by DP Scott
Hete stood on the deck of the space ship’s control room and looked back at Saturna. She had been placed inside a cage and was asleep on the padded floor. They were the only two inhabitants on the space pod that was being auto-piloted to Veectors.
“Hete, this is Detis, have you put the ring in the intergalactic space shuttle? Hete, come in.”
Glancing again at Saturna, Hete walked over to the intercom. “No My Queen, I was unable to remove it, just as you were unable to remove it,” replied Hete, shaking his head.
“Hete you’re to get that ring! I don’t care if you have to cut it off with a laser!” Detis screamed. “Put it in the space shuttle’s traveling messenger and send it to Veectors, so the ring will arrive before you do. This is imperative! The Veectoreze will re-present it to Saturna. Do you understand?”
“Yes My Queen, it will be done,” stated Hete, wondering how he was going to remove the ring without hurting Saturna.
Adjusting her position, Saturna opened her eyes and tried to focus. She heard Hete’s name and his voice, but was having trouble seeing him. I must be dreaming, she thought, attempting to push herself up. Slowly things became clearer and the fog in her head began to lift. She could feel the fine vibrations, and looking about Saturna realized she was on a space pod in motion. “This can’t be!” she said still feeling very groggy. Hearing her, Hete left his station and walked to the front of the cage.
“Your Majesty, are you awake?” he asked gently.
“Yes I am,” replied Saturna, forcing herself to stand up by gripping the bars of her cell. Holding onto the rails and peering between them, Saturna bent over to look directly into Hete’s large, innocent eyes. “What are we doing here, Hete? And why am I in this cage?” she questioned with authority.
“Before I answer you, are you hungry? I’ve packed a picnic for our trip. I don’t want you to arrive feeling ill because you haven’t eaten. I have many lovely things in my basket: whipals, sirgaps and istals. These are very good to eat,” said Hete selecting a large whipal, which he cheerfully extended towards her. “Would you care for one?” he asked as he started to nibble on another.
“No thank you, Hete. I would like to know why I am here and where we are going?” replied Saturna curtly, slumping against the bars. Her white lace and cotton nightdress tangled about her.
“We’re on our way to Veectors and if you could please give me the royal ring, I’ll send it on ahead. We don’t have much time,” answered Hete, feeling a bit nervous because of her tone, but really enjoying his purple whipal, which he munched loudly.
“Hete, you must start at the beginning. Who put me in this ship and why are we going to Veectors?” Saturna sensed his nervousness and knew better than to raise her voice at the little creature in case she frightened him off.
“I really shouldn’t say, as I was told not to, but because you have been so nice to me, I’ll tell you,” said Hete, leaning forward as if he was sharing a secret. “You don’t need to worry about a thing, Saturna. Detis is moving the government from Zard to Veectors. You see, it’s time for another planet to be in charge. When you get there, the Veectoreze will re-present your royal ring to you as a symbol of respect, and they’re going to build you a beautiful place to live. You’ll be very happy!” Hete clapped his hands together in excitement.
“Really,” said Saturna. “Well then, you had better let me out of this cage so I can ready myself. I can hardly meet the inhabitants of my new planet in my night gown.”
Standing on one foot and then the other, Hete looked perplexed, he hadn’t thought of this and Detis had told him several times not to free Saturna. Thinking Saturna made a good point he wondered if he should call Detis and ask her advice.
“I have no key and I don’t think Detis packed any clothes for you. Maybe your clothes will be waiting for you when we arrive. Now can you please give me the royal ring so that I can send it on ahead of us? Detis made me promise,” he replied, sounding pleasant.
“Think Hete, does this make any sense? Detis has no intention of letting me rule on Veectors. She wants the royal ring for herself. Once she has the ring, she will do away with me.”
“No, she promised no harm would come to you. I asked Detis. It’s supposed to be a big surprise and I think I’ve ruined it for you. I shouldn’t have told you,” replied Hete, distressed. His lower lip protruded and he looked as though he might cry.
“Thank you my trusted friend,” said Saturna reassuringly. “If what you say is true, then there is no harm in letting me out of the cage. We need to work together to find out where my clothes are and what time we arrive. Please Hete, we could be almost there!” continued Saturna, knowing she had to contact Zard immediately.
Contemplating Saturna might be right, Hete tried to shake the door in hopes that it would open, but the lock was solid and strong and remained securely fastened. He figured it would be difficult to break the lock so he removed a repair tool from the wall of the space pod and placed it between the bars. Although he used all of his strength, he wasn’t able to bend the bars, even with Saturna’s help.
