"Over there," Petrus said, guiding some Ectutai workers to lift the crate over the machine. Hallfar restrained a satisfied grin. After four days of hard work, they'd finally received the final piece of the puzzle. It would be the instrument to bring about the fate Hallfar desired.
They were currently working in a hastily constructed metal hut outside Rose's home city. A special tarp covered the building's roof, blocking it from any prying eyes. It would reflect all light, making it indistinguishable from the rock quarry. If all went smoothly, LUVOLT and the Altair would remain none the wiser.
While somewhat uneasy returning to the same quarry that had nearly killed him a few days ago, Hallfar pushed down his queasiness. With such high stakes, Hallfar wouldn't whine because the location made him uncomfortable.
The overweight human dabbed at his forehead with a handkerchief. The hut's environment was more suited to Hallfar's species. Still, the human hadn't complained since he'd entered the building.
"This will power the system?" Hallfar said, approaching the still-unopened crate eagerly.
The half-arched gate wasn't anything you'd call pretty, scrounged together in the short time frame Hallfar had given them. Still, his people's blood and sweat had borne fruit, completing the device in advance of the set timeline.
"It is," Majayplay said from a device strapped to the human scientist's arm. "You may open it. I would recommend averting your eyes."
"What are you talking…" Hallfar's words got stuck on his tongue.
The entire room froze. Their gazes fixed on the purple stone Petrus's gloved hand retrieved from the crate. No one even blinked, so captivated by this simple, unpolished gem. Hallfar barely breathed as everyone's attention focused on that strange stone. The Altair were a distant memory, insignificant. Hallfar's entire existence was that stone.
"What the?" Hallfar blinked, shaking his head. Petrus had put the stone into a cavity in their time machine. Hallfar's mind struggled to right itself, and he had difficulty standing.
"What the..?" Doctor Raldu said, breathless. "I have no words."
Hallfar was similarly dumbstruck.
"I had the same reaction," Petrus said. "It's best to avert your gaze from it. Otherwise, you'll likely die of suffocation because your brain has forgotten how to breathe."
"Understood." Finally, Hallfar's brain kicked into gear, and sheer terror stabbed into him. What had he allowed on his ship? "What is that substance? Is it even native to our universe?"
"Good guess," Majayplay said. "I call it a pulcherite."
"And this can power the time machine?" Fascinating. In all his travels across the solar system, he'd never heard of such a substance.
It was a stupid question, but the pulcherite's lingering influence still weighed on Hallfar. Some basic facts would reorient him.
"It will. It will be enough to power the machine for two trips," Majayplay replied.
"Understood." From Hallfar's hazy memory, the pulcherite had been the size of a small… ball. Or, in human terms, the size of a golf ball.
Majayplay wasn't taking any chances, wisely doing her damnedest to make sure nothing of this technology fell into the wrong hands. Hallfar appreciated her caution and forethought.
"I understand. My team knows the risks. We are all willing to be stranded if it means the success of the mission," Hallfar replied. "When will the machine be ready?"
"An hour," Majayplay said. "I'd get your team ready. Future Earth will be crawling with Altair. You'd best be as prepared as possible."
"Understood." Seven planned to go with him, including Petrus himself. They'd hastily constructed a battle suit for the overweight human. It wasn't pretty, but it'd protect him. Besides, the air might be toxic, possibly clouded with Altair particles. Hallfar didn't want to imagine what'd happen to someone if they breathed that in. He strolled out to make the final preparations.
///
"That's fantastic, Cecilia," Rose said, overjoyed by the news. She looked ready to leap from her seat. "When's the adoption day?"
The ice cream parlor bustled with activity despite the late season. Snow hadn't fallen yet, but winter was quickly approaching.
"That's not decided yet." Apparently, even with his government connections, her new father was still drowned in paperwork for the adoption. It was already a clear sign of how much he loved her. He wouldn't bear that nonsense otherwise.
"I'm happy for you," Rose said, taking another spoonful of her ice cream. "Are you Cecilia Sandage now? Or are you sticking with Burbidge?"
"I haven't really decided that either." Cecilia remained mixed on that topic. While not particularly attached to the Burbidge name, she couldn't just abandon it, either.
"Sounds tough," Rose said, thinking it over. "Still, Joe is your brother now. I hope you two can get along."
"Yeah," Cecilia replied, her tone indifferent.
She still wasn't happy with how he'd made a fool of her when they'd played basketball. And he called her untalented. What nerve! She'd been new to the game! How about cutting her some slack? Cecilia wondered if she could convince Sandage to adopt her and unadopt Joe.
"I'm sure you'll work it out. You're stuck together, after all."
"Yeah, yeah. How do you handle having siblings?" Cecilia recalled Rose had two, one older, the other younger.
"It's a handful, I'll admit," Rose replied. "Especially when you have such a perfect sister like Sophia. And Danny? Biggest handful ever! Still, they are family, so you tolerate them, even if they sometimes get on your nerves. At least you're not a middle child."
