Mouse marveled that all of this killing equipment had once been commonplace on Earth. Before Grant’s arrival, these items would have been relegated to history books—well-hidden history books.
“How goes it?” Mouse was jarred from his thoughts by Grant’s sudden arrival.
“That man, Gee,” Mouse said, nodding to the small man directing traffic into the ship. “He sure knows his stuff, huh?”
“I hope so,” Grant replied. “We’re going to need as much of that gear as we can load. And it probably won’t be enough when we get to where we’re going.”
“Not enough?” Mouse asked. “You’ve got four fighter teams on board, plus all of that earthie equipment. You could take out a mothership easy.”
“Trust me, Mouse.” Grant smiled and shook his head. “No matter how much you have, rarely is it ever enough.”
“If you say so. ” Mouse conceded the point, but was unconvinced. He would have to see it to believe it.
“Is everything under control here?” Grant asked. “You know what needs to be done, right?”
“Yeah, I’ve got it all under control.” Mouse sighed. He reached into his front pocket and pulled out a folded slip of paper. “I made a list and everything.”
Mouse unfolded the paper and reviewed the items he and Grant had covered the past few days. It was not insubstantial, and Mouse wondered how he would get everything completed in six months.
He made the mistake of saying so.
“Mouse, it might take three months to get to Telgora and three months to get back,” Grant explained, “but I doubt our time on the planet will be limited to an overnight stay. The Minith aren’t gonna just roll over and die when they see us coming.”
Mouse squinted at Grant. Surely the man was giving the Minith more credit than they were due. Grant had defeated the alien forces on Earth easily enough. He decided that Grant knew more about the business of war than he did, so did not press the issue.
He pointed to the list instead.
“Keep recruiting and training. No problem there. The additional fighters Tane and Randalyn are bringing into the fold should give a solid boost to the ranks.”
“Make sure we distribute them equally to all forces as needed, and to all the respective cultures,” Grant reminded him. “We want them integrated into our teams, not forming their own.”
Mouse nodded, but bit his cheek. It would be difficult to incorporate the men and women the scientist knew into existing teams. Grant did not understand the aversion that most people had to homosexuality. Until just weeks ago, it had been banned from society altogether—an offense punishable by heavy retraining. It might not be against the law now, but that did not mean that it would be openly accepted. He would have to rely on the tenets of Peace to ensure the maximum tolerance.
Even with Peace on his side, it would be a difficult task. He put the paper back in his pocket and changed the topic.
“You sure you don’t want to stay here and let me go instead?”
“Mouse,” Grant answered, “you and I both know that you’re better with the Council than I am. Now that I’m out of here, you’re gonna be spending half your time keeping them off your back.”
“I have a strong back, Grant. A few Culture Leaders hopping on it won’t bother me.” Mouse flashed his large gold chompers.
“Besides that, you don’t want to be away from Sue. Not now.”
“Well, there is that,” Mouse agreed. “If I left now, she would probably want to do violence against me.”
“Honestly, Mouse,” Grant teased. “I don’t know how she holds back now.”
* * *
With Mouse straightened away, Grant set off in search of Tane. The scientist had been spending much of his time in the Minith mothership, so that’s the first place Grant looked.
He found his friend in the command center, poring over the data in the alien databanks.
“I thought I’d find you here, Tane.”
The scientist looked up and nodded at Grant’s entrance into the command center.
“It is not every day that I get to sift through the knowledge database of the enemy, Grant. I have to—how do you say it—‘get while the getting is acceptable?’”
“‘Good,’ Tane. ‘Get while the getting is good.’”
“Ah, yes. Well, time is short, so I am making the best use of it that I can.”
“Finding anything good in there?”
“Oh, yes, Grant. You would be amazed at the information contained here,” Tane replied and pointed at the screen in front of him. “Did you know that there are at least a dozen elements in the universe that we never knew existed? Or that this ship can travel much, much faster than light? Or that—”
“Enough!” Grant held up a hand. He didn’t have time for the scientist to get started. “I get it, I get it.”
“Fine,” Tane huffed. It was apparent the scientist felt Grant did not appreciate the gold mine of information the ship held.
“Don’t get your panties in a twist, Tane. I plan to spend a lot of time over the next three months sitting exactly where you are.”
Grant doubted his searches would include how many new elements existed in the universe, or how fast a mothership could travel. But there had to be something in the ship’s databanks that would help him when the ship landed on Telgora. He planned to find it, extract it, and use it.
“Panties in a twist? Seriously, Grant, I don’t understand a third of what you say.” The scientist turned his attention back to the screen. Grant knew he could leave now and Tane would not notice. But he had an agenda—and very little time to waste.
“It doesn’t matter, Tane, but we need to talk.”
The scientist sighed and gave the screen a final, longing look before facing Grant.
When Grant felt he had the scientist’s attention, he began.
