Falling from the Sky Pt. 01

Shit, my landing gears fucked up. Damn it. It's going to be a hard landing. I better land near some water and I'll have to pick somewhere dark.

I descend into the atmosphere. Fuck, I need to slow it down. I'll have to find somewhere near the coast. Shit, I might not have much of a choice, my stabilizers are all shot. Fuck, I'm coming in hot! I brace for impact...

--

Uuuuhh... Fuck, my head... I open my eyes to find I'm not near my ship. Where am I? The room looks... kind of archaic. Wooden flooring. Not a lot of tech.

I can sense the thoughts of a living lifeform. I'm not alone. The lights come flicker on and I reach for my blaster, but it's gone as a sentient girl walks in. She says something in her native tongue.

She lets out a whimper, dropping to her knees as I invade her mind.

Kaleigh's Perspective

"What the hell did you do to me?" I ask. It felt like something was pressing against my head and was rummaging around in my mind.

"Relax, I just learned your language from your thoughts," she says. I can't stop staring at her pitch-black skin. It's like looking into the night sky without any stars and yet her hair is as white as snow. But other than that, she actually looks almost human. I mean, it's hard to tell with her armor on, which is just as black as her skin. She looks as if she's got a typical female form. But her eyes... White irises surrounded by a black abyss.

"You can read my mind?" I ask. She nods. "That's... That's totally not okay. I feel like you just violated me."

"Consider yourself lucky... Human. You're weak-minded and if any other of my race was in my place, you'd be quickly enslaved. Where I come from, weak minds are slaves to the strong-minded," she says.

"That's awful," I say. A thought makes my heart beat a little faster. "You're not here to enslave us, are you?"

"No. I think slavery is an abomination. And don't worry, I won't go into your thoughts without permission. I'm not like others from my planet," She says.

"God, this is so surreal. An actual alien just crashed landed outside my house. No one's going to believe me."

"You will not tell anyone about this. Understand?" she asks.

"Oh. Fuck, you're right. If word gets out about this, the government will be knocking on my door for sure," I say. "So, I just want to make this clear, you're not here to like... take over our planet are you?"

"No... I was hunting down a traitor who deserted from our military. I've been all over the galaxy searching for them and I have reason to believe she came here. Of course, now I have a bigger problem. My ship was damaged after I got ambushed by a ship from the Crimson Sun Empire. I barely managed to escape," she says.

"How dangerous is this criminal?" I ask.

"Quite dangerous. She's a traitor who doesn't care who gets hurt. She must be brought to justice. But, that'll have to wait. I need to get my ship repaired. Of course, that's if I can even find the parts I'll need," she says.

"Well... you're welcome to stay here as long as you need, but you might want to stay hidden because you don't exactly blend in," I say.

"Oh right. I can change that."

My jaw drops as her skin changes color into a nice caramel olive tone. Her eyes change into a normal pair of brown eyes and her turns brunette. What the fuck... What else can she do? "So you can change how you look and you have telepathy, what else can you do?"

"And why would I share something so vital like that with you? You could easily use that information against me," she says.

"You don't have to share at all. I was just curious that's all. And as long as you're not here to kill us or enslave us, we don't have to be enemies. Not that I could actually put up a fight against you. I just want to make it clear that I'm not a threat, whatsoever," I say.

"I gathered that from your thoughts," she says.

"I thought you said you weren't going to read my mind without permission?" I ask.

"I did that before anything else to make sure you weren't hostile. If you were, I would've eliminated you," she says.

"Ooooh..."

"Relax. I won't harm you unless you make any move against me. For now, you're all I have. I would request your aid while I stay here. As I said, I won't read your thoughts, which means I'll need information about how your society works if I'm going to blend in and find Vexx along with repairing my ship," she says.

"I'm all yours," I spit out before I can stop myself. Shit! I should just put my foot in my mouth. Why do I get all locked up around beautiful women? She's not even human and she has me tripping on my words. "I mean, I'm here to help."

She smirks. "That is very kind of you. I will need a place to hide my ship."

"How are you going to get it out of the water?" I ask.

