Cliff barked orders to his men, trying to manage where to put all these enormous fish. It didn’t help that he was on a conference call with an irate client. Or that the fish were only taking instruction from their moron of an Emperor.
“You nearly wiped out all life on the planet! That is not what you were paid for. Do you understand that we would not have been able to pay you if you had succeeded in this distorted mission?”
“I’m sorry, sir. Of all the training we receive, critical thinking is in short supply. The ones overseeing the account just did as that Emperor Fish asked, and didn’t run it by me.’
“Sounds like you’ve got some discipline issues. It doesn’t bode well for our continued partnership. If your firm can’t handle more than one assignment at a time…”
Cliff couldn’t agree more.
“I accept full responsibility, sir.” He stopped himself from grinding his teeth. “I intend to take a much more hands-on approach to our daily activities.”
“I suppose that’s all one can ask for.”
Cliff was thankful they weren’t using video conferencing. He didn’t think he could control his angry expressions even if he was inclined to do so. He ended the call with a terse “thank you”, and turned to address the delegation that still refused to move to the designated areas.
“I demand to speak to the manager!” Cried Emperor the Great. What kind of a name was that, anyway? It was just as bad as having to call a fish with delusions of grandeur “sir”. Maybe there was a way around that.
“As I understood our agreement,” Cliff began and stepped out from behind his screen. “You would help us harvest water from the planet, and in return, we give you a ride to wherever you want to go.”
“We have done exactly as you have said.”
“I didn’t sign off on your little scorched earth project!” Cliff stepped forward, and poked the Emperor’s bubble with a finger. “If you truly want this little empire of yours to even get started, you can’t go around killing everybody you don’t like!”
“Humanity doesn’t deserve…” Emperor the Great stopped his sentence as though he had just realized he was talking to a human.
“You need to command an army that matches your ego if you want to continue with this pathetic vendetta. Your understanding of time and space is so very narrow! If you had succeeded, you’d have wiped out my ancestors, and there would be no ship for you to sail away on!”
“Pathetic!” Emperor the Great protested. Cliff cut him off.
“What’s more, because of this incident, all the smart water has been tagged. We can’t use it again. So when we drop you off, we’ll leave you with the water. Then maybe you’ll understand what limits are.”
“What???” Emperor the Great struggled against the surface tension of his bubble, but Cliff had already had it programmed to roll back to the ship’s water tanks.
“Don’t worry!” Cliff called after him. “When you have a chance to cool off, we’ll take you to a more civilized planet. Some alone time to think will do you wonders!”
Valerie stayed in bed for a long time. She knew she was being ridiculous. Floyd would leave if she slept in or if she was there to see him off. She could only pass it off as physical exhaustion for so long. She sat up and took her pills. She took her time putting her clothes on. As a precaution, she braided her hair, just in case she ended up flying today, as unlikely as that was.
There was a knock on Valerie’s front door. She let Moira in.
“How are you feeling today?” Valerie asked.
“Better once I got going. Still a little sore.”
“Yeah.” Valerie squeezed her hand. “Is Floyd gone yet?”
“Not quite. He’s doing me a favor.” Moira led the way down the stairs without explaining any more. They stood at the door of the barn, and listened to the approaching footsteps. 2 dogs raced each other around the corner and ran up the drive. Floyd came trotting up behind them with Moira’s 2 horses and her miniature donkey. For your average horse lover, the sight was as endearing as you can imagine.
“I hope you don’t mind me keeping everyone here while I figure out what to do. You’ll hardly know we’re here.”
“I hope I do know! I love it!” Valerie stepped lightly to make sure the requisite number of stalls were available, and water buckets filled and fastened with hay string to the stall bars. “Please, stay forever if you want to.”
“I don’t know about forever…”
“I’ll settle for you not being in a hurry to leave!”
“I got all my supplies early this morning. Floyd’s got this watch thing, and was able to bring it all over with no problem.”
“So, you brought all your feed, hay, tack, everything?”
“Oh, yeah.” Moira chuckled. “I even brought my stuff. I didn’t think of it until now, but I’ve officially left Glenn, I guess.”
“Your safety is important.” Valerie insisted. She tried to quell her enthusiasm in order to not make Moira feel uncomfortable. Orson joined them.
“You think he won’t find you here?” He leaned against the opposite door.
“Will it be safe enough for you with me to stay in the cabin?”
Moira considered this.
“This barn’s address draws electricity, but it’s fairly off-grid these days.” She caught Valerie’s eyes and cleared a quiet, dry cough from her throat.
“But everything else burned down a while back, so no one will think anything of it. As long as it keeps drawing a similar amount, it won’t look suspicious.”
“You’re staying in the original house, which has it’s own address.” Valerie explained. “500 acres is enough space to look like a seperate property.”
Floyd joined the group after putting his new friends in their own paddock. Valerie averted her eyes, avoiding the moment.
“Separate from what?” He asked. Glad for a new topic, Valerie jumped to explain.
“Separate from the big house. It’s always been separate from the barn. Actually, there are a few big houses, but they liked staying together, I guess.” She started to walk to the end of the fence line, and motioned for the others to follow. It wasn’t far from the top of the hill. She hadn’t really looked at the place after she’d had all the paperwork sorted out. She wasn’t prepared for the little stab of emotion that hit her when they reached the top. She pointed at the five foundations of once-large homes with burned out timber still clinging to whatever structure was left.
