And What of Earth

Chapter 16



When Jennifer approached the alien sentry Monday morning, he handed her a small rod-like device. She knew that it was a portable virtual display device, a device that would create a virtual display similar to the ones on board the ship. Poke had shown her how they worked, and had programmed this particular one to display menu choices in English. It was connected to the ship's computer network (by quantum entanglement?), so she could access their unrestricted data. She knew that a new list of common root words was there waiting for her to learn, during quiet periods at the clinic. She tucked the device into the pocket of her scrubs top, thanked the sentry, then headed for the clinic.

Jennifer had some pointed questions to ask Bethy when she got to the clinic, but decided to hold off. She was afraid that they would sound too accusatorial. She also thought that she might have to admit to certain things that she felt the Wakira wanted to keep secret. They chatted for a moment about all the excitement from the previous afternoon, then Bethy left, dragging herself the 8 blocks to her house for some much-needed sleep.

Jennifer had 3 patients that morning, the most she had had in quite some time. They were simple cases -- two needing 3 or 4 stitches and one needing some antihistamine spray for an allergic skin reaction. In between, she managed to play a little with the virtual display, and poked around the unrestricted data space of the alien computer network. "Hmm. I wonder if I can access my old email account in Brookings?" she joked aloud.

Mid-morning, she had a military visitor -- the captain who had been the first to arrive at the barrier. "Ma'am, I came to tell you that of the two men who we found in the backyard, one was dead of a skull fracture, and the other severed his spine at C-8. He will be paralyzed for the rest of his life. The one we found in the living room of the house, and the three at the church have only just starting regaining consciousness. All five are in custody and are about to be questioned. One other terrorist was found in the factory. There was a short gun battle, and he was fatally wounded. We found a small cache of weapons there. The man that had been posted across from the church was found dead. The autopsy revealed that death was quick and painless. He never knew what hit him."

Jennifer was somber for a moment. "The nearby houses were searched?"

"Yes Ma'am. We found no one who didn't belong there."

She felt relieved and nodded. "What about the General? Is he getting his ass kicked somewhere?"

"I believe that he got a phone call from the President yesterday evening. He was still in command as of 40 minutes ago."

"Good. He and I work well together. And the alien commander genuinely likes him. Is there anything else?"

"No Ma'am. That's it."

"Thank you, Captain. I wondered if anyone would tell me what had happened afterwards." She hesitated, as did he. He's waiting for permission to leave, isn't he? She screwed up some courage and said, "Dismissed."

"Thank you, Ma'am." He turned smartly and left.

Jennifer slouched in her chair and pulled on her ponytail. Oh Bethy, what the heck did you do?!



At 12:05, Comiston arrived with the day's lunch. Jennifer playfully offered to find a cushion for his sore butt.

"My butt's okay," he told her almost gruffly. "It's the third-degree burns of my left ear that hurt." He sat in his chair while Jennifer divvied up the meal. He caught her hand after she had plopped down his bottled water. "How are you holding up?" he asked her, strangely tenderly.

"Ummm. I'm okay?" she answered hesitantly. She slowly drew her hand back and backed up into her chair. "Just what did Myka tell you?"

"Everything. You were under enough pressure just liaising with the Wakira. I can't imagine what you're going through now."

She suddenly lost interest in the food. "He told you everything? I thought he was just going to tell you who was going to be visiting."

The general ignored his food as well. "He's worried about you. He knows that you're torn. He also recognizes that the feelings he has for you are not the same that you feel for him. That you're leaving here not out of love for him, but in order to keep the Empire from self-destructing. So, how are you holding up?"

She peeled back the burger wrapper but left the burger sitting there. "I keep thinking that I've reconciled myself to leaving, then I suddenly find myself in denial. When I was young, I desperately wanted to leave this town. I was so happy when David got me the scholarship to the college in Minnesota. Now, I'm sad that I'm leaving. My dad. David and Amelia. Barb and Bethy. This perch overlooking Twin Elm and Main. And all of my dreams. Everything that once made me happy. When I think about it too long, I end up going to the back to do inventory." He knew that it meant that she would disappear from public view so she could cry. "I did inventory three times Friday afternoon." Her eyes dropped down to her meal, but she couldn't seem to see it. "Thankfully, either Barb or Bethy noticed the tissue box was nearly empty, and got a couple of new ones. Unless I can get a hold of my emotions soon, they'll be empty before the week is --." He knew what the missing word was. Over.

He grabbed his salad and started picking at it. "I'm sorry," he said after a few minutes of silence. She didn't look over at him. "I'm sorry that this is happening to you. All I can do is hope that you"ll end up finding joy when you're there."

Again, there was silence. Slowly, she picked up the burger and bit into it. After swallowing her biteful, she said, "There is something that they have said to me, several times, since the bonding and the joining. 'It is what it is'. A cop-out of interstellar proportions, but so so true in this case. When I truly accepted the fact that I was going to leave everything to be a mother figure to billions of aliens, the symbiote approved of me. Sometime in the future, she will appoint me. And I'll be responsible for the safety and wellbeing of a hundred plus billion Wakira. When I detach myself from my situation -- and I do that when the sadness gets to be too much -- I think how patently absurd all of this is. Stuff of third-rate fairy tales. Drugged apples and frogs that talk seem less absurd to me. But it is what it is. Even that sounds absurd --."



