In the darkness of outer space, a lone ship was automatically traveling back to planet Earth. Inside, the lights of the hibernation chambers were turned on, beginning to revive the five crew members on the MorningStar. They had successfully completed their expedition to Europa, the smallest of the four Galilean moons orbiting the planet Jupiter, and were finally returning home. The captain was the first to open her eyes, immediately requesting a general briefing from Clair, the AI who was in charge of ship control and crew safety.
"Good morning Sharon," Clair replied.
"Determining crew status," she paused and then continued.
"Captain, Sharon Armstrong, organic levels at 100%."
"Lieutenant Joey Simmons, telecommunications engineer, organic levels at 100%."
"Major Petra Kirillov, astrophysicist, organic levels at 95%, body mass loss 5%"
"Major Jane Austin, medical officer, organic levels at 100%."
"Lieutenant Mike Thomson, mechanical engineer, organic levels at 95% loss of body mass 5%."
"All MorningStar starship systems are at 95% efficiency;" a situation that did not worry Sharon, it was clear that the ship would have structural wear and tear.
"We are 12 hours from lunar orbit;" Clair continued to report," no anomalies were present during the return; however, despite my repeated attempts, 3492 to be exact, I have been unable to establish communication with Earth command center. End of report." Sharon frowned.
After recovering from the effects of the hibernation period, the five MorningStar crewmen enjoyed a terse breakfast seated in the ship's mess hall.
"What's the first thing you're going to do, Lieutenant, when you get to Earth?" asked Sharon to Joey; all eyes were on him.
"I'm going to go live on the beach, no more confinement for me," he said awkwardly with his mouth full.
"I just want to hug my kids and kiss my husband," Petra stepped in with her throaty accent taking a glance at everyone in the room.
"I don't think it's just kissing," Jane said with an impish grin as she bit into a piece of apple.
They all laughed together.
"I think so too," Jane added again looking down at her small plastic plate, "Five years is an eternity."
They all nodded quietly.
"And you, Captain," Joey interrupted, "What will you do with the rest of your life?" Indeed, everyone knew it was Sharon's last trip.
She finished eating her last bite.
"Instructing the new cadets for future stellar voyages," she replied.
Unlike her classmates, Sharon had no one waiting for her at home. Her entire life devoted to the space career never gave room for romantic relationships.
"There's no one better for that than you, Captain," Joey said pointing with his fork. Jane nodded. Sharon nodded back.
"Listen up! I want everyone assembled and waiting for orders in 10 minutes", Sharon ordered before walking away from the table.
"Aye, Captain," they all responded in unison with a big smile. In no time they would be home.
The crew retook control of the ship. The captain ordered Joey to check the telecommunications array. Sure enough, Sharon had failed to contact the ground command center. Unfortunately, after a thorough check, the lieutenant found no damage to the communication systems. Soon enough, they would learn the reason for the continued silence.
As they approached Earth's orbit, unexpectedly, the long-distance scanners detected several unidentified objects circling the planet in almost its entirety, inside and outside Earth's atmosphere. But most shocking was to find devastating nuclear impacts detonated in major cities around the world, the MorningStar crew could not believe their eyes.
Jane held onto her console to keep from falling to her knees, she was short of breath. She made an effort not to faint; Joey's open lips trembled wordlessly; Mike couldn't stop his tears. Sharon gritted her teeth, a shiver ran down her spine; her mind was still denying what her eyes were seeing.
" It must be a mistake," she exclaimed in annoyance.
She took the controls and scanned the surface of the planet again, but no matter how many times she repeated it, she kept getting the same result. Cities like London, Paris, Berlin, New York, New York, California, Argentina, and even cities in Russia and China, had disappeared. Despite their military and scientific training, each of the MorningStar members had to struggle hard with their own emotions to keep their sanity.
Major Petra Kirillov, even with her fists clenched and her eyes filled with tears, suggested hiding the ship behind the hidden face of the moon. Luckily, the aliens had not yet detected the MorningStar's presence.
"We must establish a plan of action to enter the planet undetected and find out what has happened to the human race," Sharon ordered.
"Don't you know what happens when an advanced civilization collides with an inferior one?" said Jane fixing her swollen eyes on Sharon's.
"Extinction," Petra broke in, unable to look away from the empty spaces that used to be cities. She steadily wiped away the tears running down her face.
