Lonely Out in Space: A Collection of Sci-Fi and Fantasy Short Stories
Page 9
eyes was burned into his own. The green comforted him in the knowledge of its existence and tantalized and tortured him with thoughts of when or if he would see it again. It was not just the color of her eyes, but the life behind them. Her eyes had that special vibrance that colored the Earth from space and sustained every living thing - in whose absence life would be robbed of its very breath and sustenance…
As he sat there, feeling as though he could wither and die, the sound of footsteps and the hum of an electric screen powering on broke his reverie. He was once again aware of his situation and surroundings as two cadets stood in the doorway and a ground control member glared through the screen.
“Cadets, if the perpetrator is not where he can see and hear me, I ask that you apprehend him and bring him before me before any further steps are taken,” the man on the screen said, his brows furrowing into the rims of his glasses. The two cadets, looking thoroughly startled and confused, as well as extremely tired, glared at the man sitting at the table. They looked tense but they did not approach him.
After enough time had passed that ground control could safely assume that the man had been captured and put in front of the screen, the ground control member began speaking again. “We don’t know why you’ve done what you’ve done, but be aware that it will not happen again and it will not go unpunished. Unfortunately, as we discussed our options of what to do with you, we came to the conclusion that you cannot be forcefully sedated and placed into suspended animation as was protocol. We lacked the oversight of providing an extra set of key chips or emergency preparedness codes to the other cadets. We, of course, thought there was no need to due to your stellar training and mental fortitude. It is clear now that we were mistaken. Officer Mi- “
“Black Knight,” the man said in a raised voice over the ground control member when he spoke his real name. The ground control member could, of course, not yet hear this and continued on unphased. The two cadets seemed to grow even more uneasy at this proclamation.
“… though you are now stripped of your official titles and await formal jurisdiction, you will be placed in confinement in the holding area for the duration of the mission, while the other cadets serve as watchman unless your key or codes are needed. I would like to add that the expense of air, food, and water involved in keeping multiple men awake has robbed the mission of critical time it needed at its destination. You’ve not only failed yourself and your crew, but you’ve failed humanity,” the man paused and bit his lip, looking as though he could not even fathom the situation he was being presented. “Cadets, place him in the cargo holding area, and secure it as best as possible. Report back when finished for further instruction.”
The screen went blank and the man could feel the tension in the room rising. The cadets continued to linger in the doorway, but finally, one spoke. “Why have you done this?”
“I had my reasons,” he said calmly, rising to his feet. “Reasons that will likely make themselves evident to you shortly, now that you hold my former position.”
“You were trained for this, Officer – ”
“Black Knight,” the man said forcefully, cutting across the cadet as he was about to speak his real name. “Black Knight is my name.”
The cadet shook his head angrily. “Regardless of who you think you are now, you were trained for this position…”
The Black Knight laughed at the lieutenant’s naivety, and responded, “I hope that after you have experienced what I have, that you may convince ground control to rethink my punishments. No training could prepare a person for this… Not the way they arranged this mission. And it is absurd to think that any training of any kind could part kindred souls.” The cadets appeared to be exceedingly confused. “I suppose ground control didn’t mention that last part. Of course not… How could they know? And would they even care? Ha! We weren’t ready for this and you certainly aren’t either.”
The cadets, although still quite perplexed, began to approach him. The Black Knight did not struggle. He picked up the white queen chess piece, the notes, and his pen, and held them in his hand as he walked with them to the cargo holding area. The cadets commanded him to remove boxes of supplies, tanks, space suits, and other items out of the holding unit and into the hallway. It was roughly eight feet by eight feet in area, with a ceiling so low that he could not stand straight up without hunching forward. When he had finished, they ushered him inside one last time and closed a clear window that divided the makeshift cell from the hallway. They left him at once to receive the information regarding their new assignments.
“Good luck,” he called at their retreating backs. “You’ll need it,” he added under his breath. Seconds passed, and then minutes and hours as the full weight of his situation crashed upon him. He had years ahead of him in this tiny storage cell if the orders did not change.