After Comiston's departure, Jennifer turned her attention to the word list. She suspected that Poke would be quizzing her this evening, to gauge just how good her language skills were, and where her weaknesses lay. And, perhaps even to check to see if she was actually spending time studying. No need to worry about that, Jennifer thought to herself. I have to be as close to fluent as possible before the Emperor arrives. Five days! How am I going to become fluent in a completely alien language in just five more days?

About 30 minutes later, an Army colonel entered the clinic. "Miss Hodges. We need to get you out of here. We've received a credible threat against you. We need to get you to a safe place."

She looked up at him. "A credible threat? How could anyone manage to get to me? This is one of the most protected towns in the world. The threat was dealt with yesterday --. When did this news come in?"

"Mid-morning. We don't have time to talk, Miss Hodges. We have to get you out of here now."

Mid-morning? General Comiston didn't mention a threat, nor did the captain. And Comiston would've thrown up an impenetrable wall between me and the street if he knew of one. She tapped a few virtual keys and got the live stream from the device sitting above the clock behind her. "Has General Comiston been informed?"

"He was made aware of the threat immediately. Miss Hodges, we can discuss this once we get to safety."

While he was talking, her fingers quickly raced over the virtual keyboard. Finally, she asked "Who are you really? General Comiston just had lunch with me. I would think if he had known that I was in danger, that he would've told me to leave with him." Before he had a chance to respond, the virtual display gave her his identity.

"We don't have time for this. When the threat was first detected this morning, it was low-level -- improbable. It's now considered credible and imminent. We truly don't have time for this."

"You're no Army colonel," she accused him. "You're a spook. Special Agent Richard Bryant. Or should I say disgraced Special Agent Richard Bryant." She looked up at him. "Aren't you supposed to be in Virginia or Maryland or wherever at a disciplinary hearing? Aren't you actually under suspension?"

His right hand reached for his holster. "I have no idea what you're talking about, Miss Hodges. Let's go now."

In a calm clear voice, she uttered about two dozen syllables, which Bryant didn't understand. "What did you just do?"

"I spoke to the ship hovering overhead." She kept her voice steady, even though her heart was racing.

"What did you say? What did you say?!" He put his hand on the pistol grip.

She forced herself to smile. Another 30 seconds or so, I think. "Loosely translated it was 'Hey guys, some spook is trying to kidnap me'." She looked at the tiny camera that the Army had installed in one of the small windows that overlooked Twin Elm. I sure hope you guys heard that.

Within seconds, a detail of soldiers hurried into the clinic. "Ma'am, what's going on?" one of them asked her.

She stood. "This man is an imposter. He's not an Army colonel; he's a disgraced NSA agent. And he's trying to abduct me."

"She's lying men. Seize her. The president has just named her a threat to national security!"

The soldiers didn't seem to know what to do. "Guys. You've all seen me. Ever since the aliens first came. Have any of you seen this guy before?"

"Corporal! I order to you to arrest this woman immediately! On the orders of the Commander-in-Chief!"

Just then, a half-dozen Wakira, in their shiny black armor rushed through the door and took up positions beside her. They pointed their weapons at the soldiers. The soldiers pointed their weapons at them.

"Easy males," she said calmly. "The only threat is the man standing directly in front of me. Everyone lower your weapons." The Wakira complied first. The soldiers soon followed.

"Miss Hodges, you are under arrest for treason and murder. You will come with me."

Jennifer looked over both shoulders, as if to remind Bryant that he would have to defeat the alien males in the room, plus who knew how many hundreds more in the hovering ship. "I don't think so, Special Agent Bryant." She turned her back to the man and looked at the male who had been behind her left shoulder. "Ohhhh," she said in their language. "Is that a tangler?"

"Yes Mother."

"Good." She turned back to face the imposter. In English she said, "Tangle the annoying one please."

"Yes Mother," the alien said in English. He quickly raised his left hand and squeezed the trigger of the small weapon in that hand.

Immediately, strands of energy formed around Bryant, and fastened themselves tightly around him. Two of the soldiers raised their weapons.

"As you were!" she said brusquely. "He's unharmed. Just unable to move." To Bryant, she added, "Stop struggling, Special Agent. The more you struggle, the tighter it'll constrict. If you remain motionless, it won't be unpleasant. Keep struggling, and it will end up breaking bones." She looked at the soldiers. "Relax. A couple of weeks ago, on a lark, I had one of the Wakira tangle me on a very light setting. I wanted to see what it was like. It works without causing pain, if the target refrains from struggling." She noticed that Bryant was continuing to try and pull his weapon from its holster. "Private, please carefully get his pistol away from him. If he keeps trying to draw it, his wrist will snap."

The private carefully reached in between the strands and pulled the pistol away.

"Thank you. Oh male!" she turned to face the one who had fired. "You managed to tangle his mouth shut. Excellent shooting." She turned back to face the Terrans. "The problem now is, how do we get him to wherever the General will want him. We can't just do a fireman's carry, folding him over will cause the strands to continue constricting."

One of the soldiers near the big window overlooking Main said "What about a hand truck?"

"A hand truck?" Jennifer asked. "Where are we going to get one of those?"

