by Randy Noble
Michael looked at his left wrist, which had a small device, like a watch but bigger, with a screen on it. The device was a millimeter thick, three inches wide, and four inches long. Part of the screen wrapped a little bit on both sides of his wrist. He punched in a numbered code that Regina could not catch, then an icon of a circular object, and then pressed his index finger on 4 disc shapes displayed on the screen, one after the other, and said, “Brace for decompression. We will be good at this distance, but be prepared. And do not hold your breath. Breathe normal. Again, probably good at this distance, but as a precaution, pay attention to your breathing.” Michael pressed the word Execute on his screen.
Without thinking, because she didn’t know exactly what to expect, Regina almost held her breath, but forced herself to breathe out and in. Out and in.
The explosion, and the successive three, shook the wall they were leaning on. Regina felt the air moving, knowing that the explosions definitely breached the glass to space.
She waited for the okay to move, and five seconds later, when she no longer felt air movement, Michael moved first.
“We’re good,” Michael said.
“John, over with Paula, and take point,” George said. John went over quickly, and George followed, pointing at Mary and Cindy to go back with Michael, Brett, and Regina. “Move quickly. Set up cameras as you go, but don’t stop to do it. First ones back, prep and ready the ship. Now go.”
Chapter 23
There were only three levels to move down, and they did it quickly, taking the first set of stairs, which required a long hike down a hallway. Michael took the rear, walking backward for the most part. Mary was on point. All of them had their weapons at the ready, including Regina, Mary noticed.
She loved the SOAD, wiping out pieces of shit in the universe, knocking out the stupid, the cowardly victimizers, and the weak-minded lowlife murderers. Mary would have preferred a more disciplined methodology, but she knew the SOAD was a very effective group, with very solid success rates. They always got their target.
Mary had considered the SOAD at one point, as a career choice, but her parents were both SPARS so she followed their footsteps. But she would take Regina over Brett any day. Regina would not crumble under pressure, cower in fear in the face of evil, or hesitate in the slightest at what she had to do.
As they came into the shuttle bay, they slowed down. The bay still had pressure. Otherwise, they would not have been able to open the door. Everything seemed normal, but Mary knew it was not.
She could hear Brett’s impatience, with his quick, loud exhales every few seconds, knowing he wanted to run for their ship and get going, but he was young and stupid and had much to learn. As much as she knew he hated her, she did not hate Brett. He needed a lifetime of discipline in a short period of time, and sometimes she grew tired of his laziness and attitude. His hatred of her fueled him.
He needed a time out every once in awhile, a little scare to teach him respect. Putting him in a dark room, while sounds of his crew members being murdered surrounded him, would put him in his place. But, even though she suggested it for basic training, the military would not oblige. Maybe some shock treatment would teach him manners. No matter, it would just take longer. She would do it their way, for now.
Mary did not respond to Brett’s impatient noises. She crept along the inside wall of the shuttle bay at a safe pace, the smart pace. Pyramid shaped shuttles loomed over them, sitting on landing platforms designed to slide out on a track, through a bay door, so the ship could take off. In emergencies, the platform would drop down and out. Mary took everyone between the wall with the shuttle bay doors and the shuttles themselves, sometimes with so little space that they had to climb over part of a ship or around one of the magnetized landing spikes that kept the body of the ship off the deck. The engines sat on the base of the pyramid, and the shuttles were not upright, but on one side, which is how they flew. All shuttles also had engines facing the bay doors, so sometimes Mary would bump into one of the three large cylindrical engines on one of the shuttles.
The other group kept in contact, but was slowed by the threat of orange flashing lights in the distance; they would meet at the ship.
The SPARS ship sat between the two large, main hangar doors for a quick exit. When they came upon it, nothing looked out of the ordinary. The hatch was sealed.
As Mary walked up to the hatch, she said, “Commander Mary Zannur. Open.” The door hissed softly as it pushed out and up.
*****
Michael stood guard as Mary, Brett, Regina, and then Cindy entered the ship. Michael followed after them, slapping a green button, which closed the door. He waited for it to seal, before turning around to face the others.
Mary stared at them all briefly, and then pointed at Michael and Cindy, and said, “You know what to do.”
“We’re on it, sir,” Cindy said, cringing slightly. Michael knew she thought it strange to call a woman sir, but Mary would have it no other way. Michael wondered sometimes if Mary was a closet lesbian, but as far as he had witnessed, she had only been with men.
As Michael followed Cindy, he heard Mary bark orders at Brett to secure the engine compartment.
Regina said nothing.
Just as Michael reached the hatch to the cockpit, Cindy said, “Oh my God!” Michael stepped more quickly, but suspected the worst, and got his wish. Just like the control room in Pyramid, everything was fried. He could tell without pulling boards. No power to any of the controls and a slight burning smell throughout the area, which he knew was the destroyed boards. Even though the hardware for the ship was securely hidden away, there was no doubt in his mind it had been compromised. How it was done, he had no idea.
