by K. D. Mattis
Asher felt out of place in her dress uniform. She wasn’t the only one wearing one, but the crowd of people made it difficult for her to make her way to her peers. Every time she pressed against someone to pass, that person spun around and offered a word of encouragement or asked for a picture. She forced a smile for the first few but stopped faking it after that.
“Admiral, please, a word.”
Asher spun to face the desperate-sounding man. She rolled her eyes when she saw his microphone. A man with a large camera ran up behind him.
“Admiral, do you have any insight regarding today’s announcement? Our viewers are looking for any information at all.”
“I’m sorry,” Asher shook head. “I’m not able to discuss anything at this time.”
“But, Admiral, the rumor is that this is an announcement mobilizing the Space Corps. Surely you can give us a simple yes or no.”
Careful to avoid giving any hints with body language, Asher turned and walked away without another word.
A man in an expensive suit made his way up to the podium on center stage. After he tapped the microphone a few times, the crowd seemingly dispersed in an instant. With a sigh and a smile, Asher hurried through the thinning crowd to the front row. She recognized most of the people as other officers of the Space Corps and hurried to shake everyone’s hand.
“Admiral,” Cole said, stepping forward and offering a salute, “I saved you a seat.”
Asher smiled and stepped forward to accept, but a man tapped her on the shoulder.
“Yes?” Asher asked.
“The first lady has requested that you sit with her and her family, sir.”
Forcing yet another smile, Asher nodded. “Of course. I’d be happy to.”
As she walked away, Asher turned to offer Commander Cole an apology, but he had already turned to speak with another officer.
The lights in the auditorium dimmed, and Asher hurried to find her seat. She shook the first lady’s hand and began to sit down when another man made his way to the podium and asked everyone to stand.
The man droned on about how excited he was to be there, but Asher barely paid attention to anything he said. She kept her focus on the movements of everyone at the edges of the auditorium. She knew the people who moved about were guards, and she knew how they worked, but she couldn’t help but smile at their perfect efficiency. They didn’t leave a single inch of the auditorium out of view. A buzzing sound came from overhead, and Asher looked up to see a small drone zipping about. She nudged the first lady with her elbow.
“Do you know what that is?” she asked.
Laughing quietly, the first lady turned and said, “Of course. It’s a security drone. The Secret Service uses them to detect any explosive materials or poisons. My daughters think they’re cute. I’m just glad they work.”
Asher continued watching the drone zip over everyone’s heads. It moved almost effortlessly. The green lights under each of its four rotors turned orange several times. Each time, the drone took off to investigate something more closely before rising back into the air with the green lights restored.
Thunderous applause caught Asher off guard, and she turned back to the stage. The president walked forward with absolute confidence and stepped behind the podium. The crowd went silent.
“Ladies and gentlemen, members of my American family, over these past few weeks, ambassadors and myself have worked in secret with the other member nations of the Earth Defense Initiative to discuss the protection of our planet. We have reached the only logical conclusion: The United States of America and all member nations of the Earth Defense Initiative must declare and wage war against the alien aggressors that have so abruptly made us aware of their presence.
“Given the great lengths an alien nation must undergo to attack us, we are forced to assume that the attacks have been intentional and were carried out in such a way as to cause harm to members of our species.
“These attacks have caused substantial damage to American military targets. The loss of life has been great, and it cannot go without a response.”
The president stopped for a moment to lift a handkerchief from inside of his suit and wipe his brow.
“The aliens, whom we have come to know as the Culdarians, knowingly and intentionally attacked a civilian Chinese vessel, whose sole purpose was exploration and colonization of an uninhabited world. They then attacked an unarmed space station. When we put assets into space to defend our nation and our planet, these assets were attacked as well. The most egregious assault was a weapon designed to manipulate our weather and turn it into an instrument of war, a strategy that is considered a war crime on Earth, at the cost of more than twenty million human lives across the globe and the untold destruction to our infrastructure and homes.
“Under my authority, the armed forces of our nation are working with the other nations of the Earth Defense Initiative to strengthen our defenses, and they are preparing to strike back against our aggressors.
“We do not know the full nature of those that seek to do us harm, but we do know that, in standing together, humanity will defend itself. We will not be made to cower to any external authority on our own planet. In this conflict, we will prevail. God bless you, and God bless the United States of America.”
With a curt nod, the president walked off the stage to another round of applause.
Before anyone else could leave their seats, a group of secret service agents ran up from the side of the room and stood before Asher and the first lady. The first lady followed them with her three daughters in tow. When Asher turned to join the other officers, one of the secret service agents stepped in front of her.
“Ma’am, the president has requested a meeting.”
“Now? He didn’t send me a request.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Did he say what it’s about?”
“No, ma’am. He just asked us to grab you before you walked off.”
Asher nodded and fell in line behind the agents. Together, they walked through a door at the side of the auditorium. After they passed through, several agents secured the door.
