Punishment

by Guerin Zand

  “So, do you think you can work with this team, Guerin?”

  “I can’t be absolutely sure, Stella, but what choice do I have? I can’t exactly explain my feelings on this, but to me, it seems that Roger isn’t motivated so much by the search for alien tech. I think his motivation is curiosity? I don’t know if that is the right way to say it. I think, like me, he would just like to understand more about what’s really going on. I think his team is more research, information gathering, then military in purpose.”

  “But can you trust them?”

  “Sly, I’ve met them.” Milly jumped into the conversation. “I have to agree with Guerin. I didn’t feel at all threatened by any of them. They were confused for sure, but Roger didn’t push for anything I was unwilling to offer in the way of information. We only downloaded the basic information on this group, and we need to dig deeper. I believe they’ve had contact of some sort in the past. Up until now, I would suspect that contact was only observing. The idea of other intelligent life in the universe didn’t appear to be a surprise to them. They seemed pretty casual and accepting about having dinner with a visitor from the stars.”

  Sly and Stella just looked at each other and Stella asked, “Do you have a plan for where you go from here, Guerin?”

  I just smiled and said, “I always have a plan, Stella.”

  “Are you going to share this plan with the rest of us?”

  “No. You’d just laugh and make some insulting comment. You’re just going to have to wait and be surprised. It’s a lot more fun that way.” I threw in a dumb monkey smile just to make them worry even more.

  “Sly and I have some business to take care of. You two should probably talk. I’m sure Guerin has a few questions for you, Milly.” Stella’s statement was accompanied by a strange look she shot at Milly. They were still hiding something important. Something that they thought I should hear directly from Milly.

  “Let’s get you cleaned up, Guerin. It looks like you could use a shower and we can burn those clothes you’re wearing. What happened to that famous Guerin Zand fashion sense?”

  “Ha, ha, Milly. It’s not like I had a big choice in wardrobe. This is a lot better than what I was wearing a week ago.”

  We got up and headed back to Milly’s quarters on the shuttle. She held me close, but there was a strange silence between us as we walked. We arrived at her room and entered. These shuttles still reminded me a lot of a military base with the puke green walls. If it weren’t for the nicer furniture and the high-tech gizmos, it would be hard to tell this place from Gitmo. I guess if they decorated Gitmo with IKEA furniture it would be hard to tell the two apart.

  “Come on, Guerin I’ll help you with that shower.” Milly teased as she undressed and headed towards the bathroom. I had been locked up for a while, so a friendly shower sounded great. Ok, I’m not stupid. I know Milly was trying to avoid whatever subject it was everyone was sidestepping. What can I say? I loved that crazy alien babe and starting an argument with her, over who knows what, made no sense at the time.

  After the shower, Milly grabbed us both a whiskey and we sat at the table. I thought it was a good time to try and get to the bottom of all of this.

  “Milly?”

  “Yes.”

  “I tried to get some information about what actually happened with the Council and Sly, more than once, said I should talk to you about it. What is everybody trying to hide from me?”

  “It’s getting late, Guerin, and I have to leave tomorrow. Let’s not ruin this time we have with all of that. I promise, we’ll talk tomorrow before I leave, ok?”

  “I’m not getting a very good feeling here, Milly. You know I don’t like it when you hide things from me. I thought we were past that.”

  Milly finished her drink, stood up, and grabbed my hand.

  “Can’t you just leave it until tomorrow? I just want to be with you tonight and not let the Council ruin that. Please, Guerin?”

  Milly led me to the bed and we both hopped in. She held me close and we said nothing else. We fell asleep with her in my arms and her head resting on my chest.

  The next morning we woke up and Milly was feeling a bit frisky. I knew she was still avoiding having that conversation with me but I really never could resist Milly. She knew that, and it felt like she needed this intimacy even more than I did for some reason. Only a total asshole would have ruined this moment with talk. Yes, I was an asshole, but I had not yet achieved the ranking of “total” asshole.

