Valley Forge

Chapter 10

"Alexis?" Rick barely whispered her name but it was enough for Kate to hear it and it had her looking at the woman again. While she was looking she watched as Rick walked slowly toward her as she walked just as slowly toward him.

"Alexis!" It should have been impossible. Completely impossible.

"Hi!" Alexis scarcely squeaked out. She wrapped her arms around him and let the tears flow.

Kate saw him embrace her in a way that he had never done to anyone other than herself. Kate watched as both just held onto the other and kept crying.

Rick recovered first and placed his hands on either side of her face. "How?" It was easily the greatest day of his life to date.

"I got on the first transport I could find after I found out about you. I've been waiting for two whole damn days for you to be released. I can't believe you're here." Alexis went back in for thirds and hugged him for all she was worth.

"Castle?" Kate was being left out and she was filled with questions.

Both of them looked at her since they shared the name, Castle. "You're Alexis?" She looked a little familiar.

Alexis let go of Rick and reached out for Kate. "And you're Mrs. Castle." Kate shook her hand.

Alexis turned on Rick. "Married, huh?" Alexis grinned at him and they all turned at the sound of the door opening and saw Vice Chancellor Taylor Pruitt come back in.

Suddenly Alexis began speaking in their language and was answered in kind. "You are improving." Pruitt smiled at Alexis.

Alexis smiled at her. "About as much as your English."

"You and they are free to go. Do you know where they are being housed?" Pruitt questioned Alexis in English.

"Yes, Vice Chancellor. Thank you." Alexis gathered up Rick and Kate and went out the door.

Kate stopped Alexis in the hallway. "She understood English all this time?"

"A few do but not many. Learning a new language has been a pain." Alexis rolled her eyes. "Come with me, we have a lot to talk about." Alexis took them to an elevator, down to a main level, and then outside. "This way."

"You're dead," Rick said as they walked.

"Beta unit," Alexis responded.

"A what?" Rick didn't understand.

"They took a DNA sample and made a duplicate of me. But not a live one which is illegal," Alexis explained.

Rick was taken aback at that. "We buried a dummy?"

"Pretty much." Alexis changed the topic. "How's Mom?"

"Mother was doing fine last I talked to her which has been a little while. She had just finished up her last play and was looking forward to the next one when we lost communications," Rick told her. "Where's Dad?" He'd disappeared about the same time as she did.

"Dad's a long way from here. I sent him a message but it'll take him some time to get here."

"So you're an alien?" It wasn't what Rick was expecting but it answered a number of questions.

"Technically yeah, and so are Dad and my birth mother. But Mom is my mother. I was so mad at Dad." Alexis clenched her hands which showed she was still angry with him. "It makes you half alien, by the way."

Hearing that brought Rick up short. "Half alien?"

"Dad's an alien and so's my birth mom. They didn't come steal me and Dad; they recalled him and he dragged me kicking and screaming along with him. I was so ready to shoot him. It's partly why he's a long way from here. I'm still really mad at him." Alexis stepped up her pace and the two of them hustled to catch up to her.

Alexis and they were quiet for a time. "What's that?!" Kate was staring at something headed their way.

Alexis stopped and began to smile. "Think of it as a light rail train, only it flies. Come on!" She broke into a run; they did the same.

They watched it fly down, go past them, and start to slow down before stopping. Alexis was still running so they tried keeping up. Alexis hit the door as it started to close, causing it to open again which allowed Rick and Kate to jump inside. A moment later and they were off. It took off and went up and flew through the air. Rick and Kate were up against the windows as they flew. "Castle, look!" Kate gestured at something to her right.

They both watched as a man fell out of a pool of water only to dive into one below it. Then he swam over and down and dove into another one. Both of them turned to look at Alexis. "Pretty cool, huh? OH! Over there!". They looked outside again. Off to one side they watched two people flying all over the place. Up, down, in circles; they landed, backed up into something, and then ran away. Alexis stepped up behind them. "Jetpacks. You can rent one if you have a license. I haven't gotten the hang of it yet. The other was a public pool that we can go to if you want."

Suddenly they flew past a series of rings. "Look at them, Castle," Kate breathed, awed by their beauty. Rick stared at them until they had gone past them then he turned to Alexis.

"Water colors. You should see them paint them. I've read that they change them every 6 months."

"Not plants?" It looked like plants to him. Alexis shook her head.

"I've never seen buildings like these before; Dubai's close, maybe." Kate was amazed and just kept watching.

Their train came into another station and Alexis got off so they hurried to get off with her.

"Where are we…now?" Kate looked up and her mouth fell open.

"This is their idea of twin towers," Alexis said. "Each is one mile tall."

Rick looked up and up and up. "WOW!"

"Follow me," Alexis told them and moved away.

"So what's next?" Rick asked after he caught up to her with Kate on her other side.

