Sci Fi & Fantasy / Starclaw (Analysis)
Written by
Eric Gonzales
MaxPower1272@yahoo.com
STAR CLAW
THE SPIRITS OF ZHYM
On the edge of the galaxy, he found her, when she needed him most.
by Eric Gonzales
Prelude: Zhym observes your memories.
“What was that?” a corporate soldier asked his patrol partner. They looked off into the distant arid landscape of desolate black volcanic rock and dirty blonde sand. There was an ominous absence of usual high winds on Kilgurith II.
“Beats the hell out of me rookie. When do Clover and Burke get on rotation? All this staring into nothing is making me hungry,” the other soldier said.
“I swear I heard something,” the soldier insisted as he looked over the guardrail into a canyon a hundred meters below. “And it wasn’t your stomach Glau.”
“DiMaggio, look, I know you’re new, but there’s nothing out there okay? It’s just your think tank dimming. It used to happen to me all the time when I was a green horn, nothing more than paranoid delusions. Look, only about two hundred people in the galaxy even know about this installation. On star charts, this system don’t exist; it’s eighteen light years inside Federal Navy Restricted Space. The entire Third Fleet isn’t far away. We have state of the art security systems. All employee’s have security clearances. And then, the last possible line of defense is us.”
DiMaggio smirked, “two ex marines who get paid a couple dolls more than minimum wage to defend for what all we know is a really good toaster. Terrific. Sorry Glau, I should just kick back and read the paper.” He sat down next to him, pulled out his tach phone, plugged it into his shades and read the news. “Hey did you know Myrmidon is playing in Central Park? I’m originally from the Fringe Worlds, but Earth still puts out the best bands. I mean, I grew up listening to J-Star and Tav, but Myrmidon is still my favorite.”
“Myrmidon sounds like shit,” a woman’s voice said.
“Wha?” DiMaggio stood, snagging the shades from his head. There was a figure of a woman in a black suit with optical enhancement goggles standing in front of him. Before he could speak a sharp, piercing and horrific pain radiated from his abdomen. He fell to the ground, his stomach tensing with the discomfort of being sliced open. He moved his hand in front of his face, noticing it had been drenched in dark blood. His vision began to blur and fade as he saw the body of Glau lying lifeless next to him. His eyes looked up; his last dying glimpses were that of the intruder.
“This is Ivy, I’m in. South Canyon tower cleared, switching back to telepath communications.” She walked to the security consul, pulled out her trusty hunting knife and sliced the cover off the consul, revealing the proto-synthesis core. Her hand reached for the syringe on her belt. With one bite her teeth pulled the cap off. She spit it out and slammed the needle into the core, pushing the serum of malicious nanoids into the system. They latched into key components quickly and began taking over the system, replicated themselves in computers all over the facilities network.
“Thought link connected,” the computer on the Black Sail said from its orbit position, six hundred kilometers above her.
On the bridge of the Black Sail, the operator typed “Good work honey. I’m accessing the facility maps now and cycling the security cameras, automated detection systems disabled.” He turned to the captain, “All going to plan Ajax.”
“Excellent. Keep the extraction teams hot and ready,” he said to his first mate.
“Thirty meters northwest to exhaust access seven, down fifty meters to first junction, find the primary ventilation system and you’ll be right above the hangars. Once you’re below, we’ll lose signal contact. I love you,” he sent to her.
“I’ll see you in an hour; hopefully this thing is as fast as rumors say. Ivy out.”
#
Cascading out of a stainless metal shower, streams of steamy water fall over the body of a brown-skinned woman. The fresh awakening drives the troubles of the previous day away, hoping that a better tomorrow will come. She runs her hands through her long black hair, letting the shampoo fall to the checkered tile below.
The humming of the utility conduit fills the silent space after the water trickles to a stop. Before the warm steam fades, she wraps a maroon towel around her body. The brown eyes turn to the mirror as the reflection of a shapely yet tired body stares back at her. The computer analyzes it for signs of sleep deprivation, cancerous anomalies and malnutrition. For the most part, she checks out, ninety-percent health.
With a smile to the mirror, the woman sees a faint image of the youthful teenager she once was. She tries different poses, putting her hair in a ponytail, wondering how to return to that state. Then her eyes are reminded by faint stretch marks near her stomach. She is no longer a youthful teenager, she is grown up and a little life now depends on her. The bullet scar on her arm reminds her the past is real.
The woman heads back into the bedroom, walking to the bulky blast cover on the far wall of her room. Her fingers touch the green button near its side. With a hydraulic motion, the cover raises letting in a bright orange light that fills the studio apartment. She looks some four hundred kilometers below, seeing the milky surface of a red, orange, and pink planet. In the expanse, there is a large star field, shining and twinkling with strong intensity. Her eyes are captured by a moving transport that fills the view, heading down to the planet side mining facility. Powerful fusion thrusters’ glare as the ship flees from sight.
She looks to the back wall of her apartment, where she sleeps. Her reason for living, lies dreaming of places far from here. Sitting beside her, she runs her fingers across her back. Her hands then reach across the small bed, grabbing a red cotton collar t-shirt that reads “Thatcher Station Staff.” She pulls it over her head and stands next to the bed stand. Her jeans feel frozen as she zips them up and tucks her ID and monetary card into her back pocket.
After all of her morning items are in order she kneels down in front of a white cross on her dresser, “Please keep my sleeping baby safe Lord, please let me return to her in safety. Forgive me of all I have committed against you. Amen.”
There is a knock on the door; the woman walks quickly to it, stopping first to examine who was at the security camera. “Thanks for watching her,” she says opening the door. “I’ll be back around six. There’s stuff to eat in the fridge and movies on my data-drive. Just make sure that she eats and no sugar.”
“No problem at all,” the man says.
She walks over to the child one last time, kissing her forehead, “Be safe Alexx.”
#
“Where is she you scrawny shit?” a tall and wide man with a cybernetic power-arm said as he slammed a skinny human against the metal wall in an alley. The cold metal grip pinned the helpless man. Under auburn skies a gust of wind whistled violently through their hair. Ticon Deroga, there were better places to die.
“I told you Ajax, she’s not my wife anymore, she’s gone, okay, I don’t know where she is. She’s out of the code, does your cybernetic head get that?” he looked up into the pirate’s red robotic eye. “She’s out of the code, she could be anywhere.”
“I’ll crush every bone in your body until you tell us where you hid the Star Claw, Kalen.” Ajax added a backhand, “You worthless dog.”
“I’ll tell you again and again that I don’t know.” Kalen looked up at the monster of a man and wiped the blood from his lip. “She took it, not me.”
“You’ll dare to make me cross the entire galaxy searching for some wench?”
“I’m saying that’s your only option. Just forget about it, she’s gone.”
Ajax narrowed his eyes. “My Glitch thinks otherwise. He tells me of the things you hide for yourself. Surprising greed, even for you Kalen.” Ajax said. Kalen’s eyes opened widely. The other men surrounding the two began to laugh and smile.
“How did you get a Glitch? That’s impossible. You’re bluffing.”
“Who’s the one bluffing Earthborn? Gio, please reveal yourself.” Ajax commanded.
The small and slim leathery-skinned Garian appeared from thin air, standing near Ajax. Garian’s had a nasty tendency to be everywhere and nowhere at once. Gio’s large black seed-shape eyes looked deep into Kalen’s soul. His thoughts and memories were stolen from him. Gio’s face was expressionless as he turned away, cloaking himself again.
“You bastard! No, please, not her, leave them alone!”
“I see Gio has shared our plan with you,” Ajax smiled. “You should be careful whom you call bastard; I wouldn’t want any misfortune to come across your fatherless family.” Ajax pointed a pistol at Kalen’s head.
“No please, please!”
“Any last words traitor?”
“Please just don’t hurt her. Please.”
“I’m not making any promises.” Ajax pulled the trigger. A flash and bang sprayed a splatter of dark blood over his chrome-polished fist.
#
Chapter I: Thatcher Station, Chrycian Prime Orbit
A feeling of great piercing amputation spreads through the collective body. This infection brings pain. How can the task be completed if its efforts are constantly torn away? Frustration follows the pain. Maybe the infection will respond to fear?
