by Joe Crouch
“One of those stealth shuttles?” he groaned through the gaps in his fingers, “I’d like to never be near one of those again after last time.”
“Don’t be a baby, you’ll be fine,” Farel smiled as he leant forwards and flicked the holo-projector into life. The Chaon system flickered into existence, it sat centrally on the table as the dim-blue projection rotated in place. Farel leant over and grabbed the image with both hands, and as he pulled it apart it zoomed into a location with a flashing yellow beacon. “This is where we will slip in,” he said, “And this,” he pointed towards a dead exoplanet, “Is where we will hide the ship while you go out on your escapade.”
“How long will it take to get from there to the planet?” Taris asked.
“About twenty hours,” Farel winced, sitting back down.
“Twenty hours!” Fez, Sean, and Taris each stood, shocked at the engineer’s answer.
“Maybe nineteen?” Farel shrugged, forcing a smile. Dejected, the trio slumped back into their seats and huffed. Over the next hour, the team hashed out the finer details of the mission. A team of four or five would make the trip to the planet, evade any Xuron patrols and land without raising any alarms. The stealth shuttles were only lightly armoured so more than a few direct hits from a Xuron fighter would be enough to bring it down and end the mission completely.
As the conversation died down people began to excuse themselves from the briefing until only a handful remained. They sat in silence and watched the faint, rotating hologram of the jungle-covered planet, it illuminated the room a dull blue giving it an air of calm and tranquillity. Sean closed his eyes just for a moment and imagined being back home, sipping at a cold beer or a sangria beside the beach, watching people go about their day enjoying the beating hot Sun as they splashed about in the refreshing ocean with their children. Time away from the media had done him some good, he felt a new person, no longer weighed down by the untenable expectations set upon him by a news empire that cared more about the story than the lives of the people involved. He knew his digital inbox back in his quarters was quickly becoming full from interview requests and concerned members of the public asking where he was. But opening his eyes brought the cold, hard reality crashing back down upon him, they had a mission to accomplish and a race to help, his feelings may conflict about the entire op, but while aboard the cruiser he was a slave to its primary goal as much as everyone else.
“Why don’t we go see Cestos about a meal?” Sean yawned as Fez gathered up the loose data pads that were scattered about the long table.
“That’d be nice,” Taris admitted, nodding her head, “I fancy something fishy.”
“Smell your armpits, then,” Fez joked under his breath, Sean and Taris looked at each other for a moment before letting out a bellowing laugh.
“That’s the captain I remember,” Sean smiled, patting the Ioution on the shoulder, “Remember when I first came aboard and the entire bridge crew were laughing at my expense… Saying you would return me to my master ‘cause of my dog tags?”
“Just if I could turn back time…” the captain smiled, walking out from the briefing room, “Go enjoy a meal and meet me on the bridge in six hours, we will leave for Chaon and see how it goes.” Pushing themselves up from the table the pair walked slowly towards the mess hall, their muscles ached and their heads pounded from the lack of rest.
Hissing open, the sound of laughter and incessant chatting erupted outwards as they were granted entrance to the canteen, the sweet smell of one of Cestos’ hot stews flowed through the air drawing them towards the meal counter he had set up. Standing in line reminded him of being back at school at lunchtime, he held a bowl out in front of him and grabbed a large piece of freshly baked bread as Cestos ladled in a substantial helping of steaming stew.
“Not seen you for a while,” the always happy Cestos smiled, “You should come down here more often, you missed a fabulous Carrelian steak pie yesterday.”
“Pie?” Sean questioned, “That seems very… Earth-like for you.”
“It is!” he beamed, stirring the large pot beside him, “I’ve been reading up on your culture and your world has a wonderful palate of flavours to choose from, how you decide what to eat each night is beyond me, I’d freeze up with the choices.” Laughing, Sean nodded to the Theran and found a spot where both he and Taris could sit. Squeezing down beside two large Ioutions, his relatively small frame fit between the broad shoulders that sat either side of him. As Taris went to take a seat opposite him the crew shuffled up giving her room to sit, he watched, astonished as another member of the crew bought her utensils to eat with.
