The Accidental Astronaut

by Matthew K Wyers

  “Yes, and I believe our plan will work. All we need now is for someone to activate it manually,” said Gregorical.

  “Mom, you have to do it,” said Micah.

  “What? Why me?” Elizabeth said as she rubbed her shoulder.

  “I have to leave, Mom. Someone has to be here to use the Convergence. It can’t be me. Hannelore’s dad is too upset to even think straight right now. It can’t be him either. It has to be you." Micah paused. "You can save the world!”

  “Mrs. Alfero, all you must do is push the blue button on the side. That will activate the commands that have already been programmed in,” said Gregorical.

  “I can’t let you leave again, Micah. I just got you back.” Elizabeth said.

  “Mom, I'll be okay. Darbian is going to train me to be a Warden. I’m going to help people. I’m going to be an astronaut…sort of,” said Micah.

  “No, you’re too young to decide that for yourself. You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into,” Elizabeth replied.

  “Mom, please. I’ve got a chance to do something special…to be something special. Please don’t try to stop me.” Micah shed a tear.

  “You’re already someone special to me,” said Elizabeth.

  Micah shifted from one foot to the other. “I know, but…"

  Elizabeth winced. "But what?"

  "I always wanted to be like Dad. There's more to life than being safe." Micah clenched his jaw. "Mom, whenever people looked at Dad, they saw him doing something meaningful. Now, I've got that chance.”

  It had been since before the explosion that Micah had shown any desire to do much of anything. Something in him had been rekindled. He had returned from his slumber and was ready to take on the world again.

  “Micah, I love you. I pray God will take care of you some way, somehow.” Elizabeth cried.

  “So you’ll do it?” said Micah as a smile beamed from his face.

  “Yes, I’ll do it. I’ll do whatever the voice…ship thingy is telling me to do,” Elizabeth said.

  “Actually, my name is Gregorical,” he replied.

  “Frankly, I don’t care, spaceship. I want you to take care of my boy.” Elizabeth said.

  “Yes, ma’am,” replied Gregorical.

  Darbian and Aculpus had been pummeling each other for several minutes.

  Aculpus finally gained the upper hand, threw a weakened Darbian to the ground and pounced on him. “Give in, Darbian.”

  “I would rather die first,” replied Darbian.

  “You’ll receive that wish sooner than later.” Aculpus beat Darbian in the face repeatedly. He beat him until Darbian fell unconscious.

  Aculpus Atronis had won the fight.

  After a few minutes, Darbian slowly woke up. “What happened?”

  “You lost, Darbian,” said Aculpus. “It was certain I would beat you. You weren’t even a worthy opponent. I suppose I didn’t train you all that well after all.”

  “I didn’t lose,” Darbian said.

  “Oh you most certainly did. Try lifting your head if you don’t believe me,” said Aculpus.

  Darbian tried lifting his head, and he was so woozy when doing so he fell back to the ground.

  “You’re honor bound to give me what I want. You’re duty bound. Do you admit this?” Aculpus said.

  “Yes, I admit it,” replied Darbian.

  “Good,” said Aculpus. “I want you to give me the Convergence. I know you have it. I overheard you and the humans talking about it earlier as I laid outside the ship.”

  “Absolutely not,” replied Darbian.

  “You’re honor bound!” cried Aculpus. “Do it and I’ll spare your life.”

  “Why would you want it? You’ve already used it once, right? You rigged it to work as a Time Bomb and then you detonated it, didn’t you?” Darbian said.

  “You think you have it figured out, do you? How I was able to make the Wardein disappear, to throw them into a state of nonexistence?” Aculpus laughed.

  “That’s how you did it, wasn’t it? Tell me,” Darbian said.

  “I won’t tell you anything. You, however, are duty bound to give me what I want. Now do as you’re told!” Aculpus screamed.

  Darbian shifted his leg out from under himself. “What if I promise to trade you something better if you tell me how you made the Wardein disappear? If you did such a good job getting rid of them, then you should have no problem telling me. After all, there’s no way I could bring them back, is there?”

