by Barlow,M
Mara heard his footsteps heading toward the bedroom. Nick opened the door and gasped at the sight of her.
“Josh, come here,” he yelled.
“Dude, you’re so weird.” Josh’s vote of confidence came from the living area.
He walked to the room and saw Mara. She didn’t have her gloves on, and her eyes glowed. Josh had to know she wasn’t human.
“I told you,” Nick said in a victorious tone. He was facing Mara until the sound of his roommate’s heavy body hitting the floor caught his attention. He turned around to see Josh on the floor, unconscious. “What a girl!”
Mara’s smile turned to a full-blown laugh. “You should talk.”
“At least I didn’t faint,” Nick said and bent over to lift his roommate’s unconscious body from the floor. “So heavy.”
“Again…”
He turned to Mara, his nostrils flaring. “If you’re not going to help—”
“Fine.”
Mara put aside the tablet. She hovered to Josh’s body, aimed her hand toward him, and raised it. His body floated in the air.
“Telekinesis?” Nick asked.
“We call them power waves.” She moved past him on her way to the next room. She put Josh on his bed and returned to Nick’s room.
“Thanks,” he said.
Mara looked at him for a while, saying nothing.
“What is it?”
“I have to go. The army is here.”
His jaw dropped.
She put on her gloves and picked up her cape.
“Based on the alien movies I’ve seen, they’ll dissect and torture you to learn everything they can—”
“Let me guess,” Mara said, smiling. “I won’t die, but I’ll be treated like a lab rat. After a few years, I’ll be praying for death. I know. I read a few plots.”
“You don’t have to do this. My family lives an hour north, and you can hide with them until the army leaves.”
“Don’t worry. I can handle myself.”
Nick hugged her before she could object. “I really want to see you again.”
“You will.” She hugged him back. “You do smell like beer.”
“Take care of yourself, Mara.”
Mara tried to say something, but couldn’t. She had a hard time letting people in and a harder time letting them go, but she had to meet the army outside the city. Mara stepped back, put her cape back on, and hovered out of the door.
“You finished the Jack Daniels, didn’t you?”
She smiled. “Yes, it was better than your cheap beer.”
His loud laugh followed her downstairs and into the street.
*****
Major John O’Donnell’s airship landed north of Reno with nine army airships that carried soldiers, engineers, and a negotiation team. Huge overkill based on what had happened in Australia, but the Secretary of Defense didn’t want to leave anything to chance.
John wouldn’t complain that they gave him too many soldiers. Besides, he might need it, if the aliens refused to go with him. His plan was to find the aliens, lure them away from the city, and lay their options for them.
The location was perfect. Reno was small which would make his job easier. Less people to control, and a smaller area to sweep. The desert surrounded the city and provided the army with abundant space to maneuver. Timing was good, too. On a Saturday morning, the streets of the city were empty, and so was the university campus. He had an hour or two before it became busy.
John exited the airship and marched to a makeshift command center. Engineers set up their equipment to measure the energy disturbances in the area and isolate the energy signature of the aliens and their ship.
“Did you locate the ship?” John asked.
The lead engineer opened a sturdy case and connected a few cables to the computer inside. “We have an estimate, but we can’t pinpoint the exact location.” His computer started, and he examined the data on the screen. “There is an alien near the university and moving north, fast.”
“We’re ready, Major,” the voice came from behind him. He swung around to see Eric, the negotiation officer.
“Good,” John said. “No weapons, no communication devices, no sudden moves, and no loud voices. Whatever you do, show no sign of aggression, even if they test you, and they will.”
“You got it.”
John activated his radio to broadcast a message on the general channel. “All units, sit tight and wait for my orders.”
His phone rang. It was the Secretary of Defense himself. Jack tried to keep his composure in front of his men. “Mr. Secretary.”
“Major, do you have everything you need?”
“Yes, Mr. Secretary.”
“Have you located the aliens?”
“We have a rough location of the spaceship and one alien.”
“I don’t have to remind you. We need it alive.”
“I understand, Mr. Secretary.”
“Good luck!”
“Thank you, Mr. Secretary.”
This operation was the biggest assignment of John’s career. The Secretary of Defense himself had spoken to him twice in one day, and he was ecstatic the man chose him to lead the operation. Still, the annoying voice in the back of his head screamed that they were doing this the hard way. Two unarmed Australian agents convinced the alien to accompany them without incident. And they mobilized a small army for the same mission.
*****
Mara made her way through the army airships on the ground and into the temporary command area where the Commander of the army stood with his men. He’d instructed them to hold and wait for his orders.
She snuck up behind him. “Hello!”
The Commander jumped. She startled him. Mara hoped he recognized the alien he had come here to capture. He would if he didn’t stare at her chest.
She raised her hand and pointed to her face. “I’m Mara.”
“How did…” He didn’t finish his sentence. Instead, he gathered his composure and looked up at her face. He extended his hand. “Major John O’Donnell. Thank you for coming, Mara!”
