Void Star (2 page)

     "When did it appear?"

     "Just seconds ago. They look fast, sir."

     "Warn the others," the pilot commanded.

     "They already know, sir."

     Glade strained his eyes. He could see the flight leader's ship floating ahead of the formation. Beyond that, he counted the rest of their ships in close proximity. He didn't see anything else besides them, just endless space.

     His radio crackled, and he heard their controller over the speaker. "Fleet thirteen and twenty-one are both gone."

     "That's impossible!" Glade's pilot exclaimed.

     Glade searched for where those squadrons had been flying. They were on the other side of their planet doing their own pattern work past the white moon.

     Then, out of that black space beyond, Glade did see something emerging, but it wasn't an enemy force. It looked like a black tidal wave in space. He squinted against the solar system's sun and focused on it to make sure the ale wasn't playing tricks on his eyes.

     Spinning tentacles of darkness were flying out of the speeding mass. The body of it took up the entire side of their galaxy, and it looked like it was coming to crush them like a seething wall of death from the unexplored space beyond the Outer Rim.

     "Pilot, Gunner One. We have to get out of here.
Now
!" Glade's mouth dropped as it streaked closer. Their home planet, which rested between the incoming blackness and them, was soon struck by the mass. The planet appeared to shatter into little pieces, which the blackness ate up, and then it was…gone. The sun went out like it had never existed. It was too impossible to watch; his entire galaxy had just been erased.

     "We…we can't break formation," the pilot called. His voice indicated that he was looking at the same thing.  Panic laced his words.

     Sure, there was protocol. Glade understood that.  He was part of a military body. No matter what happened, you never left your post—even in the face of death. But now wasn't the time to stay on a sinking ship or follow orders that had quickly become obsolete. Fear reached out from the abyss of his mind and forced him to react, overriding lessons of war learned since birth

     Glade dropped down out of his turret seat and jumped into the closest escape pod. He no longer cared about anything except getting away from what was coming. The moment he was in, he ejected the pod. It shot off with a thunderous boom.

     Over the pod's PA system, he heard, "You fool! I hope you realize that you are going to be charged with everything I can come up with. Dereliction of duty, abandoning your post, and—"

     Glade watched from the pod as the darkness overtook his squadron.

     Nobody would ever know he had abandoned anything. His conscience could bother him another day; at least he'd still exist. He buried his honor under a layer of blind fear.

     He turned away from the ugly black tidal wave of death. The little pod's light-speed drive maxed out. As soon as it hit full bars, he engaged it and shot blindly into the universe.

     Finally, he caught his breath, and his mind latched onto a certain truth he couldn't escape: the darkness would find him. It was coming for them all.

Part One:

The Darkness

     “Rysta, there isn’t a species in existence that could battle the Dark One.  We will be stuck here forced to watch the end of existence.”

     “Patience, Mykia.  Apparently, you know little of the human race.”

Chapter 1

     "I can get used to this." Swaying gently in the breeze, a young man lay sprawled out in a hammock. Clad only in swim trunks, his human body had warmed evenly in the day's supply of sunlight. His medium-length dark hair sprang out of his head in all directions. His cool green eyes hid behind black sunglasses. An arm's distance away hung his gray flight suit and leather flight jacket. In his line of work, it was necessary to plan ahead. Propped against his clothes was a sheathed sword; it was an ancient weapon he never let out of his sight and didn't how to use.

     Beyond him unfolded the island world of Aquaria. Even through the dark shades, he could see the purple waves crashing into the blue undercurrents, both lapping onto the red sandbar under the golden sky.

     He heard the familiar squeak of tires as a robot rolled to a stop next to him.

     "Boost, I'm moving here." The sun was just starting to cast the sky into reds and purples as it set. "This planet is gorgeous."

     The small robot considered his words. "You're right, Trevor. It is." The little robot paused as it processed the colorful scene. "This planet has most naturally occurring colors, like Io and Earth." It blinked up at him for reassurance.

     Trevor winced every time he mentioned Earth. "Boost, c'mon."

