by Donald Swan
She pointed to the screen and then to Nick’s mouth.
“Planet?” He shrugged, a little uncertain now.
She smiled and pushed a button on the device. A new image appeared. Again she pointed.
Nick was starting to understand. She was going through a language program. But it wasn’t for him to learn their language. Funny thing was they didn’t seem to be trying to learn his language either. The whole scene was puzzling, but at this point Nick was just happy to still be alive. So far he hadn’t been harmed, just scared out of his mind.
Nick continued through the images, saying the identifying words as he went. When they came upon an image that was unfamiliar to him, the female pressed a button to skip them.
Just when he thought the language lesson would never end, the female stood up and went to the door. She turned and held up her hands. Nick assumed by her gesture that she intended for him to stay put. As the large alien exited the room behind her, the force field appeared across the doorway again.
Nick took a moment to again assess his situation. He was definitely a prisoner, but at least he was alive. Despite his circumstances, the female made him fear his situation a little less. Perhaps it was the compassionate way about her. Her…whether she was female was still a guess at this point. She sure looked feminine, but…could he really be certain of that? Hell, he wasn’t certain of anything anymore.
A short time later she returned with some water and something that resembled a military food ration bar. How he loathed meal bars. They always left a bad taste in his mouth.
Nick was a beef and potatoes kind of guy, always leery of things like Tai food. But alien food? Now that was a downright scary thought. With as much diplomacy as he could muster, Nick carefully took a nibble of the bar. He held the small piece in his mouth and waited for the flavor to register on his tongue. Surprisingly, it tasted better than it looked.
“Chicken. It tastes like chicken.” He grinned. Of course, if it was going to taste like anything, it would be chicken. Still, it wasn’t quite chicken, was it? No. It was alien food, made of whatever alien food was made out of. He didn’t even want to think about it. He wondered if he would have any trouble digesting it, but in the end the hunger won out. He hadn’t had much to eat before going on the mission and quite a long time had passed since that meager breakfast. Glad to have something in his stomach, he wolfed down the rest of the bar.
“Eat.”
Nick stopped chewing for a minute and stared at the female creature staring back at him. “Holy…. Did you just say…eat?”
She smiled. “Yeess, eat fraktu.”
His gaze was glued to her lips. When she spoke, her mouth didn’t seem to move properly. He was hearing English words, but there seemed to be muffled speech in the background. Her mouth moved as if she were saying something completely different than what he was hearing, like one of those old Japanese videos that had been dubbed over in English. He couldn’t understand all the words she was saying, but at least it was good to hear something he recognized.
“I can understand you! How?”
“Whee fix you.” She pointed to his neck where they had injected him.
“You put something inside me?”
“Yes.”
Nick felt a lump form in his throat again. Oh, God! What had they put in him? Shit! His heart rate accelerated as fear rose into his chest. “What did you do to me?” he demanded.
“We put transssakor smalaturak.”
“What?” Nick shook his head in confusion. “What are you saying?”
The female alien took the image device and typed something into it. She held it up so that Nick could see an image of what appeared to be microscopic robotic machines of some sort.
He pointed feebly at the screen. “You put these in me?”
“Yes. Seee.”
She pushed a button and the image changed.
Nick watched as the picture zoomed out and rotated around until he could get a better over-all view. He was looking at an image of some alien brain loaded with thousands, if not millions of miniature machines.
Nick sat back in surprise. Shock and fear twisted his mind almost to the breaking point.
“My God, you put machines in my head? I have alien machines in my head!”
The female looked at him in concern, or what he thought was concern. She seemed to understand his fear. In an attempt to communicate, she quickly put her hands on her head and then pointed to the image.
He looked at her and then back to the image device. “You mean you have these in your head too?”
She looked relieved that he understood. “Yes. All have these.”
Nick’s brain ground around the puzzle slowly. His eyes widened as he began to understand. “Oh! They’re translators, aren’t they? Those little gizmos in my…our…heads…they’re translator devices?”
