Starfall

by Chris Doverspike

  With one swift movement of his arm he throws me to the middle of the room, right in front of him to be exact. He waits for me to get up my feet. “You are one interesting guy; you know that? Tell me, how’d you obtain these powers?” I ask him, staying calm in the process which isn’t easy I’ll tell you that. The man totally ignores me, instead he responds by kicking me in my mid-section. I’m sent flying to the other side of the room. I look over at Aura who is nearly finished cutting the admiral loose. I feel my armor, there’s a large crack across the front of it and the shield percentage is dropping quickly.

  I look up, the man is approaching me quickly. I jump up and quickly pull out my weapon. “Tell me. Why did you help me back on Haven? You could have killed me, yet you chose to heal me?” With one flick of the wrist he sends my weapon flying to who knows where. I walk up to him so Aura and T are out of view. I throw a flurry of punches, but he blocks them, unfazed by my assault. He takes me to the ground, grabbing my arm and twisting as his knee rests on the center of my back. I let out a scream of agonizing pain. I can feel the bones in my arm beginning to break. What the hell is taking Aura so long!?

  A sudden shockwave explodes, extending through the entire room. The Essari soldiers are pushed back, and the cloaked man is thrown across the room. I look back to see Aura standing with the Admiral’s arm around her to support himself. The cloaked man is beginning to get up, I fight through the pain and stand up. The cloaked man is approaching me but he’s at a distance far enough to allow me to make a run for it. I don’t slow down even though the pain is cutting through me like scissors into paper. As I approach them, Aura and Admiral Richards become surrounded by a white light, she sticks her hand out. I make a dive for it and grab hold.

  The next thing I know, we’re back on Haven in the teleportation room. We fall to the floor of the teleporter; it was a higher fall than I would have have expected. We stand up to see Senator Reyes, as well as Tion and Amelia standing nearby watching. After a short silence I say with confidence. “Well. I guess it’s safe to say it worked.”

  Chapter 10

  Aura and I stand here on the bridge before the council’s balcony. I don’t know why but Senator Reyes wanted us to meet with her here. To me it just doesn’t feel right considering what happened to the other councilors but she assured us that this is what they’d want. This place will always carry what happened to the council, and nothing will ever change that. I keep my focus on Senator Reyes as she readies herself to speak. “Before this meeting begins, I’d like to say how much your involvement with gaining the information, and saving Admiral Richards is appreciated and will be remembered.” She actually led with that? It’s like she could care less about what we did, what did she write it down before we got here?

  “Uh…thank you ma’am.” I respond. “The information that T-814 gained from the Essari computer was encrypted.” She says, it’s like the wind was taken right out of my sails. “Encrypted?” I ask. “We believe this information could prove vital to the war efforts, and we have a team looking into it.” She tells us. “You brought us in here just to tell us that? It’s never good news is it?” Aura says in a frustrated tone. “We also found a map within the files, a star system. However, a piece of the map is missing. We believe this could lead us to the Essari home world.”

  A map to their home world? But why would there be a piece missing? That doesn’t make any sense. Maybe they keep the other part in safe keeping so they can keep their location a secret. Before I can add my two cents, Admiral Richards enters the building, he’s walking toward us. He looks like he’s back to 100%. “Leave us, I have much to discuss with the Admiral.” Says Senator Reyes. Aura and I begin to leave. “Oh and one more thing. Our engineers are working on duplicating the technology the Essari used to create their armor. One more thing. Stella, take a shower. The blood on your arm is starting to brown from being there so long.” Reyes tells me with a hint of sarcasm, shocking she has a sense of humor. “Battle scars ma’am.”

  I spend about twenty minutes just standing in the shower, the water dripping off my face as I lean against the wall. I step out of the shower, it’s one of those sliding door showers. I grab the clothes that were left for me on a chair, surrounded by a completely white bathroom. A simple T shirt and pants. It’s definitely nice to feel the comfort of regular clothes instead of having to wear my transcendence uniform. My bones ache, they can make Alleviation for fixing basically any wound but there still isn’t a pain killer potent enough to relieve aches and pains? What a world we live in.