"I suppose since you're kind enough to allow me to stay here, I must trust you. I can not only read people's thoughts, but I can move things with my mind," she says as she walks over to the screen door to the patio. The door opens without even being touched. She walks out and I follow her down to the beach. She reaches out into the dark gulf coast. Suddenly her ship emerges from the water. I look around, but I don't see anyone. It's pretty dark anyway. "Now where can I hide this?"

"You can put it in my garage if it'll fit," I say. "Let me move my car."

I rush around the house and into the garage. I move my car out as she brings her ship around and hovers it into the garage. It barely fits. I quickly close the door. Shit, it's 4 in the morning. I've been up all night.

--

I wasn't able to get any sleep by the time I have to head into work. I head in looking like the night of the living dead. I grab a double espresso before arriving. Should I tell Teagan or Sasha? Like what the hell do I even say to them? An alien just crashed landed on the beach behind my house? That doesn't sound believable at all. I sound like a crazy person. This would be crazy if it wasn't real. I should just keep this to myself for now. Besides, she did kind of threaten me...

Sasha's there, but Teagan still hasn't arrived. We go over today's plan. Shit, I forgot that Ashanti will be here. "So... How's Emma doing?" I ask.

"She's great. You and Teagan should come over this weekend. Jeremiah was thinking about grilling since the weather is supposed to be nice," she says.

"Aww, I would like to but I already made plans. I'm sorry. Maybe next weekend?" I lie... I can't do anything until I get the problem at my house situated.

"Sure thing," she says.

Eventually, Teagan comes in along with her cousin. "Hey, Ashanti! It's so nice to see you again," I say as we hug.

"Aww thanks, you too! I'm so looking forward to being on your girls' show. I enjoy listening to it while I'm driving."

"Well, we enjoy listening to your music," I smile.

"For sure," Teagan says. "So, should we get the show started?"

"Might as well. No point in talking while we're not recording, right?" she smiles.

"Absolutely," I say.

We all get seated in our recording room and get started. "Good morning everyone, It's Kaleigh and Teagan plus Sasha here with music producer Ashanit Montclaire who just so happens to be Teagan's cousin."

"Hey, everyone," she says.

"I'm sure there isn't a person out there who hasn't listened to Emerson or The Blades so they have all heard your music. Tell us, how did you get started?" I ask.

"Well, I was actually going to college with both Emerson and the members of the Blades at the time. I was actually roommates with the Blades during my freshman year. We had this huge 8 person dorm room, it was actually kind of cozy."

"8 people in one dorm? That's too much. Count me out," Teagan says.

"Well, it's not what you think. It's more like we had 4 rooms with two beds in each. So it wasn't all that crammed. We had 2 bathrooms with showers in both. In that aspect, it was rather crowded."

"So for those who don't know, The Blades is a rather large band. There's 7 of you in it, right?" I ask.

"That's correct. I did all the producing, but we all could play multiple instruments. Charlie mostly did the piano. Kira mostly sang, but every now and then Charlie, Valentina, or Nora would sing. Hayden did the drums all of the time. Sun would play the violin and could play guitar along with several other instruments. Nora, Kira, and Valentina could play guitar. Kira could also play the piano. Nora could also do the cello and the trumpet. So we had a lot of coordinating to do. But we were all roommates and we all loved music so it was a natural fit," she explains.

"Now how does Emerson fit into all this?" I ask.

"Well, he also went to Gennecho. See, this was back when the Music Academy of Gennecho just opened. I think the actual university was opened for 2 or 3 years before that. At least the tech part of it. So we were all the first students. Emerson was learning how to produce, so we were in the same class, but he was a rapper. He only wanted to produce so he could make his own music without relying on anyone else."

"Okay, so it was a natural fit as well?" I ask.

"Yeah, basically," she says.

"Now, you two are dating, right?" Teagan asks.

"Of course, you know that," she says.

"I know, I'm just clarifying for our audience," Teagan says.

"Right..." she says.

"Now, what can you tell us about the story between Kira and Charlie. Wasn't your first song written by Charlie, but it was a love song towards Kira?" I ask.

"Yeah, it's a funny story. No one knew this, but at the time Charlie had a major crush on Kira. Kira was totally oblivious. You see, Valentina and Hayden were already dating at the time and I'm pretty sure they figured something was going on with Charlie after they heard the song. Charlie had written it our first semester there and Kira was the first one to read it. She loved it and convinced us all to perform it. I helped produce the music for it so it included everyone and we posted it online and it just blew up."

