The Arrival

by Adair Hart

Lord Noskov gestured at Mikhail. “Locate that data.”

  Mikhail nodded as he tapped at his tablet.

  Evaran rubbed his chin. “Hmm. I have read this is a protected planet. How are alien slavers coming here?”

  “I have heard that there is a transport ship that a Kreagan border outpost lets slip by.”

  “I am aware of that. However, how are they able to land here on Earth undetected?”

  Lord Noskov smirked. “The Helians let them in. That is the extent of their arrangement, though. Once inside the solar system, they escort them in. Heard the Seceltor Empire and the Helians don’t get along well, but business is business.”

  Evaran tilted his head. “I see. If that Kreagan outpost was exposed, that shipping lane could be shut down and halt these slaving runs.”

  “Maybe. I try to avoid dealing with aliens in general,” said Lord Noskov. He extended a hand out. “No offense, of course. However, it is in my best interests to be aware of what is happening on and around Earth.”

  “I understand.”

  Mikhail handed the tablet to Lord Noskov. “Located the base. The logs show it to be in the Appalachian Mountains.”

  Lord Noskov scanned the tablet and then handed it to Evaran. “I know you will want to use your card on this for more detailed information.”

  Evaran eyed Lord Noskov. “You know a great deal about me. We must have had some interaction together in the Earth’s past.”

  Lord Noskov snorted. “That’s putting it mildly. Every nonhuman power group has some idea about you, although I personally know more than most. That is a casualty of you being a time traveler.”

  “I see,” said Evaran. He placed his UIC on the tablet and, after a few moments, had extracted the location and limited information it had on Greecho’s base. He handed the tablet back to Lord Noskov.

  “The base looks to be entrenched and heavily defended from a cursory scan, not like that will be an issue for you, but still noteworthy,” said Lord Noskov.

  Evaran nodded. “Noted. Thank you for the information. You have been most helpful.”

  “Well. Since this is so early for you, how about you remember that in any future meetings, including ones in the past.”

  Evaran studied Lord Noskov for a moment and then wheeled around to head back to the Torvatta.

  Evaran studied the front right screen, which had a wire-frame view of the base inside the top of the mountain. The only part exposed was a set of three circular landing pads that jutted out from a large ledge over a steep slope. In front of them was a set of closed high-tech hangar-bay doors. The Torvatta hovered out of range of the base atop the Appalachian Mountains, but close enough to see the landing pads out the front screen.

  “Query. Where do you want the Torvatta?”

  Evaran rubbed his chin. “Land on the leftmost pad. I will then infiltrate their base.”

  “Analysis. Lord Noskov mentioned heavy defenses. We will be detected and infiltration will be difficult.”

  Evaran shook his head. “Not with the Torvatta stealthed. I will need you to stay here.”

  U4 tilted her head at Evaran. “Analysis. You believe Lord Noskov’s mention of the name V refers to my successor in your future time stream.”

  “I do not wish to deal with this right now,” said Evaran, fidgeting in his seat.

  “Analysis. Your conclusion for me to stay here is illogical. Not all options have been explored.”

  Evaran pursed his lips. “Just trust me on this. I can handle whatever comes my way like I always have.”

  “Affirmative,” said U4. She turned and interacted with the console.

  The Torvatta moved forward and landed on the leftmost landing pad.

  Evaran stood up and checked his utility belt. After exiting the Torvatta, he crept up the walkway from the landing pad to the ledge. He froze when the doors slid open. Greecho, along with four other men and a host of silver-and-red-plated humanoid robots, walked out with weapons trained on him. Jake stood next to Greecho, with a yellow one-piece suit and a collar around his neck. Greecho held a chain that connected to the collar.

  “Well … was wondering when you’d get here,” said Greecho. “Didn’t see your ship, but you’re standing on pressure-sensitive paneling. Not too smart. I also know it was you who took Kathy.”

  Evaran backed up a bit and activated his left forearm shield. “She is free from you.”

  “Not for long,” said Greecho. He raised a finger. “Oh, don’t worry. Jake didn’t give up that information willingly.”

  Jake looked up with a bruised face and marks on the side of his head.

  “You have hurt Jake,” said Evaran with narrowed eyes.

