Bright Horizons Read Online Free PDF

hatch on the side of their
hull. It looks a lot like the docking hatch on the Galaxy. Any questions?”
    A lot of
“No sirs” followed, some in hushed tones.
    Cowboy
unbelted himself and looked back at Kyle. “Colonel, let’s get ready. You first,
and I’ll follow.”
    Kyle
released the multitude of latches holding him into the seat. He went down the
ladder to the lower crew compartment.
    “Marines,
get geared up, we will be docking soon,” Kyle said as he moved through the
secured crew to the hatch.
    He could
hear the rustle of movement and the metallic clinking of their harnesses being
unbuckled as he stood at the hatch looking through the small window.
    Suddenly
the moment was on him. Through a small window in the hatch on the fast
approaching alien vessel, Kyle saw a small face. It was peering back at him.
This was, in fact, the first verified time that a human saw an intelligent
alien life form.
    “Colonel,
are you ok?”
    Kyle
turned to see a tall man with sandy hair and a short goatee staring at the
screen of a small hand camera. The lens was focused on Kyle’s face.
    “Yes,
Mister Carter. I’m ok. I just saw my first alien, that’s all.”
    Carter
smiled. “Good, because I was able to catch the moment on video.”
    The
enormity of this day, of this hour, was starting to creep up on all of them.
For the first time Kyle was completely convinced that Carter was actually
needed on this mission. This event should be recorded for future generations of
humanity.
    “Mister
Carter, you will be the third human to step onto an alien vessel. Are you ready
for that?”
    “Yeah,
I’m ready, but man, I can’t believe how scared I am at the same time.”
    Me too,
thought Kyle as he slapped the young man on the back and gave him a reassuring
smile.
    The sound
of Marines strapping on gear and checking weapons faded to the background of
Kyle’s mind as he looked back out the hatch window. His alien friend was gone,
but the alien craft was only yards away. A few seconds later the ships touched
and there was a click as the hatch locked into place.
    Kyle was
glad he was holding onto a handhold as gravity slammed him into the floor of
the shuttle. Some mild cursing and grunts came from behind him.
    “Ok
Marines, I don’t think any of us were expecting that. Our Hedali friends have
artificial gravity technology and when we hooked up, it apparently transferred
to the Fletcher. Don’t just sit there, let’s keep getting ready.”
    A quick
look over his team didn’t indicate anyone having any serious problems, so Kyle
went back to looking through the hatch window.
    The green
light on the control panel lit up indicating that the atmosphere on the other
side of the inner door was stable and suitable for the humans on the Fletcher.
Kyle reached over and picked up the intercom microphone.
    “Marines,
listen up.  Mister Ambassador, Mister Carter, crew of the Fletcher. We are now
in the operational phase of this mission. The assigned personnel will enter the
alien vessel where the signing of the treaty will take place. This portion of
the mission should be completed in 145 minutes, that’s two hours and twenty
five minutes for the officers.” Kyle replaced the microphone and turned back to
his anxious, ready Marines.
    “Ok
Jarheads, let’s do this,” he said as he gave them reassuring smiles and nods.
    Kyle
reached over to the handle and opened the door. There was a slight pressure
change right at the door, and suddenly a red light started flashing.
    “Colonel
please step away, Richards, check the seal,” Cowboy said, quickly taking
command.
    Kyle
moved back quickly as the NASA Engineer dashed forward.
    “We have
a seal breach sir, but not bad. We can fix it, but it might take a while.”
    The red
light shut off as Richards applied some sort of adhesive from a tube over where
he had quickly spotted the leak.
    “Good job
Richards, keep us updated on your progress.”
    “Will do
Commander” said Richards as he started