Escape from Abyss

EST 359th sol day, 3025 AD

Cryssalid cluster, Osiris system

Western wing, Union space

The USV Shalmeneser emerged from the void. A stream of blue light washed through the deck, rudely greeting her crew back to real space. A flash of white light illuminated the inner ring stabilizing the wormhole.

The grey cargo ship parted from the shadow of the twin warp rings and proceeded onto the inspection zone. The crew on deck spied a single union cruiser about 10 light milliseconds away. Laser rangefinders detected a 1000 mm railgun, running across the length of its body.

The Cruiser commenced a long distance scan of the cargo ship. “Thermal and laser scans show no sign of armaments “, recon officer Abe reported.

“Then open the hatch and send a shuttle to inspect them “, Vice Captain Eze responded. “Aye “, the recon officer moved to give the command but the Captain barred him.

“Cancel that order, give them the green light to depart “, ordered the grey, old Captain.

“But Sir, the check is routine and…” the Captain cut him off and pointed at the visual images.

“See that Red Star on its broadside? That’s from Redstone Shipping. You want a complaint to the Admiralty on your name or what? “, he pointed a finger at the young, redhead officer.

He looked at the disinterested faces of other officials and sighed, “I’m Sorry Sir “.

The inspection was cancelled and safe passage permit was relayed to system officials.

Upon receiving clearance, the freighter boosted its primary fusion reactor to cruise capacity and the plasma shields went up. The whole vessel was enveloped within an orb of translucent white, hardened to a wall by alternating magnetic fields.

The twin propulsion engines activated, and the ship resumed its trek through the endless night.

The comms in the ship’s living quarters blared, “Attention all passengers, we will now recommence our journey. Acceleration will begin shortly, set at 20g. It will take 12.7 hours to reach cruise velocity of .03c. If you feel any discomfort, please notify your compartment AI for assistance.

ETA is 30 hours to destination: Terra-12 “

#

The images were hazy in Cassie’s mind. A sky red with fire, a stew of corpses and limbs scattered around. Metal walls blackened to coal while ravenous golden fires extended as far as the eye could see, dancing to the sparks of shattered wires.

And from amidst the flame emerged a pair of eyes. Eyes from the pit of hell, glowing red with fury as a black shadow emerged behind them. A single hand, glowing red with heat shot out and grasped for her face.

“Mama! “, she jumped up from her slumber, covered in sweat. She wiped the sweat from her forehead before brushing her golden locks aside. Her arms were shaking terribly.

This is the third night I’ve had this dream, is something terrible going to happen? She crawled up the walls of her cell and wrapped her arms around her. The small cell was perpetually lit to a dim red by an LED lamp. She could only keep track of night and day by the routine meals force fed to her thrice a day.

How long has it been since I’ve come to this place? Where am I? , she grasped her head to push down an ache. Weeks of confinement had robbed her of her sense of time.

Was she still twelve or had she turned fifteen? It was hard for her to tell. There was no mirror and the cell didn’t even have room for her to stand up. Am I going to die an old maid here? She grasped her head to keep the dark thoughts at bay.

The sensors picked up and a machine voice spoke up, “Are you experiencing physical ailment? “

“Yes “, she fought back tears, “I feel terrible “

A port opened up above her and a laser scanned her.

“There seems to be no physical ailments “, the machine replied.

“But I’m ill, please let me out, even just for a minute, I…I just want to walk! “, she pleaded.

“Neuro-chemical imbalance in the brain, protocol calls for Dopamine reuptake inhibitors “, another port opened up and a metal forceps carried a large, blue pill before her.

“No, I won’t eat it! “, she screamed defiantly, “, until you let me out, I won’t eat this or those gross locust bars you give every day “

The machine did not respond.

“Will he listen? “, her large, blue eyes lit up with hope. She was about to move forward but the ceiling above her parted and three mechanical arms emerged.

“What the...”, before she could utter a word, two arms clasped her wrists and pinned her to the wall while the other arm forced open her mouth. The forceps now slowly moved the pill into her mouth as she looked down in horror. She tried to resist but the steel arms were unmovable.

After shoving the pill down her throat, the arms released her and retreated back into the ceiling. A rush of euphoria and elation coursed through her body. The headache and the dark thoughts disappeared and giggly feelings replaced them instead. Her whole body relaxed into a calm, placid state.

However, her mind kept fighting back.

This is not real, this is not real!

#

The USV Shalmeneser finally arrived at its destination: Terra-12. It was a large moon orbiting a gas giant on the outer rim of the system. The star had long since shed its outer atmosphere and had been reduced to a red dwarf, eternally bathing its children with dim red light.

The cruiser approached the surface of the moon, casting a long shadow over its pristine ice surface. The ship cruised into the dock, passing by pipes that carried liquid water from oceans beneath the frost.

The freighter docked at the star port built into the exterior of the Moon.

”All passengers, we have arrived at our destination. I repeat, we have arrived at Terra-12. Please report immediately to the decompression chamber.”

The passengers hurried into their mag-suits. The suits, laced with a magnetically sensitive fiber co-ordinated with the ship’s own magnetic field to grant the denizens a semblance of gravity.

After an hour, the two thousand or so passengers of the ship assembled in the waiting room. The passengers belonged to a multitude of species, ranging from the insectoid Arachs, the Reptilian Crocs, the humanoid, diminutive and hairless Neckers and finally a plurality of humans.

The species entered into decompression in homogenous batches. First went the Neckers, then the Arachs, followed by the Crocs and finally the Humans.

Around six hundred humans entered into the huge chamber and the blast doors closed behind them. Decompression proceeded for nearly half an hour before they were herded onto the decontamination zone.

Now they were inside the moon and colonial administration took over. They exchanged their mag suits for polymer-fiber detox suits and environmental helmets. The moon’s artificial gravity generator prevented them from feeling unease.

Decontamination continued for another half an hour as streams of gas rich in disinfectants doused the passengers. After the end of the ordeal, they were ushered into the preparation compartment and changed into regular clothes.

Comms blared up the moment they finished dressing.

“Attention, the air of Terra-12 is tailored to the needs of Crocs and Arachs and has a higher CO2 content. Human visitors are strongly advised to wear a versa-helmet while outdoors.

The Redcliff foundation offers masks at the most reasonable price. You can either rent a mask for two weeks at 100 Marks or you can buy one for 150 Marks. If you can afford neither, then the Redstone Bank, Green Bank and Steelholm Bank will lend you Marks. All you need to do is perform a DNA check at a service Kios and your account will be credited. “

As most of the passengers scrambled to snag up a mask, a tall man draped in a grey shirt and a heavy black long coat stood by the gate. He brought out a black helmet from his briefcase and donned it.

An ad drone flew in and projected a holograph before him. It spoke in the fluffy voice of a little girl: ‘’please consider a tour of our gas giant: Samuel. Big brother planet keeps the meanie asteroids away and provides us with looots of hydrogen fuel. Big brother planet is nice and is filled with wonders. You can…’

The ad droned on but the man paid no heed. His mind was thoroughly focused on the ordeal to come. As the elevator leading to the City proper arrived, he clenched his fists, one of flesh, the other of metal.