“Commander, should we do something to wake up their Commander? Aeitu may find a way.” Lusie asked quickly.

  “No, Lock and Jim might do something just to keep Jason under. Can’t take the risk.” Asuak said calmly.

  “I can’t believe this. They want to keep us as their prisoners.” Aeitu said sadly.

  “Come on, Aeitu. You came up with the idea to use Asating,” said Teirs.

  “Yes, but it won’t kill the host, even though it is painful.”

  “If we let them take us to their home, I can’t imagine what kind of experiment they are planning,” said Teors, his voice shaking.

  “That won’t happen. I promise you that.” Asuak said looking at everyone, his eyes shining and his face cold.

  “What do we do?” Lusie asked.

  “We take over the ship.”

  “That is not how we do things,” said Fawous.

  “I agree with Fawous,” said Meiwiq.

  “Me, too.” Keiwh added.

  “We are not going to have a discussion those human just had. Are you with me or not?” Asuak said and stared down Fawous, Meiwiq and Keiwh.

  They nodded and then lowered their heads.

  “Order, Commander.” Lusie said clenching his fists.

  “We will attack first. Roy and Dr. Akio will come to get tranquilizers and sedatives. We will disable them. One thing they don’t know about us is we can change our appearance to any life forms. Teirs and I will change to Dr. Akio and Roy. When we deliver the tranquilizers to humans, we will take down as many as we can. Lusie, Teors will follow me just in case any of human gets away. The rest will scout the ship and clean up.”

  “How do we disable Roy and Dr. Akin?” Lusie asked.

  “We have what we need here.” Asuak said with a cold smile.

  “Right,” Lusie turned to others and said, “Check every drawer, cabinet and container. Find tranquilizers and sedatives.”

  They nodded and quickly splitted into groups, searching every corner.

  Soon Fawous located sedatives in a cabinet.

  Ten minutes later, Keiwh shouted, “Commander, I think I found tranquilizers.”

  Asuak darted to Keiwh who was holding a screwdriver shape item near a small cabinet. Others quickly joined them.

  “Looks like it can only fire one shot at a time and then you have to reload it.” Asuak said while disassembling the tranquilizers.

  “We have 10 of them here and lots of bullets.” Lusie said as he looked into the cabinet.

  “Good, one for each.” Aeitu said happily.

  “I don’t think it can punch through clothes.” Meiwiq said as he took one from the cabinet.

  “I am not worried about that. The more important question is the range.” Asuak said as he motioned Uyeet, Teors and Keiwh to step aside. He fired the tranquilizer at one of the two beds several meters away. The projectile only flew two meters and then quickly fell on the deck.

  “We may have to engage in hand to hand combat.” Asuak said seriously.

  “We can look like human, but we are not as strong as them.” Keiwh said in a worried tone.

  Asuak nodded and then looked at his crew with determination. The doubt and confusion on their faces soon evaporated and they looked back at Asuak with trust.

  “After Roy and Dr. Akio walk into this compartment, Uyeet, Teors and Fawous, you three, secure the door. Don’t close it. Just stand by the door. Someone else may rush in when they hear something. If that is the case, you three take them down. The rest will fire at Roy and Dr. Akio on my mark. When Roy and Dr. Akio are disabled, we will right away go after other humans. Teirs and I will be the first wave. Lusie, Teors will be the second wave. Any questions?” Asuak said calmly.

  Asuak’s crew shook their heads, their red eyes filled with resolve and their faces stone cold.

  “Good. Let’s get ready.” Asuak nodded.

  They swiftly took out all tranquilizers, armed themselves and started practicing aiming and reloading.

  Lusie walked up to Asuak and said, “I just heard Lily told Jason that she was sorry and they would do it.”

  Asuak let out a sigh. “Human.”

  Two hours after Asuak learned human’s plan, he and his crew were quietly waiting in the medical bay.

  “Tap, tap, tap, tap.” Footsteps were getting louder and louder. .

  “Here we go.” Lusie said slowly.

  “There are more than two. Someone else is with them.” Teirs said nervously.

  “Doesn’t matter,” said Asuak.

  “Don’t stare at the door. Look somewhere else.” Lusie said to the group.

