by Laura Pohl
Chapter 47
The next day, Andy is already seated in the spaceship when I climb up the ramp. She doesn’t look up when I enter but keeps typing away.
“Ready to go?” I ask.
Andy sits at one of side stations, leaving the main command chair in the center empty. She gives me a tight-lipped smile as I eye the chair.
“That’s yours, you know,” she says, as if sensing my doubt. My unwillingness to step up and take my place.
But it’s not unwillingness. It’s the fear of not being able to fulfill what I’ve always wanted to do, the fear of reaching out and letting it slip through my fingers one last time.
Breathe.
I do, firmly, a couple of times, before I’m steady again. Andy watches as I square my shoulders, set my jaw, and cross the room with sure steps. This is my mission. This is what I want to do. No one can take this from me, and no one can do the job like I can. It’s simple and it’s essential—I’m needed, and I have to complete the mission and fly this ship out of the atmosphere, straight and true. I’m the only one who can do it.
I sit down and place my hands on the controls. The computer screen comes to life, and the calm female voice asks if I want to turn on the automatic pilot, but I shut it down. I familiarize myself with the controls and get a feel for the size of the ship around me, which is a lot bigger than anything I’ve flown before. I wish we could do a test flight, but there’s no going back now.
“You okay?” Andy asks.
I turn my head to face her and see that her eyes are following my every movement. I nod my head, slowly, trying to comprehend what I’m about to do.
“Excited?”
“Afraid,” I answer her sincerely. “I don’t know what it’s going to be like up there.”
Andy looks up in the direction of the sky, as if she can see through the roof of the spaceship and the compound and far beyond that. She seems to lose herself for a moment, only to come back with a small smile. She looks at me again.
“It’s going to be exactly like you dreamed it would.”
And I believe her.
* * *
Andy locates the nearest landing shell. It’s a forty-minute drive in the truck, which means that they must’ve known somehow that people were nearby. Even in Area 51, we weren’t going to be safe for long.
When we arrive, Andy gets out first, standing in front of the shell.
“You sure you know how to open it?” Brooklyn asks, looking at her.
She nods. She walks forward and puts her hand on it. It takes a few seconds, but the ship responds. Its reflective surface gets darker and darker, and suddenly, an entire hole opens up for Andy to crawl through.
“How the hell did you do that?”
“It’s sensitive to space matter,” Andy says. She looks back at us, and we all face her in silence. “All right,” she says. “This is goodbye, then.”
“Don’t be so dramatic,” Avani snaps. “We’ll see you up there.”
Andy nods. She takes her laptop into the ship, ready to initiate the recall of the shells. We synchronize our watches. We’ve got one hour to get back to Area 51 and into the ship.
And then we’ll be ready to take to the sky.
* * *
The control room is finally full as everyone settles into their chairs, holding weapons and provisions. Violet sits by my side, lighting up the computer’s controls as she taps them incessantly, one after the other, biting her lip hard.
The spaceship is enormous. It has a kitchen, labs, sleeping quarters, and everything else we might need. It’s like a motor home, but destined for outer space. Sputnik is aboard, too. It feels strange, but I can’t bear the thought of leaving her behind. I put her in one of the spare rooms, tied by a leash, and hug her fur one last time.
She’s a good reminder that we must survive this.
“Seat belts on,” I say. I breathe deeply, letting my heart calm itself.
People start strapping on their seat belts, chatting as they do. I’m not sure how well everyone will tolerate blasting into space.
I slide the button that turns on the engine, which starts humming beneath my feet. I can feel the ship echoing my own heartbeat as the whole thing comes to life. It isn’t as loud as the airplanes that I’ve flown, but still, it’s like the spaceship can feel my anxiety, and it’s trying to calm me down.
“Open sky hatch,” I say, and Violet taps the command.
The hinges of the hatch creak as it slowly opens, giving way to the sky. I put my hands on the steering wheel, which is designed like an old maritime wheel from an eighteenth-century ship, and try to calm myself. This is something that I’ve done a thousand times before.
Just not with spaceships. And I wasn’t flying directly into outer space.
“Is it time?” I ask Violet.
“Countdown initiated,” she confirms, her voice steady. “Five. Four. Three.”
I breathe again, gripping the wheel hard, sliding back in my seat. I can do this.
“Two. One.” She lets out a sigh. “Shells are retreating.”
I speed up and fly out of the sky hatch, and suddenly we’re roaring into the sky, faster than anything I’ve ever piloted before, like a silver comet crossing the atmosphere.
But I’m not the only one up here. As if in a coordinated dance, thousands and thousands of shells start rising in the distance, each one a silver shell called back home, like angels ascending to the heavens. As one, we all rise toward the endless universe.
There’s a buzzing sound, and our comm units are affected. Andy’s face appears inside a shell. She’s managed to transmit her recording throughout the entire system of spaceships, and she’s the only one commanding their route. She’s taken over their controls.
She delivers her message.
“I am Andromeda, the last of the Universals,” she breathes, and her eyes flash bright orange on the screen. “This is a message of surrender. I am coming up in one of your shells to meet you. This is a negotiation for peace on Earth.”
