Fire Fury Frontier

by Amanda Rose

  “It is in these trying times that it is hard to see the light, and yet it’s the most important time to look for it. While death brings with it this undeniable feeling of being alone in the universe, we are not alone. We are as one. Together we grieve, and together we will overcome. We will find the light once again,” the crowd hung onto Norita’s every word.

  |

  The broadcast played in the background of the lab while Dr. Takei worked fastidiously. He hardly noticed it was on. He was the only one in the lab; apart from necessary ship’s functions staff, the day had been declared a day of mourning, so everyone was either at home or at the funeral. Seto never took day’s off, though he did take breaks. His passion was in his work, and he felt incomplete if he did not put his mind to work each day. There was satisfaction in the learning and overcoming of challenges.

  The past couple days he had felt quite tired. The stress from the near-death experience in Bay A had aged him. Ha hadn’t been able to sleep the past couple of nights without waking up gasping for breath. The fear of suffocating to death was all too real.

  The terror of mortality had made itself clear that day. While he had held on for his life next to Zavion, as the intense suction of space had tried to claim their bodies, time seemed suspended. Though he knew it couldn’t have been long, it seemed like an eternity as they hung on for dear life, and then, slowly, the desperation crept in. Once the oxygen had all been sucked out of the massive hangar, and his lungs longed for air, he felt the rapid beat of his heart, and a warm flush wash over his whole being. His chest began to ache, and he felt ill and dizzy. Panic struck like a lightning bolt, and then, after what seemed for forever, darkness consumed him.

  Seto shook his head, trying to forget. But the thoughts kept coming back terribly frequently. He was having a hard time concentrating, and so he stood from his seat and stretched, and then walked over to the far end of the room and out the door into a small waiting room, where he made himself some much-needed coffee.

  A few minutes later Zavion walked through the main doors of the lab, “Seto, you in here?” he called out, but there was no response. He carried a data pad in his hand. One of the computer terminals began to flash a blue light and make a gentle BING! sound, so he walked over to it. He looked at the screen to see that it had completed processing a large data stream and was displaying a long dense readout of information. Most of it was beyond Zavion’s understanding at a glance, but the metallurgic reading caught his eyes.

  Zavion’s eyes widened, and his jaw dropped. This analysis stated that there were billions and billions of tons of rhodium, platinum, iridium, and palladium, in the mega-structure. “Unbelievable…” Zavion heard himself say. These rare metals were all highly sought after, their conductivity incredible for a whole variety of uses. In all the years the Saisei had been in space, they’d only found a few small deposits of each.

  The possibilities this meant overtook Zavion’s mind, so much so that he didn’t ever hear Dr. Takei walk up next to him. “Hey,” Seto said, setting down his coffee on the desk. Zavion flinched, his mind coming back to the present moment. “Sorry,” Seto chuckled, “Didn’t mean to startle you.”

  “No, it’s alright, I just… This is incredible!” Zavion said pointing at the computer screen.

  Seto gazed at the screen, “Of course it finished while I was away,” he sighed. Throughout his life Seto had always had his projects seem to finish while he wasn’t there to see it happen. He sat down in his chair and propped up his head in his hand and began to take in the massive amount of data, “Let’s have a look, here.”

  Dr. Takei took in the information bit by bit. Zavion stared at the screen, impatiently waiting, wishing he understood more of the analysis readout. Seto picked up his coffee to take a sip, his eyes never leaving the screen. Before the cup reaching his lips, his arm stopped, and he sat up straight in his seat. Seto set down the cup and pointed to what he was looking at.

  “You see that?” Seto asked emphatically.

  “Yes?” Zavion said, unsure what it meant.

  “This is just miraculous…” Seto said awe-struck.

  “What? What’s it mean?” Zavion asked.

  Seto turned to face him, “It’s a wormhole.”

  Chapter 8: New Possibilities

  Norita had retired to her office after finishing her speech. The heavy oppressive grief she’d felt from the crowd when she’d entered the atrium seemed as if it had become a little less heavy by the time she’d left. Her father had always told her that it’s up to a leader to set the tone for the people. That was something she had taken to heart and had consistently tried to implement in her leadership strategies.

  While she was happy to leave everyone more uplifted than she’d found them, her own grief still felt all too real. The bodies would be launched out into space shortly. She stood up from her desk and walked over to her window and looked out into the deep black of space. She stood barefoot on the floor, and the cold metal felt blissful. Her feet were sore from her high heels.

  Her intercom clicked on, “Miss Hiroshu?” the timid voice of her secretary came on.

  “I thought I said I didn’t want to be disturbed?” Norita said, struggling not to sound as grouchy as she felt.

  “I, I know, I’m sorry ma’am, but Dr. Takei insisted it was urgent you come to the lab right away,” her secretary replied.

