Chapter 11
Elisher sat at the table in Kol’s quarters, now his quarters, too, and spread stacks of hard copy documentation across it. He’d created a spread sheet and was working on his laptop to try to match electronic entries to the hard copy documents. There were seven large boxes of hard copy documentation made up of everything from receipts to payroll records to tax forms opened and sitting strewn about the room. There were at least another twenty stacked against the wall in his bedroom. He’d only been at it for half a day so far, but it was already apparent that not all the information was processed as it should have been.
He was so absorbed in what he was doing that he was startled by a pounding on the door.
“Who is it?” he asked.
“You’ve been summoned for a meeting with Consul Diskastes,” came the answer.
“Please send my regrets. I am unable to attend as I’ve been given a strict timetable within which to have my work finished by Ambassador Ra’ Don Tol.”
“Consul Diskastes’s demands override any directive given by Ambassador Ra’ Don Tol. You are ordered to come at once.”
“You’re wrong there, boys,” a voice said.
Elisher smiled. He immediately recognized the voice as Buchanan’s. He was making good on his promise to watch over Elisher until Kol returned.
“This is none of your concern, Viceroy Buchanan. Please move along.”
“This is all my concern. You see, I serve Earth, but I ultimately serve the Unified Consortium Defense. Ambassador Ra’ Don Tol is here by order of the Consortium. They override everybody and everything. So, I’m afraid your Consul is overridden and cannot demand that an assistant of one of their ambassadors complies with his demands.”
“They do not have more power than the governing native agents of their own planet,” one guard thought to argue.
“Exactly. You are correct. This, however, is Earth, and Diskastes is not human, nor of this Earth in any way, shape, form, or fashion. Care to try again?” Buchanan asked.
There was a moment of silence before he heard Buchanan calling a little more loudly than he’d been speaking to the guards. “Have a nice day now, boys. Tell your Consul I’ve already let Ambassador Ra’ Don Tol know that he sent you boys to speak to his assistant in his absence.”
Elisher sat perfectly still in his seat, listening to the exchange outside the door. He smiled with a sense of relief when he realized Diskastes’s guards were leaving. Then a soft knock could be heard.
“Elisher?” Buchanan asked.
Elisher went to the door and looked out through the peephole before unlocking it and allowing Buchanan into the room. “Thank you, Viceroy Buchanan. I was a little nervous if truth be told.”
“Not necessary. You doing alright otherwise?” Buchanan asked, looking around the room.
“Yes, just trying to work as quickly as possible so Kol can have all he needs when he gets back, or shortly thereafter.”
“I’m sure you’ll get it done. You’re very efficient if nothing else.”
“What does that mean?” Elisher asked.
“Nothing untoward, just that you don’t seem like the type to be placed at Base 28 mixed in with the company you’re mixed in with on a daily basis.”
Elisher shrugged. “The look does not always fit the man,” he answered.
Buchanan nodded. “That is true.” He looked around the room. Where did you find all these records? I thought Diskastes destroyed all the hard copies of all documents.”
“He does. Rather than go to the records department, I went to each department head and asked for all the hard copies they may have on hand. Told them I was cleaning everything up and would get it all disposed of properly. Rainsly in shipping/receiving asked if I wanted all of the documents, those for entry and those for destruction, or just those for entry. Luckily I went there first, so that let me know to ask for both sets.” Elisher looked briefly over the boxes spread around the table he’d been working on. “I’ve got twenty more boxes in my bedroom,” he said, looking at Buchanan.
“How can they have gone along with this?” Buchanan asked.
“First, we aren't sure yet what ‘this’ entails. Second, who knows? Personal gain, bribes, coercion, threats against one’s family. Could have been anything. Could have been as simple as follow orders and don’t ask questions. That is how the military works and there are multiple militaries certainly manning each base in the United States,” Elisher said.
Buchanan just shook his head. “Unbelievable,” he said. Then he had a thought. “Did each department head have both sets of documents, one for entering and one for destruction?”
“No. Medical didn’t. He didn’t know what I was talking about and handed me one box. All other departments did have both.”
Buchanan nodded. “Could explain why our medical options are so limited. Dr. Hawkins refused to play along, so he gets less reward and his ability to do his job effectively is greatly diminished because he doesn't have the supplies he needs.”
“Could be,” Elisher answered.
“I’m going to let you get back to work. I’ll be nearby, so no worries. Just keep doing your thing and I’ve got the door.”
“Thank you, sir.”
<<<<<<<>>>>>>>
“Ambassador Kol, we are crossing into the state of Nebraska,” Missy announced.
Ada Jane sat forward in her seat, trying to see out of the side windows or the front shield, but all she saw was sky.
“Would you like me to cruise at a lower altitude so you could possibly see some of the countryside?” Kol asked.
“Yes! Please, do!” Ada Jane answered excitedly.
Kol maneuvered the battle cruiser to a lower altitude and watched as Ada Jane unstrapped herself so she could press her hands against the glass to get a better view of the land beneath them on her side of the cruiser.
