Into The Void

by Ryan Frieda

  “I have John. Rough estimates show that they are several hundred light years be-”

  “Yeah, shut up. Let's play the game.”

  Captain Steele played several games of chess before getting up and making his rounds around the ship. Everything was in check. After making sure everything was okay he went and checked the cargo bay one last time. He walked to the rear corner where he sat down on the ground. Almost two weeks in and he felt lost. Two weeks into a 150 year mission. For the first time in his life he didn't feel he could do it. He felt alone. He didn't understand why he was out here alone. He could have left the galaxy with one person. Just one other. He felt so empty on the inside and so alone.

  Captain Steele knew that he had to go forward. He knew that failure was not an option. Everyone was counting on him. Every life in the galaxy was counting on him. His squad back home was counting on him. He picked himself off the ground and walked back to the bridge. He sat in the chair on the bridge and decided to push forward. He stared out into the black void with occasional galaxy twinkling like a star in the night sky that was way off in the distance. He was heading toward his destination and nothing was going to stop him. He was going to press on at all costs. That's what he does and he isn't going to ruin his name here. His squad back in the Milky Way was going to have the best personal in the galaxy. He would make sure of that. If he backed out now they wouldn't. He would tarnish their name. He couldn't do that. He had to make sure of that.

  “Jamie. You up for a new set 26 out of 50?”

  The back door of a troop transport hoverjet opened up. Below them was a 350,000 foot drop through the monsoon and to the ocean's surface.

  “Find a way to survive! We will pick you up in two weeks at a location you must find. Whats on your person is all you have. Wait until I say jump before you go,” the training instructor said as he threw parachutes out the door.

  Big D started to go.

  “I didn't say go Diaz!” the training instructor yelled.

  “When are we to go? Those our are way to survive the fall,” Big D asked.

  “The more you talk, the longer you wait!”

  Captain Steele counter the seconds. As time went by he became even more nervous. He peeked over the edge and couldn't see the parachutes. He had no idea where they were or where the storm would toss them. He counted a minute and still the instructor said nothing. One minute and thirty seconds. One minutes and forty five seconds. Two minutes. Two minutes and fifteen seconds. Captain Steele was nervous. On this planet it would take 6 and half minutes to reach the ground. They would reach terminal velocity and stopping moving downward any faster long before they could even see the parachutes. Three minutes.

  “Go! Jump now!”

  Captain Steel ran out the door and jumped. So did several others. Some stayed behind thinking it was suicide. Captain Steele stuck his head straight down with his body directly above. He was going to find the parachutes and put his on then try to help the others find theirs before deploying his chute. He fell for almost half a minute not seeing a single parachute. The parachutes would be in the air for another two and half minutes before they hit the ground follow by him in three minutes.

  Captain Steele made his body as aerodynamic as possible. He was starting to really worry that he was going to land without a parachute. He kept falling while looking for anything. He decided to look back up to see what everyone else was doing. The others were above him without their parachutes. He wasn't having any luck what so ever finding the parachutes and neither were they.

  Captain Steele was just breaking through the top layer of clouds of the monsoon. If he didn't get his parachute by the time he was in the thick of the clouds of the storm he might as well as be dead. He kept looking until he saw a small dot into the distance just above the storm's clouds. He angled himself in that direction hoping to get it before entering the storm. His heart felt like it was going to blow outside of his chest it was beating so hard. He was falling fast with only a 150,000 feet left.

  As Captain Steele entered the storm cloud he was blown off course by the incredibly strong winds of the massive monsoon. He was being blinded by the rain and dark clouds. The flashes of lightning were even more blinding than anything else. At times he couldn't see anything but flashes of lightning. There was no way he would be able to see a parachute and even if he could see it there is no way he would be able to reach it with the wind gusts pushing both it and him around. He decided that the parachute would have been blown in the same direction he would have been blown in and started to angle himself in that direction. He kept looking around until he saw the parachute above him. He angled himself to be flat with the planet to try and slow his approach but the winds threw him off. He tried to correct himself but lost sight of the parachute.

  Captain Steele thought he saw the parachute and headed in that direction. He saw someone else enter the storm and head straight for the same parachute. He got within arms reach of the parachute when the hair on his arms started to tingle and lift. He imminently pulled his arm back as a bolt of lightning stuck where his arm had just been. He moved back towards the parachute and grabbed it with one hand when Exodus grabbed the parachute.

  “This is mine! You go find your own!” Exodus yelled.

  Captain Steele held on and looked for another parachute and all he could see was the ocean's surface approaching fast.

  “I jumped out that transport first. I grabbed this one first. This one is mine!” yelled Captain Steele.

  “Screw you!”

  “Drop dead!”

  Captain Steele and Exodus begin fighting over the parachute. They exchanged blows several times until Captain Steele got hit hard in the face.

  “This is your end Omega,” yelled Exodus.

