Voynich Shift - Season One (COMPLETED)

Leonis, 1:1, 2:8 - Re-Invasion - Part 6 Times Ten

Sixty Minutes To Go...

"Parker, they told us to stay indoors."

"Who's going to stop us, Miami? Animal Control? I have to get up to one of those ships and talk with them face-to-face."

"With a toy and a paperweight, Parker?" Miami said with her hands on her hips. "I am not stupid!"

"I didn't say you were, but I need to prove a point. I have to show these people that we are not scared of them."

"We have no choice, Parker. This is the only way."

"Yes we do and that's why I instructed Denver to block transmission of the surrender."

"You what? The Supreme Court has said..."

"I don't care what they said. I'm right and they're wrong."

"So, you lied to him? You lied to Denver?"

"Yes, and I hope he believed every word of it," Parker replied, nodding emphatically. "I lied for the right reason. You see that, right?"

Miami appeared hurt and looked away. "That is your human pride and arrogance speaking, Parker."

"No, my dear Miami, this is my humanity showing."

"Then, I am coming with you...Parker Raymond, I cannot lose you. I would rather die. And that is all of me saying that."

"No, they will kill you, Miami, and that I can't bear!"

Miami grabbed Parker around the neck and hugged him tight. "Please, Parker...don't..."

Parker inhaled. "I have to. I am the only one on the planet that can, Miami; the only one."

Miami hung her head. "Please, don't Parker."

"Look at me, Miami."

The Convenusian lifted her tear-filled eyes to Parker's.

"I'll be back."

"That's not funny, Parker. You're not a machine."

"Maybe not, but I can time travel...sometimes," he said with a smile, wiping away a drop from Miami's smooth cheek.

"Not funny, either."

Parker didn't want to let Miami go, but he knew he had to. It was time to leave and what was left of it on the clock was running out and quickly.

<<*>>

The late afternoon sun melted from the sky like warm marmalade, covering the city in a glaze of orange. The large Martian saucer gliding through the air was not immune to its effect. The glowing amber light shimmered over the machine's surface as its circular shadow crept over the faces of the city's buildings.

Parker had to admit to himself the sight was actually quite beautiful...in a deadly serious sort of way. "It's show time."

The spacecraft leveled off and slipped in between a pair of tall buildings a few blocks ahead.

"Hey! Over here!" Parker lifted his hands in the air and began waving them. "Parker, this is probably the stupidest thing you have ever done...okay, well one of the stupidest things you have ever done."

From nowhere a large blast of noise shook the very atmosphere around him.

"Son of a bitch!" Parker exclaimed, covering his ears. He fell to his knees, grimacing in pain.

The massive sound suddenly ceased, ending just as abruptly as it began.

"You are not Convenusian," bellowed a voice from the ship now hovering directly over Parker. "Where did you come from?"

"Invite me up and we'll talk."

"You are speaking with pure human, Admiral Dartus Riddel of the M.V.G. Freya. You will make no demands of your new emperor, whatever you are."

Parker shrugged his shoulders. "Hey, bro...it's your war to lose."

"Whatever you are, prepare to come aboard...as a prisoner."

"You gonna beam me up or something?" Parker asked, staring up.

"No, and I have no idea what that insinuates," the Admiral said coolly as the saucer slowly drifted toward the street. "Consider yourself now a prisoner of war."

A slit appeared in the side of the starship followed by a long ramp that lowered itself to the street.

Parker raised his hands once more as a team of humans in mechanized red suits spilled from the saucer like large fire ants. They swarmed him with inhuman speed, weapons drawn.

"Take me to your leader!" Parker said with all of the cheesiness of a B-movie actor.

A pair of the soldiers grabbed Parker by an arm. "Silence, now get up and come with us!"

Parker nodded, smile evaporated from his face. "Alright, alright! Ow!"

<<*>>

At the top of the ramp, Parker felt the gravity thin. It was as if he lost half his weight instantaeously.

"Parker! Come back! Don't' go!"

Parker spun and looked down the ramp in horror. "Miami! Get out of here, now!" He struggled against his captors' iron-fisted grip as he watched one of the Martian soldiers lift some sort of rifle to their armored shoulder.

"No!" Parker threw his entire weight at one of the guards holding him and freed an arm just as the rifleman fired down at Miami.

The Convenusian woman did an impromptu pirouette, and landed face first in the street. She was no longer moving.

"You son of a..." Parker shook himself free and launched, punching the soldier in the side of his unprotected face. The Martian's lighter skull immediately shattered beneath the impact of Parker's much harder fist. The armored corpse released the rifle in its hands. It clattered as it fell to the metal planking. The soldier's body began to fall backwards and tumbled from the open doorway to the avenue below.

Parker dove for the rifle and rolled with it in his hands. He lifted the weapon and fired twice. His two former captors fell backwards like dead trees. Standing, Parker looked down the ramp at Miami and then into the bowels of the ship. He swallowed back the sadness climbing in his throat and turned to run further inside the ship. This would be the Convenusian race's only chance to survive, if he ran down that ramp, he would be sentencing them all to death...just like Miami.

With tears blurring his eyes, Parker moved through the ship effortlessly.  "Why, Miami...why?"

Parker observed the interior of the large ship with disgust. It appeared to him that someone was overcompensating for something, because there was little to no human presence, anywhere. Why couldn't they share the planet? They damn well weren't going to need much of it, Parker considered. There were obviously so few of these 'Martians'. 

Parker followed the metallic signs affixed to the bulkhead-style walls pointing the way to the bridge. The angry man detached the fake grenade from his belt as he arrived at the door. Parker coolly tossed the small metallic object in between the opening doors and held his rifle at the ready.

The grenade banged loudly across the floor. However, no cries of distress or surprise came. No vocal warnings of danger...nothing.

Parker eased his head around the corner only to find another pair of red armor-clad soldiers waiting for him. One of them snatched the rifle from his grip with one hand and planted an armored fist in his face with the other.

Parker saw lights then nothing.