by Muga, D. M.
“Yes, and that is accurate Lieutenant. Activate the external comms and projectors now if you could. Thank you.” Abraham responds, as he clears his throat.
Lieutenant Meads nods and lifts his right arm, using his right hand to confirm the activation of the external comms on his MECCU (Mobile Extremity Communications and Control Unit).
Abraham smiles as he watches the crowd of barbarian humans flinch at the sound of the external communications coming on.
You are wise to be fearful of us, you cretins and barbarians. And you're even wiser as to not attempt an altercation with myself and my Federalists. He thinks to himself.
“Greetings, humans on Earth One, survivors of the Blue Hole Radius! My name is Captain Abraham Jackson and myself and my crew come from Earth Two. We come here to provide aid and support, to help usher your kind into this brave new world of ours!” Abraham speaks, as the comms unit blares out his message to the humans below him.
He pauses and watches them grow tense as he starts to speak, and then he can visibly see several of them begin to talk to one another.
Abraham continues. “My words will be short with you on this midday of this wonderful day on Earth One. For we have many other settlements to visit and assist! We are indeed here to help our species survive and progress forward, together!”
He pauses for effect and to allow their meek and slow minds to process this new information.
Their feeble brains must be hurting trying to process this much information. We must appear to be divine creatures compared to them. Considering the circumstance, we are relatively close to being divine creatures compared to them. He smiles at this thought.
“To begin to show you that we are here to help, we have the means to aid your sick and wounded. We have technology well past your current capabilities. Whereas, your generation led to the creation of the Harris Paradigm, we have made drastic improvements since your time. For example, I'm 74 years old and have a full life expectancy of close to 240 years of life. The gentlemen I’m standing next to are in their 70’s as well and have the same expectancy. In reference to your age, I'm a 74-year-old male human with the body of a mid-twenties human being from your timeframe.” Abraham explains to them.
This gets some visible shocks and awes from the crowds down below them.
He continues. “Yes, I know. I know. It must sound unfathomable to your kind. But that is only a small portion of what we have to offer to your kind. I understand that all of you must have so many questions. We will be leaving two of our crew members behind with your kind while we go to spread our message to the other surviving settlements here on Earth One. My two crew members will be somewhat of ambassadors of sorts. providing aid, care, and beginning to provide you with our past since your time.”
Staff Sergeant Lee really had an excellent idea with this approach. They seem much more manageable when provided with promises of hope and long-lasting lifespans. I really should have tried this approach with the first group of barbarians, instead of the direct approach.
He nods to himself.
Oh well though. We still have plenty of these cretins and barbarians to rebuild.
“We look forward to rebuilding Earth One side by side with your kind. Together we can usher in a new era of strength and abundance for the human species. The Leviathan will return in several days, once we have contacted all surviving settlements from the Blue Hole Radius. Your time and attention are greatly appreciated. Thank you, and I look forward to seeing you all again very soon.” Abraham says as he completes his speech and turns to Lieutenant Meads nodding.
Lieutenant Meads brings up his right arm again, with his MECCU, and turns off the external comms.
“External comms and the projectors are deactivated sir. And might I say… that went rather well, Captain Jackson. Your words were clear, precise, and came across as hopeful and helpful.” Lieutenant Meads says.
“Yes, sir. I would have to agree with Lieutenant Meads. This situation played out much more effectively than the previous situation over the military installation in that desert region.” Staff Sergeant Lee adds.
“Yes, I noticed the distinct differences between this engagement and the last engagement. It went rather well, especially considering that we did not have to exterminate this population of cretins and barbarians.” Abraham says as the levitating platform begins to lower back within the confines of Leviathan.
“Sir, who did you have in mind to be the two ambassadors from E2?” Lieutenant Meads asks him.
“I was thinking of Staff Sergeant Mahoney and Sergeant Burke. I have already notified them after my discussion with Staff Sergeant Lee on how to handle these barbarians.” Abraham replies.
