Lokians 1: Beyond the End of the World (8 page)

“
Lokians are…efficient. It seems they
travel through space and destroy advanced civilizations. Once a
civilization masters space travel, the Lokians view them as a
threat; the implications are mind boggling.

“
Because Thewls believe we’ll be
targeted soon, they want to arrange a meeting in person,” Admiral
Lay said with a furrowed brow. A great deal of concern flooded his
visage as he spoke. His commanding presence was his saving grace.
“I’m sending you and your crew to meet with them. It’s hard to
believe, I know, but Thewls can travel much faster through space
than we imagined. They’re set to land on Eon some ten, thousand
miles southwest of the colony. This will eliminate any chance of
the colonists discovering our meeting.”

The captain stepped forward, a frown on his
face, and said, “I appreciate the involvement here, Admiral, but
shouldn’t you be meeting with them?”

A smile flickered across Lay’s face. “It’s
imperative they meet the men and women who discovered their
beacons. It’s also imperative that I stay behind the scenes in
order to play down suspicions amongst the colony. As far as the
colonists are concerned, Phoenix Crew is simply scouting out a
second location to colonize. You’re to leave first thing tomorrow
morning. They’ll be arriving in less than twenty four hours.”

Nandesrikahl stepped forward, asking, “Sir,
if I may?”

“
Of course, I expect most of you have
questions. I’ll be happy to answer to the best of my ability,” the
admiral replied.

“
Yes,” Nandesrikahl began. “Can we be
sure Thewls aren’t misrepresenting themselves? I mean, ’ow do we
know their story’s accurate, truthful?”

“
That’s a good question,” Lay breathed.
“We’ve been exchanging quite a bit of Intel, and their planetary
history is among the exchange as well as their military history.
Their main ship isn’t entering the Gemini system. They’re only
sending a small shuttle with a select crew and an
ambassador.

“
While it might be possible they’re
lying about that, or for them to attempt an attack, we’ve been
given their current location, so we’re tracking them. We’ve also
set up a defensive, support unit just in case. We’re calling it a
training exercise to down play any suspicions.

“
Currently, Earth Air Force has an air
strike team mobilized. They’ll be arriving on Eon soon. Our best
pilots will be ready for any kind of attack. Men, you’ve all been
trained for this day. I’m sure there’s no need for violence, but
you’re ready to handle anything,” The admiral stopped speaking, and
took a long inhalation. “If there are any more questions, now is
the time to ask.”

Becker stepped forward, asking, “Sir, who are
we meeting, and what exactly are we expected to find out?”

“
You’ll be receiving Ambassador Weh. He
wants to discuss the reason for the beacons placement, the Lokians’
modus operandi, and propose a plan for us to work in unison in
order to prevent the Lokians from doing to us what they did to
them. I’ll be in touch the entire time.”

The soldiers passed glances, but no one else
had any questions. Lay nodded, and left the room. O’Hara watched
him go; the old man’s usual nimbleness had left his legs.

“
Hey Cap? We gotta keep this on the
down low from the rest of the crew, ya’ heard,” Martinez
said.

O’Hara nodded and responded, “True, we’ll
tell them we’re meeting another ship and leave it at that. It
shouldn’t rouse any suspicion.”

The crew shifted their weight nervously, or
scratched their cheeks, thumbed at their lips. Fitzpatrick fidgeted
with her belt. O’Hara took notice and stepped over to her. She
looked up to meet his eyes.

“
This seems strange doesn’t it? Why
would these Thewls, or whatever, be so eager to work with
us?”

“
I don’t know…they left beacons here,
maybe they want to return here. If they lost their home world they
might want this planet back.”

“
Agreed,” Nandesrikahl
added.

Swain scanned everyone’s face. Most of the
crew appeared hesitant. Imes cocked his head back a little and
spoke up.

“
I think we shouldn’t try to expect
anything. If we go into this meeting expecting the worst, we might
make some misjudgments.”

Becker sighed. “He’s right. We have a defense
unit set up and have all day to check the reports. There are
reports, right?”

The captain shrugged.

“
There’s always a debriefing report.
This is the most important mission I’ve ever heard of. Admiral Lay
wouldn’t send us in blind,” Zakowski commented.

