Alien Enigma (14 page)

The next day they took the oath together, changing their status from a reserve five year commitment to regular marine service, meaning they intended to stay in until retirement. From that point on, more opportunities and faster promotion would come their way, but with them would also come much greater responsibilities. Neither of them minded, certainly not at this point in their young lives. After the oath they decided to wait until Captain Keane wasn't quite so concerned with other matters to ask him to marry them.

***

"Nothing, here so far, sir. Just like the last one."

Keane nodded to the com tech. This was the third earth-like planet in the itinerary that had been mapped out, and a bit deeper into the Bolt Cluster. The last one, named Saudi-6, had been suitable for colonization though it had been somewhat dry, with extensive desert areas. It did have six moons, which made for a breathtaking night sky. This new planet, now known as Kim's World after one of the very bright and extremely well liked astronomy techs who had spotted it, was much better. Perhaps the initial colonization would be hard, chiefly because of the extensive jungle, but the atmosphere was a close approximation to that of Earth and the flora and fauna were compatible.

Not a bad world at all, Keane thought, but they were searching for what caused ships to go missing, not planets to colonize. It was beginning to look as if Xanadu was where the mystery lay rather than one of the other systems on the itinerary. He could quickly skip the plan and shoot directly for Xanadu, but something inside told him that was a very bad idea. He still intended to stick to the plan he and his officers had agreed on. Go slowly, look over each star system, and gradually work their way toward Xanadu.

"John, how about we let
Santa Cruz
have the liberty this time and we'll stay in orbit and watch for boogers while they enjoy themselves. Does that suit you?" Keane asked a day later while they were still examining the planet but finding nothing out of the ordinary.

"Sounds fine to me, Captain. I'm sure they're ready."

"Let's get on it, then. I'm getting anxious to move in deeper. I'd like to go directly on to Xanadu but I'm scared we'd miss something important if we do."

"I agree, sir. Let's stick to the plan even if it does get to be a bit boring."

***

Major Rambling had one big complaint about the accommodation for his marines. Individual staterooms were great according to the troops' opinions but there was a downside, he thought. Sleeping in their staterooms, they were deprived of the bull sessions that ordinarily took place among and between them. Sometimes great strategy and good ideas came from such gabfests. Here, with individuals isolated, they didn't grow into teams as close as they would have if bedded down in open bays, nor exchange views quite so frequently or openly. On the other hand, he had to admit that privacy had its merits, too. To prove it, he smoothed his hand over the curve of Commander June Mundahan's hip and down along the perfect length of her thigh to the bend of her knee.

"Mmm. That feels good, but should we be thinking of that at a time like this?"

"The Captain did say his off shift was to relax. The XO specifically advised us marines do the same thing. Who am I to dispute orders from two such august presences?" They were just beginning the first day of moving inward toward the life-zone planet in the fourth system of the cluster. It hadn't been given a name yet and was designated E67, but Rambling would be willing to bet it would wind up being called Sleepy from the way the one major continent formed an almost perfect Z as it meandered over a full hemisphere. The other side of the planet was dotted with many huge islands but no continents.

"You do have a point, Steel. Very definitely a point." She looked at his erection, smiled, shifted position onto her back and captured his hand in hers. She brought it up to her breast, a pointed hint not to waste precious time. And just in case that wasn't explicit enough, once his hand was in the position she wanted, she slid her own downward, obviously intending to emphasize her desire.

Rambling liked what she was doing. In fact, he liked her very much, even though her extreme beauty and voluptuous body had very nearly scared him away from even approaching her. At that, she'd had to practically trip him in order to get him into her bed. He still didn't know exactly what she saw in him. It certainly couldn't be his looks because no one had ever called him handsome or anything even close to it. He did have a good strong body that he kept in shape and a mind such that no one ever called him a dumb marine, so perhaps the combination compensated for his overlarge nose and jug ears. Whatever, he wasn't about to question her taste, especially not now. They were still learning about each other and enjoying the process.

