by Richard Sosa
“I am not impressed. Melve you’re a pretty boy, those torn pants don’t make you look younger, or cooler so you just act your age,” Ra pretended to be distracted.
“Ra, you’re supposed to be my friend. Why are you such a jerk?”
“Sorry dude, I hate it when people throw up their credentials in my face. I don’t have any of those.”
“Yet, you’re the one leading this mission. Why did you sign up for this duty?”
“Stupid. I don’t know when to shut up.”
They both laughed. The hatch door cycled to open and Captain Trej-re leaned in halfway through the hatch. “You guys O.K. do you need anything? Can I grab you some food or something hot to drink?”
Ra put his hand on his stomach. “Thanks, but I think we’re fixed up pretty good for now. I had to get this lazy ass to stay awake and I think more food might just make him sleepier.”
“I wasn’t sleeping Sir,” Melve said, “Ra forgets that I had the last watch last night and I am doing a second shift because I am super dedicated to this mission. Besides, I am the only one that can calculate the orbital arrays perfectly. Mister Ra here is bluffing his way around, that’s going to only take him so far before someone figures he’s a complete incompetent.” Ra stared at his friend.
The Captain shifted his gaze to Ra then curtly responded, “stay on that section, let’s make sure we can alert home base in time if anything comes this way. Good work you two and keep each other honest.”
Ra does a halfhearted salute and the Captain closes the hatch. It sealed with a vacuum sound.
Ra checked his calculations for the fiftieth time and said, “Way to throw me under the hoover carrier,” he typed on his computer, “I thought we were a team,” and smiled.
Melve inspected his nails. “You don’t know the meaning of that word. You had it coming. Besides he doesn’t give a shit about us. We’re civilians.”
Ra continued to calibrate his scan. “No change, everything is as expected. God this place is hell.” Melve began to nod off. Ra gently touched his arm. “Dude. Go to sleep. Use the cot in the cooling unit. I won’t tell. I am messing with you. I know you’ve done two shifts straight.” Melve got up as if being told to go to bed by his parents and walked into the chamber. Ra said. “You can close the hatch. I am O.K. here besides if the Captain comes back, we don’t want him to see you sleeping.”
Melve looked at Ra and said. “He doesn’t give a shit. Good night. I’ll set the alarm for a few trems and relieve you.”
Ra smiled and gave him a wave, “Sweet dreams princess.”
The polymer glass hatch closed and sealed. Ra saw Delve walk to the back of the tube and spread a blanket, then he disappeared when he crawled into his blankets on the cot. Ra turned his attention to the work again and since the door to the cooling unit was soundproof, he turned up his music and took out his earbuds. He decided to take advantage of the time to do additional calculations on the gird. He searched for large objects reflecting light the same way a sphere would and found nothing. He recalibrated again, maybe make the focus smaller,’ he thought, and he tried to calculate the light reflection from a large sphere that was rotating down to something very small. Nothing came up. He waited for a few minutes and decided to narrow the band even smaller and search for any surface reflecting light at .0589 trimatons. A small blimp occurred. Talking to self he adjusted his calibration. “Humm, now what the hell is that?” He stood up and took the handheld COM unit off the wall. “Captain Trej-re, I think I have something located can you check this out and back me up on the location array?” He sat down. His monitor was filled with red blimps, “Damn it,” the screen populated even more blimps, “What the hell. Damn it.” He hit the emergency button and COM and shouted, “Bogies at grid seven approaching fast. Repeat Bogies at grid seven, eight, twelve. All around.”
Suddenly, a muffled ‘boom’ sound occurred followed by a larger explosion from the coolant chamber and fire lapped against the window of the sealed hatch. The ship shook. Ra reached for the top of his desk and missed as he fell hard to the floor, spilling his paperwork and half cold coffee. The aft section of the orbital platform crumpled into silvery debris that spewed into space.
