Sequence by Adam Moon

around erratically. It had two eyes and a gaping maw full of sharp teeth. Its armored body was covered in fine purple hairs. At the end of each appendage was a hand with little suckers for finger-tips and it had various markings all over its body that did not appear natural, as if the creature had marked its own skin with images, but they were difficult for Chris to make out. It also looked as though it had metallic bracelets or something on two of its appendages. As Chris looked more closely, he saw that each had a display but the displays were blank.
    The captain said to the first m ate, “He’s aquatic, so just flush him into a pod and we’ll administer the purging agents and cleansers while he’s in stasis.”
    “That’s against regulations. Plus, I think this one is female.”
    “I don’t care. We’re done. I just want to go home.”
    The first m ate said enthusiastically, “Are we really done? I thought we had a couple loose ends.”
    “W e do, but I don’t have the desire to go back for them under the circumstances. This is more than we need and you know it.”
    Number Four said, “The creature has been flushed and put under. Should I jump home instead of circling back?”
    “Yes!” the first mate said eagerly. “We’re done. We get to go home.”
    Chris said, “What does that mean for me?”
    The captain sighed. “You can stay in the mech for now , but we’ll need it back as soon as we arrive at our final destination.”
    Chris didn’t have a stomach, but he knew that if he did, it would be upset, giving him fits of ulcer-induced pain.
    Samda sidled over to him and whispered, “If we’re going to make a move, we should make it soon.”
    Chris looked at her incredulously. “We’re not going to make a move. We’re going to see this through and hope these guys take us home.”
    “That’s a crappy plan , Earthman.”
    “It’s the only safe plan available.”

Outpost Planet Eight
     
    The ship appeared above a dirty-looking planet. On the night side it was completely dark with no unnatural lights shining. Chris could only assume that the dark side of the planet was unpopulated. The day side didn’t have much more going for it. It appeared brown and dusty.
    A large ship approached and hailed them. The ship was fitted with huge cannons , and was ominous enough that it looked as though the ship itself wanted nothing more than to blow them to bits.
    An image appeared on the monitor. When she saw it, Samda jumped backwards and Chris said, “Shit.”
    A mech just like theirs stared back at them on the screen, but it looked to be designed for war.
    The captain was not surprised. He said, “This is the collector ship, returning from our mission.”
    The mech said enthusiastically, “It’s good to see you, Captain. You’re ahead of schedule.”
    “We were forced to omit certain species because of the Gray threat.”
    “Those bastards gave you grief, huh?”
    “We expected no less from them. But we have all that we need to accomplish our grand experiment.”
    “Land whenever you’re ready , sir. She’ll be pleased to see you.”
    “I sure hope so. How is she?”
    “That’s not for me to say. You’ll see for yourself when you land.”
    “Wish us luck.”
    “You got it, Captain. We’ll guard the skies until it’s done. Good luck.”
    “Thank you.”
    The first mate blurted out, “How are our bodies?”
    “Frosty and pe rfectly intact. I hope for your sakes that your mission was a success or you might never see them again.”

Initial Descent
     
    Th e Collector descended towards the planet.
    As they broke the cloud c over, the captain said to Samda, “I have a favor to ask of you. We’ll need help off-loading the pods when we land. If I gave you a mechanized unit like Chris’, would you help us?”
    “I didn’t think there were any left.”
    “There should be a few in storage on the surface. What do you say?”
    She looked at Chris and said, “Is it safe?”
    “Just make