by Tammy Walsh
I hammered one Changeling in the face after another. Their weak bodies slammed into the hull, bones snapping beneath the force.
“We are under attack!” a Changeling soldier said into his radio. “I repeat, we are under attack!”
I kicked him in the stomach, sending him sprawling, unconscious, across the floor.
I ran to Alice’s pod and tore the lid off, shortcircuiting the system. I picked her up and placed her gently on the floor.
“What’s… What’s happening?” Alice said, peering around at the ship. “How long have I been asleep?”
“Just a few minutes,” I said.
Her eyes caught on the black circles on my flesh where the soldiers had jabbed their rods. They were already healing.
“You’re healing so fast…” she said.
“I’m a Titan,” I said, and pressed my lips to hers. “And I have found my one true love.”
I kissed her, and I swear to God, she tasted even better than I remembered. I knew deep in my heart there was no way I could ever part from her again.
A siren wailed as a squadron of soldiers raced in cars toward us.
“They’re chasing us?” Alice said.
“I attacked their commander,” I said. “And I couldn’t free you from your pod after we took off, so I had to take action now.”
“What about your dreams?” Alice said. “What about the farm on Arcturon Prime?”
I smiled at her. “I have a better dream now.” I picked her up. “Come on. We’re going to take this colony down. And I’m going to need your help to do it.”
“We won’t have long,” I said, hustling onto the flight deck. “These colonies are built like miniature fortresses. If they figure out what we’re about to do, they’ll shoot us down.”
Alice nodded but didn’t appear concerned. “What can I do?”
I set her on her feet. “Get to that terminal over there. Those are the weapons systems. I need you to target the holographic bubble generator. It’s what makes the colony look like a regular town.”
Alice stared at the console. “I don’t understand. It’s so complicated.”
“Give your translator strip a moment to translate everything,” I said.
“My translator strip…” Alice said.
She reached into her pocket, unfolded the strip, and placed it on her neck. “Okay. I see it.”
“Open fire,” I said, taking my position behind the pilot station.
I took off as the Changeling soldiers fired at us with their plasma pistols. I drifted between the other smuggler ships to avoid the worst of the gunfire.
More human females were being loaded on the other ships. I shook my head in disgust. “This has gone on for far too long.”
It needed to end. Now.
“Message received,” Computer said.
“Discard,” I said. The last thing I needed was to hear angry words from the Changeling command.
Alice charged up the weapons systems and opened fire, striking those firing on us.
I made a bee-line for the generator, still concealed behind the main hangar buildings.
Heavy-duty cannons unfurled along the embankments, locking on to us and opening fire.
Our ship shuddered as it took heavy fire. I swerved the worst of it but one round in ten was enough to down us within minutes.
A round blew through the screen and melted the metal over my shoulder, searing red-hot holes in the hull.
I ground my teeth and shifted direction before turning a corner.
Finally, we had a visual of it. The holographic bubble generator. It had the appearance of a small local library. The one place no one in a party town would ever want to visit.
“The library!” I said. “Fire at the library!”
“What about the cannons?” Alice bellowed.
“We’ll never take them all down!” I yelled. “The library! That’s our goal!”
Once destroyed, all the illusions around the town would fail. The humans would see the town for what it really was.
A trap.
Alice aimed every available weapon at the holographic bubble generator.
I strafed left to right to avoid the worst of the alien gunfire but it was only a short term strategy. Their plasma bolts burned through my ship like a hot knife through butter.
The console flashed red with warning signals. I slapped it off. I didn’t need to know about something I couldn’t do anything about.
“Come on, baby,” I muttered to the ship. “You can do this. Just a little further.”
The ship shuddered hard. The left wing engine exploded as it took a direct hit from one of the pulse cannons. It burst into flames.
Silent Shadow dropped on that side. We leaned over, lopsided, and continued barreling forward, shooting at the generator.
Were we having any effect? It was hard to tell. It was only when—
And then it happened.
The library’s fake front shifted, turning pixelated, like a corrupt file on a computer hard drive.
“What’s happening?” Alice said. “What’s going on?”
“It’s working!” I yelled. “Just keep firing!”
Right now, the same thing would be happening all over town. Storefronts would warp, revealing the hard grey shells beneath. A flatpack town mass-produced in a distant factory.
We took another shot—this time to the engine on the opposite wing. We dropped, barely able to clear the ground. But we kept going, kept floating forward, drawing nearer to the colony’s defense turrets.
The Changelings always won. It was a universal rule of the galaxy. They always got their way.
But maybe not today. Maybe today, it would be a small victory for the peace-loving species.
Barreling toward the flicking library front, our engines gave up the ghost and we drifted forward under our momentum.
“Computer!” I bellowed. “Release the pods! All of them!”
“Pods released,” Computer said.
The alien creatures would skim across the ground and awaken in what would look like a warzone.
