“You’re as wise and thoughtful leader as you are lovely, my dear.”
“What? Did you come all this way just to hit on my president?” I asked, trying not to giggle.
“No, but a well-rounded individual learns to adapt quickly,” he replied with a wink.
“I’m sure my husband will be flattered,” Alexis said, raising a toast toward Kymee.
“Either that or I’ll find myself dueling again for the first time in I can’t tell you how long.”
“You sly dog. You dueled?” I marveled.
“We were an aggressive race. What can I say in my defense?”
We all settled in and fell silent.
“So, to what do we owe this considerable honor?” asked Alexis.
“My people have made some decisions. I wanted to meet with you personally to discuss our proposals.” He took a gulp of cognac. “Ah. You’ll have to provide me with a few bottles when I leave, so I can conduct some research on the liquid at my leisure.”
“I think nufe is better,” I responded.
“Yes, it might be, but I think they’ll make a truly excellent blend.”
Alexis cleared her throat.
“Yes, you’re correct. I must get to the point of my visit.” He signed deeply.
I wasn’t so sure that was a good sign.
“I’ve gone over the data we collected on Azsuram in detail. I can state with certainty there was an incursion into our universe from the outside. For those who might care to know, I base this conclusion on lingering elementary particles not permitted by our physical laws. The traces were strongest at the location where Eas-el first presented himself to the girl in the form of a butterfly. This is consistent with the higher energies needed to enter our space-time.
“The fact that there was not a catastrophic reaction caused by the mixture of such radically different and incompatible forms of matter was amazing. It speaks to the power the Last Nightmare must command. The exit point was interesting for different reasons. The remnants of reactive particles suggest to me there was partial entry by a second Last Nightmare. That would explain the voice that addressed Eas-el.”
“Is that important?” asked Alexis.
“Critically. If only Eas-el entered and if he left or dissipated as he seems to have, we might have been spared. The fact that at least one other entered our universe almost certainly means they will all invade.”
“Why? Maybe the others won’t bother,” responded JJ.
“You’re correct, of course. We know so little about them. But we suspect they have a hive-mentality. If so, they are likely to invade.”
“You mean they’re like bees, not butterflies?” asked Bin Li.
“They’re very different from both, I can promise you. Keep in mind, Bin, they are beyond ancient and are fundamentally different than the life forms you and I are familiar with. Their motivations are honestly unknowable, probably incomprehensible to us.”
“Then how can you know?” Bin pressed.
“I can’t, as I said. But I’m still quite certain.”
“Do you think revenge might motivate them? Eas-el seems to have died?” asked Alexis.
“I doubt we could ever understand what motivates them. I doubt a basic emotion like the desire for vengeance is part of their makeup. But that doesn’t mean they won’t come. I think it’s simply what they do.”
“Like hive-minded insects,” I said more to myself.
“Like hive-minded insects,” agreed Kymee. “They do what they do because that’s what the hive does. Not a very elegant justification, but likely the case.”
“How long do you think we have before they attack?” asked Colin.
“Interesting question,” replied Kymee.
“I did mean it to be. I’m a practical man, not a scientist.”
“Our flow of time and theirs must be radically different. That said, I think it will take them little to no time to decide to invade. I’m sure the decision was made eons ago, as part of their hard wiring. As to when in our space-time, I estimate they’ll be on us far too soon.”
“That’s not really an answer to my query, is it?” Colin was a warrior, not a diplomat.
“No, I suppose not. What is it you told me, Jon? Hope for the best but plan for the opposite?”
“Something like that.”
“Then plan on any time now. They could already here. I doubt it will be longer than a few months at the extreme.”
“Do your people have a viable defensive strategy?” asked Colin.
“No. I wish very much my answer were different, but we do not.”
“Will conventional weapons have any effect? I include in conventional the advanced technology your people possess.”
I could hear the gears turning in Colin’s head as he asked.
