Infinity's Gateway, page 36
“Included in what?” asked MacKay.
“They asked for our permission to deliver this medicine and leave it on the bow,” said Dr. Severin. “I let them know that we would most graciously accept their help, but that I did need to first check with you, Captain.”
MacKay took a deep breath and let it out. “Hard not to accept such an offer, but my concern is that this means they’ll be boarding us.”
“Not necessarily, Captain,” said Colton. Once again he told of how the gel was first given to them in the jungle. “We never saw them. A small sphere, much smaller than the spheres that just scanned us, descended to the ground and left the gel behind. It didn’t take long and wasn’t threatening in any way.”
“How are you supposed to signal our acceptance of this?” asked MacKay.
“I’m to return to the bow. When they see me standing there, alone, they’ll bring the medicine over to us.”
“Anyone have any objections?” asked MacKay. “This goes against every instinct in my body, and normally I would never allow this, but based on what Dr. Severin has shared with me, we are in need of the medication.”
“Also,” said Sahir, “it is important to note that we have not been able to reverse engineer the gel. If we want more of it, they’re our only source.”
“Very well,” said MacKay. “Doctor, go ahead and signal them. However, take Lieutenant Tanner with you; just have him stay out of sight.”
“Shall I go now, Captain?” asked Severin.
MacKay looked at Colton. “Your thoughts, Commander?”
“By all means,” answered Colton. “We need that medicine. Plus, I’m anxious to see what else they plan to give to us other than just more of the gel.”
Severin nodded and left the conference room. Colton stood back up. He kept his head down, staring at the table, almost unsure how to begin. Not knowing what to say was highly unusual for Brett Colton.
“Father, may I present this to the team, or would you like to?” asked Colton.
“No,” said Father Ryan. “I think it would be best coming from you.”
“Okay, but keep me on track,” said Colton. “They have asked that Father Ryan and I leave the Eclipse and travel to where they live. There are several things they’d like to discuss with us and feel that face-to-face communication would achieve the best results. I’m trying to quote them as accurately as I can.”
“Face-to-face communication,” said Mr. Mercer. “Guess it’s encouraging to learn they have faces.”
“Where is this place that they want the two of you to go to, and how are you supposed to get there?” asked MacKay.
“We don’t know,” said Colton. “Apparently it is some distance from here. As to how we’ll get there, we are to go on foot, through the jungle.”
“That’s suicide,” said Garrett. “You’ve been there; you won’t last a day.”
“Captain Garrett,” said Father Ryan, “neither I nor Commander Colton has any intention of committing suicide. We expressed our concerns over this and were assured that we would be safely escorted the entire way.”
“They have asked if we can be dropped off on the beach and head inland as we did before,” said Colton. “We’ll be gone for several days.”
“I’m not a military man, and I’m certainly not as strong-minded as Dr. Meinhard, but I don’t like the sound of this,” said Dr. Brennan. “The least little thing goes wrong with your escort and you’ll be lost.”
“Dr. Brennan, unless I miss my guess, I believe Mr. Colton is holding back on us,” said MacKay. “We don’t yet have the full story, do we, Commander?”
“As it turns out, I was saving the best for last,” said Colton.
At that point, the intercom buzzed and MacKay answered it. “Sir, Lieutenant Gallo here. One of the spheres is heading towards the Eclipse. Dr. Severin is waiting on the bow to greet them. Is there anything else we should be doing?”
“No, Lieutenant,” said MacKay. “Closely monitor the situation and be ready. If anything starts to look like this delivery of theirs is not going the way it should, call me.”
“You were about to elaborate on the rest of your talk with them,” said Garrett.
“They want to discuss our leaving the Eclipse and resettling in an area that they have set aside for us. It is an area where we could live in safety, we would have plenty of food and water, and when needed, have access to medical facilities.”
“Such a kind, innocent, and disarming way to take us down,” said Garrett. “They sound like a bunch of politicians. Promise everything under the sun to get what they want and then leave you high and dry once they’ve achieved their goal.”
“And what goal would that be?” asked Sahir.
“I’ll answer that for her,” said Colton. “There’s a possibility that they want the Eclipse. It’s either that, or we simply pose too great of a threat to them having control of such a ship. By getting us to agree to their plan, they’re able to neutralize us.”
“Knew it had to be too good to be true,” said MacKay. “There had to be a catch for all the help they’ve been giving us. At least now we know what they’re after.”
“Callum, I’m not so sure I agree with you,” said Father Ryan. “All that they have offered to us, in many ways, does make sense. In time, we will run out of food and water. We’ll run out of medicine, ammunition, and all the other supplies we carry on this ship. We can certainly try to forage off the land, but how many of our people will we lose in the process? Simply through attrition alone, without their help, we will ultimately perish.”
“Father Ryan, don’t you think I haven’t thought of all those things? I’m not denying any of them, but do you really expect me to just hand over the Eclipse to these people?” asked MacKay, his frustration and anger just below the surface.
“No, we do not,” said Colton, “which is why I agreed to go with them. Father Ryan will need to make his own decisions, but I’ve made mine. Under no circumstances do I intend to surrender this ship. That said, we are presently in no position to bargain either. Right or wrong, for better or worse, they are offering to help us. For the time being, I plan to take full advantage of that help.”
