Chapter 4

4

S uitcase in her hand, purse under her arm, backpack with all the essentials, and a cat carrier in the other hand, Jenny stood at the sliding doors, waiting for them to open, along with the other engineers from Oakwood.

While some of them were familiar to Jenny, she couldn’t call any of them friends. Faces she’d seen around, maybe.

“Look, another door,” one of them, a man named Mitchell, muttered.

“If you don’t want to be here, there’s the exit,” another girl said with a serious expression.

The shuttle bus that had delivered her and a handful of other people to The Bridge had pulled inside the main garage-door like entrance. All of them had packed for an extended stay.

Well, within reason, anyway.

Security had been tight, with layers of men with big guns surrounding the tower and the base. The windows of the bus were almost black, but she still felt like every one of those security officers could see her and everyone else inside. Made her lean away from the windows, far enough that she could without looking suspicious.

It didn't help that paranoia still lingered.

The drive up had taken longer than she expected, since they had to go through several security checks, and the fencing kept any curious eyes away.

And all of them stared at her one extra carry-along.

She wasn’t about to leave Mr. F alone while she was gone—she didn’t know how long it would be.

So far, Mr. Fluffikins was being quiet and laying still in his travel carrier, but she doubted that would last much longer.

When they got off the bus and escorted, surrounded by military security, to the door they were now waiting on, she still searched the surrounding people.

Rationally, she told herself, she knew Phil couldn't be there. And he shouldn’t know where she went.

Even if he did, it’s not like he could get here. He wasn't in the military, and he would not sneak in. All the security would likely catch him before he got even a half-mile to the location.

Still, she couldn't help worrying.

Phil's creepy texts had not stopped.

It seemed the more she ignored him, the worse it got. When she tried to engage and stand up for herself, he would get even more aggressive.

Hardly the guy she'd dated, for sure. What had flipped this switch in him, she didn't know. Honestly, she didn't want to know.

She was just happy to get away from him, and with the number of military police that were surrounding The Bridge, she couldn't imagine anything up there that would be worse than Phil's constant harassment.

She’d done everything she was supposed to. But the restraining order didn’t put her at ease.

A piece of paper wouldn't protect her from an attack.

She needed to get out of his reach.

Completely out of it.

The sight of the security around The Bridge was in a way a welcome relief. At least here, she didn't have to worry that Phil would be able to just show up.

Or take pictures.

Or break in and surprise her while she was in the shower.

Her apartment? She wasn't sure what was going to happen there. She'd told her neighbors and her landlord that she was going to be gone for a few weeks, but she didn't know if that meant they were going to actually monitor things.

She’d requested that the landlord check in from time to time, just to make sure everything was in good order, but she doubted he would. It was a large apartment complex. She would be surprised if security even came around.

She closed her eyes and tried to will the worries away. Though there were just different ones now.

Here, she just had to worry about crazies who wanted to blow up The Bridge, because how it destroyed their general vision of, well, anything and everything. The threats against The Bridge were a part of the news almost daily. It was a political hotbed of discussion, speculation and general controversy for the last few years.

And she was going in it.

"We'll be safe here," she muttered to herself, squeezing the handle of her cat carrier.

Mister Fluffikins growled.

"I can't believe they let you bring a pet," Mitchell muttered.

Jenny glanced at her. "I was told--"

"It's not an emotional support animal, is it? Because that's just stupid," he said.

Jenny blinked, opening her mouth to say something, but one other chimed in before she could.

"And what's wrong with an emotional support animal?" one of the other girls asked. "Support animals can help all kinds of people, from those with disabilities to those who have--"

"Enough!" one of the military men yelled. "Quiet."

Like a twisted mockery, Jenny's phone vibrated in her pocket. Either it was her parents, wanting to know if she’d arrived yet, or it was Phil.

She hoped it was her parents. Because she didn't want to deal with another text from Phil.

The soldier glared at her.

She put her head down.

