Horizons Read online

  Horizons

  The Earth Saga III

  Donald B McFarlane

  Copyright 2016 Donald B McFarlane

  Cover Art: James Gilleard

  www.donaldbmcfarlane.com

  For Anyone Paying Attention

  Acknowledgments

  I would like to thank the following people for their support since 1980.

  Andy Barnham

  Nick Beaudrot

  Tom Lindley

  John McFarlane

  Zach North

  David Press

  Nathan Pullin

  Jim Sells

  Asa Sherrill

  Mike Tattersall

  Leo & Milos

  “The Real Joe Hunt”

  Horizons

  1

  The first day of December was another sunny morning over Lasqueti, but clouds were forming over the mood of many people around the world. The arrival of the alien fleet in orbit had sent a wave of panic through many countries, with many convinced now more than ever that an invasion was imminent, and that the SETI team had been wrong the entire time about the visitors. Various media pundits were now suggesting that the ship should have been detained at the first possible opportunity, and the aliens taken to a facility where they could be studied.

  Some alarmists were even calling for discussions on how the world could repel such an invasion, and if nuclear weapons should be considered if the time ever came. Of course, there were also many around the world, the bulk of the scientific communities, along with some liberal minded people, who looked at the arrival of the fleet as a positive sign and an indication of a prosperous future.

  There were discussions in some circles that the aliens would help solve the problems of the Earth and usher in a new golden age with advances in science and medicine, and an end to hunger, poverty and war. What many of them keep forgetting was the fact that the Alliance was fighting a drawn-out conflict that was being waged across thousands of light-years, on hundreds of worlds, and had inflicted huge numbers of casualties, civilian and military.

  Major Joseph Hunt had seen a briefing given by Admiral Taark on the current state of the conflict a day after his arrival. The picture was grim. The known planets that once made up the Empire and spanned an enormous expanse of space were living in a very different reality than the one that had existed before the war.

  The Core, or the region of space at the centre of the Empire, had been populated with the oldest known space-faring races, had taken the brunt of the initial stages of the war. The planets had been all but abandoned, except rogue groups of scavengers and mobile mining colonies that the Alliance or Coalition would send in to harvest natural resources. The forays occasionally met with disaster, but many of the planets had extensive resources, so the risks were sometimes worth the expense.

  The planets and systems bordering The Core, in both the Pohjois and Etelainen Peripheries, had been swapping hands for the last 70 years. Some planets had declared their independence and neutrality which had saved them from invasion and attack, but that did not prevent skirmishes from being fought for their control. Worlds deeper into each Periphery were subject to flash raids carried out by ships with long-range jump capabilities. Unless a system had a jump denial unit, planets were just waiting until the next attack came.

  The Reach, the border of the once mighty Empire, designed to keep things out, had not changed its position since the war began. It was a static line of defence that ringed the entire perimeter of the old Empire and had achieved only one thing since the war started: keep any new species out so the slaughter could continue within.

  The war itself had taken a massive toll on the citizens of the Empire. Some species had been almost driven to extinction. Others had chosen allegiances not due to celestial location, but due to long-standing loyalties and understandings, and one species even had its entire homeworld which happened to be located in the Pohjois evacuated over the course of one and a half years and its citizens relocated to Alliance territory.

  When Joe finally swung his legs off the bed he shared with Rhea it was approaching seven in the morning, and he had an appointment to make with an officer from the fleet in orbit. Getting dressed quickly, Joe made his way downstairs, brewed a quick cup of coffee and poured it into a thermos.

  Out the door, Joe moved up to Lakes Road where he met up with Doctor Keegan Beck and started walking, half asleep to a cove on the south side of the island where Joe had taken his swims with Rhea before winter had set in.

  “Where’s that officer we’re meeting?” Joe asked the scientist.

  “He said he’d meet us down by the water. I think he went down there earlier with some soldiers.”

  “This thing is big. 500 metres they’re saying.” Joe said, referring to the ship that was scheduled to arrive that morning.

  “That is correct. I’m surprised they agreed to land it in the water, or maybe I should say that I’m amazed that it can land it in the water.”

  “Well, the damn hippies weren’t about to let it land on the island. It’d have taken out too much of the forest, and I’m not sure there is a flat enough area to take a ship that size anyway.” Joe took a sip from his thermos to warm himself up. Winter was upon them, and the days were short, and the nights long and cold.

  As they made their way to the trail that would lead them to the cove to meet the Alliance officer, Joe recalled what he had been told by the President after Admiral Taark had returned to his command ship: Give them whatever they want, within reason. So the next day when Ranix informed him that Taark wanted to land what he referred to as a Planetary Command Ship, he didn’t argue. He gave Ranix some coordinates, and in return, he was given a time to meet the ship as it arrived.

  “You know Joe, things seem to be moving quickly all of a sudden. The incident beyond Mars was last fucking week for God’s sake. Now we’ve got a fleet in orbit, and they’re parking a ship, an even bigger ship than we already have, a few hundred yards from where we are now.” The Canadian was straightening his bow-tie, which he wore almost all the time, and looked at Joe. “Are you not the least bit concerned at the pace we’re moving here?”

