Science Fiction Saga, Chapter One: Escape from Earth (952 hits)
Category: NoneLabels: scifi
Rating: 1.96 on 34 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by shadow (View user info) at 2004-06-03 18:43:25 EDT
They stood in a field of slightly overgrown blue-green grass, she a few paces behind him. "Jared, we have to go" her voice cut through the stillness of morning, breaking his trance as a tear fell down beside his mother's gravestone.
The grey sky rolled with stratus clouds, warning of coming rain. In the distance the faintest rumble of engines crept into Jared's mind, he wondered how the ships would fare in a thunderstorm, not that it would matter for much longer he supposed. He returned his gaze to the name on the granite slab, gritting his teeth against the fresh waves of grief lapping at his heart.
"Mom" he began, focusing on the smooth edges of the etching, "I promised you four years ago that I would bring you flowers on your birthday, and so far I have kept my word, but... I may not be able to do that anymore. Times are changing, and I have to go." Another tear slowly laced down his cheek. "I may never see earth again." Stiffening his body against the coming sobs, he drew his hand up to wipe his eyes.
"The transport ships are departing in two hours, if we don't leave now, we aren't going to make it." Again her cool dark voice found his ears, breaking into his thoughts with the rigid familiarity he had grown to cherish, and loathe.
"Just wait" he said, anger replacing his sorrow. She remained standing a few steps back, arms crossed over her black uniform. She bore the nine-star captain insignia over her left arm, partially covered by her hand, pale from months of space travel. She turned her gaze to the south, where fleets of land-air transporters were preparing for departure. Slowly Jared rose to his feet. He too wore the black uniform of the United Earth Nations and Colonies Defense Fleet, the badge of ensign sewn onto the stiff fabric of his left arm. He had let his hair grow out since joining the fleet; it now hung in fluffy light brown waves about his ears. "I'm sorry, mom." He took a final look around the cemetery before turning to walk past her. She followed silently in his wake.
They continued this way to the edge of the graveyard where a four-seater Runner was waiting for them. Linda Shaker, fourth ensign and fiancée to John Elkins, sat in the rear chewing a stub of fingernail as Jared and Shadow approached. The side doors swung upward like a beetle preparing for flight as Jared walked around to the passenger's side. Shadow slipped into the grey pilot's seat. "Everyone put on your safety harness" she spoke, watching the center reflector to be sure that Miss Shaker was following her orders. Grudgingly Linda pulled the straps of the harness around her slim body and tightened them down. The way she wore her uniform revealed pale cleavage pushed up by the thick sturdy straps. Shadow tried hard not to stare as she pushed the white ignition button, sending a roar through the air around the Runner.
Adjusting the controls, she slid down into her seat, preparing for the ride ahead. "Everyone ready?" her passengers nodded their response, "hang on." With that she gingerly lifted the Runner off of its landing gear and rose twenty feet into the air. With her right hand, she grabbed the throttle and pushed it forward, sending her passengers back against their seats. At nearly two hundred and twenty miles per hour, she zipped them off to the east, through the low lying fog of Old New York's islands before arcing a path down the east coast of the former United States. It was only an hour or so before the form of a gargantuan metallic septogram came into view, the third largest launch site on earth. Already hulking transport ships were floating awkwardly skyward, laden with crew and supplies.
Shadow eased back on the throttle, circling around the massive structure and waiting for permission to land. The tiny view screen on the windshield sprang to life with the form of a heavy set black man, an older gentleman with soft features covered in dark brown skin. "State your name and destination" he said with a sweet baritone voice.
"Captain Shadow of the UENC Razor reporting for duty; departure scheduled in twenty eight minutes." The old man looked at her with a strange sense of sadness, something dark hidden beneath the warm glow of his eyes.
"Welcome back, Shadow," he said at last "you ready for this one? I hear it's going to be a long flight." She took a deep breath, concentrating hard on his face.
"I'm ready, boss. Are you coning along for this one? There's still a spot or two open in my crew, I could use a man of experience." He returned her gaze and smiled with the deep satisfaction and relaxation of a man who's made peace with the world.
