Finally, the time came for us to make planetfall. Borag entered orbit around Proxima Centauri b. Lush forests and vast oceans sprawled out beneath us. Everything was bathed in the reddish glow of the nearby star. The planet was strangely beautiful to my eye.

  Captain Hansen ordered Red Company to explore first—as expected. I was eager to go, for my part—but I was kind of worried about Hansen herself. There had been no signs of any further attacks brewing among the crew, but I still didn’t like the idea of not being able to help her. If there was another attempt on her life, while I was out trudging around in an alien jungle, there would be nothing I could do to help.

  Turning this over in my mind, I had a new, upsetting thought occur. Maybe she knew she was safe now. Maybe, once she’d chosen to explore the planet, the threat had been lifted.

  That would indicate she suspected Blackwood and his gang were behind all this. Could that be the case? I couldn’t be sure…

  As it was, when Borag began her descent into the steamy atmosphere, I was worried. But unlike everyone else in Red Company, I was worried about Captain Hansen—not my own skin. Sure, we were about to explore the unknown surface of our first living, alien world, but we weren’t certain there would be any danger.

  Back aboard Borag, however, I was dead certain that Captain Hansen would be in the proximity of an assassin. That thought bothered me, all the way down from orbit.

  Chapter 15: An Alien World

  As Captain Hansen retired to her cabin, my bodyguard duty came to an end, and I found myself with a bit of free time. I wandered the ship and eventually crossed paths with Freya. I found her in the ship’s mess hall filling up on coffee.

  Her brow furrowed in concentration as she went over ship’s manifests. A lock of her chestnut hair fell across her face. She didn’t notice me at first, so I took a moment to observe her. I admired her pretty face. It had been a long time since we’d shared a bunk back on Mars. Eventually, I cleared my throat, and she looked up, startled.

  “Hey, Devin,” she greeted me with a small, tense smile. “What brings you here?”

  I hesitated before replying, searching for the right words. “I wanted to check on you. Everyone’s on edge, and I felt like talking to you in case—you know.”

  She frowned. “In case you don’t come back from this away-mission?”

  I shrugged. “I’m part of Red Company. We don’t all return home after this kind of patrol.

  Freya set her manifests aside. “What a horrible thought.” She paused for a moment, looking down, and I sat next to her.

  “I shouldn’t have said that,” I said, putting my hand on top of hers. “I can tell I’ve freaked you out.”

  She shook her head, and she pulled her hand out from under mine. “It’s not that. You’ll come back—you always do. But…”

  “What’s wrong, then?”

  “I’m feeling a bit jealous, Devin,” she blurted out. “How haven’t you figured that out by now?”

  “Jealous?” I raised an eyebrow in surprise. “About what?”

  “About you and the captain,” she hissed, her cheeks flushing red. “I’ve noticed how close you two have been lately… I’m not the only one who’s mentioned it, either.”

  “Oh… but…”

  “It just... it got to me, you know? Are you really interested in me anymore? I can’t compare to a ship’s captain. I only just got into the officer ranks. You really aim high.”

  She seemed angry, but I let out a small laugh. She didn’t like that, either.

  “Freya, you’ve got nothing to worry about. I was just doing my duty as her bodyguard. Captain Hansen and I... we’re not a thing, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

  Freya bit her lip, and her eyes met mine. “Really?”

  “Really,” I confirmed, taking her hand in mine again. “In fact, if you want to know the truth, there’s someone else who’s been on my mind lately.”

  Her eyes widened in curiosity, and she hesitated for a moment before asking. “Who?”

  Instead of answering, I scooted my butt closer to hers. As I leaned in, Freya’s breath hitched, and our lips met in a tender, electrifying kiss. The kiss went on for a while, and I slipped my arm around her and pulled her up against me. She didn’t resist. I could feel her breasts pressing against my chest and I liked it.

  Someone giggled nearby, but we didn’t even flinch.

  Finally, we broke apart, and our eyes locked. Freya smiled at last. A real smile. Her earlier jealousy had been replaced by a newfound understanding. We didn’t need any more words—our shared connection was clear.

