Essence: Book 1 - Septima

by Nick Braker

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, turning to face her.

  “Troy, she’s baiting you again,” Septima said, waving Cienna off. “You two need to get along. That’s an order.”

  Septima winked at him where Cienna couldn’t see.

  “Yes, ma’am,” Troy said.

  Sep was right. Troy needed to work on fixing his relationship with Cienna. He’d try, even if it were for Sep only. Those two were best friends and he needed to give it a chance even if Cienna enjoyed tormenting him. He turned back and entered a few more commands in his device and then placed it in his hip holster.

  “Okay, we need to leave,” he said. “Let’s head back to the rendezvous point. We can’t go directly there as we could be followed and we can’t sit there waiting because we could be spotted.”

  “So we take the scenic route?” Cienna asked.

  Troy nodded.

  “I’ve left Kima a text message with my cell phone number,” Troy said, patting the comm-device on his hip. “They can’t trace it but she can call or text if she needs to reach me, well, at least until we’re 62 light years away again. Pretty sure they can’t make a long distance phone call that far.”

  Troy laughed while the two of them both looked at him quizzically. He sighed.

  “Don’t sigh,” Cienna said, stepping forward like she wanted to slap him.

  Chapter 16

  COLONEL ANDERSON

  Earth - 01:30pm

  The trio walked along the sidewalk with the rest of Augusta’s lunchtime crowds. The streets in the busy downtown section were filled with the daily rush of people returning to work after having eaten. The three didn’t stand out and it seemed no one paid any attention to them. If only they knew that two aliens from another world were walking among them. Beautiful or not, the two young women were no different than any of the hundreds of humans in their midst. Troy wondered if it were possible there were other aliens here that he didn’t know about. Why not? Pirans were obviously not the only race among the stars. What if there were others here, right now?

  Focus. Get home.

  Their rendezvous point was south of the city but he planned to take them generally west and, when the time grew closer, they would head southeast, making sure to give themselves a buffer of time in case there were problems.

  They stopped to eat at a submarine sandwich shop. The group sat at a table near the window with Troy watching the people as they walked by along the street. Cienna and Septima pulled out their Piran food, keeping it somewhat discrete enough to avoid attention.

  “I remember when life was like this,” Septima said.

  Cienna nodded.

  “A better time for sure,” Cienna added.

  “Sort of wish we could stay here,” Septima said.

  “Don’t get melodramatic you two,” Troy said, still watching the people outside. “Your people need you and, frankly, I need them.”

  “Troy?” Sep asked.

  Troy hadn’t wanted to voice his thoughts but it was too late now. He paused, thinking about how to respond.

  “I feel complete there, so much more than being here. Not sure what that is about except that my life here was average and I was afraid of nearly everything around me.”

  Cienna laughed at his comment.

  “You don’t strike me as being afraid of anything,” Cienna added.

  Troy glanced at Cienna, surprised by her compliment. Her behavior toward him wasn’t consistent. She vacillated between concern and disdain for Troy, sometimes in the same breath.

  What is wrong with her?

  “I used to be,” Troy said, his head dropping. “Germs, crowds, insects, cars... you name it. If I didn’t constantly remind myself of how completely irrational I was being, I would have been an emotional cripple. For some reason, I’ve always had the ability to somewhat control my physical responses to the fears but internally I warred with myself constantly. It was driving me crazy. It was taking its toll...”

  Troy looked down at what was left of his sandwich.

  “Not sure I could have-” he paused.

  “Fate stepped in Troy and--”

  His head snapped around to look at her, his eyes wide in shock.

  “What did I say?” Septima said, looking back at him surprised.

  Don’t pursue it. Fate is bullshit. I control my life by my actions and decisions.

  “Nothing, nothing,” Troy said. “Not sure I buy into that philosophy.”

  “Me too,” Cienna said. “I am in control of my life.”

  Troy nodded, returning his attention to the crowds outside.

