Planet DAN-X34

by Lamees Alhassar

  Its hair was green. On its wrists were gold-colored bracelets and it was wearing thick leather shoes.

  From where he stood transfixed in his office on Earth, Richard estimated that the giant must have been at least thirty feet tall. It was very huge.

  The giant looked at the men running and scampering for safety and appeared amused. Without warning, it bent down and lifted one of the heavy-duty tractors effortlessly. It was as if an adult had bent down to pick up a toy truck. It then threw it towards one of the buildings. The force of the throw was enough to cause the building to give way like a piece of paper being ripped apart forcefully.

  As the building disintegrated, debris, pillars, and personnel could be seen being hurled around.

  “Let’s get out of here!” Richard heard someone shout in fright.

  But both the entire crew members on board the shuttles as well as the personnel on the ground were still in shock and could virtually not move. Everyone was still staring in shock as the giant picked up a construction crane and aimed it at another building.

  As the next building was disintegrating, Richard noticed that some people were now running around and falling over each other. As they did, Richard could see the bewilderment, shock, and horror on the other passengers’ faces. They were not only scared at what was happening outside, they were now horrified and petrified at what was now happening to them.

  One of the shuttles was moving. Perhaps it was attempting to take off and escape out of the rising danger all around.

  But the fright and confusion written all over the pilot’s face said it all.

  That was when Richard gasped again. The widescreen was showing a shot from a CCTV camera on board one of the Traveler shuttles.

  And as Richard and Andrews saw it, they gasped again.

  They were looking straight into an eye. A very big eye. The eye of a giant.

  Involuntarily, they both stepped backwards in Richard’s office.

  Because of the huge size of the widescreen on Richard’s office wall, as well as its high resolution and visual strength, it seemed as if both Richard and Andrews were actually inside the shuttle in question and looking outside into the eye of the giant.

  But they were not. They were still in Richard’s office observing the terrible events unfolding on the widescreen television.

  And that was when it began to make sense to Richard.

  In everyone’s confused state, nobody had been observant enough to notice the arrival of another giant. And that second giant had now come directly onto the tarmac and picked up a Traveler shuttle.

  The CCTV on board the shuttle had now captured the event unfolding outside of it.

  The passengers were all staring directly into its eye.

  They were all staring into the eye of the second giant.

  Pandemonium seemed to break loose on board the shuttle as the passengers began to scream. A lot of them were struggling with their seat belts and trying in vain to unbuckle themselves from their seats.

  But even those who succeeded in doing so were still faced with another dilemma.

  At that particular moment they were already airborne, at least temporarily. Because the giant had lifted the shuttle high up into the air.

  So, where were they going to run to? Richard could imagine they were asking themselves.

  “There is nowhere to run to. They are airborne already. Where do they think they are going to?” Andrews muttered in a shaky voice.

  The passengers on board seemed to realize this and started to re-buckle themselves back in their seats.

  Just then, the CCTV camera began to vibrate and begin to blur. Before everything went dead, the last shot that was captured was the eye of the giant peering deeply into the shuttle’s camera lens.

  The images then shuddered and picked up again.

  Another camera on the airport grounds had picked up the image of the huge giant. It peered into the window on the side of the shuttle and then the giant threw the shuttle.

  The cameras caught the shuttle being flung away. It seemed to hurtle uncontrollably into the air. And then it stopped and began to rapidly descend towards the ground.

  The shuttle was now approaching the ground very fast.

  “What of automatic pilot? My goodness, the auto pilot should have been engaged by now,” Andrews was muttering.

  As Andrews was saying this, the shuttle seemed to slow down in its rapid descent and its engine and thrusters came alive.

  But as the shuttle’s engines roared to life, Andrews shook his head. “They are too low. They cannot make it.”

  Richard watched as the shuttle seemed to decelerate from its rapid fall. The engines had come on but the shuttle was too close to the ground. Before its impact with the ground, the shuttle veered and shot off horizontally.

  For that moment, the shuttle had avoided and missed a direct collision with the ground. In the process, it had twisted itself and flown forward horizontally. As it did, the tip of its wing had grazed the tarmac’s floor, causing sparks to fly all around.

  The shuttle now spun around and seemed to glide upside down before it turned itself around. But all that maneuvering was not properly coordinated.

  A nearby building was too close to be avoided by the shuttle.

  Richard and Andrews watched in fright as the underbelly of the shuttle grazed the top of the building. More sparks erupted. And then smoke began to bellow from one of the engines and the wings.

  At the last moment, the shuttle seemed to attempt to take off vertically. But it could not muster enough thrust.

  It then flew into one of the nearby buildings, leaving a trail of smoke and sparks behind it.

  As Richard gasped again, the widescreen television suddenly went dark. There was no more vision or sound.

  “What? What just happened, Professor?” Richard demanded, with eyes wide and filled with anguish, horror, and disbelief.

  “I am afraid that is all the backup we can access, Mr. Daniels,” Andrews replied.

  “All the back up?” Richard repeated.

  Andrews nodded. “Yes, Mr. Daniels. That is it.”

