by S. J. Talbot
"Is everyone accounted for?" Carterra asked as the last group of humans conveyed to the cart.
Tausson stood at her side, anxiously waiting for confirmation from the Relican Squad member who was responsible for transport.
"No, Commander," came the reply.
The Vice President's voice came over the transmitter. "Apparently the President and her Chief of Staff weren't at the conveyance zone," he said. "The others searched for them for as long as they could, but they were nowhere to be found."
Tausson could hardly breathe. Where is she? Where is Tierney?
"I'll go look for them," he said, already turning to leave the command center.
"Hold, Tausson," came Carterra's stern order.
"But we can't leave without them," he said, even though he knew defying her order so openly was cause for reprimand. "The President must be here to lead her people."
Carterra's face remained firm, but Tausson could see the pain in her eyes as she said, "We cannot afford to remain even minutes longer. With all the technical problems we encountered, we're already past the point of safety for the humans on the cart, not to mention our own people." She turned to the Com Officer and said, "Instruct the Chief that we must begin departure."
Tausson's heart froze. He couldn't leave her. He couldn't discover love just to lose it so soon.
Rushing back to Carterra's side, he whispered, "I must return. I must go to her."
Although he hadn't meant to make it about Tierney, Carterra read the meaning in his eyes. "Tausson," she said gently, "I cannot risk the lives of thousands of Relicans and billions of humans for the sake of one woman."
She sat down, her eyes on the sightscreen, where Earth slowly spun beneath them.
Tierney's down there. She needs my help.
Regardless of the consequences, Tausson had to go to her. Even if they died together on a burning planet, at least he would be with her.
He spun around and ran to the hatch, but Carterra must have anticipated his intentions, because she said, "First Rasmus, see Tausson to his lodge and ensure he remains there."
Rasmus's eyes glinted as he walked towards him. Tausson waited until they were in the hall with the hatch fastened behind him before blatantly running away.
"Hey!" called Rasmus, his heavy footfalls chasing after him. "Come back here, traitor!"
Barely more than a few strides in front of him, Tausson raced down the halls, not knowing where he was going, just knowing that he needed to get down to the surface. Skidding around the corner, he narrowly evaded Rasmus's grasp. But the First was Protection Officer for a reason, and a moment later, his iron grip closed around Tausson's arm and jerked him back.
"I have to go --" Tausson began, but Rasmus was in no mood to talk. His fist slammed into Tausson's jaw, snapping his head backwards to crash against the metal walls of the vessel. His legs gave out from the shock, and he fell to the ground. Rasmus must have been swinging for another punch, because a moment later he cried out in pain as his hand crunched against the same unyielding surface.
Tausson used the moment of weakness to leap up and, even though it was against every rule in the Relican Squad oath, threw the amplified might of his mechasuit against Rasmus's bulk and jammed his shoulder into the Protection Officer's gut. Rasmus slammed into the opposite wall, leaving an indent before crumpling to the iron grate floor of the hall. Although he had most likely just condemned himself to prison, Tausson fled, leaving Rasmus gasping for air and clutching his side in agony.
Locking himself in the next chamber, he entered the coordinates to Tierney's office. Just before he pressed the final command, his transmitter chirped.
"Tausson," said Carterra's warm, familiar voice.
"I can't leave her, Carterra," he said, his finger hovering over the convey button. "Even if I die, I can't leave her."
Every second was one less that Tierney had to live, but he sensed his commander, his mate, had more to say, and he owed it to her to hear it.
"I'll keep the Irral here for as long as I can," she said.
"You are the brightest gem in the mine," he said, silently thanking the Great Metalsmith for his good friend.
"Twenty minutes," she replied, with no hint of a smile in her concerned voice. "After that, our crew is in danger from the blast."
"Squad, Commander." With hope ablaze in his chest, he pressed his sleeve and closed his eyes.
I'm coming, Tierney.
"Do you think we'll feel it?"
"What?" rasped Tierney, lifting her head from the floor. She and Nelle had long since given up their attempts at getting someone's attention. Even though they didn't know what time it was, it felt like enough time had passed that the conveyance had already happened. They were probably the last two people on Earth.
"The asteroid," said the President. Her eyes were closed, her head resting against the wall. Even though there was no real need for modesty, given the situation, they had blanketed themselves under a painting tarp, and Nelle had it pulled up to her shoulders.
"That's rather macabre of a question, don't you think?" asked Tierney, setting her head back down.
Nelle laughed. "This is rather macabre of a situation, don't you think?"
Tierney chuckled weakly. "I suppose you're right." Compartmentalizing her impending death and shoving it aside, she thought objectively about the President's question. "According to Garner's team, and the Relicans' calculations, the asteroid should impact somewhere in the South Pacific, near Fiji. The one that killed the dinosaurs was significantly smaller than this one, and most of the life on Earth was dead within hours due to extreme heat and fires."
She let out a long sigh, not wanting to give voice to what that meant for the two of them.
"So that would be a no," said Nelle.
"That would be a resounding no," Tierney affirmed.
They listened to the silence, each trying not to think about what the day would bring.
