The Star Man
Part 2

    Please let me take a moment to remind you that all characters, etc. are © Chezza Goacher. Can I also remind you not to redistribute this without my permission, and not to copy or alter it full stop? Thank you.

    It didn’t take very long for news of the more recent deaths to reach Jason. When the policemen failed to return from their assignment, several more were sent to the landing site, where they discovered the corpses.
    The bodies had been sent to the nearest forensic laboratory for investigation, while top scientists studied the wrecked spacecraft that was lying there, hoping that they would be able to find clues about its origin. Many curious individuals that passed the scene tried to get a closer look, only to find themselves forced back by members of the armed forces that were sent to guard the site. Of course, that didn’t stop a few eager journalists from trying to sneak in order to take a few photos of the ship.
    Those lucky few who did manage to get in a few decent snapshots of the site wasted no time in reporting to their respective newspapers, bringing with them news of a possible alien invasion. The printed results ended up being sold across the country for all to see in no time. Many simply scoffed at the idea of alien life coming into contact with Earth, or even existing in the first place, believing the ship to be nothing more than a hoax. Of course, the part about the dead bodies caused people in the general area to worry about whether or not there was some kind of dangerous beast or mass murderer around.
    Being bed bound, Jason had no clue that his wrecked ship had been discovered, or that the lizards had begun killing already, until he overheard some of the staff at the hospital discussing the articles they had read. The nurse bringing him his breakfast tried to hide her concern about the story, but Jason knew that she was a little worried.
    “What was that you were all talking about?” he asked genially.
    “Oh, just something silly that Doctor Butcher,” – Jason wondered if all the doctors here were oh-so-conviently named like a band of torturers – “was reading about on the way here.” The nurse allowed herself a nervous smile.
    “I heard the word ‘aliens’,” said Jason, “and ‘invading’. That doesn’t sound very silly to me.” He hoped that his own, more genuine and friendly smile would relax the nurse a bit. Unfortunately, it didn’t.
    “Most of us don’t believe in aliens or anything like that,” she said, glancing around as though looking for a good excuse to not to have to stand here discussing this subject.
    It hurt Jason a touch that he appeared to be distressing this otherwise wonderful nurse, but he still needed to know about what she had heard. “You don’t believe in aliens,” he repeated her words, “and yet you still sound worried about it.”
    “Well, there was a bit more to it than that,” the brunette bit her lip, and spoke in a whisper, possibly so that no other patients would overhear her words, “There was a crashed spaceship found in the middle of this field. I don’t know where exactly, but anyway, some people are saying that it came from outer space.”
    “But you don’t believe in that sort of thing…”
    “At first, I thought that it was probably just some prank that some geniuses decided to pull off, but it turns out that there were some bodies found nearby.” Jason listened intently as she continued, “No one’s been able to get a good look at them other than policemen and scientists and all those sorts of people, but some people are saying that aliens came out of the ship and killed them or something.”
    “How were they killed?”
    “How should I know? Look, Mr. Supernova, if you don’t mind, I have other patients to tend to,” the nurse added in a more normal volume.
    As she was about to leave, Jason asked her one more question, “Would you mind fetching me a copy of the newspaper or whatever it was that your friend read about all this from? Please?” he added, smiling, as the nurse gave him a frustrated look.

    Of course, it wasn’t just the newspaper journalists who had vied to get the latest scoop on this strange discovery. Television reporters had also scrambled to the crash site in order to be among the first to broadcast the story. Nigel only learned of this when he woke up and switched the TV on while having his breakfast. He only usually had the news on to watch the weather report, paying very little attention to the other stories unless they affected the general area where he lived. But this time, the newsreader had a very interesting story to report.
    “In Yorkshire, scientists are refusing to say anything about the wrecked UFO that had been discovered by two police officers yesterday afternoon,” the well-groomed man said. Nigel hastily looked for the remote as the report continued.
    “They are also refusing to reveal any details concerning the bodies that were found near the craft. We now go live to Tony Leechley, who is at the crash site. Tony, what’s the news from Mars, then?” Nigel was able to find the remote and turn the volume up some more as another smart looking man appeared on the screen, standing in front of the crash site, which now looked more like a war camp.
    “Not a lot, I’m afraid. We’ve only been here since the early hours of this morning, but since yesterday afternoon, scientists have been investigating this extraordinary phenomenon,” Tony was saying, “Behind me now, some of the top experts in the field of life on other planets have been examining what could be the remains of an alien spaceship. At this point, we don’t know who or what built it, but we are expecting some more information later on today.
    “There have however been many theories buzzing around about the bodies found near the site. It had already been confirmed before they were moved that four of the victims had wounds on their upper bodies, leading to theories that they were killed by a wild animal of some kind. The fifth, which was found next to the police car over there,” he indicated with his arm where the car was still parked, “appeared to have been killed by some other means. His face was said to have covered in some kind of fluid, but scientists are still unsure about the full details.
    “Some people are reluctant to believe that this is in fact the work of aliens, but if that really is the case, and nothing is found inside the ship, then whatever is responsible must still be out there. I don’t wish to cause a panic, but I do advise that people take caution when they are out and about.”
    There was a short pause before the man continued. “This could be a big step in mankind making contact with life from other planets, but if these aliens are indeed hostile, then we must do what we can to ensure the survival of the human race.”
    Nigel looked dumbfounded long after the report had finished. He was tempted to phone the broadcasting company and explain about Jason, but he thought that might make him sound like a loony. Besides, the authorities knew about the spaceship’s existence now, so he just decided to sit back and let them do their job. Sooner or later, the news would reach Jason, he would speak up, the aliens would be dealt with, and everything would go back to normal.
    Somehow, Nigel had a niggling feeling that things wouldn’t actually work out that way.

    Jason couldn’t believe it when he read the article and noticed the photographs. He wasn’t really surprised that his spaceship was being investigated – it was, after all, as ‘alien’ as any other ship he could’ve used – but the part about the bodies sounded intriguing.
    He knew well enough these lizards were searching for him, but he also knew they were taking a risk in sending some of their men out just to find him. Fair enough, so far he knew they had killed at least two policemen and three other people, but those people weren’t armed. Well, adequately armed, anyway. If they were matched against a well-trained army of soldiers with good enough firearms, the lizards would be on the losing side. He had seen their ships being dispatched around the globe, and had a rough idea of how many soldiers they had each contained. But even with slightly superior weaponry, both natural and man-made, the troops of those small ships definitely weren’t enough to take out the entire armies of some of these countries. Not if the armies knew what they were up against, anyway.
    This set of freaks also includes at least one of their spitters, Jason thought, skimming over the part about the fluid on one of the corpses, these people have no idea of what they’re dealing with, and I’m stuck in here! That was part of the problem, he could help inform and prepare the authorities of what was really going on if he wasn’t stuck inside this sterilised sardine tin. What once seemed like a contained paradise now felt like a prison. He could only sit back, wait, and hope the people in charge would figure it all out before the main attack began.

