by Donald Swan
A survey of the surrounding star patterns led him to a disturbing conclusion. The lack of recognizable constellations meant he was nowhere near Earth, and the ugly truth was he could be anywhere in the galaxy. He could have even popped out of hyperspace into an alternate universe. Until today, hyperspace was only theoretical. No one had ever traveled through it, and he didn’t have a clue about what would happen when he came out. He could have ended up anywhere, or even in any time.
The view of the massive ship through the cockpit window drew Nick’s attention again. He was low on fuel and oxygen. He needed help and he needed it now. Still he hesitated over the crazy idea rolling around in his brain. The idea was risky, maybe even stupid, but it could be his only chance. Would he die in space, or let himself be captured by what was clearly an advanced and hostile alien life form?
“Nope. Bad idea!” Nick quickly pulled away from the alien ship. The module turned slightly and then stopped responding. He yanked the joystick over hard, trying to steer clear. It was no use, he was being drawn in. No matter how much thrust he gave it, he was caught in… something. With an almost painful slowness, his craft was being pulled closer to that massive craft. To what fate he was uncertain. If it was anything like the old sci-fi videos he’d watched over the years, he could be facing a gruesome opponent that was intent on separating his head from his neck, eating his brain, and using his spine as a wall decoration.
Damn his indecision! His hesitation had cost him any choice in the matter. Like it or not, he was going in. Trapped like a fly in a spider’s web, he anticipated the inevitable doom that surely awaited him.
A tingle of fear ran up his spine and his gut clenched as gruesome scenarios danced through his mind. One thing for sure, he wasn’t going down without a fight.
As the module was drawn closer, Nick had time to assess the massive vessel ahead of him. Smooth metal skin covered its exterior—similar to the look of titanium but with an odd golden-brown hue. It was a sleek vessel compared to those of Earth. Three pods near the rear of the craft appeared to be engines. Waves of electrical discharges rippled across a gap in the metal exterior of one engine pod, where it had obviously sustained damage. From within a gash in the side of the ship’s hull, a ruptured pipe spewed some sort of green vapor into space. Several gun mounted turrets were also visible, attached at strategic locations around the ship.
Nick’s mind was caught somewhere between amazement and terror as a large door suddenly opened in the side of the ship. The module was slowly being pulled toward the open door. Panic set in. There was nowhere to run except straight ahead, straight at his captors. “Like a cornered coon,” he muttered.
Nick couldn’t see any alternative but to get out of the module with fists swinging and hope he got lucky. Maybe he could take them by surprise. These aliens had already tried to kill him once. He wasn’t about to give them another chance.
A shadow fell over the module as it steadily made its way through the gaping doorway of the ship. Once inside, the door slid closed, sealing Nick and his hyperspace vehicle in a large bay. A metal arm swooped up from below and cradled the module in a huge mechanized hand. It was as if a giant reached up and gently grabbed his ship. The arm smoothly glided the module deeper into the hangar bay. Ahead of him, some type of translucent electrical field stretched across the entire width of the enormous hangar. It looked similar to static on a vid-com when the signal was lost, only this hung in mid-air, sectioning off a portion of the bay.
Nick’s heart jumped into his throat when he spotted something moving beyond the field of bluish, translucent static. As his ship passed through the strange barrier, shadowy figures took positions at the end of the bay. He peered hard into the dim light ahead of him, but he couldn’t tell what he was seeing. There was definitely something there, lurking in the shadows. But what? It wasn’t anything recognizable. Not humanoid, that’s for sure.
Blood surged through his veins from the adrenaline being dumped into his system. He could feel his heart pounding out a message in his arteries, drumming the word run into his brain. Fear was preparing his body for flight. But there was nowhere to run. He was stuck like bubblegum on a shoe.
“Focus.” If he was going to survive this, he needed to stay focused.
