Chapter 21

"I was right!" Major Blaauw said, gesturing wildly. He was so animated, Sandage feared the older man would keel over from excitement. They watched the prince exchange words with President Okona, their tone pleasant and cordial. These were an excellent first step in their species' relationship.

Still, what about the other world leaders? Sandage doubted Russia would be happy to learn that the USA had allied with the Kristra Republic before them. Heck, this discovery would upend everything humanity understood about the universe overnight.

"But what else is new?" Sandage thought dryly. Normality had died execution-style when the Altair had appeared. "No, correction—when Rose used time travel to help her past self."

"They have a republic, yet have a king?" Major Blaauw said. "Can't say I'm fond of that."

"Apparently, the Kristra Republic has a parliamentary system, though their royalty still hold considerable power and influence." Sandage replied.

Major Blaauw's withered hand stroked his chin. "I'm wondering if Prince Imrele is authorized to even make this meeting."

"You're thinking this is a rogue action?" Sandage whispered, making sure the Eleim guards couldn't hear them. Their armored figures stood at attention nearby, but their postures were relaxed. He wasn't sure they understood English.

"Something smells fishy about this. I've worked among the government and military for decades, and this doesn't feel official to me. Imrele Aindreit might be a prince, but where does he stand among his family?"

"Oh, dear." Sandage rubbed the nape of his neck. This complicated things. Prince Imrele might be promising things he couldn't quite deliver. Still, they'd made first contact. It was a start.

"Cool armor, huh?" Gamow said, walking over. "I'm curious how they appear underneath? I think I see some females among the prince's retinue. Think they're real babes?"

Sandage grinned, amused. "Apparently, their planet's atmosphere differs greatly from Earth's—hotter, for one. They can survive on Earth, but not comfortably. The prince promised he'd show his face at the official press conference at the UN. He wishes for humanity to view the Eleim race at once."

"Look forward to it, then." Gamow beamed.

Sandage nodded. While somewhat theatrical, it was appropriate considering the circumstances. First impressions were important. So much could go terribly wrong.

"Agent Sandage." The president extended a hand as he walked over. "It's a pleasure to meet you finally. I have heard good things about you."

"Just doing my job, sir," Sandage said, clasping hands.

"No, I mean it. You conducted yourself well during our first contact with the Eleim people. It impressed me. Your contribution to history won't be forgotten."

"Thank you, sir." Sandage felt embarrassed, despite himself. 

"Though, I haven't forgotten my original reason for coming here. Would you do the honor of showing me where Rose Brahe is sleeping? Prince Imrele is also curious about meeting her." The president said.

"Yes, President Okona has told me about her condition. Unfortunate for someone so young. My medic, Phosa, can assess her condition."

An Eleim wearing red and orange battle-worn armor stood at attention. In her armored hands, she some kit Sandage assumed was a medical kit. "I'll see what I can do. No promises, though. Doctor Dhierryn in our med bay can conduct the full analysis, but I can at least assess the infection afflicting her. I have experience with alien diseases."

"We appreciated your help" Sandage said with feeling. 

"Though, is it true that this young human has been fighting the alien invaders?" Prince Imrele tilted his head, curious.

"Don't let her young age fool you, your majesty. She has fought hard to protect our planet," Sandage replied.

"But why burden someone so young?" Prince Imrele asked.

Sandage released a bone-weary sigh. "It's a long story. Follow me." His heart beat fast, thudding hard in his chest. Could this be the breakthrough they needed to save Rose?

"This is the patient?" Medic Petrus pulled out a mechanical device from her kit and waved it over the comatose Rose. Sandage gave an involuntary wince when he caught sight of Rose's condition. The purplish blight had grown farther, almost covering her entire torso.

The prince gasped when he saw the infection tormenting Rose. "The Altair infected her with this?"

"Yes," the president replied, his tone grim. "It's a residue they leave behind on their victims. Their cells infect the host and eventually turn them into an Altair. Either that, or the host absorbs them and becomes stronger. We've had to burn contaminated spots to the rock to avoid it spreading. This is our enemy, Prince Imrele."

