Can World War II alien abductees and their descendants save the Earth from an alien invasion?

CHILDREN OF EARTH AND BEYOND

By Josef Zaitsev © 2024

Table of Contents

• One Small Step
• Homeland Security
• Top Guns
• Political Science
• Prey in the Dark
• Home Front
• Game Theory

One Small Step

Space and time are beyond human comprehension.  Unless you know the truth.

Lieutenant Benjamin Juarez stood tall on an all yellow alien shuttle and smiled at the blue dot two hundred million kilometers away.  He had lived in Washington, DC, until his fourth birthday, but spent his formative years playing soccer and getting ignored by girls on a human colony fifteen light years from Earth.  A mostly benevolent alien confederacy set up the colony 70 years ago worried that humanity would destroy itself with the invention of nuclear weapons.  Now Juarez looked forward to working with humans again, maybe even playing soccer and getting ignored by women on Earth, and most importantly removing the environmental shell he had worn for the last three years on an alien dreadnaught.  It itched.

“Be careful, Lieutenant.”  A low pitched, growling and alien voice crackled into his earpiece.  “Commander Sun and Lieutenant Commander Zaitsev lack your positive attitude about the Ya’neth and other Confederate sentients.  They escaped justice for the deaths at Ericson, but they were as surely responsible for that disaster as anyone else.  I would strongly recommend that you keep a safe distance from them.  You have a bright future in the Confederacy, and I would not want it darkened because of an unfortunate posting.”

Kachung.

The shuttle’s airlock sealed loudly to a space cruiser and created a sizzling atmospheric bubble, blending together the two different environments.

“You are welcome to return to the dreadnaught Quasar any time, Lieutenant.  I would welcome your presence again on my team.”

A hissing sound came from the airlock. 

“Thank you, Commander Tem,” Juarez said, smiling and raising his hand in an awkward, but traditional Ya’neth salute.  “It’s been an honor to serve with you, sir.”

The hatch opened to a haze separating the Ya’neth shuttle from the space cruiser that was Juarez’s new posting.

“It has been my honor to serve with you, Benjamin Juarez,” Tem said as a part of his amorphous body extended to just centimeters from Juarez’s hand.

Three bubbles of light peeled off from Tem’s body and tickled Juarez’s fingers, sending a spark up his arm and through his body.  He shivered but held his hand up for ten seconds as he had several times a day every day for the last three years.  Then he bowed, took a slow step forward and headed through the mists that bridged the two ships.  He looked over his shoulder to see Tem’s extension still raised in salute and smiled.

Two women and a man waited for him at the edge of the cruiser’s airlock, and Juarez’s face tightened as he cocked his arm up in a more traditional salute to the older of the two women in a course and thick, sand colored uniform with a commander insignia on the collar of her jacket and a badge of two planets and five stars over her heart.  “Second Lieutenant Benjamin J. Juarez, reporting for duty, ma’am.”

“Commander Sun Qiao Hui, Lieutenant,” she said, returning his salute.  “Welcome to the Confederate space cruiser Rising Star.  It’s good to have you aboard.”

Juarez lowered his arm.  “My pleasure, ma’am.”  He stood stiffly at attention.

“These are first Lieutenants Mae Parks and Shane Prescott,” Sun said and pointed to the two people standing next to her in nearly identical uniforms.  “Lieutenant Parks is my pilot and Lieutenant Prescott is the tactical officer replacing you on the dreadnaught Quasar.”

Juarez exchanged salutes with the lieutenants. 

“Why don’t you take off that shell and relax a little, Lieutenant,” Sun said and nodded to the orange gel covering his body from head to toe.  “I don’t want you to strain yourself too much on the first day.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”  Juarez let out his breath and tapped a few buttons on his wrist, causing his environmental shell to let out a loud hiss, shrink several centimeters toward his body and peel away the protective material around his hands and head to reveal a similar coarse and thick, sand colored uniform.  He managed to wait long enough to take off his black graphene helmet without damaging the shell and took in a deep breath.

“First time out of your shell in three years, Lieutenant?”

“Just about, ma’am,” he said, listening to the rhythm and hum of the space cruiser’s life support system all around them and smiled.  “Yes.”

“I remember the feeling.”  Sun stared at Juarez.  “Do you call that a goatee or a van dyke, Lieutenant?”

He swallowed and tilted his head back for a second before he reached up and touched his face.  “Sorry, ma’am.  I forgot I had the goatee.”

“So that’s what you call it, Lieutenant.”  Sun grinned.

“Yes, ma’am.”  Juarez returned to attention.  “The um, the Ya’neth didn’t mind or notice that I had grown facial hair during my time on the Quasar, and it was difficult to shave with the various environmental shells.”

Sun kept looking at him.  “Your cheeks seem clean, though, Lieutenant.”

“Yes, ma’am.”  He half nodded with a blush.  “Sorry, Commander.  I’ll shave it first thing.”

Sun’s eyes didn’t leave his face.  “Speak to Lieutenant Commander Zaitsev and see if he feels we can live with your desire to stand out in a crowd, Lieutenant.”

Juarez swallowed again.  “Yes, ma’am.”

Sun nodded and turned to Prescott.

“How is the Quasar, Lieutenant?” Prescott said, looking right at Juarez and pointing to the haze separating their ship from the Ya’neth shuttle.  “I’ve heard that the living can get a little rough.”

“It’s not as bad as they say, Lieutenant.”  Juarez half smiled.  “The ship’s pretty well equipped for humans, and the worst thing about my three years was getting used to wearing the shells.  The Ya’neth go out of their way to make their human crew comfortable, and the Quasar’s got a decent group of humans on board who will make you feel at home pretty quickly.”  He shrugged.  “Lieutenant Rowe has already set things up for you and he’ll meet you when you arrive.”  He looked back at the Ya’neth shuttle.  “It takes a while to get used to things, sure, but I learned a lot on the Quasar, and everyone watches your back.”

“Good.”  Prescott breathed deep, adjusting the controls on his environmental shell, and then looked right at him again.  “That’s good to hear, Lieutenant.”

“And feel free to reach out if you have any questions.”  Juarez looked back at him.  “The Quasar is staying in the system for another six months or so, and I’d be glad to help in any way I can.”

“Thank you.”  Prescott nodded and then winked to Sun and Parks.  “And feel free to contact me if you have any problems here.”

Juarez made a face and turned away from Sun and Parks.

“Don’t scare Lieutenant Juarez just yet, Shane,” Sun said.

He smiled.  “No, ma’am.”

Sun saluted him crisply.  “Don’t be a stranger, Lieutenant.”

Prescott held the salute.  “Thank you for everything, Commander.”

“And tell Chris Rowe I expect him to take good care of you.”  Sun touched Juarez’s arm, nudging him away from the airlock, but glanced back at Parks and Prescott.  “Why don’t I show you the controls to the recycle unit, Lieutenant?”

“I’m sorry, ma’am.”  Juarez noticed Prescott look into Lieutenant Parks’ eyes.  “What?” 

“You can leave your helmet and the outer shell in one of the recycle units here, Lieutenant,” Sun said a little louder.

Juarez turned away slowly from Parks and Prescott and followed Sun across the deck to put his shell in the recycle container.

“Your quarters are set up if you want to get settled, Lieutenant.”  Sun looked past him and nodded.  “I remember that after my five-year tour on a Ya’neth destroyer I could barely remember what a shower felt like.”

“Five years, Commander?”  Juarez stutter stopped.

“Times were different when humanity was first pulled into space, Lieutenant.”  Sun turned to Juarez.  “I’d like you to report to the bridge after getting situated.”  She smiled.  “I assume you reviewed the Star’s specs and other information that we sent you.” 

“Yes, ma’am.”  Juarez nodded.  “And I can put the shower off for another day if that’s all right.  I’d like to get started as soon as possible.”

“Understood.”  Sun breathed in deeply and shrugged.  “I guess they make the shells better than they used to, Lieutenant,” she said, gesturing to Parks, who watched Prescott walk through the airlock’s haze to the Ya’neth shuttle.  “Lieutenant Parks will bring you to the bridge in a few minutes.  I need to go thank your former commanding officer for delivering you to the Star and find out if he needs any further updates about Earth.”

“Yes, ma’am.”  Juarez snapped off a salute as she disappeared behind the airlock’s inner doors. 

“You can breathe again, Lieutenant.”

Juarez turned around.  “Lieutenant Parks?”

“It’s nice to meet you, Lieutenant Juarez.  Hopefully we can get over the awkward conversations sooner than later, huh?”  Parks shook his hand before he could salute her again and pointed to the cramp spaces all around them.  “The Rising Star is a pretty small ship, with a crew of only 125.  Few have serious rank, so most of us are a little more informal than what I imagine you experienced on the Quasar.”  She let out a small smile.  “Still, you’ll be given a test next week to see if you know everyone’s name.  Make sure you pass it, okay?”

Juarez half smiled back.  “Um, I’m glad to hear that, Lieutenant.  It was friendly like that on the Quasar, at least with the humans on board.  Of course, there were only ten of us out of a 1,500 crew.”

“They were good people?”

“Most of them.  You always get one or two jerks.”

Parks looked back at the closing airlock.

“You can bet that Lieutenant Prescott will be given a warm reception by even the jerks, though, Lieutenant, and by the Ya’neth and others on board too.”

“He’d better.”  Parks half frowned.

Juarez stared at her for a moment.  “Lieutenant Prescott will be all right.  Chris Rowe will be the first person he sees on the Quasar, and his immediate superior, Commander Tem, was so eager to meet him that he’s flying the shuttle.”

Parks studied Juarez’s face.  “So, Shane will get a nice reception from the Ya’neth?”

“Yes.  Absolutely.  They’re always happy when a new human officer comes aboard, and on an individual basis they can be very friendly.”

Parks blinked and started them forward.  “That’s surprising since they didn’t invest five minutes in us at Ericson.

“No.”  Juarez frowned and followed her.  “But I think they’re trying to do better since then.”

Parks turned back to Juarez.  “That’s what I’ve heard.”  She gave him another small smile.  “Sorry about that.  I’m just going to miss Shane.

Juarez nodded.  “I understand.  Don’t worry, though, I was serious about him getting a warm reception.”

Parks shrugged.  “I’m sure he’ll just punch out any of the jerks you mentioned.”

“It took me a while to figure out who they were.”

“So at least the first few days will be good for him.”

“Oh, it took me months,” Juarez said with a laugh.

Parks gave him a look.  “So, do you want to see your quarters?  We’ve fixed them up with some extras, and I imagine you’ll want some decent food too.”

“Thanks.  That sounds good, but I was hoping to get started as soon as possible.”

Parks sniffed the air.  “I guess the environmental shells are better than I heard.”  She waved for him to join her.  “Come on, I’ll take you to the bridge.”

Juarez followed her down the low, narrow corridors, nodding to people as she did, and just managed not bump into anybody.  “It’s just like the specs you sent.”  He rounded a corner and headed up the stairs.  “Down to the centimeter.”

Parks nodded.  “Commanders Sun and Zaitsev like people to jump right in.”

“That’s good.”  Juarez nodded back.

“It is.  They’ve been great to serve with.”  Parks kept moving.  “Both commanders have more experience than anyone I know, and they’ve taught me to look at things from a different perspective and think laterally about everything.”

“That’s their reputations.”  Juarez caught up to her.

“That all?”  Parks looked at him.

Juarez stopped and looked back at her.

“I didn’t say we’d get over the awkward conversations just yet, Lieutenant.”  Parks’ eyes narrowed on him.

Juarez shrugged.  “The Ya’neth did not have a lot of nice things to say about what Commanders Sun and Zaitsev did at Ericson, Lieutenant.  But Lieutenant Rowe and some of the others on the Quasar told me that the Ya’neth had a pretty screwed up perspective.”

“I imagine.”

Juarez nodded, gesturing for her to move forward again.  “The bridge is down that corridor, right?”

“Right,” Parks said, not moving a muscle and nodding to a sergeant who walked by.  “I wouldn’t take what the Ya’neth said about Sun or Zaitsev too seriously, Lieutenant.”  She pointed to the bridge.  “Despite the official line, the Commanders weren’t responsible for what happened at Ericson.  Sun and Zaitsev didn’t even arrive there until after everything hit the fan, and then they mounted a rescue operation that made sure there were at least some survivors.”

Juarez nodded again, not saying a word.

Parks didn’t take her eyes off him.  “We’re glad you’re on board, Lieutenant.  From what I hear, Commander Sun requested your transfer, and she wouldn’t have brought you over if Lieutenant Commander Zaitsev didn’t at least think you were up to the job too.”

“That’s good to hear.”  Juarez half swallowed under her stare.  “I’d hate to think they were forced to accept my transfer request.”

Parks smiled.  “I don’t think they’d do that, even knowing who your parents are.”

Juarez looked right at her.

“Be yourself and you’ll be fine.”  She looked right back at him.  “You can learn and do a lot here.  A lot more than you did with the Ya’neth.”

“That’s what I’m hoping for.”  Juarez breathed.

“Good, and don’t worry too much about the tests that start tomorrow.”

“What?”  Juarez blinked.  “What tests?”

“Come on.  They’re waiting for us,” Parks said, heading to the bridge and not looking back.

Juarez took in another breath and followed Parks onto the bridge, nearly running into the first officer standing at the hatch waiting for him.

“Lieutenant Juarez, nice goatee,” the officer said.

Juarez stopped in his tracks, blinking for a second, and then saluted crisply.  “Lieutenant Commander, sir.”

Lieutenant Commander Zaitsev looked him in the eye.  “Lieutenant Juarez.”  He returned the salute and extended his hand. 

“Commander.”  Juarez shook Zaitsev’s hand and stared at his short, gray hair for a moment.

Zaitsev noticed but smiled.  “You can keep the goatee, Lieutenant, but I hope the rest of your person is ship shape.”

Juarez swallowed all the way.  “Yes, sir.”

“Good enough.”  Zaitsev pointed to the two main command stations in the middle of the bridge with their three monitors and accompanying control panels.  “Why don’t you take your position next to Lieutenant Parks since you’re so eager to start?”

“Yes, sir.”  Juarez slid in next to Parks and let out his breath.

“Nice introduction to the bridge, Lieutenant.”  Parks chuckled with half a grin and flashed a thumb’s up.  “Great first impression.”

Juarez’s cheeks turned pink, and he adjusted his console’s settings and looked at the plethora of data on the three large monitors in front of him.  “Thanks,” he finally said, his focus in front of him.

Parks smiled at him as Commander Sun entered the bridge.

“At ease,” Sun said as Juarez turned and started to stand.  She glanced at Zaitsev and rolled her eyes in Juarez’s direction.  “Glad to see you found your station, Lieutenant.”

“Thank you, ma’am.”

“Tell me about the Dwanem freighter that just crossed onto our side of the asteroid belt, Lieutenant?”  Sun pulled up her own monitors.

Juarez looked down at his monitors and felt his face tighten.

Parks looked over her shoulder and caught a nod from Sun.  She flipped two switches on her right and the Rising Star accelerated toward the freighter.

“What are they doing here?” Juarez said to himself, examining his monitors and instruments for several seconds, and then nodded.  “The Dwanem are headed for Earth, ma’am.  Their holds are empty.”

“I figured that, Lieutenant.”  Sun shook her head.  “So…?”

“Yes, ma’am.”  Juarez frowned and poured over the data on  his left monitor.  “The freighter has 24 Dwanem on board, Commander.  They have minimal weapons, limited defense and camouflage systems, two shuttles, and can reach a maximum quarter light speed,” he said.  “They can also elude any of Earth’s detection systems and at their current speed will reach Earth orbit in a little less than fifteen hours.”

Sun stared at her own monitors, confirming Juarez’s analysis, and watched the space freighter.  “Lieutenant Parks, see if you can get in their way.”

“Real close, Commander?”  Parks took hold of the pilot’s yoke.

“Like we drilled, Lieutenant.”  Sun nodded.

“Yes, ma’am.”  Parks twisted the yoke with her left hand while her right worked five switches in quick succession.

The freighter came up quickly on Juarez’s central monitor as Parks twisted her yoke to the left and right, moving the cruiser through space, and then eased back on it. 

Juarez’s eyes darted to Parks’ face and then he looked again at his left monitor.  “We’re 30,000 meters from their nose, Commander, and holding steady.”

“Show them a little more love, Lieutenant Parks,” Sun said.

Parks’ mouth turned down as she pushed the yoke forward.

Juarez’s eyes went wide as the Rising Star pulled right up to the freighter’s nose.  “One thousand meters, ma’am, well beyond the safety guidelines.”  He turned back to Commander Sun.  “Commander?”

She stared at her own instruments, not paying any attention to Juarez, and kept watching the freighter.

“They’ve come to a stop, Commander,” Parks said.

“Good, Lieutenant.”  Sun nodded.  “I’m glad to hear that.”

“And they’re trying to talk to us, ma’am,” Zaitsev said next to her.

“Well, let’s see what they have to say, Commander,” Sun said and tapped her central monitor.

A broad, almost human face appeared on each of their monitors.  “This is Captain Sel Triam of the Dwanem freighter Venture.  Do we have a problem here?”

Juarez stared at Triam’s mouth and noticed that the captain’s words weren’t being translated.  He spoke flawless English.

“Is your ship under duress, Captain?” Sun said, ignoring Triam on her monitor, and studied the ongoing analysis of the freighter.  “You’re in a no fly zone as dictated by Confederacy policies regarding less technologically advanced sentient species.”

Triam’s eyes narrowed.  “I’m sorry, do we have a problem here?” he said again and shook his head.  “I’ve pai…

“You’re on the wrong side of the tracks, Captain.”  Sun looked right at him.

Triam looked right back, straight into the monitor.  “I’ve paid the usual duties to be on this side of the asteroid belt, Captain.”

“It’s Commander.”  Sun pulled the monitor for a closer look.  “And…”

“Fine, Commander, whatever.  I’ve been on this side of the asteroid belt more than once in the last 75 years, and I’ve never had any problems before.”

“You should have, Captain,” Sun said.  “No ships other than authorized Confederacy military vessels are allowed on…”

“Are you new to the job, Commander?”  Triam laughed.

Sun eyed the screen.

“The Dwanem have been harvesting biomaterials on Earth for the last 2,000 years, before the Confederacy even had an official policy in this system, and later with Confederate approval and active encouragement.”  Triam smiled.  “That’s why I speak English so well, plus Mandarin, Arabic, Span…”

“Humans may have been to their moon a few times and flown some primitive shuttles, Captain, but that doesn’t mean they’re ready to interac…”

“I’m not here to interact openly with humans, Comm…”

“You’re not on the inner side of the asteroid belt to interact with anything at all,” Sun said.  “You’re taking the Venture back to at least the Jupiter system: Captain, farther if you like.  I know that would certainly be my preference.”

Triam’s face tightened, and he issued an unheard order to someone off screen.  He looked back into it.  “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“They’re reengaging their engines, Commander.”  Parks pulled back on the yoke.

Juarez took a deep breath as the Rising Star backed off to avoid the advancing freighter.

Sun pushed her monitor to the side.  “Lieutenant Juarez, power up the absorption units and forward guns and target the freighter’s bridge.”

“Ma’am?”  Juarez looked back at Sun with wide eyes.

“Charge up the guns, Lieutenant.”  Zaitsev frowned.

“Yes, sir.”  Juarez turned back to his monitors and fumbled with the weapons and defensive systems.  “Sorry, ma’am.”

Sun ignored him and pulled up her monitor again.  “If you go any further, Captain Triam, I assure you that I will severely damage if not destroy your ship.”

“This is unheard of, Commander,” Triam said and threw up his nearly human hands.  “We are simply harvesting some simple marine bio forms for the Ya’neth Corporate Counc…”

“I don’t care if you’re going to Earth for the Confederate high council and the Ya’neth Plutarch.  You’re defying a policy that protects innocent sentients on our home planet.”

“I know.”  Triam shook his head at her and sighed.  “I’ve been coming to Earth for the last 75 years, Commander.  I don’t need a lesson on protecting lesser sentients, and I think you know that.”

Sun smiled at him.  “I know of your record, Captain, but that’s not relevant.”  She turned to Juarez.  “Can we survive the backlash at this distance if we empty the guns, Lieutenant?”

Juarez swallowed, taking a moment, and punched up some numbers on his monitors.  “Yes, ma’am.”  He nodded with a deep breath.  “We’ll overload one of the front absorption units, but we won’t suffer any other serious damage.  The freighter’s bridge and 35 percent of its front section will be vaporized.”

“Chicken is a nice game, Commander, but I’ve played it before,” Triam said and grinned at Sun.  “I’ve played it more than once on Earth.  And you know that.”

Juarez looked at Sun whose face showed nothing.  She glanced at Zaitsev, who nodded that Juarez’s calculations were correct.