  “We need to leave,” he said, changing the subject and getting up.

  They cleaned up and left, rejoining the moving life of humanity through their own world. Several hours later they left the city limits and stopped to eat outside a city named Grovetown. Night was setting in and Troy decided it was time to head southeast toward the projection site. He pulled out his comm-device and checked the coordinates of their pickup point. They still had 4.5 hours of walking leaving them plenty of time. They would arrive at least an hour before Alta planned to activate the machine again. Peripherally, Troy kept an eye on Cienna. She regularly checked behind them as they traveled.

  “Are we being followed, Cienna?” Troy asked.

  Cienna shook her head, looking mildly surprised at him.

  “No,” Cienna said, “but you sometimes impress me, little human.”

  Was she complimenting or insulting him? Troy decided to ignore her.

  “Time to head home. Let’s get moving,” he told them.

  The group walked along a road that took them generally southeast. They were careful as they continued their trek, leaving the road when necessary to avoid police or other possible dangers. The trip was uneventful, though Troy had to divert them around a military complex called Fort Gordon. It slowed their progress and burned into the buffer of time they had remaining. They eventually reached Tobacco Road and continued along it to the railroad tracks.

  “I’m surprised you didn’t get us lost,” Cienna said.

  Ah, the old Cienna is back. That didn’t last long.

  It was very early in the morning and the moon was still out enough to light their way. They had less than 30 minutes remaining as they followed the tracks toward the stockyard.

  “Almost there,” Septima said, stepping along the tracks.

  “There it is,” Cienna said, pointing ahead into the darkness toward the lights of the stockyard about half a mile away.

  “Right on time too,” Septima said. “We have 10.5 minutes remaining.”

  Their destination was a few minutes away but red flags rose in the back of Troy’s mind.

  “Does everything feel right to you two?” he asked.

  Septima nodded but Cienna lowered her stance a little as if Troy’s words were a warning.

  “I don’t hear or see anything unusual,” Septima said but now she too was slowing her pace.

  The moon was still out and the smell of the stockyard was still there but something was missing.

  “Something is wrong,” Troy said as they kept moving.

  His comm-device buzzed. The rendezvous point was less than a hundred feet from them now. The railroad tracks were clear and nothing else was in sight.

  Earth time: 04:42

  If U R 4 real, play along.

  Troy remembered. It was the crickets, they weren’t chirping.

  “Shit,” he hissed. “We’re--”

  Flood lights blinded them. Troy instinctively raised his left hand to cover his eyes, bringing out his blaster. From both sides of the tracks in the trees, lights illuminated the entire area. Nearly blind, the only other thing he could see was that Cienna and Septima had pulled their blasters out too. A voice from a bullhorn within the trees began barking orders at them.

  “Put your weapons down,” it ordered. “You are surrounded.”

  In between the words from the man behind the bullhorn, Troy could
hear at least two other people talking in muffled tones but the bullhorn was interfering with his ability to hear them well.

  “Back to back,” Troy whispered.

  Cienna and Septima placed their backs to him facing outward in a triangle. Troy’s eyes adjusted somewhat and now he could make out figures along the base of the trees on both sides. They were indeed surrounded.

  “Drop them or we will open fire,” the voice ordered.

  Play along.

  “Wait,” Troy screamed, splaying his hand out in front of him. “We don’t want to hurt anyone but these weapons can blast apart a small forest.”

  Red dots of light danced around his chest like angry ants. He counted six on himself, he could only imagine the other two were in the sights of an equal number of weapons.

  “Troy...,” Septima said, almost pleading with him for their next action.

  “Drop the weapons,” it ordered. “This is your final warning.”

  “How much time?” Troy whispered, trying not to move his lips.

  “I don’t dare move to find out,” Septima whispered, still pointing her blaster into the line of trees.

  “More than a few minutes, I would guess,” Cienna added.

