Marooned on Giri Minor
"We left two little kids and quite a few injured people back there," you say. "We have to assume they're in danger."
"Well, let's hope there's only one Katanyan down there," the lieutenant says, "because that's the number of plasguns we brought with us."
"That should be enough," Ibanz says. "Katanyans are usually pretty solitary creatures."
With a renewed sense of purpose the three of you run down the hillside, with 12 liters apiece of water sloshing in your backpacks. Then you begin the long trek across the desert plain. The Girian sun is warm even though it is filtered by the dusty sky, and the crashed transport vessel and the alien ship appear to be reflected in a pool of shimmiering water--which you presume to be just convection currents in the warm air. You see no signs of movement ahead of you at the crash site, which only adds to your apprehension as you draw near.
But there are two unsettling scenes as you approach the remains of the EWR210819. First is the skeletonized remains of a human lying in the desert just 100 meters from your ship. From the tattered clothing you recognize Dr. Munro instantly, although not much else is left of her.
Second is the sound of something large rummaging through the cargo hold.
You hear no voices, see no signs of the survivors you left here just one day ago. Was the Katanyan responsible for Dr. Munro's death? Did he eliminate the others as well to claim salvage rights to the downed ship? It's hard to say, but so far the clues aren't painting a pretty picture.
Oviedo-Nandez is carrying the one plasgun in your possession. Silently he gestures that you and Ibanz should position yourselves behind the charred hulk of the crashed ship. There you find another skeletonized body--Chief Gunder.
It is a horrific discovery, and your companions suddenly look angry. Ibanz picks up another plasgun near Gunder's remains, and with the lieutenant at his side approaches whoever is making all the noise in the cargo hold. From a safe vantage behind a piece of the wreckage you watch what happens next.
With their plasguns raised and set to kill, they stop just outside the gaping entrance to the cargo hold. The inside is filled with shadows, but you can clearly the back end of the Katanyan sticking out into the sunlight. The alien has been so preoccupied with the contents of the hold that he never saw you crossing the 4 kilometers of open desert. Nor does he seem to be aware that he is no longer alone.
"Katanyan!" the lieutenant shouts. "State your purpose."
"Go!" he says. "I claim right of salvage."
"This is our ship!" Oviedo-Nandez counters. "And you killed our people!"
"Humans dead when I landed," the Katanyan says, his lipless mouth and bristle-like teeth struggling to speak your language. "Ship is mine. Salvage mine!"
In a vengeful state after discovering the remains of their comrade, the two engineers shoot, but the plasma beams cannot penetrate the alien's armored clothing. In anger the being rises on its two hind legs and stands nearly three meters tall, towering over the two humans. The Katanyan unholsters a plasgun of his own and shoots them both dead.
"Humans dead when I arrived," he says again, now to himself alone. "Giri desert do the killing. I only kill who try to kill me."
He drops back down to his four feet and searches their backpacks, finding the water they had carried from the mountain. He tosses the packs onto his pile of loot. For the first time you feel frozen by fear, with no idea what to do next.
"Well, let's hope there's only one Katanyan down there," the lieutenant says, "because that's the number of plasguns we brought with us."
"That should be enough," Ibanz says. "Katanyans are usually pretty solitary creatures."
With a renewed sense of purpose the three of you run down the hillside, with 12 liters apiece of water sloshing in your backpacks. Then you begin the long trek across the desert plain. The Girian sun is warm even though it is filtered by the dusty sky, and the crashed transport vessel and the alien ship appear to be reflected in a pool of shimmiering water--which you presume to be just convection currents in the warm air. You see no signs of movement ahead of you at the crash site, which only adds to your apprehension as you draw near.
But there are two unsettling scenes as you approach the remains of the EWR210819. First is the skeletonized remains of a human lying in the desert just 100 meters from your ship. From the tattered clothing you recognize Dr. Munro instantly, although not much else is left of her.
Second is the sound of something large rummaging through the cargo hold.
You hear no voices, see no signs of the survivors you left here just one day ago. Was the Katanyan responsible for Dr. Munro's death? Did he eliminate the others as well to claim salvage rights to the downed ship? It's hard to say, but so far the clues aren't painting a pretty picture.
Oviedo-Nandez is carrying the one plasgun in your possession. Silently he gestures that you and Ibanz should position yourselves behind the charred hulk of the crashed ship. There you find another skeletonized body--Chief Gunder.
It is a horrific discovery, and your companions suddenly look angry. Ibanz picks up another plasgun near Gunder's remains, and with the lieutenant at his side approaches whoever is making all the noise in the cargo hold. From a safe vantage behind a piece of the wreckage you watch what happens next.
With their plasguns raised and set to kill, they stop just outside the gaping entrance to the cargo hold. The inside is filled with shadows, but you can clearly the back end of the Katanyan sticking out into the sunlight. The alien has been so preoccupied with the contents of the hold that he never saw you crossing the 4 kilometers of open desert. Nor does he seem to be aware that he is no longer alone.
"Katanyan!" the lieutenant shouts. "State your purpose."
"Go!" he says. "I claim right of salvage."
"This is our ship!" Oviedo-Nandez counters. "And you killed our people!"
"Humans dead when I landed," the Katanyan says, his lipless mouth and bristle-like teeth struggling to speak your language. "Ship is mine. Salvage mine!"
In a vengeful state after discovering the remains of their comrade, the two engineers shoot, but the plasma beams cannot penetrate the alien's armored clothing. In anger the being rises on its two hind legs and stands nearly three meters tall, towering over the two humans. The Katanyan unholsters a plasgun of his own and shoots them both dead.
"Humans dead when I arrived," he says again, now to himself alone. "Giri desert do the killing. I only kill who try to kill me."
He drops back down to his four feet and searches their backpacks, finding the water they had carried from the mountain. He tosses the packs onto his pile of loot. For the first time you feel frozen by fear, with no idea what to do next.
THE END
