“Then we are on our own.”
“Help is coming, but it may not be in time and that is the true reason for my visit.”
“What do you mean? I don’t understand.”
For the first time, she saw concern in the man’s face as she noted his eyes gave away little in their very alien appearance. She watched him closely as he sat down in a chair rather uncomfortably; it was like he didn’t know how to relax anymore.
“Our last conversation—what do you remember about it?” he asked calmly.
Sara thought back to last week when she had seen him last. She remembered the cold and wind almost disappearing when he was there, only to return as he left. She remembered the look of his suit of armour as it appeared to be alive as it shifted color and texture in the falling snow and scattered sunlight. And she remembered his promise, to make those bastards who took her father pay.
“I remember a lot of unanswered questions and a tale half-told.” She said with a clever grin. She had moved her chips all in to see if her cleverness would pull the truth from this strange character once and for all. “You stopped short of telling me who was helping you adjust to…..to being you.”
Aen smiled. It was easy to see through her desperate need for the truth and he had no intention of keeping it from her, at least to a point. There could be no good to come of the fact of revealing that he was once her father, only pain and crushing sadness and there was no time for that. He was here to ensure her safety, not break her heart any further.
“Call it learning on the fly, because by the time I woke up to face my new life my hosts had long passed. I had little to do but focus on revenge, and with that task nearly complete I will turn to this new...challenge.” he said.
Sara knew he wasn’t telling her what she wanted to know, but she could tell by the pain in his voice that he wasn’t ready to share these hidden secrets with anyone. She thought of the saying “time heals all wounds,” and wondered how long it would take for such severe pain to pass. She returned to the point about his true intent of his visit and began to poke for answers there.
“So why tell me? What makes me so important that I get to know this before the whole world?” she asked. “Am I supposed to take these pictures and go public with the biggest story of all time or sit on it as the world goes on unawares?”
Without answering, Aen got up from his chair and slowly moved towards her. For a moment, Sara felt scared, as he was intimidating to look at in his color-shifting armour and his burning black eyes. Stopping a foot away from her, he produced an envelope from beneath his jacket and tossed it on the counter behind her; two airline tickets spilled out as they slid to a stop on the granite.
“Tibet?” she asked as she looked at the destination on the stubs.
“I am here to tell you to run to the safest place I know of, to where you won’t be in danger from the coming attack. If you check the other documents in the envelope, there are directions and arrangements made to get you to your final destination up the mountain. There are good people there, and once you and your mother arrive you will be in the best of hands.”
“Thank you, but...”
“No buts—this is not a request! If you want to survive any of this, you will pack what you need and leave immediately! If you don’t, I can’t help you and I fail to fulfill a promise that I have worked very hard to keep. I have little left to hold on to, please don’t rob me of this.”
There was sadness written on his face, along with a determination she had seen before. She tried to put herself in his shoes—to lose everything and be left with so little could have shattered a lesser person. But here he stood, broken but still standing, and who was she to turn down such an offer of amnesty. If the end was near, Sara would welcome a safe haven and she was doubly sure her mother would to. The trick came to explaining all this to her.
“You wouldn’t want to help run all this by Mom, would you?” she asked with a sly grin.
“I have pressing tasks that need attention, but get her there no matter what,” he said, nodding his head. “Call it a free vacation, an adventure of a lifetime or whatever. Just make sure the two of you get there and stay there. Once this all gets out, there will be no way for you to get to safety and the panic will be on—and mark my words, this will get out before these things arrive.”
Aen turned and walked to the stairwell slow and quietly like usual. She had rarely heard even the slightest footfalls when he was around. It was at the first step up that he turned back to her and smiled.
“Enjoy the last few days of the world you know and love, because once they come, all of this will be gone. The Age of Man is coming to an end, I am afraid, but a new age—one filled with wonder and adventure—is upon us all. Unfortunately, it comes at a steep price.”
With that said, he began up the stairs and disappeared from her view. Sara jumped up and raced to the stairwell only to see nothing but emptiness. Once again, he had pulled his vanishing act and was gone without a trace. Once more she found herself with the proverbial rug pulled out from beneath her feet. Here she was, a reporter for fuck’s sake, on the inside of the biggest story in human history, and all she could do is drop it and literally run for the hills. There was little she could do to fight this, and she decided to do what was asked to respect this man’s oath to her father; to live on would be the best way to pay tribute to him.
Rocky Mountains, Utah – Military Installation Code -
Named White Rock - Five Months and
Twenty Days until Arrival
It had been a long day and General Patterson was exhausted, but for the first time in over a year, duty called him back to his posting in Groom Lake. The section where he worked from—which was locked up air tight when he left to assist Star Child and its fuck-ups—had an intrusion alarm go off this morning. How anyone had made it past security, being as this was the one place in the world that didn’t exist and had tighter security than the White House, was staggering, but the fact that the alarm tripped was the one in the General’s own office led him to one conclusion: Subject 54 wanted to see him.
