Tharros, Dyamion, Atromitos, and Igetis sat gathered around the navigational console that was projecting a large holographic map. The vibrant colors of the nebula floated freely above their heads. With the power now restored to the ship, they had been scanning the surrounding area with the ship’s primitive scanners trying to figure out where to go next. Tensions were high because one individual was not agreeing with the others. No guesses on who.
“We should immediately double back from where we entered the nebula,” said Tharros with an agitated tone. Her wings were spread which meant, “speak softly”. “We do not have the time to search for another exit. Every ship leaves emissions. We scan for those emissions and follow it back out like a trail of rat tails.”
Gennai heard what was said standing a few feet away while helping to prepare food from the ship’s storage. He only shook his head and sneered at the comment.
“Going back to where we started will put us right back in the same position that we were,” replied Igetis in his usual calm demeanor. “Under attack and about to be destroyed.” He loosened the collar of the long white robe he was wearing hoping that would cool him off. Being out of water for long periods of time always made him feel overheated.
“We can fight our way through and continue with the same plan as before,” disagreed Tharros, now almost shouting. “Plus, we have no idea that they are still there waiting for us.”
“The ship is already damaged which gives us a great disadvantage,” argued Igetis. “We also will be very much overpowered if we go up against a warship, a lesson that we have already learned.”
“Also, it will be difficult to follow the emissions from this ship with everything else flying around in this nebula,” Dyamion said while searching the holographic map. Tharros looked at Dyamion with her eyes narrowed. She was not pleased that he was helping Igetis’s case. Dyamion gave a small smirk and then arched his head.
“Why not just go full power to the engines and see where we end up,” Atromitos said half-joking. “It may put us in a better position than we are now.” Her long tale swung slowly back, and forth which was always a good sign when talking to a Mati. It meant that this tiger-like creature was willing to talk.
“Your wit never surprises me,” Igetis said with a wink. “If I may say, surviving that maneuver the first time was without a great deal of luck. Logic suggests that a second time will not give us a better outcome.”
“Anything is better than your idea!” shouted Tharros pointing a long claw from her feathered hands at Igetis. She stood from her chair and her wings spread to their full length. The claws of her large bird-like feet began tapping the floor of the bridge as she began to walk around, hoping to calm her nerves. It did not seem to work because she spun around and looked at Igetis with her piercing yellow eyes and screamed, “I am not going on any spiritual journey because you feel drawn to this far-off location!”
“My being drawn to this location is just part of it,” replied Igetis with the same calm demeanor. He changed the map coordinates to show the location he spoke about before. “You clearly can see that there is a signal emitting from this location, and I sense that this place is where we should go.” Tharros turned and shook her head not wanting to hear more. Igetis still continued, wanting to prove his point, “This is not a spur-of-the-moment idea. I have meditated and pondered on this idea for a while, and I know it is hard to accept but I feel this is the right choice.”
Two of this crew knew of Igetis’s clairvoyance power. They have seen his ability of predicting future events which has helped them in many instances. The rest of the crew were still very skeptical. His so-called “visions” came across to the rest of the crew as dreams from an obnoxious soothsayer that never stopped talking. Hence his nickname.
“Why?” asked Dyamion. “There are other locations that are emitting similar signals that are closer. If we use that logic, we should begin with those first especially with the position we are in.”
“I cannot explain what I am sensing,” answered Igetis. His tone and actions seemed that he was unsure of the decision himself. “I can only say that this looks to be the best choice.”
Dyamion looked at Tharros who was now leaning against the wall fiddling with the claw on her beak once again. She could only shake her head, not knowing what else she could say. He then looked back at Igetis. “I am sorry,” said Dyamion with a stern demeanor. “But that doesn’t give me the confidence to risk everyone’s life. The most logical plan is to head back in the direction we came. Maybe not exactly where we came but in that direction. The maps on this ship show pockets of different gasses, rocks, and other matter that other ships have found near the location from where we entered. We can use those as points to follow to get us out of this nebula.”
“Into the waiting hands of the Kraken.”.
“The nebula reaches for billions of miles in that quadrant of space,” Dyamion said, almost shouting. “They are not going to be able to search the entire border of the nebula.” He took a deep breath to calm his temper. “As soon as we are out of the nebula, we immediately could go to light speed and get to the location we had planned.”