They had just begun and were in the throes of gentle touching and kissing when Mundahan's com tinkled.

"Damn," she muttered and tapped her wrist after getting it loose. "Mundahan."

"Report to the Control Room, immediately."

"Wonder what that is?" Rambling asked. He sat up.

"Don't know but I gotta git. When the Captain says immediately, that's what he means."

Two minutes later she was gone, leaving him to wonder why she had been alerted and he hadn't. He didn't have to wonder long. His call came a moment later, but he was already dressed by then. He scurried though the passageway his stateroom was located on, up a ladder, and hurried toward the bay where the marines gathered when alerted. It was also the hanger bay where the assault shuttles lived. However, he no sooner arrived there than he was re-directed to the control room to meet with the captain and his officers.

Chapter Ten: Return fire!

Altaira Morbius:
Where have you been? I've beamed and beamed.

Robby Robot:
Sorry, miss. I was giving myself an oil-job.

Altaira Morbius:
Robby, I must have a new dress, right away.

Robby Robot:
Again?

Altaira Morbius:
Oh, but this one must be different! Absolutely nothing must show - below, above or through.

Robby Robot:
Radiation-proof?

Altaira Morbius:
No, just eye-proof will do.

Robby Robot:
Thick and heavy?

Altaira Morbius:
Oh, no, Robby. It must be the loveliest, softest thing you've ever made for me, and fit in all the right places, with lots and lots of star sapphires.

Robby Robot:
Star sapphires take a week to crystallize properly. Would diamonds or emeralds do?

Altaira Morbius:
Well, if they're large enough.

Robby Robot:
Five, ten, and fifteen carats, and on hand. I will run the dress up for you in time for breakfast. Sleep well, miss.

Altaira Morbius:
Thank you, Robby. I don't care now whether I do or not!

-
Forbidden Planet, 1956

Keane looked around to make sure that all the first shift and department heads had reported to the control room before saying anything. "Folks, we're picking up non-directional broadcasts from this world even while we're still quite a ways out. I'm not sure what to make of them yet. Apparently there's some fighting going on. We caught just the tail end of it before the rotation of the planet cut us off. It's not English we're hearing. We only got bits and pieces but it does sound like human voices, and our computer comparison says it is Chinese.

"There's also some other broadcasts that according to our computer are not, repeat
not,
human. What we got from both sources sounded like leakage from directional signals. I have a Chinese-speaking specialist who'll be here shortly to help interpret as the planet rotates and we come into range again. We'll see what he makes of the recording."

As if on cue, Petty officer Chen Zhou arrived. "Chen Zhou, reporting for duty sir."

"PO Zhou, come over here, please," Lieutenant Bogarty called to him. "I need you to listen to something."

"Ay, aye, sir."

The petty officer tucked an ear bug into his right ear and listened, an intent expression on his oriental face.

"Play it again, sir, please. The accent is a bit unfamiliar to me. It's Mandarin but sounds as if it's a second language for the one doing most of the talking. Shouting, I should say. He was excited and screaming orders."

He listened again then removed the bug.

"What do you make of it, son?" Keane asked.

"Uh, it's hard to say for sure, sir. I could hear gunshots and cursing. The gist of it is that whoever is commanding is very unhappy with what's going on. He's complaining of casualties and demanding that a platoon advance and capture a position referred to by a grid coordinate. That's useless to us for now. You must have heard the other part, where it sounds almost like cats and dogs going at it."

"Yes, we did," Keane said with a chuckle. "Take a seat and get some coffee if you like, Zhou. I want you to stick around. Bog, fix up a feed to him so he can listen and make notes for us."

Bogarty placed the Chinese petty officer in an empty alcove, furnished him with coffee and a keyboard tablet, then left him and returned to his station.

"Turn the volume up loud enough for all of us to hear when the rotation puts us in range again, Bog," Keane ordered. It would save time later, he thought.

"It's almost time now, sir."

