Cadets

by Edward Miller

  Ryan paused. He felt as if a thousand pounds had just been lifted off his shoulders. He felt a lump in his throat knowing his father was listening, and thinking of his mother, who could be watching over him at this very moment. If he could save Granthaxe’s mother, in a strange sort of way it would be like getting her back. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Jill wiping her eyes. He only hoped his words had hit home with Granthaxe.

  There was silence for a few moments, which was a good sign.

  “Captain Ryan Thompson,” said Granthaxe, who then paused. “. . . if you are sincere, then time shall bear witness to that. I accept your offer.”

  Ryan exhaled, and everyone on the bridge began cheering quietly and high-fiving each other. Jill and Nicole were especially emotional.

  “We shall call a truce for seven of your days,” continued Granthaxe. “The terms will be simple. I must check in with my fleet every four hours. In the event that they lose communication with me, then they’ll have orders to commence attack. I must warn you, Ryan Thompson, I have already sent a message to Altarra calling for reinforcements should they be necessary. If these terms are of acceptance to you, then I shall come to your ship with your Amanda Williamson. If not, then let us do battle as warriors.”

  Ryan looked around the room and gave a thumbs up.

  “Great, Supreme Commander,” he said. “Those terms are most acceptable. We await your arrival.”

  “I leave momentarily. One more thing, Captain Ryan Thompson. While I appreciate your reference to me as Great Supreme Commander, it is most unnecessary. I do not require flattery. Supreme Commander is more than sufficient. I leave you now.”

  Ryan looked at Jill, then to Nicole, and last, Tanner. All at once, they broke into laughter. Just then a beep sounded.

  “Your father is on a private line for you,” said Jill, still chuckling. “Patching you through.”

  Ryan picked up his com device.

  “Dad, did you hear it all?”

  “Hell yes I heard it. That was one hell of a job you did there, Ryan. I mean that. I know I haven’t been there for you, and God help me I wish I could do it all over. Maybe now you can see how my job doesn’t allow me—well, I hope you know.”

  “You don’t need to say anything, sir.”

  “No, I need to say a lot. But for now, keep me up to date on your talks with Granthaxe. I’ll work with you on this. I just want you to remember one very important fact.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Don’t make any promises without running them by me first. Even I have people to answer to. You got that?”

  “I do, sir. Though rumor has it you’ve been known to break a few rules now and then.”

  He could hear his father laughing. “Yes, I have,” said his dad. “And from what I’m seeing here, it’s pretty damn obvious you’re my son. You did good today, Ryan.”

  “Well, that means a lot, coming from you. I also have a request though.”

  “Of course you do. What do you need?”

  “We have a microchip here. Separate from the microfilm with the photos. It was inside the amulet. We’ll need to get it read as soon as possible. I’d bet anything there’s probably more information as to where the missing Altarrans might be.”

  “Agreed. We’ll have to get back to the base for that. Let’s take this one step at a time.”

  “Yes, sir. I’ll keep you updated.”

  Rawlings called out from the sensor array. “Captain. Our sensors are showing activity coming from the Altarran vessel. It appears that their cargo bay doors are opening. I’ll alert our people we have an incoming transport vessel.”

  “Well, time to greet our guest then. Tanner, Paul, care to join me in the cargo bay? Jill, you have the bridge.”

  “Yes, Captain!” said Jill. She looked genuinely excited to be manning the bridge, if only for a few minutes.

  Ryan left the bridge with Tanner and Paul at his side, cautious but optimistic. Things were certainly looking better than they had a few hours ago, but this was anything but over. Now the trick was to figure out where the missing Altarrans were. He only hoped they were still alive. He didn’t even want to think about what would happen if they weren’t.

  Chapter 45

  Truce

  Upon entering the cargo bay, Ryan hit the communications device on the wall to contact the bridge. “Jill, what’s the story? Any sight of them?”

  “They just left. Estimated time to arrival is four minutes. When they’re at one kilometer out, I’ll contact you.”

