The Magnificent Seven, Chapter Two

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I do not own, Castle! There, I said it! Rating: M Time: The future

All seven whirled around. Confronting them was a slender, white haired, older woman, wearing a flower print dress. Castle thought she looked like some idealized grandmother in a TV commercial. Everyone, even Castle, swung their weapons to cover her.

"Please. I'm no danger to you." She said as she walked towards them. "I couldn't hut you if I wanted to."

That set off a burst of yelling from everyone. Everything from threats, to begging, to cajolery and back again.

Suddenly the black man walked towards her. "Look!" He cried. "Look and see this time." He stared back at the other six. He smiled. "No one sees this?" He looked at Kate. "You did not see?"

Kate shook her head. "What was there to see?"

"She is not here." He cried, and picking up a stone, and throwing it through her. He stood back and smiled at his six companions. "Now you see." He said triumphantly.

The woman spoke. "He's correct. I am a projection. But how did you know?"

"When you walked, you did not disturb the leaves on the ground. I knew you were like the cinema. Just make believe."

"Very good!" She said. "But I have important information for you."

"Where are we?" Asked the Chinese woman.

"As you have surmised, you are on a planet in another solar system. To tell you exactly where it is would be meaningless to you as you'd have no ready frame of reference. However, you are here because we need your help."

"You couldn't have just asked?" Castle said.

The woman smiled. "No. It really doesn't work that way. But I must tell you why you are here." She smiled and appeared to be organizing her thoughts. "Some two thousand of your years ago a great race of explorers came to this galaxy. They were able to travel between galaxies as easily as you travel from one country to another. They were far more knowledgeable than we are. For reason we do not know, they gathered intelligent races from several planets to help in their studies of this galaxy and made this planet their base. After some centuries, they left, leaving their helpers behind. They had educated them and provided them with tools far beyond your current level of technology. But the helpers numbered only a few tens of thousands. Over the centuries, they were unable to maintain the knowledge to repair or rebuild the machines left behind. Eventually, machines designed to work for a millennia or more began to wear out. Today, they have, for instance, a few ocean going ships powered by nuclear fusion, some powered by steam, and many powered by the action of wind upon sails."

"It sounds to me like you need some engineers, not a bunch of well-armed strangers." Castle said.

"My…fellows and I belong to what you might want to think of as a university, a school of philosophy, a monastery, and a few other things that would be difficult to explain. We are not allowed to openly aid societies that we study, but we can, um, nudge them in certain directions. This we did. With really excellent results."

"Great, so can we go home now?" Castle said sarcastically.

"No. We need you."

"Why?" Kate asked.

"Our "nudging" was interrupted by a murder. You are all policemen. We need you to solve this murder."

Kate looked around at her companions. These are police? She thought.

"Why the hell can't you do this?" Castle asked angrily.

"It would be difficult. We are not oxygen breathers. We live on planets such as your Jupiter and breathe hydrogen. We are also quite large."

"How large?" The Arab asked.

"Somewhat larger than a blue whale."

"How big is that?" Asked the black man.

"About a hundred feet long and they weigh about two hundred tons." Castle said quietly. He looked over at Kate. "Research." He looked back to the woman. "And you'd need some kind of space suit, wouldn't you."

She nodded. "I'm afraid that if any of us showed up, it would constitute more than just nudging."

Castle stared hard at the woman. "You screwed up, didn't you? You did more than just nudge. You need to solve this so you won't get your own asses in a sling."

The woman smiled. "Perhaps." She pointed down into the valley. "Follow the stream and you'll reach a city. The city is where the murder occurred. There are more things. I left some more supplies for you back among the trees where you initially arrived." '

"Secondly, you are a bit beyond the borders of civilization here. A sort of a no man's land. There are a people called the Cholatte who live out here and raid their civilized neighbors." Beside her appeared an image that looked like a bipedal cockroach with a bit of great ape thrown in. He had a sword at his hip and something that looked like a blunderbuss under his arm.

"You will have noticed that you can understand each other's languages. We implanted a microscopic device in your heads that allow that. The devices are also teaching you the local language so that you will understand the locals."

"Lastly, when you are done, we can return you to your planet. By bending the space time continuum, we can return you to within a few seconds after you left."

She looked at the sky. "It'll be dark in an hour or so. You should stay here tonight and travel tomorrow. I'd post a guard if I were you."

The woman started to fade. "Hey!" Called Castle. "If seeing you is more than nudging, what about when they see humans for the first time?"

"That's no problem." The woman's disembodied voice said. "About half of the planet's population are humans."

Aside from a few heartfelt curses, no one could think of anything to say. They headed back to the trees where they had all met. Rick and Kate found two back packs marked R. Castle and K. Castle. Rick rummaged through his. "Spare clothes, a sleeping bag, MREs, a radio, more ammo, a medical kit and bottled water, and…Gatorade®? What do you have, Honey?"

"The same, except for a makeup kit, birth control pills and some tampons."

"Oh! Do they expect us to be here that long?"

