by Saxon Andrew
“What’s made you change your mind?”
“Your species kills each other.”
Essay tilted his head and shook it, “I can’t argue with you about that.” Essay paused, “Why are you still here?”
“Because there is beauty and evil in you. I find it difficult to leave you to face orbital bombardment and the enslavement of everyone on your planet.”
Essay saw the three leaders looking at each other and knew they were about to explode. He said, “Do you have any evidence to support what you’re telling us?”
“Before I send you the proof, I want the three idiots that are leading the most powerful nations on your planet to put together a missile with their most powerful warhead and launch it at my ship. I will allow it to remain visible.”
“Why would you do that?”
“It will add a certain meaning to the evidence I’m sending you. I’ll communicate with you again, Captain, after the attack.”
The terminal operator looked up, “The contact has ended, Sir.”
Hodges looked at the Premier, “Why would it do this?”
“A part of me thinks it might try to take the weapons fired at it and use them against us. But I know that’s my normal suspicious nature causing that thought.”
“It wants to show us that we are defenseless against it.” The three Leaders looked at Essay. “If what this being told us is true, it wants us to see that we will also be defenseless against this invader it mentions.”
Michaelov said, “It certainly doesn’t appear to be concerned about being hit with nuclear weapons.”
The Premier nodded, “Then hit it with a hundred.” Everyone snapped their head around and the Premier shrugged, “If it wants to prove we are defenseless, then take the opportunity to really see if we are.”
The President looked at the Premier, “We stopped our heavy-lifting rockets years ago. Would you use one of yours to boost the warheads into space?”
The Premier stared at the President and looked at Michaelov, “Why don’t both of us launch a payload at that vessel? He turned to Hodges, “If you will provide the warheads for the rockets, we will launch them.”
“How many warheads?”
“All of us know you have warheads with a hundred or more nuclear weapons on them. Send a multiple warhead to us and we’ll send them up. You’ll also need to provide the tracking system to direct them to that ship.”
Essay listened to them and shook his head. He found it hard to believe that the ship in orbit could survive that many nuclear blasts that all detonated simultaneously. He listened to them finalize their plans and then requested to go home and check on his children. Whitehall finally relented providing he was back the day before the launches.
• • •
Essay directed the helicopter over the forest and found the cabin after searching for twenty minutes. He pointed toward a small clearing a quarter of a mile away and the pilot moved down and hovered two feet above the brush. “Excellent flying, Lieutenant.”
“Thank you, Sir. I’ll be back in five days to pick you up.”
Essay nodded and went out on the bar supporting the wheels, dropped his backpack, and leapt to the ground. He waved at the departing helicopter and picked up his backpack. He smiled as he heard the shouts and yelling moving through the forest toward him. An instant later, his children burst out of the forest and sprinted across the field. Jim arrived first and dove into his chest and took both of them to the ground. Stella and Michael jumped on as they arrived. He hugged them and kissed them on their cheeks as Stella squealed at seeing him. He looked up and saw Col. Swanson smiling as she walked into the clearing. She looked different in jeans and a tee shirt. She wasn’t really beautiful but she was pretty, in her own way. Her brown hair was shoulder length and her brown eyes showed intelligence. Essay stood up and smiled, “Colonel, thank you for taking care of my children.”
“Call me Emily and I think it was them taking care of me. They heard the helicopter before I did and they were gone in an instant.”
Essay looked at them and Jim smiled, “She could hear it and know where we went, Dad.”
Essay still had them wrapped up in his arms and shook his head, “I’m too happy at seeing you to be angry. Let’s go to the cabin.”
The children ran away and Emily said, “I think they’re going to clean up their rooms before you arrive. I heard Michael say something about it as he shot out the front door.” Emily paused and said, “What’s happening?”
“Why don’t we wait until we get to the cabin? The children will want to hear it too. How are you doing?”
“It’s really easy to learn to care about your children. They’ve grown on me.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“That means they like you, too. Most of the ones I hire to care for them don’t last a day.”
“I can understand that.”
Essay laughed, “I imagine you can. Did they terrorize you initially?”
“It took three hours before I gave in and told them what was happening. I think they really respected that I would share that information with them.”
“That’s why they like you. You don’t treat them like children.”
“But they are children.”
“Yes, but they’ve been through a lot and they’re able to handle things better than most.”
“I have to say that they really helped getting things running here. I’m not an outdoors kind of person and they’ve helped me adjust.” Emily paused and looked at Essay, “What happened to their mother?”
Essay shook his head, “Cancer respects no one. She developed pancreatic cancer and was gone faster than any of us could cope with. We all miss her and know she’s watching over us.”
“Many people would have lost their faith over something like that?”
“I very well could have but she threatened to come down from Heaven and beat me senseless if I did. I don’t know why things like this happen. It’s one of the questions that all of us struggle with but I have to believe there was a reason and one day I’ll learn what it is.”
“How long ago did she die?”
“Five years. Michael was a toddler.”
