Little Gwen was just wakening, Mom reached down and picked her off the seat, holding her daughter in her arms as if she was made from delicate crystal.
Dad was at first surprised but it changed to adoration when little Gwen said, "Hi Daddy!" He swept her into his arms and gave her the hugest hug any little girl could ever have.
“But Logan, Mom said” Gwinn exclaimed hotly! Tears were welling up in his huge doll like eyes and his throat was getting sore from being upset. “I don’t use a bottle anymore either.”
“Ok, but you have to be quiet and not scare the animals” “Little Gwinn retorted that he wasn’t afraid of no darn aminals” That pronunciation is the best he could manage for his big brother.
“OK, you little sissy but if you make a sound, I’m making you go into the house.” Little Gwinn did not like being called a sissy but for now he held his peace. He was only 5 years old and idolized his 15 year old brother. Once in a while he would push Gwinn in the swing or piggy back ride him. He sure loved his brother when he was not being rude to him.
“Hey, make sure you go potty before you come with me sissy. Mom will get mad at me if her little sissy wets his pants.” “OK Logie, I will” Gwinn said obediently. He was so happy with getting to go that he would try very hard to please his older brother.
There was something strange about Gwinn and always had been. Gwinn refused to stand up to pee; said he did not like it splashing on his legs. So, the upshot was that he either wet his pants when outside for long or went into the house. Besides, he was not tall enough to reach the toilet with his willy. He also had this effiminate air about him. It evidenced its self in many ways; most obviously in his fastidiousness and sensitivity.
The doctor had told Julie, Gwinn’s mom not to worry about his size, but she’d never felt everything was OK.
Logan sat there thinking. He decided that he really did love his little brother and wished he’d grow up, too. The little kid could be some fun when he got a bit older.
It was only a few minutes until Gwinn came back outside.
OK, they were ready to go. They moved off as fast as Gwinn’s tiny feet would carry him.
“Hurry up, or I’m going to step on your heels” Logan said. “I am going as fast as I can”.
Billy could see that the little kid was struggling, so he swooped down and picked Gwinn up amid gleeful squeals. He plopped the child on his shoulders. “Ok, sissy, you have to be quiet, we are almost there” Logan said after about 20 minutes of walking. They had walked up a high ridge so they could see into an adjacent valley. Logan and Gwinn quickly nestled down amongst some boulders after he checked for snakes and scorpions.
“Logie, do you ever get scared out here at night”, Gwinn asked? Logan was amused and not about to tell Gwinn that he even got spooked sometimes. “I have Dad’s pistol if a cougar or something bothers us”.
“Oh, so you’d run them off if they scared me”, Gwinn asked? “Sure would”. Gwinn giggled softly, more reassured now, snuggled up against the warmth of his big brother’s shoulder, with a face wide smile. His little smile would have illuminated the night if smiles could do that.
Logan hadn’t said anything to Gwinn, or his parents, but he was really out here to see the origin of the strange lights that came out of the valley sometimes at night.
It was quite dark now, and the stars had mostly come out. Sure, the stars would not get blindingly bright until well after Midnight but they were still plenty spectacular.
The nights in South Eastern Oregon were cold at times, even in the summer. And sometimes, the Military Jets would blast by so low, that it was a wonder that the trees were left standing. The farmers and cattle men had complained enough about frightened and injured stock that it did not happen so much any more. Logan had seen more than one Antelope or deer dead for no apparent reason. Lots of people were convinced that they died of fright.
Little Gwinn and Logan lived with their parents’ way out in the semi desert, amongst all the sage brush, small pines, and quaking aspen. The house was a modest ranch style, double wide trailer and unattached garage. There was a little tool shed which housed the well pump. A huge propane tank sat beside the shed.
Down in a draw was the Government Machine shed, which housed a dozer used for making roads and filling in illegal claims.
They’d just received a Semi Trailer load of Nitrate Fertilizer that some College Extension service was going to use in an experimental project to promote desert grass. There were the usual farmer tools and some stumping powder used when making roads.
Logan’s folks, Martin, and Julie were out here to manage BLM mineral claims, and to make sure that no mining was done where it was not supposed to. Beneath the surface was a lot of Gold, Copper, Mercury and other valuable minerals bound up in a chemical bond that took environmentally destructive methods to extract it. A lot of the land was what they called strategic reserves and the government just did not want the wrong people nosing around.
All that had to happen was the wrong people finding what lay under the rocky soil out here and pretty soon some self serving congress man would be trying to pass laws, making it all available. Oh, the government actually did not care, but protection of the land was Martin’s personal mission.
Martin, the boys’ father was about average weight and height; with a head full of coarse black hair. He was diligent and smart. It was no secret to anyone how much he loved his family. The children were home schooled and very happy. The family made the trip to town every couple of weeks or so. It was a quiet life, full of solitude that was truly rare for an American family these days.
Julie, the boys’ mom was petite; “almost like a doll”, Martin said. She was loving and obedient as a wife until she set her mind to something and then Martin knew to either help her or get out of the way. Her blonde hair made her dark blue eyes seem all the more luminous and penetrating. She had the looks of a model but she could still pull her own weight, even at 101lbs. Even Logan, had taken to picking heavy things out of her hands and admonishing her to ask for help,but knew he had to be really tactful about how he did that because she could pinch his upper arm in a way that made it feel like a snake bite.
Logan was about to give up for the night when he saw a dark shape moving over the trees at the head of the valley they were sitting by. By now, little Gwinn was sound asleep, and thus quiet. The thing moved along slowly and gave Logan the creeps. He knew he was seeing something not of this earth. In the dark, he really could not tell the distance to the craft or its size; since he had no way to gauge anything for reference. It was long like a hot dog but seemed to be flattened. It was completely silent with exception of the subtle sound of the air parting around the vehicle.
As it sank below the top of the rim, suddenly extremely bright lights came on, illuminating the ground all around Logan and Gwinn and the rest of the valley. Logan really crouched down now; having a chilling feeling that he would not want to be seen by who ever was in that craft. Now he could see that the craft had 4 pods on it that he thought must be the engines.
It flew on down the valley and landed in a depression a long way down the ravine. Logan was thinking it could be 5 or even 10 miles away.
As he sat there with his binoculars, he could see activity around the craft. The movement reminded him of ants on a chunk of rotten wood. It was hard to tell but it looked like they unloaded a lot of boxes and things and then proceeded to load lots of big boxes into the craft. The vehicles seemed to disappear into the side of a hill on the side of the valley.
Then the strange vehicle lifted off and headed back up the valley. This time it was much slower and seemed to be carrying a far greater load than it had on the way in. When it was about half way up the valley, suddenly one of the engine pods began to smoke slightly and now there was a mournful howling coming from that direction. Logan first thought it was coyotes but then he realized it was from the alien vehicle and it seemed to be in trouble.
In a slow, agonizing death dance the huge vehicle banked in Logan’s direction and began to sink. It looked like it would come down right where they were and Logan really began to regret that he was not home in his bed. The closer it got, the faster it seemed to move and then the realization set in that this thing was huge; much larger than he suspected.
As it passed almost overhead, the noise was deafening and the air it stirred up carried all sorts of small twigs and dust.
“Oh my God” was all he could say as he watched it retreat into the distance but this time down the valley their house overlooked. It suddenly sank much faster and then plowed into the rocks and scrub brush. It left a trail of burning trees and gouged earth behind it as it continued its ruinous path; finally coming to a stop.
The over flight wakened Gwinn and he started to scream in fright. Logan finally got the child calmed down a little. “Don’t worry Gwinn, we are fine but you really have to be quiet now”. Logan said. “OK Logie. I am scared”. “Yeah, me too kid, me too”, He said.
He stood up with the innocent look of wonder on his face that only a child can show. “Oh, man, did you see that? I wonder if Mom and Dad saw it?”
Logan said,” I’ll bet they are awake now though. Come on we have to get home right now.” Logan did not even let Gwinn try to walk. He simply swept him up in his arms and began to run at the fastest trot he could manage carrying the child. “Oh, Gwinn, you wet yourself, man this stinks, what did you eat that makes you smell so bad”, Logan asked?
At the sound of his big brothers cross voice and having just wakened, Gwinn began to weep piteously. “It’ll be ok, I am going to keep you safe”, he said to the little child. “Ok” Gwinn said sleepily.
As he was trotting, he admonished Gwinn to be quiet, but the poor child was just so upset that he could not stop crying. “Gwinn, if you aren’t quiet, the monsters will get us” Logan said in desperation.
