I almost didn’t blame the Deltra for what they’d attempted. It was a smart plan, after all. Convincing the Kraski to come to Earth, knowing that the device that would save them was hidden away. I wondered how many of them had perished trying to find Earth and escape the clutches of the Kraski before giving up and lying docile for centuries, waiting for the perfect moment. I also thought of Janine’s big heart. She was probably convinced to help the Deltra. I knew she wouldn’t be able to ignore an injustice to a race like that. I also doubted they’d told her the whole plan about killing off the human race.
I found nothing I could realistically use in there, so I continued down the hall. I approached one of the doors and the components hissed as the door slid to the side, opening quickly. The lights came on softly as I stepped into the room. I smiled as I saw the suits hanging in what could only be called a locker room. There was unintelligible script above each of the three suits; their names, I figured. I checked the cubbies and found what appeared to be a winch-style rope, made of a linked metal. The links were tiny and heavily interwoven together. I tugged at it and wondered how much weight it could handle. There were also hand-held thrusters, and ones you strapped to yourself. Most likely this was all for space walks, for repairs, or for getting to other vessels.
I moved on to the main cargo room we’d entered in. Carey followed beside me and barked when he saw my pack sitting there. I rummaged through it and found some food tucked away, apples and granola bars. My stomach almost ached as much from worry and stress as from hunger at this point. Ripping open a bar wrapper, I told Carey to sit and gave him a piece off it, checking first that there was no chocolate in the ingredients. I thought about his owner, Susan, and wondered what she’d think of her little buddy trekking around trying to save the Earth. I took a bite and gave him another piece.
A couple of water bottles sat there, and I opened one. With nothing else to pour it in, I took a deep drink and let him drink from the bottle top. Dog germs were the least of my concern. We sat there, my back against the shiny metal wall, him right beside me. I gave him some much needed attention and just talked to him for a bit. I knew if this ever ended and we succeeded, that it was going to be hard for me to give Carey back to Susan. But I would. At least I could see him all the time; I did live next door to them.
Would I really stay there, though? After all of this – the house I lived in with Janine? I doubted it. A fresh start would do me good. And then there was Mary. Maybe there was a future there.
Thinking of her, I realized they must be starving too.
“Come on, buddy,” I said as I got to my feet, “let’s go share our plunder.” He followed me, happily wagging his tail.
“I found some Kraski space suits down there. There are a few weapons, and some lanyards and rope for safety. Never go on a space walk without one. How’s progress?” I asked.
Magnus was walking around the room and accepted a granola bar that I handed to him.
“We’re going along quite fast. I’m using the hyperdrive, or whatever you want to call it, for periods of thirty seconds now. Our scanners seem to be aware of any space debris at a range of twenty thousand miles, so as long as I have my hands on the controls, I have enough time to react. So far, I’ve only had to stop and move around some floating rock twice. At thirty seconds, with full speed, we’re travelling fifty thousand miles.” Mary took the water bottle I handed out and took a deep drink.
I did the math in my head. “From what I know from school, we’re almost one hundred million miles from the sun. At that speed, we should be there in seventeen hours.”
Magnus piped up. “If the sensors are telling us of danger ahead, can’t we just stop skipping and keep going at full hyperdrive?”
Mary took a moment with this. “Nat, what do you think?”
A voice spoke back from the ship following behind us. “Da, that should be safe. I think we’ll actually go faster that way too. The ship appears to hit maximum performance at around twenty seconds, and we’re only doing top speed for ten each hop.”
I thought about this and the math gave me hope we might reach them in time. “If that’s true, we’ll most likely be there two-thirds faster! We might be able to save them!”
“Let’s give it a try. I’m not sure if I have seven hours left in me with no sleep. I honestly don’t know the last time I closed my eyes for more than a second,” Mary said.
We were all feeling the events of the past week on us, and the severe lack of sleep wasn’t helping the pressure we were under. Magnus sat down beside Mary and watched what she was doing closely.
“I can fly this thing, I think. Just tell me everything. I’ve pretty much driven any kind of vehicle out there. Nat did all the flying when we needed it, though. Isn’t that right, my little Russian princess?”
Laughter came through the speakers. “There was that one time you took over the helicopter, remember? I’d been shot through the glass and was bleeding all over the seats. You told me to be careful because it was a rental.”
I didn’t know what had changed in Natalia to make her talk, but I was glad for it. Her past had obviously caused her a lot of trauma and pain, but I was glad she was with us, even if it was in another ship. I could also tell Magnus thought of her as more than his little sister, judging by the way his eyes lit up every time she spoke. He was laughing now at their little shared memory, and I thought I saw a tear roll down his cheek before he wiped it away.
“Okay, Mary. Teach me everything I need to know so you two can go get some rest before whatever it is we’re heading into.”
TWENTY-FIVE
The bunks were long and narrow, to accommodate the Kraskis’ bodies. What I really needed was some sleep, but lying in the small room with Mary on the bed a few feet away made me realize I probably needed a shower just as badly.
Carey was on the floor beside me on his side, snoring away lightly. Mary’s eyes were closed, but I didn’t think she was out yet. “Do you think they knew about the Kraskis’ plan to kill everyone?” she asked, eyes still closed.