“And you’ve never thought about finding someone else?”
“I’ve not run across anyone that I or the children could accept as a replacement. Maybe someday.” Emily nodded and walked up the steps to the cabin. Essay followed her and saw the children hug her as she entered the cabin. She returned their hugs and took a chair at the table. Jim and Stella took the other two chairs and six year old Michael sat in Essay’s lap.
Jim smiled, “So what’s going on with the Alien?”
“I actually spoke with it.”
“NO!” “THAT’S AWESOME!” “WHAT DID IT LOOK LIKE?”
“I spoke over a microphone and we did not receive an image.”
Emily tilted her head, “What are the Joint Chiefs going to do about it?”
“The Leaders of Russia, China, and our country were invited to fire their most powerful weapons at it.”
The Children were silent and Emily shook her head, “You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“No, I’m staying here for five days. I’ll be picked up the day before the launch.”
Jim looked at his father, “You’re not telling us something.”
Emily looked at Essay staring at Jim and said, “Is that true?”
Essay took a deep breath and tilted his head, “The Alien says that Earth is going to be invaded and all of humanity enslaved by them.”
Michael looked at Stella, “What does enslave mean?”
“It means if you don’t do what you’re told you’ll be beaten senseless.”
Essay smiled, “I think that’s as good a description as any.”
“Do you believe it?”
Essay looked at Emily, “I don’t want to.”
“But?”
“I’m afraid I do.”
“Is there a
nything we can do?”
“The Alien says it came here to assist us in preparing for it. But it is doubtful about assisting us.”
Stella nodded, “Humans kill other humans.” Essay looked at her shaking his head and she said, “We’re dumb about that.”
“Well, you’re right. I don’t know what’s going to happen but I want to start preparing against the day it might happen.”
“You’re going to start getting the cave ready again?”
Emily looked at them, “Cave?”
Essay nodded, “There’s a cave about a third of a mile from here that would make a perfect hideout. The children play there whenever they come up here and it can be a safe haven. I’ve spent a lot of weekends getting it ready.” Emily stared at him and he shrugged, “I’ve taught my children that you don’t just sit and do nothing if someone threatens you. I think the same way. The cave has its own water supply and I’ve installed a generator to power the electrical items I’ve installed. I’ve always brought propane whenever we came up here.”
Michael looked at Essay, “Can Emily come with us into the cave?”
Emily smiled and Essay saw Stella and Jim looking at him intently. Essay tilted his head and nodded, “She will be welcome to join us in the cave.”
“Why thank you.”
Michael leaned in and whispered, “But you have to keep it a secret.”
Essay nodded, “Just like all of you will have to keep what I’ve told you secret.” The three children raised their pinky fingers and put them together. Essay smiled, “They would never break a pinky promise.”
Emily stood up, “Why don’t I start supper while you catch up with each other. I’ll call you in when it’s ready.” Essay nodded and went outside and sat down on a rocker. The three children sat down at his feet and started asking questions. Before he knew it, supper was ready and he discovered that Col. Swanson was an excellent cook.
• • •
Later when the children were in bed Emily said, “Aren’t you worried about the children missing school?”
“Not really. They’ll catch up easily enough.” Essay looked at her, “How did you end up working with the Joint Chiefs?”
“Admiral Whitehall is my father.”
Essay’s eyes narrowed, “Your last name is Swanson.”
“I married a Navy Seal a week before he shipped out to Iraq. We felt we had to marry before he left and my father reluctantly agreed. He died three days after he arrived in-country.”
“You kept his name.”
“He deserved my respect. He had my love.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“He died about the same time your wife did. I’ve been pretty much alone since then and Father wanted me close to keep an eye on me. The Air Force assigned me to the Pentagon. He worried I might do something foolish.”
“Like?”
“You know. Go to be with Jack.”
Essay sighed, “I know the feeling. The children were the only thing that kept me focused on the present.”
“Jack and I didn’t have children. All I have to remember him is photos.”
Essay nodded and rocked as he looked up at the stars. Emily rocked in silence with him and they listened to the cicadas booming out their mating sounds. After a long time, Essay looked up and shook his head, “The stars don’t appear as beautiful as I remember them.”
“It’s not the stars. It’s what’s out there with them.” Essay nodded and looked at Emily, “We should go to bed. Michael is an early riser and he doesn’t do it quietly.”
“Tell me about it.”
“I’ll take the couch.”
“No, I can sleep on the couch.”
“I insist. It’s a lot better than the sleeping bags I’m accustomed to.”
“Well…if you insist.”
“I do.”
“Good-night, Essay.”
“Good-night, Emily.”
• • •
Kam sat in his chair and thought about what he could say to this violent species to convince them they must change their ways. He shook his head and them remembered what the old Kindred had said, “Words are the most powerful thing in the universe.” He lowered his head and began to understand what he said. He struggled to find the words he would need. He looked at the planet below him and sighed. He put the helmet on and felt the connections linking his mind with the ship. The time to complete the linkage was much shorter. Instead of the twenty minutes the first linkages took to complete, they were completed in less than eight seconds now. “Do you have recordings of Traugh invasions?”
