The Accidental Astronaut

by Matthew K Wyers

  Micah grimaced.

  Hannelore did the same. “That day…the day Travis was going to beat us up…that was Taurean who protected us. He shape-shifted into a cop.”

  “Be strong children,” said Taurean.

  “Taurean, I’ll tell you when the two ships are close enough and you give me a two second warning to get out of here before you activate the Chrono drive. Got it?” Darbian spoke frantically.

  “Yes, got it,” Taurean said. “I’m getting out of the pod now.”

  Vinitor entered the cargo hold to open the pod and find what he hoped to be the Convergence.

  Instead, Taurean popped out first.

  “You again?” Vinitor thrashed his arms back and forth. “I’m absolutely sick of meeting miserable little creatures today. First it was the humans, then it was you, and then the Warden had to ruin my day. I would blow you all to atoms if I didn’t want to get paid!”

  “Master Vinitor, here is your promised item. I hope you use it wisely.” Taurean pulled the Chrono drive out of the pod and set it on the floor of the cargo hold.

  “That doesn’t look like what you brought out back on Earth. And what is that blasted Warden doing? Bringing the two ships back together? Doesn’t he know I keep my word? What are you up to?” Vinitor tilted his head to the side.

  “Well, yes. I must admit that we haven’t been completely honest with you.” Taurean reached down and flipped on the Chrono drive, which was the first step to allowing the device to be activated remotely.

  “That device…it looks like a Chrono drive!” The bounty hunter pointed at it with his staff.

  “Well, that’s because it is,” Taurean quipped.

  “Guards, destroy this pathetic, lying creature before he gives me a headache.” Vinitor stepped out of the way.

  The guards took aim, but, at that moment, Darbian alerted Taurean that Vinitor’s ships were now close enough to each other for the time dilation field to work.

  “Go now, Master Darbian. No time to waste,” Taurean spoke into his communicator.

  “Fast Gregorical! Out of here! Now!” Darbian’s voice cracked.

  Taurean activated the time dilation field.

  Gregorical shot upwards and away from the two ships.

  The Chrono drive lit up and a wall of energy emanated from it in all directions. First Taurean froze in his tracks and then everyone else in the cargo hold. The bubble spread quickly.

  Gregorical escaped by the plasma burning off from his engines as the wave of energy captured the other ship. Now both halves of the command ship were frozen in a pocket of time.

  It trapped Taurean aboard and now he faced death from Vinitor’s guards, but Darbian had the time he needed.

  “Sir, the time dilation field has ceased expanding. We are clear of its effects,” Gregorical said.

  Darbian looked to the screen and saw the ships growing ever smaller in the distance. He stared at the sight. “Taurean, my friend, we return soon. I hope.”

  Chapter 7

  Gregorical flew away from the Belt of Orion. Within a few moments, the distance was so great that Vinitor’s frozen ships were no longer detected.

  “Gregorical, are your energy banks sufficiently charged for our next mission?” Darbian asked as he sat down and reclined in his chair.

  “Is the destination Base 401, sir?” Gregorical replied in a quiet tone.

  Darbian stared at the ceiling, his eyes fixed as though in a trance. “Yes, it’s the closet one to our current position.”

  “Energy is sufficient, but there is no guarantee we will reach our destination safely. Might I suggest looking for another planet and synthesizing a Chrono drive there?” Gregorical ran a list of planets up on the main screen for Darbian to view.

  Darbian folded his hands then broke one away to scratch his chin. “I like the idea, but we need to contact the other Wardein. The quickest way to do that is to get to the base. We have to risk the Galacto drive giving out. The odds of finding a planet nearby that will possess the technology to recreate a Chrono drive aren’t high. That’s why I was assigned to this sector after all…because the civilizations weren’t that advanced.”

  Hannelore squirmed. “I don’t understand, Darbian. Are you saying they gave you a low spot on the totem pole?”

  “No, it’s not like that. My scores in training were never that high. I was good enough to become a Warden, but they gave me a district they thought would be easier to handle. Little did they know what trouble I could get myself into.” Darbian leaned up and stared through the children as though they weren't there.

