Finally. I thought as I made my way through the compound. The sound of my boots clicking against the concrete floor echoed throughout the long, dimly lit hallway. All the while, my dark eyes scanned the notebook in my hands, reading the hastily jotted-down observations.
The ship's makeup is unknown, using metals not found on the periodic table. It is safe to conclude that the ship, and its owner, are not from Earth.
After reading the last part, I closed the book in my hands. Years and years of endless searching had finally paid off. At long last, I had found the owner of the UFO, and low and behold, he was not of this Earth. He was proof of extraterrestrial life and a potential future for humanity to continue among the stars. I had captured perhaps the only remaining shard of hope for our species, and I would be damned if I let this opportunity slip through my fingers.
Picking up my pace, I came to an elevator at the end of the hall. A smile briefly crossed my face when I remembered the enticing challenge of hauling the alien down here. I could still see the bright flashes of gunfire as he broke out of his containment cell, sending my men flying into the walls in an attempt to escape. But we were on my turf now, and I was well prepared.
Taking out my 12-gauge shotgun, I began firing as he raced down the hall toward the exit. Soon my men joined me, and after a few well-aimed shots, he went down. We then rushed him to his new holding cell on the basement level of our facility, and there was no chance for him to escape now.
Though it would be entertaining to see him try, I mused as I approached the elevator door.
I typed in my passcode and the keypad lifted to reveal a scanner. Placing my palm flat on the scanner, it read my prints before flashing green and opening the elevator doors with a ding. I stepped inside and began the descent to pay another visit to my newest guest.
A few moments later, the elevator doors opened to reveal a long hallway leading toward a singular cell at the end. Walking down the hallway, the armed guards that lined the walls saluted me as I passed. I marched up to the door to the cell before scanning myself in once again. Once cleared, the metal doors squeaked and groaned as they slid open to the large room.
On one side was the spacecraft that we had collected from the forest. Per my orders, it was chained to the ground and surrounded by a group of researchers led by a genius in aerospace engineering; Dr. Philip Wright.
Walking over to the men, I found Dr. Wright and stepped behind him. He startled, turning quickly around to regard me. His glasses had slid down his nose from the effort, and he pushed them up as he looked up at me and the notebook in my hand.
"Your notes, Doctor," I said, holding out the notebook to him.
Dr. Wright blinked at me, looking at the book in disbelief. "I was looking for that this morning, how did you-"
"This is my facility, Doctor. I took the liberty of debriefing myself on your work. Though I must say I am disappointed, I thought you would know more by now. It doesn't take a genius to see this ship is not from Earth..."
"Well, it's difficult, you see, none of the ship's materials act like those found on Earth," Dr. Weight spluttered, glancing nervously at the gun strapped to my hip and my tight-lipped frown. "Not to mention the ship is severely damaged, and the parts that are not are decorated in an unknown alphabet of pictographs..."
"Well tick tok doctor, it would be a waste to put a bullet through such a valuable mind..." I warned, and Dr. Wright swallowed.
"Absolutely useless," I cursed under my breath, pivoting away from the sniveling doctor. I shifted my attention to the other side of the room where another group of my men guarded the main prize; the alien.
In fear of another escape attempt, I had ordered the alien to be chained to the wall. Thick carbon steel cuffs lined the entire length of his long arms and legs, with one thick band stretching across his middle. These restraints were made with the strongest metal known to man, and yet even that seemed to just barely hold him. Fresh welding marks lined the steel cuffs from when he had astoundingly quickly recovered from his bullet wounds and had tried to escape once again. As a result, we had to place numerous IVs into his arms, injecting a constant stream of drugs to keep him in a neutralized state. Even then, I ordered some of my best-armed men to stand guard beside him at all times.
I was taking no chances with such a powerful specimen. Especially not when he held the fate of humanity in his grasp.
Stepping before the alien, my eyes trailed up his body that sagged against his restraints.
"Good morning, did you sleep well?" I taunted, my lips twisting into a wicked grin.
At the sound of my voice, the alien slowly lifted his head. His black hair fell in front of his eyes as his gaze found mine. Immediately, his eyes narrowed into fierce slits as he cast me a steely glare. Ever since we brought him down here, the silver luster of his skin had dulled with the heavy medication, yet his eyes remained the same. I could see his rage and fury swirling in those eerie dark pits as he regarded me from his chains.
"No? Well, that's too bad. I would have given you more comfortable arrangements if you didn't attack my men," I crossed my arms across my chest.
"You are making a grave mistake imprisoning me. I demand you release me!" The alien fumed, his muscles bulging against his restraints as the steel shifted. The guards beside him immediately tensed, pointing their guns at the alien.
I pressed my lips together in thought. I knew it would only be a matter of time until he tried to escape again. It was clear our physical resources to keep him trapped here were weak, however, the mental reasons would be much more powerful.
"Surely you must understand that I would not do this without good reason," I implored as the alien kept fighting against his restraints. The steel groaned as he continued to push against it, bending it even in his drug-weakened state.
"You are a crucial part of my plan, and I'm going to need you to cooperate if you want your lady friends to keep breathing," I started, making the alien pause. His eyes went wide as they darted up to me.