    “Ssstill no sssign of Ssssupernova?” the reptilian captain hissed dangerously at Silverscale, back at the lizards’ base.
    “Do you really think it wass a good idea to leave them out there?” the female asked cautiously, “Ssspitback iss one of our besssst fighters. If anything happened to him…” She left the sentence hanging in the air.
    “Ssspitback isss jusst another fanged freak!” the male spat at his subordinate, “The ssssooner hiss kind are gone, the better!”
    “What of the sssoldierss Sslipssscale and Shortssnout?”
    Although the captain said nothing, Silverscale could read from his face that he preferred the two lesser soldiers to the snake-fanged mutant. She decided to change tactics.
    “If we keep thessse three out,” she said carefully, “they could potentially ruin the plan. You know we do not currently have enough power to fight the armiess that protect thisss country. If we continue thiss ass originally planned, Sssupernova will show up sssooner or later, anyway. We cannot rissssk the ssuccesss of the plan jusst for the sssake of one human!”
    The well-built male appeared to think this over, and Silverscale knew she had to continue with this argument in order to make him change his mind about the scouting party.
    “Remember the humansss they killed yesssterday? If they keep thiss up, the humanss will notice and then they will take action! We need to keep a low profile until we make the firssst big attack.”
    “OK, OK! I’ll call them back, Ssssilverssscale,” said the captain before she could take her argument any further. “You made a good point about the plan, but if Sssupernova messsess thingss up, then I shall sssee to it that you take full ressssponsssibility.”
    “But ssir…” Silverscale was about to protest, but the low growl that rumbled from her superior made her think otherwise. Instead, she just sat quietly as he opened the com link to the group.
    A slightly annoyed voice grumbled at the other end, “Thisss iss Sssspitback. What iss it that you want?”
    “There hasss been a change of plan,” the captain reported, “You can return to basse.”
    The sounds of Slipscale and Shortsnout cheering could be faintly heard from the other end, but Spitback didn’t sound convinced. “Why did you sssuddenly decide thiss now isstead of yessterday?”
    “Ssilverssscale informed me…” the captain briefly glanced at the female, who trying to make herself look as small as possible, “…that if we keep you out there, then our cover could be blown, and the colonisssing plan could fail. You will return to bassse sstraight away, or else rissk jeopardissssing the plan!” And with that, he closed the link and left the room with an air of disgruntled annoyance similar to that of Spitback’s.

    Slipscale and Shortsnout were obviously much more pleased at the news than Spitback.
    “Come on, Sssspitback,” Slipscale said during the journey, “It wasss you who ssuggesssted that we return yessterday, before the captain kept usss out here.”
    “It jussst sseemsss like ssuch a sssudden decision,” Spitback explained in a surprisingly rational tone.
    “Well, the bosss did ssay that he only consssidered the consssequencess now,” Slipscale said in defence of the captain.
    “Only after Ssssilversscale sssaid sssomething,” the scout party’s leader reminded him.
    “I like Sssilverssscale,” Shortsnout butted in, hissing the ‘s’ sounds in the name with joy, “She knowsss how to treat uss warriorssss right!”
    “I like the way her sssscalesss shine when they hit the light jussst right,” added Slipscale, thinking gleefully of the pretty female.
    “I know what you mean,” said Shortsnout knowingly, “Sssometimess it’ss like they’ve been encrusssted with jewelssss.”
    “You two can fantasssisse about Ssilversscale when we’re back at the main basse,” Spitback called back impatiently. He was marching on ahead while the other two lagged behind, engrossed in their conversation. “If you don’t hurry up,” he added, “I’ll have to explain to the captain why I have returned without you.”
    “OK, bosss! We’re coming!” the pair shouted backed in unison. Catching up with the leader, Slipscale added, “But you like Ssssilverssscale too, don’t you?”
    “I don’t know how anyone can not like her,” Shortsnout commented.
    Spitback simply rolled his eyes, sniffed the air, found his bearings, and walked on without a word.

