The Fire Crystal

by Lawrence, James

  Even Tom wasn’t sure how all this worked, but he trusted the scientists from his own planet, and most of all Amber. If it didn’t work out, then their own battle cruisers would blast the Zaarks from space. This would be all out war and both Tom and Calvan knew they would be caught in the middle - and would be killed.

  Calvan was homesick and scared. This was no vacation, and he was uncertain if he would ever be going home.

  Tom had read his mind; maybe he was feeling it too. “We’ll be going home soon,” he said with confidence. “We just have a bit of business to do first.”

  The craft travelled with rocket-drive now. As it edged them in closer to the hub, Tom worried that they might get caught in the grip of a star.

  “Stay alert?” he said. “The Zaarks will be here any second. I made sure that they’d locked us back into their beam, just before we jumped into hyperspace.”

  They didn’t have to wait long. There some distance away, the empty space glowed for a few seconds, as the enemy ship dropped out of hyperspace.

  There was a noise like someone striking a gong, and the computer announced: “Intruder in local sector, and closing.”

  Tom answered. “Deflection shields up, but don’t cloak the ship. We want the intruder to see us.”

  “Now for the chase,” he said, and a hit a key on the pad in front of him. “We have a meeting with Amber.”

  17 The Plan

  Before this adventure had begun Amber planned the possible outcomes, so she could present them to the Elders. They would need to make a decision.

  Only the supercomputer could see everything needed, to make this work. She had run a ‘what if’ scenario millions of times, on the planet’s best machine. With every cycle, the computer had changed the plan just one bit, and tested the results.

  “Blue on Blue,” she had murmured many times, meaning that the computer had predicted failure yet again. It had shown the Zaark’s ship moving away from the Hub, with no opposition. All the friendlies had fallen into the massive black hole, and seemed frozen on its horizon. She would never see Tom or Calvan again; and spend her entire life wondering what had happened to them.

  The worst of the simulations had finished with a short clip, showing Tom and Calvan’s ship blasted to bits. Then it showed the inside of the Zaarks ship. All the beasts looked more ugly than in real life. They were leaping around their leader, yelping and laughing.

  “Must have a word with the chief programmer,” she said. “This computer is starting to get just a bit too smart for its own good”

  Finally! She had the results that she needed. At last the computer had run two scenarios that had led to a correct result - the end of the Zaarks. One of these results she didn’t want to think about. The Zaarks were blasted out of space, and along with them Tom and Calvan.

  The second result was what she looked for. Only the Zaarks were pushed into the black hole, and gone forever. She had carefully plotted stages of this second result into her own pocket computer, and, it would become the plan.

  “This is the best we can do, and the plan cannot be simplified further,” she had told the Assembly of her planet’s Elders, “but it’s still more like a gamble than a plan.”

  They nodded. Tom’s father addressed the assembly, and then turned towards her his voice filled with authority. “You have permission to go ahead Amber - make it happen please, failure is not an option for any of us.”

  18 Beam Weapon

  The beam weapon was a mighty device, and looked as if it had been strung together by a giant spider - and left as a trap. The best that the scientists on Two Stars could produce at short notice.

  There were two battle cruisers of the Two Stars fleet nearby, uncloaked so that they could be seen, but with their shields up. A small fleet of small assault craft accompanied each – little more that computerized cannons.

  The trap had been set. All it needed now was Tom and Calvan to join the party, in their humble shuttlecraft, and of course the Zaarks themselves in hot pursuit.

  Amber stood on the sealed control deck of the beam weapon, above the center of the tube. All the generators were humming now. They were as ready as they would ever be. She knew only too well how difficult it would be to pull this off, and had gone ahead of Tom and Calvan, once the construction had finished.

  Leaving earth orbit from the mother ship had been scary. She had been totally exposed to the destructive power of the Zaarks mother ship.