“You didn’t tell me your name, Commander,” Triam said.  “I’m sure that the Ya’neth and others in the Confederacy hierarchy would be interested in knowing who the upstart is who thinks she’s the new sheriff in town.”  He smiled big.  “The human commander who aims weapons at a loyal citizen of the Confederacy and an innocent and authorized trader of the Ya’neth Corporation.”

“Right.”  Sun laughed very softly.  “Although I doubt the Confederacy or the Ya’neth would know what a sheriff is, Captain.”

“I’ll explain it to them, Commander…”

“Sun, Captain.  You know who I am.”

“That’s right.”  Triam smiled bigger and leaned into the monitor.  “I do.”

“Commander Sun Qiao Hui, and my first officer is Lieutenant Commander Alexander Zaitsev,” she said.  “Would you like to meet the rest of my crew to make it even more official and on the record, Captain?  They have names I’m sure you’ll know sooner than later the way this conversation is going.”

Triam looked at something or someone off screen for a moment and then looked directly into the monitor again.  “Sun Qiao Hui and Alexander Zaitsev.”  His smile grew bigger.  “Fallen stars of New Plymouth and scapegoats of the Ericson disaster.”  He laughed out loud.  “Killed any innocents lately, Commander?”

Sun’s mouth tightened, but only for a second, and she didn’t say anything. 

“Or are you still sucking up to the Annak, and attempting to prove what humanity can do if given the chance?”  Triam laughed again and gave another unheard order to someone off screen.  “Those hierarchical bugs might rule the roost for now, Commander, but the Dwanem are moving up along with the Ya’neth.”

“I hope you just ordered your pilot to reverse course and head back to Jupiter, Captain,” Sun said. 

“Yes, I did.”  Triam shook his head, raising one finger to her and then a second.  “You know, Commander, humanity has been given a lot of rope in the last seventy years, but other than exploding the atom and going to their moon a few times, the people of Earth have little to show for it.”

“Really?”  Sun leaned back in her chair.

“Yes, really.  I know.  I’d wager I’ve lived on Earth longer than you, Commander.”

“The Dwanem’s return to Earth 300 years ago, Captain?”  Sun smiled.  “And a century and a half before humanity discovered the extinction of your ancestors, the Neanderthals.”

Triam frowned.  “You know your history, Commander.” 

“As much as you do, Captain.”  Sun sat up straighter.

“Then I wouldn’t count on the people of Earth or the humans on New Plymouth advancing much further into space,” Triam said, his grin stretching between two bulbous ears, and he laughed yet again.

“And I’d count on ending your smuggling of Earth’s resources today, Captain.”  Sun nodded.

Triam shook his head.

“Humanity has been shown to catch up pretty quickly,” Sun said.  “That’s why the Annak have faith in us, why the humans of New Plymouth have been integrated into the Confederacy so quickly and why we’ve been allowed to safeguard our home world against smugglers like you.”  She smiled.  “Didn’t it take the first Dwanem colony thousands of years to earn that privilege?”

Triam’s face turned into a scowl.  “Well said, Commander.  I forget that you had quite an impressive life before Ericson.”  He pulled his lips up slowly into a crooked grin.  “We’ll see how long it takes humanity to hang itself with all of that rope it’s been given.”

“We can talk about that another time, and on the other side of the asteroid belt, Captain.”  Sun flicked off the channel, sharing a look with Zaitsev, and half turned to Juarez.  “Are they leaving town, Lieutenant?”

He turned all the way around.  “I’m sorry, ma’am?”

“What’s the Dwanem’s position, Lieutenant?”  Sun sighed and turned right to him.

Juarez looked back at his monitors.  “They’ve turned and are heading toward Jupiter, ma’am.”

“Lieutenant Parks, track them to the edge of the asteroid belt.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Parks said.

“Well?” Sun said, and Juarez turned around again.

Zaitsev looked up from his instruments.  “I think you’ve just shown Triam that there’s a new sheriff in town, Commander.”

Sun held back a smile.  “I’m not sure if our reputation from Ericson paid off there or not, Commander.”

“Me either, ma’am,” Zaitsev said.

Sun rose from her chair.  “Nice job, Lieutenants.”  She patted Juarez on the shoulder.  “I don’t usually have my new officers aim our guns at freighters in the first hour, Lieutenant.”

“Yes, ma’am.”   Juarez half swallowed and kept his eyes on his monitors.  “Commander.”

“I noticed that you had a sticky hand on the weapons’ systems, though, Lieutenant.”  She patted him on the shoulder again.  “I hope we won’t have to send you to sickbay about that.

“No, ma’am.”  Juarez looked up at her and shook his head.  “Just took a few minutes to adjust to the new ship, Commander.”

“Excellent.”  Sun sat back down.  “I heard good things about you on the Quasar, Lieutenant, and I expect better things from you on the Rising Star, just like I’ve come to see from my entire crew.”

Juarez nodded, not saying anything, and breathed again. 

“You’re here like the rest of us, Lieutenant Juarez, to officially protect Earth and its inner solar system from the less respectable members of the Confederacy.  And to ensure that Earth doesn’t hurt itself too much before it reaches out to space on its own, joins the New Plymouth colony and becomes a player with the rest of the universe.”

“Yes, ma’am.”  Juarez nodded, keeping his eyes on his monitors, and swallowed yet again.  “I’m on the Rising Star to help, Commander.”

“Good.”  Sun turned to her monitors and adjusted her controls.  “That’s exactly what I expect of you, Lieutenant.”

“Yes, ma’am.”  Juarez adjusted his own controls.  “I understand, Commander.  Completely.”

Homeland Security

“You’ll be fine, Lieutenant.”

Benjamin Juarez remembered smiling when Commander Sun said those words five hours ago.  Two weeks before he had been assigned to her command on the space cruiser, the Rising Star, and he still didn’t know what to expect from her.  Sun had a reputation for taking charge and getting a lot out of her crew, but he didn’t know if he was making the grade. 

Still, he welcomed the change that his new commander brought.  For the last three years he had basically lived in an environmental shell aboard a Ya’neth dreadnaught working every day in the same yellow section of engineering.  The Ya’neth were powerful aliens who tolerated him and human beings for political reasons, but after his first three months they were baffled that he wanted a more challenging assignment and a fresh breath of air.  In stark contrast Sun had already ordered him to train the Rising Star’s guns on a smuggler pillaging Earth’s biomaterials and he was now breathing fresh air on Earth as he tried to recover a stolen supply of Russian plutonium.  He would be still smiling except that a bearded man in dirty fatigues and a robe trained an AK-47 at his chest.

Juarez took a deep breath, held it in his lungs as if it was his last, and looked at the pistol pointed at the gray haired head of his mission leader, Lieutenant Commander Zaitsev. 

“It’s not just a job, Lieutenant,” Zaitsev said in English and flashed a grin.  “It’s an adventure.”

Juarez’s dark brown eyes narrowed on Zaitsev’s grin and then he took in everything.  The two of them stood in the bare back room of an old, abandoned building in empty, northern Tajikistan with two angry men pointing guns at them and two more ready to.  He looked into Zaitsev’s deep blue eyes and wondered if the best his mission commander could say was that ‘it’s an adventure’.  “Excuse me?”

“It’s an American expression.”  Zaitsev nodded with half a shrug.  “Their army used it as a recruiting slogan.  Now they say, ‘an army of one’.  You hear me?”

Juarez stopped himself from scratching his head.  “I thought they switched it, sir.”

Zaitsev gave him a look.  “When was the last time you were on Earth, Lieutenant?”

“Three years ago, sir.”  Juarez looked past him.  “For my twenty…”

“Well, I think have a little more recent experience, Lieutenant.”  Zaitsev got back his attention with a frown.

“Shut up,” the terrorist with the pistol screamed in Russian, and another man raised his gun and advanced toward Zaitsev.

He turned the frown on the terrorists and held up a briefcase with ten kilograms of plutonium in it.  “If you don’t want our ten million dollars then take it back,” he said in Russian and let go of the briefcase.

It banged hard on the floor and everyone but Zaitsev flinched.

The pistol at the base of Zaitsev’s skull clicked.  “You’re dead, American.”

“I’m from Siberia.”  Zaitsev sighed and shook his head.  “And if you keep this up, you’re not going to see tomorrow.”

The man with the pistol smiled.  “You’re not in any position to be making threats.”  He laughed and punched Zaitsev in the gut.

Zaitsev’s face tightened, but he kept standing, and straightened up to look into Juarez’s eyes.  “Now would be a good time to show me what you can do, Lieutenant.”

Juarez nodded, closing his eyes for a second, and then slapped aside the AK-47 pointed at his chest.  A half second later he jammed his boot into the neck of the man threatening Zaitsev. 

BAM.

Zaitsev ducked as the pistol went off.

Juarez ignored the shot and threw himself into the man with the AK-47.  The rifle flew across the room, and they tumbled to the floor, the terrorist twisting in midair and landing on top of Juarez.

“I’ve never killed an American before,” the man said, lunging forward and reaching for his throat.  “I plan to enjoy it.”

“Great.”  Juarez grabbed the man’s wrists and tried to pull his hands away from his throat, but that didn’t help.  The man had fifteen kilos on Juarez, and it was all muscle.  “I don’t want to die like this,” he said.  “I haven’t kissed a woman in three years.”

The terrorist pushed his thumbs into Juarez’s windpipe.

Juarez gasped for air and jabbed his index and middle fingers into the man’s right eye.

“No.”

“Yes.”  Juarez yanked down on the man’s beard and tore the man’s thumb out of its socket.

“You bastar...”

“No.”  Juarez pulled a pistol from the man’s belt and slipped out from under him.  “And I’m not American either.”   

The terrorist grimaced, holding onto his thumb and trying to catch his breath. 

Juarez kicked him in the face.  “My parents lived in Washington for a while, though.”  He turned to the rest of the room, raising the pistol high, and his eyes narrowed.

Zaitsev held up his hands in surrender with three terrorists unconscious at his feet.  “I’m glad you didn’t forget all of your combat training while stationed with the Ya’neth, Lieutenant.”  He smiled.  “That was some nice dirty fighting too.  I liked the fingers in the eye.”

Juarez wiped the sweat from his forehead.  “How did you take those three down so quickly, sir?”

“Practice, Lieutenant.  Practice.”  Zaitsev grinned again.  “I’ve been doing this kind of thing since before you were born.”  He shrugged.  “Plus, it’s easy to take on a couple of thugs when you’ve got advanced combat technology.”  He pocketed a small and grey metal like baton.  “Of course, even the technology wouldn’t have stopped a bullet in the head.”

Juarez nodded.  “Is the plutonium secure, sir?”

Zaitsev pointed to the briefcase sitting on the floor.  “You need to pay better attention, Lieutenant.”  He picked up the case and walked out of the room.  “Let’s go, huh?”

“Yes, sir.”  Juarez followed.

“Not used to the adventure yet, Lieutenant?”  Zaitsev glanced back while pointing out the window and breathing in deep.  “I’d thought you’d be excited about doing something worthwhile and getting a breath of fresh air.”

“Yes, sir,” Juarez said, hurrying to catch up, and looked out the window.  “How did you know about the fresh breath of air?”

“It’s the thing I wanted most after spending five years of breathing recycled air with the Ya’neth, Lieutenant.”  Zaitsev stopped in the front room, looking out the front window, and then glanced back at Juarez.  “When you breathe ammonia, you don’t have an appreciation for human pleasures.”

“You did five years with the Ya’neth, sir?”  Juarez stared at him.

“Almost everyone in the first generation did, Lieutenant.”  Zaitsev searched for any movement outside of the building.  “Seventy years ago it was the only way for us to get into space.”  

“Really, sir?”  Juarez stared out the window.

Zaitsev laughed and opened the front door a crack, looking out onto a field with four squat buildings in view, and sniffed the air.  “Let’s get out of here, Lieutenant.  I have a feeling that the good guys are on their way.”

Juarez shut his mouth.  “I thought we were the good guys, sir.”

“You didn’t know, Lieutenant?”  Zaitsev chuckled and gave him a look.

“I mean.”  Juarez stopped, looking back, and shook his head.  “Who else would be the good guys, sir?”

Zaitsev pointed to the back room.  “Well, I would guess those terrorists thought they were the good guys, Lieutenant.”  He stopped too, closing the front door, and took a close look out of a side window.  “Who I meant, though, were the Russian and American special forces who are no doubt on their way to secure this plutonium.  I’m sure they’d like to keep it in their hands as much as we would.”

“Yes, sir.”  Juarez looked out the side window and frowned.

“They don’t know that we have safer hands than they do, Lieutenant.”

“Right, sir,” Juarez said, and Zaitsev smiled.

“Sir, you’ve got company coming up fast.”  They heard from the radio earpieces. 

Juarez backed up a step from the front door and looked behind him.  “They might come through the back room, sir.”

“I doubt it, Lieutenant.  There’s no door and that room only had small windows.”  Zaitsev kept his eyes in front of him.  “How many are there, Lieutenant Parks?” he said, adjusting the earpiece, and looked over his and Juarez’s clothes and general appearance that matched the robed men lying unconscious in the back room.

“Twelve, sir,” Parks said.  “The Russians and Americans made better time than we thought.  Seven of them are almost on top of you.”

Zaitsev looked at the display that suddenly lit up from his wrist display and backed away from the front door.  “Okay, they have a man to the left…”

BAM BAM.

Two bullets slammed through a wall and into Zaitsev’s chest, dropping him to the floor.

BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM.

Juarez dove to the floor and covered his head.

“Commander, two helicopters just came over the horizon,” Parks said.  “It’s worse than we thought.”

“You think?”  Juarez stayed low and tried to catch a look at Zaitsev.

Instead, he saw a dark haired woman dressed in American combat fatigues pointing a pistol in his face.  “Don’t move.  Don’t even bre…”

Juarez grabbed her arm and pulled her to the floor.  She flipped him over, hard, rolling on top of him, and stuck the gun in his face.  “You’re lucky we want one of you alive,” she said in Russian.

“Lieutenant Benjamin Juarez, New Zealand special operations,” he said in English and found a smile.  “How you doing?”

Her eyes narrowed on him when six soldiers, two American and four Russian, burst into the room, swarming around them with weapons raised high.  The two Americans looked over Zaitsev for a second and then joined the others in securing the rest of the building. 

“That’s not a New Zealand accent,” the woman said to Juarez, not taking her eyes off him, and noticed his tattered and filthy robes.

“It’s not?”  Juarez made a face.  “Are you sure?”

“Is he under control, Locke?” one of the American soldiers said returning to the front room.  “Or…”

“Yeah.”  Locke frowned but didn’t look back.  “He’s secured.”

“What’s your first name, Miss Locke?” Juarez said and ignored the other soldier too.

“Team two, you need to find out what that truck is doing outside,” one of the Russian soldiers said into his radio.

Juarez tried to look out the open front door when Parks voice came through his communication link.  “Great, now I’ve got to deal with these punks too.”

“Who is that?”  Locke jammed her pistol into Juarez’s cheek and turned to the rest of the special forces team.  “Let team two know that truck is expecting them.”

“Ow.”  Juarez failed to get away from her pistol.  “You want to get that thing out of my face?  I don’t want to get sho…”

“Shut up.”  Locke ignored him.

Juarez smiled despite the gun.  “What’s your first name?” 

“I said, shut up.”  Locked turned to him with a snarl.

Juarez looked right into her eyes.  “Sorry, I haven’t talked to many pretty women lately...”

“The New Zealand military’s keeping you busy?”  Locke shook her head with a look.

Juarez shrugged.  “You smell nice.”

“That’s creepy.”  Locke took in a deep breath and managed not to pull the trigger.  “Enjoy it while you can because you’re going back to prison.”

“I’ve never been to prison.”  Juarez half smiled.  “Not even…”

“Uh huh.  That’s why you haven’t seen a woman in a while?”

“I was serving on a remote outpost.”  Juarez glanced out the window.  “Like…”

“Uh huh, and you’re not buying a few pounds of plutonium?”  Locke turned to the fallen briefcase.

“It’s cesium,” Juarez said and turned back to her with a nod.  “We took it off of those Tajiks, and New Zealand wouldn’t have to get involved if your Russian friends had cleaned up this mess in the first place.”

“Right.”  Locke looked past him.  “Whatever, you’re not a Kiwi.  I’ve been to Wellington, and you don’t look or sound the part.”

“I’ve spent a lot of time in the States.”  Juarez failed to catch her eye.  “That’s where my great grandmother was born.”

“Great.”  Locke kept ignoring him.  “Well, you’re going back there, except this time you’re staying in a small, dark cell.”

“I doubt it.”  Juarez kept trying to get her attention.

Locke shook her head and finally looked down.

Juarez smiled.  “Americans aren’t the only ones who can make the world a safer place.”

“I think we have reason to get involved.”  Locke pointed to world outside the window.  “Particularly since September…”

“But no one else can help out?”  Juarez looked out the window again.  “You’d think that America would want as much help as it could get.”

“Shut up.”

Juarez finally managed to look into Locke’s eyes.  “Look, I’m sorry.”  He stopped when all but one of the soldiers returned from the back room.  “But…”

“Can’t you keep this guy quiet?”  The tallest Russian soldier said.

Locke looked up with a frown.  “What did you find?”

“It looks like these guys could fight,” the American soldier said.  “Sergeant Moriarty is wrapping up four bad guys for extraction.  The Russians think they’re Chechens.”

“They’re Tajiks,” Juarez said.

The soldier frowned at Locke.  “You know, Special Agent Locke, you need to do your job if you’re going to come on these missions.”

Locke’s face tightened.

“I like how you handle a pistol.”  Juarez nodded.  “I think you’re doing great.”

Locke glared at Juarez.  “Shut up.”

The soldiers shook their heads.”

“Check out the other one,” Locke said and pointed to Zaitsev.

Two of the four Russians gave her a look but walked over to Zaitsev.  He was lying face down on the floor, not moving.

“Why isn’t he bleeding?”  Locke said, pointing to Zaitsev’s now different appearance.  “And where did that uniform come from?”

Zaitsev’s dirty robes and thick coat had been replaced with a uniform identical to the Russian soldiers.

“What’s going on?” the first Russian soldier said and took a step back.

Zaitsev sat up suddenly.  “I could say the same thing to you, Sergeant.”  He half grinned.  “I didn’t think Russia’s elite Spetsnaz and America’s famed Delta Force were dumb enough to shoot an undercover Russian agent.”

All of the soldiers froze, and Locke blinked at a healthy Zaitsev.  “What the he…”

“I shot you dead in the chest,” the second Russian soldier said.  “Twice.”

“You missed,” Zaitsev said, touching his chest and pulling a metal like baton from his jacket.  “And you can thank God you did, or you’d be digging ditches in Siberia tomorrow.”

The first Russian soldier raised his pistol at Zaitsev’s head. 

“You’re making a mistake, son.”  Zaitsev didn’t move a muscle.

“Maybe, but the people we shoot don’t get up,” the first Russian soldier said and grabbed Zaitsev by the wrist.  “Now, get your hands…”

The first soldier collapsed to the ground. 

Zaitsev pulled back the now glowing baton and leapt at the second Russian.

The second soldier fell on his face.

Zaitsev smiled.  “Boo.”  He flicked the baton forward, whipping out the tip two meters to take down another soldier.

“Jesus Christ,” the American soldier said.  “What is that thing?

Zaitsev rushed the remaining soldiers. 

“Shoot him,” Locke said.

The two soldiers raised their rifles as Zaitsev kicked the closest in the chest.

Locke turned back to Juarez. 

“Sorry.”  He smiled and grabbed her wrist all of the sudden, pulling it and her hard to the right.

She punched him in the face.

“Ow.”  Juarez frowned, shifting his weight with her, and they tumbled over, their arms flailing against one another as Locke kneed him in the ribs.

“Ow.  Cut it out.”  Juarez ignored the pain, twisting Locke underneath him, and threw himself down on her hard, knocking the wind out of her. 

“Oof.”

He reached for Locke’s fallen pistol and raised it in Zaitsev’s direction.

“Please, Lieutenant,” Zaitsev said with another smile.  “I already handled the commandos like I did the terrorists.”  He looked down the hall, flicking the baton at the last standing American soldier, and took him out.  “Not bad for a 95 year old man, huh?”

Juarez stared at Zaitsev and frowned.  “How did you…”

“This time it was surprise, Lieutenant.”  Zaitsev picked up the briefcase of plutonium.  “That, and those years of experience.”

“The novocaine?”  Juarez pointed.

“What else?”  Zaitsev gave him a look.

Juarez shook his head and felt for his own baton/whip, the so-called ‘novocaine’ that could knock out anything on Earth.  He had been told not to reveal the weapon to anyone except in an emergency, but Zaitsev had used the device so quickly that Juarez doubted any of the soldiers knew what hit them.

“Can we get out of here, Lieutenant, or do you want to ask her to dinner?”  Zaitsev waved to Locke.

Juarez blinked and Locke shifted under him. 

She looked into his eyes.  “You won’t get away with this,” she said.  “We have helicopters that will shoot you down before you’re a mile away.”

