Clones vs. Aliens (20 page)

He stopped talking. Only the crackle broke the silence, roiling on like a bonfire. Fisher clenched his fists and held them against his legs, forcing himself not to run. He could
not
back down.

The crackle got a little quieter. The red light got dimmer. The other drones backed away into the bus. Anna and Bee closed their eyes, and the pulsing light went out. Silence returned.

“Fine,” Anna said at last. “We will hand over the chip … 
if
you return our vessel.”

“As soon as the Mechastaceans leave the solar system, it’s yours,” Fisher said, holding a hand out for Anna to shake.

Instead, she placed her right hand on her stomach, and
pushed.
As Fisher gaped, her hand slid into her torso like she’d placed it in Jell-O. When she removed it, it held a piece of metal about the size and shape of a paperback novel. She handed it to Fisher. It had a
very thin coating of green goop on it, but Fisher was too shocked to care.

“I didn’t imagine I’d be saying this,” Fisher said, blowing out a long breath, “but you may have just saved the planet.”

Wednesday morning, Agent Mason stood just outside of the NASA base, surrounded by other vehicles and dozens of FBI agents in full SWAT gear. Fisher and Alex’s parents were there as well, wearing the same military uniforms as when they’d gone along to the pirate ship.

To Fisher’s shock and pleasure, both Veronica and Amanda had been allowed to come too
—with
their parents, who looked less than thrilled to be standing on a government-owned military compound, awaiting the arrival of an alien species. Veronica hugged Fisher like he was an almost-empty toothpaste tube. Amanda greeted Alex much the same way.

The night before, Fisher had returned to the base with the chip, and Mason had contacted the Mechastaceans immediately. The robot lobster pirates had requested a handoff the following morning. Fisher couldn’t figure out why they’d wanted to wait, but the only thing that mattered was that a handoff
would
happen before the
deadline the Mechastaceans had given them.

“You ready?” Mason said.

“We’re ready,” Alex said, holding up the chip.

Mason took off his mirrored aviators and looked over the shining—if still a bit gloppy and green—piece of alien technology. He nodded after a moment and tapped his earpiece.

“Make the call,” he said. He looked at Fisher. “My people are contacting the Mechastacean ship right now. Their representatives will be at a predesignated meeting point in a few short minutes.” He gestured to a large SUV. “Hop in, all of you.”

Mrs. Bas sat up front with Mason. Mr. Bas sat in the middle seats with Alex and Amanda. Veronica and Fisher took seats in the very back, and the Cantrells, along with Veronica’s parents, followed in a second SUV.

“What you kids have done is absolutely amazing,” Mr. Bas said, putting an arm around Alex’s shoulders.

“Thanks, Dad,” Alex said. “We’re just doing our best to help.”

“Your best is pretty impressive,” Mrs. Bas said, turning to look at her sons. Fisher smiled back at her.

“Thanks for believing in us,” he said.

“You’ve earned it,” she replied.

“How much time is on the clock?” Alex asked.

“Just over four hours,” Mason said, glancing into the
rearview mirror to look at Alex. “As long as this exchange goes smoothly, we’ll be golden. If anything goes wrong, though … it’ll be far too late.”

“No pressure, then,” Alex mumbled.

They pulled onto the road with two other FBI vehicles leading the way in front of them and two more bringing up the rear, behind the vehicle containing Amanda’s parents and Veronica’s mom.

Fisher heard a rumble in the air and pressed his
forehead to the window, expecting to see more otherworldly spacecraft. Instead he saw five jet fighters flying in a tight V formation above them. Others were appearing on the horizon. At the third intersection their convoy passed, a squad of soldiers was setting up sandbags on one corner of the sidewalk. Armored vehicles were rumbling into position on the larger streets.

Fifteen minutes passed, and they left the city behind. On a gently sloping hillside, a battery of surface-to-air missiles had been set into place on thick steel legs like a giant spider rearing up and presenting its fangs to the sky. The military was gathering to repel an invasion.

Fisher felt a steel cable tightening around his chest. He knew that if anything went wrong, there wouldn’t
be
an invasion. The Mechastaceans would just sit in high orbit and bombard the planet until nothing was left but radioactive dust.

Veronica put her hand on his and gave him a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry,” she said. “Everything’s going to be fine—thanks to you.”

“Yeah,” Fisher said, looking down at his lap. He wondered whether the whole mess would have started if not for him. He’d welcomed the Gemini to the planet with open arms. He’d been the one to ride the M3 in the first place.

“You’re thinking that this is your fault, aren’t you?” Veronica said pointedly.

Fisher gaped at her. “How can you tell?”

“I know you, Fisher,” Veronica said. Fisher continued to be kind of surprised by that fact. The idea that anyone his age would want to get to know him was still new. Especially when the person in question was Veronica.

“Well, maybe a little,” Fisher said as the car turned down a dirt road. Apparently, the meeting was going to be in the middle of nowhere.

“It’s true that you and Alex were excited by the chance to introduce earth to aliens—very pretty ones, too,” she said. Fisher blushed and looked down. “But the Gemini have been studying us for years. They were going to land at
some
point. No matter where they landed or who they met. I for one think it’s lucky that they landed near someone as smart and courageous as you … and me, of course,” she said slyly.