The handshake was a friendly sign, she thought. She returned the favor and shook his hand. “How can I help you?”
Before John answered her question, a man came from behind him and invited himself to the conversation. “We were hoping you’d come with us.”
Mara examined his cold features for a moment. “Who are you?”
“We represent the US military,” the man said, “and we are here to escort you to our base.”
“No, who are you?”
“I’m a mediator between you and the army.”
Escort. Mediator. He said the words, but Mara could tell he meant the opposite. She pointed to the army behind him and smiled. “All these soldiers, are they here to help you find the right words?”
To his credit, he stayed calm, detached even. “It’s just a precaution because we don’t know who or what we’re dealing with.”
Mara smiled coldly. “Sure you do. You know about Shara, don’t you?”
“We have an army base nearby,” the Commander said, “and we would like you to come with us.”
“Where is it?”
“Arizona.”
Mara didn’t want to go to Arizona. The ship she was after was in Nevada. She shook her head.
“If you mean well, why won’t you come with us?” The sticky officer asked.
She ignored him and spoke to John, the Commander of the force. “I’m sorry you traveled all the way here, but I’ve decided to go with the intelligence agents. They’ll take me to where I need to be.”
“Give me a second. I need to check with the Secretary of Defense,” John said and picked up his phone to speak to someone.
The mediator stepped forward, inserting himself in the conversation, again uninvited. “I’m afraid—”
Mara ignored him, hoping he would take a hint. “Farewell, Commander!”
She hovered away from the command center and
headed east toward her ship. It was two hundred meters away.
“Mara,” the Commander said, “I received my orders. You have to come with us.”
She continued to hover away and deactivated the cloaking device. The ship appeared in the distance. “You have a death wish, Major?”
“Occupational hazard,” the Commander said, his voice barely audible.
Her ship was less than a hundred meters away.
“Stop, or we will use force!”
Mara stopped, spun around, and hovered in his direction until she reached the command center. Her eyes glowed and lit up the area. She looked like an angry demon which was the look she was going for. She wanted to scare him a little and scare his pushy officer a lot.
“Listen,” she said. “I’m going to my ship to wait for the agents who are on their way. I’m not here to wage war, but make no mistake, Commander. If you open fire, I will rain doom on you and your men and tear through your airships in minutes.”
The Commander planted his feet in the ground and his chest became wider. He stood his ground. “I’m sorry, but my orders—”
“We’re done here,” Mara said and hovered away.
A bullet hit her leg and bounced off the armor. She ignored it. Another hit her shoulder, and another hit her back.
Mara turned around, raised her arm, and pushed her hand forward in one swift motion. The power wave sent the Commander’s body flying in the air until he slammed against the wall of his airship with a loud bang. John lay on the ground next to the airship, groaning in pain.
His men dragged him inside, closed the ship door, and took off. The rest of the airships followed. They formed a multi-level, spear-like, offensive formation. And they fired their weapons.
Mara rocketed into the air. She jumped, avoiding their missiles, bullets, and lasers, before she activated her shield.
The gunfire, missiles, and bombs chased her and exploded everywhere around her. Their weapons exploded against her shield, but couldn’t penetrate it. The smoke and sand filled the air and reduced vision.
She made her eyes bright to see through the haze. The firepower and the loud explosions agitated her core. Mara mastered controlling her core, but after what had happened to her world, she couldn’t. Energy burst in her core, rushed to her limbs, and launched as a wave of power that struck the first ship in the formation. The ship spiraled and crash-landed.
Remorse flooded her body. Mara lowered her hands and tried to contain her anger. Her mother had warned her against causing trouble. This world needed their help, and they needed all the help this world could give them. For a while, it worked. Mara descended to the ground and hovered toward the fallen ship to help them.
The rest of the ships attacked again. This time, it was brutal. They fired heavy rounds, larger missiles, and laser beams. The attack overwhelmed her shield. Mara jumped between random points in space, but they were vicious. She increased the intensity of her shield and pulled a small gun and fired a wave of green energy after another. She targeted the drives under the ships. One by one, the ships fell like fat insects that had lost their wings.
The fire stopped. Her core became calm. Her limbs relaxed, and her eyes dimmed. The battle was over. Mara landed and scanned the damaged ships. Some soldiers were hurt, but no one died. She glided toward her ship and hovered on the ground underneath it. The intelligence agents would arrive any minute now.
A team of agents arrived to the battlefield a few minutes later. They exited their cars and rushed to the damaged airships on the ground. They helped soldiers evacuate the wrecked ships for a while before the Commander pointed them in her direction.
“Where are you?” The leader of the team, Malik Jefferson, asked. “I know you didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
I like your name. Mara pushed her voice into his head.
“She is talking to me. Put your weapons on the floor,” Malik whispered to his men, but she heard him. Malik looked around for the source of the voice, but he couldn’t locate her. He placed his weapon on the ground.
“She?” Another agent, next to him, asked.
“Her voice sounded feminine,” Malik said.
“You need a date.”
“I’m married, James.”
