him the same thing or because neither of you want to share?”
I shake my head. “I thought you shared everything in cloud city.”
“I don’t agree with all of the Commander’s policies. I thought we should have forced you to tell
us the truth. I mean, you might have endangered our very existence as a species, the station, your own child. Don’t we all deserve to know why?”
I go up to him and shove him. “All right, Joshua. You want to know why? I’ll show you. Your
commander already knew why long before he ever spoke with me and he didn’t bother to share it with
you.”
I whistle and the receptor flies out of my pocket and into my right hand. Without pausing for a
split second, I create a transparent sphere of blue energy that stays suspended in the space between
Joshua and me. Then I shake my hand and the energy turns into a long beam. I direct it at the punching bag and it explodes into a million tiny pieces.
“I pack quite a punch, don’t you think?” I say as the tiny remains of what used to be a punching
bag fall to the ground softly all around us. “I don’t kill with punches or kicks or even guns. I kill with all that I am, my heartbeat, my lungs, my blood, the electricity in my brain.”
Joshua looks at me stunned. He quickly tries to recompose himself.
“This is alien technology,” he says. “Genetically encoded. You shouldn’t be able to use it.”
“Hallelujah, I’ve been saying this all along.”
“I’m confused. How is this possible?” he says.
“It’s simple, Joshua. They don’t want me because of something I’ve done. They want me
because of who I am.”
“But now it makes no sense at all,” he says working it out in his head. “Why wouldn’t they just
kill you? You pose such a threat to them.”
Smart people are so annoying. They can so easily corner me with logic.
“Who knows how the alien mind works?” I say bluffing.
“When you lie, you never make eye contact,” Joshua states.
I’ve tried to tell Finn I don’t know how to lie. He always catches me himself and, yet, he
constantly asks me to lie to these people. It’s become pointless and exhausting.
“The reason I can hold the receptor is because I have so much of their DNA, but the reason I
have so much of their DNA is not to hold the receptor,” I say not trying to sound so much like a
riddle.
“Then why?” Joshua asks nervously.
“They want me to carry their embryos for them.”
Joshua goes pale. It’s as if my final punch today landed squarely on his chin. His hands start
shaking. He grabs them to hide his nerves.
“You are the answer to all their problems,” he says. “You are the reason they made the
plantations.”
“More or less,” I say.
“You know this information is of utmost importance on Exodus L21.”
“This information would have caused a panic,” I say. “That’s why your commander keeps it
from all of you.”
“They can’t take you,” he says forcefully.
“I wouldn’t like that either,” I say jokingly.
“This is not funny. When they have you, the plantations will no longer be priority. Exodus L21
will no longer be safe.”
I pick up a bottle of water and take a few sips.
“Time is running out,” he says. “If they take you, it will be the first step to the end. They will
blow up Exodus and they will kill all the mutants you speak of and the most terrible part will be your offspring which will help them breed an alien army. Each and every one of that army will be stronger
than you.”
“What do you suggest I do? Kill myself?”
“Well, that would buy us some time at least,” Joshua says.
“Tell me how you really think?” I say trying again to make a joke, but Joshua’s no fun.
“But I don’t think you should kill yourself,” he says.
“Gee, thanks.”
“Nor should you stay hidden for the rest of your life and pretend you’re dead,” he says. “If they
made one of you, they will eventually make another.”
I haven’t thought of that. The last thing I expected from him right now was that he would make
me feel better about my cursed existence.
“No,” he says. “You are an opportunity that won’t come around again.”
“Thanks, I think,” I say. “For a cold-hearted realist, you’re not so bad.”
“I do my best.”
I can’t help but laugh.
“These are humorous times for you?” he asks.
“No. I just realized you’re the first guy who talks to me as if I’m a normal person who can
handle the truth. Not somebody that needs to be protected, scolded or manipulated. Never mind,
they’re my own issues.”
Joshua smiles even though he may have just learned the world is ending. I share his smile and
that’s how Zoe finds us.
“Hey, Zoe,” I say.
“Hey, guys,” Zoe says. She turns to me. “I thought you might need some company. You seemed
pretty upset earlier.”
“I feel better now,” I tell her. “I just blew up a punching bag for Joshua.”
Zoe walks over to the ring and surveys the scattered remains of the bag that lie in a perfect
circle on the ground. “You told him?” she says.
“No more secrets,” I say.
“Well, what do you think, Joshua?” she says.
The amused expression hasn’t left his face since we first started laughing. “I agreed that Freya
should kill herself and put an end to all this misery,” he says with a grin. “She found that rude, I
believe.”
“I’m surprised you’re still standing,” Zoe teases him. “Many rude Sliman have not fared so well
with her.”
I see an opportunity to set Zoe up. “Joshua, if you don’t mind, I’ll have Zoe tell you more about
all this. She is more than a pretty face. She’s the smartest strategist I know next to Finn.”
