by Mark Tufo
With Tracy resting that first day, I’d taken a shuttle down with BT and Dee to retrieve my son. I’d been so excited to get him, I’d barely noticed that there was growing animosity between the two behemoths. The shuttle had been about half full—still plenty of room to sit and move about. When BT had sat next to me, I just figured he wanted to talk, though he said nothing. It was not a minute later that Dee had pulled up the two seats on the other side so that his right leg was actually touching my left. I’d gone from having very spacious accommodations to being wedged tight between the titans. I suppose something should have dinged off in my head with the two of them glaring at each other over my head but again I was so fixated on getting my son back I paid them little attention. I suppose it would have been negligent of me to keep ignoring them if fists were flying, but right now they were merely mean mugging each other.
Dee’s demeanor changed the moment he saw his godson. Travis could not get over to him fast enough.
“Where have you been!?” Travis almost scolded as he ran to Dee who scooped him up high. The boy’s face lit up as Dee swung him around.
“I am sorry, little one, that I have been gone for so long.”
“Hey, dad,” I said as I went over to my father. We hugged. “I’m sorry about the cabin.” I had tears in my eyes; I knew how much that place meant to him, to me…to us all, really.
“It’s alright, we’ll rebuild when we can. Your big green friend told me in no uncertain terms it is not things which define life; it is relationships.”
“Yeah, he’s smart like that.”
“You sure your son is alright with him?” BT had come up. “That looks dangerous.”
“Dad, this is BT. One of the bravest men I’ve ever known.”
“Pleasure to meet you, BT,” my father said as he stuck his hand out and up. “I take it your mother made sure you ate all your spinach?”
“Well, at least now I know where your son gets it. Honored to meet the father of the man with the most sarcastic tongue I’ve ever come across.”
“That’s it? I call you the bravest and I get labeled as the most sarcastic? How about best warrior or something?”
“Fine. You’re like the sixth or seventh best warrior I know.”
“Asshat,” I said to BT.
“So the Prog peace; is that for real?” my dad asked in a conspiratorial tone, meaning it was barely audible.
“It is,” I told him.
“And the Stryvers? What about them?”
“Yeah, they’re as scary as they look.” We’d made sure to broadcast all the video of them that we could lay our hands on. The more people saw of them the better the poll numbers got.
“They must be if the Progs, who were hell-bent on stomping us out of existence, now want to play nice.”
Dee handed Travis off. I did my best not to sob openly as I held my son tight. The smell of him was almost too much as I buried my nose into his curly locks. “It’s good to see you, son.” Once I’d had my hugs, I’d walked away from the overwhelming warmth of this reunion. My son wasn’t yet capable of fully understanding the extent of my emotions. Sure he was happy to see me, but there was no possible way he could comprehend all I’d…all we’d been through since I’d last held him tight. To hell and back seemed more like a vacation to Florida than what had actually happened. Though that’s not really fair to hell, because I hate Florida. The point is I didn’t want to weigh down the occasion. I did my best to ditch the somber thoughts and be with my family and friends in the present.
I got my first tingle that all was not well between my two friends when BT began to make inroads with Travis. I was smiling, having a good time, when for some reason I’d looked over to Dee and he had a scowl on his face as he watched the two interact. When he realized I was watching he relaxed his features and tried to play it off with a fake smile. It might have fooled them, but not me. I dismissed it then; after all, we were all trying our best and it was just too nice a day to let anything diminish it. The weather was beautiful and it was great to be on real ground with a real gravity holding me in place. I felt solid, and right where I was supposed to be.
With the Hill effectively compromised, Paul had sent down dozens of shuttles, most to bring much-needed personnel back up into space and onto the Guardian once it was ready; some were being reassigned to other strongholds around the world. It was the civilians, including my family, that were the problem. More specifically, what to do with them. The Hill had not only been a rebellion launch point, it had also been a haven. Now that was gone. There was plenty of space on the Guardian, it was just that Paul didn’t want his battleship to be a refugee camp. It wasn’t that he was heartless about their plight, he was their defender. The fact was his ship was on the front lines of a war that was far from over. They would be in far more danger aboard the Guardian than in just about any locale on earth, I mean, I guess except for Florida. Seriously, have you seen the bugs that call that place home? Definitely a hostile place.
It wasn’t all that surprising to me when my dad, brother, sister and their families wanted to go back up to Maine. I told them I didn’t think that was such a good idea. A lot of the places they knew were now basically craters. Hadn’t deterred them at all. Talbots, on top of being pig-headed, are pretty stubborn. Get something in their heads and they will basically ride it out to the end no matter the outcome.
“What about your son?” My dad asked before we were getting ready to part ways.
“I reunite him with his mom, then do my best to convince her to come back to Earth with him and stay with you guys, which she will emphatically refuse to do, we’ll get into a fight, and she’ll win hands down.”
“Still going to try though, aren’t you?” My dad was smiling.