The ginger Chyrcian star rises on the surface of its prime planet. The mining facility is blasted by strong winds, leaving red and purple dust everywhere. The mineral rich planet on the edge of Federal Space is mined around the clock. Transports haul her precious ore up to the station above that serves as a processing center, ore transfer station and an outpost for wayward travelers.
The perfect place out on the fringes far away from the troubles and past of a complicated universe, somewhere hidden beneath the surface, the Star Claw waits, half-alive; its mysteries arose and speak to those who have inhabited the planet far longer than those who mine it.
She had freed it and even though her mind had been full of darkness. She needs light, it has decided not to flee and help her and those who will need her help.
#
“You’re beautiful Michelle,” the deep voice of an unshaven pilot sitting at the bar said with a smile as he took his glass of beer in hand. His days were long past and he was dangerously overweight.
“Thank you sweetie,” Michelle walked away and rolled her eyes.
All night long, men from different parts of the galaxy had been making comments like that to her. Every one just as sincere, all lonely from the bottoms of their hearts, looking for a quick fix like her to temporarily make their heart aches disappear.
She walked back into the kitchen. The white double sway doors closed behind her. “Orders up,” the large Kir’Shann cook placed two burger plates on the counter.
“Give me a sec Tyg. I need to catch my breath.” Michelle paused, resting her head against the wall, while her left hand massaged her neck.
“Only two more Earth hours until Reed arrives, your strength will hold.” He patted his large furry hand against her shoulder.
“I know Tygun; it’s been a long day.”
“Our efforts are not wasted; we have almost achieved our objective goal.” Michelle looked up to her tall friend and smiled.
“Almost,” she ran her hands through her long curly black hair and gripped the roots. “Sometimes I wake up in the middle of the night and ask myself why did I ever leave him, but then I see her sleeping there and I remember. We had it all Tygun. Everything. Endless money, our own ship, our own crew; the galaxy was ours to take. But none of that matters now, all of that could only harm her.”
“There is no honor among pirates. Your decision is honorable; the life of your daughter is all that should matter to you now. As long as you keep that focus, you will reach your rewards.”
“What rewards? Living day to day inside a tin can, far from anything she deserves. Because of me, the Federation is out of her reach. We’re stuck out here in corporate space starring at the life we could have had, if I didn’t smash the future.”
“There is an old saying amongst my people, Kynamith niath togoran, ‘each generation grows on the mercy sacrificed before it’. The hope of each generation depends on what the previous has given up for their sake.”
“Your right Tyg,” Michelle smiled, “even if this is tough, it is the little mercy she deserves. You’re the best friend any single mom could have, caring, cuddly, and cute. To bad you’re not human.” She looked up at his cat face.
“Too bad you’re not Kir’Shann.” Tygun looked down. “Your honor would be valued.”
“Another man will come along, there’s billions of them. I just need to wait for the right one, for me and for Alexx,” Michelle sighed. “I heard that a Marine transport is due to dock in a week. Marines are honorable, right?”
“Hard to say, amongst humans, honor holds many meanings. The patrons look as if they require your service,” Tygun pointed to the bar.
“Yeah, yeah, they’ll get their food.”
Michelle walked back out onto the floor of the restaurant. Her strong arms balanced meals in each hand as her feet carefully guided her to the tables where hungry, deep soil miners, pilots, and distant travelers waited.
“One Ackturian Melt for you and a Chrycian Special for you.” She handed down the shredded fish melt and the red sauced steak to a pair of eager miners back from the surface.
“Thank you much Michelle,” one of the miners smiled, fastening his napkin on his lap.
Michelle headed across the floor to where two other customers were still looking over their menu.
“What do you think?” the short skinny human asked his friend on the other side of the holo-menu he was perusing.
Michelle passed by their table, thinking she would probably have to help them order. Right away, she could tell they were not locals. Their accents were clearly North American, Earthborns. However, they were outfitted in miners’ pressure suits and covered in dust. Maybe they were mineral surveyors or corporate visitors. She knew that mineral surveyor’s usually camped planet side and executives usually brought their own yachts complete with chef and galley.
“I don’t know. The Nafer Burger looks kinda good,” the larger one said, “or the Juwaga Burrito.”
“I don’t know man; I’m so hungry I could eat it all.”
“With you on that.”
The skinny one rubbed his forehead, scratching his blonde haired scalp. “I think this dust is bad for your skin, I got rashes all over the place.”
“Charming,” the brown haired one scanned over his options. “Yeah, I think I’ll take a Juwaga Burrito.” He closed his holo-menu. “How long are we supposed to be on this rock?”
“Until we disprove all theories of the ‘Fire Monsters’ or confirm them.”
“Damn Fire Monsters,” he smiled. “Oh well, if that’s what the corporation wants to pay us for, then that’s what we’ll do.”
“Figure out what you want to eat yet?” Michelle stopped at their table, “how about our Chrycian Special?”
“Actually, I’ll take a Juwaga Burrito, extra hot sauce, and no pico de gayo,” the brown haired one replied. “That is, if you put that on burritos here.”
“No we don’t so I guess you don’t have to worry. What is it anyway?”
“It’s a Mexican sauce; I’m not a fan of it. For some god forsaken reason they like to put it on everything back home, I mean on Earth.”
“So you’re from Earth?” Michelle smiled, with the self-confirmation that she had been right.
“Yeah, we’re a little homeworld-ish, so excuse us if we seem, umm… shall I say sheltered.”
“Its okay, I’ve known a few people from Earth, I went there years back, been a while though.” Michelle eyes wandered away.
“Oh really, you a native citizen?” His eyebrow raised.
“No, actually, I’m an Eastern Government native, raised on Tau Prime though, then I’ve spent a lot of time in traveling about.”
“Good to travel. My opinion is that not enough Federals leave blue space and venture out. Most foreigners think us to be a bit on the ignorant side.” Brandon sighed and shook his head. “I suppose you’re fluent in French then?”
“A little, what’s your name?” Michelle asked.
“Brandon Welch, my friends’ just call me Brando though.”
“Oh, okay, well welcome to Thatcher Station, I’m Michelle.” She looked to the blond haired one who was still studying his menu.
“Nice to meet you, this is my co-worker, Mike Ponzo. We’re Xeno-Biologists, AOC Corp, Xeno-Research Division.”
“Hey,” Ponzo drew her attention. “I think I’m going to take two Nafer Burgers and a Chrycian Special.”
“You sure you want that much? It’s a lot of food,” Michelle glanced over his gaunt physique.
“Its nothing to me, really, I’m starving.”
“His stomach has the consuming power of a class five black hole.” Brandon said to her as he and Ponzo laughed. The joke wasn’t as funny to Michelle, but she smiled anyway.
“So what are you here to do?” Michelle asked them, “research dust mites or something?”
Brandon answered, “no, no, I guess there has been reports of some sort of fire creatures in the mine shafts of the Oliver Facility. Two weeks ago, a miner went missing. We’re here to investigate those claims on behalf of the miner’s safety.”
“Oh,” Michelle said. “So, you look for unknown species then?”
“Well, if it is an unknown species. Likely, the miners have encountered some sort of gaseous pocket, forwarding hallucinations of some kind or long tales have just gotten out of hand,” Brandon explained. “Fire monsters are a little far fetched, but we’re not supposed to rule it out; just make sure that it’s an impossible theory I guess.”
“There are monsters down there, lurking and waiting. They look like rocks and move without you noticing,” an old miner said from the table nearby, catching their attention. Michelle knew him, Old Ridge Hons. “There’s something strange in that soil.”
“Yes well, that’s what we’re here to investigate. I’m not saying your crazy sir.”
Brandon replied. He turned back to Michelle. “In the rare event that we would find any such ‘Fire Monsters,’ the entire mining operation would be put on ice by the Federal Interstellar Trade Commission and Federal investigators would step in. Not any good for anyone.”
“As long as it’s safe for the miners,” Michelle said.
“It will be.”
“I’ll get your orders in. You okay with drinks?”
