by J. Benjamin
She couldn’t believe it. After everything she did, it was all a lie. Minerva was a lie. The rescue mission was a lie. They never stood a chance.
It wasn’t just regret for putting her trust in the cosmic beings, but even more so for not heeding Ty’s warnings about the Aquarians and what they were truly capable of. Now she would pay the ultimate price for her misplaced trust.
“Val,” Thomas gasped. “I am so sorry. Sorry for getting you involved in this. Sorry for Titan. May they forgive me. May you forgive me. May God forgive me.”
“I would have done it regardless,” Val said. She meant it, too. Her instincts were what led her to this point. Didn’t matter if Thomas was there for the ride. She still would have done it.
As the whispers slowly crept back into her head, she only thought of one thing, Ty. She wanted so badly to be back home with her. She no longer cared about anyone else. At least her future son or daughter would have the strongest woman in the universe raising them and watching them grow. Even if she wouldn’t be there to see it.
Val stood alone with the universe. She looked out at the white light as it came to take her away. Perhaps there was an afterlife, after all.
Except, that was strange. She didn’t expect the white light to have green lights shooting out from it. Also, why was the white light moving? Val gasped.
The white light disappeared, and an unnatural object, larger than any Val had ever seen with her own eyes, emerged from behind the Herschel. It was so big, it dwarfed the three ships before it. Like a giant turtle shell, except made of a silver alloy unrecognizable to human eyes.
“What the Hell?” Val said, as her thoughts gave way to utter confusion.
The worms’ ax-shaped ship turned to face the expansive turtle-shaped saucer. It charged directly at it. Then, several brilliant green lights blasted from the larger ship and sliced through the ax, completely engulfing it in a ball of flames. Just like that, it was gone.
Now, the unknown silver ship set its sights on Minerva. The Aquarian kaiju flared in bright-hot pink, presumably to attack the silver ship. Having once looked mighty and powerful, Minerva now looked small, pathetic, and petty against the imposing unknown vessel.
The silver juggernaut hovered over its prey and without hesitation, blasted Minerva out of existence. The Aquarian flagship erupted like a fireball. Its exploded carcass fell toward the edge of Saturn’s atmosphere, burning up.
Val couldn’t believe her eyes. Did an unknown ship of inhuman proportions, possibly alien, just wipe out two other alien ships? Then an object shot out from the large silver vessel. She couldn’t make it out at first. Was it a weapon?
No, it was clearly a smaller craft. The flight patterns gave that away. It was flying right toward Val and approaching fast. Were they friend? Foe?
A red alert appeared on her HUD. Her oxygen levels were low. Thomas was silent.
The smaller craft stopped fewer than a hundred yards away. The fat, W-shaped vessel drew closer and closer. A white light shined over Val and Thomas and this time, she knew it wasn’t the afterlife. It was just the opposite.
Chapter 61
Val opened her eyes. She was out of her spacesuit and on a hard surface, possibly a table.
“Relax,” another voice said. A human? “You’ve been out for fifteen minutes.”
“Where am I?” Val demanded. She shot up and turned to see her surroundings. It was a strange looking place. It was like a giant garden, but with furniture, and vats of weird liquids. Not as strange as the woman standing over her. She gasped.
“You’re, you’re human!” Val said. “What is this? Where are we?”
“You were minutes away from death. You are safe now. This is the Hypernova. We are currently between Saturn and Titan,” Edie replied.
“Hypernova?” Val balked. “Who do you work for? And what’s that huge silver thing that just wiped out the Aquarians. And . . . hey? Don’t I know you? You’re . . . Edie Brenner?” Val said, as it all came to her.
“Yes, I am Edie Brenner.”
“You’re the one who made it through the portal. I can’t believe it’s you. Kiara Lacroix told me all about it. Told me you were alive . . . the Aquarians,” Val tried to articulate. “Said that you tried to kill her.”
