Alien Artifacts Page 23

  Then, the specialists went to work. What could we learn of the others’ metallurgy, their manufacturing techniques, their engineering, their biology? You’d be surprised how revealing a helmet could be.

  The two boxes were less helpful. One contained four small metal discs, about the size of a quarter. Each had a design etched on the front and two small hooks on the back, like a clasp. Were they coins or buttons? What did the designs mean? The second box contained nothing. Had whatever been in it degraded in Titan’s hydrocarbon atmosphere?

  We found no trace other than the cairn, but Titan’s surface changed with the seasons. Winds reshaped hills, wore away features, and covered what was once exposed. Unlike the moon, our footprints lasted only a day. By our best estimations, measuring wear on the stacked rocks, the cairn might only be a hundred years old. Had the others been visitors like ourselves? Or did they have a more permanent presence buried beneath one of Titan’s migrating dunes?

  Earth asked a thousand questions, and they all ended with: who were they? Did we share enough with them that when we met—for surely we would—that we’d have a way to communicate? Discussion about the others circled the globe.

  I think, though, that they’re a lot like us. We have speculated why the cairn existed, but no one has an answer. Behind me, another truck passed on the highway. It was loud and filled with its own momentum. The driver probably didn’t look my way, where my car was parked beside the road, and when I left, even fewer would notice Gabriel’s tiny cross. None would stop to contemplate his photograph or wonder who he was. Still, if you drove down any highway, if you looked, you’d see the roadside memorials, the descansos that mark the memories of the ones we loved. Because when we honor the spot where the dead rested, we reveal something of ourselves, something about our hope that we will not be forgotten.

  I wish I knew the name of the other who wore the strange helmet on Titan. I do not know what the disks in the box were, or what vanished from the second box, but I’ll bet they meant something personal to whoever left them. I’ll bet the others on Titan stood in the methane rain and placed these small items in memory. I’ll bet they loved like we love, and the loss they felt burned like it burns in us.

  Because they are alien, we believe they must be different, that their lives cannot be like ours in any way. We don’t think about them living from moment to moment, working their routines, finding reasons to go on, just like us.

  We don’t think that they might have the equivalent of brothers, and that they might miss them.

  The dead flowers crumbled in my hand. I scraped them away from the wooden cross. God, Gabriel, the days are lonely without you.

  ALIEN EPILOGUE

  Gini Koch

  Note for readers of the Alien/Katherine “Kitty” Katt series: This story takes place right after the events of Universal Alien.

  “I want to take the kids on a trip.”

  Everyone at the table knew I’d switched universes and hadn’t destroyed the world over there. And yet, to a person they all looked shocked by my rather ordinary request.

  Other than Jamie. My daughter didn’t look surprised—she looked excited. Took a closer look at her big brothers. Charlie and Max didn’t look opposed to this idea, either. My kids rocked.

  “Ah, excuse me, Kitty, what?” my husband, Charles, finally asked.

  “A trip. You’ve heard of them. We take them frequently.”

  “Ah, weren’t the last few weeks enough…traveling for a while?” Charles seemed really thrown by this request. Sure, we’d spent all of our spare time since I’d been back making love like it was going out of style, but three kids already and number four coming in about eight months were great proof that my sex drive rarely, if ever, waned. Maybe all the sex had jumbled his mind. Not that I planned to stop, but something to note.

  “Not really. I want to go on a fun trip. Something we get to actually enjoy.” Though, based on the letter my Cosmic Alternate had left me, my family had definitely seen some interesting sights and had a lot of excitement and danger going on around them. And I’d been jet setting, too. But we hadn’t been doing this together.

  “I’m not sure that a trip right now is wise,” James Reader said quickly, while shooting a strong look at my father. Of course, he’d spent a lot of time apologizing, too. Sure, James being the top male fashion model in the world was a great cover, but he’d still been lying to me as long as my husband had. It felt no less like betrayal to get the news that they were both in the CIA, and had been for years, from my best friend than it had coming from Charles. Two of my main men owed me. Big time.

