We Come In Peace

by Lillian Francken

  * * *

  Bobby followed the camel spider as it sought shelter somewhere on the desert floor, still under the influence of a drug-induced high.

  “Oh, to be in your arms, Shelby Lynn, and smell the sweet scent of jasmine as you float by...”

  And suddenly, as if waking from his stupor, he glanced up in time to see the spacecraft careening at him but then it suddenly veered up and disappeared a moment.

  * * *

  Zolar struggled with the controls. Finally, the throttle stopped vibrating, and the craft zoomed closer to the desert floor, and then suddenly zoomed up. She turned to Jupel.

  “That was close. Increase the power to the cloaking matrix,” Zolar ordered.

  Jupel turned to her quickly after reading the various gauges. “Systems are failing,” he said anxiously.

  Zolar yelled, “I need power!”

  “I’m trying.”

  Jupel worked feverishly to reconfigure the power module as Z-42 whimpered, cowering in the cage at Jupel’s feet. Zolar braced herself for what was to come as the craft did a three-sixty and quickly bounced off the desert floor like a rock skipping across still waters.

  * * *

  At the facility at Area 51, “Cammo dudes” in their white and gray camouflage uniforms scurried around preparing themselves for an assault. They had weapons drawn as they hurried toward their white Jeep Cherokees. The man in charge, Colonel Crimshaw, a seasoned military officer, rushed out of the headquarters. He jumped behind the wheel of his Jeep, with a Cammo dude in the passenger seat. A Cammo dude took out the map and was about to unfold it when the Colonel reached over and grabbed it out of the young man’s hand. The Colonel revealed the plan while he started the Jeep, quickly shifted it into gear, and took off.

  All the while, his passenger was frantically watching the road that zoomed by. The Colonel was driving blind as he studied the map while driving the Jeep.

  Following the Colonel's Jeep was a caravan of ten white Jeeps. They followed him blindly because he was their leader and that was what they did, without question.

  CHAPTER 3

  Bobby stood up on the barren rock looking up into the bright sun that blinded him for an instant. In the distance, the spacecraft could be seen careening out of control. It hit the desert floor, sending a cloud of dirt flying into the air in every direction as it then bounced up, rolling and kicking up debris. It smashed small bushes in its wake until finally, the craft came to a sudden stop about fifty feet from where Bobby stood.

  Bobby, still dazed by the blinding sun, just stood there and focused his vision in front of him. He watched the crash as if it was on a big-screen TV and did not move or jump out of its way. He just laughed and nodded his head while watching it come to a screeching halt twenty feet in front of him.

  “Cool landing,” he laughed to himself.

  Bobby quickly jumped off the rock and walked over to where the spacecraft had come to rest. Once he reached the craft, he turned and looked at it in awe. The shiny metal just sat silently on the desert floor. Bobby slowly walked over to what looked like a door as it suddenly opened in front of him.

  Jupel stormed out in a huff, not looking where he was going. His attention was on Zolar, who stood near the opening in the craft. Jupel shook his head in disbelief.

  “Women drivers!” Jupel snapped.

  “It wasn’t my fault,” Zolar said in her defense.

  Jupel stopped and turned around, almost bumping into Bobby, who was standing in a hallucinogenic state. Jupel was startled for a moment and then just snapped his fist to his chest, a greeting used by his planet to greet a stranger.

  “Take me to your leader,” Jupel said with authority.

  Bobby looked at him, taken aback for a moment. He just stared at Jupel for the longest time. Bobby then snapped his fist to his chest and saluted Jupel. He didn’t know what else to do. Watching the news clips of the Star Trek Convention, he was aware that a lot of Star Trek followers were on their way to the convention center for the events that were scheduled all that month.

  In the spacecraft beyond Bobby’s view, Zolar stood, looking at Jupel standing in front of Bobby. Zolar did not see Bobby. She was still angry with Jupel and picked up a piece of debris lying on the craft floor. She flung it at Jupel, hitting him in the back of the head. Jupel collapsed to his knees in front of Bobby and fell face down on to the desert floor. Blood slowly seeped out of the wound on the back of his head.

