Peace World (11 page)

Conway rushed over and turned him onto his back.

"What the hell are you thinking?" she asked.  "You got shot with a Minith pulse rifle.  I don't care how tough you think you are, you're going to be down for a while." 

With limited help from Grant, it took the sergeant several minutes to wrestle him back onto the platform. 

"I'll get Titan," she announced when he was firmly back in place.  "Don't move!" 

Grant was in no mood to argue.  Instead, he gave himself over to the padded platform and slept.

CHAPTER 12

Treel was alive! 

Without any need to coerce or torture, the human had confirmed her suspicions.  Her mate was being held prisoner on Earth.

The question now was what she should do with the knowledge.  She would certainly alert Soo that his brother was alive—that went without saying.  He could search for Treel and, with luck, bring him home.

But what, if anything, would she tell Truk?  She and General Soo had withheld the information that her mate, Soo's brother, had been stationed on Earth.  With the governor suspecting Minith involvement in the destruction of their home planet, keeping the knowledge from him had seemed prudent at the time.  Now that they all knew humans were to blame for that act, Treel—and his family, by association—were clear of suspicion.  But they were not clear of withholding potential important information from their leader.  Their initial prudence was now its own implication of disloyalty.

Listening in on Truk's most recent conversations with the Zrthn device, she knew her secrets were safe for the moment—her connection with Treel, her disloyalties, her recent capture of the stray human.  All were still hidden.  But she would have to think through the possible scenarios before taking further action.  Her position was becoming more precarious, and required perfect balance to maintain. 

Her first thought was to turn the human over to Truk with the explanation that she had found him holed up like a scared child in her building.  It was the truth.  However, she could not chance him finding out that she had taken him to her residence for questioning before turning him in—or that a Minith soldier named Treel was still alive on that forsaken planet.  A quick records search would connect her and Soo to the soldier.

Every scenario pointed to her needing to kill the human or keep him locked away.  Killing him seemed easiest.  There would be no chance of the sheep escaping, and less chance of her being found out.  But killing him also removed any possibility of using the human in the future.  He might prove useful, either against Truk or in support of him.  Killing him would reduce her options, and she detested wasting opportunities. 

One item in particular made her lean toward stashing the human away.  Through her interrogation, she had learned the human was an engineer by trade, and not just any engineer.  He had been tutored by none other than Tlak, the most skilled Minith technician ever trained by the Waa.  Tlak had been visiting Minith when it was destroyed.  His loss had been a serious blow to the race, and a trained replacement—even a human slave—might be beneficial.

She considered reaching out to Oiloo for advice, but quickly dismissed the thought.  She would not display any sign of weakness before him.  He already held too much power over her activities.

Then she remembered that she would need the alien's help getting her message to Soo.  Despite her hesitation to ask him for advice, she could not avoid asking him for the use of his race's superior technology.  The faster-than-light communication his people owned was like magic, and it was a magic that could help Treel.

Rala stomped a booted foot and reluctantly opened up a channel to her Zrthn counterpart.

Once the human issue was resolved, her next challenge would be to capture or steal the alien communication technology.  There was no reason why she should have to go through an intermediary when communicating with her allies.

*     *     *

When the Minith trade minister finally contacted him, Oiloo already knew about the failed human attack.  Thanks to the device she planted, he heard the updates from Truk's generals at the same time as the Minith governor himself received them.  Still, he acted surprised and grateful when Rala gave him the news.

He was relieved that the crisis with the humans was resolved without Zrthn intervention.  It made dealing with the Circle of Administrators much more palatable when he did not have to explain his actions or debate his positions.  Although it irritated him that they had been correct—their involvement had not been needed—he was relieved that the conflict in his section was being resolved quickly.  The sooner he could get the agsel flowing, the better.  

The Minith female surprised him when she asked for another space-link to her general's ship.  He had not expected that she would need to provide further instructions to the male regarding his duties.  Apparently, she had no more faith in General Soo's abilities than he did.

Despite his surprise over the request, it made sense and furthered his goals, so he quickly agreed. 

He was not surprised that she withheld the information regarding the human she was holding captive inside her home.  He doubted she wanted anyone to know about that. 

CHAPTER 13

Grant struggled to sit up.  Then he laughed.

Despite the pain in his body—despite the anguish in heart—he laughed.  If the people from his time could see this, they would be struck dumb.

The Waa were little green aliens.

As in, the stereotypical description of little green aliens. 

Grant felt like he knew the thin, four-foot-tall, pale-green figure standing next to his bed.  The large, slanted, saucer-shaped black orbs that were the alien's eyes merely stared at him, unblinking.  The Waa seemed to understand why he found the introduction humorous and, to his credit, calmly waited for the human to pull himself together.

"You're a little green alien," was all Grant could manage, along with an accusatory finger-point.  The Waa offered a single, short nod in acknowledgement. 

"General, you're starting to worry me," Sergeant Conway stated from her post next to the door.  She had made that position hers over the last twelve hours.  Apparently, she had appointed herself as Grant's bodyguard sometime during that period.  He was strangely okay with that. 

Patahbay and Titan were also in the room.  Titan had asked Grant if he was well enough to meet one of their hosts, and minutes later, entered with the Telgoran and the little green man.

"You don't understand, Conway," Grant said.  "Six hundred years ago, we—we, as in humans—used to have ongoing debates over extraterrestrials.  Did they really exist?  What did they look like?  Did they visit Earth?  That kind of thing.  We had whackos—crazy people—running around shouting about alien abductions and anal probes."

"Okay.  So?"