  After our morning fun, we showered, got dressed, and headed for the cafeteria area to get some breakfast. Milly had actually brought some real clothes for me to wear and it was nice to get out of fatigues and army boots. I flirted with the food replicator and it rewarded me with my favorite alien version of steak and eggs. I grabbed a cup of Joe and I joined Milly at a table where she grazed on some sort of artificial plant fibers.

  “I sort of missed the food replicators during my time at Gitmo.”

  “That was obvious from the why you fondled the poor machine. Really, Guerin, it was a bit disturbing.” We both laughed. Ok, I guess kissing the machine and stroking its metal surface gently, may have seemed a little odd.

  “So, would you mind sharing your grand plan with me, Guerin?”

  “You’ll probably just laugh, but I’ll try. Right now, I have to get to know the team better. We’ll talk tomorrow night. To some extent, I just have to play it by ear, wing it, if you like. Until I have a better grasp on the situation that’s the best I can do. I have a starting point and I have to build on that.”

  “How will you get the different nations to work together. You know this is crucial.”

  “Yes, I know that. I was going to discuss this with Roger and crew. You know they may be pretty open to things but they’re also very patriotic Americans. People with their service records typically are. I don’t know how they’ll react when I tell them I plan to make this technology available to other nations, especially our biggest adversaries. I’m hoping they’ll understand and that they will help with that. If not, I may be back to ground zero, or back in Gitmo.”

  “Don’t worry. I believe in you, Guerin, don’t ever doubt that. I know we all tease and joke around with you, but always remember that I do believe in you. You made the best out of your little ordeal and I doubt anyone thought you would, except me. If you want my advice, I would say trust Roger. I know you have your doubts but your first instinct was to trust him. Trust those instincts. Just do what you do best and everything will work out. It’s not going to be easy and you’ll need to ignore all the bullshit. Just do your job. That’s all that matters.”

  “Thanks, Milly, but something’s bothering you. Your being, well, too nice.”

  “You worry when I’m too nice to you?”

  “Since the first time I met you in the woods.”

  We both smiled but her smile quickly disappeared. “We need to talk. Let’s go back to my quarters. We need to have this conversation in private.”

  We went back to her quarters and she grabbed me another coffee and a tea for herself. The expression on her face told me all I really needed to know. The shit had finally hit the fan, and I was the one standing in front of that fan!

  “I had to make a deal with the Council so I could get you out of Gitmo.”

  “I know that, Milly. You and Julie are both off the committee.”

  “There was more to the deal than that, Guerin.”

  “What more?”

  “I’m off the committee because I accepted a posting at one of our larger stations. Remember our talk on Earth, the day I left from our little vacation?”

  “Sure.”

  “You told me you wanted me to do what I needed for my own future?”

  “Yes.”

  “I had to agree, in addition to accepting this new posting, that I would have no further contact with you after this.”

  “What do you mean? For how long?”

  “I mean we have to end our relation
ship. It’s over. If I continue to be involved with you I can pretty much give up any plans I had for the future.”

  “This is Julie’s doing, isn’t it? How could you agree to this?”

  “It’s not Julie, it was the rest of the Council’s decision. They agreed that Julie had gone too far, but so had I. We had both overstepped and we both needed to back away. They were right, Guerin, and if I argued the point I still would have been removed from the committee. If I didn’t accept their conditions, my career would suffer, if I would even have a career left. I couldn’t leave you there, Guerin. To me, it was a simple choice.”

  “Damn it, Milly. I didn’t need you to come save me. You just told me that you believe in me, but you didn’t. If you believed in me, you would have let me handle it alone. I did anyways. I didn’t tell you when we had our talk, but Julie wanted me to break off our relationship and I refused. She threatened me if I wouldn’t, not in so many words, but I got her meaning. This is what she wanted. How could you be so stupid to fall for her trap?”

