Zero Sphere: A Space Opera Thriller

by Jedaiah Ramnarine

  SHIELDS DOWN TO 2%

  Once that shield is gone, it only takes one hit for the escape pod to be blown to bits. Colin knew that too but something inside him was brewing beyond death. A power so great, no creature – living or dead, could deny it. The power that allowed the whole universe to exist. The reason why we still exist and the rope that has never let mankind go, even when man has gone to his darkest hour. Even when man made the monsters come true and even when a man looks to the sky, sees a pattern of stars and knows that is the place he came from saying ‘That is my home and I will return to it someday.’

  SHIELDS HAVE BEEN DEACTIVATED!

  It is the power that holds the endless existence of Creation together and the highest principle that cannot be denied no matter what color, creed or race you are. That power, the power that Colin now felt surging through his hands that rivaled the energy of a thousand suns – The power of love.

  “Get…” Colin stretched his left arm forward and crunched it into a fist, “Out…” He held his hand open, challenging the fighter squad in front of him to give him all they got – “Of…” Colin opens his hand like his father did before using his own power, “My…” The remnants begin charging their cannons for a final shot – “WAY!”

  An electrical surge ran through the ship, sparks flew everywhere and fire engulfed every corner of the shuttle, tearing the whole machine into a vehement explosive blast as Colin found himself jumping through the very cockpit, glassing shattering everywhere. Flames engulfed his suit and as he kept his hand extended, hoping without doubting, going without stopping and loving without ending – another hand reached out to him; Seven’s. The moment they interlocked palms, both their bodies turned into pure light and in an instant, Colin was whisked away from his shortly lived private shuttle.

  A pulse erupted on board the middle of Valkyrie’s ship before an energy signature followed and in, entered father and son. Colin dropped to the ground from the impact, nearly vomiting from the sudden warp he experienced. Seven helped his son to his feet

  “Father?” Colin wondered if he’d been hallucinating or seeing consciousness projections again

  Seven smiled at his son. Colin could deny that was really his blood. He previously didn’t get a proper chance to really look into his father’s eyes during their last encounter but the mere fact this man had reached out two times to save him already, was more than enough. That device was still in his hand, reminding him of Astraea’s condition.

  “Where is she?” Colin asked

  “We got hostiles incoming!” Valkyrie shouted across the room, “Someone get on those cannons!”

  “Go to her.” Seven nodded Colin in the direction of the room where Astraea laid, “We’ll take it from here.”

  Colin nodded abruptly, “Thank you father.”

  The two men went their separate ways, prepared for their individual battles ahead. Seven entered the on board, holographic-controlled turret system while Colin rushed to Astraea’s side. She was laid in a bed, still lifeless as he left her. Colin wondered about the device he had in hand. They didn’t give him any instructions on its use. He noticed a slit in the apparatus, an opening of some sorts – so he added 2 and 2 together and figured out a way through sheer willpower to use the device.

  Meanwhile Valkyrie was busy keeping the ship in one piece. She had to use a series of space acrobatics, dodging the trajectories of missiles headed her way. The ship was not made for dogfighting, because in space, there is no dogfighting. You’re either killed instantly or walk away with a victory. Space combat is evolved and she knew that too. Seven covered them with turret fire – the shots were blue and continuous, allowing the Spheres to wear down their opponents as they bolted for the nearest exit to the solar system. If they could get far enough, they’d be able to use the hyperdrive.

  “Bogies, three o’clock!” Valkyrie warned Seven.

  He immediately snapped on the trio of fighters closing in on their right, who were already raining a hailstorm of orange beams at them. The ship sustained some damage from the attack, though most of it was absorbed by the energy shields. Seven managed to shoot down two of the remnant fighters from that swoop but at least another six or seven remained. Colin was at Astraea’s side, the device had taken life of its own. A small circular object hovered away from its case and using seemingly automated technology, it scanned the room for life and noticed Astraea’s fatal condition. The object turned a reddish color, perhaps indicating the severity of her state. It then hovered in front of her, shooting a thin green beam at her forehead and performing other medical scans in a language that was completely foreign to Colin. The best he could do was assume it was working. He brushed her hair aside from covering one of her eyes.