“Still.”
“I have two kids, man.”
“Then you need a babysitter and a hotel room.”
“Nuh, man. My wife will find out,” Malik said, laughing, and continued searching for her. “Where are you?”
Mara traveled to his location until she was in front of him. He was tall, and his skin was dark, a lot darker than the rest of the team. Mara examined him for a while.
“It’s not too late to get a divorce,” James said when he saw Mara.
“I like brunettes.”
Mara was amused. Their demeanor and attitude was different than the soldiers’. But they weren’t the only ones with a sense of humor. She channeled her core’s energy to lift their bodies in the air.
“Stay calm, she is upset,” Malik whispered.
“You’re not with the army?” Mara asked.
“No, I’m with the CIA and James is with the NSA.”
“Am I that important?”
“Yes.”
Mara circled them. “So, you are spies?”
“Yes.”
“Are you any good?”
Malik exchanged looks with James for a moment before he spoke to Mara. “Depends who you ask.”
Mara lowered their bodies until they landed on their feet. She circled them as they recovered. “What do you want?”
“We have an alien ship, and we’re hoping you can inspect it and tell us where it came from.”
She hovered to Malik. “Where is your base?”
“Half hour flight from here.”
“I’m taking my ship.”
“Do you need coordinates?”
She smiled. “You’re coming with me.”
James nudged Malik’s shoulder with his elbow.
“Can James come too?”
Mara chuckled as she landed the ship. “Yes, James can come too.” She glanced at the damaged ships on the ground, and her eyes dimmed. “Did you send for help?”
“Yes, they’re on the way.”
The door opened, and they entered the ship. Mara set the navigation according to Malik’s directions and relaxed in her seat. They were going to Area 51.
*****
Nick walked into a convenience store in the afternoon to buy a case of Corona. He always ran out in the weirdest times, and this was a nerve-wracking day after Mara left this morning. He picked up the beer and waited in line to pay.
“Huge explosions rocked the Biggest Little City in the world. Our reporter Megan Roberts is in Reno with more details.” The voice came from the suspended TV above the counter.
The scene changed to show the news correspondent from north Reno. She spoke to a student in front of an apartment building. “Katy, can you please tell our viewers what you saw this morning?” She asked the hyper student.
“Well, I was going out for breakfast when I saw and heard the explosions. There were army airships—like ten—and they were fighting something. I didn’t see what it was, but it destroyed the airships in like minutes, and then it was quiet.”
“I didn’t feel anything,” a customer waiting in line said.
Nick handed his card to the cashier and looked up at the TV again.
The anchor continued. “Who was the mysterious adversary? Why was the army after them? And why is our government silent? Is this another cover-up? So many questions and no good answers. In fact, no answers…”.
“It’s aliens,” the gas station clerk said.
Nick frowned. He never believed aliens existed outside Hollywood. He thought the concept was ludicrous. If they were around, how come they didn’t contact Earth. If they existed and didn’t contact us, they had to be millions of light years away. They wouldn’t land on Earth, not in his lifetime.
Th
en he met Mara.
Thinking about aliens growing up was fun, and befriending an alien was every kid’s dream, especially if the alien had superpowers. Then he befriended Mara. A part of him wished he’d never met her. She left, he missed her, and there was nothing he could do about it.
*****
Noah
December 21, 2030
The high-ranking Commander strode through the hallway of the large military complex. His assistant almost ran to keep up with his wide strides. Ever since their trusted source in Australia reported an alien had landed and ASIO held her in Canberra, it became his job to extract her. A mission, though near impossible, was a necessity. His specialty. He devised an efficient plan, and now he had to execute it.
The latest reports he had received suggested there could be two more potential aliens—one in the United States and another in Egypt. He had to act fast, or they would miss out on a piece of the green cake.
In a perfect world, they wouldn’t have to fight over who gets custody of the aliens, but Australians would never grant them access. Back to the real world because in a perfect world, he would be out of a job. The different ideologies, the tense diplomatic relationships, and the political conflict between their allies made cooperation nothing but an elusive dream.
“How long before the extraction team is ready?”
His assistant cleared her voice and checked her tablet. “Half an hour.”
“I need to talk to them. Australians are not wasting time. They’re mobilizing heavy army reinforcements to Canberra as we speak.”
“Will the exit strategy work?”
“For now,” the Commander said. “But things can change. We’re taking on the Australians and dealing with an alien lifeform that we know nothing about.”
“How powerful could the alien be? Two agents captured her.”
The Commander laughed. His laugh was tense and cut. “Immensely powerful, considering how she traveled through space to get here. We can’t afford to underestimate her.”
“And now I think we should’ve sent an army.”
“Overkill. A nimble infiltration team of special forces is our best option. The team size is big enough to get the job done while minimizing the chances of them getting detected.”
She nodded.
The Commander reached his office. He opened the door and walked inside. “Look, they’re thirty of our best extraction experts with surprise and our man in Canberra on their side. All they have to do is retrieve one alien.”
