The wasp ship now turned its position from facing them and it was now backing them. The chains were trailing it from behind. They were going to be towed away.
Kristen was worn out and felt defeated. She slumped into her seat and held her head in her hands. What sort of mission is this? Kristen was asking herself. She felt a hand on her shoulder. It was Lynda. The look on her face said it all. She was trying to encourage her captain without saying a word.
Kristen nodded, silently thanking her for the encouragement. They all felt the jolt as the wasp ship began to move. Lynda tapped Kristen’s shoulder again. She wasn’t reassuring her but calling her attention to something. Kristen followed Lynda’s pointed fingers to the monitor in front of her.
Even though it was very visible and everyone could see it from within the Atlantis, Kristen could still not see the wasp ship that was towing their shuttle on the monitor or on any of the screens on the bridge.
She felt another tap on her shoulder and looked up to see Mahmud. He was holding his tablet. He lowered it for Kristen to see.
Kristen was looking at an electronic image of the Atlantis. On the wings were the two chains that were tied around them. But they were obviously not ordinary chains because from the tablet, they appeared to be emitting some sort of electric current which was moving from the wasp ship into the Atlantis, and then from the Atlantis back to the wasp ship. There was no way they could say for sure what was happening. It was likely the aliens were using the tow lines to read and monitor their systems, or steal their electric and atomic energy supplies. Or infect the Atlantis systems with a virus. The possibilities were endless.
But one fact was clear: they were now prisoners in their very own space shuttle; hostages of the Gualdions.
The wasp ship continued to tow them. They were soon flying at a high speed past several planets and moons. It was not as if one could recognize their surroundings by simply looking out of the window. The black, star-filled skies appeared similar at every point and turn. No one could easily determine where their location was without the use of advanced space navigational equipment. And the only devices which could have assisted them in this regard was rendered non-functional. Almost all of their on-board systems were not working. At first when the missile had exploded, some components had been affected. Then after the wasp ship had latched on their wings with their tow metallic chains, it became worse. Anything electronic or mechanical that was controllable by even the smallest amounts of electricity was no longer functional. The Gualdions had completely taken over their space shuttle.
They continued to pass through a lot more planetary bodies, going through some pre-determined course which only the Gualdions knew. Sometimes they would fly through asteroid belts, other times they were flying on the outer fringes of planets. A lot of these planets did not look familiar in size or structure to Kristen and her crew members.
What they were seeing in this region of space was nothing like their solar system, or any planet they saw or anything they learned. There were a lot of strangelooking planets out here. And the stars were shining even brighter than they used to in Earth’s solar system.
How far have we gone? Kristen was wondering. With none of their shuttle’s indicators working, they could only guess they had gone quite far. Unable to review their flight path during their evasive manoeuvres from the missile, Kristen was not able to determine when or where they left Tiangrit solar system and came into this world.
But from where did the Gualdions intercept us at the first instance? Could it have been when we completed the space jump and appeared at the boundary of Tiangrit? Kristen did not think so. If the Gualdions had discovered them there, then the Mildans would have alerted them and perhaps engaged them in battle. All through their stay on Tiangrit there was no mention of anyone following them. And even during their departure there was still no mention by the Mildans of the Atlantis being followed.
Or could it have been when we were being escorted out of the orbit of Tiangrit? Kristen reasoned that it was probable. But that area also served as the boundary between Tiangrit and the next planet. From her knowledge of astronomy, the distance between Tiangrit and next planet was close to 80 million miles. It had mostly not been explored, and was known to be the home of a lot of asteroid belts and dwarf planets. It was ironical that NASA had not embarked on any known mission to this wasteland in space, or did they?
Kristen vividly recalled there were a lot of dwarf planets and asteroid belts which lined this wide stretch of empty space between Tiangrit and its neighbouring planets. And considering the vast and rough terrain, it would have been very easy for the Gualdions to be in hiding on an asteroid, watching and waiting while Kristen and her crew members were busy deliberating on what their next line of action was supposed to be.
Kristen sighed. She was exhausted from the ordeal of the previous manoeuvre as well as the uncertainty of their present predicament. They were hostages to beings they did not even know anything about. Their last contact with beings that were at least friendly and cooperative was on Tiangrit. And that contact, too, had been lost as a result of the Gualdions’ attack. Kristen could vividly still recall the urgency in King Zeropta’s voice when they had decoded the message the Atlantis had been receiving. Even he, the king of a planet with far more advanced technology than Earth’s, was afraid of the Gualdions. If the Mildans, who were technologically more superior than mankind could, display the amount of fear they did, what hope was there for Kristen and her crew members who were not in any way even close to being termed the best Earth had to offer? Not with their already battered space shuttle. Or even their exhausted and confused, perhaps frightened crew members.
The wasp-like ship soon turned and began to fly towards a cluster of asteroids. The asteroids were large and many in number. They then veered left and took another right turn, all the while towing the Atlantis behind them. Eventually, they came in full view of a larger asteroid. It loomed in front of them like a planet. From where the Atlantis crew members were they could see it ahead of the wasp ship in front. It had no atmosphere, which made it very easy to see the ragged, rocky surface dotted with a lot of craters. As the wasp ship approached it, the craters became larger in size.
