The Earth team developed into a powerful force as the months progressed. When Bradley and Lindsay didn’t place in first, they occupied a position in the top five. Other racers understood it was business when the earthlings were on the tracks. There were plenty of times when a few joined the newcomers for drinks afterwards; the others didn’t consider the defeats and attacks personally. Except one racer. General Ehsa always made every effort to shut out the weaker species earthlings. The Qees commander considered the races unnecessary and a waste of time. Ehsa's opinion didn’t change the fact that this species went from not knowing of his universe to defeating him in a matter of several months. Unfortunately for him, every method he used left him disgraced and behind on the tracks. The general grew frustrated with the whole scene… and came up with the ultimate course of action.
It wasn't a perfect way to spend a wedding anniversary: over the communications system. The day marked ten years of marriage for Tracy and Lindsay Rose. The two chatted, ate and drank together via video feed.
“Damnit, I should’ve sent for you…” Lindsay breathed as she finished her second cup of Bunodic wine.
“It’s okay, Linds! Besides, I ran out of vacation time to take for it, anyway…”
“Oh, my God, you’re useless!” she rolled her eyes and chuckled. “I guess it's for the best. Only got a few more months here.”
“Yes! Three more months and I get to hold you, again… along with other things…” he waggled his eyebrows at her. Lindsay giggled.
“Pervert!”
“What? We haven’t had sex in almost a year! You’re not going to be able to walk once I get a hold of you!” Tracy smirked.
“For now, you’ll just have to be satisfied with… computer sex or whatever the hell you want to call it,” the two laughed. “You know, all joking aside: I think I’m gonna miss this place. I wonder if they’ll let us come visit after the races are done.”
“I don’t see why not.”
“Oh! We could make it our second honeymoon!” Lindsay perked up. Although he laughed, her husband nodded in agreement.
“Sounds like a plan… t… me! It Look… ike… beau... ther…” the video feed became twisted.
“What… the hell…? Babe, you’re breaking up…” her brow wrinkled. “Weird…” she mumbled to herself. Lindsay was moments from pulling up the menu; the network was never choppy since its creation. The connection terminated, showing a snowy window. Lindsay attempted to call back but received an error message. Three more efforts made her shake her head. She buzzed one of the two men she knew had an inkling of what happened.
“My girl!”
“Malik, you’ve been on a call lately?”
“Not since this morning. What’s up?”
“I think there’s something wrong with the connection to Earth. Me and Trace just got disconnected, and it’s giving me error messages whenever I try to call back.”
“Huh. What exactly does it say?”
“Hold on,” she attempted to connect. “It says: ‘unable to connect at this time; please try again later’.”
“Hmm…” Malik typed. “Nothing’s wrong with the system. I mean, we’re able to talk to each other. Might be a minor solar flare; those things screw with the magnetic field. I’ll get Yoji on it: call you back when I find out more.”
“Thanks.” Lindsay ended the call. She sank back in the chair and tried to figure out what she could do. Maybe it was her husband’s connection, she wondered. Lindsay attempted to call her brother and sulked when she received the same error notice. He resided in Tucson; there was likely something wrong in the state, she tried to reason. Lindsay tried her parents in Savannah but to no avail. Maybe Malik was right, she acknowledged. Lindsay didn't have in mind of anybody else to call to confirm it further. It was then when she caught the news icon on the desktop flashing a lively red. Yoji set it up to show the humans of any news that took place on Earth: flashing red meant breaking news.
Lindsay had a dreadful sense but something told her it had to do with the interruption. She clicked on it and gazed on in terror as the live feed of the atmosphere surrounding Earth appeared. Her nervous fingers managed to conference call her teammates.
“G-Guys, drop everything and turn to the news!!” she shouted. Tears pooled in her eyes as more Qees army fleets converged on the screen.
“Oh… what in the hell…” David asked.
“What? Who is that? Are those… Qees ships…??” Yoji looked.
“What are they doing?!” even Keith was in shock.
“They’re… oh, shit… are they attacking?! Holy fucking shit; they’re fucking attacking!!” Steve couldn’t believe his eyes as the fleet charged their weapons. In a flicker, the armada fired upon the planet, consuming it in a sphere of orange flames.
“Oh… Jesus…” Tim covered his mouth.
“N-N-N-Nooo…” Lindsay breathed, tears streaking to her cheeks as the ships vanished from the feed. Her heart pounded as she tried to zoom in to see more of the damage but she simply received an error message. “No, no, no, no, no, no, no…”
“Lizzie…?” Malik choked out. A sob caught in the middle of her throat as she attempted to connect to Earth once more. She struggled to control her breathing as she pulled up a flight application.
