Broken Horizon

by Charles Nall

  Ryn chuckled. “Why would I run away?”

  “I don’t know, maybe because I’m really weird?” Trevor said.

  “I may like weird, you know?”

  Trevor was caught off-guard and was terribly confused.

  “Look. Maybe you got abducted by aliens, maybe you didn’t. My dad said he was. He’s nuts though.” Ryn chuckled. “In the end, there has been so many reports of abductions for centuries. At least one of them had to be something real, right? Some of them might have been dreams or hoaxes but at least one of them had to be for real. That’s what I think. It’s far easier accepting the fact we’re not alone than coming up with excuses for each and every abduction case. And then there’s the Double-Crescent. That has to be aliens. So no, you aren’t weird. It’s actually attractive that you stick to your guns and don’t care what people think.”

  “It’s... attractive?” Trevor asked.

  Ryn smiled. “Of course. I still haven’t decided if you are getting laid yet, though.” She let out a huge laugh.

  Sharon smiled. “If you haven’t decided yet, Trevor may be in trouble.”

  Trevor was confused. “Huh? What?”

  “Oh, Ryn knows I’m right. I’ll give you boys a secret.” Sharon laughed. “Girls know if they are going to sleep with someone within the first few minutes of meeting them.”

  Jacob laughed. “That is such bullshit. You are just messing with us.”

  Ryn and Sharon shared a knowing look and giggled.

  “What the eff?!” Trevor yelled.

  A few other customers at the restaurant glanced at Trevor after the yell.

  Trevor lowered his voice. “That can’t be effing right. What? Have you already decided? I’m supposed to win you over! What’s the point to the rest of this meal then?”

  Ryn shrugged. “Free food?”

  Trevor sighed.

  Sharon laughed.

  “So what about me, then, Sharon?” Jacob asked.

  “Did you know as soon as you met me?”

  Sharon shrugged. “You. You are such a different story. Vis had told me about you. Things happened a lot more quickly than I was used to.”

  Ryn raised an eyebrow. “Oh?” She glanced at Jacob. “When did you bed him?”

  “Whoa, whoa, that’s personal,” Jacob said.

  Trevor chuckled.

  Ryn grinned. “I’m just curious. If it was on the first date, it usually doesn’t last.” Ryn glanced over to Trevor. “Patience is a virtue.” Ryn winked. “Willing to share, Sharon? First date? Second? Nineteenth?”

  “You don’t have to answer that. Actually, please don’t. Trevor is here,” Jacob said.

  “We didn’t actually date. It just sort of happened. Well, he saved my life. So...” Sharon glanced at Jacob and smiled. “I had to repay him.”

  Trevor chuckled.

  Jacob started to turn red from embarrassment. He shifted nervously in his seat.

  “You saved her life? How very noble,” Ryn said. “That’s okay, I was just curious.”

  Trevor cleared his throat. “So, if a guy saved your life, Ryn... would you...?”

  Ryn took a sip of water from her glass and then thought a moment. “Probably.”

  “Jacob, I have a job for you. You need to pretend to kidnap Ryn. Then let me kick your ass,” Trevor said.

  “No thanks, buddy.”

  “You aren’t a real friend.” Trevor laughed. “I bet Jaxon would do it.”

  “Oh, don’t bring him into this. He’s a good guy, I won’t let you kick his ass,” Jacob said.

  “He hates vampire guts, though,” Sharon said.

  “Well, everyone needs a hobby,” Trevor said. “Maybe I’ll ask Arnold. He’s an asshole lately. I need someone to kidnap Ryn so I can save her and reap the rewards!”

  Ryn chortled. “I’m right here, you know? I hear your plans. I think I decided not to let you in my pants now.” Ryn winked.

  “Dammit!” Trevor yelled.

  He disturbed the other customers again. One of the customers flagged down a waiter and pointed toward Trevor.

  Jacob sighed. “This is why I don’t take you to nice places.”

  December 8, 0270 AC – 23:22

  Jacob and Sharon’s Quarters, USS Empyrean

  Edge of Galactic Union Space

  Sharon collapsed on top of Jacob.

