“Summer and Autumn were so nice. They showed me all their games and told me about all the different things that Spark has done for them,” Issi explained. “They apparently used to live on a farm, not a hydro-plonics one, but a real one! They said they used to be able to run around for hours and never meet another person, and they even had piggies! Isn’t that great?”

  “That’s wonderful,” I told the tot.

  Despite only being at the Indianapolis family headquarters for about five minutes, she’d apparently heard and seen enough to regale me with stories all the way to the Children’s Museum, ten minutes away. She didn’t stop talking or repeat herself during that entire trip. I had no idea how she managed to absorb so much information in such a short time.

  The Indianapolis Children’s Museum was a sprawling complex with large glass windows and a number of exterior exhibit areas. I could tell it was a pre-antithesis structure because ground-level windows became extremely unpopular after the incursions started. People tended to prefer to have a building that didn’t allow the aliens easy access over sunlight these days.

  After parking the truck, I jumped out and started moving around to the back to help Issi get out, but before I could get there, I received a phone call. Frowning slightly, I forced it to go to messages.

  “This place is cool!” Issi exclaimed as she leapt from the truck into my arms. “It’s got giant lizards bursting out of the walls!”

  “Those are dinosaurs, prehistoric creatures that are practically unheard of in this day and age,” Nyx announced, using one of the escort bears. “According to my sources there are a couple samurai that are attempting to reproduce them… with mixed results.”

  “Hey Nyx, you don’t normally take the initiative to take over one of the bears without prompting,” I said, gently lowering Issi to the ground. “What’s the occasion?”

  “I just thought I’d volunteer to escort Bob and Ms Isabelle inside while you take a call.” The bear turned and stared at me. “I really recommend you answer it this time.”

  “What are you talking…” I started, only to be interrupted by another incoming call. I stared at Nyx suspiciously for a moment before turning to Issi. “I need to take a call. How about you take Bob and Nyx inside and show them around? I’ll catch up in just a minute.”

  “You sure?” the girl asked. “I’d hate for you to get lost.”

  “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine. Just don’t let go of Bob’s hand, okay?”

  “I’m a big girl. I know the rules,” Issi declared properly.

  “I know you do,” I replied, patting her on the head. As soon as the little girl turned to enter the building, I answered the call. [Hello?]

  [Evelyn, good, I’m glad I got ahold of you. You’re not busy are you?] Charlotte blurted out.

  [Actually… I’m kind of in the middle of some family…] I started, only to be cut off.

  [Fantastic! Look, I’ve got Benedict and Sharron on the line, and they have something you need to hear,] Charlotte exclaimed. Normally Charlotte was ecstatic to hear from our friends on Mars, but right now she sounded stressed. Borderline panicked.

  [Alright…] I replied hesitantly.

  There was an audible click as we joined another call, followed instantly by a familiar voice. [Evelyn? Are you there?]

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  [Hey Sharron, how are things going on Mars?] I replied.

  [The Mars campaign is officially over,] Benedict replied tersely. [We exterminated the last of the antithesis then glassed the surface of the planet. We’re leaving some orbital observation drones to monitor the situation, but the experts agree that Mars has been completely sterilized.]

  [That’s great,] I said warily. [So why do you guys sound like you’re about to head to a funeral, instead of a victory party?]

  [Because the antithesis managed to pull a fast one on us,] Benedict growled. [While we were focused on exterminating the Antithesis on the ground, they sent a stealth force up to Phobos and infested the moon.]

  [So? You managed to wipe out all the Antithesis on Mars, how hard can it be to exterminate the ones on the moon?]

  [The problem isn’t that they’ve infested the moon; it’s that they’ve knocked the moon out of orbit and set it on a collision course with Earth,] Benedict replied.

  I froze for a moment as my brain tried to process what I’d just heard.

  [Mirage. Are you saying the antithesis threw a moon at us?] I finally asked.

  [It’s less thrown and more propelled,] Sharron explained. [Some sort of Antithesis apex organism developed in the core of the moon, and it’s using its giant wings to somehow propel the mass forward much faster than any of our ships.]