    Around lunchtime at the hospital, Jason was feeling very grouchy. He had spoken to Doctor Payne about his condition, but the doctor still wouldn’t let him go.
    “Look, my arm must be fixed enough to leave by now!” he had protested, but the doctor was having none of it. As he left, Jason had made a rude gesture with his other hand, not caring who had seen it.
    He was so angry with the doctor, that he didn’t even greet the nurse who delivered his dinner with his usual cheeky smile.
    “My, aren’t we feeling grumpy today?” the nurse said good-naturedly. Jason didn’t reply, but he did note that the very tone and words the nurse used were the same ones used by a mother dealing with an impossible child while resisting the urge to blow her top.
    Instead, he just watched her perform her usual duties and leave, not touching the food until she had gone, lest she would notice the more aggressive way he ate it and then ask him what was wrong in that matronly tone that halfway suggested that she probably didn’t even care anyway.
    Jason knew it was immature of him to behave in this way, but many years of flying around in space, defending planets that were in need had taught him not to care. Some races were just more advanced than others, and that was something he had to put up with, not matter how he chose to express his feelings about it.
    He didn’t have much time to consider his immaturity, though. Partway through his meal, Doctor Payne returned, his serious face looming over the bed and towards the surprised patient.
    “It seems you might have a visitor, Mr. Supernova,” he said.
    “Really?” was all Jason could manage to say.
    “He says he was the one who sent you here.”
    “Oh, Nigel, is it?” Jason asked, unsure if he had remembered the man’s name correctly.
    “He seems to know you,” the doctor muttered to someone who was out of Jason’s view.
    Nigel approached the bed, and simply said, “So you remember me, then?”
    “He was a little shaky on who it was he was looking for,” the doctor explained, “We just needed to check to see if you really did know each other, that’s all.” And with what he thought was a friendly smile, Doctor Payne left the two alone.
    “Do you know how long it’s taken me to find you?” Nigel asked, not really expecting an answer. His expectations were met, as he was given a question back.
    “A little shaky on who you were looking for?” Jason chuckled, his mood lifting a touch.
    “Well what was I supposed to say?” Nigel spluttered, sitting down on a stool next to the bed, “We’d only met for a few hours! I didn’t have time to learn your life story by then!”
    “Well, you weren’t really the talkative type,” Jason laughed again. Talking with Nigel again was really cheering him up. “Anyway,” he added, “I thought in this sort of situation you would’ve just popped in, explained that you were the one who sent me here – not in that way – and they would’ve let you see me without this little security check.”
    “I had no idea which hospital you were taken to!” Nigel explained. Ignoring Jason’s laughter, he continued, “I had to phone a couple of places up first, and they were very suspicious on that phone, I can tell you! Especially when I forgot your surname. I dread to know what they were thinking when I rang them up!”
    “Well, I’m glad you made the effort to see me. Not a lot of people would do that,” the space hero said sincerely in between chuckles.
    “Look, I’m sorry, but I didn’t come here to provide a few cheap laughs for your entertainment!” Nigel said, exasperated.
    “My, aren’t we feeling grumpy today?” Jason chuckled again, repeating the words the nurse had said to him only a few minutes ago.
    “I’m not grumpy, I’m just…” Nigel couldn’t think of a good way to finish that sentence, “I just want to talk to you. Seriously. I’ll have you know I had to leave the farm to do this, so you’d better help me out.”
    “You left all those poor, frightened chickens alone just to see me?”
    “Yes, like I had to leave them alone to walk the dog yesterday, when we met. I’ve told my boss to check up on them, but I doubt he will.” The farmhand’s voice became bitter as he said that last part.
    “Can’t you get someone else besides your boss to keep an eye on them?”
    “Why do you care?”
    “Just trying to be friendly. So, what is it you want to talk to me about?”
    “Have you heard about that crashed UFO that’s been discovered?”
    Jason lowered his voice to a whisper. “Yup, it’s mine.”
    “Yours?!”
    “Keep your voice down!” the space pilot said, “Yes, it’s mine.”
    “What about the bodies found near your ship?” Nigel asked, afraid of the answer.
    “Not mine, I’m afraid,” Jason joked. Seeing Nigel’s expression, he hastily added, “Remember those killer lizards I asked you about yesterday? Well, they did that, I’m sure of it.”
    “Really?”
    “Yup,” Jason said, nodding. “You believe me this time?” he asked quizzically, recalling the man’s reaction to what he had said the first time they met.
    “A little,” Nigel replied, not wanting to put all of his faith into this guy. An awkward silence followed, much like the ones the pair experienced the day before.
    “You OK?” Jason asked, being as ever the first to break the silence.
    “Yeah,” Nigel said, “It’s just, killer lizards running around attacking people. It sounds like something out of a horror film or something.”
    “If it makes you feel any better, it’s me they’re really after right now. They will start hunting the rest of the people here soon enough, but those ones were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Think about it; the lizards are out looking for me, and find my spaceship. However, they also find a bunch of other people there. So, they kill them to stop anyone escaping and telling others what they saw.”
    “But if anyone did escape and say that they saw a bunch of killer lizards running around, who would believe them?” Nigel questioned.
    “Conspiracy nuts,” Jason answered, sniggering, “Obviously, the lizards didn’t want to take that risk and decided to silence them instead.”
    “But surely leaving a trail of dead bodies lying around would also get them noticed? I mean, it already has been noticed!”
    “A trail of dead bodies? How many people do you think they would’ve come across up here? This isn’t London or anything, Nigel. This is the countryside, you said it yourself. Vast fields of green, and fewer people around to notice any strange activity. I can’t vouch for roadside sightings, of course, but hopefully the cars are going so fast the passengers don’t quite see the aliens.”
    “Aliens?” Nigel was genuinely startled to here this, despite what he had been thinking and suspecting, “So they are from another planet?”
    “You think giant, killer lizards could evolve on Earth?”
    “They did long ago. They were called dinosaurs,” Nigel said sardonically.
    “I meant right now!”
    “Well… They could do.”
    “Fair enough, but the point is these lizards are not from Earth! These lizards know about spaceships and weapons technology, which is a damn sight better than anything Earth lizards can do! Some of them can also spit.”
    “Spit?”
    “When they’re fighting, or if they’re frightened by anything, some of these lizards sprout out these retractable fangs and squirt this venom on their prey or opponents, much like those spitting cobras do on this planet. Although cobra fangs aren’t retractable, obviously.”
    “So that’s how that policeman…?”
    “He was squirted in the face by one of these spitters,” Jason confirmed. “It’s odd, really,” he added, “Spitters are a result of a rare genetic mutation among these lizards, and are usually seen as freaks or outcasts.”
    “And this one’s working with the other lizards. How many others are there?”
    “Not many on their home planet, and there’s probably only a small percentage of them here. I wouldn’t be surprised if the one who killed that policeman is the only one on this planet, actually. They hate the ‘normal’ lizards just as much as the ‘normal’ ones hate them.”
    “Moving the subject of lizard racism aside for a moment,” Nigel said, eager to leave the hospital and return to the farm, “the real question now is, can we stop them?”
    “I have some good news and bad news on that subject,” Jason replied, “The good news is that despite their ferocious killing abilities and the odd spitter, they can be stopped by Earth firepower.”
    “And the bad news?”
    “The ships they used to land on this planet are armed with powerful lasers, so a straight attack on their base isn’t the wisest of options right now. I’m not too sure about hand weapons, but I know quite some of them are probably confident enough to just attack with their claws and teeth instead of resorting to guns. And even then, you shouldn’t have too many problems taking them out.
    “As well as that, we also need to convince the British military forces that there are aliens here and that they will take over this planet if nothing is done. And we need to strike early before they start taking over half the country and call for reinforcements from the other troops that are currently in orbit around this planet.”
    “So what you’re saying is, we have very little chance of surviving this?”
    “No, what I’m saying is, we have a great chance of surviving this if the government believe our story.”
    “Like I said, very little chance of surviving.” Nigel stood up and started to leave the ward. “When are you out of here?” he asked, turning back around.
    “Damned if I know. My foot still feels a little twingey, and I don’t see why I can’t run around with a broken arm.”
    Nigel sighed as he thought of something. “Have you got a pen on you?” he asked.
    “No, none that I can see,” Jason replied. Nigel left the ward for a moment, and then quickly returned with a small piece of paper.
    “Once you get out of here, call me on this number,” he explained, “I’ll see about informing the authorities for you, and I’ll explain it all then.”
    “Thanks,” said Jason gratefully, “Do you think you could let me stay on your farm with you, as well. It won’t be permanent, just while my ship’s all wrecked and surrounded by army guys.”
    Nigel sighed again. “OK, I’ll see about arranging that for you, but don’t blame me if you end up sleeping in one of the henhouses!”
    “Hey, maybe I can meet this boss of yours that you keep complaining about, too!” The space hero sounded like an excited schoolchild as he said this. Nigel just walked off before he could say anything else.
    Feeling a lot better than he had before Nigel’s visit, Jason turned his attention back to his dinner, which had turned cold during the pair’s conversation. But he was too pleased to care and scoffed it down as quickly as he had with any other meal.

