Rob gathered everyone together that evening in the rec room. He wanted to talk about the things he had been able to find out with Joe's help. He stood in front of the whiteboard, a little more focused than usual.
“We got lucky,” Rob said. “Really lucky. With Joe’s access, I pulled files we were never meant to see. Since humans are doing most of the… ‘selling, monitoring, and distributing of the merchandise’—their words, not mine—the military has to understand how the station works. Emergency protocols, layouts, all of it. I found detailed plans for most of the decks. Ducts, wiring, structural supports… everything.”
Jilly’s eyes lit up. “Oh, I can’t wait to see it. I’m going to have so many ideas.”
Lucas opened his mouth—then stopped when Carolyn caught his eye and gave a small shake of her head.
“We’ll take every idea we can get,” she said.
Lucas leaned back, lips pressed tight.
“I’ve got a background in structural engineering,” Ethan added. “If there are weaknesses, I might be able to spot them.”
“That’s exactly what we need,” Rob said. “I’ve copied everything onto our system here. Dig through it. Anything you find, even a maybe, we look at it.”
Frankie nodded. “Then let’s be smart about this. Tonight, we rest and review. Tomorrow morning, we regroup and brainstorm. Once we have options, I’ll put together a plan.”
Groups broke off. Frankie, Rob, and Sylvia headed toward the kitchen. Carolyn moved with Ethan and Kyle toward the computers. Lucas, Jilly, and Pat stayed behind in the rec room.
Jilly turned to Pat, studying her like a puzzle.
“So… I was wondering,” she said. “Are you a girl or a guy?”
Lucas smacked her in the arm and then buried his face in his palms.
“Geez, you don't ask someone that.” His voice was muffled through his hands. Then he looked up at Pat. “I'm so sorry. We potty trained her just fine. Still working on the mouth.”
Pat laughed. “It’s okay. I’m a girl. And I'm not bothered in the least. I appreciate it when people are straightforward. It's refreshing.”
Jilly grinned and smacked Lucas back.
“See? I'm appreciated and refreshing.”
Lucas rubbed his arm. “There’s no accounting for taste.”
****
Most of them were up early, eager to get started. Only Jilly was still asleep, and though they knew she’d be furious if they started without her, they grabbed breakfast and gathered in a conference room.
Ethan had already filled in the whiteboard.
Once everyone settled in, balancing plates and cups wherever they could, he stepped forward, gripping a long wooden pointer.
“I’ve mapped out a basic layout of the station,” he said. “Top level, Deck 1, is the command center. Below that, decks 2 through 4. Left side looks like crew quarters. Right side is engineering.”
He tapped each section as he spoke.
“Decks 5 and 6 are offices. Decks 7 through 10 are storage along the sides, with a three-deck-high open space in the center. That’s the hangar bay where Carolyn and Lucas came in.”
“There are two elevators to the bridge. One from engineering and one from the office level. Four main elevators connect the hangar to the rest of the station.” He moved the pointer again. “Stairwells exist, but they’re marked emergency-only. So they are probably locked.”
He shifted to the far edge of the drawing.
“And here, far right of Deck 10, is where they’re holding the affected. Three large rooms, sectioned with double doors. Every hallway loops back to the hangar, so it's hard to get lost. That's pretty much all I can tell you about the layout, but it does give you an idea of how the place is set up.”
He lowered the stick.
“Now I will turn over the floor to Kyle, who will tell you about the systems that keep the place running.”
Everyone clapped and Ethan blushed profusely as he made his way to his seat. He grabbed an individually wrapped package of cookies and pretended to be overly interested in figuring out how to get them open.
Kyle came up to the front, picked up the stick Ethan had left on the table, and pointed to the engineering section.
“This is where almost everything is routed from and to,” he explained. “There are ducts and piping everywhere delivering oxygen, water, electricity, and any number of other things that I'm not fully sure of. The entire thing is a giant pressurized can with artificial gravity. None of us have even the first idea of how they are creating that, but that doesn't hold a candle to how they move through space. No matter how much information I can get through looking at the diagrams and schematics that Rob got a hold of, I cannot even begin to understand the science behind either of those things.
“But fortunately, we don't have to understand how they do that stuff. What we need to do, on the other hand, is figure out what we want to do to stop them. That will help us make a more educated decision about the systems we need to learn more about.”
He looked around the room, hoping someone had suggestions.
All he got back were mostly blank stares.
