by T. J. Quinn
“You have a message from my navy commander?”
“Look dude there’s no Gods damn command. The US Navy was integrated with the Earth Gov military almost a thousand years ago. The message is from the future you.”
“How did you get a message from me if you never met me?”
Sighing, the man spoke calmly as if he were explaining something to a child. “You’re the reason Earth survived when no other world did. Every kid memorizes your letter in first grade along with the Earth Gov Unification Pledge. Jesus dude, they make story books about you and Jax. Just let me tell you the message, and then we can talk until they arrive. I’m going to read it directly from the data stream, so I don’t miss anything.”
“Go ahead.”
“Nick, you stupid son-of-a-bitch, get with the program.”
“Wait. They taught you to curse in first grade?”
“Dude those aren’t even curses anymore.”
“Fine, get on with the message.”
“In a few minutes some really ugly aliens are going step through that door to shoot you with a stun gun, and you’re going let them. The only thing standing between the Taron battle fleet and Earth’s total annihilation is you and the clueless dude lying on the floor. Jax will turn out to be the one person you can count on to have your back, so take good care of the stupid fucker until you figure that shit out. It’s critically important that you get taken to the mother ship because they keep a large number of slaves that decide to join forces with Earth when the battle starts. Without their assistance, every man, woman, and child on Earth will be killed or forced into slavery. I remember thinking that I must be hallucinating, but this is real, and you have got to kick start your brain right damn now soldier. I struggled with how to end this message so you would believe me, and one thing came to mind. I remember going to the cemetery every year when I was really little to put flowers on dad’s grave. I thought it was disrespectful that the spiders keep on growing right on top his grave like it didn’t matter that he’d died. That’s all I got. Do the right thing. Save our people.”
There was a brief pause, and the young man asked quietly. “Did that mean anything to you, sir?”
Finally snapping out his shocked trance, Nick took a deep cleansing breath. “Yeah, the fucking message sounds just like me and that cemetery part is aces. So as weird as it sounds, it looks like I’m doling out missions to myself now. Does this ship ever get back to my timeline?”
“No, sir. It’s listed as lost at sea.”
“Well, in that case, there’s no need to try to write a message to my commanders. Answer me something else. Who are the Taron?”
“I’m not supposed to tell you anything that might change the natural order historical events. We were told just to give the message.”
“I can’t believe Earth is still using primitive communication lines?”
Laughing the youngster replied. “We’re not. I belong to the Order of the Guard. We’re what you would think of a cross between gamers and hackers. Since we spend most of our time submerged in the data stream, we use special programs to scan for old Earth radio waves, each of us hoping that we’ll be the one to make contact with you. Even now thousands are gathering the stream to hear our interaction.”
“What’s your name kid?”
“I don’t think it would be a good idea to say. If I told you and you let it slip, it might change history, and I wouldn’t want to chance it.”
“Fine, tell me about the Taron.”
The young man replied hesitantly. “They’re a race of aliens who target innocent worlds based on the natural resources locked beneath the surface of their planets. During your time people thought Earth was about mined out, but the Taron could see things humans couldn’t, using their advanced alien technology. The ship in orbit right now is just a scout ship, but when word gets back to their fleet about Earth, they will make their way here. It takes them another fifteen years or so, but they do come for us, sir.”
“Any other information you can share about my new mission?”
“The historical records show that you talked a lot about wanting to stop the scout ship from giving the Taron mother ship Earth’s coordinates. I’m begging you not to do that, sir. Earth will be the first world ever to turn back a Taron invasion, and our success leads to the formation of trade and military ties with other worlds that enable Earth to survive when our ozone layer finally goes belly up. Kalian scientists help us design a shield to protect our world. In fact, other worlds are so grateful for our help, they share all kinds of technology with us. It ushers in a new golden age for our people.”
“So I’m going to be spending fifteen years on a slave ship with a beautiful blue woman and arms dealer. I’m supposed to survive, rally the other slaves to revolt, and somehow warn Earth of a pending invasion when the time is nigh. All based on a conversation with a faceless guy who won’t even give me his name. What the hell is with this fog? It feels like it’s trying to get into my clothes and molest me.”
The other man laughed. “It is because the scout ship has you in the outer regions of its force field. The fog facilitates electromagnetic pulses that assist with the time jump. According to the historical record, something went wrong, and they jumped time instead of space.”
“Any idea what brought them to our world?”
“They came for the woman, but unfortunately for them, they got you and Jax in the bargain.”
Just then the door slammed open. Nick backed up slightly, placing himself between the very ugly blue aliens and the woman. He had only a moment to take in their large bobble heads and long spindly arms before one of them pulled a weapon. It took every ounce of self-control he could dredge up not to react. The creatures were slow, and when they spoke, it sounded like a cross between a screech and a tiny dog barking.
