by TM Toombs
“I can certainly try,” he leaned into the camera and gave her his most charming smile.
“The next time you want to fix the equipment yourself, would you mind contacting me first? It’ll save me some serious heartburn.”
He laughed, “I will definitely give that some thought.”
“Much appreciated, Mr. Wallace. Is there anything else I can assist you with?” She sounded sincere.
“You can stop calling me Mr. Wallace. But other than that, I think I’m good.”
“Thank you, Eshan. Have a good evening and I hope to hear from you soon. Oh! I have a message for you from Doctor Curran. He wanted me to remind you to journal.”
“Um, yeah. I’ll get right on that.”
She smiled as her face was faded out to be replaced with the blue Command screen.
“That was short and sweet,” he said to the fading screen as he killed the connection on his end.
Eshan leaned back in his chair, his right leg bouncing nervously, and laced his fingers behind his head. Now I just need that plan to get off this rock. The sharp sound of metal scraping on metal followed by a dull tapping drew his attention.
“Princess! What are you getting into in there?!” The answer was a sharper and louder bang. He stood up and went to stand in the doorway to the Comm Room. He turned his head, listening intently. After a minute of silence, he shrugged. He headed for the kitchen for something to drink. As he opened the door to the refrigerator, something hit the side of the HAB by the front hatch. Eshan jumped and slammed the fridge door closed. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Princess hiding on the top of a shelving unit. It was definitely not the cat. So, what the hell was it? He crept across the room to the hatch and peered out of one of the two large windows.
Nothing there. The little hairs on his neck startled to bristle again. He scanned the landscape for several minutes until he began to relax. As he turned back to the kitchen, a burst of heavy, methodical banging came from the spare bedroom. He raced through the HAB and into the room just as a blackish object flew past the upper corner of the bedroom window. He heard scraping sounds coming from the ceiling.
“Oh shit! It’s on the roof!” He looked around the room, searching for a weapon. Other than an unmade bed and a bookshelf, the room was empty. He sprinted into the living room, stopping in the middle and spinning around once. There had to be something he could use to defend himself. He considered calling Command for help but instantly nixed that idea as a certain death sentence. Once they knew the enemy was here, no way would they rescue him. Suddenly General Koonis and his flunkies were now as much his enemy as ...
An absurd thought hit him. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.” If Command was going to hang him out like a piece of bait, then cut him loose once he'd done exactly what they needed him for, why not use the enemy for his own purpose. Maybe he could hitch a ride back to Earth. Unless, of course, they killed him first. Or planned on destroying his home once they got there. He shook his head. He didn’t have a whole lot of options if he wanted to save his own ass.
Another round of banging by the front hatch demanded his attention. He hurled himself back to the window and was shocked to see one of the aliens staring back at him as it seemed to wait by the front hatch. It looked like a taller, more muscular twin to the one he’d hit and left earlier. He instinctively knew that it could beat him into a gooey glob of human jelly if it wanted to. It stood there, in a wide stance, with its arms open. It raised his left arm and made a ‘come here’ motion.
What could it need? he wondered. It slowly moved closer to the window with its arms slightly raised and its palms up. With one eye on the creature, he looked for an intercom switch on the control panel by the hatch. Finding one, he pushed the “TALK” button and spoke into the microphone.
“Don't get any closer.” It stopped coming toward him, now swaying from side to side. What was it trying to communicate?
“You have to…you have to push the talk button to respond,” Eshan hoped it understood. He pointed—maybe that would help. “There’s a control panel next to that door you’re standing by. Push the button and then I’ll be able to hear you.” Eshan motioned to his ear, then realized he hadn’t seen what these aliens looked like under their suits and he didn’t even know if they had ears.
The creature moved one of its outstretched hands to the panel. The speaker in front of Eshan crackled before a gurgled voice pronounced, “Help us.”
Eshan wasn’t sure if it was a request or a demand. “How can I help? I don’t know anything. And if you stay here, my people will come and kill you.”