  “We’re here and ready,” he said.

  Ryan had the file in his hands and noticed that Tanner kept glancing at it. “Curious what they look like?”

  “Does a cat like peanut butter?” said Tanner.

  “I’m not sure,” said Ryan. “Does it?”

  “Of course I want to know what they look like,” said Tanner. “Everyone seems to know but me. Amanda sure as hell knows.”

  “Tell you what, Tan man. When they get here, you’ll have a front row view.”

  “The transport is one kilometer out,” said Jill.

  “Paul, open the cargo bay doors and turn on the landing lights,” said Ryan.

  He watched as Paul entered his code on the wall console. Red lights started flashing as warning sirens acknowledged the opening of the outer doors. A computerized voice blared over the loudspeaker, Cargo bay depressurizing.

  Ryan watched through the double-sided, six-inch carbonized glass window as the transport ship deftly entered the landing area and touched down perfectly. Immediately after the transport landed, Paul closed the cargo bay doors. In a matter of minutes, oxygen had been pumped into the landing area inside the cargo bay.

  Ryan waited patiently until the red light on the monitor turned green. “All clear,” he said. “Let’s get in there and greet our guest.”

  The door to the transport opened. Amanda stepped out first and ran toward Ryan. He put his arms around her and held her. “You did amazing,” he said, holding her tight as she sobbed into his shoulder. “You really—”

  He stopped mid-sentence, and if she answered, he didn’t hear it, because over her shoulder he saw the huge, hulking figure of Granthaxe exiting the transport.

  He glanced over at Tanner and Paul who were standing there with their mouths open. Although Ryan had seen the photos, nothing could have prepared him for the sheer awe of a creature so large and powerful. It was amazing Granthaxe had even fit in the craft, and as he squeezed out of it slowly, it resembled a Chihuahua giving birth to a dinosaur. The real shock, though, was when Granthaxe fully emerged and stood tall. As the supreme commander stood towering over them, it occurred to Ryan that the Altarrans bore an eerie resemblance to such mythical creatures as Sasquatch and Yeti. He hadn’t expected Granthaxe to be so . . . hairy.

  Tanner apparently had the same thought. “I’ll be damned,” he said. “If that isn’t Bigfoot, I don’t know what is.”

  Granthaxe looked down at his own feet, then at Tanner with piercing red eyes. Everyone jumped back a few steps. “My feet,” said the large creature, “are proportionate to my body. Did you expect I should walk on feet the size of yours?”

  Ryan suppressed a laugh. Fortunately, Granthaxe didn’t notice. “Supreme Commander,” he said, “it’s a pleasure to meet you. I’m Captain Ryan Thompson. If you will, please follow me to our conference room, where we can review the photographs.”

  “I await with great interest, Captain. According to Amanda Williamson, you have much to show me.”

  “Let’s hope,” said Ryan. “Tanner, you head back to the bridge and hold down the fort while Amanda, Paul, and I go over these files with the supreme commander.”

  “Will do, Ry.”

  Ryan watched as Tanner walked up to Amanda first. “Good job not screaming,” said Tanner. “By the way, I stand corrected. You really were dealing with King Kong.”

  “No!” said Granthaxe, who had apparently overheard. He leaned down toward Tanner.
“Supreme . . . Commander.”

  Tanner looked up at Granthaxe. “You guys really need to work on a sense of humor.”

  The supreme commander stood tall again. “A human characteristic no doubt,” he said. “I will research it.”

  Ryan wanted to smack Tanner on the head, but Amanda beat him to it.

  “Ow,” said Tanner.

  “Your species is most peculiar,” said Granthaxe.

  “You have no idea,” said Ryan. “Now let’s get going.”

  Ryan could hear Granthaxe’s heavy footsteps next to him as they walked. “There are some pictures you won’t want to see,” he said, “but I’m afraid we have to show them to you in the interest of good will.”