“Probably some, but probably not enough. I base that on the fact that the Last Nightmare has successfully destroyed many universes. Each one of those universes contained people as clever as us. They failed. Likely, so shall we.”
“But that doesn’t mean we should roll ourselves into fetal balls and wait for death,” Colin responded.
“No. We will go out with all guns blazing. Why the hell not?” replied Kymee.
“You’ve been around my dad too long,” responded JJ. “You’re starting to talk like him. It happens like a disease, you know. I’ll warn you now, there’s no cure.”
Kymee smiled. “I hope not.” He sat up straight. “Here’s our initial plan. Already, thousands of us have dusted off their vortices and are contacting the advanced civilizations we know. We are updating them, sharing data, and asking for their help.”
“Wow,” I responded.
“Tell me about it. We sit on our duffs for a million years then boom, and we’re on the road as a people. As part of that networking, I’m prepared to provide you with as many vortices as you wish. Naturally, the pilots will be fitted with command prerogatives.”
“Ah, double wow.” I was amazed.
“You have that many?” asked Colin. I think he was drooling.
“Yes. We have a huge number of them. More than we currently have Forms to pilot them. I would ask the android pilots to volunteer first. It is easier to convert someone like Jon than a flesh and blood human.”
“How many of you are there?” Colin nearly shouted to me.
Before I could begin to count, Toño replied, “There were thirty-seven Ark astronauts. Carl Simpson was the only one who didn’t make it back.”
“Fine. Ask them if they’re interested and get back to me…”
“All thirty-six have volunteered. Most are running here as fast as they can. Some are running here, and they aren’t even on this ship,” I announced.
“So fast? That’s incredible,” remarked Kymee.
“Dude,” I said, “half of us were fighter pilots and every single one was crazier than a loon.”
“I can testify to that second part,” Toño said with a smirk.
“Toño, I was hoping to teach you and Carlos how to do the process. That way you won’t be reliant on me alone to perform the upgrades. You can then teach your people if you’d like.”
Toño looked like he’d peed his pants. “I…I…,” he stuttered.
“We’d love to,” replied Carlos.
“Once you’ve mastered the technique on androids, I can teach you how to do it on live subjects too, if you’d like.”
Carlos held a hand up to indicate Toño shouldn’t even try and respond. “We’d love to.”
There was a knock at the door. Two Ark pilots were already there.
My old pal Turk barreled into the room. “Do we get the laser fingers too?” he asked without bothering to introduce himself.
“Of course. If you’d like one. It’s a simple addition,” replied Kymee. The man grinned from ear to ear.
“Duh.” responded Turk. “You think we let him have a leg up on us?”
You had to know who he pointed to.
“Perish the thought,” said Toño,
rubbing his forehead. I think a flood of questionable memories about hot-shot pilots rushed back to him.
“Fine. Then I propose we gather at my vortex and head back to Oowaoa. We’ve a lot to accomplish and an uncertain timeline. Oh, there’s one other issue.” Kymee relaxed back into his chair. “There’s the matter of the Berrillians.”
“Yes, facing the ultimate crisis doesn’t cancel out the lesser ones, does it?” asked Alexis.
“We’re going to have to convince them of the existential threat and enlist their aide. At the very least, we must ask them to relent in their conquest efforts, so we can focus of the Last Nightmare.”
“Cats aren’t gonna go for that,” I said flatly. “Their word for peace is kill fewer for awhile.”
“Well, we either win them over or we will be forced to exterminate them out of hand,” said a very serious Colin.
“Unfortunately, I’m forced to agree with you, General,” said Kymee. “In my experience, they’d much prefer dying in battle over yielding to reason.”
“Mine too,” I said sadly. As much as I hated the Berrillians, I was not ever in favor of genocide. The mean butterflies were the only exception. I was only too happy to cure the universe from them.
And so began a whole new chapter in humankind’s ever expanding book of well-I’ll-be-damns.
