The Ninth: Invasion (30 page)

She looked at him cautiously while several dark emotions flooded into her.  He thought about reducing them for a moment, but knew she wouldn’t want that.

“It’s Helen,” she said, relaxing her guard for the first time in years.

Jumping to his feet, Brent started running down the corridors.  Cassandra was following close behind.

“Where are we going?” she shouted.

“The cargo bay.  I want to see this in as big an area as I can.”

The citizens in the cargo bay were relatively calm.  There were some here and there who seemed worried about the ominous message, but even they seemed to relax when they saw Brent enter through the hatch.  Philip and the rest of the Protectorates quickly greeted him with the bow of the tripod.  As he returned the gesture, he spotted several small children running toward him.

“We missed you!” Hiroyuki shouted.

“I’m sorry, I’ve been very busy,” Brent said.

“What did the man mean?”

“You mean, the captain?”

Hiroyuki nodded.  A girl a little older than Hiroyuki looked over Cassandra.

“Something wrong? she asked.

“You’re his girlfriend!” the girl shouted with a big grin on her face.

Cassandra instantly blushed.

“Mama’s going to be mad when she finds out you were rude,” Hiroyuki said.

“You’d better not tell!”

“Miyako! Hiroyuki!  Don’t pester that young man,” a voice shouted.

Brent recognized the woman approaching them as Hiroyuki’s mother.

“You’re in
trouble
,” another little girl said as the group of children scampered away as the mother approached.

Hiroyuki stuck out his tongue at the other retreating kids.  His mother tapped him on the head.  He quickly closed his mouth and hung his head.

“I’m sorry if they’ve caused you any trouble.”  The mother bowed to Brent.

He was relieved that the bow was a simple one, not the one used by the tripods.

“Don’t worry about it.  We just dropped by to check out the nebula.”

“Is it safe?” The woman tensed slightly.

“We have it on good authority we are perfectly safe,” Cassandra said with a smile.

The woman let out a relieved sigh.

“We’ll leave you in peace, then.  Please forgive my children.”  The woman bowed to Cassandra.

He tried not to laugh as Cassandra returned the bow.  It was obvious she was trying to imitate the bow of the tripods, but she failed miserably.  The mother gathered her children and quietly lectured them as they walked away.  Brent was about to say something, when he noticed the little girl pulling on her mother’s shirt.

“When I grow up, will I be pretty like the nice man’s girlfriend, momma?” Miyako asked.

Cassandra blushed apple red as the Protectorates started to laugh.

“I thought we weren’t going to bow like that anymore,” Brent whispered to her.

“Oh, be quiet.”

A loud gasp stole his attention.  Hiroyuki and his family had turned around and were staring at something at the far end of the cargo bay.  The Wall had moved into the cargo bay, revealing the nebula.  It was even larger than it had been that morning.  There was only a thin halo of pitch black surrounding the massive green fog.  It swirled and twisted in front of them like a living thing.  Flashes of light and arcs of lightning could be seen dancing around the nebula.  A single point of light blinked intermittently.  Most likely the sun Eos orbited.

A dull pain washed over his arm.  He hadn’t even noticed Cassandra grab his arm.  He took her hand in his and held it tightly; she seemed to relax a bit.  Her eyes didn’t leave the scene before them.  A silent awe filled the cargo bay as the churning mass edged toward them.  Brent noticed the Protectorates slowly backing away from the approaching Wall.  Philip shot a glance at him, looking for reassurance.

Brent took a step forward and stretched out his arm.  While Cassandra’s grip tightened, the others seemed to relax.  One by one, the Protectorates raised their arms similar to his and waited for the Wall.  As the Wall crossed over his hand, he was a little disappointed that it felt exactly the same as any other jump.  With the impressive nebula so close, it was sort of a let down that the jump was perfectly normal.  As the Wall passed over them, he could feel Cassandra still shaking.  Turning to face her, Brent’s jaw dropped.

Behind Cassandra was the nebula.  Not a distant image or a view from outside its edge, but the nebula itself.  He could make out wisps of gas floating listlessly a small distance off.  It looked as if the nebula was within arm’s reach.  Cassandra started to turn to see what had startled him.  Brent quickly wrapped his arms around her and held her still.  He knew she wasn’t ready to see
that
.  She stared at him in alarm as he held her still.  She didn’t resist and held him tightly until the Wall had completely passed through the cargo bay.

“It was bad, wasn’t it?” she asked sheepishly.

Brent nodded.  Without warning she kissed him.

“Thanks for protecting me,” she said, embracing him tightly.

She didn’t seem to notice the few Protectorates that let out a wolf whistle.

“See!  I told you she was his girlfriend,” Miyako shouted in the distance.

Cassandra chuckled weakly as she released him.

“Smart girl,” she said with a smile.

“She’s got a long ways to go.”

“Oh?”

“If she wants to be as pretty as you,” he said with a wink.

“There you two are!” Marie shouted.

Brent felt a hand roughly slap against his back.

“We’ve been looking all over for you two,” Doug said.

“Marie, be gentler!” Liz scolded Marie.

“Have you seen our squad leader, sir?” Dante asked.

“She was all serious over breakfast, but now we can’t find her.”  Cain nodded politely to the Protectorates.

“Did you check the recreation room?” Brent asked.

“This early?” Rhea asked in surprise.

“Don’t tempt fate, I’ve been trying to keep Doug away from that bartender.”  Mr. Springate gestured as if drinking.

“Aw, poor Dougie,” Marie said with a smile.  “Never could hold his drinks.”

Humphrey shuddered a bit.

“They just love to give people horrid nicknames, don’t they?” Sanderson asked the cringing Humphrey.

“Did you say something, stuffed shirt?” Kindra asked with a smile.

