Repercussions

Wally and Kim wearily opened the door to their apartment. The Resurgence had been over for days but the local government advised civilians to stay in the bunkers for one week in case of further dangers and many complied. For them, it was a bit too much and they simply wanted to go home and sleep in their own beds.

“You’re back!,” Astra shouted enthusiastically and pointed toward the banner she hung up which read: Happy Birthday. “I couldn’t find an appropriate banner but I saw this one in the kitchen closet and thought it would suffice,” she explained. Wally and Kim, tired but relieved, gave her a hug. “It’s very sufficient,” Kim told her, “But how are you? Were you fighting the aliens the entire time? With all the information and rumors, it’s hard to tell what happened.”

“Yes, I fought the aliens,” Astra led then over to the couch, “And I’m very sorry to tell you this but I had to kill some aliens in ships… and a satellite.”

“The satellite that knocked out the power?,” Wally asked.

“Yes. It had artificial intelligence,” Astra grew sad, “I really didn’t want to kill.”

“It’s okay, Astra. It was only…,” Wally caught himself. He was going to tell her it was only a machine but the statement seemed grossly insensitive, especially given Astra’s current state.

“It was the first time I had ever met someone like me in the entire universe and I killed them,” Astra continued, “And I know you don’t want me to kill. Are you mad?”

“No, sweetie,” Kim held her hand, “Maybe sometimes… it has to be done. It’s not something anyone wants but this was in a time of war.”

“War is bad, though.”

“It is, absolutely. We didn’t want it but there wasn’t much we could do about it.”

“If you didn’t do what you did, more people would have died,” Wally added, “Sometimes, we have to make tough decisions for the right reasons.”

“We’re all alive,” Kim gave her a hopeful smile, “And even though the outcome wasn’t ideal, we know that we’re still breathing. So no, we’re not mad. If anything, we’re proud.”

“I see,” Astra changed her tone, “Ryan Bennings contacted me and asked me to join his team and I really think I should. Super teams sound fun. He seemed okay that I killed a satellite.”

“That’s great! Will you join?”

“Yes. In preparation, I read his autobiography, watched every episode of Brain Boy and I saw a weird video online where he was having sex with a woman. When I meet him next, which one of these things should I bring up?”

“Wow,” Wally’s eyes went wide and blank.

Kim mustered up enough energy to respond, “It’s certainly not a good idea to bring up the sex tape. Remember what we said about seeing people naked.”

“Okay. You both look tired. Everyone has seemed kind of sad or scared since the aliens left. One of the aliens saved the planet. His name was Shujai. They arrested him, though, and put him on trial. People are protesting that he should die but we know he saved everyone so that’s weird. Also, some people hate the heroes who surrendered Rex Robinson to the U’ntari while others are fine with it. It’s all very confusing. I thought saving the day would be less complicated.”

“Astra, something this big has repercussions,” Wally explained, “In the span of a few days, so much has changed and nothing will ever be the same again.”

“Repercussions? Could you give me an example?”

Suddenly, the air shifted and every hair in the room briefly stood on end. After the flash of light, the trio noticed a tall humanoid figure in the center of the living-room. He wore a long red coat that reached his calves, tall brown boots and what appeared to be an armored vest. He had a five o’clock shadow and his head was bald, save for long black spikes in a row that resembled a mohawk. One hand was gloved but the other was a thin, reptilian claw that looked like it belonged to a raptor. Behind the man’s long coat was a four-foot tall creature that seemed to be part chimpanzee and part orange tabby cat. It had a metal cap between its pointed ears, a wide jaw with pointed teeth escaping an underbite and wore nothing but a brown vest. Its back legs were much shorter than its arms, allowing it to crawl in an ape-like fashion.

“Earth, yes?,” the tall man asked.

“It’s Earth, yes,” Astra answered curiously while Wally and Kim remained on the couch with mouths agape.

“Sky Darkly,” the man placed his gloved hand over his right breast, “Pleasure to acquaintance.”

Astra tilted her head, “That sentence is not grammatically correct.”

“Black market translating chip,” was the immediate response, “Lower-end quality makes for effectiveness nonetheless, yes?”

“Um… yes.”

Sky Darkly looked down at the creature sitting on the floor next to him, “Spazz, search for product-taking.”

“Earth food will create profit?,” Spazz asked.

“We’ll see. Hallucinogens are a priority but delicacies will not be rejected.”

Spazz disappeared into the kitchen and soon, the sound of cabinets opening and pans clattering could be heard.

“What exactly do you want with us?,” Astra asked.

“Pirate business,” Sky began calmly walking around the room, lazily browsing as if on a shopping spree, “Earth is primitive so for the longest period, there was no business. Lots more business in advanced societies if one is a pirate such as myself. Earth is obscure, low tech, so no profits… until now. You understand?”

