by Eliza Green
Time had been short to find an exoplanet with the same density as Earth that could support human life.
When he was a child, Bill’s father had told him how the newer ship designs would facilitate their discovery of a suitable planet. The first of the people-carrying ships had been in operation since 2115, a few years before he was born. Professor Tessa Gogarty, a propulsion engineer and lecturer in Astrophysics in Trinity College Dublin, had designed the hyper drive. Her contributions had helped to revolutionise space travel.
Years later Exilon 5 was discovered, just as the Gogarty Hyper Drive 8.0 was implemented in the newer ships. The new hyper drive shortened the travel time between Earth and Exilon 5 to two weeks.
A noise jolted Bill out of his thoughts. His communication device shrilled in his ear. The unique tone identified a call from the Earth Security Centre. Heart thumping, he activated his earpiece.
‘Bill, is that you?’ said Daphne Gilchrist.
‘Yeah.’ When he’d called her earlier, he had a speech prepared. But now? He wasn’t ready to have this conversation.
‘I heard that you called. Charles Deighton also asked that I contact you directly. You should know Caldwell and Page contacted me separately and told me what happened.’ Assholes! ‘I’m reading through Caldwell’s recount of events. Not looking good, is it?’
In the half-full restaurant, he kept his voice low. ‘There were problems with the personnel I was assigned. They disobeyed a direct order.’ That much was true. He included himself in that mix.
‘This was your operation, Bill. You were in charge and you promised results. Deighton and I can only consider this mission to be a failure.’
Bill couldn’t have agreed more. ‘Our investigations did produce some extra data on the Indigene that could be worth analysing. I will send that on to you shortly.’
He pictured her nodding. ‘Send it in the next hour. We’ll put our Level Five team on it.’
A brief silence followed and Bill tried to think of something else to say.
Gilchrist saved him the trouble. ‘From Caldwell’s report, there appears to be new information about the way the Indigenes move around the city. I assume your specific target’s location is still unknown?’
‘I followed the alien to one of the train tracks before it disappeared into New Victoria’s tunnels. We think he exited from another station.’
‘He?’ Gilchrist barked a laugh. ‘How soon will the alien reappear? Or did your impromptu chase scare him off completely?’
Bill cringed at his inability to follow his own instructions. ‘Slim, I would think. The alien knows we were watching.’ A clue he should have picked up on earlier.
‘There’s a passenger ship leaving for Earth tomorrow. Be on it. I’ll send a car for you then. I’ll see you at the ESC for a debriefing in two weeks. Out.’
Gilchrist severed the connection.
‘Shit.’ Bill pulled the earpiece out and tossed it on the table. An order to return home meant he was off the case.
The waitress caught his eye and held up a pot of coffee. He waved her away and stared out the window. He couldn’t do anything from Earth. Somehow he would need to convince Gilchrist to keep him on the investigation, so he could continue his search for Isla.
But right now with the Indigene gone, returning to Earth looked like his only option.
☼
Back at his apartment, Bill prepared the video and audio files of the meeting for the ESC, and tossed his meagre possessions into his suitcase. Today’s result had been a massive setback, both professionally and personally. He should have controlled his team better. It was his fault he was going home.
His eyes drooped with exhaustion, but his body was too wired to sleep. Dizziness made his head swim; he shook off the feeling long enough to finish his packing and set his suitcase down by the door. For the next hour, he combed through the recording from that morning’s meeting. Maybe there was a clue that he’d overlooked. Nothing.
He kicked the coffee table and fired off the results to the ESC using an encrypted channel, via interstellar wave.
Bill paced the room. An order to return home meant returning to the apartment he and Isla owned and possibly facing up to the fact she was gone.
He wasn’t ready to let her go.
Isla was out there somewhere. And he was sure the Indigene, Stephen, knew exactly where.
21
A low murmur ran around the Gathering Room, the meeting place for the Central Council and the Indigene representatives. Constructed out of omicron rock, the room’s natural sound-insulating properties kept the discussion private.
Fifty Indigenes from the other nine districts, and representing their elders, stood inside the room. From Stephen’s elevated platform position, he watched their concern shift to anger and fear as he relayed the information from Ben Watson. He’d already given the same information to Pierre, Elise and Anton an hour ago. They’d discussed plans of what to do next, but everyone had been too stunned to come up with solutions.
Pierre and Elise had insisted he repeat the information to the representatives who had been meeting with Pierre in District Three on other matters.
‘We have to get ahead of this story before it gets out of control,’ Elise had said.
‘Maybe they can help,’ Pierre added.
Stephen struggled to keep calm as he shared his conversation with Ben Watson. The atmosphere shifted again, this time to shock, when he revealed the true identity of the Surface Creatures.
Stephen searched the sea of faces and found one, Anton’s, staring back at him. He snatched his eyes away and focused on the representatives.
‘Please, everybody needs to calm down,’ Pierre said as the group’s agitation increased.
The elders stood alongside him. Elise leaned in closer to Pierre and whispered something. If she was trying to calm the room, she had her work cut out for her. A rush of questions followed.
‘What does this mean for us?’
‘What will happen if the humans discover our districts? How will we protect ourselves?’
