“If that blue light on the rifle goes out, it means the charge is done” she whispers in Nemmy’s ear. Nemmy clutches the rifle tightly, suddenly very aware of her situation. She’s not a trained soldier. If things go wrong, she’ll be a liability for the-
Light abruptly fills the cave. Lynsey jerks up, spinning around and wrenching Nemmy behind her. Amira calmly walks around from behind the rocks, being followed by a smartly dressed man.
“Mr McKellar? Leonard?” Nemmy asks.
“Your friend startled me, Captain. That is a Captain’s insignia, yes? Come, quickly, you must see what I’ve discovered” he enthuses, not waiting for a response as he nips back behind the rocks. Holstering their weapons, they follow him to a well-lit nook. Various small pieces of equipment lie about the little space. Leonard goes to a staggered set of rocks leading to a hole in the wall, with a little natural light leaking in.
“Take my binoculars, friends, and look through here,” he says, opening a small box with numerous viewing tools. The three women all take one each and look outside the cave.
Outside in a low valley, there are hordes of grey oval-shaped rocks grouped together in clumps. At first, Nemmy doesn’t see anything interesting, until a flash of colour appears. A little creature walks around behind one of the rocks. Its skin is entirely dark green, except for a bright red streak down the middle of its bulbous, eyeless head. It waggles a little tail with a thick bulb on the end and opens its mouth in an almost comically wide smile, brimming with flat human-esque teeth. Several more creatures appear each with its own different coloured stripe, the only identifiable difference between them. A couple of them bump into each other, and they all erupt into what sounds like laughter.
“What are these things? They appear to be…child-like?” Amira murmurs.
“Yes! With good reason. If you think this is extraordinary if my timings are correct, you are about to see something even more impressive” Leonard whispers with excitement. Even more impressive than an undiscovered alien species? They watched quietly as the creatures continue to barge against one another and laugh. A long, deep shriek in the distance snaps them out of their reverie, and they scuttle about, reforming around one particular rock. They tilt their heads upwards, despite appearing to have no eyes. A large…creature swoops down into the valley and lands with a thud next to the smaller lifeforms. Leonard keeps still, but the others instinctively jerk back.
“What the hell is that?” Lynsey gasps. It appears vaguely bird-like, folding in huge leathery wings over its pear-shaped body. A faint crimson fur covers most of the torso, down to most of each of the creature’s four stout legs. It lowers down, opening a dark powerful looking beak. The little creatures swarm around, some falling over their feet in the rush to get to the beak.
“What’s happening?” Nemmy whispers.
“They are collecting food. This happens twice a day. Roughly an hour from now, a batch of these eggs will hatch, and the little creatures will provide this food to the young of that larger beast” Leonard explains. Nemmy gives him a confused stare.
“They aren’t the same species? And eggs? You mean those rocks?” she asks.
“Those rocks, yes” Leonard replies. His irritated tone suggests that spotting alien eggs was some simple task. “There appears to be some manner of vaguely symbiotic relationship between those small creatures and their larger masters. I have yet to see anything resembling violence, so it may be a mutually beneficial development” he continues.
“Hold on,” Amira bluntly interjects, “eggs? You have landed us in the middle of a breeding area for an unknown alien race” she growls. Leonard doesn’t seem even slightly worried by the situation.
“They do this all over the planet. Indeed, all over this star cluster! I couldn’t complete my scans because I didn’t want to interrupt natural processes, but they definitely move between planets. The really interesting part is I do not believe they are indigenous to these planets. I haven’t found a single fossil pertaining to either of these lifeforms” he exclaims. His speech is interrupted by Amira’s Strap beeping. She activates it with a frown.
“Visual only,” she says. She beams a projection onto the cave wall. In orbit, the Boomslang has moved to the far side of the planet. It takes Nemmy a few seconds to figure out why.
A couple of dark, jagged shapes hang above the planet. As if reading her mind, the image zooms in. Nemmy guesses that they must be ships of some sort, but there are no markings or visible ports, bays or grooves. They have a mottled uneven colour spread as if someone has chucked various paints against their surface. Compared to human ships, they are freakishly tall, four times as high as they are wide. To Nemmy they appear more like flying mountains than starships, a lump of random angles without apparent design.
