As if on cue, Clare’s voice came from the speakers on the wall. “Are you guys coming for the show?”
“Just video-record it. We’re busy,” Mary said, and we heard the line of communication close with a beep.
“We are?” I asked.
Instead of answering with words, her lips found mine, and soon I saw there were ways to find happiness still in the midst of so much loss.
_____________
“And how is Slate going to fly the ship by himself?” Mary asked Clare. We were standing on the bridge, all in uniform, even though I wished I could be wearing anything but the Earth Defense badge at that moment.
Clare shrugged. “He said he could handle it. I imagine he has some military stims or something. The ship does have somewhat of an autopilot when we’re in FTL and not needed to maneuver. Plus, he’s really cranky.” Her eyes locked with mine for a brief moment before she looked back to Mary.
“What about Nick?” I asked.
“What about me?” the doctor asked back.
“Couldn’t you go keep him company? It’s only a couple of weeks,” I said. As much anger as I felt at Slate for shooting Mae, I couldn’t really blame him.
“Let’s get through the first wormhole and convince him to take Nick or Clare on board.” Mary’s idea was a good one.
Mary sat at the helm and communicated over to Slate that we were leaving. Slate was already in the Kraski ship alone, having flown it into space before detonating the explosives below. I looked to the images where the Bhlat outpost once sat, and it was nothing more than rubble and small craters.
The wormhole wasn’t far, so we didn’t hop in FTL like we had to beat Mae only hours before. Only hours. I couldn’t believe it. It felt like a week had passed since we’d approached the outpost. We all sat on the bridge, our task done, but somehow, I couldn’t help but feel like we hadn’t accomplished much. We’d found out what the hybrids were up to. I learned that Mae was the one to kill those guards in cold blood and realized that Mae was right. There was no coming back for her after that, unless we lied about it, and by doing that, we would have pinned it on Leslie and Terrance, who would never have their voices heard for the hybrids.
I wondered if President Dalhousie would let the hybrids leave. I hoped for their sake she would. They had been through so much. Created to deceive humans, then asked to sacrifice themselves and fly into the sun with vessels full of billions of us. Now we kept them in a cage, pretending everything was normal. It wasn’t. If she didn’t let them leave, I was going to make it happen.
“We’re here,” Mary said, slowly flying us to the wormhole.
“Wait, what is that? I asked, seeing a yellow icon appear on the map. It was nothing more than a glowing circle, moving quickly toward us.
“Slate, we have incoming,” I said through the ship’s comm-link.
“I see that, boss. I don’t expect it to be a welcoming party. You guys head into the wormhole and stick to the plan. I’ll hold them off.” Slate’s voice was grim.
“We can’t do that. We’ve already lost one of our own.” I wished I could take the words back as soon as I said them.
Mary zoomed on the approaching ship, and it matched the ones parked at the outpost. Probably a Bhlat ship on a supply run. They may have gone home to find everything gone, and now they would be seeking revenge.
“Just do it.” Slate’s ship veered off from our path to the wormhole as he attempted to take the Kraski ship away and lead the Bhlat with him. We were almost invisible to their eyes, but we didn’t know much about their sensors. Since we’d been able to sneak onto their outpost without them knowing, we most likely would be safe hiding in plain sight from them.
“We have to help him!” Clare yelled.
I sat in the captain’s chair, my head aching fiercely. We could just leave, go through the wormhole, and destroy it. If Slate survived, it would be a long trip home, but he would eventually make it. Years later.
If he survived.
“Dean, make the call,” Mary said, and I was almost surprised they were waiting on me to decide a man’s fate. As if I hadn’t had enough of that already.
We were survivors. I wouldn’t abandon the soldier. If I did, I was no better than our enemies.
“Follow them. We sneak up behind and give them a show. The Bhlat won’t know what hit them.” I was done feeling sorry for them, or myself. I just wanted to get my friends home, and away from this new threat.
