by G. P. Moss
“Oh, great. So, they don’t know we’re on our way?”
“No, sorry, love. They don’t. They will be able to see video footage of take-off, that is all.”
“Have you any idea where they might be heading, Harry?”
“The most likely route will be Whistling Way.”
“Oh, the strange noise thingy.”
“Yes, the strange noise thingy. The signals they picked up years past. The powers that be believe it could be an intelligent life form emitting the whistles. So, in their wisdom, they thought they might try to encroach on said life form’s hospitality.”
“But that’s insane, Harry. We need to build from scratch, somewhere basic, not risk destruction. They could be vastly superior to us and just simply wipe us out!”
“It won’t take much to be vastly superior to us.”
“Now do you see why Polly was looking into other options?”
“I still think we need to catch up first.”
“We cannot catch up, Ariel, unless they slow down. And they do not know where we are.”
“We’ll speed up, Harry.”
“Ariel, the boosters have not been operationally tested to their full potential. They cannot be, at the moment. No one knows if the human body can take it. We are already at close to maximum speed.”
“This is ridiculous, Harry. Let’s try it, just for a few seconds.”
“Okay, but it is not just your life you will be risking. Think about Stevie. And me.”
“You don’t count, you’re AI.”
I’m going to call her Harriet again. This moment calls for formality.
Harriet’s lip begins to quiver.
Ariel feels bad.
“Oh, Harry, I’m sorry. We have to try. Please?”
Harry begins to crumple.
“Be serious, Harry. Please!”
“You need 2 crew to perform this action. Not AI crew.”
“Call Stevie, please. Ask him to come here.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Harry is standing to attention, frozen in a stiff salute.
“For goodness sake, Harry!”
*
“You have got to be kidding!”
“No, Stevie, we have to try.”
“My molecular structure won’t take it.”
“What do you mean, your molecular structure? It’s the same as mine. Equal risk, equal salutation if it works.”
Stevie says nothing.
“2 seconds, you say?”
“Yes, then we assess.”
“Or we die.”
“Good, that’s settled then. Harry, unlock the sequencer please.”
“Finally, I get some politeness as I prepare to become AI fry.”
*
Self-promoted Lieutenant Ariel Hope and self-promoted First Engineer Stevie Lo place their hands onto the ‘stupid speed pad’, home of the ‘stupid speed button’ or accelerator for those technical among you.
Harry places her hands together in prayer.
“It’s set for a 2 second burst. Follow my instructions to the letter. HIT IT NOW!”
Life, everything, seems to appear to flash by in an instant.
Then still.
Well, not still, they’re still going thousands of miles per hour. But stiller.
Harry starts laughing.
“Look at the pair of you! Your faces have been sucked back and your hair is standing up. Oh, this is fun!”
Neither laughs.
They are in shock.
Harry regains her composure.
“I think 2 seconds is the maximum we can risk. Looking at you two and your bodily structures, I would say any more and you would not make it.”
As Ariel slumps into the chair, her face still pulled back, Stevie disappears rapidly, in obvious discomfort and distress. From somewhere deep in the bowels of the ship, howls and growls of pain resonate through the walls. Before Ariel has a chance to say anything, Harry appears. No uniforms, no gimmicks.
“A couple of things to draw your attention to, Ariel. First, we have travelled a significant distance, to the outer edge of the galaxy. We are far away from StarTapped Command now.”
Ariel looks defeated, shocked.
“And the second?”
“I think Stevie Lo just turned into a wolf.”
As Ariel Hope digested these new developments, her face slowly begins to return to normal.
Harry smiles.
“That is so much better, dear.”
Chapter Seven
Milky Way (steady as you go, unlike Beta 2)
"Captain, your wife is asking for you; she is in quarters. I detect exasperation rather than fear."
"Thanks Miri; tell her I'm on my way."