“As soon as we are out of the nebula, if we make it that far, they will be able to track us,” Igetis said, still in a calm, clear manner. “By now they have called many warships to that quadrant. We know this enemy. They are not going to rest until they find us.” Igetis then stood now wanting to talk to everyone. “Our whole plan rested on escaping without detection. We thought that we could mimic the flight plan of one of the many cargo ships then crash the ship on one of the many moons. Make it look like engine problems, destroy any evidence and while they investigate, we disappear on one of the few free worlds that are left, appearing as one of the many millions of species that still can live their life without being forced to work for their enemy. But that failed.” His voice rang out with boldness which surprised many of the crew. They saw his leadership and confidence which made many of the crew begin to agree with him. “This is their ship. Do you not think that they can track it wherever we go? If we do go back and somehow make it to our destination, do you think we will find someone to help us? Many of the worlds that have not been taken over by the Kraken are because the inhabitants pay them off with resources and money. They will not risk war with the Kraken to help us. Our pictures will be everywhere. There will be rewards for anyone that turns us in. Governments will want us to either leave or they will turn us in as a good token of faith. The Kraken is a powerful enemy, and no one will risk provoking them just to save nine helpless creatures from death. Fear of one’s enemies now outweighs the desire to help the tormented in this Universe.”
Dyamion looked at Tharros and then at Atromitos. He then stood and looked at Igetis. Dyamion could see the seriousness in his eyes. He then asked Igetis the question that nearly everyone was wanting to ask, “What if you are wrong?”
Igetis, sensing Dyamion’s fear, chose to show empathy rather than being his slightly callous self because he had never sensed something this powerful before and it was scaring him as well. He knew they all would need to work together to survive. “I know how scared you are. I am too.” He then looked around at everyone. “I know all of you are scared. But I know this is the right choice.” Igetis could sense that their fear was diminishing so he continued, “I have known a couple of you for years and the others I have only known you for a couple of months. But in the time you have known me, would I push so hard for something that I do not believe is the right choice.” He then pointed at Filos and Gennai. “Ask them if I would push for us to do this if I felt like it would end badly for us.” He then looked at each crew member with his sly grin. “All of us are different in so many ways, but one common enemy has brought us together and I will not let you down. “
Silence filled the bridge of the ship, but also a certain peace. Finally, the Lykos spoke, “It will take us five weeks to arrive at that destination.” Worry still appeared in his eyes.
Igetis nodded and smiled showing that he understood.
“Well,” said Dyamion. “If there are no objections,” he looked immediately at Tharros. Everyone else looked at her as well. All could tell that she was deep in thought. She then looked at Igetis. Her piercing yellow eyes made everyone believe she was going to tear into Igetis once again. Then her anger seemed to melt away. She looked back at Dyamion and shook her head.
Dyamion then looked around at the rest of the crew, waiting for anyone to speak. Everyone looked nervously at each other, but no one said a word. “Well, it appears that we are all in agreement,” said the Lykos with a surprised tone. “Tharros,” continued Dyamion, now pointing at the location on the holographic map. “Since you are the best pilot of all of us, plot a course to wherever this” (emphasizing this), “is.”
Our little band of escaped prisoners had now been traveling through the Skonis Nebula for just over five weeks. For many, traveling through space in a cramped cargo ship with eight other species whom you had little in common while eating substandard food, would make anyone go insane. For these nine, it had been the best time of their lives since before the destruction of their worlds by the Kraken.
These five weeks became a time for each of them to reflect on what they had lost. A time to share about who each were individually and from where they origin. All loved to hear and talk about what life was like on each of their worlds before the Kraken came.
The Aetos talked about the great mountains of her world and how she was able to fly past the most magnificent peaks perched high above the clouds. Her planet was called Aquila, the great world of the birds of prey. All their cities were built on mountain sides high above the terrain. She spoke of the great peace she felt when she flew past these large, beautiful, mighty cities and feeling they would be home for many generations to come.
Okeanos was the name of Igetis’s world. He spoke about how ninety-five percent of the surface of his planet was water. Cities of this world were like giant lily pads floating on the large oceans, but most of Igetis’s people lived in magnificent cities underwater. Large structures could be seen floating in the depths of the oceans where many Dagons lived peaceful lives. Of the small percent of the surface that was terrain, large forests and rolling hills were found but Igetis’s favorite spots on land were the swamps because that was where the tastiest insects were found.