    Nigel started to regret agreeing to let Jason stay at the farm once he left the hospital, but there wasn’t much he could do about it now. Instead, he turned his attention to the newspaper he had managed to buy on the way home. He was very lucky to have found a copy; the news regarding the crashed spaceship and the dead bodies had shaken many people, and there weren’t many copies left by the time Nigel got around to buying one. I’m going to have to start paying more attention to the news on telly as well now I know more about this, he thought as he perused the article.
    The farmhand had occasionally wondered, like most of the other people, if this was all just a highly complex prank. But then he realised that no one would create a prank that would kill people. Most alien hoaxes he had heard about simply involved some gigantic ‘flying saucer’ built out of spare vehicle parts being flown over various locations via remote control. Everybody sees an amazing sight, and nobody gets hurt.
    Mind you, I live on a farm with a barn that hides a secret lab where my mad boss spends most of the day trying to be the next Doctor Frankenstein, Nigel thought, suddenly realising that he wasn’t really in a good position to question the existence of aliens. He then wondered if Doctor Hellbeak would get on with Jason. They’d probably get on like a house on fire, seeing as how they’re both a bit weird, he concluded.
    His next thought about Jason eventually staying at the farm was a bit more serious. Hadn’t the pilot said that it was him these alien lizards were looking for, and that they would just kill everyone who they met in the meantime anyway? So Nigel had also agreed to put his own life, not to mention the lives of his boss and the animals, at risk. On the plus side though, he could try and see if he could rope the smug prat into helping him feed the turkeys or something. Now that would be funny! Nigel grinned and allowed himself a small chuckle as the image of Jason being attacked by hungry turkeys popped into his head.
    The sound of Spirit’s whining snapped him out of his little daydream. The border collie was nudging her empty food bowl towards him with her nose.
    “OK, girl, I’ll go and get you something to eat,” Nigel reassured her as he picked up the bowl and made his way to the kitchen. As he emptied a tin of dog food into the bowl, he thought about the other thing he said he would do while Jason was bed bound. He wondered how exactly he would go about trying to inform the authorities of what he had learned. He knew most people would scoff at anyone who even suggested that they believed there was life on other planets, and wondered if he would get mocked at more because he lived on the farm with the self-proclaimed mad scientist.
    The thought preyed on his mind as he set about making himself a sandwich. It wasn’t as though he was some random nutter, he was mainly known as the poor soul who had to work for the barmy old codger. If he suddenly started telling stories about alien lizards with retractable fangs, people would probably think he was starting to fall down the madness tree as well.
    Trying to push that thought out of his mind, Nigel suddenly realised the time, and quickly settled down in the armchair while he switched the television on. He wanted to watch the news again, and see if anything else had been discovered near Jason’s spaceship.
    However, he needn’t have bothered, really. The only things Tony Leechley had to say this time was that the scientists were still studying the ship’s parts and were coming up with theories on its possible origins, while the fluid found on the police officer was of a kind that could be linked to the poison used by animals such as scorpions or snakes. For most people, it was all a bit vague, for Nigel, it was all a bit useless.
    Not interested in anything else that the newsreader had to say, or what was on any of the other channels, Nigel decided to quickly check up on all the birds before he got too comfy in that armchair. Once he was satisfied with the health of the livestock and the security of the gates and fences, he returned back to the house, not bothering to visit Doctor Hellbeak on the way. After what he had discovered today, he didn’t feel up to hearing about what the doctor was working on. Right now, he just wanted to relax and listen to some music on the radio while browsing through the rest of the newspaper. He didn’t want to think about aliens or spaceships. He just wanted to enjoy this evening the way he had enjoyed them before he saw those shooting stars a few nights ago.

