I heard my crew concur with a flurry of worried noises.
“Trust me when I tell you that you have nothing to worry about, human. The journey will be both uneventful and boring, so at least be prepared for that,” he said, turning around and walking off toward Ern, who was waiting for him by the bridge door. Both beasts left the bridge and disappeared through the swooshing doors. I had no idea what they were up to but I assumed that they were getting something to eat. Animals that big probably needed a lot of sustenance.
“AUTO PILOT ENGAGED. ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL, FIVE MONTHS, THIRTY DAYS, TWENTY-THREE HOURS AND FIFTY-TWO MINUTES. ROUTE IS FREE OF TRAFFIC. ARRIVAL TIME ACURATE BY THE MILISECOND,” the ship’s computer said, its robotic voice bringing some sort of comfort to me.
But I was far from comfortable. I mean, how could I? Me and my crew were flying at speeds that no human had ever flown before. We were scared. We were tired. And to boot, we were expected to end all life on Earth. So being comfortable was light years away from how I was feeling. Literally.
The good news was, I had a little under six months to do something to change my mood. There was a plethora of things that I could do to make me feel better. And they all centered around one simple scenario.
Take back the ship…and make the Ursines pay.
Chapter Seventeen
I wasn’t able to sleep. Not one wink. Not even for a second. I just lay there in bed, staring up at the ceiling. I was in my sleeping quarters. Unlike on other ships, the captain’s sleeping quarters wasn’t bigger, or more luxurious compared to the other rooms on the ship. I’d made sure of it myself. Since I’d made captain, I had the idea that I was one of them. That I was no better or no worse. That they could see me as one of their peers.
It hadn’t always worked out for the best. I remember on a few different occasions that my whole I’m one of you stance didn’t go down too well with a few of my crew. To be honest, that’s a bit of an understatement. It actually nearly caused a ship wide mutiny once. Luckily for me, my quick thinking and the help of a few friends helped simmer the situation down.
But that wasn’t what was on my mind. The size of my room compared to every other room wasn’t what was grating on me. I had more pressing issues at hand. Because for the first time in a very long time, I was powerless. Not since the days of me being a journeyman crew member had I felt this afraid. I was not only powerless, but I was plan-less. And I knew that without a plan, I’d be damn out of luck.
“If only you hadn’t wasted half your career ogling Jess. If only you actually paid attention to the military types that used to advise you on a mission or two. Then maybe now you wouldn’t be on course to destroy Earth,” I said to myself, my voice sounding disheveled. I felt small. Really small. Like I’d lost my body’s mass and as every day passed, I’d grow smaller and smaller. I guess being powerless had that affect on me.
“You need to come up with a plan, and come up with it fast. There’s no use delaying it further. Action must be taken and it must be swift,” I muttered, still lying on the bed, and still staring up at the ceiling. But it was pointless. Nothing I said, or did, would have much of an impact anymore. My confidence was rocked. I usually regarded myself as a brave man. But moping about in my cabin didn’t make me feel like a brave man at all.
I had to do something. I just couldn’t stay in my room, sulking. Sure, the ship was on auto pilot and we’d be doing nothing but eating, sleeping and shitting for the next six months, but a little bit of ground wouldn’t go amiss. And when I say ground, I mean knowledge.
Because knowing is half the battle. And seeing that we were nowhere near waging any sort of battle against the Ursines, knowing would just have to do. So I got up off my bed, and went to the adjoining bathroom. In it was a small shower, as standard, plus a sink and a mirror. As I said, it was nothing fancy. Compared to many other ships, it was borderline ghetto. But it sufficed for what the Alpha Ship One was usually used for. And that was low-key missions. Under-the-radar stuff. Hauling restricted goods. Making bank for Earth. But those missions were now long over. And Earth wanted nothing more to do with us.
