She smiled. “Well at least let me get you something to drink.” She stood up. “Robert? Miyako?”
“Beer, please.”
“Water for me, please.”
Frank didn't reply. He watched as she poured a margarita for him from his blender. She returned with the drink order which included a water for herself.
“So, Robert,” Frank continued, “I think you should just tell her the truth.”
“She's not taking my calls.”
“Well, text it to her then.”
“I don't know.”
“What do you got to lose? I'm no expert on romance, for sure, but if you like this girl, you gotta go after her or you'll regret it.” Frank almost surprised himself with his own words. Nera had an inspired look. Miyako only nodded in agreement.
Robert sat up tall. “You're right Frank.” He pulled out his phone and began his message.
His phone beeped almost right away. “What did she say?” Miyako asked.
Robert's shoulders slumped. “She doesn't believe me.”
“Ask her where she's at,” Frank said. Robert tapped away at his phone.
“She's about to go to a cookout at her uncle's place.”
“Okay. Now let me ask you this. How freaked out would they all be if we dropped in on them? And I mean literally.”
Robert's eyes went wide. “Do you think we should?”
“Absolutely. Nera, want to go to a cookout?”
“Sure. What's a cookout?”
“You'll see. Miyako? Can we pull your husband away from the kitchen long enough?”
“Thank you for the invitation,” she replied, “but I think I would enjoy some alone time with him.”
“Ah yes, of course. Newlyweds.” Then looking over to the shelf, Frank called out, “Connie?”
A remote raised itself off of the shelf and flew over to the table. “Yes, Frank?”
“We need to take Robert here to win over his high school sweetheart. Shall I get Phil to fly us?”
“I would be more than happy to fly you,” Constanthos replied.
“Thank you. What is the status of our girls?”
“Give me a short while to check.”
“Take your time. I'm sure Robert would like to get cleaned up.”
“Frank?” Robert asked, “is it cool if I use your boat?”
“Go for it.” Frank chuckled to himself as Robert practically ran to the tent to gather some clean clothes.
“How should I prepare myself?” Nera asked.
“Well, you probably shouldn't wear that.” Frank was referring to her two-piece bathing suit. “You might give half of Atlanta a heart attack.”
“No one told me that I looked bad in this!”
“Oh, you don't look bad. You look good. You look too good.”
“Oh. Well, thank you.” Nera's mood lightened. “So what shall I wear?”
“I will help you find something,” Miyako answered.
Frank watched the ladies walk away and then it occurred to him that he should also find something to wear. He looked down at his wet trunks. They were starting to dry so he decided they were good enough for now. He stood and walked out to the deck where he had left his shirt hanging over the railing. He picked it up and smelled it. “Good enough,” he said to himself.
He was startled by the voice of Constanthos. “They are working on something. They said for you to go without them and they will see you later.”
“Well, okay then. Where is Phil?”
“He is in his quarters on your boat.”
“Oh. What's he doing?”
“Sleeping.”
4.
Ottwan disengaged the light drive. The stars quickly came into view, allowing the computational systems to take measurements. He opted to not open a rift right away, as his enemies would surely detect it. Seeing the results, he decided it was now safe to open a rift. But he was having a hard time deciding where to go. Having never really lost before, he had no idea just how to explain his failures. And losing to a human made the situation that much worse. He was tempted to just run away and go into hiding for the remainder of his life. But his work ethic won out, and he opted to regroup with the others and plan their next course of action. Tirogof should have taken Lian by now. He would start there.
* * *
“Look, Michelle, I'm about to drop in on you.” Robert held the phone away from his ear to prevent any damage from the shear volume of her reply, which Frank and Nera could hear clearly. “No, I'm literally going to drop in. Look up.” He pressed the button to end the call as he stepped into the red circle. “Well, wish me luck. Connie, Northeast corner of the yard, please.”
“We'll be down soon,” Frank said just before Robert disappeared. Then to Nera he said, “If anyone asks, just say you're an alien.”
“You're the boss,” she replied.
“No, I'm not the boss. I just don't want to crush anyone's faith today. And technically, it wouldn't be a lie.”
An orb came into view. “Would it be okay if I accompany you as well, Frank?” Constanthos asked.
“The more the merrier.” He stepped into the red circle. “I'll go first. Let's not screw this up for him.” He was smiling as he dropped. He landed and moved aside to make room for Nera. She landed gently beside him and he extended his elbow, which she accepted with a smile. Frank then looked around to see nothing but mouths agape. “Uh, hi. I'm Frank. This is Nera, and this is Connie.”
Robert was standing next to a very attractive young lady who wore a look of utter shock. “Oh my god, you weren't lying. I..I feel terrible.”
“Don't feel bad. It all sounds very unbelievable. I can barely believe it myself.” Robert's gentle nature was really shining through.
“That makes two of us,” Frank added. “You must be Michelle. It's a pleasure to meet you.” He extended his hand.
“I never would have thought I would ever meet you!” she exclaimed. “You're like a superhero.”
“Nah, I'm just a guy.”
“And Robert works for you now?” she asked.
“He doesn't really work for me. He works with me. I know it sounds corny but he has been a valuable member of our team.”
