Chapter 27: First Contact

The alien Captain sat staring at the harsh landscape of the airless moon. He had seen thousands of similar landscapes on other worlds and their satellites. He never tired of seeing a new one. It was why he chose the hard life of space exploration over the softer life of a planetary-bound career.

New worlds, new experiences, and new revelations were like a drug to the Captain. His mindset was also why a Companion chose him as a host. The Captain and his Companion had made a good team for many years. He wondered if their time together was coming to an end.

The Captain disliked taking the life of any creature. He would kill when necessary, and had on numerous occasions when his crew or ship was threatened. Planning to attack a planet without obvious provocation felt wrong, and made him feel nauseous. Granted, their destroyed ship could be considered provocation, but that could have been an accident. A planet’s complete ecosystem shouldn’t be eradicated without absolute proof!

An ancient Evil, resurrected, was the Companions’ reason for killing a planet full of sapient beings. He didn’t doubt his Companion’s memories, even if they dated from the birth of the universe. Their memory was infallible. Granted, there were holes in their memories where unneeded information had been discarded, and the remaining memories compacted. However, no triad of Companions pruned the same memories. When a triad communed, or ‘melded’ as the Companions called it, memory holes were minimized. The Captain believed there had been an ancient Evil. He believed the scream they heard was similar to that of the ancient Evil. He just didn’t believe that a single death cry was proof of a hidden enclave of Evil that had survived for billions of galactic cycles.

“You still have doubts about our course of action,” the Captain’s Companion stated rather than asked.

“I don’t doubt the Companions’ memories, nor the danger the Evil you remember could represent.” the Captain replied slowly, framing his answer carefully. He knew the two of them were approaching a crossroads in their relationship, and he didn’t want to lose his Companion. He also understood that his ethics were his own, and subjugating his ethics to his Companion’s ethics was wrong. “I only doubt that the scream you heard was proof of a planet full of these Evil entities. You fear this Evil. I can feel it in your thoughts. Are we destroying a species, and possibly an entire ecosystem, based on fear, or on evidence?”

His Companion was also slow to answer. Despite their disagreement, his Companion liked and respected the Captain. He was unwavering in his duty and convictions. He also never lost his wonder at new discoveries. That alone was a high-quality trait, by Companion standards, in a host. The Captain had been a highly prized host, and several Companions had vied for his notice. He wouldn’t give up the Captain as a host lightly. He also wouldn’t risk the universe falling to Evil.

“The Evil is like a disease,” his Companion finally answered. “It spreads faster than the most insidious plague, and is just as deadly. The mere existence of the Evil on this planet means that it has been here since the beginning of time. There is no way the planet could not be overrun,” he stated with sad finality.

“There is no way that you know of, for the planet to not be overrun,” the Captain corrected carefully. “You said the Evil had been eradicated billions of cycles ago. Is the mere existence of the Evil even probable after all this time? One death scream that you think was from your ancient Evil isn’t proof. In a universe of infinite possibilities, is it possible that you’re wrong?”

“It isn’t just one scream as proof,” his Companion replied. “You’ve watched their broadcasts, while we’ve worked our way in system. You’ve seen the chaos, death and destruction these humans inflict on each other, and on every other species on the planet. If anything, that is more convincing proof than the scream. That death scream simply identified why the species is so violent.”

“We’ve encountered species that were just as violent, on other planets,” the Captain rebutted. “Left to their own devices, they invariably destroy themselves. The death scream you heard sounded like the Evil you remember,” he granted. “But you don’t know if something else, in the universe, could give the same type of scream. Is the complete eradication of a species justified, when the decision is based on fear?” The Captain steeled himself, knowing his next statement could sever their bonds. “I am honor-bound to follow the orders of a united triad. However, I need proof before I destroy a planet. Fear isn’t proof!”

The silence stretched between the two. Thoughts flashed between the triad. The Captain had presented a lucid and powerful argument, but it didn’t completely override the triad’s conviction, nor their fear.