“This is most exciting! If I can collect some samples of this technology, I’ll be able to charge anything I like back at the store” Leonard says, rubbing his chin.
“Assuming they don’t kill us” Nemmy replies.
“Nonsense, my dear. There has been no sign of violence at all” he replies.
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that” Lynsey interjects, drawing everyone’s attention. Her face has fallen, in that manner that instantly causes Nemmy to worry.
“What’s wrong?” she asks. Lynsey simply points out towards the eggs.
“Look what they are doing” she groans. They all go back to examining the scene in the valley. The large birdlike creature stands aside, the contents of its beak having been taken by the little creatures and arranged around various eggs.
“I don’t understand? They are just…” Nemmy trails off as she gets a better look at the food. Little triangle shapes are piled on top of each other around various eggs. The bodies of instantly recognisable triangular lifeforms. One quick look at Amira confirms she has also realised what they are.
“The lifeforms on the asteroid were trying to escape these creatures” Amira whispers.
“Not to live up to a stereotype, but we should leave immediately,” Lynsey says. Leonard seems outraged at the suggestion, moving to prevent them from leaving.
“You can’t leave this scientific marvel! There’s so much more to learn. At least stay until the large creature leaves” he offers.
“What if that thing attacks us?” Lynsey asks. Leonard glibly waggles a finger.
“I’ve been in this cave for nearly two days. I assure you they can’t see or hear us. Also, they never go to the same egg cluster twice in a day. If you insist on leaving, we can wait until the large creature departs, as the smaller ones will disperse promptly after” he says.
“We don’t want to be running about outside if it’s flying above. We might as well wait” Amira says. By now, hordes of the little green creatures have spread the “food” around most of the visible eggs. Some of the eggs are already starting to crack. Some of the creatures jump up and down, almost like children playing. Nemmy isn’t sure if she is simply projecting human attitudes on these lifeforms. Even their humorously large mouths make them appear pet like, rather than dangerous. But the larger creature, if it is indeed one of the “Demons”, might be extremely dangerous, and who knows how many more of them were on the planet.
“Leonard, you’re absolutely certain they won’t know we are here? What about our shuttle? Or yours?” she asks. Leonard keeps his eyes firmly focussed on the rapidly cracking eggs.
“I managed to, shall we say, commandeer a schematic for the personnel cloak the IGF use for their special forces. You most likely walked right past my shuttle without even seeing it. As for yours, I can only assume that if it wasn’t discovered on approach, it won’t be noticed at all. These lifeforms are clearly engaged in this process. If we do not interfere they will never know we were observing them” he says softly. His nonchalance irritates her slightly. She’s not alone.
“You are taking some pretty big chances” Amira snaps
. Again, he seems unfazed.
“Science demands risk!” he quips.
“You’re not a scientist; don’t you run an antique shop?” Lynsey asks. At this Leonard glares angrily at her.
“It’s a rare and exotic item exchange” he growls. Lynsey seems unimpressed.
“It’s a shop,” she says, drawing laughter. An uproarious amount of laughter ricochets around the cave. Too much laughter for their group. Nemmy looks around behind the rocks and leaps back in surprise.
Two of the small creatures sit looking at her, laughing loudly and gently flapping their lumpy tails off the ground. The left one has a bright blue stripe down the head, and the other has an equally bright green stripe. They pull themselves up, pushing each other and…giggling? The others peek around the rocks.
“Captain, get back!” Lynsey says sharply, raising her rifle. The creatures stop laughing. Incredibly, they put their hands up in surrender for a few seconds, then one bumps the other and they both fall into a fit of hysterics.
“Oh my, they are right here! How wonderful!” Leonard says, revealing a scanning device and pointing it towards one of the creatures. Amira points at the opening towards the valley.
“Have they made any move towards us?” she demands. Lynsey quickly checks.
“It doesn’t look like it. Everything’s the same out there. These ones appear to have found us on their own” she replies, keeping her rifle pointed firmly at the creatures. They don’t seem even slightly concerned for their own safety.