She turned and looked at Robert. “I am so sorry I doubted you.”
“There's no reason to be sorry.” Robert smiled as he took both of her hands.
“We'll let you two get reacquainted,” Frank said. “May we?” he asked, gesturing toward the table of food.
“Make yourselves at home,” Michelle answered, never taking her eyes off of Robert.
Frank led Nera and Connie over to where everyone in attendance was still either standing or sitting in silence. An older man stood from his chair and came forward. “Well, I'll be damned. The Gray Man is in my backyard!”
“Frank Ford,” Frank said as he offered his hand. “You can call me Frank.”
“John Lewis. I'm Michelle's uncle.” His was a firm handshake.
“This is Nera Bunto. And this is Connie.”
“I am very pleased to meet you.” John was staring wide eyed at the orb. “I was an electrical engineer before I retired, but I gotta say, that is beyond me.”
“That is a remote that she is controlling from the Main Ship. She isn't currently able to visit in person, but we won't bore you with the details.”
“I am very pleased to make your acquaintance,” Constanthos said, and the sound of her voice sent another wave of shock through the onlookers.
“I must say, you have a beautiful voice, Ma'am.” John's manners were impeccable. He then looked Nera over. “I'm guessing that you aren't from around here.”
“That's right, sir,” she answered. Frank could tell that she was feeling a bit awkward.
“This lovely young lady is from a planet called Nuun. She is here for an extended stay, as her job was recently eliminated.” Frank winked at her.
“Well, everyone needs a vacation every once in a while,” John replied. ”I'm sure more work
will pop up.”
Before Frank could respond, Nera asked, “Frank, why is everyone's skin so much darker than yours?” Frank could feel every eye upon him, awaiting his answer. Even Robert looked over at him and smiled as he shook his head.
“I believe it's an adaptation. The ancestors of these people are from closer to the equator of Earth, where the sunlight is stronger. The pigment in their skin is very resilient, and helps protect them from the harmful rays. My ancestors, on the other hand, are from farther away from the equator, so that's why we're so pasty white.”
“Oh, okay,” she replied.
“That's as good of an explanation as I've ever heard,” John agreed. “Now, let's get you fed.”
“That sounds great. I haven't been to a cookout in years. Nera, take a seat and I'll make you a plate.” Nera happily complied as Frank grabbed a plate to fill. John was at his side.
“I have a million questions for you. I don't even know where to start.”
“Please take it easy on me. This is my first day off in quite some time.”
John laughed. “You're all over the news again. So far none of the stations have any real explanations for what happened yesterday.”
“Oh, yeah. Well, I'll just say that a very talented alien had assumed the identity of the President. Luckily, I found him and we were able to expose the imposter.”
“You make it sound so simple. You should try the chicken. I used a recipe that an Indian friend gave me.”
“It certainly smells good. But Nera and I are both vegetarians. Thanks anyway.”
John paused and stared at Frank. “Didn't I see you eat some alien on TV?”
Frank groaned. “Yeah. That footage was way out of context. The whole eating each other thing was something that they did. I had to do it in order to stop the fighting.”
“So those big ugly fuckers eat each other?” John was thoroughly confused.
“The Mingrein are carnivores. They will cannibalize if there is no other food available, or when they challenge for rank. The alien that I ate was the leader of the invasion. By beating him, I was able to make them stop.”
“So they just stopped after that?”
“Yes, Mr. Lewis. Robert was there. He can vouch for me.” Frank punctuated his statement with his warmest smile.
“Okay, I believe you. But I have one more question, and this one has really bothered me since I saw it on TV. How were you able to throw that giant thing around?”
“Oh! Potato salad! Yeah, that fight actually took place on the moon, believe it or not.”
“On the moon?”
“Yes. There's a base up there. Apparently it's been there for hundreds of years. The Mingrein took over the base from the Li. Again, it's a long story.”
John Lewis was lost in thought for some time. Finally he asked, “Are we safe right now?”
Frank smiled as he answered, “As far as I know. That's how we scored a day off.” He grabbed a plastic fork and walked over to hand the plate to Nera. He then began to repeat the process for himself.
John Lewis walked to Frank's side again. He looked around at everyone and shook his head. “What's wrong with you all?” he asked loudly. “It ain't every day that Frank Ford shows up at a cookout. Mind your manners.”
“I feel like I crashed your party,” Frank added with a smile. Everyone seemed to loosen up immediately.
“Half these guys showed up to see Michelle,” John said in a low tone. “It looks like Robert stole all of their thunder.”
“I'm glad,” Frank replied. “And I'm glad I came along.”
* * *
“It's always been you, Michelle. Since the first day I met you.”
“That was way back in middle school.”
“Oh, I knew it back then. You didn't see it, and I was too scared to show it. But I knew it.”
“I wish you would have told me before.”
“I wanted to. I guess I lacked the confidence.”
She had an odd expression as she looked into his eyes. “What has changed in you? You're not the same boy I knew.”
“I was shot and captured. I really thought it was the end of the line for me. I witnessed things that I don't even have the words for. I was sitting in a room with a bunch of other people and we were literally waiting our turn to be eaten. Sitting there, thinking my life was over, all I could do was focus on my one regret in life.”
