We Come In Peace Read online

  We Come in Peace

  By Lillian Francken

  This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance of characters to actual persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. The Author holds exclusive rights to this work. Unauthorized duplication is prohibited.

  Books by Lillian Francken:

  Tetris

  The Twelfth of Never

  Omega Factor

  Rustic Roads

  Blue Moon Rising

  Till Death Do Us Part

  Wednesday’s Child

  We Come In Peace

  All About Love

  The Curiosity Shop

  A Family Christmas Story

  Other Books under the pen name J.J. Franck

  Raven

  1501 Parcher Street

  Shadows in the Night

  Someone To Watch Over Me

  Into The Darkness

  Visit my website for more information about Lillian Francken

  http://lillianfrancken.weebly.com/

  Dedicated to Mr. Pitt,

  wherever you are.

  CHAPTER 1

  The universe, with its infinite mass of solar systems consisting of galaxies filled with stars, clusters, and bright and dark nebulosities in its enormity, is in reality only a lonely, dark abyss. As you scan the far reaches of its vastness, the Milky Way comes into view. With its speckled sphere of planets, moons, asteroids, and stars rotating around a bright G2V star against a hazy dark-blue background, it is a remarkable sight to behold for any space traveler. In the distance, a meteor streak across the far-off distant edge of this solar system like lines in the darkness and then quickly disappears as fast as they once appeared.

  Along the edge of one of these nebulas lurked a black hole in clouds of obscure gassy masses, as a spiral disk appearing only as a speck in the distance, flies closer to the dark black hole that lurks still undetected. Suddenly, without warning, the spiral disk gets sucked into the black hole’s enormous vortex. A spiral disk kicks into mach speed as it fights the gravitational pull and finally, like a slingshot, it got thrust out uncontrollably toward the Milky Way.

  The spiral disk spins out of control as it shoots past Pluto and narrowly missed the stormy blue planet of Neptune. It almost gained control when the gravitational pull of the greenish-blue planet Uranus grabbed the spiral disk into its orbit. But once again, the spacecraft kicked into overdrive, spun out of control to Saturn, and thrust itself through one of Saturn’s seven rings like a ball being slung around in an arcade pinball machine. Luckily, the ring was less dense, with ice particles. However, not enough for it to leave unscarred. The icy particles coated over the navigational rigging, which caused the spacecraft to fly further out of control.

  Luck was with the occupants of the spacecraft. Jupiter and its moons were nowhere in sight. The ice particles slowly dissipated, allowing maneuverability away from Mars, which quickly came into view. Like a pinball machine, the craft quickly maneuvered out of its orbit but not before being hit by a meteor shower, which further damaged the navigational rigging.

  Upon closer view of the spacecraft, a silver-foiled box “Fat Sal’s Intergalactic Eatery” was seen stuck under a piece of metal equipment. Off in the distance, the planet Earth speedily came into view. Suddenly the craft veered off towards Earth’s moon. As it approached, the foil box flew off the ship and disappeared into space. The ship slowly descended. Three outriggers extended slowly out of the craft as it approached the moon’s dusty surface.

  The plaque left by the visiting Earth astronaut’s years earlier slowly came into view, and as the spacecraft hovered for an instant and then dropped suddenly, it crushed the plaque under one of its outriggers. Another outrigger buried the US flag. Footprints left by the Earth’s astronauts were wiped away for eternity by moon dust from the spacecraft’s outriggers.

  Inside the craft two occupants, both in metallic-looking space suits sat behind the controls. Zolar, the female, was at the main controls. She was blonde, with deep-blue intense eyes. Her suit fit her like a glove, showing off a voluptuous body. As the craft came to a jerky halt, Zolar turned and looked at the two-headed space creature suctioned to the inside of the windshield in front of Zolar. Zolar then turned to her companion, Jupel, who worked feverishly on the navigational panel. Jupel, her male junior officer, breathed a sigh of relief. Although they looked like they could be siblings, there were no common genetic codes in their DNA. One had to guess their race all had similar features: the blonde hair, blue eyes, and with a build that was perfect in every aspect. (Unlike the creatures who live on Earth, with different colored eyes and a physique that expanded with what they ate.)

