Nathan Hystad - The Event

The ship lurched forward, but by the miracle of the Kraski technology, my feet stayed planted and I didn’t even move back from inertia. It was astounding. For a moment, the view port was lined with stars, and I wanted to say a cheesy line from my favorite childhood sci-fi TV show.

Just as fast as it happened, we slowed and were running at regular speed. From the sensor map, we could tell that Natalia was a few miles behind us. She jumped and her icon flickered, reappearing much closer to us.

“I’d say it works,” Natalia said.

Magnus stood and stretched. “Let’s hightail it and get there before it’s too late.”

I put my hands on Mary’s shoulders and gave them a light squeeze. “I’m going to go get my pack and see if there’s anything in the way of food.” Carey’s ears perked up at this. “I’ll also see if there’s anything else we might be able to use. We have no idea what we’ll be up against when we arrive.”

Mary reached up and squeezed my left hand. “Sounds good. I’ll keep frog-hopping along. Nat, let’s do this.” The stars lurched again, this time for a slightly longer period. I turned and headed out of the room, into the small bunk room. I searched the compartments on the wall and found some Kraski clothing. It was much too large for me to wear and had a strange odor to it, unlike anything I could really describe. I pictured the Kraski we’d seen for brief moments as they died. Pale, bald, beady black eyes; a genocidal species. They’d killed the Deltra without guilt, it appeared, and if I was to believe anything Teelon had said, then they had killed many other races out there too. Earth was just another on their list of conquests.

I almost didn’t blame the Deltra for what they’d attempted. It was a smart plan, after all. Convincing the Kraski to come to Earth, knowing that the device that would save them was hidden away. I wondered how many of them had perished trying to find Earth and escape the clutches of the Kraski before giving up and lying docile for centuries, waiting for the perfect moment. I also thought of Janine’s big heart. She was probably convinced to help the Deltra. I knew she wouldn’t be able to ignore an injustice to a race like that. I also doubted they’d told her the whole plan about killing off the human race.

I found nothing I could realistically use in there, so I continued down the hall. I approached one of the doors and the components hissed as the door slid to the side, opening quickly. The lights came on softly as I stepped into the room. I smiled as I saw the suits hanging in what could only be called a locker room. There was unintelligible script above each of the three suits; their names, I figured. I checked the cubbies and found what appeared to be a winch-style rope, made of a linked metal. The links were tiny and heavily interwoven together. I tugged at it and wondered how much weight it could handle. There were also hand-held thrusters, and ones you strapped to yourself. Most likely this was all for space walks, for repairs, or for getting to other vessels.

I moved on to the main cargo room we’d entered in. Carey followed beside me and barked when he saw my pack sitting there. I rummaged through it and found some food tucked away, apples and granola bars. My stomach almost ached as much from worry and stress as from hunger at this point. Ripping open a bar wrapper, I told Carey to sit and gave him a piece off it, checking first that there was no chocolate in the ingredients. I thought about his owner, Susan, and wondered what she’d think of her little buddy trekking around trying to save the Earth. I took a bite and gave him another piece.

A couple of water bottles sat there, and I opened one. With nothing else to pour it in, I took a deep drink and let him drink from the bottle top. Dog germs were the least of my concern. We sat there, my back against the shiny metal wall, him right beside me. I gave him some much needed attention and just talked to him for a bit. I knew if this ever ended and we succeeded, that it was going to be hard for me to give Carey back to Susan. But I would. At least I could see him all the time; I did live next door to them.

Would I really stay there, though? After all of this – the house I lived in with Janine? I doubted it. A fresh start would do me good. And then there was Mary. Maybe there was a future there.

Thinking of her, I realized they must be starving too.

“Come on, buddy,” I said as I got to my feet, “let’s go share our plunder.” He followed me, happily wagging his tail.

“I found some Kraski space suits down there. There are a few weapons, and some lanyards and rope for safety. Never go on a space walk without one. How’s progress?” I asked.

Magnus was walking around the room and accepted a granola bar that I handed to him.

“We’re going along quite fast. I’m using the hyperdrive, or whatever you want to call it, for periods of thirty seconds now. Our scanners seem to be aware of any space debris at a range of twenty thousand miles, so as long as I have my hands on the controls, I have enough time to react. So far, I’ve only had to stop and move around some floating rock twice. At thirty seconds, with full speed, we’re travelling fifty thousand miles.” Mary took the water bottle I handed out and took a deep drink.

I did the math in my head. “From what I know from school, we’re almost one hundred million miles from the sun. At that speed, we should be there in seventeen hours.”

Magnus piped up. “If the sensors are telling us of danger ahead, can’t we just stop skipping and keep going at full hyperdrive?”

Mary took a moment with this. “Nat, what do you think?”

A voice spoke back from the ship following behind us. “ Da , that should be safe. I think we’ll actually go faster that way too. The ship appears to hit maximum performance at around twenty seconds, and we’re only doing top speed for ten each hop.”

I thought about this and the math gave me hope we might reach them in time. “If that’s true, we’ll most likely be there two-thirds faster! We might be able to save them!”

“Let’s give it a try. I’m not sure if I have seven hours left in me with no sleep. I honestly don’t know the last time I closed my eyes for more than a second,” Mary said.

We were all feeling the events of the past week on us, and the severe lack of sleep wasn’t helping the pressure we were under. Magnus sat down beside Mary and watched what she was doing closely.

“I can fly this thing, I think. Just tell me everything. I’ve pretty much driven any kind of vehicle out there. Nat did all the flying when we needed it, though. Isn’t that right, my little Russian princess?”

Laughter came through the speakers. “There was that one time you took over the helicopter, remember? I’d been shot through the glass and was bleeding all over the seats. You told me to be careful because it was a rental.”

I didn’t know what had changed in Natalia to make her talk, but I was glad for it. Her past had obviously caused her a lot of trauma and pain, but I was glad she was with us, even if it was in another ship. I could also tell Magnus thought of her as more than his little sister, judging by the way his eyes lit up every time she spoke. He was laughing now at their little shared memory, and I thought I saw a tear roll down his cheek before he wiped it away.

“Okay, Mary. Teach me everything I need to know so you two can go get some rest before whatever it is we’re heading into.”

The bunks were long and narrow, to accommodate the Kraskis’ bodies. What I really needed was some sleep, but lying in the small room with Mary on the bed a few feet away made me realize I probably needed a shower just as badly.