“We believe that we are correct,” the Captain’s Companion replied. “You do present a valid argument, but if we are correct, the Evil must not be allowed to spread. What do you propose?”

The Captain warily considered his options before replying, “You have already agreed to capture one of the humans to determine if the Evil is limited to one species, or has spread throughout the ecosystem. You also need to know if the Evil has spread to other worlds. We have determined that humans lack the technology to spread beyond their biosphere. If the Evil has spread, then logically it came from elsewhere, spreading to this planet. I propose we do a thorough investigation. We should take multiple captives from different tribes of humans. Take captives from other near-sentient species for examination, also. You must know where the Evil spread from, and I must know the Evil exists, before I can ethically destroy a species. Prior to circling this moon, we should broadcast our current collected data and situation to other vessels and our bases. Include your fears, all current evidence, and our intended path to resolving our dilemma. The broadcast should continue, as we circle this moon, and engage the humans on the planet. In the worst case, if we are destroyed, our brethren will come more prepared.”

The Companions communed for long moments; much longer than their mental communications normally lasted. Before they could respond to the Captain, they were interrupted.

“Captain,” the Science Officer announced. “We’ve just received a transmission on our emergency frequency. It contained the correct codes of one of the Companions lost on the destroyed ship. Should I respond?”

“NO!” the triad ordered in unison. “If the Evil has captured a Companion, it could have broken his mind and extracted that information,” they hurriedly explained.

“If the scream was an anomaly, then a Companion may have survived the destruction of the ship,” the Captain pointed out.

There was silence as the Triad tried to contact one of their own, one they had known since time began. They couldn’t find him, but they vaguely sensed other entities disturbingly similar to Companions. They couldn’t be Companions, though. If they were, the Triad would recognize them. The only rational reason they could devise was the Evil had learned to mimic Companion mental signatures. If they had captured a Companion, that was a distinct possibility.

“Your hypotheses is unlikely, Captain,” the triad replied in that weirdly resonant way they sounded when communicating while in communion. “We can’t detect our brother, and we would be able to if he were in this planetary system. There are very few phenomena that can block our communications.”

“But there ARE phenomena that can block you,” the Captain answered, jumping on that sliver of hope. Aloud he asked, “What did the message say? Could it have been an automatic transponder still working?”

“It wasn’t an automatic transponder, Sir,” the Science Officer replied. “The message stated, ‘One survivor from our ship’s crash. I do not require rescue, but urgently need to establish communications with you. Do not initiate hostilities. I repeat, it is urgent that we establish communications.’ and all verification codes were included from the downed ship.”

“It seems pretty straight-forward,” the Captain opined. “Respond to the hail.”

“NO!” the triad’s counter command reverberated in their hosts’ minds. “We would sense our brother, if he were alive! We sense mental signatures, similar to Companions, but they have a strange resonance. We don’t recognize them, which is impossible, if they were Companions! Every Companion is known to every other Companion. This is a ploy to draw us in, and destroy us, or even worse, to capture us.”

“We can’t initiate an unwarranted attack without proof!” the Captain reiterated.

“We must, and as you said, you are honor bound to follow the orders of a triad,” the Companions insisted.

“What of your agreement to capture a human to investigate?” the Captain reminded the Companions.

“Very well,” the triad replied coldly, the resonance chilling all three hosts. “Your orders are to capture the first human we encounter by any means necessary. We will examine it to verify our position in this matter. We will then proceed to the planet to destroy whatever portion of the ecosphere is required to eliminate this infestation.”

“I will seek a new host, after this encounter is completed,” the Captain’s Companion informed him.

The Captain wasn’t sure if he heard anger or sorrow in his Companion’s thoughts. He knew his own thoughts were spiraling through sorrow, and reaching for despair.

“Prepare the ship for battle. Set course to orbit their moon. They obviously know we are here, so we might as well announce our presence!” the Captain ordered, his voice bitter, and reflecting his anguish.