  Zolar, in a stern authoritarian voice, snapped, “I told you, you should have let him out back at Samar.”

  Jupel turned from the navigational table with a look of relief. His forehead perspired, but he was not intimidated by his senior partner, just looked to the door where Z-42, a solid black canine, scratched urgently.

  “He didn’t have to go then,” Jupel said with a little sarcasm.

  “Well, get his suit on before he relieves himself. It’s your turn to let him out.”

  Jupel reluctantly got up. He walked over to a panel and opened the door. Jupel grabbed two space suits, one for himself and one for Z-42.

  Once outside on the Moon’s surface Jupel saw the remnants of footprints left by the astronauts in 1969 as Z-42 ran through them, leaving a dusty trail behind and no record of the Moon’s previous visitors. A voice came sternly across the telecommunicator inside Jupel’s helmet.

  “We don’t have all zion,” Zolar snapped.

  Jupel mimicked a jabbering old woman, and then his eyes rolled back, and he quickly responded, “He’s trying to find a good spot.”

  Just then, Z-42 bounced over a rock near where Jupel was standing. He lifted his leg, and a little trap door opened, and Z-42 relieved himself. Beads of urine floated upward slowly. Jupel was leaning against the craft and could not get out of the way fast enough before the urine splashed him in the visor.

  “Oh, no,” Jupel yelled.

  “What’s wrong?” Zolar quickly asked.

  “Stupid animal took a leak on me.”

  “Get back in here. We have a schedule to keep.”

  Jupel swung his foot at Z-42, but the dog was already bouncing to the entrance to the craft. Clouds of dust particles floated into space and disappeared slowly.

  Once inside the spacecraft, Jupel quickly tossed his space suit into the cleaning closet. Z-42 walked over to Zolar for protection from Jupel, who was still angry. Zolar quickly got up and took out the medical box from the control panel above the console. She prepared a metal cylinder, attaching it to a syringe-like apparatus. Zolar tapped it with her finger, taking out any air bubbles.

  “Is it that time already?” Jupel asked.

  “We’re past due.” Zolar looked at him with anxiety in her eyes.

  Jupel rolled up his sleeve slowly and readied himself for the injection.

  “We didn’t die, did we?” Jupel argued.

  “Do you want to chance to wait longer?”

  “Why doesn’t Z-42 need the stuff?”

  “His molecular makeup is different. Now hold steady.”

  Zolar injected Jupel with the contents of the cylinder. She quickly injected herself and then closed the medical box, and set it back on the shelf above the control panel. She motioned Jupel to get back into his seat, and she quickly strapped herself into her seat, with her hands and fingers working the virtual board in front of her. The spacecraft slowly came alive.

  Outside on the Moon’s surface, the outriggers lifted off. The plaque left by the astronaut’s years earlier was now smashed into little pieces. Also, all that could be seen of the
flag was a protruding stick. As the spacecraft slowly rose, the outriggers quickly disappeared into the craft. The spacecraft hovered a moment and then sped off out of the Moon’s atmosphere.

  Zolar was at the controls. Through the dash window, Earth speedily came closer into view. She drummed her fingers impatiently on the side panel as she watched Jupel struggling with the folded map.

  “I thought they taught you navigational skills at the academy,” Zolar snapped.

  “They did.”

  “Then get us under control.”

  “I’m trying!”

  “Try harder!”

  Zolar maneuvered her hands quickly, working the control panel. Postcards tacked to a metal note board just above her head started to flutter, and a few let loose. The card ‘Wish you were here,’ that was only held in place by a magnet, drifted onto Zolar’s lap. There were also photographs of strange-looking aliens and a 20 percent off voucher from Astral World. One by one, they all started floating around the spacecraft and made it difficult for the two to keep control of the craft.

  Zolar turned on the monitor and then twiddled with the radar knob. A small dish on the outside of the craft moved back and forth as Zolar searched for a radar transmission or something to guide them.

