“This is awesome,” Varn whispered to me through his helmet’s mic.
“You’re not kidding.” I was caught up in the adventure. A few months ago, I’d been hauling supplies across the mines, working for Oasis in a dead-end job. Despite the fact that angry aliens were coming to invade Earth, I was living the dream now, flying in a faster-than-light Racer to meet a race of aliens. It was the stuff fantasies were made of.
We had no clue what we were walking into, but the second we entered the ice city, my jaw dropped. Gone were the cold blocks of frozen earth. This was a warm and inviting space.
Ten other Darlor were inside the next room, each holding alien weapons. One word from Trid, and they lowered them. He sent a couple past us to gather our firearms, and they disposed of them.
“Welcome to Quix,” Trid told us.
“Why do you have this place? What about Refuge?” Jade asked him.
“Refuge was never intended to be a home. Years passed and our population expanded.”
“How long has Refuge been inhabited?” I was very curious about this sanctuary planet that was about to be assaulted by our common adversary.
“Over two thousand years,” Trid said, and I stifled a cough.
“That’s a long time. What’s the population?” Jade circled the room, knocking on the metallic walls with her gloved knuckles.
“There are forty million on Refuge.” Trid started walking once again, and we joined him in a corridor. It led to a wide platform, and when all seven of us were on it, Trid waved his hand, powering a projection. His fingers darted over the air, using the holographic controls, and we began our ascent.
I made eye contact with Jade, who seemed to share my enthusiasm.
Jinx stayed close to Aster, clearly choosing the toughest member of his crew to protect him if the need arose. I could almost hear the thoughts churning in his mind. He’d always believed in alien life, and now he was face to face with a distant being on an ice planet.
Trid exited the platform, and we entered a warehouse-sized space. Ships like the ones that had guided us here sat in neat rows along the far wall, and machines worked on an assembly line across from them.
“We don’t have a lot of time,” Trid told us. “We must help Refuge. Will you join us?”
I pictured the five giant Squids, and gulped air. “We’ll do what we can.”
Varn cleared his throat but didn’t argue with my promise.
Trid stood blocking a door, and apparently, my answer was enough for him. “Good. Welcome to the Command Post.”
We left the warehouse and walked into a scene from a dream. Dozens of Darlor were inside, huddled over individual consoles.
“What are those?” Varn asked me, trying to casually point at the duo near a giant screen. The people were blue-skinned, with long manes of hair, and horns running along their skulls, straight down to their spines.
I saw the Squids on screen, and everyone whispered in hushed rumbles. When they spotted us, they stopped what they were doing.
Trid spoke in his native tongue, rushing out a series of words. He switched to English shortly after. “We have to leave soon. The evacuation began three days ago, when we first noticed the Velibar presence.” Trid brought up another holographic control panel with his fingers, playing a video for us on the monitor. Huge ships rose from the surface of Refuge, and their blazing thrusters flashed red before the vessels departed.
“How many have escaped?” Aster asked him.
“Ninety percent.” Trid showed us another image displaying two of the large transport vessels on the surface, landed in lush fields of golden crops. The wind blew the wheat-like vegetation, creating a wave in the fields. “These had malfunctions, and we fear they will not be able to leave in time. We must distract the Velibar. Their Barges will be problematic.”
“Barges. Is that what you named them?” I asked.
“Yes. Barges.”
“We call them Squids.”
Trid closed his eyes and nodded after a second. “I now understand the reference from your learning packet. Yes, that would be an astute comparison.”
“So the plan is to distract the Velibar at Refuge while the rest of your population vacates?” I watched as people boarded the ships. They looked like ants from the camera angle, rushing through the crops to their eventual escape.
“What can you tell us about the Velibar?” Luther asked.
Trid escorted us to a table at the back of the room. The others watched with curiosity but continued working at their own desks. “The Velibar are the reason we built Refuge. They destroyed the Darlor world ages ago. The Hidans’ story is similar to ours. They came to Refuge after contacting us, much like you did. They only brought five hundred with them. The rest are dead.”
One of the Hidan approached us, and she met my gaze. “I am Zonrial.”
“You have the modification as well?” I asked her.
“Yes. The Stin strongly recommend the process. Perhaps you will do the same one day.” Her eyes were golden, and other than the thick dark mane of hair and the series of horns on her head, she could be mistaken for human. She unzipped her uniform and flapped open the collar. A small scar sat near her clavicle.
“Sign me up,” Jinx said with a grin.
“We will have plenty of time for that later,” Trid said. “For now, we have an imperative mission.”
“What happens if we fend off the Squids?” Luther puffed his cheeks out.
“They will return with more. The Velibar do not give up. They always win.” Trid and his people didn’t seem like cowards, but the idea that they’d turned and hightailed it at the first sniff of the Velibar worried me. Earth was attempting to set up a defense, and these guys had been here for thousands of years, hiding instead of fighting.
“Are you going to help us on Earth?” I asked, fearing the answer.
“Earth is hopeless.” Trid averted his gaze to the
