In the Arctic

by Art Collins

Major McColl turned on a directional searchlight mounted at the front of the chopper when the Chinook was almost on top of Checkpoint Zulu. As he trained the powerful beam of light downward, a crack in the icepack began to appear. Improbable though it was, the frozen tundra was actually parting, exposing a vast shaft into which the chopper was being drawn.

  Winds that moments before had been gusting to over fifty miles per hour suddenly stopped as the Chinook descended below ground. When the chopper’s large propeller blades were ten feet below the tundra’s surface, the large white panels that had miraculously opened then quickly slid back into place. Practically speaking, the helicopter and all on board had been swallowed up by the barren landscape!

  Dr. Henderson and Major McCall were both fairly certain that the helicopter was now under the control of the extraterrestrials. Even though Dr. Henderson dealt with facts as a scientist, she was also a huge science fiction movie buff. And because she was, she was very excited to find out whether her first encounter with extraterrestrials would be similar to what director Steven Spielberg had depicted in his 1977 blockbuster movie, Close Encounters of a Third Kind, or what Ridley Scott portrayed in his 1979 smash hit, Alien!

  While Dr. Henderson and the pilots had a bird’s eye view of what was happening in front of them, the passengers in the back could only sense that the chopper was no longer in turbulent air and that darkness had given way to an eerie bluish light that was now shimmering though the two small portholes. Leaning over to his brother, Jockabeb forgot his microphone was still active when he asked, “What’s going on?”

  Checkpoint Zulu

  Major McColl quickly answered. “Listen up, everyone. First thing, I want you to make sure that all of your fellow ETF members are wearing their headsets and have their microphones on. Second, everyone stay in your seats with your seat belts fastened.

  “Okay, as strange as it sounds, some force we don’t yet understand has taken control of the Chinook. Our craft has just been steered down through a crack in the tundra’s surface that opened briefly and then closed as soon as we were below ground. We’re presently descending down a very large shaft. That’s about the extent of what I know.”

  The pilot’s next words caught everyone in the main cabin by surprise. “What in Sam Hill . . . ?” Major McColl blurted out. Then he quickly regained his composure, and in a calm voice described exactly what he, Captain Williams, and Dr. Henderson saw though the cockpit window.

  “We’ve just entered a large underground cavernous chamber that certainly wasn’t created by nature,” Major McCall explained. “It is perfectly circular, and I’d say the diameter is about a hundred yards. The walls, ceiling, and floor appear to be pure ice, and they’re smooth as glass with some sort of lighting element built inside. There are a number of tunnels leading out of the main chamber, and I obviously have no idea where they go.

  “For those of you who wanted to meet an extraterrestrial, I think you’re going to get your chance because there’s what looks to me like a spacecraft sitting right in front of us. It’s oval, and it’s made out of some type of silver-colored material. I’d say it’s about fifteen feet high, about forty feet in length, and there’re no windows.

  “Wait a second! Whoa! Something’s coming out from behind the spacecraft! Dr. Henderson, what do you want to do now?”

  If Jockabeb could have seen the alien being that Dr. Henderson and the pilots were watching, he would have immediately thought back to last night’s dream. Just like in his dream, the extraterrestrial that approached the Chinook had a large praying mantis-shaped head. Two long, spindly arms were raised high with palms facing outward. The alien was tall, perhaps seven feet or so, and its greenish-gray skin had a snake-like sheen.

  The closer the extraterrestrial came, the stranger it looked. Two tentacles or feelers protruded from its ridged forehead, and a pair of egg-shaped, emerald green eyes bulged out of sockets near the sides of its triangular head. It had a flat nose above a v-shaped upper lip that all but covered a mouth that was barely visible.

  Even though the extraterrestrial wore no clothes, it was impossible to determine if it was male or female, assuming this race of aliens even had different genders. A metal cylinder that resembled a hand-held microphone hung around its neck.

