by K. D. Mattis
Even after extensive repairs, the ship still showed signs of its last battle. Large splotches of black on the walls spoke of onboard fires. Temporary patching on the ceiling and floors reminded him of the alien weapons cutting straight through the ship. Dangling cables hung from various conduits as a reminder of the difficulties in keeping the ship running under heavy assault.
Everyone on the ship jumped as a large piece of metal debris smacked the hull. Kim forced himself to regain composure and address his crew.
“I know I’m not Commander Gibbs. I saw it happen, but I still don’t know how he managed to keep the Protector in one piece the last time it faced the aliens. All I know is that I don’t intend to let this ship fall on my watch.”
Hundreds of people ran around the command center in a display of organized insanity. Asher and a group of a dozen other men and women stood around a table and barked orders to everyone as they ran up with a list of questions and concerns. Three of the walls split into a series of projection screens that displayed a constant stream of video and data feeds.
Running through the crowd, a young intelligence officer approached Asher with the latest information. “Sir, only two of the Earth Defense Initiative nations have stated they have assets ready for response.”
Asher snatched the tablet from the young woman’s hands and read through a list. “Great, what are they?”
“Russia says they have the Stalingrad repaired and ready for departure. It only has three of the four fighter-crafts onboard, but it is operational.”
“That’s better than nothing. I’ll take it. Tell them to launch and provide them the Protector’s coordinates. What else?”
“The Chinese have a series of missiles available to launch from the lunar colony, but they need targeting information.”
With a smirk, Asher pushed the tablet back into the young woman’s hands. “Tell them to stand by. We’ll let them know as soon as we have a target.”
For several minutes, the buzz around the room quieted. While the signal continued, no alien ship showed itself. The buzz picked back up when the display charting the signal strength shot up several times over before falling completely silent.
“What was that?” Asher asked
Everyone tried to find an answer, but no one came forward with one. Several hours passed without the signal presenting itself again. Asher ordered everyone to return to monitoring status.
“Comm, give the Stalingrad and Protector permission to return to base, but order everyone to remain on high alert. If the signal presents itself again, we’ll need to scramble all assets. Make sure the lunar colony is aware of the situation.”
“Is there anything we can do about the signal?”
Asher nodded. “Order diagnostics on all of the Venus probes. We need to make sure this wasn’t a false signal.”
Most of the staff turned off their machines and walked out to fill out reports or head to their quarters.
She trusted her team, but Asher stayed to read the reports as they came in. She didn’t know what to look for, but she hoped to see some inconsistency or overlooked detail. She didn’t find any. Standing to leave, Asher’s knee gave out and she fell forward, shattering the screen of her tablet.
Two of the remaining staff ran forward to assist her.
“Sir, are you all right?” asked one of the men as he knelt to help her up.
With wide eyes and wincing from pain in her left knee, Asher waved off the man’s hand and eased into a standing position. “I’m fine.”
The two members of the staff shared a concerned glance.
“Really, I am. My muscles just give out occasionally in full gravity now. The cost of missing a few workouts while in space, I suppose.”
Asher thanked the members of the staff and walked off with a slight limp. Her pride hurt far more than her knee, but she couldn’t ignore the growing pain in her stomach either. She hadn’t taken the time to eat. Looking at her watch, she faced another choice. All the late hours were taking a toll on her body. As hungry as she was, she couldn’t deny her exhaustion. With a deep rumble, her stomach won the debate, and she walked to the mess hall.
The mess hall was empty except for a janitor slowly mopping the floor. At the sight of the admiral, he picked up the pace, only to gradually return to the same slow pace as before. The food line didn’t have anyone working, so Asher stepped over to a line of several refrigerators. Each contained an array of pre-made meals. She made her selection and swiped her meal card. The food pushed forward onto a conveyor belt, which then lowered to an opening.
With a bit of a struggle, Asher opened the plastic box and removed her food. She noticed a small spot of mold on top of the sandwich and debated throwing it out. Deciding she didn’t care, she pinched off the mold and ate.
A television mounted to the wall droned on and on about various events during the day. Asher ignored all of it until the volume shot up.
“Panic in India today as an earthquake in the Bay of Bengal threatens the region with massive tidal waves. Scientists are baffled at the sudden quake. While the area is prone to minor seismic activity, the epicenter of the quake is several hundred kilometers from an expected hot zone. This has led to questions of human involvement, but there is no known activity in the area capable of causing this sort of disturbance. We’ll provide updates as they come in.”
The screen showed several pictures of previous tsunamis accompanied with dramatic music. Tired, and with her hunger satisfied, Asher walked off to her quarters for some rest.
9
Walking through the airport, Asher noticed a small shop with a wide variety of souvenirs. She stood outside for several minutes, going back and forth between looking at the available items through the window and checking her email on her repaired tablet computer. When the man inside signaled for her to come in, she obeyed.
“Yes?” she asked, somewhat annoyed.
“You?” the clerk said with a thick accent. “This is you?” He held up a cell-phone-sized model of the Explorer.
