Bright Horizons (7 page)

She
turned her head when she felt a slight tap on her helmet.  Alex was smiling and
pointing out of the small window on the hatch of the Greenway.  She could see
the orbiting space station.  She smiled and felt a wonderful glow flow through
her.  It was a brand new galaxy, and she would get to see it all.

Chapter 8

06 January
2043

“Are you
sure there isn’t anything else I can do for you Alex?” Kyle asked as he watched
his friend pack his bag.

“Thanks
Colonel, but there really isn’t anything else to do.  Emily has to stay here
for the mission and the girls need someone to take care of them.” He turned to
face Kyle. “You know, when I got the word that Dad was killed, I was angry…
sad… full of emotion. But I wasn’t surprised. He was a warrior in the middle of
a war. Things like that happen. But a woman in her late 60’s shouldn’t just
drop from a heart attack in the vegetable aisle at the grocery store. It’s not
right.”

Kyle
shook his head. “No it isn’t, Alex.”

Alex
looked away from his Commanding Officer and glanced around the room one more
time. “It… it just feels like I was gut punched, Colonel.”

Kyle
couldn’t believe how much things had changed in the last two days. The first
three months on the station, the mission had been going great. Emily and her
small team were feeding tons of data back to NASA seemingly every hour. The
Hedali had introduced Ambassador Thomas to the three other races that shared
the facility, and Kyle and Alex had been the guinea pigs for their scientists
as their jobs of “security” had been pretty relaxed.

Then
two days ago the daily NASA communiqué came. The first line was simply “Abigail
Ramirez has passed away after a heart attack.” A follow up personal communiqué
about an hour later had provided the details. 

Abigail
had a sudden and massive coronary while shopping. Her sister Kelsey had come
and picked Emily’s girls up at school and told them of their grandmother’s passing.
Alex could go home and take care of the girls if needed, and his Aunt Kelsey
had requested that if possible.

Due
to the nature and secrecy of her work, it was established that Emily Troy was
indispensable.  She could only send a message to her daughters.

Thus
Alex had decided to go home and be with his nieces while his sister finished up
her one year assignment.

A
tiny chirp on his communicator brought Kyle back to the present.

“The
Hedali scout ship is just docking, Alex.”

“Thanks
Colonel, I guess I had better say goodbye to Emily and get down there. Did they
say who was going to replace me out here?” Alex asked as he shouldered his bag.

“Williams
wanted it, but he had a hard time convincing them that he was security. K-man
was the best choice, all things considered.”

“He
knows there isn’t a range up here, right?”

“Yeah,
and he grumbled about that more than you did, Alex,” Kyle laughed. It was good
to see Alex get a little of his sense of humor back. Gallows humor is common
for a Marine, but Alex had been very tight since he found out his mother had
died.

“Well
Colonel, until we meet back on earth.” Alex sharply saluted Kyle, and once the
salute was returned he turned and walked out of their tiny barrack room.

Kyle
looked at the “earth clock” that they had in their room and realized he would
not be able to get something to eat before his meeting with Ambassador Thomas. 
He sighed and headed towards the daily briefing. He knew that routine kept
everybody’s head clear in these kinds of missions, and so he reminded himself
every day of the importance of these briefings and made sure he had three new
random facts to give Ambassador Thomas as part of his presentation.

The
door opened and Ambassador Thomas looked up from his small desk. 

“Good
afternoon Colonel, please have a seat,” Ambassador Thomas said motioning to the
chair in front of his desk. “Day 97 is coming to a close.”

Kyle
chuckled and sat down.

“Only
3 days from 100, Ambassador, do you think we should celebrate?”

The
door opened up and Lon stepped in. “Good afternoon Ambassador Thomas and
Colonel Martin.”

Kyle
could immediately sense that something was very wrong. The Hedali was jittery
and nervous and made an odd squeaking sound as he looked at both of the humans.

“What’s
wrong Lon?” Kyle asked without thinking. He saw Ambassador Thomas flinch from
the corner of his eye at the possible breach in protocol.

“There
has been an incident. There have been some deaths,” Lon said.

