Into The Void (8 page)

              “I can't believe it. We did it. We killed it,” Captain Steele said.

              Captain Steele laid back and took a deep breath.

              “I can't believe it. I can't believe I won that fight. I thought I was done for.”

              Captain Steele's suit then indicated over 20 more threats that were exactly like the creature he had just killed that heading his way.

              Captain Steele got up as fast as he could using the wall to help. With 20 more like that coming this way he was going to die unless he got out of there now.

              “I need an extraction now Jamie. Blow a hole open in the hull.”

              “I can't John. That creature's Earthquake didn't even cause a crack in the outer hull. If we had fire power like that we would be using it all.”

              “Get me out of here. I can barely walk and I got 20 more incoming!”

              “Straight and to the left John.”

              “That's where their coming from! I need another way.”

              “Hurry. It's the fastest way.”

              Captain Steele ran as fast as he could using the wall for support. He was about to pass out.

              “How much further Jamie?”

              “500 feet.”

              Captain Steele hurried. He could hear multiple roars echoing down the hall from those creatures.

              “300 feet.”

              He was moving as fast as he could and the sound was becoming louder.

              “200 feet.”

              He thought he saw the small opening and hurried to it. The roars became louder and louder. The foot steps of the creatures sounded like an army of billions coming up against him. Their foot steps echoed off the walls. The sound was deafening. Each step he took the pain was just at his threshold even with the DSSM's help. He could see them running at full speed just ahead and he was moving one foot every coupled of seconds. At that rate they would be on him.

              Captain Steele picked up the pace hoping that he could survive the pain and that the DSSM's last shock call wouldn't kill him. The creatures form's could be made out running down the hall, their roars causing his bones to vibrate causing intense pain. Their foot steps were making everything louder. He then felt a sudden desire to give up. He remembered his mission and how futile it was. He knew he was going to die slowly and alone but this way he could die in a second. He stopped just short of the opening. He thought for a second and remembered that he just killed the coolest thing he has ever seen. He remembered that he is the best of the best, numero uno, the top dog, the one his friends and family are depending on. He was given an honor that no one has ever attempted. He pushed forward as the sound became unbearable. The pain was intense. He reached the opening and climbed into it as the creatures ran by. He continued to crawl just a short way before the pain was to much. He saw the creatures appear to talk to each other and reach for him.

              Captain Steele knew he had to leave fast. He crawled around with each step becoming more painful. He took one last step before reaching a small hole. He looked down the hole and went feet first into the hole. He fell down to a large hallway with support beams along the sides. He looked down both ways before hiding behind one large beam. The creatures then suddenly crashed through the ceiling. The dead creature's body was thrown into the hole as several other creatures jumped down the hole. They then made another hole and repeated the process, throwing the dead creature's body down the hole before jumping down with it.

              Captain Steele watched from behind a support beam before carefully moving over to the hole. He peered down the hole and saw that after about 20 floors it opened into space. The creatures where giving it a burial.

              “Wow. You see this Jamie?” Captain Steele asked.

              “I do. That's interesting.”

              “Yeah, guess who gets to bring home a trophy.”

              Captain Steele looked down the hole. There where about 20 decks before hitting space.

              “Jamie bring the ship around. I'm jumping into space. With my broken faceplate and broken armor I will immediately feel the effects of space on a human body. Open the door, and be ready, big game trophy hunter is coming home tonight!”

              Captain Steele jumped from the current deck hoping that he wouldn't hit any other decks on the way down. As soon as he passed several decks he saw one creature eating another that was still alive but submissive. He looked down and saw blackness below him and took a deep breath. He hoped that the cold of space wouldn't knock the air right out of him causing the water in his lungs to freeze permanently. Jamie brought the ship flying around the corner and opened the portside airlock as Captain Steele grabbed the creature's corpse and landed in the air lock. The air lock shut and pressurized. He then dragged the creature in before falling to the ground.

              “John, we need to get that thing contained before we look at you.”

              Captain Steele used a lift device to pick it up and take it to storage where there was a secure lock up. He put it in there and went to med bay.

              “It will be fine for now Jamie. I killed it once, I can do it again.”

              “Fine,” Jamie said.

              Captain Steele went to the med bay where Jamie scanned him for injuries before telling him what damage was done to him..

              “You have broken all your ribs, five of which are open outside the skin, a punctured lung, one broken shoulder, two broken forearms, one broken thigh bone which is outside the skin, two broken shin bones both of which is outside the skin, a broken pelvis, a broken knee, massive internal and external bleeding temporarily stopped because of the DSSM, two severely damaged ear drums, severe shock, severe brain trauma, massive deep lacerations across your body, five times the lethal amount of radiation, some kind of biological agent inside your system of alien origin, and enough medication to kill a herd of elephants.”

              “The DSSM suit does its job.”

              “That it does,” Jamie said, “Sit tight, we will have you fixed in a couple of days.”