“Yes!” She touched his forehead gently with one finger. “They learn brain. Get better more later.”
“Nanites!”
The female looked at him strangely. Apparently the word didn’t translate.
“Holy shit, I have nanites in my head!” Nick was familiar with nanites. He remembered studying them in school. Nano-technology had always fascinated him. Microscopic robotic machines that could do amazing things. But they’d proven too dangerous and had been banned on Earth decades earlier. Back home, nano-technology was still in the early stages, and science had done more harm than good when it came to implementing any new technologies in that field. Earth’s scientists just didn’t know enough to use nanites safely. Once, some of those little buggers had run out of control and killed a whole town full of people and animals before they had been shut down using a massive EM pulse.
Nick felt like he was going to wet his pants. He could only hope these aliens knew more about nanites than the people back on Earth, because now he had a head full of language-bots roaming freely through his synapses.
“That’s why you look like a dubbed Japanese film when you talk,” Nick muttered. “Because you are dubbed. By those things in my head. You’re not really speaking English at all.”
If he wasn’t so damn afraid, he’d be amazed.
A gruff voice coming over the intercom startled him. “Kurak he ready nouy?”
“Yes he kurak ready,” the female replied.
Little by little Nick could understand more words. But the knowledge did nothing to ease his fear, or answer the myriad of questions he had. Where was he? Who were they? What was going to happen to him? With the language technology implanted in his head, maybe now he’d be able to ask. But would they answer?
Zzzt. With a sound like flies hitting an electric debugger, the force field dropped again and that damn big, scary alien ducked into the room. Even worse, it looked directly at him as it stepped closer. The creature reached out and grabbed Nick’s arm. Nick instinctively jerked back, but was unable to break free of the alien’s strong grip. The beast twisted Nick’s arm and pointed toward Nick’s wrist.
“What is this ma sheen?”
Nick looked in the direction of the alien’s gaze. The damn thing was pointing at his watch. His high-tech, fancy astronaut flight watch.
“It…it’s a watch,” he stammered. “It shows what time it is.”
“How you destroy hurcyrac sheip?” The huge alien said with a booming voice.
Nick frowned in confusion. “I didn’t destroy the ship. It was an accident.”
“Akseedent? What is akseedent?”
Nick’s brain kicked into high gear as he pondered the situation. It seemed that there was more here than met the eye. Whose ship was he on? And who were the guys on those other ships, the ones he had accidentally destroyed? At this point he didn’t know if the other vessels were friend or foe to his captors. Were they going to hold him responsible for destroying those ships? He could be in a whole heaping pile of hell if one of those ships were from this things race.
He immediately went into cover-his-own-ass mode. “I did no
t mean to destroy those ships. That is what accident means. It was unintentional, a mistake. Do you understand?”
“You come through great hole. Hole weapon. Destroy. You know about hole.” The alien squeezed Nick’s arm harder. The firm grip made Nick nervous. It felt like the beast could snap his bones with one hand if it decided to.
“Great hole? What great h—” Nick’s eyes pulled into a squint. “Wait a minute. Are you talking about the hyperspace window?” Shit, how was he going to explain this one?
“Hole is window. I open window, but ship damaged. Hole close. Accident.” Oh great, he thought. Now I’m talking like them.
The alien beast let go of Nick’s arm, and it fell limply back to his side. Trying to ease the uncomfortable buzz of pain in his arm, Nick rolled his wrist and repeatedly balled his fist in an attempt to get the blood flowing again.
“You kill enemy. We thank you,” the big alien said.
Nick stared at the massive beast in surprise. “They were your enemy?”
An answer came from behind him. It was the female.
“Yes, they came and killed millions our people. The ones they not kill, they enslave. Two races fight each other over territory. Our territory they take.”
