Chariot 3: Conception
Chapter 52 – An inevitable morning

The heavy steps of the sentinel could be clearly heard, although mixed with a variety of other noises, commonly heard during the hangar`s day to day operations.

“Your entity has been summoned on the Bridge.” The sentinel, a well robust one, at least for a Grey, referred to the pilot while speaking to his legs, his only visible part at that instant.

The small creature that lay down on the cart underneath a Stingray II, an eight year old high speed scouter, in mint condition, and with not even a scratch, immediately stopped his work.

“Me? On the Bridge?” His telepathic thoughts re-ensured the question was really what he had just heard, followed by the metallic noise of a bunch of tools being dropped on the deck.

“Yes. Do not make the Grand Leader wait.” The pilot, one of the most skilled if not the best Stingray pilot in the entire fleet tried to nod his disproportionally big head which then hit the bottom of the craft.

He quickly got up on his foot rubbing the right side of his head and started to walk, thinking on why he would be called up where, since his conception, he had never been. “The Bridge.”

“The Grand Leader.” He repeated, referring to Grumack, the Grand Leader. One of the few in their species to have ever earned a name, the most honorable recognition that could ever happen to a Grey.

As he calmly walked by the sentinel, the considerably taller creature bumped his arm against his shoulder since the pilot was far from being tall enough to have shoulder against shoulder. “Hurry!” He mumbled into his mind as they both looked back on each other`s eyes.

The short and skinny – but at the same time lethal – creature started to run across the Flight Deck.

“What would the Grand Leader want with him? He is just a pilot.” The thoughts of the big, and not so intelligent, sentinel wondered out loud.

“He is not just a pilot.” Another crew, wearing the same thin pilot uniform, replied. “He is the best Stingray pilot you will ever hear of, and he could finish any of your sentinels before you even realized.” The creature added, making an awkward acute noise which represented the rare event of a creature almost completely absent of any feelings, laughing.

As the big sentinel lost its short temper, he turned his body preparing to release the first stroke. Unfortunately, for his surprise, he found not only one but four other Greys grouped behind him.

The angry sentinel rapidly lowered his fist, recognizing his muscles would not be enough against the four creatures that were designed to be at least ten times smarter than him.

After a long run across the hangar, the heavy breathing pilot reached the black wall in front of him. His eyes glimpsed over the word ‘Bridge’ written in his language on the surface above his head. The reflection of a display was projected on his black slanted eyes that watched it change, resembling a countdown.

Once he started to hear his own heart pulsing, the pilot noticed the sudden silence that took over the hangar. He looked back over his shoulder and then noticed the rest of the crew who had stopped working and seemed to be just watching him wait. Tens, perhaps a couple of hundred of his kind.

Completely ignoring the crowd that attentively stared at the pilot who was about to go where non one of them had ever been before, he took the time to appreciate what was posing behind the pilots, mechanics and sentinels. The most varied group of crafts and spaceships the Grey fleet would ever carry onboard a single mothership. Over four squadrons of Stingrays I, II and III, Gate-holders, Colliders, Persuaders and Intruders fully engineered by the Grey civilization, and off course, T2 and T3 ships, a creation of their creators posed on the side.

The experienced pilot wondered if one day he would ever have the chance to fly all those wings.

“Perhaps one day, if I ever fly them all I can earn a name.” For a second the pilot got lost within his dream, the one thing that almost every single intelligent life spread around the cosmos had. A dream.

“You, having a name? Blasphemy!” He felt the coldness of the negative thoughts suppressing his imagination just before his right shoulder was bumped again – much harder at this time – by the individual who just exited throughout the sliding doors concealed within the dark wall.

The sudden instinct of defense took over his body, he closed his fist, and his eyes moved trying to replace his aggressor. By the time the pilot turned his neck back straight, the creature had already sneaked by his back.

