Clones vs. Aliens (26 page)

The rest of the fleet was fast fleeing the Earth.

“Come on,” said Veronica quietly. “Let’s go home.”

Fisher and Alex found their lives endangered once again—this time by their parents’ embrace—when they disembarked the ship inside the MORONS base. Everyone in the base was on their feet, applauding. Champagne corks flew through the air. The main screen was a feed of a hundred TV stations from across the globe, with news anchors shouting with triumph and openly crying with happiness as they reported that the alien menace was retreating into space thanks to an unknown force’s heroic efforts. Even Dr. X seemed to be smiling, at least a little bit.

“We’re bringing you a special report,” a news anchor’s voice cut over the din. “A massive invasion fleet has been turned aside thanks to the heroic efforts of NASA, its MORONS special operations team, the FBI, and several world militaries …”

“Hmph,” Alex said. “And the greatest seventh grade
commando team the world has ever seen.”

“You four have saved our species,” Agent Mason said, walking up to them, leaning over and handing FP a whole, uncooked potato, which the pig devoured at a rate that would be alarming for anyone who didn’t know him. “I know it’d be nice to get the glory you deserve, but I’m afraid we’re going to have to keep it quiet, at least for a while. The full story of what happened here has to be delivered to the world carefully. I hope you understand.”

“I could use some quiet,” Fisher said. “A ton of it, really.”

“Hear hear,” said Amanda.

“There is still work to be done,” Mason said. “That explosion put a huge amount of debris into orbit. The MORONS team will have their hands full dealing with it and they may ask for advice or assistance at some point. For now, you’ve got another alien species waiting for you.”

Fisher rolled his eyes.

“I can’t wait. Just be sure to make those modifications to the
Perseus
while we’re gone. And get those potato seeds on board.”

“Oh,” Mason said, “I have a special treat prepared for the Gemini. One of my men will bring it along with you.”

“Anything as long as it’ll convince them to set sail for a
new
planet,” said Amanda.

Nearly every door on the street was wide open, and neighbors were partying and cheering. Cars were stopped in the middle of the street, horns honking, stereos blasting. The technicians and scientists had joined the neighborhood celebration and the carnival sound seemed to extend to every horizon. Spotlights shot into the night sky, and the stars themselves seemed just a little brighter.

The Earth was saved.

Anna and Bee were waiting for Fisher and Alex on the bus. This time, though, there wasn’t much left of the bus but its frame, engine, and tires. The Gemini had used up most of their energy in battle, and the drones were eating all the materials they could find.

“Thank you, Fisher Bas,” Anna said as crumbs of blue plastic spilled from her lips. “The Mechastaceans have been our enemies for a very long time. It will be years before they can recover from the blow you dealt them.”

“I didn’t do it for you,” Fisher said, trying not to sound too unkind—but not trying too hard. “You plotted to take us over just like they did. Don’t think we’ll forget that. But … you held up your end of the bargain, and we’ll hold up ours. Your ship will be returned to you. It will take you directly to your home planet, drop you off, and then fly itself into your sun.”

“Well,” Bee said, “that is satisfactory, we suppose.”

“There’s one other thing,” Fisher said. He exchanged a look with Alex, who nodded almost imperceptibly. “It’s just past midnight now. That makes it Thanksgiving.”

He motioned behind him, and an FBI agent rolled up a long cart sporting several covered trays in front of the bus.

“Here we have King of Hollywood’s finest in Thanksgiving cuisine,” Fisher said, gesturing. “Choice turkey burgers with tangy cranberry mustard, ground beef and relish stuffing, and, of course, spicy pilgrim hat-shaped fries.” He took a deep breath. “To new understandings.”

There was a momentary pause. Then both Anna and Bee extended their hands, slowly, and in return, Fisher and Alex offered their own. They shook.

Then Fisher and Alex turned and walked away from the alien’s bus, for what they could only hope would be the very last time.

“Well,” Alex said, letting out a long whistle. “That’s that. All’s well that ends well, I guess.”

“I guess,” Fisher said. He spotted Veronica in his mom’s garden. “Er, give me a second, okay? I’ll meet you inside.”

“Hey,” Veronica said with a sweet smile. She was leaning against a tree in Fisher’s mom’s garden. Technically, actually, it was a blade of grass, but Fisher’s mom had engineered it to grow to forty feet.

“How’s your career as interstellar diplomat?”

“Over, I hope,” said Fisher. “Listen, er … I never apologized to you. You distrusted the Gemini from the start. I should have listened to you.”

She stood, squared up to him, and gently set her hands on his shoulders.

“Why, Fisher,” she said, her gentle smile sweet enough that Fisher felt like he needed a dentist, “that’s awfully kind of you to say. But there’s no need to apologize. I get it.”

Fisher felt a very strong impulse, and at long last, he didn’t ignore it, push it out of the way, or smother it in doubt. He followed it, placing his right hand on the back of Veronica’s neck,… gently inclined her head down as he inclined his up. And he kissed her.

The rest of the universe probably continued to exist during that moment, but Fisher didn’t really notice.

“Hey!… Oh, uh, sorry to interrupt,” said Alex. He was holding Amanda’s hand. Fisher and Veronica parted, and Fisher made no attempt to quash the likely unquashable grin on his face.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said. “What’s up?”

“I just got a call from Mason at the base,” Alex said. “The Mechastacean fleet jumped away a few minutes ago using some sort of faster-than-light technology. They jumped out in a very specific formation, at least when looked at from Earth’s perspective. I think you’ll want to see this.”

He pulled up a picture on his phone. The telescope image showed the many points of light emitted as the ships left the system. The dots lined up in a near-perfect order, just as Alex had said, forming a clear shape when viewed from Earth.

The shape was a 3.

The Clone Chronicles rolls on to exciting new places, and we’ve finally been to space. Or, pardon me, I should spell that properly:
Spaaaaaace.

Much better.

Thanks as always to Laura and Lexa and everyone at Paper Lantern, and especially to Kamilla, the newest face, and one essential to the creation of this book.

Also thanks to the Egmont crew, and special thanks to new editor Jordan, who’s crafted this volume into something sleek and sharp.

To all of my friends, as ever, it’s you for whom I write. You who keep my heart dancing after a misstep. And I’m awfully fond of dancing.

That’s it for now! I look forward to whatever comes next and I hope you all join me for it. Much fondness to you all.