  [They’re flying the moon here?!?! How does that even make sense?] I exclaimed. [Why haven’t you blown it up yet? Isn’t there a massive samurai fleet orbiting the planet?]

  [They tried. Unfortunately, when the nearest ships closed in on the planetoid and opened fire, it quickly accelerated out of their range. We have a full battlefleet in pursuit, but it seems unlikely that they’ll be able to catch up before Phobos enters our gravitational orbit,] Sharron said.

  [The fleet is being outrun by a moon,] I repeated in disbelief.

  [They’re being outrun by an Antithesis model unlike anything we’ve seen before,] Charlotte clarified.

  [So what are we supposed to do? Most of the Class IV or better samurai are off-planet. How are we supposed to stop that thing?] I asked. [I hate to say this, but I doubt that my UHR would even scratch that thing.]

  [The Family will be holding an emergency council later today to take ideas and formulate a plan. We’ll probably need to coordinate a continent-wide response if we’re going to stop that thing,] Charlotte said.

  [Why continent-wide? Why not worldwide?] Sharron asked.

  [Because the Family only really holds power in North America. There are different samurai organizations across South America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Oceanic areas. The Family has worked with many of them before, but they all have their own goals, and we don’t always see eye to eye,] Charlotte explained.

  [Our goal is to prevent the earth from…] I paused. [What would happen if something that size hit the earth? Would the planet explode?]

  [Nothing that dramatic,] Benedict replied. [It would probably result in whatever continent is struck being consumed in a couple hours, and the rest infected by all the antithesis particulate thrown up into the atmosphere by the impact.]

  [So no problem then,] I said sarcastically. [Do we know where, or when it’ll hit?]

  [There’s no way to tell,] Charlotte replied. [The mass is accelerating at an unsteady rate. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower. Until it either evens out or gets closer, we won’t be able to calculate an impact zone. Right now it’s just ‘Somewhere on Earth’.]

  [Wonderful,] I grumbled. [So what do you want me to do, start heading back? It’ll take me a couple days to get there.]

  [You’re not in town?] Sharron asked, surprised.

  [Nope, on a work vacation with the family. After what happened earlier, Charlotte and I thought it would be a good idea to investigate some early warning methods. I’m in Indianapolis right now.] I replied.

  [Can we stay on track here, please?] Benedict grumbled. [We called halfway across the solar system to warn you, not learn your vacation plans.]

  [It’s fine,] Charlotte snapped, interrupting him. [Until I attend the conference, we won’t know what the Family’s planned response will be. We may need you to redirect to a different place, or you might not be needed at all. Do you have any spare points you can throw around?]

  [A couple thousand,] I admitted. [I made a little bit back when I made a pitstop in the badlands, but it’s just a drop in the bucket compared to the amount I had at the end of the global.]

  [Every little bit counts,] Charlotte said. [I’ll call you the instant the meeting’s over, and give you an update. Until then… make sure you answer your calls.]

  [Can do,] I replied. [So what about you two, Sharron and Benedict, are you on your way back?]

  [We are, just not on the pursuit ships. We expect to be back in about two weeks,] Sharron said.

  [Well then… we’ll have to do our best to ensure there’s still a planet here when you arrive,] I said.

  [I would really appreciate it if you would,] Benedict replied, deadpan.

  [We’ll be leaving the range of the Mars transmitter,] Sharron reported. [So we’re going to lose signal soon.]

  [Don’t worry. You’ve spent the last six months dealing with the Antithesis out there. Leave the ones over here to us,] I said.

  [Will do. Stay safe,] Sharron replied.

  [I’ll do my best,] I chirped. [Safe travels.]

  I waited until everyone else disconnected before ending the call. I sighed and scratched my head before finally heading towards the museum. Issi was probably waiting.

  “It’s always something,” I grumbled.

  This arc features Spark from 'A Spark of Sylvan Flame' - Go give them some love!

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