"You gave your word you would let them live if I went with you!" The alien snarled, his lip tiling up to reveal his teeth.
"And I meant it. But I'll make you another promise. If you even attempt to escape again, I'll have my men put a bullet between their eyes before you can so much as blink. Starting with the pretty young one."
As soon as I mentioned the girl, I could practically see the rage rolling off his body in waves. At my words, the alien lurched himself forward, just barely stopped by his restraints.
"You vermin...if you so much as think of touching her, I will rip you to pieces!" The alien roared, his shoulders moving furiously as he fought to get at me. All the while, I watched as the steel continued to bend the more he fought.
I set my lips in a frown. Fine...
Pulling out my radio, I spoke loud enough to the alien could hear. "Sergeant Floyd, ready a truck. It's time to pay those girls another visit."
I turned to leave, counting down in my head.
3...
2...
1...
"Wait!" The alien shouted and I stopped, a smile flittering across my face. "I will stop, please do not harm them."
"Smart choice," I grinned as I turned to walk back to him. "Then we have an understanding. You cooperate, and nobody dies. Deal?"
"Deal," The alien said, sagging back in his restraints.
"Good, now let's begin. I have some questions for you. First, where are you from?"
"Zur."
"Is that the name of your planet?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.
"Yes," He bit out, clearly displeased to be sharing the information with me. At least it gave me enough of a hint to know he was at least telling the truth.
"Where is that?"
"Far."
I felt my anger begin to rise from within me at his vague answers.
"You're going to have to be more specific. Unless of course, you want me to bring back the tasers."
The alien's eyes darted to my men before fixating his glare back on me. "My planet is hundreds of galaxies away from yours. It wouldn't matter even if I told you where, you do not have the technology to find it."
That was it. Anger flooded through me and I rushed up to him. I fished my hands in his hair, grabbing him by the braid to force his head down to me.
"Do not try me alien! I don't have the patience or the time for games! And neither do your friends!" I shouted, glowering at him. His eyes watched me for a moment before he relented, the fury leaving his face as he let out a sigh of defeat. Seeing this, I released my grip on him and his head sagged to look down at the floor.
"Let's try this again. If your planet is truly that far away, why are you all the way out here?"
I could see him thinking about his answer for a moment. "To search for other species, those in need of aid."
"Aid?" I repeated, not believing his answer.
"Yes. My people had advanced technology far beyond many other species. We do what we can to help those who need it." The alien lifted his head to look me in the face.
His expression gave nothing away, yet I knew he was lying. There was no such thing as a generous species. They didn't exist.
I nodded my head slowly. "I see. And you want to what? Help fix Earth?"
"Yes, with my people's technology, we can fix your toxic atmosphere."
He was a good liar, I'll give him that much...
I pursed my lips as I thought. I knew he was lying, but I decided to play along. What he didn't know was that more of his people coming to Earth was exactly what I was hoping for.
"Really?" I tested, watching for his reaction.
The alien's eyes flashed with some unknown emotion. "Yes, but my ship was damaged in my crash. I have no way to communicate with my people without it,"
I hummed in thought. Briefly, I turned back to glance at his ship before refocusing on him.
"Do you know how to fix it?"
"With the right parts," He answered slowly, watching me carefully.
"Good, then you will guide them. Once it's fixed, you'll show us how it works and we'll contact your species to send them here." I grinned and turned to Dr. Wright and his men, who were listening in. My gaze met Dr. Wright's and he nodded quickly.
"If your people are truly here to help as you say, then you will tell them to come unarmed, or I kill your little lady friend," I added, looking back at the alien. "Do you understand?"
"I understand," He answered, his voice low.
"Good, then get to it!" I said.
Dr. Wright stepped up from behind me to stand before the alien. Immediately, they began discussing the ship as the alien began to explain what was needed in order to repair it. All the while, I watched the exchange as the grin on my face widened.
Today was going much better than I had ever expected it to...
After a moment, I reached to grab my radio and turned it on.
"Sergeant Floyd, do you read?" I spoke into the radio.
'Yes, General," Came his quick response.
"Round up all your heavy artillery and anything that can fly. We're going to have some company soon, and we need to be prepared."
"Yes, sir. I will begin making the preparations immediately," Sergeant Floyd responded and I tucked the radio back into my belt.
Good. I thought as I turned to leave the room. Heading out of the cell, I went back up the elevator and back onto the main floor of the compound. All the while, I began plotting in my mind.
Soon his people would descend into our atmosphere with more ships with the intention of aid. They would come unarmed, but we would not be. Under the guise of receiving aid, we would bring upon them the full force of our military to overtake their ships for ourselves. We could bring our people to his planet and finally get off this forsaken Earth. Then, humanity could begin again, on another planet.
Walking through the compound, I eventually reached a backroom where I scanned myself in. The doors swung open to reveal a room scattered with large wooden crates. I pulled out a knife from my belt and began to pry one of them open. With some effort, I was able to lift off the lid, and it hit the ground with a loud thud. Leaning forward, my eyes beamed as I looked at the perfectly preserved nuclear bomb resting inside.
If the alien's species fought back against our arrival on his planet, then I would simply show them the true power of war.