by Marcus Sloss
A hug assaulted me from the side. Mrs. Moore, Jevon’s mom, was squishing me with love. I had only met her a few times. After basic graduation, after officer school, and when we were debriefed from our daring return from Saudi Arabia. Every time, she hugged me like a son, and this occurrence was no different.
“Mrs. Moore, I am so happy to see you. I take it your flight and drive were okay?”
“Oh Eric, after the news broke, my Gpad alerts were crazy. All those people I tried to convince to fly with me so I didn’t have to travel alone were begging for help. I always believed in you and Jevon. You two are the dynamic duo of death and destruction,” Mrs. Moore said, smacking my face in a friendly, light manner. I had a grandma do the exact same thing. Her name tape read ‘Jevon’s Momma’. “You like that. Ain’t nobody going to call me Kasandra anyway. Mrs. Moore is what I prefer. Oh, I am holding you up. Cap! Make momma proud.”
I chuckled at her happiness while shifting sideways to pass through the crowd. The smell of freshly brewed coffee enticed me to wade further into the crammed space. Willow was talking with her redheaded friend, Tina, while happily sipping a mug of steamy liquid. I missed the opportunity to chat with her or her boyfriend last night. I noticed Tina had freckles over her rosy cheeks. Her hair was a mess and she shifted awkwardly when her boyfriend showed up. They waved as I went by them. I saw Perci by Maria, and they were grilling strips of steak. A plate was handed to me that I gladly accepted. Perci pointed to the outside, while stealing a strip of meat to nibble on as we left the loud, echoing room.
The outside air wafted steam off the hot breakfast steak. The noise died down the further we stepped away from the mansion. I saw Torrez leading the state troopers on a tour from the barn to around the guest homes. There were friendly waves exchanged as we went walking for the newest crate in the field. I ate quickly as we crossed the grassy field.
“Sleeping… Might have set my mom into a frenzy. Luckily, she figured out that the RV driver was rotating from here. I guess a giant RV we purchased reaching the Gnet line gave it away that we were fine. When I downloaded the update…” Perci paused while tucking her chin as if she had something bad to say. “Mom was irate. Not so much at me, but at you. She expected you to give her updates on me even if you had to drive an hour to do it.”
“Okay. And?”
“Ha! I knew you would not care. Probably the only man who has no fear of my mother. So she said to set this tower up. It will connect us with the Gnet. There is more, though.”
“I fear your mother. I merely do not do so as your lover. She is still extremely powerful with many tools at her disposal. What else did you need to tell me?”
“Patience, old man,” Perci said, and I scoffed.
“Thirty two is not that old.”
“Your gray hairs say otherwise. Let me figure this out, please,” Perci said, focusing on the package.
Perci stripped the netting off the single large box. Ugh. The amount of work this was going to take. Diverting my workforce to building a massive communications tower could be a pain. Perci read the side of the box, checked her Gpad, and went to study the box again.
“Step back.”
I stepped back while I ate breakfast, if you could call strips of steak breakfast. I was already missing eggs. Chickens were a great idea I had never thought of. My food plans had been to buy MRE boxes at Pew-Pew Emporium. In retrospect, that was a very short sighted plan. We would need something to help sustain us once these MREs ran out.
Perci keyed in some more information into her Gpad with a smile. A few taps on the box’s digital lock and she ran to my side. She watched hesitantly, as if expecting something. Her eyes darted to me, as if I knew what was going on. I merely kept eating, trying to sate my hunger.
Pop, pop, pop!
My plate of food went flying as I ditched it to shoulder my weapon. My elbows tucked while I crouched with my aim directed at the exploding box. The sides of the container fell outward with a smack. A rush of air washed over my tense body. The metallic configuration came to life as I watched it intently. My feet jumped in front of Perci and I backed into her protectively. She gave me an ‘are you stupid?’ look.
“What the hell was that?” I asked, realizing there was no threat.
“These are hands-free installation towers. Been around for over a year. These were all over the news. Surprised you missed… Oh, right. You did not browse the Gnet when you were running for your life. I told you to step back,” Perci said with a smirk and a teasing look as she patted my ass.