  “Look,” Troy screamed back at them. “You would have shot us already if you wanted us dead. We’ll cooperate but we have some conditions--”

  “Son, the only condition you have is whether you want to live or not. Drop those weapons and we won’t kill you.”

  Son? That sounds military or at least a military background.

  Troy heard the voices in the background again. One of them was female. He could barely make out her words though likely no one else could. He still marveled at his newfound abilities.

  “Colonel, let me talk with them,” she said. “They ordered you to bring them in alive if possible. I can make that happen.”

  It was Kima.

  “He’s a sucker for a pretty face and he thinks he can trust me. Dad, if I get him to drop those weapons and give up, we can mop--”

  “Son, you have 10 seconds,” the man said over the bullhorn.

  “Sir,” Troy yelled back. “Don’t do this. I’m here to help.”

  Kima came rushing through the trees.

  “What the hell? Get her back here,” the Colonel said, yelling the order.

  Kima had already slipped around the line of men and was running toward Troy. She crossed the open ground, standing about twenty feet from him.

  “Hold your fire,” the Colonel yelled through the bullhorn.

  “Don’t fire,” Kima ordered to those behind her. “Give me a chance to talk to him.”

  “Sergeant,” the Colonel said. “If he points that weapon at her, have the snipers take them down.”

  Troy doubted anyone else could have heard the exchange, even Kima. She approached him with her hands up and slightly forward. Troy kept the weapon pointed at the men in the trees.

  “Troy,” she said, speaking loudly. “There is no way out of this except by giving up. These men intend to take you in for questioning. You will be treated fairly. I promise.”

  A mild breeze blew from his right.

  “Sir,” Troy said. “I’m willing to cooperate. All I’m asking for is humane treatment for the other two. Does this woman speak for you?”

  Keep stalling.

  Troy heard the Colonel say damn it in the background.

  “Son,” the Colonel said through the bullhorn. “We all want this to end peacefully. All you have to do is surrender. She speaks for me.”

  Kima lowered her voice.

  “How much more time?” Kima asked, softly.

  Troy knew it. Kima was on his side. Her words to her father were a delay tactic. She was giving them a chance. The wind blew again, slightly stronger this time. It had an acrid smell.

  “No idea. Can’t look at clock,” he whispered not moving his lips again.

  He kept the blaster up and pointed at the line of men in the trees.

  “Okay, whatever this is, it has to happen soon,” Kima said, quietly

  She raised her voice to be heard again.

  “They will pick you three off while I stand here,” Kima said. “Please Troy, let’s end this. You have my word that they will--”

  The wind whirled around them like a tornado. It whipped up the loose dirt, stinging his eyes. Electrical sparks arced between the floodlights surrounding them, burning them out. Showers of small lights like tiny fireflies shot out of the floodlights as they exploded, winking out. The area was still illuminated but Troy couldn’t see where it was coming from. An electric green gas surrounded them. It swirled and twisted about, spinning around them again and again. Was it really a gas or the effect of the projection machine? The memory of the train ride to New Orleans surged into his mind. The organ note grew in intensity, vibrating his clothing with its strength. He heard several shots fired and Kima was thrown into him, knocking him down. She landed on top of him, struggling to breathe. Where were Cienna or Septima?

  “Troy,” Kima managed, barely able to speak.

  Kima’s face was red with the effort to breathe as she stared, wide-eyed, into his. Was she hit? Her face was filled with fear as she continued to take short gasps of air trying to fill her lungs.

  “Hold your fire,” the Colonel ordered through the horn. “Dear God, hold you fire. Move in!”

  They were the last words Troy heard over the cacophony of sound around him. The power of it shook him to his bones and his vision faded in and out. Kima needed him. He had to stay conscious. She must have been hit several times. He still had her in his arms, clutching her close to him as she continued to gasp for air. Her eyes rolled back into her head and she went limp in his arms.

