CHAPTER 37: JOHN
F.W.S WarpStar
Epsilon Eridani
The child threw sand into the air, delighting in the warm breeze that swept through the city block. Her mother had brought her a pail filled with sand from the coast after his business trip, and the little girl engaged with every last grain, mesmerized by how the wind whisked the tiny particles away to a new home—one she wished she could visit someday. The day was nearly perfect, but not quite perfect enough for the girl. Birds flitted about, singing a myriad of different songs as the hours passed, melodies of joy, peace, and harmony that resonated with the vibrant atmosphere. Yet, that harmony was shattered by the harsh intrusion of the holonet, a news network preaching some hateful and terrifying rhetoric. He recognized that ominous symbol. The girl, however, remained oblivious to the Holovid as she continued to play with her sand on the balcony, letting the birds’ songs fill her ears. The gentle trill of their calls served as the treble, the wind provided the percussion, and something in the background created a deep, resonant bass that enveloped her.
Thump
Thump
It began in rhythm, with beats spaced a few seconds apart, but then it escalated.
Thump Thump. Thump Thump Thump.
This was wrong; this was not a sound birthed from nature. The girl felt an unfamiliar fear creeping into her chest for the first time, and she opened her ears wider to concentrate, instinctively closing her eyes.
"Get underground as quickly as you can," the holovid commanded to everyone within earshot.
Her mother's scream pierced the air, while her father was nowhere to be found, likely caught up in work. The treble of bird songs fell silent for a brief moment as the bass transformed once again.
Thump
Thump Thump
Thump.
Boom.
The wind cracked violently, and the treble exploded into a chaotic flurry of un-orchestrated notes, frantic chirps, and the panicked flapping of wings.
Her eyes snapped open; the birds had vanished, fleeing south en masse, a swirling cloud of feathers and flight.
Her gaze darted to the tower in the distance.
She recognized that tower; it was etched into her memory, a fixture of familiarity that felt both comforting and surreal.
It was her turn to add her voice to the cacophony, her small vocal cords vibrating as quickly as they could manage as she unleashed a scream of terror. Her eyes witnessed a streak of red and orange plummeting from the sky, faster than she could ever imagine, just beyond the world-famous landmark.
It struck. The flash of light was nearly blinding.
A red ball of flame ascended, morphing into the shape of a mushroom—how curious, she thought in her innocent mind.
BOOOOOOM
The sound, so intense and deafening, knocked her to the ground.
Her mother grabbed her and bolted toward the door.
Another flash of light illuminated the room, followed by another resounding BOOOOOOOOOOOM.
The sound came faster this time, the walls rattled with a violent ferocity, pictures flew from their hooks, and the lights flickered ominously.
The mother raced down the stairs with her daughter clutched in her arms, both of them crying and panicking. The girl could not comprehend the chaos; this was no symphony, this was raw fear—fear for her very life.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
Much closer now, rattling the entire building, but this time, pieces of concrete and steel began to rain down around them. One heavy fragment struck the mother, rendering her unconscious as she collapsed face-first onto the ground. The girl stared upward at the gaping hole in the ceiling, ash beginning to drift down like a mournful snow. Her screams, once heard by many, were drowned out for one last time as the blinding flash of light and the earth-shattering BOOOOM collided in perfect synchrony. The sky turned orange as the explosion enveloped the building, and everything faded to black.
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"Fuuuuck!" John's eyes shot wide open, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for air, desperately trying to replenish the oxygen that had fled his lungs. "What the absolute fuck!" This was the only coherent thought that tumbled through his mind after that horrific vision. But it wasn't a dream; he hadn’t been sleeping. He was on his way to the flight deck, preparing for the day ahead, yet the imagery was so vivid, so alarmingly real. This was unlike any other dream he had experienced—those where he recognized landmarks yet had never visited, knew clothing styles but had never seen them before, understood names but had never heard them uttered. This was reality, this was now. The girl had been wearing standard attire for a child living in France, the Holo-vid had been streaming Fox News, and the iconic tower looming in the background was the Eiffel Tower, located in Paris. But the most unsettling part was that it had surfaced while he was conscious; he had been wide awake. The implant at the nape of his neck felt warm to the touch, indicating it had just been active. This was a clue—somehow, the implant had displayed those images, sounds, and feelings directly into his mind. The real question loomed heavily: was this a reality he had glimpsed, or merely a premonition?
