Endless Sky (An Island in the Universe Trilogy Book 1)

by Greg Remy

  “The Commander,” she said. “Our pleasure.”

  “I will take you there, as this is your first time here.”

  He guided Zoe and Darious through more never-ending corridors, finally ending at a lift. The trio entered in and it propelled them some three hundred floors up, to the highest point of the craft, where the Commander of the station and of the local fleet was waiting for them. The door slid open.

  “Good day Miss,” said the mechanic as he saluted them off.

  Zoe and Darious slowly entered into the semicircle room with the lift doors closing behind them. It took Zoe a moment to take in the inspiring sight. The spacious bridge had two tiered rows of three seats and a larger seat elevated like a throne behind them, no doubt for the Commander. All the chairs were vacant, and a single man was standing at the control room’s front, staring out of the single window that wrapped around half of the bridge. It was as if they were in a helmet and were given a visor’s view of outer-space.

  The Commander, wearing a grey uniform with hands placed at his back, turned when the elevator door clicked closed, revealing his neatly shaven face and authoritative eyes. His expression was hardy, though Zoe noticed his nose was quite pink. He began walking toward them, but stopped halfway, taking a handkerchief from his pocket and sneezing into it.

  He sniffled loudly. “Excuse me.”

  “Sir,” said Zoe.

  She and Darious saluted him in unison. Without further acknowledgment, he passed by them and took a seat at the helm. Zoe gave Darious a quick awkward look. She turned to face the Commander.

  “Sir?” she asked.

  He sniffled and blew his nose again. “Excuse me. Please do come up.”

  They did their best to march like soldiers and then stood at his left side. For some time, the Commander did not speak, instead choosing to gaze motionlessly at space. He reminded Zoe of starry Vere. Perhaps all captains of the CF were a bit star struck.

  “I was told you did a stand-up job repairing the Slough Field. It is much appreciated. After the fiasco we’ve had today, it is a bit of a relief.”

  “The head mechanic informed us of an attack earlier.”

  “Yes. An unusual one too. Nevertheless...” His voice seemed to doze off.

  “Sir,” started Zoe, letting curiosity get the better of her, “Where is the rest of your commanding company?”

  He surveyed the bridge with a slow eye. “They all are aiding in the chase of that maniac. I just kept a skeleton crew here to manage Regency.”

  “I see,” said Zoe. Wow. Kappa must have stirred up quite the storm here.

  “I thank you for your concern.”

  “All for the CF, Sir.”

  “Yes,” said the Commander as he gave her a short smile. Zoe felt comfortable enough with his tone to push the conversation into a new direction.

  “Sir, may I pose a second question?”

  “Yes Miss. You have secured my vessel faster than calculated. I am at your disposal.”

  “It has nothing to do with Slough fields, but rather with intangible integrity. In your opinion, Sir, would you say that the CF’s integrity could ever be influenced or corrupted? I mean—”

  One swift look from the Commander told her that he fully understood. He turned back to space and thought. Then, he stood up, regarding the stars beyond in more of an open manner, as if he was among his oldest friends. He spoke absolutely.

  “The CF remains very compartmentalized at lower levels of service, for the integrity of its own personnel. Departments, though separately coordinated, have certain powers over one another to ensure a total system of checks and balances. Do you understand?” He looked at Zoe.

  “Yes Sir.”

  “With that said, at higher levels, pieces tend to interlock, forming larger controlled assemblages with smaller controlling parties. It allows for a forward stream of orders than can be enacted swiftly. The higher you go, the broader the influence of the reduced party. Perfectly sensible. This is the correct system to have cohesive efforts with minimal possible wasteful outflows.

  “However—,” he sneezed into his handkerchief, “—excuse me. We may stop revolutions with cannons, but internally, no shots need to be fired. Politics and so forth. We do what we can, and we must trust the system. After all, there is balance throughout the galaxy.” He again eyed her. “What prompted such an inquiry?”

  “Oh, CF politics has always been a small fascination of mine. And it’s not every day I get to speak with a Commander, Sir.”

