Red Horizon: The Truth of Discovery (Discovery Series Book 2) Read online

  “Understood,” Carter began. “Let me preface what we’re about to discuss by saying that in all seriousness, I don’t see a real threat or even opportunity for hostilities to break out in space; that is not practical. But under the circumstances, it would be prudent to defend ourselves.”

  “Then why will there be soldiers on the mission?” Marge asked pointedly.

  Carter nodded, turning his face toward her. “I understand your reluctance, but it’s more a show of force than anything. The Chinese will arm their ship and send troops, so will the Russians. We will do the same to ensure nothing breaks out a million miles from home.”

  “Well, your sense of distance has much to be desired,” Marge said.

  “It was a figure of speech,” the major said.

  “The wrong figure,” Marge replied.

  Rock sighed and interrupted, knowing that Marge wasn’t the most social of his crew, even in good conditions. “Major Carter, please move to the details.”

  “I’m working on it,” the man said.

  “Not hard enough,” Lisa said, surprising the men at the table. Well, maybe not Jack.

  “Look,” Carter said, holding a hand up to silence Rock from interjecting again. “I get that our mere presence upsets you. That is not our goal. We’ll do everything in our power to be transparent and stay out of your way.”

  “You can do that by staying on Earth,” Jack jumped in, while Rock shook his head. This was getting out of control.

  “We can’t help you from here,” Carter said calmly and patiently.

  “Who said we need your help?” Lisa asked.

  Carter turned his attention to her and then suddenly stopped, frozen for a moment. He looked down and brought his hand up to the left side of his head, placing his index finger over his ear canal. “Yes, sir. Are you sure, sir? Yes, I’ll be gentle.”

  “Who the hell are you talking to?” Jack asked.

  Major Carter stood and walked around Jules and Neil till he stood behind Marge. Without warning, he wrapped a massive arm around the top of her chest, above her breasts and almost around her neck, but far enough down so she could breathe. With the same motion, he jerked her off her chair and kicked it out from under her, pulling her back up close against his chest.

  “Jesus H Ch—” Jack never finished. He was sitting right next to Marge and stood up to grab Carter’s arm, but the man used his lone free hand to pull Jack toward him, reversing the move so that Jack’s arm was now behind his back. He then pushed Jack onto the table, adding momentum by kicking him in the small of his waist, propelling him on top of the table and knocking over Marge’s juice and a cup of coffee.

  Neil was on the other side and managed to get both hands on Carter, trying to pull him off. Carter spun Marge with him, swinging his large leg, which was now outstretched, and knocked the stocky commander off his feet and onto his back, knocking the wind out of him.

  Lisa didn’t fare much better, instinctively reaching for Marge’s outstretched hand, not even trying to touch the crazed military officer, who had suddenly lost his mind and attacked them. One of Marge’s hands was gripping the major’s forearm, trying to keep from choking, and the other reached out for help toward Lisa.

  The major swung back around and placed his lone free hand on Lisa’s chest, right between her breasts. “Hey,” she said, surprise evident in her voice and expression. With one fluid movement, he pushed her back into her chair and followed it by stepping forward, dragging Marge, who was pointing in the other direction now. With a foot on the lip of her chair, he kicked it, sending it skidding backward until the friction overcame momentum, and its legs finally gripped the floor, spilling Lisa onto her back.

  Jules wasn’t playing either. She saw her companions going down, and she swung a fist at the major, contacting him across his face hard as he turned his attention from Lisa back to the other side. Blood sprang from the major’s nose, a small trickle where her punch had impacted.

  Carter swung Marge back around behind him to his side now, still gripping her firmly, and reached out to grab Jules by her uniform. Pulling quickly, he brought Jules right up to his face, their noses touching one another, and Jules tried to knee him in the groin. She contacted his upper thigh and came close as the major seemed to wince for a second before he spoke. “Sorry about this.”