“What we want to do may not line up with what we can do,” Frankie said at last. “Do we want to blow them out of the sky or simply drive them away?”
“Blow them out of the sky,” Jilly said as she came into the room. “And no one woke me up… rude!”
“You were snoring and I didn't have the heart to disturb you,” Lucas said.
“I do not snore!” she said, sliding into a chair next to Pat.
“You just keep telling yourself that.”
“Getting back to the matter at hand,” Carolyn spoke up from the end of the table, giving both of them the side-eye. “What do we want to do? We have to decide that before we continue because it's going to dictate our course of action.”
“I think we figure out what we can do first,” Frankie said. “Then shape that into what we want to do.”
“Well, we can't blow the place up,” Carolyn said. “At least from the outside. We don't have access to any ships with weapons capable of that. Not that we could fly all the way to the moon anyway. And if we blow it up from the inside, we'd blow up with it.”
“Not if we got off before it exploded,” Jilly pointed out.
“Exploding the entire station would take everybody left on board with it. How would we get all the affected off? The whole point of this is to save them. And are we okay with killing who knows how many aliens?” Rob asked.
“I’m okay with that,” Jilly said. “They don't care about us.”
“But that makes us as bad as them. I don't feel good about intentionally killing anyone or anything, even if they aren't from our planet,” Rob said.
“I agree,” Pat said.
“Me too,” said Frankie. “I've done enough things that resulted in the deaths of enemies, and even when it was me or them, I never felt good about it. I think we should start this whole thing with the objective of disabling them without killing.”
“But what happens when we disable the entire station?” Carolyn asked. “What do the aliens do, just hang out behind the moon until they run out of supplies and die of starvation? Or maybe they will have called for reinforcements, and when backup arrives, instead of just taking some of us for slaves, they blow the entire planet to kingdom come in retribution?”
Jilly sat up and opened her mouth to say something, realized she didn't have any ideas, and leaned back with her arms crossed.
“This is exactly why we are sitting here brainstorming,” Frankie said. “Because someone is always going to see an angle that no one else does.”
“What if we do destroy it?” Lucas said. “Carolyn’s right. What if more come?”
“At least we have taken some of them out,” Sylvia piped up. “At this point, I really don't feel bad. It would be like we are saving other planets as well because when they are done here, they are just going to do this someplace else. Maybe if enough places they go to fight back, they may rethink what they are doing, or at least make it harder for them. I vote that we go for doing as much damage as possible.”
“Me too!” Jilly said.
Rob looked extremely pained.
“I hate violence,” he said, his brows knitted together. “But maybe Sylvia is right. And I don't mean that just because I want to agree with her. Maybe if we show some sort of real force, they will think twice about ever coming back here again, and if we get rid of this ship, it can never do this to anyone else. So if we think about it like we're saving others, maybe that would help.”
“Then we’re right back to the same problem,” Lucas said. “Even if we figure out how to blow the place up, how do we get ourselves—and everyone else—off before we go BOOM with it?”
“Maybe we blow it up slowly,” Jilly said.
Everyone turned to her.
Lucas blinked. “How do you blow something up slowly?”
“Well, I don't mean the explosion happens slowly like in slow motion on a TV show. I mean you build up to it. We start by doing something bad that makes one small thing stop working. Then the mechanics, or whoever, go to try to fix that, and then we do something else that breaks another thing they have to fix. And we keep doing that until enough things are broken that they can't fix them all, and they realize the whole thing is going to blow up soon, so they evacuate and don't die, but the ship is destroyed. And in the meantime, we save the affected when they are too busy to notice us.”
Just as Lucas was about to say that was the dumbest thing he had ever heard, Frankie started shaking her finger.
“Now wait a minute,” she said. “Now that doesn't sound too far-fetched. As a matter of fact, I think that's a really good idea. I mean, it needs a lot of refining, but I think the basic idea is sound.”
Kyle was practically standing up in his chair.
“Yes, yes. That sounds like something we can do. Little things that aren't noticed until they create bigger problems, and if you have enough of them go wrong at once, it could create a cascade failure. It will take some planning and figuring, but maybe we can work it out.”
“Jilly, I think you're really onto something. We will have to be very meticulous about it so we not only don't get caught, but we can get out of there safely and take any of the affected with us.” Frankie was pacing back and forth. “But this might be the very thing we need.”
Jilly looked shocked that her idea was so well received. And even blushed a little while she was trying not to smile too widely.
“It won’t be easy,” Kyle added.
