First Contact (part 6)

Earth's first encounter with extraterrestrial life is not what anyone expected.

Photo by Gianluca Carenza on Unsplash

— continued from part five — (or start with part one here)

“Could the amulet be used for mind control?” General Jenkins asked as he opened the door to the military complex that Patrick and the two beings had just escaped from hours earlier.

“Mind control?” Kaskahn repeated. “Well, yes, in fact. That knowledge was included in our transmissions to the amulet. King Vakniit of the Scraarrel Empire entrusted us with it.”

“King who of the what?” Major Wilcox asked with a furrowed brow.

Before Kaskahn could respond, General Jenkins ushered him, Ayalana, and Patrick into a small room with a large, two-way mirror on the wall similar to the one that had been used days earlier to interrogate the ancient beings.

“We don’t need to answer any more questions,” Ayalana said, putting her hand up to silence Kaskahn before he revealed any more. “And we’re definitely not sharing the secrets of mind control with you!” she added, turning to Jenkins.

“I don’t want to know the secrets of mind control,” Jenkins said. “But I do want to know how to stop it.”

Ayalana stood with her arms crossed. Kaskahn raised an eyebrow.

“Listen, I know we got off on the wrong foot,” Jenkins said as gently as he could. “But I am trying to help now that—”

“Then why bring us back here?” Ayanala asked. “You said you would take us to our ship!”

Jenkins stood and walked to the two-way glass. With the flip of a switch that seemed to echo from the other room, bright lights illuminated the other side of the glass to reveal a large hangar. Inside was the two beings’ ship.

Kaskahn and Ayalana approached the glass for a closer look.

“Why the change of heart?” Ayalana turned and asked Jenkins. “Why help us now?”

“That’s what I was trying to tell you,” Jenkins said. “I’m done following orders from a man I’ve never seen.”

Wilcox stepped forward with a shocked look as if he had not expected to hear the general make such a remark. “Who is he?” he asked. “The one they call The Top?”

“I don’t know,” Jenkins said. “No one knows. That’s the problem. But, whoever he is, everyone bows to his wishes. No questions asked. The President. The UN. World leaders. Everyone. And I’ve had enough of it.”

Patrick, who had been quiet, hiding in the corner of the room, let out a relaxed breath. His shoulders dropped. He looked relieved at the general’s words, as if he might not be reprimanded for freeing the two beings after all.

“King Vakniit,” Kaskahn repeated, turning to Wilcox to answer his question from a few minutes earlier. “He leads one of the most powerful empires in our galaxy. The Scraarrel Empire. One of only four with veto power in the League of Systems.”

“The League of Systems?” Wilcox repeated.

“The Scraarrel have closely guarded the powers of mind control,” Ayalana added, sending Kaskahn a look of warning. “They only grant its secrets to civilizations they deem worthy. And only to those capable of protecting it’s power from misuse.”

“We earned their trust during our stay with them,” Kaskahn said. “We told them of our great and noble civilization on Earth. And of our mission to explore the galaxy in search of truth and knowledge. They used their mind control abilities to assess our trustworthiness before granting us the secrets.”

Wilcox took a deep breath and sat down slowly, steadying himself on the armrest. “Wow, that’s a lot to unpack.”

“And you sent that knowledge to the amulet?” Jenkins asked, seemingly undaunted by the information he’d just heard.

“Yes, of course,” Kaskahn said. We sent all the knowledge we discovered to the amulet. That was the whole purpose of our miss—”

“Understood.” Jenkins interrupted. “And tell me what would happen if the amulet fell into the wrong hands.” Jenkins asked.

Kaskahn and Ayalana fell silent, looking to one another as if waiting for the other to respond.

“The protocols were in place to ensure that wouldn’t happen,” Ayalana said quietly.

Jenkins let out a grunt — partially a laugh and partially a concerned sigh. “All signs point to: it did happen,” he said.

“How do you know?” Kaskahn asked.

“A member of my team came back from Antarctica with spaghetti for brains claiming the rest of his team is still there under mind control.”

Kazkahn and Ayalana traded concerned looks again.

“The Scraarreli people warned us about the dangers of misusing mind control,” Kazkahn said, pinching the bridge of his nose. “They warned of what evil could happen if it fell into the wrong hands.”

Ayalana rolled her eyes. “Our civilization, the one that was on Earth when we left, never would have misused that knowledge. But this civilization, the one we came back to clearly isn’t—”

“Let us take our ship,” Kaskahn said, stepping forward. “We can retrieve the amulet and use it’s power to reverse whatever damage has occurred.”

Jenkins took a set of keys from his pocket and began to unlock the door to the hangar. “I’ll let you take your ship,” he said. “But we’re going with you.”

He looked at Patrick and Wilcox. “All of us.”

— to be continued —

---

Support Indie Authors

Patrick Abbott Looking for psychological military science fiction? Read about the adventure of veteran Brendan Murphy as he tries to keep peace between Earth and a mysterious alien race known as the Sabia. Read the Fallen series today!

The Horror of Miles Carnegie Weekly near-future horror drops here. Biotech disasters, optimized souls, stories that follow you home. Some are free. Go paid for all of them.

Dave Boyko I’ve always said I wanted to retire from IT and become a writer. I keep getting older...and I haven’t started writing yet, so something’s gotta give. So this is a starting point.

Bryan Beal I am just writing stuff. Mostly science fiction and horror, but a tonne more. I need more space!

Mandy Morris A child of God, wife, and mother who writes poetry, essays, and reflections that wrestle and rejoice, seeking beauty, truth, and the nearness of God.

Danny Maldonado Poet, storyteller, and wood carver. Writes Poetry, Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror.

K.L. Robinson I’m a writer and poet. I am a novelist whose attempting to create my worlds and hope you’ll join me for the ride.

Bruno Rothgiesser Technologist & sci-fi writer. Exploring humanity and AI in Dark Matter (www.darkmatterstory.com), an unsettling science fiction story.

Conor MacCormack BA in History, park ranger. Reader and writer of history, short fiction, poetry, and essays.

A.C. Cargill, All-Human Author Author, Objectivist. https://accargillauthor.wordpress.com

Kira Brann — IRD Researcher IRD (Intergalactic Recovery Division) field researcher documenting Earth’s stranger habits. Weekly dispatches, cultural hazards, and incidents HQ told me not to publish.