Second Contact [Alien Nation #2] (#Wattys2019)

1

Jules pulled herself up the ladder to the Phoenix's cockpit, her stomach roiling with nerves.

Today was the day. After over a month of planning, waiting, preparing, Task Force Delta was almost ready to deploy. They would be part of the second wave of Commonwealth operatives to descend on Earth, with Alpha, Beta, and Gamma having already started work in their respective countries. In a few hours, she'd be back on Earth, an alien on a strange planet once again. And this time, she'd be going it alone. No crew behind her, no distant cousin in front of her. Just her and her mission on a shattered world.

"How are we doing for time, Erri?" she said, going over and leaning on the back of the pilot's chair. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand; Erri was comfortable at almost unbearable temperatures. She didn't know how the computers could stand it.

"Almost done with the pre-flight checks," he said without looking up from his console, talons dancing over the holographic keyboard written in a script Jules didn't have a hope of understanding. "Just waiting for our passengers now. Cass is keeping her eyes open."

"What about the other teams?"

"Epsilon left a few minutes ago—they're going to that big country. The cold one."

Jules frowned. "Russia? I thought Gamma were already there?"

"No, it's the other big one."

"Canada?"

"Maybe," said Erri. The mane of fine spines on his head twitched in disgust. "It is all the same to me—too damned cold. Water does not belong in a powder on the ground."

Jules smirked. "Well, where we're going you're going to have to get used to it falling out of the sky."

"You say that like I'll be leaving my cockpit."

"Have you two found a good drop point for me yet?" she said, hating to kill Erri's good mood, but she had to know that there was a plan in place. There would be time for banter when the potential invasion of the Commonwealth was dealt with.

"There's a public park two miles from your destination," Cass's voice piped up from the console, somewhat distorted by the small speakers. "We'll orbit until nightfall, then drop you there just before sunrise, so you probably won't be seen, but you won't have to walk in the dark for long either. Are you sure you know where you're going?"

"Alderley Tower, Hackney," Jules recited. "I have the coordinates logged in my datapad. That's the location our drone last pinged from. I go in, grab it, and get the hell out."

"And message me for extraction," Cass added sternly.

"What do the Terrans want with one of our drones anyway?" said Erri, swivelling his chair to face her. "It's not like they can get into it, and really, they have bigger problems."

"They probably think it's from the others," Jules shrugged. "Maybe they think they can hack it."

"Don't forget to take notes on your concealer's performance," Cass reminded her. "Oh, I don't like knowing I won't be able to help you keep track of everything. Are you sure you'll be all right?"

"Cass, I'm fine. I can take care of myself. For a few days, at least," she said, fiddling with the earring an engineer had dropped at the Phoenix the other day. Two quick taps of the gemstone in the middle, and she would vanish – if it worked as it was supposed to. The technology was still experimental on such a small scale, but it was better than nothing. In the matching earring was the tracker that would help Cass watch out for her during the mission.

"How are you feeling about this, Erri?" she said, her voice softening a little. Earth, especially dreary, damp Britain, was not his ideal environment.