  “Ah. I thought I had gone far beyond your question and your clone was giving you a hard time, so you were looking for some sound way to have him extinguished.” He laughed, and Zoe smiled, but it was a completely hollow smile. The Commander sneezed and quickly pulled out his handkerchief.

  “Excuse me.” He sneezed once more. “This damn cold.”

  “Sir,” Darious said, “the common cold, most likely a strain of the ubiquitous rhinovirus, requires rest. Hot chicken soup is recommended. I would additionally suggest a—”

  “Ah-hem,” Zoe cleared her throat, prompting Darious to abandon his medical rejoinder. “Commander, this is a magnificent vessel.” She surveyed the amazing view of space in the same way he had. “And we thank you for your generosity in allowing us to be onboard the bridge with you. Thank you so much. With your dismissal, may we return to our vessel? We must attend to other duties, Sir.”

  The Commander returned the handkerchief to his pocket. “Certainly”

  He saluted them, to which they reciprocated. As they entered the lift, he sneezed out loud once more.

  “Damn cold!”

  Chapter 40

  Scuttle!

  As they entered into the lift, Zoe couldn’t help but feel a bit ill at ease. That vinous gut-feeling ate away at her stomach and dizzied her mind. She wasn’t exactly sure why; the plan had worked and now the worm was being sent across the galaxy. They glided downwards, leveling off at the hangar floor where the maintenance vessel was parked. The lift door opened, and they entered into a long corridor.

  “Straight ahead,” said Zoe.

  As they walked, Zoe was glad for the lack of personnel, though the vast emptiness was a bit creepy in such a large craft; perhaps that was why she had that disquieting feeling. At the entryway to the bay, Zoe paused. This was it; they had made it. The door slid to the side with the press of a button, revealing two waiting guards with rifles. Panic momentarily struck Zoe and she looked over her shoulder for a possible escape route.

  “Ma’am,” said one of the officers in a tone that confirmed this was not a coincidental encounter. She slowly turned back. Darious stood motionless. “Ma’am and clone, you are to be held, by the order of the Commander, under suspicion of illicit activities.”

  Zoe cringed. She then saw, over the two men’s broad shoulders, several more soldiers exiting from the maintenance craft. Evidently, they had searched it. The officer who had spoken stepped through the doorway and glared down at Zoe.

  “Nice and easy now, turn around.”

  He pulled out a pair of handcuffs. Zoe and Darious complied and their hands were bound behind their backs. Darious gave Zoe a defeated glance but she kept her own insecurities within.

  “Follow me,” said the soldier.

  The other man took to the rear, blocking off any chance of escape. Zoe and Darious were led once more deep within the craft, down into its furthest pale caverns. Eventually, they stopped at a door which required the officer’s authentication. Within was a large room with a control console at its center and four heavy metal doors on opposite walls. Holding cells, thought Zoe. She was prodded forward with a rifle as the officer opened one of the cells. When Zoe and Darious entered in, their bindings were removed.

  “Sit there. Do not move.”

  The man pointed to a metal bench along the far wall. Zoe nodded, without saying anything. He closed the metal door, leaving Zoe and Darious sitting in the while-walled cell with no windows or any indication of what t
he future was holding for them.

  “Zoe?” asked Darious in a strained voice.

  “Shh. They may be listening.” She then raised her voice. “We did our job repairing the Slough shield. I’m not sure why we are being held. Perhaps the military is not a fan of efficiency.”

  Just then the door opened, and the Commander entered in. The relaxed expression he had worn earlier was now gone and all Zoe could see was a man of anger. His eyes were narrowed, and only little black beads of lead shone through. The Commander closed the door behind him and held out a scanning device. He waved it up and down in front of Zoe and then did the same to Darious. It beeped once.

  “I am confirming your identities,” he said.

  A second beep sounded from the device. He continued to fiddle with it and sneezed into his arm. Zoe looked at Darious and then back at the Commander. What could she do?

  “Comman—,” she began.

  “Do not speak!” he bellowed. A third beep came from the device and his face turned from bitter to rotten. “You damn kids.”