Asher blushed but nodded. Picking up the model, she was surprised at the weight. For its size, it was unusually heavy. When she placed it back down, she took notice of the other ship models.
“What are these?” Asher asked.
The clerk’s eyes lit up as he pointed to each model. “Those are the bad guys you fight. You have the lizard people, the gray guys with the giant heads, and the blue monsters.”
She rolled her eyes, but Asher couldn’t stop from buying each of the models. If nothing else, she knew her dad would get a kick out of them. When she saw the price at the register, she rolled her eyes again but paid the bill while the clerk wrapped up the models.
While waiting by her gate, Asher couldn’t shake the feeling that someone was watching her. She looked up from her tablet every few minutes to see if she noticed anyone.
“Of course, people are looking at you,” Asher said under her breath. “You’re in uniform.”
Every time she looked up, Asher noticed people staring. Most were children who recognized the Space Corps uniform from television, but plenty of adults looked at her as well. No one she saw gave her an uncomfortable feeling. When the crew allowed boarding, she wasted no time, got in line, and found her seat. Even after the plane took off, she couldn’t shake that feeling. She chose to turn down a military escort for the sake of normality, but as the uneasy feeling continued, she couldn’t help but question that decision.
Once the plane landed, Asher wasted no time renting a car. Looking over the lot, she considered a convertible. It wouldn’t be the same as flying in space, but it would allow her to feel just a little freer. When she looked down at the bag containing the expensive models, she reconsidered and picked the cheapest option available.
The drive from the airport to her father’s house wasn’t long, but Asher took several detours. Every road, every corner, reminded her of her childhood. She saw two old friends sitting on a park bench and waved as she drove by. They di
dn’t return the gesture. The puzzled looks on their faces told her that they didn’t recognize her.
As she neared her father’s house, Asher saw an old gas station. The name on the sign had changed several times, but the car wash in the back was the same as she remembered. She stepped out of her car and stared at the car wash thinking of the many trips she and her father had made through it together.
Inside the store, Asher walked over and picked up a soda. When she approached the counter to check out, she didn’t recognize the woman behind the counter.
“What happened to Dan?” Asher asked.
The clerk stared blankly. “Who?”
“Dan, the old owner. He used to work the counter every afternoon.”
“I don’t know. Why?”
Forcing a smile, Asher pulled out some change from her pocket to pay for the drink. “I’m not sure. I just expected him to be here, I guess.”
“Yeah, sorry, but I don’t know. He probably died or something. Have a good day.”
Glaring at the woman, Asher turned to leave. “Yeah, you too.”
Asher walked out the door and back to her car only to see a man leaning against it.
“Excuse me,” Asher said.
The man didn’t respond, so Asher reached for her keys. She pushed a button to lock the car and honk the horn.
“Are you Kayla Asher?” the man asked in a low voice.
Asher didn’t respond but looked back to the store clerk. The clerk just stood there, staring into space and slowly blowing a bubble with her gum. When it popped, she tried again.
“I asked,” the man said, “are you Asher? Admiral Asher?”
Reaching into her purse, Asher said, “Let’s try this. How about you tell me who you are first, then we can figure out who I am?”
The man laughed. “No need, Admiral. I know you very well. You and I have a lot to discuss.”
“I’ll bet.”
Asher slowly removed her phone from her purse and dialed 911. Placing the phone up to her ear as she backed up to the door of the gas station, she waited for the dialing sound. It never came.
The man raised his hand without looking Asher’s direction. Asher looked at her phone to see the screen completely blank.
“What do you want?” Asher asked. She looked into her purse looking for something to use as a weapon. She decided on her keys and wrapped her hands around them with the end of the largest key pointing out through her fingers.
“I told you, we have a lot to talk about. It’s more important than you could possibly know.”
The man placed an object back into his pocket and turned to face the admiral. She studied his face, and he studied hers. Noticing the keys in Asher’s hand, the man took a step back.
“I know you,” Asher said.
The man nodded.
Asher strained to remember. “Where do I know you from?”
The man spread his arms out wide to show he wasn’t carrying anything else. Asher’s expression of concern didn’t change, so he reached into his pocket, grabbed the signal jamming device, and tossed it to Asher. She knelt to pick it up, but she kept her keys tight in her hands and didn’t avert her stare.
“I do know you,” Asher said. “You were the man following me on the bus. Did you just need to talk then, too?”
The man nodded.
Asher continued to examine the man’s face. He had clearly cleaned up and shaved, but she had no doubt it was the same man as before. “If you need to talk, why didn’t you do it then?”
“I didn’t know how.”
“What do you mean?”
The man took a step forward. Asher slammed a foot into the glass door behind her and braced herself. Startled, the clerk shouted out before running out the door with a baseball bat in her hands. She looked between Asher and the man, but she couldn’t make sense of the situation.
“What’s going on?” the clerk asked, pointing the baseball bat at the man.
Ignoring the clerk, the man answered Asher’s question. “I could understand your language, barely, but I couldn’t speak it. Not yet.”
