by TM Toombs
“How are you feeling?” He leaned forward and put his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands.
“I will feel better when I know my home is safe.” She smiled faintly and leaned her head back against the sofa cushion.
“I think I know how you feel. Three years ago, I had no idea that my world was in danger. Now I find out the ones we thought could save us, if we helped them, are actually the ones posing the greatest danger to humanity. That's what you're saying, right?”
“Yes,” she sighed. “It is urgent that your leaders know that they are being played as pawns.”
Eshan sat up. “Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“The Zeta Greys and our species, the Annunak, have been enemies for millenniums. Sadly, we have been at a standoff for almost as long. The Council of Elders sees to that. Neither side winning or losing. Until they came across your species.” The Emissary closed her eyes, breathing deeply.
“If you’re hurting, we don’t have to talk.”
She opened her eyes and stared deeply into Eshan’s eyes. “No, it’s important that your people know.”
Eshan nodded.
“The Zeta have spent generations in space and it’s changed their physical bodies. They can no longer tolerate high gravity, which is where your species comes in. The mines are located on heavy gravity planets, similar to Earth. They attempted to use automated processes, but the environments on the mining planets were corrosive to their machines.”
“If the environments are bad for machines, wouldn’t it be just as dangerous for humans?”
“Yes. But the Zeta Greys see humans as only one stage developed above simple primates and therefore, unintelligent and disposable. The Earth is quickly becoming overrun with humans. They see an almost endless supply of free labor. So, if a few million humans die in the process, there are even more to replace them. Human lives are less costly to them than having to continually replace mining machines.”
Eshan slumped back into the cushions, his mind reeling. This is worse than I ever imagined.
"So, you need to get to Earth to explain this? But how would you get past the Zetas? And how can you get my government to believe you?"
The Emissary's eerie pink eyes looked directly at him. "That is why we need you."
“Me? But what can I do? I’m just a nobody stuck on an isolated moon about as far from Earth as you can get in this system.”
“You can try.”
“Try? Try what? Not to get killed in the crossfire between Zeta Greys and you guys?”
“You can try to help me convince your people to either remove themselves from this conflict or side with us against the Greys.”
“General Koonis seems pretty set on the alliance with the Zeta Greys. And I don’t think it’s just him. I’m sure the higher up government officials are getting something out of trading human lives to the Zeta Greys.”
“Yes. Your leaders have been seeking ways to reduce the human population on your world. The Zeta Greys have offered them an easy solution with the side benefits that the Zeta offered as incentives as well.”
Suddenly the cures for diseases and advancements for greater agricultural yields that the Zetas had gifted to Earth over the last three years looked like that gift horse saying. Gifts, yes, but with ulterior motives. Sure, they benefited mankind, but they also just made for more humans to ship off to the mining death camps.
“So,” Eshan ran his fingers through his scruffy helmet hair, “What do you get if we humans change sides?”
“That is why I have been sent. First to warn. Secondly, to negotiate.” Her words seemed to be coming slower and with more effort.
“Emissary, you must rest. You are growing too weak,” pleaded her assistant.
“I will rest once our mission is complete.” She patted his shoulder. Her eyes began to flutter and then closed.
The assistant rose and motioned for Eshan to follow him into the kitchen area. In a hushed voice he said, “She rests now. Can I trust you?”
“Yes,” Eshan nodded. “You can trust me. What is your name?”
“I am named Kolass Tauteer.”
“And Protector, does he have a name?”
“Yes. He was named Bax.”
“Is that what I call him? What about the Emissary?”
“He is Bax, or Protector. You will call her Emissary. Only family members may address her by her born name. All others must address her by her title. It was so decided many lives ago by the Grand Matriarch.”
“You have a matriarchal society?”
“Yes, of course. The males that are not removed from the clans are given support tasks like assistants, protectors, instructors, and, I believe you call them nannies.”
“What about all the males that are removed from the clans?” Eshan raised an eyebrow.
Kolass cleared his throat. “Eons ago, they were disposed of at birth. But that was eventually done away with. Now, they are sent to one of several outer planets where they are trained to be soldiers, assassins or any number of other high testosterone fueled careers.”
Eshan rubbed his chin, “That’s so different than what I’m used to. Kinda hard for me to wrap my head around that. By the way, how do you know so much about us?”
The assistant's normally expressionless face took on a nearly humanlike look as a coy smile erupted on Kolass’ face.
“We have been watching your race since the Greys began to manipulate the DNA of the ancient primates that were found on your planet.”
“What?!” Eshan had to sit down. “No. You can’t be telling me that it wasn’t evolution. Or that God didn’t create us. I can believe in either or both of those. But, I for damn sure, can’t believe that some little grey bastard decided to play science experiment and, poof, here we are!”
Kolass smirked. “Believe what you will, but we have a millennium of data and results from their testing. Once the Council of Elders discovered their meddling, they were forbidden to interfere with your evolution any further. However, the Elders permitted abductions and testing to ensure that their interference wasn’t producing mindless bodies for them to manipulate. Some might say that they already had, given the wars that humans waged on each other.”
