Megalodon City, Tundra, Standard Year 404

  Friday

  It was Alanna’s twenty third interview that week. Maybe. Probably twenty third. Possibly twenty fourth and also possibly twenty sixth. Until this week, Alanna’s interview experience was exceptionally limited and to varying degrees unpleasant. Plus, she had always been the one being interviewed. She had never been in a position to interview others. In fact, the very idea was laughable. Until this week. She made a heroic attempt to stifle a yawn as the man sitting across from her continued talking, as he had been for quite some time. Not that she was complaining. For the first time ever, one week into her new job, her career actually seemed to be going well. She only wished she could tell James. But there was still no news from James. With a shake of her head, Alanna forced herself to refocus on the man sitting in front of her.

  “During my time as a professor with the Megalodon University engineering department, Dr Grant Pardo and I worked closely together. I believe the relationship of mutual respect will serve me well in this new role.” He shifted slightly in his seat, and straightened out his bow tie.

  “I will be sure to mention your name to him later today.” Alanna said politely.

  The man paused, tweaking his bowtie until it was no longer straight and in fact distinctly lopsided. “You’ve spoken with Dr. Grant Pardo?” He asked carefully.

  “All the time.” Alanna nodded.

  “Ah.”

  He’s wearing an actual bowtie, Alanna thought. If I bring him to Grant, he will put him in one of those little plasma boxes and never, ever let him out. She smiled and nodded as the man regained his footing, and continued talking about himself.

  “Thank you so much for your time.” Alanna said an interminable period of time later. The interview had gone quite a bit over time, and she wasn’t sure how to end it without being horribly rude. The man talked so much, there was simply no room to slip in a polite hint or two. With a sigh of pure relief, she pulled up the next resume. Alanna tried giving herself about thirty minutes to review the applications and run a public search before actually talking to someone. But she now had ten minutes left before the next interview began. She started reading. And a moment later stopped, wasting a few of her very limited remaining minutes staring blankly at her screen. Swallowing hard, she got up to get herself a glass of water. Alanna had sat through enough interviews by then, to observe people could use a drink as an effective cover to give themselves a brief moment to collect their thoughts. Some used it to great effect. And she was very likely going to need time, to collect her thoughts. Taking a slow breath and ignoring the choking red haze of rage, Alanna got up to greet Dr Soren Sterling.

  “You’re wearing green.”

  Those were the first words he said to her. She was wearing green. Earlier that week, on Wednesday, the mysterious Susan who left things in the garage when Grant needed them had left her a set of formal clothes, presumably to get her to look more presentable during the interviews. Alanna had tried on a few of the options and decided to ignore the pointed hint. That Thursday she came in wearing jeans, as usual. Only to find a new set of clothes had been left for her by the end of the day. Clearly, more thought had been put into the selection the second time around. While still a major step up from jeans, the new clothes fit her well, they were comfortable, and some of them were a carefully selected shade of green that in no way resembled either Sarayan uniform green or Tundran prison green. Alanna had worn both the military uniform and the prison uniform, and they both matched her eyes. Green was definitely her color. But some might say it wasn’t in a good way. Clearly, Dr Soren Sterling was in that camp.

  Alanna stretched out her legs, covered in the flat heeled army boots she decided to keep, ignoring the laughably ridiculous shoes Susan had provided, and considered herself especially fortunate to have knives in each boot. Plus her favorite new gun, which was clearly visible in a holster she hung over her new green dress. And she liked the dress. She remained silent, eyeing Dr Soren Sterling to see what he would do next.

  “It’s an interesting choice.” He continued, sitting down across from her without being asked.

  Alanna nodded.

  “By the look you are giving me, I take it that you have connected the dots and come to certain obvious conclusions.”

  “Yes.” Alanna said. According to his resume, Dr Soren Sterling was the foremost expert… on Sarayan planetary shield technology.

  “As you probably realize, I have the greatest of respect for Dr Grant Pardo. Working with him would be the honor and highlight of my career. And so I must ask, is it exclusively your decision, whether I will get this opportunity?”

  Alanna stared at the man who had led to the death of most of her unit on Titan for a long, silent moment. She tried to see him but mostly she just saw Turner’s dead face looking back at her. “I make the recommendations and Grant makes the final decisions.” She said. It was the truth.

  The man across from her nodded. He was a slim man with austere features, somewhat jerky movements, and exceptionally sharp dark eyes that studied her with a frank and unflinching intensity. “And if you do not recommend someone” the man continued “I take it that there is no way for that person to achieve the opportunity I am here to pursue.”

