Infinity's Gateway, page 30
“Do you think the one object you can see will accompany you to the Eclipse?” asked Captain MacKay.
“I don’t think so, but again, it’s hard to determine at this point,” said Colton. “The jungle is quite dense, so we will not be able to move as quickly as we’d like to, but we’ll get to the beach just as soon as we can.”
“Understood, Commander,” said Captain MacKay. “We’ll be well prepared to provide whatever assistance you may require. Welcome back!”
“Thank you, Captain,” said Colton. “Signing off.”
“Corporal Lee, you and Private Hill will continue to take the point,” said Garrett. “Privates Logan and Diaz will join me at the rear of the column. Men, the beach is not that far away, but we will continue to move at a careful and cautious pace. We will not relax our vigilance until we are safely back on board the Eclipse. Anything you’d like to add to that, Commander?”
“No, we are in complete alignment,” said Colton.
The men knew code had been involved, and for some reason they couldn’t talk about it. Fear rose from the rational parts of their mind, but the comfort field kept it low.
MacKay put down the radio and turned to Lieutenant Gallo. “Sound general quarters, Mr. Gallo,” said MacKay. “Colton’s coming in, but we don’t know who, or frankly what, is with him or exactly what’s going on. We need to be ready to act no matter what the circumstances.”
“Petty Officer Briggs, get Mr. Mercer and Mr. Sahir to my conference room immediately,” barked MacKay. “Also, alert Dr. Severin that the away team is returning and that they have an unknown number of wounded. Once you’ve done that, get Lieutenant Tanner on the horn for me. Father Ryan, if you’d accompany me please.”
MacKay turned and left the bridge, going to his conference room. Father Ryan followed him, closing the door behind him. “You obviously took away more from that exchange with Colton than I did,” said Father Ryan. “Is our team in trouble?”
“By Colton saying Rabbi Ryan, that not only told me that they are not alone, but also that he isn’t in a position where he can speak freely,” explained MacKay. “As secret warnings go, most people would miss the idea of asking for a rabbi to meet them, that his ‘services will be needed,’ especially in light of the fact that one of their men is dead.”
“I understand that,” said Father Ryan, “but why didn’t he want us to send reinforcements and have them waiting for them on the beach? The team is clearly in need of help, as well as medical attention.”
“We’ll find out,” said MacKay, “but a couple of things do come to mind. There is always the risk that this escort is only playing nice to lure more of us off the ship. Successfully attacking and boarding a US warship is a lot harder than attacking people standing on an open beach. Also, he said the only object he saw was a glowing whatever, which means he either has seen other things and didn’t want them to overhear him, or thinks there may be others nearby.”
“We’ve been praying so hard for their return,” said Father Ryan. “Now, as close as they are, I fear that we might still lose them.”
“That, I assure you, is not going to happen,” said MacKay. “But there’s more. When I offered to send additional launches to facilitate Colton’s escort, I got two pieces of information from his response. First, he let me know that bringing them on board the Eclipse may not be a good idea. It sounds as though these people are not the sort that we would want to have on the ship. Secondly, by not saying anything about the exact number of additional launches we would need to send over, it told me that Colton is unclear of the number of combatants he’s dealing with.”
“So, what you’re saying is that they may have only revealed a certain number of their people to Colton, and that there might be more of them, ready to attack, waiting in the jungle?” asked Father Ryan.
“Exactly. We just don’t know. But we do know we’ve been warned,” said MacKay. “Colton’s also giving us time to prepare.”
“How do you know that?”
“He told us how dense the jungle is, how it may take them awhile to make it to the beach. He said that to let me know that he’ll be bringing his team in slowly so that we’ll be ready,” said MacKay. “What I can’t understand is that they’re this close to us, and yet none of the drones that we sent up were able to detect a trace of them. Not heat signatures, not anything. Clearly I have some questions for Mr. Sahir.”
