Initiation Series: Series One Compilation (Terran Chronicles)

by James Jackson

  The sight is amazing. He has found the bridge, and as an added bonus, it is empty. Quickly stepping inside, he is instantly awed by the bird’s-eye view. The windows extend all the way across the front, and a little toward each side, affording him a panoramic view. The central chair is very striking and rests upon a raised platform. Before it are four smaller chairs, each with an alien control panel, of sorts. The screens, if that is what they truly are, are all black, and devoid of any markings. More panels line the walls, some with chairs in front of them, and some without. Cables snake their way from some of the panels, to the wall, where they climb up to the ceiling. Johnny follows these massive cables with his eyes, and is surprised to see them disappear out the very opening he entered. That doorway is the only way in, or out, of this room. He had not noticed the cables before, but shrugs off the simple oversight. Feeling very brave, he walks to the massive windows and looks out. The front of the ship slopes away from him slightly, and seems to be a long way off. He steps closer to look downward and sees that the main hull is far below him. He is amazed that he can see people in the distance, walking on the top of the ship. He wonders if they are same people he spotted while crouched among the crates.

  Johnny walks over to the central command chair, awestruck, he gazes at it for a moment. His jaw drops as he notices that the curved back looks like a shiny multi-colored rock. It looks as though the chair has been carved from a huge opal, he thinks. The locals have shown him some beautiful opals, but this is bigger, so much bigger. It looks quite bulky, with its solid stone back and wide armrests, almost throne-like. The seat and backrest are covered in what appears to be real leather. Being very daring, he walks closer, and touches it. The stone is smooth and cold to the touch, while the leather feels thin, yet strong. Kangaroo skin? He wonders, as he feels the texture and studies the color. Glancing about, and suddenly feeling rather brash, he scrambles up into the majestic chair. The armrests are rather wide, and the chair itself is actually quite comfortable, if not too big. Johnny sits well back onto the chair and stretches his arms out to touch each side. In doing so, he notices that the chair curves around him on both sides, obscuring his view. Examining the chair closer, he notices that the armrests have small panels in them. They have the same blank surface as those in front of the other chairs, and along the walls. He runs his hand over the seat, backrest, and then the lovely stone-like material above and below. He wonders why the aliens would make a chair this way. Seems like a lot of effort for one chair, he reasons.

  Looking forward again, Johnny can see the four ordinary chairs, and their consoles, quite easily. Lifting his gaze, he notices that the wide windows are directly ahead. The raised chair affords him a commanding view. Pretending he is in charge, he sits back and issues mock orders to his invisible crew. “Full speed, fire all weapons, bring us around. Next target!” Johnny is so lost in his imaginary world that he gets louder and louder without realizing it.

  “Hey, you hear that?” A deep voice sounds out from somewhere behind the command chair.

  Oh, no. Johnny thinks to himself as he sheepishly lifts his feet up. He curls up farther in the chair, and makes himself as small as he can. The chairs winged sides afford him some protection. The stone base would have hidden his feet, but he feels less exposed being fully tucked into the chair.

  “You be hearin’ things again!” Another, equally deep man’s voice retorts.

  Johnny listens as at least two people enter the bridge. They stop near the central chair. He cranes his head to the left, and can see two men staring outside. They are dressed in overalls, and carry tool belts not unlike his own.

  “Big ‘un, ain’t she?” One of the men states as he motions out the window.

  “Yeppers, a real monsta’,” responds then other, who then adds, “anyways, we gots work to do, or dat Cindy will be all over us.”

  “Yeah, yeah. I just thought I heard voices, again. Damn it, this ship IS haunted I tell ya.” The overall-clad man’s response sends chills down Johnny’s spine.

  “Well, that forward section gives me the creeps. ‘Minds me of some movie, can’t think what it’s called right now.”

  “When my contracts done, I am outa here, that’s for sure.”

  “Me too!”

