Chris Randolph - Stars Rain Down

“Hmmmm,” Donovan said. “I expected a little more on your first try. How about your message in a bottle?”

He pushed the holographic table out of the way and it splashed out of existence like waves breaking over rocks. Then he began sketching out her device in the air. As his fingers moved, a glimmering light trailed them and the object quickly took shape.

“Whoa,” she said again.

“Yeah, I said that too.”

“That’s all wrong,” she said after a moment, and floated up into the air. When she reached Donovan, she instinctively started pushing and pulling at the image, and it reacted like clay. Her hands raced around, adding flanges and control surfaces, and soon it closely resembled the model on her computer screen back in the lab.

“So, you see how this might be useful.”

“I’m beginning to.”

“There’s more,” he said. He was deep in thought for a second, and then a perfect replica of one of the tugs appeared in the middle of the room. The small utility ship began to disassemble itself, piece by piece. When the drive section came off, it swelled to several times its original size, became partially transparent, and the major components each turned different colors. “Legacy’s been analyzing her own technology to figure out how it works, and she remembers more from her past everyday. In here, she can show you what she’s learned.”

Sal didn’t waste any time. She flew a couple meters away into still empty air, and started sculpting something in light. She wasn’t sure what it was just yet, but she continued to play with the object until it took shape.

“A car?” Donovan asked.

“I guess,” she said, and added a set of wheels. “Just messing around. Getting a feel for this.”

Donovan had an extremely goofy grin on his face. “And the engineer becomes a painter again. Should I bring your equipment?”

“Not necessary. I’ll get it myself in a bit.”

“As you wish,” he said, and he headed for the transit tube. “If you need anything, just call.”

“I will,” Sal said, but she wouldn’t. She was already on her second object, pulling its edges around like salt-water taffy. For the first time in months, she was having fun. It was effortless and addictive. So much that she wouldn’t leave the room at all for more than a day.

Al Saif was abuzz with activity. Everyone had heard there was “big news”, and rumors ran rampant throughout the base. More information was promised at the general meeting, but in the meantime, imaginations flared up. Each time Jack turned a corner, he found another gaggle of soldiers gossiping about what they’d heard.

Theories were all over the map. He heard one man claiming the invaders had abandoned South America for unknown reasons, and ten minutes later, he heard another excitedly describing a mysterious remnant naval fleet assembled off the coast of Antarctica. Those were just the plausible stories. The implausible ones were even more extravagant, like armies of genetically engineered subterranean supermen rising up in Germany, or captured alien warships in space. He eagerly awaited news of knights in magical armor riding man-eating unicorns.

Evening came, and Jack was in the mess tent, seated across from Leonid Nikitin, who’d just returned to active duty. The human lighthouse viciously attacked pile after pile of food, as if he hadn’t eaten in weeks. He was a bit thinner from bed rest and covered in new scars, but hardly worse for wear. In fact, the jagged scar along his jawline fit him perfectly.

Albright sat quietly next to Jack, sipping from her canteen and otherwise off in her own little world. Even before the invasion, she’d been prone to bouts of deep thought. Jack figured he’d do the same if he knew even a quarter as much as stuff.

“How about this one?” Nikitin said with his mouth jammed full of dry rations. “I heard the aliens started fighting each other, like a civil war or something.”

Jack looked skeptical. “Come on, Nik. You can do better than that.”

“And they’re cannibals?”

“Now you’re getting somewhere.”

“Cannibal zombies.”

“Too far.”

Nikitin laughed hard, and bits of food flew out of his mouth. “Alright, alright. What’ve you got?”

“Ummm… I heard that after years of careful planning, the one thing the aliens didn’t account for was disease, and now they’re dropping like flies.”

“Weak. Do you honestly think no one else has seen War of the Worlds?”

“Wait for it. Sexually transmitted disease.”

“Ha! I can see the headlines now… Alien Armada Defeated by the Clap!”

“Invasion forces penetrated deep, but should’ve used protection,” Jack added with a laugh. He refused to say it, but he was glad as all hell to have Nikitin back. The guy laughed in death’s face as a matter of habit, and his spirit was contagious. He was a walking morale booster, and without him, Jack could get too grim for even his own taste.

“So seriously, what do you think this is all about?”

Jack shook his head. “Not even gonna try guessing, man.” He glanced down at his watch and 7:00pm was fast approaching. “But we’ll find out soon enough.”

They spouted off another half-dozen joke theories while they finished eating, and then all three headed off to the shabby meeting hall where Colonel Galili had spoken that first night.

It was standing room only, and the excitement inside was so thick Jack could cut it with a spoon. As was the stink of sweat. Jack, Nikitin and Albright pushed and jostled their way through the crowd, and stopped only when they couldn’t wade any further in.

“A fire inspector would have a field day in here,” Nikitin said.

Jack laughed. “Good news. I don’t think they’re all dead.”

“Burnt up. Is that ironic?”

“Don’t think so,” Jack said.

“What if they were all attending an international fire inspector conference during the attack, and had exceeded their venue’s maximum occupancy?”

“Maybe. I never got a good grasp on irony.”

The wolfish Colonel Galili stood at his podium. “Settle down. Settle down.”

A hush passed through the crowd, and he began. “Now, I know you’ve all heard a lot of wild theories, and command has decided to take the lid off rather than let these dangerous rumors persist. Let me categorically state that there is no legion of three meter tall super soldiers marching across Eastern Europe… so far as we’re aware.”

A giggle shot through the room.

“Here’s what we know. Six days ago, a strange device of unknown origin crashed near the Russian Ark. At first, they thought it was an unexploded enemy round, until it literally popped open and waved a white flag.”

“Great. Even Bugs Bunny is shelling us now,” Nikitin grumbled.

“When they finally worked up the courage to investigate the capsule, they found surprises inside. There was a binder full of high resolution orbital photos with enemy installations marked, a mini-drive containing the same information, and a handwritten note that said ‘keep hope alive.’”

A low murmur rumbled all around.

“Now, it would appear that we have a guardian angel somewhere up above, but we’re not ready to rule out the possibility of a trap just yet. We are examining the information very closely, and will hopefully come to a decision one way or another very soon.”

While everyone else was whispering to one another, Jack’s hand shot into the air.

“Is that Mr. Hernandez? What is your question?”

The Colonel knew him by name. That was new. “I understand the information hasn’t been confirmed yet, sir, but can you tell us anything at all?”