“Lindsay…” Keith tried.
“We are unable to access any satellite connection with the planet, Earth. There is no known date for any future transports.” the automated teller announced.
“No…” her voice trembled; she was forced to watch the orange flames burn around her planet. All the emotions she held blended into one and something inside her finally cracked. Lindsay’s sight dimmed as she screeched at the computer, darting up from her seat.
“Lizzie!” Bradley cried out as she threw her chair across the room in a burst of rage.
“There is an elevated degree of hostility present. Are you injured, Lindsay?” PAS dropped from the ceiling. Lindsay glared at the mechanical sphere.
“Locate Ehsa!!” she ordered, not bothering to regulate her breathing. The rage had consumed her; Lindsay was no longer in control of anything.
“General Ehsa is presently located in the dining facility.” PAS announced after moments of steady beeps. Lindsay didn’t see her teammates as she rushed out of the room.
“Lindsay!” Keith tried once more, but she already boarded the elevator. “She’s on autopilot; let’s go!” he commanded the others, and they proceeded to the stairs on the left.
The Royal Magistrate stood in Lindsay’s path as she entered the dining facility. It didn’t go unnoticed that she was distressed and grasping a metal pipe in her hand. He didn’t understand what was going on but was mindful of the urgency to stop her; something had infuriated her.
“Lindsay,” her tears surprised him. When he rested his hands on her shoulders, it was barely enough to ease her out of her enraged state. “Is something wrong? What has happened?”
“E-Emuh…?” she didn't understand how she found herself in the dining facility. Hot tears dropped to her chin and Lindsay tried to tell the Royal Magistrate what happened. Words failed her, notably so as she discovered the general in the distance. Lindsay’s fury returned as she scowled at the monster. The rest of the Earth team rushed into the room as Lindsay made her way towards Ehsa.
“Lindsay…?” Emuh watched the woman strangely.
“Lizzie, no!!” Bradley grabbed everyone’s attention except his intended target. Without warning, Lindsay swung with all her might, striking the general in his back. Ehsa turned as Lindsay shrieked with every blow she tried. Before long, blood trickled to her wrists. Frozen in their places, the crew sadly realized that… it was her own. Lindsay continued the assault, too infuriated to feel anything.
“Y-Y-You fucking bastard; how could you?!?!” she screamed between blows, each one producing more blood from her palms.
“Lindsay, stop; you’re only hurting yourself!!” Keith made an effort to snag her attention. Bradley’s heart quickened as he made his way over to grab Lindsay. When Ehsa caught the metal pipe in mid-motion, it was enough to stop Bradley dead in his steps. Something jumped in his throat as he watched the general throw the rod to the side and lift Lindsay by her throat.
“Oh, my God; oh, my God; oh, my God…” Malik gasped, his eyes immense.
“Lindsay!!!” Keith shouted; the woman suspended in the air in front of the general. Lindsay strained for breath as his grip clenched around her neck.
“HUMAN, I CAN KILL YOU AS QUICKLY AS MY ARMY SAVAGED YOUR PUNY PLANET! YOUR FEEBLE ATTACKS ARE USELESS!” he claimed, prompting everyone in the facility to gasp at his remark. Ehsa threw Lindsay, and she crashed into the nearby tables. Before anyone retrieved her, Lindsay got up from the floor. The artillery specialist picked up the first object she saw, a chair, and attacked Ehsa once more.
“They did nothing to you!!!!” she yelled out, and the giant roared.
“YOUR ANGER WEAKENS YOU.” Ehsa stated and shoved her away once more. Lindsay fell to the floor with a cringe-worthy thud but was on her feet. She rushed towards Ehsa once again but Areiv created a boundary between the two. Lindsay was so overwhelmed with wrath, she tried to fight through the Esperian to get to Ehsa.
“You fucking coward!! You pussy ass bitch!! Couldn’t beat us on the tracks so you take innocent lives?!?! They had nothing to do with this; NOTHING!!!!!” she continued. Despite receiving a beating from the infuriated woman, Areiv kept a firm grasp on Lindsay as he turned to the general, glaring at him.
“You will not only leave this facility but Buno as well, General Ehsa.” he strictly commanded.
“I WILL NOT TAKE ORDERS FROM THE BARON OF ESPERIA!” Ehsa bellowed and started for Areiv.
“Then you will accept commands from me. If you set a digit on my son, you will most definitely deal with the consequences sooner than you would desire!” Emuh was beside Areiv in a flash. The Qees general stopped his movement. “You will obey as the Baron orders, particularly after your declaration.” the earthlings weren’t used to seeing the Royal Magistrate irate.
