The vision replayed before her. Young Lailani, possessed by the scum, shrieked and cackled in the engine room. This time the older Lailani did not interfere. Did not try to save Elvis. This time she merely watched as her younger self ripped the heart out of her friend, then dropped it to the floor.
And then the older Lailani crept forward.
Gently, without her younger self seeing, she lifted Elvis's heart, and she placed it in a box of ice.
She flew away.
But Lailani did not return to her own timeline. Not yet. She still had work to do here in the past.
The Ryujin traveled through space. It traveled to Earth.
Lailani landed her ship in a dusty, hot junkyard in Japan.
Hundreds of rusty, dented, cracked starships sat in the yard, some a century old. Signs were taped to them, original prices scratched out, bargain prices displayed in red. There were robots here too, hundreds of them, deactivated and rusting in the sun. There were serving bots to cook and clean, companion bots shaped like dogs and cats, baby bots for bereft parents, warehouse workers and farming bots, an assortment of sex bots to cater to every taste, and a handful of robotic soldiers. All were old, rusting, falling apart, some dating back to the classic age of robotics.
"Welcome, welcome to JEX's Starship Emporium!"
A rotund robot teetered toward her, shedding bolts and rust. His body was formed from a tin barrel, and he chomped on an electronic cigar made from a car's cigarette lighter.
"Whatever your price, whatever your pleasure, you will find the ride of your dreams here!" said the robot. "To take you to the stars—and beyond!"
Lailani remembered him. JEX the Junkyard Expert.
"Hello, JEX," she said. "Mind if I just browse for a bit on my own?"
JEX's face soured. But then a family strolled into the junkyard, and the father whipped out his wallet, and JEX trundled toward them, leaving a trail of oil.
"Welcome, welcome to JEX's Starship Emporium!"
As JEX and the family began haggling over a vintage moon-cruiser, Lailani walked between the rows of used robots. She was in the year 2143. Eleven years from now, a version of her will arrive here, a new chip in her head, and purchase a robot named HOBBS. A robot who would become her best friend. A robot with a human heart inside him.
But here, in 2143, he did not yet have a heart.
She passed by several warehouse robots until she saw him there.
Her eyes dampened.
Lailani came to stand before him. He stood in the dust, over seven feet tall. The words were barely visible on his chest. HOBBS: Humanoid Offensive Biometric Battle Soldier. Her friend.
"HOBBS," Lailani whispered.
His eyes turned on, shining blue. "Hello, human. Are you interested in purchasing me?"
"Yes." Lailani nodded. "But not yet. Not for eleven more years. I have something for you, HOBBS. Something you must cherish and protect."
She did not know how HOBBS had ended up in JEX's junkyard. But she knew who had built him. It was Doctor Elliot Schroeder, serial killer and mad scientist, who had built HOBBS, creating a vessel to store the heart of a murder victim. Lailani had saved many of Schroeder's robots from his lair, releasing them to a life on Earth.
And I will save you, HOBBS. Her tears flowed. As best I can.
She opened HOBBS's chest. He gazed at her, curious, but did not stop her. Lailani opened her freezer box, pulled out Elvis's heart, and placed it into HOBBS's chest.
HOBBS's technology did the rest, connecting to the heart, reanimating it, letting it pump again.
Lailani closed his chest, sealing the heart within.
"I could not save you, Benny Elvis Ray," she whispered, tears falling. "But I could save your heart. And in eleven years, I will find your heart again. Your child will grow up knowing his father's heart is always with him."
HOBBS looked at her, confused, but then something akin to understanding filled his luminous eyes. He placed his hand on his chest.
"I will keep it safe," he said. "And I will wait for you to return."
Lailani reentered the Ryujin and sat at the helm. Epimetheus leaped onto her lap, nearly crushing her, outweighing her by a good twenty pounds. She took flight. In space, she filled her hourglass with sand from a pouch, then opened a portal.
She flew to 2155. To her true time. To her friends.
She flew home.
