Galileo (Battle of the Species)

by Meaghan Sinclair

  “Dad, what was that? What’s happening?” Renn asked.

  “Get up, we need to move,” Adam said, watching the door.

  Frank and the I.A. came out and looked down towards the door to the outside.

  “Frank, show us another way out of here,” Adam said, grabbing Renn’s arm.

  Adam, Renn, and the agent followed Frank down another corridor, while local law enforcement ran back and forth, positioning themselves for battle.

  They could hear an explosion from inside the station, causing them to jump. The lights went out and alarms began to blare. Faint emergency lights kicked on, flickering from the explosions that erupted in other parts of the building.

  Renn’s anxiety increased with every step and his palms illuminated brighter. He heard the sound of thumping on asphalt, cement, and tile before the screeching rose to a deafening tone. But no amount of sound could drown out the scared thoughts of the humans around him. He wanted to hear them think of a plan, a way to survive, but the thoughts drifting the halls lingered on wives, husbands, and kids.

  I hope he’s all right…

  I hope she stayed home…

  I just want to see them one last time…

  Renn covered his ears, wishing he could block them out, but their fear and worry nipped at his heels at every turn.

  Renn followed the others through a dusty corridor in an unused part of the building, where the lighting became scarcer. A light at the end of the hall flickered and then went out. When it once again illuminated, a blue light appeared, zipping down the hallway towards them. They were then sprayed with blood as Frank took a blast to the chest.

  Renn stood there in shock, feeling the warmth of the blood splatter, while his mind battled to accept that it was Frank’s.

  The I.A. fired back at the lone Eminite walking towards them with a menacing stride, hitting it in the forehead. The Eminite fell to the ground with its mouth wide open, revealing sharp, brown rotted teeth covered in fresh red blood.

  Renn looked back to see Adam cover Frank’s wound with his hand.

  Frank cringed in pain and grabbed at Adam’s shirt.

  “I’m right here, Buddy. I’m not going anywhere,” Adam said, until Frank stopped struggling and rested his head against Adam’s knee. Adam gasped for air, as if the wind had been kicked out of him. He looked up at Renn, then grabbed his son’s arm. “Your hands are your weapon. If anything but a human comes near you, you fire and you shoot to kill…”

  “But dad…”

  “Listen to me!” Adam yelled. “If something happens to me, you need to make contact with a Federation ship called the Quintessence. Do you understand?”

  “The Quintessence. I got it,” Renn replied, unable to suppress tears after listening to his father prepare for his own death.

  Adam took Frank’s gun while the agent yelled, “Let’s go!”

  Renn glanced back at Frank’s body while they ran, feeling like he was going to be sick. Adam pulled him along and they soon broke out into a run. Escalated screeching could be heard behind them as the sound of hard bone being dragged filled the halls.

  They turned around when an Aranea came careening around the corner, running straight for them. The black arachnid lifted its bony tail into the air to increase its speed and screeched when it spotted Renn.

  Adam and the agent opened fire, while more arachnids joined the hunt.

  Renn backed up until he felt heavy breathing behind him. He turned around, finding himself staring into the black eyes of a lone Aranea. It was close enough to bite him, but instead it just inhaled.

  The Aranea stepped back, lifted its long black head and gave an ear splitting screech.

  Renn raised his hands towards the Aranea and released bolts of lightning from his palms.

  The Aranea's screech turned from a war cry into a cry of agonizing pain. Renn watched in horror as the creature withered and contorted as it burned, making Renn gag from the smell of its burning flesh. The creature rolled onto its back, tucking its legs inwards and twitching until it was still. Renn looked down at his hands, understanding why Earth’s government had forbidden foreigners use of their powers. Like a dog tasting blood for the first time, he understood how easy it was to kill.

  He felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped before he turned to see it was his dad.

  “Renn, I need you to listen for thoughts,” Adam said. “The officers would have clustered by now. Where are the survivors?”

  Renn dreaded listening for those thoughts, but he closed his eyes and focused on the distant echoes.