“Step back and ‘hey, this machine is going to assemble itself after exploding its container off’ are two totally different things,” I said, letting my weapon hang limp. I noticed some tense soldiers approaching, so I keyed up my mic. “Gnet coming up soon. The tower is some new tech; everything is fine.”
The tower sent four exploratory little robots that burrowed into the dirt. Sections of the tower were moved by a long central robotic arm. There had to be signals being sent because that arm placed the anchor legs with precision into the foot pads. I watched as the tower base was assembled. The arm climbed up and down the tower as it built itself taller. The track clamp and pincer arm had no problems constructing. Ten minutes later, the arm was the final piece to the power that added an additional five feet of height.
My Gnet pinged with numerous updates. Well, at least we were connected to the outside world again. A single text from Linda Growlen overrode my Gpad.
‘My daughter better be fine!’
‘She slept great, we are building defenses now. Got any chickens?’
The little notification of someone typing kept starting and stopping. My Gpad rang and answered itself. That was a first.
“Did you ask the leader of the world for chickens? I laughed so hard I almost peed. Here, look.” Linda Growlen showed a room full of generals and diplomats. She saw me shrug. “Your president is ordering you to inspect Xgate 16232 and report back what the four sides show. Is that understood, son?”
“Yes mom. Pirate King Moostache out.”
She was laughing hysterically when I closed the connection.
“You realize she is the president now?” Perci said with a frown. “Public news now that Hensen aced himself. She humbly accepted the burden of leading us through this crisis when the VP nominated her to be president.
“Not going to change much for me. She is your mom first. I am not in her army. I happen to really want chickens. She can figure out a way to get me some. Also, the crew was super going to see what Xgate 16232 spit out anyway,” I said with a scoff. Then I remembered our armor problem. “Hey, ask you mom to copter in some armor. Any kind is the best kind.”
“You do it, and I think after wave six lands, there will be no more support. I doubt we are a high priority, minus me being here,” Perci said with her hands on her hips.
I punched in the request to Linda Growlen. Again, my Gpad was overridden and the message auto displayed.
‘I am not fucking Gmart, Eric. You are lucky General Buckley is rambling. I want two grandbabies. My biggest regret was only having one child in my pursuit of power. Perci gave me a long list of items you need. If you promise me little Growlens terrorizing the world, I will do what I can. And Eric, as fun as this is, it is probably goodbye after the sixth wave. Our ability to support you will vanish.’ - BIC
This was a lot to digest. BIC… Bitch In Charge. Yeah, that was probably it.
‘No promises. We will certainly try if or when things stabilize. Any help is appreciated. I hope we see each other again one day.’
I let out a long frosted breath. I never imagined having a conversation with the president so casually. Perci gave me an odd look.
“We have a lot of work to do to prepare for this gate’s arrival. Sometimes the best defense is a good offense. If we exterminated whoever comes through, we may keep others from jumping into our turf.”
“I was being sarcastic when I said to text my mom. I, of course, had a
lready sent her a dozen lists people compiled last night,” Perci said with an eye roll. Her hands were still on her hips as she gave me the stink eye. “Hey, Eric. You called yourself a king to the president and her cabinet. That is going to irk a lot of those around the table. We need allies even if you are used to going it alone.”
“Yeah, I also called the president mom. I think that overrides everything else,” I said with a snicker. And this time, Perci smiled, hooking her arm to mine. I checked my counter. Ten hours, forty minutes until our Xgate arrived. “Time to see where I can be most effective until it is mission preparation time. For you, eventually, I want apartments set up and housing sections arranged. And Perci. Pick us suitable roommates.”
“Yes, Cap. Oh, so…” Perci said with a pause. “There is some bad news. The septic system is not meant for this many people. The housing indicator is saying the reservoir is already filling up.”
“I will work on fixing that. We have a few ways to deal with the issue.”
She sent me an alert detailing the septic system that overrode my other notification. Hm...
“Hey, can you make my alerts do this?” I asked.