Well that only made matters worse. Gwinn was quiet for a moment and then began a keening that not only hurt Logan’s ears but made it even more likely that someone would hear them.
They had just crested the rise when Mom shouted out, “What is wrong Gwinn honey.” She almost collided with Logan in the dark and then dad came churning his way out of the gloom, carrying a powerful torch.
“Oh, God, come on you guys be quiet will you?” Logan said. “Don’t you talk to your mother and that way young man”! Martin fumed.
Logan gave Gwinn to mom and he began quieting. “Dad, Mom, look down the valley. Now will everyone be quiet”? He said softly.
Dad was about to launch into a good chewing on Logan when suddenly everyone went silent. “Oh…….My……..God, Martin. What is that”? She exclaimed breathlessly. Martin looked at it and said “What the hell is that”?
Everyone was quiet for a few moments and then Martin began going on about the fires. Mom was soothing little Gwinn and telling him that she would get him into the house to change clothes. “Then, little man, you are going to bed”, She said firmly but her voice carried the love that only a mother can give. “Ok Mommy, I’m really tired”
Mom carried Gwinn went back down the short distance to the house to put her little one to bed.
“Come on Son, we need to get Fire on this right away”. They hurried into the house and into Martin’s pseudo office in the Garage. Martin turned on the two-way and was greeted with audio hash so strong that he had to turn it down really low. “Well, that has never happened”. Logan responded that maybe it was the Aliens.
“Son, what are to talking about, those are no Aliens. It was some big Air Craft from the air force.” He tried to tell his dad that it was much too large for a Jet, but Dad could not be convinced.
Martin then tried to get on the Phone to call into Coleville, but the phone was out too. “Son, this can’t be, that line does not go down to that valley; it goes straight out the access road to the highway that we get in here on.” Logan told his dad the real reason that he had gone out tonight.
“You mean that you actually saw that thing come in and it was silent?” Dad queried in a disbelieving tone of voice.
Logan quickly related to him how it had started to leave and suffered a power failure, circled around and crashed. “Well, I am dammed sure it was a Jet that woke mom and I up” He said.
Logan looked at the clock and could see that it was three in the morning. Feeling a little frustrated at his father, Logan gave up and said he was going to bed. His dad soon followed. “Logan knew Dad would not listen to reason until it was light.
Martin set his alarm for just before Sun rise. He didn't sleep.
When the Sun came up, Martin was sitting on the patio that was right on the edge of the ravine, with his high powered spotting scope. It would take something at 600 yards and put it right in your lap.
As the valley brightened, Martin could see the pall of smoke spreading far down toward the basin. As he brought the smoking wreck into view, he softly swore to himself. He could see people and trucks down there and they looked smaller than ants on a carcass.
“Holy Shit, that thing must be as big as a few Air Craft Carriers”. He could easily see that there were no wings on it; just those pods that Logan tried to explain.
He rushed toward the bedroom. “Julie, you need to get up fast, fix a big breakfast for us all and I don’t know, maybe you and the kids should pack some things.” His voice carried enough worry and fear in it that she needed little explanation.
As she busied herself in the Kitchen, wearing only a bath robe, she heard the jeep start and head off down that ravine toward the wreckage. When she looked out the kitchen window, she gasped with total shock.
“Logan, Logan, you need to get up and get Gwinn up too. We need to eat and start packing a few things.” She yelled down the hall.
She sounded near panic to Logan and he quickly got up and went into Gwinn’s room. Gwinn was not an early riser and he was a whining, snappy hand full until mom came into the room.
“Gwinn honey, this is important. You need to get up right away, we may be going camping.” When he heard the word camping, Gwinn suddenly wakened completely and began to dress himself.
Logan looked at him and smiled. “Way to go champ”.
Minutes later they were all sitting around the table eating when the jeep came screaming back up the ravine and looked as if it would hit the house before it stopped. Julie could see Martin coming toward the house but he was holding his side and she could see red on his hands. Julie ran outside to meet him.
“Martin, what happened to you? Oh dear, is it bad? Do you want me to take you to town? Did you fall on something?
“Look Julie, this is serious. When I got close to the wreck, someone began to shoot at me with this thing that sounded like an electrical ark.”
*******
The language the crew man of the freighter was using sounded like a slightly modulated growl. “You dammed fool, what the hell did you start shooting for? We were supposed to slip in here, pick up the fuel and get the hell out without arousing any suspicion”, His superior complained bitterly.
The crew man cowered as if expecting his head to be parted from his scaly body. “I am sorry sir; I thought it was one of the federation soldiers.” He said lamely.
“The Gods curse you stupid” we are smugglers, not murderers. “You and your team go up there and try to retrieve the wounded Human. I’ll talk to the mother ship about how to handle the problem.” He said. The commander stood watching the idiot and his team to get into an explorer and move off up the valley as fast as it would go. With the charges of the vehicles having been used to help the fuel starved freighter take off, it was not moving so fast.
*******
Julie used the towel she’d had pushed into the tie of her apron and wiped the blood away from his hands. Looking at the wound, she gasped and nearly fainted.
“My God Marty, we have to get you to a doctor now”!
Just then she heard another vehicle coming up the valley and it looked like they would arrive in just a few minutes. It looked like a Tank.
“Tell Logan to get me the ’06 and plenty of shells. You and the kids need to get the hell out of here now! He said. She could tell that he was in considerable pain.
Logan had been standing in the door and overheard them talking. He quickly ducked into the door and returned with two rifles and the .45 auto.
Julie rushed into the house and grabbed the suit cases. She quickly had the basics for her and Martin in a couple cases. And was gathering Gwinn’s clothing when she heard the rifle fire. The sound caused her to scream but she quickly stopped, not knowing how close the Aliens were.
Martin and his son were out past the patio in some rocks. “Well son, wish me some luck, I’m going to reach out and touch someone.” Logan chuckled nervously, knowing full well that his dad had used a line from an old phone commercial. Logan had not taken the time to become afraid. It was all on them so fast that it never occurred to either of them.
The shot rang out and a second or so later one of the Aliens slumped atop the tank looking machine. Seconds’ later part of the rock that Martin was behind just blew up, showering both of the men with shattered rock. Logan had just lost his innocence and was now a man fighting for his and the families lives.
Interestingly, the space farer who originally fired the shot at Martin was the first to die.
“Logan, run in the house, grab your mother, and you and them get on the road. Don’t come back until you know it’s safe.” Logan knew better than to argue with dad, but he sure as hell wasn’t leaving with the woman and child.” He’d almost made the house and he heard Dad fire again. As he looked back over his shoulder, he could see Dad changing positions.
“Mom, Dad says for you and Gwinn to get out of here and don’t come back until you know it is safe. He said to go to town and get help.” Logan said.
“I am not leaving here without you and your father.” She stormed out the door looking for Martin. He had been wounded again by rock fragments but was still holding the rifle with grim determination. He looked up to see Julie coming, not seeming surprised at all.
She could tell he was in a lot of pain, but determined to fight it out. By the time she knelt at his side, she was weeping so much that she could hardly talk.
“I knew you wouldn’t just leave. You never did obey very well.” He said.
Martin, you are just too stubborn. You are going to get killed like this”!
“Well, get the hell out of here and get me some help before I do.” Julie knew that she would never see him alive again and with her weeping wracking her tiny body, kissed him tenderly.
“Now git woman, go get help”! He said as if he were scolding her. She began to get to her feet when another bolt shattered the tool shed. That made her freeze in terror. Martin reached out and slapped her on the soft part of her butt. He smiled and winked at her.
“You can make me sleep on the couch when you get back.” He said. They both knew that she was not coming back and that he was going to die.
Logan ran out to the car with her and Gwinn. He loaded their cases but did not get into the car.
“Mom, I’m staying to help Dad.” He had the same look on his face that Martin always got when the argument was over. She looked at him. “I love you son, please take care of your dad for me”? She was crying so hard that he could hardly understand her but he knew what she meant. “I will”.
She took one frantic look at her son and pushed the pedal to the floor, throwing gravel in a long rooster tail out in back of the Pickup and was gone in a trail of dust. The road out to the highway was about 20 miles long and almost as straight as an arrow. She drove that pickup as fast as it would go and still stay on the road.
*****
“Commander, first level Ziti has been killed by hostile action” The second in command of the squad said in the communicator. Just then another of the smugglers slumped back through the hatch.