"No can do, kiddo. I'm too old for this one. You had just better take care of my ship, and in the meantime, proceed to landing strip eleven. There'll be a ground crew waiting for you. "
"Thank you, Luke." She stared deeply into his pixilated eyes. "I won't forget, the Razor is in good hands, I promise." With a smile and a nod, the comm. link was cut.
"Who was that?" Jared asked, staring at Shadow's profile.
"Luke Peterson. He was my boss back when I was a mechanic. He's chief of flight operations now. A real good man, a real mentor to me. It's a shame he's being left behind... he and I hand torqued every bolt of the Razor's propulsion system, and he designed the bridge and maintenance tunnels based on one of my ideas. He's a very talented engineer."
"Is that why you chose the Razor for your first commission, Shadow?"
"No." Her following silence indicated that the conversation was over. She focused on the task ahead, bringing the Runner around to land and seeing her passengers to their respective transport ships. There was no time to waste.
Once the Runner had been taken to its appropriate hanger in the long-term storage section of the base, the three officers made a mad dash to the launch pads, ready to board their ships. Shadow and Jared Gordon made their way onto ship 113 as Linda ducked behind to steal a kiss from John Elkins. He had been waiting at the platform of ship 112 for her, waiting for hours just to see her off. She gave him her famous bright smile as he escorted her aboard, and then ran back down the line to 113, his assigned transport. The thunder of the rockets was deafening as the fifth launch of the morning went underway. Shadow took her place at the helm of 113 just in time to hear a report being broadcast to all ships.
"Attention crew of transporters 101 through 125, satellite images indicates a severe meteor shower may be aimed directly at the New Alchemy Launch site. Pilots are advised to show extreme caution until atmosphere breach. Further details will be disseminated as they become available. Again, proceed with extreme caution until atmosphere breach."
"No way," spoke Commander Shark, "the aliens don't have the mathematical capabilities for a surgical strike like that." He sat down in the seat across from Shadow, shaking his head. "They've never been able to hit a direct target like that."
"They've been launching asteroids from the Themis Belt for awhile now, they may have found a way." Calm as ever, Shadow gazed over the pilot's shoulder onto the radar screen. "I suppose we'll see." Moments later, the massive transporter lifter from the ground in line with it's giant neighbors. Like metal sea turtles, they climbed steadily toward the sky, leaving thick contrails in their wake. Minutes passed by filled only by the rumble of the engines.
"Altitude ten thousand and rising steady" pilot Scout Justice of ship 112 conveyed through the communication link. "Unknown object visible on radar, sector 11. Presumed incoming, what should we do?" Seconds later a response came back.
"112 this is 101, orders are to proceed on course."
"101 this is 102, second unknown has appeared on radar, sector 11."
"101 this is 112, we have three unknowns on radar, now in sector 12."
"101, this is 104, we have confirmed five unknowns in sector 11 and 12, two additional in sector 10, presumed incoming, request permission for course deviation."
"104, this is 101, that is a negative, proceed on course."
Suddenly the radar screen was covered in tiny blots, moving faster toward the center of the screen as frenzied requests for orders flooded the communications link. Suddenly there was a booming sound, followed by a massive shockwave, jolting the convoy of transport ships. "Holy shit, this is 113, to 101, look out your window, 103 has been hit! I repeat 103 has been hit!"
Shadow lurched forward to see bright orange flames exploding from the distant transporter. A second explosion hit the liquid O2 tanks in the ship's rear, sending it back down to earth in a rain of fire.
"Evasive maneuvers! Evasive maneuvers! Get out of the way!" The orders came just as another meteorite struck the fifth ship of the convoy, splitting the rear sub-hull in half. The ship then dove forward and was lost from sight.
"Pull off to starboard, now!" Shadow yelled the command in her deepest most guttural tone, "Starboard, thirty degrees, then climb to twenty thousand feet!" Her pilot followed her command, barely avoiding a horse-sized fireball streaking across the forward window. From the panic of the comm. line came a familiar voice:
"This is pilot Justice, ship 112 to 111, pull up damn it, pull up!" The ship foundered and flailed before taking a direct hit to the bridge. The explosion sent 112 backward before Justice pulled out. He drew the massive craft hard to port, avoiding a huge meteorite. Shadow watched them intently, knowing that half of her crew was aboard that ship, she had a keen interest in it's pilot's next move. Suddenly a Runner-sized chunk of rock grazed the starboard hull, sending 112 into a tilt. Justice tried to compensate by burning the thrusters at max, inside his ship the passengers were being jolted and beaten by the stress on the hull. Another meteorite struck the ship in the rear, barely missing the O2 tanks, but it was enough. The ship began to come apart, sending fiery shards to the earth far below. The ship's engines began to fail. Shadow knew they were going to crash.
