by Steven Wolff
Josh comments, “I never thought I would be so gung-ho about wanting to burn up in the sun. Of course, with my luck – it’s not going to happen.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s not your fault.” Howard says placing his hand on Josh’s shoulder. “We’ll figure it out.”
“I guess I should get ready to greet the others who will be landing soon. Hopefully they will speak English because that’s the only language I know.”
“I just hope they’re not hostile.” Howard says.
“Funny, here I was worrying about if the alien was going to be hostile. It’s people we should fear. I guess Asterina was right. We’re not ready for alien technology.”
Suddenly Josh’s face lights up, “Oh hey! Asterina, could you look at something for me and tell me what it is?”
“I would be happy to assist.”
“What is this button-looking thingy? Is it alien?”
Asterina looks at it, “I’m picking up high concentrations of Pentaerythritol tetranitrate inside the console.”
“Penta-what? I just want to know if it came from outer space or not?” Josh asks.
“No, it is a high-yield explosive. The detonation switch for triggering it is this button. I would highly recommend not pressing it.” Asterina says pointing at it.
“Oh my gosh… I was so going to push that button earlier.” Josh says in shock, “But why would they do that?”
“Who?” Asterina asks.
“The government or Mission Control… I knew something was up when they were all being hush-hush top secret. That would also explain why they were trying to get me to push the button… if the mission failed, the ship would blow up and no one would be the wiser. It would look like another disaster. Those sneaky bastards tried to kill us!”
“If it will make you feel better, I can safely remove the threat.”
“Yes, please! I don’t care how you do it.” Josh begs.
Asterina touched its wrist and pressed on some buttons, “There, all done.”
Josh did a double take, “Weren’t you standing to the left of me a moment ago?”
“I was.”
“I didn’t see you move to the right of me… and where’s the button?”
“I created a temporal bubble that stopped time in this vicinity. For you, it was instantaneous, but in reality it took me a while to carefully remove it from the console. I disposed of it by throwing it off the asteroid. You are safe now.”
“Wow… thanks. I really appreciate it.”
“You are welcome.” Asterina says with a smile.
“Just out of curiosity, how does that temporal thingy work?”
“Would you like the long detailed version or the short condensed version?”
“Short and sweet – works for me.”
“The technology on my wrist creates a gravity bubble that slows down time and space, down to hundredths of a second. Inside the bubble, I can move about freely while everything else outside slows down to a crawl.”
“That is so awesome.”
“I must head back to my ship. Any more questions?”
“I’m good for now. Thanks.”
Outside, Jenkins looks up and sees the two wires floating high above Serenity. She looks down and sees the two copper cables wrapped around the legs of the ship. One of them still magnetized, the others severely damaged. Her face lights up and she quickly hops away.
“Where are you going?” Howard asks.
“I’ve got an idea!”
“Couldn’t you share it with us before leaving?”
“No time!”
“What is it with people not communicating with me?” Howard asks, confused. “Hold on, I’ll be back in a moment. I need to see what she’s up to.”
Howard joins up with Jenkins – who’s tinkering with the copper wiring and the battery bank.
“What are you doing now?”
Jenkins continues working but replies, “You know how we have two battery banks? One is for magnetizing the legs and the other for recharging the ships power?”
“Yeah?” Howard says scratching his head.
“Think about it – in order to create the electro-magnetic field that’s holding us firmly in place, you need what?”
“Duh, voltage.” Howard answers.
Jenkins eyes widen, waiting for it to click.
“Ohhhhh – if it’s still holding us down, then obviously it still has juice in them! Brilliant!!!”
“There’s still a couple of good batteries we can use if we swap them around! Mind you we won’t be sticking to the iron-surface anymore, but they might be able to get the ship’s power system to turn on. Then you can fire the thrusters one last time!”
“Jenkins, you are one brilliant astronaut!” Howard says with a renewed sense of hope. “What can I do to help?”
“Tell Asterina that we should be good to go for one last thrust.”
“Yes ma’am!”
“Lori.”
“Excuse me?” Howard asks.
“My first name is Lori. In all this time, no one has asked me what my first name is. It’s better than ma’am. Ma’am was what I said to my mom.”
“How funny. My dad always wanted me to call him sir and my mom – ma’am.”
“Okay, save it for later… time’s a wasting!”
“Oh, right. Of course…”
Back inside, Josh sits in the dark when suddenly the console lights flicker back on. The Space X logo appears on screen as the ships computers reboot. The low humming sound of the ship is music to his ears as he notices the voltage meter is measuring one-quarter full.
“What did she do?” Josh asks.
“She disconnected the electro-magnetic wiring around the ships legs and instead used those batteries to get the ship to turn on.”
“Then what’s keeping us from shooting off into space the moment we fire our thrusters?” Josh asks hesitantly.
“My guess would be the giant alien ship in front of us. Let’s just hope that it’s securely wedged into the ground – or we’re both going to be flying off this asteroid.”
“Whoa boy…” Josh says not liking that thought, “Guess what else happened while you were out.”
“What?”