  Zolar was startled when she suddenly saw Bobby standing in front of Jupel with is arm still on his chest. She stared for a moment at the blood seeping out of the wound on Jupel’s head and then looked up at Bobby before collapsing herself.

  Bobby just stared at the two aliens on the ground in their silver space suits and then said

  “Cool.”

  Z-42 quickly ran out of the craft and up to Bobby. He barked as he ran in circles around Bobby’s feet. Bobby bent down to pet the anxious animal while the dog licked Bobby’s hand eagerly.

  * * *

  Bobby busied himself with sagebrush, covering up the path the spacecraft left behind on the desert floor. Once that was done, he picked up dead branches and sagebrush and covered the spacecraft in a feeble attempt to hide it from view. It served the purpose, as anyone driving by would have to know what he was looking for to notice the spacecraft. Given the brilliance of the hot desert sun that usually played tricks on the eyes, Bobby felt confident it would be safe until he could get back to fetch it for his Star Trek friends that had emerged from the craft.

  Bobby walked over to his Chevy convertible and hopped in. He glanced into the backseat at Zolar and Jupel, still out cold. Bobby turned the key on the ignition and then looked at the dog sitting obediently near the spacecraft. Bobby whistled for the dog, then opened his door. Z-42 ran over to the car and jumped up onto Bobby’s lap. Then Bobby quickly put the car in gear. He drove onto Highway 375, and finally headed for home.

  * * *

  The caravan of white Jeep Cherokees sped along Highway 375 following their leader Colonel Crimshaw, who hung onto the steering wheel anxiously. The driver’s window was open, sending air current through the vehicle while the Cammo dude in the passenger seat struggled with the flopping map and had difficulty pinpointing where the spacecraft landed.

  “Are we going in the right direction?” Colonel Crimshaw snapped angrily.

  “If you’d stop, I could check the coordinates and know for sure,” the Cammo dude replied.

  Finally, with frustration, the Cammo dude just crinkled up the map and tossed it out of the window. It was useless to try to read it given the present circumstances, and if the Colonel wanted to stop and pick up the map, he would make an honest attempt to try to find the landing site.

  The Colonel turned to the Cammo dude. “That was childish of you.”

  “I can’t read the map with the windows down, so what was the use.”

  “Now what?” the Colonel snapped.

  “Your guess is as good as mine.”

  The Colonel looked over at the Cammo dude and glared. If this were a regular army he would have had the man court-martialed and shot, but this was EG&G Security, and none of the men were seasoned soldiers. He turned back to the road and saw a convertible coming toward them.

  Bobby breathed deeply when he saw the convoy coming his way. He had seen the Cammo dudes before when he got too close to the Area 51 Facility but never this many in one spot. He quickly pulled over to the side of the road.

  “This doesn’t look good.” Bobby turned to Z-42, who was lying on the seat next to him.

  Bobby glanced in the back seat and then grabbed a blanket off the floor to cover Zolar and Jupel, who were still in their space suits. Z-42 barked at Bobby. Bobby, in turn, pointed a finger at the animal.

  “Chill out.”

  Bobby took something out of his pocket and fed it to Z-42. The dog looked at Bobby, his ears flopped back, and then Z-42 curled up in a little ball and shut his eyes. Bobby looked up at the car
avan that was coming down the highway. He waved his hand as the Colonel’s Jeep came closer to him. Bobby quickly glanced into the backseat. The blanket covering the two aliens apparently in place, he knew what he was doing could get him in trouble. He turned to the Jeep in front of him.

  Colonel Crimshaw stopped the Jeep, glancing at Bobby with curiosity. Bobby got out of the car and hurried over to the white Jeep Cherokee. He looked back at his convertible for a moment, but that was all he saw. There was no movement in the backseat or from Z-42.

  Bobby walked up to Colonel Crimshaw. “Cool color!” Bobby said, looking at the long line of Jeeps in front of him.

  “What do you want? We’re in a hurry,” Colonel Crimshaw snapped as he turned to the Cammo dude next to him.

  Bobby looked up at the sky. “I saw something a while back.”