    “So, anything new?” barked a loud, imposing voice. The skinny built scientist dropped his pen and clumsily stood to attention as he heard the voice.
    “Well, sir, the thing is, sir…” he spluttered, trying to find the right words to say. He hated it when the General dropped in on him like this. He was intimidating enough without having to scare people by marching into places unannounced and then demanding things in a loud voice.
    “Do you have any news about where this craft might have come from?” the General asked in a lower, but still unnerving, tone. He strode towards the scientist, who was stood stiff as a bone, and trying not to appear frightened.
    “Kind of, sir,” he replied.
    “Kind of?”
    “Well, sir,” the scientist allowed himself to loosen up and hastily rush to his records on the table. He flipped through them quickly as he spoke, “We’ve been examining the wreckage very thoroughly, sir, and we think…” He trailed off, not daring to voice his opinion to one of such high rank, and of such threatening demeanour.
    “Yes, go on,” the General urged in what passed as an encouraging tone.
    “This kind of technology is incredible, sir,” the young scientist said nervously, “It’s not like anything we’ve ever seen before. In fact,” he took a deep breath, “some of us are beginning to strongly believe that this aircraft might have actually come from another planet after all, sir.”
    The General stood silently, staring at the man. The man in the white coat couldn’t tell whether he believed him or not. Many people believed the General’s face could only show three emotions, pride, anger, and even more anger. At the moment, his face seemed to be on anger, and the scientist hoped for his own sake that it would soften up to pride.
    The face just kept on staring, so he hurriedly continued with explaining the research. “The engines, for example, are capable of producing amazing speeds, much faster than the average jet. And the metal is definitely unusual, sir. And then there’s the…”
    “I’ve heard enough, Mr…”
    “Doctor Filstone, sir.” The young man corrected him before he could stop himself, but thankfully the General’s expression didn’t change for the worse.
    “Doctor Filstone. May I have a look at those pieces of scrap you have on your table?”
    “Yes, sir, certainly, sir.” The doctor showed the General each piece of debris that had been found among the wreckage, and carried on explaining how this technology couldn’t possibly be from Earth.
    “And you believe this, do you?” the General asked casually.
    “Well, it seems to be the only logical explanation, sir. I doubt even the greatest minds on this planet have been able to produce something as advanced as this, sir.”
    “But if aliens have landed here, then where are they?” This question Doctor Filstone wasn’t expecting.
    “I… I don’t know, sir,” he replied truthfully.
    “Strange that,” the General said in a dangerously conversational tone, “These aliens take the time and trouble to visit our lonely little planet, and they don’t even say ‘hello’. They just crash their spaceship and scarper!”
    “Maybe they already have said ‘hello’,” Filstone said darkly, “The bodies,” he added when he saw the General’s puzzled – but still angry – expression.
    “Oh, come on now, boy,” the General said, “Those people were mauled by some wild animal, obviously.”
    “Nothing around here could’ve done that, sir,” Filstone explained matter-of-factly, “Not even the most vicious foxes could have attacked four people like that, sir. And there’s the fifth body. Surely you’ve heard about the venomous substance on that one. Poison-spewing animals do not live in Yorkshire, or anywhere in England, in fact, sir.”
    For a moment, the General’s face began to show signs of a new expression – fear. But it was only a fleeting change, as it quickly changed back to anger for the man to spout out, “But the whole thing’s preposterous! We can’t go around scaring the public with horror stories about aliens visiting our planet and killing people!”
    “Why not? We’re already scaring them with stories about vicious wild animals killing people. Besides,” he added, “there’s more you need to know about this. I presented our early findings about the spaceship to various major astronomy societies in the area…”
    “You WHAT?! Without my permission?” the General’s face now began to show signs of even more anger.
    “…and some of them have already gotten back to us,” Filstone continued, trying to ignore the livid man’s outburst, “Take a look at this, sir.” The General briefly forgot about his frustration as he observed the pictures on the scientist’s laptop, which had been sitting alone in one corner of the room. They showed a normal view of space, but with many strange metal objects dotted about in a loose formation.
    “What are…?” he asked, unable to quite tell what the strange objects in the pictures were.
    “They were first sighted a few nights ago,” the young doctor explained, “and they are still there now. They believe it could be a whole fleet of alien spaceships.”
    “But why were we not informed earlier?”
    “They said that they were not sure how the government would react, sir. The thing is,” Filstone zoomed in on various parts of the pictures and enhanced the images a little so they could see them clearer, “These ships are different to the one we’re studying. They’re much bigger for a start. Capable of holding more than one occupant, at least. Not quite sure how many that really big one can hold, though.”
    “How many can this ship hold, then?”
    “Well, it’s spacious enough, but I’m sure it’s only supposed to hold one. Perhaps one or two more could fit in as well, but it’s certainly not for any groups larger than four. There’s room built in for supplies, although not many of us have dared to search the fridge. Don’t know what we might find in there!” The young scientist smiled slightly, hoping that the last sentence would be taken in subtle humour, but the General’s stern face told him he was in no mood for jokes.
    “OK, we have searched the fridge,” Filstone admitted, “But it only served to prove our theory about this ship’s origins.”
    “I don’t care about what was in the bloody fridge! I want to know what those things are doing hanging around up there!” The large man was getting impatient for answers, but the skinny scientist could only give him vague ideas.
    “I don’t know what they’re doing, sir. But if they have anything to do with the bodies, then it’s pretty safe to assume that they intend to attack sometime.”
    “Is there anything else about this you wish to tell me?” the General asked, wondering what else the scientists had been hiding from him.
    “No, sir,” Doctor Filstone replied, hoping that he wouldn’t be pressed for further information.
    “Then you may continue the research,” the General ordered, “But don’t you as much as breathe a word about this to anyone except me and the rest of your team.”
    “Yes, sir.” The scientist only relaxed once he heard the General’s footsteps fade away. To be honest, he was tired, and wasn’t up to studying all this much more for the night.
    As he went to shut down his laptop, he felt glad that the General hadn’t asked for more information on the images of the space fleet. It wasn’t just places in England that had contacted him with news about the fleet. Once he had told those societies about his team’s findings, they also sent him images that had been taken by astronomical societies from all over the world. Stored on the laptop were pictures taken from a variety of telescopes in a variety of countries. It seemed that England wasn’t the only place concerned about the fleet.
    Some foreign news websites had mentioned the appearances of odd groups of shooting stars, much like the ones some people around here were claiming to have spotted a few nights ago. The news people had only mentioned them briefly, putting other, more important issues into focus instead, but what they had said had been useful. Although it seemed for each country that the ‘shooting stars’ had appeared at all sorts of unusual times, they all roughly lined up with the time that they had been sighted in England, leading Doctor Filstone to wonder if they too were connected with the fleet and the dead bodies. There didn’t seem to be any unusual deaths so far, but the scientist believed that it was only a matter of time until something odd turned up. Yawning, he switched the laptop off and made his way to a hastily made bed hidden on one side of the tent.
    Although it lacked the major features of an actual laboratory, it was enough for the scientists to use for observing and recording. However, anything that needed closer examination had to be sent to the major labs for investigating, although not a lot had been sent away so far.
    The young man yawned again, and tried to make himself comfortable on the lumpy bed. He kept his clothes on in an attempt to keep himself warm from the cold, and he didn’t even bother to take off his glasses because there weren’t many places for him to store them. He was so tired, he couldn’t think properly about anything except sleep.

    It had taken the trio of lizards most of the day to finally return to where their ships had landed, and it was now dark. They had endured a not-very-warm welcome back from their captain on the leading ship, and were now discussing the battle plans with the rest of the soldiers.
    Once he was back in the warm ship, Spitback’s bitter mood resided, and he awaited the news of where the squad would be attacking first as eagerly as the rest of the lizards. He only hoped the humans he and his scouting party had killed didn’t mess up the plan in any way.
    An awed silence filled the room as the captain strode in, followed by Silverscale. Spitback could see most of the other male soldiers leering at the female, trying to catch her eye and hissing with anticipated pleasure. The spitter knew she was attractive, but he would never lower himself to the level of immature hissing.
    “Sssilence!” the captain bellowed over the noise, “Thank you. Now, asss you may know, we are sstill ssearching for Jassson Ssssupernova, who, it iss confirmed, crashed in thiss area sssoon after we landed. Thisss information wass provided by our sssscouting party, who were unable to find the ssspace pesst himsssself.”
    All eyes turned on Spitback, Slipscale, and Shortsnout. The spitter simply looked indifferent to the glares, while the latter two were muttering quiet, useless apologies to the crowd in general.
    “However,” the commander continued, drawing the attention back to his direction, “we cannot let thiss ssstall our plansss. We will carry on asss normal, and deal with Ssssupernova when he decidess to show himsself.
    “Now, we mussst begin planning our firsst attack. Thessse rural areass of thiss place are a great sssstarting point, ass they contain a lot of sssmall villagess. If we can quickly deal with thesse, then we can ssswiftly move on to the larger townsss and citiesss, and even make room for reinforcementssss. And the fasster we can do thisss, the lesss time thosse humansss will have to prepare their defensssive ssstrategiess. But we mussst alsso be careful not to move too quickly. There iss a chance we could be overwhelmed if we move onto the larger citiesss too fasst.”
    He paused a moment to let these words sink in before he continued, “And now, I shall outline our firssst attack. Sssilversscale, the map pleassse…”