“You. Must. Help. Us.”
“What do you want me to do?” I’m pretty sure it’s a demand now.
“Come with me. To the others.” Its slow, monotoned voice sounded mechanical.
Crap, there are more than just the two of them. I hope this isn’t an ambush! His chest tightened as he pushed the talk button. “OK. But I have to know something.”
“Ask.”
“If I help you, can you get me off this moon and take me home?” What’s the worst they could say?
“First, help. Then negotiate. You must come now.”
Eshan nodded so the alien could see him, hoping a nod in their culture meant agreement and not the opposite. “I’ll be right out. I just need to suit up first.”
As he pulled his space suit on, an imagined list of punishments for helping a declared enemy flittered through his mind. Each one more grotesque than the previous one. He shoved those thoughts to the back of his mind and concentrated on suiting up. Once he was ready, he hesitated at the hatch. His cheeks began to burn as sweat broke out on his forehead and in his armpits. His suit automatically sent chilling air around him as it compensated for his sudden temperature fluctuations. I shouldn’t have hit that alien and left it there. If they killed me and left my rotting corpse on this inhospitable chuck of rock, I wouldn’t blame them.
With a deep breath, he slapped the open button next to the hatch and made his way outside to face the alien and his destiny. As the outer hatch opened, he was confronted with his first real look at the alien. It was hard to get a detailed look at the creature inside of its own spacesuit. Unlike his own helmet, the alien’s helmet was opaque so you couldn’t see the face inside, a uniformed black and seamless just like the smaller alien he’d met back at the crashed ship. It looks like a bowling ball set on top of a robot’s body. A robot that’s been working out at the gym for 8 hours a day for its whole life. It stood unmoving in front of him. Eshan stared at it for a moment, waiting.
“Shall we?” Eshan hoped that his suit’s intercom system carried to the alien’s system.
“We will need your Rover.”
“This way.” Eshan headed for the garage with the alien in tow.
Once they got to the garage, Eshan palmed the panel, opening the door. He entered and quickly climbed into the rover. The alien stood at the door, watching.
“It’s ok,” Eshan told him, “I’m not going to try to kill you.” He watched as the alien slowly entered the garage and rounded the other side of the rover, then climbed in beside him. Eshan punched the garage door opener button on the dash and accelerated once he could clear the door.
With the pedal pushed all the way to the floor, they quickly crossed the desolate landscape to the mountains where Eshan had spied on the alien craft earlier. Along the way, Eshan attempted to make small talk.
“You don’t say much, do you?”
“No. It is not my place to talk.”
“What is your place?”
“I am Protector.”
“What do you protect?”
“I protect Emissary.”
“The Emissary?” I have a bad feeling about that.
“Emissary Ne-paw.”
“Who is he?”
“She is Emissary. She is the one you wounded. She is the one who refuses to allow me to end your life.”
Yep. Just as I thought. Eshan swallowed ha
rd.
“Yeah, about that. I’m very sorry. You guys just scared the crap out of me. It was a knee-jerk response and if I could do it all again, I wouldn’t have tried to hurt Emissary.”
“Your groveling is not acceptable. You must make amends with Emissary.”
“I will do that. Promise.”
After a few moments passed, a question popped into Eshan’s thoughts. “Hey, where are you guys from anyway?”
“Proxima Centauri.”
Nodding, Eshan said, “That must be pretty far from here. So, are you guys called Proximians or something?”
“We are the Annunak.”
“Annunak? That sounds kinda familiar.” His brows knitted together as he tried to figure out where he knew that word from.
“We were known as the Annunaki by one of your primitive tribes many, many generations ago.”
Eshan’s eyebrows lifted as he processed the information. His mind raced with a million questions but those would have to wait for another time. He slowed the rover as they pulled up to the wreckage. Once they came to a complete stop, the Protector stepped from the vehicle and disappeared into the tattered hole Eshan had entered earlier. He reappeared in the opening and motioned for Eshan to follow. I really hope this isn’t a trap, cuz I’ll feel stupid if they really did kill me and leave me here.
