Ally or Alien: A Sci-Fi Novel

by Dorian, Mars

  eLoom unleashed a nervous smile.

  "That will not be necessary. So far, these gentlemen from Earth have shown nothing but pure willingness to cooperate with us."

  Bellrock waved the disgruntled Newtype male away.

  "Laters, Vaxxy."

  The unit gnarled but abided and left them alone. When he was out of range, Bellrock addressed the female in charge.

  "What's the man's problem?"

  "You mean eVax?"

  "Yeah."

  "When both of our races were still at war, he was a defender unit."

  "Really?

  "He lost his body five times during the escalation. The Exec punished him for resource abuse, lowered his level of tasks and limited his respawn rate. He is still mad about that."

  She sighed.

  "This may be hard to believe, but some of us still cling to emotions, even the negative ones. Maybe a vestibule from your race."

  Bellrock nodded.

  So vexed eVax was a soldier.

  Who would have figured?

  Maybe that was why he seemed so familiar—even though most Newtype were lookalikes, the peeved male stood out. Was he one of the many clones Bellrock and his Spec Ops team had annihilated during the sabotage missions? Didn’t matter.

  "How far is that creature from us?"

  "About 270 kilometers."

  Close and yet so distant.

  He'd never admit it, but Bellrock felt fear creeping up his spine. The creature seemed like an abstract concept up until now, something everyone talked about but no one really grasped due to the absence of live footage. A lot of truthers from Earth claimed the whole biomorph hype was just a manmade conspiracy to distract from the AC's many problems—mostly unemployment and overpopulation. It sounded absurd, but Bellrock could understand the underlying fears. In the history of mankind, governments had always picked a group to blame when problems riddled their lands, but this time was different, or so he believed. But the only way to really know was to find out. That's the reason the AC sent him here on the taxpayer's behalf.

  To find out the goddamn truth.

  He stepped closer to eLoom and said,

  "Take us to the biomorph. Now."

  33

  eLoom inspected Bellrock's face with her artificial iris. The blue orbs bounced around her sockets and targeted different parts of his facial features. He wondered whether she was scanning him, or gathering more info from her internal network.

  "Very well," she said with a calm voice. "We will departure now."

  The magic words Bellrock longed to hear ever since he had set his boots on the Martian surface. The female Newtype and her asset guided the two males toward the hangar bay. An array of vehicles presented themselves in front of Bellrock's eyes—most of which he had never seen before. One looked like an oversized drone, the others like wheelless bikes and one like a glider, a damn hoverglider with five seats.

  Bellrock couldn't detect a single weapon system, but he was sure these vehicles could function as military units. Newtype tech was effective and stealthy. It was likely their firearms lurked beneath the hull, extractable via a digital command. Besides, this showcase spanned only one fourth of the bay, who knew what remained hidden behind the other walls.

  eLoom approached the hoverglider and waved the two Earthlings over.

  The vessel was basically a lovechild between a recon jeep and a space shuttle, enhanced with the trademark slick/white design. There was a mount on the roof that remained empty.

  Maybe a placeholder for stationary turrets?

  Bellrock would soon find out.

  "This is an LRV Explorer," eLoom said, "one of our basic all-around hovergliders. It is fast, agile and allows for the seating of five people, as you can see. It also holds a decent amount of cargo where you can store your equipment."

  LRV—Light Reconnaissance Vehicle. Even the label was military.

  The two Earthlings boarded the vehicle. Bellrock sat in front, next to eLoom in the driver's seat. eKazumi took the back position where Dr. Rao drooled over the vessel's interior design. The same ergonomic pattern that every other ship in the known Newtype arsenal had used—adaptable seating that changed according to one's size, form and spine.

  Bellrock looked at the dashboard on eLoom's side—there was no control mechanism whatsoever. Just a flat display, blacked out.

  He said,

  "How do you control this thing?"

  "I'm syncing myself to the vehicle and choose the fastest and safest route to the crater."