  “Are you okay, Darbian?” Micah noticed the look on Darbian’s face and he needed Darbian to be confident.

  “I left Taurean behind. He was willing to do it for our sakes, but I’m not sure I can bring him back,” Darbian said.

  Micah scowled. “What do you mean? Earlier, you both sounded like it wasn’t that hard of a problem to fix.”

  Darbian sighed. “The time dilation field is easy to break with the right resources, sure. But…”

  “But what?” Micah spat out.

  “Something’s wrong. Gregorical knows it. Taurean suspected it.” Darbian opened his mouth as if to speak again, but no words came out.

  “What are you talking about?” Hannelore folded her arms.

  Darbian turned his back. “The Wardein should've responded by now. It's unusual that at least one of them wouldn’t answer us. Highly unusual!”

  “Maybe they’re busy,” Micah said.

  “Do you know how I found you earlier today? Why I showed up on that planet even though no one there even can travel the stars? How did I know that you needed me?” Darbian rubbed his eyes.

  Hannelore and Micah looked at each other.

  “How?” said Micah.

  “Because someone called for my help. I don’t know who it was or how they did it, but someone from Earth alerted us to what was happening.” Darbian said. “And so…”

  Micah grew more confused by the minute.

  Hannelore sat back down.

  “I came. I showed up because that’s what Wardein do. We respond when someone needs us, no questions asked,” Darbian said.

  “So why didn’t the others come?” Micah sunk in his chair.

  “Exactly,” responded Darbian.

  Hannelore shrugged her shoulders. “So what do we do?”

  Darbian got up and walked to the main control panel. He bent over it and then turned back to the children. “I’m not sure you should place your trust in me.”

  “Sir, now is not the time to second guess ourselves. Taurean is depending upon us. The hostages are depending upon us. The children are depending upon you,” Gregorical said.

  “Under different circumstances, I might just detour to another planet and see if we couldn’t manufacture another Chrono drive.” Darbian grimaced. “But I can’t shake the feeling we have a bigger problem on our hands. We need to get to Base 401 as soon as possible.”

  “Children, you need to secure yourselves in a seat,” Gregorical said.

  Darbian strapped himself in. “Gregorical, set a course for Base 401.”

  “So I take it this will be bumpy?” Hannelore smiled. “I’ve always been a big fan of roller coasters.”

  “Assuming we don’t get stranded in space, yeah, it will be a lot like that,” Darbian responded.

  Micah’s eyes got big.

  Gregorical activated the Galacto drive and pointed the ship in the right direction to traverse the 42 million light years to Base 401. The engines on Gregorical’s stern section lit up and brightened the dark space around them. They fired and the ship was off.

  To reach the base in a timely manner, the Galacto drive would have to operate at full capacity. It would surely burn out if it maintained high speeds for more than a few minutes, but those very minutes were precious.

  Gregorical rattled as the engines became unstable. “Sir, we have a problem. I don’t think we can hold this speed for long. The trip shou
ld take approximately seven minutes and I think we have five at the most.”

  “Hold it together old friend.” Darbian said as he gripped the control panel. “If need be, turn off other functions to protect the engines.”

  Gregorical flew not just rapidly but recklessly. It was impossible to travel from the Belt of Orion to Base 401 in a straight line and so Gregorical made course adjustments every fraction of a second to avoid hitting stars, planets, and nebulas alike. The ship shifted directions faster that the human mind could comprehend. Up, down, sideways, and straight.

  “I must disable the gravity field,” Gregorical said. "The energy is needed elsewhere."

  Darbian nodded.

  Micah held his breath.

  Hannelore smiled.

  “Go ahead!” shouted Darbian.

  The gravity field turned off and a sense of weightlessness came over every passenger. They floated in their seats and fell back down again. No roller coaster on Earth could deliver such sensations.

  “I’m going to throw up,” Micah said. He placed both hands over his mouth.

