The Accidental Astronaut

by Matthew K Wyers

  Chapter 4

  Inside the ship, the children stared at the screen as images of the drones transmitted in.

  “How are we going to get out of this?” Hannelore asked as she gripped the arms of her chair. Her knuckles were white and her fingernails dug into the cushioning.

  “Gregorical said he could heal himself. We should be able to take off again soon and outrun these blasted things.” Micah bit his upper lip.

  “Are you trying to reassure me or yourself?” Hannelore asked.

  “Both,” replied Micah.

  Gregorical spoke. “I’m attempting to reboot my growth protocol and heal my stern. It’s taking quite some time. Usually, I can absorb solar energy from the surrounding environment. Unfortunately, Vinitor has blocked direct sunlight from entering the planet’s atmosphere. Children, are you aware of any alternative source of energy on this planet?”

  Micah sat up straight with wide eyes. He had never been addressed by a spaceship before.

  “He’s talking to you, Micah. You went to the Star Force Academy,” Hannelore quipped.

  “I didn't go to the Academy. I went through the Junior Program.” Micah got up and paced around his chair.

  Hannelore tapped the panel in front of her. "Well, what did they teach you?"

  Micah walked forward and looked at the main screen. Sweat dripped down his forehead. He never expected to encounter such danger when he woke up this morning, but the moment had his brain churning for ideas. “Gregorical, can you absorb ambient energy?”

  “Yes, I believe that would work. You’re a sharp one,” Gregorical said.

  “What’s ambient energy?” Hannelore got up and stood next to Micah in front of the screen.

  “It’s all the unused and wasted energy floating around in the atmosphere. They have plans to use it to power cars and such, but nobody’s gotten around to it.” Micah shrugged his shoulders.

  “Recalibrating now and yes, it appears there is ample ambient energy within range. It should take just a few minutes to heal myself.” Gregorical changed the display on the main screen to show that the leftmost wing of his stern was now growing like a plant.

  Before their eyes, large pieces of metal grafted together with small ones. All the rough edges evened out. A new engine and even an exhaust port developed at the end of the marvelous machine. Both the right and left sections of the stern glowed just as they had when the craft was in flight. The ship was ready to take off once again.

  Outside the ship, Darbian and Taurean had just witnessed the Convergence disappearing.

  “Taurean, what did you do? That was a mistake, a huge mistake,” Darbian said as he put his hands over the top of his temples.

  “It had to be done, Master Darbian. No one can find it now.” Taurean looked up at Vinitor and shouted. “You’ll have no victory today! You’ll never find the Convergence now!”

  Darbian whispered to Taurean. “We don’t know that for certain, Taurean, and even if we did, what about Earth? What’s your plan for getting Vinitor and his shield away from this planet?”

  “I didn’t think that far ahead, Master Darbian.” Taurean’s eyes jutted back and forth between Vinitor and Darbian. “Surely, he’ll leave now since he has nothing to gain. Or perhaps he won’t. I’m sorry; I didn’t know what else to do.” Taurean sat down on the pavement.

  “Now what are you doing?” Darbian grimaced.

  “Perhaps I’ve failed again.” Taurean’s face turned green and everyone knows the Armankouri have green blood and that it rushes to their face when they’re ashamed.

  Darbian continued to whisper. “You should have allowed me to take it to the Wardein Central Command.” Darbian looked up at Vinitor to gauge his reaction.

  The self-proclaimed supreme being stepped forward and looked down upon where the Convergence had sat. “What did you mongrels do with it?” A great deal of saliva fell from his mouth as he shouted. He let out a bellow as though he were in pain and thrust his staff against the floor of the craft he was standing upon. “I’ll make you pay for this!”

  Just then, Darbian noticed that Gregorical had finished healing his stern portion. He looked back to Vinitor. “If you want to find the Convergence, then you'll have to chase us!” He paused, put his wrist up to his mouth, and spoke into it. “Gregorical, we’re ready to come aboard.”

  “Of course,” Gregorical’s voice echoed back.

  The two teleported aboard Gregorical once again.

