Making the Galaxy Great

Jason was so astonished that he couldn’t meet the President’s stare. Instead, he focused on a tiny stain on the President’s otherwise splendid red and silver tie, just below the Windsor knot.

“I’m sorry,” Jason responded. “What did you say?”

“You’re needed, Mr. Fleming. For an important offworld mission.”

“Offworld?” exclaimed Evie. “You mean, not on Earth?”

The President nodded. “Exactly, Miss Sheldrake. So, what do you say, Fleming?”

Jason took a deep breath.

What do I say?

“Sir. Mr. President. I’m afraid I don’t understand. What is this mission? Why are you asking me? I’m not a diplomat, or . . . anything.”

“Can’t discuss the details of the mission, Fleming. But I can tell you that you were specifically requested.”

While Jason tried to mentally digest what the President was saying, both Evie and Shelby suddenly shrieked. Not a frightened horror movie shriek, but more of a riding-down-the-ramp-on-a-water-ride shriek.

“Oh my God, it’s Kuh-Re!”

Indeed, Kuh-Re slipped between the President’s two bodyguards and stepped into Jason’s front hall. He bowed his head and touched his forehead. “Mr. Fleming, it is a pleasure to see you again.”

Jason bowed and returned the greeting. “The pleasure is mine, Kuh-Re.”

Evie and Shelby were visibly shaking. Jason was unnerved, too. Although he’d been through an adventure with Kuh-Re, he’d never imagined the alien would visit his home. “May I introduce my daughter, Shelby; her mother, Candice; and my girlfriend, Evie.”

Candice bowed slightly, while Evie reached out both of her trembling hands to grasp Kuh-Re’s slender right hand. Shelby simply stared at the alien with eyes almost as wide as Kuh-Re’s until Evie guided her hand so she could shake Kuh-Re’s. Jason was afraid his daughter might actually faint.

“Dad,” she said without taking her eyes off of Kuh-Re. “I can’t believe I’m meeting Kuh-Re. Everybody I know is going to shit their pants.”

“Shelby!”

“Another of your unexpected English expressions. Such a fascinating language,” said Kuh-Re, who appeared entirely unoffended. “It is, as your saying goes, the gift that keeps being given.”

Close enough, thought Jason. He was ready to steer the conversation away from his daughter’s lack of propriety. “Kuh-Re,” he asked nervously, “Did you really request me for some kind of mission?”

Kuh-Re cocked his head. “I am a great admirer of your abilities, Mr. Fleming, but it was not I who requested you. It was Agent McCauley.”

Jason’s jaw tightened. “Agent McCauley? Where is she? Is she here?” He tried to casually look past the Secret Service statues to see if McCauley would suddenly appear just as Kuh-Re had done. And, he wondered, what sort of mission was it going to be if McCauley was involved? Over the past few weeks, he’d grown re-accustomed to not being threatened, chased or shot at on a regular basis.

“I am afraid she could not be here to ask you in person, which is why I came. Agent McCauley is already making preparations for the voyage.”

Candice finally managed to speak. “The voyage? How long is this voyage? Where are you going? To your home planet? How long would he be gone?” Jason could see tension beginning to wind through her like a snake. She did not handle change well.

“The voyage itself is not long because of the jar-ma,” said Kuh-Re in his soft, even tones. “Only a few Earth days in duration. But I cannot say how long the mission will be once you arrive. It could be many weeks. Or months.”

“Months?” Jason hated to sound so exasperated with Kuh-Re, who, after all, had saved his life. “And arrive where?” Jason asked.

“One of the other worlds in our new federation,” said the President. “It’s called Gallstone, or something like that.”

“Galstok,” Kuh-Re corrected, placing the emphasis on the second syllable.

The President nodded. “Umm, right.”

Galstok.

Jason repeated the name in his mind. He had to admit that that thought of traveling to another world and meeting yet another alien race thrilled him enough that his fingers actually tingled. But . . .

“Kuh-Re, Mr. President. I am honored to be asked, but I can’t do it. I think I’ve had enough of getting chased and shot. Plus, I have a daughter.”

Again it was Kuh-Re who responded. “Mr. Fleming, I am hopeful that this mission will be more of a . . . reconnaissance effort.”

Jason frowned. “I see. But there’s still the fact that I have a daughter, so I’m sort of tied to Earth.” And, he wanted to add, there was no way he could or would leave Shelby entirely in Candice’s hands for even a few days, let alone months.

“I believe I understand,” said Kuh-Re. “Agent McCauley anticipated you would feel that way. She suggested that your daughter could travel, too — perhaps accompanied by her mother.”

Candice’s complexion turned milk white. “What? Me? I’m not getting on a spaceship! I don’t even like airplanes. And anyway, I have a job here, and a . . . life.”

And a boyfriend, Jason said silently. Whom you never mention.

“Look, Fleming, easy fix. You just leave your daughter with her mother while you’re on the mission,” said the President. He smiled at Shelby. “I’m sure you’ll be proud of your daddy while he’s gone, won’t you?”

By now Candice was a fully coiled spring, red in the face and ready to fly apart at the slightest touch. “I can’t possibly take care of her by myself while he’s flying off to some other planet with that crazy secret agent.”

“I’ll go,” said Evie. “I can help take care of her while Jason’s doing his mission thing. I’d love to travel to another world.”

A seismic tremor rattled Jason. He waited for Candice to lunge at Evie’s throat, or perhaps simply burst into flames. But she merely smoldered softly for a few seconds, while everyone awaited her response.

“What about school? She goes to school, you know.”

“I’m right here, everybody,” said Shelby in the condescending tone of a teenager. “And I want to go into space with dad and Evie.”

Evie’s eyes darted toward Jason. “I guess we could home school her — well, except it would be space school.”

The President grunted. “I’m sure we could arrange for a tutor to travel, too.”

“And she’d be learning things that no kid ever got to learn before,” Evie noted. “It’d be like the greatest field trip of all time.”

Candice knotted her eyebrows. She seemed to be warming to the idea, or at least no longer hating it. “But what about your jobs?” she said without much conviction. Jason could see she’d made up her mind. He began to suspect that she might be happy for Jason to take Shelby off her hands for awhile.

“We’ll provide them with living expenses and an additional stipend,” said the President. “They’d be traveling under the . . . under the . . .”

“Auspices?” suggested Kuh-Re.

“Uh, yes. Under the auspices of our first trade delegation to Gallstone. Wait till you see how our economy takes off when we start doing business with those folks. It’s going to be a beautiful thing. They’ve got some sort of crystal that’s better than nuclear power — so, how about it, Fleming?”

Jason felt everyone waiting for him. Why did he have to make up his mind right that moment? It was ridiculous. But there was Kuh-Re. And the President. And McCauley . . .

“Umm, okay. I guess. Yes. Yes, sir.”

Shelby and Evie cheered. Candice exhaled loudly and rolled her eyes. And Jason felt himself turning numb.