  “There is nothing better than to control time and space itself. No promises, no more games. You have no right to trade anything. You’re bound to give me the Convergence. Now, you’ll give it to me or I’ll kill your other friends and take it myself,” Aculpus said.

  “Doesn’t it bother you knowing you can’t brag about what you’ve done…how you did it? It looks like Halinkoy will take all the credit for getting rid of the Wardein. Looks like you were just a pawn in his plan,” Darbian said.

  “Shut up, you piece of filth,” Aculpus responded. “I was the one who destroyed the Convergence to create the Time Bomb effect. No one can ever take that away from me,” he fumed.

  Darbian tipped up his chin towards his opponent. “But it was Halinkoy’s idea, wasn’t it? That’s what it’s all about, isn’t it? Halinkoy said I was the weakest Warden, and that you were the strongest. So tell me how the strongest Warden was reduced to a henchman in this whole mess?”

  Aculpus growled.

  Darbian lifted himself up slightly. “Tell me how the big, bad Aculpus Atronis went from a great hero to a miserable lackey.”

  Aculpus took a few steps closer to Darbian. “Everyone knows now I was the greatest among the Wardein…the most formidable, the most cunning. I defeated them all with a push of a button. That will never be forgotten.”

  “Everybody already thought you were the greatest. They already knew you were our finest warrior,” Darbian said. “But all that time you didn’t understand that true significance doesn’t come from war. You thought a warrior’s value was in destroying. So instead of offering peace, you sought to conquer. I don’t buy all this nonsense of a better order and a universe without conflict. No, you don’t believe any of that. You did it for yourself, plain and simple. You killed to make yourself feel powerful. You wanted to feel important. All you did was prove you’re just a tool in the hands of a madman. That’s the thing that people will never forget.”

  Aculpus paced around Darbian and pointed at him.. “You’ll give me what I want now or I’ll take it. Order Gregorical to bring it to me and everyone lives. I’ve already warned you. If you want that other child to live, then you’ll give me what I want.”

  “Are you so cold now?” Darbian shut his eyes for a moment.

  “I’ve done it before, Darbian. I tried to do it earlier, in fact, and may yet be successful,” replied Aculpus.

  “You’re truly lost then. How could a Warden betray his brothers? How could a Warden hurt innocent people? How could a Warden kill a defenseless child? What did you fight for all those years? Why did you dedicate your life to justice? Surely, there must have been something inside you that desired to do good. You risked your life on many occasions to save so many. What happened to you?” Darbian rolled over on his shoulder.

  Aculpus spoke so calmly. “Are you going to give me the Convergence or am I going to have to take it from the child’s lifeless hands?”

  Darbian lifted his communicator up. “Gregorical, I have bad news. I’ve been defeated by Aculpus. He wants me to give him the Convergence. He’s threatening to kill Micah unless I make good on my oath to follow the Rites of Morolith.”

  “You claim to have honor, Darbian. Follow through with it or be a grand hypocrite like me,” said Aculpus.

  “Like you, eh?” replied Darbian.

  “Yes, and the last thing you want is to be like me, isn’t it? What do you say?” Aculpus grinned.

  “No,” said Darbian. “The rules aren’t always what they’re cr
acked up to be.”

  “No?” replied Aculpus. “You can’t say no. You’re duty bound!”

  “Duty to whom, Aculpus? You got rid of the Wardein. Who will enforce my oath to the Rites of Morolith? No one,” said Darbian.

  “I’ll enforce the Rites. I’ll take the Convergence anyway and punish you by killing the child,” said Aculpus.

  Darbian scoffed. “I know something you don’t, Aculpus,” He sat up.

  “What’s that?” replied Aculpus

  “I know the future. Micah has a great destiny in store. He must be tested. You won’t be able to kill him,” said Darbian.

  “No one knows the future Darbian. Are you really that foolish? The only thing that matters is power. That’s how you craft destiny,” replied Aculpus.

  “I don’t believe that.” Darbian wiped his eyes. “There are things happening here than neither you nor I understand. Some things aren’t written in stone, some things are.”

  “You’re a babbling fool,” replied Aculpus.

