“We heard from them. You need to come with me,” he said. Maggie barked at him and rolled at his feet, but he was too upset and focused to notice her.
Patty and the crew had made it to Earth. It had been three months. My hand shook slightly and I took a deep breath, knowing suddenly that we were going to need to move ahead with my plan. I had hoped it wouldn’t be needed.
I picked Maggie up, putting her in the car, and we jumped in. “Let’s go.”
He raced down the roads, which rarely had other cars on them out here. He took the gravel streets around the city, and in ten silent minutes, we arrived at the base. I knew better than to even ask what happened. Magnus would talk when he wanted to. I saw sweat dripping down the big guy’s brow as he pulled into a parking spot.
“You two are going to help, right?” he asked tensely.
“You know we are,” Mary said, and some of the pressure eased in Magnus, like she’d hit a relief valve on his tank.
“Good. We need you.” Magnus opened the door and we all got out, Maggie following along and looking around timidly.
The base wasn’t large. It was made up of a handful of buildings that lined the landing pad. The largest structure was the hangar, where a couple dozen ships sat idly. People moved around now, more than I’d ever seen there before. They all wore uniforms.
Magnus led us into the two-story building beside the hangar, where he and Patty had offices. We walked past their offices and into an elevator that took Magnus’ fingerprint to access. We lowered, and the doors opened to the room where Patty had shown us the footage from Terran Five.
“We’ve had a lot of messages from our ship since they left. Once every couple of their days, to be exact. The farther they get from us, the longer the messages take. Two months to arrive, and one month for that last message to arrive to us. Technically, it’s been eighty-seven days. Today, we received this message. Daniel, play it, please,” Magnus said to the white-uniformed officer at the screen controls.
A message started, sound waves dancing on the screen. A throat cleared. “We’re about to arrive and should be able to see the station around Earth in a couple of hours. Our sensors are showing activity, but…” Patty’s voice went quiet, the sound bar falling to the bottom of the screen. “God help us… they’re here… If you get…” The message ended.
“That’s it?” I asked, a cold shiver racing through my spine. God help us. They’re here.
“That’s it. We’re waiting for another transmission, but we know that message is close to a month old. Anything could have happened by now. We need to discuss options. The other Terran military bases’ leaders are coming here for a briefing in a half hour. Do we tell them about your plan?” he asked me, putting the pressure on me now.
“No. The less they know, the better.”
“Dean, I mentioned some war vessels being built. I may have left a few details out. They’re ready.”
“Ready? I thought they were just a concept. Where are they?” Mary asked, expressing the same angry tone I was feeling.
“They were in-system but far enough away, should the testing go wrong. They’re operational.” Magnus had a grim look across his tired face.
“Then send them toward Earth. We may need the backup,” Mary said. “Are they capable of FTL like our smaller ships?”
“Same drives, just scaled up for size. If anything, we can go out fighting if things go south. I suppose it’s a good thing I sent them a month after Patty and the others left,” Magnus said, his grimness transforming with a smile.
“You sly old dog!” Mary shouted happily.
“They needed to be tested anyway. What better way than in defense of Earth?” Magnus asked. “The other Terran leaders will be here soon. I’ll tell them you’re off on a mission to help our cause.”
“Are you sure we need to even mention Mary and me?” I asked.
“It’ll give them hope. We named this world New Spero. Spero means I hope, and they need it. Earth needs it. Will you stick around?” Magnus asked.
I looked over at Mary, wondering if she was ready to do our part. “Dean and I will go now. Sarlun swore he would help us if we needed it. We need it.”
“Do you have the supplies I requested ready?” I asked.
“Daniel will show you to the lockers. I got them together the minute we started this plan. Take the transport to the mountains and do what you have to do. We need to know where the Bhlat homeworld is for this to work.” Magnus sat down, playing the message again.
They’re here.
We left, making assurances we’d be back as soon as possible. I was glad Magnus was staying behind for the time being. New Spero needed him to take charge, and Nat would be furious if we took him away without her saying goodbye. I could tell from his eyes he wished he was coming with us. He’d feel more useful out in the field on a mission than behind a desk with a bunch of suits, as he’d call them.
“I wish Slate were coming with us,” Mary said. With the rest of our crew gone on the trip to Earth, it was just the two of us.
We were at the lockers, just outside the hangar, standing in our underwear. I went to the door and made sure it was locked. “Mary, I’m sorry we got sucked into this again. I wish things were different. I wish we could just have a normal life.”
She walked over to me, placing a cool hand on my stubble-covered cheek. “We’ll never have a normal life. It’s not ours anymore. We were chosen to help the Kraski get our planet, and we foiled both sides. It’s up to us to protect the people we saved.” Her lips touched mine warmly. “Let’s end this. Then, and only then, can we say the word normal again.”
“You’re right. Let’s suit up.” I slid my uniform on, noticing how nicely it fit now that they’d taken measurements. I slung a pack over my shoulder and felt my breast pocket, where I found the Deltra portable shield Kareem had given me. It still had Bhlat DNA in it, and I expected I’d need to use it again, though a strong part of me wanted to throw it on the ground and stomp it to pieces.
“We’ll do what we need to do, together,” Mary said, reading my mind.
I just nodded, grabbed the other pack, and moved for the door.
Soon we were in the lander, Mary piloting us toward the ice-cold part of our planet, heading for a portal to multiple worlds.
THIRTEEN
The caves were just as we’d left them. We used an air horn to startle away any of the dangerous creatures hiding in the area or tunnels. Terran Five dispatch told us they hadn’t had any altercations with the animals since Magnus and Mary had rescued my sister and the others, and I hoped that meant they’d moved on in search of other food sources.
The sky was clear, and the whole area was far more beautiful to look at now than it had been while I was sick. Snow piled down in sheets from the dark sky. It reminded me of the Rockies from my ski trips, and Mary said something along the same lines.
“Last time, you left here with a wild animal bite, and I left after spending the day on a deserted alien world. What will today bring us?” I asked, adding a chuckle.
“Hopefully, right back here in an hour, with the Bhlat planet icon for your portal.”
“My portal? I don’t think it’s mine.”
“Then why did you get drawn to it?”
“I think it has to do with Mae’s blood inside me. It’s changed me…made me part Kraski…I don’t really know.”
We left the supplies we didn’t need to bring, and we each carried a pack on our backs, with our rifles held firmly in our hands.