But we had another mission. A new mission. A mission that I wasn’t willing to take part in. But sometimes in life, you have to do what you have to do. Other times though, you say screw it, and do what you want. And this was one of those times. I was fed up with letting these things walk all over us. First, they inform us that we’re being banished from Earth and must serve them. Then they tell us that we will be blowing up Earth for no particular reason other than they want to. Now they tell us that not only are we being followed by two ships that will blow us up if we divert the mission, but they stuck two heavily armed, massive Ursines on board as if the deck wasn’t stacked enough in their favor already.
It’s not like there are a ton of us on board. There are only six. How the hell are six humans supposed to save the fate of more than ten billion? It’s just not possible. So why all the extra security? Why make us feel as if there is no breathing room? I’ll tell you why…because there isn’t any! That’s why. There never was and there never will be. Unless I make some breathing room. And that’s exactly what I was planning to do. I just didn’t know what I had planned yet.
I washed my face and put on some fresh gear. The captain always wore the same smart get up. The crew were allowed to wear more flattering clothes and on off days could dress how they wanted. It was a luxury that I afforded them for good work. But my crew were no longer really here. Many of my men and women had died, so protocol had gone out the window. And to be quite blunt, wearing your best clothes for the annihilation of Earth didn’t really seem that necessary. So I decided that I’d get into some comfortable casual clothes. Just some jeans and a t shirt. Luckily, I’d had a few suit cases stowed away on the ship for safe keeping. I didn’t know whether any of the others had clothes with them. But I didn’t really care. As long as we all got along, then we’d be one step closer to solving this mess we found ourselves in.
After getting changed, I decided I knew what I was going to do. I combed my hair, put some Old Spice 1000th anniversary edition on, and stared at myself in the mirror for a few seconds. After breathing deep and exhaling a few times, I made my way out of the quarters and slowly trotted toward my destination.
The hallway I was walking down was a little dark and dank. I’d fitted a few lights on the skirting some years ago, but no matter what I did, the hallway always seemed too dark. But the darkness was fitting. At least in the sense of the unknown that surely surrounded me and my crew. I didn’t know exactly what I had planned, but I knew that I’d need a drink before I rendezvoused with the others and started hashing out some sort of plan.
After a brief spell in the dark corridor, I took a left and made my way down a brighter corridor. This particular route was a lot more scenic than the previous one. The other corridor was undecorated, and didn’t feature any windows, or port peepers of any sort. So it was dark and industrial looking. But around eight months ago, before all this mess started, I’d decided to renovate half the ship. I’d fitted some of the many corridors with windows and port peepers (little round windows for staring out of). It had improved the mood of my crew some, which is half the battle of running a successful long-haul space trawler.
But I knew that no amount of windows or decoration could improve our current moods, hence the reason I was making my way toward the bar. And sure enough, I was nearly there, just a few more seconds, and I’d be in booze filled bliss.
“Oh,” I said, entering the small bar, which consisted of a self-service bar, a pool table and a jukebox in a small metallic room that looked a little like an oversized broom cupboard.
“I wasn’t expecting to see you two here,” I said, walking up to the bar and hesitantly sitting down.
To my surprise, Borch and Ern were sitting at the bar, drinking human beer. It made no sense. These were aliens. And as far as I knew, humans were the only species known to wreck their vital organs wi
th various poisonous substances.
“We thought it would be a good idea to try some of Earth’s delicacies before it is wiped from existence,” Borch said as he slid me an unopened beer in a bottle. I caught it and opened it with my teeth. The two Ursines beside me started chirping.
“How primitive and resourceful. I like it,” Ern said, reaching for a cold one himself. He too tried to open it with his mouth, but unfortunately the bottle neck cracked under the pressure of his jaws and an explosion of glass ensued. Ern spat the glass out and began to chirp, along with his big friend Borch, who if I wasn’t mistaken already looked drunk. He was hanging off the bar, arms draped over the mahogany wood, trying to balance himself. I watched the comical scene for a few minutes with a smile on my face. This after all was the first time I’d ever seen an alien drunk, so the sight was quite astonishing.
