Solar Flare (A Sci-Fi story)

 

The story isnt in green text btw because of obvious reasons.

 

Sorry about the compact-ness of the text, I'm not good with separating paragraphs and it looked a lot better on GoogleDocs.

 

 

Also expect many grammar mistakes :I

 

 

Thanks to Interstellar Celly for inspiration

 

Solar Flare

 

Stars crawl steadily through the blackness of space. Distant galaxies and planets pass by as the ship known as the “red nova” scurries through the black abyss that surrounds it.

A single destination in mind for the spacecraft. No pit stops or moments of idle would be accepted for the job that it was assigned. The employer was very adamant about this, as well as being very discreet. They claimed the delivery was entirely legal and all up to code, it's just that the cargo is something that others might want to get their hands on if they knew exactly what it was. Maybe even want it bad enough that they would be willing to assault a military-grade transport vessel just to get what was being delivered. All this being said, it makes sense why its best to keep the delivery under wraps.

Normally after hearing about how pirates would risk attacking a military vessel for the important cargo that was being delivered, any small-time ship that was being offered the job would refuse almost immediately for self-preservation sake. Not the “red nova” however, not that ship, not your ship.

It’s not that you're insane or have a death wish. Hell, you were trying your hardest to say no, but the amounts of crypto credits they offered you would be enough for you to retire from flying your shack of a spaceship delivering postcards from planet to planet. Besides, the job seemed pretty straightforward and legit.

It was the space preservation organization orchestrating the whole thing. You have delivered small parcels for them plenty of times in the past, and they always make good on their payments. As far as you can tell they are in pretty good standing with the law despite a few scandals in the past where they were called out for being in possession of certain artefacts that had claimed to have been stolen from their home planets. You feel like you can trust them enough not to trick you into delivering a dead body or a big bundle of space cocaine. And so you said to hell with it and accepted the job.

Before you could even ask the specifics of picking up the important package or the details of where it was to be delivered, the representative of the space preservation organization shoved a yellow envelope into your hand and insisted that you leave immediately. They claimed that everything will be set up by the time you get back to your ship and the envelop has every piece of info you will need regarding your delivery and that you were not to open it till you were aboard your space craft. They practically shoved you out of their office before you could even get a word in.

Kind of confused with what exactly you had agreed to, you did the only thing you could think to do and that was get to work. You walked back to your craft stationed in the port and entered and noticed something out of place, very out of place. The entirety of your cargo hold was taken up by a large metal container. It easily took up a majority of the hold that wasnt even that big to begin with. Your ship is on the rather smaller side and seeing as you never planned to deliver anything larger than a golf cart you cargo hold was a bit on the smaller side, the size was probably appropriate to compare it to a child’s bedroom. They did say everything would be set up by the time you got back, but that was only 5 minutes ago. To get this container that is easily the size of a smaller elephant aboard your ship within that time is almost baffling. Taking it as a sign of serious this job is, you prepped for launch and exited the port with tad bit more hast than usual. Which leads you to your current crawl through space.

You lean back and open the envelope. A small little data chip slides out. Unlike others of its kind, this one lacks any sort of label or serial number. Your stomach sinks a little. You really hope their isn't a pile of dead bodies in that big crate your carrying because this job just keeps getting more and more sketchy. Data chips with no labels and serial numbers are usually only used when the contents need to be kept secret or the contents are illegal. You count it on being the former and begrudgingly plug the chip into your captain console. A screen holos out from the console and displays numbered spatial coordinates and a small text of words that say only “Drop off”. You type the coordinates into your ship’s NAV and to your surprise, nothing comes up. According to the NAV, the coordinates just lead to empty space.

You scratch your head “That cant be right.” You mutter to yourself. You try entering the numbers again in order to eliminate any possibility of you entering them wrong, but nope, you are met with the same location of empty space. This is incredibly bizarre. Usually, you deliver packages to planets, ports, and cargo carriers, but not to empty space. Surely something is up if this crate they care so much about is to be dumped in the literal middle of nowhere.

Actually you begin to wonder just what your delivering exactly, and why it needs to be top secret. Your employer never told you what you were delivering, only that it was nothing illegal and that it was important that it was kept secret. The sheer amount of credits offered at the time where enough to keep your mind preoccupied with other things, but now the more you think about it, the more you wanna know what's inside that big container. Also they never really said you could take a peek inside now did they? You engage the ship's autopilot onto the coordinates in the data chip and make your way towards the cargo room.