Ed knows what this is about. Johnny will be whingeing again, saying he's bored, when there's a whole cruiser to explore. But you can't touch everything. No. StarTapped may be carrying civilians but at the end of the day, it's a military exploration ship.
He has an idea.
A new plan.
If 'Gobby' Johnny doesn't pipe down, he'll introduce conscription. Just for him. Anyone aged 12 must join or they'll lose their sweet ration. Sorted.
Ed speaks to the Chief, from the corner of his mouth.
He can't do it.
It looks ridiculous. He turns his head instead. Better.
"Chief, you have control."
"Do I?"
"You are supposed to say, ‘I have control’."
"Sorry, Captain. I have control."
"And, do you?"
"Yes Captain. I have control." The Chief looks rigid, his square jaw set in grim determination.
Ed scrunches his eyes. That hurt.
"Chief, relax; we're not at war."
The Chief stares ahead, gaze fixed on the endless vista of space and bits of stuff flying by, just missing them.
"Yet," he says.
*
Ed's in quarters. Mrs Hope, Gerry, is flicking through a magazine, 'Peace on Earth', issue 1. It's the last issue. She regrets paying up front for a subscription.
Ed stands tall in his Captain's uniform.
Gerry admires him.
"It's our Gobby Johnny, dear. He just whinges. Constantly. And he's not even a teenager yet."
"Gerry, fear not, cupcake sweetpea, most gracious mermaid, I think I may have a temporary solution. It will give him a purpose, responsibility, and pride."
"Edward, he cannot put the bins out, we are in space now, or had you forgotten?"
"I know dear, I'm the Captain. I know we are in space."
Ed tries to think of the details for his new plan. There aren't any.
"I'm introducing a new, unofficially official, erm, just for us really, military arm. For youngsters. Well, just for Johnny, really."
Gerry looks at Ed in total admiration.
"What will it be called, dearest?"
Ed thinks quickly.
"Spacies."
"He will be thrilled, Ed. You are so clever; I cannot wait to see him! Any news from Ariel?"
"It's unlikely, though not impossible, she made it to a cruiser. She will be fine, I'm sure."
"I wish we had stayed, tried to find her, Ed."
"I know honeybunny. If we had, it is likely none of us would have made it. StarTapped needs me, I'm an experienced Captain. Imagine if the Chief had to be made Captain? There would likely be a war. That man can start a fight in an empty house."
*
"Ah, there you are Johnny."
"Dad, I'm sooo booored!"
"I know, Gobby, er, son. I have a solution."
Gobby Johnny's eyes light up a dull grey.
His shoulders rock impatiently from side to side, up and down, like an extremely incompetent break dancer.
"I have decided, as Captain of this ship, to introduce a secret space society, known as 'Spacies'. It will involve long study but will ensure rapid military promotion when you are older."
Johnny's eyes glaze an unremarkable greyer
colour than normal grey.
"I didn't know I was destined for the military, dad."
"I am military, my father was military, and his auntie's second cousin's wife was military before that. You will follow in a longish line of dedication and service to our great nation."
"We don't have a nation, dad."
"One day, son, I am convinced we will return to Earth. For now, your nation is this ship."
He is not convinced at all. About returning to earth.
Johnny stands smartly to attention.
"At ease, Spacie. I will ask Miri to make a uniform for you. Understated, you understand? It's a secret space society."
"Yes, sir! Sir, yes!"
"Good, now go and be kind to your mother."
"Yes, sir! Sir, yes!"
Ed always wondered why he was such a successful leader. Now he knows.
*
"Chief?"
"Yes, Miri?"
"Isn't Gerry a man's name?"
"It's short for Geraldine, Miri."
"Oh, thank you."
"And Miri?"
"Yes, Chief?"
"You could have researched that yourself. I'm concentrating. We have a war to fight."
"Do we? Oh."
Miri checks the Chief's personnel file. Favourite film, Apocalypse Now. The Chief worries her. Up and down, up and down. Apocalypse Now. Go figure.
*
"Miri?"