The phone on the conference room table buzzed. MacKay reached for it and found Lieutenant Tanner on the other end. “Lieutenant Tanner reporting as ordered, sir.”
“Lieutenant, I want you to coordinate with Mr. Mercer. You’ll be leading the men to go ashore and bring Mr. Colton’s team back to the ship. Have four launches prepped and ready to go. You’ll also want to have Severin send a couple of his corpsmen with you as well.”
“Yes sir, we’ll be ready,” said Tanner. “How soon will we be leaving?” There was no mistaking the joy in the man’s voice.
“As soon as we can, but for now I want you and your team to stand by,” answered MacKay. “Good luck, Lieutenant.”
Just as he was hanging up, Mercer and Sahir entered the conference room. “That was Lieutenant Tanner,” said MacKay. “I’ve ordered him to coordinate with you, Mr. Mercer, and be prepared to go ashore. He’ll be leading the rescue team.”
“Shall I join him now?” asked Mercer.
“No, not yet,” said MacKay. “There are a few items I first want to discuss with you and Mr. Sahir. Colton has picked up an escort, but he made it clear that he’s not able to tell us much about them. If what he said is true, their escort saved their lives and has since then kept them safe. Here’s hoping that’s accurate.”
“I take it he asked for Rabbi Ryan?” asked Mercer.
“Exactly,” said MacKay. “I presently have the ship standing at general quarters but am prepared to go to battle stations if need be.”
“How did he sound when you talked to him?” asked Sahir.
“He sounded like Colton, perfectly fine,” said MacKay. “But then, that’s all a part of how he’s been trained. The man’s clothes could be on fire and he’d still sound just the same as he always does.”
MacKay then shared the entire exchange that he’d had with Colton. Some of his team has been wounded, they have one dead, and they’re with someone they do not entirely trust. “It doesn’t give us a great deal to go on. I’m guessing that they’ll be showing up on the beach in less than an hour.”
“What can I do, sir?” asked Sahir.
“As soon as possible, and I’m talking in less than two minutes, I want a report from Argos regarding the people with them. The scanners tied into Argos should be picking up Colton’s team by now. I want to know how many of them there are, what is their weaponry, anything that that machine can pick up. It is also very important that we know if their escort has comrades hiding in the jungle, staying just out of sight.”
“Very good, sir,” said Sahir. “We’ll go ahead and launch two of the drones.”
“Which brings up a very important question,” said MacKay. “Colton estimated that they are about six hundred yards or so away from the beach. How is it that we’ve had drones in the air for much of the day and didn’t pick up a single trace of Colton’s team? How could they miss the entire shore party coming directly at us? At some point those drones had to have flown directly over them!”
Sahir paled just a little under the hard stare from MacKay. “That thought raced through my head the instant I heard that Colton’s team was returning. I have two of my best technicians, along with Dr. Meinhard and Dr. Chudzik, looking into this as we speak. Also, Argos is running a complete diagnosis on all of the drones that we were using.”
“We don’t have time for that now,” said MacKay, “but I will want a full, detailed report as to what happened. We cannot afford failures like this.”
“Yes sir,” said Sahir. “I understand.”
Sahir turned to leave, but MacKay stopped him. “One more thing, Mr. Sahir. It is my understanding that Argos can think outside the box, even take the initiative when necessary. I appreciate that it is programmed to protect this ship and its crew, but I will need you to keep a muzzle on that thing. Colton’s escort may indeed prove to be hostile. That said, no one, under any circumstances, will open fire until I give the command. Is that clear? You make sure that that overrated transistor radio doesn’t start firing off missiles all on its own.”
“Yes sir, that will not happen,” said Sahir. He was only too familiar with how MacKay felt about Argos.
“That will be all, Lieutenant,” said MacKay. “You’re dismissed.”
“Anything else for me, sir?” asked Lt. Commander Mercer.
“Stay close to your radio,” said MacKay. “There’s no telling how this is all going to go down. We are already well aware of the dangers Tanner and his team will face just going to the beach. I’ll have Hatfield monitoring creatures around us.”
