"That is the International Space Station," said Suki. She told them what was going to happen.
"But why more delays?" asked Charles. "I thought we would be on Earth today?"
"Earth wants to make sure there are humans are on board."
"But they talked to us. What kind of stupid people are down there?" asked Matilda.
"Apparently they think the aliens could have tricked them," said Suki.
"People are so suspicious," said Inga.
Everyone looked out the window waiting to see the astronauts.
"Suki, can I talk to you?" asked Enrico.
"What?" she asked, but she allowed him to pull her away from the window.
"Why didn't you tell me they were going to dissect your brain?"
"Why should that make a difference?"
"I now understand why you were picked for this trip and why your Overseer was trying to rescue you. He is a good guy to do it."
"I know he is good guy. I think you should have trusted me when I told you there was nothing going on between us."
"It just seemed you were so friendly with him."
"I think you would be as well if you found out he was trying to save you from death."
"Sorry."
"It's all right. The way you got on board was pretty horrible."
"You know, I wasn't going to go through with it. I've told the others as well. I was just hoping to get on board, but I was not going to harm Inga."
Suki didn't totally believe him, but let it go.
"I have apologized to Inga as well," he said.
Well that was good, she thought.
"There they are," said Matilda. "This is quite exciting."
Suki and Enrico returned to the window and watched the two human forms make their way to them. They wore jet packs and when they used them, the astronauts moved in one direction or another. In some ways, it made them look like marionettes.
"I guess you can see that they are on the way," said Ickcy. He must have come into the lounge without them noticing.
"Are they going to go down to Earth with us?" asked Nina.
"I don't think so. They have their own shuttle," said Ickcy.
"Where is their shuttle?" asked Charles.
"It is that little thing attached to the right side of the space station," said Ickcy.
"Oh," said Matilda. "I think I prefer to land on Earth on this transport."
The rest of them didn't say it, but they agreed.
Chapter 37
The first astronaut walked into the lounge from the airlock and he still had his full spacesuit on. It was clunkier than Ickcy's and he stepped in awkwardly. His visor looked around at them. The second astronaut stepped in right behind him.
The people in the lounge crowded around to greet the newcomers, but the first astronaut raised his hand. "Don't come any closer," he said.
He had a commanding voice and they stopped in their tracks.
"What are the readings Eric?" he turned to other astronaut.
"The air is breathable," said Eric.
"All right," said the first astronaut. "I will remove my helmet." He first removed the gloves and Suki saw he had inner gloves which he didn't removed. Then he worked on the helmet. It looked like he needed help.
"Can I help you?" asked Suki.
"No. Just stay right where you are," he said. He fiddled with something around his neck area.
It was hard to take the helmet off, noticed Suki since the oxygen supply was attached to it.
"Well I am going to sit down," said Matilda. "This is going to take a while."
She did and then told everyone that she could see everything fine from where she was.
After a few moments Nina and Charles joined her.
Finally the first astronaut disengaged the helmet from the torso. Suki could see that the suit was made of two pieces, a torso and lower piece, but it was going to be hard to get out of those.
"Hello," he said. "My name is Jett Keystone, which one of you is the leader?"
They all looked at each other. None had really thought of themselves as such.
"Maybe Ickcy?" asked Suki.
"No, I think he means human leader," said Charles.
"I could be the leader," said Enrico.
"No, no, no. You can't be the leader," said Inga. "Not after what you did."
"I told you I was sorry," said Enrico.
"Yes, but it shows a lack of character and we can't have that for a leader," said Inga.
"She has a point," said Charles. "How about you Suki? You could be the leader for now."
"Yes, I think she would be okay as a leader," said Nina. "If you want it, of course."
"Yeah, all right," said Suki. "I will be the leader." She turned to the astronaut. "Okay, I am the leader. What's up?"
"Well, after listening to your conversation just now, I am convinced that you are humans."
"Good, I'm glad you noticed," said Matilda.
"So now you return to your space ship and let Earth know?" asked Ickcy.
The astronaut looked surprised at Ickcy. He probably had not noticed him standing in the background in the space suit, thought Suki. "This is Ickcy," she said. "He is the alien that rescued us from the Planet Humex."
"Commander Ickcy," said Ickcy.
"You speak English." Jett sounded astonished.
"They speak their own language, but it is being translated," explained Suki.
"Okay Mr. Jett Keystone," said Matilda. "Can we get this show on the road? We have been on this transport for almost a week now and without a shower or proper food?"
"Matilda," interrupted Suki. "I don't think Mr. Keystone wants to know about the inconveniences of our trip." She turned to Jett, "So is this all you need? You know we are human and now we can get back to Earth?"
"Yes, That is all they asked me to check," he said. "I don't think I caught your name?"
"Suki," she said.
