Terraformed Skies

by Anna Lewis

  A comfortable silence fell between the two as they reflected on the day’s events, listening to the sound of laughter floating in from the double doors. It was a strange sound in the middle of a battlefield, yet it was also relieving. Part of General Sanders felt joy from hearing that laughter. Another part of him knew the war was yet to be done, that they still had people up in that ship who were soon to make their way back.

  I think I’ll retire when this is over, he thought. I’m tired of war. I want to go home.

  While thinking about his cozy home, he leaned his head back to rest, dreaming of a time when the world had been peaceful. It was a brief time in his life, but it was one he fondly remembered. Streams teemed with fish that he caught with his father every Sunday and the farm was full of engineered pigs that were perfectly plump. He imagined himself sitting amidst the flowers with his brothers, napping under the midday sun, the heat warming his soul and helping him sleep.

  It wouldn’t be long before the general was awakened, soldiers asking for their next orders. He told them to remain vigilant and watch the sky.

  “We’re expecting our troops to bring home the rest,” said the general. “For now, take care of those in our care.”

  ***

  Lena, Ryan, and Alexis have been running in circles. They couldn’t seem to locate the Trevor and the enemy captain.

  “We’ve been searching for thirty minutes, doctor,” said Ryan. “Are you sure he’s still here?”

  “He has to be. He hasn’t contacted us,” replied Lena.

  She tapped her watch with frustration, shaking it briefly before coming across another hallway.

  “Let’s try this one,” she suggested.

  “We already went that way,” said Ryan.

  “I’m exhausted,” said Alexis.

  “Well, I’m in charge,” Lena said firmly. “And we go where I say we need to go.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” responded Ryan while squeezing Alexis’ hand.

  Lena was getting snippy. As her frustration grew, her sight became blurry until she realized she was crying. She paused in front of a door and leaned against the wall, weeping into her free hand. Alexis and Ryan weren’t sure what to do, waiting patiently for Lena to explain her response to the situation.

  “I’m sorry,” she whispered over her shoulder. “I’m so sorry...”

  Ryan was the first to step forward, putting his ray gun in its holster. Pulling her into a hug caused her to cry harder. She could feel the weight of her failure hanging around her neck like chains, pulling her down to the ground. As she wiped her face, Alexis walked over and hugged her as well. The three stood embracing each other briefly before taking a step back, the sound of a ray gun alerting them.

  “It came from here!” said Ryan, pointing down the hall from whence they came.

  The three fled down the metal hallway, feet slamming against the floor. They nearly passed the room that held the captain and Trevor, the two frozen in a standoff with each other.

  “Trevor!” cried Lena, stepping over the threshold.

  Covering the floor were dead Vihatagons, their mouths twisted and their guts spilling all over the place. The captain was using some of their bodies as a shield while he pointed his disintegrator at Trevor. Tension filled the air with dread, the three standing in the doorway while analyzing the scene. Who was going to make the first move?

  “Stay back!” he yelled.

  Lena held up her cybernetic arm.

  “I don’t think this will be a problem,” she said.

  Looking out of the corner of his eye, Trevor noticed the cybernetic addition on her arm and chuckled.

  “We match now,” he joked.

  “That we do,” she responded.

  “This is why I love you,” he said with a smile.

  “I love you, too, darling,” said Lena, keeping her palm pointed at the captain.

  “The choice is yours, Captain,” said Trevor. “You can be killed or surrender to the people of Earth.”

  “I will never surrender!” cried the captain, waving his gun at them. “We have never done such a cowardly thing!”

  “And using your own people as shields isn’t cowardly? You must be mistaken, Captain,” said Trevor.

  Ryan pushed Alexis out into the hallway and tells her to wait there, raising his gun at the Vihatagon across the room.

  “You’re surrounded,” he warned. “Give up.”

  “Never,” responded the captain. “I will never give up.”

  “We’re going to shoot you, then,” said Trevor. “Fire!”

