Planet Exploration: Chapter 7
Yoli was scanning the sensors and turned to Bowie, “Okay, the temperature is eighty eight degrees, the humidity sixty six percent. The oxygen and pressure are great. It’s exactly like earth. There ya go skipper the green light.”
Bowie looked at the bright green light, “Looks good buddy. We’ll see what’s going on with the drones.”
After several minutes Joe turned to Bowie, “Drone number eight has spotted a group of guys walking this way. They’re about a mile east of here on a dirt road. It appears to be six men with rifles. Colonel, I think we’ve landed in a war zone.”
Bowie asked Joe, “What do they look like? Are they like us?”
“Yeah, it looks like six white guys with guns. I don’t know how you would tell us apart. They look just like us.”
Bowie turned to Jana, “What is this? We land in what is apparently 1950’s America in the middle of a war? What’s going on?”
Jana was still trying to process everything, “We’ve landed on a planet like ours. Their history must be different. We need to find out the situation.”
Bowie decided to go talk to Colonel Michaels. He walked down to the lower deck and the mercs were gearing up. Bowie said to Michaels, “I guess you’ve heard what’s happening.”
“Yeah, we understand a threat is coming this way. What’s the plan.”
Bowie stood there a second, “Get ready. We’ll go out and see what the hell this is all about.”
Michaels and the mercs were all set. Michaels said, “Tell your radio guy the ship call sign is Baby, our call sign is King nine.”
Bowie went back up to the cockpit and asked Joe, “Hearing anything else on the radio?”
“No. Nothing different. They’re still talking about the war and how the fight is almost over. Apparently, there’s one stronghold left until the south has to surrender. It must be around here where we’re at. There are military forces moving this way. I don’t know what it’s about though. They keep talking about freeing the Kindar. I’m still monitoring the unit I saw earlier. They haven’t seen the drone yet. They probably wouldn’t know what it is anyway. They’re less than half a mile. We need to send someone out or takeoff would be my recommendation.”
Bowie looked concerned, “You’re right kid. Hold on. By the way, when we go out your call sign is Baby and we’re King nine. Got it?”
Bowie could see the sullen look on Joe’s face, “It’s not because you’re a kid. It’s because this is the Baby ship.” Bowie laughed as he walked down the stairs to the mercs. “Let’s go see about this patrol coming at us.”
Bowie and the four mercs got on the four wheelers. Michaels yelled, “Johnson, you take the point.”
Yoli opened the ramp. There was a video camera so he could see when people came and went. The ramp had to be closed at all times when not in use in case a quick take off was needed. The four wheelers headed down to the road. Johnson was point and everyone had headphone sets on. They were connected to the Baby. After a few hundred yards Bowie said, “Talk to me Baby. What’s going on with the patrol.”
Joe came back, “They must hear you. They’ve scattered into the woods. Watch out.”
Bowie raised his hand in a fist for the group to stop but it was too late. Shots rang out from the tree line. Bowie was grazed in the head but didn't flinch. Michaels yelled for the mercs to retreat to the forested area on the other side of the road. They took cover and returned fire. The mercs didn’t get off many shots. Even the gatling gun was suppressed by the massive firepower. They discovered a large number of troops were in the trees, and they continued to pour on the firepower. The mercs had to relocate immediately. They were being overwhelmed. As they repositioned themselves Johnson was hit and stumbled towards the road. Bowie yelled into his headset, “Baby, we need a swarm of drones here, now.”
Joe had been monitoring the situation and had the drones ready. They swooped down as some of the troopers brazenly came out in the open. They looked up and were shocked as the drones hovered just feet above their heads. They were moving menacingly back and forth as if they were going to attack at any moment. Some of the troopers panicked and started shooting randomly. While they were occupied with the drones the mercs unloaded everything on the troopers. The gatling gun did the most damage. Karstares opened up and laid waste to the area. He could see the thousands of rounds from the big rotating barrel hit their target. The troopers' bodies were exploding on impact. The mercs were gaining the advantage.