  He turned on his heel and left, the door slamming shut behind him. Zoe could hear him yelling at the officers outside. He sounded livid. There were several ‘Yes Sirs!’ and then the noises died down. Soon it was all quiet. Several minutes passed by in complete silence.

  “Darious, I’m so sorry.” Zoe put a hand over his. “I am so, so sorry.”

  He looked at her with a somber face. His eyes pierced through her soul. Then everything went black.

  A second later, the lights turned back on, though now with the addition of cyclic red flashes.

  “What the?” asked Zoe, standing up.

  “Zoe, what is this?”

  “I have no idea.”

  Could it be Kappa? Was the station going into some sort of lockdown? Then a low siren began, shattering all of Zoe’s thoughts, all except one.

  “I know what that siren is. I know it.”

  She could feel her face go white.

  “Zoe, Zoe what is it!?”

  “The self-destruct mode of the ship has been activated. We need to get out of here.”

  “What!?” Darious exclaimed in pure astonishment.

  Zoe ran to the door and quickly scrutinized its hinges and weld seams. There didn’t seem to be any weak points or any electronic service panel to hack. She leaned on the door, putting an ear to it. To her amazement, it began to creep open. In his rage, the Commander must have forgotten to lock it! With both hands on the cold metal, she gently pressed it forward and peered out. Zoe then pushed the cell door fully open and bound into the room. It was empty. She looked back at Darious, stunned. He had the same expression upon his face. Zoe ran to the computer podium and quickly started into Regency’s systems. It was as she already knew: the station was in an auto-destruct sequence. There was no way to stop it. She navigated through the station’s files.

  “Craaaap! The escape pods are all leaving. Everyone is abandoning ship.” She delved deeper into the station’s directives. “The auto-destruct, it didn’t come from the Commander.” She hurriedly typed. “It was remotely activated. The command came from up high... a dignitary... Magistrate high!”

  “A dignitary? A dignitary did this?” asked Darious.

  “No, not just any dignitary, someone from the Magistrate, the highest presiding dignitaries in the galaxy.” Zoe thought for a moment, it couldn’t possibly be because of us; could it?

  “How much time do we have?”

  Zoe continued typing into the console. “Nine and a half minutes. I’m locating an escape pod for us. ...there! Okay, mapping the quickest route now.”

  A map filled the screen with an orange line leading from their current position across a good portion of the Regency Station. It was mostly a straight shot. Zoe typed one last command, pre-igniting the escape pod, and grabbed Darious’ hand. The two took off from the room and sprinted down the corridor.

  The entire station was empty. Under the red flashing lights and sirens, Zoe and Darious ran, retracing much of their way, though soon diverging toward the escape pod. As they ran, Zoe pulled out her lightcard. Two minutes left.

  “Faster!” she yelled, forcing her legs to alternate even quicker and ignoring the burning sensation in her chest.

  Darious kept up, taking long strides alongside her. They rounded a corner and dashed down the next corridor, arriving at a lift. Zoe quickly accessed its controls and they were taken six stories up, emerging on the correct exit floor. Zoe looked at the time on her lightcard. Thirty seconds. They still had to cover nearly a kilometer to the awaiting pod.

  “We’re not going to make it,” she breathed.

  They started sprinting, but Zoe wavered. She began to feel heavy and at the same time as though she was coming undone. Without her ship, without any means to defend or evade, and without time; not even against Kappa had she felt such futility, like the surface of her being was crumbling away into an abysmal sinkhole. There was always something... something... nothing. Her hands felt numb. She tried balling them into fists, but that did not help. This is it. Zoe stopped running.

  Darious, a few paces ahead, slowed to a jog and looked back.

  “Zoe!” he called and ran back to her.

  To Zoe, everything seemed so far away. She could hear his voice, but it seemed more like a specter’s wail. She no longer felt the floor under her feet or the air around her. Nothing.

  “Zoe!”

  She slowly looked down at her lightcard. “Ten seconds,” she whispered.

