Earth (Vetrix)

by Bill Bush

  Jergins, a high-ranking official who knew Admiral Grisder, was the only one of the renegades scheduled to be on the hijacked spaceship. “Admiral, we have an issue with our gears. We'll return as soon as we make adjustments.”

  They listened intently but Admiral Grisder remained silent.

  Jergins returned to his seat. “I don't think he bought my explanation. We have a spaceship heading our direction.”

  “Prepare for evasive maneuvers,” Dr. Needles ordered. “But remember, we want to hide our intent as long as possible. We just need time.”

  He adjusted the radio to transmit through the comm in his ear. This would allow him to stay in communication without being confined to the bridge.

  He resumed circling his chair. The radar showed the fleet was out of sight, but the spaceship sent to check on them was catching up quickly.

  He exhaled with relief when he heard his friend.

  “Dr. Needles, come in.”

  “Dell! Are you in position?”

  “I’ll be there in two minutes,” Dell said. “I see you have company.”

  “I’ll take care of them.”

  Before he informed his crew of Dell's arrival another voice spoke.

  “This is Captain Oswald. You have sixty seconds to turn your ship around or we will have no choice but to open fire.”

  Sixty seconds wasn’t enough time!

  Dr. Needles flipped the switch on the intercom. “Everyone immediately to the transport area. Our taxi will be here in ninety seconds. Remember, we only get one shot at this.”

  “Jergins,” Dr. Needles said hurriedly. “Make sure everyone is in place. I will set the spaceship on autopilot and be right behind you.”

  “Yes sir,” Jergins said.

  As soon as Jergins left the cockpit, Dr. Needles responded to Captain Oswald. “This is Dr. Needles and I would like to surrender.”

  “What do you mean surrender?” Captain Oswald asked.

  He had no intention of surrendering; he needed to stall. Switching the controls to autopilot, he raced for the door. He should have just enough time to make it to the transport area before Dell beamed them up.

  “I hijacked the spaceship.”

  The spaceship jerked, throwing Dr. Needles down. He slid across the floor and slammed his head against the wall. Stunned, but conscious, he realized something was wrong. He had lost contact with Captain Oswald. What if the Captain shot them down before Dell rescued his crew? He raced to the captain's chair and switched the radio to manual controls.

  ”This is your last chance before I open fire. Where is the crew?”

  Dr. Needles' heart raced. How can he keep the Captain from shooting. He prayed Dell would hurry. “I have them locked up below.”

  “What were you thinking!?” Captain Oswald exclaimed.

  Dell’s voice rang on a separate line that Captain Oswald couldn't hear. “Dr. Needles! I just spoke with the men in the transport area. They said you weren’t there yet. I will beam them away in less than thirty seconds. Are you there?”

  Dr. Needles didn’t have time to explain the situation to Dell. He switched the radio so Dell could hear his conversation with Captain Oswald.

  “I sabotaged the crew before we took off and took them prisoners. I thought I could make a break for it without any resistance. I didn’t think you would bother to chase me.”

  “Fifteen seconds,” Dell said.

  “For being a smart doctor that was a blithering idiotic move,” the captain spat.

  “I thought you would be more concerned about your mission than you would one solitary spaceship out of formation.” Dr. Needles wiped sweat from his brow.

  “Ten seconds.”

  “You don’t know anything about the military, do you?” The captain’s anger was unmistakable. “I ought to blow you out of the sky for being stupid!”

  “You could,” Dr. Needles tried to keep his breathing under control. “You could, but you would kill some good, innocent soldiers.”

  “Five.”

  “We don’t need soldiers who get captured and imprisoned by a quack doctor,” Captain Oswald exclaimed.

  “Time,” came Dell’s voice.

  Dr. Needles shut his eyes, hoping that Dell would transport the men before they were blasted out of the sky.

  “We have six men. We are one short, Dr. Needles.”

  Dr. Needles muted Captain Oswald. “Thank you, Dell. Get them out of here and to safety.”

  “But Dr. Needles…”

  “Go!” He shut off communications with Dell.