  He then tilted his head down, bringing it back quickly at first, and then forward, slamming their foreheads together so forcefully that Jules’s eyes rolled back into her head, and she fell backward, landing hard on the tile floor. She seemed to be knocked out for a moment.

  “Enough,” Rock yelled, coming around the table at the insane military officer. Carter swung his fist and stopped it less than a quarter inch from Rock’s nose. Rock didn’t flinch, instead standing and staring at the man who had now brought Marge back in front of him. He squeezed tighter, bringing his free hand away from Rock’s face and using it to leverage his other arm so he could tighten its grip around her throat.

  Marge used both hands to grip the major’s forearm. Her veins in her neck started to bulge, and her eyes were wide. She was no longer capable of speech, so Rock spoke for her. “Let her go.”

  There was a pause, and Neil had recovered, standing behind the officer. Jules had also shook her head and then leaped like a spring upright, her forehead bleeding slightly from a laceration where the impact tore the skin. She took a step toward the major, and Neil grabbed her arm for a moment, restraining her. Rock watched the major as the man’s eyes went down and to his left, as if looking at Jules even though she was behind him, well back and not visible. Somehow, the man knew she was there and ready to attack. Lisa sat up, still on the floor, and Jack had scrambled to stand clear. There was an awkward pause before the man spoke. “Make me.”

  Rock looked into the man’s eyes, and he didn’t like what he saw there. It was without emotion, all business and professional, and he didn’t see empathy or compassion in the officer. He noticed Jules lean forward, and the major tensed again. Rock spoke. “Jules, stand down.”

  “You’re not going to let him get away with this, are you?” she retorted.

  “Come on,” Jack said, jumping a bit up and down. “We can rush him together. He can’t deal with all of us.”

  “He already has,” Rock said.

  There was another awkward moment with everyone standing around before the major spoke. “You understand now?”

  “Yes, let her go . . . please,” Rock said.

  The major put his finger to his ear again and spoke. “Yes, sir. Understood.” He released his grip on Marge, who fell forward into Rock’s arms.

  Rock moved her to Neil’s seat and sat her down. “Are you all right?”

  “Yes,” Marge finally gasped, rubbing her neck with both hands.

  Major Carter walked over to Lisa and bent down slightly at the waist, offering her a hand. Her legs were wrapped around the overturned chair where she had tried to grip it in desperation to arrest her fall, and she was leaning forward at her waist, both hands on the floor, supporting her torso. She scowled at him for a moment, and then took his outreached hand and stood with his help.

  “I’ll get the med kit,” Jack said, walking to the wall. As he passed the major, he looked at him sideways. “You’re lucky you stopped when you did.”

  There was no reaction from Carter, who wiped the blood from his nose onto the back of his hand as he walked around Jules and Neil, giving them a good look in the meantime. He came to a stop behind his chair and stood unmoving.

  Jack got the medical supplies out and gave a gauze and tape to Neil, who started to clean Jules’s forehead with a swab of alcohol. Lisa walked over to the table, dragging her chair with her and rubbing her back. She didn’t care and plopped down, fidgeting with her messy hair hanging over her eyes. Marge leaned forward, and Rock rested a hand on her back, giving her time to breathe and recover from the attack.

  After a moment, Rock turned to face the Major. “Will you call security, or sh
all I?”

  Carter finally moved his head, facing Rock. “You can call. They’ve been ordered to stand down.”

  Rock eyed the man warily. “You’re not acting alone. That much is obvious. Was that Admiral Nicholson you were talking to?”

  “It was,” Major Carter said. “You can still request my court martial. We still live in a land of laws.”

  “You want that?” Rock asked, confused as to why the military officer would recommend his own discipline.

  Carter shrugged, dropping his tight military stance for a moment. “Not really, but if that’s what it takes to keep your crew safe and alive up there, then I’m ready to make that trade.”

  Rock stood for a moment and then leaned over the table and pulled the main conference phone toward him and the officer. “Call the admiral.”

