Chapter Five

“You’re back! Did something go wrong?” said Kari Marshall, the president’s personal executive secretary.

Nobody expected me back from a ten-day cruise in two days. I reminded her about the wormhole and the space-time continuum.

“Oh, right. I remember now.” She nodded. “Was outer space incredible?”

“Unbelievable,” I agreed. “I’d like a few minutes with the president. Is she available?”

“You have an appointment?” With a couple of taps, Kari called up President Stadler’s schedule. “I don’t see you on the calendar.”

“I’m not.” I gave a little chuckle. “She seemed interested in the cruise, and I thought I’d tell her about it.”

Boy, that sounded lame. One did not drop in on the president to show off vacation photos. Meetings had to be scheduled in advance, and I had to get an okay from Garrison. However, I often met with President Stadler in the course of conducting government business, and she and I had clicked. We enjoyed a mutual regard and respect.

Kari shook her head. “Jessie, I wish I could…you know I can’t…”

Actually, she could. It went against normal operating procedures and protocol, but there were always exceptions. As the “dragon at the gate,” Kari had the power to grant those exceptions. She decided who saw the president and who didn’t.

I pasted on a hopeful look and held my silence.

Kari sighed. “I’ll check with her.” She rose from her seat and slipped into the president’s office.

Garrison is going to kill me. Right after he fires my ass. But I can’t let this go. Since he won’t act, I have to. This is too important.

I’d forgotten my Arasetan clothing, and Garrison had kept the handheld, saying he intended to hand it over to the Computer and Artificial Intelligence Department for analysis. “I’m sure we’ll learn a lot,” he’d said.

I had a strong hunch CAID would be contacting me for assistance with the device. I doubted they could hack into the device without the passwords—and also, the charge on the device had run low. By the time Garrison gave it to them, they’d be getting a brick. The device could be solar charged, but I had no intention of telling them they just needed to take it outside or set it in a window. Of course, they might figure that out on their own.

How could Garrison not believe me?

Kari returned. “You may go in. The president will give you a few minutes.”

“Thank you!” I shot her a beaming smile. “I know you put in a good word for me.”

“I’m making an exception this once!” she admonished. “The president is eager to hear about your cruise.”

“I won’t ask for any more favors,” I agreed. I wouldn’t need to. After today, I wouldn’t have a job. “Thanks again. You’re the best.” You may have saved the world.

“Jessie, it’s so good to see you. I’m dying to hear about your trip.” President Erika Stadler greeted me with a warm smile and a head nod. The president did not shake hands anymore. She used to during her first term, but, perhaps as a result of all the hand pumping she’d done, she’d developed mysophobia—she’d become a germaphobe. She’d apologetically gone public after the last election to announce that she would no longer greet people with a handshake. “I admit I’m a little jealous. I’m the president, and even I haven’t been on a space cruise.” She winked.

“Oh, it wasn’t an opportunity you would have enjoyed,” I replied.

“Why? What happened? It didn’t go well? I’m so sorry. Please, sit down.”

She wore her usual navy-blue pantsuit paired with a white blouse. Her attire never varied; she always wore dark-blue pants and jacket with the same broach pinned to the lapel. The jewelry piece had been the last gift her late husband had given her. The president was a widow; her husband had died of a massive coronary during the last presidential campaign. Petty opponents looking for anything to pick on mocked her monochromatic, monotonous fashion sense. Unfazed, she dismissed the criticism, saying, “I wasn’t elected to impress the world with my clothing but dazzle them with my policies. Let’s focus on what’s important, shall we?”

We took our seats on a sofa. She looked at me with concern in her eyes. President Stadler had a reputation for being empathetic. Again, political opponents had scoffed, claiming she faked congeniality, but I’d dealt with her enough to realize she truly cared about people. The citizens seemed to know it, too; she’d won the election by a landslide. “Tell me what happened.” She leaned forward.

I inhaled a deep breath, nervous after talking to Garrison. What if the president didn’t believe me either? What would I do then? I couldn’t just continue with business as usual and ignore what I knew.