  "Syncing?"

  She flicked a glance at him and added a polite smile.

  "The B2B connection, remember? It is how we communicate with everything."

  "Right."

  So, without using any kind of physical steering device, the machine came to life. The clamps on the ground gave way and allowed the vessel to float an arm-length over the hangar ground. Bellrock could feel a faint vibration of the vehicle through his EVA suit. A pleasant humming, much more subtle than any Earth-based vehicle.

  eLoom said,

  "Are your EVA suits ready? We will come in contact with the Martian atmosphere."

  "I am ready," Bellrock said, "doc, you?"

  "Yep. EVA is sealed, oxygen stable around 94.5%."

  Bellrock hit the dashboard with his right glove.

  "Let's roll. I mean, hover."

  eLoom mind-steered the vehicle toward the bay's front gate decompression section. When the pressure was evened out, the final gate opened and flushed everyone with the fox light of the Martian atmosphere. Thank God Bellrock's helmet dimmed the glow—otherwise, the men from Earth would have received permanent eye damage. The hoverglider blitzed forward into the vast landscape of the crimson planet. Even this part of Mars seemed barren except for the occasional array or technical tower.

  "Colonization is pretty slow around here, eh?"

  eLoom could steer the vehicle and talk at the same time.

  "We choose not to use that loaded term. We want to grow with responsibility and make sure every expansion is justified with a regard for the environment."

  Sounded like the driest text book example Bellrock had ever heard. Maybe that philosophy was responsible for their low population. Both in the ringstation and down on the planet, he saw relatively few Newtype. Did they impose some kind of population limit on themselves?

  Would fit their ideology.

  Dr. Rao touched the ergo seating and chatted with eKazumi who seemed to enjoy answering just about every question. He overheard some talks about solar electric propulsion but tuned out when the topic became too dense. Instead of listening to the nerdversation, he watched eLoom's face. She looked as if she stared forward, but her spine was stiff, eyes glassy.

  She seemed to be in trance.

  "I can hear you just fine."

  Freak out moment deluxe.

  "Sorry, I just haven't seen anyone drive like that."

  "I reckon. As you may, or may not know, we can really multi-task. I could control the station, the vehicle and still focus 100% on our conversation."

  "Sounds impressive."

  "The result of artificially accelerated evolution," eLoom said.

  I.e. godlike creation.

  Babies from the tubes.

  Bellrock nodded and focused on the horizon of the red landscape. He noticed the transparent dome shield sticking out like a bump.

  "Are you sure it's safe to go that close?"

  "94.5%. The biomorph is trapped inside a meter-thick nanotube cage that prevents it from breaking out. The shields are transparent so you can walk up close in guaranteed safety. Its modular design allows an approach from every angle, but you will see that soon."

  Which was the reason why he and Dr. Rao took this long-ass journey in the first place. To see if the creature was real and as dangerous as Taurus had claimed it was. But being so close now, even the almighty Bellrock felt his skeleton shaking under the EVA suit. Dr. Rao pushed his face shield past his shoulder and glanc
ed at the dome installation.

  His exact words:

  "You have to be kidding me..."

  34

  123 meters and counting.

  Pressure go easy on me, Bellrock thought while staring at the shield from the distance. When they neared the wreckage by about a hundred meters, eLoom 'parked' the glider in the rugged space and fiddled with her equipment. She took out a mechanical frame with two long, bionic robot arms and linked the device to the exo-spine of her body. With a snap, she now controlled four cybernetic arms.

  Like Spider-woman, the shell way.

  "Here is how we do it. eKazumi, you remain in the glider and stay ready in case we require your driving. Watch for inconsistencies and ping me ASAP."

  "Understood."

  "Mr. Bellrock and Dr. Rao, you come with me and investigate the biomorph from a safe distance. We have aerial droids supervising the crater from above, but we chose not investigate the hotzone until your arrival. This is, after all, the reason why we waited for your arrival."