“They aren’t responding to the hail, and they’re starting to move,” Kim noted to the room at large.

“Their ship is one of the newer designs,” Al pointed out to the group, studying the image of the alien ship. “This will be a problem!”

“Would you mind explaining that statement?” Scotty asked sarcastically, from the radio. “We already knew they were a problem!”

Despite objections from his security detail, Scotty was flying into the New Mexico base.

“More of a problem,” Al explained curtly to the command group he was linked to. “That ship is equipped with a laser-assisted ion beam, and improved armor. The beam is fixed, and can only fire straight ahead, and they only have two. That’s the good news. The bad news is they will cut through our ships like a hot knife through butter. It is also equipped with lasers on rapid reaction mounts for point defense. They can be used for offense, or defense against incoming missiles and fighters. Our advantages are agility, and coordinated firing patterns.”

“Will our rail-guns penetrate their armor,” Ryan asked, studying the image intently. Al had shown him images of alien spacecraft, but this ship was on his front door-step. The differences from, and similarities to, his own design concepts were startling.

“They will penetrate,” Al answered hesitantly, “but not easily. Ed’s merging drills to ensure teams hit the same point on a target might make the difference.”

The information was passed on to Ed, via the radio. Losing the advantage of instantaneous mental communications to the squadron was a serious blow to their plans.

Caleb answered thoughtfully.

“And I know Ryan has lasers developed for the Star Hawk,” Al mused. “He didn’t continue perfecting them because of the lack of power, but they worked. It shouldn’t be difficult to adapt them to the new armor.”

“All it takes is time,” Caleb said bitterly. Aloud he asked, “How long until the aliens reach our Hawks?”

“Current estimated time until contact ... six hours, forty-seven minutes,” one of the operators replied.

“Meld!” Caleb ordered, sending the command to the core team.

Ryan, Kim, JJ, Bran, Scotty and their Companions immediately dropped into a meld. Caleb’s idea was foremost in his mind, and the others in the meld were instantaneously aware of it. They were also aware of the risks, and the hope that simply getting Al above the Van Allen belt would be sufficient to avoid a battle.

“We have been working on a solution to upgrading Caleb’s armor,” the Kim and JJ portions of the meld provided in unison. “It is still dangerous, but we calculate your survival odds at sixty percent. When we started, it was closer to thirty percent.”

“I have continued printing the new Star Hawks,” the Ryan portion contributed to the flow of consciousness. “Three are completed, and the fourth is near completion. Printing lasers would be quick, if the design is compatible with the new nanobots.”

“Give me thirty minutes and the laser design will be compatible,” Bran supplied, grim determination coloring his thoughts.

“My plan is to go alone!” the Caleb portion of the meld weakly protested.

“And if the aliens don’t respond to Al’s hail, Major, a flight of four upgraded Star Hawks will be more effective than one,” Scotty interjected from Air Force One.

“Very well,” Caleb conceded. “Time! Time! Time! How much time will it take to get our armor upgraded, and the new Star Hawks ready to go?”

Calculations were juggled in the meld, each entity supplying their own portion of the puzzle. The result wasn’t reassuring.

“Eight hours is too long!” the Caleb portion protested.

“It is what it is,” Ryan pointed out.

“How can Commander Murphy slow them down?” Scotty wondered.

“Confront them, and demand a parley? Do aliens recognize flags of truce?” Caleb asked.

“Not as a societal norm, but they do understand the concept,” Al supplied.

“Who will pilot the four Star Hawks?” Kim and her Companion demanded in unison. “Caleb will obviously be in one. Ryan would threaten violence if he were denied one of them. I will be going, if Ryan is going. Who will fly the fourth Star Hawk?”

“I’m going with Caleb!” JJ announced emphatically.

“No!” Caleb and Ryan stated simultaneously.

Scotty replied, reluctantly conceding Caleb’s point.

“Bran and Singer would be the best choice for the other two,” Caleb suggested. “How long until you reach the base?”

