"A trip?" Rose asked, her spoon pausing before her mouth. Milk dripped from it into the cereal bowl below.
"Yeah, I thought it'd be nice to go to the city for the weekend," her father said. "Get out after everything that's going on."
"Is that okay?" Rose turned to where her bodyguard was lurking in the corner. Brown sipped at his orange juice as he considered the suggestion, before shrugging. "I don't see why not. I'll need to clear it with my superiors, but it shouldn't be a problem."
"This weekend?" Her sister furrowed her brow. "I suppose I don't have any plans."
"Trip! Trip!" Danny pounded his fists against the dinner table, almost spilling Rose's cereal bowl. Her mom's quick reflexes put the kibosh to her overexcited five-year-old's antics, using her hands to restrain him.
"That sounds like a great idea, Hun," her mother said. "But will they allow you away from work, dear? You know how Mr. Zwicky can get."
"Yeah," Rose deflated. She feared her father would get pulled away for some business deal again. It was pointless to get her hopes up. Still, a shopping trip with her mom and siblings sounded nice.
"No!" Everyone jerked in surprise as a fist slammed against the table. Milk spilled from Rose's bowl onto the tablecloth. Rose, however, was too shocked to notice.
"No, we are having this trip," her father's tone was emphatic. "I don't give a da…" Her father sucked in a deep breath to calm himself before continuing. "My work keeps me too distant from you guys. I can't allow that , not with everything happening!"
"Dad." Had the Altair attacks affected her father more than she'd realized?
"I think it's a wonderful idea, Chris," her mother said, taking her husband's hands.
She smiled as he kissed her on the lips. "I don't say enough how much I love you."
"Indeed, you don't." She kissed him back. Rose looked away in embarrassment. Still, she was happy for them. She'd worried their marriage had gotten too cold, fearing the worst. "Still, won't Zwicky get upset with you? Don't you have a major deal you're working on?"
"Frank can handle it," her father said defiantly. Rose marveled that he was so willing to stand up to his boss. Usually, her timid father kowtowed to his wishes. Heck, he didn't even seem concerned about what this defiance might do to his career.
"Are we sure he isn't an impostor or something?" Sophia whispered to her. "Like an Altair took over his brain." Rose fought hard to resist laughing.
"Besides, I have too much planned to worry about work!" her father continued. "Like the Twins game on Saturday. I've already bought tickets."
"Have you now?" her mother raised an eyebrow, false accusation in her voice. Her father hadn't made this decision spur-of-the-moment. "That sounds like a lovely idea."
Rose bubbled with excitement. She loved baseball and hadn't seen the Twins play live in forever. Her little brother let out a series of excited squeaks, equally thrilled by the prospect. Sophia pretended to be aloof but hid a secret smile.
"And I have a dozen other activities planned. I hear the zoo has recently revamped its lion exhibit. It might be fun checking out," her father continued.
"I think you're a genius," her mom kissed her husband on the cheek. Her father responded with a radiant smile, the happiest she'd seen him in ages.
"We needed the trip," Rose thought. It was strange to consider the Altair had brought them closer all together, the monstrous aliens healing a festering wound they'd never realized was there. Rose couldn't wait for the weekend.
---
"What a mess," Sandage stared at the scene before him, glad he wasn't there in person. The crime scene's miasma stunk something fierce. "What could have caused this?"
Agent Flamsteed ran his fingers through his hair, considering how best to answer. "It's hard to say. An eyewitness saw a dark-haired man covered in dark stains leave the crime scene but vanished before the witness got a good look at him."
"Vanished?"
"Disappeared like smoke," Flamsteed replied before shrugging. "But it was dark, and the witness wasn't exactly sober."
"That any single person did this defies belief. The Altair must be involved. It's the most logical explanation." The bar was a gruesome scene, the worst Sandage had ever seen. It was difficult to tell if the remains scattered across the crime scene had even been human.
"We can't be sure," Flamsteed said after a moment's consideration. "We've yet to find any telltale signs of their involvement. In the previous Altair attacks, we found fragments of their flesh contaminating the scene to spread their corruption. Here? We've passed through the crime scene a dozen times yet found nothing."