    “Look, I swear I’ll be careful, doctor!” Jason pleaded with Doctor Payne for what felt like the hundredth time. The doctor was checking up on the space hero’s arm and leg.
    “Well, your foot should be all right now, Mr. Supernova,” Doctor Payne said, “Just try and take a few steps for me now.”
    Praising the heavens silently, Jason carefully stood up and toddled a few steps, trying desperately to keep his balance.
    “Does it hurt at all?” the doctor asked as he watched.
    “Nope,” Jason said happily, “I’m telling the truth!” he exclaimed, noticing Payne’s raised eyebrow.
    “Fair enough,” said Payne, “I might just let you walk about the hospital now, as long as you don’t make your arm and shoulder any worse than they are now.”
    “I promise I won’t,” the pilot said once again, mentally cheering. OK, so he wasn’t going out of the hospital just yet, but being allowed to stretch his legs was a start.
    “Just don’t overexert yourself,” Payne cautioned him, “Your arm still needs time to heal properly, and your foot needs to get used to regular walking movement, so just take things slowly.”
    “I will! Don’t you trust me to look after my own body?”
    “You have no idea how many people have said that to me,” Payne said in a very serious voice. Unlike the younger doctors around here, he had had more experience with different kinds of patients and had heard every protest, every excuse, and every promise many times over.
    Suddenly Jason felt even more uncomfortable around the doctor than he normally did, so he simply said he was going to go and stretch his legs for a while and left the examination room.
    “Oh, so you’re allowed to wander the hallways now, are you?” asked a familiar voice. It was Jason’s favourite nurse, the pretty brunette.
    “Wander the hallways?” he repeated, approaching the woman confidently, “What am I, some kind of ghost or something?” He smiled as the nurse giggled. “Yes, I am allowed to walk about, but I’ve still got to take it easy. The arm and shoulder, you know.”
    “Aaaww…” the nurse said sympathetically as he made an exaggerated miserable expression, “Don’t worry. You’ll be out of here soon enough. And then you can go back to… whatever it is that you do. What do you do, anyway?”
    “If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me,” Jason said, grinning teasingly.
    “I will, go on. You can tell me,” the nurse grinned back, “You’ve been very vague about how you hurt yourself and what you do.”
    “Like I said, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
    “Go on. Please?” the woman was now pulling her own version of an exaggerated sad face, which made Jason realise that she was serious.
    “I can’t tell you. Not properly, anyway,” he said, walking away from the nurse.
    “Why not?” she inquired pleadingly, following the space hero.
    “The last person I told thought I needed to see a psychiatrist,” Jason answered truthfully. He decided not to add that the person in question eventually believed him, otherwise that would only make her more desperate to know more about him. “Why do you want to know what I do anyway?” he asked quizzically.
    “Well, we’ve been getting on so well since you came in here, and I just wanted to get to know you better.”
    “Don’t you have other patients to see to?” Jason asked, suddenly becoming rather nervous. He really didn’t want to explain his day job to her, and hoped that the question would distract her enough to stop begging him to tell her. Fortunately, it worked.
    The brown-haired nurse sighed and conceded defeat. Looking somewhat sulky, she said, “OK, you don’t have to tell me now. But I’ll still want to know once you’re ready to tell me.” And with that, she walked away down a different corridor, leaving Jason alone with a couple of beads of sweat running down his face.
    It wasn’t that he was embarrassed about talking about his job – in fact, he took great pleasure in talking about it at great length. But while most planets openly embraced the existence and arrival of a saviour from the stars, others, such as Earth, believed that they were alone in the universe, and would scoff at anyone who dared to suggest otherwise. It wasn’t a nice thought, but it was the way things were.

    Nigel felt very guilty about leaving the farm alone for the third time in three days, but he had to try and contact the authorities somehow. Again, he had decided to use the need to take Spirit for her walk as a cover. Doctor Hellbeak had been out of the lab to raid the fridge again, so he was certain the nutter was OK. He had fed and secured the birds and once again told the ‘mad scientist’ to check on them every now so often.
    He was becoming more concerned about his employer’s projects. When he visited the barmy old man this time, he was still working on some kind of machine. The parts that were put together looked quite unnerving, but after remembering the chicken episode, Nigel thought it would probably end up being some sort of highly complex coffee maker or something.
    He put the thought out of his mind and tried to focus on the task ahead. Deciding that walking would take too long, Nigel instead opted to drive to the landing site. The car was very rarely used, except for visiting the villages and markets, since Nigel had to spend most of his time on the farm. However this time, it would probably get a lot of use; he had already used it to drive to the hospital where Jason was, and he would probably have to use it again after today to pick the loony up.
    Spirit didn’t seem to notice her master’s serious expression, and looked like she was having the time of her life. The dog poked her head out of the car window, her fur blowing in the breeze. She didn’t know where she was being taken, and she didn’t care. All she knew was that Nigel was doing something different for her walk this time, and that was exciting enough.
    It took a while for Nigel to find the crash site, but he could tell he was at the right place because of all the armed soldiers patrolling the area. This was going to be tricky. He found a place to park and observed the scene, wondering how on earth he was going to be able to talk to somebody. Taking a deep breath, he chose to go for the most direct and straightforward approach.
    “Excuse me, I want to talk to somebody,” he said nervously to one of the soldiers. As soon as the words left his mouth, Nigel knew he wouldn’t be allowed entry.
    “What about?” the soldier asked, looking suspiciously at the farmhand.
    “About this spaceship and about what killed those people.”
    “‘Ere, you’re not one of them conspiracy nuts, are you?”
    “No!” Nigel thought the answer had come out too suddenly, so he repeated it much more calmly, “No. But I do know something about the bodies I think you ought to know.”
    “Oh yeah? What is it you know that we don’t?” the soldier asked, still not quite convinced of Nigel’s sanity.
    “I know what it was that killed them, I think.”
    “Right. So, what killed them, then?”
    “Look, can I talk to someone higher up, please?” Nigel queried, struggling to find the right words to use in this conversation.
    “Just tell me what you think it was what killed them people, and then I’ll decide.”
    “Lizards,” Nigel explained, “Giant, killer lizards from another planet.”
    The soldier cracked a grin, and then widened it into a smile before laughing out loud. “Where did you come up with that?” he asked in between chuckles.
    “I didn’t make it up!” Nigel protested, “You’re going to think I’m barmy, but the guy who owns that spaceship,” he jabbed a finger to the half-hidden wreckage, “is in hospital right now. I know because I him met a couple of days ago and he was badly hurt, and I called an ambulance for him. Anyway, he explained to me that this race of killer lizards is trying to take over the planet and that we can stop them if we can set up a good defence strategy.”
    “You know what? You’re right,” the soldier grinned. Nigel mentally breathed a sigh of relief until the uniformed man continued, “I do think you’re barmy!”
    Out of the vision of the arguing men, a bespectacled, thinly built scientist eavesdropped on the conversation. Doctor Filstone was very interested in what the countryman had to say, and was tempted to go and talk to him himself to find out more about the ship and about the killer lizards. But he had no clue if this guy was telling the truth or not, no matter how much sense it made. But he did note down what he had heard and scrambled back to his tent to safely store the information once he was sure the countryman wasn’t going to let anything else slip.
    Nigel left in frustration after the soldier refused to allow him to talk with someone of a higher rank. Then again, what was he expecting with a story like that? Tea and biscuits? No, just the rejection that most of the alien enthusiasts were given. It almost shamed Nigel that he was most likely now going to be labelled among those sorts of people, and he began to doubt the validity of what Jason had told him. Oh well, there would be time for that once the pilot was out of hospital, he decided, and then proceeded to give Spirit her walk before driving home.

