The eclectic mix of people filed out of their jets that they landed within a wide field.

“Bloody hell,” muttered Terri, “I can't believe I'm really on another planet.”

“It feels just like our Earth,” Stephanie mused. “It’s beautiful.”

“It won’t be for much longer,” Do’Lânqwa warned, putting the brakes on the marvelling.

It was just getting darker, and the field they landed in was being engulfed by a low hanging pink fog. Do’Lânqwa said his house wasn’t that far, but their landing space afforded them some sort of safety and a hiding space.

The plan was for Anna and Blane to guard the jets whilst Do’Lânqwa led Mindy, Holt, Terri and Stephanie to his house. All being well, his wife and son would be in and they could leave before anyone found out about their arrival.

“We’ll go through there,” Do’Lânqwa pointed towards a clearing in the tree, indicating their route.

“Good luck guys. Be quick and be safe,” wished Blane. He watched as the five others ran through the fog and through the trees.

Blane produced a packet out of his pocket which he offered to Anna. “Cookie?”

Once through the trees, Do’Lânqwa activated his suit by pressing his badge. They were now on a road, a quiet road that was partly swallowed up by the fog. In single file they ran on until they reached a residential area.

“These houses are amazing,” Mindy whispered.

Even though the idea and notion of other Earths existing wasn’t new to her, being on a different one was still an honour and an amazing privilege. The novelty of seeing what life looked like on these Earths was not limited to just the humans who had no idea whatsoever of life outside of their universe.

“This is it,” Do’Lânqwa announced outside a house, deactivating his suit.

“It looks a little bit like suburban America,” Terri said aloud in awe.

“Let’s go!” And on that cue, they ran to the front door.

Do’Lânqwa tried to open it but thought better than to scare his wife like that, so he knocked on the door instead. The wait felt like an eternity.

A light came on inside. Do’Lânqwa was nervous. He was excited. She was going to be so happy, but still the butterflies were building and building.

The door opened.

A beautiful woman with large frizzy, turquoise hair stood there, her face going through a cycle of confusion, concern, shock, to recognition and then to fear quite quickly as she took in the sight of her supposed exiled husband and the unusually dressed circus stood behind him. She was speechless.

“Vi’Malïag, it’s really me. I told you I’d be back one day,” he said warmly, stepping forward before she could do something like scream. “I’m so sorry to shock you like this, but we need to come in now. Look, come on. Let’s go inside.” A shocked Vi’Malïag allowed herself to be ushered into the house. “Where’s Wo’Trendsont?”

“He’s... he's upstairs. Asleep,” she stammered. “Do’Lânqwa what is this about? I thought you were dead! Who are these people?”

Do’Lânqwa placed his hands on her face reassuringly and looked her in the eyes. The other four pretended to look at things or each other, not wanting to intrude on the moment.

“Dead? No, no. I’m here my love. I know you must have a lot of questions sweet one, and there will be time for them. But we have to go. This planet is soon to be attacked by military forces from other Earths and you won’t be safe. We’re here to rescue you both and you back to Earthuu.”

“What?! Earthuu? Do’Lânqwa that’s-”

“I know, but you just need to pack some essentials for you both. We need to leave soon.”

“Err, Do’Lânqwa,” Terri whispered urgently from the window. “We have company. Do you know those people?” Do’Lânqwa stormed to the window.

It was the law enforcement and a very familiar looking man. The man who sent him away all those months ago. How did he know? Mindy spoke into her communicator to update Blane and Tank.

Do’Lânqwa turned back to his wife. “Please, just hurry and pack. We can deal with these, but you need to get ready. Just a few things, ok? Just sentimental. Materials can be replaced.”

“But Do’Lânqwa…”

“What is it, Vi’Malïag?” He was getting more antsy.

“Guys, they’re not doing anything out there. No wait, the suit is coming up the path,” informed Terri.

“Vi’Malïag? Can you just go and get ready?”

“I can’t!” she tearfully shouted. “I’m with someone else. I’m so sorry. I thought you were dead.”

“Vi’Malïag, no?!”

A knock at the door sounded before Do’Lânqwa could say anything else. He hung there, suspended in heartache and despair. The impending confrontation and the door knock thumping through his body. Do’Lânqwa was snapped out of his haze by Terri saying his name. But it was too late. The door opened, and the suit walked in.

“Well Do’Lânqwa, looks like you did make it back then?” he said.

“And who the hell are you?” Holt demanded to know.

“I’m Ha’Tiviab, an old friend of Do’Lânqwa. I just knew when your neighbours called in some suspicious activity at this address, that it had to be you coming back. I warned you about consequences, didn’t I? How did you even do it? No, you can tell me later when we take you down.”

“Just go now and leave us be. Soon you’ll have bigger problems to worry about,” Holt warned, getting bolshy and supportive of his friend.

A voice cut through the earpieces of the five rescuers. It was Blane at the jets. “Can anyone else see the large doom ship of doom in the sky? I think we need to leave soon! Like five minutes ago!”

The gang in the house couldn’t worry about that now. They still had to deal with what was going on and how they were going to get their own way.

