Rise of Aen (21 page)

“I have pressing tasks that need attention, but get her there no matter what,” he said, nodding his head. “Call it a free vacation, an adventure of a lifetime or whatever. Just make sure the two of you get there and stay there. Once this all gets out, there will be no way for you to get to safety and the panic will be on—and mark my words, this will get out before these things
arrive.”

Aen turned and walked to the stairwell slow and quietly like usual. She had rarely heard even the slightest footfalls when he was around. It was at the first step up that he turned back to her and
smiled.

“Enjoy the last few days of the world you know and love, because once they come, all of this will be gone. The Age of Man is coming to an end, I am afraid, but a new age—one filled with wonder and adventure—is upon us all. Unfortunately, it comes at a steep
price.”

With that said, he began up the stairs and disappeared from her view. Sara jumped up and raced to the stairwell only to see nothing but emptiness. Once again, he had pulled his vanishing act and was gone without a trace. Once more she found herself with the proverbial rug pulled out from beneath her feet. Here she was, a reporter for fuck’s sake, on the inside of the biggest story in human history, and all she could do is drop it and literally run for the hills. There was little she could do to fight this, and she decided to do what was asked to respect this man’s oath to her father; to live on would be the best way to pay tribute to
him.

Rocky Mountains, Utah – Military Installation Code -
Named White Rock - Five Months and
Twenty Days until Arrival

It had been a long day and General Patterson was exhausted, but for the first time in over a year, duty called him back to his posting in Groom Lake. The section where he worked from—which was locked up air tight when he left to assist Star Child and its fuck-ups—had an intrusion alarm go off this morning. How anyone had made it past security, being as this was the one place in the world that didn’t exist and had tighter security than the White House, was staggering, but the fact that the alarm tripped was the one in the General’s own office led him to one conclusion: Subject 54 wanted to see
him.

The hatch of the plane opened on the dry lake bed as soon as it stopped moving and Patterson skittered down the stairs and into the awaiting Humvee. It was hot, as it usually was out here in the desert, but in the distance there were hints of a storm brewing. His lungs hurt immediately from the hot, dry air and the sand seemed to fill his nostrils within seconds. Truly, he didn’t miss this awful place the last
bit!

It took a few minutes to fly down the runway and head towards the lonely hanger at the end, which housed the captured craft inside and the research team in the many floors below it—all of which had been evacuated and shut down since the alarm. With the scientists gone, any similar attacks and destruction on valuable research would be minimized if this creature planned anything similar to his attack in the
mountains.

As the truck skidded to a stop at the massive hanger doors, the two MPs snapped salutes off and held them as the general slowly got out of the passenger side. Once free of the truck, he lazily saluted them in return and sauntered to the door that the two soldiers guarded. The hanger cast a massive shadow that blocked the burning sun from beating down on him; Patterson felt the relief as the temperature dropped
noticeably.

“Any more action?” he asked with a
growl.

“No sir!” the left one barked. “Not a thing has moved since the evac,
sir!”

Patterson nodded as he pushed past them and to the door. From his pocket, he produced a security pass card which he swiped in the slot on the right of the door to gain entry. A buzzer sounded, followed by a click before the door popped open. There was no hesitation and no asking for assistance as he entered the dimly lit hangar. It took a moment for his eyes to get used to the light difference, but a few seconds later he had adjusted as the entrance slammed shut behind
him.

The exterior of the building gave little cause to think that inside was one of the most treasured finds of human existence. In the center of the bay, propped up on tubular steel stands, was the gem of the Air Force. The alien ship found in the badlands six years ago stood covered with a silken sheet to prevent dust and sand from damaging it any further than its fall to Earth did. From beneath the edges, its smooth, bluish grey skin sparkled when caught by the lights swaying from the roof. To Patterson, this was the most important thing in his world, but it wasn’t why he was here, he reminded himself as he turned towards the elevator bank in the back corner. He was here to see what this thing his team had created
wanted.

“What a perfect place to end this horror story of ours, isn’t it, General?” the familiar voice called out from behind him as he had just pressed the down button. It was him—Patterson didn’t even have to turn and look to confirm. “This place isn’t as cold and sterile as your summer house in the mountains; I think I rather enjoy it here.” There was a mocking tone to his voice that made the General’s blood run cold. Something was about to happen, but this thing had proved to be completely
unpredictable.

“Is this where you kill me like you have the others? Like you did
Phillips?”

Aen smiled; the old man had yet to face him but was already fishing for possible outcomes. It was surprising how easily he had taken the bait and shown up so quickly. There had been more than enough time to go and warn his family and get back here before the old general arrived. Slowly, the general felt safe enough to turn around; now was the time to have a bit of
fun!

“I like what you have done to the place.” Aen motioned to the maze of desks and computers that surrounded the alien craft as he ignored the question in its entirety. “Kinda got that early eighties Wall Street theme going on, don’t you think? And this,” Aen jumped up on the ship effortlessly. “This just doesn’t go with anything, but you make it
work.”

Patterson stared defiantly at his foe—it was toying with him! From the edge of the room, he could see the sly grin on its face as it stood tall upon the thing the General prized the most and this above all infuriated
him.

“Maybe we should call the gang?” Aen asked as the grin faded into a deathly stare of seriousness. “This can all be over so much sooner if they join us, because there are other issues you and I must
discuss.”

This caught Patterson off-guard; the creature wasn’t here to kill him but to share something more with him. He let out a sigh of relief; today wasn’t his day to die. Ambling closer to the craft, he waded through the desks slowly and cautiously to avoid tempting fate, all the while the hawk-like stare of Aen never faltered from
him.

