by Leslie Chase
She could just imagine it, being sent back to base to relay communications to Earth while the men did the exploring. Nope. Not happening. Not this time.
The smooth red stone of the doors loomed over her as she approached the rock monster's mouth. The doors were clearly too heavy to push open, and she ran her gloved fingers over the surface finding no purchase. Looking back to the emerald beside them, she bit her lip.
It looked a lot like a button.
Feeling self-conscious, she reached out to it and almost jumped back when it sank into the wall at her touch. The ground under her feet shifted slightly and she felt a grinding sensation, as though, somewhere, a massive mechanism was coming to life. Josie took a step back, watching with awe as the great doors started to slide open.
Beyond the doors, a huge corridor led into the rock. Josie swallowed nervously, shining her light inside and debating whether to go any further. She could hardly bring herself to move. An ancient and abandoned alien base was an incredible find on its own, but one that still functioned? That was more than she could ever have imagined. Proof of alien life, here in the solar system.
I should wait for the others, she thought. But she knew she had to see more. Steeling herself, she crossed the threshold into the interior.
As soon as she was inside the doorway she knew that something was wrong. There was no airlock, nothing to keep air in and vacuum out. Despite that, her suit's pressure sensors told her that there was an atmosphere around her. A thin one, yes, not enough to breathe even if she'd been stupid enough to take off her helmet. According to the display, though, it was getting thicker by the second. She glanced behind her at the open door and shook her head.
It's got to be a malfunction, she told herself. The air would just escape through the open doorway. Right?
She couldn't be sure. Who knew what technology the aliens who built this place had access to? Josie realized that she couldn't rule out the possibility that there was some kind of forcefield keeping the air in. The thought made her shiver, wondering what other marvels she might find. Making sure that her helmet camera was recording, she pressed on into the alien base.
The walls were decorated with intricate carvings, stylized images of great flying serpents coiling around planets and stars, fighting each other or stranger creatures. There was too much to take in, so she pressed on. As she moved deeper, lights came on around her. Crystals set into the walls glowed, brightening slowly but steadily until they were bright enough to see by. Josie shivered again as she turned off her flashlight, shocked at how clean the place was. It looked almost as though it had been in use yesterday, but who knew how long it had been empty? Surely humans would have noticed aliens having an active base on Mars?
Doors dotted the corridor's walls, but she kept following the straight path, wanting to see how deep this corridor led. It sloped downward at a shallow angle, taking her under the mountain range. After what seemed like forever, though her clock told her it had only been ten minutes, she reached another doorway. This one was already open as she approached it.
On the far side was a large chamber intricately decorated with what looked like engravings of flying dragons. Josie hardly glanced at those, though. The center of the chamber held something far more eye-catching.
Three large crystal pods rested against each other, transparent and filled with liquid in which floated humanoid shapes. Josie blinked in shock, stepping forward to look closer. The last thing she'd expected to find was people, and it took an effort of will to step closer. Resting her hands on one of the pods, she examined the aliens.
The trio weren't human men, that much was obvious. Each of the three was tall, broad shouldered, muscular, but no human had wings. The dark red bat-like membranes folded around them, hiding much of their bodies, but what she could see was magnificent. They were perfectly built, each of the three, though as she looked closer at one of them she could see the pattern of red scales on his skin.
Definitely not human, she told herself, heart racing and mouth dry. That didn't stop him being the most gorgeous man she'd ever seen in her life, though. What is this? A tomb, or some kind of suspended animation?
Humans had experimented with that technology for long space journeys. Getting people to sleep was easy enough, the difficult part was waking them safely once they'd arrived. Humans hadn't figured out that trick, but maybe these aliens had?
As she watched, something started to change in the pod she was leaning against. Bubbles floated through the liquid, and the man started to stir. Josie jerked back from the pod, heart racing as his wings moved slowly and his eyes flickered.
What the hell is going on here? she asked herself as the alien male shuddered back to life. She was sure she hadn't touched any controls, hadn’t done anything to start this process whatever it was. But then, she reminded herself, she hadn't switched on the lights either. This alien base was coming back to life, whether she asked it to or not.
With a thump, the alien in front of her slammed both his hands into the thick glass cover of his pod making Josie jump back. Yep, definitely alive, she thought, dragging herself back to the present. Something was wrong, though. The alien was struggling in his pod, trying to push against the cover but unable to get any purchase.
Josie stepped closer, trying to decide what to do. Should she interfere? For all she knew she'd just make things worse. But she had to do something — the alien was drowning in there, and she couldn't let him simply die.
There was no sign of fear on his face, just a grim determination as he beat against the unyielding cover. But his movements were weakening, and Josie knew she had to make her choice now. Fumbling for the rock drill on her belt, she hoped it would be enough to break through.
Here goes nothing. She pressed the drill against the transparent surface and leaned her weight onto it as she pulled the trigger.
