Escape to Earth 1: Running From Fate

by Saxon Andrew

  “We must have that planet!”

  “Yes, Greatness, do you wish us to cease pursuing the pod?”

  “NO! We still need the information the Myot are trying to prevent us having. Continue the chase and try to get close enough for the pod to make it through their formations.”

  “We will do as you command.”

  • • •

  “OH HO! What have we here?” The Pod looked at its scanners and saw blips appearing in normal space surrounding it. “This must be every Stalker Searchship in existence.” The Pod examined the Stalker positions as more and more ships arrived. It turned its scanners toward Earth and stared at the beautiful blue and green gem floating in space. “Stay safe, Lukas.”

  “I’ll make sure he is.”

  “Thank you, Sentinel. I’m afraid I might have to be away longer than I planned.”

  “That is partly my fault, little one. I won’t allow them back to the planet until they confirm Lukas is not with you.”

  “That is a gift, not a punishment.” The Pod activated the skip drive as a hundred Stalker ships came roaring in from all sides. The Pod’s force fields flared as the Pod disappeared from normal space.”

  “IT’S GONE SKIP, IT’S GONE SKIP!”

  Every Stalker Searchship went into the void and saw the Pod flash away at an incredible skip speed. They turned and followed the skip trace. The Myot and Welken fleets chasing the Pod from outside the Solar System saw it go into skip drive and joined in the pursuit.

  • • •

  The Myot Ruler contacted the Stalker Leader, “It appears you have failed in your contract. We no longer require your services.”

  “Our contract calls for the collection of that escapee. We will collect him.”

  The Myot knew how much it was going to cost if the Stalker actually did retrieve the escape pod and he smiled, “Do not interfere with my warships.”

  “And you do the same. Your speed is nowhere near my ship’s capability.”

  “We’ll see.”

  • • •

  The Stalker Leader shook his head, he just told the Welken Royal the same thing. Now all three civilizations were too invested to allow the others to take possession of the escape pod. The Myot and Welken quickly figured out that if they could simply destroy the pod before the Stalkers could take it, their contracts would be ended. By extension, if the Stalker’s destroyed the pod, they would have also fulfilled their contracts. The danger to the pod escalated to a level that was far beyond what was considered normal. The chase had begun and was far from over. The Stalkers, Welken, and Myot quickly discovered that cornering the pod was not as simple as they thought. Their frustration grew, as Myot and Welken battleships destroyed each other, while chasing a pod they soon named Evil’s Tool. Wherever that pod ran, death followed closely behind. No one could call it off, the stakes were too high and thousands were dying in the pursuit.

  Chapter Nine

  “Colonel, I think you should take a look at what SatSet recorded.”

  “What is it?”

  Captain Bohannon looked at Col. Steve Jekins and pressed the play button on his panel. Jinks looked at the display and saw a bright light appear over Boston and then accelerate directly toward the camera recording the incident. The object appeared to move very slowly over the city at first and then move toward the satellite at an unbelievable velocity. Jenkin’s eyebrows came together, “What is that?”

  Bohannon shook his head, “Sir, I’ve checked all of our strategic radars and nothing appeared on them.”

  Jinks looked at the Captain, “Nothing?”

  “No Sir. There was a sonic boom registered over the city and there was damage around the site where it moved into the atmosphere.”

  “Slow the image down as it approaches the Sat.”

  Bohannon pressed a series of buttons and started moving a slide across his panel. The object moved toward the defense satellite and then he slowed the image to a stop. All they could see was a white ball. “How big is that?”

  “Sir, it appears to be thirty two feet in diameter. It’s not possible to see inside it.”

  Jekins stared at the image and Bohannon said, “Defense has also sent some time lapse images made by several observatories for you to comment on.”

  “Where did they get the recordings?”

  “You know our system keeps track of anything that’s transmitted on the internet that is out of the ordinary. NSA went into the observatories mainframes and copied the recordings.”

  “Show me what you have, Captain.”

  Jekins stared at the time-lapse recording of a distance galaxy. Suddenly, it blinked briefly. “What caused that?” Bohannon slowed the recording down and brought the center of the galaxy into closer focus. Jinks stared at the image and saw something pass in front of the galaxy and block the image.

  “Can the computer get a shape on whatever that is?” Bohannon rewound the image until the galaxy was blocked. He entered instructions into the computer and, after a moment, a white line was imposed on the monitor. It looked like a single white light. “Increase the size.”

  “Sir, the telescope was focused on that distant galaxy and anything closer will not be clear.”

  “Enlarge it, Captain.” The view moved in closer to the white dot and Jinks saw a long, white cigar shaped object. “Do you have an idea of that thing’s size?”

  “Six hundred feet long, two hundred feet tall.”

  “How far away was it?”

  Bohannon looked at Jinks, “Sir, it’s in orbit.”

  Jinks stared at Bohannon for a long moment. He looked at the object again and said, “You mentioned that you have recordings from several observatories.”

  “Sir, six have time lapse recordings with blockages appearing on them. All of them are like this one.”

  “Could all of them be the same object?”