“It’s so different,” she finally said after several moments of silence.
“What was it like before?” Kol asked.
“Lots of farms, and fields of corn and grain. As far as you could see, just field after field after field of different colors and heights. Now it’s just… scorched.”
Ada watched as the land that used to be so beautiful and wholesome passed beneath them, dark, dry and scarred in some places. There were a few communities here and there that seemed to have either recovered to an extent or even possibly been left intact. “I see some that look like I expected,” she said quietly.
“Those were most likely the communities that signed allegiance with the invading forces and agreed to supply them with food and other needs as requested. They were left unscathed for the most part, other than having to comply with their demands.”
“Who invaded?” Ada Jane asked.
“There were several dominating forces. The main force were the Quislesez. Several other peoples joined forces with them on seeing a planet ripe for the taking with natural resources unlike they’d seen in millennia. Your people were painfully unaware of life outside your world as a result of your leaders deciding you were better not knowing. It left you wide open and defenseless. Had you known, it’s most likely your scientists and your leaders would have been able to make at least a decent attempt at fighting the invasion.”
“How did we win?” Ada Jane asked.
“Us. And other worlds like ours. We united and fought on your behalf. Eventually there were so many different forces here, all battling each other with your people and your land caught in the middle, it was nearly as catastrophic as the initial invasion. An alliance was required to organize those interested in saving and preserving Earth and her people. The Unified Consortium Defense was born. Eventually it graduated to a multi-verse organization, protecting all peoples and worlds from the same fate Earth suffered.”
Ada Jane was quiet, watching the scenery go by.
Gradually the cruiser slowed and she felt it descending. She sat straighter in her seat and strapped herself in again. “Are we there?” s
he asked.
“We are,” Kol answered.
Shortly after they were standing at the door, their arms full of wreaths and fresh flowers waiting for the ramp to deploy. “Missy? Security status, please,” Kol asked.
“All is secure, Ambassador Kol. I detect no hostile environment of any type. There are humans in the museum, as well as in the surrounding countryside, but none seem viable threats, nor is there a recent history of violence in this region.”
“Thank you,” Kol answered. The door opened and Kol stepped forward. “Allow me to go first, Ada Jane. If there is any incident, return to the ship at once, do not wait for me. I’ll be along as soon as I can. If Missy deems it necessary to leave the area, she will take control of the ship and take you to safety.”
“What about you?” Ada Jane asked.
“I will be here, proving my worth as a protector. Missy will return for me once you are safe,” Kol explained. “But do not allow yourself to become upset. I mention it only so you know there are precautions in place. This region is safe and has been for a number of years.”
Ada Jane followed Kol down the ramp. “Okay,” she answered. Then she mumbled at a level she thought he couldn’t hear. “Still not leaving you.”
Kol had just set foot on the ground and smiled to himself before turning around to face her.
Ada Jane stepped off the ramp and watched it retract back into the ship.
“If you need to board the ship, simply address Missy and tell her to release the ramp for you.”
“I won’t, but okay,” Ada Jane said, as she walked a few steps away and looked around. “I know this place!” she said excitedly.
“Do you?” Kol asked, surprised.
“I think I do,” she said, walking closer to the building a football field’s length away from them. “It’s a little different, but,” she turned in a circle. “I think it’s our church.”
Ada walked hurriedly toward the building she saw up ahead and stopped short when she noticed the graveyard to the right. She changed her direction, slowly walking toward the graveyard. “This is where they are, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Kol answered from right behind her.
Ada walked right up to the white painted wrought iron gate that allowed visitors into the graveyard. She looked up at the arch above the gate and read the name. “Cedar Creek Historical Cemetery” she read aloud. “It’s a historical cemetery now?” she asked.
“Yes. The building too is a small museum used as an example of life before the invasion. While researching, I found that most rural civilizations of Earth made the effort to become part of the national historical society to try to prevent larger corporations from coming in and purchasing large tracts of land for development.
“I’m surprised there were any large corporations left after everything fell apart,” Ada Jane answered.
“Not all enterprise is of this planet. There were many worlds vying for a piece of the planet they helped save.”
Ada looked at Kol, her mind wondering if his people were one of those that wanted to break Earth up into tracts and sell it off.
“After the invading forces were defeated, my people were never allowed on the planet. In fact, I’m the first of my kind to be here — that I’m aware of, anyway. We were considered too volatile to be given access, so, we patrolled the outer edges of this universe, far from Earth, but still, effective in stopping pirating and illegal exports of Earth’s resources as best we could.”
“What did they take? Oil? Gold? Water?” she asked.
“Some, yes. Some took Earth’s people.”
Ada clenched her jaws to control her response.
“I’m sorry, Ada Jane. I should not have said so.”
Ada shook her head. “I should have known. I was taken, so it only stands to reason.”
“Yes, but you were taken a very long time before the invasion.”
