Oh golly, long time no see !
Sorry it took so long for me to update... real life and things and all that jazz.
The good news is, there are only going to be (at most) two more chapters before this baby is finished! WHOO!

I tried to make this chapter longer than my last few, to make up for my lack of updates.
I'll warn you now, it's a bit of an emotional roller coaster with TONS of plot! I hope you're ready!

With no further adieu...


Chapter 9 - The Storm

Vera drummed her fingers impatiently on the kitchen table, mouth drawn into a thin line. Grawl sat across from her, expression painfully neutral.

"You're sure you alerted him?"

"Yes, yes I'm sure," Vera snapped. "I told him to get his pale ass back to base almost half an hour ago." She ran a hand across her face, half out of frustration, half out of exhaustion. Grawl hmphed appropriately, twiddling his thumbs and staring off into space.

Just as Vera was reaching for her communicator, Chuck burst through the door, frazzled and out of breath.

"Sorry! So sorry. I was…"

"Save the excused." Vera cut him off, rising from her seat. "No more dicking around, Charles, we need to send a message back to base. Now." Chuck stopped in his tracks.

"And what exactly are we going to tell them?" he asked, his expression fraught with worry.

"That we could not convince any of the natives to give us skin samples…goes against their culture… yadda yadda… I don't really know! Anything! Anything to get their minds off of butchering these people," she exhaled sharply, wincing at the sudden pain that had just flooded her system. Migraines. Grawl placed a firm hand on her shoulder.

Chuck stared off blankly into the distance.

"What we need to do… is distract them," Chuck said in a calculating tone. Vera's ears perked up.

"Distract them with what?" she inquired, almost regretting what she might hear.

"Something useful…" He seemed to become thoughtful for a minute.

"Hey! Did we ever fully analyze those samples we got of their rain rocks?" Chuck snapped his fingers, pointing at Vera. She looked considerate for a moment, before dashing from the room without a word. Chuck and Grawl exchanged surprised glances before following her.

The three ended up in Vera's makeshift lab, huddled around the woman as she took a tiny sample of the ground up rock and began mixing it into a solution; it bubbled and fizzed angrily. Taking a dropper, she extracted some of the fluid and dropped it carefully onto a microscope slide, Chuck and Grawl leaning over her to watch her every move.

"Can a girl get some space?" she asked, elbowing Chuck a little. The two men mumbled their apologies, stepping back to stand in hushed anticipation.

A few quiet, tense moments later, Vera rose from her hunched position over the microscope, her back facing the two men.

"So?" Chuck prompted. Silence.

"Charles…" Vera breathed. The two men swallowed simultaneously.

"W-what is it? What did you find?"

Vera whirled on them, grinning from ear to ear, eyes shining with joy.

"I have never seen anything like this… it's… the compound! It's amazing! It's unheard of!" She gestured emphatically, leaping into Chuck's arms to give him a huge bear hug.

"You're a genius! Thank you!" she cried, still smiling.

"Ah… haha. I think you're the genius, Ver-Bear," he patted her back awkwardly. Vera pulled back, a look of horror on her face.

"I told you to never use that nickname ever again," she gasped, eyes darting to Grawl and back. There was a moment of tense silence before the two burst out laughing, leaving a very confused Grawl to stand there in a state of utter puzzlement.

"So… is this good news?" he finally ventured to ask. Vera let out another joyous laugh.

"Yes! Yes, this is wonderful news! This solves everything! Well… almost everything," she smiled sheepishly. "There's still a lot of work to be done. It's not exactly the quickest of fixes, but it's a start! The compounds created by your rain rocks, when combined with hydroxide, a relatively stable solution to begin with, causes the hydroxide to break its bonds at an accelerated rate, producing a surprising amount of energy! I… honestly, I barely understand how it's possible." Vera fell back dramatically into a chair, pressing a hand to her forehead. Grawl and Chuck exchanged glances of mutual confusion at the chemistry jargon.

"And to think you put these things in a dump," Vera mused, holding up a still-in-tact rain rock.

"These annoying little rocks are going to save our planet and my people?" Grawl asked skeptically. Vera gave a nod and a smile.

"I do believe they will."


Lem paced back and forth in his apartment. It had been almost an hour since Chuck had left, and he was beginning to get nervous. What if something had gone wrong? What if the military had detained them and Lem was just sitting at home, doing nothing? Decidedly, Lem grabbed his wallet and keys and began heading for the door. Just as he was about to reach for the doorknob, there was a firm knock. Lem retracted his hand, startled, before quickly opening the door.

It was not Chuck. In fact, it was no one he recognized, but he immediately knew that this figure demanded attention.

"Are you Lem?" the male figure in front asked. He was wearing what appeared to be a military uniform, but it looked nothing like Grawl's.

"Y-yes?" he stuttered. The front man, nodded curtly to his buddies behind him.

Without warning, Lem was bombarded by three men in strange uniforms, throwing him onto his back before flipping him over onto his stomach. Lem cried out in pain and fear.

"What's going on!" he shouted in confusion, cold handcuffs tightening around his wrists as his breathing accelerated to the point of hyperventilation.

