by G. P. Moss
Mr Whistler roars.
“Our brains auto-translate any language, you fool! We could have invaded your lot any time but we left you alone. Now you come here, trying to forge a new empire after you wrecked your last one. Pathetic! I will destroy you all!”
Nicholls whips out the order, hard and fast.
“Turn 180 degrees; press stupid speed for 2 seconds. NOW!”
*
Emerging from the dust cloud, 5 escort fighters start to hunt the cruisers, their missiles criss crossing as they weave and fire, weave and fire. The Beta cruisers return fire, largely protected by their shields but still taking a battering as they roll and turn.
Beta 7’s Captain, Josh Steele, screams through the intercom.
“I’m being hit by our own weapons. Hit the fighters, not me!”
Beta 8’s Captain, Maria Gonzales, bats it back.
“We’re trying, Josh. The windscreens are covered in dust; it’s hard to see.”
Nicholls’ voice stamps on the discord.
“I want all AIs cleaning the windows, NOW!”
As visibility improves, it’s clear Beta Command is all over the place. Ironically, it’s making the job of Whistler’s fighters much more difficult.
Beta 9’s Captain, Jeremy West, pleas for help.
“Someone cover my wing. I’m going after lead fighter. I repeat. I’m going after lead fighter.”
Beta 10’s Captain, Holly Haversham, asks a serious question in the heat of battle.
“Which is their leader, Jeza?”
“It has ‘Number 1’ painted on the sides, HH.”
“Got it, Jeza; on my way!”
As the cruisers chase off the other 4 fighters, Jeza and HH close in on Number 1. Now the dust has cleared and their windows are clean, there’s a steely determination as the Betas 9 and 10 smash their weaponry into the leading Whistler fighter. It can’t turn or do anything as the cruisers hold it tight in place.
“HH, I have it in my sights.”
Too late, the fighter has somehow turned, now chasing Beta 9. Holly wants to down it before it switches back to stupid speed.
“Lure it away, Jeza, make it forget about me.”
Beta 9 rolls and turns, the lead fighter chasing its tail as Holly lines up, calm as you like, behind it. She sends volleys of laser weaponry smashing into the back of the attacker before WHOOSH! It’s disappeared, saving itself like those of its colleagues.
“Yeee haaa!!”
HH is happy as unexpected sunshine on a wet day in a neglected seaside town with all the amusements shut.
Nicholls pipes up over the intercom.
“Well done, everyone! Great job. Holly, you are promoted.”
“I can’t go any higher, Sir. Unless I have the same rank as you.”
“I meant rewarded, not promoted haha! You are the first recipient of the Space Order of High and meritorious Conduct and Extreme Bravery in Dangerous Battle. Actually, that is a trifle long. Hold on a minute. How about this. From now on, you will be known as Lady H.”
“Wow, thank you Sir!”
A huge cheer could be heard from every cockpit.
*
Meanwhile, on Beta 3, Gobby Johnny Hope was feeling extremely sick. Being a Beta cruiser Captain was harder than it looked. His absolute steely determination to fly high in his career does not let this put him off though. Maybe he could have a desk job. In charge of everyone of course. Yes, that would do nicely.
Chapter Twelve
Milky Way (further back)
Ariel and Poppy sit in the cockpit while Stevie checks the weapons systems with Harry.
"Will your Whistler lot come after us?"
"No, they shouldn't do. I created a fuel-dump fireball distraction; as far as the rest of the fighters are concerned, we are both space dust now. The last communication I heard was to Mr Whistler. It said, 'Poppy lost, along with Earth cruiser; possible collision or mutual destruction.' I would not have asked for asylum if I felt I could not bring you value, ma'am."
Ariel wriggles with invisible excitement at being addressed in such a respectful manner. She's all ears. She's 2 focussed ears.
"What do you mean, Poppy?"
"You left Earth without a definite plan, with nowhere settled to go. With your limited knowledge of the universe and accepted flight plans, you could not hope to find a suitable replacement planet."
