by Travis Sande
Niri turned and walked out of sight off the bridge. Kris was left standing there, contemplating their situation. She decided to confront Torrin about it and see exactly what his intentions were. Before she could reach him, the commander interrupted her progress.
"Kris, I don't want anyone dealing with Torrin on the bridge. I will be holding a crew meeting once we have all had time to digest what we learned here today. For now, I want everyone off the bridge and settling in for the journey." Ohtom stepped aside, allowing Kris to move toward the bridge entrance. “We have eighteen days to prepare.”
"Yes, sir." Kris said as she rerouted toward the exit of the bridge. It made sense to not allow each member of the crew to individually confront Torrin. Best to get it out of the way in one debrief.
After passing through the door into the neighboring corridor, Kris felt a message incoming. ‘Funny’, she thought, ‘There's nothing there’. She had the overwhelming sensation of an incoming message through her rift conduit, but nothing was revealed when she entered her mental interface. Concerned that either the ship's rift or her interface itself was malfunctioning, she decided to send a message back to earth.
Closing her eyes, she concentrated on a destination, the general. Once she locked in Melissa Lorn as her target she began composing a message. The interface in her mind was always this mysterious place. Over the months it had developed into a physical world that she was able to traverse in her mind. Kris was worried that the experience she had earlier on the bridge, and now this, were symptoms of a larger issue with her implant.
The sensation of an incoming message continued to linger. Even after she received a response from the general, it remained. It was clear that the rift was functioning, as she was able to communicate freely. The issue must have been somewhere within herself. She decided that standing in the bridge corridor was not the place for a deep examination of her mental rift.
Kris left the corridor and moved through the galley toward the crew section. The FYRA was a very similar layout to the ISO. Aside from the new engine design there was little improvement. Several of the crew were in the dining area sitting at a table discussing the disturbing news they had just received.
“I will be in my quarters if anyone needs me.” Kris said as she walked through; deciding it would be best to explore her mental interface more closely in solitude.
“Everything okay?” Niri looked concerned as she met eyes with Kris.
“Yes, everything is fine, I just have a few messages I need to get through.” Kris dismissed her concern.
“Can I send a message through you?” Michael asked before Kris made it out of sight.
“It was requested that I keep my neural rift ways clear for official business only. Please utilize the interfaces provided for you.” Kris answered with the scripted response she was given by superiors during training.
“That sounded pretty formal.” Michael said.
“Yeah, they knew my abilities might be abused, so they gave me some scripted responses.” Kris chuckled, admitting to it.
“It’s so easy for you, you could have sent it a dozen times in the time it took to argue about it.” Michael took offence.
“It’s the principle, I am not a personal messenger, I am a communications officer.” Kris tried to explain the logic behind the stipulation.
“Yeah, we are all impressed. Well get on your way then.” Michael said, clearly irritated.
“Nothing personal.” Kris said as she turned and continued her way.
Mike had always rubbed Kris the wrong way. He seemed to take exception to her surgical improvements. Whether it was jealousy or fear, she didn’t know. As she was leaving, she overheard Niri questioning Michael’s behavior. Having dealt with it many times before Kris decided to ignore it and just leave it behind. She understood her responsibility; official rift communications were her priority and Michael had proven to be more bark than bite.
Once in her quarters Kris had a seat at her desk. The invasive feelings were still hitting her, and she wanted to confront them. She leaned back in the chair and closed her eyes. Entering her mental interface was always tiring. Whenever possible, she preferred to be seated and relaxed. This allowed her to fully invest in the process.
Once inside, It was noticeably darker than she was used to; the fog appeared to return almost immediately. Everything felt distant and almost out of reach as Kris struggled to access previous messages. She searched through a never-ending wall of images and text. Almost like a storm assaulting her senses, she lowered her head and held her eyes ever tighter. The experience had never been this difficult in the past. A task that was usually so simple was suddenly taking a substantial effort.
Kris opened her eyes to give herself a breather. “What is going on?” She said aloud. She lifted her arms and rubbed her face with her hands. She had never experienced anything like it and it began to frustrate her. Taking a deep breath, she lowered her arms and calmly closed her eyes. Taking her time to settle down, she forced herself back in. The sensation was beginning to feel a little more specific to her as she stayed inside. It wasn’t a new message it was almost an interference. “How could there be interference?” She whispered, pushing beyond all her stored messages. “There’s got to be something in here causing this.”
Kris struggled to maintain focus as the interface flickered and fought her pursuit of the interference. She pushed back against the fog, attempting to access the distant reaches of her mind. She felt something, but it wasn’t a message; it was a presence. Something was in her mind. As she struggled to explain it to herself she suddenly heard something. It was a faint sound in the distance beyond the fog. She pushed through and felt resistance that tested her ability to focus. She could feel it slipping in and out of being with every lapse in her concentration.
She pushed closer to the sound and it became clear that it was words of some kind. It was still too distant to make anything out. The fog was thick and cold; physical sensations like this were a foreign surprise to Kris. It swirled and danced, taunting her with its obfuscation.