“Excellent choices, sir. Having a strong male and female counterpart should help portray our strength, as well as the aid and support that you are attempting to portray.” Lieutenant Meads responds.
Abraham looks at the Lieutenant. “Thank you, Lieutenant Meads. And it’s best you change your verbiage with barbarians. We are not portraying aid and support. We are providing aid and support to assist with their steps to accepting re-education to conform to our ways, voluntarily.”
“Right, sir. My apologies but… I should add that you may want to avoid calling them cretins and barbarians from this point forward, as to not have slips of tongue and miscommunicate our intentions... once again.” Lieutenant Meads replies.
Abraham nods and then replies, “That’s a fair point you have there, Lieutenant Meads. Thank you for the reminder. Now please make sure that Mahoney and Burke have the supplies they require and are ready to be deployed. We should be on our way to the next major settlement.”
As the levitating platform reaches the bridge level of the Leviathan, Abraham begins to walk to the bridge of the interstellar spacecraft. He stops and turns back to his subordinates.
“Where’s the next major settlement that we are going to?” Abraham asks.
Lieutenant Meads lifts his right arm and looks at his MECCU. “A place called Yucaipa, Sir. It’s not too far from our current location.”
Abraham nods. “Very good then. Make me aware of when we are ready to depart. And please remind Mahoney and Burke to go with the hearts and minds approach. Make sure they conceal the true abilities of their MECCUs, and only use them if they are in extreme peril.”
“Yes, Sir. I will advise them, once again, of our current tactics with the people of E1.” Lieutenant Meads replies and strides off to ensure that his orders are followed.
“Very good, Lieutenant Meads. That’ll be all.” Abraham responds.
He then walks to the bridge and retakes his normal place on the bridge, looking over the Command Central Control aboard the Leviathan.
12
Benjamin Reilly
Stepping out of his truck, he nods in a calm fashion to the two men on the ATV, with the passenger still pointing a rifle at him. His hands are in the air and he steps out to the front of the truck where Alexander meets him to his right... also with his hands in the air. Joseph comes up next to Alexander, with the three of them standing in front of Ben’s truck.
Ben focuses his attention at the man in front of him, pointing the shotgun at himself, Joseph, and Alexander. “Gents, I think you may have mistaken us for some other folks.”
“Shut the fuck up! Keep your hands up!” The man shouts at him, clearly agitated and clearly nervous.
“Our hands are up and you have us surrounded. Before anyone does anything accidentally, just who do you think we are?” Ben presses, hoping that the man doesn’t have a knee-jerk reaction to pull the trigger.
“Real cute, asshole! You come here in a black truck yesterday, with a similar box trailer… and steal his wife and daughters. Then you claim to be someone else. You must think we are real fucking stupid!” The man to his left says, in the driver’s seat of the ATV.
“Yeah! Where the fuck is my family, asshole!” The man in front of him yells.
Shit. This can really turn out badly if
we don’t calm this guy down, and soon…
“Gentlemen, I'm a Deputy with the Sheriff’s department. These other two men are deputized as well. We simply came down here to barter for livestock. There are no women in our trailer… only animals.” Joseph says calmly.
“Livestock?! Bullshit!” The man in front of them shouts.
“No bullshit. Go ahead and check for yourselves. Did one of you guys happen to talk to my Uncle in the last few days, over the radio? He would have gone by The Falcon or maybe even Steven Reilly…” Ben tries to explain as the man in front of him is clearly becoming more anxious.
“Bull-fucking-shit! You’re just trying to trick me! You must have heard our conversation over the radio!” The man shouts.
“So, you did talk to my Uncle? See… we are simply here to barter for sheep. Nothing more. This is just a really messed up case of mistaken identity…” Ben replies, calmly.
