Chapter 3
EVO
“Captain, we are approaching the anomaly. Please advise.”
“Destiny, are you sure this is the area where you first started receiving the pod signals?”
“Confirmed, Captain EvO. SCOUT also confirmed that this is the same location where we were alerted that the human medical records were also being downloaded, along with mating rituals and other basic information.”
“Rafe, are you picking up anything on the sensors? Because my eyes are seeing nothing.”
“The sensors show nothing but dead space, not a single star in sight, which in itself is odd.”
Rafe has just turned toward me when Destiny’s alarms start blaring, and she yells, “Brace for impact!” I barely catch myself before being thrown forward into the control’s main center panel.
“Destiny, report!”
“Captain, we appear to have run into something.”
“Any injuries?”
“Negative. A couple of scrapes, but nothing serious. Although Qwin is cursing at me right now because a couple of her glass test tubes almost fell onto the floor.”
“Back us up to a safe distance and then contact Father and see how he wants us to proceed.”
“Confirmed. Captain, I have attempted several times to connect with Commander DaR, but there is some sort of interference around Ethra that is blocking my direct signal. ANDI intervened, relaying that the Commander will contact us shortly because they are having to leave the surface in order for our signals to connect.”
“Put him straight through when the signal is received.”
A giggle is all the warning I get before Ami Lynn launches herself at me, jumping straight out of ViN’s arms the moment the helm doors slide open.
“Cappy EvO, you made us all fall down. You drive tewibly!”
“What the frack is going on, EvO?” ViN snarls.
Sitting Ami on my hip, bouncing her playfully, I point toward the viewer. “Your guess is as good as mine, ViN. There is nothing in front of us, but something sure stopped us dead in space.”
Ami climbs up my chest, taking my face in her little hands, making me look at her. “Yeah, huh Cappy … there is toooo.”
“What do you see, my little fireball?”
“A big bubble.”
“You see a bubble?” All of us look at each other, then back at the viewer.
“Yep, it’s bouncing in and out! You can just goes through it, it not gonna pop. Or me can blow it out.” Suddenly, her little body starts getting hot, and I feel the scales on her skin start to harden and turn red. Before I can say a word, ViN takes her from me.
“Ami Lynn, we cannot go outside the ship and you know it. Now calm down or no snacks later.”
“Me can too can go blow out bubbles … dragons not scared of nothin … you no fun Daddy!”
“This baby dragon is going to be forced to take a nap if she isn’t good, and Cappy EvO is not going to save her this time.”
I turn away to keep from laughing when she tucks her head under his chin, a pout on her little lips as she really does think she is invincible. I am just getting ready to ask Rafe to run a secondary scan when SCOUT suddenly appears on deck.
“SCOUTY … new hugs, yay,” Ami Lynn yells out, so before he can say a word to us as to why he is here, he is tossing her playfully into the air. Her innocent giggles make all of us smile.
“SCOUT, to what do we owe the pleasure?”
“The Commander wanted me to take a closer look at the phenomenon that was able to bring a ship as large as Destiny to a dead stop. The scans appear to be in working order, but I do believe our little Ami is seeing more than Destiny’s sensors, as I too, see some sort of bubble or thin force field.”
“How can that be?”
“I may be, for the most part, the most informed and intelligent being in this area, but I still cannot describe the creation of the heavens, Captain EvO.”
Father’s image appears on screen, and once again we all laugh as Ami Lynn must have the first word. “Pappy DaR, you and Mammy come see me. I need new rocks!”
“Hello, my little dragon. I will be headed your way soon with a whole new crate of rocks for you to go through.”
“YAY! SCOUTY, me down … me go tell mommy.”
The moment her little feet hit the floor, she runs through the open doorway and down the hall, her screams of laughter echoing off the walls as we all watch her go.
“I would love to have half her energy. I have no idea how you keep up with her, ViN.”
“EvO, I am not sure I do, to be honest. I feel like I barely show up before she gets into the next thing. Her mind never seems to settle, and she is so curious about everything.”
“Master ViN, she is learning and growing as she should. Ami Lynn is in a safe environment surrounded by loved ones, let her imagination grow while she still has her youth to fan it or reality to drown it out.”
SCOUT’s words seem to settle over all of us until Father speaks up. “I have read the scans, but I can only see what you do. I am interested to know how you want to proceed, EvO.”