“Joe says he wants to help with whatever we are going to do,” Rob said. “He feels like he can't do anything where he's at because everyone there is afraid to even leave the house where they're staying. But he doesn't have any way to get to us. They only have one vehicle, so he can't take that. I was thinking Sylvia and I could drive out and pick him up. He's about 100 miles west of here. We could get out and back in about half a day. We would do well to have another able-bodied military guy if we are really going to try to do this whole crazy plan.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” Frankie said. “You can take one of the smaller trucks. It will be faster and probably easier for you to drive.”
“I'll go contact him now,” Rob said. “And if he's okay with it, we'll leave as soon as we can.”
“I’ll have George send you with weapons and supplies.”
“Ugh, guns, again,” he grimaced, “but I guess it would be prudent.”
He headed out and down the hall with Sylvia tagging along next to him, hoping he wasn't making a mistake.
“Ethan and I will go back through the station schematics and see what we can come up with that will work. I've already got a couple of ideas that I think might be exactly what we need,” Kyle said.
“I have faith in both of you,” Frankie told them as they headed out to the computer room.
“Carolyn and Lucas, the two of you will be in charge of the plan for getting whoever is going to implement this whole thing back onto the station since you've been there and have a better idea of what will work.”
“We'll give it our best shot,” Carolyn said. “We're going to have to decide who's going to do what, and that will help figure out how we're going to get each person up there.”
“I swear, if I had a choice, it wouldn't be me,” said Lucas. “I've had enough of alien spaceships for a lifetime.”
“You and me both,” Carolyn agreed.
*****
As promised, Frankie had a small truck set up and ready to go pick up Joe, who had been extremely enthusiastic and certain he could be of help. He was tired of hiding.
Rob and Sylvia pulled out of the compound about 10 AM and headed south. The sky was a brilliant blue, and when they hit the highway, they rolled down the windows and let the warm air blow across their faces.
“I wish we could just drive forever,” Sylvia said. “No cares. No worries. Just you and me on the highway. Maybe stopping every so often to have a picnic or take a walk along the river.”
She watched the world fly by outside the window.
“Maybe that will happen if we can make this thing work. Maybe life will get back to normal again. We have to keep hoping and staying positive because at this point that's all we've got,” Rob said.
“That's true. And if it weren't for all of this, I never would have met you.”
She reached out and touched his arm. He felt his stomach flip-flop, and he gripped the wheel to make sure he didn't drive straight off the road.
“See, there is always a way to find something good in every situation.”
He couldn't believe he was feeling good in the middle of all this, but he wasn't going to question it.
They rode quietly, watching the world go by.
After a few miles, Rob glanced over.
“What were you doing before all this?”
“You mean work, or life in general?”
“Both.”
“I was a professor at Jamison University. I've got a doctorate in social psychology. My focus was how computers affect relationships and daily life.” She smiled. “Which explains why Frankie stuck me in the computer room… and why I had no idea what I was doing.”
She laughed. Rob's stomach got all fluttery again. “Where were you when it started?”
“I was on campus. Sitting outside a café with another teacher when the ships appeared. People panicked. My friend tried to run, tripped over her chair, fell twice… and I just sat there laughing.” She shook her head. “Shock, I guess.”
“I remember that feeling.”
“I picked up my purse and just walked back to my classroom. I don't know how I was so calm. I gathered my computer, my jacket, and backpack and walked the mile or so to my apartment and just went inside, locked the door, turned on the TV, and sat on the couch hoping it was going to tell me it was all some stupid prank.”
“I was at work and went home and hid in my basement,” Rob admitted.
“That was probably smart. My apartment is on the fifth floor, so if the aliens were going to start shooting at things, being up in the air was a stupid choice.”
“I only had a choice of the first floor or the basement. And when the siren went off, I didn't see any of the affected because I was underground with the windows boarded up, so I didn't even know what was happening for days.”
“After that first alarm went off, I heard people in the hallway, and I cracked open the door only to see my neighbors wandering down the hall toward the stairs. I tried to talk to them, but as you know, they completely ignored me. I reached out to Mrs. Landers, the old widow down the hall, and she just pulled her arm away and kept going.
“That’s when my false sense of calm left me completely. I ran back into my apartment, slammed that door so hard I knocked a picture off the wall. I ran around the apartment looking for my cat, Felix. I found him hiding behind the TV cabinet, scooped him up, ran into my bedroom, and slammed that door and pushed a table in front of it.