  Transport Pod

  When the extraterrestrial made its way to a spot right in front of the Chinook’s cockpit, it looked up at the three humans and spoke something into the cylinder. Then it waved its free hand in a welcoming gesture.

  “I think it wants us to come outside,” Dr. Henderson said.

  “You got that right,” Major McColl replied.

  The line had been silent for over a minute as Dr. Henderson and the two pilots watched the extraterrestrial approach the Chinook. Frustrated by the lack of communication, Professor Eberstark finally lost patience and angrily demanded an update, barking, “What on earth is happening out there?”

  “Interesting choice of words,” Dr. Henderson quickly responded, “because what I’m looking at now is certainly not from Earth. No, it’s most definitely from somewhere else in our Solar System, or maybe even from a different planetary system altogether.”

  Before she could finish her last sentence, Professor Eberstark and Dr. Watanabe had taken off their earphones and unfastened their seat belts. When the two scientists arrived at the cockpit entrance and saw the strange creature waving at the cockpit window, they gasped.

  Dr. Watanabe couldn’t hide his excitement when he said, “It looks friendly enough. I say we go out and meet it.”

  Recognizing that the final call on what to do next would rest with the ETF’s Mission Commander, Dr. Henderson announced her decision in a firm voice. “First, we will go back and brief the rest of the team on what’s happened. Second, I’ll select four of you to join me when we make our initial contact. The other five will stay onboard with the pilots and Staff Sergeant Jones. Third, I’ll be our spokesperson when we speak with the extraterrestrial. Got it?”

  “Yes Madam Mission Commander,” Professor Eberstark replied, bowing his head in mock deference.

  After briefing the rest of the ETF, Dr. Henderson selected the other four members who would accompany her to meet the alien. They were Dr. Watanabe, Archibald, Lynch, and the senior SEAL, Lieutenant Flint. She then turned to the four and said, “And just so there’s no confusion, I’ll do all the talking out there. Are there any questions?”

  “Not a question, just a statement,” Lynch said in a defiant tone. “I hope that alien out there is friendly, but Flint and I are here to protect you if it’s not. Since we intend to do just that, we’ll be bringing our M240 machine guns and Glock 18 machine pistols.”

  “Is all that fire power really necessary?” Dr. Henderson replied, her frustration clearly evident.

  The conversation ended when Lynch tightened his jaw and almost spit out the words, “Yes, Doctor, it is.”

  The welcoming party of five, if you could call it a welcoming party with Lynch as a member, then put on all their cold weather gear, including facemasks and goggles. The rear door of the Chinook was then lowered, and as soon as they were outside, Dr. Henderson turned and gave a thumbs-up motion.

  When the rear door was raised shut, the five humans were essentially left on their own to deal with whatever lay ahead!

  Zenda

  Jockabeb and Willow had run up to the cockpit the moment the rear door of the Chinook was returned to its closed and locked position. They had wedged themselves in behind the pilots, and soon the other ETF members were gathered all around them to watch the historic meeting that was about to take place. Even though the two teenagers had a clear view of the extraterrestrial standing below, they wouldn’t be able to hear a word of the conversation that was about to begin.

  Protected by his cold weather clothing, Archibald didn’t feel the fifty-degree below zero temperature, but knew it was cold because the moisture from his breath immediately crystallized on his facemask and his boots squeaked as he walked
. He was right behind Dr. Henderson as she slowly led the group to the front of the chopper where the extraterrestrial was waiting patiently. As soon as the strange creature came into sight, the Mission Commander raised her arms and turned her palms forward.

  Staring through the chopper’s windshield, Jockabeb was immediately struck by how tall and thin the alien was. Just like in his dream, its large head reminded him of praying mantises he’d seen back home, and it seemed way out of proportion to the thin neck upon which it was perched.

  When the creature raised the cylinder to the bottom of its chin, no one expected what happened next.

  “Hello,” the alien said in English. Although understandable, the word sounded to those outside as though it had been computer generated, and there was a slight echo after it was spoken.