  “That... was good. I’m exhausted,” Sharon said. “You are damn good.”

  Jacob laughed. “It was all you, babe. I love you.”

  “Love you, too,” Sharon said.

  They kissed.

  Sharon slid off of Jacob and curled up next to him in bed. “You think Trevor got some too?”

  “Gross.”

  Sharon giggled. She looked at Jacob.“... So.”

  “So,” Jacob replied.

  Sharon giggled again. “So what’s on your mind, Jake?”

  Jacob yawned. “Not a whole lot, you?”

  Sharon stretched and let out a little moan. “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve been wondering about my parents recently. My biological parents. You think there’s a way to figure that out? Go get a DNA test or something?”

  “Maybe. It depends where the parents were from, I imagine.”

  “Ever since Jerry died... I just don’t have any family. Feels kind of lonely. At least you have your foster parents.”

  “You aren’t alone, babe. And I don’t get along with my foster parents that well.”

  “I know. You don’t talk about them much, still. I visited them once but...” She paused. “I can’t really remember what happened.”

  “It was pretty boring.”

  “I guess so.”

  “You aren’t alone, though. Everyone on Empyrean is part of your new family.”

  Sharon smiled. “Glad to be home.”

  December 12, 0270 AC – 10:50

  Zeta Squadron, Outside USS Empyrean

  Edge of Galactic Union Space

  “Good, good. Keep her in formation. Good,” said Lieutenant Vera Takahashi, the squadron leader of Delta Squadron. She was the trainer for today.

  Arnold Lawrence liked Vera Takahashi. She reminded him of Riko. It wasn’t just because of the similar ancestry. Arnold had considered asking her out, but there was a rumor that Vera was a lesbian. Beyond that, she was his superior. Arnold thought she was gorgeous. Vera had short auburn hair and an exquisite figure. Arnold had heard she was also from Artemis.

  Arnold kept his eyes on his readings of his Peregrine starfighter. He glanced back and forth at the two other Peregrines maneuvering extremely close to his fighter.

  “Remember nuggets, you are one out here. You aren’t flying in three separate fighters, you are one squadron. We fly, we strike, we live as a unit,” Lieutenant Vera Takahashi said.

  Arnold eased on his control stick, keeping the same distance with the other fighters as they glided by Empyrean.

  “I’m giving a command to Lawrence. Everyone else follow him,” Takahashi said from her Peregrine that was tailing the three “nuggets.”

  “Up 10 meters, hold,” appeared on Arnold’s display.

  Up? There was no “up” in space. What could Takahashi mean? They were flying over Empyrean. Perhaps “up” meant up in relation to the warship. He eased on his controls and raised his fighter ten meters higher than the other two fighters. The other fighters matched his ascension.

  “Good. Break,” Takahashi said.

  The three fighters arced in different directions.

  “Form up.”

  The three fighters joined back into their former position.

  There were three “nuggets,” new fighter pilots, in Zeta Squadron. A relatively low amount of nuggets this training cycle. Zeta was used as the main training squadron. To be able to get a training gig on a heavy cruiser meant you had the basics of flying down already. If he made the cut, he would join a different squadron with a different Greek letter. He hoped for Beta or Alpha Squadron. Elijah Shepherd led Beta Squadron. Commander Boaz Aur
igae led Alpha Squadron, the best of the best. If there was no room, he would be transferred to another warship that needed another fighter pilot.

  Arnold had to give up his, admittedly much nicer, quarters for the pilot barracks since he wanted to be a fighter pilot. They shared these barracks with the other squadrons. The squadron leaders had nicer cabins near the barracks. Arnold and the other nuggets got to mingle with the rest of the pilots on the warship. Since they were all the new guys, they were treated about as well as Arnold expected. The barracks were close to the hangar bays in case the pilots needed to scramble to their fighters. When the pilots had any leave time, there were additional cabins elsewhere in the ship for them to get some privacy.

  He was flying with two other nuggets: Marv Cooper and Cane Venatici. They were both in their mid-twenties, Arnold guessed.