"So?  So, one of the most common ideas about what these aliens looked like is standing here now.  Alive and kicking.  Hell, there were toys, movie characters—even skateboard logos—that looked almost exactly like this guy here."

Grant stopped smiling.

Did the Waa speak, or was that voice completely in his head?

"You… can read my thoughts?"

"Titan.  Conway.  Are either of you picking up on this?"

"Yes," Titan confirmed.  "It's a little strange at first, but you get used to it.  Just remember to talk out loud so the rest of us can hear you."

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind."  Then he turned his attention to the Waa.  "So your people used to visit Earth?"

"Ever abduct any humans on your visits?"

"Anal probes?" Grant let it be known what he was really asking with his mind.

A pause.

"What about Area 51?" 

"Son of a bitch.  So the whackos weren't whacko."

Grant shook his head.  Waking up after six hundred years had not been easy.  It had taken him a while to wrap his head around the fact that he—of all the humans that ever lived—had been the one brought back by Tane and his team of scientists.  Everyone he had ever known, everything he had ever known, was long gone and forgotten.  It was a strange and mind-numbing experience, to say the least. 

But he had managed. 

On top of
that
, he'd had to acknowledge that aliens
really did
exist.  The Minith had come to Earth, enslaved its people, and were a fact of his new existence.  But the fun had not stopped
there
.  Not only were aliens enslaving Earth, but he had been revived after six centuries for the sole purpose of fighting those aliens. 
That
had been more than a lot to take in and assimilate.

But he had managed.

Build an army to defend Earth from future Minith attacks? 

Yeah, he managed.

Climb on aboard an alien spaceship?  Hurtle through space at faster than the speed of light?  Help another sentient species defeat the Minith in another solar system?

Sure.  No problem.  He managed.

Fly to Waa, come up with the most incompetent plan ever devised, and get all his troops—and probably his own planet—killed in the process?

Oh, yeah.  That he managed to do
really
well.

But this? 
This
?

Finding out that little green men and anal probes really did exist was like the biggest cosmic joke
ever
.  And he was the on the ass end.

He wasn't sure he could manage this.

Grant felt his entire being expand as the anger, confusion, and pain of the past seven years swelled.  An unbearable wave flooded his body and threatened to burst forth from every pore and orifice.  The pressure grew and grew.  He crushed his palms into his eyes in a weak attempt to hold back the relentless, expanding pain. A force the size of the universe pushed outward, seeking escape from his body, and there was nothing he could do to prevent it.  He was an overblown balloon, destined to pop.  The explosion, long overdue, would paint the walls and those around him with bits and pieces of his soul.

He heard a distant, high-pitched wail and the last rational remnant of his mind recognized it as an anguished scream. 
His
scream.

At the instant of his explosion, he felt a cool tingle in his head.

Then nothing.

Part II

Peace World

CHAPTER 14

"Three weeks?" Mouse asked.  It was the same as last time.  Three weeks of preparing.  Three weeks of waiting.

"At the current speed, yes," Tane confirmed. 

Mouse nodded.  His fingers went to his pocket and withdrew the list Grant had given him seven months before.  He wished it was longer, provided more guidance, or offered more detail.  But it did none of those things.  It merely stated four items.

"Lead by example."

"Continue training our forces."

"Quickly incorporate Tane's new recruits."

"Protect my family."

He had done everything possible to accomplish the items on the list.  The only one he worried about was the last one.  He doubted his ability to protect anyone.

The leader of the armed forces on Earth glanced around the table for responses. 

Blue's eyes were closed.  He rubbed his temples furiously and muttered under his breath – probably a Peace mantra. 

Randalyn stared vacantly at a spot on the far side of the room.  She was lost in thought, probably wondering how she would communicate this development to the Leadership Council. 

Tane was working at his monitor, already focused on the problem at hand.

Just two days ago, they had been ecstatic.  Earth's scanners detected a blip—a new object had entered the solar system.  Everyone at the table thought it was Grant and his mothership returning.  The timing was perfect.  Three months out, three months back, with a month between to complete their mission.

But elation turned to confusion when the blip did not continue toward Earth.  Instead, it sat silently at the edge of the solar system, unmoving.

Confusion turned to doubt when the blip was joined by a second blip twelve hours later.  The doubt turned to dread when two more blips appeared just this morning.

And now all four blips were headed toward Earth.

Three weeks away.

Mouse ripped up the list.  Let the pieces fall.

*     *     *

General Soo was pleased.

All four of the motherships had arrived and they had begun their approach to Earth.  He relished what was to come. 

The Minith had held the planet in a death grip for more than a dozen years with only a hundred soldiers.  Now, with four thousand well-trained soldiers at his disposal, stomping out whatever rebellion might have taken place on Earth seven years ago would be child's play.

Knowing that it was the humans of Earth who had destroyed the home planet of Minith had fueled the passion inside his forces.  Fights among the troops happened hourly, and he encouraged them.  The few losses of life that might result were worth the gains they fostered in terms of anger, spirit, and cruelty.   The higher the blood-lust when they reached the planet, the better. 

On top of everything else going his way, Soo had learned of the human defeat on Waa two months prior.  Rala had gotten word to him that the human mothership had left Telgora only days after his own ship departed the planet.  While he had headed for Earth, the human ship had headed directly for Waa.  The humans had been met with complete annihilation.

Ha!  What had they expected?  They were outnumbered a hundred to one.  They could not have hoped to succeed. 

What made that victory sweeter was that none of the humans on Earth knew about it.  They probably still held hope that their army would return victorious.  It would be his pleasure to inform them of the battle after he slapped the chains back around their throats.  Unlike before, this time he would make sure the chains stayed firmly affixed.