by Drew Bell
Chapter 3
A female Convoy member sat straighter in her chair, renowned as a scholar, Doctor Lalia Tarrus was bored at her console. Being of wealthy stock and unequivocal beauty, Lalia had been trained to make her the most eligible bride in the whole Convoy; but she was now the caretaker of the thirty-six Idinium Repulsors on the six CLERGY vessels. The lithe Doctor propped her fist to her mouth as she thought, her eyes were large round deep blue, her scaly complexion was a pale blue, her long feathers flowed from her head, and her cheek bones were strong. She was strikingly beautiful as she turned to face her laboratory assistant:
“Did you hear that?” She asked.
She leaned closer towards the loudspeaker from which the Admiral’s voice had rung through; the scratchy audio garbled his every word. She turned to her lab assistant, a chubby male, Galio Forrt.
“Galio, did you understand the Admiral’s update?” she asked.
“No, I didn’t. But did you hear that Rhondulus was having problems on the maintenance deck? He will undoubtedly be reassigned, hopefully in the telosphere.” Galio garbled, his voice always drowned by a seemingly endless cold.
Galio’s face was mashed-in; his large cheeks crowded his small head, his chin protruded out due to his minor under bite. Though his blue cheeks appeared a little rosy at times, he was much shorter and fatter than most Callos, waddling as he walked towards Lalia.
“Hmm.” Lalia quieted herself.
Galilo’s eyes widened. Lalia Tarrus was never speechless; her thoughts usually came so quickly, interjecting an idea when she was thinking was near impossible.
“Lalia?” Galio asked, futilely craning his short neck to raise his head as though Lalia would whisper in it.
“Yes?” Lalia replied, absent minded, she pursed her lips and held a thin finger to her temple. She was utterly lost in thought. She stood to pace the room; the walls were angular, jagged sheets of metal partially concealed hundreds of exposed wires and cables running through the wall. The ground was semi-translucent, small blue lights would trace the same circuitous patter over and over; the floor resembled a moving night’s sky.
“What is it that you are so deep in thought about? Is it the Admiral?” Galio asked. “I understand hearing him everyday must be hard on you.” He began.
He took a step towards her, slowly, as though she might turn quickly or violently.
“No, no. It is not the Admiral.” She answered, though a brief image of the Admiral flashed in her head. She physically shook it off. She needed to focus.
“What if?” She continued, now thinking out loud, excitement showed on her face. “Galio, what if a dream could come true? What if, somehow, I used my consciousness to project actuality?” She asked.
Galio squinted his eyes a bit; Lalia wasn’t being practical. She was speaking in theory, the concept made sense, it was simply an impossibility. Lalia Tarrus did not think in impossibility.
“Galio. I think that supernova was my doing. I dreamed that I was on a small planet, that I was emanating light. Then the whole world was void, save me, I was translucent; clear like a port window.” She continued.
“Why are you so fixated on this?” Galio asked, “Are you trying to cling to this as an explanation for your weird nightmares?”
Lalia sighed as she slouched in her chair, a hand held to her temple.
“I have never felt so certain about anything.” She breathed.
Galio looked at her, certain she had made some sort of important discovery. Lalia’s mind often moved faster than he or she could ever try to catch up, but he needed to show faith in her, if he wanted her to trust him.
“Galio, I am telling you the truth. It may sound untrue; I promise I am not trying to fool you.” She pleaded with him; her deep blue eyes assured him this was the truth.
“Doctor Tarrus. What would you have me do?” Galio asked with a slight bow, “Of course I will help you.” He said with the best wink he could give, he hacked though his perpetual cold.
“Galio, you and I will leave the Convoy and visit this planet.” She whispered with excitement.
Galio eyed her carefully; “Lalia, the planet just went supernova! You can’t actually expect to take a shuttle. What would happen if our systems encounter interference? We would lose the Convoy. There would be no Phlasia. Ever.”
Lalia Tarrus looked out her port window; she stood tall, she knew she was on the brink of something large. She was convinced her dream caused the supernova explosion of a planet, she was also certain that the planet remained and something important awaited her.
Galio hurriedly packed a case with food and long metal cylinders; he also layered stacks of blank holo-foils on top before he latched the case closed. The shuttle would need enough supplies for four days;
“There is no way to know how long the trip might take.” Lalia explained.
The trip would be unprecedented, no Callos ever willingly left the Convoy, at Galio’s suggestion Lalia agreed to wait until the night cycle aboard the ship began.
Lalia slid out of her laboratory with Galio behind her; they approached the hanger without encountering any of the other Convoy members. The hanger was mostly empty; a few shuttles lay docked to suspended platforms, below them was the mechanic floor. Lalia jogged up the metal scaffolding attached to the hanger command tower, she activated the hanger doors and returned quickly to Galio. They selected a shuttle; a sleek spear-like vessel, with a slight glimmer from the ice coating due to it’s miniature Idinuim Repulsors. Galio settled in the pilot’s seat, Lalia next to him. Unknowingly they initiated a rescue mission.
Meanwhile on CLERGY 1, Admiral Latarr sat in his deep commander’s chair. The Admiral had before him twelve of the Convoy’s strongest soldiers; they represented the remnant of the once powerful Convoy military power. The Callos had since returned to a peace-loving species; these brave soldiers were called to protect this peace. There was something suspicious about the terrestrial sphere it was impossibility that a planet could go supernova. The Admiral needed this issue resolved; Phlasia was only two weeks away.
The Admiral’s soldiers were outfitted with some of the Convoy’s outdated weaponry; the Callos had been at peace for the past two-hundred years, their oldest enemies the Yau Tang had been eradicated. But the military instinct had not died those hundreds of years ago, the pain of war continued to be passed on. Admiral Latarr knew that he personally clung to the memories of military victories, even if they weren’t his own memories; he would have one of his own. These twelve soldiers were known only to him, they marched in formation unto the sleek grey shuttle equipped with miniature Idinium Repulsors, their rifles on their backs, they saluted to him.
With a firm swift movement of his hand to his brow, he authorized these Callos out of the hanger bay. The shuttle quietly pulled its nose and the Repulsors kicked on, a brief hover and the vehicle lifted out of the hanger. Admiral Latarr prayed under his breath to Phlasia:
“Phlasia, be with us now. We near our pilgrimage. To you, I send these brave Callos.” He whispered.
The shuttle left the hanger of CLERGY 1 towards the remnant of the supernova, as did a small shuttle leaving CLERGY 5. A collision course had just been plotted, someone calculated incorrectly.