  Vinitor ordered the drones to fire on the Warden’s ship for a second time.

  Quick and keen laser shots came from all directions around the ship. Blast after blast created sparks all across the ship’s hull, but nothing penetrated.

  The people outside the hotel screamed. They ran in every direction away from the fighting.

  Darbian spoke, “Gregorical, I’ve got an idea on how to get out of here. Take off, loop backwards right into the midst of those soldiers.”

  “Yes, sir,” answered Gregorical.

  The thrusters fired. He took off, flew forwards for an instant, looped up in the air, and came down into the middle of Vinitor and his soldiers.

  The soldiers were firing as well although one would think they were aiming for the windows on nearby buildings.

  The fire of the drones followed the ship and caught the battallion in their crossfire.

  “No, no, you stupid machines! Cease fire, cease fire!” Vinitor ducked down, waved his hands frantically, and shouted at the drones.

  Some of Vinitor’s soldiers fell dead, victims of drone fire.

  Gregorical took advantage of the confusion to fly straight upwards and away from the discombobulated mass of drones and soldiers.

  “That ought to leave them in a bind for a while,” Darbian smiled.

  “The Warden is getting away and with him goes the knowledge of the Convergence. Drones, follow him! Follow that ship!” Vinitor ripped off his helmet to reveal a creature with three eyes. All of them bloodshot, they each chose a different direction; each falling upon various cowering groups of humans.

  The rest of the drones flew up like arrows into the atmosphere and followed Gregorical.

  Darbian looked at Micah and Hannelore. “Children, I’m afraid I will have to take you with me. Vinitor will think you know where to find the Convergence. He’ll take you captive again if I don’t protect you. I’m sorry, but you can’t go home right now,” Darbian said as he flipped a few switches on the main control panel.

  “That sounds like a fantastic idea,” Micah responded.

  “It does?” Darbian asked.

  “I’ve wanted nothing more than to fly through space,” Micah’s eyes transfixed on the images from the main screen that showed the sky growing black and the moon approaching.

  “I guess that’s a good thing,” said Darbian.

  Hannelore didn’t exude enthusiasm. Her fingernails had tiny bits of cushioning under them. There were still chill bumps running up and down her arms. “What about the shield that’s blocking the sunlight?” She managed.

  “Good question my girl. Gregorical, what do you propose we do about that shield? We can’t leave the planet without doing away with it. I’m sure that Vinitor would hold such a threat in place to make sure we would succumb to his demands.” Darbian’s pupils widened as the adrenaline flowed.

  “Sir, our lasers aren’t strong enough to do significant damage,” Gregorical responded.

  Darbian swallowed a little saliva. “I didn’t think so, but maybe we could trick a few of those drones into helping us out, eh?”

  Gregorical switched the display to an image of Vinitor’s command ship flying away from the Earth and towards their position. “Sir, he’s following us.”

  “I wonder what type of weapons that thing has?” Darbian activated a sensor array to examine the command ship.

  Taurean piped up. “Why not draw Vinitor in? Force him to ram his own device!”

  Darbian whipped around. “That’s brilliant Taurean! Gregorical, can
you get them to chase us at high speed?”

  “I’ll do my best sir,” Gregorical responded.

  Vinitor’s fighters were little match for Gregorical’s evasiveness in the open environment of space. Their laser fire rarely struck their target. Now, the command ship itself would fall prey to the superior flying machine.

  Gregorical flew straight toward the shield on a collision course, in fact.

  Vinitor’s command ship followed and fired large balls of energy that when exploded would ignite the gases around their intended target. These as well failed to hit Gregorical.

  “Full speed ahead pilot!” Vinitor was furious that he had yet to damage the wishbone shaped ship.

  “Sir, we’re heading for the shield. If we continue at our current pace, we won’t be able to stop in time,” cried the pilot aboard the command ship.

  “Forget the shield, pilot. We have to catch that Warden!” Vinitor was not the best long term decision maker.

