She wasn’t holding a weapon, probably not expecting a fight when she’d landed on the Bhlat outpost. We both eyed my rifle on the ground a few feet away, and when she lunged for it, I made my move. I swung my leg toward her body, connecting to her side, sending her sprawling away. She still managed to grip the barrel of the rifle, and while she tried to turn it around at me, I covered the distance and grabbed the rifle as well. We struggled with each other, her back on the ground, me bent over her.
Her injuries had healed nicely. “We found out your injuries at the base on Earth were fake. How did you do it? Hit yourself with a two-by-four?”
“It was the only way to ensure you guys left. I didn’t know where the base and ships were being held, and they would never tell a hybrid. I did it all for your kind. I did it for you.” The last words hung in the air as we struggled for the weapon. She tried to kick out, but Slate had taught me how to prevent that when grappling. The wind was starting to lessen from her sails.
“For me?” Realization came over me. “If you lied about Leslie and Terrance, and needed to find the base… then… it was you.” I couldn’t believe it. I fought in my mind, looking at the face of my close friend Mae, the woman who wore my dead wife’s expression as she started to cry. “You killed that guard Clendening and the other one in the garage.” Images of Clendening, sticky red blood soaked into his bed, and the bloated face of the woman hanging in the office nearly caused me to vomit on Mae right there.
“I had to. It was the only way for you to focus on them. I knew they were making a move to get off-planet. I knew everything that happened at that damned prison in Long Island.”
It all made sense. They just wanted to get to a ship to see if Kareem would take them in, and Mae used it against us, used our hatred of hybrids to fuel their capture, even though they wanted to get caught. They fed off each other, even if the pair hadn’t known it.
“You had to kill them in cold blood?” I asked.
“The ends justify the means. Just look around down the hall at all the innocent Bhlat you killed. Or the race of Kraski you ended to protect your own. We’ve both done terrible things, Dean, but I did them for you.”
She stopped struggling then, letting me take the rifle from her. She was right, but I still didn’t put those in the same category. I supposed it was a matter of perspective.
Mae looked so small on the floor as I raised the pulse rifle. She was far from helpless.
“You killed those guards to perpetuate our hatred, so we would follow them when they escaped?”
She nodded.
“And then made us think they assaulted you as they escaped? Did you have anything to do with them getting out?”
She nodded again. “They didn’t know it was me, though.”
“What were you doing here? For real? Why not just tell us you knew them, and that you could help us? Didn’t you trust us? Didn’t you trust me?” I asked. Her eyes welled up with tears.
“You wouldn’t have believed my story. I was turned by them years ago. I had so much anger, and nowhere to focus it. The Bhlat didn’t ask for much. They offered me a place with them when it was all over, but they really just wanted information. The Kraski were just a nuisance to them, but they were intrigued by their cloning ability, and we hybrids were something of a legend to them. At first, I thought they would dissect me, or throw me in a lab, but they treated me with respect and honor. It was the first time anyone had shown me respect, knowing I was the hybrid of a dying race and a human. The whole mission sparked their interest.” Mae slid over, sitting up so her back was against the wall.
“Go on,” I said, gun still raised.
“I hated the Kraski.”
They had wronged the hybrids, creating them to sacrifice themselves to convince humans to shut down the Deltra Shield, but there had to be more to the story.
“I feel like I’m missing something.”
“You are, babycakes,” she said, tears falling down her face. The pet name Janine had called me when we first started dating, but seemed to grow away from, hit me like a brick wall. Why had Janine’s phrase for me been uttered by Mae?
Looking at her curled up in the dim room, hair in her face, tears streaming down her cheeks, I suddenly understood. The pulse rifle fell from my hands, clanging on the ground. I knelt before the crying woman, my own eyes watering without control at that point.
“It’s you,” I said, hardly believing it.
She nodded.
“How?”
I was holding her wet face in my hand. “They were pissed at me for choosing you instead of that beefed-up military guy. They almost killed us both, but I convinced them I was right in choosing you. They let me stay with you that first year. You proposed, and it was so sweet. One day I went for a run, and they picked me up, told me I was being replaced, and that I was now named Mae. No one was to know. I met the other Janine, and they beat me when I wouldn’t cooperate by telling them intel on you. I guess they had enough, because they gave her my clothes and sent my replacement back to you.”
I slumped to the floor, looking at the real Janine sitting on the floor of an alien outpost so far away from home. The dream from the other day flashed in my mind, and I recalled that day. I remembered how strange Janine had been for a few months after that day, and how I’d let it go because she’d always seemed distant and brooding. Now it all made sense. I married another hybrid, lived with her for years. Watched her die. I had loved that woman too, and I honestly think a part of her had loved me, but Mae was the real one. The woman I’d met at the Boathouse in Central Park so long ago, drinking Scotch with me under the twinkle lights late into the night. Choosing me to help their cause over the other guy. My life would have been a lot simpler without that night. Maybe I’d be dead… maybe everyone would be.
It was too much to take as the alarms around us rang, red lights flashing from the hall. “How is this possible?” I asked, slumping beside her on the floor.