“It will set off flags. The override is for emergencies to be declared by certain government -”
“Yes or no?”
“Yes.”
“Great, go inside and get to work,” I said, pulling her close. I teasingly whispered in her ear, “I love you, Perci Yang.”
I ran from her as she fumed with clenched fists and red face. I knew she wanted to say the same thing back, probably kiss me and be all romantic. Not my style. I left her to go build our wall.
My Gpad sent an alert directly from Perci. Shit…
‘You are forgiven, that was very sweet in your own way. Love you more!’ - wifey 1
‘That is wonderful to hear. I promised your mom two grandbabies!”
“Eric! That is not how it works. But I am willing to teach you once I am healed.” - wifey 1
My run to the wall did not take long. I saw Torrez was at the gate with the state troopers, completing his tour. There were eight of them plus Eddy about to finish their tour. Eddy tipped his hat as I went for Becca.
“Hey Cap, our bottleneck is the machines. We are maxed on hands. Need more dirt haulers or shovels to fill the containers,” Becca said as she unbound a section of wire. I grimaced at the sight of the evil concertina wire. That wire was the devil in a metal sharp form. “I think Torrez is waiting for you.”
I grunted a thanks for the update and went to Torrez and the troopers.
“Howdy, folks,” I said.
General smiles, nods, and extended hands were what I was greeted with.
“Eight came with me to look. My wife toured the inside while we went around the exterior. Ah, here she comes,” Eddy said.
A middle-aged woman with grey streaks mixed with brown hair walked from the mansion toward us. She was happily chatting with Mrs. Moore and another woman who looked like Willow. I saw Willow, who was barely outside the mansion, eager for my attention. When our eyes locked, she propped dual thumbs up. A ping alerted my Gpad.
‘Mom inspection inbound. Smiley face, heart, smiley face’ - wifey 2
I wanted to type back that they were not my wives, or ask why not just use names. If this was their thing, then so be it.
‘You got this!’ - wifey 1
“You alright, Cap?” Torrez asked.
I unhooked the Gpad to stuff it into a cargo pocket. I fumed at the damn device and said, “Times were simpler when we did not literally have those things bound to our bodies.”
“Captain Yang, this is my lovely wife, Maranda. Maranda, this is Captain Yang. Ah, wait for a moment, dear. Captain, this is McConnell, Egbert, Sanchez, Vasquez, Bellows, Demister, Lang, and Lyon. I know. I know. We need name tapes. The other four officers are running our prison wagons to pick up family members in boulder and Colorado Springs. Denver tends to be too expensive,” Eddy said with a disgruntled huff. I shook everyone’s hands as I was introduced. “We will get on the name tape thing soon. Will be weird to use first names officially.”
“You are assuming I want to stay here,” Maranda said with a raised brow.
“Ha! I have been married to you for twenty-five years. You want security, stability, and people to mingle with,” Eddy said, and was playfully swatted. “So that’s a yes for me. This tour was merely a formality. We will start moving gear. What do you have planned that we need to know about?”
“In six hours, we are having a military briefing. Probably will give it via those darn Gpads. Ferry your stuff, then work on defenses. There will be plenty of time to organize rooms and such in the barn later,” I said, indicating the barn. “Torrez, let’s go clear some space. I have been wanting to test the electric rifles.”
Torrez gave a fist pump and leaped ten feet into the air. His cybernetic legs whirled from the power exerted. The man landed softly with a grin.
“Show off,” I muttered.
He laughed my comment off and said, “What do you want to blow up?”
“The segments of box the tower came in should work. We can set up a range at the east valley wall. If we’re stuck on progress from lack of tools and minimal machines, we might as well get some firing time in,” I said, and then whipped my Gpad out of my pocket. There was an alert asking how it went and I frowned. Willow’s mom, and more importantly, Jevon’s mom, were so quiet with their side chatter I forgot. “Mrs. Moore and Willow’s mom. Follow me please.”