  Both men nod in agreement, and then after another brief look outside, they turn away from the command chair, and leave the bridge. Johnny lets out the breath he had been holding in a huge whoosh. If they had turned his way, he would have been spotted for sure. What did they mean by haunted? He wonders curiously.

  When all is quiet again, Johnny leaves the bridge, and returns to the stairwell he came up. Bounding downward, he makes good time. Down and down, he goes, quicker and quicker. The levels seem to fly by. He stops, suddenly realizing that he had not been counting. Coming to an opening, he peers out to see another well lighted passageway. This time, he marks the wall with chalk, and walks along, leaving the stairwell behind him.

  Strolling along, Johnny can hear voices long before he can see anyone. Taking care not to get caught, he creeps along slowly and quietly. Up ahead, one side of the passageway opens up, revealing a huge room. Sneaking along carefully, he can hear clanking and banging from up ahead. Cautiously peering around the corner, his jaw drops at the sight before him. His heart beats faster and faster as he realizes just how perfect his timing is. About a dozen workers, dressed in overalls, are installing sections to one of the many nuclear reactors this ship is to get.

  The room is incredibly large, and occupies a number of the ship’s levels. A couple of Olympic-sized swimming pools could easily fit across its floor space. Craning his neck to look upward, Johnny can see the ceiling, at least one, possibly two levels above. He smiles as he notices the walkways from each level along the far wall, two above, and two below. That’s five alien decks, Johnny says to himself in awe. The area between the ceiling of one level, and the floor or the next is much larger than anything he has ever seen before. Spotting an uncovered wall section, he strains to see what is between the levels. The area is large enough that he is sure he could stand up in it. In the dark, he can barely make out the ductwork, pipes, and thick layers of metal that make up the ceiling of level below, and floor of the level above. All in all, it appears to be a pretty ordinary looking cross-section.

  Not feeling inspired at all by this discovery, Johnny looks down into the room. The reactor that is being installed is, however, most impressive. Large pipes meander all over the room, passing through the various components of the nuclear reactor. Paying careful attention, Johnny can see where a series of cables snake their way out of the room. Oh, they must go to the reactor control room. Sweet! He thinks, excitedly. Having overheard many conversations, he knows the ship is receiving twenty powerful reactors. Each is being installed in separate sections of the ship so they can be sealed off in the event of an emergency. Johnny gazes around the large room again, and considers twenty such rooms scattered throughout the forward section of the ship.

  Getting bored, he debates between backtracking, and following the lights further onward. He quickly makes his decision. Johnny lays on his stomach and, staying as far from the edge as possible, crawls to the far side of the room.

  Once to the passageway, he stands and brushes himself off. He walks on and discovers another reactor room, this one looks complete, and has no one in it. Hurrying past the opening, and continuing further down the walkway, Johnny is once again amazed by the size of the ship. The lights end at a stairwell, leaving the passageway ahead a darkened maw. Johnny stops as he considers whether to go up, down, or continue on into the darkness.

  Scrape… Clomp… Scrape…

  The sounds travel out from the dark passageway, and then stop. The noises do not fade away, they just stop, and whatever made them is close. Johnny gulps and dives head first into the stairwell. Terrified by whatever was making the scary sounds, he hurtles down the stairs. His reckless decent reminds him of running down the stairs in the Statue of Liberty so long ago
. Down and down, he rushes, until he comes upon a lighted hallway. With little regard to being caught, he rushes out. Between his deep breaths, he tries to listen for sounds of pursuit. His own breathing is loud and harsh in his ears, while his heart is thundering like a freight train. He looks around with genuine fear and thinks, this ship IS haunted.

  Looking left, then right, he is not sure which way to go. The overhead fluorescent lights stretch on in both directions for as far as he can see. Picking a direction, Johnny moves on with renewed determination. Walking on, he notices the area ahead seems brighter, which encourages him.