Now panicked, and very angry, the rest of the smugglers began to attack in earnest. “These primitives are lethal and we need to put them into their place”.
*****
Through the tears, Julie vowed to protect Gwinn. By the time she got to the highway, she had stopped weeping. Her face looked like it had been sand blasted but she was composed and seemed as calm as if she were going on a Sunday drive.
Martin had continued to fire with the rifle, and found that these bastards could actually die. Much to his surprise, he heard the other rifle fire.
Martin looked over his shoulder. “I thought you were going with your Mom” “She left with out me.” Martin said,” You could get killed doing this”.
“So”?
He was proud of his son’s courage, and it was too late to argue.
The tank was at the bottom of the ravine, just below them. There was a harsh crack, and the tree shielding his father disappeared.
Dad was too hurt to get up. Logan ran over to his dad. He could tell his dad was dying. “What the hell, none of us lives forever”, Martin said.
“Now get over to the shed and rig that Nitrate Fertilizer to explode. Use one of those electric caps and string the wire as far as it will go. Blow the bastards up.” Martin said. He was in obvious pain. “Now chamber that 45 and I will try to get you a little time”, He said.
As his kid ran off down the hill toward the shed, Martin said softly to himself, “May as well take some with me”.
Just then two of the smugglers came into view not far away. The 45, lethal at short range quickly dumped them on their asses with center of mass shots. They were probably dead before they hit the ground.
Logan heard the 45 shoot until the clip was empty. He’d spread diesel fuel all through the fertilizer, and set a few sticks of stumping powder in amongst the sacks with an electric cap in one stick.
Logan was running around a side hill as the tank crested the ridge, demolishing the house, and headed toward the barn. Logan let himself be seen by whoever was in the tank and they started off in pursuit.
As the tank rounded the big shed, Logan touched off the fertilizer.
Later as the smoke cleared, the commander walked through the debris on top of the ridge. “Ok, make sure that any evidence of our being here is picked up. Don’t bury anything. The dammed fools got themselves killed for nothing. The cause was not helped today. The commander said.
As he looked around a concentrated storm system was gathering in their vicinity. “You have little time to accomplish your clean up. I’ll not leave any of you but I will surely vaporize anyone who is loitering” He said. By the God’s he was enraged. “It is a shame that I can not reach them until the next life”.
*****
Julie was almost out to the main road that went between Burns and the Nevada Border, when suddenly the aged Datsun pickup just quit. She let it coast to a stop and just sat there for a moment. Suddenly Julie could hear a voice but could not see anyone.
“We are sorry what has happened here today. We will repair what we can and leave you ample amounts of your currency to take care of the rest, with some left over. If it is within you, please keep our secret. We are warring against an evil power and just landed to obtain some supplies. I am very sorry that we have disturbed your life. I will not allow it to happen again. You may return to your habitation.” The voice said.”
“Who are you? Are my husband and son OK?”, Julie asked frantically.
“We are repairing the two beings at your habitation. Would you like me to repair your little one? “What is wrong with him, he is not hurt”.
“His life pattern, you would call it genetics, is abnormal and he will grow to be very unhappy. This is the least we can do to repay some of your pain”.
Julie looked over at her son, who appeared to be sleeping. She just sat there in a daze for a while.
Back at the house, Martin slowly began wakening. He was in no pain but did not think he could move. As his awareness increased, he felt stronger. He just laid there for a while watching the strange, scaled men walk about. It seemed as if they were repairing what they could.
He dozed for a little while and then became aware that someone was talking to him with a strange accent.
“We are very sorry for the interference we have committed in your lives. There is no way to entirely erase the evidence of what happened here. I will not alter your mind or kill you, because my beliefs forbid that.
The conversation, at times very heated continued for some time and they reached an agreement. Martin got some equipment to help in that agreement.
Julie was rushing back up the road and could see the entire range of hills where she lived was cloaked in fog, in spite of the fact that the day was sunny and warm. She drove on into the fog, not willing to delay for a moment to see her son and Martin. Beside her sat her child, now whole and extremely beautiful. Her body now matched her genetics. While Julie was still getting used to the idea, little Gwen lay on the seat with her head in mom’s lap. She was sleeping and had the most beatific smile on her little face. The Alien had told her that little Gwen would be weak and drowsy for a few days, but would now develop normally. The thought that the Alien had healed her child made her feel a kinship with them.
Martin could hear something strange over his head and then a really huge ship sank down out of the clouds, leaving an indeterminate part of it shrouded in the mist. It made the huge vessel on the ground look like a fly on an elephants butt. Everything about him began to vibrate softly and then the wrecked space ship began to rise, passing into an open hole in the belly of the other huge ship. Then the vibration stopped and the mother ship began to lift back into the clouds.
Just then Julie drove the old pickup into the driveway and got out. She left her little daughter sleeping. She was so thrilled that she could not contain it. Seeing Martin, she ran to him, jumping into his arms. He of course caught her, knowing full well that this is what happened when she was extremely happy. She was laughing and bawling at the same time.
“You big oaf, I thought that I would never see you again”, She said while pounding on his shoulder with her tiny fists.
Much later, after giving Logan a similar greeting and getting the tour of the repairs the Aliens did, she walked the two men over to the pickup to see her daughter. Little Gwen was just wakening, Mom reached down and picked her off the seat, holding her daughter in her arms as if she was made from delicate crystal.
Dad was at first surprised but it changed to adoration when little Gwen said, "Hi Daddy!" He swept her into his arms and gave her the hugest hug any little girl could ever have.
Looking over Dad’s shoulder, Gwen looked at Logan and said, “Hi Logie”. He looked at her quizzically for a moment and then said, “Now everything makes sense”.
"Julie was looking to where Martin was going and almost fainted. There were two snipers and an officer up there. They seemed to be getting ready to take a shot at Grok!
She let out an uncontrolled shriek and dove at Grok. “They are going to shoot you!!!”. About that time, there was a shot but it fell to the floor in back of Grok. Apparently, he had some sort of personal shield. There was another shot and one of the little children fell to the floor with blood running out of her chest."
10 year old Gwen watched her big brother Logan through the picture window, momentarily taking a break from her homework. He was much bigger than his younger sister and doted on her when Mom and Daddy were gone. He’d been doing maintenance on the antenna array in the edge of the woods. The Meridians had hidden it by making it look just like the lodge pole pines in that grove. Even a relatively close examination would not reveal the arrays’ presence. It was a very clever design, self powered and easy to maintain.
Actually Grok knew that it did not require any maintenance, but he wanted the family to learn all they could about the technology so that one day, they could move on to more important things. Grok was the Meridian’s contact with Gwen’s family since the day of their unintended confrontation. He kept a careful watch on the family form far out in space. Though technologically primitive, the Humans had impressed the Meridan. In the process of his monitoring, Grok had become fond of the family.
Gwen grew curious about what Logan was doing and carefully laid her book on the couch. Once outside, Gwen quietly walked over to see what he was working on. “Logie, what are you doing?” she said quietly but right at his shoulder.
“Hi twerp! I am doing some improvements our friends told me to do in this mornings’ message. The detection work the array was doing could easily have been done from orbit, but that was just one more thing for the Federation to find.
“Logie, do you think they will ever come back to visit us?” Gwen asked hopefully.
“I just don’t know Gwendolyn. I would really like to see them come back.”
“Do you think the Federation will ever come here?”
“Well, the Meridian Rebels were concerned enough about it to leave this array.”
“When I sit out at night and look at the stars, I just know there are others living there. It thrills me, but at the same time, frightens me some too,” Gwen said.
“Well, Gwendolyn, Mom is going to send me to Burns for my last year of High School this fall. I will only be home on breaks and birthdays you know. You need to start looking after the array, you know. Sometimes, I’ve thought I have seen things on the plot. Of course, the Oort cloud blocks our view any farther out.
“We’ve learned so much about space since the Meridians visited,” She said.
“Well, with them using the spare set of phone lines to be discreet, they have been sending little hints and the data from the Array to key people to hurry our own research along.” He said. “The Meridians don’t want to show up on TV just yet because they are fearful that their appearance would cause a world panic. That manned research station on Mars would not have happened if they were not helping us along and quite a lot too.”
“Well, I was sure frightened when I first saw them. But they straightened me out, so now I am very grateful” She said. “Before, I did not know that I was really a girl. I feel like I have the missing pieces now.”
Their conversation was interrupted by their Mom appearing on the porch. “Gwen, honey, come help me with dinner will you?”