Pierre fanned his hands. ‘Please, we won’t help matters by panicking. We will arrive at a solution together, I promise you. We aren’t in any immediate danger and I urge you all to calm down.’
Elise added, ‘We have an advantage. They don’t know what we are, and their interest in us appears to be low at this stage. That gives us time to discuss a strategy.’
‘Stephen,’ whispered Pierre. ‘Elise and I must speak with you and Anton privately. We need to discuss this further. I will ask Leon to join us.’ Anton’s father.
Pierre’s reasons for excluding the representatives were sound. This was too big an issue to get group agreement on, and one that was likely to spawn vigilante groups. Pierre had to keep control of this mess.
His elder addressed the room again. ‘I urge the districts not to act alone. Please do not share this information beyond your elders until we can come up with a collective strategy. We must protect ourselves, and right now we appear to have the upper hand.’ The group mumbled their agreement. ‘I assure you we will keep all representatives apprised of any developments.’
The reps nodded, buying Pierre’s lie.
☼
Fifteen minutes later, Stephen stood in Council Chambers alongside Pierre, Elise, Anton, and Leon. Anton’s pacing did little to settle Stephen’s nerves. Elise and Pierre’s stillness in the middle of the room didn’t help either. His skin grew warm suddenly, and he knew Elise had something to do with it.
Leon, a trusted friend of the elders and Anton’s father, watched his son pace. But Anton looked more nervous than stressed.
So this news only troubled Stephen?
Pierre nodded at him to share the details he was asked to keep from the representatives.
Stephen kicked off the discussion with a deep sigh.
What do they call their planet? said Leon.
Earth.
And this is the human’s home pla
net, where they originated from?
As I understand it, said Stephen.
Elise switched to her voice. ‘Why do we share the same name? What are we to them?’
Stephen had no clue. ‘I don’t know. Distant cousins?’
‘Our species has existed for thousands of years on Exilon 5,’ Pierre said. ‘Something must have happened to separate us from them.’
‘But that doesn’t explain why they’ve come here to destroy us,’ said Leon. ‘Did you learn about their intentions, Stephen?’
He pressed his hands together to stop the shake in them. ‘I’m sorry, Leon.’
With a nod Pierre said, ‘We won’t make any hasty decisions today. First we must understand their motives. To learn all we can about them may be our only defence.’
Stephen glanced at the bookshelves. ‘Information on them is limited.’ He’d gotten more out of a brief conversation with an eight year old than he had from the stolen human literature.
Anton stopped pacing, his energy less nervous and more excited now. ‘I say we visit this planet Earth, see what we can learn about them there.’
‘Settle down, Anton,’ said Elise touching his arm. ‘We’ll probably need to discuss this a little more.’
Thick warm air enveloped the space, relaxing Stephen’s body but not his mind. Anton’s eyes glazed over. Elise let go.
‘Anton might have a point,’ said Pierre. ‘We’re on the back foot here. All we know is the military was watching Stephen and the child, but not why. This latest meeting will only feed their curiosity.’
‘Apart from Anton, we all remember the day when the explosions happened,’ said Leon. ‘Distant cousins or not, their species can’t be trusted.’
Stephen had witnessed the explosions on the surface that wiped out two-thirds of the Indigene population. The aftermath had killed his parents. ‘I wish I could say for certain they’re all the same. It would be easier to hate them all. But I sense that some are different.’
Pierre’s eyes brightened. ‘What do you mean?’
‘I sensed no malice from the child, only curiosity.’ He recalled the Evolver who had been kidnapped after a hunting trip, never to return. ‘Yet, the older humans murder innocents.’
‘Stephen, your senses rarely fail you,’ said Pierre. ‘Do you believe there is more to this story?’
He caught the change in the elder’s tone. From day one, Pierre had been all for his idea to meet with the boy. ‘Why do you keep pushing me to accept them?’
‘I just want you to consider all the options, that there may be other reasons behind their actions.’
What an odd thing to say.
He held the elder’s gaze. ‘Like what?’
Pierre next words rushed out of him. ‘Nothing specific. I want to float Anton’s idea about travelling to their home world. It would be the fastest way to learn more about them.’
Despite his reservations, Stephen had arrived at the same conclusion. He wanted to understand the enemy better. He hadn’t mentioned his encounter with the military man in the tunnel.
‘I agree.’
Anton smiled and paced the room again. Elise’s calming effect must have worn off.
The second elder didn’t look as enthusiastic about the plans as her husband. ‘It’s too dangerous.’
‘I’m sorry, wife,’ said Pierre. ‘But we must be proactive. We have been backed into a corner by the humans. Our actions will not only give us control of the situation but allow us to control the message being fed to the districts. If we do nothing, I’m certain new vigilantes will fix that. Stephen and Anton must go before this turns into a bigger problem.’
‘You want to risk the lives of our best two?’ said Elise.
‘It’s because they’re the best that I’m considering this. It will work.’
‘I agree with Pierre. We don’t have a choice.’ Leon gripped Anton’s shoulder. ‘Stephen, Anton, are you both up to the task?’
