by R. A. Mejia
There’s a pause, and while I wait for a response, SAI rolls text across my helmet display.
Put your hand back on the console. Something seems wrong. I’m going to try to trace their signal.
Only then do I realize that I’d taken my hand off the arm console and have been rubbing my gloved hands together in worry. I put my hand back on the armrest display and watch code scroll across the small screen.
The voice, now a little nervous sounding, comes back on over the ship’s speakers. “You just got lucky, I guess. I’m just in a small scout ship scanning for platinum deposits on a nearby planet. Our mining ship is on the edge of the system. I don’t think I could have picked up your signal if I hadn’t been nearby. I’ve already relayed your distress call back to my ship. Can I ask who I’m speaking to? Are you the only one alive down there from the Argonaut? Do you need medical aid?”
“My name is John Espinoza. I’m the only survivor that I know of. I don’t need—” Then it clicks. How does this guy know the name of the ship? I didn’t tell him.
“Hello? I missed that last part. Do you need medical aid?”
Another message from SAI scrolls across my helmet display. Keep talking. I need another minute.
“Uh, no. I don’t need medical aid. I’ve been very fortunate. The crash was difficult, but I was unhurt. I’ve had a few close calls down here since, but I’ve lived through them all.”
“It’s good that you’re safe, Mr. Espinoza. I’ve tracked your S.O.S. back to the planet you’re on, but if you know your coordinates on the planet, I can be there shortly and pick you up. It’ll be a tight squeeze, but us spacemen have to take care of each other.”
For a moment, I consider taking the risk. After all, do I really want to stay on this planet when someone is so near? Someone that can potentially take me home. I reach for the green button on the armrest to respond when the red blinking light turns off. I mash the green button next to it, practically in a panic. “Hello? Hello? Are you still there?”
There’s no response from the voice, but SAI comes back on the comms. “I cut the transmission, John.”
“Why? He said he could pick me up.” I can hear the break in my voice as I speak but can’t help it. “That was our shot to go home, SAI!”
“I’m sorry, John. I traced the signal back to the ship, and it’s not scouting some other planet. It’s only a few hundred-thousand kilometers from the planet and approaching closer. It was likely just leaving the area.”
“But if the scout ship was just leaving, then that means——”
“That means that the ship was part of the pirate group that attacked us, and the ‘mining’ ship they referred to was likely their attack cruiser. It will take the larger ship a few days to get here if they’re on the edge of the system as we were told, but the scout ship could be here in a few hours. We need to leave right now.”
“Why do we need to leave, SAI? Isn’t it better to be captured by pirates than to die here all alone on this planet?”
“If they’ve already gotten what they wanted, they won’t leave witnesses to tell the Federation. If they haven’t gotten it yet, then we can’t let them. Either way, we need to leave, John,” SAI says with a tone I’d describe as anger in a human voice. It’s a tone I’ve never heard from her before.
“What do you mean, ‘gotten what they wanted’? How do you know what those pirates wanted?”
There is moment of silence, and when she responds, her voice is under control again. “It’s the data pad you found in the captain’s jacket.”
“SAI, what did you find on the data pad?”
“It’s the captain’s personal logs. In his last moments, he noted the bravery of his crew and how proud he was to have served with them.” She pauses again before continuing. “Captain Reynolds also noted his suspicions that the crew was betrayed.”
“What?”
“Here, I’ll show you.”
Inside my helmet, a video starts to play. The Captain is sitting on the very chair I’m in, looking into a camera. He’s much better looking in life and has a calm, dignified presence even in this video. The video shakes constantly, and sparks fly from the area behind him.
“This is the final log of James T. Reynolds, captain of the Argonaut. It’s been an honor to serve with my courageous crew, who will hopefully survive this cowardly attack. I would like to make special note of the bravery of crewmen Yoe, Krout, and Dean. They’ve each been exemplary examples of what it means to be members of the Federation and have risked their lives multiple times while they’ve served on this ship to aid or protect their fellow crewmen and the passengers we carry.” The captain salutes the camera with one hand. “I’d also like to say for the records that I believe we were betrayed. While pirates have been known to operate in the lawless sectors, there should not have been any here. This was a carefully planned attack committed by someone that knew the exact route we’d be taking through hyperspace. They used an interdiction ship to pull us out of faster than light travel and were waiting with a full complement of ships. We could have defended ourselves against a dozen fighters, but these pirates had three dozen and an attack cruiser--overkill, unless you already knew your target’s capabilities. My last evidence of our betrayal is that the pirates who made their demands already knew about our special cargo, something that only a handful of people were supposed to know about. I don’t know who betrayed us, but betrayal it was.”
The captain looks up from the camera and whole room shakes violently around him. “Please, if you can, don’t let them get the military fabricator. They could kill millions with it.” The picture starts to cut out, but the captain’s expression looks determined as he continues. “Stop them and kill whomever betrayed us.” There’s a bright flash of light in the video, and the image cuts out.