The captain knew very well the history of the last conquest that occurred on the planet, the encounter of the Spanish, French, and English with the primitive civilizations of the indigenous peoples living on the American continent. A war they would never have won. Of the few survivors that remained, some became extinct and others were segregated or separated from society. The strongest defeated the weakest. Sharon tried to erase from her mind the period of slavery and the outrages committed to the African race, subjected to the will of a superior species.
"Do you think we have any chance of doing anything?" challenged Jane to the captain.
"We're doomed!" interrupted Joey with her eyes wide open.
"Get it together, Lieutenant! That's a direct order!" exclaimed the captain in a firm tone.
Joey stiffened at the order
Mike, plunged into his thoughts, putting his head in his hands. Wondering which was far worse: the fate of humanity or having lost his family. Like his companions, he had been unable to see his loved ones for almost 5 years.
"Stay calm and keep it together right now!", Sharon reiterated.
Each returned to his or her post in silence.
Now calmer, they all agreed that the best way to deal with the problem was to get busy solving it. So they put their minds to work on the details to implement a plan. After a random selection, Jane and Joey were chosen to be part of the team that would join the captain on the trip to Earth.
Using two of MorningStar's escape pods, they entered the planet's atmosphere, taking advantage of the route established by Clair to avoid detection. Hiding behind the remains of satellites destroyed by the aliens and the junk that roamed the stratosphere, they managed to enter the planet. Soon, one of the extraterrestrial ships detected the smoke trail left behind the capsule where Sharon was traveling; immediately, two interceptor fighters appeared and opened fire on it.
"Here we go. You know what's next. Over and out," Sharon communicated to Joy and Jane's capsule, which had not yet been detected.
Sharon performed evasive maneuvers to avoid the enemy ships' projectile bursts, managing to evade them long enough for her teammates to land safely. Finally, an enemy projectile managed to hit one of the engines of the captain's capsule. Sharon lost control and had to make a crash landing in a highland area. Her ship crashed into a series of trees, shattering them to pieces. Dazed, she rushed to get out of her ship. Despite being fast, the captain found herself face-to-face with the enemy fighter. It remained a hundred meters away from her. Sharon removed her helmet, shook out her straight red hair, and without further ado, shot a defiant glare at the enemy ship. For some unknown reason, the enemy ship still didn't move. Angrily, Sharon threw her helmet to the ground and raised both hands in surrender.
The heat of the sun toasting her complexion, Sharon had forgotten how gratifying it was to feel the sun on her skin and for the first time in years, she took a sweet breath of fresh air.
“Come on, you cowards! Get it over with at once!” the captain shouted angrily.
The pilot drew a smile from the cockpit.
The alien ship began to slowly approach; when it was close enough, Sharon activated a detonator hidden inside her gloves, suddenly, an electromagnetic pulse (amplified with Joey's help) fried all the electrical circuits of both her ship and that of the enemy. The latter collapsed like a brick, clattering as it hit the rocky ground. The EMP's impact stunned Sharon, dropping her to her knees; making an effort, she got up and went after the enemy fighter pilot.
The enemy ship's security system automatically opened the cockpit hatch, exposing the pilot at the captain's expense. The latter had lost consciousness. Sharon pulled out a weapon she had hidden behind her and aimed at the enemy's head ready to blow its brains out. But she stopped suddenly when she realized that both she and her enemy were female specimens of their species.
Despite believing she would encounter a horrifying, slimy monster. The alien pilot was not entirely unlike herself, she had human-like arms and legs, she wore armor that fitted over her chest, highlighting her femininity; her skin, unlike the human, was a deep red color and from her head extended a series of red, elongated appendages, reaching down to her back, similar to a long hair.
The roar of new ships nearby alerted Sharon. She ran for her backpack inside the pod and then returned to the enemy fighter, to take the unconscious pilot's body with her. Having a hostage might balance her chances, she thought.
She dragged the pilot's body to the entrance of a cave she had caught sight of, a few meters from where she had crashed; suddenly, two new fighters arrived and opened fire ruthlessly on her capsule and even on the pilot's ship, blowing them to pieces in seconds. The impact of the detonation threw them both into the cavern, causing a tremor that sealed the cave entrance with huge rocks.