Entering the ships cargo room you immediately notice the large metal container taking up a majority of said cargo room. You didnt notice back in the port as you were to busy getting prepped to leave, but the container has a kind of ominous presence to it. For a second you think it might just be for the best to leave it alone, but your growing curiosity convinces you otherwise. You reach out a hand and place it onto the large metal container. You were a bit surprised as you were expecting the coldness of metal, but the container was actually somewhat warm to the touch. Like as if you were touching another human being.

You examine it for a point of entry such as a number pad, retna scanner, big huge lock, ect, but you dont find any sort of lock on it. Oddly enough its smooth all the way around. Maybe there is a way in from the bottom, but any chance of you accessing that entry was is little to none as the container is far too heavy to move by yourself. Kind of disappointed your snooping efforts are coming up fruitless you try a different approach. You put an ear up to the container to see if you can hear anything emanating within. Odds are you wont considering how thick the metal is but what have you got to lose really? Like you would have guessed you dont hear anything.

“Damn.” you whisper to yourself. You knock on the side of the container, slightly annoyed “Hellloooooo! Anyone home?” You hollar in an effort to bring a little humour to the situation. You wait a few moments and receive no response like you expected. Well there isn't much more you can do to see what's inside that doesnt involve damaging the outside of the container or even potentially the contents inside the container, and the client might be pretty pissed if they saw you tried to get inside of their special mystery box.

You give up your fruitless inspection and begin to make your way back to the ship's controls, but you freeze when you hear a knocking sound coming from behind you. You turn around and see the source of the knocking is the metal container.

Your heart skips a beat and you hesitantly make your way back to the container. You hesitantly reach a hand up to the container and place your hand on the area where the knocking had centered on. The container feels a warmer now and the warmth is oddly familiar in some strange way. It like the warmth that you would feel basking in the sunlight on a warm sunny day back on earth. You feel the vibration made by the knocking from inside the container on the palm of your hand. “S-someone is in there…” you whisper to yourself

Before you can think of anything else, your ship violently rumbles and shakes causing you to slam against the warm metal container and fall to the floor. The lights of the ship go out and the emergency lights kick on bathing the room in a dark red light.

You groggily pick yourself up from the floor in somewhat of a daze from your collison with the metal container. “What the hell was that?” you think to yourself as you quickly make your way to the ships controls to assess the damage. You sit back down at the controls and notice the NAV terminal is out along with any of the other electrical menus.You flip a few buttons and bring up the ships safety control menu which will let you diagnose what the hell had happened to your ships power. The power was out on your ship and the thrusters had ceased firing, but other than that your ship hasn't suffered any physical damage to the outside, so that rules out any sort of collision that might have occurred. If it wasn't a collision that took out your power than what did? You charged the internal power core back at the port and it should last you at least another year or two still. Power doesnt just go out for no reason unless…..you get hit with an EMP charge….th-that would actually explain the violent shake and lack of outer hull damage.” You think to yourself. With this realization dawning on you, you scramble to find you emergency plasma gun.

Your heart begins to beat out of your chest as you tear up your cabin looking for the damned thing. You never thought you would have to use it, but if you’r worst fear is correct than you might need it hear in a hot second.

The ship violently rocks again, causing you to fall towards the floor. The sound of metal puncturing metal is heard. Something attached itself to your ship's door. Before you can even move to get up, the door is forced open by two large mechanical hulking hands. A large augmented human now stands in your door way. He is easily almost 7 feet tall and has little to no clothing on other than the green shorts and the helmet that has been decorated with a blue skull covering his face. Its safe to say he scares the shit out of you for a multitude of reasons.

