Torian Reclamation 2: Flash Move (40 page)

“Damage report?”

“None, General. How’s Banor?”

“A wreck. Civilian casualties are in the thousands. Property damage is incalculable. Very little of it from the last attack, though. All this from only one of those Erob-awful drones.”

Mip7 shook his head. “Were you able to find any parts?”

“We don’t know yet. We’ve gathered significant debris scraps and have the best scientists working on it. The enemy managed to haul away all their damaged ships using those extat bridgeable virtual dags. Same way they brought the attack satellites here. ”

“Still no intelligence reports on the identity of the perpetrators?” Mip7 asked.

“No. I have some ideas. Got the astronomers working on it.” Olut6 reached for the bottle and refilled the tubes.

“Astronomers? Where are you telling them to look?”

“As close to Latia as they can get, and then every recorded advanced race anywhere near them.”

They both picked up the refilled tubes and held them at the ready.

“General, it appeared as though the Latians joined the enemy as an opportunistic act. They had no plans on even visiting our system before their conflict with the Dirgs.”

“Yes, that’s the way it looked,” Olut6 said. “And if I were them, I would have wanted it to look that way, too.”

“It might have been the way it was, General.”

“Might have been. Might not. If they are in league, the attackers figure to be a neighbor of theirs. Latians aren’t known for their socializing.” Olut6 threw back his second drink and held on to the empty tube. Mip7 followed.

“How close to Latia can our astronomers get?” Mip7 asked.

“Nowhere near. I’m sending a survey team out.”

Mip7 rested his chin in his hand. “To think we asked them for help.”

“Yeah,” Olut6 grumbled as he put his empty tube back in the rack again. “Someday I’m going to learn to listen to Brandon.”

“You mean about asking the Dirgs for help in the first battle? He was only thinking out loud. If Brandon had a strong feeling about it, he would have persisted with his request.”

“I know,” Olut6 said. “I know. We all thought the Latians were the righteous ones in their dispute, didn’t we? Even Brandon. The Dirg’s are so …repulsive. If Brandon were here now, I’m sure he’d say it is we who acted repulsively in our predisposed biases. We were so blinded by visual prejudice we couldn’t distinguish the difference between our friends and enemies.”

Mip7 smiled. “I’m positive that’s exactly what he would say. It is interesting, though, that the light weapon—whatever or whoever it is—was first seen aiding the Latians, and destroyed a portion of the Dirg fleet in so doing. If the Latians were the ‘bad guys,’ why were they helped by the same force that helped us?”

“Whoever?” Olut6 said.

Mip7 stopped smiling. “Brandon has suspicions that Arkan9’s friend may have been an …an Erob. Sheen are capable of impressive tricks, but an energy of that force…”

Olut6 stared at Mip7 for a long minute before responding.

“The light weapon has only been witnessed in defensive action, Governor. The Dirgs attacked the position of Arkan9’s friend, same as the unknown enemy here. I think that is a more significant detail than what side everyone ‘thinks’ it chose.”

Mip7 nodded. He was only too eager to change the subject.

Three Months Later, Earth Colony Amulen

“That’s it,” Jumper heard Brandon say to his dad. “The others have all left. We’re it. And everything that wasn’t sent ahead is now loaded.”

Jumper’s dad made no apparent attempt to hide his grief as he looked around the courtyard. Jumper’s mom—Anne—consoled him by putting her arms around him, looking up, and smiling with hope. She wore an orange dress, preferring old style Earth clothes to the modern Banorian-produced climate-controlled outfits. Jumper loved that about his mom. She was unpretentious, and would go anywhere Dad did without complaining, always just thankful for her husband and son.

Jumper knew Kayla would never be like that. She was too spoiled, and had too many leftover issues from her parents splitting up. Jumper originally hoped her parents would find their way back together after the move—but just within the last few weeks it became obvious her mom was now involved with Gerald. He was the other victim in the colony of a marriage divided when one spouse unilaterally decided to move to Banor. Thinking about it now, those two getting together was probably inevitable.