  Marv was a nice guy. It seemed like he was reading a different book each day. Although Marv sometimes read books off his personal computer, he did seem to have quite the collection of old-fashioned printed books. He was very quiet and kept to himself.

  On the contrary, the brash Cane was loud and obnoxious. He wanted in the fighter force to avenge his father, Corben Venatici, who had died in the Battle of Artemis.

  The three nuggets continued their training exercises over the warship.

  “Okay,” Takahashi said. “I want you nuggets to get as close to the warship’s hull you can and fly across it. I have the course plotted in your systems. Let’s see how well you fly together.”

  The three fighters, in formation, flew over the top of the warship. The hull of a warship was not smooth metal; there were many obstacles to dodge. They weaved around weapon batteries and skimmed by sensor platforms. The fighters flew together by the spherical shield generators that lined the hull of Empyrean.

  They eventually did an entire circle of the warship.

  “Good, now do that same thing again. From memory.”

  The course that was plotted was deleted. Arnold tried to remember the course he took to dart around the obstacles while still maintaining a safe distance from the other nuggets.

  Half-way through the journey, Takahashi returned on the link. “Alright nuggets. Pretend this isn’t Empyrean. This is a disabled enemy warship that you have been doing strafing runs on. Its shields are powering back up. Pull up! Pull up as fast as you can!”

  The three fighters pulled up out of the “shield zone” of the warship. However, Arnold lagged slightly behind.

  “You’re dead, Lawrence. You gotta be faster out there,” Takahashi said.

  “Yes, sir.” Arnold sighed.

  “The energy shields of a warship extend to about twenty meters from the hull, they are formed from the generators you just skimmed by,” Takahashi said. “If you are under the twenty meter mark, you will probably get your ass killed when the shields come back online.”

  Arnold knew that. He was just a little slow this time, that’s all.

  Energy shields propagated out of their respective shield generator when it came online like a rapidly expanding bubble. Each shield generator provided a dome of protection for the warship. These domes sometimes overlapped with one another and provided additional protection. If the fighter did not have the correct shield frequencies, the energy shields would overtake the fighter as they came online.

  “Hey, Lawrence!” Cane yelled over the link. “You better pull up faster or you’ll be a stain on the hull! Woo-wee, I’d hate to clean that shit up!”

  Arnold remained silent, just like Marv.

  Cane laughed. “You are hopeless. You sure you want be out here, Lawrence?”

  “Yep,” Arnold replied.

  “Could have fooled me!” Cane replied.

  “That’s enough Venatici,” Takahashi said.

  The nuggets continued their training.

  When it was time for landing, Arnold took point and flew into the hangar first. He eased the fighter down onto the runway and slowly decreased the main thruster output. Arnold maneuvered his fighter over to a maintenance station in the hangar.

  Although most fighters had maneuvering thrusters, these thrusters weren’t useful for any sort of vertical take-off or landing. The maneuvering thrusters were underpowered and were only typically used for changing direction in space, not enough propulsion to keep the entire craft upright in an atmospheric environment.

  Marv Cooper was next and made a perfect landing. He wasn’t talkative, but he sure could fly a Peregrine.

  Cane was next. He was flying extremely too fast.

  Such a showboat, Arnold thought.

  “He really should have slowed down by now,” Marv said over the link.

  One of the first times Arnold had actually heard Marv’s voice.

  Cane’s Peregrine hit the runway hard and started to skid out of control. Cane fired the maneuvering thrusters to try to reduce his speed. The fighter continued skidding down the runway. It was slowing down but it slid off the runway and collided into some containers. Luckily, Cane’s Peregrine had slowed down enough that it didn’t cause any major damage to the fighter or Cane.

  “I’m okay! I’m okay!” Cane announced over the link.

  “Well, damn,” Arnold remarked.

  December 12, 0270 AC – 18:50

  Main Street, USS Empyrean

  Edge of Galactic Union Space

  Ryn Solovyeva leaned against Trevor Reynolds as they made their way out of Hotshot’s and into the busy “Main Street.” That’s what everyone called it, anyways. “Main Street” was the main central hub of commerce and activity in the civilian sector of Empyrean on deck six forward.