“A lot has changed,” Edie said uncomfortably. “We’ve learned a lot about the Aquarians, what their true intentions are, and we escaped them. There’s a whole lot more life beyond this system than humans can even imagine. As for that big silver ship, that’s the Ark. It’s an alien vessel. We’ll talk about it all, after we save the Huygens’ Landing folks.”
“Oh my God! I almost forgot,” Val said.
“We have the Ark,” Edie replied. “And I’ve already contacted Glen Hollings. Told him to sit tight, help is on the way. The Hypernova is cross-compatible with human communication systems.”
“There’s aliens on that thing?” Val said in disbelief.
“Don’t worry, Alex Harper is there, and we’re on our way. You’ll see it yourself. However, we’ve put up a security screen, so none of the refugees will interact with the aliens. Lord knows they’ve probably already dealt with enough today.”
“I can’t believe this,” Val said. “We were supposed to be dead. The Aquarians lied to us the entire time.”
“They were using us. Don’t take it personally. We drank the Kool-Aid harder than anybody,” Edie confided. “And we will be spending the rest of our lives making up for the mistakes we’ve made.”
“Rest of our lives. You got that right. Thomas was just saying . . .” Val stopped. “Oh no. Thomas! Where is he?”
Edie held up her hands. “You might want to sit down for this,” Edie said.
At Huygens’ Landing, the survivors peered out at the glass walls of one of the two remaining habitats. Beyond the fires and burning lakes of hydrocarbons, they watched as the magnificent Ark touched down at their port. Glen Hollings led the survivors to the docking bay, where they anxiously awaited to board the rescue ship, even if it wasn’t the one they expected.
They reached the gate, where Alex Harper waited for their arrival. The hundreds of survivors erupted in applause and tears of relief. Some rushed to hug Alex and thank him for saving their lives. One by one, all eight-hundred-and-ninety-nine survivors boarded the Ark.
Chapter 62
On approach to Earth - April 16, 2083
As the Cosmineral refugees rested and tended to their needs, Val toured the extraordinary Ark with Edie and Alex. During the journey Edie explained to Val everything that had happened with the humans outside of Sol. They discussed how the Aquarians, or Yonapi, gaslit the humans into cult-like idolatry.
Edie introduced Val to the A’biran, particularly Mandyur and some of the others, and explained their history with both the Qalfrae and Angelics. Val caught Edie up to speed on everything that happened in Sol since they’d departed in December 2081, including how Dev Ivanov opened Sol up to the Aquarian nodes.
“Not surprising,” Edie said, as they walked through the A’biran forest. “As soon as Mandyur informed us that Sol had been compromised, we knew Dev was the only person capable of such a monumental catastrophe.”
“So what now?” Val wondered. “Are more monsters going to just keep on pouring through the system like they did today?”
“I’m afraid so,” Mandyur said. “But rest assured, we are not done fighting. Today was just the beginning. Humanity will not be alone in this endeavor.”
“Why did they come for us? What does humanity have to offer? I mean, two years ago we didn’t even know about the Yonapi’s existence. Now we’re on the verge of full-blown conflict,” Val explained.
“Your species is more special than you realize,” Mandyur said. “You evolve faster than most species. You’re constantly at war with yourselves, but that also shows you do not conform, in the long-term. The Yonapi saw you for your ambitions, and what you are capable of, and they wanted that power for themselves. If only they could rear you and
make you indentured servants, as they did with our people.”
“I guess this explains Minerva’s behavior since arriving at Sol,” Val said. “They helped Kiara and Matt get home. Now it looks like they were just using them to get here. They let us research their ship and offered to rescue the refugees. Now it looks like they were just doing it to get back to the portal.”
“The parasites ingratiated themselves to you just as they did to the A’biran,” Mandyur said.
As they chatted, Edie caught Alex rushing toward them.
“What’s going on?” Edie called to him.
“I just spoke to the UN Interspace Authority. Oh boy was that a trip!”
