Alutia Rising

by Craig Gerttula

  "This area in front of my apartments must be the bridge, where we are now?" asked Sasha as she pointed to the front of the shuttle.

  "Very perceptive, Sasha...that is indeed the bridge." The tone reminded her of Tiana, who would pepper her sweet words with compliments, but show her real meaning with the mischievous look in her eyes. Xin'Eir's eyes, however, matched her words, showing only honesty. The image on the CID now highlighted the area she had been pointing, the upper bow of the starship.

  "Now for the lower deck......Directly below the bridge we have the combat system station, or CSS. This is where the Electronic Warfare, or EW, Energy Shield System, or ESS, and Laser Particle Arrays, or LPAs, are managed, along with providing redundancy in case the main bridge is incapacitated." Sasha nodded, trying to store away the information being provided, but knowing she would most likely forget what most of it meant.

  "This next section is the crew quarters and mess. Nothing special here, except if you need to find the Flight Captain he is usually goofing around in the officer’s lounge." Sasha smiled as Xin'Eir's mind caught up to her mouth, her smiling face turning into a panicked frown as she realized what she'd said about the Captain. Sasha couldn't contain herself and started laughing hysterically. The rest of the bridge crew, busy monitoring systems and preparing for the short acceleration to the escort fleet, looked up from their stations to Sasha, then to Xin'Eir, who was blushing furiously.

  "This is why...I prefer to talk...without titles! It makes even the most technical conversations...have a chance to be entertaining." stuttered Sasha as laughter continued breaking through her words, trying unsuccessfully to reassure the embarrassed Flight Supply Officer.

  "Please continue on with this next section Xin'Eir and I'll keep what you said between us." Sasha winked at the still mute Xin'Eir.

  "Yes, Sasha." The voice that came through the image was just a squeak and Sasha made a note to not let Xin'Eir meet Tiana until she could properly prepare her...she might not survive the encounter.

  "This next section is the hanger bay. This is a unique feature to this shuttle, since most capital docking bays are not meant to handle starships of this size. The ferry shuttle can carry six people comfortably and up to 10 in emergency situations. Beyond that we have main engineering, maintenance bays, and finally, the NSD or Neutron Star Drive." Xin'Eir appeared to be rushing through the final sections. Sasha sighed, winking again at the young Flight Supply Officer, thinking it about time to let her get back to her normal work.

  "Thank you, Xin'Eir. Your description was very informative and I appreciate you talking freely with me." The young lady blushed at Sasha's praise.

  "Just remember to keep the formality in the presence of others...it may cause some confusion..." Sasha paused for a second, thinking. "...Actually, Xin'Eir, I would like to dine with you sometime during our journey. Send a message to Gil'Da, my servant, with times you will be off-duty and she will set something up." requested Sasha with the matter-of-fact tone she liked to use when she made a decision.

  She quickly accessed her BC node, creating an additional note to herself to setup dinners with the rest of the officers, and possibly group meals with the general crew. Since this was the crew of her personal starship, and they will be working together quite often in the coming months, it may be best to prepare a casual environment to get to know them and hear their concerns. It wouldn't hurt their moral either, she thought, to know that there patron cared enough to invite them to dinner. Sasha smiled as she realized how she'd already begun thinking like a real ruling noble....which she found intriguing.

  Nodding her thanks once more to the saluting Xin'Eir, whose display vanished as Sasha turned her head and began to rise from her seat, only to see Tiana's face less than a hands breath from her own. She let slip a surprised shriek and fell back into her seat, horrified by the sudden undignified sound that escaped her lips.

  The beautiful face, with dark green eyes and long blond hair, had a mischievous smirk from ear to ear. Sasha quickly recovered, ignoring the concerned queries from the bridge crew, and preceded to briskly move in front of Knight Captain Seb'Losh, who stood stone faced at his station by the door.