Fire engulfed the tube and through it, Melve raced to the door with his back on fire only to be sucked out into space. Ra stared in horror into the eyes of Melve as he moved away out into space and was swirled in the debris. Ra immediately rolled and stood and put on his helmet and locked the breathing unit to his body but then fell backward violently as the entire station shifted under his feet, shook, rattled and twisted then immediately everything leaned backward. Ra’s feet flew into the air fast and he kicked and twisted to face forward expecting to fall hard again but he was able to put his hand behind him and gently pushed off the ground, loss of artificial gravity. “Oh hell, that can’t be good,” He said to himself under his breath.
He swam to the airlock and struggled to open the hatch, it’s jammed closed, his mind raced. The orbital platform was breaking into pieces and out the port window, a pill-shaped alien ship rocketed by and made an upside-down loop then came around again firing lasers. The orbital waffled like paper more violently with panels coming off the wall, smoke filled the small space, and a sucking sound occurred from the entire side of the ship where Melve was a moment ago. That part of the ship sheared off into space. His room hung on the side of the platform by tethers of metal.
“Get the hell out, get out.” He shouted to no one and he pulled at the emergency open lever with all his strength, but the room was twisting and shearing under his feet jamming the hatch. He grabbed a straight metal rod and used it as a cheater bar by pushing it into the wheel well and leveraging with all his strength. The wheel to open the door did not move. Ra saw a stripe of metal that was longer, and he tried to pull it from the floor. It was anchored. He furiously kicked it and moved the loose ends back and forth to free it. The side of the room slipped again, ready to shear off the structure and with it, the metal stripe anchor moved as bolts busted off and floated in the room. Ra attacked the metal strip and worked it back and forth until it came off the wall. The floor shifted again. He jammed the longer metal into the wheel and leveraged it with all his muscle energy, he pushed against it and gave way. The door popped open. Flames met him directly charring his helmet face cover, burning his hands and he raced away to the side but remembered to close the hatch by leaning on it and pushing on it with his hand. His palm fried like a hamburger on a hot pan. He raced through the ship as it tilted 45 degrees.
Captain Trej-re was dead on the floor and a Tech on the COM to planet Aoife was screaming. “We’re under attack right now. Evacuations in grids 67 through 90. All Flyers away.” The Tech searched around. “Fire Control. I need fire control right now,” then back to the communication panel, he shouted, “abandon ship. Repeat, abandon ship. Engineering, maintain attitude 857 for as long as possible. All Flyers and emergency pods away. Repeat. All Flyers and pods away.”
Massive explosions ripped through the room and Ra tumbled in the zero gravity to slam against the wall and bounced flat on his face with his clothing smoldering. The tech flew into the ceiling and then slammed on the floor. He slowly climbed to stand, leaning against the console, he looked over at Ra. “Get to—”
Another blast covered the room with fire for an instant that burned everything and then the oxygen and fire sucked out into space. Ra’s head was pounding, he was lying on the floor, he looked at his arm, it was a bloody, black stump. He tried to stand and saw the palm of his intact arm. “Gods, Shit. Shit.” He tried to move, his hand was a black and red flat blob, fingers fused, useless to hold anything. His leg was twisted around a metal frame that kept him from flying out into space with the rest of the crew. Sparks danced on the consoles and equipment and then flew out into space to burn out. Lasers punched round holes into the sides of the walls and sparks flew into the room like a cutting welder. Zero gravity suspended the blobs of melted metal and sparks in precis
e lines from the laser's point of entry through the haul. The walls pounded with the barrage of lasers and pinpoints of flashes instantly appeared everywhere around him. He tried to scream but there was no air in his lungs.
Someone very strong and tethered to a safety line lifted Ra and hauled him through the chaos into a port entry with a secure door that closed behind them. He heard his rescuers’ voice in his helmet unit. “Stay with me, we have to abandon ship. Can you run?” They turned down a hallway and snaked through corridors filled with smoke. Ra was leaning on the narrow corridor while being pulled along. His unit com carried urgent and panicked voices all around the ship. They kept moving through another corridor turning and winding their way. Ra was lost but he could feel the ship shuttering as he leaned on the wall. They came into an open area and he felt himself being lifted into a Flyer co-pilot seat then the top closed over him with a hiss and he could breathe more easily. Seat restraints automatically pulled around him. The instant fresh air surrounded him Ra began to struggle. “Pilot, get me out of here, I can’t stand the pain.” His body squirmed against the seat belts. The engines whined making the ship buck like a tethered racehorse. The doors opened under the ship and they dropped away from the orbital platform into space. Ra felt his stomach climb to his throat and then the rockets fired as the Flyer moved rapidly on a deep dive further away from the orbital platform. Ra looked up and saw the orbital shrinking in size with many Flyers and evacuation pods streaming away for it. “Gods, I am going to die,” he whispered. As the Flyer raced to its rendezvous point the orbital platform exploded and then imploded in space.
