Neighbors

by Brian Whiting

  They were not oriented with the planet again, and the shipyard was slowly

  moving to the middle of the viewscreen. However, it was now much closer

  than before.

  “Hey, hey, hey, watch it, we’re coming in too fast!” Fena reached out

  a moment to take her side of the controls. Just before she took control,

  both Fena and Jeremiah felt the weight of the straps against their chests as

  their speed decreased. Jeremiah quickly applied a bit or rotation thrust and

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  reoriented the ship to the station. The shuttle slid into the hanger bay, three feet off the deck. One of four large landing skids dragged across the deck

  as the shuttle was brought down due to the artificial gravity plating in the

  decking. The shuttle slid on the deck a few inches as it came to a slow stop.

  “Welcome to the Brandon Memorial Shipyard, everyone.” Jeremiah

  looked towards the back, where a number of people were unbuckling

  their seats.

  One of them stopped moving around and looked up at him. “What

  was up with the turbulence?”

  Jeremiah opened his mouth to reply, but Fena beat him to it. “It’s his

  first day, go easy on him.” She smiled again as Jeremiah opened the ramp

  door, seemingly not pleased with the interaction.

  “It’s okay, they really only train you to take off and land on planets.

  Landing on an orbiting body above the source of gravity is a different

  aspect to piloting. You did good, stop sulking already.”

  “I am not sulking.”

  Fena slowly looked over at him with one eyebrow raised. “Sure.”

  “I’m not!”

  “Okay.”

  “Stop it!”

  “Wow, you need to calm down. Stop overreacting.”

  Jeremiah glared at her, his mouth open. Finally, he shook his head and

  focused on his side of the cockpit.

  Fena checked the gauges and indicators, then waited for the personnel

  to unload from the shuttle, taking the supplies with them. Minutes later,

  when the shuttle was empty and the hanger bay was clear from wandering

  people, Fena looked to Jeremiah.

  “Call it in.”

  “This is the shuttle requesting gravity de-act.”

  The station didn’t respond, but turned off the gravity plating to the

  hanger. They felt it the moment they did so.

  Jeremiah took the control stick and rotated the ship so the front would

  point to the exit.

  “Stop!” Fena shouted. A hard, stern look was chiseled on her face,

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  directed solely upon Jeremiah. “It’s not a plane, stop treating it like a plane.

  Stop wasting air.” She breathed a moment. “Back us out!”

  “Why are you so concerned about the air? We have like ninety-five

  percent compressed tank capacity remaining.”

  “Get into the habit of efficient flying now, and you won’t have to try

  and learn how to do it when things are critical. Activate the rear camera and

  back us out.”

  Fena looked forward and realized the shuttle was rotating inside the

  hanger bay, pointing toward the deck, and was about to hit the ceiling.

  “Look out!”

  The shuttle’s rear right corner gently hit the ceiling of the hanger bay.

  Fena looked at Jeremiah with crushing disappointment. “Quarter sec

  burst on the back end, an equal amount on this one a full second later.” She

  pointed to the ceiling of the shuttle.

  Jeremiah did as instructed. The shuttle came to a stop in the hanger,

  albeit at a slightly awkward angle.

  “Hey, are you guys tearing up the hanger bay in there?” came the mes-

  sage from the communication system.

  “Whatever are you talking about?” Fena responded, both sarcastic and

  amused. “One second rear, and quarter sec on that one.” She pointed down

  at her feet.

  “They have names, you know.”

  “Oh, please, don’t even try to one-up me right now. You’re so far in the

  hole, it’s not even worth your breath.”

  Jeremiah smirked as the shuttle slipped out of the hanger bay.

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  Chapter 19

  Our Hobbies

  “ARE YOU SURE about this?” Alex eased the electric vehicle to a

  stop. Ahead of him was the newly fenced-off section of tunnel that few

  knew about.

  “It’s not like I am disappearing, I am just going to focus on this for

  a while.”

  They both remained seated, staring straight ahead.

  “I mean it. I don’t want to see you coming around all the time. I need

  this time away from you, the UEF, everything.” Timmy made a sweeping

  motion with his arms.

  “How long do you think you’ll be in there?” Alex nodded his head

  towards the direction of the tunnel.

  “Do you really expect me to have an answer?” Timmy opened the pas-

  senger door and moved to step out of the vehicle.

  “The last time you secluded yourself in a dark place, we set up a global-

  ized organization.”

  “Ha.” Timmy stepped out of the vehicle and walked to the rear, then

  opened the trunk and pulled out several bags. He walked a bit clumsily

  towards the gate.

  “Want me to help you?” Alex shouted as he stood up outside the vehicle.

  “No, thanks, Alex. I’ll be fine.”

  Alex watched his friend approach the small guard shack installed in

  front of the fenced area. Not even the guards had permission to enter

  beyond the fence. Moments later, those inside let Timmy through the gate.

