And What of Earth?

by Stuart Collings

  “The guard detail!” She lowered the barrel again, and forced the weapon to see through the westside stands, a number of feet of soil and bedrock and a house. “Oh my God! Rafe’s hurt!” Without hesitating, she ran out onto the football field and up the stairs to street level. “Disarm. Hide,” she told the weapon as she sprinted up the last of the stairs.

  “Mother, you cannot go out there. It is not yet secured.” The male looked like he wanted to physically restrain her, but couldn’t bring himself to do it.

  “My friend is hurt. I am going out there. Do not try and stop me.” She unmasked and stepped through. Rafe Dixon was on the asphalt, propped up on his right elbow. “Rafe, are you okay? Stay down!”

  The male exited right behind her. “Jennifer Hodges, please return to the field. It is unsafe out here.”

  “I will in a minute. First, I will tend to my friend. I’m a trained medical technician.” She used the Wakiran term for nurse. “Stay still, Rafe. Let me check you out. Did you hit your head?”

  Rafe licked his lips. “I never thought a girl could look beautiful in orange.”

  “Answer my question. Did you hit your head?”

  “No,” came his reply. “I thought that I felt heat from behind my left shoulder, so I dropped down. I could’ve sworn that it exploded.”

  The male spoke. “The barrier absorbed the energy.” He switched to their language. “Mother please. I beg of you. Get behind the barrier. I cannot protect you.” He started to reach for her arm.

  “Hold!” she yelled at him, in his language. “I will go with you in a moment. I must tend to my friend.”

  She checked his pupils, and got him to follow her finger with his eyes. She helped him to sit up. “Anything broken? Are you dizzy or feeling confused?”

  “I’m fine. I probably will have a sore arm for a day or two. That’s all.”

  Two jeeps pulled up. On their radio, she heard that people had been seen running from the church, screaming that there was a rocket in the bell tower. A man in a captain’s uniform jumped out and hurried over. “Is everything alright? Are the aliens unharmed?”

  Jennifer pulled Rafe up to his feet. “Captain, there are three terrorists in that grey and white house you passed near Briar. Two are either unconscious or dead in the backyard. One is unconscious in the living room. He killed the owner of the house, Mrs. Hudson. There are three others in the church, two in the bell tower and one in the pastor’s office. The man that had been in the van watching the church is dead, I think. Send teams to go door-to-door to see if there are any others hiding nearby. And, come to think of it, send a heavily armed team to the electronics factory — it’s the only building in the industrial park. If I was trying to hide, that’s where I’d go.”

  “Yes, Ma’am!”

  Ma’am? Just being polite? “Radio General Comiston and tell him that everyone behind the barrier is unharmed. He’s probably having kittens right now.” She turned to Rafe. “Are you sure you didn’t smack your head on the pavement?” He shook his head. “The minute you start feeling dizzy or confused, or you get a headache, head for a hospital immediately. Understood?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. I understand.”

  Ma’am? From a friend? Then I am right!

  “Jennifer Hodges. Please come with me now. It is not safe.”

  “I’m coming. Try to stay safe, guys.” As she got to the barrier, six hands reached through to pull her back in. To the male who had exited with her, she said, “Notify the Mission Commander that he will be receiving a guest momentarily.” She turned around to look through the barrier. Sure enough, a third jeep arrived, carrying a distraught general.

  The appearance of her bodiless head and chest sticking through the barrier startled the general. He seemed oblivious to the ‘clothes’ she was wearing. “Deep breaths, General. Everything inside is fine. None of the Wakira were hurt. I take it that you’ve come to apologize to Myka.”

  “I had thought that we had the situation under control. I can’t believe this has happened.” He removed his holster and handed it to an adjutant. “Is he angry?”

  “I don’t know. I haven’t spoken with him yet. He does know that you’re on your way to see him.” She reached out both hands to grasp his. “It’s freaky the first time, General. Just walk forward and let me pull you through. You’ll find it easier if you close your eyes.”