“That’s it, John. Those are the captain’s last words.”
“So, it wasn’t some random attack then?”
“Not according to the captain. The pirates were looking for something they shouldn’t have known was on board.”
“The fabricator? But it doesn’t seem that special. I mean, I know they’re expensive, but the one on the ship didn’t seem that out of the ordinary. It didn’t even know how to make steak and potatoes until you showed it how.”
“The captain does not refer to the fabricator in the engineering department. Although, even that one is rather expensive since it can make replacement parts for the ship. The captain was referring to a military-grade fabricator--a fabricator capable of mass-producing weapons, ships, and even robotic soldiers. It’s something any number of petty dictators and rebellions would kill to get their hands on.”
“And we had one on the ship?”
“Yes. The captain is former military, and he took the contract to transport it in secret while decoy military transports went in other directions. Someone must have found out about it and set up the ambush with the pirates. The missing communications crystal proves the collusion. Only someone in the ship could have removed it, stopping us from calling for aid from the Federation.”
My mind reels at the mounting evidence that someone aboard the Argonaut would have betrayed their crew members. “Even if I accept that someone betrayed the captain, it’s still conjecture that the ship I was talking to was one of the pirates. He could have been what he said he was.”
“Well, you’re going to get a chance to ask him yourself. Sensors show that the scout ship has increased speed and will be here in less than an hour.”
Chapter 11
The argument with SAI about what we should do is brief but to the point. It’s too late to run, even if I wanted to. The scout ship knows our general location now, and I wouldn’t be able to get far enough away in an hour to get out of sensor range. Regardless, I don’t want to run. I have to know for sure whether this scout ship is one of the pirates or not, so instead of running, we make plans to welcome it. By the time it arrives, we’ve done what we can to ensure our escape if we need to.<
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On the view screen, SAI shows me the sensor data of the ship entering the atmosphere and moving towards us. The image switches to a live feed of the scout ship hovering above our location. It circles around looking for a place to land, and when it can’t find one, a stream of laser fire blasts away some trees, creating an area for the car-sized ship to land. It touches down, charring the fallen trees and ground with its thrusters. A semi-transparent hatch the top of the ship opens, and a small, lithe figure hops out. He’s wearing a red skin-tight bodysuit--that leaves no doubt that it’s a he--complete with a red helmet with a transparent faceplate. The pilot moves through the forest with an unexpected grace and agility, his right hand on something at his waist and with his left arm extended. Perhaps he’s looking at some readout on the suit, or there’s some tool there he’s accessing. I’m curious how he plans to make it over the white tentacles that cover the ground. If he steps on one, he’ll likely be dragged underground by them. As the pilot approaches the edge of the crash site, he slows down and seems to ponder the same problem I had. Instead of scanning the area, however, he presses something on his left arm, and two jets activate on the back of his suit, shooting him through the air right up to the ledge. I feel a small stab of envy that he has a suit capable of flight, but I turn from the view screen as I see him enter the hallway.
I hear a voice call out past the hatchway to the bridge. It’s hard to make out, but I see an image of him in the hallway, moving debris to get through. SAI patches me into the comms, and I say, “Hello, unidentified pilot. Thank you for making such great time to help me. I apologize for losing you before. I’m currently at the bridge trying to get the communications system back on.”
The pilot jumps at the sound of my voice and looks around, his right hand resting on what looks to be a gun at his hip. He listens to me and then gives a thumbs-up sign and continues forward along the main hallway. Since I’d already cleared the largest obstructions and opened the sealed doors, it only takes him fifteen minutes to make his way to the bridge. I’m sitting in the captain’s chair when he enters, my hands in my lap, trying to look at non-threatening as possible.
“Hello. Are you John?”
“Yes, I am. Are you the pilot I spoke to earlier?”
“Yes. My name is Kyle Smith. It’s nice to meet you, John. My ship is nearby if you’re able to travel.” He looks around at the loose wires hanging from the ceiling and the cracked view screen. “How you were able to survive for so long here is anyone’s guess.” His gaze seems to catch the body of the captain near the base of the view screen. “Although, it looks like not everyone did survive.”
“No, I’m afraid the captain died when the ship broke up and crashed. I was fortunate enough to be on another section that fared better.”
“Oh? Was it just two parts that the ship broke up into? I’d hate to leave when there might be other survivors somewhere. Do you know where the other parts of the ship crashed?”
A line of text scrolls across my helmet display. I’ve scanned his vessel and matched it with one of the pirate ships that attacked us. I’m sorry, John. He’s one of them.
I sigh at the confirmation. I could already tell from the questions the pilot was asking that he’s more concerned about the ship’s wreckage than me. He hadn’t asked once if I needed food, water, or medical attention. Besides, he still has his right hand on the weapon at his hip.
I rub my gloves together, the established signal to SAI that we’ll have to implement our plan of escape, but lean forward to talk to the pilot who has been slowly making his way forward. “Why did you attack us?”