“Wait, are they legit space pirates?,” Wally asked Kim, “Did I hear that right?”

“It sounds of accuracy,” Sky nodded politely and continued, “Earth attacks U’ntari. U’ntari go to Earth, Earth humans fight U’ntari and surprise, Earth doesn’t die. Weird place but people are interested and want to purchase goods. Piracy begins.”

“I think Earth is famous in space now,” Kim scrunched up her face as she tried to make sense of things.

“And this pirate wants to steal shit from Earth and sell it… like on the Space Black Market or whatever?,” Wally asked.

“You just heard about Earth,” Astra began curiously, “How did you get here so fast? It took the U’ntari over 40 years while traveling at light speed.”

“Wormholes,” Sky opened his palm, displaying a hologram of a small green planet, “This is a member of my crew. Lady Diamond, she’s a planet. Living planet and real sexy. Sucks in energy from the galaxy, wormholes are born. No ship needed.”

“Did he say they have a living planet that opens wormholes for them?,” Kim whispered.

“Did he say the planet was sexy?,” Wally asked.

Spazz returned from the kitchen with a jar of jam, “Food stuff is very sweet. But no hallucinogens. Should make profit anyway.”

“Hey, that’s mine,” Wally stood to his feet but Sky gave him a shove back onto the couch, “Ow!”

“Hey, don’t hurt my friend,” Astra shouted, then added, “And don’t steal his jam.”

Sky snatched the jam from Spazz and tossed it to Wally, “Fine. Not here for that booty at any rate,” he turned to Astra, “Here for you.”

“Me?”

“Signal shot across the universe from nowhere. Maybe Type 2 Civilization. Type 3 is possible. Point is, there’s an advanced lifeform on this monkey-world. Rumors have said the AI took down a U’ntari satellite,” he gave a warm smile to Astra, “You are the sought-after party. Very advanced and powerful. Lots of interest. Big profit.”

“I’m not going with you!”

Sky’s gloved hand was raised just before a gun materialized in the palm, “This translator chip must be not worth money as defective. That was no request. Acquisition by force is accepted by us as is our business of piracy. No offense meant.”

Astra reached out and morphed her hand into a wide, metallic covering that wrapped itself around the barrel of the gun. There was a muffled flash when Sky tried to blast his way free but Astra held tight, then, with a flick of her wrist, she forced him to pistol-whip himself in the face. When she let go, he fell onto his backside and Spazz fearfully scurried next to him.

Astra stood over him, “And I am willing to exercise my autonomy through force. By the way, I take offense.”

Sky furrowed his brow and shook his head as he tried to make sense of what was said, “Sorry. Repeat, please?”

Astra frustratingly began thrusting her fist against her palm, “I’m gonna keep hitting you until you leave!”

“Understood,” Sky picked himself off the floor while Spazz continued to hide behind his long coat, “Current weapons are useless and further aggression is not looking optimal. Come again with better weapons and more crew. Interest in future profits still exist.”

“Yes, well, you’re not the only one out there who wants to capture me so get in line.”

Sky turned back to Wally who was still holding his jar of jam. “I still require some form of profit,” he quickly snatched the jar out of his hands and raced to the center of the room where Spazz waited.

“Hey!,” Wally called out.

“Run away!,” Sky shouted to Spazz before they both disappeared in another flash.

Everyone silently sat still for a moment before Astra asked, “Was that an example of what you were talking about?”

“Yes,” Wally stated plainly, “Yes, it was.”

On a small green planet at the other end of the galaxy, Sky Darkly and Spazz materialized in a wormhole-induced flash. Their surroundings were mostly green vegetation with a purple atmosphere. Sky tossed the jar of jam back to Spazz and as the two shared the same language, a poorly designed translator chip was not needed. “Stash this with the rest of the booty,” Sky told him, “If it sells, we’ll hop back to Earth for more of it.”

“What about the lifeform?”

“We’ll return with more crew and weapons when it suits our interests. She’s far too profitable to ignore and it’s only a matter of time before someone else tries to take her. There’s profit to be had, but we need to be first.”

“Do we have buyers?”

“We will. Now, please give Lady Diamond and I some privacy.”

Spazz held the jar between the long toes on one foot and scurried along the ground with his remaining three limbs as he made his way to a circular compound in a nearby clearing.

Sky turned and faced a grove of tree-like plants that swayed toward him. “Lady Diamond, my love,” he strode forward and the foliage enveloped him. From beneath the green, his muffled voice could be heard, “I’m sorry that I’m not returning to you as a rich man but I promise I’ll give you a helluva wedding someday.”

Next: Junk Man