by John Coon
“Stop! Don't fire!”
Xttra shot her a puzzled look.
“Why? They don't deserve to be left alive.”
"What message are you trying to send by killing them in cold blood?"
"They hurt you and hurt me." He seethed. "No other punishment is enough.
“When does the cycle of revenge end?” Calandra's green eyes filled with a blend of fury and sadness as she posed this question. “When is it enough?”
Xttra bit down on his lower lip. His finger hovered above the button that released razor discs. Rage consumed him. He would love nothing more than to send these Earthians to an early grave.
“This isn't you,” Calandra pleaded. “Trust me.”
Xttra silently stared at both Earthians. Then he looked down at his armored sleeve. Calandra was right. He killed many Earthians. Xttra thought he was faster and could hit them before they got off a shot. Still, his chances for success without costing his own life or the lives of Calandra and Kevin were minimal. Xttra struggled to separate rage from reason. Calandra's eyes told him she found a better way. He could not live with himself later if he refused to listen.
Xttra withdrew his hand and lowered his arm. Paige and Sam kept their pistols locked and loaded on the group. Kevin also refused to lower his rifle.
Calandra raised her hands and drew closer.
"You wanted proof we came to Earth in peace? I can show you proof."
Paige and Sam exchanged suspicious glances. Finally, she gave a reluctant nod.
"Let's see it."
Calandra removed her holocaster from her chest pouch. A green glow lit up the room as she activated a holoscreen holding the translated message from the probe plate. Calandra turned the holoscreen around, allowing Paige and Sam to read the words. Hardened stares and frowns softened as their eyes trailed each word. When they finished reading it, Calandra played a copy of the flash drive message Xttra recorded at the townhouse earlier.
"Project Peacekeeper."
Shock enveloped Paige as she said those two words. She stared wide-eyed at the holoscreen until it vanished. Her mouth dropped open and her lower lip jutted out. Paige blinked back fresh tears. Sam closed his eyes for a moment and bowed his head. His pistol dropped down to his side.
“We screwed up,” he said. “Oh God, we screwed up.”
“We came here in peace to find the probe builders,” Calandra said. “You greeted us with hostility and violence.”
“I think we've heard enough from our precious astronomer for one night.”
All eyes focused on Doni. He had drawn the eliminator from his other holster while the others focused on the message shown on the holocaster. The barrel pointed right at Xttra.
Paige immediately shifted her pistol to Doni.
“Astronomer?” she said. “You said there were no astronomers in your crew.”
Doni's eyes widened as he realized his mistake. He charged toward Paige with a shout. A spray of bullets and laser bolts hit him from multiple directions. Doni fell forward before he reached the door. Life drained from his eyes and blood oozed from multiple holes on his body as he hit the floor.
Kevin spun around and trained his rifle on Paige and Sam a second time.
“Tell the guards at the spaceship to disperse.”
Paige nodded and lowered her pistol. Sam did the same. She grabbed a two-way radio from her belt and ordered all guards to leave the meadow. Once Paige finished giving the order, Xttra seized both their weapons and radios. He hurled them outside the door into the shadows.
"We won't harm you," Xttra said, facing them again. "But we also can't risk you changing your minds and deciding to pursue us."
He glanced over at Kevin.
"Find something we can use to create restraints."
Kevin brought out some rope from the locker. He wrapped it around Paige and Sam, binding them together while they sat back-to-back on the floor. Xttra tore off linen strips from a sheet on the cot.
“Don't do this.” Sam pleaded. “We want to get to know you. Learn about you. We can be friends.”
Xttra gave him and Paige a cold stare.
“The time for friendship has passed. We want nothing to do with your miserable planet.”
He gagged both Earthians and walked out the door with Kevin and Calandra. Kevin blocked the doorway in case either one escaped their restraints. Calandra then closed the door on Paige and Sam for a final time.
42
Calandra's eyes grew heavy. Both her left arm and ribs throbbed. She pushed her legs to keep moving forward toward the scout ship. Flashlights obtained by Kevin illuminated their path, chasing away shadows in the right spots. She glanced down at the cast covering her injured limb. It served as a perfect symbol for her time on Earth.
Days filled with pain and death from an expedition that began with a promise of peace. Losing friends at the hands of hostile Earthians, and Doni's treachery, weighed down her mind like an anchor. Calandra wanted to march to the edge of a cliff and then scream and cry until her voice fled from her. Still, she feared no amount of mourning could heal the lasting awfulness brought on by her naivety. Their faces watched her when she closed her eyes and their voices called to her from the dust.
