by Luigi Robles
“Send them over to my computer,” August said as he walked to the food printer. “I’ll go over them and see if I can see something, maybe a clue of some sort. I’m not entirely sure where I am going with it. But things are too quiet.”
August hesitated before choosing his meal. The screen on the food printer read: minimum menu available. Now instead of the hundreds of thousands of choices from before, they were limited to a set of ten simple meals.
Larissa must have made the change, he thought. Of course, we didn’t have enough time to get the supplies on board. The original plan called for Sodenia to stay in space with a full crew for sixteen days. Our loading time was cut in half and the personnel on board the ship almost doubled.
“Larissa, come in,” August said into his wristband.
“Yes, August?” Larissa said. The fact that Larissa did not call him captain made him feel good. She was well aware of the situation they were in.
“I see the new menu,” August said, trying to hide the mounting stress. “Just how long do we have before we run out of food or drink?”
“I’ve been getting multiple complaints about it,” Larissa responded. “I just finished creating the newsletter, and I will send it to everyone on board the ship. But it looks like, with the current population, we only have a little over eight days before the food starts to run out. As far as drinks, the tanks are full.”
“OK, thank you. That’s good to know. I hope I didn’t interrupt your lunch.”
“You didn’t interrupt much,” Larissa said with a laugh. “I thought you’d already seen the new menu; there’s not much to interrupt there.”
August let out a strained laugh and said, “Yeah, you are right. See you back on the bridge when lunch is over. Try not to scare the people on board the ship with that newsletter.”
“Don’t worry, it doesn’t say much,” Larissa said. “See you.”
A little over eight days, August thought. I wonder if by the time the eighth day gets here, everything will be over. Humans can last quite some time without eating—up to two weeks, if need be—and there’s plenty of water. But I don’t think that will sit too well with the general population. Once they figure out we don’t have food, they will begin to panic. We need to get back to Earth before that happens.
August settled for a simple bowl of cereal, option number one on Larissa’s new menu. He walked, with the bowl of cereal in his hand, over to the computer, where the 784 spreadsheets of data were waiting for him.
At first, the numbers and columns didn’t mean anything to him, but as he flipped through the pages, a pattern began to emerge. There was a clustering of numbers in different sectors of the asteroid belt.
“Kya, is there any way we can put all of this data into a graph?” August asked as he put a spoonful of cereal into his mouth. “Or better yet, a map of our relative location?”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite get the last part,” Kya said. “Do you mind repeating?”
“Can you put all of this data into a map?” August said, now with clear words.
“That won’t be a problem,” Kya said. “Constructing map now.”
The theory that August had built less than a minute ago appeared to be correct. The unusual movements according to his new standards were clustered in one location in the asteroid belt.
“That’s strange; it looks like something is pulling the asteroids and ice,” August said.
He flipped the three-dimensional map horizontally, where it revealed a slight hump in the clustering movements of the objects. In August’s mind, that was a dead giveaway, and a sure sign that the enemy was approaching and using a cloaking device. The only good news was that they were making their way slowly through the asteroid belt and had yet to reach the edge.
“Kya, can you refresh the map with new data?” August asked.
There it was, a jump towards Earth, towards Sodenia.
“If this is the enemy, how long do we have until they reach the edge of the belt?”
The map went from standstill to real time, following the movement of the ice.
“They will reach the edge of the belt within the hour,” Kya said.
“Can you please give this information to the flight crew, but wait ten minutes before you send it? And I guess you should notify the council. I don’t want them questioning my decisions just yet,” August said. “And can we try a different detection method? If that’s the enemy, I need to know.”
“While Sodenia is equipped with several different detection systems,” Kya said, “the satellites placed in outer orbit, such as those following the movements now, are outdated. Sodenia’s detection systems have a range of around 20 million miles. If at full power, we will be able to detect the bogeys as they pass Mars’ orbit.”
“So somewhere between Earth and Mars?” August asked.
“That is correct,” Kya said.
August stuffed his mouth with cereal and headed back to the bridge. To his surprise, everyone was already back there. At the back of his mind, he felt bad for not letting the flight crew enjoy what could be their last meal.
“Did everyone look over the information I sent?” August asked as he approached the center console.
“That’s why we are here,” Pycca said.
“Until we know for sure, we will continue to hope that we are wrong,” August said. “But we will prepare just in case we are not wrong. Pycca, I need you to give full power to our detection systems. If the enemy is really somewhere out there, we need to know for sure.”
“I’m on it,” Pycca said as her hands jumped onto her station’s controls. “I’ll send out engineers to each one of the detection systems to double check manually that everything is working properly.”
“From now on, we have to be on high alert,” August said. “We just have to.”