But soon the smile faded from my face and curiosity washed over me. What if this was my chance? What if they were so drunk that I could some how disarm them? But then reality set in. I saw Ern push Borch away from him in a drunken rage. It seemed as if Ern was fed up of being laughed at. And to counter, he’d decided to show Borch how strong he was. Just like any man involved in some sort of drunken incident, it all boiled down to a show of strength. And these bear creatures weren’t afraid to throw their weight around. I watched as they came to blows, seemingly out of the blue.
“Come on guys, calm down!” I said, standing up, the color draining from my face. I was terrified of what might ensue. But my pleas for them to stop went unheard and I watched helplessly as the two of them began to growl at each other. They then started to talk in their native language which sounded like howls to me. I watched from afar, every few seconds, taking a few steps back. Before I knew it, it was over. They were laughing again, and seemed to be hugging each other. They wrapped their big arms around one another and squeezed, while chirping uncontrollably. I just stood there, dumbfounded.
“Don’t be alarmed, human. We, like you, sometimes quarrel. But unlike you, or your race, we don’t terminate each other because of a difference in opinion. So relax. Join us,” Ern said, beckoning me over.
“You sure you aren’t going to use me as some sort of club to beat each other up with?” I said, half joking, as I approached my stool. I sat back down and nursed my drink as an awkward silence fell over the bar. I didn’t dare look at the two giants next to me. And I could tell that they knew I was scared. But the strange thing about it was, it all felt awkward, as if they were embarrassed of showing their aggression and breaking out in a fight, whilst I was embarrassed witnessing it and nearly peeing my pants.
But after a few drinks, the bar atmosphere became friendly once again. It was still only occupied by me and the two bears, but we’d started talking about the things that most men talked about while drunk.
“I don’t understand why human men are attracted to human women, but I can see that the one with the yellow hair likes you,” Borch said, as he pounded a bottle of beer. I found myself wondering if the computer could keep up with the production of synthetic beer. Borch looked as if he was going to drink the place dry. But luckily, with the ship’s FOODOMITOR, that would never happen.
“You think?” I asked. “You really think she likes me?” I said, nearly hiccupping as I opened my fifth beer in the space of an hour. I tried to keep my eyes open, but the lack of sleep, food and freedom had taken its toll on me. This was the first time I’d drank alcohol in a year or two, so I was feeling it.
“I mean, I see her looking, but I don’t know whether she’s actually looking - if you get what I’m saying?” I said, tightening my grip around the beer bottle’s neck. I was sure that if I squeezed any harder, the glass would shatter into a million pieces. I was nervous. Nervous of being in a room on my own, with no backup, drinking with galactic savages. But as crazy as it sounds, it wasn’t half bad. They joked. They teased. They spoke from the heart. And they drank like the rest of them.
Could it be that they were more like us than I thought? I decided that I’d have to investigate further. From what I remember back on their planet, in the prison, they weren’t too privy to certain human traits. I felt as if they were a little unknowledgeable when it came to the different personalities that we humans possessed. They had us down as simple creatures. But I don’t think they actually knew how clever we were. So I was willing to use that assumption to see if these things were capable of reading between the lines. But then again, we’re talking a whole different kettle of fish here. Big, hairy fish. These guys, Borch and Ern, were so much more different compared to the other Ursines we’d seen. They were bigger. They were hairier, and except for the Ursine king, they were the only ones that could speak English without a translator. So I had to be careful to not stick my foot in anything too sticky. I didn’t want to alarm these guys.
“She likes you, human. We have keen sense of smell. Our race is very astute at picking up certain scents. And on closer examination, I have realized that your friend with the yellow hair perspires more when she sees you. It is a pleasant smell, though. Not like some humans I’ve seen. Their perspiration doesn’t smell so nice,” Ern said, pounding a beer in one shot. It seemed as if the FOODOMITOR was going off every ten seconds, ejecting another freshly made, all synthetic beer in a recycled bottle. I feared for its repair bill after this mission, if, of course, there was such a thing as after this mission.
