And What of Earth

Chapter 12



Wednesday turned out to be quiet and uneventful. Sure enough, the general brought cheese fries with the meal, though this time, he didn't bother getting any for himself. He told Jennifer that the army had set up heat detectors, pointed at the mesa on the other side of the ravine, so if anyone did manage to get that close to the landing site, the army would be able to respond in minutes. Jennifer had no news to report, and the two of them decided to not bother rehashing the things that they already knew.



After supper, Jennifer hopped the backyard fence and walked down the gravel slope to the field. She was surprised to see Poke wandering around the south endzone. "Greetings, Beloved Sister," Jennifer said in the language.

"Jennifer, that is far too formal for an everyday greeting," Poke responded in English.

"Yeah, I know. I just wanted to try it out. I'm still having pronunciation problems, aren't I?"

Poke smiled down at her student. "Yes. You still sound like a preschooler -- is that the correct term? -- but you are getting better. It is just a matter of time and practice."

"Time. We're running out of that. He'll be here in 9 days, right? I have to be ready for him, Poke. Even if just for Myka's sake."

Poke placed her right hand on Jennifer's left shoulder. "You need to stop blaming yourself for what has happened. Who can understand why he bonded with you then, and not earlier? For that matter, why he bonded with you at all. Medical research facilities on Homeworld are running multiple simulations trying to discover what happened and why. They still have no answer."

Just then, they heard a mangled cry for help. Without hesitation, Jennifer ran to the source, behind the ship on the side facing the school. She put the brakes on as soon as she saw what was there. A male Wakira, armed with some sort of hand weapon, pressed against the head of a female. He was sitting on one of the team benches on the east sidelines.

"Greetings, male," Jennifer said in their language. "Can I be of assistance?"

"Stay away, alien!" he shouted at her. "Don't make me hurt this female."

Crap, Jenn. What do you do now? Hostage-taking 101. Speak slowly and softly. Gain the confidence of the bad guy. Show sympathy towards him and his situation. Move slowly forward. Get him to agree to various small things, so that it won't seem confrontational to him. Or does that only work on television? Does it work with Wakira?

"There is no need to hurt the female. Look, I am unarmed. I cannot harm you. I cannot overpower you. You are still in control of the situation." She took a small slow step forward. She heard footsteps behind her. Turning her back to the male, she told those just arriving to stay back and stay quiet. "What seems to be the problem, male?"

"Stay back. Please don't make me hurt her." Jennifer looked more closely at the female and noticed that she was losing consciousness.

"You are hurting her already. The arm you have around her neck -- it is cutting off the flow of blood to her brain. You need to loosen it or change the position of your forearm."

He looked more closely at his hostage. He relaxed his left arm ever so slightly to reduce the pressure on her neck.

"That's better," Jennifer said gently, as she switched back and forth between their language and English. "She seems to be regaining her senses." Another very small step forward. This time, no warning came forth. "Do you know who I am, male?"

"You are the alien female that everyone is talking about."

Everyone is talking about me? "As you would say it, my name is Jennifer of the family Hodges. I'm afraid I don't know my clan or tribe names. We don't learn that here on Terra. What is your name?"

"I am Medahso. Of the family Konatai."

"Where are you from, Medahso? Where is home for you?"

He hesitated, trying to figure out if he should provide any information. "Homeworld. From a settlement in the Salt Desert."

"Is it a nice place? If so, I hope to go there once I get to Homeworld."

He pointed the weapon at Jennifer. "Stop talking! You're trying to confuse me!" The weapon went back to being pressed against the hostage's head.

"You know that the mission commander and I are now mates? That the symbiote has accepted me and that I will be the next Great Mother?"

There was no response at first. Finally, he said "Yes. I can see the symbiote."

"In a few years, I'll be your Mother. That means, you will be my son. Please tell me what is wrong, son. Let me help you." She took another tiny step forward, and tried to reproduce the facial expression they had for care and concern.

"No one understands! We are doomed! All of us are doomed! No one will listen!"

"I am listening, my son. You can tell me. Why are we doomed? What horrible thing do you think will happen?"