Kate just shrugged. She looked around at her companions. They apparently had found much the same in their packs as she and Rick had, although each of the other five had a protective vest by their packs. "One thing we have to do is find out who these heavily armed police are." Kate stood up and walked to the center of the small clearing they were in. "Since we know why we're here, we need to know something about each other and our abilities as police. I'll start. I'm Detective Kate Beckett Castle, homicide detective with the New York Police Department. I've been a cop for over fifteen years now." She pointed to Rick. "This is my husband, Rick Castle, he's a crime novelist, but he's been helping me solve murders for years. We don't normally wear camouflage uniforms or carry M4 assault rifles, just 9mm Glocks. We had thee when we awoke here." She looked at the Chinese woman. "May I ask who you are? Can you tell us about yourself?"

The woman glared at Kate. "I am Corporal Chen Suay Den, People's Armed Police of the People Republic of China. I was outside of Kashgar in Xinjiang, looking in the desert for a splittist's camp, when I got separated from my unit. There was a flash of light and I found myself here. I have been with the police for three years."

"What kind of a rifle is that?" Castle asked.

She looked angrily at Castle. Then spoke. "It is a Type 95 assault rifle. It fires a 5.8 mm bullet, somewhat larger that the bullets for your rifles. I will not be able to fire your ammunition through my rifle. However, I also have a Type 77 pistol which fire the same 9mm round as your pistols." She continued to glare at Rick and Kate.

Kate nodded to the Arab. "And you, sir."

"I am Sergeant Fuad al Husseini, Royal Bedouin Police. I serve His Majesty, Abdullah II, of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan."

"Feudal lackey." Chen muttered. Kate was deciding that Chen would be a problem.

Sergeant Husseini ignored the comment. "I am armed with an American M16A4 rifle and an M9 9mm pistol, so our ammunition is compatible. We patrol the desert in Jordan and my unit was looking for smugglers who were providing weapons to anti-government forces in Iraq. I was crawling down a wadi when there was a flash of light, and I found myself here."

Kate nodded to the Italian. "I am Junior Corporal Amadeo d'Annunzio, Tuscany Paratroop Regiment, of the Carabinieri, the Italian military police. I am a medic of a year and a half of service. I was on maneuvers in the mountains when I was transported here by a flash of light. As you, I am armed with the M4 carbine and I also have a 9 mm Beretta 92FS. In addition, I have my medical bag." He motioned to a large camouflage bag by his foot.

Kate was confused. "You're part of a military police paratroop regiment?"

"Yes." Said d'Annunzio. He didn't seem to think that any further explanation was needed.

"Kate," Rick said quietly, "the Italian Carabinieri have both military and civil police powers, even though they're part of the armed forces. A lot of countries have paramilitary police services that are essentially internal security troops." Knowing what Kate's next question would be, he added, "I was going to have Dereck Storm get involved with the mafia. Research."

Kate shrugged and nodded to the blonde woman. "I am Junior Sergeant Irina Ivanova Konev, of the Troops of the Ministry of the Interior of Russia. I was manning a roadblock in Dagestan, looking for Chechen terrorists. I went into the trees to relieve myself there was a flash of light and I was here. I have a Kalashnikov 103 chambered for the 7.62mm round. My weapon will not fire any of your ammunition. I have a pistol, a GSh 18. It will fire your pistol ammunition. My father, mother, and my brothers were all Ministry of the Interior Troops, naturally, I followed them."

Kate felt that Irina hadn't been very keen to follow in mom and dad's footsteps.

The black man smiled at Kate. "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Corporal Hendrick Boutje of the Namibian Police Field Force. I am a San, what you might call a Bushman. We live in the Kalahari Desert. I am a police tracker. I was tracking a murderer in the desert when a flash of light brought me here. I am armed with a South African made R1 rifle. It uses the 7.62mm NATO round, a heavier, more powerful, cartridge than your assault rifles. With its greater range, especially with a telescopic sight, it is a better weapon for a flat desert. I also carry a 9mm Browning Hi Power pistol so I can use you pistol ammunition."

Kate looked at her new companions. "We've been told that we're here to solve a murder. Do any of you have any experience in investigating murders or any other types of felonies?"

All of the other police shook their heads. Sergeant Konev was the only one to speak. "I was involved in a murder case one time, but all I did was help seal off a block while the senior people investigated."

"Then I suggest that my wife be in command of this group. At least temporarily." Castle suggested.

Chen strode towards Castle and Kate. "And why should the Americans be automatically in charge? Do you think you run this world as well as our home world? This is unacceptable! I call on you all to block this hegemonist plot!"

Corporal Boutje walked over to stand by Kate. "Captain Castle is the only trained homicide detective among us. It would seem appropriate that she lead us for now."

Sergeant Husseini also stood by Kate. "I agree." He said quietly.

D'Annunzio walked over and stood between Boutje and Husseini. He was quickly followed by Konev.

"That's six." Rick said quietly.

Chen glared at the six for a minute or so, then walked over and stood somewhat near to Kate.

"That's seven." Castle said with satisfaction.

"Okay, "Kate said, glad that was over, "it's getting late. We should eat and then get to some sleep. I'll figure out a roster for guard duty while we all eat."