"Get these people loaded! As many as you can. I don't know how much time we have left."
The pilot nodded and immediately began directing the prisoner-soldiers and blind civilians where to sit in the carrier to maximize its capacity. They had arrived at less than half capacity. They would be leaving at more than full capacity.
Within a minute both carriers were full.
But there were still a couple dozen people left without transportation. Titan made the tough call.
"Get these people out of here! Travel at least ten miles beyond where the earth is burned, drop them off and get your ass back as soon as possible! I don't want to cook when this thing takes off!" Titan jerked his thumb toward the huge alien ship.
The pilot gave him a thumb's up sign and closed the hatch.
Titan watched as the carriers rose and headed off to the north. He did not know how long they had until the ship took off, but hoped it was long enough for the carriers to return for them. They had to get well away from the barren area surrounding the ship in order to be safe, and that would take at least three or four minutes.
"There's no one left inside! I think we got them all," one of the prisoner-soldiers informed Titan. “Except for Mouse and Grant. They’re still inside!”
"Damn," Titan swore. "How much time?"
"Can't be more than ten or fifteen minutes left, I’d guess," he answered.
Titan was about to say it wouldn’t matter anyway when he noticed a group of three carriers landing close by. He smiled when Tane Roland stepped from one of them.
“Alright,” Titan ordered the soldier. “Get the rest of these folks loaded and out of here. You too.”
He then trotted over to Tane.
* * *
Grant and Mouse continued to argue. They were facing away from the dead aliens scattered outside the door of the command center. Not because they cared about the aliens or felt badly about the violence that caused the deaths. They faced away so they could watch the clock set into the alien control panel. The seconds ticked away quickly and Grant knew he had to make his point soon so that Mouse could be on his way.
"Why, Grant?"
"Because it has to be done, Mouse. It's the only way! I've kicked this around in my head since Tane brought me back from my... my sleep. There has never been a way of making sure they never come back. But now there is! Don't you see? They’ve given us a way," Grant said, indicating the dead aliens lying at their feet. He picked up the Minith bomb. Checked the alien clock to see how much time remained.
"In this hand I have a bomb that is supposed to be strong enough to destroy a planet the size of Earth. And in twelve minutes, this ship is leaving for Minith. You tell me what has to be done, Mouse?”
"Aw, man," Mouse growled.
Grant knew he was right, and he could see that Mouse knew it also. There was only one way to defeat these monsters once and for all and they held the key to that puzzle in their hands.
"Can't we rig up something that would set it off automatically when the ship lands?"
"Yeah, maybe we could. If we had more time. But not now. What if something went wrong and the bomb didn't go off? That's a chance we can't afford to take."
Grant had considered the possibilities and options and the only one that afforded even modest success was if one of them accompanied the alien vessel back to its home planet and set off the bomb when they arrived.
"Then let me do it, Grant. I'll go."
"No, Mouse, I can't do that. It's my responsibility. I have to go."
"Why you? Why are you so quick to volunteer, huh?"
Grant thought about the question for less than a second. He did not need any longer than that.
"Because I don't belong here, Mouse. My time for living was up a long time ago."
Grant cursed the fates that had placed him in such a position and wondered if there was really a God and if there was, did He enjoy the joke he was playing?
"Hell, Mouse, these aren't even my own," Grant said, holding out his arms and slapping his legs. "Tane brought me back and gave me these for only one reason. So I could stop the Minith from killing Earth."
Grant put a hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Mouse, it's my destiny," Grant whispered hoarsely. Avery's face swam before his eyes and he hated himself for having dragged her into this. She would be hurt by what he had to do and that was his only regret. "You'd better get going. There's less than eleven minutes left."
"Okay, my friend," Mouse finally said. "I understand."
* * *
"But I don't."
Titan’s fist slammed into the side of Grant's head. The blow, while not fair, felt good considering who he was hitting. It was just a small pay back for the beating Grant had dealt him inside the prison.
"What the -- ?" Mouse yelled, spinning around to face the other man.
Titan smiled in return. He had entered the control room while Grant and Mouse were turned away from the door and had heard everything. Grant never knew what hit him. He just fell limply into Mouse's arms. Titan reached out and caught the bomb deftly before it had a chance to hit the floor.
"Why did you hit him?" Mouse held Grant's still form and glared daggers of anger at Titan.
"Get him out of here," Titan said. He placed the bomb on the control panel next to the clock. "You've got ten and a half minutes to get him loaded onto a carrier and away from here. Just pray there's a carrier waiting for you when you get outside."
"I can't take him out! Someone has to go with the ship, you giant idiot!"
"I'm going, Mouse," Titan calmly explained. He chose to ignore the man's threatening tone and was surprised that he was able to do so. It was a first for him. Somehow, his release of violence upon the Minith allowed him to tolerate this threat from another human. Before, he would have been enraged at any man for speaking to him in such a manner. Now, he simply brushed his anger aside as irrelevant.
"There's nothing for me here, Mouse. I'm a man of violence on a world of Peace. Besides," he added, looking down at Grant’s unconscious form. "I made a promise to Avery."