  He balked. “Just walk through?”

  “Yeah. You’ll feel a weird tingle, and if your eyes are closed, you’ll see bursts of color. Just don’t stand in the barrier for too long. It hurts. Just like it is right now.” She smiled what she hoped was an encouraging smile. “C’mon. Welcome to my daily routine.”

  Hesitantly, he moved forward, closed his eyes, and stepped through the barrier.

  “You can open them now.” As he did, she said, “Welcome to Wonderland.”

  He turned and looked back through the barrier. “We can see them! And hear them!”

  Her smile was wolfish then bashful. “Kinky cool, huh? C’mon, I’ll walk you to Myka.” They headed down the stairs to field level. “As far as I know, they don’t actually bite off the heads of people who have displeased them, so you should be okay.” She looked closely at him. He said nothing; his eyes fixed straight ahead. “That was supposed to be funny. You were supposed to laugh and relax.”

  “I don’t find any of this funny, Miss Hodges. My job was and is to keep us safe from the Wakira, and to keep the Wakira safe from us. Five thousand troops manning two perimeters, and another 100 patrolling the town, and they still got a shot off at the aliens. This is totally unacceptable. If it were me — if I was the alien commander in this scenario — I would be livid. I would think that the natives were either sloppy with the protection or complicit with the attack. How do I face him?”

  She put a hand on his shoulder as they finished the last dozen steps to field level. “Like you did with me just now. Tell him how shocked and dismayed you are. And ashamed. Tell him where you think your scheme failed, and what you think you need to do to fix it. It has to be fixed in less than 5 days. This place has to be safer than the White House. This whole town has to. That’s how you face him. They publicly humiliate those who don’t try hard enough and fail. Those who take their failures seriously, and show that they are taking corrective steps are forgiven. Show him that you are horribly distraught over what has happened. And I can tell that you genuinely are. Hide nothing. Be completely honest and forthright. It will win you back the respect that he had for you when he first met you.”

  They reached the main hatch of the survey ship and stopped in front of the sentry. “The Terran general is here to apologize to the Mission Commander,” she told him in their language.

  “The Mission Commander is expecting him in his office.”

  Jennifer discreetly took the general’s arm and boarded the ship. “I thank you, male,” she told the sentry. She walked the general down the corridor to the office that had become so familiar to her.

  To his credit, Myka was not sitting behind his desk. Rather, he was sitting in a chair next to the couch. This was going to be a discussion between two equals, not a dressing down done by a superior. Jennifer guided Comiston to a spot on the couch next to where Myka was sitting. There were no pleasantries.

  Jennifer spoke to Myka in the language. “You look like I need to exit the ship in order for you to be able to think clearly.”

  He raised his left hand and swivelled it back and forth. “I am still Walking in Bliss, Beloved. It should have subsided by now, but it hasn’t.”

  Jennifer smiled. “I have never had that effect on males in the past.” She hesitated a second, then said, “Myka, I think you should tell him. He needs to know.” He looked quizzically at her. “I’m not ordering you as your mate. I am recommending that you do so, as your Terran advisor. He needs to know. In order for him to understand the gravity of the situation, he needs to know.”

  After a moment’s hesitation, he said “I agree,” in Eng
lish.

  Jennifer turned to Comiston. “I’ll leave you two alone to discuss military things. I’ll go around the neighborhood and reassure everyone that everything is okay. No barbecue tonight though. See you at lunch tomorrow?”

  “If the president hasn’t demanded my resignation, or called me to Washington to get reamed, I’ll be there.”

  “The three of us make a good team. You tell whomever you have to talk to that I said so. Replacing you would be the worst mistake they could make.” She walked to the door, and turned back to face them. “I thank you, Beloved,” she told her mate in his language, then quickly left the ship.

