Chapter 3

She was wet. And lying on something hard and warm.

Sylvie opened her eyes and blinked into the light of a blue sun. She sat up and groaned, taking in the scene around her, but not understanding it immediately.

Sun winked off the silver of her ship's hull as it bounced on the waves of an endless purple sea. As she watched, the silver slipped under the surface. Her ship. Her equipment. Her way home.

Gone.

She looked around. She was sitting on a lone outcropping of red rock in an ocean of deep purple. The rock was painted with oranges and yellows where the waterline hit. Tiny living creatures, perhaps, that lived on the border between land and sea?

A low squeaking drew her attention to her left, where Fido was busy untangling some exotic form of seaweed out of its tracks. Fido, or Firstwave Intelligent Defense Operative, must have kicked into action immediately upon impact. She owed her life to the robot NASA had insisted she bring with her.

"Thank you, Fido," Sylvie said as she moved herself closer to the machine. She helped it untangle itself, then examined the seaweed.

"Life," she whispered.

In her hand she held definitive proof that life could exist on another planet.

She glanced up as her jaw fell open. A transparent craft of some sort dropped from the sky to land above the spot where her ship had sunk. A door opened, and two figures with skin light green in color jumped into the waves, disappearing beneath them. Two more moved to a round platform, which detached itself from the craft to zoom across the waves.

Straight toward her.

Sylvie couldn't believe her eyes. The probe’s data had led them to believe the planet had the beginnings of life, mainly small, single-celled organisms. Nothing in her wildest imagination could have led her to believe that there might be advanced intelligent life. But figures, with what appeared to be two arms and two legs, were currently approaching her at lightning speed.

"Proximity alert."

She jumped at Fido’s voice. A panel of warning lights blinked on along the lines of the robot's two extender arms. The electronic display that comprised the unit's face turned from placid blue to angry red. A small hatch popped open on Fido's shoulder, and a weapon appeared from the hatch.

"Wait," she said, patting her robotic watchman on the arm. "We're not sure if they mean us any harm. Let me try and communicate with them first."

The outcropping of rock was only a dozen feet across, and Sylvie imagined that at high tide only a few scant inches might be uncovered. They had to get off this stone island if they had the chance, and the beings headed toward them obviously had a means of transport. Best to see if they could be reasoned with.

Her mind spit out calm suggestions while her heart acted like it was going to punch its way out of her chest.

"Hostile life forms approaching. Defense initiative Alpha-01 activated." A red light began to blink from the weapon on Fido's shoulder.

"No!" she shouted, but Fido did not obey. A laser beamed from the robot straight at the approaching figures.

Sylvie wanted to avert her eyes but forced herself to watch, unable to comprehend that NASA's fool robot was about to destroy the first sentient beings humankind had ever made contact with.

Before the laser could obliterate the aliens, it hit some sort of force field around them. The field entirely absorbed the beam.

Sylvie bit her thumbnail, nervousness causing her stomach to turn. The beings, who a moment ago had seemed to have skin the color of mint, suddenly flashed to bright yellow.

That can't be good.

The laser was useless against them.

The round disk slid to a stop a few inches from the outcropping, and Sylvie got her first good look at its occupants. They were taller than average humans, both figures easily over six and a half feet tall. Their skin was indeed yellow, and as she watched, their surfaces seemed to pulse in gentle waves of light. Two arms that ended in digits, similar to humans except for the webbing, and two legs that ended in feet, again webbed.

Their heads were similar to humans, although covered in something much finer and more articulated than hair. Two glowing eyes sat in faces that were more angular than human features. Their noses appeared to have nostrils covered in a thin film. And their mouths held rather plump lips. The overall look was not at all unappealing.

Let's hope they don't have three rows of razor sharp teeth. Sylvie shook her head to clear it. This was not the time for hysterical inner monologues.

The pair was wearing clothing woven of a substance that didn't seem too different from the seaweed she was still holding in her hand. The soft fronds fell from their waist into an intricate sarong, then were braided into two straps that crept up muscular chests to tie around their necks. The material appeared both sturdy and comfortable.

One of the beings took a step off the disk and onto the rock outcropping. An alarm sounded from Fido.

“Defense initiative Delta-17 activated." One of the robot's extender arms shot out toward the figure, grabbing it around the bicep.

The light waves that before had been a gentle hypnotic pulsing now engulfed the whole of the being's arm in a bright burst. The crackle of electricity sounded, and Fido fell backward, his arm charred and smoking.

The creature's skin started glowing, charging up the electric shock weapon to finish off Fido. Her hero was about to be reduced to a pile of smoldering parts.

Although the dumb machine didn't know when to try diplomacy, it didn't deserve to be blasted to bits.

"Stop!" she yelled. Surprising herself, she burst forward, shoving the creature that was about to blow Fido to bits. Her hands touched the being's skin and the energy that was about to take out the robot shot into her. The world exploded in white, and Sylvie and consciousness went their separate ways.