The message ends.
They can’t track Andy in her shell, but she’s right—there’s no need for the shells to stay on Earth if she’s coming to them. We’ll be able to hide in plain sight. Our ship may be much larger, but we’re counting on getting lost among the volume of a million shells.
And then, we’ll emerge from the shadows and attack.
“Direction steady, moving upward,” I say, and my heart pounds as the spaceship is turned ninety degrees and flies up and up toward the sky, toward the sun, toward the end of the universe. “Time to destination: one hour and twenty minutes.”
My heart races, but it’s from excitement. The ship roars beneath me and I control it completely, like I was born to fly it. It responds to my every command. I speed up, preparing to cross the atmosphere so we can face the spaceship that we know is hovering near our planet. So that we may end all of this.
“According to Andy’s schematics, the shells will dock on the forward side of the mother ship,” Violet says. “While they head there, we’ll slip past their defenses and dock on the rear side, allowing us to enter the ship undetected.”
We all nod in agreement.
“Andy gets captured,” Violet says steadily. “Then Avani and Brooklyn go disable the shields and the weapons system, so Clover and Rayen can steal one of their ships and plant the bomb. Then Flint and I go get Andy so we can get the hell out of here.”
It sounds so simple. But there are so many flaws.
“We do not, under any circumstance, engage with the enemy,” Violet orders. “We are here to plant a bomb, not to go after individuals by ourselves. We go in, Clover creates a diversion, we get out. Understood?”
We all nod again. It isn’t particularly strategic, and we don’t have a backup. This is the plan of desperate people at the end of the world. We’re doing i
t because it’s the only way.
“Exiting Earth’s atmosphere now,” I say, and everyone goes silent.
We sit in awe as the ship crackles, hitting the last atmospheric barrier, and we feel the impact as we break free from the last restraints of Earth. I accelerate, and I don’t need to worry—it’s as if I’ve done this a thousand times, as if my own body is responding easily to something that is second nature, ready to leave everything else behind me.
And then we’re out of the blue, out of Earth, and into space.
The sight astonishes me. Out here, I can see countless stars, the blackness of the void covering them like a mantle. I look back and see Earth getting smaller and smaller as we leave it behind, the little blue planet spinning in space, oblivious to everything.
It’s beautiful, stunning, a sight so great that it takes my breath away. And although it’s space that should awe me, it’s that one little blue planet that’s mesmerizing. It’s glorious and small, almost insignificant compared to the other forces of the universe, but still it stands, like nothing ever happened. It remains there, a force to be reckoned with.
A single tear escapes my eye and I wipe it away, not wanting to lose the experience of looking at Earth from up here for the first time. This is the one thing that I want to keep with me when I go. And I know that if I die, this is the one thing that I’ll remember. Earth, spinning in space, resilient. Beautiful, strong, and a little ruined. But from up here, it looks perfect.
I’m on top of the whole wide world.
The silence in the spaceship is overwhelming. We know that we might be the last people of Earth to make it out here. This is what I’m taking my revenge for. If I’m going to be the last, I’ll also be a force to be reckoned with. I’ll be my own strength.
Just as I’m thinking this, the most gigantic spaceship that I’ve ever seen appears, almost like an entire planet of its own. It’s dark and foreboding, like the Death Star looming on the horizon. I tighten my hands on the steering wheel, forcing myself to maintain a steady speed as I move along with the shells returning to their base. They cross the universe and the vacuum of space like silent comets, silver slivers of destruction heading toward their home.
“Entering mother ship’s gravity,” I say as I feel its pull and the controls light up. I control the ship carefully, forgetting everything else around me.
I keep my mind blank, and I breathe deeply, focusing. This is my last mission, and I might never fly a plane again. But this is also my first time flying a spaceship, and I can’t help but think about how proud Abuelo would be.
The ship gets pulled along with the others. The cabin has pressurized itself for humans, so there’s oxygen and simulated gravity. And that’s how I ground myself—I’ve done this many, many times before. And I can do it again.
We approach the mother ship, a dark mass of metal, moving toward one of its entrances. As the shells begin docking, I accelerate, just enough to break out of the ship’s gravity and fly, as stealthily as possible, toward the opposite end of the ship. I locate the rear bay.
“Approaching.”
I enter the docking area. It’s empty, as far as I can tell, but that brings me no relief. The hardest part starts now. We’ve only got one shot, and we have to make it count. This is our last chance.
I dock the spaceship carefully on one of the platforms, landing it with perfection. There’s no noise as the main engine shuts down. Everyone grabs a mask and suits up in a special spacesuit designed by Andy’s people.
I stay silent as we dress and, with a last nod of my head, wish the others good luck. Flint and Violet exit down the ramp, their figures disappearing from sight. We wait five beats, and the next team leaves.
I look at Rayen. It’s only the two of us left.
“Ready?” she asks.
I nod. “Let’s go steal a spaceship.”
Chapter 48
Rayen follows behind me as we sneak around the spaceship. We pass several docks with shells, but we don’t need one of those. We need a fully equipped fighter, with enough firepower to cause a big distraction.
