by Colin Weldon
Tark’An looked at Barrington and seemed to widen his large eyes.
“This is Tosh, he’s the chief engineer, follow him, he will show you the main FTL systems,” Barrington said.
Tosh turned his chair one eighty and began wheeling towards The Betty. Tark’An followed to the turning heads of the engineering crew. Barrington looked over to the flight control systems and saw Charly tapping commands into one of the computer panels. He walked over to her and leaned against the wall. She turned her eyes to him for a moment before turning back.
“Captain,” she said in acknowledgement.
“How goes it?” Barrington said.
“This ship needs six months in dry dock,” Boyett said.
“Yes, she does,” replied Barrington keeping an eye on Tark’An as Tosh pointed out the spherical transparent containment that held the drive plasma of the FTL.
Boyett stopped suddenly and stood, looking at the Captain.
“Sir,” Boyett said.
Barrington knew what was coming.
“You think I should have fired on Carrie,” he said.
“Yes, sir, I do,” Boyett said.
Barrington fought the anger in his stomach and tried to maintain his composure.
“Sir, I don’t mean any disrespect, you know that, but she nearly destroyed the ship. We don’t have the luxury of having our personal feelings sway judgement,” Boyett said.
Barrington tried to put himself in her shoes. She was right of course. He knew that, but there had never been a tactical situation like this in the history of conflict. He was tired. Tired of having to explain his decisions, the pressure, he wanted to tell her to shut the hell up and get on with it.
“Understood, Lieutenant,” he said glaring at her.
Then he remembered something else. Charly was his first officer. She ran the ship and judging by the dark circles under her eyes, she was still not getting enough sleep. His eyes relaxed and he took a breath.
“You’re right, Charly. I should have fired on her. If she tries that again, I will,” Barrington said.
Boyett’s eyes seemed to glaze over as she looked past the captain to Tark’An.
“We can’t defend against their weapons, sir,” Boyett said.
Barrington followed her gaze to Tark’An who was examining the engines.
“What do you suggest?” Barrington said.
Boyett was silent for a moment. Barrington turned back to see her eyes piercing into his.
“We get the FTL back up and running, pick a set of coordinates and make a run for it,” Boyett said.
Barrington was genuinely taken aback. He felt his mouth open. It was a move that quite honestly had not entered his head.
“What?” he said, feeling his brow furrow.
“Sir, what are we supposed to do against technology like that, not to mention, what’s happened to Carrie. We don’t even know if she’s still alive. We take what we have, find a remote planet and set down,” Boyett said.
“And the several thousand people, our people still on board that ship?” Barrington said.
“Captain, my responsibility is the safety of the people on board this ship. We’re in no condition to mount a rescue. You saw what that alien ship did to our new friends, which by the way, are equally as advanced,” Boyett said.
Barrington took a breath. He wanted to grab her by the collar and chew her out, but something in his tactical mind pulled him back. She was right. They were in way over their heads. The other colonists were gone. The last remaining humans were on this ship and he had to do whatever he could to make sure they stayed alive. He had truthfully forgotten about them. All he could think about was getting Carrie back. His judgement had been compromised.
“Do you really think that, Charly?” Barrington said.
Boyett turned and leaned against the computer panel.
“I don’t know, sir,” she said rubbing the bridge of her nose.
“You’re right you know,” Barrington said conceding the point.
“I know,” Boyett said crossing her arms and gazing around the engine room.
“You’re forgetting one thing though,” Barrington said.
“What’s that?” she replied.
“You think if we set down on some planet that those millions of mechanical planets won’t find us?” Barrington said.
He paused for a moment, checking to see if they were alone.
“Charly, there’s something else you need to know,” he said leaning in.
“Oh?” she replied
“See that big green alien over there? Well they have some sort of weapon trained on billions of stars throughout the galaxy, it uses some sort of quantum entanglement technology. It’s able to blow up stars. We may have nowhere to go when this is all over.” He said gritting his teeth.
“What?” she said sounding defeated, “my god,” she replied leaning against the console.
Barrington turned and leaned against the console next to her.
“There’s still a chance, a way out, but we have to trust Tark’An, I think he could be our only hope.” Barrington said.
“Sir, I’m with you, no matter what, you know that, but I need to know everything you know, if something happens to you…” Boyett replied
Barrington placed a hand on her shoulder.
“Still gunning for the centre seat?” he said smiling.
“Sir, I’m serious,” Boyett replied.
Barrington took a breath.
“You’re right Charly, Okay then, here we go,” Barrington replied as he proceeded to tell everything. The colour in her face began to drain as he spoke.
***
Carrie could feel air in her lungs. She woke to find herself lying in loose grey soil. The air felt cold under her face as she raised up her head and looked to the sky. It was full of stars. She felt groggy. The ground was soft. She lifted her head and rose to her knees, looking around. She was on what appeared to be a barren asteroid. She could see craters, jagged rock formations. She felt her face for a breather. There wasn’t one. She got to her feet and watched the powder-like dirt shift. It drifted up in small particles around her feet.