  I’ve got to stop the bleeding…

  Where is he?

  Maybe they’ll leave if we get him off the planet…

  “This way,” Renn said, pointing down the corridor to their left.

  “Let’s go,” Adam said, grabbing Renn’s shoulder.

  They ran down more corridors until they found themselves once again in front of Frank’s office.

  “Where are they?” Adam whispered, looking around.

  “Hello?” Renn said quietly, hearing the human thoughts nearby.

  Three local cops stuck their heads out of doorways, looking at them in shock. One whipped out his wrist communicator. “I’ve got eyes on the boy. East door.”

  Renn felt a pang of relief until he heard the same cop think, If I just take him out now, they’ll leave. Renn’s hands illuminated brighter and he slowly turned towards the cop, staring him straight in the eyes.

  The cop’s face went blank and he shook his head, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry.”

  A few more cops came running and surrounded them while they made their way through the door with the streak of green blood.

  When they walked outside, they saw the dock and shuttle covered with Aranea and Eminites. Civilians had joined the fight as farmers came running with guns, in an attempt to protect their homes and land from invasion. Renn was grateful they were no longer in Camden and had yet to see a face he recognized, since losing Frank had been upsetting enough.

  The I.A. looked back at the officers who were taking steps backwards towards the station doorway. “They won’t leave until the boy’s gone. Let’s go!”

  The officers inched closer towards the shuttle, firing when they could get clear shots. The humans’ numbers were dwindling at a horrific pace and the Eminites were almost upon them. The last standing police fought back to back, with Renn standing alone in the middle.

  This is it, was the last thing Renn thought before he heard the sharp crack of lightning. When he turned around, he saw a beautiful brunette woman in a black and silver Federation suit, jump over them twenty feet in the air, and rush the enemy. She created a large wall of energy with her hands, pushing the Eminites and Aranea into the air. They fell in a heap of green scales and black flesh, and scrambled to regain their ground.

  Two large S-shaped blades ascended into the air, spiraling towards the enemy’s necks. The metal on the woman’s suit then shattered into dozens of pieces and hovered in the air, spinning into a dozen six-blade shurikens. Renn watched the blades zip towards the Eminites and Aranea. He at first thought she was missing her targets, when the blades did nothing more than cut off their ears. But the ears took the thought blockers with them. Renn’s eyes widened when he sensed her enter the minds of the Aranea and Eminites. Those without thought blockers turned and attacked their own kind, as the Mindeerian woman used the enemy to fight the enemy.

  Renn thought his mind was playing tricks on him when liquid silver descended in the air without frames. Dozens of soldiers ran through the portals before the silver ascended and vanished. They were of various species, the majority of which Renn didn't recognize, but they all followed the woman’s command. Men with wings flew overhead, firing arrows that appeared to burn their target upon contact. Renn watched in awe, as the Eminites became overwhelmed, despite outnumbering the soldiers four to one.

  Adam grabbed Renn's arm, pulling him sharply towards the ship.

  The enemy was pus
hed back enough, giving Adam, Renn, and the agent time to board the ship. Renn and Adam took seats, with their backs to the wall in the eight-man shuttle. The seats, detecting the weight of the occupants, ejected straps, automatically wrapping around their chests and thighs.

  Renn looked behind him, out of one of the many circular windows, where an Aranea caught sight of him and jumped onto the wing. It crawled towards Renn’s window and tried to bite through the glass as it screeched.

  A blue light crackled around it while a lightning blast seared the Aranea’s flesh, until it dropped to the ground, dead.

  The Mindeerian woman lowered her hand and made eye contact with Renn, then turned towards the others, slaughtering every enemy who crossed her path.

  As Renn’s shuttle pulled away, he asked, “Dad, who was that?”

  But Adam had no need to follow Renn's gaze to see which soldier he was referring to. “That? Oh, that was your mother,” he said.