“Another cola please,” Ponzo said.
“Me as well,” Brandon said.
Heading back to the kitchen, Michelle heard the entrance buzzer go off. Out of reaction she stopped at the side of the counter to grab two menus while shouting, “Be right with you!”
She turned around to hand them the menus when she noticed who it was. “Hello Michelle, everything going okay?” The tall blonde haired man greeted her, freezing her in her tracks with his handsome face.
“I’m… Yes everything is good. Hello Captain Davis,” she tried to smile normally. “Are you hungry?” That was a stupid question she thought to herself. Of course they were hungry.
“Umm…yeah, we’re going to get a little lunch. Where should we sit?”
“Anywhere you want,” she continued to smile, pointing to a table. “I have a table for four available over there.”
“Yeah, I guess that will do. Let’s go boys,” he said to the other security personnel with him. Their uniform’s read, “Thatcher Station Civilian Defense. Alpha Omega Corp. Corporate Security Division,” with ‘CSD’ in large bold letters.
“Know what you want?” Michelle asked.
“Not yet, but thanks anyway.” Davis pulled his digital tablet out of his pocket to look over his daily agenda, keeping his eyes downcast from Michelle.
“Well, just let me know when your ready,” Michelle said as she turned away and walked back into the kitchen. Michelle stopped at the corner peaking around to observe Officer Davis. “Look Tygun, it’s him!” Michelle pointed out, Captain Davis as he sat and looked over the menu with his security soldiers. Tygun walked up behind Michelle, to look around the corner as well.
“The tall one is human Davis? He is the CSD Captain?”
“Yes,” Michelle sighed.
“His defensive capability seems questionable,” Tygun surveyed his form: skinny and lanky.
“He is a good fighter, or, so I’ve heard,” Michelle said. “He’s smart too. And brave. Quick! Turn around! God, I think he saw us,” Michelle whipped back around, inadvertently elbowing Tygun in the stomach. “Are you okay Tig?”
“I am not damaged,” Tygun answer, his balance not phased.
#
It is frightened. The other infection retreated. This treatment proves successful, yet it will return. Its mind was pure, it did not wish to cause harm to life. It is not aware that it harms life. It is not aware of the consequences. Killing the infestation may still be the logical answer. The collective body cannot risk such reckless damage.
“Did you see it, the glowing fire in its eyes?” a miner asked his Gr’rak’kon companion, panting through his respirator. “I can’t believe its real!”
“You humans can be so narrow minded,” the Gr’rak’kon replied. The two made haste down a dark tunnel, dodging metal support beams that protruded out of the walls and trying not to trip on the power conduits lining the ground.
“Just hurry up, secure the airlock, come on, get moving,” he said. “We’ll report it to that research team thing that was posted on the bulletin.”
“It was like a spirit; I could see and feel it in my mind, yet my eyes told me it was not there. As if its presence could be felt with such reality that it appeared to be seen.”
“I know. What type of freakish thing can do that? Telepathic maybe?” the miner asked. “Or psionic?”
“You tell me, I’m just a poor uneducated non-human.”
“Did you remember to get the demolition survey charges?”
“Yes.”
“Good, I wouldn’t want to go back in there and get them.”
#
After saying goodbye to Tygun for the night, Michelle headed down the long main access corridor, which was also the commercial district for the station. All the shops were closed now and halls were empty. A few people dressed in heavy, dirty clothing passed her by, returning from mining shifts planet-side. The men turned their heads as they passed her by, ogling her with various gestures.
Michelle kept walking with a smile, knowing those weren’t the types of men she wanted to impress, but she loved the attention anyways.
The confides of an aged space station long overdue for retirement were never welcoming. Luckily, Michelle had been able to get into Block D. The best living quarters deck on station. Rusty titanium bulkheads, cold metal beams and clanking mesh flooring wasn’t exactly Michelle’s idea of a picture perfect world for her and her daughter. However, deep space architecture was what she had come to know most of her tired life. Living planet-side in a plush green neighborhood was far from reality now.
At least Michelle’s neighbors were Earthly. Small plants sat outside their doors with colorful ornaments under artificial lights.
The light overhead her door flickered. Her fingers punched in the access code, opening the door.
Stepping inside it was a little warmer that the hallways. Michelle closed the door behind her.
“Good morning Michelle,” a black haired man stood from the couch and walked up to her, rubbing his eyes.
“Thanks so much for watching her on short notice Ric.”
“No problem. Look, if you ever need a babysitter again, I’m here for you if I’m free.”
“Thanks.”
“We had fun, played some games, and watched some movies.”
“Thanks.”
“Yeah, well, have a good night,” Ric walked to the door.
“What’s your last name again Ric? Go-”
“No,” Ric smiled, “Anklam.”
“Oh, I thought it might have been something else.”
“Oh, no, its Anklam. Yours? I can never remember last names.”
“Roberts.”
“Roberts, from Earth?”
“Originally, haven’t been there since I was a girl though. I really want to go back someday. I’ve traveled all the galaxy and it’s the only place that doesn’t make me feel sad, empty, or lost. Guess that’s why they call it your home world huh?”
“Yeah, me too. Women like you aren’t too common out here. Deep space mining stations aren’t real hotspots anyway. I’ve only been here three weeks and you’re the nicest person I’ve met. Everyone else is grouchy or reclusive. If I pick up that cruise pilot spot for Paradise Horizon Liners, I’m out of here. Nothing like touring the civilized galaxy on a Luxury Liner Vessel. How’d you end up out here anyways?”
“It’s a long story,” Michelle leaned against the wall. She remembered that her past experience on LLVs were usually pretty violent. “You ever had to hide from something?”
“Yeah, who hasn’t?”
“My past Ric, its complicated. I’m out here, trying to forget about it, for me and Alexx. I have one last card up my sleeve though. It’s a secret.”
“What is it?”
“A gift, a gift to start a new life once its safe.”
“Like a treasure or something?”
“Yeah, it’s its own little fortune. Its down there somewhere waiting for me and Alexx.”
“On the surface?”
Michelle smiled. “Don’t you have to get to work soon?”
“Oh yeah, almost forgot. I’ll see you later.”
“Goodnight Ric.”
#
Speeding across the fiery, volcanic surface of Chrycian, Prime, a long narrow spacecraft burns its engines toward Thatcher Station, a mere spec of light in the distance. It heads from the mining facility below, hauling nearly two thousand tons of mineral cargo to the processing smelter in Thatcher Station. At its aft there is a quad-thruster fusion engine moving the hulk forward. In the forward cockpit, a single pilot commands the behemoth.
“Anklam, you are on approach one, you awake?” the old raspy voice of the operator asked over the comm.
“Affirmative Gladus, I’m on course, ready to dock.”
“You know how to make me happy son.”
“Crash into the station?” he smiled.
“And I’ll have your balls dangling over a Kinator. Just park it junior, it’s too early for me to be dealing with this shit.”
“No problem ma’am. RA four one inbound.”
Anklam dialed in some coordinates on his terminal. The bright beacons on the top and bottom of the station flashed more intensely as moments passed. The young pilot sat back in his chair and thought to himself about how simple and boring his job was. He day dreamed of the Federal Fighter Academy while an “Incoming Object Alert,” flashed on his forward display.
The specs of light in the distance quickly took form into a cohesive space station. Anklam activated the manual controls, taking the navigation of the ship into his hands. At the last moment, he engaged the thrust-brakes, slowing the large hauler, coming into the landing space-way.
“Hey Gladus, how come the design for this station looks so old? I mean, the registry says commissioned 2352, was this station a rebuild, is it as old as you?” Ric read the diagnostic of Thatcher on his holo-display. “I thought they stopped using these designs at the end of the twenty two hundreds.”
Thatcher Station was a medium class space platform. It used old revolving torus-style decks for generating G’s with real motion rather than modern Azarian devised grav-field emitters. The torus decks were for the regular compartments of the station, crew and living. They extended an extra six hundred meters past the center cylinder. The center cylinder of the station some twelve hundred meters in diameter and extending two point three kilometers in length with its end pointing to the surface of the planet.
