Fire Fury Frontier

by Amanda Rose

  Suki made her way over to her favorite desert stand. They made the most delicious soy ice cream on the entire ship. Nearly everything on the Saisei was soy, it was easy to grow, cheap protein, and cattle were at a premium. Real dairy was a rarity, and a major expense, just like meat.

  Once it was her turn in line she ordered her favorite, plain vanilla. She was handed a bowl with 2 perfectly rounded scoops. After she paid, she wandered around, slowly eating her ice cream with pure enjoyment.

  More and more people were coming into the concourse. It was approaching lunch time, and with the majority of restaurants located here, it would be the most crowded part of the ship. Suki decided to leave to walk back towards her quarters.

  Walking down the halls, still blissfully enjoying her ice cream, she walked past a man in his early 20’s, slender, with stark black hair and pale skin. Instantly she felt a surge of energy that rippled up her spine and gave her goosebumps. She turned around to look after him, to find him standing there, equally shocked, staring back at her. His eyes were a shocking indigo.

  Neither knew what to say, but Suki felt uncomfortable, so she spoke first, “Hi, I’m Suki.”

  “Blaine,” he replied, his voice deep and smooth, “you sensed it too?” he asked.

  “I, um… something, yes,” Suki said, feeling even more uncomfortable.

  Relief swept over Blaine’s face, as if a great weight had been lifted, “You’re the first person I’ve even run into that also has the power.”

  “Power?”

  His smile faded, “You don’t know, do you?”

  “Um…” Suki felt exposed and nervous with others walking past them, “Can we go talk somewhere else… somewhere private, with less people?”

  “Of course,” he said, then he turned around, and began to walk away.

  Suki stared after him, feeling stunned, wondering if this was some sort of strange waking dream. She thought about turning around to go back to her quarters, her unease with the situation nagging at her. She found her legs involuntarily began to walk as she hurried to catch up after him.

  Blaine led her down many passageways, until he found an access hatch. He deftly removed covering panel and began to crawl through the hatch. Where the hell is he taking me? Suki wondered. She knew she could ask, but she didn’t. They hadn’t spoken a word the entire trip. She couldn’t explain it, but she trusted him implicitly. She could sense him. Is it his thoughts? Feelings? I don’t know…

  After making their way down the shaft they emerged into an area where they could stand upright. It was a section of the ship only engineers ever came to. The small circular space surrounded a major hub for the energy relay that powered primary systems. There was a gentle hum in the air from the massive amounts of energy passing through the conduit.

  Blaine sat down cross-legged facing the conduit. Suki sat down a few feet away from him. “I can’t say this is exactly what I had in mind when I said somewhere more private,” she said.

  “I know… but no one ever comes here but me, except maintenance teams on the first of the month,” he explained. “This place is unique. You can feel it can’t you? The incredible abounding energy here?”

  Suki quieted her mind to focus on sensing the space, “Yeah, I can. How’d you even find this place?” she asked.

  Blaine grinned, “I used to like to explore every nook and cranny of the ship as a boy.”

  “How did you discover your, uh, ‘power’?” Suki asked, hugging her arms around her knees.

  He stared at the conduit as he spoke, “I was 6, it was the first week of kindergarten, and we were learning the alphabet using those metal blocks that have the letters inscribed on ‘em. Well, the teacher was having us all look for the letter S and to have it displayed upright on the block. I was looking through my blocks trying to find it, and finally saw the S facing me, I pictured it being upright in my head, like the teacher wanted it to be, but before I got to it to move it the block flipped,” he shook his head, “I was amazed and excited, and I started screaming ‘did you see that?!’ … I tried to tell them what happened, but the kids laughed at me and my teacher told me to stop making up stories. I knew from that moment on that I was different.”

  “6 years old? Wow…” Suki said, taking it in.

  “How about you?” he said, turning to look at Suki.

  “I just found out, really. I was thirsty, and I made a cup move. I never had anything like that happen before. It was the same thing though, I imagined drinking, and then it moved,” she said.

  “Played with it since?” he asked, his eyes glinting in the low light.

  “A little. It’s not consistent.”

  “It gets easier. Then you can do more.”

  “More?” Suki asked, her curiosity piqued. “Like what?”

  “Move bigger things, mess with the lights, hear what someone else is thinking… there’s no limits far as I can tell,” he shrugged.

  “How’d you learn to do all of that?” Suki was fascinated.

  “A lot by accident. But after a while I just started trying stuff, to see what I could do. Watch,” he told her. Blaine pushed himself forward onto his knees, closer to the conduit. He closed his eyes and put his hand out an inch away from the conduit.

  Suki watched closely. At first, she didn’t see anything, but after a few minutes she could see the tiniest blue-white particles of electricity appear between his hand and the conduit. Slowly they grew bigger and bigger until free flowing electricity coursed between his hand and the conduit. Suki watched in awe.