  A few short hours later, Freya and I emerged from her cabin, straightening our uniforms and hair. We were both smiling, and it was nice to feel solid again.

  Our feeling of well-being didn’t last, however, as Borag lurched and began her descent into the thick atmosphere of Proxima Centauri b.

  Before I knew it, I was tramping down a gangplank in a telescoping tube of metal. At the bottom of this ramp, I saw the tongue of it was thrust into the dark, rich soil of the planet. That was real dirt from another living world. It was strange to see it.

  Borag had touched down in a jungle, leaving a scene of destruction in its wake. As I looked around, I couldn’t help but feel I was the alien invader. The jets had scorched the ground beneath them, leaving blackened patches of ground where once there had been vibrant—if strange—vegetation. Trees in the immediate vicinity were charred, their branches twisted and broken.

  Stepping off the end of the ramp, we opened our helmets and sniffed—the air seemed okay. The techs had said it was safe to breathe the air here, but we were still cautious. There was an earthy, mossy aroma with a hint of dampness and rich soil. It wasn’t bad—certainly better than the inside of a spacer’s suit.

  I surveyed our surroundings more closely. The jungle was filled with bizarre tree-like growths, the likes of which I’d never seen before. Their trunks were thick and twisted, rising high above us. The leaves were kind of splotchy-looking, all deep purples and blues. It gave the forest a surreal appearance.

  Despite the carnage left by our landing, it was impossible not to be captivated by the strange beauty of this new world. As I stood there, taking it all in, I couldn’t help but wonder what secrets this planet held, and what dangers we would face as we ventured further into its depths.

  Our drones soon discovered a ruined city nearby. Unfortunately, we also discovered evidence of a pirate encampment among them.

  “Of all the frigging luck,” Lt. Quinn complained. “We avoided an entire continent to dodge these rebels, and now it turns out they’re up here, too.”

  “Maybe they’re all over the place,” Sergeant Cox suggested. “Where did all these frigging rebels come from, anyway? They must breed like rats.”

  “Well, let’s find out,” Quinn said. “Company, move out!”

  We left Borag behind and the big ship thrummed in the background. Its massive engines producing wisps of vapor that mingled with the purple haze of the jungle.

  We soon moved into the trees, and the sky above was mostly obstructed from view. As we walked deeper into the wilderness, the alien planet’s animals became noisier. Screeches and hoots filled my ears with a cacophony of bizarre sound.

  “Listen to that,” Private Connors whispered in awe, his eyes darting around as if trying to locate the source of each strange sound. “It’s like nothing I’ve ever heard before.”

  “Keep your gun and your pecker aiming high, Connors,” Lt. Quinn snapped, though I could tell he was just as fascinated by the alien wilderness surrounding us as we were. “We’re not out here for a frigging nature-walk.”

  “Right, sir,” Connors replied, clamping his mouth shut.

  As we pushed through the dense foliage, the air filled with the calls of strange, unseen creatures. High above us, the silhouettes of bizarre flying things flitted in and out of view, their movements quick and erratic.

  “Starn, you seeing this shit?” Private Ledbetter asked, pointing at the distant creatures.

  “I see them,” I replied, my curiosity piqued. “No idea what they are, though.”

  “Don’t poke things with sticks,” Lt. Quinn advised us.

  We continued through the alien jungle, the atmosphere growing heavier with every step. I couldn’t help but be captivated by the strange beauty of Proxima Centauri b, even as I remained vigilant for potential threats.

  “Look at the size of that tree!” Private Connors exclaimed, pointing to a massive trunk that towered over us, its bark a deep shade of violet. “It’s incredible!”

  “We don’t care about trees,” Lt. Quinn reminded us, his eyes scanning the area. “Look for something useful.”

  We nodded, but we couldn’t help but stare at the incredible landscape. As we trekked through the dense, deep purple vegetation of the subtropical zone, the humidity clung to our skin like a second layer. It was an odd feeling, being on a new planet, surrounded by unfamiliar flora and fauna.

  Suddenly, the air seemed to fill with a low buzzing sound, and the team exchanged concerned glances.

