Earthman Jack vs. The Ghost Planet (6 page)

There would never be a better time to talk to her.

At this realization, an overwhelming sense of anxiety
crashed over Jack.  What would he say?  What would
she
say?  Was she mad
at him for what happened earlier?  Would he continue to make a fool of himself?

Jack struggled with his emotions for a minute.  His gut was
a tangle of nervousness.  His brain was telling him to just keep walking.  He
could always try again later when he knew the right thing to say.

Then, the oddest thing happened.

Jack remembered his talk with Mr. Shepherd, about how he
needed to start taking responsibility for himself.  About how he could get
everything he wanted, if he were just willing to take action to do so.  He
thought about the intense gaze of Shepherd’s piercing grey eyes, and in that
moment, he felt a small spark of courage flare up inside him.

With that, Jack took a deep breath and walked toward Anna.

“Hey,” said Jack.

Anna looked up at him.  If she were happy to see Jack, he
couldn’t tell.  Her face was absolutely blank.  For a moment, Jack thought he’d
made a mistake coming over, but as far as mistakes went, he could think of a
lot worse.

“Don’t worry,” he said putting his hands up, “I promise not
to start any more fights around you.  At least for the foreseeable future.”

Anna nodded.  “That’s good,” she said.

“I just wanted to come over and thank you for having a talk
with your dad about what happened,” he said.  “He went easy on me today.  It
made detention… well, not so sucky.”

“You’re welcome,” she said simply, before turning back to
the cornfield and gazing into it, as though she were deep in thought about
something.  Jack hesitated for a second.  He felt as though he should take that
as a cue to exit, but he also knew, chances were, he’d never get the nerve to
talk to her like this again, so he might as well give it all he had right now.

“I also wanted to apologize,” he continued.

Anna looked back up at him.  “Apologize?”

“Yeah, for dragging you into that whole mess to begin with,”
said Jack.  “Coming from someone who knows what its like to be badgered by J.C.
Rowdey, I just couldn’t stand to sit there and let him… I don’t know… bug you
like that.”

“That’s okay,” replied Anna.  “I can take care of myself.”

“Oh, no doubt,” said Jack.  “In fact, that’s part of the
reason I came over there to begin with.  I mean, I hate J.C. and all, but I
thought I’d take pity on him, since my
fists of fury
are obviously no
match to what you would have done if he hadn’t left you alone.”

At that, finally, Anna smiled, a slightly shy, good-natured
grin.  Jack couldn’t help but notice how glossy and soft her lips looked.

“Hey, I’ve got a question I’ve been wanting to ask you since
you showed up,” said Jack making as smooth a transition as he could to sitting
down on the grass next to her.

Anna looked at Jack suspiciously.  “What type of question?”
she asked.

“Well, I just gotta know,” he continued.  “Where are you
guys from?  You and your dad, that is.”

“West Virginia,” she said quickly.  “We moved here from West
Virginia.”

“Are all girls from West Virginia like you?”

“I don’t know,” Anna replied.  “What am I like?”

Jack cocked his head to the side, studying Anna’s face
slightly.  “You’re just… I don’t know… different.”

“What do you mean?”

Jack smiled and shrugged.  “Well, you’re prettier than any
other girl in the entire school, but you don’t like to hang out with anyone,
you don’t like to talk with anyone, you don’t seem to have any friends… you
spend all your time reading books and stuff…”

“Are you saying I’m weird?” asked Anna.

“Yeah, I guess,” replied Jack.  “But in a good way,” he
quickly added.

“So you think being an anti-social bookworm is ‘good weird’?”
Anna said with a hint of sarcasm.

Jack chuckled.  “Yeah… that didn’t come out right.  I guess
what I’m trying to say is that I
get
it.”

“Get what?”

“You,” he said.  “You’re far away from where you grew up,
and as far as towns go, they don’t get more Podunk than River Heights.  You
don’t like it here, you don’t like the people, so you figure you’ll just keep
to yourself and suffer through it until you can get the heck out of here and
live the kind of life you’ve always wanted.”

Anna nodded her head, good-naturedly.  “Wow, I guess you’ve
really figured me out.”