  “Let’s just say in the Seceltor Empire, we have a way of retrieving memories. Quite painful from what I hear,” said Greecho. He yanked the chain, causing Jake to stumble. “And quite embarrassing sometimes too.” The men around him laughed. He pulled out a device and pressed a button on it. Eight rods extended up on the sides of the landing pad, surrounding the Torvatta. They then shot a purple beam at it. “Your ship is going nowhere.”

  Evaran glanced at the Torvatta and then at Greecho. “Give me Jake and surrender, and this can end peacefully. I would normally let you go, but you have been made priority.”

  “Priority? This ain’t a business meeting, and you’re in no position to be making demands,” said Greecho. He wagged a finger at Evaran. “You know, I looked you up. Not a lot of information on you out there, but you’re some type of cosmic pain in the ass, from what I gather. You’re also part of a bounty from someone in the Kreagan Star Empire. A bounty that has piqued my interest.”

  “So you are refusing to hand over Jake and come peacefully?”

  “Counterproposal. You come peacefully, and I go get Kathy,” said Greecho. He glanced at his men. “And then we might be honorary Kreagan Star Empire citizens. Heard they have a planet of human refugees we could lay low in.” The men around him nodded and smirked.

  “I see,” said Evaran. He grabbed his utility handle and extended it into a baton. He pointed it to the side of Greecho opposite Jake. Boom! White concentric circles emanated from it, sending Greecho and his men tumbling back. Greecho dropped Jake’s chain and the device he had been holding. The robots not in the blast periphery began firing at Evaran. He raised his shield to block the incoming fire.

  Jake grabbed the device Greecho had dropped and threw it at Evaran.

  Evaran ran forward and caught it. He placed it on the ground with his UIC on top of it while blocking incoming laser fire. After he interacted with his ARI, the beams holding the Torvatta dissipated. He placed the UIC back on his belt. Boom! A sweep of his baton sent Greecho and his men tumbling again and this time the robots as well. He waved for Jake to move toward him.

  Greecho and his men struggled to get back up while Jake ran forward. When they were standing, they began unloading on Evaran, pushing him back with each successive barrage.

  Jake ran past Evaran and toward the Torvatta when weapon fire hit Jake in the back. He sprawled forward and stopped moving. U4 ran out of the Torvatta in body mode and scooped up Jake while taking direct weapon fire. Evaran tried to provide cover, but the spread of Greecho’s men was too wide for him to block all the angles. U4 ran toward the Torvatta, and as she neared it, she tossed Jake forward into the ship before crumpling to the ground.

  Evaran snapped his head toward U4 and began walking slowly back toward her while keeping his shield in front of him. Greecho signaled to one of his men, who ran to a console on the side of the hangar-bay doors. The man reached it and punched a few buttons on it in quick succession. The landing pad groaned, then flipped down, causing the Torvatta and U4 to slide off toward the mountain base.

  Evaran gritted his teeth as he turned and ran to the edge. He took one last look at Greecho and his men as they advanced and then dove off the edge. As he fell, he flicked a button on his utility handle, causing the baton end to turn golden. He aimed it at U4, whose body was acce
lerating toward the ground. A golden beam shot out of the baton, and when it hit her, it flattened out. He pressed another button on his utility handle, which pulled him down toward U4. When he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and then fired upward at an angle, connecting with the steep mountain wall. He swung in toward the side, planting his feet firmly when he made contact. The impact caused a loud crunching noise to echo out. Random weapon fire flew around him but was too far away to be effective. Looking down, he could see the Torvatta had already touched down. In one quick motion, he angled the baton to fire another beam to be his anchor and then descended. After a few minutes of descending, he reached the ground.

  “Analysis. Systems failing.”

  “Conserve your energy,” said Evaran as he raced into the Torvatta, which had settled on the ground. Jake lay crumpled just inside the entrance, and with one scoop, Evaran had picked him up and ran into the medical lab. He placed Jake on one slab and U4 on another.

  U4’s chest plates slid to the side, with a platform raising out and exposing her cracked orb.

  Evaran grabbed a nanobot-filled syringe and pricked Jake in the neck with it. He tapped at the console on the side of the slab, causing an enclosure to slide up from the sides and then completely cover Jake.

