Second Chances (120 page)

“Mitch...”

“I'd rather he be in a toddler bed with a railing then a high crib and go over the side the hard way,” Mitch said, pitching his voice suggestively so she'd get his hint. He caught her purse her lips in annoyance then nod.

“Well, what's the matter? Full diaper?” Mitch asked. Tucker shook his head.

“Hungry?” Sandra asked.

Tucker shook his head. He reached out and shivered, touching them both. “Bd rm.”

“B...” Sandra wrinkled her nose.

Tucker shook his head. “Na good mommy.”

“Bad. Bad room? Son you are a bit too young to get into the boogie man,” Mitch said.

“Think someone told a scary story?” Sandra asked. Mitch shrugged as he rolled off her. She pulled herself up on her elbows as her son hugged her.

“...ream. Rem. REAM.”

“Dream?” Mitch asked, getting a sinking sensation. Tucker nodded. “Shit.”

“Mitch,” Sandra sighed at his use of foul language.

He glanced at his son and then frowned. “Sorry,” he mumbled.

“What was it about?” Sandra asked, looking down at the toddler. Tucker just shook his head, clutching at her. She realized he was shivering, but he wasn't crying. She stroked his hair gently. “It's okay, just a dream,” she murmured.

“I don't know,” Mitch exhaled, getting to his feet. “I think I'm going to check the perimeter inside and out thoroughly before the meeting. And put Phyllis on alert.”

“You don't think...” Sandra stared at him in the dark.

“I don't know what to think. But I'd rather be safe than sorry,” he said. She nodded as he went into the bathroom. She looked down at her son, wondering if he'd picked up something of his clone father's abilities or overheard his father say he'd had a bad dream and then echoed it. She frowned thoughtfully as she relaxed. It had to be that; it had to be his mimicking his father.

------*------

The jet stream balloon failed over the ocean halfway to its final target. Jim was crushed by the eventual failure, but everyone had known the probe had been on borrowed time. The delegates at the conference compared it to the Mars Sojourner and Pathfinder probes and told him and his team they'd made a remarkable achievement.

“Sometimes the simplest methods are best. This one certainly surpassed all our expectations,” Evan told Jim. The rocket scientist nodded.

Mitch got Conklin to revisit the third continent with the satellite the following day. He managed to snap images of the aliens out in the open when the satellite made a pass on a clear day two days into the conference. He caught Mitch when he was on his way to lunch.

The third species was big, easily topping three meters tall. They had four arms and were bipeds; their dark brown bodies rippled with muscles. They seemed brutish but strangely were gentle. They reminded Mitch and a few people of a rancor. He snorted when Conklin pulled up a grainy image of a being pulling some sort of wagon with one set of arms while another carried what had to be a child.

“That's the best we can get with the resolution and enhancement,” Conklin said apologetically. “Adrian said to tell you he can only squeeze out so much from the pixels,” he said shaking his head.

“Gotcha,” Mitch replied. “Can you do a formal report for the convention?” he asked. Conklin blinked and then nodded.

“Good. This afternoon then. Get what you can together,” Mitch told him. Conklin gulped and then nodded.

------*------

After the conference Mitch wasn't sure if he regretted telling everyone or not. A few had seemed amused by the new aliens, Evan and professor Hinkley had been intrigued. A few had seemed bored by them. Colonel Dunn hadn't said a word at the time. That troubled Mitch more than he was ready to admit.

He looked to his staff to talk with someone but just about everyone was busy or out and about. He finally caught Janet and sat down over a cup of coffee to discuss the situation. He outlined the new aliens, then sat back to listen to her.

“So, we were looking for alien life on other planets and we've got some a lot closer to home? On our own planet? I'm not sure I like that,” Janet said shaking her head as she cradled her cup of tea.

