The Last Horizon

by Anthony Hartig

  -Kurlie

  Chapter 3

  I handed Scotty a flight helmet and ushered him into the copilot’s seat next to mine and began the ignition sequence. I flipped a toggle switch and the radar blipped on with its soft, lime green light and the overhead console lit up with blue, red, and yellow lights as the flight systems enabled. The bridge pressurized with a small hiss and the O2 generators began to prime the entire ship.

  I set my hat on the center console as I scanned the GPS and IFA monitors and punched in my coordinates for my point of destination. I could see Max doing a final check on the pad and he waved to me as he secured the dock and closed-off launch bay access.

  Five minutes later, Max sounded in on the radio “Blue Zephyr, systems check, over.”

  “Roger, control, Blue Zephyr confirms preflight systems run down.” I replied as I adjusted the volume in my flight helmet.

  “Heads-up display.”

  “HUD enabled.”

  “Avionics.”

  “Avionics enabled.”

  “Artificial gravity locks.”

  “AGL’s check.” This exchange went on for another ten minutes as we assessed communications, navigational, and cryogenic systems. Max finally gave me the green light for ignition and I dimmed the cabin lights and did one more internal payload scan within the Zephyr.

  Scotty sat back and stared through the cockpit canopy at the bright overhead lights of the hanger, he was completely oblivious to the fact that he was being scanned. A small screen on my side of the instrument panel revealed the results of the sweep: all components secured, but my passenger had a porcelain sidearm in a holster strapped to his left ankle…a 9mm parabellum automatic pistol. His weight was also peculiar, he was heavier than he looked, and it just didn’t add up.

  The Zephyr’s primary engines slowly revved-up into a high pitched whine, and I checked the fuel pressure and disengaged the heat shield as I adjusted the tint of the HUD visor that connected me to the onboard flight computer. The LED status indicated the Gamma sensors began their exterior scan and I was getting readings on ambient temperature and oxygen levels.

  I flipped open the armrest on my left and inserted a DAT disc into a small computer called a Black Spyder that only I knew about. This thing was no bigger than five inches square and two inches thick, but had cost me a fortune on the black market. It was integrated into my flight computer by a Federation Techno that I had to pay on the sly to make the hook-up, but it was worth the investment.

  This tiny box was a jamming device for scanners, and digital and electronic counter-measure probes. It could also intercept and scramble all transmissions the Scouts and Interceptors would use to hunt me down the moment I left our solar system. Electronically, it made me invisible.

  I watched the launch bay door slowly rise in front of me and expose the darkness that encompassed the tarmac. It was a clear, windy night and the stars twinkled brightly over the city. The weather forecast in Nexus on my arrival on the 24th showed sunny skies with a 25 knot western breeze, and I looked forward to getting there and having a couple of days to myself before coming back to Earth.

  “Blue Zephyr, 2-6, departure status, over.” Max’s voice crackled over the radio mechanically.

  “Blue Zephyr, Flight 2-6, destination Venus, status green for departure, over.” I replied.

  “Roger, Flight 2-6. Blue Zephyr is cleared for departure on Runway-3.”

  The ship lurched forward and we began to roll down the runway into the night. The blue nav-lights on the sides of the airstrip twinkled and I gazed at the silhouettes of the highrises of New Detroit in the distance. I turned into the wind and idled at the end of the runway waiting for the final launch confirmation.

  “Ever done space travel before, Scotty?”

  “Yes.”

  “So hyper-speed flight is not an issue for you?”

  “No issues.” Scott smiled as he lowered his visor and turned his attention to the runway.

  “Flight 2-6, airspace is cleared for take-off.” Max crackled.

  “Roger. Flight 2-6 is rolling.” The engines throttled to a scream and the Zephyr vibrated slightly as I disengaged the brakes and began to accelerate down the darkened strip. I engaged the afterburners and everything around us turned into a blur as Scott and I were pushed into our seats by the g-forces on take-off.

  In a matter of seconds the world below us transformed into a dark blue dome. I nosed up and entered the ionosphere. The

  g-suits kept our bodies stable and worked in conjunction with the Zephyr’s artificial gravity locks. I took a deep breath in an effort to relax as we pushed into space at Mach 9.

  As soon as we cleared the Earth’s gravitational pull and crossed the Kármán line, I pulled back on a lever that extended the hypersonic drive spawnsons from the fuselage. The Zephyr trembled as the drives began to ramp-up with a drone.

  I turned toward Scotty, “We’re spaceborne. Let’s heat it up.” I smiled as I clutched the control yoke, “Going hypersonic in three…two…one, and launch.” And the Zephyr shot into the blackness of space.

  I reached forward and punched my code into a number pad, and the flight computer took over. After working some calculations in my head, at the speed I planned to maintain, we may make it to the Pipe a few hours early. The very thought of traveling so fast toward something so frightening sent a chill through me, but a schedule was a schedule.

  Jupiter was less than thirty minutes out and I figured we’d be outside our galaxy within the next three hours. I’d have to rely on luck when we passed the Ursa-Major system because the war had escalated with the Serenians and I hoped to dodge any cruisers from the Serenian Armada.