  “I would have already blown you away, but Admiral Grisder prefers for us to bring your spaceship and men back in tack,” Captain Oswald said. “Prepare to surrender when our men board your ship.”

  Dr. Needles nodded as he turned off the radio.

  Chapter 3

  Dell knew the most logical action would be to take the six new passengers to safety as fast as he could, but he made a career out of taking risks and preferred to do what was least expected. Sure, sometimes it got him in a lot of trouble, and almost killed more than a few times, but he couldn’t imagine living without the threat of death every now and then. He wouldn’t leave as valuable a resource and friend as Dr. Needles in trouble.

  He had made many trips to Rex, primarily to meet with Dr. Needles and gather information. Several years ago the doctor reached out to the Gudes in an effort to slow down the Snaders from their attempted annihilation of other planet’s peoples. Although risky, the Gudes' leader, General Jaxxen, believed they needed occasional face-to-face meetings with the doctor. On three occasions Dell smuggled Snader prisoners away from Rex. On two he brought back Snaders who needed to defect for safety reasons. On zero occasions did he get caught.

  Dell had to save Dr. Needles before the Snader spaceship joined up with the rest of the fleet. He only had a few minutes.

  He instructed his pilot to remain a safe distance away and to be ready to leave him behind if he didn’t return in less than thirty minutes.

  The Snaders weren’t able to block teleporting on and off of their spaceships because they were moving. They could block specific rooms within the spaceship and probably were. Dell assumed they had a block around Dr. Needles so he teleported to the least likely room to have a block set up—the storage room.

  Teleporting somewhere unfamiliar was always a risky proposition. That he ended up in a small closet was an immediate relief. At least he was safely on board. Now to find and release Dr. Needles.

  Dell couldn’t see anything in the darkness, but could feel all four walls and the door without taking a step. He heard voices but they were too faint to make out what they said. He didn't know if the soldiers would try to kill him or take him captive, so he waited for them to leave. Quietly, he reached into his pocket and slipped out a glove. He slid it onto his four-fingered left hand and waited for the voices to leave.

  The glove was specially made by Dr. Needles. Most of the Snader technology had safeguards installed to only work with the touch of a Snader. Becauses of his visits to Rex, Dr. Needles thought it was prudent to equip Dell the best he could. He had the glove made so Dell could easily access their technology.

  Once quiet, Dell felt for the pad by the door and placed his gloved hand on it. The door slid open and Dell hid his eyes as they slowly adjusted to the light.

  Lined up on either side of the room were single beds four high, all neatly made. Other than a few random pieces of clothing hanging from the bunks the room looked deserted. Dell knew better. This is where the Snaders slept en masse. He was fortunate that was all they did there.

  He quickly walked past the beds, out the door and into a hallway. He knew the typical Snader spaceship layout, and proceeded toward the flight deck.

  After climbing three sets of stairs and sneaking past a dozen Snaders — Dell thought his best odds lay in confronting the Captain — he placed his hand on a pad, a door opened, and he stepped into the flight deck. The door shut behind him as he slid his g
love into his pocket.

  Dell’s expectation of being immediately seized was surprisingly wrong. There were more than a dozen Snaders too busy to notice him. The broad looking Snader in the Captains chair with a bald red head was listening intently to the seemingly omnipresent and angry voice.

  “How could you let them get away?”

  The captain squirmed in his chair. “Sir, it had to be with the help of the Gudes. Our radar is showing an unidentified presence not far from here.”

  The awkward silence apparently lasted too long for the captain. “Shall we go after them?”

  “No,” the voice resigned. “We attack Earth in a few days and cannot afford the delay. How long until you rejoin our fleet?”

  “We should be there in less than ten minutes,” the captain said.

  “Okay, make haste.”

  “Captain Oswald,” came a different voice over the intercom. “The prisoner is secure in brig three.”

  “Thank you Pryor,” Captain Oswald said. “Return to the flight deck so we can discuss his transfer to Admiral Grisder's spaceship.”

  “Captain, we need…” The pilot had started toward Captain Oswald but stopped when he saw Dell.