    Jason was lying down on his bed, thinking about the nurse he had spoken to earlier. There was something about the way she had said that they had been getting on so well that hit him. Was she after a boyfriend? Jason wasn’t sure if he could handle being in a relationship with someone. His job required him to go out and risk his neck more often than not, and he didn’t want to get too involved with anyone in case the worse happened. Of course, having a nurse around would make healing those minor cuts and wounds a little easier on these adventures. This also meant that she could join him, and they wouldn’t have to be separated.
    Let’s not get carried away here, Jason thought, she’s only asked me what my job was. It’s not like she’s asked me to go on a date or something. She was just being friendly, that’s all. She’s such a sweet girl that she probably gets on with most of her patients. That was it, the space hero decided.
    Then there was the problem of whether or not she would believe him. ‘Defender of the Universe’ wasn’t exactly a normal job description on most planets, let alone Earth, but at least on most other planets, people with that title were respected. And the woman had admitted that she didn’t believe in aliens. Well, she implied it, anyway. Yet she was the one who had explained to Jason about the news stories on the spaceship and the bodies. In fact, she even occasionally gave him updates on how the reports were developing if she ever heard anything. Perhaps she had partway guessed since he first showed his interest in the story.
    I’ll just tell her once I’m allowed out of here, he thought, that way, if she doesn’t believe me, she won’t be able to pester me once I’ve walked out of those doors. Satisfied with his decision, the space hero smiled, and picked up another old magazine that was lying around the place. It wasn’t very interesting, but it did take his mind off the pretty nurse.

    The humiliation of that conversation with the soldier at the crash site was still on Nigel’s mind when he returned home. He began to wish that he hadn’t said anything, that he had just sat down and waited until Jason was out, and then let him take control. Well, at least he tried. There wasn’t really a lot he could do until that space prat was allowed out of the hospital. Hopefully, it wouldn’t be too long now. There was nothing else to do until then except keep an eye on the news – even if hardly anything new was reported – and just look after the farm the way he had before all this started.
    It felt good to go back to leading a normal life again, even if it was brief and wasn’t exactly normal to start with. Nigel found himself smiling broadly as he cleaned out the henhouses, and checked to make sure none of the livestock had escaped, fallen ill, or died. He felt bad for neglecting them so much these past few days, so he was glad that nothing too serious had occurred. He hoped that when Jason started staying here, that the space hero would get on with his own job, leaving Nigel alone to tend to the birds. He didn’t want to end up fighting these monstrous lizards, and risk not returning to the farm and its beloved animals.

    Hiding in the green fields and hedges, the lizard army was on the move. They wanted to reach the nearest village by nightfall, so that they could launch a surprise attack under cover of darkness. Some of them were worried that Jason Supernova might be there, while others were hoping that he would be around, so that they could claim the rewards for destroying him.
    The trek was long and tiring, but the rest afterwards would allow the troops to regain their energy in preparation for the attack that night. They had received word before they left that troops in some of the other countries on Earth were also preparing their preliminary attacks, having thoroughly scouted around beforehand. Their soldiers didn’t have to worry about Jason Supernova like the ones here did.
    They arrived at the village late that afternoon, taking up various positions surrounding the place, and hoping that no one would spot them. They had to keep away from any main roads leading to the village, and were constantly on the lookout for anyone foolish enough to wander around close to their hiding places.
    Despite his initial anger at being called back to base that morning, Spitback was looking forward to the attack as much as the rest of the lizards. He was also one of the few hoping that Supernova would be around, just so he could have the pleasure of spitting his deadly venom at him. No mess, no nasty claw marks, just a quick squirt or two in the face and the space hero would be gone forever. He stubbornly calmed himself as he thought about this, since the anticipation was making his fangs sprout out, and he didn’t want to appear too keen. He just lay down in the grass, waiting patiently for nightfall to come and awaiting the signal to attack.

    “Well, your shoulder seems to be healing well, as is your arm,” Doctor Payne informed his patient during his evening check up.
    “I told you I could look after my own body!” Jason replied with a hint of smugness.
    “Don’t get too excited, though,” the doctor warned him, “You’ll still need to spend at least one more night here, until we can be sure that your shoulder’s fine. We should have you out of here sometime tomorrow if all goes well.”
    “Finally!” Jason muttered loud enough for Payne to hear. He was getting fed up with these frequent examinations now, and desperately wanted to be outside so that he could properly deal with the alien invasion. And then he would probably end up back here afterwards. He chuckled quietly to himself as he thought about it.
    He was still smiling by the time he reached his ward, especially since he hadn’t bumped into that nurse again. Everything was going just fine.

    As darkness fell over the landscape, the army of lizards readied themselves for the assault. Some of the hungrier and more ferocious reptiles scooped up scampering mice in their jaws and chomped on them savagely. As one, they cautiously and silently approached the outskirts of the village, growling in violent anticipation. Although a cool wind was blowing, none of the reptiles seemed to care.
    Eventually, a loud call erupted from the leader and the troops charged into the village. They were all using their teeth and claws in this attack; they were ordered to reserve their other weapons for the later assaults on larger cities, when the military was more likely to be informed of their presence and their power.
    People who had been startled from the call peeked through their bedroom windows to see the sight of fierce lizards rampaging about. Many desperately tried to call the police, while others sought an escape route away from the danger. Some of the braver – or more reckless – people tried to fight back with chairs, frying pans, or anything else they could find lying about. One lizard in particular was very upset to have a small plank of wood lodged in his mouth by one such person.
    Spitback was enjoying himself, even though his venom was going to waste. He was using his claws more than anything, mainly because very few people were simply standing around in fear like that police officer had. Those that did stand around eventually saw sense to run away in time.
    During the confusion, some police officers managed to show up, and began trying to shoot at the lizards. Although the alien reptiles killed some of them, one managed to shoot at one lizard several times, catching it in the upper chest and the neck before running out of bullets and escaping to hide, hoping that he wouldn’t be tracked down.
    Eventually, another feral call was heard, signalling for the lizards to retreat. Most of the wounded ones were able to leave along with their comrades, except for the one who had been shot in the neck. Having collapsed due to the bullets in his body, one of the others tried to carry him back, but some forceful words from his comrades and a few shots aimed in his direction told him to leave the fallen soldier alone.
    Even though the lizards had gone, those people who had hidden themselves, successfully fought back, or had miraculously survived what scratches they had gained didn’t dare stir in case there were still some lizards remaining. The policemen, soldiers, and medics that were hurriedly called in to help had their hands full dealing with scared and upset people. The biggest surprise of all though, was the mortally wounded lizard lying in the middle of one of the streets. It snapped its jaws at anyone who went near it, but it finally weakened and passed away. At last, everyone was able to get a closer look at what it was they were up against.

