Alien Nation

by Gini Koch

  Was about to come up with a really snarky retort when Walter shifted a bit in his chair and I finally caught sight of the last screen showing in outer space. That ship in this section of our neighborhood really caught my eye. “Is that a Z’porrah ship?”

  CHAPTER 7

  MY QUESTION WAS RHETORICAL, since there wasn’t a one of us that wouldn’t recognize what I was looking at. On the screen was a lone ship that looked like what we humans typically called a flying saucer—with lights along the circumference, and a dome on top. That was where the power cube sat, inside the dome.

  “Yes,” Walter confirmed, voice tight. “I haven’t found any other Z’porrah ships, though.”

  “So, does this mean that we’re under attack?” Buchanan asked, sounding far less interested in talking and a whole lot more ready to lead a battalion against our enemies.

  “The Z’porrah never attack singly,” Wruck said, sounding confused. “Ever.”

  “That’s it. Walt, need to go live to the LSR, please and thank you.”

  He shot me a worried look. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes. I’ll be discreet.”

  All of the men shot me looks that indicated they didn’t believe discretion was in my wheelhouse. Chose to ignore them and gave Walter the “do it” look. He did. “Excuse me, the First Lady would like a word.”

  “What’s up, Kitty?” Jeff asked.

  “Jeff, I’d like you, Christopher, Richard, Alexander, and Chuckie only to come to Walter’s security center. No Secret Service need apply, and no one else needs to come along for the ride at this precise time. Just something I want to show you select few. Everyone else can carry on with the business of the Centaurion War Division.”

  Jeff grunted. “We’ll be right there.”

  They were right there by the time I’d turned around to look at the door. Hyperspeed was the best, and Christopher was essentially the Flash. “What’s going on, and why didn’t you want James or Tim?” Christopher asked as they reached us and he and the rest of them disengaged from their hyperspeed daisy chain.

  “Because, as so often is the case, I want no one reacting or doing anything until we’re done and you all do what I want you to do.” Brought them up to speed, fast, on what was on Walter’s screens, and Walter shared that Alpha Four had also alerted us.

  “I’m relieved these are not heading for my system,” Alexander said, “but we now consider any attack on Earth to be an attack on us. Do I need to ready our fleet?”

  “Not yet. I think we want to be as sure as we can be of what’s coming. That’s why I only wanted you guys here and we haven’t shared this with the full team in the LSR.”

  “So, why are we here?” Christopher asked, shooting me Patented Glare #2. He was a glaring champion, after all, and this was a prime opportunity to brush up the skills.

  “I want you and Jeff to do a Go Team move on these ships before we do anything else. I want the others here to do some of the heavy thinking and additional panicking as necessary.”

  “Always nice to be needed,” Chuckie said.

  Jeff grunted again. “Fine, we still have time to get all of Earth in a state of readiness for attack. I hope, at any rate. What ship do you want us testing first?”

  “The Z’porrah’s. Duh.”

  He managed a quick grin. “Good point.”

  Walter and the animals moved out of the way and Jeff and Christopher got next to the screen. Christopher put his hand on the monitor and Jeff put his over it. This was a combo empath and imageer move, where the imageer got the picture of the being or beings and the empath picked up their emotions. It had worked well during Operations Fugly and Destruction and more, and Christopher and other powerful imageers had been able to get reads on beings in ships that were far, far away, and despite the virus, Christopher’s talent was still reasonably strong. So I had faith we’d learn something this time.

  They were quiet for a few long moments. Then they removed their hands slowly. “They feel like no Z’porrah I’ve ever felt before,” Jeff said.

  Christopher nodded. “It’s not all Z’porrah in that ship. There are some Ancients, too, at least going by the fact that they look kind of like John.”

  “They felt like John,” Jeff agreed. “Basically, the overriding emotions on that ship are fear and hope.”

  “What does that mean?” Buchanan asked.

  “I have no idea,” Jeff admitted.

