Sun
JEN
The countdown continued almost as loud as Jen’s heart.
“10, 9, 8 …”
Will is out there ready to battle real fighter jets!
“Jen!” Commander Partridge called her name. “Status report!”
“Something is happening, sir. Systems have activated on their own. And there is a fog or a cloud forming all around us. But systems are normal and we still have communications at 100%”
“Good! Continue with the countdown.”
“7, 6, 5, 4 …”
“Commander, a huge army of tanks and fighter jets are coming our way sir!” Major shouted.
“Tell our fighters to not engage. Our jets are faster and more maneuverable than theirs, just order them to guard our ship. Don’t let the enemy to get close.”
“3, 2, 1”
The spaceship moved, giving Jen the feeling of being on a fast elevator. She tried every camera angle, but she could only see a layer of fog everywhere, like they were engulfed in a huge transparent cloud allowing her to see how they were ascending slowly towards the sky. The sensation of elevating continued for several minutes, then a noise like a hail hitting metal.
“They are firing on us!” Star screamed.
“Steady, as she goes!” Commander Partridge ordered.
A lightning bolt flashed, followed by a strong shock wave. The spaceship shook for a few seconds and then stopped. The fog surrounding the spaceship began to shine with orange, red and yellow hues before thick gray and black clouds surrounded them. Several minutes later, the colors disappeared and the cloud surrounding the spaceship turned to normal. Then the sensation of elevating continued.
Over an hour later, the cloud disappeared, revealing the blue sky. Then the sound of hail beating against the ship resumed.
“We’re under attack again, sir,” one of the pilots radioed in.
“Disregard! Continue ascension as normal.”
“Yes, sir!”
“And order the squadrons to return to base.”
As Jen listened to the conversation between the pilot and Commander Partridge, a weight lifted. Her brother was coming back inside the spaceship.
“What was that bright orange thing, sir?” Star asked.
Commander Partridge remained silent for a moment.
“Every fighter jet is on board Commander!” A voice said through the radio.
“Good!” Commander Partridge turned to address the crew. “Ladies and Gentleman, I think it is fair to say this ship is worth what we paid for.”
Almost everyone looked as clueless as Jen felt, except Major Rogers and Doctor Mendel.
“What you heard earlier,” the commander continued, “the hail-like sound, was an intense missile attack. The bright hue and shake were the result of a small nuclear explosion directed at us. But I am happy to say our spaceship is intact.”
“And it absorbed all the radiation of the blast,” Doctor Mendel added.
While everyone cheered and clapped! Jen noticed her brother, Will, entering the bridge. She rushed to hug him as the blue sky turned to black then the stars began to shine.
“Will, Daddy and Mom—” Jen choked.
“What is it, Jen? Are they ok?”
She nodded. “I saw them come to the ship, but the doors were already closed. They left before the most intense attack began.”
Jen held tight to her brother trying not to cry in front of the rest of the crew.
“Navigational systems are set in automatic, sir!” Star said.
“Excellent.”
Will sat next to Jen.
“This is indeed an extraordinary craft,” Star said.
Others around the bridge nodded.
“Yeah, big explosions but not a scratch.” Major Rogers chuckled from his post.
“Dynamite!” exclaimed Star.
“Dunamys,” said Dr. Mendel.
“That’s a Greek word, isn’t it?” Major Rogers asked.
“Yes,” the doctor responded. “It means power.”
“Well, a mighty power certainly saved us.”
Commander Partridge looked thoughtful. “Dunamys,”
Doctor Mendel grinned. “I think that’s a good name for the spaceship.”
Will leaned close to Jen. “Mom and dad were taken away a long time before the detonation, and according to Doctor Mendel, the fall out didn’t spread because the shields of the spaceship— I mean the Dunamys—absorbed all the radiation.
“Yeah, and Joshua told me they will be ok,” Jen said, as much for herself as for Will.
“Jen, please tell everyone to take the seat belts off,” Major Rogers instructs her.
Jen flipped on the intercom system. “Attention, passengers, we have reached outer space. Feel free to take your seat belts off and relax and enjoy this beautiful view.”
“Let me welcome them.” Commander Partridge came to her station and spoke into the microphone.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is Commander Ian Partridge speaking. Welcome to the Dunamys, the name we assigned to this vessel. It means ‘power’. Our personnel will guide you into the rest of the ship. There is a common area in the center where you can hang out and enjoy the view. We are still in the process of building more facilities for our accommodations here, and as you already know by now, your living quarters are similar to a decent hotel room, so you can live comfortably during our trip. But please stand by for further instructions. And again, welcome to the Dunamys!” Commander Ian finished and asked Jen to turn off the transmitter.
