crybabies. They don’t understand.”
His mom smiled and looked like
she was crying. “You’re so brave, Joe,” she said. “You remind me so much of
your father.”
Joe had to look away from the
screen, digging his fingernails into his palms to keep the tears at bay. “Has
Dad come back yet?”
On the screen, his mother’s face
contorted. “You know he hasn’t. Why do you keep asking?! You’re not as young
as Sam. You know he’s—”
“Where is Sam?” Joe interrupted.
His mother’s face softened.
“Here,” she whispered. “You saved him, Joe. You actually saved him.”
She sounded so stunned. And happy. Glad.
Glad that it was Joe on the ship,
not Sam.
Joe bit his lip and looked at the
wall beside the unit. “They didn’t come back for him?” He’d been wondering why he hadn’t caught sight of the know-it-all bastard in the panicked throng of
kids.
“It was the last sweep, Joe.”
His mom sounded like she was close to sobbing. “Sammy made it back home and
the aliens left. They’ve been gone for two years, Joe. Sammy’s okay, Joe.
You saved him.”
Two… years . Joe felt oddly
numb. Sam got to stay…and Joe was with the aliens.
Because he ran like a pussy
and left me to die.
He must
have said it out loud, because his mother’s face hardened on the screen. “He was ten , you insensitive bastard.” Sammy always had been a Momma’s Boy. “You
wanted him to fight aliens , Joe? At ten ? Why, so he could get
his face blown off like your father?” And her favorite. Sammy had always been
her favorite.
“He
left his own brother to die ,” Joe muttered. “They had guns to my head,
Mom. And he just left.”
“Seeing
how you got him caught in the first place, Joe,” his mother said, her voice cold
and utterly even, like ice, “I’d say it’s only fair you took his place.” And
it was obvious Sam was her favorite, seeing the fury in her face, the outrage
at the idea that Sam should’ve risked his life to save Joe. Joe had always
wondered, but had never worked up the balls to ask.
And
here, plain as day, was his answer. Looking at him like she was disgusted he
was still breathing. Joe, his father’s son, the football jock, the C-student,
the Marine wannabe who never really had any serious aspirations beyond retiring
a USMC staff sergeant… Shoved aside for a skinny little math whiz who’d had a
college recruiter from MIT come over to watch Sam do Joe’s Trig homework for
him while Sam chewed gum, played two MMORPGs, listened to Bach, and watched a
pirated Star Trek re-run in the background.
Of
course she wants him more than me , Joe thought. Sam’s
a genius . Joe was just…
Average.
Then
the alien monitoring his call terminated the connection so the kid behind Joe
could have a chance. Joe left the booth feeling like someone had poured acid
over his insides.
CHAPTER
4 : Joe’s Groundteam
That
night, after everyone had made their mandatory phone calls, Joe and the others
were lined up once more in the brightly-lit gymnasium. This time, the aliens
arranged them in groups of six. They put the tallest in front, the youngest in
back.
“You are now a member of Sixth
Battalion,” Commander Kihgl told them once they were arranged. “It
contains roughly nine hundred recruits, monitored by a single secondary
commander—myself—two small commanders—Small Commander Tril and Small Commander
Linin—and ten battlemasters, whom you will acquaint yourselves with personally
as your training goes on. Normally, a battalion is led by a tertiary
commander, but as one of the senior officers of this Takkiscrew, I was chosen
to lead the brigade, as well. Likewise, Prime Commander Lagrah is in charge of
both Second Battalion and the regiment as a whole.” He stopped, letting
that sink in.
When none of the kids interrupted
him—and in fact stared at him in slack-jawed
His mom smiled and looked like
she was crying. “You’re so brave, Joe,” she said. “You remind me so much of
your father.”
Joe had to look away from the
screen, digging his fingernails into his palms to keep the tears at bay. “Has
Dad come back yet?”
On the screen, his mother’s face
contorted. “You know he hasn’t. Why do you keep asking?! You’re not as young
as Sam. You know he’s—”
“Where is Sam?” Joe interrupted.
His mother’s face softened.
“Here,” she whispered. “You saved him, Joe. You actually saved him.”
She sounded so stunned. And happy. Glad.
Glad that it was Joe on the ship,
not Sam.
Joe bit his lip and looked at the
wall beside the unit. “They didn’t come back for him?” He’d been wondering why he hadn’t caught sight of the know-it-all bastard in the panicked throng of
kids.
“It was the last sweep, Joe.”
His mom sounded like she was close to sobbing. “Sammy made it back home and
the aliens left. They’ve been gone for two years, Joe. Sammy’s okay, Joe.
You saved him.”
Two… years . Joe felt oddly
numb. Sam got to stay…and Joe was with the aliens.
Because he ran like a pussy
and left me to die.
He must
have said it out loud, because his mother’s face hardened on the screen. “He was ten , you insensitive bastard.” Sammy always had been a Momma’s Boy. “You
wanted him to fight aliens , Joe? At ten ? Why, so he could get
his face blown off like your father?” And her favorite. Sammy had always been
her favorite.
“He
left his own brother to die ,” Joe muttered. “They had guns to my head,
Mom. And he just left.”
“Seeing
how you got him caught in the first place, Joe,” his mother said, her voice cold
and utterly even, like ice, “I’d say it’s only fair you took his place.” And
it was obvious Sam was her favorite, seeing the fury in her face, the outrage
at the idea that Sam should’ve risked his life to save Joe. Joe had always
wondered, but had never worked up the balls to ask.
And
here, plain as day, was his answer. Looking at him like she was disgusted he
was still breathing. Joe, his father’s son, the football jock, the C-student,
the Marine wannabe who never really had any serious aspirations beyond retiring
a USMC staff sergeant… Shoved aside for a skinny little math whiz who’d had a
college recruiter from MIT come over to watch Sam do Joe’s Trig homework for
him while Sam chewed gum, played two MMORPGs, listened to Bach, and watched a
pirated Star Trek re-run in the background.
Of
course she wants him more than me , Joe thought. Sam’s
a genius . Joe was just…
Average.
Then
the alien monitoring his call terminated the connection so the kid behind Joe
could have a chance. Joe left the booth feeling like someone had poured acid
over his insides.
CHAPTER
4 : Joe’s Groundteam
That
night, after everyone had made their mandatory phone calls, Joe and the others
were lined up once more in the brightly-lit gymnasium. This time, the aliens
arranged them in groups of six. They put the tallest in front, the youngest in
back.
“You are now a member of Sixth
Battalion,” Commander Kihgl told them once they were arranged. “It
contains roughly nine hundred recruits, monitored by a single secondary
commander—myself—two small commanders—Small Commander Tril and Small Commander
Linin—and ten battlemasters, whom you will acquaint yourselves with personally
as your training goes on. Normally, a battalion is led by a tertiary
commander, but as one of the senior officers of this Takkiscrew, I was chosen
to lead the brigade, as well. Likewise, Prime Commander Lagrah is in charge of
both Second Battalion and the regiment as a whole.” He stopped, letting
that sink in.
When none of the kids interrupted
him—and in fact stared at him in slack-jawed
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