TAKE OFF

Elizabeth drove her husband’s old truck through the neighborhood via Sage Street. It was bustling with new life. She had held onto this favorite vehicle, but it was the past, and this street was the future. While the houses retained their heritage, much was new, including the paving. A type of plastic that left a smooth, quiet surface that was a pleasure to drive on and walk on, especially for the dogs. Tucson asphalt roads were cruel to dog feet in the summer.

The landscaping at each house was cleaned up. The xeriscapes functioned well, requiring little water, and the plants were thriving. The plants should adapt well to the new planet, at least according to the experts, even the Mayones. New paint coated the exteriors of the houses, and the whole scene was freshened up. The updated formulas on paint would now last longer than Elizabeth had ever heard of, longer than it took to get tired of the color you chose.

Interiors were taken care of, too. Not only did they acquire new furniture and a newly painted interior, but they also updated plumbing and electrical. A mix of what was left in the stores and updated technology. Power would now be supplied with a hydrogen fuel cell for both buildings and cars.The kitchens in Mesaland would all have fantastic appliances and the dishes, pots, and pans that go with them. The new recruits were in for a surprise when they walked into their new homes. Elizabeth especially liked her replicator. Not only was it easy to prepare meals, but it also made her feel like Jane Jetson. 

Zior worked with human scientists and engineers who accepted the invitation to join Project Rhea with each neighborhood. Liz was still enthusiastic about naming the new planet Rhea after the daughter of Gaia, the Greek Earth goddess. It was fitting. Further results with the additional technological improvements brought Mesaland’s journey closer to the goal. The humans and the alien had managed to find common ground. She wondered what else would come from the collaboration.

She could hear her father say, Quite a bit.

He had always been optimistic about the future. Liz missed him; he would have loved all this technological improvement. She wondered how he would have reacted to the Hagor attack. She guessed he would be hanging over the autopsy table with Dr. Perez and Charles.

Yes, she nodded. Dad would.

But what about the other Mayones?

As Elizabeth turned onto Avocado Street, she passed Betty’s house. Zoe, Betty’s granddaughter, had moved into her grandmother’s house. Elizabeth was happy to have a new neighbor, but Betty would be missed; she was a good friend. Betty chose not to get younger or go on the trip with Mesaland. Elizabeth had come to terms with the absence of some of her neighbors, but this was a hard one.

***

Liz arrived home and was immediately accosted by her pooch, Pepper. The dog was a loving companion, taller than the average heeler. A purebred heeler needed to nip heels, so they were shorter than this mix. Pepper was a perfect dog for Elizabeth’s family: sweet, intelligent, and energetic, something Elizabeth now enjoyed.

“How are you doing squirt?” The dog danced around Elizabeth. She petted the dog’s head and gazed into those loving puppy-dog eyes.

“I can’t say no to you either, can I?” Pepper jumped up, almost knocking Elizabeth over.

“Pepper, down.” Okay, so not exactly the perfect dog.

“Mom, is that you?” Her daughter’s voice came from the other room.

“Yeah, I’m back. Did you get done battening down the hatches?”

“Yep.”

“Did Noah and Tyler do theirs?

“Uh huh, after I threatened them with righteous anger.” 

Elizabeth chuckled; Samantha did righteous anger well.

“Let’s get out and prepare the yard,” Elizabeth said.

Elizabeth herded the kids outside to pick up loose items, stow tools, and cover the pool. Pepper helped enthusiastically. Zior had assured Liz the pool would survive the journey, and Elizabeth loved using the new powered cover, just like her powered window blinds for the living room. Innovations she had only thought about. So much had been left in the stores, so few people left to shop. Liz was thrilled to find these tech marvels and eagerly learned how to install them. Now, prepping the pool was easy. She was enjoying the kid’s chatter. They were buzzing with anticipation. The dog had picked that up and tried her best to direct the action.

Liz was proud that her children had come through on the inside when she picked up unanticipated newbies at The Desert Rose. The heavier furniture had already been moved out of the living room. John had offered to help, and she gladly accepted. It was too much for her and her kids alone. This prep was similar to an earthquake but would have very different results. The kids were knew they would be in the house when they took off. Therefore, there wasn’t much resistance from her brood to box up the loose knickknacks, sweep the floor, move all the movable furniture out of the living and dining rooms, and stow Pepper’s food and treats in an easy place to retrieve them. Who knew how the dog would react?