The bigger question was what the hell was on the ship, and what did it want? An invisible killing machine? What was their purpose? Why kill everyone? It made no sense. He had seen plenty of holographic horror movies of sinister aliens, but it was just fiction. When you thought of the plots, they made no logical sense, yet here he was stuck in his own holographic horror movie that he couldn’t pause or turn off.
“One C,” Michael said loudly so Mary would hear him.
She was at the hatch moments later, saying nothing. Michael saw her out of the corner of his eye, while he watched Cindy unsuccessfully try to restart the ship’s systems.
Michael turned to look at Mary. “We can’t get the systems up. The ship’s been sabotaged.”
Mary stared blankly for a second, glancing towards Cindy and then back at Michael again. “Keep trying, Michael. I’ll --“
Just then Michael’s glasses crackled to life with George’s voice. “We’re in the shuttle bay, and on our way to you. Hold your fire.”
“Sir,” Mary said. “The ship has been incapacitated, like Pyramid. We’ll try --“
Mary snapped her fingers and pointed to a trap door behind the pilot chairs. Michael nodded.
“-- the redundant systems,” Mary finished.
“E.T.A. two minutes,” George said.
Mary looked at Michael, but spoke to George. “Watch your back, sir. They may still be around. Comm off.”
Michael turned as he hunched down to lift the hatch. Mary stared off into space, lost in thought. A small shiver coursed through his body, which made him twitch slightly, and he could swear Mary was frightened. It was strange to see, because he had never seen it before. No time to think about it. Just deal with the problem at hand.
Michael could see Cindy still trying to restore power in front of him. He opened the hatch.
*****
Regina sat in the back seat on the right side of the SPARS holding area, waiting for the inevitable. Doom. She heard Mary and Michael talking. If something sabotaged the ship, where did it go? The only thing that made sense to Regina was there were very few of the creatures, and they could not cover the whole ship because the ship was too big. That was something. Better than the nothing she thought they had.
And, even more than the luck of being
on a massive ship, whatever made everyone disappear seemed to be very disorganized. They lacked training, which made her think it was some sort of animal or creature. But where the hell did they come from?
Off the grid and still moving. But where? And why? So many questions and no answers, but there was at least one person she hoped was still alive who could shed some light on their situation.
Regina listened as she heard Michael’s voice, but she couldn’t make out what he said. Probably telling Mary that the redundant systems had also been compromised.
Chapter 24
Rachel sat in the front right seat of the holding area, and Regina across from her. The others stood. Michael and Cindy peeked through from the cockpit. Brett leaned against a wall opposite from Regina. She could see him staring at her, from the corner of her eye, but didn’t give him the satisfaction of acknowledging his attempt at an evil stare.
A snot-nosed punk was not going to dislodge her better senses. It was obvious to her that he resented her, probably because either she, or one of her working kin, killed someone he felt was innocent. She’d seen it before and was used to the hatred that followed her chosen career path.
Her attentions were directed at Rachel, who was still being stubborn. Regina kept silent, because she would only get frustrated otherwise. George was much more patient.
“Rachel,” George said. “We’re stranded on this ship, which has been catapulted to God knows where. It’s a flying death trap. Any light you can shed would be greatly appreciated. I can assure you that nothing you tell us will have any negative repercussions for yourself.”
Rachel, her head down, pushed her hands through her long, black hair and looked up. Regina watched her look everyone over and then over at George’s kind eyes. “It’s not that simple. There are . . . other parties involved. Powerful. I signed something. They’ll kill me, and you for just being associated. Believe me, there will be no hesitation. If they are, in any way, even mentioned as responsible for any of this, their response will be swift.”
George did not take his eyes away from Rachel’s. “Government?”
“Yes. Look, it wasn’t something anybody expected, or wanted. I can’t even say for sure it’s what we did that caused . . . this.” Rachel looked over at Regina. “I want a document drawn up and signed by Regina that I will be protected by the SOAD. They are the only ones above and beyond any single government control, and she’s the only one I trust to do the right thing.”
Regina was taken aback. Trusted her? She was barking up the wrong tree. “I will not sign anything to protect someone whom I deem responsible for the deaths of innocents.”
Pleading eyes stared back at Regina. “Look. I’m a pilot. I flew a mission. That’s all. The details were never revealed to me. I was contracted to do a job, and only had a small piece of the puzzle. Blair told me a lot more, and even he was a pawn. Either you protect me or I say nothing and we let fate decide what happens to us.”
Regina stared at those blue eyes, looking for a lie, and could not see it. She genuinely appeared sincere and, at the very least, believed she was not responsible. But looks could be deceiving. What else could she do?
“I will draft a protection clause with the following conditions: if, upon successful completion of a series of truth tests, you are found to be innocent of any direct responsibility for a single death on this ship, the SOAD will implement a protection policy requiring identity catharsis and relocation. If you fail a single test, I will throw you at the mercy of the Major Criminal Offense Elimination judgment panel, which will lead to one of two possible decisions: a life sentence on the prison planet Hell or you will be killed.”
Rachel looked at the others, and no one, including George, looked her in the eyes other than Regina. “Agreed.”
