“The ship’s landing track is just coming into view now.” First Pilot Continal’s voice sounded unusually quiet over the com, and when Tal got her first look out the window, she understood why.
Ever since leaving the outskirts of the capital city, they’d been flying over the holdings and agricultural fields that made up most of Blacksun Basin. It was the middle of the growing season, two moons away from the autumn harvest, and the fields shone whole and pristine in the silver light of Sonalia.
But now she was looking down on massive destruction. A deep furrow at least a quarter-length wide had been dug into the landscape, with huge banks of soil thrown up on either side. Full-grown trees lay scattered beyond the banks like so many twigs, snapped off and hurled with more force than she could imagine. On and on the track went, straight as a sword, and as they flew beside it a thought niggled at the back of her mind. She’d seen something like this before, on a much smaller scale.
“Micah, do you remember when that commercial flight lost its vertical thrusters two cycles ago and had to land like an old-fashioned glider?”
He looked at her in surprise. “It does look like a crash track.”
“Either that, or these aliens have a very bad pilot.”
Continal was flying slower now, giving them ample time to study the signs of the ship’s passage. She couldn’t believe how long this track was. But then again, the ship had still been going faster than the speed of sound when it crossed over Blacksun. If it hadn’t been able to control its descent and had hit the ground at such a speed… She sucked in a breath, convinced now that her initial guess was correct. The aliens had crashed, which changed everything. If they’d planned an invasion, their plans had surely been upset. The odds were already looking better.
And if they hadn’t planned an invasion, then that scholar at the Astrophysics Laboratory was right, and the aliens had indeed chosen a landing site away from any populated areas. But not for concealment’s sake. They’d tried to save themselves by selecting the best crash site they could, just as she would if her own transport’s controls had suddenly ceased to function.
Was it possible they hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone in the process?
Don’t get too hopeful, she warned herself. See what is there, not what you wish were there.
“The trench isn’t as deep,” Micah said. “We must be getting close.”
They watched the trench grow more and more shallow, until it became a scrape.
“I have the ship in sight,” Continal said. “Flying a circuit now.”
The transport banked, and as the ship came into view, Tal dug her fingers into the arms of her seat.
“Great Goddess,” Micah said in wonder.
Silently, she agreed. Knowing it was three-fourths of a length long didn’t prepare her for actually seeing something that enormous. Unless these aliens were the size of city buildings, there could be thousands inside. There were thirty-two Alseans on board this transport, not counting Continal, who would stay at his controls. What could they hope to do against what could very well be an army?
But as more of the ship passed by her window, it became increasingly obvious that it had suffered tremendous damage. Moonlight glinting off the silvery hull revealed dark areas where material had been torn away, mostly around the flatter outside ring of the ship. When she looked more closely, she could see that the entire hull was pocked with small marks: little nibbles rather than the slashes and gaps that had drawn her attention at first. It was difficult to imagine what could have marred the ship so equally over its surface. She’d have thought it was a design feature if it weren’t for the few intact sections, which were as smooth as a temple dome.
Smooth, she thought, and examined the ship with new eyes, focusing on the design rather than the destruction. It had no windows, no doors that she could see…and no landing struts, nor anything to hold it stable on the ground. It sat tilted forward on its rounded base, with what she assumed was the narrower bow of the ship resting on the ground while the broader, indented stern was high in the air. Curved around the top edge of the bow were alien markings, probably for identification. But the only reason to have markings on top would be if the ship was frequently viewed from above.
“Micah, this ship was never meant to land,” she said. “It’s not an airship. It’s a spaceship.”
He nodded. “I think you’re right. And they crashed it.”
“If there really is an army inside, it’s not designed to mobilize on the ground. Perhaps they had some method of dropping units onto a planet from orbit, but nothing built for a space launch could work the same way on the ground. And they’ve been here for twenty-five ticks already. If they were going to mobilize, they should have done it by now.”