Mister Fluffikins meowed in protest again. Not because he was in his travel kennel, but because she wasn’t moving. If he had to be in here, then he should be moving. Jenny’s standing and waiting, however, was not pleasing to his furriness. His little paw darted out between the bars of the door, ready to swipe at something.

"Shh," she whispered.

Mr. F didn't appreciate that. And did his whine-growl, but the doors in front of them slid open, and he stopped, jerking in the kennel so much she almost dropped him.

The doors revealed a huge freight-like elevator with bright lights and light metal walls.

And out bounced a woman with shoulder-length brown hair, a big smile on her face, and a very round, pregnant belly.

"Hi there," she said, coming just outside the door. "I'm Polly. Welcome to The Bridge!"

She sounded way too eager.

"Polly," Mitchell said, unimpressed.

Jenny, however, was.

"Are you the Polly?" Jenny asked, shocked that she was standing before her.

Polly was known all over the world. The girl who married the alien and returned to Earth to tell the tale and wound up bringing alien contact and a wave of change with her.

Polly was a modern legend of sorts. Depending on which social media world you followed, she was either a saint or the devil for bringing aliens to Earth in a big, public way, and rattling every major religion to their core.

She’s been in the middle of quite the storm, for sure.

Still, she looked so, well, normal .

Jenny couldn't believe it was her. Like really her. Her green husband, Erzo, was an immense beast of a guy, at least from what Jenny had seen of pictures of them together, and he had a big tail.

And he was very protective of Polly. He always seemed to be touching or even guarding her.

She wondered where he was, and was he about to jump out and scare them all in a minute?

Would they meet him? How many others would they get to meet?

Jenny had been intrigued by them from the beginning.

From a genetic point of view, she had so many questions. After all, how did everything work? The chemistry. The biology. The anatomy.

As her gaze roamed over Polly's shape, she blushed, thinking that yes, everything seemed to work just fine.

"I have so many questions," Jenny burst out, staring at Polly.

"We can talk about them," Polly said. She gestured toward the elevator, her attention moving to everyone in the group. "Please, come in, and we'll get you to the station."

They all stepped inside the freight elevator. It wasn't particularly pretty, this elevator. The ceilings were very high, making it not seem so closed in.

The motor worked fairly smoothly as the elevator rose.

Fast. It moved very fast. Jenny felt the general rising direction, and it felt like her stomach tried to stay on the ground floor for a moment. She took in a couple of breaths, centering herself in the sensation.

She pulled Mister Fluffikins closer to her and stuck a finger into the door hole. The cat brushed his paw against her finger for a second.

We’re in this together, buddy , she thought to herself. She glanced at Polly again. "You said get us to the station. This isn't where we’re going to be?"

Polly shook her head. "This is just the layover."

The sparkle in Polly's eyes both intrigued Jenny, but also scared her just a little. Did her boss know this? Or did he think The Bridge was going to be where she was?

When the elevator glided to a stop, the air pressure shifted just before the doors opened. Jenny, along with everyone else, came out to a bright hotel-like lobby. Windows along the wall let in the light, and the view of the landscape and the clouds dominated. Jenny stared for a few moments, just taking in the beauty of it. She could see the squares of fields on the ground, resembling patchwork, as well as the patches of civilization in between them. They seemed to be just at the edge of the clouds, like there was a puffy fog above them she could almost touch.

"Quite the view," another one of the female engineers said. "I could stay right here, honestly.”

Jenny nodded and glanced at her. "Jenny," she said, holding out her hand.

"Brooklyn," she replied. "And no, I'm not named after the bridge.”

Jenny grinned.

“And who is this?” she gestured to the cat carrier.

“Mister Fluffikins,” Jenny said. “Personal protector.”

Brooklyn grinned. “I get that.” She stuck a finger into the cage.

Mr. F backed away from the door and let out a little snarl-hiss.

“He doesn’t like anyone but me,” Jenny said.

“Well, you’re his person, then.”

“I guess so.” Jenny reached into one of the small holes and brushed the top of Mr. F’s head to soothe him a little.

"Hey, everyone," Polly called out. "Come over here.”