"I see." The alien prince was quiet before he spoke again. "Medic Petrus, report."

Behind his faceplate, the medic seemed flummoxed. "Sir, I've served on many campaigns on alien worlds, but this is beyond anything I've encountered. Doctor Dhierryn needs to see this."

"I'm not surprised. The Altair are beings beyond our universe." Behind his mask, Sandage saw fear on the prince's face. But it disappeared a moment later, replaced with calm detachment. 

"May I get a sample?" Medic Petrus asked.

"Certainly," the nurse said. "Be careful with it. The Altair cells attack anything organic."

"Anything?"

"Anything. We've worked hard to contain it out of fear of what might happen if it infects the nearest biome." President Okona said.

"It seems there's much about this new enemy we don't understand," Prince Imrele said. "Father needs to know about this."

"I would like to meet him," President Okona said. "Give him my greetings when you next see him."

"Can you contact him from Earth?" Sandage asked, trying to gleam some details about Eleim's technology. "Your planet's a great distance from here."

"It's no problem," Prince Imrele replied. "There are beacons in a nearby solar system to replay the message."

"How far-reaching is your Republic?" Sandage asked. "It's fascinating that your species has spread so far. The farthest we've sent a probe is our system's furthest satellite, Pluto."

"It extends through fourteen star systems," the prince replied. "My great-grandfather was an ambitious man. Under his leadership, we colonized almost eighty planets or moons. Of course, we've grown since then."

Sandage wondered if the Eleim ruffled any feathers with the local inhabitants of those systems, but kept quiet. While this current administration appeared benign, they'd only heard the Eleim's side of the story.

"One problem at a time," Sandage told himself. "The Altair first."

"Thanks." Medic Petrus accepted the sample offered by the nurse, placing it safely in a pouch on her suit. "I'll be returning to the ship, prince."

"Very good," Prince Imrele nodded, allowing the medic to leave.

"The hour is getting late. Let's continue this in the morning." President Okona said, fighting back a yawn. Sandage looked at his watch, realizing the president was right. It was almost three in the morning. Had time flown that fast?

Before he could respond, the world shook beneath him. He stumbled, barely keeping his footing as a Secret Service officer helped him.

"What was that?" the president asked, alarmed. The building shook again, more violently this time—an explosion echoed in the distance.

"We're under attack!" A soldier stumbled into the room. "It's the Altair!"

---

"Gah!" Cecilia yelped, wincing as she struck something hard. She shook her head in disorientation, blinking her blurry eyes. "What the heck?"

Groggily, she pushed aside her covers and rose from the floor, only to stumble against her bed as the ground shook beneath her.

Any remnants of sleep evaporated as fear stabbed into her heart when she realized what was happening. "We're under attack!"

When she stumbled out into the corridor, Cecilia found the LUVOLT base in utter disarray. People were rushing to their stations or to safety. The sounds of explosions and gunfire echoed in the distance. It was pandemonium.

She needed to get to the bunker. It stood several hundred feet underground, strong enough with withstand bombardment of a hundred missiles. Others had a similar idea, rushing in the same direction.

"Cecilia!" A voice stopped her, and she turned to find Petrus holding a laptop. On its screen, Macauley appeared, wearing a dainty blue nightcap with midnight stars. 

While her first instinct was to ignore them, a nagging question stopped her. "Why are you wearing a nightcap? You don't sleep!"

"Huh?" the vTuber replied. "What makes you think I don't?"

"Because you're a digital being?!" Cecilia snapped, her patience fraying.

"Never mind about that. We need to get to Rose!" Macauley replied.

"Huh? Why? You want to try your crazy plan now?" Cecilia said, incredulous. "Let the Eleim handle it. They probably have the technology to beat the Altair."

"Are you so sure about that?"

Cecilia hesitated. "Maybe?"

"There's no time to argue. We must get Rose into the Luyten V, now," Macauley said.