Jack shrugged.  “I don’t know.  All I’m saying is that I
know what it’s like to feel alone, and you get so used to feeling that way,
that the idea of getting close to other people gets… scary I guess.  Because
the minute you do, they could leave.  And then you’d be all alone again.”

Anna’s face softened a bit.  “You sound like you speak from
experience,” she said.

A hazy image of Jack’s dad flashed into his mind for some
reason.  He couldn’t remember what he even looked like anymore.  All that was
in his mind was a shock of wavy brown hair and an old leather jacket he always
wore.

“Yeah, well… what’s the point of getting close to people if
they’re just going to leave – or better yet, if you’re just going to leave,
right?  It’s like you’re just setting yourself up for heartbreak,” Jack said as
he picked a blade of grass absently.  “But you know what?  Sometimes, it’s nice
to be close to someone, even if it is just for a little while.  After all, you
can still carry people around in your heart, even if they’re no longer around,
right?”

Anna was quiet for a moment.  “Can you?” she asked.  “Or do
they just slip away and leave a hole in your heart where you used to carry
them?”

There was a twinge of sadness in her voice, and Jack
suddenly remembered the rumors of her mom dying.

“My dad left when I was little,” he said.  “I don’t know why
he left.  I used to get so mad when other kids teased me about him not being
around…”

“Like J.C. did today?” Anna asked.

“Yeah,” said Jack.  “And I don’t know if there’s anything
you can do to keep people from slipping away.  But I’ve got my mom, and my
friends.  Matt, Chunk, Peter…all those guys.  And even though my dad isn’t
around, they are.  And for some reason, that makes it better.”

Anna nodded.  “So you think I should stop being so
stand-offish and make some friends?  Is that what you’re saying?”

“You can do what you want,” said Jack.  “But I’ve learned
that as painful as it can be, it’s better to have good people in your life –
even if it’s just for a little while – than to spend all your time by yourself.”

Anna was quiet, staring intensely at a blade of grass.  Jack
was wondering if, by some miracle, his words had actually gotten through to
her.

“Maybe you’re right,” said Anna.  “Maybe I should try
enjoying my time here a little more.”

Jack smiled.  “See?  Now you’re talking!  Unleash Anna
Shepherd on the world!  It’ll do you good.”

“So how do I do that?” asked Anna.  “I mean… how do you make
friends around here?”

“Well, if you want to make friends, you’ve gotta meet as
many people as you can and find out if you like them.”

“That all sounds good, but… I wouldn’t know where to start. 
I don’t really have a lot of experience making friends.”

“Start with the dance!” blurted Jack. 

Anna looked unsure.  “The dance?” she said.

“Yeah!  Everyone is going to be there.  It’d be the perfect
time to mingle and stuff.”

“I don’t know…”

“C’mon, it’ll be fun!” said Jack.  “Hey, I have an idea, why
don’t you go with me?  I could introduce you to all sorts of non-annoying
people.”

By the look on Anna’s face, Jack might as well have jumped
out from behind a corner with his head on fire shouting “Oogidie-Boogidie!” 
Tactful
,
thought Jack,
very tactful
.

“I thought you weren’t allowed to go to the dance,” she
replied diplomatically.

“If you say ‘yes,’ I can guarantee I’ll find a way to go,”
said Jack with a hint of nervous laughter.  “I don’t care if I have to do
another month of detention and wash Principal Montgomery’s car for a year! 
I’ll find a way.”

“Oh, um…” said Anna.

“That wouldn’t happen to be West Virginian for ‘Yes’ would
it?”

“Well, I don’t really dance,” said Anna.

“Oh, that’s totally cool,” replied Jack.  “I don’t dance
either.  If you like, we could just GO to the dance and stand around making fun
of all the losers who DO dance.  How awesome would that be?”

“It does sound like fun, but… I… actually have something I’ve
got to do the night of Homecoming.”

Jack nodded.  “Actually, yeah… I forgot – I’ve got something
I have to do that night, too.”

“Really?” asked Anna.