Jenny glanced at Polly, who was gesturing for her and Brooklyn to come over.

There was a reception desk area, and Polly wanted them all there.

Probably because there was someone else waiting for all their attention.

Her gaze ran over everyone, and she smiled, her lips a darker pink than her face.

She was not human whatsoever.

Jenny's stomach dropped.

Pink skin, two little antenna on her head, and a smile that was almost hypnotic.

Jenny’s stomach started doing flip-flops, realizing just how real all of this was.

There were aliens.

Here.

On Earth.

The idea shook her for a moment.

"Re-lee, these are the Earth engineers," Polly said, walking toward her and rubbing her belly. "They're here to help with the calibration of the equipment and make sure everything is done just right."

Re-lee came out from behind the counter. She spoke, but her words sounded like some kind of breathy version of French and Japanese. Sort of anyway. Though the pitches weren't right. It was off and twisted, but there was a liquid melody to it.

Re-lee ended whatever she was saying with an expression on her face like she was expecting a response, but no one moved.

Polly's gaze darted back and forth between the engineers and Re-lee. Then she snapped her fingers. "Right. The translators!" She waddled over to the desk and reached behind it, pulling out what looked like a large, piercing gun.

"Translators?" the guy asked.

"So we all can understand each other," Polly said. She held up the gun. "This puts a chip behind your ear." She pushed her hair back and turned her head, revealing a little silver disk the size of a nickel.

"We all get one?" Brooklyn asked.

Polly nodded. "You hardly notice it after you get it, honestly, but it makes the communication with everyone much easier. They're standard issue out there," she said, gesturing to the sky. "Who wants to go first?"

"What do they do?"

"How do they work?"

"What's the way they--"

The others started peppering Polly with questions about it. Re-lee raised her hands to say something, but they couldn't understand her at all. It bothered Jenny, not being able to understand her. And she wondered how many others she wouldn't be able to understand if she didn't have one of those chips.

The risk was worth it to her. Jenny raised her hand. "I'll take one."

Everyone stopped speaking and stared at her.

"Are you crazy? You don't even know what it does to you," one man said.

Jenny glanced at him. "Are you not here to learn new things? I am.”

"Great," Polly said, and came over. "Look over your shoulder."

Jenny did. Polly folded her ear and put the tip of the gun-thing against her skin. Quick, like a piercing, the gun expelled air, and it was over. She felt the chip against her skin, and immediately she reached up to touch the disk.

Rubbing the spot, it felt cool, and the stinging went away.

Jenny wasn't sure what she would expect, if she'd get some kind of brain download or something, but Re-lee came over.

"Can you understand me now?" English replaced the gibberish from before. Clear, concise, and only with a hint of an accent in her tone.

Jenny nodded. "Your voice really is pretty."

"Thank you. I like yours as well.”

Mister Fluffikins took that moment to stick out his paw like he expected something.

Maybe he wanted his own translator?

Re-lee looked down. "And who is this here?"

"It's my cat, Mister Fluffikins," Jenny said, raising up the kennel. "They told me, since it was an extended stay, I could bring him. I hope it's okay.”

Re-lee glanced inside the kennel. "Looks like a starline, though he only seems to have one tail. Very cute. You'll have to let him out later and explore when we get settled."

Jenny nodded. "I couldn't leave him at home, not knowing how long I'll be here.”

"If he's anything like a starline, then they do well in space, and they're good little hunters to have on the ships. Many long-voyage transports have at least one, just for handling any sort of vermin that might wind up on a ship.”

"Well, then Mister Fluffikins should enjoy himself, because he's a big hunter, aren't you?" Jenny said, looking at her cat in the carrier.

Re-lee grinned. "I bet you're a big hunter, aren't you?" she said. "Just keep him off the equipment, alright?" Her tone shifted when she said that.

"Sure," Jenny said.

"Good," Re-lee replied.

Meanwhile, Polly addressed the rest. "Okay, who's next?"

All the other engineers' hands shot up, and in a few moments, everyone was getting their translator chips.

"Thank you for the demonstration," Re-lee said softly.