"Suki, easy to remember." He smiled at her.
She smiled back and he started to put the helmet back on. Eric waited patiently by the airlock.
After a couple of tries, Jett said, "There is something wrong with the helmet, the quick connect ring is not working."
Later, Ickcy told Mckcy what happened.
"Do you think he did it on purpose?" asked Mckcy.
"I don't think so. I know humans are sneaky, like Suki says, but they really tried to fix it. The other astronaut, the one named Eric, took his helmet off and together they worked on the problem for quite some time. That is what took so long."
"I was wondering what was going on," said Mckcy.
"Even Charles, Enrico and Suki tried to help. Jett cannot go out into space with a faulty space suit."
"Hmm, so that is why he will ride with us to Earth."
"Yes, you saw Eric go back to the space station. I am sure Earth will be calling him soon."
Earth did call soon afterwards and they requested to talk to Jett. Jett's communicator was not working, they said. Ickcy went to get him.
Jett had taken off his entire spacesuit. It had a lot of pieces to it and they were now stacked on one side of the lounge. He was wearing some sort of long sleeve, long pants that clung to his body. He also was sitting next to Suki and they seemed to be getting along.
"Mr. Keystone," said Ickcy, "Earth is calling."
"Thank you Commander," he said. "I'll see what they want." He followed Ickcy to the cockpit.
"Here," said Ickcy, "talk into this." He noticed that Jett's eyes swept over the panel as he took the communication device.
As he talked to Earth, Ickcy studied him. This human was in good shape. His muscles showed under the garment and the way he had looked at their controls, showed interest and maybe some knowledge.
Jett told Earth about the problems with the helmet. "Luckily they should be able to get me back to Earth," he said. "Commander Ickcy, the alien here, says the transport can handle an extra passenger on descent."
He pro
nounced his name wrong, thought Ickcy, but he wasn't going to correct him.
The communication finished soon afterwards. They were told where to land and that they were expected soon.
"Is your name Ickcy also?" asked Jett looking at Mckcy.
"Why would she have the same name as me?" asked Ickcy.
"I don't know. Maybe I thought it was a common name for aliens."
"No it is not. You probably could not pronounce the name for our life form," said Ickcy.
"My name is Mckcy," she said turning to look at him. She was keeping the transport steady in relation to the human space station and that required some adjustments. She had to make an adjustment at that moment.
Ickcy saw Jett studying her movements.
"Come on Mr. Keystone, it is better you wait with the others."
Jett followed him out and asked, "Are you and Mckcy a couple?"
"Huh? For being on board such a short time, you sure ask a lot of questions."
"Yeah, I guess I do," said Jett.
When they got back to the lounge he returned to sit next to Suki. Ickcy noticed her face light up with a smile.
"So now we go, right?" asked Enrico.
"Yes. We will start our descent shortly. You should all get in your seats and fasten your seat belts. Since Jett is here, we will be down two belted seats now."
"How about the seat behind you in the cockpit?" asked Suki. "I believe it has a seat belt."
"That is true, Suki, you can come sit there. One of them can have your seat in the cabin."
"It should be Enrico that gets it," said Jett. "I shouldn't even be here."
Suki look at him with admiration.
Enrico mumbled something that was a mix between a 'thanks' and 'I deserve it'.
"Are you sure this transport will do well during reentry?" asked Jett, before Ickcy could leave.
"Of course. You will remember that we have been to Earth before, many times," he added. "It should be easy peasy." He then left to help Mckcy with the landing preparations.
Chapter 38
As Ickcy left, most everyone in the lounge headed to the seating cabin.
Matilda stopped on her way. "Jett, I will be going to my seat now, but I just wanted to say that this transport is much bigger than the little shuttle you use to get back to Earth. You shouldn't worry, I think you will enjoy it."
"I am sure I will ma'am," said Jett politely.
"Don't worry about her," said Inga as she followed. "I'm sure your little shuttle is just as good as this one."
Suki found it hard not to smile.
"So what is so funny?" asked Jett.
"Sometimes my fellow passengers can be," she said. She stood up to leave.
"Suki, wait. Do you trust the aliens?"
"Yes, with my life," she said. "Maybe some day I'll tell you why I think that way."
"I would like to hear that story sometime," he said.
She wouldn't mind that. "By the way, a seat belt is recommended, but I noticed that the transport was very smooth during the takeoff. You'll probably be fine without one."
"For my sake, I hope you are correct, but you better get going, I can feel we are descending."
As Suki got into her seat in the cockpit and strapped herself in, she could see that the Earth was getting larger quickly.
"So what do you think about our visitor?" asked Ickcy.
"I like him."
"Yes, I saw that."
"You noticed? He seems smart and strong and you saw how he gave Enrico the seat?"
