by J. M. Hagan
“Good voyage, Cane.”
The door shut, and he was taken down to face his destiny.
17
Location: Europa
“So, is there anything else, or are we done for the time being?” asked Jack, rubbing his drooping eyes. They had been in that briefing room for what could have been hours. “I think I could actually sleep now.”
“Yeah,” said Claudia. “Me too.”
“There is one last thing,” said Europa. “I would consider it good news.”
Jack smirked. “Well, Jesus, lay it on us. It might be the last good news we ever get; the way things are going...”
“I have installed software to the coms in your room. You can connect them wirelessly to your mobile phones – it will boost the signal significantly. We’re still in range of Earth, for now.”
They got out of their chairs as one. “Our phones are working?” cried Jack, excited.
“Affirmative,” she replied. “Perhaps you should all return to your rooms, and…”
They were out the door and in the lift before she even finished the sentence. They all sped to their rooms. Then they convened at the doors, nobody willing to take that final leap ahead yet.
“This is gonna be awkward,” blared Jack, after he thought about it. “I mean, what do we tell them? That we’re here, on Europa? Or, I dunno, we’ve all run away to Europe to become lousy beat-nicks?”
“I just hope my Dad answers,” said Anderson. “He might be on a plane. Damn. I really hope he isn’t. I need to say goodbye to him. I’m all he’s got…”
Jack put a hand on his shoulder, as Anderson bit on his thumb. “Man, it’ll be okay. Just relax. Take a breath. Let’s just go and talk to our families. I’ll leave it up to you, what you want to tell them. But I’m gonna tell my family the truth. I think they deserve it. I wouldn’t go telling anyone else, though. We need to keep this under wraps. Or, trust me, we won’t have lives to go back to anyway.”
“You’re right,” agreed Claudia. “People would never look at us the same again, whether they believe us, or not.”
*
Cane was at her bedside, while Siena lay in recovery. The medical pod had worked its magic, and she was on the mend. “So, what are you planning to do with me?” asked Siena glumly.
Cane considered his answer briefly, watching as she nervously itched her arm and looked to the other side of the room. For someone trained as a spy, she does not have the kind of steely composure I would expect…
“We haven’t decided yet.”
Somewhat relieved, Siena glanced at him and then lay back in her bed. “Why are you here?” she questioned.
“I am here to listen to what you have to say.”
“Concerning what?”
“Concerning…how it is that you got here?”
Siena crossed her arms. “I…followed him.” The wrinkles forming around her falling eyes suggested shame.
“A poor choice.”
“Yes. Many people make them. I know that is no excuse, but it’s the truth. We are taught what we believe by our parents. My father was Amataius. Given that, it’s safe to assume I could have turned out much worse.”
As she delivered her last sentence, Siena stared into his eyes, and he knew what she was thinking of – the moment when she spared his life.
“Which is why I am here talking with you at all,” he said, his cross brow riding her of her self-righteousness in a flash. “You tried to help him destroy an entire world. We are yet to find out how many innocents were killed on Plysar.”
“I failed my mission,” Siena blared in her defence, so strongly that it agitated her wound and she grimaced in pain.
Cane put his hand softly on her shoulders and eased her back. “Be careful,” he warned her, with a doctor’s authority. “There is no need for raised voices. We are having a discussion, not an argument.”
His wide brown eyes held her locked in the stare until she relented with a nod, her brow falling into a sorrowful frown. “I didn’t know,” she cried. “When they first took me to him, I didn’t know what he was expecting from me. I sought him out because he was my family. I wasn’t like his other children. I didn’t grow up in some facility.”
Siena welled up. She turned her head to the side and wept.
“My mother…she died when I was a teenager. I had nowhere else to turn,” she admitted painfully, thumping the bed with her fist as strong as she could manage. “My mother took me to a border colony when I was young. She tried to hide me away from him. But I found out who he was, and when I saw him on Media-1, giving one of his grand speeches, back when many people were fooled into believing he was anything other than…a monster…I romanticised how he could be in person. I grew up tough. The place I lived, you had to be able to take care of yourself. When I reached my father, he asked me what I was good at. I gave the first answer to come into my head, to try and impress him. Fighting, I said. After that conversation, he sent me away. I didn’t even stay the night. They took me to a hidden facility, and trained me for years. I don’t know if he planned to be caught. All I know is, it seemed to benefit his plans, barbaric as they were, if he’d succeeded, he would’ve reshaped our galaxy. I believed that was what I should do, help him achieve that. That was…until they told me what he expected of us. He wanted me to attack Plysar with whatever ship I landed on, and if it didn’t have weapons, I was expected to dive it into a highly populated area. I’d been conditioned to do as I was told. The moment when I broke that conditioning was when I stood over you…aiming that gun.” She looked away, sniffling. “They tried to make me like him…”
Cane eased back into his seat, seeing exhaustion weigh heavily on her brow. “We will talk again when you are rested.”