  CHAPTER 5

  The Galileo

  Renn felt weightless as the ship flew out of Earth’s atmosphere. He floated up a couple of inches before the automatic straps pulled his thighs and chest back down to the seat.

  “Are we falling?” Renn asked.

  “No, Buddy. It’s just the loss of gravity,” Adam said.

  “I feel like I’m going to be sick,” Renn said.

  The pilot then initiated the gravity and Renn and Adam relaxed into their seats.

  “Better?” Adam asked.

  “Yeah.”

  Renn looked out the window and for the first time saw Earth as a whole, becoming further and further away until it blended with the many specks of light.

  Renn’s hands were still illuminated with a light blue glow and he rubbed his palms at the tingling sensation, while the ship accelerated.

  Adam took Renn’s hand and squeezed. “It’s over. Okay?”

  Renn looked at his dad, as if for the first time. “Dad, why was Mom there? A woman who has never once picked up a communicator to talk to me, even if only to acknowledge my existence? And where are we going? And why was Mindeere attacked? And…”

  “Renn…” Adam said

  “Dad! Why was Mom there?”

  “Agent Akerlund sent word that you were in danger and she came to make sure you got out,” Adam replied.

  Renn glanced at the agent, sitting shotgun to the pilot, then back to his father.

  “What happened to Mindeere?” Renn asked.

  “Mindeere was attacked by the Eminites, those creatures who just attacked Earth. There were still a lot of Mindeerians who got away, but the rest…”

  “Why Mindeerians?” Renn asked.

  “No one knows why yet, Son. Eminites don’t usually explain themselves. All we know is that you're no longer safe on Earth.”

  “So, I'm being hunted?”

  “Yes,” Adam replied, bluntly.

  “But I didn't do anything,” Renn said in disbelief.

  “I know. It isn’t you,” Adam said, struggling for an explanation. “Mindeerians have always been the species one goes to for help, but if you defend someone from someone else, then you’ve made an enemy out of the ‘someone else.’ Needless to say, Mindeerians have made a lot of enemies.” Adam shook his head. “Right now, we’re heading for a port junction where you will take a portal to a school called the Galileo.”

  “School?” Renn asked in shock. It was the most absurd thing he could think of right then. The idea of sitting at a desk and learning could not have been more ridiculous at that moment.

  “You wanted to go to school in space, didn’t you? Haven’t you been asking me for years?”

  “Well, yes, but not at gunpoint!” Renn replied.

  “I’m sorry, Renn. I don’t know what to tell you. The Galileo may be the safest place for you to be right now,” he said.

  “How do you know that?” Renn asked.

  “Most high schools in space are on space stations like the Xavier, orbiting a planet, but the Galileo is a ship, constantly flying. Every few days, it jumps through a portal to another galaxy, and Cybernex randomly chooses the destination, so no one ever knows the ship’s location. The crew doesn’t even know until they get there. The ship runs itself and is monitored by the Quintessence.”

  “You told me if something happens to you to get in touch with the Quintessence. Why?”

  “Because it’s your mom’s ship,” Adam replied.

  “Mom works on the Quintessence?”

  “No, the Quintessence belongs to your mother.”

  “Dad, you’ve never once answered a question about her. Why are you telling me now?”

  “Because we no longer have a choice,” Adam said, reluctantly. “As long as she made no contact with you, they were never supposed to find you. You would never have known who or where she was, so you wouldn’t have gone looking for her…”

  “They were never supposed to find me?” Renn said, shaking his head. “Dad, I’m not an idiot. I may not recognize an Eminite when I see one, but I know that Eminites come from Urland. If they’re not allowed to use portals, then they would have had to travel by ship, which means they’ve known where I was my entire life. They only just got here.”

  “We had no way of knowing that,” Adam replied. “I’m sorry.”

  Renn looked out the window, realizing he could no longer tell which bright spot was Earth.

  “What about my friends?” Renn asked. “I didn't get to say goodbye.”

  “You can send them an intergalactic message once you get to the ship,” Adam replied.

  “What about Max?”