“Door open…” the hulking augmented man mutters, and as he mutters it a fairly smaller figure rushes into the cabin from behind him. Its upon you so fast that it doesnt give you time to react and it already has a plasma gun up to your face. Your vision is suddenly obscured by the end of a barrel. “DO YOU HAVE ANY AUGS?!” it screams at you. You blink dumb founded and unprepared for the question. You are trying to make sense of what is happening to you right now. “W-wh-what?” You mutter. You hear a click and the bottom of the small figures plasma gun’s barrel begins to glow purple signaling that its ready to fire. “I WONT ASK AGAIN! ARE YOU AUGMENTED!?” it yells again. “N-N-NO! P-please, don't shoot! I'm not augmented at all!” You say in a panic. The glow of the figure's plasma gun dies down and it steps back from you, “If you're lying to me I will turn you into a pile of glowing dust.” She says menacingly. “Same goes if you dont cooperate with our every command! GOT IT!?” You shake your head up and down quickly, not wanting to be a pile of glowing dust.

Now that you can see something other than the guns barrel you notice the smaller figure is wearing the same blue mask as the large one, but is considerably more armed and clothed. The mask they wear is a dead give away to who they are exactly. The blue skull is the symbol of the blue moon pirates. They are a relatively ned band of mercenary pirates that you have heard quite a bit about recently. They have been making quite the name for themselves for hitting large cargo vessels and making clean getaways everytime. They have a bounty on them that grows higher everyday from what you heard around port. “Why the hell are they after you? You're not a large cargo vessel last time you checked.” You think to yourself.

The smaller figure looks back towards the opening they made in your ship and yells “Ship secure”. “Good” A femine voices answers from behind the large figure. Another pirate makes their way onto your ship, walking in from behind the brutish pirate. This one wearing the same mask as the others, but is more regal in appearance. Like if you were going to a ball in space combat armor.

The regal pirate walks up to you and kneels down “So sorry about this dear, but today doesnt seem to be your lucky day. Now we can make this little exchange quick if you dont try anything stupid. Once we have what we came for we can be on our merry way. How does that sound?” “Uh okay…….what exactly will we be exchanging?” You ask as if you didnt already know. “Oh, just your life for your cargo. That sounds like a good trade, no?” the regal looking pirate replies. “Y-yeah….of course…” you mutter. “Good! Lead the way to the cargo hold and we will take what we are after and be out of your hair” The regal pirates says joyously. You knew this job was too good to be true. Of course you would get attacked by pirates. Guess you can kiss those credits goodbye.

You stumble to your feet and lead the regal pirate and the small pirate to your cargo hold. The small one has plasma gun aimed on you the whole way there. You open the door and the regal pirate steps past you towards the large container. “Excellent! There it is, just like the client said! My my the credits dont get any easier than this!”. “H-how do you plan to get it out of here?” You hesitantly ask. There is no way that container will fit through either the ships door or the cargo hold’s door and unloading via the cargo lift would be too risky without somewhere to land your ship. The small pirate shoves the plasma gun into your back “Shut it!” she yells. The regal pirate looks back at you with a knowing smirk “Well normally we would tear a hole in your ship and pull it out, but fortunately for you we only need what's inside the container and our client was very keen on a lack of bloodshed.”. “Don't think that doesnt mean I wont put a hole in you!” The tiny pirate yells. As she knocks you to the floor.

“H-how are you gonna get it open.” You ask nervously hoping they dont end up deciding to put a hole in your ship after all. “Like this.” the regal pirate says with a smirk as she drags a finger across the container in a circle. A glowing path is left where she dragged her finger across. She begins to make lines around the circle until it looks like a child’s rendition of a sun. A large clunk can be heard and a large square door in the container begins to reveal itself. Cant say you have ever seen a lock like that before.

The regal pirate raises a hand and knocks on the newly formed door. She waits a few moments, but she doesnt receive a reply. Despite this she reaches for the handle of the door and turns it opening the container. The door is opened wide, but the container is filled with an ominous pitch blackness. The regal pirate steps away from the blackness and calls out “Your highness, we have been sent to retrieve you. If you would please come out, we may leave at once.”

You all wait for moments as nothing happens until suddenly bright magenta eyes peer out from the darkness. They stare. They stare directly into yours. They are so much larger than humans and…….they feel so familiar. For just a moment your hit with a wave of deja vu and a pleasant warmness fills your very soul. As if you were basking in the glow of the sun itself. You think you know those eyes…….but you don't. The eyes disappear suddenly and reappear smaller than before, more human now.