“What do we do?” Nemmy asks.
“We should take them back to the shuttle. I have more advanced equipment on my ship. I’d suggest keeping one alive for live study. I know an expert in alien biology who would be happy to perform an autopsy on the other” Leonard says.
“I don’t think we should be making decisions like that” Nemmy said strongly.
“Particularly since you said you didn’t want to interfere” Amira agrees, “or are you just here to find a way to make money?” Leonard tilts his head, clearly confused by the outbursts.
“Aren’t you in the military? Isn’t killing aliens your job?” He snipes. Amira steps right into his face
“Listen, waste, we’re not here to-“
“Captain!” Lynsey shouts. They look at the creatures. Or rather, the creature. One of them has run off. The other waves its arms excitedly, motioning them to follow. It scoots off in a waddling run. Nemmy quickly follows. A cursing Amira goes after her, and Lynsey nudges Leonard and they also follow. They all arrive at the opening of the cave and Leonard stops short with a gasp. A couple of the creatures appear to be sitting in mid-air.
“My shuttle! How did they find it?” he whines. A good question.
“They may have developed a form of extra-sensory perception” Amira offers.
“Maybe they just bumped into it. I mean, they don’t have any eyes” Lynsey replies. A thunderous roar fills the sky. They all look up to find the source. In the distance, a flock of the larger creatures dip below the clouds. Even from this distance, they look easily twice as large as the reddish one in the valley. And the valley is where they seem to be heading.
“Emperor, save us! They’ve led us out here to die!” Leonard shouts.
“No, they’ve led us out here so we can escape!” Nemmy realises. Amira acts instantly, activating her Strap.
“Angela, set the shuttle for automated launch then get out here immediately. Mr McKellar, we will be commandeering your shuttle. Everyone, on board now!” She orders. A rifle pointed at Leonard stills his protest, and he shuffles onto the ship. Angela sprints out from behind some trees, sliding to a stop as she spots the creature climbing down from the now semi-camouflaged shuttle.
“What the hell is that?” she asks.
“You’ll find out when you get on the shuttle. Did you set the launch?” Amira replies instantly.
“Yeah, ten seconds,” Angela says as she follows Nemmy onto the shuttle. The creatures appear to wave at them, as the one on the shuttle jumps off and joins its companions. Did it really wave? Angela has already settled into the pilot chair and lifts the shuttle up away from the valley. Her own shuttle remotely launches from under its hiding spot a few seconds later. They all switch on viewers, hoping the creatures can’t see past the camouflage. The green-clad Boomslang shuttle lifts directly upwards. An ear-piercing shriek fills the valley, shuddering the shuttle. The flock of Demons swoop towards the visible shuttle. They blast past the camouflaged shuttle, causing it to shake violently. Angela mutters to herself as she frantically works to keep the shuttle upright.
They circle around the other shuttle. The largest of the Demons, a blue-black monster fully four times the size of the shuttle, clutches it in a huge talon before slamming its beak around the hull. The shuttle crumples like paper, breaking in half and plummeting to the ground. The other Demons swarm the wreckage before it even hits the grass.
“Emperor, save us…” Leonard breaths. Within seconds only shreds of metal are left.
“Angela, as quickly as possible” Lynsey says.
“Nothing’s catching me, don’t worry” she cheerfully replies. They rapidly make their way through the thick atmosphere and into space.
“I’ve located the Tub’s new spot, taking us there now. Is this your shuttle, Mr McKellar? It’s very nice. These seats are lovely” Angela says, drawing an annoyed shoulder punch from Lynsey.
“We could have been killed!” She exclaims.
“Oh, you say that every time you leave the ship” Angela replies with a chuckle. “So, we found more aliens? You seem to have a knack for this, Captain”
“It’s my discovery, actually! And I fully intend to come back to collect samples” Leonard interrupts.
“Did you see what that thing did to our shuttle, you idiot? Your wife is offering obscene amounts of reward money to find you, she’s worried sick! We won’t get lucky twice” Lynsey barks at him. Leonard folds his arms and turns away in a huff. They sit silently for a moment as the shuttle speeds towards the Boomslang. Silence quickly broken by a comm signal.