  Amber had heard the alarm buzz, as their beam weapons locked on, and could see the stubby barrels of the weapons tracking her ship. The Zaarks had watched her craft with impatience, fingers on the triggers, wishing they could destroy it.

  “Time to go,” she thought, - then jumped the craft into hyperspace, clenching her eyes shut and gritting her teeth.

  Amber need not have worried. The Zaarks were holding their fire, because if they destroyed her ship now, the explosion would draw unwelcome attention from the people below on Earth. The creatures had judged that there would be plenty of time for everything, once that got their hands on the fire crystal. They didn’t follow her craft, thinking this was just a coward making a run for it, and lost interest as soon as it disappeared.

  19 Ambush

  Amber’s journey to the Hub had been uneventful, and now here she was and the game was on. She counted down the minutes, pacing backwards and forwards on the deck. Where are they? She kept thinking. All of her team were feeling the stress, but said nothing. “Come on, come on?” Amber repeated to herself, almost sick with worry now. “Where are you, Tom and Calvan?”

  Suddenly when everyone was starting to give up hope, there was a soft glow in the emptiness of space. The scanners saw it first, and locked the image in, quickly zooming in as the boy’s craft dropped out of hyperspace at less than five hundred kilometers from them.

  “Hello guys, where are our friends?” Amber said on the scrambled communication link.

  “I’m sure they followed us, so they will here very soon,” Tom answered excitedly.

  They didn’t have long to wait. Much closer this time another glow appeared, as the Zaark’s mother ship dropped out of hyperspace, and appeared nearby. “Find target, lock beam and fire,” Amber said quietly to the computer.

  The plan was working, like clockwork – so far.

  A mighty tube swung around on the outside of the construction, and a beam extended from it, bathing the intruder in a hard white light. Suddenly, as if in reply, a beam left the Zaark ship and enveloped Tom and Calvan’s small craft. An opening appeared in the side of the enemy ship, as a large hatch slid open. Tom and Calvan’s tiny craft seemed to blur as if trying to shake free, but slowly started to be drawn towards the Zaark’s ship. Amber thought quickly. This wasn’t part of the plan; the Zaarks were smart.

  “Computer, lock beam to friendly craft and fire on my command,” she said calmly.

  She flicked the link to ON. “Tom and Calvan - this is Amber, strap yourselves into your seats now, and activate your collision buffers. I’m going to knock you free with the beam. As soon as this happens engage your motors to full power, and GET OUT OF THERE!”

  By the time the enemy sees what’s happening, the small craft would be pushed so far sideways that the Zaark’s will lose track of Tom and Calvan’s craft for a few seconds, she knew.

  “Computer, fire on my countdown of five,” Amber said.

  On the count of zero a bolt of energy seemed to leap from the long tube of the beam weapon. It hit the boy’s craft with great force, and instantly Tom fired the engine.

  The tiny craft was free, and speeding sideways and forwards at great speed, as if launched by a catapult. The Zaark’s reacted instantly, and swung their scanners around, seeking to recapture them in their beam.

  This impressed Amber, but she wasn't really worried. “Computer engage as planned, lets send these creatures off in style this time,” she said.

  The beam swung around and bathed the enemy ship in its light again, but nothing e
lse happened. She saw within a few seconds what the problem was. There wasn’t enough power to finish the job; their beam couldn’t push the Zaark ship hard enough.

  A voice came over the intercom, and the chief scientist said, “The crystal needs to be further into the reaction chamber; we got it wrong, and it’s jammed.”

  She stopped him when he started to explain. “Never mind the engineering, what can we do that will take less than a minute,” she said.

  After seeing how the Zaarks could react, her biggest fear was that they might jump back into hyperspace, and away from the beam. All of this would be for nothing if that happened.

  Then Amber thought. “There’s not much chance of that. These creatures may be vile, but they didn’t give up easily. They think that Tom and Calvan have some fire crystal, and are determined to get their hands on it.”

  “I’m going to move along the feed shaft, and free the crystal myself.” She said into her mike. The scientist had started to object, and there was a babble of other voices over the intercom also.