The module finally came to rest a couple of feet off the ground. To the left, a mechanical device lurched out of the darkness to position itself alongside the craft. The shiny device had three long, jointed legs with wheels attached to the bottom. It stopped abruptly and spun in place to face him. The metal machine resembled a three legged mechanical spider with some sort of creature seated in the middle. The legs of the device extended, raising it up to eye level. Sitting atop the device, a grotesque alien creature peered over a holographic display, its four eyes locked on Nick. Nick recoiled in disgust, releasing a gasp of shock and disbelief.
The slimy alien blob had four eyes and two puny arms. Each of its small hands had only three digits, which firmly griped controls on either side of the seat. If the alien had any legs, they weren’t visible from where Nick sat. The slimy blob-like thing was covered in some clear, mucus-like substance. If this had been one of those silly made-up creatures on a sci-fi vid-show, he would have just laughed. But this was real and sitting only twenty feet away. The mechanical device in which the creature rode had what appeared to be gun barrels mounted on either side, each pointed directly at Nick. The alien was definitely in a defensive posture, waiting for him to open the hatch.
A strong voice suddenly echoed from the opposite side of the module.
“Hatu katuk ragish zoktu surrik!”
Startled, Nick turned to see where the voice originated and promptly wished he’d stayed in bed that morning instead of hopping in a module to prove a theory. Standing nearby was the scariest thing he had ever seen. Twice the size of a full grown man, with four muscular arms, it was his worst nightmare on steroids.
Until this point Nick had harbored some hope. But now, looking at this monstrous alien, a little voice inside him whimpered something about his balls being in a sling. He winced at the thought of all the pain this thing was going to inflict on him. His plan to fight was quickly replaced by Plan B. He would try to appear as non-threatening as possible and beg for his life. He was no wimp, but he knew there was a fine line between brave and stupid. He’d learned plenty of lessons about that. Back home, as a kid, the neighborhood gang had made him feel like a sissy running from trouble, until his father told him about the great Chinese warrior Sun Tzu, who had said: “He will win who knows when to fight and when not to fight.” No matter what other people might say, a tactical retreat or surrender was nothing to be ashamed of. It was always better to live to fight another day, when things were more in your favor.
Nick Bannon, big shot astronaut, scientist, and theory-prover, reached over to open the cockpit of his experimental hyperspace module but paused momentarily to look at his hand. It was trembling. His hand was actually trembling. The surreal sight took him by surprise. He’d never had the shakes before.
Another impatient grunt from the beast outside prompted Nick into action. With some effort, he grabbed his shaky wrist and guided his fingers over to the release latch. The canopy popped open and hinged upward, leaving him feeling more exposed than ever. He released his harness, tossed his helmet to the floor, and slowly, painfully climbed out of the cockpit and down onto the deck of the hangar.
“Oh God, please let me get through this,” he mumbled as his feet hit the floor.
Raising his arms above his head, he turned to face his destiny. The large creature flinched and grasped its weapon tighter.
“Huktur akak! Huktur akak!” it said in a thundering voice.
The four-armed alien appeared to be getting more agitated by the second. Nick raised his hands higher into the air, hoping the creature would understand that he was surrendering. The big alien responded with a loud snort and then took aim at Nick’s chest.
Nick’s eyes flared wider. So much fo
r the standard Earth surrender posture. Apparently the act of holding his hands above his head was considered a threatening move. Cautiously, Nick lowered his arms. His heart pounded so fast that time seemed to slow. As he stood there frozen with fear, his brain raced to process the new extraterrestrial landscape before him. The alien thing standing in front of him held a rifle of some kind with its two upper arms. The large creature was bipedal like a human but looked more like a mythical Ogre than anything else. A four armed Ogre with a thick, rough, elephant-like hide. Its head was devoid of hair and twice the width of Nick’s. Its ears were small and laid flat to its skull. The beast seemed to have no neck. The muscles just flowed from its head to its massive shoulders. The alien’s big red eyes, protected beneath a large, boney eyebrow ridge, were trained intently on Nick. The edges of its mouth turned downward, with one lip raised like a snarling dog showing a few of its large teeth. It was easy to see this thing meant business.