I turn around, listening and looking for any sign of movement. Between the two of us, we only have one useful gun, and Rayen keeps it raised. We stumble upon a divide, and I wait to see if anything is coming, but the whole place seems empty, devoid of alien life.
“Anything yet?” I murmur.
“According to Andy’s map, the ships should be on our left side, if we follow this corridor.”
I move forward, taking lefts each time the seemingly endless corridor splits, my feet padding against the white floor of the ship. It’s surprisingly clean and sterile, as if the creatures prefer a hospital-like aesthetic. We’ve been walking for ten minutes when we turn a corner and I almost slam Rayen against the wall. She holds the case with the bomb close to her chest, glaring at me.
“Shit,” I say. “There must be dozens of them in there.”
Rayen sneaks a glance at the open dock. It’s enormous, and if they only send half of their spaceships after me, we’re doomed.
I slam Rayen against the wall again, holding my breath as one of them passes by. Our invisibility factor still stands, and I breathe a sigh of relief as it marches forward, ignoring us.
The dock area is crawling with more than thirty aliens. I take one deep breath, calming myself. One slight noise, and they’ll start shooting. As long as we remain silent, we’re safe.
I walk forward, taking slow, careful steps, observing the movements of the Hostemn. They move back and forth across the bay, patrolling it. I can’t figure out whether or not they can communicate verbally, and the only thing I hear is an alarm blaring in the distance.
I spot the ship I want. It’s a fighter, and it isn’t too big. I need it to be quick and maneuverable. I point it out to Rayen, who nods. To my shock, the ramp is open.
I run across the dock, forgetting everything else, charging up the ramp and heading straight to the cockpit. The seats are strange and uncomfortable, but I can’t be picky. Rayen sits down next to me, panting, and I look over the controls.
“Clover?” Avani calls over the comm unit. “Are you there yet? The aliens are heading toward the system room.”
“I’m here,” I say breathlessly.
There are too many buttons. I press one of the iron buttons on the panel before me, and the engines roar beneath me. I grin wildly as I pull a lever and the ship rises unevenly out of the bay.
“They see you!” Avani warns me, but I ignore her panic. I have to familiarize myself with the controls.
“Ramp’s still open,” Rayen yells, pointing to the bomb on the floor, and I press another button.
I hear the ramp start to close, and I grip the joystick. In a second, I’m zooming past the other ships, ready to take control. I pull the trigger on the joystick and start shooting.
The laser blasters fire off aimlessly as I spin the ship toward the exit of the dock, without looking where I’m shooting. One blast hits a destroyer so hard that it smashes against another spaceship, slamming up against a wall. Rayen screams gleefully by my side and I accelerate, making my way back out to space. The darkness welcomes me.
“We’re up,” I confirm. “Instructions please.”
“Okay, here we go,” Brooklyn says. “They’re chasing after you. Thirty or so ships.”
“Fuck.” I sigh and maneuver the ship as blasts start shooting in my direction. Some of them hit, and pieces of metal go flying into space, but I don’t see any signs of serious damage. “Let them come. You done with the shields?”
“Hold on,” Avani says, and if I concentrate, I can just make out the sound of her typing away. “The shields are going to take about twenty minutes. But I think…”
Her voice fades, and a blue button starts blinking on the panel. I press it and a hologram pops up showing the design of the whole ship. But it i
sn’t really a spaceship—it’s more like a planet, a gigantic space station with the capacity to hold the population of an entire species. And it’s completely covered with shields.
“Damn,” I hear Rayen say by my side. “How are we going to destroy this thing?”
“Weak points,” I say, pointing out several channels in the design. “Air ducts and machinery. We’ll set off a bomb in the middle and the whole thing will implode. That is, if we can take the shields down.”
“Hey, we’re working on it,” Brooklyn complains. “Just keep firing at their ships so they won’t notice that we’re taking down the shields.”
“Got it,” I mutter.
A warning comes up on the screen and I barely twist away from a blast before another one sends us spinning through space. Dodging shots is more difficult in space, without the familiar sounds of battle to go by. I’m going to have to be smarter than them.
“Raise shields,” I say, as I press another command and push forward. “Rayen, there’s another blaster on the other end of the ship.”
“I was waiting for you to say so.”
Rayen leaves the cockpit and heads back to the blaster, grabbing onto it. Soon enough, I can hear her cursing. Blasts keep coming from behind me, and I can see spaceships trying to lock onto me. I fire shots into the blackness and hit them almost immediately. Our advantage is that the area is full of their ships, and we’re only one target. My aim doesn’t have to be perfect. Theirs does.
“Clover, we’ve been hit,” Rayen warns me.
“Shit. Are the shields down yet?”
“Working on it,” Avani repeats. Then, a moment later, she says, “Done!”
That’s all I need to hear. I descend until I’m so close to the mother ship that a couple more feet and I’d hit it. I’m firing the whole way, now that the shields are down. So when they try to hit me, they hit their base instead. It’s a perfect, if completely insane, plan.
“Got it!” I say. “They’re still firing at me!”
“Sorry!” Brooklyn says desperately.
The blasts hit the ship behind me as I spin again, narrowly avoiding them.