"How do you know this?"
"You would not have been facing a Whistler spaceship if you had a clear idea where you were heading. That edge of your idea of space is fraught with difficulties; pirates and skirmishes are common."
There is no ma'am this time. Familiarity may breed contempt. It won't. Probably.
"And how can you help? Your asylum application was granted from a humanitarian standpoint, not for a trade off."
Ariel loves her mini speech.
"I know the universe, ma'am."
Ariel's relieved; the salutation's back. She waits for Poppy to continue. Then she suddenly realises something. Important. "Harry? Are you steering Beta 2 at the moment?"
Harry appears on screen in oil covered dungarees. It really isn't necessary.
"No, Ariel. I thought you were."
Ariel looks out the window. The course is nice and steady, rock fragments avoided, cool as you like, chilled as a correctly refrigerated cucumber. She looks back at Harry, who's now in a StarTapped uniform, complete with pilot wings.
"Just kidding."
Ariel turns back to Poppy, who's been studying the control panels.
"Sorry, you were saying?"
"Do you have images of star systems you were interested in?"
"Harry, can you bring up data for Planet Y?"
"Yes, Ariel, easily."
"Well, will you do it? Please?"
The elusive moons show on the screen.
"These would be our dream, Poppy. If we had a spare few million years."
"I have been there."
Captain Ariel Hope looks as shocked as the most shocked person. Ever.
"But how? It's an astronomical amount of light years away."
Her heart hammers in her chest.
"There is a shortcut."
"You mean a time warp? I never knew they actually existed. Hypothetically, yes but, wow, Poppy!"
"I did not land, just circled the moons. Looks pretty cool though."
“As in ice-cold or hip, hop, bring your mother to the bop?”
“The latter, ma’am.”
"Does anyone else know you've been there?"
"Only my ex boyfriend, Damien. He would not say anything, anyway; we would have been in a lot of trouble for sneeking off. At the time, we just said we had lost our way; early days and all that. Anyway, they all think I perished."
"I meant, would Mr Whistler ever use the time warp?"
"He probably would not risk his beloved spaceship, even if he knew of this particular one. These warps can be volatile; there is a risk of breaking inside them. You have the rest of StarTapped floating around here somewhere; do you not want to find them first?"
Ariel's chest tightens as she searches her soul. She's amazed at the logic that comes out; it's not just for emotional stuff then.
"Of course, I want to be reunited with my family, even Gobby Johnny, but I could be searching forever. The best scenario would be to find a planet we can live on, then do a further search."
Poppy looks to the side screen.
"Harriet, head for these coordinates, please."
"Yes, dear."
Charming, Ariel thinks. Maybe it's a rank thing. Maybe it's because I'm a young Captain, straight out of Academy.
No, Ariel, it is neither of those things.
AI Harriet is just a cheeky little monkey.
"Do they all match up okay, Harriet?"
"Yes, dear, all the lines end up in a huddly little point."
*
Stevie's returned from checking the weapons systems.
"Everything's fine, no damage,
reloads complete."
Ariel looks to her First Officer. He's still a little quiet in front of Poppy.
"Stevie, Poppy knows a time warp that will get us in the area of Planet Y."
"But that's impossible! Planet Y is believed to be in the Minstrels galaxy. It would take millions of years to get there. Ah, I see. You already said. A time warp. No one really thought they existed."
Poppy looks amused. She lightly swishes her lush hair around. Just once. Any more and it would be very annoying.
"Who named these galaxies?"
Harry appears on screen, dressed in a Harris tweed jacket, leather patches at the elbows. She sits behind a large mahogany desk.
"The Ancient Greeks coined the term 'Milky Way' as it resembled milky things, to them, anyway. 'Minstrels' was named after a bag of chocolate treats, by a scientist after necking half a bottle of Jagermeister and publishing it in a scientific peer review."
Poppy looks visibly shocked, her mouth wide open for effect.
"And this name was universally accepted?"