  I step out of the bathroom, I was using the shower in Duron’s room at the hospital. Which is the only place with an accessible shower for me at the moment. He’s sitting up on the hospital bed, he’s laughing along with Aura and of course T is here as well. “I see someone finally decided to wake up.” I tell Duron as I approach him. “Yeah. I hear I missed out on all the fun.” I scoff, thinking about everything that happened while he was out. “Oh yeah, loads of fun...How you feeling?” I ask. “I feel good, that poison did a number on me. I can’t believe I was out as long as I was though. Aura was telling me about the Essari ship, man I wish I could have been there.”

  I don’t say a word for a moment, memories from the Essari ship play through my mind, from when we got there, to the fight with the cloaked man. “Stella?” Duron asks with sympathy. “Sorry. Yeah, it wasn’t a place I’d want to return to.” I tell him, I don’t know what came over me, it’s probably because the whole thing is still fresh on my mind. Admiral Richards enters the room, he’s in good spirits. “Glad to see you’re back Admiral.” Duron says. “Thank you Duron, I heard what happened to you and I’m happy to see you’re still with us.” He responds with gratitude. “I spoke with Senator Reyes; she had told me that we found some kind of star map? She seems to think it might lead us to the Essari home world.”

  Duron is instantly interested in what the Admiral is saying. “So we know where they’re hiding?” He asks. “Not exactly, there’s a piece missing.” Duron thinks for a moment, his eyes widen. “Where’s the star map?” Duron asks. T responds anxiously, knowing Duron feels the same. “Show it to me.” T doesn’t hesitate when hearing Duron’s order. A hologram of the star map appears in the center of the room. It’s missing a decently large part of the center. Duron walks up to the hologram, and surveys it closely. “I have to get to my ship.” He says. “Why?” Asks the Admiral. “Because I have the missing piece of the map.”

  I walk beside Admiral Richards, we’re making our way through Haven, they are in the rebuilding process. “I don’t know what kind of monsters could live with themselves after doing something like this. First Alpha, and now Haven. And the worse part about it? This is only the beginning.” The Admiral vents to me. “We’ll stop them; all those deaths won’t be in vein.” I tell him trying to give him some kind of confidence. He doesn’t respond right away; like he’s lost hope. “What happened on that ship? After they took you away?” The admiral looks at me for a moment like he doesn’t want to talk about it. “They wanted information, defense codes for Haven and other planets.” He tells me with great shame in his voice.

  “And you told them?” I ask. “I had no choice. They used something, some kind of helmet that plays back your memories over some computer they had me linked up to. They got their information, would have probably killed me if you and Aura didn’t get me out of there.” He explains. A helmet that reads memories? Interesting. “You know we wouldn’t leave you behind.” I tell him. “I know. You made good choices while I was gone, were they brash? Probably…” “Here we go again.” I say jokingly.

  “I wanted to talk to you about Duron. You’re going with him to his ship to get what he thinks is the missing piece to the star map. I don’t know how he got it, but I want you to keep a close eye on him. It’s hard to trust someone with that kind of information on an enemy that we didn’t even know existed.” I think about what the admiral is saying for a moment. “Either did he, there’s no way he
knew. He told me his father was the one who found that star map.” I stick up for Duron, but the Admiral’s thoughts remain the same. “That’s what he told you? The man is a thief, he’s lived most of his life lying and cheating. His whole reason for being here is to get his ship back, why would he tell anyone the truth?” The admiral has a point here, but I don’t believe it. Duron’s story seemed genuine upon first hearing it.

  I sit across from Duron in a shuttle that is going to take us directly to his ship. T is resting next to him. We sit in silence for a moment. “Wait until you see my ship, she’s a beauty. Isn’t she T?” Duron breaks the silence; T gives a positive response. “I hope they didn’t touch anything; I’ll know if they did.” He continues. “So you’re positive that you have the other piece to the star map?” I ask. “Positive, it’s the same shape and everything.” He responds. “How did your father come across a star map that’s connected to a race no one even knew existed?” I’m curious to see his response, the Admiral might have gotten into my head though.