Could we go back to Earth like this? How would we explain it to the others? How would I explain it to Mary?
“Dean, I’m sorry it all worked out like this. You can’t imagine my thoughts when I saw you fly through that door on the vessel ship last year. It was a sign. It gave me renewed hope, and I kept telling myself that you would recognize me, that you would tell me you were in love with me still. But then you were with Mary, and I stepped back,” she said. I thought of all the times Mae seemed down, in a dark mood, and it made even more sense.
I held her hand, squeezing her fingers just like I used to do, and she rested her head on my shoulder. I almost laughed at the insanity of it all. The woman I’d fallen in love with that night, so many years ago, wasn’t the same woman I’d married and watched die. She was beside me on a remote outpost of an alien race we hardly even knew.
“Do the Bhlat know what happened?” I asked her.
“About the humans? I talked with them right as I got here, but they didn’t communicate it out yet, as far as I know. They didn’t have time.”
“We go to the ship, blast this place to smithereens, go home, and pray they don’t come for us.”
“I don’t think they will. It sounded like they were in the middle of a serious galactic battle out there, a long way away. They have a dozen outposts like this set up to ensure they keep the bloodlines intact, just in case.” Mae seemed to know a lot about them. I looked at her, and suddenly found it hard to believe I hadn’t known she was really Janine. My Janine.
“Are you ready?” I asked, getting to my feet.
“How is this going to work? Will they take me back?” She took my hand and got up.
“We’ll tell them what you told me. You were going to sacrifice yourself to go to their outpost to tell them there was no point in worrying about the humans. You knew we wouldn’t go for it, so when you saw the opportunity, you took it.” It seemed like the truth, at least the version she’d given me.
“And what about the other part?” The question came
with a look I’d seen many times that first year with Janine. A cute, coy look.
I loved Mary, but this complicated things. Every bit of me knew I was going to marry her, but having my first real love nearby wasn’t going to make travelling in close quarters an easy task.
“We tell her. It’s only fair,” I said. She didn’t press me on my feelings, and I was thankful.
“Thank you, Dean.”
“For what?”
“Just for being you.” She moved to the door, and I was about to transmit to the ship that I had Mae with me, and we were coming back.
Mae took a step through the room’s exit and into the hallway, taking the time to turn toward me and give me a small grin. Then she fell to the ground. My brain didn’t understand what was happening until I saw the pulse rifle wound through her uniform, blood spilling down the metallic floor grates.
“No!” I yelled, grabbing my rifle from the ground.
“Target down. I repeat, target down.” Slate’s voice echoed from my earpiece and down the hall.
TWENTY-FOUR
“Nick, get your ass down here, stat,” I called into my earpiece as I ran into the hallway. Kneeling at Mae’s body, I checked for a pulse, and felt a light heartbeat.
“You okay, Dean?” Slate asked, setting a hand on my shoulder.
I swiped it off with an aggressive elbow. “You son of a bitch. You didn’t have to shoot her!”
“What are you talking about? That was our mission. I saw the target and took her down.”
I stood up, lifting my head to look up in the soldier’s eyes. Grabbing his collar, I pushed him against the wall, which normally would have been impossible, but he seemed to let me.
“It was your mission, not mine! I never asked for any of this. I’m an accountant from a small upstate New York city!” I shoved him a few more times, and he stood there, allowing the barrage of yells and abuse.
Nick came running down the hall, a panicked look showing even through his helmet’s face mask. It was one thing to green-beam down somewhere for the first time, but he walked into a place with melted aliens on the floors, a shot hybrid beside us, and me screaming at Slate.
He moved past us, going quickly into trained doctor mode, and opened Mae’s uniform up, seeing the gaping wound in her stomach. He checked her pulse and looked up with wide eyes.
“I’m sorry. She’s dead,” he said, his voice small.
“She had a pulse. Revive her!” I yelled at him now.
He shook his head. “There’s nothing I can do for this.” His eyes went from me to the deadly wound.
Mary’s voice came through my earpiece, and I couldn’t even comprehend the words. I was surrounded by death once again, and by all accounts, there was no one to blame but myself.
__________
“I’m sorry, Dean.” Mary sat on the edge of the bunk where I lay curled under the blankets. Two days had passed since the outpost adventure, and I still felt like a mess. Slowly the fog was lifting, and like anything, I knew the pain would eventually dull and pile on top of the rest of my life’s memories, both good and bad.
I turned, looking her in the eyes. “Thank you.” I had told her everything that transpired between me and Mae. She went on the emotional rollercoaster alongside me, as I talked then, and I was so happy she understood. We shared a bond; we had both married a hybrid and were in very similar mental states about it. Only she had never felt like Bob was truly in love with her, especially after learning the truth of their motives.
“We’ve downloaded everything from their computer databases that we could. I imagine we’ll learn all we ever wanted to know about the Bhlat with it.” Mary slid her uniform off and slipped into the bed with me. Her body was cool against my warm, blanket-covered chest.
“All the explosives are in place. We can blast them and erase all the evidence we were here. I don’t see how they could track any of this back to us. Clare’s good to bring the Kraski ship back?” I asked. We’d discussed blowing it up with the rest of the outpost, and their ships, but decided it was a valuable resource we shouldn’t part with if possible.