  "I am going to my apartments and I am not to be disturbed! Not by you and especially not by her!" She pointed back across the deck to Tiana, whose smirking face had turned into one of feigned sadness, exposed by her teasing eyes.

  "As you wish, Your Grace." Sir Seb'Losh said with the utmost dignity, while he politely opened the door. She briskly started through when she caught what appeared to be a wink from Sir Seb'Losh, causing her to whirl around and see Tiana returning said wink. Sasha looked at Knight Captain Seb'Losh, face red with fury.

  "We will be having words, Sir Seb'Losh, we will be having words!" She stared daggers at her lady-in-waiting before turning and walking briskly towards her new life, while cringing at the thought of having to deal with not only the ever playful Tiana...but her own Guard-Captain, Sir Seb’Losh.

  *********

  A dim light filled his tiny one room apartment, diffused slightly by the rose colored shades covering the wall sized window. Trent moaned, blinking away the pain as he awoke with yet another pounding headache, a remnant of his latest late night of drinking. He reached for his MCD, lying where he always left it on the small wooden nightstand, and checked the time. Seeing it was still well before eight, he decided to get a few more winks. But as he rolled back over, sliding his hand to the other side of the queen size bed, he touched a warm, soft lump under the covers.

  "Mmm...you’re feisty this morning..." A faint feminine voice touched Trent's ears. Confused, his mind still fuzzy, he forced his eyes to focus on the origin, an unexpected face lying at his side. It was Samantha, eyes closed, breathing lightly, and looking gorgeous in the dim morning light. His brain ticked like a frozen clock trying to start, but finding a gear jammed. Something was wrong, he knew instinctively, but the waves of pain seeping from his muddled mind kept any semblance of rational thought from forming. He slowly slid out of bed, trying not to disturb the sleeping beauty beside him and made his way to the bathroom.

  He touched the light activation plate and quickly splashed water over his face, swallowing a handful of the new anti-hangover pills that were standard fair for any corporate worker. The reflection in the mirror was oddly unfamiliar, clean and shaven, his bloodshot eyes the only sight that felt familiar.

  "I shouldn't be here..." he said to himself as his mind began to clear and his memories started to flood back.

  "Why shouldn't you be here?" a yawning Samantha asked as she appeared beside him, forcing her body close so she could lean over the small sink, splashing water over her perfectly sculpted features. He could only mouth his confusion, her seductive manner enchanting him as she flipped her long brown hair over her shoulder before it could fall into the pooling water. His eyes immediately noticing her thin nightgown had fallen open, providing a clear view of what was hidden beneath. Samantha seemed to notice his ogling eyes as well, providing him a playful wink while pulling it open even more. But his lust was muffled, since seeing her now, in the clear white light, caused the nagging feeling that had begun growing in the back of his mind, to fully rush to the surface, telling him something was out of place...that this was definitely wrong.

  "I had the strangest dream..." Trent shuddered, having trouble piecing together his fractured memories.

  "Oh...tell me about it. Tanya was saying that dreams may hold the key to a person's soul...or something like that...she's always been interested in that psychic healing nonsense that the corps are pushing." responded Samantha with a confused, childish look. Before he could continue, she touched the shower activate plate, causing water to start to stream through tiny holes in the ceiling of the adjacent shower tube, and let her thin, silky nightgown roll to the floor, exposing her naked flesh. Trent's lust pushed its way to the surface as she climbed under the falling water, almost forgetting himself in the beauty of the scene...but he knew he had to co
ntinue.

  "In the dream, we broke up..." A horrified gasp escaped from Samantha, who looked at Trent with a face of sudden shock.

  "Why on earth would we do that? We both love each other! That would never happen!" The suddenness and strength of her words threw Trent off guard. She was right, he thought. He loved her and she loved him, there was no way they would ever break up. But the nagging in the back of his mind continued to grow stronger the more he believed she made sense, turning into a voice that warned him, saying something he couldn't quite grasp.