The hatch of the plane opened on the dry lake bed as soon as it stopped moving and Patterson skittered down the stairs and into the awaiting Humvee. It was hot, as it usually was out here in the desert, but in the distance there were hints of a storm brewing. His lungs hurt immediately from the hot, dry air and the sand seemed to fill his nostrils within seconds. Truly, he didn’t miss this awful place the last bit!
It took a few minutes to fly down the runway and head towards the lonely hanger at the end, which housed the captured craft inside and the research team in the many floors below it—all of which had been evacuated and shut down since the alarm. With the scientists gone, any similar attacks and destruction on valuable research would be minimized if this creature planned anything similar to his attack in the mountains.
As the truck skidded to a stop at the massive hanger doors, the two MPs snapped salutes off and held them as the general slowly got out of the passenger side. Once free of the truck, he lazily saluted them in return and sauntered to the door that the two soldiers guarded. The hanger cast a massive shadow that blocked the burning sun from beating down on him; Patterson felt the relief as the temperature dropped noticeably.
“Any more action?” he asked with a growl.
“No sir!” the left one barked. “Not a thing has moved since the evac, sir!”
Patterson nodded as he pushed past them and to the door. From his pocket, he produced a security pass card which he swiped in the slot on the right of the door to gain entry. A buzzer sounded, followed by a click before the door popped open. There was no hesitation and no asking for assistance as he entered the dimly lit hangar. It took a moment for his eyes to get used to the light difference, but a few seconds later he had adjusted as the entrance slammed shut behind him.
The exterior of the building gave li
ttle cause to think that inside was one of the most treasured finds of human existence. In the center of the bay, propped up on tubular steel stands, was the gem of the Air Force. The alien ship found in the badlands six years ago stood covered with a silken sheet to prevent dust and sand from damaging it any further than its fall to Earth did. From beneath the edges, its smooth, bluish grey skin sparkled when caught by the lights swaying from the roof. To Patterson, this was the most important thing in his world, but it wasn’t why he was here, he reminded himself as he turned towards the elevator bank in the back corner. He was here to see what this thing his team had created wanted.
“What a perfect place to end this horror story of ours, isn’t it, General?” the familiar voice called out from behind him as he had just pressed the down button. It was him—Patterson didn’t even have to turn and look to confirm. “This place isn’t as cold and sterile as your summer house in the mountains; I think I rather enjoy it here.” There was a mocking tone to his voice that made the General’s blood run cold. Something was about to happen, but this thing had proved to be completely unpredictable.
“Is this where you kill me like you have the others? Like you did Phillips?”
Aen smiled; the old man had yet to face him but was already fishing for possible outcomes. It was surprising how easily he had taken the bait and shown up so quickly. There had been more than enough time to go and warn his family and get back here before the old general arrived. Slowly, the general felt safe enough to turn around; now was the time to have a bit of fun!
“I like what you have done to the place.” Aen motioned to the maze of desks and computers that surrounded the alien craft as he ignored the question in its entirety. “Kinda got that early eighties Wall Street theme going on, don’t you think? And this,” Aen jumped up on the ship effortlessly. “This just doesn’t go with anything, but you make it work.”
Patterson stared defiantly at his foe—it was toying with him! From the edge of the room, he could see the sly grin on its face as it stood tall upon the thing the General prized the most and this above all infuriated him.
“Maybe we should call the gang?” Aen asked as the grin faded into a deathly stare of seriousness. “This can all be over so much sooner if they join us, because there are other issues you and I must discuss.”
This caught Patterson off-guard; the creature wasn’t here to kill him but to share something more with him. He let out a sigh of relief; today wasn’t his day to die. Ambling closer to the craft, he waded through the desks slowly and cautiously to avoid tempting fate, all the while the hawk-like stare of Aen never faltered from him.
“And what is it you wish to discuss with me?” he asked nervously.
“Do you ever look up at the stars and just marvel at their beauty? I wish I could say I still do, but Taylor ruined that for me. Now I just look up and wonder what’s next.” Aen answered as he looked upwards in demonstration at the high metal ceiling.
Patterson decided that fifty feet was a comfortable distance from this predator, and took a seat at an abandoned chair to rest his tired legs. The heat had taken much from him in such a short time, and the added stress this thing was putting on him wasn’t helping either.
“No son, since that night six years ago I only wonder how much longer until those like you and her come for us. It is what haunts me every night and what looms before me each day as I chase ghosts to get this planet prepared for the inevitable.”
Aen returned to look at the tired old man below, but gone was the malice he showed earlier. Now he was filled with concern; this man was his only hope to convince a cynical world that it was soon coming to an end. But time was running out, and fun while was fun, it was time to be serious again. Aen jumped down like a cat from a ledge with grace and ease to take a seat a few feet away from the General. He spun a computer monitor a round to face the general.
“Quite the satellite network you have access to,” he began, as he typed in some commands. “You even have access to some of the best telescopes. This is good, because you will have to gain total control of those in the next few weeks if you want to avoid panic.”