"We could borrow the one the guy across the street is using," another suggested.

"Huh? What guy across the street?"

The first one said "There's a man across the street unloading a delivery van. He's stacking his delivery onto a hand truck."

"Delivery? Across the street?"

"Yes Ma'am. Almost directly across from here."

Jennifer started moving towards the window. "The store with the two small gargoyles over the door?"

"If that's what they're called, yes Ma'am."

She stood at the window and looked out at the scene. Sure enough, she could see one lone man in civilian clothes pulling large cardboard boxes out of the back of the van and putting them onto a hand truck. "Boys, I think someone needs to ask this guy some questions."

"Why Ma'am?"

"That store has been empty since 2010. And there's no way that it's being reopened. The interior was gutted by arson in 2011. The only things holding up the facade are the buildings on either side of it. Go check him out."

Two privates left and headed over to the delivery van. Most of the rest of the detail exited and stood out on the sidewalk, along with four Wakira. "Hey pal!" one of the privates greeted the man, cheerily. "Need any help?"

The man looked nervous. "Uhhhh, no. I'm fine thanks. Almost done actually."

The first private stood to the man's right, the other went behind him and stood on his left. "Gee pal, those boxes sure look heavy. You sure you don't want some help?" the first one asked.

Before he could answer, the other private picked up one of the boxes. "Geez, Donny. These are as light as a feather. Maybe even lighter."

The man glanced furtively at both of them. Out of sight, a jeep with MPs stopped in the intersection, just 40 feet away. "Hey pally! Neat idea! You're selling boxes of non-compressed air to people. What a great money-making idea, huh Mac?" he asked his partner. The delivery man's body seemed to tense. "Hey buddy, y'know, I bet those intelligence guys at HQ here would love to hear all about your idea. Why don't you come with us and you can tell them how it all works. Huh?"

Donny started to reach for the man's arm, but instead got shoved to the ground. The delivery man started running north, not noticing the MPs standing there. One of them shouted "Halt!" while another fired his taser at the fugitive. One of the Wakira had started to run after him, but stopped and watched as a second taser struck. Both Donny and Mac hurried over. The Wakira looked at them and said, "Electricity?"

"Yeah. Works every time," Donny said proudly.

"That appears to be somewhat painful."

"It's supposed to be painful," Mac commented.

"Ohh," said the Wakira, looking at the two of them. "I am glad that we are all on the same side then."

Both the Army detail and the Wakiran males were milling around outside the clinic with Jennifer when Comiston showed up. "When will the excitement ever end?" she asked him, exasperated.

"The accomplice started singing before they put him into the interrogation room," he told her. "The President is about to give the Director of Homeland Security a verbal lashing. We have reason to believe that Bryant killed a fellow NSA agent in Arizona a couple of weeks ago. The agent had been assigned to infiltrate potential home-grown terrorist groups. Most of the eight terrorists captured or killed were from the same community in Arizona. The only thing that Bryant has said is 'Earth First'. We're assuming that that's their slogan."

"Should I expect any more attempts on my life anytime soon, General?"

He drew alongside and gently placed his left hand on her back. "I've been told that there are no known threats. I'll have extra men checking the IDs of everyone in town. If there are any non-residents around, we'll detain them -- before the end of tomorrow. That's a promise, Miss Hodges." He eyed her closely. "How did you know who he was?"

She pulled the virtual display device out of her pocket and called up the screen in question. "Facial recognition technology."

Comiston grew alarmed. "That's the NSA's network! Have the aliens infiltrated our secure networks?!"

She smiled a not-so-innocent smile at him. "Not to my knowledge. They seem to have tapped into several different satellite Internet providers. I hacked the security. The computers the Wakira have are so much faster than ours -- what should have taken hours took only a few seconds."

"You hacked in?"

She grimaced. "You don't think that I can? That a quiet, soft-spoken girl like me can't hack a secure system?" He started to say something, but refrained, leaving his mouth open. "I was 11 when I last hacked anything." She paused for a moment. "Wait, I lied. I was actually 12. My fellow nerds were shunning me and I wanted to do something spectacular. So, I hacked into some sort of naval warfare research establishment. Saw something about using modified aircraft carriers to launch hypersonic manned bombers. Totally impractical." His face now showed disappointment. "I never did it again, General. I only did it the one time to show off. I desperately wanted someone to be my friend. That's all." She stared off into the west.

"I'm sorry, Miss Hodges. I'm sorry if I came across as being judgmental. I have no doubts that your motives and objectives haven't been malicious." He sighed. "You're right though. I never would have thought that a quiet, soft-spoken girl like you would've been a hacker."

Her eyes never wavered from the western horizon. "I told you that I was a dangerous woman, General." She tried to giggle but couldn't.

Comiston shifted his gaze from her face to the west. "What are you looking at?"

"Those clouds. See how they're growing?" They watched silently for a few seconds. "Wow! Those cloud tops are shooting up."

"Mother, are we going to experience another storm?" the Wakira standing to her left asked.

"I'm not sure yet, male. But it certainly looks like it." She started tapping the virtual keyboard. Seconds later, she had a satellite view of the area. "Geez. The storm system is massive." A few more key taps and she had a composite radar image. "It stretches all the way down into Mexico. Has to be a cold front." The screen refreshed. Subconsciously, she spotted something in the image but couldn't figure out what it was.

