Hannah chuckled quietly as she listened to Daniel and Jane down the hall in the bathroom.
"My teeth are clean, daddy," Jane was insisting.
"You only brushed them last night," Daniel disagreed.
"But I brushed them yesterday, so they're clean."
"You grow germs overnight."
"Daddy! Gross!"
"Well, it's true. Now just brush your teeth."
"Okay," Jane mumbled. Hannah could imagine the pouty face Jane was giving Daniel, even though she assented to obey his command.
Hannah continued wrapping the present she'd bought for Jane. On the occasion of Jane's third birthday, Hannah and Daniel had planned an excursion to the arboretum and arranged for a party with a couple friends at their apartment. Both she and Daniel hoped the celebration would not only satisfy their toddler, but keep their own minds off of larger events as well. Hannah felt a chill radiate down her spine. Everyday she got up and tried to hide her fear from Jane. She knew she couldn't hide it from Daniel, but he played the game with her in front of their little girl—a game of pretending all was well when everything was as wrong as possible…
One Month Earlier
The door to the apartment slid back and Hannah entered, her eyes barely open. The Newton had come back into port at 0300 and she'd been wakened from sleep to disembark. All she wanted to do was stumble to the bedroom and crash out on the bed. She expected to find Daniel asleep so she could cuddle up next to him, but when she stepped into the living room, she found him wide awake, his eyes riveted on the television. Flashes of color danced off the walls of the dark room reflecting the television screen.
"Hey there," Hannah drawled out, trying to get Daniel's attention. He turned, but the distress in his eyes caused her stomach to churn. She could tell something was terribly wrong.
"Jane?" she asked, her heart pounding.
"She's fine. She's asleep. Come here." He reached out a hand to her and she took it. He pulled her down to the couch and pointed at the screen. A female reporter with dark hair was managing to keep a professional attitude, though Hannah saw right through her façade—she was terrified.
"...reported that there have been numerous causalities. It is believed only one ship escaped destruction. We are awaiting an Alliance spokesperson who will clarify the rumors presently. As of now, all we know is that it has been reported that several starships were destroyed by an alien force while attempting to activate a new relay."
Hannah glanced at Daniel who knit his eyebrows as he stared anxiously at the screen. "An alien force?"
"That's what they're saying," Daniel confirmed.
"Alien? Are they sure?"
Daniel pointed at the screen again. The Alliance spokesperson appeared, a large man in his sixties. He addressed the reporters that had gathered at Alliance headquarters, reading from a data pad. "Approximately three weeks ago at 1934 hours, several starships were attacked by an unknown force when they passed through the Shanxi-Theta Relay. The starships were not of Alliance origin. We believe these ships to be alien in nature. One Alliance ship returned to Shanxi colony and reported the attack on our forces. Unfortunately, Shanxi was itself attacked. The colony managed to send out a probe that arrived at Arcturus Station intact. We have had no contact with Shanxi since and it is believed to be occupied by hostile forces. Our colonies in the Zhong System are in imminent danger. For this reason, we have grounded all nonessential vessels and will strategize and mobilize our fleet to protect our colonies."
The reporters began to pepper the spokesperson with questions. Hannah realized she had been gripping Daniel's hand tightly when he reached over and peeled back her fingers, releasing his hand from her grasp.
"Aliens," Hannah stated.
"Our first contact," Daniel said, "And it's an attack." He turned troubled eyes on Hannah.
"You were right," Hannah conceded. "First contact and they're hostile to us."
"I wish I wasn't right," Daniel mumbled. "This could mean full scale war."
"Do you think they'll come to the Sol System?"
"It's anyone's guess at this point."
Hannah's data pad suddenly beeped, indicating a priority message. She thumbed it on and pressed the icon for her military e-mail. Her eyes skimmed the message. "The Newton's grounded," she reported, a tremor in her voice. "No more explorers are allowed through the Charon Relay without express permission from the Alliance. I'm to remain on Mythos for the time being."
Hannah looked up at Daniel. "What if they come here?"
"We'll be ready for them," Daniel answered back confidently. "The Alliance won't let them take this station." He paused. "There better be a quick end to this war."
Present Day
But it hadn't ended yet. Two weeks after the announcement of Shanxi's capture, the Alliance disclosed it had begun a counteroffensive against the alien force, a fight to save the colonists of Shanxi. Every day reports streamed in on the war in the Zhong system. The alien and Alliance navies seemed fairly well matched. At the moment, the war was being fought primarily in space but there was talk of a marine offensive on the ground any day now.
Hannah and Daniel tried to keep the television off whenever Jane was around. They also avoided talking about the war, acting as normal as possible. They didn't want her childhood scarred with fears that real monsters might possibly appear on station to kill its human inhabitants.
