The Arrival (6 page)

Jake took a deep breath. The green grass attracted his gaze. He knelt down and ran his hands along the grass blades. The warm temperature, sounds of insects buzzing around, and other noises he could not identify massaged his ears. Memories triggered by the experience infiltrated his mind. He looked up at Evaran. “This is …”

Evaran put a hand on Jake’s shoulder. “Steady.”

Jake’s eyes misted as he licked his lips and nodded.

Kathy pointed to the glass doors as an older man tried to calm Sally down. “Dad!”

Kathy’s dad looked out the glass door with wide eyes and an open mouth. He slammed the door open and rushed out, with Sally taking off in front of him. “Kathy!”

Evaran gestured toward Kathy’s dad. “Go. We will be there momentarily.”

It did not take long for Kathy to reach her dad. She hugged him tightly as they cried together. Kathy’s mom stood in the doorway with a hand on her mouth. She ran out the door toward Kathy, and when she got to her, she wrapped her arms around both Kathy and Kathy’s dad. Sally was jumping around them and barking.

Sally tilted her head and walked cautiously up to Evaran and Jake. She sniffed the air in front of Evaran. With an excited wag of her tail, she barked at him.

Evaran scanned Sally with his ring. “You are welcome.”

Sally barked again.

Evaran half smiled. “You are correct. However, I am no threat.”

Jake wrinkled his eyebrows. Was Evaran able to talk to Sally?

Sally whimpered happily while walking up to Evaran. She nuzzled his left hand, then walked over to Jake.

Jake hesitated before reaching down and patting Sally on the head. It was a natural reaction to him. He remembered having a dog before he was abducted, but did not recall too much about it.

Sally barked at Evaran again.

“Yes, very far. She is back now, though.”

Sally whimpered.

Evaran reached down with his right hand and patted Sally. He looked up to see Kathy and her parents staring at him.

“Other than me, Sally doesn’t like guys, especially strange ones she’s never met,” said Kathy’s dad with narrowed eyes.

Evaran nodded. “So she said. However, it would appear we have passed her judgment.”

Kathy’s dad stepped forward. “Who are you two?”

“He’s Evaran,” said Kathy, pointing at Evaran. She then pointed at Jake. “And he’s Jake. They saved me.”

Kathy’s dad scrutinized Evaran for a moment. He glanced at Kathy, who smiled. He focused on Evaran. “Where exactly was our Kathy?”

Evaran pointed up. “Very far away. What she will tell you is true. Do not dismiss it because it sounds unusual.”

Kathy’s dad looked up, then back at a nodding Kathy. He faced Evaran with drawn-down lips and through gritted teeth asked, “Who took her?”

“Someone who will be dealt with.”

Kathy’s mom walked up to Evaran and extended her hand. “I’m Cassy. Thank you for bringing our daughter back.”

Evaran studied Cassy’s extended hand and then shook it. “Not a problem.”

Cassy extended her hand toward Jake.

Jake hesitated, as his instinct was to avoid all contact with other humans. He exhaled slowly, and with furrowed eyebrows, he shook Cassy’s hand.

Kathy’s dad walked up and stood next to Cassy. “I’m John.” He licked his lips and slowly extended his hand. “I’d like to shake the hand of the men that found our Kathy.”

Evaran and Jake shook hands with John.

“I … don’t know how to thank you two,” said John.

Evaran raised a finger. “Do you have a computer in your house?”

Jake chuckled as he thought about how unusual that must have sounded to Kathy and her parents.

John wrinkled his eyebrows. “Yeah … you … need to use it?”

“I would, if it is not too much trouble.”

Kathy ran up to Evaran and gave him a bear hug. She stepped back and glanced at her dad. “Anything you need.”

“Let’s get inside,” said John, gesturing toward the house.

Jake noticed that Evaran did not give John any information that would lead to John taking action. Probably for the better. Greecho would be too much.

Cassy held on tight to Kathy on the way to the house. As they walked, she looked around, then at Evaran. “Is whoever did this still around?”