“Then what is your plan, Commander?” asked Mercer.
“As I said, I plan to go with them,” said Colton.
“As will I,” said Father Ryan.
Colton smiled at the priest. “My plan is to go and find out all that I can. I will cooperate and make them believe that we are seriously considering this entire, crazy offer of theirs. Once I’ve learned who they are, what they’re doing here, and what they’re weaknesses are, then we’ll be better positioned to figure out what to do next.”
MacKay nodded his head. “All things considered, we really don’t have much in the way of choices. This does seem to be our best opportunity of finding out exactly what we’re up against.”
“May I ask what I think is a rather obvious question?” asked Father Ryan. “This may be a poor analogy, but it’s all I can come up with at the moment. Let’s say a canoe full of Indians came paddling up, just off our coast. We approach them in an aircraft carrier and offer to help get them to safety. All they would have to do is leave their canoe behind and come aboard our ship. Would we be sincere in our motives, or would we actually be trying to trick them in order to get our hands on their canoe? From my seat in the stands, this whole discussion we’re having is ridiculous! These people are so far ahead of us technologically speaking that I seriously doubt they have any interest at all in getting their hands on the Eclipse.”
“Reluctantly I have to agree with Father Ryan,” said Dr. Brennan. “To Commander Colton’s point, we need to learn more about who we are dealing with, but we also desperately need their help. I have no doubt there is more to this than we understand. However, I don’t think that it’s a good idea to start jumping to conclusions until we have more information.”
“Father,” said MacKay, “with or without an escort, this will be a very hard and dangerous trip. I’m trying to understand why you are so set on going.”
“Because they said they want to learn more about our God,” said Father Ryan. “They also said that they have more of our kind living with them and that those people need whatever comfort I can provide. If, like us, there are more humans stranded in this terrible place, I can’t turn my back on them.”
MacKay looked at Colton. “He’s giving it to you straight,” said Colton. “That’s exactly what they said.”
“Other humans?” asked MacKay.
“I’m fairly sure that’s what they mean by ‘your kind,’ ” answered Father Ryan. “I don’t think they mean Americans. It’s possible that they could be referring to survivors from Flight 19. They might be one of many.”
MacKay looked at Father Ryan for a couple of moments. “Columbus’s men were said to have warned him against sailing off the edge of the world, not too far from the spot we apparently did so.”
The room went totally silent. Finally, MacKay looked at Colton and asked, “When do you leave?”
“Daybreak,” said Colton. “They’ve asked us to be ready to depart first thing tomorrow morning.”
“Then we need to get to work immediately,” said MacKay. “There is much to do and very little time to get it done.”
Lieutenant Tanner and five marines were standing by, ready to take Colton and Father Ryan over to the beach. The egg-shaped craft had stayed in place, hovering above them. Hatfield kept a close eye on his monitors, constantly scanning for the creatures that had come at them before. He gave them the all clear. Like the last time, the light from the craft had chased all of the marine life away from them.
“If they catch on to what you’re doing,” said Garrett, “they’ll never let you go.”
Colton smiled at her. “Are you kidding? If they catch on, there’s a good chance they’ll kill us both. Fortunately, this is not the first time I’ve done this sort of thing. Let’s just hope that my plan, as meager as it may be, works.”
“Please be careful, Brett,” said Garrett, lightly touching his arm. “I’d hate to have to go back into that jungle and risk my men just to save some half-crazy navy swab.”
“Keep saying sweet nothings like that and I may tear up,” said Colton. Stepping in closer to her, he looked deeply into her eyes. “I’ll be back, I promise.”
MacKay and Mercer shook hands with both men and wished them luck. MacKay pulled Colton aside and slipped him a flask. “It’s not regulation, but it may come in handy. If nothing else, Father Ryan can use it for communion.”
With that, Colton stepped into the launch they shoved off. The sea was pretty choppy, but Tanner did a good job holding his course. Colton looked over at Father Ryan. The priest had a sour look on his face. “Worried, Father?”
“No, trying to keep from throwing up,” growled Father Ryan. “I hate these small boats.”
The trip to the beach, not surprisingly, was uneventful. Colton and Father Ryan put on their backpacks, picked up their rifles, and prepared to head out. Lieutenant Tanner saluted both of them. “Good luck, sir! You need us for anything, we’ll come running.”
“We’ll hold you to that, Lieutenant,” said Colton.
As the launch pulled away from the beach, Colton and Father Ryan waved goodbye to the Eclipse, turned and headed into the jungle. For Colton, it seemed like old times. The egg-shaped craft that had been his escort out of the jungle was with them, hovering just above the treetops, leading the way.
In regard to Father Ryan, Colton realized how difficult all of this was going to be for him. He admired the man’s courage and his strength of character. Navy officer or not, this was far from what he’d been trained to do.
At first, they followed the same trail he and his team had hacked out of the jungle on their first foray. The trail was reasonably easy to follow, and they soon came to the game trail. Colton asked Father Ryan if he wanted to rest, but he declined. “I’m okay. Let’s get a little further down the trail. I’m not in as bad of shape as you think I am.”