  The passageway ends abruptly, opening into an area that is filled with plants. Johnny steps into the enormous room and looks around in wonder. The ceiling is easily three levels high. Glancing left and right he can see openings to other passages. The boy finds it quite unnerving that he cannot see the walls on either side of this huge room. The setup for the plants, however, is amazing. They rest in plastic tubs, or tubes, and are stacked one on top of the other, stretching far over his head. The floor underneath has a wide drainage area. Walking along to a break in the plants, he can finally see the far wall. Gaining more confidence as he understands the room’s layout, he ventures farther inside.

  The variety of plants is made evident by tags and pictures that are spaced at regular intervals. Finding a row of ripe strawberry plants is just too tempting. They are tasty and juicy. Johnny carries a handful of incriminating stems over to what appears to be a composting bin, and tosses them in. A series of small lights begin to flash near him, and he looks up curiously. The lights are too small to be an alarm; besides, he reasons, there appears to be no sound emanating from them, so he is not too concerned. Finding another section filled with even larger strawberries, he leans in to grab a handful, and is rained upon by a fine mist. Stepping back with surprise, he notices that each row is receiving a fine spray. He is a little confused, his classroom had been doing a hydroponics study when the aliens arrived. That was before everything changed, but nothing like this was ever discussed in class. He remembers being given straight A’s for his first assignment, and recalls that this type of system as being very wasteful. Looking up, he starts to follow the small water pipes to where they connect to larger pipes. His eyes follow them farther and farther, until they are so far away he unable to make them out. Why would they use a water spray? He wonders curiously. And Soil?

  Heading back to the wall where he came in, Johnny notices two well-lit passageways. He chooses the one with water pipes lining the walls, and continues his exploration. After a decent walk, he arrives at a three-way junction, which also has a stairwell. The pipes turn the corner and continue on into the distance. Every direction is well lit, making his choice even tougher. Not being sure which level he is on simply adds to the mystery. Gazing at the pipes, he considers them with renewed interest. They most likely lead to water storage tanks, he thinks, so there’s no point in looking at those. After a few moments of indecision, he chooses to continue on straight ahead.

  Johnny is disappointed when the passageway ends at the main hangar deck. Looking down, he can see more people than before, and quickly steps back before he is spotted. With there being a lot more of the ship left to explore, he heads back to a nearby stairwell. He walks downward, passing level after level, all pitch black, until finally he spots one which is lit. He closes his eyes for a second as he counts the levels, but he has completely lost track of where he is, and eventually gives up.

  Johnny steps cautiously into the passageway, and peers into the distance in each direction. He walks away from the main hangar deck. Up ahead, the lights continue on and turn left into some unseen area. Creeping along quietly, he listens for any signs of people, but can only hear himself. Glancing into the side passage, he is surprised to find that the lights stop.

  His jaw drops in shock. Spacesuits line the wall. There are American ones, Russian ones, and a couple of others that have no insignia. He walks along the row, and stops at a smaller American spacesuit. He grins as an idea pops into his head. It is at this time that he spots what appears to be a closed door. This is the only door he has seen so far today. A lit panel rests against the wall next to it. He gingerly touches the panel. The door immediately opens, swooshing to the side and revealing a dimly lit, square-shaped room. The room is large, easily a few levels high, but without a reference point, he is unable to tell exactly how high. There is small panel on the wall in the room next to the door, and beside this, yet another that is even larger.

  Feeling very bold, Johnny dashes back and grabs the small American spacesuit. He grins as he stares back at the private looking room. Oh, I just have to, he thinks. Getting the suit into the room is the easy part; getting into the suit, however, is not. After what feels like an eternity, he is finally in it. Even though it was the smallest suit, it is still too big for him, but he does not care.

  As Johnny quietly fantasizes of being a space-walking astronaut, the sound of voices drift his way. In a mild panic, he steps clumsily to the wall. His hand accidently touches the smaller panel. Immediately the door swooshes shut. Relieved, he turns and rests his back on the wall, right on the second wall panel.

  Click.

