23

Kenji walked towards the familiar meadow to visit Shen-ja. As he did so, he heard a strange sound behind a nearby tree. He stopped still and caught the glint of faraway glass. Was it a pair of binoculars? A telescope? He turned around cautiously and applied the Force. He could sense a hidden presence nearby — or rather, presences. He nearly panicked but remembered that he must stay calm no matter what, so he kept his usual neutral expression and casually walked on and crossed the field until he reached the road again. Something was wrong. Shen-ja was in danger.

He walked briskly back home and wondered what to do. How could the humans possibly have found out who Shen-ja was and where he stayed? Perhaps they had invented some new technology that could detect foreign invaders... Kenji hoped he, too, wasn't in danger.

He frowned as he racked his brain. Had Shen-ja been caught? Or was there still time? Wasn't there any way he could save him?

He stopped still in the middle of the road. Surely, Shen-ja would have to pass by him before he ended up in the trap that had been lain for him; then, he, Kenji, would warn him in time and make sure he didn't go that way! He nodded to himself and sat down at once by the side of the road, on a grassy strip that felt soft and relaxing, and helped him calm down somewhat as he thought anxiously of his friend.

Little did he know that it was far too late already; Shen-ja had been caught the previous night, and the presences Kenji had sensed around the meadow were the remainder of the ambush team who had been left there on guard just in case there were any other aliens left. As he sat patiently, waiting in vain, his worry increasing by the hour, the guards packed up their equipment and left the now-empty meadow to join their team in securing the new prisoner and finding out more about him and his purpose.

Twilight approached, and Kenji got up, his footsteps heavy as he walked dejectedly back home. Perhaps it really was too late, he thought in dismay. What would become of Shen-ja now?

He sadly opened the window of the spare room and slipped inside before shutting it again. He could hear the loud noises from the TV in the living room, and he strained his ears as he tried to guess whether Airi's mother was in or not.

Suddenly, the door was flung open, and Airi burst in, glaring at him. Kenji stared at her in alarm.

'W–what's wrong?' he asked.

Airi said nothing and pulled his hand as she led him to the living-room and pointed towards the TV.

'Explain!!' she said, seemingly furious at him. What had happened to her?!

Kenji looked at the television and watched the anchor narrate the day's breaking news as a summarized news ticker scrolled along the bottom of the screen.

Aggressive alien caught by military personnel, Chief holds press conference to discuss

Kenji went pale at the news, and paler still as a photograph of Shen-ja appeared on the screen, unconscious and in his true form.

'None of us ever thought we would see this day, but we have,' said the anchor. 'An alien, an actual alien was captured by a special military team last night, and upon questioning, was found to be highly intelligent and dangerous. It confessed to be a spy from its planet, with the deliberate intention of taking over Earth and colonising human beings! It claims to be superior to humans, and believes, despite its capture, that it is us who will suffer at the end! What do you have to say about all this, Commander Lee?'

'Well, we have been working on planetary research for quite some time,' said the commander, 'and we noticed strange signals which made us suspect the presence of aliens. We were so excited and wanted to connect with them and perhaps, even form satisfying alliances between our two planets, but before we could launch our friendly mission, we were hit by... this. It looks like our neighbours aren't as amiable as we hoped them to be!'

'This is indeed, quite shocking and disturbing,' said the anchor. 'Colonel Smith, do you suspect that there are more aliens hidden on Earth, who could possibly try and rescue the prisoner?'

'Probably not,' said the colonel shortly. 'This fellow seems to be a sort of test drive, a prototype, for his kin on Planet X to access how easily they can come and go unnoticed on Earth. Obviously, it wasn't as easy as they supposed. They will realise soon enough what a big mistake they made in messing with us.'

'In some places, there is mass panic and terror as some people fear an alien attack, while others are dismissing this as a mere conspiracy theory,' said the anchor. 'What do you have to say about this?'

'While this is unfortunately not a conspiracy, but a plain, hard fact, I would advise the public not to panic,' said the colonel. 'The military has this under control, rest assured. As long as we are around, no matter how aggressive these creatures may be, they will never succeed in their evil goals. We shall ensure their eventual submission and subjugation.'

'Thank you for taking out the time for this special report,' said the anchor. 'If any of you suspect the presence of an alien like the one you saw in the picture, report it at once to this special helpline — it can save the planet. Our planet.'

An ad began and Airi switched off the remote and sank into the sofa in shock and disbelief, before looking at Kenji questioningly, but he wouldn't move. He stood still, still staring at the blank, black screen of the television in silence, as if it might hold the answer to the myriad of troubles and worries erupting in his mind.

'Kenji!!' said Airi, apparently the third time, before he looked at her suddenly with a pale face and nodded.

'What is all this?' she said in almost a whisper, before she repeated herself in a frantic exclamation. 'WHAT IS ALL THIS?!!!'

'Please calm down, Airi,' said Kenji nervously.

'How can I calm down?!' exclaimed Airi. 'You've been lying to me! You said you were here to find out about Earth, not to attack it!!'

'But, I really was—' began Kenji, but Airi cut him off.

'Oh, please! You knew this all along! What is your actual plan? What do you want to do? Do you hate humans? You used to say all those things... oh my God! How come I never saw it? I can't believe I trusted you! And who was that on the TV, the one they captured? You knew him, didn't you? I saw your expression!'

'That was Shen-ja, my friend,' said Kenji. 'He was sent here after me. He was the one who was going to attack, not me — at least, not at first...'

'So you did know! You... you knew that humans were going to be attacked? You... how could you?' said Airi, who sounded really hurt.

'Airi, please, I never knew that things were going to turn out this way,' said Kenji desperately. 'Until I met you, I really thought that humans were evil and that it was all right for our people to take over — I'm really sorry, Airi, I know it's wrong now, but I didn't know then! How could I! And then, my father, he sent me here again to join Shen-ja in the attack and I just couldn't contradict him, it all happened so fast...'

'So you were just going to let this happen?' said Airi.

'No, I wasn't, I—' said Kenji, before sighing and sitting next to her. 'Look, I started feeling really guilty recently, Airi, I really did! I tried to tell my father to stop this, but he just wouldn't listen!'

'Well, your psycho dad is about to try and sabotage our planet, Kenji!!' said Airi, springing up. 'And that friend of yours looks like he still has what most of you seem to have: a superiority complex!'

'Airi! Before you talk about my father and my people, look at your own!' exclaimed Kenji. 'Humans wage war all the time! You call your murderous soldiers war heroes, and your bloody victory over your own fellows, glory! Why is what I came for so bad? Because I'm not human? Is that why I'm not a hero, for taking my nation up and towards advancement? Because I don't belong here? Because this affects humans in a bad way? Tell me, what would any human do in my place!?'

Airi stared at him for a few seconds, before speaking more sombrely. 'Look, I know we humans have a very unpleasant past, but things are really changing now. War isn't considered as glorious as it used to be. I don't know about anyone else, but I know I've always hated war, Kenji. And I'm certain any human in your place would choose to talk and communicate first before launching an attack on innocent people!'

Kenji looked at her sadly. 'I know you're not like that, Airi. I know you would never choose the wrong or aggressive way. But unfortunately, that isn't the case here. We may be wrong for considering an attack on Earth, but your people are no better; they have been planning to attack us all along!'

'How can you say that?' said Airi indignantly. 'That can't be!'

'But it's the truth!' said Kenji. 'Come with me!'