“Remember how Mission Control wanted us to test the alien technology they installed on our ship?”
“Yeah?”
“Asterina found out that there was a lot of packed explosives underneath the console, linked to that button. Had we pressed it – kaboom! But don’t worry, it’s gone now. Asterina disarmed it and got rid of it.”
Howard asks, “Got rid of it where?”
“Threw it off the asteroid, into outer space.”
“Are you kidding?”
“I’m serious bro.”
“Arrgghh!!! I knew we couldn’t trust them!”
“Not sure who’s to blame… if it was the government, the military, or even Mission Control.”
“Either way, one of them tried to kill us. We’ll deal with it later when we get back… Jenkins, can you hear me?” Howard asks pressing the comm button.
“Loud and clear. What’s up?”
“We’re about to fire up the ship’s main power. How are things on your end?”
“I’m with Asterina… you should be good to go.”
“Is she ready?”
“She’s in her pod, doing the math on her fancy computer. She just nodded and gave me the signal that she’s about ready on her end.”
“Okay, fingers crossed. We’re going to fire it up.”
“Josh, let’s do this one last time.” Howard says determined.
“Aye aye Commander. Powering up systems, turning on the engine… in three, two… one”
Josh flips a switch and the engines whir to life. The fuel gage begins blinking red as the needle is on E.
“Aw come on…” Josh says frustrated.
Jenkins talks over the headset, “We hear the ships engines. Stand by…”
; “Please don’t die, please don’t die…” Josh says closing his eyes, waiting for the signal to fire up the thrusters.
“Fire thrusters!” Asterina commands.
“Go! Go! Go!” Jenkins says with excitement.
Josh pulls back on the thruster handle, causing the ship to roar loudly… when it starts to sputter and backfire.
“Noooooooo!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Dead In The Water
“He pushes the throttle forward and catches the sputter before the engines go out, firing the thrusters again.
“Come on…”
*Sputter* *Whirrrrrrrrr* *Sputter*
“What’s going on?!?” Jenkins asks frantically.
“We’re on fumes!” Howard responds anxiously, “This is it. We’re just about out of gas…”
Asterina comes through the comm channel, “Our window of opportunity is closing! Full thrust, now!”
“You heard Asterina, do it!” Howard orders.
Josh yanks back on the handle and the ship’s thrusters fire bright and hot, pushing the nose into the alien ship. The front part of the ship starts crumpling and buckling as the protective-glass windows start to shatter.
Howard yells, “We need to get out of here or we’ll get crushed!”
“Just a little bit longer…” Josh says, holding the handle down. “If I let go, the handle will move forward on its own from all the vibrating…go on without me.”
“You’ll die if you don’t get out. The ships front end is crumpling in on itself. Get out while you still can!” Howard orders.
“If I gotta die, I rather go out like this!” Josh yells over the loud noise of the ship breaking.
Howard puts his hand on Josh’s shoulder, “You’ve been a great friend. I’ll never forget you.”
“Go on, get out of here!” Josh yells as more of the ship crumples in on itself. Howard jumps out and turns around as the front end of Serenity flattens against Asterina’s ship. Howard closes his eyes and looks away as tears start to fall.
The once roaring engines of the ship slow down and come to a stop. Now silence is all that’s heard.
Josh opens his eyes and notices everything is dark. He feels the cold metal of the thrust handle, still down in the full thrust position.
‘Am I dead?’ He thinks to himself. Josh unbuckles and get up out of his chair. He fumbles around in the pitch black darkness and finds the familiar door handle. He opens it and notices he’s still on the asteroid. The front end of the ship is crushed in, never to fly again.
Josh gently jumps down and walks toward Asterina’s ship when he notices Jenkins comforting a sobbing Howard.
“Guys?” Josh asks.
Howard opens his eyes over Jenkin’s shoulder and sees his buddy Josh. Suddenly his face turns to excitement, “You’re alive?!?”
“I am?” Josh asks, confused.
“You’re alive!!! The Josh man is alive!!!” Howard says to Jenkins.
Josh pats himself down, “I guess I am alive!”
Jenkins grins wide, “Howard told me you had to stay with the ship.”
“Yeah, the thruster handle had to be held down. Did we make it? Are we now in orbit with the sun?”
“Yes, this asteroid will burn up in our sun.”
“Any news on the two ships about to land?”
Jenkins answers, “They’ve backed off. Asterina calculated that they don’t want to get trapped in the gravitational pull of the sun so it stopped chasing us.”
“So we’re done? That’s it?”
“Yep.” Jenkins says, “Now we wait. Let’s go inside where Asterina is.”
Before they can go inside, the asteroid tilts towards the sun, causing everything to become bright and blinding. While they are waiting for the shade to come back, everyone reflects on the reality of their situation. Minutes later, it returns and they are able to see again.
“Is it me, or is it getting warmer?” Howard asks.
“Yeah, I felt it too. Definitely a lot warmer.”
“Me too.” Jenkins answers, “Soon, we are going to be crispy critters.”
They walk back to Asterina who’s comfortably sitting by a computer terminal.
“Asterina, how much longer before we reach the sun?” Howard asks.