Harry retains her 'serious professor' look.
"He owned the publication. That and a couple of cheap lifestyle mags." She looks fondly at her jacket.
“But that, of course, is all academic now.”
Stevie looks nervously at Poppy.
"What do your people call it, Poppy?"
"Nothing. Mr Whistler has no idea of its existence. Probably. Of course, there are other time warps, too. I have only been through this one though. They are not my people anymore, Stevie."
Stevie whistles, then stops. He remembers where Poppy has come from and realises his insensitivity.
And whistling is annoying.
Ariel addresses Stevie, Poppy, and Harry. All at once. By alternating eye contact. It is statesman-like in its professionalism.
"We shall ready ourselves for the most important mission Mankind has ever undertaken. If we can find somewhere to live, it will be...great."
Ariel admits to herself she needs to work on some power keywords.
*
A slight nod from Stevie indicates to Ariel that he wants a word. They head through to the main control room, where plenty of military StarTapped staff would be sitting, if there were any.
"I'm nervous about what will happen when Poppy finds out I'm a Shifter."
"She already knows, Stevie. Her ship detected an animal life form aboard Beta 2."
"And it doesn't bother her?"
"No, it doesn't. We are who we are, love, and we respect that."
"When we were in trouble, I mean facing Whistler and afterwards, with the fighters chasing us, I felt a presence. Like Mum was there, somewhere. It was weird."
"Well, we survived, against overwhelming odds. If a little Faerie dust helped us, all the better. No offence intended."
"None taken, Ariel. And thanks, for accepting me."
"You think you're weird? You should meet my family!"
Stevie looks seriously at Ariel.
"I never said I was weird."
They stare at each other. Stevie blinks first. The tension evaporates as they both fall about laughing.
"Don't bang your head. Don't want you turning without good reason."
Ariel heads back to the cockpit. She knows when to stop before laughter turns to tears. There is a nervousness in the pit of her stomach like she has not felt since waking up under a ton of mud.
Today will be life changing.
Chapter Thirteen
Milky Way (not for much longer)
"Well, it was nice knowing you."
Ariel looks sharply at Harry.
"Pack it in, we will be fine. Won't we Poppy?"
"Yes, ma'am, we will be cool. Sleek modern cruisers like this should breeze it through. It is often the old clunky ships that have a problem."
Stevie looks from the window to Poppy.
"What kind of problems?"
"Oh, nothing for us to worry about."
Poppy's eyes perform the dance of a thousand darts.
The First Engineer is persistent.
"Okay, worst case scenario?"
"Ah, well, we will be smashed to space dust. Do not worry, you would not feel a thing."
"I might. It might hurt. A lot.”
Ariel scans the darkness; she's trying to concentrate.
"Will you two doom-mongers please stop it! Poppy, coordinate with Harry. Stevie, get yourself strapped in."
The four of them are strapped in tight. Yes, even Harry.
Poppy has one more thing to say as they approach a circle of fast moving light.
"It can get very bright in here. Cover your eyes. Harry, not you, you are guiding us in. Ready? Almost there. Do you see the light? Aim for the centre. That's it, easy as you go. 3, 2, 1..."
*
Beta 2 is rocked and thrown, spinning, and twisting in a grotesque show of utter helplessness. There is no method to the madness. The intense light is blinding, forcing its way through hands clasped over eyes.
Nobody thought of dark glasses.
The crew feel the pressure, like they're being squeezed in an unbearable hug by a massive bear.
The spinning, rocking, and twisting stops.
They're out.
They survived.
A collective breath can be heard as a tree falls in a silent forest.
Ariel smiles as Beta 2 begins to stabilise.
"See? That wasn't so bad!"
Harry puts up a hand. One of hers, this time.
"We lost Poppy's fighter; it flew off in the warp."
Poppy feels sick.
“I thought it was secure; I thought I checked.”
"Just kidding, everything is fine and intact."
"Harry!"