The group passed through several more doors until they exited into the crisp night air. The agents led them to a line of limousines. One of them had its door open, and the women stepped inside. Taking her seat by the first lady, Asher barely finished buckling her seat belt when she heard one of the agents outside speaking into his radio.
“Package is secure and en route.”
“Did you get what you needed, Admiral?”
With her eyes adjusting to the darkness of the interior of the limousine, Asher made out the familiar outline of the president’s face. A street lamp lit his aging features as they passed.
“Yes, sir. Did Congress approve the declaration?”
“Not yet. The final vote should come overnight. I’ll sign the declaration first thing in the morning. More than anything, it’s a bunch of pomp and circumstance. We have to put on the full show for the cameras, but the early deliberation showed nearly unanimous support. You have your war, Admiral.”
Shocked, Asher looked to the floor of the vehicle in silence. She didn’t fight the movement from the road and accidentally pushed into one of the children. The girl pushed back into Asher, thinking she was trying to play, but Asher didn’t respond.
“Dear,” the first lady asked, “are you all right? You look a little sick.”
It took Asher a moment to speak. Finally, she said, “Yes, ma’am. It’s just a lot to take in. You understand.”
“Of course. It is what you wanted, though, isn’t it?”
Asher smiled. “Yes, ma’am. It’s what we needed.”
They continued moving in silence for several minutes. The first lady and the president exchanged several knowing glances while Asher sat there, deep in thought and processing.
“Sir,” Asher said, “you pardoned Captain Reynolds?”
The president nodded.
“Thank you. We’ll n
eed his help.”
Clasping his hands together, the president said, “Now, don’t get too eager. I pardoned him, but his reinstatement will require approval from Central Command. I’m sure they’ll give it to him, but in the meantime, he can only serve as a civilian advisor.”
“Does he know?”
“Yes. He wasn’t too happy about that last part, but he assured me that his wife is. For as long as it lasts, at least.”
“I’ll bet she is. Reynolds always told me that she never really liked his deployments. She understood, but we needed him so much early on. After his time in prison, they need to spend some time together.”
Leaning back in his seat, the president crossed his legs. “So, what’s the plan?”
Reaching under her seat, Asher pulled out a leather satchel and removed her tablet. She ran through some files before pulling up a series of pictures and handing the tablet to the president.
“The repairs to the Explorer are nearing completion, and we’re looking into building our next warship. I can give you more information on that at another time when we have less company.”
Patting the admiral on the leg, the first lady said, “Don’t look so sorry, dear. We understand how these things go.”
Smiling, Asher continued. “Outside of that, the bulk of our effort is going toward finishing the space elevator and our fleet of Guardian II class ships.”
The president looked through the pictures on the tablet, taking great care to fully examine each photograph. When he finished, he handed the tablet back over.
“Impressive,” he said.
“What about the other nations?” Asher asked.
“They’ll play their part, but we need to finish the space elevator before they can have much of an impact.”
26
With the occasional nervous glance to his companion, Gibbs guided the car through another sharp bend in the road. The car handled the turn without a problem, but the farther he drove from potential backup, the harder he found it to keep concerning thoughts out of his head.
The silence in the car didn’t help things. Gibbs thought about breaking the silence with casual conversation, but he quickly dismissed the idea out of fear that his tone might betray him and reveal his fears.
Snapping his body fully upright, the Symbiant looked around with wide eyes.
“We’re getting close.”
“Good,” Gibbs replied.
“It is good.” The Symbiant paused to draw several deep breaths. “We’re still on the right track.”
After fading back to silence, the Symbiant lifted his arms slowly and purposefully, taking time to carefully examine the cloth of his light jacket. When he moved his attention to his hands, he curled each finger, one after another.
“What are you doing?” Gibbs asked.
“I’m sitting here.”
“Right. I know that. I mean what are you doing with your hands?”
The Symbiant dropped his hands and thrust them down to his side. “Nothing.”
For a few moments, Gibbs let the car settle back into silence. With a grin, he dropped his professional front, reached over to his passenger, and gave him a friendly shove in the shoulder.
“Come on, now. You were playing with your hands.”
The Symbiant slowly raised his hands back up to eye level and continued curling his fingers one by one.
“No. I wouldn’t play with my hands. I’m studying them. Finding out how they work.”
Gibbs shook his head. “Whatever you say, buddy. I’m just saying that, from here, it looked like you were playing with them.”
Again, the Symbiant shot his hands down to his sides.
“Don’t worry about it,” Gibbs said. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about. I suppose if I were in your position, I’d be curious about—”
“No. It’s not that.” The Symbiant scanned the side of the road. “We’re close.”
Dropping his smile, Gibbs said, “How close?”
“Close enough. Pull over.”
With a lurch, the car came to a complete stop. The Symbiant’s body pressed forward and put a strain on his seat belt, but he never took his eyes from the tree line on the side of the road. When the engine turned off, the Symbiant threw his door open and attempted to stand, only to be held back by the strap across his shoulder. He struggled against it fruitlessly until Gibbs reached over and pressed the release. The Symbiant continued to writhe until the seat belt finally pulled away and freed him from the car.