The drones quickly pulled up high and over the trees. They were gone for just a second and immediately came back down towards the troopers and got into the middle of the fire fight. The enemy was completely disoriented. They were mowed down by the mercs. When they finished with the troopers the mercs started firing into the trees. They figured there were more guys in there. After almost a minute exchange the firing stopped and the mercs waited. Joe called on the radio, “Baby to King Nine, they took Johnson, and the troopers are retreating.” The mercs had not seen Johnson fall. They thought he was in the bushes and safe.
Joe came back, “King nine, they’re carrying him back towards the city. They’re gone from the area.”
Bowie was frustrated, “Keep track of where they go. I want to know what happens to him.”
“I’m on it. I’ll let you know. Just come back to the Baby for now.”
Bowie realized for his age Joe was an old soul and knew what should be done. He trusted him.
The mercs raced back to the ship with Johnson’s four wheeler in tow. The ramp opened up and they entered the lower bay. The ramp closed and the men were out of breath and exhausted from adrenalin flow. Bowie's head wound was slight but was bleeding profusely. Doc Jones came down to attend to any medical conditions. All the guys stood there staring at each other. Finally, Michaels said, “He’s gone. They got Johnson. They took him. We got to get him back.”
Bowie stood there contemplating the situation as Doc worked on him. He knew the code. You never leave anyone behind. This had now become an ordeal, and he knew why they hired him. He looked at Michaels, “Yes, we’re going to get him back. Joe is watching where they take him. We’ll go in, get him and head home.”
Bowie walked up to the cockpit, “Joe, what’s going on, where did they take him?”
Joe was concentrating on the screen, “They took him to a building a little over a mile and a half from here. It appears to be a hospital. I don’t know what else to do. How are we going to get him out?”
Bowie walked over to the boy in a calm manner, “It’s okay. We’ll get him out. You’re doing a great job Joe. Just keep doing what you’re doing. Good man.”
Joe smiled and returned to watching the drone’s surveillance. He then said, “I can cause a commotion at the hospital with a swarm of drones. Believe me, they’ll be confused for some time wondering what these things are. If there’s a slightly open door, I can get some inside the building. They’ll go crazy.”
He smiled, “I’ll keep that in mind, we just might need it.”
Bowie went back down to the lower bay with the mercs. They were getting ready to get their buddy. Bowie told them, “Only I’m going back in. We’ll be connected by transmitter, and you’ll assist me but I’m going by myself to get him out.”
Michaels was upset, “No, we all need to go.”
Bowie was stern, “No, I go. I’ll get him out and as I retreat, you’ll cover me. If we take to many men in, they will bring a lot of fire power down on us. If I can distract them and get him out of there without too much disturbance, we can pull it off. Joe will bring all the drones down on the hospital as I’m leaving. You just take care of the people they send after us. We get back to the Baby and get the hell out of here.”
Bowie was exhausted and sat there with his face in his hands, “The sun is going down. We’ll have the drones patrol overnight and start the operation when the sun comes up. Until then we’ll keep watch and if a patrol comes close, we’ll take off and land again at sunup.”
Bowie went back to the cockpit and informed Joe what the plan was. He said, “Yes sir. One of the drones was hit but the damage isn't bad. I've got a replacement to use while I repair it. I’ll bring the drones back and reprogram them to observe for movement overnight. If anything gets close, they’ll tell us.”
Bowie gave a thumbs up and Joe began his work. The drones returned to base for recharging. He began to program them to watch the ship overnight.
Bowie went to his co-pilot chair in the cockpit and leaned back. Jana approached, “Are you okay?”
Bowie relaxed for a minute, “I didn’t expect this. I know this is why they sent me, but I can’t believe everything went to shit so fast. You’re the expert here. What happened?”
“It’s another world. We couldn’t possibly know what was here. In the bible it says God made man in his own image. I guess it makes sense that people on other planets look and act like us. They are just in a different situation than us.”