  The next words came slowly, with short pauses in between. “The device I hold allows my language to be translated into your language . . . so that you can understand me. It also does the same when you speak . . . so that I can understand you.

  “My name is Zenda . . . and I come in peace.” Then pointing one of its long, spindly fingers at Dr. Henderson, it said, “By what name are you called?”

  After the Mission Commander answered back, “Henderson,” she responded to Zenda’s last statement, declaring, “We also come in peace.”

  First contact!

  When the next words left Dr. Henderson’s lips, Lynch patted the Glock in his pocket and the M240 that was slung over his shoulder. “Zenda, are you alone, or are there others with you?”

  “There is one other who has come with me,” Zenda answered. “I will explain because it is important. I also need your help.”

  The dialogue that followed was painfully slow at the beginning because of the time needed for the cylindrical device to accurately translate Zenda’s and Dr. Henderson’s words. However, as the conversation proceeded, it seemed as though the device became more efficient, almost as though it was programming itself with each new phrase. While translation mistakes were occasionally made, both speakers made themselves understood.

  It turned out that there were three genders on the moon that Zenda called home. Two were equivalent to male and female, and the third was a type of neuter. Zenda was female. She was also an emissary of the Comis, a highly intelligent race.

  Zenda explained that she lived on one of two moons in a distant planetary system. Trying to equate the distance to something the Earthlings would understand, she said her home was eighty-five light-years away. The pair of moons revolved around a sun with a name that Zenda said translated to “23 Librae” in English. The other moon was inhabited by a different race, the Lues.

  Unlike the Comis who were basically peaceful, inquisitive beings, the Lues were hostile creatures. Cunning and clever, they had an unquenchable desire to conquer and colonize other life forms throughout the universe.

  Zenda

  There had been armed conflict between the two races for years. A peace treaty was finally signed the equivalent of eighty Earth-years ago. Under the treaty, the Comis and Lues agreed not to attack each other, and they also agreed that the leaders of their respective races would resolve any disputes.

  Both the Comis and the Lues had each perfected a form of time travel that allowed them to transport their respective spacecraft, or transport pods as Zenda called them, to the far reaches of the universe. She also explained that a light-year could be traversed in the equivalent of one Earth-day.

  “It took us three Earth-months to get here because we had to slow down at the end of our journey in order to make sure that you would detect us and receive our transmissions. It was a very difficult trip for reasons you will soon learn.

  “We purposely transmitted in a language understood by the Comis and Lues, rather than in your language. This was done to test your reasoning capability. You passed the test when you replied in the same language. That was a good sign to me. It was not to Malum.”

  Zenda finally spoke about the other time traveller that had accompanied her to Earth, and why she desperately needed the humans’ help.

  “The other traveller that made the journey is a Lues,” she began. “As you just heard, his name is Malum, and he personifies all that is wrong with his race. Malum looks nothing like me, and I warn you that he kills for pleasure. When you see him, you will understand, and then you will know what evil in its purest form looks like.

  “I told you that all disputes between our races are resolved by our two leaders. My father is the leader of the Comis. Malum’s father leads the Lues. We were selected by our fathers to come here to finally resolve a dispute that has raged for the past eighty Earth-years, despite the peace treaty that had been signed.”

  Zenda went on to say that another joint expedition of Comis and Lues had previously come to Earth right after the peace treaty was signed. That transport pod had purposely landed in the coldest region on Earth. The existing subterranean chamber and tunnel system were constructed during that visit.

  The trip to Earth was to have been a secret exploratory mission, which in fact it turned out to be. However, when the transport pod returned home, the two races began to argue. The Comis wanted to return at some point in the future to establish friendly contact with the Earthlings. The Lues also wanted to return to Earth, but their intent was to enslave the human race, turning the planet into a Lues colony.