  Blaine pulled his hand away and cupped it, and the electricity came with his hand. It flickered, jumped, and sparked, in a perfect sphere. He opened his eyes and looked at Suki, “We have no limits.”

  “How?” was all she could utter.

  “It’s just energy. Everything in the Universe is just energy. Thoughts attract their physical counterparts, and like attracts like. If you can think it, it can happen,” he said simply, with pure conviction. “Hold out your hand.”

  Just like Yu-Lee wrote in her paper… she thought. Suki felt nervous, but determined to understand, so she extended her hand with her palm facing upwards. Blaine moved his hand towards her, the electrical ball flashed and flickered as he moved it.

  “You are energy. This is energy. Harness this energy in your hand with you mind,” he told her.

  After letting out a long exhale to calm her nerves, Suki focused her thoughts. She looked at the electricity, wild, yet contained, and imagined it in her hand. Doubts of her ability and fears of being shocked creeped up in her mind, but she kept pushing them out, and imagined holding the electricity just as Blaine had done. I am energy. Electricity is energy. I can hold it, she kept telling herself over and over.

  Suddenly the electricity began to migrate from Blaine’s hand to Suki’s. It didn’t hold shape as a perfect sphere, but it held together, and it didn’t shock her. Suki stared at it with gleeful amazement.

  “I did it,” she exclaimed.

  “Now disperse it,” he instructed.

  “I’m not sure how…” she said.

  “Remember, we’re all just energy. That means you can transmute it into air,” he said.

  It all makes sense! She thought at the realization. She pictured in her mind the electricity disappearing and becoming air particle energy. The electricity dissipated and shrank until it finally vanished. Suki looked at Blaine with gratitude.

  “Nice work,” he said.

  “Thank you!” she exclaimed, full of joy.

  “I only wished we met sooner. I guess that’s life. It’s nice not to be alone anymore,” he said.

  Suki’s smile faded, “I wish we had met sooner too. I’m starting my training as a cadet to be a pilot tomorrow.”

  Blaine didn’t hide his disappointment, “Oh.”

  “I won’t have much free time for a few months. But what’s a few months?” she said, trying to cheer him up, “And any time I do have, well, I’ll find a way. I, this is
going to sound weird…” she said, trying to find the words.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I just… I can’t explain it really, but, I feel like I’ve always known you. I just lost my mom, and my dad… fuck, who knows where he is. I’ve never made friends easily, people are hard to talk to, but you… I feel like I could tell you anything and you wouldn’t judge me,” she told him.

  Blaine looked Suki dead in the eye, his indigo eyes commanding her complete attention, “I’ve spent most of my life alone. People who don’t know, don’t understand what we can do, they fear this power. I’ve kept to myself because of that. I can honestly say I’ve been waiting my whole life to find you.”

  He reached his hand out toward Suki, indicating for her to reach out her hand. She extended hers, and he took her hand and held it firmly. They sat in silence simply enjoying each other’s company. They were two lost souls who had finally found each other amidst the chaos of life.

  Chapter 16: The Last Expedition

  Finally, after three days of being locked in quarantine, Raiden, Xan, Vex, and the rest of Xan’s crew had been deemed safe for release into the general population. The newfound freedom was short lived for Xan, Raiden, and Vex, as summons to attend the Conclave Speakers for a debriefing beckoned them to make haste. After a quick meal, shower, and a change of clothes, they were off to the assembly hall.

  Vex took in the sights like a child experiencing something new. Xan and Raiden had noticed him looking all around, and they kept quiet to allow his mind to digest it all. When they were near the consulate, Raiden asked, “Has it changed a lot since you left?”

  Vex shook his head, “No, that’s just it… it looks exactly the same.”

  “What? Really?” Raiden said, surprised.

  Xan thought about it for a moment, “I guess that makes sense. The maintenance never really changes anything, just keeps it all running. Most of it is automated.”

  “Even after hundreds of years?” Raiden asked.

  “I doubt this place has changed much at in thousands of years, maybe not even since when it was originally built. The only thing that changes are the people who visit,” Xan said.

  They walked into the waiting room outside of the assembly hall where the Conclave awaited them. Within 5 minutes they were escorted in. As they approached the center of the room where they would stand Vex couldn’t help but nervously whisper, “I’ve never been in here before.” His anxiety was tangible.

  Raiden put his hand on Vex’s shoulder, “It’s OK, don’t worry.”

  “Thank you for coming so promptly, I can imagine you’re exhausted,” Saaya said to them as they approached.

  We will try to keep things brief, Ecoatay channeled his thoughts to them all.

  “We read your account Shadow Xan,” Zar said, “and yours Lieutenant Saito. Your findings were… most disconcerting.”

  “Vex, we are pleased to meet you. I’m sorry for your ordeal,” Saaya addressed him.

  “Thanks…” Vex said barely audibly.

  “That explosion was too close to home,” Ouct sneered.

  Xan bowed deeply, “Sincerest apologies, Speakers. The situation was most unusual.”

