Terraformed Skies

by Anna Lewis

Constance and Ulita boarded first, Leonard and Erika following shortly behind. They sat in the seats lining the ship. The captain made an appearance as they got settled.

  “Good afternoon, civilians. I’m sure you’re well aware of the situation we’re in,” he said. “I’m Captain Theodore Nyugen and I’ll be guiding you back to shore.”

  Everyone nodded as he spoke. They waited patiently for another explanation, but nothing came.

  “Sir, what are we going to do?” Leonard asked.

  “I’m going to arm you all with these disintegrators for your protection. We’ll head for the safe base, and then we’ll make an action plan from there,” the captain informed them. “We’ll need your help warding off these Terramites.”

  Captain Nyugen pointed at Leonard when he said this. Erika grabbed his hand, worry filling her eyes. Leonard patted her arm.

  “It’s going to be okay,” he said. “We’ll get through this.”

  Erika offered a smile and he kissed her hand as reassurance. While the ship made its way towards the shore, the captain instructed the pilot and the group sat in the back making light conversation. Leonard cracked a few jokes and had the group laughing until the ship shook. The captain made another appearance.

  “We might be running into some trouble,” he said. “I suggest you strap in and hang on.”

  As soon as the captain left the room, the ship shook violently and Constance fell forward. Leonard reached out to grab her and put her back in her seat, helping to strap her in. Erika grabbed Leonard’s hand and squeezed. He could see her jaw clenching and he held on tight. Something struck the ship which made her gasp, her grip tightening around his hand.

  “Hang on!” cried the captain while strapping himself in. “We’re going down!”

  The ship took a sharp dive and began barreling down towards the earth, the passengers all screaming as metal met the ground. It caused Constance to bounce out of her seat. Ulita clung to her straps, and Leonard and Erika gripped each other as the ship skittered across the ground and came to a halt. When the smoke cleared, Leonard unbuckled himself to check on everyone.

  “Where’s Constance?” he asked, turning to help Erika from her seat.

  “I can’t see her,” Erika replied.

  A groan came from the other end of the ship and a blue arm shot up in the air, Leonard sprinting to help pull Ulita from the rubble. Constance was underneath her.

  “Got her,” Ulita coughed with a smile.

  Constance blinked rapidly and rubbed her head, looking around to see where she was.

  “Goodness, can we catch a break here?” she asked while Leonard pulled her to her feet. “I swear it’s like the stock market crash of 2400.”

  Erika laughed at the joke and took Constance by the hand.

  “Are you alright?” she asked. “And Ulita, how do you feel?”

  “Ugh, I’m fine,” Ulita replied while fixing her skirt.

  “As am I, dear. Let’s get moving before those idiots in the sky decide to start shooting at us again,” Constance said.

  Leonard went to check the cockpit, looking around as the captain came to in his seat. The pilot was dead, having suffered severe injury from the attack. He looked through the front window and saw gnarled, bug-like creatures advancing toward the ship.

  “Captain, we’ve got a problem,” he said while turning to help the captain up. “Looks like those termite things are approaching.”

  “Terramites,” said Captain Nyugen. “And get those disintegrators out of that compartment over there.”

  Erika pushed the digital buttons on the wall and opened the compartment, passing around disintegrators to everyone in the ship. They stood in the center, waiting for their cue.

  “Alright, amigos,” the captain said. “This man and I will take the front. Cover our backs and make sure no one approaches us from behind. Got it?”

  The group nodded, Leonard stepping forward to join the captain at the front. As they made their way out of the cockpit, a small group of Terramites began circling around them and then began to fire. Returning fire, Leonard took out the ones on the left while the captain took out the ones on the right.

  When the area was clear, the captain motioned for them to continue moving forward. Leonard heard a squeak from behind and he turned to find Constance hopping on one foot while holding the other. He gave her a quizzical look to which she responded, “I stepped on a rock.”