  The three of them rained blasts upon the Vihatagon, hoping to break through the flesh of his barrier in order to wound him, but the pile of bodies did not budge. On the other side, the captain chortled.

  “Is that all you’ve got?” he called.

  “What is he saying?” asked Ryan while charging his ray gun.

  “He’s challenging us,” replied Trevor. “He thinks that’s all we’ve got.”

  Ryan stepped over a few bodies and aimed low, hoping to hit a foot or an arm. As he lined up his shot, the captain peeked around the pile of bodies and fired his weapon, effectively destroying the soldier where he stood. Lena squeaked and shot a few revenge rounds, telling Alexis to remain in the hall.

  “What’s going on?” Alexis asked. “Is Ryan alright?”

  Trevor and Lena exchanged glances, wondering if they should lie and let her find out later. Curious, Alexis peeked around the corner and noticed Ryan was no longer in the room. Sobs racked her body and she crumpled to the ground from exhaustion and loss. There wasn’t much more she could take. Noticing her broken state, Trevor urged Lena to take Alexis to the cargo area.

  “Go,” he said. “I can hold this down.”

  “I will not leave you,” Lena said firmly. “The rescue team is coming. They’ll get her soon enough.”

  “She is not well enough to go alone. You need to take her,” said Trevor.

  “I am not going to leave this room without you holding my hand,” said Lena. “I can’t do it.”

  Tears came to her eyes again, causing her to lose concentration and shoot the table instead of the captain. He’s laughing on the other side of the bodies and relishing the pain he hears. Nothing makes him jollier than the sound of crying.

  “By all means, cyborg. Tend to your woman. Let it make you weaker,” he said. “So that I in comparison may grow stronger!”

  Lena shook her head, trying to regain control over her emotions while the gurgling continued to echo through the room. It appeared the captain was the last Vihatagon left unless there were more hiding amidst the other rooms. This could potentially be used to their advantage.

  “You’re the last one left,” Lena announced. “You might as well give in.”

  “There are plenty more where I come from,” said the captain.

  “We’ll destroy all of you,” announced Trevor. “You will not keep us down. We are too resilient and we will always resist.”

  “We will always find a way to fight,” said Lena over the sound of sobbing in the hallway. “Surrender or die.”

  It seemed to go on for hours when in reality it had only been twenty minutes. The captain remained silent across the room, the only sound in the air the strange squeaking of his body as he moved to position his gun. No one seemed to dare make a move, and the silence prompted Alexis to peek around the corner again. She noticed Ryan’s ray gun on the ground. Sneaking behind Lena, she picked it up and pointed it at the wretched creature who had murdered the soldier and fired a ray in his direction.

  As the captain prepared to fire back, the disintegrator between his grimy claws whirled and then died, its charge lost. A horrible screech followed by a series of gurgles erupted from the captain’s mouth. He refused to be defeated. While knocking over the pile of bodies, he jumped forward to attack Trevor who raised his arm in defense. Alexis screamed as she disappeared under the pile of bodies. Lena shot a ray in the direction of the Vihatagon that pinn
ed Trevor to the ground, squealing madly while raising his arms.

  ***

  “No!” cried Lena.

  The ugly Vihatagon was pummeling into Trevor. Every strike was met by the cybernetic arm, the captain screeching with every punch. Lena charged her cybernetic arm once more and shot a ray that knocked the alien over. He laid on his back, breathing heavily in the cold air. Mouth dry and vision growing dim, he announced that he would extract his revenge, no matter the cost.

  “We will always come for your planet,” he groaned in his language. “From now until the end of time!”

  A disfigured arm rose up momentarily before dropping, Lena shooting again to make sure he was completely dead. Alexis squealed underneath the dead weight of the deceased Vihatagons, begging for Lena to help her. A hand reached out which Lena grabbed and pulled her from the filthy pile. Alexis was covered in bile. She cringed. Behind Lena was a groaning Trevor, blinking hard against the darkness that shrouded his eyes.

  “Why is it going dark?” he asked.

  “Trevor,” she said. “What’s wrong?”