Kayla still loved her mom, of course, but she seemed to love that extat baby felidor more than she could ever love any human. It made sense. The cat loved her unconditionally, and would never forsake her as long as she kept feeding it. Kayla’s mom left with Gerald on the last shuttle, as did Alan’s parents. Jumper’s parents, Jumper, Alan, and Kayla were now the last human residents on Amulen.

Jumper stood next to the empty swimming trench with his parents and Uncle Brandon. They drained it yesterday after Kayla’s last swim. Appropriately, it was her fastest time ever.

Kayla and Alan were playing with the felidor nearby. Kayla teased it with the last candeer fish, holding it above him and pulling it away when he jumped for it.

Jumper’s dad turned to Brandon and wiped a tear off his face. “Thanks, Brando. I wanted to be the last to leave.”

Brandon patted him on the shoulder. “I know you did, Derek. Take your time. They can wait for Jumper.”

“No.” Derek shook his head. “He needs to learn what it means to be responsible, and I’m not going to be a source of excuses for my son. I’m ready now. ”

“Kayla!” Derek shouted. “Feed the poor thing already! We’re going now.”

The six of them—and the cat—vacated the Earth colony and headed to the field where Brandon’s shuttle was parked. Brandon walked on one side of Jumper’s dad and his mom on the other, holding his hand. Jumper was right behind them. Brandon put his hand on Derek’s back as an apparent gesture of affection, but Derek turned and swung it away.

“This doesn’t mean I forgive you for sending the kids on some crazy dangerous mission of yours,” he snapped. “I’m no fool, and I’m certain I haven’t been told the half of it still.”

“Come on, Derek,” Brandon said. “You know me better that that.”

“That’s the problem, Brando. I know you too well.”

“What makes you think it was so dangerous?”

“Well, let’s see—they came back with a pet saber-toothed tiger. How’s that for starters?”

“I think it’s cute,” Anne said.

Brandon chuckled. “Sending them out to go jump off a cliff isn’t exactly an errand issued of an overprotective parent.”

Anne tugged on Derek’s hand and made him stop. She glared at him. “What’s this?”

Derek glanced at Brandon. “Thanks.”

“Honey!” Anne said.

“Oh for Erob’s sake, Anne. I didn’t tell them to jump off a cliff. You know I wouldn’t do that. The suits were lab-tested beforehand and I knew they were reasonably safe. I told them to stay on the bunny slopes.”

“Hmm,” Anne said as she turned back and began walking again. “Maybe you should get to know your own son as much as you claim to know Brandon. Bunny slopes, right. Even I would have laughed at that one.”

Jumper spoke from behind. “What are you going to do with those float suits, Dad?”

“I don’t know, Jumper. I was thinking that construction workers could use them. They might come in handy during the rebuilding of Amulen.”

“If Amulen is rebuilt,” Brandon said.

Anne laughed. “Or they’ll end up on a shelf with the rest of your inventions.”

“Actually,” Brandon said, “I’m certain the military would be interested in them for the ground forces. In fact, if they are made to know such a thing exists, I’ll wager they insist upon having them. Could be a profitable new enterprise for you.”

They came to the shuttle.

“You sure this thing is fixed right?” Derek asked.

Brandon shook his head. “No, this isn’t the same shuttle. I gave the damaged one to Belle-ub. He appreciated it, as he has no need of leaving the planet.”

“What, you have your own fleet or something?”

“No—only one. It wasn’t hard to acquire a replacement.”

“Hmph!” Derek said. “Being labeled a prophet on your home world comes with certain perks, I suppose.”

Brandon cocked his head. “I suppose that’s true. But being close friends with the high military commander has even more.”

They all boarded the shuttle. Brandon didn’t bring any pilots with him this time. As Jumper strapped himself into the copilot’s seat, Brandon explained that he enjoyed flying again now, and was pursuing it as his new hobby.

“You’re still going to teach me how to fly, right Uncle Brandon?”

“Sure.”

Brandon did a long, slow, circular fly-by over the now-abandoned Earth colony, and then above the special hill nearby before heading out to the valley. Jumper didn’t know exactly what was so significant about that hill, but his parents did. Something happened there before Jumper was born that no one liked to talk about.