“Janine and Bob were born out of test tubes and brainwashed by the Kraski to do their bidding. I think all they knew was there was a device on Earth that would stop their parents, or whatever they thought of them as, from coming and finding a safe home to live. Even if they knew that humans were going to be destroyed, could you really blame them anyway?”
She opened her eyes and looked across the small room at me. “I don’t think so, but it’s just hard to think of Bob without being angry, and a little sad for him at the same time.”
“I know what you mean. Janine had evidently changed sides and worked with the Deltra. I like to think she had a soft spot and that they swayed her with stories of Kraski killing whole species and invading other worlds. It also makes me wonder what would have happened if she hadn’t turned, if she hadn’t met me, if she’d gone on that first date all those years ago in the Boathouse with that Army guy. Would the Kraski be on Earth right now? Would the Deltra? It almost gives me hope that we’ve twisted destiny and that everything will somehow all work out because of it.”
“It’s impossible to know. For all we know, her choosing you has set us on a path to the destruction of the human race. Maybe the other man would have foiled the whole plan and stopped them from coming in the first place.” She said this with a straight face, and for a moment, I didn’t know if she was playing or being serious, until she gave me an ear-to-ear grin. “You know there’s no way some guy could have stopped them from beaming everyone up, right?”
“Yes, I know. I just think I’m glad that I’m out here and not in a massive storage container heading to the sun. Then again, we have no idea if we’ll get there in time, or how to stop them from burning up if we do.” Carey was snoring heavily now, and his breaths were lulling my eyes closed. I don’t know if Mary was falling asleep, because in moments, I had drifted off.
I woke some time later with Carey up on the bed beside me, snuggled up close t
o my chest. Feeling much more rested, I swung my legs off the bed and noticed Magnus had replaced Mary on the other bunk. I quietly walked out and left Carey snoozing away with the big Swede. The door hissed lightly as it slid back closed. The hall lights flicked on when they sensed movement, and soon I was at the bridge.
“Mary, I hope you got enough sleep. How are we doing?” I asked her as she looked intently at the monitors.
“It’s been about six hours. I woke after four and tagged Magnus out. I’m glad you got to sleep for a while. It was needed and well deserved, Dean,” she said.
“How do you feel?”
“Not great, but alert enough. We’ve only had a couple times we needed to stop. I can’t believe this technology exists. This can change everything. We could get across the solar system in days. I mean, humans could travel to other systems! And we know that we aren’t alone out there now.”
“For a CPA from upstate New York, I can’t imagine being out here in the great expanse. That said, I always believed we weren’t alone. All the movies were right, though; the aliens wanted to destroy us. Is Natalia still live with us?” I could see her smaller ship as a green blip behind us.
“Da, hello, Dean,” Natalia said through the speaker.
“I’m sorry you’re all alone over there. You must be exhausted,” I said, knowing she was tough, but we all had our limits.
“I’m running on low, but I’ll be okay. I actually prefer to be alone most of the time.” Her voice was more than tired-sounding.
The sun was growing in size in the viewscreen, and I could tell the heat was drastically increasing, but the ships seemed to have automatic temperature control. Cool air emanated from multiple sources on the ship.
Stars streamed quickly by on the screen, but the massive glowing orange ball of gases stayed steady, slowly getting larger as we moved toward it. I assumed that at any point we would come across our people. With any luck, they were still here, and still alive.
“From what I understand, there’s an awful lot of radiation as we near the sun. Does this thing have any gauges on the danger?” I asked, worried we would get close and die of poisoning.
Mary touched her head where the implant had been. “Yes, according to the information we were fed on the ships, all of the ships are built to withstand almost any amount of radiation. The suits in the cargo bay as well. Seems they had some serious problems in other systems and found ways of protecting themselves.”
“Thank God. One less thing to worry about… as if we don’t have enough,” I replied, actually happy to hear I wasn’t going to die a horrible death by an invisible ray.
The ship’s sensors beeped, and Mary hopped out of hyperdrive instantly. Natalia appeared behind us on the screen. Something red came into view on the screen and we stayed back, trying to figure out what it was.
“Go get Magnus, Dean,” Mary said. I quickly ran back and woke the large, slumbering man.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
“Not sure. Something’s registering on the sensors. We’re only about ten million miles from the sun now. It could be them,” I said as we rushed back to the cockpit.
“What are we looking at, Mary?” Magnus asked, rubbing his eyes.
“Take a look for yourself,” Mary said quietly. I looked up and squinted at it. The view screen had an auto-tint to protect us from the sun’s burning glow. Sitting in the middle of our view was a large rectangular box, like the ones that had lowered into Earth’s atmosphere. It looked much like the Kraskis’ mother ship, but less square and much smaller, though still quite large if my depth perception was making any sense out here.
“Is there just one? The image the Deltra showed us had at least a hundred of them out there.” My voice came out gravelly, and I took a mostly dry swallow.
“That’s all the sensors show. Nat, what do you think? Any chance this is a trap?” Magnus asked.