Hannah finished wrapping the gift. Even in these uncertain times, she found one joy—as the Newton had been grounded, she'd spent more time with Daniel and Jane than she had in a while. Originally she'd promised herself she'd be back on Mythos for every one of Jane's birthdays. However, her promise was broken when a stint onboard the Newton kept her off station for Jane's second birthday. At least the war meant she wouldn't miss Jane turning three. As she tied a ribbon on Jane's gift, Hannah hoped that Jane would see many more birthdays, that this year wouldn't find them fleeing invading alien forces bound for Mythos.
Hannah heard Jane's little feet pounding down the hall. "Mama!" she cried out, spinning in her new yellow overalls with the blue flower on the front. "I'm pretty!" She clapped her hands and her pigtails bounced.
"Yes, you are," Hannah affirmed. "So, how old are you today?"
Jane stopped and twisted her lips, concentrating. "Um…three…years…old." As she answered, she worked to hold up only three fingers on her right hand. She ended up holding up four. Hannah giggled silently, walked over to her, kneeled down and bent Jane's thumb over her pinky finger.
"Yeah, I'm three!" Jane declared and began to spin again.
Daniel entered the living room and shared a short smile with Hannah. Even so, Hannah read trouble behind his eyes. She knew he worried daily over the war, but he seemed even more down today. However, she didn't want to broach the subject, not in front of Jane.
"So, how about we go to the arboretum?" Daniel asked.
"Yes!" Jane called out and ran to grab Daniel's left hand. "You coming, mommy?"
"Of course." Hannah took Jane's left hand and they walked through the apartment door as a family.
The arboretum was situated in the very center of the station. Artificial sunlight filtered throughout the glass structure, providing the nourishment required for its plant life. Hannah thought the densely packed greenery and flowering plants of various kinds mimicked a jungle. Jane loved to run down the paths and hide, then jump out when they passed. She'd picked up the habit from Hannah herself, who would do the same, sending Jane into fits of giggles.
They walked the entire distance of the arboretum and back again, about a mile round trip. Halfway through Jane had begged to be carried and Daniel obliged. She sat on his shoulders and pronounced herself the captain of her own spaceship with daddy as her helmsman. Daniel strode up and down the paths, uttering zooming noises to the delight of his daughter.
Leaving the arboretum, they strolled back to the apartment, Jane now skipping alongside her parents. When the door to the apartment slid back, Jane squealed as she spied two of her best friends inside, Marcie and Li Yun, along with their parents. Jane had made friends with the little girl and boy at the education center where she went to school while Daniel worked during the day.
They ate cake and ice cream and then opened presents. Hannah was pleased to see her gift made an impression: a scale model of the Newton. Early on Jane had fallen in love with starships and was ecstatic to display mommy's ship in her room. But the gift that took the cake was Daniel's. Hannah knew he had spent months calling and e-mailing, tracking down the right people to import everything to Mythos that he would need for Jane's gift.
"Jane, how about we go see what's in your room?" he asked once all the other gifts had been opened.
"But I want to play, daddy," Jane protested.
"Well, there might just be one more gift for you in your room."
Jane's eyes went wide and she practically flew down the hall, followed by her friends, Daniel and Hannah.
"Fish!" Jane cried out. "Fish! Just like at Grandma and Grandpa's!"
Flush against the far wall, next to Jane's bed, was an aquarium about three feet long by one foot wide. Daniel had filled it with multiple kinds of freshwater fish. Jane and her friends pointed and ooed over the fish flashing brilliant colors in the tank.
Hannah looked at Daniel to enjoy the grin on his face. Without a doubt, Jane was a daddy's girl. Jane had been so taken with the fish tank at Hannah's parents' house when they'd visited several months ago that Daniel had determined to get her one of her own. He'd collected the fish little by little as he'd convinced various travelers to bring them along to the station as well as all the parts for the tank. He'd also invested in several months' supply of fish food.
As the girls showed no sign of wanting to leave Jane's room, Hannah and Daniel wandered back to the living room to chat with the adults. For about five minutes the conversation managed to stay in the realm of small talk, but inevitably digressed to the war.
"I think they've got to be Protheans," Brian asserted. "I've always thought that discovering those ruins on Mars proved that there were only two races in the galaxy—us and the Protheans. After all, we've never found evidence of any other race out there."
"But we've only explored a small portion of the galaxy," Daniel pointed out.
"Granted," Brian agreed. "Though I still think it makes the most sense. The Prothean ruins are what pointed us to the Charon Relay. Who else would get so upset that we wanted to use the relays except the Protheans?"
"I just hope we're safe," Mei Ling spoke up. "I'm glad we live in the Sol System. I don't even want to think what the colonists on Shanxi are going through."
Hannah shifted in her seat. She really didn't want to think about it either, but Mei Ling's statement sent her mind that direction immediately. Were the colonists being enslaved? Slowly tortured and killed? No one knew at the moment and not knowing unnerved her.
