INCIDENT ON TRITON ONE

Suddenly, the lights flickered out. A hushed silence fell over everyone in the room as they waited for the auxiliary lights to come on. Nothing happened, only the sounds of everyone’s breath filtered through the darkness. Lewis groped through the entrance and came back with a portable emergency light.

“Anything else your people could have screwed up tonight?” Desmond chided Lewis again as the remaining shreds of civility melted off him.

“I’m warning you!” Lewis suddenly lost his cool. “Back off!” He yelled with a glare that could have melted the frozen fuel from a rocket’s hull.

This was the last time Lewis had to address any indigence. Brandon found his friend’s behavior reprehensible as though Desmond were venting more than just this incident on the commander. He reached over and grabbed Desmond’s mouth to quell any further tongue lashing that might have elicited a less than favorable response from the tall, well muscled, commander.

Lewis attempted to subdue any further unrest, “fuel cell must be shorted out, but the backup system should come on any second.”

A cluster of firefly-like objects, looking like sparking particles, magically pirouetted through the darkened expanse of room five. Dancing about in the shadowy room, illuminating amazed and bewildered faces, they evoked an unclear memory in Brandon. All present groped about still in the grip of the spellbound silence. Wondering at this odd visitation from the unexpected realm, confused and, speechless guards, scientists, and medical personal gazed at the unknown.

Without warning, an explosive contrast to the momentary display of shadowy sorcery was eclipsed by a blinding radiance. A familiar sight to only a few there, yet, no less intimidating, had taken command. Seemingly from nowhere, in the center of a brilliant burst of light, a shape began to take form in the midst of this assault on their eyes. Standing there with an immense persona of invincibility, the intruder had arrived. Plasmas of raw energy seemed to spark translucently around the awesome presence.

Stunned and confused by the spectacle, all in the room backed away or plastered themselves against the walls. The imposing figure commanded the attention and fear of all there at the same time. Massively adorned in armor, appearing to be alien, the entity from beyond stood before them.

Brandon grabbed the commander’s shoulder, “that’s what the others and I saw in orbit!”

Desmond, never taking his eyes off the strange being, crept up alongside Brandon, “so that’s what you guys saw up there in orbit, huh?”

A guard close to them raised his stunner rifle to try and aim at the mysterious figure, Lewis quickly grabbed a hold of the barrel and lowered the weapon. The other guards who had been raising their rifles to bear upon the luminous being took their cue after watching the commander’s restraint, and lowered their weapons too.

Brandon could contain himself no longer, “damn it, what are we waiting for, Doctor Tenlo’s over there dying!”

“You heard him!” Lewis barked his order. “Get off you asses and get that man to safety!”

No one dared move. The medical people remained motionless, still in awe and fear of this sudden materialization. As if paralyzed, they remained glued in position. Lewis knew only one way to jolt them out of their cowardice since they refused to obey his commands. He reached for his holster.

For the first time the intruder went into action turning its head in the direction of the medical team where Doctor Tenlo’s body lay. It raised a massive arm in their direction. Everyone braced for an assault of some kind, crouching and covering up. A burst of energy in the form of a blinding flash left everyone momentarily dazed. That left the room pitched black again with several people stumbling about disoriented. The power began to come on gradually, slowly restoring itself until the room was completely illuminated again.

“What the hell was that?” Someone blurted out as the speechless gathering stood, not believing what they had just seen.

“Brandon!” Desmond shouted as he walked over to where Tenlo’s body had lain. “He’s gone! Tenlo’s gone!” He ranted in disbelief, kneeling down and running his hand along where the doctor’s battered body had been a moment before. “Into thin air,” he nodded his head, “how are we going to explain this?”