“When my heart calmed down enough for me to think, I went to the balcony and looked out, and I saw hundreds of people all walking together. I guess they were going downtown.
“I stayed in my apartment, scared to death, for a couple of days. I sat on the bed, holding Felix, scrolling through the TV channels, hoping I was going to find some sort of broadcast about what to do, where to go. I watched old reruns of I Love Lucy until I realized I was going to starve if I didn't go out and find some food.”
“How did you find Frankie?”
“I was in the local grocery store, which had already been ransacked, so I knew there were still some people who didn't go all zombie when I ran into Ethan in the canned vegetable aisle. He screamed like I was a ghost and then slipped on a pile of cans. Kyle came charging in with a shovel until he saw me laughing. It was all kind of silly, I guess.”
Rob nodded. “I had something similar happen, except it was in a church with a loaf of bread.”
Sylvia raised an eyebrow. “A church?”
“A story for another time. You were telling me how you found Frankie.”
“Oh yeah. Well, once Kyle realized I wasn't a threat, we got to talking, and he was telling me about these signs they had been following and asked if I wanted to come along with them. Since I didn't have anyplace else to go, I figured why not. We went back to my apartment, got Felix, and I packed a bag, and we headed out together. It took us at least three cars, and another week to eventually make it to the compound. We had to dodge guys with guns and be creative about where we slept, but we were very happy we ended up there. We finally felt safe. Well, as safe as possible given the circumstances.”
“I know what you mean. About all of it. When we all were trying to get to Frankie's, we ran into some guys with guns who tried to rob us. We only got away because Carolyn had a gun and knew what she was doing. It was the second scariest thing that's ever happened to me. After the whole alien thing.”
She laughed again, and his stomach did that flip-flop thing he was starting to recognize.
“Hey, look,” Sylvia said, pointing in the distance. “There's the barn that's painted green, just like Joe said. We're almost there.”
Rob turned left onto a road that used to be surrounded by growing fields but now was just overgrown weeds that were taller than the truck.
“He said it was about a mile down this road, and we should look for a red mailbox with the number 65 on it, on the left-hand side.”
Sylvia leaned forward and squinted. Rob slowed to a crawl, trying to look and drive without hitting potholes.
Just as they were approaching the mile mark, Sylvia called out, “There it is! And you can just see the driveway!”
Rob turned left directly beyond the mailbox and started down the long dusty driveway.
He sounded the horn three short times, like Joe had asked, so everyone would know it was them and not some stranger heading their way.
A quarter mile in, the weeds gave way to an open clearing. A weathered farmhouse stood to one side, a faded red barn and outbuildings to the other.
Joe came out of the house already waving, grin wide enough to see from the truck.
He reached them as they stepped out, grabbing Rob’s hand in both of his.
“You must be Rob. Thank you for coming. And Sylvia!” He hurried around to shake her hand just as enthusiastically. “I’m really glad to be part of this.”
“You've already helped us more than you know,” Rob said. “Getting the station schematics is helping us formulate a plan that we wouldn't be able to do without them.”
“I’ve got a few ideas to go with them,” Joe said. “We can talk on the way back.”
He jogged to the porch, grabbed a duffel, and was back in seconds.
“Ready when you are.”
Sylvia glanced up at the house. A curtain twitched—then snapped shut when she waved.
“Guess we’re not meeting your housemates?” she asked.
Joe chuckled. “They’re not big on strangers. Good people. Just older and scared to death.”
“They’ll be okay?” Rob asked.
“Oh yeah. Place is stocked to the ceiling. Guy who owned it was a full-on survivalist. Food, supplies, weapons—you name it. There's even a car and gasoline.” He nodded toward an older-model sedan parked near one of the corrals. “They'll probably never use it, but I still didn't think I should take it just in case.”
“That's kind of you,” Sylvia said.
“Well, you gotta look out for other people. Especially now.”
“Wish more people thought like you,” she said with a sigh. “I'll hop in back since my legs are shorter and you boys can talk upfront.”
“Oh, you don't have to do that,” Joe said, starting for the back seat.
Sylvia beat him to it.
“Oh yes, I do. I plan on stretching out and taking a nice nap.”
She hopped in and closed the door.
“You can't change her mind once it's been made up,” Rob said.
“Got it. I guess we can throw around some ideas.”
Rob pulled out onto the dirt road.
“We’re going to need a plan that works,” Rob said.
“And preferably one that doesn’t get us all killed.”