The Last Crite's Intentions

“Charlie! Charlie! Hey, snap out of it! We’re home!” Ethan shook Charlie’s shoulder with much enthusiasm as their ship approached Earth. Charlie, however, kept looking out the window towards space. Not necessarily to the abandoned Terracorp station they had barely managed to escape but space itself. His mind was completely absorbed in thought. What was to become of his life now that everyone he ever knew was gone? Even his best friend, Ug, had turned into a different person. Charlie remembered the end of their reunion’s first and last conversation. It replayed in his mind much like a broken record of the old days.

“Guess you got a promotion, huh?” Charlie had said to Ug…no, Councelor Tetra.

“Things change, Charlie. Things change.” Why did he, Charlie, have to pull a gun on his best friend? What caused so much distance between them that a simple conversational reunion was out of the question? And yet, the choice was simple: kill or be killed…by your own best friend.

Something changed in Charlie seeing the figure before him that was once his best friend – a kindling ember burning deep inside. Charlie didn’t want to watch Ug kill those around him of course. However, he also felt betrayal. Betrayal in that Ug must have thought Charlie a simple fool. Everyone thought Charlie was a simple fool. It was the reason he wanted to be a bounty hunter; he wanted to be something more than a simple fool. On that abandoned station, Ug denied him that hope. All that bounty hunting summed up to ‘Charlie you’re a simple fool for even trying.’ Crites…Crites were more important to Ug than Charlie. The thought made Charlie grit his teeth out of anger against the little things – out his best friend’s misguided ambitions. Crites…those little fucking things took everything away from him. Charlie could feel his face get red hot from rising anger.

After inevitability took its course, Charlie couldn’t help but mutter, “Things change…so do people.” It was such a bitter reply that Charlie could only wonder if there was nothing else he could have said. He couldn’t even muster up the courage to hug what was once his friend for it would be the last chance. His friend, Ug, had always been there for him while travelling as a bounty hunter. Why couldn’t he return the favor in the end?

“Charlie! Look! Earth! It’s so beautiful! We’re finally back!” Ethan maintained his enthusiasm oblivious to Charlie’s distant expression. Charlie snapped out of it and looked towards Earth which radiated such a brilliant blue that he could only imagine the ocean replaced by sapphires. Back home, he thought. Not his that’s for sure. Everyone he ever knew was gone.

A voice came over the transmission radio and guided them safely to a docking port. The landing was smooth to which Fran and Ethan hugged when landfall was made. They both rushed to the ship’s doors to greet the planet’s atmosphere. It wasn’t the cleanest air, but it was a change of pace from a ship’s recycled oxygen supply.

“Charlie, are you coming?” Ethan waved Charlie toward the ship’s exit. Charlie declined with a simple wave of his hand. Ethan stood there for a moment puzzled. “Charlie…about that guy on the station. I’m sorry but it had to be done. It was either them or us.”

“I know but still…”

“Don’t let it weigh you down so much. We take things as they come and go. Not much else a person can do but live and survive. If we’re not surviving, then we’re dying.”

“I know…thanks. Go on ahead without me. I’ll catch up.” Ethan stood in the doorway for a few more moments until he heard Fran shouting for him then took his exit. Charlie continued to look outside at the other ports watching ships come and go. He missed his friend and what had happened was no easy passing. In complete silence, Charlie noticed a faint sound from the ship’s hull. It sounded like a recording and foreign language (almost gibberish). Getting up from his chair, he headed through the door to the hull. Amidst multiple containers, he noticed four white containers each emitting this faint sound that seemed like some kind of recording. It didn’t take him long to realize the ‘gibberish’ he was hearing. Crites! Those fucking things! That bastardization of a fucking language!

He ripped the top open from the first white container with much anger boiling in his blood. Why was he so absorbed in thought that he didn’t check the storage for hidden Crites! Crites are always trying to hide their young among food sources. Looking in the container, he noticed two eggs and what seemed like a recorder replaying some indecipherable message. In complete rage, Charlie put his foot inside the container and began stomping the eggs into oblivion. No way did I kill my best friend just to have these fucking things survive! He fumed. Throwing the first container across the hull, he reached for the second one. Again, he found eggs and stomped them into oblivion. The same was done to the third to which he thought he heard screams coming from one of the eggs. Just my imagination. These things have no feelings, he reassured himself. Pulling the last white container’s lid off, his rage subsided as he stared into the eyes of a small Crite staring back.

The little black fur ball with fluorescent-like red eyes looked back at him. He noticed a similar black fur ball unfurl itself in the left corner of the container which looked at him too. Charlie then noticed that blood was dripping from the first one’s mouth. He remembered that the other containers had debris in each corner which must had been a source of food. The little Crite looked up at Charlie with wonder in its eyes. Forming a smile, it began to turn its head back towards the recorder while maintaining eye contact with Charlie. It almost seemed like the little thing was contemplating something.

“Ccc..hha…rrrll..iieee…” It rasped to which Charlie’s eyes widened. These things never spoke in human language! Charlie slowly reached for the closest thing he could grab being a stick-like broom. The crite saw this and made a dash for his container’s companion who noticed the reaction. The second tried to shoot a needle at Charlie to which he nearly dodged taking it in the neck. Both Crites jumped from the container and headed toward the ship’s door still open.

“No you don’t! You’re not getting back to Earth you little demons!” Charlie looked around the room quickly looking for a better weapon than some broom thing he had in his hand. Underneath shuffled clothes he saw what looked like some sort of pistol. He grabbed it and took after the two Crites now racing – rolling – across the dock’s port. Dodging other people, Charlie lost sight a few times of the little things. Aimless in a crowd of people, Charlie looked in all directions for any sign of the Crites to which he heard an audible scream. He headed in that direction to find a man was being attacked by one of the Crites. The other Crite jumped on the ship next to this man while the first was biting into his neck. The man flailed wildly not giving Charlie a clear shot. Charlie took aim, and when the time felt right, took as safe a shot as he could. It blew a hole in the side of the first Crite who screamed and fell to the floor writhing in agony. The other Crite appeared in the ship’s doorway and yelled gibberish at the first one. The first one made a wild dash to the doorway with Charlie close behind.

He was too late for Charlie could see the ship’s door close, its engine roar, and the ship begin its lift off. Charlie could only stand there and watch as these two last Crites took off into the sky. The ship took off leaving Charlie alone with a man bleeding on the ground, a trail of Crite blood, and a gathering crowd of curious onlookers. He took off running in full sprint to the ship he, Ethan, and Fran had arrived in. Ethan was the only one present to greet him curious as to the commotion coming from the neighboring docking port. In a short explanation, he told Ethan that the Crites had stored some of their offspring in storage containers and he needed to go after them as it was his job – still unfinished apparently. Ethan gave a two-minute crash course on how to use the ship’s autopilot take off/landing procedures as Charlie never flew ships before. He quickly headed to the ship’s door in no hesitation.

“Charlie?! Am I ever going to see you again?” Ethan asked.

Charlie stopped in his tracks but did not face Ethan. “Maybe, I don’t know. This kind of thing seems to be the story of my life.”

With that he jumped on board, made a clumsy lift off, and took off into the sky leaving a bewildered young boy watching his new found friend leave possibly never to return.