  Timmy walked down the brightly-lit tunnel, large military-style duffel

  bags forcing him to walk slower then he wanted. It wasn’t long before he

  got his first glimpse of the refortified walls and ceiling around the pod that once held the Queen, still securely set in the position Timmy remembered.

  The tunnel past the pod had also been cleared of the mound of dirt and

  debris. He walked around the pod slowly, noticing the Queen had only

  slightly changed in appearance as it decayed on the ground, still crushed

  by a boulder.

  Several scientific stations were set up, computers, microscopes and all

  sorts of equipment littering the walls around the pod. Timmy continued to

  where he really wanted to focus his attention.

  The tunnel slowly continued to curve as he walked deeper. A large

  makeshift shelter was set up, a mountain of supplies set beside it. Putting

  his bags down inside the shelter, he walked past another elaborate scientific

  setup before he reached the ‘Orb of Confusion’.

  “You’re a bit early.” Pete glanced up, noticing Timmy and his eagerness

  to get involved.

  “The goodbye wasn’t as long as I expected it to be.”

  “Well, you have good timing. The orb lit back up about an hour ago.

  I’m recording and digitalizing the glyphs already.”

  Timmy reached out and touched the unnaturally-smooth surface of the

  orb. His hand easily glided along the surface, as though it was helping him

  move it.

  “Nothing affects it, permanent marker won’t even stick. The ink just

  beads on the surface and rolls away towards the ground. It’s like that

  with everything.”

  “Now, that’s interesting. Like hydrophobic, but with everything. Mat- />
  terphobic.” Timmy stood up, smiling. The orb was now fully exposed and

  rested on a clear pedestal, as every part of the surface of the orb hosted the moving and ever-changing glyphs.

  Walking over and sitting down in a computer chair, Timmy reviewed

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  the list of glyphs the computer had thus far digitalized and recorded. Only two had repeated during the last hour of recording. Timmy pulled up the

  first repeated glyph.

  Two parallel figure eights nearly on top of each other, with an identical

  one perpendicular to them. Remembering this one, he printed out a large

  copy of the image and hung it up on the outside of the shelter.

  The second repeated glyph was a hollow circle in the lower left corner;

  in the lower right was two short stubby lines at an angle away from the

  corner. The upper portion was clear of markings.

  “I will figure this out,” Timmy mumbled to himself as he sat down in

  front of the orb next to Pete, the scientist that survived the cave-in with

  Timmy so long ago.

  The moment Timmy sat down, all the glyphs froze in place, and then

  the orb cleared itself of all glyphs.

  One new glyph appeared. Four figure eights, one at each end of a plus

  sign. Then a new additional glyph appeared, this one was a simple triangle.

  Then a horizontal line appeared about a quarter inch from the top point.

  The newly formed triangle separated from the larger object, no longer a

  triangle and rotated upside down. A circle then appeared inside.

  Timmy and Pete watched in complete silence, entranced by the display.

  * * *

  “Not you too!”

  “Forget it, Alex, I’m done here. I’ve trained enough people to take over

  my functions. I’m going somewhere where I can be useful.”

  “You can be useful here. I don’t understand why you have to leave,”

  Alex pleaded as he followed his friend back and forth from the bedroom to

  the living room.

  “I don’t know why you suddenly care so much. Besides, you’ve got

  Zeek to kick around.”

  “Are you upset that I got—”

  “You think I’m jealous? God, you don’t know me at all, do you?”

  “Well, then just slow down for a moment and talk to me as a

  friend would.”

  Jorge slowly turned around and approached Alex, standing nearly nose

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  to nose. “The very fact that you don’t know is all the evidence I need to explain to you just how far apart we have grown,” he whispered.

  Several people from the UEF logistics department walked past them as

  they continued emptying Jorge’s residence.

  “So you’re just gonna leave? Where will you go?” Alex spread his arms

  out wide, taking a couple steps back from Jorge.

  “I’m gonna help rebuild. I build things, it’s what I do.”

  “I just don’t understand why you need to do that somewhere el—”

  “I don’t want to be around you! Don’t you get it? You’re a corrupt meg-

  alomaniac, totally self-absorbed and self-motivated. I see right through all

  your crap, Alex, and I am tired of pretending it doesn’t exist. I’m leaving

  before you get me killed, too.”

  Alex froze, unable to reply. His mouth hung open limply. Jorge stepped

  off to the side, leaving him in the enlarged doorway alone.

  “Have you ever seen the devastation out there?” Jorge pointed out

  past the UEF perimeter. Alex still had his back facing him. “You haven’t,

  because you live in your little hermit kingdom like you always did. You’re

  all the same.”

  Alex dropped his head slightly, his mouth closed as he looked away

  from Jorge.

  “You never had the experience of suffering from the lack of anything.

  My family was desperate, and we came to you asking for help so our

  house wouldn’t foreclose. You and your father basically laughed us out of

  the house.”

  “We did not!”