Erimatos, which means giant desert, was the name of Filos’s home planet. Home of the creatures called Abas, lizards with human characteristics. Filos told of how on a normal day, temperatures averaged around the boiling point of water. Most cities were underground where great industry was found through a network of many tunnels. He spoke of the great underground structures his people built. The design and complexity were admired by all. Even the structures that were built to simply pipe in water from underground wells was seen my many as a monumental breakthrough. The winter season of his planet was usually only a week so the collecting and piping of this precious, yet extremely scarce, resource was most vital to all Abas. Not a drop was spared in their design.
Lykaios, the planet of wolves, was Dyamion’s home. Three moons lit the night sky. He remembered as a little pup looking up at these three celestial-bodies while sitting with his father on one of the many tall royal mountains that stretched across the terrain. Great cities lit the valleys below. They would talk about the priorities he would have as leader of his pack. The importance of watching over and strengthening his family while giving them room to grow. “Let them learn from their own mistakes,” he said his father told him. “You just be there to pick them up.”
On many other planets, rodent-like creatures were at the bottom of the “food chain”. On Gennai’s planet, Arimanius, they had evolved to be much more. Gennai told of how his people, Troks, had created incredible structures and buildings that species on other planets could only dream of building. All that visited their planet were astonished on their great advances. His people had become industrious and innovators in many types of technology.
Waghoba was the name of Atromitos’s planet. What she missed most about her home was the hunt of wild beasts. She loved the first scent of her prey that she smelled while perching in the tall grass waiting for the moment to strike. Since her species had evolved to be industrious, hunting was now a form of sport. She loved to peer down the barrel of her weapon looking for her target. When one was spotted, she would add “the brass” to her weapon and then pulled the trigger and saw the wild beast fall. Her family would then cook up the beast that night while they enjoyed the cool breeze blowing through the magnificent valleys and listening to gushing rivers that toppled over the rocky riverbeds. She remembered thinking on those nights when looking up at the gorgeous starlit sky that life could not get any better.
Asclepius, home of large serpents, was the name of Gelio’s planet. When viewing this planet from space, the large flowing rivers appeared to be a giant snake slithering from east to west. No wonder the name of the largest river was called “Giant Serpent”. The eastern and western hemispheres were mostly wetland ecosystems or swamps. The northern and southern tips of the planet were covered in rolling mountains that appeared purple from the sun shining through the swamp gasses that covered the planet. Most of the planet had torrential rainfall that happened almost nine months of the year. Gelio told how her species had built a network of small villages that were found by the many rivers throughout the planet. She loved traveling to each of these villages by swimming in the rivers’ cool majestic waters.
The largest trees that you would ever see were found on the planet where Dunamis lived. His home was named Centaurus, home of the Centaurs. Dunamis shared how just over seventy percent of his planet was land and almost all the land was covered in forests. Their cities were great works of art that were carved into these magnificent forests. He explained that many homes were found within these large trees because of the size of the trunks. Their cities were connected by large bridges that were built using the trees as pillars to hold them up. Even the tools they used to build these cities were made from wood. Petrified wood was stronger than many metals. All their machinery was built from different types of wood found in their forests.
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Makarios’s home was called Arachnis. Home of giant spiders. He explained that a city of webs was what you saw as you enter the atmosphere of this planet. All their structures were built with this powerful and versatile material. Their mode of travel throughout these vast cities were trains that used the webs like tracks taking all species to visit the many different parts of his planet. What he loved most about his planet was traveling across the great oceans on these trains. He would sit on the train and look out across the peaceful waters and feel the cool breeze on his hairy face.
This was life for this crew as they traveled to their destination. A bonding opportunity across nine different species, cultures, and history. They found many differences, but they found many more similarities. More importantly, they found trust, honor, and friendship between each other. Qualities that they lost when destruction came upon them all. There never was a more unique team than the one that had formed here. They shared one common purpose, one common cause, survival from one common enemy.
