17

“Bring up Wilsonville, California, on the holo-table,” I said after returning to the flight deck.

“Certainly,” Prime replied.

Prime floated toward the holo-table. Earth vanished, replaced by a 3-D, top-down view of Wilsonville in real-time. The forerunner hub was hovering seven thousand miles above us, its satellites aimed at this region. I ran my hand through the light field for a second, disrupting the display, before I made a pinching motion with my index and thumb and zoomed into a small blue house on the outskirts of town.

“I am getting used to having a physical form, forerunner,” Prime said.

I blinked. “You never had a body before?”

“I have perused through my archives, and previous forerunners have not given me the order to take physical form. This is…new to me. I will acquire further data from this experience.”

“Why don’t you keep me posted on that, then?”

“I will give a thorough report in seven days.”

“Why seven days?”

“Upon your world’s current calendar, that is a week.”

I waited for him to finish his line of thought, but I realized he wouldn’t give any. “And?”

“My apologies. A week is an ample enough time for humans to assess a given situation. I will do the same.”

“Some of us take a month to get used to something,” I muttered. “Some can take it in a day.”

“Would you like me to set the parameters for one month?”

“Do what you like, Prime.”

“It is never about what I like or dislike, forerunner.”

“Yes, you’ve told me that countless times. Set it to a week and report to me then.”

“Parameters set. Variables marked.”

Amelia, Alonso, and Freddie entered the flight deck. “Can you believe the anti-matter engine that Prime had strapped at the butt of the ship? It’s nothing I’ve ever seen!” Amelia said excitedly.

Alonso rolled his eyes. “Tony, Amelia has been like this ever since you chucked her into the engineering bay.”

Amelia raised her hands. “Sue me! You don’t see machines like that every day.”

“And these turrets! Man, shooting down those quartz over the ocean was sick. You think we’ll shoot more of them while we’re down here?”

“If this goes smoothly, I hope we don’t.”

Freddie sat down, looking as if I’d taken away his toy. “That’s a bummer.”

“As for the engines, I bet it’s gonna be like that for the next few months. I’ll make new things as our situation develops, especially with your ongoing project, Amelia.”

She grinned. “You mean building a town in the middle of space?”

“Yes. That project. How’s that going?”

“It’s still in development, and Prime has been very helpful. Though the right materials are there, transporting other necessary resources like food and organic materials might be tricky.”

“Organic materials?”

“Planting trees, Tony.”

“You want to plant vegetation in space?”

“Since you’ve placed the urban planning to me, I want to make the station look like home, you know? Well, at least for level eighteen.”

Trees in space? It didn’t sound bad. It might make the Forerunner Hub more habitable.

Amelia stood on the opposite side of the holo-table, which showed the ship approaching the edge of town. “Prime, can you tell us the location of Samuel Segerstrom?” She asked.

“Unknown. Samuel Segerstrom’s last known whereabouts are from his last known assessment. I lost contact after I found the forerunner. We have a missing seventy-hour gap of his current possible whereabouts.”

“So, our best bet is to check out my house,” I said.

“What if they’re not there?” Amelia asked.

“It’s still ten in the morning on a Saturday. Daniel and Isaac don’t have school, so they’re probably still asleep. Meredith doesn’t have work, either. My dad might not be there, but he occasionally doesn’t go to his shop on Saturdays unless there are many things to do. Given the alien invasion, I assume they’re staying put.”

“The president just announced a halt on all business and activities across the country for a day of mourning. Lots of people died in New York,” Alonso said.

Amelia zoomed in more on my house. “Tony, why is my dad’s truck on your driveway?”

I paused. Long before we were born, my dad and Gaius Hansen didn’t get along; something to do about my late mother and who was dating who, but that didn’t stop Amelia and me from becoming best friends. It was unusual for Gaius to visit my dad. He lived far across the other side of town.

“Prime, there’s a patch of woods behind my house. I want you to land a quarter of a mile away, where you’ll see a small clearing next to the riverbank.”

“Landing zone identified. Route recalculation,” Prime said.

“I don’t want to park our shuttle where the neighbors can see us, you know?” I explained to the others.

Amelia threw up her hands. “No explanation needed. I’d be shitting my pants if I saw this fly over me, much more when it lands right in front of my house.”

“What’d you think Gaius wants with my dad?”

“Beats me. I guess we’ll find out.”

