I stare across the atrium and see another one hundred and ninety-nine more just like me. Yet I can’t help but think how much better I am than every single last one of them. Some may say I’m a bit of a prick, but the truth always seems to hurt the ones complaining about reality more than anyone else.
I’m not saying I’m better at everything though, just most things. Objectively I have ten records on this ship including but not limited to the obstacle course, push ups, 200 metre swim and track. Subjectively I’m just so damn handsome. Shame no one’s allowed a relationship that isn’t pre-approved by the bureaucrats upstairs.
That’s a whole lot of paperwork, red tape and effort that only someone in love would be willing to tackle and I have my whole life ahead of me… assuming my occupation doesn’t end that pre-maturely. I suppose I’d better be honest with myself though, I’m a bit messed up. A few years on board doesn’t really help the matter to be honest.
They have me on watch and I’ve been having frequent complimentary therapy sessions with the ships psychy. He’s not bad but sometimes he pushes buttons that should be left alone. It’s not like I’m gonna shoot up the place if I don’t talk about how my dog Lucy died when I was ten. Great! Now I’m sad. It’s just that this is a big place with not a whole lot to do besides work and training.
Resources are always tight here due to us needing to be self-sufficient and fat chance for a stray signal from home bringing in new entertainment options. Everyone has watched everything we brought about six times over. Some poor saps have taken to fighting over who gets to guard the science labs.
Something something chemical reactions are fun. I guess I’m not the only one having a hard time since Dr. Parke always happens to be watching the clock no matter where you see him. Oh, looks like we’re moving to the cargo bay. Everyone is taking steady measured steps in silence, but you can feel the excitement in the air.
I must be going crazy since I can even imagine smiles on faces even when everyone has a mask on and looks pretty much the same in their environmental combat suits. Men and women of all heights, appearances and outlooks all stuffed into the same standardised units. Truly the absolute conformity and striking mottled black appearance must be awe inspiring for any onlookers.
Professional, classy and one of these fools blew milk out their nose a couple weeks back. They call him Shakes now, as in milk shakes. We enter the bay through Decom about 50 at a time so more waiting for us in the meantime. I think the worst thing about landing on an alien planet so far is all the god damned not being able to see it.
Don’t get me wrong, getting shot at is worse but the prolonged suspense is more tiring than the standing around all day. The briefing at least kept our mind off it by giving us something to focus on at least. Apparently, we’re to not go sight-seeing, not get distracted, not take our helmet off since it’s toxic out there to us.
The last one I understand but come on! How are we not supposed to marvel at all the alien stuff. I hear a notification from Command and open the files to discover that I’ve been assigned ten marines and have been given an assignment. Looks like we’re not here in peace after-all. I’m to secure entrances while others take over the Starport in its entirety.
It makes sense to secure our only way off this planet but the let no one in or out command bothers me slightly. Not a good first impression to take civilian prisoners if you ask me but, I suppose no one is. No one ever is. I select the names I’m in charge of and get ready to ping them the meet-up location as I finally enter into the decompression room.
Me and ten others are going to be at the front line in front of some pretty pissed off aliens in a few and I wonder if it’s because I’m expendable or they believe I’m just that good at my job. As Decom starts humming, I go through my equipment and double check my weapons. One rifle, fully charged and undamaged. Two pistols, one fully charged, the other old school with three clips.
Only 30 shots in that one but sometimes lead is more effective in certain situations. Finally, and my personal favourite, the stun gun. It’ll fry most things and leave you alive to boot. Although that being alive part was only tested on humans. Still, it’ll shut anything down from a distance and one charge fires off 120 shots which is just plain efficient if you ask me. The lethal rifle charges only spin 70 shots off before they lose effectiveness.
As soon as I’m done the green lights flash meaning we’re good to go. I ping the team that I just now dubbed Antlion-1 to meet up on the far-right of the bay doors and send a request to Command for the station schematics. I depart from my group and make my way across the cargo bay that seems to be having more action than it’s ever had since we first left Earth. I keep to the designated pathways through the mess and somehow end up on the other side with my head still attached. I should report that to HR later.
As I arrive, I see a couple of marines already waiting at the rendezvous and a few others making their way towards us. The last four were most likely from my group still trying to make it through the organised chaos of machinery and engineers. They salute as I get there and I gesture for them to wait. It was then I got my reply from Command. A nice flat diagram of the building.