TWENTY-FIVE
It was both exiting and anticlimactic after Kymee, Toño, Carlos, and thirty-six buddies crammed into the cube and left. I also had to keep telling myself everything we were doing was probably going to fall short of success. The image of thirty-seven cubes confronting the Last Nightmare and instantly vaporizing kept playing in my head. All my comrades were focused on was the chance to have my adventures. In reality, they volunteered to be the first to die. Oh well, that’s what they pay us fighter pilots to do. In our collective case, it just took a couple hundred years longer than usual to complete our end of the bargain.
Since everyone involved in the upgrades was either an android or Kymee, he predicted the entire process wouldn’t take more than a few days. A few added days training in how to operate a vortex would be needed, but then we’d have a solid defense force.
Okay, I’ll admit it, I was a bit melancholy. I was about to lose my status as the only human with probes, a laser, and a vortex. I kept flashing on the parable of the workers in the vineyard. Just because they had what I did wouldn’t diminish what I had. But, well, I guess I was kind of competitive. On the plus side of the ledger, I would no longer be the only one who had to schlep all over creation. I’d be glad to let others spread news or transfer supplies. Humanity’s range was just about to skyrocket. At least until we were snuffed out.
I took JJ home after the meeting adjourned. Kayla and the kids came too. It was nice. We didn’t look to have another family vacation on the horizon for a long time, if ever. We visited as many friends as we could and ate way too much food. I’d say JJ and I drank too much beer, but that would be silly. How can one consume too much beer when facing extermination? When Wrath alerted me that thirty-six cubes had popped into space alongside Exeter, I knew it was time to go.
I left with a better feeling than ever before, however. Kymee said he’d equip several Kaljaxians with command prerogatives and a personal vortex as soon as he was done with the androids. That way there would be a state-of-the-art home defense force guarding Azsuram. That went a long way in settling my nerves. Of course, I knew full well that JJ would be the first Kaljaxian to upgrade. Hell on wheels. That’s all I could say. The boy was going to be hell on wheels.
When I returned, Toño and his crew were hard at work fitting our new cubes with membrane generators and rail guns. They had the gamma ray lasers and quantum decouplers like Wrath, so we were an extremely lethal squadron. I hoped that mattered. The first briefing of the Thirty-Seven Aces, as Colin insisted we be named, was, well it was a clusterfuck. One stuffy old man, me, and thirty-six hyper pseudo-adolescents acting like their caffeine and testosterone levels were both redlined. Okay, I enjoyed the hell out of myself. Colin, not so much. I didn’t know if British pilots were as crazy as their American counterparts, but from the expression Colin wore the entire time, I seriously doubted they were.
“Ladies and gentlemen. Ladies and gentlemen. May we please come to order? I say, I’m not addressing punters at a rugby scrum. You’re all senior officers. Will you please quiet down and listen? Put that row of chairs down, ah, what’s your name again? And you, release that chicken at once, or I’ll ground you indefinitely.”
It was only worse after Allison released that chicken. Where she got it from, and more importantly why she got it, were unclear. But once it was loose, feathers flew, pilots dove to the floor to catch the damn bird, and Colin erupted like a volcano. Lucky for the chicken, the door was open and it escaped with its life, at least for the moment.
“I’m at the point of calling the RMPs and tossing you all in the brig. We’re at war, ladies and gentlemen. Humanity is on the verge. Please show some decorum.”
“Hey, look. I found an egg,” shouted Sami Al Jaber, holding up his prize.
And that did it. The room re-exploded. Everyone wanted the stupid egg. A bunch of immature people wrestled Sami to the deck and piled on him. Fortunately, in the confusion, I extricated the egg from Sami’s hand undamaged. Knowing this juvenile melee needed to come to an end, I set the egg on Turk’s head and smashed it into his hair. Hey, someone had to be the adult and reestablish a mature tone.
After that, we really did settle down. It was important to blow off steam and build esprit de corps, but we did have a job to do.