Neither Xttra nor Kevin said anything beyond checking to see if Calandra felt strong enough to keep up their brisk pace. Anger and sorrow dominated their faces as much as she felt a surge of those same emotions controlling her own.
Soldiers no longer guarded their ship. Paige and Sam served one useful purpose in the end. Calandra did not allow herself to think this reprieve would last long. Other Earthians would swarm their position once word got out that they escaped. This whole area would soon crawl with soldiers and bureau agents again, looking to inflict pain and death like the ones who preceded them.
Calandra finally allowed herself to catch her breath when they reached their destination. She clutched the cast. Increased blood flow intensified the throbbing, making it feel like a giant stone pounded on her injured arm from inside the cast. Xttra opened the lower hatch and extended the ramp leading up into the cargo bay. Calandra gazed out at darkened mountain peaks on the eastern horizon. A small crescent moon hung over the towering peaks.
"We made it."
Tears welled up in her eyes and rolled down her cheeks as she thought of the toll this expedition took. Xttra draped his arm around her shoulder. He pressed his lips against a tear-stained cheek. Calandra clasped his hand resting on her shoulder, raised it, and pressed it to her other cheek.
"Thank you for saving my life," she whispered. "I don't think I can ever repay what I owe you."
"I saved your life. You saved my soul. You don't owe me anything."
Calandra turned and faced Xttra. A sad smile, mirroring her own expression, adorned his face. Her eyes closed and her lips parted slightly as she leaned forward. His lips soon met hers and lingered in that spot. Her healthy arm circled his back as he invited her inside his toned arms again. Their kiss expressed a tender love words alone could not describe.
She stepped back after their kiss, turned, and started up the ramp. Calandra paused at the top when she realized no one followed her.
"I guess this is where we part ways."
She wheeled around and shot Xttra a puzzled look. Kevin did the same.
"What do you mean part ways?" Kevin said. He had already stepped onto the bottom of the ramp. "I'm coming with you."
Xttra placed a hand on Kevin's shoulder.
“This is your home planet.”
“Tell me something I don't know.”
“We are never coming back to Earth. If you go with us, it will be a one-way trip.”
Kevin stepped back off the ramp. He walked past Xttra a few steps and then stopped. Kevin stabbed his finger in the same direction as that wretched encampment they fled from only a brief time earlier.
“I can't stay. Not now.”
He spun around and faced Xttra again.
“Don't you understand? T
here's no future for me here on Earth now.”
Calandra could not fathom why this even merited a debate. Kevin turned against his people to save their lives and help them return to their scout ship. Xttra needed to see what she saw. Their new friend faced an equally grim future on Earth as they did if he remained here. This so-called Earth Defense Bureau could not be trusted. Kevin could not stay behind and face their wrath alone.
Traitor.
Criminal.
Those words would be branded to him like tattoos. Lathos had to be his home now.
"Kevin could die if he stays behind."
Her weakened voice betrayed diminished strength. But Calandra had to prevent Xttra from making a huge mistake before allowing herself to rest.
"We can't abandon him here to suffer whatever awful fate they have planned for him,” she said. “Our world is his world now."
Xttra hung his head and closed his eyes for a moment. Kevin shot an appreciative smile at Calandra for pleading his case.
"What about your parents? Your clan?"
Xttra opened his eyes again and fixed them squarely on the army ranger.
"Will they not miss you?” he asked. “Who will watch over them if we take you with us?"
"No one will bother my family once I'm gone." Sadness tinged his words as Kevin weighed the full implication of his decision. "I'll become an unsolved mystery. An urban legend. A missing person case that grows colder as time marches forward."
Tears welled up in his eyes as he spoke. Kevin paused for a moment and brushed them away.
"I promise I'll find a way to tell them why I did what I did someday," he said. "I don't know when and I don't know how. But, God willing, I'll see my family again. We'll talk and embrace, and they will learn the truth behind what happened here in Utah."
Xttra said nothing. He simply extended his hand and drew the ranger into a friendly embrace.
“Welcome to our crew,” Calandra said.
Xttra started up the ramp after her. Kevin turned and gazed out at the mountains, taking one final look at Earth. A moment later, he dashed up the ramp to join the others. Xttra raised it and sealed the hatch behind Kevin once he made it inside the cargo bay.
