Artifact 16: Lt Koski's Contemplations

Witness the turmoil Lt Koski experienced after exploring the crash site and loading their unexpected cargo.

Artifact 16: Lt Koski’s Contemplations

      

Lieutenant Koski’s thoughts roiled in his tired brain. The roar of the jeep’s engine filled his ears and his eyes stared at the lane ahead as he accelerated out of the Corona Ranch yard. He mechanically shifted into second gear with his mind occupied in a confusing whirlwind of contemplation. His US Army training had been extensive and encapsulated various situational scenarios and all known hostile threats, but nothing, absolutely no training could have prepared him for what he had witnessed today. Lt Koski wore a brave face for his soldiers, but he was deeply troubled nonetheless.

What did we find out there at the crash site? What were they? Where did those strange beings come from? Did that cowboy, Russell Young see or suspect anything? I don’t read people well. Did he act like he knew something? I read him the riot act, but was it enough? Should I have taken him into custody just to be safe? Why hadn’t Crow’s Nest returned? They weild the ultimate authority over this crash situation and would have relieved my responsibility�"at least on the important decisions. Nevertheless, my actions and orders to my men were rational, concise, and implemented�"the best I could muster at the time.

            Today was supposed to be a standard retrieval operation after the aerial device failed for Lt Koski knew all the important aspects of the mission beforehand, but it turned out to be far from standard. His involvement began months ago in preparation, but his direct involvement began when the device readied for launch. As the dedicated retrieval team commander, he welcomed the appointment as a distinct honor despite his short time in the active military while silently buoying many unsaid uncertainties.

The aerial device in question was an ultra-high balloon-borne experiment with multiple instrumentations and a manikin festooned with vital organic record-keeping sensors. So in his official capacity, Lt Koski attended the launch at White Sands Missile Range. He stood out there in the cool, twilit predawn hours with swarming launch specialists and stoic high-ranking officers 17 days ago. Held aloft by a tall multi-story-high crane, the huge limp, partially inflated balloon shimmered in the spotlights as helium slowly inflated it. When the balloon reached the proper inflation so that it held itself and the sensor package aloft and the restraining cables went taut, the crane disconnected and backed away.        

After a final check of sensor communications, the balloon was released. At first, Lieutenant Koski thought that a cable must have remained attached because the balloon didn’t rise. He didn’t say anything because the specialists went about their business unalarmed. How ever so slowly it began to rise not even rising above the two story control buildings in five or so minutes. He watched the balloon rise for forty-five minutes as the device lifted ever so slowly and drifted across the range on a northeast heading.

Now after the balloon fell back to earth due to strange unforeseen circumstances, Koski wished he could stop and fully analyze this present situation, but the cargo he hauled in the truck was too precious�"too unbelievable to delay. The bottom line he realized was that this situation soared way above his paygrade. His men had become upset over the sight of the bodies, but he felt that he acted the commensurate officer of the US Army in their presence. He took the appropriate actions and gave the appropriate orders.

 Considering his men, only Corporal Brown seemed relatively unaffected by the sight of these strange people despite his initial outcry. US Army training dictated that officers always maintain proper bearing and ultimate control, but when necessary, they must use their seasoned enlisted soldiers for information, support, and advice.  Corporal Brown actually possessed more active duty time in the Army than the Lieutenant, and this fact weighed heavily on the Lieutenant’s mind from the beginning. This is the first time, one extraordinary situation where this young officer could easily get overwhelmed. And he felt it. 

            Even though the strange gray bodies were foremost in their awareness, the team still followed their assigned orders by picking up the instruments, sensors, and most of the damaged manikin because, oddly, it was missing an arm that was nowhere to be found. The lieutenant pondered the diverse materials and the amount of it scattered across the crash site. And those bodies...  

  Lieutenant Koski’s university degree was not in science, but he had taken enough biological science courses for an educated analysis. He pondered the bodies’ appearances. These are not ordinary people that were somehow deformed by some unknown exposure, he thought. He mentally went through the list of possible dangers to humans and the effects they place on the human body: atomic radiation, chemicals, high-altitude radiation, exposure, or asphyxiation. There wasn’t any way that humans could be changed�"deformed in this way, but then what were they?  He mulled this question over repeatedly as they continued their trek back to the Army post. They pulled onto the highway and picked up speed.

            “Private Jones,” he called over the engine and wind noise. “Try Crows Nest again.”

            “Will do, sir.”  Private Jones replied. Lieutenant Koski noticed that his radio operator had regained his color and looked more relaxed than a few minutes ago.          

            “Crows Nest twoa, niner. Come in, please.” Private spoke loudly into the handset.  “This is Labrador Retriever tree-tree, over.” The lieutenant heard only static. “Crows Nest, Crows Nest, Crows Nest, come in. This is Labrador Retriever, over.” Again, only static replied over the speaker in the back of the Jeep. “What do you think, sir?” 

            “Well” the Lieutenant considered, “if they are aloft, like they should be, they should hear us. They may have had mechanical problems or difficulty with the relief crew. If they couldn’t find a suitable crew, they can’t fly. Crows Nest orbited for at least six hours which is the maximum sortie time in the Continental US airspace during peacetime so maybe they were delayed because of that. We’ll try again in a few minutes.”

 Private Jones nodded, returned the handset and returned looking straight ahead out the Jeep’s windshield.

            The distance to the post was about eighty miles; it had taken them about two hours to get to Corona Ranch including a stop for directions. Lieutenant Koski looked at his watch�"thirty minutes since they left the ranch. He wondered about the one being still alive in the back of the truck with his youngest soldier, Delany. Private Third Class Delany was shaken up the most by the initial sight of the beings, but he was the only one of the four on the team with medical training. Again, Lieutenant Koski second guessed his decision about leaving Delany back there by himself with the one live being and two dead, but he needed Jones on the radio and Corporal Brown to drive the truck. A by-the-book decision as far as he judged on a situation which couldn’t possibly get any stranger or worse.

             Still in deep thought five minutes later in the seemingly middle of nowhere, Lieutenant Koski suddenly felt a small and insignificant human. This country in New Mexico was a God-forsaken wasteland as far as he was concerned. His mind cleared long enough to focus on the almost barren fields with only sparse scrub grass, sage bush, and yuccas. Non-New Mexicans’ running joke was that out there all the animals that ran, crawled, or slithered had teeth and all plants that survived the climate had thorns. He shivered despite the stifling heat. He recalled a better time and place.

            Lieutenant Koski longed for the north woods of the Upper Peninsula. He yearned for the quiet cool vibrantly green woods that surrounded you up there, forming a solid canopy overhead with the tranquil stillness occupied by deer, bear, and partridge. That remembrance instilled a temporary sensation of peace, comfort, and safety.

            Suddenly, a thrill went up Lieutenant Koski’s back, snapping him back to reality because the Jeep’s engine had abruptly died for no reason.

All was quiet except for the Jeep’s gears whining and the wind’s whisper!