Star Alliance (33 page)

“Commander, his brain scan is different now,” Brenda said. “I checked us all when we first got back to the Athena and compared the scans side by side. Jonah’s was the same as everyone else’s, only now it’s different. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he was suffering from some type of infection.”

Kaylan glanced at Emma. “Can you take a look at what Brenda found? See what we can learn from it?”

“Of course,” Emma said, and left the bridge.

“We need to figure out our next move,” Kaylan said. “Athena, can you open a comms channel to Kladomaor?”
 

The Boxan’s actions had surprised her. She’d thought for sure Kladomaor would kill Jonah rather than allow him to live.

“Go ahead, Athena,” Kladomaor said.

“I think we need to meet to discuss our next move. May we come aboard?” Kaylan asked.

“Yes, I think that would be a good idea,” Kladomaor said.

The comms channel closed.

“Holy crap,” Zack said.

Kaylan glanced over at him and saw that he was looking down at his own console.

“What is it?” Kaylan asked.

Zack glanced up at them. “When they brought me back to the ship, I had Athena search the station’s systems for information on the Drars. I think we need to bring this over to them.”

Kaylan nodded. “Let’s go.”

A short while later she was aboard the Boxan ship along with Zack, Hicks, and Vitomir. Katie had insisted she stay on the Athena in case there were any problems with Redford. Gaarokk met them once they were beyond the airlock, and they followed him to a meeting room that was near the bridge.
 

Kladomaor and Ma’jasalax were already inside, and they were soon joined by Etanu and Ezerah. The room had various green plants along the edges, and the air smelled moist and fresh.

“Thank you for coming,” Kladomaor said.

Kaylan informed the Boxans of Redford’s status.

“So it appears that some of you, at least, are not able to resist the Xiiginn influence,” Gaarokk said.

“Emma said she would need time to study it and run more detailed comparisons to Zack, since he was able to resist them,” Kaylan said.

“As long as he is alive, there’s a risk he’ll betray you to the Xiiginns,” Kladomaor said.

“Understood, but it’s our risk,” Kaylan said.

“Our laws forbid us from taking anyone who is afflicted by the Xiiginns to the colony. I will be sending a report about recent events that will eventually make it to High Command. I would like to offer you the option of speaking on behalf of your species,” Kladomaor said.

Kaylan was startled by this offer, and she glanced at the others. “I’m not authorized to negotiate an alliance on behalf of humanity.”

“We understand that,” Ma’jasalax said. “It’s more an introduction.”

“Oh.” She glanced at Zack, who nodded enthusiastically. “Okay then.”

“I have something I’d like to share with you,” Zack said, and gestured toward the wall screen.

“At least he asked permission this time,” Gaarokk said to Kladomaor.

“Go ahead,” Kladomaor said.

Zack looked at the Boxans and raised a brow. “Now don’t be angry, but I managed to download the research data on the Drars before we left the station.”

Kladomaor narrowed his gaze, and Ma’jasalax leaned over to whisper something.

“It’s what he does,” Kaylan said.

Zack snorted. “I’m not keeping it or anything. Here, it’s yours. Didn’t you keep saying how important this was to the Boxans?”

Kladomaor sat up straighter. “What do you want in return?”

“In return?” Zack repeated. “Nothing. You’re already helping us get home. We’re alive because of you. This is just my way of saying thanks.”

“Gaarokk,” Kladomaor said, and the Boxan scientist examined the data on the screen.

“He’s right. It’s the research data, and Prax’pedax was correct. They look like coordinates, but it’s beyond anywhere we’ve ever been before,” Gaarokk said.

Kladomaor glanced away from them in thought and his brow furrowed.

“You’re afraid the Xiiginns will get their hands on this data,” Kaylan said.

The Boxan nodded.

“Well, then, you’ll have to go to wherever this place is and check it out. You can’t let those bastards get there and take this from you,” Zack said.

Kaylan glanced at Zack. While he was very much his old self, there were times when he showed a dangerous edge. Even though he had more reason to hate the Xiiginns than anyone else on the Athena, it still worried her.

Kladomaor cleared his throat. “We promised to return you to your star system, and it’s a promise I intend to keep.”

Kaylan felt a surge of happiness at the thought of going home. Things had been so much simpler then, but if the Boxans took precious time to send them home, they might miss an opportunity to learn about the Drars. “What if we helped you?” Kaylan said.

Kladomaor frowned. “What do you mean?”

“What if we went with you to investigate the Drars? I would need to discuss it with the rest of the crew, and we would need to vote on it, but what if we were to help you?” Kaylan asked again.