  Alanna sat silently.

  “Ms. Summers?” The man asked, raising an eyebrow.

  And that was the first time anyone ever called her Ms. Summers. Alanna reached for her cup of water, and took a drink. And then another.

  “Is there any point in continuing this interview?” The man asked, his sharp eyes studying her relentlessly.

  “I will leave it to you to make that decision.” Alanna responded.

  The man bowed slightly. “If you leave it to my discretion, I would of course wish to continue the interview. This is my dream job. My dream team. If you give me the opportunity to continue, no matter how likely it is to be futile, I will take the opportunity. Is there anything I can do to convince you our history is worth overlooking?”

  Alanna took another sip of her water. “Do you ever think about it?” She asked. “The people who died that day? I’m guessing you were the man who saw the flaws in Sarayan shields on Titan. Did you orchestrate the attack?”

  “I did.”

  “Not just the shields?” Alanna asked, swallowing.

  “The exceptionally low gravity of Titan and the ocean of liquid methane permitted the unique style of our attack, which had not been accounted for by Sarayan station defenses. Floating the space ships along the methane ocean rather than attacking from the air, was my idea.” The man responded without hesitation.

  Alanna nodded. That operation had been brilliant. It was undeniable. “Your expertise led to the deaths of thousands.” She said out loud.

  “If you wish me to say I am sorry, I cannot do that. I am not sorry.” The man replied. There was no hesitation, no doubt, no attempt to avoid her gaze. “Titan, belongs to Tundra. I am proud to have played a key part in the operation that returned us to our rightful place in the solar system.”

  “You’re very honest.” Alanna said. It was a less than thrilling observation.

  “Is that a problem?”

  Alanna looked down at her empty cup. “No.” She said unhappily. “Grant likes honesty.”

  “That has always been my impression of him.” Dr Soren Sterling agreed. “And you, I think, are quite honest as well.”

  “Yes. Often to my great regret.”

  “I have had this experience, also.”

  “I will pass on your resume.” Alanna said, the words tasting like ashes in her mouth.

  “I… thank you. Thank you, Ms. Summers, for this opportunity. I am fully and wholly committed to the Tundran planetary shields project. If given this opportunity, it will be my top and only priority.”

  “Good to know.” Alanna said through clenched teeth.

  “I believe I will go.” The man continued, getting up.

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  “Do that.”

  ---

  Later that day, Alanna left the generic corporate offices where the interviews had been scheduled and drove into the darkened and deserted parking garage beneath which sat the deep underground jungle, or as she thought of it, jungle lair, of Dr Grant Pardo, head of the Tundran planetary shields project. She hesitated just for a moment before opening her car door. It was only day five on the new job but that darkened garage gave her the creeps. Was that a slight movement she saw out of the corner of her eye? She turned her head sharply, but there was nothing there. Grant had emphatically insisted that his security system was foolproof. With a shake of her head, Alanna straightened out the skirt of her brand new green dress and walked out of the car. After all, it was just a garage. And as she walked towards the elevator and headed down, everything remained quiet and deserted.

  ---

  “And this is the only person you’re recommending?” Grant asked later that evening over a cup of mint tea, looking up from his tablet and the resume of Dr Soren Sterling.

  Although they had only known each other a short time, they had fallen into an easy routine. She would come by at the end of the day to provide her report and Grant’s new favorite, fresh mint tea. “Would you like me to tell you about the guy with the bowtie?” She offered. “He claims to be a close friend of yours, maybe I should bring him up to the top of the pile.”

  “The guy with the… what?” Grant asked, clearly nonplussed.

  “A bowtie. It’s like a tie in the shape of a bow. He was wearing one. Kept fidgeting with it. Sound familiar?”

  “Is he… in the field of engineering?”

  “You got it.”

  “I am aware of his existence.”

  “And do you want him to exist as a member of your team?”

  Grant stared at her unblinkingly for a long moment. “Are these my only options?” He asked finally.

  “Based on who I talked to today, pretty much yes.”

  “There are going to be other options.” Grant observed.

  Alanna sighed. “Grant, this Soren Sterling bastard is actually quite good. And I would know.”

  “But you clearly have a problem with him. I assume he was involved in operation Titan?”

  “He was. And that operation…” Alanna stared down into her tea. “It was brilliant.” She admitted. “He’s smart, he’s honest, and his specialty is planetary shields. Objectively, if you want a team, he should be the first person you hire.”

