Get On Board

I sighed while shutting the door to the garage. Another day repairing ships for the Magan Empire, another measly handful of credit to lose towards rent and food (if I was lucky). I looked out to the floating metropolis Siler, capital of the Empire. I was caught in a sea of a faceless mob, a distant star amongst billions in this universe, and I couldn’t be more content with that. Of course, it would help if I had a little more cash, but beggars can’t be choosers.

I thought back on today, reflecting on which project to work on first the following day. There was the T-86 Marc Harbor that needed an engine diagnostic. The HV-99 Razor Moon’s autopilot was still calculating the wrong star routes. Then there was the government craft, the 93-GC Taurus Trek that needed it’s yearly registration evaluation. That was the most minor job, so it would make for an easy morning.

I turned the corner, lost in my thoughts, when someone walked directly into my shoulder.

“Sorry,” I mumbled politely, though I was more mildly irritated than sorry. Why can’t people watch where they're going?

“Are you Haydran Voss?” The stranger asked suddenly. They kept their head down, face covered by a hood. The voice and body were female, and there was a strain in her voice.

“Yeah,” I responded. “Why do you ask?”

She turned to face me fully but kept her head still down. “Because you’re the only one who can help save this galaxy.”

I blinked in shock, but before I could ask what she was talking about, I woke up in my bed to the sound of my alarming blaring the Star War theme song.

Groaning, I rolled over to stop the music pathetically and buried my head back in my pillow. Why does the real world have to be so tiring? I checked my phone and thought I could squeeze a few more minutes of sweet sleep. But time was a cruel mistress and was not in the mood to grant me the privilege.

With no choice I pulled myself out of bed, and stumbled to the bathroom to quickly brush my teeth. I ran my fingers through my hair and didn’t bother to shave before throwing on the same jeans and uniform shirt I had on yesterday. With nothing in my fridge or pantry to eat, I did my best to ignore my rumbling stomach while grabbing my keys and stepping out the door.

Locking the door, my measly apartment now secure, I turned around to see the same hooded figure behind me. Suddenly, the morning light cut out like a switch, replaced by the comparably harsh sensation of city lights. I was back in my dream, standing on the streets of the Siler with a mysterious stranger standing before me.

“Did you hear me?” She asked. She looked around like someone was watching us.

“Wait,” I rubbed my eyes and also looked around, only more frantic. My ears were still trying to recover from the sensation of the quiet morning air to the sudden rush of intergalactic space traffic above my head. “What’s happening? Who are you?”

The woman’s hand shot out, gripping my arm with iron-like strength. I noticed that she had chocolate colored skin. “I’m Imogen. I’m here to get you on board. Look, there’s no time. Come with me, my prince.”

“You’re what?!” That was all I could manage before I was suddenly being pulled into the direction of a hovercraft. It was a classic ZZ-49 Speed Cruiser with a custom yellow racer paint job. I didn’t have time to be impressed; this crazy woman was shoving me into the passenger seat.

“Strap in, and hold on tight!” She exclaimed before throwing the craft into gear and barreling out into the traffic flow. In all the chaos, I heard blaster fire from behind us. A shot hit just shy of my head, knocking off the side mirror next to me. I whipped around to see two figures scurrying into their own craft to race after us.

I was about to the woman to scream to explain– or stop– but I saw the flash of headlights, followed by the sound of a car honking. Oddly, it sounded a lot like a horn back on Earth…

That’s because it was on Earth! I shouted a few choice words while narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic. There was a chorus of honking horns and angry comments about my mother as I settled back into reality.

“What’s happening to me?” I whispered pathetically to myself. Gathering my surroundings, I realized I was on my way to work. For once, I was actually on time for my shift at the garage. Somehow, I doubted that my boss would accept traffic as an excuse, even if I had died in an oncoming crash that I caused. He’d probably dock my pay for dying in the first place and not being on time.

My hands were shaking, and I could barely keep the car from swerving— again. Attempting to soothe myself through rapid breaths, I couldn’t help but feel insane. “Breathe. Breathe. Breathe. Calm down. Breathe. It’s okay. Breathe. The crazy lady can’t get you here. It’s all just a bad dream.”

“It’s no dream!” A woman’s voice screamed in my ears over rushing air. In the blink of an eye, I was back on the ZZ-49, racing through downtown Siler. “You’re the lost prince of the Magan Empire. I’ve been looking for you for a long time. Our late empress discovered a plot against you and hid you away to live as a commoner. But now we need you back. You need to reclaim your throne and fix the Empire before it destroys our galaxy!”

Another round of blaster fire made me bury my head in my lap. I was eventually able to respond. “I’m not a prince! I’m a mechanic! I fix cars— I mean spaceships! At least… I think I do.”

“Exactly,” she banked the craft hard right. I screamed when I was thrown to the side and looked down at the hundreds of feet worth of air and speeding crafts. “You were lost to us years ago. But don’t worry, the Loyalists have all gathered to help you reclaim everything. Now, keep your head down!”

