Terraformed Skies

by Anna Lewis

  “What’s this?” he asked, walking over to admire their work.

  “We’re creating a cybernetic arm for Dr. Clark to use. Commander Noble has been captured,” explained Dr. Snyder.

  “Commander Noble was captured?!” cried the general. “Get some soldiers ready for spaceflight. We must rescue this man before the entire planet is destroyed.”

  “Sir, I must fly up there first,” Lena implored. “It’s the only way to make it safe for everyone else.”

  “This isn’t a mission done alone, Dr. Clark. I want you to have back-up,” insisted General Sanders. “We can’t lose the brains behind this battle. I’m sending you with your own reinforcements.”

  Lena smiled and thanked the general. It made her proud that she was being supported by the scientists and both generals. Hope filled her as she finished the spacesuit and helped Dr. Warren with the cybernetic arm. They couldn’t attach it in the same fashion as Trevor’s, but they could fix it over her skin like a glove. The receptors on the inside would pick up on her body’s electrical impulses, giving her full range of control over its ray gun feature. Arm movement was limited with the heavy attachment.

  After the group was done with the finishing touches, Lena pulled the glove up the length of her arm and admired the product. She held her palm in front of her, waiting for the ray gun to charge and then blasted the opposite wall with it. A round of applause surrounded her while they all stared at the charred bits of wall. She took a bow and then grabbed the spacesuit, looking at General Sanders who was talking over his radio.

  “You’ll have five men with you, Dr. Clark,” he explained. “The ship leaves in fifteen minutes. Are you ready?”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you for your help. All of you,” she said while turning to the entire group.

  The scientists each bowed their heads, some of them holding up their hands in thanks for her brave endeavor. Lena followed General Sanders out the double doors as the scientists called after her, wishing her well on her mission. It would take a great deal of strength to penetrate the mothership, but she was sure they could manage as long as they disguised themselves in a drone.

  But all the drones had been deactivated! How were they going to infiltrate the mothership without being noticed? If their transporter ship was identified, then they might be thwarted before they could even enact their plan. Perhaps Trevor could create a diversion in order to keep the Vihatagons distracted from their control panels. Lena spoke into her cyber watch.

  “Trevor, create a diversion. We’re coming up,” she said quickly, hoping he caught that as she boarded a transport ship.

  Five men sat in the seats of the ship, each of them in full uniform and armed to the teeth with ray guns. One of them had procured a disintegrator from the field. Lena admired the technology of it, commenting on its usefulness in their mission.

  “Dr. Clark, you are now in charge of these fine gentlemen who will aid you in your mission. Soldiers, treat this woman as your commanding officer. She is your leader,” General Sanders announced. “And Godspeed.”

  Once Trevor heard the message, he immediately began firing around the room to distract the Vihatagons from noticing the transportation ship. The ship rose above the battlefield and rattled as it made its way through the atmosphere, appearing just underneath the belly of the mothership where Trevor had previously been. Lena fixed the spacesuit helmet over her face and studied the faces around her. In an instant, their ship was shaking violently. The controls in the front beeped rapidly, red light filling the air. The pilot shouted to the other men.

  “It’s going to explode!” he yelled. “We have to jump ship!”

  The other men hadn’t yet put on their helmets, and could not as the ship lurched wildly, and they were stowed elsewhere. If the hull breached, they would likely all die. Lena racked her brain with options, jumping to the front to help the pilot with the controls. She opened the control panel and fumbled with the wires. They were quickly losing control.

  Suddenly, a flash of light exploded in the front of the ship, causing a huge gash in the hull. The entire crew spiraled out into the atmosphere, their bodies falling away from each other.

  Book 4: The End Is Near

  An explosion had torn a huge gash in the transporter ship, catapulting the pilot and two vulnerable soldiers into the earth’s atmosphere. Within seconds, the three of them were covered in frost and blue in the face, suffocating in the oxygen-deprived environment. They stopped moving shortly after the first minute and plummeted down into the Earth’s atmosphere where they would hit to the ground at maximum velocity. A frightened Lena watched them through the goggles of her spacesuit. She couldn’t imagine dying in such a fashion. Much of her life had been dedicated to preventing death, yet this particular sight scared her to the core. Despite the fear she felt, she had to continue with her mission.

  As Lena breathed steadily into the spacesuit, she looked around to find not only that they were near the alien mothership, but there were three soldiers with helmets attached. They had been smart to grab them. One of them motioned to Lena to grab his hand so they could make their way to the mothership. Space didn’t provide much range of motion, making it difficult for the four of them to move. This didn’t stop the intrepid crew. The small group kicked off towards the underbelly of the ship and began to shimmy their way towards the loading dock. Surely there would be a way inside on that end. They just had to make it before the temporary oxygen tanks ran out on the three soldiers.

  Space expanded in every direction, an alarming sight for a human woman who had never stepped foot off Earth. She had only ever even been overseas once, to visit Paris for a conference, but much of that was spent inside. Lena didn’t often take social risks like she did on the surgical table. This was her first visit to space and she wondered whether it might be her last. The other soldiers moved dexterously over the metal exterior of the ship, Lena grabbing one of them to keep from floating away. As they moved, the silence of space was deafening. They had never heard such quietness in their lives, their ears usually filled with the sound of ray guns, ships, or electronic noise.