It seems that there are 12 exits/entrances to this specific building and basic maths says fuck. So, in order to secure the place, we’ll first need to rush the control room and put the Starport in lock down. I go over a few scenarios and try and find the optimal approach while waiting for everyone to arrive. When the last straggler joins his companions, I turn my attention back to the group and then give my salute, which they reciprocated.
I key into their Comm-links and connect everybody to each other which is easier than it used to be when we first left thanks to a couple of bored engineers last year. I hope he got adequately paid for that piece of work. Once done I step apart and get them to line up in front of me.
“Good evening ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the brief. I’ll try and keep it short. We’re here to secure the landing zone. We are front and centre on this one and what we do will affect how the rest of the operation is going to be conducted. There are 12 points that need to be controlled yet only eleven of us.” I say as I move along the line checking their equipment at a glance as I go.
“So, our first objective is to secure the security room and initiate a lock down response from their equipment. From my records that’ll mean Ensign Marks, Wesley and Livv will split off from the main group and infiltrate the stairwell up to the security office.” The three marines stand at attention as I called their names but otherwise show no indication of acknowledgement or complaint.
“Make sure Marks is protected while she handles their systems as she needs to concentrate on both instructions from Command and operate a foreign system and their security protocols may have a few issues with that. Should you deem it necessary you have permission to detonate charges as the situation requires. The others will be with me and provide basic coverage over the exits/entrances until Marks initiates the lockdown. Any questions?”
“No sir,” Came the ten replies at once over the Comm-link.
“Good. We will commence operation as soon as the bay doors open in 9 minutes. Remember that we are representatives of Earth, our actions have consequences and we are about to make a poor introduction of who we are and what we represent. Do not make it worse and limit casualties as you can.” I pause for a second and in a hard voice I state, “In the event of capture initiate protocol 6”.
“Keep in mind visibility conditions as the planets distance from the sun is greater than our own. Monitor your temp controls and ‘don’t get shot’ goes without saying.” I say trying and failing to add a little bit of humour. “get in positions. I want this place secured before they even know what happened. I expect to see you all this afternoon for a debrief.”
I key in the plan and send it to Marks and then start prepping the portable barricade. Others are gathering at the bay doors and start getting into their own formations for their own missions. I suspect the larger groups job is to stand in the ships entrance and look pretty for the spectators.
Poor bastards. I’ll tell them all about how I saved the day later to rub it in their face. With the barricade attached to my suit I head over to the slightly less conspicuous bay door of which we will emerge.
The countdown from command begins as Command gives the go ahead on the strategy I decided on. I can hear the main doors open with all the sirens and extra fanfare you’d expect from such a massive starship. The countdown reached zero as our exist opened for us silently. We push our way out onto a walkway and dive into the crowd single file. I can hear the door seal behind us, but it was a faint click and no more.
Of course, the people? Aliens? around us were startled by the fully armed and obviously military squad marching through them but it would take time for the greater surroundings to take note of us. Especially with the far more interesting diversion. I even saw two people get shoved only to ignore whatever shoved them and continue to gawk ahead. We were at the back of the crowd before enough people noticed to cause alarm and by then we had already split up.
Marks group headed off into an administrative tunnel to the left after by-passing the keypad while we are only a few more paces from our objective. Suddenly a sharp pitched noise fires off behind and what was left was pandemonium. I made a call and deployed my barricade right behind us and moments later Ensign Kingsley deployed his at the entrance.
With the point secured and our part of the objective complete we fell onto protocol 1. It seems that we had caught about a dozen civilians alongside us and none of which seem willing or able to resist. I sent the request to Wesley for a status update and turned on the suit’s new translator as I walked over towards where they were grouping up.
“We are not hostile. Civilians will be protected. No one will be harmed.” A few tense up while others visibly relax which is the norm. At least we seem to have got our message through to them.
There are a few different species that I can differentiate but most of them seem to have short-haired bodies and a vague cat-like appearance. Three seem to be children which raises up the standard of care we need to provide them.
“You are safe here, but it will take time till we can secure the area. Most likely we estimate three hours. Does anyone require food, water or any other necessities?” I say trying to sound as calm and friendly as possible as it can be through a translator.