  The Colonel was immediately interested as he leaned closer to Bobby. “Did you see if it landed?” he asked quickly.

  Bobby pointed in the opposite direction of where he just came. “Near old Miller’s mine,” Bobby relayed.

  The Cammo dude next to the Colonel was about to say something, but the Colonel quickly motioned him to be quiet. The Colonel then turned back to Bobby.

  “Are you sure?”

  “I was sitting in the desert. It came out of the sky like a rocket. I saw it swerve up, but then it came back down.”

  “The radar confirmed it veered off before landing,” the Cammo dude added.

  Bobby glanced over at the man. “Cool uniform.”

  Before Bobby could say more, Colonel Crimshaw put the Jeep quickly into gear, made a U-turn, and then pulled away, followed by the convoy. Bobby stood in their dusty wake. He turned and walked back to the convertible.

  CHAPTER 4

  Bobby drove through an old gate and down a long dusty drive that led up to a large ranch that in its heyday put the Ewing ranch from Dallas to shame. It had been rumored that his grandfather, Elmer Judd, won big at the tables years earlier, but no one in the family talked about Elmer’s gambling habits. It was a subject that was taboo, given Elmer never gambled after that. Some say he cheated at the tables and if he ever showed up again at any of the big casinos on the Strip, it would be the last time anyone would ever see him. No matter what, his gambling days were over.

  Bobby parked his convertible by the front entrance. Once Bobby turned off the engine Mario Lanza, America’s tenor who was famous for his singing back in the forties and fifties could be heard singing “Santa Lucia” loudly in the background.

  Bobby glanced up, shaking his head. “Oh, Grandpa, can’t you find something else to listen too?”

  Slowly Zolar and Jupel finally woke from their stupor. Jupel, who had been lying across Zolar’s lap, sat up nervously when realizing he had been in personal contact with Zolar. He stared at Bobby in the front seat as Bobby was still looking up into the sky. Jupel looked up to see what he was looking at but saw nothing. Z-42 howled from the loud Mario Lanza music.

  “What have you done?” Jupel commanded.

  Bobby turned to Z-42 quickly. “Spot will be all right,” Bobby laughed while turning. “It’s the music.”

  “Spot?” Jupel said with a puzzled look on his face. “I like that.” He turned to Bobby. “Are you taking us to your leader?”

  “You mean Gramps?” Bobby said, laughing aloud.

  “He is your leader?” Zolar snapped, taking command of the situation from Jupel.

  Bobby was still in a daze from the drugs and just stared at the two aliens. “Yeah, you could call him that.”

  Bobby got out of the car with Spot at his side. He turned back to the two in the backseat and motioned for them to follow him as he leaned the car seat forward to let them out.

  Jupel turned to Zolar, who just shrugged, not sure what to do. Zolar slowly got up and stepped out of the car carefully. Jupel followed reluctantly, all the while watching Bobby closely for fear he would do something to harm them.

  Bobby just turned and walked up the path to the house, with the two aliens following close behind him.

  Once all three were in the house, they stood at the entrance, with the aliens looking around at the décor. To the right was the living room where Elmer Judd, an old rancher past his prime, who was sitting at the computer. Elmer was busy surfing the Internet. Mario Lanza belting out his rendition of “Danny Boy” was being piped through the audio system that went throughout the house. Elmer was researching pharmaceutical companies and clicked on the enter key on the computer to send Viagra to his shopping cart. Elmer quickly clicked on the quick shopping button and, within a second, his order was on the way. Elmer hurriedly turned the computer off, looked up at Bobby, and smiled sheepishly while hoping no one was paying attention to what he had just done.

  “You’re home early.”

  “Hi, Gramps.”

  Jupel turned to Bobby. “Your leader is called Gramps?”

  Bobby just shook his head and looked at Zolar. “Follow me.”

  “Shouldn’t we talk to your leader first?” she asked, knowing the chain of command.

  “Gramps doesn’t have anything to say to you unless you want to discuss his Mario Lanza collection.”

  Jupel turned to Zolar. “Mario Lanza, is he the leader?”

