serious.”
“It’s worse than you said. Did you see the flags behind Admiral Wright?”
“Yeah, there was the Terran flag and a U.S. flag, why?”
“The U.S. flag was upside down,” Master Chief said. “That’s what you do when you’re under duress. There must be more going on than we know.”
“Well, he told me to take you into custody, so you are now my prisoner,” Captain Sheppard said. He cocked his head and looked at the enlisted trooper. “So, prisoner, what do you intend to do next?”
Master Chief shook his head. “Sir, I don’t have any idea beyond the fact we can’t stay here.” He paused, then added, “This is where Lieutenant Commander Hobbs usually comes up with a great idea for what we’re supposed to do.”
“Unfortunately, Lieutenant Commander Hobbs isn’t here.”
“No sir, he isn’t,” Master Chief said. He met Captain Sheppard’s gaze. “I guess we ought to go find him then, don’t you think?”
Transporter Room, TSS Vella Gulf, Earth Orbit, October 7, 2021
Two smears appeared on the transport pads, turning into Captain Sheppard and Master Chief. Both of the men arrived six inches above the platform and fell to the deck.
“Sorry about the landing,” Captain Sheppard said. “I told Solomon to aim six inches high so we didn’t end up fused into the deck or something else catastrophic.”
“Works for me, sir.”
“Solomon, are you available?” Captain Sheppard asked.
“Of course, sir; I am always available for you,” the ship’s artificial intelligence responded.
“Good,” the CO replied. “Please beam aboard the rest of Master Chief’s platoon, using the same guidelines. Six inches high. If there are any complaints, tell them to come see me.”
“Yes sir; I will start transporting them now.”
“I need to get to the bridge,” the CO said, “and we need to talk. Walk with me.”
“Yes sir,” Master Chief said, following him out the door. “What do we need to talk about?”
“Several things, like how we’re going to find Lieutenant Commander Hobbs. First, though, there’s the matter of your platoon’s leadership. With Lieutenant Commander Hobbs gone, there is a vacancy in the leadership of both the space fighter squadron and your platoon. While his executive officer, Lieutenant Commander Brighton, can take over the squadron, the platoon doesn’t have that luxury.”
“Are you going to ask Fleet Command for a replacement?” Master Chief asked.
“No, I’m not. I want to minimize my face time with them. Out of sight; out of mind. If I check in with them, someone might very well remember I’m supposed to be transporting you to jail and start asking questions I don’t want to answer.”
“So what is the plan? Send over one of the ship’s officers or one of the squadron’s officers? I never would have thought an aviator would fit in with my troops, but Lieutenant Commander Hobbs has been doing pretty well. That would be my choice, anyway.”
“No, there is a third choice you haven’t considered. Battlefield commissioning.”
“Battlefield commissioning? You mean, like turning an enlisted person into an officer? I don’t know if I can really recommend any of the folks in the platoon for that, sir. We have a lot of good folks, but none of them are really experienced enough for that. Not yet, anyway.”
Captain Sheppard stopped and turned to look at Master Chief. “No one?” he asked. “No one, at all?”
Master Chief’s eyes widened in surprise as it finally sank in. “Oh! No sir. No way, sir. I’m not officer material. That is the one thing that is not in my contract.”
“You wouldn’t happen to have a copy of this contract you’re referring to, would you?”
“Well, no sir, I don’t,” Master Chief replied. “But that doesn’t mean you can do it. In fact, I don’t think anyone’s gotten a battlefield commission in at least 20 years, even with all the wars we’ve had. It just isn’t done.”
“Longer than that,” Captain Sheppard said. He began walking again. “It hasn’t been done since Vietnam. It is, however, still on the books.”
“Well, that’s a good place for it to stay. Right in those books. Besides, sir, why do we need an officer? Why can’t I just lead it as a master chief until we catch up with Lieutenant Commander Hobbs?”
“Two reasons. First, The Book says a platoon is commanded by an officer. And it really does say that; I looked. Second, we don’t know where Lieutenant Commander Hobbs is right now, and the odds of us recovering him are getting smaller and smaller. The platoon needs an officer, and you’re it. Congratulations, First Lieutenant O’Leary.”
Captain Sheppard stopped as he reached the door to the bridge and turned to add, “It’s already done, so stop bitching about it and get to work. Your men and women need you.”
“Yes sir,” First Lieutenant O’Leary said with a sigh. Then he straightened and saluted. “Lieutenant O’Leary reporting for duty, sir!”
“Well sir, the only thing we really have to go on is the silver ship. We need to find out where that ship went. Do we know if it ever came into this universe? If it didn’t, then it has to still be in the anti-Earth system.”
“You’re looking for a silver ship?” Steropes asked from the science station. “What kind? Did it look like this?” He pressed a couple of buttons on his display and the fuzzy outline of a ship appeared on the front screen.
Even though the image was blurry, Lieutenant O’Leary recognized its shape. “That’s it!” he cried. “That’s the ship we’re looking for.”
“Oh,” Steropes said, sounding disappointed.
“What’s wrong?” Captain Sheppard asked.
“That ship is a courier ship that jumped into our universe. It’s headed toward the stargate that leads to Domus. Fleet Command hailed it several times, but it isn’t responding. They sent the Spark to intercept it, but the Spark’s too far away; she won’t catch it before it reaches the stargate.”
“Is a courier ship capable of making the jump?”
“Unfortunately, it is. The courier ship is the smallest class of ships able to use the stargate. The only thing that could stop it is the minefield at the gate. Fleet Command is still trying to decide whether they want to use them or not.”
“What happens if they use the mines?” Lieutenant O’Leary asked.
“Hard to tell,” Steropes said. “If they wanted to stop it, they could, but they would probably have to destroy the ship to stop it.”
“So, if Lieutenant Commander Hobbs were onboard the ship, we wouldn’t want them to use the mines.”
“No sir, not if we want to recover him alive.”
“Solomon,” the CO said, “have you transported up all the platoon and aviators?”
“Yes sir,” replied Solomon, “although I couldn’t find a few of them. Also, I was unsure whether or not your directive applied to Father Zuhlsdorf, as he isn’t officially a member of the platoon. As he has fought with the platoon in the past, and their numbers were depleted, I anticipated his presence would be welcome. He is not yet operational, but is expected to recover.”