Nick paled to the right of me as Mary swung us around, racing after the two blinking icons on our map.
We could finally see them in the viewscreen as they darted around, Slate trying to lead them on a wild goose chase away from us.
“Slate, we’re on their ass.” I stood watching the boxier Bhlat ship fly after the sleek silver ship Slate was racing away in.
“You had your window to leave!” He sounded angry with us.
“Just work with us, and we can be on the other side of that wormhole in time for lunch,” Mary said calmly.
I hopped to the console next to Mary and took control of the weapons. We hadn’t tested the new ones yet, but Slate had gone over them with us a few times, and I’d done well in the training programs.
“Slate, slow down,” Mary said. As soon as he did, yellow fire erupted from the Bhlat ship at him, narrowly missing him.
“They’re hostile.” I could almost hear his grin.
“You think?” I asked.
“Loop around behind us. I’m going to thrust facing up, and we’ll blast the hell out of them.” Mary had her Air Force persona on now.
Slate’s ship did just that, and we saw him fly over our viewscreen, quickly followed by a firing Bhlat ship. It was my turn. I aimed, letting the computer calculate their trajectory, and then fired the pulse gun. Red beams shot out, one hitting the ship. It kept flying, the small explosion not slowing it.
“I think you angered them,” Clare whispered as we saw their volley of fire increase, and one hit the Kraski ship Slate was trying to maneuver.
“They know I’m not alone now,” Slate said. “My shields handled that blast, but I don’t think they can handle any more.”
Their attention shifted toward our position, and though they couldn’t see us, it didn’t stop them from firing at will in our direction. Mary swept us away, avoiding the barrage.
“Wait for it,” she said, spinning us around the hard-edged enemy ship. They were still firing, nearly hitting our ship. My eyes darted to the viewscreen, where I could see the icon of Slate coming up above them. He blasted a red rain of fire on them just as I shot a combination of the pulse guns and torpedo, Mary racing away to avoid any crossfire.
The Bhlat ship took the barrage, and for a split second, I thought they might have survived it, before they exploded, the flames quickly disappearing in the oxygen-deprived vacuum of space.
“Woohoo!” Nick shouted, jumping from his seat.
“Let’s not celebrate too quickly. We need to get the hell out of here in case there’s more of them around,” I said.
“I agree,” we heard from Slate on the comm-link, “and thanks for coming back for me.”
“Anytime,” I replied.
We made our way back to the wormhole, this time not lingering at it.
“Everyone belted in this time?” Mary asked. When no one answered, she moved us forward.
“Slate, see you on the other side.” This from me.
“You got it, boss.”
We were off, travelling through the fold once again. We jostled around hard, but we were expecting it, and the trip didn’t feel quite as bad. Moments later, we were through, Slate following closely behind. I breathed a sigh of relief.
“We know what we have to do,” Clare said, keying in the locations of the sensors we’d found on the way the other way.
“Targeting,” I said, seeing the crosshairs of the pulse gun over the zoomed in wormhole stabilizers. “Slate, let’s blast this and get away.”
“
We have no idea what kind of reaction we’re in for by destabilizing this. Best to err on the side of caution.” Clare was right.
“Three, two, one.” I fired two rounds, one after the other, and was rewarded with tiny twin explosions. Mary engaged the thrusters, and I changed the viewscreen to show the wormhole behind us. Flashes of light sparked inside it, and seconds later, it was gone. No explosion, no cataclysmic event, just vanished from space.
“That was anticlimactic,” Mary said, grinning at me.
I got up, set my hands on her shoulders, and leaned down to talk into her ear. “We did it. Let’s go home.”
Home. A place in disarray, under threat of aliens and ourselves. I suddenly missed Carey very much, wishing the small wiggly dog was with us. Magnus would be taking great care of him, but who knew what happened to them? I couldn’t wait to get back and see if there was word on their trip.
Mary leaned back, kissing me quickly.
“Home sounds good.”
