Lillian Francken - We Come in Peace

Zolar turned on the monitor and then twiddled with the radar knob. A small dish on the outside of the craft moved back and forth as Zolar searched for a radar transmission or something to guide them.

She continued turning the knob in an attempt to combat the barrage of static lines flopping across the monitor screen. Suddenly the lines began to subside, and a man’s voice slowly faded in from a distance, but the screen was still filled with fuzzy images.

A voice from a DJ at the Star Trek Convention Center in Los Vegas suddenly could be heard. “Welcome, space travelers to planet Earth. Don’t forget to get your tickets validated for free parking of your spacecraft in city parking lot H.”

Jupel turned to Zolar with a flabbergasted look on his face, taken aback by the welcome that just came across the screen.

“They are expecting us,” Jupel said with a puzzled expression on his face matched only by Zolar’s concern.

Zolar shrugged as if in disbelief, but abruptly decided to say nothing. She quickly moved her hands to engage the virtual navigational apparatus.

The craft made an abrupt 180-degree turn, propelling it at great speed toward the planet Earth, but in its path was a discarded fuel drum floating in space from the Challenger space shuttle. Zolar spotted the drum in time to maneuver the craft into a victory roll to avoid a collision. Pots and pans rattled behind closed panel doors. The box of medicine was sent flying, and the cylinders floated around the craft. Jupel tried to catch them, but Zolar motioned him back to the navigational controls to help her get the craft under control. Zolar, with the aid of Jupel, struggled with the ship as it hurtled closer to earth. Once the occupants of the spacecraft had it under control finally, it zoomed through space as the Earth came shooting into view.

At an adult movie station in the desert near Rachel, Nevada, the plant engineer was busy working on some sound equipment. He turned and watched the adult video on the monitor and was aroused by what he saw. The engineer then glanced across the room at the young female technician in tight jeans and a halter-top. He wet his lips and then slowly walked over to her.

In the spacecraft, Jupel worked feverishly at the dials of the monitor, running through various diagnostics while there was complete chaos to get a clearer picture. Suddenly the adult movie came onto the screen, startling him for a moment. Jupel watched the monitor as the male on screen tied the nude female to a four-post bed and then slowly took off his shirt. Jupel’s eyes widened and his mouth opened in disbelief, in awe of what was happening on screen as slowly he turned to Zolar with a curious grin on his face. Turning back to the monitor, Jupel watched as the man’s shirt as it was discarded onto the floor, the actor on screen climbed slowly toward the female on the bed.

Z-42’s ears perked up as moans came from the monitor and then Z-42 quickly scurried under Jupel’s feet and covered his head with his front paws.

Zolar quickly slid over to where Jupel sat still in a daze over what was happening on the monitor screen. She shoved him aside, quickly getting him out of the way to see what he was watching. She, too, was startled by what she saw on the monitor. She sat with wide eyes as the male actor kissed the female tied to the bed. A puzzled look crossed her face, wondering what he was about to do. The man seductively unbuckled his belt. Zolar quickly turned to Jupel, who could not stop watching. Zolar, in her anger, hit Jupel on the back of his head. Jupel was caught off-guard as he flew into the control panel, sending the spacecraft out of control once more.

The craft entered the Earth’s atmosphere, rolling out of control as it spiraled closer to earth. The occupants struggled to regain control of the ship while things continued rattling in the cabinets. Doors flew open suddenly as the contents fell out, becoming airborne and hazards to the occupants of the craft.

The Nevada desert with its harsh terrain was a picture of quiet, majestic beauty. Even with no trees in sight and mundane shades of gray and dead-grass yellow, there was still a quality to the scene that some in the area found easy on the eyes. There was no vegetation to speak of, except for the endless sagebrush and Chico wood shrub. Nevertheless, this was home to the residents of the area and people looking to get lost by humankind.

Bobby Drews, a teenage space cadet, leaned lazily on a rock philosophizing about life while smoking marijuana. He slowly exhaled a billowy white cloud and watched it disappear into the vastness of the still, dry air of the desert. In a self-induced haze, he then looked down at the light across the stark white terrain of the rock at hand.

A camel spider ventured out of its daytime hiding place. It climbed up on the barren rock. And as it crawled closer to Bobby, he turned and slowly blew a puff of smoke that engulfed the crawling creature. Bobby leaned closer, inhaled again, and exhaled another puff of smoke at the spider. He then just watched the effect it had on the spider. The spider zigzagged over to the edge of the rock and did a nosedive off onto the desert floor. As if he, too, was in a stupor and now found it difficult to seek shelter from the hot desert sun.

“If I wasn’t here, then where would I be?” Bobby asked as if expecting an answer from the crawling creature.

Bobby stood and looked up into the clouds with dreamy eyes. “I only seek the truth,” he yelled. Suddenly there was a flash of light that crossed the sky as if an answer had been given to his question.

“Shit! This is good stuff,” Bobby said, looking down at the joint between his fingers.

He glanced around, but nothing more could be seen. A puzzled look crossed his face. He knew the desert could play tricks on you when you have been out in the sun too long. Playing hooky from school was bad enough. He did not need to succumb to heatstroke to boot. Bobby reached for his backpack and took out a bottle of water. He splashed his face, took a drink, and then smashed the joint on the desert floor.

The monitor at the adult movie station continued playing the adult film. In the background, moans came from the engineer’s office. All that could be seen was the silhouette of the two station employees going at it like rabbits in heat. The monitor in the background was playing out the love scene.

The spacecraft continued out of control as Zolar frantically struggled with the throttle. Jupel reached down and locked Z-42 in his cage at his feet while the animal barked uncontrollably, struggling to free himself.

“Shut him up,” Zolar snapped while both hands were pulling back on the throttle as it vibrated out of control.

“He’s scared,” Jupel added, while he tried unsuccessfully to reach for the throttle that was vibrating in front of him. He struggled to assist Zolar, but even with the two of them at the helm, getting the spacecraft under control was almost impossible.

“Grab the throttle, damn it! Help me.”

Jupel took a deep breath and then with both hands grabbed the throttle firmer and with feet on the panel in front of him he pulled back on the controls. Finally, with his right hand, he reached for the panel in front of him, punched in a few numbers, and then worked frantically to help Zolar regain control of the craft. The spacecraft careened around protruding rock formations, did a complete one-eighty, and flew back in the direction they had just come.

Meanwhile at the Area 51 Facility, in the radar room, the technician was busy reading a girlie magazine with his feet up on the console, eating a candy bar while drinking a wine cooler. He had not had his eyes on the monitor in a while as he turned the pages of the magazine. Rock-n-roll music played loudly in the background. On the monitor, the struggling speck came suddenly into view. Once it was within the fifty-mile limit of the facility, the warning buzzer sounded, and the technician finally took notice.