by Luigi Robles
As he approached the enemy ship at recklessly high speed, finger on trigger and ready to self-destruct, the enemy ship began backing up due to the force that Fain’s battle craft was exerting on it with its fully unleashed weapons. As it did, it created a gap in the collective forcefield, and Fain set his battle craft to autopilot, barreling full speed ahead. Moments later, he ejected himself from the battle craft.
Fain’s heads-up display lit up with an array of warning signs as he tried with all his strength to look towards his battle craft. With immense effort, he was able to see his craft crash into one of the enemy ships and self-destruct, causing a chain reaction.
This is it, the moment we have been training for, Fain thought. The moment I have been training for. All those sleepless nights trying to study the enemy, trying to study the machine, are finally going to pay off. I’ve reached the end. The end of the simulation. The end of the battle simulator. This was the last mission. So, what will happen now? As far as I know, nobody really knows. But one thing is for sure—this and everything we’ve been through has to do with those invading bastards.
“Bravo,” an all too familiar voice said as someone approached the simulator and turned on the lights. “Well, that’s one way to beat the enemy. Of course, that would depend on the value you put on your own life. I’m having a hard time believing that you would have survived those G forces. But in the end, you pass. The machine or the battle simulator or whatever you want to call it doesn’t need the player to come out alive; all that matters is that you beat it.”
“Colonel Green, sir,” Fain said as he stood up from the simulator to salute the colonel.
“Oh, enough with the formalities. At ease,” Green said as he took his hat off. “Let me ask you this, Fain. How long have I known you?”
“It has been close to four years, sir,” Fain said. “Since I began training under ESAF to become a pilot, after completing all the candidate scouting courses. But I cannot recall exactly. I’m pretty bad with dates.”
“And in all that time, you have not wondered why you are here? Why everyone is here? Why we have 300 of the best trainees Earth has ever known training in the simulator?”
“Yes, I have wondered that, sir,” Fain said. “I’ve wondered many things.”
“And why haven’t you asked me, or anyone else?” Green asked.
“Because I figured that once I completed the training, that information would become available to me,” Fain said. “I tried to keep my mind focused on defeating the machine so that I could earn that information. If I had not been able to complete the simulation, then what good would any information be?”
“Good,” Green said. “A satisfactory answer, as always. Usually, the information we make available to the public and the brilliant minds that manage to pass the initial test is not enough. They always want to know more. It seems like a program that will save the world is not good enough for them. However, it was good enough for you… But there’s one thing you got wrong.”
“And what is that, sir?” Fain asked.
“That you’ve completed your training,” Green said. “Your training is about to begin. You have only just reached the tip of the iceberg. Come, Jegga, we have much to talk about.” Green gestured towards the door that led out of the simulation room.
A chance to save someone is all I need, Fain thought as they walked. I won’t let the past repeat itself. I won’t let them come to Earth again and take another life, not one. Searing rage flooded his body. He felt hot. He wanted to be the one that would make the difference if they ever came back. Those bastards, the death bringers, the self-called conquers of the universe—the Acram.
“We are here,” Green said as he made an abrupt stop in front of what seemed to be a regular door. “I want to make one thing completely clear. What you are about to see is top secret, and it might shock you to your core. It will change everything you have thought about everything. Are you ready?”
“Yes, sir; it’s why I am here,” Fain said.
Colonel Green opened the door in front of him, using a special kind of badge that Fain had never seen before. The badge was simple. It was plain white, and it had “HID” printed in a bottom corner. It looked ancient. The door squeaked as it opened.
“Colonel Green, I have to admit…” Fain said as he tried to make sense of what was in front of him. “I am confused.”
“No, no, it’s way too early to be confused,” Green said. “Don’t burst the high hopes I had for you.”
“Colonel Green, that’s just an old desk with a chair,” Fain said. “How can that be top secret? It’s going to have to be a pretty special desk and chair if you want me to believe that.”
Green chuckled, and Fain only half chuckled with him.
“You’ve got some jokes, Jegga,” Green said. “But perhaps you are right; I should have given you the top-secret speech only after you sign your life away to get clearance. Regardless, have a seat. We have some major paperwork to do. Take a seat.” Green gestured towards the chair.
As Fain sat down, Green was busy looking at the bookshelf behind the desk. Fain noticed that the desk and old wooden chair were worn and fading in certain spots due to repeated use.
“Ha, here they are,” Green said as he took a Manila folder from the shelf and set it on the desk, right on top of the worn part. “Mentally play back the speech I gave you before we came in here. Same thing again—nothing I said has changed. This old desk and chair are our good luck tokens, which is why everyone that has gotten access to the real reason this base was built in the first place passes through here.”
Fain nodded in agreement.
“Although officially the ESAF does not believe in such things as luck,” Green said, “we take it very seriously because we consider ourselves to be extremely lucky to have found what we found. Do you believe in luck, Jegga?”
“I do,” Fain said. “I don’t think that anything comes with a guarantee that it will be there or not.”