The crew nodded accordingly. “Alright, then,”
O’Hara heaved. “I’ll check my office for the debriefing and send
everyone a copy. Remember, no one else onboard can know what we’re
doing.”

O’Hara’s team saluted and left for the
quarters deck, except for Day, who returned to the helm. At the
bridge, she had Roberts plot a course via the AMS to land ten,
thousand miles southwest of Eon’s colony. They arrived at their
destination by 14:00 hours, allowing the entire crew extra hours of
R and R off the ship.

That relaxation allowed the crew enough
stimuli to keep any questions regarding new orders subdued. While
the
Phoenix’s
crew camped out in the open expanse of a rocky
terrain speckled with bluish trees resembling palms, O’Hara and his
team met in the deserted, mess hall. Zakowski rounded up plates.
They ate as the captain glossed over details.

“
Okay, for starters, reports show
Thewls are coming in with a small craft. It says small, but it’s
about the size of the
Phoenix
,” the captain
explained.

“
Then, we know they can’t be coming
with a full, military crew,” Swain added.

“
True, but, are we sure they don’t have
other ships in orbit?” Nandesrikahl asked.

“
We can trust the admiral’s Intel,”
Fitzpatrick remarked. “He said he’s tracking them.”

Martinez clicked his tongue attracting Day’s
attention. She then looked to O’Hara.

“
Marty,” O’Hara inquired.

“
Ya’, Cap. These guys can travel half
way across the galaxy in no time. We got word on their weaponry? If
they can travel better ‘n us, I gotta wonder if they can blow shit
up better ‘n us, ya’ heard?”

“
Uh, Captain?” Swain interjected with a
raised hand. O’Hara looked to him and nodded. “Down here on the
report, page seven, it explains Thewls were attacked by this race
of creatures. Logically, if those Lokians destroyed the Thewlian,
home world, they have the capability to destroy Eon,
right?”

“
Yes….”

“
Uh, what I’m saying is it’s unlikely
that Thewls want to set up another home base here if it can be
wiped out. I think they are genuinely interested in some kind of
Human alliance. I mean, even I have to wonder what the chances are
of there being any more intelligent races out here in our vicinity.
We have ourselves, Thewls, and Lokians. We’re probably the only
ones out here that can help these guys. They won’t want to make
enemies out of us.”

“
Well said, mon ami,” DeReaux
responded.

“
Well, that’s not good enough for me,”
Becker griped.

“
Okay, I see what has you concerned,”
O’Hara started.

“
Do you? Maybe there are Lokians, maybe
there aren’t. This could be a ploy just as much as it could be the
truth. Plus, the reports say the Lokians travel around to other
civilizations! That means that there are other races, right? The
last we thing we need is to place our implicit trust in something
we’ve never encountered,” Becker argued.

“
Fair enough,” O’Hara consented.
“Listen, the best thing for us right now is to prepare for
anything. We have air support, and the
Phoenix
is armed and
ready. We also have communications with Presh and the admiral. We
can try to imagine all sorts of garbage, or we can stay focused.
Stay focused. We meet, we talk; if things get ugly we’re trained.
We know the area.”

Day smiled. “You’re right. I’ll stay at the
helm in case anything comes up. That should help to keep anyone
else from getting suspicious about what’s going on.”

O’Hara nodded, adding, “Nandy and Zak, I want
you two to be especially alert in case someone gets hurt. DeReaux
and Fitzpatrick, you guys’ll get out there, and find the best place
to post up, keep an eye on everything. Swain, check the report for
anything that can pose a structural weakness. Their defenses aren’t
listed in the report, but it does say they have some minor weaponry
aboard their shuttle. See what you can find.”

Worried glances went around the room. Their
food sat half eaten on the plates before them. O’Hara ground his
teeth.

“
Get a move on, guys,” he
ordered.

“
Sir.”

As the night wound down, the remaining
deckhands returned to the ship. Orders were broadcasted to get a
few hours rest and be ready the following morning. The spec ops
team also tried their best to get some sleep 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 covered their eyes momentarily and a deep,
droning sound rumbled for a second. A large panel opened from
beneath the ship. A loading platform slid out until the edge
touched the ground. A strange vehicle rolled out, something like a
bulky all-terrain with tracks covering six wheels.