Mitch shrugged. He'd heard Piotr had been a bit put out that he'd been preempted. Mitch understood where the Russian was coming from, but the other man had to understand there was only so much they could do with the telescopes on the ground. And even if they had their own Kepler or Hubble or whatever in orbit, it still wouldn't have given them the resolution needed to see what if any civilization was on the other worlds. Not in any great detail. Which was why he'd been pushing Conklin and Evall's efforts in rocketry.

“We're here; they are here. They may have been here first. Either way, we work with what we've got. If we can't get along, we retreat to our own continents and do our own thing. I'm actually hoping we can work with them.”

“What, some sort of alliance?” Janet asked, cocking her head.

“Mutual cooperation. Trade. Just getting to know them though...” Mitch shook his head. “Totally alien culture, alien mindset, speech...I don't know. The idea is fascinating but daunting. We couldn't even communicate much with dolphins when we left. And we've had scientists at it for decades.”

“True, but these are all bipeds. Well, I'm not sure about the gorilla ones, but you get my point. We have something vaguely in common with them. We're also all on land, and...” Janet studied the volumetric image Mitch had put up of the aliens with a portable holographic generator. “All three have only two eyes and stuff. So find the common stuff and build off it.”

“Easier said than done. The idea...” Mitch shook his head ruefully.

“Starting to wish you hadn't bit off more than you could chew?” Janet asked, smiling ever so slightly as she raised her cup to her lips.

Mitch snorted as she took a sip and then set the cup gently back down.

“Weren't you the one who said to break the impossible down into smaller more manageable tasks, then knock them down one by one?” Janet asked.

Mitch frowned. “I'm...”

“I saw it in an interview you did before we left Earth,” Janet admitted. Mitch grunted. “And you've said that here often enough,” Janet said with a grin. He snorted.

“It's the same as the conference. Conference, convention, party, whatever you want to call it,” she said, waving a hand. “You went in expecting it to be easy, to get a constitution out first try. Well, the things worth it are worth taking the time to do right. So don't get discouraged if it takes time. And don't let anyone bully you into going to the aliens continents until we're ready,” she said.

“Yes, ma'am,” he murmured, bobbing a nod.

She sniffed. “Personally I think it can all wait a loong time,” she said. We've got enough on our plate just staying alive here. If the damn Memes ever come back we're really going to have our hands full.”

Definitely,” Mitch sighed. He downed his cup and then got up. “Thanks for the talk.”

“Anytime,” Janet said with a half-smile. She pulled his mug over to her and then picked her cup up again. “Now go on, get out of here. Go chase your tail in the meeting. Try not to let them know you're playing Bejeweled and not paying attention to them. It's rude,” she teased.

“Actually it's Tetris. Well, it was until I switched to Bubble Blast yesterday. I've had one close call but I think I'm okay.” She snorted and waved him out.

------*------

Dunn fanned the flames of fear when they announced that they weren't the only tool users on the planet to use weapons. He showed images from Evall's balloon probe and highlighted the broad mouthed aliens who had carried spears, then showed stills of the second aliens firing arrows at the balloon. They looked like flesh colored aliens from Alien so much it creeped a few people out. Their smiles did even more to make people uneasy. Mitch was a bit put out when even some of his supporters seemed fearful. The colonel called on chief and other military personnel to support a call to form a military.

Tsakhia, usually one of Colonel Dunn's supporters, crossed his arms and shook his head firmly no. He had a stone face and obviously rejected the adventurous and dangerous idea. Mitch couldn't blame the man; it had taken months to get his people back from their adventure on the coast the last time they'd gotten too curious or competitive.

“I think we need to take a recess to think things over a bit. Then we can consider the idea,” Gunny Usher suggested. The idea was seconded by Mike and Chief Roberts. They broke for a fifteen minute break.

Mitch nodded as Sandra came in. “How's it going?” She asked, standing behind her husband and rubbing his shoulders.

“The paranoids are coming out of the woodwork,” Mitch said quietly to her. He heard a grunt and turned to see Tsakhia get up and leave. He frowned.