August opened a screen in the center console and started typing his plan of action to send over to the council. He hated the idea of them micromanaging Sodenia and its crew, but what else could he do? He knew that the council would agree to this readily enough, but he wasn’t sure how they would react if there was another confrontation. He sent the short message, and within a few seconds, it came back approved by the council.
August pressed the flashing blue button and said, “This is Acting Captain August Macaraeg. We will now close all of Sodenia’s viewing ports and be on high alert for a possible alien encounter within the next couple of hours.”
There is no point in sugar-coating things for the people on the ship, August thought. If anything, they should be ready to act if necessary.
As the hours passed by in silence, stress built up on the bridge. It was not that they wanted the enemy to attack, it was just the unpleasant suspense of the fact that the enemy might be sneaking up on them and they didn’t even know it.
“Kya, is there anything?” August asked, breaking the hour-long silence.
“There has been no movement as far as our sensors can detect,” Kya said.
“How about you, Pycca?” August asked. “Are the detection systems operating at one hundred percent?”
“I am just now getting the last report from one of the engineers; everything seems to be functioning properly.”
Could I have been wrong? August wondered. Was I seeing things that aren’t there? Crap, what in the world will I do now? I have to stay strong. I can’t let doubt win.
“A high-speed bogey was detected at the edge of our detection system,” Kya said. “It appears to be using some sort of cloaking device.”
“On screen,” August said.
A map of the solar system appeared on the main screen, with blue lines and dots defining the known planets and sun. A green rectangular shape marked Sodenia’s current place, and a red arrow marked the bogey’s location.
The bogey was moving fast through the map.
“How long before it reaches us?” August asked.
“If the speed remains constant, it will be here within forty minutes.”
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It’s moving at an incredible speed, he thought.
“Eora, are you getting this?” August asked.
“Yes, Captain,” Eora said. “I will try to lock on to the target as soon as it gets in range.”
A message from the council appeared on the center console. It read: Engage target as soon as weapons can reach it -Council. August ground his teeth in frustration as he read the message.
Why are they interfering already?
“Eora, try to engage the target as soon as our weapons can reach it,” August said. “Orders from the council.”
As they watched the bogey on the main screen get closer to Sodenia, hundreds of red triangles began appearing on the edge of the map. The bogey count on the side of the map went from 1 to 230 in less than a minute, and it looked like they were catching up to the single bogey.
“Kya, can you confirm what we are seeing on the main screen?” August asked, trying to keep calm.
“There are now 230 bogeys approaching Sodenia at high speed,” Kya said. “My calculations place them within Sodenia’s firing range in thirty-five minutes.”
Another message from the council. This time August couldn’t keep the anger inside as he read it. It read: Plot a course to Earth and execute immediately.
The whole reason we came out here in the first place was to try and stay away from Earth, to avoid any casualties, he thought.
August knew that this was the first order he could not follow, and it wouldn’t be the last.
“The council wants us to return to Earth with the enemy on our tail,” August said with his head down and fists clenched.
“What’s wrong with those people?” Pycca asked.
“We can’t do that; it would put too many people at risk,” Larissa said.
“That’s an order I cannot follow,” August said. “They can do what they want with me once this is over; that’s if there’s anything left.
Colton walked up to August and paused. He looked unsure of what to do next.
“Captain,” Colton said, hesitating. “I have direct orders from the council to relieve you of your duty. You are hereby relieved, sir.”
August looked towards Pycca, then Larissa, and said, “Eora, are you in the weapons bay?”
“Yes, Captain, I am here,” said Eora.
“Do you have a full crew with you?” August asked.
“Yes, Captain, I do,” Eora said.
“Kya, seal off all entrances to the bridge and weapons bay; seal all corridors as well,” August said. “I don’t want anyone under the council’s control coming to the bridge. Deny access to the pods to anyone carrying orders from the council.”
“Right away,” Kya said as the doors all around started to close.
A message from the council appeared on the console. It read: Traitor. You will all pay with your lives.
“Colton, get back to your seat, now,” August said.
“Yes, sir, right away, sir,” Colton said as he scooted to his seat.
“I’ve severed all communications between the council and their AI; they will no longer be able to see or communicate with the bridge,” Kya said. “However, I’m afraid I won’t be able to hold them for long, as they do have mechanical access to all the doors, and there are vehicles that only the council has access to on closed circuits.”
“Thank you, Kya,” August said.
“There is one more thing,” Kya said.
“What is it?” August asked, trying to keep his nerves under control.
“The council has already dispatched a large group of officers towards the detention bay and all around the ship,” Kya said. “They do not look as if they have good intentions.”
“Fain is in danger,” Pycca said.
“Pycca, you are the only one I can think of that will be able to get him out of the cell without having the codes; they’re using an analog lock,” August said.
“I’ll go now,” Pycca said as she stood up from her station.
“Take an officer from the bridge with you,” August said.
“Benson, you are coming with me,” Pycca said. A nearby officer got up and stood next to her.