"Yes, Captain?"
"Try a different uniform for Johnny please. I need it understated. No spandex, this time."
"How about this one?"
Ed smiles. Classy, smart, understated. A tiny badge above the left breast. An anonymous planet, encircling an 'S'.
"Perfect, Miri. Thank you."
"Do you want one, Captain?"
"No thank you, I have my own."
"I can make you a Captain badge...a planet with a 'C'."
Ed ignores her.
"Chief, I have control."
"Captain, you have control."
Ed smiles, relaxes. Everything will be fine. Just fine.
*
Ed is thoughtful. Not as in buying Gerry flowers; he's thinking.
Beta 3, along with the other cruisers, carries interconnecting parts to build a space station, once they find a suitable space, in space. It will be a totally, strange new world. The hope of reaching a suitable Earth-like planet is probably thousands of years away. He knows they are there. They are just too far away.
He wonders about the other powers. If they launched their ships. He will find out eventually, he's sure of it. The Chinese, the Russians, the North Koreans, the French, and the Welsh. And others, no doubt.
He thinks of Ariel. If she made it. If she is fighting to survive on what is left of Earth.
Captain Edward Hope feels something.
He feels Ariel is alive. His heart tells him it is so.
He is happy.
His thoughts are interrupted.
"Captain? Important Captain Nicholls here.”
"Important Captain? Sir?"
"Yes, Ed. Calling me Chief is getting everyone confused with Chief Officers; thought I would try a new title. What do you think?"
"It's a splendid idea. Suits you, Sir."
"Thank you, Ed. Oh, I meant to tell you something. Ship sighting. Looks like the French and the Welsh are flying together."
"Shared history, Sir."
"Yes, yes. Nice dialect too; great combination. Yes, great. Do you think they are a threat?"
"No, Sir. They are allies, remember?"
"Ah, yes. Sorry. Forgot. No need to send a warning then."
"No, Sir."
Chapter Eight
Milky Edge (way past bedtime; way past almost everything, really)
"We have come a long, long way, Ariel."
Ariel still looks stunned by Harry's previous announcement.
"Harry, why do you think Stevie is a wolf?"
"Different life signs detected, but still the same amount. Just different. Plus, I heard him growling and yelping. The enhanced speed must have upset his molecules."
"How can this be, Harry?"
"He is a Shifter, love."
"They are real?!"
"I do not know much about them, Ariel. Perhaps you should ask Wolfie?"
"Harry!"
"Sorry."
*
Self-promoted First Engineer Stevie Lo appears in the cockpit.
"Sorry about that. I had to go, wasn't feeling well."
Ariel looks at the screen. Harry's right eyebrow is raised.
"Stevie. Can I ask you something please?"
"Sure. Fire away, prin..." He stops.
He looks uncomfortable.
"The wolf I did actually see back at base. The wolf-sounds I heard a while ago, on this ship, in space. Is it you?"
Stevie goes pale, whiter than a white shade of white.
Harry pretends to read a book.
She reads books, but this time she's pretending.
Ariel waits, her heart hammering like a persistent bass drum being whacked by a malevolent drummer.
"I can't... not like this, not here."
He looks at Harry. She peeks once then continues to pretend she's reading.
Ariel looks at Harry.
Harry peeks.
Stevie turns and walks out.
*
"Harry, take the controls please."
"I have control."
Harry mutters. More of a sulky whisper.
"It was me all along. In control. Here to help. Happy to help."
Ariel runs out.
Stevie sits in a massive, important-looking chair. He looks as miserable as a wet weekend at a neglected seaside town with all the amusements shut.
"Stevie, it's okay. Tell me about it, please. Just so I can understand."
"Yes, Ariel, it's me. The wolf. I can change but sometimes extreme stress or pressure forces it upon me."
"Like at the base?"
"Yes. I was exhausted, trying to move those rocks. I found extra, super-human strength from somewhere but the stress made me change. I calm down quickly afterwards though."
