by John Coon
A white-haired older man appeared last. He sat behind a desk and identified himself as the President of the United States of America. Most of his short message was nothing more than a blur to Xttra.
Only one final line grabbed his attention.
“Now we reach out to the stars in a spirit of friendship and brotherhood,” the president declared. “We are not alone in the universe and we will be stronger standing together. We come to you in peace and hope you will do the same. God bless us all.”
A deafening silence permeated the room after the message concluded. Tears glistened in Collin's eyes. Kevin stared at the screen stone-faced. Xttra pinched his eyelids shut and shook his head. Their chief sovereign was right to fear the Aramus system. This message of peace proved to be nothing more than a vicious trap built on a foundation of lies. The Earthians who they encountered were a violent and sadistic race. What they did to him and his crew showed what their version of peace entailed.
Xttra cracked open his eyes and stared hard at the other two men.
“We came in peace. Your people did not.”
Collin answered with a slow nod. Tears rolled down both cheeks. He sniffled and quickly wiped them away with the cuff of his long-sleeved shirt.
“The bureau has innocent blood on its hands,” he said. “We need to set things right.”
Kevin gave him a sideways glance.
“It's a little late in the game to do that.”
“It's never too late to do the right thing. And I have an idea of how we can do it.”
Collin rose from the couch, crossed the living room, and peaked outside the front window. He turned and glanced back at Xttra a few seconds later.
“We aren't getting past a slew of soldiers and bureau agents with only three healthy bodies,” he said. “But I think I know how we can get to your spaceship unscathed.”
Xttra knit his brows together and frowned.
“What are you proposing?”
“Let me reach out to my friend Sam Bono,” Collin said. “He's still on the base. I think if we send him a copy of the probe message, he'll join our side.”
“Are you out of your mind?” Kevin's voice climbed a couple of decibels. “No offense, but we can't trust anyone from the Earth Defense Bureau.
Collin scowled.
“Offense taken.”
He turned away from Kevin and focused his eyes and attention squarely on Xttra.
“Hear me out. Sam is a good man. He only needs to see what we've seen to persuade him to do the honorable thing. Once he joins us, he can help us get you past all the checkpoints to your ship. You and Calandra will be halfway home before the Earth Defense Bureau can do a thing about it.”
Xttra crossed his arms and stared at him with widened eyes. Collin expected him to place faith and trust in an Earthian who did nothing to prevent the senseless deaths among his crew or the pain inflicted on Calandra.
“If you contact him, you're putting us in danger,” He said, casting his eyes at the bedroom where Calandra rested. “They see us as a threat. They slaughtered my crew and seriously injured the woman I love. I don't have enough faith left to put it all into this Earthian.”
“I've known him for a decade.” Collin's tone grew more persistent. “He will help us. I believe it.”
Xttra answered him with a blank stare. He wanted to feel optimistic about this plan, but it made no sense. If Sam was indeed the type of person Collin claimed he was, then he would also be here hunkered down inside the townhouse.
“That's a dumb and terrible idea,” Kevin said. His words summed up what Xttra thought. “You reach out to him, they'll track us down, and then Xttra and Calandra can wave goodbye to even surviving – let alone returning to their home planet.”
“Then you think of another plan,” Collin shot back. “From where I'm sitting, we've got no better options left. Do you think we can storm the bureau checkpoints and take the ship by force?”
Kevin hung his head.
“Not a chance in Hell.”
“So, we're in agreement, then.” Xttra sensed a new smugness rising in Collin's voice. “We need to try a new approach. They can't hide here in Utah forever. The bureau will find us at some point.”
Xttra wrapped his hands behind his head, interlocking his fingers, and pinched his eyes shut. Going down this path had so much potential to make things worse. He wished he had more manpower and more firepower. They stood no chance making a direct attack. Only he and Kevin had combat training. Calandra's broken bones would keep her from doing much. Collin offered little help as a self-proclaimed pacifist.
“I guess our choices are limited,” he said, opening his eyes and staring at Collin again. “How do you plan to contact him without revealing our location?”
Collin glanced down at his smartphone.
“I'll text Sam a copy of the probe message. From there, I'll arrange to meet at a neutral spot in Salt Lake City – perhaps Sugar House Park. If I can get a few minutes alone to reason with him, I know Sam will assist us in getting you home.”
“I hope you're right,” Xttra said. “But I think one of us should go with you to watch your back.”
“I'll be fine,” Collin said. “Don't worry about it. Sam isn't the type of person who betrays a friend.”
Xttra could not shake an anxious feeling gripping him as Collin sent his text and set the whole plan in motion. Neither he nor Calandra had any reason to trust this Sam Bono character. This leap of faith could explode in their faces and cost them a final chance to go home. Still, he had no better ideas.
Based on everything they endured to this point, Xttra had no reason to believe he or Calandra could survive on this hostile planet much longer.