“And possibly contaminate the atmosphere?”  Zaitsev shook his head as he checked the briefcase.  “I doubt it.”

“They will shoot you down.”  Locke stared at him

“Only if they don’t have any other options.”  Zaitsev stepped forward and glanced out the front door.  “And there’s always other options.”

“Even if you get away, you won’t attract any followers with nuclear weapons or dirty bombs,” Locke said.  “That’s crossing a line too fa…”

“You’re right, and if we were terrorists, we would be making a huge mistake.”  Zaitsev turned back and looked her in the eye.  “Anyone using radioactive, biological or chemical weapons, including you or the Russians, would be opening up a can of worms that would make this planet uninhabitable.”

Locke blinked, staring at Zaitsev as Juarez got off her.

“Why do think New Zealand is so concerned about Russia’s unsecured radioactive materials?”  Zaitsev rolled his eyes at Juarez.  “If you took a closer look at Kiwi policy then you’d know that we’ve opposed the misuse of radiation for the last 40 years.”

“What happened to your clothes?” 

Zaitsev held Locke’s stare as a small smile crept over his face.  “What do you mean?”

“Really?”  Her face tightened.  “You think I’m stupid.”

He shrugged and smiled more.

“Sir, we’ve got to leave; the big guns are coming,” Parks said over their communication link.  “Those helicopters are nearly here.”

Locke nodded and started to get up.

“Don’t.”  Juarez pointed the pistol at her to stay down. 

Zaitsev grabbed Juarez and pulled him out of the building.

One hundred meters away three Russian and two American soldiers lay unconscious in front of an old, Russian army truck where Parks waved and smiled as Zaitsev and Juarez raced toward her.

“What happened, Lieutenant?” Juarez said to Parks, pointing to the fallen soldiers as he and Zaitsev neared the truck.  “Did…”

“Shut up and get in, junior” Parks said, looking over two out of place monitors and a control yoke inside the truck.  “We’re on a schedule, remember.”

Juarez frowned at Parks, but Zaitsev shoved him into the back.  “Let’s go, Lieutenant.  I’d prefer not to deal with those helicopters if we can help it.”

“I don’t think that’s an option, sir.”  Parks gunned the truck forward.

They headed east, away from the small group of buildings on the edge of a forest and down a road toward a group of hills a few kilometers away.

“You know, this wasn’t what I imagined when I joined the Confederate military.”  Juarez strapped in and turned to a series of instruments that also didn’t belong in a Russian army truck.

“Yes, Lieutenant, everyone says that, but it wouldn’t be an adventure if it was what you expected, would it?”  Zaitsev turned from his own monitors to Parks.  “You’re clear about the route and when to get stealthy, Lieutenant?”

“Yes, sir,” Parks said, her eyes on the road and her left hand on the yoke.  “Crystal.”

Zaitsev nodded and turned back to Juarez.  “I don’t know what you’re complaining about, Lieutenant.  We get three meals a day, have advanced technology beyond anything else on this planet and we’re actually doing something good for Earth.”  He smiled and threw up a hand.  “I would say you have the easy life.”

“Compared to fighting Nazis, sir?”  Juarez adjusted his monitors.

“Yes, Lieutenant.”  Zaitsev nodded.  “During Stalingrad I was happy to have a rifle.  If I had had a bulletproof holographic suit and just a few other nifty gadgets, I could’ve won the Great Patriotic War in a week and saved millions of people from Hitler’s and Stalin’s insanity.”

Juarez looked up.  “Yes, sir.”

“Getting punched, kicked and even shot at is a cakewalk in comparison, Lieutenant.”  Zaitsev chuckled.

“Can we worry about those helicopters, Commander?” Parks said with a look and pointed to the two Apache attack choppers that zoomed over the horizon as she turned the truck off road and cut through a field.

Zaitsev turned to a monitor in front of him.  “I’m surprised it took them this long to get here, Lieutenant.”  He pointed to the left and the rapidly approaching hills.  “Head for that tunnel.”

“I know, sir.”  Parks kept the truck steady, ignoring the corn they were destroying well beyond the body of the truck, and nodded to some approaching trees.  “We’ll likely knock down some branches.”

“The tug can handle it, Lieutenant,” Zaitsev said, shrugging, and glanced back.  “Lieutenant Juarez, figure out if your girlfriend is spotting for the helicopters.”

Juarez flicked on a monitor and focused on an image of Locke using binoculars and a radio.  “She’s in contact with the pilots, sir,” he said, adjusting his earpiece.  “She’s telling them where we’re at and where we’re headed.”

BUDADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADADAD

The lead Apache opened fire with its main guns, tearing a gouge into the earth in front of them.

Parks turned the truck hard to the right, passing under a tree and knocking off two high branches.

Locke flinched on Juarez’s monitor.  The branches were at least three meters above the truck but had been torn from the tree as if they were just twigs a meter off the ground.

“Sir, I think my girlfriend just noticed that things are fishy.”  Juarez shook his head.  “She…”

“I’m not surprised.”  Zaitsev frowned.  “I should’ve hit her with the novocaine, Lieutenant.” 

“Sorry, sir.”  Juarez looked up.  “What do you want me to do?” 

“Keep watching her, Lieutenant.”  Zaitsev turned back to his monitors.  “And…”

“And one of the Apaches is preparing to launch missiles, sir,” Parks said, nodding to the monitors, and shook her head.  “They’re not taking any chances.”

“They will be if this plutonium is released into the atmosphere, Lieutenant,” Zaitsev said, his eyes on the road and the tunnel still two kilometers away.

“Commander, does the US military know that we’re carrying a briefcase of plutonium?”  Juarez tapped his earpiece.  “Because they’re talking about taking us out.”

“The pilots and your girlfriend probably think we have cesium since that’s what you told her, Lieutenant, but it doesn’t matter.”  Zaitsev nodded.  “They’re going to assume we have plutonium and they’re not going to let us get away with...”

“Sir.”  Parks gritted her teeth.

The lead Apache released a missile and Juarez closed his eyes. 

BOOM.

A smoking crater opened up ten meters in front of them, and Parks smiled as the truck passed right over the hole like the ground was straight and level.

“They’re going to notice that, sir.”  Juarez pointed.

“The pilots are too busy flying, Lieutenant.”  Zaitsev waved him away.

“Maybe, sir, but she noticed.”  Juarez watched Locke look up from her binoculars.  “And the helicopter is preparing to fire more missiles, Commander.  Both helicopters.  They’re aiming right for us.”

Zaitsev nodded, watching the first of the two helicopters zoom in low in front of the truck, trying to slow them down.

Parks grinned, adjusting the yoke, and raced forward even faster.

“We could disguise a pulse wave to look like a launched missile and take that chopper down, sir.”  Juarez flicked two switches to initiate the wave.  “The crew should survi…”

“Take your hand off the trigger, Lieutenant,” Parks said, loudly, and kept her eyes in front of her.  “Right now.”

Juarez pulled his hands away from the controls, frowned at the helicopters on his monitor and looked up again at Zaitsev.  “Sir, these tugs have never actually been field tested against a multiple missile strik…”

“Keep your eyes on that woman, Lieutenant.”  Zaitsev barked with his eyes on the helicopters.  “And tell us what they’re saying.”

The helicopter near the ground pulled up as Parks grinned and the truck raced forward.

Juarez nodded.  “Do you want their telemetry jammed, sir?”

Zaitsev frowned.  “No, I want you to…”

“Incoming, sir,” Parks said, grinning more even as her hands tightened on the yoke.

Two missiles streaked from each Apache and Juarez held his breath.

BA BA BA BAM.

The missiles hit within half a second of each other and a fireball mushroomed out from the truck.

The Apaches rode the force of the explosion, waiting to circle back and fire again.

Boom.

A second, smaller explosion ripped through the air, seemingly from the truck’s gas tank, and a metal heap tumbled to a halt.

Parks turned back to the wreckage with an even bigger grin.  “Camouflage field engaged, and I left the garbage behind, Commander,” she said after the truck shimmered and became seemingly transparent.  She drove straight for another hundred meters and then pulled back on the yoke.

The truck lifted off the ground, flying high and banking to the left of one of Apaches, just missing its rotors. 

Zaitsev smiled at Parks and looked back at Juarez with a nod.  “I told you four of their missiles wouldn’t damage the tug, Lieutenant.”

Juarez looked at him.  “I thought we were only sure that a tug could survive a hit from two missiles, sir?”

“It looks like it can survive more than you calculated, Lieutenant.”  Zaitsev rolled his eyes.  “But why don’t you see if the tug’s all right, anyway.”

Parks turned the shimmering, nearly invisible flying truck, and much bigger spacecraft, up and away from the helicopters and looked back at Juarez with a wink.  “Nice first mission, junior.”

Juarez nodded.  “No obvious damage to the tug, sir.”  He turned to Zaitsev.  “The missiles’ force and energy were reflected away from the outer hull and the secondary explosion we caused mimicked that of a real exploding truck.”  He stopped and listened into his earpiece, looking at the image of Locke.  “But…”

“What is it, Lieutenant?”

“The pilots and the spotter are hoping and praying that the briefcase we stole could survive a missile strike, sir.”

Zaitsev checked his monitors.  “Did you release the cesium into the air, Lieutenant?”

“Yes, sir, right on the mark.  They should detect that in the next hour or so and determine that they weren’t exposed to much more radiation than you get by flying in a plane.”

“That should fool them into thinking that they successfully stopped terrorists from getting their hands on radioactive materials, Commander.”  Parks turned the tug toward a high orbit around Earth.  “And we can make sure this plutonium is safe and sound.”

Zaitsev nodded but noticed Juarez’s tight expression.  “What’s the problem, Lieutenant?”

Juarez looked up from his monitor.  “I think that woman, her name’s Sara Locke, sir, that somehow she saw us take off after the missile strike.”

“That’s impossible, Lieutenant.”  Parks shook her head.

Zaitsev looked at Locke’s image on one of his own monitors.  Her lips jutted out as she searched the sky around the tug.

“Our camouflage technology should be reflecting blue skies and clouds off of the tug’s hull, Commander.”  Parks turned to Zaitsev.  “She shouldn’t be…”

“That can produce a shimmering effect, Lieutenant,” Zaitsev said, but saw the image of Locke still searching the sky on his monitors.  “It’s not perfect.  Sometimes it’s seen through.”

“And it looks she saw through it, sir,” Juarez said, switching his communications link to the tug’s speakers.

“…are you sure you guys didn’t see something take off out of that explosion?” Locke said to the Apache pilots.  “I could’ve sworn that I saw a hazy object six or seven times the size of a Russian truck rise out of that fireball and fly away.”

Locke got static for a few seconds.  “No, Captain, we didn’t see anything,” one of the pilots said.  “We had turned away from the truck when the missiles hit it, but from up here it doesn’t look like there’s anything left but a burning truck.   Maybe when we get a closer look…”

Zaitsev turned off the speakers.

“That could be a problem, sir,” Juarez said.  “We’re not supposed to show off our technology to anyone on Earth or leave any evidence behind that we exist.”

“And we didn’t, Lieutenant.  People see hundreds of unidentified flying objects every day and very few of them are real,” Zaitsev said.  “We did fine.  Everything is under control.  In about an hour they’ll have detected the cesium, assume that’s what the Tajiks were trying to sell us, and go home happy.”

“Yes, sir.”  Juarez frowned.

“Lieutenant Parks was right, Lieutenant,” Zaitsev said and patted him on the shoulder.  “Your first mission on Earth was a success.  Congratulations.”

Juarez smiled and Commander Sun nodded in agreement from 1,000 kilometers above Earth as she listened to their conversation from the giant U-shaped space cruiser called the Rising Star.  She looked up at Commanders Nelson Mbeki and Sylwia Ostrowski who sat across from her at a small conference table.  Behind the two commanders all of Asia could be seen through an observation monitor.  “It looks like the mission to secure the plutonium from an old Soviet base was a success, Commanders.”

“I never thought Lieutenant Commander Zaitsev lost his edge, Captain,” Commander Mbeki said. 

Sun nodded.  “That’s why I made him my first officer, Nelson, and remember that I’m a commander just like you.”

“Sorry, Commander, it’s just that…”

“Don’t worry about it.”  Sun smiled.  “From what I hear you’re next in line for a promotion, and you deserve it with all the work you’re doing here.”

“If the Confederacy discovers what we’ve doing on Europa I doubt there will be a human captain in this generation.”  Mbeki frowned.

“Well, no matter what the Confederacy says, I’m impressed with the work you’ve done there.”  Sun nodded.

“Thank you, but Sylwia deserves most of the credit.”  Mbeki pointed to Commander Ostrowski.  “She’s headed up most of the construction efforts.”

“You’re too kind, Nelson,” Ostrowski said.  “But it’s easy to put things together when nobody in the galaxy cares about what you’re doing.”  She shrugged.  “We could destroy Mars tomorrow, and I doubt anyone in the Confederacy would notice.”

“Do you think interfering with Earth’s internal matters will get their attention, Sylwia?” Sun said.

Ostrowski shook her head.  “No, Commander.  I don’t think the Ya’neth or Dwanem will care about what we’re doing on Earth.  In fact, they both might encourage your contacts since they want to start commercial relations and then take advantage of the planet’s biological resources.”  She looked at the display of Asia.  “I think that the Confederacy’s human diplomatic and espionage corps stationed on Earth won’t be too happy, though.”

Sun nodded.  “I’m thinking of having a conversation with them soon.”

Mbeki and Ostrowski both half frowned.

“How is your new recruit adjusting to the Rising Star,” Mbeki said and pointed to the monitor still showing Zaitsev, Parks and Juarez.  “Richard and Christine’s son?

“Lieutenant Juarez?”  Sun turned to the monitor showing the tug’s progress.  “So far, I think he’s done well.  He’s still nervous, but he enjoys being stationed with humans again and his eyes lit up when I asked him to go on this mission to Earth.  We can ask him if you like.”

Mbeki smiled.  “Okay.”

Sun hit a switch on the monitor.  “Lieutenant Juarez, I don’t want to put you on the spot, but how was your first mission to Earth?”

A close up of Juarez popped up on the monitor and he blinked, getting his bearings.  “It was fine, ma’am,” he said with half a shrug.  “Things got a little hairy there for a second, but everything worked out.  Lieutenant Commander Zaitsev really knows how to get things done.  We have the plutonium and we should be back to the Rising Star in a few minutes.”

“Good.”  Sun looked at Mbeki to see if he wanted to say anything.

He shook his head ‘no’.

Sun turned back to Juarez and smiled.  “I told you everything would be all right, didn’t I, Lieutenant?”

Juarez smiled back and let out his breath.  “Yes, you did, ma’am.  You did.”

“Good, Lieutenant.  I look forward to a full report.”  Sun smiled, cutting the link, and turned back to Ostrowski and Mbeki.

“Very good,” Ostrowski said, and Mbeki nodded in agreement.  “It looks like you made the right decision yet again, Commander.”

“We’re moving forward.”  Sun nodded.  “One step at a time.”

“Yes, Commander,” both Ostrowski and Mbeki said.  “One step at a time.”

Top Guns

“So.”  A small, nearly invisible spacecraft of three shifting carbon and metal columns coasted through space 157 kilometers above the South Pole when Lieutenant Parks eased the yoke down and took the tug out of orbit toward a tiny black dot in the middle of Antarctica’s midday sun.  “That it?”

“Yes,” Lieutenant Juarez said, looking at his monitors, and then through the spacecraft’s canopy at the rapidly approaching Earth right in front of them.  “The carbon dioxide scrubber broke down and nobody can figure out why from the Star.  It’s been malfunctioning for the last week, still sucking CO2 out of the atmosphere, but not burying it underground any more.  My team ran a remote analysis on it yesterday, but we can’t determine what’s wrong.  It’s like someone climbed inside and took a hammer to it.”

Parks nodded and kept her eyes on the Earth.  “And they couldn’t rule out the hammer theory based on internal visual records?”

“No, unfortunately, not.”  Juarez turned to her.  “The station’s communications systems and internal scanners are down.”

“So, someone could have used a hammer and gone to town?”  Parks threw up a hand.

“It’s possible.”  Juarez shrugged.

“But unlikely.”  Parks looked at him.

“Very unlikely, Lieutenant.”  He nodded.

Parks half smiled and turned back to the Earth.  “Nicely said, junior, very by the book.”

Juarez sighed.  “Still need to prove myself, huh?”

Parks looked again at Juarez and smiled all the way.  “You did pass the name all 125 crew members test, but yes, three weeks isn’t enough time to get out of probation; particularly since you messed up three names.”

“Just three middle names.”  Juarez turned back to his monitors.  “And I don’t get credit for getting beat up last week?” 

“Why?”  Parks made a face and turned back to her own.  “That was by a girl who isn’t even part of the Rising Star’s crew.”

“But.”  Juarez raised a finger.  “She was a highly trained American secret agent who shoved a gun in my face and nearly squeezed the trigger.”

“Meh.”  Parks shrugged.  “Still a girl.”

“You’re a girl.”  Juarez looked at her again.

“Yes, so I’ve noticed for the last thirty years.”  Parks shifted in her jacket.  “My husband’s happy about it too.”

“You’re married?”  Juarez’s face dropped.  “Seriously?”

Parks’ face scrunched up and she turned to look at Juarez in the co-pilot chair.  “Yes.  That’s what people do as they mature and grow older.  They get married, have kids, raise a family.  It’s how you got here thanks to your parents.”

“Woo.”  Juarez met her look, giving her a big thumb’s up, and nodded slowly.  “Good to know.”

Parks just stared at him.  “Why do you think I escorted Shane to the transfer shuttle and had a long, dramatic goodbye?”

“I thought you were just friends or dating or having a fli…”

Parks shook her head.  “No.”

Juarez kept staring.  “Okay.”  He held up his hands.  “Sorry.”

Parks ignored him and turned back to the controls.  “Some of us want to do more than hook up with whoever’s nearby and has breas...”

“I want more than that, Lieutenant,” Juarez said and turned back to his monitors.  “That’s why I’m so happy to be on the Star where I can meet new wo…”

“Right.  Word is you met Ensign Hussein three times last week.”  Parks laughed.  “Although I don’t think Marian is looking for something long term.”

“What are talking about?”  Juarez’s eyes went wide again.  “How do you know…”

“It’s a small ship, junior, and word gets around super-fast.”  Parks rolled her eyes.  “I thought you’d know that.”

“Why is that anyone’s business but Marian’s and mine?”  Juarez frowned.

“Because adults cling to their adolescence.”  Parks nodded to him and pointed to his goatee.  “You certainly know that.”

“Great.”  Juarez shook his head.  “Wonderful.”

“Is it working out?”  Parks grinned.

“What?”  Juarez looked her way.

Parks gave him a smirk.  “Palson in Engineering has a thing for her and asked me to ask you.”

Juarez frowned again.  “You do know we’re hanging out.”

“Hanging out.”  Parks laughed.  “Okay, sorry.  I didn’t think Marian mattered much because you have a thing for that girl secret agent we met last week in Tajikistan.  You know the one who kicked your butt.”

“Sara Locke?”  Juarez nodded.

“You know her name?”  Parks gave him a look.

“She told me her name.”  Juarez shrugged.  “And she didn’t kick my butt.”

“Just beat you up?”  Parks chuckled.

“No.”  Juarez shook his head more.

“That’s not what Commander Zaitsev said.”  Parks twisted the yoke and the ship with it.  “At all.”

Juarez took in a breath.  “Yes, well he is our superior officer, so I guess what he says goes.”

“Yes, that’s how it works.”  Parks laughed again.  “And I figured since you learned 122 of 125 crew’s first, middle and last names you wouldn’t have time for one more.”

“I know the other three now, and those last three weren’t as pretty as Locke and didn’t knock me to the ground.”  Juarez turned to Parks.  “You know, I didn’t get to spend a lot of time with pretty women on my last tour.  There were only ten of us the Quasar and everybody but me and a lonely Sergeant were coupled up.”

“Gay?”  Parks took in his look.

“Yes.”  Juarez breathed in.  “Plus, when would I ever see Locke again?”

“You never know.”  Parks shrugged.  “She’s an American secret agent.  Maybe she’ll get tasked with tracking down UFOs.”

“Right.”  Juarez half laughed. “That’ll happen.”

“It doesn’t matter because you’re in love with Marian Hussein.”

Juarez looked at Parks and shook his head.  “Didn’t you just say I was in love with Locke?  Plus, I don’t know about Marian.  Maybe there’s something there.”

“Yes, maybe.  Maybe not.”  Parks shrugged and shook her head.  “Word is that Marian hasn’t been too impressed.”

“What?”  Juarez frowned.

Parks smirked again.  “Well, you know…”

“No, I don’t.  Tell me,” Juarez said when his monitors squawked. 

“Lieutenants, can I please have a situation report?” Commander Sun said, her image appearing on their monitors.