“No, but they will be in a few months, and they will be punished.”

Cassy’s eyebrows raised as she looked at John.

After a few minutes, they reached the house and entered it. John led Evaran over to a desk with a monitor sitting on it. A tower sat next to it, with wires linking them. Kathy and her mom stood to the side of Evaran.

John pointed at the tower. “That’s it. I’ll need to log in.”

Evaran extended a hand. “No need.” He stood next to the tower and placed his UIC on it.

The UIC glowed for a bit, then emitted a stable blue light.

Jake wondered how it would work on this ancient technology.

“What the hell is that?” asked John, recoiling.

“Something to help me access your system. It will only take a moment,” said Evaran. He looked around at his ARI, and after a few minutes of interacting with it, he grabbed his UIC and placed it back on his belt. “I have what I need. There is more information to download, but this is not the node to do it from.”

“What were you trying to download?” asked John.

“Information. There are other hidden networks I will need to access. I will download it from elsewhere. I just needed the basics,” said Evaran. He gestured toward Kathy. “I will be back to check on you in three months’ time. Make sure that what you tell your parents stays between you and them. The less others know, the better.”

John glanced at Kathy, who had sidled up to him and slipped under his right arm. In a cracked voice, he said, “Thank you again for bringing us back our Kathy. I’m not sure I fully understand what’s going on, but we’ll get through this.”

“I have no doubt you will,” said Evaran. He glanced at Kathy. “You have a lot to catch up on.” He nodded and then headed to the glass doors he had come in initially.

Sally barked at him.

Evaran turned and tilted his head. “Yes, I will be back.”

Sally barked again several times.

Evaran paused as he studied Sally. “Very well.” He faced Kathy and her parents. “Sally wanted to say thank you for rescuing her.”

“What?” said John. “You can … talk to Sally?”

Evaran half grinned and then looked at Sally. “It is a rough translation, but yes.”

Sally walked over to Kathy, who knelt and put her arms around her.

“You’re … not human, are you?” said John with widened eyes.

Evaran pursed his lips. “I am a traveler who decided to help Kathy.”

John looked at Cassy, who shrugged, then nodded at Evaran. “Well, we’ll be here when you return. If you’re going to go after whoever did this to Kathy, I’d like to help.”

“It is too dangerous for that. Kathy can explain more in detail.”

John glanced at Kathy, who nodded. “Well, where you going now?”

Evaran gestured at Jake. “To find his father.”

“Were you taken too?” asked John.

Jake grimaced. “Yeah, when I was six. My mom was killed, and my dad was left behind.”

John pulled his head back and drew his lips flat. “I’m sorry to hear that, son. I hope you find him.”

Jake’s throat constricted. “Thank you.”

Evaran gestured at Jake and then to the glass doors. They exited the house and headed toward the Torvatta.

As they walked, Jake looked back to see Kathy and her parents step outside the door to watch him and Evaran leave.

Once inside the Torvatta, Evaran sat in his command chair and tapped at its console. “U4, decloak and take us up, and then cloak.”

“Affirmative. Torvatta stealth mode disengaged.”

The Torvatta decloaked and took off. The front right screen showed Kathy and her parents outside, with John pointing at the Torvatta and looking between Kathy and it.

Jake figured if John did not believe in aliens before, he would now. It would definitely help Kathy’s explanation to them on where she had been. His mind drifted to his own dad. They were going to look for him now. He was excited at first, imagining it would be like Kathy and her parents, but he realized it would probably be more like meeting a stranger.

After ten minutes, the stealthed Torvatta entered low Earth orbit.

“Query. Destination?” asked U4 as she interacted with the front console.

Evaran perused his ARI. He tapped at it and, with a flick of his finger, said, “Take us to these coordinates. We need a more comprehensive access point to Earth’s data network.”

“Affirmative.”

Jake looked at the front right screen. It showed multiple locations in orbit. “Satellites?”