“Yeah, turns out that’s the night I go… uh… bowling.  You’re
not going bowling, too, are you?  ‘Cause that would just be weird.”

Anna laughed.  “No, I’m not going bowling.”

“Good.  Then we get to avoid the whole awkward squabbling
over lanes and who gets to use the six-pound ball, and stuff.”

“Lucky us,” smiled Anna.

“Yeah, it’s like fate, or destiny, or something.  We’re just
totally not meant to be together on the same night,” smiled Jack back.  “What
about the night after the dance?  You wanna… do something then?”

Anna sighed.  “You don’t ever give up, do you?”

“My mom always says, ‘winners never quit, and quitters never
win.’  Or was that Vince Lombardi?  I can never remember…”

“I’m sorry, Jack…” said Anna gently.  “You seem like a nice
guy, but I’m really not interested in dating anyone right now.”

Jack nodded.  His gut felt like it was being twisted, and
all of a sudden, he felt really, really stupid.  He got to his feet.  “Well,
you can’t blame a guy for trying.”  Jack hesitated for an excruciating awkward
moment before finally saying, “I guess I’ll see you around.”  And with that, he
started to walk away.

Jack made it a few steps before he heard Anna call out.

“Hey, Jack…” said Anna.  Jack stopped and turned toward
her. 

“If I
were
going to date someone…” she said.  “It
would be someone like you.”

Jack smiled.  It wasn’t the “yes” he wanted, but it did make
him feel better.  “Hey, you know… if you change your mind about the dance, I
was like totally lying about that whole bowling thing.”

“You don’t say,” said Anna, good-naturedly.

“Yeah.  I like to keep my nights open, just in case a pretty
girl decides she wants to stop being such a loner and start having some fun. 
Like tonight, for example.  I’m totally doing nothing.”

“You hoping the third time is the charm?” joked Anna.

“Just putting it out there,” shrugged Jack.  “If a pretty
girl were to suddenly show up at 7 Eagle Hill, she might be surprised to find
that fun has a name, and it’s
Jack Finnegan
.”

Jack flashed his best winning smile and hiked his thumbs up toward
his chest.  Anna giggled at his goofiness.

“You’re certainly not like any of the other boys around here,”
said Anna.

“Trust me,” smiled Jack.  “You have no idea.”

And with that, Jack made his way into the cornfield, heading
back toward home.

The Shepherd household was a modest,
two-story dwelling a mere 10-minute walk from the school.  On the outside, it
was a typical River Heights home, with white washed walls and light blue trim,
a small yard, and even a white picket fence.  But on the inside, it was far
from typical.

The reason for this was because at that very moment,
Professor Green and Mr. Shepherd were busy fixing their subspace communication
device, a nifty little gadget which allowed them to communicate with a small
fleet of starships hiding in the orbit of a planet named Jupiter, not all that
far (relatively) from Earth.

In case it isn’t clear by now, Professor Green, Mr.
Shepherd, and even the lovely Anna are not natives of the planet.  Indeed,
though most students often believe their teachers are from some type of distant
galaxy, in this situation, they would actually be right.

At the dining room table, Professor Green was hunched over a
silver box, roughly the size and shape of a briefcase.  It was open, and he was
furiously fiddling with various knobs, diodes, and other doohickeys that make
rather complicated pieces of machinery such as this one work.  While the good
Professor was busy doing this, Shepherd stood at the nearby window, staring
outside stoically.

“Infernal machine,” Green grumbled.  “I can’t find a thing
wrong with it.”

“Then why isn’t it working?” asked Shepherd, not taking his
gaze away from the window.

“Best guess?  There must be some type of interference that’s
keeping us from establishing a connection with the fleet,” replied Green.

“Interference?  Is that normal?”

“It’s not unheard of,” said Green, trying to sound cheery. 
“Sunspots and all.  Maybe some gravitational anomaly is causing it.  Who’s to
say?”

“You,” said Shepherd.  “And say it quickly.  If we do not
make our scheduled check in with the fleet, they will think something is wrong. 
Captain Rylack is the type who will launch a full out extraction if he even suspects
we might be in danger.”