“Ok Mom, I’ll be there in just a second.”
“Logan, will you teach me to run the array before you leave?” the seventh grader asked her big brother?”
“How about this Saturday?”
“That would be so wonderful.” Her heart gave a flutter and she suddenly hugged Logan. She quickly swung away and started toward the house gently humming some song.
“Hey squirt; I’ll miss you, too.” He called after her.
She came skipping into the Kitchen and began preparing the Mashed Potatoes.
“Mom, I am going to miss Logan”, She said wistfully.
“I know honey, we all will. Burns is over 100 miles and that is just too far to commute. He’ll still be home on breaks and some weekends”, Mom said gently.
“Well, why can’t he home school like we always have?” Gwen complained.
“Sweetie, your brother needs to learn to deal with the outside world.”
“I’ll be lonely though!” she wailed. Mom didn’t say anything for a while. She had thought of putting little Gwen in a boarding school in Burns, but feared that she would be too upset being away from home. In many ways, little Gwen was emotionally much younger than a normal 10 year old, but she was improving.
“Mom, do you think the Meridians would like to come and visit?”
“Oh, I imagine that they are very busy right now.”
“Oh, poo!”
They began to talk about other things and in no time dinner was ready to be put on the table. Mom turned down the heat on the stove., Gwendolyn set the table. Both of them busied themselves doing extra things for dinner until Martin’s truck came up the drive. The dust was not even settled as Martin strode energetically into the kitchen.
The girls mobbed Martin. The excitement from a few years ago with meeting the Meridians had changed the family dynamic. They all knew the importance of each moment spent together.
It was just a few days before School started for Logan when late at night; there came a knock on the back door. Gwen went immediately into the bedroom with mom and Logan handed Martin one of the two loaded rifles.
Martin turned on the porch light while Logan looked out the dining room window from the shadows. The light grey uniform and the scaled appendages immediately told the men that it was one of the Meridians.
Still being cautious, Martin opened the back door and as soon as he did, he recognized the distinctive pattern of scales of the Alien that had saved them the last time the rebels had visited.
“Grok! Forgive my caution! It has been years… hasn’t it? Come on in and let’s talk!” Grok’s anatomy prevented him from sitting straight on a chair, so he turned it around and sat backwards on it much like a man wearing a sword might.
Julie quickly put on a house dress and came out to make the men coffee. Of course, little Gwen could not be kept out of it! They talked about seemingly inconsequential things for a while. Grok had to know how Martin’s old wounds were and Martin assured him that he was just as good as new.
Grok even made a fuss over little Gwen. “Come here child and let me look at you.” His hands were surprisingly soft for someone who had scales. Pretty soon, Mom could see that Gwendolyn was developing a real affection for Commander Grok.
Eventually the greetings slowed to a standstill, and Martin asked,” What brings you our way again?”
“Well, Martin, there is a problem. The Federation is working their way in this direction and in fact, you may have seen flashes of them on the monitoring equipment we left for you.
“What about it? Logan, have you seen anything?” Grok asked.
“Just a few flashes of something moving really fast at a great distance away, but I do not think they have come here yet.”
“It could be that they are just scouting so far, but sooner or later, the Federation will come here.” Grok finished. The family was completely amazed that Grok could speak such perfect English. When questioned about that before, he’d simply replied that he was talented with language.
Logan had felt that the issue was much deeper, but did not want to risk offending Grok.
They all sat around the table discussing problems the Federation could cause them with their planet miners and terraforming practices. Over breakfast, since they’d talked the night through, they planned how to recruit from among the humans without causing a major panic.
By now, Gwen had managed to push Grok back in his chair some and had insinuated herself onto his lap. She sat listening to them discuss various ideas and rejecting them in turn.
“Hey everyone, I could take Mr. Grok to some shopping centers and introduce him.”
Everyone laughed openly for a moment, but when they looked at little Gwen’s face, they stopped laughing. She had given them all “the look.“
Julie looked at Gwen’s brimming eyes, and her heart broke. She punched Martin in the shoulder and motioned for him to look at his daughter. The sudden silence was really uncomfortable.
“Yes, well… there is a possibility that it could work.” Grok said, breaking the tension.
“You’re serious?” Martin said.
“You know, if this is done properly, it could work really fast,” Logan said.
In the following discussion, they eventually came around to the idea that several of Grok’s men could station themselves in cites throughout this and adjacent states. They’d listen to the public service channels. When a fire or wreck happened, each of his men could beat the Fire Department or the Police to the scene render assistance and leave before anyone who could interfere would show up.
Grok told them that his people could withstand normal fire for extended periods of time, which would make rescues where fire was involved, really easy.
The fire started from a burning candle in the living room. The smoke from the fire was just beginning to pour out the open living room window, when the alarm was called in. Actually, it was the listening Meridian who luckily saw the fire first, and reported it. He wanted to make sure the house did not get too involved. After all, this was about introducing himself gradually to the humans, not killing them. The incident needed to be managed with great care.
This time, Grok had taken great care to bring only good seasoned soldiers and no “loose cannons.” His careful selection paid off as this soldier acted per his orders.
Using his translator, he broadcast a woman screaming loudly “Fire, Fire”. Sure, the scream, had it been measured, would have been about 145 db. But then, no one was awake that his instruments could detect. He doubted that many would remember what had awakened them. Though, some men would say that their wife’s screams would wake the dead.
It didn’t take long and lights were on in the neighborhood. People were coming outside. Lt Nong quickly ran from the backyard, around the house, and then inside. In full view of the neighbors outside, he quickly helped the occupants outside and extinguished the fire; feeling sad that he had to allow it to go that far. With that, he moved around towards the back of the house, amid the hysterical cries from the people who saw him. When the Police and Fire units had arrived, there was no sign of him.
Over a period of several weeks, there were dozens of incidents like this all over the Western States. It was impossible for the government to interfere because the locations were unpredictable and the Meridian involved was gone too quickly.
Then, one Saturday, just after the mall had opened, a little girl was seen walking down a residential street with a Lizard. As before, the participants were gone before authorities could arrive. One such incident nearly ended in disaster when the two walked out of a secluded spot, right in front of a parked police car with two cops in it. Fortunately, they were a hundred yards away, and the little girl and the Lizard had started playing Soccer before the police got out of their vehicle. The police stood by their car for a little while; apparently thinking that the Lizard was a man in a suit. As they approached closer, the Lizard and the girl faded into the trees. There was no sign of either of them when the police got to the edge of the woods and examined the area.
“Well, Mr. Grok, are you ready for this?” Gwen said.
“May as well, uh, Princess,” Grok said. He was so proud of himself for finally learning to wink.
She giggled happily.
No one, including Martin, knew the big Lizard’s defense capabilities.
The two stepped out of a side alley into the first level of the nearly unoccupied Lloyd Center, in Portland. They began window shopping as if it were a completely normal activity. They ignored startled words from the few humans near them. The plan was to let this go on until people got too panic filled or until the police arrived. Julie and Martin were following at a distance, prepared to take little Gwen to safety if things went south. Martin’s Gun, a .45 ACP look alike was concealed in a shoulder holster and even he had debated leaving it at home. He was a licensed federal officer and knew well how to manage himself.
Happily, things went as planned - for awhile.
“Grok, do you think people will get really upset?” Gwen said.
“I hope not. I feel that we are running very short of time and we Meridians are not sufficient in number to fight off the Federation. It is questionable if there are enough humans to defend themselves from the Federation. If we are not very careful to keep them well away from your planet, they, well… we just need to keep them away.
As the Mall filled, more people saw the big Lizard. But with the little girl standing calmly beside him, most people did not get upset. When there were sufficient people in the mall, Gwen and Grok sat down by the edge of a fountain. The little children seemed most fascinated. And, because of normal parental inattention, they began to gravitate towards him. In a little while, he was enchanting the children with tales of his own childhood and experiences. They sat there for a little over an hour when a mother began to take pictures. Even the security guards were simply walking by - except one. He had called Homeland Security, bypassing the County Sheriff entirely.
Julie and Martin had gone over to the food court and returned with several orders of chicken nuggets. The little children in the crowd were eating them one and two at a time. Grok then rolled his head back, opened his huge mouth and dumped a full container in.
“Wow! Mister, you eat way more than my dog!” an 8-year old girl exclaimed and then giggled.
“Oh? Little one, this is just a snack for me. I would love to eat much more, but you do not have insects in a sufficient quantity to readily eat.” He bent his mouth in a slight smile.