  Dad nodded. “I do agree there, kitten. You have three children who just had a very traumatic few weeks.” Right. Dad was a cryptologist working with alien transmissions, not just a retired history professor. Which I’d again found out “over there.” Make that my three main men owing me for all the lying.

  “No argument. You’ve all been protecting us for our own good for years, and that almost got all of us killed. We’re all clear about that.” Allowed them all the time to wince at my accurate assessment. “However, I’m suggesting a fun family outing that will, hopefully, not be loaded with life-threatening action.”

  “I agree with Katherine,” Alfred Martini said. He was an exiled A-C my Cosmic Alternate had discovered hiding in ancient tunnels put underground by a different race of aliens, the Z’porrah, who really hated everyone on Earth. He was the only A-C on the planet here, and my father-in-law in the other universe. Having spent time with his son there, I could say that I had great taste in men in any universe.

  I’d have told Alfred that I preferred he call me Kitty, but he’d been calling me Katherine for a reason, at least as far as I could tell—he knew I wasn’t the Kitty he’d met first, and this was how he kept us separate. One day, perhaps he’d feel comfortable enough with me that he’d call me Kitty. Until then, I wasn’t going to push it.

  “I agree, too,” William Cox chimed in. He was a Navy pilot, or he had been. Now he reported directly to the same CIA unit my other men did. I liked Bill a lot and, like Alfred, he had no family left. So now he was part of ours. “Especially if I get to go wherever you’re going. I haven’t had a fun trip in forever.”

  “Then it’s settled. Or are you guys going to tell me that you’re all about to run off on another Save the World mission?”

  Peter, the most competent man in the world who somehow loved working for and living with us—and doing literally anything and everything perfectly—started clearing our plates before Charles or anyone else could confirm if they did or didn’t have a mission. “Kitty, darling, what exciting location are you thinking of taking us to?”

  “Well, let me ask all my Secret Agent Men—where is it safe for us to go?”

  “You don’t want to go somewhere near home?” Charles asked.

  Waved my hand. “Australia’s old news for us.” The kids all grinned. “I want to go somewhere we haven’t been before.”

  “So, you mean a real trip, not just a day trip somewhere.” Charles seemed extremely underwhelmed by this idea of mine, which was really out of character.

  “Did we lose all our money or something?”

  Malcolm Buchanan, another CIA operative who I’d gotten to know well in the other universe but hadn’t known in this one until I came “home,” laughed. “No. He’s just confused by you and the kids not wanting to hide under the bed.”

  “Really? I think I should be insulted. For me and our children.”

  Charles heaved a sigh. “I just wasn’t prepared to have things quiet for a whole week and then you demand to start taking family vacations. Which, I can’t actually go on right now.”

  James nodded. “We’re going on assignment, which Chuck’s been trying to figure out how to tell you for the last two days. Him, me, Buchanan, and Sol.”

  “So, gosh, that only leaves me, Bill, Peter, and Alfred to take care of the kids. However will we all manage?” Heard a soft grumbling and mewing, then
two bundles of adorable fluffy fur that had been snoozing on my lap raised their heads. “What do Harlie and Gershom think?”

  Harlie was an alien animal called a Poof who was Alfred’s pet. Gershom was a Poof as well, and had come with me from the other universe because it was mine now. Wasn’t sure who’d been happier about that, me or Alfred. Though, based on the fact that the Poofs were androgynous and mated when, per Alfred, a Royal Wedding was due, Harlie was probably the happiest. Because Harlie and Gershom had gotten busy and we all had Poofs now.

  “You know, the Poofs are protectors,” Alfred said. “So, even though Katherine and the children will only have Bill, Peter, and myself along, the Poofs will be able to protect them and the rest of us as well.”

  I snuggled Gershom and petted Harlie. They had cute ears and paws that were hidden by their fur, but their black button eyes showed through the fluff without issue. They were literally the cutest things I’d ever seen, barring my children. “Poofs are the best.”