“Ah, I do so love a good extraction,” smiled Green.  “It can
be so exciting!  Especially if it’s needed.”

“Professor…” muttered Shepherd.

“Right, right, I’ll figure out what’s wrong,” replied Green
as he went back to poking about the communicator.  “I will say, though, I’ll be
rather sad when it comes time to leave.  Such a pleasant planet.  I think I
rather like it here.”

“The sooner we get out of here, the better,” grunted
Shepherd.

“Oh, come now!” chirped Green.  “I know you well enough to
see how much you enjoy teaching again, despite your sour demeanor.  So don’t
tell me you don’t like it here, too.”

Shepherd grumbled.  “All the more reason to hurry up and
leave,” he replied.  “Our presence puts everyone here in danger.”

Green sighed.  “I say. Must you always be so morbid?  You
could take a lesson from our students on how to relax.  I’m sure Jack Finnegan
would be happy to teach you.  He seems to be quite good at it.”

“Our students are not fighting a war,” said Shepherd.  “And
I doubt I have anything to learn from Mr. Finnegan.”

“Don’t be so sure,” said Green.  “That boy is full of
surprises.  Why, just today, he was able to grasp quantum theory, if you can
believe it.”

Shepherd raised an eyebrow.  “Is that so?”

“Indeed!” replied Green.  “Albeit, he spent most of class
trying to conjure up a bikini model, but all things considered, he was rather
quick to grasp the concepts.”

Green noticed a hint of a smile form briefly on Shepherd’s
face.

“Am I to gather you’ve taken an interest in the boy?” asked
Green inquisitively.

“My interest is currently with the royal bloodline, and
yours should be with that communicator,” said Shepherd.

“You know, this would go more quickly if I had your help, my
dear Paragon,” said Green.  “Staring out that window will not make her Highness
appear any faster.”

At that moment, Shepherd spotted Anna walking up to the
house.  He abruptly turned away from the window and walked past Green toward
the foyer without a word.

“Or… maybe it will!” mused Green.

Anna entered the house and had just tossed her jacket onto
the nearby coat rack when Shepherd appeared.

“Where have you been?” he asked.

“At the cornfield,” replied Anna, as if Shepherd should have
known that little fact all along.

“We agreed you’d come right home after school from now on.”

“I needed to think.”

“You can think just as well here as you can anywhere else.”

“Anywhere else does not contain the secret to the universe’s
survival,” said Anna.  “And besides, I like being outside.  The weather here
reminds me of home.”

“All weather aside, how do you expect me to protect you if I
do not know where you are?” asked Shepherd, pointedly.

“Protect me from what?” countered Anna.  “We’ve been in this
town for months and have yet to see anything more dangerous than a field full
of cow manure.”

“Need I remind you that you were involved in a fight today?”

“I wouldn’t exactly call it a fight,” said Anna.

“And what, pray tell, would you call it?”

“Good natured rough-housing?” she said hopefully.

Shepherd grimaced.

“Don’t look at me like that,” complained Anna.  “It was just
the squabbling of two stupid Earth-boys.  It was harmless.”

Shepherd crossed his arms and closed the distance between
Anna and himself, his imposing frame towering over her.

“When you first suggested that we infiltrate Earth society,”
Shepherd said softly, “I consented to do so only on certain terms, not the
least of which was your agreeing to stay close to me as much as possible.  As
benign as this planet may be, it is still alien territory, and there are
dangers you must be shielded from.”

“There are dangers everywhere,” Anna said with a sigh.  “I’m
in no more peril here than I am in the Capitol on Omnicron Prime.  Or anywhere
else in the galaxy for that matter.”

“It is not your place to judge what may or may not be
considered safe for your continued well-being.  That is my providence, and you
will abide by my decisions, or this experiment of yours is over.”

“You forget yourself, Shepherd,” said Anna sharply. 
“Remember who you are addressing.”

“I never forget,” the man replied.  “Which is why I am addressing
you in such a way.  You are many things, Princess.  But I am your guardian, and
in matters of your safety, I outrank you at every turn.  Are we clear?”

For a moment, Anna and Shepherd were locked in a silent
battle of hard stares, until Anna finally relented.

