by William Wood
“Are you all right?” he asked her. She didn’t answer. It was a very strange and exciting experience. He felt the urge to shiver, but he wasn’t cold. Adrenaline rushed through his body, and he was hyperaware of his surroundings. He had been on pure oxygen once during deep-space training. He remembered how it made him feel, like he was super awake. That’s how he felt now.
It was one thing to see space on a monitor or through a window from the inside of a spaceship. It was quite another to be outside floating around in it. The blackness of space was a deeper black than he had ever seen before. The stars were the most brilliant colors. He could see red, blue, green, yellow, and white stars. It was like he was seeing color for the first time in his life. It was also very quiet. He was so entranced by what he was seeing that he almost forgot that he was floating in space. There was no way to know how much time they had left. He had a bad feeling that their force fields weren’t going to last very long. When they failed, they would die. At least now he wasn’t going to die alone. There was no way of knowing how long they floated in space, holding each other and looking into one another’s eyes. It was as if they had both resigned themselves to the fact that there was nothing they could do. Calvin was drawn to her light brown eyes. Her expression was soft, and she had a smile on her face. Was she trying to tell him something? Calvin thought she was, and she seemed to be saying that everything was going to be OK. Focusing on her eyes, in the middle of the blackness of space, he felt peace, and he knew everything was going to be all right.
Calvin relaxed and stopped worrying. What was going to happen was going to happen, and there wasn’t a thing they could do about it. So they drifted in space, unmoving.
Then suddenly a large white shape appeared behind Astra. It was the shuttle. The rear hatch was open, and the ship slowly moved backward until they were inside the ship. They were saved. Once inside, the door closed. There was a loud rush of air as oxygen filled the room. Slowly gravity returned, and their force fields blinked out. Calvin and Astra looked at each other again, trying to understand what had just happened to them. Astra hugged Calvin, and she held him tightly.
The door to the forward part of the ship opened, and Ion stood in the doorway.
“Master Calvin, Lady Astra. Are you all right?” Ion asked. “We are now,” Astra said. “Thank you for rescuing us.”
Calvin looked out of the front window and got his first look at the base ship. It was not as big as he thought it was, maybe twice the size of the Frost. It was shaped like two pyramids, base to base, with large square engines on one end. It wasn’t a very elegant design.
“What happened? Why didn’t we die out there?” Calvin asked.
“The device I gave to each of you earlier today,” Ion explained. “It contained a personal force field and oxygen supply. You could have survived out there for an hour. It also contains a location beacon, so I was able to find you quickly.”
Calvin and Astra sat in the crew section behind the pilot’s chair. Astra covered her face with her hands. Calvin sat back and closed his eyes.
“We need to get the second segment!” he said suddenly. “We left it onboard the ship!”
“It’s all right sir,” Ion said soothingly. “I took the base ship in tow with a tractor beam. I’ll go retrieve your gear and the segment after I take you back to the Frost.”
“OK,” Calvin said, closing his eyes again. “Well then, wake me up when we get there.”
Ion looked at Astra, about to ask her a question, but she was already asleep. Calvin wasn’t far behind her. He fell asleep before Ion returned to the pilot’s chair and connected his seatbelt.
Calvin woke up and looked out the front window. He expected to see stars, but instead he saw the inside of the shuttle bay. They were back aboard the Frost. Astra was still asleep in the seat behind him. Ion walked past them to the back of the shuttle, and he opened the door to the rear compartment. Calvin put his hand on her shoulder and squeezed. “Are we there yet?” Astra asked, and she slowly opened her eyes. “We’re on the Frost,” Calvin said.
“I didn’t realize how tired I was,” Astra said, smiling at Calvin. They both stood and followed Ion out, both yawning.
“Yeah, I guess the sheer terror of being sucked out into space without a suit on kind of wears you out.” They both laughed.
“Ion,” Calvin said. “Why don’t we use the personal force fields instead of spacesuits more often? It would be faster and a lot more comfortable.”
“They’re very good for what they were designed for,” Ion said. “Emergency backup. However, I don’t recommend you use them for primary protection, in any environment.”
“Don’t you trust them?” Calvin asked.
“They are still fairly new and are not entirely reliable,” Ion said. “That’s why they should only be used as a backup, if everything else fails.”
“Well,” Calvin said. “I’m glad you gave them to us. We would have died without them. What’re we going to do with the base ship?” Calvin asked.
“We shouldn’t leave it out here for someone else to find,” Ion said. “We should destroy it.”
“That’s sad,” Calvin commented. Astra looked at him sympathetically, understanding how he felt.
“We’ll take everything of value with us,” Ion said.
“I know, but it’s a piece of our history,” Calvin pointed out. “There might be something in there that could teach us about our history.”
Calvin and Astra went to the bridge while Ion went to the base ship in the shuttle to collect everything that was left behind. When he returned to the Frost, Ion took the second segment and everything that was recovered from the base ship to the lab.
On the bridge, Astra programmed the computer with the coordinates for the next segment.
Calvin suddenly felt very tired, and he had a feeling that destroying the Alerian base ship was wrong. “How long will it take to get to the next segment?” he asked.
