Beyond the End of the World, Lokians 1

Chapter 6

The spec ops team was sound asleep in crew quarters while the ship hauled their butts ten thousand miles to the colony. Day and a skeleton crew of deckhands remained awake. They milled around the bridge while she sat at the helm, rubbing her eyes.

****

O'Hara awakened with a deep inhalation. His comm. unit had dinged, demanding all of his attention. He rolled out of his bed and placed his feet on the cold ground, flashes of Thewls playing behind his eyes. The comm. on the nightstand read 04:37.

"Well...might as well get a move on," he sighed.

O'Hara quickly donned his uniform. He was meeting the admiral again and had to be at his best. Clothed, ready, and awaiting confirmation from Admiral Lay, he noticed it was a few minutes past 05:00, and he was getting a little nervous.

Do I have time? I have time, he thought on his way to the men's latrine. He opened the stall and sat down. There, he attempted a mental review of yesterday's meet and greet. I do want to help, but at what cost? They want to go to Earth to study something practically incomprehensible. Maybe, we can request the data and have it relayed to Presh instead. That should circumvent any commotion these Thewls would certainly cause if they landed on Earth.

"Captain, this is Admiral Lay. Do you copy," he called through the earpiece.

"Copy, Admiral. I'm on my way."

His voice reverberated throughout the steel room. The captain finished up, washed his hands, and proceeded to the loading zone, where he was received by the admiral and two men he didn't recognize. The mystery men wore pinstriped suits and bore no facial expression.

"Riley," as the admiral began, O'Hara winced and wondered why he referred to him by his first name. The admiral wasn't usually so friendly. "There's much to discuss. These are my...associates, Franklin and Adams."

The admiral took a breath and gave the captain a stern look. The four then proceeded towards a small, drab, green building.

"These two gentlemen are from The Bureau," Lay said it as if it meant something. "They made their way out here to meet with us. We were up all last night reviewing your dialogue with the ambassador. They feel, and I agree, that we should do our best to keep Thewls away from Earth. I won't lie to you, this will be a difficult maneuver, but," he took a pensive inhalation before continuing. "I've requested all the data I can from Earth. We'll be inviting the ambassador to take a look at it. I hope that satisfies him.... "

After that, Lay scrutinized O'Hara. What bureau, was his only thought. They weren't FBI, that agency had no jurisdiction over alien matters, and they didn't look like CIA, Made their way out here? From where? The captain looked around.

There was no wind on Eon that morning, and the dark clouds overhead lingered. O'Hara was steady as they walked into the small and cluttered makeshift office. It contained a great deal of communications equipment, which gave the feel of a storage room more than a workspace, but military men made due. The admiral took his earpiece off and connected to a computer. He pressed some keys and turned a knob.

"This is Admiral Lay for Ambassador Weh. We would like to set up a second meeting in order to provide help," he said as he looked over his shoulder at the associates.

O'Hara also scrutinized the clean-cut men. They still showed poker faces.

A voice then erupted over the speakers. "We thank you. We will send a squad for a second meeting in two hours."

"If it's possible, give us some time to prepare and arrive, say eight hours," the admiral asked.

"Of course, Admiral," the voice replied and then there was just the hissing of the comm. channel.