The grizzled sergeant led his troops through the trail, his boots sinking into the alien, slightly soft ground. There was a strong, citrus-like smell that hung in the stagnant air, most unlike the sterile surfaces they were used to.
They rose over the curve of the alien moutain. At the summit, they could see thousands of spheres, just like this one, only...
"This one is rather small compared to the others, don't you think?" The soldier poked his boot into the orange surface interestedly. It was orange, rubbery and smelt strongly of citrus. The grizzled sergeant nodded. "We have to find out what these alien contraptions do." He paused, thinking. He poked his boot into the hide of the sphere. "Our knives won't penetrate the surface of these things, will they?" One of the soldiers shook his head.
"We need more...
force."
He tapped his boot on the soft ground.
"Jones!" he said, suddenly. "I have an idea!"
x
Jones was the soldier at the back of the line, and was carrying all the supplies that any of the other soldiers might have needed. He was kneeling on the orange surface, pulling parts of a contraption out of his bag. Two other soldiers were putting together what looked like a miniature catapault, using the pieces that Jones gave them. The sergeant and the remaining soldier were working out a good spot to aim at.
"Okay!" said the sergeant, calling the others to attention. "What we're going to do is shoot one of our missiles from the catapault and into the pile of spheres. Surely they'll be sharp enough to penetrate the surface of at least one of them. We're closer to finding the answer to these ridiculous things!" The soldiers nodded between each other.
The catapault was set. It was aimed at the mountain of spheres. All was ready. The soldiers crowded behind the catapault, their anticipation growing. The sergeant called for fire. Jones fired. The spiky missile flew through the air at the planned trajectory.
There was a horrible squelching sound.
The grizzled sergeant led the men over for a look.
After a climb, they found the missile lodged in the hide of one of the spheres. The smell of citrus was overpowering at this level. An amount of the alien contraption's fuel had splattered over the surrounding spheres. The soldiers declared it as sticky, sweet-tasting, and so far, non-poisonous. Perhaps the spheres weren't such a threat to the country after all.
Suddenly, there was a loud, booming noise, too loud for the soldier's ears to handle. They clutched their ears and sank to the ground, writhing...
x
"Jason! What
are you doing?"
Jason froze, caught in the act. Green army men littered the kitchen counter, the floor, and the fruit bowl. Satsuma juice dripped from a gouged fruit and onto the floor.
Augh, that wasn't very good. But it was fun.