“Follow me,” Xttra said without turning to look behind him. “You're going to get a crash course in what it takes to pilot a scout ship.”
Kevin scrunched up his face.
“Crash course?” he repeated. “Is that a joke? I really hope that's a joke.”
They entered the bridge. Kevin settled into Lance's old assistant pilot chair. His eyes lit up when they fell on the helm console and he began to fully grasp the idea he would help fly an actual spacecraft.
Calandra took her seat as Xttra fired up the main thrusters. The scout ship barreled away from the mountains. Soon, a final blue tinge of atmosphere vanished amid the darkened curtain of space. Only when they reached a safe distance from Earth did the little group finally relax. Calandra closed her eyes and uttered a silent prayer of gratitude to Ahm.
“Only one thing left to do before we leave this system for good,” Xttra said.
He activated the autopilot once their scout ship passed the Moon. Xttra walked with Calandra to the medical station, holding her hand every step of the way. The door slid open. A persistent hum and intermittent beeps from the medical pod holding Bo'un filled the room. His face finally showed signs of healing from the animal attack. Calandra counted him fortunate in one way. Bo'un was spared from enduring the same trauma she and Xttra suffered at the hands of the Earthians.
Xttra helped Calandra lie down inside the other medical pod. He inserted various nanotubes into both arms to feed her enough medicine, food, and water to keep her condition stable through the long journey ahead.
He caressed her cheek with his hand.
“You can rest now. When you awaken from this pod, we will be home and safe from this awful place.”
Calandra answered him with a weak smile. Xttra bent down and planted one final tender kiss on her lips. When he straightened up again, the pod door closed over her, sealing Calandra inside for their journey back to Lathos.
One word rolled through her mind as she closed her eyes and released a deep breath.
Home.
Never had the thought of going home felt so sweet before this moment.
THE END
Alien Words Pronunciation Guide
Names:
Calandra (Kaw-lan-druh) Dharcha (Dar-chaw)
Xttra (Ex-tra) Tressek (Tress-ek)
Doni (Doh-knee) Bo'un (Bow-un)
Delcor (Dell-core) Malthius (Maul-thee-us)
Jbali (Jaw-ball-e) Janthore (Jahn-thor)
Sarianna (Sar-e-ahn-na) Malar (Mah-lar)
Oogan (Ooh-gun) Mavia (may-vee-ah)
Menankar (Men-ann-kar) Atch (a-ch)
Bathal (Baw-th-all) Grallah (grawl-lah)
Locations:
Lathos (Lay-thos) Rubrum (Rube-rum)
Ra'ahm (Ray-ah-m) Aramus (Air-am-us)
Thetia (Thet-she-ah) Sendala (sen-doll-ah)
Serbius (Serb-e-oose) Birshana (burr-sha-nah)
Peleus (Pell-e-oose) Tu'atan (Two-ah-tawn)
Luma (Lou-mah) Osa'rai (Oh-saw-rye)
Fengar (Fenn-gar) Serranta (Ser-ran-tah)
Nectura (Neck-tur-ah) Annaeus (ann-ay-us)
Laxa (Lax-ah) Ventros (vent-rose)
Animals, Plants, & Technology:
Ebutoka (E-boo-tow-kaw) Russakin (Roose-ah-kin)
Maniogo (Man-e-ah-go) Treema (Tree-ma)
Cala (Kaw-lah) Ictus (Ick-tuss)
Sapinoa (Sap-eh-noah) Setaworm (see-tah-worm)
Senosa (See-nose-ah) Purpura (Purr-purr-ah)
Fraxa (Frax-ah) Trique (Try-cue)
Arca vox (arc-ah-vox) Mokai (Moe-kye)
Aerorover (air-oh-row-ver)
About the Author
Being a storyteller is second nature to John Coon. Ever since John typed up his first stories on his parents' typewriter at age 12, he has had a thirst for creating stories and sharing them with others. John graduated from the University of Utah in 2004 and has carved out a successful career as an author and journalist since that time. His byline has appeared in dozens of major publications across the world.
John's debut novel, Pandora Reborn, became an international bestseller on Amazon shortly after being published in 2018. His second novel, Under a Fallen Sun, followed a year later. Alien People is John's third novel.
John resides in Sandy, Utah. Bookmark his official author page, johncoon.net, to get news and updates on his fiction. You can also connect with John on Twitter (@johncoonsports), Instagram (@jcoon312), and on Facebook (@jcoon).