    Nigel was surprised to switch the television on the next morning, and finally see an image of just what it was Jason had been talking about. The newsreader was reporting on the events of the previous night. Of course, the image that imprinted itself most in not just Nigel’s mind, but also the minds of everyone who watched the story wasn’t any of the images of the devastated streets, or even the survivors of the assault.
    It was the tall lizard lying dead in the middle of the street.
    There was dried blood on its claws and teeth. You could tell just from looking that when it was alive, it was a fearsome killer.
    “The corpse has already been sent to the nearest medical lab for observation and examination,” reporter Tony Leechley was saying in a serious and warning tone, “but if there are indeed more out there, then we must act before they strike again.”
    Nigel couldn’t believe it. Jason really had been telling the truth all along. The Earth really was under attack from space lizards. He looked back at the TV screen as Tony’s voice stopped talking, and the main newsreader, sat in his fancy studio, continued with even more news of attacks from space lizards.
    “We’ve only just been getting reports from elsewhere in the world that we are not the only ones under threat from this menace. It seems these aliens don’t just want Britain, but the whole planet. They have been attacking towns and villages from all over the world over the last day or so. However, we are the first to obtain these images showing one of the creatures behind all this.
    “Despite these reports, we are still unsure of just how many of these aliens there are, and exactly where they have landed. Among others, the US defence forces are now trying to use these earlier attacks as advance warnings, and are hoping to launch a successful counterattack should the aliens be in hiding there. We’ll have more news on this as it happens.”
    Nigel was dumbfounded. So these lizards were attacking not just England, but the whole world. Why hadn’t the earlier attacks elsewhere been reported, though? Surely something as major as an alien attack would have been reported all around the world. Then Nigel remembered the newsreader had said that the first pictures of one of the aliens were taken here in England. They probably didn’t want to report an alien attack based only on the word of the survivors, they needed solid proof, he thought.
    He considered telling Doctor Hellbeak about the story – the old man had returned to the farmhouse late in the night, and had left for his secret lab earlier that morning, before Nigel had gotten up – but decided to wait until he actually had a picture of the dead lizard to show him. It must surely have been printed in the papers. Something like this must be front page news, thought Nigel as he grabbed his coat and headed out of the door, hoping that by some miracle there were some copies of the newspapers left by the time he reached the nearest village.

    Jason had noticed some of the hospital staff and visitors were reading copies of various newspapers as they passed his ward, but they were only quick glances. He caught a glimpse of the picture on the cover of one and immediately recognised the body of one of the lizards he had been chasing after. However, he didn’t know much about what had happened until the pretty, brown-haired nurse finally turned up with his breakfast. She was carrying one of the tabloids under her arm, with the cover image facing outwards.
    “I take it there’s more news on the spaceship, then?” Jason said, eyeing the picture.
    “Not the spaceship, no,” the nurse replied, “One of the aliens.” She handed the paper to Jason so that he could have a better look the cover. “I thought you might be interested in reading it,” she said apologetically.
    “They’ve started attacking already,” the space hero muttered quietly to himself, half in surprise, half in concern.
    “I’m sorry?”
    “Er… Nothing. Just talking to myself.” Jason leaned back in his bed and politely took the newspaper from her. He scanned the article throughout the following pages, studying the photographs that had been printed of the village and the wounded survivors.
    “I see no one died from that venom like that police officer did,” he muttered.
    The nurse opened her mouth to say something in reply, but then decided not to. Instead, she simply asked, “Why would they attack a little village in the middle of nowhere, that’s what I want to know.”
    “Because they’re not yet strong enough to attack a major city,” Jason explained, “They want to give out samples of their power before they call in more troops and go for the big assaults.”
    This startled the nurse, mainly because she wasn’t expecting an answer as certain as that. She just sat there, staring at the man in amazement.
    Jason turned to face her, a slight smile forming on his lips.
    “Yesterday, you asked me what my job was,” he reminded her, “I wasn’t going to tell you until I’d left this place, but since I let that little bit of information about the aliens slip, I might as well tell you now.” Leaning in closer, and lowering his voice to a whisper, he said, “I fly all around space, defending planets such as this one from aliens like those lizards.”
    The nurse was lost for words, torn between utmost belief and mocking scepticism.
    “You don’t have to say anything,” said Jason, “I’ve told you what I do for a living, take it as you will.”
    “But how did… If you’re…” the nurse stuttered. She seemed to be having difficulty taking it all in.
    “It’s probably best you don’t worry about it,” Jason reassured her, “Look, I can see you don’t quite believe me, so just forget I said anything, all right?”
    He noticed the woman still looked troubled. I should’ve waited, he cursed himself. He would’ve preferred her to have not believed him straight away. At least then she wouldn’t be in this confused state.
    “Just forget about it,” the space hero said, wishing he had some kind of memory eraser with him.
    “You can’t be from space, you’re too… normal-looking,” the nurse said simply.
    “Well, at least that means I can wander around on this planet without anyone suspecting anything,” Jason chuckled. He then went on to say, unsure if he should even be saying all this to the poor woman, “Although species-wise, I am human, I was born and raised on another planet, far away from here. So I am human, in a way, just not an Earth one. Oh yes, there are humans on other planets. It’s a long story though, and I’m not sure if I want to go through it while you’re in this state.”
    The nurse nodded, understanding what he had meant. She had previously been sceptical of the idea of life on other planets, but finding out about both the lizards and of Jason Supernova’s origins in the same morning had come as a bit of a shock. Shoving what she had learned as far back into her mind as possible, she returned to her normal duties, leaving Jason alone with his meal and the newspaper. She knew she would never look at that man the same way ever again.

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FireHawk, FireHawk's Realm, Gary the Gryph, and all other original characters and settings are ©2004-2008 Cheryl (Chezza) Goacher. Other characters, settings and whatnot are © their respective owners where indicated.