  “Whoosh.” The door slid open.

  Roy walked in, waved at Asuak and said, “How was dinner, Commander?”

  “Very good. How was yours?” Asuak asked as he moved closer to Roy.

  “Perfect. Let me take all the plates. Oh, I almost forgot. Dr. Akio and I need to get some medicine for Lock. He is sick.” Roy said with a smile.

  “Sorry to hear that. Please go ahead.” Asuak said easily.

  “We will be quick.” Roy said and motioned Dr. Akio to come along. Asuak and his crew opened a path for them. Uyeet, Teors and Fawous peeled off and stood by the door.

  Roy kept an eye on Asuak when Dr. Akio promptly made his way to one cabinet. He pulled a drawer open with his shaking hands and then yelled, “They are gone.”

  “What?” Roy turned and looked into the draw.

  “Now.” Asuak ordered and immediately fired his tranquilizer gun at Roy. His crew followed suit.

  One struck on Roy’s neck, another two on his face. He dropped on the deck like a stone.

  Four tranquilizers hit Dr. Akio, two on the neck and two on his clothes. He immediately fell over into the drawer.

  “Commander, we have a runner.” Uyeet shouted.

  “Follow me.” Asuak shouted heading to the door.

  When he dashed out of the door, he saw Jim speeding to the end of the corridor. He darted to Jim, quickly closing the distance.

  Suddenly, Jim made a right turn. Now Asuak knew he was heading to the kitchen.

  “Teirs, now we change to human.” Asuak said while reloading.

  They immediately morphed into Roy and Dr. Akio, their clothes changing to human uniforms.

  When Asuak turned to the right, he saw Jim sprint into kitchen.

  “They...they...they.” Jim’s shocked voice came out of kitchen.

  “What?” It was Lock’s voice.

  Asuak stopped before the kitchen entrance, took a deep breath and sauntered in carelessly.

  Lock, Lisa, Bud, and Bertha were sitting around the oval table. Jim was standing before them, struggling to catch his breath.

  “Well, I got them. The tranquilizer.” Asuak said flashing the one in his hand.

  Teirs followed Asuak and stood at the door.

  “Good job! You get more than one, right?” Lisa said excitedly.

  “You...you…you” Jim stuttered pointing at Dr. Akio.

  “What is going on, Jim?” Lock asked.

  “I heard Akio scream. And then...then…” Jim’s voice was shaking.

  Lock, Lisa, Bud and Betha stood up and walked to Jim.

  Asuak nodded at Teirs.

  “Pew, pew.” They fired their tranquilizer guns.

  One tranquilizer landed on Lisa’s neck. She turned and collapsed immediately.

  The other one struck on Bud’s temple and he went down with a cry of pain.

  While reloading, Teirs scurried away from the door. Lusie and Teors swooped in and fired.

  “Pew, pew.”

  Jim and Betha fell over on the table.

  “Your motherfucker!” Lock shouted coming right at Roy/Asuak.

  In two strides, he came within arm distance with Asuak, firing his right fist at him.

  “Bonk.” Asuak blocked the punch, but the force pushed him back several steps and thrusted him on Lusie and Teors.

  Teirs just finished reloading, but before he could fire, Lock kicked him on the belly, sending him unconscious.

  Teors fired, but missed.

  Another stride, Lock came near to the door and hit the alarm button on the wall.

  Red light started flashing.

  One foot out of door, Lock was about to scoot away. Just at this moment, Asuak fired another round, hitting Lock on the neck.

  “Fuck!” Lock murmured and held onto the wall. He tried to pull himself up, but slid on the deck eventually.

  “That was close.” Lusie sighed.

  “Nice shot,” said Teors.

  “We are not done yet.” Asuak said coldly while reloading. He glanced at unconscious Teirs and said, “Teors, stay here and tie up these humans. Also disable the alarm. Lusie, let’s find their Commander.”

  Asuak and Lusie changed to Roy and Jim. They ran out of the kitchen, climbed onto the upper deck and headed to the bridge. Red light was flashing everywhere.

  When they got there, they saw Uyeet and Aeitu aiming their tranquilizer guns at the door opening to the bridge.