She rejoined the others at the lakeside chalet. Addy and Marco were fishing off a dock, while Ben-Ari and Professor Isaac sat curled up on a rocking chair, drinking hot chocolate. HOBBS was standing guard over the group, a little older here, a little more dented, but still her dear friend.
Lailani ran up toward him. HOBBS greeted her with a nod. His mouth could not move, but she swore that somehow he was smiling.
"Hello again, mistress," he said. "I have waited for a long time."
She embraced him. She could hear the heart beating within.
"You always knew," she whispered. "Whose heart is inside you."
HOBBS nodded. "Yes, mistress. I had to wait for you to find out on your own."
"Call me Lailani," she whispered, holding him close.
He wrapped his metal arms around her. "Lailani."
And in addition to his heartbeat, there was another heart beating. A small heartbeat, fast inside her.
You will have a father, little one, she thought, placing her hand on her belly. Your mother and father will always love you.
The professor approached Lailani. His eyes were solemn.
"Lailani, it's time," he said softly.
"Soon," Lailani whispered. "I must do one more thing first."
The professor nodded.
Lailani took the hourglass into the copse of trees. She wanted privacy. From her pocket, she pulled out a single grain of azoth sand. It twinkled on her fingertip. She dropped it into the hourglass and flipped the bulb.
The portal was small. A mere sparkle of blue light in the air.
But it was enough.
Lailani peered into the gleaming drop of light, and she saw herself last year, walking among the rice paddies in the Philippines.
"Find the hourglass," she whispered.
The younger her looked up, confused.
"Who are you?" the younger Lailani whispered.
"One who is here to help you," Lailani said.
She deactivated the chip in her head. And she sent the message into her younger self's mind, showing her the constellation, the planet she must reach, the place to seek the hourglass.
The portal closed.
Her message was sent.
Standing in the grove, Lailani smiled shakily. Last year, when she had received this message, it had shocked her, scared her. She had thought it a message from an alien power. Only now did she realize: It was, has always been, a message from myself.
There were still many mysteries. Which gray had betrayed his nation, had taught the Mahatekis to build the hourglass? What had happened to the scroll of Nefitis? Would the crack in the universe she had caused ever mend?
Lailani did not know. Perhaps it was good that some mysteries remained. The cosmos was a strange place, always flowing, reforming, breaking and healing again. Perhaps it was like her life.
She left the trees. She returned to her friends by the lake.
It was time.
Her friends gathered around her, and Lailani placed the hourglass on a tree stump. She turned toward her friends.
"We cannot change the past," Lailani said. "The grays learned that. We did too. But we can still change our future. The future that Marco and Addy visited is not set in stone. We will protect our planet. Always. Earth is eternal."
She raised her rifle and aimed at the hourglass. She hit it on her first try. The hourglass shattered into countless pieces, and the shards scattered across the grass and shone like stars.
* * * * *
That night, Lailani sat alone by the lake. The Milky Way shone above. The others were asleep in the chalet,
even Epimetheus. She sat here alone, gazing at the water.
For a long time, she merely watched the water and the stars, just breathing with the world.
Footsteps padded behind her, and she turned to see Ben-Ari approach. Her officer sat down beside her. They sat in silence for a moment, watching the moonlight reflect on the lake.
"Can't sleep?" Lailani finally said.
Ben-Ari spoke softly. "Noah asked me to marry him."
"Who's Noah?" Lailani asked. "Oh! You mean the professor?" She smiled. "Congratulations, ma'am! I'm happy for you." She frowned. "You said yes, of course."
Ben-Ari smiled too. She nodded. She held Lailani's hand.
"Lailani." Ben-Ari spoke carefully as if considering each word. "I never forgot that night we shared. On that planet inside the black hole. When we made love."
"Me neither," Lailani said softly.
Ben-Ari stroked her short black hair. "You will always be dear to me, Lailani. I will always love you. Marco told me that you plan to return to your country. To keep building schools. Know this. Wherever your path takes you, you are loved. Whenever you need me, I am here for you. Always."