     Boost tilted his head, unable to comprehend the unspoken rebuke.

     "What do we not talk about?" Trev inquired.

     "Oh…right." The robot rolled its wheels into its body and dropped out two legs. It sat in another hammock, mimicking the young man.

     Trev rolled his eyes. Even though they had picked up Boost after escaping Earth's destruction, the robot knew enough about it to draw similarities. The years had been hard for him and his uncle, flying across the galaxy, scraping by, and not once in all that time had they ever brought up Earth again—not since meeting up at Bastion.

     "You better watch it, Booster. I think I hear your master coming."

     Boost spun his head around, blinked, and then spun it back to look at him. "I do not believe you are correct."

     Trevor laughed and turned back to the sea, glad to get his mind back off the past. After so much time drifting through space, this moment was truly one to enjoy. This world was at peace. No one was trying to cheat them, betray them, or kill them.

     Wave after soft wave lapped up the beach to greet him. The smell of blooming pink lavender floating on the ocean breeze filled his nostrils with the promise of living in this peaceful state forever.

     In the calm, he felt his hand twitching. It moved violently and fast from side to side.

     Not now,
he begged himself.

     He refocused on his breathing and took another drink of alcohol. The taste was drier than whiskey, but sweet like an earthy orange.  The shaking subsided a little until it eventually stopped altogether. He looked to see if Boost had noticed and was thankful he hadn't; the robot was preoccupied with tightening the screws on his upper body, finishing the look. He was trying to make himself into a robotic Salarian, including a gray metal tail. What he ended up making himself look like was a junk heap of mismatched parts. They had got him on the cheap since his program was a little quirky.

     The interval between his seizures was shortening. Even though he had avoided a full attack, he wasn't sure how much longer he could hide his ailment. His eyes darted to his sword to make sure it was still there.

     A three-foot-tall Aquarian native arrived with a platter of assorted finger foods. Trev thanked the little critter. Its fur changed in cascades of colors, matching the wild beauty of the planet. The Aquarian bowed as it exited.  The simple gesture was the only communication these aliens performed.  It was possible they were just too hairy to speak.  Either way, they knew how to treat visitors.  The superb service doled out at this resort was refreshing and fully paid for, thanks to the woman who'd contracted them out for this.

     "What are you doing?" Trev asked.

     Boost set down the meat-and-cheese sandwich he'd made.

     "You don't have to mimic everything."

     Boost stared at him blankly.

     "Fine. Eat it." Trevor motioned for him to take a bite of it.

     Boost looked at the sandwich and then back at him. He set it back down and let out a long moaning bleep.

     "Just relax." Trevor pointed out to the beach. Boost did as instructed, though Trev knew he was only copying his reactions.

     Trevor's mind drifted to what he was going to do when the sun went down. He couldn't party it up with other flight crews unless someone else came in. They were really the only show in town at the moment. The resort did have some great simulators though. Even though he was the copilot, he had never been allowed to takeoff or land his uncle's ship. He believed he had to stay sharp in case that day ever came.

     Trev instead flicked his glasses off and enjoyed the setting sun.

     "That scientist can take as long as she needs." Trevor exhaled a smooth breath of enjoyment and let his eyes close; he wanted to take a quick catnap before the night began.

     "She appears to be finished," Boost piped back.

     Trev opened one eye and looked down to where the scientist who had employed them for this mission had been working. It was an unmarked building away from the resort. Kaida was dressed in orange robes that opened in the front. Her eyes were focused on the data pad in her hands. For a woman his uncle's age, she was quite fetching. Her long, coppery-red hair was pulled back in an organized bun that couldn't dampen her beauty. Her figure was curvy and full but toned. She looked up at him and grimaced. She didn't like him much.

     He ignored her and looked down the other way toward where their ship was parked. Her giant assistant, Daphkalian, an Ecath, was loading up all their equipment. He was just about finished by the look of it.

     Trevor had been enjoying the views too much to notice.

     "Get your things. We're leaving."

