Aliens Abroad

by Gini Koch

  “Super. How long do we have?”

  “Not long. Hours, most likely, days if we’re fortunate. This star is definitely showing signs of the beginnings of a black hole.”

  We all looked at each other. “Well, Kitty called that one,” Jerry said.

  “Do we have enough room in the Distant Voyager to evacuate the planets?” Jeff asked Drax.

  Who shook his head. “A planet, perhaps. But if they’re fully populated, it’s unlikely we could put everyone in here. We could have taken the mime and harlequin populations, for example, but no others.”

  “Wheatles said the planets were teeming with life, and that seven were inhabited.” Some stuff I could remember when it mattered. There was something else I needed to remember about this sun, though, but it wasn’t coming out of my memory banks.

  “We need to find where the Eknara is,” Chuckie said.

  “Make it so,” Tim confirmed.

  We circled this world quickly. No signs of intelligent life. Mother shared that there were ten planets. We headed to number nine. No signs of life there, either. So, it was off to number eight for us. Because we were so fast, none of this took too long. Fortunately, we weren’t so fast that we couldn’t see things.

  “I’ve spotted what looks like spaceship wreckage,” Walker said. “It’s on this planet, the one we’re now nearest to.”

  “Call it number eight,” I said. “Mother, log the farthest one as ten, the next as nine, this one as eight, and so on.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Kitty,” Jerry said, “I don’t hear any chatter, but do a hail, just in case.”

  “Gotcha. Mission control, this is the Distant Voyager requesting permission to land.” We waited. “Nothing.”

  “Not a surprise, they’re bronze age, per Kreaving, remember,” Chuckie said. “And if the Eknara has indeed run out of power, then they can’t reply, either.”

  “Let’s get down there,” Tim said briskly. “We can at least get the crew of the Eknara to safety.”

  “Check. Mother, do we need to strap everyone into crash couches?”

  “No. They are harnessed and should be fine, though those here who aren’t strapped in should do so.”

  Everyone just grabbed onto one of the chairs and hooked their arm through a strap. Didn’t have to tell our team twice. “Saving the more advanced crew is not enough,” Jeff said. “We need to save everyone.”

  “I’m open to ideas,” Tim replied. “But so far all we have is angst, not answers.”

  The guys started doing that thing where everyone’s talking and everyone’s basically saying the same things, only absolutely no positive forward motion is being achieved because no new ideas are being offered. I’d done plenty of meetings like this, both before I’d joined Centaurion and after. Hated all of them, because they achieved nothing other than making everyone upset with each other.

  There was a lull as we lowered into the planet’s atmosphere. A little turbulence, but no more than any normal airplane flight. “We have to save the sun, that’s the only option.”

  “How, is the question,” Tim pointed out. Accurately.

  My music turned on before the guys could go back to Not Really Brainstorming. “Dream A Little Dream Of Me” by Mama Cass Elliot. My brain nudged. I’d had a dream, and I’d been told things, about this situation.

  “Do we really need a soundtrack?” Jeff asked. He didn’t seem to have realized that I hadn’t touched my iPod.

  “I do. It’s part of my process. And it keeps me calm. I can put in my earbuds if it’s an issue for everyone.”

  The guys grumbled good-naturedly but no one really complained. “I like the music,” Tim said finally. “So, as Commander, Kitty gets to listen to whatever she wants.”

  “Tim’s my favorite. So, what do we know about this sun? We know that something hit into it, per Wheatles.” And per Mephistopheles, too. The music changed to “Famous Monsters” by Saliva. “And Wheatles said that whatever hit it came via that neutron wave . . .”

  “What?” Jeff asked. “I know what it means when you just trail off.”

  “I think we need Wruck here, right away.”

  “I’ll get him,” Mossy said. “I can go the fastest of those here who are not controlling the ship.” He flew off.

  “Why do you want John up here?” Jeff asked.

  “Because I need to ask questions and he’s likely the only one who can answer.”