  “But that is not going to do, Professor. We need to establish contact with our people there right now. We need to know what is going on immediately.”

  “Maybe we have to fly up there then, Mr. Daniels.”

  “Fly to Dan-X34? At this moment that the place is being invaded?”

  “Yes, Mr. Daniels. For now, that will be the only way that we can establish any form of direct contact with them. Unless someone, maybe an engineer, can put up some kind of link from their end. Then we just might be able to communicate with them, sir. But at the moment, there is nothing that I can do from this end.”

  Richard slumped into his seat, exhausted with anger, fear, and confusion.

  “This is a nightmare, Professor. This cannot be happening,” Richard said.

  “If only we could get across to someone on DanX34,” Andrews said.

  “It would be too risky to get out there at this moment. It is like driving in the dark without any headlamps, not knowing where you are going or what you are going to meet.”

  “But we cannot just remain like this, Mr. Daniels. Shouldn’t we talk to the authorities?”

  Richard glared at him. “Go to which authorities, Professor? NASA? FBI? Or the police? What would we tell them? That our planet outside of this solar system is being invaded by aliens, giant aliens? And that we don’t know what the status is right now?”

  “I am just thinking of options of what to do, Mr. Daniels.”

  “The best option is for us to get out there with a team as soon as possible.”

  “But we need to know what we are going up against, Mr. Daniels.”

  Richard nodded. He then ran his fingers through his hair. “You are right, Professor. How can we get across to someone over there?”

  Andrews shook his head. “Like I said earlier, it will be impossible to establish a link from here. All our direct comm
unication lines have been severed from this end. It is only if someone can re-establish contact with us from there. Otherwise, we will just be in the dark for a long time.”

  Just then, a phone began to ring.

  Richard looked at his phone and then glanced at Andrews. “It’s not mine. Maybe it’s yours that is ringing.”

  Andrews checked his pocket and brought out his cell phone. As he did, he frowned.

  “Who is it?” Richard asked.

  “I don’t know, Mr. Daniels. There is no number on my screen,” Andrews replied. He kept on looking at the screen as the phone was ringing.

  “Well? Aren’t you going to answer it, Professor? It could be anybody!” Richard said.

  “I don’t like answering calls from unknown numbers, Mr. Daniels.”

  Richard pointed at the widescreen television on his wall. “Are you thinking properly, Professor? We are in a crisis situation and you are talking about unknown callers? Give me that phone.”

  Andrews handed his phone to Richard, who quickly answered the call. “Hello? Who is this?”

  “Professor? Professor Andrews, is that you?” the caller asked.

  “Who is this?” Richard demanded.

  “I need to talk to the professor, please. It is an emergency. Where is he?”

  Richard frowned. “Who are you and where are you calling from?”

  “I am calling from Dan-X34. Where is the professor?”

  Richard gasped. “What? Dan-X34?”

  Andrews rushed to Richard’s side. “Yes, yes, yes. This is Andrews on the line. Who is this?”

  “Thank goodness I could get you, Professor. It is me. Michael on the line, sir.”

  “Michael? Where are you calling from?” Andrews asked.

  “I am on Dan-X34, Professor.”

  Andrews frowned. “You are on Dan-X34? What are you doing there?”

  “Have you forgotten, Professor? I was assigned to join the Russian survey team yesterday.”

  “Yesterday?” Andrews repeated. “You mean you have been there since yesterday?”

  “Of course, Professor. I have been here since yesterday with other surveyors. But that should not be bothering you right now. You wouldn’t believe what has just happened.”

  “What is there not to believe, Michael? We were able to get a recording of some of what just happened on Dan-X34. But it was only a previous recording that we were able to dig up from the servers here. We have been cut off from you ever since then. You don’t know how grateful we are to hear from you at last!” Andrews said.

  “It’s confusing, Professor. We were attacked by some giants. They destroyed most of our communication equipment and gadgets. Luckily, I was able to modify my cell phone’s frequencies and receptors to hook up with nearby satellites in order to place this long-distance call to you.”

  “That was brilliant of you, Michael. Tell me, what is the situation right now? Is the planet still under attack?”

  “Not anymore, Professor. The giants have all suddenly left.”

  Richard was sitting at the side of the table. He suddenly sprang up. “Left? Did you say that they have left?”

  “Yes. They have left. Who is this speaking?”

  “I am Richard Daniels, Michael. Your CEO.”

  “Good day, sir. I am sorry, I didn’t realize you were with the professor.”

  “No problem, Michael. We are grateful that we are finally able to talk with someone on Dan-X34. You were just saying that the giants have left? Are you sure about this?”

  “Yes, Mr. Daniels. They have all left. At least for now.”

  “Are there any casualties? What is the scale of the damage?” Richard asked.

  “We are still trying to piece together what really happened here on Dan-X34, sir. I just quickly went to work on my cell phone to establish contact with you on Earth. Others are still trying to assess things at the moment,” Michael replied.

  “Then in that case, you need not worry about anything. Just stay put, we are coming over right away,” Richard said.

  Andrews blinked. “You mean to Dan-X34, Mr. Daniels?”

