The Attack

We thought they were myths...
Creatures of legend dreamed up by ancient scholars...

We thought it was all stories...
Tales of fancy taken too far...

We thought wrong...

***

"Warning: Presdigeion Station is under attack." The sirens threatened to drown the message. "All citizens must report to their prescribed vaults within five minutes. This is not a drill. I repeat: Presdigeion Station is under attack. All citizens must report to their prescribed vaults within five minutes."

"C'mon, Ada." Our clasped hands bounced in sync with the weight on my hip as I hurried after my husband.

"I'm coming..."

"We're almost there," assured Neil as he slowed down. His eyes were frantically switching between the two direction boards. "I just... just..."

"Stay calm, dear." I puffed, bracing myself to offer some resistance against the panicked crowd. Three bumps pressed me against my husband before a modicum of space enveloped us. Frankie squealed my hip, which I quieted with a touch. The whimper signaled a more tearful complaint would follow soon.

"Left.. right... left... where..." Neil fumbled inside his pocket before his hand retreated with a curse. "Of all the days..."

"Calm down, dear." I consoled him with a touch on his shoulder. It was the best I could do. I felt the thud-thud-thud of the giant pulse cannons vibrate throughout the floor. Neil would be as keenly aware of it as I was.

"Just... give me a sec." His hand twitched. Neil would never admit to nervousness, no matter the situation. Whether by twitching or shaking, his hands would always betray his thoughts. I felt the urge to hug him but resisted. Now was the time for clarity, not comfort.

"Left. We... we need to go left."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah... yeah, I think so. I hope so." His grip nearly made me lose my footing as we set off. My body would write a letter of complaint over the next few days. I hoped I would be alive to read it.

thud-thud-thud

"Presdigeion Station is under attack. All citizens must report to their prescribed vaults within the next three minutes. This is not a drill."

"Mommy..." Frankie clenched his fist around my collar. "I'm scared."

"Don't worry, my angel," I sussed while patting him twice. "It's a little bumpy, but we'll be okay."

"What is happening, mommy?"

"We need to go somewhere for a little while. The man in charge said there was a little problem at home. They asked that we take a walk so they could look at it."

"What-‘' Frankie winced as somebody brushed against my shoulder. "Mommy..."

thud-thud-thud

"There there, my angel. It's alright." I rubbed his back as I followed Neil around the corner. The double doors of the vault were already swallowing the crowd. "It's alright. We're going to stay here for a little while. We'll be back home right before you know-"

An unearthly screech cut off any further words before a force slamming into the complex knocked most of us off our feet. Both panicked and surprised screams filled the air as nervous glances looked at the rattling windows. The vacuum-tight fittings were the only thing keeping us safe from the void of space. But all attention soon diverted to the hoofed leg stomping down, and the avalanche of debris following it.

"Get inside, now!" Somebody yelled.

"Ada!" Niel's voice shook me out of my trance. "Ada, we have to go, now!"

I did not move. My eyes were locked to the hooved leg. I knew they existed, you could not open a news feed without reading about the attacks over colonized space, but this was my first encounter. A lot of people here could say the same.

"Mommy!"

"Ada, come on!"

"Yes... yes..." I allowed myself to be dragged upward as Niel half-pulled, half-guided me toward the vault.

thud-thud-thud

"Move, move, move!" The steward crushed us on. "You have thirty seconds! Move!"

"Almost there, Ada!" The vault doors welcomed me with open arms, but a crash drew my attention outside once more. The hoofed foot had pierced a corridor. The loss of air pressure blew out a tornado of wreckage. My heart sank as I saw more than one gagging body. There would be no help for them. Another screech filled the heavens as a new noise entered the cacophony. One made not of flesh, but of metal.

"Is that-"

"Get in!" The steward yelled. "We... are... closing!"

"Ada!" Niel shouted, but my feet remained rooted. "Ada, get your ass inside, now!" A final tug finally pulled me within the embrace of the vault. I spied a sliver of white charging toward the demon before the vault closed.

thud-thud-thud

"Vault doors sealed." The steward spoke into his wrist, throwing a dirty look in my direction as he hurried toward a nearby console. "Activating shielding."

"Ada," a yank on my shoulder brought me face to face with my husband. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

"Sorry... I just... sorry..."

"We almost didn't get in because of you..."

"I'm sorry! It's just..."

"Just what?!"

"I... I had to see! I... I had to..."

The anger in Niel's face lasted several more seconds before relief washed the anger away. "Well... we made it." He sighed before embracing me. "Come, I found a seat for us."

"Mommy..." Frankie's knuckles never let go of my collar, not even when I lost my footing. "What is happening, mommy? Will we be okay?"

My eyes met Neil's as we sat down. Would Frankie understand if we told him what really was happening? That creatures long banished to the age of mythology were now bent on humanity's eradication? No. How do you explain something that even most adults still deny? I remained somewhat unconvinced myself, but the evidence was mounting.

thud-thud-thud

"We'll be safe, Frankie." I hugged my son closer. "We'll be safe?"

"Are... are you sure?"

‘I hope so’ were the words I wanted to say, but a touch on my shoulder prevented them from forming.

"Hey, little guy," smiled the lady who was sitting next to me. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

“Huh?” Frankie looked to me, as if asking for permission to answer.

“Now don't be mean to the nice lady,” I answered. She replied with a wink before returning her attention to Frankie.

“What's your favorite cartoon on the holodeck?”

"Battle Robots?" Frankie answered hesitantly.

"Right! Tell me, what happened in the last episode of Battle Robots?"

"Well... the heroes had to fight this monster that tried to blow up a building... but they stopped him by... by... by putting their swords together. But then... then the monster grew into a big scary monster, so they had to bring their big robot, and... and..."

"And did they win?"

"Uh-huh..." Frankie nodded to emphasize his point.

"Well, little Carina here just loves Battle Robots." She gestured at the big-eyed girl sitting next to her. "Every day, she asks me to watch some with her. Now, let me tell you a little secret." Frankie pulled slightly back when she leaned in. "I know of a secret episode of Battle Robots."

Whatever hesitance he had melted away. "You do?" He asked, to which the lady nodded. "Can... can I see it?"

"Oh, I'd love to show it to you, but its recording has been lost. The holodeck guys are ashamed of this, so they try to keep it a secret."

"Aww..."

"But if you promise not to tell anybody, then I can tell you about it," She winked. "I'm one of the lucky few to have seen it. So... do you want to hear what it's about?"

"Uh-huh!"

thud-thud-thud

"Well…" The lady pulled her girl closer before leaning back into her chair. "It started many years before the first episode of Battle Robots, in a distant place called Asbestos-3C. One day, on a day much like this one, there was a lady, running down a corridor..."