Finally, Elizabeth was able to sit down, relax and think ahead. A very temporary folding table and chair waited for her. Liz jumped into schooling; she was was primarily in charge of the education here in Mesaland. She had home-schooled her children and thought that would be an excellent service to contribute. Luckily, two elementary teachers were among the original population in Mesaland, retired, of course. They were eager to start but reluctant to lead; this was new territory. In recent years, teachers have been told what to do and even how to do it, so innovation has been discouraged. It was part of Liz’s agenda to change that. Everyone must have a basic education in reading, writing, math, history (a hell of a lot of history), science of planets and life (what we know here and on Rhea). Easy, peasy.

The phone rang. Surprisingly, cell service still existed. It was robust here in Mesaland, with Zior’s help, but many industries had shut down outside. It seemed odd that the cell towers still functioned and Elizabeth was grateful, as her administrative duties could reach out into the corners of the globe. Zior, of course, had supplemented with satellites of Terran and Mayone origin.

“Hi, Liz. It’s Karen. You wanted to know when we were finished. We’ve downloaded the elementary, junior, and high school texts. Thanks to digital storage, it won’t take up much room. We also got the college textbooks. The variety is wonderful: math, English literature, chemistry, physics, geology, geography, and history of the US and the world. Others were thrown in, whatever he had, like music, languages, and art, for all three levels. The guy just laughed at me; what good was it? Rude.”

“Oh, Karen, that’s great! Could you make a note to send me the inventory list?”

“Sure, writing that down. It’s gonna be tricky, though. Thankfully, we have one hundred thousand reams of paper, but we’ll run out of that paper if we don’t find a way to make more.”

“Well, then we’ll have to scratch in our desert soil.”

“What?”

“Yeah, saw it once on Little House on the Prairie.”

“Goodness, my principal would have fainted.”

“We have to be flexible.”

“Yes, but it seems primitive. The brave new world.”

“Hmm. You prepared for the take-off?”

“Well, my house is, but we’re still working in the school. I got two new people from the Desert Rose group. One even has teaching experience and is interested in joining our group. ”

“Good, I’m glad to hear they’re jumping right in. Thanks, Karen. I will add this to my agenda,” Elizabeth said as she wrote down the information, “See you soon.”

Returning to her work, she noted the texts and added a need for the inventory. Plans for the colony in the new world would be focused on right away after the launch. Liz pulled out the map of the Rhea. Each biome had an assigned space. It was impressive how much had been done. Everything from town planning to farming choices to government had to be hashed out, not just with Mesaland. Elizabeth wrote a checklist to start her role in schooling and colony planning and general Rhea administration. What could be delegated, and some choices of whom to delegate to. Satisfied, she put down her pen and entered the living room, where most of the furniture had been moved.

Now where can I sit?

***

Elizabeth’s final prep included visiting Danny’s house. It was unique even for Mesaland. He and his wife had lived here since the subdivision was founded, but she died ten years ago. It was a blow but he found ways to fill his life. Danny always had animals, even then, but it seemed to have increased since her death. The pets weren’t the common variety. The peacock’s call often filled the air, and Elizabeth found it peaceful. Of course, not all the neighbors felt the same. These beautiful yet noisy birds lived inside huge cages and had room to roam on the two acres. Luckily for everybody, it was well-fenced. He also had a horse, two dogs, two cats, and a camel.

Danny had volunteered to take the creature because the zoo wanted to euthanize her, making room for younger, more fertile lady camels. At least camels were adapted to the desert, so that was a better animal to take than a polar bear, which Danny might have considered if that creature had a death sentence, too. Thankfully, he didn’t have the opportunity. The zoo ordered a male polar bear just before the asteroid strike, and he arrived a bit worse for wear but willing to do his part. Elizabeth wondered how Rose, Danny’s deceased wife, would have felt about the addition.

Liz was surprised Danny had time for all these creatures and deputy training. Even before his health returned to a thirty-year-old level, Danny kept up with all his animals and started training. He was a goofy, incredible friend. Elizabeth looked forward to traveling with him.