"What do you mean?" Why should the order of your birth matter?
"Never mind," Rose said, sighing. For whatever reason, she didn't seem interested in continuing the topic. "Of course, this means you're switching schools. That's never fun."
"Oh." Cecilia had never realized that.
Sandage and his family lived in a completely different town. Sudden anxiety struck her so forcefully that she almost lost her balance. She'd just gotten used to Rose's school. She'd be completely alone in this new school! What would they think of her? Would they realize she was a freak and avoid her completely? She knew how some people in her current school whispered about her.
"But I'm sure they won't require you to move right away!" Rose said, catching Cecilia's growing dismay. "They'll probably allow you to finish this school year."
"What's going on with me?" Cecilia rubbed the bridge of her nose. Usually, she was more collected than this. This whole adoption business had completely thrown her into a loop. Her emotions had entered an uncontrollable roller coaster.
Rose gave her arm a comforting squeeze. "You and the Sandages have plenty to discuss. I'm sure you'll work something out."
"I hope so," Cecilia said, offering her friend a weak smile. Butterflies had danced in her stomach since Sandage had made his proposal. Part of her wondered if this was a mistake. It was such a drastic change from what she'd known before.
Still, with Rose's support, Cecilia would make this work somehow. Her new adoptive mother and brother were coming into town, and they planned to have dinner together to discuss things further.
Still, part of Cecilia remained wary. Bad luck followed her like a bad stench. Why should this be any different?
She opened her mouth to explain her fears when the world she'd been seeing vanished.
///
"No." Words failed Cecilia. Every nightmare, every fear that lurked in her heart had finally become a reality. The Altair were here.
They filled the sky, so thick that no daylight shone through. While making out details at this distance was difficult, Cecilia saw serrated teeth eager to devour flesh and tendrils ready to crush people into pulp.
While she'd been expecting this day, for it to become reality was beyond compare. The Altair host had arrived. Earth was the first stop on their mission of destruction. Then they would spread out across the universe until nothing remained. This universe would be another tally in their feeding frenzy across reality.
///
"No!" Cecilia fell forward, tears in her eyes. Rose ran to comfort her, but Cecilia pushed her away. Didn't she understand? Why wasn't she running? Trying to save herself?
But it'd be useless. The Luyten V couldn't match the Altair host. It was barely a blip against such numbers. The Altair had stolen the Earth's sky, and soon they'd steal its life as well.
"Cecilia!" Rose's words helped Cecilia return to reality.
"Huh?" She stared at a bright, sunny day in confusion. The midday sun shone down on them, making Cecilia's face a little hot. Birds chirped their songs, full of happiness and merriment.
"It's okay," Rose said, grabbing Cecilia and pulling her into a hug. "You're safe."
"Is everything all right?" Cecilia's bodyguard, Al-Kindī, rushed over, worry etched into her dark features.
"I believe so," Rose said with some apprehension. "Did you have another vision?"
"Another vision?" They had already briefed Al-Kindī about Cecilia's ability to touch the Akashic Records, but this was her first experience with the bizarre phenomenon.
"I…" Cecilia had trouble controlling her trembling. "They're coming."
"Who?" Rose asked.
"The Altair. They are coming!" Cecilia's words became more frantic. Why couldn't they understand? Why couldn't they realize how doomed they all were?
"Are we talking about the last general, Altair Gamma?" Rose asked.
Cecilia vigorously shook her head and wrapped herself in her arms. When Cecilia didn't speak further, Rose turned toward Al-Kindī.
"Call Mr. Sandage. He needs to know about this. I'll stay here and comfort Cecilia the best I can."
"Right." Al-Kindī nodded and pulled out her phone. She turned away and spoke into it with quick whispers.
Rose took Cecilia's hand and squeezed it, whispering comforting words. They stood like that for several long moments. Once Cecilia regained some measure of calm, she spoke again.
"They are coming, Rose, and we can't stop them," Cecilia said.
"What happened?" Rose frowned, her features going hard. Her eyes glanced around, seeking out any possible dangers.
"They filled the skies, Rose, they were beyond number."
"I see." Rose's mouth tightened. "When? Could you tell?"
"I…" Cecilia hesitated. Now that she'd somehow calmed down, she could analyze the vision in her perfect memory more clearly even though she didn't want to relive the situation. "I'm not sure. There was snow on the ground. I think I was outside our school?"
"Huh? Winter's only like a month and a half away. So sometime between late October and early April, maybe? Can you think of any other details? How cold was it?"
"Pretty bitter." Cecilia shivered from the memory. She recalled the thick layers of protective clothes, and the cold still bit her.
"Midwinter, then? Not really a clear timetable, but better than nothing." Rose bit her lip. "They must be really ticked at me for killing two of their generals. They must have said screw it and attacked with everything they have."