  “This is incredible!” screamed Hannelore.

  Gregorical twisted, turned, and spun his way into deep space, far beyond the realm of any nearby galaxy. Most of the trip was complete now and a small object hung in space before them, reflecting the light of a million distant galaxies.

  The engines were rocking back and forth within the hull of the ship.

  An alarm sounded and echoed an ear-piercing high-pitched tone. “Hull compromised. Hull compromised. Ship is in danger of disintegrating. Ship is in danger of disintegrating,” sounded the voice of an automated alert program rather than Gregorical himself.

  “Darbian, are we going to be okay?” shouted Hannelore

  “I hope so!” responded Darbian.

  “I need a bag!” shouted Micah.

  “Sir, the journey is almost complete. I’ll deactivate the engines immediately. The deceleration process, however, may be compromised by damage to the hull. It's unknown if we can slow down before ramming the base,” Gregorical said.

  “Why didn’t you think of that before? I thought you were supposed to be a brilliant super computer?” Darbian was exhausted with the bumpy trip and unusually sarcastic.

  “Sir, you didn’t ask,” responded Gregorical.

  Darbian tried grabbing a hold of the circular panel in front of him. “Can you decelerate Gregorical?”

  “Making an attempt now, sir,” Gregorical said.

  “Why don’t you set a course to orbit the base until you can slow down Gregorical? That way, we don’t head straight for it,” Micah said despite his impending vomit.

  “That’s…that’s brilliant young man.” Darbian tried to alter the settings on the reverse thrusters, the devices used to slow down the craft when the Galacto drive was in use. “Gregorical, change your course so that we assume an orbit.”

  Gregorical decelerated himself as best as he could manage and entered an orbit of the base, albeit a dangerously quick orbit.

  “You can turn the gravity field back on. We need to get to the communicators,” Darbian said while gripping the panel with every ounce of his strength.

  They heard an energy fluctuation.

  “Absolutely sir. Gravity field reestablished,” Gregorical said.

  Darbian and the children plopped down into their chairs.

  “Oh, thank goodness,” exclaimed Micah.

  “Can we do that again on the trip back, Darbian?” Hannelore was giddy.

  “My dear, with any luck, I’ll never have to do that again for the rest of my life,” responded Darbian as he walked to the communicator. “This is Warden Darbian of the 401st Sector. We require assistance from any Warden present. As you may see, we’re in orbit of the station. We’re unable to slow down and dock, however. We require immediate aid.”

  There was no response from the base.

  “Where could they be?” Darbian’s swallowed his heart.

  Gregorical replied. “Sir, I detect no other ships in the area.”

  Hannelore pouted. "Is that weird?"

  "Very," said Gregorical.

  “Children, I’m afraid we'll have to enter the station from the outside,” Darbian said as he hung his head.

  “What do you mean?” Micah asked as he forced himself up from his sickness-induced stupor.

  “We'll have to put on spacesuits and take a spacewalk to the base. It’s the only way we will get aboard and figure out what’s going on.” Darbian walked to the teleportation room. “Follow me, children.”

  Micah moaned. “Spacesuits? Spacewalking? I’ve had enough roller coasters for the day. When is this going to end?”

  “Oh, come on, you dork. This is the adventure of a lifetime. How can you be so scared of it?” Hannelore leapt to follow Darbian.

  “It’s not that I’m scared. I never said I was scared. I just appreciate walking on the ground in a whole new way after today.” Micah followed although a bit more slowly.

  Darbian stopped walked and pursed his lips. “Gregorical, do you think we have any spacesuits that would fit the children?”

  “Yes, I believe so. There are a few made for the standard Armankouri size. These should fit the children albeit loosely.” Gregorical opened one of his closets to reveal the suits.

  “Okay children. Put them on. We need to get going. We’ll be ready to teleport in a moment. I have to make sure we appear far enough away from the ship so we don’t get caught in its gravity.” Darbian put on his spacesuit.

  Micah put his suit on, but stopped. “I don’t understand. If we’re using the teleporter then why can’t we just teleport aboard the base?”