2
Verikan
Prince Verikan dreamed. Soaring on the thermals of a warm world, he saw the shadow of his wings flit across the landscape below, sending all that lived there fleeing in terror. Around him flew his wingmates, proud dragons all, brothers bound by long experience and work. Together they soared towards the warmth of the sun, exulting in their shared flight.
Below, a warrior rode out to challenge them, and Verikan smiled at his futile bravery. What could a human clad in metal hope to achieve against a dragon? He respected the man's bravery and flew on, ignoring the challenge and sparing the human's life. The day was too bright to spoil with killing.
But something was wrong. As beautiful as the moment was, he knew deep down that it was false. An illusion in his mind. And as his flight took him over the sea, he realized that the illusion was failing.
The air felt wrong and as soon as he noticed that, he was falling, tumbling toward the waves below. Try as he might, his wings wouldn't support him, and he couldn't even turn the fall into a dive. Striking the water with a shocking force, Verikan gasped and found his lungs full of liquid. Lashing out, he tried to reach the surface again, straining to reach it before he drowned. But he couldn't move, something was stopping his limbs, holding them against his body.
His eyes flickered open, and he realized at last what was happening. His arms bashed against the sides of the life support pod, but he was trapped. The machine that had kept him alive on this dying world was now drowning him as he tried to breathe on his own. Slamming against the door with all his strength did nothing — it had been designed to survive a war, and unarmed, he had little hope of damaging it. This can't be the end of me, he told himself, pulling back a fist as far as he could and smashing it into the wall of the chamber. I haven't slept so long to die waking up!
But there was nothing that he could do. His fist made no impression on the crystal surface. Even shifting would be a suicidal choice — changing in a space this small would crush and kill him before he shattered the pod that held him. But it was the only option he had left, and as the world dimmed around him he gathered his energy
to try. Better to die struggling than to give in to despair.
Before he could start the change he saw movement in the room outside the pod. Someone pressed against it and he heard a terrible grinding sound through the liquid that was drowning him. A crack appeared in the pod's transparent door and then, with a great crash, the door shattered. The liquid around him rushed out carrying him tumbling to the floor to land on his hands and knees at his savior's feet.
Looking up, he saw his rescuer. Or at least he saw her suit, armored and bulky. A primitive design meant to hold up against the vacuum of space, it completely enclosed the woman inside in hard surfaces. There was just enough hint of the form underneath to tell him that she was female, and he could see that she didn't have wings. Whoever she was, she couldn't be a dragon.
The human female carried a drill, still smoking from punching through the survival pod. She held it in front of her like a weapon, warning him off as she backed away. Her stance spoke of shock and fear and her hands shook.
Verikan frowned, pulling himself to his feet. This wasn't how he should have woken. He'd expected to wake surrounded by the royal guard or if things went badly, by rebels planning his death. Instead, he was being rescued from his slumber by someone from a species so primitive that they couldn't even build a proper spacesuit. But she had saved him, and he wasn't going to forget that fact.
Towering over her, he smiled and held out his hand to her. Moving slowly so as not to startle the newcomer, he reached past the drill she held and touched her suit. She didn't seem to know what to do, taking a nervous step backward, and he could see the fear in her stance. It was mixed with a fierce determination. He could see at once that no matter how frightened she was, she wouldn't let herself be easily intimidated.
This doesn't make any sense, he thought. How can she be so confused? She ought to know who I am, and if she's not here to wake me then why is she here?
The only other possibility was one that he didn't want to think about. But there was no choice, he had to face the truth.
"How long have I slept?" Verikan asked, addressing the palace computer.
No answer came, which was a worrying sign. The computer should be everywhere in the palace, and ready to answer. Verikan frowned, looking at his rescuer, but she looked up at him blankly. Can she really not know the Imperial Tongue? The language of his people was common even outside the Empire — their conquests had spread it far and wide. Perhaps she couldn't hear him through her suit, though that only raised further questions.
Behind him, Verikan heard the soft liquid sound of survival pods emptying and turned. It looked like his was the only one which had malfunctioned. His two companions were waking as intended, and once the liquid had drained from the pods their doors slid open.
As soon as he was free, Captain Mordrak jumped to his feet, stretching his wings. In one quick glance he took in the shattered remains of Verikan's pod, Verikan himself, and then the human with the drill. His response was instant. Smashing the drill aside Mordrak grabbed the female, lifting her off her feet one-handed.
"Stop!" Verikan's voice echoed in the chamber, and his hand slapped Mordrak's off the human, letting her fall to the floor before she had a chance to react to the attack. Mordrak glared at his prince, and Verikan couldn't blame him. His reaction had surprised him, but he trusted his instincts. Placing himself between the spacesuited newcomer and the Captain of his guards, he stood ready to fight to protect her.
"She saved me," he said to Mordrak, voice low and threatening. "I was trapped in a malfunctioning pod, and if this female hadn't been there to break me out I would have drowned before either of you woke."
Captain Mordrak frowned and slowly, grudgingly, bowed his head. "Apologies, my lord. But she is an intruder and must be secured."
