by Ma West
Together they walked in silence, the unformed thoughts slipping from her mind to his. They had created a bond, more so than simply being the last two humans alive. They were mates, bound not at the hip but by the soul. At last they came to a large door. The Xendorian vegetation ran along the walls, outlining the door’s dimensions.
The baroness took a deep breath and prayed for the best as they came forward. Aragmell stepped ahead and off to the side, waiting to open the door as they approached, but then he stopped and turned back around. “My Lady Baroness and her Captain Zeros, how do you wished to be announced?”
The baroness paused, a look of slight befuddlement crossing her face.
“How about His and Her Excellency?”
The baroness shot him a look of disapproval.
“The Indelible Baroness and Incomparable Captain Zeros?”
She shook her head. “Do you even know what those words mean?”
“The pretty lady and her kick-ass man?”
The baroness breathed out her disappointment, looked over her man, and nodded. It’s easy to love perfection, but love isn’t perfect, she realized. The baroness placed her head against his shoulder, and they walked forward.
He could feel it building, more exciting than the brothel, more real than his life just a few days ago, and more intense than even his greatest fantasy. When Captain 00 walked onto the bridge, a strange medley of aliens rose in salutations and greetings. He had a beautiful woman who loved him at his side and a renewed sense of spirit and life filling his soul. There would be time for reflection and admittance later, but for now, he simply enjoyed it.
“Please rise for the Lady Baroness and her kick-ass man, Captain Zeros.” Aragmell kept a very straight face.
The fly-like creature was the first to speak. “Captain, there are multiple Xendorian warships bearing down on our positions. They have already launched their assault craft.”
Panic briefly struck away his golden glow, as he felt clueless once more. “Failure,” the word itself, creeped into his mind as a bad omen, and all of his newfound confidence was wiped away, just like that. He looked around at the faces staring at him, waiting, longing, and demanding. Besides the panic, he felt her eyes and even her unsaid words. Failure, he told himself, is not the end but a new beginning. “What’s your name and species again?”
“I’m Navigator Flynn. I am a member of the Pergenese species. What are your orders, sir?”
He swallowed hard and spoke while thinking. “Well, Mr. Flynn, take us straight at them, full speed ahead.” Ha, it worked again, he thought, the less I think, the better I do.
One of the tall stalk-like creatures spoke next, from one of the consoles running along the side of the bridge. “Preparing for slip-gate activation and transit.”
He could just feel it—this was home. No, he was wrong. She was home, and that recognition brought a smile to his face even as three large ships lashed out with their weapons of light as they flew by on the view screen. The doctors approached the couple as three beams of light projected out in front of their ship. A vortex opened as the beams converged and the ship slipped inside its bubble. A vast blackness opened around them, only slowly filling back in with the lights from the stars.
Flynn once again took the initiative. “Captain, I have found a class A nebula only two jumps away. I would say a good hiding place for the near term, if the captain so desires.”
The doctors almost seemed to nod in agreement with Flynn as they beckoned the couple back out away from the bridge. “The captain does so desire, Mr. Flynn. I leave the conn in your hands until I return.”
“The conn, sir?”
“You know, you’re in charge until I get back.” With that, the doctors led the still-twitching captain and the baroness to the medical bay.
The baroness held on to Zeros, guiding him as they sauntered down the humid, damp hallway. He looked down at her and smiled. “So I have a question. I’m the father, right?”
She returned his smile. “Yes you are, and no, no you don’t have a question.”
He gave a stern glance. “No, I really do have a question.”
She returned his sternness. “No, no you don’t.”
This time, he moved in close to her and spoke confidently. “I’m very certain I have a question.”
Before he could say more, the baroness moved in closer, let her eyes roll into her head as she thought for a second, and then kissed him. “Don’t worry, you were good. Very satisfying.” She kissed him again and then pulled away and caught up to Dr. Fengie.
Mardoxx and Aragnaught led Hashmore through a series of hallways and corridors that finally ended in a most unremarkable office. It held a regular human-style desk with a formal, black, squared chair behind it. Nothing sat on top of the desk, which was left of center in the middle of the room. The two escorts motioned for Hashmore to sit. Mardoxx hopped up onto the table while Aragnaught quickly started up small talk, but he found no audience, as Mardoxx was being less than responsive and Hashmore was too tired to care anymore.
Fatigue and age had finally caught up with Hashmore, who’d had about enough. His body ached, his head throbbed, and he felt faint of conviction. Aragnaught managed to find a topic of interest to Mardoxx as the two discussed a game called Blazerball.
Aragnaught’s occasional interjections were annoying enough, and now that the two started chatting, each new syllable took Hashmore up another rung on the bad-mood ladder. On and on and on it went. Why was he even here? What were they waiting for? Would they let him go?
The thought of standing up and leaving nearly overcame him, but as his physical body stood, his resolve sank, with no idea where to go or how to get there. The two escorts looked strangely at Hashmore, their alien features still familiar enough to give away their thoughts. The silence was glorious, and Hashmore relished in the moment. But again Aragnaught broke in with needless drudgery, only this time Hashmore’s temper overcame his resolve.
