“Wow,” he said. “You have a Foresight too.” He glanced back at Nicholas. “And enough power to use the spines.” He looked out again. “To devastating effect.”

  “Sergeant, are you saying your ship doesn’t have enough power to use the spines?”

  He turned back to Nicholas. “That’s right. We barely had enough in the batteries to get here. Our ship’s charging from the reactor right now, but we don’t have nearly enough energy to use the spines. That’s why our Shepherd didn’t stay on board. He figured he’d be more useful out here than sitting in there twiddling his thumbs.” He shook his head. “We expected some resistance. We didn’t expect this.”

  “Did you know where you were going before you came?”

  “Negative. According to Captain Shepherd, we were supposed to use some new Grimmel tech to scout out the planets the generation ships were targeting. He said the coordinates were already locked in. All we had to do was fly past the planets, run some scans, and head for the next one. Honestly, I couldn’t figure out why we were pulled out of our search and rescue mission role for this, but the orders came from the top.”

  “You didn’t steal your Foresight?”

  Card cocked his head. “Steal it? No, sir. Why would we do that? This was all on the up and up. I mean, maybe the top brass pulled a few strings as a favor to Grimmel and moved us in hush-hush, but that’s the end of it.”

  “And you didn’t go to the Grimmel Corporation tower in London?”

  “Negative. We loaded up at Fort Hood, launched and wound up here. We only left about four hours ago. As soon as we got here, we picked up a USSF encrypted broadcast asking for help. I’m sure that’s why you’re here too.”

  Nicholas nodded. Card had followed the mission parameters Grimmel had laid out at dinner almost to a tee. That explained why Caleb’s Foresight didn’t have an energy unit. It also didn’t seem to have a Dag or a Swarm. “Sergeant, do you have a bot like this one on board?” He pointed to Dag.

  “Negative. We’re stocked with typical gear. Rifles. Armor. A few high explosive devices. That sort of thing. I’ve never seen a bot like that before. Or anything like it.” He pointed through the translucency to the Swarm, hovering in the air outside. “On one hand, you seem a lot better prepared to be here than we were. On the other, these two aren’t military.” He motioned to Macey and Scott. “Although the big kid’s almost passable, he’s just too young.”

  “Still, I feel like our Grimmel was a lot more helpful to us than yours was to you,” Nicholas said.

  “I feel like our Grimmel sent us straight into a trap,” Caleb said, his eyes narrowing. “And my entire team is dead because of it. I want to go back to Earth to ring that bastard’s neck.”

  Nicholas almost told Card that his Grimmel might already be dead. He stopped himself, realizing that whatever was happening here, he and Card had clearly come from two different versions of a similar reality. Alternate universes?

  Grimmel had said this was about both time and space. About all universes. He’d never quite believed in them before. He did now.

  “We shouldn’t linger here,” he said. “We can’t be completely sure there aren’t more aliens heading our way. Sergeant, if you’re good to walk, we can go back out the way we came in.”

  “I don’t know how mentally good I am right now, Captain. But I’m physically able. Lead the way.”

  Nicholas turned to the doorway leading out of the apartment. Behind him, Macey still couldn’t manage to keep her mouth closed.

  “So, Sergeant Card, have you ever seen Star Trek? If you have, you’re gonna love the ride down.”

  Chapter 13

  “I’m very sorry for your loss, Captain,” Sergeant Card said as Foresight’s hatch closed and Jennifer lifted the ship back into the air. Nicholas had explained his most basic theory of what he believed was happening as they walked back to the ship, quickly going over both his experience leading up to their arrival through the slip, and the information his Grimmel had provided through the Project Foresight files. “I met Luke briefly when I arrived at Fort Hood. My Fort Hood. He seemed like a good kid.”

  “He was,” Nicholas agreed, fighting back the current of emotion that threatened to drown him. Relaying the story of his son’s death had been difficult but necessary. The more they understood the differences between their origins, the better they might be able to make sense of things. “I miss him more than I can say.”

  “But you think there may be a way to bring him back.”