Over the next several hours, when the ship was closer to the planet and after its rotation brought the broadcasts back into line, the situation became somewhat clearer. A Chinese ship had either landed or been shot down, and troops from it were attempting to repulse alien attackers. It didn't sound as if they were having much success.

"Sir, I've spotted their ship," Lt. Chavez said. She was operating the light telescope since she was better at it than Commander Manheimer, who was more of an astrogator than astronomer. "It's hard to tell much from this distance but it looks as if it's been heavily damaged. Funny, the directional indicators aren't lining up with it, though. I guess they must have left it when it was grounded."

"Anything else?"

"
Eve
is pulling together an enhanced picture of the areas, sir. It's coming clear now. Looks sort of like that Xanadu place but not much of it actually built yet. It has the same circular layout of about the same size but there's only one central spire. It's like ...like maybe a colony of Xanadu?"

"Most analysts think
Xanadu
is a colony," Dunaway said.

"We're coming in pretty close sir," Manheimer noted. "Do you want to go into orbit or stay clear?"

"Stay clear until we sort this out," Keane ordered emphatically. "Put us in a geosynchronous orbit over the alien settlement while we analyze the situation." He didn't intend to have his ship shot down and wasn't so anxious to help the Chinese that he was willing to risk it, not until he knew more. "And have
Eve
do a comparison match of this settlement to the Xanadu records."
Eve
was the name given to the ship's central computer. When it responded verbally it did so with a low, sultry, feminine tone.

Over the next several hours, the Chinese broadcasts became fewer and more frantic and finally ceased altogether. From their orbit it was possible to see heated explosions occurring at intervals through the powerful telescope. Some were determined to be chemical eruptions of known constituents but others were more akin to their own plasma pulser.

"Sir, I've spotted a second ship!" Chavez called out excitedly.

"What?!" Keane asked.

"A second ship, sir. It looks as if there may have been an attempt at camouflage, or perhaps it's simply been overgrown with vegetation, but it's definitely one of ours. A Wannstead type, I should say."

"That doesn't sound as if they came in together, does it?" Dunaway said. He was seated to the right of Keane. Both were looking at the big overhead 3D screen where the telescopic sightings were being projected. As he spoke, Chavez dropped an icon over the indifferently covered ship. It looked as if it had been damaged as well.

"What's that thin line going from the ship toward the settlement? Is it a road?"

"Looks like it," Chavez replied.

"As if a lot of traffic has been going back and forth from it," Keane said. He rubbed his chin while examining it and the other scenes. He knew he was going to have to make a decision soon on whether to go into a closer orbit around the planet or leave and go on toward Xanadu, the apparent main source of the alien presence in the Bolt Cluster. Xanadu had the advantage of being what they were really after but surely they could examine the aliens and their works on this planet just as well, assuming the
Doc Travis
could defend itself better than the other two ships had. That there might not be as powerful defenses here as was likely for the huge alien city of Xanadu was another point in favor of landing here. If they could.

"Anita, take us into close orbit, two hundred fifty kilometers," he said, making up his mind. "XO, sound general quarters in a moment. Major Rambling, get back to your marines and have two of your assault shuttles manned and ready. We may need them soon. June, run a weapons check and make sure all your stations are manned and ready. Fred, put us into stealth mode before we begin moving. Questions?"

There were none. The battle stations alarm sounded.

As
Doc Travis
moved cautiously closer to the planet, Commander Dunaway commented idly, "If nothing else, I think we've just proved there's a Chinese spy pretty high up in our government."

Keane was first startled and then chagrined at his statement. He'd thought of ships from other nations possibly beating them to Xanadu ever since Admiral Mullins had mentioned the possibility of their being responsible for Wannstead's lost ships. But this was far too coincidental. Besides, the Chinese ship had obviously been defeated by a colony that looked to be barely begun. An enemy agent seemed an obvious answer to the Chinese presence here but if so, they had outsmarted themselves. Their ship was destroyed, so he would give no further thought to it. Let the State Department and Homeland Security take up the matter when they returned.