Chapter 7: Captured

Caleb was quiet as he drove JJ and Blake home; Kim was following in her car. Caleb was considering all that had happened, and what he had learned this evening. He didn't know what the results would be from the further blurring of the lines between himself and Al, but he was sure there would be consequences. Everything has consequences; Caleb just hoped they wouldn't be fatal consequences.

The new information about Al's crash, and what the expected attitude of the aliens would be, was disturbing. Caleb mentally snorted at himself in derision. 'Disturbing' was such an inadequate word.

"That was quite a bombshell you dropped. What are you thinking about, now?" JJ asked guardedly.

She knew her husband very well. JJ understood how his mind worked, even if she couldn't pierce the shroud he dropped over it, when he began thinking as furiously as he was now. She knew that, no matter how big the issue, or how complex, he would devise a plan to overcome it. JJ also knew that his own safety or survival wasn't always the first consideration in his plans.

"I'm thinking about the space-ship that crashed, and possible solutions to meeting the aliens without everyone dying," Caleb explained again, loud enough for Blake to hear too.

Caleb had learned, over the last year, that Blake might be young, but he was sharp. The young man had a unique perspective, and he often made observations that Caleb had completely missed. He had learned that voicing his thoughts around Blake was often helpful.

"Their ship was attacked by a human weapon," Caleb continued. "That weapon was no different than the millions of land mines that armies have scattered around the world. Anyone can set them off; in this case, it was an unsuspecting alien space craft. The aliens got off a message before they crashed saying a human made weapon brought them down. More aliens will be coming, and they won't be happy with humans."

"What does Al think will happen?" Blake asked from the back seat, understanding what Caleb was doing.

"He thinks that there is a possibility that they may try to eradicate humans," Caleb answered.

"What?" JJ barked. "What do you mean? That's a lot different than 'they won't be happy'. They can't do that!"

"Apparently they can, and have, with other dangerous species," Caleb replied.

"Why didn't Al tell us?" Blake demanded, angry with his step-father's Companion.

"Because, in his view, there was nothing that we could do about it," Caleb replied. "He was afraid that we would panic, and do something that would cause us to be caught by the government. Instead, he has been devising his own plans for us to survive. That is why he came up with the nanites. He wasn't holding the information back for malicious reasons. Al was doing what he thought best to protect us, both from the aliens, and from ourselves," Caleb explained, defending his Companion.

"That's why your brain is whirling so fast," JJ observed. "You have a plan."

"I have a glimmer of a plan, but there are risks," Caleb corrected her. "Having a larger group for a New Year's Eve party is part of it. Another part is, I'll need to bring Scotty into the fold. We're going to need him working with us, and with full knowledge of what we're facing."

"Risks? Caleb, that is downright dangerous," JJ protested. "I like Scotty, but he could have all of us locked up."

"I know," Caleb said, the simple words feeling like a stone in his guts. "So the question is, what kind of risk is the human race worth?"

"Great!" JJ said, crossing her arms and settling in her seat angrily. "It's bad enough that he's got you into another job where people shoot at you. Do you know how frightened that makes me?"

She took a breath, and didn't wait for an answer before continuing.

"You try to shield your mind when you get shot at, but I know. Now you're going to lay it all on the line with him, and hope he doesn't lock us up. Caleb, that is unacceptable," JJ fumed.

"Um ... several points come to mind, but let me stick to the simple ones. We have to do something, or the human race could be eradicated," Caleb said levelly. "Our group is too small to make a difference, but we're the only group with a chance of opposing the aliens. Furthermore, I'm not stupid or helpless. I think I've figured out how to overlay a memory. If my conversation with Scotty doesn't go well, I might be able to change his memory of the conversation."

"You think?" JJ asked in amazement. "You might ... Caleb, you can't risk your life on 'you think'. Scotty might be a friend, but he is also a Senator. He could have you locked up without a second thought. I know you aren't stupid or helpless, honey, but taking this to Scotty is just too dangerous."

"I need someone high in the government to make my idea work. Humanity needs to react at the scale of governments," Caleb explained patiently. "How else could we respond to a worldwide threat like this?"

Blake glanced down at the book he was reading. He always carried a book along, in case he had a few moments free. It had taken longer to get to this current book than he thought it would. The move, and starting a new school, had played havoc with his reading time. His current book was Robert Heinlein's 'Stranger in a Strange Land', and he was near the end.

"We could start a church," Blake volunteered.

"What?" Caleb and JJ said in unison.

JJ had whipped around in her seat to stare incredulously at her son. Caleb just looked at him in amazement through the rear view mirror.

"Start a church ... Like Michael did in 'Stranger in a Strange Land'," Blake repeated. "It will let us screen people, and open the portal for the people who can help. It would build our numbers," he concluded with a shrug.

"Blake, that's nuts," JJ protested.

"Maybe not," Caleb mused. "It really isn't a bad idea." He glanced in the mirror, meeting Blake's eyes, and asked, "Do you know how that idea worked out for Michael?"

Blake shrugged again, and said, "He got a lot more followers to train?"

"Yeah, well, you might want to finish the book as quick as possible. The ending may make you change your mind about that idea," Caleb said drily. "Still, the idea has a lot of merit," he mused. "We would still need government backing, but as a recruiting tool a church just might work. Maybe not as a church, exactly, but maybe something similar so we could control access. Maybe an exclusive school, or something like that."

"You two are both nuts," JJ muttered. "Okay ... What are you going to do?" she asked Caleb in resignation.

"I was planning on leaving about six-thirty in the morning ... umm, later this morning," Caleb corrected, glancing at the time on the dash. 'I was going to meet Scotty at ten, in Austin, at the state government offices. I think I'll leave early and meet him at his hotel, before he gets started on his day. He's staying at the Four Seasons resort. I will need information about the aliens' crash from the government's point of view. That isn't immediately important, but it will get Scotty focused, and I can determine how to proceed from there. Even if he doesn't join us, he has the information that I need."

"Fine, but you WILL stay linked during that conversation," JJ ordered stubbornly. "I want to know what's happening, as it happens. I don't want to discover, later this afternoon, that my husband no longer exists because the government locked him up and erased all information about him. What do you want me to do?"