Chapter Thirty-four
The fog moved into the outer edge of EpDaaRa and snaked along the river eventually covering the sleeping city. Only the towers of the large tall glass-like buildings peeked out above it. The night was enhanced by the cold mist blocking the city lights. The lights faded out and then shinned brighter alternating where the thick mist thinned as it passed through the city. The stars, quietly hung in the sky above with no judgment and the bright star, the ancient home, sparked its light energy as if trying to burst from its place. Inside Iris’ flat within the small space of his locker bed, Rik struggled to find sleep and eventually the cool night air calmed him. His eyes closed. In an instant, Rik was struggling to wake-up and he thrashed in his blankets.
***
The grass was always the same, wet, slimy. Each step was harder like a thick tar sucking each step deeper into it. He fell again to the ground and his hands sank into it and he pulled them out covered in blood. Before he could scream, trees behind him hissed into puffs of smoke as the laser flattened and moved closer. A large roaring sound approached, a boiling tidal wave that came closer even when he ran harder and faster. His breath was ragged gulping in thick smoke, and he tasted the acrid burning of rubber and plastics. It assaulted his lungs, it’s all toxic. He looked back and then turned around, ‘wait for him’ he thought, but couldn’t and ran faster. Guilt and self-hatred overwhelmed him. Neil stumbled behind him and screamed. Rik turned around to see his little brother consumed by the fire, the small body riled in pain and his hands reach out to him as his figure turned black. Rik screamed but made no sound. He tried to scream again and again. Wake up. Wake up. ‘No. No. No.’
***
Rik shouted. “No.”
Iris reached into the locker space and roughly pushed at him. “Gezz Rik, wake up, wake up. You’re dreaming again. Wake up. I can hear you with my door closed, probably the neighbors think you’re playing with yourself.”
Rik stared back into Iris’ wide frightened eyes. He put his hand on his forehead to wipe away beads of sweat, his blankets were twisted around his ankles and his fingers cramped in a claw still shook. He took a deep breath and settled his breathing. Iris sat down next to him. Rik’s hands shook. “Gods that was the worst damn dream I’ve had. They never go way.”
Iris sat next to him rubbing his back. “That’s why you’re in the locker. Anyone around you is risking getting smacked by flailing arms.” She makes a funny crazy jester with her arms moving all around her head.
Rik observed for a moment not amused but had to smile. He crawled out of the locker space. “You want some tea? I am going to make a dol-ve?”
“Yes. Thank you. You need one of those badly.”
He prepared their drinks and then with a cup in each hand gestured her to the terrace. They both sat quietly on the terrace watching the two suns rise in the South casting their purple hue on the buildings and ground.
Rik wondered out loud, “You think it’s safe to sit out here in the open.”
“Yeah, word has it I am no longer a target, just you,” Iris said, “It’s safe enough.”
The grass glistened from the night fog. Rik was fascinated by the sight. Birds were chirping in the trees and the village was waking. Rik sipped his dol-ve, “This is good, thanks for keeping some around.”
Iris sipped her tea, “You think Ra is doing o.k.? He’s doesn’t do very well in confined spaces.”
“How long has he been gone now?” Rik thought.
“Four suns cycles.”
“He’s probably getting ready to come home,” Rik reflected, “you know for the first time in a long time I feel like I am home. I guess Neil must have felt the same way and finally found some peace. A place you can call home. A place that will not be invaded.”
A faint alarm in the flat was beeping and getting louder. Iris stood up. “Damn it. Who can that be at this time of the morning?” She walked into the house. After a moment she shouted, “Rik, get in here now.”