  They approached the conference room on the right and entered. There was a long table in the center. All but Granthaxe sat down. There was nothing big enough, or strong enough, for him to sit on, and even standing, he had to duck his head. He was lucky to have made it through the double doors. As they looked at the sequence of pictures spread out on the table, it was obvious that the Altarran envoys and the queen had been held captive at the former Area 51 for many years. A number of them showed the Altarrans in chains in a bare room with several laboratory tables. Ryan braced himself for the supreme commander’s reaction. As expected, Granthaxe practically growled as soon as he saw them, making everyone step back a few paces. The table started to buckle from the pressure of his fist, but then he eased up.

  They moved on to the next few pictures, which showed Amanda’s great-great-grandfather, Captain Robert Williamson, loading the four Altarrans one by one into a huge military helicopter. “That’s him,” said Amanda. “He was later made a general, but somewhere along the line they say he went crazy or senile or something.”

  Granthaxe wasn’t listening though. He was staring at the final picture on the far right. Ryan knew exactly which one it was. It was the one that showed the queen giving the amulet to Williamson.

  “My mother,” said Granthaxe. “Our queen.”

  “Look at what is says, though,” said Ryan.

  Everyone stared at the photo. Written on the picture in sloppy handwriting was an odd phrase:

  Look to the Sentinels.

  “What do you suppose that means?” said Paul.

  Ryan shook his head.

  “Nobody ever said anything about that to my family,” said Amanda. “I’m also wondering who took the photo of him with the queen.”

  “It would have had to be someone he trusted,” said Ryan. “He must have at least had some help, not that it does us any good now.” He turned to Granthaxe. “Supreme Commander, do the words ‘Look to the sentinels’ mean anything to you?”

  “In your language, a sentinel is a guard, a watchman. These are the people we must find.”

  “That doesn’t help us, though,” said Ryan. “It could be anybody. There are millions of guards of all kinds. Supreme Commander, if none of this means anything to you, then I’m afraid we’re at a dead end as far as these pictures are concerned. Unless the other chip has more.”

  “There is another chip?” said Granthaxe.

  “Yes. Well this one’s actually what we call a microfilm. We also have a microchip that we found in the amulet, but we need to go to our base on Earth to read it.”

  “Then Earth is where we shall go, Ryan Thompson.”

  “I’m glad you agree. But we?” said Ryan. He could just imagine Granthaxe walking around on Earth.

  “We. The plural of I. It seemed a clear statement.”

  “I know that, but it would probably be faster if I—”

  “I must accompany your people with any search. That, Captain, is not negotiable.”

  Ryan rubbed the back of his neck, a habit he had when he was uncomfortable.

  “That may not be so easy, Supreme Commander. My father’s the Fleet Admiral. He’s the one who would have to make that decision. Of course, it would help if I could give him a good reason for your request.”

  “A child could understand my reason. If my envoys have been able to hide from your people for all these years, do you think for a moment you would have the slightest chance of finding them without my help? You could search for an eternity and not find but a ghost of their existence, even if you found their domain. But by my words, upon sight of their supreme commander, and my mother of her son, they will show themselves.”

  Ryan had to admit, the supreme commander’s rationale was sound. “Okay,” he said. “It may complicate things, but I think even my father would agree.”

  “If I may ask a question, Supreme Commander,” said Amanda.

  “As you wish, Amanda Williamson.”

  “Over the course of many years,” she said, “there have been reported sightings of creatures . . . sorry, beings . . . that resemble Altarrans. One is called Sasquatch—or Bigfoot, as Tanner mentioned. Another is Yeti, or what we called the Abominable Snowman. But they’re usually spotted on opposite sides of the world. Bigfoot’s in warm climates, while Yeti’s in the ice cold mountains of India. Bigfoot’s brown, Yeti’s white. Could there be a connection?”

  “Our kind is most adaptable. These ‘creatures’ you speak of may well be our envoys or they may know of them. For millennia, our kind endured the wrath of your planet, from the fiery pits to the icy caves. Despite our size, we could hide in the deep snow or take shelter behind a forest tree. We could change color to suit our needs. Our hides are as strong as—”

  “Wait a minute,” said Ryan. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “Did you say for millennia? Altarrans have been here before?”