  Gregorical flew ever closer to the shield and with Vinitor in hot pursuit, he pulled up at the last instant and skimmed the surface of the shield, causing a wake to flow across as though it were the surface of an ocean.

  Vinitor observed this and collapsed back into his throne. “What an utter mess this Warden has made of me.”

  As Gregorical flew out of sight, Vinitor’s command ship flew head long into the nearly planet sized shield that had been the centerpiece of his plan to capture the Convergence.

  The shield cracked like glass and shattered into millions of tiny pieces.

  By contrast, the command ship suffered little damage as the metal of the shield was designed to block sunlight, not spaceships.

  In the confusion of the moment, Gregorical engaged his interstellar engines and flew off like a lightning bolt.

  Darbian and his makeshift crew were nowhere to be seen by the invader and his henchmen.

  After several moments of oscillating between angry fits and self-loathing, Vinitor relaxed for a moment and surveyed the aftermath of the battle. At that moment a ghastly idea fully percolated. “We will take the command ship back down to the surface. There we will abduct some of these humans. We might need them for collateral. That’s all they’re good for anyway.” He motioned to his battalion to fulfill his orders.

  The command ship lowered back down to Garden City and there Vinitor and his battalion exited the ship once more.

  This time they trained their weapons on the bystanders below.

  Large masses of people, who had all just been through a harrowing ordeal, were ordered to march several blocks where they boarded the command ship. They hesitated at first, but complied as they feared for their lives.

  Vinitor led his brigade back to the command ship and oversaw the humans being levitated inside. Hundreds of innocent people were caught in this plot. What the bounty hunter had in mind for them if he wasn’t able to obtain the Convergence, not even he knew. Perhaps he would turn them to slaves. Perhaps he would sell them off to space pirates. He wasn’t thinking that far ahead because, for the moment, he was consumed with finding Darbian, acquiring this Convergence, and then trading it for his bounty.

  With his orders fulfilled, Vinitor boarded his ship along with the rest of his battalion.

  Gregorical was far ahead by now. They sped out of the solar system as quickly as they had appeared.

  “I suppose we’ve gotten away for now,” said Darbian.

  Micah and Hannelore were far more enthralled with the view of the main screen. They saw planets and moons whizzing by, the blackness of space, and a starry background of which they had only dreamed.

  “Children,” Darbian uttered. “I want you to go in the back. Gregorical will direct you. We may be in for a bumpy ride, and I don’t want you to be preoccupied with what’s happening up here.”

  “I can handle myself,” responded Micah. “The Junior Star Force officers certainly thought so.”

  Hannelore glared at Micah as earlier he was unimpressed with his own qualifications.

  “I’ve always wanted to be an astronaut. My father was an astronaut. He taught me everything he knew. I can help you!” Micah responded as he gripped Darbian’s arm.

  The real reason Darbian wanted the children to go into one of the back rooms was because he wanted to make plans with Taurean on what to do next. That and he intended to give the shape shifter a good tongue-lashing for not listening earlier.

  “Fine, you’re an astronaut, Micah, but I’m a Warden. I’m sworn to protect those who need protecting and to help those who can’t help themselves. That includes astronauts. You and Hannelore go on back. I’ll be back there in a moment.” Darbian spoke firmly but kindly. When he finished telling the children what to do, he looked down again at the panel he was working on.

  “Gregorical knows to listen. Perhaps I’ll just talk to him,” Micah said as he turned around and walked away.

  Hannelore followed. “Micah, don’t be disappointed. You’ve never fought a battle with an intergalactic warlord before. Darbian knows what he’s doing.”

  Micah stared ahead.

  The two walked to the back of the craft as Gregorical directed them along the way.

  “Micah,” said Gregorical. “I want you to look at something. Hannelore, he’ll need your help. I want you to watch a recording on the history of the Wardein. Would you two do that for me?”

  Both answered yes.

  “I think it will help you understand what we’re up against,” Gregorical responded.