  Bellrock didn't like getting orders from a Newtype, but her plan was the sound decision. Besides, she did possess the technological superiority and the home advantage. With Dr. Rao by his side, he approached the hotzone and stayed five meters behind eLoom.

  One step at a time.

  Eyes fixed on the crater dozens of meters up ahead. A lot of mechanical trash pestered the impact zone—probably rubble from the cruiser ship. It was strangely arranged around the wreckage, like some progressive art installation.

  Was the biomorph hiding inside the wreckage of the ship?

  Probably.

  Bellrock clutched his non-lethal PEPS defense weapon and aimed it at the blown-apart hull remains of the cruiser ship.

  eLoom shifted her head.

  "That will not do you any good."

  Bellrock watched her face and then sheathed the PEPS into his side-holster of his EVA suit.

  Maybe he was being too paranoid, but then again, it was the first time he came in contact with an alien.

  A hostile alien.

  Heartbeat: shot up.

  eLoom's eyes glowed. And it wasn't just because of the sun's reflection.

  "It is even more splendid than the last time I’ve seen it.”

  Love at second sight.

  Distance to the biomorph—11.2 meters.

  Man up, Bellrock muttered under his breath.

  His mind was being a bitch.

  Saying,

  You're a damn soldier

  Traversed half the galaxy

  Fought in the Separatist War

  Single-handedly killed over a hundred enemies.

  (well, including a dozen assist kills)

  and now

  you're gonna freak out facing an alien trash pile?

  Pathetic

  Pathetic

  Pathetic

  For once, his mind chatter was right. Bellrock remembered he actually carried balls and took the lead. "Doc, what's your guess?"

  Dr. Rao narrowed his eyes and fumbled with his scanner.

  "It's very hard to tell from this distance. It looks like a regular wreckage to me. Can we get any closer?"

  eLoom shifted her weight to her right foot.

  "This is the safest position. Any meter closer could endanger you."

  Something was wrong with this picture.

  "Is that really the biomorph?"

  The female Newtype hesitated.

  "What do you mean?"

  "Well, how do we know this isn't a fabricated space trash pile?"

  "Fabricated? Are you implying we created this structure?"

  Walking over a diplomatic mine here, so Bellrock disarmed his voice.

  Speech was 90% about tone anyways.

  "Listen, eLoom, we are here on behalf of Earth. I need more than scrap metal to satisfy our government."

  She pondered his statement and came to her conclusion.

  "Very well. We can enter the wreckage through an opening if you want."

  'Want' was an overstatement.

  He didn't want to set a single foot on this damn planet, but he swore to protect his homeland. At least a hundred million people on Earth knew about his mission, and they wanted certainty. Bellrock needed more input, and his partner was the only one who could help him out.

  "Doc, what do you think?"

  "It's dangerous, but I can't do anything from here. My scanners need to get closer. I need some tangible evidence."

  eLoom stepped in-between the two.

  "Do not worry, gentlemen. I will lead. If I lose my body, I will be granted another one. You will not."

  The men looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

  "Okay, then."

  eLoom tiptoed toward an opening of the ship's mighty wreckage. Bellrock and Dr. Rao followed with calculated steps.

  Tension: rising.

  Distance to the biomorph: 7.4 meters.

  Up close, the wreckage looked even more artificial. Every part, from the wing component to the damaged thrusters, seemed to be connected to each other via an invisible wireframe. And still no movement, neither on the exterior nor the interior of the trash pile.

  Suspense impregnated the air.

  Bellrock sweated underneath his helmet.

  He readied the PEPS gun and aimed it at the rear of the formation. eLoom spread her four cybernetic arms and approached the hole in the hull.

  "Be careful," Dr. Rao said.

  "Do not worry."

  "Is that close enough?"

  "Yes."

  Dr. Rao activated his short-range scanner and framed individual parts of the structure. He updated the live-feed on Bellrock's commlink, which was a mini-widescreen touch display wrapped around the right arm of his EVA suit.

