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When the dust fully cleared, Liam could see that the scout ship was surrounded by humanoids clad in tight sand-colored suits, plated armor covering their shoulders and parts of their legs and abdomens. Their alien faces were obstructed by oblong tan helmets with black visors. Their ensembles camouflaged them well against the dunes and rocky outcrops in the distance. There were dozens of them, some manner of laser-weapons pointed at the ship, approaching cautiously.
Liam unbuckled his straps and stood up on the grated metal floor of the cockpit, clanking his feet as he grew accustomed to gravity again. He stretched his legs and raised his arms up to stretch his spine. Even a day of zero gravity took its toll. Saturn released the control panel and unstrapped her buckles. Her eyes were focused out the window intently.
“Do you think they’re hostile?” Saturn asked.
“The way they’re approaching it looks like they’re just being cautious. I think we’ll be okay.”
“You think?”
“Feel free to stay here if you like.”
Liam helped Ju-Long out of his jump seat. His muscular frame looked weak for once, his face losing color and his knees shaking. When he realized Saturn was watching he quickly stood up straight and brushed Liam’s hands away, determined to look after himself. Liam opened the cockpit door and led Ju-Long out into the cargo bay until they were standing near the airlock. Under the lights in the cargo bay Liam could see Ju-Long’s lip sporting a healthy bruise and the cut along his forehead beginning to scab up.
Parts of the cargo bay had buckled, leaving piles of coarse sand in the corners. They had no clearance so even if the ramp was in working order it would never have let them out. Instead, Liam put his hand over the control panel on the starboard airlock, opening both the inner and outer doors after a short pressurization cycle. A gust of air drew sand into Liam and Ju-Long’s eyes. Ju-Long left for a moment, returning with goggles, which Liam hastily strapped over his eyes. Saturn’s footsteps echoed in the cargo bay behind him, prompting him to turn around.
Saturn stood erect with a grimace crossing her face. “I guess if we’re going to die we might as well do it together.”
Ju-Long handed Saturn a pair of goggles and the three of them stepped through the airlock, dropping down a meter to the sandy airstrip below. The semicircle of alien soldiers closed in on them, their weapons leveled at their chests. From this close, it was clear that the aliens were each a head taller than them. Liam stepped forward with hands raised out in front of him, his empty palms facing them.
One of the aliens stepped forward, lowering his weapon. When he was a meter in front of Liam he stopped. A sudden wind threw sand over Liam’s goggles, soaking deep into his long blond hair. The alien was a little taller than the rest of them and wore a brown cape that hit the back of his knee. It was a similar shade as the sandy hills behind him. The alien removed his oblong beige helmet.
His face was mostly white and blue, but covered in soft scales like a fish. His ears were pointed back and his eyes wide set and large, as though they were orbs of black with just a border of white. Liam was struck by how remarkably human he appeared despite his odd features. He had two arms and two legs and a head and neck in similar fashion to a human. Underneath his pale skin, however, he could see purple veins crisscrossing the scales, something entirely inhuman.
When he spoke Liam heard the silky drawn out syllables from before. The alien’s speech was incomprehensible to Liam. Upon seeing his confused face, the alien held up a small device the size of a single credit. The gadget glowed as he spoke into it and Liam felt his head heat up. The feeling grew in intensity until Liam dropped to one knee. Through the pain, he heard a voice.
“Welcome to Garuda, outsider. What business have you?”
Liam’s ears still rung, but he steeled himself and got to his feet, pulling off his goggles and looking up at the fish-man. “I am Liam Kidd of Earth. This is my crew. We were attacked in our star system and a wormhole brought us here. We seek asylum.”
The alien turned his head to the others, speaking in that silky language, stringing along syllable after unintelligible syllable. There was a certain grace about the alien that was hard to put his finger on. He was not overly muscular but he clearly took care of himself. Some of his features might have been portrayed as feminine on a human, but Liam had no basis for comparison.
Saturn took a step forward and grabbed Liam’s arm, hissing into his ear, “Are you crazy? What if they’re the ones that attacked us?”
Liam turned and clenched his jaw. He spoke, hardly moving his lips, “Their technology is different than the ship that attacked us. I don’t think these are the same aliens.”
When Liam turned his head back to the alien, he was waiting, one hand on the trigger of his gun as though in preparation. He held up the device and spoke into it. This time, Liam was able to maintain his footing, though he kept his jaw tight to assuage the pain.
“Describe the ship that attacked you.”
Liam rubbed his temples with his eyes closed, regaining his composure. “It was massive, a few kilometers long and made from a patchwork of metal. Their weapons were powerful. They damaged our ship badly before we made it to this system.”
The fish-man held his head back and let out a roar, which prompted his companions to do the same. Liam was able to make out only one word as the alien spoke to his companions.
“Kraven.”
The aliens lowered their weapons and eased up their stances. The fish-man made himself look bigger by puffing out his chest and he spoke into the small circular device once more. His voice penetrated Liam’s mind. “I am Toras of House Zumora, head of security for Garuda Colony, forward outpost of the Ansara Alliance. You must come with me at once.”
As Toras turned and walked away, Saturn and Ju-Long came around in front of Liam bearing questioning glances.
“What the hell did he say?” Saturn asked.
Liam smiled. “Looks like I was right.”
“Are they going to help us?” Ju-Long asked.
“It seems like it. That device seemed to use telepathy. I get the feeling they don’t like whatever attacked us.”
“I still don’t like it,” Saturn said. “We need to find ourselves a ship and get off this rock.”
Liam spread his hands and asked, “And go where?”
For a moment Saturn seemed like she was going to speak, but she closed her mouth, crossed her arms, and reiterated, “I still don’t like it.”
Liam shrugged and started to follow Toras toward one of the large spires. The alien’s long legs made it hard for him to keep up. Soon, Ju-Long and Saturn were jogging to keep up. None of them could afford to be alone on this planet. Not when they were basically an endangered species. The other fish-men carried their weapons slung over their shoulders now, which made Liam feel a bit more at ease. After all, if they were going to kill them, they likely would have done so already.
The Corsair Uprising #1: The Azure Key Page 11
