by Lucy Snow
“Do you really believe that?”
“Yes!” I said, a little louder than protocol between myself and a superior officer would generally allow, but Admiral Kaalax had always been on the lax side in matters that didn’t involve my time. “I mean, yes, sir. This mission won’t have combat, it won’t have glory. I am the wrong man for it.”
“Ahh, there it is, then.” Kaalax sat back in his chair, a knowing smile on his face. “We finally come to the truth of things, after all this dancing.”
“Sir?”
“Glory is what you’re after, what has always gotten you up in the morning, isn’t it?”
My eyes narrowed. “I can think of no better way to serve the Kreossian Empire, sir, than to earn as much glory in battle as I can in its name.”
“Quite right, quite right, young man. But here is something else. Diplomatic missions such as these are just as important as all your battles and campaigns. Glory comes in the results of the thing, not from the doing of the thing, Ark. Hopefully, if I have taught you anything in our time together, you will learn this in time.”
I considered this, mulling it over without speaking. Finally, I broke the silence. “I shall have to think that over more, Admiral. I trust I will have enough time to do so when we arrive at the station.”
“Let it be the second lesson you learn today, then.”
I saluted and turned my chair back to face the main view screen. I busied myself with system diagnostics and long range sensor grids, but I could feel Admiral Kaalax’ eyes boring into me from behind.
The ship continued its silent trip through empty space toward its rendezvous with humanity.
CHAPTER 03 - MELISSA
The docking procedure went off without a hitch, and within a few minutes of the automatic pilot bringing us close to the station, the ship and the station were locked together, held in place by a connection tube just large enough for Ambassador Fuller and I to stand side by side and walk through.
We knew from the sensor scans that the Kreossians had not yet arrived, and that the station was empty. Nevertheless, I hesitated when they reached the end of the airlock tube, looking at Ambassador Fuller for reassurance, who just gave me a small smile and nod. Buoyed by this, I pushed the entrance button and the door slid open, the sound of releasing gas loud as the two pressurized.
The station’s interior was similar in design to that of our ship, which made sense since both were derived from the same plans. Fuller and I had both walked through the facility when it was still orbiting Earth several times; in fact, one of the test procedures had been for us to live on it for a week, just as long as they expected to spend here when the real meeting occurred, at the limit.
Which was now. Goosebumps covered my skin, and I gulped as we walked around the familiar-yet-still-somehow-new station, testing out various subsystems and running diagnostics. The worst thing would be if something went wrong during the conference, so all these pre-meeting checks and re-checks were par for the course.
Of course, the side effect was that it kept me busy, which was good, since I was less likely to worry about what was to come. What would the Kreossians even look like? I had no idea.
Would they move around leaving gelatinous puddles behind them? A foul stench? Would they fly instead of walking? Communicate without speech? Have tentacles for arms?
The mind boggled with all the possibilities. They could be hideous! I smiled, wondering why Fuller had resisted describing them all these years. What was it he had said? Oh, right: “The Kreossians are unremarkable to look at; so much so that I have already forgotten them.” It had caused an uproar back on Earth, but in retrospect it had set off a frenzy of interest in these unknown and potentially scary looking aliens that had come to help us or eat us.
Maybe they were a race of vegetarians? Or, maybe they were actually a plant-based life form, and eating salad would be cannibalism to them?! So many possibilities!
“Melissa,” Ambassador Fuller said from across the small command room where we sat, still running systems checks.
“Yes, Ambassador, can I help you?”
“You’re fidgeting, Melissa.”
I looked down and saw that I was playing with my hands, moving things around the panels and compulsively running the same tests over and over again. I sighed and let my hands drop from the console. “You’re right, sir, I am. I’m just a little bit nervous, is all.”
“I understand the feeling. I am happy that I didn’t have time to experience it 50 years ago, or first contact might have gone very, very different for us.”
I turned. “You weren’t nervous?”
Fuller stared back. “I was petrified,” he said softly, “never more scared in my entire life. But that was only for a few seconds, while I was trying to figure out what was happening. After that,” he threw up his hands, “there was no time. The Kreossians are very good at putting people at ease when they want to.”
“I don’t know anything about them.”
“They were very clear on this point - they did not want information about them to get out. I remember exactly how Kaalax put it. ‘We chose you because we could tell you were ready. Your people are not, yet. It will be your job to change that.’” Fuller sighed. “And that is what I have spent my life doing.”
“We have come a long way in a short amount of time.” That was an understatement. In just 50 years, humanity had thrown off the trappings of the past, moved beyond division and strife, and united as one.