“What did they say?” Edie replied.
“Something about a giant alien saucer with eight-hundred humans aboard certainly got their attention. Good news though! We have a landing zone,” Alex said.
“Where?”
“Black Rock, Utah.”
Chapter 63
Black Rock, Utah
As the Ark descended to Earth, a million thoughts went through Val’s head. How would humanity react to seeing aliens land on Earth for the first time? What would the future look like now that the Yonapi had unfettered access to Earth? Was there any hope that humans could still get it together and save themselves before it was too late? How would the A’biran, Angelics, and Qalfrae fit in with this scary new future?
Val hadn’t actually set foot on the blue planet in three and a half months. The gravity alone would be an adjustment.
It perplexed Val how the outside of the ship was clearly metal, yet the inside of the ship was like looking out a glass dome. She stared out the ship at the Utahn landscape as the sun rose. There, she could finally see where the landing zone had been set up.
When the ship touched down on Earth’s surface, Val felt a rush of relief. It felt good to be home again. Many of the survivors were still confused by the circumstances that led them back. Nevertheless, all were thankful to be alive. As a thank you for saving their lives, they insisted that Val leave the ship first.
Val stood patiently at the entry to one of the Ark’s four main hangars on the outer rim. As she waited for the hangar gate to open, she anticipated what kind of reception she might receive on the other side.
Thousands of people crowded at the landing site. Their cheers and applause were deafening. Val was momentarily taken aback by the intensity of it all. Giant placards with phrases such as WELCOME TO EARTH and THANK YOU ALIENS filled the horizon.
In the madness of the moment, a familiar voice shouted out above the rest. “Val!” It was Ty, waiting at the edge, with armed security holding the crowds back.
“Ty!” Val shouted. She ran to her wife, ignoring everything else along the way. She embraced her, never wanting to let go.
“I knew you’d come back,” Ty said.
“You did?” Val replied. “Because I sure didn’t.”
They kissed. “I’m sure you’ll tell me all about it on our way to Kenya,” Ty said, smiling.
“I think I’m going to sleep and do nothing for a few days,” Val replied.
“Good idea,” Ty laughed, kissing Val’s forehead.
Val rested her head on Ty’s shoulder. A realization came to her. “Thomas!”
“Oh my stars,” Ty replied. “What happened?”
A gurney wheeled out from the hanger bay by a team from Titan. On it, Thomas lay unconscious.
“Med evac! We need med evac,” one of the people escorting the gurney shouted. At that moment, several EMTs ran to Thomas’ side, preparing to rush him to a medical transport.
“Jesus Christ!” Ty said. “What happened up there?”
Val held Ty’s hands and looked into her eyes. “He’s in critical condition. The Titan medics put him on life support. We don’t know if he’ll ever wake up. Ty, he saved my life on the Herschel.”
“I can’t believe he survived,” Ty said. “After everything he’s been through. This is going to be so hard on his family.”
“I know.” They watched as Thomas was loaded onto a medical hovercraft with the accompanying medical team. The ionic thrusters whirred to life and within seconds, the transport was up and away, presumably in the direction of Salt Lake City.
As the transport faded into the distance, another hovercraft headed straight in their direction. It was black, adorned with Neo-U.S. flags, and escorted by several security detail on hover-bikes.
“Now there’s something I didn’t expect to see today,” Val said.
“Are you kidding me?” Ty quipped. “This isn’t just front page news. It is all the news. Every station, every bi-line. You broke the Dream-net multiple times today.”
“Breaking the Dream-net? Who would have thought?”
The hovercraft landed in a clearing not far from where they stood. A security agent opened the door to the limo-shaped vehicle. A tall, familiar face in a suit walked out and made his way toward Val and Ty.
“You’re taller than I expected,” Val said to the man. “Mr. President.”
“And you’ve got a lot more gumption than I imagined for a researcher,” President Stanton said. He extended his hand. “Nice to finally meet you in person.”