  Grant took a sip of his tea and remained silent. That was a Grant thing. He thought talking during a conversation was optional. And sometimes, he just decided not to.

  “Grant, the fact that you put me in a position to decide who’s on the project is going to be controversial enough. I’m a traitor who was fighting for the other side a few weeks ago. And I shouldn’t wear green anymore.” Alanna added guiltily. “Soren was right to comment on it.”

  “He commented on the color of your clothes?” Grant asked mildly.

  “Look just… he’s allowed to be a patriot, Grant.” Alanna paused. “And weren’t you involved in operation Titan? They must have asked you. Disabling our shields was vital to operation success.”

  “I was not involved.”

  Alanna looked up uncertainly. “Why not?” She asked.

  Grant smiled slightly. “I try not to make enemies without a good reason. Soren made enemies that day. And he had his reasons. There was no good reason for me.”

  Alanna thought about that. “But you’re not a pacifist?”

  “No.”

  Alanna glanced around the steamy underground jungle somewhat uncertainly. There was a great deal she wanted to ask Grant, who was eight feet tall, breathed at a rate of about three breathes per minute, and had recently admitted he was passing on information about his planetary shields technology to… someone. Someone not Sarayan. And very likely, someone who thought breathing at a rate of three breaths per minute was perfectly normal and ok. “Could this place have listening devices?” Alanna asked somewhat abruptly.

  “No. This place is secure.” Grant replied without hesitation.

  “Do you have any enemies I should worry about?” Alanna asked carefully.

  “No.” Grant shook his head. “I do not. Because I don’t make enemies without a good reason. As a philosophy, it’s always served me well.”

  “Hmmm.” Alanna said, and thought about Jane’s tape. They are coming, Jane had said. And it didn’t sound at all friendly.

  “Are there other aliens out there?” She asked.

  “Dammit Alanna!”

  “What? I’m sorry! You said this place was secure. I thought…”

  “Of course it’s secure.” Grant waved a hand dismissively. “It’s not the scanning devices I’m worried about. I told you, I made a bet.”

  “Grant.” Alanna breathed, trying to get her heartbeat back under control. She had been terrified her misstep was far greater than Grant losing a bet he clearly deserved to lose. “I’m sorry if I overstepped. But you lost that bet Monday.” She added.

  “Oh hell. Someone is going to be very obnoxiously smug about this.”

  “Do not tell me who.” Alanna had promised loyalty and she wanted to deliver. And no one could ever betray the truth they did not know. She did not want to know who Grant’s compatriot was. But some things she did want to know. “Can you… can you tell me if there are other aliens?” She asked with some trepidation.

  Grant raised an eyebrow.

  “Ok fine, that was a stupid question.” Alanna acknowledged hastily. “Can you tell me if there are other aliens you know about?”

  “Well there’s the humans. Xenophobic, homicidal, and profoundly destructive humans. And they’re all over the place.”

  “That’s what you think of us?”

  “It’s what everyone thinks of you. Also promiscuous.”

  “Excuse me?” Alanna asked somewhat sharply.

  Grant shrugged. “We mate for life. So do the Tirrik.”

  “You didn’t mate for life.” Alanna pointed out. “You just broke up with John.”

  “I’m flawed. It’s not a point in my favor.”

  “Can you tell me about the Tirrik?” Alanna asked, eyes wide in fascination.

  Grant shrugged dismissively. “They’re very” he waved a hand vaguely in the air “fluffy.”

  “Fluffy?” Alanna asked dubiously.

  “Fluffy, feathery… just very soft and pretty.” Again he waved a hand in a gesture Alanna was growing to recognize as dismissal. “They have these three day long mating dances they’re very proud of. They have dances for everything. There’s a hello dance. And there is rumored to be a dance for disagreement but it has never been seen. The Tirrik, never disagree.”

  “That doesn’t sound real.” Alanna said with a frown.

  “They are different. We are predators, you and I. The Tirrik, are not. And that makes them different in a way that’s hard for us to understand.”

  “Are there any other predators out there?” Alanna asked, dismissing the Tirrik as not all that interesting.

  Grant smiled. “There’s the wanderer. The ultimate predator.”

  “Just one?” Alanna asked, completely fascinated.

  “Just one.” Grant nodded. The wanderer was one of his favorite stories. “He visited us thousands of years ago.” He paused. “I say he but, probably more of an it. It was so far beyond us it’s hard to use our language to describe what it was.”

  “What did it do?” Alanna asked, eyes wide as she leaned forward.