  “Fight Astraea…” He softly called for her, “Do not go gently into the night. Burn till you can burn no more. Fight… fight…”

  Valkyrie could see the horizon incoming. Soon they’d be out of the solar system if they could keep up but then she spotted something very weird, “Seven… I think we got a problem!”

  In the distance, space seemed quite strange. Starlight seemed to be blocked and there was a general darkness in the vicinity ahead of them. Valkyrie looked at the cockpit’s instruments that were already screaming ‘do not go there!’

  “Seven!!” Valkyrie tried getting his attention again, despite his focus on keeping them in one piece from his end. He took a glance in her direction. His usually calm demeanor, especially in strife, wasn’t there when he noticed what was ahead of them. They were entering an asteroid field and when Seven paid closer attention at what may be in the distance, he wondered if the asteroids would be the last of their worries. There was so much dust blocking out their view, who knows what other dangers lurked at the other side?

  “We going in?” He asked her rhetorically.

  Valkyrie smirked. She grabbed a hold of the throttle and propelled the engines to their max capacity. If the remnants were crazy enough to follow them into that patch, so be it – as far as she was concerned. This isn’t a science fiction movie, to avoid those rocks required more than just fancy space flight. Seven had to do his part too. He fired away at the stray rocks to clear a path for them while Valkyrie led them through a narrow field in the debris. Those Remnant fighters did not care though. They relentlessly pursued them into the asteroid field. Valkyrie knew she had to play dirty. At every other corner, she activated the ship’s mine system, placing a small bomb for the pursuer unlucky enough to come near it after The Spheres’ had already moved onto another zone.

  Valkyrie took a quick peek to see if she’d caught any unlucky foes from her traps but none came up on her radar, so she decided to do something a little crazy. She dialed back on the engines, forcing the ship to come to an immediate halt in space – then she steered the ship downwards, landing on one of the nearby rocks and shutting the power off, waiting for the fighters to show up.

  “What are you doing?!” Seven angrily shouted

  “Trust me.” She silently whispered in such a way that he may not have even heard it.

  With the lights off, and their ship vanished from enemy detection, they silently stood still until their attackers came. Finally, three remnant ships whisked into the area, searching for them like predators starving for their meat. Seven wondered what her plan was but he was starting to get it. Valkyrie grabbed hold of the throttle again, turning the power back on and drawing the remnants’ attention as she flew upwards. They unleashed a barrage of fire power that literally took out half of the ship’s remaining energy shield but Valkyrie flung the ship downwards into a new path and the remnants followed closely behind. Seven fired at the rocks in front of them, clearing a path for them. Valkyrie knew she had the chance to juke them now, seeing as they were close behind and believing themselves to have the advantage of cornering The Spheres but they’d soon find out the cold truth when Xeilya unleashed the mine right behind them. The Remnants’ speed was too great to stop immediately. One of the fighters wen
t straight into the mine, immediately being blown to bits. The impact affected another one of their ships, causing it to twist, turn, and spiral into oblivion as it crashed on one of the nearby rocks.

  “Woo!” Valkyrie exclaimed in victory.

  But their victory would be short lived. The impact of the explosion caused a most unwanted effect. The rocks and asteroids held together by the gravity was now disturbed. Rocks were clashing into each other, asteroids were rotating against themselves and the whole zone had become a shooting zone for all the intruders who don’t belong there. The Spheres’ ship was no longer taking fire from human intelligence, it was taking heavy damage from nature itself which, ironically, was disturbed by man yet again.

