Benson had met with each department head. There were more than he’d even remembered. Engineering, food services, custodial, health services, and countless others. He’d conversed with the agricultural team, touring the greenhouse floor. It was revolutionary to grow enough food to sustain a crew of two thousand, but the old man had found a way.
He sat down at his desk and cradled his face with a palm. He was tired.
Benson considered heading to the bridge to see what news they had from Fairbanks. He must have arrived at the beacon by now.
Did the old badger have any inkling of what Benson was up to? He didn’t think so, but he’d still tiptoe around Jarden. Some might see him as an old man, but Benson knew he was as sharp as, or perhaps sharper than, he’d ever been. The man had focus unlike any other human he’d met.
A glass of Scotch called him across the room, and he thought of the captured Watcher as he poured the drink. Those sad eyes. His conversation had been surprising. The creature didn’t expect any human to speak his language. Benson had won the round. He was sure he could make something happen once he found the Watcher’s home world. It was going to be easy.
Benson swallowed the brown liquid with ease and poured himself another, this one for sipping. The edge around him was already blurring, and he slumped down into his chair. Yes. He would be the one humanity remembered for all eternity, not Jarden.
Benson turned on his old classical music and smiled as he set his glass down on the desk.
4
Charles
Charles experienced the familiar sensation of powering up. Was this what it felt like to wake from sleep? Did humans sometimes wonder where they were as they regained consciousness? The first week aboard the Eureka, Charles had woken in a mild panic.
He was okay today, a little more centered as his electrical synapses fired. He was in his quarters. They’d actually given him a room, not just a powering closet. It had a bed and a couch, followed by a small kitchen table, all of which were foreign to him. He understood their function, but he’d had no need for them before.
It was an interesting feeling to have humans treating him like one of their own. For the first time in his existence, he belonged.
Charles left his room and made the routine trip down the hall, heading toward the lab. Wren would still be sleeping or perhaps eating. Maybe he should go and see if she was in the galley? He decided against it. She’d tasked him with attempting to learn the Watcher’s language, and so far, he had nothing to go by.
Using his private code, he entered the laboratory. The lights flicked on, and Charles wound his way to the Watcher’s cell.
“Good morning, Watcher,” he said, not expecting a reply. “I hope you slept well. I did.” He made what he now understood to be small talk, but the creature didn’t budge from its curled-up position. Charles knew that body language only too well. He’d seen it on countless female prisoners at the Caliban facility. It was clear the Watcher had given up all hope. He wanted to die.
Charles didn’t need to speak his language to know this. Often the women at the prison would end their own lives soon after they started to become unresponsive. It saddened him to think that someone could have real life and throw it away. But at the same time, it made logical sense. If he’d been forced to stay a guard much longer, he would have welcomed a neural wipe.
“This may not end the way you presume, Watcher. I have it on good authority that if you help us, you might get to go home. Dr. Wren Sando is a brilliant woman, and she seeks a way to stop the war without use of violence.” Charles was speaking out of turn, but he did believe this to be the truth.
The Watcher lifted his head. Wide-set dark eyes bore into Charles’, who stepped back without thinking.
He had to keep the discussion going. “It’s true. Help me learn your language, and we can talk through this. I know you went through a lot on that ship in your cage. It was me who rescued you from that woman. The Grand Admiral.”
Now the Watcher was reacting. He sat up, his long sucker-covered arms flexing as he stretched them. His back pressed against the rear of the cell, his thick legs spread out before him on the floor.
“We can be friends. Teach me, and we can change the outcome of this war,” Charles said, pleading to the mute alien. He’d been told the creature could speak, or at least had all the biological developments to do so, but he hadn’t heard a sound yet.
Charles stood, talking to the Watcher for another ten minutes, before he gave up and left him sitting there, silently glaring at the energy barrier.
If the Watcher wouldn’t talk, he’d find another way. The room was under surveillance and had been since the creature was brought onto the Eureka. It had to have spoken since then. Charles had learned that humans often spoke to themselves when they thought no one was listening. Wren was always muttering something to herself under her breath.
He sat in the office and found the footage storage files. Charles searched for the start, the moment the cameras began recording, and sat back in the chair. He’d find something of use.
Flint
“Stay here,” Bree said, stepping in front of the three of them. Flint didn’t like this one bit. They’d been on the planet for less than an hour after their ship was taken down, and they were already being stalked by some local predators.
“I’m coming with you,” he said, pulling his rifle from the pack. He unslung the straps from his shoulders and dropped the bag at Ace’s feet. “Keep watch of this, would you?” He gave the kid a smirk, trying to hide his own nervousness, and started after Bree.
The creatures remained still, but their eyes stayed alert with an unknown agenda. “What do you think they are?” Flint asked Bree quietly.
The ground was dry, the night air cooling but still warm. Flint had no idea what season they were in, or how seasons even worked here, but sweat began dripping down his body as they tried to get a closer look at the strangers.
He looked around now, finally seeing the setting. The grass under his feet was sparse among the dense trees. The ground felt too soft, like he was on a thick layer of moss instead of hard-packed dirt. At first glance, it all felt very Earth-like, but the longer he evaluated it, there were subtle differences. The glowing eyes still stared toward them, and Flint glanced up, trying to keep the predators in his peripheral. The dual moons were enormous in the sky, their glow illuminating through the treetops where they could.
