by Andrew Gates
“Okay, that’s engine power,” she said aloud, keeping a mental note of the controls.
She pressed on the pedals now, left, then right. She watched as the various rocket thrusters attached to the ship’s wings powered on, first the left, then on the right. The ship rocked as the thrusters activated.
“That’s steering,” she realized, straightening the ship out again.
Then she pulled on the levers to her right and the rockets changed position, moving their angles across the x axis.
“Pitch,” she noted.
She played around with the controls a bit more creatively now, using the pedals in conjunction with the right lever, realizing that she could combine the two to achieve roll.
Then she pulled one of the right levers one way and the other one a different way. The rockets moved in opposite positions. She managed to set them up such that one faced forward and one faced backward. She grinned, knowing that she had now figured out how to control yaw.
Sanja knew she was lucky that the guard must have been either new or incompetent to have not called for help already. She had enough time to learn the controls and as far as she could tell, the lone guard was nowhere in sight. She had gotten lucky indeed, very lucky.
There was obviously a lot more to flying this thing, but Sanja now had the basics down. It only took about a minute to learn the simplest aspects of the controls. She was ready to go now. She gave power to the engines. The ship rocked and… nothing. It did not move. It was stuck to the desert floor.
“Fuck!”
Sanja set everything back to normal again and looked around. Now I need to figure out how to get this thing off the ground. There’s got to be some kind of parking break on this thing.
But before she could look around anymore, the soldier from earlier suddenly appeared in the background of the video from one of the ship-mounted cameras. He was now lit up in the light from the ship, waving his claws.
“No time,” Sanja said aloud.
Without disabling the break, she suddenly brought the engine to full power and angled the rockets upward. The ship rocked and rattled, trying to overcome whatever the hell technology was keeping it grounded. The soldier continued onward, probably yelling something she could not hear.
“Come on,” Sanja said, giving the thing full power.
The engines roared even louder now, and a massive blast of fire filled the viewscreen. Sanja could no longer see the soldier. He was engulfed in the flames. She wondered if he had been burned and hoped that he had been killed. No witnesses. That will give me a few more hours of secrecy.
The ship began to move now. Sanja could feel it ascend. She watched through the forward window as the ground grew farther and farther away until the ship eventually stopped rocking. Finally, the transport had overcome whatever invisible force was keeping it grounded. The ride was smooth now.
“Aha!” Sanja laughed. She slapped the dashboard in excitement and pointed to the ground through the window. “You fucking idiots!”
An intense feeling of liberation flowed through her veins. It was not the first time she had felt this. It reminded her of her ascension in the FEC. Back then, she abandoned her human captors for the Kholvari. Now, she was ascending even higher and it was time to abandon her foolish Kholvari cowards for someone even greater.
The Hive.
Sanja looked through the khalasynthe-coated window, up to the sky above. Even from way down here, she could see the Hive’s main swarm through the cloud of rubble that dominated the exosphere. The Hive was so beautiful. She closed her eyes and imagined what the swarm must have looked like up-close.
Soon enough, she would find out for herself.
Having already made the trip to and from Fruitful Spring, Sanja knew the Kholvari ships were fast enough to travel to and from space in a matter of minutes. The journey to space would not take long.
As the vessel ascended, Sanja could hear the air filters power on, quickly pumping fresh, breathable air into the cabin. She could also feel her body begin to elevate off the seat, before the faint pull of artificial gravity kicked in, bringing her back down.
Earth grew farther and farther away with each passing second. It was not long until Sanja could see the planet’s distinct curvature. Not long after that, she could then see sunlight shining in the faraway distance, reminding her that the other half of the globe was still immersed in the light of day.
Sanja looked up to the swarm again. It still seemed so far away, like she had not even made any progress. She grumbled in frustration, when a loud clank suddenly echoed through the ship, forcing her to come back to reality and quickly grip the levers.
A small metallic piece of debris bounced off the port side of the ship. Sanja could not see it herself, but was able to make it out in the video display. She let out an exhale and leaned forward, focusing. She was now entering the debris field.
The debris around her was hard to see in the darkness of space. For every object she could see, there were dozens she could not. After a series of nearly 10 or 20 loud clanks and thuds, Sanja slowed the ship’s velocity and proceeded more cautiously, steering as best as she could using her newfound skills.
Steering the ship ultimately proved to be a disaster. Sanja was only a beginner after all. Smashing into objects left and right, up and down, there were times she worried the ship would crack in an instant. But to her surprise, the ship continued along, somehow unscathed. I’m going too slow now for the debris to cause any damage, she thought. Nothing is hitting me hard enough. That must be why I haven’t exploded yet.
Minutes passed and Sanja continued to stare out the window, taking extra care to dodge any visible debris in her path. She could not remember the last time she had focused this hard on something. It was like solving a maze in the darkness while learning how to walk.
Smash! One of the exterior cameras went out as a larger-sized piece of debris collided against the outside of the ship. The footage turned black on the monitor.
Sanja nervously tightened her grip on the levers. She felt the sweat build up in her palms.