  “That’s not fair, Guerin. Julie told me about that part of your conversation, and she may be partially responsible for this, but I made this decision. I’m not an idiot either!”

  “You don’t find it odd that we can’t have any future contact, but no such condition was placed on Julie? Sure, she’s no longer the Council’s voice on the committee but that doesn’t prevent her from interfering with my life.”

  “Please, Guerin. I don’t want to fight with you. They can’t change the way I feel about you.”

  “I’m not mad with you, Milly. You know how I feel about you, but this isn’t fair. It’s Julie and the Council I’m mad at. How could they hold this little trial and not give me a say? The level of contempt for me is unbelievable.”

  “Don’t let them distract you, Guerin. You have to continue with your work on Earth. It is all that really matters.”

  “Distract me? You think this is a distraction? Is that all you think you mean to me?”

  “No, but we have no choice. I may not be on the committee anymore but this project on Earth still means a lot to me. I need you to succeed.”

  “Then I guess you should just go. What’s the point of talking about it? Everyone seems to have decided for me and I don’t have any choice. Don’t worry. I’ll keep my promise to you.”

  I just got up and left. I couldn’t think of anything I could say or do. I wanted to explode, but I didn’t want to leave things between us like that. So, I just left.

  I had said a while ago, when Milly and I first got involved, that I saw something heading for me fast and it was going to hurt. This was it. That light at the end of the tunnel was a train coming and I had just been run over.

  I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I wasn’t scheduled to meet Roger and the team until tomorrow night. I just went back to my old quarters on the shuttle and laid on the bed. Yes, I was angry, and mad as hell at the Council, but that’s not what made me hurt so bad. Nothing they had done to me at Gitmo had hurt this much and all I could think about was how I could hurt these bastards just as much.

  There was a knock on the door and Sly popped in.

  “Guerin, Milly is about to leave. Don’t let her go without saying goodbye. Don’t be stupid. You know that you won’t forgive yourself if you leave things the way they are. Do you think Milly isn’t in pain over this?”

  “I know, Sly. I just, I mean, what can I say. Nothing will fix this.”

  “Come on, I’ll walk you down to the transport room. Milly is there with Stella and I’m not going to let you just lay here and pout.”

  I got up and went with Sly. The transport room was a large open area where there was plenty of room to open a portal, and controls for creating the portals were located in this room. When we arrived, I found Stella holding Milly and they were both in tears. Milly went over and hugged Sammy and said goodbye.

  “Let’s leave the two of them alone to say goodbye,” Stella said as she walked over to Sly. Sammy joined them, and Milly and I were alone.

  Milly came over and hugged me so hard I could barely breathe. She kissed me, and I wiped the tears from her eyes.

  “I’m sorry I walked out on you. I just don’t know what to do. I don’t want to say goodbye. I don’t want to accept this.” I was literally choking as I tried to speak. “I love you. That’s all I have to say.”

  “I love you too, Guerin. I’ll never stop loving you. I may not be able to have any contact with you, but I’ll be keeping track of you like I always have. I’ll always be watching over you, I promise.”

  We kissed again, and as she got ready to leave I had to say something. I couldn’t just let this happen and not fight back.

  “I’ll make those bastards on the Council pay for this, Milly. I promise you that.”

  “Don’t do anything stupid, Guerin.”

  “It’s what I do best, Milly. You know that.”

  She smiled a bit, and I wiped away her tears. “You’re still an asshole, you know that, Guerin.”

  “But I’m your asshole, Milly, and I always will be.”

  We kissed once more and then she was gone.

  Sammy came back in the room and shut down the portal.

  “Would you like someone to talk to, Guerin?”

  “No thanks, Sammy. I just want to crawl away and die if that’s ok with everyone.” I headed back to my room.

  Chapter 5

  Back to Business

  As scheduled, I returned to my home the next evening. Sammy was kind enough to open a portal inside the house since I didn’t have the keys on me. When I looked around I saw Roger, Katie, and Steve already waiting for me.