What place is this? Kristen was wondering. How are we going to get out? When will we get out, if ever? What will happen to our mission? What was happening on Earth?
A lot of questions just kept on haunting Kristen’s mind. She looked around at her crew members. They were all dazed and disillusioned.
At that moment, the radio came on. It was the Gualdions speaking. “Citizens of Nivrus,” the voice said. “This is Colonel Havlun once again. I must commend you for adopting a poise of quietness and total surrender. That is absolutely good and perfect, because had you made any attempts at escape, we would have destroyed you effortlessly. As you must already be aware, you are now in our Protectorate. We are approaching our central command and will be landing shortly. I warn you; on no account should you attempt to escape. Neither are you expected to come down from your ship. Once we have landed, our forces will board your ship and accompany you out of your ship. I repeat, do not come down from your ship unaccompanied.”
The line went dead after the announcement. They watched as the wasp ship in front of them came much closer to the rocky planet. Soon, they were flying over rocky mountains, and through equally rocky valleys and canyons. There was no doubt the planet was big. Kristen was sure her crew members were also marvelling at the huge size of the planet. Tens of minutes had passed by since the announcement was made by Havlun and still they had not landed. All they kept on seeing was mountains, valleys, and flat lands, all riddled with rocks and craters.
Eventually, they saw what appeared to be the semblance of civilization. In front of them there was a dome. The dome was yellow in colour, a sharp contrast to the brown, rocky terrain all around. It looked like a bowl that had covered a portion of the land underneath. The dome had completely sealed whatever was withi
n it.
As they approached, a section on top of it opened in the form of a slit. The slit was located high above the dome, somewhere close to the top. As they approached, they saw that the slit was actually an entrance of some sort. Two panels had slid open for the wasp ship to come in, arriving with its captives the Atlantis in tow.
Once the Atlantis had come in through the entrance, the two panels immediately slid closed. Down below, the crew members could see a large, sprawling city. It was made of several building structures and industrial complexes. There were lots of lights flashing all over, providing illumination to various portions of the city.
As they flew overhead, Kristen marvelled at the advancement of technology in the city below them. There were also vehicles which were moving all around. They had no tyres. Rather they were hovering, either running on some form of hover engines or jet propulsion, or maybe it was a combination of both. There were also several tubes which encircled different parts of the city. They appeared to resemble the type they had seen not too long ago on Planet Tiangrit. However, these were not transparent. Perhaps they were ducts, or pipes carrying supplies all around the city. There were also some beings moving around on foot. But from the height they were at, it was impossible to make out their features, shapes, and statures. But Kristen was sure they were life forms and not mechanical objects she had seen walking on what appeared to be streets.
Soon, they were flying over a high, thick wall and into a demarcated area. They then approached an elevated platform on which were parked other similar wasp-like ships. Kristen was thinking. Perhaps this is some sort of military base, considering the amount of wasp-like crafts around them.
Their captors eventually came down and landed on the platform. After it had landed, the Atlantis was still floating, airborne. The space shuttle could not be brought down because all of their controls had been taken over and shut down by their captors. And to prove their captors were in complete and absolute control of the Atlantis, Kristen and her crew members watched in amazement as their space shuttle was brought down and parked right beside the wasp ship.
After the Atlantis had landed, all the lights within their space shuttle went off. Everywhere was dark, including the monitors, screens, and panels. There was complete darkness.
Kristen was imagining what the Gualdions had done. Perhaps they had cut off power on the Atlantis. Or maybe they had completely drained the power supply on the shuttle. Whatever the reason was, the darkness and the silence were unnerving.
The lights suddenly came on again. Kristen and her crew had to shield their eyes from the suddenness and intensity of the glare. Eventually, their eyes adjusted to the familiar sight of their cabin, bridge, and other parts of their shuttle. The controls were now working. Or were they? They appeared to be functional, but there was no telling if they were working on their own or if they were still under the control of the Gualdions. This was based on the fact that, up till now, the two cords were still attached to the wings of the Atlantis.
“Crew of the Nivrus ship,” the same voice they had been hearing all along said. “You have now landed on our planet. You may proceed to disembark, we will be de-pressurising your ship for eventual boarding and disembarking. Do so immediately.”
The crew members hurried to put on their headgear. It did not stop at putting on their gear. Every crew member had to check and cross-check that their helmet was in good working order. No one wanted to take chances because they had not yet had the opportunity to do a comprehensive assessment of the damage to the Atlantis and its devices.
“Are you ready to disembark?” the voice asked. Kristen looked around the bridge. Her crew members were already wearing their headgear. Mahmud gave her a thumbs-up sign.
“Yes,” Kristen replied. “Yes, you can de-pressurise the shuttle.” On the central screen and on all their consoles, the message that was boldly displayed was:
CAUTION. DE-PRESSURISATION OF CABIN IN PROGRESS. CAUTION. DE
PRESSURISATION OF CABIN.