And all because we had found out that we weren’t alone.
“Yes, we have, and I think after this meeting, the pace will only increase.”
“What more is there for us? We’ve eliminated all the things that caused problems.”
“The great beyond, Melissa! We can explore what’s out there!” The look in Fuller’s eyes was one of excitement - such was the hope he had for humanity’s future.
“Fingers crossed it works out that way.”
Fuller laughed. “I can see you’re still a little nervous. It’ll pass soon enough.”
Just then the sensor panel in front of me lit up, klaxons sounding throughout the station. “Kreossian arrival imminent. ETA 1 hour.”
“Good, good, they’re almost here. It will be good to see Kaalax again, I wonder how different he’ll be. We’re all set for their arrival?”
“Yes, sir. You met Kaalax at First Contact?”
“Good. Yes, we met then. An impressive man, I am excited to see how the years have treated him. The stories he told back then were wondrous, I’m sure he’s picked up many more since.”
It took slightly under an hour for the Kreossian ship to dock. It looked different from the one Fuller and I had traveled in - this one was sleeker, more angular, looking almost angry and ready for combat, which raised my suspicions even more.
Fuller took it all in stride, and it seemed that he got more and more excited and animated as the clock ticked down their arrival.
Finally, the computer signaled that the Kreossian ship had docked, and Fuller and I stood in front of the airlock. The door slid open, and Fuller smiled at the sight of his old friend.
There were two Kreossian men standing in front of them. The one in front was clearly older and had a big smile on his face as he looked at Fuller. The other…oh dear.
The other one. He was…breathtaking. I knew I was gasping out loud but couldn’t find the strength to stop myself. This was my first look at an alien in person, and what an alien to start with.
Kreossians looked very much like humans, except bigger and much more muscular. The main difference between the two species, though, were the lines like tattoos that ran all over the Kreossian’s skin. They could be tattoos, but unlike any tattoo I had ever seen, they glowed and changed colors.
I couldn’t be sure if all Kreossians were like this, but if that were the case, I sure wouldn’t mind.
The second one had a scowl on his face, but he wore it well. He was taller and more muscular than the one who stood in f
ront of him, and showed clear deference to the other when they stepped forward.
The older one raised his hand out, a little stiffly at first, but to me that seemed more because he was unused to the custom rather than any animosity toward the humans. The older one’s eyes twinkled with mirth, and I got the sense that this was a being who had enjoyed a long life of interesting experiences.
“Fuller, my friend!” the older one barked, his voice even yet cut with excitement. “You are looking so old! What has time done to you?”
Fuller stepped forward and shook his hand, wincing slightly at the Kreossian’s clearly strong grip. “Kaalax, wonderful to see you.” With his other hand, Fuller rubbed his stomach. “Years of good living and hard work, my friend, as I can tell you have no doubt shared in.”
“Of course, of course, it has been too long since we parted.” The older one looked at me, then must have realized he hadn’t introduced himself or his companion. He turned to me and smiled. “I am Admiral Kaalax of the Kreossian Empire. Who might you be?”
I looked down and reached out my hand, momentarily scared that Admiral Kaalax would crush it in his, but his grip was much lighter with me, evidently learning from his recent experience with Fuller and calibrating appropriately. “Melissa Crane, Ambassador Fuller’s assistant.”
“It is good to meet you.” The Admiral let my hand go and leaned to his right, indicating the gorgeous young man-like alien next to him. “This is my second in command, Commander Ark.”
The man the Admiral had referred to as Ark stepped forward and held out his hand, even more uncomfortably than the Admiral had. His eyes, I noticed, had not left me since the door had opened.
“Well met,” was all Ark said. I closed my eyes as they shook hands, just after I watched my hand enveloped by his. The touch of our skin made me almost jump; it was as if there was an electrical charge that passed between us in that moment.
“It’s nice to meet you too, Commander Ark.” The named sounded almost funny at first, but just looking at this man, I knew there wasn’t much mirth to him. He looked like a cold man, a man who knew how to get things done when the moment called for them.
He was tall, at least 2 meters tall, and broad shouldered to an extent that I hadn’t seen on even the biggest of athletes back on Earth. The bright line markings that criss-crossed his body, peeking out from his sparse uniform pulsed a dark blue, but seemed to turn red as I looked at him more.
His skin was naturally tanned but otherwise smooth and free of hair. His face carried a wide jaw, large eyes, and a mouth that I couldn’t help but want to kiss. His eyes were coal black, and the long hair atop his head matched it in almost absorbing all the light around it.