The fake library rushed up fast until it filled the entire screen.
“Brace for impact!” I yelled.
I grabbed the console with both hands. Alice did the same with her own.
We smashed into the holographic bubble generator and I had no idea if we would ever open our eyes again.
Sparks hissed in blossoming flowers from the computer terminals. Acrid smoke issued from singed wires and burning consoles.
I climbed to my feet. My balance was off and I slipped, falling to the floor. I waited for a moment on my hands and knees before regaining my balance.
“Computer,” I said, my voice heavy with husk. “Locate Alice.”
There was no response.
“Computer,” I repeated. “Locate Alice.”
Computer didn’t respond.
He couldn’t respond. He was off-line.
I pressed a hand to a broken console. “Farewell, my old friend.”
I moved up onto my feet for a second attempt. This time, it worked. I wiped the blood from my forehead where I suffered a gash.
It didn’t matter. The only thing I could think about was Alice.
I shuffled across the deck. It was hard to match it with how it had once appeared. I reached the diagnostics terminal. The weapons systems station should be right next to it.
But it wasn’t there. The terminal had snapped off.
When we crashed, she’d been holding on tight to it.
Then where was she?
It must have come off when we smashed into the building.
No…
I waved at the smoke as I moved forward. The screen was black and shards of glass lay strewn across the floor.
And there she lay, still clutching the terminal close.
I picked the terminal up and tossed it aside as if it weighed nothing.
She lay in a heap. I lifted her into my lap and rocked her gentl
y.
“Computer. Check for vital signs—” I said, before remembering he was already offline.
I pressed my fingers to her neck and was relieved to feel a pulse. It was strong.
“Did we do it?” Alice said.
Her eyes fluttered open.
“Yes, we did it,” I said, though in truth, I had no idea if we had or not.
Then, rising like seagulls over a sharp cliff, we heard the most glorious sound we could imagine.
Screams.
Screams of a huge mob finally seeing the truth.
Only then did we truly know we had done it.
The holographic generator was down and the partiers could see the town for what it was. A sham.
I ran my hands over her body, looking for signs of blood or injury. “How do you feel?”
“I’ve felt better,” she said. “Nothing that a little bonding can’t fix.”
She reached up and pulled me closer. We kissed deeply, passionately. I gave myself to her, and she buried herself in me.
“By the way,” Alice said. “How come I understood what you were saying earlier when I wasn’t wearing the translator strip? You were speaking in your native tongue, right?”
“Yes. And you were speaking in yours.”
“Then how could you understand me?”
“We’re bonded now. Body and soul. You understand me on a level far deeper than language.”
“Can I understand anyone who speaks your language?” she said.
“Only if you bond with them. And don’t be getting any ideas.”
She chuckled and kissed me again. “Never. You’re all I want.”
There we sat, surrounded by my destroyed starship, and what remained of the fake town we’d helped expose.
No human female would have to suffer the same experience Alice had.
At least, not at this colony.
I supported Alice as we limped from the cracked hull of my former ship. A dozen smuggling vessels took off and ascended into the thick clouds of an approaching storm.
Bright lights broke through the cloud cover and made me cover my eyes with my hands. The ships froze in midair as multiple beams of light held them in place.
“Are those tractor beams?” Alice said.
“Yes,” I said. “Dozens of them.”
A broad smile spread across Alice’s face. “It’s nice to see them getting some of their own medicine.”
The ship didn’t descend out of the clouds. It was the clouds. It was one of the largest ships I had ever seen. The identifcation mark on its side turned my throat dry. I imagined every smuggler’s throat dried at the sight of it.
It was an Enforcer frigate. A ship designed to end wars and settle disputes on an intergalactic scale.
“What is that?” Alice said.
“The Enforcers,” I said.
“How did they know to come? You don’t think—?”
“They’re part of the smuggling ring? No. They’re here because I sent them a message.”
Alice peered up at me, agape. “You sent them a message? When?”
“When I knew we weren’t going to manage this on our own.”
Alice slapped me affectionately on the arm. “I thought you would be ostracized by the other smugglers if you ever betrayed them?”
“I would be,” I said. “But I didn’t expect to live through today, never mind get to smuggle another human female. You made me see things differently. What if it were you in those pods, only I hadn’t met you yet? They’re all you, remember? And that means I had to protect them all. Or, at least try to.”
“Thank you,” Alice said, going up on her tiptoes to kiss me on the cheek. “That’s for all us human females.” She wagged a finger at me. “But don’t be thinking they can all kiss you like that.”
I raised my hands in surrender as we limped across the depot.
A series of smaller ships—but still large enough to take on a well-fortified planet alone—broke off from the frigate and descended to the ground. Multiple hatch doors dropped open and soldiers disembarked and rounded up the Changelings. With us limping toward them, they didn’t appear to consider us much of a threat.