“Good,” Green said. “These documents hold the keys to the most sensitive government secrets. To make it brief, you will gain access to all of it; you will be in a league above the rest. You cannot discuss this with anyone that does not already have access to the program. Make no mistake, Jegga; if you do, we will kill you and anyone you have discussed it with.”
“Do I have a choice in the matter?”
“Of course you do, you can choose not to sign on the dotted line, and we will immediately escort you off the island and take you home, wherever your home may be. There you will have peace for a few months, I am sure of it, and you will be happy until it gets destroyed. Or you can choose to sign this document and read the information it contains, so you can see what awaits you on the other side. The choice is yours.”
When you put it that way, there is only one logical choice to make, Fain thought. I wonder how many times he has said this exact speech and gotten people to sign on the dotted line. I knew that this would be a one-way trip when I first signed up. Heck! What am I talking about! Life is a one-way trip. Let’s just hope that whatever these documents lead to, it will be worth it.
Fain signed the papers.
“Congratulations, Fain Jegga, you are now granted access to the highest level of security known to our government, as well as one of the best-kept secrets in modern history. If you will follow me one more time, I will tell you all about it on our way there.” Green put the stack of papers away in a cabinet behind the desk before exiting the room.
“I hope it’s worth it…” Fain said.
“Oh, it’s worth it,” Green said as they walked down the long corridor. “Let me ask you this. What do you know about the Acram?”
“I don’t know much about them, sir, I know just about the same thing that everyone else knows—that they came to Earth and killed thousands of people, and thousands more died trying to defeat them. I know that we did not provoke them in any way, and they simply found us. Now we are getting ready for when they come again; t
hat’s why the Earth Space Armed Federation was created.”
“That just about covers it,” Green said. “Except for one thing.”
After they took a second turn, Fain could no longer recognize the place. It wasn’t something he had seen before. The walls and floor looked updated; his surroundings no longer resembled a military outpost.
“What is that, sir?” Fain asked.
“The Acram that made their way to Earth did not simply find their way to Earth, they came to Earth looking for something. The Acram that we struggled so much to defeat nearly thirteen years ago were a small group of scouts.”
Things began to make sense in Fain’s mind. Missing pieces of the puzzle began to fall into place. “That would explain the battle happening near here.”
“That is correct.”
“So, what exactly did they come to Earth looking for?”
“On September 21, 1930, a spaceship crashed in the Pacific Ocean. It was 1.6 miles in length, nearly .6 miles in width, and .2 miles in height. Many speculate that when the ship was making its way to Earth, it decelerated many times over, thus it did not cause any real harm,” Green said. “Back then, technology was primitive, and the crash landing was an easy cover-up, especially as it was in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Some news made its way to the surface, but it was quickly dismissed as bogus. Frankly, at the time, people had more pressing things to worry about than things they could not begin to understand; the economy had just crashed a year before.”
“The Great Depression,” Fain muttered.
Fain had always done well at school, or at least paid attention. His father had taught him that history was a way to understand both the present and the future.
“Correct, along with fascism, dictatorships, and droughts,” Green said. “But still the government scrambled to build this facility you are now in, obscuring the whereabouts of the ship completely. Of course, over the last 126 years, it has undergone some heavy modifications, making it the facility you see now.”
“If you don’t mind… I have to ask,” Fain said, knowing that he had interrupted.
“Please go ahead, at this point, there’s very little you can’t ask.”
“The Acram scouts that came to Earth looking for this ship, did they come looking for their own ship? Or was this ship from an entirely different species?”
“So, you are listening. We have asked ourselves that same question, and from what we know, it is not of Acram origin. In fact, quite the opposite, as you will find out in just a bit.”
Fain nodded, trying to take in the information, listening intently.
“This facility was built with the sole purpose of developing the technology that fell from the sky,” Green said. “Thanks to it, we have made many advancements, and in many ways, we have surpassed the technology. However, we have yet to understand the consequences of our actions. We don’t know what having this technology means for humanity. That is the simple truth of it. I won’t steer you in the wrong direction by pretending we know everything.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Thank you? For what?” Green asked. “When you understand the situation we’re in, you will see that we don’t have time for bullshit.”
“I understand, sir.”
“Despite our misunderstandings of the alien technology, even so, we have pressed on. And now we’re here.”
“Why press on? Why not slow down and try to understand the technology?”
“The answer to that is simple,” Green said as he came to a stop in front of a much larger door. “Because there’s no time to spare. You see, when the spaceship fell from the sky into the Pacific Ocean, it was severely damaged, but not at all from the crash landing. As you know, it did not land that hard. The spaceship was clearly a battleship and had been through hell before it got here. It is our belief that everyone on board this ship sacrificed themselves and headed towards Earth to give the people of Earth this very chance.”
“How do you know this?”