Ben-Ari kissed Lailani's cheek.
"Thank you, Einav," Lailani whispered. "I think I'll be fine now. I've learned a lot. I've grown. I'm stronger. I have HOBBS and Epi. And soon I'll have my child." She grinned. "And I have the Ryujin, so I'll come visit you and the professor a lot."
Ben-Ari hugged her, kissed her forehead, and returned to the chalet. Lailani remained by the lake for a long time, gazing at the stars and water. Finally she rose to her feet, stepped indoors, and lay on her bed. Epimetheus hopped up beside her and curled up on her feet.
When Lailani placed her hand on her belly, she saw her scars in the moonlight. The scars on her wrist. The scars from her suicide attempt.
I was a child in the slums. I was a youth in a war. I was a woman torn and broken. And for the first time in my life, at age thirty, soon to be a mother, I am happy.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
They offered her the job.
When Ben-Ari heard, she stared in shock.
"You want me to be the new president of the Alliance of Nations?" She couldn't believe her ears. "You want me to lead Earth?"
The delegation stared back, somber. They nodded. A dozen men and women in suits, they had come to see her at the presidential chalet.
"It was Petty's wish," one of the men said. "He wrote it in his will. In three years we'll have an election. Until then, the job is yours. Petty was convinced—as we all are—that you are the most qualified to lead us, Einav Ben-Ari."
Ben-Ari blinked. Just last week, she had finally—after years of night classes—completed her bachelor's degree from Galactica University, majoring in history. She had never imagined the job offers would roll in this quickly. Let alone this job offer.
She rubbed her eyes and blinked. "I'm only thirty-two."
They nodded. "Half the average age of the previous presidents. Yet how many other thirtysomethings have defeated alien empires, have flown to the depths of space and back, and saved Earth more times than we can count?"
"Every living soldier in my platoon," she said.
They just stared back, waiting for an answer.
Ben-Ari looked away. She closed her eyes.
She thought of time.
She remembered a young girl, losing her mother.
She remembered bouncing from military base to military base, her homeland destroyed.
She remembered a rebellious youth, running away from her father, remembered booze and trysts with boys.
She remembered a cadet, dedicating herself to Earth, to sacrifice.
My ancestors fought the Nazis in the forests, so I decided to fight the enemies of humanity. And for fourteen years, I fought them as a soldier, rising from cadet to captain of a flagship.
She took a deep breath.
But saving the world is not a one-time job. Saving the world is like tending to a garden. It requires continuous work, devotion, love. The weeds are always growing. We must always be uprooting them, preserving the beauty of our garden. More weeds will rise. More pestilence will plague this world that I love. I am a custodian of this planet. I am a gardener in this garden. I will never stop fighting for Earth. Because I've flown across the galaxy, and I've seen countless worlds, and I know that Earth is just a pale blue marble in the darkness. But Earth is my home. Earth is beautiful. Earth is eternal.
She opened her eyes. She looked at the men and women from the Alliance. She nodded.
"Yes," she whispered.
I was a broken girl. I was a soldier. I was a captain. She looked at the mountains outside the chalet, at the blue sky, at the forests and fields. I will be Earth's protector. I will not let Earth fall to evil and despair. I will cherish our world. Always.
* * * * *
Marco was still in Switzerland, staying with Ben-Ari at her chalet, when Tomiko sent him a message. He read it on his phone. She wanted to meet him in the nearby town.
"It's obviously a trap," Addy said. "She'll say she divorced her new husband, that she wants you back." She grabbed Marco. "But you are mine, Poet."
He pulled himself free. "First of all, I belong to nobody. Second—"
Addy wrestled him into a headlock. "Mine!"
He groaned and shoved her off. "For God's sake! Get a pet."
"I had one! The fish. Remember?" Addy lowered her head. "I named him George. And I used to cuddle him and cherish him and love him forever and ever. At least until I threw him onto a gray's face and lit him on fire."
Marco sighed and left the chalet.