“But they haven’t. There’s no sign of movement anywhere.”
“Maybe that’s why.” Tal pointed. “I don’t think that happened in the crash.”
They had completed their flight up one side of the ship and turned to begin scanning the opposite side. Here the damage was far more extensive, with black marks scoring the ship from bow to stern. They were deep, going all the way through the hull in several places, exposing jagged edges, dangling wires, and what looked like broken pipes.
“Not that I have any experience in diagnosing alien ship damage,” Micah said, “but that looks like they were in a fight. And lost.”
“Not necessarily. After I called you to scramble the Guards, Aldirk called me back with some data the astrophysicist had forgotten to mention. When he first detected this ship, there were two of them. But one exploded high up in our atmosphere. It was vaporized.”
“Two of them? And this is the victor? Should that make us feel better or worse?”
They were passing around the other end now, having flown a complete circuit. Tal activated the com switch on her armrest. “Continal, have you seen anything moving? You have the forward view.”
“No, Lancer. Nothing.”
“All right. Let’s go around one more time.” She tapped the com off. “Do you see anything that could possibly be a door? Or a hatch?”
“No, this thing is as smooth as a fanten’s nose,” Micah said. “Or it would be without all the damage. Wait a piptick,” he interrupted himself, pointing. “That wasn’t there before.”
She’d seen it at the same time: a tiny black opening just below the top of the enormous dome that rose above the plane of the ship. Immediately she ordered Continal to get them a full length away and hold position with that opening in view of her windows. As the transport banked south, she tapped the main cabin com and updated her Guards. “Stay in your harnesses for now; we may have to do some quick maneuvers. But anyone with a clear view out the right side, get your scopes out and keep a careful eye on that hatch. The coms are all open, so shout it out if anything comes at us.” She and Micah were already pulling their own scopes from their gear bags.
It took a moment to locate the hatch in her magnified view, but once she’d centered it, she could see a ladder built into the dome’s side. Small rungs led from the hatch down to the flat section and seemed to be made from the same material as the hull. To her surprise, the ladder continued along the flat plane all the way to the ship’s nose, then went over the edge and down to the ground.
That had definitely not been there before.
“Movement!” Micah said, echoed by several Guards over the com. Tal found the hatch in her scope again and stared in fascination.
One alien was on the ladder, beginning the downward climb, while two others were waiting on the lip of the hatch. They all wore uniforms of some sort, carried no visible weapons, and seemed strangely normal in appearance. Two arms, two legs, a head supported by a neck—she didn’t know what she’d been expecting, but it wasn’t this. They looked like Alseans.
The closest one to the ladder turned around and stepped onto the first rung. The first alien had stopped its climb and was looking upward, while the remaining one crouched down to watch. The middle alien gave an odd little hop, landing on the next rung with just one foot, then hopped again.
“It’s injured,” she said, and heard Micah’s rumble of agreement.
When the second alien had made it far enough, the third stepped onto the ladder and followed. It moved as easily as the first; Tal guessed the two uninjured aliens were protecting their colleague. All three were now on the ladder, descending slowly. There were no other signs of life in the hatch and nothing outwardly threatening.
“Continal? Any cover for us nearby?”
“Yes, there’s a field boundary, marked with a line of trees. Shall I put us down?”
“Please.”
The moment they landed, Tal picked up her gear bag and headed out the cabin door. A few steps to the right brought her into the cockpit, where she leaned in the doorway to get a look at the tree line. “That will work. Keep the engines spun up; we’re taking off again in a few ticks. And keep your eye out those windows. If you see anything threatening, don’t worry about whether we’re in our seats. Just get us out of here.”
She turned and walked the length of the short corridor into the main cabin, where a sea of tense faces stared up at her. Micah was already there, leaning against the bulkhead just past the entry.