Suddenly something smashed against the forward window. Sanja jolted in shock as the object bounced off, then slid up the glass. She gasped as she realized that the object before her was a frozen Kholvari corpse. She turned her head away from the sight as the body slid up the window for a few more seconds before separating from the ship.
Thud! Bang! Smash! Clang! More objects pounded against the exterior of the ship. This time small dents began to form in the ceiling and walls. Sanja stared at the damage with wide eyes. Oh shit, she thought.
And then… in an instant, the Hive arrived.
Thousands of small fighters spiraled around the ship in a funnel, then slowly expanded the funnel around her, pushing debris away like a bubble slowly increasing in size. The ships were saving her from the debris.
Sanja let go of the controls, keeping the ship on the same course. She dared not leave the funnel now.
“They’re here,” she muttered to herself, staring at the amazing sight outside the window. She leaned forward as far as she could, taking it all in.
Seeing the Hive this close, they were even more beautiful than Sanja had imagined. The ships’ movements were perfectly succinct. Not even a machine could replicate such immaculate perfection.
Sanja did not think her ship had any weapons, but if it did, she hoped the weapons were at least disabled. The last thing she wanted was for the Hive to think she was their enemy. But seeing as they were actively protecting her from debris in this moment, she doubted that was the case.
“Human,” a powerful voice suddenly bellowed.
The voice stung as it echoed through Sanja’s mind. She instinctively grabbed her head and pressed down, hoping to dull the pain that now took over.
“Aah!” she cried out. She found that it was hard to sit straight. She leaned back on the tall seat.
“Human,” the voice repeated, slowly. “That is what you are called. I
know this. Your mind tells me so, whether you intend it to or not.”
“Who are you?” Sanja replied, struggling to speak at all. Each word was separated by deep, difficult breaths. Her hands were still clamped around her aching head.
“Who am I? You should know this by now, human. I am the queen, ruler of the Hive. And you, human, are the first visitor to enter the void since the Hive claimed dominion above this world.” The queen paused before continuing. “Why would you be so foolish as to travel here?”
“I… I am not foolish,” Sanja replied.
“Who are you? I know you call yourself human, but you are not like the other creatures I have seen,” the queen asked, quickly jumping to another question.
“Humans are not Kholvari, nor are we Sorrevahni,” Sanja explained, slowly getting used to the feeling of talking while getting her brain squeezed. “My name is Sanja Parnel. I wasn’t sent here by the Kholvari or Sorrevahni. They do not know I am here. Neither do my fellow humans. I am here by myself to speak with you, Queen.”
“You come by your own accord. That is curious. Why would you do this?”
“Because, Queen,” Sanja said, finding the power to sit up straight again. She now saw that the dense cluster of Hive ships ahead was circling around a much larger ship. She stared at it through the funnel of fighters. “I have come to meet with you. I have an offer I wish to discuss.”
For a moment, there was a pause. The silence was suspenseful and Sanja wondered if the telepathic connection had stopped. But then, the voice replied.
“I detect that your ship has no weapons. I sense your intentions and I do not believe you mean to be hostile. Though the Hive does not normally take visitors, for you I shall make an exception. I shall bring you in. Follow these escorts,” the queen said as three ships broke off from the funnel and entered formation ahead of Sanja’s ship. “They will bring you to me.”
Sanja smiled as she saw that the escorts were headed directly to the big ship.
“Thank you, Queen,” she replied.
The pain instantly went away and Sanja felt a jolt of energy fill her body as the queen’s mental connection ceased in that moment. Sanja removed her hands from her head, let out a few deep breaths, then gripped the controls. She shook her head, then adjusted course, following behind the escort fighters.
She trusts me enough to hear my offer, Sanja thought, nodding. Good. That was already more than Ikharus was willing to provide.
It took several minutes to reach the big ship. All the while, Sanja trembled with a sense of nervousness and eagerness. Those minutes seemed to stretch on forever. But at long last, Sanja finally came to the massive vessel.
The funnel of Hive fighters swirled in a ring around the ship’s hangar bay and the three escort fighters peeled off to join the ring. A thick yellow light suddenly emitted from the hangar and Sanja felt herself lose control of the ship’s steering. She let go of the levers as the engine powered down all on its own. The yellow light seemed to take it from here like some sort of gravity beam.
Sanja’s ship slowed velocity as it entered the hangar. Like the Kholvari ships, a purple forcefield deactivated just as it was time to enter the threshold of the hangar, then reactivated when Sanja was on the other side. But unlike the Kholvari hangars that were bustling with ships, people, cargo or things in general, this hangar was completely empty. Sanja’s transport was the only object of any kind in sight. The hangar itself was smaller than what she had seen aboard Fruitful Spring, but the emptiness of it all made it feel bigger than it was.
The interior of the hangar looked so clean that the great metallic walls were practically mirrors. The rounded surfaces reflected light in every which way, like an optical illusion.
When at last Sanja’s transport touched down, the yellow light faded away and Sanja could hear air pumping into the hangar, re-establishing pressure.
Sanja gulped and stood up from the block. Her sweaty hands shook.