He freezes at my words, and even from here, I can see his expression lose its friendly facade. “So, you do know.” A predatory grin appears on his face as he draws the gun from its holster and aims it at me. “Then this will be easier without the need for subterfuge. Tell me what I want to know, and I’ll take you off this planet. That’s what you want, isn’t it? Why would you have waited for me otherwise?”
“You’re right. I waited here, hoping to be rescued, but I didn’t know for certain that you were one of the pirates that attacked us until I scanned your ship.”
“Aren’t you the bright one? But you’re still going to tell me where the cargo hold is. My captain was not pleased when our prize escaped our grasp. He killed the fragging idiot who launched the missile that brought your ship down. We tried to scan for wreckage, but something in either the crust or the atmosphere made that impossible--at least with our crappy scanners, anyway. We spent days looking for the wreckage manually, but it’s a big planet, and fuel isn’t free. The captain took his cruiser to better hunting grounds and tasked me and a few other scouts with continuing the search. The others gave up, but I’m tenacious. I knew that, if there were any survivors, they’d eventually send out a signal for help.”
“Since you’ve been so forthcoming, I will too. I don’t know where the cargo hold is. But even if I did, I would not tell you. I know what’s there, and I won’t let you get your hands on it. I could never face my family again, knowing I’d given such a dangerous weapon to murderers.”
“Well, that’s unfortunate. It’s always a shame when peaceful negotiations break down.” He points the laser gun at me and orders, “Now, get up out of that chair and follow me back to my ship. Once I get you back to the cruiser, we’ll make you talk. Your friends did--eventually.”
The statement about my friends strikes a nerve. Did the pirates pick up escape pods? Unfortunately, I don’t have time to ask him anything else. SAI initiates the first part of our escape plan, and the sirens on the ship begin to wail. The noise level is even greater and more piercing than when I accidentally set them off before, and the ship starts to shake and groan violently as the graboids around it are agitated by the sound of the sirens. The noise also causes Kyle to grasp his head in pain and shift his aim with the gun.
As planned, I leap out of the captain’s chair and race across the bridge to an already-open hatchway in the floor. I see movement from the corner of my eye and then a blast of red laser fire. The shot misses me but hits the station nearby, causing a small explosion and sending a shower of sparks raining over me. I don’t stop running, though. My only chance to stop the pirates from getting their hands on that fabricator is to escape. Another shot misses me as I dive head first into the open hatch on the floor. I don’t stop once my body crashes into the crawlway, but scramble forward on my hands and knees down one of the six subfloor tunnels. SAI has already mapped out our exit and overlays green dots on my helmet display, directing me down the correct path. It’s a long journey, but there are several turns that the pilot hopefully won’t be able to follow.
The ship starts to move violently, almost at the exit hatch that will let me escape the ship. I climb the ladder up and pray that the armed pirate is trapped by the blast doors that SAI dropped. I turn the lock to the exit hatch and push up. The hatch opens with a groan of metal, and I’m free though not yet safe. As I climb out onto the hull of the ship, I orient myself and see that most of the hull is now covered in thick white tentacles, some of which are as girthy as the trees in the surrounding forest. Those are large enough to crush even the tough exterior of the ship as they pull it underground.
I don’t wait for the tentacles to find me and take a running leap off the ship. The gravity gun activates on my left arm, and I’m surrounded by a blue aura that makes me feel weightless as I fly through the air. I soar past the flailing and rapidly head toward one of the trees with the mass of razor-sharp crystal leaves. The blue aura around me disappears before I impale myself, and gravity takes over, dropping me like a rock onto the hard ground. The wind is knocked out of me, and I see an image of the suit, indicating damage to durability in several areas. There is a tear in the suit on my right arm, but the breach is sealed automatically. Thankfully, there’s no damage to my artificial arm.
A red laser beam flashes past me and burns a hole into the crystal tree next to me. I dive over roots and d
uck behind the tree for cover. The sound of another laser shot hitting the ground tells me my instinct to hide was a sound one. I peek past the tree and see Kyle up on ship, kneeling to steady the aim of the laser pistol he’s pointing at me. I duck back just in time to avoid a laser shot.
Suddenly, the terrible screech of metal twisting grabs my attention and as I peek out again, I see the ship being crushed and twisted by the graboid tentacles. Kyle, no longer able to take a steady shot, presses something on his suit and his jet pack activates with a roar. The heat from the thrusters burns the thinnest tentacles reaching for him, but just as he jumps into the air, one of the thickest ones snakes out and wraps itself around his legs. It’s a game of tug of war. The jets pushing one way, the tendrils pull the other. Kyle pulls his laser pistol and fires at the white ropey mass wrapped around his legs, but instead of hurting it, the tendril only seems to take offense and two more of its kind grab the struggling pirate. Kyle’s jets can’t compete as pulled towards downward, wrapped up like a pig in a blanket. I almost pity the man as he’s dragged, screaming, with one hand outstretched digging small furrows into the ground as he futilely resists the pull of death until finally he disappears into the crater.