     Trevor nearly jumped out of his swim trunks. Though he was an older gentleman with a robotic leg, his uncle Nathan still had the drop on him. Trev looked up at his white-bearded face. His dark gaze was focused intently on him. He held memories of hundreds of fierce space battles behind those caramel brown eyes. Beneath that, his barrel chest heaved up and down like two massive kegs rising and falling simultaneously. His thin lips were spread out, which gave Trevor a sinking feeling his uncle's patience was running out.

     "Can't you give me two more minutes to finish my drink?" Trevor asked.

     Boost didn't hesitate. "Aye, Captain Sutherland!" He shot out of his hammock. "I'll get the preflight started." His legs folded up, and out came the wheels again as he rolled away.

     Trevor looked out one more time to sea and then took another pull of his drink.

     A hand shot across his line of vision and sent the drink flying into the ocean. "Nephew," his uncle grumbled. "Do I have to remind you that we don't drink before we fly?"

     Trevor wanted to argue it was only his second drink but thought better of it. His uncle would only launch into a "When I was your age, at the Royal Guard Academy, I never…" story. He got out of the hammock and pulled his flight gear on. He zipped up the gray jumpsuit and pulled his leather jacket over it.  He picked up his sword and lugged it back toward the ship without another word.

     Theirs was the only ship on the landing pad. It was a Tiger-37, J-model, quadwing, dual-analog-capacity craft. It truly was one of a kind, seeing as the production plant and the world it had been manufactured on no longer existed. It had a sleek, straight body and engines that spiraled from the back toward the front like dead spider legs. Trev could see the cargo door open and Boost helping Daphkalian tie the equipment down for flight. It was still odd to see such a large Ecath like Daph, since most were pretty small and reminded him of lithe humanoid tigers from Earth. He was like a rhino-sized tiger version, standing one head taller than everyone on the crew. His orange-and-black striped body nearly took away from their ship's current color, which was the darkest obsidian black there was. They'd painted it that color to help them traverse past the outskirts of Ruveran-monitored space.

     Its tail flash caught his eyes for a moment. One of the words was missing. After the end of Earth, or EOE, as the crew called it among themselves, Nathan had named his old war fighter,
Arilyn's Wrath
, for the son he'd lost in the war. Arilyn had been Trev's closest cousin. Now his name was missing. It had been painted over and recently.

     Were they just "Blind"
Wrath
now?

     Even though Trevor liked to play like he didn't pay attention or care, he had noticed a change in his uncle lately. He wasn't sure what it was yet, but he did worry about him. He had always been a little too militaristic, but he had been quick to laugh and joke. Trevor hadn't seen him smile in a long time. And after taking this job, he felt like Nathan had become almost loathsome.

     Trevor pushed it out of his mind, grabbed his list, and started going through his checks.

     Elsewhere, back down toward the beach, the older woman in orange robes walked up to Nathan. "How long will it be, Captain Sutherland?"

     Nathan turned from watching his crew prepare the ship. He forced his eyes not to do what they naturally wanted to do, which was unprofessionally wander down. He looked her in the eyes and answered, "Ms. Elwin, we will be ready to depart in thirty minutes. Is all your equipment aboard?" Even as he tried not to check her out, his mind told him that he knew her from somewhere.  Was he so old that everyone seemed familiar or did he just not remember?

     "Daphkalian is loading it now. And, please, Captain, call me Kaida." She absentmindedly pulled her reddish hair behind her ear, further exposing her smooth, frail neck. Even her name echoed from a time long forgotten.

     "Of course, ma'am." He coughed. Nathan could feel his missing wedding ring, and guilt darkened his approach to the beautiful woman. "If everything is set, go take your seat." His stony exterior left little room for debate.

     Kaida watched the well-muscled captain depart. He couldn't help looking so dashing in his pressed collared shirt and tailored pants. His long, dark overcoat blew in the ocean breeze. With the smooth way he walked, it was difficult to tell he had a prosthetic leg. He was like an old stone statue from a different era, begging to be chiseled down. It hurt her deeply that he didn't remember her, but she would remind him when the moment was right.  Or maybe never.