“I don’t think so. Want me to go in for a closer look?” she replied, full of confidence.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, but what choice do we have?” Mary said. “Let’s move in. I wish we knew if there was a way to scan for life signs, but there’s no instruction manual. And let’s face it, if there was, we wouldn’t be able to read it.”
My heart raced as I thought of the people that might be in that container. Would they have oxygen? Could we save them somehow and still make it to the others and stop them too? People could survive up to a week without water, Mary had told me. We were there now. Most would perish well before that.
“How the hell are we even going to find out if they’re in there?” Magnus asked.
“I have an idea. We’re going to have to get close. Really close.” I had no clue if my idea would work, but I didn’t really see any other options. I ran to the locker room and picked the smallest suit. I truly hoped the air levels would be suitable for humans, or else this would be a short trip. I started to pull it on, and Magnus walked in.
“Not the worst idea I’ve ever heard… and I once walked through a minefield wearing nothing but my boots,” he said with a smile.
“I’m going to coax that story out of you over a beer, but for now, suit up.”
“This thing is loose even on me. And you look like a little kid putting on daddy’s pants. Imagine the looks we’ll get if this plan works. We look ridiculous. Come to think of it, I’d better use the bathroom, or whatever that strange room is over there.”
“I’ve used it. No way to flush,” I said.
I scooped up the metallic rope rolls and attached one side of the first roll to my suit’s belt. The suit was surprisingly light, nothing at all like the space suits from our Apollo missions on the moon, from what I remembered from the old documentaries about them. Magnus came back in and I hooked his rope to the suit and passed him the helmet.
“I’ll try it first.” I put the dome over my head and it clicked in, mechanical clasps auto-connecting it to the suit. The helmet was dark, but a clear square appeared in front of my face, giving me crystal-clear vision out of it. It had a small grid layout in light green lines. I looked at Magnus, laughing at the sight. Here was the massive man in a silver alien space suit, sleeves bunched up so his hands would fit into the gloves of the long arms. As I put my own hands into the gloves, I realized there was only room for four digits in there. Luckily, their hands were larger, and my two middle fingers easily fit into one space.
“Nothing more of a reminder that we’re in an alien’s suit than a four-digit glove, hey?” I said, my voice cutting out in the small helmet.
“You got it. I can hear you in the helmet, so I guess we’ll be able to communicate, at least. Good thing these guys weren’t telekinetic or something, I only know a bit of sign language.” From the smirk he gave me, I had the feeling he just knew the dirty words. “Do you really think this can work?” he asked.
I didn’t know, but we had to try, and it was the only thing I could think of that gave us a shot at saving everyone. I decided to be the positive one and told him I did think it would work. He clapped me on the shoulder, and we grabbed the handheld thrusters and strapped them to our wrists. Soon we walked to the cargo bay we’d first entered the ship in.
Mary stood there watching us. Her face had never looked more serious.
“I see the air is breathable?” she asked and I nodded. “Good. I’m twenty feet over the container. I’m going to move in closer to land on it. You know what to do then. I’ll yell at you when you’re good to go.”
Magnus grabbed his metal-linked rope and clasped the other end to a firm-looking anchor point in the bay. There were three, side by side, and they had to be made for this purpose… I hoped. I clasped in beside him and pulled on it a few times to make sure it was secure.
I knew Mary was worried and had every right to be. I was petrified, but at the same time, relieved to finally be nearing the end, one way or another. Taking her hands in my alien space suit gloves, I looked her in the eye. “We’ll be back shortly. Hopefu
lly, we’ll have good news.” I found the helmet’s release, and it hissed open. Cradling it under my arm, I leaned in and kissed her deeply. My inevitable bad breath, and any other thoughts, pushed down below and I opened myself up to just being with her for a moment. She kissed me back, not with a fervent passion, but with a soft, caring effort that left my knees weak and my heart pounding. I almost didn’t hear Magnus clear his throat, and I’m sure I turned a little red as Mary leaned back and smiled at me. “Just come back to me,” she said, and turned to walk to the cockpit.
“Well, well, well. Looks like we have ourselves an old-fashioned love connection.” Magnus grinned ear to ear in his helmet. I donned mine once again and walked to the center of the room. We’d moved our pinned buttons to the outside of the suits, mounting them on a loose pocket on the breast. For good measure, we also each strapped one of the Kraskis’ powerful guns to our backs. We didn’t know what would be waiting for us out there.
My heart pounded and a bead of sweat ran down my back as I waited for the word from Mary. I was about to willingly alter my matter to get to the container. The idea that I might materialize half in the container, or that the rope wouldn’t come with me and I would float out there forever, crossed my mind as she called to us, telling us it was time.
Magnus, looking as calm as ever, pushed his button and was enveloped in a green light. Following suit, we both glowed as we used a rail above us to push down gently. I didn’t feel my legs moving through the ship wall, but soon I was neck deep in ship and after a quick eye closing and opening, I was out in space. Then, just as quickly, I was entering the huge black container, rope still firmly in place. We entered into a small room with dim lights on each wall. It took a few moments for my eyes to adjust – then I saw the bodies.
The Event Page 18