  “Alright, tell him I’m on my way,” Norita reluctantly replied.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Norita put her hand on the glass of her window. The cold from it was soothing and permeated through her skin. She closed her eyes and took a moment to breathe deeply. “Goodbye, Jona…”

  |

  General Yamamoto was already in the lab, standing around the computer with Dr. Takei and Zavion, by the time Norita arrived. She walked swiftly across the room, the heels of her shoes clicking and resounding in the large room as she made her way. The large screen on the far wall lit up and Seto displayed the readings from his computer on it. Norita stared up at the screen as she walked toward them. She had always loved science in school and had thought she’d have loved to be a scientist. In another life, she told herself. “This is the data from the mega-structure?” she asked as she walked up to them.

  “Yes!” Seto excitedly replied. He was practically inhaling the data, in awe, and eager to share the discoveries. He’d coerced Zavion into recording everything as he explained it, so they could more rapidly move through deciphering it all. “The massive energy output, the light the pilots saw in the center of the structure, it’s a wormhole!” Seto explained to Norita, his eyes lit up like a child’s.

  Norita didn’t know what to say for a moment. “I thought wormholes were just theoretical?” she finally managed.

  “They were,” Seto said, grinning from ear to ear, “Now we have proof! And this data shows that the structure is an anchor. Worm holes theoretically would jump to alternative destinations, instead of having one fixed spot. If this has an anchor on the other end as well then, well, it’s a stable passageway.”

  Zavion, Takeo, and Norita stayed silent as they took in the information. Who the hell could build this thing? What’s on the other side… could we ever get back? Does it matter? There’s nothing here for us… “I want to know what’s on the other side,” Norita finally said.

  “I’ll arrange for one of our pilots to go through for a test run,” Takeo said.

  Norita nodded, “As soon as possible. There might be water on the other side.”

  |

  The Saisei set course for the mega-structure the next day. Debriefings and interrogating the insurgents kept Takeo and Norita busy during the trip. Bit by bit they pieced the puzzle together and found themselves with a greater picture of what had happened. The general unrest stirred in her people left Norita feeling somewhat dejected. She reminded herself that it was impossible to please everyone.

  They’d dismissed their last interviewee and had summoned Gin Yoshini to come in next. I
n addition to taking his statement, General Yamamoto had a medal of valor to present him with for his pivotal role and bravery during the crisis. The minutes passed by as they waited for him. After 15 minutes the General had tried to raise him on the intercom again, but there was no reply.

  “Must be on his way,” Norita had said.

  Another 10 minutes went by and he had still not come. Another attempt on the intercom, and again no response. Takeo and Norita decided to go and find him. After checking the mess hall and the training center, they made their way to his quarters.

  When they reached his room, Takeo knocked on the door which hadn’t fully been closed and cracked open from the tapping. Takeo pushed the door further open to check for Gin, and that’s when he saw the crimson red twinkling on the floor under the bedroom light.

  “Oh my god!” Norita had gasped, raising her hand to her mouth in shock.

  Gin was laying on the bed unconscious, his arms dropped down of the side of the bed, his wrist slit, and a massive pool of blood had formed on the floor beneath. His skin was incredibly pale. Takeo dashed over to him to check for a pulse.

  “He’s alive!” Takeo announced.

  Norita ran over to the intercom on the wall to call for help, “We need a medical team down here now!” she yelled, unable to take her eyes off of the massive amount of blood on the floor.

  “Right away,” a voice replied.

  She looked around and saw a t-shirt tossed over one of the chairs. Norita grabbed it and dashed over to Gin and Takeo. “Here, tie it around his wrist. It’ll help slow down the bleeding,” she said holding it out to Takeo. Takeo took it and carefully pulled it snuggly around Gin’s arm, then tied it around his wrist.

  They waited in silence until a paramedic team arrived. The whole thing felt surreal as Norita watched them come is and hastily remove Gin. After they’d gone, the overwhelming blood pool was still there pulling her attention, smelling sickeningly metallic; she ran to the toilet to throw up.

  |

  Hiroshi was in his quarters, working on his art. School had been let out for the remainder of the week, and he was glad, for he wanted to finish the asteroid sketch while the image was still fresh in his mind. He’d taken photographs to work from, but there was something about the experience of being there, the feeling of it, that couldn’t be captured working from a photo alone. Skillfully his nimble fingers worked with the charcoal. Perfect forms of figures, light and shadow, came to life on the paper.

  |

  Freya and Koji were sitting in the mess hall playing cards, each with their good arm. Until their injuries healed they were both on restricted duty and had time to spare. Both had given their statements earlier to Takeo and Norita and felt exhausted from having to relive it all; though neither would admit it.

  “Why do you think the empress was there?” Freya asked.

  Koji shrugged, “No idea. If I had to guess she’s pissed about the whole thing.”

  Freya laughed, “The Empress is pissed? That just sounds wrong to say out loud man, haha! But maybe you’re right.”

  Koji smiled, “I know, but think about it, there’s been no civil unrest on the Saisei ever, and now she’s in control and the people have an uprising? Fuck, I’d be pissed.”