"They… We call ourselves EVE. We're essentially human with a few minor differences. I need to show you something which is where we're going. After that we can find something to eat. I'll warn you, they don't have cows," Alexis teased.

"Flying cars?" Rick inquired after seeing one screaming past in the distance.

"Police. Only public transportation and law enforcement have the ability to fly. Legally, anyway. We're not perfect despite all that you see. We don't have it quite as bad as Earth does but we still have murders, theft, any number of crimes. They do have some changes that might make Earth less dangerous had they adopted them before it became too late." Alexis thought here was better over all.

"What happens to us?" Kate asked. Alexis was obviously one of them and Rick was half of them but she was all Earth.

"I'll get to that but you need to see something first." Alexis kept walking.

"Where are we going?" They did look to be headed for a big building.

"The Planetarium. You need to see before we talk." Alexis just kept moving and took them inside.

Rick and Kate saw her show something to someone who then left them. "This way." Alexis walked down one of the set of stairs to the very center. "Grab hold." They were standing. "Grab hold, trust me." Alexis waited until they grabbed a rail and then activated the device.

The entire room appeared to be replaced with stars. Lots and lots of stars. They zoomed out, way out until they saw something swirling. "This is the Milky Way Galaxy. And no, you haven't left it." Alexis tried to hide her smile.

"So what was that thing? The thing that got us here," Kate questioned.

"It's a jump gate. Faster than light really is impossible," Alexis explained. "However, we've found a way around that. You build a jump gate, then build another one and place all the parts on space ships. Send those ships through the jump gate and then construct the gate on the other end and come home."

Lots of light bulbs went on over Rick and Kate's heads.

"The red light is Earth," Alexis stated, and Rick and Kate looked at the tiny glowing dot. "Earth's located in a minor arm of the spiral about two thirds of the way down. The Milky Way is roughly 100,000 light years wide. Earth is about 25,000 light years from the very center. There are two major arms of the Milky Way and Earth isn't on either of them. We are, though." Alexis turned on another light. "The gold light is us. We're on a major arm and we're also about 25,000 light years from the very center.

"Now all the blinking white lights," Alexis brought those up, "are all of our jump gates."

"HOLY…" Kate's mouth dropped open.

"I have no idea just how many jump gates we own, but I can show you just how much of the Milky Way Galaxy we have control over." Alexis popped up a nice thick blue line that was a little jagged in places. "This is as of about 5 years ago."

"HOLY SHIT!" Rick and Kate almost said it together.

"As of 5 years ago we controlled roughly 32% of the Milky Way Galaxy. Including the arm Earth's located in. I have no idea how many jump gates are presently under construction. But there is a project in the planning phase." Alexis took away the Milky Way Galaxy and brought up a different one.

"This is the Pegasus Galaxy. I do know that a jump gate was constructed there not that long ago. Here." Alexis showed them a blue dot.

Alexis killed the 3D map and brought up the lights. "There's one more thing. Our technology is based off of three very hard to find natural resources. One is Newtronium. Another is Trilithium. The last one is Verterium Cortenide.

"I'll give you one guess what they found where they built the jump gate."

Rick picked one. "Trilieriam whatever you said."

"Trilithium and you're partly correct. They found all three and in large quantities. There's a gas giant that has 14 moons around it. Three of those moons have these resources. Another moon is what Star Trek would call class M."

"What has this got to do with us?" Kate didn't see any connection.

"Planning is already underway. In fact an entire fleet of warships has already passed through the gate to secure that system. The class M moon is rather tiny and mostly water, though it does have land masses. This is where we come in."

"WE?" Rick caught that word and saw Alexis begin smiling.

"Your ship is yours. They will not take it from you. However, they want you to man it and take it through the gate after they repair it and maybe upgrade it, with your permission, of course.

"Kate will be the captain. We have advanced in robotics a little more than you and they will be your crew except for Rick. They want him to keep working on in the domes," Alexis started to explain.

"Why?" Kate thought her ship was ancient compared to what they could build. "The Valley Forge is an ancient artifact in contrast to what you can make."

"That may be true but it has something our ships don't." Alexis was hoping they would see it.

"The domes," Rick said since Alexis was including him. "I just don't understand why."

"As I said, the class M moon is kind of small and doesn't have much in the way of land. Until they can build a floating city, that land and your domes are going to be all the land there will be. Save for the moons the miners will be working on in space suits or under pressure domes. I can show you pictures. It isn't pretty but miners make really good money, really good money. They and the military on the fleet will want to set foot on dirt once in a while."

Rick was catching up. "So the Valley Forge becomes a port of call where they can get off their ships. But you said we."

"I'm going with you or without you. You two have the Valley Forge and I will have the moon." Alexis saw Rick's face brighten.

"I understand why, I guess, but why us – or should I say, why should we?" Kate asked. "Can we ask them to repair our ship, send us back through the gate, and let us go home? I won't talk I promise."

