Heavens of Glory

Chapter XIV

It was already the beginning of Orion’s third year in Battle School. Fourth, he mused, if you counted that remedial year. He shuttered at the thought of that horrible time. All the shuttles had come in to dock yesterday, carrying with them the thousands of students that populated the mammoth station during the school year. For once, he was glad that his interyear vacation had been a little shorter than everyone else’s. He’d managed to capture the best bunk in his dorm- the top one, farthest to the back where the curve of the station blocked him completely from the view of the door, and he’d had a few extra days to get used to constant and nauseating gravity changes associated with traveling between levels of the station.
         Sitting on his bunk, with his feet dangling, Orion fingered his laser. It was a real one, unlike the fake toys they used at the Academy, although it only had a ‘stun’ setting so no one could really get hurt from it. He looked forward to this coming year, and especially the non-stop wargames. He had been told by the previous juniors, now seniors, that third-year was one constant war between dorms, with treaties forged and broken, battles waged in the middle of the halls, and non-stop excitement for the entire year. His eyes glittered with anticipation. This was would be fun…

         As the dreamless sleep induced by the pills began to wear off, and the true sleep of utter exhaustion set in, Orion began squirming in his bed. Flashes of horror began appearing before his eyes, spectral scenes floated by as the brave captain was reduced to a terrified child. Strange shadows glimmered, hinting at their own existence, just beyond the field of vision. Nameless horrors screamed through the darkness with blood-curdling yells. Dark lakes, bordered by menacing overhangs of ugly black growths, wavered before him, each wave threatening to bring rise to a new petrifying terror.
         Orion awoke, clammy and afraid, in the bright light of his quarters. An indiscernible shape stood in the door.
          “Are you OK, Captain?” Spar asked. Orion waved him off. Already the nightmare was fading, and all that he was left with was an intense feeling of being isolated and having lost something, something vitally important to his existence. But what was it? Sitting on his bunk with his feet swung over onto the floor, he struggled to recall the images of the night, but couldn’t. Just that unshakable feeling of having lost something vitally important.
         Stood up and began to prepare himself for the day. Night, he corrected himself, looking at his watch. He had either slept for one hour, or twenty six. Judging by the general strength of the med-bays sleeping pills, he would have guessed the latter, but he didn’t feel at all well rested.
         Once he was redressed, he stepped into the highest of the three corridors of the Dead-ship. He found Seedo working on a panel not far from his room. The lenothias stood up as he approached.
          “About time you got up, sir.”
         Orion snorted, rubbing his hand through his tasseled hair. “Looks like those pills you gave me worked, then.”
          “It wasn’t just the pills. They alone weren’t supposed to keep you out for two days.”
         Orion’s draw dropped. “Two…freakin’… days!?”
          “We couldn’t wake you, no matter what we tried. You started screaming horrible things last night. Couldn’t understand a word you said, but it sounded terrible. You kept up like that for a day.” Seedo squinted his black eyes in sympathy. “We posted hourly watches outside your door, to make sure there would be someone there when you awoke, in case you needed anything.”
         Orion pressed the knob of his wrist to his forehead. “No wonder I have this pounding headache.” He shook his head, trying to dismiss the pain. “So what’s happened while I’ve been… sleeping?” He couldn’t quite reconcile the idea of a fifty-hour sleep in his mind.
          “Well, we think we’ve figured out a way to get the Dead-ship into Epsilon space. It’ll be slow and painful, but it should get us home within about five weeks. Spar’s been working on it during his shifts. Here, let’s head over to the bridge. I’ll show you the specifics there.” The two walked down the corridor. The door was permanently open, allowing quicker passage and less energy usage in entrance to the most crowded part of the ship. The computer hardware cluttered the rear half of the room, and all the command consoles had been moved forward.
         Seedo headed over to the tactical display and typed in a few buttons. Schematics appeared only on the two-dimensional screen; the holographic projectors had been disabled to save power. Other crew members came and went from the bridge, nodding to Orion, but they seemed too afraid to speak to him.
         Seedo began motioning to the display. “Basically, we’ve wired a projector into the containment device, to slightly expand the containment field beyond our ship in order to include these four probes.” The devices magnified on the screen. “These are what are taking up most of our time right now. They’re going to be installed with Epsilon Tachyon burst sacks and engines. Once ready, they will be deployed around the Neyna here, here, here, and here.” He motioned to a model of the ship on the screen. Seedo realized his mistake soon, and corrected himself, “Well, the Dead-ship, I guess it’s called now.” He continued on through Orion’s silence. “The probes will be linked to the ship via tractor beams, and when activated, they will yank us into Epsilon space, where they, combined with our own engines, will continued to accelerate us for have the journey, at which point we’ll pull a sharp one-eighty to start decelerating.” The specs for the probes disappeared from the screen, and a familiar sight appeared in their place.
          “That’s the Teler Station,” he needlessly pointed out.
         Seedo nodded. “Yes, we figured it’d be easier to navigate from here, where we first came into this galaxy.”
          “So when will the probes be ready?”
          “Why, they’re ready now, Captain.”
          “So what are we waiting for?” As Orion took control of his ship, the last effects of his sleep wore off. He began pushing buttons on the communications console. “I’m sounding the all-call.” His voice boomed over every speaker and console on the ship. “All hands to stations! Let’s get this show on the road!”
         A muffled cheer echoed through the three decks as the all-call rang out. Within minutes, every Bonscout was at his post. Orion sat down in his chair, adjusting to the new closeness to the screen. He motioned Spar, who was standing at the newly-installed science console just behind the captain’s chair. “Launch the probes, good sir!”
          “Probes launching, came the reply. Locking tractor beams on.” A slight hum echoed through the hull as the four green rays anchored onto to the devices. “Probes locked into positions. Establishing remote control.” The scyther continued typing buttons on the console.
          “Alright, remote control has been established, and the probes powered up. We’re ready to go.”
          “Take us home.”
         The entire ship shook violently as the four probes began to glow, accelerating through empty space. Suddenly, with a bright flash that illuminated everything within a hundred terrasecs, the four probes gave a violent yank on the Dead-ship and the ragtag cluster of five disappeared.

END PART I

Please continue to Part II