SIREN

Chapter Eleven

I snatched a square handset from the control panel and wrapped the spiralling cord around my forearm. 'Here goes nothing,' I mumbled and clicked the switch on the side. 'This is the United Nations Vessel Pangaea, hailing on all frequencies. We've travelled from Earth, the third planet orbiting the sun in this solar system, to follow a transmission. We are peaceful and mean no harm. We do not wish to cause conflict, I repeat, we do not wish to cause conflict. If you are open to communicating, we will keep our channels open.' I repeated the message in French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Russian, Mandarin, and Arabic.

Sam shook his head. 'I don't know how you remember all those languages. I can barely speak English.'

'I've noticed,' I chuckled, playing with the handset.

'So now what?'

'Now we wait.'

'For how long?'

'However long it takes for them to reply.'

'Seriously?' Sam's smile sagged and he folded his arms. He drooped in his seat and stuck his legs out. 'I hope they don't take forever.'

'Give them a minute, Sam. They might not even know any of the languages I used. They might be working them out.'

'Yeah, I guess.' He said, and closed his eyes. 'It's so weird talking about "they". I mean, we're talking about aliens, man!'

'Crazy, isn't it?'

'What time is it? You think I got time for a nap? You can keep watch, right?'

'Are you serious?'

'You said they might take a while to work out what you said, and I want to be alert when we meet them, you know? I swear I still got some of the Sandman serum in me.'

'Fine. Take a nap,' I said.

I waited for over an hour. Sam slept (and snored) whilst I kept my eyes peeled. The ships didn't move and they kept absolutely silent. Not a single message was sent to our Eagle.

'Right,' I said, picking up the handset. I tapped the screen on the dashboard and waved to the Captain. 'We've got nothing, ma'am. Total radio silence.'

'Understood. Conduct a flyby and board the nearest craft. I want answers.'

'Captain?' I sat up in my seat and blinked.

'I know it's unlikely, but see if you can find something that'll help Hoshi.' She pinched her bottom lip and stared into the distance. 'Wow, we're really desperate, aren't we?'

'Captain, we have no idea who or what's on those ships, they could see this as an act of aggression! There may be contaminates! I recommend that we--!'

'In an ideal world, Fletcher, we'd send drones and do things remotely, but time is...' She looked over her shoulder for a second and watched Doctor White fiddle with a syringe. 'Time is in short supply right now, okay? Use your suits and tell me what you find. Do it quick.'

'Okay, Captain,' I thought about giving a salute, but decided against it. I switched off the screen and moved the joysticks. I flew the Eagle to the right, which caused Sam to hit his head on the side of his seat.

'Ouch!' he cried, rubbing his left temple, 'what happened?'

'Rise and shine!'

'What's going on?'

'We're boarding the first ship.'

'The Martini?'

'Is that what we're calling it now?'