  “Besides, Micah is aboard Gregorical now.” Darbian grimaced and grabbed his head. “You really think you'll defeat Gregorical?”

  “Gregorical is a fine machine. In fact, I was a little jealous when he was issued to you. I never thought you deserved him. But he’s just a machine. He can be reprogrammed.” Aculpus turned and walked away.

  Darbian lifted his communicator to his mouth and murmured. “Gregorical, close up your bay, protect everyone inside, but I need you to take off right now. They must deploy the Convergence without me. Furthermore, my old friend, I need you to destroy both Aculpus and I. I’m going to lunge at him and keep him occupied. You finish the job!”

  Gregorical took off as Darbian ordered. “Sir, you can’t be serious.”

  “I’m very serious,” replied Darbian. “Aculpus will flee to his ship and take off after you. There's no other way to stop him except for you to kill us both while I distract him.”

  Aculpus was already several meters away by now.

  Darbian gasped for air. “No more time.” He stood up, ran gingerly, and tackled Aculpus from behind. “Do it now!”

  Chapter 20

  Gregorical took a firing posture in the sky

  “Do it now, Gregorical! No time to argue!” Darbian said as he wrestled Aculpus to the ground.

  Just then, Vinitor’s command ship entered the atmosphere above the city.

  “Sir,” said Gregorical. “Vinitor’s ship has arrived.”

  “Vinitor?” Darbian screamed. “That’s the last thing we need right now. How in the world did he break free of the time dilation field?”

  Vinitor’s ship hurtled toward the Earth’s surface.

  A message was sent back to Gregorical from the mammoth invader in the sky. “This is Taurean of the Armankouri calling Master Darbian.”

  Gregorical piped the message through Darbian's communicator.

  “Is that who I think it is?” replied Darbian.

  “I believe so,” Gregorical replied.

  “Do you need any assistance, Master Darbian?” Taurean said.

  “I need you to bring that ship under control before it crashes into the Earth!” Darbian grumbled as he struggled with Aculpus.

  Aculpus broke free and struck Darbian in the face.

  Darbian hit the ground with a thud.

  Aculpus wasted no time. He ran for his ship.

  “Taurean, you have a tractor beam aboard that ship, don’t you? Use it to capture the other ship in the vicinity?” Darbian said.

  “My pleasure, Master Darbian. I've already mastered most of the ship’s functions. I’m still a bit shaky on piloting, however,” Taurean replied.

  As Aculpus took off, a tractor beam grabbed his ship out of mid-air and brought it into Vinitor’s docking bay.

  The trouble was that Taurean was having great difficulty slowing down Vinitor’s ship. He wasn’t used to piloting such a massive craft, and he was surprised by how the ship’s gravity interacted with that of Earth.

  “Taurean, please slow that ship down before you crash into the city. That'll cause massive destruction,” Darbian said.

  “Yes, Master Darbian, I’m trying,” Taurean replied.

  “There should be an emergency stop function, Taurean. Use it now before you hit the city,” Darbian said.

  Vinitor’s ship was heading toward Garden City at an alarming rate. Within a few seconds, it would crash into the city if it wasn’t stopped in its tracks.

  “Taurean, now!” Darbian yelled.

  Taurean scrambled around the bridge and finally found what was akin to an emergency brake. He pulled the lever with all his strength and it barely moved. “Sir, we may have a problem.”

  Around the nose of the ship was a wall of fire. The tip was bright red as it barrelled through the atmosphere.

  The ship shook as it encroached ever closer to the city.

  Taurean was thrown off his feet. "Oh my."

  He landed upside down on the brake lever and as he grabbed it, the ship shifted again and it threw his entire weight against the brake.

  The lever slid into proper position and locked into place.

  The reverse engines thrusted at full power with such a glow that it appeared to be another sun in the sky.

  With only a few feet to spare, the ship stopped before it would have struck Garden City’s tallest building. Like a missile aimed for the city, the ship protruded from the skyline. There it hovered in the air.

  Darbian looked up at the odd placement of the ship. “I suppose that’ll do.”

  Taurean rubbed his shoulder. “Darbian, is everything alright down there?”