“Son, God isn’t as old as me. The company wanted this type of station to avoid having to build another zero-G facility in space. They just figured for mining, the old design worked. Without gravity, the processing facility in the heart of Thatcher can make stronger metals and make them lighter, almost ten times that of gravity manufactured ores. No one extracts ore or manufactures alloys in gravity anymore. Gravity is a bitch to us all son, even the ore.”
“So I’ve been told,” Ric engaged his thrusters.
“Easy there kid, you ain’t piloting no sportster,”
“Just trying to get a feel for this heavy girl.”
“You newbie’s are all alike; all cowboys.”
“Roger that,” Anklam said, noticing the guiding lights that were projecting from the station.
He aligned his telemetry with the dock and slowed his ship to a near stop when the computer took over, guiding the heavy cargo transport into its bay.
“So good I can’t believe it’s not butter,” Anklam locked in the restraint clamps.
“Beginner’s luck rookie. Just wait till you take out a loading crane,”
“Loading crane? I’m going for a communications array,” Ric smiled, activating the servo-assembly, preparing the ship for cargo transfer. “Sorry, I’m use to piloting M-Class star-freighters. This little thing is a piece of cake, really.”
“Gonna need more than that to impress me honey. Tower out.” Gladus ended the communication channel.
#
With her tongue pressed to the corner of her mouth, the determined girl pulled herself onto the barstool. Once her bottom was secured on the seat, her little hands pulled away her long curly black bangs revealing the beautifully inquisitive brown eyes of a child.
She looked around the bar gazing at all of the interesting, unusual items around as bigger people walked about her. Her hands reached forth, pulling a jar of greenish looking eggs to her face. She peered inside, wondering how they tasted. In cat like curiosity, she stood on the stool, attempting to get a good hold on the jar. She tried and tried to twist the tight cover off. She pressed with all her might, losing her balance.
“Careful young one,” Tygun caught the falling girl and sat her down on the floor.
“Fluffy!” she turned around with a pearly smile, gripping to the warrior-cat’s leg like a starfish.
“Yes, it is me,” the Kir’Shann smiled back although his fur was being pulled on. He knelt down to her. “You grow stronger with each passing day.”
“I know how to count to…to… two hundred!”
“Impressive,” Tygun replied.
“We learned this song in class,” She began to sing. “The Federation is for you and me, you and me, living in tranquility! We are glad that we are free, so never forget that you are one with me!”
“Your lungs have superior oxygen holding capability young one.”
“You’re funny Fluffy,” she giggled. “I drew you a picture.” She pulled out a folded piece of paper with an image sketched in crayon on it. “Look, it’s you, me, Mommy, the station and Earth,” as her fingers pointed to stick figures and a red ball.
“Artistically, you’re improving,” Tygun critiqued, “but isn’t Earth green and blue, not red?”
“I mean, plan.. it.”
“Planet?”
“Yeah, planet.”
“Oh, then is that Chrycian Prime?”
“Yes.”
“Are you bothering Tygun, Alexx?” Michelle asked, holding a tray with food.
“No, I’m giving Fluffy his pictures,” Alexx replied.
“They will someday be priceless,” Tygun said.
“Well don’t bother him too much. We’re going home soon, so don’t be getting in trouble,” Michelle said, heading to serve her customers.
#
“Bill, ain’t that the Federal ship that’s been overdue?” Gladus noticed the incoming beacon pop up on her screen. “USNS Pataki, registry CVN-one zero seven eight.”
“Yeah, that’s it,” Bill said.
“It’s here. Two hundred K and closing.”
Bill looked at her screen over her shoulder. “Must have ran into some plasma storms. Marine ships always have trouble updating their voyage logs, Maybe they forgot something and had to turn back.”
“My million dollars,” Gladus replied.
“Call them up.”
“Yes sir,” Gladus targeted the Pataki with her Tachyon Transmitter. “USNS Pataki, this is Thatcher Station, you are currently one hundred and ninety five thousands kilometers and closing, your registry is overdue. Re-supply and refueling materials are still available though, we didn’t dump them. Come in USNS Pataki. Are you requesting dock? CVN-one zero seven eight do you copy?” There was no response.
“That’s weird…” Bill said, “maybe their transmitters are down. Try emergency frequency.”
“Maybe they’re French,” Gladus switched to sub-channels. “United Systems Naval Ship, this is Thatcher Station. You are approaching corporate planet-space. Are you requesting dock? Repeat, do you copy? Are you French?”
“Thatcher Station, this is the Pataki,” a woman’s voice replied. “We are requesting dock.”
“Okay…” Gladus said. “Please enter your transit ID so I can confirm your arrival to fleet network.”
“Umm… I don’t have a transit ID. My name is Clara Campbell.”
“What the hell? Can I talk to a United Systems fleet officer please?” Gladus threw her hands in the air. “Space traffic prank calls are a federal offense and I take my job seriously young lady.”
“Listen to me you angry bitch,” Clara answered, “All the naval officers are dead. Me, two dying Marines and a handful of my own crew are all that’s left onboard. This ship is falling apart and I really don’t know how to pilot this thing. I only have a civilian license.”
Gladus was speechless for a moment. “Well…okay, let me talk to my supervisor.” Gladus turned to Bill, muting the comm-channel, “What do I do?”
“What the hell happened to them?” Bill looked over the ship with his long-range scanner to see gaping holes in the side of the hull and phase burn marks lining the armor. “Tell her to steer away from the station and I’ll get a pilot from here to try to walk her through the docking procedures. What class is that transport?”
“M 2, nearly four hundred thousand metric tons. Hope your pilot’s sober.”
“Right,” Bill walked out of the station command center.
#
“So you want me to get on the Pataki, get into the bridge and try to dock the mangled thing to Thatcher?” Ric Anklam asked.
“That’s the plan rook,” Bill walked alongside him. They both entered the lift; Bill pressed the down button. “It will be a piece of cake, just don’t crash the skip and you’ll be fine. You’re a veteran M-class pilot; the only one on this station.”
“So you’re telling me that none of your prized hauling pilots can navigate this thing and a station rook like me is your top choice?”
“Something like that.”
“I want a raise.”
“Talk to the military.”
The door opened and they were on the flight deck. They walked out to where three haulers were parked, undergoing repairs and refueling. Paul, the chief mechanic, walked up to them.
“Okay boss, the skip is ready. This your boy?” Paul looked at the clean youthful pilot.
“This is him.”
“Good luck kid, just don’t crash my skip. She’s old, but she’s worth her weight in Prixah. The company wants to squeeze another five years out of her, I say two if we’re lucky. I’m sure an M-Class pilot knows how to handle something like this though.” Paul walked away, wiping his filthy hands with an even filthier towel.
“Let’s go, Security Officer Davis and two of his team will be accompanying us,” Bill said, pointing them out. Officer Davis was unpacking a pulse-rifle from a weapons case.
“Why do we need weapons? I thought they’re Marines?”
“So far we haven’t talked to a Marine. We’re not too sure of the situation onboard the Pataki. Could be pirates son. Can never be too careful,” Bill explained, drawing a pistol from the weapons case. Davis handed him a magazine. “Let’s go.”
#
Michelle paused for a moment, looking out the window of the restaurant, seeing a badly damaged ship pulling into port. Everyone else paused too, noticing the struggling ship on its last leg barely making dock.
“Damn, looks like they really put that one through the meat grinder,” a customer commented, putting down his fish sandwich. “I remember seeing ships coming in like that during the Eastern Government conflict.”
They saw a smaller ship shot away from the station to the large transport in the distance. Chills shot up Michelle’s spine when she thought of possible reasons why the ship could be so badly damaged. Grays were barely heard of in this part of the galaxy, just mercenaries and pirates.
Instantly Michelle wanted to be next to Alexx. She put down her tray and ran out of the restaurant.
“Michelle?” Tygun asked, seeing her take flight.
#
Ric landed the skip inside the Pataki’s ventral drop bay. He shut down the primary engines, leaving the auxiliary power hot. Davis and his team opened the door with rifles drawn, heading down the ramp and onto the damaged flight deck.