There was hope yet, though not entirely. Rachel could always try to escape, which would cause her to be hunted, not only by the SOAD, but also by some government who apparently inspired fear in this woman. She had everything to lose. Why lie? “I’ll draw it up. George, I’ll need your signature as witness.”
George nodded.
Ten minutes later, Regina had drawn up a document as she stated it would read. She signed it, Rachel signed it, and George witnessed.
“Before you begin,” George said as he looked from Rachel and then around at his crew. “Keep your devices active and roving the cameras we’ve all set up. If you see anything, let us know. The floor is yours, Rachel, and if you would be so kind, as quick as you can tell us. Time is not on our side.”
Rachel sat back onto the front, right seat, took a deep breath and exhaled. “I’ll tell you everything I know, but I have to start at the beginning.”
Chapter 25
Rachel sat with her back against the ship’s wall, looking up at the others as she spoke. She folded her legs up and into her body, feet on the seat, and hugged her knees.
“How many of you know why space travel is so restricted?” Rachel said.
“What are you talking about?” Brett said. “It has always been that way. I assume to avoid people veering off the path and getting lost.”
Rachel waited and nobody else answered. It didn’t surprise her, because she just found out recently. “Have you ever heard of the Theseus?” She waited and caught an impatient look on George’s face.
“Just tell us,” George said.
“Sorry. It was a research vessel. One of the first sent out to explore unchartered areas when the gates were first developed for distance traveling.” Rachel looked over at Regina who was actually listening intently, from what she could tell. It surprised her a bit. Maybe Regina wasn’t all hard-core killer like she seemed. Her only emotion seemed to be anger with a mix of distrust.
Rachel looked back up to the others.
“Essentially, the Theseus was a gate placer. It carried several gates, ten to be exact, in pieces, which its crew of 1000 would assemble, get operational, and then set the next coordinates for the next gate. It was a two year mission that they never returned from.”
Rachel had their attention now, for sure, if she didn’t before.
She continued. “The last known communication was at what was to be their fifth gate setup, almost at the one year mission status mark. The fifth location was near a system with, what the crew believed, a habitable planet. They were asked to investigate and were never heard from again.
"A search and rescue ship was sent to that location, found their ship but no one on it. Not a sign of anybody, other than pile after pile of clothing.”
“What?” Regina said. “You’ve just been caught in lie number one.”
“I’m not lying,” Rachel said.
Regina’s right hand reached inside her coat.
“Let her speak,” George said. “You have the document, Regina. You have no authority at this time and place to snap judgment. Hurt her and I’ll make sure you never have human contact again.”
Rachel wasn’t sure that would bother Regina, but she was glad somebody said something. The crazy bitch was still holding her hand inside her jacket, probably caressing her precious weapon.
Regina said nothing more. She glared, but Rachel didn’t care. She had held so much of her life a secret that it was actually a relief to tell somebody something, especially this. Blair was right. Poor Blair.
“I’ll tell you everything I know,” Rachel said. She took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Little did the rest of them know, but were soon to find out, how fucked they really were. How do you survive what no one else has?
Chapter 26
“Anyone ever tell you your hands are ridiculously small?” Rachel said and smiled. She was talking to Eric, a tall, lanky man with long, stringy red hair and a sporadic red beard.
“No ma’am. Never heard that one before. Maybe if you weren’t comparing them to your Sasquatch hands, they wouldn’t look so small.” Eric laughed, an infectious, machine gun laugh that brought an even bigger smile to Rachel’s face.
The two of th
em were inside a shuttle, in the shuttle bay of Pyramid One. Three large, silver cylinders loomed over them from the wall in the engine room of the shuttle. Eric worked on the floor, marking two spots with a marker, three feet apart.
Admittedly, she did have large hands, but no matter. “Now, Eric, that’s no way to talk to a lady.”
“You be sure to let me know when you see a lady, and I’ll watch myself.”
“So sassy.”
“Well, man, I gotta be me.”
“I expect nothing less.”
Eric smiled. “You sure about these measurements?”
“Yep, that looks right. Six feet total. Go ahead.”
Eric reached behind himself and brought over a laser radius device. He set it up so one end centered on one mark, and the other end he slid to line up a laser pointer over the second mark. He pressed a button, holding the non-laser end, as the other side cut through the metal of the ship in a circular fashion. There were no sparks, but the metal sizzled as the laser cut a perfect six foot diameter hole.
Before the laser made its full journey, Eric reached behind himself again while still holding the laser cutter, grabbed a large magnet, and THUNK! dropped it onto the cut metal section. As the laser cut all the way around, Eric held the metal from falling by holding it with the magnet.
“So where’s that other dude, the one supposed to be overseeing this kind of stuff?” Eric said.
“Oh, he’s around, I’m sure.”
Just then, Blair walked into the engine room. Rachel didn’t make eye contact, even though Blair feebly tried to do so.
“Hey man, we were just talking about you.” Eric genuinely smiled. He always genuinely smiled, from what she could tell. He seemed to like everyone, even when they mocked him, which she noticed Blair would do from time to time, but Eric probably wouldn’t know it anyway.