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Published:

February 4, 2025

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“Catch anything, Neri?”

 

Caught off guard, Neri Tesler almost fumbled his console into the ocean. Luckily, he wrapped his legs around the device just before it skimmed the calm surface of the water. His knees ached. Hours had passed while he sat crisscrossed at the edge of the pier with the underwater drone looking for signs of marine life.

 

The glow from Captain Ares’ helmet cast a shadow of Neri over the black mirror of the ocean. From the heavy clanking of her boots on the aluminum boardwalk, he knew she wore her full combat exoskeleton.

 

“Nothing yet, Captain,” Neri said. “But I’m telling you, this is the one. Sonar picked up some movement on the ocean floor. Also, I was able to grab some samples of an algae bloom.”

 

“Good job! A planet that’s ninety percent water, oxygen-rich, and even has plant life? I’ll let the rest of the crew know. Once Tanya submits our claim to corporate, we’ll open up some ‘special provisions’ I requisitioned during our shore leave.”

 

Neri nodded. His expression remained fixed on the screen of his console.

 

“Are you still upset because of the vote?” Ares asked.

 

“Huh? Oh, no. It makes sense. Our ship’s named The Bastion, and we found this place. So, it only makes sense that it’d be called that.”

 

“Good. You know I like Greek mythology too,” she said. “Not as much as my parents clearly. But Eros was a tough sell for some of our less… enlightened crew. Not to mention the copyright battles with StarSystems and Progeny. Hell, we’d be lucky to call it Eros-3.”

 

Neri sighed as Ares sat next to him. One of his legs hung off the side of the pier as he moved to make room for her. “Yes, ma’am?”

 

“Neri, no need to be so formal,” Ares said. “But if you wanted to, it's Captain.”

 

“Sorry, Captain!”

 

“Don’t mention it.” She smiled. “You don’t seem impressed with the algae. Were you expecting something else?”

 

“Were you, Captain?”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

“You’re wearing your old battle armor - fully charged, given how bright your headlights are. I bet your rifle is loaded too. Is all that for the algae?”

 

“You got me,” Ares said. “It’s for the aliens. Thankfully, there aren’t any on this rock.”

 

“I agree. It would be a rough first impression if we met them fully armed.”

 

The silence between them was punctuated only by the occasional whir from her servos. Ares crossed her arms, looking across the water. The dark waters went far back. She seemed to focus on a point in the shadows, a place Neri could not see.

 

“What do I know?” Ares asked. The question went unanswered, so she continued, “I’m just the only woman who’s met aliens and survived.”

 

“Really?” Neri asked, sitting up straight.

 

Ares nodded. “Yep. Genuine E.T.s.”

 

“Where?”

 

“That’s classified.”

 

“When?”

 

“Classified.”

 

“Captain, you’re killing me,” Neri said.

 

“If I told you the details, I’d really have to kill you.”

 

Neri nearly fell into the water. Off to the right, a shape passed by on the drone’s camera, but neither of them noticed.

 

“No expedition has ever encountered alien life beyond microbes,” he said.

 

“Officially.”

 

“Why didn’t we hear about them?”

 

“They’re not around anymore. Bastards nabbed my crew, so I tried my hand at pest control. Turns out I’m a natural,” Ares shrugged. Seeing Neri’s distress, she added, “If it helps, they were ugly bastards. Fangs, wings, claws, etc. Really, I did the universe a favor.”

 

“Bullshit.”

 

“Manners, Neri.”

 

“Sorry. Bullshit, Captain.”

 

“Apology accepted,” Ares smiled. Patting Neri on the back, she asked, “Something on your mind?”

 

“Aliens do not look like giant monsters.”

 

“What did they look like, Mr. Xenobiologist? Since you were there.”

 

“I didn’t need to be,” he said. “Aliens could look like anything. Monsters are the creations of fear-mongers. For all we know, they could look like us.”

 

Ares lost herself laughing. When she eventually regained her breath, she said, “Of course. Not to mention blue skin, full lips, and a flawless complexion.”

 

“Hey!” Neri said. Blushing, he stuttered, “Were they mammalian? Insectlike?”

 

Chuckling, Ares rose to her feet. Neri tried to steady himself, as the pier adjusted to the missing exoskeleton. As she walked back to the base, Ares called back, “Classified. Ask me again after a few glasses, and it might not be.” She disappeared inside the sliding doors.

 

Neri knew he should be grateful. After internships on decrepit asteroids, he got to be a founding member of the first base on Planet Bastion. Soon the quiet labs would be home to the first party on Bastion. All he needed to do was recall the drone. At nine thousand fathoms deep, it should surface in thirty minutes if he called it immediately.

 

Yet when he looked at the console, it read that the drone was only one thousand fathoms from the surface. No. Five hundred fathoms. Two hundred fathoms. Fifty -

 

Neri dropped the console into the water as the pier shook. Waves crashed into the deck, knocking out one of the front support beams. The once serene sea now frothed furiously. In the middle of this cloud of foam floated the aquatic drone, blinking as if giving off an S.O.S.

 

As he spread his arms to steady himself, Neri became aware of a massive creature within the dark waters. It was blue - the kind of blue seen on frostbite victims. A spool of scaly tendrils masked most of its body.

 

The scientist in Neri wanted nothing more than to stand there and document its awful majesty with his eyes. The explorer in him wanted to be the first to greet the creature. In the end, though, the survivor won out.

 

“Captain!” Neri shouted, running back through the collapsing pier. “Captain, there’s someone you should meet!”

Copyright 2024 - SFS Publishing LLC

First Base

First impressions are important

Joe T. Wood

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