He half-walked, half-ran a few paces, putting his hands into the shrubbery and inspecting the leaves as if he were an expert who had never seen such rich chlorophyll before.
Giles had barely managed to step out of the Pod before Bernie was off, finding his way through a break in the shrubs and trees toward the sound of water.
Bernie hadn’t gone many paces before he realized that they were in a valley, with a river just ahead and flat plains beyond.
“This is perfect for farming!” he called back.
Giles hurried after him. Panting, he caught up, joining Bernie in a small clearing.
“Yes, this’ll do. This’ll do quite nicely,” Bernie said, a slight twang in his voice as well as a note of relief. He seemed refreshed.
The air here was cooler. Milder, almost even gentle on the skin. Giles grinned. “Ok, then, back to camp,” Giles instructed, marching back toward the Pod.
Bernie started to follow, but paused. “Why don’t I just wait here?”
Giles stopped and shook his head. “Nope. First you have to let them know that this is where you recommend, then I’ll bring you back.”
“Ok…” Bernie agreed slowly, not quite understanding why they should waste a trip.
Giles nodded and started walking again. There wasn’t time or reason to explain his understanding of human behavior when said humans were fighting for survival.
They needed reassurance from one of their own. They needed to know that he hadn’t harmed Bernie. They needed to trust him if he was going to get as many of them over here as he could.
Bernie, unfazed, followed Giles back into the Pod and strapped on the harness as Giles had shown him.
As the Pod door closed, Giles hailed the EI. “Computer, track our course. I’d like to automate the flight between here and the camp so I don’t need to be present.”
“Tracking,” the artificial voice responded, making Bernie nearly jump out of his skin.
Giles grinned. “Alien tech,” he said, nodding. He felt very satisfied, as if he’d waited his whole life to deliver those two words.
Bernie broke into his first smile, a smile which in a heartbeat turned into a chuckle. By the time they were speeding back to the camp, it had turned into a full belly-laugh.
—
When they got back to the camp, Bernie jumped excitedly down from the Pod after a minor false start where he’d forgotten to undo his safety harness and half strangled himself in the process.
He ran across the sand to the others as a crowd started to gather again. Dwayne appeared and Giles watched from the Pod as the two men talked. Bernie pointed at the Pod and then in the direction of the new land.
Dwayne nodded. His eyes held the genuine concern of a leader carrying the weight of responsibility.
He knew he needed to take this leap of faith and trust this stranger who had dropped from the sky. There was no other way of saving his people.
Even so, he wasn’t blind to the consequences if the stranger wasn’t trustworthy.
He just had to hope and pray that the genuineness and compassion he had seen in the stranger’s eyes was the real deal.
He called for some of the other men and sent them toward Giles and his Pod, then he followed.
He greeted Giles with a handshake and a big smile. “Looks like we’re in business!”
“It does,” Giles agreed. “You’ll have yourself a wonderfully pleasant new home very soon.”
Giles started explaining. “I’ve programmed the Pod so I don’t have to go each time. You can probably fit two adults, three if you push it, and add in a few of the little ones,” he said, smiling at the kids who had reappeared around him and were striving for his attention. The little girl from before put up her arms to be picked up and he obliged, feeling slightly out of place in the child care department but touched by the innocent affection nonetheless.
Dwayne smiled as he watched Giles as he held the child and put his hand firmly on Giles’ free shoulder. He had a tear in his eye. “Thank you,” he said quietly.
The two men shared a moment of complete understanding. Not as one man doing something for the other, but as an exchange. As two human beings being able to fulfill for each other what they had been struggling to do alone.
To contribute. To make a difference. To change the fate, the suffering, of their brothers and sisters.
Giles started to tear up too before quickly turning to talk gruffly of the strategy for the moving operation, and how to determine who should be transported first.
Minutes later the Pod took two men and one of the children off to the new land. Their task was to set up a few water stations and maybe even some shelter before nightfall.
Dwayne left to start organizing the rest of the camp and get them to form an orderly line. This was going to take a while.
QBS ArchAngel II, Bridge, Orbiting Earth
“Yes,” Akio admitted, “I can acquire Terry Henry’s location easily.”
“Let’s do it.” Bethany Anne sighed. “There are so many relationships involved in making this happen, and so much sadness at times that it is hard for me to be around.” She called to someone to her left before turning back to Akio and Michael. “We will get those in Japan first.”
“Change is hard,” Michael admitted from the seat to her right, and when she turned to him he continued, “It is what it is. We need to acclimate everyone to the ships and to what their future will be if they come with us. We can’t stay too long on Earth. We’ll run into the same set of petty squabbles the old government tried to press on TQB before.”
“They can try,” Bethany Anne retorted.
“That is my point,” Michael agreed. “They have neither the emotional strings to pull anymore, nor the financial or military strings. You are not willing to play diplomat at all, therefore your armada is attractive to them. The longer we are here, the harder they will try to manipulate friends and family—good people—to get a toe-hold, and what then? We lose a ship by destroying it with all hands aboard?”
Bethany Anne sighed. “Humans,” she said, looking toward the screens showing Earth beneath them, “are insidious, manipulative bastards who are fantastic at worming their way into getting what they want.”
