Starfall

by Chris Doverspike

  “Nau, buddy, come on, let’s sit down and talk this out. I was actually hoping I’d find you here, so I’m glad you stopped by.” Duron says in a friendly, welcoming tone. He’s obviously lying but it flies over Nau’s head. “We’ll talk once your friend here sets down her weapon.” Duron turns to me the second Nau finishes speaking. “Put your gun down.” Duron motions for me to drop my weapon, his robot is right beneath me ready to catch it. “Stella. Do what the man says.” Admiral Richards tells me; he has his eyes glued on Duron. He knows there’s a plan brewing here. “Fine.” I hold my gun out in front of me and drop it. The little robot catches it in its arms.

  “You’ve never been very smart Duron.” Nau says as he raises a fist in the air. More than half the bar pulls guns on us. “That’s quite the crew you brought with you, considering you’re only after one man.” I say to Nau. “I have my reasons.” He responds. “I’ll give you all one chance. Leave now, this doesn’t have to get ugly.” Admiral Richards tells to the entire bar. He’s calm, cool, and collective. His words are met with hysterical laughter.

  Admiral Richards kicks over the table, allowing us all to take cover while Duron’s robot shoots down three of Nau’s men using my gun. “That little robot can shoot!” My words are met with a response from the robot. I’ll just assume he said thank you. Duron tosses a grenade toward Nau’s men. “Grenade!” Shouts one of the men. A loud bang, followed by a cloud of white smoke that quickly fills the entire bar.

  We make a run for it. The smoke is making it very hard to see what’s in front of me. I try my best not to lose sight of the Admiral while dodging enemy fire, they’re pretty much firing sporadically right now hoping to get lucky and hit one of us. The smoke fades just enough to see that we’re approaching the saloon doors, a welcomed sight if I ever seen one. We can’t stop now though, we have to keep moving and get back to the endeavor before one of these guys actually learn how to aim.

  It feels like I’m in a footrace back to the docking bay, where the Endeavor is waiting for us. There are Nim workers all around, inspecting ships and whatever else they do here. Duron’s robot tosses me my gun, I catch it in midair and put it back into my holster. “Thanks.” I tell the robot; it answers me with what sounds like positivity. “I can’t understand you, sorry.” I feel bad, but it’s the truth. “He said you’re welcome, and also thanked you for helping us get away from Nau. If you guys weren’t there he would have probably killed me, and sold T-814 here for scrap.” He says, T-814 quivers at the thought. “That wouldn’t be fun would it T?” He asks his robot. And as usual, the same beeping response, how can people understand these things?

  “This is your last chance to join us before we leave Nandina.” Admiral Richards tells him. Duron thinks on the offer for a short moment, I think he’s interested. “I heard about the attack on Alpha. It was a tough break. But I’m not interested in becoming a Transcendent, cadet, whatever you call it. So if I join you, I’m only interested in one thing… getting my ship back.” Admiral Richards gives Duron a nod of approval. “Consider it done.”

  Chapter 6

  Duron has settled in well. After Admiral Richards debriefed him I thought he was going to run away with his tail between his legs. I don’t blame him. After all, the world needs cowards so the heroes can be proven. “How long have you been copiloting this thing?” Duron asks me as he surveys the VI interface. “Oh. I’m not the copilot.” I answer. “I can tell. But if you’re going to sit in that chair, you better know what you’re doing.” Duron gives a condescending attitude.

  “You don’t have to worry about me, I know what I’m doing.” I tell him. “Just making sure.” He instantly replies. “Let me ask you something. What’s the deal with that Nau guy? He wanted you dead pretty bad.” I’m curious what his response will be. It’ll most likely be a lie. “He’s just an old contact, we had a few bad deals and now he wants me dead.” Duron answers without even looking at me. “Not very descriptive.” Duron surveys me for a moment. He refused to wear a transcendence uniform so he continues to sport a white shirt, with jeans and boots. “I’m not here to make friends, I’m just in this to get my ship back. There’s information on it that’s vital to my search for Earth.” Duron cringes like he’s said to much. “Well you’re gonna be looking for a long time, because Earth doesn’t exist. It’s only a myth.”