Siena nodded, still facing the other way, and he heard her sobbing as he headed for the door. Only time will determine her fate. With Europa watching her every second of the day, I will be at ease as she attempts to find her strength. She will grow, or she will wither, but it is entirely up to her…
*
Jack stood in his room looking at the screen. Three rings had taken a lifetime.
Calling Bimbo…
The call was answered. He swallowed.
“Hello, Jack?” Brigid cried. “Are you okay? There’s police everywhere!”
“Brigid, yes, I’m fine.” God. I forgot about that. “Where are you? Are you with, Dad?”
“Yes. We’re together. The whole town is being evacuated. We left as soon as we could. We looked everywhere for you, Jack. We even reported you as missing to the authorities!”
“Brigid. I’m okay. Just…look, you have to just listen to me. I’ve got something I need to tell you…”
What followed was the craziest conversation he’d ever had with his family. They knew he was telling the truth, even when he mentioned the words aliens, spaceships, laser guns, and the fact that he was now talking to them from outer space. It all took a lot of explaining and convincing for a while. Then they were just listening, hanging on every word.
He had been on loudspeaker, but his Dad kept shouting and he begged Brigid to switch it off again, using interference as an excuse. Regardless, he could still hear his Dad’s overwhelming voice in the background.
“If I find out you’re pulling my chain, ya wee bollix, I’m gonna knock your pan in!”
“Dad, I’m not. I’m being totally serious here.”
“My only son – adopted by bloody aliens? I mean, abducted. Whatever ya call it! There’s no way this is happening!”
“Dad, the alien is dead. The guy we’re with, he’s human, like us.”
“Human? What the…?”
“I dunno. It’s crazy, man. Serious.”
“Give me back the phone,” he heard Brigid yap. “Jack, can you hear me?”
“Yes, Brigid.”
“Jack, they didn’t probe you or anything, did they?”
“No!” he blared. The thought hadn’t entered his head until then. Nobody is
gonna take that route with me! “Of course not!”
“What about, Mark, and Claudia? Are they okay?”
“Yes. They’re fine.” He shook his head as he rubbed his brow. “I think they’re talking to their families at the moment.”
“Oh, gosh. Dad, maybe we should go and check on them?”
His Dad’s loud voice came through clearly: “Not tonight. I need a beer, after all of this! Scratch that, I need whiskey! Brigid, we’re phoning in sick tomorrow. We need to get drunk and deal with this.”
“You see what you’ve done?” Brigid complained. “Now, I’ll have to listen to him all night!”
“All night?! I’ll be fretting over this all year!”
“Enough,” cried Jack, and they went quiet. “I’m almost out of range. Just…believe in me, okay? Say a few prayers. If all goes well, I’ll be back before you know it.”
“That’s if all goes well,” said Brigid, deeply worried. “Jack, please…please be careful. Don’t do anything stupid. Please…”
“I won’t,” he said. “I promise. Look, I, ugh, gotta go. I wanna make another call while I can.”
Brigid gasped. “To, Erika?”
“Who the hell is, Erika?!” his Dad moaned.
She really is going to get tortured by him for a while because of all this. The old man will be losing his mind with worry.
“She’s his girlfriend.”
“She’s not my girlfriend. We only had one date. I just like her is all.”
“Jack, don’t go telling her this story,” Brigid warned. “I mean, we barely believed you. Only reason why we didn’t hang up is because we love you.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll think of something…”
“Give me that bloody phone,” his Dad yapped, and he heard the handset ruffle as it switched hands. “Jack. Do like your sister said, be careful. Okay, kido?”
“Okay, Dad.”
“Good lad. Now…if I find out this is a bloody, whatcha-ma-call-it, reality TV show, or a wind-up, I’m gonna break your friggin’ legs!”
“Love you, too, big guy.”
He heard the handset switch hands again. “Here, Brigid, say goodbye to your brother,” he said, like he’d just burst into tears.
“Jack…”
“…I’m glad you had to go get ready.”
“Of course,” she said, sighing after. “I wanted to look good…for, Mark.”
Jack’s eyes lifted. He laughed, but he wasn’t happy. “Hold on, Anderson? You…?”
