Chapter 14: The "Compact" Crisis
561 Words
The next morning, the backyard wasn't just quiet—it was humming. A small, circular aperture opened directly above the vegetable garden, and a craft the size of a microwave oven drifted down, hovering delicately over the petunias.
Zax and Pip stood in the grass, their eyes wide. "It’s a Sub-Compact Scout," Pip whispered, his tail giving an tentative, excited wag. "They’re fast, efficient, and almost impossible to track. They finally got it right!"
Leo stood back, his hands shoved deep into his pockets. "It’s... really small, guys."
"It’s aerodynamic!" Zax corrected, though he was eyeing the narrow entry port with skepticism. He stepped up to the craft, and the hatch hissed open. The interior was barely large enough for a single feline to sit comfortably, let alone a dog of Pip’s stature.
"There is a problem," Pip said, peering into the tiny, padded cavity. "It’s a single-occupant vessel. The Collective must have categorized our signal as a 'Solo-Extraction' request. Someone in Logistics clearly didn't read the manifest."
Zax looked at the ship, then at Pip, then back at the ship. "We cannot leave each other. We are a command unit."
"And we can't leave Leo!" Pip insisted, glancing toward the front of the house where Sterling’s van was still parked. "If we leave, Sterling will tear this place apart to find out where we went. He’ll find the remnants of the tech we left behind. He needs our protection."
Zax let out a frustrated growl, his claws sinking into the dirt. "We are trapped by our own bureaucracy. If we take this ship, one of us leaves the other behind. If we stay, we remain fugitives in a backyard in New Mexico."
"We wait," Zax decided, slamming the hatch shut on the tiny scout ship. "I am not leaving you, and I am not leaving our human ally until we can all be accounted for. We will signal them again, and this time, I will include a detailed schematic of our physical dimensions."
Leo breathed a sigh of relief, though he felt a pang of guilt. "You're staying another night?"
"Only until tomorrow," Zax said, though his tone was less like an order and more like a reluctant admission. "I refuse to be rescued by a toaster-sized transport. It is undignified."
That evening was the most awkward of the entire expedition. They sat on the patio, watching the stars. Sterling was still lurking, occasionally taking flash-photos from the dark, but the trio didn't care. They were exhausted by the incompetence of the stars and the reality of their situation.
"You know," Leo said softly, tossing a ball for Pip, who caught it with a bored, practiced flick of his jaw. "If you guys were stuck here forever... it wouldn't be the worst thing. I could build you a better kennel. One with, like, satellite TV."
Zax looked at the boy, his expression softening into something uncharacteristically gentle. "Leo, you are a remarkably kind human. But you deserve better than to live your life as an accomplice to two stranded alien officers."
"We’ll get the right ship," Pip promised, resting his head on Leo’s sneaker. "And we’ll make sure the Collective knows you’re an ally. You’ll be the most respected human in the sector."
"I don't care about the sector," Leo whispered. "I just don't want to lose my best friends."
- Writer