  Joe took another sip of his coffee and tilted his head to the side. “I don’t really think we’re in the driving seat at the moment. They’ve got all the cards now.”

  As the pair wound their way down the narrow trail that led to a small beach on the south side of the island, they could see the sun starting to come up in the distance, the first rays of warm light making all the difference at this latitude.

  Joe thought it had been best to keep the pomp to a minimum for the arrival of the PCS and had kept the rest of his team on the sidelines for the ship's arrival. The rest of the SETI team was probably all still asleep, and Ranix hadn’t even bothered to attend or send a representative from the Epsilon. He had said something about the different way certain sections of the Alliance forces preferred to work, and Joe didn’t bother digging.

  When they reached the cove, the beach was empty except a captain from the local security detail, dressed in a camouflage uniform topped off with a beret. Hearing Joe approach he turned at walked up from the water’s edge. “Nice to see you this morning, Major.” The captain gave a crisp salute.

  “Likewise.” He looked over the man’s shoulder at the Alliance officer that was still standing at the water’s edge looking at something in his hands. “Were you given a translation device?” Joe asked.

  “No.”

  Joe shook his head. “And I didn’t bring mine.” He shrugged and moved down the beach towards the alien who seemed completely oblivious to the human's presence.

  Reaching the water, Joe gave the stranger a glance and wasn’t quite sure his vision was correct. He closed his eyes, shook his head, and t
ook another look. His vision was just fine, but he had been startled by the oddest looking alien he had seen yet. The creature was about five and a half feet tall and had four circular looking eyes that were protruding out a few inches from its face with a circular looking mouth in the centre. This creature made Ranix look almost human.

  The creature gave Joe a quick glance before looking back at a display on his right forearm, then looking up towards the sky.

  “That is one ugly mother fucker.” Joe said to the captain. As Joe looked back to the alien, he noticed that just one of the creatures’ four eyes was still looking at him. “Yikes.” Joe took another sip of his coffee and checked his watch. The ship was due any moment now.

  Ranix had told Joe that the PCS was coming all the way from Mechcharga with an Alliance Contact Group to start setting up more formal diplomatic relations with the humans. Ranix had also informed Joe that a Reach Sanctuary was en-route to take up a permanent position within the system. Unfortunately, it would take half a year to arrive.

  After less than five minutes of waiting, Joe watched as a pair of Canadian F-18s buzzed their position, followed by the bulky looking PCS. Since Admiral Taark’s arrival, all ships that had come down from orbit had come down over the Pacific and taken a low approach over Vancouver Island before touching down. It was thought to be the most discrete option considering the situation.

  When the PCS came into full view, Joe couldn’t help but think how ungainly it looked. It was quite squat with a ridge running down its length. Numerous antenna and other extensions protruded from the ship, several flashing in various different colours. As the ship continued to lower itself from its cruising height, the down-facing thrusters suddenly cut off, and the roar that the engines had produced fell silent, but the craft didn’t drop from the sky. It continued its near silent descent until an altitude of 100 metres when a series of pole like extensions dropped down from the ships undercarriage.

  From where Joe was standing, it looked like the poles were all different lengths, and the pads at the bottom of each pole mixed between circular shaped, triangular, and four-pronged tips.

  “What’s your take on those poles?” He looked at Keegan who was peering through a pair of binoculars he had brought with him.

  Without diverting his eyes, he pursed his lips and rocked his head back and forth considering his response. “Obviously something to do with landing support. I’d say they’ve scanned the seabed, and have deduced the appropriate pattern to settle the ship as they see fit.”

  “Yeah.” Joe nodded. “Makes sense.”

  “I’m more curious as to what’s keeping that thing from falling out of the sky.” Keegan brought the binos down and looked at Joe. “The Epsilon, its shuttle and the Admiral’s shuttle all created a huge amount of downforce through directed thrust when they land.” He pointed at the PCS, “This thing sounds like they’ve completely shut off its engines.” He shook his head and turned his attention back to the ship.

  When the ship was only twenty metres off the water, a section of the ship that was facing the shore retracted, and a few figures came out onto a balcony and pointed a device at the Alliance officer on the beach. A green beam light emanated from the machine and displayed a holographic causeway on the water’s surface that ran to the beach.

  “Looks like they’re lining up.” Keegan commented.

  The ship slowed its descent ever more slightly and inched just a fraction to one side. Joe watched as the officer on the beach raised its right arm as if to signal the ship that everything was in order.

  As the poles began to hit the water, a sensation shot up Joe’s spin. This was the beginning of the first step towards formal relations. Joe knew that the Alliance Contact Group on board the PCS was going to spend the foreseeable future on Earth determining what the Alliances long-term relations with humanity would be. There had been suggestions that all sorts of technological wonders would become instantly available once the process started. It was truly the beginning of a new age.