  Suddenly energy signatures sparked on board the ship, and three human figures materialized inside, opening fire at Valkyrie in the cockpit before they were fully pieced back together. She quickly ducked the initial fire but most of the instruments and detection systems on board the ship were damaged from the fire. She rolled to the side, releasing the controls and grabbing a nearby blaster to unleash her own fury. A slick shot pinned one of them right in the head, instantly dropping him dead but the other two kept Valkyrie at bay and they were not just keeping her locked down, they were destroying the ship from inside. She tried poking her head out again to take a couple shots but one of them tagged her in the shoulder, the same one she’d taken a shot in centuries ago which momentarily triggered a psychological response forcing her to stay down. These remnants were not just firing physical beams, they were using telepathic warfare.

  Seven got off the turret, knowing he had no other option but to do something inside despite them still being attacked from remnants outside too. A deep anger was unleashed in him as he watched his wife struggling in the corner of the command deck. He fearlessly walked to them, crunching his fists in an instinctual anger so great the whole room was bending from the rage. They opened fire at him as he continued walking to them but Seven held his hand forward, forming a green barrier around himself that absorbed all the firepower. He then pointed his finger at the invaders and in the skip of a heartbeat they both dropped dead.

  Valkyrie picked herself up, blood dripping down her numbed arm. The sight of the injury did not depress her, instead it reminded her of everything she’s fighting for. Seven was already rushing to her side – “Are you alright?”

  “I’m fine.” She narrowly insisted. “It’s just a scratch” she added trying her best to downplay the severity of her injury.

  Suddenly more energy sparkles started forming behind her husband, and she knew another one of those creatures were about to come on board

  ‘Not on my watch.’ The feline in her hissed.

  She held her beamer out and shot the remnant before he properly spawned inside. Seven immediately spun around to get in on the action, although he was too late. He wanted to care for her arm but they were in no position to stop now. Valkyrie got back in the pilot’s main chair and notice a new hellfire brewing. Another force was becoming stronger and stronger, the more Valkyrie steered the ship downwards which made Seven realize something.

  “What’s holding all this together?” He asked her and then thought for a moment on the possible culprit. As they went further into the abyss, the darkness began clearing, unveiling a bright, hazy gust of gas and dust, sporting an orange-flavored color. Internal temperatures began rising on the ship, the lights were flickering on and off and space inside began twisting and distorting – as if it were stretching, bending from something so great, it can affect the very fabric of spacetime.

  “We’re coming up on a black hole!” Seven warned.

  Inside Astraea’s resting place, Colin still sat at the side of the bed, holding her left hand tightly while he looked at the machine performing its duty. He too, noticed the bending of space inside there as well, because the whole room started shifting and the lights were dimming. No matter what should happen, Colin had already made up his mind to stay with Astraea till the end. For better or worse, he was there and he was not going to let go.

  At last, they cleared the field of the asteroids. Seven was partly right. There was a black hole alright, but it wasn’t just a black hole. There was another star there, being absorbed by the illusive, hungering giant.

  The force of the magnetism and sheer power from the two stars unifying as one, literally started ripping their ship to shreds. The energy shield was depleting by 1% every second and they were down to 30% already. The remnants themselves refused to chase that far, finding the idea to be flat out suicide. They turned back, headed for their civil war instead. A short moment of clarity seeped into the atmosphere of chaos. The shields were down to 6% as Valkyrie tried pulling the ship away, but the force of magnetism was too great and it pulled them in, finally stalling the engines, sucking them toward the incoming event horizon. Realizing she had no other choice, she dialed the clock on the hyperdrives. The moment the shield hits 0%, they would all, instantly die. The weariness from the injury was trying to best Valkyrie but she held on to her drive – the drive to save her family.