“We believed at the time, had we been allowed to be here on the ground, we’d have been able to save more civilians. But we’ve only recently been allowed to become an active participant of the Consortium,” he admitted.
“I’m sure you would have. And it’s ridiculous they kept you out for so long. You and your people are more humane than any I’ve met,” Ada said.
Then she turned back toward the cemetery. “I guess there’s no point in putting it off. This is what I came for. I just didn’t realize I’d be so afraid.”
“I am here,” Kol said, encouragingly.
“I know. It’s just hard to believe they won’t be here to greet me,” she said as she started walking slowly through its rows of headstones reading each as she went, searching for her parents’ names.
They walked for a good ten minutes, with Ada pausing at the headstones of people she’d known from the small community. Kol staying quietly just behind her, allowing her to say her prayers before moving on. Eventually, in the back right corner, in the shade of a huge, old, oak tree, she found what she was looking for — sort of.
Kol came to a sudden stop just as Ada Jane did. He looked down at the headstone she’d stopped in front of and his eyes widened. She was standing in front of her own grave site.
“Ada Jane?” Kol said, leaning over to release his armload of flowers and to set his bag of tools on the ground. “Are you alright?” he asked, moving toward her and placing his hands on her shoulders from behind.
Ada nodded. “They must have had a memorial for me after I’d been gone for so long,” she said quietly.
Ada walked up to the headstone and traced the date she’d disappeared with her fingertips. “I’m not in there,” she whispered.
Chapter 12
“No, you are not! You are very much alive. You have your whole life ahead of you,” Kol answered as he stepped up right behind her again, his hands smoothing up and down her arms.
She ran her fingers over the rest of the headstone and realized her parents had chosen her favorite color marble for it. “They made it pink for me,” she said. Then she read the words aloud.
Ada Jane Andersen
Born 01-22-1966, Taken 08-01-1986
Beloved daughter of Ada Mae and George Andersen
Gone but never forgotten
“They knew I was taken,” Ada said.
“Yes,” Kol agreed.
“Do you think they knew who took me, or that I was taken by aliens, I mean?”
“I don’t know. But they knew you didn’t leave them of your own free will,” Kol answered.
Ada turned to look up at him. “And that’s what matters. They knew I’d never leave like that. They knew I loved them.”
“Exactly,” Kol answered.
Ada looked around, turning this way and that before realizing what she was looking for was right in front of her. She walked past her own empty grave and came to a stop before the large, double headstone right behind hers. She didn’t say anything, but Kol could tell from her sniffles and the way her shoulders shook she was weeping. He hurried to her once again, and wrapped his arms around her from behind, allowing her to see the burial site, but still holding her tightly to him. “It’s alright, Ehlealah, cry as much as you wish. Let it all out. I am here. You will never be alone again,” he murmured in her ear.
Ada curled her hands around his forearms where they held her and sobbed while she did her best to stare at the headstone through her tears.
A while later she managed to get herself under control, or at the very least she was for the most part cried out — for now anyway. She pointed at the headstone. “Look, they are greeting me,” she said.
Kol glanced at the headstone he’d really not paid any attention to until now. He’d been too busy trying to soothe his female. He read the letters there, stumbling over a few of them, but managing to gather the meaning. “They knew you’d be back!” he exclaimed.
Ada nodded. There before her, the simple, double headstone marking the graves of her parents showed that her mother had died first, followed a year later by her father.
And after their names and dates there was nothing about beloved wife or husband, or a bible verse or anything else you’d expect to see on a headstone.
There was just a message — they left her a message.
“Welcome home, sweet girl. We always knew you’d come back to us. We love you, Mom and Dad.”
Ada patted Kol’s arms to let him know she wanted him to let her go. Kol dropped his arms and allowed her to step away from him. He waited there quietly as she sat down on the ground right in front of the headstone and told her parents all about what had happened to her.
He smiled when she got to the end and told them she was saved by a big, blue man who was very kind, and very handsome. Then he stood there some more while she just sat with them, making her peace with everything the best she could.
Eventually she turned and looked up at him. “Are you ready to clean it all up?” she asked.
“Whenever you are, Ada Jane. I am in no rush, take as much time as you wish,” Kol answered.
She got to her feet and looked down at her parents’ graves. “It’s not in that bad ‘a shape. Maybe we could just put the little lattice work edging around theirs and place the flowers.”
Kol picked up the flowers they’d both put down and the bag his tools were in and walked over to her. “I think they would be very happy with that idea.”
An hour and a half later, they had placed both wreaths — one on either side of Ada’s parents’ headstone, and all the pots of fresh flowers Kol had brought with them. Then they outlined the gravesite with the white lattice work edging, and polished the headstone whose pink marble matched the one they’d bought for Ada Jane, and they were finally finished.
Ada and Kol stood back admiring their work. “I love it,” Ada said.
“I do, as well. I think they are very, very happy that you are here, and that you have beautified their resting place,” Kol said.
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