“Loyalists? You mean those domestic terrorists?!”

“Nah, that’s all just fake news and cheap propaganda. Watch out!”

The sensation of suddenly stopping hit me hard. I looked up to see that I had parked— badly— at the garage. My heart was racing, and there was a faint sheen of sweat on my forehead. I wanted to go to the hospital, but I didn’t think it was safe to keep driving. I got out of the car with shaky limbs. I needed coffee to settle my nerves and a few strong shots of Jameson while I was at it.

I was standing by my car trying to figure out what to do when my boss barked my name.

“Hayden! My office. Double time!”

I grimaced. What now? With a heavy sigh, I started for the office. But I must have overestimated my balance because I didn’t get three steps forward before I tripped and crashed hard to the ground. I groaned but instantly noticed the change of smell. It was an unmistakable shift from the heavy scent of rubber tires to the oppressive stench of garbage. I lifted my head from a puddle of what I hoped was just water, now aware that I was collapsed on the ground of an alleyway. I didn’t need to hear the sound of traffic or the buzz of the city to tell me where I was again.

“Come on!” The woman said from ahead. She turned around and started to pull me up. “We have to go!”

“No!” I pulled my arm away and scrambled to my feet. “I’m not going anywhere until you tell me who you are!”

“We don’t have time for this—”

“Then make time!”

She stopped from the force in my tone. Deciding I was serious, she sighed before pulling down her hood. She was a pretty human woman with dark skin and somewhere in her mid-twenties like me. She had a mass of curly brown hair and startling purple eyes. I imagined that she would have had a nice smile if she wasn’t frowning at me so hard.

She gestured to herself. “Well?” She asked expectantly.

I blinked. “What’s your name again?”

“Imogen,” she said. “Imogen Lark.”

“Okay, uh, Imogen. You’ve got me confused. I’m Hayden— I mean Haydran. I’m not a prince. I’m just a guy who works on crafts.”

She shook her head. “We don’t have time for this, Haydran. We need to start moving. Right now.”

“There!” I spun around. A heavyset human blocked off the alley opening. He was pale, pasty, and sweating heavily. He was bald, and from this distance,he had dark pin point eyes. He raised his meaty hand and shot two blasts.

I yelped and dodged. In a blink of an ey,e Imogen produced her own blaster to reciprocate fire. “Move now!”

I sprinted past while she covered me. We ran down the alley till the very end. There was a door to some building, and Imogen caught up ahead of me to open it. Barreling through, I ran directly into my boss’s office, nearly toppling over his desk.

“What are you doing, Hayden?! I didn’t tell you to sprint in here!”

“Huh?” I didn’t know what to say. I was exhausted and beyond confused. “S- Sorry, sir. I, uh, just got a lot on my mind.”

“Whatever.” He threw himself down in his chair, and I was once again astounded it didn’t buckle under his elephant weight. “I need you to work overtime today. Rodger’s is out sick, and you have to make up for all of your late days anyway.”

I sighed. “Look, Mr. Haines—” I stopped. That face. I’d seen it daily, but this was the first time I’d seen it shooting at me from an alleyway.

Haines looked back at me with those small, pinpoint eyes. He raised a brow at my dropped jaw. “Something wrong, kid?”

“Uh…” I took a step back. I had a sudden urge to get out of this office. “N-no, not at all. I’ll, er, just get back to work.”

“Good. You’re not leaving till I tell you to.”

“Sure thing, boss! I’ll just clock in. Uh… bye.” I had never left a room so fast in my entire life.

I rushed to the lobby where the computer was. I just stared at the screen for a long time, trying to look busy. I was unable to type due to my shaking hands for what felt like the millionth time I had to ask myself what was going on.

“Excuse me,” A woman’s voice caused me to look up, and a chill was sent down my spine.

Imogen stood there, a small smile set politely on her face; she did have a nice smile. She was dressed in a simple white blouse and jeans, nothing like the ragged dark hood she’d wore in my dreams.

“I was hoping to talk to someone named Hayden. Hayden Moss?”

I nodded dumbly, and my brain was finally able to make me blurt out, “That’s me.”

“Oh good,” she slid a note to me from across the counter. “Just the guy I wanted to see. I think I can really help you, Hayden.”

I kept staring at her as I picked up the note. Were her eyes actually purple? I guess I was staring too long because her eyes flicked down from me to the note in my hand. I risked glancing at it.

This is no place for a prince.

I looked up to her now strained, expectant expression. She flicked her head to the door. “My car is outside. Care to climb onboard?”

“I… Uh… I…”

“Please,” she reached over and gripped my hand with that same iron-like strength. “I think we’ve got a galaxy to save, right?” Her voice was low, but despite the worry, there was an excited energy that passed between us. Adventure and answers awaited.

To my astonishment, I couldn’t help but grin. “Yeah. Yeah, I think so.”