One of the Mothers began to realize that Grok was no man in a suit. She grabbed her two children and began to move quickly away. Her children were wailing piteously.
“It is alright woman, I will not hurt your cubs.” Grok softly tried to point out. He’d deliberately used what the woman would think of as alien words to say what he had; thus reinforcing the idea that he really was an alien.
“Mommy! Can’t we go back and talk to Mr. Grok?” her little girl pleaded.
“Sally, we really have to go home in a few minutes.”
“OK, Mommy.”
About that time, Homeland Security showed up. They came in noisily, wearing battle armor, and carrying weapons - scaring all the little children. There were several mothers who immediately saw what was about to happen and one of them walked over to one of the soldiers, screaming at him to stop terrorizing her children. They tried to hustle her off, but several of the other mothers came to her defense - one of them punching the soldier with astonishing strength.
It did not take long for the Sergeant in charge of the soldiers to see that lots of innocent people were going to get hurt if they persisted. One of the contract news services had heard the radio traffic involving the Lloyd Center and had gotten a van over there almost as soon as Homeland Security had arrived.
On the balcony above the action, bright news lights suddenly came on, deepening the dilemma of the Homeland Security Sergeant. The incident turned into a rout for the soldiers and they were told to stand down, but remain alert. Homeland Security did not want news footage of them escalating an incident without provocation. Off to the side, there was a scuffle and a Newswoman struggled into view.
Since he was sitting down, Grok looked much less imposing, especially with little Gwen on his lap and surrounded by a couple dozen or so other children between 6 and 10 years old. Exercising good sense, the Newswoman wisely stood closely by and listened to him regaling the children with impossible sounding tales.
After a few minutes, she managed to catch him between stories.
“Where are you from… Mr. Grok is it?”
“Madam, my people were once from a part of the Galaxy too far away to even think of. You call the region of space Cygnus. We have an enemy that began systematically wiping us out about 300 of your planet’s years ago. Those of us that are left are but a remnant of what once existed of our race.”
“We have come here to alert you to the danger and possibly enlist you in our battle to stop them. There are barely enough of my people to provide sufficient Genetic variety to start over again if we possibly do defeat them.”
“We have been too timid for many years and have wasted far too much time trying to figure out a strategy to contact all the humans of earth without producing panic. It was the idea of this little girl that led to us all being here today.” He finished.
She managed to get in the usual stupid, irritating questions for a while.
Sensing a human interest story, the woman seized the opportunity. It was easy for Gwen to see that the woman was shaking like a farm truck in a stream bed.
“Don’t worry lady, Mr. Grok here is my friend.”
“Oh, he is?” she was surprised. After all, how could she reveal her true fear in face of this brave little girl?
“Oh, yes Mam! A few years ago, he fixed me, and now I will always love him”
Poor Grok! He had not known a devotion like this from such a tiny person. If he’d possessed tear ducts, his eyes would have been brimming with tears. As it was, all he could do is wheeze a little and gently squeeze her hand.
The woman asked, “Were you ill?”
Gwen smiled.“Yes, I was born wrong and he made me all right.”
“Yes, and how were you ‘born wrong’?” She asked, gently correcting Gwen’s language.
“I was always a girl inside, but a boy outside. So after the battle, and things were calm, he fixed me and my Dad. They even fixed our house and barn and all that. They were very nice to us after our misunderstanding got worked out.”
Standing a few feet away from Gwen and Grok, Martin and Julie were beaming proud of little Gwen. “All this from the mouth of a babe, eh?” Martin mused. “Here we were, all so worried!” Julie replied.
“I doubt that any of us have appreciated the grave danger we are all in.” Martin said.
Martin was looking back over Grok’s head, toward the balcony and suddenly gasped. “Stay here! And don’t alarm anyone.” He then quietly moved off toward the stairs that went up to the second level.
Julie was looking to where Martin was going and almost fainted. There were two snipers and an officer up there. They seemed to be getting ready to take a shot at Grok!
She let out an uncontrolled shriek and dove at Grok. “They are going to shoot you!!!”. About that time, there was a shot but it fell to the floor in back of Grok. Apparently, he had some sort of personal shield. There was another shot and one of the little children fell to the floor with blood running out of her chest.
Julie could hear Martin’s pistol fire once, there was shouting, a shot and then silence. Martin had killed the first sniper, and then the officer as he began to pull his pistol. The other sniper laid his rifle down.
Martin’s look at the other soldier, told him that he was going to die. “There is a problem with these pistols son, you don’t wound people.” The soldier shoved the rifle away as far as he could.
He could hear screaming from below, and looking could see the wounded body of one of the children. Something in Martin snapped and he looked at the soldier. “What in the hell were you thinking?” The surrendered sniper didn’t get a chance to reply, having been bashed in the face with Martin’s pistol. Martin didn’t even know where these Jackasses came from! Later, they all would find out that the three were local gun freaks bent on bagging themselves an Alien.
Grok was at the little Girl’s side with the shrieking mother. “Woman, let me take the girl. Maybe I can save her.”
“Not without me!” The mother exclaimed. The Mom had lost all sign of fear of the big Alien. Grok had been talking into his wrist. In moments, part of the roof was sucked out and a beam appeared on the floor. “Come, we must go now.”
They had no more than stepped into the beam when they were floating up and through the hole.
Their tiny craft was just moving to altitude when a huge shadow appeared above them. In less than a minute the girl was being examined by other Meridians.
There was conversation in a language that Sandy, the girl’s mother, did not understand. There was a soft flare of light around the little girl. Moments later, the circle of Lizards parted and one of them motioned Sandy over to her daughter.
“Mom… the bad man killed me. I have to go, but Mr. Grok said I could talk to you for awhile.” I don’t know how I am alive, but he says they can’t do it long.”
“Oh Jenny, please don’t die!!! Dear God! I’ll do anything. Save her!!!!”
Changed By Aliens Chapter 3 (Originally written in 2007)
The rest of the story (Chapter 1 and 2) is in my story list. I don't know how to do all the software stuff to attach them.
Changed by Aliens (Chapter 1 and 2)
The first chapter deals the introduction of the family and little intersexed Gwinn who had been thought to be a boy. Then Reptilian Aliens happen on the scene and as usual, the humans start shooting and the Aliens get in on the act, but they have more sense than humans.
In Chapter 2 the relationship between this human family and the Reptilian Aliens develops more and they begin to assist each other.
Gwen and her Parents were being interrogated separately inside the Justice Center building in lower downtown Portland. The plan had been for Grok to be there too, but his attempts to save the little girl who had been shot, took him out of the area.
The huge ship was gone in moments, yet much of the population of east Portland had seen it. They’d scrambled the 4 Jets at the airport but by the time they got in the air and crossed the dozen miles to the shopping center, the Alien ship had climbed out of sight; completely invisible to primitive Radar. The Jets landed again without having shot at anything or even seen anything to shoot at. They were dangerously short of fuel having consumed almost all of it in their desperate ascent to the edge of space in pursuit of who knows what?
This incident alone had Portland buzzing with excited talk about what had happened. The shot child, the huge man in the shopping center, the hole in the ceiling of the shopping center and the scrambled Jets all added to the excitement. None of that could be kept secret and it would be impossible for any sort of disinformation to have any effect.
“Captain Grok” the voice on Grok’s com system said.
“Speak”, Said the Captain.
“I have intercepted communication in the human system that the use of a Tactical Weapon is being considered to demolish the area where the incident happened earlier.”
“Well, don’t let them do it but do not attack them.”
“Very well sir.”
Grok sighed, “These humans are so easily frightened into violence. Once we get them on task, I hope they are up for it.”, He thought.
Logan sat in the parking lot of the Mall and waited for instructions from either Grok or his parents. He’d seen all the military vehicles in the area but he was pretty much in the dark about what had transpired.
Much later in the afternoon, Logan was getting impatient, and decided to run down to Macadonodono’s for some lunch. As he was eating, He got a message from Grok to meet in a wooded area called Sellwood bottom, a wooded, marshy area with hiking trails along the Willamette River, near downtown. When he finally arrived on the edge of it, darkness was approaching. Rain was falling steadily and the chill made a coat necessary. In the gloom, Grok stepped out of the brush and called to Logan.
“Grok, I haven’t seen Mom, Dad or Gwen since they went into the shopping center, what’s happened?” Logan really sounded worried.