We walked up to the weapons locker, and it automatically slid open. Four M4 carbines, three 590 shotguns, and one Mk22 sniper rifle sat on a row, along with a dozen Beretta M9s and Sauer M11s. At the bottom half are the 5.56mm, 7.62mm, and 9mm magazines and shotgun shells, baton sticks, Bowie knives, a few flashbang and smoke grenades, and other accessories and equipment. I also made a pair of cross-draw Kevlar vests, which we put on. Since we had limited weapons, I made these in a rush. It was oddly horrifying to witness the factories mass-producing weapons of war in less than thirty minutes and ammunition every three seconds. I had an entire night (with room for more) making them.

I picked up a rifle, a pistol, and a baton stick just in case of trouble. The others picked and chose what they liked. After I grabbed my weapons and equipment, I stepped out into the cargo deck while a ramp slowly lowered to the ground.

“What if someone saw us?” Freddie asked.

“Oh, they definitely did. They probably tracked this ship since we left the station. Hopefully, it gives us enough time to get my dad.”

Alonso nodded. “Prime, I want you to put up a two-kilometer radius surveillance centered on the Segerstrom house. If a convoy of vehicles of three or more starts approaching our location, track them and let us know their movement.”

“Acknowledged, Corporal Ruiz.”

I smiled. “Look at you, getting comfortable with him.”

“Hey, you’re the one who gave me a security clearance. I gotta work with the robot eventually, so I might as well start now.”

“But you made it look so easy,” I teased.

“Unlike you.”

“Do you think it’s okay to leave the lieutenant all alone on the ship?” Freddie asked.

“If they do something stupid, the ship will shut them out. Prime has his contingencies,” I said. And I hoped he didn’t use them. If Ben or Nick decide to take over the ship, all we’ll return to would be dead bodies.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“Hey, do you think Jason will be okay up there?” Amelia asked worriedly.

“Your boyfriend will be fine,” Alonso said. “He’s a big boy.”

“Last I saw, he was busy talking to Prime Two about his studio and other things he has planned. He promised it would be huge. I’m more concerned about that,” I said.

“Minister Navarro is busy working on Project Spielberg,” Prime said.

“Oh, Jesus,” Amelia shook her head, and we laughed. Project Spielberg? “But I’m glad he got something to do.”

“Ready, everyone?”

They all gave me a curt nod.

We walked down the ramp. Due to its large size, a quarter of the ship (by the bow) was on the river. Fortunately, it’s too big to sink in the shallow, three-foot-deep water. At least it didn’t touch down closer to the middle, which was deeper.

A gentle breeze blew past us, and I took in the scent of cedar, bergamot, and dew from the last rain. Would I ever get back on the ground again? This might be the last time I could walk around the planet as a free man and smell the fresh air. The ramp closed behind us and we started walking down the trail. It would take us ten minutes to reach my house’s backyard. Freddie and Alonso broke off from us to scout ahead.

“Hey, Jason is a badass when it comes to things he knows,” I said to Amelia when I noticed she was still worried. “I mean, when it comes to cleaning our apartment or doing math, he does a crappy job. But behind a camera or a stove, he’s a genius. That and he’s a mean shot.”

“I’m just concerned. That’s all. I love the guy, but how is he going to make that—” she pointed to the floating station above us and then to Prime following close behind, “—into a good a thing? It killed millions of people, Tony. Tons of videos online documented the massacre. If we’re recruiting people—migrating them into space—that will be a problem. His specialty has been shooting a gun for four years. Not a camera.”

“And he spent four more years studying how to make up a good story. I don’t know, but we’ll have to trust Jason, okay?”

We followed the trail and arrived at my house’s fenceless backyard, crouching behind a bush about hundred and fifty feet away from my home. So far, everything was quiet. I didn’t hear any sirens or the staccato thumps of helicopter blades approaching. There was no doubt that the US was tracking my ship when it reached the atmosphere, and they had probably trained their satellites on our location by now. I saw Meredith walking past the kitchen by the window, shouting something toward the dining room. Through the glass sliding doors, Daniel and Isaac were eating breakfast. I didn’t see my father or Mr. Hansen just yet.

“I don’t see anything,” Amelia whispered. “What about you, Ruiz?” She touched the radio on her ear.

“Nothing up front. Coast is clear.”

“Right. Stay in your positions,” I said. “I’ll go ahead and approach the back door.”

“There’s a high possibility the government had contacted our families when we went missing. Our video of our supposed abduction did go viral,” Amelia said.

“I don’t see anyone else in the house, and there were no other vehicles on the driveway except for my dad, Meredith’s, and your dad’s.” Our nearest neighbor was only a quarter of a mile away, and if someone were spying on my family, we would spot them by now.

Amelia mulled it over. “Alright. I’ll watch your six.”