About an hour later they came to the stream. Colton pointed downstream at the lizard-eating flower, making sure that Father Ryan got a good look at it. There may be other streams to cross, and it was something they would need to keep an eye out for. The light from the craft above them increased in intensity and they watched as the flower closed up, pulling its many leaves and stems in around it. Directly in front of them the stream erupted and something large took off, leaving a sizable wake as it left.
“Do you have any idea what that was?” asked Father Ryan, his face turning pale.
“That’s one of those questions you really don’t want an answer to,” said Colton. “Let’s go ahead and cross now that our friend has cleared away all the nasties. We’ll rest on the other side.”
It took a little bit of coaxing to get Father Ryan to step into the stream and wade across, but they were soon on the other side, climbing up the muddy bank. Taking off their backpacks, they dropped down onto the trail to rest and drink some much-needed water.
“Why can’t they just fly us there?” asked Father Ryan.
“I don’t think it’s a craft with people in it,” Colton replied. “Unless I miss my guess, I think it’s robotically controlled.”
Looking around, Colton noticed that he hadn’t heard or seen any signs of wildlife. Also, no horrible smells this time. Maybe the animal life was giving them a wide berth after all.
“There was something you said back on the ship that I’ve been meaning to ask you about,” said Colton. “For whatever reason, I haven’t been able to get it out of my mind.”
Father Ryan gave him a slightly puzzled look. “You have my full attention, Commander. What did I say that made such a lasting impact on you?”
“You said something about voices coming from a heavenly light,” said Colton. “And then you said, ‘Have no fear,’ as if you were quoting someone. Mercer heard it too. He asked you about it, but you didn’t seem to want to answer him. You’re not the kind of guy who says things because he likes to hear the sound of his own voice. What were you talking about?”
Father Ryan looked at Colton as if deliberating his response. He then looked down, slightly nodding his head, having come to a decision. “Before that wave, or whatever it was, brought us to this place, I started to have what I thought were very vivid dreams. I now know they were visions.”
“What were they about?” asked Colton.
“They were rather detailed, and I’m ashamed to say, hit me pretty hard.”
“Did something bad happen in these visions?” asked Colton. “I’m not an expert on visions, but it’s my understanding that correctly interpreting them is very challenging. It might be helpful if you talked about it.”
“These visions leave little room for doubt. Look, we have a long trip in front of us, Commander. I’ll get into this in a little more detail later today after we’ve made camp,” said Father Ryan. “For now, I’ll just say that in the visions, each time, there was an extremely bright light leading me on. But what is even more interesting is that with each vision, I heard a soft, pleasant voice saying to me, ‘Have no Fear.’ ”
“I’m not a very religious man, Father, you know that, but I do believe in God,” said Colton. “If that’s how the visions start, then it can’t be all bad.”
Father Ryan smiled at him. “I know. And I’m probably making too much of this, but every single time we’ve communicated with these people, no matter which one of us it is, they continue to stress over and over again, have no fear. They keep reassuring us not to be frightened of them. I can’t help but ask myself, should I have no fear of them, or do they know that our fear of them would be bad for their goals?”
“It’s a good question,” said Colton. “And you’re right, they’ve said that to me several times, the same with Dr. Severin and Corpsman Payne. Is there something about that phrase that I’m missing?”
Father Ryan gave a small laugh. “No Commander, nothing nefarious. But in the Bible, whenever angels appeared to men, the angel’s presence was quite overwhelming. Also, these heavenly bodies would appear in a bright light. Typically, the first thing they would say is, ‘Have no fear,’ trying to calm and reassure the people they were about to communicate with. I was simply struck by the similarities with that which we are experiencing.”
“If you’re trying to tell me that we’re dealing with angels, that’s going to take a great weight off my mind,” said Colton.
“No, I’m not saying that,” said Father Ryan. “At least not yet. It’s just with the visions being so recent and frequent, combined with the dealings we’re having with these very advanced beings, I couldn’t help but make the comparison.”
“You’ve got me anxious to hear more about these visions,” said Colton. “You’re not being your usual coy self, Father. You look worried. I’m betting these visions beat any campfire story I’ve ever heard.”
“You of all people shouldn’t bet, Commander,” said Father Ryan, lying down and using his backpack as a pillow. “We both know how bad of a gambler you are.”
Colton wasn’t in a hurry to continue onward. As they didn’t know where they were going, there was no point in pushing themselves. He knew that the trip would have its hardships, and he wanted to make things as easy as he could for Father Ryan.
Leaning back against a tree, Colton shut his eyes for a moment. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what they would find waiting for them at the end of this journey. Considering all of the bizarre and absolutely impossible things that had happened over the last few days, he realized that his imagination simply wasn’t up to the task. Besides, they’d find out soon enough.
Glancing over at the stream, he watched a small branch slowly float by. As it made its way downstream, he watched as the huge flower floating on the water started to move, opening its petals and leaves, its stems spreading out through the water. A terrible chill instantly coursed through him as the comprehension of what he was seeing sunk in. This should not be happening. Jumping to his feet, he moved closer to the stream for a better look.