They looked around, seeing many places where emergency shielding was blocking vacuum holes.
“It’s about time,” a young woman said, turning the corner along with a few others behind her, some carrying the wounded marines.
The security team stood down, seeing the civilians.
“I suppose you are Clara Campbell?” Captain Davis asked the young, well-toned brown haired woman.
“That’s me,” she said putting her hand out to shake, “and you?”
“Captain Davis, Thatcher Station Security. Are you a Federal Civilian?”
“Yeah, here’s my ID. We ran into some trouble, my brother is unconscious; he’ll be able to explain better than I can when he comes around. What do you want us to do with them?” She pointed to the wounded marines.
“Get them onboard, get anything else you want to take. I’m going to have to ask you to go through a debriefing and medical screening when you get to the station.”
“Okay,” Clara helped the others move the wounded.
The other two security officers assisted them to the skip while the rest of the boarding team walked into the central lift. The security gate on the lift closed and Davis selected the bridge deck.
“Guess there’s no pirates Captain,” Ric said
“I still don’t like it, something’s fishy, keep your eyes open kid.” Davis looked with shifty eyes, “you just can’t trust anyone these days.”
#
“Why did you get me out of school before it ended?” Alexx looked up at Michelle, as she held her hand. They walked down the corridor from the school back to their apartment. Michelle was quiet, fear piercing her heart like pin needles. “Mommy?”
“What?” Michelle snapped out of a daze as she looked down on Alexx. “Because…I wanted to make sure you were okay. I love you baby,” Michelle smiled, kissing her check and holding her close.
“I love you too Mommy,” Alexx gripped her hand, knowing something was wrong. “Is Daddy here?” she asked, recalling the man she barely remembered.
“I don’t think so baby, we just need to get back to the apartment right now, okay?”
“Okay.”
#
“And your name again ma’am?” Officer Davis paced across the table.
“Mira Leone. I’m the ship’s CCN specialist. Look, I know this looks bad but you have to believe us. Check the Pataki’s log; they came to pick up our distress beacon. We’re just freighters,” the woman sitting next to Clara Campbell said. CCN, short for computer-communications-navigation.
Officer Davis looked back at the woman, trying to believe her. “So… I have at least fifty dead or unaccounted for United Systems Marines and ten officers missing or dead and two in a coma state, a badly damaged Federal Ship, and a group of freighters legitimately involved in this for some reason. What were they rescuing you from?”
“We’re not mercenaries. When my brother comes around he’ll give you a lecture on that, believe me.” Clara shouted out.
“Excuse me Miss, I’m asking the questions around here.” Davis replied, turning back to Mira. His eyes quickly scanned the report in front of him. “It says here that your company was doing an engine transfer to a distant world for Asurki Intergalactic for two million. Why so much for a shipment?”
Clara sighed and placed her elbows on the table, letting her head rest in her palms. “It was a dangerous shipping job. No mercenary work, no killing. We were just sent to deliver an extra engine to a stranded crew and through a course of action became stranded ourselves, losing our own ship’s Long Range Drive trying to escape the planet.”
“And people died,” the captain reminded her.
“For reasons beyond our control. Look, I want to talk to an attorney if you’re not going to listen to me,” she retracted her arms from the table.
“I’m sorry, its just I have to fill out a report to the Congress explaining why a multi-billion dollar spacecraft was damaged and why sixty Federal personnel are dead and how they ended up on my station.”
“Let the military explain. The Pataki’s computer should still have it all on record anyway. We’re just bystanders here. We’ve been through enough,” Mira said.
#
“Corporal Keller, Private Dawson, please take a seat,” Captain Davis said. “I hope you’re feeling better.”
“Yes sir, just a little sore. What is this a debriefing or something?” Corporal Keller said.
“Yes, not from me though. Navy HQ wanted a word with you, they’re on Channel 6. I’ll leave now, you can talk, it’s secure,” Captain Davis exited.
“Hello Marines. You are the last two?” a man with high ranking said through the tachyon channel.
“That is correct sir,” Corporal Keller answered. “Do you want us to fill out reports?” The naval officer was quiet for a moment.
“No, I want the both of you back on the next hop to Earth, I don’t trust this channel, we’re detecting hacks. O’Conner out.”
#
“Where’s the rest of the Narcolium?” Michelle held a KS-2 Laser Rifle to the face of a smuggler whom had cut her short. “You’re missing fifty kilos.”
“I don’t have it, I swear. It was stolen from me.” the smuggler answered quickly, as rainwater fell off his nose.
“Bullshit, you sold it!” Michelle said as she pushed the barrel into his chest.
“I swear I didn’t! It was stolen. Look, I’ll get your money back. That isn’t a problem.”
“It is for me Larson,” Michelle said.
“Give me a chance,” Larson backed against a jungle tree under the cloudy sky.
“You’ve already had three and your dumbass still doesn’t have it,” she pointed the barrel at his crotch. “Your balls are mine.”
“Please, I swear,” tears ran down his cheeks.
“Last chance to give me them now,” Michelle said.
“I’m sorry.”
“Wrong answer,” Michelle lit up Larson with five-laser blast. His hollow body slouched over as the buzzing power charger on the KS-2 faded.
Michelle wasted no time searching the man, pulling out a wallet from his otherwise empty pockets. There was a monetary card, some credit accounts and a picture of a child. Michelle looked at the picture of the cute little blonde haired girl. She found some hand written notes on the picture. Michelle pulled it out reading it, “You’re the best daddy, love Sarah.”
Michelle woke up in a pool of sweat, breathing heavily and holding Alexx close to her side.
“What’s wrong Mommy?” Alexx asked, awakened by Michelle’s sudden movement.
“Nothing baby, its okay,” She kissed her forehead. “Just bad dreams.”
“Okay Mommy,” Alexx rubbed her eyes, “is it time for breakfast?”
“No baby, in a few hours, it’s still time to sleep.”
“Mommy can I have smiley pancakes?”
“I can make you some. With raisins?”
“Yeah,” Alexx smiled.
“All right, you need to get back to bed now though.”
“Okay,” Alexx hugged her mother and closed her eyes. “You’re the best mommy.”
“I’m so sorry baby.” Michelle kissed her forehead.
#
“Doc?” a man looked into the eyes of an African human above him.
“Good to hear you again Cap’t. You’re still pretty banged up right now, best to rest for a few more hours.”
“We made it?” he looked around.
“Yeah, just barely. Looks like your sister has the same blood in her after all. She saved us all and the ship,” Doc said. “Hey Clara, he’s up!”
“Baron!” a young woman rushed into the medical room. “Baron!” she hugged him and cried. “I’m sorry I didn’t listen to you, I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay Clara, as long as we’re all okay.”
Clara just clung to his side crying without end.
“Where are we?” Baron asked the doctor.
“Just off the northern frontier line of Emerald Sector, somewhere in Corporate Confederated Space. System’s called Chrycian Prime. We’re in a temporary ship bay on an orbital processing and refueling station called Thatcher, Alpha Omega Corp. owned and operated.”
“I have no idea where that is,” Baron told him.
“Don’t worry, its barely a spec on the map. It was the closest stop from Cren’Deral. We’re stuck for a few more days. Nothing much here, but this is as far as the Pataki would let us get. A little later, me and Thy’Tok are going to get the Tyson out of the Pataki’s bay and get it in a maintenance bay.”
“Do they have a bar?”
“What deep space station doesn’t?”
“Then everything is okay,” Baron smiled.
#
Chapter Two: A Hero from Afar
The wealth of knowledge stored within our guest tells us that the carbons wish to use our soil to build and create their own devices. Why do they not simply create their own material? Instead they rob ours. Our guest tries to explain the complexity of carbon existence. We need our own carbon to investigate.
“Lager please,” Baron took a seat at the Thatcher Station Bar.
“Coming up,” Michelle replied, taking a second look at the attractive man sitting in front of her. “Hey, aren’t you one of the survivors from the Pataki?”
“Yeah, I’m not military, but my crew and I got a little mixed up in an incident. We’re just freighters.”
“You look a little different than a freighter, you look military.” Michelle said to the well built and well-groomed man.