The figure in the darkness moves towards the light and your finally able to see what was inside the large metal container. Its a small humanoid looking girl with ghostly pale skin and ethereal vibrant hair that wafts from side to side as if she was under water. She wears a white dress that flows aimlessly like her hair does. She isnt human, you cant tell by the look in her eyes. Those arent human eyes that peer into your soul, they are something else.

The regal pirate does a mock bow towards the alien girl “Please your highness, we are on a very tight schedule, so if we could hurry up over to your transport, that would be swell.” “Who are you? How do you know who I am?” The alien girl asks. Her voice is oddly adult sounding for her size, but what gets you most is how familiar it sounds. “I am no one of importance, but we happen to have a mutual friend that finds you very important! That mutual friend sent me to bring you to them safe and unharmed! Think of me as a knight if it makes your royal self feel better!” The regal pirate says with an obvious growing irritation in her voice.

The alien girl looks uncertain, but states “Okay, I will accompany you…..I have nothing to lose anymore….” She mutters. As she follows the regal pirate.

That last line strikes something in you, you reach out and grab her arm as she walks past you. She jolts and focuses her attention directly on you. Holding her hand fills you with the familiar warmth again. “D-do I know you? Have we met before…...we haven't…..but have we?” You ask.

She looks into your eyes again and deeper into your soul. “N…..no….I dont…..remeber you….you….” She mutters.

The regal pirate lets out a grunt “Excuse me princess, but we really are on a time limit here! Molly, keep the worm in line!” She commands the little pirate

As if on cue the smaller pirate fires a shot into your shoulder. You let out a scream while also letting go of the alien girl's hand. You clench your shoulder feeling a searing pain that's almost unbearable.

“No!” the alien girl screams and reaches back out to you, but is quickly yanked away from you by the regal pirate. “I have grown tired of this knight in shining armour shit. We are leaving now. Come along Molly. I don't think our friend will be trying anything more.”

The little pirate begins to follow the regal pirate while the alien girl thrashes against the regal pirates grasp. “L-let me go! I wont go with you! They're hurt! You hurt them!”

The regal pirates scoffs “Like I give a rats ass about them. You're coming with me whether you want to or not! Maybe if I have Molly put a whole in their other shoulder, that will shut you up!” Hearing this, the smaller pirate aims their plasma gun at you once again and the barrel begins to light up. You would react, but the pain from the first blast has you pretty much borderline unconscious. All you see is a glowing dark purple light.

The small alien girl screams and thrashes violently “NO! I WILL NOT LOSE THEM AGAIN! NEVER AGAIN!” A blinding light erupts across the entirety of the ship as you lose consciousness.

 

 

You jolt awake in your chair. Immediately scanning your surroundings. The lights are on and nothing is out of the ordinary. You immediately pat your shoulder, surprised by the lack of burnt skin and clothing. Just your normal shoulder the way it was yesterday. You look towards your ships door, surprised to see no evidence of it being ripped open. You relax into your chair. “What the hell was that dream?” you mutter to yourself. You check your NAV and realize your at the coordinates that you had set earlier. Seeing this, you realize there was one thing you have checked.

You make your way to the cargo hold and are greeted once again by the metal container once again. There is no door or little alien girl either. Just the same old metal container. You hesitantly reach out to the container and lay a single finger upon it. Its not warm like you thought you remembered it. Its cold like metal. You drag your finger around it in a circle. Nothing happens. It really must have been a dream you suppose.

Suddenly a chime rings through the signaling that you are receiving a message. You quickly head back to your control room and receive the message. Its from your employer. They have a cargo ship beneath you and are ready to receive the package. You send a confirmation message and land and unload the metal crate onto the hull of the cargo ship. The loaders wave you off and you disembark from the cargo ship heading back to port.

While on your way back to port you check your crypto credit balance and are satisfied to see a number you thought you would only ever see as the serial number of a data chip. You put the ship on autopilot and lean back into your chair, wondering what your gonna do with all your credits.

Suddenly a familiar warmth feels the air around you. You lean up from your chair wondering where its coming from exactly. You check the only place you could think of, the cargo room. Your certain you dropped off the container so why would you still be feeling this warmth you wonder.

You open the door to the cargo room, and your eyes meet with ones that are magenta. Where the container was now stands the alabaster alien girl from your dream. You two stare at each other for the longest time saying nothing. “I-I know you.” the alien girl says.

 

PT.1 FIN