Chapter 8

A Time Long Past

              Captain Steele awoke after four days and headed to the lab to do the video log.

              “Captain Steele, log 92, year 4010, month 5, week 3, Standard Milky Way year.

              “I have been doing these for sometime now. Life has been hard, really hard.

              “The other day I came across an object out here that was of alien origin. I came across some kind of alien and it almost killed me. I've never had so much fun in my life. I will upload the videos of the exploration of the object when I'm done with this log. There are a lot of unanswered questions about it and I do not recommend a team to move out here and look for more answers.

              “The time out here has been rough but I think I am adapting to it. I think I have become okay with the emptiness. When I went onto that object, there was something different about it, something crazy. The creatures had a holographic nature and their bodies shifted based on your viewing angle and would disappear and reappear as needed.

              “All the data recorded from my DSSM will be attached to this log. There is extremely sensitive data that was previously sent. Make sure it does not fall into the wrong hands. Captain Steele, out.”

              Captain Steele walked over to his bunk. He looked up at the dead creature's head that he had killed on the object. He ended up stuffing it so he could display it. He was really beginning to like this cozy ship. He liked it even more now that he had his stuffed alien's body.

              Captain Steele went over to his computer to watch the videos that where taken from the console back on the object. He opened the first one.

              “John, these are extremely graphic.”

              “I know but I need to see them.”

              He opened the first one. He saw what he assumed were scientist working around a large device. They looked at the camera and were speaking.

              “Jamie, what are they saying? Can you translate it with the data we found?”

              “I can now and I will. Done.”

              Captain Steele hit the play button again to start watching.

              “This is a test of a black hole. We have found the ability to create a small black hole and we are able to contain it. We will start the test now. This video is a recording of it,” a scientist said.
              One creature walked over to a console and touched it. The camera then focused onto a test chamber. There was a bright flash of light, a loud sound, then the light was being distorted into something. You couldn't see where the light was going but it disappeared into a black in color object. The light itself was having colored ripped from it. At times the camera would show a view looking at the black hole from above and looking at it from the left and from the right of it.

              “As you can see, the light is being ripped apart. As you know, light is just a wavelength and that is why we can see it and other colors. Here its wavelength is changing due to the black hole. We figure that because sometimes things disappear from our sight that happen to be behind the space we are looking at, we assume that the light's wavelength is changing to a color that our eyes can not perceive and therefore cause the object disappears from our sight.”

              The video showed the black hole from the top view camera and you could see to the left and to the right of the black hole that there was a green box. Then the camera showed the view from both the right and left sides of the black hole while looking at the black hole. At times the footage from the camera looking at the green boxes on each side of the black hole would suddenly change color. It was like looking through a clear yellow, green, or blue glass so that everything changed to be yellow, green, or blueish in color. At other times the footage from the cameras looking at the boxes would see the boxes just disappear and there would be nothing there but a giant flashing blur of clearness.

              The area around the black hole were also moving. It was like looking at something through a heat wave. Both concepts hurt Captain Steele's head to watch.

              “As you can see, we have successfully created a black hole. We can maintain this for any length of time. We can even increase and decrease the size of it. We also have the ability to kill it so it ceases it's existence.”

              One scientist hit a button and everything returned to normal and the black hole was gone and the video ended.

              “John, that was the first public showing of a black hole. The next video is where it starts to get graphic. Are you sure you want to see it?” Jamie asked.

              “Yes,” Captain Steele said as he hit the play button again.

              “This is a test of how the black hole affects living creatures. Here we have a large animal in a cage. We will move the cage closer to the black hole to see what happens to it,” a scientist said.

              As the creature was moved toward the black hole the animal started ti panic. It cried out and tried to get away. The creature was slowing getting crushed and ripped apart as it got closer and closer to the black hole. The creature cried out in pain as it was changing colors, disappearing and reappearing, and as it's bones became crushed and blood and organs were ripped apart. These were disappearing and reappearing to a flashing blur of clearness.

              “What we see here is much like our ability to disappear and reappear but we shift both the way light reacts to our bodies and our bodies to light. In this instance when the creature disappears it is simply because our eyes don't have the receptors to see the correct color and therefore it appears to disappear but in reality is still there.”

              Captain Steele looked at the video and wanted to throw up. The animal in the cage struggled to get away but couldn't. Each time the color of the animal would change it would scream. The animal  tried to move away from the black hole but to no avail. Captain Steele could hear the bones of the animal being crushed into a million pieces and saw its organs being exploded and imploded with various parts disappearing into a flashing blur. Captain Steele could see the very molecules being ripped apart, changing colors, disappearing in a flash of blur, being crushed and expanding, all as the animal cried out in pain. It reminded him of the atomic bomb videos back on earth, only these were much more dramatic.

              “As you can see the black hole ate the animal but did not grow in size. We have yet to find out where the remains went.”