"They're still growing upwards and north northeastward," the general commented.

Jennifer looked up for a moment then returned to the image on the virtual screen. It had refreshed again. She had it replay the last four images in a loop. "It's a supercell," she told them. Looking at the male, she said, "Yes. We will be experiencing a storm. And it looks like it will be significantly bigger than the one we had over a nineday ago."

"Supercell?"

She looked at the general. "Tornado factory. Big temperature difference between the air masses. Extra humidity on the warm side -- that's us, in case you haven't noticed. All it needs is wind shear."

"How do you know so much about the weather, Miss Hodges?"

"When I was a kid, I wanted to be a meteorologist. So, I taught myself." She looked back at the screen and the new image. She caused the now five-image loop to run. The color left her face. "Hook," was all she said.

"Hook?"

She pointed at the cloud mass that was growing bigger, darker and closer. "It's an indicator of rotation. See the clouds? How they seem to be moving in a circle? We have rotation --. Oh crap, we're screwed!"

"I don't understand."

She looked at him, incredulous. "Where are you from, General?"

He was taken aback by her annoyance. "Bellingham, Washington. Up against the Canadian border. Why?"

She took a deep breath then blew it out. "Don't get many tornadoes up there, do you? The cell is rotating, and gaining strength. Pretty soon, it'll start spawning twisters. Perhaps only a handful, perhaps dozens. And we're right in their path."

"We better blow the siren and get people to shelter."

"Ya think?" she said, sarcastically. She then turned him around to the north. "Can you see the siren tower, General?"

"What tower?"

"The one on top of the community center and library. Where the town shelter is."

"I don't see anything."

"The empty lot right across Twin Elm from the clinic. That's where the tower is. Or was. Along with the shelter. It got damaged when the Hojo burnt down in 2010. They ended up having to demolish it in 2011. The hole behind the high school, in behind my back yard is where the new community center/shelter was supposed to have been completed in 2013. Instead we have this huge hole and hills of gravel and chunks of bedrock laying about everywhere." She turned him back to face her. "There is no warning system, General. And there's nowhere for the people of the town to ride out the storms." She looked back towards the west. Instead of dark clouds and lightning, she saw death and destruction heading her way.

She looked at the male. He looked anxious, perhaps feeding off the fear he could sense from Jennifer. "Male, can this device be used for video communications?" She handed it to him.

"Yes Mother."

"Connect me to the Mission Commander. It is urgent."

He switched the display to his language and made several menu selections, then handed it back to her. Myka's face appeared almost instantly.

"Beloved?"

"Myka? I need to ask a huge favor of you. Dangerous storms are approaching -- they'll be here in less than 30 minutes. Rotating winds can be as much as half the speed of sound. The people in this town have no shelters. They'll be killed. Is there any way you can get the ship overhead to extend the barrier outwards?"

"There is a limit, Jennifer. It cannot cover the entire settlement. If it increases its altitude and moves slightly towards the -- west? -- the boundary will reach that street that your medical facility is on. That's as much as it would be able to do."

"It'll do. If the army puts guards all along Thicket -- the street next to the one my house is on -- can the people living outside the barrier take refuge? The army would keep them from getting too close to the field and the survey ship. Please? I don't know how many would die if you don't."

He didn't even look upward to make his decision. "Yes. If we can keep them from wandering around, I would not object."

"I thank you, Beloved. I owe you big time for this. End."

She looked to her left at the Wakira and said "Males --," then looked to her right at the soldiers and said, "--boys. You need to let everyone know that tornadoes are coming. Tell them to hurry to the barrier. Go!" As they ran off, she turned to the general. "What about your guys? What will you do?"

"I'll send the MPs to the barrier for crowd control. As for the rest -- we've been excavating under the rowhouses we commandeered. We've been building a bunker, just in case. It should be big enough for the rest of my men in town. There are bunkers for the men at the perimeter and those doing patrols. I better go give the orders."

"Good luck, General. I hope to see you at lunch tomorrow." As he left, she once again stared at the approaching storm. The appearance of groups of people hurrying along Main to Emerald brought her back to her senses. She raced back into the clinic, grabbed the two emergency-response backpacks filled with first-aid supplies, turned off the lights, and joined the rush to the barrier.

The skies in the west were black and there was frequent lightning visible just west of the town by the time Jennifer reached Emerald and Main. A line of MPs stood shoulder-to-shoulder across Emerald in between Thicket and Thorn. The townsfolk moved quickly part way down both Briar and Thicket. Their pace quickened substantially with the first blast of thunder. Wild wind gusts started blowing from the southwest, confirming, in Jennifer's mind, that there was sufficient wind shear to trigger tornadoes.

Within moments, the flow of people slowed to a trickle, and the six Wakiran males who had gone out to give the warning returned. Then the driving rain hit; the sound of millions of raindrops hitting the asphalt simultaneously made hearing anyone speak difficult. Jennifer turned to a male standing beside her. "Have them activate the barrier," she shouted in his ear.