“Copy. I’ll let Prime stay with you. I don’t want to freak them out.”

“That’s probably a good idea.”

Slinging my rifle behind me, I got up and walked to my house. Isaac was the first to notice me, jumping out of his seat and opening the sliding door.

“Mom! Tony’s here! He’s here!” He shouted, running up to me.

I struggled to hold on to my emotions, seeing them all perfectly fine and safe after what I had seen, fearing I would see them as piles of bodies down a pit. Even though Prime reassured me they were alive, plenty of things could happen in three days. I crouched down and took Isaac into my arms, holding him there for a few seconds. He started to tug at my wrist and led me into the house, where Daniel, wide-eyed, stared at me for a long minute. Meredith let out a strangled yelp as she ran over to me, took me into her arms, and felt her tears against my cheek. She wasn’t my biological mother, but she treated me like her own from the beginning, and I was glad she was safe.

“Where’s dad?” I managed to say.

It took Meredith a moment to recognize who I meant. “Oh! He’s going to be so relieved! He’s in the garage. Daniel, Isaac, why don’t you get your father in here?”

Isaac grabbed Daniel’s arm and tugged him deeper into the house, calling after my father. Meredith sauntered to the kitchen, took out a pitcher of orange juice from the refrigerator, and poured me a glass. I drank the entire thing in three seconds. I didn’t realize how thirsty I was after rationing the water bottles Amelia and Jason brought up the ship. Hearing my stomach growl, Meredith frowned, returned to the kitchen, placed two slices of bread in the toaster, and took out two strips of bacon onto a plate. She then turned the stove back on and cracked an egg on the pan. She was making it sunnyside up—my favorite.

“You must be starving, Tony. What exactly happened? One moment we saw you on the news, and that horrible video cropped up online, and then—” She went silent, her hands trembling.

By then, my father walked into the dining room, trailed by Daniel and Isaac. Behind them, Gaius Hansen and his second son, Tyler, stood by, mouth agape and their faces pale as snow. My dad quickly closed the gap and took me into his arms. He held me there for quite a long time until Meredith put my breakfast plate on the table.

I thought, Prime, tell the others it’s all clear.

Order received.

Dad placed his forehead on mine. “Good God, I thought I lost you, too.”

“I’m okay, Dad. I’m fine,” I said, reassuring him; he squeezed his hand on my arm. “See? I’m alive. It’s Tony.”

He looked down at my clothes and my weapons. “Why are you here? What happened? Where’d you get all this?”

“It’s complicated to explain—”

“Tony, what about my girl?” Gaius asked, mouth quivering.

“She’s alive, Gaius,” I said, and it was as if I lifted a great weight off his shoulders. He slumped onto a chair, bit his lip, and held his tears. It was the first time in a long time I’d seen Gaius sober in the morning without the stench of whisky evident a hundred feet away. He had dressed quite nicely in a tucked-in polo shirt and jeans. He had even washed and kept his hair combed.

“When I heard you got abducted, I invited Gaius to stay here for a few nights,” Dad said. That explained why he was sober. My dad rarely drank alcohol.

Suddenly, Isaac screamed at something behind me, and I whirled around, my rifle ready, when I spotted Prime floating toward the sliding doors. Amelia opened it.

“It’s okay! He’s with me!” I said, calming them down.

Amelia, Alonso, Freddie, and Prime walked through the door. “Hi, Dad,” she said, giving a slight wave to Mr. Hansen. Gaius hesitated to walk toward her, cautious around the hovering metallic ball beside her.

“Tony, what the hell is that?” Dad asked. He splayed his arms around Isaac and Daniel behind him; the boys were hiding.

I put my hand on his shoulder. “Dad, we need to talk.”

He took me into his office, and I laid out everything on the table. He was quiet for a long time, fiddling with that two-tailed quarter-dollar coin he found in some remote motel along the I-5. Since then, it had been his lucky coin, taking it wherever he went. I didn’t take Prime in, leaving him with Amelia and the others. I wondered what she told Gaius.

“Are you sure you can’t give it up?” Dad asked.

“I don’t think I’d be here if I did.”

“Hm.” He scratched under his jaw and got up from his seat. “Alright. Let’s move.”

I blinked in surprise, expecting more of an argument. “Wait, that’s it?”

My dad paused for a moment, thinking. “Yep,” he said with a shrug. “Were you expecting something else?”