Kyle
stood up. “Who has been killed Lon?”

“Doctor
Emily Troy and Kiltao Bregan,” Lon said turning his head slightly away from
Kyle. “Alex Ramirez killed Kiltao Bregan.”

“Why
Lon?” Ambassador Thomas asked without so much as a quiver in his voice. “Why
did Ramirez kill Kiltao Bregan?”

“From
what I gathered, Alex Ramirez walked into the lab just when Kiltao Bregan
killed Doctor Emily Troy.”

Kyle’s
breath caught in his throat for a second. “Lon, where is Alex?”

“I’m
sorry Colonel Martin, but Alex Ramirez has been taken by the Iltia’cor security
forces and is being subjected to their trial.”

“What
do you mean trial? When will this take place? We need time to get a lawyer here
to talk to Alex.”

Lon’s
throat was turning a deep blue, which Kyle knew was a sign of great sadness
among the Hedali. “The trial is already started Colonel Martin. The Iltia’cor
have taken him and have started it already.”

“Lon,
what kind of trial is this?”

“They
will have six of their security forces beat him until he is dead. I am truly
sorry.”

Ambassador
Thomas leaned heavily against the wall for support.

“Ambassador,
get the rest of our delegation and go to the Hedali ship. We need to get out of
here. I’ll go get Alex, I think we just started a war.”

Ambassador
Thomas hurried out of the office as Lon bobbed up and down. “No Colonel, the
trial has already started. There is no chance to save Alex Ramirez.”

Kyle
felt a great sense of pity for his Hedali friend. “No Lon, I’m not worried
about Alex, but if we get there quick enough we might save some of the
Iltia’cor. Please, which way is it?”

Lon
stopped and looked at Colonel Martin. He was learning much about humans, but
was still not sure how their humor worked. The Colonel seemed sincere, but Alex
Ramirez was not as strong or as fast as the Iltia’cor… and yet, he remembered
watching his bravery and abilities that first day of contact between their
races.

“This
way Colonel,” Lon said as he turned and quickly went down the hallway leading
to the common areas of the station. 

In
the common dining area, Kyle saw Hedali, Sortag, and Junniji scientists and
staff gathered in small groups not looking around. The Iltia’cor were in one
large group talking loudly in their multi-tonal language and making large
gestures. When they saw Kyle come into the room, they stopped talking and stood
as one facing him. Kyle ignored them and followed the fast walking Lon into the
Iltia’cor section of the ship. There were no rules or diplomatic problems going
into another race’s private section of the station, but it was generally
implied to be impolite if you were not invited.

Kyle
didn’t care if he was being impolite at the moment; he had to stop Alex from
making a bad situation worse. Two Iltia’cor security guards were looking at a
door when Kyle and Lon approached. There was a lot of noise coming from inside.

Lon
pointed at the door. “The trial is in there, Colonel Martin.”

“How
do I open the door, Lon? I need in there.”

Lon
started to push a button on a panel when one of the Iltia’cor guards hit him
hard across the face knocking him back into the wall behind Kyle.

Kyle
didn’t believe in fighting fair. He didn’t believe in fighting dirty. He
believed in walking away from any fight you were in. The guard who hit Lon saw
Kyle move, but the second guard didn’t. 

Kyle
grabbed an arm of the second guard, twisted it behind the alien’s back and then
dropped to his knees. The motion and torque pulled the second guard over Kyle
and slammed him into the wall.

Kyle
popped up back to his feet and delivered a sharp, hard kick to the face of the
stunned guard lying on the floor.

As
anticipated, the other guard grabbed at Kyle. Kyle was already in motion
though, jumping straight up and swinging his head back hard. He felt the pain
shoot through his skull and neck as the back of his head made contact with the
guard’s face. Kyle dropped forward and kicked back with both legs as his hands
made contact with the ground. His kick hit the guard solid in the midsection,
where the Iltia’cor’s lungs were if he remembered correctly, and the guard
collapsed right in front of the door.