Jenny blinked. "I didn't mean to.”

"But it worked," she said, gesturing to the group. "Now we can get everyone to the transports and get you all up there.”

As the others got their shots, Jenny crossed to the windows again, marveling at the view. And as she watched, she could see the breaths of the clouds floating all around the station. Yet she couldn't feel any air currents moving the tower. Not even a gust against the windows.

"How is the air not pushing this around?" Jenny asked to no one in particular.

"Outer space engineering," Polly answered.

Jenny jumped, not realizing that Polly had come over to her. "Oh, sorry. I didn't know you were there.”

"It's okay. Come on though.”

The others were behind her.

"She brings up a good point, though," Brooklyn said. "If it was outer space engineering, then it would be fit for no air, not air currents that would blow at this high altitude.”

Polly waved her hand. "They have the technology to compensate for that better that we do.”

"Force fields," Re-lee said. "We have protective shielding around the structure to protect it from any sort of elemental influence. You can stand out on the landing platforms in a rainstorm and not get wet.”

Jenny blinked. "Really?"

"You should try it, if one comes up. It's really neat," Polly added.

"Might be worth it," Jenny said.

"If you think that is cool," Polly said as she patted her stomach. "Wait until you ride up to the station.

Jenny blinked. "This isn't where we'll be?"

"Oh no," Polly said. "We have a ship to catch."

A space ship.

I’m on an actual space ship.

And I’m about to leave orbit!

Jenny reached for her phone. The thought of putting out a social media post to brag about where she was about to go overwhelmed her.

But she stopped herself.

There were things she’d signed and agreed to, as far as privacy. Still, she took a few pictures. She’d show them to her parents when she got back.

Brooklyn sat next to her.

“Are you taking pictures of this space ship?”

“The question is, why aren’t you?”

“Non-disclosure agreement.”

“I just don’t want to forget anything,” Jenny said.

Brooklyn raised her eyebrow. “Do you really think you’ll forget any of this?”

“Good point,” she said, grinning.

Still, she held up her phone. “Selfie with me?”

Brooklyn shook her head and leaned in. They both made big cheesy grins, and Brooklyn held up a peace sign as Jenny snapped the pic.

“Friends are always good to remember,” Jenny said.

“True.”

Like a regular plane, the seats were in rows, though only two on each side, near windows, so the passengers could see out. Jenny figured that must have been by design, since it was taking Earthlings, who’d never left their world, into space.

From a row behind them, one other that Jenny hadn’t met yet rambled on about going to space before his cousin, who worked for NASA and studied and trained for years, and never got to touch the stars.

“He brings up a good point,” Jenny said. “What about all of them? NASA astronauts, and all the other space organizations around the world? Wouldn’t they have something to do with all of this?”

From the seat in front of her, Polly turned around. “They are. And they will. We’re organizing a kind of council for aliens and astronauts. Start a program that allows for exploration and all that stuff that they’re going to do.”

“You’d think it would be easier if the aliens just gave us the stuff, and we could develop it,” Jenny said.

“Well, there’s a whole thing about that?—”

Polly was cut off by the ship moving.

Jenny clutched her cat carrier that she’d stowed on the floor between her feet, holding it steady, and grabbed the handles of the seat.

“This is it,” she whispered.

She half-expected the ship to tip up on its backside and lift off like a rocket, but it didn’t.

It just rose into the air, up through the haze of clouds for a few seconds, like a slow balloon rising, and then it shot forward.

And they were moving.

And oh wow, were they moving!

“Look!” Brooklyn said, pointing at the window.

She stared in wonder as the ship rose, and they headed straight into the sky, higher and higher.

The ship shook, and she held on tight. Outside, she could see where the atmosphere ended. Not quite a harsh line, more like a badly blended ombre, the whitish blue of Earth’s sky, faded to a white film, and then that melted into the stars.

Like they’d crossed a finish line, all the shaking disappeared. The engine’s roar shifted to a much softer one, and the ship turned. Her grip on the cat carrier relaxed, and she let out a breath.

