The Asteroid Serpents

My name is Jacob Stellan. I am an asteroid refiner for American Solar Mining Enterprises. My job was simply to pick up ores from the mining drones on my designated route, and then use my onboard equipment to separate the pure minerals, crystals, and water from the rock. That's all my job was. I never thought it would be like this.

My day began like any other. I started my route at the first sign of a clear trajectory through the asteroids, and began stopping at regular intervals to pick up the ores from my designated drones. I had thirteen asteroids at which to stop, each large ones with at least ten mining drones. Usually it took several hours to complete my circuit.

I had just finished my second asteroid, and I was moving to my third, only a few miles away, when my commander signaled my intercom.

"Jacob, we're forecasting a heavy storm coming in your direction. Make sure you have your shield fully charged. Warp back to base at any sign of trouble."

"Roger that," I replied. "Keep me notified as to where it's headed."

Of course, I was in space, so a real storm like on Earth was impossible. Out here, we call a heavy cluster of asteroids a "storm". I had a shield that would protect me from any impacts, so I wasn't worried. The worst thing that could happen is getting bumped off course a bit.

I resumed my work, but shortly after I heard a loud bang on the top of my ship.

"Jacob, you've lost your radar," the commander said. "I can no longer see you on the map. Have you been hit?"

I was horrified. Having no radar out here was like having no eyes to see. Now I couldn't warp back to the base, because I had no idea where the base was.

"I think I was hit, sir. It must have been a small one. It didn't show up on my radar scanner."

"A direct hit from a small asteroid can take out a radar," the commander replied gravely. "Stay exactly where you are. We know the last place you were, so we're calculating a warp trajectory for you."

I waited in the ship. All was perfectly quiet. The asteroids floated and span smoothly in the distant blackness. It was very peaceful, but I was worried. What if I warped into a star or an asteroid or something? I could be dead before I even realized my mistake!

Suddenly the commander came through in the intercom. "Turn on your shield, Jacob! Here comes the storm!"

I quickly activated the shield around my ship, and not a moment too soon, for a large asteroid collided with the ship and shook me out of my chair. Then another hit me in the opposite direction. Then another hit from down below. The ship alarms went off.

I managed to stumble back over to my piloting chair, and I strapped myself in. Outside I could see a chaotic scene. Large asteroids crashed into each other with violent momentum, splintering into hundreds of tiny shards with brilliant flashes of light.

The storm went on for several minutes. When I finally came out into the clear, empty darkness once more, I had no idea where I was.

"Jacob! Jacob, are you there?" the commander asked.

"I'm here, and still in one piece," I replied. "But I am completely lost."

"Don't worry, we'll find you," he replied assuredly. "Try launching a flare."

Just then I heard a noise. In the middle of space. It was a low, moaning, creaking noise that saturated the whole ship. I looked outside in terror, but could see nothing.

I peered into the thick darkness. I thought I saw something dart between the asteroids- but was it just my imagination?

Then I saw a long, snake-like glow coming towards me. It was then that I was sure.

"Commander," I said breathlessly, "There's something alive out here."

The low creaking noise began again. How was it doing that? I didn't know. Perhaps it was releasing particles that made that noise when they hit the ship. But my mind was on the pale, luminescent form heading straight for my ship.

"What do you mean there's something alive? Have you gone mad?" the commander answered.

"No, really, something glowing is coming towards my ship," I said, terrified.

"Well get out there as fast as you can!" he shouted.

I started the engines, but I couldn't move. The ship seemed fastened in the middle of space.

I looked out the back window in horror. Something was wrapped around my ship! A gnarly black serpent some 10 feet in diameter was holding my ship fast. A large blue glowing stripe stretched down its body. I ran back to the front, where I wrestled helplessly with the controls. Just then the snake's face looked back at me through the window.

Oh, what a terrifying face! Three eyes in a triangle, with a fanged mouth in the center, and a long, sharp mandible between each pair of eyes. It let out a screaming noise as it clawed and scraped at the front window. 

"Save us!" I screamed in shock. 

I looked down it's massive body, where hundreds of razor-sharp spines shot out between the luminescent stripes. It's body was probably three hundred feet long, and it was quickly wrapping itself around my ship.

Beyond the terrifying serpent I could see dozens more in the distance, swimming through space towards my ship.

"Commander, what do I do?" I shouted.

"What's going on? Speak to me!"

I was so astonished at the creatures' form that I didn't realize what they had been doing to my ship. All this time, they had been slowly squeezing my ship, just like a boa constrictor, and by now the ceiling had moved down by two feet.

"You have to warp, Jacob, it's the only way!" the commander shouted over the creatures' screaming.

I stumbled over to the warp drive, crossed my fingers, shut my eyes and braced for impact, and pulled the lever. 

The horrific sound of the serpents soon died away. I was alone again, in my severely damaged ship, spinning through empty space. I shot off a signal flare, and they managed to find me. 

So that is how I found the first extraterrestrial life form. I think we might all learn a lesson from this incident. We have been looking for life outside of Earth for years, but the whole time we've been looking in the wrong place. So many important figures back on Earth have been obsessed with finding life on other planets, when the massive emptiness of space looms above their heads, simply asking to be inhabited. We, as a planet-grounded race, expect other extraterrestrial life to live on planets as well. But let us rather propose that aliens may have different technology then we have, and that there may be other lifeforms out there not bound to gravity.