  “Analysis. Shutdown imminent.”

  Evaran rushed over to U4 and interacted with the console on the slab. “That is unacceptable.” His hands flew over the side console as mechanical arms on the side of the slab reached out and interacted with U4’s orb. Gel oozed out of the burnt cracks in the orb.

  “Statement. Evaran … Evaran …”

  “I will repair you,” said Evaran as he swiped at the console. His hands flew from the console to his ARI. The mechanical arms zipped around U4’s orb, shooting multicolored lasers.

  “Statement. Thank you for creating me,” said U4. Her lights dimmed.

  Evaran shook his head and gritted his teeth. “No. Your matrix can be healed. You cannot leave me. I will not accept that.” His hands picked up speed as they became a blur over his ARI.

  “Analysis. Systems failing. Systems … failing … Sys … sss … ,” said U4. Her lights dimmed again, then blinked out.

  Jake awoke with a gasp. His breathing went ragged as the enclosure around him began to slide away. After a moment, he was clear to sit up on the edge of the slab. His muscles ached, and a tingling sensation permeated his body. He shook his head and used the lukewarm slab to stabilize himself after sliding off. The silence unnerved him as he gained his bearings, and after a few moments, he exited the medical lab. He grimaced as he hobbled up to the front of the ship. He saw space outside the front left window.

  Evaran sat at his command chair with his head down in his right hand.

  Jake had not known Evaran for too long, but the silence and posture indicated to him that something was wrong. He took a seat in the right seating area. “Evaran?”

  Evaran sat up. “You are up. How are you feeling?”

  “Could be better,” said Jake with a sigh. “I suppose Robert’s not here.”

  Evaran shook his head. “He is not.”

  “Where are we?”

  “Stealthed and in low Earth orbit. I took us here after getting you and U4 to the medical lab.”

  “Guess Greecho didn’t follow.”

  “He sent ships to investigate, but the Torvatta was stealthed and away before they got there,” said Evaran.

  Jake looked around. “Where’s U4?”

  Evaran paused as he licked his lips and looked down. “She did not make it.”

  A lump formed in Jake’s throat as his eyes popped open. “U4 is … I mean … she’s gone?”

  “Yes. She gave her life for yours,” said Evaran, exhaling slowly from his mouth.

  Jake looked down and covered his mouth. “I’m sorry.”

  Evaran nodded.

  “How long did you know her?”

  “Three hundred twenty-three years,” said Evaran with a sidelong glance.

  Jake pondered what he had just heard. That would put Evaran at least as old as that. He could not fathom losing someone he had known that long, assuming he could live that long. There was pain in Evaran’s eyes, yet Evaran’s face seemed like it struggled to show emotion. U4 had mentioned that Evaran’s exposed hand was a layer of a suit, so it was possible that Evaran’s emotions were expressed internally somehow. He was not sure, but it was clear to him now that Greecho controlled his fate. There was a time when he had begun to believe that things could change, but if Greecho could kill U4 and stop Evaran, what chance did Jake have. “I … don’t know what to say.”

  Evaran sighed.

  “Look, I appreciate all you’ve done, but I think if you just drop me back off at Dad’s … er, Jells’s, maybe Greecho will go easy on Jells and Robert. I’ll go into the Seceltor breeding program. You’ve done enough, more than what was asked,” said Jake with a hand out.

  “No.”

  Jake jerked his head back. “I didn’t mean to drag you into this. Greecho is too powerful, and now U4 is dead.”

  “No. Try again,” said Evaran with a finger raised toward Jake.

  Jake furrowed his eyebrows. “I don’t know what to tell you.”

  “Do you always give up this easily?”

  Jake snorted. “Well, no, I …” Jake narrowed his eyes and paused as he stared at Evaran. Evaran was right, he always went with the flow, and every time, he let someone walk all over him. The recent memory of Greecho beating him and torturing him with the Seceltor memory- access device filled his mind. He clenched his jaw. The memory of Greecho beating Robert and Jells flooded his mind. He balled his fists. The memory of his last meeting with his mom, before she was sent off to die, crashed through his mind. His face turned red. All of this, because of Greecho. Enough was enough. He could not go on living like that anymore. Robert had filled him in on the Melkins military history. Melkinses did not back down from a fight, and they stood for what was right, and he had that in his blood. It was time to be a Melkins. With a deep breath, he stood up and said, “Let’s get this asshole.”