  Carter paused for a moment and then dialed the direct number. Rock leaned over and hit the speaker phone button so that the electronic ringing was audible to everyone in the room. The admiral answered. “Mister Crandon, I was expecting your call.”

  “You’re on speaker phone,” Rock said.

  “I know,” Nicholson responded.

  “Do you know that your liaison officer attacked us just now?” Rock asked.

  “I do.”

  Rock sighed, listening to nothing, as the man didn’t elaborate further, and everyone pretty much had stopped moving, turning their attention to Rock and the phone. Rock spoke again. “Did you sanction this?”

  “Actually, I ordered it, Mister Crandon. Your crew wasn’t taking the threat seriously, and I felt time was short and an abstract lesson was called for.”

  “Does your boss know this?” Rock continued his line of questioning.

  “President Powers knows, and she sanctioned it.”

  Rock put his hands on his hips, a gesture the admiral couldn’t see, or appreciate, but habits were hard to break. “I don’t believe that.”

  Now the pause was on the other end for a moment as the admiral chose his words carefully. “Right . . . let’s say she rejected the proposal at first and was completely against it. I persuaded her to agree as a measure of last resort with one caveat.”

  “Which was?” Rock asked.

  “There would be no immunity for Major Carter if our proposal was executed, and you, or your team, pressed charges.”

  “So”—Rock tried to wrap his mind around this—“you’re saying if we press charges, then the major would face a . . . court martial?”

  “Correct,” the admiral said.

  Rock looked around the room before responding. “Only one of us needs to press charges?”

  “Correct again,” the admiral said.

  Rock nodded and looked around the room, first at Marge, who waved him off, and then he looked at Neil Sullivan. “Neil?”

  “Ah, no,” the stocky commander said, finishing with his bandage on Julie’s forehead.

  “Jack?” Rock asked.

  Jack walked over to the major and pointed a finger in the man’s face. “You’re lucky we didn’t mess you up.” Rock was worried his team member was going to go home with a broken finger, but the major kept his cool and stood stoically while Jack vented. “I’m a brown belt in karate, you know?”

  “That was in high school,” Lisa said, looking up and moving her hair back against her head as best she could.

  Jack brought his finger down and walked away, heading around the table to his seat. “Still, I haven’t forgotten my moves, and I work out every week.”

  Rock looked at Jack, who sat on the opposite side of the table and shrugged. Rock sighed and looked at Lisa. “Lisa?”

  “What?” she asked.

  “Charges?” Rock asked.

  “Of course not. He helped me back up,” she said, looking at the major from her seat.

  “After he knocked you on your ass,” Jules said rather rudely and coarsely, wiping away Commander Sullivan’s hand and standing abruptly to face Major Carter.

  “Jules, does that mean—” Rock started to say, but she interrupted him.

  “Are you kidding me? I hit him first, Rock,” Jules said.

  “In self-defense.” Jack looked sideways at her.

  “Maybe,” Jules said. “I also tried to crack his nuts, so I can’t be too surprised by his reaction.”

  “He. Smashed. Your. Head,” Neil said, emphasizing each word and adding to Jack’s protest.

  “And I bloodied his nose,” she said.

  “So . . . I’ll take that as a no, then, Jules?” Rock asked.

  “No,” Jules said, moving her seat back closer to Neil’s and giving the major’s chair a wider berth.

  “Well, he didn’t assault me, so we’re back to you, Marge,” Rock said.

  Marge looked up at Rock and then over to the major, who still stood silently for the time being. Finally Marge took a deep breath before speaking. “I guess that was payback for my little musical chairs stunt back in DC.”

  Major Carter finally spoke. “That had nothing to do with this.”

  Marge nodded. “I guess we were complaining a bit hard about the entire situation.”

  There was a long pause before Rock prompted, “Let me hear you say it, Marge.”

  “No charges,” Marge said, pulling her chair to line it up with the table, sitting still, looking forward.

  “All right, Admiral, you’ve had your fun. Major Carter is free to leave. I don’t want to see him again,” Rock said.