  “Don’t fire. It’s Asuak and Lusie.” Asuak said when he saw Uyeet turning around.

  “You got them?” Uyeet asked in a low tone.

  “Five of them,” said Lusie.

  “What is going on here?” Asuak kept his voice as low as possible.

  “I saw the door closing when the red lights went on and couldn’t catch it. I think their Commander is in there,” said Aeitu.

  “Where are Fawous, Keiwh and Meiwiq?” Asuak asked.

  “They are checking the back,” said Uyeet.

  “Why you two didn’t change to human form?” Lusie asked.

  “We don’t know who to change to.” Aeitu said innocently.

  “That doesn’t matter.” Lusie said angrily.

  “It’s ok. You two are sure Lily is in there?” Asuak asked.

  Uyeet and Aeitu shook their heads.

  “I see. Aeitu, those tranquilizers can keep human under for how long?”

  “Somewhere around 30 minutes.”

  “Lusie, you hear anything from the bug?” Asuak asked.

  “Nothing. It is rather quiet after she talked to Jason. She might change her clothes.” Lusie said in a worried tone.

  Red light stopped flashing and the normal light went back on. Several minutes later, Fawous, Keiwh and Meiwiq joined Asuak outside the bridge.

  “We didn’t find any human,” said Fawous.

  Lusie turned to Asuak, “Two left: Charle and Lily.”

  “Yes. Separate the rest in different compartment. Keep them tied up all the time, even if they want to go to restroom.” Asuak said seriously.

  “I have some explosives cells,” said Lusie.

  “Good. Inject those cells into their bodies and let them know that. You keep the detonator,” said Asuak.

  “After Jason wakes up, he won’t give us the access code when he sees all his crew locked up,” said Lusie.

  Asuak thought for a second and said, “No, he won’t. We have to take another approach. The Asating.”

  “That’s right. Then we can just keep him under until we harvest the bug.” Aeitu said happily.

  “Exactly.” Lusie said and patted Aeitu on the shoulder.

  “Do you have what we need to keep him under?” Asuak asked looking at Aeitu.

  “Tranquilizers work great for very short time. That won’t do in his case, but we also have sedatives.” Aeitu said in an expert tone.

  “Do it.” Asuak ordered.

  Aeitu nodded and left them.

  “What about the two humans in the bridge?” Uyeet asked.

  “I will see whether I can get them out of there. But, first, get other humans under control.” Asuak said to Lusie.

  Lusie nodded and said, “Keiwh and Meiwiq, come with me.”

  After they left, Asuak walked to the intercom panel on the nearby wall, pressed the bridge button and said, “Bridge, this is Asuak, can I have a word with Commander Lily?”

  “Commander Asuak, this is Charle. Lily is not here.”

  “I see. Do you know where she is?”

  “Sorry. I don’t know.”

  “I see. Thank you.”

  “Commander Asuak, you know anything about the alarm?”

  “I don’t know, but it is gone now.”

  “I seal the bridge just in case there is something wrong.”

  “I see. I would do the same if I were you.”

  “It is so weird. Nobody called bridge to ask about it. By the way, did you see Dr. Akio and Roy? They are supposed to get medicine for Lock.”

  “I did see them and they got what they need. Actually Dr. Akio and Roy are with me right now.” Asuak said and winked at Uyeet and Fawous. They morphed into Dr. Akio and Roy in a second.

  “Can I speak to Roy?”

  “Of course.” Asuak said while motioning Roy/Fawous to come to the intercom.

  “Charle, this is Roy.”

  “Hi Roy, how is everything going?”

  Fawous looked at Asuak who pointed to the door. Fawous nodded and said, “Everything is fine. We are calling from the corridor near the bridge. We want to get in.”

  “The plan is still on?”

  “Yes.”

  “OK. I am opening the door right now.”

  “Whoosh.” The door slid open.

  Asuak saw Charle sitting at his seat and he was the only one in the bridge. Looking into Charle eyes, Asuak saw doubt and worry. Uyeet sprinted into the bridge and shot a tranquilizer into Charle’s neck. Charle immediately lost his steam and fell off the seat.