“Yes,” said Evaran. “Earth appears to have quite a few. The Torvatta’s cursory scan when we first arrived indicated they handle voice, data, and video transmissions. They also cover aspects of communication, reconnaissance, military usage, and a variety of other purposes. There appears to be a small space station nearby as well. Most of these satellites appear to be in low Earth orbit, with a few in medium orbit. We are not likely to encounter anyone while up there.”

Jake pursed his lips as he turned to watch the front screen. Maybe Earth was more advanced than he thought. Kathy’s house and their computer suggested otherwise, but satellites showed Earth not only had the concept of satellites, but the ability to launch them.

The Torvatta took off toward the first of many red dots. When the Torvatta approached the first satellite, Evaran stood and turned toward the entrance. “I need to place my UIC on the satellite. U4, maintain pace with the satellite and then close the gap.”

“Affirmative.”

Jake wrinkled his eyebrows. “You don’t have some type of beam for that?”

“I do not yet, and yes, U4, I know it is on the list.”

Jake looked at U4, who had faced Evaran and raised a finger but then lowered it. Having to manually line up with each satellite and place a small device was tedious and seemed ineffective to him. Interface beams were common in the Seceltor Empire. It was obvious Evaran could easily put one in place, but maybe he was backlogged with other priorities.

The left front screen switched to show the light-blue entrance ramp outside the Torvatta. It was extended out, and Evaran had walked to the edge of it. The satellite was just within arm’s reach of the end of the ramp. Evaran reached outside the shield and placed his UIC on the satellite.

Jake had figured that the shield provided some type of atmosphere, but the effect of exposed flesh to the rigors of outer space should have kicked in, yet Evaran appeared to be unharmed. He turned to U4. “How is his hand surviving with no cover?”

“Analysis. Evaran’s suit can withstand the environment.”

Jake shook his head. “No, I meant his hand. It’s outside the suit.”

U4 faced Jake. “Analysis. Incorrect. It is one layer of the suit.”

A chill went through Jake. He knew Evaran was not human, but this made him seem like something not even alien. His eye caught the front right screen displaying information at a rapid pace, similar to what he saw on the bar at Jells.

Over the course of the next half hour, the Torvatta had accessed twelve satellites.

Evaran had come back in and sat at his command chair. His hands flew across his ARI as the front right screen adjusted to his motions. He gestured at Jake. “Earthlings use a multiple name system. Do you know the second or third part of your name?”

“Melkins, and my real dad’s name is Robert,” said Jake.

Evaran placed his hand on his chin. “Do you recall any mention of a location?”

“Denver, Colorado.”

A global map appeared on the right front screen, with a smaller nested window showing a listing of people with the name Robert Melkins. The map zoomed in to Denver, Colorado, and four red dots appeared.

“Analysis. There are four Robert Melkinses in the Denver area. Two are under the age of thirty. Removing them now,” said U4. She swiped at the front console interface, and two of the red dots disappeared.

Evaran studied the map. “Interesting. What do we know of them?”

“Analysis. The first Robert Melkins exists in an apartment complex on the east side,” said U4 as a picture of the complex popped up. “He is fifty-four and lives alone. Area has a high crime rate relative to the surrounding areas. Caution is advised.”

“And the second?”

“Analysis. The second Robert Melkins lives in a small house, twenty-five point two miles away to the west,” said U4. A picture of the house in the woods and a long driveway winding through a small patch of forest appeared.

“That’s a lot of detail,” said Jake.

Evaran rubbed his chin. “The amount of information on Earth’s infrastructure, people, and technology is quite large. I am unsure why that is. I suspect someone or some group is keeping tabs on Earth’s populace in secrecy.” He gestured at U4. “Take us to the house.”

“Affirmative.”

The Torvatta descended toward the house. After a few moments, U4 found a small area to land where a field met a forest.

Evaran stood up and studied his ARI. After punching a few controls on it, he pressed a button on his center belt. A projection in the form of a blue pinstripe suit appeared around him. “I believe this will suffice. U4, I will keep in contact with you via my ARI. I may need you to look up and offer translation help for any slang.”