Bree broke the silence. “I think they’re on two legs. Look how high the eyes are.”
“Great, just how I want to die. By deadly two-legged monsters in another galaxy.” Flint gripped his rifle tighter, the bumps and ridges of the handle digging into his gloved palm.
“Let’s go back. We won’t be able to see them unless we get ten meters between us.” Bree didn’t turn and walk away; she backed up, taking cautious steps.
Flint copied her, and they went that way until they arrived back at the spot where they’d left Ace and Fairbanks.
“Did you guys see anything?” Flint asked as he casually spun around. Jarden and Ace weren’t there, but his pack was right where he left it. Flint threw it over his shoulders.
Flint fought the urge to call out to them. “Damn it. Where are they?” he asked Bree, who was already stalking forward like a dog on the hunt.
Ace
“Run, boy!” the old man shouted. Ace was running, so he wished Jarden would stop urging him on. If anything, he was slowing down so his elder could keep up. The insect horde was after them. It had barreled down through the tall tree canopy and momentarily eclipsed the moons, making a reverse spotlight on Ace and the councilman.
Ace wanted to call out to Flint and Bree, but they were too far away, and all a scream would do was attract whatever predator was watching them. So they ran, the buzzing horde chasing them through the trees, away from the other two people on their ground team. The forest bed bounced under Ace’s light footsteps, and he glanced back to see how close the attacking insects were getti
ng to them. They hurried in the dimly-lit trees for what felt like an hour, but wasn’t even close to that long. Eventually, Ace’s right foot caught a rock or tree root, and he flew through the air, coming to an awkward roll before hitting a trunk.
Ace’s head swam, and he tried to blink away the stars in his vision. He heard Fairbanks talking, but it sounded distant. He shook his head slowly, feeling the world come back to him after a few moments.
“Come in. We’re west of our last location. We’re being chased by the same insects…” Fairbanks was saying, and Ace saw that he was speaking into his earpiece mic. It was connected to the one in Bree’s ear.
Ace stumbled to his feet to stand beside the councilman, whose eyes were wide in terror. “Come in!” he shouted before calming his voice and looking at Ace; his gaze flickered right back to the dark cloud of bugs hovering a few meters away.
The cloud appeared like it was going to move away, leaving them in peace; but as it thinned out, they rushed back together, diving toward Fairbanks. Ace dove, pushing the older man to the ground. They scrambled away on their backs, watching as the insects attacked the earpiece that had fallen out of the councilman’s ear.
Its soft blue light blacked out as the minute gnats ate at the small device. “The energy.” Fairbanks had pushed himself up against a tree trunk ten meters from the mass of bugs. “They’re attracted to anything using energy. Not our bodies’ type of energy, but electrical, or maybe even thermonuclear. I’m not sure, but clearly something about power. See how they absorb it and leave it behind.” He was pointing to the dark cloud of tiny insects, who were now departing into the night sky.
“Thank God for that. I thought they were going to eat the skin off us.” Ace was breathing heavily. He took a series of deep breaths, trying to get it even again. The running he was used to; the fear for his life was also familiar. But somehow, this felt different than being on the streets or fighting in a dogfight. “Did you reach them?”
Fairbanks was panting as well, but Ace had to give the old man credit. He could still run for his life when he needed to. “I don’t know. Only if Bree had hers turned on.” Ace helped him to his feet, and they assessed their surroundings, searching for signs of Flint and Bree.
“I have a flashlight, but I’m worried it’ll either bring those bugs back or bring something worse.” Fairbanks looked around, and Ace followed his gaze as it led to nothing but trees in the forest.
“Where are they? We didn’t go that far,” Ace said. The run had been deceiving, but they might have been pushing it for ten minutes.
“They’ll find us. We might have gone as far as two kilometers.” Fairbanks was brushing dirt off his clothing, and Ace followed suit. The older man started to walk in the same direction they’d been running.
“Where are you going?” Ace asked him.
“I said they’ll find us. There’s no point in waiting or backtracking, only to get lost. We know this is the right direction, and sooner or later, we’re going to encounter the colony.” Fairbanks didn’t turn to talk, his voice getting quieter as he gained distance on Ace.
Ace let out a puff of air in his cheeks and started after Fairbanks. “I think we should wait. It’s not safe out here.”
“Then keep your eyes peeled, son. I’ve made it this long. Believe me, I’m not going to let myself die the very moment I set down on this world, after one hundred and ten years. I’ve spent far too much energy getting here,” Fairbanks said, and Ace nodded to himself in the dark.
“Fine.” Ace pulled his stunner out, and felt better with it in his hand. “But let me take the lead.”
“Be my guest.”
They walked, and Ace made a habit of glancing back every few minutes, hoping the others would catch up.
5
Wren
Wren’s day had been long. She’d been lucky enough to borrow a young woman from the medical center to assist on her project. Junita was a pleasant girl, soft-spoken, and she understood the fundamentals well enough. She was used to administering shots and taking samples from people for testing, so this wasn’t too far out of her scope of practice.
