Coming Home

by Jack McDevitt

  And then there were the contributions of his nephew: Largely due to Alex’s efforts, the mystery of the lost Seeker had been resolved, and relations with the Ashiyyur had greatly improved. He congratulated Alex, and we spent the better part of a week celebrating.

  Eventually, everything went back to the old normal. Gabe began rolling his eyes at Alex’s activities, but he was no longer saying anything. In response, Alex usually just smiled tolerantly. So, okay, you have to recognize that some things never really change.

  A few weeks after we’d returned, Alex took off halfway around the world for an antiquities conference, and Gabe joined an archeological team which had discovered a four-thousand-year-old space platform. I was alone in my office, holding the fort. I was happiest when one or the other was out of the building. Or preferably both. It made for a quiet, relaxed atmosphere.

  I’d taken eight or nine calls that morning when Jacob announced one that surprised me. Lawrence Southwick, wearing a happy smile, was on the circuit. “Chase,” he said, “it’s good to see you again. How are you doing?”

  “I’m fine, thank you, Lawrence. How’s the Larissa effort making out?”

  “That’s why I called. Is Alex available?”

  “He’ll be out of town for a few days. Can I help you?”

  “You going to be in this afternoon?”

  “Yes. After two o’clock.”

  “All right. I’ll come by about three if that’s okay.”

  * * *

  “He’s carrying a package,” said Jacob. “And he has someone with him. A woman.”

  “Do we know her?”

  “I do not recognize her.”

  I met them at the door, and my jaw dropped. Madeleine O’Rourke. She smiled defensively. “Hello, Chase,” she said. “I hope you’ll let me in.”

  “Chase,” said Lawrence, “you know Heli, of course.” The package was tucked under one arm.

  “Of course.” I kept my voice as level as I could. “You’ll be happy to hear, Heli, that we didn’t get eaten by sharks.”

  She nodded. “I’d like to apologize. I guess we went a little bit overboard.”

  “You did?”

  “Chase,” said Lawrence, “Heli has felt badly about what happened. What she did was at my direction. So it’s really my fault. We needed something that would—”

  I was staring at Tokata. “How did you know where to find us?”

  She squirmed while Southwick responded: “I have to take responsibility for that, too, I guess. I stayed in touch with Luciana. She mentioned that you’d indicated you would go to Eisa at some point. So Heli simply called Khaled. I am sorry. We meant no harm.”

  “Let’s let it go, Lawrence, okay?” I turned away and led them into my office. “What do you need?”

  “Some coffee would be good,” said Tokata.

  I got it for them. And poured myself a cup, though at that moment I could have used something stronger. “Have you been back to Larissa yet?”

  They looked at each other and smiled. “We have. We thought you would be interested in seeing this.” He laid the package on my desk.

  “You found something.”

  “Actually, we found a few things. But we especially wanted to show this to you and Alex.” I looked at it. “Go ahead,” he said. “Unwrap it.”

  I peeled off the packaging and revealed a curved, stainless-steel plaque. It was rectangular, roughly nine by eight inches, with two globes representing the Earth. And the inscription:

  HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH

  FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE MOON

  JULY 1969, A. D.

  WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND

  At bottom were the signatures of the three astronauts, Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. And, of course, Richard Nixon, identified as president of the United States.

  “We found a few other items, as well.” He handed me a sheet of paper listing them. A display screen from an early starship, a radio from the Mars colony, spectacles from an unknown source. (It’s hard to believe people once ran around wearing those things.) Several other items. But they were all insignificant in comparison to the plaque.

  “We’re donating everything to the Winnipeg Science Museum. In Garnett’s name.”

  “You could never have kept it secret.”

  “I guess not,” he said. “I don’t know what we were thinking. Anyhow, we’re making sure that Alex gets some credit, too. Both of you.”

  “I just do the paperwork,” I said.

  Heli got out of her chair and extended her hand. “Congratulations, Chase.”