“The space cruise, which supposedly I’d won in a drawing, turned out to be a ruse perpetrated by the Copan-Cerulean slave cartel to lure New Terrans off the planet so we could be captured. An interplanetary alliance—the League of Planets—is trying to stop trafficking—but they’re hampered by bureaucracy and their own rules prohibiting contact with our planet. The embargo has isolated us, leaving us at the mercy of slavetraffickers.”

“How do you know this?”

“Because I and the rest of the Star Cross passengers were abducted off the space cruiser!”

She blinked. “You’re saying you were abducted by aliens?”

“It sounds crazy, but—”

She held up her finger. “One moment please.” She strode to her massive desk and picked up the comm handset. “Kari? Ms. Sayles and I need more time. Reschedule my next appointment and hold any calls. Put me on do-not-disturb.”

The president returned to the sofa. “Tell me everything. From the beginning.”

I laid out how the passengers and crew of the Star Cross were gassed and moved to a slave cargo ship. We’d been rescued by the king of Araset after his son, Crown Prince Aeon, who’d been captured by the cartel, had managed to get word to him. Then the League of Planets swooped in. Because of our low population, humans were on a protected species list, but everyone blamed us for the Great Nuclear War that destroyed Earth and considered us dangerous. The embargo, designed to contain but also protect us, had made us more vulnerable to threats. I added how the Star Cross passengers and crew had their memories wiped before being repatriated, but Giselle had helped me out, and Millie had slipped me her handheld.

I spoke nonstop for about twenty minutes. President Stadler just listened and nodded. I’d shared more with her than I had with Garrison because he’d kept interrupting me to debate my assertions, trying to convince me I was wrong.

“Who besides me have you told?” President Stadler asked.

“Only Garrison Keller.”

“And what did he say?”

“He didn’t believe me,” I admitted. “According to the census reports, we haven’t lost any people, except I know that’s not the case!”

“I don’t doubt you.”

“You don’t?”

“You’re levelheaded, logical, and calm, not prone to exaggeration or delusion. We know other intelligent beings exist, so what you’ve described is not out of the realm of possibility. If you say it happened, then as far as I’m concerned, it’s credible. I’m going to brief the Joint Chiefs of Staff and develop a plan on how to proceed. I will have the census retaken and the results double-checked. As our population is small and the census is precise, we can determine exactly how many individuals are on this planet. If one person is missing, the census will show it.” Garrison had pretty much said the same thing—but with a different attitude and conclusion.

“I think somebody has been cooking the census data,” I said. “I know of four people not on this planet who are listed as being present and accounted for.”

Before coming to see the president, I’d done a deep dive into the census data, looked at the records listing every living person by name. As I’d suspected, Holly, Millie, Kat, and Giselle were counted as being on New Terra.

Except they weren’t—they were on Nomoru.

“If someone has been fudging the data, we will find them. I promise you. Where is the handheld you mentioned?” the president asked.

“Garrison has it. He’s going to turn it over to CAID.”

“I’ll need to get that from him for my briefing with the Joint Chiefs.” She looked at me. “Do you have any other supporting evidence?”

She said, “supporting evidence,” like my word counted for something. The way it should have been with Garrison. If anyone should have been a tough sell, it should have been the president. Not my boss.

“Just my clothes,” I replied.

She eyed my navy slacks and high-necked navy-and-white tunic. It struck me I’d inadvertently dressed kind of like the president herself. The only thing missing is a broach.

“Not these.” I plucked at the hem of the tunic. “The ones I had on when I landed. They came from planet Nomoru. An analysis will show we don’t have that fabric. The clothes won’t prove I was kidnapped, but they do help prove the existence of aliens—but, of course, that’s not in contention.”

“I’ll want the clothes, too. Every bit helps.”

“I’ll bring them in tomorrow. They’re at my apartment.”

“Speaking of evidence…” She strode to her console and connected with her assistant again. “Kari, please send someone to Mr. Keller’s office right away and retrieve a communication device. He’ll know what it is. And please arrange a meeting with the Joint Chiefs as soon as possible.”

I winced. Garrison would know where I was and what I’d done. I’d broken a cardinal rule: obey the chain of command. You did not go over your boss’s head, least of all to the head boss herself. He’d fire me for sure. I’d hoped to keep my job for a few more days anyway because once I got canned, I’d lose access to important resources. If I hadn’t had clearance, I wouldn’t have been able to dig into the census. Citizens could get the population count and demographic info, but they didn’t have access to names.