The automated vacuum cleaner zipped down the hallway, dodging the new obstacles that had been placed in its way, and entered the crack between the floor and the clear divider on the cell. The Black Knight watched it quickly pass through the cell and realized that he did not have to wait years for his freedom. He only had to wait until the White Queen was awake once again, until her notes would once again appear taped to the top of the small automated vacuum cleaner that was exiting his cell to clean the rest of the ship. He traced a smudgy chess board onto the wall with his fingers, fantasizing about a moment three hundred and sixty days from then when he could make his first move and when he would see the first words she would write to him.
The Black Knight placed his pen, his notes, and the white queen chess piece down beside him. He leaned his forehead against the cool metal wall of the cell and closed his eyes. The White Queen’s emerald green eyes appeared in his mind at once, and he was with her again in a moment that lasted forever in a boundless green expanse.
Intergalactic Public Radio
This segment of Intergalactic Public Radio was transcribed for your reading pleasure by Susan Transiberian, I.P.R. Intern in Perpetua.
(Brief Musical Opening)
Prerecorded - This segment of Intergalactic Public Radio is sponsored by: Fleetwood's Low Gravity Metal Mining Incorporated - The Low Gravity Metal Miners You Can Trust.
Victor - Greetings and welcome to Intergalactic Public Radio, the only station in the galaxy that broadcasts from spiral to spiral of the Milky Way through transmission speeding amplification. I, of course, am the host of the IPR segment, Today's Look at Today, Victor L. Wave. Our top story finds Supreme Galactic Czar Percy Cocoro under scrutiny once again as he has arrived for a week long stay at Deer Planet. As most of our listeners know, Deer Planet is inhabited solely by deer. He has billed this journey as a 'peace-keeping diplomatic mission', causing many political critics to once again examine Czar Cocoro's long questioned mental capacities. Here is a clip from Supreme Galactic Czar Percy Cocoro's opening address to the deer of deer planet.
Recording of Czar Cocoro - (Hoof and grass chewing noises abound) My fellow deer, it is an honor and a privilege to be among you all today. Too long, it has been, that you, our horn and hoof clad brothers and sisters have gone unrepresented throughout the galaxy. - Pause - Oh... uh, no applause... Alright, anyways, errr, right. I would like to formally announce that two deer representatives will be selected to represent your planet in the Galactic Governance Squad. - One person clapping - (Heavy sigh) So, if you'd all write in your nominations, we will be having elections at the end of this week.
Victor - We'll stop the clip there. Our sources have informed us that as of now, the deer have not nominated anydeer to be representatives in the Galactic Governance Squad. There has, however, been one write-in nomination for Percy Cocoro. (Heavy sigh) We'd like to know what you, our loyal listeners, have to say about Czar Cocoro's alleged diplomatic mission
to Deer Planet. Give us a call and tell us what you think... Alright, the boards are lighting up. Caller, you're on the air.
Caller 1 - Squeeeeeeee tzorrrrrvoppp. Pwentrorrrr tweeee.
Victor - Caller, let me stop you there. Can you please activate your translation module?
Caller 1 - Pwah!?
Victor - Your... Your translation module. It has to be set to the outgoing position. Your language is not in our system.
Caller 1 - Squeee pwah!?
- Dial Tone -
Victor - Alright, next caller please. - Click - Hello, you're on the air.
Caller 2 - (Clearing throat and speaking in falsetto) I, er, uh, Czar Cocoro is doing a good thing. A great thing in fact!
Victor - Oh goodness.
Caller 2 - I'm quite sure that the majority of the voting citizens of the galaxy will agree, darling. I, for one, am glad that the deer of Deer Planet will finally have representatives in the Galactic Governance Squad. And, if for some reason they don't nominate anyone else, I'm certain that Czar Cocoro will do an outstanding job representing their planet.
Victor - Czar Cocoro, I know that's you.
Caller 2 - (Clears throat) Well, heh, I certainly am flattered to be compared to his