Read Online Beyond the Shroud of the Universe by Chris Kennedy - Free Book Online

at the facility in the other universe. It could be Lieutenant Knaus, but the description in the reports more closely resembles Calvin. Lieutenant Commander Hobbs would also be more valuable as a hostage. Nightsong has a ship, which is probably the silver ship Captain Train saw leaving when they went across to anti-Earth. Nightsong might leave or move the hostage at any time.”
    He took another breath and continued, “All these missions will require lightning raids in order to be successful. The Israelis are prepared to destroy the facility in Iran, but they have no way of reaching the facility on anti-Earth.”
    “But we do,” the admiral said.
    “Yes sir, we do,” Lieutenant Bradford said.
    “It will have to be my unit,” Night said. “We’re the only ones with the training and equipment.”
    “If, and I do mean if, I authorize this, it is going to have to be a perfect, foolproof plan,” the admiral said. “If we try and fail, there will be repercussions. There’s no telling how many of our cities they will nuke in retaliation.”
    “There’s no such thing as a foolproof plan,” Night said; “you know that as well as I.” The admiral nodded. “With that being said, I believe we have come up with a workable plan that gets us there and allows us to accomplish the missions.”
    “What about getting back?” the admiral asked.
    “That’s going to be more difficult,” Night acknowledged. “The problem is we don’t know if there are any Efreeti ships in anti-Earth orbit. We have a couple of plans, but we won’t know which one we’re using until we get there.”
    “I don’t like that,” the admiral said.
    “Honestly, sir, I don’t like it much either,” Night said; “however, it’s got to be done. The longer we wait, the more control the Iranians will have, and the more chance they’ll have to proliferate nuclear warheads around anti-Earth. We need to go now, before they take control of all our facilities.”
    “What do you need from me?” the admiral asked.
    “We just need authorization to make a box with the Class 2 replicator on the moon.”
    “Didn’t the Iranians say we weren’t allowed to use the replicators anymore? Won’t they be watching?”
    “They might,” Night said, “but they are probably watching the big ones to make sure we don’t build more ships. As the replicator I want to use is on the far side of the moon, they won’t be able to see it. If we black out comms, we can be done and out of there before anyone notices.”
    “One other question,” the admiral said. “How are you going to keep them from noticing the Terra is gone? Won’t they be expecting an attack when the Terra jumps to the other universe?”
    “ Terra? ” Night asked. “Who said anything about the Terra taking us over?”
     
     

Chapter Nine
     
     

Starboard Cargo Bay One, TSS Spark , Dark Side of the Moon, October 6, 2021
    Master Chief watched the ungainly craft as it floated into the box. Nearly 100 feet long and 50 feet wide, it barely fit. Despite the driver’s best effort, the starboard side made contact with the box, smearing the paint on the number ‘85’ and eliciting a squeal that could be heard over the screaming of the vessel’s four gas turbine engines.
    “With all the advanced alien technology at our disposal, that’s the best we could do?” Master Chief shouted. “I’ve ridden on those pieces of shit. Really? That’s the best we could do?”
    “What is that thing?” Sergeant Anne ‘Fox’ Stasik asked.
    “It’s an LCAC,” her brother, Gunnery Sergeant Jerry ‘Wolf’ Stasik said, pronouncing it ‘el-cack.’ “That’s short for Landing Craft, Air Cushioned. Basically, it’s a big hovercraft the wet navy uses for transporting people and gear from amphibious assault ships to the beach.”
    “The navy folks also used to take us SEALs out with them sometimes,” Master Chief added. “They break down a lot.” He looked back to Night. “Really? We couldn’t