by Jay Cannon
“Let’s go. I can’t wait to feel you pressing me against a wall,” Raina gushed.
“And I’ll be right next to you, baby,” said Rhana.
“Adar, we need you in operations,” said a voice from his communications device.
“Damn it! Sorry, ladies. I’d better go see what they want. I’ll catch up with you later.”
“You’d better.” Both women pouted.
***
“Adar, why such a long face?” said an operations officer looking up from his monitor. “No one around to kill?” The others in the office laughed, knowing Adar’s frustration with assignments that lacked violence.
“Not quite,” said Adar. “You interrupted my plans to entertain a couple of twins. Tell me what you want so I can get back to them.”
“While you monitored the prisoners being brought aboard our ship did you notice that someone killed three of the prisoners, dragged them away, put on their uniforms and took their place with the other prisoners?” asked the officer who summoned him.
“Of course not. I would have seen it and done something about it.” Adar searched his thoughts, an uneasy feeling welling up inside of him.
“The captain got word from Central Control about it. According to the Alpha authorities, prison guards discovered three dead Alpha prisoners several meters away from the prison entrance, unclothed and covered in snow. It is believed that the perpetrators mixed in with the Alpha prisoners somewhere on this ship. For now, Captain Shisal wants this to be your No. 1 priority.”
“How could that have happened?!” asked Adar in disbelief. “I was there the entire time. Those bodies must have been placed there before we landed.”
“The prison passed on to Central Control that all of their prisoners were accounted for before the transfer began,” said the officer, who sympathized with Adar, knowing how much pride he took in his work.
“I’ll contact Central Control and start working the case,” Adar said, troubled by his thoughts.
Central Control’s oversight helped to ensure that the planet’s ships complied with the law. The government agency also approved trade deals for the resources the ships brought back to Euclidia.
***
Adar sat at a desk in his cabin, waiting for his connection to go through. He wondered what Central Control knew about the escapees.
“Adar, this is what we know right now,” said the officer, who came online. “Three gang leaders from Cheoili, living on Moorland, killed members of two rival gangs during a couple of heists. Soon after, the Alpha Police surrounded the Cheoili hideout. An explosion killed them while the Cheoili sped away in a spaceship. Their ship was tracked to the Alpha prison planet where the Alpha military shot it down. But the ship obviously survived the crash. It appears the Cheoili killed three prisoners and took their place on your ship.”
“How is that possible? Wouldn’t we notice if Cheoili tried to take the place of Alphas?” Adar was experiencing his worst fears about the case. Had he been duped somehow into helping the Cheoili stow away aboard the Andrea?
“Not necessarily. They are able to take on the looks of other species. I suggest you check your recordings and figure out what happened.”
“Okay, I will check with security here and get back to you.” Adar ended the communication, angry and confused. He was afraid of what the security recordings would reveal, not only to himself, but to others about his clumsiness. I know there are gaps in my memory from the planet, but how could that much have happened without my knowledge, without my fighting back!
***
Adar walked into the security office, angered by what he learned from Central Control and his follow-up investigation.
“I want every monitor on the ship programmed to detect Cheoili DNA right away!” he said, shouting at the security director. He paced back and forth, thinking of what else he could do to track down the stowaways.
“Adar, what makes you think they are on our ship?” demanded the security chief, annoyed by Adar barking orders at him. Though Adar was considered part of the ship’s security team, he reported directly to the captain and not to the head of security. The chief needed to balance maintaining his authority in front of his team with placating Adar, who could pummel him without worry of retribution.
“Because I personally worked with Dr. Valera to check the mining vessels used to transfer the prisoners to our ship,” Adar replied, pausing to glare at the chief. “Once we found traces of their DNA, I searched every one of our holding areas until I found the one where they were housed.”
“So why do you need my help?” asked the chief.
“Because they were no longer there!” shouted Adar, leaning over the chief’s desk. “No one has departed the ship since we left orbit, which means a security officer helped them to escape and hide somewhere on our ship. So get off your butt and help me find them.” Adar pounded his fist on the chief’s desk to reinforce the urgency of his request.
“Fine, I’ll have the monitors reprogrammed and check with my officers right away,” the chief said in a conciliatory tone.
“Good, you let me know as soon as you find something.” Adar stormed out, angry but unsure whether he should direct that anger at himself or at the chief. What if someone asked how the Cheoili got on the ship in the first place? How would I respond?
***
In a cargo bay in the bowels of the ship, the three Cheoili and their Alpha companion spent their time studying Earth culture and learning about the operation of the Andrea from Goron, who visited every eight hours like clockwork.
As the four fugitives reviewed the lessons, the Earth training hologram periodically changed its age, gender, dialect, and ethnicity to familiarize them with the diversity of human life forms. At the end of each lesson, they swallowed a shot of grog to celebrate and unwind.
Artificial intelligence in the program enabled it to have simple conversations in Earth languages with them and to correct their mistakes. The Cheoili, like many sentient species in the Euclidian alliance, had higher brain functions than Earth’s humans, giving them nearly perfect recall.