“Our tactical situation is dokshin,” she announced, and heard a chorus of fervent agreement. “That ship is in the middle of a grain field. The nearest cover is the tree line right next to us, and the aliens have the high ground. Nilsinian, you’re our best sniper. I need you to stay here with a spotting partner. Choose your Guard.”
“Nicolo,” he said immediately.
The younger Guard across the aisle held out her fist and bumped him. “Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me; you’re the one climbing a tree.”
The others chuckled, letting off a little stress.
Tal turned to Micah. “Shoulder launchers; how many?”
“Five. There’s no other cover anywhere, other than using the ship itself, and this is the best vantage point. But anyone shooting from here had better be damned certain of their range. Most of us are going to be between you and that ship. Lead Guard Gehrain, pick the team.”
“Betany, Majdic, Petironan, Taylari, Sofrensenner,” Gehrain called. “Get your gear and get ready.”
“Hold,” Tal said. “I want everyone on the same page before we separate. This is what we know so far: The ship seems to have been damaged in a fight. There was a second ship as well, but it exploded high up in our atmosphere.”
The shock of this information registered on all of their faces, but even now they maintained their fronts. She mentally marked another point to their professionalism.
“Colonel Micah and I suspect this ship was the victor in a fight with the ship that exploded, but the damage it took is what caused this crash. And I’m sure you’ve all concluded for yourselves, judging by that unbelievably long trench through the fields, that this ship was not in control when it landed.”
They all nodded as Gehrain said, “Yes, we did. So it’s likely that many of them may be injured or even incapacitated from the crash.”
“Exactly. As you’ve already seen, there are only three aliens visible at the moment, and one of them appears to be injured. If that ratio holds true for the rest of the ship’s population, we’ve already got better odds. The fact that they would even send out an injured…” She paused, looking for a word that did not yet exist. “…shipmate, with us hovering in sight, tells me that they’re probably not in good shape for a fight. Either that, or they’re baiting a trap. Let’s hope for the first, but be prepared for the second.”
“They’re carrying no visible weapons, which does not preclude much,” added Micah. “We have no idea what sort of weaponry they’re capable of producing, so be alert at all times.”
As if they could be anything else. “But keep your fingers off the triggers,” she warned them. “You are standing at the threshold of history. Our actions today could change the course of our entire civilization. Do not use any weapon without a direct order from either Colonel Micah or me. Clear?”
“Clear!” they shouted.
“Continal?”
“I’m hearing everything, Lancer Tal.”
“Good. As soon as our long-range weapons step off here, I want you to set us down toward the center of the ship, under the flat section. Let’s get the bulk of it between us and that hatch. If the ship has working weaponry, it’s designed for firing at distant targets. Chances are they can’t hit anything next to them, unless we have the bad luck to park right in front of a disruptor or launcher or whatever they have.”
“I want a squad of three moving to the east end to watch for any movement there, and three more going under the ship to the other side.” Micah was addressing Gehrain while making sure the others heard. “The rest are with us.”
“Lancer Tal? Will we offer assistance to the wounded alien?”
She followed the voice to Dewar, their medic, sitting near the rear of the cabin. “I sincerely hope we can. I would rather make friends than enemies today.”
At that, the nervous energy filling the transport settled. They were still on edge, but not at the hair-trigger level she’d felt earlier. She nodded at Gehrain, who began barking out names and assignments while the sniper and launcher teams hustled their gear together. They were moving down the transport ramp not one tick later. As soon as they cleared it, Micah closed the ramp and gave the go-ahead to Continal. The transport was in the air by the time he and Tal had strapped themselves into free seats.
Tal used their short flight to recheck her molecular disruptor in its holster, the two throwing knives snugged against her hips, and the dagger in her left boot. The moment the transport landed, she threw off the harness and shouldered her gear bag. After pulling a disruptor rifle from the front rack, she joined Micah and Gehrain at the door. Gehrain already had his hand on the release.
“Continal,” she called, “keep the door locked and the engines warm.” She nodded at Gehrain, who dropped the ramp and led the way into the night.