They flew over the cities, across the Midlands, and into the Central Region valley. The newly-completed arena appeared in the distance and then grew larger. Jumper saw two spacecraft in the parking lot—one of them being Brandon’s old damaged shuttle—along with several cruisers and a rotorcraft. Brandon landed a short distance from them.

Kayla and the felidor were the first ones out of the cabin. They ran a short distance before the cat tackled her. She cackled with delight as the two of them rolled on the dusty ground. Jumper went over, looked down upon them, and shook his head.

“You know he’s already noticeably bigger, and growing like a pirchin vine. It won’t be that long before he’s larger than you. Then what? You’re not planning on keeping him permanently, are you?”

“Don’t listen to him, Casanova.” Kayla kissed the cat on the head. “I’ll never get rid of you. We can go live in the forest together if we have to.”

“That’s such a stupid name for him,” Jumper said. “And ever since you’ve had him, you never come …talk with me anymore, alone.”

Kayla looked up at him while still lying on the ground. “You want to talk? Talk. And you have my address.”

“Well maybe I’d like to do more than talk.”

Kayla sat up and brushed the dirt out of her hair. “If Casanova’s making you jealous, then I’m especially glad I got him. Go on and get your stupid meeting over with. We can
talk
later.”

Jumper walked away from her grumbling. Alan was watching her and Casanova with a look of dismay on his face.

“How does she not get torn to pieces playing with him like that?” Alan asked. “Look at this.” He rolled up a sleeve and exposed a long scratch on his arm. “He did this to me two days ago, when he got a little happy while I was petting him.”

“Yeah,” Jumper said. He scrunched up a pant leg and showed an even bigger scratch wound. “Don’t try petting him with your foot.”

Alan laughed.

“I have to go.” Jumper pulled his pant leg down. “Be back in a bit.”

Alan nodded and went over to Jumper’s mom, who was sitting on the ledge of the open shuttle cabin brushing her hair.

Brandon and Jumper’s dad had wandered towards the stadium a short ways. As Jumper approached them, he heard his dad talking.

“Man, I can’t believe it was swarms of flying worm parasites that finally forced us off the planet. What a freaky thing. Like something out of a nightmare.”

“I can’t believe that’s what it took to finally convince you to leave,” Brandon said. “I mean, society collapsing and the sun’s rays killing you wasn’t enough.”

Derek pointed a finger at Brandon. “This whole thing sounds made to order by you. I suspect you’re behind it all, somehow.”

“Hey, if it was within my power to arrange, maybe I would have. I won’t deny that.”

“Well, you must be happy as a zaboar in mud. In a few hours, there won’t be one human left on this world—except for the eighteen who don’t know they’re here.”

“Right,” Brandon said. “Eighteen. Eight extat teen. And somewhere on this planet is a solitary native who has the knowledge to cure them. Unfortunately, he’s also the one native who truly hates us.”

Brandon and Derek both stared off towards the mountains in a moment of silence.

“Dad,” Jumper said.

Derek turned to him. “Going in now?”

“Yeah. Dad, you’re cool with this, right? I mean, you haven’t really given me your opinion about it yet. I don’t want to do anything you disapprove of.”

“How often will you have to do this?” Derek asked.

“Once a month, I think. Uncle Brandon’s agreed to take me. Or else I might be able to get the space station representative to swing by and pick me up.”

Derek placed his hand on Jumper’s shoulder.

“Son, I don’t know enough about this to form an opinion. Your mother thinks it’s because I don’t pay enough attention to you, but I know you better than she realizes. Most importantly, I trust you. You have a wild streak, true—probably inherited from your old man. But you’re a good kid. We raised you to the best of our ability. Now you’re a young adult, and finding yourself faced with important decisions. I still want to help you with those the best I can, but in this case you know more about the situation than I do. So here’s my advice. Don’t do anything you don’t feel right about. You don’t need to do that. You’ll never need to do that. You’re a smart kid and I’ll support your decisions as long as you can honestly tell me you made them intelligently, the best you could, with all the information you could gather, and you feel right about them. I’m proud of you, Jumper. Your mother and I both are. This invitation you’ve received seems to be something of an honor; one you’ve rightfully earned. Don’t let it go to your head and try to do the best job possible, so long as you see it as a job worthy of you efforts.”