  Uyeet grabbed Charle’s ankles and said, “Fawous, give me a hand. He is really heavy.”

  Fawous went in the bridge and grabbed Charle’s wrists. They picked his body up from the deck and carried it out of the bridge.

  “Commander, how do we handle this?” Uyeet asked while they passed by Ausak.

  “Take it to Lusie. Uyeet, next time, wait for my order before you shoot somebody.” Asuak shook his head and motioned them to move on. Then he paced into the bridge. There was not much to scrutinize. Ten chairs, numerous screens, dozens of panels, a clumsy janitor droid and a huge front window. That was it.

  “Where are you, Lily?” Asuak murmured to himself. For a second, he felt relieved, because he didn’t really know how to face her. She was trying to help him and she was always nice to him. However, he did the exact thing she feared.

  Asuak paced back and forth in the bridge thinking how to explain the situation to Lily. Before he realized, he started talking to himself. “I am very sorry for what just happened. I know it looks like as if we are taking over the ship. I can guarantee you that it is definitely not the case. We made this move, because we learned that you would lock my crew and me up and brought us to Earth. From there, I can only use my imagination to figure what could happen to us. I am sorry. As the Commander of my crew, I can’t allow that happen. I know you just carry your orders and I don’t blame you. I hope we can look forward not backward and start working together to solve the problem. I am not going to hurt your crew and I can also promise you that when my species come to rescue us, you and your crew will be safe.”

  “That is quite moving...your apology.” Lusie appeared at the door.

  “How long have you been there?”

  “Somewhere near the beginning.” He said while tramping in.

  “Well, well……” Asuak ran out of word.

  “You forgot to mention Asating. Aeitu has injected it into Jason’s brain. It will take somewhere seven to ten days to extract information.”

  Asuak flashed a stiff smile and sighed, “I guess I won’t tell her.”

  “I know you won’t hesitate if we have to kill humans. You see I can’t even pretend I can work with those humans. I can never say what you just said.”

  “I think I am too emotional sometimes. But, anyway, how are those humans?”

  “I separate them into different compartment. Guys like Lock and Jim, one in a compartment. Others, two in one compartment. I have injected the explosive cells into their bodies and we have started patrolling the ship. I still can’t figure out where Lily is.”

  “Also set a guard outside Jason’s cabin.”

  “That is a good idea.”

  “When will those humans wake up?”

  “Five minutes. Why? You plan to talk to them?”

  “Not Lock or Jim. I am thinking Roy or Bertha. I need to learn more about their Commander.”

  Lusie nodded and they left the bridge.

  When they walked into the kitchen compartment, Roy and Bertha glanced at them and then quickly lowered their heads, their arms and legs restrained to the chairs they were sitting on.

  Asuak pulled a chair, set it in front of them and sat down. Then they just look at each other for several seconds and Asuak said, “I guess I disappointed both of you.”

  Roy laughed out and said, “It’s hard to get more obvious than that.”

  “Commander Asuak, you did what you did because you know our plan, right?” Bertha asked with shaking voice.

  Asuak nodded.

  “You spied on us,” said Roy.

  “Sorry.” Asuak said sincerely.

  “Don’t feel bad for yourself. We tried as well, but we couldn’t understand your language.” Roy said with a defiant smile.

  “I guess we just don’t trust each other.”

  “What are you going to do with us?” Bertha asked, her eyes filled with tears.

  “Nothing. We will send out the distress signal. When the rescue comes, we will leave and free all of you.” Asuak said in a bland tone.

  Roy tried to hide his shock, but his widened eyes gave him away.

  “Commander Asuak, not every one of us agreed with the order given by flight control. We—”

  “Asuak, you hear me! This is Lock and I get one of your crew in my hands right now.” Lock’s excited voice came out of the intercom.

  Asuak turned to Lusie with an angry look.

  Lusie got confused and said, “Could be a trick.”

  “Come on. Tell them your name. Tell them your name!” Lock’s voice again.

  “Commander Asuak, kill him! Don’t worry about—”

  “Fuck you! Now, Asuak, I will tell you what I want so you can save her. Free all humans right now!”

  Asuak sprinted to the intercom near the door. It showed that Lock was calling from life support compartment.

 

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