“Ten days,” Astra answered. She looked tired to him.
“The weapons are charged, Sir, ready at your command,” Ion said.
“Now you get a chance to practice firing the ship’s weapons,” Astra said.
“Yup,” Calvin said. He turned on a computer in the middle of the console. A monitor displayed the status of all the ship’s weapons. “I’m locking onto the base ship.” If he hadn’t been so tired, he might have been more excited. In fact he was so tired he didn’t realize this was his first time firing spaceship weapons.
It took some effort to raise his head to look out the window. The base ship was directly in front of them, hanging over the ice planet. Something inside him was screaming that it was a bad idea to destroy the base ship, even though he understood the need for doing it. He decided not to listen, and he hoped it wouldn’t come back to haunt him later.
When he activated the weapons computer, small triggers slid out of the ends of the control wheel on both side, perfectly placed under his index fingers. Two small panels on the top of the control slid open, and two red buttons popped out.
“Firing,” Calvin said sadly. He pulled both triggers. Red beams of light lanced out through space and sliced cleanly through the base ship. It was instantly engulfed in a massive fireball. Debris and fragments shot off in all directions. Some burned up in the atmosphere, and some drifted out into space, but hidden behind the explosion, several large pieces of the station landed on the surface of the ice planet, intact. Calvin and Astra sat in silence for several moments.
Finally, Astra said, “Calvin, the coordinates for the next segment are locked into the navigation computer. You can take us to hyperspace anytime you want.”
Calvin pushed the throttle forward and turned the ship away from the ice planet. The Azure Frost picked up speed and jumped into hyperspace.
Calvin stared out the front window, mesmerized by the display of lights that flying though hyperspace caused. It was beautiful, and he was so tired he didn’t want to move.
�
��Are you hungry?” Astra asked, shaking him out of his daze.
“I’m trying to decide if I’m hungry or tired,” Calvin answered.
“You’re probably both,” Astra said. “Come eat with me? Please? It will help you sleep.”
“That sounds good,” Calvin said.
Calvin and Astra stumbled to the dining room like a pair of zombies. Calvin was in the mood for breakfast food, so he ordered eggs, bacon, and toast. Astra got a bowl of soup with crackers. When Astra sat, she sat next to Calvin, not across from him like she normally did. They didn’t talk for a little while. They ate in silence. Calvin was trying to process everything that had happened, but his mind couldn’t work through it. He couldn’t get the image of Astra, being sucked out of the ship right in front of him, out of his mind. Finally he had to say something.
“I thought I’d lost you,” he said, with tears filling his eyes. “That was the most horrible thing that ever happened to me. I don’t know.”
“I know. It’s all right,” Astra said calmly. She put her head on his shoulder and held his hand. “I was scared too. But it’s OK now. We’re OK.” She wiped tears from her eyes. Astra put her hand on Calvin’s chin, and she gently turned his head toward hers. They looked into each other’s eyes.
“It’s going to be all right,” she said. “You must be feeling overwhelmed right now, I know. It’s dangerous out here.”
“This is how you grew up, out here in this nightmare?” Calvin asked.
“Yes,” Astra answered. “I’ve been running from the Goremog my whole life, running from one place to another, from one disaster to another. This isn’t the first time I’ve had to go off on my own. My father had to send me out before, with a squad of robots to protect me. Actually I can’t count how many times, but Alpha Seven, I mean Ion, was always there to take care of me. But this time was different. I was scared, yes, but I was afraid of losing you too. Listen, I have to warn you, what happened to us today is nothing compared to what’s out there. There are things that will terrify you, things you haven’t even imagined, that truly will give you nightmares. You know, after the Great War, all the races of the universe had to rebuild their armies with robots, because all the people were gone. But that wasn’t enough for the Goremog. They wanted something more. So they created a monster. They took the most powerful and aggressive robot they had, and they combined it with a living creature. I don’t know what it was, but it was at the top of the food chain on whatever planet they got it from. It had long claws and teeth, and it devoured every creature that crossed its path. The result of combining the two was horrific. They wanted to create an army of them, but they lost control of them. Now they’re out there, thousands of them, maybe more, devouring everything in their way. I’ve never seen one, but I’ve heard the sounds they make. When they scream, your blood freezes, and you know you’re being hunted. I still have nightmares.”
“Well, thanks,” Calvin said. “I should have no problems going to sleep now.”
“I’m sorry,” Astra said, rubbing her temples. “It’s just that, when we were on the base ship, I heard a sound that reminded me of the scream of one of those monsters. It was when the whole place was coming apart, right before we were thrown out into space. It must have been my imagination. It was very noisy in there.” She shook her head.
“I think I’ll go to bed now,” Calvin said. “I can’t keep my eyes open.”
“OK, goodnight,” Astra said. “I hope you can sleep.” She smiled at him. Her smile made him feel better.
“You too. Goodnight.”