  “It flew.”

  “So? Didn’t we all?”

  “No.” Grant shook his head. “We all flew in a ship and then we walked. The wanderer… flew.”

  “Through space?”

  “Yes.”

  “No it didn’t. That’s just some crazy legend.”

  “Perhaps.”

  “But you believe it?”

  “I do.”

  “How can it fly? Our ships are nuclear powered. To fly through space it… the wanderer, it would need to be nuclear powered.”

  “Evidence of increased levels of radiation were recorded in its presence.” Grant said.

  “Are you implying that thing carried a nuclear reactor inside of itself?”

  “It appeared to, yes.”

  “And what did the wanderer say when it visited?”

  “The wanderer said, that it evolved on a giant water planet of boiling hot oceans, located far too close to their sun. The radiation bathed the planet. Life as we know it should not have been able to evolve. But one time, in one corner of the universe, something did. And what came off that planet ate their own sun.”

  “They ate their sun?”

  “They evolved immunity to heat and radiation. And then then they ate their own sun.”

  “And then they died out?” Alanna asked somewhat hopefully.

  “What do you think?”

  “Why did the wanderer come?”

  Grant smiled. “You know to ask the right questions. Very good.”

  “Why?” Alanna repeated.

  “It came to warn us. A single cell of life from its home planet will consume all life as we know it. And it is virtually unstoppable.”

  Alanna thought about that. “Do you think it came to warn us?” She asked.

  “Humans do not bear such legends.” Grant shrugged.

  “Why did it come to you?”

  “Funny thing, that’s just what the Tirrik said. It seemed to upset them for some reason.”

  “Well it’s upsetting me too. If you’re some godlike being carrying warning about the destruction of life as we know it, I would like humanity to be informed. What makes you so special?”

  “You are getting sidetracked.”

  “All right, I’m sorry. You should hire Soren Sterling. If you don’t, it will be a massive scandal and your judgement will come into question. Placing this much responsibility in my hands will already be viewed with suspicion. I’m grossly underqualified for this job, and that’s not even accounting for the fact that I was fighting for Saraya a few weeks ago. The fact that you did some creepy scan on my DNA is not exactly an explanation you can share with others. The whole thing looks odd as hell.”

  “Are you underqualified?” Grant asked, raising an eyebrow.

  “Of course I am. You said it yourself, I have no qualifications.”

  “I said you had no meaningful qualifications in the field of geology.” Grant corrected her. “As a leader, your track record is actually quite impressive. Regardless, I will not hire him.” Grant said flatly. “Come up with another solution.”

  “We can bring him on as a consultant and see how it goes.” Alanna offered.

  Grant smiled in complete satisfaction. “And that is why you are the new head of the planetary shields project.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I am not the head of the project, you are.”

  “No, you are the head. I asked Susan to do the thing.”

  “The thing?”

  “Yes. The thing with your email. You hover over the email and it gives you a person’s title. It is there, I looked.” And that, as far as Grant was concerned, was the end of that. He unfolded his massive legs and got up. “We should both head out.”

  Still worried but already knowing it was futile to argue, Alanna followed him towards the elevator back to the creepy darkened garage.

  “It’s quite late.” Grant commented on their way up.

  “I don’t mind.” Alanna shrugged. With James still gone, she didn’t have much to do in the evenings.

  “But the dog, doesn’t he mind being alone?”

  “I have a friend stop by to walk him.” Alanna said somewhat guiltily. Benji probably did mind being alone, but he had been a good sport about it.

  “Why don’t you just bring him?” Grant offered.

  “I… I didn’t think I could. Can I?”

  “You are the head of the planetary shields project. So Alanna, can you bring the dog?”

  Alanna grinned. “Do you know, you’re actually the best boss ever.” She said.

  “Am I?”

  “Yes, you definitely are.”

  “I suppose I am.” Grant agreed. The praise seemed genuine, and as long as that was the case, Grant thoroughly enjoyed getting his due. It would be interesting to see how it all changed once the humans got involved, Grant thought. He was the best at what he did. But while a single human was nearly always useless, sometimes an effectively managed team of humans could accomplish the most unexpected things. It really was quite fascinating to see.

  Grant walked out of the elevator. The killing round hit him square in the chest, nearly knocking him off his feet. Alanna slammed into him next, exacerbating the pain and causing him to nearly lose his balance. But it was her shout of “Get down, get under the car roll under the CAR!” that finally caused him to actually go down and begin rolling.