Nick pondered her words. He was somewhat relieved to realize that this bunch of aliens hadn’t been trying to kill him. Instead, it was their enemies that had been doing all the shooting at him. The alien creatures aboard this ship were just caught in the middle of some interstellar war.
The big alien pointed to Nick’s pocket. “What is here?”
Nick was momentarily puzzled, uncertain as to what the alien referred to. Then he realized. The coin. But how did the alien even know about his lucky coin? “Oh yeah. The scan, that must be how you know about it.” Nick pulled the coin out of his pocket and held it in his palm.
“This is a coin. It’s money, what we use to buy things. Do you understand buy?”
“Yes, currency. We also have.”
The female broke in. “What you name?”
“Nick…Nick Bannon.”
“Well, Nicnic Bannon, I am Arya. This is Karg.” She studied him for a long moment, then reached out and touched his hair. She seemed intrigued by the texture of his hair and even wrinkled her nose a little as she rolled a few strands between her fingers. “We have not seen any like you. What species you?” she asked. The wonder in her eyes resembled that of a biologist examining some newly discovered life-form. Nick just hoped his ass never landed on a Petri dish.
“I am Human. From a place called Earth.”
“Urt?” She glanced at Karg curiously. Karg looked just as puzzled.
“No, it’s….” Nick started to correct her but then stopped himself. Maybe it was better if he didn’t say too much. After all, he still had no clue who these people…er…aliens were.
“What mean this?” Karg poked the I.S.A. patch displayed on the front of Nick’s flight suit. The power of the alien’s single, huge finger knocked Nick off balance, forcing him to take a step back.
“I.S.A. is an alliance dedicated to peace. It—”
Beep, beep. Nick’s explanation was cut off as a voice erupted from the com-badges worn by the two aliens. “Karg, Arya, I’m getting anomalous readings from the aft section. Can you go…. Wait, what….I don’t understand. I just lost engine control. I need you two to get down there. Now.”
Arya’s expression changed to one of concern as she looked at Karg. With a low growl, Karg turned and headed to the door.
“We’re on our way, Argos.” Arya glanced back at Nick as she started to leave. “Stay here.” She held up one hand, much like a human telling a dog to stay.
Nick didn’t even get a chance to spit out a response before Arya and Karg disappeared through the doorway.
The force field zapped its way back into position, leaving Nick trapped and helpless to do anything but wonder. No engines and enemy vessels all around did not sound good, and his ass was still on the line. He’d hate to be stuck in an ugly, cold room, unable to save himself should the ship go down. If these aliens couldn’t get the ship fixed, they’d all be cooked.
Feeling frustrated, Nick kicked at the force field and accidentally touched the edge enough to get a good zap that left him reeling backwards and shouting curses at his own stupidity. He hopped around on one foot for a few seconds, his injured foot held gingerly between his hands until his ass plopped onto a low bench. He put his head in his hands and sighed.
“Damn, can my day get any worse?”
Faint, hollow thumps rang from a remote part of the ship, bouncing off the walls of the room where he sat. Nick dragged his face out of his hands and listened. The noises reminded him of being on Earth, listening to the sound of distant thunder rumbling through the metal aircraft hangar he’d spent so much time in. Figuring the sounds were coming from the aliens working to repair the ship, Nick decided to use the time to study his surroundings more closely. The dark, drab walls were really more like a prison cell than a room. Through the dim light, he spotted a sink in the corner with a mirror attached to the wall above it. He stood and walked toward the mirror but was startled by his reflection. He peered closer. The stress from the strange events of the day was clearly evident in his haggard face. His dark, normally neat hair stuck up every which way, his blue eyes were blood shot, and he sported a full day’s stubble. He hadn’t seen dark circles under his eyes like that since his dad died. He was a wreck, and he felt even worse than he looked. The drawn face looking back at him brought a morbid sense of reality to his unbelievably bizarre day. He had still been hoping it was all some sort of strange dream, praying that any time now he would wake up safe in his bed after a hard sleep filled with weird nightmares. But the face staring back at him said otherwise.
