“You really wear this?” Vadir asked scratching under the sleeves of the green tunic, Doctor Underwood had requisitioned some spare uniform for the alien to wear. As Vadir’s flight suit was in such a sorry state she thought it would be prudent to give Vadir at least something decent to wear. Though he wondered how he would look to the humans dressed in their clothing.

“It’s standard issue for most serving men. Don’t tell me the Kaskari don’t have dress codes?”

“We do, but it’s not so basic.”

“Oh really? Impress me, spaceman.”

The phrase spaceman took him aback for a second. It sounded strange to his ear. Even though he now understood human speech. The way she described him sounded weird. It wasn’t exactly wrong but in all his life he had also seen himself as from Ascendaris even if he had never set foot on the world. Being called a space man reminded him he was the human equivalent of a nomad. A wanderer without a home. Would Earth be enough to fill that void?

“Vadir?” Doctor Underwood asked snapping her fingers. “I asked you about Kaskari dress codes. Do you lot do this often? Just drift.”

Vadir bristled and rubbed the back of his grey neck. “No, it’s a new experience for me. As for gear, other than the suit, we have how you say proper combat gear with in-built shielding too. I noticed you don’t seem to have that.”

“We’re still learning the ropes. We’ll get there.”

“Anyone other race said that and I’d be doubtful, but you humans. Once you stop shooting each other. Who knows what you might achieve up there.”

“Shooting each other is something of a hobby of ours. Don’t tell me the Kaskari never had civil wars up there.”

Vadir leaned forward. “I won’t lie, I’ve been told things got heated in the past. It’s half the reason we’re even here. Trying to start again. It could be going worse though,” Vadir’s thoughts drifted back to his main ship. “She can’t be allowed to remain like that. Won’t be long until those things you call Deterrent start spilling out.”

The flaps of the tent being disturbed got both of their attention. As expected, the Welcome Wagon’s two medics entered. One was small and scruffy looking while the other looked more well-kept and wore glasses. They both raised eyebrows at the sight of the alien wearing human clothes. Vadir imagined this wouldn’t be the last time that happened.

“Reports are saying he can speak English?” asked the man wearing glasses.

Kate Underwood gestured to Vadir as he remained sat in his wooden chair. “As fluently as any native. He picked up the language remarkably well. Either his native tongue is like ours, or his brain is wired in ways we can’t ever hope to match. At least not yet,” Kate said managing a small smile to both men. “Vadir, this is Master Sergeant Gregory and Corporal Munroe. They are Welcome Wagon’s squad medics.”

Neither seemed all that eager to get any closer. Vadir didn’t need a trace to tell both men were just a tad afraid of him. They are wise to doubt me, but I need to dispel that fast. If we’re to survive what comes next, we need to be on the same page. He rose to be at full height and realised he cleared them both. And as naturally as he could, he held out a hand for a handshake. Apparently, it was a show of mutual respect between two people. He hoped this would be the first of many actions to undo the rocky start between humanity and the Kaskari.

The smaller man, Gregory stepped forward first and took the handshake. It was a stronger grip than Vadir expected and he had to resist turning on his trace. He didn’t one to scare them just yet.

“Impressive, Vadir you didn’t show off that power of yours,” Kate said folding her arms.

Gregory cocked his head at her. “What kind of power are we talking about here?”

“I can show you if you like.”

“Do it.”

Vadir engaged the trace and unlike the thoughts of Kate. Gregory’s had a violent tinge to them. He was a man shaped by war and all that came with it. The first memories showed a troubled youth that the army would later mould into something useful. In return, Gregory was shown the vastness of space and life in an environment he could only hope to experience one day. He let go of Vadir’s hand and stepped back.

“What else can you do?”

“I may be able to form weapons from compacted light, but I’m no soldier. My training only really involves tracing. It’s useful when you have a big ship and lots of moving parts that easily break.”

“I bet,” Gregory said stepping back.

“Enough of whatever this is, we have some questions for you, Vadir. Are you prepared to answer?”

Vadir sank back down to his chair and looked at the other man, Munroe. Sharper features in general. He wondered what type of man he would see if he traced him. And would he even want to? “Go ahead, I’ll answer to the best of my ability.”

“The big ship, does it have a fancy name?”

“The closest word in your language would be Dauntless. Vadt Wer Undu. The Dauntless Spirit.”

“And that ship you came down in, why were you the only occupant?”

Stolen novel; please report.

“As you can probably tell, and Sergeant Gregory and Doctor Underwood can verify if you doubt it. I’m not a soldier. Not like you at least. I was never meant to leave that ship. My job was to keep her running. I got her here, I guess if that counts for anything.”

“He’s not lying there, Sergeant. I think he could help us better understand the vessel he came from,” said Gregory.

“Anything that’s Kaskari and you need help with, I’ll do what I can. I owe you that much. Even if you shot me down.”

“A lot of shit is happening right now, and with Lazarus being here nor there, we can’t take any chances,” Munroe said.

“I know. Things started well enough but that didn’t last long.”

It was Munroe's turn to stand before the grey alien. “I know you probably don’t have all the answers but what happened from your perspective? After contact was made with the Moon.”

Vadir looked at his bruised hand. “I can show you. It’s recent enough that the vision should be clear.”

Munroe held out his hand. “Do it.”

Vadir grabbed the man’s calloused hand and traced, his red eyes turned orange and he took the soldier back within his own memory, to the moments after his ship made contact with those on the Moon.