  “Grimmel said we could fix things. I’m holding onto the hope that’s what he meant.” Nicholas walked over to one of the compartments on the side and opened it up. “This is what we managed to scrounge up after we stole our Foresight.”

  Card looked over the security guard equipment and shook his head. “You wouldn’t have lasted two seconds out there with this gear. We should transfer what we have on our Foresight over and get you properly equipped.”

  “Is your kitchen stocked too?” Macey asked. “We’re running on candy bars we pulled from the Grimmel Towers vending machines.”

  “We’ve got about a dozen boxes of MREs,” Card replied. “Enough to last at least six months.”

  “MREs, great,” Gills said sarcastically. “Shit in a pouch.”

  “I think the Thanksgiving Dinner is pretty good,” Caleb said.

  “Maybe your tastebuds were damaged by a trife, Sarge.”

  “You can probably take off your helmet now, Sergeant Card,” Macey said. “We should be pretty safe up here, right Cap’n.”

  “I’m not keeping it on for protection,” Card said. “The helmet links to the armor and provides medical diagnostics and temporary treatment. Once I take it off, I’ll need external medication that I’m going to guess you don’t have.”

  “We took the first aid kits from the towers,” Nicholas said. “But they aren’t suitable for fixing broken ribs and fractures.”

  Motion on the ladder drew Nicholas’ attention. Yasmin and Briar descended and approached them.

  “Sergeant Card,” Yasmin said. “I’m—”

  “Doctor Yasmin Shepherd,” Card said, putting out his hand. He drew it back when he saw the bits of alien flesh and blood on his glove. “Caleb Card. No offense, but…”

  Yasmin smiled. “None taken.”

  “It’s an honor to meet you, ma’am.”

  “An honor?” Yasmin said, surprised.

  “You did help write the neural network that will get the generation ships to their new systems. That work may save the human race.”

  “It was a real team effort, Sergeant. And I don’t say that to be modest. Thousands of people have been working on the ships for months.”

  “Yes, ma’am. Please, call me Caleb.”

  “I’ll be informal if you will, Caleb. And the honor is mine. From what I hear, you’ve helped rescue more than your fair share of my colleagues and peers from some pretty dire circumstances.”

  “I was just doing my job, Yasmin.”

  “I’m sorry for your losses, Caleb. I can only imagine what you’re feeling right now.”

  “Thank you. I think you can imagine, and then some. They were my family, but I don’t think it compares to your loss. I’m so sorry, ma’am.”

  Yasmin offered a sad smile, obviously struggling to keep a lid on her emotions, too. “Thank you, Caleb.”

  “I’m Briar.” She stepped between Yasmin and Caleb, breaking the sudden tension before it developed further. “It’s nice to meet you.”

  “It’s nice to meet you too, Briar,” Caleb said.

  “This is my team, Caleb,” Nicholas said. “Plus Jennifer, my co-pilot. All civilian except Gills and me.”

  “And me,” Caleb said. “Assuming I’m welcome with your group.”

  “Are you kidding?” Gills said. “If we weren’t on some weird alien planet in the middle of nowhere where every other living thing is trying to kill us, this would be the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  “You’re more than welcome to join us, Caleb,” Nicholas said. “Though I wish the circumstances were much different.”

  “Me too.”

  “Briar,” Nicholas said. “You’ve been looking through the TOYBOX. I don’t suppose Grimmel left us with anything for broken bones?”

  “Now that you mention it,” Briar said, a big smile spreading across her face. “Wait one.” she said, holding up her forefinger before turning and hurrying over to the back bulkhead to push in on the door to one of the largest compartments. The door clicked and rolled back beneath the storage area. “It worked, Doctor Shepherd.”

  “I updated the system to allow access for myself and Briar like you requested, Nick,” Yasmin explained. “It takes about twenty minutes per crew member.”

  “We’ll get everyone access sooner or later,” Nicholas said.