  Johnny freezes at the sound. A split second later the lights go out, making his heart jump. He turns to touch the panel, but as he does so, his feet drift out from under him. There is no gravity anymore. The walls, ceiling, and floor are all covered in small sparkles of light. They look like stars, making it feel as though he were in space. He closes his eyes as he slowly flips over and over. Beads of sweat dot his forehead. After a few terrifying seconds, Johnny notices that a group of distant stars begin to pulse. Then he realizes that the pulses are tugging at him. The gravity must be returning, he realizes with relief. He lands on the floor, and begins the slow walk to where the door should be. Alarmingly, with each step, he feels lighter and lighter, until he is once again floating freely in the room. He is now extremely scared, and starts to fret nervously. Again, the distant lights pulse and draw him to them. Now he is confused. He was on the floor and this is a wall, yet it feels like the floor. The cycle continues over and over, alarm and fear begin to turn into excitement.

  Just when this becomes fun, a fresh thought comes to mind, a terrifying thought. How do I stop this and get out? A fresh bout of panic sets in as he searches the room for the door. The thrill has completely gone out of this now, his back is drenched in sweat, making his t-shirt cling to the inside of the suit. Finally, after the room runs through the sequence a few more times, he is able to spot the door. Many minutes are spent making his way to the panel. He is distressed to see that it is currently at his feet, and, for all intents and purposes, is on the floor. It takes two more cycles before the floor is the floor again. Standing before the panel, he can see that it is one large triangle that has three pieces. Each occupies one corner of the triangle, and one of which is lit. After a brief hesitation, he taps the lit corner, and it goes out instantly, as do the stars. The room goes pitch black, taking his already frayed nerves to a new level. A spilt second later, the room is bathed in a soft light again.

  Johnny steps to the door control and is relieved when the door swooshes open as he touches it. A few minutes later, he stares guiltily at the spacesuit as he hangs it back on the wall. He is drenched in sweat, as is the inside of the suit. He is still not sure if that was fun or not, as he steps away from the now closed door.

  To regain his bearings, Johnny walks back to the stairwell and heads downward, making his way to the bottom level. Heading back toward the main hangar deck, he walks past empty room after empty room, for what feels like an eternity. His footfalls are the only sound. He suddenly hears noises coming from up ahead. Johnny listens carefully, but the sounds do not make any sense to him. Creeping steadily closer, he ducks into a darkened room just as three people step out into the passageway. They carry between them a large cardboard box. Johnny grins. These are the Japanese computer people, and they are taking
that box somewhere. Johnny is elated. I am going to see the computer room, he imagines with glee.

  The three people all talk loudly in a foreign language, which makes them easy to follow. Their efforts at climbing the stairs with the heavy box are almost comical. Johnny hangs well back, and trails the three men until they finally exit the stairwell.

  THUD

  Johnny hears the men shouting seconds after the thud, and can only imagine what has happened. He cautiously peeks out, and can see they have left the box in the doorway to a well-lit room. Quickly and quietly, he runs over and peers into the room. The three men are talking loudly with their backs to Johnny while pointing at something out of his sight. Noticing that the huge room has many tall rows of cabinets, which would afford him great protection, he sneaks inside. Carefully and quietly, he makes his way to the far wall. The cabinets in this section are not finished yet. Johnny peers inside one and is disappointed that all he can see is a bunch of smaller plastic boxes connected with wires. He considers opening one of these smaller boxes with his tools, but decides against it. Stepping away, he trips and lands heavily on the ground. He is certain that they heard him as he quickly untangles his foot from some sort of cable. It has obviously been ripped out of the cabinet he was just examining. He scurries to the back of the room and is rewarded by the sight of another passageway.

  Johnny runs down the corridor, holding his tool belt close to his body to minimize its noise. The hallway opens up into a large area, the mess hall. He bursts into the room without thinking, and almost collides with a table. That is not the worst of it, however. The table is occupied. Five rough looking men are seated there, playing some card game. Johnny’s eyes get wide as they all toss their cards down. One of the men scoops a pile of money towards himself. As soon as he does this, all five turn to Johnny and stare. He gulps as he looks back, not knowing what to do or say. One of the men points at Johnny and demands, “Whatcha doin’ here, kid?”