“Nope, just a simple freighter,” Baron declared.
“Hey, I’m a freighter too,” an inebriated bar fly a few seats down raised his mug.
“All right buddy,” Baron raised his mug.
“So how did you end up on Thatcher Station?” Michelle leaned over the bar to talk to him.
“It’s kinda complicated. It was supposed to be a simple freight jump, just a delivery…but things got a little mixed up and people died. My ship was badly damaged and we ended up stranded. A military transport picked up our distress beacon. Some rescue that was, we ended up rescuing them. Their captain, Myers, was an asshole. I told that bastard three times not to go after it and we should just leave, but greed got the best of him. Anyways, after Ahab found out the hard way and lost most of his men, me and my crew decided to make the best of the situation before things got even worse. With the broken Tyson in the wounded Pataki’s bay, we jumped and never look back, praying for a place like this to be near bye. And after all of that, well here I am.”
“That simple huh?”
“No, it really isn’t. I’ve…just had a long, bad week,” he shook his head as he narrowed his eyes.
“I can understand,” Michelle sat his glass mug of lager on the glossy countertop. “I’ve had some weeks I didn’t want to remember either.”
“But this can always make it better,” Baron smiled.
“Just let me know when you want some more, hon,” Michelle smiled.
“Won’t be too long,” Baron answered.
#
“Yumnha bakudikah, Yumnha bakudiah!”
“What is he saying?” Brando asked another Gr’rak’kon miner, talking through their communication phones in their pressure suits.
“He’s saying that the Fire Monster was here,” The English speaking Gr’rak’kon miner explained.
“What happened? What did he see?” Brandon asked. The Gr’rak’kon communicated with the other.
“He said that he heard them, they are…they whisper through the rocks. Like ghost he says. They’re angry.”
“So he did not see any Fire Monsters?”
“He saw them in his mind he said. They told him to leave the mining level,” the Gr’rak’kon began rambling other things. “He says he saw a ghost of the missing miner; he was full of fire.”
“A ghost?”
“He swears on his next life. He says that he was told to tell all miners to leave, that we are no longer welcome on this planet.”
“I’ll make a note of that. Thank you for your time,” Brandon turned to Ponzo who was kneeling, inspecting rocks on the ground.
“There is unusual radiation coming off these minerals in here.” Ponzo said. “The scanner says it is safe though. Some sort of energy waves, it flows in a single direction in pulses, almost like a data-stream. Could be some sort of strange polar magnetism.”
“Well that’s interesting,” Brando said. “Maybe the radiation affects the Gr’rak’kon’s somehow, causing hallucinations. All subjects who supposedly encountered the Fire Monsters have been Gr’rak’kon.”
“Negative, Gr’rak’kon’s are extremely resilient to any type of radiation. The Grays made them that way so they could basically work anywhere. Gr’rak’kons never develop cancer and have no allergens. They can’t even get inebriated off anything. Their bodies simply don’t have much reaction with foreign substances like most other carbon based races. However, Gr’rak’kons, on a basic level, share the same telepathic ability as a Gray would. They themselves cannot tap into it, but a Gray could tap into them. That was so they could receive orders from the Gray Psi Master while they worked. It’s a one-way means of communication though.”
“Nothing like a manufactured race to screw with your xeno-biology thesis,” Brando, said as he checked his watch, “it’s getting late; we better start heading back up.”
#
Michelle’s sore legs carried her down the main access out of the Common’s Quad, heading towards the living quarters. She passed by the dentist shop and general supply store, both of which were closed for the late hours.
Turning the corner where the hotel was, she entered the living quarters of the station. A security gate stopped her soon after that, she punched in her access code and the light changed from green to red. Two figures came up behind her, followed by a third.
“Hey there beautiful, let me give you a hand.”
“It’s okay, I got it, thank you though.”
Michelle slowly turned around, noticing the rank smell of liquor filling the air. The three large men closed in on her.
In the next instant, Michelle dashed for an opening. She escaped the first pair of hands but the second grabbed her. Instinctively she threw a powerful elbow into her assailant’s nose, hearing the cartilage crush under the pressure. The wounded assailant retracted to a fetal position, cupping his bleeding nose. Michelle drove the heel of her foot through the man’s kneecap, hearing a fresh snap. Shocked, the aggressor screamed in agony, “You bitch! You damn whore!”
Michelle stepped back to collect her nerves when the third assailant pushed her from behind, slamming her against the cold metal wall. The second caught up with her, restraining her arms as the third held her legs.
“Haha, looks like the bitch got you good Carl,” one said.
Michelle tried to scream but she was gagged. The men pulled up her shirt, kissing her and foundling her. She closed her tear-filled eyes as they began to unbuckle her pants. She was shaking with fear and filled with anger as her muscles flexed, trying to break free.
Tears ran from her eyes as she tried to push other thoughts into her mind, trying to forget where she was. Realizing that there wouldn’t be any stopping them now, she feared what would happen to Alexx if anything happened to her.
“Hey assholes!” a slurred voice rang out through the main access corridor. “You wanna to get laid? Come suck on this!” he said as he cocked his pistol. Michelle looked up, seeing the handsome face of the man she met at the bar.
“Ha, go ahead and try to shoot us. You’ll probably just shoot yourself,” one of them said looking him in the eye.
“I’m a fucking fighter! Now get away from her you dick-less bastards, before I lose my temper.”
“Come on, put it down old man, we’re just having a little fun. We actually paid the bitch. She’s just role-playing for us, isn’t that right sweet?” one kissed her cheek. Michelle’s face reacted with a revolting gesture.
“I know it’s lonely out here boys, there’s always holo-whores. Just stay the hell away from her. This is your last warning.”
“Blast off old man, you’re about to pass out any second,” another assailant said. In Baron’s eyes, there were dozens of them, all waving and floating.
“That’s it, I know I’m drunk, but I can kill at least twenty of you before I go down,” he opened fire.
The assailants ducked as bullets flew threw the air, ricocheting off the walls and setting off security sensors.
“This guy’s out of his mind,” one said taking flight. Another followed, helping his wounded friend escape as well.
Baron came to the Michelle’s shaking side, helping her put her shirt back on. “Are you okay?”
“Thank you,” Michelle responded, “I’m okay. Just a little shook up.”
“Great, I’m going…to take a nap now,” Baron laid his exhausted body down. Moments later, two security officers showed up and Michelle explained the situation.
#
“No luck Doc?” Mira asked him as the doctor walked into the space station’s ship bay with Clara at his side.
“Nope, we’ve walked every damn deck of this station. Either he’s been kidnapped or he doesn’t want to be found.”
“I checked the departure log, there’s nothing that has left the station heading out of the system in the last twenty hours. He turned his VC off too,” Clara said. “God knows he’d kick my ass raw if I disappeared like this.”
“Maybe he found a woman?” Mira asked.
“Yeah, must be some woman willing to put up with him.” Doc said as he walked into the ship where Thy’Tok and Kraze were doing repairs. “Thy’tok man, this ship still looks like Swiss-cheese, get this thing fixed so we can get the hell out of here.”
“I’m sure we’ll see him in the morning Clara, he’s been under a lot of stress lately.” Mira put her hand on Clara’s shoulder as she walked back into the ship.
#
Baron’s eyes cracked open to another head splitting morning. Something this morning was different. His vision focused, seeing the face of a small child starring back at him.
“You’re awake,” the curly brown haired girl smiled.
“Am I? Who are you?” Baron rubbed his temples, “where am I?”
“You’re at my house.”
“This is your house?”
“Yes. Me and my Mommy’s.”
Baron’s eyes widened, trying to remember what he had done last night. “Mommy?” he said to himself.
“Alexx, is he awake?” Michelle walked up to the bed. Baron’s sweat covered face looked up to the woman he barely recalled.
“Are you Mommy?” he asked. Michelle smiled.
“My name is Michelle.”
“The waitress?”
“Yes, do you remember me?” Michelle sat next to him with a glass of water in her hand.
“Yeah, yeah I think so,” Baron searched his cloudy thoughts of last night. He looked to Alexx who was waiting for him to do something. “We didn’t, do anything last night did we?” Baron hinted to Michelle.