“Captain, we have received your shuttle’s signal. I believe the unidentified vessels may also have discovered it as they are heading in our direction. I suggest an immediate departure from this system as soon as your shuttle is safely locked down” Ravaan says.
“I couldn’t agree more, Commander. We got what we came for after all” Nemmy eagerly replies.
“Understood,” Ravaan says. Leonard wails, pointing at his viewer. The chasing vessels launch several projectiles at the Boomslang. Angela increases speed, racing towards the ship.
“This might be slightly rough, hold hands,” she says. She slams on reverse thrust as the ship enters the shuttle bay. Even belted down on the chairs, everyone is wrenched forward, feeling the air blast out of their lungs. Coughing fits fill the shuttle. Nemmy groans as she rubs her neck.
“Did we make it?” she grumbles, trying to hold back rising nausea.
“We’re already in warpspace Captain. We made it” Angela replies in an equally hoarse voice. With difficulty, Nemmy activates her Strap.
“Medical team to the shuttle bay” she croaks out, before throwing up.
Within half an hour, the four officers and Leonard are relaxing in the canteen, sipping cold drinks, as Ravaan arrives.
“How are you all feeling?” he asks.
“Better” Nemmy says.
“I was fine the whole time, I should point that out,” Amira says, drawing a faint smile from Ravaan. He lifts a datapad from his belt.
“We narrowly escaped a blast from what we have deduced was a rudimentary railgun or magnetic accelerator weapon. No energy readings or explosives were detected. Literally, huge chunks of metal were fired at the ship. This may not seem overly impressive, however…” He tails off, calling up some more data before continuing.
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br /> “What is it?” Lynsey asks.
“Six of the other ships located similar breeding areas such as the ones you located, Mr McKellar, although they were not all occupied. All six of the ships came under attack from similar vessels. All unmarked, no unified design, no identifying signals of any sort. The Fleet Captain’s command ship was heavily damaged. Two of the patrol class ships were destroyed, and the Interceptor suffered extensive damage. None of the other landing parties survived. Thirty-seven officers died on the ground. We were sent footage from one party that used their shuttle as a low flying scout. It is…unpleasant to watch. Suffice to say, these creatures are extremely dangerous. If it was not for Major Ghannam’s quick thinking, there is no doubt that you all would have suffered the same fate”
Even Leonard stays silent as they absorb this news. They were incredibly fortunate to escape. They all knew that. But Nemmy wonders about the smaller creatures. They don’t seem dangerous at all. They had even helped them, almost like they knew what was about to happen. There were so many questions. Questions that surely would not be answered now. No one would be allowed to return to this cluster, she was sure of that.
Hopefully, the aliens wouldn’t follow them back.
Stand Fast
Samuel found the data on the newly discovered creatures to be of fascinating reading during what was a surprisingly long shuttle trip. The Boomslang had long since left orbit, leaving Amira and himself as they wait to dock in the small research facility that had been co-opted for an interbody regulatory commission meeting. Why the commission heads feel it necessary to drag dozens of officers from around the sector and beyond from all walks of Imperial life to this remote location is outside Samuel’s grasp.
This alien discovery made the delayed shuttle outing worthwhile though. Two distinctly distinct species working in tandem. The DNA scan records were disappointingly basic, but even the limited information they had confirmed that these creatures shared a certain level of genetic ancestry. It was almost certain that these creatures shared a homeworld, yet they had obviously evolved in wildly different environments. Samuel guesses that the smaller creatures are cave dwellers. It is an oddly symbiotic relationship between the two creatures, facultative rather than obligate. They clearly have no biological requirement to co-exist, yet they willingly chose to, or at least things appear that way. Even though the larger creature would seem to predate smaller creatures to survive, and Samuel can’t imagine an apex predator more advanced developing on the same planet. Perhaps the larger creatures have enslaved the smaller population. But on the other hand, the smaller creatures are clearly more numerous and have developed opposable thumbs, which suggest they could be doing the advanced work.
Unknown Earth Volume 2 Page 7