TWENTY-FIVE
“Who’s ready for my galaxy-famous egg skillet?” Nick asked.
“By galaxy-famous, you mean that mix of boxed egg whites and rehydrated potatoes?” Clare threw a sugar cube at him, which he deftly caught.
“Breakfast sounds amazing.” Mary was in a good mood, and I found myself being so thankful for her around. Without her, I would be spiraling down an alley of despair. I was so in love with her, and what Mae had said didn’t change that. But the fact the real Janine had been with me, ever since finding Mae on that lone vessel last year, had thrown me for a loop. I couldn’t believe she was gone… again.
“Wait, if you’re here, and I’m here, and…,” I said, and it was my turn to take a sugar cube on the head.
“That joke was old last week,” Mary said. We had the autopilot on and would be arriving at the first wormhole the next day.
“Do we shut it down?” Nick asked the question we’d been wondering since we started the trip home.
“If we do, the hybrids are going to have a hell of a trip to the planet Leslie and Terrance are on. If we don’t, we leave a back door open into our solar system,” I said. “My vote is leaving it, and letting the government make the call. They can get back out here to shut it down if they decide to.”
“Slate agreed with that. He’s a soldier who wants to follow orders, not make decisions. So that leaves us,” Mary said.
“I vote leave it.” This from Nick.
“Same.” Clare poured another coffee and offered the pot to me. I extended my cup, letting her fill it up.
“I guess we are unanimous, the wormhole stays.” Mary grabbed a plate of food from Nick, and we all seemed glad to be so close to returning.
So much had happened in the few weeks since we’d left. The universe was huge, and our part in it so small, but I was more thankful for what we had then ever.
“Where will you guys go when we get home?” I asked.
Clare fiddled with her food. “I’m going to go get a fat burger and a beer from this place in Albuquerque. It was open long before the Event, and my dad used to take us there when we’d visit our grandma every summer. I miss them all so much. So I go there, eat a burger, drink a beer, and remember my dad’s laughter, and my brother whining about wanting no onions. I wish I could hear him whining about them again.”
“I’ll go with you. I have a great whining voice,” Nick said, his joke cutting the tension at just the right time.
Clare looked at him solemnly, before bursting out in a loud laugh we hadn’t heard from her before. Eggs spilled out of her mouth, and a snort or two followed, causing more laughter. Soon we were all red in the face, tears filling our eyes for no reason but happiness.
_____________
Earth was so close I could almost smell it.
I zoomed in and could finally see the planet in all its beautiful glory.
“Wait. What is that?” Mary asked, pointing to the viewscreen as we raced toward our home. We were all anxious to be back, to set foot on the green grass and take a deep breath of good old American air.
I looked where she was pointing and saw what she meant.
“It looks like a station.” My heart jumped in my chest. Had Earth been invaded while we were gone?
“Slate, stay back for a moment. We can hide, but you can’t.”
“Affirmative, boss,” he replied from the comm-link speaker. His icon slowed and pulled away, heading back the way we’d come from. “Be careful.”
“Let’s come around slowly,” I suggested, and Mary nodded along.
The minutes went by slowly, none of us speaking for fear we would jinx something. Maybe if we blinked, the station would be gone, and everything would be back to normal when we landed. Instead, we saw the picture more clearly the nearer we got.
It was a space station of an intricate design. Ships much like ours hovered nearby, their cloaking not activated. No one seemed to be frantic, so it didn’t seem like a battle was happening.
“What’s happening?” Clare stood at the front of the bridge, touching the viewscreen with her right palm.
“Something tells me they’ve made some changes,” I said.
“In two months?” she retorted.
“What do we do?” Mary asked.
Before I could suggest anything, our radio silence ended. “Identify yourselves, unmarked cloaked ship.” The voice was tense, but in English, and not alien. That was a good sign.
“What’s going on? Can we speak with Dalhousie?” I asked, trying to add authority to my voice.
“Dalhousie? I repeat, identify yourselves.” The voice was getting angrier.