A few days after finishing their training sessions, the moment the Cheoili had been waiting and studying for finally arrived. Goron came in and told them that the Andrea was positioned behind the moon orbiting the planet called Earth. He described to them the means by which they could reach the planet’s surface.
“Our shuttle bays have several small vehicles of different sizes capable of transporting anywhere from two to a few dozen people through space to the surface of a planet,” Goron reported. “However, it is unlikely that you would be able to get a vehicle off the ship without being detected. In operations, we have transporter rooms that can send you to the planet in an instant. You would be detected leaving the ship, but at least you’d have a chance to disappear before someone came after you.”
“Are we possibly going to another planet soon?” asked Tatan.
“As far as I know this is the last stop before heading back to Euclidia. You should know that they discovered that you killed the Alpha prisoners and are on the ship somewhere,” warned Goron.
“We’ll transport down now,” said Daloi, making the decision for the group. “Give us a few moments to gather our things, and we will follow you to operations.”
“Wait here for a while. I’ll come back in an hour with some nose filters and other things you will need to survive on the planet,” Goron suggested before walking out.
“Luckily, Earthlings’ looks seem easy enough for us to imitate, except for poor Rosda there,” said Dholi, eyeing the little Alpha. “I’m sure we can find some way to hide that strange face of yours.”
Rosda only grimaced in response to Dholi’s taunts.
It was the middle of June on Earth, which meant summer in America. Daloi wanted a large city on the northern side of the country and settled on Chicago. It had lots of summer activities that attracted throngs of people from different regions, a thriving crime culture, and
not much of a military presence.
But the decision to seek refuge on Earth didn’t come without trepidation. Several concerns crossed Daloi’s mind. Could they blend in with Earth’s culture? Would they be able to survive on the food? How long before the Alphas or Euclidian came after them? Would the breathing filters that Goron pilfered work?
“Daloi, are you sure you want to be marooned on a primitive planet with little possibility of ever making it home again?” asked Tatan.
“I agree there are a lot of unknowns about this Earth. But we don’t have any less risky alternatives. If we stay here, sooner or later we will be discovered,” she said. “Then the Euclidian will turn us over to the Alphas. The Alphas will surely stick us in that icy prison for all eternity or just turn us over to the mob, who will torture us for weeks before executing us.”
“What is your hesitation, Tatan?” asked Dholi.
“I’m afraid of what we might find on that planet. We could get sick, imprisoned, or just be miserable for the rest of our lives,” Tatan lamented.
“So you think we should stay on the ship and take our chances?” Dholi asked.
“Oh hell, no. Now that they know we’re on the ship somewhere, we can’t stay here,” cried Tatan, who suddenly envisioned the walls closing in on him.
“Then we are in agreement?” asked Daloi, looking at each of them for confirmation.
“We’re with you, sis,” said Dholi, nodding with approval.
“I’m coming too, right?” Rosda asked, revealing her anxiety about being left behind.
“Of course,” Daloi replied. “Did you finish making the grenades?”
“Yes, I made six of them,” said Rosda, handing them to Daloi.
“Here you two. Grab these for me,” said Daloi, handing metallic lumps about the size of ostrich eggs over to Dholi and Tatan.
“This is for you,” she said, turning to Rosda and stabbing her several times in the chest with a small knife she had concealed in her prison clothes.
“Thanks for your services. We won’t be needing you anymore,” Daloi sneered, looking down at Rosda’s slumped form. She then walked towards the office door. “Let’s go, everyone,” she ordered.
“Don’t you think we could have kept her around a little longer?” Tatan whined. “What if someone discovers her?”
“Our presence is not going to be a surprise once we force their operations department to transport us to the planet.” Daloi scoffed at her brother’s continued worrying. “I would have brought Little Miss Sarcasm along, but I don’t think she would have blended in well with her looks.”
“As usual, you thought this through, big sis.” Tatan sighed, his shoulders slumping in resignation.
“And as usual, you worry too damn much,” Daloi snapped, annoyed by his timid criticism. “Let’s get away from this body. I don’t know what effect it might have on Goron if he sees it.”
The three Cheoili moved to the main door of the storage room to wait for Goron, while Rosda lay bleeding to death on the floor.
***
“Here is the bag of items I promised you.” Goron handed a bag about the length of his forearm and just as wide to Daloi. “It should help you survive for a few days until you find a way to fend for yourselves. We can head to operations whenever you are ready.”
“We’re ready,” said Daloi. “We want to get off this ship as soon as we can.”
As they entered the operations area, the technician on duty confronted Goron. Daloi quickly grabbed the Euclidian’s face with her hand and cooed to him, influencing him to do her bidding. Moments later, the Cheoili stood in the middle of Chicago’s Millennium Park, examining their surroundings and embracing their newfound freedom.
***
Adar met with security officer Rangel to go over what her office had uncovered. A Euclidian taller than Adar, she had no interest in starting a fight with him. She knew she had to respect the volatile little Ossie’s position, while standing firm against any outbursts from him.
“Our team tracked the Cheoili to the point where they overpowered an operations officer and transported down to Earth. Upon checking the recordings, working our way back from the operations center, we determined that the Cheoili hid in one of the storage areas, where Goron took care of them after freeing them from containment.”
