The Colonel was definitely not someone a human would call beautiful. Or handsome. Or even pleasant to look at. In addition to the typical Voranian long horns and scruffy, charcoal fur, his blood-red eyes were, well... “scary-looking.” Terrifying, actually.
The moment I first saw his picture, my breath stuck in my throat, and my heart dropped into my stomach. I hid the picture in a kitchen drawer for a while, afraid to keep it in my room or to look at it, especially at night.
Over the course of the few weeks it took me to get ready to leave Earth, however, I’d gotten used to the picture, and even had it as the background photo on my cellphone.
The Colonel’s looks meant nothing, I’d decided. Behind terrifying appearances could live the most amazing personalities. Just like many handsome men were major douche bags once you got to know them better. I should know, I’d had my share of pretty boyfriends who’d turned out to be real assholes.
Though, I would’ve liked to get more pictures or videos of him and his family, the image of the Colonel’s flaming red eyes in the picture no longer terrified me.
I’d read and watched everything I could get my hands on about Neron, Voranians, and their culture. Unfortunately, it wasn’t much. They had provided me with general information, but I wanted something more personal to give me an idea of the man, his family, and his home that might all become mine, too, one day.
“Lily, I honestly don’t care about his looks. I’m sure the Colonel is a nice person, and we’ll get alone wonderfully,” I said, voicing my wish out loud.
“Daisy, he would have to be a real asshole to not get along with you,” Lily said in her usual big-sister, no-nonsense tone. “You’re a sweetheart, honey. Everyone loves you.”
A warm feeling spread through my chest. This was the reassurance I needed. Everything would be fine. Things could always be worked out between people, even if they came from two different planets.
“Aww, Lily. Thank you.” I placed my hand next to her face on the screen, missing her and the rest of my family, now. “I love you so much.”
“I love you, too, sweetie. And don’t worry,” she added hurriedly. “You’ll do great. You’re super easy to get along with. I’ll be waiting for your messages, though.”
I’d been told I would be able to send written messages to my family on a weekly basis and could have video communication with them on special occasions.
“I’ll write every week,” I promised.
Lily paused for a moment. Her desire to keep it positive was clearly warring with the big sister’s need to warn and protect.
“If anything goes wrong or something doesn’t work out...” she started.
“It’ll be fine,” I assured her. “In the worst-case scenario, I’d just come back to Earth in a year. Either way, it’ll be an adventure.”
As excited as I’d been to receive the confirmation letter, I had made sure to read the Marriage Contract very carefully before signing it. There was a condition that stated both parties had the right to dissolve the agreement for any reason, after the first full year of the union.
The way I viewed it, this was a year-long employment opportunity on another planet, with an added possibility for romance, which made it that much more exciting.
“Oh, I almost forgot, Daisy.” Lily suddenly appeared uncharacteristically flustered. “There is this video that came to your email account here just after you’ve left. I asked the Committee to forward it to you. It’s from the Colonel...”
“A video? From the Colonel?” A new wave of excitement flushed over me. He did send me something, after all. I’d just missed it by having boarded the spaceship already.
“Yes. I can’t believe I almost forgot, but it’s been five months now, and it slipped my mind... I’m so sorry.”
“It’s alright.” I waved off her apologies. “I can watch it right now, then.”
“Yeah, well.” She bit her lip again. “Good luck, Daisy. Be careful, okay? And get out of there as soon as you can if anything goes wrong...”
We said our goodbyes, and I tried not to dwell too much on the reasons behind the worry on my sister’s face. Instead, I allowed the excitement from finally getting a video to take over.
I quickly logged onto the ship’s internal system and found the folder with my name. It contained all the information I had collected on Voran so far. The forwarded video file was also there.
The video took a few moments to load, and I got up from my seat in the ship’s communication room to stretch my legs. Glancing at the progress bar from time to time, I paced the small room.
The ship was enormous, with a private cabin for me. My bed proved comfortable enough, but I was looking forward to feeling the ground of a planet under my feet, soon.
I wished I knew more about my destination, too. Waiting for the video to load, I wondered what would be in it.
I hoped this would be the Colonel’s home video. The twins’ birthday celebration, maybe? Or a family trip? Maybe a dinner with the Colonel and the boys. I would love to see a holiday celebration.
My favorite holiday had always been Christmas. Grandma and I used to bake and decorate early when she’d been alive. I even brought her favorite ornament to Neron with me. Since I would celebrate Christmas away from home this year, I wanted to have something with me that would remind me of my family and of Grandma.
A dinging sound announced the loading of the video was complete, and I rushed back to the screen.
It would be nice to see the Colonel in a casual setting. The one and only picture I had was of him in the dress uniform of the Voranian Army. In it, he was staring straight into the camera. Maybe that was what made his eyes look so exceptionally red? No one turned out good in official photos, right? I had my share of awkward pictures and often used pretty filters when posting photos of myself on social media.
The video opened.
Within seconds, I realized this was not a family celebration. The first image that came up was that of a metal wall. Then, a screeching sound hurt my ears. The wall split open, letting in a bright gush of light.
The landscape of an unknown planet filled the screen—bright red sand and unfamiliar, lush green vegetation.
The camera must have been mounted on someone’s body, as the image was unsteady and accompanied by the heavy breathing of the person wearing it. As they turned, a Voranian military aircraft came into view. It appeared to have suffered an accident. It was lying on its side, its shiny metal hull crushed and dented.
A group of what I had first thought were gray boulders on the red ground started moving toward the person with the camera. As they came closer, it became apparent the things were alive.
Approaching the camera, they didn’t slow down, menacingly moving closer. Several thin protrusions extended from their large, lumpy bodies. The closest blob of flesh lunged forward, knocking the camera off. It fell to the ground, the image breaking into stripes and dots before disappearing completely.
The next moment, the video resumed from a different angle—a camera from the damaged ship must have turned on. The group of gray blobs attacked a huge Voranian male who looked almost small in comparison.
Bare from the waist up, the Voranian fought fiercely. His fur, slick with sweat and blood, plastered against his bulging muscles as he punched the gray blobs of flesh with his fists and tore at them with his horns.