“Where am I?” she shouted into space.
There was no reply. Her mind had taken her to a place she had never been.
What had just happened?
A flicker of light caught her eye from about 100 meters away. She turned to see a familiar floating crystalline shape hovering above the ground. She took a step back and adopted a defensive posture with her fists clenched.
“Get the fuck out of my body, you asshole!” she shouted across the barren landscape.
Her voice sounded sharp. No echo, like they were inside a room.
“You nearly killed us both, Carrie, why do you continue to fight this?” boomed a growling voice.
“I’d happily kill us both before allowing you to do more harm. I’m warning you,” she said.
The crystal structure began to change, losing its luminous glow, shifting its form. It solidified into a shape familiar to her. Her mother.
“No!” she shouted.
“You know this person,” it said in her mother’s voice, “she’s been helping you in here, hasn’t she?”
“You’re not her, you can’t have us,” Carrie shouted back.
“You’re wrong, Carrie,” said The Black calmly.
Carrie was about to respond when The Black raised its newly formed arm. A bright pulse of light exploded from its hands. It hit Carrie straight in the chest, lifting her cleaning off her feet and sending her tumbling through empty space. Her body was on fire, the air forced out of her lungs. She relinquished herself to the inevitable impact. She felt a crunch as her body hit the loose grey soil. She felt pain. It was going to kill her in here. Right now.
Another blast
struck. Her body rolled over and over as the momentum of the energy carried her backwards. She felt something sharp cut into her face as she came to a stop. She tried breathing. Every muscle contraction hurt. She had broken a rib.
How the hell did that happen? My body isn’t real in here?
Carrie looked back to the manifestation of her mother. She could see her smiling, walking slowly towards her across the imagined asteroid floating through an artificial universe. The Black was powerful. The protection her fortress gave her was gone and it had caught her by surprise.
GET UP, CARRIE!
She heard another voice. Her mother, Jennifer, somewhere in the darkness.
YOU CAN BEAT IT HERE!
Her mother’s voice sounded again inside her head. That’s when it occurred to her. This place… it had picked neutral ground in her mind. If it had wanted her dead, it could have done it by now. There had to be a reason. Carrie got to her feet. She felt weak, tired. Her legs wobbled. The manifestation of her mother raised her arms again. Another blast of white light.
Carrie put her arms in a cross in front of her body, but it was too late. She was hit again, her body taking the impact and being lifted off the ground and sent flying through the air, this time hitting a large rock formation. Her back hit hard. She felt flesh tear on her right side, just under her rib cage and the warm flow of blood. She crumpled to the ground. She tasted the loose soil as it entered her open mouth. She brought her hands down to check her wound, lifting them back up to eye level to see them covered in blood.
CARRIE, THERE’S NO TIME FOR THIS. GET UP! I BROUGHT YOU BOTH HERE FOR A REASON.
Carrie looked up to see the manifestation of her mother standing, staring at her. Black fluid now dripping out of her nose, her ears and her eyes. She began to change shape again. The black fluid now flowing from every orifice, coating her body. Surrounding it in some sort of shell. Carrie tried to lift her head, it felt heavy. She got to her knees, holding her waist as the blood flowed over her hands. She looked at The Black, now in its thick viscous state, as it flowed together, coagulating. She pressed hard against her wound and screamed.
She felt blistering heat as her hand fired a quick bolt of electrical energy against her skin. She screamed again, as she cauterised her own wound. She smelt the burning flesh as the blood and skin meshed together. She felt her eyes water as tears flowed down her cheeks. The Black was now swirling like a vortex and forming long tentacles out of its viscous mass. She pulled her hand away. The skin was sticky. The swirling vortex began to move quickly towards her. She was done waiting. She extended her arms and summoned a burst of energy. Lightning erupted from her hands in bright blue streaks and arced over the distance between them, connecting with the large black swirling liquid. The energy connected with The Black, surrounding it, penetrating it. Carrie began to feel something pushing back. She dug her heels into the loose soil and pushed back. Looking up, she could see a pulse of white energy coming from the swirling black liquid. She screamed and with one final burst, gave it everything she had. An explosive shockwave erupted from the black liquid. It curled around itself as is was thrown backwards. It eventually fell towards the ground, down beneath the surface into what looked like a crater in the asteroid. Carrie relaxed her arms and fell to her knees, out of breath. She groaned. Her arms and chest ached. She looked around at the cold, empty space and then back at the crater. The Black was nowhere to be seen.
IT’S STILL ALIVE
Her mother’s voice came from the darkness.
“How do I get out of here?” Carrie shouted across the asteroid.
KILL IT
“I can’t,” Carrie screamed into the stars.
YES, YOU CAN!
Carrie took several deep breaths and stood up straight, trying to block out her pain.
“If this isn’t real, than why am I in pain?” Carrie said.
IT’S REAL FOR YOU, CARRIE
“Great,” Carrie replied to herself as she began to walk towards the asteroid crater.
She reached its edge and carefully peered over. She saw a pool of black liquid swirling around its base like a strange lake.