“We’re members of the Earth Defense Unit. Dean Parker here.”
Silence greeted us from the other end of the comm. Mary looked at me and I just shrugged.
“Did you say Dean Parker? What kind of BS is this?” a different voice asked.
“This isn’t bull. I’m Dean Parker, we were sent on a mission by General Heart just before they left. We’re back.”
“That’s impossible,” the voice said. “You’d better come and dock. We need to talk. Ask for Chen.”
“Do we trust this?” I asked, hoping Mary would have a gut feeling about it.
“What choice do we have? Leave?” she asked. Clare’s eyes widened at this.
“Slate, we’re going to find out what’s happening. It looks like the station is Earth’s. You want to join us?” I asked.
“Be right there, boss.”
We waited for him to arrive, and we disengaged our cloaking tech. Together we flew toward the large station, and instructions for docking were sent to our consoles. Things had changed here. But how had they done it so fast?
The station’s outer ring was circular, and not far off the design of the Deltra one we’d first seen the Bhlat on a few weeks ago. The same type of wheel was spinning, and that meant gravity. In the center of it were three huge uniform sections, channels leading between them. This place was bigger than I’d thought when we first laid eyes on it, at least four times the size of the Deltra station.
Behind, or underneath, depending on your perspective, a large hangar sat, a one-way force field letting us in but maintaining pressure. It was quite the feat. A dozen ships like ours sat there, empty.
“Dean, my gut’s telling me something’s wrong,” Mary whispered in my ear. I glanced at Nick, who was staring out the viewscreen with his jaw dropped just enough to look comical.
“We’ll soon find out.”
It had been quite some time since we’d used the ramp to walk off the ship, and my legs were anxious to be off the moving vessel. I led the way toward the storage area, hitting the ramp trigger, and it lowered to reveal two men in a uniform not too far from ours. If ours was an Earth Defense uniform, these were the two-point-oh version. Where ours were gray, they wore black, with a new logo featuring a blue planet, EDU stitched underneath.
I raised an eyebrow to Mary and she looked down at our uniforms, me feeling a little out of
place suddenly.
The two guards were young, one man and one woman. We walked down the metal ramp, and they stood there watching us with wide eyes.
“It is you,” the brown-haired man said, hardly audible in the large hangar.
“And you’re you.” I stuck my hand out, shaking both of theirs, one after the other. The rest of our group followed suit, and we learned these two were Haley and Devon.
“The Hero of Earth. I had your poster on my wall,” Devon said.
Poster? “Wait, what?” I stammered.
Slate’s ship settled down across the hangar, and he beamed out of it. Quite the show. His long strides allowed him to cross the distance quickly.
He smiled at the others, the girls hugging the big guy, and Nick gave him a playful punch in the shoulder. He didn’t look me in the eyes, but he said, “I’m sorry, boss.”
I turned to stand right in front of him. “I don’t blame you for anything. Let’s see what all this is about.”
“General Chen wants to see you. Follow us,” Haley said, turning on her heel to walk us away from the hangar.
Nick and Clare walked just behind Mary and me, Slate bringing up the rear. Soon we left through a large doorway and were in a hall with what looked like polished concrete floors and composite walls. Definitely more style to it than the Deltra station we’d seen.
Other uniformed people walked by, some ignoring us, some openly staring. I just smiled at them all, wondering what the hell was going on.
“Right this way,” Devon said, his arm suggesting we walk into a room without him.
“Thanks, you two,” Mary said to the young guards.
We stepped forward, the doors sliding to the side with a soft hiss. The room we entered was a large office, and an older man sat behind a black marble table in the middle of the space, chairs placed all around with room to seat twenty or so.
He motioned us in, standing up and walking toward us with a big smile across his lined face. “If someone had told me the five of you would be showing up on my doorstep, I’d have bet my life it would never happen. Shows what I know.”
The Survivors: Books 1-6 Page 42