“I’ve already talked to Mouse, but I wanted to ask you to watch out for Eli and Avery while I’m gone.”
Tane started to object, but Grant held up a hand and gave him a tilt of the head.
“Before you say it, I already know that I don’t have to say this. But it will make me feel better, okay?”
Grant waited for Tane to acknowledge his question, then continued.
“I know Avery. Except for Eli, she’s going to be completely absorbed by her work with the orphans. It’s just how she is,” Grant explained. “She’s going to ask you about the roller blades and other equipment we’ve already discussed, so be prepared.”
“That is taken care of, Grant,” Tane explained calmly. “I have already taken steps to convert the factory nearest to Violent’s Prison. The first deliveries should be made within the week.”
“Very nice, Tane. Thank you.”
“With the overabundance of the longer, handheld weapons—”
“Rifles.”
“Yes, the… rifles,” Tane muttered. “With a surplus of the… rifles, it only made sense to convert the manufacturing processes to something useful. The roller shoes and the paint rifles were good substitutions.”
“Good, Tane, good.” Grant paused before pushing on. He was unsure how to ask, but did the best he could. “And what about your secret society? Have you made any inroads into their joining Earth’s Army?”
Tane sat back and folded his hand across his stomach.
“You mean, in addition to those who are already here?” he asked. “The word has gone out, Grant. We should see the first new recruits trickle in shortly.”
Tane paused. He had held the secret so tightly, and for so long, that he still had difficulty discussing it. Grant wondered what it must feel like, hiding something so important to your being for so long. He wasn’t sure he could have managed as well as Tane had. To achieve what he had in such a short time, despite hiding his personal beliefs from the world, was nothing short of superhuman.
His respect for the little scientist expanded another notch.
“That’s good, Tane. Because I think we might need eve
ry fighter we can scrounge up before everything is said and done.”
“If that’s true, then why leave Earth?” Tane asked. “Why take forces to another world to fight?”
“Sometimes it makes sense to go to the enemy,” Grant explained. “It’s better to face them out there, where they live. We don’t want them coming here if we can help it.”
“Because of your family?”
“Yeah, that’s part of it,” Grant conceded. Fighting the Minith on someone else’s world was more palatable than fighting them here on Earth. “The more we can fight out there, the safer everyone on Earth will be.”
Grant had fought all of his earlier battles on foreign soil. He’d never had to watch his nation or its people get slaughtered by an enemy, and he didn’t want to start now. The arrival of the mothership offered them a chance to take the battle elsewhere. They’d never had that chance before, but now that it was here, he wasn’t going to waste it.
“And if the Minith show up next week? What then?”
“The forces I’m taking are a drop in the bucket,” Grant explained. He was only taking a fraction of the fighters and equipment they had accumulated over the past six years. “Plus, the fifty thousand soldiers you’re bringing into the fold will more than replace the ones I’m taking with me.”
“I know that. But why must you go? You are the one person we cannot lose if we are to defend ourselves against the Minith.”
Grant wanted to argue. He wanted to say that Mouse could do what needed to be done. Or that the Council could fill in while he was gone. Or that there were enough trained forces to fight off any Minith invaders that decided to land on the planet.
But he couldn’t.
Because he thought what Tane said might be true.
Even with the additional soldiers Tane and Randalyn delivered to Mouse for training, Earth would be easy pickings for any force—Minith or otherwise—who possessed a large, moderately trained army. Despite the advances of the last six years, humanity was still woefully unprepared to defend itself against a superior force.
Which was exactly why he had to go.
“Tane, if we can meet the enemy on their turf, or—better yet—on a middle ground like Telgora, we have to do so. “We can’t afford to let the Minith come here. We’d be like five-year-olds against grown men,” Grant said.
He felt certain that the decision to fight the aliens somewhere other than on Earth was their only chance. He wanted Tane to feel that certainty also.
“There’s no better time than now. With Minith destroyed, they’re weaker now than they ever have been. And the longer we wait, the stronger they’re liable to become.”
“Are you trying to convince me?” Tane asked. “Or are you trying to convince yourself?”
“Tane, sometimes you’re not as smart as you think you are.”
With nothing left to say, Grant turned to leave the command center. If Tane couldn’t see that he was already convinced he was doing the right thing, he never would.
He tossed a final remark over his shoulder as he was leaving.
“This ship is leaving in two hours, Tane. This time, I will be on it.”
Chapter 32
Gee sat in the control room with Titan and General Justice. He carefully eyed the engine and guidance systems as the mothership transitioned from thrust to interstellar drives.
He was sad to leave Earth. The short visit had given him hope for Peace, and he longed for the existence he had once known, the life he had possessed before the Minith arrived and turned his world upside down.
His melancholy was tempered by the notion that he was making a difference. The work he was doing was important. No other person alive or dead could navigate the mothership to Telgora, much less land it on the frozen patch of ground where they were headed.