  Evaran nodded and tilted a finger at Jake. “Yes.”

  A day later at the docking bays of an abandoned warehouse in the outskirts of Lincoln, Nebraska, Jake stood with Kathy near the bottom of a loading ramp. Large, closed doors dotted the side of the warehouse where trucks would back up and load and unload cargo. There were several other, smaller buildings around it to the sides, giving the location a U-shaped layout, with them in the middle. One of the downsides of their position was the chilly wind funneling through. Jake was bundled up with boots, jeans, and a fluffy jacket, as was Kathy, but the chill made him shudder. “Shouldn’t be long.”

  Kathy exhaled from her nose. “Are you sure Greecho will come?”

  “Hope so,” said Jake. “Greecho will come for you, of that I’m sure. I’m glad you decided to help.” He looked off toward the open grass visible from the only side Greecho could come in from.

  “Anything to take him down,” said Kathy with a defiant look.

  It did not take long for Greecho’s ship to arrive. Jake recognized that it was not his main ship, but a lighter scout ship used for smaller jobs. It still packed a punch with its aerodynamic and armed profile. He figured Greecho would just capture any witnesses if they saw his ship, but this far out, there would not be any.

  Greecho’s ship hovered a bit outside the buildings and then shot a beam to the ground. Greecho and two heavily armed slavers descended in the beam. Once they were on the ground, they headed toward Jake and Kathy. After a few minutes, they were at the open end of the U-shaped area.

  Jake had expected four on the ground per Evaran’s plan. Since there were three on the ground, one would be flying the ship, leaving the fifth crew member unaccounted for. He pulled out his laser pistol and, with his left hand, aimed it at Greecho, knowing it would not pierce Greecho’s shielding.

  Greecho scowled when he saw Jake and halted along with his
men. “Surprised you’re alive, you little shit. Didn’t find Evaran’s ship after our last encounter. Just the imprint of where it hit. Since you survived, I’m guessing he did too. The fact he isn’t here doesn’t surprise me. He knows when he’s outclassed. Looks like he tucked tail and ran, leaving you to fend for yourself.” The men around him snickered. He glanced at Kathy. “But that’s the real prize here.”

  Jake stepped in front of Kathy. “Not today.”

  Greecho shook his head. “You’ve changed. Usually takes a few years at the breeding camps to grow a pair, but in this case, you’re wasting my time. Cut the crap and get over here.”

  “No, we are not going with you. How’d you find us anyways?”

  “Your tracking devices are activated, how else?” said Greecho. “Whatever Evaran did to mask them is no longer working. Means he isn’t around. No surprise. He got a taste of what he was up against and split like the coward he is.” The slavers around him laughed.

  Jake rubbed his left shoulder with his right hand. Greecho had installed one on him when he was recently captured with Robert earlier, but Evaran had masked it when he was in the enclosure in the medical lab. He had to give Evaran credit. Activating both of them lured Greecho out of his base just as he said it would.

  “Look, there’s nowhere for you to go that I can’t find you. I have your real father, and … things could get messy with Jells. So why don’t—”

  A crashing sound reverberated throughout the open area as the Torvatta slammed into Greecho’s ship, causing it to careen off to the side. Greecho and the slavers hunched down and drew their weapons as they turned to watch their ship crashing out of sight. Jake and Kathy took the interruption to turn and run up to the doors of the abandoned warehouse.

  Greecho pointed in the direction of his downed ship. “Damn it! That asshole is still around. Go!”

  The two slavers nodded and ran off toward the ship.

  Greecho wheeled around and stared Jake down as Jake opened the door for Kathy. “Where you think you’re going?”

  Jake hustled in and slammed the door shut after Kathy ran in and off to the side. The metal door blew off its hinges and into Jake, sending him flying backward. Kathy ran up to him and tried to help get the heavy door off his chest. Jake pushed her hands away and pointed off in the distance. “Just go! I’ll catch up.”