Congratulations !
You have been awarded points.
Thank you for !
- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Science Fiction
- Subject: Courage / Heroism
- Published: 03/05/2024
A Voyage Through the Heavens
Born 1990, M, from Trail, BC, Canada.jpeg)
Darkness reigned supreme on the bridge of The Kyrene, nearby objects were nearly impossible for Staavis to make out.
He began to creep softly along the line of cryo-pods -- making sure to give the hardware a wide berth, wholly concentrated on moving as silent as possible. His cryo-sleep footwear, made of a breathable mesh, was beneficial for the silent approach required. He slid one foot after the other, all the while -- wishing the short walk was over already. Staavis held his breath intermittently, as it seemed to alleviate the tension he was feeling in his neck.
He knew this was a mistake.
If Captain Sosa caught him -- he'd be on splitshift duty recalibrating the chronosensors for half the ship, if he was lucky. That would work out to three galactic weeks working that dreaded job, and there's no way Staavis wanted to get saddled with that kind of baggage. Last time he worked that shift he was seeing Tachyon wave visualisations for days after.
Oh no, he -- Staavis would be watching the formation of a White Dwarf star from the viewing deck with the rest of the crew, just as planned. As long as he didn't make one squeak while----
"Staavis, of course they would put you up to this...."
That was Captain Sosa.
____________
Captain Amadeus Sosa was not the type of man to trifle with.
In all his days as commander of his 'Brigander' class starship he only forced to retreat in a handful of conflicts, and managed to do so with minimal amount of casualties or collateral damage.
Sosa had completed over 300 planetary missions in his long tenure as an officer for the Galatic Repuclic of Valaricc.
Valaricc wasn't Sosa's homeworld, yet he had dwelled there for twenty-seven long years, serving his masters dutifully. This was because Sosa had honour and no matter what occurs in life, you keep on the path set before you. This was the way he had been taught and that is what he expected of his men.
Other commanders were lenient and allowed for humour and antics aboard their ships.
But not Amadeus --- he preferred a no nonesense approach to commanding; the new cadet had to learn this fact, if he was to serve aboard Sosa's vessel.
"Cadet, why are you not hibernating in cryosleep with the rest of the crew?"
Sosa asked in a demanding tone --- then he stared at the young man, waiting for a response.
_____________
Staavis had to confess.
And fast.
"I reset my cryopod to open and expel me upon re-entry into the Zypher Belt, sir."
"And why is that, Cadet?" Captain Sosa inquired of him. The Captain's tone sounded very threatening.
"Because I happen to be the unlucky one chosen to pull a prank -- by my peers, sir" Staavis explained, meekly.
"Ahhh... it's the yearly attempt at a lightshow, I presume?"
The Captain arched an eyebrow, knowingly.
"Yes, yes sir." Staavis responded, feeling weak in the knees.
Captain Sosa's keen stare pierced into him. Sosa leaned back in his seat, and began to ruminate on the situation at hand, giving Staavis a long and stolid look -- while doing so.
Every year his crew convinced one of the most gullible cadets to attempt a reprogramming of the main deck lighting, one that would cause the lights to swap primary colours -- at random. It was an idiotic trick that his second-in-command had come up with, managing to do just that while Amadeus was off ship at a meeting of sector officials, and shipping magistrates.
Not once, had anyone managed the childish prank since, yet it didn't stop the crew from trying.
For some reason they all thought it hilarious.
"Tell me Staavis, what would you have me do -- put you on chronosensor duty?"
"That'll take me twice the time as expected! I never excelled at logic & operations. Quite the opposite. I believe my score was 160 out 250."
"Exactly. It's be a waste of valuable manpower, you're much better on the observation deck, noting errors in the artificial gravity distribution."
"Agreed." Staavis replied meekly.
He hoped the Captain would go easy on him.
Which in his mind, seemed like a farfetched idea.
"Well, any suggestions?" Captain Sosa barked gruffly, imploring Staavis to answer.
"No, sir. My suggestion would be to reprimand me, as you see fit."