“We can clear this up if one of your men simply go check the back of our trailer. You will find twenty-four chickens, three roosters, eight piglets, and no women or children. We are only here for three sheep… that’s all.” Joseph explains in a calm manner.
The man in front of them stares for a moment, apparently thinking about the situation. He turns to the men to Ben’s left. “Hector, Manny! Go check their trailer!”
The two men nod, exiting the ATV and head out to the back of the trailer.
“If you all are lying… we are going to make you fucking pay!” The man with the shotgun says to them.
“I assure you sir… we are not lying. You’ll see.” Ben replies.
The man narrows his gaze at him, and they are interrupted by the two men, Hector and Manny, shouting from the back of their trailer. “Looks like they ain't full of shit, after all!”
“Yeah, all that’s back here are chickens and pigs!” Another voice shouts.
The man in front of them looks visibly disappointed.
He really wanted us to be them…
“Can we lower our hands, now?” Alexander asks the man.
The man looks over to Alexander, pauses, and then nods, relaxing his hold on his shotgun.
Ben, Alexander, and Joseph all sigh with relief as they lower their hands.
One of the men walks back up toward the front of the truck and looks at Ben and the others. “Sorry guys. We really thought you were those assholes that have been stealing women and children from the area.” The man says.
“Oh wow! That’s horrible.” Ben replies.
The man extends his hand out. “Name’s Hector. That’s my brother, Manny, closing back up your trailer. The man with the shotgun is Daniel. The guy in the truck behind you is Carl. And over on the other side of you all is Curtis and Brett.”
Ben shakes Hector's hand. “I’m Ben, this is Alexander, and that’s Joseph. We really just came out here for sheep. I'm very sorry to hear about your current situation.”
“Yeah, Daniel lost his wife and two daughters yesterday. My brother lost his wife a few days before that. Curtis over there… they killed his son and took his wife and daughter as well.” Hector explains.
“Dear God! That’s absolutely horrible.” Alexander replies.
“For sure. Is there anything we can do to help? Do you know who these guys are or anything?” Joseph asks.
Hector shakes his head. “I doubt it. They could be long gone by now… all we know is that there are about six of them, they drive a black truck with a box trailer, and there are three guys on motorcycles. Besides that, we don’t know jack shit.”
All of them look down at the ground as it begins to rumble.
“Another one?” Hector says, as the earth shakes below their feet.
They all wait as the earthquake comes and goes, riling up the livestock in the trailer.
“Yeah, and according to our very smart friend here…” Ben says, gesturing to Alexander. “We will likely have many more small quakes, as the land settles back in.”
“There may also be a few larger ones too. I must add.” Alexander replies.
“Well, we are pretty used to them, living in California and all.” Hector replies.
“You all sure there’s nothing we can do to help out?” Ben asks again.
“Likely not.” Daniel says as he walks up. “Sorry for almost putting a shitload of buckshot into you guys. I thought for sure you guys were them…”
Ben scratches the back of his head. “It’s alright, I get it. It's a tough situation to be in. I couldn’t imagine.”
“Yeah… we really don’t have much information about those assholes. The only reason we know what they drive is because of Curtis. Before they knocked him out, he got a look at them. When he woke up. His son was dead, and his wife and daughter were gone. They hit my house when I was out yesterday. Same with Manny, over there.” Daniel explains.
Ben looks to Alexander and Joseph, none of them really knowing what to say.
“You all still want those sheep? I’ll bring them around up front and you guys can be on your way.” Daniel adds.
“Daniel, it’s not that big of a deal. You have much more to worry about.” Ben replies.
“Nonsense. It’s not like I need them now at all. Besides. I could use your coins to go buy supplies to hunt these bastards down.” Daniel responds.
Ben nods, thinking over. “Fair enough. Sure, we’ll still take them.”
Daniel nods and turns to go get the three sheep to complete their trailer load of livestock.
“Good God, Ben. Is there anything we can do to help these guys out?” Alexander asks.