As Mercer left the room, Father Ryan looked closely at MacKay. “You were a little hard on Sahir.”
“The failure of those drones to spot our team, especially knowing that they had to have been reasonably close to us, could have cost lives. That poor level of performance will not be tolerated by any person, or any system, on this ship,” said MacKay, his anger seemed to be getting progressively worse.
“Captain,” said Father Ryan, “from the moment we arrived in this strange place, there hasn’t been any one of your crew not giving all they have to give.”
“I don’t disagree with you,” said MacKay as he turned to head back to the bridge, “but before this is over, I may have to ask each of them to give even more.”
He was halfway out the door when the phone on the conference table started to buzz. Glaring at the device, MacKay snatched it out of its cradle. “This is the captain.”
“Sir, we have a problem that I can’t explain,” said Sahir, his voice quivering with nervous tension.
“Go ahead, Lieutenant. What is it?”
“While I was with you, the team finished their examination of the drones. Even Argos gave them a clean bill of health. So, to test them out, they’d already launched two of them before I returned.”
“Can’t see how that’s a problem,” said MacKay.
“Sir, Colton reported that he’s within yards of the beach,” said Sahir. “The drones we have in the air have a sensor range of five miles. The problem is that they’re still not picking up any sign of Colton’s team. We’re getting some pretty clear pictures, as well as heat signatures from all kinds of things down there, but nothing that is human.”
“How is that possible?” snapped MacKay, doing everything in his power to keep his temper in check.
“It isn’t possible, sir,” said Sahir. “I don’t know where Colton is, but he’s nowhere near us. Or something incredibly sophisticated is hiding him. This isn’t machine error.”
Off in the distance the team could hear the sound of waves breaking up on the shore. Corporal Lee and Private Hill returned to report that all was clear. “Unfortunately, sir, we weren’t able to find any signs of Privates Shaw and Fuller. Also, one of our boats is missing,” reported Corporal Lee. “What’s left of the boat we did find is wrapped around a tree.”
“I’m not surprised,” said Colton. “MacKay would never have left those two men alone on the beach to face a storm like that. I’ll ask him when we talk next, but I’m reasonably sure that we’ll find they are safe and back on board the Eclipse.”
At that point Captain Garrett joined them and Corporal Lee repeated his report. “Speaking of the Eclipse,” said Garrett, “did you see it?”
“Yes sir,” said Corporal Lee. “It’s in roughly the same place where it was when we departed, but I think it’s now a little further out.”
Colton looked up at the craft still hovering above them. He could only imagine how Argos and the crew were reacting to that thing and how frantic things must be all over the ship. Frankly, he was dying of curiosity and could hardly wait to read the analysis Argos would produce. To finally be able to get his hands on some tangible facts would go a long way in giving him at least a little peace of mind.
Turning to Garrett, he said, “Captain, please bring your men in. We’re about to hit the beach and I don’t want to leave us more exposed than we need to be.”
Garrett nodded and gave the orders. Colton took the radio from Bannister and waited for the men to gather round. The next few minutes would be very telling.
“We are about to leave this jungle, which is a good thing, but it also means that we’ll be exposed. We’ll be coordinating with the Eclipse to get us back on board as quickly as possible,” said Colton. “That said, my guess is that the craft above us is causing quite a stir with MacKay and the rest of the crew, so we want to continue to play things carefully. Although I doubt it, please keep in mind that this may also be the first time for our escort to see the Eclipse. So, we still need to proceed carefully. The last thing we want is to do anything that will provoke a negative response from anyone.”
“How would you like to proceed, Commander?” asked Garrett.
“When we step out of the jungle, I want you to hug the tree line,” said Colton. “Spread out on either side of me and don’t stop until you’ve found some cover that you can hide behind if needed. Corpsmen Payne and Lockridge will be with me. We want to be visible to the Eclipse, but I don’t plan on taking any chances. Any questions?”