  “Yes, whatever you did, you did it just in time,” replied Darbian.

  Taurean laid on the floor of the bridge. “I suppose I can make an entrance, no?”

  “Gregorical, come pick me up. I need to speak with the traitor,” said Darbian.

  Gregorical did as he was asked.

  “I need to speak to Taurean too. How in the world did he get out of that time dilation field?” Darbian limped his way up to Gregorical.

  Gregorical flew back up to Vinitor’s ship and entered through the cargo bay.

  Taurean greeted them there.

  “Taurean, my friend, I’ve never been so glad to see an Armankouri in my life,” Darbian said.

  “Oh Darbian, you kidder. As if you’ve ever had a negative encounter with an Armankouri,” Taurean replied.

  Darbian was bruised and bloodied. He walked gingerly towards Taurean. “How did you escape the time dilation field?”

  “It’s funny you should ask. Long before I left Armankour, my ailing father told me I would meet a Warden, that I would aid him, but that I would be trapped in a time dilation field. Using his clout with the security force, he was able to procure for me an experimental device that counteracted such phenomena. Darbian, that’s why I insisted that I be the one to activate the Chrono drive inside Vinitor’s ship. I knew I had a chance of withstanding the effects of the time dilation field. And I did,” Taurean laughed.

  “Your father is Bau Gerean?” Darbian said.

  “Yes, Master Darbian, and I've heard all about your little adventure together. And yes, I even heard you’ve had a few negative encounters with the Armankouri,” Taurean said, smiling.

  “What did you do with Vinitor? The human hostages?” Darbian said.

  “Oh yes, that was simple. I tied up Vinitor and his guards. It took a while, but after a few days I dragged them all into place. Once I moved them into the prison ward, I released the humans. They traded places if you will. In fact, the humans are in one of the cargo bays camping out. There were a few children in there, and if I didn’t know better, I would think they were having fun aboard a stolen spaceship,” Taurean shrugged.

  Darbian hugged him.

  “Oh, I’m very glad to see you too, Darbian,” Taurean said.

  “Hannelore has been hurt. She might die,” Darbian said.

  “What?” exclaimed Taurean.r />
  Aculpus shot her with a laser rifle.

  “That fiend,” said Taurean.

  “I want to talk to him now. What bay did you pull his ship into?” Darbian said.

  “It’s in the detention bay and still surrounded by the tractor beam. That villain is a captive audience for now,” Taurean said.

  “Let’s go,” Darbian side-stepped Taurean and headed for Aculpus.

  “I want to go too,” said Micah. “I want to see him and tell him I’ll make sure he pays for what he’s done to Hannelore.”

  “Micah, come if you wish, but there will be no vengeance. Revenge is a terrible master. Justice is the way. Aculpus will be punished for what he’s done, but it will be according to the law,” Darbian said.

  “I guess you’re the boss,” said Micah.

  Darbian, Taurean, and Micah walked through the corridors to the detention bay where Aculpus’ ship was being held.

  There was a visible but transparent shielding around the craft.

  Micah knocked on it to see if it would hurt, and it shocked him.

  “Don’t do that, my boy,” Taurean said.

  “Aculpus! I need a word with you,” yelled Darbian.

  Aculpus walked out of his hatch and stood on top of his ship.

  “I assume you’ve already tried to blast your way out of the tractor beam,” Darbian said

  “You’re correct, and I’m now your prisoner. What a turn of events, eh?” Aculpus said.

  “How did you get the Convergence in the first place? How did you rig it to become a Time Bomb?” Darbian got right to the point.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” replied Aculpus.

  “Stop playing games with me. Your days of sabotage are over. You’re imprisoned now and you’ll be brought to justice,” Darbian responded.

  “I’ll not face justice,” Aculpus said. “Soon Halinkoy will be here to destroy this planet and he’ll take me with him.”

  “No shock there. Halinkoy himself told me he was coming, but we have a way to defeat him,” said Darbian.

  “A lot has happened since I’ve been gone, I see,” said Taurean.

  “Defeat Halinkoy?” Aculpus laughed. “You’re out of your mind. Perhaps I beat you too harshly.”