Juarez clicked on the communication controls.  “We’re ready, Commander.  One minute to touch down.”

“Good, Lieutenant.”  She looked up from a tablet.

“Everything all right up there, ma’am?” Parks said.

Sun tilted her head with a look.  “Bored, Lieutenant?”

“Ma’am.”  Parks caught her breath.  “No, Commander.  I was just…”

“We’re fine without you, Lieutenant Parks.”  Sun smiled and turned back to the tablet.  “The smuggler’s camouflaged but doesn’t know we know he’s there.  We’re waiting for him to come to us, using him to work out the kinks in the new warning system, which seem to be many.”

“Yes, ma’am.  Again, my apolog…”

Sun nodded.  “We’ll see you in a couple of hours, Lieutenants.  Make sure you figure out what’s wrong with that station.  I don’t want to send down another tug any time soon.  We’ve got other things that need to get done.”

“Yes, ma’am.”  Parks nodded back.

Commander Sun flickered from the monitor.

“She’s not too happy about the scrubber unit?” Juarez said.

“We’ve got a ridiculous schedule and the scrubber’s not even close to a maintenance check.”  Parks turned to him and raised five fingers.  “It should run smoothly for another five years according to its specs.  But we’ve got to go fix it since it’s leaving a giant black spot in the middle of Antarctica.”

“You think anybody on Earth’s noticed yet?”  Juarez pointed to the black spot below them and getting bigger.  “I mean…”

“I don’t think many are looking, but you have to figure that NASA or the European Space Agency or maybe the Chinese would notice something.”  Parks pointed out the canopy.  “That’s a pretty strange spot.  But we’re here to fix it, so let’s get it done.” 

Juarez looked out the canopy at the scrubber unit, but nothing seemed unusual except the giant black spot.  Then suddenly, the monitor to his right displaying all of the Earth and the space out to the moon went white with a giant energy burst where Commander Sun and the Rising Star orbited a thousand kilometers above the planet.  His eyes opened wide as his hands went to the controls and refined the instruments to focus on the Rising Star and its nearby space.  Then a smuggler’s freighter decamouflaged and turned toward the Rising Star.  He turned to Parks who looked right back at him and clicked on the communications controls to contact the Star.

“Commander, this is Lieutenant Juarez,” he said, very quickly.  “Is everything all right up there, ma’am?”

They heard and saw nothing but static.  The freighter decelerated rapidly as it approached the Rising Star, covering hundreds of kilometers in seconds, but appeared to move in slow motion on the screen.

Parks pulled up on the controls of the tug, halting its descent one hundred meters above the Earth, hovering above the giant black spot and the scrubber unit.  “What’s going on?”  She looked at her own monitors.  “Lieutenant Juarez?”

He pulled his main monitor closer and touched the screen to reexamine the burst of energy that just exploded from the Rising Star.  He started to analyze specific information from the energy burst as the freighter slowly approached the Star’s port airlock and then looked to Parks.  “Is the freighter docking with the Star?”

“No,” she said, her eyes growing large as the freighter pushed very slowly into the lifeless Rising Star’s port side, then accelerated quickly to 4,000 kilometers an hour as it pushed the Star downward for several seconds and then pulled away.

“It knocked the Star out of orbit.”  Juarez’s mouth fell open as they watched it fall in a straight line toward the Earth 1,000 kilometers below.

“Tell me what just happened.”  Parks pulled the control yoke hard to the right and up, pointing the tug straight toward the Rising Star, and turned to Juarez.  “Details, Lieutenant.  Now.”

Juarez looked at his monitors, watching the Star fall as the freighter headed straight to the Pacific Ocean, and swallowed.  Then he touched his controls, examining the energy released by the explosion, and shook his head.  “I’m not sure.  I need more time to…”

“Give me a good guestimate, Lieutenant.”  Parks frowned.  “Right now.”

Juarez looked at Parks and then back at his monitors, rewinding the automatic scans of the Star’s position from the last three minutes. 

“Lieutenant?” Parks said, her hands playing over her own instruments.

“Lieutenant.”  Juarez swallowed.  “I think that a small, camouflaged, asteroid or meteor hit the Star and scraped a hole through the outer hull.”

“That wouldn’t do very much damage.”  Parks shook her head.

“No, absolutely not.”  Juarez nodded.  “The only thing that could suck out the Star’s energy would be…”

“An electromagnetic pulse.”  Parks frowned more.

“Right, a pulse exploding anywhere between the primary, secondary or tertiary hulls would bleed the ship’s reactors and batteries dry, sucking all the energy out in seconds.”  Juarez turned to Parks.  “But they’re illegal.”

“No kidding.”  Parks gave him a look and pointed to the monitors.  “So is smuggling.  So is pushing a military cruiser into a destructive free fall.”

Juarez turned to the monitors too and saw the falling Rising Star.  “If we’d had that detection grid in place the Star would’ve caught the…”

“That’s why the smugglers hit us now.  Before we get a real lock on spotting and stopping all illegals from getting to Earth.”

Juarez looked at Parks.  “What do we do?” 

Parks flicked three last switches and flung open the gravity engine.  The tug hit Mach five immediately and kept accelerating.

“Someone is probably going to see that.”  Juarez blinked.

“Right.”  Parks focused on her own monitors, her hands flying on the controls, and plotted a course for the falling Rising Star.  “We’re going to have to live with that.”

“NASA might not have noticed that giant black stain in the Antarctic, but they’re definitely going to notice a 500 kiloton spaceship light up the sky.”

“And that won’t make any difference if a 96,000 kiloton alien military cruiser crashes in the Pacific Ocean for the whole world to see.”  Parks adjusted the yoke to stay on course to the falling Rising Star.  “We’re going to rescue them.”  She looked at Juarez.  “And stop the smugglers too.”

Juarez turned to Parks with another look and then half a nod.  “That sounds like a great idea, Lieutenant, but how are we going to grab a 96,000 kiloton military cruiser in mid-air and stop its plunge through the atmosphere and into the ocean.  It’s already lighting up the sky, and we only have about ten minutes until the friction eats through all three hulls and turns the entire ship into a leaking radioactive husk: a husk that’s going to hit the Earth about a minute after that and leave a giant hole in the ground.”

Parks turned back to her instruments. 

“The impact is going to create a giant tsunami that will hit every continent except Europe with a five-to-ten-meter wave,” Juarez said, staring at his monitors.  “And…” 

“That’s not helping.”  Parks examined a multitude of information on her monitors and adjusted the control yoke again to take them past the Rising Star’s path. 

“What will?”  Juarez looked out the canopy for the falling ship even though he couldn’t see it.

“Calculate the Star’s trajectory and spin ratio, determine the increase in the hull’s temperature, particularly around the tug ports, and determine how much the changing gravity relative to the Earth and the increasing atmospheric density is going to affect the tug when I link it up to the Star.”

“You’re going to land in the tug port?”  Juarez began to pull up all of the requested information.  “That’s…”

“You got a better idea?”  Parks nodded but looked at him with wide eyes.  “Because I’m listening.”

Juarez’s head tilted to right, his hands feeding the needed information to Parks’ monitors, and half frowned.  He narrowed his monitor’s focus on the Rising Star, seeing it shaking at an increasing speed, and swallowed.  “Um.”

“Yes?” 

The tug zoomed past the Rising Star’s trajectory and curved around the Earth nearly 1,200 kilometers over the Pacific, hovering for a few seconds before slingshotting back straight toward the Star.

“Okay.”  Parks twisted the yoke and adjusted the tug’s speed to zoom in on a path toward the Rising Star with the Earth on their port side, parallel to them.  “We’ll hit them from the side.  That way if we miss the Star we won’t run into the Earth.”  

The Rising Star twisted and spun randomly below them, increasing in speed as it closed in on the Earth and started to glow.

“We have to watch out for the increasing gravitational pull from the Earth,” Juarez said and looked up from his monitors.

“No kidding.  But all we need to do is hook up to the tug port.”  Parks half shrugged and then grinned.  “Something we do every time we land.”

Juarez caught his breath.  “You know that’s like shooting a spot on a larger bullet with a smaller bullet while the larger bullet is spinning and tumbling in a random pattern that changes every other second.”

Parks nodded.  “You’re full of good news.”  She turned all of her attention to her monitors and the tug’s controls.  “But I don’t hear any better ideas.”

Juarez’s eyes narrowed.  “The crew could reactivate one of the energy absorbing units, use the heat from the free fall and jumpstart one or more of the fusion reactors or the gravity drive to push themselves back into orbit.”

“Okay.”  Parks nodded again.  “And what power source would they use for the initial jumpstart?

“Their own bodies.”  Juarez glanced her way.  “Their personal nanotech is shielded by the EMP with flesh and blood.  They could jumpstart the absorption units with…”

“That’s a leap, even assuming that anyone is conscious to come up with the idea, able to move despite the increased gravity on the falling ship and then can access the right controls?”

“Um,” Juarez said.

“Not likely right?”  Parks shook her head.

“No.”  Juarez shook his head too.  “It’s not.”

“Okay.”  Parks studied Juarez’s data, twisting the yoke and tug to compensate for the effects of gravity and the changing heat and hull integrity of the Rising Star. 

“So.”  Juarez looked at the same information as Parks.  “Your plan sounds pretty good.”

“Particularly since we don’t have any other options or anywhere to go if the Star is destroyed.”

Juarez nodded, frowning at the monitors of information.  “We could hook up with one of the other Confederate cruisers an…”

“Keep your eyes on that data, Lieutenant.”  Parks twisted the yoke and adjusted the controls yet again.  “We need to get this right to the centimeter or things are going to get very messy very quickly.”

Juarez focused on his monitors as the tug approached the twisting and now burning Rising Star.  “Yes, ma’am.”

Parks stared at the twisting, giant U-shaped cruiser as the tug slowed to 15,000 kilometers an hour.  “The plan is to zoom up near the Star, and then slow down to a matching speed at about 500 meters,”

“About?”  Juarez turned to her.

Parks shrugged.  “And then land ourselves into the tug port so they barely know we’re there.”

Juarez swallowed.  “Got it.”  He looked at a closeup view of the ship.  “The damage doesn’t look as bad as I thought it’d be.”

“How can you tell?”  Parks’ eyes narrowed on her monitors and through the canopy at the burning Rising Star.

“It’s still intact.” 

“Great.”  Parks yanked on the controls to reverse the tug’s momentum as the tug came within five kilometers of the cruiser.

“Okay.”  Juarez let out his breath.  “You’re doing it.”

“Shut up.”  Parks kept her eyes on the monitors and her hands on the controls.  She eased the tug forward covering the remaining kilometers in ten seconds with only 500 meters remaining.

SWOOSH.

The tug lurched forward without warning, flashing past the Rising Star with meters to spare, and jerked Parks and Juarez against and then away from their seats. 

“Son of a b...”

“Yah,” Parks said, her hands off the controls as the tug’s artificial gravity failed, and she and Juarez flung back again into their seats with eight g’s pushing them down and the tug flying up and out of the Earth’s atmosphere toward a low orbit. 

“What, uggghh, is happening?”  Juarez strained.

“The safeties kicked in.  Uggghhh.  The artificial intelligence took over,” Parks said, her face a giant wrinkle as she grabbed back the yoke, turning it hard to the right and jamming on the gravity drive.  The tug shot forward, lighting up a trail across the night sky as it fled the Earth’s gravitational field away from the Rising Star, and the artificial intelligence restarted the artificial gravity.

Parks and Juarez took in a deep breath as they pulled away from their seats.

“The safeties?”  Juarez shook his head to focus on his monitors.  “The AI overrode your rescue attempt because it was too dangerous?”

“You just lived through it, Lieutenant,” Parks said, her focus returning to her monitors and controls.  “So, don’t ask.”

“You knew this would happen?”  Juarez turned to her.

“I’m not surprised.”  Parks ignored him.

“Are you crazy?”  Juarez looked back at his monitors.  “We almost died.”

“But we didn’t.”  Parks looked at him with a quick shrug before turning back to her monitors.  “And we won’t.  We have less than four minutes left before the Star is destroyed and creates all kinds of problems.  So, calm yourself down and get me new specs on the gravity and atmospheric fluctuations, Lieutenant.”  She twisted the yoke and the tug toward the Rising Star.  “We’re going to have to deal with Earth’s weather now too.” 

Juarez stared at her as Parks looped the tug in another short arc, hovered for a second and then aimed it straight for the Rising Star and the Earth below it.  She pushed the drive forward and the tug roared even faster toward the Rising Star.

“We’ve got three minutes to make this work so double check that I pulled the safeties.  In fact, shut off the tug’s AI just before we get to the Star so there’s no chance of me being overridden again.”

Juarez looked at her for a moment, and then turned to his monitors, preparing to shut off the tug’s artificial intelligence.  “Lieutenant, I don’t mean to show you any disrespect, but…”

“But what?” Parks said, cutting him off without taking her attention away from the monitors and instruments.  “What do you want to say, junior?”

Juarez took in a breath.  “If the AI shut us down and doesn’t believe we can’t hook up with the Star, then what chance do we have of getting this to work?”

Parks half shrugged.  “All we have to do is compensate for the changing effects of gravity and the increasing effects of Earth’s atmosphere to reconnect to the Star’s airlock and then use the tug’s power to get everybody back into orbit.”

“Yes, I know.”  Juarez breathed.  “We just tried to do that, and the ship overrode us.”

“Right,” Parks said.  “It’ll be harder this time because of the turbulence and the slowing of the Rising Star due to friction.”

“And because we’re diving straight toward the planet this time.”  Juarez stared through the canopy at the growing size of the Earth.

“So, I guess we can’t miss.”  Parks focused on the Rising Star’s trajectory, altitude and spin.  “Unfortunately, that can’t be helped.”  She half laughed and shook her head.  “Plus, you still need to find the smugglers’ channel while you help me guide the tug in.”

“Right.”  Juarez rolled his eyes.  “Of course.”

“I did worse when I was the lead kamikaze pilot for New Plymouth, you know?”  Parks found half a grin.  “Before we even knew how to fly those ships.”

“Sure.”  Juarez laughed.  “But I didn’t know you were married until ten minutes ago, Lieutenant.”

“True.”  Parks laughed too and grinned more.  “You should try harder to get to know the people you work with.”

“Right.”  Juarez pointed to the monitors.  “You need to keep watch on that storm front, Lieute...”

“I see it.”  Parks twisted the yoke.  “The gravity drive will more than compensate.”

“We’re 59 seconds away from contact.”  Juarez nearly pointed to the burning Rising Star but stopped himself.

“Yes.”  Parks kept her focus on the monitors.  “Anyway, kamikaze pilots have to line up their drones to hit with pinpoint accuracy on hostile targets moving at thousands of kilometers or more a second.”  She squinted at her monitors.  “You miss the right seam or angle of an enemy ship and you’ve just wasted your only shot of success and survival.”  Her hands relaxed on the yoke as she took in a breath.  “This should be easy in comparison.”

“I guess we’ll know in 49 seconds.”

“I guess so.”  Parks took in a deep breath.  “Did you find that channel?”

“I’ve got it.  Sounds like they’re harvesting some aquaculture.”  Juarez didn’t look away from his monitors and opened up a link.  “You’re on, Lieutenant.”

Parks’ mouth tightened.  “This is Lieutenant Mae Parks of the Rising Star.  You are in violation of Confederate law for attacking a military cruiser with an outlawed electromagnetic pulse weapon and entering a quarantined sentient system without authority.”  She waited five seconds for a response that didn’t come.  “You will leave Earth immediately without any cargo and report to the Jupiter station to wait for arrest by Confederate authorities.”

“Oh.”  A slight laugh came over the open line.  “No.  I don’t think so.”

Parks heard the words, but turned off the channel, keeping her focus on her instruments and the now white hot Rising Star. 

Juarez half frowned.  “That voice sounded familiar.”

“Not the time.”  Parks nodded, watching a tiny red stream of smoke that started coming out of the Star’s port side.  “Shut off the AI.”  She loosened her hold on the ship’s controls while still maintaining a firm grip on the yoke.  “All of it.”

Juarez nodded at Parks’ now monotone voice.  “Yes, Lieutenant,” he said, repeating his commands to the ship as it automatically warned of their dangerous and likely suicidal actions.

“Get ready to brake.”  Parks straightened out the yoke.  “We shouldn’t have the increased G’s this time since the safeties are offline and we can maintain the artificial gravity.”

“We might crash into the Star, though.”  Juarez looked at the spaceship taking over the canopy.

“Or make a hole in the Earth if we miss.”  Parks grinned a little.  She opened the communications line again.  “Smugglers, this is your last warning.  I will find you and make your lives worse than whatever Confederate law will do if you don’t get off the Earth and surrender to authorities right now.”  She flicked off the switch and nodded to Juarez.  “Let’s brake without breaking.”

“Yes, ma’am.”  Juarez nodded back.  “Do it.”

Parks eased off the drive and altered their motion with a flick of another switch.  The tug’s engine strained suddenly and lurched with a groan as the ship’s speed dropped from 15,000 kilometers an hour to fifteen.  Their monitors flashed multiple warnings about deteriorating external structural integrity and high internal engine temperatures, but neither she nor Juarez felt any physical effects on the inside of the tug due to the artificial gravity and environmental systems. 

The Rising Star kept spinning randomly and glowed even hotter as smoke started blowing out of the ship’s port side. 

Parks could see the bare outlines of a town or city on an approaching Pacific island behind the Star.

“They’re going to burn up and explode in about thirty seconds, Lieutenant.”  Juarez’s eyes flying over his monitors.  “The friction’s killing them, and I’m not sure if I can figure out the differences in our approaches and positions to make a clear path happen.”

“That’s all right, junior.”  Parks focused on the Rising Star’s melting tug port and pushed the yoke forward.  “I’ve got it.”

The tug nudged forward, covering the remaining 1,000 meters to the Rising Star much more quickly than was safe as Parks tried to match the tug’s speed and spin to the Star’s. 

Juarez turned to her with twenty seconds left as the four corners of the Star turned bright yellow without warning.  “What’s that?”  He looked back at his instruments.

Parks eyes narrowed into tight slits as she jammed the tug into the Star’s tug port.

CRRRRUUUUNNNNCCCCHHHH.

The tug smashed into the Rising Star’s port.  It didn’t fit well, but the tug connected enough to join the Star’s chaotic descent and spin toward the Earth.  They were now 90 kilometers above the Earth and hadn’t stopped spinning and falling.  They didn’t feel the movement, but the temperature inside the tug started rising.

Parks tapped the gravity drive as she focused on the joint spin of the Rising Star and the tug.

“Wait,” Juarez said into the silence.  His eyes didn’t leave his monitors as he studied the spin and the level of atmospheric turbulence.  “Now.”

Parks pushed the drive forward slowly.

Two more seconds passed as the temperatures skyrocketed inside the tug.

“We’re moving out of the spin and we’re still alive.”  Juarez noted that the tug had pushed the Star up and eased her spin a little.  “Again.”

Parks opened up the drive and the tug and Star slung away from the Earth over a continuous crunch coming from between the ships.  She pulled the yoke up and to the right heading away from the Earth, watching her monitors to ensure a stable flight path that led to a low but safe orbit. 

The temperatures began dropping as they continued to rise away from the Earth.

Juarez let out of laugh.  “You did it.”

Parks laughed too.  “Yes, we did.”

A loud burst of static erupted from Juarez’s monitors that turned into a BZZZ.  He flicked a switch and saw Commander Sun’s face with Lieutenant Commander Zaitsev behind her.  Both had bruised faces and were covered in blood and sweat.

“Nice job, Lieutenants.”  Sun nodded.  

“Thank you, ma’am,” Parks said, taking in the obviously battered Sun, and her face twisted down.  “Are you all right, Commander?”

“We’ve been better, Lieutenants.”  Sun shrugged.  “We just got the ship restarted and were able to get communications back,” she said.  “Where is that smuggler?”

Parks looked at Juarez who turned to his monitors.  “They’ve stopped their descent, and I think they’re pulling up stakes, Commander.”

Sun nodded again as Zaitsev said something to her that they couldn’t hear.  “Good.  Make sure you record everything you can on them, Lieutenant Juarez.  We’re going to have a conversation with them once we get things back to normal.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Juarez said as he turned back on the artificial intelligence and adjusted his instruments to take a full scan of the freighter.

“And Lieutenant Parks,” Sun said.

“Yes, ma’am.”  She blinked.

“Keep asking questions.”  Sun nodded a third time and half smiled.  “I’ve never been happier that I chose you as first pilot.”

Parks half smiled and nodded too.  “Thank you, Commander.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant.”

Juarez laughed as Sun disappeared from the monitors and turned to Parks.  “Does this mean I can stop jumping through hoops, Lieutenant?”

Parks laughed too.  “No.”  She got out the pilot’s chair and motioned him forward.  “Now let’s get out there and help the rest of the crew.  We’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

“Yes, ma’am.”  Juarez shook his head as he unstrapped himself from the co-pilot’s chair.  “You’ve got it, Lieutenant.”