#

The corridor’s illumination now being a deep red indicated the Dauntless Spirit and her crew had encountered a dire threat. Vadir had caught sight of the domes on the lunar surface as he did his maintenance duty. Had those who built those structures perceived a threat? It seemed the most likely. Now the ship maintained a steady orbit above the surface, casting a long shadow below. Beyond the moon itself sat a prize, the Kaskari had spent centuries hunting for. A world that was habitable and would give them the chance to begin again. The only issue was, the planet was occupied by a lesser race. A race that had settled on the moon and now it was reacting to an invasion. A soldier entered the narrow corridor and stopped before Vadir.

“You know what the red light means, Engineer Kor.”

“I know, I know. All non-combatants head to their allocated barracks. I just needed to finish this work first.”

“And have you?”

“Yes.”

“Then go already,” the soldier said grabbing Vadir by the arm.

“These aliens, are they fighting us?”

The soldier stopped ahead of Vadir and looked across the expanse, past the lunar surface to the jewel in the darkness. “It’s much worse, Kor. Remember those stories about the Primor.”

“All the time, my parents couldn’t stop telling me about them at bedtime. I just assumed they were just that, stories.”

The man shook his head. “First contact came across folk that matched the description. But these ones are different. They are faster, stronger and smarter too. High Command made an executive decision to purge the lunar surface.”

“And the planet?”

The man shrugged. “We don’t know, we’re still trying to decipher the language.”

“It can’t be that hard, surely,” Vadir said joining the man as they walked the length of the corridor and entered the ship’s next section.

“It is when you have more than one language to deal with. I need to get going. If I’m any longer, they’ll be questions.”

“Ke’el.”

“Yeah?”

“Stay safe.”

“You too, and Kor, don’t leave your barracks until the alert is lifted.”

Vadir held up his hands, “I promise, not like there’s anywhere for me to go anyway.”

The soldier was soon gone, hurrying off up the corridor, his heavy boots reverberated around them as Vadir took the right corridor that would take him to his barracks. The only reason he would have to leave those confines is if the ship was damaged and they needed a small team to do repairs. Or worse if an evacuation was called. For now, he was better off not getting in anyone’s way.

The trip took him passed one of the ship’s Rapid Deployment Modules. Mostly used by the Kaskari in times of war to quickly begin any ground-based assault. What caught him off guard with this one was that it had been launched and had since come back. While possible, it still put him on edge. He used the interactive panel nearby to run a diagnostic scan of the module. There were no problems with the craft, it even showed that the last launch had fit around ten Kaskari drop-soldiers. Now the module flagged to him that only one person occupied the craft. From his current position, the airlock was well-lit but the module looked pitch-black. He engaged the comm unit.

“I detected someone on board. Do you need medical assistance?” he paused and for a second realised that if it wasn’t a Kaskari, this solitary life sign could either be Primor or the race the Kaskari were struggling to make formal contact with.

Through a hiss of static, he got a response. “Help me – two sides fighting a war down there. Their interested in why we’re here. Just another threat.”

“You docked safely, the airlock should cycle you in.”

“Can you do it for me?”

Vadir stepped back and took a breath. The only reason the module remained sealed could be due to contamination or the alert itself. He cursed to himself not being versed on the ship’s combat protocols. “I’m running the cycle now, you should be able to enter the airlock in a second.”

Once the module confirmed it was secure, the door opened and out stumbled a bloody-looking Kaskari. They fell into the wall and could barely hold themselves up.

“What kind of weaponry does this?”

“I don’t know, it punched through our shield units like it was nothing,” wheezed the Kaskari soldier.

The final part of the cycle ended and the last door opened, allowing the soldier to more or less throw himself at Vadir. Who caught him well enough? Vadir put one bloodied arm around his neck and tried reaching the medical sector through his own internal suit comm. “This is engineer Kor, I have a soldier who needs medical assistance.”

“I’ve got your location, a medbot and team will be with you soon.”

“So you’re the guy keeping this place intact.”

“I try my best. How about you, enjoy meeting new life?”

The man choked a laugh. “I can’t blame them for shooting first. I’d probably do the same.”

Sooner than later, the team arrived and the soldier was being escorted away while the Medbot listed off his various ailments. Just as Vadir was preparing to resume his trek to the barracks, a sudden scream pierced his ear and he found himself drawn to the sound. Poking his head around the corner, he found the soldier, bent over one of the medical officers, their body being torn to pieces. He fell back in horror and put a hand over his mouth to stifle any noise. I think I just doomed us all.

#

Munroe took a step back and flexed his hand a few times. “You do that often?”

“No,” Vadir said. “Most of what I did was fix small issues with the ship. Nothing special.”

Munroe to his surprise put a sympathetic hand on Vadir’s shoulder. “You couldn’t have known, a Morte had infected that soldier.”

“I should have known something was up when the airlock didn’t cycle. I just override the lock on impulse. Just trying to help someone.”

“You and how many others? Those Rapid Deployment Modules? I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“I don’t know exactly how it works but the name speaks for itself. When my people want to establish ground control. The modules punch a hole through aerial defences. It’s quite effective. Not that they ever got used until now.”

“Makes sense, Gregory. We should get this guy to show us around the ship he crashed in.”

“Are you sure?”

The man looked over to the Master Sergeant. “I mean who better to show us how this stuff works, than a guy whose job is to maintain this stuff.”

Vadir rose to his full height and folded his arm. “After all that’s happened so far. It’s the least I can do for you.”