Bright Horizons (10 page)

Kyle
leaned in across the table to look directly in Smith’s eyes.

“There
was no stopping the launch. At 1434 on June 18
^th
, the nation of
India was going to launch 342 nuclear equipped warheads at every strategic
military and urban center in the United States. There was no stopping it.”

“So
at 0841, I ordered the destruction of Hyderabad. Phollux rockets covered the
city in burning phosphorus. Over a million people died in a few minutes of
burning, suffocating agony.”

“News
of the destruction of the city was instant. Coverage worldwide brought in
commentators asking why the U.S. would do this to a foe that was on their last
legs; asking why we would kill so many innocents.”

“At
1434, 342 warheads left Indian soil and raced towards the U.S. At 1439, 342
warheads had been destroyed by our counter measures. Not a single warhead
detonated on U.S. soil. Not a single American was killed by their strike.”

Kyle
sighed and sat back in his chair.

“The
news of their attack was muted. No one was killed. But a million had died in
Hyderabad. No loss of lives against a million. That’s how they measure the
news.”

“But
if Hyderabad wasn’t destroyed, the news would have been about how India
threatened the lives of 500 million Americans. The American people would have
demanded blood. Hyderabad would have been just the beginning as the madness of
bloodlust spread into the Command structure.”

“I
have the blood of one million on my hands. I cannot ask for understanding. I
cannot justify the loss of life. But I do not regret the decision I made.”

Smith
slowly rose and simply said “I will draw up the contract, General.”

As
Smith left the room, Kyle realized his hands were shaking. It had been several
years since he had told the background of what happened and he remained as
convinced as ever that he had done the right thing. It was an awful act that
should never have happened. But it was the correct decision. 

“War
is an evil that destroys those who survive it,” he muttered to the empty room.
He had seen too many friends killed, too many innocents die, and too much blood
on his own hands. And now he was preparing to bring death and destruction on
another race of beings.

“General,
Ramirez is on the line for you,” Colonel Kitch said as she came in the room.
“Are you alright, sir?”

“I’m
fine, Kitch, thanks. Just been a long day already,” Kyle said. “How much time
do I have until the next briefing?”

“About
twenty minutes, sir,” she said as she checked her watch. “Ramirez is on hold, I
think he has some good news.”

“Thanks,
Diane. Find a time for the team to have dinner this next week. Make it Tuesday
if you can. Let’s go for a steakhouse. On me.”

“Will
do, sir,” Kitch said as she left the room.

Kyle
put Alex on speaker.

“This
is General Martin.”

“Sir,
Ramirez here. I have some good news for you.”

“The
Chinese?”

“They
are on board, sir. They also seem to think that the Russians will soon follow.”

Kyle
let out a slow breath. With India, China and Russia supporting the Global
Defense Initiative, there would be no serious resistance in the Security Council.

“Good
to know, now get back to Alexandria as soon as you can. We need to set up our
operational teams and I will be in the Congressional hearings starting next
Thursday. I need you here to vet our team leaders.”

“I
was hoping to charter out today, but it might be Saturday before I can get a
flight.”

“Kitch
will be setting up a steak dinner on me for Tuesday night. You don’t want to
miss it Alex.”

Alex
laughed, “No sir, I wouldn’t miss that. Kitch never scrimps when it’s your
money.”

“Alright,
see you in a couple of days then, Martin out.”

Kyle
punched off the phone and readied himself for his next briefing.

Chapter 11

06 April
2043

Sergeant
Major Williams scowled at General Martin. “This isn’t that hard, I mean
conceptually.  The math is pretty complex, but the concept should be
understandable.”

“Carl,
maybe if I had time to study it, but I don’t. Just bottom line it for me,” Kyle
said with his head lying on the conference table. “How fast can the warp
engines move our ships?”

Williams
sighed and closed his eyes. “For the last time, it’s not a matter of how fast,
it’s a matter of how stable the field is.”

Kyle
looked over at Sergeant Ramirez reading a news report in the corner. “Can you
help me here, Alex?”

Alex
looked up at them as if suddenly hearing what was going on. “Can’t explain it
any clearer than he did, sir. Doesn’t sound that hard to me.”

Kyle
stared at the two Marines until both men shifted uncomfortably.

“Ok,
man, here it is,” Alex said finally. “If we have fully stabilized warp fields,
we can travel approximately 7 to the 14
^th
klicks in an hour.”

“That
sounds really fast,” Kyle said. “Can I get that in context?”

Williams
grunted and turned away.

“In
5
^th
grade terms, sir, it’s one and a half light years an hour,” Alex
said. “We could cross the entire Milky Way in about seven and a half years if
we could keep a stable field that long.  And remember, it would take light
about 100,000 years to pull the same trick.”

“So
really, really fast,” Kyle said blankly looking at the closed folder in front
of him.

Williams
turned back around. “Really, really, really fast, sir. They will get us to
where we need to go.”