“Wait a minute, where’s Owen and Hiroko?” Cassandra asked.

“They’re in sickbay,” Angela said with a shrug.

“What happened?”

“One look at the nebula and he fainted,” Cain said with a chuckle.  “Hiroko was good enough to wait with him until the medic showed up.”

“He’s not hurt, I hope,” Brent said.

“I wouldn’t worry about it,” Angela said matter-of-factly.  “He wasn’t scared to a dangerous level.”

“The poor guy never did like jumps,” Humphrey mumbled, “not like a certain Weaver we know.”

“Please, she’d never admit it,” Cain said with a snicker, “but Angela held onto me pretty tightly when she saw the nebula.”

“He meant Brent!” she shouted.

“Wait, she held you?” Penny asked Cain eagerly.  “Was she holding your hand or was it a hug?”

“Naturally, it was a tender embrace . . . sort of like the one Brent and Sandra were in.  She wrapped her arms around me, eyes twinkling with desire.”

“Shut up!” Angela shouted as she lunged at Cain.

Cain quickly ducked out of the way.  The two ran circles around the troopers, Cain still taunting her as she chased him.  The troopers laughed hysterically at the display.  Brent felt a tapping on his shoulder.

“Are they always like this?” Philip whispered.

“
Always
.”

“Why all the commotion?” Captain Perez asked in a commanding voice.

Cain and Angela instantly snapped to attention.

“Just a little horsing around,” Dante said quickly.  “What brings you to the cargo bay, Captain?”

“I wanted to check on the civilians.  I see everyone is still perfectly calm.”

“It’s thanks to Brent, sir.” Philip said, saluting.

“Oh really?” a feminine voice asked.  “What exactly did he do
this
time?”

“Mrs. Lucchesi,” the captain said, wincing slightly, “what a pleasure to see you again.”

“Good day, Captain.  So what
exactly
did Brent do?  Herald took so long getting up, I missed the whole thing.”

“Sorry, dear,” the Governor said distractedly.

“He was amazing!” Miyako said, clinging to Cassandra’s leg.  “He reached out his arm toward that big green thing.  He wasn’t scared at all!”

“I wasn’t scared, either!” Hiroyuki said, standing next to his sister.

“I see!” the governess said placating.  “That
is
amazing.  I wonder where my daughter has run off to.  She’s probably with that strapping young man.”

“Don’t meddle dear.”  The Governor was fussing with one of his buttons as he spoke.

“I’m not meddling, Herald.  I’m just showing a motherly interest in my daughter’s future.  I wouldn’t suppose
you’d
have anything to do with her absence,” she said to Brent.

“Don’t be silly; he’s with Cassandra,” Marie said.

“He wouldn’t do anything like that with Tyra,” Liz said defensively.

“I see.  So are you two really that serious?”  Mrs. Lucchesi gestured to the young children.  “Don’t tell me they are yours!”

Cassandra turned as red as a beet.  Miyako giggled at her reaction.

“How could . . . they’re not . . . why would . . .” she couldn’t complete a sentence.

“But momma!” Miyako shouted at her.

Cassandra nearly fainted as she stared at the little girl.  The troopers started laughing.

“Momma said not to cause trouble!” Hiroyuki said to his sister.

“I was only playing.”  She stuck her tongue out at her brother.

“I wonder if that’s what you were like when you were young,” Cain said to Mrs. Lucchesi.

“Cain, right?”  Mrs. Lucchesi tried to hide the irritation in her voice.  “I see you’re doing
well
.”

“Captain?” Brent asked, trying to interrupt the showdown.

“Yes?”

“How many more jumps until we reach Eos?”

“Only one.  There was a shift in the current of the nebula, and a pocket of safe space opened nearer to the planet than we expected.”

“That’s terrific news!” Sanderson said.  “I don’t think Owen could have survived too many more jumps inside the nebula.”

“That farmer boy?” Mrs. Lucchesi asked.

“I’ll have you know he’s a Jepsen,” Hiroko shouted with pride, “from
the
Jepsens.”

Mrs. Lucchesi cast a surprised look at Hiroko as she joined the group.

“You’d better believe it,” Cain said, attempting to annoy Mrs. Lucchesi further.  “Farmers for five generations, terrors of war for who knows how many before that.”

“Will the wonders never cease,” the Governor said, still fussing with his shirt buttons.

“How’s he doing?” Dante asked.

“Just fine,” Hiroko said happily.  “A little shaken up, but fine.  The doctor is going to sedate him before the next jump.”

“Sedate?  What’s that mean?” Hiroyuki asked.

“Who’s this?” Hiroko asked with a warm smile.

“Cassandra’s children, apparently,” Kindra said, laughing.

Hiroko eyed Cassandra quizzically.  She still hadn’t recovered from the last shock.  Brent wondered if it was even possible for her face to get any redder.

“It’s just a joke,” he said.

“One in bad taste, if you ask me,” Rhea added.

“A joke in bad taste,” Hiroko said with a small grin.  “So this is your doing, eh Cain?”

Mrs. Lucchesi burst into laughter.

“It’s going to be one of those days,” the captain muttered under his breath.

It took some effort, but Brent managed to explain the mess to Hiroko without embarrassing Cassandra further.  The captain mentioned when the last jump would take place and left in a hurry.  He was civil, but it was apparent he didn’t like Mrs. Lucchesi.  Although, she was too busy verbally sparring with Cain to notice.  The children roped Brent and Cassandra into playing with them.  He was surprised how well she got along with Miyako.  In fact, she seemed almost carefree around the children.  He wondered if it had something to do with raising baby animals.  Cassandra caught him staring and started to blush.  Hiroyuki stopped playing with the others and walked up to her.

“Why does your face do that?” he asked innocently.