  After years of stalemated discussions, with both sides thwarting the ambitions of the other, the two leaders recently reached a compromise when they each agreed to send one of their children on another trip to Earth. Each child would represent its race’s position. Zenda would come in peace and try to make friends with the Earthlings. Malum’s objective was to capture or kill every human he encountered. The dispute would be resolved when one of the two ultimately prevailed.

  “So, Henderson, now you know why I need your help,” Zenda said. “If I fail, the Lues will win. If I fail, all of you will die. If I fail, Earth will become enslaved.” Then she added, “But with your help, I will not fail.”

  Dr. Henderson replied, “You will have our help, but I must ask you a question. Now that you’ve made contact with us, why not let us fly out of here before Malum comes back? You will have won because we both know you have come in peace. Malum will have lost because he was not able to capture or kill us.”

  “You ask a good question,” Zenda responded. “When we took control of your helicopter, Malum transmitted a secret code that was embedded into the operating system of your helicopter, and I do not know that code. If the code is activated, your helicopter will explode. The code can be sent from inside the transport pod or from a remote transmitter that Malum has. While I can open the panels that will let you fly out of this place, Malum can destroy your helicopter once you are airborne.

  “Malum also told me something I didn’t expect before he went into the tunnels to set his traps. He said he’d programmed a code into the transport pod’s computer that would disable it if activated, and that the code can be sent from the remote transmitter he has. The remote transmitter is also a receiver that can detect if I try to send out any transmissions, or if I begin the transport pod’s takeoff sequence. So you see, Henderson, we actually need each other’s help because we are all trapped here.”

  The Mission Commander then looked up at the Comis emissary who’d just become an ally and asked, “Where is Malum hiding?”

  “Malum doesn’t hide from anyone or anything,” Zenda answered. “He is somewhere in the tunnels preparing his strategy and setting his traps. Now we must decide how to destroy him before he destroys us.”

  Search and Destroy

  Lynch had heard enough. Tapping Dr. Henderson on the shoulder, he said, “We need to talk.” Then he added three words with emphasis, “Now, in private!”

  Turning back to Zenda, Dr. Henderson asked, “Would you wait right here? I need to let the others inside the helicopter know what the situation is. I’ll be back soon, and then we can plan what to do next
.”

  “Yes, Henderson, I will wait here,” Zenda replied.

  Back aboard the Chinook, an argument broke out between Dr. Henderson and Lynch. As Mission Commander, Dr. Henderson felt it was her responsibility to work with Zenda to develop a plan of defense against Malum. She favored having everyone stick together because, as she put it, “There is safety in numbers.”

  Lynch made it very clear that this was no longer a scientific matter; it was a security crisis of the highest order. He said that he was the designated head of security for Operation Deep Freeze, and that it was his responsibility to take charge if the safety of the ETF was threatened. He also had a very different approach to resolving the crisis.

  “Listen,” Lynch began, “the faster we find and dispose of Malum, the sooner we can get out of here and back to Thule. The longer we wait, the more time we give that alien to set his traps. We need to take the initiative, and we need to take it now.”

  After the pilots and various ETF members weighed in with their views, it was decided that since she was Mission Commander, Dr. Henderson would stay in command. However, it was also agreed that Lynch would lead the two SEALs on what he called a “search and destroy” mission. Everyone else would remain in the chopper, except for Dr. Henderson, who would go back outside and work with Zenda to develop a backup plan in case Lynch’s efforts were unsuccessful.

  When Lynch and the SEALs left the Chinook, they carried high intensity flashlights in addition to their machine guns and pistols. For good measure, Lynch handed a flamethrower to Adams, saying, “Since Lues prefer ice cold weather, let’s treat Malum to some good old American warmth.”

  Before Lynch and the two SEALs had headed toward the tunnel entrance that Malum had last used, Zenda provided Lynch a detailed map of the subterranean tunnel system. She had also warned, “Malum has had time to make alterations to the tunnels that you will not find on this map. The Lues might not be as advanced as the Comis, but they are clever and ruthless. And remember, there was a reason why Malum was selected by his father.”