  She continued turning the knob in an attempt to combat the barrage of static lines flopping across the monitor screen. Suddenly the lines began to subside, and a man’s voice slowly faded in from a distance, but the screen was still filled with fuzzy images.

  A voice from a DJ at the Star Trek Convention Center in Los Vegas suddenly could be heard. “Welcome, space travelers to planet Earth. Don’t forget to get your tickets validated for free parking of your spacecraft in city parking lot H.”

  Jupel turned to Zolar with a flabbergasted look on his face, taken aback by the welcome that just came across the screen.

  “They are expecting us,” Jupel said with a puzzled expression on his face matched only by Zolar’s concern.

  Zolar shrugged as if in disbelief, but abruptly decided to say nothing. She quickly moved her hands to engage the virtual navigational apparatus.

  The craft made an abrupt 180-degree turn, propelling it at great speed toward the planet Earth, but in its path was a discarded fuel drum floating in space from the Challenger space shuttle. Zolar spotted the drum in time to maneuver the craft into a victory roll to avoid a collision. Pots and pans rattled behind closed panel doors. The box of medicine was sent flying, and the cylinders floated around the craft. Jupel tried to catch them, but Zolar motioned him back to the navigational controls to help her get the craft under control. Zolar, with the aid of Jupel, struggled with the ship as it hurtled closer to earth. Once the occupants of the spacecraft had it under control finally, it zoomed through space as the Earth came shooting into view.

  * * *

  At an adult movie station in the desert near Rachel, Nevada, the plant engineer was busy working on some sound equipment. He turned and watched the adult video on the monitor and was aroused by what he saw. The engineer then glanced across the room at the young female technician in tight jeans and a halter-top. He wet his lips and then slowly walked over to her.

  CHAPTER 2

  In the spacecraft, Jupel worked feverishly at the dials of the monitor, running through various diagnostics while there was complete chaos to get a clearer picture. Suddenly the adult movie came onto the screen, startling him for a moment. Jupel watched the monitor as the male on screen tied the nude female to a four-post bed and then slowly took off his shirt. Jupel’s eyes widened and his mouth opened in disbelief, in awe of what was happening on screen as slowly he turned to Zolar with a curious grin on his face. Turning back to the monitor, Jupel watched as the man’s shirt as it was discarded onto the floor, the actor on screen climbed slowly toward the female on the bed.

  Z-42’s ears perked up as moans came from the monitor and then Z-42 quickly scurried under Jupel’s feet and covered his head with his front paws.

  Zolar quickly slid over to where Jupel sat still in a daze over what was happening on the monitor screen. She shoved him aside, quickly getting him out of the way to see what he was watching. She, too, was startled by what she saw on the monitor. She sat with wide eyes as the male actor kissed the female tied to the bed. A puzzled look crossed her face, wondering what he was about to do. The man seductively unbuckled his belt. Zolar quickly turned to Jupel, who could not stop watching. Zolar, in her anger, hit Jupel on the back of his head. Jupel was caught off-guard as he flew into the control panel, sending the spacecraft out of control once more.

  The craft entered the Earth’s atmosphere, rolling out of control as it spiraled closer to earth. The occupants struggled to regain control of the ship while things continued rattling in the cabinets. Doors flew open suddenly as the contents fell out, becoming airborne and hazards to the occupants of the craft.

  * * *

  The Nevada desert with its harsh terrain was a picture of quiet, majestic beauty. Even with no trees in sight and mundane shades of gray and dead-grass yellow, there was still a quality to the scene that some in the area found easy on the eyes. There was no vegetation to speak of, except for the endless sagebrush and Chico wood shrub. Nevertheless, this was home to the residents of the area and people looking to get lost by humankind.

  Bobby Drews, a teenage space cadet, leaned lazily on a rock philosophizing about life while smoking marijuana. He slowly exhaled a billowy white cloud and watched it disappear into the vastness of the still, dry air of the desert. In a self-induced haze, he then looked down at the light across the stark white terrain of the rock at hand.