“Hete, look around for some type of laser. There may be one in the green emergency landing kit over by the ship’s controls,” suggested Saturna, noting how archaic the small space ship was. The gray floor tiles were uneven with some of them curling unnaturally upward, and the metal walls were tarnished and in great need of refinishing.
Hete returned to the control station and began to sift through the green box. The smoothness of the flight ended, and turbulence began to gently shake the ship. In space flight, turbulence was common when a ship approached a planet’s gravitation field, but would gradually disappear when it left the range of that field. The turbulence they were experiencing appeared different, because instead of lessening it was gradually increasing in intensity as the voyage continued. Both passengers were now finding it difficult to keep their balance. The picnic basket and the objects Hete removed from the box while looking for a laser began to slide back and forth on the floor. Twice Hete had to jump in the air to avoid being hit in the foot.
“Here’s the laser,” said Hete very pleased with himself when he located it. “It looks old, but I think it will still work.”
Saturna, who had eventually sat back down on the floor of the cage to wait, stood to examine the laser. Just as she did so, the ship lurched to the left and she was forced to snatch on to one of the bars to avoid falling. Not as lucky, Hete slipped and rolled, smashing first into the ship’s deck and then back towards the cage. As he slid passed, Saturna reached out and grabbed him by his shirt.
“Are you alright, Hete?”
“Fine, fine, thank you. That was fun!” he said, straightening his clothes.
“We have to hurry and get this door open! You’ll need to cut from the front of the lock Hete. Put the beam on high, and brace yourself against the wall, the ship’s vibrations are getting stronger,” said Saturna, covering her face.
After four attempts to power the laser up, Hete was able to get a small beam. He began to cut the lock while Saturna tried to protect herself from flying debris by standing at the back of the cage. It took several minutes because the beam was inadequate and the lock very thick, but finally the lock collapsed onto the floor.
Saturna stepped out of the enclosure and embraced Hete. “Thank you, you have a good heart, I know it! Now let’s get to work.”
Hete returned her embrace and didn’t want to let go. He couldn’t remember ever being hugged before. Tears gathered in the corners of his large eyes. He liked Saturna very much. She was kind and smart and not like Detis at all!
“What can I do to help, My Queen?” he asked, feeling excited to have a new friend.
Just as Saturna was about to answer, an alarm buzzed and an orange light pulsed on and off indicating a transmission was coming through. Saturna motioned Hete to open voice only, not voice with picture. “Be cautious!” she whispered as he hand scan
ned the receiver panel.
“Hete, this is Detis, have you sent the ring?” The static was making the transmission faint. Saturna looked at Hete and nodded, signaling for him to say yes.
“Yes My Queen, it was sent,” said Hete, grinning from ear to ear and thrilled to be part of the deception.
“Good, you will be rewar…..” There was more static, but no voice.
Suddenly another voice sounded. “Saturna, Queen of Zard, are you aboard this ship?”
Startled, Saturna jumped. “Anton, this is Saturna.”
“There’s not much time...you’re heading right into Caverous! Apply thrusters and turn the ship....” Again, there was more static and the transmission to Zard was lost.
For a second neither of them moved. They were both well aware of Caverous--the most feared rotating black hole in the universe. It had been caused by the collapse of a gigantic star thousands of years ago and space travelers, stars and even small planets, that had the misfortune of coming too close to the horizon or edge of Caverous had experienced its unrelenting gravitational pull. Many had been sucked helplessly into the vacuum field only to be ripped apart within seconds of entering its center. The planet Zard received numerous distress calls and had even assisted in the abandonment of one small planet before it was too late. But for space ships that had irresponsibly traveled too close to the horizon of the black hole, the gravitational pull often overtook them very quickly, and regardless of the pleads for help, rescue was usually impossible.
Trying unsuccessfully to remove the auto-pilot, Saturna opened the port of the space pod, to see an enormous whirling blackness. Their warning had come too late. They had already crossed the horizon and the gravitational pull of Caverous was sucking them violently inward. The ship creaked and groaned and began to vibrate severely. The space pod was beginning to give way and there was nothing that could be done to save them.
Hete started to panic however Saturna felt surprisingly calm. Closing her eyes she became one with her auri. She could see her father and heard his voice. “If your life is ever in danger, twist the ring around and around….” Saturna began to turn the ring on her finger when suddenly the ship lunged to the right. Slipping sideways, Saturna fell into Hete and would have hit her head on the controls if he had not grabbed onto her. Then there was blackness, total blackness and spinning.