  Chapter 16

  When Jennifer approached the alien sentry Monday morning, he handed her a small rod-like device. She knew that it was a portable virtual display device, a device that would create a virtual display similar to the ones on board the ship. Poke had shown her how they worked, and had programmed this particular one to display menu choices in English. It was connected to the ship’s computer network (by quantum entanglement?), so she could access their unrestricted data. She knew that a new list of common root words was there waiting for her to learn, during quiet periods at the clinic. She tucked the device into the pocket of her scrubs top, thanked the sentry, then headed for the clinic.

  Jennifer had some pointed questions to ask Bethy when she got to the clinic, but decided to hold off. She was afraid that they would sound too accusatorial. She also thought that she might have to admit to certain things that she felt the Wakira wanted to keep secret. They chatted for a moment about all the excitement from the previous afternoon, then Bethy left, dragging herself the 8 blocks to her house for some much-needed sleep.

  Jennifer had 3 patients that morning, the most she had had in quite some time. They were simple cases — two needing 3 or 4 stitches and one needing some antihistamine spray for an allergic skin reaction. In between, she managed to play a little with the virtual display, and poked around the unrestricted data space of the alien computer network. “Hmm. I wonder if I can access my old email account in Brookings?” she joked aloud.

  Mid-morning, she had a military visitor — the captain who had been the first to arrive at the barrier. “Ma’am, I came to tell you that of the two men who we found in the backyard, one was dead of a skull fracture, and the other severed his spine at C-8. He will be paralyzed for the rest of his life. The one we found in the living room of the house, and the three at the church have only just starting regaining consciousness. All five are in custody and are about to be questioned. One other terrorist was found in the factory. There was a short gun battle, and he was fatally wounded. We found a small cache of weapons there. The man that had been posted across from the church was found dead. The autopsy revealed that death was quick and painless. He never knew what hit him.”

  Jennifer was somber for a moment. “The nearby houses were searched?”

  “Yes Ma’am. We found no one who didn’t belong there.”

  She felt relieved and nodded. “What about the General? Is he getting his ass kicked somewhere?”

  “I believe that he got a phone call from the President yesterday evening. He was still in command as of 40 minutes ago.”

  “Good. He and I work well together. And the alien commander genuinely likes him. Is there anything else?”

  “No Ma’am. That’s it.”

  “Thank you, Captain. I wondered if anyone would tell me what had happened afterwards.” She hesitated, as did he. He’s waiting for permission to leave, isn’t he? She screwed up some courage and said, “Dismissed.”

  “Thank you, Ma’am.” He turned smartly and left.

  Jennifer slouched in her chair and pulled on her ponytail. Oh Bethy, what the heck did you do?!

  At 12:05, Comiston arrived with the day’s lunch. Jennifer playfully offered to find a cushion for his sore butt.

  “My butt’s okay,” he told her almost gruffly. “It’s the third-degree burns of my left ear that hurt.” He sat in his chair while Jennifer divvied up the meal. He caught her hand after she had plopped down his bottled water. “How are you holding up?” he asked her, strangely tenderly.

  “Ummm. I’m okay?” she answered hesitantly. She slowly drew her hand back and backed up into her chair. “Just what did Myka tell you?”

  “Everything. You were under enough pressure just liaising with the Wakira. I can’t imagine what you’re going through now.”

  She suddenly lost interest in the food. “He told you everything? I thought he was just going to tell you who was going to be visiting.”

  The general ignored his food as well. “He’s worried about you. He knows that you’re torn. He also recognizes that the feelings he has for you are not the same that you feel for him. That you’re leaving here not out of love for him, but in order to keep the Empire from self-destructing. So, how are you holding up?”