Cursing and blasphemy were not staples of his behavior, but he was human. A time would come when his outburst would bring him shame, but for now Hashmore was pissed off and venting. Neither fatigue nor exhalation of air would disarm his temper, but a familiar voice brought comfort and revitalization.
“I know what your mother would do with that mouth, and I would rather choose a bar of soap. Now why don’t you stop feeling all sorry for yourself and get to where I can see you and give me a report?”
The intense red of his face softened to an embarrassed hue as his eyes and head searched around for his friend, partner, and boss. “Biggie-OOO,” he spoke as his eyes finally found the face of his friend. A view screen behind him, in the corridor from which he came, now softened and calmed Hashmore as he once again felt connected to humanity and his best friend. “It’s good to see you, my friend.”
“Yes, yes it is very good to see you, my friend. Are you well?”
“Better now, but this isn’t the retirement job you said it was going to be.”
“That’s ’cause you’re out of fucking line. I hired you to manage all this shit while I go gallivanting around with the aliens. What the hell, Hashmore?”
“Glad to see you missed me. Any word on Maria?”
Big M’s tone softened, and behind the veneer of masculinity, it was sad. “No, that tramp said she was going shopping, so who the hell knows where she went.” A short pause allowed Big M to recompose himself. “Haven’t completed the head count yet, but it’s bad. We had a rough go of it down here.” He paused again. “Now tell me, what the hell is going on up there? Some of these alien bastards are trying to rip our fucking heads off while these barrel squids put them back on. Tell me you know what the hell is going on.”
“To summarize, sir, we are now part of a spacefaring civilization known as the Arkapeligo—those would be the squids in a barrel, the walking dogs, the man-sized flies, and a few others. A separate civilization entity known as the Xendorians have attacked and raided our world in a search—
those would be the guys ripping people’s heads off. While yet another species known as the Wilde have apparently destroyed Earth, or so I’m told. We fled before any actual attack by the Wilde got underway.”
“If I hadn’t seen what I’ve fucking seen with my own two damn eyes, I would swear you were back on the pills. So what the hell were they searching for that required them to pull people’s fucking heads off?”
“A child.”
“A child?”
“A child, who has some kind of special gene. In fact, some of these aliens believe we have a special power.”
“Don’t change the damn subject. Where is the child? Are they coming back here to look again?”
“Where, I couldn’t tell you, but I can tell you that we sent a ship full of aliens, a blind man, and two teen girls out to save them before we left.”
“Jesus, please tell me you are not in charge up there. I’m questing your sobriety again, and it does leave me in the position of asking you, what happens next?”
Hashmore opened his mouth, but his brain produced no answer. It was Mardoxx who entered the conversation with an answer. “Yes, the Great Mother will give a formal address to the entire Arkapeligo. Then, Mr. Hashmore, you will be returned to your people, and your chosen representative will work here, in this office.”
Hashmore motioned with his arm. “See, under control. Now, as to my retirement.”
“Retirement?” Big M crossed his arms and mean mugged Hashmore before speaking. “Very well, you’re fired. You are no longer the emergency manager. You were doing a shitty job anyway.”
Hashmore was caught off guard. Having known his friend for so long a time, he shouldn’t have been, but it still gave him pause—enough pause for Big M to continue the conversation. “As of now, you are whatever the hell the person working in that office’s title is. At least you were doing a competent job at that.”
Hashmore smiled. There was just something in the way his friend managed to order people around that was kind of rewarding. A protest formed in his mind, but with his friend’s presence reinvigorating his energy, it found no backing and thus could not form. Retirement had once again been diverted.
The Great Mother stood proudly, perched atop an intricately carved wooden swing. Behind her image was the planet they were now orbiting. Immaculate and formal, she looked more like a leader now than the old woman Hashmore had met in the cavern.
View screens across the ark, all invisible before now, formed seemingly everywhere. In the sky above Manhattan, a bright-red planet filled the sky, and in front of the planet was the Great Mother.
“Citizens of the Arkapeligo, it is once again my great privilege and honor to be addressing you as head of council, priest of the faith, and fellow citizen. The Battle of Sol has ended, and the costs have been high. Many of our citizens have been asked to make the ultimate sacrifice. Let us never forget the great honor they have bestowed upon us. Let us never forget the honor it is for us to have been saved, not only by our brethren but by this ship of life. Let us never shame those gifts.
“It has been my greatest pleasure and accomplishment to be welcoming my fourth race to the ark. To have saved so many sentient beings from extinction is an achievement to be most proud of. Today we welcome the human race to our collective.”
Images of the baroness and Captain 00 now replaced the one of the Great Mother.
“Yet it is also my greatest disappointment that my time of leadership should include so much death, loss, and destruction. Darkness attacks from every side. Allies long forged have been swept away into shadow. Points of refuge grow thin. Friendly ports to call upon are fewer and fewer. And while we have accomplished so much, hope of success feels so far away. For so long, we have saved so little in comparison to what has been lost. For so long, we have been longing for, searching for, and praying for a weapon, a catalyst, a savior. For so long, we have held on to a fading hope.