“We will be landing in less than thirty minutes,” Scotty replied.

“Why not include Flan?” Ryan asked.

The meld dissolved on that grim note. They had a plan of action with some hope of success, and a myriad of ways it could fail. The first possible failure point was Caleb’s armor upgrade.

Blake sighed, as he looked around the refuge the Star Hawk pilots had kludged together. This short time was some of the happiest that he could remember. He would miss this safe haven for more than simply being a refuge from the harsh realities of space. The time he had spent here, with Karen Kelly, created some precious memories. All they did was talk, though one time they did fall to sleep together. His mind skittered away from what their closeness could mean, if they survived.

“If we survive this, I need to let Kelly know my intentions,” Blake announced to his Companion.

Blake explained, but neither of them understood if the explanation was for Aaron, or for himself.

He focused on their shelter, marveling at what the squadron had produced. It was far beyond what had been visualized.

Resupply modules had been joined together, end to end, and side to side, creating a space-raft. Star Hawks were each attached to an external resupply module. An image of the refuge, from outside, reminded Blake of a mother Possum carrying her litter on her back. The modules were designed to shelter up to two pilots. As it was, each pilot had their private module/quarters, and the large common area for briefings, or socializing. The private quarters could be used for sleeping, or even for more private socialization.

“I wonder if this method could be used by colonists going to other planets, or even to other stars,” Blake mused aloud, waving one hand at the structure they were in. He was hoping to break the silence that had been growing between him and Kelly.

“I think we already talked about this,” Kelly pointed out dryly. “If I remember correctly, our conclusion was, yes, as soon as we don’t have to worry about aliens killing us. We’ve come up with a lot of good ideas while we’ve been here, and all of them are good for ‘after we don’t have to worry about aliens, ‘“ she continued, a little more heatedly. “I have an idea of what we can talk about! Let’s talk about...”

“All flights ... prepare to launch in thirty minutes, equipment check in twenty. This is not a drill. Wrap it up, folks. It’s game time!” Commander Murphy mentally broadcast, unknowingly interrupting Kelly’s burgeoning tirade. Then he sent a complete update on the aliens’ status, and some minor changes to the Star Hawks’ deployment plans.

“Um ... Good luck,” Blake said awkwardly.

“You idiot!” Karen replied, before grabbing Blake and kissing him, thoroughly.

After Blake was allowed to surface for air, Karen scolded, “You being all proper is a testament to your upbringing, but enough is enough. I’ve been waiting for two days for a kiss and the best I’ve been able to get is a nap on your shoulder. We have time for one more kiss, and it had better be a good one! After this mission, we will talk about how proper I expect you to be! Do you understand me? Say, ‘Yes, Dear, ‘“

“Yes, Dear,” Blake replied, eyes still wide with shock.

“Well?” Karen demanded, tapping her foot.

“Oh! Yeah!” Blake blurted, before awkwardly trying to put his arms around Karen, trying to figure out where it was safe to place his hands.

“Oh for heaven’s sake,” Karen groaned, before deliberately placing his hands where she wanted. It wasn’t one of the locations that Blake was considering.

Blake groaned, his hands seeming to be on fire, and then he kissed her. And he kept kissing her. For the first time his mind relaxed and their minds joined, both reveling in what they discovered in the other.

The intensity of their affirmation of life continued spiraling upward. Their Companions embraced as intensely as the humans, and that vast wall in their minds seemed to rush at them. When the wall opened, for the barest fraction of a second, a brilliant light shone through their souls.

The kiss ended, and Karen rested her head against Blake’s chest. She clung to him, breathless, and with weak knees.

“Was that kiss good enough?” Blake asked tenderly, but with some trepidation.

“Yes,” Karen replied mentally, not trusting her voice. “It was everything, and more! It was more than I ever hoped a kiss from you would be.”

“Ten minutes until equipment check,” Commander Murphy announced.

Blake and Karen weren’t the only couple trying to stretch their last moments before battle.