Gibbs hurried behind the Symbiant. “Hold up. I need to grab a few things.”
The Symbiant nodded. “As do I.”
The pair moved quickly and quietly to the trunk of the car. Once it opened, they each grabbed a backpack. The Symbiant’s backpack was light and slid on with minimal effort. Gibbs’s backpack pulled down with considerable weight, the straps pressing deep into the commander’s skin.
“What’s in your bag?” the Symbiant asked.
“Supplies,” Gibbs said as he slammed the trunk closed.
Trying to figure out what the Symbiant might be thinking, Gibbs carefully studied the face of the man. He was certain the Symbiant held back his thoughts and questions, but his slack-jawed expression revealed absolutely nothing.
Nodding, Gibbs said, “Is everything all right?”
The Symbiant never responded. He turned toward the trees and started to walk. His pace wasn’t fast, but each step was taken deliberately and placed carefully before him. Gibbs followed without question. As they reached the tree line, he glanced behind him to see the car sitting there, silhouetted by the moonlight. Each step farther away from the car was one farther away from a quick escape.
The deeper the pair moved into the trees, the harder Gibbs squinted to see. His eyes adjusted to the moonlight without a problem, but the densely packed trees didn’t allow much moonlight to make it to the ground. He cursed as he stumbled over an upturned root.
“Quiet.” The Symbiant stopped and held up a hand. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“What is it?”
“The beacon. We’re on the right track, but there are others around us.” The Symbiant turned to the commander. “Mister Gibbs, does your jacket have a hood?”
Gibbs nodded.
“Pull it over your head. Hide as much of your face as possible. The others—if they’re paying attention—will be able to see that you don’t have a Symbiant inside you.”
“Is that a problem?”
“I don’t know. If it is, you won’t walk out of here alive. If they see the hood, maybe they’ll assume that something in the fabric is blocking the signal. Just be sure to avoid eye contact with anyone. There’s no need to arouse suspicion.”
Nodding again, Gibbs adjusted his backpack. One of his fingers absentmindedly traced a circular object sewn into the strap on his left side. Then he pulled up his hood and walked forward.
“How many others are out here tonight?”
“It doesn’t work that way,” the Symbiant said. “I can tell that there are others, but I can’t tell how many or exactly where they are until we get closer.”
“How much closer?”
A scurrying sound from directly ahead caused the pair to pause, but they picked up their pace as soon as the sound faded off into the distance.
“I don’t know, Commander. If I had to guess, we have another hour of walking.”
The pair continued into the woods without speaking. Gibbs looked over at his slack-jawed companion every few paces, but he still couldn’t read anything meaningful in his expression. The obstruction of his hood didn’t make things any easier. As the night drew on, the area became increasingly quiet, and Gibbs became increasingly alert. Every step became more of a distraction as twigs and stale leaves crunched under his feet.
In the distance, Gibbs noticed a faint glow. The longer the pair walked, the brighter the glow became until it pierced through the tree line. Gibbs stopped.
“What’s that?”
he said.
The Symbiant stopped and looked on. His mouth closed, and he played with his tongue on the roof of his mouth before sticking his hands out.
“There. You see them?”
Gibbs struggled to make out anything other than the light.
“Look close.” Again, the Symbiant played with his tongue inside the roof of his mouth, making an inadvertent clicking noise. “Let’s go.”
The weight of his backpack felt much heavier to Gibbs, and he shifted the load to more evenly distribute it across his shoulders. With a pause, he considered whether he should continue. As the Symbiant walked forward, he decided he had no choice.
“Wait up.”
With a few quick steps, Gibbs caught up to his companion, and the pair continued slowly. For a moment, the commander smiled, thinking of the Symbiant like a child on Christmas morning. Forcing the thought from his head, his face grew stiff.
Several other similar noises joined the sound of their steps. Gibbs still couldn’t quite make out the figures near him, but he could feel them all around. Each moved at a similar pace and all in the same direction. They seemed to come from everywhere all at once.
The light pulsed with intensity, and the commander found that he could no longer look toward the source. More than anything, he stumbled through the woods, just barely keeping up with his companion. A woman bumped into his side and he jumped. Expecting to see the same reaction from her, he looked over, prepared to apologize. Her eyes locked onto his and he snapped his head away. He couldn’t be sure if the Symbiant was honest with him, but he couldn’t risk it either.
Finally, the pair stopped. Gibbs fought the urge to look around. The gentle murmur of a captivated crowd grew steadily loader, drawn toward the bright light like moths to a flame. Whatever the draw was, he didn’t feel it.
Gibbs cast sideways glances toward his neighbors. They stood with their arms perfectly at their sides, so he did the same. The only thing he didn’t do to match everyone around him was remove his hood. A chill crept up his spine, and Gibbs did his best to ignore it. After what felt like hours, he succumbed to a small shiver.