  “Test the other ships,” I suggested. “John, tell them about the people in those ships, too.”

  Wruck explained the giant honeybees thing, so they tried on the Lyssara’s Comb next. Jeff shook his head. “I get nothing. I haven’t met any of these in person, and I think it’ll take time to adjust to them.”

  “They look like giant bees, though,” Christopher said. “Walking and talking, but bees.”

  “Hope their honey’s good. Check the Faradawn Treeship.”

  “The Faradawn resemble living trees,” Wruck said, as the guys put their hands on the screen. “Mostly willows, as Earthlings would see them, but others as well.”

  “So they’re dryads from Greek myth?” White asked.

  “Similar, yes,” Wruck said. “They might have come out here long ago.”

  “Seems like everyone has.”

  “Is it truly time for sarcasm?” Christopher asked me.

  “It’s always time for sarcasm, as you know. You feeing alright?”

  “This takes a lot of focus. Lots of trees in that ship, but there are a lot of other races, too. And I mean a lot.”

  “Yeah,” Jeff said, as they took their hands away. “Far more than I can get a read on right now. General feelings of fear and hope, though, from the few that registered as close to other races I’ve read before.”

  They checked the Vrierst ship, which were, per Wruck, sort of ethereal and cloud-like while still having shape and substance, and the Yggethnian ship, where the races resembled lemurs and sloths and other rather cuddly Earth creatures. Same thing—not enough history for Jeff to go on and lots and lots of different beings there, particularly in the Yggethnian ship.

  “I don’t get what’s going on,” Christopher admitted. “Why are any of these coming here, to Earth?”

  “Especially since none of them seem aggressive,” Jeff added.

  Time to put on my Megalomaniac Girl cape and make the leap because this was actually my real job. “Would we think news of our repelling the Z’porrah more than once has gotten around the Greater Galactic Expanse?” I asked Alexander.

  “Yes, it has. We’ve been approached, as we’ve said, to join the greater galactic community mostly due to our handling of the Z’porrah. Especially when we repelled them so effectively from our solar borders.”

  “Yeah, Operation Civil War was fun, wasn’t it? So, anyway, I think I know why these ships are heading here, and it’s not to rain down fire on us from the sky.”

  “Why then?” Jeff asked.

  Looked over at Chuckie. Could see the wheels turning as he studied the screens. “Why does anyone come to America?” he asked quietly.

  “Yep.” This earned me blank looks from the rest of the room. “Really, guys? Let’s put it another way. Richard, why did you guys come here?”

  “We were exiled and seeking asylum.” White jerked. “Oh. Oh really?”

  “Yeah. I don’t think we have attacking races. I think we have six ships full of refugees.”

  “Don’t you mean five ships?” Siler asked. “The Z’porrah are our enemies.”

  “Yes, they are, as a whole. But as John just told us, all the Z’porrah don’t hate the rest of us, just like not every German was a Nazi. I think they’re fleeing, just like the rest of these ships.”

  “Why are they coming here?” Jeff asked. “We have one inhabited planet. Alpha Centauri has ten.”

  Thought about ho
w Wruck had described the Vrierst. “Could those ethereal people live on a planet like Jupiter, John?”

  “Probably. Their home planet is a gas giant.”

  “And I’ll bet some of the others could handle being on the moon or Mars or whatever. Maybe most would have to be on Earth, but still, we have seven or eight other planets, depending on who you ask about Pluto and Planet Nine.”

  “So does Alpha Centauri,” Jeff said flatly.

  “But we are not who was perceived to repel the Z’porrah,” Alexander said thoughtfully.

  “Um, you guys are the only reason Earth isn’t a smoking crater overrun by dino-birds.” Well, them and ACE, our benevolent superconsciousness currently housed in Jamie. I was going to need to talk to ACE the moment Jamie went down for a nap, which didn’t happen a lot these days.

  “Yes, from that attack. But Earth forces came to rescue us from our own civil war and to help us to repel the Z’porrah. And it was Earth who created the alliances with the Shantanu and Cleophese.”

