Ch.3-Questions and Answers
CHAPTER 3
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Professor Varis's heart was racing. His mind a hurricane of excitement. With a large, gray case clutched tightly in one hand the young lion was at a near run in his hurried pace. As he rounded another corner of the currently frantic hallways of the science facility he called home he caught sight of General Grandell.
The general was a middle aged bulldog, quite respected throughout the military and amongst the senate members. Currently in full uniform he stood waiting with two soldiers, both of them with one hand on their rifles. At any other time Varis might have disapproved of such a sight. Yet this day was already challenging and destroying much of what their world considered standard.
The general nodded as the professor joined them. "Thank you for coming so quickly professor." His voice was deep and rough, stereotypical for a man of his years and career. With his greeting the general turned and began walking alongside the lion.
"Where are we holding it now general?" The lion looked over to the general, his voice almost quivering.
"At the moment he's being guarded in an empty office room. We have armed men stationed in and outside to escort him to the examination room for you once the remaining senators have arrived."
Varis nodded his head quickly, his gaze glancing ahead of him in an almost dreamlike state as he still tried to take in all of this. The room in question was a large room, plain in design and completely empty save for a few simple chairs stacked together in each corner. However at one end they had replaced a wall with bullet proof glass, on the other side of which was a sort of hall. In this room the gathering senators and military leaders will gather to witness firsthand the lion's impending meeting with the alien.
"I was told the alien disarmed himself and allowed your troops to bring him in without any trouble."
"Thats correct professor but I learned a long time ago that you cannot be too careful in this sort of situation. Truth be told whatever this thing is it doesn't seem bothered by my soldiers yet."
As they were talking Varis and Grandell reached the door for the room the professor would wait in. Stopping outside Varis turned to the general, a sudden look of almost child like excitement within his eyes. "General there is something else. I was told that before you brought him in that the alien actually...spoke."
The general nodded slowly. "That's correct."
"And...were you able to understand him?" His tone was almost dripping with cautious hope of the answer.
The general again nodded his head. "I almost can't believe it professor but yes. We were actually able to understand every word."
Varis's eyes widened like saucers. His mouth hung open, his breathing having increased to the point where even the general could hear it. "What did he say?"
Grandell stood silent for a moment. His eyes then locked with the professors, his voice coming out in an almost confused tone, "He said...'I come in peace.'" And Professor Varis could only stand there in stunned silence as the aged general walked away.
As General Grandell stepped into the assembly room the already gathered senators and military leaders were sitting or standing around in obvious tension. As the bulldog closed the door all eyes fell upon him.
Senator Alence, an elderly female black bear from one of the regions north east of Sydair walked up to him, shaking his hand. "Welcome general. The last of the senators has already arrived. With you here I suppose we can get underway." Despite the practiced look of calm on her face the senator's voice betrayed her confusion of the days events.
With a nod Grandell took a moment, picking up a facility phone hanging by the doorway. On the other end one of the guards assigned to guarding the creature picked up. "We're ready on our end. Bring him in."
As he hung up the phone he took a deep breath, turning to the gathered group. "Please be seated."
Waiting until all had taken a seat, the bulldog then walked up to the glass wall that would look into the rectangular beyond. Inside they could already see Professor Varis unfolding two chairs at the small table that had been placed in the room's center.
"As you already know at approximately 0713 hours the alien vessel crashed down within the central park area of the city of Sydair. While there was a large amount of collateral damage done to the park and surrounding neighborhoods from the ship's impact there were thankfully no casualties reported. Local authorities were the first to arrive and thankfully set up a perimeter to keep civilians at bay until our troops arrived."
The general took a moment to breathe. The senators and fellow officers looking tense even from simply sitting and listening to the general's report.
"When our soldiers had arrived we set up our own perimeter around the ship. Obviously since we had no way of knowing what was inside the ship I kept our forces back until we had some idea of what were facing. It was then at 0825 hours that one of soldiers spotted the creature's attempts to exit it's ship. It blew the hatch door clean off the ship with some form of explosive device as best as I can tell. When it came into clear view it was covered from head to toe in some sort armor and carrying a fire arm the likes of which we have never seen before."