“They have been taken to a building in the city and our sensors have located them. I just wanted to let you know what is going on before we do anything else.”
Grok filled Logan in on what had happened and what had happened to the little girl who was shot. We are trying very hard to save her. None of us suspected that she would be shot.
“Are we going to go get them?’ Logan asked.
“Be patient, young cub, we will move soon. We want to talk to those holding them before your military forces build up too much but we also want some significant people there to talk to.”
“When will that be?”
“Only about another two of your hours, or 7:00pm, your time”, Grok said.
Shortly Grok dropped Logan in front of KGW Ch 8 and he went in to talk to the receptionist. They chose that station because of the relatively close but isolated location in regards to the Justice Center.
The evening secretary at the TV station was really reluctant to allow Logan to see anyone.
Logan, being the handsome lad that he is, handed her two rocks and then carefully, grasping only the blade, laid an exotic knife on her desk with them. Of course, he was turning on the charm and gently persuaded her to pick up the knife and do the same to one of the rocks.
“Oh, this is so cool!” she exclaimed!
Looking at the young woman’s name tag, he could see that her name was Darcy. “Darcy, I am not here to hurt anyone, I just need to convince your boss to put a news crew down at the Justice Center.” He said. “Something really big is going to happen really soon. He looked at his watch.
“Actually, it is going to happen in just over an hour” he finished.
Darcy’s shoulder length blonde hair and her charming smile really attracted Logan. She scooted back her chair and stood up, revealing the bottom half of her light blue short skirt suit. She obviously liked Logan.
Darcy smiled at Logan, but she clearly did not want to believe him. “It is pretty radical to show up here with a knife; what if I had screamed and called for the guard?” She said.
Logan really turned on his boyish charm. “Oh, Darcy, I really didn’t want to frighten you. Do I look like someone who is going to hurt anyone?” His smile made Darcy want to puddle at his feet!
“Not really”. She said. It was obvious that she wanted to believe him, and was strongly attracted to Logan.
“Darcy, we really need to cut through the red tape here. This is more important than anything that has ever happened; our lives are at stake” He said. She gingerly picked up the knife and cut the rock, then dropped the knife; squealing emotionally.
“Oh my gosh, this is real isn’t it?” She said. “No one can do what I just did.” For a moment she looked like she was going to pass out, but then the toughness her Marine Corps father gave her began to assert it’s self. “This is about what happened at the Shopping Center, and the little girl, and the UFO and all that isn’t it!” She said. Darcy was so excited that she was almost shouting now.
Her voice was quivering, and her hands were shaking. With that she let out a short shriek and backed away from the desk. With that, the guard came running into the room, but she was on the phone to the News Desk and they immediately had someone down to talk to Logan.
At Frank, the news guy’s direction, the front door was locked and Logan was taken to a Frank’s office.
Darcy, the receptionist had run screaming into the Ladies room, it was hard to be a girly girl and share some of the genes of her father! Being smart, she soon calmed down enough to bring coffee to the room where Logan and Frank were talking. After seeing the pictures of Logan’s family along side Grok, the News guy quickly had dollar signs in his eyes.
“Is this related to what happened over at “Town Center” today?” Frank asked?
“Oh, that and much more; all the recent sightings of strange looking men saving people; it is all related and I have to tell you that it all comes to a head tonight. We all have to wake up and start to do what we need to do or Earth is going to be wiped out!” Logan finished.
Frank looked at Logan like he was just a dumb kid. “Look, kid, you expect me to believe all this and you show up practically empty handed?”
Just then, a much more put together Darcy stepped forward and laid the split rock and the knife in front of Frank.
“Pick up the rock Frank.” She said. He looked like he was just going to laugh at her.
“Fine, watch this!” She picked up the knife and with almost no effort at all cut a neat hole in the top of his desk.
“My God, are you the same sweet little girl that sits at the front desk? Geez, you have Chutzpah!” Frank said. He laughed out loud, but quickly got back on task. Frank being a news guy was hard to surprise and he viewed these sorts of things with all the glee of a child. Besides, a couple of years in Afghanistan left him a lot tougher.
In the next few minutes, Logan, Frank and Darcy talked things out. Frank was actually a pretty nice guy once you got him on board. And, he recognized a great story when it cut a hole in his desk!
“OK, so this Grok fellow wants you to ride down with our news crew. Then we will interview you at the scene and shortly after that Grok will enter the Justice Center.” Frank said.
“Sure Frank. Grok’s entrance will be sort of spectacular, though no one will be hurt. You have to realize that these Aliens are trying to help us, not harm us.” Logan Said.
Logan and Darcy rode downtown with the KGW news driver, and waited for Grok’s signal. When Darcy left the office with Logan, Frank said to her,
“Wait, where do you think you are going?”
Darcy turned and looked at Frank with more determination than a meter maid; then she grabbed Logan’s arm.
Frank looked at both of them for a moment; knowing that he could not win this one. He’d just met a much more amazing Darcy than he had hired. “OK, go ahead; I’ll get Janice to watch the desk.”
So, Darcy and Logan were in a little park, across the street from the Justice Center with the news crew and their truck when things around them seemed to go suddenly quiet.
“Hey, this is Grok” the tiny com unit that Grok had given Logan said. It sounded as if Grok was right in front of Logan. “Listen here young Cub; it is “show time” as your TV says. Grok sounded so funny the way he said it. Logan broke out in a smile and giggled a little. Presently, Grok’s Semi sized ship winked into view about half way up the tall building, and just sat there. The landing pylons were extended and Grok had also extended instrumentation that made the craft look far less threatening, as long as the military types didn’t figure out the purpose of the instrumentation.
John, the Camera man quickly yelled to Charlotte, the news woman. “Better get out here Char, you are not going to believe this.” Charlotte quickly scrambled out of the truck, smoothing her skirt suit and doing her best to keep her heels from sinking in the grass. The two quickly re-oriented the set up so she could stand on the sidewalk with the space ship in the back ground. The Camera man had to lie down and shoot up at her for the starter shot, and then they switched to split screen with her in one and the ship in the other. That permitted a much more photogenic angle on her.
Back at the station, where the signal from the Justice Center would be edited, the crew was laughing about the marvelous up skirt shot of Charlotte. At least she’d worn panties! “Yep, that’ll never make the air”.
Frank, looking over their shoulders, “It better not, either, John”.
Grok allowed her to talk for a minute or two and then vaporized the wall of the building, leaving a tunnel into the interior. The only noise was a loud hum and then a cloud of dust drifting away in the light breeze. Of course this set off all sorts of alarms, with the fire department arriving within a few minutes. The Feds did not like the news there and quickly moved to tell them to leave. As the Homeland Security people moved to force the issue, a huge bright beam of light originating from Grok’s ship, seared a burning ditch around the news van and the crew. Homeland Security was rather fast to get the idea.
Grok had opened a closed tunnel right into the room where the Brown family sat. Before the interrogators could move, Grok was in the room with them. Of course, those viewing the room on closed circuit TV knew all about it. The passage came in at an odd angle to avoid critical building systems and personnel in the way.
A woman began to scream as her path down a hall way was blocked by the sudden appearance of the Alien construction placed there.
Grok calmly walked over to the mirror and said through it. “Please get your supervisor in here.” He then walked over and sat in two chairs. He looked uncomfortable. “Geez guys, can’t you get something more comfortable to sit in?” The two interrogators sat there looking dumfounded for a minute, but one of them wilted under Grok’s stare and left to consult with his boss.
“OK, look, this is wasting time that we don’t have. This whole day and much of the last several weeks was meant to accustom you to our appearance. It was little Gwen’s idea that it would be best.” Grok said calmly.
Gwen started to get up and come over to Grok but one of the interrogators told her not to move.
Grok said. “I am losing patience with you, SIR!” His voice boomed out, shaking the room. “It’s OK sweetheart, you can sit on my lap.”
“We are on the verge of an invasion that will wipe all life out on this planet out. We need your help to save you and hopefully there will be a synergy between our two races and we will be able to find a way to stop them permanently.” Grok lectured the Homeland Security people.
The Interrogator had this snotty look on his face. “Look, cut the clown show will ya buddy?”
Mr. Brown looked at him. “Look BUDDY, we have been really patient with you so we did not frighten you any more than necessary. Now I am getting really tired of your superiority complex and, arrogant attitude. Take your helmet off Grok”
Grok hesitated for a moment then calmly pulled his helmet off. Inside was a scaled, reptilian face with a short snout. Grok looked at the guy for a moment and then stuck his 12” split tongue out at the guy and said “BOO!”