  They walked by many civilians and even the occasional unwinding crewman.

  A cool breeze from the air conditioning units graced across Trevor and Ryn’s skin. It felt like a pleasing summer breeze, even though it was December. The ceiling was higher here than other places on the ship. The ceiling took on an appearance of a night sky. Trevor knew it was just a trick of lighting and holograms, but it looked like a night sky. Lamp posts along the main walking path provided most of the illumination. Small trees were located along the side of the path as well. Trevor wasn’t sure if they were real or not.

  It felt like a real night on the town.

  “I had a great time tonight, Trevvy,” Ryn said.

  “Me too!” Trevor said.

  Ryn grinned. She was still a bit tipsy from the drinks she consumed earlier.

  “My god. You are beautiful, you know that, right?” Trevor smiled. “And you are out here with me?”

  Ryn chuckled.

  “You are perfect. Everything about you is absolutely perfect. Come on, Ryn, there’s gotta be some catch. What’s the catch?”

  “I snore really effing loud.” She giggled.

  “I can deal with that. I’ll go get Cinderflake to prescribe something that will knock me out at night. Seriously. What’s your catch? Are you going to murder me?”

  “No, but I’ll slay you in bed...” Ryn guffawed. “I’m sorry! That was too much.”

  Trevor smiled. “I’m so glad I found you. Let me know if you think of a catch.”

  “I can’t think of anything!” She giggled. “I am crazy, though. I’m dating you!”

  “That was harsh.”

  December 20, 0271 AC – 13:00

  Engine Room, USS Empyrean

  Edge of Galactic Union Space

  Two energy channels rose from the ground to the vaulted ceiling of the engine room. Varying patterns of electrical current danced from one end of the channel to the other. Support equipment was attached to these channels. Myriads of wires and pipes exited the channels and entered into the ship.

  Sharon loved this place.

  An electrical charge tickled her skin.

  Sharon continued to take in the sights as engineers and crewmen walked by her. Many consoles were monitoring the energy output of the reactors. The toroidal fusion reactors recessed into the walls powered the ship. Powerful backup batteries were located thro
ughout the ship, but this room contained the main powerhouse of the entire warship.

  The two hyper-drives which were situated next to the pulsing energy channels let out a small hum. Their inner parts were not spinning for now, the ship was not planning on entering hyperspace any time soon.

  “Ah! Ms. Turner!” said someone on an upper catwalk.

  Sharon glanced up and noticed Chief Engineer Atticus Thunder. “Chief!”

  Atticus Thunder walked down a spiral stairwell from the upper reaches. “Thank you for joining me today!”

  “My pleasure.”

  “You are extremely skilled at the bridge engineering console, but today you are going to learn more about what us grunts do back here.”

  “Oh, I know most of this stuff already. My Rapture had a similar engine room setup. This is much bigger, though!”

  “Bigger is better; let me show you around!”

  Sharon figured Atticus Thunder was from a world with lower gravity. He had to be almost seven feet tall. This did help him access certain areas that average height people could not get into. Perhaps this was one of many reasons he was chosen to be the Chief Engineer of Empyrean and, previously, Freedom. Thunder’s short, black hair was speckled with bits of gray. Even though the job was stressful, he always appeared to be in a good mood.

  A worker ran up to the side of Thunder. He towered over the small woman.

  “Sorry, sir,” the woman said. “There’s a problem with reactor two. It’s not accepting the next tritium load. The readout says there’s a blockage. Should we switch the confinement ratios to just produce a deuterium-deuterium reaction while we figure out the cause of the problem?”

  “I’d rather not. Hang on, Ms. Turner.” Atticus Thunder walked over to the malfunctioning reactor. Sharon followed close by.

  The worker pointed at the information on a nearby readout. “We’ll have to shut her down soon if we don’t change the mixture. We should be able to run on one reactor for the time being if you want to shut it down.”