"Wow."
"Yes, Ariel. Wow."
"Stevie, don't take this the wrong way, but, could you ever attack me while you're a wolf?"
"No, love. I still know who you are. I'd only protect you."
"Then I think you're awesome."
"It can be a burden, Ariel."
"How did it happen? I mean, how do people become Shifters?"
"You won't laugh?"
Ariel doesn't speak, just shakes her head.
"Mum and Dad were Faeries. Dad died in a Daemon battle, in the East. Mum flew away afterwards, to try to give us a normal life. She was from Scotland. One of the islands up there."
"But I thought Faeries were tiny?"
"They can be both, at will. It's magic, Ariel. Hard to get your head around."
"No, I get it, Stevie, I do."
“Mum disappeared. She was dying. She produced a kind of spell, to turn her to dust. Before she did it, she said this way she could move around the galaxies, the star systems and would always be there. It’s why I joined StarTapped. To be closer to her.”
“It’s a beautiful, magically sad story, Stevie.”
Ariel gives Stevie a quick hug.
"Okay, we have a space cruiser to run."
"Yes, ma'am!"
“Are you promoting me, Stevie Lo?”
“We’ll have to ask Harry for info but I’m sure, under the circumstances, you should be Captain.”
“Then you shall be my First Officer.”
They both smile.
It's a moment to cherish.
Not soppy, or heartfelt at all.
Okay, a bit.
*
“Harry, I have something to ask you. A serious answer please.”
“Go ahead Stevie. I am all ears.”
Ariel expects the screen to fill with ears.
It
doesn’t.
Harry is trying to look serious. It is an important moment in the brief but dramatic history of Beta 2.
“Can a space cadet be promoted to Captain? The fleet had left without Beta 2 and isn’t going back for her so this cruiser is its own boss, right?”
Harry doesn’t don robes or a wig, which Ariel is surprised and grateful for.
She looks at Stevie, then at Ariel. Eye contact. This AI means business.
“Beta 2, along with Ariel Hope, Stevie Lo, and Harriet, were dumped by StarTapped, leaving them to rot on Earth while they took their public funded billion dollar Beta cruisers and sailed off into the galactic sunset. Technically, you should be able to run your own flag and do what you want. So, yes, you can hold whatever rank you like.”
Harry looks at Ariel.
“Is that okay, Captain Hope?”
Ariel’s heart sings for joy. It’s choir quality, rich lows, glorious highs, and all round lush.
“Thanks, Harry!”
“You are welcome, Captain.”
“Harry, you may continue to call me Ariel. Because, that is my name.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Ariel looks for any sign of sarcasm. There isn’t any.
The choir sings again.
Stevie addresses Harry.
“You can continue to call me Stevie, Harry.”
“Which, Stevie or Harry? Stick to Stevie; 2 Harrys will be confusing.”
They all laugh.
It’s the first time any of the 3 have felt true joy since...
a) Ariel, before being buried in mud.
b) Stevie, before the Earth began to crumble.
c) Harriet, a minute ago. She is always a ray of cosmic sunshine.
Harry respectfully waits for the laughter to stop. They are equals but some have more of the pie than others.
“Visibility is getting less visible, Ariel. We are approaching some sort of gigantic dust cloud.”
Ariel thinks for a second, then gives up.
“Can we go around it, Harry?”
“One sec, Ariel. We are coming to its edge.”
“I can’t see anything at all now, Harry.”
Stevie squints out the window.
“Nothing. Nothing but lots and lots of dust.”
They are right to be concerned.
This looks like a cosmic waste dump for vacuum bags. Before bagless.
Several minutes pass.
The dust begins to clear.
Captain Ariel Hope, properly promoted First Officer Stevie Lo, and Harriet the independent spirit, gasp in shock, astonishment, and horror at the sight before them. A gigantic space ship just sits there, staring. Around it are what look like its 6 escort fighters.