“Huktur akak! Huktur akak!”
The strength and suddenness of the creature’s voice took Nick’s breath away. “Don’t shoot. I mean you no harm.”
“Huktur akak! Huktur akak!”
“I don’t understand…. My name is Nick Ban—”
“Hakak uratus octu!” the creature yelled, sounding more urgent than ever.
Nick lowered his head and got down onto his knees. The creature took a couple of quick steps toward him. Nick felt the floor vibrate beneath him with each mighty footstep. He cringed, turning his head slightly to prepare for what was coming. Oh God, this is it, he thought. Suddenly, powerful hands grasped Nick firmly around each of his arms and hoisted him off the floor. Much to his own surprise, Nick let out half of a scream before a third hand grabbed his throat. There he hung at the mercy of this thing, this massive alien killing machine. He tried to speak but could only manage a murmur. The beast was now face to face with him, studying him. Its powerful, hot breath blew across Nick’s skin as it leaned in to examine the insignia on his suit.
“Arak turyk tomnu?” it said.
“Karou sactimous heratzu,” answered the other creature that had now moved in closer.
The two looked at each other then back at Nick. The huge alien tilted its head, seemingly puzzled by Nick’s appearance, as if it were trying to figure out what Nick was and where he came from. The two alien creatures exchanged a few more words and then the massive one carried him to a dimly lit room where he was abruptly dropped on the floor. The two extraterrestrials then turned and quickly exited the room.
Nick fell to his knees choking and trying desperately to take a good breath, his heart pumping furiously. At least he was still alive. As he knelt there catching his breath, he peered around at the dreary room. Nothing but a single beam of light shone down onto the center of the metal floor, obscuring the dark corners from view. Glancing over at the doorway, Nick spotted an electrical field similar to the one his ship had passed through earlier. The field filled the doorway, blocking his exit.
“A force field? Holy crap, it’s a damn force field!” Nick stood up and walked toward the door, nervously looking around the dark room as he went. A sound from one of the shadowy corners spun him around in fear. He froze. Crap, is there something else in here? A few jaw clenching minutes later he determined that the noise had only been the scuff of his boot echoing off the wall. Relieved, he turned his attention back to the force field—keeping an ear tuned for anything that may come up from behind him, just in case.
After studying the shimmering static for a moment he noticed that the field emitter apparatus looked like it had been added recently. It appeared to have been retro-fitted to the outside of the door, and rather hastily at that.
Impulsively, he reached out with one finger and touched the field. Zap! Instantly, a painful shock traveled up his arm to his chest and then shot all the way down to his feet. The shock knocked him back several feet into the room and onto his ass. “Son of a…mmm…mm… dammit!” He bit his lip in pain. The shock left him rolling around on the floor in agony for a few minutes.
“Stupid son of a bitch! I gotta stop touching stuff.”
Nick was busy examining his arm, hoping the tingle would eventually go away, when he heard a noise. Zzzt. He looked up and saw that the field had vanished from the doorway. In walked big-nightmare-alien-thing again, so big that he had to duck his head as he came through the doorway. Now what? Nick’s brain screamed. So much for a quick death, they’re going to torture me and….
“Whoa! What…who is that?”
From behind the huge behemoth stepped an alien so human-like that Nick’s brain seized up for a second. He was in shock. It was a girl! At least he thought it must be a girl. She was thin and only slightly shorter than Nick. Her arms and legs were a bit longer than a human’s and her skin had an odd greenish tint to it. He also detected a pattern on her skin, like that of a Leopard, with splotches of darker green running down the top of her arms. The female alien carried two small devices with her as she entered. Nick watched her move. She was even more graceful than a human girl. Her long legs carried her fluidly across the floor. Her gait wasn’t so much a walk as a glide. The hair on her head was about shoulder length and mirrored the Leopard-like markings on her skin. Most definitely cat-like. Even her big, bright green eyes looked like a cross between a human and a cat. She was absolutely stunning. Alien, definitely. But stunning.