Emotions warred within Cecilia, unsure if she should trust this enigmatic alien. Macauley had done nothing but evade direct answers so far. The building rumbled as it took another direct hit, the sound of rending metal screeching through the air. 

"Fine," Cecilia bit out. "Lead the way."

They fought against the crowd as they headed to the medical bay. Her guardian, Doctor Blaauw, called her name as they retreated through the halls, but they ignored her. Cecilia's breath was ragged as they rushed through the med bay doors.

"Hey, you shouldn't be here!" the acting nurse said. "Head to the bunker right now."

"I'm sorry, but we can't," Macauley replied. "We must get Rose to the hangar immediately."

"Huh?" The nurse blinked, staring at the digital being on the screen in utter bafflement.

Cecilia ignored them both, trying to open the quarantine chamber holding Rose. A muttered curse escaped her lips when she found it locked. They didn't have time for this.

"Hey, leave that alone!" the nurse cried, regaining her wits. "It's dangerous!"

"But we have to get Rose to the Luyten V! It's the only way to save her!" Cecilia insisted, frustrated.

"You're talking about the plan Director Shapley proposed?" the nurse furrowed her brow.

"It was mine, actually, but yes," Macauley replied.

"In this crisis?" the nurse said, incredulous.

"We must! Someone needs to fight the Altair!" Cecilia argued. It was wishful thinking, but she was desperate to save her friend.

Indecision wracked the nurse's features. She saw the earnestness in Cecilia's eyes and understood just how little chance humanity stood without the Luyten V. "I'll contact the director." She pulled out her phone.

"No need. I'm authorizing it," President Okona said, startling everyone in the room.

"President Okona! You shouldn't be here either!" the nurse said, surprised.

"I know, but the path to the bunker was just destroyed," the president replied. "I was in the hall when I overheard your conversation. You're a brave young lady to rush to your friend's aid in such a crisis."

"Well…" Cecilia blushed, lost for words.

"Macauley, you're certain this will cure Rose of the Altair infection?" The president stared at the digital alien, his tone deadly serious.

"I am," Macauley replied with uncharacteristic seriousness.

"That's good enough for me. Nurse, unlock the quarantine chamber," President Okona ordered the nurse.

"Right away, sir!" The nurse nodded, pulling out a collection of keys from her pocket.

"Now the only problem is carrying her there safely," Petrus said. The purple growth had spread to envelop Rose's entire middle, and left arm. It'd be too easy to touch it accidentally and get infected.

But the nurse already had an idea, rushing over to a nearby locker. "We have a hazmat suit you can use."

"Here." Petrus handed Cecilia his laptop before grabbing the offered suit. With the nurse's help, he hastily slipped it on.

"Why do I have to hold this?" Cecilia said, ready to close the laptop and silence Macauley's annoying voice.

"Because you'll need me to start Full Synchronization Mode," Macauley replied. Cecilia grumbled, but accepted her logic. 

They fought past people as they rushed toward their destination, cursing when they found their path blocked by debris. Part of the ceiling had caved in. Cecilia winced as the building rocked again. The fighting outside was getting more intense.

Thankfully, she knew the LUVOLT base like the back of her hand and took another path through the mess hall. Late-night meals sat on tables, abandoned in people's rush to safety.

"Found you," Sandage said, catching up to them. "You need to evacuate with the others."

"What's going on outside?" Petrus asked, wheezing for breath.

"The army is holding off two Altair while the Eleim get ready," Sandage replied.

"Wait, two Altair?" Cecilia said, alarmed.

"Three, actually," Sandage corrected grimly. "The third is attacking the Eleim ship."

"What?!"

"That's what the prince told me. The Eleim space cars are keeping the Altair busy until reinforcements arrive," Sandage explained. "Their lasers are inflicting some damage, but it's mostly just annoying them. But that doesn't matter. I'm not even going to ask why Petrus is carrying Rose. We needed to get to the research lab. It's the sturdiest place in the building."