  Richard nodded. “Of course, Professor. We need to get there as soon as possible. This is the perfect opportunity now that we know that the giants are not around. Michael is on the planet. Who else can we go with?”

  “Katrina is around. But it is still very early in the morning to contact her,” Andrews said.

  “Call her right away, Professor. We are in a crisis, and there is no time to waste with chivalry,” Richard said.

  “Okay, Mr. Daniels. Michael, are you still on the line?”

  “Yes, Professor. I am still here,” Michael replied.

  “Okay, you can hang up now. The CEO, myself, and Katrina are coming right over. Inform the rest of our staff to be calm over there. But if there is any need to get in touch with us you can still reach me on my phone. Do you understand?” Andrews asked.

  “Yes, Professor. No problem. We will be making a proper assessment of the situation before your arrival. Thank you once again,” Michael replied, and the line went dead.

  Andrews then dialed another number. “Hello, Katrina? Are you awake?”

  “No, Professor. You just woke me up. What time is it?” Katrina asked from the other end of the line.

  “Yes, I know that it is still very early. I do apologize for waking you up, Katrina. But there is an emergency. Dan-X34 has been attacked. We need to get over there right away,” Andrews replied.

  “What? Attacked? How? When did this happen?” Katrina asked.

  “There is no time to waste. When you get to Operations, we will brief you on what we know. We are going over there as soon as possible,” Andrews said.

  “Okay, Professor. I am on my way,” Katrina said before the line went dead.

  “That is done, Mr. Daniels. We can now proceed to Operations. Katrina will meet us there,” Andrews said.

  A couple of hours later, a Traveler shuttle was speeding across the tarmac at GEI Operations base. Its occupants were Richard, Andrews, and Katrina.

  Before long, it was airborne and heading towards the dark, starry skies.

  ***

  As soon as the shuttle landed on Dan-X34, Richard, Andrews, and Katrina rushed out of it. They had managed to land the Traveler on a portion of the runway that was not severely damaged by the invaders.

  As they arrived, Michael and some other engineers met them on the tarmac.

  “Welcome, Mr. Daniels, Professor Andrews, and Katrina. We are all really glad to see that you were able to make it here,” Michael said as they walked towards them.

  “Thank you, Michael. It is really the least we could do. And I thank all of you engineers for keeping things together in spite of the situation and circumstances,” Richard replied.

  “None of you will be able to imagine what the last few hours have been like for us back on Earth,” Andrews said.

  “We were completely cut off from you, without any sort of details or information on the present situation of things,” Richard added.

  Michael waved his hands around. “Well, you can see it for yourselves. But what you see right now is nothing compared to how it was while it lasted. It was unimaginable, horrific, and terrible devastation. I don’t think I ever want to experience such a thing ever again.”

  “What is the casualty rate like?” Richard asked.

  “Luckily, there were no fatal injuries or deaths. Most of the tourists, staff, and other personnel are safe and unharmed. However, everyone is still in a state of shock, with so many panicking and insisting on wanting to leave,” Michael said.

  Richard nodded. “I can imagine. Where are the injured people? Take me to them.”

  Katrina, Richard, and Andrews were led to the medical facilities, where a lot of injured people could be seen.

  Many of them had bandages tied around their heads and other parts of their bodies. A lot of them were sitting down, while others were lying down on the floor, beds, and chairs.

/>   Richard could also see that some of the injured were still very weak and dizzy.

  He looked around and saw that there were several other people on makeshift beds. Some were awake, while others appeared to be asleep. The light in the room was flickering and the illumination was not too bright.

  There was a lot of noise, including people shouting and chattering loudly, as well as machines in activity.

  Some patients were struggling to sit up. Others were complaining and shouting out loud.

  Shaking his head in dismay, Richard looked around the environment. They were on one of the floors of one of the buildings. Outside, he could see smoke bellowing from several structures around them.

  As Richard was looking around, his eyes caught sight of the tail of a shuttle. Immediately, he recognized it from the video recording that he and the professor had seen while in his office on Earth.

  The tail of the shuttle was sticking out of a top floor of one of the nearby buildings into which it had been plunged.

  Richard looked again, his eyes scanning through the entire complex that was now reduced to rubble and chaos. There was no sight of the giants that had terrorized them.

  He heard some footsteps and took his attention from the world outside. It was Katrina and some other engineers and security personnel. Some of the engineers’ arms were in slings, while others had bandages on their faces. Most of the others had one form of injury or the other.

  “How are you feeling, gentlemen?” Richard asked as they came closer to him.

  “I think I am all right,” one of the engineers replied. “My head hurts so badly,” another engineer said.

  “I’m sorry, sir. You must have bashed your head into something during the commotion and chaos,” Richard said.

  “I was in that building when that shuttle rammed into it,” the engineer said, pointing outside. Richard looked and saw the shuttle still stuck inside the other building. “What of the rest of the crew? And its passengers? Where are they right now?”

  “They are all right, sir. Some are in this room, while others were kept in other rooms,” Michael said. “I apologize, but this is the best we could come up with. The central hospital was completely destroyed by those giants. We had to salvage anything we could to create makeshift sick bays like this one that you are in.”