"I obey, Chosen." When the barrier appeared, many of the people ooo'd and ahhh'd. The noise from the storm dropped appreciably, only to be replaced by hundreds of voices talking all at once. Amid the cacophony of voices, Jennifer thought she heard a woman repeatedly asking a question that she couldn't quite make out.



Down at the bottom of Emerald, three Wakiran males stood at their post. One of them spotted a young boy, partially hidden by the Rock, outside the protection provided by the barrier. "There's a pup!" he called out. "Alone. It is too dangerous for him to be out there, if this storm will be as bad as the Chosen has said. I will go get him." Shoulders hunched, he stepped through the barrier and rushed to the boy. Heavy rain beat down on the both of them -- rivulets of water running down their faces. "Come pup. It is not safe out here. Come with me." He reached out his hand, and after a slight hesitation, the boy took it.

After they were pulled through the barrier, the male crouched to be at eye level with the young boy. "He can't be much more than 8 -- about 6 of their years," he said to the others in his language. In English, he said to the boy "Do not be afraid, young pup. Are you supposed to be alone?"

The boy looked wide-eyed at the alien. "I was with my mommy. She said we had to come here because it was dangerous to be outside. There were so many people -- I lost her. I tried to look for her. I can't find her anywhere!"

"What is your name?"

"Ricky. Ricky Sanders. Can you help me find my mommy? Please! It's dangerous outside!"

The male placed his hand on the boy's back. "Yes. I will help you find your birth mother. She is probably at the top of the hill." He took the boy's hand again and stood. "Come, Ricky Sanders. We will find her." He turned and told the other sentries to have someone notify the Chosen that they had found a boy.

As they started the trek up the steep hill, Ricky looked skyward at the underside of the ship that hovered above his head, as if he hadn't even noticed it before. He stopped suddenly and asked, "Mister? When I grow up, will I get to fly in one of those ships?"

The sentry's heart broke. What answer could he give the pup that was honorable? Finally, he said, "I truly hope so, Ricky Sanders. I will pray tonight."



The sound of the woman's voice seemed to be getting frantic. The male beside Jennifer whispered something directly into her ear. "Jill?! Jill Sanders?!" Jennifer called out. Though she could still faintly hear the frantic voice, it was apparent that the multiple conversations were drowning out Jennifer's shouts. Finally, an ear-piercing whistle was heard, and everyone grew quiet. "Jill Sanders! Have you misplaced your son?!"

"Ricky?" a voice called out from a distance.

"The Wakira found him outside the barrier down by the Rock," Jennifer shouted in return. "They're bringing him up the hill now."

"Thank God! Oh thank God!" Sanders cried out as she pushed her way through the throng.

Jennifer grabbed her shoulder as she was hurrying past. "Remember to thank them," she admonished the woman. She nodded and continued to press through the throng. Jennifer went the other way, trying to get to the barrier where it now crossed Emerald at Main.

Hail had started falling. As Jennifer approached the barrier, she noticed several of the people watching the hail bounce harmlessly off of the barrier. The skies were as black as night, and winds were starting to bend the middle branches of the trees. Suddenly, a young woman pushing a stroller appeared. "What the hell --?! Someone grab the stroller and pull it through!" Jennifer stuck her head and torso through the barrier. "Give me your hand! Give me your hand!" As she reached for the woman's arm, a hailstone hit Jennifer in the forehead. "Crap!" She covered her left eye with her left hand. "Give your damned hand now!"

After she pulled the woman through, Jennifer brought her other hand up to where she got hit. "Damn! Damn, damn! It hurts!"

She heard a familiar voice. "Jenn? What's wrong?"

"Bethy?" Both her eyes were closed tight. "I got hit by a hailstone. It may have hit my left eye."

Bethy gently grasped her wrists. "Let me see." Jennifer wouldn't drop her hands. "Jenn, let me see."

"I'm afraid," she said, starting to hyperventilate.

"Jennifer, you're a grown woman now. You know that I can't help you if I can't examine you. Put your hands down."

Slowly, she complied. "How bad is my eye?" she asked, her eyes still tightly closed.

"Tch! It's nowhere near your eye. It hit a good half-inch above your brow. Open your eyes and let me see."

Hesitantly, she opened her eyes. "How badly is it bleeding?"

Bethy shook her head. "It's not. There's a thin line of blood at the impact site. I wish I had brought my first aid kit with me."

Jennifer looked at her co-worker, feeling ashamed at her childishness. "I brought the two backpacks with me. I didn't know how many people might have gotten injured. They're leaning up against the lamp post at Briar." The two plowed their way through the crowd. Jennifer kept touching the injury and checking for blood.

"Will you stop playing with it?" She sat Jennifer down on the curb and dug into one of the backpacks. "Baggies?" she asked Jennifer.

"Down near the bottom, I think."

"Screw that," Bethy declared and pulled out a disposable glove. She asked one of the men to reach through the barrier and fill the glove with hailstones. She started looking closely at Jennifer's eyes.

Her reluctant patient reached into her breast pocket and pulled out a stick light. "Here," she said. "Use mine."

As Bethy used the light to look into Jennifer's eyes, the physican from the survey ship arrived. "Mother? Are you injured?"