Calvin walked back to his room and got ready for bed. The silence in his room felt heavy, and he felt very much alone. He was so tired that he was shivering as he got under his covers and turned out the light. His thoughts drifted to New Arlandia. He fell asleep, hoping for a dreamless night.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
ALARM
Calvin sat up and looked around wildly. He had no idea where he was. It was dark, but the room felt familiar. “Where am I?” he wondered aloud. He quickly realized he was at home, in his bed. “How did I get here, and why is it so dark?” Calvin jumped up and ran to the light switch. He pressed it, but nothing happened. He hated the dark, and his biggest fear was being stuck in the dark without being able to turn on a light. He knew he was having a dream, but that didn’t make him feel any better.
“Wake up, wake up. I have to wake up!” But he couldn’t. Calvin cautiously stepped into the hall and stared toward the living room. The hall looked much longer than it was supposed to. In the living room, in his father’s chair, was a dark shape and a pair of glowing red eyes. He froze, unsure of what to do. A puff of smoke shot through the air between the eyes. Calvin was terrified. He slowly crept forward and shook with fear. Calvin panicked, turned to run, and found himself face to face with a horrible monster. It opened its mouth and let out a heart-stopping scream as it lunged forward to devour him.
Calvin bolted upright in bed. A multi-toned alarm blared in his ears. He hated waking up that way and didn’t care that much for nightmares either. It took a moment for his mind to clear, and he jumped out of bed when he realized why the alarm was going off. The sensors detected an approaching ship. He scrambled into his clothes and ran to the bridge. The bridge was more like a large cockpit. There were two seats in front for the pilots, and a seat in back for the engineer. Every available space was taken up by computers, monitors, buttons, switches, and dials.
Astra was already there, sitting in the right seat. Her hair was a mess, and she wore loose black stretchy pants and a light purple shirt.
“What’s going on?” Calvin asked, sitting down in the left seat.
“There’s a ship out there, coming straight at us.”
“What is it?”
“I don’t know yet. Hold on,” Astra said.
Calvin switched one of his monitors over to long-range sensors to see for himself. There was a red dot at the top of the screen.
“It’s moving really fast,” Calvin said.
“It’s in hyperspace,” Astra said. “Just like us. The computer is trying to identify it.”
“Can they see us?”
“I’m sure they can. We’re not cloaked.”
“Do I need to activate the weapons or shields?” Calvin asked.
“No, wait,” Astra said. Seconds passed. “No life signs detected, only robots. It’s a Goremog scout ship.”
“Should I raise the shields or power up the weapons?” Calvin asked again. He wasn’t sure why he asked her. If they were approaching an enemy ship the shields should be up and weapons fully charged. He put his hand on the shield controls and was about to charge them.
“No, they won’t work in hyperspace,” Astra said. Calvin rested his hands on his lap and watched the scanner carefully. The red dot flashed across the screen and zipped past the Azure Frost like lightning.
“They passed us,” Calvin said, taking a deep breath. But he couldn’t take his eyes off the screen. He watched anxiously while the red dot moved away. Would the Goremog ship turn around? If it did, what would they do? The red dot moved quickly to the edge of the sensor field and disappeared off the screen.
“It’s out of range,” Astra said.
Calvin took a deep breath and relaxed. “Maybe they didn’t see us.”
“They had to,” Astra said. “We were right in front of them.”
Calvin yawned. “We really need to get the cloak back online. If that scout saw us, it’s going to report our location to the rest of their fleet, along with the direction we’re going in.”
“Well, there’s no way I’m going back to sleep now,” Astra said. “I’ll go find Ion, see if he needs help fixing the cloak. See you later.”
“OK,” Calvin said and watched her leave. He sat on the bridge for a while, listening to the computers, and wondered what to do. He yawned again and decided to go back to bed.
It took Calvin a long time to fall asleep, and when he finally did he tossed and tu
rned the rest of the night. When he woke up, he felt as if he hadn’t slept at all. He tried to go back to sleep but couldn’t. There was no reason to get up, but he was hungry. He took a long hot shower, got dressed, and went to the dining room.
Astra wasn’t there. He wasn’t surprised, since they hadn’t arranged to meet, but he was still disappointed. Calvin ate breakfast alone. When he was finished, he refilled his coffee cup and went to look for her. He was happy when he found her on the bridge.
“Good morning,” she said, smiling at him. “How’d you sleep?”
“Terrible,” Calvin said. “I couldn’t sleep at all. My brain wouldn’t shut off.”
“I didn’t want to even try. I never went back to sleep.”
“Any sign of that Goremog ship?” Calvin asked, rubbing his eyes.
“No, but it could be following us, just out of sensor range,” Astra said.
“That’s a nice thought,” Calvin said, yawning. “I’m going to need a lot of coffee today.”
“Oh, I forgot, we fixed the cloaking device last night.”
“Really? We’re cloaked now?”
“Yes, we’re invisible. So even if the Goremog wanted to, they wouldn’t be able to follow us.”
“I wonder if they saw us cloak,” Calvin said.
“What?”
“Never mind. What’re you working on?”
“I’ve been thinking about something. You know how every piece of the weapon has a unique energy signature?”
“Yeah.”
“Our equipment gets us in the general area, but then we have to search room by room. We shouldn’t have to do that. It’s been driving me crazy for the last several days, and I finally found a way to program the computer to show the segments in real time and get us within five feet. We won’t have to look for the segments the hard way anymore.”