  She was angry now. “We have a few seconds to act; I’m the smallest among us, and know as much about the situation as any of you. Maybe even more,” she added. “If this doesn’t work, then we may all be saying goodbye.”

  Amber knew that if this plan didn’t work, there would be no option but to engage the Zaarks in all-out war. Tom and Calvan would die if this happened. Just like the supercomputer had predicted.

  The time in the shaft was terrifying – she hated enclosed spaces, and the heat was made almost unbearable by the radiation suit they had insisted she wear. The light from the exposed crystal had been become more intense the closer she had got to it, and despite the protective suit she was being bathed in hard radiation, from the power core.

  She was close to the fire crystal now, and ready to push it into the reactor. There was a length of the material protruding from the slot. It must have jammed when they had powered-up. The crystal just needed a push forwards, and then downwards. She pushed a few times but it didn’t budge.

  A cold blue glow emanated from the half opened slot. She was burning all over now, and starting to feel sick. If she could free the crystal the hatch would close, and she could leave this hell. Then as she pushed hard once more, the crystal broke free and dropped cleanly into the reactor, almost taking her with it. She felt a muscle tear in her shoulder, and pulled back. She wasn’t sure if she could make it back out.

  “Get me back – back out now,” she screamed into her microphone. There was no need, the belt was already moving backwards. Arms reached for her, and pulled; then she was quickly placed on a wheeled stretcher-trolley. The medics could repair the damage to her body now, but she leaped back off, then shrugged off the suit saying, “We have a job to finish first.”

  They started to protest, and one even held her arm. Amber said “If we don’t see this through we may as well all say goodbye now”

  She ran to the control deck, climbed into her seat, asking the computer for an update, but could already see what was happening: The enemy ship was still in local space, the Zaarks were trying hard, but their own beam had not yet caught Tom and Calvan again. There was still time!

  The reactor below was humming with power now. “Power set to maximum, and target locked,” the computer said, as if reading her thoughts.

  “Computer execute plan.” This time she was shouting. “I want rid of these beasts.”

  Once again the beam swept out from the construction. This time it was brighter. So bright that it was unbearable to look at.

  The Zaarks were trying hard. Amber watched with a mixture of fear and disappointment. The enemy maintained position. She saw the white blue of their drive, and then realized why. They must have a piece of fire crystal, and had fed it into their reactor as a last resort! Their ship didn’t move. In fact it was still trying to lock it’s own beam to Tom and Calvan’s craft.

  “Computer red-line our reactor!” Amber commanded. The whole platform vibrated now, as the beam weapon ramped up its anti-gravity force. This was unpredictable, and highly dangerous. We could explode like a supernova she knew, but at least they would take the Zaarks with them.

  “We are not going to survive,” this was the voice of the chief project engineer. “Nice try Amber but all we have is about ten seconds before our power core begins to melt. Then it will be all over.”

  “Get ready to cut the power on my command,” Amber replied calmly, “but do nothing until then.”

  The seconds ticked by.

  Suddenly there was a huge flash. The Zaarks ship had blown its motors. They were exploding out into space. The ship bucked as if being struck a physical blow, and them whizzed away from them in a blur of speed – backwards!

  “Cut the power NOW!” Amber shouted into her mike.

  The vibration slowly decreased, and the hum of energy subsided. It was the chief engineer again. “The core is melting, it’s running away with itself, and I can’t stop it,” he told Amber.

  Amber replied quickly. “Trigger the fire suppressor system in the core, and flood it with foam, right now.”

  Even from where she sat the hum of the pumps could be heard. “We’ve slowed the meltdown long enough for us to escape,” the engineer reported back, “but it’s still going to blow.”

  Amber switched the communications link to the nearest battle cruiser, and spoke to the captain.

  “Come alongside right now, and prepare for urgent evacuation. Don’t even ask any questions please, just get us right out of here, before our power core blows.”

