by Amanda Rose
Raiden placed the ship on auto-pilot and watched the astrometric data as it came in, as well as the view. There was nothing recognizable about the placement of the stars. He began to wonder how far the worm hole had taken him.
His eyes moved bit by bit across the expanse of space. There were several other planets in orbit much further from the two suns. While none of the others could support life, the data coming in showed high levels of mineral deposits.
The telephoto lens on Raiden’s ship was taking 360-degree photos at regular intervals. He pulled up the first batch on the screen and began to scroll through them. He came up to the planet he’d set course for. It was even more glorious up close with the suns creating a halo around it from behind.
That’s when he noticed on the dark side of the planet that he faced, there were little white dots scattered about. Raiden looked up from the photo and squinted at the planet, but it was still too far away for his eyes to see anything. He cycled through the photos to find the newest capture of the planet. And there is was, unmistakable: those little specs were city lights, clear signs of civilization.
“Oh my god,” Raiden couldn’t help but blurt out. There was the proof. We’re really not alone… Raiden sat there in disbelief for a moment, and then disengaged the auto-pilot. While the mega-structure of the wormhole anchor was immaculate, and clearly made by intelligent life, its origins seemed so distant. This planet right before him now, clearly teeming with intelligent alien life, was a whole other story. He stared at the planet, debating what to do. I should go back to the Saisei, he finally decided.
Just as he was about to turn the ship around to go back to the wormhole, an elegant white stream-lined ship, crested around the planet, heading towards him. Raiden knew he should feel afraid, but he felt no fear. The ship was coming straight toward him, and the idea of flying away, the logical choice he knew he should take, felt wrong.
An incoming transmission came in on his comm system. The voice was feminine, serene yet strong, but the words incomprehensible.
“I’m sorry, I don’t understand what you’re saying,” he replied.
Another transmission of equally impossible to understand words came through.
Again, Raiden responded, “I can’t make any sense of what you are trying to tell me.”
On the third transmission from the white ship, one word, follow, came in amongst the alien language. Raiden sat up straight in his seat, “Did you say ‘follow’?!” he asked in disbelief. Back and forth they sent transmissions and each time more and more words came back in English until finally they were speaking perfectly.
“Thank you for your patience. Our computer algorithms needed more samples of your speech to properly process your language. I am Xan, captain of this ship. Welcome to the Bastion,” her voice came through clear as day.
Raiden was in stunned silence for a moment, Is this really happening? “I… you’re welcome. I’m Lieutenant Raiden Saito, pleasure to meet you. What’s the ‘Bastion’?”
“I’ll show you. Follow us,” Xan’s voice said.
He watched as her ship took an arc to turn around, bathed in the light from the suns, swathing it in gold. Her ship then stood still, waiting for him to catch up. Raiden considered making a break to get back to the wormhole, but he couldn’t help but set course to follow Xan’s ship. As he got close to Xan’s ship to follow, his sensors suddenly picked up what seemed to be infinite comm chatter on more channels than he could count.
Xan’s ship came to life and began to make way around the curvature of the planet, with Raiden following closely behind. As they came about, Raiden couldn’t believe his eyes. A gigantic structure, a space station beyond all comprehension, lay behind the planet. Countless ships, some that looked like Xan’s, and many others of wildly varying designs, darted to-and-fro. He also could see off in the distance several other worm hole anchors, This truly is a waystation. I wonder how far these wormholes go? Raiden pondered.
A large freighter passed them by, on course to one of the far away wormholes. Incoming and outgoing ships came frequently. Xan had them on a direct course to dock with the massive space station.
The comm crackled, and Xan came on, “This is the Bastion. It’s a galactic hub of all intelligent species. You’ve been cleared for docking with us, in docking section V, 56th port. It will be the port to the left of my ship’s port, so just stay close and follow me in.”
“I will,” Raiden said.
The Bastion was of incredible design. A massive cylindrical centerpiece, one end bulbus that then shrunk down to a smaller pointed end like a tear drop. The entire station was supported by an outer ring. From the outer ring large rectangular portions of the station hung as they gently rotated around the central cylinder. The entirety of the station glowed and twinkled from the light of the suns, like a massive city hovering in space. Xan’s ship led Raiden to the far end of the central cylinder, the end that was narrow and held the opening for the ships entering and exiting. He followed her in.
Chapter 10: First Contact
When they entered into the Bastion Raiden nearly felt his heart stop. It was spectacular. A warm glowing light bathed everything. The docks were near the mouth of the entrance, and beyond that was a sea of greenery and buildings on all sides. The circular design of the center piece of the Bastion, spinning in gentle harmony, kept gravity in perfect balance. It was utterly astounding.
