Neeptin nodded and repeated the alien word for ship and captain again for Sean’s benefit.
“That’s a no,” Sean said, taking in the information on display. Damaged sections of the Feather Fall were marked in blue and current construction was yellow. Active venting atmosphere was marked in purple waves and damaged gravity fields in pink stars. Feather Fall was a myriad of blotches of different colors denoting the unfortunate state she was in.
“Well shit,” Sean said as he digested the information that was on display, “Those lizard guys did a number on you, huh?” Sean reached out his hand trying to test if he could affect his eye piece information like Neeptin affected the room and discovered that he could. The areas he pointed at under the different colors would stand alone and he was able to scroll the informational text that was showing up beside it or change the size of the text with a simple wave of his hand.
While scrolling Sean discovered a section that caught his attention labeled weapons. It simply had the words under construction written under the header.
“This ship doesn’t have any weapons?” Sean asked the air around him. Neeptin paused in his ignored lesson and waddled back over to Sean with a questioning head tilt.
“Wepn’s?” Neeptin asked, rolling the word around in his mouth. Neeptin clapped his hands and repeated the word, then nodded in affirmation that he had assisted his new captain in learning what clapping was called. Neeptin then began defining the different parts of his body before Sean walked back into the hall.
“Jacob,” Sean called out.
“Yes, captain?”
“When this ship was being attacked,” Sean asked as he used his hand to bring up a request for Gunner, “Did anyone put out anything? Like a distress call, beacon, or anything like that?”
“No captain, I’m afraid not,” Jacob responded with a tinge of sadness, “When the ship was attacked the previous owners were technically on an unsanctioned research mission. Poaching, for lack of a better term, in a protected wilderness area.”
“Protected?” Sean asked, “Wilderness? So what, I’m a protected species?”
“The Galactic Federation of Sacred Consciousness has designated the area you come from as protected underdeveloped space. Areas such as these are not allowed to be entered without prior permission which must be granted by their Wild Space Conservation Tribunal.” Jacob explained as Sean waved his hand to select Gunner’s image in his eye piece. “Much of habitable space is just that, inhabited, and traveled quite frequently using a variety of different forms of faster than light travel. Some forms of faster than light travel can cause intermediate anomalies in space time when their particular energy fields intersect with other fields or exhaust and in order to limit these anomalies the Wild Space Conservation Tribunal have placed sanctions and restrictions on where and when starships can travel through habitable and uninhabited space.”
“You don’t say,” Sean said as Gunner's image rotated like a spinning top and a small map appeared in the lower left of his view showing the automaton's current location on the ship. The small dot of light in the projected map that represented Gunner began to have light ripple out from it in expanding circles until there was an audible click and Sean could hear Gunners voice as if they were next to each other.
“Ahoy, captain!” Gunner called out with excitement, “How can I be of service?”
“Oh,” Sean responded a little bit surprised by Gunner’s response, “uh, just testing out my new accessory. Must have dialed you by accident.”
“No worries, captain,” Gunner replied. Sean could imagine Gunner saluting with the attention in his voice. “Just let me know if you need anything, sir. I’ll see it gets done in a jiffy.” There was an audible click as the map and image in Sean’s eye piece slid out of sight.
“So as the previous owners of Feather Fall were already breaking Galactic law by being in protected space with a faster than light drive they disabled any form of regulation trackers.” Jacob continued, a small amount of frustration from being interrupted by the accidental call noticeable in his voice. “After you were abducted from your planet, which is a host of fines as well, they stopped the ship here in another protected area and were attacked.”
“So I am an illegal animal on a poaching ship. It just keeps getting better.” Sean said with a sigh. He had begun weighing his options on calling for help and the new language barrier had made the dream a long shot. Now that he was basically King Kong that broke free on the transport ship, well now calling for help had turned to dust in his hands. “Where are the escape pods?” Jacob paused for a moment before giving his reply.
“All escape pods were jettisoned in an effort to save the crew that was on board from becoming food for the Annurians, sir,” Jacob said, his voice now edged with sadness. “It was a hopeful move made by the previous AI. Sadly, all of the life pods were destroyed shortly after being launched by those same Annurians. Seems that they don’t enjoy their meals trying to escape.”
That last statement caused a chill to run down Seans spine. Quickly the chill turned to anger as Sean simply responded “Those bastards.”
A chorus of loud squawks and shouts in alien language came from behind Sean in the navigation room. He turned to see Neeptin pointing at a series of four brightly flashing warning circles that were popping up in the debris field surrounding the projected image of the Feather Fall. Neeptin waved its hands and brought the scene into full view.
Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.
Among the scattered remains of destroyed escape pods and parts torn from the Feather Fall, something eerie was happening. Four sections in the debris field of twisted metal and ceramic mess began parting in space, giving way to an unseen force.
This empty pocket of space soon began to fill with the slowly intensifying glow of an otherworldly light
The glow got brighter and brighter, then began to tear away like the shredding paper on a twisted and unwelcomed present. The outline of colossal ships started to appear, like giant beasts emerging from the dark depths of some forlorn and forsaken ocean. Their shapes were wicked and fierce, Frankenstein-like shapes cobbled together from the blackened and burnt remains of a litany of conquered vessels.
The first ship emerged like a grotesque insect from a sinister dream. Its elongated, spiky legs extended like the limbs of a nightmarish creature, reaching out with a menacing hunger. The ship's body was a twisted amalgamation of exoskeletal plates and gaping maws, resembling a predatory insect poised to strike.
A second vessel manifested, a malevolent triangle born from the depths of a cosmic abyss. Its edges were razor-sharp, gleaming with a malefic aura that seemed to devour the feeble light around it. This ship was a sinister twin to the vessel still attached to the Feather Fall, a darker reflection of its once-familiar counterpart.