“Hey look!” From Jen’s screen they saw people getting out of their chairs moving closer to the windows. Most of the people were speechless. Everyone—children, parents, old and young people—seemed to be in awe.
“Wow! So, this is what Earth looks like from space! We are so small!” Jen wiped her tears.
“It’s amazing, Jen!” Star approached Will, who was staring at a window.
“Yes, quite a view, Star!” Jen finally had a feeling that everything would work for good. Leaving their parents had been hard. At least they were taken with Elizabeth's parents and would have some company.
“Look at this, Will.” Jen pointed to her monitor which showed people gathering in the main areas of the spaceship. They stood in small groups admiring the Earth and the stars. From the youngest to the oldest, everyone seemed happy.
At least until a new voice came out of the speakers of the bridge. Jen tried hard to make a sense of the transmission, but it was impossible. It sounded like muffled speech. Or distorted speech. Or maybe a different language she’d never heard before. Before she could ask someone else, there came a series of sounds that reminded her of an alarm warning. Then the transmission stopped.
Commander Partridge looked extremely worried, white as a paper sheet.
“Right there!” He suddenly shouted.
“Maximum zoom!”
The screen showed a little corner in space near the Earth’s horizon. They zoomed in the screens to reveal a small group of flashing red lights moving quickly in their direction.
“Jacobs, Will, Jen, Dr. Mendel. Come with me.” Commander Partridge strode into a private briefing room and shut the door once the four were assembled.
“Dr. Mendel, give us the translation,” Commander Partridge barked.
“Translation?” Jen looked at Dr. Mendel. “Do you know that language?”
Dr. Mendel appeared completely calm. He polished his glasses on his shirt as he spoke. “I do, Miss Morant. This transmission is from the Daiminion. Enemy aliens. You don’t want to mess with them.”
“What?” Jen scooted closer to Will and reached for his arm.
“Don’t worry.” Will patted Jen’s hand. “The Dunamys is invincible,”
Commander Partridge shook his head. “You have no idea who we are dealing with. Many years ago, there was an international agreement with the aliens that no human would ever leave the earth with the intention of going beyond the solar system. This agreement allowed us to launch spacecraft without human pilots or crew. In exchange, they said they would give us technology and protection.”
He looked at each person in the room for a long minute. “We have broken the treaty.”
Jen. felt suddenly anxious. And afraid. Two things she’d never felt before about their mission.
“It was classified information,” Dr. Mendel explained, his glasses perched on his nose once more. “It’s a secret that’s been kept even from our government for the last seventy years. Maybe longer. I am one of the few people who knows the alien language and can interpret it.”
“And the message said …?” Commander Partridge put his hands on the table and leaned toward Dr. Mendel.
“It said that we have violated the treaty, and if we don’t surrender, they will haunt us down and destroy us. No mercy.”
Will and Jen locked eyes.
What have we done? Jen thought. Maybe, mom and dad were right. Maybe we didn't know Joshua well enough. Maybe he wasn’t trustworthy.
All of a sudden, Joshua appeared in the middle of the room. He stretched out his arms as if to gather them all in a hug.“Don’t be afraid.”
“Thank you for the encouragement, but we need to do something.” Commander Partridge turned to a computer in the room, effectively dismissing Joshua.
“Follow my instructions, and you will live.”
Will stepped forward. “Sir, respectfully, I think we should listen to what Joshua has to say.”
Commander Partridge ignored Will and continued looking at the computer.
Joshua disappeared.
“Commander,” came a squawk from the box on the table. “The red lights are approaching,”
Commander Partridge rushed back into the bridge. Senator Jacobs, Will, Jen, and Dr. Mendel followed.
“Activate the hyperspace engine, now!” Commander Partridge ordered the navigator as he entered the bridge.
“Sir, we need to turn off the shields to calculate—” Dr. Mendel suggested Commander Partridge, while the navigator started the procedure.
The navigator stood looking at Dr. Mendel, who was overseeing the engineering of the ship, waiting for confirmation to resume.
“Ok, turn off the shields and do the calculations as quickly as you can, but we need to leave now. That is an order,” Commander Partridge instructed with anxiety in his voice. Then he gestured Dr. Mendel to return to his station.
Protection shields off, the computerized voice announced.
“Jen, notify all passengers to go back to their seats,” Senator Jacobs instructed.