“Antiperspirant,” I muttered under my breath, the groggy feeling getting the better of me. The beer was really hitting me now.
“Antiperspirant? What is that?” Borch asked, sipping on his beer for a change. Maybe the alcohol was finally catching up to him.
“It stops you sweating so much and gives your underarms a nice smell. It’s supposed to be more hygienic,” I said, refraining myself from hammering back a drink of my own. My nerves were still firing under my skin. Sweat was dripping down my forehead. Every time I looked at either Borch or Ern, their mouths were bigger, and their frames was larger. As I sat there, nursing my drink, I realized that any false moves could land me in some boiling water. Boiling water so hot that it would disintegrate me before I even got splashed. That’s how dangerous these things were.
“So that must be why she smells so nice. Artificial help, as usual,” Ern said, necking another beer. The bottles kept on coming. The empties kept piling up. The electronic butler, which consisted of a robotic arm behind the counter, had a job just keeping up with the whole drinking session. But these things were built to serve hundreds of people in a night, so they were reliable.
“Artificial help?” I stammered, putting the tip of the bottle in my mouth, whilst tipping the bottom contents of froth into my gullet. “Do your bear women wear makeup as well?” I asked.
The two creatures looked at me for a long while and then started chirping.
“No, not at all. It’s just something we’ve come to realize about humans in general,” Borch said, still chortling uncontrollably.
“What have you come to realize?” I asked, the room suddenly spinning around me. I felt sick. Sick and frightened. What was happening? Had my beer been spiked? Were they going to rape me? Obviously, I was having irrational thoughts. But try hanging out with the alien race that wants your race dead, and have drinks with them!
“We have come to realize that all of humanity seem to be obsessed with what technology can do for them, and not what they can do for themselves,” Borch said.
The room continued to spin, but I refrained from barfing all over the counter. I didn’t want to anger, or amuse the two Ursines sitting next to me. I was fed up of being chirped at.
“Artificial help…I get it,” I slurred, cracking another bottle open and draining a quarter of it in one mouthful. As the room span, and my stomach did backflips, I had the sudden urge to smoke a cigarette. They were a relic of the past. Not many places, planets or star systems sold them any more. All you could get these days was an E-Tank, which was basically a vaporizer. But it wasn’t t
he same thing. There was something about the humans of yesteryear who laughed in the face of danger, and did things to put themselves in harms way. Yet, they probably didn’t regret a thing. That was true living. Not like these days. Not when the goal was to live for as long as you could. But reaching a certain age isn’t what I would call living, and that’s coming from a man that’s about to fly a nuke into Earth and make sure that NOBODY has any more birthdays!
“I don’t think you do get it,” Ern said from afar. He was still pounding beers like there was no tomorrow. The thing must have had a massive liver. Mine was almost shot, and I could barley keep up with these things.
“I do, I do. We don’t use what we were given naturally to our advantage…,” I hiccupped.
The two Ursines looked at me for a little longer and then began chirping once again. I’d had enough. I slammed my fist onto the bar and stood up, swaying slightly as I caught my balance.
“I don’t know what’s so damn funny. You better stop mocking me with that shrill primitive tongue of yours!” I said, not quite believing what I was saying. I was standing up to these things. And I wasn’t scared any more. In fact, I was excited. But then again, maybe that was the copious amount of Dutch courage that was swirling in my stomach.
“Easy, human. You look a little pale. Maybe you should go to bed,” Borch said, both he and Ern were still seated on their stools, necking beers. My little outburst neither impressed them, nor intimidated them. But through my very drunk eyes, I was seeing things a little different.
“Yeah, I know you’re scared. You didn’t expect a human to rise to his feet so fast, did you? You didn’t expect him to stand up for himself! Well, here I am, confirming all your worst nightmares,” I said, staggering as I spoke. The Ursines didn’t move, nor did they chirp. They weren’t in any way reacting. But in my head, that could only mean one thing:
Stasis (Alpha Ship One Book 1) Page 11