“No; NO! Fuck that!! Let the muthafucker stay!!” Lindsay protested over the Baron. Areiv stopped glowering at the monster and turned his attention towards her. The alien tried once again to quiet Lindsay, holding her wrists firmer than he liked.
“Lindsay…” he attempted to calm. With a thick groan, Ehsa turned to walk out the commissary, which caused Lindsay to give out another enraged cry.
“You’re just gonna let him go?!?! You need to fucking kill him like he did our gaddamn planet!!!!” she burst into tears. Lindsay's words surprised Areiv, who relaxed his grasp on her. Lindsay broke free and snatched another chair. The woman tossed it in the general’s direction with all her might. Before she could throw anything else, Bradley grabbed her.
“Lizzie, please…” he choked out. Bradley squeezed her tight as she dropped, the storm inside of her fading out.
“They did nothing to him!!” she wailed out. The sobs that caught in her throat finally released and Bradley could do nothing but weep with her. The Baron looked on with a trace of sorrow in his own heart. He took a step towards the two but Emuh stopped him.
“Allow them to mourn as a team.” he softly ordered. The rest of the Earth team ran over to embrace the hysterical woman, their own tears spilling.
The ordeal was surreal to her. Even as the sedative wore off, she didn’t want to leave the bed. Lindsay remained locked in a tight ball for nearly an hour, avoiding every call and knock. Were the humans the last earthlings left? Had they lost every single person they ever cherished? And of all dates, on her wedding anniversary.
The thought saddened Lindsay even further that she had no recollection of what occurred after viewing the attack. The artillery specialist had hazy memories of seeing the Royal Magistrate in the dining facility. But, one moment she was holding back her sobs from the terror and then the next? Lindsay was lying in her bed, softly crying. If they had lost everything and everyone they knew and loved… what was the reason for living?
“Lindsay…” his gentle and caring voice disturbed her suicidal thoughts.
“Did you… hear my thoughts…?”
“No. I am not telepathic.” Areiv said. Lindsay didn’t make an effort to look up at Areiv, didn’t even question how the alien got inside her room.
“Please… just… just let me… be alone, then…” she managed. Lindsay needed no one there to talk her out of what she intended. The woman made up her mind: Lindsay had no reason to go on living.
The Baron ignored a request for perhaps the first time in his life span. Instead of leaving, the alien sat and drew Lindsay in his arms. Areiv never expected for the move to make the woman weep more yet he gripped her closer, wiping at the human's tears.
“I cannot… and will not do such a thing. Please forgive me. I assured my father I would be on guard while you remain in this state… and I intend to hold my promise. Please do not fight me…” Areiv told her softly. A gasp escaped his lips as Lindsay broke down and quivered in his arms. “Lindsay, how I long to heal your heart…” he had every intention of keeping that remark to himself but he wished to prove how much he sympathized with her distress.
After her frightening display in the commissary, the Baron preferred for Lindsay to respond the way she did at the time. Areiv hated to acknowledge that the general was right: Lindsay's blind rage weakened her. Lindsay was so set to punish the Qees commander, she never realized what little hurt she induced. The artillery specialist did more harm to herself than anything; obvious as Areiv glanced at the abrasions on her hands, arms and around her neck.
“Do you…? The only way… is to… bring them back. Do you have that power…?” she sobbed. Areiv looked at Lindsay, wiping at her tears once more.
“I do not. However, there may be hope.” the Baron told her. It was the mildest he had seen her since the incident. Lindsay tried to restrain her shudders and sniffling to stare at Areiv. She had to make certain she heard right.
“… W-W-What…?” she gazed into his eyes. The alien lifted her with him as the two left the bed.
“May I show you?” he led her towards the computer. Lindsay looked on as he pulled up the satellite feed of Earth. “You were so distraught, as you should be. However, no one could speak to you. I observed what transpired. I sought to locate you to inform you. Qees war weaponry consists of nuclear energy. There was… an abundance of radiation from the attack. However, Qees do not calibrate their weapons properly for long ranged attacks. They assume all that is required… is strength, itself. Qees often misjudge.” Areiv explained. As the feed came into focus, the Baron pointed to the deep red and orange blotches seen on the planet. Lindsay analyzed them for a while and realized that while the spots remained vast in size… they were hardly dispersed around the globe. She could still make out areas of North America.
“Oh, my God… there might be survivors…” she covered her mouth. Areiv couldn’t help but to grin as she hugged him. There was hope they weren’t the last earthlings alive.
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