Patterson didn’t like where this was going, but he remained silent and let Aen continue. There seemed to be much more than what he was aware of being revealed here and his curiosity began to win over his fear. Aen typed in a few commands and the telescopes began to load common imagery. A few seconds later they began to focus on the outer edges of the solar system; an icy wall appeared slowly as the picture began to focus. What was once solid began to show holes, then gaps, then became not a solid but billions of ice rocks floating out at the edge of nothingness. This was the Oort Cloud, as the scientists called it!
Just as Patterson glowed in his own self pride with guessing what this was, he saw something else take shape in the mess of comets and debris; something large and unnatural lurked in the shadows out there. It didn’t take long for the old general to recognize a threat when he saw one.
“So, they finally are coming.” He said. “Taylor was right to be scared of your people.”
“And that is why you are in this position right now, and why Taylor is a bumbling idiot. It isn’t my ‘people.’ this is the equivalent of looking at the devil. This is a Husk Marauder, and it is coming to rape and pillage this world,” Aen replied. “You stand now, looking at the edge of the abyss, General. Do you close your eyes and jump or do you sink your heels in and fight with every last ounce of what you have?”
There it was, the slap in the face the old man truly needed. Much like with Sara, the images of this massive ship lumbering towards Earth was so daunting it nearly paralyzed those who saw it. He needed that last prod, the shot to wake him out of his stupor of fear, and now he might be poised to think for a minute without panic. Yes, the prospect of being annihilated was real, but so was the thought of the impossible victory. Humans loved the underdog role—hell, they relished it!
“How long?” were the first words to escape Patterson’s pursed lips in what seemed to be forever, as the silence in the hanger gripped the massive room tightly, crushing it down on the two. Aen was relieved, as he was a bit worried the proverbial slap might have been too much for an already overloaded man’s brain.
“Less than six months,” Aen replied.
Again, there was silence as the elder soldier contemplated his next move. Once more, Aen patiently sat back in his chair and waited for the next move to be made. From the corner of his eye, he noticed movement by the entrance of the hanger as the two sentries posted outside had come in to see if their General was in need of assistance. Patterson noticed them too, along with the look of annoyance on his counterpart’s face, and motioned them away, indicating it was fine. At first they hesitated, then one nodded and they both retreated out from whence they came, but kept their faces at the window waiting for any gestures from the General for help.
“It’s hard to find good help these days,” joked Aen, though his eyes never left Patterson. It was as if the creature’s alien sight was boring right through him, creating an added tension to this already awkward meeting.
“Will you be amongst those of us who stand and fight?” the general asked.
“Yes.” Aen replied immediately.
“If this is not your kind, can you ask those of yours to help us in our time of need?”
“You are asking for help from the very creatures you created me to kill?”
“Yes.”
“And knowing that I was made for such an event, why should I feel obligated to ask them, even if I had the means to do so?”
“Because you are still part human. Because you don’t want to see your family die that way.”
Aen smiled to himself—that one was well-played. Maybe he had underestimated his opponent in this battle of wits.
“The longer we sit here, the less time we have to prepare.” Patterson continued. “Will you ask them or
are you going to keep being a vengeful asshole and….”
“The request has been made and the Imperial Council has listened.” Aen interrupted.
“Great!” This was the first bit of good news this thing had given him today. “When does the armada arrive?”
Aen sighed. The answer to his prayers, to all their prayers, was not what they wanted to hear. “The nearest ship is over six months away, and that is probably the extent of the help arriving for the short term. There are a few more, but they are far away with no immediate timeline of arrival.”
Patterson quickly did the math in his head and frowned. There was a difference of a week or so that the Earth would be on its own; not an enviable position to be in against an overwhelming foe. They would be alone against the enemy it seemed, with the only real hope of survival sitting across from him with a smug look on his face.
“So you are supposed to be the difference between death and salvation while we wait for help that may come too late?”
The smirk disappeared on Aen’s lips; the time to be cocky was done. He had shown his companion that he was inferior and now was the time to extend his offer of assistance. But Aen wasn’t sure if he was the missing piece of all this—there was so much he had yet to learn about himself and so little time to figure it all out. Aen was a kid with keys in the driver’s seat of a Formula One racer and no instruction on how to use the precision instrument he was in. Also factor in his fragile emotional state along with his shattered soul and Aen seemed more like the least likely able hero ever.
“That is a hand yet to be played.” He said quietly. “I will not pretend to be the savior everyone labels me to be, but I will stand and fight nonetheless. What I can promise is to use whatever resources I have to help you prepare for the coming storm. Tactics, technology and habits of the Husk should all be able to be had if I can just find them.”
“So what now?” Patterson asked.
“Now you take this and these pictures,” Aen said as he threw the pictures he had shown his daughter on the table while motioning at the computer screen, “and you stand before the UN Council at their meeting in a week and show them the danger.”
Rise of Aen Page 19