“Father, I think we should power up and see if we can push through this bubble that Ami Lynn says is in front of us. This may be the rumored Veil that we have heard so much about.”
“SCOUT, what is your suggestion?”
“I am going into this blindly Commander, as I have no proof of this Veil either. But if it can be punctured, Destiny’s thrusters are our best bet, as they are top of the line.
I have a hunch that what we are seeking is simply being hidden from us by the cosmos itself.
Many a ship has left our radar in this area, and I recently found an illegal download about human anatomy from an unauthorized shuttle for a split second before my connection was suddenly disconnected.
I would like to personally see this through with your permission. ”
“SCOUT, I am assuming you left Falcor and SAGE in charge in case your signal gets cut off once you are through this bubble, or veil, as you call it.”
“Confirmed. They are well aware of what might occur if we are able to break through this anomaly.”
“EvO, the final call is yours.”
“I believe I will give the order to move ahead. We will try to keep you updated once through if possible.”
“I will remain in deep space so I can be available if needed. But if I hear nothing back from you within a rising, I will order reinforcements to these coordinates. Be advised that there is a huge asteroid moving through Ethereum’s space that is blocking all ground signals to Ethra at this time.
ANDI was able to reach out and get help to those planetside, but we are unable to land again until the temperatures rise.
This asteroid will probably cause multiple issues as it moves through our solar system, so expect connections to become sporadic at times. ”
“I am sure Destiny was already well aware of this issue, as it pertains directly to ANDI. I will have her submit our status continuously as we move forward. Strength and Honor, Father.”
“Walk in the Light, my sons.”
The screen goes dark, and I feel Destiny powering up under our feet. “Destiny, tell the crew and passengers to brace themselves and to remain on alert until further notice. I give the helm over to you, SCOUT. You may lead us through this invisible, bubble-wall.”
SCOUT walks up to the main control panel, his hands instantly integrating into the circuitry like he is part of the helm itself.
ViN and I both have just taken our seats when I felt Destiny pushing forward.
For several seconds we can all feel the resistance, then, just as Ami Lynn said, it is like we burst through an elastic sphere, and suddenly we find ourselves in uncharted territory, surrounded by scrap pieces of floating junk and what appears to be a severed hull of a Korgon ship.
Stars appear in the distance, and I watch as SCOUT opens multiple viewers, recording and logging everything within scanning distance.
It is as if we have appeared inside a new solar system.
“Destiny, have we broken through completely?”
“Confirmed, Captain EvO. It appears that the opening we created is now resealing itself as we speak.”
“SCOUT, what do you think has happened here?”
“Captain, I believe we have entered the den of the pirating operations that we were never able to eliminate completely because we could not find their place of origin. According to my scans, there are only four habitable planets on this side of what I am now calling the Void. Even though we are seeing multiple pieces of ships on screen, not all would be powerful enough to penetrate the thickness of the Veil itself. Korgon and the Banhan ships, like Destiny, would have been able to enter and exit the area effortlessly if their captains knew where to go. I have a feeling we are heading blindly into an area we will not be openly welcomed in.”
“Have the scans found any other ships in the immediate area?”
“One as of right now; it seems to be stationary in an outer planet’s atmosphere. I am detecting life forms on board. That is also the same area where I have locked onto pods that are still sending out faint signals.”
“SCOUT, go ahead and maneuver us to that location. Destiny, I want all weapons primed and online. Put the ship on high alert, then instruct all non-essential personnel to remain in their quarters or head to the safe zones until we get a better sense of this Void. Once that is done, prepare a shuttle and inform Qwin and Ember that we may need their assistance once we head planetside if there are human survivors near the pods. Once we are closer, I need a detailed report about the planet’s atmosphere and any known life forms and their origins. ”
“Confirmed, Captain. I have identified a race of mixed heritage, based on their shuttle and the records I have been able to pull from their systems, they are of Orc origin but are recorded as a species called ‘Ruk’. According to the planetary scans, there are fewer than fifty planetside.”
“What about weapons, Destiny?”
“I am only seeing the main ship, which is leaving the outer atmosphere now, headed back planetside. There are two small shuttles that would provide protection and are the ones we would need to concern ourselves with.”
“Continue on course.”