Major Locke and the 3 Bearlike Beings

"Alien dwelling is in view. Permission to proceed, Captain?" Major Goldie Locke asked from her vantage point behind a mass of green vegetation.

Captain Warner's voice came through the communication device clearly as he responded, "Proceed as planned, Major Locke. Be careful though. We're all depending on you."

"Yes, Captain."

She approached the entrance to the strange dwelling with a cautious hand on her stun gun. From her extensive knowledge of ancient history, she surmised the structure to be a cottage made of half-timber and thatching. It was quite rustic but effective against the elements. She knocked boldly on the stout wooden door. This behavior was supposed to summon the beings within. She had been taught it was customary among older civilizations.

Yet, when the door wasn't opened after several minutes, she wasn't sure how to continue her mission. "Captain Warner, I'm not getting a response. Should I commence exploring the premises?"

"Yes, Locke. Continue as planned. Don't forget to collect the samples for Doctor Adams", her superior reminded her.

"Affirmative, sir."

Pushing on the door did not yield the desired result. She then spotted a round metallic knob and remembered that it was instrumental in the opening of doors. Giving it a turn, she was pleasantly surprised that it worked. She hesitantly stepped inside.

"Apparantly the dwelling is currently unoccupied", she noted aloud to her captain.

"I see... what do your sensors indicate?" he asked.

Locke studied the readings on the slim screen attached to her left forearm. "Captain, there seems to be a strong presence of an organic substance in the air", she reported.

"Can you identify the source, Locke?"

"Sir, it's more concentrated towards the rear of this residence", she said as she walked. She approached a room unlike anything she'd ever seen. It housed a large metal cooking device (she supposed), a table complete with three chairs (she knew this from studying primitive furniture history), and an odd counter lined with a variety of curious-looking containers.

"My sensors indicate the source is apparantly in the dishes on this table. May I speak with Doctor Adams, Captain?"

"Certainly. That is his area of expertise anyway." There was a pause in communication and then she heard Adams join the conversation.

"I say, Major Locke, it appears that substance is an ancient form of.... foodstuff!" he exclaimed in excitement.

Locke grinned. She could just imagine the look on his face. "Should I take a sample, Doctor?" she asked innocently, knowing how he'd answer.

"By all means, do!" he agreed.

There were three dishes sitting on the table. After pulling a special plastic container from her pack, she used an electronically enhanced collecting device on the first specimen. Immediately the warning signal began to beep loudly.

"Doctor, this foodstuff is too hot", she reported.

"Try the next one, then", he urged.

She did as he said. This time the warning sound was a long steady buzz.

"Apparantly this one is too cold."

"Oh, well. Try the third one."

Thankfully, her device indicated the last specimen was suitable for collection. Major Locke scooped the entire contents into her container. Captain Warner's voice came through then.

"Now you need to further investigate the living quarters of these alien beings. Go back to that chamber near the entrance. I remember seeing some intriguing pieces of primitive furniture on your way in."

"Yes, sir, I recall them", she said as she backtracked to the room he indicated. Through the aid of the small camera mounted to her helmet, she provided her fellow teammates a view of the interior of the residence.

"I believe these are called 'chairs', Captain", Locke said informatively. "They're used for sitting."

"Well go ahead, Major. Have a seat!" he chirped.

She was glad he couldn't see her face just then because she rolled her eyes at him. The first 'chair' was enormous. Gingerly, she sat down and placed her arms on the armrests.

"This one is very uncomfortable, sir. It's too hard", she stated with a wince.

"Interesting... and how about that one in the middle, Major?"

Locke got up and moved to the second 'chair'. It wasn't as large as the first but she still felt dwarfed by its size. She sat down and leaned back slowly. And nearly sank to the floor! The cushions offered no support at all!

"Captain!" she cried in alarm. "This one is too soft!"

"Well, get off that one, Locke! Try that last chair!" he barked at her.

With a great deal of effort, she struggled free and stood up. She eyed the third and final chair warily before sitting in it. To her delight, she found it to be quite comfortable.

"Ooooh... I like this one!" she exclaimed. She soon discovered that it moved in a pleasant rocking motion. "This is fun!"

"Will you please stop that, Major? You're making all of us seasick!" Her captain sounded slightly ill.

Just to irritate him, she rocked a little faster. She grinned as she thought how green Captain Warner must be feeling. "That's enough, Major Locke! Stop it before --"

He was interrupted by a crashing sound and a heavy thud.

"What was that? Major Locke, what happened?" he demanded.

The 'chair' obviously wasn't built for her and simply deconstructed itself spontaneously. She sat on the floor staring in shock at its remains.

"Sir, I do believe it was poorly built and could not support my weight anymore. It broke", she reported sadly.

"We'll discuss your destruction of a valuable alien artifact upon your return to the ship, Major", Captain Warner threatened angrily.

"Yes, sir."

"Now I want you to get up and investigate the upper level of this dwelling. I do believe there are some stairs over there?" he asked with a tinge of sarcasm.

She gave herself a mental shake to keep from snapping at him and walked over to the staircase. Climbing to the top, she could see light from the solar orb in the sky streaming in through panes of glass mounted in the walls. There were three rustic pieces of furniture along one part of the room.

"Hmmm.... these appear to be some sort of slumber apparatuses, Major. You'll need to test their effectiveness for the study program. Understood?" her captain intoned.

"Yes, sir."

She stepped over to the first one and lay down on it. It didn't take her long to respond, "Ugh. I don't believe this is desirable for sleep, sir. It's much too hard. I'm going to try the next one."

Getting up quickly, she moved on to the middle bed. No sooner than she had reclined back on its surface, she came to a quick conclusion. "This one is just like that chair thing downstairs! It's too soft!" she cried out from near the bottom of the structure. She had sunk deep into the cushion and wasn't too pleased about it.

"Get up, Locke! From the pattern that seems to be forming, I'm theorizing the last piece of slumber apparatus will be the most optimal", her captain guessed.

He was right. Major Locke actually found the third one to be so comfortable that she drifted off to sleep. She wasn't sure how much time passed after that....

"Major Locke! Major Locke wake up! You're in danger!" The frantic cries of Warner's voice in her ear snapped her eyes wide open. Realization hit her as he yelled, "Get out of there NOW! The aliens are back!"

A cold sweat popped out on her face. With a slight tremble, she calmly replied, "I can see them, thank you. Please stop shrieking, Captain."

There was an eerie moment of silence as she lay there, trying to decide how to handle the situation. She stared up at the three alien life forms as they peered down at her. They appeared to be similar: with dark brown shaggy fur, sharp pointed teeth, and beady black eyes. The only differences were their size and the costumes they were wearing. They reminded her of creatures she had once seen in a prehistoric history book.... but what were they called? She thought very hard for a moment.

Suddenly she remembered what their name had been. "Captain, I think they're... bears", she whispered.

"Good. Doctor Adams is doing a search on them right now, Major. Don't make any sudden moves. Hang on, he's got the informa-"

The doctor's voice broke in, "Locke, you must get out of there. NOW. From what I can tell, bears were omnivorous and these seem to be rather hungry at the moment. Get up and leave!"

She needed no more prompting and shot out of the room at top speed. Not once did she look back to see if she were being pursued. She never got to hear what the smallest bear said (not that she would've understood him anyway!).

"Papa, where do you think they're coming from anyway? That was the second one this year!"

"Son, we may never know."