Rough Beast

A ruthless alien predator, the Morid, crashes onto the mangrove‑lined islands of the Florida Keys, drawn by the strange signals of a secret experimental telethink station. The beast’s sudden arrival triggers a violent explosion that leaves two of the station’s operators scrambling for safety while a Federation ship circles overhead, unable to land without violating the galaxy’s strict non‑interference code.

Commander Xaxtol and his crew are forced into a tense dilemma: they must decide whether to risk a prohibited planetary incursion to rescue the stranded humans and contain the creature, or to watch an untested terror feast on an unsuspecting world. As the hostile environment of the Keys tightens around them, the story balances the cold logic of interstellar protocol with the raw, desperate urgency of survival, drawing listeners into a pulse‑pounding first act where every decision could tip the balance between catastrophe and a fragile hope for control.