Political Science

A broad smile took over Ambassador Warren Hull’s pale narrow face when he saw Commander Sun with Lieutenants Parks and Juarez.  Sun stepped into the empty restaurant with a smile as Parks and Juarez followed with wide eyes at the luxury of the rooftop terrace and view of the White House. 

“What did I say?”  Parks stared at the bright whiteness of it all and touched her stomach.  “We’re going to eat well tonight.”

“What are you talking about?”  Juarez said, quietly, and elbowed her in the ribs.  “I told you that.  My parents used to take me to places like this all the time when I was growing up.”  He pointed to one of the tables and its six settings.  “They have fancy napkins and everything.”

“Rough childhood, huh?”  Parks elbowed him back.

Juarez grimaced.  “That’s right.”

Parks laughed.  “I hope we’re making up for it now.”

“Not tonight.”  Juarez checked his jacket and tie and Parks’ little black dress in the large mirrors lining the opposite wall and then smiled as they followed Sun in a flowing white dress to Hull’s table.

His smile hadn’t faded as Hull stood up to meet them.  “Sun Qiao Hui, it’s been too long.”  He beamed, giving her a hug and nearly smothering her in his giant arms.  “You look as beautiful as the day you rescued me all those years ago in the middle of nowhere New Mexico.

Sun rolled her eyes, but hugged him back, and then looked him in the eye.  “I’m not sure that’s as charming as you think it is, Warren.”

“Why?”  Hull let her go with a look of mock horror and glanced at the wall of mirrors.  “Do I look that much older?”

“It’s still nice to see you, Warren,” Sun said, shaking a finger at him but smiling, and pointed out to the rooftop balcony and the city beyond it.  “Washington is treating you well?”

“The fancy napkins and everything don’t hurt.”  Hull turned to Parks and Juarez.  “Do they, Lieutenants?”

Sun laughed and glanced back to see the two straighten to attention.  “Yes, I think they forgot that the dampening field won’t work on those with Confederate tech.”  She nodded to the lieutenants.  “Let me introduce first Lieutenant Mae Parks, my senior pilot and second Lieutenant Benjamin Juarez, my tactical officer.”  She shook her head but smiled.  “They’re apparently newer to the fine art of diplomacy than I thought.” 

“Of course.”  Hull laughed.  “But no need for introductions, Qiao Hui.”  He shook Parks and Juarez’s hands in quick succession.  “I’m just glad Commander Sun was able to find some free time in your busy schedules.”

“It’s a pleasure, Ambassador.”  Parks half blushed.

“Yes, sir.”  Juarez nodded with a look at her.

Hull took them both in and laughed again.  “The pleasure’s mine, Lieutenants.  It’s not every day I meet the heroes who prevented the Rising Star from crashing into the Earth and saved millions of lives.”

Both lieutenants nodded this time but shifted on their feet with awkward smiles. 

“Thank you, Ambassador.  We were just doing our job,” Parks said.

“I think you were doing more than your job, Lieutenant.  I don’t know another pilot who would shut down the artificial intelligence and then be able to land a tug into a burning port less than 100 kilometers above Earth.”

“I was just following procedures, sir.”  Parks looked past him.

“Really?”  Hull shared a look with Sun.  “I didn’t know there was a procedure for that.”

Parks turned with a tight smile.  “I couldn’t have done it without Lieutenant Juarez’s help, sir.”

Hull turned to Juarez and smiled again.  “The report highlights your skills too, Lieutenant.  You did a tremendous job.”

“Thank you, sir.”  Juarez nodded to Parks.  “I was just doing what I could to help Lieutenant...”

“You have a modest crew, Qiao Hui.”  Hull sighed.  “Don’t take credit when they should.”

“Yes, Warren.”  Sun made half a face that turned into a smile.  “They’re like that.”

“Hmm.”  Hull noticed and turned back to Juarez, examining his face for a few seconds.  “I doubt you remember, Lieutenant, but we’ve met before.  Your parents had me and my family to dinner 25 years ago at their Georgetown brownstone.”

Juarez made a face, not saying anything for a moment.  “I’m sorry, sir, I don’t remember that.  We left Earth when I was about four.” 

“You were three years old, so I’m not surprised, Lieutenant.”  Hull help up his hand.  “You had on a dog costume and licked my fingers a few times.”

Parks laughed and Sun let out a smile. 

Juarez’s cheeks flushed red.  “I imagine it was during Halloween, sir.”

“You’d think so, but no,” Hull said, shaking his head, and looked past him.  “I think it was in the summer, and very hot outside.  I thought you were roasting in the suit, but your parents said they couldn’t get you out of it.”

Juarez’s eyes went wide.  “Um…”

“My kids did the same thing, Lieutenant,” Sun said and squeezed his arm.  “It’s called being three.  My youngest wore a cat costume for nearly a year.  He used to ask for a bowl of water and then get down on the floor and lap it up.”

“And you’ve come some way since then, Lieutenant.”  Hull smiled.  “Your family must be impressed with your recent tour with the Ya’neth dreadnaught.  I know Commodore Belk certainly was.  He told New Plymouth that you helped build even better bridges between our races.”

“Thank you, sir.”  Juarez shrugged.  “I was ju…”

“It’s nice to see your husband continuing that role, Lieutenant Parks,” Hull said and turned to her.

“Yes, sir.”  Parks put on a smile.  “Shane is learning a lot from the Ya’neth and enjoying his new assignment.”

“And the Ya’neth were also very impressed with your flying skills, Lieutenant,” Hull said and raised a hand in a half salute.  “Of course, it’s just another notch in your impressive career as a pilot and flight instructor.”

“Thank you, sir.  Of course, none of that would have been possible if you and some of the other original scientists on New Plymouth hadn’t built the first human starship.”  Parks looked past him again.  “And I’m not sure I deserve all the credit you and the Ya’neth are giving me.  Commanders Sun and Zaitsev were about to pull the Star out of its free fall and back into Earth orbit when we crash landed in the tug port.  According to the ship’s logs they had jump started an absorption unit, diverted some heat from the atmospheric friction into the gravity drive and….”

“I read the complete reports, Lieutenant.”  Hull nodded.

“Then you know that…” Juarez said.

“…our crashing into the tug port probably did more damage than not to the ship,” Parks said.

“You did exactly what you needed to do, Lieutenant, and I don’t know another pilot who could’ve pulled it off,” Commander Sun said. 

“But you and Lieutenant Commander Zaitsev had…”

“I appreciate the support, Lieutenants, but it’s not necessary.”  Sun shared a look with Hull.  “The ambassador and I have known each other since 1944 and he’s aware of my record, both the good and bad parts.”

“I had a crush on you when we first met,” Hull said with a wink.

“I know, Warren.”  Sun half laughed.  “We all knew.  You had the biggest puppy dog eyes.  If I hadn’t gotten married, you never know….”

“Oh, I know, Qiao Hui, and so do you.”  Hull waved her away.  “Nobody was going to compete with Zheng for you.”

“You have a good memory, Warren.”  Sun’s cheeks turned pink.  “I still think about him every day.”

Hull blinked, looking quietly at her for a moment and then turned to Parks and Juarez.  “Don’t worry, Lieutenants, I have the highest respect for Commander Sun,” he said.  “She and Lieutenant Commander Zaitsev have done more than you know for New Plymouth and Earth, not to mention saving 900 lives on Ericson on what should have been an avoidable disaster.  I owe her my life and the lives of three of my sons.”  He half smiled for a second.  “None of us would be sitting here today without her influence on New Plymouth and in the Confederacy.  So please don’t take my compliment of your flying skills as an insult to her or her accomplishments, Lieutenant Parks.  I simply and sincerely meant that you and Lieutenant Juarez did an incredible job with a nearly impossible task and deserve all of the credit you get for saving the Rising Star: even if they may have saved themselves.”

Sun let Hull’s words sink in.  “Kind words, Warren.”

Hull looked at her with yet another smile.  “They were deserved, Qiao Hui.”

“Thank you.”  Sun smiled back and then looked up and across the table at a young man and woman in dark business suits who joined them with quiet smiles and curt nods.  “And who are your other guests, Ambassador?”  She gave them a look as they took their seats.  “I thought you gave up bodyguards years ago.”

“Ah.”  Hull turned to the two new diners with a nod and his own quiet smile.  “My apologies, Commander, I was so excited to see you that I forgot basic social etiquette.  Please let me introduce Agents Ruth Kim and Michael Gallagher, who’ve just made sure this is a private meeting?”

“Yes, sir.”  The pair nodded and turned to Sun, Parks and Juarez.  “And it’s our pleasure, Commander, Lieutenants,” they said in unison.

“They’ve served with me for the last three years, straight out of school, and have done an excellent job of blending into the local environment while quietly getting some of the hardest jobs done,” Hull said and pointed to both of them.  “As they’ve just demonstrated.”

They both nodded again. 

“Right.”  Parks looked them over.  “I heard you two only use Earth tech.”

Kim and Gallagher gave the slightest of shrugs. 

“I suppose so,” Kim said with a look at Juarez.  “And it’s nice…”

“Don’t need anything more,” Gallagher said and shook his head.

Parks gave a side glance to Juarez. 

“Seems like a waste of resources,” Juarez said, looking only at Gallagher, and shrugged.  “Not to use every advantage.”

The agents both looked at him and Parks but didn’t say anything.

“They are quite good in the field,” Hull said and looked right at Sun.  “Trust me.”

“Of course.”  She nodded.  “Careful with their words, I see.”

“Don’t want to stick my foot in my mouth, Commander,” Gallagher said, and both agents smiled at Sun.  “Did that the last time we met a Confederate official and felt foolish.”

Sun smiled back.  “I’m glad to see you’ve embraced your assignments so well.”

“Thank you, ma’am,” Kim said with a slight bow.  “It’s an honor.”

Sun nodded.  “We’re all working for the same goal, Agent Kim.”

“Yes,” Hull said and waved over a waiter who had wine ready to be served.  “When was the last time you were here, Qiao Hui?”

“I was in New York in March visiting Bo,” Sun said.  “But I haven’t done any business on the ground in years.”

“I see.”  Hull touched his glass but didn’t pick it up.  “And Bo’s well?”

“Very,” Sun said, and a smile took over her face.  “I plan to come back for his birthday next month.  It’ll be his 75^th and he’s not looking a day over 50.”

“Good genes,” Hull said with half a smile and looked past Sun for a moment.  “I imagine.”

“Of course.”  Sun chuckled, eyeing Hull for a moment, and then turned to Parks and Juarez.  “The sweet talk is about to start, Lieutenants.”

“You remember all of my tricks and tics?”  Hull winked again.

Sun winked back at him.  “The food is supposed to be very good here.”

“It is,” Hull said.  “How is Alexander?”

“He’s well: working 24/7 like the rest of the crew to get the Rising Star flying again.”  Sun leaned back in her chair.  “But he sends his regards and was sorry he couldn’t accept your dinner invitation.”

Hull half frowned.  “He’s still mad about…”

“Yes, but he had looked forward to coming.”  Sun put on a smile.  “He wanted to say ‘hello’ and eat a meal that wasn’t emergency rations.”

“Rations?”  Hull did a double take.  “Seriously.”

“Yes.”  Sun shrugged with half a smile.  “But they are better than you remember.”

“Too bad.”  Hull swallowed and looked past her.  “I had hoped to make amends.”

“I’ll send him your best, but I don’t think he’s looking to dredge up the past.”

“Some things never change.”  Hull sighed.

“Not easily.”  Sun waved to the rest of the world.  “You have to work hard for real change.”

“You do.”  Hull’s mouth tightened.  “Along those lines you know the Rising Star has made some waves since you returned to Earth’s system.”  He waved to the rest of the world too.  “And not just with the Dwanem smugglers.  Some of our own on New Plymouth are keeping a close eye on you too.”

“It’s nice to see people care.”  Sun leaned forward.  “Are the Ya’neth concerned too?”

“With money involved, yes.”  Hull nodded big.  “Anyone with an interest around Jupiter and Saturn has their backs up right now.”

“So, the Ya’neth, the Dwanem and a few on New Plymouth?”  Sun held up three fingers.

“And a lot on New Plymouth, Qiao Hui.”  Hull held up four.  “Even the Annak sitting in their nexus conduits wonder what’s going on.” 

“Hmm.  I guess that’s the nature of change, Warren, although I’m surprised anyone’s surprised.”  Sun sat back into the chair again.  “We’re simply enforcing Confederacy law as was discussed ad nauseum between all of the concerned parties before we took over this system’s guardianship from the Dwanem.”

“They still aren’t thrilled about us protecting their home world.”  Hull shook his head.

“And yet they agreed to that very condition in the Jupiter Treaty.”  Sun nodded.  “You led those negotiations.  Everyone, and particularly the Dwanem, gave us their blessing.

“Things aren’t that simple, Qiao Hui.  You know that.”  Hull looked past her again.  “A lot of specifics were never worked out, and a lot was purposely left out so that the status quo would stay untouched.”

“That’s an interesting perspective from anyone who’s read the treaty.”  Sun threw up her hand and got back his full attention.

“Yes, but nobody reads the treaty, and Confederate politics has never been that straightforward or transparent about humanity’s place in the universe.”  Hull looked her in the eye with half a chuckle.  “We’re low man on the totem pole.  You know that.”

“I do, but that doesn’t mean smugglers can start using illegal weapons and almost kill my crew, Warren.”  Sun pointed to the skies.

“No, but smugglers were given more leeway to harvest Earth’s biomaterials before you and the Rising Star arrived.”

“And before the treaty was signed?”  Sun turned her finger right to Hull.

“Yes.”  He nodded.  “But…”

“You do know that I warned off the smuggler who nearly destroyed my ship.”  Sun put her hands on the table in between them.

Hull closed his eyes for a second.  “Yes, but we can’t confirm that it was Captain Triam, Qiao Hui.”  He frowned.  “If we could, he’d be in custody.”

“Yes,” Sun said and shook her head.  “I’m shocked that so much has been done to the smuggler who killed three of my crew and nearly revealed the presence of UFOs and aliens to the entire population of Earth.”

“I know it’s frustrating.”  Hull leaned in closer.  “I’m sorry.”

“No.”  Sun looked him right in the eye and nodded.  “Triam is the one who will be sorry once I catch up to him.”

Parks smiled. 

Hull frowned.  “I’m going to pretend I didn’t hear that, Qiao Hui.”

“How very diplomatic, Ambassador,” Parks said with a look.

Hull turned to her.  “You’re right, Lieutenant, how very diplomatic.”  He kept frowning.  “Of course, that’s my chief responsibility on Earth and within the Confederacy, and has been so for the last 25 years, with multiple renominations by New Plymouth and the eager approval from the Confederacy and its members.”  He straightened his shoulders.  “And the reason I’ve kept my job for more than two decades is because my diplomatic skills and understandings of both Earth and Confederate politics has kept the peace and increased the prosperity for Earth and New Plymouth.”

“Yes, sir.”  Parks turned away from him.  “Sorry, s…”

“We’re outgunned on all sides, Lieutenant, even by the Dwanem as shown by your recent troubles.”  Hull raised a finger to Parks.  “My diplomacy and the quiet, delicate policies of New Plymouth have kept humanity innocent and protected from outside alien influence.”  He raised a second finger.  “That same diplomacy allowed humanity to take the old Dwanem colony on New Plymouth seventy years ago so we could use the Dwanem’s outdated technology to build up our business and political interests and then stand up within the Confederacy.”  He raised a third finger.  “Diplomacy and those quiet policies allowed us to start our own colony on Ericson, saved us from tragedy that followed and allowed us to return to the Confederacy’s good graces in less than 25 years.”  He raised a fourth finger.  “It’s why the Rising Star can now protect the Earth from the less savory elements within the Confederacy and even New Plymouth.”  He closed his hand into a fist.  “And I see no reason to stop that very successful diplomacy and those very successful policies simply because you don’t feel it serves our interests.”

“Absolutely, sir,” Parks said, her eyes now back on Hull’s, but she swallowed.  “And that diplomacy did wonders on Ericson, Ambassador.”

Hull’s mouth tightened and Sun raised a hand in between them.  “Lieutenant Parks…” she said.

“Sorry, ma’am.”  Parks stared straight ahead.

“Ms. Parks, I don’t need a Lieutenant, five years out of school who doesn’t know when to keep her mouth shut, tell me anything about what happened on Ericson.”  Hull leaned in.  “Particularly when you were still in diapers with your family safely on New Plymouth learning to farm wheat and corn.”

“My parents’ wheat and corn saved the Ericson survivors when they returned to New Plymouth.”  Parks sat up straighter.  “Without even the clothes on their backs, sir.” 

“Yes.”  Hull took in a breath, letting it out slowly, and found his smile.  “And I’ve always been thankful for that, Lieutenant, but diplomacy convinced the Ya’neth to let the Ericson survivors return to the New Plymouth and allowed your commanding officers to remain alive and free after their rescue efforts.”

“Which saved you, sir,” Parks said and turned back to him. 

“And much of my family, for which I am forever grateful.”  Hull nodded.  “Then we used the tragedy and something like Ya’neth guilt or sense of honor to secure New Plymouth further technological and business concessions.”

“Which enabled New Plymouth to rebuild itself as a more vital part of the Confederacy, sir,” Juarez said with a big nod.

“That’s right, Lieutenant,” Hull said and found another smile.  “You know your history.” 

Parks frowned at Juarez.  “Unfortunately, Lieutenant, that’s when the Dwanem stopped supporting New Plymouth with economic and political support and technological assistance and became the Ya’neth’s new lap dog.”

“Yes, the Dwanem turned away from New Plymouth and Earth to focus on improving ties with the Ya’neth, Lieutenant,” Hull said, turning back to Parks and still maintaining his smile.  “And I can’t blame them, with the Ya’neth growing more powerful every year.”

Parks’ mouth tightened, and Hull leaned back in his chair.  “The internal and external politics of the Confederate members are not nearly as simple as their respective governments pretend, Lieutenant, particularly the growing relationship between the Dwanem and the Ya’neth.  Ericson made the Dwanem reconsider their long term guardianship and support of humanity after your commanders gave the Ya’neth a very black eye.  Suddenly, the Dwanem had to decide whether to support a new, barely space-faring race that shared a common ancestry on Earth versus supporting a millennium-old and technologically superior culture that had obvious ambitions within the Confederacy and can very obviously further the Dwanem’s own objectives.”

“And after Ericson the Dwanem really think that the Ya’neth don’t have their own motives?” Parks said.  “Sir?”

“Of course, the Dwanem realize that the Ya’neth have their own motives, Lieutenant, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t or shouldn’t take advantage of the Ya’neth’s current generosity.  The other Confederate members are certainly not as generous, and the Dwanem would be fools not to take what they can get from the Ya’neth, even if that hurts their ties with New Plymouth and Earth.”

“Even with our shared history, sir?” Parks said.

“That shared history is not even a century old, Lieutenant.”  Hull almost laughed.  “Do you think our 70 years compares to the 35,000 years since the Dwanem were pulled off of Earth, or the thousands of years more that the Annak, the Ya’neth and the Kirblee have been in space?”

Parks nodded but looked past Hull’s stare.

“I’m sorry, Lieutenant.”  He threw up a hand.  “But humanity barely rates in the universe.”

“For now.”  Sun nodded, watching it all.  “Yes, Ambassador?”

“Hmm.”  Hull turned to her, staring for a second, and then nodded back.  “Yes, for now, Commander.”

Juarez took in the moment between Sun and Hull.  “If we’re such small potatoes, sir, then why does anyone in the Confederacy care what humanity does?”  He shrugged.  “Can’t we just fly under the radar?”

“Not since Ericson.”  Hull turned to Juarez and shook his head.  “Ericson showed the Confederacy, and particularly the Ya’neth, that humanity could make a difference.  That we can punch above our weight class” 

“But not too much above our class, sir?” Parks said.

“Correct, Lieutenant.”  Hull nodded again.  “Not yet.”

“And where do you think that leaves us, Warren?” Sun said, watching him.  “We have three cruisers patrolling the Earth’s solar system based on the recent treaty that restarted New Plymouth’s relationship to the Confederacy, and we’re making gains with the other sentients who do seem to care about humanity.  I’d hate to think that all of our recent efforts were nothing more than just spinning some wheels to make everyone forget what happened at Ericson.”

Hull nodded and turned to Sun.  “I think we need to stay on our current path, Qiao Hui: keep our heads low and move slowly forward.”

“So, we’re supposed to put a target on our chests for every angry smuggler who wants to steal resources from Earth, sir?” Parks said.

Hull turned back to her.

But Sun ignored Parks and kept her eyes on Hull.  “Maybe it’s time to chart a more active, positive path forward for New Plymouth, Warren.  Maybe that’s why the Confederacy sanctioned the recent treaty and put Earth under New Plymouth protection from the less virtuous elements in the universe.”