"He is coming. He is coming to punish us. This mission is a complete failure. He will punish us for failing the Empire. We should already be gone!"

"You are afraid? You see disaster coming and no one else can see it?" Another baby step.

The panic in his eyes was more evident. "He will punish us. We will be disgraced. The dishonor will be unbearable. How can you not see it?"

Another small step. She was now only 5 feet away from where he was sitting. The weapon was still pressed into his hostage's temple. "You think that our Father is coming here to punish us for failing the mission? Why would the Emperor come all this way to punish anyone?"

"He is coming. We all know. He is coming, and he will punish us for failing him."

She took another small step forward. She was now just 4 feet away. She crouched, so she wouldn't be towering over him. "Yes, I know he is coming. But he isn't coming to punish the mission team. He is coming to visit me. His new daughter. He wants to meet with me and my birth father. That is why we are still here. We are waiting so he can meet my birth father. Oh, my son, I understand why you are so afraid. I understand perfectly. But there is nothing to be afraid of. He knows all about this mission and the problems that have arisen. He's been getting daily briefings. There is no need for him to come and investigate what went wrong. He is coming all this way to meet me. His new daughter." She dropped to one knee, putting herself within arm's reach of the male.

"I can't bear the dishonor. All my life, I have wanted to serve in the military. To serve the Empire and the Emperor. And now, this. Our Mother will disown us. We will not belong!"

"He is not coming to punish you." Slowly, she raised her right hand, and caressed him on his cheek. "My child. I understand why you would be upset. To be disowned would be unbearable to anyone. But he is not coming because he is displeased with any of you. He is journeying all this way from Homeworld because he wishes to meet me and my birth father. Isn't that wonderful? That the Emperor would choose to come all this way to meet his new daughter?" She continued to caress his cheek.

"He is not coming to punish us?"

"No, my child. He and my mate speak several times a day about coming here and meeting me. I am the first alien the symbiote has ever chosen. He is amazed that it would do so. This is why he wants to meet me. And why he wants to do it here, and not on Homeworld."

The panic in his eyes started to fade. "He is not angry with us?"

"No my son. He is not angry with you. He knows how difficult this mission has been. The heat. The oppressive gravity. The violent storms. This is probably the most difficult survey mission ever conducted. He is coming to see me."

"Are you sure, Mother?"

The female captive's head jerked when she heard him call Jennifer "Mother".

"Yes, I am sure. Now, my son, I need for you to be really brave for me. In a moment, I will ask you to release the female. You don't need to worry. I will still be here with you. Will you do that for me?"

His voice was now that of a small boy. "I will try."

"That would be so wonderful," she told him. Turning her attention to the female, she said "When he releases you, make no effort to subdue him. Move slowly away, and go back onto the field and report to a superior. Understood?"

"Yes, Jennifer Hodges."

"Good girl." She looked into the eyes of the male, and started caressing his cheek again. "My son, I need for you to release the female. Will you do that for me please?"

Hesitantly, the weapon was withdrawn from her head, and his left arm slowly opened. "I am so proud of you, my son. That is so brave of you. -- You may leave now, daughter."

The female slowly stood and walked towards the stern, where a number of the Wakira stood.

"You are doing so well," Jennifer reassured him. "I am so pleased." More caresses caused the weapon to be lowered. "You are so brave. Would you like to go see the physician so he can help you cope with your fear and anxiety?"

In a very small voice, he answered "Yes."

"Before we can stand, you need to toss your weapon away, so the others will know that you are not armed. I will protect you. They will not harm you. I won't let them. Can you do that? Can you make the weapon safe and toss it aside where they can see it?"

He didn't say anything. He pressed a control on the weapon, and slowly tossed it out onto the playing field.

"You are so brave--" she said softly to him. "Do not come closer!" she shouted to those behind her. "We are going to see the physician. Give us room. And make sure all weapons are holstered!" She resumed the caresses. "I will protect you. Like all mothers do, I will protect my pup. Are you ready to stand up and walk onto the ship?"

He stood slowly without answering.