  At our current rate of acceleration, we should max at 2.8 HsD by the time we came within range of Tal-Seti. From there we’d be a day away from the Pipe. Until then, there were always the Fed Scouts and Interceptors to dodge. I’d have my hands full if they spotted us.

  No point worrying about it now. I glanced at the instrument panel and exhaled as I removed my helmet and replaced it with a wireless ocular headset. Much lighter and far more comfortable.

  I looked over at Scott and motioned him to remove his helmet as I handed him a spare headset.

  Deep space was just a few hours out, and I had time to take a shot or two of Kurlie’s parting gift. I was uptight and needed to unwind, and the thought of a stiff drink really appealed to me right now. I double-checked the auto-pilot then took off the harness and stood up to stretch my legs as Scott sat still and gazed out the canopy at the vast darkness in front of us.

  I opened the bulkhead door into the cargo hold and unlatched the container with the whiskey. Perfect. I could see by the labels that Kurl spared no expense. He was a shrewd businessman, but definitely not cheap when handing out rewards. I popped open a bottle and took a long slug. I felt my stomach warm to the smoothness of the liquor and was tempted to drink some more but had to keep a clear head for the journey.

  “Hey Scotty,” I exhaled as I stepped up back into the bridge and held up the bottle, “care for a shot of this?”

  “No thanks. I don’t drink.” Scott squinted and turned his head back around.

  “Suit yourself.” I set the bottle back in the insulated container, closed up, and backed out of the cargo bay smiling.

  “Quite a view.” Scotty said quietly as he peered at the points of light around us.

  “Indeed. It never gets old.”

  Beyond the bridge’s canopy lay untouchable silence. Beautiful, foreboding Space. Serenity and terror. The swirl of time and light dusted by centuries of whispers. The sheer blackness of the great beyond speckled by points of light full of worlds. For the earthbound, the distant twinkles epitomized mysteries gazed upon for generations by the light of ancient fires as elders passed lore to the young under the blanket of night. That was the same gaze that enthralled me as a child. I could lose myself in that gaze.

  I looked over the monitors for any activity then reached over and turned o
n the Star Net-Cast receiver to catch up on daily events. Seems that the only information the news contained nowadays was all bad: the war at Bakkus coming to an end, anti-war protests on campuses throughout the galaxies, the surge of the homeless population and refugees brought on by the conflict, and the increase of crime in the outlying mining and farming colonies. It goes on and on and gets heavier by the minute.

  I sighed as images blipped on the screen of a student rally being broken up by Riot Squads on Earth and Syterra-12, and was glad I took this gig. At least it got me away from the everyday troubles that faced home.

  The radio chirped with an incoming transmission and I shut off the Star Net to see who was calling. It was Max. I flipped on the toggle switch and Max’s voice came through the speakers.

  “Nikki, you there? Nikki, you got your ears on?”

  “Yes Max, I’m here.”

  “We’re on a sealed frequency, so no one can detect this cast. How are you doing, girl?”

  “So far, so good. We just pulled from our galaxy border into space about ten minutes ago so we’re making good time.”

  “How far out from Ceres Vesta ‘til Event Horizon?”

  “A little over a day and a half for Outer and one hour for Inner Event. Then it’s just a matter of minutes.”

  “Nervous?”

  “Yeah, I try not to think about it.”

  “I know.”

  “You know, Max, this could very well be my last run. I may retire from the game when I get back.”

  “I sure wish you wouldn’t do this. Just circumnavigate the pipe, Nikki.”

  “I can’t. I’ll lose the rest of the pay-off and Kurlie will probably put a contract on my head for making a late drop.”

  “Nikki…”

  “Look, the last thing I want is to have to keep looking over my shoulder for his goons to rub me out.”

  “I suppose you’re right about Kurlie. So you’re committed to seeing this through? There’s no way I can talk you out of it?”

  “I’ll bring you back something nice from Nexus, Max.”

  “Listen Nikki, I’ve gotta sign-off. I tagged the Zephyr as a civilian subcontractor on the flight logs so you should have no problems when you get to Ceres Vesta. I’ll keep an eye out for you on the screens.”

  “Thanks Max.”

  “Talk to you later.”

  “See ya, Max.”

  “So talk to me Nikki.” Scott unbuckled himself from his seat, stood up, and stretched his arms as he looked over the monitors. “You and your friend Max seemed genuinely spooked by this journey we’re on. What’s this pipe thing Max and Kurlie were talking about?”

  “Oh it’s nothing to concern yourself with right now.” I sighed. “I’ll explain it to you when we get there.”

  “How about you explain it to me right now?” Scott demanded. “I think I have the right to know if we’re about to do any thing out of the ordinary.”

  “We’re already out of the ordinary, Scotty. This flight’s illegal.”

  “Yes, I’m aware of that.” Scott replied impatiently. “Talk to me.”

  I let out a breath and stared at the console as I shook my head.

  “Well?”

  “You do have a right to know. How much have you been keeping up with scientific research?”

  “I haven’t.”

  “Do you know what a wormhole is?”

  “I’ve heard of them. Basic highschool astronomy. Pure theory.”