“And what is it you wish to discuss with me?” he asked
nervously.

“Do you ever look up at the stars and just marvel at their beauty? I wish I could say I still do, but Taylor ruined that for me. Now I just look up and wonder what’s next.” Aen answered as he looked upwards in demonstration at the high metal
ceiling.

Patterson decided that fifty feet was a comfortable distance from this predator, and took a seat at an abandoned chair to rest his tired legs. The heat had taken much from him in such a short time, and the added stress this thing was putting on him wasn’t helping
either.

“No son, since that night six years ago I only wonder how much longer until those like you and her come for us. It is what haunts me every night and what looms before me each day as I chase ghosts to get this planet prepared for the
inevitable.”

Aen returned to look at the tired old man below, but gone was the malice he showed earlier. Now he was filled with concern; this man was his only hope to convince a cynical world that it was soon coming to an end. But time was running out, and fun while was fun, it was time to be serious again. Aen jumped down like a cat from a ledge with grace and ease to take a seat a few feet away from the General. He spun a computer monitor a round to face the
general.

“Quite the satellite network you have access to,” he began, as he typed in some commands. “You even have access to some of the best telescopes. This is good, because you will have to gain total control of those in the next few weeks if you want to avoid
panic.”

Patterson didn’t like where this was going, but he remained silent and let Aen continue. There seemed to be much more than what he was aware of being revealed here and his curiosity began to win over his fear. Aen typed in a few commands and the telescopes began to load common imagery. A few seconds later they began to focus on the outer edges of the solar system; an icy wall appeared slowly as the picture began to focus. What was once solid began to show holes, then gaps, then became not a solid but billions of ice rocks floating out at the edge of nothingness. This was the Oort Cloud, as the scientists called
it!

Just as Patterson glowed in his own self pride with guessing what this was, he saw something else take shape in the mess of comets and debris; something large and unnatural lurked in the shadows out there. It didn’t take long for the old general to recognize a threat when he saw
one.

“So, they finally are coming.” He said. “Taylor was right to be scared of your
people.”

“And that is why you are in this position right now, and why Taylor is a bumbling idiot. It isn’t my ‘people.’ this is the equivalent of looking at the devil. This is a Husk Marauder, and it is coming to rape and pillage this world,” Aen replied. “You stand now, looking at the edge of the abyss, General. Do you close your eyes and jump or do you sink your heels in and fight with every last ounce of what you
have?”

There it was, the slap in the face the old man truly needed. Much like with Sara, the images of this massive ship lumbering towards Earth was so daunting it nearly paralyzed those who saw it. He needed that last prod, the shot to wake him out of his stupor of fear, and now he might be poised to think for a minute without panic. Yes, the prospect of being annihilated was real, but so was the thought of the impossible victory. Humans loved the underdog role—hell, they relished
it!

“How long?” were the first words to escape Patterson’s pursed lips in what seemed to be forever, as the silence in the hanger gripped the massive room tightly, crushing it down on the two. Aen was relieved, as he was a bit worried the proverbial slap might have been too much for an already overloaded man’s
brain.

“Less than six months,” Aen
replied.

Again, there was silence as the elder soldier contemplated his next move. Once more, Aen patiently sat back in his chair and waited for the next move to be made. From the corner of his eye, he noticed movement by the entrance of the hanger as the two sentries posted outside had come in to see if their General was in need of assistance. Patterson noticed them too, along with the look of annoyance on his counterpart’s face, and motioned them away, indicating it was fine. At first they hesitated, then one nodded and they both retreated out from whence they came, but kept their faces at the window waiting for any gestures from the General for
help.

“It’s hard to find good help these days,” joked Aen, though his eyes never left Patterson. It was as if the creature’s alien sight was boring right through him, creating an added tension to this already awkward
meeting.

“Will you be amongst those of us who stand and fight?” the general
asked.

“Yes.” Aen replied
immediately.

“If this is not your kind, can you ask those of yours to help us in our time of
need?”

“You are asking for help from the very creatures you created me to
kill?”

“Yes.”

“And knowing that I was made for such an event, why should I feel obligated to ask them, even if I had the means to do
so?”

“Because you are still part human. Because you don’t want to see your family die that
way.”

Aen smiled to himself—that one was well-played. Maybe he had underestimated his opponent in this battle of
wits.

“The longer we sit here, the less time we have to prepare.” Patterson continued. “Will you ask them or are you going to keep being a vengeful asshole
and….”

“The request has been made and the Imperial Council has listened.” Aen
interrupted.

“Great!” This was the first bit of good news this thing had given him today. “When does the armada
arrive?”

Aen sighed. The answer to his prayers, to all their prayers, was not what they wanted to hear. “The nearest ship is over six months away, and that is probably the extent of the help arriving for the short term. There are a few more, but they are far away with no immediate timeline of
arrival.”

Patterson quickly did the math in his head and frowned. There was a difference of a week or so that the Earth would be on its own; not an enviable position to be in against an overwhelming foe. They would be alone against the enemy it seemed, with the only real hope of survival sitting across from him with a smug look on his
face.

“So you are supposed to be the difference between death and salvation while we wait for help that may come too
late?”

The smirk disappeared on Aen’s lips; the time to be cocky was done. He had shown his companion that he was inferior and now was the time to extend his offer of assistance. But Aen wasn’t sure if he was the missing piece of all this—there was so much he had yet to learn about himself and so little time to figure it all out. Aen was a kid with keys in the driver’s seat of a Formula One racer and no instruction on how to use the precision instrument he was in. Also factor in his fragile emotional state along with his shattered soul and Aen seemed more like the least likely able hero
ever.