“Here’s what is going to happen,” Do’Lânqwa started. “I’ve come for my wife and infant, that’s all. That’s why we’re here. We’re going to leave this house safely and then we’ll leave this planet. I can then guarantee that we will never come back,” he promised.

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“Nope, it’s too late for that,” Ha’Tiviab insisted, and quicker than anyone could do anything, the suited official drew a weapon from his holster and shot Va’Malïag square between the eyes.

Do’Lânqwa cried out but was unable to stop the bullet. He activated his suit and lunged at his wife’s killer. The suit was fully activated by the time Ha’Tiviab tried getting another shot off.

The sound of two gunshots alerted the police outside to the plan gone wrong. They weren’t expecting to hear gunshots, maybe their boss was being attacked by the alien traitor. They started opening fire on the house.

In response, Mindy and Holt flew out of the windows, the glass shattering out. Stephanie transformed, her jaws opening wide beyond the point of human possibility and turning herself inside out, revealing the ten foot tentacled beast she suppresses inside. She crashed through the wall of the house towards the shooting police. Whilst this was happening, Terri changed her physical state into that of rock and charged upstairs to look for Do’Lânqwa’s child.

Mindy and Holt were acrobatically flying around, dodging shots and firing back their own beams in retaliation. Stephanie was lashing and grabbing at multiple enemies at a time with her tentacles, launching them in the air or against each other.

Back inside the house, Do’Lânqwa was fighting with Ha’Tiviab and was making light work of pummelling him into unconsciousness. Terri came running down the stairs with a crying Wo’Trendsont.

“Do’Lânqwa, stop! Your wife!” Do’Lânqwa laid one final punch and clambered off a purple and bloodied Ha’Tiviab.

He softly approached his wife, slumped on the floor, drenched in blood.

She was gone. Do’Lânqwa bowed his head, whispering a chant in another language. He had finally managed to fulfil his promise of returning to her. But within moments he had the heartbreak of her having moved on with another man to deal with, and then the grief of losing her altogether. Mindy came into land in the room through the window.

“I’m really sorry Do’Lânqwa, but we have to go now,” she found it hard to find the balance between respecting his sudden loss but also delivering the message that they needed to go.

“Are Tank and Blane ok?” Terri asked Mindy.

“They’re getting anxious. Smaller ships are descending from the larger one. They don’t think we have long.” Holt and a now human Stephanie ran into the house.

“That’s them dealt with for now, but there’ll be others,” Holt warned, anxiously looking back.

An almighty loud rumbling and booming sound erupted, shaking the house and the ground. It was the battle ships entering Earthgrë’s atmosphere.

“Shall we engage?” Blane asked through the communicator.

“Definitely not, Blane! Just prepare the jets,” responded Terri sternly, before turning to Do’Lânqwa. “Are you ready?” she urged softly. Holt helped him up on his feet.

The rumbling eased but explosions could still be heard in the distance as the first lot of bombardments were being fired.

“We’re on our way now back to the jets,” Do’Lânqwa advised, finally recognising the gravity of the situation. He nodded at his friends in the house and led the way out.

The ground was shaking, from the sonic sound waves created by the arriving ships and also from the pounding the ground was taking from missiles landing nearby. The attack didn’t have the airs of being targeted in anyway. It was more of a casual, random spreading that suggested the attacking forces were hell bent on causing as much destruction as they could. Thousands, if not millions would die.

Blane didn’t know how many people lived on this planet, but people all over were going to perish. He hoped he wasn’t going to be one of them.

He watched as the sky had filled with ships and missiles raining down. It looked like a reverse firework display that he had seen on Earthuu a few times. He was glad he was told not to engage. Tank was up for it but they were outnumbered and outgunned. It would have been suicide, and he didn’t want to die somewhere so alien.

So far, they hadn’t been seen and the others were on their way back. Hopefully they would be able to sneak past and back to Earthuu undetected. Blane recognised some of the attacking ships as military from his planet of Earthtun and then some Peacekeeping jets joined the affray, shooting at the warring factions.

A rustling from the bushes behind Blane alerted them to the return of Do’Lânqwa, Holt, Mindy, Terri with an infant and Stephanie. But where was his wife?

“Quick, come on!” Tank shouted, running to the side of Do’Lânqwa’s jet.

“Where’s Do’Lânqwa’s wife?” Blane whispered to Mindy. She shared a look which said it all, and he asked no more. There was a tense mix of fear, sorrow and urgency between the group.

“How are we going to get through all of that?” Terri asked, taking a look at the skies above them.

“I’m thinking we keep low and travel around the planet before we find altitude and leave. There’s no point going straight up and against all of that,” Holt suggested.

“Let’s go then,” said Do’Lânqwa without emotion, getting into his craft.

Holt allowed Terri and Mindy in first, making sure the door was closed behind them. Leaning into Terri, he gave her an urgent look. “Terri, can we take a moment to talk about the pretty Italian one?”

She laughed out loud, “we can later, but let’s get out of this warzone first.”

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Our story continues in another extended, special episode for Sediment Terri #3,

‘The Battle for London’. The Collective and their G7 colleagues work together as an emergency situation befalls London where the newest members of The Enhanced Beings Collective finally get to show off what they can do.