The interior was dimly lit with a form of incandescent lighting. He could barely make out the form of another suited alien sitting propped up against the far wall. That must be the Emissary. Kneeling next to her was a third identical alien appearing to comfort her. Eshan slowly crossed the distance and knelt at her feet.
“My name is Eshan Wallace. With my whole heart and soul, I apologize for injuring you,” he spoke softly as he studied her. The Protector stomped forward with a raised fist but the Emissary weakly raised a hand and motioned for him to fall back.
“We should have expected such a violent response,” her voice sounded like tinkling crystals through his helmet speaker. Beautiful and amazing. “My name is Ne-paw, Eshan Wallace.”
“How is it that I can understand you?”
“We have developed a universal translator. Once we learned of the Zeta Grey’s treachery, we began to formulate plans of actions for a multitude of scenarios.” The Emissary attempted to sit up but her attendant placed a hand on her shoulder and gently pushed her back.
Zeta Grey's treachery? Eshan had an image of the times he'd seen the Greys on television and the feelings he—and at least a few others—had about them. Of course, no matter which side you ever talked to, they considered the other side as the problem. “I have so many questions,” Eshan started.
“In time. But first, we must travel to your home world and address your world governments."
Eshan's heart skipped a beat. They were going to Earth and if he helped them, maybe he could hitch a ride and—
She interrupted Eshan’s thoughts as she finished, "It is imperative that I expose the Zeta Grey’s manipulation of your people.”
I knew it! I knew those bastards weren’t to be trusted! “I’m sorry. I don’t have a way to get off this moon. I wish I did.” He held his breath, hoping against hope that they had a way.
“We have a means but we require your help and some of your equipment.”
“Sure!" He tried to hold back his enthusiasm, but couldn't. "What sort of equipment did you have in mind?”
“If you will allow, Protector can show you what is required.”
Eshan rubbed his gloved hand over the top of his helmet, thinking. “Yeah.” He finally said. “We can do that.”
“We must begin at once,” Protector started towards the rover.
“No,” came a low, demure voice. The attendant looked up at the tall alien. “Forgive, Protector, but Emissary must take precedence. She must have attention to her wound.”
He nodded. “Assist her into the machine and have the human take her to his dwelling. The sentry is already posted and on guard. I will follow on foot. While you address her wound, the human and I will assess his available equipment and supplies.”
Eshan got up, elated that he'd just have to give them some equipment, they'd make repairs and soon he'd be back home. He didn't know exactly how he'd skate out from prison at that point or evade General Koonis's men ... then it hit him. The resupply ship was due back any day now. He'd lost track of exactly which day. Why hadn't he paid better attention?
“Well, whatever you’re planning on doing, we better make it fast. I’d like to be long gone before they discover you’ve been here.” Or that I'm missing.
Chapter 8
“Here we are,” Eshan slowed the rover as he pulled up in front of the main hatch to the HAB. Once the vehicle was parked, he hopped out and ran around the front of the vehicle to help Emissary. Her assistant had already gotten her out of the rover, one arm around her waist as she slumped against him, and they were waiting for Eshan to open the hatch. Damn, he’s fast!
Eshan quickly entered the code and followed Emissary and her assistant into the hatchway once the door opened. He squeezed past them and opened the second, smaller hatch. Eshan stepped through and turned to steady Emissary as she slowly stepped into the portal. After the assistant cleared the hatch, Eshan closed it and helped the assistant walk Emissary to the couch and help ease her down onto it. He motioned for them to remove their helmets as he took his off. The assistant removed his, setting it down on the floor next to the sofa. He took a deep breath, held it, slowly exhaled. He looked at a monitor on his wrist. He took another deep breath and let it out.
“The air will meet our requirements.”