  “It doesn’t work like that. The teleporter only works to get us on or off the ship. It can’t teleport us through other objects which means other ships or stations.” Darbian put his helmet on. “Time is wasting.”

  “What if Hannelore and I just stay here? Do you really need us out there? Isn’t it kind of dangerous to be flying through open space like that?” Micah stood with his helmet in hand.

  Darbian turned back around. “It would be better if you came with me. If you stay aboard Gregorical, then I won’t be able to come back and get you. Spacewalking to a stationary object is one thing, catching up with a ship that’s flying near the speed of light is just not possible.”

  “Yeah, but staying with Gregorical wouldn’t be bad. We’re safe here,” replied Micah.

  Darbian raised his eyebrow. “Normally, I wouldn’t mind leaving you with Gregorical, but he needs repair. If the tractor beam aboard the station doesn’t work, then you could be stranded out here for some time. There’s nothing to worry about. Once you’re aboard the station, you’ll be safe.”

  Micah shuffled his feet. “Yeah, but isn’t there debris floating through space and all that? What if we get hit?”

  “Boy, what are you afraid of?” Darbian said.

  “Your dad, right?” Hannelore said.

  Micah tensed up. “Maybe I am afraid. What’s so bad about that?”

  “What about your dad?” Darbian said.

  Hannelore looked to the floor.

  Micah gulped. “My dad died in space. I saw it happen. I don’t want us to end up like that.”

  Darbian walked over and stooped down to Micah’s eye level. “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”

  “His ship blew up,” Micah responded.

  “Nothing will happen to us Micah. Out here, there is no debris. I promise you I won’t put you in any danger. I’m here to protect you and Hannelore and I always will be.” Darbian put his hand on Micah’s shoulder.

  “That’s what my dad said. He said he would always be there.” Tears streamed down from Micah’s eyes. “Then he wasn’t.”

  Darbian’s eyes were watery. “Micah, I didn’t know your dad, but I know you. You’re brave and so I think your dad must have been brave too.”

  “He was,” said Micah.

  “What happened to your dad was terrible and
sometimes bad things happen, but don’t let that stop you from moving forward. You have a big life ahead of you and there will be lots of challenges ahead. And it’s ok to be afraid sometimes, but don’t let that keep you from living.” Darbian took his finger and pointed to Micah’s heart. “The world needs Micah. Don’t shrink back from it.”

  “You’re going to protect us?” Micah bit his lower lip.

  “With my life,” replied Darbian.

  Micah put his helmet on and snapped it closed.

  Darbian nodded.

  “Are you prepared to teleport, sir?” Gregorical asked.

  Darbian attached himself to the both of the children with a tether. “Ready to go.”

  Gregorical operated the teleporter and placed them halfway between the station and the ship.

  Darbian’s suit was equipped with a thruster that would help the three navigate the gap between where they began and the airlock to the station. He fired the thruster, and the three were off.

  Suddenly, the tether attached to Hannelore broke, and she drifted away from the others.

  “Guys, guys, help me!” Hannelore cried.

  “Micah, hold on. If we don't get her back now then she may drift beyond our reach,” Darbian said.

  Micah turned around to look for Hannelore. “Get Gregorical to teleport her back aboard!”

  “Something I didn’t tell you. He’s only programmed to lock onto my signal. Anyone teleporting with me must be nearby in order for him to lock on. We must get close to her!” Darbian slammed his thumb on the button that activated the thruster.

  Hannelore drifted faster and faster away

  “Guys!” cried Hannelore. “Hurry! It feels like something is pulling me away!”

  Chapter 8

  Hannelore sped up as she drifted further and further away from Darbian and Micah. The night was black, and she was disappearing into the darkness.

  Darbian pounded on the control for the thrusters, but they weren’t reducing the distance.

  “Hannelore, can you hear us?” Micah shouted into his helmet.

  “Yes, but I can barely see you. Aren’t you coming for me?” Hannelore cried.