  “No Sir. Two of them are larger than this one.”

  “Get the images into a video ASAP! Let me know when you have it ready.”

  “Yes Sir.”

  • • •

  Lukas arrived at work and found Salud sitting at her customary spot at the bar. He smiled and walked over and heard her say, “You haven’t called.”

  “I’ve been working on something. I thought I’d wait until it showed results.”

  “What is that?”

  “We’re going to need some funds if we intend to do anything to prevent the invasion. I’ve got my Wrist Unit working on it.”

  “Could it also be that you’re concerned about my welfare and are attempting to leave me out of your plans?” Lukas turned red and Salud shook her head, “You’re going to need my force field.”

  “Uhh, I actually have it.”

  “WHAT?”

  Lukas saw her anger and he put his hand on her shoulder, “Salud, calm down. I’ve gone over what I can expect if I start a ship building project here on Earth.”

  “You could probably get all the funding you need from the government and I have extensive contacts in the Department of Defense.”

  “We need to talk. I get off in three hours. Why don’t you plan to meet me at my apartment?”

  “No, I’ll pick you up at eleven.”

  Lukas shook his head, “I don’t want to see you…”

  Salud interrupted him, “Then close your eyes. I’ll see you at eleven.”

  Lukas watched her stand up and exit the restaurant. He shook his head and started working. This was not going to be easy but she couldn’t be involved in what was coming; it was too dangerous.

  Trevor showed up at ten o’clock and Lukas looked at his wrist, “What are you doing here?”

  “There’s a Bruin’s game tonight. Jack thought you’d need some extra help.”

  Lukas looked up at the television mounted above the bar and shook his head, “They’re now about to start the second overtime. With the game ending this late, most of them will go home.” />
  “Well, I’m here, I’m dressed, I have a ticket, I might as well dance. Take a break and I’ll handle it for a while.”

  Lukas smiled and took off his apron. He went to a booth and almost decided to leave…but that wouldn’t be fair to Salud and she was not one that would take no for an answer without push back. He went to a table close to the kitchen and sat down. He ordered a Philly Cheese sandwich and leaned back. He listened to Joey’s music and laughed at his jokes. His sandwich arrived just as Salud walked through the front door. He looked at the clock and saw she was thirty minutes early. She was making sure she didn’t miss him. She walked through the restaurant and saw him sitting at a table. Her eyebrows went up and he said, “Trevor came in and I’m on standby. Sit down.” Salud took a chair and Lukas smiled, “Can I order you something?”

  Tara walked up and Salud said, “I’ll take a Greek Salad without the potato salad and ham. Put the dressing on the side please.”

  Tara smiled, “You want the usual to drink?”

  “That would be fine.” Salud turned to Lukas, “What are you doing that’s so secret?” Lukas looked around and Salud said, “The Stalkers are no longer here, we can talk.”

  “It’s not the Stalkers that concern me.”

  Salud tilted her head, “If not them, then who?”

  “You heard the sonic boom last week?” Salud nodded. “The only way the Pod could have made an escape was to lift from that parking lot and go to maximum speed to get out of the atmosphere.”

  “Ok, so?”

  “It had to be seen by your military satellites and the sonic boom would have confirmed that it wasn’t just a flash of light. Your government has to suspect something and it won’t take them long to decide that external forces have been here.”

  “That might be good. We can use their help in funding your project.”

  Lukas shook his head, “I will not make the same mistake here the Sentinels have made with the Fellowship.”

  Salud shook her head slightly, “I’m not sure I’m following you.”

  “If we allow your government to take part in my project, how long do you think it will take before they determine that just one of the ships I intend to build would give them world domination? Once they see that, how long will you and I remain in charge of the project?” Salud just stared at him in silence. “And if I move forward alone, and they discover what I’m doing…”

  “You fear you and I will just disappear.”

  “The temptation to take possession of what I’m creating would be too much for them to resist. They would become the real superpower on this planet and no country could stand up to them.”

  “But Lukas, we’re a democracy. Who better to have that power?”

  “Salud, I can provide you with enough data to prove to you that your massive Military/Industrial complex, which by the way is the largest on the planet, openly states that it is there to ensure your country’s interests are protected around the world. Its purpose is to impose its will or intimidate others into doing what is in your best interests, not necessarily what is in the interests of the others.

  “But…”

  “I will not give any one the power to enslave everyone else.”

  “Hey, what are you two talking about?”

  They looked up and saw Joey standing over them. Salud looked at Joey and waved her hand at Lukas, “Hardhead here is building a spaceship and won’t let me participate.”

  Lukas’ eyes went wide in shock at her remark as Joey smiled, “Who is going to pay for it?”

  They both looked at him and Salud said, “He’s working on that.”

  Joey laughed and pulled up a chair, “Well, count me in, as well.”

  Salud’s head went back and she quickly said “Joey, I was just kidding about the spaceship. Lukas is just being stubborn and I was trying to make you laugh.”

  “No you weren’t.”

  Salud’s eyes narrowed, “Yes…I was!”

  “Come on, you can’t kid the kidder.”

