“Did you receive that?” I ask.
“Got it… oh my!”I can hear Emma gasping. “What are those, tentacles?”
It all goes on for a while before we agree that I will come over to the station in a shuttle and bring back Emma, Major Franco and a couple of others.
Mareliux makes me bring along two shock troopers in full mirrored armor. They don’t bring guns, because there are no offensive weapons on the station. But I know those experienced legionnaires can take over the station in thirty seconds, if they so choose. I am not expecting trouble, but Mareliux wants me to be completely safe. And, I suspect, to give Earth a display of our power.
It takes a while to dock with the specially designed part of the station that doesn’t spin to create gravity. I spend the time admiring how menacing theGladiuxlooks from the outside.
“No wonder they had to be sure I’m me,” I mutter. “That thing could scare anyone.”
The docking ring sucks itself onto the station and pressurises the shallow airlock.
I make my way over and knock on the hatch, aware that there are cameras everywhere that can see me and the two shock troopers right behind me. “Hello in there. Temu delivery.”
It slowly opens and Emma sticks her head out. “Is it the swimsuit I ordered- oh, hi, Umbra!”
“Hi.” I wipe sudden tears from my eyes. I want to embrace her, but we agreed that there should be no close physical contact. They’re worried about diseases spreading. “I’m glad you’re home. Sorry, it’s not your swimsuit. Just this girl that got lost in space. She may not look like much, but she says she came from here. Is she yours?”
- - -
The four-person Space Force team stays aboard theGladiuxfor a couple of days. Mareliux presents his offer of protection and technological exchange, and it’s all carefully recorded and sent down to Earth. Bellatriz checks if it’s all being suppressed down there, but it’s not. If anything, we’re given too much attention. Mareliux and I are the biggest news story ever in every country.
Me being married to Mareliux goes down unexpectedly well, and when I talk to the president she gives me both her congratulations and praises me for my coming back. That’s all she can do at this early stage. Everyone is bewildered and surprised about the whole thing, which is fair enough. It’s a lot to process.
One of the team is a doctor, and she gives me a thorough physical before three of them go back to the station, leaving only Emma.
I spend a lot of time with her, just catching up with her bodycams turned off. But I’m always aware that every word I say to her probably will be given on to others, which puts a damper on things. But I understand her. There’s no room for private things when there’s this much at stake. We’re no longer buddies of the same rank on a small base. Now I’m the weirdo semi-alien who’s incredibly well connected to the only alien empire Earth knows about, and she’s Space Force’s closest contact with me. Things are bound to get weird.
“I don’t know, Emma,” I tell her the evening before we’re scheduled to leave Earth space. “I thought this would feel like coming home. But it’s too different. And it always will be different. There’s no way around it.”
We’re in the dome room, with the Earth slowly spinning above us and the starry sky below us while we sit on comfortable chairs in the middle.
“Thingshavechanged,” Emma says. “And we can’t change them back. Even Space Force will be something completely different now. With new ships and weapons and everything. Say, did you ever find a clue about your sister?”
“Not yet,” I sigh, and the old, familiar ache returns. “She could be anywhere. I’ve asked basically everyone about those flying saucers. All I have are old myths and rumors about aliens that may or may not have ever existed. But I have more resources now. I’ll find her. I’ll find them all.”
“I know you will. I’m curious about that Syntrix of yours,” Emma ponders. “I’d love to experience it. Can you destroy that veil around Earth? The barrier?”
“Apparently it’s just as hard to take down as it is to put there in the first place,” I tell her. “You’d have to find the exact spot in the Solar system it’s being generated from. That could take decades of searching. And there’s the issue about the Syntrix suddenly flowing in. It can give everyone a real shock that can be deadly. Especially since people on Earth may be more sensitive to it than others. But we’ll see.”
We pass over Asia, going into the night side. We’ve been in a low orbit around Earth, but tomorrow we’ll leave. My fingers twitch with a phantom hum. I can’t wait to feel the Syntrix again.
“Will you be coming back?” Emma asks. “You’re one of the greatest heroes Earth has ever had. You’re all over the news, in the best way. Nobody’s saying anything bad about you, except the news media are miffed that you’re not giving theminterviews. Space Force kind of wants you to, as well. It’s great PR, they say. Sure you won’t give it a go? You’ll decide on the interviewer.”
I shudder. “Oh, I’ll give an interview. When hell freezes over. No thanks, Emma.”
She fidgets with her dress, which is real Khavgren manufacture and fashion and made to her measurements, or as close to them as I could get it from memory. “I’ve been wanting to say something. But…” she nods to her wrist, where her AI is being silent but certainly listening. I get what she needs. There’s always cameras, and I think Space Force have told her to not turn her AI off while aboard here.
“Change of topic,” I tell her. “Emma, please go to your cabin and leave your AI there. I will do the same with Vera.”
Emma looks at me with wide eyes. “I’m under orders not to do that.”
I get to my feet, straighten my back and stare at her, face hard. “Are you under orders to ignore a request from a future Empress of the Khavgren Empire, on a spaceship that is Khavgren territory?” My voice is icy.
“N-no,” Emma stutters, looking pale. “Of course not. I didn’t mean-”
“I don’t like you always having that AI on you,” I tell her sternly. “It makes private conversations too awkward. We will both go and discard them, then meet back here for a conversation that’s actuallyprivate.” I’m almost glad there’s no Syntrix, or my eyes might have shot real lightning.