  Everyone knows Earth. It’s from the old story books we read when we were kids. But it’s always been obvious that the stories are just mere fantasy. “I don’t expect you to understand but I have proof.” He tells me with confidence. “Really? Show me then.” I guess I’ll humor him since this whole thing has just piqued my interest. “I can’t. My father’s old journal is back in my ship and those goddamn Nim didn’t let me grab it when they impounded it. But inside the journal there’s a piece of a star map that’s part of a bigger one.”

  On the VI board in front of us, a Hologram of the human council member suddenly appears. She’s in her mid-forties and has long, midnight black hair. She stares past us; I didn’t even notice Admiral Richards approaching. “Admiral Richards, like we discussed before you began your mission, you are to submit your mission log directly to me, not the other members of the council.” She says to the admiral in a deadpan tone. “Senator Reyes. When we spoke on Haven, I thought you were asking out of courtesy.” He responds.

  “Be sure to abide by it from now on. I see you’ve recruited the criminal as planned.” Senator Reyes says without giving Duron a second look. “Is that all?” Duron speaks up in annoyance. “There have been no reports of sightings of the enemy, but the fleet is prepared to go on the defensive if need be. The council is calling this new enemy species the Essari, until we know who they really are.”

  Senator Reyes logs out after bidding us farewell, and good luck. I don’t think that’s the last we’ll see of her though. “You two have history or something?” Duron asks Admiral Richards. “She was voted to take her mother’s place on the council when she retired. I openly opposed the idea but failed to shift the council’s vote.” The Admiral explains. Senator Reyes is the daughter of the council woman who was voted into the council over Admiral Richards? I don’t think that’s why he opposed her being elected in, or at least I hope not. “So once we recruit Tion and Amelia, what then?” I ask. “We plan our next move.” Answers the Admiral. “And that is? Do we even have a next move?” I reply semi sarcastically. “We’ll figure that out when the time comes.”

  Our next destination is Costas. It’ll be strange returning to the Helix galaxy, but I knew someday it would happen. Not that I wouldn’t mind seeing my aunt and uncle, I just don’t have a desire to return to Jarou. Thankfully I have an excuse not to go there, and it’s nice to know Costas is nowhere near my home planet.

  I don’t know how this whole thing is going to play out, we got our orders from the council, so far we’ve been successful in terms of recruitment, but what then? I’m not even sure the council believes we can find the Essari home world, or even their fleet for that matter. I shouldn’t think like this, have confidence, I do have confidence, but when it comes to this? It’s hard to stay optimistic when the road ahead is a mystery. The elevator doors open, allowing me to enter the med bay. It was nice being able to gather my thoughts, I haven’t had much time to do so during this whole thing.

  The floors down here are polished marble. There are hospital beds at one end, and an array of different equipment is scattered about. I’m honestly surprised that all this stuff is organized so well. “Are you done?” I hear Aura speak the moment I step out of the elevator, followed by T responding. I turn the corner to find Aura leaned against a counter as T hovers at a short distance in front of her. “What’s going on down here?” I ask. “This robot’s asking if he can use the med bay to rest, claiming the dry air down here gives him comfort.” She says to me before looking back at T. “You can use the med bay, but only to rest. I don’t need you distracting the doctors down here. Not that you haven’t already. It’s like
they’ve never seen a damn robot before.”

  T gives a response as he makes his way toward the elevator. “Yeah, yeah. Just remember what I said. And if any medical officers approach you, don’t hesitate to shock them so they’ll leave you alone…that was a joke by the way.” I’m still surprised Aura is able to understand code so well, it’s pretty damn cool to be honest. “You gotta teach me how to do that sometime.” I say to her; she probably doesn’t take me seriously. “I’ll tell you what, when our mission is over, and if we’re not dead, I’ll teach you.” Her responses always seem a tad on the negative side, but she never speaks like she’s thinking negatively, it’s strange.