  “Son, I'll take care of Max. Everything’s going to be okay,” Adam said, squeezing Renn’s hand again.

  “Will I ever be able to go home again?” Renn asked.

  “Yes, you will. I promise you that,” Adam said. “I’m not sure if it will be soon, but we’ll see.”

  “But...”

  “Renn, please. I know you have a lot of questions and I wish I had all the answers, but…all I know is that we've got to get you somewhere safe. Everything else can be fixed or arranged. We’ll figure it all out. Okay?”

  Renn nodded, then heard a computerized voice resonate through the ship’s cabin.

  “You are entering Port Junction CM-56. Please identify.”

  “This is 3-2-5 craft Gamma 9-1 requesting permission to dock,” the pilot said.

  After a couple seconds, the digitized voice returned. “Permission granted.”

  “Control, we're transporting an endangered species and are requesting security assistance.”

  “Please identify species,” the voice requested.

  “Mindeerian,” the pilot replied.

  “Assistance granted.”

  When they docked, they found a dozen armed, black security-bots waiting to escort them. The port junction was massive, with white walls and holograms at every turn, displaying advertisements of popular Federation brands. Signs pointed to various solar systems for convenience, while myriads of species walked, slithered, and hopped around. Some of the portals had travelers watching hologram presentations, warning them about the dangers they might encounter on the planet they were about to travel to.

  There were so many species he had only read about in books. The books, however, never mentioned the powerful smell that all these species could create. Renn wrinkled his nose, smelling rotting flesh, then fresh ocean water, then a wet dog that had rolled around in mud. The creatures were so close to each other that he couldn’t tell which smell was coming from which creature.

  There was a cacophony of honking, hissing, wheezing, and barking, with occasional spoken words he could have sworn were in English. They passed a family that was so small, the tallest only came to Renn’s waist. They were covered from head to toe in coarse, black fur, but the smallest one, not yet fully grown, turned to look at all the clanking Renn’s robotic escorts were making, and looked at him with large blue eyes that would be considered beautiful by most species’ standard
s.

  Renn followed his father and the agent around a corridor leading to the “M0 - R99” solar systems with the agent rushing them through. On walls, the Federation news was airing, broadcasting the news of the Mindeerian massacre. Renn could see everyone glancing at him, while he continued walking, and couldn’t help but overhear the thoughts when humans past him.

  Awww, the poor thing.

  At least he made it.

  Oh look, a Mindeerian, I wonder if he can read my mind. I better not think about…oops.

  The agent stopped at an info desk, where a female android animated as they approached.

  “Please identify,” the automaton requested, prompting Adam to place his hand on the screen before him. It scanned his hand, analyzing his DNA.

  A hologram screen appeared in front of them, displaying Adam’s personal identification information, which included a picture of him, his name, birth date, species, planet of origin, occupation as fisherman, and previous occupation as an intergalactic law enforcement agent.

  Agent Akerlund spoke to the android, his voice tinged with impatience. “We need to get this boy registered for intergalactic travel as soon as possible.”

  The android looked at the agent and smiled. “I'll be happy to assist you,” she replied, and then looked at Renn. “Please place your hand on the screen. This will only take a moment.”

  Renn placed his hand on the screen and the computer identified him as Renn Andreas, half human, half Mindeerian. Birth date: 06.12.5168, Parents: Adam Andreas, human, and Hollen, Mindeerian, Home Planet: Earth, Milky Way Galaxy.

  He stood there for a moment staring at his mother’s name. “Hollen,” he said under his breath, wanting to hear it spoken. He wondered if she was still in Searsmont and hoped she was still alive. There were too many questions he had for her, but at least another had been answered. My mother’s name is Hollen, he thought.

  “Oh, he's already registered,” the android said, looking puzzled.

  “That's not possible. I’ve never registered him,” Adam said.

  The screen blinked, bringing up another page displaying information about Renn’s middle school. It blinked again with more information about his elementary school. The screen flashed from page to page, with information about Renn, causing Adam’s face to turn white.