  “Nooooo,” he screamed as the ground dropped out from under him.

  Troy passed out.

  ____

  Pira - 04:47am

  Troy opened his eyes, finding himself on his back. He was on Pira again and inside the projection room. He jumped up, finding Cienna closest to him and then Septima. He made sure they were both breathing and then rushed to Kima’s side. She lay on her stomach, unmoving. He checked her pulse. It was weak but there. He ripped open the back of her shirt, searching for the wounds. Troy sighed in relief as he recognized the body armor she wore under it. Two large indentations from low velocity rounds had hit the armor and lodged deep into it.

  They are low velocity but how do I know that? Worry about that later, Kima needs me.

  At worst, she may have broken ribs though she was certain to have some nasty bruises. The doors of the projection room opened and several Piran medical personnel entered. They split up, moving to each of the unconscious women. Troy waved several of them off, telling them he was fine. He was about to carry Kima himself when they brought in a gurney and carried the three women out.

  “They’ll be fine, Tohmas,” Alta said.

  She was standing outside the room. Her tone had an edge to it. Something bothered her.

  “Well?” he asked.

  “Who’s the female?” she said, walking away toward her office.

  Alta clearly wanted him to follow her.

  “Her name is Kima Anderson. Detective in one of the Augusta police--”

  Troy stepped through and she closed the door, moving to her desk.

  “Why the fuck is she here?”

  He sighed, knowing Cienna wasn’t around to stop him.

  “You’re jumping to conclusions.”

  “Another mouth to feed, possible behavioral issues like your other Earthling friends, additional energy consumption, medical needs and a host of other reasons. She. Should. Not. Be here.”

  “I--” he said.

  “Never mind,” she interrupted. “Nothing to be done about it now. Interesting, you seem to have recovered quickly. Septima and Cienna have been doing this for months. They’ll both be out up to half a segment, yet you were unconscious for a total of five of your earth seconds after arrival. According to my logs, you wo
ke yourself.”

  “I’m too tired to think about it,” he said opening the door to her office. “It’s good to see you too, Alta.”

  Alta didn’t answer immediately as he turned to leave.

  “You too, dear,” she said finally.

  He turned, staring at her.

  What the hell?

  She had already returned her attention to her monitors, ignoring him.

  ____

  Pira - Early morning.

  It was a few hours later and since Troy had questions for Kima, he went to speak with her in the medical bay. He talked with her doctor first to make sure she was up to it and the doctor had given him the okay. She lay in her bed in Pira’s version of a military infirmary. The doctor confirmed she had suffered three broken ribs but would recover quickly.

  Piran medicine.

  Kima turned to face him, smiling, as he entered. A monitor above her head kept track of her vitals but Troy wasn’t interested in the details. The doctor had told him she was fine.

  “How ya doing?” he asked.

  “Fine, fine,” Kima said. “I should be in a lot of pain and confined to a bed for a couple weeks but, as the doctor explained, I’ll be out of here, healed, in a few days. He said that’s the normal recovery time for broken bones in this situation. Weird, huh?”

  She seemed excited about the science but was keeping it subdued.

  “I didn’t plan on you coming with me,” Troy said, “but for what it’s worth, I’m glad you’re here.”

  Kima didn’t respond for a moment as if she were thinking about what she wanted to say next. Troy didn’t give her time. If they ever traveled to Earth again, they would have to be more careful.

  “How did you know where we’d be?” he asked.

  Kima wasn’t surprised by his question.

  “James did the work. He still didn’t trust you and, without my knowledge, he dug in to find out who you were. He checked intersection cameras, starting with those near the motel and worked his way back to the point you entered Augusta. Knowing you came in from the south, he started investigating any reports of strange or unexplainable occurrences along that direction. It was easy actually. The stockyard where you appeared has security cameras and guards. The guards had already reported strange lights in the night north of the building along the railroad tracks, the same tracks you entered Augusta on.”