  She peeled back the burger wrapper but left the burger sitting there. “I keep thinking that I’ve reconciled myself to leaving, then I suddenly find myself in denial. When I was young, I desperately wanted to leave this town. I was so happy when David got me the scholarship to the college in Minnesota. Now, I’m sad that I’m leaving. My dad. David and Amelia. Barb and Bethy. This perch overlooking Twin Elm and Main. And all of my dreams. Everything that once made me happy. When I think about it too long, I end up going to the back to do inventory.” He knew that it meant that she would disappear from public view so she could cry. “I did inventory three times Friday afternoon.” Her eyes dropped down to her meal, but she couldn’t seem to see it. “Thankfully, either Barb or Bethy noticed the tissue box was nearly empty, and got a couple of new ones. Unless I can get a hold of my emotions soon, they’ll be empty before the week is —.” He knew what the missing word was. Over.

  He grabbed his salad and started picking at it. “I’m sorry,” he said after a few minutes of silence. She didn’t look over at him. “I’m sorry that this is happening to you. All I can do is hope that you”ll end up finding joy when you’re there.”

  Again, there was silence. Slowly, she picked up the burger and bit into it. After swallowing her biteful, she said, “There is something that they have said to me, several times, since the bonding and the joining. ‘It is what it is’. A cop-out of interstellar proportions, but so so true in this case. When I truly accepted the fact that I was going to leave everything to be a mother figure to billions of aliens, the symbiote approved of me. Sometime in the future, she will appoint me. And I’ll be responsible for the safety and wellbeing of a hundred plus billion Wakira. When I detach myself from my situation — and I do that when the sadness gets to be too much — I think how patently absurd all of this is. Stuff of third-rate fairy tales. Drugged apples and frogs that talk seem less absurd to me. But it is what it is. Even that sounds absurd —.”

  After Comiston’s departure, Jennifer turned her attention to the word list. She suspected that Poke would be quizzing her this evening, to gauge just how good her language skills were, and where her weaknesses lay. And, perhaps even to check to see if she was actually spending time studying. No need to worry about that, Jennifer thought to herself. I have to be as close to fluent as possible before the Emperor arrives. Five days! How am I going to become fluent in a completely alien language in just five more days?

  About 30 minutes later, an Army colonel entered the clinic. “Miss Hodges. We need to get you out of here. We’ve received a credible threat against you. We need to get you to a safe place.”

  She looked up at him. “A credible threat? How could anyone manage to get to me? This is one of the most protected towns in the world. The threat was dealt with yesterday —. When did this news come in?”

  “Mid-morning. We don’t have time to talk, Miss Hodges. We have to get you out of here now.”

  Mid-morning? General Comiston didn’t mention a threat, nor did the captain. And Comiston would’ve thrown up an impenetrable wall between me and the street if he knew of one. She tapped a few virtual k
eys and got the live stream from the device sitting above the clock behind her. “Has General Comiston been informed?”

  “He was made aware of the threat immediately. Miss Hodges, we can discuss this once we get to safety.”

  While he was talking, her fingers quickly raced over the virtual keyboard. Finally, she asked “Who are you really? General Comiston just had lunch with me. I would think if he had known that I was in danger, that he would’ve told me to leave with him.” Before he had a chance to respond, the virtual display gave her his identity.

  “We don’t have time for this. When the threat was first detected this morning, it was low-level — improbable. It’s now considered credible and imminent. We truly don’t have time for this.”

  “You’re no Army colonel,” she accused him. “You’re a spook. Special Agent Richard Bryant. Or should I say disgraced Special Agent Richard Bryant.” She looked up at him. “Aren’t you supposed to be in Virginia or Maryland or wherever at a disciplinary hearing? Aren’t you actually under suspension?”

  His right hand reached for his holster. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, Miss Hodges. Let’s go now.”

  In a calm clear voice, she uttered about two dozen syllables, which Bryant didn’t understand. “What did you just do?”

  “I spoke to the ship hovering overhead.” She kept her voice steady, even though her heart was racing.

  “What did you say? What did you say?!” He put his hand on the pistol grip.

  She forced herself to smile. Another 30 seconds or so, I think. “Loosely translated it was ‘Hey guys, some spook is trying to kidnap me’.” She looked at the tiny camera that the Army had installed in one of the small windows that overlooked Twin Elm. I sure hope you guys heard that.