The
sounds behind the door had stopped. Kyle scrambled to his feet and pushed the
button on the panel. The door slid open and Kyle saw Alex drop the Iltia’cor
body. Alex had cuts and bruises all over his arms, neck and face. He was
missing a boot and his uniform was half torn off his body. He had a short metal
pipe in his hand that was dripping a clear, viscous liquid.

“Colonel,
they killed Emily, they just cut her throat.” He limped over to Kyle.

“Let’s
go Alex, we have to get to the ship,” Kyle said as he supported Alex.

Lon
had regained his feet after the jarring hit to his head and stood looking at
the carnage inside the small room. Six Iltia’cor security guards lay dead or
seriously injured. Two more lay unconscious in the corridor outside the room
and the two humans responsible were having a calm conversation.

“What
have we unleashed on the galaxy?” he thought.

“Lon.
Lon!  We have to go,” Kyle said to the clearly stunned Hedali.

“Colonel
Martin, I will go with you on the ship. There are things we need to talk
about,” said Lon.

“Very
well, let’s go,” Kyle replied. 

He
helped Alex past the Iltia’cor lying in the corridor and into the elevator that
took them to the docking area. Thomas had assembled the rest of the human
delegation at the Hedali scout ship.

“Colonel,
we are ready to go,” said Thomas looking at Lon.

“Lon
says he needs to come with us, Ambassador,” Kyle said as Alex was helped aboard
the ship by one of the human scientists. “Do the rest know what happened?”

“Doctor
Reeling and Doctor Grant were in the lab area and saw what happened,” Thomas
whispered. “It was just like Lon said. Kiltao Bregan walked into the lab,
picked up a surgical blade, and cut Doctor Troy’s throat without a word.
Ramirez had just stepped into the lab on the other side when it happened.”

Kyle
shut and secured the hatch behind him.

“There
will be a reckoning over this, Ambassador, but I’m not sure what it will be.
One dead human and at least four dead Iltia’cor will not be easily overlooked
by either government. We need to find out what Lon is holding back from me and
why he needs to come with us.”

Kyle
and the Ambassador moved deeper into the crew compartment.

“Hey
Alex, are you ok?” Kyle asked as he nodded at K-Man who sat stunned beside
Ramirez.

“No
Colonel, I am not. Emily is dead!  How can I be ok? I think I just started a
war. No, they started it by killing my sister!”

“You’re
right Alex, they did. Your duty is done for now. You are on leave. I’ll come
back in a little bit and we can talk some more.” Kyle looked at Doctor Grant
who was stitching up a nasty rip in Alex’s left arm. “How is he physically?”

“Multiple
contusions and lacerations, some pretty deep. I think he has a few cracked ribs
and his ankle may be fractured… maybe just a bad sprain. He’ll be fine, unless
there is an infection I can’t see, but he won’t be feeling well for a good
while,” Doctor Grant said.

Kyle
saw K-Man handing Doctor Grant a syringe from the med kit. Alex would be out in
a few seconds and Kyle could fill K-Man in on what happened later.

“Keep
me updated Doc.” Kyle motioned Thomas to follow him up to the bridge.

As
they approached the hatch, Kyle slowed to a stop and listened. Lon was speaking
fast and soft on the communicator.

Thomas
leaned over and whispered. “Lon is disobeying orders. Apparently the Iltia’cor
have demanded that we be turned over to them and the Hedali government agrees.
Lon has said that he is taking us to Earth and the Earth government can turn us
over if they want to.”

Kyle
nodded. Pulling the Ambassador back with him, Kyle went back into the crew
compartment to wait for Lon.

About
ten minutes passed before Lon headed out of the bridge. He saw the two humans
waiting for him and took a seat near them.

“Ambassador
Thomas and Colonel Martin, there is much sorrow for what has happened to Doctor
Troy and Alex Ramirez. My superiors have commanded that I have our ship
rendezvous with an Iltia’cor Cruiser and allow them to arrest you and your
delegation. I have refused. I have told them that I will be taking you to Earth
since we are your hosts on the Station. The Iltia’cor have become infuriated.
They are making plans to punish you and your people. I do not think this will
change by handing you over to them.”