“It is,” Hickory said. “But no race has been willing to forgo administration of their colonies. There’s always a way to discover the colonies.”
“Except this one,” I said. “That’s why they’ve had us hide. It’s more important for humans to survive in the universe than it is to control them.”
“Perhaps,” Hickory said.
“I want to see those files you have, Hickory,” Jane said. “And the extended version of our video,” she said to me.
“We will need to go to the technology lab to transfer them,” Hickory said.
“No time like the present,” I said. Jane and I kissed Zo? good night, and then we headed out the door to the Black Box, Hickory and Dickory taking the lead.
“Why did you say that in there?” Jane asked, as we walked.
“Say what?” I said.
“That we wouldn’t allow the colony to be destroyed,” Jane said.
“For one thing, our daughter was on the verge of a nervous breakdown thinking about Hickory and Dickory running us through with knives,” I said. “And for another thing, if the options are surrendering and turning every man, woman and child in the colony into ash, I know what I’m going to do.”
“You’re making assumptions on limited information again,” Jane said. “I need to look at those tapes before we make any sort of decision about anything. Until then, every option is on the table.”
“I can already tell we’re going to go round and round on this one,” I said, and looked up at the stars. Jane looked up with me. “I wonder which one of those has Huckleberry around it,” I said. “I think maybe we all should have stayed there. Then this would be someone else’s problem. At least for a while.”
“John,” Jane said. I turned. She had stopped several steps behind me now and was still looking up.
“What?” I said. I looked up again. “Made a constellation?”
“There’s a star up there that wasn’t there before,” Jane said, and pointed. “That one.”
I squinted, and then realized it didn’t matter whether I squinted or not, since I didn’t know which stars were supposed to be there and which ones weren’t. And then I saw it. Bright. And moving.
“Oh God,” I said.
Jane shrieked and fell to the ground, clutching her head. I sprinted over to her. She was convulsing now. I tried to get hold of her and her arm whipped out, her hand smacking palm first onto the side of my head, slapping me hard into the ground. I saw a white flash and spent the next few indeterminate moments immobile, trying not to vomit.
Hickory and Dickory hauled me up from the dirt, one at each arm. I looked around groggily for Jane. She was no longer on the ground; instead she was stalking furiously, muttering like a mad woman. She stopped, arched her back and screamed like a banshee. I hollered myself, in total surprise.
Eventually she stalked over to me. “You’re going to have to meet them without me, because right now I will fucking kill every last one of them,” she said.
“What are you talking about?” I said.
“The fucking Colonial Union,” Jane said, and stabbed a finger skyward. “That’s them, and they’re coming down now. Here.”
“How do you know?” I said.
Jane looked away and laughed an eerie little laugh that I’d never heard from her before and sincerely hoped I never would again. “Yes. Well. Remember when we were talking earlier about my new abilities, and I said I didn’t have a BrainPal?”
“Yes,” I said.
“Yeah,” Jane said. “Turns out, I was wrong.”
“I have to tell you, I thought you’d be happy to see me,” General Rybicki said. “Everyone else seems to be.” He waved out my window to the street, which was filled with the early morning image of Roanokers going out of their minds with joy that their isolation was coming to an end. “Where’s Sagan?”
“You need to tell me what the fuck is going on, General,” I said.
Rybicki looked back toward me. “Excuse me?” he said. “I’m not your commanding officer anymore, Perry, but I’m still your superior. A little more respect would be in order.”
“Fuck that,” I said. “And fuck you too. There hasn’t been a thing about this colony you’ve been straight about since you recruited us.”
“I’ve been as honest with you as I could,” Rybicki said.
“As honest as you could,” I said, and there was no mistaking the incredulousness in my voice.