She claimed there wasn’t much to do on a ship like this, at least not currently. They were all healthy, and with modern medicine, things like the common cold and flu were a thing of the past. Junita stayed with her for eight hours before Wren suggested she call it a day. Wren herself remained another three hours, and felt she was beginning to lay a good foundation for her pathogen.
Charles had insisted on taking the day to observe footage of the Watcher. She told him there were more efficient ways to watch it, like on a faster speed, but he wanted to absorb everything he could about the creature. From what Wren could tell, all it did was sleep and occasionally eat, taking occasional moments to excrete unused elements. It might be an alien, but its bodily functions were much like their own.
Wren left him to it after making him promise he’d quit soon. He was an android and didn’t need things like food and sleep like they did, but he did need to be charged, and she’d begun to notice he got into moods. To her, Charles was more human than the Watcher.
She found the doorway to the galley and settled at the bar. “Coffee, please,” she said to the middle-aged man in a gray sweater. He made a half-hearted attempt at a smile, and she thanked him as the hot cup of black bean water was pushed in front of her. She blew on it and took a sip, knowing she shouldn’t be having caffeine so late.
Wren hardly slept any more these days, not after everything she’d been through and now knew. They were on the other side of the Rift, a phenomenon she’d only just learned about, and that was enough to cause sleepless nights. Add in the fact that she was attempting to create a virus that would kill most of a race of beings… well, the reasons all added up.
“Did you hear?” a voice asked her.
She turned to see Lieutenant Tsang. He was still in uniform, and the bags under his eyes mirrored her own. “Hear what?” she asked.
“The lander went MIA. Signal was cut off.” He was sitting at a small table, and Wren seized her cup and joined him. The chair across from him was vacant, and he kicked it out with his foot to welcome her.
“Did you send another down?” she asked him.
“Not yet. Fairbanks was clear. He didn’t want anyone else to go near until we were advised to.” Tsang sipped his own hot coffee, peering at her from the edge of the cup.
“That’s ridiculous. What if they’re hurt or if they’ve been attacked?” Wren was furious. Two of her new friends were on that lander. It was silly to think they’d be able to actually stop the invasion and save anyone, especially while they were all the way over here.
“We know where they were last seen. We’re going to be over the area in an hour, and we’ll use our zoom lenses to see if we can find the ship. If all else fails, we have the location of the original colony ship’s beacon,” Tsang said. He was a confident man, and Wren could understand why he’d been chosen by Fairbanks to be Eureka’s weapons officer. He did more than just point and shoot, though. Flint had sung the man’s praises before he left with Fairbanks.
Flint. The man was trouble: a distraction for her. Wren had been away from the opposite sex for so long, but there was something about the shaggy hair and the sly grins that made her remember she was a woman.
“Are you seriously going to wait to see what happened to them?” Wren asked.
“It’s not my call. It’s Captain Barkley’s.” Tsang stood and brought his cup to the bar. “Want another?”
“Sure.” She joined him, and they poured themselves refills from a carafe sitting at the end of the counter.
The door opened, and she noticed Charles standing there staring at her. He waved her over toward him. “One minute… what’s your first name? I don’t think I’ve heard it.” The man had only been called Lieutenant Tsang in front of her.
“It’s Harry. And you’re Wren, right?” He stuck his hand out, and they met formally as people, not a doctor a
nd a lieutenant.
“You got it. I’m going to talk to Heather in a little while and see what the plan is. I’m worried about them,” she confided.
He just nodded and took his coffee into the hall. Harry said hello to Charles and left them alone in the doorway.
“What is it, Charles? Everything okay?” Wren asked the android.
“No. Everything is most certainly not okay. Come with me.” He spun, and she followed him back to the lab in a hurry.
Charles
Charles had hoped he was wrong. He’d gone over the footage endlessly – ten times, to be exact – but he knew he was correct. Someone had tampered with the recordings.
He sat beside Wren in her office. She was watching the feed. “See, here.” He paused it and pointed to the energy barrier. “It flickers unnaturally there, and again in eight minutes.” He skipped to that portion and paused it.
“So what? The recording could have screwed up. If it happened once, maybe it’s something, but twice in less than ten minutes tells me this is just a common occurrence on the recordings,” Wren said.
Charles had to make her understand it wasn’t normal. “I’ve watched every second of the footage, and this is the only time the flicker occurs. I think someone has meddled with it, and with your lab. Perhaps the Watcher himself.”
Wren shook her head, and Charles watched her drain the rest of her beverage before setting the cup down with a thud. “I don’t have the energy for this. You’re not really showing me anything I can use. All I see is a minor variance to the energy barrier. What’s the big conspiracy?”
Charles was disappointed. He was sure there was more to it than that. “I’m sorry for bothering you. I’ll keep searching and advise you when I have more proof.”
Wren turned to him. “You might not find anything, and that’s fine. Why are you so worried about this?”
Charles wasn’t certain how to answer. “I’m not worried. I only see evidence that something has gone awry here and would like to solve it. This is your subject. Without him, your experiment fails, and we lose an opportunity to turn the tides of the war.”
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