Hull’s mouth tightened, meeting her eye, but he didn’t say anything.

“Particularly since the Rising Star just lost three of her crew.”  Sun nodded.

“Do you truly believe that we are up for that challenge, Qiao Hui?” Hull said, waving again to the world around them.  “I’m all for standing up for ourselves, but we seem completely outgunned.  Is it even possible to stand up for ourselves, much less protect Earth in our current circumstances?”

Sun kept looking at him.  “I admit I got caught with my pants down, Warren.  No doubt about it, but we’ve got the new microsatellite warning system up and running around Earth now, so we’ll see everyone coming, camouflaged or not, and Lieutenant Commander Zaitsev made some hull adjustments and added internal shielding to prevent another EMP attack.”

“That’s the least of what can be used against you.”  Hull shook his head.

“I know.”  Sun leaned forward again.  “But we’ve a few ideas on how to counter their other offensive capabilities, and I believe the balance is going to shift a bit toward us very soon.”

Hull glanced at Juarez who didn’t notice the look, but Parks did. 

“And the Shooting Star hasn’t had any issues with smugglers since we got hit,” Sun said.

“I know.”  Hull glanced up at the sky.  “But the Annak aren’t thrilled that the Shining Star is splitting time patrolling the Pluto nexus conduit and the Jupiter and Saturn systems while the Shooting Star takes over patrolling the inner solar system.”

“Yes.”  Sun leaned in even closer.  “I know that the Annak like to have a local cruiser on standby for the nexus conduit’s protection.”

“They are very particular.”  Hull breathed in deep.

“I also know that the Annak have enough firepower and other assorted weaponry on the conduit to protect themselves and destroy every ship in this system, including the Ya’neth dreadnaught and the three new Dwanem cruisers around Jupiter and Saturn.”  Sun threw up her hands.  “The Shooting Star is just for show.  They know that and we know that.”

Hull breathed out.  “You’re right, but the Annak still expect us to meet our diplomatic obligations.”

“And the Ya’neth and Dwanem?”  Sun pointed to the sky too and eased back into her chair again.

Hull laughed.  “I think they prefer the Shooting Star’s absence from Saturn and Jupiter.  But they’d like you, the Shooting Star and the Shining Star to all be somewhere else too.”

“Of course.”  Sun laughed too.  “Like always.”

“But the Annak…”

“…are particular.”  Sun smiled.

Hull stared at her for a moment and then shrugged.  “What can I tell you, Qiao Hui?”

“I explained the situation to the Annak, and they seemed surprisingly agreeable to the temporary reassignments of the Shooting and Shining Stars while we finish our repairs.”

Hull’s eyebrow went up.  “Really?  I thought all Annak diplomatic communication with humanity in this system came through my office, Qiao Hui.”

“They should, Warren, but the Annak contacted me directly and by name.”  Sun looked past him for a second and then met his stare again.  “I wasn’t going to tell them I couldn’t take their call and refer them to you.  It didn’t seem like the smartest option at the time.”

“I,” Hull said and paused for a second.  “I’m surprised they reached out to you individually.”

“The Annak were very supportive and seem to want to deepen their rapport with humanity,” Sun said.

“You think they want us to succeed?”

Sun shrugged this time.  “I hope so.  Otherwise, I’ve wasted a lot of time and money on recent diplomacy and all that we’ve done here in the last twenty years.”

“Hmm,” Hull said.

“I apologize for not telling you sooner about the Annak contact.”  Sun shook her head and half smiled.  “We’ve been busy getting the Star back up and running, and it got lost in the general mayhem.  You are certainly the primary contact with them, and I will defer to you in the future.”

Hull smiled tightly.  “Of course.”  He sat up straighter.  “How much longer before the Rising Star is up and flying?”

“We’re running the final diagnostics today.”  Sun looked around for a waiter.  “We plan to be in space and on patrol tomorrow.”

“Really?”  Hull noticed her look.  “I thought you had another month of repairs.  How did you get all of the reactors back up and running, not to mention the gravity drive?”

“Alexander worked wonders, and the crew has performed beyond my highest expectations.”  Sun met his eye again.

“Still, less than four weeks?”  Hull blinked.

“I was surprised too.”  Sun smiled.  “I guess I still have some reserves you don’t know about after 70 years.”

Hull smiled, looking at her.  “I don’t doubt it, Commander.”

Sun looked back. 

Hull kept smiling.  “I expect that you and your crew won’t need to return Earth side anytime soon then?”

Sun straightened up, but kept smiling, and looked into Hull’s eyes.  “Did you read my report on the Tajik incident yet?”

“Not yet.”  Hull shook his head and looked right back.  “It must have been lost in everything that’s happened.”

“It must have.  I’ll send you another copy today.”  Sun pointed to the world outside the restaurant.  “Of course, you heard about it through your Pentagon or Kremlin contacts.”

“I did.”  Hull looked past her.

“Your network is as excellent as ever, Warren.”  Sun gave a quick bow.

He nodded with a bigger smile.  “We’ve managed to bury any investigation into the disappearance of ten kilos of plutonium.  The Russians and the Americans bought the cesium story, but the New Zealand connection was almost too much of a stretch.”

Parks turned to Juarez with a frown.

“That’s my fault, sir,” Juarez said, avoiding Parks’ eyes.  “I was the one who claimed we were New Zealand secret agents.”

Hull didn’t even glance at Juarez.  “Yes, I didn’t see Lieutenant Commander Zaitsev thinking up that kind of cover.”

“Yes, that’s not Alexander’s style.”  Sun laughed. 

Hull nodded.  “One of the American agents, Locke I think her name is, tried to raise a ruckus over the unusual wreckage and the Kiwi strangeness, but the Pentagon and Kremlin have other things to worry about.”

“I should’ve knocked her out,” Juarez said, quietly.

“Except you love her,” Parks said in an even lower voice, and Juarez rolled his eyes at her until Sun glanced their way and they both straightened up.

“Ms. Locke is impressive if she saw through our subterfuge and even glimpsed a bit of the truth,” Sun said, turning back to Hull.  “I’m surprised you haven’t tried to recruit her.  I’m tempted to myself.”

Hull chuckled.  “I considered it.  She’s smart, tough and incredibly well-connected for someone so young.  But she might just be too curious and idealistic, and I haven’t been able to figure out a good angle to approach her while keeping her in the dark about what we’re really doing.”

Sun shrugged, not saying anything.

“Plus, right now she’s in Antarctica.”

Parks and Juarez turned to Hull. 

“What?” Parks said.

“You’re kidding me?” Juarez said.

“Unfortunately, not.”  Hull shook his head.  “She appears to be connecting a few more dots than I would like.”

“What’s NASA’s take on us nearly crashing into the Earth?” Sun said.

“I’m sure you read that they’re calling it an exploding asteroid.”  Hull sighed.  “What they can’t figure out is how that asteroid made some loud, bright and theoretically impossible flight paths through and beyond the Earth’s atmosphere even after my agents wiped out their records.”

“So, the Americans are sending some agents to where the tug started its rescue flight?”  Sun glanced at Kim and Gallagher.

“My apologies, Ambassador,” Parks said.  “I thought…”

“You didn’t have another choice, Lieutenant,” Hull said.  “But unfortunately, it’s too late to destroy the fuzzy surveillance photos of the CO2 scrubber without putting my agents in a real danger of discovery.”

Kim and Gallagher nodded.

“So, we need to put the cat back in the bag.”  Sun turned back to Hull.

He shrugged.  “I know you just swore off sending your crew to Earth, Qiao Hui, but it would be easier if you could send down a tug to check out what’s wrong with the scrubber.  You can get there a lot faster than we can, and probably beat Locke and her team.”

“And clean up the mess.”  Sun shook her head.

“Yes.”  Hull nodded.

“So, you don’t mind if we help a little more Earth side?”  Sun made a face.

Hull smiled.  “We could it do it, Qiao Hui, but it would be a lot harder for us than the Rising Star.”

Sun nodded.  “We’ll do it, of course.  That’s one of the reasons we’re here.”

“I know,” Hull said.  “And I hope you know I support you and the Rising Star, Qiao Hui.  I helped write the treaty…”

“I know.”

“It might be good, though, if you didn’t come down so hard on the smugglers.”  Hull pointed up to the sky again.  “They’ve been visiting the Earth for millennia.”

“You’re not suggesting we stop standing up for ourselves are you, Warren?”  Sun stifled a frown.

“No.  I’ve always thought we should for ourselves, Qiao Hui.”  Hull nodded.  “That’s what New Plymouth has always done no matter what it looks like and why we put the recent treaty together.”

“I’m glad to see you remember that New Plymouth has influenced events on Earth before.”

“Of course, I do.”  Hull shook his head.  “I just don’t want us to get in over your head and set back things again.”

“Like after Ericson.”  Sun nodded.

“Yes.”  Hull frowned.  “Do you think we can recover if something like that happens again?”

Sun looked into Hull’s eyes.  “I don’t think we have a choice if we want to protect New Plymouth and Earth, Ambassador.”

Hull took a sip of from his glass of wine that had been sitting on the table untouched the whole time, looking at the other untouched glasses for a moment, and then looked back into her eyes.  “So, do you need any help with Antarctica?  I’m sure Kim and Gallagher would enjoy a trip south if you need anything.”

Sun glanced at Kim and Gallagher’s tight expressions.  “I’m sure we’ll be fine, right Lieutenants?”

Parks and Juarez found their smiles.  “Yes, ma’am,” they said.

“We know the way, Commander,” Parks said.

Hull laughed.  “Great.  Now what about figuring out the schedule for…”

“Why don’t we order something to eat before we move onto your next agenda item, Warren?”  Sun raised a hand and picked up her own glass of wine.  “Like I said, we’ve lived off of emergency rations for the last month, and I promised these two a decent meal for their heroic efforts.  I figured you wouldn’t mind.”

Hull blushed.  “My apologies.  We should have ordered as soon as you came in.”  He raised his hand for the waiter.  “We can finish off these matters after you’ve tried the lobster macaroni.”

Parks looked at him.

“It’s an appetizer on Earth,” Juarez said and grinned.  “Low in calories or at least that’s what I’ll tell you.”

Parks frowned.

“Yes, let’s embrace the fun side of diplomacy and have a good meal that’s too expensive,” Hull said and raised his wine glass again.  “Cheers.”

Sun clinked her glass against his.  “To the future then.”  She smiled.

“Of course.”  Hull returned the smile, meeting her eyes, and took a long sip. 

Then the others joined him with Juarez looking at Parks with a raised eyebrow.  She nodded just to him, and they each sipped their wine noticing the strange look between Sun and Hull and didn’t say another word.

Prey in the Dark

“It’s high noon, 65 degrees below zero and nearly pitch black outside.”  Lieutenant Parks shivered.  “The joys of an Antarctic winter, huh, junior?”

“Sure.” Lieutenant Juarez frowned and double checked the thermometer.  “You’re a regular ray of sunshine, Lieutenant.”

Parks grinned, and they stepped out of the tug and into the darkness, feeling the wind bite against their protective uniforms, and she shivered some more.  They glanced at each other and then looked out at the bleak white landscape that stretched to the horizon.  Behind them a giant circle of black soot stretched out 110 meters from the giant dome that housed the alien built scrubbers that secretly removed CO2 from Earth’s atmosphere.  A giant tracked vehicle with an American flag on it stood parked with its engines off 55 meters in front of them and inside the circle of soot.  The hatches to the dome stood wide open beyond the vehicle, but they couldn’t see into it.

Juarez tapped unseen controls on the sleeve of his snow white overcoat and shook his head at Parks.  “Nothing is working outside of the tug either.”

“I noticed.”  She nodded, checking her own sensors, and looked up.  “Something in the dome is jamming anything electronic out to a few hundred meters.  I’m surprised that snow crawler was able to drive this close.  Our sensors aren’t working beyond a meter or two and communications seem to be down.”

“We’re lucky the tug and the uniforms work.”  Juarez tapped his sensor controls.

“I doubt whoever’s doing this expected anyone with our level of tech.”

“Really?”  Juarez pointed to the dome.  “We’re the ones maintaining the scrubbers.”

Parks shrugged and flipped on her night vision.  “We can still see in infrared.”

Juarez did the same and pointed to the snow crawler.  “Someone’s injured by that snow mobile.”

“And the entrance.”  Parks pointed to the body lying prone and halfway out of the hatch.  “I think he’s bleeding.”

They both frowned, and Parks reached under her coat for her plasma pistol.

Juarez pulled out his novocaine and flicked it on.  “You know I really didn’t think I’d be on Earth so much when I got assigned to the Rising Star.”  He walked into the soot, leaving a trail of footprints and Parks about four meters behind him.  “Thought there’d be a lot more time on the ship doing routine stuff like my assignment with the Ya’neth.”  He looked around at the bleak landscape again, making a face, and then turned back to Parks.  “Maybe I should ask Commanders Sun and Zaitsev to keep me on board the Star a little bit more.”  He shook his head, turning back to the snow crawler and the dome, and laughed.  “Although I could live with having more four course meals with the Confederate ambassador, you know?”

“Who couldn’t?”  Parks gave him a look and opened her face guard to the frigid air, letting her voice carry farther without the benefit of electronic communication.  “Partnering with you has been a blast for the last two months.”  She laughed.  “Nothing like getting shot at, crash landing a tug and having to explain who everyone is and how everything works.”

“Right.”  Juarez opened up his own face guard, giving her a look back, and then surveyed everything between him, the snow crawler and the dome.  “You didn’t like the fancy meal?”

“Shut up, and we got that because of me, not you.”  Parks stared at the dome.  “Yes, the Ambassador remembered you when you were a kid, but we had dinner with him so he could congratulate me on my flying skills, not your childhood love of pretending to be a cat.”  She backed up toward the tug, keeping her eyes on Juarez and everything in front of him the whole time. “You warm enough?”

“Mostly.”  He stared at his breath in the air.  “My cheeks feel a bit nippy, but the overcoat and extra batteries are doing their job.”

Parks frowned at the blank sensor display on her forearm.  “And you got your weapons ready?”

Juarez held up his novocaine.  “Pistol’s loaded too.”

“Good.”  Parks spit and saw it freeze and shatter on the ground in front of them.  “This situation is mucked up.”

“I noticed.”  Juarez kept his eyes on the snow crawler and dome.  “The jamming field, the dead snow mobile and the injured or dead people just lying around in subzero darkness gave it away.”  He gave her a quick look.  “It makes you wonder what horror movie we just walked into.”

“I’m glad nothing gets by you.”  Parks started tapping instructions onto her wrist display.  “Still…”

“It’s not every day I can feel my heart beating so hard.”  Juarez looked up at the sliver of the sun on the horizon.  “Kind of wish we had fixed this problem a month ago when there was daylight, less soot and no bodies lying around.”

“You think?”  Parks touched the tug, activating a link between the spaceship and her uniform.  “I’m calling for backup.  You think your marines are up for some dark and cold adventures?”

“Yes.”  Juarez’s eyes narrowed.  “They’ll get here in thirty minutes once you give them the word.”

“Right.”  Parks nodded.  “I’m using the tug’s emergency rocket beacon to get past the jamming field and call for help.”

“No complaints from me, Lieutenant.”  Juarez pointed to the snow crawler.  “But don’t you think the beacon will alert anyone else who’s out here.”

Parks laughed and shook her head.  “I think that ship sailed when we landed the 500-ton tug.”

The rocket blasted off from the back of the tug, quickly accelerating up and into the atmosphere and a low Earth orbit.

Juarez watched, half swallowing.  “I’m glad that worked.”

“Me too.”  Parks tapped a few buttons on her helmet and goggles.  She took a few steps away from the tug and crouched in a defensive position, her pistol pointed past Juarez.  “Regulations say that we should wait for backup, but we need to take a look at those people and see if they need any help.  That work for you, junior?”

“You bet.”  Juarez’s hand tightened on the novocaine.  “Sure.”

“I’ve got you covered.”  Parks looked through the screen in her helmet at the 360 degrees of bleak emptiness around her.  She crouched lower.

Juarez stared straight ahead at the snow crawler and his face tightened.  He took one step with a large crunch that he heard for the first time and looked down at the soot covered snow and the tracks he was making.  He turned back to Parks.  “I’m going to hoof it.”

“Okay.”  Parks nodded, her finger brushing the trigger, and pointed the way forward with her other hand.  “Go.”

Juarez took off in a sprint, the novocaine leading the way as he dashed in loud crunches across the barren, black landscape.  He ran for six seconds before sliding in front of the prone body next to the snow crawler.  Then he switched the novocaine to his left hand and whipped out this pistol, turning around to Parks and pointing it in her direction, providing her cover.

She kept her pistol pointed in his direction.  “Use your helmet cam,” she said in a whisper that carried across the distance between them.  He waved in agreement, flicking it on, and she leapt up running forward.  “I am not going to be the Black woman who dies first in this horror movie.”  She took in a deep gulp of frozen air, then she slid next to Juarez, pistol still out and her eyes on the snow crawler.

“Good to see you,” Juarez said, his back against hers, and pointed to the world around them.  “What do you think?”

Parks looked over the snow crawler and the space immediately around them before turning to the familiar woman lying at their feet.  “I think your girlfriend gets around.”

“What?”  Juarez turned to Sara Locke, blinked, looked at Parks, and then turned to Sara Locke again.  “The he…”

“Ambassador Hull knows his stuff,” Parks said with a big shrug.  “Check her out.”  She pointed.  “She’s bleeding badly from the right leg.  Probably has or is getting hypothermia too.”

Juarez holstered his pistol and novocaine.  “I can’t believe this.”  He pulled out a medical kit from under his coat and bent down to look at Locke’s leg.  “I mean, what the odds?”

“Astronomical,” Locke said, her eyes half opening up and her own arm reaching under her parka to pull out a pistol.

“Watch it,” Parks said.  “She’s awake.”

BAM BAM.

Juarez grabbed Locke’s wrist as the shots went off and slammed it to the ground without resistance.  “What are doing?”

“You’re under arrest.”  Locke tried and failed to sit up.

“Are you crazy?”  Juarez sat on her, taking away the pistol and staring into her eyes.  “We’re in the middle of Antarctica and you want to play cop.  You’re lucky you’re alive, and luckier I’m helping you.”

“Sure.”  Locke didn’t move and didn’t even try.  “You lost your accent.  I thought you were from New Zealand.”

Juarez blinked again.  “Shut up.”  He shook his head and pointed to the dome.  “You just announced we’re here with those gun shots.”

“Like your rocket plane didn’t make enough noise.”  Locke half turned to the tug.

Juarez stared at her.

“Stop the bleeding, Lieutenant,” Parks said behind him in a terrible New Zealand accent.  “Now, okay?”

“Right.”  Juarez took in a breath and nodded, pulling a translucent film from his medical kit.  “What happened here?” he said, now with his own terrible accent, taking the film and wrapping it over the open wound on Locke’s lower leg.

“Aow.”  She looked down and made a face.  “Is that supposed to hurt?”

“A little.”  Juarez shook his head, looking at three six inch gashes and covering them gingerly with the film as Locke tried to pull away.  “But it should warm you up a little and stop the bleeding. I’ll give you something for the pain once we’ve got your wounds sealed.”  He pressed the film into her wounds as he saw it expand to fill in the gashes with the beginnings of new skin and tissue.

Locke swallowed and took in a deep breath.  “I couldn’t feel anything before.”

“You have frostbite,” Juarez said.  “The film will help with that too, and we’ll get you warmed up more too.”  He took out a vial from his kit and glanced at the dome.  “What did this to you?”

Locke stared blankly past him for a second and shook her head.  “I don’t know.  Some thing came out of nowhere when we went into that building and tore my team apart.”  Then she started to hyperventilate, trying and failing to sit up again, and her eyes went wide.  “Am I supposed to be breathing this hard?”

“It’s normal.”  Juarez nodded, looking at the sensor display on his wrist, and adjusted the controls.  “Don’t worry.  You’re going to be all right.  I promise.”

Locke caught her breath for a moment, looking past him, and then shuddered.  “Whatever it was jumped us before we’d taken two steps into that building, throwing us around like rag dolls.  It hurt two of my agents before we knew what was going on.  Grayson and I got out the door, but he got mauled right outside of it, and I lost a chunk of leg before I pulled away and made it to the snow tracker.”

Juarez nodded, pulling more film from his medical kit.

“The tracker died when we got here, and my radio won’t work.”  Locke shook her head.  “I don’t…”

“There’s a jamming field.”  Parks picked up the dead radio, shaking her head, and dropped it again.  “Not a surprise.”

Locke looked at her.  “What’s going on?” she said.  “How do you know this and why are you here?”

Parks nudged Juarez, who jammed Locke with the vial from his medical kit.

“Don’t knock me out,” Locke said as her eyes closed.

Juarez checked her healing leg and felt her forehead, looking at a display of her vital signs on his wrist.  “She’s too cold.”