Upon returning to the sofa, the president scanned my face. “What’s wrong?”

I twisted my mouth. “Garrison won’t be happy I came to you.”

“Ah. The chain of command. I respect him and the chain of command, but in this case, you did the right thing. I’m glad you came to me and trusted me with this information. The safety and security of our planet is of paramount importance. Don’t worry about Garrison. I’ll smooth any ruffled feathers.” She paused. “Is there anything else?”

I shook my head. “I think I’ve told you everything.”

She stood up again, and I took it as my cue to leave. I stood up, too. “Thank you, Madame President.”

“No, thank you, Jessie. I’ll handle it from here. Be assured a full investigation will be conducted, and I will do everything in my power to ensure our people are safe. We must avoid unnecessary panic. I need to ask you to keep this under wraps until we have a plan of attack. Don’t share your information with anyone. Can I count on your discretion?”

“Of course!” I could envision people freaking out and doing crazy things, inadvertently hurting each other. A bad situation would be made worse.

“When we go public, we must offer reassurance and tell people what steps they can take to protect themselves. I don’t have those answers yet. But I promise you, I will get those answers shortly.” She walked me to the door.

I felt so much better knowing she was in charge and believed me. Garrison’s skepticism had rattled me. I had one last favor to ask. “Could you keep me in the loop? Let me know what you discover?”

“Absolutely. I’ll see that you get the classified report. Most likely, you’ll be called upon to brief the Joint Chiefs and possibly others.” She offered a wry smile. “I’m afraid you may need to tell your story several times more.”

“I’d be happy to,” I said, and exited her office.

Her chief of staff sat in the waiting area. “Hey! How was the space cruise?” Ron Klinkman asked.

“Memorable,” I answered.

“I’ll bet.”

Kari motioned he could enter the president’s office.

My steps felt so much lighter as I left. The problem hadn’t been solved, but a huge weight had been lifted from my shoulders.

Since I was technically still on vacation, and I dreaded facing my pissed-off boss, I decided to take the rest of the afternoon off. I could get reacquainted with the familiar comforts of home and spend some quality time with James Bond. Besides, I needed to be there to protect my home if the intruder came back.

Dammit! I forgot to tell President Stadler about the burglary. Normally a break-in would not rate as something to bother the president with, except this was no run-of-the mill crime. The yellow-eyed intruder had demanded the handheld.

Unfortunately, the president was tied up with her chief of staff. Would she bring him into her confidence? Klinkman had struck me as trustworthy, but as the circle of in-the-know individuals grew, so did the possibility of leaks. It was inevitable.

When I drop off my clothes tomorrow, I’ll tell her about the burglary. She’ll get the handheld back from Garrison. That’s the most important thing.

I continued to the hovercraft garage located at the top level of the Jericho Conner New Terran Alliance building. All branches of government had offices in the sprawling complex named after the captain of the first colonial vessel to arrive.

Probably because I’d been on vacation, someone had deemed it acceptable to use my assigned parking space. When I’d arrived, I’d been forced to park at the end of the row. Striding toward my vehicle now, I dug out the starter from my pocket.

With a chirp, my vehicle unlocked and fired up.

I heard a hovercraft door spring open, a footfall, and then my peripheral vision caught a dark blur. A hood was dragged over my head. “No! Stop it! Help!” I screamed and struck out. The hovercar remote flew from my hand.

My arms were wrenched behind my back. I continued to thrash, almost yanking my arms from their sockets. I felt myself being dragged away.

“Help! Let me go! Somebody, help me!”

“Hurry up! Do it! What are you waiting for?” A man swore in a high male voice.

There must be two of them.At least two.

How could this be happening? “What do you want with me?” I cried, trying to delay, praying somebody would be watching on the security cams and would rush to my aid.

“Watch where you jab with that thing,” growled the same man.

I felt a sharp sting. No. No. No. The drug burned through my veins. Within seconds, my arms and legs drooped like lead weights, and my head lolled on my neck. Darkness descended, and I succumbed to nothingness.