[Dad!]
Oh, shit. I see it. They’re tying cable around Lapetus’s leg and arm. Eva, I’ll send out another burst. That should get rid of those cables, but you need to get back to your station.
[I’ll try.]
It worked! I got rid of a few trucks, maybe a hundred men.
[I don’t think they got the message, Dad. They’re coming back.]
Are you strapped in?
[Almost. I can’t move my left arm. My shoulder’s busted.]
Well, it looks like they’re going after your good arm. See if you can shake it loose. No, wait!
[For what?]
Wait until the cable is fixed. You can take out whatever it’s attached to. And … Now! Now!
[Yeah! Take that, assholes.]
Can you see the Chinese?
[They’re coming. Some of them are at your feet. I just flung some sort of crane at them, but they don’t seem to care. Yokits! We’re moving, Dad! They’re dragging us away!]
They have you by the leg.
[Do something!]
On it. Cable’s gone! I should have gotten the crane too with that burst. Themis must be running low. I don’t think she has many more of these left in her. Oh shit!
[That doesn’t sound good.]
My helmet just turned off. I can’t see anything.
[Can you move?]
What? No! We’re out of juice. It’s just you now.
[What do you want me to do? I don’t know what I—NOOOO! They’re dragging us again. UGH!]
What’s happening?
[We just fell off Themis’s chest. We’re on the ground. The Chinese are moving in.]
Do they have cables?
[Yeah, bulldozers too. They’re going for your left arm, I think.]
They’re gonna flip us over.
[Soldiers are climbing on Lapetus. They’re on our back!]
Shake them loose! Don’t let them get to the hatch!
[I’m trying!]
Just move as hard and as fast as you can!
[Oh, no, Dad! They’re going to kill us if the Koreans get in. Please help me!]
<Vincent, this is Katherine. It doesn’t look good from where we’re sitting. Is there anything you want to tell us?>
No, Katherine. I don’t have anything to tell you. If you have to push that button, I … You do what you have to do, but give me a minute first. I want to talk to my daughter. There’s time.
[They keep climbing! I don’t wanna die, Dad.]
I know, Eva. I’m here. I’m here with you. Just like last time, remember?
[I can’t see you. I wish I could see you.]
Close your eyes. I’m right there. See? You’re not alone, Eva.
[I’m sorry, Dad.]
You’ve got nothing to be sorry about. I’m proud of you, Eva. I’ve always been proud of you. I’m proud of the way you won’t let anyone tell you who you need to be, including me. I’m proud of the way you care about people. I’m proud of how you always speak your mind, how you don’t pretend to be something you’re not. You’re my daughter, Eva. I’m proud of that.
[No! Don’t—]
What?
[Not you, Dad. Them, they’re going to kill us. I don’t wanna die. Not like that.]
Patch me through. Can you do that, Eva, let me talk to them?
[Yeah … I think this is it.]
Hey! Can you hear me? I’m talking to the American asshole who just told my daughter she was going to die. She says you put something inside her head, some sort of explosive. If that’s true, you better hope that thing doesn’t go off because if it does, you might as well kill yourself. I know what you’re thinking. There’s a good chance Moscow will do the same thing and kill me. There’s always a possibility the Chinese or Koreans will kill me, but I wouldn’t bet on that. You see, I’m not the easiest person to be with. I can be a bit of a dick sometimes, just ask my daughter. My point is if people keep me around, it’s not because of my charming personality, it’s because I have legs that bend the wrong way, and that’s kind of useful if you also happen to have Themis. So on the off chance that I make it through this, I want you to listen to me very carefully. I don’t give a shit who this robot belongs to an hour from now. I will fucking kill you. I will mow down whatever place you work at and the house you live in. I will kill everyone you’ve ever known, your high-school teacher, people you play softball with. I will march down Washington Avenue and turn DC into a fucking sandbox. I will end you and everything you hold dear. There. Will. Be. No United States when I’m done with you, and there is nothing, not a goddamn thing, you can do to stop me. Do you hear me? DO YOU HEAR ME, MOTHERFUCKER? ANSWER ME!
[They can’t answer you, Dad. But they heard you.]
Now I have a few things to say to you in case this doesn’t work. Is it just us?
[Yes, Dad. It’s just you and me.]
I want you to remember your parents in Puerto Rico, how much they loved you. I want you to remember Kara, how she died.
[What? What’s wrong with you? You want to make sure I die depressed, is that it?]
No! I want you to realize you were loved by a shit ton of people! I know you think I ruined your life, that I stole something from you. I know you blame me for Ekim’s death, and you have every right to. It’s my fault. Me. None of this is your fault. And maybe you’re right, Eva. Maybe I made the wrong call somewhere, and you suffered because of it. If that’s the case, then I’m sorry. I’m more sorry than you can ever imagine. But I don’t want you to doubt, not for a second, that I did all this because I love you.
[Dad, there’s—]
Will you shut up and let me speak? You … You’re the best thing that ever happened to me, Eva. If I fucked that up, it’s on me, not you. I want you to know that no one, anywhere, was loved more than you were. I guarantee it. I don’t care who they are, all those kids that made fun of you, people you idolized when you were young, movie characters. They’ve got nothing on you. I love you, Eva.
…
[Can I talk now?]
Yeah, Eva, you can talk now. You can talk my ear off.
[There’s another giant robot standing at our feet.]
Part Five
* * *
NEVER LAND
FILE NO. 2197
NEWS REPORT—MIRANDA PATEL, BBC
Location: London, UK
London is in chaos. Approximately twenty minutes ago, an all-too-familiar giant robot appeared in Regent’s Park, mere steps away from the memorial honoring the victims of the first alien attack nearly two decades ago. Moments later, two more materialized side by side in Trafalgar Square. While Londoners remained surprisingly calm in our previous encounters with the aliens, they are showing no such composure this time around. Mass panic has set in. There is looting across town. All the major roads are blocked. There have already been dozens of casualties, people trampled trying to evacuate their offices, vehicles plowing through crowds. The city has issued a statement asking people to stay in their homes and avoid the streets, but the memory of those thousands of bodies lying on the pavements is still fresh in the minds of Londoners, and most will do anything to escape the—
I am just told that more of these giant killers, a lot more, have appeared … everywhere. Reports continue to come in as we … It appears we are witnessing a full-scale alien invasion. New York, Washington. We are getting images from Washington now. There are four, no, five robots surrounding the White House.