  The captain motioned for Leonard to pay attention to the front and kept walking carefully up the hill, reaching the level area within just a few minutes. His mouth hung open. Before them stood a legion of Terramites, each of them armed to the teeth. Leonard felt a hand grab his and he turned to see Erika with eyes wide open and mouth agape, scanning the area that was covered in enemy aliens. She whimpered.

  “Darling,” she whispered. “That’s a lot of aliens.”

  “It is, dear,” he responded.

  “Let’s keep moving into that monorail tunnel. We can at least take cover for a moment before jumping them,” the captain explained.

  Leonard nodded and headed for the tunnel, zapping a few Terramites on the way. He heard the sound of zapping behind him. It sounded like the women were doing a great job of covering their backs. Deep in the tunnel, the lights were flickering and the monorail was evidently no longer in use. The silence was nearly total, the only sound coming from down the tunnel where it sounded like Terramites were poking around.

  “Keep moving forward,” whispered the captain. “It won’t be much longer.”

  As they reached the main platform of the monorail, the sound of squealing came from up ahead. Leonard noticed a pod moving slowly on its own, inching forward as if being pushed by an invisible force. Two green orbs appeared in the darkness behind the pod and Leonard realized it was a Terramite trying to push the pod forward. He immediately shot it down.

  Without warning, a whole pack of Terramites suddenly had them surrounded, the group firing their disintegrators at each one in sight and watching as they completely vaporized upon being hit. A hoard of them barreled through the doors of the monorail station, Erika screaming for them to hang on as they tried to contain the attack. Constance fell to the ground, still shooting from her limited position as Ulita tried to cover her. Leonard punched two Terramites and sent them reeling, the captain disintegrating them as they fell backwards.

  “We’ve almost got them! Hang on!” cried the captain.

  They continued to hold off the hoard until there were only two left, Erika fumbling with her disintegrator as they approached.

  “Leonard!” cried Erika while shaking her gun.

  Without hesitation, Leonard stepped up to her side and shot the two Terramites down. The captain patted him on the shoulder.

  “Well done, sir,” he said. “You would make a fine soldier.”

  “Thank you, Captain,” Leonard said. “We should keep moving. I’m sure there’s more of those.”

  The captain nodded and then turned to help Constance from the ground, checking her leg.

  “Is she alright?” Leonard asked.

  “Yes, she’s fine. Just looks like she might have been shot in the leg,” Captain Nyugen replied.

  “It feels like hot fire in my veins,” Constance said. “Like they shot me on a molecular level.”

  “All of it is molecular,” explained the captain. “We’ll get you to the medic as soon as we sprint across the field. You’ll be alright.”

  Constance nodded though her expression was grim. She looked like she was in a lot of pain and Ulita walked up to take her hand, holding it as the captain carried her to the entrance of the monorail station. Leonard ran to the front to cover them, instructing Erika to watch the rear as they made their way forward. There weren’t too many Terramites in the field, but there were a number of ships in the air. Some of them appeared to be military while most of the others were unmarked, just like the one that had initially attacked.

  As they approached the safe base, fire eru
pted in the sky. It looked like the military ships were making an attack on the enemy species. Small chunks of stainless steel rained down on the group trying to make their way safely across the field. The captain wiped some sand away from an unmarked area and tapped a keypad, causing the ground to shake and reveal a steel door that opened for the group.

  “Quickly! Inside!” yelled the captain.

  Leonard led the group through the entrance and the captain was the last to follow, carrying the wounded Constance. He shut the steel door behind them and turned to lead them through the tunnel that went down into the ground.

  “Welcome to our safe base,” announced the captain as they walked into a spacious room teeming with military personnel.

  A group of men were in the corner, pointing up at digital screens and tapping the glass desk rapidly. Another group was tending to a few wounded soldiers in a room separated by glass. One of them approached to take Constance.

  “I’m going with her,” Ulita said.

  The captain turned to Leonard.