  She knelt down beside him, noticing the red pooling on the front of his shirt. That filthy captain had broken the skin with his sharp nails, slicing him open in his solar plexus. Lena took off her cybernetic attachment and immediately applied pressure.

  “Alexis, find something to stop the bleeding,” she instructed the frightened girl behind her.

  Alexis was frozen in place, staring at the bright red blood that seeped from beneath the white cotton shirt. Her eyes were wide with horror.

  “Alexis!” cried Lena. “Find something to stop the bleeding!”

  This command catapulted her into action, looking about the room for anything that might have been clean enough to use. Nothing was available. She took off her cardigan and handed it to Lena, hoping it would work. Immediately, Lena pressed the fabric to the open wound and hushed Trevor’s quivering lips.

  “Lena...” he whispered, his eyes fluttering.

  “Don’t speak. You’ll only make it worse. Just hang on. The troops are on their way,” said Lena while hoping they weren’t too far.

  Was there an infirmary nearby? There had to be some kind of medical room on this ship. She recalled the map in her memory, searching it for any place that might have a few supplies. It wasn’t like it would cater to human wounds. This was an alien ship. Still, it was better than nothing. Lena examined the wound, trying to determine whether it was healthy to move him. There wasn’t anything nearby that could act as a stretcher and Lena feared that he would bleed too much if she dragged him. He was probably in a lot of pain.

  “I love you,” Trevor sighed. “I’m sorry about this.”

  “I love you, too, and none of this is your fault,” said Lena.

  “But I just wanted...” he trailed off, a coughing fit taking hold of his body that caused him to cringe.

  “Trevor, please, don’t speak anymore. It’s going to be okay,” said Lena.

  “That’s a lot of blood...” Alexis whispered while teetering over. “It’s making me woozy.”

  Lena kept her hands firmly over the wound.

  “Alexis, I need you to get the radio out of my pocket,” Lena instructed. “Call for Wesley to send a rescue team to the other side of the ship.”

  Hesitantly, Alexis reached into Lena’s pocket and pulled out the radio, pressing the large button and raising it to her lips.

  “Wesley, this is Alexis. Send us a rescue team,” she said.

  “What’s your location? Over,” Wesley responded.

  “We’re...uh...I don’t know. We’re on the other side of the ship. Just send us a rescue team!” she said, panicking.

  “Tell them we have a medical emergency!” shouted Lena from the ground.

  “We have a medical emergency,” repeated Alexis into the radio.

  “Copy that. Over,” said Wesley.

  The room grew silent as Alexis watched Trevor bleed. She wanted to do something to help, but couldn’t think of how she could be useful. Perhaps she could apply pressure to the other side or maybe make him more comfortable. Lena seemed to have a handle on it. There wasn’t much for her to do except watch. She could tell Lena loved him dearly, that her heart was weeping for the man beneath her hands. Blood started to collect around his sides and trickle down the stainless steel arm, droplets decorating the cybernetic addition. Part of her hoped to find a love like that one day.

  As the trio sat in the quiet and cold room, a rush of movement came from up the hall. Voices echoed in the distance. Everything slammed into high gear as soon as the rescue team arrived, bringing with them a stretcher on which to transport the injured cyborg. Lena followed them all the way to the transporter ship where she sat next to him for the entire ride back to Earth. A medic inserted an IV into Trevor’s arm and then cleaned the wound, applying strips of gauze to keep anymore blood from escaping his body.

  “He’ll need a round of blood,” Lena informed the soldier. “And a dose of morphine after we land.”

  “Right away, Dr. Clark,” said the soldier.

  As Lena and Trevor headed for Earth, Wesley was still in the mother ship helping people out of the cargo area. A number of soldiers were exploring every crevice of the ship, making sure to destroy any surviving Vihatagons. One of the soldiers asked what they were going to do with the mothership once it was emptied. Another replied that he wasn’t sure. The scientists would likely want to take hold of it and study its alien technology. Perhaps they could learn about the mechanics of this alien civilization that had gone on such a wild killing spree. The most they could understand was that they were particularly preoccupied with taking over the majority of the galaxy by building an army of cyborg-human hybrids.