Why do you think I believe I got lucky? TOM asked her. It’s the same spirit you have, except you care for others. Michael is right. The longer we stay, the higher the chance someone somewhere is going to get lucky. You will be forced to retaliate, and that will be on your conscience for a thousand years.
If I make it that long. She huffed in annoyance. “Ok, let’s get our people, make sure we have finished all the tasks we have to do, and get the fuck off this planet. We aren’t helping it by being here.”
“Nope, we aren’t,” Michael agreed.
Bethany Anne stood up. “We are going to need the War Axe to retrieve our people in Japan.”
As they left Akio asked innocently, “I was introduced to someone Terry Henry would like to meet. Anyone seen Dokken?” he asked. “I understand he was also helped in the Pod-Doc a while back?”
His voice, wafting down the hallway, became very serious. “Michael-san, you have to be introduced to Dokken, I assure you our trip to Earth will not be complete without the experience.”
Michael’s grunt of acceptance confirmed to those who heard them that Michael didn’t expect it to be a pleasant experience.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Northern Barren Lands (former USA)
Dwayne wandered over to Giles, who was once again standing at the edge of the camp looking off into the distance.
Dwayne handed him a cup of what he told him was coffee. It wasn’t coffee as Giles knew it, but it was a kind gesture and he accepted it gratefully.
“This is going to take a while longer,” Dwayne said, glancing back at the encampment. It still seemed just as populated as it had been hours before when they had sent the first Pod-load off. “Maybe we’ll be going all night.”
Giles sipped at the co
ffee, then nodded as he swallowed. “Maybe,” he agreed, “but it will take as long as it takes.”
The sun was starting to go down, so the heat wasn’t as uncomfortable as it had been, but the sweat on his skin was turning cold and making him long for a hot shower.
“Aren’t your people going to be worried about you?” Dwayne asked, a hint of concern in his voice.
“Me?” Giles snorted a small chuckle. “Nah. Probably haven’t even noticed I’m gone.”
There was a pause.
“Oh yeah?” Dwayne said, waving his coffee mug to Giles’ right. “I wouldn’t be so sure.” Dwayne looked into the distance, so Giles did too.
There were four Pods in the sky above the horizon in the fading light, making their way across the desert land.
“Well, I’ll be…” Giles whispered under his breath.
Dwayne grinned, a kind of wholesome, faith-restored-in-humanity kind of grin.
Giles’ comm tingled on his wrist, almost causing him to spill his coffee. He opened the channel.
John Grimes’ voice boomed unceremoniously through his audio implant. “Heard someone was mounting a rescue mission without us!”
“Mr. Grimes!” Giles grinned, all reverence evaporating in an instant as he switched into jock-mode. “How did you find me?” He felt stupid for asking the question as soon as it left his mouth.
He heard John and the other Bitches laughing heartily. He blushed and glanced sheepishly at Dwayne, who looked pleased as punch that reinforcements had shown up.
John cut in over the laughter, “You have been tracked the whole time. ArchAngel allowed you your space after Yuko and Eve put you to bed. Once she put your rescue mission on the satellite monitors, Bethany Anne sent us out to help.”
“Oh, excellent,” Giles responded. “So you brought a few extra Pods. Great!”
Giles’ slight sarcasm wasn’t lost on the Bitches, and they jeered at him.
Then Giles realized why.
A second later a large ship appeared behind the Pods, turning on its search beams and illuminating the ground beneath it.
It made the Pods disappear.
“Didn’t think we’d do half the job, did you?” John chuckled.
Giles felt foolish, but laughed despite himself. “Touché, Mr. Grimes, Touché.”
The people behind them seemed fearful, but when Dwayne shouted to them to tell them what was happening their fears turned into cheers.
People started getting up from their mats and packing their belongings, hugging each other and crying and laughing and celebrating.
Dwayne was hugging his team and spontaneously threw his arms around Giles, pulling him into a group hug and knocking his glasses askew.
As Giles reached up to reset his glasses, the faces of the people in the camp were burned indelibly in his brain.
It was a moment Giles would never forget, not in his whole long life.
Northern Barren Lands (former USA)
Barnabas stood on the tail ramp of the G’laxix Sphaea watching the last of the refugees board.
Eric and Scott were inside helping them get settled and distributing water bottles they’d picked up from somewhere on the way.
Darryl had set up a temporary Sickbay to treat those who had injuries or extreme dehydration.
He found himself setting up drips, although he’d never done one before. For the last forty minutes he’d been telling people that he wasn’t an actual doctor when they thanked him and called him “doctor,” but after drip number twenty he just gave up and said, “You’re welcome.”
He even overheard one of the younger girls who’d been brought to him by her sister giggle and call him “Doctor Gorgeous” when his back was turned.
“Well, I guess that’s the last of them,” Barnabas reported to Eric, striding up the tail ramp to take a shortcut through the crowd in the holding bay rather than walking around to the side door via the sand.
Walking on sand when one didn’t have to was a silly thing to do.
Too inefficient.
Dwayne and Giles followed the last of the people onto the ship, and Giles hit the comm at the side of the door. “Hello, Captain? We’re all on board now.”