  Captain Steele could see the sea approaching fast. He had to open the parachute in a couple seconds if he wanted to live. Captain Steele went for a kick to Exodus' groin followed by a punch to the face. Captain Steele put Exodus into a head lock and choked him. He then gave him one quick knee to the stomach. Exodus let go of the parachute as Captain Steel put the parachute on, pushing Exodus downward, and pulled the cord. The parachute opened as Exodus fell away and towards the ocean's surface.

  Captain Steele landed into the ocean waves hard knocking the air out of him. The parachute's heavy canopy got twisted around him, ballooned, and took on water dragging him under as he got caught in the wires. He struggled to remove the parachute but he failed. The cords were wrapped around him preventing him from removing the parachute. He reached for his knife only to find that it wasn't there. He was being dragged under without any air. His ears were ringing and hurting from the pressure. He was becoming lightheaded when he noticed another body falling to the bottom of the ocean. He tried to move over to the body for their knife but was making little progress. Everything was going dark as he struggled harder and harder. He felt as if his head was going to explode.

  Captain Steele reached again for the body and was able to get a finger on it and pulled it closer. He grabbed the knife off the body and cut the cords from the parachute just as everything went dark.

  Captain Steele awoke on the beach of a small island to the sounds of movement a few hours later. He rolled over and coughed before quickly recalling what had happened. He quickly remembered that he had been skydiving on a training mission before hitting the water and almost drowning. The sounds of movement became louder as they were approaching. He looked for a weapon and found nothing. He got up and ran into the jungle where he knew he had concealment. Out on the beach he had no way to defend himself or hide.

  As Captain Steele was running for the jungle he heard a male yell “Over there! Open fire!”

  Captain Steele turned quickly to the left and slid under a large tree branch. As soon as he slid under it gun fire erupted. He could hear the rounds flying into the tree. He didn't think they would use live rounds during this training mission. He has never used live rounds in a training scenario where he would be s
hot at without first being told that was the case. He quickly figured that maybe this isn't part of the training and they are hostile threats. He continued to climb under the tree's roots.

  “He's around here somewhere. Find him and kill him.”

  Captain Steele continued crawling and transitioned silently to a large bush. He saw a man standing with his back to the bush and about 10 others around before they moved out of the way. He then emerged from the bush, grabbed the mans neck, snapped it and dragged him back into the bush where his body was hidden from view. He then grabbed the man's rifle. He then moved low and fast to another bush where he repeated the process. This time he found a knife as well.

  Captain Steele saw a man walking just 3 feet from the bush. He looked around hoping no one else was near by. He looked and didn't see anyone. He waited for the man to pass him then got up and ran toward the man before shoving the knife into the man's throat twisting the blade in the process. He quickly pulled it out and began dragging the man to another nearby bush.

  Captain Steele looked around and saw a thick tree canopy and a way up to it. There was only one problem. There were two people close by the tree that probably wouldn't let him get up it. He thought about it for a moment before one man moved away. Captain Steele seized his moment and ran from the bush at the man in front of the tree.

  “You! Stop!” The man said as he raised his gun.

  Captain Steele threw his knife at the man striking him in the eye. The knife hit the man at the same time as he fired. His bullet flew by Captain Steele's head. Captain Steele took the man's handgun and turned it on the second man who was walking away and fired twice hitting him in the neck and head. Captain Steele then ran up the tree before prying his knife from the man's eye as the man's body fell to the ground.

  “I heard 3 shots come from this way.”

  Captain Steele made quick work through the tree's branches before seeing a small make shift dock with a boat in the distance. There were 5 men guarding the boat. He took aim and fired 3 shots to each man before reloading. He then looked down and saw one man with a scar over his eye and down his cheek looking into the trees with his gun pointing towards him. The man with the scar seemed to be looking for Captain Steele before firing. Captain Steele waiting until the man turned sideways before jumping from the trees. The man looked up just as Captain Steele was falling towards him.

  Captain Steele took his knife and aimed if for the mans throat. The man moved sideways using his rifle to hit the knife that was in Captain Steele's hands in hopes of knocking it from his hands but failed. Captain Steele fell on the man and they both hit the ground. Captain Steele started to drive the knife downward. The man raised his arm to block Captain Steele's knife.

  “Stop! You can't!” The man said.

  Captain Steele then spun around the man and pointed his handgun at him.

  “Give me your guns,” Captain Steele said.

  The man hesitated a second before tossing Captain Steel his guns. Captain Steele held his finger up to his mouth telling the man to be quiet. He then took off toward the boat at a high rate of speed before hearing gun fire come from behind him.

  Captain Steele took his rifle and pointed it behind him and fired several rounds. He then boarded the boat and started to back it away from the island. He then started to head into the storm thinking that he had drifted in the direction of the waves and that it would have been away from the storm and his team.

  Chapter 5

  Derelict

  Captain Steele awoke in his bed and walked to the small lab on the ship. Ready to do another log.

  “Captain John Steele, log 8. Date is year 4000 month 3, week 1 Standard Milky Way Year.

  “The loneliness... is... unbearable. I have been alone before. For months and without light. I... miss people. I broke down the other day. I decided to give up, to turn the ship around. I couldn't take it. But I didn't, and that has changed. I got my second wind but that seems to be fading.