“I’m not sure what we can do…” Ben replies.
“He’s right. We really don’t have information to go off of.” Joseph adds.
A few moments later, Daniel returns with three sheep tied off to some rope.
“Here you are. Sorry again, about the mix up…” Daniel says, handing over the sheep.
Joseph takes the ropes and walks them to the back of the trailer.
“Thank you, Daniel. And I hope that you find your family. All of your families.” Ben replies.
“Thanks. I guess this is just the world that we live in now.” Daniel responds.
“Yeah, but it doesn’t have to be that way…” Ben says as he hands the man five Gold American Eagles for the sheep.
Daniel takes the payment and looks at the amount. “We only agreed on three gold coins over the radio.”
“Maybe so, but the extra coin could help with supplies for finding your guys’ families.” Ben replies.
Daniel’s face turns solemn and thoughtful. “Thank you. And sorry again for the whole mix up.”
“Thanks for hearing us out and not shooting first… asking questions later.” Ben replies and extends his hand to Daniel. “Good luck, Daniel.”
“Thanks. Safe travels to you and your friends.” Daniel replies.
Ben, Alexander, and Joseph wave goodbye to the six men and climb back into Ben’s truck. The man named Carl, driving the truck, moves out of their way so Ben can back up and pull back on the main road.
“Well, that was a close call and an all-around sad situation.” Joseph says.
Alexander and Ben don’t answer, only nod. After a few moments of silence, they make their way back to the 215 Freeway and begin to head North on their return trip back home.
Reaching the city limits of Perris, Ben says, “I really hope that they find their families safe and sound.”
“Ben…” Joseph starts.
“I know, Joseph… the chances of that happening are slim to none.” Ben replies. “But I can still hope…”
Joseph nods and doesn’t reply.
“Hey, Alexander… can you text Eileen and my Uncle, to let them know that we are on our return trip?” Ben asks.
“Will do, Ben.” Alexander replies, pulling out his phone and starting to text.
“There… sent.” Alexander adds.
“Thanks. Wouldn't want them to get worried. And can we just leave the part out about
us getting ambushed…” Ben asks.
Alexander and Joseph start to chuckle.
“No really, guys. She already thinks that I'm a magnet for trouble.” Ben explains.
“Maybe she has a point.” Joseph replies, which gets a good laugh from all of them.
While they are all laughing, at Ben’s expense, the road begins to shake and sway.
Shit, another one? And we are on an overpass. Just great! Ben thinks to himself.
Joseph and Alexander stop laughing, and Alexander asks, “Ben, should we pull over until this passes?”
“My thoughts exactly. Just let me clear this overpass and make it back to more solid ground.” Ben replies.
“Right, makes sense.” Alexander replies.
After another few stressful moments, Ben pulls the truck and trailer off to the side of the freeway, just past the edge of the overpass, and puts the truck into park. He can hear the livestock going crazy back in the trailer.
The three of them wait in silence, as they can hear and see the earth shaking beneath their feet.
Oh man! This one feels like a good one. Stronger than the others. I wonder how much longer it’s going to last? Ben thinks to himself.
Before he can make his concerns vocal, the earth stops shaking and the world goes silent.
“Whew-wee! That was a good one.” Joseph says and then he whistles.
“Yes, that was much stronger than the previous ones.” Alexander says with anxiety in his voice.
“Yeah, it was. That might be the strongest one I felt in all my life… and it was a long one.” Ben admits.
“I don't know how you Californians get used to the ground just shaking beneath your feet all of the time.” Alexander replies, still a little shaken by the large and long earthquake.
“To be honest, you get kind of used to them… but that was a doozy.” Ben replies.
“Yeah it was.” Joseph says.
“I would not doubt that one caused some damage. It felt strong enough to do some damage.” Ben adds.
Before anyone else can chime in, Ben hears engines approaching from the North and all three of them focus their attention on the oncoming vehicles.