“Commander, before you radio the Eclipse, I’d like a word,” said Garrett.
Most of the men sat down as Colton and Garrett moved a few steps away from the team. She motioned for Corporal Lee to join them. “Logan and Diaz are still watching our rear and I plan to leave them inside the tree line. Since we left the stream, I’ve spotted our mystery stalker three more times. Whatever or whoever it is, they’re not getting any closer to us, but they are keeping us in sight. It has me concerned.”
“Were you able to get a better look at it?” asked Colton.
Garrett shook her head. “No, in fact the clearest I’ve seen it was back at that stream. It does a pretty good job of staying concealed. Probably wouldn’t have seen it at all if I didn’t know what to look for.”
“Captain, what’s eating at you about this? It doesn’t act aggressive in any way,” asked Corporal Lee.
“Too many things, of which I’m sure 90 percent are not true. If it is an intelligent being, then I’d really like to know if it’s on the same side as our friends up there in that craft. If they’re not on the same side, then I have to wonder what its intentions are. All in all, it’s the unknown that is eating away at me.”
“Well, then that gives us one more reason to get out of here,” said Colton. “Good work, Captain. Stay alert.”
Colton went over to Bannister and took the radio from him. “Commander Colton to the Eclipse. Come in, Eclipse.”
“MacKay here, Commander. Where are you?”
“We are just about to step out onto the beach,” answered Colton. MacKay’s response took him by surprise. He’d expected him to be pretty worked up due to the strange craft hovering over them, but he sounded as calm and relaxed as ever.
“Good to hear,” said MacKay. “Are you at the same coordinates where you landed yesterday?”
“Yes, in fact, I wanted to see if you could give us an update on Privates Shaw and Fuller,” said Colton. “We’re hoping they’re with you.”
“They most certainly are,” said MacKay. “We pulled them off the beach before that storm hit.”
“That’s what we figured,” said Colton. This wasn’t making any sense. MacKay was acting as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on when there was nothing ordinary about the situation at all. What was his game? Why was he taking this tact? “We are stepping out onto the beach now.”
“This is the captain,” MacKay said into the phone. His voice was being sent all over the ship. “Colton and his team are stepping out onto the beach now. No one, repeat, no one is to take any action until so ordered. We’re told they have people with them who are friendlies. Stand ready.”
MacKay looked over at Father Ryan and Lieutenant Gallo. “Colton sure is taking this slow. Wish I knew more about what’s going on over there.” The same thoughts were going through everyone’s mind. “Briggs, get Sahir on the line for me.”
“There they are!” said Father Ryan, a little louder than he meant to. “I can see them. All in all, they look pretty good for having spent a horrendous night out in the elements.”
“Among other things,” muttered Gallo.
All of them were staring at Colton and his team through very strong binoculars. “Where’s their escort?” asked MacKay. “Does anyone see anyone else other than our people?”
“Sir, I have Mr. Sahir,” said Briggs.
MacKay reached back for the phone, not taking his eyes away from the beach. Briggs put it in his hand. “Sahir, what are the drones reporting now?”
“This doesn’t make any sense, Captain. Putting aside the fact that we’re all seeing them quite clearly, according to the drones, there’s no one on that beach.”
“Colton, MacKay here. We can see you and are relieved to have you back. Will your escort be joining you on the beach? Mr. Mercer and Lieutenant Tanner have a welcome party ready and waiting to greet them.”
What? Will our escort be joining us on the beach? Had MacKay gone blind during their brief time away? Colton looked over at Garrett. She looked as confused as he was. “Is he asking if they’re going to land? Is he expecting them to set down here on the sand?”
“No, I don’t think so,” said Garrett. “Earlier today we were speculating that the craft was blocking our radio signal. As we approached the shore, it eventually allowed us to communicate with the ship.”
“I agree with that,” said Colton. “What are you getting at?”