  Bobby ignored the request, shaking his head. He just turned and motioned for them to follow him. He hurried up the stairs. Jupel looked at Zolar and shrugged his shoulders. They followed Bobby up the stairs slowly. Jupel stopped a moment and then turned back to Elmer before he was out of view. Jupel gave him a quick salute not wanting to show disrespect.

  Elmer on the other hand looked a little puzzled and then returned the salute.

  Jupel quickly followed the other two up the stairs and down the long hallway. As they got closer to the door, Bobby was standing in front of, Zolar and Jupel stopped and looked at the family pictures gracing the walls. Some were from years back. A few were recent pictures of a woman holding a baby.

  “That’s me if you are wondering,” Bobby said and then turned and walked into the room. “You guys can have this room. There are some clothes in the closet. We use this room for storage, so you should find something that fits.” Bobby turned to Jupel, looking him up and down. “We’re about the same size.”

  Jupel appeared puzzled for a moment. Bobby motioned with his hand, his body versus Jupel’s body. Jupel then figured out what Bobby had just said and shook his head that he understood.

  “Same size, yes.”

  Bobby then turned to Zolar. “I’m not so sure about you, though.”

  “Same size,” Zolar repeated.

  Bobby glanced at Zolar's voluptuous curves. He always thought his Aunt Jenny had a nice looking body, but nothing compared to Zolar’s curves. It might just have been the space suit she wore, but he sure was feeling the heat from looking at her.

  He wet his lips and then finally whispered, “No, I don’t think so.”

  Bobby walked to the door. Jupel and Zolar were about to follow when Bobby turned back to them and held up his hand. “Stay here.”

  Jupel turned to Zolar and held up his hand. “Stay.”

  Bobby walked out of the room while the two aliens remained in the position they were in, not moving an inch for fear something would happen if they moved.

  Bobby walked into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet. He searched the bottles until he found the iodine and then he grabbed the washcloth off the rack and wet it down. Bobby turned and walked out and quickly went to the hall closet. He searched through the women’s clothes that hung there. He grabbed a few garments and put them on his arm. He was unsure whether any would fit Zolar, but anything would be better than the Star Trek clothes they were currently wearing.

  When Bobby walked back in the room, Zolar and Jupel were still frozen in the same stance that he left them in. Bobby shook his head in disbelief, not sure if the two were playing with a full deck or just messing with him.

  “You can move now,” he said in frustration.
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  Jupel and Zolar start moving again as if nothing had transpired. Bobby watched them with curiosity. He handed Zolar the washcloth and iodine. She just looked at the items, not knowing what to do with them.

  Bobby motioned to Jupel’s head. “You can take care of your friend’s wound.” He gestured with his hands on what she should do.

  Zolar just looked at him with a frown on her brow. “Wound,” was all she managed to say, not knowing what he meant finally.

  Bobby pointed to the back of Jupel’s head. “The cut.”

  Bobby then tossed the dress on the bed and turned back to Zolar. “You don’t talk much.”

  Jupel turned to Bobby. “I am the translator,” he replied.

  Bobby looked at Zolar and then to Jupel. “Translator for what?” It puzzled Bobby. He just shook his head and figured these two space cadets were in play acting mode for the convention.

  “Your language?” Jupel said with his hands raised as if Bobby should understand.

  Bobby knew the Star Trek convention attracted some weird people, but he never realized just how far they carried their characterization. In all the time he lived in Las Vegas, he never actually bought into the whole Star Trek or alien mode of thinking. Now he wished he had because it would make understanding these two a little easier.

  “You’re not from around here, are you?” Bobby asked.

  Jupel looked at Bobby with curious eyes. “No, we are from...”

  Before Jupel could continue, Zolar quickly poked him in the ribs and motioned him to be silent. Until they determined how friendly the earth creatures were, they would have to play along with this game, at least until they found out where their spacecraft was taken. Zolar sensed this Earth creature meant them no harm, but for now, they would take it slow and follow his lead and do what he told them to do. At this point, they were at his mercy, and at least he sheltered them from the G2V star that heated the planet’s surface.