Commander Zerk’k Arkti
“Fuck,” I growled, slamming my fist onto the control panel and jerking the wheel. “When will those cursed Lenely learn to drive?”
I had barely been able to steer my ship out of the way in time to avoid hitting the obnoxious looking little ship head-on. The Lenley blinked their lights at me, as if I were the offender, and sped away. As furious as I was, I was grateful that the ships hadn’t collided. That would have been a humiliating way to end the mission.
“Well, Commander,” Jerd said, smiling sardonically at me. “They do only leave their planet once every millennium.”
“That’s no excuse. They shouldn’t leave at all if they haven’t mastered their aircraft!”
Jerd shrugged, which only fueled my fury.
“They’re a liability for anybody traveling through here,” I continued. “Somebody should go to their planet and force them to pass a safety seminar.”
“Who better than you, sir?” Jerd replied.
“Oh, please,” I said, tapping my fingers against the sleek control panel. “I have bigger issues to worry about right now than to teach those idiots how to drive.”
Nothing could be truer. My people, the Thressl’n, were suffering, and we had only ourselves to blame. In the very early years, the Thressl’n had favored male children over female, for our brighter complexions and insurmountable strength. Unfortunately, this preference had lead to an unprecedented imbalance of males over females. Now, males outnumbered females by a ratio of 16:1. And as Second in Command, it was my job to try and find the best solution.
Currently, the situation had become a crisis, with most of the females married and some of them curiously infertile. If we didn’t resolve the situation soon, the Thressl’n were going to become extinct.
Certainly, a lot of resentment was directed my way as many of the younger females refused to mate, hoping they could be my first and only lover. But my attentions lay elsewhere. In fact, until I made a public declaration of my celibacy until further notice, I felt the rivers of anger directed toward me by the many noblemen who had been refused on the grounds that they weren’t me.
“How much longer now?” I asked, tapping my foot impatiently. Nobody knew this, but I despised flying. The long treks through dark space left me irritable and restless. I’d rather have my feet on the ground any day.
“We are 15 lightyears away from Earth,” Jerd answered after a short beat.
“I see,” I said, looking darkly at my monitor. That meant there wasn’t much time left. As soon as we made our way out of the meteor field, we would be within sight for the more advanced Earthling technology. “Raise the cloak. We don’t want anybody to detect us coming in. It could spell trouble. How have the other ships fared?”
“They’ve logged in as successful, and are heading back to Jenal’k with their cargo in tow. Everything is right on schedule.”
“Right. We’ll have to go clean up the place a bit. Cover their tracks and make sure that everything is going well. Understood?”
“Of course, sir. Are you prepared to breathe in that devastating Earth air?”
I scoffed. “As ready as I’ll ever be. Did any of the footmen report any dangers or anything strange we should be aware of before completing the mission?”
“No, sir, nothing we weren’t already aware of. Heavy smog, and all the females one could ask for. Populations are absurd. I’m sure nobody will even notice the missing females.”
“Good,” I said thoughtfully. “We want to leave as little trace as possible.”
“Cloaking devices have been successfully engaged,” Jerd said, reading the rapidly moving numbers appearing on the screen in front of him. “We’re 7 lightyears from Earth now. Are you ready?”
I nodded, but I wasn’t so sure.
Earth. A dark planet only rumored throughout the galaxy for the cruelty of its people toward each other, other species, and even the planet itself. But many races were like that, and it shouldn’t be surprising. However, Earth was the first with people of such dire inclinations to escape their planet before their bad habits made their world inhospitable. In fact, humans could be found treading further and further out into the reaches of space, using their primitive machines to gather intelligence on the workings of the universe around them. Human curiosity was one of the most dangerous things in the solar system. Their interest meant danger for the rest of the universe.
“If you don’t mind my saying so, sir, I’m sure part of your tension is due to nerves,” Jerd volunteered, purposefully avoiding my eyes and studying the blunt nails on his left hand. His four fingers seemed far more interesting than anything he might be suggesting to me. But I knew he was simply hoping to avoid my vengeance if I found his thought to be out of place.
“Nerves?” I scoffed, wondering if Jerd had somehow figured out my hatred of flying. We had worked side-by-side for several revolutions of the sun, and he had grown very comfortable speaking his mind to me. I would be lying if I said I didn’t appreciate his honesty, though. “What are you talking about?”
“We’ve never been to Earth,” Jerd reminded me. “We have no idea what the females there will be like, or even if they’re compatible for breeding.”
“You think that would be enough to make me nervous?” I laughed.
What Jerd said rang true, but I couldn’t let him know it. While it seemed a reasonable plan to supplement our Thressl’n females with human females, meanwhile depleting Earth’s population to hopefully prevent their irresponsible race from further exploration of the universe, the simple fact of the matter was that Earth and its people were unpredictable. And unpredictable could mean dangerous.
Jerd was silent, but the admiring shine in his eyes said enough.
“Of course not, Commander.”
“Anyway, just because we’ve never come to Earth doesn’t mean that I’m intimidated by the humans. The Vellreq have cozied right up to them…sneaky bastards. They see the potential in an ignorant and innovative destructive force. We’re doing the whole universe good with this mission. Not only that, but we will preserve the one beautiful thing about humans for good once the race finally destroys itself – the females. Let’s do everything we can to strive for success.”
“Yes, sir,” Jerd said.
I waved my hand to dismiss him, and he left me alone as I contemplated the best way to approach a race I knew little, if nothing, about.