“Once first responders removed the
injured workers, Sah’Reena was able to quickly snuff out these
flames, allowing fire and safety crews to go inside and bring out
the rest of the crewmen before they burned to death. I spoke with
Ralph Constance, Senior Maintenance Officer here at the refinery,
and he told me they believe the initial cause of the explosion
came from some deteriorated valves they were in the process of
replacing. But at this time, according to the Fire Marshal,
Captain Shamford, nothing is official until their investigation is
complete. I’m Natasha McReynolds, Channel 13 Eyewitness News, here
at the Ohrd Refinery in Texas City.”
Pete hit the
mute button on the remote and glanced over at where Robin
continued watching the video feed shot by the news crew at the
scene. “She reminds me of the way you were when you first started
working at Johnson. All bright-eyed and excited. Giddier than a
kid on Christmas Day. What she did there, she was in her element,
wasn’t she?”
“Yeah. We
haven’t discussed it since we left the refinery, but I could feel
it when she went in.” Robin took a sip of his soda, belched
softly, and crossed his legs, resting his heels on the coffee
table in front of him. “Being a Gifted, using her power, that’s
what she’s meant to do. Not be stuck in some desk job. Even one at
the space center.”
“Too bad being a
superhero doesn’t pay the bills.”
With that one
sentence, his father hit the proverbial nail on the head. What
Sah’Reena loved to do, what she was born and trained to do, was to
help others. “Dad, I’d give anything if she could pursue her dream
and help others. But we both know she can’t go out there alone.
And I can’t go with her because we need the paycheck.”
“Quite a
dilemma. Of course, I’ve known for some time she hasn’t been happy
holding down a desk job.” Pete cut his eyes back to his son. “And
no, I haven’t talked to her about it. I could tell by watching
her. And by listening to what she didn’t say.”
Robin sighed. “I
thought a lot of it had to do with her emotional state. Dad, I
don’t know how she’s managed to keep her sanity. I mean, think
about it. She’s a totally alien species forced to live on a planet
that is unknown to her, among people she can’t relate to, having
to conform to customs and ideals totally new to her. And all the
while she believed she’d never see her home world again. Or her
friends. Or her family.”
“You know she
probably wouldn’t have survived if it hadn’t been for you. You
know that as well as I do,” Pete admonished him.
Yes, he did. And
he agreed with him.
“How is she
taking all this?” Pete asked.
Robin started to
respond when a breaking news alert came on the air. “What’s that?”
Pete hit the
mute button again as Natasha reappeared on the screen.
“—new
information about the space ship that appeared this morning,” the
news anchor stated.
From the
background behind her, it was difficult to tell where the woman
was located, but it was safe to assume she was still in the
vicinity of the oil refinery. There hadn’t been enough time since
her last live report to make it over to the open field where the
Deathship had landed.
“Yes, Blake. A
spokesperson at the Johnson Space Center has just confirmed that
the space ship that appeared here this morning was not manmade. At
least, not made on Earth. In fact, we were informed it originated
from a previously undiscovered planet that sits on the opposite
side of the sun.”
Pete sat up and
muttered a curse word under his breath. Robin dropped his feet to
the floor and leaned forward.
“Tasha, are your
sources confirming that the ship was of alien origin?” the
anchorman asked.
“Yes. And given
what we saw today in the interaction between Sah’Reena, Dr.
Dickenson, and the humanoids they interacted with, it’s believed
the ship may be from Sah’Reena’s home planet, Murrall.”
“Has NASA
identified the previously unknown planet?”
“No, Blake. But
after speaking to several people, it’s widely assumed that planet
could actually be Murrall. How the planet managed to make it into
our solar system is a mystery we hope we’ll soon have answered.”
“Let’s hope so,”
the newsman noted, then directed the broadcast to a preview of the
weather forecast. Pete hit the mute button again.
“I’d like to
know who the hell snitched to the media.”
Robin managed a
humorless chuckle. “But you’re not surprised it leaked?”
“No,” Pete
grumbled, then snorted. “For all we know, Mason could have had
something to do with it.”
“You can’t prove
it,” Robin noted. “But, for the record, I wouldn’t be surprised if
he did.” Pulling his cell phone from his breast pocket, he
unlocked it.
“Who you
calling?” the older man quizzed.
Robin answered
with a grin and hit the speaker button.
“It’s about time
you got back to me!” a female voice accused, then giggled. “I knew
you’d be watching the broadcast.”
“Where are you?
Still at the refinery?”
“Yep. I’m inside
the van at the moment. Is Sah’Reena there with you?”
“No, we’re at
home. Sree’s upstairs asleep, but Pete’s here.”
“All right, Miss
McReynolds, tell us what you already know,” Pete requested. Robin
could tell his father was trying to hold his temper.
“Everything I
know I just put on the air,” the woman declared. “Now it’s time
you give it up.”
“You’re not
recording this, are you, Tash?”
“Nope.”
“Rob?”
Robin held up a
hand. “I trust her, Dad. I believe her. Tasha, the ship is from
Murrall, and it’ll be back.”
“Hot damn! I
knew it! Why was it here?”
“Do you remember
when we told you about Sah’Reena being banished from Murrall?”