              Captain Steele hit play button for the next video hoping to see something not as bad. The next video was even worse. The next video showed the black hole growing unstable and devouring the lab sucking everything into it. The alien scientists broke the same way the animal did, the lab equipment destroyed, with the light being fractured. Scientists tried to run away but got sucked in anyway. The black hole became bigger and bigger with more object being pulled into it.

              This video was a compilation of videos; news casts and home videos of families, families with kids.

              The black hole grew larger an larger as it consumed more things. It grew so large that eventually buildings were being warped and ripped apart. The sky was changing colors, vehicles were being pulled into the center of the black hole, and people were also being pulled into the center of the black hole before being ripped apart at the molecular level alive. The video showed families trying to hold onto each other only to be torn away before being ripped apart molecule by molecule. Multiple cameras were shown being pulled into the black hole along with buildings and people. The sky would turn green, then blue, then brown, then orange, then red, then black, then it would turn into a flashing blur only to return to the normal color. You could hear kids screaming for their parents and parents screaming for their kids. The camera showed whole multitudes of creatures being torn apart at the molecule level along with the changing light.

              The video then showed the ground breaking. The black hole was sucking whole tectonic plates into it. Whole mountains where being pulled in, continents were being destroyed. Space ships tried to escape the black holes gravitational pull but were pulled into it. Videos were shown of people in space ships panicking. They grabbed for police weapons and killed others and themselves. They broke windows of the ships in hopes of letting the vacuum of space kill them before the black hole. Families of hopeful people that were evacuating were being murdered by frantic people destroying the space ships.

              The video then showed the planet's core being ripped apart, molten lava becoming rock hard as it entered the cold vacuum of space. It showed the atmosphere of the next planet being pulled away from the planet. A lot families were lucky to suffocate from the lack of breathable air while freezing to death. Most families were not so lucky. Most families were pulled away from the planet with the atmosphere intact, much like in a bubble. The black hole's gravitational pull was just enough to keep the atmosphere intact in small bubbles, just enough for people to have enough air to breath as they froze on their way to be torn apart alive. Those families screamed helplessly.

              The star of that system was being pulled into the black hole. The plasma of the star was burning and melting planets as it was pulled towards the black hole. The video showed families pointing at the sun as the sun was pulled in the direction of their planet. It then showed families being melted alive-but not before being set on fire as the plasma of the star came near their planet. The planets were being broken apart as it was being burned and melted. Whole mountains were burning and melting into liquid because of the star's plasma as they were being torn apart by the black hole.

              As the black hole devoured planet after planet, star after star, there was mass panic across the galaxy.

              Then the same video showed a group of scientists creating another black hole at the other end of the galaxy hoping to learn how to control it. That ultimately failed which lead to them unleashing two black holes upon their own galaxy.

              Captain Steele sat there and watched the video for several hours before it came to an end before he threw up on the ground next to him. He had seen people melted, burned alive, vaporized, electrocuted, murdered, slaughtered, all innocent people, but he has never seen such gross negligence on such a scale.

              “The fear in their eyes...”

              “There is another you need to see John.”

              Captain Steele pressed play one last time.

              It showed a large group of people in the middle of the galaxy building something large. As he looked closer he released it was the object he was just on. It had lots of details on how to construct it. The creatures constructing it called it an ark. When it was completed, armed guards were around it and large armored vehicles were there as well. Several different creatures went onto the object then a large mass of several different creatures ran toward the object before all the armed personal guarding it opened fire on them slaughtering them in the streets.

              Captain Steele looked at those going into the object and he noticed a creature similar to the large creature he had fought entering it. He also noticed creatures that looked just like the various diagrams he saw on the object entering it. After they entered it multiple armed personal deserted and ran toward the ark. One of the creatures like the one that Captain Steele fought ran out the door and tackled many of them and held off about 100 armed personal as the ark took off. The large creature took out several large armored vehicles as well.

              The ark took off outside their galaxy with the mission to wait out the black holes path. After several millennium of observing their galaxy the engines were sabotaged which catapulted it at FTL speeds to an unknown location. The engines exploded as they were in FTL speeds causing massive damage to the ship and the creatures on board. They started to run out of resources and entered sleeper pods in hopes to be revived by another culture. They remained there for several hundred million years.

              “If they were in sleeper pods when we entered the ship what was watching me?” asked Captain Steele.

              “It is unknown, however, the long sleep in the sleeper pods drove them mad.”

              “Well, I'm glad I got to kill one. With the freaking retards thinking they could control a black hole after loosing control of one and all.”

              “I'm glad you see it that way.”

              “I'm glad I got an awesome trophy out of it too. The guys in my squad would have killed for something like that.”

              Captain Steele put his feet up on his desk and leaned back enjoying the thought that he was now the best of the best of two galaxies and was looking forward to it being three if need be.

              Captain Steele woke up and walked over to the cargo hold to check on the equipment. He checked all the spare parts, the parts for the Instant Teleportation Device, the robot aids for building the gate in his old age, and all the other miscellaneous things.

              “Jamie these robot aids are supposed to do what again?”