This is all too much for one human to process. And all those people who claimed they were abducted by aliens and tested? It's all true. Eshan scrubbed his face with the palms of his hands then dropped his hands and looked at Kolass. “So. What do we do now?”
“We repair our ship, travel to Earth and stop your leaders from launching chemical and biological weapons into our galaxy.”
“Huh? What weapons?”
“The ones the Greys helped them to build. They have the knowledge to destroy us but breaching the treaty would mean instant annihilation of their civilization by the Council. But if they have your kind do it for them, technically, it’s allowable since it isn’t covered in the treaty. The treaty was created before humans were created.”
“What would happen to my civilization if the weapons were allowed to deploy in your galaxy?” I can’t even believe I’m having this discussion. It’s all so unreal.
“If any of my kind survived, we would be forced to retaliate. Retaliation, by Council rules, could only be waged against the aggressor force. That means Earth, even though we are well aware you are being manipulated by the Zeta Grey. It would more than likely result in a lifeless planet for you. But we are a peaceful people and wish no harm to others.”
Just as Eshan was about to ask another question, Bax re-entered the HAB and removed his helmet. He looked around, momentarily watching the sleeping Emissary before making eye contact with Eshan. He pointed a massive finger at Eshan, then pointed to a spot on the floor directly in front of him. Eshan looked at Kolass for an explanation.
“He wants you to go stand in front of him.”
Eshan scurried over and stood before the towering alien. “Suit on. We will start work now.” His booming voice echoed through the sparse living space. T
he Emissary sat up and looked around.
“Are we there?”
Her assistant was instantly by her side. “No, Emissary, we are still on the human outpost. Rest now.”
“No, we must find them.”
“We will, but after you rest.” Kolass eased her back as she nodded and closed her eyes. Once he was sure she was asleep, he stood, stared at Bax. Neither of the aliens spoke but Eshan felt the tension in the air, as some silent message passed between them.
"What?" Eshan asked, the back of his neck itching.
“We fix the ship. Now.” Bax replaced his helmet and waited for Eshan to do the same. Once they were ready, they headed out to the garage. Bax had piled boxes of supplies outside the small garage door.
“Go get the transport.”
Eshan turned and angrily stomped back to the rover, sending up puffs of grayish dust with each footfall. Throwing himself into the driver’s seat, he started the engine and drove the 20 meters to the mound of supplies Bax had decided would be useful in the repairs. He clamored out and began helping Bax load as many boxes as the rover could carry. They managed to reduce the pile by half. As soon as they were both seated, Eshan stomped on the accelerator and headed for the ship. The duo rode in complete silence for the thirty-minute trip.
Glad this jackass doesn’t talk much, Eshan glared silently ahead as he drove.
Not knowing exactly where Bax wanted the supplies unloaded, Eshan decided to park the rover outside of the large hole he’d entered when he’d met the Emissary. Bax didn’t appear to disagree as he dismounted from the vehicle before it came to a complete stop and began pulling boxes from the rear cargo bed. Eshan parked the rover, and helped Bax unload the last of the boxes.
“I’ll go back and get the rest of the boxes,” he told Bax and jumped back into the Rover before Bax could respond.
An hour later, he returned with the last of the supplies, but Bax was nowhere in sight. Well, isn’t that just like an alien for ya. Eshan shook his head and went about unloading the rover. Once all the boxes were stacked, he slowly spun in a circle, looking for the intimidating protector.
“Bax?” Eshan called out. “Hey, Bax, ole buddy! You around here?” Eshan headed into the ship through the gaping hole. Nothing. He walked back outside of the ship and wandered around the perimeter until he came back to where he’d parked the rover. He reentered the ship. Looking left and right, both ways looked identical. He decided to head down the right corridor to search for Bax.
After about 30 feet, Eshan came to a door. He ran his hand around the frame, looking for a way to activate it. Nothing. He stepped back and walked purposely towards it. Just as he was about to hit headfirst into the door, it slid open, revealing a spacious compartment that he was sure was the cockpit. He was flabbergasted at the size of this one compared to the one he’d ridden in on the transport ship. I bet I could fit almost the whole HAB in here.
A flicker of movement to his left caught his attention. As he turned to see what it was, Bax came through the door he had passed through.
“You may not be in here. Dangerous. Come with me and I will show you what needs to be done.” He turned abruptly, not waiting to see if Eshan followed. With one last quick look around to see if he could catch a glimpse of what might be dangerous, he broke into a jog to catch up with the Protector.
Bax led him past the damaged opening and down the original hall Eshan had explored. Strangely, the place looked different than it had earlier. I must not have been paying much attention, worrying too much about killer aliens. They reached a widening in the hallway with two sets of doors, one set on each side of the hall. Bax took the first one on the left. Inside was a chaotic mess. During the crash, everything that had been on shelves or in cabinets were thrown to the floor. Bax picked up a tool that bore a striking resemblance to a crescent wrench, though streamlined, with a pliable grip and formed in a greenish metal like he'd never seen before. He held it up in front of Eshan’s face shield, “You know what this is?”
“We call them crescent wrenches,” Eshan said as he held out his gloved hand. Bax handed it to him. It felt just as heavy as the ones he owned back home.