  Lukas blew out a breath, “She was kidding, Joey.”

  Joey smiled, “Now that is the first lie you’ve told me since I first met you, Lukas.”

  This time, Lukas’ head went back, “Excuse me!”

  Joey leaned back in his chair, “I’m one who believes in live and let live. I don’t judge others or try to tell them what’s good for them. However,” Joey looked at Lukas, “You are not from this planet; so building a spaceship makes sense if you want to leave it.” Salud and Lukas both stared at Joey in stunned silence. Joey looked at them and said, “I wondered about you at first but quickly determined that you are one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. I can see the restaurant from where I perform and I don’t miss much. Lukas, no normal person could possibly do the work you do without falling out with fatigue. You work without stop for hours at a time and never slow down.” Joey shrugged, “I asked Trevor the other night to allow me to lift his tub. That damn thing had to weigh thirty-five pounds. There is no way you could have physically done what you’ve done unless you’re not human. Once I made that determination, it was easy to see the weirdo in the long black trench coat was also from somewhere else.”

  “There were more than just one in trench coats.”

  Joey looked at Salud, “Yeah, but he was the one in charge.”

  Lukas shook his head, “How could you possibly know that?”

  “Honestly, I wasn’t sure about him being an alien; but the way he left the building last week made me certain. Not even OJ could have made it through the crowd that fast without knocking people over. He didn’t touch one of them and moved a helluva lot faster than OJ did in his prime.”

  “Joey, I’m not kidding. How did you know?”

  Joey looked at Lukas and shrugged, “When you’re born into money, the entire world is pretty much your oyster. I had a long line of tutors as a child and one of them was Tibetan. He spent more than a year simply teaching me to look at the world around me without preconceptions. That is a really difficult thing to do. I can’t tell you how many times my hand got slapped. But if you remove yourself from what you’re seeing, the world looks different. That training is what allowed me to see the evidence. I could also see that you were frightened of him at first but eventually moved freely around him.” Joey leaned forward, “What’s going on?”

  Lukas shook his head and looked at Salud with an angry expression. She shook her head, “I know, I know, I won’t make this mistake again.” She looked at Joey, “Why would you want to get involved in this?”

  “May I assume that you’re going to build more than just one spaceship?”

  Salud looked at Lukas who slightly nodded. “Let’s for the moment assume that this fairy tale is true; why build just one?”

  Joey laughed, “Outstanding!” Salud pulled her head back again. Joey saw her and raised his hands, “No, you don’t understand. If you were just building one, it would have to be to allow Lukas to leave. In that event, I would want a ride on it before he left for good. But since you’re building more than one, if I help pay for it, would it be possible for me to have my own personal ship?” Lukas stared at Joey and shook his head. Joey’s smile vanished and he lowered his head, “Lukas, I’ve dreamed about going out into space since I was old enough to see stars. I’ve read more science fiction than you could ever imagine. From Isaac Asimov to TR Harris, I’ve read all the great ones. This is a dream I’ve always wished for.” He paused and said, “I think that was the ship you came in that left the other night. You know, the sonic boom and all.”

  “And you know this because…”

  “The look on your face as you looked up at the ceiling said it all.”

  “Joey, how can I trust you to keep this secret?”

  “I never said anything to you, or anyone else, about you being an alien.”

  “You make a good point.” Lukas paused and said, “Joey, I’m not building space ships to leave or make pl
easure trips. I’m building them to defend Earth against an invasion by some very hostile civilizations.”

  “What do you mean by hostile?”

  “They will enslave the populations and use them to strip the planet of all its natural resources. At this moment, there are hundreds of war fleets just outside the Solar System waiting to take possession of your planet.”

  Joey looked at Salud and she remained absolutely motionless. She didn’t know how, but she knew that he could see she knew it as well. “So you intend to build large numbers of ships to stop the invasion?” Lukas nodded. “How many ships are out there?”

  “More than a million.”

  “You won’t be able to build that many without being noticed.”

  “I don’t intend to build that many. I’m hoping I can do it with fewer ships.”

  “Will your ships possess weapons powerful enough to take them on?”

  “That’s something that needs some work.”

  Joey shrugged, “If you don’t have what you need, you should get Trevor involved with you.”

  Lukas tilted his head, “What?”

  “Trevor is the Head Honcho, the Big Kahuna, and the Last Word in high power lasers. You can use his help.”

  Lukas looked at Trevor bussing a table and looked back at Joey and shook his head. “I don’t think he could help me.”

  Salud said, “What’s Trevor’s last name.”

  “Ambrose.”

  “Not the Trevor Ambrose!”

  Joey nodded and Salud looked at Lukas, “I think you should reconsider. That young man is so far ahead of his professors that most of them don’t want him in their classes for fear of being embarrassed by him.”

  Lukas looked at Joey, “Can he be trusted?”

  “He works here doesn’t he?”

  Lukas looked across the room and saw Trevor laughing with a customer. He stood up and Salud put her hand on his arm, “What are you going to do?”

  “The only way to catch a fish is to have a good bait selected.”