Rik stood up and walked in and saw the monitor on Iris’ desk with Dask at battle stations and giving orders while waiting for Rik to come online and his locator on the table in an activation cycle beeping and vibrating with a green light running along the side. He looked at Iris’ face and said softly, “It's beginning. It's beginning.”
Rik turned on his COM Unit and the volume was up, Dask was speaking. ‘General Alert, all pilots and support began EFA Defense Silo Alpha Five, repeat, Silo Alpha Five.’
Looking at Iris, Rik said, “Grab your stuff, it's time,” and then to Dask, “we’re on our way.” They raced out of the unit and noticed other people were moving to stations as well. Groups of people were going to pre-assigned stations or families with children to shelters with emergency bags. Calm and determined, no one talked as they moved quickly and split off at pathway junctures. At a branched pathway Rik and Iris moved in different directions, Rik said. “I am heading to Hangar 52. I’ll see you later, O.K?”
Iris stepped up to him and kissed him gently. “Later then.”
They parted with Rik running toward the farthest hangar and Iris lost in a crowd moving toward defense lines orientation. As Iris and other Techs approached the Defense Services Bunker, Megs was approaching from the side at a run and called to Iris, “Did the training routines get completed? I didn’t have a chance to get my teams fully up to date.”
“No, we’re not fully prepared.”
Everyone was jogging and iris checked her time unit. “They’re complete but I don’t think Rik is happy with the results and I don’t know how many repetitions were done.” A soldier stopped them and quickly scanned their wrist units then let them pass to enter the Bunker.
Inside the Defense Services Bunker, teams were working fast in organized chaos. Dask tapped a screen on his console and listened and then pressed a COM, a voice from the outpost, in a professional but urgent tone comes on the unit speakers, ‘This is outpost 27, (static), Invasion. Repeat, invasion commencing (more static and garbled voices breaking up), initiating evacuation to Space Grid 65. Silence. They are not ignoring us, repeat not ignoring us. We are engaging.’
Everyone watched the monitors for confirming data. Dask said to his Technicians. “Do we have any visuals from the arrays yet?”
The Tech trained his eyes over at Karl and then Dask, “No sir, that data is still three gaml-ite-minutes out.”
&nbs
p; Dask crossed his arms and asked. “Is the led Flyer group away?”
“Yes, they’ve been in the air for one gaml-ite minute now,” the Tech typed, “Rik’s teams are gearing up now. They should be in the air in two.”
Suddenly, another voice sounded, ‘is this thing working?’ the screen in full audio and visual came on. Under the screen, the image was identified as ‘Outpost Three-Five.’ The monitors showed staff running to airlocks and escape pods with some Flyers docked swaying at their tether with engines running and charging for flight. There were bangs and booms as the space facility vibrated and shook. Smoke was filling the view. The voice continued, ‘Evacuation grids sixty-seven through ninety. All Flyers away (breaking up with static) All Flyers away. Repeat, (static) ... get to…” The image blackened, and smoke appeared swirling as if venting in space. Explosions crackled over the COM Unit forcing many to rip out their earpieces.
Chapter Thirty-five
The Raptor Flyer adjusted his controls as they approached a rendezvous grid where a medical ship awaited. The pilot reported on COM, “Flyer 4878 RF, we're coming in. Post 35 is gone. I have one injured civilian level 12 in need of immediate medical intercept at four, eight, section two, that's four, eight, S two.” The pilot spoke quietly to his Flyer as it shook violently from a damaged wing, “Come on, five gaml-ites out. Hold together.”
Several Raptor Flyers raced away from the invaders and scattered. What’s left of the Orbital Platform tumbled in space as lasers continued to strike its surface. Debris spewed from the Orbital Platform like a pinwheel and then Space Outpost Three Five imploded.
A Flight Controller came on over his COM. “Medical will be moving to our next stationary plane in four gaml-ite minutes, 4878 RF what is your ETA?”
The pilot responded, “I am pushing it. I am out three gaml-ites. Can you wait for me? My Flyer is damaged.”