"Hmmm... how about instead of Chronosensor duty, you help me realign the phase variance modules -- so our bird doesn't lose its way?" The Captain made his suggestion firmly, implying it was not a request. Staavis nodded his head, exhaling an inaudible sigh of relief.
So, he had escaped the dreaded Chronosensor duty, moderate serenity was ensured. The Captain motioned for Staavis to take his post at a Command Station, where he would begin entering coordinates for the wave function manipulator in accordance with phase variance protocols. This in essence made hyperspace travel safe enough to attempt.
The journey the crew was making would take more than a decade if hyperspace travel wasn't employed, utilizing the advanced method of travel allowed for a much shorter trip -- only sixty-three days.
__________
As Staavis was working hard at completing his task, Captain Sosa strolled around the observation deck -- checking various terminals for traces of digital contraband. The crew often left audio recordings that should be only on their personal devices located in their quarters; alas some of the more careless officers under his command lacked discipline and left whatever they felt like on their workstations. So, Sosa was left cleaning up the mess.
Sosa stopped his inner monologue, and stopped what he was doing. He could feel vibrations in the ship that weren't there a second ago. And then it happened.
The ship shook violently and lurched to the right, throwing Staavis to the slick, hard surface below his feet.
He saw the captain stagger sideways and flail his hands onto a handrail -- managing to stay upright in the process. Staavis glanced to his left at a monitor, it showed a few readings that confirmed his initial thought, they were being enveloped by the gravity well of a miniature black hole. This was not good.
"Captain!" Staavis yelled at his superior, hoping to get his attention quickly.
"Yes! what is it cadet?" Captain Sosa whirled around, still grasping the handrail, white-nuckled.
"The ships being pulled towards a a hugely large object, or a smallish black hole."
"Well, which one is it?"
"The second one. I think"
Captain Sosa blinked, then swore, and then he looked at Staavis with keen eyes.
"Do you know what to do? Beause sadly, we don't have time to wake the rest of the crew... and our navigator is asleep in a cryopod, right there."
Captain Sosa motioned to the pod closest to him, where a thin man with auburn hair slept in his comfy tank, unaware of the dire peril he was in.
Staavis nodded. "I think so, Captain."
His job was to save the ship, that's all he had to do -- these types of simulations were common in training; therefore he was more than prepared for this moment. Of course, this was just his positive thinking -- in actuality, Staavis was sweating bullets. But he had to do his best.
As the ship drifted slowly towards the black hole, the crew slept on.
___________
Staavis and the Captain worked tirelessly to save them. Within a few hours they would all be gone, if they failed or they would be sailing through the Heavens on their voyage, safe and sound. The sweat kept trickling into Staavis' eyes while he worked, finally he made a suggestion that the Captain liked.
"You say, if we kick the core module out the back, and detonate it -- that might blast us free of the blackholes maelstrom?"
"Yes, I hope so sir."
"Well, I'm impressed with your ability for improvisation, scores be damned, cadet!" Captain Sosa clapped him on the back, in a kindhearted way. "And if this works, you're in for a promotion, and forever out of doing Chronosensor duties."
"Well, if it doesn't work... won't we both be dead, sir?" Staavis said, wishing he hadn't immediately after.
"Hmm, yes... I suppose." Captain Sosa replied, frowning.
___________
But it did work.
A short while later the Kyrene was floating through space, a glistening object lost in the stars, a distress beacon sending out a call for help pulsing into the oblivion of space. The crew was sleeping soundly -- Staavis in his pod as well, but without hyperspace capability their journey would be much, much longer.
So much for sixty-three days.
A Voyage Through the Heavens(Lee Fenton)
Darkness reigned supreme on the bridge of The Kyrene, nearby objects were nearly impossible for Staavis to make out.
He began to creep softly along the line of cryo-pods -- making sure to give the hardware a wide berth, wholly concentrated on moving as silent as possible. His cryo-sleep footwear, made of a breathable mesh, was beneficial for the silent approach required. He slid one foot after the other, all the while -- wishing the short walk was over already. Staavis held his breath intermittently, as it seemed to alleviate the tension he was feeling in his neck.