“You were great last night,” Michelle smiled and handing him the water.
“Umm…” Baron replied. “I was?”
“Yes,” Michelle kept smiling, “my hero.”
“Wow, usually I remember. I mean, I don’t forget,” Baron smiled, “but last night I drank a lot. Wow, this headache is strong.”
“Yes, you did drink a lot. Drink some water though, it will help,” Michelle said as Baron downed the water.
“Say, you wouldn’t happen to know what happened to my crew last night would you?” Baron asked, “the people I was with,”
“When you came to the bar last night you were alone.”
“Right,” Baron tried to think, “I wonder what they’re up to. I wonder if they’re worried about me.”
“You are their captain right?”
“That’s right,” Baron said, “oh I forgot, I turned my VC off before coming into the restaurant last night.” Baron reached into his pocket activating his video communicator. The screen read, ‘15 missed calls.’
Baron dialed in his sister’s VC address, but before he hit the transmit button, his started ringing.
“Where have you been?” the girl in the VC asked.
“I’ve…I was at the bar last night.”
“I know that, what else happened to you last night. I’ve been trying to reach you forever,” Clara said.
“Here Clara, meet my friend Michelle and her daughter…Alexx,” Baron pointed the VC at them. Michelle and Alexx waved to the young woman in the picture. Baron turned it back to himself.
“Oh,” Clara’s tempered voice mellowed, “well at least your okay, if I disappeared all night, you’d kill me,” Clara told him.
“Hey, I’m the captain here,” Baron replied. “Where are you staying?”
“In the hotel you told me to, remember?”
“Oh yeah, well, I’ll see you there in a little while. What room?”
“Two eight four.”
“Okay, bye Clara.”
“Bye,” Clara ended the VC.
“Are they worried about you? I can take you there,” Michelle said to Baron.
“Thank you,” Baron said, his feet taking to the white tile floor below. He looked out at the far wall, seeing the planet through the window. “Nice view.”
“It beats star fields I guess, something to look at out here. It’s got a real mysterious look to it, I kinda like it, you know like it has a secret its hiding.”
“We all have our little secrets Baron. You should get back to your crew and ship now though, they’re worried. Here is my contact address, call before you leave.”
“Stop by the hangar, I’ll introduce you to my crew. The ship’s name is the Tyson.”
“Okay, thanks.”
#
Warm hot coco soothed the back of her throat as she looked out of her apartment window. The calm of space had always frightened Michelle. A silence that haunted the back of her imagination.
The distant star fields came into focus once the station rotated the Chrycian Star’s light out of the window’s view. Back on the Ticon Deroga colony she had grown up on, before the second Federal invasion, she had been deeply interested in astronomy. Her favorite subject at school.
From the observatories, she learned the star catalogs and registries. Michelle noted a long journal of her studies, calling it the atlas of her future, marking all the places she would like to visit. Besides being noted for athletic superiority on the field and track, her teachers held great promise for her in the field of Astro-Navigation.
Like a tied balloon, she felt bound to the poor Eastern Government world though. The laws and growing tension between the EG and the Federation broke any hope she ever had of escaping. She could only dream of crossing into the Federation and studying in their prestigious colleges. Dreams, that for an Eastern native, were far echoes from possible. She studied that she had been born two hundred years to late. When humanity was still unified after the had brought Earth and all its people to their knees under the shackles of slavery. But humans had grown to powerful, the Federation had overgrown its bounds. The far reaching arms of the promised utopian government splintered into many factions over their petty differences, just as it had always happened amongst humans in times before.
When the first bombs fell, she found a way to escape, a starship captain had learned of her potential. She was offered a choice. To leave and pursue dreams she could never have if she stayed with her family. For two days the fork the charismatic captain offered drove into her stomach. Until one morning, when the dark horrors of the galaxy confronted her face to face.
In the waking moments of the sunrise, platoons of falling Federal Mechanized Infantry carriers and light assault craft seized her home town, filling the skies of tracers of terror.
There was no fairness to her or her family. No right or wrong, no judge to decided who would live or die. No way to prevent what would happen in the following hours of her darkest day.
The Federal troops spread across the face of her world, first striking all of the Eastern Government tactical defenses with fierce precision and speed. Throughout the night, Death knocked on their doors. They lost their holo vision, then their phones, then their power. On that cloudy day, they were in darkness. Her father and older brother rallied to the call to arms.
As the armored units passed through the streets, Michelle watched in horror out of her bedroom window as the men of her town, the men that had filled the memories of her childhood fell to the cold bloody street. There was no contest to the might of the Federation. The war was the end result of a power grip the leaders of the Eastern Government were reluctant to relinquish. Yet, those who paid the most were Michelle’s friends and family, most of who were too simple to understand the forces at work beyond their town, let alone, their world.
She would fever forget the feel of the window seal as her fingertips clenched it. Her father, brother and hundreds of other advancing against the Mechanized Infantry power suits. By the tens the fell as the rapid fire weapons of the mechanized infantry assaulted and in a few blinks of an eye, a majority of the male populace was defeated.
Michelle sipped her hot coco again, looking to the stars. They were her escape.
She remembered the countless hours she spent on the bridges of infamous ships as they crossed the galaxy in search of greater happiness. Little did they know that their searches and travels brought pain to many. In space no one can here an enemies approach, in space your lucky if you can see something right before it hits you.
“Mommy, I want something for lunch.” Alexx said pulling on her arm.
“Okay baby,” Michelle kissed her forehead.
Alexx sat happily at the table, eating a ham and cheese sandwich.
“Mommy, am I from Earth?”
“What?” Michelle paused with a loaf of bread in hand.
“How come we don’t live on Earth, everyone in the shows, live on Earth. I think it looks pretty.”
“You have been there once, when you were really little.” Michelle closed the covered.
“I like it more than here, it looks nicer.”
“Maybe, someday we can go back again,” Michelle walked to her and gave her a hug. “I think you would like it, I just have to find a way for us to get there.”
“How will you do that?”
“I don’t know baby, I’ll find a way for you to see it though.”
Michelle made sure the door was locked when she brought it out of security safe in the closet. Set sat down on the bed, holding the long object in her hands. She powered up the Alpha-Omega Corp. device. The transmitter booted up, searching for a signal from the Star Claw. The signal relayed from the surface of Chrycian Prime, just where she left it, deep in an abandoned mine shafts. She smiled, turning the device off and sticking the transmitter back in the security safe. She tucked the security safe away, under her shoe boxes.
#
“You’re saying you had a confirmed signal from it?” a man in a gray suit asked, walking alongside a man in a white coat as they headed down a hall in a corporate office tower.
“Yes, ten seconds strong, it is the third signal this month, still not long enough for us to pinpoint the exact location, but long enough for us to reconfirm it on the network.” The man with a white coat replied. “Its somewhere in the Fringe Worlds sector, past the Eastern Government borders.”
“That still could be anywhere, there’s hundreds of backwater colonial settlements out there, pirate dens, company industrial worlds.”
“Its worth looking into, the most advanced aerospace technology ever developed from the Gray’s secrets is out there.”
You need to log in to urbis or create an urbis account to review this writing.
Reviews
Sort Reviews by Newest | Oldest | Highest Quality | Lowest Quality | Newest Comments |
I have to admit, I’m not at all a fan of Sci-Fi. But this was amazing! I think that your story is definitely publishable. No doubt about it. The plot line was wonderful! I can tell that you put a lot of hard work into this, and that makes it ten times better because the readers see how dedicated your are to your work.
With that aside, I’m just going to list the few things that need work.
In the first chapter you are very descriptive, and that is not a bad thing at all. But I feel that you are a little too descriptive. I understand that you are trying to let us SEE what you saw in your mind when you were writing, but I think it was just too much. I got a bit lost, and when you finally go to the point, I had no idea what was going on anymore.
I also think that you should have brought up the plot a bit sooner in the story. When I first started reading, the whole first chapter seemed like fluff to me. You have to remember to always do something in the very beginning to pull the reader in. I for one, am a very picky reader. If I’m not interested in the very beginning, I’m not going to read it. The only reason that I kept on reading this one is because it was worth so many credits. I am glad though that I continued to read…Because as I stated before, I was very impressed.