Other events happened during their five-week journey. The nebula’s gasses, particles, and other matter had formed unique clouds of color and light that few had seen. The crew gazed upon what they could only describe as “glorious”. Patterns of light and gas transformed this space into a show of the Universe’s unique beauty and power. They scanned and logged each occurrence, so they had a map of where they had been. A trail of “rat tails” that some called it, to Gennai’s disliking. They would use it only if they had to return. By what mode of transportation, no one knew.
Now the moment had come to discover what has drawn Igetis to this destination. The crew was about to learn if this “talking fish” was crazy or what he claimed to be, obnoxiously clairvoyant. Within a few hours, they would have visual contact and things were beginning to become strange, to say the least.
“I am picking up a new unique signal which is blocking the original signal,” explained Tharros to Dyamion sitting in the co-pilot chair. “The signal is a different frequency than the first and the power readout is incredible.”
Dyamion looked at the scanner and could only shrug. “No point turning around, even if we could. We do not have the power to get us back from where we started. Best to keep our course heading and find out what this new signal is. Maybe we pick up the original signal once we get closer.”
Tharros looked behind her and saw Igetis meditating. “Should we bother the ‘talking fish’?”
Dyamion only smiled. “The less talking he does, the better.”
“I can hear you,” remarked Igetis which startled them both. They looked back and saw his sly smile. “I agree. We should continue on the same course.”
They were now fifteen minutes from their original destination and the first signal had not reappeared, but they now had a visual of what was the new signal. It was an energy field emitting from an unknown origin. It ran for hundreds of millions of miles in each direction and seemed to be circular as if protecting something inside or, even more frightening, blocking something from coming out. The crew was astounded by its mere size. No one had seen an energy field this large before in all their travels throughout the Universe. They do not even know of a power source that could create an energy field that gigantic.
“It is as if it knew we were coming and decided to raise shields,” said Tharros with a look of astonishment on her face.
“Precisely,” answered Dyamion with the same look. “But what is ‘IT’ and what is ‘IT’ hiding?”
“Did you hail them?” asked Atromitos standing behind Tharros looking out at the energy field with a shocked look of her own. Her tail swinging once again.
“What does that mean?” asked Dyamion, still looking at incredible view in front of him.
“Hmm…Did you contact them?” answered Atromitos with confusion on her face as she turned to look at Dyamion.
“No!” said Tharros, nearly yelling as she turned in her chair to face Atromitos. “Because to ‘WHOM’ am I supposed to contact?”
“Can we send out a message in all languages saying, who we are?” asked Igetis as he stood from one of the passenger chairs at the back of the bridge and walked forward. He as well was concentrating on what was outside the ship.
“And exactly who are WE?” replied Tharros in her still agitated tone as she turned to look at Igetis. “Survivors, Prisoners, Explorers.” She paused and then said almost whispering, “Wanted by the Kraken?” Her yellow eyes narrowed, and a small smile appeared on her beak.
The amphibian returned her gaze and gave his own smile. “A distress signal would probably be best.”
Tharros turned in her chair and used the control panel to enter the communication system. She then said a message out loud, “This is Titan One. We require assistance. Our ship is damaged and is needing repairs. Please respond.” The ship’s communication system relayed the message in all known languages towards the first destination coordinates.
After a couple of minutes, she resent the message. Still, no response.
“I can’t tell if the message is getting to the coordinates we specified,” replied Tharros as she fiddled with the control panel. “ ’IT’ does not want to reply or cannot hear us. But ‘IT’ seems to know we are here.”
“What is the status of the reactor?” asked Filos to Dyamion as he too approached the front of the bridge. “How much time can we spend out here waiting?” Both of his beady eyes were looking straight ahead at the giant energy field.
“Hard to say exactly,” replied Dyamion as he clicked a few buttons on his control panel. “But it is at critical, so we better do something quick.”
“What do the readings say about the energy field?” asked Igetis with a quizzitive look. “How powerful is it? Can we blast our way through?”
“The readout shows that there are pockets of weak integrity which means that may be possible,” replied Tharros. She then turned to face Igetis. A look of both confusion and fear showed on her face “But is that our best solution? Do we want to make ‘IT’ mad?”
“You’re the reason we are here,” replied Dyamion looking at Igetis. The Lykos’s face showing more wittiness than anger. “What are you sensing?” he asked pointing at the amphibian’s large head with both hands as a light jest.