He knew this was a mistake.
If Captain Sosa caught him -- he'd be on splitshift duty recalibrating the chronosensors for half the ship, if he was lucky. That would work out to three galactic weeks working that dreaded job, and there's no way Staavis wanted to get saddled with that kind of baggage. Last time he worked that shift he was seeing Tachyon wave visualisations for days after.
Oh no, he -- Staavis would be watching the formation of a White Dwarf star from the viewing deck with the rest of the crew, just as planned. As long as he didn't make one squeak while----
"Staavis, of course they would put you up to this...."
That was Captain Sosa.
____________
Captain Amadeus Sosa was not the type of man to trifle with.
In all his days as commander of his 'Brigander' class starship he only forced to retreat in a handful of conflicts, and managed to do so with minimal amount of casualties or collateral damage.
Sosa had completed over 300 planetary missions in his long tenure as an officer for the Galatic Repuclic of Valaricc.
Valaricc wasn't Sosa's homeworld, yet he had dwelled there for twenty-seven long years, serving his masters dutifully. This was because Sosa had honour and no matter what occurs in life, you keep on the path set before you. This was the way he had been taught and that is what he expected of his men.
Other commanders were lenient and allowed for humour and antics aboard their ships.
But not Amadeus --- he preferred a no nonesense approach to commanding; the new cadet had to learn this fact, if he was to serve aboard Sosa's vessel.
"Cadet, why are you not hibernating in cryosleep with the rest of the crew?"
Sosa asked in a demanding tone --- then he stared at the young man, waiting for a response.
_____________
Staavis had to confess.
And fast.
"I reset my cryopod to open and expel me upon re-entry into the Zypher Belt, sir."
"And why is that, Cadet?" Captain Sosa inquired of him. The Captain's tone sounded very threatening.
"Because I happen to be the unlucky one chosen to pull a prank -- by my peers, sir" Staavis explained, meekly.
"Ahhh... it's the yearly attempt at a lightshow, I presume?"
The Captain arched an eyebrow, knowingly.
"Yes, yes sir." Staavis responded, feeling weak in the knees.
Captain Sosa's keen stare pierced into him. Sosa leaned back in his seat, and began to ruminate on the situation at hand, giving Staavis a long and stolid look -- while doing so.
Every year his crew convinced one of the most gullible cadets to attempt a reprogramming of the main deck lighting, one that would cause the lights to swap primary colours -- at random. It was an idiotic trick that his second-in-command had come up with, managing to do just that while Amadeus was off ship at a meeting of sector officials, and shipping magistrates.
Not once, had anyone managed the childish prank since, yet it didn't stop the crew from trying.
For some reason they all thought it hilarious.
"Tell me Staavis, what would you have me do -- put you on chronosensor duty?"
"That'll take me twice the time as expected! I never excelled at logic & operations. Quite the opposite. I believe my score was 160 out 250."
"Exactly. It's be a waste of valuable manpower, you're much better on the observation deck, noting errors in the artificial gravity distribution."
"Agreed." Staavis replied meekly.
He hoped the Captain would go easy on him.
Which in his mind, seemed like a farfetched idea.
"Well, any suggestions?" Captain Sosa barked gruffly, imploring Staavis to answer.
"No, sir. My suggestion would be to reprimand me, as you see fit."
"Hmmm... how about instead of Chronosensor duty, you help me realign the phase variance modules -- so our bird doesn't lose its way?" The Captain made his suggestion firmly, implying it was not a request. Staavis nodded his head, exhaling an inaudible sigh of relief.
So, he had escaped the dreaded Chronosensor duty, moderate serenity was ensured. The Captain motioned for Staavis to take his post at a Command Station, where he would begin entering coordinates for the wave function manipulator in accordance with phase variance protocols. This in essence made hyperspace travel safe enough to attempt.