“He's beating the war drum pretty loud,” Mitch said quietly, leaning over to speak with Jack and Sandra.

“He's right to be cautious,” Jack replied, equally quiet.

“He's a bit premature,” Mitch said. “We don't know them, don't know if they can even get h
ere
. We're pretty sure there aren't any here, we're it. That's the good news. I thought we'd find some like, I don't know, cave men, but apparently not,” he said.

Sandra eyed him. “You sound disappointed.”

“Okay, maybe a little,” Mitch replied, then shrugged. “Another thing to ask about.”

“Did they die out or get skipped?” Sandra asked.

“Or did they become us?” Mitch asked, shaking his head. She cocked an eyebrow at him. He shrugged. “There is a theory that man isn't just one species, that we’re interbred. Some of the traits were passed down.”

“I'm not sure it's possible...” She frowned thoughtfully.

“Crossbreeding is done all the time. I got an earful when I got into selecting the animals,” Mitch said, waving a hand. “Warnings on how to handle inbreeding, mules, yadda yadda...”

“Ah,” Sandra said, nodding.

------*------

Gunnys Usher and Hodges, Chief Roberts, and other people with military training advocated checking their continent thoroughly and martialing trained forces at each base. They stopped short of any sort of formal military outfit, however. Colonel Dunn kept pushing the issue, bringing the idea up at every meeting. The military personnel met in Mitch's office to use his wide screen and computers to go over the map strategically. When he pushed too hard and demanded resources from Mitch, that was when Mitch put the brakes on his participation in the project.

“How are you going to pay for this?” Mitch asked mildly. That brought Chief Roberts up short as well. He turned slowly to look at him with a cool expression. “You're talking about taking almost every vehicle we've got to go on a punitive expedition to look for possible signs of intelligent life on our continent and then finding a way to get to the other continents, potentially stirring up a hornet's nest. What you would be doing would be tantamount to an invasion, and it could spark an instinctive defensive response,” he said.

That made the chief pause and look thoughtful.

Mitch let that sink in for a moment then turned to the colonel. “Did you think about the logistics involved? Flying or floating over the ocean? Fuel? People? We have limited resources and intelligence. Putting people in harm's way? What happens if they run into more than they bargained for and need a quick evac or backup?”

“It has to be done!” the colonel insisted.

“I've got an idea, let's leave well enough alone. Let's not go poking any bee hives until we're
ready
. Throwing everything we've got at a problem that may or may
not
exist is asking for trouble. We'll be putting our people in danger...” Mitch said.

“See! You agree!”

Mitch held up a hand. “From the dinosaurs and other animals. We'll be using precious resources and putting lives on the line chasing ghosts. No.”

“It's not up to you,” the colonel insisted.

“I...” Mitch frowned. “You know what, you are right in one respect, people can go and do it if they want. But they aren't taking
my
gear. Or using
my
resources. They want to borrow trouble, go for it. I won't stop you if you build a canoe and try it. But don't come crying back to me,” Mitch said, voice growing cold.

“We could use your support,” Travis said.

Mitch looked at him. “No,” he said with finality. “If there are cave men here or phantom people, they've been here longer than us, and they are damn well hidden. We're still going over the satellite feeds. From the look of it, we're alone here on this continent. No I'm not countersigning going to the other continents,” Mitch said again, shaking his head. “Not happening.” He turned to Travis. “You want to sign on with Dunn here, by all means, go for it. The vehicles and gear stay
here
,” he said, thumping the table. “Defending my home, my people. They will be used to carry goods to the communities, and protect them from the animals we know about,” he said.

“I think what Mister Chambers is trying to say is that we're overreaching here in all the excitement,” Gunny Usher said diplomatically. They turned to him. “I really hadn't thought about all the missions we've got until he brought those last two points up,” he said, nodding to Mitch. “Defending the bases, the convoys, the mining expeditions, lumber crews,” he shook his head. “Putting a full on military expedition together?”