Crispin shivered. Everyone else on board had seen action against terrorists and extremists. He was the rookie among them, never mind that they had never encountered the Menace. Two soldiers clutched M-25 grenade launchers. Crispin likewise held his M-8 carbine. They had deadly weapons, but Crispin feared it would not be enough. This was a new enemy.
Skyranger-1 finally settled down. Major Hunter was on the ramp once it finished opening, a squaddie beside him. Their orders flooded through Crispin's head. "Secure the downed craft and eliminate all resistance." Simple enough.
He and another squaddie ran down the ramp once Hunter had the base secure. The rest of the team soon unloaded, with two riflemen to guard Skyranger-1. Crispin was sent left of the craft. A squaddie was several yards ahead.
If the enemy was anything like a human, they would be frightened, and shoot anything that moved. Either waiting for a rescue or trying to repair their ship.
Crispin shuddered when he realized the white structure ahead was actually the downed ship.
Once they were sure no targets were outside the UFO, Major Hunter had them search for an entrance. The outside of the ship was composed of four uniform white walls, one story tall. A squaddie finally found what looked to be the door, little more than grooves in one of the walls. Seven soldiers moved into position around the door while one worked on the door mechanism.
Pressing in exactly the right spot, the door finally slid open. A chirp similar to a cricket's accompanied a violet bolt that struck the squaddie's chest. He dropped to the ground, instantly dead. Before Hunter could react, a round object flew out the door. It landed at his feet.
Because Crispin was the rookie, he was also farthest from the door. That alone saved his life when the grenade exploded. He was the only survivor.
Somehow, Crispin knew what to do. Checking one of his fallen comrades, he replaced his M-8 with an M-25. He turned his attention back to the doorway. An ungainly, naked child stood there now. No, it was not a child. Four feet tall, incredibly thin, with grey skin and no mouth. Big, black bug-eyes adorned its disproportionately large head.
He brought his grenade launcher/cannon up and fired without taking aim. The HE round exploded against the door frame, but the shrapnel and explosion were enough to kill the Gray.
Another Gray could be seen inside the ship. It fired blindly, chirping violet bolts flying in Crispin's direction. A second round from his cannon hit the alien dead-center, sending bits of it all over the interior of the ship.
Crispin thought he heard footsteps. He had two choices: fire blindly into the ship or step inside and hope he had better reflexes than his remaining opponent. He decided to trust in his training. He faced the source of the footsteps as he entered the ship, and pulled the trigger once he saw the Gray. And missed.
If he had taken the rifle, Crispin knew he would be dead. The HE round destroyed the terminal directly behind the final Gray, with a large enough explosion to kill the Gray where it stood. A scream that sounded like it originated inside his head came as the Gray fell forward, its weapon flying from its hands.
Crispin scanned the room for enemies. Seeing nothing was still alive, he sighed in relief. The entire ship was one large room, with terminals along its edge and a strange, cascading pillar in the center. He was reminded of Star Trek. "Crispin to Skyranger-1," he said to the air. His communications gear picked up his voice and broadcast it on the unit's encrypted frequency. "UFO-1 secure.