“He’s cute,” she replied, chuckling. “Of course, I like him. He’s the sweetest guy in the world.” I know. But, c’mon, you’re my sister! He’s my best friend! I should be angry…
“It’s funny…I find myself wondering how that might have been…”
“Take care of them both, Jack. Don’t…don’t let, Claudia, go too deep into herself. You know what she’s like…”
“Yeah. I know. Don’t worry. I’m gonna protect them both.”
“Good…and, Jack…make it home safe...”
He looked up, tears in his eyes as he sniffled. “I will, bimbo.”
“Love you, too, big bro.”
Jack hung up. Then he sat and wept for a while, feeling his emotions run wild.
He wiped his eyes and lay back on his bed, sighing. “God. That was tough. Europa, did they get through to their parents?”
“Yes, Jack. They are still speaking with them.”
"Good. Europa, I gotta make another phone call," said Jack.
"Yes," said Europa. "We're still in range."
"I've got someone else to say goodbye to…"
"Go ahead, Jack. I'm boosting your device’s signal. Call out the name of the contact you would like to connect with."
He grinned, looking up with a sigh. "Erika."
The call rang almost immediately. It rang and rang and there was no response until it reached her voicemail. "Cut it off," he commanded, waving his hand. "I don't wanna leave a damn message." Just as he shut his eyes and wondered if it'd been for the best, his phone rang. His eyes lit up.
"Jack, would you like to answer?"
He waited, taking a few breaths as he stared at her picture on the screen. "Yes."
"Hello?"
"Hey."
"What's up?"
"Um...I'm leaving town for a while."
She went silent.
"I'm sorry. It's unavoidable. It's something important...and I don't actually want to go. It's just...I have no choice. And you probably think I'm an asshole, and I'm doing this because I'm dumping you or something..."
"Dumping me? Are you crazy? We had one date," she complained. "Jack...what's going on? Are you okay? You sound weird."
"Yeah. I am. But..."
He couldn't believe it. Even then, after hearing that, she was still together, still cool.
"...look...we had one date. But I just..." He welled up, then waited a second to shield his voice against the emotion. "I wish there could've been more. I had a great time," he said, overwhelmed by a bout of goofy laughter.
She went silent again, and he bit on his thumb.
"Honestly..." He rubbed the back of his head nervously. "...maybe, someday, if I ever get back home..."
"Why are you going?" she asked, and her soft tone had him believing that she really did care as much as he hoped she did.
"I don't have a choice," he admitted.
"Where are you going?"
"Back to my family in Ireland."
"Wait...your family aren't terrorists, are they?"
"No. My Dad is a fat trucker, like his Dad before him."
Erika chuckled a little. "Ugh...Jack...this sucks. I actually...like you…"
I like you…
*
The next morning, they were woken up by an alarm at 5:30am. When Jack got up, Europa told him: “Cane, will be here for you in ten minutes to begin your morning run. Please do whatever you must to prepare before then.”
Morning run? I guess we should start exercising regularly.
When he went out into the corridor a few minutes later, he found Anderson waiting. He smiled at Jack. “Good morning.”
I feel like I should be giving this son-of-a-bitch the “Hey, dude, stay away from my sister,” routine. “Hey, dude, you ready for our run?”
Anderson grinned at him. “Yeah. I’m ready. How did it go?”
Jack pawed his tired eyes. “As good as it could have. What about you? How did your Dad take it?”
“He took it well.” He smiled warmly, looking away in thought. “He said something to me that really rang true.”
“Huh. What was it?”
“It was a quote from Carl Sagan.”
“Who the heck is that?”
“A great scientist and philosopher.”
If you say so. “Well, what was it?” asked Jack, intrigued.
“He said – it is far better to grasp the Universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring…”
They heard Claudia’s door open behind them, and they turned to see her coming out from her room. She had her hair tied back tight in a ponytail. The look in her eyes was all business – he hadn’t expected to see such stark determination.
Cane came jogging down the corridor ahead of them, and as he passed by, they followed, keeping his pace.
Author Note
Thank you for reading Starmen: Episode 1.
I hope you enjoyed it. I’m sending you a high-five for finishing the whole thing! (Don’t you feel so lucky?)
The story continues with STARMEN: BATTLE FOR MAJI-ONDA, to be released March 2017. If you’re from the future, the chances are it’s out already!
As an indie author, I am dependant on the reviews I receive from readers. If you would take the time to post a review to the site where you downloaded this book, or on Goodreads, it would make my day.
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Twitter: @jmhagan5
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