Across Worlds... A Twenty Four Hour Short Story

Source: Pixabay

Mars...

Silver sat at the head of the table and scowled at no one in particular. His facial expression mirrored his feelings; he was enraged at this unexpected turn of events. This was supposed to be the year he earned a seat in council. He could almost feel the soft velvet touch of the council's round table, and each minute he sat at the head of this glorified lump of wood only incensed him the more. He hissed for the umpteenth time and stood up...

"Anyone with a better idea?"

The rest of the Calvary officers simply stared at each other mutedly. It seemed no one had a better idea than Kill and Destroy, or perhaps no one simply wanted to challenge the suggestion of Captain Silver.

"It is decided then." Silver decreed, then he ordered. "Prepare the engines for phase 1! I leave in one week. You are all dismissed."

As the calvary officers arose and scattered towards their various duty posts, Silver pondered on what the months ahead held for him. He would go to this Earth of a planet and scout, or rather pretend to scout the supposed life it holds. Then after a week or two, he'll send word and order the kill squad to proceed. It shouldn't be long after that. All in all, his rise to the council might be delayed a couple extra months. But he'll get that seat eventually.

For the first time since receiving the Earth memo, Captain Silver smiled...

...

Earth...

From a stool in the small canteen, Silver watched the procession outside in partial hate, partial amazement. The small street was filled with people, too many people. How did earthlings manage to cram all these many people into their hierachy? He wondered. Perhaps their council was multiple times larger than that of his beloved Mars. That possibility seemed to potentially pose some sort of threat in his mind. And the more he thought about it, the more he felt operation Kill and Destroy had to be carried out.

He smiled to himself at the possibilities that beckoned. Perhaps after comprehending the astute foresight of his plans, the council might even reward him with a seat one place higher than he had previously anticipated. It may not be a waste after all, this annoying trip across planets. His hands were again beginning to feel the soft velvet touch of the council's tab...

"You like the feel of my coffee table mister?"

Silver's day dreams are suddenly cut short, and by an ordinary earthling no less. In a fit of about-to-be-released anger, he lifts his head away from the black watery substance one of the earthling boys had brought him and turns towards this intruder. But as he is about to put this intruding earthling in 'it's' right place, he comes face to face with her, and their eyes lock. Silver looked back down at the table in confusion.

"Oh, okay, you are a shy one."

The waitress sits across Silver and places her hands on the table, rubbing it in the manner Silver had been previously.

"Yeah, it does kinda feel nice to the skin. Now that I really think of it."

Silver raises his head a bit and glances at her. He didn't know or understand what exactly made him do it, but as she smiled at him he returned her smile two fold. And something in his stomach made him feel like the floor was about to give way beneath his feet.
He suddenly stands up and leaves the canteen.

Once on the street, Silver is again enraged. What the hell was wrong with him in there? Apart from the foolery which he had demonstrated, he also hated the earthlings. They were a threat to Mars for crying out loud! So why was he acting like a fool?

He needed to get it together. He would proceed to the drop point and immediately order the kill squad to proceed. In a day or two all of this would...

"Mister... hey mister, you forgot your hat."

Silver turned, and came face to face again with the unsettling earthling. And once again he found himself smiling sheepishly at her, that feather in his stomach beginning to flutter again.

"Oh... Sorry, err... thank you, err..."

"Jane. My name is Jane." She smiled at him, and Silver couldn't help but feel that her eyes had the magnetism of the best of Mars' rare gems. Even more...

"Thank you Jane."

She nodded at him.

"Do come back sometime. Our lunch tables don't bite as much as the coffee ones."

Silver chuckled a bit at the joke, even if he didn't really understand it. Everything about her was disrupting his system, and her every smile was contagious. Somehow though, he was attracted to it, he enjoyed it, he wanted it. It was a felony!

But as he watched the gaily steps she took as she walked away he knew...

He couldn't order any action that would harm this earthling. He simply couldn't. Council seat or no...

...

That night the council in Mars received a memo. A very brief one...

And one year later, Jane and Captain Silver had their first daughter.

They named her Velvet. And she holds the peace...

Across Two Worlds...

THE END

#SladenSpeaks

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Written for @mctiller's Twenty Four Hour Short Story Contest

Prompt was...
People on another planet discover Earth holds life.

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