"They might be rescued soon, if the Alliance has anything to do with it," Li Chen added. "There's rumor they might launch a ground offensive soon. Maybe even call in the reserves."
The conversation went on, but Hannah heard little of it. She fixed her eyes on Daniel who was sitting in a chair next to the couch. She caught his gaze for a moment, and he turned away quickly. Her heart thumped in her chest. They were calling in the reserves, that's what Li Chen said…and Daniel wouldn't look at her.
The rest of the party felt like a fog to Hannah, her fears a dark mist that spoiled it for her. Still, she remained calm, pretending her emotions didn't exist. Finally, their guests left. Hannah noticed Jane's weary eyes and suggested a nap.
"I don't want to," Jane countered. "I want to play with my toys."
"How about we go look at your fish?" Daniel proposed.
"Yeah," Jane agreed. Daniel walked her down to her room. Hannah followed, standing outside the door listening.
"You can watch your fish if you lay in your bed, okay?"
"Alright," Jane agreed. "Can you read me a book, daddy?"
"Just one. Which one do you want?"
"The fish one. The Space Fish."
"Here it is." Daniel paused and Hannah could hear him flipping pages. "Once there was a fish. He did not like the ocean. He thought the ocean was boring. He wanted to go to space…"
Hannah waited all through The Space Fish. When Daniel finished the book, he instructed Jane to watch her fish until she went to sleep, then slipped out of the room and tapped the switch on the wall to shut the door. He turned a knowing gaze onto Hannah, took her hand and led her to their bedroom. He gently pushed her to a sitting position on the bed. Then he sat next to her, letting go of her hand and rubbing his face.
"You're going," Hannah stated. She didn't want him to answer, didn't want to hear the truth, but she knew his answer already.
"I got the call this morning," Daniel intoned, his voice low, almost inaudible. "They're calling up some of the marines in the reserves to take back the colony."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Hannah demanded, suddenly angry, not at him, but at the fact that he'd been called back into service.
"I wanted Jane's birthday to be good for both her and you. I didn't want you to worry and I didn't want Jane to know, not yet."
"When do you leave?"
Daniel fixed her with an unhappy gaze. "Tomorrow evening."
"That soon." Hannah felt tears well up, but quickly wiped them away. "I could go, too. They'll need officers. Maybe I could ask to go."
Daniel abruptly grabbed her shoulder. "No. I don't want you anywhere near Shanxi. You have to stay here for Jane."
Hannah knew he was right. "I don't know her as well as you do," Hannah muttered. "She idolizes you."
Daniel shook his head and put an arm around her waist. "She idolizes you, too. You're all she talks about when you're away. She's always telling everyone that you're her awesome space mom."
Hannah's eyes began to water again and she rubbed them dry. Daniel leaned over and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry about me, please. I'll come back. I'm not going to leave Jane without a father."
"That better be a promise." Hannah wanted a guarantee.
"It is," Daniel affirmed.
For the next few weeks, Hannah found herself glued to her data pad. She never knew when Daniel would call or send messages. More often he sent e-mails as calling was a privilege normally extended only to high level officers. He had let her know that he'd arrived at Arcturus Station, then that he'd been attached to the Second Fleet, and finally that his unit would be heading through the relay to Shanxi.
Several days followed with no message at all. Hannah tried to busy herself and keep her mind off of Daniel by concentrating on Jane. Before and after school, Hannah took Jane on outings throughout the station, hoping to keep both of them occupied. They had just returned from one of the outings, when her data pad beeped, prompting her to answer an incoming call.
She sat down with Jane on the couch and they both peered down at the screen. A fuzzy image appeared and Jane called out, "Daddy!"
Hannah smiled in relief. "Daniel. Finally."
"Sorry," he spoke, his voice distorted through the distance. "It's hard to get a good call out under encryption."
"Where are you?" Hannah asked.
"Onboard the SSV Galileo," Daniel answered. "We've stayed out of the space battles. They've been trying to punch a hole in the defenses of the enemy. They think they'll have it soon. I wanted to call because, if they push open the door, we're going through it. We're ready to hit the ground."
Hannah nodded. "Be careful."
"You know I will."
A loud male voice sounded in the background and Daniel looked to the side. "Hey, Peggy! Lieutenant says get your butt over here now!"
"Peggy?" Hannah asked.
Daniel groaned. "They found out about my leg. Peg leg got turned into Peggy."
Hannah couldn't help but laugh. "Sounds good. Maybe I should call you that when you come home."
"If you do that, I swear I'll call you 'Red' all the time."
"Peggy!" the loud voice called again.
"I'm coming!" Daniel yelled back.
"Look, Hannah, I love you and…"
"Don't you say it, Daniel. You're coming back. I know it."
"Yeah. I will. Jane, I love you, sunshine."