"Seems likely." Cecilia looked down.
Instead of trying to cheer up her friend, Rose remained lost in her thoughts. She didn't speak again until Sandage rushed up to them.
"Did she have another vision?" Sandage said, breathless.
"Yes," Rose said, her voice grim. "They are coming, she said."
"Oh." Sandage turned a curious shade of white. It was like he'd just confirmed the worst news. "Can you tell me what you saw?"
"I... okay," Cecilia said, regaining her composure. She needed to do this. Their planet—no, universe—was at stake. "I saw the end of the Earth. The Altair were invading at full force. They blotted out the sun! The Sun!"
"Oh, shoot," Rose said, breathless.
"I see." Sandage didn't seem as shocked, like he'd known this was coming.
Rose had noticed this too, narrowing her eyes at the LUVOLT agent. "Mr. Sandage, you promised there's be no more secrets between us. You have something to tell us?"
"I wanted to tell you." Sandage said, sighing. "But I was ordered to keep quiet until we had more details. We still haven't even gotten the Ectutai's full report yet. We didn't want to start a panic. For the meantime, I'd keep this to yourselves."
"Is that right?" Rose said, seething. "What is this report, exactly?"
Sandage took a chair and finally sat down. "A couple of days ago, MMM reported a tear in space-time just outside our solar system. A rip in our universe is expanding. MMM suspects it's a prelude to a full Altair invasion. We believe her."
"Dang. So the worst is happening." The fire went out inside Rose, and she became tired and listless. "I'd hoped we'd have more time. In the future, I survived long enough to have some gray hairs."
"Yeah." Sandage pulled the distraught Rose into a tight hug. "We'll solve this somehow."
"I hope so," Rose said, sniffing as she burrowed her head into the agent's chest. She seemed smaller than Cecilia had ever seen her.
Was there anything they could do? They still didn't understand the true extent of the horror they'd soon face. No one else did. But no, she didn't want to burden them. Best they remain ignorant.
"I'm in on this the whole way," Rose said, clenching her fist. "The Altair are mistaken if they think they can take this planet."
"That's the spirit!" Sandage said, beaming. Though it looked somewhat forced in Cecilia's opinion. He was putting on a brave face for them.
"Does that alien VTuber even have a plan?" Cecilia asked, exasperated.
This earned a smile from Sandage. "She does, as usual. She gave us schematics and parts for building a new Luyten V."
"Really?" Rose's eyes widened in amazement. "Awesome!"
"A new Luyten V?" But Cecilia remained skeptical. "Can you even construct it on time?"
"That seems unlikely," Sandage didn't want to get their hopes up. "Though there's also the secret project the Ectutai are working on."
"Secret project?" Rose said, blinking.
This earned a slight smile of amusement from Sandage. "They think they can hide it, but I wasn't in an intelligence agency for nothing. But they've kept it's function pretty close to their chests. They've likely done most of the research work in space, it seems. But…"
"What's wrong?" Cecilia asked, pensive. She was getting an odd feeling.
"They've started construction on a temporary facility outside of town. The Ectutai claims it's for some terrestrial research projects, but my hunch is it's for this secret project."
"Is this a bad thing?" Rose asked.
"Dunno. They're allowed their own research, but Prince Hallfar seemed rather agitated when we first spoke. It has me worried he might do something rash." Sandage wore a worried frown. He had more he wasn't saying.
"Agitated?" Cecilia wondered how Sandage had deduced that from the stone-faced Ectutai. Unlike his brother, he barely let anything past.
"It makes me wonder if we should crash the party," Rose said, her smile mischievous. "Make some excuse to poke around."
"Now that's an idea," Sandage said, smiling.
"You really want to annoy our allies like that?" Cecilia said, incredulous.
"Maybe they shouldn't do strange, unknown experiments in our backyard," Rose replied coolly. "It's not polite."
"You'd make a good spy, Rose," Sandage said, amused, before his face turned more grave. "Some poking around might be in order. It is alien tech we don't understand. An accident might cost the Earth dearly. I don't want our planet ruined before the Altair get to us."
"And I'll help!" Rose said, eager to get into the action. Sandage made a face, knowing an argument was forthcoming. He was not keen about her getting involved. It was a losing battle, Cecilia knew. Rose was determined to get her way.
Cecilia only shook her head. How was her friend always this gung-ho to go into danger? Rose could never resist a mystery.
But Cecilia silently agreed with them, her stomach turning from some unknown anxiety. Something in the air made Cecilia edgy. It was like the feeling before a terrible storm struck. Whatever the Ectutai were planning, Cecilia's instincts screamed against it.
Or was she overreacting? She'd had this feeling once before. It'd been months ago, but nothing had happened. It was right before the Altair appeared, but Cecilia doubted it shared any connection with her feeling. Yeah, she was overthinking things. Still, Cecilia couldn't push down her sense of disquiet completely.