Before I could say more, he walked out of the room. I followed him toward the kitchen. There, he asked Meredith, Daniel, and Isaac to pack up their bags, told me to grab whatever food was left in the pantry, and informed everyone we would be out of the house in fifteen minutes. Something in my dad’s eyes must have made Meredith hold back from asking why or where they were going. I grabbed a few boxes from the garage, handed Freddie and Amelia a couple, and dragged Dad into the pantry.

“I have a feeling we won’t be back here anytime soon,” my father said glumly.

“You might have to sell the house,” I said.

“Figures. I was planning a change of scenery anyway when I retired. Consider this an early retirement. Shame about the shop.”

“I’m sorry about that. You can build a new one in space without any loans and hand over the shop to Mike. He’s a good mechanic.”

My father frowned. “I guess. I still have payments left over for the lot.”

“Don’t worry. I’ll pay your debt.”

“Oh? How on earth are you going to do that?”

“I found a way.” Besides the mountain of gold I’m sitting on, there’s plenty for everybody.

“I’ll go finish up in the office. Come find me there.” Dad walked out of the kitchen and back into the hallway.

Once my father was out of sight, I turned to the others. “Prime, Alonso, form a perimeter around the house,” I ordered. “Isaac has a tree house near the shed. You’ll get a good vantage point up there.”

“On it,” Alonso said, walking out through the sliding doors. Prime floated after him.

I caught Tyler standing by the dining room in basketball shorts and a green jersey tank top, biting on a piece of bacon. He didn’t bother getting up from the table, giving me an odd look. “It’s strange, don’t you think? One day you went overseas, then went to college, and now you are commanding robots.”

“It’s nice to see you too, Tyler. Did Amelia already tell you what’s going on?”

“Yeah, and he’s been stubborn to get it in his head,” Amelia hissed.

“She told me a part of it, although she’s keeping something from my dad. I reckon you know more than her.”

“There’s nothing much to it, Tyler,” Amelia said, annoyed. “And I’m right here if you want to ask Tony questions.”

“What she said,” I added. “There’s nothing to it.” I filled the first box and took them out into the kitchen island. Freddie gave me a concerned look, ready to drop the guy if he made any trouble. I just shook my head.

“You got abducted by aliens, and now you can control the good ones. Nah, there’s more to it than the footnotes. I know my sister, man. I know when she’s lying and bullshitting,” Tyler said, crossing his arms. “Just because you have an alien armada and all this tech doesn’t mean you can drag her into your problems. She’s found enough trouble, okay? You don’t need her.”

“Tyler, that’s enough,” Amelia shouted from behind us. “Can’t you grab some of these boxes and help us?”

“No, can’t you see? They’re in a hurry to leave. We should call the cops now.”

“We’re not calling anyone, dumbass. Go take care of Dad by the truck.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going.”

“Obviously.”

Tyler scoffed. “Well, I’m not going anywhere with him.”

“I didn’t say you’re coming with us, Tyler.” Amelia pushed herself into the pantry and helped me load the box with canned goods. “I don’t think you’d be of much help.”

Tyler took a step back, glaring daggers at Amelia. With a huff, he quickly marched off the kitchen toward the front of the house.

Amelia nudged me. “Still want to invite them up there?”

“I think he’s just worried about you.”

“I doubt that’s that, staff sergeant,” Freddie said. “I have brothers. They can be total shitheads.”

“Fortunately, mine are still little.”

“I’m more worried about him,” Amelia said. “He hadn’t found a job since he got out of gen pop.”

“There’s plenty of jobs available once we get the station going. I reckon I can give him a second chance once we’ve settled.” Tyler was a dick, but I had met plenty of douchebags and learned how to handle them.

Amelia scoffed. “A second chance? He’ll ask for way more than that.”

“If you’re worried I’m gonna give him a government position, I won’t. I don’t trust him in a leadership role. He is good with his hands and knows how to tinker with machines. I reckon that’s a family trait?”

“Don’t remind me, but that’s good to know he’s not getting a government position. Make sure he does, too.”

“Uh, Tony, you gotta hurry up in there. We got visitors,” Alonso said in my ear.

Forerunner, Prime interrupted. Multiple anomalies have been detected approaching your location.

“How many?” I asked. Amelia stopped, listening in.

A 911 call came from the house. Six police vehicles are currently en route. ETA: two minutes. I detect human hostiles.

I turned to Amelia. “Tyler called the cops.”

“That dumbass—!”

Another anomaly has been detected coming from 37°08’56.1 “N 144°06’37.9 “W.

“Uh, where is that exactly?”

A thousand miles west of your location. They will arrive in six minutes.

But there was nothing there but the ocean—

I ran toward my father’s room as it dawned on me. Only one thing could travel across the Pacific that fast.