02/24/2778
0651 GMT
6,000 kilometers from Earth
Space.
Dark.
Cold.
Empty.
Until now. Somewhere in the midst of this vast void, a hyperspace gate swirled into existence. From this oscillating rift emerged six angular starships, black in color yet glowing with unearthly radiance, all with shields up and weapons armed, all heading for Earth.
0657 GMT
Moonbase Alpha, Sea of Rains, The Moon
"Attention all pilots, six alien craft of unknown design have emerged from hyperspace. They are on a direct course for the planet Earth. All fighters scramble to intercept. This is not a drill. You will receive further instructions once you have lifted off. Full combat alert, prepare for contact."
Fynn Draegos struggled into his armored flight suit. He couldn't believe it. First Contact with a new species! Never in his decade of flying and exploring had he ever encountered anything like this. He shoved that thought to the back of his mind as he sealed his faceplate visor and dashed for his fighter. The sleek T-Wing fighter hung from its launch rail like a cat about to pounce. As he settled into the cockpit, Harry Perkins, his flight 'tech, ran up to him. "The engines are okay," he yelled over the intercom, "but the laser cannon on the left wing is out of commission. I'm sorry, Cap'n, but high Command just wouldn't deliver the parts."
Zark! That oversight by High Command had cost him one third of his firepower. So much for government efficiency. He nodded quickly to Harry and sealed his canopy. Once the area was clear, he slammed the throttle to the firewall. The powerful ship leapt from its perch and sped out into space.
0710 GMT4500 kilometers from Earth
Blake Thompson was normally calm and cool as ice, but the nervousness in his voice was clear to Fynn as he scanned the sky for targets.
"All right, all ships, maintain Delta formation, neutral tactics. Get within 200 kilometers, then hold and wait for further orders. We need to see what their intentions are."
Just then, a deep, menacing voice burst in over the supposedly secure intercom.
"We are the Anasazi. Your planet holds the tomb of one of our people. We believe that this tomb has been defiled. You are to return the body and all associated artifacts immediately."
"This individual you speak of, what was his name?" Even despite his tension, Fynn recognized the voice of the newly elected President of Earth.
"Her name was Alice Starseer, and you murdered her many centuries ago. You will return her body and all her possessions to us. Now."
"I don't know what you're talking about! First contact with an alien civilization happened only sixty years ago!"
"Enough! Deliver her body and all associated artifacts within one hour, or Earth will be destroyed!"
"That's insanity! You can't expect us to—"
The President was suddenly cut off by a high-pitched screaming sound. Fynn let out a yell and ripped off his headphones just in time to see his wingman explode.
"All ships, open fire!"
That was enough for him. Henderson had been a good friend as well as a great wingman. As the battle raged around him, he threw his fighter into a screaming dive, firing his lasers like mad. Without warning, a portal on the huge starship opened and spewed a bolt of energy at him. He skidded past the projectile and fired another barrage of laser bolts. He aimed the fusillade at an important-looking bank of circuitry and was rewarded by a huge explosion. His joy diminished when Blake yelled on the radio:
"We've lost twelve guys already! Those energy bolt-things are punching right through our shields!"
"This is Science Station Epsilon Iota. We believe that the projectiles you describe are some kind of Chronoton torpedoes. They appear to be in a constant state of temporal flux! They're getting through the shields by traveling out of phase with normal space-time!"
"I'm hit! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!"
Fynn let out a horrified yell as Blake's T-Wing exploded into a billion flaming fragments, which lit up the sky like a miniature supernova.
He slammed his fighter into a series of defensive rolls, loops, and dodges as two more fighters exploded into spectacular fireballs. As he desperately evaded stream after stream of torpedoes, he realized that he was the only one left.
For ten whole minutes he weaved, turned, and dodged the lethal bolts. He wondered for a moment how long he could keep it up. He wondered a moment too long.
There was a bright flash of light, and Fynn Draegos, and humanity's last hope, disappeared.
07/03/1997
Basilan, Mindanao, Philippine Islands, Earth
It was a beautiful night, Pedro thought. He held Maria close as they watched a beautiful meteor shower light up the night sky. They stared at each other, and then exchanged a long, passionate kiss.