  When the hull of the massive ship finally entered the water, it sent waves rushing away in every direction. Overhead a golden eagle circled the beach before going into a steep dive towards the beach, swooping in low over the treeline then to the water’s edge where its talons broke the surface before climbing again, his great wings always beating as it dragged a fish from the strait.

  Joe was happy to see that some parts of his planet were still behaving as normal. He even noted that the Alliance officer on the beach had stopped to watch the eagles hunt.

  “Not so different after all?” He looked at Keegan, giving him a sly wink.

  When the giant ship finally came to rest, it was centred on the cove, with the closest part of the ship twenty metres from the shoreline. As Joe and Keegan watched intently, a vertical slot opened two metres above the waterline, and out jumped two Light Sentinels, each holding the ends of a cable. The robots submerged under the water for a few moments before resurfacing closer to the shore, still tugging the wires. When they reached the beach, they carefully paced off a few steps from the water’s edge and then placed the ends of the cables on the wet sand.

  Suddenly the cables became rigid, and then claxon rang out from the ship, just before panelling as wide as the cables were apart left the ship running along the top of the wires. The panelling, grey in colour like the ship, quickly made its way to where the Sentinels were standing and stopped. A sound similar to an electric current could be heard as the panels became affixed to the cables, and a bridge was made.

  “Rather ingenious.” Keegan commented.

  One of the Light Sentinels approached the Alliance officer on the beach and spoke with him in Universal before approaching Joe and Keegan.

  “The Ship Master and the Alliance Contact Group would like to welcome you and your team aboard for an initial meet and greet in two hours.”

  “Your English is fantastic, for a first timer.” Joe said with a smile.

  “Thank you, Major Hunt. I have studied all the logs from the Epsilon.”

  Keegan looked at the machine which was about his height and couldn’t help but notice that the robot was a Commander model, but had a white stripe running down its head. “I’m noticing the markings on your head,” He looked past the robot to the ship, and again, the bulk of the markings on the ship were in white, and even had a large crest on the ship that was primarily white. “And also on the ship. Can you explain this?”

  “That is because the ship and myself were once aligned with The Core.”

  “And you haven’t repainted it in all these years since you’ve been fighting against the Coalition to Alliance colours?” Keegan countered.

  “It was thought that reminding the citizens of the Etelainen of the history of the war, and how we arrived at this point in time was best accomplished by keeping all ships, units, and other identifiers that were loyal to the Core during the first days of the war under the same colour and standards as before. The Princess hopes one day to re-establish The Core as it once was and return the Empire to its former glory.”

  Joe looked at the ship, now resting motionless in the water, then up to the robot. “Ambitious, after nearly seventy years of war to think that such a goal is achievable.” He looked Keegan, then back up to the robot. “We’ll be back in two hours. Pleasure to meet you.”

  Joe nodded to Keegan to follow him as he turned away from the water’s edge.

  Joe was normally a sceptic, and he was not convinced that peace was in the offering after having spent the last six months speaking with Ranix, Prure and Sulvan. He understood the nostalgia of the old Core units keeping their standards and whatnot, but to do so under the impression that they would once retake their ruined home-worlds was very optimistic in his mind.

  2

  The throne room on Mechcharga had not changed much in all the years since the war had started. While the war was officially referred to as the War of Succession, it was referred to the Imperial Civil War in some circles, and the
re had been almost no reason for celebration since its commencement. Population numbers had been reduced to their lowest levels in centuries in the Etelainen, and not a single new populated world had been added to the registry of planets either in that time.

  The once young and vibrant princess was now in the twilight of her life, and many of the older members of the Royal Council who once had notions of a peace treaty with the Coalition, but those dreams had faded with time. The younger generations, and with them, the younger members of the Royal Council, had grown up being told that the Etelainen and those in the Pohjois were their sworn enemies, not the brothers and sisters that they had once been during the time of the Empire.

  When news had come that a missing ship from the 7th Fleet had been found on a populated planet beyond The Reach cheers filled the room. The initial reports suggested that the world was friendly to the crew, and presented real potential to becoming the next member of the Alliance, perhaps not immediately, and perhaps not even capable of providing military assistance, but nonetheless, it was a boost to morale, and would surely bring adulation to the rest of the Etelainen.

  News that the Planetary Command Ship had arrived safely was received via sub-light communiqué just moments after the event had occurred. An assembly of the Royal Council and military chiefs that were on-world at the time were assembled to discuss how to proceed during these exhilarating times.

  “When is the meeting with the Contact Group meeting with these,” the Grand Marshal checked the notes in front of him. “Humans?”

  A magistrate sitting next to the princess responded quickly. “In just a few hours time.”

  The marshal nodded and looked back down at his datapad. “I see here that there is a chance that the Coalition has already identified this world, and could pose a threat. I know that Sanctuary Command has already authorised a Sanctuary to move into the system, but with our lines already as thin as they are should we even be bothering to invest any resources in this world?” He said dryly.