Under the Milky Way
by Mudak
Chapter 7
Despite the uncertainty of the entire situation, the the Darkview landed safely on the planet’s surface. The captain and the two women expressed growing excitement at being brought face-to-face with the pirates who had hijacked their ship, while the American and the Chinaman did their best to hide their fears and anxieties.
The Chinaman went to a window to see what the planet looked like and was pleased to note that, had he not known better, it looked a bit like earth. They had touched down in a field of sorts, with stalks of what appeared to be grass rustling gently in the breeze. In the distance, he could see trees: large white colored trees with reddish-brown leaves, and which towered high above the horizon. Because these were clearly not earthbound trees, it was difficult to determine how close they were to the landing site, the height of the trees creating a disconcerting illusion of size and distance.
“So do ve vait here?” asked Kristina to the room in general.
“They shall arrive soon,” responded Ichiro.
A strange clunking noise came from within the ship, making both the American and Chinaman jump. They immediately turned to face the source of the noise. A low whirring noise, with an occasional yet rhythmic “thud” sound grew closer and closer to the deck where the earthlings awaited the sight of their captors.
Soon, a being of dark complexion stood before them. It had thin hair with an elongated, rounded torso. It had no visible nose; instead it had slits on either side of what could accurately be called a “neck”. It had large, reddish “eyes” and it rode on a wheeled device that vaguely resembled a scooter. Its arms were short. Jonathan thought of the arms of a tyrannosaurus rex when he saw it. Its legs did not appear to bend. It had no chin but a mouth that extended over its “face”. Whatever kind of creature this being was, it was clearly sentient. It opened its mouth and a series of clicks and gliding vowels filled the room.
Olga stood up and said, “I understand.”
Wei looked at her and said, “I’m not sure I do.”
“You don’t need to. You just need to submit.” The Russian looked at the German and smiled. “It looks like you and I are the entertainment for the evening.”
“No, wait a minute! I’ve got to object here,” said the American. “What do you mean ‘the entertainment’?”
Kristina stripped down to her underwear. “I look forward to entertaining our hosts.”
“Hosts?!?” exclaimed Jonathan. “They’ve basically kidnapped us.”
The being raised its “hand” and pointed an unusual looking device at Lieutenant Roosevelt’s head.
Ichiro stood up and placed his hand on the American’s shoulder. “We are worth more to them alive than dead, but that doesn’t give us the right to disrespect them.”
Jonathan took two deep breaths and decided not to say anything else. He glanced warily at Wei, who caught his eye in an attempt to provide an expression of wordless solidarity with his comrade.
Ichiro strode robotically to the alien being onboard. “We must first learn if we can breathe the air outside of this ship.”
The alien placed its hands on Ichiro’s shoulders. The captain held still as the earthling and the Iszapian did what could only be categorized as a “kiss.” When the two beings’ lips parted, the captain stood back, shook his head, and said, “I… I believe we can breathe there.” He returned to the controls of the ship, and opened the dock. “For safety’s sake, though, I think you four should wait here until I step outside and verify for myself.”
Wei said, “But what…”
“Stay here.”
The captain and the alien pirate stepped out of the ship. With a light gasp, the captain took in the atmosphere of the foreign planet and yelped his pleasure. “It’s safe. Let’s follow our host!”
The two women bounded off of the ship, followed by the American, the Chinaman, and a second pirate who had silently joined his own commander.