“Yet the hope is real. This ship is real. This ship is a light against the encroaching darkness. This ship can shine. And now, my citizens, we have hope again to fuel our light. For what seems like so long, we have looked out into that darkness and seen nothing but an onslaught of darkness, yet today something is different. Today we have seen something new in the darkness. A shimmer, a shine, maybe even a ray of light, but that light can be nurtured, grown, to release a new era of light.
“Our mission will never change, to protect life. However, now we have another mandate, another task. We must seek out this light, nurture it, and unleash it.
“Much has been lost, much has been sacrificed, and now more is asked. It may feel overwhelming, overburdening, and asking us to achieve the impossible. Yet the hope is real, and if we use our camaraderie, faith, and perseverance, I truly believe we can accomplish these greatest of achievements.
“Thank you, and God bless.”
The three sat idle. Personal effects of the Xendorian who had previously inhabited the room were still scattered about. This, they were told, this would be their new home. What they would be called to do and what would come of their future would be anybody’s guess.
Father Drex sat slumped in something resembling a chair. Sasha departed the room in search of a shower, or another form of hygiene, and Emilia sat next to the former army officer. “I’m scared too.”
Father Drex sighed and held out his hand, waiting for her to grab it. “Emilia, I feel so fortunate to have found you. Sasha has a connection to you, a connection that even I don’t have with her. While I may be blind, I can hear it, I can sense it. Emilia, Sasha is in love with you.”
An emotional tinge came across in Emilia’s voice. “I know, but I don’t know what to do about it. I can’t love her back.”
Before the blindness, he still harbored a sinful hope, but now depression and handicap had taken that hope away, and the captain knew Emilia wasn’t for him, wasn’t his yuanfen. Yet she could be what he and Sasha needed. “Emilia, I know it won’t be easy for you, but you must let Sasha have these feelings for you. She will need them, she will be called upon to risk much, and she will need an anchor to come back to. If you can’t love her as a love, you must love her as her friend, because she will need more than I can be for her.”
“What if she wants to love me?”
Father Drex gulped. “Be brave, my dear. I will do what I can for you.”
The door slid open, and Sasha entered with a big smile on her face. She ran up to Emilia, grabbed her friend’s hands, and bounced as she spoke. “Oh my god, we shower in a freakin’ waterfall. It’s so beautiful. I can’t wait for you to see it.” Sasha bounced around and then saw her father.
She sat next to him and gave him a hug. “Thank you. I’m so, so, so sorry you can’t see this. Please come with us. I’m sure I can find someone to help you.”
Father Drex let out a depressed sigh as he once again felt the weight of his burden upon others. After a long moment, he lifted his head and looked in her general direction. “Go ahead, I need some time to think.”
Sasha exchanged a worried glance with Emilia, and after a nonverbal debate, they decided to leave. Sasha gave him another long hug and hurried to get her shower gear. Emilia came close to Father Drex, kissed him on his forehead, and whispered. “Sasha still needs a father. I still need a father. I still need you.”
The girls left on their excursion, and the father sat alone in the darkness of his future. The weight of this new burden was immense. It was too much for him, so he dropped to his knees and prayed. “Dear Lord, please, I need your help.”
The machines hummed and vibrated, and the doctors’ needles hurt and stung, but they assured Captain 00 that the twitching would eventually stop. While he would experience muscle spasms, they would eventually pass. Nothing about his surroundings was familiar. It would be impossible for him to even find the bridge again. Many of his new comrades were still very unfamiliar, and in some ways frightening.
As unprofound as his life before may have been, it was at leas
t predictable and carefree. Now he faced an entirely new future, one of responsibility and unpredictability. Running, fleeing should have been his inclination, yet there was no place he wanted to be more. There was joy to be found here, and with her.
The doctors worked diligently. Dr. Fergie and his mate, Dr. Fengie, examined, diagnosed, and cured. Again and again they repeated the cycle. And his body slowly returned to something closer to normal. The pain and suffering of this ordeal began to set in. Never before had he felt so awful, yet his body was sprite with spirit and will.
A buzzer sounded, drawing the attention of the group. “What is it?” the baroness asked as her monitor flashed with a red light.
Dr. Fergie laughed one of his jolly laughs and smiled wide. “Why, my dear, nature has once again proven that the most complicated problems have the simplest solutions. In this case, that little bundle of mystery you are growing down there.”
“What does that mean?” she asked.
Dr. Fengie answered for her husband. “Why, my dear, it means that you are having twins. Both a boy and a girl. And it looks like only one of them has our mystery gene.”
“Which child?”
“Why, the proper one of course, my dear.”
THE END
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[1] Based on Matthew 6:9–13 (KJV).
[2] Based on Matthew 6:9–13 (KJV).
[3] Based on Matthew 6:9–13 (KJV).
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