Invited

Three - Timber

Paul walked with me through the Garden. The way the Achlivan ship was set up, there was a massive wall of apartments and suites surrounding a lush garden with an Eden-like atmosphere. A variety of species lived there, plant and animal alike, as the Achlivans desperately tried to preserve as much of Earth as possible. On the roof was a shopping and restaurant area used mostly by couples looking for things to do. Then of course there was another floor that had a large park complete with a playground and a school. The Achlivans thought of everything it seemed. There was still a lot of the ship I had yet to explore as well. Now that I was climbing the status ladder, more areas would be opening up to me.

As we went through the park, I soaked in the sun. Even if it wasn't real, it sure felt real, UV rays and all. The natural heat was nice, and the weather made me think of home. Sunny, breezy, and pretty near close to perfect. I'd been on the ship almost three months and had yet to witness any rain. Paul's made claims that it does happen, but I wasn't going to hold my breath waiting for it.

We had fresh air, in fact, we had it pretty good even if I felt like an animal in a zoo. However long it would take to get to Sanctuary, I would be patient and hold out. Things could have been a lot worse.

"You can still watch Vance, if you wish," Paul said. "On a regular basis during the day hours. Most of the meetings between the leaders of the ship don't happen until after dinner. I offer this because I know he's important to you, and I think it's important you segue into your position as the representative of your generation. The temptation to dive right in head first is probably great, but all of the things I have to monitor are overwhelming. That kind of approach didn't work well for me personally."

I nodded. "I would like to watch Vance. At least for a little while longer. Just to make sure he's okay."

"He's fine. I promise you."

"Yeah, I know. His dad is a good guy, blah, blah, blah, but I'm still gonna want to see it for my own eyes."

"Fair enough."

I licked my lips. "Plus, with Talia and my parents coming soon, I want to make sure I'm here for them to help them adjust too. If I'm too busy working, I can't do any of that."

"Something similar ran through my mind as well."

"Glad you get where I'm coming from."

Paul always seemed to understand, though. Almost annoyingly so. He gave me a large smile. "Tomorrow you see your parents. I'm giving your first day back on Earth to them. Then you can see your girlfriend and best friend. We were able to work him into the equation as well. My superiors seem more interested in having good men aboard the ship. They like you and are confident you keep similar company in terms of companionship amongst your peers."

They contacted Nathan too? He was the only friend I had. Don't get me wrong, there were other people I did things with. But friends? No, I didn't trust people enough to call them friends. Okay, Chevelle was a friend too. Our relationship began from different kinds of circumstances. People who knew me back during my heartthrob days, well, chances were, they only liked me because I was famous. My friends I had from before I made it big drifted away or tried to use me – except for Nathan.

"I'm sure he'll be happy to hear he's getting a second chance if he wants to take it," I said. "I'm not sure what the process will be to pick and choose among all the six billion people on the planet. My guess is it's going to be a tough list to make."

"Yes," Paul said, his voice quiet and solemn. "You could say it will be a very restricted list. While the Achlivans wish to save as many as they can, they also want to start filling the ship with those who can be of use in a variety of different ways. In the past, we've simply extracted those who were in the right place at the right time."