  “Altarrans,” said Granthaxe, “is the name we take from the planet we fled to, the namesake of our most revered leader from our scriptures, Altaraxe the Great. He has long since joined the gods, but Altarra lives on bearing his good name.”

  “Fled to?” said Ryan. “Fled from where?”

  “From Earth,” said Granthaxe. “Our home, long before humans. Did you think you were the first seedlings of the gods? Well, the first you were not, nor will you be the last.”

  Ryan’s mouth dropped. He was speechless. Amanda and Paul looked equally shocked. “The gods?” said Ryan. “And what do you know of the gods?”

  “Captain, it was the gods themselves who taught us science and the study of the stars and the land. But when the great flood came, even we could not survive. You see, it was our celestial and aquatic friends who helped us flee to the skies. We scoured the stars searching for a suitable planet. With great fortune, we found one.”

  “Celestial and aquatic friends?” said Amanda. “Great flood?”

  “Jesus, this is like a frickin’ fairy tale,” said Paul. “Tanner will have a field day with this.”

  “Who were these . . . gods?” said Ryan.

  “Ha, we speak of them no more, except in our hearts. There is little that survives in our writing, and a million lifetimes have since endured.”

  “So, let me get this right,” said Ryan. “Your people fled our planet tens of thousands of years ago using advanced technology, and then came back all these years later? Why so long?”

  Granthaxe looked down and let out a big sigh that sounded like a hydraulic press.

  “You must understand, Ryan Thompson, it was a lifetime mission of our people to once again visit our homeland. Every king and queen has dreamed of this. Then, through our advances in communication, we could watch, and we could listen. For two centuries we’ve known your signals and deciphered your languages. But we still could not venture to Earth within a single lifetime. And we had long since lost the technology of the gods.”

  “And so you had to wait for your technology to catch up. I understand now.”

  Granthaxe nodded. “Many have failed,” he said. “Only the voyage of the envoys I seek was able to reach our homeland once again. Our queen—my mother— was to be the first the first to fulfill the dreams of our race.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Ryan. “I do apologize, Supreme Commander, on behalf o
f our people. But now we’ll help you find her. Our leaders—”

  “Your leaders,” said Granthaxe, getting angrier, “proved even more barbaric than was foretold.”

  Ryan could see Amanda shaking her head. Ryan thought for a moment in the nervous silence. Something wasn’t adding up. “There’s one thing I don’t get,” he said, hoping also to change the subject. “Your ancestors—they left Earth as an advanced civilization. There would be evidence of this, right? But there’s none. At least not from that long ago.”

  “We had glorious cities,” said Granthaxe, “but they have long since washed away. If you search the depths of your seas, you will find all the evidence you speak of.”

  Ryan started having thoughts of the lost city of Atlantis. That would be too bizarre for words—not that this wasn’t.

  “There’s only one problem with all this,” said Amanda.

  Everyone looked at her.

  “If the first time your people returned was with your missing envoys,” she said, “then it doesn’t explain the sightings I spoke of. These sightings happened way before then. And they were also long after your people’s supposed evacuation from our planet.”

  “There is another explanation, Amanda Williamson.”

  “There is?” she said.

  “Legend says that when our ancestors fled Earth, some chose to remain. They lived as nomads in large sea vessels. It is possible that when the waters subsided, generations endured, hiding in caves and forests, and in your mountaintops. Perhaps our envoys have joined them.”

  “Well if that’s the case,” said Ryan, “then I’m afraid we’re back to square one. I mean, what chance do we really have of finding them?”

  “We still have the microchip,” said Amanda. “It may explain who the sentinels are.”

  “Yes we do,” said Ryan. “Now if you’ll excuse me, Supreme Commander, I’m going to discuss our meeting with my father. If you would wait here with Amanda and Paul, I’ll be back shortly.”