“Kya, open the door,” Pycca said. “And show me the best way to get there.”
“Good luck,” August said.
“We’ll be back soon,” Pycca said as she and Benson left the bridge. The door closed behind them.
“Kya, how long do we have before the enemy is in range?” August asked.
“Around twenty-one minutes,” Kya said.
“Everyone get ready; shield up,” August said as he looked back at the pilot’s command station. “Larissa, I’m going to need your help. You have the console.”
Usually, the first officer would take over the center console as the captain sat in the pilot’s seat, but August didn’t know what side Colton was on for sure.
Resigned to doing what he must, he moved towards the pilot’s command station behind the center console. The controls automatically adjusted to fit him perfectly.
Once he was seated, the command station began to rise from the ground as the opening in the ceiling of the bridge appeared. The room the seat took August to was dark, but within seconds, panels all around him began to light up with the view of the outside. He had a complete view of the outside world; the only thing he couldn’t see was a small spot below his seat. It was then that August saw Sodenia in its entirety. It was breathtaking.
For a minute, August was able to forget the massive mess they were in. But then a countdown clock reading minus sixteen minutes appeared on the right side of the giant screen that surrounded him, bringing him back to reality.
He spent the next ten minutes trying to recall his training, the thousands of hours that he’d spent on the simulator. But as the clock reached minus six minutes, there was no more time for recalling. The highlighted bogeys began to appear on the giant screen, and soon the screen was filled with hundreds of green squares lining up across the horizon.
“We still can’t see them?” August asked.
“If it was not for their constant energy output, we would be unable to detect them,” Kya said.
“Did they just slow down?” August asked.
“It appears the bogeys have stopped just outside Sodenia’s range of fire and are now forming a perimeter,” Kya said.
August saw the bogies spreading across the horizon as the screen began to flash with a red warning of incoming fire. August began to pull Sodenia back up, away from the enemy, but they were quick to follow and stayed out of the ship’s weapons range.
The incoming fire struck Sodenia’s shield head-on, but the enemy fire proved to be no match for the massive shield.
“Eora, fire everything we’ve got as soon as you have a target,” August said. “We are going to face the enemy head-on.
“Reinforce the shield on the bow of the ship,” August added.
August accelerated Sodenia towards the enemy faster than the enemy could outrun it. As the enemy got within range of the ship, all weapons opened fire, unleashing hell on the enemy. Sodenia had them on the run.
“Enemy confirmed,” Kya said. “Their cloaking device seems to have stopped working as they are taking fire.”
“Can we zoom in on one of them?” August said.
Seconds later, an enlarged image of an enemy craft appeared on screen. It looked entirely different from the Acram or the past subspecies that had attacked Sodenia on Earth. This new enemy was completely different.
“Another subspecies,” August said as he pressed on. “Offscreen.”
The enemy began to disappear from the horizon at a staggering rate. Within a few minutes, they had been destroyed for the most part.
Could it be that Sodenia was that powerful? Sodenia had unleashed an amount of fire incomparable to anything August had seen before in the past, but he knew something wasn’t right.
As the last of the enemy ships disappeared from the horizon and Sodenia stopped firing and slowed, Larissa
pinged August.
“What is it?” August asked.
“There’s something weird happening in the ship’s dock; it looks like something attached to us while we diverted some of the shield’s power,” Larissa said.
11
Run
Pycca ran through the ship just in front of Benson, guided by Kya’s directions. Since most of the doors were closed to prevent anyone loyal to the council from attacking the bridge and trying to remove August from command, Pycca and Benson had no option but to run.
Pycca and Benson were taking the long route to the detention bay. There were more officers loyal to the council than Pycca had expected. Almost at every other door and hallway, Pycca and Benson had to turn to avoid conflict.
Why are there so many officers loyal to the council? Pycca wondered. What is the council promising them? I am sure they know that the council is only acting in its own best interest and no one else’s. Do these loyalists not have family on Earth? Why are they so willing to destroy it, or put people in danger? This is such bullshit.
To make matters worse, Pycca was beginning to feel that Sodenia was engaged in heavy battle with the enemy ships. Clues like reverberations and sudden acceleration and deceleration made themselves felt as she ran.
She knew that they were not in too much trouble, as Sodenia’s movements were still mild in comparison to what she was capable of.
She slowed just enough to open a screen on her wristband so she could check the status of the gravity and anti-gravity modules. They looked unmoved, still functioning at a hundred percent.
The gravity modules on Sodenia were the reason they could all walk, stand, sit, and feel the acceleration and deceleration in space. The concept was simple enough to explain, but to completely understand it took some thinking. The gravity modules emitted routing gravity waves around themselves in a continuous loop. As the ship moved through space, the loops compressed into the modules, making the gravity on board feel heavier in whichever direction the ship moved.