At those words several of the senators glanced at each other. They had not even seen the creature firsthand yet and they were already being told of it's unknown weaponry.
The general let his eyes scan through the group before continuing, "However I am thankful to say that the alien, whatever it may be then laid down it's weapon and peacefully turned itself over to us. Furthermore, as I am sure you have already been told the alien somehow speaks in the same language we do."
"We have general and I sincerely hope you and your soldiers are not taking it's claim of 'peace' seriously." The blatantly heated voice came from the middle of the group. Senator Farah from the eastern region of Vetus. He was a young jackal that had risen through the political channels and gained much favor to become one of the youngest senators in recent history.
The general narrowed his gaze slightly, looking directly at the younger male. "At this time the alien has yet to show any sign of hostility. It has not spoken to any of us again but has cooperated fully with my soldiers. While I am not letting down our guard senator I also would rather avoid any actions that could lead to conflict."
"That is a noble sentiment general yet I feel concerned at letting the creature alone in the next room with only one simple scientist."
"Professor Varis is the best choice to handle this situation senator. And there will be four armed guards standing right outside the door ready to move in a heartbeat should the alien so much as twitch in a hostile manner."
The senator remained silent, simply giving the old bulldog a rather cold glare before they saw the door in the other room open. Each and every one of them felt their hearts pounding like drums in their ears as four armed guards walked into the room. Standing in their center was the alien. Even General Grandell felt his voice take leave as they would now have to watch and listen.
The professor had only just set the case on the table, opening it. Inside lay a computer monitor attached to a polygraph. The lion had only just uncoiled the electrode wires when the door opened, his eyes looking up in a flash.
The alien was as fascinating to look upon as he had earlier guessed. While the armor it still wore concealed it's body from the neck down it's head alone was an amazing sight. The creature's head was without fur, saved for what appeared an area of shaved fuzz on the top of it's skull. It's skin was light in shade and it's eyes were a dark brown, focused on the professor as the guards now exited the room.
It was the heavy sound of the door closing that brought the lion back to his senses. Feeling foolish for allowing himself to become that distracted, he quickly motioned to the table and two chairs. "Please have a seat." Natural excitement was almost dripping from his tone as he was finally face to face with the alien.
The creature remained silent, it's eyes staring at the polygraph upon the table. Varis could feel a twinge of tension as it's eyes then stared for a moment at the glass wall nearby where they could see the gathered leaders seated on the other side.
Taking his seat now Varis could only wonder what it was thinking at the moment. It's continued silence was proving to be unnerving. Was it's earlier claims of peace a lie? As it sat here now was it seeing them as an enemy of some kind?
The lion took a moment to switch on the polygraph, lost in his thoughts for a moment again. This time however he was brought back by a sudden voice, speaking out in a calm tone, "Thomas Anteris." And the professor's gaze shot back up to the alien, his eyes wide in extreme shock. The creature's eyes looked back to the lion's, "That is my name. I assumed it would be what you wanted to know first."
In the viewing room on the other side of the glass wall Grandell could only wonder if he was going to wake up in his bed at any minute.
Varis sat there stunned before taking a gulp of air. "Yes I....I suppose that is the best place to start. So....Thomas was it?....What is the name of your species? Are there many more of your kind?" The questions left the professor faster than he may have realized himself.
"My kind is called human. And yes there are many, many more of us." Thomas's reply came in the same calm voice.
In the opposite room the various senators were already exchanging quick whispers and comments amongst each other. The various military leaders already trying to guess at just how many of these 'humans' could there actually be.
Varis felt his mind racing when he had heard the answer. There were so many questions just begging to be asked now that he had no idea where to begin now. "And are there more of you humans coming to Talos?"
Thomas's eyes suddenly fixed on Varis with an amazed look in them. "Is that the name of your world...Talos?"