Igetis did his known trait with his thin lips. “I still feel we need to get to our planned destination. Whatever is there is still calling us. I can sense it.”
“OK,” answered Tharros, now becoming more agitated. Her wings began to expand. “You say we need to arrive at our planned destination. But ‘IT’ does not want us to come.” Her voice octave rose with every word as her wings expanded to full length, “So why don’t you tell ‘IT’ to let us in!”
“I understand your frustration,” replied Igetis showing no emotion, “but I am not in communication with anything. I can only sense that whatever is there, is calling us to come.”
“And do what?” asked Atromitos trying to hold in her anger.
“I,” said Igetis, now pausing thinking of what to say. He then continued with obvious frustration on his face, “don’t know.”
Atromitos, Tharros, and Dyamion all sighed heavily and rolled their eyes simultaneously.
“Look at the bright side,” said Gennai while sitting in one of the passenger’s chairs at the back of the bridge. His long tail snuggled around him. Everyone turned to look at the rat. “We know something is here. Something powerful enough to create an energy field bigger than we have ever seen. Species with that type of power should have the technology to help us. We just need to find a way to communicate with whatever ‘IT’ is.”
“Easier said than done,” replied Dyamion.
“The rat is right,” answered Tharros surprising everyone. “We know something is here.” She gave a heavy sigh appearing to vent her frustration. “If we cannot establish any type of communication with ‘IT’, then our only option is to make it listen.” She looked at Dyamion and he gave her a concerning look. “Even though it is completely crazy, but our only option is to blast our way through.”
“That is suicide,” replied Dyamion.
“Not exactly,” answered Tharros. She clicked a few buttons on her control panel and pointed at the console. “The energy readout I am getting from this energy field is not significant. We could push our way through using the weapons on this ship.”
“You will still get resistance and the ship has a badly damaged reactor,” said Dyamion. “It will not take much at all to stop this ship.”
“So, do we sit and wait, or do we do what the ‘talking Fish’ says?” asked Tharros.
Igetis smiled and said, “I am an amphibian, not a fish.”
Tharros continued, while ignoring Igetis, “Every minute we wait brings us closer to us being space debris. Soon we will not have power to do anything.” Tharros looked at Dyamion then at Atromitos. They both gave her blank stares. She then looked at Igetis. He nodded in approval with a smug look on his face making Tharros roll her eyes. Then she looked at the rest of the crew. Everyone began to fidget and look around, but no one replied. “If anyone has a better idea, speak now or get ready to hold on.”
“Why not?” asked Gelio. “We seem to be doing everything that logic suggests we shouldn’t and then having the best luck. That’s punch our way through a giant energy field in the middle of gigantic nebula and see what is in there. Nothing could go wrong with that plan.” All the crew either gave a small smile or lightly laughed knowing the foolishness of this plan.
Dyamion’s face then became serious again as he turned and looked at Tharros, “So, what is your plan exactly?”
“Give it a laser blast and see how it reacts,” she replied with a shrug, showing she was still not sure of this idea.
“I hope you know what you’re doing,” replied the Lykos with obvious concern on his face.
“Me too,” said Tharros as she turned in her chair towards the control panel.
“Do you want me to fire the weapons?” asked Makarios excitedly looking at Tharros with one eye and two at Dyamion now sitting in the weapons chair.
“No thanks,” she replied. “I can do it from here.”
Tharros brought up the weapon systems on the control panel. She then loaded the target coordinates, which was right in front of the ship, and with a heavy sigh she said, “Here goes nothing!” She then pressed the button to fire. The ship’s front guns gave the energy field a large blast. A pulsating wave emanated from where the laser blast hit.
“The integrity of the field did weaken where we hit it,” said Dyamion while concentrating on the readings he was seeing from the console. “It now seems to be strengthening where it lost integrity.” After a few more seconds, he acknowledged, “The field is back to original strength at the spot where we hit it and I am not seeing any defense mechanisms from the energy field.”
“How much power did it lose from the laser blast?” asked Igetis with his same inquisitive look.
“About five to ten percent.”
“And that drain in power will allow us to penetrate the field?”
Dyamion shrugged his shoulders, uncertain on how to respond. “Possibly, but we will be greatly damaged.”