Bethy told her that her pupils were equal and responsive. "Greetings, physician," Jennifer said in their language. "This is a co-worker. She is a --". She hesitated, trying to construct the appropriate word. Finally she decided upon "-- advanced medical technician. One level below a physician." She looked back at Bethy. "Bethy, this the doctor from the survey ship. This is Bethy Bratten."

"Is she harmed? Is she in any danger?" he asked her.

Bethy smiled. "No danger. She'll have bump on her forehead. You can see where the impact was. She got hit by a small piece of falling ice."

"Small piece? How do you know it was a small piece? You didn't see it."

"Oh honey, considering you were the one who got hit, I'd guess that you didn't see it either." She laughed.

Jennifer pretended to fume. "What's the prognosis, Bethy?"

Bethy smiled again. "You've got a boo-boo on your forehead. It'll form a nice little lump --." She took the glove of ice handed to her and gently pressed it to Jennifer's forehead. "And perhaps a nice little bruise -- purple and yellow would probably go nicely with those weird blue eyes of yours." She held the glove of ice to the injury for a couple of moments, then pulled it away and handed it to her patient. "Now, close your right eye and tell me how many fingers I have up."

Jennifer counted two fingers. "Six." Bethy furrowed her brow. "You've got 4 behind your back. I saw you do that trick a couple of times soon after I started at the clinic, when our shifts used to overlap. I see two, and there are four more behind your back." She stuck her tongue out.

Bethy looked at the alien doctor. "She is unharmed. There will be a small swelling where the hailstone struck, but that will disappear in a few days." She then rummaged through the backpack. While the alien doctor watched, she dried the site of the injury, gently cleaned the area with alcohol wipes, and applied a square adhesive bandage. "All done," she declared.

"Thanks Bethy." In the alien language, she added, "I thank you for your concern, physician."

"It is my honor to serve you Mother," he answered, then headed back to the ship.

Jennifer stood, closed up the backpack and headed back to barrier to watch what was happening. The thunder and lightning had intensified, and strong winds were picking up debris and blowing it around, including small branches. Still, there was no sign of a tornado.

"Mother," one of the males asked, "when will the storm end?"

She chewed her lower lip. "Perhaps 30 more of our minutes. I think that that works out to be about two-tenths in your measures of time. The worst of it has yet to arrive. Once the area of rotation has passed, the skies should clear fairly quickly. We've been lucky so far -- no tornadoes have been spawned. I don't know how long that might last." She continued to look westward, looking intensely at the low-level spinning cloud, trying to see if their luck would hold out.

Bethy was still beside her. A tall tree on the other side of Main snapped at its base and fell onto the street, the middle and upper branches bouncing off the barrier, thereby sparing one of the houses on Emerald from being damaged. "Straight-line winds," Jennifer said aloud, answering her unspoken question.

"There's one," Bethy called out. "Funnel, still disorganized. Still no contact with the ground."

"Stay up! Stay up!" Jennifer urged. "Don't you dare touch down!" She pulled out the alien device and managed to get a view of the funnel cloud from the ship overhead. "Crap, it's descending!" They watched it float ever closer. "Stay up!"

As the funnel cloud drew closer, its base continued to descend. The spin was now plainly visible, as it organized itself. "Stay up!" she again urged it. The funnel passed overhead, just barely missing the hovering ship, heading to the northeast. "Stay up! Just a little longer!"

The funnel cloud decided to ignore her exhortations. The base dropped and touched down just beyond Topaz onto Jasper, the last east-west street in town. "No!" Jennifer cried out, as the virtual display showed the funnel cloud rip a three-unit rowhouse off of its foundation, shredding it apart before unceremoniously dumping the wreckage out into the fields north and east of town. "Damn! They're dead! They have to be dead. There's no way that anyone could have survived." She looked at Bethy. "They're dead, Bethy!"

Bethy locked eyes. "No they're not, Jenn. That was #8 Jasper. Unit 8A has been empty since 2013. The family in Unit 8C is in Honduras or Guatemala, visiting her family. I know that. They came in a week before the aliens arrived, for their shots. They specifically said that they wouldn't be back until September."

"What about Tony and his mom?"

"Annalisa is at her twin's house helping to look after their mom. And Tony is with her. They came in Friday evening. She tried to pay more for the work you did on Tony. She told me what he had done, and said that they were going to be joined at the hip until school started. If Annalisa was at Zephyrina's house, then Tony was there too. And they have a shelter in the basement. No one is dead. At least, not yet."

They continued to scan the skies, looking for more funnel clouds. By 4pm, the storm system had passed to the northeast, and the skies cleared. A few minutes later, the barrier was switched off, and people started returning to their houses.

"If you encounter any injured people, send them to the clinic," Bethy called out. "We'll be set up in a few minutes."

Jennifer grabbed one of the backpacks and slung it over her shoulder, and started reaching for the other one. Bethy grabbed it. "You're going to need help, kid. You do triage and simple care, and I'll handle the complicated stuff." They hurried back to the clinic.

No one came. At one point, Jennifer looked up and down Twin Elm to see if anyone was coming. She was surprised to see that the Burger Shack was open and serving customers. On her way back to the clinic, she spotted Tony and his mom walking up Main towards their home. Jennifer told them to not bother, that their house didn't exist anymore. After she consoled them both, Annalisa Iannuci said that they'd go looking through the debris field for their stuff the next day.