  “I'm not sure I can do it. The lack of anything... that's all it is. A lack of everything and anything. We trained for this but there is nothing out here. I have movies. I have an Artificial Intelligence, Jamie, to talk to. I have both mental and physical stimulation to keep my mind and body strong. There is... something out here. The light is fake. The AI is fake. Only I am real. The ship is too but that's it. I am the only living thing out here. Nothing exists out here but something does. It's like its crawling into my head causing hallucinations. It's not real.

  “In every training scenario that we trained for there was a hope of returning. Returning to light, or people, or anything. I never knew exactly what I was hoping to return to. I knew what it was I wanted, but I failed to appreciate the warmth of light, of sound, of moving air, of scent other then musky metal. This does not exist here. All I get are a dusky and dim whittish-yellow artificial light with the hopes of a pretty window view fading suddenly to the reality of looking out a window only to realize that its like looking at a wall painted black that leaks into the hallways like rays of sunlight through the clouds causing the light in the hallway to be over taken and dimmed by the shadows. This is intensified by the gentle and constant dull hum of an engine and a lack of sound so strong I can faintly hear my heart beat in the most quiet parts of the ship, with a scent so empty and stale the air itself is so stagnate that it seems to be filled with metal flecks, a taste of a void of existence on my tongue that even the thought of even the most decadent food seems unable to make a dent in, and I seem to be unable to physically feel anything which is only a thing brought on by a forceful abandonment of the environment by the environment itself forcing itself to cease its own existence. All five of my senses are destitute of substance unless I try really hard 100 percent of the time. It seems to bring on a melancholy of incredible proportions. This is what awaits me every day for the next 150 years.

  “What awaits me is 150 years of nothing. Absolutely nothing. A man needs sunlight. A man needs people. A man needs hope! A man needs a long term achievable vision even if its just to do as the day comes and not to care about anything. I've got none of that! I can not hope to do as the day comes because all that comes is a complete lack of anything. All I got is 150 years of no hope and no vision. All I have is nothing. I will die out here! That was the fucking mission. It was a suicide mission with no fucking hope!

  Captain Steele smashed his fist on the counter as his eyes started to tear up.

  “Why couldn't I go with real people? They never explained that. What am I? Some kind of sick experiment? I can't return. Everyone is depending on me. To do nothing. To do nothing for the next 150 years in hopes of salvation. Everyone is depending on me to succeed at a mission that is impossible. I will die alone. I will die without seeing the sunlight again. I will die without ever seeing anything that is alive.”

  Captain Steele paused for a moment.

  “Why am I broken? Am I really the best mankind has to offer? People have survived on the dark side of the moon by them self for 3 years farming energy with no effects to them. Why is this different? I have been stranded on a free floating asteroid that stayed in the shadow of a brown dwarf for months. Little light, no interaction, no communication, and running out of air. How is this different? There was no hope there. Why is this different?”

  Captain Steele took a deep breath and collected his thoughts.

  “I will continue to strive to continue the mission, but I just don't know if I can. I have been in situations where I was going to die. Where my squad was going to fail. The mission was computed to at 100 percent failure over a dozen times. We knew the cost and we all survived. I was told the success rate here is two percent. Why is it any different? Why? No matter what the reason I must carry on. I have to carry on. Ending log.”

  Captain Steele sat there for a minute before going back to bed.

  Captain Steele awoke from his sleep. His stomach was growling. He knew he needed something to eat but he didn't want to prepare anything. He walked to t
he kitchen, checked the cupboards and didn't find anything that seemed like it would hit the spot. He then went to food storage and checked on it. He looked around and saw everything was in working condition. He then went and made his rounds around the ship before heading back to the kitchen. He looked into the cupboards again and found a bag of chips. He decided this will do and so he finished it off but was still hungry.

  “Can you do any cooking Jamie?”

  “I am not programmed to cook.”

  “Lotta good you do around here.”

  “I keep the ship running and the mission on-”

  “Yeah, I know. You've told me lots of times before. I just think you should be able to cook. They failed to program any real use in you. They know they can't expect me to cook for 150 years. I am a guy after all.”

  “Cooking can create dopamine in your brain John. This would help prevent depression.”

  “Yeah, well, I still probably ain't going to do it.”

  “John, I highly recommend you try to.”

  Captain Steele sighed. He really didn't like the Interface but it was all he had to talk to.

  “Fine.”

  Captain Steele just made a breakfast burrito and ate it.

  “Ehh.... I'm not feeling the happy feelings.”

  “It takes time John.”

  “Yeah, well, I've been on this ship a long time and it ain't happening.”

  “Several years at this point.”

  “Like I said, 'I've been on this ship a long time'. Has it really been years?”

  “Yes. It has been exactly six years and-”

  “You know what, never mind. I don't want to know.”

  “Very well John.”

  Captain Steele went and watched a movie before working out. After working out he went back to his bed. He hated this mission and thought it was stupid. He didn't care anymore. It was nothing day in and day out. He needed something to change. He wasn't sure what could change but something needed to change. He rolled over onto his back and fell asleep.