“Every invasion is stored on all databases to assist new ship commanders in learning the strategies to make their invasions successful.”
“Condense those recordings into shorter videos that have the most violent images of each invasion. Prioritize them by the numbers of inhabitants killed with the highest numbers first.”
“Query.”
“Yes.”
“Are you looking for the most violent scenes in each recording?”
“I am.”
“Does that include space battles?”
“No, focus on the attacks made on the planet. A good place to start each recording is with the invasion warships dropping on the planets they’re attacking.”
“Working.”
Three days later, Kam pulled up the videos and began watching them. After an hour he said, “Cease working and erase all but the first twenty.” He paused and said, “Add the invasion of the Kindred to the bottom of the list.”
“Do you want the same structure as the others?”
“Yes but I want the last five minutes to show the deaths of Kindred Females in Traugh communities.”
“Working.”
Kam pulled up the first video and began narration of what he was seeing. By the end of the last recording, he was physically sick from what he saw. He took off the helmet and went to his quarters.
Chapter Four
Essay stood in the clearing with his bag and listened for the helicopter. It was due in twenty minutes but he wanted to be early. The children had walked out to the clearing but Essay told them to go back to the cabin to work on their lessons. They kissed him and he promised that he would be back soon. The reluctantly walked away and Emily looked at him, “Will you be able to keep that promise?”
“I will or die trying if things go to hell in a handbasket.”
“If you don’t mind, I’m going to make a quick trip into Washington.”
“The children will be fine. Where are you going?”
“Jack prided himself on his gun collection. Some of them are highly illegal automatic weapons but the Government left him alone because of his occupation. I’m going to bring them out to the cave.”
Essay stared at her and, after a moment, nodded, “Do you have enough ammunition?”
“Like I said, Jack was proud of his collection. I’ll bring enough to fight a small war.”
Essay stared at her and his eyes softened, “Emily…I…”
“I know, Essay. I’m a part of your family now. I’ll be waiting for you to come back.”
Essay stepped forward and hugged her. He held her tight and smiled, “I’ve been wanting to do that since the night on the front porch.”
Emily leaned back and kissed him, “I wanted more than a hug.”
Essay nodded and pulled her close, “I don’t know where this is going but I want us to go together.”
“My heart feels alive again. I want to see where this leads as well.” Essay heard the distant thumping and sighed, “We should have talked about this before now.”
“That’s the story of my life, Essay. Things just have a way of happening at the last moment. Just make sure you come back!”
Essay nodded and stepped back as the helicopter appeared over the tree line. It moved lower and hovered a few feet above the clearing. Essay ran forward, threw his duffle bag into the open door and climbed into the passenger’s chair and kept his eyes on
Emily as the helicopter rose. She could see his expression and watched him until the helicopter disappeared. She turned and started walking toward the cabin. She wondered what was happening but refused to question it. By the time she arrived at the cabin she had decided that the children would make the trip with her. They could help her move everything into the large government SUV. Besides, she had to teach them how to shoot. They needed to become comfortable with firearms. Hopefully, they would never be needed. But one just never knew what would happen.
• • •
The Helicopter landed on the helipad on the pentagon and Essay jumped out and headed toward the War Room. He went through security and went to his chair at the rear of the huge room. He saw Admiral Whitehall come through the door and look at him. He excused himself from General Thurman and walked over, sat down in the chair next to him, and smiled, “How is Col. Swanson doing?”
“Emily is fine, Sir. She’s doing an outstanding job taking care of my children.”
“She told you her first name?”
“Yes Sir.”
“Did she mention her husband?”
“She told me about him, Sir.”
Whitehall stared at Essay and then nodded, “Take care of her, Captain.” Whitehall stood and walked away leaving Essay wondering what he meant.
Whitehall looked up at the monitor and saw the countdown reducing in numbers. He looked at Essay and then announced, “We will be leaving momentarily to join the other Joint Chiefs and the President at Cheyenne Mountain.” He looked at Essay, “Your duffle bag is already on board our transport.”
Essay’s eyes opened wide and Whitehall looked at him, “I will bring your children to Cheyenne if the situation calls for it.” Essay nodded and stood up with the other staff members and exited the room. He boarded a huge military transport with everyone and buckled in. He began to worry that keeping his promise about coming back had just been made extremely difficult. He worried about how he could get home if things went to hell but decided that there was nothing he could do about it at the moment. He settled in and tried not to worry. The transport arrived in Wyoming and landed at Cheyenne Mountain Air Base. Vehicles were lined up to transport them to the NORAD Complex and the trip took about thirty minutes to complete. It took more than an hour to move through the numerous security checkpoints to arrive at the nerve center far below the surface. Essay had never seen the complex and it made the War Room look tiny in comparison. Giant monitors covered every available space on the walls and all of them had different images on them.