Then the Altair weren't involved? Sandage frowned, that answer not satisfying him. Were the Altair trying to keep a lower profile? Not well, but still avoiding making it obvious. The implications were disturbing. They still didn't know how intelligent the alien invaders were.
"Another thing. We found this on one of the victim's phones, a Carolyn Drake." The other agent revealed a phone in an evidence baggy.
Sandage's blood went cold as he saw the picture on the screen. It was Rose standing with President Okona. He released a ragged breath. "One heck of a coincidence. One I don't like at all." He cursed, wishing he hadn't agreed to allow the girl and her family to go on a weekend trip to Minneapolis. They were leaving tomorrow morning. Still, it might be safer if his charge left town for a couple days. He'd have agents scour the girl's home for any suspicious characters.
"Good work finding this. Aid the capital police however you can. Find this dark-haired man. But keep this quiet. We don't know if he's an Altair or not. We don't want to scare people needlessly."
Great, more bad news! He was still stinging after the failed attempt to track the owner of the P.O. box of Doctor William von Fraunhofer's pen pal. A third party picked up the mail for Macauley, then mailed it to another distant address across the country. He cursed this mysterious benefactor for sending his agency on this bizarre wild goose chase, but he wasn't discouraged. Sandage swore he'd hunt this person to the ends of the Earth, if only to heal his wounded pride.
Another no-name town in Ohio, huh? Run all you like, Macauley. You're never escaping me!
"Anyway, in the meantime, Put extra guards on Rose," Sandage considered calling her back home but decided against it. He didn't want to cause Rose undue worry. That girl deserved a normal day out. "Report anything suspicious."
"Yes, sir," the junior agent said, running off to make the necessary calls.
"I'm getting a bad feeling." And the Luyten V's new weapon wouldn't be ready for another month.
Sandage gave the LUVOLT headquarters a call. "Gold? I want you to hurry production on Project: Pierce, work triple shifts if required."
"You're a real slave driver, you know that?" Doctor Gold said, annoyed. "You realize we're working with technology the world's never seen before?"
"We have no choice."
"Oh," Gold said, his voice sobering as he caught Sandage's tone. "I can't promise anything, but we'll do our best."
"Thank you, doctor." Sandage sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. His body drooped, the last few sleepless nights taking their toll. Since the first Altair attack, he hadn't been sleeping well. "We're counting on you. Good luck."
Sandage heard a smile behind the scientist's voice. "Will do. You can count on us. We're all eager to save the world." Sandage only hoped it'd be enough.
---
"Rose, did you pack the extra snacks?" her mom said from the backseat. Rose yawned. The sun hadn't risen yet, its red rim visible on the horizon. As usual, her father wanted to leave bright and early.
"Yes, Mom." The grocery bag Rose held made a satisfactory rumble as she shook it. "Everything's here."
"Soph, could you load the water for me?" Inside, Rose heard her mom fiddling with their brother's booster seat. "Just put it in the back."
Busy with her phone, Sophia hadn't noticed. Rose elbowed her ribs to get her attention. "Huh?"
"Water bottles in the back," Rose said, hiding a smug smile. "Wait till we're in the car to play with your phone."
"Okay." Sophia returned with a wrapped pack of water bottles, grunting under their weight as she loaded them next to the groceries they'd already packed.
After an hour of organized chaos getting everything ready, they loaded into the van. Not wanting to interfere with their family trip, her bodyguard's beat-up brown Mustang tailed behind them.
Feeling somewhat anti-social, Rose stuck in earbuds and listened to her music. While gentle nature sounds played, she watched the scenery zip past. It was a lovely day, the grass richly green and the sun brightening the cloudless sky. Rose emptied her mind, just enjoying the ride.
"Rose?" A voice called, rousing Rose from her reverie. She pulled out her earbuds.
"Yes?"
"I'm wondering how you've been, Rue?" Her sister asked. "How are things at school?"
Surprised her sister wanted to chat, Rose answered. "About as usual. A school fair's coming up. They've partnered me with Georges. He's working pretty hard to impress me. He insists on daily visits to check the project's progress!"