"Two reasons, really. One, because I'm asking, asking my brother to come with me. Another is they'll build you a home after the floating city has finished construction. By that time they'll no longer need your ship and your domes." Alexis looked at both of them and began wishing.

"Build us a home?" Kate queried.

"Pretty much anywhere you want it. Here, there, one of their colonies which is where Dad is or was. Just help them design it and they'll build it," Alexis answered.

"Earth?" Kate asked; Alexis made a face that Kate didn't like.

"That I can't guarantee. Earth doesn't know anything about us and they want to keep it that way. Getting them to build there is going to take a lot." Alexis was pretty sure the answer would be no.

"We may not want to go there anyway, Kate. Remember what they told us. Two ships were recalled and without the fleet, they're more likely to just keep going the way they're going," Rick cautioned.

"Going?" Alexis didn't understand.

He gave her the devastating news. "I'm really sorry, Alexis, but your dream is dead. They're anticipating that the Amazon Rainforest will be down to 20% in a few years. Brazil is one of the nations that recalled their ship."

Her face fell. "How… How do they plan on surviving?" Alexis couldn't believe it.

"They're building massive oxygen generators on coast lines," Rick answered.

"By sucking the oceans dry? Sacrificing their future to turn their Earth into one big concrete ball? …And this is where you want to live?" she almost spat at Kate, not believing that she could want to go back there so badly. Disgusted, she started running up all the stairs to get away.

"Alexis?" Rick wanted to go after her but Kate was standing right there. "She's right, you know. One big concrete ball circling a sun while every breathes air that they had to artificially make until they actually do suck the oceans dry. Maybe not in our lifetime and maybe not in our children's lifetime, but it will happen. Then the Earth truly will be dead." Rick ran up the stairs after his sister.

"Earth is home," Kate murmured brokenheartedly and watched him run as tears started to stream down her face.

Rick caught up to his sister; she was sitting on a bench outside. "Go away, Rick. Your wife doesn't get it." He sat down next to her anyway.

"Kate will come around. …And we aren't actually married yet. I proposed and made a ring for her from this large industrial diamond I found on the ship. With a little bit of help from B2," he confided.

"She loves you, you know. I can see it in her eyes. …And yours. She's a strong-willed woman. You're going back, you just don't know it yet." Alexis knew when she had lost. "You should go get her, I need to take you to where you two are staying before it gets dark. And you both still need to eat." Alexis stood up and hurried away.

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"This isn't bad." Rick walked around and looked the place over. Their assigned place was full of clean lines and a little minimalist but it was spotless.

"You're still angry." Kate's heart had fallen ever since she watched him run after his sister who wasn't dead and was actually an alien on another planet.

"No." Rick walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her. "I'm not angry, but she is right. Earth's going to be one round piece of concrete soon. Or eventually. The oxygen makers are going to suck the oceans dry and as they do, they're going to build and pour more concrete."

"You are angry." Kate pressed herself into him. "Earth is our home. For good or for bad."

"Are you reciting our vows that we still have to take as a reason to go back?" Rick inquired.

Kate looked up at him. "Are you saying you wouldn't?"

Rick looked down at her. "So we're having a fight. I asked you to marry me and even made a ring from almost nothing for you. I'm pointing out that until someone recognizes us as being married, the only people who know are us."

Kate went back to pressing herself into him. "So you're staying then."

"You really are trying to make sure we have a fight. …Fine, let's fight." Rick let go of her and backed away.

"Who am I? Better question, what am I? What am I going to do on a planet that's totally void of plants and animals? You want me to be a concrete hugger? Maybe make trees out of concrete?" If she wanted a fight he was going to give her a fight.

"You don't know it's going to be concrete. That's your sister talking. Your dead alien sister. You fought to keep Earth green, so go back and fight. It's your home." Why couldn't he see that? "Fight for your home, Rick."

"Home… How many places have you lived at all these years? How many different apartments have you lived in? Which one did you call home?" Rick asked sharply.

Kate fought back. "ALL OF THEM! They were all on the same planet."

"Is that your problem? Suddenly Earth isn't top dog anymore. Someone else beat them to it. They only built a gate just at the edge of our system." Was that what the problem was?

"And sent people to our planet. Alexis involved herself in our politics. Tried to force her vision on Earth instead of letting it find its own way," Kate argued fiercely.

"I'm right; you're not mad, you're outraged. You feel invaded and taken over by aliens and want to fight back. King of the mountain. Well, I've got news for you – you're not even on the mountain, let alone king of it, Kate. The universe is a lot bigger than you think it is even after today. You learned a lot today or I thought you had." He strode with purpose to the front door.

"And I'm a tree hugger not a concrete maker." The door shook in its frame as Rick slammed it on his way out.

Kate picked up the first thing she could find, threw it at the door, and stood there, fuming.