DO IT, came the voice
Carrie looked up at the stars.
“Will I ever see you again?” she said.
I’M IN YOUR DREAMS, ALWAYS. NOW KILL THAT FUCKING THING!
Carrie pulled her shoulders back.
“You need me, Carrie, the fate of the galaxy is in our hands. You’ll die without me. You’ll all die,” said a dark growling voice.
Carrie furrowed her brow and extended her hands.
“I’ll take my chances,” Carrie said feeling the energy flow through her as she released everything she had in a glowing pulse of blue light.
There was a blinding explosion as the black substance was swallowed up in fire. The force of it threw Carrie backwards onto the hard rock. She hit her head hard and heard her skull crack. Disorientated and almost blinded with the pain, she stared up as the sky around her began to shift in colour. A dazzling white light began to glow around her followed by a falling sensation. She blinked a few times and then Carrie opened her eyes.
26
Aron’s scream wasn’t a normal one. He was exhausted. It was more of a hoarse groan. India was unconscious in the large tube; the pain of whatever had been injected into her had been too much. Tyrell was strapped to a table in the corner, his bloodshot eyes staring at Aron. His right hand, which the alien had severed and was now examining, was resting neatly on a silver table next to a computer terminal. The wound had been sealed perfectly, but Tyrell had been conscious throughout the entire ordeal. Some sort of electrical current had been running through Aron’s body for what seemed like days, but in reality had probably been a half an hour. The intensity of it had been gradually increasing and Aron was close to cracking up. The methodical and emotionless way the alien had been torturing them, examining them, had been the most frightening thing of all. There was no reasoning with it. It was going to kill them slowly and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He turned to Tyrell and stared into his defeated eyes. He felt the current charge through his body. He turned his gaze to the alien who was examining one of the fingers of Tyrell’s severed hand, twisting it around and around. It was as though he was playing with it.
“Let us go, please,” Aron said to it, “we just want to go home, we don’t mean you any harm,” he said as tears streamed down his face.
The alien turned to him, looking at him with dark almond eyes. He reached one of his long fingers out and touched a control panel. Aron felt a bolt of current blast through his body, which tensed up, freezing his muscles. He screamed. The room faded into darkness then back to light. His head flopped down to his chest as the current subsided. He rolled his head to the side.
“India,” he moaned.
She stirred. She was alive.
“India,” he said again.
Her eyes opened slightly. She leaned forward and vomited, placing her hand on the interior of the glass tube. The alien ignored it, continuing his examination of Tyrell’s hand. Aron’s mouth barely moved. He had no strength left to move it.
“Fight it,” he said almost as a whisper.
His body refused to give up. He couldn’t give up. Not after all they’d been through. Their whole lives living under the oppression of Arturo Verge. The pain and suffering they had endured as a people. India gazed over at him, covered in her own vomit. He knew that he was only a blur to her, but sometimes a voice in the darkness was all it took to stay alive. The alien turned and stood. It began walking towards India. Aron shifted his head, knowing that something awful was about to happen to her. He couldn’t let that happen.
“Hey asshole,” he said flopping his head back to an upright position.
The alien stopped and turned to face him.
“Yeah you, you know what? You’re ugly,”
Aron said.
A welcome crooked smile formed on Aron’s face. It felt good. The alien tilted its head slightly.
“You know what that means? You understand me? You’re an ugly mother fucker,” Aron said.
That one made him laugh.
“Don’t,” he heard India say, “hey, I bet you haven’t been fucked in years.”
The alien turned his head to India. Aron looked at her, losing his smile.
“Shut up, India,” he mumbled.
“No way, sir, you’re not taking this one. This one’s on me,” India said slapping the glass, “hey fuck face, get over here, open this glass and we’ll see what that grey skin is made of. You fucking, cowardly, piece of shit!”
“Yeah, get over here and let me slap you around a bit. Maybe cut off a few of your body parts,” Aron spat at the alien.
It looked confused. It remained still, turning its head to each new insult. Aron wondered if it even knew what an insult was, but it could probably understand aggression by the tone of their voices. At the very least, it made him feel human again. They were dead. He knew that it was only a matter of time, but there was no way he was going out without giving it a piece of his mind. The alien moved over to the computer console. Aron braced himself for another shock. Maybe his last. He wasn’t sure he could take another one.
Just as the alien was about to press the interface, the door to the room rippled and became transparent. The room went silent and Aron’s eyes widened as the person who had activated it stepped through the barrier and into the room. It was Maya. Aron’s mouth opened in shock.
“Get out of here,” Aron screamed at her.
The alien quickly moved towards her. She calmly raised her hands and made a pushing motion. Then something astonishing happened. What looked like a soap bubble appeared in front of her, hitting the alien straight on. It was launched off its feet and sent careening across the room into the far wall, hitting it hard and crumpling onto the floor. Then there was silence again. Maya looked to her father and smiled. Aron looked at her, mouth gaping.
“Holy shit,” he heard India say from inside the tube.