Raiden docked his small ship with ease and then exited the cabin. After closing the hatch, he turned around to see Xan walking towards him. She was elegant, at least 6 feet tall, hairless, her skin a deep indigo blue, and yet slightly mimetic of her surroundings. For all of her differences, she was incredibly human; 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2 arms, 2 legs, and similar torso. Her uniform was pearlescent white, just like her ship.
“Hello, Raiden, I am Xan,” she said, with a smile, and slowly closed and opened her eyes.
Raiden smiled, and slightly bowed, feeling awkward and unsure of his actions. The docking area was vibrant. Many different species walked around, some humanoid, some so different that Raiden had a hard time imagining they were real. His eyes moved from one being to another as they passed by.
Xan turned to see what he was looking at, “This is your first time meeting new species?” she asked.
“Yes,” Raiden said, nodding and wide eyed.
“It is an honor to welcome you to our galactic hub,” she said.
“Thanks,” Raiden replied, still distracted by all of the sights.
Xan approached Raiden and extended her hand. In her palm laid a small white metallic device, not much larger than the head of a pin. Raiden reached out and picked it up, “What is it?”
Xan pointed to the base of her left ear, “We use these to decipher languages. On our ship our computers have allowed us to communicate seamlessly in the interim. As you can see we have many guests that come to visit us at the Bastion. This device is injected by the ear and will be able to translate all discussion into your native tongue. Any doctor on our station can do your injection. For it to translate perfectly, a download of your complete language database would be beneficial to all,” Xan explained.
Raiden stared at the miniscule device in awe, “That’s amazing…”
“Are you the only one of your kind?” she asked.
“What?” Raiden said, taken off guard by the question, “Oh, no, haha! No, not at all. My race is called human. We have a large ship with over a million aboard. In fact, I should go back to tell my people about this place... Do you, I mean, can we get water here? Our ship is running dangerously low.”
Xan nodded, “Barter and trade keep this station alive, you’ll want to head to the commerce district to find a supplier.”
Relief swept over Raiden’s face, “Thank you!”
He couldn’t explain it, but he felt at ease telling Xan the truth. There was something about her calm nature that nurtured trust. He felt safe confiding in her and asking for her help.
“Of course.
As a new species on the station you’ll need to register through customs and submit to a complete physical examination. With so many species aboard with varying health requirements, it’s standard procedure, for your wellbeing, as well as everyone else’s aboard. Please keep your space suit on until directed otherwise,” she told him.
“Oh, OK… I guess that makes sense,” he said, trying to imagine the incredibly complicated logistics of running a station like this. “I should return, to fetch my ship,” he began saying, feeling some anxiety at the idea of a physical examination by an alien.
Xan smiled, “There’s no need. I’ll arrange for a convoy to escort them to the station.”
Raiden smiled meekly. He trusted Xan, but he was beginning to feel trapped. Why didn’t I go right back through the wormhole after I got here? I’m so stupid! Now what… He was sure he could leave if he pressed the matter, but this was first contact. What procedure was there? He had no clue, he was no diplomat. This impression would be ever-lasting. Swallowing his nerves, he looked to Xan, “Where do I go for this exam?”
|
The entirety of the inhabitants aboard the Saisei waited with bated breath. It had been nearly two hours since Raiden had passed through the wormhole. Several communications had been sent out, but no reply had come. The data had transmitted back to them during Raiden’s voyage through the wormhole up until it had closed, which hadn’t been long.
Norita paced the deck of the bridge. The unease of waiting was all too familiar. The lack of sleep, the responsibilities, the draught; it all weighed heavily on her and was starting to take its toll.
Takeo Yamamoto had excused himself a half hour prior, to tend to work while they waited for the wormhole to reopen. The last 30 minutes had dragged on into what had stretched into an eternity for her. Norita clicked on her comm badge, “Doctor Takei, come in.”
“Yes?” Dr. Takei responded.
“Have there been any changes to the wormhole composition?” she asked.
“No,” he said curtly. Norita sighed, tired of waiting. “But,” Seto continued, “the data we collected is nearly finished processing.”
“I’ll be right there,” Norita said, relieved to have something to take her mind off of everything. “Koi, notify me if anything happens,” she said as she headed for the door.
Koi, whose mind had wandered off, snapped to attention, “Yes, yes of course.” Norita smiled and nodded at him, and then walked out the door. After the door had closed behind her Koi slouched back into his seat.
|
Seto was leaning over his computer when Norita found him in the lab. Busy scientists were bustling about, deciphering information as it came in. Seto was totally absorbed in what he was reading. Norita leaned down to see the screen and her closeness startled him, “Oh, uh, you made it quickly,” he said, trying to regain composure.
“My curiosity begged haste. Tell me what you’ve learned,” she said, her eyes scanning the screen.
“Much of it we’re still putting together. The wormhole seems to generate a sort of electromagnetic field, and the anchor appears to work much like a lightning rod. From what we can tell, in the few seconds the worm hole was open, Lieutenant Saito’s ship travelled hundreds of millions of kilometers,” Seto explained.