  Charles shook his head. “I’ll ask how a few balls of fluff are protection later.”

  “Trust me,” Bill said emphatically.

  “It’s classified,” Alfred added with a grin. “So, Katherine, where are we going and by what means?”

  “Well, how we’re getting there is determined by whether or not we get the jet. But I was thinking that it’s high time that we visited Egypt. Cool ruins make writing reports fun.”

  The boys looked excited—all the boys coming with me, big or small. Jamie also looked pleased. The other men, however, looked shocked. Took the leap.

  “Wow. You’re all headed to Egypt on some super-secret mission, aren’t you? Awesome. You can drop the rest of us off and pick us up after you’ve foiled the bad guys.”

  Charles groaned and rubbed the back of his neck. “Only my wife.”

  I leaned over and kissed him. “Yep. Only yours. So make your wife and kids happy and let us go have a fun adventure where no one’s trying to kill us.”

  He grinned. “When, really, have I ever been able to say no to you?”

  * * *

  We spent one day prepping—with Peter doing most of that—then it was time to head to the airport. With one additional passenger.

  “Mommy, Stripes has to come,” Jamie said, holding the orange tabby cat who Cosmic Moi had rescued and who had, from all she’d written and I’d been told, truly helped save the day. “He’s always the cat for the job.”

  “I promise I can keep Stripes safe and with the family, Charles,” Alfred said. “I’ve been tinkering. And the Poofs can assist with that as well.”

  Peter came downstairs with Stripe’s deluxe cat carrier. He opened the door. Stripes looked at the carrier, then looked right at Charles. It was clear the cat wasn’t moving until he’d heard that he was coming with us as opposed to being jailed for his own safety.

  Charles heaved a sigh. “Fine. It’s insane to do this, but the whole thing is crazy, so who am I to argue? Yes, yes, the cat can go with all of you. Please be aware that I can’t use Agency resources to find him if he gets himself lost.”

  Stripes snorted at Charles. He was in no need of CIA assistance, thank you very much. Then he gently head-butted Jamie and graciously allowed her to put him into his traveling condo.

  Thusly prepared, we headed for the airport.

  * * *

  We touched down in Cairo. Now the goodbyes were a lot more emotional—on the part of the men leaving us. Charles, in particular, didn’t seem to want to let us go.

  “Is there a terror threat we should know about?” I asked him finally.

  “No. That’s not what we’re here for. It’s just...I just got you back, Kitty. And we almost lost everything that matters while you were gone. I don’t want to let you and the kids go into anything without me.”

  “Well, unless you’re going to come with us, or have us come with you on every single assignment, that’s not an achievable goal.”

  He sighed. “I know. And I don’t want you coming on my missions, so don’t ask to.”

  I kissed him. “We’ll be fine. We have Stripes, Poofs, Bill, and Alfred along. We’re good.”

  Charles grinned. “You’re great, baby. You always have been.”

  Snuggled next to him. “Right back atcha. Now, go to work and let us go to school.”

  * * *

  Peter had made reservations at a lovely hotel. He’d also rented us a large Range Rover which Bill drove to said hotel. Peter checked us in, we got to our connecting suites, and he ordered room service. It arrived quickly because, as it turned out, he’d ordered it when he’d made our reservations and had just been giving the kitchen the go order.

  We ate a lovely meal, then Peter waved us off. “Darlings, time for me to do my job and get our temporary home set up as we like. You all go off and explore. I’m planning on keeping the home fires burning.”

  “No interest in seeing the pyramids?” Alfred asked.

  Peter shook his head. “Unlike the rest of you, I’ve had more than enough excitement.”

  “What about the cat?” Bill asked. “Stripes isn’t going to want to travel in his carrier anymore, but I think you’re going to have issues if we just cart him around.”

  Stripes shot Bill a look I could only think of as snide, then leaped from the bed he’d been lounging on right onto my shoulder.