  For a moment, they each thought they might have gone deaf.

  Within minutes, the small team arrived at the opening of the loading dock and carefully crawled up on to the deck. An alarm was blaring in the distance. A few ships were scattered around the bay, but it was largely deserted. Lena hoped they could get inside in time.

  In the entrance, she quickly disarmed the gate and they entered as quickly as the space allowed, falling to the ground in coughing fits as the automated gravity kicked in. The doors behind them locked and they each removed their head coverings.

  The doors before them opened and revealed a line of Vihatagons waiting, immediately firing off as soon as they came into view. Lena hid behind the three soldiers who laid into the enemy aliens. The small group of alien soldiers hit the ground and allowed passage for the four to board the mother ship. Its walls were made of an alloy metal that shined brightly. Lena looked around while recalling the map in her memory. She pointed to the left.

  “We need to go that way,” she announced.

  “How do you know?” asked the soldier to her left.

  “I studied the layout of this place. I know where I’m going,” she responded quickly, feeling angry that he questioned her knowledge.

  “Jeffery, you need to trust her,” said the soldier to her right. “My apologies, ma’am. You’re in charge.”

  “Thank you, soldier,” she said while charging her cybernetic arm.

  Another group of Vihatagons came into view, blocking the hallway with their huge, disgusting bodies. Rays erupted on both sides and Lena wondered where Trevor might be, whether he was close to the bridge or off somewhere in the center of the ship. How she ached to have him close. It wouldn’t be long until they were together again and her skin buzzed with anticipation. Hours had passed since they last saw each other, but it felt more like weeks. Space travel had given her a headache, t
he trip and explosion having depleted her of energy.

  The cybernetic addition was doing well, responding quickly to her thoughts as she fired upon the group of Vihatagons. It was much more effective than the ray gun that the soldiers were using. Given that it didn’t take long to charge, she didn’t mind stepping forward and taking the lead. The three Vihatagons fell to the ground in defeat. A green ooze covered the floor where they lay, thick and viscous in the bright light of the hall. What were these aliens made of? When this was over, she made a mental note to do a dissection on Earth for medical purposes. The more they knew about these hateful aliens, the better prepared they would be in the future, if they ever came again.

  Lena walked forward and looked down another hallway, waving to the men to follow her. They arrived at the bridge in time to be intercepted by the first mate who gargled at them to surrender or die. Since she was beginning to grasp their language, Lena understood the first mate and shouted that they would never give up.

  “We will never surrender to your species!” she yelled as she raised her arm. “And let this be your last warning to leave Earth alone!”

  The soldiers joined her in shooting at the first mate who fell over dramatically on to his back. As the rays tore through the alien, the soldiers cheered and marched forward while Lena studied the features of the ugly creature. He appeared weak and fragile lying in a pool of his own ooze. It made Lena feel a sense of pity for their hateful demeanor, for how awful they had been treating others. She wondered what had inspired such hatred that they would go about taking over planets and destroying them. What did they need cyborgs for other than to take over the galaxy?

  It seemed such a useless quest if they would be the only species left in the entire Milky Way, their lives a lonesome existence without other species present. They should have agreed to a treaty with the general the first time. They could use such an alliance for scientific and medical advancements. Otherworldly knowledge was necessary in this age of war. It could help them reach a state of peace like no other time in human history. If only they had been more apt to talk instead of fight. Such an inspiring thought could cause the great leaders of Earth to unite instead of continue fighting. Lena decided she would mention this to General Sanders later on.

  Right now, she had to reactivate the drones and find her dearest love Trevor, who was hidden somewhere on the ship. She tapped her cyber watch. How she wished to hear his voice at this moment, telling her of his love and affection. The door to the bridge wouldn’t budge between the three men which Lena easily fixed by cutting the wires beneath the control panel. As the doors opened, an empty bridge presented itself to the team.

  So far so good…

  ***

  On the bridge, Lena studied the controls and screens. Many of them were documenting the movements down on Earth as well as recording the cargo room. A crowd of people filled the screen and alarmed Lena and the soldiers. What a sight it was to see thousands of people trapped in a cargo room, many of them displaying fear and panic on their faces. The small map in the corner indicated where the room was located.

  “There,” she pointed to the map. “I need two of you to head to this area and start releasing those people. I’m going to reactivate the drones and alert you once they are ready.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” responded Jeffery.

  As the two soldiers took off to locate the cargo room, a chorus of screams came from the screen. The people in the cargo room were under attack. Vihatagon guards were taking down entire sections of them, forcing them to retreat to the far corners of the cargo holding area. She hoped hard that the soldiers would find the room quickly in order to defend the people. They were helpless under the weight of enemy fire, their beams disintegrating people left and right.

  “Those bastards,” Lena growled while gritting her teeth. “I can’t wait to destroy them!”