The third ship materialized with an air of dreadful elegance, its hull adorned with twisted and gnarled spikes that protruded like the spines of a tortured creature. Each spike seemed to pulse with a malevolent energy, as if they hungered for chaos and destruction. This ship was a thorn-covered beast, a nightmarish embodiment of pain and suffering.
And then, the final ship emerged, the apex of terror among this ghastly assembly. Its prow bore a skull-like visage, a grim façade that seemed to leer at the universe with malefic intent. Sinister hollows served as eye sockets, and jagged cracks etched into the metal gave the impression of a malevolent grin. The very sight of this ship sent shivers down Seans spine, a harbinger of doom that seemed to beckon from the abyss.
These dread-filled vessels, once concealed in the darkness, now revealed themselves in all their horrific glory. They floated amidst the wreckage like cosmic predators, their presence casting a shadow of unspeakable terror upon the desolation of the debris field.
It was as if these evil ships had been hiding, lurking in the wreckage, waiting for the perfect moment to reveal themselves. Now, they floated ominously, like hungry predators ready to pounce on their next victim.
“Jacob?” Sean asked, his voice as weak as his eyes were wide.
“Yes, captain?” Jacob responded cooly from the outer hall.
“What, umm, what are those?”
“They are ships, sir. I am unsure of their species of origin. But given that one of them is the spitting image of the ship that is attached to me, I think it would be safe to say that they are not our friends.” Jacob said, a bit of distraction in his tone.
“Can we run?” Sean asked as the projections were being scanned by his eye piece. Their oppressive forms slowly being coated in the scanners white light and lines. One by one, the ships blinked and their information became visible through the eye pieces interface. The numbers displayed by his eye piece made Sean’s stomach drop and the fear he feelt al the more justified. No captains were named for any of the vessels and each was easily double the size of the Feather Fall with their flagship nearly quadrupling the largest in the malevolent troup. Alongside the unnerving dimensions was the long list of armaments that each dreadnought was touting. While Sean was unfamiliar with the names of the devices, the phrase bristling with guns came to Seans mind as he scrolled their lists.
“I am afraid not, sir.” Jacob replied disappointedly. “My faster than light engines were damaged before I was boarded and they are still in the process of being repaired”
Sean let out a small chuckle at the truly unfair situation. “Out gunned, out paced, and outnumbered,” he said, feeling his self preservation instincts beginning to take hold. “No escape pods and no way to get help because I am an illegal animal on a poaching ship. Fuck!” Sean threw his hat on the ground and stomped on it a few times before continuing, “‘What else? Anything else I should knowabout thst’s trying to fuck me? Is there some kind of virus on this piece of shit? Maybe a leaky reactor poisoning the air? Fuck!” Sean laughed again, a loud sound devoid of any actual mirth, but filled with a kind of desperate madness.
Neeptin had begun making his way slowly out of the room as Sean began his fit of loud situational realization. Sean caught Neeptins movement and turned to face them, causing them to let out a small, shrill, squeak.
“And you!” Sean continued, “Thanks for the lessons! Shame they were for nothing!” Neeptin looked from Sean to the hallway a few times before he quickly made a hasty exit, its taloned feet clicking and echoing off the tile flooring.
“Captain,” Jacob said after a chirping chime played through the air.
“WHAT?’ Sean screamed at the top of his lungs.
“There is a hail being attempted. It appears the largest ship is trying to contact the attached enemy vessel.” Jacob stated with excitement on the edge of his voice. "Should I answer it and put you through?”
“WHY?” Sean screamed again, stomping out into the hallway desperately trying to find something specific to stare down or yell at.
"They may choose to attack and would easily destroy the ship. If you respond we may be able to stall for time. It won't take long, just until I can finish repairs." Jacob paused for a moment while Sean began to process his newest task. “Or we could all die horribly in a hail of plasma and missile fire. Personally, I vote for staying alive.”
“I,” Sean began to stutter as the path to the lifeless and hellish vessel that remained attached to the Feather Fall became illuminated by small blue triangles of light gently floating in the air. “I, I don’t even know if they will understand me. What should I, I mean I’m not some, you know we shouldn’t even be here.”
“I have been able to interface with the ship attached to me, sir,” Jacob responded in his cockney accented voice, “ and I believe I will be able to translate your speech once we are able to establish a connection. I will scan the language of the species that you begin communicating with and will do my best to provide a live translation for both parties.”
Sean let the information sink in as he finally stood in front of the large, ragged hole that housed the unwelcomed parasite. He swallowed hard as he attempted to calm his nerves before he took his first steps onto the foreboding and malignant craft. The smell and the heat inside the vessel hit Sean first. Oppressive and dense heat that almost felt solid in comparison to the filtered and cool air of the Feather Fall. Mixed with the almost solid wall of heat was the thick stench of death and rot that Sean could not only smell but almost taste and feel as he ventured deeper into the ship.
Blue triangles led the way to a console on the starboard side of the vessel's first chamber. A small green light blinked on and off at a regular interval on the console topped with another blue triangle gently floating above it. Sean took a deep breath to steady himself, clenched his teeth, and tapped the green blinking light.
Electric white noise began to hiss from the console after an electronic beep. Sean said nothing and just stared at the hissing, glowing metallic box. A deep, garbled language began to emit through the speaker loudly and angrily.
“I have the language, sir. Transmitting the translation through your eyepiece now.” Jacob said in his regular calm manor. Subtitles in white lettering began to generate broken English above the console.
Sean stared at the words and began running through scenarios in his head. What should I say? What should I do? Okay Sean, you don’t have a lot of time. Let's dig into that bar trivia knowledge and make
it count. Be sure to sound impressive and keep them talking for as long as you can.