Just before 5, Jennifer told Bethy to go home. Apparently, Jennifer was going to end up being the only casualty. When Bethy started to protest, Jennifer told her that she'd stay until 7, so her friend could at least get another hour or two of rest. She then herded Bethy to the door.

All was silent while she waited. A handful of people were wandering around. A couple of crews of army personnel carrying chain saws and ropes were spreading out throughout the town to take care of the fallen trees. "One of the good things the county did when they had the recovery money," Jennifer told herself, "was that they put all the power cables and phone lines underground. At least people will have power. If they can afford it."

At 6:40, Jennifer had a visitor. "Miss Hodges? I didn't expect to see you here."

"Hi General. I told Bethy I'd stay an extra hour so that she could make up some of the sleep she lost because of the storm. What are you doing here?"

He hesitated. "I -- ummm -- I wanted to find out about civilian casualties."

She frowned at him. "You're looking at them. Or her. Whatever. Apparently, I am the only one in this town who got hurt. Ginormous hailstone, right in the forehead." She shrugged. "Bethy happened to be there and gave me first aid. Just a boo-boo. Those were her exact words."

"I'm relieved," he told her. "That it wasn't serious, and that there weren't any other injuries. I best get back to the office. I'll see you at lunch tomorrow." He quickly turned and left. Jennifer looked confused.



By the time Bethy returned for the overnight shift, Jennifer had decided that the time had come to get the facts from Bethy regarding what she might have done. Jennifer hoped to be a little obtuse, to discover the motives behind it, before any of her emotions might shine through her words.

"Hey Bethy," Jennifer said, without getting up from her chair behind the counter. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Hi Jenn." Bethy noticed that she wasn't already on her feet like she normally was at the start of shift change. She tilted her head at Jennifer but said nothing. "I didn't really sleep -- I just dozed a little. Rob and the kids will be picking up dinner from the Shack and will eat here with me."

"Do you mind if I ask you a question?" Jennifer asked as she eased herself to her feet.

"Sure kid," was the wary reply. "Get any patients after I left?"

Jennifer smiled at the attempted diversion in topic. "None. Thankfully, I'm the only one who got hurt." She walked the long way around the counter and leaned casually on it in front of her coworker. "Did you get your captain's bars when you re-enlisted, Bethy?"

To her credit, Bethy was almost able to hide her shock. "Re-enlisted? Child, what are you talkin' about? How many times have I told you in the past that I would nevvah re-enlist?"

Jennifer noticed the change in speech patterns. "You're returning to your North Carolinian roots, Bethy. The change in accent always gives you away. Just like when you and Barb tried to surprise me on my 20th birthday with a cake."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Jenn." The denial was unconvincing, even to Bethy.

"C'mon Bethy. Did they give you a promotion?"

Bethy realized that the gambit was up. Barb had been right. She had figured it out. "Barb said that you'd figure it out. Damn super-genius."

"The money in the account was at least 3 times too much for it to be the county giving us our back pay," she explained. "And it was illogical to assume that they would've had a sudden change of heart. Barb tried to sell it as them trying to cover their butts, but they would've only done that had they known that they were about to be raided. And it was unlikely that some two-bit politicians from a non-descript county in Nebraska would've been able to get any sort of advanced warning." She waited, but Bethy remained silent. "So, are you Captain Bratten now?"

If there had been dirt to kick in the clinic, Bethy would've kicked it. "Yeah. I got my bars."

"What about Barb?" Bethy echoed the question. "Was she made a captain as well, or is she only a lieutenant?"

"I have no idea what you're talkin' about, child."

Jennifer started getting exasperated by Bethy's denials. "They wouldn't have raided the county offices and given us all our backpay if all they got was you for another 3 years."

"You're too smart for your own good, girl. Leave things be."

"Tell me the truth. You owe me that much. Stop trying to avoid the inevitable. I pretty much know what happened; I just want you to confirm it all."

Bethy knew there was no point in stonewalling. "Yeah, Barb is a captain too."

"Won't the other nurses, the lifers, be upset about her jumping the queue?"

"It doesn't matter what they think. If the President decides that you're a captain, then that's what happens."

Jennifer tried to hide her surprise. "It was the President?" Why would the President get involved? "So, why did you do it? What was the point of all of this?"

Bethy sensed that Jennifer was now fishing, but decided to give her all the facts. "Our asset was under a lot of stress. When the weasel from county showed up, and Ron Jensen saw you crying, it was decided that we had to do something to take that burden off of you."

"Our asset?"

"Stop interrupting and let me finish. We knew that you were beginning to crumble. The General and the President started getting worried. When the weasel farm sent their white collar goon to punish you, we knew we had to do something. So, it was decided to punish the county -- have the authorities move in and seize everything. We knew that somewhere in all the paperwork and emails would be something incriminating that would say that they were going to try and intimidate you. But that wasn't going to be enough. We wanted to shield you for later, after the aliens had left."

"Well, there's no need --."