Mouse nodded, and Titan knew that he understood. Both about the promise to Avery as well as being a man of violence. He wondered briefly how Mouse and Grant were going to cope in the new world that they had just helped forge.
"Good luck."
"Thanks, Mouse. Tell Grant I'm sorry about the sneak attack. Now, you'd better hurry."
"You got it!" Mouse agreed. He tossed Grant's body over his shoulder and headed for the door. He stopped just before he reached it and turned around. "I could have taken you, Titan. I just wanted you to know that."
Titan threw back his head and laughed.
"Then you should have tried me, little one! I do not roll over so easy. But let's not discuss what might have been. You have very little time."
"I hear you, friend," Mouse said as he left the room and started to run. "I hear you."
* * *
Grant came to as he was being loaded onto a carrier. His head hurt. And he was pissed.
He felt the carrier lift off the ground. Heard the whine of the engines as the pilot maxed out his speed. He opened his eyes and saw Mouse looking down at him.
“Why?” It was all he could manage for the moment. His head felt like a blacksmith's anvil after a hard day of shoeing.
“Titan clobbered you, man. He said he's sorry he had to sneak it in on you. But I got the feeling he was kind of happy to oblige. If you know what I mean."
Grant stared stupidly at Mouse, unsure of what the other man was talking about.
“Titan? He’s at the prison.”
“No, Grant. Titan is on that Minith ship getting ready to take a long trip.”
The whine of the carrier vehicle was suddenly eclipsed by another, louder sound. Grant knew the source of the noise right away and sat up. He turned to look out the back viewing window and saw the
Minith ship on fire. No. Not on fire, just sitting on a platform of fire. A platform that began rising as the alien ship lifted off of the ground.
Grant looked down for the ring of scorched earth but he couldn’t make it out. They would have to hope they were beyond the destructive path of the Mothership and he settled back, suddenly content to just let things happen. There was nothing he could do now anyway. Nothing except watch the ship as it rose higher and higher.
When it was gone, he lay down on the floor of the carrier.
He slept and dreamed of Avery.
EPILOGUE
Grant soaked up the sunshine. Their picnic finished, he and Avery had laid out a blanket. They were snuggled together, her head nestled comfortably in the crook of his arm. The crest of this grass-covered hill was a favorite spot and they visited it often. Grant marveled at the joy he had found in this new world as his wife slept.
His thoughts and the quiet that surrounded them were interrupted as a carrier rushed overhead. He opened one eye and watched the vehicle settle at the bottom of the hill.
Two figures got out.
One began the short trek to the top. The other hung back.
Grant waited a few moments before gently removing his arm from under Avery’s sleeping form. He sat up and waited for Tane to reach the summit.
The scientist stopped fifteen feet from the blanket and nodded his head. Grant got the impression that Tane felt he was intruding and was unwilling to close the remaining distance. Tane’s thoughtfulness was one of the things Grant loved about his best friend.
“Hello, Grant.” Tane eyes met Grant’s for the briefest moment before settling on a patch of ground midway between them. Having become attuned to Tane’s mannerisms, Grant knew that something very important was on the scientist’s mind.
“Hi, Tane. What’s up?”
“I’ve just received word from the Leadership Council.” Grant waited for his friend to continue, but had to prod him to go on.
“And? What did our gracious Council have to say that’s got you so nervous, Tane?”
Tane squatted down. He pulled several blades of grass from the ground and tossed them into the air where they were caught by a slight breeze. Grant noticed that the wind was blowing from its usual direction of west to east. He also recognized that Tane was delaying what he needed to say for as long as possible. He decided to wait. Tane would speak when he was ready.
“They have received word from one of the deep space telescopes we had installed in S’merca.”
That got Grant’s full attention.
“And?”
“They have detected a large object headed toward our solar system.”
“A large object? You mean a ship?” Grant tried to sound calm, but could not keep the sudden, tight tension from creeping into his voice.
Avery must have detected the change, because she stirred beside him. Sat up. Her secondary eyelids blinked down to cut the glare of the mid-day sun and she looked down the hill. Waved to the figure walking there.
Tane held up his hands. He was asking Grant to remain calm, at Peace.
“We do not know that. It could be an asteroid or a meteor. It is too soon to tell for sure.”
“Right, Tane. It could be. But it could also be them right?” Grant didn’t need Tane to answer. He already knew that the Minith’s return was a possibility. Perhaps even a probability.
“That has not been ruled out.”
“Well then, I guess I have work to do.” Grant stood up and stretched. He looked down the hill at the second visitor, who was now running towards them.
Avery was fully awake now and having heard the last few exchanges, knew what to expect. She packed up their blanket and the remains of the picnic without another word.
They had planned for this day. Hoped it wouldn’t come, but planned for it nonetheless. If the object hurtling toward Earth was an asteroid or a meteor, great. If it was the Minith, then they were ready.
The running figure reached the top of the hill. Did not slow down. Launched himself into the air toward Grant.