”...discomfort of being sliced open…” -I don’t like the word DISCOMFORT being there. I think that you should re-word that part. It sounds generic and immature. And you are DEFINITELY NOT either of those things.
“That still could be anywhere, there’s hundreds of backwater colonial settlements out there, pirate dens, company industrial worlds.” -You need to replace the word “there’s” with THERE ARE. ”There’s” is a contraction of the words “there” and “is.” Break it down…would it sound right if you said “there is hundreds of…?” No…it should be “there are.” ”is” indicates singular and “are” indicates plural. ”Hundreds” is obviously plural.
“Its worth looking into…” -You need an apostrophe before the “s” in the word “it’s.” That’s another contraction issue.
“Oh yeah, well, I’ll see you there in a little while. What room?” -I think this sentence would sound a little better if you took the word “well” out. It sounds immature again. and you really have to try to get away from that. You ARE such a great and talented writer…and all these little mistakes are taking away from your masterpiece and making it sound cheesy.
“Wow, this headache is strong.” -Plain and simple, I just don’t like the way it is worded. Again, it sounds juvenile. There are so many more descriptive words that you can use to describe the pain of a headache or a hangover.
“His vision focused, seeing the face of a small child starring back at him.” -Another one that is worded terribly. Replace the word “seeing” with “on” and take out the comma. Try this: His vision focused on the face of a small child staring back at him. -Doesn’t that sound MUCH better.
“Thy’tok man, this ship still looks like Swiss-cheese…” -I may be wrong. But I don’t believe that you need a hyphen in between the words “swiss” and “cheese.” I’m pretty sure that I’m right about that though.
“I’m okay. Just a little shook up.” -Right now, “just a little shook up is a fragment.” Use different punctuation, like a comma or a semicolon even, and combine that sentence with “I’m okay” and it will look much better.
I also feel that the dialog between Alexx and Michelle on page 25 is too repetitive and boring. In the first three sentences, Alexx ended each sentence with the word, “mommy.” And yet again, it seemed like immature writing. I understand that
Like I said before, you have a masterpiece on your hands. I guarantee you that you will be published one day. I hope this has helped you. Good luck in the future!
- add/view comments (0)
This piece surprised me at several points and not because of its length. I normally don’t read much Sci-Fi/Fantasy and I fell into the story and found myself curious to read more.
I did like your storyline, it has its own unique flavor. I think there were several parts of your writing that showed good sentence structure and detail in the same breath. In example: “With a smile to the mirror, the woman sees a faint image of the youthful teenager she once was. She tries different poses, putting her hair in a ponytail, wondering how to return to that state.” This is on point; every woman has done this 1000+ times. I could cite several examples like this but don’t want to cost you points.
I did see a connection to how very little life changes over the course of time. The ex-marines guards and their sarcastic summation on how they became the last line of defense after you described the power of authority top to bottom. I saw that maternal instincts will never change and a loving mother will incur any danger to protect and provide for their child. These, and other universal themes you wrote, will and should never change regardless of the genre of a story.
I felt the metaphors of war, conflict and greed and how time, once again, will not change the hearts of men, people have to find the inspiration and motivation to do that themselves…Baron, a noble man, was a nice addition to the story and I did appreciate his rescue of Michelle…I was glad to see that scene take a turn for the better.
It is obvious that you have poured sweat and love into this piece…kudos. My suggestions is limited to clarity. You introduce a lot of characters, by name, and it became confusing at points. It was obvious that Michelle is the lead character, as well as Baron, and Officer Davis (I wasn’t feeling much love for his character at this point). I think if you were to read through this and eliminate names it would clear up a lot of the confusion. Do the visiting biologist need to be introduced personally, or, could they be addressed through Michelle as a professional observation of the duties they were and had performed. It’s your choice how many characters you want to explore, but please keep Fluffy. He reminded me of Chewbacca from Star Wars and I liked the interaction he had with Alexx.
Also, I would continue to edit words. I know how difficult that is to do, but the greatest writers of alll genres agree…edit, edit, edit, is the key in taking a good story to a great story. Good Luck
would make a great screenplay, i could see this as a pretty entertaining sci-fi movie. very good dialog between the characters. story is very imaginative & creative & overall entertaining. can take reader to a different world, & its pretty believable. characters of michele & her daughter were well done. can tell the writer spent a lot of work on it & its a good story.
I really, really enjoyed this. I think it’s really quite unique in the sense that you managed to mix Orwellian/Huxleyan militarism as well as elements of a Philip K. Dick story. Keep it up!
I really enjoyed this. You make good use of scenic descriptions and character thoughts and motivations. You got me curious as to what is happening, what is the Star Claw, and what will happen to Michelle, Alexx, and Ric. Some more elaboration on the freighter and Marine incident would be nice and would help establish a better rapport with Baron and his sister and crew. I know that it’s just the beginning of the story, but you have a couple good action scenes that could be beefed up a bit more and provide a bit more description of what the main characters can/will do and what they can’t/won’t.
Looking forward to see more of this one!
I ranked the agent/publisher rankings at 5 as I don’t have enough experience to know any better.
There’s a lot of description in the first chapter. It feels like you are trying to set the scenes, but some of it gets in the way of following the story and at other times it reads like stage direction in a screen play.
However once you get to the main dialogue, the story reads quicker. There are still some awkward places and even though you asked for remarks based on comprehension and content, I have to mention that there is a real need for editing. There are more than a few grammar mistakes scattered through the story and some sentence constructions are just really awkward.
Towards the end of the last chapter when Michelle is remembering her home, the war approaching, needs work.
On the plus side, the dialogue is great, you get a real sense of Michelle and Alexx, the alien characters also come across sufficiently well.
The science also sounds okay, not too much jargon and or space expended on explaining the jargon.
I would argue that you might need to bring the plot up a little bit earlier in the story. So maybe the signal going out at the end of the first chapter rather than the second, so we know that there are two groups of people searching for her.
I think also you might need to bring up the Grays in the first chapter, unless I missed that, but then, there are more than a few characters to get through in the first two chapters.
Overall good story, the next chapter should be pivotal.
By the way, at 10,000 plus words already, it’s not that short, maybe a novella?
“…discomfort of being sliced open…” I’d reword this, getting disemboweled is more than just a “discomfort”.
This opens very well with Ivy busting up the place. The “What was that?” foreshadowing effect was nice too.
Hmmm… I actually like the shift to present tense for the scene that begins with the woman in the shower. Ha! Seriously though, I suspect that other people will have issues with this though I think it works fine. This is Ivy isn’t it? Good job of showing her inner conflict with religion/duty.
I’ve noticed that you’re a big fan of alliteration, “bulky blast fan”. I am too as it seems that sometimes when I write, the alliterations just spill out onto the page. I’d be wary of using them too much though… It kind of seems like you’re heading in that direction.
“The small and slim…” You’ve got a ton of names bouncing around in the paragraph. This is just me being prickly, but it looks better when names are more spaced-out.
“…its mysteries arose and speak…” This is an awkward part of the sentence.
Alright, I’m halfway through this… Status: Very good. It’s very obvious that you’ve honed your chops as a writer. I keep seeing instances where you deftly avoid common “rookie” mistakes. (Mistakes I still make!) I won’t go on and on about the praise, but this piece is obviously well-polished and it shows. Kudos.
“The confides of…” / confines
I like the use of the “Tachyon Transmitter”. Some die-hard SF fans will say that this has become cliché—tacky yawn—but I still think it’s on it’s feet and kicking.
Thanks for not using “credits” as a monetary unit. Now that’s cliché. No doubt.
Overall I think you’ve got a spectacular space opera on your hands here. Lots of characters, the search for the starclaw plus numerous subplots, a good grasp of the SF conventions and mostly staying out of the clichés—all these things add up to make your piece pretty great. Keep up the great work and thanks for sharing.
-Curt
Showing 1 - 7 of 7
Review item
Add to faves