The fact that they had re-stocked the food supplies for an extended stay also helped his mood. He never wanted to eat another bite of tatal.
* * * * *
Titan eyed the vid screen and watched Earth shrink as the mothership drew further and further away. It would not be long before the transition to interstellar drive took over and the planet disappeared altogether.
He did not mind leaving his world behind. He had learned long ago that the society it contained offered little opportunity, and even less hope, to a man like him. This visit had reinforced that knowledge.
The Peace-loving souls who lived their lives in fear of offending each other, who cowered at the thought of standing up to the Minith, were strangers to him.
He had made a short, but interesting, visit to the village where he grew up. At first, he had been excited to be back in that place, back among the apple orchards and cattle herds. He had been happy to see his mother and father.
But that joy was short-lived when he noticed how they reacted to his presence. Although his mother hugged him tightly and his father shook his hand as a man, it was evident that they had reservations about his return. In their eyes, and in the eyes of the entire village, he was a person of violence. He was someone to fear and distrust, someone they had rid themselves of long ago.
After walking on eggshells around his former family for most an hour, he made a thin excuse and a hasty exit. The relief in their eyes as he said his goodbyes and turned toward the waiting carrier was clear.
He knew he would never go back.
* * *
Grant watched over Gee’s shoulder as Earth disappeared from the screen.
Well, that’s that, he thought.
He said a silent goodbye to Eli; tossed a mental kiss to Avery.
The last six years had been borrowed time for the soldier. He knew it now, just as he had known it every day during that time. He had been brought back from death for a purpose—to destroy the Minith and protect Earth’s citizens. His purpose was not yet fulfilled. Until that happened, if it ever did, he had a job to do.
And he meant to do it.
* * *
Patahbay tossed restlessly on the over-soft bed. He had not slept well since leaving the Family. And not just because these fragile beings—these humans—preferred soft matting on which to rest their bodies.
It went beyond that insignificant matter.
Since leaving the mass-mind of the Family, he felt detached, adrift. It was as if here was an errant piece of tatal, floating aimlessly along one of the rivers that flowed beneath his village. With no Family to join, he experienced an ‘aloneness’ formerly unknown to his race. There was no pain. No physical discomfort of any kind, save for lost sleep, but it was a brutal existence just the same.
The Telgoran did not regret or question why he had accompanied the humans to their home planet. The Family had achieved shiale, the all-important oneness, over the matter.
The shiale that led to his being on this journey was not questioned. Patahbay would never be so bold. But the shiale had an unforeseen consequence. For the first time in his existence—the first time ever for one of his people—Patahbay had to make decisions without its comfort.
It was a frightening, but strangely exhilarating, experience. Unable to reach out and absorb the thoughts of the Family, he was forced to rely only on his own limited life experiences. It was becoming easier the longer he spent away from the Family, but he still kept to himself. Limited interaction with those who were not Family meant fewer decisions were required.
He was pleased that the journey was halfway completed, but less than pleased that the number of humans on board the strange vessel had grown. He could not leave his assigned space without encountering one or more of them. A better solution would be to stay in his space for the duration of the trip. Was that possible?
Although it caused his noggin to ache, he assessed the situation without external input.
He quickly realized he would not be able to remain in the room for the entire trip. Hunger, boredom, and the need to communicate with the humans about Telgora would not permit it.
The ache in his noggin grew and he lay back down.
The softness of the “pillow” was still foreign, but it cradled his large head and Patahbay found a small measure of comfort. Interesting.
He closed his eyes and the answer came to him like a gift from the Family.
I will stay in this room unless there is a good reason to leave it.
Yes, the process was becoming easier with each new decision.
Chapter 33
Eli zipped around the corner, neatly dodged a group of Tane’s scientist friends, and raced as quickly as he could for the closest doorway. He looked back over his shoulder and saw the fastest of the kids turn the corner… slow … stop.
On his roller blades, he was too quick for that crowd.
“Yeehaw!”
Eli pumped his right fist and slowed his pace slightly. Now that they had given up on catching him, there was no need to rush.
Until the next time.
A few minutes later, he spied the doorway leading to the courtyard between the Second Square and the First Square.
He could not wait to tell Treel how he had outraced the bunch of older kids. The big green booger would get a kick out of it.
Eli laughed at the word “booger.” It was what his dad called the Minith when he didn’t want anyone to know who he was talking about. When Dad told them what it meant, Mom didn’t like it very much. But to Eli, it was one of the best jokes going.
“Booger, booger, booger.”
He passed through the eastern doorway and began the bumpy trip across the hard dirt path that cut across the open courtyard. Rolling across it was easy, but not as fun as cruising smoothly through the buildings that made up the prison. The wide, smooth corridors were perfect for blading—that was his new word—“blading.” Add the moving mass of pedestrians—Dad’s word—and the occasional pack of orphans looking to have some fun, and blading through one of these buildings was about the most exciting thing Eli could imagine.
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