“Then why did they let us build a colony?” Erikson asked.
“They were watching…now they are testing our capabilities. They see us as competition for their environment and they intend to drive us out,” Sulture said.
Murph finally snapped out of his stupor. “What happened?”
“We’re collecting the bodies. You guys are going to examine these freaks,” O’Malley said as he grabbed ahold of one of the carcasses and slung it over his shoulder.
“Oh. Sounds about right,” Murph replied.
The men dragged the carcasses back to the laboratory. Dawn peaked over the horizon.
“Murph, please start dissection. I need to check on my family,” Sulture said.
“You got it. You boys need anything?” Murph asked the soldiers.
“We need to file a report with Griffin. He’s gotta learn that the Tritops breached the fence,” Erikson said.
“Jumped over is more like it. But we’ll see what he does,” O’Malley said.
“Yeah, we’ll see,” Sulture scoffed.
Katrina was worried sick about Adam, but understood after he confided in her all that happened throughout the night.
“Please, keep this between us,” Sulture said.
“But Toub,” Katrina replied. “He deserves to know what happened to his little girl. Wouldn’t you want to know if something like this happened-”
“Katrina, please don’t speak of such things. I would do anything to protect you and Joey,” Sulture said.
“I know you would and I would do anything to protect you,” Katrina replied placing her hand on Sulture’s cheek.
Sulture rose from the chair, grabbed a slip of paper and wrote a note.
“What are you writing?” Katrina asked.
“You’re right! I’ve got to tell Toub what happened to Erica,” Sulture said. “And I’ve got to go to the lab and dissect those aliens we recovered last night.”
“Oh, please don’t go Adam! I just got you back from those terrible creatures,” Katrina begged.
“I have to.”
“At least stay for breakfast. Joey is terrified over what happened last night.”
“I’m sorry sweetheart. I’ve got to get to the specimens before they rot. You can talk to him. You do it a lot better than I do. I’m too...grim as you like to say,” Sulture said with a grin.
Katrina sighed.
“Look, I’ll talk to him at dinner tonight. Promise,” Sulture said as he kissed Katrina on the forehead, took his breakfast rations and walked towards the lab. Along the way he spotted Erikson coming out of Griffin’s station.
“How’s Toub doing?” Sulture asked.
“Devastated and confused. He wants to know where his daughter is,” Erikson replied.
“Can you give this to him? Discreetly?”
“I’m not sure if I’m allowed to…”
“Of course you’re not allowed to, but the man has a right to know!” Sulture snapped.
Erikson hesitated, but he knew that Sulture was right. Erikson pocketed the note and went back into Griffin’s station.
Inside of Griffin’s station there were papers scattered everywhere, as well as two prison cells, one of which contained Toub.
“What is it now Erikson?” Griffin grunted.
“Didn’t get any breakfast. Mind if I snag a bar sir?”
Griffin pointed to where he kept an extra supply of protein bars for the soldiers. It was right next to the prison cell. Erikson moseyed over, and placed the folded slip of paper in between the bars of the holding cell.
“Quietly,” Erikson mouthed to Toub. He snatched the paper, and tenderly unfolded the note which read:
Mr. Toub: Do not react while reading this.
We found Erica and she is no longer with us.
The aliens took her deep into the jungle and...I think you know.
She is at peace with her mother now.
I vow that I will do everything I can to ensure
that this doesn’t happen to other families.
Erica’s passing will not be in vain.
I hope that peace and closure will come to you,
and I am truly sorry for your loss.
-Dr. Adam Sulture
Toub looked at Erikson and tears formed in his eyes.
“Thank you,” Toub whispered. He carried the note to his cot, folded it up and stared at the floor. A pair of tears dripped down his face as he closed his eyes. Erikson’s stomach twisted into a knot as he thought back to the grotesque nature of her death. Sulture must have left that out, because if he knew, he’d want Griffin’s head. Erikson stood up, thanked Griffin and left the station.
Sulture and Murph worked in a feverish dissection of the new Tritop specimens. They were careless with their autopsy due to sleep deprivation and rattled nerves. Sulture noted that all of the specimens were female; however, his attention was drawn to the beeping of the computer analysis done on the pheromone mixture.
“This makes no sense,” Sulture said.
“What’s that?” Murph asked.
“These glands. Out of the three that fought each other last night, two of them have the same pheromone mixture, while the third has a different chemical composition.”
“Is that why it attacked the other two instead of us?” Murph asked.
“Most likely that is the case. The Tritops operate under a pack mentality and this proves that we are dealing with more than one pack,” Sulture said.
“Let’s preserve these pheromones. With them we can make ourselves invisible to them with a camouflage spray,” Sulture said.
Colony Log: November 27, 2483
“We’ve taken to calling the alien creatures “Tri-tops” due to the shape of their skulls. While a part of me wants to believe that these creatures are shy and beholden to us, they’re instead quite bold and willing to attack. We suffered a kidnapping last night. Erica Toub, an eight year old girl was taken from her home into the jungle where we discovered her…”
Sulture trailed off as he struggled to hold back tears. He cleared his throat and resumed.