“Nice to meet you as well,” Val shook his hand. Ty did the same.
“I’ll get right to it, because you and I have a lot to discuss,” the President said. “The situation with Saturn is at critical mass. The world is never going to be the same after this. Humanity is never going to be the same.”
“What do you think happens from here?” Val asked.
“Actually, I think I should be asking you that,” the President confessed. “You’re the one who walked through Hell and lived to tell the tale. We’ve got an outside force that threatens our very existence. We’re dealing with things far beyond our control. The world wants answers, and I’m not sure I can give them what they are looking for. At least not alone.”
“What are you implying, Mr. President?” Val asked.
“Perhaps Yuna can explain it better,” President Stanton replied, motioning to the side.
“Minister Endo!” Val said excitedly, hugging the Lunar Minister. “Oh my, I didn’t expect to see you here.”
“Nothing is more important than being here,” Minister Endo said. “And I wasn’t going to let Ty come here alone.”
“You knew she was here?” Val said to Ty.
“Oops,” Ty shrugged.
“Dr. Alessi, the President and I have been engaging in discussions about what comes next. Right now the United Nations is passing emergency legislation.”
“For what?” Val wondered.
“There’s going to be a new agency,” President Stanton said. “It’s going to be chartered by the UN, but will be led by a select panel of five. Its goal is to unite all of humanity in what we expect will be the greatest undertaking in all of human history. Protecting Earth and protecting the Solar System from the great new dangers that threaten our existence.”
“We want you to be on the governing panel,” Minister Endo added.
“What?” Val asked, in disbelief.
“Babe, they want you to help lead the world!” Ty said.
“I’m sorry, what?” Val asked again, deadpanned.
“Exactly what Ty said,” President Stanton replied. “You won’t be doing it by yourself. Yuna and I will be part of it too. But right now the human race needs someone it can trust, if this new solar-wide agency is to have any legitimacy. Alone, we can’t bring that. But with you, we can unite everyone together behind a common purpose.”
“Saving our species before it is too late,” Minister Endo added.
“So what do you say?” President Stanton asked.
As she considered their offer, Val glanced at the Ark that had saved her life and the lives of eight hundred others.
“I really need to think about this,” Val said.
“Of course,” President Stanton said.
“Take all the time you need,” Minist
er Endo replied.
“Oh and one more thing,” Val continued. “If there is any hope of my involvement in your governance after today, I want to make one thing very clear. The A’biran and their allies on the Ark didn’t just save my life. They saved over eight billion lives today. You will honor them as allies.”
“We will discuss this,” the President replied hesitantly. “It’s going to be unpredictable, convincing our fellow humans to reach an alliance with an unfamiliar species, especially when another just tried to wipe us out. I myself have some doubts. But I trust you, and you have my word that we will work in good faith to build normalized relations with the beings on that ship.”
“I concur,” Minister Endo said.
“Good,” Val said. “Now if you’d excuse me, I am going to enjoy a much needed vacation with my wife.”
“Understood,” President Stanton acknowledged.
“Light speed, Dr. Alessi,” Minister Endo said.
They parted ways with the world leaders. Val and Ty made their way through the swarming crowd toward a makeshift lot where the transports had gathered. The Utah landscape was hot and dry, dust settled everywhere. The rest of the survivors continued to exit behind them, and the news cameras shifted back toward the craft. Val shielded her eyes from the sun with her left hand, holding Ty’s hand in her right. She could feel heat radiating off the sand beneath their feat.
“You knew they were going to make that offer,” Val said.
“Minister Endo discussed it on the way here,” Ty mentioned.
“And you agree with them? You don’t seem to be protesting much.”
“Anything that keeps you far away from combat is fine by me. Besides, compared to being Aquarian whisperer, Starscraper whisperer, and bad-ass alien killer, I would say this is a huge upgrade,” Ty said.
“What about our kid?” Val wondered. “They will never live a normal life.”