“Yes,” she said.

“Good,” replied Shepherd.  “I will expect you home every day
after school from now on.  No excuses.  If you wish to go somewhere else, I
will have to accompany you.  Agreed?”

Anna nodded.  She had learned from experience there was no
arguing with Shepherd.  Ever.

“Well, now that’s settled,” chimed in Professor Green
cheerily as he entered the foyer clutching the still open communicator box,
“Perhaps we should discuss our remaining options before the excavation of the
temple begins?”

“Actually,” said Anna, “I was thinking about postponing the
excavation.”

Shepherd and Green looked at her quizzically.

“Postpone?” asked Green.  “Whatever for?”

“I still think there is a way for us to unlock the temple
without damaging it,” said Anna.  “I’m close to figuring out the key, I can
feel it.”

“With all due respect, your highness” said Green, “what is
it you believe you’ll learn that we haven’t already been able to discover in
our time here?”

“The Professor is right,” said Shepherd.  “We’ve studied the
inhabitants of this planet long enough.  There’s nothing more to be gleaned from
them.”

“We’ve studied books and history, and we’ve observed the
Earthlings plenty,” said Anna.  “But what if the answer to this riddle lies in
who these people are?  How they think, how they act, how they
interact
with each other?  There has to be a reason why they’re here and why their
society has so many similarities to different intergalactic civilizations.  There
must be a connection of some sort between them and the temple.  There are just
too many coincidences to ignore.”

“You’ve had plenty of time to interact with the Earthlings,”
said Shepherd.  “And none of that has given you the answer we need.”

“Yes, but… I haven’t really been interacting with them.  Not
truly.  Today I realized that I don’t really know any of these people.  I
didn’t want to get attached to them, so I cut myself off.  I chose to observe
rather than engage, and that may have been a mistake.”

“What are you suggesting?” asked Green.

Anna hesitated. 

“I’m thinking… I should go to Homecoming,” she said.

Shepherd raised an eyebrow.  “The dance?” he said dryly.

“Yes,” said Anna, a little embarrassed.  “Most of the
school’s students will be there.  It will be the ideal time to interact with
them, in a social setting.”

Green smiled.  “Why, I think that’s a marvelous idea.”

“Thank you, Professor,” she said, returning his grin.

“I think so, too,” said Shepherd.

Anna looked at him, surprised.  “Really?” she asked.

“Yes,” said Shepherd.  “By all means, you should run off to
a party while millions of life-forms are being slaughtered.  What’s one more
day or two to them, anyway?”

Anna’s mood instantly darkened.  “I do so hate it when you
get sarcastic, Shepherd.”

“The dig team will be here next Saturday,” said Shepherd. 
“If this temple really houses the weapon of the Ancients like you think it
does, it could be the key to winning this war.  To postpone, for any reason,
would be unwise.”

Anna sighed bitterly.

“As usual, you are correct,” she said coldly.  “In the
meantime, I suppose I will continue to look for a way of opening the temple
without possibly
demolishing
valuable Ancient technology in the
process.”

With that, Anna turned and marched up the stairs to her
room.  Shepherd watched her go with his jaw clenched.

“This planet is a bad influence,” he grumbled.

Green nodded.  “Yes,” he said.  “Or, she’s finally becoming
a teenager, and you’re just now noticing.”

Shepherd looked at Green from the corner of his eye.

“I take it you think I’m being too hard on her,” said
Shepherd.

“It is not my place to say, good Paragon,” shrugged Green. 
“But I have been on this planet longer than you, and I must say… as far as
species go, the Earthlings can be quite pleasant.  Can you really fault her for
wanting to have some fun?”

“Fun is a luxury,” Shepherd replied.  “One we cannot afford
right now.”

“Honestly,” said Green.  “Would it really hurt to let her be
a normal sixteen-year-old girl, if only for a night?”

“You and I both know, Professor,” responded Shepherd.  “She
is anything but normal.”

Shepherd turned on his heel and left the Professor alone. 
Green sighed.

“Yes,” he said sadly.  “I suppose you’re right.”