"You're going to make me say it first?" Nelle asked. The question was so sudden, her tone so sharp, that Tierney shot up.
"Say what?"
"Oh please," the President said, smiling as she waved Tierney's question away. "You're playing chicken with me on who's going to get sappy first. Well I'll go ahead and say what we're both thinking: if I have to be locked in a closet with someone at the end of the world, I'm glad that person is you."
Tierney smirked at her. "So if you have to be condemned to a fiery death, you're glad I'm condemned too? That sounds sadistic rather than sappy. And here I thought we were friends."
Nelle rolled her eyes. "You know what I'm saying." Her eyes turned solemn, and Tierney held up her hands.
"Please don't say it," she said. "It makes it too real."
"Sorry, Tierney," said Nelle, her eyes welling up, "I've got to say it. I've got to tell you how much I've enjoyed seeing you grow from a bright -- if naive -- girl, to a confident, capable, brilliant young woman. You've truly been my rock over the past few years, especially since Maggie died." Her voice broke, and she wiped at the few tears that escaped before continuing.
"I'm so proud of everything you've accomplished. You've been an outstanding colleague, and my best friend. I'm sorry about all of the crap you've had to put up with," she gave a weak chuckle, "including getting locked in a closet at the end of the world, and I'm honored that you pushed through it all with your head held high to stay by my side. I can't tell you how much it means to me."
Tierney fought back her own tears. It was all so unfair. Caleb and Jonas should be the ones trapped on a burning planet. Nelle was the good one, the selfless leader who had done nothing but beat the odds honorably, and now she'd been sentenced to death by her conniving and power hungry Vice President. He was probably already convening a special emergency session of Congress to name himself President of a country that didn't exist anymore.
And Tierney was doomed to the same fate, simply because of her loyalty. She'd never see her sister again, her parents -- or Tausson. She cursed herself f
or all the time they could have spent together, had they known what was in store.
She jumped up, grabbing a bucket they'd already tried and failed to use as a battering ram.
"What are you doing?" asked Nelle.
Ramming it against the door, she said, "There is no way I'm spending the last few hours of my life in the basement of the White House."
Nelle's hands were already bruised from banging everything she could find against the door, but she lay on her back and began kicking at the bottom of the door.
"We are getting out of here," Tierney said between blows, "and we're going to that incredible bakery --"
"The one with the huge peanut butter cookies?" asked Nelle.
"That's the one." Tierney's palms were already sore, but she thought she saw a crack starting to form in the door -- why were these doors so damn strong anyway? -- and felt a flicker of hope in her chest.
"We're going to eat anything and everything we can find," she said, picking up the pace of her blows, "and we'll never have to worry about the consequences."
"I like your thinking," said Nelle. "And I might not even bother getting dressed."
Tierney looked down at her quizzically.
"There's nothing like gorging yourself on eclairs when you're buck naked," she said. Flinching as she continued ramming her heels against the door, she added, "Not that I've ever done that before."
Tierney laughed -- a real, hearty, hopeful laugh. "No time like the present."
23
Ten minutes left.
Tausson jogged through the abandoned White House, calling for Tierney and the President. There had been no clues in her office, but the hint of her scent clung to the couch, a ghost of their night of lovemaking. He'd opened every door he came across, but found nothing.
Was she even here? Had she gone home afterwards to spend her last night on Earth in her own bed? Hopelessness threatened to swallow him up, whispering to him to stay and choose death rather than life without Tierney. He stopped moving and took a deep breath, trying to clear his mind, to think rationally about where they both could be.
A distant banging pricked his ears. He held his breath, his own pounding heart threatening to drown out the sound. He ran a few steps in the direction he thought it was coming from, then stopped. He didn't seem to be any closer. Then he fell to the floor and set his ear on the carpet.
Yes -- it was coming from below.
His sleeve chirped. "Tausson, transmit," ordered Carterra.
He almost ignored it, but her voice was unclear and ominously intermittent.
Racing down the hall, opening every door to find a way to the lower level, he tapped his mechasuit and said, "Squad, Commander."
When she replied, only some of her words came through, but he understood the message. "Tauss... teroid is interf... ignal. Conv... ficult the long... wait."
"But the asteroid is still a few hours away," he said, throwing open the door to yet another empty office.
"...iggest we've encou...must leave..."
Finally he found a set of stairs leading downwards. He nearly leapt down the entire flight in one jump. "I hear them, Carterra, I'm almost there. I'll have them back on the Irral before you're in danger, I swear."
"Five minutes, Taus--" Her transmission abruptly ended, but Tausson hardly noticed. The banging was louder now, closer.
"Tierney!" he shouted. "President Freeland!"
Suddenly the door he was running towards burst open, and out tumbled Tierney, still naked, with a bucket in her hands.
"Tierney!" he cried, racing to her.
"Tausson!" She was struggling to get up amidst the broken and splintered wood that had been a door moments before. He lifted her out of the debris and held her to him, paralyzed by joy and relief.
"Come to join our bakery party?"
Tausson looked down to see President Freeland, wrapped in a tarp, lying on the floor of the closet they had been locked in. He wanted to ask what had happened and how they'd been trapped there, but he knew they had no time.