“Ok,
just wanting to make sure we get our money’s worth.”

Williams
picked up his paperback and looked towards the door. “These engines will be
worth it, sir.  Even though they may cost us well beyond what the Council would
like. We have to take the fight to the Iltia’cor, or we will find ourselves
isolated.”

“He’s
right, sir,” added Alex. “The Pelod will likely not offer us this deal again.
If the Iltia’cor decide to punish any other planets… we’re alone. We have to
gain allies, and that means standing up to the bully.”

Kyle
looked at the document in his hand. Fourteen full member Nations had
representatives on the Earth Council. Fourteen Nations that a mere year ago
couldn’t have agreed on the color of the curtains or shape of a table at a
Motel 6 meeting room.

“Hello
General Martin.” Chancellor Thomas strode into the room followed by four of his
aides. “Sergeant Ramirez, Sergeant Major Williams good to see you gentlemen
again. I trust you are doing well?”

“Doing
well, Chancellor, thanks,” Alex said.

Kyle
stood and stepped over to Thomas. “Good morning, Chancellor. Anything new on
the Kortit front?”

Thomas
shook his head. “Sorry General, the Iltia’cor are still blocking all official
news and we haven’t heard anything concerning Lon.”

“I’m
needed back in the lab and I’m sure Alex will be able to make up a similar excuse,
sir. So if you will pardon us, we need to get out of the way,” Williams said as
he and Ramirez started to the door. “Chancellor, good to see you again and
congratulations on your election.”

“Thank
you Sergeant Major,” Thomas said with genuine gratitude.

Kyle
waited a few moments after Williams and Ramirez left the room. “We are
responsible for Kortit being targeted by the Iltia’cor. Me and Alex most
directly, but Earth as a whole. If you think that is going to cloud my judgment
or compromise my desire to get this deal done, you need to take me off of this
duty right now.”

“General,
Admiral Rider has full confidence in your ability. When he was selected by the
Earth Council to be the Supreme Commander of Earth Forces, he was adamant that
you be our military point man for all alien contact,” Thomas said while he and
his aides started opening their folders and getting their tablets set up.

Kyle
nodded slowly and sat back down at the conference table. He hoped he could
remain focused and detached during the negotiations, but Lon was his friend. He
was imprisoned by his own people for allowing Kyle and Alex and the rest of the
Earth researchers off of the research station. But even while he was going
through all of that, Lon was able to somehow convince one of the Junniji on the
station to secure Emily Troy’s body and have it brought to Earth for burial.
For that action alone, Kyle and Alex owed Lon deeply. It wasn’t a debt they
were grudging about; it was one of those debts you were glad to own because it
tied you together with bonds of friendship that could never be broken.

As
horrible as Kyle felt when he heard Lon was imprisoned, he had an even greater
sense of fear and guilt when he heard that the Iltia’cor had taken over Kortit
a mere week after their failed assault on Earth. This was what the Hedali
feared and blamed Lon for. No matter where he was on that planet, he was in
tremendous peril from both the Iltia’cor and his fellow Hedali. Both races
personally blamed him for what happened.

“Please
God, let him be alive,” Kyle prayed as he steeled himself for the meeting that
would start in just a few minutes.

Smith
had sent over some preliminary schematics and some technical benchmarks for the
Earth Security technical team to pore over. From the analysis of the data, it
was conjectured that a small Scout vessel and a larger Cruiser would be able to
be built with the titanium alloy that Dr. Willers had developed. Some fairly
well developed rail guns, some solid-fueled missiles, and a few experimental
laser systems would suit well for the weapon systems of the ships. Shield
technology was just a pipe dream at this point, but without mosar in the
building materials, the Iltia’cor heavy weapons would be rendered ineffective
anyway.

Earth
just needed engines; engines that would allow her ships to travel light-years
in hours and days. That is what the Pelod could deliver. 

“Good
afternoon gentlemen,” Mister Franklin Smith said as he slipped almost unnoticed
into the conference room. “I trust our business can go forward?”

“Mister
Smith, welcome,” Thomas said as he rose from his chair and reached out to shake
hands with the Pelod.

Smith
froze and looked around quickly. Kyle tensed.

“I’m
sorry Chancellor Thomas, I have heard that humans sometimes confirm an
agreement with a handshake and I just don’t want to make that mistake before we
go through the contract,” Smith said with what Kyle chose to read as
embarrassment and not irritation.

“I
am very sorry, Mister Smith,” Thomas said, clearly chagrined. “I merely wished
to greet you to the meeting and was in no way trying to use deception to
enforce anything you would not want.”

“I’m
glad to hear that, Chancellor Thomas,” Smith said as he smiled warmly and took
a seat at the table.

Kyle
realized he had tensed up during the brief exchange and forced his muscles to
relax.