  Most of the crew turned to look. Finally Dell was getting the attention he wanted. No one made a move to aim a weapon at him. Typically there wasn’t much use for guns on the flight deck, but they were making it hard for him to get himself captured. Not one member of the crew posed a physical threat to Dell’s six and a half foot frame. With his fighting skills he was certain he could take them in a fight—even if they worked together.

  He pulled out his gun and aimed it at the captain. He had to at least make it look like he was avoiding capture.

  He took a few steps toward Captain Oswald. He didn’t want to get hit from behind when Pryor entered the room. “Everyone relax and sit down. I only came for one thing.”

  The door opened and Dell spun. The Snader standing ten feet away was almost an identical physical resemblance of Dell. Well, except for Dell's purple skin, webbed feet, and much more handsome face. Large and muscular, the man Dell assumed was Pryor had his gun pointed at Dell by the time Dell had his pointed at Pryor.

  The standoff lasted only a few seconds, but they were seconds Dell needed to avoid suspicion. Slowly he raised his gun in surrender. Two more Snaders rushed into the flight deck with weapons drawn, a look of disappointment on their faces that they missed the action.

  “What kind of bumbling idiot would think he could board my ship and pull off a successful rescue?” Dell could tell by the movement of Captain Oswald’s rough voice that he was approaching.

  “Only a Gude would think that,” Pryor said.

  “It’s a rhetorical question.” Dell grinned mischievously at Pryor.

  “Never mind,” Captain Oswald barked as he stepped in front of Dell.

  “I’d be glad to explain rhetorical questions to your thug,” Dell said. “Give me a few days and I could probably even find a sense of humor in there.”

  Captain Oswald swung his fist into Dell’s gut. Dell doubled over, coughing to catch his breath.

  The captain felt Dell's pockets and pulled out the glove. “So that’s how you got in here.”

  He walked back toward his seat with the glove. “Pryor, take him away. Put him in Brig six. Admiral Grisder will love the additional gift.”

  “Yes Sir!” The two guys with Pryor each grabbed one of Dell’s elbows. They half walked, half drug Dell out of the flight deck with Pryor marching behind them.

  They walked quietly to the brig.

  The Snader on Dell’s left was almost as tall as him but Dell figured he had fifty pounds of muscle on the guy. The one strangling his right arm was solid, but at least six inches shorter.

  “I can’t believe I’ve been on this ship for more than ten minutes and nobody has offered me a drink,” Dell quipped. “You will certainly be deducted points for a lack of hospitality.”

  “What are you talking about, Gude?” Pryor snapped.

  “And you locked up your finest doctor?” Dell asked. “I suggest you let him out immediately.”

  “You aren’t here for an inspection,” Pryor said. “What are you doing on our spaceship?”

  “I came to free my friend,” Dell announced proudly.

  Pryor laughed. “That’s going to be hard to do with him locked up in the brig, isn’t it?”

  They stopped and the tall Snader on Dell’s left placed his hand on a pad. The door opened to Brig 6.

  Dell dropped to his knees, freeing his arms. Within seconds the three Snaders escorting him were lying in the hallway, unconscious.

  He drug the tall, thin one as he counted doors from Brig 6 to what he hoped would be Brig 3. He raised the man's hand high enough to reach the entrance pad. The door slid open and inside sat Dr. Needles.

  “Dell?! I told you to leave me,” he scolded.

  “You know how I like a challenge.” Dell smiled and waved for him to follow. “We need to find a safe place to teleport from.”

  “That won't be a problem,” Dr. Needles said. “Very few of the ships on this mission have the teleporting blocking capabilities installed. They aren’t expecting to fight Gudes.”

  “This will be a cinch then,” Dell said.

  He grabbed Dr. Needles' shoulder and they disappeared.

  A few minutes later they were out of range of the Snader’s ship and they were on their way back to Vetrix.

  Chapter 4

  Jake walked behind Alya, his arms cradling a pile of wood. He thought about how nice it was to be outside without danger. His home planet, Vetrix, was recently under attack and almost conquered. The Snaders had taken control of the capital city which forced Jake's dad, General Jaxxen, to retreat underground with several troops and his family.