Danny greeted Elizabeth with a big smile. “Are you ready?”

“Just about. I don’t think I will ever be completely ready,” Liz joked.

“I know. The camel is already fighting the harnesses.”

“That’s quite a feat, getting a camel ready for lift off. You figured it out?”

“Sure, easy, peasy. It’s all fun, but that corpse you brought in brought me down a notch.”

“Yeah, me, too. I knew there were other aliens, but wow!” Elizabeth said.

They walked out to the backyard and went right to the camel, Agnes. She seemed agitated.

“Looks like she is anticipating at least some of this,” Elizabeth said.

Agnes huffed and looked at Elizabeth with huge, adorable eyes as if to say, How can you do this to me?

“Wow, she’s worse than my dog. I bet it’s hard to say no.”

“Ah, she’s fine. She’ll settle down. Agnes misses her peeps. It’s the peacocks you’ll hear from; I don’t think they’ll be quiet. They’re spoiled and bossy. They even try to tell Agnes what to do. She just looks down at them, chewing her cud. Drives the birds crazy.” Danny stopped and turned to Elizabeth, “I picked up two more.”

“Two more?”

“Yeah, animals. A Crested Caracara falcon and a prairie dog.”

“Goodness, from where, the zoo? Do you have time for all that?”

“They would have been euthanized. I got them from the Arizona Desert Museum.” The Museum and the zoo were coming with their biome, and Danny constantly communicated with them.

“They are native to the Sonoran Desert,” he puffed out his chest with pride. “They’re old like Agnes. It’ll be fine.”

Looking at the camel, Elizabeth nodded. She envied Danny’s ease with all these animals.

Danny paused and asked, “Elizabeth, do you think the whole thing will go OK? Mesaland launching seems impossible.” 

“I can’t think of anything else we can do. Especially after my shooting,” Elizabeth said. “What do you think?”

“It is so radical. If only–”

They stared at each other until a smile crept across Elizabeth’s face. Soon, they broke into laughter. It was an insane plan.

“When I first woke up with this body, I vowed to appreciate everything that came next. So I guess this is part of it,” Danny shrugged.

“Me, too. I only wish my husband could be here.”

“I don’t know. My wife might have fought it.”

“You have to live it. Turning back time and getting younger takes a lot of adjustment. Not everyone can do it.” Elizabeth paused, “How do you like working with Zoe?”

Danny was quiet again for a few beats, “She’s great. Do you think she could go for an old codger like me?”

“Danny,” Elizabeth chuckled. “You’re not an old codger anymore. I think you two are a good match. We are all adjusting, though. It may take a bit.”

Danny nodded, “She brought over one of those last-minute people, uh…Sydney. She needed help with launch prep for her horses. I showed her what I had done, and she seemed capable of setting it up. Zoe and I went to her place today; it’s just a few houses down in Jeremy’s old house. She had started already, and we helped her get it launch-worthy.” Danny grinned; he loved talking about animals.

***** 

Betty had accomplished her wish to have her granddaughter Zoe go in her place in the Mesaland subdivision.They would represent the Sonoran Desert biome. Wow, before all this, she had no idea what that meant. Now Betty knew it all too well. Betty’s husband was gone, and her daughter was gone. When the asteroid and plague happened, she was offered the transformation back to a youthful body and a ride to leave Earth. She decided to decline, it was too much for her. Betty moved into her old family home, now an abandoned property on the west side of Tucson. Then she convinced Zoe to take her house. Zoe seemed to have settled in and even became a deputy. After that, Betty felt free to do as she pleased.

Now that the day had come, Betty had decided to take her horse out for this grand goodbye of Mesaland and her granddaughter. So when sunset was near, Betty rode up to the top of “A” Mountain, where she used to camp as a girl with her family. It was an excellent place to view the launch. She maneuvered Gaucho, her beloved old Pinto, into a good spot and settled to watch the show. 

*****

It was time. Elizabeth called the kids into the living room, bringing the jump seats out of the floor. It was another innovation from Project Rhea; Pepper even had her own seat. With trial runs, a dog will accept and even enjoy a stint in a confining space, which humans have done with dogs needing MRIs and CAT Scans. With practice, Pepper thought it was routine.