  "You...you're right. But it was so strange...and felt so real. I found out you had a fiancé, then I lost my job, became a hobo, and I think I....I fought with some giant insect...the whole thing's a blur..." Trent said in disbelief, scratching his head as he glanced from his glistening girlfriend to the mirror, still having trouble believing the clean shaven face staring back was his. It felt like he hadn't seen it in months.

  "You know, honey, that's what happens with dreams, the longer you're awake, the fuzzier they become. You'll eventually forget it all and we can get on with our happy lives. Why don't you let me help? Join me in here so we can start the day with a little...exercise?" The invitation cleared most of the doubts from Trent's mind. Why worry about the dream when I have something so beautiful right in front of me?

  The unease in his mind, which had turned into a dull throb, became a flash of pain as the last thought took over. Shaking his head to clear the sudden shock, thinking the pain must be a side effect of the hangover medicine...he removed his clothes and proceeded towards the inviting sight in the shower.

  Trent's glance slid once more to the mirror covering the wall. He froze, seeing for the first time the recently healed scar that stretched from his triceps to his bicep. The painful flash returned, worse than before, but this time images followed, scenes of a giant creature smashing its blade like arm into his side, nearly cutting him in half. Images of railroad tracks followed, a dirty looking man whistling while skipping along, drinking from an unmarked bottle without a care in the world. The visions increased, flowing faster. A scene of a man in a suit waking in a dirty alley covered in vomit and filth, an angry boss yelling at the same man while he's being escorted away by corporate security, confused and in a daze...and a crying man on his knees, seeming to have heard the worst news of his life. Next to the man in the final image stood Samantha, looking down with pity in her eyes, and a little regret...but no love.

  The visions ended and Trent's eyes opened to Samantha staring in wonder at his naked body strewn across the bathroom floor. He quickly recovered to his feet, waving away the words on Samantha's lips before she could voice them.

  "This is wrong." Trent said in the strongest voice he could muster.

  "This place is strange. It looks like my apartment, feels like my apartment...but I don't think it's my apartment." He voiced his words carefully, trying to let the absurdity settle in, while becoming more confident that they were actually true. He continued slowly.

  "I don't know what's going on here, but you lied to me and we broke up months ago. Why are you here and what's going on?" A new confidence filled him as he spoke. He wasn't mistaken, he knew this was wrong.

  Samantha had a bemused look on her face, gazing at Trent with a fascination that he could not recall having witnessed before. A small smirk finally settled as she grabbed a towel, wrapped it loosely around her shapely body, and proceeded to glide out of the bathroom, winking seductively in his direction. Trent followed, forgetting his towel and clothes.

  He entered the bedroom behind her and watched Samantha allow her towel to slide to the floor before falling back on the bed, sitting up on her elbows and curling a strand of her long brown hair around her finger with one hand, as she gestured for Trent to join her with the other. Suddenly aware of his own lack of clothing, Trent started to flush, among other things, and tried to hold his resolve.

  "Samantha, I need to know what's going on, this is all wrong. Tell me...please!" His voice was more on the side of pleading then the forcefulness he'd shown in the bathroom.

  "Embrace me and we can talk after." she meowed, passion overflowing from her sultry voice. He almost gave in, being drawn to the woman he once loved with all his heart, beckoning to him in such a sensual way that even his recently returned mind was on the verge of collapse. The lust was too much and if this didn't stop soon, he knew he would cross a point of no return.

  "No...please tell me. I don't...don't want to be hurt again..." Trent's voice trembled as the pain from his betrayal returned and the horrible memories once again flooded his being. He fell to his knees, all thoughts of lust fleeing his body as tears crept to the edge of his bloodshot eyes. Suddenly, a warm embrace engulfed him, followed by a sweet scent that once existed in his fondest memories, and then the flood gates opened.