Jane, who had been silently watching the conversation between her parents, grinned at the screen. "Love you, daddy."
"I'll send a message when I can. Bye." The screen went blank.
Hannah sat back and pulled Jane into her lap. Jane let herself be snuggled. Hannah was glad. Right now, she just wanted to hold onto her as if holding onto Jane was holding onto a string attached to Daniel.
Another week went by with no message. Hannah kept the television on constantly. The reports on the news were general in nature, only restating over and over the fact that troops were on the ground. Any video of the war came from the space battles instead of the ground. Hannah found she couldn't sleep at night. She'd put Jane to bed then curl up on the couch, leaving the television muted so she could glance at it every time she woke up. Her data pad rested on the coffee table, waiting for any message that might be sent.
She found herself jolted out of sleep at around 0416 at the end of the week. Her data pad beeped, signaling a new message. She snatched it off the table and turned it on, pressing the message icon. It was an e-mail from Daniel.
Hannah, we pushed them off of Shanxi! They've retreated! You will not believe what they look like. I'm sure the news will have some footage soon. The colonists got a lot of video recorded in secret.
They say we're going home soon, at least most of the reserves. A lot of the Alliance ships will stay as a warning that the aliens better not try to take the colony again. A different kind of ship was spotted this afternoon, apparently coming in under a flag of truce. Rumor is that there are other races of aliens in the galaxy, too. Maybe they're on our side?
Tell Jane Daddy loves her. Love you, Hannah. Daniel.
Hannah looked to the television. Daniel had been right. The news had already picked up the story. She grabbed the control and unmuted the screen. The dark haired reporter was on.
"…video recording from Shanxi, our first look at the aliens we've been fighting for the last three months." A grainy picture popped up and Hannah gulped. A group of aliens had appeared on the screen. They were tall and terribly skinny. Most of them had gray skin and strange horns out the backs of their heads. She could swear their flat faces almost looked metallic, like they glinted in the sun. Their faces also bore some kind of markings or tattoos. She noticed humps on their backs and she thought she counted only three fingers on their hands. They looked entirely intimidating. The reporter came back on the screen.
"Shanxi is now under Alliance control. Alliance military ships will continue to guard the colony, ensuring there are no further attempts to retake Shanxi. In other news, Leonard Rawlings is the new golf pro of the century as he…"
Hannah muted the television again. She kept seeing the aliens in her head. Daniel had fought those. She wondered what they were like in combat.
After Hannah took Jane to school she spent the rest of the morning muting and unmuting the news. They kept showing various amounts of footage of the aliens. Where at first sight they'd made Hannah feel threatened, the longer she looked at them, the less intimidating they became. And apparently not undefeatable, she reminded herself when she watched the umpteenth recording of the aliens.
It wasn't until the afternoon that Daniel's question concerning a new group of aliens possibly on their side was answered. The dark haired reported had been replaced by a blond man. Hannah found herself sitting on the couch again, all ears and eyes on the television screen.
"We are not alone in the galaxy. Alliance officials announced they have made contact with a council that claims headship over the galaxy. They have brokered a truce between humanity and the hostiles at Shanxi who call themselves turians. We will bring you more information as soon as we receive it."
Hannah sat on the couch dumbfounded. Turians—that was what their enemy called themselves. Some council claimed it held supreme power in the galaxy. How many alien races were there in the galaxy? The news report hadn't said. Her brain could hardly make sense of the information seeping in. Yet it was nothing compared to the reports that came in over the next week. The council, referring to itself as the Citadel Council, opened the gateway to an avalanche of information, giving humanity a digital codex of sorts from which to learn about the galaxy. The news kept reporting updated star charts, pointing out systems that existed and the various alien groups that occupied them. Then there was the information that the political power center of the galaxy was a place called the Citadel, an oblong shaped object with five arms. The news reporters began devoting a segment each day to describing a different alien race. By the end of the week, Hannah had learned a little something about turians, asari, salarians, quarians and krogans. Each looked different and each had its own peculiar culture. Hannah's mind was on overload. It was almost as an after thought that she recalled she'd even heard how the whole war between the humans and turians got started in the first place: there was a law that certain dormant relays couldn't be operated. The turians had attacked humanity's ships as a police action.
Hannah received another message from Daniel at the end of the week.
Hannah, I'll be back on Mythos in about sixteen hours. I'm bringing a friend with me, one of the Lieutenants from the Galileo. He needs somewhere to crash for a little bit as he's been promoted and is waiting to be reassigned. Hope you don't mind.
I miss you. I miss Jane. Can't wait to see you again. I never want to go back to Shanxi. I don't even think I want to see another alien again. Daniel.
Daniel's message troubled Hannah. She was overjoyed he was coming home. She didn't care about the friend that wanted to stay with them. It was his last two sentences. What specifically had happened on Shanxi? What had this war done to her husband?