“Find any and all tools and put them in this box,” Bax pointed to a toolbox sitting on a counter to their right. “If you don’t know what it is, set it aside. I will return.” Bax left him alone to sort through the disastrous room. Eshan wasted no time in sorting and organizing all the tossed items. When Bax returned, the tool box was full and there were assorted piles of like items for Bax to inspect.
“Good.” He grabbed a couple of items Eshan had set aside, placed them in the tool box and spoke to Eshan with a little less contempt.
“We have work.” He hefted the tool box and turned to leave, then hesitated. “Thank you for your assistance.” Eshan smiled to himself then hurried after the lumbering alien.
While Eshan had been sorting tools, Bax had moved the remaining supplies Eshan had brought from the HAB into the damaged opening. Bax set down the tool box and pointed to two boxes stacked on top of each other. Eshan nodded and moved over to the boxes and picked them up. He turned and found Bax had picked up three boxes as well as retrieved the tool box. He looked at Eshan and led him back the way they’d come, but passed by the door they had entered earlier.
Further down the hall, they came to the engine room. Its size made the cockpit look like a closet.
“Wow,” Eshan slowed behind Bax as he looked up. It was easily three stories with catwalks encircling the round room on three separate levels. Open staircases at four points on each level connected to the next level. Darkness loomed beyond the catwalks. Curiosity begged Eshan to throw down the boxes and go exploring. Ahead, Bax turned to find Eshan before he began climbing the nearest set of stairs. Yeah, yeah, I get the hint, Eshan walked faster to catch up.
At the top of the stairs, Bax turned right and made his way between two rows of chest high equipment. At the end of the rows sat a wall of panels from floor to ceiling. Several of the panels had been removed, exposing dense layers of triangular crystalline shards in a rainbow of colors and other things that Eshan couldn’t identify. They both set down their loads and Bax pulled out something from one box that looked like a circuit tester and a case of blood red crystals in various sizes. He turned to Eshan and handed both items to him.
“Do you know how to test circuits?”
“I do, but...” he looked at the cryptic marks on the tester's screen.
After Bax explained the symbols, he instructed him, “Test each crystal in these three panels. Mark the dead ones. I will be on the next level up. When you are finished, find me.”
Eshan finally finished checking the last crystal after what felt like hours. His feet and back were killing him. He stretched. His back popped and right shoulder creaked in protest. Then he went to find Bax up on the next level. The layout of the second level was identical to the lower level, thankfully. Eshan found Bax working on another bank of control panels like the ones he'd just done.
“All finished. I marked the dead ones like you asked. There were only three of them.” Eshan leaned on a section of wall that wasn’t taken apart and watched Bax as he concentrated on the small tester he held in his hand. How can hands that huge be so nimble?
“Well done. Proceed up to the next level and continue.”
“Affirmative.” Eshan bounded up the stairs to the third level and repeated his crystal testing tasks. Eshan marveled at the energy he felt. Every day on this moon had been an endless, tiring monotony, with nothing to look forward to but marking time until he could go home. Now he had tasks that not only would get him home within maybe just days, but what he did mattered, too—to all of mankind. Assuming he could get anyone to listen to them. Well, I'll figure that part out later.
Eventually, Bax joined him and together they finished the last bank of panels.
“Now what?” Eshan was starting to get a little tired. He stood with his back leaning up against the wall.
&nbs
p; “Back to your domicile to check on the Emissary, eat and rest.” Bax set down his tools and started for the stairs. Eshan was right behind him.
“Sounds good to me. What do we have left? How soon before we head to Earth?”
“I will give my report to the Emissary.”
Meaning what? Eshan wondered. As the miles slipped by under the rover's balloon wheels, the gears of Eshan's mind began to turn. Would Bax report they were ready to go? Or that they had days or weeks or more work to do? Would Eshan's supply ship arrive before they could leave? He'd just helped what General Koonis considered to be the enemy. Certainly, the lieutenant would see the alien ship before even landing and everyone back at command would instantly know that Eshan hadn't reported it.
Eshan's mind played out the lieutenant’s likely orders under those circumstances: Destroy any presence of the enemy. No questions asked.
Chapter 9
“We have identified the burned-out crystalline circuits. Once we replace the damaged crystals, we will be able to run the diagnostics to locate all hull damage and any other internal issues.” Bax stood stone still as he gave his report to the Emissary.
“How extensive was the crystal damage?” Emissary asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Eshan could tell it was becoming more difficult for her to speak or even breath. He'd assumed she'd get better with a bit of rest and care. If anything, she looked worse. He knew he'd be lying if he said he hadn't meant to kill her when he'd hit her. Hey, I was afraid for my own life! But now ... Why do I feel so drawn to these guys? They’re supposed to be the enemy.
“Nothing that can’t be repaired. The hull breeches are of more concern.” Bax’s tone softened noticeably. “I am going to make repairing the medical bay my first priority.”
“I’m more concerned with the communications. I haven’t made a report back to our fleet in several days. They are, no doubt, concerned for our welfare.” Emissary blinked sleepily.