“You seem to speak it pretty well to me,” Asher said.
“Things change. I learned and came to understand the language, just as you need to understand something.”
“What?”
“A series of events is in motion. Your planet is in danger. If you don’t stop it, you will lose everything to some very powerful entities. I don’t know if you can stop these events, but if you can, you don’t have long.”
Asher’s body relaxed as she focused on the man’s warning. “What events? What’s going on?”
The man took several steps back. “I can’t go into details. You won’t believe me.”
“About what?” Asher shouted.
“Your planet is under attack. It has been for a very long time. The signs are all around you if you’re willing to see them.”
Shaking her head, Asher said, “That’s not enough. I need details. I need some concrete information to work with.”
The man shook his head and whispered, “No. You have to earn it first.”
“What?”
The man bolted off. Asher ran after him, but he was too fast. After minutes of heavy running, Asher’s knee gave out. She stumbled several paces before coming to a stop. Looking up, she saw the man fade from sight. She threw her fist into the ground, eased into a standing position, and walked back to the gas station.
By the time she made it back to her car, Asher was almost breathing normally again. Two police cars sat outside of the station with several officers talking to the clerk. When the clerk pointed to Asher, two of the officers went over to talk to her.
The first officer stepped beside the admiral while the other stood back with his arms crossed.
“Ma’am, could I get a statement from you?”
“No,” Asher said flatly.
The officer pulled his shoulders back and puffed out his chest. “I understand this may be hard for you, but I need to know exactly what happened. Your perspective would help.”
Asher shot him a glare. “Absolutely not. Do you have any idea who I am?”
Looking back at the other officer, he shrugged.
Pulling out her military ID, Asher said, “Admiral Kayla Asher with the US Space Corps. This may be a matter of national security.” Pulling out her phone, she added, “I’ll have a team here shortly.”
One of the squad cars escorted her to her father’s house and volunteered to keep watch until guards from the Space Corps arrived.
Less than an hour later, a helicopter with several important looking men arrived. They spoke with Asher and then left with the signal jamming device. Asher’s father arrived home in time to see the helicopter taking off.
“What’s all this about?” he asked.
Asher shook her head and went inside.
10
When Asher’s dad opened the door, his shoulders slowly dropped.
“What’s going on?”
“Not much,” Asher said. “I just figured it was time to go through all of my old stuff and figure out what to do with it. It’s not like I have much use for most of it anymore, and I can’t exactly take it with me when I’m on the Explorer.”
“Yeah,” her dad said, “I guess not.”
Asher tossed a stuffed bear into a pile of assorted items. Her father looked at it for a moment before leaning down and picking it up. He turned it over a few times in his hand before tossing it back down.
“Something wrong?” Asher asked.
Her dad shook his head. “No, I’m just curious what this pile’s for.”
“Oh, that’s for donation. If you don’t mind, I’d appreciate it if you’d take it to Goodwill or something the next time you’re in that area.” Sitting up, Asher put her hands on her knees. “Hey, would you mind grabbing me a trash bag?”
When her dad was down the hall, Asher lifted her knee up and massaged it vigorously. It wasn’t causing her pain but was stil
l stiff after her tumble. His footsteps announced her father’s return, and Asher stood to accept the trash bag. She then knelt and filled it with broken toys and costume jewelry that she managed to hang on to over the years.
Grabbing the bear again, Asher’s dad tossed it in his hands a few times. “Hey, are you sure you want me to give this away? It’s not like it’s taking up much space here.”
Asher pulled the bear from his hands, turned it over, and then tossed it back in the pile. “I’m sure, dad. If you want to keep it, you’re more than welcome to.”
Her dad laughed. “Nah. I don’t think I have much use for a stuffed bear. I just figured…”
“What?”
“I thought it might mean something to you.”
Frowning, Asher stepped toward her dad and hugged him. “It did. I loved it a long time ago. Now it’s just taking up space, so it’s time for it to go.”
Her dad stepped over one of the piles and sat on the bed before letting out a sigh.
“This bothers you, doesn’t it?” Asher asked.
“Nah, I’m fine. It’s your stuff; I just thought maybe you’d like to give some of it to your kids or something.”
Asher forced a laugh as she continued filling the trash bag with the broken and worn items in the room. “Dad, that stuff was worth keeping because it meant something to me. It won’t mean anything to my kids.”
“I know,” her dad said, no longer hiding his sadness. “I remember when I gave you that bear.”
Asher let out a sigh. “I do too. I was eight. Great-grandma died, and I wouldn’t stop crying. You gave me that bear because—”
“Because its nose is messed up,” her dad interrupted.
Asher bent down to pick up the bear and smiled at its face. “You told me the bear was messed up, but it was still a pretty good bear. You said life was the same way. It has flaws, but it’s still pretty good.”
Asher’s dad smiled and stared at the ground, once more trying to hide his emotion.
Asher laughed and threw the bear in her dad’s lap. “That was cheesy then, and it’s cheesy now.”