  As Koji reached for his beer mug Freya peeked up at him, pretending to look at her hand of cards. She took in everything about him with her eyes, his sharp jawline, the crystal blue of his eyes, his dark brown-black hair with the few pale grey hairs peppered in. He was ruggedly handsome. Even after a fresh shave, with his dark hair, he looked like he had the outline of his beard, and it was incredibly attractive. How have I never seen him like this before? She wondered.

  Freya set down her cards on the table and stood up, “Come on,” she told him.

  Koji pulled the beer away from his lips, “What?” he asked confused.

  She bit her lip, “Come on, and I’ll show you.”

  They hastily left the mess hall, and Freya led Koji down the corridors to her quarters. Once the door was shut Freya pulled Koji in close and kissed him passionately. Koji was surprised but he went along with it. He pressed his body into hers, and she could feel him getting hard through his pants. She felt swept away by the moment, lust or love, she didn’t care.

  Freya let her jacket slide off onto the floor and tried to pull off her tank top with her good arm. It was a struggle, the arm brace got in the way. Koji helped her with his good arm and they laughed as they kissed and undressed each other. After some struggle her shirt was off, “You’ll have to help me too,” he said between kisses. She helped him get his shirt off with equal struggle around his sling, but the struggle just made it more fun for them.

  With relative ease, Freya one-handedly undid the simple clasp of her bra and then let Koji pull it off. Her breasts were creamy white, her pink nipples hard in the cold air. She pushed her chest against his and the warmth of his body permeated into her.

  As they fussed with undoing each other’s pants with one hand, Freya slid around the side of Koji’s face, her soft cheek rubbing against his rough face. She bit down playfully on his ear lobe, and he let out an almost inaudible gasp as a shudder went through his body.

  Once they were fully undressed they made their way over to Freya’s bed. She playfully, yet with force, pushed him down on the mattress, and climbed on top of him. She leaned forward and kissed his stomach, and then took his hard cock in her mouth to wet it. “Mmm,” Koji watched her. After a moment Freya sat back up, and with some struggle only having one hand to work with, she took him and slid him inside of her.

  Freya slowly began to ride him, bracing her good arm against the wall for support. Koji lay his hand on her hip to guide her, and following her rhythm, thrust up into her. As he watched her on top of him, he remembered her sitting on his lap in her ship when he’d come back to consciousness after she’d revived him. The thought made his heart race, the intense uncomfortable feeling of the adrenaline all too easy to recall. He closed his eyes, trying to shake the thought. She could feel his body tense up. Freya looked at Koji’s face and could see the distress.

  “You OK?” she asked.

  He reopened his eyes, “Yeah, just…” he sighed unable to find the words, “it’s…”

  Freya leaned forward, pressing her body against his, setting her head next to his, and whispered gently in his ear, “I know, I get it. Just stay with me, all that matters is right here, right now. Be here with me.”

  Koji ran his hand up her body, all the way to behind her head, and pulled her in to kiss her deeply. He felt vibrantly alive and safe with her. When Freya pulled away after their kiss, Koji had her help him take his sling off. Once it was off, despite the pain in his shoulder, Koji lifted Freya and flipped her on her back.

  Freya grinned, impressed and even more aroused by his strength. He rode her deeply, his hips a powerhouse, which took her to a state of inexplicable ecstasy. When she orgasmed, her spasms brought him to climax too, and they shared the fleeting moment of bliss together.

  |

  Suki found herself unable to sleep since the insurgency. The day of the funeral, with Hiroshi’s help, she had found her mother among the dead. She still wasn’t sure how she felt about it, but in many ways, she wished she hadn’t seen her. Her body was there, but without the soul the body felt meaningless. A remnant of what once was. She remembered reaching out to touch her mother’s cheek, but it was lifeless and cold. That was no longer her mother.

  When the bodies had been launched in their pods out into space, she had watched them go, and felt nothing. After seeing her mother, they were all just bodies. This wasn’t goodbye to everyone, because they had already left. She felt unsure how to process these new feelings; this new level of understanding was as enlightening as it was discomforting.

  Sitting in her room, Suki found herself just staring out her window into space. She had a million thoughts, and yet her head felt empty. She felt as if she had been thrust into adulthood without any warning. Whi
le she was graduating from school in the coming months, the sudden unexpected changes in her life rested responsibility heavy on her shoulders.

  More than anything Suki wondered about her father. How could he have done what he did? Was he still alive? She wanted answers, but there were none to be had. She sighed, and tried to think of other things, but it always came back to her father and a gnawing need to know.

  |

  General Yamamoto sat in his office, waiting for the call to tell him when they were nearing the mega-structure. He’d finished the rest of the debriefings without Norita and was organizing the files. He remembered how shaken Norita had been when they’d found Gin, and he couldn’t blame her, it was horrific. The medical team quickly had come and taken him away on a gurney. After that, standing there, blood everywhere, the room had felt eerie. He remembered feeling bad having to order several soldiers to clean up the room.