Above them, one of the meteors suddenly flashed brightly and jerked out of sync with the others. It zigzagged erratically toward the oblivious couple, then swerved suddenly and smashed into the woods a hundred meters away.
07/05/1997
Quest Compound, Rockport, Maine
RRIIIIINNNNGGGGG!
Benton Quest looked up from the Quantum Physics journal he was reading. Who could that be? He picked up the phone and was greeted by a familiar, beloved voice.
"Benton!"
"Alice!"
Beside him, Race, Jonny, and Bandit all leapt from their seats.
"Jess, Hadji, get over here! Alice is on the phone!"
Jonny's call was greeted by surprised yells as his two best friends bolted into the room. Benton was talking excitedly.
"You're here? Well that's fantastic… of course you can stay here, we've missed you… But what are you doing here? Ah, of course, see you tomorrow, then."
He replaced the receiver.
"Is it really her?"
"How is she?"
"When will she be arriving?"
"Slow, down, one at a time. Alice was passing through the sector and wanted to drop by. She'll be arriving tomorrow morning. MIB has already been informed and Zed has assured her that there are no government goons trailing her."
"That's incredible, Dad." Said Jonny.
"Well, I guess we'd better clean up the place if we want to make a case for Earthling hospitality," Jessie replied, glancing at the assorted computer equipment scattered around the room.
07/06/1997
Quest Compound"Not quite a flying saucer, but I rather missed it." Said Alice, stepping off the bus. She ran toward the family and enfolded Benton in a bear hug that somehow came off despite her being half a foot shorter than the Elder Quest.
"It's good to be back, Benton."
"Same here, Alice."
She turned to the kids. "Jonny, Jessie, Hadji, my goodness, you've grown. It's good to see you again. I've got so much to share with you!"
That night, they sat around the fireplace as Alice recounted stories of her adventures among the stars. She was just telling them about her new Homeworld when the phone rang.
"Benton Quest here. Yes she's here… I'll put it onscreen."
Above the fireplace, the portrait flipped over to reveal a view screen. On it was Zed, the head of MIB.
"Benton, it's good to talk with you again. How are you all?"
"Slammin'!"
Everyone glanced at Jonny for a second, then Dr. Quest continued. "I'd like to thank you for keeping the 'other' MIB off our backs."
"My pleasure. Those dolts wouldn't know an alien beacon from a fuel gauge. But of course you already knew that." He smiled as chuckles burst out across the room. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, but you may have an uninvited guest at your party. We have an unauthorized landing in the Philippines. The spacecraft design is completely off the charts and is loaded with temporal flux waves. It looks like we may have a crashed time traveler on our hands. I've got a team securing the area."
"This planet is one heck of a weirdness magnet." Jonny replied.
"And you want us to take a look, right?" Jessie finished.
"Smart kids. Normally, I wouldn't disrupt your reunion like this, but the spacecraft is riddled with Anasazi energy signatures. We figured you might be interested."
"This whole family is one heck of a weirdness magnet." Race chided in his Texas drawl.
02/24/2778
0800 GMT
1000 Kilometers from Earth
The six massive ships suddenly changed formation. They spread out to form a complex petal formation with one ship in the center. The other five ships began feeding lightning bolt-beams of energy into the central ship. There was an incredible blinding flash, and the central ship fired a blue-white energy beam straight at the Earth. The resulting blast slammed into the planet surface, ripping up and char broiling entire continents. No living thing could survive the searing detonation. Within ten seconds the shock wave had smashed across the entire globe. The oceans instantly evaporated, wreathing the doomed world in a huge cloud of steam. Intense explosions and bluish plasma bursts shone through the cloud like spotlights. Finally, the entire planet disappeared within a titanic ball of flame that consumed everything in its path. Within one minute, Earth and all its people were no more.
07/10/1997
1000 Local
Basilan, Mindanao, Philippines
The Dragonfly swooped gracefully over the Jungles of Mindanao. Flying formation beside it were an MIB silent-running helicopter and a small Earth Defense starfighter. The two of them easily kept position beside the Dragonfly as it slowed to a hover and eased onto the ground. Then they swept off to continue their patrol. Benton watched them go, then hit the intercom switch. "We've touched down. Let's get the equipment ready."
