When aliens finally come to Earth, they land looking to make a deal… build a space port and allow their water-burning ships to refuel in exchange for the tech. An energy boon for the whole planet! Yet, things don’t always go as planned. Many aliens do not abide by the rule that states they must stay in the port during refueling. That is when the Earth Security Agents must step in. They are tasked with keeping humans and aliens safe, and only using force if signed off by the alien combine.
The story focuses on a pair of agents who are investigating the death of a human on the eve of an important interstellar meeting. A hostile alien has unknowingly escaped the terminal and is wrecking havoc. A couple layers are added that help the writers discuss the overreaching effects the “deal” on both sides. First, several drones are assigned to the two agents to film a sort of day-in-the-life view of being an agent. And as usual in these instances, it turns out to be the opposite of a normal day. Second, the scenes of the alien hunt are cut with scenes from a talk show featuring a reporter grilling the head of the ESA. This discussion pulls the camera back give a bit of perspective on the whole situation.
There’s a good deal of ethics discussion about how the aliens should be treated and when force should be allowed. I like this depth the authors worked in. It wasn’t a simple alien arrival tale, but it was apparent that they were trying to make some real-world connections. The art was gritty, drawn in mostly black and white and dark shades of colors. It featured good action scenes and the futuristic tech was drawn with some quirky details.
Pick this one up for a good twist on the alien arrival tale. An up-to-date look at business and its fallout.
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