“Current trajectory has us reaching the sun in one hundred-eighty-three minutes, twenty-two seconds. However, the surface will be inhabitable to all life in thirty-four minutes.”
“So soon?” Josh asks sarcastically, “But we just got here.”
“Wow. I can’t believe it…” Jenkins says with a stunned expression on her face.
“Well, now I will get to know what a bug flying towards a bug-zapper feels like.” Howard jokes.
Asterina notices their morbid humor and interrupts, “Thank you,” It says to the group. “For everything you’ve done.”
“No…” Howard says, “Thank you. You’ve given us hope for the future. Even though we’re going to die soon.”
Tears stream down Jenkins cheeks.
“Why are you crying?” Asterina asks.
“Because… I’m both happy and sad at the same time. I don’t want to die, but I’m happy that I’m at peace with myself… knowing I will die saving our planet from itself. The sad thing is, no one will ever know what we did.
Asterina taps buttons on the pod while Jenkins looks at Howard and smiles.
“What?”
“You know… it’s crazy.” She says.
“What’s that?”
“All my life, I’ve been looking for the perfect man…”
“How’d that work out for you?”
“Let’s just say I’ve had my fair share of losers.” Jenkins jokes, thinking back. “And here it took me going thousands of miles away, deep into outer space – to realize that he’s right here in front of me.”
Josh smiles and perks up, “Oh, uh… well thank you!”
“No silly. Not you… Howard.” She says wrapping both arms around his neck. “Strong, courageous, kind and yet, flawed.”
“I don’t know about strong…”
“Shut up, let me finish.” She says putting her finger on his helmet. “You were right here in front of me this whole time… My only regret in life is that we didn’t find each other sooner. I would have loved to make you smile every morning when you woke up and in the evening kiss you good night when we went to bed.”
“That would have been nice.” Howard says looking down at the ground.
“Do me one last favor, will you?”
“Uh, okay.”
“Let’s take off our helmets at the same time.”
“So we can die together at the same time?” Howard asks.
“So I can share my last breath… kissing your lips.”
“Asterina, how much longer do we have?” Howard asks.
“Don’t answer that.” Jenkins says, “Let’s just get this over with.”
“Now?” Howard asks awkwardly.
“If you’re ready…”
“Let me say good bye first.”
Howard walks over to Josh, “I guess this is it buddy. For reals this time.”
Josh looks down as his eyes water up.
“I meant what I said… back inside the ship. I’m so glad we are best friends…”
Josh nods up and down, “To the end.”
“To the end.” Howard says, pulling him in for a tight hug.
“Guess I’ll see you on the other side, huh?”
“Hopefully…” Howard says smiling.
“I’ll be there too.” Jenkins says with tears in her eyes. They all turn to Asterina who is observing.
“What about you?” Josh asks?
“I do not fear death. I will simply… wake up after they get my message that this model was destroyed – several thousand light years from now. The next copy of me will have everything saved from the last sync. I reconfigured the green glowing beacon on this ship to transmit an attachment file for the next downlo
ad version of me to have… It contains information about what you did, your names, and your efforts. I will be sure to relay that message for the Internet to see. They will most likely celebrate your brief existence and the sacrifice you made for your planet.”
“Yeah… well maybe I’ll get a crappy school named after me, after all.” Josh says trying to be humble.
Everyone feels the heat of the sun starting to warm Asterina’s ship. Sweat is starting to form on their foreheads.
“I guess this is goodbye…” Howard says to Asterina.
“You are incorrect.”
“I am?” Howard asks confused.
“It’s not goodbye. I will see you later.”
“I doubt it, but if you think so… sure.”
“In the end, we all will see each other.” Asterina says extending its hand out to shake. Howard looks at it and smiles, shaking it with a tight grip. All three shake and say their farewells.
“You ready to do this?” Jenkins asks Howard and Josh.
“Let’s do this. Let’s take off our helmets on the count of three.”
“Agreed.” Howard says looking at Jenkins.
“One, two, three…”
As they twist their helmets to the off position, all three helmets hiss as the last of the oxygen escapes their helmets.
Jenkins quickly pulls Howard in and passionately kisses his lips while she still can. They both close their eyes as the feeling of drowning starts to consume them. A teardrop in the corner of Jenkins eyes turns into a little ice bead as ice crystals form over their exposed skin… sparkling in the low light.
Josh breathes faster and faster as his body starts to shut down… his stare, blank and lifeless. Beautiful rainbow beams of light shimmer all around them, as a sensation of warmth flows suddenly throughout their bodies.
All three of them sit up and gasp for air, coughing violently for a good ten seconds. Suddenly they find themselves in the middle of a grassy field, surrounded by wild flowers. Confused, they look at each other, breathing heavy and trying to catch their breath.
Howard asks, “Are we… in heaven?”
“Look at all the flowers and the rolling hills!” Jenkins says pointing.
“So this is what heaven looks like?” Josh says looking around. Kinda looks like…Montana in the late summer or early fall.”
They stand up and look around, using their hand to shield their eyes from the sun.