She glanced at the others. Zack was already nodding, and after a moment Hicks did as well. At their hearts, they were all explorers.

Kladomaor glanced at Ma’jasalax and then rose to his feet. He bowed his head to Kaylan in respect. “The fact that you’re willing to forgo going home to aid us with this speaks volumes about your race. Perhaps it’s something we’ve forgotten or needed to be reminded of again. Let this be the beginning of an alliance between our two species. Anything we find—be it a discovery or technological advancement—will be shared equally between us.”

As much as Kaylan wanted to go home, she knew this was the best path forward. She had no doubt the Boxans would help Earth stay safe from the Xiiginns, but the fact of the matter was, the Boxans were losing their war, and humanity needed time to ascend. Perhaps taking this risk would allow them to survive what was to come. Ma’jasalax gazed at her in a knowing way, and Kaylan wondered if the Mardoxian priestess had arrived at similar conclusions, because she didn’t seem surprised by any of this. Together they would plan and have disagreements—of that Kaylan had little doubt—but they would work together not only because they needed to, but because they chose to.
 

How would future generations look back at this moment as humanity took its first steps into a much larger universe? Would it be a moment of wisdom to carry them forward? Or would it become a profound moment of sorrow—one where the whispers of the dead rose from a hushed celestial graveyard where the people of Earth once thrived?

C
HAPTER
T
WENTY
-F
IVE

G
ARY
H
UNTER
FELT
like he’d been at the mission control center in Houston forever. Making NASA history required a lot of hours, sleepless nights, and hardly ever going home, but at least he got to shower every so often and had a change of clothes brought to him. Truth be told, he wouldn’t have had it any other way. Michael Hunsicker had been his friend for over twenty years, since he’d first joined NASA.
 

He glanced at his watch. It was the middle of the night, which was inconvenient for those who preferred to work during the day. However, it just happened to coincide with the best time for communications from Pluto. Gary had his team running through various diagnostics so the president’s call with the alien on Pluto would go off without a hitch. He had Edward Johnson’s personal phone number on speed dial, and Gary was surprised the Dux Corp representative hadn’t shown up yet. He knew Ed was much more than a representative. Anyone the president requested a meeting with wasn’t just a company rep but someone actually important. He rubbed the weariness from his eyes and poured himself another cup of coffee.

Gary looked up at the main wall of screens that dominated the mission control center and saw the comms status get pinged with an incoming transmission. He frowned at the display because it didn’t have a known source.

“Hey, Sally, am I reading that right?” Gary asked.

Sally Tyler sat in the area designated for communications to monitor transmissions from their deep-space missions.

“The instrumentation is fine. That’s a valid signal,” Sally said.

“Where the hell is it coming from?” Gary asked.

“I’m not sure, but if the header is any indication, the data coming through is big—like orders of magnitude big,” Sally said.

Gary set his coffee down. The rest of the people who were on duty tonight were all focused on the main wall screen. The initial data dump completed and then another one started.

An astronaut video message opened onscreen, and Gary’s breath caught in his throat as he recognized the face.

“Houston, this is Kaylan Farrow, acting commander of the Athena. A detailed mission report will follow this initial transmission about where we’ve been and where we’re going. At this point, we have chosen not to return to our solar system. Instead, we are going to help the Boxans on a very important mission. The initial alien signal sent to Earth sixty years ago contained a warning. What you’ll learn from the mission report is that the threat of the Xiiginns is very real. They will come to Earth, but we’re not alone. In the near future, a Boxan emissary will arrive at Pluto and then will come to Earth to meet with world leaders. I cannot emphasize enough the danger the Xiiginns represent—so much so that we cannot risk returning to Earth at this time. Since the Athena left our solar system, we’ve been in contact with three alien species, and there are many more. The Boxans have no illusions about us or what we’re capable of. I would advise anyone who negotiates an alliance with them to be a person of integrity. The Boxans will not tolerate the petty differences we’ve lived with for so long.
 

“Make no mistake, the Xiiginns will come to Earth. I’ve seen firsthand what they do to primitive species. Our best chance for survival is to work with the Boxans. I hope that after you review all the mission reports, you’ll arrive at the same conclusions.”

A solemn silence took hold over everyone in mission control as the transmission ended until Gary tore his eyes from the screen. “Okay, people, it’s time to wake up the world.”

Thank you for reading The Star Alliance.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

I'm Ken Lozito, and I write fantasy, science fiction, and thriller adventure stories. The only thing I enjoy more than reading a great book is writing them. My main focus is to write books that I would like to read and I hope you enjoy them as well.

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