  “You’ve shown a tremendous amount of leadership and bravery. I’d like for you to come out on the field with us,” the captain said.

  “Me? As a soldier?” Leonard asked incredulously. “I don’t think I’m cut out for that, sir.”

  “Desperate times occasionally call for a desperate measure, and that’s where you come in. Think of it as a favor to your province, to your people, and to the earth,” explained Captain Nyugen. “You would have the highest honor.”

  Leonard looked at Erika as he mulled over.

  “Do it,” she said. “It’s the right thing.”

  His brows furrowed together and he frowned, holding out his hand to take hers. He rubbed her fingers and then kissed them before turning back to Captain Nyugen.

  “I’ll do it.”

  Chapter Twelve

  As Leonard and Captain Nyugen prepared to return to the field, Erika sat with Constance and Ulita in the recovery room, each of them holding a hot cup of tea. She sipped quietly, looking around the room and focusing on nothing in particular.

  “He’s a brave man, you know,” Constance said from the bed. “He’s a keeper.”

  “I know,” Erika said. “I’m just scared I’ll lose him in an instant.”

  “Don’t focus on that, amiga,” Ulita said.

  Erika offered a small smile and looked down at her cup, observing her reflection wavering in the surface of the liquid. She rubbed the side of the cup with her thumb, ignoring the rest of the conversation that Ulita and Constance were holding. A hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality and she looked up to find Leonard smiling down at her.

  “We’re about to leave, dear,” he said softly.

  “I know,” she said quietly.

  “Don’t worry about me. I can’t quite die with the extended serum, but I can be wounded,” he explained. “They’ve given me another injection to keep my skin from being penetrated by enemy fire.”

  “That’s fantastic,” she whispered, tears beginning to trickle down her face.

  Leonard wiped them away with his thumbs, bending over to kiss her lips.

  “You’re going to be wonderful out there,” she said. “Please, come back to me.”

  “I will. As soon as they’re defeated, I will come back here and give you the most passionate kiss ever,” he promised. “And then we can get back to our lives.”

  The couple shared another kiss and Erika wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing her wet face into his neck while sobbing quietly. Ulita took her arm and held her while Leonard walked back towards the tunnel with the captain, waving before turning around and disappearing into the bright wash of lights. Hugging her hard, Ulita sat down and rocked Erika gently while she cried.

  “He’s coming back,” Ulita said. “I know it. You two are beyond perfect for each other.”

  “I just wish I could go with him and be at his side. That way, if he doesn’t make it, we both go down together,” Erika said through tears.

  “That’s beautiful,” Constance said from the table. “It sounds like a love story for the history books, a true tale of heroism and bravery.”

  “It really does,” Ulita said.

  “Do you mind if I write that down?” Constance asked. “I’ve been meaning to write a new e-book lately and this makes the perfect story. I’ll change your names, of course.”

  Erika blushed.

  “I don’t mind at all,” she whispered. “But if only it were true.”

  Constance craned her neck to look out the glass window and then turned back to Erika who was sitting on Ulita.

  “We can make it true,” she whispered.

  “How?” Erika asked.

  “Well, there’s a whole table of weapons just outside the door. You could grab one and head up the tunnel. I’m sure it’s easy to open that steel door,” Constance whispered.

  “I’m not sure what the key code is to open that door,” Erika replied. “But I could certainly try to find out.”

  “How would you do that?” Ulita asked as Erika stood and leaned against the back wall.

  “I’ll just have to hack into their system to find the code,” Erika replied. “Cover me.”

  The two women focused on the door and Erika disappeared into her chip, tapping her palm intermittently while trying to sort through public record memory. Typically, the military turned on different chips in the province during emergencies in order to capture round-the-clock information about the events unfolding. Since their world was being invaded, it was the perfect opportunity to capture data from civilians and Erika was able to locate the captain’s recordings. She fast-forwarded through most of them until she found the video of him punching in his key code.

  “8-996-7,” she whispered to herself.