Jane and Joey's escape pod managed to make a crash landing near what used to be a city. They both hurried out of the capsule, the enemy ships would soon be on their tail. However, Joey stayed behind pulling out a large bag with tools and supplies. As he exited the capsule, he had lost Jane's trail, Joey could make out a cluster of abandoned residences about a hundred meters away. Fighter engines roared nearby. Joey panicked and ran to hide inside the nearest building. It was in ruins; he took the stairs and then entered the first room he found open. He examined the interior and decided to hide in the bathroom. He did not expect to find a corpse inside the bathtub; embarrassingly, to avoid detection by the aliens, Joey had no choice but to hide inside the bathtub under the corpse. Fighter scanners swept the area, including the building where Joey had hidden. After a short period of scanning, the aliens gave up their attempts. The roar of the alien ships became fainter but persistent. Suddenly, a pair of detonations boomed, shaking the foundations of the building. The fighters had destroyed the escape pod; satisfied, after a couple more rounds, they were gone.
Joey, soaking wet and on the verge of vomiting, thanked his unfortunate partner for saving his life. It was clear that the aliens intended to eradicate the threats. Soon he heard Jane's voice, calling out his name. Cautiously he crawled to a window and glanced out. A large cloud of black smoke was growing over the wreckage of the capsule, beyond, Jane was walking along with some strangers. Joey was glad to see other humans.
"Over here!" shouted Joey, "I'll be right down."
Joey joined them. Jane introduced the people accompanying her, they had saved her life by hiding from the sensors of the alien fighters. Joey greeted the two boys and the girl accompanying them, noticing their faces haggard from struggle and despair, yet they had a look of relief and determination.
“We're thankful you've arrived,” said the dark-haired young man, who looked the oldest of the three, shaking Joey's hand. “We'd better hurry,” commented the other boy with Asian features, “The Kintari do patrols in the afternoons.”
“The who?” asked Joey.
“We'll tell you more about them,” commented the brown boy again and hurried on.
Jane approached the boy who looked like the leader.
“How did you manage to survive?”
The boy looked at Jane cautiously before answering. “It was total chaos when the Kintari arrived. Many died in the first few days, but some of us managed to hide and organize ourselves to resist. We've been fighting them ever since, but our forces are weakened and our supplies are running low.”
He was a sturdy boy, with visible scars that spoke of his time in the resistance. Before the invasion, he made his living as a bricklayer, but now he devoted his skills to building defenses and shelters for his people. His eyes, though tired, showed a gleam of renewed hope at the sight of Jane and Joey.
“You can find out more when we get to the shelter.”
Jane nodded and continued walking beside them.
The two were led through the city sewer to an intricate network of tunnels that ran beneath the subsoil. They had been walking for over two hours.
“Is it much further?” asked Joey dizzy from the scorched smell the kerosene lamps were giving off.
"We're here," said the Asian boy.
Suddenly, a gigantic cavern opened up before them. A place where thousands of people dwelled. Despite her exhaustion, Jane drew a smile on her face as she saw the complex structures of organized homes unfolding before them, reviving her hopes of seeing her family again.
Seeing the new arrivals walking down the main road, many curious onlookers began to emerge from their prefabricated dwellings. As they walked down the dirt road, dozens of people surrounded them; in response to the onlookers, they raised their hands to greet them. Few were adults and almost no elders were visible, and one particular thing that caught the attention of the visitors was the strange murmur that people repeated over and over again, "Anointed, anointed, anointed". Others, more daring, touched the astronauts and ran around jumping joyfully, their faces revealing a peculiar gleam in their eyes as if they saw the messiah himself walking among them. Jane was overwhelmed by the welcoming reception she witnessed. Word spread fast throughout the underground city. Hundreds of joyful people joined in excited to meet the strange visitors. Finally, they stopped in a large open space, a town square where they were offered a seat and a meal. Joey immediately began to sink his teeth into the plate in front of him. Jane, sitting next to him, nudged him a couple of times to keep his composure in the face of the stares. Joey was embarrassed as he took the chicken leg out of his mouth, noticing that they were the only ones eating.
The community leaders soon arrived. Joey and Jane learned that there was a legend that ran from mouth to mouth, all around the world, about some strangers who would come from the sky and put an end once and for all to alien oppression, thus avenging all those who had fallen in battle.
Jane tried to explain to the resistance leaders that they were simply part of a crew of scientists who had left for the planet Jupiter more than five years ago and had just returned. The faces of those present lengthened at the news, however, one of the leaders excitedly shouted out to the audience.
"Isn't that what an anointed one would say?"
Some affirmed excitedly, others shouted for joy, rekindling that strange gleam in the eyes of the onlookers. All corroborated in their minds that the time would come to rid themselves of the Kintari.
Jane and Joey wanted to know more about the alien invaders. Obscene words filled the air. One of the leaders, a gray-haired, wrinkled-faced man rose from his seat and motioned for all present and curious to be silent. Patiently and in a soft voice he began to narrate.