Green took out a small device from one of his pockets, and an alien message started playing, filling up the hallway with the sound. Fain had no idea what he was hearing, but he knew that it wasn’t an Acram message, as he had heard many of those play in the past when they first came to Earth. No, this was different; it sounded less vile, more genuine. If Fain did not know that he couldn’t possibly understand what it said, he would have made himself believe that, in fact, he did know what the message said.
“Since we have been aware of the ship, we’ve had the world’s best linguists working on deciphering the complex alien language,” Green said as he put away the small device. “The message in part says, ‘It is too late for us. Here is our best weapon, our champion. Defend your planet against the conquerors of the galaxy.’ Later, you will have a chance to study the message more extensively.”
This just got a whole lot bigger. What did I get myself into? Fain thought. What if I am not strong enough to defend those around me? This is all just way beyond me at this point. There’s an entire other race out there besides the Acram, and surely they are not the only ones. What difference will I make? I am just one person, right? No, no, you can’t start thinking like that, not this early. You have to get it together. You have to finish what you started. Don’t be stupid, Fain. You will do what you can and hope that it is good enough.
Fain noticed Green looking at him, examining him, so he snapped out of his thoughts and back into the moment.
“You aren’t having doubts, are you?” Green asked. “Please don’t tell me that I have chosen the wrong candidate. If you are not feeling up to it, let me know.”
“I have it under control, sir,” Fain said, straightening himself up. “It’s just a lot of information to process.”
“Very well. Let’s continue; there is no time to waste,” Green said as he rolled up his left-hand sleeve, revealing a thick black wristband. A machine next to the door began scanning the wristband.
“Colonel Alexander Green, access granted,” said a disembodied voice.
“Thank you, Kya,” Green said as he gestured towards Fain. “Please grant temporary access to guest Fain Jegga.”
“Temporary access granted. Welcome, Fain Jegga.”
“Thank you?” Fain said.
“Jegga…” Green said while standing in front of the large door. “Before we take one more step, there’s something I have been wanting to ask you. As you are aware, everyone that enters into our program is subject to a background check, not only for the individual but for the family as well. We pay little attention to this at first, but as the cadet moves up the program, the past becomes more important. In short, I am aware that your parents were killed in the crossfire when the Acram first came to Earth… Now, I must ask you—are you doing this for revenge?”
“I’ve asked myself the same question, sir,” Fain said, trying to control his breathing. “And I have to be honest with you. At first, revenge was the only thing in my heart. I went to sleep every day after my parents’ death thinking how to get back at their murderers. I woke up every day to train, to get stronger, to get faster, to get sharper, so that I could get back at them. So that I could make them suffer perhaps just a fraction of what I’ve suffered. When I first heard about the program, things couldn’t have been more perfect. But as time went by, and as I won battle after battle, I began to realize something.”
“And what was that?” Green asked.
“I began to realize that I no longer craved revenge,” Fain said. “It was as if I had already obtained revenge when I decided that I was going to fight for the human race. I am doing this because I want to make a difference, because I want to save people from the hurt I have endured. And if I can save even one person, I know that I’ve done a great thing.”
“Good, very good. I’m glad you said what you said. Just know that the time will come when you will have to make your own decisions for the sake of humanity, and when that time comes, I hope you make the right decision. Now
let me present to you the very reason we are here.”
The large door behind them began to open, revealing an entirely different world inside. It was too much for Fain to absorb. There was too much going on. It was a busy, dock-like place, but at the center of it all, there was a massive ship, unlike anything he had ever seen.
“Behold, Sodenia.”
2
The Dream Team
Fain entered the massive hangar, bewildered at the complexity of it all. He never thought that such a structure could be possible, let alone underneath the sea. He reminded himself many times that they were underwater, but that only seemed to amplify his bewilderment.
“Hop on,” Green said as a small but sleek transporter approached him automatically. “It would take us a long time to walk there, and time is precious.”
“This doesn’t look alien at all,” Fain said as he got on the transporter. “I mean, don’t get me wrong, I know that this kind of engineering would be impossible if it wasn’t for the technology you’ve gathered from the ship... But I thought that it would look more alien. It looks more human than anything else.”
“Good eye,” Green said as they began to drive towards the massive ship. “You are correct on all counts. If it wasn’t for that ship, none of this would be possible. But just because it comes from alien origins, it doesn’t mean that it has to look alien, right? We have, for the most part, kept the human aesthetics. If you remember what the Acram ships looked like, this is a massive improvement. Maybe you can get one of the engineers to show you pictures of this ship before we started tinkering and building upon it. In the case of Sodenia, it did not look as bad as the Acram ships did.”
The ship at the center of the hangar was massive, bigger than anything Fain had seen before. It had the effect of looking bigger than the hangar itself, even when the hangar was the thing housing it. Its general shape reminded Fain of an old battleship mixed with a modern aircraft carrier. It looked powerful and sturdy. It was predominantly a gunmetal color, with many markings in parts where Fain was sure they would matter. But what stood out the most was the giant name painted on its side: Sodenia.