  “Oh, please, the estate is being audited right now, it’s not a good time.”

  Jorge said as he recalled the excuses of the past. “Just admit it.”

  “You said you understood and we were friends after that!” Alex was

  worried where the conversation was going.

  “Yeah, and I was young too, then you got Zeek and pushed me away

  ‘cause I asked you for help.”

  “Is that what you think happened?”

  “I don’t care anymore! That’s my point, it’s too late now. I’m leaving.”

  Alex turned around. “Every person has the power to effect change, and

  one act of kindness can change the world. You, Jorge, are no different.”

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  “Ever take your own advice?” Jorge said as Alex turned his back and began to walk away.

  Before Alex got into his vehicle, Jorge spoke up. “I’m taking a shuttle.

  A ground-based shuttle.”

  Alex hesitated several moments.

  “You know, if you don’t give one to me, I’ll have to build one myself,

  and I’ll need to hire a bunch of people to help me do it. I won’t be so

  secre-tive with the construction plans, I assure you," Jorge eyed Alex.

  Alex shook his head in disappointment. “Take the next one that fin-

  ishes construction.” Alex stepped into the vehicle and shut the door. He

  pulled away from Jorge, who stood like fossilized timber.

  * * *

  Major Grissom was technically no longer a major, but it didn’t stop people

  from continuing to call him that. He glanced to his right; a young UEF

  inductee looked forward, not allowing the major to break his concentration.

  “Let this moment define you! Take control, dominate and take it out.”

  “Sir, I am boxed in. I’ve got nothing.”

  “This is the time you gotta dig deep, look past the surface of what you

  see, look at the bigger picture. Know who you are playing. You understand

  what I am saying, son?”

  Paul, the inductee, glanced right just for a moment and refocused

  in front of him. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened them, the major interrupted half his vision, his face inches away.

  “Stop stalling and make your move. Sometimes it’s the wait that

  kills you.”

  Others in the room watched on as Paul continued to hesitate. He

  looked at his opponent.

  She looked back, a smile growing on her face, she offered a slow

  wink and puckered her lips. The major turned to glance at her.

  “Son, look at me!”

  Paul turned to look at the major.

  “Destroy her!”

  Taking another deep breath, Paul reached out and grabbed the queen,

  moving it four paces straight ahead and taking out a rook. His opponent

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  quickly used a pawn to kill the queen. Without giving her time to think, he moved a knight and took out the pawn, which was removed by another

  knight in quick succession.

  The obvious move was to take out the bishop, but there was a one in

  a million opportunity. Paul moved up his last knight and made the check.

  The bishop was in the way, blocking the other rook and the other queen.

  Then it dawned on her. No matter what path she took, to uncheck her-

  self put her in checkmate. The smile all but disappeared from her face. Her

  eyes danced back and forth, desperate for an answer.
>
  The major never looked at the board, continuing to stare into Paul’s

  eyes with an intense adrenaline-fueled gaze.

  “Good game,” she said in a soft but defeated voice.

  “Yeah! ” the major screamed out loud and turned to look at her, his face bright red, and veins popped out all over his face. His fist came down hard

  on the table, and chess pieces flew off in various directions. “That’s how

  it’s done!”

  The major slapped Paul hard on the shoulder and stood up. Only now

  did Paul notice the rest of the room was cheering as well, both elated at his

  win and shocked by the major’s display of victory. He turned to Cindy.

  “I believe you owe us a twelve pack of cold beer.”

  Cindy turned to Jiya. “I thought you had him.”

  “I did. I don’t know what happened,” Jiya responded desperately.

  The major looked at Cindy and tilted his head to the side, the color

  slowly returning to normal on his face. He waded through a small crowd,

  which was still exchanging bets and celebrating. He exited the

  makeshift shack and stepped out into the open.

  Their hangout was made with scrap metal from the various ships and

  projects in the area, making it stuffy with that many people crammed

  inside. The shack was initially a place for a few people to hang out and

  take breaks in private. Over time, it slowly expanded as construction crews brought more half-used sections of plate sheeting or decking, adding

  their own areas to it. Now it entertained about one hundred people, with

  makeshift tables for card or board games, plenty of seating space lined

  the walls, and a corner set aside for some ground grappling.

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  A woman followed him from the shack, drawing him to a stop a few dozen yards from the building.

  “I just learned about a certain tunnel, a tunnel that even I don’t have

  access to. I am on the council—if I don’t get to know, then what’s the point

  of the whole thing?” she asked rhetorically.

  “Look, there wasn’t a need for you to know before, but now that you’re

  aware, you need to know. Remember all the talk about an orb not so

  long ago?”

  “No.”

  “Okay, well, Timmy and some guys found an orb. Impenetrable, noth-

  ing—and I mean nothing—has put a scratch on it. It’s covered in alien writing, and they’re trying to decipher it.”

  “Okay… Why block off the tunnel? Why not just take it to a lab? Also,