  “Ah, apparently I’m the designated cat carrier now.”

  “You are, Mommy,” Jamie said seriously. “Stripes likes to ride with you when we’re going out into an action situation.”

  It was still disconcerting to hear Jamie speaking at this level at her tender age of three, but even more so because, until the universe switch, getting statements like this out of her would have been impossible. Charles and I had both believed Jamie was autistic, though we hadn’t admitted that to each other. She’d barely spoken to us, other than to share bad things that were expected to happen, and she’d rarely been demonstrative at all with anyone, not even my dad. All she’d wanted to do was stare into her three-way mirrors that she refused to live without.

  After the switch we knew that she was seeing into other universes via those mirrors, which was why she’d been uninterested in her boring real life. My Cosmic Alternate had gotten Jamie to agree to only use her mirrors once a week and for a short period of time. Thanks to this, and Stripes, she’d also started interacting with us like a mostly normal little girl, albeit one with almost an adult’s vocabulary and comprehension.

  Cat on my shoulder or not, I went down onto my knee and hugged her tightly. “Okay then, we’ll just keep things that way.” Pulled the boys into the hug, too, and just enjoyed holding my children for a few good, long moments.

  Let them go and stood up. Credit to Stripes—he’d never lost his balance or dug his claws into me. Gave him a pat. “You’re an awesome boy, aren’t you?” He purred back that he was indeed.

  I had no idea why I felt like I knew what the cat was thinking. However, Cosmic Moi had been able to talk to the animals, and maybe I’d gotten that skill, too, somehow. Decided not to worry about it and just get my Ancient Egyptian Field Trip underway.

  Ensured that all of us were slathered with sunscreen and that Alfred put his lightweight and camouflaged-for-Stripes’-coloration homing and protection harness on our cat. The rest of us were in jeans and long sleeved t-shirts—the boys in Jack Johnson, Jamie in Amadhia, me in Aerosmith, Bill sporting a Navy T. Alfred was in black slacks and a plain black long-sleeved shirt. Despite my desire to have us all in our Converse for comfort, we were in paddock boots instead—they were comfy and good protection for our feet. Peter handed out Diamondbacks baseball caps as we headed out the door.

  We’d arrived in the early morning, but by the time we were out the door, it was close to noon. Back into our Range Rover—kids and Alfred in the back, Stripes and me taking shotgun—off we went.

  “We’d normally go to the Islamic Art Museum first day, but it’s still not recovered from the terrorist bomb
ing from last year. So we’re going straight to the pyramids. No notebooks today—we’re just going to enjoy and explore. Tomorrow we’ll go back, but this time you’ll all be expected to be taking notes and such.”

  “Wow, you’re a taskmaster, aren’t you?” Bill asked. “I thought this was a vacation.”

  “This is how Mommy vacations us,” Charlie shared. “We have to write reports when we go to Disneyland, too.”

  Bill gave me the side-eye. “You’re part drill sergeant, aren’t you?”

  “Maybe. Never miss an opportunity to learn, that’s my motto.”

  He laughed but didn’t argue. Instead, he pointed out sights along the way. “I was stationed here for a few months,” he said after he’d pointed out the Hanging Church, the Nile, and the Pharaonic Village.

  “Clearly. And no argument. It’s always nice to have a resident expert teaching.”

  Bill grinned. “Crossing into the Giza Governorate. Next stop, Pyramids and adventure.”

  * * *

  Charles and I had been here before, on our world tour honeymoon, but we hadn’t been back with the kids. So I’d ensured that we’d know what was going on and hired a tour guide. As promised, she was waiting for us at the Tomb of Queen Hetepheres.

  The man I’d hired had called in sick, but his replacement was a gal around my age. I was surprised to discover that Chrysta wasn’t Egyptian but Canadian, though she lived in Cairo. She reminded me a lot of my sorority sisters—pretty, with red hair and a bubbly personality. She knew what was going on and, biggest plus, spoke English, French, and Arabic, so this was definitely one for the win column.