  “What is that noise?” Private Connors asked nervously, his hand gripping his weapon tighter.

  Without warning, a swarm of flying creatures burst out from the vegetation, their slimy, segmented bodies propelling them through the air with alarming speed. How to describe them? They were winged, alien slugs. That’s close to the right visual. They were gastropods, and they were obviously carnivorous. Their gaping maws were filled with razor-sharp teeth.

  “What the hell are those things?” Connor wailed.

  “Who knows?” Lt. Quinn shouted, “shoot them down!”

  We all raised our weapons, taking aim at the creatures. The sound of gunfire rang through the air as we blasted the flying gastropods, and their grotesque punctured bodies rained down around us. I squeezed the trigger of my carbine, picking off the creatures one by one as they tried to attack our team.

  “Starn! On your left!” Private Martinez shouted, and I turned just in time to see one of the gastropods lunging at me.

  When I had a clear shot, I fired a quick burst, and the creature exploded into a spray of viscous goo. The goo and the teeth narrowly missed me and thumped onto the ground at my feet.

  “Thanks for the heads-up, man,” I said, nodding at Martinez.

  “No problem, Corporal,” he replied, shooting down another alien beast.

  Like many other pairs of men, we stood with our backs to one another and took down as many of the flapping monstrosities as we could.

  As the last of the creatures gave up and flapped away, Lt. Quinn surveyed the scene. His eyes narrowed in disgust. “Let’s keep moving. Martinez, you’re on point. Be prepared for anything. I can already tell this planet isn’t going to make it easy for us.”

  It seemed unusual for a pack of carnivores to attack human soldiers like that, but maybe the beasts on this world hadn’t yet gotten the memo about how dangerous teams of armed men could be.

  We moved further into the jungle, the air thick with the weird scents of alien flora, until we came across our destination: the ruins of an ancient civilization.

  The buildings were made of laser-cut stone, from the look of it. Massive, weathered blocks were overgrown with deep purple vegetation. The remnants of advanced technology were scattered amongst the wreckage, hinting at the incredible accomplishments of a long-lost race.

  “Who built this place?” Private Martinez asked, squinting at the ruins.

  “Looks like we’ve found our first clue,” Lt. Quinn said, his voice hushed as he surveyed the scene before us. “Watch your footing. We don’t know what might still be functional here. They might have a landmine or two planted.”

  We broke out sensors and cautiously explored the ruins. After we’d taken a few hundred steps, we stumbled upon a mysterious structure that stood out from the rest. It was about the size of a small office building, with unique architecture that seemed to defy the laws of physics. There was a sphere of sorts—one that was reflective and bulging slightly, like a spinning ball of mercury—on top of a pyramid structure.

  “That’s kind of like the thing we found back on Naiad,” Private Welks commented.

  “Yeah… go check it out,” Lt. Quinn ordered.

  Startled, Welks looked back at him. “Me, sir? Again?”

  “You heard me.”

  The rest of us laughed, but we stopped laughing when Welks approached the alien contraption. We couldn’t help but squinch our eyes, waiting for something to eat him.

  Sergeant Cox stepped up to me and lowered his voice. He was grinning. “I bet this thing is some kind of alien bug-zapper. Welks’ is never going to live down playing chicken when we hit that pirate base.”

  I squinted at him. “No forgiveness, huh?”

  Cox glared at me. “Nope. Two men died assaulting that base. Two good men. I’ll forgive Welks when he’s dead.”

  I shook my head, and Sergeant Cox moved away. He was a harsh leader, but I understood him. Red Company couldn’t tolerate cowards. I figured by the end of this mission Welks would quit our team and never dare show his face around us again. If we ever made it home again, that is.

  Private Welks was charmed this time around, however. He didn’t vanish or get disintegrated.

  “Lieutenant?” he called back from the interior of the strange structure. “Sir? I found something…”

  Inside, we discovered what appeared to be an alien computer—an artificial intelligence of some kind. It was unlike anything we’d ever seen before, and we attempted to communicate with it. But our efforts were met with only flashing lights and odd sounds, as if the AI were trying to speak, but its language was lost on us.

