The Mission

The Mission

General Zee gave the order, and the fleet moved slowly toward the black hole. Excitement only a fraction less high than cautionary fear. They had no way of knowing what was beyond this new discovery. Though exploration of black holes had been going on for generations, everyone knew that each one was unique to the point that the only outcomes for a new one were often success, or oblivion.

Meanwhile, Alan Potter awoke in his bed to the feeling of something touching his face. At his first thought, ‘a spider,’ he bolted up from his sound sleep with a screech, flinging his covers everywhere and popping on the light. No spider, but from the corner of his eye, he saw small things flying swiftly back through the hole in his window screen before he could nail one. He’d left dirty dishes on the table again. “Darn flies,” he said out loud, “I have to get that screen fixed tomorrow!” and he crawled back in bed.

General Zee’s fleet was hovering on the other side of the screen, awaiting his next order. He addressed them: “I expect every ship to be returned to the base where you are all free, awaiting your new assignment. We were lucky to get off without casualties! As always, thank your diligent service.”

“This black hole seems to be too loud and volatile for use at present. Though disguising our ships as earth creatures has worked successfully for generations, as you all know, while some lead to opulent deposits of food and riches, others are just too dangerous. This one will need to be watched, but exploring it, at present, will be off the table.

He powered up his own “Fly Ship” and lead the exploratory fleet back to their home base on the planet earth.