“Why the hell would he do that?!” growled Adar.
“The same reason you helped them board the ship,” said Rangel, matter-of-factly.
“I did no such thing,” denied Adar, afraid of being seen as a collaborator.
“Do you remember going after four escaped prisoners?”
“Of course I do,” he replied, suspicious of the question.
“So what happened during the recovery?” Rangel looked at him with accusing eyes. Now that she had Adar back on his heels, she didn’t want to back down. “We have evidence that the Cheoili replaced three of the prisoners.”
“I don’t know!” said Adar, hesitant to go on. “I captured the four of them and told them they had to go back to the ship or I would beat the crap out of them. The only other thing I remember is returning them and watching them board one of the mining vessels. I don’t recall running into any Cheoili. How could I have missed that?!” cried Adar, suddenly feeling very vulnerable. He grabbed his head, realizing that his worst fear might be real.
“For the same reason that Goron agreed to help them break out of our holding area and hide in a storage room for serval weeks. The Cheoili are able to compel people to do whatever they want by touching them and then making them forget it ever happened,” Rangel explained.
Seeing the anguish in Adar’s face, she wanted to console him, but kept her distance, aware of the Ossie’s volatile temper.
Adar stood motionless for a moment, digesting the evidence, knowing it had to be true. “I need to tell the captain right away,” he said, taking a deep breath before heading to the bridge.
***
After a short briefing from Adar, Capt. Shisal’s normally pale face darkened to a dull maroon as his features contorted with fury, “Why am I just now hearing about this?” he demanded.
“I’m just now finding out myself, Captain,” Adar replied, keeping his focus on what should come next. “Central Control wants us to return these Cheoili to Alpha immediately.”
“Communications, connect me with Central Control,” Shisal ordered.
“Aye, aye, captain. I have Burrtha on the forward monitor for you.”
“Burrtha, we have evidence that the three Cheoili you are looking for fled our ship for one of the planets we are monitoring. I can have the coordinates sent to you so your team can follow up,” Shisal reported.
“I don’t need coordinates, I need the Cheoili,” barked Burrtha, a deep frown visible on her broad, pale face even on the bridge’s video screen.
“This is a law enforcement issue. The crime happened off my ship, by aliens moreover,” Shisal countered.
“Don’t give me that legalese deflection. YOUR crew brought them aboard YOUR ship and then helped them escape. YOU are responsible for your crew. Moreover, YOU know the logistics of that planet, since YOU’VE been monitoring it. Stop trying to pass your failure on to me and go find those Cheoili!” Burrtha shouted, pounding her fist on her desk. “Their being on that planet could jeopardize your mission. Remember the radiation fallout from the Boltazar mission due to an alien exposure that forced us to abort the mission?”
Burrtha paused to wipe her mouth and compose her features before continuing. “Your predecessor, in his arrogance, thought he could just burst on the scene with weapons ablaze and force the planet into submission. But what happens when you corner an animal?” she asked.
“It fights back,” Shisal said.
“You’re damn right it does, and so did they, filling the air with toxic radiation and other putrid chemicals,” said Burrtha, waving her hands about. “That’s probably what led to the mutiny and his downfall. You do remember that?”
“
Yes, Burrtha, I remember, which means your team should be looking after this. If you disagree, we should take this up with the director. My time is far too valuable to be playing cop for you,” Shisal complained.
“You are absolutely right. My investigators tell me that the Cheoili are capable of making themselves look like Euclidian or any other species. I’m thinking they are probably still on your ship posing as some other crewmembers,” said Burrtha, pointing her finger at the screen.
“That’s preposterous. We are certain that the Cheoili fled my ship for Earth,” Shisal objected.
“Just to be sure I want your entire crew to report here for inspection early tomorrow.”
“It would take several days to check my entire crew,” Shisal said, now visibly angry.
“I’m thinking it will take several weeks. I’ll have a security team come onboard to sweep your ship for any stowaways, while your crew is here with us,” she countered, pushing her face closer to the camera until it filled the monitor on the bridge. The bridge crew stared at the screen in shock.
“Burrtha, I would hate to put you and your team to all that trouble,” said Shisal, hoping to soothe the Central Control officer’s ire. “Why don’t you let my crew track down these murderers for you and bring them to your office with a nice bow around them?”
Leaning back from the camera, Burrtha’s face lit with satisfaction. “Lovely idea, Shisal. But don’t plan to go on any missions until those Cheoili are brought to justice.”
“I wouldn’t think of it, Burrtha, and I’ll put my best person on it.” Shisal’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.
“You’d better. Burrtha out!” The Control officer’s image winked off the monitor.
Capt. Shisal and his crew breathed a collective sigh of relief.
“Adar, get prepped. You’re going to Earth. I’m taking the ship home to offload its resources. I’ll return in about an Earth year to start mining this planet. Have this taken care of before we return. Wylyy will pilot an attack ship to assist you.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” said Adar, acquiescing to the captain’s request. He realized now was not the time to debate the captain’s orders. Typically not susceptible to melancholy, the Ossie fell into a funk that threatened to overwhelm him.