“Of course, Pa. I learned from the best.” I hugged them all; it was a bittersweet moment. I did my best to focus on what we had gained and not that which was lost. The shuttle ride was entertaining, though claustrophobic. This time it was a full boat and out of necessity, I was sandwiched between BT and Dee. At least their rivalry was focused on Travis; attempting to establish who had the right to play with him, or maybe just trying to prove who was more fun. If not for the closely guarded box brought in late I would have had enough room to move away.
“Don’t you worry he’ll get hungry some day and maybe mistake your kid for beef jerky or something?” BT whispered in my ear.
“Michael, will you please tell your…friend…that my love for your son, my godson, is beyond reproach. And that I am a strict vegetarian, though I would make an exception if he were to somehow end up on the menu,” Dee said aloud.
This was amusing up to a point, but if it came to blows with me between them I could end up a bloody pulp long before either of those leviathans settled their dispute.
“I so wish I’d been at those games.” BT punched a fist into his open palm. “I would have mowed through everyone, including you, Mike, no offense.”
“Why would I take offense at that? It would just mean that you had killed me to prove your superior strength.”
“It’s not about you; our match would have been part of my rise in the standings. Eventually I would have got to face the great Genogerian champion, who I would have mopped up the floor with.”
Dee snorted. “I could have killed Michael numerous times during our bout. What is the great honor in that? I do not believe you would have lasted through even the bit of meager competition he offered.”
“Meager bit? I fought my ass off! I made you bleed,” I said.
“It was merely a flesh wound, Michael.”
“You both suck. I’m sure they’ll have the Guardian up and running in no time; why don’t you two just use the arena?” I’d meant it as a way to make them shut up and divert them from the path they were going down, I should have known the idiots would jump on the idea as if it were a fat, juicy rabbit and they were starving dogs.
“Every once in a great while, Michael, you slow down long enough to al
low wisdom to catch up with you,” Dee said.
“I think that’s a compliment, right?” I asked BT.
“Sure man, whatever makes you feel better. I look forward to it.” BT was talking about the fight.
“Wait, you two are serious? I was fucking kidding.”
“We were not,” Dee spoke for them both.
“He’s right,” BT said.
“Oh, now you two are on the same side. How fucking convenient. Fine, if this is what you two really want to do then I’m pulling rank. This will not be a fight to the death.” I think Dee sagged a bit, maybe just my overactive imagination. “The weapons will be pugil sticks and wooden swords, is that clear?”
“That is acceptable.” I could see Dee thinking, I didn’t like the little thought bubbles showing up over his head.
“Helmets!” I shouted. “You’ll both be fitted for helmets.”
“No fucking way. I’m not wearing a helmet to a street fight,” BT said.
“This is a not street fight and I’m the commanding officer. If you two want to whip your dicks out and see who can piss farther that’s fine, but I’m not letting any senior officers in my Marine Corps get injured doing so. We don’t have the resources to allow anything permanent to happen to either one of you. And for some fucking reason, I’ve grown fond of the both of you. So if you two want to fight, you’ll be wearing helmets or you won’t be doing it at all. Is that understood?”
Both of them had their heads bowed like they were little kids who had finger painted all over the walls.
“I can’t hear you.”
“Yes sir,” they answered.
“Good. Now shut up about it.”
Chapter 18
MIKE JOURNAL ENTRY 12
The Vicieus was a big ship and could easily accommodate the number of people we’d brought on board. The problem was the integration. It was unrealistic to think that old enemies would become friends overnight; the best thing that could happen would be that the Guardian would be back online soon and we could separate everyone. It would be easier for us all to get over our prejudices by watching the others in action.
“Where have you been?” Tracy asked. She was sitting on the edge of the bed looking at her boots on the floor as if they were parked on another planet. I was standing in the doorway, Travis behind my legs.
He poked his head around and shouted “Mommy!” He ran toward her with his arms outstretched. You’d be hard pressed to figure out which of us had our tears hit the ground first. Okay, okay, it wouldn't be that hard; my eyes were gushing horribly. I could barely make out the other two people in the room from the curtain of waterworks. I could hear them, though. The unbridled joy of that reunion did something special to me. Did something to Tracy as well; for someone who didn’t think she could bend at the waist, she was now dancing around with her son on her hip, suddenly cured. After a while I went and got us some food; we stayed in that room the rest of the night. We slept curled into one big ball of humanity. I never wanted to let either of them go. There was only one moment where it got even slightly dicey, but I don’t think you could honestly blame me for bringing it up.
“Hon,” I started safely enough. “You, umm, remember that time you pulled a gun on me?”
“You’re still bringing that up?” she asked as she looked up from the game she was playing with Travis on the floor.
“It really wasn’t that long ago and we haven’t even talked about it,” I said earnestly.
“Are you here?”
“Am I here?” I asked, not knowing what she was getting at.
“Are you alive?” she clarified.
“Yeah, by the grace of a Genogerian with good aim.”
“It should be me that’s mad. I’m the one who got shot. I’m the one who has been sore for days. You don’t see me bellyaching about it, though.”
“Well, there’s that,” I said, justifying her stance somewhat. In a deft movement I could never have seen coming, it was now me on the defensive.