Bowie sat there, “Yeah, I guess. I just don’t want to get entangled in their mess. I want to get out of here. We can’t leave without Johnson though. We don’t leave anyone behind plus we don’t want him telling anything about our expedition.”
By now Joe had reprogrammed the drones. He looked at Bowie, “I’m seeing a lot of activity around the building they took Johnson to. It’s definitely a hospital. All the vehicles and people look like they’re from the 1950’s. It’s going to be tough getting him out of there.”
Bowie looked at Jana, “You’re the philosopher. Did we interfere and mess things up?”
Jana hesitated, “I don’t know. I agree though. We need to get Johnson back. No telling what he could do to this world if he’s interrogated.”
Bowie was now exhausted just like Afghanistan, “Okay, we’ll get him back. I need to rest a while.”
About that time Doc Jones came into the cockpit, “Colonel Bowie we have a problem.”
Bowie slowly looked up, “Well, you’re on the right ward Doc. We’ve got a lot of them. What is it?”
“I took some cell samples from the landing party. Our cells are deteriorating. Apparently, the transition from our universe to this universe so fast doesn't sit well with the cells in our bodies. They haven't adapted to the universe we traveled to in seconds. It must be because of the displacement to this universe. We need to get back soon. People could start dying if we stay here.”
Bowie now realized he was earning his money and should’ve asked for more, “Okay Doc. In a few hours we’ll get Johnson and head home.”
“I hope it’s in time.”
All the members of the expedition were feeling bad. They were beginning to get weak.
Bowie was despondent. He looked at Jana, then at Joe, “You feeling alright Joe? Can you watch the screen for the next few hours?"
Joe was enthusiastic, “Yes sir. I got this. I’ll let you know if anything happens. Get some sleep.”
Bowie felt comfortable with Joe watching things. Davis was right, the kid knew what he was doing and was a good company man.
Bowie turned back to Jana, “Is this what you envisioned coming here?”
Jana had a distressed look on her face, “No, but we knew it would be crazy. We traveled a hundred thousand light years in seconds. You think that doesn’t come with consequences?”
“Yeah, you’re right. I just didn’t think about all this. Nobody saw this coming.”
“That’s why they sent you along. Nobody could foresee this. We now need to get back and tell them what we saw. You are the key figure in this. It’s up to you. You can get us back.”
“I need to get Johnson and then we go home.”
Jana wasn’t sure what to say, “I’ll admit I wasn’t on board sending you with us but I’m glad you’re here now.”
Bowie stood up and walked towards her. He hugged her and she put her head on his shoulder, “It’s okay. We can blast out of here in a few seconds. Yoli is the best pilot I know. We’ll be fine. I just need to get Johnson back. A few more hours and we’ll be ready to go. We have to hang on.”
Jana felt secure in his embrace. She looked up at him, “What if something else goes wrong at the hospital?"
Bowie grabbed her by the shoulders. He pulled her towards him slowly and kissed her softly on the lips. She succumbed to his advances. She wrapped her arms around him and hugged him tightly as she kissed him back. They embraced for minutes kissing and hugging. He felt so comfortable as their lips touched and he softly moved them around her mouth. She was aroused by the kiss.
Yoli and Joe acted like they were concentrating on their screens as the two embraced. Bowie still staring into her eyes as he slightly laughed, “What else could go wrong.” As they say in Texas ‘He was fixin to find out.’
Jana put her hands up on his cheeks, “It’ll be okay. We can leave anytime. Just go get Johnson and we’ll get out of here.” She then gently kissed him again and they sank into the cushioned pilot's chair. Yoli and Joe were okay with what was happening. Bowie asked Joe, “You okay kid?”
Joe acknowledged, “Yes sir. I’m keeping watch.”
“Let me know if you see anything and wake me an hour before sunup.”
Joe was up for the task, “Yes sir. You can count on me.”
Bowie felt comfortable with Joe watching things as he continued to cuddle with Jana.