  Back on the bridge, Darbian received a recorded message from Vinitor, “I have hundreds of these humans aboard my ship. I’ve given our encounter some thought and I have no plans to chase you very far. I’ve recalled my drones. What I want is for you to meet me in an hour at the Belt of Orion and give me the Convergence, or I’ll punish these people. You know I will. Remember, you have one hour.”

  Chapter 5

  “Oh dear, this situation keeps getting more complicated,” Taurean looked up at Darbian. There was red in his face and everyone knows Armankouri get a little red-faced when they’re scared.

  “We need backup. We need other Wardein to assist in the rescue. That’s what I was getting at earlier. The Wardein are stronger when they’re together. If we had teamed up then we overwhelming Vinitor wouldn't have been difficult.” Darbian stood up and walked to the communication device.

  Taurean stood up and bowed his head to the floor. “I’m sorry, Master Darbian, but I couldn’t take any chances. I don’t think you understand how terrible it would be if the Convergence should fall into the hands of the Halinkoy Cult.”

  Darbian placed his hand onto an imprint to activate the communication device. He adjusted a large, blue dial until the right frequency appeared. “This is Warden Darbian of the 401st District. Innocent people in my district are in danger and I require help. I’ve encountered the bounty hunter Vinitor, and he has hundreds of hostages. I’m not equipped to take him on alone so I require as many Wardein as can be spared.”

  He waited a few moments, but there was no response.

  “Why aren’t they responding? This is highly unusual. We don’t have time to wait for them. We need to be at the Belt of Orion in less than an hour from now.” Darbian paced around with his hands on his hips.

  Taurean turned around to speak. “I don’t understand. Wardein are the most prompt soldiers in the universe. Where could they be?”

  Darbian propped himself up on the control panel and stared over it at Taurean. “We might not be in this mess if you had listened. Getting Vinitor to destroy his own shield and leave Earth wasn’t that hard. He’s not a maniac; he only wants money.”

  Taurean pointed up. “Perhaps we give him money?”

  Darbian curled his lip. “I’m a Warden, I don’t carry money Taurean. The corps provides everything. Do you have money?”

  “Of course not, I was just a dog this morning,” responded Taurean.

  “Getting Vinitor to leave the planet was easy enough, but I d
idn’t think far enough ahead. If only I were more experienced. We have nothing to give him and it’s my fault,” Darbian said.

  “Risk him getting the Convergence? That was never an option!” Taurean extended his hand palms down and pressed against the air.

  Darbian sighed. “No, but we don’t have a bargaining chip. No leverage and we’ve got to meet him soon. There’s no reason for him to give us those people. At this point, I’m not even sure he would spare their lives. He might be so angry that he would kill them to spite us.”

  Meanwhile, in the back of the ship, Micah and Hannelore watched the recording given to them by Gregorical.

  A narrator spoke. “Ladies, gentleman, and artificial life forms; the following is a presentation on the history of the Wardein. The universe’s trained protectors thank you for your attention.”

  Images of black space with intermittent stars filled the screen. “Many millions of years ago, no one knows how long ago, and before the Councils of the Planets, the universe was a chaotic place. There was no rule of law. The peoples of the universe did as they pleased and often harmed each other without a second thought. Factions of pirates dominated vast portions of space and lay in wait for travelers. The Wiskolo, or Firebreathers as they are more commonly called, ravaged any and every race with which they came into contact. Brutes, they were held back only by their inability to reason and cooperate. The earliest civilizations were intelligent people, but possessed no ability to fend off great evildoers. They had no chance to beat back the greatest villains of them all, the Tammeder Clan.”

  The recording showed depictions of the foes of the ancient past. “The Tammeder were unlike any people who had come before or since. They were evil to the bone, kind only to one another. They lived to destroy. Their technology was advanced, and they used it to full effect. The great sin of the Tammeder was in targeting planets, capturing the innocent peoples, and forcing them into slave labor. The peoples not deemed suitable for slavery were wiped out. They grew powerful and plentiful. Over the millennia, they formed their own religion. They worshipped their king like he was a god and they came to believe anyone not loyal to the Tammeder king must be destroyed so as not to fill the universe with inferior beings as the Tammeder would say.”