  “You mean it was Kitty, Alexander,” Chuckie said, turning around. “Kitty created those alliances. She’s created every alliance Earth has made with any alien race we’ve met, starting with you.”

  “And she flips your enemies all the time,” Siler added.

  “Right,” Chuckie said briskly. “Meaning they aren’t going to Alpha Centauri and they’re not really coming to Earth, either.”

  “Now you’ve lost me, dude.”

  Chuckie rubbed the back of his neck. “Kitty, they’re coming to you.”

  CHAPTER 8

  LET THAT ONE SIT on the air for a few moments. “Um, excuse me?”

  Chuckie heaved a sigh. “Look, when I was strapped to that mind-expanding machine the Rapacians had, I could see everything in the galaxy. And everyone. Every living thing.”

  “I’m amazed your mind didn’t explode,” White said, as he patted Chuckie on his shoulder. This wasn’t new news, and White was aware of all that had gone on and the harm that had been done to Chuckie. But we were all still waiting for Chuckie to have another Migraine Meltdown Experience. He’d been doing great since Operation Epidemic, but none of us wanted to just assume he was cured simply because the Mastermind had been exposed to the world.

  “It would have, except for Jamie and Kitty.” Chuckie looked directly at me. “I know you saw it too, when you were protecting me, Kitty. They’re all out there.”

  “Yeah, I’m not going to argue that there are probably more living beings in our galaxy than we can all comprehend. But I don’t see what that has to do with this situation.”

  Chuckie shrugged. “I’m not sure, either, but who’s to say that we didn’t project as well as perceive?”

  “You mean you think all those people know about you, Kitty, and Jamie?” Jeff growled protectively.

  “Jeff, I have no idea. I’m just hypothesizing right now. But I think it’s possible.”

  Had a feeling Chuckie was more than hypothesizing. I’d known him over half our lives and I could tell when he wasn’t telling the entire truth. Took the assumption that he was lying to keep Jeff from overreacting, a sentiment I heartily agreed with.

  “We have a Rapacian in the Large Situation Room,” Alexander pointed out. “One who is very loyal now to our empire, but who would stop being loyal if Kitty said she didn’t care for Alpha Four’s leadership anymore. He may be able to tell us if the hypothesis Charles has shared happened or is possible.”

  “I’m all kinds of flattered that all of you think I’m that influential, but before we race to drag our own Hawkman into this, and therefore everyone else as well, I think we need to accept that Lakin may not have any idea of what that machine could do. Or, more importantly, what it could do with a mind like Chuckie’s strapped into it.”

  “I think we need Drax and the other Vata,” Siler said. “They can mentally connect to machines. Let’s see if they can do what you two,” he nodded toward Jeff and Christopher, “did, or if they can do so through your link.”

  “Before we do that we need to have Alpha Team in here,” Jeff said. “This falls under their bailiwick. In fact,” he looked at me, “I’m going to echo Christopher’s earlier question. Why didn’t you ask for James, Tim, and Serene to join us?”

  Contemplated my responses. Honesty seemed the best policy. “It’s the same reason Walter asked for only me at first, I think. It’s because this isn’t actually their bailiwick. Not anymore. If we have new aliens coming to Earth, we can’t hide them, and I sincerely think that we don’t want to kill them clandestinely, either. I don’t think we want to kill them at all.”

  “What if they’re coming to kill us?” Jeff asked.

  “Then we’ll handle it. But if they’re coming to attack, that requires a political and military response from the entire world, not just Centaurion Division. And if, as we suspect, they’re coming here for help, that demands a political and humanitarian response from the entire world, or at least from the United States, not just Centaurion Division. I didn’t want you guys instantly going into an attack and defense mode that we’re comfortable with.”

  “Why have my dad and Chuck come for this meeting, then?” Christopher asked. “I get why I’m here.”