“Right away, sir!”
“One more thing, sir,” Dr. Mendel interrupted. “The FTL Hyperspace system hasn’t been tested yet.”
Before the commander could reply, Joshua appeared again, this time in the very back, by the door. “Don’t be afraid. Follow my instructions, and you will live.”
“We don’t have time to figure out what Joshua’s hologram is saying,” Commander Partridge insisted. “He can’t know our current situation. It’s just a hologram.”
“Please, sir, let's wait to hear what Joshua has to say,” Major Rogers insisted.
Commander Partridge didn’t respond. Jen had never seen him in such a panic, his fist closed as he walked to each station and looked at every monitor closely. He looked terrified.
Then she noticed Senator Jacobs, his face was pale as a sheet of paper, with eyes wide open.
"I’m afraid the commander is right,” he said. “We will listen to Joshua's hologram after we outrun the aliens.”
“Activate the FTL Hyperspace module,” Commander Partridge told Dr. Mendel.
"Sir.” Dr Mendel stood. “As I was trying to say earlier, we need time to calculate the distance in order to follow the route indicated. If not, we might end up in an unknown region of space and we don’t even know how to properly use hyperspace yet.”
"It doesn’t matter. This is an emergency. You don’t realize how powerful these aliens are. We don’t have a chance against them.”
Dr. Mendel looked nervous. His finger lingered over the button to operate the navigation system.
“Proceed with my orders! Now!” Commander Partridge crossed the bridge to the navigation system and pressed the buttons himself.
Hyperspace initiated.
In a flash of light that was so bright that it was hard to see anything, a huge wormhole became visible. The Dunamys whirled through it at great speed. A noise increasing in pitch, tone, and volume sounded from all sides. Jen sat next to Will, who gripped the arms of his chair more tightly. Finally, the space outside the window began to clarify. A great spherical object appeared on the screens. It grew bigger and bigger, emanating radiation and high temperatures. This object triggered the alarms, warning of impending danger.
“It is bigger than the Earth!” Star screamed.
Jen turned toward the door. But Joshua had vanished. And she seemed to be the only one who’d noticed.
Jen looked at her monitors, making sure everyone on board was okay. Most of the people stood looking out the windows. Jen switched cameras. David and Elizabeth stood together, gazing out the window.
I don’t understand those guys.
“Would you look at that!” Star whispered.
“What is it?” Jen turned to the main screen on the bridge. A bright multitude of colors appeared from the bottom, like a rainbow. It moved around like Aurora Borealis coming out from the bottom of the ship.
"It’s so beautiful,” Jen said, mesmerized. “What do you think it is, Will?”
“Maybe it is from the wormhole. Or maybe not. Maybe it came from that huge object the systems detected.”
“How come the systems won’t tell us more details?” Commander Partridge asked Doctor Mendel.
“I think many of the systems are not working properly.”
Suddenly, the spaceship shook violently. The temperature rose rapidly. The sound of several explosions seemed to come from inside the spaceship. Then a vibrant orange light filled the windows, like a summer sunset in a clear sky but much, much brighter.
“Damage report!” Commander Partridge yelled.
"I’m afraid we have a huge problem, sir,” Major Rogers answered.
“The FTL engine is not responding,” Dr. Mendel reported. “We just have basic thrust. Many of the systems are out of commission. We have alarms going off all over the Dunamys, reporting several systems are down across the ship, including basic lighting in the living quarters. The cargo hall has been damaged, there is a hole there where the water tanks are. And many other areas of our ship also have been bridged, and—”
“Sir!” Jen shot to her feet; her eyes still focused on the view from an interior camera. “Most of the reserves of water are gone!”
“Multiple breaches on the outer hall!” someone yelled.
“Dr. Mendel, what’s actually working?” The commander’s voice sounded tight.
“Basic ship systems, artificial gravity, life support, basic thrust and fifty percent of the shields.”
“Ok. Activate the shields.”
Immediately, the protection shields activated. Then the lights went off.
“Sir, we lost power in other areas of the ship,” Doctor Mendel noted. “And the temperature of the ship is increasing very quickly. But it seems the shields are holding.”
"What does that mean?” Commander Partridge asked.
The main screen showing the view outside the ship filled with bright orange and red colors, like a lake made of lava or fire. Even went still.
“The good news, commander,” Dr. Mendel said, “is that we are not lost. But the bad news? That big object the system alerted us about earlier is the Sun, and we are headed directly towards it!”