Mary was face to face with me, her breath sweet and fresh as she spoke. “She is. Slate will go with her.”
At the mention of the soldier, I closed my eyes, seeing Mae fall to the ground. I couldn’t stop seeing it.
“That’s good. Probably for the best,” I said. “If we’re here, who’s setting the explosives off?”
As if on cue, Clare’s voice came from the speakers on the wall. “Are you guys coming for the show?”
“Just video-record it. We’re busy,” Mary said, and we heard the line of communication close with a beep.
“We are?” I asked.
Instead of answering with words, her lips found mine, and soon I saw there were ways to find happiness still in the midst of so much loss.
__________
“And how is Slate going to fly the ship by himself?” Mary asked Clare. We were standing on the bridge, all in uniform, even though I wished I could be wearing anything but the Earth Defense badge at that moment.
Clare shrugged. “He said he could handle it. I imagine he has some military stims or something. The ship does have somewhat of an autopilot when we’re in FTL and not needed to maneuver. Plus, he’s really cranky.” Her eyes locked with mine for a brief moment before she looked back to Mary.
“What about Nick?” I asked.
“What about me?” the doctor asked back.
“Couldn’t you go keep him company? It’s only a couple of weeks,” I said. As much anger as I felt at Slate for shooting Mae, I couldn’t really blame him.
“Let’s get through the first wormhole and convince him to take Nick or Clare on board.” Mary’s idea was a good one.
Mary sat at the helm and communicated over to Slate that we were leaving. Slate was already in the Kraski ship alone, having flown it into space before detonating the explosives below. I looked to the images where the Bhlat outpost once sat, and it was nothing more than rubble and small craters.
The wormhole wasn’t far, so we didn’t hop in FTL like we had to beat Mae only hours before. Only hours. I couldn’t believe it. It felt like a week had passed since we’d approached the outpost. We all sat on the bridge, our task done, but somehow, I couldn’t help but feel like we hadn’t accomplished much. We’d found out what the hybrids were up to. I learned that Mae was the one to kill those guards in cold blood and realized that Mae was right. There was no coming back for her after that, unless we lied about it, and by doing that, we would have pinned it on Leslie and Terrance, who would never have their voices heard for the hybrids.
I wondered if President Dalhousie would let the hybrids leave. I hoped for their sake she would. They had been through so much. Created to deceive humans, then asked to sacrifice themselves and fly into the sun with vessels full of billions of us. Now we kept them in a cage, pretending everything was normal. It wasn’t. If she didn’t let them leave, I was going to make it happen.
“We’re here,” Mary said, slowly flying us to the wormhole.
“Wait, what is that? I asked, seeing a yellow icon appear on the map. It was nothing more than a glowing circle, moving quickly toward us.
“Slate, we have incoming,” I said through the ship’s comm-link.
“I see that, boss. I don’t expect it to be a welcoming party. You guys head into the wormhole and stick to the plan. I’ll hold them off.” Slate’s voice was grim.
“We can’t do that. We’ve already lost one of our own.” I wished I could take the words back as soon as I said them.
Mary zoomed on the approaching ship, and it matched the ones parked at the outpost. Probably a Bhlat ship on a supply run. They may have gone home to find everything gone, and now they would be seeking revenge.
“Just do it.” Slate’s ship veered off from our path to the wormhole as he attempted to take the Kraski ship away and lead the Bhlat with him. We were almost invisible to their eyes, but we didn�
��t know much about their sensors. Since we’d been able to sneak onto their outpost without them knowing, we most likely would be safe hiding in plain sight from them.
“We have to help him!” Clare yelled.
I sat in the captain’s chair, my head aching fiercely. We could just leave, go through the wormhole, and destroy it. If Slate survived, it would be a long trip home, but he would eventually make it. Years later.
If he survived.
“Dean, make the call,” Mary said, and I was almost surprised they were waiting on me to decide a man’s fate. As if I hadn’t had enough of that already.
We were survivors. I wouldn’t abandon the soldier. If I did, I was no better than our enemies.
“Follow them. We sneak up behind and give them a show. The Bhlat won’t know what hit them.” I was done feeling sorry for them, or myself. I just wanted to get my friends home, and away from this new threat.
Nick paled to the right of me as Mary swung us around, racing after the two blinking icons on our map.
We could finally see them in the viewscreen as they darted around, Slate trying to lead them on a wild goose chase away from us.
“Slate, we’re on their ass.” I stood watching the boxier Bhlat ship fly after the sleek silver ship Slate was racing away in.
“You had your window to leave!” He sounded angry with us.
“Just work with us, and we can be on the other side of that wormhole in time for lunch,” Mary said calmly.
I hopped to the console next to Mary and took control of the weapons. We hadn’t tested the new ones yet, but Slate had gone over them with us a few times, and I’d done well in the training programs.
“Slate, slow down,” Mary said. As soon as he did, yellow fire erupted from the Bhlat ship at him, narrowly missing him.
“They’re hostile.” I could almost hear his grin.
New Threat Page 20
