by Muga, D. M.
Her mood had not changed much after the emergency meeting, unless she was around Mia and Isabelle. She always put on a smile and softer voice when they were within sight or earshot. Nonetheless, Ben knew that she was still very fired up about these Earth Two people and their likely act of genocide out toward Edwards Air Force Base.
“Polite and courteous, but still have a plan to kill those two. Sounds like an old saying from the Marines. Mad Dog Mattis, if I remember correctly.” Ben says as he takes the final turn, coming out to a parking lot in front of a park and recreational area at the beginning of Big Bear.
“Remember though… We are not looking for a fight here. Just information, you two. Eileen, I’m afraid my nephew may be rubbing off on you with his rash decision-making trait.” Uncle Steven says, with the second part directed toward Eileen.
“Don’t worry, Steven.” Eileen says as she jumps out of the truck, reaching back in to grab her rifle and slinging it over her shoulder. “I’ll play nice until they stop playing nice first.”
“Remind me not to make that woman mad.” Ben says to his Uncle as she shuts her door and he gets out on his side.
“You just figured that out now, Nephew?” Steven says with a smirk. “Let’s go find out what Mahoney and Burke have to say. I'm curious if they will remember us from a couple of days ago. They have surely seen a lot of us… since then.”
“Here we go then.” Ben replies, as he confirms that his PX4 Storm’s still at his hip and easy to reach. He then grabs his rifle, shutting his door behind him and follows his Uncle and Eileen into the dried-up lakebed.
Walking off the shore into the dried-up lakebed, Ben finds the ground to still be very moist from the water that was there a couple months ago.
Such a shame this lake went dry. It was a nice place to come up in the summertime to beat the heat. But why’s it still so moist? Ben thinks and then recalls the good amount of rain they had received the weeks prior.
Duh Ben, it was raining cats and dogs for a week straight. Wow time really does fly. That trip to the Lake Drive Market place seems like a year ago… not only a few days ago.
Ben looks ahead at a group of people talking to two people, who Ben thinks to be Mahoney and Burke. He looks past them, to the craft that Eileen had described to him.
Wow… a real-life spaceship from the future. Or are we from the past? Sometimes this whole time-difference really gives me a freaking headache.
Ben looks at the spaceship that resembles a large railroad container, which had cone-like ends on both sides, making it hard for him to conclude which end is the front and which is the rear of the craft. He also took notice of the cylinders on the sides of the ship. From their angle of approach, he could tell that the same cylinders were on the other side.
Those have to be how it flies. Ben thinks. That sure as hell is not like any aircraft I have ever seen. It looks too damn heavy to take off like a Harrier or a Helo. However it works, Eileen was pretty spot on in its description. I wonder what it looks like inside...
Having worked on aircraft for close to the entirety of his adult life, and with being a licensed pilot on single-engine, fixed-wing aircraft... he’s mesmerized by the spacecraft.
I wonder how hard it is to fly that rock. I mean, I know they are from the future, but could it really be all that different? Ben thinks quizzically.
Hell, they could have made flight easier over the years… then again, maybe not. He double guesses the difficulty as he thinks about the advancements of the weapons and the fact the 1,410 years had passed him by.
Before Ben realizes it, the three of them stop, with Fuller, Gomez, and the others having caught up with them, stopping next to him.
Realizing that he was in a daze from staring at the spaceship, he steadies himself.
Stay focused, Ben! Don’t go off into la-la land and start daydreaming!
Ben notices that the man and woman are now facing them, only several feet away, and the other group that had been there had already begun to break apart and walk away.
Ben sees the two of them to be relatively short people. Not a super kind of short, but just shorter than Eileen. He finds it curious as to why the two of them are of the same size, but have different builds. The man, Mahoney, is just as his Uncle had described him. He looks stoic and robotic, but also calculating. He also has that grunt and recon look to him.