“Yes. She was
shot out into space to die, but some kind of space anomaly caught
her life pod and brought it here.”
Robin started to
reply when she continued.
“Did that
anomaly bring Murrall here, too?”
“We believe so.”
“Go on.”
“That ship,
which is called a Deathship, came back to retrieve Sah’Reena.”
“Why?”
“Because she
didn’t die the first time they launched her into space.”
There was a
pause on the line.
“Hold on,”
Natasha told him.
They heard
noises. A door slid open and shut. Voices.
“Hey, Rob? Let
me call you back, okay? Will you be available in, say, an hour?”
“Yeah, I’ll be
here.”
“Great. I’ll
call you back as soon as I get back to the station. Thanks, Rob.”
“Talk to you
later, Tasha. ‘Bye.” He hit the end call button and sat back on
the couch.
Pete shook his
head. “You really need to hire that girl to be your spokesperson.”
“I know, and
we’ve offered her the job.”
“So what’s
holding her back?”
“It’s not
Tasha’s fault. Sree and I are still trying to get our feet firmly
on the ground. These past few months…” He stood and started toward
the kitchen. “I’m going to grab another Coke. Can I get you
something?”
“No, I’m good.
So you and Sree put her on hold?”
“Yeah,” Robin
answered, his voice carrying into the den. He reemerged from the
kitchen and took his seat back on the sofa. “We’re caught in a
small conundrum, Dad. Sree and I don’t make enough to pay her a
comparable salary to what she’s making now, and she’d have to quit
her job at the television station if she’s going to become our
intermediary. Jack’s already screaming foul because she’s having
to do her job
and
handle God knows how many interview
requests and questions from outside sources and news media. So
Tasha’s new position would definitely be a full-time endeavor. On
top of that, now that Sree and I are looking into buying some land
to build a home, money’s tighter than ever.”
“And if
Sah’Reena quits her job, things are only going to get worse,” Pete
observed. “Yep, that’s quite a conundrum.”
Robin rubbed the
back of his neck, hoping to ease the tenseness in his muscles.
“We’re having to reevaluate our priorities. And any suggestions,
observations, or parental homilies you can offer will be
appreciated.”
“Are you
actually asking me for my opinion? Quick, where’s the calendar?”
Robin cut his
eyes at the man. “The calendar?”
“Yeah. So I can
circle this date in red.”
“Dad.”
“Or maybe I
should check the weather forecast. See if there’s a blue moon
tonight.”
“Ha ha. Very
funny,” Robin groused.
Pete turned off
the TV. “All right. First things first. You know you can stay here
as long as you like.”
“Yes, but we’d
like to have a place of our own. Someplace not in the city, and
where we could have a little privacy.”
The older man
snorted. “Good luck.”
Robin chuckled.
“We can try.”
“Have you
considered looking into acquiring sponsors? People who’d foot your
bills for you? Maybe some sort of philanthropic backing.”
“It sounds nice,
but I don’t have the faintest idea how to go about seeking that
kind of sponsorship. Besides, I’d be too afraid they’d want some
sort of personal compensation for their generosity.”
Pete grunted.
“I’ll do a little digging. Ask some questions. I know a few
people, let me see what they might suggest.”
Robin’s cell
phone went off. It was the default ring signifying a call from the
space center.
“Dickenson.”
“Dr. Dickenson,
this is Dr. Barton Foxx.” The elderly man sounded excited.
Robin put the
phone on speaker. “Yes, Dr. Foxx. What is it?”
“We’ve been
tracking the space ship on its way back to Murrall. Given the
ship’s approximate speed and its elliptical pattern, and from what
we’ve already learned when we initially located it on its way
toward Earth—”
“Cut to the
chase, please,” Pete broke in. “How long?”
“Less than two
days. It takes the ship approximately thirty-nine hours to reach
us.”
“Which doesn’t
include the time they’ll need to notify the Judiciary and have
that governing body reach a decision,” Robin noted.
Pete made a rude
sound. “If
they notify
the Judiciary.”
“They will,” a
voice commented behind them.
Robin whirled
around. He hadn’t felt her awaken, much less come downstairs and
into the den. Sah’Reena crossed the carpet to take a seat next to
her husband.
“You are
thinking Roha Non will not inform the Judiciary about what
happened today,” she said, stating the obvious. “He has no choice.
He must.”
“How do you
know?” Pete questioned.
“Because the
other
Utuli,
the other Gifted, will make sure
he does.”
“Sree, do you
have any idea how long it might take Roha Non to tell them what
happened, and for them to make a decision?” Robin glanced at the
phone, which showed the call to Johnson was still active. “Are we
talking days here? Or weeks? Or months?”
“Or years?” Pete
added.
She glanced down
at her hands resting in her lap. “It will not take long.”
“How long is not
long?” Robin persisted.
Her eyes locked
onto his. “Soon. If they arrive back on Murrall today, they will
be given an answer today. If they arrive tomorrow, they will know
tomorrow.”
“If that’s the
case,” Dr. Foxx deduced, “they could return in less than two
days.”
“Two days? That
would be Thursday,” Pete remarked.
“Yeah.” Robin
nodded. “And a lot can happen between now and then.”
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