Chapter 2
Earning His Trident
Music Mix
~ Jax ~
Trying to open his eye, Nick slammed them shut again wondering what kind of wild one he tied on last night. His pounding headache was being aggravated by barking dogs; barking dogs that kicked like a marine. Rolling over, Nick instinctively grabbed one black boot and tossed the person across the room. Before the room could clearly focus, a searing pain radiated down from his neck to his toes. After a few heart pounding seconds, it abruptly stopped.
The barking dogs were back, but they clearly weren’t dogs. As he rolled to his feet, the whole horrible message from the future came crashing through his memory like a runaway truck. The huge bobbly head creature snorted deservedly at him before stalking off. Sliding down to sit with his back against the wall, Nick tried to pull his thoughts together. Blocking out everything else, he tried to recall the details of his conversation with the disembodied voice from earlier.
A pair of bright red sneakers skated by and a man’s heavily accented voice sang a song he vaguely recognized from before his time. “Macho, macho man. You’ve always got to be a macho man.”
Looking up at the man dancing around, Nick mumbled under his breath. “You’re pretty fly for a white guy.”
Stooping down, the brown eyed man with scraggly dark hair waved a hand in his face. “You awake, dude? You’ve been waking up, fighting the big blue fuckers, and getting your ass shocked for a day and a half now. You need to get with the program or your body is going to shut down on you.” Sniffing, Nick could still see white dust in the man’s nose. “Know what your problem is, macho man? You’re a straight arrow. If you did a little dust, the alien shit wouldn’t mess you up so much.”
Suddenly the nice blue lady kneeled at his side, forcing a drink to his lips. “Sweet Jesus, this tastes awful.”
Jax suggested helpfully. “Hold your nose when you drink it. I’ve tried everything, and that’s the only way to get it down without gagging it back up.”
Shaking his head, Nick shoved himself to his feet. “Any idea where we are?”
“You are a figment of my overactive imagination, d
ude. It’s a place where for some godforsaken reason the women are hot, and everyone is obsessed with you.”
“You’re not making any sense. You know that, right? I mean, why would your subconscious have picked someone like me to be in your dream?”
Tilting his head sideways to look out a portal at stars flying by, the man replied objectively. “See, I have been thinking about that. I believe this dream about alien abduction is a way for me to live out all my wildest fantasies. Unfortunately, my mama took me to church as a small boy and father Jonas stuffed my mind with a bunch religious stuff while trying to teach me to be a good boy. Therefore, I’ve created a world where beautiful mostly naked women don’t want to know me, and there’s another man who’s foolish enough to get himself beat up all the time instead of me.” Shrugging, the man added. “Besides the lack of good drugs, the dream’s been really fun.”
The tone of the arms dealer’s voice told him whatever had been going on for the last day and a half had been anything but fun. Cutting to the chase, he took two steps forward and punched the ridiculous man right in the face. Bending over his prone body, Nick stated earnestly. “This is not dreaming, dimwit. I need you to listen carefully. If you were dreaming, don’t you think your subconscious mind would have protected you from getting hit by me? Of course, it would. Every man has a survival instinct.”
Reaching out a hand, he pulled the man to his feet. Jax didn’t react well to having his only coping mechanism snatched away. “Aliens aren’t real, man. Everybody knows that.”
Pulling the woman over, he turned her to face Jax. “Does this woman look human? If you’re not dreaming and she’s an alien, that means this is as real as it gets.”
Staring between Jax and the now squirming woman, Nick sighed. “Tell me what you know.”
Slowly bringing his hand to his left ear, he explained quietly. “When they first brought us here, I woke up first. They gave me a shot behind my ear, and after hearing them talk for a while, I could understand their words.”
“Mind telling me what they said?”
“They kept calling you a hunter, ‘cause I guess you stunned me the way they do. They keep coming to check on their hunter like you’re somebody important. They pretty much ignore me and seem to actually hate her. They debated about whether to kill her but decided to keep her because they think she’s your breeder.” When Nick shot him an angry look, Jax held up both hands. “Their words, not mine. Jesus, shake it off man. You are wound tight.”
“Are they monitoring us?”
“I don’t think so because sometimes you woke up and they didn’t come. It feels like they come at certain times.”
Lowering his voice, Nick quickly explained. “I have intel that they are going to attack Earth soon. They’re a race of conquerors, and no world has been victories against them.”
“Well, fuck that. You got a plan super cop?”
Edging the woman aside, Nick shoved his finger in the other man’s chest. “I’m no cop, you ass hat. I’m a goddam Navy Seal, earning his Trident.”
“Well, excuse the fuck out of me. What you going to be is dead if you keep rolling up on me that way, Hero. Now, do you have a plan, or don’t you?”
Smirking, Nick nodded. “We get ourselves out of here, mix and mingle with the other abductees, and learn everything we can about the Taron.” Lowering his voice even more he whispered. “When the time comes, we use it against them.”
“That’s not the best plan I’ve ever heard, but it will do until we can figure out something better.”
Both men turned to see the door being jerked open. Several bobble heads stepped through the doorway, eagerly looking where he had been lying. It took them a second to realize he was standing across the room.
Jax advised quietly. “Be a good boy, so you don’t get zapped again.”