“Her corpse was mangled. She was left to rot in the midst of the jungle to serve as a ward, to keep us out. We’ve asked the military to retaliate. I don’t believe that these creatures mean to do this, but I cannot shake the image of Erica’s body.
There is hope however. The aliens attack and fight each other, the primary difference being their pheromone makeup. Perhaps we could pit them against each other.”
As the two men worked on dissecting the Tritops, another presence entered the lab. Both men looked up through fogged goggles to see Toub. His eyes were red and his palms open as if he couldn’t comprehend why his daughter was taken.
“Mr. Toub my deepest apologies -” Sulture started to say, but Toub cut him off.
“Dr. Sulture, thank you for going into the jungle when no one else would,” Toub said as he wrapped his arms around Sulture. He normally cringed when someone other than Katrina hugged him, but he let Toub have a moment to ease his despair.
“Mr. Toub, my condolences as well. I know it’s hard, but we’ll help you through it,” Murph said as he wrapped his arms around Toub who turned and sobbed into Murph.
He composed himself. “I am a highly trained engineer Dr. Sulture and…?”
“Murph McGinnis. Call me Murph.”
Toub smiled weakly. “I am a highly trained engineer, and if there is anything you need built, or anything I can do for the two of you in your quest to stop these monsters, let me know. I would be happy to be of assistance.”
“We’re not here to stop them Mr. Toub. My job is to research these creatures and report my findings to the authorities. They’re sapient after all.”
“They kidnapped my daughter Dr. Sulture. You may be Chief Biologist of this colony and your job may be to research these abominations, but do not forget your role as a father. Especially, since that role was stolen from me by those monsters,” Toub replied. “If you ever need my h
elp, you have it.” He turned and walked out of the lab, a frazzled, traumatized walk whose steps are haunted by his lost family.
“Poor guy,” Murph said.
After two months of sleepless nights filled with the screams from both men and Tritop, Sulture began to wonder if there was more he could do than just research and report. He grew weary from the restless nights that he spent clinging to Katrina and Joey. The mounting causalities turned his scientific curiosity into disdain for the creatures.
Dissection revealed that the Tritops were nocturnal creatures based on their ocular design. The discovery didn’t surprise Sulture, but this put the colony at a disadvantage. All of the attacks would be at night, when the colony was vulnerable. Sulture missed Murph, who’d been called off to run the medical ward due to the wounded soldiers as well as colonists succumbing to Yellow Fever, as well as a new virus that Murph hadn’t categorized yet.
Colony Log: January 30, 2484
“The military brings me more Tritop bodies by the day. They’re getting bolder, attacking our colony and kidnapping people from their homes. We lose between one and three after each attack. Considering we started with about two thousand people, it feels as though we’re being bled dry. There is no pattern to who they take, yet I am continually asked why someone’s family member has been taken. My exasperated response is an apology and a promise to continue my research. The worst part is we cannot find the bodies. We know they’ve been taken into the jungle, but the jungle is so vast we’d need to lead an expedition to explore it. Considering our numbers, we can’t afford to leave the colony for more than an hour, and this greatly limits our range.”
“I’ve run a battery of tests from the latest collection of specimens and have discovered that all of the Tritops now have the same pheromone signature. When before we saw dozens of different packs, now we see all of the Tritops belonging to the same pack. This means that they’ve banded together to fight off a common threat…us.”
Sulture closes his eyes, takes a deep breath and gives an exhausted sigh.
“We stand alone in the middle of the jungle against an entire planet of aliens, which seek to eliminate us.”
Griffin was sitting at his desk when he received a notification of an outgoing video transmission to the Core. He clicked on the notification and saw the startling revelation of Dr. Sulture’s work. As he watched, he felt a chill run down his spine. The realization that if the video transmission were to reach the Core, his career would be over. He couldn’t handle another demotion, and the entire situation with the aliens was spiraling out of control. Now that they faced an entire planet of aliens united against the colonists he realized that he only had one option left.
Griffin stopped the video from transmitting and picked up his comm device.
“All military personnel report to headquarters before dark,” He said.
There was a rumbling on the edge of the colony. The smell of ozone was rife in the air as the engines roared to life. Sulture looked around the tent, his face a mixture of confusion. He stepped outside and saw the lights of hundreds of shuttles rising into the sky.
Other colonists stepped out of their tents to witness what was going on. Their faces were mixed in confusion and horror as they realized that the military was abandoning them.
Murmurs through the crowd spread like a growing flame.
“Wait!” a woman screamed as the military shuttles lifted off into the sky.
“No! You can’t do this to us!” Sulture screamed. Deep down he knew it was no use, but he was overcome with panic.
The shuttles blasted off into the sky, each ignition felt like a nail being driven into the coffin. Murmurs from the crowd turned to screams of panic as their only chance of survival flew away.
Members of the night guard treaded in through the grass, a look of shameful resignation on their faces.
“You!” Sulture screamed. He rushed to O’Malley and seized him by his collar. “How could you do this to us?”