Before Ariel has a chance to chastise her AI helper, she's met with the most wondrous scene since she got her spare mountain bike for Christmas.
A series of moons, roughly the same size, are waiting for inspection. Even from the ship, Ariel can see each of these small planets contains water.
Hopefully, there's some land, too.
No Starbucks though.
Not a flying fish chance of that.
As Ariel fights the inevitable fatigue, right now she could do with a skinny latte.
"Harry, do we have coffee on board?"
"Yes, Ariel, we have enough food and drink to keep us going for years. Unless we meet aliens and invite them in and they eat all our food."
"Harry, we are now the aliens our parents warned us about."
First Officer Stevie Lo stays quiet. His genetic makeup is slightly different to the rest.
Okay then, they’re all different. He’s a Shifter, Ariel’s a human, Harry’s AI, and Poppy, the lovely Poppy, she’s a Whistler.
Whatever they are.
Beta 2’s a mixed bag.
A melting pot of functioning dysfunction.
But they arrived here, against all odds, fighting seemingly unsurmountable foes and obstacles.
Okay, a few Whistler fighters and several rocks.
You get the picture.
They ain’t done bad at all.
*
As they cruise the edge of this new universe, Ariel suddenly thinks of something very important.
“Poppy, if we want to return to the Milky Way, do we go back the way we came?”
“No, ma’am. It is one way only. The ship would be smashed to pieces as soon as it entered. There is a warp next door for return travel.”
“And how do you know which is which?”
“You fire a laser into the hole. If it explodes, it is the wrong one.”
“Thanks, Poppy. Would you like a military rank?”
“I am fine for now, thank you ma’am. I am so used to being called Poppy.”
“It being her name an’ all.”
Harry’s leaning back against a fence post, dressed as a cowboy, chewing on corn.
“Yes, thank you, Harry. While you’re idle, could you test the atmosphere and likely
success of safe entry to each planet, please?”
“Will do, Ariel. Do not choose the first one.”
“Why, have you run tests already?”
“No, it just makes sense to hide a bit. You know, from the holes. In case anything else comes out.”
Non-decided rank Poppy turns to her captain.
“Ma’am, wherever you choose to land, at some point you will encounter other species. This universe is lush, temperate, and attractive. The good thing is, not everyone knows about it, or how to reach it. There will likely be visitors though, now and again.”
Stevie stands to his full height, between the two ladies.
“Then we will protect our rights and build our empire!”
A huge crowd appears on the side screen, a gigantic monument in the background. They’re clapping. Ariel is grateful this time for the thoughtful imagery. Harry has redeemed herself.
Until Forrest Gump appears on the stage.
“Thank you, Harry, that will be enough. The finest mini speech I ever heard, Stevie. Thank you.”
Ariel is grateful for her First Officer.
So is Poppy.
From his peripherals, Stevie Lo wonders how he came to be between these 2 remarkable women. The wolf inside him growls and stirs with protective energy.
“Pardon, Stevie?”
Ariel’s head snaps around.
Not all the way, that would be scary.
“Nothing, I, er, just coughed.”
Poppy smiles.
It’s a moment.
*
Captain Ariel Hope has cruised around enough.
“Harry, have you completed the assessment?”
“Yes, Ariel. They are all good but try the middle of the 5. I detect life signs on the first planet, along with a recently breached atmosphere. Someone beat us to it. It is too small a breach for StarTapped; a smaller group has entered.”
“Any life signs on the middle one?”
“There are but I think they are animal. Probably the best bet for now. At some point, we will need to eat.”
“It’s not necessary, Harry. We can be vegetarian.”
“At some point, we might want a pet.”
“Thank you, Harry, that won’t be necessary. Okay, that’s settled. We try for a landing on the middle planet.”
Stevie looks to Ariel.
“And when we land safely, we shall name it!”
“Indeed, we shall, Stevie.”
They all look to Captain Ariel Hope in admiration of her captain-like poise and general awesomeness; important qualities for a galactic leader.