  Didn't help.

  Even with the close-ups, it looked like a ship hull. Only the components of the material showed up, as well as the debris dust and bits from the atmosphere. Useless data to Bellrock.

  Dr. Rao said,

  "I'm reading a faint energy signature."

  "From where?"

  "The center of the structure. It's behind the hull plating."

  Bellrock grumbled.

  "How are we going to check that one out? Remove the plates with our hands and crawl inside?"

  Too. Freaking. Dangerous.

  "I can help you," eLoom said and used her extra arms to remove a nearby plate from the structure.

  The men from Earth stepped back in awe.

  "Are you crazy?"

  "I told you—my body is replaceable. Stay back and scan."

  It felt wrong, but she was right. They needed to remove the armor plates to get a look inside.

  To scan whatever awaited them at the core.

  Bellrock stood still and watched eLoom taking apart the exterior plates.

  He gasped.

  "Doctor, update me."

  "The heat signature is getting stronger. The energy stream of the entire structure is leading toward that central point."

  The heart or brain?

  In a way, Bellrock didn't want to know, although he was required to. His gloved hands wrapped the PEPS firearm and held it steady. Not that it would cause any significant damage to the installation, but it did give him a feeling of security.

  Enough to prevent his mind from overheating.

  eLoom removed five or six torn-apart plates from the structure and crawled inside the wreckage. Bellrock's scratchy voice halted her.

  "eLoom. Please tell me you're not that nuts."

  She craned her elegant head.

  Seven and a half meters away, but yet so distant.

  "What do you mean?"

  "You want to crawl into an alien structure?"

  "I want to help you get the data."

  "No need to get suicidal over it."

  "But I am not. Everything is under control."

  She walked inside the construct. Bellrock could only see pieces of her body through the crevices of the plates.

  "Sta
y in visual contact, hear me?"

  She seemed to ignore him and looked for evidence.

  Dr. Rao stuttered.

  "Um, sir, I'm detecting movement."

  Bellrock twisted his helmed head around.

  "What, where?"

  Stupid question.

  He corrected himself and shouted.

  "Get the hell out of there."

  Too late.

  Mechanical trash parts of the hull's opening squeezed her cybernetic arms and sucked her in. Looked like cables and hull fragments building some sort of choke point inside.

  No way.

  The Newtype tried to free herself but the structure swallowed her up, piece by piece. Bellrock aimed his PEPS and shot at the rear which dented a few plates and nothing else.

  Shit.

  It was the weakest weapon for the worst moment.

  He ran toward the hull where eLoom stood behind and told Dr. Rao to stay put. Tried to rip a plate apart and shouted, “come here."

  She was inside and crawled toward the direction of his voice. Bellrock grabbed eLoom's 'organic' arms and tried to pull her out of the construct. She looked up at him and pursed her blueish lips.

  "Forget about me. Leave."

  "Shut up."

  She offered resistance, but she didn't seem to fight for her life, either.

  Bellrock ground his teeth. Pressed her arms with all his might and yanked her from the living structure. One cybernetic arm broke apart and tumbled inside.

  Sparks and parts flew like fireflies.

  Bellrock supported eLoom and carried her away from the wreckage while shouting at his partner who seemed to be frosted to the rugged ground.

  "Let's get the hell out of here."

  "Sir, let me get a close-up image of the interior while its still open. The structure doesn't seem to have any range."

  Even in danger, the doc went full geek.

  "Rao. Move it."

  The scientist shivered but abided. He threw a last glance at the structure as if to say goodbye.

  "Yes, sir."

  All three left the crater via the dome shield opening which closed after they had dashed through it. Bellrock targeted the hoverglider where eKazumi remained on standby.

  "Motor up. We return to the base ASAP."

  She looked at eLoom for confirmation and got a lackluster nod as a response.

  "Your wish is my wealth."