  Time meant nothing as his tears once again tried to cleanse his soul. The embrace and warmth of another, even one who caused the pain, helped lessen the sorrow. Each painful memory lingered, then vanished, as another layer of his heart hardened. The tears eventually began to run dry and a small, calming voice whispered into his ear.

  "Stay with me here and you will never feel pain again, or move into the unknown, to never see me again. Make your choice." The voice was sweet, like that of an angel. Trent glanced up at the woman he now knew was not Samantha, seeing tears and love for the first time. He gently removed himself from her embrace, lightly kissed her on the cheek and smiled, his choice made. Everything went dark and the tears once again rolled down Trent's cheeks as he vowed that never again would he be ruled by sorrow.

  *********

  Daniel looked on with a pity he knew was against his nature. Most of the human garbage that he dealt with were generally broken husks who had little to no emotions left. In those instances, even when they passed the first phase, they would live out the remainder of their short lives in the embrace of a robotic automaton, not being able to let go of a past that was lost.

  The second phase was a strange one, which Daniel never fully understood. Given a chance to relive a moment of happiness, most humans wouldn't think twice about the opportunity, especially if they were in the horrible situations that most of the human garbage found themselves when they reached the testing grounds. But on rare occasions an individual would give up on living the comfortable, happy life of their past, to embrace an unknown future.

  Daniel sighed, knowing that the TSB had received its latest recruit, no matter how he fared in the next two phases of the trial. Slightly disappointed that he wasn't able to witness another possible candidate fail, he sent the priority alerts to command that were required when a new recruit was found and waited for the reply.

  His eyes drifted back to the display where Trent lay, curled in a ball within the utter darkness. Daniel was always on the lookout for cronies and this man fit the bill perfectly. He may be a little emotional for his liking, but the kindness, or weakness as Daniel saw it, and the information provided on his background, would make him a perfect candidate to help Daniel with his ambitions. Now he just needed to wait and make sure that the next two trials were for the proper position for him to exploit. If he could get Trent into maintenance, or even the engineering program, he could use him to fake logs and cause accidents. But even if he was assigned as a general crewman, he could use him to undermine his rivals. The thoughts and possible uses for this man continued to grow when the beep of a return message brought him back to the matter at hand.

  Once again, he was struck by a sudden shock. This must be a mistake...these tests were only meant to be given to TSB members who were raised from childhood in the TSB orphanage! There was no way command would give permission to have a 31 year old ex-hobo attempt these trials. His thoughts raced as he quickly sent a request for confirmation, which was verified within seconds, containing the TSB Commanders encryption no less.

  A sigh of resignation escaped Daniels lips as he entered the information for the next phase of the trial and hit
the activate icon. He stood and slowly walked towards the single person transport tube hidden in the back of the small observation outpost, thinking once again about how he could possibly use this new recruit. He grabbed a handle inside the small cylindrical tube, choosing not to sit, and spoke his destination. As the tube door slid shut and started accelerating through the hundreds of thousands of kilometers of the TSB transport tube network that existed below the surface of Earth, he started preparing his speech. The first part of using anyone was to make a good first impression, and Daniel rarely let a chance to use someone pass him by.

  Chapter 3

  Trent forced his puffy, bloodshot eyes open, his tears finally running dry. The fake Samantha was gone and he was left in complete darkness, alone and confused. He started to move, but froze, fearful of stumbling into something horrible. So he decided to return to the fetal position, allowing his sorrow and despair to continue to envelope him...protect him...keep him safe. But as time passed, and the calming silence cleared his mind, he was finally able to think on his current situation with some semblance of reason.

  Apparently, while he was drunkenly wandering the railroad tracks, he had stumbled into something weird...some sort of strange experiment. The thought caused a shiver to creep up his spine. People were known to vanish from time to time, the press noting the disappearances in a way that made most people assume they were taken by corporations who conduct illegal human research. Trent always believed they were just rumors, a creation of minds fearful of the power of the almighty corporation. But now, after reliving a moment from the past, he knew they may be true.