One of the guys behind the mirror, said, “Geez, I bet the girls love him”. He’d forgotten about Adela, a large, robust but earthy and lovable black woman in the room. “Yeah, and I bet he is much more well endowed than you, tweezer man.”
Back in the interrogation room, finally having gotten the message, the recalcitrant agent slid his chair back as far as he could and then climbed up in it, looking like he’d just seen a dragon; which in a sense he had.
Gwen, who was very used to Grok and having not entirely understood the gravity of the situation said, “Oh, Grok, please don’t burn him up.” Everyone in the room except Tweezer Man, laughed hysterically. It was a nice break from all the tension.
Julie, Martin’s wife had finally had enough. “Look, little man; sit down in your chair and start doing your damned job. I haven’t eaten in hours and neither has my child and pretty soon, I am going to let Grok take us out of here for dinner, BUDDY!”
Grok looked over at Julie and said, “Calm down Julie, don’t scratch his eyes out yet, we need him.” With that, Grok began doing his imitation of a human’s laugh which sounded like the wheeze of a horse.
Outside, it had been two hours since this all started. Everyone was waiting to see what was going on. The mobile kitchens were out, and the Police, clearly getting bored were standing around in small groups. The News Choppers had been kept outside 1 mile, but with the FLIR cameras, that was hardly a problem. Suddenly, two Military Choppers showed up; none of those dazzling flybys, they just sort of eased into place within a block of Grok’s Shuttle.
Grok had given careful instructions that the choppers be there to make it look like the Military had everything under control.
“Grok, we will make every effort to cooperate with you.” President Smith said. “I know it has taken a while to make us aware of you in a way that our security people could not keep secret.” With that Smith looked at his Chief of staff and said, “Is there any confusion here about the program now?”
“Oh, no Mr. President, Grok and his people will have our full cooperation.”
Grok said, “By the way, Mr. President, There are five of your Tactical Nuclear Weapons sitting on runways ready to be launched at my forces. Do you want to tell them to stand down or should I destroy them on the ground?”
“General Forge?” The President said. By now the President was growing really impatient.
“Grok, I am going on National Television as soon as the equipment is set up. This situation will be normalized right now. And, you have my permission to neutralize any forces which act in a hostile manner.”
The disgruntled President looked at General Forge. “Were you aware of this treachery, even after I gave my promise?” The General stood there looking at the President.
“Very well, you are relieved and will be held pending an inquiry.” The President stood there for a moment and turned to go to the oval office.
Momentarily, “My fellow Americans…”
Grok said,” Command, please verify that the President’s message is indeed on a live feed to all the networks and that they are carrying it?”
In a few moments, “Yes Captain, it is being done as you requested.”
Grok turned to Gwen’s family. “I know you are all tired and it has been a long day.” Shall we go?
“Grok?”
“Yes Child?”
“Can we stop at my favorite Hamburger place on the way home?”
His shuttle moved away from the building and began to sink to the ground with its landing pylons still extended. The homeland security guys had been given communication to pull back and the shuttle stopped about 15 feet from the ground.
The Brown Family came down a stair way and walked over to talk to Charlotte on the News Crew. A minute later, Grok came down the stairs and walked over too. No one needed to be prompted to stay away from Grok.
Logan and the rest of his family were reunited and there was a short conversation relating what had happened.
Martin Brown seemed to be the spokes person at first. “We’ve been trying to set up a peaceful meeting between Grok and the authorities for months. It is really urgent that this get through the initial phases and that our two races begin to cooperate right away. The future of both peoples rests upon this being a success. I can not tell you how urgent this is. It really is life and death.”
Charlotte seemed to recognize the seriousness of the situation, and dispensing with all the newsy methods, began asking uncharacteristically civil questions. “Mr. Brown, what will happen now that contact has been made?”
Martin stood there momentarily thinking. “Well, Charlotte, we can not move too fast on this since progress and cooperation is vital to our survival. As fast as we can, we are going to establish liaison with every government that wishes to do so because our society must advance several thousand years almost instantly.”
“Where will the Meridians settle?” She asked.
“Tonight, we are all returning to our home in eastern Oregon, and then within a week we hope to have Meridian Ground teams communicating world wide. There is going to be terrific culture shock for every one on Earth, and it is the wish of the Meridians that the cultures of each country remain intact.”
“What will happen after that?” Charlotte asked.
Martin turned to Grok. “Come on pal help me out with this.” Several people including Charlotte could be heard giggling about Martin calling Grok, Pal.
“Certainly, little buddy”, his voice sounded just like the Captain’s voice from a certain popular TV comedy about a ship wrecked pleasure boat. That did a lot to break the tension.
“OK, in big steps, we need to protect the citizens of Earth. We also need to build starships that can fight our mutual enemy. Most of all, we need the synergy that joining our two races will provide. We need a superior way to stop them from wiping us both out. We need to end this once and for all.” Grok finished.
Grok then turned to Charlotte, “Young woman, you see very calm in the face of all this.”
“Oh, thank you, um, sir. My major is in International Diplomacy, but I took this job because I thought it would be interesting.” Charlotte said.
“Well, I need someone to help us with information, would you like to come with us at least temporarily?” Grok asked.
Charlotte only had to think for a moment. “You bet”.
Grok understood her perfectly, but wanted to add some humor to help people feel more at ease. “Oh, young Woman, I do not need to bet you, but I do need your help”.
Grok may not have realized it but by recruiting a Woman first, it made him acceptable to at least half the population on Earth.
Later that evening on the helipad at Providence Hospital, little Danica, the child who'd been shot in the Shopping Center, and her Mom were delivered to waiting hospital personnel.
The girl and her Mother were left at the hospital and three Medical Interns got on the ship. In video conferences that had lasted hours, Median and Human Doctors talked about little Danica; how the shot had severed the Axillary vein returning to the heart from her left arm, just before its junction with veins leaving the neck. It is a wound that would have been fatal had the girl not been in the care of individuals with very advanced techniques in such a short time. In human terms, the Meridians had slowed time by a factor of 60 in the immediate area of her body.
That gave them time to effectively kidnap one of the Doctors from Providence Hospital, and working together, devise an successful treatment plan. They combined materials and skills that were compatible to humans from Meridian medical stores. The girl would live! Once the emergency was over, she still faced normal human convalescent protocol.
MONTHS LATER
Martin Brown leaned back in his chair and surveyed the flat basin outside the window of his new office. Sometimes he just had to stop for a while and do nothing while his mind hopelessly tried to catch up.
The Brown home on the rim of the canyon had become the hub of activity for a week or so and then this office, adapted from several double wide manufactured homes was set in place. Stretched across the flat expanse of sage brush and grasses, lay the staging area for several buildings that were going up. A network of hard surface roads and landing pads had literally sprung up over night.
Grok was the real leader in the war effort. It was easy for Martin to see that. Still the regard that Grok showed for him and all the other humans just astonished him. Grok was very careful to fully engage humans and Meridians alike in the effort. There simply was not any time for any “Idols’ to be created.
Working together, 11 small war ships were under construction on Earth. 21 were being built on the Moon. There were plans for construction sites on Mars. The moon and Mars were harder because the shell needed to be air tight before work could be performed suit-less.
The construction of the carbon based biological control systems was being done 10,000 feet deep in the Pacific Ocean off Japan. The depth eliminated the requirement for heavy pressure vessels to manufacture them. The Japanese seemed to have an inherent interest and aptitude for the skills needed, so most of that work was quickly “deeded” to them. Of all the races on Earth, so far the Japanese seemed most adaptable to the Meridians.
Several of the ships were being constructed on the flat desert of Saudi Arabia. Once the Mullahs and Princes understood the threat, the whole nation took it on as a sort of “Jihad”. The Meridians adapted easily to the desert heat there since it was almost as warm as their long destroyed home planet.
Little Gwen and Julie were over there now, working on understanding some housing issues for the workers at the camps. It had been decided early on that there would be no expatriate housing; that those who worked on the ships in Saudi Arabia would work out their differences.
“Look Gentlemen, no Meridian wants to destroy your society, but I must tell you that it is absolutely necessary for the survival of the human race that old grudges and differences go away. The only word that is operative here is “immediately”” Grok had used his deepest, most rumbling voice to convey his message.
In response, many of the ages old cultural differences just evaporated. The Burqua disappeared from the work site. The mini skirt and skimpy tank tops never arrived. The word “Kufur” disappeared from the Muslim vocabulary. The focus was on building ships and cooperation.