  “Circle the planet before we land,” Tim said. “Just in case.”

  We did as requested, verifying what Walker had seen and also that there didn’t appear to be anyone waiting to attack us in some way.

  “Mother,” I asked as we circled, “how close can we get to the sun safely? And, more importantly, can you tell what’s inside it?”

  “Currently we could get as close as what we will be calling Planet Two, which is, as far as my sensors show, the last inhabited planet. Planet One is very close to the sun, but it would be dangerous for us to land there, and it is likely too close for us to be even if we remain in space. As for what I see inside, it’s different from what was inside the other stars. I need to cross-reference before I can make confident statements.”

  Mossy and Wruck returned as we came back to the crash site of what we could confirm was the Eknara. Decided not to pressure Mother for the internal star organs at this precise time.

  Mossy had filled Wruck in, such as he could. “John,” I asked as we started to lower, “could a parasite, a Superior’s soul, join with a sun and survive?”

  He stared at me. “It’s never been done.”

  “Wasn’t asking if precedent had been set. Was asking if it was possible.”

  “I don’t know. I’d have to think that it wouldn’t survive the heat.”

  “And yet they’ve survived flying through space and slamming into unwilling hosts? I think they’re a lot heartier than you want to give them credit for.”

  “Perhaps.” Wruck didn’t sound convinced.

  “What if it was Mephistopheles? Could he have managed it?”

  Wruck looked thoughtful. “I suppose if the Superior were powerful enough, such as Mephistopheles was, then yes, it would be in the realm of possibility.”

  The music changed to “Antichrist Superstar” by Marilyn Manson and that meant I was pretty sure I was right.

  “So, here’s this hour’s Megalomaniac Girl proclamation, everyone. What’s slammed into this sun is a parasite, and it’s likely a really strong one, probably one of Mephistopheles’ favorite pals.” Mephs had said as much in my dream, after all. “And that means that, despite the odds, this particular parasite is going to successfully bond with this star. Meaning that the most powerful superbeing in existence is trying to form in front of us.”

  There was that silence you get when everyone is so horrified by what they’ve heard that they can’t speak for a few seconds. But the guys recovered.

  “What?” Jeff asked weakly. “How could that be?”

  “Look, as per always, I don’t make the plans, I just have to figure out what they are and foil them. In this case, it’s not a plan so much as it’s just the freaking way our luck goes. And this makes sense, if you consider that the neutron wave has been carrying this parasite forward.”

  Tim nodded. “I can see it. In that sense, it’s a good thing the Eknara was hit.”

  “I agree.” I did. It, like everything else, made too much sense to be wrong. And I knew things the others didn’t, particularly that we were on the Fix Mephs’ Big Errors For Algar Tour.

  “How so?” Mossy asked.

  But Chuckie was with us. “If the Eknara wasn’t hit and stranded here, who would know what was going on? No one. These three solar systems are close to each other, but they’re extremely remote from anywhere else. More importantly, only one planet in all three systems is
even close to spaceflight. They can’t call for help or warn anyone. Without the Eknara crash-landing here, we’re not here to try to stop it.”

  “If we can,” Hughes pointed out.

  “We can,” Jerry said confidently. He grinned at me. “Our Fearless Leader is here and she’s on the case.”

  “I feel the love,” Tim said. “But if we’re talking a being who can harness the power of a sun, then said being can engulf the planets, too.”

  “And those two other suns and their planets.” Knew how the Superiors worked. Just like all the other bad guys worked—get as much as you can, regardless of who you harm along the way. “So, we’re trying to save at least three systems.”

  “No,” Jeff said. “If we take your hypothesis as correct, then we’re trying to save the entire galaxy. Again.”

  CHAPTER 76

  READER NODDED. “I’m sure Jeff’s right. Because if we have a sentient star that’s being controlled by someone as powerful and evil as Mephistopheles was, then they aren’t going to stop at three systems.”

  “And the more they consume, the stronger they get,” Mossy said. “Just like a black hole.”