  It was as if the world was holding a collective thought about the invasion, pondering their own fragile existence and how they fit into the balance. When they had started branching out into other inhabitable planets, this question came to light, but it didn’t strike them as much as it did now. Wesley stared at the empty cargo area. It was eerily quiet in the gargantuan room where soot covered the ground. He kicked up a bit of the black dust and thought of his comrades who were amidst the mess. Many people had died here and he would never forget this horrible event. It would haunt him for the remainder of his years, but it would not break his spirit.

  The event had strengthened his faith in people. He knew that they could make a huge difference on the planet as long as they remained connected. Perhaps this would be a lesson for them to embrace their differences and work together. After all, there were bigger threats in the universe than each other. Wesley imagined how many more alien species might be out there trying to impose on their planet. What was the potential for another invasion? While the Earth had received quite a few visitors over the past thirty years, they had never encountered such a vile and destructive alien species. Were there more hiding amidst the stars?

  As Wesley pondered the fate of his world, he walked around the alloy hallways and peered into open rooms. The soldiers had started looting much of the equipment and tools. They would likely utilize the drones as well considering how much they could get done with synthesizing technology. A cold draft met his face and he looked around, noticing that he was alone.

  “Hello?” he called out to the empty hall.

  Nothing responded. No gurgling came from the other end. There were no footsteps. The entire mothership seemed to have become a tomb, its ghastly silence a reminder that everything eventually comes to an end. When a soldier appeared from around the corner, Wesley didn’t hear him calling. His ears were ringing with the sound of ray guns, gurgling, and screams. The soldier stepped forward and called for him again, reminding him that they had to exit the ship soon.

  “Wesley!” called the soldier. “Let’s go!”

  The abrupt call brought him out of his silence and he followed without hesitation, his feet carrying him to the transporter ship that was waiting for the last batch of soldiers. The grou
p boarded without a word, the scenes from the past week flashing before their eyes as they headed back home. A soldier mentioned that he needed a strong drink and some of the other soldiers chuckled in response, agreeing that they also wanted a beer. Wesley remained silent. There was nothing that could possibly remove the harsh memories of his experience. Nothing could take away the fact that his best friend was destroyed.

  Nothing could heal that pain.

  ***

  As the transporter landed on the roof of the hospital, Trevor’s eyes fluttered. He had lost consciousness during the trip which made Lena panic. They rushed him from the vehicle as soon as the doors were open and got him into an operating room on the fifth floor, hooking up a few bags of medicine to his IV. This moment was strikingly similar to the initial cyborg surgery. A few of the medical soldiers were helping her prepare him, gathering instruments and sanitizing everything in sight. Lena washed her hands and then pulled on a pair of surgical gloves. She took a deep breath.

  Trevor was lying on the table in a state of shock. The amount of blood he had lost was far too much for a human, especially one who was as damaged by battle as he. Never had he imagined that he would be back on this table where he first saw Lena’s angelic face. Her figure appeared as a silhouette beneath the operating light, Trevor momentarily regaining consciousness and seeing the shape of her head. A small smile crossed his lips. It filled Lena with hope.

  As Lena prepared, she hummed a song that she thought might keep Trevor from disappearing into the darkness forever. They had to put him to sleep in order to operate. It frightened her to think he might not wake from that sleep, but it was part of her job to do this. The thought caught her off guard as she realized she no longer had a job at the hospital. Would they reinstate her now that the world was different? Maybe the suspension would be temporary? Perhaps she could get a job working as a medic for the general or join the scientists in their quest for knowledge. But where would that leave Trevor?

  Lena quickly pushed all of these thoughts away and focused on the task at hand. She instructed the medics surrounding her of the tools she needed, carefully cutting away the shirt in order to inspect his wounds. Most of his organs were still intact. The nails hadn’t dug too much deeper than the muscles which would need repair.