"Never mind about that," Cecilia interjected. "We're doing Macauley's plan! The president told us to."

"Okay." Much to Cecilia's astonishment, the LUVOLT agent accepted this absurd statement at face value. "This way."

"What's this about a plan?" Prince Imrele appeared from around a corner, flanked by his retinue of three guards. "Isn't that Rose? Shouldn't she be in quarantine?"

"Prince Imrele! You shouldn't be here!" Sandage said. "You should be in the bunker!"

"We planned to, but the roof exploded. It's buried under rubble. I figured it'd be best to stay with you until my forces defeat the Altair." While fraught with tension, he seemed convinced his people would prevail against the Altair attackers.

"Stay close, then. There's no time to explain." After running past another corridor, Sandage threw open the hangar's door and guided them inside. With deft fingers, he operated the controls to unlock the restraints holding the Luyten V in place for routine maintenance. They began to unclamp the robot's limbs, but the process would take time.

"This is the Luyten V?" Prince Imrele said, impressed.

"Open up, you bucket of bolts!" Cecilia yelled, rushing over to the giant robot.

"Not so fast!" Petrus said, huffing as he joined her. Rose bounced on his back as he ran. "I'm not so young anymore!"

But Luyten V refused to acknowledge them, staying put. Despite the sounds of battle outside, the robot seemed completely uninterested. Cecilia gestured wildly at Rose, but still got no response.

"It's the coma," Macauley said. "With her brainwaves so faint, Luyten V can't detect them."

"Now what?" Cecilia glared at the figure within the computer screen.

"This is a pickle," Macauley said, stroking her chin. "Honestly, I didn't think we'd get this far."

"What?!" Cecilia said, outraged. 

"We might be able to assist here," Prince Imrele said. "Deklu?"

"I'm on it." One of the guards pulled out a piece of tech from his pack. "Can you connect to its systems from the outside?"

"Yes, for basic maintenance and system testing, but I wouldn't recommend it," Sandage replied. "Luyten V doesn't like it when people mess with its system."

Cecilia had to agree. In her opinion, the temperamental robot only tolerated other people doing basic maintenance on it for Rose's sake. 

"It shouldn't be an issue," Deklu replied, attaching a wire to a port on Luyten V's leg that Sandage indicated.

"Won't there be wetware issues?" Petrus adjusted his glasses. "This is alien tech we're talking about here."

The tech turned smug. "This program can connect to any operating system. And this robot's OS is hundreds of years out of date. Cracking it will be simple."

"Sure." But Cecilia didn't appreciate the attitude. They couldn't help that humanity was still primitive.

"I'm in. That was easier than I expected," Deklu said, not hiding his evident satisfaction. "Let's see. Hello?" Behind his armored mask, the Eleim was clearly furrowing his brow. "Odd. I've never seen an operating system like this before. Whatever. Found it. Opening the hatch now."

They waited with bated breath, but moments passed and nothing happened.

"Tech Deklu?" Prince Imrele asked.

"I… Let me try again." The tech grunted in frustration as he got the same result. "Why isn't it listening? There's no security protecting this feature. Fine. I'll just take control of its higher functions."

"Um, I don't think that's a good idea," Cecilia said, tensing up.

"Let's try waking up Rose instead." Sandage said. "Do you have any stimulants? It's not ideal, but time is short."

"No, I got this!" Deklu said, furiously tapping at his keyboard. It was like a human one, but used alien symbols Cecilia couldn't begin to decipher. "Got it! Now open, you stupid thing."

Cecilia tensed as Luyten V turning to face them, eyes glowing crimson. Its usually fearsome features became even more terrible as it glared them down. Metal screeched as it tore free of its restraints.

"That's one way, I suppose," Sandage said dryly.

"What the? It's not listening to me!" Deklu yelle in borderline panic.

They all backed away as Luyten V stood to its full height, glaring balefully down at them. It seemed to say they weren't welcome. Cecilia shrieked in terror as the giant metal fist flew at them, eager to crush the annoying interlopers.