“I shall say this once. I hope never to witness such a childish and insubordinate display again for the rest of my life.” Colin was icy mad. It was kind of scary. “We have a lot of training and planning to do, and we’ll accomplish none of it if I have you all slapped in irons. Is that clear?”
No one said a peep, not even the chicken. She’d unwisely wandered back into the room. I could tell about half the pilots were transfixed with the bird. But, they at least kept their butts in their chairs.
“That’s better. It’s not nearly good, but it’s better. Now, I’ve prepared a list of flights and elements for our group. We’re too few to designate wings and such. I hope that’s all right with everyone?”
Oh boy, he was boring already.
“General Ryan will be the group’s vice commander. He is at liberty to choose his XO and the other leads. Those interested parties may contact him at the end of this briefing.”
Oh boy. That’s when it started. Recalling that we were all androids with com-links in our heads and Colin was flesh and blood, the derisive chatter began. What a bunch of babies.
Gosh, General Ryan, can I wipe your butt every time you pinch off a loaf? I want to be king. Is that possible?
That would be Hal.
I hope someday to have your baby. Maybe then I can get ahead in this man’s army.
There was Hannah on the line.
No, I will have him first. Only I will bear his child, and it will be a microwave oven.
That James, what a cut up.
Hey, where’d that chicken go?
I think that was Eva. Might have been Curly. That’s what we called Marcy because her hair was so straight.
I got the head and neck right here, if you want it badly enough. Definitely Jonesy. Only he’d go there with either Eva or Curly.
Is it just me, or does anyone else think General Winchester’s actually deceased. I think he is, but I don’t want to start a rumor if it isn’t true. He sure sounds like a dead man talking.
Francine was such a head case.
I think he’s a great man and a natural boring leader.
Hey, that was me.
Who farted? I can’t breathe. Medic!
Juvenile as always, Turk chimed in. But potty humor got’em every time.
Up until then, we all looked attentive and respectful. But as soon as one guy cracked up, the whole lot of us
couldn’t stop laughing. It took Colin a second or two to figure it out, but then he was remarkably displeased.
“I’ll have Dr. De Jesus disable your internal communications next time. I should have known better than trust that a bunch of Yanks could be professional soldiers for more than three minutes. Stop laughing and show some respect.”
Did he say he wanted to yank me? Will y’all leave us alone a minute? I’ve been so lonely.
No, Billie, not helpful.
More snickers.
Colin swatted his pointer on the desk.
Is that a riding crop? The dude brought a riding crop to a briefing?
Carlotta wasn’t going to let that go.
Lotta, stop talking about the man’s briefs. I think he’s Scottish. They don’t wear tighty-whities. There was Turk, mind in the gutter as always.
“For the final time, put a cork in it already.” Colin was officially upset. “Please read the reports you’ve received and be prepared for maneuvers at oh six hundred hours tomorrow. And the first one who becomes rowdy will be grounded for a week.”
He asked who’s randy? Ah, that would be Turk. He’s always looking for a cheap thrill, the cheaper the better. Wait, that was me again. I was a bad example. Cool. I hadn’t lost my edge.
By the next morning, most of us had it out of our systems. We had a serious job to do and were ready to get after it. Colin said blessedly few words and then turned the briefing over to me. I wasn’t sure we needed training like a traditional fighter squadron might, but it was better to let Colin think he had some control over us.
We had a hangar designated just for our cubes. Even if the numbers swelled, there’d be plenty of room to park them all together. I lead the gang there.
Okay, people, we’re going to see if we can maintain formation relocating to a series of places. First, we’ll go orbit Earth, or, you know, what’s left of it. We’ll remain there precisely one minute. Then I want you in polar orbit above Azsuram. Thirty seconds there, then back on your pads. Any questions?
Can we shoot at something? asked Jonesy.
Not this time out. But we’ll blow up some asteroids later, I promise.
Cool.
Forever Series 5: The Forever Alliance Page 14