  Darious grabbed her by the hand. “Zoe, we are getting out of here!” He cupped her face with both hands and brought his mouth close to hers. “Zoe!” She made no acknowledgement. “Zoe!” His tone was still exasperated but his eyes softened. “Zoe, I cannot live without you.”

  Darious then grabbed her hand and yanked her forward. His sudden heave freed Zoe from her stupor and propelled her forward. Together, they were again at a full sprint. When they had made it just halfway down the corridor, the low-pitched siren ceased.

  From within the depths of the Regency Station, there was the sound like a metallic bar of epic proportions being bent. The ground shifted under their feet. Echoes of twisting metal resounded all around them, inducing the pair to run even faster.

  An explosion boomed from the bowels of the station, warping the floor underneath them, and hurled them into the corridor’s walls. Zoe scrambled to get up, but could only lurch forward as the air had been knocked from her lungs. Darious was quickly up and lifted Zoe to her feet. Another thunderous explosion ripped through the floor, tearing the entire corridor into a giant fissure. Zoe was thrown backward and swallowed whole by the avaricious mouth of fire.

  Chapter 41

  To the End

  Darious awoke and shook the dust off himself. He slowly got to his hands and knees, shell-shocked, bloody and battered. He gradually became aware of the great fiery cavern next to him and how close he was to its precipice. The hallway had been completely split in half. He was on the side that still existed. The missing half opened up into the raw structure of the Regency Station, exposing a fracture some-twenty stories deep. From across the gap he could see many levels of burning rooms and corridors. The sensation of hearing returned, and continual explosions echoed from unseen locations all around him.

  “Zoe?”

  He coughed and stood up. Bullets of pain shot through his body. He did not see her anywhere.

  “Zoe!”

  Darious heard a faint cry and rushed to the edge of the chasm. Looking down, he spotted her, and his heart jumped. Zoe was dangling above the fiery abyss, holding onto a protruding metal wedge. She yelled something, but a loud explosion from behind him cut the words from the air. The intense heat scalded his back and nearly sent him over the ledge.

  Clenching his jaw, Darious withstood the pain and looked on the ground for something rigid to hold on to. There was a rectangular panel jutting slightly over the edge with a bar through it. He pushed at it with his foot and it
felt secure. Laying flat on his stomach, he eased forward, holding the makeshift handle with one arm while thrusting the other downward toward Zoe. She was looking up at him, her body swaying from the blasts below. Darious called to her to grab his hand but he could already see the distance was too great. He pushed himself further down, feeling for her hands.

  “Darious!”

  Zoe released one hand and gripped his outstretched hand. Another explosion rocked the station, sending debris over the escarpment. Zoe lost her grip on the wedge and momentarily hung with just one hand connected to Darious. Her full weight on his arm made it hurt incredibly. She swung her other hand upward and firmly gripped his wrist. He pulled as hard as he could, but the weight proved to be just too much. Suddenly, there was a hissing sound from below, like a giant tank was rapidly depressurizing. The sputtering abruptly ended with a deafening boom, sending great orange flames up from the abyss.

  “Zoe!”

  Every muscle in his body strained in the supreme effort to pull her up.

  “Darious, go!”

  He grit his teeth and pulled harder.

  “There’s no time, go!”

  The edge of the panel was cutting into his arm and he could feel his grip failing.

  “Darious, you need to get out of here!” she shouted up at him.

  “No!” Darious yelled back, exerting all his strength just to maintain his hold on her.

  “Go!”

  “NO!”

  A massive explosion shook the rupturing station, sending Darious further over the edge and further stressing his hold on Zoe. Tears were streaming down her face.

  “Darious…”

  “Argh!!” he yelled and pulled with the might of all the spliced millenniums of humanity within him.

  Having one hand firmly fixed on the metal bar, Darious heaved Zoe toward him. His eyes became red giants as blood vessels burst. He hauled Zoe up little by little. As soon as she touched the pointed ledge, she let one hand go and was scampering for something to hold on to. With one final great heave, Darious pitched both Zoe and himself onto the hallway’s surface. Darious laid panting with Zoe next to him still in tears. They turned their heads towards each other. Zoe gave him a small, soft smile.