Chapter Four

The signal emitter was a silver rectangle, about 3/4 foot by 2 feet. It was a few inches high, and there was no way to open it as far as Mila could see. As she ran her hands over it, she noticed that the surface was unnaturally slippery: she could barely get a grip on it. Jakk had decided to drive while Mila examined the rectangle.

"Anything?" Jakk said over his shoulder.

"Nope," Mila answered. "Is the signal still up?"

Jakk tapped a few buttons on his tablet. "Yep. I think we're going to have to bring it to ULOS for inspection, just to be on the safe side."

Mila groaned. "ULOS takes forever. Do you know how many regulation forms they have to fill out?!" ULOS was the acronym for Unidentified Moon Object Services. They regulated and tested any objects found outside the colony. "And we might not even get it back," Mila added.

"What are we going to do with it then?" Jakk flipped the switch to put RALT on auto-pilot and turned his seat to face Mila. "Smuggle it in?"

Mila smiled one of her signature Cheshire cat grins. "Exactly."

☯☯☯☯

Mila and Jakk stared at the rectangle, their hands beneath their chins. "It's not doing anything," Jakk said in a whisper. "Shut up," Mila snapped. "Maybe if you'll stop talking, then it'll activate, or something..."

Jakk stood up. "We've been here for--" he checked his lunar watch, "almost an hour. I'm going to get some dinner. Want to come?"

"Nah, I'm fine," Mila said, not taking her eyes from the silver object. "You go on ahead."

Jakk sighed, gave the rectangle a last parting glance, then picked his way through the junk in his lab. Mila heard the lab door open and close as he walked out, but she paid no attention. All of her scrutiny was focused on the silver rectangle that lay a few inches from her nose. She could see her warped reflection in it's shiny depths. On an impulse, she reached out her index finger and touched the object's surface.

The silver surface rippled under her touch. Mila pulled her hand away instantly, but the change did not stop. From where her finger had touched, a black stain rippled outward, engulfing the entire rectangle. With a hiss, the top half of the rectangle separated from the bottom. Mila scrambled away from the morphing object in distress, knocking her chair over. She clicked on her headset, but all she heard was static.

"Hello? Hello? Can anyone hear me? Repeat, is anyone there?"

Nothing but feedback.

By now the top rectangle had floated over and laid itself to the side. Mila approached the other half of the object and peered cautiously inside. The inside was completely white, blank. Mila groaned. "All this for nothing?!" Her voice echoed around the empty lab. She didn't expect an answer, but one came. From the rectangle on the table.

-Who has activated my probe? Speak up!-

Mila gaped in astonishment. "I'm....Mila Arwyr," she stammered at last. "Of LuCA."

-What is this "LuCA" you speak of?- [[classic alien line, had to put it in there!]]

"Lunar Colony Alpha. What are you?"

The voice grew cold. -That is of no concern to you. Where is this LuCA?-

Mila crossed her arms. "Tell me what you are first, and then I'll tell you that."

-No matter- the voice sneered. -You have activated my device. The signal should be even stronger now. I should be thanking you.-

"For what?!"

The rectangle ignored her. -Tell me, how did a female carrying the blood of the Llachar come to be on Terra's moon?-

"Blood of the who?"

-Never mind. You have proved yourself useful. Too bad that you must be destroyed.-

In a flash of light, the box and it's contents disappeared, leaving Mila Arwyr with more questions than answers.