Kael's Universe Chapter I
Chapter I
The Delegates Convoy
Fee opened the entrance to the Cockpit. The ambassador’s vessel was rather small and the crew often joked that the bridge was the size of a small fighters cockpit. Through the view port, Fee caught a glimpse of escort vessel. The craft was very small but well armed as it boasted two sets of twin heavy laser cannons on both wings. There were six of these Vessel Protection wings. All of them were surrounding the ship. Apparently this next mission was one of importance; none of the crew had been informed of the delegate-vessel’s intent. The pilot was told that the destination was Denda, on the turbulent planet Kelemene. And no one was allowed to disturb the ambassador. Food was sent in via a conveyor belt. He was sustaining himself almost completely by himself in his living quarters.
Fee addressed the pilot, “What’s our current status, Grey?”
Odenn Grey shifted from his seat to another while surveying the stat panel. He rambled off with some numbers. “The exact position is…” He paused for a moment. More numbers.
“So it’ll be two days until we reach Denda.”
“Looks like it, sir.”
Fee turned to get out. He placed his hand on the grip. He attempted to pull it, but it didn’t move. He jerked it hard, very hard. But still nothing happened. He turned again toward Grey, but did not have a chance to speak.
“Sir, we have just lost power to the minor systems on the vessel. We are still bearing at 590 kints. Engines 1-15 even now are stable.”
“Wait. What are you saying?” Fee asked. “Did we sustain a blast?”
Another hit.
“It looks that way sir! I didn’t even notice it the first time.” Grey began to panic. He sporadically engaged his fingers to random controls. Fee could not decipher what he was doing. “I am attempting to regain energy to the lesser power systems.” He fidgeted out a mistake. “Ah, man! Sir, I can’t do this, sir! The controls are gone. Auxiliary Power is gone!”
They were struck again. This time it felt severe.
“We have got to get the scanning systems online to see who‘s hitting us.” Fee made an attempt to opening the cockpit door once again.
“Sir, look!”
Through the viewport, Fee could see four dreadnought fighters come into view. “Aren’t those Yavemene military craft?” Grey asked.
Fee could make out dense luminosities developing behind the ships. They grew more intense as they got closer. The spheres were escalating in power as they grew near. It was too late.
Fee looked over at Grey, who was sweating profusely. “Never been in a combat situation before, have you?”
Grey shook his head.
“Brace yourself! Brace yourself real tight.”
Grey lost his bearings completely. He hit the walls frantically. He hit the door, which slid off not too easily. Grey fell forward on top of the metallic flooring. “You did it Grey!”
Fee picked Grey up to his feet.
The impact was incredible. They were both flung across the long passageway. The very thing that would probably kill them was the most wonderful sensation in all of their lives.
Fee hit the side of the hallway at an extreme force. This misdirected his path through the corridor. As he drifted through he noticed that Odenn had not collided with any wall as of yet. He had to act fast. The end of the hallway would kill Grey; he was rapidly gaining speed and would soon give way to his terminal velocity. And he was the only one on board that could pilot the ship and get them out of whatever mess this was that they were in. From what he could tell, the gravity control units were shot; he would have to find the backup elements. He could tie the units to his boots and propel himself from end to end in order to catch up with Odenn. Fee looked down the passageway. Grey was attempting to grip at anything as he screamed through. He wasn’t going very fast, but Odenn still didn’t have much time, or strength to deflect the blow at the end. If he was lucky he might hit his feet or knees and just break his legs. Fee grabbed at a loose cable that had been unveiled away from the wall. He was careful not to get struck by one of the stray sparks that drifted through the air. Flame spewed suddenly and Fee was slightly burned. Steadying himself, he reached into the equipment locker again. Yes, he said to himself, four gravity strips. Of course they didn’t create gravity; they were more like heavy magnets, with a rejecting charge to the metal floor and walls.
Fee ripped the sparking cable from its origin and again tore it in half. He hoped it would be long enough to wrap and tie. He placed a strip on his sole. The slips were already affecting his stability at his current position. He was drifting, rather, spinning at a slow speed.
They were long enough, for his purpose anyway.
He straightened his body and began to move forward. His alacrity increased as he directed the other two strips to maneuver. I must be going fast, he thought. He could feel the air rushing past his face. No doubt I’m about to see him. A dense miasma had taken over his gaze. He coughed and wiped a trickle of sweat that was running across his face. Even still, he thought he could make out a shape. He drifted toward it.
The body was closer, and he could see that it was not struggling at all.
