Midnight Meetings
Maria pushed open the door to the Crashdown hearing the bell ring above her. As she stepped inside the diner the familiar scent of onion rings and meat patties hit her. Everyone was already there waiting for her, Alex had called everyone to crash down to discuss their next move. He'd explained that meeting at the Crashdown in the middle of the night seemed to be the best option for a family discussion. Deep Sky had been informed of the impending alien invasion, but it was the thought of Max and Dallas held captive in Oasis that had everyone on a razor's edge.
"Welcome to the eleventh hour," Michael said to Maria, Alex and Isabelle glared at Michael. Maria could feel the tension in the air, sitting beside Isabelle in one of the booths. Before Alex could open his mouth Papi came out of the kitchen with a mountain of food, "you can't be expected to save the world on an empty stomach chicas," he said, handing out everyone's usual orders. Maria smiled at the old man who was like a father to her digging through the takeout bag to eat her Blazin burger and milky-way shake, only pausing when she saw the Saturn rings. Instantly remembering how Dallas used to steal her Saturn rings but then would feel guilty and trade her for his martian bites, Maria shoved the bag away, losing her appetite. "Okay kinda on a time-sensitive mission, can we start?" Liz said, fixing her father with an irritated look. "Just doing my part Hija," Artru replied. Everyone in the room turned their attention back to Liz and Alex "right now we have the advantage" Alex said commanding the room, "with the Lockhart machine we have direct communication to Max, ergo we have inside intel that to be kept discreet if we want to stand a fighting chance."
Everyone remained quiet allowing the general to continue. " Our best strategy is to send a rescue team into Oasis to extract Dallas, and keep Max as an inside source until we're properly equipped to retrieve him," Alex said, keeping his voice sturdy and devoid of any emotion. "So basically we're deserting Max who has been taken prisoner as a humanoid battery to charge an entire planet," Liz snapped. "Right now we don't have another option that won't wipe out an entire planet civilization or initiate intergalactic warfare" Alex retorted calmly. "He's not an iPhone charger Alex" Isabelle exclaimed, the tension seeping back into the room. Alex didn't flinch, maintaining his composure, "no he's not but going in blind we risk more casualties…trust me I've been through this back in Iraq" Alex seemed calm but Maria could feel Alex's fear emanating off him in waves.
"And no matter what we cannot comply with the Oasian demands," Alex said. Everyone backed down, nodding in agreement that nothing good could come from complying with Oasian ransom demands. "Alright fine," Liz said, "Michael and Shirvani have been building alien tech suits that will help all of us non-aliens travel to Oasis, and Ali and I chemically modified the mist so we will be able to breathe in the atmosphere on Oasis." "So it'll be like going undercover?" Isabelle said, "What …like Avatar?" Heath said from the corner of the room. "No, some of us actually are Oasian" Michael snapped. Tension reached the breaking point and everyone started yelling at each other.
Maria didn't say anything. It was times like this when her mother would disperse her weird but insightful advice that always made everything clearer. "What about the Piscis Austrinids?" she finally asked, her question somehow breaking through the loud arguing. "The Oasians demanded that the descendants of the rebel triad summon the comet, meaning that they don't have it," Maria said, this comet had been on her mind all day. "That's right," Alex said, "according to the astronomers at Deep Sky this comet arrived on earth around the same time the pod squad arrived". "So team earth isn't gonna have it any easier," Kyle said, slurping his galaxy grape slush. "No 'home team' stays to locate the meteor and the 'away team' will conduct the rescue," Alex said. "So how do you pick the teams?" Bonnie asks, who had been snacking on the curly fries behind the counter.
"A scientist is essential for a mission like this and ya know it's Max so I'm going," Liz said, standing upright. "Somebody has to prevent the attack of the Martians so guess I'm going too," Alex said standing up beside Liz. "There's no way that I'm staying behind," Michael said standing. "Yeah you're gonna need me too," Isabelle argued. "No you can't both go otherwise you're complying with the ransom demand," Liz said.
"Send me," Maria said, standing up now it was her commanding the room. The thought of her best friends travelling to Oasis without her didn't sit well with Maria. "Maria you're still training" Isabelle responded, her eyes pleading with her sister. Maria just looked at Alex, "technically I'm a descendant of the rebel triad, but not close enough that they can complete the summoning." "So what I just stay here while my brothers and sister are on another planet…not a chance," Isabelle said. "You've taught me everything you know and besides Roswell needs you right now," Maria said, no one was going to stop her from going on this mission. "You're gonna need a local to show you around," Bonnie said, standing up Maria noticed her slight hesitation. Bonnie had been bartending at the wild pony for the past six months and the alien had become a member of their family. Bonnie's abilities would be a valuable asset and she could help them blend in, but Maria knew that Oasis held bad memories for her. "Alright well we've got the psychic, the local, the engineer, the scientist and the general," Michael said, seeing them all standing in the middle of the diner. "Sounds like the start of a bad joke, '' Kyle muttered before Isabelle elbowed him.
"This is gonna be one hell of a road trip," Maria said, and wherever her mother was Maria knew she agreed.