  “You don’t think I know anything about the Essari attacks? I might be a bastard but I’m not evil. My father found it, I inherited it. Maybe he knew about the Essari which is why he wouldn’t tell me where he got it from…No that’s impossible.” He debates with himself, he’s coming off as truthful. “I’m not saying anything. I was just curious.” Duron looks at me, he’s skeptical. “We’re here.” The shuttle pilot says to us.

  We jump out of the side door. The shuttle is going to wait for us while we get what we came for. There’s gotta be hundreds of ships here, thankfully they are numbered and organized by the Nim or we’d be looking for hours. “There she is!” Duron says with excitement. He walks up to his ship, he acts like this is the first time he’s ever seen it. It’s mid-sized, looks completely brand new. Its whole body is chrome, and resembles a boomerang. “Whataya think?” He asks as we both approach the entrance of the ship. “It’s nice.” I respond. Duron can’t believe it. “Just nice?”

  We enter the ship through the rear hatch, it’s interior is chrome just like the exterior. We walk through the hallway and into a giant middle area connecting different hallways. There’s not much here, just a hologram communications unit and other stuff that looks more like clutter than anything. We continue through to a hallway leading to the cockpit of the ship. Two chairs just like the Endeavor. Duron sits down in the pilot chair. “God I miss this ship. Flying through space, not having the lives of an entire crew resting on my next decision. When the Essari shot down the endeavor I was terrified, that was a feeling I haven’t felt in a long time.”

  Duron is sincere, I don’t say a word for a moment but I wouldn’t feel right not saying anything. “Before the attacks on Alpha I never feared death, I always thought to myself, if you’re afraid of dying you’ll never let yourself live. After the attacks happened, I never felt that feeling before. The feeling that I might die today, it wasn’t a good feeling.” I tell him, he looks at me for a moment, he’s sympathetic. “I guess life isn’t as simple as we thought.”

  Duron pulls a journal out from under his seat. He shakes it until a small memory drive falls out. “Is that all your father kept in his journal?” I ask. “That, and a few other drawing from his past treasure hunts.” The top of T’s body opens allowing Duron to place the chip inside. “T actually belonged to my father before he passed him down to me. He deleted his memory beforehand though, and I never knew why.” He explains as T releases the hologram of the now completed star map. Duron gets up and approaches the map. “It’s Earth. Earth is the Essari home world.

  “I think there’s a reason why your father never told you anything, and why he wiped T’s memory.” I tell him. He just continues to stare at the map. “Why would he keep this from me? We have to show the Admiral.” Duron says as the map disappears. We begin toward the exit with this new found information. We make our way back to the shuttle which is still parked in the same spot as when we left it.

  We stand before Senator Reyes, the star map hologram shines brightly between the bridge, and the Council’s balcony. Duron and Admiral Richards stand by my side. Reyes stares at the map with wonder and relief. “I would like to speak to Admiral Richards on this matter alone. Leave us.” Senator Reyes tells us; she gets no arguments from me.

  Duron, T, and myself wait outside of the council’s headquarters, anxiously waiting for the Admiral to come out. He finally does after what feels like forever. “So what’s going on? What did she say?” My curiosity is getting the better of me. “She’s going to send in the fleet, the endeavor crew has been reassigned. The TSS Endurance has been issued to us. She’s bigger than the Endeavor, and her weapons are immensely more powerful.” The Admiral explains. Sounds to me like we’ve been assigned to a war vessel, which can only mean one thing: We’re going to war.

