Nathan Hystad - New Threat

“Maybe it was just the one in Washington. It seemed like they just wanted to distract the country with some random shooting. Or give people the impression they had more power than they actually do,” Mary said.

“I hope you’re right. Either way, I do feel better now that we’re here, and they’re locked up.” She smiled and set her hand on my arm. “And thanks for saying it looks good on me.” She spun around, and we laughed.

A horn honked once, and I looked at my watch, worried it was a little late to be honking a horn.

“Don’t worry, Dean. There’s no one sleeping nearby right now. It’s only ten thirty. Let’s get some food and see what Dalhousie has for us,” Mary said, and with that, we left our newly-discovered temporary home.

The lights were dim in the sterile room, and crumbs were all that was left of my late-night sandwich. I sipped the bottom part of my coffee as Dalhousie and General Heart listened to us tell our tale from the start of the mission to getting to their base. She wrote some notes as we spoke, and I could see her write with fervor as we told her about the erratic behavior Skip had displayed.

“Good thing you had that CIA IT guy,” Mary said. “We would have been searching for a needle in a haystack otherwise.”

The president nodded slowly, a frown crossing her forehead. “It was just too easy. Don’t you think murderers would have gone with a fight? Especially since it was you three who went to get them.”

“Did you want them to fight? Dispose of us?” Mae asked, taking the comments a different way than I had.

Dalhousie shook her head. “Mae! I’m just saying it seemed a little too simple. Did they say anything at all about other contacts outside? Any big threats they’re planning to set off with some human help?”

“We didn’t really have time for a big conversation out there. We just wanted to get them into custody and brought to you. Where are they now?” I asked.

Tapping her finger on the desk, the president looked deep in thought, as if calculating something important. “Sorry? Oh, they’re in some makeshift brig. We’ve added some to the ships and vessels. If we ever make contact out there, we want to be able to lock an enemy up if needed. On the ships, we’ve made prison sections. For the same reason, or for our own people if needed.”

This reminded me of all the atrocities humans had done against themselves while in space the first time.

“Why would we need the vessel ships any longer?” Magnus asked quietly.

“Because if the Bhlat do find us, we don’t have enough protection. We’re sending a colony ship out to Proxima b,” Dalhousie said with finality.

All my life, I’d thought about exploring the stars, since I was a kid wishing I was on the bridge of the Enterprise , and we were going to do it. My eyes shifted to Mary, and she was looking back at me, as if we had some unspoken agreement.

“Who’s going on this trip?” Mary asked for us.

Dalhousie paused, looking over at General Heart. With a gesture meaning go ahead , Heart took over. “Proxima Centauri b is liveable.”

“How do we know that?” Magnus asked gruffly.

“Because I’ve been there.” Heart sat up straight, looking us in the eyes one by one, as if to gauge a reaction. “I went with Slate and Jeff Dinkle, along with Allana and Clare.” He referred to the burly guard we’d met on our approach, and the TV host obsessed with aliens. The other two had been at our meeting in Washington: physics and engineering.

We all sat on the edge of our seats, blown away that there was a whole planet that we could access at our fingertips.

“Well?” Mary blurted, and cut the tension in the room.

“It was everything we hoped for. Lush green land, water, and breathable air.” Heart, normally a stoic man, smiled widely.

“Were there… other life-forms there?” I asked, curiosity burning my veins.

“Yes. No intelligent life, and by that, I mean we saw no signs of humanoid or bipedal life. They do have a wide assortment of insects and wildlife, like any planet with a healthy ecosystem would,” Heart explained. It was a lot to take in.

“I’m not sure why everyone is so surprised. We were invaded, had half our world killed by an alien race who in turn had hybrid human-aliens, and they were being chased out by an even bigger, badder race. God knows how many worlds are out there, but one thing we do know is we have faster than light travel now, and this opens the universe to us. To all its wonders and dangers.” Dalhousie looked like she was going to start standing in her speech but stayed sitting at the last line.

“So those ships had FTL?” Mary asked. I knew what FTL stood for from the mass of science fiction I’d devoured as a young single man. Accountants have all read the classics, no matter what they tell you.

“Yes, it turns out the input Teelon supplied you and Natalia didn’t explain everything about the ships. Whether this was a glitch, an issue of compatibility with the human brain, or a conscious decision by the creature hell-bent on killing two races, remains to be seen. But we know we can travel around four light years in a month of our time.” The president looked for a reaction, and she got it. We couldn’t hold back our surprise.

“You’re telling me we can get to this planet and back in just over two months?” Magnus asked.

“Not in the vessel ships. Their tech is a little more dated, but they can do it in twice that. I don’t understand it all, but the team tells me it harnesses singularity: the power of a black hole. If they had this technology, and were afraid of someone, we should be afraid too. I take that back… we have to be cautious,” Dalhousie said.

“Damn right we have to be afraid. Let’s not beat around the bush here, Madame President, some bad mamas are out there, and they want to kill us and take our world. Probably for resources, or maybe they want us as slaves, like the Kraski did for the Deltras. Either way, we’re hooped unless we figure it out before they end up on our doorstep.” Magnus reached for his cup, finding it empty.

“You didn’t answer my question. Who’s going to Proxima?” Mary asked for the second time.

Heart looked at the president and pulled at his collar in a nervous gesture. “Magnus and Natalia will be going with Dinkle,” he said, and I leaned forward as he continued, “as well as other key parties who will specialize in setting up Earth’s first-ever colony. Mae will also be going with them.” He said the last part as if it was of second importance. I thought he was trying to just slip it in there at the end.

“What about us?” I finally found my voice.

“We need you and Mary here. You’re the face of the resistance against anything alien to our people. We’re putting you two in charge of the Earth Defense Unit, and you’ll work side by side with General Heart here. What you don’t know about training pilots and intelligence officers, he and his team will help you with.” Dalhousie took all the wind out of my sails as she spoke. I’d been relegated to becoming a pencil pusher even after saving the world. That was a full three-sixty.

Carey was at my feet, and his chin moved and set down on my shoe. I’d missed him too. Finding a small piece of leftovers on the table, I brought it to him, and he happily took it without complaint. At least I could stay with him through this training.

“We’re also working on expanding the fleet. So far, we’ve been able to duplicate the ships with success and are designing them with humans in mind. I think you’ll enjoy the tour in the morning.” Dalhousie was ending the meeting with her comments, and though I wanted nothing more than to see what was inside that massive warehouse, I also wanted to close my eyes and sleep like a baby for twelve hours.