“This is?—”

“We’re weightless!” Brooklyn squealed.

Right there in front of her, Brooklyn’s purse was floating.

Jenny let go of her bag, and sure enough, it started floating as well.

“Oh wow,” she said, spinning it in the air.

A rowl-meow came from the cat carrier.

“Oh, Mr. F!” Jenny said, grabbing the cat carrier.

The poor kitty was floating in his hard case, twisting and turning, and was decidedly unhappy about it.

“I’m sorry, it’ll be okay, just give it a few more minutes.”

The cat hissed.

“Oh, he’s so mad!” Brooklyn said.

“Wouldn’t you be, if you were suddenly floating?”

“Without prior knowledge? Absolutely. Too bad we can’t explain it to him,” Brooklyn said.

“It’ll be over soon,” Jenny said, sticking her finger in the case at Mr. F

He batted her away, snarling.

“No, he is not happy,” she said as she tried to set the case back down. It wasn’t really going down, so she put her feet on it to pin it between the floor and her.

Didn’t help that she was floating too, though not too far. The seatbelts kept her basically in place.

Sort of.

“Those zero-g chairs have nothing on this,” Brooklyn said, waving her hands in the air.

She and Brooklyn started giggling.

Brooklyn looked at the row above, at Polly. “Hey, Polly.”

“Yes?” Polly looked a little sick, though she tried to hide it with a fake smile.

“Are you okay?”

“This part always gets me. I don’t like zero-g.” She put her hand over her face.

“Do you need anything?” Jenny asked. “Can we do something for you?”

Polly shook her head. “It’ll be over soon. Don’t go too far from your chair.”

Jenny played with her floating purse. Part of her wanted to unbuckle, to really feel it, but she didn’t want Mr. F to panic more. She may have some catnip for him when they get settled, or something to help him feel better.

Some passengers unhooked and started floating, bouncing off the ceiling and the chairs, but they didn’t get far before the ship twisted.

The light shifted, and Jenny turned to the window. A huge station had appeared. Maybe it was there, and they just came to it. She wasn’t sure.

But it was much larger than she expected, the closer they got.

“Whoa,” she said. “Brooklyn, look at the size of this.”

“Hell,” she said.

They both pushed to the window so they could better make it out.

There’s where all the spaceships were.

The station looked massive. Like the size of an oil tanker or something, and there were ships attached all over it. Several types and colors. It was easy to see that they all were from different places. The shapes were very different, sticking off the station like an RNA chain, spinning on its single ribbon with the ships like strands of nucleotides.

“It’s like an RNA chain,” Jenny whispered.

Brooklyn chuckled. “I was just thinking that.”

They both chuckled again.

“Bioengineer for the win,” Brooklyn said and they high-fived, jarring them both in the weightless environment.

“This is amazing,” Jenny grinned, and turned her attention back to the window. “What’s that, look.”

An arm came off the station and swung around to the ship. The ship slowly twisted, and she wasn’t able to see the station anymore, just the vastness of space.

“Wow,” she whispered, staring at it for a few minutes. “The stars are breathtaking.”

A loud thunk made her jump. The ship jerked, and the grinding of metal on metal echoed as something connected to the ship.

There were several cries of alert.

“We’re connecting to the station,” Polly said. “If you’re not in your seat, get back in it, the gravity will be returning in a moment.”

As the ship attached, Jenny felt the twist in the ship, and slowly, the gravity came back. “Does the main station spin for gravity?”

“Yes,” Polly said. “There’s redundant systems too, I’m told, but spinning is the way it keeps up with the gravity.”

As everything in the ship aligned with the gravity, Mr. F expressed his disapproval, and when Jenny glanced inside his carrier, all the food she’d put inside spilled all over the case.

“We’ll get you cleaned up in a minute,” she said, reaching through the holes.

She looked up. “We’re not on Earth anymore. I don’t know if that means anything to you, but this is a completely new place. All new hunting grounds,” she said.

This seemed to calm him for a bit.

She wished it calmed her down.

If anything, she was more anxious than ever.