“Oh my god.”
Robert nodded. “I told myself that if I somehow made it out of there, I would look you up.”
A teardrop fell from her eye. She wiped it away as she spoke, “When you left for the Marines, I felt like, I don't know, like I would never see you again. And I thought about you all the time because you are the only man that I have ever known to really have values. I was so happy when you contacted me. But then when you fell out, I thought you were just another one of these.” She gestured toward the small group of young men that were now eyeing Nera.
Robert chuckled as he said, “That wouldn't end well for any of them. She just happens to be the single most bad-ass warrior from the planet Nuun.”
“She seems so nice.”
“Oh, she is. And she likes girls.”
“Really? I thought she was with Frank.”
“She owes him something like five life-debts. He doesn't want a slave girl but her customs dictate that she is bound to him. It's really tough for him.”
“Oh, I'm sure.”
“Really though. Frank ain't like that.”
“So he ain't hitting that?”
“Nope. He is the real deal.”
She shifted her gaze back to Robert. “You're the real deal too, aren't you?”
“I just need you in my life.”
* * *
“Sorry to interrupt, Frank, but you have a phone call.”
“Oh. Well, Connie, I'm trying to enjoy this cookout. That's why I left my phone on the boat.”
“It's Terrelle.”
“Crap. I haven't talked to him since we got back. Can you drop my phone down?”
“Certainly. Please move away from the crowd to prevent any accidents.”
“Good thinking.” And then to John Lewis he said, “Please excuse me.” Frank moved off into the vacant corner of the yard and looked up just in time to catch his phone. It had stopped ringing so he pressed the buttons to call Terrelle back. Robert led Michelle over to where Nera was sitting alone.
“What's up?” Robert asked to Nera.
“Someone named Terrelle was trying to reach Frank. This food is really good.”
“Thank you,” Michelle replied. “Uncle John cooked all the meat, but I did everything else.”
Nera paused to regard Michelle. “Your skin is beautiful,” she said in a direct manner.
“Thank you, Nera. I can say the same to you.”
Nera then looked around at everyone else. “The variety of people. Earth is a magical place.”
“Is everyone orange where you're from?” Michelle asked.
“Yes. Everyone is pretty much the same color. We all have black hair and dark eyes. I have only recently visited the Southern Continent but unfortunately, everyone was already gone, so I didn't get to see if there were any differences.”
“Where did they go?” Michelle asked.
“They were eaten.” Nera's tone was flat and her face was without expression.
“Oh my god...” Michelle started.
“What is that?” Nera asked abruptly. A young man was at the gate with his pet pit bull.
“That is a dog, Nera. That young man is keeping it as a pet,” Robert answered.
“I...”
“Take it easy,” Robert said in a soothing voice. “I understand that land animals are a new thing for you, so let's use this opportunity to learn.”
“That's my cousin, Sean,” Michelle added, “I'm sure he would let you meet his dog.”
Nera looked over at Frank, who was pacing around the yard talking on the phone. “I don't know.�
��
“We'll be right here with you,” Robert said, extending his hand. Nera sat down her plate and stood up. She let them lead her over to where Sean was entering the gate.
“Hi, Sean,” Michelle said, greeting her cousin. “Do you remember Robert? This is my new friend Nera.”
“Why is she orange?” Sean asked.
“She's from a planet called Nuun,” Michelle answered.
“Is this some kind of joke?” Sean asked.
“Look who's out in the back over there,” Michelle replied.
“Is that? Holy shit!”
“Yes, Sean. That's Frank Ford. Robert has been working with him. They came to the cookout and they brought Nera with them. She's never seen a dog before. Is he cool?”
“Yeah, he's cool.” Sean was looking over Nera. She was clearly terrified.
“What's his name?” Robert asked as he knelt down to let the dog smell his hand.
“Sir Barkley Von Luckmeister,” Sean answered with a straight face.
“Seriously?” Michelle asked with a laugh.
“He's a gentleman. But honestly, I just call him Lucky. I know a guy that knows a breeder, and they were going to just put him down because he was the runt of the litter, and that shit ain't cool, so I scooped him up, and just look at him now.”
“He's a good looking dog, Sean,” Robert complimented.
“Thanks,” Sean replied. “The breed gets a bad rap, but this dude is cool as hell. You can pet him if you want, Nera.”
Nera took a deep breath and decided to take the opportunity to face her fear. She knelt down as she had just seen Robert do, and offered her hand. She was pleasantly surprised with Lucky started licking her hand. “He is amazing!” she exclaimed as she ran her hands over his sleek fur.
“I think so too,” Sean agreed. “When someone is in the yard, he barks once to let us know. Mom even likes him, and she always hated dogs.”
“He really likes you, Nera.” Everyone was startled by Frank's voice. They looked up to see him standing with the orb hanging over his left shoulder.
“Wow! The Gray Man! Just like on TV,” Sean said.
“Thanks for letting Nera meet your dog,” Frank said. “I was planning on taking her to the zoo or something, but this is much better.”
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