  “Well, that is an impressive manner of transportation, Guerin. Can you tell us how that works?”

  “First off, Roger, try not showing how impressed you are. Milly did that in front of you the other day just to show off. First lesson, aliens like to show off, act like whatever you see is no big deal. Don’t feed their egos. Ok?”

  “That sounds a lot easier than I’m sure it is.”

  “After a while, it won’t be. I know I invited you guys for dinner, but I was a bit distracted and I forgot I hadn’t been home in a while. I don’t think there’s anything to eat here. Maybe we can go out?”

  “Don’t worry about that, we got it covered. We just got back from shopping. We figured with all you’d been through you wouldn’t have time to shop so we stocked your kitchen for you. We have some nice steaks, potatoes, and fresh corn. I’m sure we can whip up a nice dinner here.”

  I went to the fridge and took a quick inventory. I pulled out three good-looking ribeyes, potatoes and a few ears of corn and laid them out on the kitchen island. I did some quick prep on the potatoes and popped them into the microwave to get them started. I turned on the oven and then walked out to my utility room. The pallet of whiskey had been returned, minus four cases. I grabbed a bottle and headed back to the kitchen.

  I placed the bottle of whiskey on the island and said, “The glasses are over there,” I pointed to one of the cabinets. “And you can get ice and cold water from the fridge. If you prefer there are soft drinks and beer in the fridge in the garage.” Everyone went for the whiskey. I unwrapped the steaks and began seasoning them. “I noticed I’m a few cases of whiskey short in the utility room. Should I consider my taxes paid?”

  “I don’t think you need to worry about the taxes. I’m sorry about the missing whiskey but a few higher-ups seemed to get sticky fingers when they heard about that.”

  “Like you, Roger?”

  “You got me, sorry.”

  Katie took the initiative to start helping me with dinner and began to shuck the ears of corn. When she was done, I placed them on tin foil with a little olive oil and seasoning, rolled them up in the foil, and set them aside. The microwave sounded. I pulled out the partially cooked potatoes, wrapped them in foil as well and threw them and the corn in the oven to cook.

  “We have some time before those are cooke
d and then I’ll fire up the grill and cook the steaks. We should probably talk while we wait.”

  “Are you going to tell us how that transport mechanism works, Guerin?” Steve asked from his seat at the kitchen bar.

  “Well, you're assuming I understand it. I don’t really, but they gave me a simple explanation us monkeys might understand.” I took a strip of paper and created a Mobius strip. “So, you’re all familiar with the Mobius strip?” I held up the strip and they all nodded. “Now a classic sci-fi description would say to get to the point on the opposite side of the strip you’d have to travel the entire surface” And I demonstrated on the strip, “but if you could say, travel in another dimension, you could poke right through to the other side and travel to the same point in an instant. The problem is, what if you wanted to go from one end to the other? If the Mobius strip represents our spacetime, then what is the open space that surrounds the strip? You can’t punch straight through but what if I folded space?” And I folded the two ends to touch. “Now the two points are next to each other and traveling from one point to the other instantaneously is again possible.”

  “So, they fold space?”

  “No, Katie. That isn’t technically accurate, but imagine that space is already folded. Like I asked, what is this space around the strip represent? It represents nothing, a void, where space and time do not exist. It’s kind of hard to visually show that, but if it’s nothing, then there is no distance between any points on the strip. From what I was told, there are multiple universes, not alternate realities, or parallel universes like the time travel garbage you read about. Each universe is itself a complex multidimensional construct with its own uniquely defined spacetime. This is hard for us to visualize but a simple analogy would be if I crumpled up this space.” I crumpled up the strip. “Between universes is this void where neither time nor space exists. These complex multidimensional constructs are such that every point in our universe’s spacetime is only separated from any other point in our spacetime by this void. They open what they call a trans-dimensional portal, I call it a transit portal, that connects any two points in our spacetime through the void.”