“Not a shock.”  Parks checked her own sensor display.  “I’m surprised she’s alive, much less awake.”

“Well, let’s keep her alive.”  Juarez took off his overcoat and wrapped it around the unconscious Locke.  He adjusted the controls on the coat, and it sealed itself around her, leaving a small opening around her face.

“You cold?”  Parks touched his shoulder.

“Yes.”  Juarez adjusted the controls on his jacket.  “But the batteries will last for the next few hours, assuming we don’t run into any problems or it overloads.”

Parks nodded, not saying anything, and looked at Locke, then at Juarez and then at the entrance and the body in front of it.

Juarez followed her eyes.  “What do you think is going on, Lieutenant?”

“I don’t know.”  She turned back to him.  “Something from the Confederacy must have destroyed the scrubber unit and took out Locke and her agents.  Something bad.”  She breathed.  “Locke’s capable from what we’ve seen and look what happened to her.”  She shook her head.  “Nothing from Earth could do that, not with this cold and in the middle of nowhere.”

“You think mechas?”  Juarez frowned.

“What else?”  Parks swallowed, her eyes still on the body in front of the entrance to the scrubber unit, and then stood up.  “You think your marines can take out some mechanical security drones?”

Juarez followed Parks’ stare to the body in the dome’s hatch.  “Yes.”

Parks looked back at him.  “Let’s hope so.”

“Yes, let’s,” Juarez said, mostly to himself, and got off the ground.

Parks gave him a few seconds to take in the situation.  “We’ve got to check that other person,” she said.  “You cover me, okay?”

Juarez looked at her and the body in front of the entrance again.  His shoulders shivered for a second and he readjusted the controls on his uniform before pulling out his pistol.

“Make sure you use the 360 degree cameras.”  Parks tapped her own goggles.

“I know.”  Juarez crouched down, pointing his pistol toward the scrubber unit, and looked at Parks.  “I’d run, Lieutenant.”

“I will.”  She took in a deep breath.  “Ready?”

“Set.”  Juarez nodded.

“Go.”  Parks took off in a sprint, crossing the distance between the snow tracker and the scrubber unit in nine seconds with loud crunches in the snow and more tracks in the soot before sliding next to the man lying halfway out of the scrubber.  She forced herself to look quickly at him before turning and leveling her pistol at the entrance.  She stared unblinking at the darkness beyond the scrubber’s hatch, not seeing, hearing or smelling anything unusual, and then noticed strange, wet markings in front of the scrubber.  She looked at them with a frown and shifted her focus between more markings in the soot and the hatch for another minute before turning back to the downed man. 

The man lay in the soot and snow with a pool of blood still expanding beneath him.  Parks signaled for Juarez to stay where he was, and then holstered her pistol under her overcoat and yanked out her medical kit.  She ripped it open, pulling out the clear film sheets that Juarez had used on Locke minutes ago.  She turned the man over to see a gaping, red, bubbling hole in his abdomen and flinched.  She grimaced at the sight of the wound but began wrapping his entire mid-section in the healing film.  It took her a few minutes, but after wrapping him in her overcoat the man’s breathing stabilized and he stopped bleeding.  She wiped some blood off the sensor display on her wrist and saw they had at least twenty minutes before reinforcements arrived.  She looked back at Juarez.

He stared at her and the blood all over her uniform, his mouth half open and his face very tight.

Parks pulled out her pistol and turned on her 360-degree camera.  “It’s going to be all right.”  She swallowed again as her voice carried through the silent distance between them.  “Let’s go.”  She nodded.

He holstered his pistol and took in a deep breath, looking calmer.  He let the breath out, took in another and sped off toward Parks, sliding in front of her and then quickly jumping up with his novocaine ready and pointed to the scrubber’s open hatch.  “You don’t like the novocaine?”

Parks shrugged.  “I figured the pistol can handle anything far away or up close and I never got the hang of the cane.”

“Too bad.”  Juarez held up his weapon.  “It’s more convenient than most people think.”

“Well, hopefully I won’t need to use it.”  Parks turned around to face the hatch.  “You all right?”

“Terrific.”  Juarez shivered.  “You?”

Parks stared at the door for a moment.  “Been a weird day.”  She turned back to the snow crawler.  “Let’s get this guy back to their vehicle, and wait for…”

“Help,” A voice said, and Parks whirled, her pistol aimed at the hatch.

“You heard that?”  Juarez pointed his novocaine in front of them.

“Hard not to.”  Parks frowned and focused on the 360-degree camera in her helmet.  “I’m not seeing anything.”

“But you heard that?” Juarez said.

“Yes.”  Parks touched the injured man at her feet, rechecking his vital signs on her screen, and took another breath.  “This guy’ll probably live if we can survive the next twenty minutes.”

Juarez looked at her.  “We’re going in?”

“You have any better ideas?”  Parks looked back.

Juarez let out his breath.  “No, ma’am.”

“Good.”  Parks smiled and reached for her novocaine.  “I’ll take point.”

“I’ve got it,” Juarez said and stepped forward.

Parks frowned.  “No, Lieutena…”

“You just told me you can’t use the novocaine to save your life, Lieutenant.”  Juarez held up hand and pointed forward with the novocaine.  I’ll take point.”  He pointed to her pistol and stepped forward.  “Just make sure nothing bites me, okay?”

“Wait a minute.”  Parks grabbed his arm, hitting the console on his wrist, and adjusted the color of his uniform to the world around it, making him nearly invisible.  “Let’s be smart.”

“Okay.”  Juarez stared where his arms were for a moment, then pulled over his face cover and touched his sensor display.  “But the batteries can handle this for only about six minutes and then the heaters will kick off.”

“Yes, but hopefully, whatever’s in there won’t see through the uniform’s camouflage.”  Parks peeled off two of the three battery packs from her belt and handed them to Juarez.  “That should give you a few more minutes.”

“Great.”  Juarez took the battery pack.  “Now you’ll freeze too.”

“Backup will be here soon.”  Parks shrugged.  “And…”

“Help.”

They both turned to the hatch again, and then looked at each other.

“Let’s go,” Parks said.

“Right.”  Juarez headed through the hatch, leaving a trail of soot behind him, and looked back at Parks.  “You can see me, right?”

“Goggles work.”  Parks gave him a thumb’s up.  “No worries.”

“Good.”  Juarez turned back to the hatch, taking took a step into the scrubber and leaving behind his tracks.  “I don’t want you to shoot me.”

“Right.”  Parks followed him in, keeping her eyes on Juarez, but also scanning the scrubber’s interior and the world behind her with her pistol at the ready.  “Nothing looks damaged, although it’s hard to tell in the dark and with the night vision being useless in the cold.  I see one man right there and another through the bank of individual units.”  She pointed to the first man lying out in the open and then another hidden by two meter high rows of stacked metal, ceramic and plastic machinery.  “Both are down and bleeding.”  She stopped and stared.  “The farther one may be dead.  His body’s pretty cold.”

Juarez nodded, walking slowly and gingerly to the man moaning about ten meters into the scrubber, and kneeled down to get a closer look.  He had three wounds that Juarez could see, but he didn’t touch him, and looked back up.

Parks’ face tightened.  “Whatever did this must be camouflaged too.”  She pulled off her helmet, goose bumps rising immediately on her neck as she turned around to compensate for the loss of the 360-degree camera.  She stopped moving and listened. 

She could hear the man moaning and saying, “Help,” again, his faint voice carrying beyond the scrubber, and could hear Juarez’s footsteps despite his attempts to be quiet.  She held her breath and turned her head, shivering without her helmet. 

Drip.

Parks whirled into a crouch, her pistol pointed at the drop of something blue, and looked up.  She saw a blue, five limbed, star-shaped machine with glistening skin standing a meter and a half high and ten meters to her left, dripping from the center of its body.  She blinked at its alienness as it turned ever so slightly toward her.  “Great.”

The machine crouched on four of its limbs, the fifth pointing toward Parks, shifting in the air and examining her.  It took one step forward when another of the limbs jolted up toward Juarez. 

Parks fingered the trigger on her pistol as the machine’s surface turned black and disappeared.  “Juarez.”  She let go of a shot that crashed loudly and violently into the wall where the machine had been.  “Cover.”

He turned to see a flash clanking toward him, and dove to the floor, springing back up with his novocaine pointed at the barely visible machine.

The machine stood on top of the downed man who had cried for help, pressing noticeably into his chest and legs, but now barely visible in the light.  It stepped off the man and disappeared.

“It’s camouflaged.  I can’t see it.”  Juarez flicked the novocaine rod into a whip, twirling it into the air.  He pulled off his helmet to listen, feeling the sudden cold, and ignored it.

Parks pulled off her goggles for a second but put them back on when she saw even less.  She kept her pistol pointed in the direction of where the machine had last been, and where she could hear it walking slowly forward.  “It’s coming toward you.”  She headed toward Juarez’s position.  “You hear me?”

“Yes.”  Juarez backed up, keeping the spinning novocaine between him and the footsteps of the machine.  “What do we do?”

Parks stopped, aiming her pistol at where she thought the machine was and fired.  The shot hit the wall on the other side of the scrubber.

“That’s not helping.”  Juarez shifted his novocaine to his left hand and the sounds of the skittering machine.  He edged back toward the open hatch.  “We’ve got to…”

“Okay.”  Parks lowered her pistol, her eyes darting behind her goggles, and her face tightened more.  She took in a sudden breath and touched the instrument panel on her sleeve.  A second later her uniform flared up, lighting the entire scrubber in a piercing, even glow.

The machine stopped, an obvious shape of black and blue in the harsh white light and turned to Parks.

She raised her pistol and fired five quick shots.

The machine stumbled back, three of its limbs coming together to form something like a shield to block the shots.

Parks kept firing, walking toward the machine as she emptied the pistol’s remaining eight shots onto the creature until it fell down with its five legs bound together and scarred from the explosive bullets.

Juarez stopped and retracted the novocaine.  “Nice trick, lighting up your uniform like that.”

Parks nodded, dumping the pistol’s empty cartridge and reloading a new one.  “Lucky.”  She stopped three meters from the machine, putting herself between it and the man behind her.  “We need to check out that second man, and make sure that’s the only mecha here.”

“Right.”  Juarez nodded, looking around the lit up space and seeing the rows of scrubbers that could hide one or a dozen more mechas.  “Let’s get that guy out of here and wait for backup to clear out the scrubber.  Okay?”

“Agreed.”  Parks nodded, turning back to the first injured man when she heard the creature scrape against the floor.  She whirled back to see it standing up as if it hadn’t been shot.  “Come on…”

SNAP.

Juarez hit the machine with the novocaine whip, and immediately lost it.  The machine grabbed the extended weapon with one of its limbs and yanked it out of Juarez’s hand.

He blinked and then reached for his pistol. 

Parks leveled her pistol at the machine, but it launched itself toward the center of the scrubber unit, dashing between two widely spaced banks of machinery and to the second man.  The machine scooped him up with two of its limbs, using him to shield itself from Parks and Juarez’s lines of fire.  Parks focused her aim on the machine’s central hub that linked its limbs together when the machine pulled off the man’s head in one quick snap.

Parks and Juarez froze. 

“Son of a b…”

The machine dropped the rest of the man in a heap and started toward Parks.  She blinked and then raised her pistol, adjusting the settings to release all of the bullets with one pull of the trigger.

“Don’t do th…”

“Get down.”  Parks leveled her pistol.

Juarez dove behind a row of scrubbers and covered his head as she pulled the trigger.

BABABOOM.

The entire structure flashed, and the machine burned in a violent, fiery explosion, the blast throwing Parks against the bank of scrubbers that protected Juarez but not her.  She hit the scrubbers hard and slumped to the floor softly, her body protected by her armored uniform, but her head singed, and her hand burned from the backlash of her shot.  She did not get up.

Juarez groaned and picked himself up, trying to stand, but leaning against the scrubbers.  He blinked in the dark, hoping to regain his sight, but didn’t.  Then he tapped the control panel on his sleeve, lighting it up, and realized he wasn’t blind.  “Okay,” he said, his jaw tightening as he hit another switch and his uniform flared, lighting up the entire structure.  He blinked again, adjusting to the light, and stood up looking for Parks and the machine. 

It lay seventeen meters away, quivering, its legs moving to get up, but not succeeding.  It lurched to center itself, its legs very slowly steadying themselves, but then fell over again.

Juarez head turned to the left and right searching for Parks when he saw her on the other side of the scrubbers.  He scooped her up and headed back behind the scrubbers, laying her down gently and listening for the machine.  He heard it scrape itself up as he quickly ran his hands up and down Parks’ body, making sure she had no major injuries.  He looked at her burned and mangled hand and pulled out his med kit and the last of the translucent film when the scraping from the machine became a tap.  He wrapped Parks’ hand in the film and then pulled out a syringe.  He yanked down the collar of Parks’ jacket and pressed the syringe to her neck, injecting two normal doses of adrenaline into her veins.

Parks’ eyes flashed open, and Juarez covered her mouth, raising a finger for her to be quiet.  She nodded and he pressed the syringe into his own neck.  His eyes went wide, and she covered his mouth, sitting up and facing him.  They stared at each other for a second and she pulled him in a close embrace.

“That adrenaline shot is for emergencies only,” Parks said, whispering into Juarez’s ear.

He leaned in closer.  “I think this qualifies, Lieutenant.”

Parks smiled even as she heard the machine speed up.  “I think it’s time to get out of here.”  She pushed Juarez up, grabbing her novocaine.  “Okay?”

“Right.”

They heard the machine walk toward the scrubber’s hatch and then back toward them.

Parks nodded to Juarez who pulled out his pistol and they both stared at the machine, which stood still with two of its limbs pointing at them. 

“You think this’ll go on long enough for the backup to arrive?”  Juarez turned to the hatch.

“No,” Parks said, ignoring the hatch and not even looking at the chronometer on her sleeve.  She kept her eyes on the machine, fingering the novocaine, and saw her breath in the air.  “The longer we wait the less chance we have with the cold and that thing.”  She took a step forward.  “Let’s…"

WAHYAH.

Both of their faces dropped at the growl from the machine as it rushed toward them.

Parks’ eyes narrowed as she crouched and raised the novocaine.  “Run.”

Juarez didn’t move, pointing his pistol at the floor and squeezing the trigger six times.  The floor exploded in front of the machine, chunks flying everywhere, and it toppled into the new hole.  Juarez pulled the pistol to the ceiling, adjusted the setting and unloaded the remaining bullets all at once, exploding a large section of the ceiling onto the machine and burying it.

Parks pushed Juarez back as the ceiling continued to fall.  They stared at the spot where the machine had been.  “Are you crazy?”

“You just emptied a full cartridge of plasma bullets in a self-contained environment, and you’re asking me if I’m crazy, Lieutenant?”

She eyed him.  “I am.” 

Juarez somehow smiled.  “It worked.”

“And nearly trapped us beneath a pile of rubble.”  Parks frowned.

“It worked,” Juarez said again, replacing the pistol’s cartridge, and shrugged.  “What can I…?”

“Maybe not.”  Parks pulled Juarez behind him, pointing to the debris shifting off the machine, and turned to run.  “Come on.”

“Right.”  Juarez’s eyes narrowed and he swallowed, running behind Parks who turned at the end of the row of scrubbers and toward the hatch.  She looked at the distance to the hatch and listened to the machine behind them.  She turned left, away from the hatch and down a much narrower passageway between two banks of individual scrubbers, dragging Juarez with her. 

But the machine beat them to the narrow opening between the two banks of scrubbers, stopping, and studied them from halfway down the passageway. 

Parks turned back and slowed down, taking Juarez with her.  She took in a breath with her eyes on the machine.  It extended its two limbs toward them again.  Parks pushed Juarez behind her.  “Keep going.”  She nodded.  “Let me know when you’re ready to sprint out to the tug, wait there and then bring in the cavalry when they arrive.”

Juarez stopped behind her as the machine retracted its limbs, narrowing its body so that it could move through the narrower passageway.

“Go,” Parks said, shouting.  “You’re not dying on my watch.”  She laughed.  “Commander Sun would kill me.”

Juarez took a step forward and so did the machine, coming right toward Parks.

“I said go.”  Parks stepped forward and met the machine head on, jamming the novocaine into its raised, clawed limb, and then caught the novocaine in its mouth like opening.  It pulled the novocaine and Parks forward when she released the novocaine’s entire charge.  The creature reeled back from the momentary explosion of contained energy, and Parks fell to her knees.  She looked up to see it writhe on the floor next to her, but then it stopped, a limb steadying itself.  She stood up, staring at another limb pulling itself up when Juarez grabbed her arm and pulled her away.

“Let’s go.”

Parks frowned.  “I told you to get out of here.”

“Right.”  Juarez yanked her forward.  “You did.  Sorry.”

Parks followed him.  “We don’t have much time.  I thought the novocaine would do more.”

“I’ve got an idea.”  Juarez looked down at his pistol.

“Great.”  Parks shook her head and glanced back at the machine.  “Keep running.”

They did, down the passageway, not halfway to the end when the creature rose and started after them.  Parks shoved Juarez forward as he adjusted the settings on his pistol, and they kept running.  They got to the end of the passageway and Juarez turned right and stopped.  Parks ran into him, and Juarez threw her behind him.

“Duck.”  Juarez thrust his hand and pistol into the edge of the passageway, squeezing the trigger with his thumb holding the safety.  “This is going to hurt.”  He squeezed his eyes shut and threw his left hand over his face.

“No.”  Parks saw what he was doing.  “Don…”

The creature took off his hand in a flashing gulp.

BABABOOM

Juarez opened his eyes later and saw Lieutenant Commander Zaitsev staring down at him.  “I’m alive.”

“Yes,” Zaitsev said with half a frown behind a small smile.  “Although once we have a chat about what just happened, you might regret that.”

Juarez smiled despite Zaitsev’s low tone and tight expression.

“I’m glad the pain killers are working, Lieutenant.”  Zaitsev chuckled.

“Yes, sir.”  Juarez lied covered on a stretcher but was moving through the cold air as marines carried him forward to the hatch.

Zaitsev shook his head.  “I’ll yell at you when the sedatives have worn off, Lieutenant, and so will Commander Sun, but next time remember to follow procedure and not take stupid chances.” 

“Yes, sir.”  Juarez kept smiling as Parks appeared above him and next to Zaitsev.  She had burn marks on her right hand and all over her uniform, with red blotches all over her face and slightly singed hair, but her eyes were bright and alert and she smiled. 

“It was my fault, sir,” Parks said.

“I know, Lieutenant.”  Zaitsev nodded with a frown.  “No argument.”

Juarez raised his hand to protest, and his eyes went wide at the stub in its place.  He stared at it for a minute.  “What happened?”

“You blew it off taking out the mecha,” Zaitsev said.  “That’s one of the things we’re going to talk about.”

Juarez nodded, unable to wipe the smile off his face, and let out a little laugh.

Zaitsev shook his head again.  “The docs assured me they’ll be able to grow you a new one in a week or so.”

“That’s good.”  Juarez tried but failed to sit up.  “What happened to Locke?”

Zaitsev smiled again, and Parks laughed behind him.  “We’re taking your girlfriend and her friends who are still alive back near the Amundsen-Scott station, where the Americans can make sure they’ll survive until tomorrow.  They’ve been drugged to forget about this, although some of them were so messed up when we got here that I doubt they’d remember much anyway.”

Juarez smiled more.  “That’s good.”

Zaitsev turned to Parks who smiled at him, and he shook his head.  “Let’s get him loaded up and back to the Rising Star.  We still have to destroy any evidence that the scrubber unit was here.”

“Sir?” Juarez said.  “A word?”

Zaitsev turned to him and sighed.

“I’m happy to do whatever you ask of me, sir, but I’d be happy to do some more shipboard assignments for the next few weeks, sir,” Juarez said.  “If you’d like, sir.”

“That’s big of you, Lieutenant.”  Zaitsev stared at Juarez for a moment.  “We might want to see what Commander Sun says of course.”  He laughed, ruffling Juarez’s hair before walking away.  “Although I imagine this will make a great story in twenty years.”

Parks looked at him with a laugh.

Juarez looked back at her, the drug induced smile still on his face.  “What happens until then?”

“It’ll suck,” Parks said with another laugh and then her mouth tightened.  She looked into his eyes for a long moment.  “Thanks for saving my life, Lieutenant.”

Juarez looked back into her eyes, his smile still there, but smaller.  “Yes, ma’am, will do,” he said before closing his eyes and falling asleep.

Home Front

“Really?”  Commander Sun’s bright face darkened as the last tile hit the card table.  “Are you kidding me, Yu-Lin?”  She stared straight ahead and shook her head at the much older woman who looked just like her.  “I thought you had at least some standards, but to give Alexander the game just so you could undercut me is low even for you.”

Lieutenant Commander Zaitsev held his hands up in mock surrender.  “I can only play the tiles I have, Qiao.”  He shared a nod with the lookalike.  “And you wouldn’t want me to throw the game, would you?”