"The Kintari are a race of remarkably aggressive, terrible, extraterrestrial warriors who wish only to dominate the universe; they arrived no more than two years ago and took all the military defenses of our world by surprise. They easily destroyed the major cities and governments of Earth. The main battle did not last long, we were never a match for them. Their advanced technology decimated ours in no time. With electrical and communication systems destroyed, chaos reigned everywhere in the world. It was an unexpected catastrophe. However, there are many of us still alive," he began to raise his voice, "ready to defend our families and our planet," the spectators began to applaud, "and rest assured," he said firmly, "that we will avenge our fallen brothers."
All present shouted and howled with jubilation in honor of the words spoken by the old man.
Jane and Joey were dumbfounded. Jane swallowed hard, carrying all the hope of what was left of humanity, on her shoulders, was too much. All she wanted to know was if her loved ones had survived.
The old man saw the overwhelming concern upon the foreheads of the newcomers. Again he rose from his seat and commented.
"Let’s let our guests rest, it has been a tiring day for them. Tomorrow will be a new and wonderful day."
Everyone present left the square, excited and commenting that the time for revenge had come. The old man approached the astronauts and patted their shoulders simultaneously
"Your arrival has been a blessing, believe it or not. But there will be time for conversation."
"'George," said the old man pointing to a nervous young man watching them a few feet away, "will take you to your quarters for a rest."
Jane and Joey thanked the old man and followed the boy.
In the darkness of the cavern, Sharon could barely breathe, a layer of dust still swirled in the air and visibility became difficult. She pulled a glow stick from her pack. She stood up to look around to assess the situation when suddenly the enemy pilot swooped down on her. With overwhelming speed and dexterity, the result of her military training, Sharon easily overpowered her adversary, knocking her out. This time she would make sure not to be disturbed while inspecting the cavern entrance.
Soon, the pilot came to her senses and was enraged to find herself bound and leaning against a rock. The alien began spitting a series of words in an unknown language, along with fierce growls in the captain's direction.
Sharon gave it a scornful look.
"I'm not happy to be around you either. Doesn't your highly advanced species have universal language translators?" she commented disdainfully and continued to check the pile of rocks in front of her.
Finally, Sharon let out a resigned sigh, aware that there was nothing she could do about it, eventually, she would have to find another way out. She pulled out other cold glow sticks and set a couple of them down in front of her prisoner who wouldn't take her golden eyes off her. Ignoring her incomprehensible comments, the captain set out to find a way out of the natural prison they were in. She had barely gone a few meters when new incomprehensible words reached her ears, intoning a melody that was increasing in volume; Sharon felt a bad feeling. She ran back, sensing what her makeshift hostage intended to do.
The alien woman was pointing a strange three-pronged dagger straight at her chest and kept reciting the same tunes with her eyes closed, raising their volume higher and higher. Undoubtedly the pilot was ready to end her life. Sharon drew her weapon and fired a warning shot, a deafening roar ricocheted off the stone walls of the cavern, breaking the pilot's concentration. Enraged, she let out another series of screams and roars at Sharon. Her face filled with spiteful tears.
The captain watched her opponent curious, she would never have imagined that the being in front of her was capable of having feelings, and behind that layer of frustration, her complexion possessed delicate and harmonious features with soft factions that evoked an enviable femininity. Despite her peculiar red color, the pilot was not bad-looking.
"For you, it's kill or be killed, isn't it?" she commented without taking her eyes off her.
The pilot sniffled and rubbed her tears away with the sleeves of her uniform; resigned, she looked away.
Sharon was about to make another comment when suddenly a shiver ran down her spine as she heard the terrifying growl of a large bear. All the drama they had staged had disturbed the peace of the beast that dwelt deep in the cave. Neither woman was prepared to face such a threat. The huge bear pounced on them without warning. Sharon felt her body flying through the air and fell on her face leaving her dazed, when she managed to open her eyes, the beast had the pilot cornered against the wall. Its expression denoted an indescribable panic, its terrified look froze the captain's blood, and unexpectedly, Sharon immediately sat up and began to scream at the bear like a madwoman.
The captain's piercing screams filled the space, her exalted and desperate voice echoing off the cave walls. After all, she had achieved what she had wished for, drawing the bear's attention to herself.
The animal, enraged, reared up on two legs and lunged at Sharon, toppling over. Fortunately, the communication equipment on her forearms prevented the bear's teeth from piercing her skin, but it would not be long before they gave way. The beast jerked her body from side to side as if she were a mere piece of paper. Her only chance was to reach for a knife hidden in her boot, but the shaking prevented her from reaching it.