"I will help you walk. Don't be afraid. No one will hurt my pup." She stood, gently took his left forearm, and drew him close to her. As they walked, the others parted, giving them space to walk around to the open hatchway. Jennifer saw Poke and realized that she needed her help in finding where the sickbay was on the ship. "Poke, will you walk with us to the medical offices?" As Poke drew closer, Medahso tensed. "It is okay, my child. The female is my best friend. We are practically sisters. She won't harm you--."

Jennifer continued to murmur reassurances to the male all the way to the sickbay, and while he was sedated. As she and Poke left the ship afterwards, Jennifer couldn't help but notice that members of the mission crew were talking about what had happened. "She just talked to him, and he surrendered..." "He was calling her Mother..." "Her voice must have some sort of magical power..."

As they stepped through the hatchway back out onto the football field, Poke gently grasped Jennifer's elbow and led her away from the others. Finding a quiet spot near the west sidelines, she turned and faced the Terran. "Jennifer, what were you thinking? He could have killed you!"

Jennifer smiled at her alien friend's concern for her. "No he wouldn't. Didn't you hear him? When he wanted me to not come closer, he kept saying 'Don't make me hurt her'. This wasn't someone who wanted to kill and destroy; this was a cry for help. No one would listen to his fears. So, I agreed to listen. Then I substituted a different plausible reason for the Emperor coming, and he accepted it. Once that happened, it was just a matter of getting him to release the hostage, drop his weapon and agree to be medicated."

"Just when I think I'm beginning to understand you, Jennifer, I discover that I don't know you at all. That was both the most stupid and the most courageous thing that I have ever witnessed. Whoever has been sending the Emperor information about this mission will undoubtedly include a description of what you just did. I think you may have earned some respect from our Father."

But will that help Myka? Or me? Or my species? "That's not why I did it. Someone needed help. I'm kinda compulsive about that. Which is why I'm here, with a symbiote sitting in the back of my head. Sometimes I think she's taking notes about me."

"She?"

"I had to give it a gender. She's a she, until she tells me otherwise. Do you know if they ever speak to their hosts? With actual words?"

Poke thought for a moment. "I do not remember hearing anything one way or the other. Our Mother has never mentioned her symbiote speaking to her. But that doesn't mean that it hasn't. It is another one of those 'It is the way it is' that you find so frustrating." She chittered after the last statement.

"Humans are inherently curious. We can't help ourselves. We want to know, and being told that we can never know just makes us more determined to find out. But, I remember the story Myka told me after the joining, so I won't press the issue. I assume that if she wants to talk to me, that she will. If she doesn't, then she won't." They walked to the base of the stairs and sat in adjacent seats. "Instead of a language lesson, Poke, tell me about this 'disowning' thing that he was so fearful of--."



In one of the many abandoned buildings, four determined men huddled together and tried to figure out their next move.

"We can't move it into position, not with sentries posted at nearly every street corner! What the hell are we supposed to do?"

They all nodded. One asked "Why can't we radio the colonel and get him to tell us what we need to do?"

Randy, the leader, spoke. "You know why. The radio is there simply to coordinate the attacks and to let the others outside know that we were successful. They've got to have people and computers listening to every frequency. And they've probably got radio detectors. We start calling, they'll be able to figure where we are and what we intend to do. That's why we have to maintain radio silence. The army has already shut down cell service and there sure aren't any wi-fi hotspots in this dump of a town. We have to come up with a plan of our own." He turned to the guy who had been chosen to be the munitions expert. "How long would it take to get it to the hiding spot we made in the cemetery?"

"The damn thing weighs a ton, Randy. Literally. Four of us, given the fact that we're all still limping -- 30 minutes, assuming we can see where we're going. More if it's in the dark. More still if we have to lug it through the scrub brush in behind the houses."

Randy thought for a moment. "Three of you. I'll create a diversion -- get the sentries to chase me. I'd just have to get halfway to the perimeter east of town to give you guys 30 minutes." He thought some more. "I'll carjack a car west of town. Give the person enough time to notify the army. I'll speed through town, and make them follow me. That's the only thing I can think of--."

What he didn't know was that the standing order was that there were to be no pursuits. It was thought that, since all the roads into town were sealed, no one would be able to escape the exclusion zone. His plan was doomed to fail.