“Co-pilot. That is how I shall call you from now on.” The malefic tone followed by the weird noise that would never be identified by an Earthian as a laugh – even though it was – was creepy enough to frighten the bravest of the Greys.

He turned his body again and then finally saw the back of the most despicable pilot that any Grey would ever meet walking away after his usual hit and run.

He blinked his eyes trying to distress, turned his body back to the doors that opened and finally boarded what could be best described as an elevator. The doors closed behind him and his eyes provided the inside display with his destination. “The Bridge.” He repeated to himself.

Inside the compartment, his body started to levitate immediately once the doors closed. Weightless, his body was lifted through the dark tunnel above his head.

As he looked up all he could see was a dimmed white light where the structure would possibly end.

His body moved fast and so did the light that became closer and closer, until the light became red and his body stopped moving.

A floor materialized underneath his feet, he felt the weight of his body return, and stopped levitating.

The door on the opposite side slid opened and he stepped off the lift, exiting into a dark room, illuminated by a similar red light but from which the source he could not define.

After his first step, the Grey pilot immediately felt the presence of many others observing him, inconspicuously.

Although he could not yet see it on its entirety, the Bridge seemed far greater than what he had imagined. He looked to the sides on an unsuccessful attempt to replace the bulkheads. For the pilot`s surprise, all he saw was the strong brightness of the stars outside of both sides of the ship which, curiously, did not seem to shine inside the Bridge, at least not he way it would normally do.

He simply could not avoid noticing how that brilliance would not illuminate the interior of that room, giving him no perspective of how wide it actually was.

“I have been waiting for you. I have been waiting for this day.” The words that infiltrated his mind surprised him from behind as up to that instant he was not sure where exactly anyone was.

“This way please.” Without anything to say and yet to see his face, the humble pilot followed his path behind the moving shadow.

Lots of questions had already crossed his mind by the time they walked into the adjacent room.

“Have a sit.” His senses could only help him guess where the seat actually was.

As the visitor set comfortably on the soft metal seat, lights slowly started to lighten, he could then see the contour of the fully engraved table that separated them until he finally saw the lines of the entity in front of him.

“Grand Leader…” Despite his fame among the other pilots, meeting or even standing in front of Grumack did sounded like something that would ever take place until that moment.

He was dressed with a dull black uniform perfectly tighten against his body. The series of symbols and ancient inscriptions appeared to tell the hierarchical story of the Grand Leader, since the origins of the race to even beyond their current time, but the visitor suddenly felt uncomfortable to continue the reading.

The pilot felt the obscurity of those malign eyes staring at him. His mind was being invaded. His thoughts were no longer private.

For the first time in his existence, he finally saw the face of the leader of the leaders.

Although in considerable good shape, Grumack`s traces of age blended with wrinkles around his cheeks and forehead were evident. The Grand Leader was hundreds, probably over even a thousand years old.

“Do you know why you are here today?” The ancient Grey enquired.

“I…I do not.” He was nervous.

“I have an important assignment for you. We have located a planet that we believe will make the difference in our journey. It will, perhaps, help us replace what we have been looking for all this time.”

As he finished his words, the blinds behind Grumack started to open until a planet became visible in the outside. The unnamed pilot glared at its beauty whilst the globe reflected on his murky eyes.

“Its habitants shall call it Earth one day.”

“I am honored, Grand Leader.” The pilot replied without hesitation.

“I knew you would be. The lives of many and the future of our race shall depend on you but before I provide you with the details of your mission, I shall reduce your rank from pilot to co-pilot.”

“…pilot. Do you see any pilot?”

With the noise, the Grey creature suddenly woke up from the deepest dream.

“I don`t see anyone.” The Grey heard a different human voice replying. His brain slowly assimilated the message.

Grey capabilities of understanding linguistics were far more advanced than anything humans or other cultures in the cosmos would ever be. They were simply capable of telepathically understanding and translating almost any language or form of communication there was out there.

The voice coming from the outside made the creature rather alert. The time had come.