“My
engineers have looked over the schematics of the two vessel designs you have
given to us.  Both are very good designs and will serve you well, in their
estimations. We have calculated that you will need two engines for the smaller
vessels and ten engines for the larger vessels in order to maintain a powerful
enough warp field to travel.” Smith looked at his tablet.

“My
superiors have also made clear that payment must either be upfront or in a
highly controlled payment schedule.” Smith looked up again. “Unfortunately, you
do not have the correct… monetary units for lack of a better term. So we will
be making this deal with barter.”

“We’re
still looking for a galactic bank with free checking,” Kyle said as he prepared
himself for a bad day of negotiations.

“Mister
Smith, could I ask a question at this point?”

Smith
nodded. “Of course General Martin.  That’s what these negotiations are for.”

“You
mentioned your superiors. That was a little surprising to me, to be quite
honest. I thought you were the leader of the Pelod.”

“No,
General, I’m not. And I apologize if I gave that impression. I am one of the
directors of the facility on Mars, but I answer to several levels of
authority.”

“Thanks
for clearing that up. Now, what kind of trade would you take for the barter?”

Thomas
cleared his throat. “Yes, if we could see what we would be expected to provide,
that would be a good start.”

Smith
took a data chip and handed it to Thomas. “There are some basic materials we
would like.  The figures have been converted to your metric tons, in
thousands.”

Thomas
downloaded the data and his aides started running through the items. Kyle’s
eyebrows went up slightly as he read the list. Coal. Bauxite. Platinum. He
wasn’t sure how many metric tons were available on Earth, but he was puzzled by
the fact that these materials were fairly common.

“Mister
Smith, why these raw materials?” Kyle thought he heard Thomas moan a little at
his continued breaches in protocol.

“Mosar.
Or more precisely, the lack of mosar. Some of the minerals are just rare and
valuable items, like the platinum and palladium, but others, like your coal,
are very rare to find in such quantities without mosar.”

“But
I thought you were mining on Mars? Surely you can get the other materials there
as well.”

“Not
really, General. We went to Mars for the iron, and iron everywhere is free of
mosar. Mosar is part of the chemical binding of all materials. Well, except
materials which have never been introduced to mosar. Your planet, more
specifically life on your planet, is proof that mosar does not need to be
present for elements to form proper bonds. We would like to obtain large
amounts of your raw materials to experiment with.”

Thomas
interjected. “You want use of some of our facilities on earth?”

“Yes,
in particular smelting facilities that we can work with on Earth based
materials for some of our more innovative engineers.”

“How
many engines for this list?” Kyle asked.

“Sixty
for this list.”

“That
would only be five cruisers and five scouts worth of engines.”

“Yes
General, that should be enough to protect your system from the Iltia’cor.”

Kyle
looked over at Thomas and shook his head.

Thomas
nodded and looked back at Smith.

“Mister
Smith, what if we could offer you a little more?”

“What
would be in your offer?”

“Mineral
rights in perpetuity for Mars and her moons. Joint mining rights to all
asteroids in the system. And a defense agreement with Earth and its people.”

Smith
typed on his tablet for a few seconds and then waited. The seconds stretched
into a couple of minutes and then he nodded. “How many engines would you want
for this additional payment?”

Kyle
typed a number on his tablet and sent it to Thomas. The Chancellor paused for a
second and then he looked up to meet Smith’s eyes. “We would like an additional
150 engines.”

Smith
jerked a little and Kyle knew he had struck close to the maximum that Smith
superiors had agreed to.

“That
might be a little high, but let me see what I can do,” Smith said smoothly as
he went back to typing on his tablet.

Thomas
had been starting to worry, but when he looked back at Kyle, he had just the
slightest smirk forming.

“Yes,”
thought Kyle. “We will take the war to the Ilita’cor. We will make sure that
we, the Hedali, the Pelod, and any other race willing to work with us will
never have to feel the boot of oppression on our neck.”

Six
grueling hours later, Smith left with even more minerals procured, a few extra
addendums concerning water, and a permanent research facility in Brazil. In
exchange, Earth had 180 engines that they now had to build ships for.

Thomas
sat back in his chair as his aides packed up their things. He looked over at
Kyle and chuckled. “That was the hardest negotiation I have ever been in. What
made you asked for another 150 engines? I would have asked for twenty.”

“We
need as many as we can get. Need drove me. Also, I saw his face. He had us
bought for a sucker’s price. I knew he was lowballing us, I just had to figure
out by how much.”

“Rider
was right. We do need you when we deal with aliens. You seem to have a sixth
sense around them.”

“Thank
you. I just wish I could figure out how we can fix our mistake.”

“You
mean Kortit? We can deal with that once we start winning the war.”

Kyle
frowned and shook his head. “I disagree, Chancellor. I think we win the war
when we figure out how to free Kortit.”

Kyle
stood and started pacing. “The Iltia’cor have, what, eleven planets now under
their thumbs? How? And why?”