  “Because I want the smartest guy in any room around for things like this, and because Paul isn’t available. Richard was the Supreme Pontifex for decades, and I think we need the religious body chiming in.”

  “In other words you want to know if we should show mercy, compassion, and generosity,” White said. “And I would be a hypocrite to say otherwise. Your father and Stanley Gower would agree with me on that, too, Jeffrey. We were the three who came asking for the United States to give us asylum, which they did, with reservations. But still, we weren’t turned away.”

  “Though it was close,” Chuckie said. White nodded. Wondered if White had given Chuckie the Early Earth A-C History Lesson, because many times since we’d come back from Operation Civil War, Chuckie said something that made it seem as if he’d been there with them when they’d first come to Earth. Which, considering he was only a few months older than me, was flat-out impossible. Of course, I’d switched universes not too long ago, so who was I to question the possibilities in our vast multiverse?

  Jeff ran his hand through his hair. “It’s a different world now, though, Uncle Richard.”

  “No,” Wruck said. “It’s the same world. But as we’re seeing, it’s a world that might be ready to unify, for the first time since its beginning.”

  “You think we should let them come, don’t you, John?”

  “Yes, Kitty, I do. I think that if they’re all fleeing, then they need a safe haven.”

  “The Z’porrah are our enemies,” Christopher pointed out. Rightly. “We just got everyone to agree to that, all over the world. That’s why we have that potential for unification. And now you’re saying that we should welcome a ship full of them with open arms?”

  “If they’re coming as refugees, that usually means they don’t agree with the regime that’s in power. They also might be able to tell us what’s going on with the Z’porrah in relation to our systems.”

  Chuckie nodded. “Kitty has a good point. But we also need to consider that most refugees are fleeing war or oppression or both. We know the Z’porrah are at war, and have been for millennia. But these refugees may not know anything other than that they want to get away to some form of safety.”

  “Which is why we presume they’re heading here,” White said. “Earth could have viewed us as enemies or a threat. We certainly have the ability to be both. But we came in peace, and these others may be doing so as well.”

  “Which boils down to: we won’t know until they get here,” Jeff said with a sigh. “Walter, how long before the first ship gets into Earth’s solar space?”

  “I honestly don’t know, Mister President. I haven’t really bothered to
focus on speed calculations, since this is the first time since I got this equipment that any ships have been headed toward us.”

  “And he’s only had this for a very few weeks,” Alexander added. “We brought this with us when we first arrived, but due to everything that happened, I was not able to give any of the equipment to Walter until after we returned from Camp David.”

  “And I didn’t get it set up until after the inauguration party,” Walter added. “I needed to focus on all the security gaps you and Chief First Lady found.”

  “What a great spin, Walt. Seriously, I meant it before. No titles right now, dude. Not even for Mister President here.”

  “I agree,” Jeff said.

  “I think I can figure it out,” Chuckie said before Walter could whine about the cruelty of No Title Time. “With John and Alexander’s help. But it may not matter. If they’re using hyperdrives, each ship may be able to jump here.”

  “No,” Wruck said. “The Z’porrah fleet has a controlled wormhole device to allow them to jump thousands of light-years at a time. However, the individual ships do not. And I would sincerely doubt that a fleeing ship would have managed to get one.”

  “Then figure out the timeline,” Jeff said to Chuckie. He, Wruck, and Alexander went into a Science Huddle. My ears turned off quickly—this wasn’t where my skills were needed or helpful.

  “Apparently I’m going to do my old job and represent Alpha Team until one of you breaks down and advises them,” Christopher said, shooting Patented Glare #3 at the portion of the room that wasn’t involved with higher math. “But has it occurred to anyone that the Z’porrah ship could be a ruse or a trap? We’re supposed to think they’re refugees, but what if the moment they land, they attack us?”

  “That’s not what I felt,” Jeff said. “And they don’t know that we know they’re coming. Do they?” he asked Walter.

  “Not to my knowledge. But I don’t know what equipment their ships do or don’t have.”