"From your tone, I can tell you're not exactly pleased with him," her sister replied ruefully.
"Georges can be a lot," Rose made a vague gesture with her hand.
"You know he's had a crush on you since forever?"
"Don't remind me. I'd like Georges more if he backed off and respected my space. "It's like he thinks if he isn't constantly attentive to me, I'll forget his existence!"
Sophia laughed and rolled her eyes. "Some boys can be dumb like that. In high school, this one boy became obsessed with me simply because I smiled at him once."
"No!" Rose said, scandalized.
"Fraid so. I ended up telling him upfront I wasn't interested in him. It wasn't pretty. He wasn't a bad guy, but he didn't understand boundaries. Teenage years are the worst for romantic stuff. Nobody knows how it works."
"Joy." And she'd have to deal with that nonsense soon, too.
"But you'll each figure things out. Georges is still immature. Just tell him how you feel about his behavior. You should deal with this sooner rather than later before he becomes even more hormonal and crazy."
"But…" Rose hesitated, knowing it'd devastate her friend. It might ruin their friendship! But she realized the wisdom of her sister's advice. "No, you're right. I'll tell him sometime soon." She'd better deal with it now, not wanting to tolerate this unwanted behavior for years. "You're surprisingly wise, Soph."
"That's what elder sisters are for, Rue." Sophia ruffled her little sister's hair. Her smile turned sad. "I've missed this, just talking with you like this. I've let school distract me for too long. When I leave for college in the fall, we won't see each other as often. I'll miss you."
"Me too." Rose looked down, her mood turning dim. "With everything going on, it's made me realize how distant I've been, too. I've been lashing out at you because of my frustrations. I'm sorry."
"No, I understand. You're thirteen, Rue. I was that age once. Dear Lord, I'm already sounding like an old lady." Both sisters shared a laugh. "So, what's your science fair project about? Knowing you, it's something special."
Rose warmed to her sister as they chatted. It reminded her how much she looked up to her older sister. A pang stabbed her heart when she realized how much she'd miss Sophia once she left for college. Still, they had ample time during the trip to compensate for lost time.
---
Okab's nose scrunched up as he explored the human dwelling, disliking the ever-present tree scent, as if the humans didn't stink enough. His prey dwelled in a modest two-story building. Its contents sparked some curiosity from the Altair general.
It seemed the humans living here had offspring, which they did their best to accommodate. Okab stretched down to pick up a toy that resembled an Earth animal with a long gray trunk in place of its nose. It squealed as he squeezed it, no doubt to entertain a human baby's developing brain.
Unlike the Altair, who were born fully formed and intelligent, humans spent their first dozen years helpless and feeble. It was a miracle their species survived this long.
Okab wondered if this development period came with special advantages. The general shook his head, dropping the toy on the carpeted floor. Understanding the human species wasn't his mission.
From the home's scent, it'd been vacant for the last day. Rose's family must have gone somewhere. Okab cursed. Had his prey realized someone was pursuing them? But Okab decided against such an idea. If that were true, they'd leave a trap to destroy him. His prey hadn't left their home in a hurry, meaning they were still unaware of any impending danger. But where would these humans go?
Should he wait here until they returned? No, that wouldn't do. Before entering, he'd observed some humans watching over the building and dealt with them. While this pathetic species didn't possess a hive mind to notify them of these guards' demise, someone would notice their absence. No, it was best to continue the pursuit.
"What's this?" Okab spotted a calendar displaying the planet's lunar cycle pinned to a wall. Someone had written notes for daily activities in a neat scrawl in each square box. On the box representing this day, it said "trip to Minneapolis" for the upcoming few days. It listed various activities, each marked with a timestamp. Okab tore the calendar from its pin on the wall, showing an array of jagged teeth as he smiled. Rose was in his sights now.
Okab leaped onto the motorcycle he'd taken from a human and revved its engine. He marveled at its simple mechanical power, the machine's rumbling excited something deep within him. This motorcycle was the only thing he'd enjoyed since arriving on this worthless, noisy rock. The Altair general laughed as he sped away from Rose's home in delight at the machine's raw power and speed.