"Hush! Let me finish. So, that meant we had to frame them for intimidating a federal official. It was too late to try and take control of the clinic -- the threat had already been made. That left making all three of us, since the threat technically was made against the three of us, feds of some kind or another, and make it retroactive. It was a member of the Joint Chiefs that suggested they 'militarize' us -- his words not mine -- and make it retroactive the 10 weeks or so. That would unfortunately absolve the county from failing to pay us, but would make them guilty of interference. There was talk that with some intimidation of our own, we could make some of them think that the charges would be bumped up to terrorism, given your status with the Wakira."

"Hold on a minute. What's this 'we' thing? And the Joint Chiefs?"

Bethy ignored her. Now that she had confessed, she wanted to get her story out into the open. "At first, the idea was that after the aliens had gone, you'd move to Washington to advise the President and the military on dealing with the Wakira -- 'cause we figured that they would be back. Your salary would help pay for someone to look after your dad for you, so you wouldn't have that burden on your mind. But now, all that has changed."

Jennifer was dumbfounded. "Changed?"

"Well, you won't be here to head to Washington. So, they'll keep paying you, putting it into your bank account here. Leave your debit card with your dad, and he'll be able to draw out money as he needs it."

"How do you know that I'm leaving with them?"

"Oh honey. You're not the only one who has been getting daily visits from Frank Comiston." Jennifer's jaw dropped. "I had been right; he did recognize me that morning when your alien friend walked you to the clinic. At first, we just shot the breeze about Afghanistan. After a few evenings, he started talking about you. Who you were. What you were like. That sort of stuff. Then he started briefing me. Not all that long after, I was tasked with keeping my eye on your emotional status and wellbeing. I drafted Barb as well."

"Okay. So you know about the bonding and the symbiote and all of that. You and Barb enlisted. But I didn't enlist. And, unless I'm mistaken, the equivalent of press-ganging is still illegal. So, how is it that I'm in the US Army too?"

Bethy smiled. "That was the tricky part. You had to be enlisted too, in order for everything to work. What you probably don't know is, our 'I was a straight A student' friend was a bit of a slacker in high school. Something about being bored in class. So, she used to skip school. In order to cover her butt, she learned how to forge her mom's signature. She swears that she never got caught."

"Okay. But there are no samples of my signature here. We just initial the log book, and we initial the care sheets."

Bethy walked behind the counter and kicked the two boxes of files that were sitting on the floor. "Some of the files that we couldn't get rid of date back to when you first started here. Back then, you used to sign everything. Took her three tries."

"It's a good thing I never left my checkbook here," she said trying to make light of the situation. "And the General approved of all of this skullduggery?"

"Honey, he was the one who brought the blank enlistment forms. And he was the one who checked the forged signature to see if it was good enough. He was happy, the President was happy, and those damn weasels got smacked good."

"Okay," Jennifer said, trying to digest the revelation. "So, what am I? A corpsman? A corporal? Sergeant? There's no way they'd make a nursing assistant an officer." But I am, aren't I? That's why the Captain kept calling me Ma'am. Why Rafe did.

"You were going to be an advisor to the President. Now, I think, they're considering you a military attaché."

"What am I, Bethy?"

She smiled again. "You're a major."

Though she expected something like this, it still seemed to catch her off-guard. "A major what --? A major disappointment --? A major disaster? A major catastrophe --?" Bethy started to get concerned. "A major screw-up? A major malfunction-- ?"

Bethy hurried back around the counter and grabbed Jennifer by the shoulders. "Stop it! Jennifer stop it!" Jennifer stopped midway through another epithet. "That's your momma talking! You stop it. I swear, honey, if I had been living here when she used to say those things to you, I would've smacked her upside the head. And when she got back to her feet, I would've smacked her again."

She hugged Jennifer, squeezing her as hard as she could. "You're a major blessing. A major advantage. A brilliant asset. An incredibly wonderful person. If my Betsy can be anything like you've turned out, I'll be the proudest happiest momma in the country." She pulled back from the embrace. "You hear me? Now, get that garbage outta your head, or I swear I'll smack it out of your brains."

Jennifer's voice was quiet. "You've never smacked anybody in your life."

"Wrong. When I was 12, I bloodied my big brother's nose. I would've done it to your momma if I had to. If I had a chance to. Lookit, Jenn. You graduated high school three years early at 15. You got your nursing diploma at 17. You were working at a VA hospital at 18. You taught yourself how to play the drums that same year. That doesn't sound much like a failure to me. Sounds like someone who is incredibly smart, incredibly clever and incredibly talented. The next time your momma's words get into your head or onto your tongue, you tell yourself that Elizabeth Bratten says you're the smartest creature to have ever walked about in this town. Maybe even this state. Or I swear, I'll find some way to get to wherever their home planet is and bop you a good one." They both laughed. "You are a wonderful person, Jennifer. A tremendously gifted young woman. And someone that I'll miss very very much."

Jennifer started feeling weepy. "We should save our goodbyes for Friday evening, Bethy. Have a quiet shift."



The language lesson that night was replaced by a lesson on decorum, rules, rites and traditions regarding interacting with the Emperor in particular, and in the Empire in general. There were far too many to learn in just one evening, so Pokaifashta limited the teaching to how Jennifer should interact with the Emperor, and several ancient rights and declarations. Later, Jennifer made a point of masking and spending time with Myka. She thanked him again for providing shelter to the people of Jewel. They then tried to reassure each other with little success. In bed, back at the house, Jennifer cried herself to sleep.