15 for 15 Contest --- Closed

Bill Connors sat up and took a deep breath of clean ocean air. He had spent the first night of his retirement sleeping under the stars on the deck of his cruising yacht, listening to the peacful lapping of the water. He had enough provisions on board to spend a month at sea, but at this point, he didn't care if he ever saw land again.

Bill stood up and blinked, unable to believe the sight in front of him. "What the hell?" he said. "An iceberg off the coast of Florida?"

He rubbed his eyes and blinked again, but the floating behemoth was still there, gleaming in the morning sun. As Bill stared at the glistening object, he realized that the sides were a bit too uniform for an iceberg. He had never seen one, but weren't they just amorphous blobs of ice? He looked closer and saw what appeared to be windows, each one shining with soft blue light.

As Bill tried to make sense of what he saw, the massive structure began to pulsate. Thunderstruck, Bill watched as it glowed with first blue, then pink, then blinding white light. With a roar, it rose from the water, and disappeared into the night sky in a flash of light.

Bill shook his head, thinking he shouldn' t have drunk so much rum before going to sleep the night before. He steered his boat toward land, thinking maybe he had enough of the sea for a while. One thing was for sure; he would not be telling anyone what he just saw. He had no desire to spend his golden years in an insane asylum.

******
Behind the moon of the small blue planet, the exploratory vessel docked with its mothership. When they came aboard, the lead scientist sent a message to his commander.

"The planet is perfect for our needs. More than 70 percent of the surface is salt water. Every parameter ideal for our species. The oceans are filled with animal life, but the dominant species are rather simpleminded land creatures who are quite clumsy in water."

"That is wonderful news," the commander said, stroking his chin with a webbed hand. "They won't be a threat to us on the water. In no time, we will control the majority of the planet's surface area. I'll send word that colonization ships can begin leaving immediately."

Arakun
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