“Jacky, you may call me Jacky. Where are we going?” Willow’s mom asked. The woman had the same steely blue eyes and attractive features. I saw her figure was curvy and I agreed with Willow’s earlier statement about her genes. “Eyes up here, soldier boy. Yes, my daughter will age well. I appreciate the audacious gaze.”
“Since when did looking at women become a crime?”
“Since some of my sex made it one. Darien would have liked you. Probably would have made you box him in order to date his daughter. Then again, he would have laid a golden egg if he heard she was boinking an heiress too,” Jacky said, and Mrs. Moore inhaled her laughter that sputtered out moments later. “Men right.”
“Cap, I like this one,” Torres said with a smirk.
“So you met your girlfriend’s mom and you want to take her shooting. I am in,” Jacky said with a flamboyant flick of her wrist.
“I am taking everyone, to be fair. We got two spare RVs, lots of ammo, and extra weapons. Time to set up the firing range. An hour should be enough time.”
“Everyone?” Torrez asked hesitantly. I nodded with a clenched jaw. It needed to happen. We were going to expect everyone to fight.
“We will be back shortly, Cap,” Eddy said, excusing himself and his troopers.
I created a ‘send all’ message to everyone in the valley.
‘East valley cliff, day shift mandatory firing range exercise. 08:30. Sergeants figure out rotations for working crews.’ - Cap
Everyone around me started glancing down at their Gpad. My Gpad was flooded with individual texted responses.
“Perci!” I shouted into the sky at the infuriating contraption. She was nowhere near at the moment to hear my anguish. I would have to get some sort of blocker besides officers and NCOs. Torrez sent me a message, giggling from beside me. “Knock it off. We literally march to war in a few hours. Yeah. The pirate crew is going to greet the Xgate 16232… Xgate 232 is so much easier. When it lands. The president of the United States herself -”
“President Hansen is a man,” Mrs. Moore said proudly.
“Ahh… About that. Okay. Hmm…” I hesitated and Jevon’s mom wagged her finger at me. I gave two defensive palms out. “He is no longer president. You can read the news about his suicide later. Now, we have a lot to do and an hour to get it done. Please come help. I would love to answer any and all questions from you, Jacky. I find your daughter important to me.”
∞∞∞
The only thing that saved this e
pic shit-show was the fact that I had veteran soldiers to lean on. The family members were ecstatic to get to live-fire weapons. Hell, most of the crew were amped up also. We organized all the weapons into three trailers. Torrez set up staggered ranges a few thousand feet apart.
We set up a fifty for small arms, a one fifty, and a three hundred meter range for the carbines. Of course, the military used meters for shooting distances. It was a given that no one really questioned. The ‘hey drill, why is it not nine hundred and eighty four feet instead’ never landed as a funny joke.
I observed while helping where I could. I had learned long ago if I dug too deep into something, I would become distracted from the bigger picture. I may look like the lazy ass captain standing off to the side with my hands in my pockets... Well, that was true. My hands were cold and I was being lazy. Also, my soldiers were handling everything fine.
The east mountains curved gradually for a few hundred feet and then turned into sheer cliffs. There were no trees or life up there. The limited snow had stuck from last night flurries way at top of the peaks. The greys mixed with blacks gave the rockwork an intimidating feel. I could only imagine those fools who freely climbed stuff like this.
Willow came up beside me as I watched our surroundings. I wrapped an arm around her as she nestled into me. Her hands wrapped my cybernetic fingers. I had removed the silicone for better trigger tension. I was hanging slinging dual weapons at the moment. My .308 browning on my right side and the electric rifle on my left. When you lose your right hand, you adapt with your cybernetic replacement. When you use your right hand to keep a vital door from closing against enemies, it tends to get shot off. Well, if you’re an asshole bent on vengeance like I was, you learn to shoot with your left hand real quick.
The crack of the fifty meter range opening broke me from my thoughts. I was about to go into dark places with my memories. I bound Willow tightly in a hug, grateful she was there.
“Mom said you indulged her curiosity for a full hour,” Willow said softly. “I am going to shoot, I came over to say… We… Thank you for saving me, my friends, my mom, and all these people.”