They sat in silence, peacefully slurping away at the strange concoction Cestos had come up with that he decided was stew. To Sean, it seemed as if the alien had just discovered the usefulness of garlic and smothered everything in a tonne of it, the Ioutions lapped it up as it tasted so different, for him, though, it was a pungent mess that the meat alone saved.
Getting up with a stretch, they had five hours until they were needed on the bridge so deciding on a quick nap they made their way back to their quarters. With a swipe of their door side terminal the door cracked in two, Sean stumbled through and collapsed onto the soft, self-moulding mattress and was asleep in microseconds. Dreams of fanciful worlds filled his mind as images of vast plains of high-intensity weather sparked his imagination as armies of the undead hobbled through dimly lit tunnels.
***
Waking himself with his own snoring, he wiped the stream of drool away from his face and looked around the messy room. Taris sat at the desk wolfing down a bowl of chocolatey cereals from Earth, as she noticed the prying eyes she slowly put the spoon down into the bowl and pushed it behind the large terminal which extruded out from the tables surface. “I didn’t eat many, I promise,” she declared, holding her hands out in front of her, “Just a nibble here, a nibble there, there’s plenty left for you!”
“Yeah, sure,” Sean groaned, his eyes still adjusting to the burning light overhead. He didn’t have long before they were due on the bridge, so stumbling about the compartment he stepped into the sonic shower and leant against the dull wall, not wanting to support his own body weight. As he got out he saw that she had laid his clothes out neatly on the freshly made bed, he couldn’t help but smile at how domesticated the once gun-toting bounty hunter had become. Slipping into his clothes he checked himself in the mirror, a thick stubble had taken hold of his face, he knew he should shave it off, but deep inside he liked the rough look.
The bridge was the epitome of calmness, light chatter filled the air as he saw Taris bent over Fez’s console going over plans with him. Running his hand up her back, he kissed her on the cheek and looked down, “What we working on?” he asked.
“Our final vectored approach,” Fez replied, “Latest scans show an unusually large Xuron presence, we know where their stations were before so we are coming up with the safest route to the planet while minimising time wastage.”
“Well, that looks good what you’ve got there,” he said, pointing towards the curved flight path that weaved between the orbiting structures, “Is that not feasible?”
“It is,” Taris said, straightening her back, “But it’s worth being overcautious than not at all.” As they each contributed to the computer a call came from helm that slip engines were readied and that they were prepped for FTL flight.
“Shame the Veterum didn’t fancy lending us one of those special drives they have,” Sean moaned, “It could have been a lot of help, especially if it could be fitted to a stealth craft.” Agreeing, Fez ushered the two back to their seats and made a ship-wide announcement about the upcoming slip travel, he gave the crew twenty minutes to prep their stations before giving the command.
“Helm, set a course for Chaon’s Kuiper Belt, maximum speed, slip when ready,” Fez barked, relaxing back into his seat, after a brief wait the Ioution sat at helm replied.
“Slip travel in five, four, three, two, one…” a
nd with the usual fanfare, Sean felt a sudden jolt of movement before the grav-plating stabilised everything. The blue bubble of FTL travel washed over the front viewer bathing the bridge in a dim hue. Luckily, travel to the Chaon system wouldn’t take long as it was relatively close to the Veterum stronghold, he couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or a rather alarming notion to their losses in the war.
* **
Exiting slip space with a blinding flash of light, the Mar’Ell and her crew found themselves on the distant edge of the Chaon system. Debris from its formation floated disjointedly, large exoplanets were mixed in alongside micro-sized asteroids as they orbited in formation, lumbering around the two central stars. Sean sat watching his screen populate with the vast array of detectable bodies that surrounded them.