  She snapped a photo of the video and then returned to normal vision with a sly smile.

  “Well, that was quick,” Ulita commented. “What did you do?”

  “That’s for me to know and you to never find out,” Erika replied.

  “Oh, come on! You just did something incredible and I’d love to know how you did it,” Ulita said.

  Erika shook her head.

  “Your superiority must come with a number of privileges because I couldn’t even find some information like that,” Ulita said.

  “It does,” Erika said proudly. “I try not to abuse that.”

  “Well, it’s certainly come in handy more than once, like on the monorail,” Ulita pointed out.

  “You mean when I changed Leonard’s status so he could board with us?” Erika asked.

  “Yeah, that,” Ulita replied. “How did you do that?”

  Erika smiled and Ulita sighed, resting her chin in her hand.

  “Let me guess: you can’t tell,” she said.

  “Claro,” Erika replied. “Wish me luck, amigas.”

  Erika walked to the door and looked around, checking to see if anyone was watching. As the group in the corner focused on the screen, she quickly grabbed two disintegrators from the table and shoved one in her lab coat, sprinting down the tunnel to get to the steel door. She could hear explosions on the other side and began shaking, steadying herself against the wall to catch her breath.

  “Hey, stop!” called a soldier from behind her.

  Squeaking, Erika tapped the key code into the pad and waited anxiously as the door opened.

  “Stop right there!” called another soldier.

  As soon as the door was open, Erika sprinted out into the field and dashed towards the monorail tunnel where she knew she could take cover. She turned to look at the soldiers who had told her to stop, watching as they glanced around and then shut the door.

  She was on her own.

  Behind her in the distance, she could hear the sound of ships hitting the ground and Terramites squealing some kind of dreadful attack cry. It was the most awful screech she had ever heard, causing her ears to ring as the din grew louder. She walked along the edge of the monorail station
and up the hill towards town where she might find her beloved. A line of ships were down on the ground, each of them smoldering with bodies strewn about inside. She shivered.

  It was gruesome to see those who had fallen. She hoped none of them were Leonard, the mere thought of losing him causing her to become nauseous. As she crept along the edge of the rubble, she heard zapping in the distance and ran towards the sound, something most people likely wouldn’t have done. Her heart beat fast as she sprinted, legs and arms pumping blood to the source and back through her body. She felt like she was on fire.

  Just beyond the buildings, she found a group of soldiers that included Leonard and dashed towards them, taking out the other disintegrator in order to fire all around them. She shot down a number of Terramites who were charging the group and Leonard’s eyes lit up as he recognized Erika. She flew straight into his arms. He hoisted her up on his shoulders, giving her better leverage to shoot the enemy.

  The lot of them fell to the ground once Leonard began twirling about, the soldiers making sure to cover Erika who was exposed to enemy fire from the back. She giggled maniacally as she shot at the Terramites and squealed when one of them began to charge. Without missing a beat, Leonard disintegrated him. The soldiers all turned around and around, waiting for another hoard to strike.

  Explosions in the distance faded and then stopped completely, the air voice of military and enemy ships alike. Erika looked down at the soldiers around her and then patted Leonard’s shoulder, signaling she wanted to get down. Leonard carefully placed her on the ground and smiled.

  “Couldn’t wait, could you?” he asked playfully.

  “No, I wanted to be right next to you,” she replied. “Which is where I feel like I belong.”

  Leonard smiled wide, his eyes sparkling in the dim light coming from the buildings. Leaning into him, Erika peered deep into his eyes and returned the smile, happy to be anywhere as long as she was with him.

  “You’re amazing,” he said. “And I’m glad you came to my side.”

  “I wanted to help. If anything happened to you, I wanted to be within arm’s reach when it happened,” she explained.

  Before they could share a kiss, the captain turned to inform the group that the Terramites had been defeated. Each of them shouted, “Salud!” while raising their disintegrators towards the sky that was still filled with smoke.