Suddenly, the pilot jumped on top of the bear and began stabbing it. The animal roared in pain. Gushes of blood began to drip from its sides, in a last attempt to free itself, the beast shook its body and the pilot flew through the air, however, its effort was short-lived, after taking a few steps, its huge body collapsed and a dull and forceful blow echoed in the air. The bear exhaled its last breath.
Sharon crawled away from the beast's body as she tried to calm her rapid breathing. Sweat was running down her forehead, she was tired, and bruised and had not eaten anything for more than twelve hours; she glanced at the pilot, who also her chest was also rising and falling exhausted; Sharon nodded her head, grateful for the help, closed her eyes and lay on her back. The pilot reciprocated the signal and like the captain, collapsed on her back. A thought crossed Sharon's mind: Maybe humanity has hope.
The pilot opened her eyes after a while. She observed, from her position, the human with curiosity, she was lying asleep in the same place where she had stayed. The human was an intriguing and fearless warrior. She remembered when she found herself face to face with the great beast, fearing for her life, and how that human did not hesitate to risk her own life to save her. Confused, she wondered if she would have done the same. It was clear that both species shared something in common: the desire to survive. But saving her enemy was something that would never cross her mind. Anyone else would have considered the human a fool, yet she was beginning to feel something different about her. Was it admiration?
Not knowing how much time had elapsed, Sharon suddenly sat up in a panic, but her aching body reminded her of the battle with the bear. She looked desperately for her opponent with her eyes. The pilot was sitting a few meters away from her, watching her. Have I fallen asleep next to my enemy? she thought.
The captain shook out her uniform and reached for her backpack. After lighting another pair of glow sticks, she watched the alien pilot cautiously as she slowly approached. As she watched her, she began to notice the determination in her eyes and the bravery in her posture. For a moment, Sharon found herself mirroring her, remembering her own moments of struggle and resistance. Though their worlds were different, Sharon was beginning to see her not as an enemy, but as someone who was also fighting for her own survival.
"We must find a way out of this cave. Do you understand?" she commented, tossing one of the wands to the pilot.
The alien pilot frowned, confused by Sharon's words. She didn't understand human language, but she caught the urgency in her tone of voice and nodded, indicating she was ready to move on.
“Good. Follow me closely.”
Sharon and the alien pilot advanced cautiously, moving deeper into the cavern. The walls became narrower and there was still no way out. Sharon was beginning to regret taking that route, she thought about going back and blowing up the entrance with a grenade, but she was sure it would attract the attention of more enemies. Fortunately, the flash of a beam of light overhead eased her worries. The rift was 10 meters above them. It took the captain a while to let her partner know what her plan was. Back to back, intertwining their arms, and leaning their legs on the walls, they managed to gain height. With a great effort they reached the entrance of the crevice a meter from the surface, Sharon held on tightly to a tree root and swung the pilot to throw her out of the hole where they were. The pilot made it out of the crevice and disappeared. For an instant, a doubt crossed her mind and she found herself left to her fate dangling from a root. Soon after, a sense of relief calmed her worry, and the pilot finally appeared, carrying a vine tied to her waist. She was thus able to reach Sharon, offering her hand to pull her out of the hole.
The captain held on to the pilot's hand. The pilot's pull was so strong that they both shot out of the hole, falling face-first on top of each other. At first, they were stunned, but then they remained in that position, staring at each other. The pilot touched the captain's face, Sharon blushed and suddenly burst into nervous laughter, lying down next to the confused pilot, still clutching her hand.
"It's hot, isn't it?" asked Sharon, looking away.
What the hell is wrong with me, am I feeling something for this alien? wondered the captain.
Behave! she scolded herself.
Sharon looked at the pilot again. And a new idea occurred to her.
"Sharon," she pronounced, touching her chest. She repeated the same signal several times until the pilot understood, pronouncing "Sharon" with difficulty.
Sharon nodded her head and smiled.
The pilot made the same gesture pointing to her chest, pronounced with her strange accent the word "Tak". The pilot nodded proudly as the captain repeated her name.
Sharon leaned back, closed her eyes, and smiled again, she just took the first step on the long road to a possible solution to the war conflict or perhaps a possible peace treaty between her race and the alien race.
Part Two
https://app.t2.world/article/clx6045n92967920mce0m7hfrd
Ending
https://app.t2.world/article/clxfz5oh324733021mc6ar0uug7