“Captain,” Yumie called out, his face illuminated by the faint glow coming off from his terminal, “You should come look at this.” Interested, Sean followed Fez over towards the terminal and watched as Xuron contacts flashed into life one after the other. It felt as if an apple had lodged in his throat as the detections didn’t slow, according to Yumie’s readings the system was flooded with ships and stations each defending Chaon II and Chaon III. Matching Fez’s knowing glance they retreated to their respective consoles and scrolled through the tactical map. It was poor reading. Stations sat above their target, Chaon III, they had little to no idea what their purposes were, but they knew they had to get past them without being spotted.
“No wonder the Veterum didn’t want to venture here,” Fez sighed, “It’s a death trap.” Taking in a long, drawn out breath and letting it out in a loud huff, Sean spun his chair to look at the glum faces which sat on every Ioution. The mission had instantly become far more precarious to be involved in, the crew staying aboard the cruiser were relatively safe if they stayed in silent running modes, but the stealth shuttle heading for the planet would have it tough.
With a general call for the selected team to form up in the hangar, Fez waved Sean out from the bridge. As the pair weaved their way through the ship towards the pilot's ready room the knowing glances from the crew they passed didn’t instil confidence in him, more than a few handshakes felt more like goodbyes than good lucks.
Waltzing across the bulkhead separating the hangar from the ship, Sean saw the others stood outside the pilot’s room dressed from head to toe in a dark blue, skin tight suit. Zarid shifted uncomfortably on the spot adjusting himself, Taris and Remulus leant against the railings on the gangway, their figures were shown off in full by the tight fitting second skins. Stopping himself from gawping for too long, he moved on and pulled his suit off a rack, within moments he had slipped the loose outfit around his entire body, but in an instant, it snapped and adjusted itself until it felt as if he was boxed in.
“Wow, this is great,” he squeezed out sarcastically and without breath. Fumbling about in his locker he searched for his race-specific rebreather, but after pushing aside the mess that sat at the base of his storage he shot up, “It’s in my quarters, one second.”
Running through the ship the busy crew couldn’t help but snicker at his bumps and bulges as he moved. Slowing, he moved through crew berthing barefoot, but a low whispering coming from the newer suites caught his attention. Walking with a silent step he strolled towards the noise, “… and here we are now, at Chaon, the Human hasn’t been an issue. I’ve sent co-ordinates for our previous stops so you can check them out.” Confused, he stepped through into Cestos’ chamber, the alien moved quickly to hide his communicator away from his prying eyes.
“What was that about?” Sean asked aggressively.
“Oh? My conversation, I was just chatting with family back home letting them know what we’ve been up to, where we’ve been, they do worry,” Cestos replied with sweat almost rolling down his forehead. Sean stared deep into the Theran’s eyes before nodding, he wasn’t convinced and would let the captain know as soon as possible, but for now, there were more pressing matters to attend to.
With his rebreather in hand, he joined up with the rest of the crew as they received final technical information about the ship from an upbeat Farel. The ship, in all its sleek, aerodynamic glory, sat facing out towards the void as a low hum rippled out from its rear engines. Its design reminded him of a fighter jet from back home but on a much larger scale, its nose was pointed and four wings extruded out from its hull. Farel took the team around the vessel, pointing out its vital components in case anything should go drastically wrong, they had used the ship a couple of times before, once with Sean, but to the Ioutions it was still relatively new technology.
“Alright, I think you’re ready to go,” the engineer smiled, waving towards the steep ramp that led into the craft’s belly, “Sean, you should pilot this, you’re…”
“Handsome? Special? Magnificent?” he replied.
