“I need to talk to a human”, he demanded.
They stared at him, their four sets of beady eyes blinking rapidly. What on Gobeleseth is he talking about? They thought. Griffin huffed with frustration and rubbed his temples. His space suit was tight in some places and loose in others, which didn’t really exactly help his stress.
“I said: I need to talk to a human!”, he demanded, his voice slowly rising to a scream. One of them slitted over to him, leaving a trail of green mucus behind him.
“We have no idea what you talk about, human”, he said. His voice sounded monotone, like a robot.
“Don’t try to lie to me”, Griffin said, tightening his fist, “I saw an oxygen tank in the abandoned ship below. I’ve studied this planet enough to know you guys don’t breathe oxygen!”
They gasped and whispered among themselves. “He’s going to find her!”, one of them said consciously.
“WHO? WHO IS HER?”, Griffin yelled. He pulled out his Hyper gun. The weapon lit up with an ominous glow.
“This gun has liquid metal inside it”, he said threateningly, “I will not hesitate to pull the trigger if you don’t tell me where this human is!”
They shuffled back, the smell of the horrible substance already burning their disfigured nostrils.
“Please, try to be reasonable, dear human”, the slimy one begged.
“I’VE BEEN TRYING TO! I’M NOT BEING NICE ANYMORE!”
To show his point, Griffin directed the gun to the ground and fired. A glob of the metallic chemical burned into the supposedly solid steel ground. There was a deafening silence, followed by a chorus of begs and pleads.
“WAIT! PLEASE DON’T HURT THEM!”, a voice came from behind him. Griffin turned to see a girl, no more than 16, with a mop of naturally curly black hair and freckled dark brown skin.
“Please don't hurt them…”, she said again, her voice barely higher than a whisper.
“Are you the human who lives here?”, Griffin asked, still keeping the gun directed at them, in case they try anything.
“Y-y-yes, sir”, the girl replied, “my name is Astrid”
Griffin lowered the gun, much to the relief of them. He faced Astrid. The girl was tall so they stood eye to eye.
“Astrid, you said?”
She nodded.
“Astrid, are you the only human here?”
She nodded again.
“How did you survive here? Among these abominations?”
They hissed behind Griffin, called him every dirty name in the Gobeleseth book of words. Shoobie! Minko! Ya ya!
“They helped me,” Astrid pointed at them. “They found a way to help me breath”
Griffin raised an eyebrow. “How?”
Astrid pointed to her bangle. It was rose pink with blinking purple lights. It seemed to be permanently attached to her wrist. “It supplies oxygen directly to my lungs”
“How did you eat? Get nutrition?”
Astrid pointed to her left, to a field of purple and blue plants. “Gobeleseth is a planet full of organic food. Every plant is edible here”
Griffin stared at the girl, keeping his face neutral. “Where are your parents?”, he asked.
Astrid’s mood changed. “They’re…gone”
“Dead?”
Astrid shrugged. “I don’t know. They left me here and never came back”
“How long have you been here?”
“A few years. You age slowly here. I just turned sixteen”
Griffin looked at the field sprawling with colourful plants. “Who are your parents?”
“Monica and Benjamin Rivers”, she replied.
Griffin froze in shock. Monica and Benjamin Rivers…the founders and head scientists of Orion Labs. They were the ones who established space travel, solved world hunger and built protection for any extraterrestrial threats. They made Earth a better place. Griffin didn’t know that they had children, even as the head soldier of CAD (Cosmic Army Defence). Even if they had children, it was hard to believe they would desert hard on a distant planet.
“I need to make a call”, he told Astrid, “Stay right here and don’t try anything”
Astrid nodded and stood by them. Griffin took one more look at them and went to another part of the room, his boots clicking on the steel floor. The walls lit up like a lava lamp, glowing red, green and blue.
Griffin took out his Java, a special communication device that could send and receive signals from anywhere. He turned it on, dialled a number and put it to his ear.
“Hello? Secretary of CAD speaking”, a voice said.
“Yes, this is General Griffin Nexus. I’d like to report that I have made it to a distant planet. I would like to talk to Doctor Monica please”
“Certainly! Putting you on now…”
There was a crackling sound, then came the voice of another woman. Monica Rivers
“General Griffin! I’ve heard that you landed safely on the planet, am I correct?”
“Yes, ma. The planet –called Gobeleseth– is truly remarkable. It is made out of organic matter and every plant that grows there is edible!”
“Wonderful! Anymore?”
“The downside is that there are aliens, not that they don’t seem like a threat. Also, oxygen isn’t here”
“That’s not a problem! As long as the planet is habitable, we can make it work”
Griffin cleared his throat. “Excuse me, ma?”
“Yes, General?”
“There is one human here. She is a teenager. Her name is Astrid. She claimed to be your daughter”
There was a pause. A long, terrifying pause.
“General”, Monica said, her voice stern and cold, “I order you to destroy that planet”
“What?”
“You heard me. Destroy that planet. Leave no survivors. No questions asked”
“Yes, ma”
The call cut abruptly.
Griffin stood there, Java device in hand, the weight of Monica Rivers’ order pressing upon him. His gaze shifted from the communication screen to Astrid, who watched him with wide, curious eyes. He sighed. He must follow orders.
“Sorry, kid”, he said, “I hope you lived a good life”
Astrid’s eyes narrowed. “Why?”
“I have orders. This planet must be destroyed”
Astrid clenched her fists, a new kind of energy burning within her. Her hands began to glow, and her freckles looked like constellations of stars.
“No”, she said, “you will not destroy my home”
Astrid flung her hands toward Griffin and a shield of crystallised light pushed him back. Griffin landed on the floor, his Hyper gun shattered and spilled metallic ooze everywhere.
The aliens stood by Astrid, ready to protect the princess of their planet.
“You’re going to pay for that”, Griffin grunted and stood up. He pulled out another weapon: a semi-automatic gun with steel bullets.
“I have to follow orders, kid”, he said, “sorry not sorry”
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