“So the Army’s on alert again. Maybe they got all that nerve gas stored out there. Someone has been sniffing the stuff.
“Don’t even start up with that again,” Sheriff Mall snapped.
“I tell you, they should all be kicked out of Washington and start all over again. The currency in the National Trust is fraudulent . . .”
Sheriff Mall held up his hands for Clyde to stop. As many times as he had been in the café as he could remember, he had had this same argument with Clyde. He was a believer in every conspiracy theory that was the flavor of the day. From the Holocaust to 9/11, it never mattered what major event had happened. He always had a theory of a cover-up. He shook his head finally and then tossed a bill on the counter.
“You don’t like what they’re doing. Then you run for office. The House seat is up for grabs next term.”
The door opened suddenly and two Cammo dudes walked in. They glanceded around, then walked over to the counter, and both quickly sat down on stools at the end. Jenny wiped her brow while looking at Sheriff Mall.
“Well, pardon me, but duty calls,” she said as she walked over to where the Cammo dudes were sitting.
Sheriff Mall quickly spouted out, “You tell your nephew I have my eye on him.
Jenny just turned and smiled. “He will be happy to hear that,” she said as she walked to the end of the counter. She turned to the Cammo dudes and quickly put her pen to pad.
CHAPTER 10
The air was stifling hot in the old machine shed. John propped open the windows, but with minimal air movement, it did nothing to give him relief. Although the spacecraft had its ventilation system, John was reluctant to turn on the engines given the current state of the craft.
So all his efforts went to cleaning up the debris inside the craft, and the pile of garbage outside the ship door grew. John had been at it for almost two hours without any break. Spot stayed where John commanded him to sit. Jane walked into the shed, wearing a pastel-blue cotton housedress while carrying a tray of food. She still looked sexy in the homey-looking dress, but this was lost on John, who never thought of her as anything other than his commander. Jane walked up to Spot, still sitting outside the craft. She pointed for him to move out of her way. Spot reluctantly obeyed. Jane looked into the craft at John, who was busy putting undamaged things back in their place.
“What is your assessment?” Jane asked.
John maneuvered out from under the control panel while Jane stepped into the craft. She looked around. For some reason, she hadn’t remembered how much damage was done in their landing. On the counter, she stared at the damaged syringe and cylinders. John slowly rolled over and then brushed off the dust from his jeans. He just looked up at Jane staring down at him. He could not take his eyes off her bare legs, glancing up the housedress as far as he could see. Jane nervously stepped back, uncomfortable for a moment and not knowing why. She set the tray down while John quickly got up and brushed off his backside.
“I could get it started if the power module wasn’t damaged. It will only run for a short period.”
“Surely there is something on this planet suitable. . .”
John cut her off. “It may take some doing,” he said.
“Make it so.”
John laughed at the absurdity of her command. He motioned to the tools on the wall. They were all antique farming tools indicative of the family’s heritage, not what was in practical use in today’s time.
“They are a primitive people,” John snapped.
Just then, a plane flew overhead. They both looked up, realizing that the tools on the wall were not indicative of the technology that produced the plane.
“They may be primitive,” Jane said, while still looking up and then turning to the tools on the wall. “But they do have the technology to build crafts that fly.”
“I did an analysis. They use a fossil fuel not compatible with our technology.”
“You are the engineer!”
Jane was right. He was the engineer. However, all his training was on their home planet with elements he did not think this world had discovered yet. Plus the fact he was plucked out of the academy before completion.
“Third level engineer,” John added.
It was a reminder to Jane just how limited his knowledge was. There were two years left of his training. When this assignment came up, they were desperate to fill it. Not wanting to give up their top-notch engineers for a job that everyone knew would fail. Therefore John was enlisted for the job. He was tired of the theoretical work at the academy and always longed for air travel. So when given the chance, he jumped at the opportunity for this adventure.
“Surely you can come up with something,” Jane begged.
Jane motioned to the house. She had been in there all morning trying to do whatever it was that people on Earth do. But Jane found it difficult just to sit and do nothing.
“Elmer talked about eBay and all you can buy on that site. We could use their computer technology to search for what we need.”
John turned to Jane with puzzlement on his face and then shook his head. Time was running out for them, and he saw it on Jane’s face when she stared at the medical box on the counter. He watched as she slowly walked over to it again and picked up the broken syringe. He never really knew why they had to be injected daily, only that if an injection were missed, fatal consequences would ensue. It had been two sun settings since their last injection, and they were still alive, so he now questioned the need.
“We can’t stay here,” Jane said, breaking the long silence.
John glanced up at her and smirked. “There’s no choice.”
“We will expire.”
John walked over to Jane. He picked up one of the cylinders and turned it over in his hand. John knew now for whatever reason they took the injections, it wasn’t to stay alive, but Jane still bought into what was instilled in them all through the academy. He didn’t want to let on to Jane that he now questioned the validity of their injections, so chose to go along with her.
“How much time do we have?” he asked, looking concerned as if he believed what he said.
“I don’t honestly know.”
John thought for a moment. He knew he had to get Jane’s mind off the damaged cylinder and syringe for her to concentrate on getting the craft airborne again.
“Wasn’t there a message sent from Kazar, light years after his crash?” he finally asked.
“We can’t be sure it was him.”
“If it was him, then he managed to survive without his injections.”
Jane turns to John in disbelief. “It could have been a warp in the continuum,” she snapped.
There was no clear explanation, but one thing was sure. They would find out soon enough what it would mean not to be injected by what they were led to believe was necessary for life.
“I don’t buy that.”
“Our elders weren’t sure.”
“Isn’t that why we were sent here? To rescue him.”
“The elders were also looking for a Nebula to use for future colonization of our people,” Jane concluded.
It was a fact that was never shared with John. Up until then, it was not necessary to divulge the real reason behind their journey. He was only the navigator. Such classified information was kept from underlings.
John turned to Jane. ”What are you saying?
Jane shrugged. “Our world is dying.”
John appeared puzzled by that remark. It was the first time he had heard such news. Yeah, there was talk, but never anything to substantiate that the rumors about pending doom were something to take seriously.
“If we find Kazar it proves we can survive, but how will we let the elders know?”