The Quest team stepped out into the jungle. Alice suddenly let out a gasp. "These are Anasazi energy waves, yet… I don't understand. They're clearly weapons signatures!"
"This is too strange for school." Jonny piped up. "The Anasazi are pretty peaceful. Why would they do something like this?"
"Perhaps it was in self defense." Hadji replied. "That is clearly a weapon of some sort." He pointed to the still-recognizable remnants of a laser cannon on the wing of the crashed ship.
"It was a deliberate attack."
They all jumped as a tall man in an armored flight suit stepped out from behind a tree, his laser pistol aimed straight for Alice's heart.
Benton tried to negotiate. "Who are you? Look, put the gun down, and let's discuss this rationally."
The whole team let out a yelp as a searing laser bolt reduced the bush behind Benton to a pile of ash.
"You're one of them, aren't you?" He advanced towards Alice. "Your fleet killed my wingmen and destroyed Earth! Where am I? Where have you taken me? I'm not hearing an answer! You've got ten seconds to tell me or I'll—AARRRGGHHHHH!"
He had no warning before Race and Jonny smashed into him from the side. There was a tremendous bang, and the tree behind Alice exploded into millions of tiny wooden splinters that rained down like heck. The stranger roared and pistol-whipped Jonny across the head. Race retaliated by leveling a devastating roundhouse punch that would have reduced a normal man's face to jelly. If it had landed. Raising an armored fist, he stopped Race's punch and sucker punched him in the stomach. Raising his pistol, he aimed it at Race's head, ignoring the shouted threats of the MIB agents.
"Not so tough without your big nasty starships and Chronoton torpedoes are 'ya? This is your last warning, Anasazi scum. Hurt me, and he dies."
"NO!" Jessie rushed forward. Without any visible effort, Race's assailant raised his gun and shot her. The first blast stopped her in her tracks. The second one knocked her back with an anguished cry. Fynn fired another bolt into her chest, shot an MIB agent for good measure, and then aimed his laser pistol back toward Race's head. "The next shot will do more than just stun him! I want some answers now!"
"Answer this!" Fynn's hand jerked back and the pistol went flying out of his hands. Benton hoped he looked more confident than he felt. He hefted the MIB phaser rifle. "Step away from Race. NOW."
The armored soldier simply dropped Race, rushed Benton, and within four seconds was holding the silvery weapon toward his head.
All of a sudden, one of the MIB starfighters dashed overhead and slowed to a hover. It fired a plasma bolt at Fynn, barely missing Dr. Quest. Fynn roared and aimed the phaser skyward. He never got the chance to fire.
At the controls, Jonny trembled with rage as he saw Race, Jessie and his father sprawled in the clearing. He fired again and again, smashing the armored goon into the dirt in a cacophony of devastating explosions. "DIE, SCUM!"
"Jonny, that's ENOUGH!" Hadji's hand landed across his. "We need him alive."
07/10/1997
1400 Hours
MIB Medical Truck
"Poncheta, are you all right?"
Jessie opened her eyes. She tried to get up but the pain in her chest surged, and she collapsed gasping back onto the bio bed.
"Don't try to get up yet. That armored jerk really walloped you." Race shuddered as he remembered watching his daughter get shot. "Jonny and Hadji managed to subdue him after he knocked us out. Benton and the others are questioning him right now."
"Give him a good beating for me, Dad." She said. Her head sank back against the pillow, and within seconds she was asleep.
MIB Containment Truck #2"But he nearly killed you!"
"Jonny, listen to reason! If he lost his wingmen like he said, he had good reason to be upset. And the fact that he stunned Jessie rather than killing her shows that he isn't just some maniac."
"I believe he is as confused as we are." Hadji added.
"Then let's wake him up and talk to him." Benton nodded to the MIB agent, who injected a stimulant into the unconscious soldier's arm. He woke with a start, and then impaled Dr. Quest with a look that would have melted uranium. "You'll never make me talk."
"Look, I'm not interested in whatever military secrets you're hiding. I'm waiting for you to explain why you assaulted my family."