He was not Grey. But he was dead, and he could not waste time on the body of a dead man who was no longer any use to the well being of the ship. Fee moved onward. He could finally hear screaming. It was the screaming of a man. Why couldn’t that idiot be a bit louder, he contemplated sarcastically. Even so he needed that voice.
Sure enough, he saw Odenn screaming his lungs out. He had grasped onto a ceiling crossbeam. Tears mingled with oddly shaped smoke were hovering by Grey’s head. “Fee! Somebody, anybody! Please, help me!”
Fee didn’t waste time with unneeded words. Grey was started at first but soon rejoiced to see someone alive. Fee swung his arm out and clutched Odenn’s shoulder.
“Take these.” He handed Grey the other two strips.
“What, what do I-”
“Just hold them above your head and you’ll be able to walk on the floor.”
“Oh, right.” Odenn lifted them over his head. “Like this?”
Fee was already making his way forward through the smoke when he looked back.
“Yeah, that’s great. Just be careful and don’t jump up. The rejecter units aren’t that strong you know.” He glanced back again to see Odenn touch down onto the flooring. Fee set his mind on finding the delegate, and then the cockpit.
Fee drew his gun. He set the energy component at 100 percent blast intensity.
And he pulled the trigger, blasting the hatch off of its hinges.
He knew that it would knock him off his feet, but he didn’t expect a sudden wave of heat. Fee dropped the weapon and started to walk in. He felt something soft underneath his feet.
Pie.
“Food! All over the floor!” Odenn exclaimed.
Fee looked at the floor around the door. Food lay all over the place. He stepped further in and took in the cabin at a glance. The delegate was not there. This was his quarters. But where was he? And what of the food scattered all around the entryway?
They both felt another blast in the air. Sure enough, debris was beginning to fly through the room, once stable parts of the ship were now deadly projectiles on a collision course with the two men’s bodies. The shockwave hurtled Fee across the room. He could no longer control his own body. He heard Grey screaming again. But it stopped sharply. Fee hit the wall. And he could not feel any thing in his body but pain. And he couldn’t move. His very first thought was that he might be paralyzed.
He drifted more and more. He moved his eyes to and fro. Fee could see Odenn. He looked dead. He sensed another bang against the hull. And he felt sudden warmth that seemed to grow. And a bright light. White light. The ship was destroyed. But he felt it for what seemed like forever.
The Delegates Convoy
Fee opened the entrance to the Cockpit. The ambassador’s vessel was rather small and the crew often joked that the bridge was the size of a small fighters cockpit. Through the view port, Fee caught a glimpse of escort vessel. The craft was very small but well armed as it boasted two sets of twin heavy laser cannons on both wings. There were six of these Vessel Protection wings. All of them were surrounding the ship. Apparently this next mission was one of importance; none of the crew had been informed of the delegate-vessel’s intent. The pilot was told that the destination was Denda, on the turbulent planet Kelemene. And no one was allowed to disturb the ambassador. Food was sent in via a conveyor belt. He was sustaining himself almost completely by himself in his living quarters.
Fee addressed the pilot, “What’s our current status, Grey?”
Odenn Grey shifted from his seat to another while surveying the stat panel. He rambled off with some numbers. “The exact position is…” He paused for a moment. More numbers.
“So it’ll be two days until we reach Denda.”
“Looks like it, sir.”
Fee turned to get out. He placed his hand on the grip. He attempted to pull it, but it didn’t move. He jerked it hard, very hard. But still nothing happened. He turned again toward Grey, but did not have a chance to speak.
“Sir, we have just lost power to the minor systems on the vessel. We are still bearing at 590 kints. Engines 1-15 even now are stable.”
“Wait. What are you saying?” Fee asked. “Did we sustain a blast?”
Another hit.
“It looks that way sir! I didn’t even notice it the first time.” Grey began to panic. He sporadically engaged his fingers to random controls. Fee could not decipher what he was doing. “I am attempting to regain energy to the lesser power systems.” He fidgeted out a mistake. “Ah, man! Sir, I can’t do this, sir! The controls are gone. Auxiliary Power is gone!”
They were struck again. This time it felt severe.
“We have got to get the scanning systems online to see who‘s hitting us.” Fee made an attempt to opening the cockpit door once again.
“Sir, look!”
Through the viewport, Fee could see four dreadnought fighters come into view. “Aren’t those Yavemene military craft?” Grey asked.
Fee could make out dense luminosities developing behind the ships. They grew more intense as they got closer. The spheres were escalating in power as they grew near. It was too late.
Fee looked over at Grey, who was sweating profusely. “Never been in a combat situation before, have you?”