  “No, not theory, Scotty. They’re out there. Closer than you imagine.”

  “Bullshit.”

  “No, it’s true.”

  “And how do you know this?”

  “Because I’ve been there.”

  “You mean you think you’ve seen one in real life?”

  “No. I’ve been there.”

  “You’re pulling my leg, right?”

  “I’m afraid not. What Max was talking about is a conduit through space and time. We think the Pipe is a wormhole. A natural anomaly of physics--a fold in the universe. Not a lot of people believe in it for that matter. The only ones that truly believe in them are scientists; and even then, their community is split. Most theorists tend to lean more on the side of hypothesis. Makes for a nice bedtime story and spices up lectures with a wow factor.”

  “And you’re telling me this is more than just theory. This is where we’re going?”

  “I’m telling you that we’re not just going there, we’re going into it.”

  “WHAT?”

  “You heard me, we’re going into a wormhole. The pipe. It’s the only way to get to Nexus in the allotted time.”

  “This is a small detail that my employer seems to have neglected to tell me.”

  “And who would that be, Scotty?”

  “Nevermind.”

  “You don’t work for Kurlie, do you?”

  “No personal questions, okay Nikki?”

  “He told me you were an envoy for the product.”

  “I’ve got business at Nexus. So tell me, Nikki, has anyone else ever been through this wormhole?”

  “Only three people as far as I know.”

  “Let me guess--you and Max...”

  “Me, Max,” I sighed, “and another pilot who was a close friend of ours. His name was John Tudor.”

  “Was?”

  “It happened over a year and a half ago,” I frowned, “it was Johnny’s first and only time. He and Max went into the pipe during a joint run for Kurlie. They were hauling weapons and heading for the Bakkus system.”

  “Go on.” Scotty urged quietly.

  “Max told me that they just entered Event Horizon when he lost communication with John. He looked out the canopy just in time to see his ship blow apart. Totally dusted, and I mean atomized.”

  “Jesus.”

  “Not sure if you believe me, Scotty?” I smiled. “The one thing that Max’s old ship had in common with the Zephyr was the magnetic hyper-drive cores. Johnny’s ship, the Switchback, had nuclear powered cores. We think that may be the reason we’ve been able to pass through the Pipe in one piece; it may have to do with the magnetic fields generated by our ships and their reaction with the natural fields in the Pipe.”

  “I may have read a story or two about these, but like I’ve said, all theory. I’ve seen articles with models and illustrations of an Einstein-Rosen bridge outside our galaxy, and they were always followed by a wall of text filled with speculation, but that’s it. I never paid too much attention to that science.”

  “Nobody ever does. Not even the military. Besides, there’s always more to it than academic articles. All it takes is that one person willing to take a closer look. That one person willing to take that extra step.”

  “Who went in first, you or Max?”

  “I did.”

  “How...”

  “Look, it’s not like I woke up one morning and decided it would be pretty cool to enter a wormhole just to see what happens.” I declared impatiently. “I found it by accident. I was making a run two years ago. Hauling weapons and heading for Polaris when I was ambushed by a bandit vessel.

  They cut into my frequency and threatened to blow me out of space unless I allowed them to board my ship and hijack it. This happened in the vicinity of an asteroid belt called Ceres Vesta near Tal-Seti. I changed course and ducked into the belt in an effort to lose them. I played cat and mouse with them for hours in that field until they finally scoped the Zephyr and launched a couple of anti-grav warheads.

  The missiles had a target lock on me and closed-in fast. Then I saw it on my monitor. This void. For all the debris floating around in space leaving some kind of readable signature in its trek, there was something ahead of me that was clear. Something that had no trace. Turns out the Ceres Vesta asteroid belt is really an accretion disc rotating around a wormhole--a quasar, and I had gotten too close and was pulled into its jet.

  The Zephyr’s gravity and magnetic sensors were going crazy the whole time. Off the register. I raised
the canopy’s heat shield to get a visual and there it was--total blackness, and yet I was accelerating toward it incredibly fast. I was caught in the Event Horizon.

  Meanwhile the sensors were going wild and the consoles were flashing red. Everything indicated missile impact on the Zephyrs fuselage but nothing happened. I should have been blown apart. Dead. Then everything stopped and went silent. Total silence. The cockpit was blacked-out and the Zephyr was drifting in darkness. The G-locks within the ship quit working and things were floating around me...pens, my ocular headset, a bottle of water.

  The next thing I knew, all the lights flashed back on and I’m back in hyper-drive. The Zephyr was shaking hard, so I decelerated by ramping down the hyper-drive core. I could barely control the craft, and everything that was floating in

  the cockpit fell to the floor and I was pushed into my seat by the g-forces. G-forces in space, Scotty. Impossible.

  I looked at the monitors and don’t recognize any of the star systems around me. I started a plotter scan and started getting read-outs. I was in the Polaris region. It all happened in seconds. One second I was in Tal-Seti, the next, I’m in Polaris. It happened that fast.”

  “Christ.” Scott gasped.

  “No bandits or sign of them. No damage to the Zephyr.”

  “How many times have you been through this?”