The journey the crew was making would take more than a decade if hyperspace travel wasn't employed, utilizing the advanced method of travel allowed for a much shorter trip -- only sixty-three days.
__________
As Staavis was working hard at completing his task, Captain Sosa strolled around the observation deck -- checking various terminals for traces of digital contraband. The crew often left audio recordings that should be only on their personal devices located in their quarters; alas some of the more careless officers under his command lacked discipline and left whatever they felt like on their workstations. So, Sosa was left cleaning up the mess.
Sosa stopped his inner monologue, and stopped what he was doing. He could feel vibrations in the ship that weren't there a second ago. And then it happened.
The ship shook violently and lurched to the right, throwing Staavis to the slick, hard surface below his feet.
He saw the captain stagger sideways and flail his hands onto a handrail -- managing to stay upright in the process. Staavis glanced to his left at a monitor, it showed a few readings that confirmed his initial thought, they were being enveloped by the gravity well of a miniature black hole. This was not good.
"Captain!" Staavis yelled at his superior, hoping to get his attention quickly.
"Yes! what is it cadet?" Captain Sosa whirled around, still grasping the handrail, white-nuckled.
"The ships being pulled towards a a hugely large object, or a smallish black hole."
"Well, which one is it?"
"The second one. I think"
Captain Sosa blinked, then swore, and then he looked at Staavis with keen eyes.
"Do you know what to do? Beause sadly, we don't have time to wake the rest of the crew... and our navigator is asleep in a cryopod, right there."
Captain Sosa motioned to the pod closest to him, where a thin man with auburn hair slept in his comfy tank, unaware of the dire peril he was in.
Staavis nodded. "I think so, Captain."
His job was to save the ship, that's all he had to do -- these types of simulations were common in training; therefore he was more than prepared for this moment. Of course, this was just his positive thinking -- in actuality, Staavis was sweating bullets. But he had to do his best.
As the ship drifted slowly towards the black hole, the crew slept on.
___________
Staavis and the Captain worked tirelessly to save them. Within a few hours they would all be gone, if they failed or they would be sailing through the Heavens on their voyage, safe and sound. The sweat kept trickling into Staavis' eyes while he worked, finally he made a suggestion that the Captain liked.
"You say, if we kick the core module out the back, and detonate it -- that might blast us free of the blackholes maelstrom?"
"Yes, I hope so sir."
"Well, I'm impressed with your ability for improvisation, scores be damned, cadet!" Captain Sosa clapped him on the back, in a kindhearted way. "And if this works, you're in for a promotion, and forever out of doing Chronosensor duties."
"Well, if it doesn't work... won't we both be dead, sir?" Staavis said, wishing he hadn't immediately after.
"Hmm, yes... I suppose." Captain Sosa replied, frowning.
___________
But it did work.
A short while later the Kyrene was floating through space, a glistening object lost in the stars, a distress beacon sending out a call for help pulsing into the oblivion of space. The crew was sleeping soundly -- Staavis in his pod as well, but without hyperspace capability their journey would be much, much longer.
So much for sixty-three days.
- Share this story on
- 11
.png)
Cheryl Ryan
03/10/2024This is a great sci-fi story that would make a great movie. The story had me wanting more.
Thank you for sharing!
Help Us Understand What's Happening
.jpeg)
Help Us Understand What's Happening
.png)
Shirley Smothers
03/10/2024Love this sci-fi story. Adventure and action. Congratulations of Short Story Star of the Day.
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
.jpeg)
Help Us Understand What's Happening
.png)
Help Us Understand What's Happening
.jpeg)
Help Us Understand What's Happening
.png)
Help Us Understand What's Happening
.jpeg)
Help Us Understand What's Happening
.jpeg)
JD
03/09/2024That was an exciting action adventure science fiction story for all ages, Lee. Thanks for sharing it here on Storystar. Happy short story star of the day.
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
.jpeg)
Lee Fenton
04/30/2024Thank you for the kind words! Sorry, I have been getting behind. Should've responded sooner.
COMMENTS (5)