“That far?!” Norita asked in disbelief.
Seto bobbed his head, “Yes. Theoretically, a wormhole has no limits in distance. At least not as far as we know.”
“Astounding,” Norita said, meaning it. “Any ideas as to why the ship hasn’t returned?” she asked, looking down at him.
Seto shrugged, “Any number of reasons. The ship may have been damaged or destroyed, the pilot could have blacked out or suffered some sort of unexpected side effect from the abnormal means of travel, time could be slower on the other side…”
“What do you mean ‘time could be slower on the other side?’” Norita asked, confused.
“The theory of relativity,” Seto said.
Norita stared at him, trying to figure out what he meant, with no luck, “I’m sorry, I’m lost.”
Seto tried to hide his amusement at her lack of understanding, “Time dilation. Time isn’t consistent across the Universe. Time isn’t a constant, even though in our day to day lives it appears to be. It’s a variable. Our concept of time is based on our experience on our own home planet, which we’ve since adopted as our concept of time to live by aboard this ship.
“The theory states that 2 observers can experience time differently, either due to varying velocity, or their relative position to a gravity field. Gravity fields shift as we travel through space, based on our distance to celestial bodies and their own gravimetric pull. While we only left our home plant a little over 200 years ago, 10,000 years could have passed back there where our planet used to be, for all we know. So, while we’ve been waiting a few hours, it’s possible Lieutenant Saito has only been over there for a few minutes,”
“Wow…” Norita said, taking it all in.
“Just a possibility. As I said, there’s many reasons he could have not come back through,” Seto said, and returned to analyzing his screen.
Norita had a sinking feeling in her stomach. “Thanks, I’ll let you get back to work,” she said, and then started to walk toward the door. The many unknowns did not sit well with her.
|
“I’d like to apply to be a military pilot,” Suki said, standing in front of the desk in the recruitment office. It was vacant less for her and the single officer who sat behind the desk. The man looked her up and down skeptically.
“How old are you?” he asked.
“Seventeen,” Suki told him.
“Minimum age is 18,” he replied.
“Yeah, I know. I’m not expecting to see the inside of a cockpit anytime soon. My 18th birthday is next month, and I’m ahead in my classes so I’m graduating early. I just want to get a head start, go over the materials, then I’ll fill out the paperwork next month,” she said, a stern seriousness to her voice.
The officer stared her in the eye. She had conviction behind her actions, not something he saw as often as he’d like in applicants. “You sure you want to be a pilot?” he asked.
“Yes,” she answered.
“Why?”
Suki took a moment to try to find the right words, “I… I like order. I like rules that makes sense, and I like a challenge. I’m a quick study, and I’ve always wanted to fly. Computers, technical code, it’s always just come naturally. It’s a good fit for me,” she said. What she left out was that getting her own ship would enable her to track down her father. And then… and then what? I don’t know… Does he know Link is my dad? she wondered nervously.
“If you’re good with tech you should look into becoming a military technology expert,” he said bluntly.
Suki felt caught off guard by the suggestion, “Oh, uh… maybe. But, no, I really want to fly.”
He subtly nodded his head, “Alright. Wait here, I’m going to grab you the basic training manual to look over.”
“Thank you,” she said, and meant it.
The officer stood up from his desk and disappeared into a small office closet in the back of the room. Suki looked around the room. There were recruitment posters on the wall, some medals and plaques commemorating outstanding soldiers, and several large cabinets lined the far wall. Overall it was subtle, clean, orderly, and minimalistic; just the way she liked it.
A few minutes later the officer returned with several data chips. When he reached the desk, he extended his hand and the chips to Suki, “There’s the introductory military manual, and I also grabbed you the pilots handbook for you to look over. And this,” he held up the third one, “the technical experts introduction, just in case you change your mind.”
She took the chips, then looked him in the eye, “Thanks. Really, thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” he smiled. Suki turned around to walk away, but before she left he called out to her, “Hey, what day is your birthday?
”
Suki spun around to face him, “October 12th.”
“OK, I’ll make sure I’m in that day. I’m Officer Kaito Amari,” he said with a smile.
She smiled back, “Suki Rose,” she said and held up the data chips in her hand, “Thank you again. See you next month.” And with that she turned around and left.
Kaito sat down in the desk chair. It had been a quiet week for recruitments. And why wouldn’t it be? Who wants to sign up when so many soldiers just got spaced, he thought and shuddered at the thought of getting sucked out into space to suffocate to death.
It had been an off-duty day for Kaito when the insurrection occurred. He’d been visiting a friend in the civilian sector for the first time in months for a poker game and had wound up being locked in his friend’s quarters the entire time. He knew it had to have been divine intervention for it to have happened that day. In any other situation, any other day, Kaito would have been one of the soldiers that had gone down to the docking bay and vented into space for an early death.