  “I thought we were only going to Nandina to recruit that Duron guy, where’d you come across the hunk of scrap?” Aura asks. “He’s with Duron. And you missed it, a friend of Duron’s stopped by the bar he was holed up in.” I tell her. “Oh yeah? And did we recruit his friend to?” Aura responds sarcastically. “We tried but then he tried to kill us.” I reply jokingly, responding to her sarcasm. “You could have led with that you know.” Aura becomes almost completely serious, as if she feels bad for mocking what happened. “It’s not a big deal, we made it out of there alive.”

  “So what brings you down here, anyway?” Aura asks me. “Just wanted to see how you’re adjusting to everything.” When I speak those words, her face instantly lights up. “This place is amazing; the equipment is the best I’ve ever seen. Look around, it’s massive and you want to know the best part? It doesn’t smell like death.” Aura’s words are comforting, as strange as it is, whenever I hear her voice I feel relieved no matter the situation. It’s nice to feel this feeling, considering everything that’s happened.

  “So where we heading next?” Aura asks as she walks over and sits down on the first hospital bed she comes across; I follow and stop at a short distance in front of her. “Costas…” “Costas, the civil war planet?” She asks. “I don’t think so; I’ve never heard anything about war on Costas.” I respond. “That’s because it’s kept as low key as possible, and even though the council can step in and stop it, they don’t.” She explains.

  “The council can do a lot of things, but instead they do nothing. Especially when it comes to mostly human populated planets.” My words ring true in so many ways, sometimes it feels like Humans are shoved aside in times of crises. “Of course. There might be a human councilor, but their agenda still favors the other races. Humans are just some second rate species to them.” Aura tells me, she’s passionate about what she’s saying, and I have to say I completely agree.

  But why are humans hated so much? Is it because we’re the minority race? Or because we have developed technology in our existence that took these other races centuries longer to develop? Whatever the reason I’m sure it’s complete bullshit. Now I’m not saying things haven’t gotten better through the years, I can even say Humans live in near perfect harmony with other races. But the council is the biggest issue that needs to be addressed, especially when it comes to these human issues that can be resolved if they would just step in and do something.

  “I wouldn’t call us second rate, more like third or fourth.” I’m not trying to fire Aura, or myself up too much but it’s hard not to when it comes to stuff like this. “Exactly. And that human councilor, Senator whatshername, she’s like a puppet being maneuvered by the council without a mind of her own.” Aura says to me, her thoughts no longer her own. “This is your captain requesting first officer Stella, and Chief medical officer Aura to the bridge.” Admiral Richard’s voice sounds over the PA system, it’s ear piercingly loud. I can see Aura is getting nervous.

  Honestly I’m a little nervous myself. I mean who knows what could happen down there, it’s hardly a safe world like Nandina and look what happened there. Admiral Richards is waiting for us on the bridge, beside him stands Duron and T-814. The Admiral seems impatient as usual.

  “Now that you’re both here, we can discuss a plan. Due to Costas’s current state, landing the endeavor on the planet’s surface will be impossible.” Admiral Richards tells Aura and myself as we approach. “The three of you will take the shuttle down to Costas, find Amelia, and bring her back here.” He continues. “Wait, all three of us?” Aura asks, hiding the fact that she’s nervous. “Yes. You’re a medical officer, therefore your skills will be useful on the battlefield.” The Admiral explains.

  “Wait, you’re not coming with us?” I ask him. “I’m too old for battle, kid. It’s a warzone down there, and if I came, I’d only slow you all down.” I can tell the Admiral has a hankering to go into battle but I’d have to agree, he’d only slow us down. “And how exactly do you expect us to find this Amelia?” Asks Duron. “All I know is that she’s part of a resistance group.” Replies Admiral Richards, I doubt he’s even confident in his knowledge right now.

  “Hold on a minute. You expect us to go down there and guess which side is the resistance?” Duron adds. “We don’t have much detail at this point, so you’ll be going in blind.” The Admiral replies. “We could always ask the locals.” Aura sarcastically says, which catches Duron’s attention. “Nice input oral.” Duron responds to Aura in a sarcastic tone of his own. “Wait a minute, did you just call me Oral?” Duron just smiles as he heads toward the elevator. “What are we waiting for? Let’s go find our next crewmate.”