I see hesitations here and there, but no one steps up and I hear a message through the Comm-link. ‘Mission objective achieved. One injury non-fatal, no immediate medical attention required. Room secured.’ While I was distracted it seems one of the children walked up close enough to tap on my arm. Kingsley was just out of sight monitoring the kid, but I make a discreet gesture signalling him to settle.
“Please… water. I’m thirsty” I could see it stop talking before the translator had even started and its robotic voice gave me the impression that I probably didn’t sound as calm and friendly as I wanted to be. I tap at my wrist and send a command to my helmet to disable the reflective shielding allowing me to show my face. It seemed to be a small shock to them but that didn’t matter. It’s better than them thinking I’m some heartless machine. I also initiate my suits outward speakers so they can hear my voice before it’s translated.
“Alright. Child. I will be sure to provide that. I will be back in a moment.” I reply giving the best damn smile I can possibly give.
I scan the walls and luckily it seems there is a water intake leading in from outside the station. I walk over and attach a piping drill from the utility pack. It’s not like we can give them the same water we’ve brought with us as that could lead to all sorts of biological issues so they’ll have to settle from what we can filter out of the local source.
Most of the civilians have their attention on me as they stare at what I’m doing in what I can assume is avid curiosity. With a small thunk in the wall the filter seems to be doing its job well as the water tank attached to it fills with crystal clear water. I grab a 1liter bottle and fill it from the tank before making my way back to the child.
“Here you go. Please let me know if you’re hungry. I can’t give you anything we have but I can find something nearby if you’d like?” I say while I get on one knee and hand over the bottle.
“Thank you,” the kid says hesitantly before taking a giant gulp. “What is your name?” came the robotic question but I heard the language for what it was. There were hard ‘ke, ta, and zec’ sounds and a strange melodic inflection.
“My name is Zachariah Arbor, but my friends call me Zack” I say looking into its light grey alien eyes.
“Can I call you Zack?” It asked.
“Only if you want be my friend?” I replied as I pat its head. “What is your name?” I ask in return.
“I’m Art! Art Ryte! You … in the … Spaceship, right? It’s big! The biggest … ever seen!” It says all excited now. The water in its hands making splashing noises in its container. The bio scanner I’ve been running finally indicates that the individual in front of me is in fact estimated to be mammalian and female.
“It has to be that big since my home was so far away from here. I was on that ship for 3 years.” I say while checking the regular updates from Command.
“3 years! I went to … with my dad once and I felt sick even though we were on the … for 4 days!” She exclaimed.
I notice some of the others leaning against the wall or talking between themselves and are probably from what I can infer, acting bored. So, mission accomplished. You can’t be panicking while you’re bored out of your mind. A couple even went over to the water tank to grab a drink.
I suppose it helps that the kid drank from it first and hasn’t started convulsing. The rest of the Antlions are staring to take turns between guarding the barricade and guarding the civilians. With that, I suppose I have some free time to spend with my new friend.
“You get used to travelling but I felt a bit homesick for the first few months myself. But the worst part was that we ran out of good entertainment on the way. Oh! My home world is called Earth by the way.” I say knowing what the translator would most likely do.
“You named your planet dirt?” The confusion evident to even me.
“Of course! It’s an apt name don’t you think. You will find that Humans like to name a lot of things and as such we have already run out of the really good names.” I say matter-of-factly.
“Isn’t a planet name one of the most important names?” She says half laughing.
“Well what is your planet name then?” I say only to see her deflate a little.
“Our planet isn’t important enough for a name. It’s called administrative zone 103536.” She responds sadly.
“Well you will have to think of one soon then. Your planet is right in between Earth and Council Space so it will be very important soon.” I reply noticing a few of the other take note of that. I believe I even saw a uniquely alien imitation of a smile. “Might I recommend Earth 2?” I say as I heard a hiccupy laughter from Art.
She runs back to the group and goes through a small pack before running back over. Once more I had to gesture discreetly to Kingsley to stand down. She has a small metal construction in the shape of an old Biplane. With little embellishments and unique shape. It’s an interesting little artefact to say the least. Perfect for a child her apparent age.
“Zack! I brought this to trade with one of the people in the giant ships. You see the key here? It winds up and the whole thing moves see! Would you like it?” She asks excitedly.