He rode a bike along a dirt path. After so many years in roaring rockets and clattering starships, it felt good to ride in the open air. He carried no weapons. He wore no uniform. It was a two-hour ride, and he spent it in Deep Being, allowing his thoughts to flow by, merely soaking in the sunlight, the fresh air, the verdant landscapes.
After so long as a soldier, as a machine of war, he felt like a man again.
His body bore new wounds. He would carry new scars for the rest of his life. The horrors he had seen, the pain he had endured—they would forever linger inside him, forever rise in his sleep as nightmares. He would always miss those he had lost. His parents. Elvis. Caveman and Beast. Anisha. Perhaps more than all—Kemi. Those holes would always fill his heart. There was peace here in this world, here on this bike among the mountains, but he was a broken man.
And yet I have Deep Being. I have a method to cope. I have Addy. I can find some peace.
He reached the town, a picturesque little place with medieval houses, cobbled streets, gardens lush with flowers, and cafes that bustled with visitors. The war had not touched this place. It was a pocket of paradise from a more innocent time.
He went to the cafe where Tomiko had asked to meet him. He was early. He sat at a patio table. They didn't have North American-style coffee, just black and brewed straight from the pot, so he ordered something with steamed milk and a flower drawn into the foam. He was thankful Addy wasn't here to see him drink it; she would have mocked him mercilessly.
He had almost finished his drink, and he was wondering if Tomiko would show up at all, when engines rumbled above. A rickety starship, probably a good fifteen years old and the size of a bus, descended and landed on the street, belching out smoke. The cafe's patrons scowled.
The starship's airlock opened. Marco glimpsed Tomiko's second husband at the helm, an older man with graying hair. He did not look Marco's way. Tomiko emerged, wearing a summer dress, and ran across the street. She joined Marco at the cafe.
He rose from his seat and hugged her. For a moment they just stood holding each other.
"How are you?" Marco finally said. "Are you all right?"
Tomiko sniffed and nodded. She smiled at him shakily. "I'm all right."
Visions flashed before Marco's eyes. He remembered Tomiko in Gehenna, the city of the grays. He remembered the creatures tearing her
clothes, carrying her into the brothel, preparing to rape her. But here she stood before him, healthy, beautiful, safe. She had broken his heart, but he loved her, and he forgave her, and her happiness was as important to him as his own.
"They don't have real coffee," he told her. "But they draw adorable little flowers in steamed milk. Remember to lift your pinky as you raise the cup!"
Tomiko laughed. "I won't order anything. I'm not staying long. Craig and I have a starship to catch, a bigger one than this old clunker." She gestured at the ship on the road. "We're moving to a new world, Marco. To a new colony they just founded. It's a world similar to Earth. Craig has a job there waiting for him. I came here . . . to say goodbye."
"I'm happy for you, Tomiko." He held her hand. "Be happy there. Make it a good future."
She smiled, lowered her head, and wiped her damp eyes. "Marco, take your house back. The house in Greece. It's yours. Move in there with Addy if you want to. And . . . the book royalties too. I'm giving it all back." She touched his cheek. "I want us to be okay."
He nodded. His throat was tight. "We're okay, Tomiko. Everything is okay."
She hugged him and kissed his cheek.
"Love you," she whispered, then ran off. When the starship took off, she waved from the porthole. He waved back.
"Goodbye, Tomiko," he said softly, watching her ship fly away.
He ordered another drink. He sat for a while, watching the people come and go. Then he got on his bike and rode back to the chalet. Back to his friends. Back to Addy.
* * * * *
A year after the Gray War began, Marco and Addy came home.
They walked along the beach, heading toward their old house.
"Poet!" Addy leaped onto his back. "Carry me."
He shoved her off. "No, Addy. You weigh a metric ton."
"But I'm tired!" She jumped onto his back again.
He shoved her off again. "Addy, for Chrissake! We walked across the desolate plains of Black Earth. You can handle a stroll on the beach."
She pouted. "Black Earth didn't have sand."
Earth Eternal (Earthrise Book 9) Page 28
