The three visitors changed everything. Not only did they bring the news of the origin of the Home Planets, they defeated the prison guard army who'd been watching over the three dozen imprisoned worlds, then raised a space army of their own and sailed off to win Earth back for its rightful owners.
That army was called the United Planets Forces. The six ships they'd sailed on were known, on Planet America at least, as the First Fleet.
Those half dozen vessels had left nearly eight months before; nothing had been heard from them since. Forty thousand soldiers representing each of the thirty-six planets, flying under the Stars and Stripes of Planet America's flag, were out in the cosmos somewhere, fighting a great battle for all of them back here. They were gone but not forgotten. Indeed, American flags had been strung from every light pole, every front porch, every overpass, from the top of every high city building in the entire system when the fleet sailed. Those flags were still flying today.
That these young soldiers were so far away, fighting and dying for the people back home had not been forgotten here.
Lisa was out of the Chicago FBI office, and as Betaville had become a place of notoriety, the Bureau thought it wise to open a field office here. Lisa had played such a significant part in the space visitors' first appearance — she had been the original investigating agent after they arrived — so it was only natural she be put in charge of the small office.
It had been a success so far, but there were these little glitches that had to be worked out, and one of them was the chronic malfunctioning of the first-floor soda machine. It worked only sporadically; today it was shut down for good.
And had Lisa been a gambler, she would have bet that no Coke was the reason for Gloria's obvious discomfit now.
But it was a bet Lisa would have lost.
She began to apologize to Gloria, but the middle-aged woman gently stopped her.
"There's someone waiting for you in your office," Gloria told her in a whisper.
Lisa didn't understand. She had eaten her lunch, as always, out on the bench next to the only working door leading into the police station. She had seen no one come into the building except the usual gang of cops. How could someone be waiting for her in her office then?
"Who is it?" Lisa whispered back.
"He asked me not to tell," was the secretary's reply, still a little breathy. That's when Lisa noticed Gloria had a drop of oil on her forehead.
"Are you using a new moisturizer?" Lisa asked her.
Gloria just shook her head no, then motioned for Lisa to get inside her office immediately.
Lisa just shrugged. She was a pretty redhead and always tried to look her best. So she flattened out her skirt, fluffed her collar, ran a hand through her hair, and walked into her office.
Her visitor was standing behind the door. She was completely in the room and turned around before she saw him.
" Oh my God…" she breathed.
He was enormous. Much bigger than she remembered him. And he looked so different. There was a white haze surrounding him, and he seemed just a bit out of focus, or better put, seemed to be existing in a kind of soft focus. But still, even in this state, his muscles looked huge.
She knew who he was immediately. He was another visitor from outer space. Not one of the original three. This man had come to Planet America right after the victory against the Bad Moon Knights' prison guard army. At the time, he was the oldest man Lisa had ever met. But now, he looked about a thousand years younger.
His name was Klaaz.
"Do you remember me?" he asked her sweetly, his voice different, too.
"Of course I do," she told him, nearly collapsing in her chair. "How could I forget? Your friends freed our planet. Then you helped build the UPF First Fleet."
Klaaz just smiled. "I tried to help where I could," he said.
Lisa was still staring at him, amazed at his transformation. When she'd last seen him, he was bent over, had wrinkles on top of wrinkles, and could barely walk. Now he was standing straight up, with large, broad shoulders, enormously powerful hands, and an extremely handsome face. It was like looking at a photograph from the very distant past and realizing for the first time that the person you knew as ancient had once been a very handsome man. A hunk, even.
Yet here he was, standing before her. That hunk, in real life.
"Why are you here?" she asked him, a little breathless herself now. "Everyone thinks you're with the fleet, off fighting in the Galaxy somewhere."
"And they would not be wrong," Klaaz told her. "But something rather important has come up, something that must be taken care of. I came here because I know I can trust you. Please, can you tell me the status of the Second Fleet?"
The Second Fleet was another UPF squadron of ships that had been under construction since the first one left. It was being manufactured, in bits and pieces, on just about every planet in the system, this, as another army of UPF troopers was being trained. The new force was meant to be purely defensive in nature, however. Both ships and men were intended to serve as protection for the very out-of-the-way Home Planets system.
"The last I heard, the Second Fleet was about a month away from trials in space," Lisa told him. She was finally over the initial shock of his sudden appearance and the slightly ethereal look about him.
"And the state of the army being raised?" he asked.
"About the same. A month away from activation."
Klaaz thought a moment. "This will all have to be moved up," he said finally. "The ships and the soldiers must be ready to leave within twenty-four hours."'
Lisa was confused. "Leave? Why?"
'They are needed elsewhere," Klaaz replied. "Urgently needed…"
Lisa shook her head. "I'm no expert in these things," she said. "But I'd have to think that would be almost impossible."
Klaaz smiled again, a little sadly though. "My dear girl," he said. "I've just recently learned that nothing is impossible. And I know this is suddenly out of the blue. But I will need your help to get these things done."
"But why?" she asked him. "Why are these ships and men needed?"
"Because a great battle is coming," he told her simply. "Perhaps one of the greatest since the Creation."
"Since Creation? Are you serious?"
He nodded solemnly. "Yes, I am. The opposing sides will be like the elements of Nature itself, battling each other for the right to exist. In the very old days, this might have been called Armageddon. And, at this point, the outcome is still very uncertain. But I will tell you this: no matter what happens, things will never be the same again. Here or anywhere else in the Galaxy. The universe, even. Such is the message I have brought today."