"Bridge, CO," John called over his portable comm unit, urgency lacing his voice.
"Bridge Aye," Heidi replied promptly.
"Commander, we have to hurry; I believe Earth is under direct assault."
"Aye sir, increasing speed to destination, ETA five minutes."
John admired his ex-O. She didn’t question his orders on the spot, instead following them through with unwavering professionalism. She would likely inquire about the strange vision later on in private, but for now, she remained focused, executing the task at hand.
Heidi
"Helm answering 9c," Char reported, her voice steady despite the tension in the air.
Heidi’s gaze remained fixed on the screens of the command island, displaying all the data she needed to absorb. Current speed, relative speed to the target, distance to the target—all crucial information. A relative map indicated their approximate location, and she estimated they had about five more minutes before reaching the barrier. She forced herself to keep her mind occupied; the burning questions screamed in her head louder than anything else around her. 'How does John know this? Is this confirmed? How dire is the assault? If Earth is under attack, does that mean Mars has already been obliterated?' The faces of her family flashed to the forefront of her mind—her mother, her brother, and his four children, and her best friend Kathy and her nine kids. Tears began to spill down her cheeks as she contemplated the horrors that could have unfolded, imagining Mars transformed into a liquid mass just like Orion had been. She had witnessed that firsthand. She told herself at least she didn't have to see her home melt in the same manner.
"Uh, Ma'am!" Robert’s voice broke through her thoughts.
"What is it, Lieutenant?" she asked, her tone brisk.
"I'm reading some strange energy signatures; I think the field has expanded. Wait, oh no… No, no, no, no!"
"What is it, Jackson?" she pressed her heart racing.
"We need to drop out of FTL now!" Before Heidi or Char had a chance to react, the ship lurched violently, and power flickered ominously. The disruption didn’t last long, but enough to send a shiver down their spines.
"Helm reporting all stable," Charlene reported slowly, her voice drawing out each word as if she were struggling to concentrate, her brain seemingly on autopilot.
Everyone on the bridge shared the same stunned expression as they turned to look outside the hatch. They couldn't believe what they were seeing; it defied the laws of physics in almost every conceivable way.
John
"Good morning, Captain," Betsy chirped delightfully over the cockpit speakers, her cheerful tone contrasting sharply with the chaos around them.
"Hello, Betsy. Please run all preflight checks and diagnostics; we need to egress yesterday!" John implored his trusted AI, allowing her to manage tasks he should be handling as a pilot. He initiated the power-up sequence for the engines, nudging the throttle slightly forward, propelling his fighter out of the WarpStar’s bay.
"What the hell is this?" John muttered, bewildered.
"I... I do not understand these readings," Betsy stuttered, an unusual quaver in her synthetic voice. John did not recall programming her to do that; perhaps Char had. He made a mental note to ask her about it later if she would even be willing to talk to him.
"What do you mean?" he pressed.
"According to the laws of physics, we are where we should be. Magnetic interference from the galactic center indicates we are precisely where we ought to be. But there is no light emanating from... anywhere."
John nodded in agreement with her assessment. It was pure black outside the cockpit window. He angled the fighter to get ahead of the ship when she finally came into view. Only the drive cones and the various lights on the ship itself were discernible; no other light sources reflected off the hull to illuminate the destroyer.
"This is another strange reading that just baffles me," Betsy continued. "WarpStar's gravimetric sensors are indicating a massive gravity source about point three A.U. dead ahead. Gravimetrics suggest we should be encountering a type K2V star, but there’s nothing. We should be seeing a giant ball of orange hell, but instead, there is only darkness."
"Yeah, that is odd. Aren't there supposed to be a few planets and an inner asteroid belt in proximity?" John mused, furrowing his brow.
"Yes, sir!" Betsy chimed excitedly. "The Kepler K2 probe reported just that approximately thirty years ago."
The AI and her creator both scrutinized the data before them, comparing what should be there to the unsettling emptiness they were currently witnessing. The level of technology required to completely negate light from any outside source seemed unfathomable. What was even stranger was that, while there was no light in the area, nothing obstructed the illumination produced by the two ships.
"Alpha One to WarpStar, plans have changed. Proceed to where the star should be, establish a relative orbit, and await my signal. I’m going to investigate."