Grey shook his head.
“Brace yourself! Brace yourself real tight.”
Grey lost his bearings completely. He hit the walls frantically. He hit the door, which slid off not too easily. Grey fell forward on top of the metallic flooring. “You did it Grey!”
Fee picked Grey up to his feet.
---
The impact was incredible. They were both flung across the long passageway. The very thing that would probably kill them was the most wonderful sensation in all of their lives.
Fee hit the side of the hallway at an extreme force. This misdirected his path through the corridor. As he drifted through he noticed that Odenn had not collided with any wall as of yet. He had to act fast. The end of the hallway would kill Grey; he was rapidly gaining speed and would soon give way to his terminal velocity. And he was the only one on board that could pilot the ship and get them out of whatever mess this was that they were in. From what he could tell, the gravity control units were shot; he would have to find the backup elements. He could tie the units to his boots and propel himself from end to end in order to catch up with Odenn. Fee looked down the passageway. Grey was attempting to grip at anything as he screamed through. He wasn’t going very fast, but Odenn still didn’t have much time, or strength to deflect the blow at the end. If he was lucky he might hit his feet or knees and just break his legs. Fee grabbed at a loose cable that had been unveiled away from the wall. He was careful not to get struck by one of the stray sparks that drifted through the air. Flame spewed suddenly and Fee was slightly burned. Steadying himself, he reached into the equipment locker again. Yes, he said to himself, four gravity strips. Of course they didn’t create gravity; they were more like heavy magnets, with a rejecting charge to the metal floor and walls.
Fee ripped the sparking cable from its origin and again tore it in half. He hoped it would be long enough to wrap and tie. He placed a strip on his sole. The slips were already affecting his stability at his current position. He was drifting, rather, spinning at a slow speed.
They were long enough, for his purpose anyway.
He straightened his body and began to move forward. His alacrity increased as he directed the other two strips to maneuver. I must be going fast, he thought. He could feel the air rushing past his face. No doubt I’m about to see him. A dense miasma had taken over his gaze. He coughed and wiped a trickle of sweat that was running across his face. Even still, he thought he could make out a shape. He drifted toward it.
The body was closer, and he could see that it was not struggling at all.
---
He was not Grey. But he was dead, and he could not waste time on the body of a dead man who was no longer any use to the well being of the ship. Fee moved onward. He could finally hear screaming. It was the screaming of a man. Why couldn’t that idiot be a bit louder, he contemplated sarcastically. Even so he needed that voice.
Sure enough, he saw Odenn screaming his lungs out. He had grasped onto a ceiling crossbeam. Tears mingled with oddly shaped smoke were hovering by Grey’s head. “Fee! Somebody, anybody! Please, help me!”
Fee didn’t waste time with unneeded words. Grey was started at first but soon rejoiced to see someone alive. Fee swung his arm out and clutched Odenn’s shoulder.
“Take these.” He handed Grey the other two strips.
“What, what do I-”
“Just hold them above your head and you’ll be able to walk on the floor.”
“Oh, right.” Odenn lifted them over his head. “Like this?”
Fee was already making his way forward through the smoke when he looked back.
“Yeah, that’s great. Just be careful and don’t jump up. The rejecter units aren’t that strong you know.” He glanced back again to see Odenn touch down onto the flooring. Fee set his mind on finding the delegate, and then the cockpit.
---
Fee drew his gun. He set the energy component at 100 percent blast intensity.
And he pulled the trigger, blasting the hatch off of its hinges.
He knew that it would knock him off his feet, but he didn’t expect a sudden wave of heat. Fee dropped the weapon and started to walk in. He felt something soft underneath his feet.
Pie.
“Food! All over the floor!” Odenn exclaimed.
Fee looked at the floor around the door. Food lay all over the place. He stepped further in and took in the cabin at a glance. The delegate was not there. This was his quarters. But where was he? And what of the food scattered all around the entryway?
They both felt another blast in the air. Sure enough, debris was beginning to fly through the room, once stable parts of the ship were now deadly projectiles on a collision course with the two men’s bodies. The shockwave hurtled Fee across the room. He could no longer control his own body. He heard Grey screaming again. But it stopped sharply. Fee hit the wall. And he could not feel any thing in his body but pain. And he couldn’t move. His very first thought was that he might be paralyzed.
He drifted more and more. He moved his eyes to and fro. Fee could see Odenn. He looked dead. He sensed another bang against the hull. And he felt sudden warmth that seemed to grow. And a bright light. White light. The ship was destroyed. But he felt it for what seemed like forever.
Labels: Kael's Universe
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