Pepper jumped into her seat on Elizabeth’s signal and laid down in an Anubis pose. The bed hugged her. A strap went around her chest and back like a seat belt, and then a pliable plastic panel came out of the side of the seat and covered her rear end, snuggling in around her hips. Elizabeth kissed Pepper’s head, and the dog gave a little happy sound.

She turned toward her children. Noah seemed at home in his seat. The belts were engaged, and he seemed impatient to get on with it. Elizabeth leaned over and kissed her son on the forehead. At first, Noah squirmed and then accepted the gesture. It reminded her of how times had changed. Yes, it was expected, but it broke her heart a bit. She fastened the last belt for Tyler. The child was so calm. That was good, at least someone was.

“Are we gonna be able to see anything, mom?” Tyler asked.

“Yes, we’ve got a feed to John’s headquarters and outside cameras. You won’t miss anything.” Elizabeth pointed to the TV screen, which showed the multichannel view from eight feeds. Only it wasn’t TV channels; it was their camera setup. She leaned over and kissed Tyler’s forehead.

Next was Samantha. She was struggling with the belts and was very frustrated. Elizabeth could tell Samantha wouldn’t want her mother to fasten them, but they were on the clock. Elizabeth reached in and snapped the final buckle. This would be a violent ride, so she double-checked each buckle.

Elizabeth kissed her daughter’s forehead and said, “It’ll be over pretty quick honey.”

Samantha let out her breath, “Yeah,” she said in a breathless tone.

Elizabeth wished she could ease her eldest daughter’s stress but she couldn’t change what was about to happen.

Now, Elizabeth had to start on herself. First, she lowered the blinds all over the house, protecting them from debris that might come through the windows. She watched the blinds come down, and the empty seat beside her stared back. Then, slowly, she got into her own, her mind whirling and her hands shaking.

This is it! We’re going. Elizabeth could feel her heart beat faster and faster. She had to calm down and breathe.

A message came over the intercom. “This is Mesaland Base Command,” John’s voice rang across the neighborhood and all the biomes. “Sound off.”

They could see the command base at John’s headquarters on the TV. It used to be one of the sixth grader’s rooms, all decked out with monitoring and broadcasting equipment. Some we have never had on Earth before. Elizabeth mourned the loss of streaming TV. Now, any of their new TV would have to be what the convoy produced. This first show would be more than reality TV ever could be. Everyone in the base was at their jump seats with control panels, intently watching their screens. The houses reported with their designations. Elizabeth’s breath caught as each house checked in.

“Number one ready.”

Elizabeth wished she had something to distract her … something to keep her from staring at the empty seat next to her. She hadn’t had the heart not to include it. She had insisted. There must have been a part of her that thought … hoped even … that James would somehow be by her side. 

“Number nine ready. Ten reporting ready.”

Had she missed all those houses? Her mind was drifting too much. Elizabeth could hear Danny fuss in the background, then saw him hurriedly punching buttoms, checking off the lists. It was almost her turn.

A loud bang interrupted the countdown.

“Elizabeth, are you here?” Pound, pound, pound. “Elizabeth?”

“James,” she screamed, sturggling in her seat, “James, is that you?” 

He pushed through the door before her words were out and ran to the living room. The floor began to shake. Pepper barked and tried to wag her tail. The children yelled over the din. James ran to Elizabeth, taking her hands in his. They stared at eachother for a moment, and then he gave her a bear hug—at least what he could get his arms around.

Am I dreaming?  Elizabeth thought.

The next few minutes were a jumble, but she managed to yell over all the clamor that he had to get into his seat. She reluctantly pulled her hands away as if he might disappear again. James quickly sat down and fastened the belts.

“Number two hundred, Elizabeth?” came Danny’s anxious voice. Elizabeth had lost track of the reporting again.

Well, that’s fine, she thought, relaxing.

She could see Danny looking into the camera, apprehensive, and regretted scaring him.

“Number two hundred is ready, all six of us.” Elizabeth loudly proclaimed.

“What?” Danny frowned at first, but his eyes widened, and he smiled. “All right! Let’s go!” Danny yelled.

“Hello, James!” John’s voice was happy but not as excited as Danny’s. He was concentrating. “Now we’re officially ready. Prepare for launch.”

“All biomes report ready. Zior says affirmative,” Zoe yelled over the roar of all the engines.