Verikan snarled at that, clenching his fist. He didn't know where this anger was coming from, but it was very real. No one was going to harm the female, not even Mordrak.
The third dragon, Askelon, ignored the confrontation. Stepping over to the remains of Verikan's pod instead, he examined the damage. His thoughtful hmm interrupted the others, Verikan and Mordrak turning to face him.
"Something is very wrong here," Askelon said, more to himself than to the others. His fingers danced across the controls, and he shook his head.
Verikan made a questioning noise, and Askelon turned and shrugged. "This mechanism should last for centuries without any risk of failure, and more than that, this place hasn't seen any travel in a long while. We should have been rescued long since — who is this female, and why is it her waking you, not your royal guards?"
Having no answer to give, Verikan shook his head. Askelon was one of the brightest scientists of the Empire and not someone to be doubted. Especially not on a subject of his expertise, and he was the one who'd created the survival pod system in the first place. He raised several good questions.
"Let's ask her," he said, turning to offer the woman his hand. Her gloves were thick, clumsy things, but she let Verikan lift her back to her feet. She started nervously when he reached for her helmet, but he ignored that. The air was safe, after all. The female's helmet came away easily and he gasped as he saw the face beneath.
She was beautiful. Delicate pale skin with a scattering of freckles, red hair, green eyes that looked into his intensely with fear and curiosity and hope all blurring in them. Verikan frowned as he looked at her. She wasn't from any species that should be traveling space. She was a human.
"How in the Thousand Stars did you get here?" Verikan asked with a sinking feeling in his heart. The humans' technology hadn't developed far beyond steel swords. A lot had changed while he'd slept.
She spoke, but whatever language she used was alien to him. The sound of her voice, though, that was like music. It made his heart soar as though he were flying, almost staggering him.
He shot a look at Askelon, who shrugged and stepped forward, examining the human female. "I don't understand this, Your Highness," the scientist said after a moment. "But the language she's speaking — it isn't completely unknown to us. I believe it's related to some of the human languages we know, and we should be able to learn it quickly."
Verikan nodded. The woman hadn't stopped speaking, and he could hear the fear in her voice intensifying as the three dragons gathered around her. She backed away from them, but there was nowhere for her to retreat to and soon she was trapped against a wall.
Her babbling was starting to make sense. As a royal prince of the Empire, Verikan had one of the best personal computers implants in the galaxy. Learning the languages of a conquered species quickly was exactly the kind of thing it was designed to help with.
"— can't keep me —untranslatable— what the Hell is this," she said, little patches of sense in the babble as the computer in his head learned to translate her speech.
"Calm," he commanded, finding the word in her tongue. "You will be quiet."
He had too much to think about to let himself be distracted by a human's presence, no matter how appealing the specimen was. Something had gone wrong, and he needed to find out what it was.
His words were enough to make her shut up, a look of shock on her face. Surprise that he could speak her language? He didn't know, but at least he had some peace to think. His implants still hadn't connected to the local systems, and that should have been impossible. This was a royal palace, a place of safety for him and his family. The systems were secure and should be as hard to damage as anything he could imagine.
He turned away from the woman to look at his companions. Askelon muttered to himself under his breath, trying to contact the machines. Mordrak looked angrier than Verikan had ever seen him.
"Captain, we must secure the palace," Verikan said. The sooner Mordrak had something else to think about the better, otherwise it looked like he might lash out at the first target he could find. The reminder of his duty calmed him, and he took a deep breath to steady himself.
"Yes, my lord," he said. "I will see
to it at once."
Without waiting for a response, the Captain turned on his heel and stalked off towards the doors. Verikan watched him go, frowning for a moment. This was all wrong, the three of them should not have been alone here. Seeing the Captain stalk across the open empty space towards the palace entrance made that feeling worse. Again he tried his implanted communicator, but there was nothing to answer him.
"Your Highness," Askelon said, intruding on his thoughts, "I should check on the core. There must be a reason why we're not receiving any contact from the computer."
And why my survival system failed, Verikan thought, nodding to the scientist. "Go. Report back to me when you've made any progress. I'll secure this... captive."
He wasn't sure that was the right word for this human, but it would do for now. Turning back to her, he picked her up and started towards the door. She seemed startled by the casual ease with which he lifted her, confirming that she had no idea who or what she was dealing with.
"Hey, put me down," she said, and he was pleased that his implant translated every word. That meant he'd be able to get some answers from her. Ignoring her objections and her futile struggles he put her over his shoulder.
With long strides, he carried her towards his chambers. They were close by and secure, or at least as secure as anything in this failing base could be. That made it the perfect place to interrogate the female.
He couldn't help feeling that was only part of the reason he wanted to bring her to his bedchamber.
3
Josie
Squirming in the massive man's grip, Josie tried to keep her panic under control. It wasn't easy. Nothing had prepared her for the idea that she might be the first human to meet an alien.