  Briar pulled a large square case out of the compartment. She pulled it out by the handle, needing both hands to lower it to the deck, considering how heavy it turned out to be. “I haven’t read all of the instructions yet, but Grimmel called this one Doc.”

  She tapped a clear power button beneath the handle, stood and then stepped back as the case unfolded, legs extending from the corners to lift it to waist height. The top end folded again, revealing what looked like an armband with a flexible touchscreen around the top. The bottom end also folded out a second time, its purpose not immediately obvious. The center telescoped out in both directions, providing a table for a patient to lay on, with magnetic restraints to keep the body prone.

  “I definitely like your Grimmel a lot better than mine,” Caleb said.

  “Doc, I have a patient,” Briar said.

  “Patient, please place your arm in the diagnostic band,” a calm voice said from a speaker somewhere on the device. A light on the band pulsed, showing the patient what to do.

  “I’m going to need a little help out of my armor,” Caleb said. “I don’t know how much range of motion I have in my left arm.”

  “I’ve got it,” Macey said. “Me granny was a nurse. She—”

  “We know,” Gills interrupted.

  Macey stuck her tongue out at him, before circling to Caleb’s front. He lowered his head.

  “Lift the helmet straight forward. You’ll need to use a little force to separate the link to the rest of the suit.”

  Macey did as he said, taking his helmet off and then smiling up at him. “Even more handsome without the headgear. Hello, Caleb Card.”

  Caleb nodded curtly as he used his right hand to unclasp the latches across the front of the combat armor. “Just hold up the armor and I’ll step out of it.”

  “Okay,” Macey said, swinging to his rear to help prop up the outer armor.

  Gills moved in to help her, and Caleb pulled himself out of the exterior shell of plates, leaving him in only the spider-steel bodysuit. It hugged his muscled frame, leaving little to the imagination.

  “Well, hel...lo, Caleb Card,” Macey said again, drawing a look of consternation from Nicholas.

  “Macey, can you unzip me?” Caleb asked, ignoring her comment.

  “Without making any inappropriate remarks,” Nicholas added, as Gills lowered the combat armor to the deck.

  Macey’s face turned beet red. “Yes, sir,” she said, returning to his front and unzipping the bodysuit to his waist. Caleb grimaced as he shrugged out of the top half of the tight-fitting suit. He walked over to Doc and sat on the extended table. Macey followed him, taking off his heavy boots and then pulling the bodysuit down off his legs and feet. Caleb wore only a pair of boxers underneath, made of a material unfamiliar to Nicholas.

  “Lie down please,” Doc said.

  Caleb pivoted and lifted one leg and then the other onto the table, shifting on his butt to lie down with his arm properly positioned. He placed it in the band, which closed around it.

  “Processing,” Doc said. A small rod telescoped out of the side of the box near the band, emitting a green laser grid that covered Caleb’s entire body. “Vital signs are good. Heart rate, oxygenation and blood pressure are normal. Fractured left ulna. Repairable. Fracture to ribs four and five on the left side. Repairable.” Green circles appeared on the grid over the source of the damage.” Estimated time to stabilization, ten minutes. Prepare for sedation.”

  “Ten minutes?” Yasmin said. “That’s fast.”

  “Please do not move,” Doc said.

  A needle emerged from the bottom end of the machine, extending out into Caleb’s opposite shoulder. He didn’t react when it jabbed him, remaining still, his eyes quickly drooping closed.

  “Patient sedated. Inserting nanobots.”

  “Nanobots?” Gills said.

  A second, larger needle emerged from the top of the machine on a thin, telescoping arm with a narrow tube connected to it. Like an angry hornet, it swung to the three circles on the laser grid and punched into Caleb’s body, remaining in each position for only a few seconds before returning to its storage place.

  “Insertion complete. Sedation will expire in twelve minutes.”

  The Doc fell silent, leaving Nicholas and the others staring at the unconscious Marine.

  “I hope that thing knows what it’s doing,” Briar said.

  “Maybe it would have been better to read the instructions first,” Scott replied.

  “I didn’t have enough time.”

  “Well Captain,” Gills said. “What do we do now?”