Definitely don’t underestimate that one…
Ben looks at the woman, who is slightly shorter than Eileen. Alicia Burke is also exactly how his Uncle and Eileen had described her. She is lean, like Mahoney, but slender. She has a lighter complexion than Mahoney and bright blue eyes. He began to see why so many people spoke so highly of her. She was attractive and emitted confidence, as she looked up to the new group of them... armed and outnumbering the two of them. She didn't seem to be bothered by the weapons and the nine versus two odds.
Probably shouldn’t underestimate her, either…
“Hello, again. Sheriff Steven Reilly and Deputy Eileen Rivera.” Sergeant Burke says. “Welcome back and it’s good to see that you brought friends.”
Wow? Really? She didn’t just remember their names, but their full names and titles. Yeah, definitely don’t underestimate these two…
“Good morning, Sergeant Burke. Staff Sergeant Mahoney, nice to talk to you again too.” Uncle Steven replies.
“Hello, Staff Sergeant Mahoney and Sergeant Burke.” Eileen says, as her eyes linger a little longer on Burke, eyeing her suspiciously.
Sergeant Burke smiles, “Alicia is fine, still… Eileen. I did actually think of a couple questions for you. I was hoping that you would come back.”
This seems to catch Eileen of guard, with her response being, “Oh, really? Okay… good.”
“My apologies if we look like a daunting force, with our rifles and guns and there being nine of us. Recent events have taught us to not travel in such small numbers as we met last time. I assure you that we just came back here to conversate with you all.” Uncle Steven says, as he extends his hand.
Mahoney takes his Uncle’s hand, and Ben braces to see his Uncle wince in pain, having heard of their strength. Ben waits and notices no change in demeanor. After shaking his hand, he shakes Burke’s hand.
“Thanks for going easy on me with the handshake this time, Alicia.” Uncle Steven replies, as they release.
Alicia Burke smiles in response. “Of course. And my apologies on our last encounter. It was my first time speaking with people from this Earth. And I'm sure that your kind has been through so much, as of recent. It’s bloody understandable for you to want to travel in larger numbers. That’s very intelligent of you, Sheriff Reilly.”
Wow! This woman’s mind is like a steel trap. He thinks as he looks over to Mahoney. I’m sure his is too, with those calculating and conniving eyes of his...
Ben then looks at what Mahoney and Burke are wearing. Their clothing looked normal enough, just a little on the dark side with their black utility pants, military style boots, navy-blue short sleeve shirts, and body armor. Well, what at least Ben assumed was body armor, with added compartments to them.
He then looks to their right arms, which hold their MECCUs.
They only appear to be about six inches long and maybe an inch thick… Mobile Extremity Communications and Control Units. Ben thinks, as he recalls what Burke had explained to Eileen what the acronym stood for.
They don’t look to be all that dangerous… but by the looks of their lack of concern with all of our guns, I'm betting that those MECCUs can do a good amount of damage.
“I'm glad that we were not misperceived as threatening. We would hate to have a confrontation over a simple misunderstanding.” Uncle Steven replies.
Burke simply smiles and nods and Mahoney doesn't say a word. Ben took their silence as not really seeing them as a threat at all.
After an awkward moment of silence, Eileen’s the first one to speak. “So, Alicia. You said you had some questions for us.”
<
br /> Sergeant Alicia Burke smiles and then nods. “Yes… I had two main questions. Firstly, I was curious if anyone knew if Dr. Theodore Harris survived? Based on our understanding of your Blue Hole Radius, we thought it unlikely… but thought it would be ideal to ask. He did reshape the world of Earth One and was the catalyst that led to the technologies that brought my people to Earth Two.”
Eileen looks to Ben, and he shakes his head. “A friend of ours, Alexander Mathis, was there when everything happened, and he said only a few of them survived. He mentioned something about people turning into spaghetti before they disappeared.”
Ben could see the disappointment on her face.
“Just as we expected. And yes, the phenomenon known as the spaghettification phenomena. We are very much aware of this scenario with modern science.” Burke replies.
Modern science… it almost makes it sound like we are obsolete.
“You said, Doctor Alexander Mathis is alive, correct? He was a Theoretical Physicist on the SXS Program.” Sergeant Burke asks.