"Why should I? You assaulted and destroyed my planet!"
"Hang on. We're on Earth right now. Your ship is brimming with Chronoton particles. It's possible you were shunted back in time."
"W-what? What year is it?"
"It's 1997."
"Zarquon!"
"Say what?"
"Chronoton torpedoes… of course! They…"
"Wait. What happened before you crashed? And who's "They"?
Fynn put his head in his hands.
0700 Hours
MIB Command and Control TruckThe Quest team and the MIB agents sat at the truck's conference table. Across from them, a manacled Fynn was trying to make his case.
"The Anasazi warships came out of hyperspace six thousand kilometers from Earth. The president opened up a diplomatic connection with them, but they said…" Fynn paused.
"What? What did they say?" Benton asked.
"They said that one of their people had been murdered and entombed on our planet, hundreds of years before official first contact with an alien species. They wanted us to return the body and artifacts, or Earth would be destroyed. Of course, we had no idea what they were talking about. They never gave us a chance. My entire squadron, all my friends, were killed in less than three minutes by Chronoton torpedoes. Earth probably went shortly thereafter. They never gave us a chance," Fynn replied, putting his head in his hands.
"They wouldn't tell us where or when she was killed, never let us mount an expedition. They just gave her name, as if that would have helped us find her," he said bitterly.
"What was it?" Jessie asked from her wheelchair.
"Her name was Alice Starseer."
Everyone at the table let out a gasp.
"Was it something I said?" Fynn asked, bewildered.
"Fynn, I'm Alice Starseer." Alice replied, a tremor in her voice.
"That's IT!" Jonny exclaimed, "I've got an idea, one that will save Alice and Earth!"
Three hours later"Man I love it when a plan comes together." Jonny said, staring at his handiwork. In front of them sat a modified MIB starfighter. The Quest team and the MIB had worked overtime to jury-rig a Chronoton time-travel device onto the little fighter.
Jonny's plan had been both simple and ingenious. Fynn and Alice were going to fly the fighter into the future just before Earth's destruction, where they would present Alice as proof that the murder did not, and never would happen. Hopefully that would be enough to dissuade them from frying the planet. Fynn had wanted to travel back further, in order to save his wingmen, but the Machine could only take them back to the point where his fighter was hit, no further. The Quest family watched as the sleek fighter soared into the air and flew through a time portal.
02/24/2778
0800 GMT
1000 Kilometers from Earth
The six massive ships suddenly changed formation. They spread out to form a complex petal formation with one ship in the center. The other five ships began feeding lightning bolt-beams of energy into the central ship.
At that moment, Fynn and Alice dropped out of the time warp.
"NO!" Alice screamed into the radio, "Please don't do this, you're making a terrible mistake!"
"They killed one of our people. They must be punished."
"No, they didn't, please, believe me!"
"Why should we?"
"Because I am Alice Starseer."
07/15/1997
Quest Compound
0600 local
"There's got to be some other way, Alice!" Benton said.
I'm sorry, too Benton," Alice replied, "but they insisted. In order to alleviate the risk of my death on Earth, and thus the risk to the planet, I have to leave Earth, and never come back."
"You've been like family to us, you can't leave now!" Jessie said, her voice trembling.
"You think this is easy for me?" Alice cried, her voice breaking, "No matter how far one goes exploring the galaxy, there has to be a home to return to. My life, my memories are all here, and just because I left once doesn't mean I want to abandon Earth entirely. But I have to go, for all our sakes."
Benton surprised everyone by taking her hands in his. "Alice, I… I wish it could be different. I really do. You're very brave to make this sacrifice. I hope we'll meet again, somehow."
She would never remember later how she managed to tear herself away and board the transport that was taking her home. Home? And just where is that? Vagabond I may be, but Earth will always be my true home. She watched the door close on her old life, and suddenly burst into tears.
Fynn could only watch Alice helplessly as she cried her heart out. He'd be a hero when he got home, but she had lost her own home in the process. It just wasn't fair. He wanted to say something, but couldn't summon the words to comfort her. Instead, he just put his arm around her and let her cry on his shoulder.
He'd have a lot to think about when he got home.