“Better?” Farel forced the words from his mouth, “Sorry captain, but you control these things like you’re moving a bath tub, the Human’s reflexes are superior… to yours at least,” he coughed, trying to cover up what he said. With a scornful glance Fez stepped onto the ship pushing the cowering Ioution out of his way, Sean followed suit and placed a comforting hand upon the engineer’s shoulder. Stepping through into the cramped ship, even he had to duck his head to avoid the thick structural beams overhead, the much taller Fez was almost bent at the waist trying to avoid the ceiling. One by one the team filtered aboard as they each took a seat in the small passenger compartment, he called Taris to come sit with him as his co-pilot, but it was nothing more than an excuse to spend a bit more time with her.
“Ready?” Sean asked, craning his head around the corner to see a mixture of jubilant and concerned faces.
“You can really fly this?” Remulus questioned, raising her non-existent eyebrow.
“Fly is a relative term,” Sean said, turning back to his console.
“No it isn’t!” came cries from his passengers. Ignoring them, he raised the exit ramp until it clamped into the hull with a satisfying clunk. With a wide smile on his face, he grabbed hold of the two glowing spheres which sat neatly in the console and gently lifted the ship off from its mooring. He felt the power he controlled at his fingertips, turning to face Taris, he looked on at the petrified Ioution as she shook in her seat, gripping firmly onto the thin armrests either side of her. Laughing manically, he thrust the vessel out into deep space with enough velocity to push the crew back into their seats.
Chapter 17
Activating the neural interface, the thin band around his forehead began to flash as it synced to his unique brain pattern. It gave him finer control of the ship as well as a constant stream of updates about the vessel’s critical systems. With a single thought the view outside the cockpit ‘window’ distorted and wobbled for a moment as the cloaking system was initiated. The usual low sounds aboard were muffled; it became so silent he could hear the nervous Taris beside him taking deep breaths to calm herself. All errant, leaked signals were stopped before they travelled too far, their signature was low already, but every minute detail was taken care of by the state-of-the-art cloaking device.
They drifted through the systems equivalent of a Kuiper Belt, their engines emitted low gravitational waves as they propelled themselves forwards. Running a ship without leaving any trace was virtually impossible, he just hoped the Xuron sensors were not finely tuned enough to detect their small signal. Remnants from the system’s formation zipped past as they moved at a rapid pace, small asteroids impacted harmlessly against their shields.
Sean navigated the potential minefield with care, he slowed the ship to a relative crawl as he danced between the hulking exoplanets as well as the minor lumps of ice which orbited. The fact that the belt seemed rather untouched proved one point, the Xuron hadn’t set up an outpost here to harvest the systems natural resources otherwise the vast supply of water, or if broken down, hydrogen, would have been the first resource on their list. Their shields sparked almost constantly as tiny roc
ks vaporised against the energy barrier protecting them, the cockpit flashed a brilliant light blue with every impact.
Their trip was long, and hours passed by slowly as the crew chatted amongst themselves, returning his attention to the flight console only when the proximity alarm blared an alert for all to hear. Remulus had taken upon herself, as an ex Veterum engineer, to delve deeper into the ship’s systems, she locked herself away in the rear compartment as bangs and the sound of powered machinery came from within. Leaving her to her own devices, Sean spoke to Fez.
“I overheard something strange when I went to grab my rebreather,” he said, remembering what Cestos was talking about over his communicator, “I heard Cestos, the Theran chef, talking about where we had been and where we were. He claimed he was talking to family but something felt… off, I’d appreciate it if you, or someone else, could look into the captured comms logs when we’re back on the Mar’Ell.”
“I’ll do that,” Fez admitted, “It does sound very odd, he could also be telling the truth, though, but I’ve learnt to trust your Human gut… however large it has grown.” Taris laughed, slapping him across his virtually flat stomach.
“We can’t all be skin and bones like you lot,” Sean growled, “Curves are perfectly natural, too.” Before he could get any more out another alarm squealed loudly from above, a HUD flashed into life within his vision and displayed the ecliptic plane of the system. One after the other Xuron contacts flashed into life as red diamonds, as they moved further into the system their readings became more detailed, and what they saw froze them to the core. “That’s…” Sean quivered, freezing up for a moment.