38
Calandra fought a rising panic as her heart leaped into her throat after Xttra detailed what Collin wanted to do. Nothing about his plan sounded like a smart course to pursue. Why did Xttra and Kevin agree to let him contact this Sam Bono character? She spent only a brief time with the Earth Defense Bureau official, but it was more than enough time for Calandra to realize she could not trust him for a second. Reaching out to Sam for help would only set a trap the Earthians could spring at any moment.
“Have you all lost your minds?” Her voice grew animated. “This alleged friend had no problem with torturing me with blinding lights until Collin arrived and stopped it. Contacting him is an awful idea.”
Fire filled Xttra's eyes at hearing this news. Collin neglected to share this little detail with him.
He marched into the living room. Calandra limped outside the bedroom after him. Collin snatched up the car keys from atop a small end table near the front door. He popped the door open. It slammed shut before the Earth Defense Bureau official took a step forward.
Collin turned and found himself standing face-to-face with Xttra. His right hand pressed against the wooden frame. He shot Xttra a questioning stare.
“What are you doing? I already texted Sam. He agreed to meet at Sugar House Park in 45 minutes.”
“You're not going anywhere.” Xttra returned a firm stare matching his equally firm tone. “He's setting a hook and you're swimming right to the bait.”
Collin scrunched up his face in disbelief.
“Are you crazy? We already hashed this all out. This is our most realistic way to facilitate your return home.”
Xttra crossed his arms and kept bombarding him with eye daggers.
“When did you plan on telling me your so-called friend had a hand in torturing Calandra back on the Earthian base?”
Collin slouched his shoulders and lowered his head. Calandra wondered if their prior friendship blinded him to the fact Sam did not want to be on their side. She felt annoyed he did not consider all the angles.
“He's not a bad man,” Collin said, making eye contact with her instead of Xttra. “I'm confident he'll do the right thing once he sees y'all are not a threat.”
Calandra hobbled over to him and laid a hand on his shoulder. She forced her
self to take a calming breath before saying something she regretted.
“I believe you mean well.” She chose her words carefully and used a calm, measured tone. “Your friend may have some good qualities. It doesn't mean we can trust him.”
“So, trust me instead,” Collin said. “I promise I'm not trying to mislead you.”
“I told him and the other woman with him we came in peace,” Calandra's tone turned sharper this time. “They refused to believe me. He already ran away from his chance to help.”
Kevin entered the living room, carrying a small bottle in his hand.
“All I found is some aspirin,” he said, looking down at the bottle. “This should take the edge off your pain, Calandra. I searched for stronger pain meds, but I ...”
Kevin trailed off when he saw the others clustered around the door. A small confused smile crossed his lips.
“Is everything okay in here?”
Xttra wheeled around and faced the ranger with a frustrated frown.
“Far from it.”
Collin reached for the doorknob again. The front door opened only a crack before Xttra turned and slammed it shut again.
“You're not doing this.”
Collin's lower lip jutted out into a frustrated pout.
“If I don't leave now for Sugar House Park, we may not get another chance to find additional help.”
Frustration washed over Calandra seeing Collin act so dismissive of her valid concerns. Seeking help from an untrustworthy Earthian would not solve their problems. It only promised to create brand new ones.
Kevin tilted his head at Collin and pressed his lips together. Once he read between the lines, the ranger crossed his arms and shook his head.
“We're not all down with contacting an Earth Defense Bureau head honcho. If everyone thinks it's a bad idea, maybe you ought to pay attention.”
Collin answered with an exasperated sigh and finally stepped away from the door.
“So, what's Plan B? How else are we going to get them back to their spaceship?”
Kevin set the aspirin bottle on a nearby table. He walked over to Collin and thrust out his hand.
“Where's your phone?”
Collin instinctively reached for it but stopped before plunging his hand inside his pocket. He shot the ranger a quizzical look.
“Why do you want my phone?”
“I'm testing out a theory. Humor me.”
Collin sighed a second time and handed the phone over to him. Calandra grew curious about what Kevin intended to do. She sidled up next to him and glanced over his shoulder at the device. He pulled up a bright white screen filled with words in the Earth language Kevin shared with Collin.
“I'm texting your buddy Sam and telling him you're on your way.”
Calandra watched with some fascination as he repeatedly pressed his thumbs against the phone screen and composed a short message.
I'm getting close. You at the park yet?
A second message popped up below the first one a few moments later. She read the message silently. This text was also brief, making it easy for Calandra to piece together what it meant even with her limited knowledge of Earth languages.
Just got here. Let me know when you arrive.
Kevin peered at the time stamp under Collin's original text and shook his head. He handed the smartphone back to him.
“Your boy claims he's already there. No damn way he made it to Salt Lake City this fast unless he flew to that park in a helicopter.”
Xttra stepped back and stared at him wide-eyed.
“Are you saying what I think you're saying?”
Kevin turned and nodded.
“His buddy sold us out. We're a bunch of sitting ducks if we stay here.”
“Sitting ducks?” Calandra repeated.
“Common Earth metaphor,” Kevin said. “Translation: we need to leave now.”
Kevin grabbed his uncle's rifle from the corner of the living room and headed straight for the front door. Calandra walked back into the bedroom and returned with the chest pouch holding her holocaster and arca vox. Xttra checked his weapons to make sure everything remained in working order.