Commander Ark was breathtakingly gorgeous, and the glow in his eye suggested to me that he was all too aware of his allure. It was impossible for me to know what he thought of me, but if I had to hazard a guess on pain of death, it would be that he was just this side of dismissive, mixed with a little bit intrigued.
I was more intrigued than I had ever been by a man, but I looked down as I took my place next to Fuller again, just behind him, remembering that despite the schoolgirl lust I was already fighting a losing battle against over Ark, there was an important job to do during this meeting.
Kaalax watched the exchange between Ark and me with a smile on his face before turning back to Fuller. “Well, Fuller, shall we get this conference started?”
Fuller smiled. “We both know the conference itself doesn’t begin till tomorrow, Kaalax. Or are you in a rush? Got another species to meet?”
Kaalax grinned back. “Of course I know that, old friend. But today, we can surely eat and catch up? We must have time to do something fun on missions like these.” He spoke as if meeting alien cultures was something he did on the weekends, for fun, and not the momentous, life-altering thing that one hoped to do even once in a lifetime.
“That we can certainly accommodate, but please, nothing as debauched as last time.” Fuller laughed, rubbing his stomach again. I had never seen him so jovial - this was a side of him Fuller kept locked deep inside. “You must remember, Kaalax, I’m not the young man I used to be.”
“Nor am I, but I can still certainly eat my share.” Kaalax pointed to his own stomach, which I found hilarious, because he looked to be in incredibly good shape, especially for a man who considered himself old and past his prime.
Maybe every Kreossian man looked like that? What must their women look like? If they were similarly all in great shape, how did they take breaks from all the sex they must have long enough to create an empire?
“Then we should be alright.” Fuller stepped back, pointing behind him toward the station’s dining room. “Shall we, then?”
“Lead on, lead on.” Fuller walked toward the dining room and Kaalax followed him just behind. I found myself walking beside Ark, who followed just behind Kaalax. It was strange being next to someone so tall. I was by no means short, but Ark just towered over me. It was like standing next to a basketball player.
Ark said nothing as we followed the two leaders to the dining room, and I didn’t know what to say to break the silence. The two men in front were blissfully in their own world, catching up like old friends did, which was strange, because to my knowledge they had only met once before, and that was 50 years ago. Not too easy to keep a friendship alive over that distance of time and space, but these two definitely seemed to make it work.
Ark, though, was different. The way he looked, the vibe he gave off, suggested to me that he really would rather have been anywhere else than on the station with the 3 of them. Why had he volunteered for a mission like this if he was going to act so sullenly?
As we walked, I breathed in deep, taking in his musky aroma. It tickled my throat, the way vanilla and sandalwood sometimes did, both smells I adored. Ark’s scent was tinged with something else, though, that I couldn’t put my finger on. It smelled strong and obstinate.
The dining room aboard the station was separated into two parts - a main room with the food preparation machines and two tables and chairs, and a private dining room off to one side.
As soon as Fuller touched the keypad and opened the door, the lights came on and the food preparation machines whirred to life, giving the room a very low background noise. As I knew, the system was prepared to serve delicacies from both Earth and various parts of the Kreossian Empire. Exactly how the preparation machines worked was beyond my technical expertise, but it probably worked similarly to the ones people now used on Earth.
The four people got their food and stood in front of the tables, like high schoolers, trying to figure out where to sit. Before too long, though, Kaalax spoke. “Fuller and I will use the private dining room. We have much to catch up on, the reminiscing of old men, things neither of you would find very exciting.”
Ark gave Kaalax a serious look, one that cried out to me for him not to be left behind, but Kaalax ignored him. “You two eat out here.” He smiled. “Get to know each other! We’ll be here a few days, at least.” He clapped Fuller on the back with his free hand. Fuller smiled at me, nodded at Ark, and followed Kaalax into the private dining room, shutting the door behind them.
So now I found myself all alone with the sexiest alien man I had ever seen. Of course, he was also the second alien man I had ever seen, so there was little competition in that regard, but, I had to admit, he also put every human man to shame too.
Too bad he clearly had such a bad attitude. I could think of worse ways to spend the next few days floating through space.
Ark picked one of the tables and sat down, looking down at his food.
“May I sit with you?” I asked, and then immediately caught myself. There was no one else in the room. In fact, there was no one else, Kaalax and Fuller aside, within millions of miles. But there was also a second table. I could eat by myself.