Evaluate: The Alien Cadets, #4

By Corrie Garrett

Don't miss the original story from the Alien Cadets!

Aaron Cancik, a Los Angeles fireman, has been doggedly fighting the chaos threatening to destroy his city for weeks. A terrorist attack in Europe triggered a cascading series of natural disasters, and the whole world is suffering.

When aliens arrive, willing to help and claiming altruism, Aaron is as suspicious as the rest of the world. Like most, he swears he'll get the truth out of them, if he ever gets a chance to meet one.

But unlike most, he'll have his chance.

In one crazy day of surprises, earthquakes, and unexpected connections, Aaron has the chance to get answers, and possibly change the aliens' agenda.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Corrie Garrett
• Release date: Jan 30, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524209407

Book preview

Description

Aaron Cancik, a Los Angeles fireman, has been doggedly fighting the chaos threatening to destroy his city for weeks. A terrorist attack in Europe triggered a cascading series of natural disasters, and the whole world is suffering.

When aliens arrive, willing to help and claiming altruism, Aaron is as suspicious as the rest of the world. Like most, he swears he'll get the truth out of them, if he ever gets a chance to meet one.

But unlike most, he'll have his chance.

In one crazy day of surprises, earthquakes, and unexpected connections, Aaron has the chance to get answers, and possibly change the aliens' agenda.

Alien Cadets Suggested Reading Order:

Evaluate (Novella)

Manipulate (Book 1)

Captivate (Book 2)

Eradicate (Book 3)

Chapter 1

Eto’s eyestalks vibrated with the roar of the helicopter as they flew south along the coast of California, following the curve of Earth’s largest ocean. The sun was just sliding above the hills to his left, beginning what, he hoped, would be his last day on this planet. His pilot lowered their altitude as the sun rose, staying in the shadow of the hills for a few more moments. She was a human woman. Perhaps she suspected the nature of Eto’s task today and intuitively dreaded the coming day. More likely, she was remembering to fly low, as he had requested.

The water was a shifting metallic blue in the distance, edging toward a pale, gray shore. He felt the need to appreciate it before he finished his assignment here. The currents were slowly carrying the dust and debris of Europe, their small, devastated continent, to the corners of the planet. If he ever returned, it wouldn’t look like this. Great swaths of the Atlantic were already turning a muddy greenish-brown. The linguists who’d come to Earth and done a rough and ready study of the prominent languages, had told him the etymology of the ocean names, but he could not now recall.

One of those linguists crouched behind him now, his eyestalks rolled into tight, frightened balls. He had volunteered to assist Eto during the past weeks of the planetary evaluation, but he was still uncomfortable trusting human devices. He was no coward—no Spo who lived to adulthood could be called a coward—but Eto could not deny that this was a trying situation.

Any new planet was an assault on the senses, and this one added the further threat of a destabilized environment. Currently, all the moist, bacteria-laden smells of Earth were muted, but as soon as the helicopter landed and they opened the doors, they would flood back in. Even after three weeks, Eto still could not completely ignore the smells. Yet it was a striking world, if one could subdue their natural distaste for the unpleasant odors and textures, and their appropriate fear of the sporadic natural disasters.

What were their names? Eto asked the linguist abruptly. The countries immediately affected by the explosion?

Ah, the European Union?

No, the names of the individual regions.

I believe... France, Switzerland, parts of Italy and Germany.

Eto twitched an eyestalk in acknowledgement. He was in a strange mood: he felt a need for clarity, for precision, for... mourning?

It was not his people’s doing, the cataclysmic explosion that wreaked havoc on this planet. In fact, the Spo were already evaluating the oceans surrounding Europe, testing the atmospheric debris, and calculating the scope and cost of seeding the Earth with their great engines. Perhaps they could condense the particulate matter and eventually restore the biomes, if not to what they once were, then at least to commensurate levels of oxygen and translucency for the recovery of most sea life. Still, much would be lost, even if they decided to do this. If they decided not to...

Though he could not see it happening, he knew that giant schools of fish were dying, poisoned by the irradiated dust, magnificent kelp beds were withering for lack of sunlight, and the large predators with enough body mass to withstand the immediate effects of the poison, were entering the desperate throes of madness and starvation.

His people didn’t need any earthly resources, but if they wanted to make profit on the sale of earthly culture, the humans needed a viable planet. He sought to be impartial, but he couldn’t help the disgust he felt at the humans who had perpetrated this global catastrophe. It was—the mere word filled him with repugnance—suicidal. There was nothing worse to say.

Not far ahead of them, on the beach, Eto spotted two huge and mottled lumps. He could make out a giant tail and gash of a mouth on each.

What are those? Eto barked into the ear of the human pilot. She jumped and the helicopter rolled sickeningly to the right. Eto braced a hand against the roof and sunk his claws into the metal. The linguist squeaked and grabbed at the straps on the walls. The window next to Eto gave an excellent view to their potential plummeting death, but he merely glanced at it while the pilot righted them.

What is that? Eto repeated. There. Those two great mounds on the beach. He pointed with his free hand.

I think, the pilot peered through the clear