Eshan studied the alien's placid face. He'd been expecting something with razor teeth or a third eye at the very least. Instead, he was greeted with a being that looked like a cross between an angel and an elf from Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Smooth baby pink skin, a small, angular nose and piercing sea green eyes under thick, straight brows of wiry black hair. His ears were pointed but flat against his head, more like openings to the skull than separate appendages. Eshan stood transfixed as the assistant removed the Emissary’s helmet. Her skin was almost translucent with a hint of an iridescent rainbow slowly swirling beneath the surface. She glanced at him with eyes of fuchsia pink then winced as her assistant knelt beside her and began inspecting a spreading stain on the side of her suit. Her blood looked like grape cool-aide.
“She’s beautiful,” Eshan whispered and quickly looked away when the assistant gave him what he assumed was a stern look. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to stare.”
Emissary flashed him a quick smile. Eshan sheepishly smiled back and was suddenly startled by a loud banging noise coming from the hatch.
"What the—"
"Protector," the assistant responded without looking up from tending to the wounded Emissary.
Eshan blinked. “He must have practically flown here.” Eshan quickly put on his helmet and made his way to the outer hatch, none too certain Protector could have made it to the HAB so quickly. A quick look at the screen proved he had indeed.
Once inside, Protector removed his helmet as he bolted across the room to the Emissary and stood next to the assistant.
“I am fine,” she assured him. Eshan quietly watched from across the room as the large alien removed his suit.
Eshan’s eyes widened. The Protector was drastically unlike his two companions. He had a strong, square jaw covered in a neatly trimmed beard. His long, brown hair was pulled into a tight braid that disappeared into the collar of his shirt. He had the prettiest violet eyes that Eshan was sure most women back on Earth would have swooned over. The only thing keeping him from the cover of GQ magazine is that brindle colored skin.
Princess silently trotted across the room and busied herself with rubbing around and through Eshan’s legs. She meowed loudly at him. The Protector whipped around to stare, wide-eyed at the kitten.
“What is this creature?” he demanded, pointing at Princess, his body blocking the kitten's path to
Emissary.
“It’s a cat. She’s my pet and completely harmless. She’s not even full grown.” Eshan picked her up and held her in front of the Protector’s face. His violet eyes appeared to assess the danger level of the kitten before he returned to hover over the assistant and Emissary. Eshan put Princess back down, feeling as helpless as the kitten as the two aliens fussed over their Emissary.
“Can I do anything to help?”
The assistant looked up at him and thought a moment before answering, “Yes. If you have…um…medical supplies?”
“I do,” Eshan nodded, then rushed into his bathroom to fetch the white case with its red cross. He returned, handing it to the assistant who placed it on the floor and began sifting through the contents.
“We have to discuss repairs,” the Protector informed him.
Eshan nodded. “Okay.”
Eshan motioned him into the kitchen area and took a seat at the kitchen bar, watching Protector slowly scan the area. Eshan waited. And waited as Protector seemed to take notice of every item within their proximity.
“You have more supplies?” he finally asked after his eyes settled on Eshan.
“Yes. The garage has a bunch of supplies and equipment out there. I haven’t checked it out, but you are welcomed to whatever you need.” Eshan figured he wouldn't need this stuff much longer—not if he could hitch a ride home with these guys. And if they didn't take him? He squirmed at the thought that he'd be dying here, forgotten in the fray as aliens battled over each other with mankind held in the balance. But keeping more supplies for himself would only mean prolonging his slow death sentence. No, I'll do whatever I can to help these guys. They said they'd take me with them—I have to trust them. No matter what happens, I'd rather die on Earth than waste away alone on this God-forsaken moon.
Protector nodded and promptly headed for the hatch as he donned his helmet. "You'll need to—" but before he could say another word, Protector was through the hatch. Eshan shrugged. I guess he knows what he’s doing. He slid off the stool and returned to the Emissary. The assistant had bandages across her middle and was putting the medical kit back together. Eshan lowered himself into a chair across from her.