  Space around them warped as the ship’s hyperdrives became activated, preparing to warp them into deep space while the shields hit 0% at that very moment, tearing the whole thing a part in the process. Light formed around them, engulfing everything in the area, then all was black and everyone felt weightless, and then, they were gone…

  Solar Opus

  What happens when you have completed your mission? The end goal has been reached, and you think back on all that was lost on your way to get there. Does it affect one in such a way where they lose their purpose and wander off to become an aimless drifter? The truth is, we’re all on our own missions. There is one for you to get from point A to point B, and when you get there, you have the option to create the new mission: point C and so, the spiral continues on and on beyond death and beyond life. Can you see it now? Our existence is more than these missions. We are the universe, experiencing itself as humans. We do not stop once we are done, we find the strength to carry on. Every ending is only a doorway to a new beginning. Remember this when the day comes when you must close your eyes. Remember that one day, you will reopen them.

  The Return Home

  Out in the cold, endless warping existence of space, a damaged ship clings to its failing legs as it enters a world long forgotten. Inside the broken vessel, a man and his wife are embraced on the ship’s floor – holding on to each other as if they were breathing their last breaths.

  “Open your eyes babe.” The man whispers into her ear softly, “We made it…”

  Valkyrie backs off from him, her hand reaching onto his face, feeling for if she’s really alive or dead. She can’t deny the warmth she feels from the man in front of her. Here they are again, another bump on the road, another tale they adventured through – together

  “You alright?” Seven asked her but Valkyrie kept staring at him as if he were missing something

  “Shut up and kiss me you idiot!” She exclaimed joyfully

  “Yes ma’am.” Seven replied as she pulled her onto him, locking the two in a deep kiss.

  At the other end of the ship, Colin watches over the unresponsive Astraea. The medical machine had already given up hope as it returned to its case. A frozenly shocked Colin can only sit there observing the woman he voyaged time and space for. He wonders to himself how much he failed, yet again. He failed with Adria, he failed with Josh and now he failed with Astraea. The thought is both sickening and disturbing, yet he holds onto her cold hand foolishly staring into her closed eyes like she’d rise up again.

  “I love you.” This is the only thing Colin can say as he stares at her, struggling to form tears in his eyes but they’re so burned out, so shocked from all the letdowns he went through that he just can’t bring himself to crying. All he can do, is sit there, waiting for practically nothing more than a fool’s hope.

  “I love you…” He says again, this time the tears finally starting to form. His
head drops from the disappointment, leaning it into Astraea’s chest. He wonders if it was all worth it. Astraea did contact the Sirian Council, so by all means, this age-long mission should be complete but in the end, was it really worth the cost?

  He sees the time in 2080, the last time he would speak to his wife. She is still as beautiful as she’d always been. She may be bedridden in the hospital, but he didn’t care for appearances.

  “We did it.” She told him, “Together, we did it.”

  She taught him how much my family legacy meant to her, an outsider. She was willing to carry it on. Willing to do what Colin used to distance himself from. The setting sun outside the broken ship reminds him if he’d been there for her the way he should have. Had he fought hard enough for their mission? Had he fought hard enough for her?

  He holds her hand again, he held her before…

  “Not like this.” He warns against the similarity in the event over the setting sun in the backdrop. All hope fades from him. Colin comes to the acceptance that this is it, he lost her again then suddenly he feels fingers brushing through his hair, petting him weakly. At first, he believes it to be nothing more than just his imagination, then excitement begins bubbling within every fiber of his body.

  He raises his head and his jaw drops dumbfounded. Those sparkling green eyes shimmer back at him and a smile, although weak, sees to it that he is at peace

  “Colin…” Astraea forces herself to speak, “I didn’t get to tell you something either…”

  “What is it?” Colin gently asks as if Astraea were speaking her last words

  She smiles ‘her smile’, the one that would sweep Colin off his feet any day – “I love you too.”

  Her hand caresses Colin’s face but the boy can hold himself back no longer. He leans into her and kisses her on the lips, expecting to feel her fade away into death but he’d be pleasantly surprised this time. Astraea’s body only grew warmer on contact. Life was returning to her. Valkyrie and Seven watch on as they see their boy, now a grown man, connecting with this outsider. They look at each other and chuckle a little