"Well yes." Varis was surprised by this sudden question from Thomas. Scientific curiosity began to take over, silencing his nerves for now. "Are you saying you actually did not know what planet this was?"
The human stared down at the table for a moment, a far away look within them. "I am not even sure what area of space I'm in. My arrival here was nothing short of a miraculous mistake." His gaze looked back up to the professor as he answered, then looking towards the glass wall and his currently silent audience.
"But if you don't even know where you actually are then how did you even get here?" The lion was leaning forward in his seat now. Even with some answers now more questions had come to the surface.
Thomas sat in silence for a moment again, closing his eyes. He almost looked as if he was was trying to figure out the answer himself. "We..the crew of my ship and I...were examining some sort of anomaly that my kind had never encountered before. When we arrived though it somehow made us lose control of the ship. Before it was pulled in the rest of the crew managed to escape. As the ship entered I blacked out and when I woke up...I was on your planet."
If Varis's jaw could have fallen off of his face it would have. He had almost forgotten about the senators and military leaders in the other room. "So then who was it that had sent you out to explore this 'anomaly' as you called it?"
Suddenly Thomas's eyes gained an almost hard look within them. "I am not at liberty to say."
"Excuse me?" The lion was purely and simply surprised by the answer. There was not a tone of annoyance in his voice, merely one of confusion.
The human then focused his eyes on the glass wall and upon the gathered individuals on the other side. "Please understand what I am telling you. While I understand what you all must be feeling at this time there are many things about the human race that I am forbidden from revealing to you."
The gathered leaders sat in shock, listening to the human tell them flat out it was refusing to answer their questions. While many showed almost obvious looks of anger and insult, Senator Farah was the one to voice his. Surprising even Grandell he stood from his seat, quickly walking up to the podium the general had been standing at and pressing the intercom button. "You do not have a say in the matter, creature!" But before he could say anything more Grandell and another senator pulled him away.
Thomas merely stayed seated, waiting until he saw the two individuals quiet down the jackal. "For now, the most I can really tell you is this; I am Lieutenant Commander Thomas Anteris of the United Earth Alliance naval forces."
The entire time now Professor Varis had been silent. Stunned into this state he felt his hand slide over his head, his mind trying to make sense of all of this. But even with these immediate concerns there were two others that stood strongest in his thoughts. If Thomas's arrival here was some kind of accident, would other members of his race ever come looking for him? And naturally, if this human race existed somewhere among the many stars, then what other sorts of alien races were also capable of finding Talos?
"You are certain that it was his ship?"
The holo-monitor again played the relayed transmission of the stealth probe's recording, showing the alliance ship disappearing with an electrical flash into the unregistered space tear.
"There are no doubts, General. The ship you are seeing is the alliance vessel known to be under the command of Captain Ivors."
A low, deep growl emanated from the general's throat as she stood back to her full height. "Which means Anteris was on that ship." The Xarian general felt her muscles tensing merely from saying the human's name. "I want to know exactly where the tear sent his ship! I will be in my quarters." And without even waiting for a proper response she had already turned away.
General Kaia'Var stood at almost eight feet in height like most Xarian females. Resembling something akin to a nightmarish dragon, minus any sort of wing appendages, the general made her way quickly to her quarters.
As the circular doors closed behind her, finally alone Kaia'Var suddenly felt herself smiling. Every one of her sharp teeth were showing as she did, an almost primal delight beginning to fill her being.
Pressing the palm of her hand on an area of the wall, a circular portion of the outer shields slid away to let her look out upon the countless stars. As her emerald and ruby eyes looked over the endless expanse one of her clawed hands clenched into a tight fist. Blood began to drip down onto the floor, yet still she smiled even as she drew her own blood.
"I will find you this time, Anteris. You dared to take what was most treasured from me and for that your death shall be a slow one." She then stared down at her fist, seeing the violet colored liquid dripping from between her clenched fingers. "Blood for blood."