Fisher smiled. She had a point. “Thank you,” he said, half sighing, trying to breathe as much tension out of his body as he could. He needed to focus. He would meet with the Mechastaceans one last time, secure the deal, and then it would be done. The pirates would leave—and hopefully the Gemini would realize that unless they left, too, the humans would never return their ship.

“Look alive,” Mason said. “We’re almost there.”

Two Mechastaceans were standing in the middle of a small field, next to a shuttlecraft of their own. The shuttle had broad, forward-swept wings and a jutting central cockpit. It rested on a trio of long landing struts.

“Okay,” Mason said. “Boys, you know what to do.”

“Let me know if you need a little more forceful persuasion,” Amanda said to Alex, putting her right fist into her left palm.

“I will, don’t worry,” said Alex, squeezing her arm.

“Good luck, boys,” said Mr. Bas.

“We’ll be right behind you,” Mrs. Bas said.

The vehicle came to a stop, and Agent Mason got out, immediately followed by Fisher’s parents. Four of the other cars that had escorted them came to a halt and all of their doors popped open instantly, spilling heavily armed, armored FBI tactical teams out onto the field. The teams fanned out and created a wide semicircle facing the Mechastaceans. They kept their weapons pointed at the ground, but they were visibly tensed.

A pair of low-flying Apache helicopters crested a nearby hill, coming up quickly on their position and hovering over the FBI vehicles.

Alex clasped Amanda’s hand and stepped out of the SUV. Veronica leaned over and gave Fisher a kiss on the cheek.

“Good luck,” she said.

“Thanks,” Fisher said, and followed Alex out of the car.

It was disturbing to Fisher that the robots did not fidget. Fisher had still not gotten used to this, though it made sense. If a robot didn’t have something to do, it did not move. And the Mechastaceans, even if they were a species of sorts, with their own civilization, goals, and perhaps emotions, were robots. The two representatives stood waiting like a metal sculptor had built them on the spot years ago and then forgotten about them. Their three-clawed, grasping arms sparkled. Multiple sets of limbs kept them perfectly stable. At three points, one just below the head and one on either side of the thorax, Fisher could see heat ripples. Those must be main power intersections. It was remarkable that their bodies could generate that kind of power for long periods.

Alex and Fisher walked side by side. Alex held the chip in his hands, and the newly polished device reflected the sun brightly as noon approached.

They stopped a few paces from the Mechastaceans, who stirred, rotating their strange, bug-like heads. Their camera eyes autofocused.

“The Gemini agreed to the deal,” Fisher said. “They asked us to deliver the chip to you out of concern for their safety.”

“And was it you who convinced the Gemini to relinquish
control of our precious central operations chip?” said one of them.

“Yes,” Fisher said. “We persuaded them. Well, threatened, really.” Fisher hoped that their willingness to incur the wrath of the Gemini in order to return the chip would buy them some goodwill.

“But that’s our problem,” Alex said. “We kept our end of the deal. Now we expect you to keep yours.”

The Mechastaceans buzzed and clicked quietly for a moment.

“Once we confirm that is the correct chip, we can guarantee that the Earth’s surface will not be destroyed,” said the second pirate.

Alex looked sideways at Fisher, hope gleaming from his eyes.
Fate of the world, fate of the world, fate of the world…

Fisher nodded. Alex stepped forward to the Mechastaceans and held out the chip. One of them reached up with a single segmented claw arm and took it. Three small indicator lights on its arm lit up white, and one by one shifted to blue. There was silence for a few moments. Only the flutter of the helicopter blades broke it up. The armed men shifted uneasily, some glancing at Mason, waiting for orders.

“It is authentic,” the pirate said. “We thank you for your efforts.”

“I’m glad we could come to an agreement,” Fisher said,
feeling like a thousand-year glacier had just melted from his back.

“Quite so,” the pirate replied. “Diplomacy is the mark of an advanced species.”

The Mechastaceans remained in place. Fisher and Alex looked at each other. Was there something they were waiting for? A ritual farewell?

“So … that’s it?” Fisher said. “Do we say good-bye now?”

The Mechastaceans’ metal scales clicked. The resulting noise sounded almost like laughter.

“We are merely taking a moment to admire your world,” the Mechastacean leader said. “We believe it will make an excellent base for our operations in this part of the galaxy.”

Fisher felt like a sledgehammer had swung down out of the sky right into his stomach.

“A
what
?” he said. Mason had his right hand inside his jacket, and the color had drained from Mr. and Mrs. Bas. The tactical teams pitched their rifles a little higher.

“We want to expand our pirating into this part of the galaxy, and have been looking for a base to operate from. A place where ships can be repaired, and where more of us can be built. We were pursuing the Gemini for the theft of this chip when we happened across your water-filled, mineral-rich world. It was a stroke of luck. Now we
will systematically convert your major land masses into factories and repair facilities.”

Fisher’s fear, anger, and confusion were having a vicious battle for control of his mind. All his life he’d dreamed of enlightened, advanced species visiting humanity and bringing wondrous technology and the knowledge of true peace and happiness. He thought that aliens would help them achieve a world free of disease, poverty, war, and crime. A world where everyone had what they needed.

Instead, it turned out that aliens were just like people. Self-interested, power-grabbing, and opportunistic. They cheated, lied, exploited, and used others to secure their own power base and keep the money flowing. Maybe there were still benevolent, enlightened aliens out there. But as with benevolent, enlightened people, it seemed like they were the exception rather than the rule.