“That can’t be a meteor Aka-1. Please shield yourself and activate non-detection mode, now!”
“We have already been detected, Captain. The object also has a very strong magnetic pull.”
“Turn around at once Aka-1! We must get away from it!”
“I can’t do it, Captain. I have lost control already. I am changing to manual for you to maneuver.”
I jump on the controls and try to move away, but I can’t. It’s too late. I can see them right in front of us. A huge spaceship camouflaged as a meteor.
“Sorry Captain!” says Aka-1.
“Don’t you worry Aka-1. It is not your fault.”
“There is nothing we can do right now. Just wait and see what’s awaiting us,” I think to myself.
I turn to Sarah and I can tell she is not happy. She knows something is wrong.
We are pulled onto a platform and a large gate opens. The strong but obviously controlled gravity propels us forward through the gate.
“I wonder who is behind all of this.” I voice. “Do you have any idea Aka-1?”
“It is a Borasee roaming-Base. It travels in space, capturing spaceships, Captain.”
“Give me as much data as you can get about it, Aka-1.” I pull out a spacesuit and put it on—helmet, special shoes, and a weapon, of course. “Can you access their main computer, Aka-1?”
“I can’t access any data, Captain. I am using my radar to study the Base though. There are a total of eight crew members, five robot units, a control cabin and two small ships, about the same size as me. You can see them in front of us. There is oxygen and the gravity is about half the gravity of Earth.”
“Thanks Aka-1. Can you establish communication with our Base?”
“No Captain. We lost communication the moment we entered their magnetic field.”
“Can you establish communication with this Base Aka-1?”
“Negative. I already tried, but they block any incoming as well as outgoing signal.”
“Is the magnetic field still active?”
“Yes it is, Captain. Those two towers in front of us are emanating the magnetic field. I still don’t have control.”
“I can’t sit here and wait. I will go out, as that’s what they expect me to do. I am the one they want—my knowledge and whatever else they can get from me.”
“I don’t know why on earth I brought Sarah with me in this trip. But it’s too late to think about that decision now,” I say to myself.
“Aka-1, I am going to give you an order, and I expect you to strictly follow it.”
“Yes, Captain!”
“I need you to take Sarah home! I am going to jump out and blow the gates apart with my weapon. Then I will shoot at the two towers to disable the magnetic field, allowing you to get your controls back. You should have enough time to blast off and get away from here. I will figure out how to get back home. Do you understand?”
“Yes I do, Captain!”
“No matter what happens to me, I need you to take care of Sarah, and bring her home safe and sound.”
I approach Sarah who is still strapped on her seat and tell her, “Sarah, you are going to go home. Aka-1 will take good care of you. I will come home later. Do you understand?”
“Yes Papi!” she sobs and gives me the tightest hug I have ever felt from her. She has tears running down her little cheeks. I ensure that she is fully strapped into her seat and gently move away from her arms that are still stretched out and reaching for me.
“I am ready to execute your commands, Captain.”
“Good girl Aka-1. I will open the door manually at the count of three. You have to close it as soon as you get your controls back.” I adjust my helmet and prepare to jump out. After a final look at Sarah I start counting…
“One, two, three!” I open the door, jump out, point at the main gate, and blow it apart. I turn to the first tower and pull the trigger, make a 180 degree turn, aim at the second tower and pull the trigger—they are both disabled.
Aka-1 gets her controls back and all I hear is a thunder next to me. Her blast-off throws my body twenty feet and I crash to the ground, hard. I can tell she had turned all of her engines on. She knew what to do.
“I know she will bring my baby back home,” I mutter.
Still sore and attempting to orient and stabilize myself, I feel some sort magnetic field approaching me. It is like a radioactive wave, a trapping beam, perhaps, which disturbs me, makes me dizzy, and I fall back to the floor. They got me…
(to be continued)
About The Author
Lidier Fernandez was born in Costa Rica in 1969. He was raised in an urban farm community where he rode to school on a horse and worked daily to support his family through farm work, alongside his two brothers, his sister and his father. He graduated from agricultural high-school at 18 and received a scholarship to go to college in the United States for two years.
He graduated with an A.A. in Computer Electronics from St Louis Community College, at Florissant Valley, where he also studied English. This opened doors to a world of new opportunities for him.
In 1998, Lidier returned to the United States to further broaden his knowledge of humanities and philosophy and devoted five years to non-profit volunteer work.
To further his passion in the field of mechanics, he worked for a motocross suspension company in Southern California.
His work and intense personal interest in other cultures and people have enabled and propelled him to travel to more than twelve countries where he has found friendship, knowledge, and had many wonderful experiences.
He lives in Southern California with his wife Tina, and his two daughters, Sarah and Rebecca.
This is the first of a series of books he is writing.
To Contact the author send your comments to:
[email protected]
Project Earth I: Origin Page 18