The soldiers wore thick metal plating for armor and rifles that could dissolve a bank vault in ten seconds. Two soldiers aimed their rifles at us. Just beyond them, their commanding officer gave orders. Once he was done, he approached us. His name was etched into his breastplate. CARVER.
He looked me over. “You’re the one that called us?”
“I am,” I said.
“There’s a big reward out for these smugglers,” Carver said. “I can’t give you an exact figure but it must run into the thousands. And then there’s the colony to consider. By the time it’s all told, you’re going to be a wealthy man.”
Alice grinned up at me. When I didn’t grin back, she frowned with thought.
Carver’s second in command leaned over and whispered in his superior officer’s ear. He checked the device the officer was holding and glanced at me, comparing me to the sketch they had on record.
I knew this would happen but I wasn’t entirely sure what would happen next.
“Well, this is a pickle,” Carver said with a heavy sigh. “My lieutenant informed me you’re a wanted smuggler yourself. Is that true?”
“It’s true,” I said.
Carver nodded, clearly disappointed. Then his eyes drifted over to Alice. “And who’s this?”
“One of my former captives,” I said.
Alice wrapped her arms around my waist. “Will he get off for helping you capture all these smugglers?”
“Unfortunately, that’s not my decision to make,” Carver said. “The Council will have to look at your case and make a decision.”
I nodded. The Council was harsh but fair. It was the best I could hope for.
Carver nodded to Alice. “Is she the reason you had a change of heart and called us?”
“She turned me into a better Titan,” I said.
“I can’t blame you. She’s a real beauty. She’ll still be here when you get back.”
“Wait,” Alice said. “Get back? From where?”
“From his hearing,” Carver said. “All right, cuff him.”
She stepped between us, preventing them from approaching. The soldier was strong, made even stronger with his mechanically-enhanced suit. I raised a hand and he pulled back.
I never knew they could be so understanding.
I turned Alice to face me. “Alice, look at me.”
She wouldn’t.
I raised her chin with my finger. Tears were already streaming down her face.
“It’s okay,” I said.
“No, it’s not okay,” Alice said, wrapping her arms around me tightly.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be back before you know it. Then you’ll complain about how I’m under your feet all the time.”
She shook her head and buried her face in my chest. “No, I won’t. Not ever.”
“I’m going to my hearing. Whatever happens, I’ll come straight back to you.”
“You promise?”
I said, “I promise.”
I leaned down and kissed her on the lips. I could taste her tears. I wished I could have done more with her, wished I could bond with her one last time before I went away for… I had no idea how long.
Alice stepped aside and let the Enforcer cuff me.
“I’ll wait for you!” Alice said.
I followed the Enforcers onto the giant ship. Turning my back on her was the hardest thing I’d ever done. I hoped I would see her again. I wished I would be back within a matter of hours.
I clutched my memories of her close, to keep me company during the long lonely nights ahead. It was all I needed to keep me warm and bring a smile to my face.
Soon, my love, I will return to you.
I promise.
Alice
Slipping back into my usual humdrum life was easier than I expected. My apartment seemed so much
quieter now. And smaller. It was almost stifling.
My home office was a small nondescript space with no artwork on the walls—I didn’t want the distractions. I even pulled the blind down to block the nice view of the park. And still, I couldn’t focus enough to write my latest novel.
I wrote a brilliant half-sentence. I knew it was going to be great. I’d written it fifty times. I just couldn’t figure out how it ended.
You would have thought my recent real-life adventures would have given me all the inspiration I needed. I’d been abducted, chased, survived, fought, got abducted again, and then took out my own slave masters. And, of course, I fell in love with the most handsome male I’ve ever set eyes upon.
I reached for the thin chain around my wrist but found it wasn’t there. I kept forgetting. A force of habit. I’d traded it on Tordal for a tiny meal. Some other creature was probably wearing it now.
I thought about my friends and where they had ended up. Were they going on unprecedented adventures as I had? Or were they floating through space in their pods, to live forever in the vacuum of space? Or were they on their way home?
After I returned to New York, I called each of my friends’ parents, telling them the same story I told the fake Changeling police officers in the colony. I suffered from amnesia, I said. It was all a mystery. They nodded understandingly and never for a second thought I was lying.
I felt terrible. They had never treated me with anything but kindness, and yet here I was, lying to their faces. But the fact I had turned up unexpectedly did give them some hope, and perhaps that was the best thing I could gift them with.
After all, their daughters returning was still a possibility, right?
I wondered if I would ever see them again. I still reached for my cell every few minutes, checking to see what shenanigans they’d gotten up to in our group chat.
Nothing.
I couldn’t help them. They were out there somewhere, flung among the stars.
The incident at the colony was missing from all forms of media. I guess if you could zip across the galaxy at physics-breaking speeds, you could keep a story quiet in the local press.
Unable to focus on work, and with the bills piling up, I decided to get a part-time gig. I needed social interaction, even if it was superficial.