Ben nods slowly. “Yes, that’s our Alexander. He’s back home with little orphaned girls that we found out on the road. They needed a place to stay. So we took them in, and Alexander has taken a real shine to them.”
“That turn of events has sound logic to it, according to Dr. Alexander Mathis’s background previous to the Blue Hole Radius.” Staff Sergeant Mahoney interjects.
Ben looks over at Mahoney, “I suppose it does.”
How much do they know about us? Geez! They know Alexander’s family background. Do they know about the rest of ours?
“Well that is a very wise decision of your group. You will have the means to repopulate the area once this situation is resolved.” Staff Sergeant Mahoney adds.
This gets a quick look from Sergeant Burke.
“Just what do you mean it was a wise decision? Are you inferring that we are going to use those girls to repopulate, Mahoney?” Uncle Steven asks, sternly and directly.
Mahoney’s gaze narrows. “It’s Staff Sergeant Mahoney, Sheriff Reilly.”
“If you say so, but I don’t know many good leaders that see little girls as simply baby makers.” Uncle Steven replies.
Mahoney doesn't say a word, but instead stares at his Uncle, while his Uncle stares right back at him.
“Sheriff, as I said before… Staff Sergeant Mahoney has a dry tone and can come off sounding similar to that of a drone. Please excuse his unintended offense. He surely did not mean that you use the girls to repopulate. Likely, Staff Sergeant Mahoney only meant that the girls would be beneficial in the survival of the human race, toward the future.” Burke replies.
She then looks to Mahoney, “Is that an accurate statement, Brian?”
Ben watches as the man’s gaze is shifted and focused toward Burke, with much more of a softness. “Yes.” He says and nods back to Ben, Uncle Steven, Eileen, and the others. “I'm still getting used to how your kind speaks and expresses knowledge.”
How we speak… it seemed pretty straightforward to me…
“Alicia?” Eileen says, getting everyone’s attention. “You said you had two questions. What was the second?”
Burke nods and smiles. “I did have a second main question and the sunset follow question. You already aptly answered the second question. Informing me that there were several known survivors from the original SXS Program, with Dr. Alexander Mathis being one of them. Do you happen to know the other ones? And the subsidiary question was how quickly did your world change after time had ceased to be stalled for the last 1,410 years?”
Ben scratches the back of his head and the group just kind of looks at each other.
After a moment, Ben opens his mouth. “I’m not sure who the other survivors were from the SXS Project. Alexander might recall, but I'm not sure if they’d still be alive up to this point. As for our world, once time caught up with us… or we caught up with time… or whatever...”
“It was hell on Earth for a good while, Alicia. It was literally like living in the Book of Revelation. But seeing as you all are here to help us and prodigy safety, security, and salvation… I guess all is well that ends well.” Eileen replies, interrupting him.
Shit… she’s getting pissed, again.
“That we are, Eileen… that we are.” Burke responds back.
Uncle Steven nods and smiles. “Well alright then. If that’s your reasoning for coming back to Earth One, our world, then you won’t mind answering a few of our questions in return.”
“Of course not, Sheriff Reilly, ask away. Did you want to know more about the advancements in medicine?” Burke replies and questions.
“Actually, I was more curious as to why Captain Jackson found it necessary to shut down our communication capabilities here on Earth One. It seems that since we last met, none of us have been able to communicate through our various devices and the SuperNet is down.” Uncle Steven says, without really asking a question.
Ben, as well as the others, notice the glance that Burke gives Mahoney.
“And to make matters more confusing and concerning… it seems that one of those sleepers that you all warned us about, may have accidentally gone off, in an area north of us, wiping out a great deal of people and not much else.” Uncle Steven adds.
Burke’s eyes go wide and she exhales through her nose.
Ben’s Uncle doesn’t wait for a response but presses forward. “We have two main ideas of what the sleepers are and just need to confirm which theory is right. One is that it’s a viral agent, a biological weapon of sorts. The second one, which my money’s on, is that a sleeper is a futuristic bomb that sets off an explosion that somehow only targets humans.”