"You are being detained for possible associations with the alien hostiles. You will be apprehended for questioning until further notice. Lieutenant Glork will now read you your rights…"

Lem barely heard any of his rights, the world becoming a fog as panic set in. He was shoved none too gently into the back of some dark vehicle, two guards seated on either side of him.

"Where are you taking me?" Lem demanded, sounding more fragile than authoritative. He received no answer. He felt as though he might pass out.

"I can't breathe…. I can't…" Lem begged, eyes bulging from the lack of air in his body. A needle was forcibly jabbed into the side of his neck, causing him to scream in pain. Soon the world began to blur around the edges and Lem felt his eyelids begin to droop. Soon, he forgot where he was and drifted off to a dreamless sleep.


"I can't believe the answer was right under our noses the entire time," Chuck exclaimed, leaning back in one of the communications room chairs casually. "Seriously, this feels way too easy."

"Yes, well, it isn't. We still have to send Kennedy our findings and our general analysis and wait for their response. It'll take at least a couple of days until we get the 'all clear' on their end," Vera rebuked. Chuck sighed dramatically.

"You always have to rain on my parade, don't you?" he whined.

"I'm not raining on anything, I'm just putting things into perspective," she corrected, still typing up the lengthy report.

"And…. Done. Alright. Now we play the waiting ga-" Vera was cut off by frantic pounding on the front door of their base. The two exchanged worried glances before getting up and hurrying out of the room. Chuck swung open the door to reveal a very anxious, very out of breath Skiff.

"Skiff? What the… did you run here?" Chuck asked, peering outside, squinting into the bright sun of midday. Skiff shook his head, pointing wordlessly to a bike that had been thrown onto the ground.

"Still impressive," Vera commented from behind Chuck.

"Lem! They took him!" Skiff wheezed, his expression frenzied and eyes watery. Chuck felt his heart stop.

"Who? Who took Lem?" he demanded, surprised at his own commanding tone. He felt Vera go completely still behind him. Skiff shook his head wordlessly, still trying to catch his breath.

"I… don't know," he gasped, leaning on the doorframe for support. "Big… military-looking guys… never seen them before."

Chuck was out the door before Vera could even open her mouth.

"Charles, wait! What do you think you're going to do?" she called after him desperately. He had picked up Skiff's fallen bike, mounting it with determination.

"I'm going to find him," he called back before taking off down the dirt road.

"Hey! That's mine!" Skiff called after him. Chuck obviously didn't care, as he didn't turn around once.

"We have to contact Grawl. Get inside. Quick," Vera ordered, and Skiff could do nothing but obey, watching with desperate eyes as Chuck's figure slowly disappeared into the distance.


Lem awoke to a pounding headache and a stiff neck. He was seated upright in a dark room, tethered to his chair. A single light sat on the table in front of him, the figure across from him was hidden in the half darkness of the room.

"Do you know why you are here, Lem?" the voice asked, his tone calm and smooth.

"Not… really," Lem responded, his throat dry. He squinted at the offensive light.

"You are here because we believe you have valuable information about the hostile aliens. We need to know what you know. If you cooperate, you will be set free, unharmed. If you fail to comply, extra measures will be taken to insure that you never see the light of day again." It was not a threat; it was a promise. Lem swallowed.

"Now, I will begin by asking a series of questions to which you will answer either yes or no. Question one: Is it true that you aided in the prevention of one of the human's captures the last time it was on this planet?"

"Yes, but…" Lem tried.

"Only answer with 'yes' or 'no,' please. Question two: Have you been spending a prolonged amount of time over the past few days with the alien hostiles?"

"Yes. They're not…"

"Question three: Are you aware of any plans that the alien hostiles may have that threaten the safety of our planet and its people?"

Lem paused, thinking back to the conversation he'd had with Chuck and Vera in the kitchen of their base. He thought of the terror in Vera's eyes, the repulsion on Chuck's face.

"No," Lem answered finally.

"You are lying," the voice stated neutrally.

"I am not lying," Lem assured, his voice more confident than he felt. "I don't know of any plans that either Chuck or Vera have to plot against us. They are not hostile."

There was soft muttering from someone behind the figure across from him. Lem gulped, a shiver running up his spine. He had no idea how many people were in the room with him right now. The murmuring stopped and the figure across from him straightened.

"Alright. Thank you for your cooperation," he stated in monotone.

"So you'll let me go?" Lem dared to ask.

"I'm afraid not," the voice replied, causing Lem's throat to tighten.

"We will be holding you here until further notice."

"Why! Why are you doing this?" Lem cried, finally losing his cool. He felt a shift in the room, as though whoever was in there was waiting for him to ask that exact question.

"We are doing this for the protection of our species, Lem," the voice replied calmly. The lights flickered on above him, causing Lem to shrink back into his chair and hiss in pain. When his vision cleared, he felt his stomach drop.

Sitting across from him was Dr. Glackle, a smug smile plastered across his face. Several other thin-faced men stood behind him, each carefully expressionless.