  Amber switched her mike to broadcast, and notified all the rig crew. They needed to don space suits straight away.

  She told Tom to jump their ship into hyperspace immediately, and then keep a beacon going for location and pick up, but keep some serious space between themselves and this rig.

  “How far away do we need to be to watch the explosion safely?” Tom asked.

  “You have no armor, I suggest a billion miles, and don’t be tempted to make it any closer,” Amber said.

  She turned her attention to the Zaark’s ship now. “Even better than we expected.” The course was set. Without motors there was no way out for the Zaark’s, it would be a slow spiral down, into the grip of the massive black hole

  The open video link flickered, and then Amber saw a face. “The Zaark Leader?” she said.

  He was bordering on madness. Still trying to speak, but just foaming at the mouth. He wasn’t stupid though and knew that it was the end.

  After all she had been through Amber couldn’t resist it. “Relax and enjoy the trip. You will exit the other side into” - she struggled for words - “another place, but at least you are making history.”

  The Zaarks started to splutter, and was turning purple with rage. “Sorry we’ve got to go.” Amber said, as she broke the link. The screen went blank.

  The evacuation was completed within minutes. The captain obviously had no wish to hang around in this area. Once onboard the cruiser, Amber was carried off to the sick bay. On the way she still managed a few words. “Don’t leave our heroes out there, bring Calvan and Tom in from the cold, once we’ve put some space between ourselves and the rig. ”

  “How much space - I was going to suggest one million miles back off, from the explosion”, the captain said.

  Amber said one final thing before she disappeared through the sick bay door. “Multiply that by ten, and make it fast,” she told the captain.

  Once they had backed of all eyes were on the viewers. Everyone waited, as the rig’s power core went super-critical. The hours ticked by, and nothing happened. The captain had decided, he would wait one day, and then launch a fusion torpedo at the rig. It was not the sort of scrap that should be left hanging around in space, even in this remote location.

  Suddenly, just when everyone had given up, a bright dot appeared in the general location of the rig. It quickly spread into a massive fireball, more than one hundred thousand miles across
. The glow lasted for days, and even at this distance, the radiation could be measured.

  Amber had missed the fireworks; she was being treated in the sick bay still, but was expected to walk out, as good as new the next day.

  Tom and Calvan were both onboard now though. They were the heroes of the day, and been give a prime spot for viewing. No monitor screen for them. The battle cruiser had few portholes, and they had been given their own room with a view.

  20 Event Horizon

  A small group looked out from the captains viewing port, at the horizon of the black hole. It seemed foreboding up this close, and they could make out the flicker of violet light around its horizon.

  Tom, Calvan, and Amber were with the mission’s scientists. “Don't be deceived, that's hard radiation,” one of the scientists said to them.

  “How come we happened to have these radiation suits handy to wear?” Amber asked.

  “These are standard military issue. They were made for protection from weapon radiation,” The captain was standing nearby, and had replied.

  “They’re even rated for supernova explosions,” the second man said. Not much more that a boy; he was hoping to impress her. “I helped design them myself”

  “These people are whizzes!” Calvan thought, staring at the scene, and pretending that he understood.

  An image of the Zaarks ship had remained frozen, on the event horizon of the black hole for a long time now. It was unnerving because they were so close in themselves, but the ship kept tight control and sometimes would fire a quick burst of its booster rockets, to stay in their holding orbit.

  Everyone was getting restless, and wanted to go home. Amber was watching for something though, and would only relax, and give the command when she had seen it with her own eyes.

  Slowly the frozen image of the Zaarks ship began to fade, until it finally disappeared.

  “Say goodbye guys, because they’ve gone forever,” she said, and turned around and spoke to Tom and Calvan. “Now there’s some tidying up to do on Earth, for the crew of our mother ship. The fire crystal will be removed from the cave, and brought back to Two Stars. The guardians have to be collected from the desert, and as for the second set of eagles guarding the cave – I think they are ready to come home too.”