  “Any idea what it’s saying?” Lt. Quinn asked me, frustrated by our lack of progress.

  “Not a clue,” I admitted, shaking my head. “It’s like trying to talk to a brick wall.”

  We spent hours trying to decipher the AI’s cryptic messages, but it was frigging hopeless. The secrets of this ancient civilization remained locked away, out of reach.

  We left the strange structure in disgust. I felt we’d somehow missed an opportunity to learn something truly incredible about this alien planet and its history.

  “All right,” Quinn ordered. “Stop talking to it. We’re obviously too damned dumb to figure it out. Let’s see what else there is around here to screw with.”

  We continued to explore the alien structure, but the sound of footsteps echoed outside. Lt. Quinn motioned for us to take cover, and we found whatever we could to hide behind.

  “Stay quiet, weapons at the ready,” he whispered, his eyes scanning the area for any signs of movement.

  The footsteps grew louder. When the strangers turned a corner, we realized they weren’t fellow crew members from Borag—they were frigging pirates. Their ragtag clothes and ugly expressions left no doubt in my mind that we’d run right into the very people we were trying to avoid.

  Despite our mutual hostility, the pirates seemed even more on edge than we were. They clutched their weapons tightly and glanced around nervously, as if expecting something far worse than a group of Red Company marines to appear.

  “What the hell are you doing here?” Lt. Quinn demanded, stepping out from our hiding spot, his weapon trained on the pirate leader.

  The pirate leader sneered, his eyes darting between us and the darkness beyond. “Fuck off, marine. You don’t give orders here. This is no one’s planet.”

  Lt. Quinn blinked a few times, and he didn’t give us an order to fire. “Um… you’re right, our charter to enforce laws doesn’t extend outside the limits of the Solar System.”

  The pirate grinned. “That’s right. We’ve claimed all this—and you can’t order us around. Not out here.”

  I could tell Quinn was counting guns. The pirates looked disorganized and rough—but there were a lot of them.

  “You can’t claim anything here,” Quinn said. “No more than we can. There are no rules for this situation—no regs.”

  “Hey, I’ll help out. I’ll give you a new rule: Stay the fuck out of our way.”

  Like most of his kind, their leader was no silver-tongued diplomat. Quinn was annoyed, as were the pirates—but then, pirates changed their expressions. They were looking off to the west, where the sun was setting over the alien trees.

  They suddenly looked more terrified than defiant. Without warning, they turned and fled, disappearing into the dark recesses of the structure.

  “Should we pursue them, sir?” Sergeant Cox asked, his weapon aimed at their backs.

  Lt. Quinn frowned, his gaze fixed on the spot where the pirates had vanished. “No,” he said finally. “But I want to know what scared them off. Keep your guard up, and let’s proceed with caution.”

  We exited the pyramid with the spinning ball of liquid metal on top and wandered around. Whatever had made the pirates piss themselves might be lurking nearby. We were nervous.

  We cautiously followed the pirates’ trail, when the sounds of a firefight reached us. It grew louder as we ventured deeper into the city ruins. We gritted our teeth and sweated with every step. We all knew we were walking into a dangerous situation.

  As we rounded a corner of those big, laser-cut stone blocks, we found the rebels—or what was left of them. Their bodies were scattered around the area, clearly having met a violent end. The only survivor was a female, her foot pinned beneath a massive piece of debris. She was in obvious pain, and her eyes were wide with terror.

  “Drop your weapon, girl,” Sergeant Cox said.

  Seeing she was outnumbered and helpless, she bared her teeth and tossed a pistol aside. We approached her, warily.

  “What happened here?” Lt. Quinn demanded, stepping forward as the rest of us took defensive positions.

  “The aliens...” she gasped, struggling to catch her breath. “They’re coming back... and they’re huge!”

  I felt a trickle of sweat run down from my hair to sting my left eye. Whatever had decimated this group of pirates had to be close.

  “Starn, Ledbetter—help her,” Lt. Quinn ordered, gesturing toward the injured girl. “The rest of you, form a perimeter.”