  “I want the supplies on Caleb’s Foresight before we do anything else,” Nicholas replied. “I’ll fly us over and find a new LZ closer to his ship while he recovers. Once that’s done, we’ll head over to the broadcast source with Foresight flying air support.”

  “Nick, considering what happened to the other Nicholas and his Marines, and the fact that this really seems like an alien honeypot, are you sure we should still try to reach the source of the message?” Yasmin asked.

  “No, I’m not sure,” Nicholas replied. “Caleb’s Grimmel seemed like he set them up to fail. Our Grimmel set us up to succeed. Or at least tried before things changed in ways he didn’t foresee. I don’t really know what to make of that yet. But we cleared out the enemy in the area, so I think the potential returns outweigh the risks.”

  “Okay,” Yasmin agreed. “I trust your call. One more question though.”

  “Of course.”

  “Instead of taking the supplies from Caleb’s Foresight, why don’t we take his Foresight?”

  “That’s a good question. A few reasons. One, because it doesn’t have an energy unit and it needs time to recharge, which will also limit either its slip or spinal defense capabilities. Two, we don’t have an extra pilot. Jennifer is learning fast, but she isn’t there yet. Three, I don’t want to split the crew. The drawbacks are greater than the benefits.”

  “Understood.”

  “Macey, keep an eye on Caleb,” Nicholas said.

  “Gla—”

  “And try not to molest him before he wakes up.”

  “Yes, sir,” Macey replied, looking appropriately chastised for what she’d been about to say.

  “Gills, Briar, Scott, now’s a good time to take inventory of our armament and ammo, before we add or replace anything from Foresight Two.”

  “Yes, Captain,” Scott said.

  “Let’s get to it.”

  Chapter 14

  Nicholas returned to the flight deck and dropped into the pilot’s seat. “Jennifer, I have the stick. You’re welcome to take a break if you need it.”

  “Thank you, Captain,” Jennifer replied. She disengaged her safety harness and stood up. “How’s Sergeant Card?”

  “He’s on the mend. It seems Grimmel left us with a portable medbay.”

  “It’s not even surprising anymore. I’m going to use the bathroom and get a candy bar. Do you need anything, Captain?”

  “No, thank you, Jen.”

  Nicholas gazed at the view through the forward view screen. Jennifer had positioned Foresight just above the tops of the tallest structures in the city, offering him a good three-sixty view of the city. Using the thumb controls, he could yaw the ship in any direction he wanted. He just had to be careful not to make any sudden moves while his crew was unsecured.

  The augmented reality marker for the broadcast source floated in front of him, pointing at the lower lying buildings a short distance away. He eased the throttle to one-hundredth of a percent of power, allowing Foresight to drift over the city like a hot air balloon. He spotted Foresight Two on his left and their original landing zone picked out by Frank just beyond it. Positioned on a slight incline on the opposite side of the bridge, it offered a good vantage point of the area surrounding it, which would be helpful if the aliens decided they wanted to launch a new attack.

  Guiding Foresight toward it, Nicholas noticed the Swarm swirling lazily around the starship, as if it had nothing better to do.

  He activated the comm. “Swarm, scout the LZ ahead.”

  The microbots immediately shot away from Foresight, diving down to the clearing before forming into larger fragments and vanishing into the trees. The feeds appeared on the forward surround, showing only vegetation.

  And then he spotted something else.

  A shadow between two trees.

  “Swarm, I want a better look at this,” he said, marking it for the microbots.

  One of the fragments flew closer to the spot, proving it wasn’t a shadow after all but a structure of some kind, made of the same black alloy as Foresight. A hidden bunker of some kind? Heavily obscured by accumulated overgrowth, it seemed it had been there for a long time.

  “Swarm, investigate this object,” he said.

  The Swarm fragment broke apart. The microbots flew around the object, mapping it. At such close range, Nicholas saw many different areas through the feeds from many different angles, but it didn’t take him long to recognize the object’s general shape.

  He just didn’t believe it.