If the cabin was being de-pressurised remotely it only meant the Gualdions still had control of their ship, Kristen concluded. And to further confirm her convictions, she looked outside and saw the metallic chains firmly attached to each of the Atlantis’ wings.
Another message flashed on their screens: DEPRESSURISATION OF CABIN COMPLETE. MAIN CABIN DOOR OPENING. DE
PRESSURISATION OF CABIN COMPLETE. MAIN CABIN DOOR OPENING.
They all watched and waited as the door slid open. For a while there was silence. Inside the shuttle, everyone was still. There was no movement or activity of any sort from within the Atlantis. Outside, everything was perfectly quiet. There was no sound anyone could hear coming into the cabin.
Kristen strained to look outside through the open cabin door. But from her position on the bridge she could not get a very good view. She glanced at the main screen, but all she could see were the other wasp ships, all parked and not moving. She looked outside through the shuttle’s window. Still there was nothing except for the lights which were shining outside.
Then they heard the approaching footsteps. Initially they were faint, like the patter of someone tiptoeing. And then the tiny tipping noise started to increase gradually until it became a very audible footstep. As it came closer, it sounded like metal clanging on metal. Perhaps they were metal shoes or boots. And perhaps the surface was made of metal as well. Metal clanging against metal. The noise was quite audible, even for those who were wearing helmets that were designed to filter out loud and unpleasant noises. They watched the cabin door, waiting for the owner of the shoes to come through the door.
First was the head. It looked exactly like that of an insect. On closer examination, Kristen saw that they resembled the same ship that had captured them: a wasp. It was oval-shaped, and quite big for a head, as big as two footballs joined together. The eyes were very large and looked like very big goggles whose screens occupied each section of the head. There was a slit for a mouth and there was a short proboscis that extended from the centre of the head. What appeared to be fins replaced where the ears should have been.
The head came into the cabin and peered around. Its eyes were multi-coloured and kept on flashing various colours from various pores. And then, the rest of the body came into the ship. And what a sight it was to behold.
The large, oval head was sitting on a body that resembled a woman. She had a neck, slim shoulders, medium breasts, long, slender arms, wide hips, and straight legs. She was dressed in a short, black singlet. The skin on her exposed neck, arms, and legs was purple with green dots that appeared to glow one after the other. She wore very thick metallic boots. She was holding a huge gun which had two long muzzles.
Kristen estimated she was at least eight feet tall. She was tall indeed. Kristen knew she was not mistaken. From the corner of her eyes, she saw that Mahmud and other male crew members were nodding at the sight before them.
What is wrong with these men? Kristen was thinking. Her crew members must be under a spell or simply insane. Obviously, they were not mindful of the weirdlooking head. All they were interested in was the body that was wrapped in a short singlet. Not even the fact that her skin was glowing seemed to deter their interest. Or that they were captives, held hostage against their will. Somewhere in their minds, fear had been replaced by lust.
Kristen did not know whether to shout at them in anger or disgust. Or maybe it was an alien form of hypnosis. It probably was, because she could not understand how anyone in their right senses and in such circumstances would begin to admire the creature that stood before them.
The woman raised her left hand to her mouth. “Colonel,” she spoke with a very feminine voice into the electronic band on her wrist, “They are all complete and accounted for. I am escorting them out.”
She then stood up straight and pointed the gun at them. “All right, I want you all to come down out of this shuttle. You will walk in a straight line, following each other, one at a time. Do so now,” she ord
ered.
They all stood up and formed a straight line. They then began to walk out of the ship. She was standing close to the door with her gun pointed at them as they filed out of the ship.
Kristen was the first person on the queue which meant she was the first person to come down from the Atlantis. As her feet came in contact with the metal floor, the sight she beheld was breathtaking.
There in front of them was a group of aliens who resembled the female that was on board the Atlantis. They were all attired in black-coloured short singlets which were similar to the one worn by the alien on board their ship. Kristen tried to see if any of them had any other distinguishing features. There was none. There was no doubt about it. They were all female alien warriors. They equally held fierce-looking rifles with two or three muzzles. Their guns were pointed at Kristen and her crew members.
After they had all alighted from the shuttle, the female alien came down from the Atlantis and the door was shut. Kristen and her crew members were forced to line up on the metal deck, surrounded by all of the aliens. There must have been at least thirty or more of them, all with their purple skin with glowing green spots. They looked fierce and intimidating with their wasp-like heads and multi-muzzle rifles.
Kristen observed that, apart from the exposed heads, they had no masks or helmets on. It was likely they did not need any form of air or oxygen to survive on their planet.
One of them stepped forward. She was dressed in a short singlet but hers was not black. It was maroon. On the belt on her hip was a holster which carried what appeared to be a pistol.
She looked at them for a while. “Who is your commanding officer?” she asked. Kristen raised her hand. “I am,” she replied. “That is good,” the alien replied. “I am Colonel Havlun. You are on the Gualdion Protectorate. You and your crew are all my prisoners. Guards, take them away and lock them up.”
The End Of The World Page 7