AB (The Blake Reynolds Chronicles Book 1) Read Free Page B

beach. Almost everyone
on the ship was on the deck to watch the event that had postponed everyone’s
shore leave. There was light talk amongst his command staff about how this had
better be something spectacular, or else they would be giving a piece of their
mind to someone. Who that would be, John didn’t know, but he had to agree with
their sentiment.
    The Mercy was thirty miles upwind of
Niue when the meteor first started to enter the atmosphere.
    John gazed up as several of his
shipmates pointed towards the eastern horizon. At first, it appeared as a light
streak high in the sky, similar to when a jet is flying high in the sky with a
trailing plume of vapor coming off its engines.
    Suddenly, it started to trail a
plume of vapor that grew brighter and heavier. It swiftly turned to smoke, and
the leading edge appeared to be on fire. Once it reached the lower atmosphere,
the tail became smaller. It flew directly over their heads and had started to
head west when the explosion happened.
    There was a huge flash of light. John
had to close his eyes as the brightness caused him a moment of pain. Seconds
later, a massive shockwave hit the ship. John and several others were knocked
to the deck of the ship.
    As he struggled to stand up, he noticed
that to the west, thick smoke and dust filled the sky and the sun slowly
changed color to a blood orange. Once he regained his balance on the deck, all he
could do was stand there, eyes wide open and mouth slightly agape.
    The island that had been on the
western horizon was no longer visible. It was obscured by the smoke and dust that
was filling the air.
    As John scanned the horizon with his
binoculars, he couldn’t see any effects of the explosion besides the dust
falling over the area, and most of it was settling over the island.
    Captain Nellis picked up the phone
and called Pacific Fleet Command to give them an update and send them a video.
After a few minutes of reporting, the Mercy was ordered to Niue’s port to
inspect any damage or ill effects from the explosion and render any aid that
was necessary.
    The boat slowly waded through the
water towards the smoky air. It would be a few hours before they reached the
island, so Captain Nellis ordered the communication officer to contact the Niue
port authority.
    After a few minutes of tuning the
radio to the correct frequency, the communications officer spoke into the microphone.
“Niue port, this is the USNS Mercy. Do you copy? Over.”
    After several seconds of static, the
communication officer repeated his message.
    This time, a man with a heavy
Polynesian accent interrupted the static on the radio. “American ship, what
just happened? Over.”
    “We were sent to monitor a meteor
that was forecasted to hit near here. The fire in the sky and explosion you
heard was the meteor. We are ordered to verify if there has been any damage
done to the island or if the people have suffered any ill effects. Over.”
    “To my knowledge, there isn’t any
major damage other than a few broken windows. I also haven’t heard of anyone
getting sick. Just a lot of scared folks out here. Over.”
    “That’s great to hear, Niue. We will
be pulling into your dock in a few hours, if you don’t mind, to check things
out. Over.”
    “As we say on the island, ‘You are
welcome here, and may the warm winds blow your way.’”
    About
an hour out of port, the Mercy’s chief medical officers received an urgent
video call from the Niue medical clinic director, Dr. Una Pally. Captain Nellis
ordered the communication officer to transfer the call to the main screen. When
Dr. Pally appeared, Captain Nellis stepped in front of the viewer and said,
“Hello, Doctor. How are things going?”
    ”There
have been at least one hundred patients that have come into our small clinic,
and more are coming in every minute. All of them have symptoms of high fever,
severe body aches, and extremely bloodshot eyes. We are only a small facility
and can’t handle such a