“Here it goes,” she said with an exhale.
She opened the doors of the transport and stepped outside when, instantly, her breath left her and her body felt heavy under the intense pressure inside the hangar. The smell of methane was overwhelming. Sanja fell to her knees and waved her right hand in the air, hoping to get someone’s attention, anyone’s attention.
The intense pain quickly returned to her head. Sanja knew instantly that the queen was trying to communicate with her again.
“What do you breathe?” the queen asked.
“O… o… oxygen,” she muttered back as best she could.
Sanja’s vision grew blurry. She felt dizzy. Then she tumbled down the ramp of the vessel, losing all ability to balance. She gasped for breath again, but nothing entered her lungs, at least, nothing breathable. Just more methane.
Seconds later, just as the last strength she had began to fade away, a large amorphous bubble formed around her. As soon as the bubble enveloped her body, Sanja felt oxygen enter her lungs. She took in a deep breath and opened her eyes wide, then blinked. She rolled on the floor for a few more seconds as strength came back to her. When she was finally able to stand, it was a struggle. The pressure and gravity in the room were greater than what she was used to.
“Ooh,” she said, pressing her palms against her head. “Thank you for that.”
“Please, follow the lights. They shall lead you to me,” the queen replied, not bothering to acknowledge Sanja’s comment.
When Sanja felt the queen leave her mind again, she removed her hands from her head and looked through the bubble. A glowing sky-colored line of light covered the floor like a path leading deeper into the ship. Sanja nodded to herself and slowly followed the line.
The clean metallic floor was cold against her bare feet, but Sanja had grown so used to the feeling of metal against her skin that she hardly thought about it anymore. One step after another, Sanja pressed onward, undeterred. She was invigorated by a sense of excitement and wonder. The bubble of breathable air moved with her wherever she went.
For minutes, she followed the line of light through the ship and, not once, encountered another living creature. The entire ship seemed completely abandoned, as if she were the only one inside the massive city-sized vessel. Everything was strangely quiet. And despite the emptiness of it all, everything was incredibly clean.
The line of light took her though halls, ramps and doors, straight through the ship, but never once turned. She had gone in one direct line the entire time. It occurred to Sanja just how long this ship must have been for her to continue along in the same direction for so long like this.
As she approached another door, this one taller than all the rest, the line suddenly faded away. The light was instantly replaced by the same smooth metal surface that she found everywhere else.
Sanja looked up at the door. This must be it. This must be the queen, she thought. She gulped, then took a step forward, prompting the door to slide apart on its own.
Walking through the threshold of the doorway, Sanja suddenly found herself on a thin but wide platform elevated high above a massive pit. The pit was so deep that Sanja could not even see the bottom. She looked up. The roof, if there even was one, was so far away that she could not even see the top. She searched the room for other platforms like hers, but the platform she stood on seemed to be the only one. Looking forward again, Sanja noticed that the platform continued along to the other side of the pit to a similar-looking door on the far end. But the platform was not completely straight. It formed a circle at the center, with a massive beam of electrifying blue light, nearly two meters across, pulsating at the in the middle of the circle. The light was not only powerful enough to illuminate the entire room, but so strong that Sanja could hardly look at it.
She had not noticed it right away, but as she looked toward the beam of light at the center of the open room, Sanja finally saw her first lifeform aboard this ship. It first appeared as a silhouette against the bright light, but as the creature moved closer, Sanja
could now make it out more clearly.
The creature was distinctly alien. Its “body” was sack-like and amorphous. It moved by gliding along its numerous long tentacles that glowed and changed different colors. It resembled a jellyfish, like something out of the deep sea, only much larger. The creature’s sack alone was nearly twice her size and the tentacles were as long as vines in a thick forest.
“Greetings. I am Sanja Parnel. Are you the queen?” Sanja asked, not sure where to look when addressing a creature without any discernable eyes or face.
A presence entered her mind again, this time more powerful than ever before. The intensity of it brought her down to her knees instantly.
“Sanja Parnel. At last we meet,” the voice replied.
The creature continued forward.
“So, you are the queen,” Sanja said.
“I am,” she replied as she stopped in place. The queen stood nearly two meters away. Sanja could see her in perfect clarity now.
“It is nice to finally meet you,” Sanja said, struggling to stand as she spoke. She did not want to appear rude by cowering on her knees in pain.
“You asked to speak with me. Here you are. Now speak,” the queen demanded, not bothering with formalities.
“Yes, of course,” Sanja said, finally able to stand straight. She cleared her throat and stared at the amorphous sack on top of the creature’s tentacles, assuming that must have been her face. “I am no friend to the humans, to the Kholvari nor to the Sorrevahni. I am no friend to Earth. The planet, it’s people, have betrayed me, let me down. I have no desire to help them.”
“Why do you tell me this?”
“Because, Queen, our goals are aligned. Don’t you see? You want to destroy life on the planet, don’t you?” Sanja took a step forward, closer to the creature. “I want that too.” She pointed to the queen. “Allow me to help you. I can show you exactly where Earth’s leaders are hiding. I can tell you exactly how and where to hit them.”