“You should have never put me in a position to get shot. Do you realize the pain I have gone through? And I’m not even close to being over with it. The doctor said I could suffer after-effects for weeks. Weeks, Michael, while we are in the midst of a war.”
“Yeah but, you had a gun to my head. Would you have really pulled the trigger?”
“You should come down here and enjoy this game with your son while we have him on board.” She never did answer the damn question; I wisely left it to fester in an untended closet that I make a point of never revisiting. It was in the company of all the other unsolvable, unmentionable, unthinkable garbage I’d had to shove in there and slam the door, before it had a chance to leak out.
In space, it’s impossible to tell time, but if I’d had to guess, it was somewhere around four a.m. when there was a light rapping on the door to our room. Tracy sat up straight and looked over to her sidearm, I was already off the bed and headed for my rifle. It is extremely difficult to take the battle out of the soldier. If I made it to ninety I still think I’ll be looking for a weapon every time I awake.
“It’s me, Mike.” It was Paul. If I’m being honest, I was still thinking of grabbing my weapon.
I opened the door, doing my best to hide the fact that my heart was doing double time in my chest and that liters of adrenaline were pumping through the system.
“I’m sorry to bother you at this hour, but the Guardian is ready.”
The first thing at the tip of my mouth was, “Great. You should get going,” but that he was at my door meant there was nothing I could say.
“Let me get dressed. I’ll get everybody assembled and ready to move.”
“Major,” Paul acknowledged Tracy as he looked over my shoulder. “Thank you.”
I was going to shut the door and get dressed, but the general wasn’t leaving so I grabbed my pants and sat on the edge of the bed to pull them on. “Any news on the Stryvers?”
“Nothing…and we lost track of Beth’s ship. She was in a shuttle; she didn’t have the range to get away from the sensors.”
“So she had help. Either they picked her up or she had some sort of shielding technology on board with her. And that’s another thing I’ve been meaning to ask the Progs. Now, I realize their little interstellar battle has been going on for a long time, but how are the Stryvers catching up to, and in many cases surpassing, the Progs in terms of that technology?”
“What do you mean?” Paul asked.
“Well, it’s a lot like us right now on this ship. Let’s say we found a planet teaming with Neanderthals all living in their caves, using stone tools and rudimentary weapons. We go down with all this fancy weaponry and the ability to fly and just start wiping them out by the thousands—if not millions, yet somehow they regroup, steal some of the things we have and go on to become this great superpower with the ability to destroy entire planets. I mean, how do you go from an underground cave dweller to masters of the universe in a few short decades? Are they getting help from somewhere else?”
“We better hope not. If we’ve learned anything from our contact with alien races, it’s that none of them are benign.”
“Ain’t that the truth.” I was tying my boot. I went over and gave Tracy a kiss. “You going to be alright?”
“Slow…but yeah. I’ll have him ready.”
“Get some more sleep; this isn’t going to happen for a few more hours.”
“Okay, but if you go over to that ship without me…”
“I get the implied message—we’ll be on the same shuttle. I’ll come and bother you a half hour before it’s time to go.”
I longed to stay in that bed with her as she lay back down and wrapped her arm around our boy. Not much was said between me and Paul as we walked down the corridor. The lines had been drawn. Sure, overall we were on the same side, that of the continued existence of humankind, but we’d crossed out the line that defined our friendship. The public war was much bigger than our private conflict and cert
ainly took precedence. But when this was over, I was either going to kill him or take great lengths to make sure I never saw him again because I’d kill him. It was only the critical set of circumstances that allowed me to put aside the intense dislike I felt for that man, and the blame I laid at his door for a great part of those circumstances. Only our immediate need to cooperate enabled me to continue on with our quest.
It didn’t take nearly as long as I thought it would to round everyone up and get them ready. They’d actually set up guards to watch the living areas, not entirely convinced that their hosts were quite as accommodating as I’d tried to assure them. Dee and BT were busy helping get things in line as well; I believe they were more excited to get back to the Guardian than Paul was, though for different reasons. I was actually trying to gum up the works of the well-oiled machine just so I could give my beloved a few more hours of uninterrupted sleep.
“You realize you two aren’t going to hit the ring the second you get back, right?” I said to them. BT looked like he was about to pop a blood vessel at that. I didn’t say anything else, but I found it humorous that they both said they couldn’t stand each other yet they always seemed to be within a hand span of the other. Who knows? Maybe they were following the old dictum of keeping your enemies closer.
I found Paul on the bridge; he was talking to Asuras.
“We’re ready to go, General,” I said from a few paces away.
“Colonel Talbot, I was just discussing with your General all that has been done on the Guardian. Some of what the Stryvers had done to the computers was beyond anything my technicians had ever seen; we pulled those machines offline so that they might be studied in a safe environment. We had to install and boot up new systems. Like with anything new, there may be issues…I believe your people call them bugs…that will need to be worked out. I have suggested that over the next few days we run some extensive and exhaustive drills to make sure that the systems do not fail under stress—or if they do that it is only during a test run.”