An amber hue abruptly appeared behind the wall of fog, illuminating it. Similar to before it was the only colour she could make out as it caused the fog to glow. Something was clearly just beyond it, hidden. Finally, she was able to get a clear shot of the sound. It was a language she had never heard before, essentially gibberish.
"Herak noth sin vo ra" The words came from something large, it was a deep voice that originated from above and to the left.
Kris was concerned and felt exposed as only the fog provided some semblance of cover. She ducked and got lower to the ground in an attempt to stay out of sight. She wasn't even sure if it was possible for someone or something to invade her mental interface. The sensation of being in a physical realm was disorienting. Deciding not to take any chances of being seen, she kept low.
"Tiiren yolkanni nin vorashi," The voice continued, and Kris noticed that she started to understand the meaning behind the words. "Gorok yon gir ime as scheduled." The words were still gibberish to her ears, but her mind seemed to decipher the meaning in real-time.
‘There's something being scheduled.’ She thought to herself. Before she could analyze it any further, a second presence could be heard. It was a low rumble, a vibration. The sound was familiar, and Kris immediately recognized it as a Vryl. Once again, she was able to translate the meaning being expressed.
"We will arrive without delay." The voice was very concise and clear. As soon as it completed the sentence, the voices stopped.
Kris was baffled by what she had just experienced. The feeling within her mind seemed to retreat along with the presences. The fog dissipated, and the interface became clear. She was able to control the environment to greater detail; able to once again filter and read messages with ease.
Not knowing exactly what just happened she decided that it wasn't worth telling anyone other than Ken Howel, the ship's psychologist. Her biggest concern was that her imagination was
leaking into her mental interface and causing an unstable overlap. Not wanting to delay, she made an appointment with Ken immediately.
She left her quarters and was confronted by Mike and Greg talking in the corridor. She drew their attention as her door slid open.
"Sorry about earlier." Mike took the chance to apologize, as he usually did after a rude outburst.
"Don't worry about it." Kris responded but loathed giving him the satisfaction of forgiveness. Luckily for him she didn't have the constitution to maintain a grudge at the moment.
She quickly moved down the corridor and left the two of them behind. She had more important issues to discuss. Making her way through the ship at a very brisk walk, she seemed to gain even more attention in the galley area.
"What's up, everything ok?" Niri asked from a table to her left.
"Yeah, just going to see Ken" Kris did her best not to sound too dismissive of the inquiry.
"Well if you want to have something to eat after, let me know. I will be here." Niri smiled at Kris.
"Sounds good." Kris said, happy to conclude the conversation.
Kris reached the door to Ken's office. with the appointment confirmed, the doors opened at her command. The room immediately attached to the entrance was a simple desk with two chairs across from it. Ken was sitting behind the desk and he gestured to one of the seats in front of him. Kris moved in and sat down.
"Hello, Kris, how can I help you? Would you like to stay here or head over into the next room?" Ken welcomed her inside.
The next room, as Ken put it, was an attached section beyond his office. It housed a stereotypical couch and comfortable chair. Kris rejected the idea that a formal session was required and decided to just quickly explain.
"Here is fine. I just had an issue with my mental interface." Kris abandoned formality, purely interested in discussing what had just happened.
"Oh, really, what was the issue?" Ken furrowed his brow as he answered. “Pamela is usually more well versed in its functionality.”
“I have a feeling it isn’t a physical issue.” Kris explained.
“Go on.” Ken cocked his head slightly and rested back into his chair. He was clearly intrigued to hear what was on Kris’ mind. The mental interface had always been a point of interest for him. Quantifying the complexity of the human brain was still a passionate frontier for neurological research. Kris was fount of knowledge in this regard as she was the first to have a physical connection to her consciousness.
"I had a nagging sensation of an incoming message, but I couldn't locate it. I went to my quarters to try and isolate it. Once I got inside my mind, it was foggy, dark, and cold. I haven't experienced anything like it since having this installed. The interface always resembled a physical space, but this was the first time I felt sensation, even unexplained emotion. I could still access all the information from past messages, but it was more difficult." Kris started explaining every detail of the experience she just had.
"Is it still like that or was this temporary." Ken asked.
"Temporary, I can go in now and it's just like it has always been. I can easily access or send information with little effort. It feels more like an interface again, no emotion or physical sensation." Kris explained the odd occurrence. She was concerned that it could be a side-effect that will only get worse.
"Okay, we can keep an eye on this. As you know this is a very new procedure and you're the first to be going through all this. Inform Pamela of what you experienced today and start keeping a detailed log of everything." Ken suggested.
Kris knew that the rift implant was a new frontier in science and Ken would have limited ability to understand or assist with any issues. She appreciated his efforts to help. "That's not all." Kris continued.
"Go on." Ken said, coaxing further discussion.
"While in there, I overheard something. It was a language I was unfamiliar with, but I was able to discern meaning from it. The voice spoke to another, a Vryl of some kind." Kris did her best to explain what she experienced. She was fully aware of the absurdity but felt it worthy of concern and wanted to tell someone to get the feeling off her chest. Perhaps an outside, objective viewpoint could help her assess the situation.
