Free Lokians 1: Beyond the End of the World by Aaron Dennis

before the big
meeting. Some of them only tossed and turned as the stress of the
unknown plagued their minds.
     
    ****
     
    At 05:00 hours O’Hara’s crew woke, geared up,
and congregated outside. It was a cold and windy morning on Eon,
but the twin orbs of orange light cast a glimmer of hope. They
chatted about their surroundings; rocky hills, very, little, plant
life, apart from the blue palms and some reddish shrubs. No one saw
a bird, or bug, or lizard, or whatever Eon had.
    The strangest thing was the way everything
had an orange hue with red or brown specks throughout. Swain said
it was because the area was rich in Iron and Sulfur. No one really
cared, but it eased the tension. Finally, Fitzpatrick and DeReaux
set up on the highest hill, roughly two hundred yards from the rest
of the crew. DeReaux had his rifle drawn and Fitzpatrick scanned
the area with her binos.
    “ You copy, Captain?” her voice came in
through O’Hara’s earpiece.
    “ Copy, Fitzpatrick. Be ready for
anything.”
    She set up her rifle, too.
     
    ****
     
    While the captain’s ground crew readied
themselves, Day sat perched in her chair on the bridge. Since she
wasn’t specially trained for ground combat, she provided air
support, albeit grounded, air support. Roberts snuck up next to
her, causing her to jump in her seat. She laughed it off.
    “ You alright, Day?”
    “ Fine, why?”
    “ I can’t help but notice our cameras
are off….”
    Day scanned the bridge. The service members
hadn’t seemed to notice the discrepancy. They were still talking
about their previous night.
    “ Uh…Swain said something about shutting
them off for a while, so I just followed orders,” Day
answered.
    “ Uh-huh,” Roberts was skeptical, but
Day fired a surreptitious look. “Yes, Ma’am.”
     
    ****
     
    “ Alright, people,” O’Hara started.
“DeReaux and Fitzpatrick have us covered from the hill, and the air
strike team is a couple clicks away; they’ll be circling shortly.
We shouldn’t have any trouble, but keep your eyes
peeled.”
    A voice suddenly erupted through his
earpiece. “Captain O’Hara? This is Captain Daly, do you copy?”
    “ Copy, Daly. This is
O’Hara.”
    “ I’m leading the strike team. We have
visual contact. One shuttle is approaching from the southeast. You
should see this thing. It’s amazing,” Daly gasped.
    “ They’re coming in,” O’Hara said with a
hint of excitement.
    “ I confirm visual, Sir,” Fitzpatrick
responded.
     
    ****
     
    Back on the bridge, Day’s face lit up. Only
Roberts caught her expression and wondered what was going on; she
hadn’t noticed before that the helmsman wore an earpiece, so she
inconspicuously checked the radar. It was tracking an air strike
team and something else. Day and Roberts locked eyes. The look from
Day implied silence on the matter. Roberts winced before looking
back at the radar.
     
    ****
     
    The ground team watched a streak appear in
the purple sky. A silver object was coming in from the southeast.
As the crew steeled themselves, it drew closer. A moment later, the
silver object was in full view, something shaped like the bottom of
a shoe; a large circular area in front, a thinner elliptical
center, and a small circular area at the rear. An odd silence
prevailed as it drew closer and closer.
    The captain thought it large for a shuttle.
Maybe, it is a vanguard , he thought. It was possible that
they had been misrepresenting themselves as Nandesrikahl suggested.
O’Hara wanted to draw his gun and take aim or contact Miss Day and
tell her to aim the Phoenix’s weapons. No, he knew
jumping the gun had devastating impacts. If they had come in peace,
the following, galactic blunder would henceforth be called pulling an O’Hara ; he didn’t want that on his head.
    The shuttle slowed to a halt in midair. It
was like a great whale suspended in the ocean. There were no sounds
at all. Then, a puff of wind hit the ground, blowing dust
everywhere. The crew