Zoe does her best to hide her excitement and her gratefulness. “Yeah, I’d be happy to,” she says.
“Enjoy,” I whisper as I pass Zoe on my way out.
*
THEO MESSES AROUND with the settings on the communication device we will use to send
out a message to the aliens in Plantation-8. He’s been toying with it for almost two hours and he’s
still not certain he got it right. The main issue being we need to make sure the signal is untraceable.
It’s not like him to second-guess his skills but protecting the underground rebel base is of primary
importance.
The Lab is quiet despite the fact that there are more than twenty people in here. I credit their
presence to boredom since there’s not much to do, especially among the Exodus L21 fighters. Still, it
amazes me that they’d rather stay here, quiet and still, instead of, well, anything really.
I move away to the farthest corner of the room. I sit right behind a counter displaying vials and
tubes of different colors and take out my touchpad.
I search through the image database until I find a picture that I uploaded of Tobi in his crib. He
has a big smile on his face. He’s happy. I have to preserve that happiness for him. Maybe life can be
beautiful and peaceful some day if I do my part now.
I wipe the tears from my eyes and place my lips on the screen to kiss the image of my wonderful
baby boy who knows nothing of the world except that he is loved. Which is only fair because he h
as
asked for nothing else.
“It’s done,” Theo announces. “Freya, where did you go?”
I get up and put the touchpad away. “I’m here,” I say. “All ready to go?”
“Yes, it’s your turn now,” Theo says.
“What will you put in the message?” Finn says.
“It will be short and simple: I’m on Earth. Will go live tomorrow at 10:00 am. Make sure you’re
online.”
“That’s it?” Theo asks.
“That’s it. Send it.”
*
“WHAT IS GOING ON?” Gritu asks when I close the door. It’s no surprise that he and Malzod
would be freaked out once inside my room but I can’t think of a quieter place to have a chat and ask
them to do what I need them to do. Which they will not like one bit.
“It’s about what Zolkon said,” I start. “He knows how I can get the Dark Legion on my side. And
I can’t do it without your help.”
“The Dark Legion? Are you sure that’s what he said?” Gritu says. It doesn’t take a psychic to
see that he is beyond perplexed.
“What do you need us to do?” Malzod says.
“I need you to bring their leader to me,” I say.
Gritu and Malzod don’t react at first. They just stare at me and I fear that I have put them into a
state of shock.
“Kroll?” Gritu says finally.
“Yes.”
“You must be out of your mind,” Malzod says.
“It’s the only way,” I insist.
“Do you even know what Kroll is?” Gritu says. “He’s more than human, more than Sliman, more
than alien. He’s more like a natural force. Nobody can get near him if he doesn’t allow it.”
“And if you do get near him, you’re dead already if you try to do anything other than what is
expected,” Malzod adds.
“You are rebels,” I say. “Do you believe in our cause?”
“Yes, of course,” Gritu says. “But trying to abduct Kroll will fail and then backfire. It’s not a
viable option.”
“I know I’m asking for a lot, but I need this. We need this.”
The door opens and Damian waltzes in the room. “You are asking too much,” he says, “but when
has that ever stopped you?”
“Damian,” I say shocked to see him.
“These two would quickly have their heads pulled off by Kroll’s bare hands,” Damian says
angering Malzod. “Though he might die of laughter after such a feeble attempt.”
“You’ve been eavesdropping,” I say.
“I consider that your fault,” Damian says. “Secrets should be whispered.”
It would have been nice if when the aliens reprogrammed him, they had removed more of the
condescending jerk gene.
“And you’re the man for the job?” I ask.
Gritu goes red at my words. “You can’t possibly be considering this. He’s not ready, Freya.
Look at him, he’s so pleased with himself. He’s leading his own crusade and he doesn’t care about
consequences.”
I turn my gaze from Gritu back to Damian. “What is it that you think you can do?”
“Just have these two get me near Kroll and I will do the rest.”
“Have you ever seen Kroll? Or even heard of him?” Malzod asks Damian.
Damian steps up to Malzod. “A better question would be, has he heard of me? Because if he
had, he’d be scared shitless.”
“He’s obviously out of his mind,” Gritu says.
“You just get me close and I’ll get Kroll and you two will get to keep your heads, not that they
have been of much use to you.”
“This is absurd,” Gritu says.
I consider Gritu’s frustration. “This whole world’s absurd, Gritu.”
“Explain to them I would be saving their lives,” Damian says.
“I don’t know, Damian,” I say searching my heart and mind.
“What? You don’t trust me?” he says.
“Have you given me reason recently?”
Now he hesitates and searches his own heart and mind. “I am here, Freya. I will pay with my
life if I am wrong.”
“That’s very generous of you,” I say, “but I’m not so sure you value your life as much as I do.