  “That will be difficult,” Nicholson said over the speaker.

  “What now?” Rock asked, frustration evident in his tone.

  “Well,” Admiral Nicholson started, “Major Carter isn’t only your liaison between our team and your crew but he’s also the commander of the SEALs who will be going on this mission. I also can’t stress enough how important it is that you understand that the Chinese commandoes, or the Soviet Spetsnaz, won’t be as gentle as Major Carter was. Besides, his second-in-command, Lieutenant Harris, isn’t as, shall we say, diplomatic as the major here. I highly suggest you rethink your position.”

  Rock put his head down and resumed his stance with his hands on his hips. “Fine, Admiral. Any other surprises today?”

  “Our think tank came up with either a ship-to-ship missile salvo, or close-quarter combat in zero g, or low gravity, as the most likely scenarios that your space crew would encounter on this mission,” the admiral said. “The Chinese are masters at hand-to-hand combat.”

  “And the Soviets?” Rock asked.

  “Not as proficient there, but they have a slightly different specialty that they’ve been training on,” the admiral said.

  What would that be?” Rock asked.

  “Knife-to-knife combat in close quarters,”

  “That’s just great,” Jack complained.

  “Fine, Admiral,” Rock said. “Anything else?”

  “No,” the admiral said. “I’ll let you get back to your preparations.”

  “I’m still going to discuss this with the president,” Rock said before the other man could terminate the connection.

  There was a pause before the admiral responded. “You do what you have to do, Director Crandon.”

  The line went dead, and Rock pressed the end call button as well, shutting down the speaker phone. Major Carter turned to face him. “I think it may be best if you finished with your crew selection and we met later.”

  “We?” Rock asked.

  “Yes,” Carter said. “My SEAL team is here, on site. We’ll get together with your crew to break the ice, so to speak.”

  Rock nodded. “As long as nothing else is broken. I want your word, then, that there will be no more behavior from you or your team like this moving forward, understood?”

  “You have my word,” Carter said, grabbing his case and preparing to leave the room. As he walked by Jules, she reached out and grabbed his arm at the elbow, halting the man’s progress.

  Carter looked at her for a moment, and then she spoke. “Next time I won’t
miss,” she said.

  “Understood, Commander Monroe,” Carter said, pulling his arm free and leaving the room without further word.

  “Well, that’s just great,” Jack said.

  “Really?” Lisa said, looking at Jack. “Are you going to complain again?”

  Jack ignored her, looking around the room and finishing by locking stares with Rock. “Space SEALs?”

  “Yeah,” Rock said. “We got work to do.”

  Chapter 13

  Mission Commander

  NASA Space Command

  Houston, Texas

  In the near future, Year 4, Day 22

  Rock had simply dismissed the meeting, despite the fact that they were busy. He felt they needed a day to calm themselves and evaluate the situation. He also ordered the candidates to stand by as well, and the rumor mill was rife with speculation. He wasn’t surprised to find Julie Monroe waiting for him outside his office when he arrived for work the next day. She was a half hour early.

  Rock simply nodded at her and entered his office, shutting the door behind him. His administrative assistant, Rhonda, was already in, and they had exchanged pleasantries. Rock took his time in checking his e-mails and organizing his paperwork. He didn’t want to keep Julie waiting, but he needed some time to let his coffee kick in and to organize himself before meeting with his mission crew. He picked up his phone and rang his assistant. “You can let Commander Monroe in now.”

  Rock hung up his phone, and the door opened promptly. Julie came in, and Rock stood and offered his hand formerly across the desk, motioning to the two chairs opposite his. Julie took the one closer to the desk and sat down, setting her briefcase down and crossing her legs, trying not to look anxious. She had pulled her bandage off and put some makeup on her forehead in an effort to hide her small wound. “Good morning, Rock,” she said.

  “Good morning, Jules. You know why you’re here?”

  “Not really,” she said. “The investigation has been rather long, and I’m assuming there’s more to do? They seem to keep asking me questions as time goes by.”