Mimic and the Journey Home

Nice Place for an Epilogue

I stared over the horizon as the sun set, sending dazzling rays of light across the entire landscape. Mimic stood before me, her feet planted firmly on the ground and mine on the metal ramp of our ship.

“I don’t have to leave,” I murmured, voice quiet once again. “I could stay here, with you.”

But she shook her head slowly.

It had been a week since our defeat of her enemy, and we had spent much of the time helping the mimics. There had been a mass panic after the voice in their head was suddenly cut off, and many began doing things that could end up hurting them.

Now, however, things were calmed, and I was supposed to board my ship and go home.

“I need you to be my ambassador to earth,” she murmured sadly. We were all sad. After going through so much together, we didn’t want to split up. But we had to. “You know that while I was in the ship, I managed to uncover years of messages back to that alien’s people. They’re coming for us, and we need Earth’s help to survive.”

“Yeah, but I mean, do we really trust a group of bureaucrats? What if they try to pull some sort of shady deal? Or they use the sample you’re sending us off with but never offer help in return?”

But Mimic was all soft smiles. “I have learned that, while you are the greatest companions I could ever ask for, I cannot expect the same of all of your people. Especially those in power. So I included a holo-recording stating, should they choose a nefarious path, that both me and my army of shapeshifters would descend on them with little mercy.”

“Really? You and the babies that are still figuring out how to eat on their own?”

“They don’t need to know that. As Higgens once taught me, less is more,” she said, winking at me.

“Alright, well, it’s been good knowing you, I guess.” Gonzales extended her hand and Mimic took it, shaking as friends. “Be safe, okay?”

“I will try my best.”

Ciangi and Bahn both said their good-byes as well, leaving just Mimic and me.

I didn’t want to go. After so long of never belonging on the colony, and then never belonging on the ships I worked, I had come to appreciate having a friend who understood me. I got her in a way I never got other people. And she got me.

And now we had to say good-bye.

“I don’t like this,” I said finally, trying to keep my face straight.

“I know,” she murmured. “But it is a temporary measure. There is no one I trust more than you to make sure your government handles my gifts appropriately. Besides, this is only temporary. Once an alliance is formed, you are more than welcome to visit us here. That is, if you can afford to take a break from all your adoring fans after being the first person to discover non-human life.”

“Psh, I’m sure there won’t be any of those.”

“You forget, I have read almost all of you humans’ history. You are going to be a bit of a…what do you call it? Rack heart? Roll hard?”

“Rock star,” I finished, a halfhearted smile around my lips.

“Yes, that. A rock star.” Suddenly, she was pulling me into a hug, her warm body pressing into mine. I returned the gesture just as ardently, as if I held her hard enough that we wouldn’t have to part.

But eventually, we did.

“Be safe, Higgens. I will count the days until we meet again.”

“Me too.”

I wanted to say more. I wanted to say everything. But I knew that if I did, I would never leave. And right now, me on Earth was what Mimic needed. What kind of friend would I be if I put her needs above my own?

So with a final squeeze of her hand, I turned my back and walked up the ramp. I heard it retract and the hatch slide closed, but I dared not look behind. If I did, I was afraid I would dive right off the ship and back onto the planet.

As much as I wanted to, that wasn’t the path for me right now. That chapter of my life had closed, and it was about to move on to another one. Hopefully, if I was very, very lucky, our stories would find each other again.