“You’ve gone and done it now. How are you going to get out of this one?” he asked his pale reflection. As the words left his mouth, he heard the sound of Arya’s voice in the background. She was talking to someone as she approached from down the corridor. The sense of urgency in her voice drew his attention.
“I’m headed to pick up the alien prisoner. I’ll meet you on the Bridge.”
Karg answered, his voice sounding tinny and distant over Arya’s com-badge. “No, Arya! We don’t know if he can be trusted. Leave him and get to the Bridge.”
Arya paused just down the hall from Nick’s room. “Karg, if they steal our prisoner, they will find out what he knows. You know what the Mok’tu would do with that kind of weapon!”
Weapons-fire in the background punctuated Karg’s response. “Alright….” Kawpow. “But watch him….” Blang. “I’m pinned down in Bay Two….” Ping. “Be there as soon as I can.”
A second later Arya popped around the corner. Nick immediately noticed the pistol in her hand. “Come on. Quickly!” Motioning for Nick to leave the room, she pointed down the corridor. “That way.”
Nick proceeded down the corridor with Arya guiding him from behind. How interesting that she called him alien. He had been worried about trusting them and yet all this time they were afraid they couldn’t trust him.
“Stop here,” Arya commanded.
Nick obediently stopped.
She pushed a button on the wall, and a door slid open. “Inside.”
Nick stepped into the vertical transport tube with Arya behind him.
“Bridge.” The tube bolted upwards, surprising Nick with its acceleration. His knees buckled for a second and he had to force himself upright again. Just about the time he managed to straighten, the tube came to an abrupt halt, leaving Nick with the odd sensation of having his stomach thrown upward toward his brains as his weight lightened. As he equalized, the doors opened, revealing a large, although sparsely occupied Bridge. The slimy alien that Nick had seen earlier was stationed off to one side, monitoring his holo-display. From a seat in the center of the room, another alien worked a small control panel. From what Nick could tell, the alien in the middle was from the same race as Arya, only this
one was larger and apparently male.
“How the frek did the Mok’tu get on board?” Ayra demanded in an angry tone.
Without turning around, the alien in the center of the room answered in a strong, commanding voice. “It’s an advanced tactical squad. The coolant leak from engine three must have masked their approach. They came in a Stalker.”
“A stealth ship with a Tac Squad? How many?”
“Typical five Mech crew. They breached the hull near Bay Two and managed to cripple the engines. We can’t get past them to repair it.”
Not even thinking, Nick spoke up. “Why don’t you just kill them?”
The alien in the center spun around with a look of surprise and disdain. His eyes flared for a second as his gaze landed on Nick. “Arya? What is this doing here?”
“Sorry, Captain Argos.” Arya grabbed Nick’s arm and yanked him forward. “This is the alien from the hole. We can’t allow him or his ship to fall into the hands of the Mok’tu or everything we have worked for would be lost.”
The Captain’s gaze slid back to Nick as he assessed the situation. Reluctantly, he gave Arya a barely discernible nod of agreement then it was back to business. “You better take a look at this.”
A holo-display popped up in front of the Captain. With a voice command, the screen played a vid recording of the Mok’tu entering the hangar bay. From the few seconds of retrieved records, it was easy to see that the squad was searching for something. They were using some kind of small device to narrow in on their target, and that target was obviously Nick’s module.
Nick’s tension rose. He didn’t like what he was seeing. Without that module, he wouldn’t have a prayer of getting back to earth.
Upon locating the craft, two Mok’tu immediately started to scan it. A third efficiently took out the hangar bay cameras with a few quick, well aimed blasts from a rifle. Then the screen went blank.
Captain Argos uttered another brief voice command. The holographic image responded by collapsing back into oblivion.
“How did they find us so quickly?” Arya asked.