  “And since Mother sees the beginning of a black hole, that totally fits.” Managed not to say that black holes sucked—didn’t want to hurt Algar’s feelings and also didn’t feel like getting punned at for the rest of the landing.

  “Prepare for final landing,” Hughes announced. “The gravitational pull doesn’t seem as strong as it was on Cradus—this is a more Earthlike gravity, so we should be fine to take off, even if we’re fully loaded.”

  The landing was, for our crew, the most complicated one we’d done yet, seeing as this planet wasn’t forming a landing pad for us. Fortunately, Drax had accounted for this and there were support pillars that came out of the bottom of various parts of the ship—the ones for the saucer section being longer than those for the sport car section in order to keep our “head up”—or else we’d have to land tipped forward. All the landing pillars were high enough to keep our thrusters off the ground, too. The tricky part was lowering the ship while also lowering the support pillars, but everyone who’d flown planes said it was similar to normal landing gear.

  So, we managed, me by providing the soundtrack, everyone else by doing something to get us down. We got to listen to “Landing on London” by 3 Doors Down and “Pillar of Davidson” by Live, which I felt was helpful, though actively chose not to ask anyone else’s opinion.

  Once we were down, Mother did a scan. “Air is breathable for all on board. You should be able to exit via the main gangplank, not an airlock. Temperature is similar to the Northern United States and lower regions of Canada.”

  “So, chilly, but not terrible,” Tito said. “Whoever’s going out should dress accordingly.”

  “I suggest we put on Drax’s nifty body armor.”

  Drax nodded. “I agree. It will ensure that you don’t feel extreme temperatures. The suits are made to keep the wearers safe in all situations.”

  Those of us strapped in got unstrapped, I grabbed my iPod and dropped it back into my purse, and we all headed for the Observation Lounge via the Hyperspeed Daisy Chain.

  “As before, no one is to get off,” Jeff said as everyone was getting out of their harnesses. “And that particularly means you, Jamie. We may not be staying here very long, and we want everyone inside and accounted for.”

  “No one’s coming to look at us,” Jamie said, sounding disappointed.

  Checked the window. Looked like we were in a large basin that was part of a rocky area. There were trees that reminded me of Beta Eight, seeing as their leaves were red. So were the leaves and branches of scrub bushes that were nearby. The area was various shades of red, similar to how it was in Sedona, Arizona, only more so.

  Didn’t spot a lot of animal life, but that might not mean anything—the ship was huge, and normally something gigantic landing in your home tended to make animals run and even insects cautious. Plus I didn’t see any water nearby, so maybe that was why we had no animals.

  Realized Jamie was right, though—saw nothing that would be considered a person, unless the rocks were sentient. Put nothing past the galaxy, but Kreaving hadn’t indicated that they were on a planet where the people were made of granite, so chose to figure that the people, like the animals and insects, were hiding.

  “Maybe they’re afraid of a ship as big as ours, Jamie-Kat. I’m sure we’ll meet them soon enough.” Gave her and Charlie quick hugs and kisses. “You two need to behave. Everyone needs to stay in, just like Daddy said.” Gave Lizzie a hug as well. “You, too, please and thank you.”

  “Oh, fine,” Lizzie said with the requisite dramatic sigh. “We’ll behave.”

  Received similar assurances from everyone else. Didn’t buy them all that much. Decided to ensure that Jeff’s order would happen, and assigned the flyboys to guard the nest, so to speak. Thought about it, and put Rahmi and Rhee on guard duty, too. Then really considered and put Kevin, Buchanan, Siler, Butler, and Maurer on this duty as well. Not that I’d felt that it was anyone’s fault other than Jamie, ACE, and Algar’s for her early expedition on Cradus, but it never hurt to show that we meant business.

  Kevin, being my mom’s right hand in the P.T.C.U. and therefore the most used to this kind of situation, immediately ordered everyone into the crash couch room, both because it would be easier to keep everyone in and because if things went wrong, none of the kids needed to see it and we’d be ready in case we needed to make a hasty exit.