Collin stood unmoved amid their flurry of activity. Disbelief crept over his face. He looked numb with shock from Kevin's revelation. Calandra sympathized with his feelings. It always hurt when someone you trusted betrayed you at a critical time.
A familiar whirling mechanical hum suddenly greeted her ears. That same sound preceded alien attack vessels at the Earthian base. The color drained from Calandra's face when that loathsome noise surfaced again.
Kevin drew back the curtain and glanced out the front window. He slammed his fist into the windowsill and turned away.
“Two birds are headed our way. Let's move.”
Xttra's mouth dropped open.
“How did they find us so quickly?”
Kevin wheeled around and stabbed an index finger right at Collin.
“I'll bet Sammy boy had his people track the GPS on Collin's smartphone. We better ditch it.”
He snatched the car keys from the Earth Defense Bureau official and ushered everyone out of the townhouse. Calandra tried to conceal her fear, but a wide-eyed stare revealed a renewed panic. Where would they go now? How long would it take before they could stop running and go home? She desperately wanted to wake from this nightmare and experience a better morning.
They piled inside the bullet-riddled sedan. Kevin started the engine and peeled out onto the narrow winding road leading past the townhouses.
“Where are we going?” Xttra said.
“Our best bet is to cut over to the highway on the other side of Jordanelle Reservoir,” Kevin replied. “It's a straight shot to I-80 from there. If we can cross the border into Wyoming, it can buy us some time to approach your ship from a different direction.”
“You can't drive to their spaceship from Wyoming,” Collin protested. “What do you intend to do? Fly there?”
A sly grin crossed Kevin's lips.
“You read my mind. We rent a private plane, fly into the Uintas at night, and land near the spaceship. They'll never see us coming.”
Calandra did not think his plan sounded as foolproof as Kevin thought it did. Earthians tracked and shot down their aerorovers with little difficulty. She did not see any scenario where an Earth plane would fare much better.
Neither did Xttra.
“That won't work,” he said. “We already know our scout ship is heavily guarded. If we still had a functioning aerorover, it would even have a tough time getting past their blockade.”
Kevin glanced at him in the rearview mirror. He flashed a confident grin and shrugged.
“Desperate times call for desperate measures. We'll find a way to make it work.”
The car turned onto a larger highway and traveled northwest away from the reservoir. Kevin took after Xttra in his willingness to travel at fast speeds. Calandra did not enjoy it one bit. Seeing him weave around a slower car without hesitation made her nerves twitch.
“Damn! You gotta be kidding me.”
Kevin's eyes trailed over to the rearview mirror. Calandra glanced over her shoulder to find out what stirred such an angry reaction. A vehicle adorned with a pair of flashing lights now trailed their car.
“Now we've got a cop looking to fill a speeding ticket quota following us,” Collin said. “Good job.”
Kevin glared at him.
“How in the hell am I supposed to know a speed trap is right there?”
A blaring siren soon joined those flashing lights. Worry filled Xttra's eyes as he glanced back at the car pursuing them down the highway.
“What are we going to do about this?” he asked.
“We're going to lose them,” Kevin replied.
He increased the car's speed as they merged onto a short connecting road. It joined a different highway running north to south. Calandra drew in a deep breath. Her heart raced as their vehicle zipped around one car after anoth
er.
A second car with flashing lights appeared behind the original pursuit car. Then a third one joined the chase. All three vehicles blared sirens. Calandra's eyes drifted over to a yellow highway sign ahead. A strange symbol resembling a black bulb displayed on the sign.
“What does that symbol mean?”
Collin snapped his head toward the sign. A gasp followed.
“Oh God. We're on a smart road.”
Kevin at once scrunched his face into a pained expression when he heard those words.
“What's a smart road?” Xttra asked.
Without warning, every vehicle skidded to a halt in both directions on the highway – including their car. Kevin slammed both hands on the steering wheel. His head sank down on top of it.
“That's a smart road,” Collin said.
Calandra's eyes darted from one stopped car to another. Every single vehicle had become frozen in place, stuck in one spot like metal sculptures.
“Why did our car stop so suddenly?” Fear consumed her words. “What's going on?”
“The Earth Defense Bureau is responsible for this,” Collin said. “They must have tapped into the smart road grid and executed a traffic stop command. Police use that command to prevent criminals from fleeing more and more since it was mandated in the late 2020s.”
A helicopter descended until it hovered just above the road ahead of their car, confirming Collin's theory. Calandra glanced through the rear window and saw a second alien attack vessel drop down behind their vehicle. Earthians dressed in matching dark uniforms emerged from all three cars with flashing lights. They brandished weapons.
“We're not making it to Wyoming.” Frustration tinged Kevin's voice. “Time to figure out Plan C.”
39
Doni clasped his hands over the crown of his head and scowled. An image of the sealed lower hatch taunted him. Every method he employed to open the scout ship failed. Xttra had restricted his access and he had no clue how to get back inside. He did not have the correct tools he needed to do the job.