"We must convey immediately," he said. "The cart has already begun its retreat, and the asteroid is beginning to interfere with communication waves."
Tierney reached out for the President's hands and helped her up. President Freeland winced as she stood.
"Are you harmed?" he asked.
Leaning on Tierney, she said, "Just sore all over from throwing myself at an inordinately strong door."
"May I carry you?" he asked. "We must get above ground to convey." The President nodded, and though he wished he could be carrying Tierney instead, he cradled her in his arms and ran back to the stairs, with Tierney right behind him.
"What's the fastest way outside?" he asked. Tierney led them through a nearby exit to the same garden where Tausson had first greeted the President a month ago. He gestured to Tierney to hug him close, then set his mechasuit to lock into the coordinates of the Irral. The world around him began to blur, but instead of disappearing, it came back together, reforming until he was again on the White House lawn.
"What happened?" asked Tierney. "We started to convey, didn't we?"
Tausson reset the conveyance coordinates and tried once more, still carrying the President with one arm and clutching Tierney against him with the other. Again Earth turned fuzzy, and again it cleared up.
"The asteroid is too near," he said, setting the President on her feet. "Conveying three at a time is too complex."
He turned to Tierney, but she stepped away. "No, take Nelle."
"I'm not leaving you," he said, grabbing her arm.
"You'll come back for me." She pointed to Nelle. "Take her first."
"Tierney!" He couldn't leave her here. The interference was growing stronger by the second. What if he couldn't make it back?
Though she had tears in her eyes, she slapped him across the cheek. "That is the true President of the United States!" she yelled. "She must be safe to keep Caleb and Jonas from getting power. Now get out of here!"
She was right. His command instincts shouted at him to listen, to take the leader first and return for love second. The greater good had to be served. Even the President herself knew it was true, though tears streamed down her cheeks.
Though he knew he was wasting time, he gripped Tierney's arms and jerked her against him. Pressing his lips to hers, he kissed her for as long as he dared, then he jumped away before he gave in to the temptation to convey with her.
Grabbing ahold of the President, he entered the coordinates. His eyes locked on Tierney as the world around them fell away, drinking in the memory of her courage, her strength, her beauty, and praying it wouldn't be the last time he saw her.
Tierney watched the spot where Tausson and Nelle had been long after they vanished. She was afraid to move, afraid to breathe, afraid to do anything that would risk his return.
But the longer they were gone, the less hopeful she was that Tausson would come for her. The way he'd looked at her as they conveyed, it was as if he knew it would be the last time he'd ever see her. Maybe it was.
Earth was surprisingly serene for a planet that was only hours away from destruction. Her heart ached for the animals doomed for extinction: the beloved pets, the stunningly diverse and resilient wildlife. Humanity had done so little for the Earth, and so much to it. The planet deserved its solitude, its salvation from humanity. Endangered species would be able to rebound and thrive without humans killing them or burning their habitats, nature would purge the filth people dumped in its oceans and buried under its soil. Earth didn't deserve its fiery end any more than Nelle did.
Still Tausson wasn't back. Tierney wondered if she should go to the bakery herself and make up a tray. Would she eat it there? Maybe in the middle of the street?
She lay back on the grass instead, guiltless sweets having lost their allure. The grass pricked against her bare skin, and the sun shone down through white, fluffy clouds.
Tierney thought of Shoshu, and the picture frame she'd seen o
f the alien family. No one would find any remnants of her. Even if Earth did rebound millions of years from now, her ashes would have been turned into soil, and soil into rock. There would be no trace of her.
What was it that Tausson had said when he met Nelle that first day? Tierney had watched the security footage of it a few times afterward in an effort to understand the Relicans better.
The soil is within us. We are within the soil.
Well, that would certainly be true of her.
The sky began to brighten. Was that the asteroid already? Her heart started beating harder against her chest, and she breathed deeply, trying to stay calm, to surrender to the inevitable and meet her death with dignity.
The clouds turned hazy, and the blue sky darkened.
What's going on?
She tried to sit up, but found she was locked in place. Her body felt numb, loose, disconnected. Finally she understood.
She wanted to smile, to cry, to scream, but could do nothing other than let her body dissolve. So instead she silently said goodbye to the Earth, to the animals, the plants, the oceans, and the countless people who had lived and died there.
Thank you, she thought, as the black veil fell, obscuring her planet, her home, until there was nothing but darkness.
Thank you for loving us.
24
Something warm was covering her up. She heard hushed voices, smelled the sharp scent of metal, felt the faint vibration in the floor beneath her.
"Tausson?" she whispered.
"I'm here," he said, and she felt a gloved hand close around hers. She opened her eyes and saw his anxious face above her.
"Are you harmed?" he asked. "I couldn't convey down, but Carterra --" Someone nearby cleared their throat, and the corner of Tausson's lips twitched in a smile as he corrected himself. "Commander Arrat agreed to try and convey you directly to the vessel. She saved you."
Tierney turned to see the commander in the conveyance chamber with them, along with a man with bronze skin, wearing a white uniform.
"This is Senior Medic Aspri," said Tausson. "He will assist if you are harmed."