"That's fascinating," I say.

"Yeah, the sad part was no one besides maybe Val and Hayden really ever suspected it was Charlie expressing the way she felt about Kira. She didn't even want the song produced. But we all just ran with it. Of course, Kira had no clue. They were sharing a room too, which really complicated things."

"So how did Kira find out?" I ask.

"Well, after we blew up, we did a few performances around the town and on campus. We also did a few cover songs, but people just loved the song. It had over a million sales. However, Charlie kind of became depressed. Kira was getting all sorts of attention and everyone thought the song was written by her. Don't get me wrong, she tried to tell people otherwise, but Kira was the one who sang it because Charlie wouldn't. She had major stage fright."

"That's hard to believe. She looks so natural up there."

"She got over it eventually. Anyway, one day we were practicing and Charlie was talking to Kira and she just broke down. She told Kira the truth, that she was the person who the song was about. Then she walked out."

"Wow. That's crazy!" Teagan says.

"Yeah, we kind of just took a break I guess. Both Charlie and Kira were rather heartbroken. I guess Kira did some soul searching and then wrote her own song. And that's how White Flag came into being. She gathered all of us up without Charlie and we made the song without her ever knowing. Then I convinced Charlie to come back while the stage was set with Kira and the rest of the band. I brought Charlie in and Kira played her heart out. I don't think there was a dry eye after everything was a song out."

"That's such a heartwarming story," I say. "Like, god, it just melts my heart."

"Yeah, it was a touching moment and I think it was one of the things that really put us on the spot."

"Yeah, people really obsess over a good love story," I say.

"So, how is Estella and Jaivon?" Teagan asks.

"They're great. Jaivon is currently playing in the NFL. Estela is still working at the DA's office. She loves her job and her boss. Although to be fair, her boss is kind of a badass," she says. "Shit, can I swear on here?"

I laugh. "Yeah, it's fine. So tell me more about her boss."

"Well, her boss is Rebecca Bell, the District Attorney for New York. I've only actually spoken to her boss on a few occasions, but ever since she's been in the position, the DA's office has had a record number of close cases. She's a total tiger."

--

Edit Here

Xarla's Perspective

I've set up a perimeter, placing surveillance all around to capture what my mind misses. I've taken the human girl's house as a base of operation. Wherever you are Vexx, I will find you. Traitor. No one escapes justice.

I still haven't decided what to do about this human girl. She may not have malicious intent, but that still doesn't mean she doesn't pose a threat. What if she lets slip that I am here? What if word gets out to Vexx that I am hunting her? Or what if this world's government learns of my presence?

I also have to consider the Crimson Sun... What if the bounty hunter is still on my trail. He could be on his way here. There are too many variables at play. I must tread lightly. It's pivotal that I cover my tracks. I'm sure their government has some kind of surveillance system. Although, this civilization looks to be pretty primitive. They don't seem to even have space travel developed. They haven't even colonized outside of this planet. Although, I'd be stupid to underestimate them.

I must find out more information on this planet and its people. I head into her garage and assess the damage to my ship. They not only took out my stabilizer, but I took on extensive damage when I crash-landed. I don't remember much because I blacked out. If it weren't for that human girl, I might have drowned in the water. She saved my life. Still, that doesn't change my circumstance. As the saying goes, friends today, enemies tomorrow. I can't afford to let my guard down.

Now, as to the matter of my ship. There must be somewhere on this backwater planet that has parts I can use to fix it. I have to try to take Vexx alive. I owe her that much. She deserves a fair trial. Although, when having trials ever been fair?

I head back inside. I have my computer system set up in her main room. I analyze the data I've collected so far on this planet. It's a vast planet with a large population of humans. If I were Vexx, where would I hide on this planet?

It's obvious, she'd blend in and live among them. She could be any one of them. Hiding in plain sight. This will be tricky. I must figure out a way to draw her out. For all I know, she could be on the other side of the planet. This will be very tricky indeed.