Give me your word that I won’t regret this.”
“You have my word,” he says sincerely.
Gritu and Malzod shift their weight back-and-forth from one foot to the other, something they do
when they’re uncomfortable.
“I depend on you, Gritu,” I say. “You too, Malzod. Take him as far as you can without risking
yourselves. Damian will do the rest.”
Damian hits me with a smile I haven’t seen on his face in a long, long time. I immediately don’t
want to risk his life, but he needs this for some reason. I won’t deny him. Every minute he is away
will be torture. I always need to know he is alive and well because he has become a part of me.
“Remember, Damian,” I say. “We need Kroll alive.”
13
I try not to think about the fact that I haven’t heard from Damian. He’s been gone for fifteen
hours. I try to stay calm and trust in him. My life and the lives of thousands of others depend upon it.
It’s not like I have nothing to do. I have to go online and talk to the aliens on camera. A dreaded
prospect at best.
“Where do you want me to sit?” I ask Theo who has had enough time to work out all the
schematics.
“We will do this outside,” he says. “And you will have to use the receptor to shield our
position. Can you do that while talking?”
I nod. I’ve been testing my ability to scramble signals all morning. It’s an easy trick for me. I’m
more worried about my acting. It’s similar to lying and it’s well documented I’m a lousy liar.
“Excellent. Then we will be just fine,” Theo says.
I know what he’s trying to do. He wants to build my confidence. Our practice tapings have been
atrocious. I don’t have the heart to tell him that we are a long way from ever being fine, even if our broadcast goes well.
The fighters from Exodus L21 help us move all the equipment needed outside. Theo sets me
down on a rock and adjusts the camera position. He uses a filter to distort the image and that includes my face. He wants everything to be a bit on the blurry side.
Everybody gets behind Theo as he tries to establish a connection. The receptor in my hand has
cast an invisible protective shield around us that will keep detectors and sensors from locating us.
The signal comes through. Theo has set up a monitor just for me. It’s not a shock to see a
partially cloaked alien face come up on the screen. That much I expected. The shock comes from the
fact that he has a human girl right next to him. The girl can’t be over fifteen.
“Greetings, Freya,” the girl says. Her voice is melodic but lacks the intimacy of human speech.
“We are pleased that you decided to make contact.”
I can’t say anything. My brain freezes as if I had eaten a gallon of Biscuit’s ice cream in one
bite. I imagine a million possible explanations for this and none of them make sense.
“It probably didn’t cross your mind that you’d have to negotiate with a human but I am not
human,” the girl goes on. “I am more than that. I am what you are. I can wield the shuttering power of a sensory receptor. I can heal and I can destroy. I can help my generous masters thrive. We no longer
need you, Freya. But we prefer to have you returned to us. We are all one. This is
where you belong.”
Theo waves his hands at me desperately urging me to say something in response. They
scrambled my brain. I didn’t expect someone like her. I can’t find thoughts, let alone words.
The alien sends the girl off and turns his attention to me. Only his reddish eyes are visible from
within his gray hood.
“When should we expect you?” he says with a hoarse voice.
I make up my mind. Time is what I need. Time to get to Kroll and the Dark Legion. That’s the
only thing that’s of real interest to me. The girl, whether her words are true or not, does not matter.
She could be like me but she’s not me. She’s not free and she doesn’t have an army at her disposal.
“In six days,” I say. “That’s when I will meet you at Plantation-8. That’s when I will come to
you.”
“Six days? No. Too long,” he says.
“You can take it or leave it.”
“Two days,” he says.
“No. I have things to take care of before I leave the life I know. You must understand that.”
The alien leans into the camera. “Five days,” he says. “No longer or they all die.”
I nod reluctantly. The feed cuts off.
*
WAITING CAN BE TORTURE. It’s been two full days now since I sent Gritu, Malzod and
Damian off to Plantation-15 to get Kroll. The sands are slipping through the world’s hourglass.
They left on an armored Sliman vehicle. If all has gone according to plan, they should be back
today. Tomorrow at the latest. I can’t help but think that something has gone wrong. I worry that the
Sliman armor and cloak they put on Damian didn’t fool anyone. That he’s been captured again and
turned into a slave for the Dark Legion. Or maybe it’s worse than that. Maybe he surrendered
willingly. Maybe that’s why he wanted to go in the first place.
I’m losing my mind and I don’t have the patience to sit down or have a simple conversation. I
keep training or walking around the base avoiding human contact.
I fall to my back in the middle of the training ring and taste the sweat on my upper lip. I stare up
at the ceiling and don’t budge when I hear someone approaching. Gritu leans over and stares down at
me wondering if I am alive. I jump to my feet and let out a sigh of relief. He’s not injured in any way.
“You have to come with me,” he says. “Right away.”
[scifan] plantation - books one to three Page 40