  Whining about everyone wanting to see what was going on ensued and was promptly ignored, mostly because the rest of us agreed with Kevin’s decision. And of course, this meant I got a lot of whining from those assigned to ensure that our civilians stayed on the ship, but we all managed to find the will to go on. Christopher stayed behind to ensure that all heads were counted and everyone was where they were supposed to be.

  The rest of us on the away team then headed to the armory and got into the body armor. I was fine with this, since the Elves continued to deliver and I was in jeans, a KT Tunstall Eye To The Telescope t-shirt, an Aerosmith hoodie—because I had standards to maintain—and my Converse.

  “Do we take weapons?” Tim asked.

  “I don’t recommend it,” White replied.

  “Take smaller ones that can be concealed,” Chuckie said. “Just in case.”

  “If you insist, Charles,” White said. “But I’m sure we could manage without them.”

  “I insist,” Chuckie said with a smile. “Because I don’t trust anyone out there. Yet.”

  Dropped some smaller guns and some cool sheathed knives in my purse because who was I to argue with the Smartest Guy in the Armory? Grabbed a few grenades, too, ’cause why not? Didn’t appear to have Poofs on Board. Chose not to worry about it and added another grenade.

  “Chuck’s right,” Christopher said as he joined us. “Dad, why are you always so foolhardy?”

  “Because it doesn’t do well to come to the people you’re trying to help waving big guns in their faces,” I replied. “Richard knows what he’s doing, don’t you, Mister White?”

  “As you do, Missus Martini. Plus, you’ll be there, son, all ready to protect me and whisk me and the others to safety.”

  Patted my purse. “And I’ll make sure, as always, that you’re totally safe, Mister White.”

  “The love in the armory’s great,” Reader said, as several of the others snorted about my keeping White safe comment. “But I’m still not thrilled that anyone other than Alpha Team is going out there.”

  “Wheatles talked to me and to Chuckie. He needs to meet us. Trust me on this one.”

  Received a shot of the cover boy grin. “Always, girlfriend. Always.”

  “You want me and Mahin with you in case something goes wrong,” Abigail said. “And that’s not a question, but a statement
.”

  Mahin nodded. “That’s earth of some kind out there, so I can move it.”

  “I’ve got my own explosive miniatures with me,” Serene said. “Just in case.” Pretty much everyone put their hands out to get some. Didn’t even have to put back the extra grenade to fit them into my purse.

  “Nice to see we’re armed for bear,” Reader said with a sigh. “Not that I think we’re wrong to be prepared.”

  “Then why are the princesses not going again?” Tim asked.

  “Because we want everyone staying in the ship and we need muscle to ensure they follow orders,” Jeff said. “Since we have limited time, and most of what we’re going to be doing on is planet is going to be saying hello, then throwing people into the Distant Voyager and flying away as fast as we can, the fewer of our untrained personnel out there the better.” He sounded down and angry.

  “Way to focus on the positives there, Jeff,” Tim said.

  Nudged against him. “What’s wrong? I know you want to save everyone. I do, too. So does everyone else. And I’m not counting us out yet. Why are you?”

  He hugged me to him. Even with the body suits on I could feel his hearts pounding. “I’m just worried.”

  “We all are.”

  “Yeah, but I’m worried about more than the rest of you. If we can’t fix this sun—and, so far, none of us have the faintest idea of what to do—then we’re about to feel millions or billions of people die. That’s hard on empaths, and what this ship does not have are isolation chambers.”

  “Oh. Good point.” It was, and what Jeff was worried about was, frankly, frightening. The blowback of all that death and destruction on a regular person would be bad enough. On an empath, it could kill them.

  It had killed Christopher’s mother, Terry, in Bizarro World. Alfred had told me she’d died in his arms because of White and all the others being annihilated. And those were far fewer numbers than we were talking for a fully populated solar system. This event could kill Jeff, Jamie, Kimmie, and who knew how many of the other kids?