“It’s beautiful. I will have to show all my friends. But I can’t just take something meant for trade. That would make me a poor friend. How about…” I say looking in the pack I bought in case I had to interact with the aliens. “This.” I say taking out some blank dog tags.
“What is that?” She asked quizzically.
“This is one of our identifiers. We have electronic ones, but this is something important to our culture so everyone of us has one. So that means that if you show it to any of us, they will know you are a friend. The only thing missing is your name.” I say as I adjust the heat and size on the wielder built into my suit. I ask her to take a couple steps back before I start and begin to engrave her name as it sounds phonetically and the date. On the other side I placed a message.
Art Ryte
2307C.E.
A friend of Humanity
The first of many
After finishing I wait till it cools before passing it over to her. She looks at it for a while. Turning it over in her hands a few times. I can see her feel where the wielder melted the metal into lettering. She puts it over her head and around her neck before coming closer still holding the tag.
She points her clawed finger at the words “Is this how you write? What does this mean?”
“That,” I say pointing at each word and continue to explain what they are and what they mean.
After a few hours I get the notification from Command that we are all clear. Our next order was disable to interior barricade and escort the civilians to the registration office that was recently set up. Afterwards we can head to debrief and get some well-deserved rest. I turn to the civilians and gesture to them to wake the ones who decided to rest.
“Hello everyone. I am to escort you all to the registration set up in the station. I know most of you want to go home but I assure you that this is for everyone’s safety. We take good care of people we are responsible for and I would like to thank you for being so understanding.” I say before picking Art up from where she was asleep beside me.
I give the order to drop the internal barricade then lead the way through an empty atrium, trying my best to ignore the laser and ballistic markings. A few unsettled noises sounded off behind me, but the translator didn’t catch the whispers. No one stopped following me though which is always good. We go through a hallway on the other side of the room behind where the ship docked, and I see a couple of marines guarding a door. The map provided by command indicates that this is the location of the registration office. Before I can enter one of the marines step forward and sends a Comm-link request.
“Commander Arbor. You are requested to join Admiral Hamilton within the command centre. Other members of Antlion-1 are to enter the debriefing room. Admiral Hamilton also requests that you bring the Alien known as Art Ryte alongside.” His practiced voice states without room for negotiation.
“Understood. May I address the civilians in order not to alarm Art Ryte at their departure.” I ask in similar fashion.
“You may.” He responds.
I turn towards the civilians and softly awaken Art who seems to have left drool on my shoulder. Thankfully it wasn’t acidic, and she even seems to be embarrassed about the whole situation. “I have been told that this is where I leave you. I hope to see you all in the future in a better way. Art Is there anyone here who is your parent or guardian?” I ask.
“No. Mum and Dad are probably worried at the moment. I hope they are not mad at me.” She responds sadly.
“I’m sure they are just worried about you. Can you tell me where they live so that we can send them a message to let them know that you are okay?” I ask calmly and notice that she seems happier now that I said she wouldn’t be in trouble.
“They live in Sector 3, house 37. Thank you, Zack.”
“I have been told that the person in charge of our ship wants to talk to you. He is a very important man and I have only seen him a few times even though I live on this ship. Would you like to go with me to talk to him while we wait for your parents?”
“He is in charge of all the ships! He wants to talk to me?” She asks not quite seeming to believe what I had said.
“It is a great honour.” I say as I see one of the guards get annoyed by how long this is taking. “I’m sure he wants to meet with the first friend of humanity personally. You might even get a reward for how brave you were.”
“Okay! Let’s go!” She yells excitedly.
“We’ll have to say goodbye to the others here though. I’m sure they all are all too ready to go home.” I say waving to the others, and some wave back in response.
“Goodbye. Thank you for looking after me everyone.” She says going to hug the other two kids before running back beside me.
With that, the civilians filed into the room while I dismissed the rest of Antlion-1. The other three have most likely already been debriefed and I’ll have to check out which one has the bruise and buy them a drink later. Not being a friend of an inferior officer does not mean not taking care of your wards after-all and this operation was almost flawless from what I could tell. A real heart-warming piece of propaganda.
I lead Art back the way we came and found a medical officer talking to an engineer just outside the ship’s hanger bay. A nice child sized environmental suit waiting for us and the sound of an avid debate about chemical ratios. I can practically see the spark in Art’s eyes as she realises who the suit is probably for.