“Daaadddy!”
Grant timed the jump perfectly, as he always did. Plucked the five year old cleanly out of the air and swung him around and around. His son stuck out his arms and made plane noises.
All three adults laughed. They knew the child wanted to be a jet fighter pilot when he grew up.
Just like his Uncle Mouse.
Not a boring old general like his dad.
The End
Read on for a preview of:
PEACE ARMY
Book 2 of the Peace Warrior Trilogy
PEACE ARMY
Chapter 1
Grant strode purposefully down the half-mile length of the First Square hallway, slowing only as he neared the door to Treel’s room. He wondered how Treel would take the news.
He had delayed informing the alien about the object headed toward Earth until they were positive what it was. Just that morning, the probes they had placed on Mars two years previously had sent back very clear images. The visual identification confirmed their worst fears.
The approaching object was a Minith mothership.
They had suspected it for weeks, ever since the fast-moving object suddenly appeared. Their search efforts scanned the sky at all times, looking for anomalies, blips, and motherships. A third of their systems detected the object at the same moment. One second, nothing. The next, a tiny blip marked the presence of a new object on the outer boundary of the solar system.
Senior Scientist Tane Rolan surmised the ship had slowed from faster-than-light speed at, or just before, the moment it was detected, but no one knew for certain. What they did know was, at its current speed, the ship would reach Earth in less than a week.
Treel was the sole survivor of the previous Minith occupation force. He had been captured by the men and women of Violent’s Prison after a failed raid of the prison by the alien force. The other Minith on the planet had been killed, many by Grant.
Over the past six years, Grant had come to trust the former Minith soldier. Somehow, he could relate to Treel in ways other humans could not—and in ways that he could not relate to other humans. As an ancient soldier, forged by the norms of a society six hundred years in the past, Grant was just as much an anomaly in present-day Earth as was the alien. They were both trained soldiers. Neither feared killing or showing violence when the need arose. Both were driven by a need for discipline, accountability, and an ingrained code of honor.
Over the first year after Treel’s capture, Grant had spent at least two hours each day talking with the alien. His reasons for doing so were protective and proactive in nature. He needed information that would help protect Earth from a possible future attack. And he did not want to wait until the day the information was needed to get it.
There was no torture; it wasn’t needed. The alien was forthcoming with every detail requested. He answered Grant’s questions about Minith capabilities, tactics, and weapons promptly and efficiently. Because of the ease with which it was gained, Grant was initially suspicious of the information provided. It took him nearly a year to realize that Treel was just responding as he had been conditioned by Minith culture. Upon losing his entire force and being captured, Treel had simply conceded superiority to the humans who defeated him.
For the Minith, defeat by a superior opponent meant a complete and immediate shift in loyalty to the victor.
Once Grant understood that key detail of the Minith psyche, he proceeded differently. He fostered a relationship with the alien based on mutual trust and understanding. They discussed more than just tactics of warfare. They ventured into areas of Minith culture—family life and children. It was during these discussions that Treel announced to Grant that he had a family. A spouse and two children resided on a planet that had been captured and claimed outside the Minith’s home solar system.
It was soon after learning of Treel’s family that Grant introduced the alien to his own son.
Eli was three when Grant first took the boy to visit Treel, and Grant was amazed at the bond Eli and the alien formed. Within weeks, Eli was asking to visit Treel daily. It took more than a little convincing to get Avery to relent to regular visits, but after agreeing only on the condition that they visit as a family, she too was soon swayed by Treel’s interactions with the boy. Eli’s lack of fear and obvious affection for Treel helped seal the deal. After six months of family visits, neither she nor Grant had any concern about Eli’s safety and soon permitted Eli unrestricted visits.
Despite his own convictions, it took two years for Grant to convince the Leadership Council that the Minith soldier was no longer a threat to humans. He eventually succeeded, though. Although Treel was still technically a prisoner, he was not confined to a room or a cell. He was free to roam as he wished—for now. Grant had no idea if that freedom would be allowed to continue.
The approaching ship changed things.
* * *
“Check.”
Eli scanned the board. The pieces were in their appointed places. But he always made sure. His dad taught him that lesson the first time they ever played.
Always make sure.
Satisfied everything was in order, he moved his knight two spots down and one spot over. It settled neatly into its appointed place. To the place he had planned for it to settle a dozen moves back. He smiled at his latest opponent, the only person—well, not really a person—other than his dad who played chess.
“Checkmate.”
“Ah! I thought I had you that time, little one,” Treel conceded. He leaned back from the table and glared at the five-year-old across the board.
Eli grinned at Treel’s menacing sneer. He knew it was a “tactic”—his dad’s word—the alien used to intimidate him. But it never worked. Treel was a Minith, but he was nice. That was Treel’s big secret around most humans. Almost everyone was scared to be around him. Not his dad or his mom, or even his uncle Tane or his uncle Mouse. They knew Treel well enough. But everyone else left the room quickly when the alien entered. They weren’t used to his size, his large ears, or his green leathery hide.
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