  “Ma’am, is there anything I can do?” asked the soldier to her right, Ryan.

  “Keep guard and make sure none of them enter. I’m going to hack into their controls and get these drones ready to rescue these people. We need to get them out as soon as possible,” Lena responded.

  Nodding, Ryan turned and kept his ray gun armed at the door, waiting patiently for Vihatagons to come barreling through. The two of them were left to their mission mostly undisturbed. Lena tapped the keys on the screen, utilizing her limited knowledge of Vihatagon language and technology to discern what keys would get the drones going again. If Trevor hadn’t clipped that wire, this would be much easier. She smiled ironically at how things had turned out, and hit a few keys on the dashboard while watching the screen.

  The system started to reboot, shutting down the electricity in the ship momentarily before staring back up. A circular shape on the display indicated that the drones were ready to be used again and she excitedly tapped the screen to enter Earth’s coordinates. This particular mission reminded her of a time in college when she had to hack her way into the university system just to get a good look at her grades. Her efforts then weren’t as valiant, mostly because she was worried that she was failing chemistry. Medical school was tough since the educational upgrades. Only students of outstanding intelligence could enter and she didn’t want to rely on her intelligence alone. A little tweaking here and there helped get her into the right programs, even though it hadn’t been a particularly honest way of doing so. But she figured a good doctor ought to be creative as well as intelligent; be able to see solutions to problems when others couldn’t. She still thought that.

  Friends of hers had taught her the trade of hacking and it had helped on more than one occasion. She had fixed the medical system of the hospital twice during an air raid early in the war. On another occasion, she had gained access to sensitive files for the Navy who needed to find someone of utmost importance. Lena was glad to be able to use her knowledge on this system, especially because it proved to be the most difficult.

  As soon as she was done, and had rerouted the drones to earth and programmed them to release people, she radioed for the soldiers to respond as soon as they made it to the cargo hold.

  “Copy that,” replied Jeffery, pausing near the corner of a hall.

  The two soldiers could hear the Vihatagons on the other end, peeking around the corner to get a good look at what they were dealing with. Three of the ugly mugs were on the other side guarding the door and exchanging a few words. Muffled screams were heard coming from behind them, but the Vihatagons weren’t fazed, as they were used to the sounds of people dying. Their callousness sickened Jeffery to his core. He looked at his comrade, Wesley, who knitted his eyebrows together. They had been fighting this war for far too long, the weight of the world hanging on their broad shoulders. Nodding, they each patted each other on the arm and took a deep breath.

  “To the end,” said Wesley while gripping his comrade’s shoulder.

  “Till we meet again,” said Jeffery.

  On a whispered count of three, the two soldiers sprang around the corner and charged the Vihatagons standing in their way. The Vihatagons barely had time to return fire as Jeffery and Wesley tore through them, knocking them to the ground with their guns. Standing on top of the fallen Vihatagons, Wesley looked around at the room full of people who were all staring at the human soldiers. One of them shouted praise. The rest of the group cheered, realizing that their fate was about to change.

  Another group of Vihatagons was in the corner, slaying people with their disintegrators. The valiant soldiers sprinted in that direction and took down the enemy aliens. Cheers erupted again at the sight, inspiring hope in the crowd of people waiting to be taken home. They would have to be synthesized again which some of them were opposed to, resisting stubbornly against the soldiers who insisted that it was the only practical way to get back home.

  In the bridge, Lena radioed the soldiers and asked for an update. Jeffery responded that they were holding down the cargo area, but that people were resisting the plan.

  “Tell them it’
s the only way to get back home. However, I’ll radio General Sanders and see if we can get some rescue ships up here as well. It’ll take a minute,” responded Lena.

  “Copy that,” said Jeffery.

  While he turned to inform the group the general plan, Lena explored the contents of the computer. It held history predating the existence of Earth. The data it held was astounding and made her eyes wide with wonder. She would be the first to discover this alien species and document it.

  “Do you see this?” she asked the soldier next to her. “This is some groundbreaking stuff, soldier.”

  Ryan looked over her shoulder and marveled at the documents on the screen, looking at the pictures of the farthest reaches of the Milky Way. Many documents held accounts of other species, especially ones they had never encountered because of the eradication by the Vihatagons. This pushed Lena enough to want to destroy the Vihatagons and every bit of their hatred from space.

  There will be no more suffering, she thought as she stared at the screen. I will personally make sure of that.

  Lena made a note in her cyber watch to ask the scientists about collecting the information. It would prove to be a huge discovery and it would add to the bounty of knowledge they had about the universe and the many aliens that inhabit it. An entirely different universe lay out there in space beyond their sun. What great potential there was!

  ***

  Running through the halls of the alien mothership was the brave Trevor, punching Vihatagons in the face as he came across them. He wasn’t sure if Lena had arrived yet, but he planned on keeping up with his diversion for as long as possible. He darted down the hallway while laughing, enjoying the fact that the Vihatagons weren’t particularly fast on foot. Most of them relied on their disintegrators to stop the bouncing cyborg. However, he wouldn’t stay still long enough to be shot.