Tharros looked at Igetis. “We give it five to six continuous blasts then punch it while giving the shields as much power as we can.”
Dyamion looked at Tharros with his jaw dropped wide open. “There is no telling what will happen when you penetrate the energy field. If the shields fail, we will bust into pieces.”
“Do you not trust me?” replied Tharros. A look of frustration on her face. “I have flown cruisers like this before. It can take the punch.”
Dyamion let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t know what scares me more. You pushing our ship through an energy field or that you are beginning to think like the ‘talking fish’.”
Tharros’s eyes narrowed showing her dislike for the comment, but Igetis gave his sly smile.
“Get ready everyone!” yelled Tharros as she pushed buttons on her control panel. “Strap yourselves in! It is going to be a bumpy ride!”
She then turned to Dyamion, “Increase shields by as much as you can, but leave me enough to blast through this field.”
“I increased them by twenty percent,” said the Lykos while shaking his head in disbelief of what they were about to do. “I will be ready to increase them more if needed but I do not want to leave your engines sputtering.”
“Understood,” said the Aetos as she stared straight ahead at the energy field. For a few moments she did not move. She was trying to convince herself that this was the right choice. Then suddenly, she engaged the engines and with a small nudge on the throttle, she began to move the ship forward slowly. She set the target once again with the weapons system and then waited until they were closer. “There was a small gap from when the energy field lost power after the laser blast and then charged back to full strength. The faster I hit this field after I fire the blasters, the better chance of pushing through,” said Tharros nervously to Dyamion while still staring straight ahead at the energy field.
“Agreed. Just be ready for the impact. It will rock this ship all over the place.”
Tharros hovered her finger over the fire button with one hand and held the throttle in her other hand. She took a last look at Dyamion and said, “Here we go.”
She immediately pressed the fire button six times which activated the forward guns to fire six rapid laser blasts. Huge waves began to emanate from where the laser blasts hit. A second later she engaged the throttle to half power, so the impact would not cripple the ship.
Within three seconds after the blast, the ship impacted the energy field. A huge smash was heard throughout Titan One. It began rocking left and right. Debris flew throughout the entire vessel. Power fluctuated on all monitors and control panels. Screams from the crew could be heard as more damage continued to be heard and seen.
Despite the powerful impact, the ship continued through the energy field. Explosions were heard in the cargo area and the engine room. Sensors began to light up on all panels. Titan One continued to rock in all directions. Tharros steadied the vessel the best she could, but it was difficult to maintain.
“Shields are down to five percent!” yelled Dyamion. “I don’t want to take any more power from the engines!”
“We are almost through!” shouted Tharros. “Give it three more seconds!”
Finally, the ship was through but not out of danger. A fire had erupted in the cargo and engine room. Fire-extinguish systems activated which filled the bridge and everywhere else with a white exhaust. Everyone was coughing and covering their faces.
Atromitos and Dunamis ran to the cargo area and engine room to check the fire. They found the fire extinguishing, but there was much damage. They could hear the engines struggling to keep running and the vessel continued to shake. Lights had now gone out and only the emergency lighting was allowing the crew to see. Everyone was yelling at each other to see if anyone was injured. No one was seriously hurt but all were shaken and worried. They could hear Titan One beginning to tear apart.
On both Atromitos and Dunamis returning to the bridge, Dunamis anxiously voiced, “The fire is going out, but the engine room does not look good! There is a lot of damage throughout the ship!”
“If we do not land soon, then we are done for,” yelled Atromitos. “This ship is not going to hold together much longer!”
“Tell me something I don’t know!” shouted Tharros as she continued to pilot the vessel. “All the ship’s sensors are saying things are critical and I am having a difficult time keeping her steady! I can barely get the controls to respond!” She pulled up the navigational system and checked the coordinates of their location. “We are only a few seconds away from visual contact with our destination.” She then turned and looked at Igetis. “Let us hope you are right about coming here.”
Titan One continued to move forward through the nebula despite the heavy damage. The crew could see light starting to appear through the clouds of dust. They cast their eyes towards the location from where the light was coming. Then the clouds of dust parted and what they saw was astonishing. All jaws dropped and they all stared in amazement forgetting for a moment the great peril they were in. What they saw was the most beautiful sight they had ever seen or could imagine.