“It was the middle of the night.” She remembered. She tried not to be emotional. She was only telling Orson about his new living situation. And Floyd, about her. “I couldn’t call anyone to help, there was a small militia surrounding the place.”
“Militia?” Orson whispered in surprise. “What about the sheriff? Glenn might be a moron, but he still has a duty-“
“Glen is A sheriff. Not THE sheriff.” Moira clarified.
“The sheriff was there. The whole force was there. The fire trucks were there. Everyone was there.”
“Then… how?” Floyd wondered.
“They were all in on it. My family made the wrong people angry. And all of them paid for it with their lives.” Valerie wiped a tear away with her knuckle. Floyd wiggled his lip over the top of her head the way that made her laugh almost every time.
“What did you do?” Floyd asked.
“I filed the insurance claims, and inherited the land. They had distanced themselves far enough away from me by then, everyone assumed I was a distant relative. I always was a bit invisible.”
“Distanced themselves?” Orson asked. Valerie saw him share a glance with Floyd over her head.
“They were unhappy people. And they burned alive in those houses. I don’t know if all of them were conscious, but I don’t remember as much screaming as I would have expected.”
Moira stepped up and hugged her friend. Valerie hugged her back.
“I never told you.” Valerie muttered. “Because I hoped you were happy. But Glenn was here that night.”
Moira tightened the hug.
“I thought he had changed. The whole town was in shock, I didn’t realize why he was acting different.”
Valerie nodded.
“We’re done.” Moira insisted. She led the party of them back to the barn. It wasn’t certain if she was talking about this trip down memory lane, or her marriage, and Valerie didn’t feel much like clarifying.
Floyd would never have guessed. Orson walked beside him, letting the women walk ahead alone.
“I am sorry.” Floyd said. “For destroying your life. If I could fix it, I would.”
“I spent the past few days putting together a false digital trail. They won’t be coming after me anymore. I’ll be dismissed as a conspiracy theorist, even though that’s clearly not my website’s purpose. I can go back anytime I want.”
“I’m glad of that. I’ll try to clear my conscience of it later.”
“But I’ve never been this far west.” Orson put his hands in his pockets. “I have to admit, I like it out here. And if I’m needed, I think I’d like to stay.”
“They might not need you.” Floyd pointed out. “They did just help save the world. You’ll have to ask to stay.”
Orson smiled and watched the horses investigating their new home.
“Maybe…” Floyd found himself thinking he could use a helper on his mission. It might be easier to make his way through the universe with a human to help maintain his cover.
Floyd trotted up to the barn so that he arrived at the same time as the women.
“I have an idea.” He announced. “Since you, Valerie, have a new space watch, you’d be able to bring whatever you needed. Orson and Moira can stay and take care of the land, and you could come with me.”
“Got it all figured out, haven’t you?” Moira grumbled. He wasn’t sure why. His question wasn’t for her. Valerie shook her head. Floyd jerked backward as though he’d been swung at.
“I’m not going anywhere now. For the first time in over a decade, I’m needed right here.” Valerie hugged her friend closer.
“I need you more.” Floyd insisted. Orson finally made it back at this particular moment, and just blinked. Floyd continued. “I’ve got some… events that need checking out. And I can’t do it without a human.”
“I’m surprised.” Valerie dug a heel into the dirt. “The way you fly, it’s like you don’t need anyone with you.”
“I rescued you!”
“I collapsed from exhaustion!” She retorted. “The fate of the planet was at stake; There was no way I was going to refuse to help. I enjoyed most of it, as long as I didn’t look down, but I can’t keep up with you. Physically, or otherwise.”
“You’re brilliant. Look how you ran rings around the Emperor.”
“That wasn’t exactly the equivalent of climbing Everest.” Valerie fought a smile.
“You are brilliant, Val.” Moira patted her on the head. “You always were. I always thought that was the real reason you felt different.”
“I’m not leaving you.” She repeated. “Not now you’ve got a little one on the way.”
“I thought I smelled something with you.” Floyd added. Totally oblivious to any embarrassment or confusion he was adding to. “But you’ve got months of time before then. Plenty of time to help them once you get back!”
The women stared hard at him. Clearly, they needed convincing.
“You called me a Pegasus earlier. Historically, you shouldn’t even know that name. We’re called cyberquines. Something has altered your awareness of our existence, when we are millions of years in your future. That just shouldn’t be possible, and it makes me think that this hiccup with your oceans is just the beginning.”
Everyone was still. The silence needed to be broken, but no one wanted to do it. Valerie and Moira seemed to be having a conversation with their eyes. Floyd could only interpret the expressions, not the motives behind them.
Both had determined looks. Valerie blinked first. She looked at him, then Orson, then back at Moira. She stared at the barn, and Moira nodded. The question on Valerie’s face was so clear, Floyd dared to hope he was getting a partner.
“Are you absolutely sure?”
“I’ll take a year’s leave from my practice, leave my partners in charge while we figure out what to do… about everything.”
“I’d like to stay and help out.” Orson spoke up. Everyone else seemed to have forgotten he was there. “In the old house, if that’s ok, unless Moira can’t do the stairs later? We can switch it up.”
“Depending on how time works in this new world of yours, it might be a good idea to stick around for a few days so you can learn to work together.”
“That…” Valerie pointed at her. “Is an excellent idea!”
Before Valerie could present Floyd with their to do list…
“Sounds great!” Floyd shook his mane. “You have a lot to learn.”