“Acknowledged,” Kael-ven replied. “Closing now.”
Giles and Dwayne watched the artificially lit desert disappear as the ramp came up and enveloped them in comforting technology.
Dwayne turned to Giles. “You know, I really cannot thank you enough. I mean, if you hadn’t come along, who knows how many of us would have made it?”
Giles nodded. “You know, I think somehow the fates made it so.” He pulled up a map on his wrist computer and showed it to Dwayne. “Coz this was the direction you were heading,” he pointed, “and this is where your new home is.” He pointed again, moving the map several inches to bring their new destination into view.
Dwayne’s mouth dropped open. “You mean we weren’t even going in the right direction?”
Giles shook his head and put his finger to his lips. “And this was much farther. Much better this way,” he said, smiling.
Dwayne shook his head in disbelief as he looked around at those he thought would have been dead in a few days. “I’m a terrible leader. These people would have died.”
“No,” Giles said firmly. “You’re an excellent leader. You gave them hope and purpose. The technology you had let you down. And sometimes we can do all the right things and still not succeed, which I think is the point of what I’m trying to tell you. You are an excellent leader to these people. They look up to you. They trust you. You are going to face challenges along the way, and no matter what doesn’t go according to your plan, I want to leave you with one thing: You. Are. An. Excellent. Leader.”
Dwayne was having difficulty processing everything.
Giles needed to ensure he would remember the point he was making. “Sometimes we’re doing all the right things, but still things don’t go our way. Instead of judging your success as a leader by what goes your way, judge yourself by the process. Can you take people with you? Can you inspire them to be the best version of themselves? If the answer is yes and everything else goes to shit, then you’ve still done your job, in my book.”
Giles looked at the people milling about and laughing. Some of the kids had started throwing water at each other, and the adults were laughing at their exuberance.
“Look at it this way,” Giles told Dwayne. “Without you they wouldn’t be so happy. Without you they would have turned on each other long before you had even left the settlement. Because of you, they have a chance at a new life. A new home. This,” he said emphatically, “is your legacy, and your people need you.”
He slapped him on the back and left the leader to his own thoughts, disappearing into the crowd to enjoy the celebration of a few hundred lives saved.
—
The people stayed on the ship that night, and when the sun came up the Bitches and some of the support personnel they had brought with them helped make sure the new settlement had a few shelters built and access to water.
By midday Barnabas had started pulling in the troops, ready to leave.
Giles had been helping build shelters and was reluctant to leave, but after saying some fond farewells he made his way back to the ship.
The Pods had already disappeared, including his original one.
The G’laxix Sphaea had warmed itself up and the ramp was six inches from being closed, so Giles scrambled quickly to one of the side doors.
Only to find it locked.
He hailed Barnabas on the flight deck. “Hey, Barnabas, wanna let me on board?” he asked, trying to keep the concern out of his voice.
The ship started to lift off…without him.
“Hey, guys? Guys!” Giles smacked the side of the ship before it rose too high to reach.
He put his hands beside his mouth. “GUYS!” he shouted at the top of his lungs.
Dwayne and his team had stopped what they were doing and were bent ov
er laughing. They pointed up at the window of the flight deck.
Giles walked backward to see what they were pointing at. John, Darryl, Eric, and Scott were up there laughing hysterically as Giles panicked, thinking he was going to be left in a new colony.
“Thought you might like another field trip.” Grimes chuckled into his ear piece.
Giles, flushed and exasperated and almost ready to have a heart attack, finally let go and laughed at himself.
He stepped backward one more time, made several choice gestures at the Bitches at the window, and then fell backward on the ground in surrender.
The ship stopped lifting and came back down. When the door opened Barnabas was standing there with a look of pity on his face. He helped Giles scramble onto the ship before closing the door and signaling for takeoff.
“Sorry, Giles. I told them not to, but you know them. They’re a little wired with all this do-gooding.”
He had a faint smile on his lips. “As soon as I realized what they were doing I put a stop to it. Well,” he pursed his lips, thinking about his earlier talk with Giles, “relatively soon after.” He looked at Giles, “You’re good?” he asked, putting a kind hand on his shoulder and walking farther into the ship. “You’re good!” he told both himself and Giles.
Giles was exhausted and scared half to death. The raging emotions had him looking for a quiet lounge area and something to drink.
He barely got to the door of the lounge when the four guys caught up with him.
In cheers and back-slaps they teased him and then congratulated him on a job well done. Within minutes he’d had a beer shoved into his hand and was being treated like one of them.
Like a brother.
John pulled him aside for a moment and explained quietly and simply, “You’re one of us now.”
Giles pointed at John and then the others. “One of the Bitches?”
John chuckles, shaking his head. “No. I don’t think you want that kind of ass-kicking all of the time. However!” He put up a finger. “I’m happy to call you one of the team.” John jerked a thumb over his shoulder. “You did good out there. You stepped up to help those people, and you didn’t flip out when we gave you shit. You’re good, Giles.” He slapped him on the back and then sat down with the others, leaving Giles dazed and overwhelmed.
Dawn Arrives Page 15
