The Ultimates (Watty Awards 2011)

Chapter 17

“So what are we using to prepare?” I asked. We were having meeting which Torov decided to head. I could see the fear on each of their faces; a fear that I felt myself. Some of them tried to hide their fear with an emotionless mask or maybe even putting their hands on some parts of their faces but I knew they were all as scared as the rest of us, maybe even more.

“I really don’t know what kind of counter measures we could take. We have numerous fleets in the sea and constant air surveillance. And that’s just for the Revolutionaries attack we expect. We’re enforcing curfews, martial law to some extent, soldiers are roaming the streets. I really don’t know what else to do,” Torov responded.

“Are the satellites looking out for any sign of a fleet in space?” An Ultimate named Ella said in a worried tone.

“Yes. So far no sign of anything. No fleets, nothing. Unless they have a cloaking device like one of those dumb sci-fi movies then I have absolutely no idea how they could-”

“That is, unless they aren’t here yet,” I said.

“What do you mean?” Torov said.

“I mean, their ships could be moving at a very fast speed towards Earth. However, they might not even be in the Solar System. Yeah, they interfered with our airwaves…but their whack technology is so advanced they could probably interfere with it from galaxies away.”

Everyone was silent. They were contemplating what I just said. Eventually, Torov said to me:

“It’s a possibility Harris. The thing is, even if we knew exactly where they were, how can we defend against them from space? Once again, this isn’t a dumb sci-fi movie where we have spaceships that can shoot plasma bolts or some shit like that for five hours straight until the entire fleet is destroyed. We don’t have anything to defend ourselves with and it’ll be worse if they actually do have projectiles that they can fire in space. They’ll take out all of our satellites first and then come to wipe the human race’s ass right off the face of the earth!”

At that point I think Torov just lost it. I was surprised and shocked; Torov was known to never lose his cool. He ran around shouting, holding his head, even throwing over things. It was a result of all the stress of supporting the human race; it is a large burden to bear.

I sprang from my chair, grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him slightly. I began shouting:

“Torov. Torov! Listen to me! Calm down!”

Torov began to calm down. He stopped fighting to get out of my arms. I released him from my grasp and then put my hand on his shoulder. I spoke to him:

“Just calm down. Take a seat, take a few deep breaths and try to take your mind off of it. Let me speak for a bit.”

“Yeah. You’re right Harris.”

Torov walked over to his seat, pulled it out and sat it in it. I stood up, looking out at all of the Ultimates. They were watching me intently, waiting for me to say what I had to say. I paced the floor for a bit, trying to find the right words, and then, after a while, I spoke:

“I know most of you have been a bit…worried about the outcome of what’s going to happen when the Jhunges come to attack our home. Now I could sit here and give you a long speech about how we’re going to win and stuff. But sometimes, things don’t always work out like that. I mean…we’ll prepare and prepare and prepare and prepare and prepare until we can’t prepare anymore. If they still kill us all, what then? Yes, all that preparation will be for nothing, yes we’ll die but…at least we tried. No amount of constant tedious, unnecessary preparation is really going to change the outcome. With the little time that we’re given, can we really do anything to really prepare ourselves more for an invasion that size? America could even be destroyed, and a couple of maniacs who are completely oblivious to the fact that the world is at war that seeking world domination could wipe out half of the human race before the Jhunges even get here. The point is, if we try and we fail, there’s nothing we can do to stop it, but we would have tried our best and at least we’d have that to say about ourselves!”

The room, almost immediately, burst out into an uproar of cheer and applause. Ironically, I found my speech depressing and grim; I was just trying to find words to tell these people. But they found it motivational, and that’s what mattered to me.

Eventually, I got everyone to quiet down and to sit in their seats again and I spoke again:

“Now, let’s at least try to beat these guys. I’ll give you all places to be. Andy and I will be out in the seas close to New York. Chuck will be on air surveillance. And the rest of you…I think Torov assigned states for you to be in; I don’t really know where the rest of you guys are supposed to be. This is for the Revolutionaries invasion we’re expecting. Torov, are you gonna hand out the papers for where everyone’s gonna be?”

“Yeah.”

Torov got up from his seat and approached a table with some papers stacked up. He picked up the papers and gave one to each person. After some time, I saw that they had seen where they were assigned so I asked for reassurance:

“So everyone knows where they are supposed to be?

They all answered with a yes.

“Good, that should settle everything. Torov do you have anything to say to these guys?”

“No.”

“Okay, good. So we’re done here. You’ll see guys waiting for you in your respective state. You’re all dismissed.”