His friend grinned at him. Stephen nodded. ‘Yes, I think so.’
‘Good,’ said Pierre. ‘We’ve been watching the docking stations for a while and we know a passenger ship is scheduled to leave orbit tomorrow for their home planet.’
Elise grabbed his arm. At least send a back-up group with them, Pierre. She turned to Leon. Why are you allowing them to travel alone? They won’t be able to protect each other if something happens.
But if we send too many, they’ll be noticed, said Pierre.
Stephen agreed with his reasoning.
Leon smiled at the elder. They’ll be fine, Elise. They know how to look after themselves.
She shook her head. ‘You’re fine with risking your son’s life?’
‘Amelia and I raised our son to think for himself. I will not tell him what to do.’
But that did not satisfy Elise. She stared at the bookshelf. Pierre placed a hand on her shoulder; she shucked it off.
‘Stephen, Anton, what do you two think?’ he said.
‘It will be safer if we do this alone,’ said Stephen. ‘There’ll be less chance of triggering an alarm. If they find us, they might just think it’s a solo mission, rather than an organised attack on humans.’
‘Anton?’
‘I say we give these humans a taste of their own medicine.’
‘This is not an attack,’ said Pierre. ‘You’re to add to the knowledge of what we already know about their species. That is all. No risks. Is that clear?’
Anton nodded.
There were many intelligent Indigenes, but none with his friend’s ability to create and adapt technology. Anton was by far the youngest of their technological protégés and his talents had been publicly and privately lauded. His friend buzzed with enthusiasm; the difficulty lay in curbing it. But in any life or death situation, Stephen wanted no other Indigene watching his back.
When Elise grabbed a book and pretended to read, Pierre flipped his attention to the finer details of the trip. ‘Anton, how about you give us an update on how you’re progressing.’
Anton beamed; he loved to talk about his inventions.
‘Well, thanks to Stephen’s meeting last week, I was able to thin out the artificial skin and improve its pigmentation. I’ve updated the existing air filtration device to work for two full days on a single charge. I’ve devised mobile recharging units that we can carry with us. They should give us an indefinite filtered air supply.’
‘What about getting on the ship?’ asked Leon. ‘Don’t you need identity chips to board?’
Anton nodded. ‘Have them. I asked one of the recent hunting parties to bring back identity chips. They also brought me a security chip from a worker whose thumb had been accidentally cut off.’ Elise turned, book in hand. Both she and Pierre stared at Anton. He waved his hand at their concern. ‘Don’t worry he was dead at the time. Besides, there’s a black market for this technology and crime of this sort is common.’
Pierre blinked. ‘Continue, Anton.’
‘I’ve made a decent clone of their security chip that should work as a replacement for theirs. I’ve temporarily re-routed the tracking device embedded in the one we borrowed. It links to a central command. The chips are wired to self-destruct if they can’t verify the unique bio signature of the original host. Presumably, the unit will use the tracking device to locate the chip—which it won’t be able to because of my reroute—to arrest whoever tampered with it. So we need it gone before it destroys itself and breaks the tracking reroute.’
Anton switched to telepathy. You’re going to have to run fast, my friend.
Well, you’d better hurry up.
Elise put the book back on the shelf and rejoined the conversation. ‘Why do you also need the identity chips? Won’t the security one be enough?’
‘Both chips are present in human bodies,’ said Anton. ‘Their age or skill level determines whether their security chip is activated but we know both chips are scanned when humans leave the planet. The computer checks for bio compatibility and that they
haven’t been tampered with. I designed a generic identity chip that the mission group used to replace the ones they took. In theory, the workers they removed them from shouldn’t notice any difference, unless they try to leave the planet.’
‘Is that a likely occurrence?’ said Leon.
Anton shrugged. ‘I hope to have returned home before they find out. We have to take the risk.’
‘I agree,’ said Stephen. ‘Where do the chips go?’
‘The identity chips go in our left thumbs, same as the humans.’ Stephen recalled the automated bus from his meeting with Ben Watson and the passengers tagging on. ‘My fake security chips should fool the system as long as the other chip is an original. Stephen will be known as “Bob Harris”, an underground station operations manager, and I will be “Colin Stipple”, road maintenance worker. That’s the information that came back when I scanned the originals into our systems. That’s how the logs will know us when we attempt to board.’
Leon looked happier after Anton’s explanation.
‘Good job, Anton,’ said Pierre.
‘As much as I’d like to take all the credit, I had a little help from my team.’
‘Please try not to get killed out there,’ said Elise.
‘That isn’t part of the plan,’ said Stephen.
Pierre lightly gripped his wife’s shoulder, as if to reassure her. ‘When does the ship leave for Earth?’
‘Tomorrow at noon,’ said Stephen. ‘That will also be the hottest and most dangerous time of the day. We’ll need to keep our bodies covered. That’s bound to attract unwanted attention.’
‘I have cooling packs that we can wear inside our coats,’ said Anton. ‘We should be fine until we get on board. Oh, I forgot to mention, we need to inject our food directly into our stomachs. We won’t be able to eat with our filtration devices in place. I’ve already made modifications to the synthesised protein packs, so there should be minimal side effects.’