“Ten, nine, eight, seven.” 

Oh, lord! Thought most of Mesaland.

“Six, five, four, three, two, one. Here we go.”

They lifted up and up. Elizabeth didn’t care about the pressure on her chest or the difficulty breathing. Liz didn’t care about much of anything but her now complete family. Elizabeth just smiled as she tried to breathe. She grinned from ear to ear and wanted to shout, but not much sound came out. Tears ran down her cheeks. She thought her heart might burst. Her mind was blank; Liz wanted nothing more. But then…

What happened? How is this possible? Elizabeth looked over to his jump seat, just to make sure.

His familiar, handsome profile made her giddy. 

***

Rumbling rang through the air. This is it, Betty thought. 

Her eyes followed the large mass into the sky. It left a long tail of smoke behind. An entire neighborhood lifted into space, including its soil and aquifer. A year ago, she had never heard the word aquifer; it was just their water. Now, it was flying away. Mesaland rose slowly, hovered, and went straight up through the atmosphere and into outer space. Betty could see a faint shimmer around the land as it climbed. She marveled at the tremendous accomplishment of turning the neighborhood into a spaceship. Another group of land parcels took off, following them out of the atmosphere. Like a homestead, a small, three-section piece of land shot up into the line of biomes as if trying to catch up. It did look silly and courageous, but she wished them luck.

***

Minutes into the launch, everyone in Mesaland tried to relax in their jump seats as they heard John begin his broadcast. Their sheriff was fulfilling his promise and obligation to the flying biomes and the rest of the planet. He had timed the announcement as they flew up and out of the atmosphere so the Earth could do little about them leaving. The biomes, as a whole, were nervous announcing what they were doing; it was hazardous. Terrans might not have approved their plans, but the daring astronauts couldn’t live with themselves if they didn’t.

“People of planet Earth.” John’s voice rang out, powerful enough to reach the whole planet with some creative precautions on tracing and timing. Hydrogen fuel cells provided plenty of power for the extra boosts to the signal coming from each biome. Of course, once they launched, people on the ground could see them plainly, which backed up what these travelers were doing and telling them. How Earth would react was anybody’s guess.

The sheriff’s voice was so even and calm. Liz would have a problem being coherent. “You may have heard the rumors that some of us are leaving, and now you can see what that means. We decided to accept the help of an alien race called the Mayones and to take a bit of our world to a new planet. Unfortunately, we could not take everyone, nor would the rest of you have wanted to go. However, the Mayones believe our people and others whose planets are in trouble are worth saving.

“So, we are leaving but have a warning. Be aware that another species has decided to take advantage of our disaster to harvest what the monsters wish off our planet. They are called the Hagor, and they threaten Earth. It would be best if you fought them like mortal enemies. We are sending out all our information on the Hagor, including the last known locations and bio data.

“If all goes well, we will return soon and take more people that wish it to our new home. Goodbye, and good luck. Mesaland, leader of the biomes, signing off.”

Immediately, the information was sent out. Zior provided every piece of data the biomes had and more. Those who received it were astonished at what they were reading. There was life on other planets, more than one group, and at least one species that was not friendly. Many would question Zior’s people and would watch for them, but they would have to take care of the marauders first. Detailed maps showed the bad guys’ locations in different parts of the world. The wheels of politics started turning, and Mesaland did hope Earth’s remaining terrans would take it open themselves to survive.

*****

Betty had heard the message from the Sheriff. You could hear it echo across the mountain and down below in Tucson. They weren’t taking any chances; few would miss this message. She was not afraid. She had heard about the attack from Zoe and how they handled it in Mesaland. At least these Hagor could be killed. Betty would miss the chats with her grandaughter over the strange radio Zoe brought her. She hoped they could continue for awhile longer. Zoe wasn’t sure about range but promised to find out.

Betty had organized her neighborhood, and patrols were being formed. It was good she lived in a state that wasn’t afraid of guns. They’d need every one now. She smiled with pride at how Arizonans were coming together. 

Just try to mess with us. “Good luck, my granddaughter,” she said.

Betty signaled for Gaucho to rise on two legs (a two-point that Gaucho excelled at). Betty raised her left hand in the air and saluted.

End of Chapter 3A

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