“We didn’t Sulture!” O’Malley snapped. “Griffin pulled the plug and took most of the military with him. He couldn’t handle a failed colony on his record. According to the records, Angkor is uninhabitable and the people were dying from a mysterious disease. That’s why the military pulled out.”
“Who’s left?” Murph asked.
“Volunteers only,” Erikson said.
“How many?” Murph replied.
“Barely over a hundred.” Erikson’s voice is weighted by the gravity of the situation.
“My last colonist count was 1,536,” Murph said. “That puts the ratio at thirteen colonists for every one soldier! How are the volunteers going to defend all the colonists?” He asked.
“We…don’t know,” O’Malley answered. “We hoped that more would’ve stayed, but when Griffin gave them the option to leave, they jumped all over it.”
“Cowards,” Sulture growled.
“Hey, we’ve seen a lot too.” Erikson snapped. “More than any of you colonists have.”
“I’ll bet,” Sulture replied. “Must be hard to watch people die from a distance.”
Erikson lunged at Sulture, but O’Malley grabbed a hold of him. Murph held Sulture back and got in between the two men.
“Guys! Now is not the time to fight each other!” Murph screamed. “We have a colony to defend and we will not survive if we’re at each other’s throats!”
“He’s right,” O’Malley said. “The best course of action is to do our jobs. We have a man sending request for aid to the Core every hour on the hour.”
Sulture returned to his laboratory a defeated man. He clicked on the camera, and saw in the preview screen the dark circles under his eyes growing with each recording.
Colony Log: January 31, 2484
The military has abandoned us. The Core military under the authority of Sergeant Griffin has lifted off from Angkor here on this day. We’re on our own now. We have no idea how long we have out here in the jungle. We’re desperate for aid. We’ve sent a constant stream of transmissions and requests for aid to the Core, but nobody is listening. Private O’Malley has taken charge of the colonial government and has been diligently defending the colony with what little supplies and men were left from Griffin’s cowardly escape.
Colony Log: March 2, 2484
Sleep only comes three to four hours a night. All of the civilians are on edge. They can’t sleep because they worry about members of their family being taken from them. Screams echo through the night when someone is taken from us. They beg us to help, and we try our best, but the Tritops are too fast.
We’re being besieged on all sides. The aliens on this planet are openly hostile. These aliens attack unprovoked. I have used this video series to record everything I’ve learned about them to this point, but our future here on the colony remains in doubt. The aliens take at least three people a day, but they’re growing bolder. They’re attacking in broad daylight. They seek to eliminate our colony. I’m creating this video to plead with the Core authorities about our situation. Please send reinforcements, aid, and assistance. The colony is in danger, and while I am searching for a more peaceful solution, no act of peace appears to stave off the attacks.”
Sulture stopped the recording and sent the video to the Ministry of Colonial Affairs, the Science Bureau as well as the Ministry of Alien Affairs, hoping against hope that someone would watch.
“Adam, wake up.” Katrina whispered as she tapped his shoulder. Sulture was startled awake, having realized that he fell asleep at the dinner table.
“What is it Katrina?”
“I’m scared for our family. I’m scared for the colony. We uprooted our lives and everything we knew to come here and now we’ve been abandoned,” Katrina said through tears.
“Katrina, I will never abandon you!” Sulture said as he pulled her close.
“Don’t worry mommy, I’ll protect you!” Joey said, while waving his toy gun in the air.
“We are doing everything in our power
to defend the colony and protect what is left. I have been working on a pheromone spray that may allow us to go further into the jungle-”
“ADAM!” Katrina snapped. “This is no longer a scientific expedition! There is more at stake than your career!”
She buried her face into her hands. “I’m sorry sweetheart. I haven’t slept in weeks and I know you’re doing all you can for us. I know you watch over us at night and I hear you pace through the tent.”
Katrina looked at the table and tried to put the pieces together. “What do you plan to do with the pheromone spray?”
“Ideally it will make us undetectable to the Tritops,” Sulture said.
“I know if anyone can pull it off, you can,” She said. “I’m ready for us to get off this god-forsaken planet.”
“I have sent a video plea to the Core. However, a response from it will take three months at least,” Sulture said. “Until then, we’re on our own.”
Colony Log: March 27, 2484
Every night there are more kidnappings. Our current total of those lost is somewhere above 700, almost half of our civilian population. We have no recourse, no ability to defend ourselves. They attack us when we’re most vulnerable. They’re stronger than us, which is why we’re overpowered and they carry us into the jungle. O’Malley is doing all he can, but the Tritops know we’re on the verge of collapse.
The next morning, people gathered in the colonial square to voice their fears over the Tritop threat. O’Malley stood on stage, the strain of keeping the colony’s morale evident on his face. He held his hands high to quiet the crowd.
“Colonists, my apologies for the loss of your loved ones. Rest assured, we’re doing all we can to-”
“That’s not enough!” A woman screamed. The crowd turned to her. “My babies were taken from me even though you claim to be protecting us!”
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