  Jake helped his friends, Chezlor and Alya, talk Nicole, one of his dad’s most trusted advisors, into stealing a spaceship for a crazy rescue from the Snaders of a boy from Earth named Flipper. Flipper then helped his dad and the Gude military defeat the Snaders and run them off of Vetrix.

  Alya was eagerly walking in front of him, causing her long, purple hair to bounce high in the air. So high, in fact, that it tickled his face and brought him out of his thoughts and back to their chores. He slowed enough to avoid the flopping hair.

  She stopped beside a bucket that lay upside down. Jake stopped beside her.

  “I thought he was coming.”

  “He is, be patient,” Jake said.

  A moment later Jake’s brother, Fox, came around the corner.

  Jake looked up from the bucket to Fox. “Oh good. Fox, can you hand me the bucket? I dropped it and I’m afraid if I bend over to pick it up I’ll drop something else.”

  “How can you carry the bucket with all the other stuff you are carrying?”

  “Obviously not very well,” Jake chuckled. “If you can set the bucket on top I think I can make it.”

  Fox quickly jogged over and picked up the bucket.

  “HEY!!!”

  In one smooth motion Fox dropped the bucket and pulled his gun.

  Chezlor, whose head had been underneath the bucket sticking out of the ground, was wide-eyed and frozen with fear. Even though Alya knew about the prank she let out a blood-curling scream when Fox pulled his gun.

  Jake dropped everything and grabbed Fox's arm. “Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!”

  Fox left his gun pointed at Chezlor’s head. He glared for a moment before he relaxed, straightened from his crouch, and put his gun away.

  Chezlor let out a big sigh. “Man, I remember when it used to be fun to pull a prank on you!”

  Fox smiled. “Keep in mind that I carry a gun now.”

  Nicole came around the corner. “Oh good, you are all here.” She paused to do a double take at Chezlor’s head before she continued. “General Jaxxen wants to meet with us.”

  “What about?” Jake asked.

  “We’re going to Earth to see Flipper.
”

  “Yea!” The kids screamed.

  Chapter 5

  Flipper normally spent most of his time with Josh and Allison. Now they were inseparable.

  Friday finally arrived and after school Josh and Allison went to Flipper’s house to relax in his back yard.

  The sun hadn't set, but was low enough that the back yard was completely covered in shade. The temperature was quickly dropping, as the three friends lay on the ground, looking up at the cloudless sky.

  The yard was big for Roswell. Many yards in Roswell were covered with rock because of the dry climate. Flipper’s dad, Dennis, dreamed of having a big yard growing up so when he and his wife, Dee, bought a house after they were married, he let Dee pick the house with the caveat he approved of the yard.

  Although Dennis liked a big yard covered with grass, Dee was the one who kept it looking nice. She had a flower garden along the back of the house, lined with several bushes. Every year during the early spring she planted flowers. This time of year the flowers were dormant for the winter.

  There were several trees around the edge of the yard and two along the west side of the deck to provide shade during the hot summer days. There was a privacy fence surrounding the back yard, with a back gate that Flipper and his friends used, mostly to chase balls that had traveled out of the yard.

  Flipper pulled a rectangular, black communicator from his pocket. The gift from General Jaxxen remained silent. He obsessively checked it every few minutes. He couldn't help it; he wanted the General to prove to the world the existence of aliens. But General Jaxxen insisted on remaining anonymous.

  He held the communicator inches above his stomach, first in his right hand, then his left, flipping it back and forth with his thumb and fingers.

  “Have you heard anything new from General Jaxxen?” Allison asked.

  “He just keeps asking if there is anything unusual happening,” Flipper said.

  The communicator was for passing along information Flipper thought might signify alien activity on Earth. The General feared the Snaders might try to attack Earth soon.

  Flipper had told General Jaxxen that Josh and Allison discovered an underground Snader colony, and he immediately came and asked Josh and Allison all about their adventure. That was the last time Josh and Allison told their story to someone who believed them.