"What did they say?" Ken inquired.
"Something about a schedule and arriving on time. It seemed like I caught the end of the message. It wasn't like anything I have seen before. All our messages are sent and received. There is a delay before a response as a result. This was being done in real-time. I can't explain it.” Kris finished with a final thought. "It was as if they were both present in the same mental rift."
"This sounds very troubling, but we cannot overlook the possibility that this was all invented within your mind." Ken looked concerned as he absorbed what he just heard.
"I agree, that's why my first appointment was with you and not the commander, or Pam" Kris added. “My hope is that it’s all just a figment of my imagination interfering with the implant’s functionality.
"With your permission, I would like to present this information to the commander." Ken turned and opened something on his interface.
"Of course." Kris had planned to anyway.
"Try to leave your schedule open, he may wish to debrief you personally." Ken said as he continued to type on the interface next to him.
"I will, just let me know." Kris said as she stood to leave.
"If this happens again, I want you to gather and document as much information as you can. I believe this may just be your imagination leaking, especially after the information Torrin gave us today. I can't rule out its validity though, so we will keep a close eye on it." Ken nodded toward Kris, clearly taking the situation seriously.
"I will do my best." Kris said as she turned to leave.
As she exited Ken's office, Kris was confident that she had experienced an actual communication. It felt real and the language was so foreign. It was a very disturbing and she was just hoping they could get to the bottom of it. Kris decided to head back to her quarters and await the commander's reaction.
Chapter 15
A New Planet
Derrick came to amidst a rush of noise. The ship had just touched down and the impact had clearly caused him to lose consciousness momentarily. There was shouting coming from behind him as he could hear the sound of rushing water. Whatever was left of their ship was clearly flooding. Derrick felt a haze about him, disoriented from the harsh impact. His chest ached, perhaps a figment of his prior injury resurfacing. Shaking his head to regain composure, Derrick focused on the voice behind.
"We need to get out, now." Lorn yelled. "Sian, Ben, grab Hank and let's move."
"It looks like the bottom is just beyond twenty-five feet down." Ben checked his spatial sensors one more time before moving to Hank with Sian.
Sparks exploded from Eilik's panel and it sent him recoiling away. Unsure if he was hurt, Derrick removed his harness and rushed in that direction. He found Eilik on his side against the back wall.
"Are you alright?" Derrick yelled, reaching out to Eilik.
"I believe so." Eilik looked disoriented from the blast. Derrick helped him off his side and back into an upright position. As he did, it was very clear that his left arm was severely injured. "My left appendage appears to be damaged, I will need assistance."
Derrick wrapped his arms around Eilik and helped him up. It was clear Eilik was going to need Derrick's full attention to exit the ship. He hobbled with Eilik, his arm dangled helplessly at his side as they hopped toward the exit. Water must have been rushing down the corridor, Derrick could hear it pooling against the door of the bridge.
"Open the door to the bridge, Nik." Lorn commanded.
As Nik obeyed the order, Derrick and Eilik were hit with a rush of ankle high water. It nearly toppled them, but Derrick managed to catch Eilik as he fell to one knee.
"I am getting Eilik out of here!" Derrick yelled as he climbed back to his feet with Eilik in tow.
"How is Ha
nk?" Yanna called out, her voice nearly drowned out by the rush of water now invading the bridge.
"I am here, leave me if you have to." Hank called out to the cabin.
"I need a knife!" Sian said as she tugged on the tape holding Hank's head in place.
"Got it!" Kim rushed to open the locker near her console. She could only find a plasma torch but deemed it good enough. She ran over to Sian and lit the torch. Cutting through the tape from the backside of the chair, she managed to free Hank.
Sian and Ben lifted Hank up and out of his chair. Hank called out in pain as his neck shifted. The make-shift rig Sian had crafted was working but not flawlessly.
"Sorry, Hank." Sian did her best to comfort him.
"Just get us out of here!" Hank scolded them. “Do not let me take you two down with me. If something happens, don’t hesitate to ditch me. Promise me.”
“Shut up, Hank.” Ben responded without delay.
Kim, Yanna, and Nik all rushed out the door behind Derrick, water was flooding in faster and faster as the ship sank. Nearly at waist height by the time the commander followed in the rear.
Derrick and Eilik were the first to emerge out of the corridor and into the lake. It was a surprise to see the galley missing entirely as Derrick struggled to avoid the jagged metal at the opening. He pushed through and fell into the water of the lake.
Eilik was heavy and lacked the ability to swim. Derrick was doing everything in his power just to keep his head above the water. Eilik would have been dead weight at the best of times but lacking one of his arms it was a nearly impossible task. Water kept crashing down over Derrick's helmet as he struggled with all his might to keep them both afloat. Their flight suits weren’t designed with atmospheric water pressure in mind. He knew that if he wasn’t able to keep them near the surface, his shield could fail. He had abandoned the thought of making it to shore and all his focus was simply on keeping Eilik above him.