Her eyes had Nick’s attention from the moment she stepped into the room. Her gaze was fixed on him with wide-eyed wonder, like a kitten focusing on something just before it pounces. One of her pointed ears occasionally twisted to the side as she listened to noises undetectable to him. Her cute little nose twitched at the smell of the new human species before her. Surprisingly Nick didn’t feel scared. In her presence, he actually felt somewhat calm. Maybe because she seemed less threatening than the other aliens, or perhaps because she was so much like a human girl, he wasn’t sure. In her eyes he thought he saw a glint of compassion, and for some reason he just felt that she wouldn’t harm him.
“Sharaku atpa hurakti?” As soon as she spoke, Nick relaxed even more. She had a much more pleasing voice than the other aliens.
“I am Nick Bannon. Can you understand me?”
The female tilted her head slightly and blinked her big green eyes. She held up the two devices she had carried in with her.
“Shaktu herak.” She brought the devices closer to Nick’s face.
Nick instinctively leaned away. “No, wait. What are you doing?”
The large alien grunted and took an aggressive step toward Nick.
“Okay, okay.” Nick agreeably leaned forward again.
The female took one of the devices and held it about six inches away as she slowly moved it around Nick’s head. Then she ran it down the front side of him and up the back. From a glance at the other device in her hand he could see that it must be some kind of scanner.
She turned to the big alien still guarding the door.
“Skakturu hepadite uruktu.”
“Hakrutu arkinek,” it replied.
Mister Ugly Ogre Face stepped over and grabbed Nick’s head with one hand, turning and leaning it to the side. Nick struggled uselessly against its grip. He was like a ragdoll in its powerful hands. Quickly, the female removed some kind of device from a pouch on her hip and put it to Nick’s neck. He felt a sharp sting where she pressed the device against his artery. He flinched, fear pouring into his veins like hot lava. A warm tingly sensation swept through his body. Had he been wrong to trust her? Was this alien female going to kill him right where he stood? Nick fought to control his fear. Never in his life had he felt so utterly helpless. He was completely powerless to do anything.
Then as suddenly as it started, it was over. The two aliens let go of him and stepped back.
“What did you do to me?” Nick touched his neck with his fingers, the sting now slowly fading. Were they waiting for him to fall to the floor and die? Did they inject him with something? They could easily k
ill him without doing that. Was he a guinea pig for some hideous experiment? What the hell was going on? His mind raced, but all he could do was sit there, his head reeling with fear. Everything turned into a blur. His life and all the bizarre events of that day whirled furiously around in his head. Nick’s eyes searched frantically around the room for something, anything that would make a difference. But there was nothing that could help him now. A tingle crept over his head unlike anything he had ever experienced before. Resigned to his wretched fate, he finally collapsed to the floor. So this is it? This is the end? He was so young, he had so many plans. He wasn’t ready to die yet. He desperately wanted to see his friends and family again. Overwhelmed by it all, and too helpless to do anything, he waited.
He flinched when a hand touched his shoulder.
“Jeez!” He spun and looked up to realize it was the female. Her eyes had a look of sorrow, as if she could feel the terror he was going through. Slowly, as if deliberately trying not to alarm him further, she reached up and touched her head.
“Harak,” she said.
Nick stared at her. He couldn’t understand what she was trying to tell him. She touched her ears and motioned to Nick as if to get him to do the same. Nick touched his ears. The alien female smiled. She touched her ears again and said “Aeroks.”
Nick replied “Aeroks?”
Her eyes scrunched into an appealing squint as a look of frustration spread across her face. She pointed at his mouth and then to her ears.
Realization dawned on Nick slowly. “Ah! Ears,” he said, then touched his own ears again.
She smiled and said “Aeroks.”
She continued the same process with her arms and legs. Each time she would nod slightly when he said the accompanying word in English. When she had finished she handed Nick a device. He looked it over. It was small, compact, lightweight and displayed an image of a planet on a holographic screen. The planet didn’t look familiar. Why was she showing it to him?