"Pr-Professor Glackle?" Lem stuttered in disbelief.

"Surprise." Glackle mock-shrugged, smiling in false sympathy.


"I want a team to go to Lem's apartment and see if you can find any clues as to who might have taken him. We've already sent out a team to survey the surrounding area. You," Grawl pointed at two short, squat soldiers. "I want you two to work on finding the nearest military bases as well as names involved. We have limited time, people. We don't know who we're up against here," Grawl boomed over his soldiers. Men were scrambling about in a flustered panic, practically tripping over one another. As soon as Vera had gotten to the base, chaos had broken out. Apparently Grawl didn't take kindly to his citizens being abducted by outside military personnel.

"Now, tell us one more time what you saw. As many details as possible," Grawl commanded, turning to a cowering Skiff.

"I saw a team of about five guys, big guys, they looked kind of military, but something was off. Anyways, I saw them bust into Lem's place and haul him own. They threw him into the back of some van and sped off! I came to you guys immediately after!" he ended, looking desperately at Vera, who attempted to give him a sympathetic look.

"Vera," Grawl addressed her in a softer tone, yet still remained tense. "Have you heard anything from Chuck?" he asked, his tone a little too hopeful. Vera shook her head.

"Not a peep. I'm worried, Grawl," she admitted openly.

"I know," he replied, an unspoken Iamtoo lingering in the air.

"We'll find them, right?" she asked, feeling helpless and hating it. Grawl nodded solemnly.

"We'll find them," he assured.

"Sir!" a soldier called from across the room, running towards him.

"Our surveyors have identified an unregistered facility just outside of the city limits! It doesn't appear to be military run, but it seems heavily guarded. Permission to investigate further?"

"Permission granted," Grawl saluted. "I'm taking this as a lead," he said, turning to Vera. "We established diplomatic terms of your stay on our planet the day of your arrival. The chance of this being a military operation, even outside of our own city, is slim. We can only assume that this is a privately run organization. Judging by this boy's visual description of the men, I'd say it's a safe assumption." Vera nodded at everything Grawl said.

"So how do we act? Do we invade?" she pressed, unfamiliar with military tactics on her own planet, much less on this one. Grawl shook his head.

"No, that would be too risky. If they are holding Lem captive, they could have him anywhere and under any kind of pressure. We don't want him to be harmed in any way, even by accident."

Vera swallowed, her throat dry. Not a few hours ago, she had just found the solution to all of their problems. Now, it seemed as though things were just as dismal as they had been the day before.
"Charles…" she whispered under her breath. "Where are you?"


Chuck entered Lem's apartment silently. He looked around for any signs of distress, pulse pounding in his ears. Nothing was out of place, not a single object overturned. His eyes scanned the kitchen before moving through the living room, and finally into Lem's bedroom.

His breath caught in his throat at the sight of the small piece of paper that lay innocently on Lem's pillow. Chuck darted over to it, picking it up to read it.

Captain Charles Baker,

We have Lem. He will not be harmed if you cooperate. Take the main road out of the city until you get to Dregdob Drive. Turn left and follow the road until you see a large warehouse. You will find Lem there. Come alone or we take his life. This is not a joke.

Chuck felt his pulse quicken even more, this time out of sheer anger. They had kidnapped Lem. They had stolen him out of his own home and were holding him hostage. But why? Why would someone do that?

Without a second thought, Chuck dropped the note back onto the bed and ran out the door.


"Why!" Lem yelled. "I thought you liked them! Why would you lie?" he demanded, anger boiling in his stomach. "I thought you wanted to learn from them!"

"I learned all I needed to know when they admitted to being exactly like us," Glackle hissed. Lem bit his tongue to keep him from saying anything else.

"Our race is diseased as it is. Most of us are nothing more than filthy little bottom feeders, satisfied with sitting in our own filth as we fornicate and spawn and fill the world with more disease and pestilence," the man spat, a look of utter disgust and hatred on his face. "We are a planet divided; we will never truly be able to overcome such ridiculous ideas of race and privilege without some kind of morale boost." Lem listened quietly, hoping the man's monologue would eventually cause him to spill his plan.

"And then along came an alien race. Such a perfect scapegoat, wouldn't you say?" Glackle asked with a demented smile. Lem remained silent.

"I saw the opportunity, so I seized it. I planted the first seeds of doubt by writing that ridiculous, over-the-top article about the hostility of these so-called humans. And oh! Did it ever catch people's attention!" Glackle smiled, cackling gleefully.

"What better to bring together the morale of the people than an outside threat; an alien threat? It will bring us all together! We can band against a common enemy! We will become stronger!"

"You're insane. They'll find me," Lem said at last, his voice confident. Glackle just laughed.

"Oh I certainly hope they do! I'm counting on it, actually," he sat back in his chair. Pulling a cloth from his coat pocket, he began to clean his glasses.

"For, you see, once they do get here, I'm going to kill them."


Dun dun dun! I'm so terribly for leaving off with a cliff hanger like that.
But I promise, my next update really won't take as long as the last one.

Cheers!
Mr. Gregor Samsa