  A camel spider ventured out of its daytime hiding place. It climbed up on the barren rock. And as it crawled closer to Bobby, he turned and slowly blew a puff of smoke that engulfed the crawling creature. Bobby leaned closer, inhaled again, and exhaled another puff of smoke at the spider. He then just watched the effect it had on the spider. The spider zigzagged over to the edge of the rock and did a nosedive off onto the desert floor. As if he, too, was in a stupor and now found it difficult to seek shelter from the hot desert sun.

  “If I wasn’t here, then where would I be?” Bobby asked as if expecting an answer from the crawling creature.

  Bobby stood and looked up into the clouds with dreamy eyes. “I only seek the truth,” he yelled. Suddenly there was a flash of light that crossed the sky as if an answer had been given to his question.

  “Shit! This is good stuff,” Bobby said, looking down at the joint between his fingers.

  He glanced around, but nothing more could be seen. A puzzled look crossed his face. He knew the desert could play tricks on you when you have been out in the sun too long. Playing hooky from school was bad enough. He did not need to succumb to heatstroke to boot. Bobby reached for his backpack and took out a bottle of water. He splashed his face, took a drink, and then smashed the joint on the desert floor.

  * * *

  The monitor at the adult movie station continued playing the adult film. In the background, moans came from the engineer’s office. All that could be seen was the silhouette of the two station employees going at it like rabbits in heat. The monitor in the background was playing out the love scene.

  * * *

  The spacecraft continued out of control as Zolar frantically struggled with the throttle. Jupel reached down and locked Z-42 in his cage at his feet while the animal barked uncontrollably, struggling to free himself.

  “Shut him up,” Zolar snapped while both hands were pulling back on the throttle as it vibrated out of control.

  “He’s scared,” Jupel added, while he tried unsuccessfully to reach for the throttle that was vibrating in front of him. He struggled to assist Zolar, but even with the two of them at the helm, getting the spacecraft under control was almost impossible.

  “Grab the throttle, damn it! Help me.”

  Jupel took a deep breath and then with both hands grabbed the throttle firmer and with feet on the panel in front of him h
e pulled back on the controls. Finally, with his right hand, he reached for the panel in front of him, punched in a few numbers, and then worked frantically to help Zolar regain control of the craft. The spacecraft careened around protruding rock formations, did a complete one-eighty, and flew back in the direction they had just come.

  * * *

  Meanwhile at the Area 51 Facility, in the radar room, the technician was busy reading a girlie magazine with his feet up on the console, eating a candy bar while drinking a wine cooler. He had not had his eyes on the monitor in a while as he turned the pages of the magazine. Rock-n-roll music played loudly in the background. On the monitor, the struggling speck came suddenly into view. Once it was within the fifty-mile limit of the facility, the warning buzzer sounded, and the technician finally took notice.

  The technician quickly sat up, sending the candy bar and wine cooler flying into the radar screen, causing it to short-circuit. It sent sparks flying in every direction. The technician quickly reached for the phone.

  * * *

  The spacecraft was almost under control, but then suddenly a rock formation came into view, and the craft quickly spun into a dead man’s roll as its occupants feverishly struggled with the controls. In the distance, the adult movie station came into view, and within an instant, the craft veered up, but not soon enough. The satellite dish that sat on top of the station roof was struck ever so lightly by the spacecraft, causing it to teeter and then fall into the station as the spacecraft still careened out into the desert. Unknown to the occupants of the spaceship, the dish had damaged the navigational rigging, making it impossible to control the spacecraft.

  * * *

  The two technicians were still going at it, as the monitor in the distance showed static across the screen. All around the two technicians, the station was disintegrating, and luckily, they were in the only room surrounded by cinder block walls. Their moans were louder as the dish came crashing into the studio, causing the outside wall to collapse. The two engineers collapsed into exhaustion. There was total silence as the dish with all its trailing debris rested on the studio floor. The only structure still intact was the room the two technicians were in. Open desert could be seen where a wall once stood.