The human has returned. She's alone. I must admit, for being a primitive species, they're not bad on the eyes. There's a beauty in their simpleness. The way she has her brunette hair tied up like a tail of a carthax and that light skin color is quite exotic. Those blue eyes that look like the water outside draw me in. She seems so delicate and fragile. I could break her with a mere thought. And yet, there's a beauty in it. As she walks through the door, her jaw drops.

"What the hell?" she asks.

"Is there something wrong?" I ask.

"You've turned my living room into a... a... CSI lab or something. What's with all the computers?" she asks.

"If I am to catch the traitor, I must have a base of operations," I inform her.

"But still? You can't just take over my house like this. We need boundaries and rules," she says. "What if one of my friends were to walk in? Or my family?" she asks.

"You make a good point. That could potentially complicate things. However, in order to complete my mission and get off this rock, I'll need a place I can work in."

"Can't you use the garage? Surely there is enough room in there. Also, you can have the guest room. Follow me."

She leads me up the stairs to a spare room. "There isn't much room here. How can I fit all of my equipment in here?"

"This is just for you to sleep in. You can set your equipment in the garage," I say.

"Fair enough," I say.

"A thank you would be nice," she says. "A little kindness goes a long way. Maybe you should rest a little too."

"You're right, I'm sorry. This is your house and I'm a guest. It's just... The traitor is out there, and like me, she can change the way she looks and blend in. She could be any one of you. I should be able to track her once I get set up."

"Look, I understand. I'm just saying, you should relax. You're way too strung out. Just take some time to have some fun, chill out and you'll find that you're in a better place mentally to tackle your problems," she says.

"Is that what all humans do?" I ask.

"Not really. It's what the chill people do, like me," she smiles. "Now, we really need to clean up the mess before Teagan comes to get her stuff."

"Very well," I say.

I follow her downstairs and with a mere thought, my equipment hovers through the air and into their proper cases. Then I lift it all up into the air with my mind and carry it out into the garage where my spacecraft is being stored.

Kaleigh's Perspective

She managed to get all that crap cleaned up just in time. I just got a text from Teagan saying she's on her way over. "Quick, Xarla, we've got to change your outfit. You can borrow some of my clothes. My friend's coming over to get some of her stuff."

I grab her arm and drag her up to my room. I hand her a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. "Also, we need to come up with a story to tell her and you need a different name. Okay? How about Carla?"

"Fine..." she sighs as she takes the clothes and starts to change in them. I quickly turn around, but not without taking a peek. Wow... She's absolutely ripped. Like, not in a bulky way, but in an athletic way. I shouldn't creep.

"Now, she'll be surprised to see that I have a new roommate so fast, so we need some reason why unless you want to tell her the truth. She can be trusted."

"No!" she says. "The fewer people who know the truth, the easier it'll be for me."

"Okay... Fine. I just, I really hate lying to my best friend," I say.

"If she ever finds out, tell you had no choice," she says.

"Sure, I guess. Now, what are we going to tell people how we met? That'll be tough, she knows me so well. Maybe... How about you were a penpal from a different country and you needed a place to stay until you get your feet on the ground," I suggest.

"That makes no sense. My feet are already on the ground," she says.

"It's a figure of speech," I laugh.

"Will it work?" she asks.

"Possibly. She'll definitely be suspicious," I say.

"Well, do what it takes to keep her from finding out or I'll have to take matters into my own hands," she says.

"Hey, don't be mean. I'm helping you out of the kindness of my heart, you can't go making threats. Teagan is a good person. She can be trusted."

She sighs... "You're right, I'm sorry. It's just if I don't deliver Vexx to my homeworld in a certain amount of time, I'll be marked as a traitor as well. I'm already on thin Ice with General Tazo, I can't afford any more complications."

"Is it really that bad?" I ask.

"Anything short of absolute obedience will be punished," she says.

"That sounds horrible. I can see why this Vexx deserted," I say. "Why are you so loyal to them?"

"You know nothing of my people. I am not loyal to the General, I'm loyal to his son. The General may be cruel, but his son is an honorable man. I put my faith and trust in him," she says.

"Sounds like you're in love with him," I say.

'No, not in any kind of romantic way. He's like a brother to me. I owe him my life," she says. "Your friend has arrived."

Not long after, I hear Teagan walk through the door. "Kal?"