The prayer of five times a day still happened, but many of the Wudu observances were truncated. World wide, visitors from other countries, adopted simplified customs compatible to the host country. There was only time for one task.
In Saudia, the old customs remained. Any woman in that country wore the modest clothing. If they did not want to do that, they did not come.
11 year old Gwen began searching through the files on her computer for the proposal that Mom and her had brought for the universal Hijab. She had to be careful to wipe her fingers after each bite of food. The meal they were sharing with the other women was just out of this world. The Women had done something to the meat and it had this lemony flavor to it. The Dates were great too!
Julie was talking to several of the Muslim Women, “Ok Ladies, we want all this to be the least painful for you. This is your country and we have no desire to destroy your way of life, and we all must face the need to adapt to the events unfolding about us. We’ve reviewed your complaints and now we have a response to them which we hope will make life easier for you all.”
“Gwen, show us the Hijab model that the Meridians designed for us.” Julie said.
“Sure Mom. We think that you will enjoy this Hijab. It looks a lot like what you call an Al-Amira Hijab. It also incorporates power cells to keep your head cool or warm according to outside conditions. It also completely blocks harmful UV. We are asking that you adopt other clothing that is appropriate for your work task. I think you will find it all keeps you covered. The Meridians are sharing anything you want to know about how to keep cool too.” Gwen said.
Please notice that there are no hanging edges or loose flaps. For the first time in Muslim history, women will work right along side men in completing this vital task. We really understand the coverings but there will come times when it is simply not possible. I hope that we can work out solutions that will make everyone comfortable.
A beautiful middle aged Saudi woman, reached up to remove her Hijab. Some of the other women did too, and some gasped in dismay. “The removal of the Hijab in your presence is a sign that we accept you as sisters and not Kufur. I believe that Allah SWT wants this.” She said.
“Yes and the forbidding of pork and music in public is a further proof that you want to respect our customs. We thank you so much for that.” Another young woman said. It was obvious that her eyes were brimming with tears and she was deeply moved by that concession.
Julie asked,” So, does that mean the present objections are satisfied?”
“My name is Hala Maksoud. I will admit that I am often not a good Muslimah, but I try very hard. I have long been criticized for wanting to be more western. This way I can be western and please my husband.” She said.
“I am Huda, what is your name child?” She asked
“As Salaam Alaykum, Huda, my name is Gwen” Gwen looked so proud to be able to surprise the woman with a common Saudi greeting.
All the other women laughed, clapped and trilled.
“Oh, child, you honor us much.” Hala said.
Most of the women who had held back became involved and as they became acquainted, true friendship among the women began to develop. There were two who all this was too much for. Huda and Julie saw them leave as they talked.
“Oh dear, I do hope that they can eventually begin to accept all this.” Huda said.
“Huda, I know that this is all a huge shock for your people. We are going to tell the others that national customs in all countries must not disappear. With all the other shocks, the customs of a people are the only link to sanity that they have.” Julie said.
Little arms went around Julie’s waist. “Moom, I am really tired. Can we go to bed for a while?” Gwen visibly sagged against Julie’s soft side.
Huda looked down at little Gwen. “Oh child, you must be very tired; how old are you?”
“I’m 11 but all this is making me grow up too much. I’m just a little kid”!
“Yes child and far too fast, I think. You do the work of a big person without complaint” Huda said.
“Thanks” Gwen sighed. She visibly sagged against Mom’s soft side.
Huda looked at Julie. “I know that we still have much work to do but would you allow me to find a place for your child to rest?”
“You know, Gwen does so much, I forget that she is still a child; could you please?” Julie said.
The women were all housed in a Tent a few miles back from the shell of one of the war ships. It was 115 degrees outside, but due to Meridian technology, it was very comfortable in the tent.
Huda quietly led Julie and Gwen through an enclosed passage into a dimly lit tent strewn with pillows and light blankets.
“What do you think about taking a nap here, Habibi?” Huda asked.
Gwen let out a mix of a soft sigh and plaintive sob. She just dropped to the sleeping pad in front of her. Julie covered her with a light blanket. “Thank you.” Gwen said softly.
“Huda, what is a Habibi?’ Gwen asked
“It means sweet heart” She said softly.
Julie and Huda looked down at the child. “I think she is already asleep.” Huda whispered.
The two women turned and began walking back to the other tent. Behind them, a contented smile spread across the face of the child.
“Damn”, Martin swore, as he watched his toast slither off his plate and into the sink full of soapy dish water. “Oh, well, I’m probably getting a little fat. Man, I need Julie to be here, I am married, not a bachelor!” He roared, suddenly losing his temper. Deep inside he knew he only missed her. It seemed like it was the small things that set him off. His habit in the morning was two fried eggs and two pieces of buttered toast, with peanut butter on one and Jelly on the other. By now his coffee was getting cold. Julie made it all seem so easy, he lamented to himself.
Logan and 19 other men were training on the Meridian ship systems. They had already made several trips out past Pluto. They’d even done trips outside the solar plane. A trip to Mars and back was about 3 hours.
“Well, Andus, is there any hope?” Grok asked.
“Old friend, this is our last chance, there must be hope. The humans are very intelligent and would have been much more advanced had it not been for the aggressiveness that they unleash on each other. “
“Do you have a genetic correction to propose?”
“I would but if I use it, they will be more docile and that could easily backfire. Their males seem bent on dominating their mates, but the women seem adequately accommodative as long as more advanced societal structures are in place. Saudia will be our model for that region. They seem most adaptable to an increased role of their women, and surprisingly the women seem most adept at prodding the men to achievement. There is one country in the area where the Men seem particularly primitive, and we may just eliminate them.
“What is that area called?”
“Afghanistan”.
On Sunday, Gwen and her Mom arrived back in Oregon. The Sun was just coming up.
“Mom, do you think Daddy is up yet? Gwen said.
“I don’t know sissy. Please don’t wake him. I just know what that house is going to look like and I want to straighten it up and cook Daddy breakfast.”
Gwen got a quizzical look on her face. “Mom, I’ll help you.”
Later, Julie and Gwen had waded though the mess that poor Martin had made of the Kitchen. She’d fixed Martin Eggs, Waffles, and Saudia Lamb.
With all the construction around the house, Martin had turned a fan on full in the bedroom to mask the sound. He had been so tired the night before that he’d taken a sleeping pill and was really out of it. Julie let him sleep until 9:00 AM and then went into the Bedroom.
Julie eased up on the bed, and Martin began to stir. When she eased down and kissed him wetly full on the mouth, his eyes popped open.
“Mmmmm.” Martin hummed. “Are you trying to start something Missy?”
“Maybe later; I had a nice chat with Huda while I was in Saudia. She was telling me of Saudi women’s ways.”
“I have really missed you. Are you going to spoil me?” Martin said sleepily.
She wiggled out of his grasp and sprang to the floor. “Come on Za’og, your breakfast is waiting” she said affectionately.
“Huh?’
Later at breakfast, “Julie, I am so happy you are home, I was missing you a lot.” Martin said appreciatively.
She moved around to his side and he placed his arm around her hips since he was sitting and she was standing. “I missed you too Sweetums”. She buried his head below her breasts, hugging him tightly. When his hands began to roam too intimately, she quickly wiggled out of his grasp as she giggled provocatively.
“Hey” Martin said.
“Hey what?”
What is Zog?
“Zog?”
“Oh, you mean Za’og.” That is Arabic for husband.
“Oh, I thought that it was something that Grok taught you.”
Gwen sat there eating her breakfast. She was taking it all in without saying anything. “I wonder if Huda will teach me like she did Mom?” She thought.
Would the Humans and the Meridians defeat their common enemy? Grok stood there looking at the predictive plot for the enemy. It appeared that using various counter measures, their arrival could be delayed for another two earth years. What would happen then? The humans were such enthusiasts of chaos. He’d begun the education on weapons systems. Now they needed one of the earthlings to make a connection that his race had missed. The humans were working under seemingly unbearable pressure.
It had been a good decision not to transplant his culture to earth. He was allowing the humans to maintain their own cultural barriers. Except for that one dry and arid country which seemed so bent on tormenting half its population.
That morning, he’d decided to set the Mother Ship down in the Mountains of Afghanistan. He’d decided to manage that population himself. There seemed to be a virulent presence there. It would be good recreation for his men in their rest periods.