First Contact

First Contact
By SkutSkut

It'd been about a year since we first received a message from space, and now there was a sighting. We'd all piled into the transport ship to check out this craft that'd landed near a city. We didn't know if they'd be hostile or not, but we went in armed and prepared, just in case. We landed about a quarter mile from the ship, the captain gave us our briefing and the ships door opened, flooding the ship with light. We began filing out.

Moose was the first to go down, barely made it out the ship. I can only describe the shot as a flash of light and a loud popping sound, it didn't leave much of Moose left. The crew was reluctant to go down after that, and really who can blame them. Sarge tossed a smoke grenade out the ramp and signaled us out when it popped.

I was first down that ramp, could barely see anything through the smoke but no shots where fired at me so I took cover below the ramp and went prone. A couple more of us filed out, I didn't see who but Tiny wasn't as lucky as the rest of us. I saw him head out towards a tree where he took cover. What he didn't see was some kind of grenade land at his feet. I yelled at him to move but it was too late, he looked down and the thing exploded. The only thing I saw left of him was his gun. Two men down and we haven't even seen the enemy yet.

I crawled towards the back of the ship and Bates came with me. I heard a rustling in a nearby bush and out came the alien. It was about what we've expected, a gray. Still, seeing a movie and seeing the thing in real life was different. I froze and it'd spotted Bates. Bates opened fire and the alien returned the favor. They took each other down, if I hadn't have panicked I might have been able to save him. He lay dead by my side but I wasn't too worried about that anymore, I knew these things could die.

With newfound energy I began to move forward and pressed on into the woods. The rest of the team was flanking from the other side. We approached a small abandoned cottage, and as Sarge and the others got close, weapons fire came from one of the windows. They were shooting at me, somehow they'd seen me but not the others. They went in through the back and I heard gunfire. It turns more than one was in there and they'd taken care of them without so much as a scratch, guess they were distracted.

A lone one was out in the woods and got a surprise attack on the others. A lucky shot took out Tim, the teams medic. Sarges quick reactions dealt with the rogue alien. Tim was unconscious but he wouldn't last much longer.

We'd lost four men and we haven't even found the ship yet. I crawled forward a bit more, to the top of a bank and saw the ship in the clearing. It was a good size, about the size of a small house. Flat and metallic, not sure what it was made of but it was durable, not even heavy explosives would dent it. Eventually we found a door, swung open in traditional scifi sense. If they weren't so hostile I'd like to ask them if they watched as much of our television as we did.

Our demo man, Shark prepped one of his grenades to toss in. He didn't have a chance, as soon as he got the door open he was shot to shreds. We scurried away, knowing that grenade would blow. The aliens weren't that lucky, one stepped out at exactly the right timing and got blown to bits. The explosion managed to blast the door open too, seems the doors are the weakest part of the ship.

I went inside first, it was quite and these monitors were flashing something, I don't know what. With four of us left we split into two groups, Sarge and I took the left, Goose and Ram the right. We came into a small room with a kind of generator in the middle. It emitted a small hum and glowed an orange glow. Besides the generator and what I assume were a few chairs, the room was empty. As we approached the door to the next room we heard gunfire and a few aliens death screams. A loud explosion was heard after that, I can only assume it was the other two finding themselves dealing with another alien grenade because we couldn't hail them on the radio.

We pressed forward into the next room, looked like the cockpit. There were a few chairs and monitors and a large window looking out into the forest. A door opened behind us and one of those grays stepped out with his weapon drawn. Sarge and I let him have it but not before he got off a shot. It hit sarge in the torso, knocking him to the ground. I was no doctor but I knew he wouldn't make it. He knew as well because he pulled a heavy explosive out of his backpack and told me to get out.

I ran out the ship and as I reached the top of the bank the thing exploded, or a good bit of it did anyway, it definitely wouldn't fly again. I headed back towards the ship thinking all the aliens dead, I thought wrong. I saw one around our ship, he hadn't seen me yet so I went prone and lined up my shot. I got him right between the eyes and he went down like a rock. There was a rustling behind me so I turned over on the ground, only to see three more of the things looking for me. I got up and ran towards the ship. They must have heard me because they started firing. I reached the ship though, only to get hit in the leg as I ran up the ramp. It was just a graze and I headed in and prepped the ship for launch. Those grays fired at it and I think if I had stayed any longer they would have destroyed it.

It was a rough takeoff but I managed it. My leg was causing some serious pain and was making flying difficult but I somehow made it back to base. The plane hit the landing pad with a thud and I managed to limp out. I went straight to the infirmary and have been there the past two weeks. The nurses told me there had been more spottings and that I was the only one to come back in one piece. That news was disheartening in all honesty. Nothing could have prepared us for this invading force.

My dreams, or should I say nightmares, were all about the grays and my failed mission. It would have little variation, sometimes I'd be the only one to make it, sometimes we'd all die and sometimes only me. I'd often wake up at night in a cold sweat, I even woke up screaming once. The nurses have show concern over these matters and have asked I be prescribed some form of medication. I don't like the idea of being on pills but if they say I have to, then I have to.

I have one more month in the infirmary I've been told, and to write a report, which you are now reading. They say I'll be getting a new bionic leg since my old one is too damaged, and that we have armor now that should help against the alien weaponry. While I'm glad about the armor I'd like a transfer to anything but field work, I had enough of that my first time out there.

I should also note that the only sound they had made was the screams of pain they emitted when hurt or dying. I don't know how they communicate and I don't want to sound crazy, but I think they use some form of telepathy. As for their writing, it looked like gibberish. I think understanding how they communicate would be vital, and if possible bringing a live specimen back should be a, if not top, priority.

There were also strange creatures on the monitors in the ship, I don't know if they're allies of the grays or what, but they looked even weirder, something no man could imagine. Tall creatures, with spiny bodies and crab like claws, and what looked like a permanent, evil smile. Just thinking about it makes me shudder.

I would also like to suggest an upgrade to weaponry, something more accurate. In times of fear one can barely control their body, and shaking highly decreases accuracy. It wouldn't have helped any on our first contact but hopefully it could in future missions.

As for my final note of this report I would also like to suggest checking the wreckage I left. I'm sure we could find something useful there, whether it be knowledge of the aliens themselves, their weapons, or even their craft. It's been a few weeks so I'm sure they've either left the area or died off, not having a ship or any supplies left.

Private Johnson, signing off