Ben can see that the smile is no longer on Burke’s face. She looks over to Mahoney for direction, but, instead, he speaks. “That was an unfortunate event that occurred up north of here. Your kind was warned to stay away from the sleepers, to avoid such a detonation. Unfortunately, they did not heed our warning at the military installation upon our first arrival on Earth One. As for the communications, Captain Abraham Jackson thought it necessary to restrict your ways of communicating, to avoid misinformation and widespread panic upon our arrival.”
Son of a bitch… Alexander was right! It was all them! The comms, the SuperNet, Edwards Air Force Base, the sleepers!
“So, it was you guys! Why?!” Eileen blurts out.
Before anyone can answer or step in, the Leviathan comes quickly into view and is over the dried-up lakebed in a matter of seconds.
Damn, that ship is huge. And double damn… it’s fast as hell! Ben thinks as he’s astonished by the massive spaceship.
“It looks like we’ll get to ask the infamous Captain Jackson that ourselves, Eileen.” Uncle Steven adds.
Burke’s eyes go from the sky to his Uncle. “Sheriff. I highly advise that you don't instigate the Captain. He has been known to have a short temperament. You must trust that we have the human species' best intention in mind.”
“Bullshit.” Eileen blurts out.
“Yeah, I’m calling bullshit too. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.” Ben adds.
As Ben says this, he can hear and feel the men and women behind him readying their weapons.
“You know nothing of what you speak of. You have been asleep, yourselves, for over 1,400 years! The world is not as you knew it. Humanity is not as you knew it.” Burke says sharply toward them.
She turns back to the Leviathan that had just landed behind Burke and Mahoney. Ben watches as part of the ship opens up and a levitating platform exits the ship, heading toward them. Ben can see close to a dozen men on the platform, with one man in front.
That has got to be Jackson, up front. How the crap does that levitating platform work? And what’s that shimmer around those men on that platform thing? Ben thinks to himself as the platform nears within fifty feet.
The platform doesn’t make much noise as it lands just fifty feet away from all of them, and the smaller space
craft. Ben does feel the gust of wind as the platform touches down on the dried-up lakebed. Once the platform is on the ground, the dozen men stand still on the platform, staring at Burke, Mahoney, and Ben’s group.
In a hushed voice over her shoulder, Burke warns Ben and the others. “Don't start a fight you cannot win, Sheriff Reilly. Because your kind won't win against us. There are events that have occurred that you know nothing of.”
“That may be so, Alicia. But what events we do know does not look good for your kind.” Eileen snaps back, not in a hushed tone.
“Is everything alright, Staff Sergeant Mahoney and Sergeant Burke?” The man in the middle questions.
“Yes, Captain Jackson. Everything’s in order here and being handled appropriately.” Burke replies and Ben watches Mahoney nod in confirmation, rather quickly.
They are scared of him. It’s written all over their faces and their movements. What’s worse, I think he knows it and I think he likes it. Ben thinks, getting a good look at Captain Abraham Jackson.
He’s about the same height as Burke and Mahoney, maybe even just as tall as Eileen. He looks to be very close to Eileen’s age, a few years younger than himself.
But this guy’s supposed to be 74 years old…
He wears the same style fatigues, but his short sleeve shirt is solid black, contrasting his pinkish colored skin. He has dark brown hair and bright blue eyes, similar to his own. He notices that Eileen’s description was spot on, once again, with Abraham Jackson looking stoic and stern, and everything military.
Everything about this guy screams power hungry and dictatorship. Yeah, that crap ain’t going to fly…
Ben steps alongside, and in between Burke and Mahoney, with a couple of feet gap between each person. Still inspecting the Captain of the Leviathan from Earth Two, Abraham Jackson.
“So, you are the great and powerful, Abraham Jackson? The man that traveled across the stars… here to save us from ourselves and show us the right way to live?” Ben asks the man in front of the other eleven men, all of which are to his sides on the platform that’s encased in some sort of shimmering, translucent film.