  The usual crowd is down here maintaining the shuttle. This place never ceases to amaze me; the size especially takes me aback. “It’s time.” I say to the pilot who is aiding the crew with maintaining the shuttle. “You gonna be alright?” I ask Aura who’s making her nervousness less than transparent. “I guess it was only a matter of time right?” She responds. I watch Duron and the pilot enter the shuttle. I stop Aura, trying my best to get us some kind of privacy for the moment.

  “If you freeze up down there, just fall to the ground and take cover.” I tell her with as much sincerity I can muster. She shrugs me off. “That’s not going to happen, you worry too much.” Aura tells me confidently. I can’t lose her, I could barely handle seeing the Academy fall, losing Aura would destroy me. “Are you two coming or not?” Duron shouts, standing halfway in the shuttle. “Come on, wouldn’t want pretty boy over there to hurt himself.” Aura smiles as she begins to walk toward the Shuttle. I watch her, admittedly I’m worried, but I’m sure I’m just overthinking. Damn, I really need to stop with this pessimism.

  My first thought when seeing Costas is that the planet looks execrable. The architecture has been reduced to rubble, with the exception of very few remains of buildings that to be honest, are damaged to the point they might as well be piles of rubble. Shots are soon fired in our direction the moment the pilot flies near the surface. I’m shaking, my nerves are out of control right now.

  I look over at Aura, she’s gripping her seat as tightly as possible. Duron looks like he’s enjoying this like he’s some psychopath. The pilot weaves another shot, “I’m gonna have to set you down in the clearing ahead, can’t risk getting any closer. You’ll have to go on foot.” The shuttle pilot tells us as he continues to dodge incoming fire. Wow, he sounds more flamboyant than I thought he would.

  “Do it.” I respond. My nervousness is beginning to dissipate; I’m guessing it’s due the adrenaline pumping through me. “You alright over there?” I ask Aura, who’s still shaking but it looks like she is beginning to calm herself a bit. “Besides being shot at? I’m doing fine.” She responds in her usual sarcastic manner. “The second we land, we’re gonna run for cover. Aura, if you can’t handle this…” “I can handle it.” Aura stops me before I can finish. I’m second guessing her, but if she feels she can do this then who am I to tell her otherwise?

  The shuttle door slides open, we’re about a foot above the surface. It’s clear for the time being, I jump out followed by Duron, then Aura. I can hear explosions, and gunshots from the battle in the distance. It’s sad to see a world that could be prospering, gripped by war and hatred. I don’t know how Costas would be right now i
f there wasn’t war, but I do know it would be a lot better than this.

  I lead the way as Duron and Aura follow closely behind. A gunshot hits the ground only a few inches in front of me. I stop in my tracks, Duron and Aura do the same. I glance toward the direction which the shot was fired; the shooter runs away upon realizing he missed his mark. Without giving it a second thought I take off after him. “Stella, wait!” Duron tries to stop me but I completely ignore him. Why should I listen to a criminal, who wouldn’t even be here, or care about this mission if Admiral Richards didn’t bribe him?

  I don’t even look back to see if Duron or Aura followed me. My mind is focused on catching this shooter, he fires two shots at me, missing each one. The shooter cuts through a clearing of grass, seeing green on this planet comes as a massive surprise, but a pleasant to say the least. The shooter makes a complete stop. Before I can say a word a large group, holding weapons that are much bigger than mine, appear from behind debris. I look back, Aura and Duron are nowhere to be seen. I’m on my own.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid! I fell right into his trap. There’s about a thousand thoughts running through my mind right now, and none of them good. Okay, calm down Stella. If they wanted you dead they’d have shot you on sight. I don’t know if I should feel nervous about the fact that they haven’t tried to kill me yet, or if I should feel fortunate. Either way I’m sure Duron and Aura will find me and get me out of this mess.