  “The flight recorder was worth the risk,” Ent said, as much to Ouct as to Xan.

  “Have you managed to recover anything off of the recorder yet?” Raiden asked, eager for news.

  “It’s still being processed,” Zar told him.

  “Vex, I’ve been wanting to hear from you. Your expedition, the tendrils, what happened? After your ship went through the wormhole it didn’t relay anything more,” Saaya asked.

  Vex took a moment before he began to speak, “It’s a long story,” he sighed.

  ⁞

  Nearly 400 years ago…

  “…0700, don’t forget,” Captain Cain said to Vex. Cain was Ethlana too, with very pale blue skin, like snow hinted by a blue-black night sky. He had deep laugh lines and a weathered face from a life well lived. Cain was in his 500’s, but spry as ever.

  “Yeah, yeah, I know, I just gotta grab the rest of my bags. I’ll be back tonight,” Vex told him.

  “No, you won’t, you’ll remember there’s someone else, or somewhere else you need to say goodbye to before we leave. And that’s OK. Last time you’ll ever see this galaxy after all,” Cain had laughed in his robust voice.

  Vex laughed too, although it was entirely out of nervousness. Vex was only in his 90’s, barely an adult in Ethlana society, and Cain’s boisterous nature intimidated him. It didn’t help that he’d been fighting second thoughts about leaving on this expedition all week. He had just finished rigorous training in ecology, and it was the opportunity of a lifetime to be the first ever scientist to travel to a new galaxy and to document all of the new life they’d encounter.

  “0700, or we leave without you,” Cain said and walked off.

  Cain may have been overbearing, but he was right. Vex found himself endlessly wandering throughout the Bastion that night. He didn’t sleep and wasn’t tired. After Cain had said it would be their last time there Vex couldn’t bring himself to leave. When the crack of dawn rolled around, and the computers automated the sunrise, Vex finally went to collect his bags and boarded their ship at 0637.

  Vex hurried toward the storage lockers to pack stow his belongings, dodging between the crew who were hurriedly doing their last checks before departure. Vex was near to the locker room when Cain caught sight of him. The uproarious laughter was unmistakable, and while Vex was aboard on time he couldn’t help feeling like he had been caught.

  “Told ya’ you wouldn’t be on ‘til morning, lad,” Cain said, chuckled, and patted him on the back before heading off to the cockpit.

  Vex finished putting his belongings in storage and then went to the observation room. Their ship was small, but comfortable. The minimalist ship needed to reserve energy stores for the exceedingly long voyage it had to undertake, while still being a livable space once the crew emerged into the neighboring Phoenix Galaxy. It had been an engineering feat that Ethlana’s top designers had rivaled to achieve.

  Their ship had built in gravity generators, but they weren’t to be used until they crossed the void, so during the launch all crew members had to be strapped in for safety. Docked at the Bastion, the intense gravity emitters of the station gave the ship mild gravity until their departure. The observation room was a semi-circle on the lower deck right beneath the cockpit. A spread of 20 bolted down seats with safety belts were there for the crew.

  Vex entered the observation room and took the first available seat he saw and strapped himself in. Seconds later the Engineer, Zev, sat down next to him and buckled in. “Excited, kid?” Zev asked as he tightened the harness.

  “Yeah,” Vex said, nodding, trying to convince himself as much as Zev.

  “Hey, it’s alright,” Zev said, sensing Vex’s anxiety, “No one’s ever done anything like this before. It’s alright to be scared. All these people,” he said, looking around the room, “their bravado is all for show. They’re scared.”

  “Thanks,” Vex said, feeling slightly less alienated.

  “Want to know a trick?” Zev asked.

  “Sure,” Vex said, leaning back in his chair.

  “Fear and excitement go hand in hand, they’re two sides of the same coin. Instinct tells us to fear the unknown, it’s basic survival. That’s how our ancestors avoided being eaten alive way back when. But as we learn, overcome, achieve, and expand our knowledge, that’s exciting. Every time we conquer something new it’s that exhilaration that keeps us going to push our boundaries. So, lean into the excitement of it,” Zev told him.

  “I will,” Vex said, inspired by his words.

  The launch went smoothly, and they were on course for the far wormhole. Several other ships launched at the same time. The expedition had 30 ships in all scheduled to cross the expanse to reach the Phoenix Galaxy. Once their ship had pulled away from the Bastion Vex could feel the lack of gravity and his butt lift
ed up off the chair, his harness was the only thing holding him down.

  They made good time and rendezvoused with the other ships on the other side of the wormhole. Once they emerged through the wormhole they found that ahead of them lay a sea of utter darkness. The dead space had no planets, no stars, no light; it was, in the truest sense of the word, a void.

  Behind them, the bright galaxy they’d all called home seemed that much harder to leave. Life was teaming across all the planets around all the stars. But the decision had been made, and they stood steadfast in their convictions.