Sun closed her eyes and breathed, opening them again to glare at Zaitsev who flashed a grin.  “Why did I invite you to visit my family again?”  She sighed and pointed to the lookalike.  “This happened the last time you were here too.”

“And the time before that, and the time before that.”  Yu-Lin smiled sweetly at Sun.  “Some things just won’t happen in this lifetime, grasshopper.”

“Don’t grasshopper me,” Sun said, her glare now a smile as she turned to Yu-Lin.  “You…”

“Auntie, please, this is a family party,” the fourth player said with a toddler in his arms.  “And it would be nice if my favorite aunt and only mother could play one round of mahjong without acting like thirteen-year-old girls.”

Sun reached over to grab the little boy and hugged him in her arms.  “Bo,” she said to the man who had her eyes and mouth.  “There is nothing I would like more than your mother to start acting a little closer to her age.”

“Oh, grasshopper,” Yu-Lin said, shaking her head, and let out a laugh.  “I’ve played mahjong since our father and mother sat us down in the grass and showed us these very tiles 85 years ago, and I’ve kept playing with hundreds of Chinese and Americans since then, but I have never, never ever, played with anyone as bad as you.”

“Mother,” Bo said, turning red, and Sun looked at him, still smiling.

Yu-Lin looked past him with a very big nod.  “You can take the perfect set of tiles and turn them into a winning hand for even the stupidest opponent.”

“Mother,” Bo said, nearly yelling, and Sun held back a laugh.

Yu-Lin did laugh, again, and then so did Sun as she gave the child on her lap a peck on the forehead and put him down. 

“You are the worst hostess,” Sun said and eyed her older lookalike.

“It’s not my party.”  Yu-Lin smiled, shrugging, and pointed to Bo.  “Blame my son if you’re not having a good time.”  She nodded to all of the people, food and drink surrounding them.  “I’m too old for all this work.”

“Auntie, when will you two stop this nonsense?”  Bo turned to Sun.  “You’re just encouraging her…”

“When will you stop asking such foolish questions?”  Yu-Lin slapped her son’s hand.  “Deal.”  She looked at Zaitsev.  “I can’t win another game if you won’t give us the tiles.”

Zaitsev eyed Yu-Lin and she eyed him right back.  He laughed and starting mixing up the tiles. 

“Just make sure you really mix them up this time.”  Sun jabbed her finger at him.  “And no more cheating.”

Zaitsev laughed some more and took the last sip from his glass.

“Let me get you another, Alexander.”  Bo waved to a teenage girl. 

“Thank you, Bo.  You have excellent scotch.”  Zaitsev mixed the tiles some more and gathered them together again.

“I noticed you’ve given up vodka.”  Bo pointed to the girl filling up the glass.

“A while ago, not that I ever drank that much.”  Zaitsev shrugged.  “I actually haven’t been to Russia in more than twenty years.”  He half laughed.  “Although, I did a day trip to Tajikistan a couple of months ago, right, Ben?”

Lieutenant Juarez looked up at Zaitsev from the other side of the crowded room and nodded big.  “Yes, sir.”  He found a smile.  “It was a very productive trip.”

Zaitsev stared at him, noticing he’d come to attention, and laughed some more.  “Try to relax and have some fun, will you?”

Juarez nodded.  “Yes, sir.  I will.”  He pointed to the tiles.  “Are you winning, sir?”

Zaitsev winked as Sun turned around with a scowl. 

Yu-Lin and Bo laughed as Juarez looked away, fiddling with his right hand, and then both turned back to Sun. 

“Deal,” she said to Zaitsev who started handing out the tiles.  She glanced over to Juarez.  “Weren’t your parents, diplomats?”

“Yes, ma’am.  Still are, sort of.”  Juarez looked up at Sun, still holding onto his hand, and half shrugged.  “Um.  They…”

“Is it all right?”  Sun’s eyes narrowed as she looked at Juarez’s hand. 

“Yes, ma’am.”  Juarez held it up.  “Maybe a little stiff.”

Sun stared at him for another moment.  “That’s normal.”  She pointed to the people, food and drink all around them.  “Are you having a good time even with the new hand?”

Juarez looked at the people, food and drink, and then at Sun and found another smile.  “I’m having a good time, ma’am.”

“Are we going to play or what?” Yu-Lin said, watching them.

Sun took in Juarez for another moment and then turned back to the table and smiled big.  “Of course, Yu-Lin.  You can’t win forever.”

Juarez let out his breath and looked over Sun’s shoulder at her tiles.

“Did you do something to your hand,” a voice said behind him.

Juarez turned to a very well dressed woman a little younger than him, one of Sun’s numerous relatives at the party, and managed a smile.  “Hi.”

“Hi.”  The young woman smiled back.

“I’m Ben.”  Juarez pointed to himself.

“Susan.”  She did the same and then to her watch.  “We met about three hours ago, one of dozens of the family members you’ve been introduced to at the party.”  She shook his hand, holding and examining it with both of her own.  “I saw you catching your breath just now.”

“Um.”  Juarez looked at her with a raised eyebrow.  “What…?”

“Oh, sorry.”  Susan felt his wrist.  “I’m a first year surgical resident, and I couldn’t help myself.”

“Right.”  Juarez smiled and turned his wrist to help her examination.  “No problem.”

“What did you do to it?”  Susan still poked his hand gently.  “And how?”

“Hmm.  I, um, sprained it biking, believe it or not.”  Juarez shook his head and shrugged.  “Fell off and caught myself before scraping my face all over the road.”

Susan nodded.  “You have a good doctor.  There’s no sign anything happened to it.  Your hand feels brand new.”

“It feels brand new to me too.”  Juarez chuckled.

Susan let go of Juarez’s hand and nodded at Sun.  “So, you’re Auntie’s newest assistant?”

“Um yes...  Yes, I’ve been working with Mrs. Sun for the last couple of months.”  He looked at Sun.  “Um, it’s been a great job.”  He nodded.  “I’ve learned a lot in a very short time.”

“Auntie goes through a lot of personal assistants it seems.  I feel like I just met…”  Susan looked past him.  “Oh, what was her name?”

“Mae Parks?”  Juarez gave her a wink.

“Yes, what happened to her?”  Susan looked back at him.  “She was really nice.”

“Hmm.”  Juarez made a face.  “I guess you’re right.”

Susan gave him a look.  “You don’t think she’s nice.”

“No, she’s all right.”  Juarez shrugged.  “She’s just been giving me a hard time as the newbie.”

“That sounds normal to me.”  Susan half frowned and laughed.  “Since you’re new.”

“I guess.  She’s actually been nicer lately.”  Juarez touched his hand again and smiled.  “Since I hurt my hand, she’s been great.”

“That’s good.”  Susan nodded.  “Then she is nice.”

“I suppose.”  Juarez nodded back.  “Anyway, she’s minding the home office while we’re here.”

“She doesn’t get rewarded with family gatherings anymore?”  Susan pointed to all of the people, food and drink.

“I think minding the store was her reward.”

Susan looked at Juarez with a smile.  “Well, I’m sorry she’s not here.  She and I had a nice chat about Pixar movies of all things.  She said ‘Up’ makes her cry every time she sees it.”

“Really?”  Juarez smirked.  “That’s interesting.”

Susan’s eyes narrowed on him.  “You’re not going to give her a hard time, are you?”

“I didn’t plan to but that sounds like a good idea.”  Juarez laughed until he noticed her look at him.  “But I guess I don’t have to.”

Susan glared at him.  “I think that would be a good idea.”

Juarez smiled, but Susan looked away from him.  “Can I, uh, get you a drink?”

“No thanks,” Susan said and pulled out her keys.  “I’m driving home soon.”

“Um.”  Juarez shook his head.  “Okay,” he said, and they both heard tiles slamming on the table.  “Maybe…?”

“Are you kidding me?” Sun said loudly and stared past Juarez.

He turned to see large smiles on Zaitsev and Yu-Lin’s faces.

“Mother,” Bo said, frowning, and shook his head.  “I can’t believe you did that.”

Yu-Lin looked at Bo, smiling, and nodded big.  “This happens every time.  Your aunt has never won at mahjong, Bo.  Never.  Why would it surprise you now as opposed to all of the other times she’s lost?”

“You gave him the game.”  Sun frowned and pointed to Zaitsev, who looked down at the tiles and started to gather them together again.

“This happens every time,” Susan said to Juarez and shook her head.  “They are worse than I am with my sister.  Granny will never let Auntie win?”

“What did my sister promise you?” Sun said to Zaitsev in Russian.

“Nothing.”  Zaitsev smiled, but then raised a finger with a little laugh.  “No wait, she offered me a bottle of Blue Label if you lost.”

Sun shook her head with half a frown and half a smile.  “I should bust you down to ensign.”

“I’ll share the bottle with you.”  Zaitsev raised his hands in surrender.  “Like last time.”

Sun looked at him.

“Auntie, it’s not polite to make threats in a language nobody else understands,” Bo said, giving Sun a look.  “Nobody else here knows Russian.”

“Ben knows what I said, and they weren’t threats.”  Sun turned to Juarez.

Bo and the rest of the room turned to Juarez, and he took a step back.  “No, sir.”  He shook his head.  “They were not.”

“They should have been, though,” Sun said, eyeing Zaitsev.

“Please.”  Yu-Lin raised a hand in protest.  “Help me up, Alexander.”

Zaitsev winked at Yu-Lin and stood up.

“Mother, let me help you.”  Bo shook his head.  “Our guests shouldn’t have to…”

“It’s the least he can do after I gave him the game and match.”  Yu-Lin wagged a finger.  “Particularly after the horrible tiles he gave me.”

Bo frowned but couldn’t hide a quiet laugh.

“See?” Sun said.  “She admits to it.”

Yu-Lin waved her free hand as Zaitsev helped her get to her feet.  “I admit to nothing.”

“You just did.”  Sun stared at her.

“Pphht.”  Yu-Lin stared back and nearly grinned.  “You’re hearing things.”

“I am so sorry you have to see this display, Ben,” Bo said.  “We usually don’t let out the family laundry in front of our guests, particularly first time visitors.”

Juarez smiled.  “No problem, sir.  My brothers did much worse the last time I was home.”

“Good, then come and talk to me about yourself, young man.  I want to learn a little about you.”  Yu-Lin grabbed Juarez’s arm and nodded him forward.  “And stop flirting with my great granddaughter.”  She looked at Susan.  “You can do better than Qiao’s personal assistant, tiny cricket, even if you’re only trying to make your parents angry.”

Juarez’s face dropped a bit, but Susan just smiled and shrugged.  “Bye,” she mouthed with a wave as Yu-Lin led Juarez away, all the while using him to help her keep moving forward.

Juarez smiled politely as they passed many family members who cleared a path for them.

“She deserves to give her parents a rough time.  They were too hard on her growing up,” Yu-Lin said, pointing back to Susan, and gave Juarez a look.  “Still, she can do better.”

He half nodded.  “Um, yes, ma’am.”

“Knock that ma’am stuff off.”  Yu-Lin stopped the two of them in a quiet spot toward the front of the house and away from everyone else.  She looked up into his eyes and pointed to all of the people, food and drink.  “Are you having a good time?”

Juarez smiled and his shoulders hunched up.  “I am.  Yes.  Thank you.”

Yu-Lin stared at him with a nod.  “How long will Qiao live?”

Juarez coughed and nearly took a step back, but Yu-Lin held him close. 

She smiled.  “Your boss looks exactly like my little sister, Li Qiao Hui who was born in January 1921 in Jiangsu province near Nanjing, China.”  She took in a breath.  “I don’t remember her being born, but I do remember my mother being fat with her, and I remember not being able to sleep with my parents anymore because of her.”

Juarez blinked, not saying a word.

“Qiao and I grew up in a good, rich home where our parents were able to shield us from the worst of Chinese life, and Qiao followed me everywhere like a puppy dog, doing everything I did and listening to every word I said.  We were lucky to be so happy then, because of all of the wars, and were luckier still when our parents’ arranged marriages to kind husbands from good, local families.  Even after we married, we lived near each other and our parents, and so when Qiao had the first baby we were all able to be there for her.  Then I got pregnant not long after Bo was born, and she was able to be there for me.”

Juarez looked across the room at Bo and Sun sitting close and laughing together, and then looked back at Yu-Lin.

“Yes.  Life then was good like it is today, or so we thought in our very little world.  Most Chinese would have disagreed with us, but then most Chinese had to deal with the horrors of the warlords or Communists or the Nationalists or the Japanese when all we had to do was figure out how to have and take care of babies.”

“The outside world didn’t really affect us until Qiao’s husband, Enlai, was drafted into the Nationalist army and was hurt when the Japanese took over Shanghai in 1937.  Even that didn’t seem so bad, though, since Qiao could bring him food and make sure he was getting better.”

“But then things got worse, much worse.  Qiao was visiting her husband when the Japanese swept suddenly across Jiangsu toward Nanjing and destroyed our world.  We thought they would be happy with Shanghai, but they couldn’t resist attacking Nanjing.  It was the capital, and I guess my parents did know better.  Our family had a plan in case that happened, and my father had prepared to go west in front of the Japanese to Henan, but Qiao was still with Enlai.  We waited until the last second for her.  I remember seeing a Japanese tank come up through the river valley when our father picked up baby Bo and ordered us to go.”

“Life got worse then for several years, and we discovered how the rest of China had lived while we were spoiled children.”  Yu-Lin looked at the floor for a long moment.

“That must have been terrible.”  Juarez swallowed.  “I can’t imagine…”

Yu-Lin quieted him with a look and took in a breath.  “We thought…” she said, but then stopped for a moment.  “We knew that Qiao must have died in the wave of Japanese slaughter that flooded across Jiangsu and Nanjing.  Everything that we heard was about a hell that I couldn’t imagine, but survivor after survivor described.  A village elder who had fled through Nanjing saw Enlai, Qiao’s husband, murdered by the Japanese.  They cut off his head with one of their swords.  And while we never got confirmation of Qiao’s fate, we had to assume she was dead.  After hearing all the horrors, we nearly prayed that she was dead.  She must have been.  Qiao knew that we had family in Henan and would have gone there if she could.  And if we weren’t there, she would have kept looking for Bo until she found him.”

Yu-Lin wiped her eyes. 

“We did hear a rumor a few years after Nanjing, after running and scraping whatever life or death we could from the war.  A friend, a former associate of our father, found us in Wuhan and said that he saw a woman who looked like Qiao in Henan, except healthier than she’d ever been as a girl and pregnant again too.  He said that she was with a new husband and seemed strong and healthy in spite of the war around us, but that was impossible to imagine.  Too many terrible things had happened to us by then for us to afford a trip to Henan.  Both of our parents and my husband and daughter had died by then.  It was just Bo and me at that point, and we had a hard enough time staying alive, much less traveling to find a ghost.”

Yu-Lin took in a very deep breath. 

“The funny thing is that woman probably was my little sister.”

Juarez blinked.

“I returned to my village in Jiangsu with Bo after the war and found the house where I grew up still standing somehow.  It had survived although Bo and I were the only ones in our family who could return to it.  We couldn’t reclaim it, of course, because others had taken it over, but Qiao had also come to the house after the war.  She was still looking for us or some memory of us, and that’s where we saw each other across the road from one another.”

Yu-Lin smiled and looked right into Juarez’s eyes. 

“I can’t remember a happier moment or more fulfilling feeling in my life.”  She wiped her face.  “Qiao stood frozen, somehow still pregnant and with a man who held a child that looked so much like Bo.”

She touched Juarez’s cheek for a moment.

“We held each other for a very long time, and Bo didn’t know what to do or who this healthy looking woman was.  I think it was the best and worst moment of Qiao’s life.  Her sister and son were alive, but she learned that the rest of our family had died, and that her son thought of me as his mother.  It broke her heart but brought her more happiness than she has probably ever felt.”

“Qiao and her new husband, Sun Zheng, and their daughter stayed with us then until she had her third baby.  We got our house back, and Qiao and Zheng somehow restarted our father’s store and helped rebuild our village in the months that she was with us.”

A moment passed between them as Yu-Lin smiled at Juarez.

“She visited once or twice every year for a few years after that, never saying where she was going or what the rest of her life was like, but always making sure that Bo and I were safe and comfortable, and that Bo got to know his ‘cousins’.”

Yu-Lin took Juarez’s hand and looked deep into his eyes.  “I always wondered how she survived and where she lived now with her new family, but Qiao wouldn’t tell me.  She said she couldn’t.”  She shook her head.  “Then the Communists took over all of China and everything changed.  I learned the truth about the universe beyond China, beyond Earth.  Qiao wanted to bring Bo and me into space, into this better life that she lived far from our home, but I said, ‘No’.  I had run too much in my short life and I didn’t want to leave my home after finding it again.  I thought Mao and his Communists would be no better or worse than Chiang and his Nationalists, no matter what Qiao said.”

“I was wrong, of course.  Qiao moved us and my new husband and our two children to Taiwan in the 50s and then we left for America in the 60s where we’ve lived ever since.”  Yu-Lin smiled.  “It only took a generation to find our real home, and I know that’s lucky compared to when so many others never found even a little bit of happiness.”

“And by then Qiao was pretending to be my much younger niece since she looked like she stopped getting older in her late thirties.  It didn’t fool anybody, not even my younger ones or grandchildren who didn’t know her as well.  We played along, though.  If she wanted to pretend to be her own daughter or whatever it didn’t matter.  We were happy and that’s all we cared about.”

Yu-Lin nodded again and took in another deep breath.

“We did get worried when we didn’t hear anything for a few years in the 80s.  We thought she may have died in one of the amazing adventures here or in outer space that she would tell me about as if she was making up some crazy story with aliens and other worlds.  But then after three years, Qiao returned to us one day, happy to see us, but with an obvious sadness about her that I hadn’t seen since the war.  She explained that something bad happened at a place called Ericson: something that took away her husband, her oldest daughter, five of her grandchildren and her youngest son.”

Juarez stared.  “I didn’t know that.”

“And I’m sure she wouldn’t want me to talk to you about it.  So don’t say anything.”

Juarez nodded.

“Good.  Now I told you all of this because I want to know if my sister and the other humans who live out there.”  Yu-Lin pointed out the window to the sky and beyond.  “Are you immortal?  Will you live forever?”

Juarez looked at her.  “Ma’am, I…” he said, but couldn’t hold her stare, and looked away.  “I don’t know.  No one does.”  He shrugged.  “I don’t think anyone’s reached a limit yet, but…  I don’t know.”

Yu-Lin turned away from Juarez to look at Sun and Zaitsev talking and laughing together with everyone around them.  “I wouldn’t want to live that long, or even much longer than I already have.”  She nodded to herself.  “I’m ready to move on when I die.  I’ve seen enough and lived enough, and I know I’m leaving a good family and enough memories for others to treasure even if my little sister keeps going for another thousand years. 

Juarez looked at her, not saying anything, and saw Sun coming their way.

Yu-Lin smiled, but not at Juarez.

Sun smiled back.  “I’m not interrupting anything am I?”  She handed her sister a glass. 

“You are.  Why else would I want to talk to this boy?”  Yu-Lin took the glass with a frown.  “Go away.”  She took a sip, frowned again and gave it back to Sun.  “Too much sugar.”

“It’s just the way you like it.”  Sun took a sip from the glass and nodded to both of them.  “Now are you finished with all of your questions for my young Mr. Juarez?”

Yu-Lin took back the glass and had another sip.  “Not really.  He’s too quiet so far.”

“He talks more the longer you get to know him.”  Sun tapped Juarez on the arm and smiled.  “I’m starting to worry I won’t be able to get him to shut up soon.”

Yu-Lin looked at Juarez.  “Well, then he and I should talk a little more.”

“I didn’t say it was a good thing.”  Sun gave Juarez a wink.

“Mother.”

Yu-Lin and Sun both looked at Bo.

“Do you mind if I borrow her, Auntie?” he said and took Yu-Lin’s hand.  “I want her to meet someone from the office.”

“Of course,” Sun said with a tight smile.  “I was just trying to save Ben from revealing all of my secrets.”

“Ma’am?” Juarez started to say as Sun squeezed his arm hard.

Yu-Lin reached up and grabbed Sun’s free hand, squeezing it, and looked her right in the eye. 

Sun leaned in toward the older woman, and their foreheads touched. 

Bo smiled at them.

“We’ll finish this drink after I’m done meeting Bo’s latest protégé.”  Yu-Lin smiled and gave back the glass.  “Everyone is bringing people by to impress me.”  She laughed and threw up a hand.  “Who knew I was so powerful?”

Sun watched her sister walk away slowly, and then turned to a wide-eyed Juarez.

“Ma’am?”

“Come on.”  Sun pulled him forward.  “Let’s have a talk.”

They walked outside to the relative privacy and fresher air of a screened in porch where Sun let go of Juarez’s arm and looked over the city.