  “A war vessel? We’re going to fight in the war?” I ask anticipating his answer. “Just follow me.” The Admiral says, he leads us to the docking bay. We approach the shuttle that will take us to the TSS Endurance, he’s the same shuttle pilot as the Endeavor. The rest of the crew is waiting for us there, all wearing brand new Transcendence uniforms, including Duron which comes as a complete surprise to say the least. The look remains the same. The shirt, pants, and jacket getup which isn’t a bad thing by any means.

  “The Engineers were able to replicate the shield technology that was used for the Essari armor. All new transcendence uniforms are fitted with the same tech. You can change when you get on the ship. You’ll be given a briefing by senator Reyes upon your arrival.” He explains to me. “What about you?” I ask. “I’m not coming.” He reveals. “Why?” His words are coming as a complete shock, and not the good kind. “I’m past my time, Stella. It’s time for a young captain to take over.” He tells me, holy hell is he saying what I think he is? “You mean me?” I ask with anticipation. “Yes.” He replies. I’m trying to hold back my excitement but it’s tough. “Oh boy, we’ll never hear the end of this.” Aura says.

  “What’s next for you then?” I ask the Admiral. “I’m going to Alpha to aid the rebuilding effort. It’ll be a nice change of pace after everything that’s happened.” He tells me, I can’t help but smile. “You are a bit old to be captain…” “Don’t ruin the moment.” The Admiral interrupts. “See you soon?” I say to the Admiral. “Yeah.” He’s responds as we shake hands. “Your father would be proud.” He tells me. “Thank you. For everything” I bid him farewell as I enter the shuttle with the rest of my crew.

  We approach the TSS Endurance, it’s enormous but resembles the Endeavor in so many ways including body shape. The only difference is the size, which is accompanied by a more powerful weapons system. It’ll be strange not having Admiral Richards around, but I guess it makes sense that he doesn’t want to go to battle anymore. I’m going to be the best captain I can possibly be for him, and my crew. “Captain. Before we leave, I have something for you.” Tion says to me. “And that is?” I ask. “It’s a surprise, but trust me you’re gonna love it.”

  I follow Tion down to the engineering deck. It’s even larger than the Endeavor’s, but honestly the whole thing just feels like one big clone of the old ship. The bridge, the core drive, the rest area, it’s all the same layout pretty much. I follow Tion all the way to the rest area across the bridge above the core drive. “Put this on.” Tion hands me a basic black glove. “A glove? That’s what you were so excited about?” I ask him. “That’s the point of it. Trust me when I say, you will not be disappointed.”

  Here goes nothing. I slip on the glove, it’s a perfect fit and it’s made from genuine leather. “Now make a fist and tap your thumb over your index finger.” He instructs. I make the tightest fist I can possibly make, then tap my thumb over my index finger just as Tion instructed. A bow forms in my hand. It’s red, jagged, and shaped like the wings of a cardinal. In other words, it’s one pretty bow. “Whoa!” I’m definitely impressed. “See? I knew you’d love it. Now pull back the bowstring and aim for th
e wall.”

  I do just that. As I pull back the bow string, nothing. But the moment I let go an arrow flies toward the wall. And not just any arrow, it’s a laser in the shape of an arrow. It collides with the wall, causing a dent, then disappearing without a trace. “How did you make this Tion?” I ask. “It’s something I’ve been working on for years. And now having access to Transcendence tech, I was finally able to finish it.” He explains. “If you worked that hard on it, then you should be the one to keep it.” I insist. “No. Think of it as a thank you for everything.” I look at the bow, it’s mesmerizing. “Thank you Tion.” I lighten my grip which sheaths the bow, it completely disappears and only the glove remains.

  The elevator doors open revealing the bridge. It’s a long hallway leading to the cockpit which features a pilot and a copilot seat just as the Endeavor did. There are also two chairs behind the two pilot seats. Amelia and Duron are situated in the pilot chairs. “Captain.” Aura greets me as I approach the cockpit. I’m dressed in my new Transcendence uniform, there is a percentage display on the collar of my jacket. I take a seat in one of the two chairs behind the pilots, Aura does the same. “Ready to fly on your command, captain.”