Shooting him a dark look, Nick stepped forward to greet his abductors. His plan to keep his expression blank almost faltered when Jax spoke. “Be sure to bow. The big heads like humiliating display of submissiveness.”
Glancing over his shoulder, he responded. “You don’t sound much like a gun runner.”
“I’m an arms dealer, nimrod. There’s a difference.”
One of the aliens approached him with a syringe. Floating inside was a clear liquid with a little bead.
Jax muttered, “It’s the translator. Just let them shoot it in your neck.”
Standing before the tall sentients, Nick turned his head to give them the access they needed. The instrument jarred against his neck, and he felt a thick needle shoot out, puncturing his skin. The alien looked curiously down at him, blinking slowly.
Nick shoved down the need to gut the creature where he stood. Knowing what they had in store for Earth and that they’d wiped worlds clean of intelligent life galled him. A burning sensation drifted from the injection site to his head and rapidly spread to his chest. Gritting his teeth, he waited for the needle to come out.
Once the alien stepped back, still holding the poised injector, the others began to speak. At first, it was all just barking and screeching, and then the sounds morphed into words. Without willing it so, his mind clicked through their phrasing to select the right words.
“The fighter…hunter…warrior has woken.”
“I mental…think…wonder if we are a scared…terrifying sight to know…see…behold.”
Staring at the creatures intently, Nick zeroed in on understanding their words.
“I do not care for the way it sees…looks…stares. Does it not know we are Taron elite?”
“It is an animal. The Taron will be fortunate if it can know…Comprehend even part of what we say.”
Forcing his mouth to make the unfamiliar noises that his brain identified as correct, he spoke in a growly voice. “I know your words.”
The moment he spoke, all hell broke loose. The Taron began speaking so rapidly, it was impossible to follow, one drew a weapon, and before anyone could fire upon him, the door burst open.
The person who stalked through the door took him by surprise. If a Taron could be considered intimidating with their oversized head and long spindly arms, this one came close. He was taller than the others and wearing a stark black uniform. When he spoke, it was with the calm indifference of a military commander. “You will not harm the humond.” The man’s strange articulation of the word human led Nick to think maybe they didn’t know much about Earth or the human race.
“The animal speaks. It is not natural.”
“You will load him with a language program for the top five species aboard this vessel.”
“That will certainly kill the creature.”
Smiling malevolently, the military commander replied. “If it dies, then that is evidence of its weakness. If it survives, it will be our voice among the many.”
“I do not understand.”
“The Taron have long wished for a program that would afford full communication with our slaves.” Gesturing towards Nick, the commander’s face contorted into a mask of disgust. “Its brain must be different from the others. If it accepted one language program, perhaps it will accept many. The Taron only keep slaves that are useful. Properly conveying our wishes to the horde of slaves is of use, for it will relieve the Taron of the need to interact with them.”
Nick wondered why the aliens kept referring to themselves in the third person. It was kind of weird.
The aliens stood for a brief moment before their commander barked. “The Taron command has spoken. All Taron will obey.” His harsh words sent them all scurrying from the room.
Chapter 3
A Rocky Start
Music Mix
~ Nick ~
As the door shut behind them, a feminine voice broke the stillness of the room.
“If you have a God, now is the time to pray to him humond.”
Both he and Jax looked at the blue woman with new eyes. “You’re Taron?”
“I am as the gods have made me.”
“W
hat the hell does that even mean?” Jax’s crudeness aside, Nick was eager to hear her answer.
“My father was Taron, and my mother was…something else.”
Nick approached her, giving her another once over visually. “You don’t look like them. Your skin is smoother and lighter blue. They don’t have points on their ears like you do and your body is shaped…”
“I am aware of my flaws, humond. I do not need you to articulate them for me.”
“No need to get testy, mam. I was simply pointing out that you’re damned beautiful compared to the other Taron. Why do they have you locked up with us slaves? Did you do something to piss them off?”
Backing up against the wall, her eyes slid away. She looked a bit demoralized. “I dared to take my first breath. In their eyes, one such as me ranks lowest among the slaves. They will find a reason to destroy me soon. I can tell by the look in their eyes.”
Jax sniffed again. “What’s your name, Doll?”
Closing her eyes for a brief moment, she whispered. “I am called Zaphredinelyn.”
“That sounds beautiful when you say it out loud but can we call you Zaph for short?” Jax’s perfectly serious question, almost made him smile.
The woman stared at Jax for a long moment. “The word means mixed biology. It is the name the Taron use for the few of us who are not pure bloods. The Taron despise half breeds.”
Nick stepped closer to her. “I---you are going to become important to me, and I don’t like you being called that. How about we call you Acacia? In our language, it’s the word for a beautiful flower.” Running the tips of his fingers around the shell of her pointed ear, he watched in fascination as she trembled beneath his touch. “The name suits you because you’re perfect.”
“Never heard of it.” Jax’s disgruntled voice broke into their special moment.
“It’s like a mum, you philistine.”
A small voice drew his attention again. “You think I’m perfect?”