"Well one would think that Enrico should have gotten the seat, being on board longer."
"Yeah, of course, but still, it was nice."
Mckcy threw a quick glance at Ickcy.
"By the way, I didn't know you were the Commander," said Suki.
"The Commander is in charge of the transport. It is just a label," said Ickcy.
Mckcy looked at him.
"I hope that was all right with you?" asked Ickcy.
"Sure," said Mckcy. "Like you said, it's just a label."
"So, where are we landing?" asked Suki.
"They want us to land at latitude 37.2N and longitude of 115.8W."
"Where is that?"
"I checked the map and it looks like it is in the state of Nevada, in the south part."
"No way," said Suki. "I think that may be where Area 51 is."
"What is that?" asked Ickcy.
"It is an place where some people think the government is hiding aliens."
"That is funny," said Ickcy. "I know of no aliens there."
"Maybe none of your race are there, but people think that there are aliens or their machines being hidden from the public. Maybe those aliens could be from other planets."
"Have you ever seen one?"
"No."
"Well that is not where we are going to land. I have found a better, more remote location. It is an island in the Pacific."
"Is it Hawaii?" asked Suki.
"How did you know?" Ickcy turned to look at her with concern. "There are many islands in the Pacific I could have chosen."
"It was just a lucky guess."
"I don't like it Ickcy," said Mckcy. "She guessed it too quickly."
Little did they know that hiding their landing plans, was not going to help. Jett Keystone was in contact with Earth. He was looking out the window and giving them updates as to where they were.
When they flew right over the Nevada desert, he probably advised them of that.
Suki had been right about one thing, he didn't need a seat belt and the transport landed gently on the sand. He probably did not know which Hawaiian island they were on and that gave them some time.
The passengers and the aliens stared outside. The small waves lapped the side of the transport and the white sand extended for miles in both directions. The tall green palms swayed to the light breeze.
"This is wonderful, I am so happy to be finally home," said Nina.
"This is beautiful," said Inga.
"This is not New York," said Matilda.
"But Matilda, you can get to New York from here," said Suki.
"I think they should take me there. I asked for New York."
"Come on everyone, we need to get going. The aliens have to leave as soon as possible," said Suki ignoring Matilda.
Jett was hanging back, she noticed.
As the ramp deployed, Enrico was the first one down. "Back on Earth, finally," he shouted. "I love you." He kissed the sand and then rolled in it.
Charles, Nina and Inga followed him down; they looked equally happy but more subdued. Matilda was still grousing. Suki realized she was going to take some prodding so she said good-bye to the aliens first.
"I wanted to thank you for everything," she said. "Both of you have risked so much to bring us home and I know I will never be able to repay you."
"We didn't do it only for you," said Mckcy. "We did it for our conscience as well."
Suki hugged Ickcy and then Mckcy. She was hugging their spacesuit, but she hoped the feeling conveyed.
She grabbed Matilda's bag and suitcase and started down the ramp. Matilda was still not following and Jett was watching from above. "Jett why don't you take these bags down while I get Matilda?"
Jett did not move.
That is when she heard the fighter jets. Her fellow passengers on the beach started to wave and laugh. They did not realize what was happening.
Suki ran back up the ramp. "Matilda, this is your last chance. Get out now or be prepared to live in space for the rest of your days."
Matilda looked at her alarmed, but then she started to move quickly.
"Ickcy, you need to leave now, those are fighter jets and they will try to stop you."
Ickcy swayed. "It was a risk. We knew there would be dangers, but bringing you back was more important. Go now, I will get the ship ready." He hurried away.
As soon as Ickcy left a noise started. It had a constant beat and seemed to be getting lo
uder.
"Shit," said Jett. "Run Suki."
They started to run down the ramp. The ramp was retracting and it was already off the ground. They would have to jump. About then, the noise, which was very loud now, hit them. She would learn later that the noise was from the 20 mm rounds from a Gatling cannon on an F-15.
The spaceship sustained minor damage, but continued to ascend while the damaged ramp finished closing.
Once in space, Ickcy came to inspect the damage and found the two of them.
###
About the Author
I was born in the Peruvian Andes, and came to study in the United States with the idea of becoming an astronaut. That plan did not come to fruition, but as an aerospace engineer, I did work for many years at NASA Ames. One of the highlights of my job was working on the landing and rollout simulations for the Space Shuttle. I live in the Bay Area with my husband, two sons and two (sometimes four) cats.
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If you enjoyed this book, let me know! You can always contact me through my website
https://www.maryssheppard.com
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Thanks for reading,
Mary S. Sheppard
Other titles by Mary S. Sheppard
Blooming Time: A Where is Now Story (Volume 1)
Available in print and ebook from website
The Feelings Are the Same II will be out Spring 2014.
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