"Full speed ahead, stop for nothing until atmosphere breach! Don't look back!" With that the pilot of 113 released a flood of fuel, causing the ship to surge forward. Deftly he guided the bulky vessel through the storm. In times of intense stress like this, it is difficult to gauge time, but before they knew it, they were approaching the limit of earth's sphere.
"Atmosphere breach in ten seconds." They emerged from the blue of earth into the cold black of space, alone. The radar indicated that other ships had survived by taking extreme routes in opposite directions. "Oh, God, thank God" the pilot spoke, his hands shaking in white-knuckle grip on his controls.
"Proceed to the Lunar Space Station, we don't have much fuel left." Shadow's voice was cold and direct. Again the pilot acquiesced, altering his course toward the moon.
"Captain?" Commander Shark spoke again, "how many did we lose?"
"Let's not talk about that, we still have a few hours until landing. We'll discuss it then."
"I understand, captain."
-------------------------------
Chapter Two is coming soon!
User Reviews
Submitted by bort (user info) at 2004-06-26 21:14:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
awesome
Submitted by ScoutCJustice (user info) at 2004-06-24 23:27:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Those fucking aliens blowing up my ship. Honestly how is a lowly shuttle pilot like myself supposed to doge a hail of meteorites. At least I got a few lines in, and didn't come off as inept before my death. To those that survived the meteor attack, Avenge me.
Submitted by shandythedog (user info) at 2004-06-24 09:31:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
"a tear fell down beside his mother's gravestone...
...returned his gaze to the name on the granite slab, gritting his teeth against the fresh waves of grief lapping at his heart"
that is dreadful writing.
but there is plenty of good description later on, particularly the part where they first get into the flying machine and take off.
Submitted by AshK (user info) at 2004-06-04 13:40:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Just beautiful!
Can Lojo have a wild sex scene with me? Huh, huh???
Submitted by GodChicken (user info) at 2004-06-04 08:33:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Awko (user info) at 2004-06-04 08:05:52 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
My genitals are aching with anticipation of the next part.
And Don....I already called shotgun. http://www.ubersite.com/m/32864#531336
I am willing to engage in mortal combat in order to decide this though.
Submitted by ugaly (user info) at 2004-06-03 23:58:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This was good.
There was one part towards the middle where you kept using "Suddenly..." That got kind of annoying. Watch out for that one.
It's hard to write things like this, but you did a good job with it. Just watch out for the little things like that. You are going to get a metric buttload of traffic with this because it involves the people...uber likes being involved in things.
Submitted by Degreeless_Capibara (user info) at 2004-06-03 22:24:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Wonder if I was included. I did post on the original thing, hopefully I got the part. I really want to be an espionne...that would be cool. Good job by the way.
Submitted by squattail (user info) at 2004-06-03 22:00:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
WTF IM NOT READING ALL THAT
Submitted by Can_Always_Trust_A_Liar (user info) at 2004-06-03 21:41:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
As long as you're considering gain shadow, could you consider me too? I'd really like to be Leuitenant C. A. Tal of the Astro-Marines on board one of the starships, but I'd settle for any part, even some small part.
If you can't figure out a way to fit me in, that's cool, too. I look forward to reading this regardless.
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2004-06-03 21:11:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
An instant masterpiece. Thank you.
Submitted by Can_Always_Trust_A_Liar (user info) at 2004-06-03 20:31:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm such a dork, because I got all excited when you mentioned ship specs and the future science and technology. It'll be like reading that Star Wars book I have, the Essential Guide to Vehicles and Starships.
"Sigmund Frued: Hello, my name is Doctor Frued, but you may call me Siggy.
Girls: You are SUCH A GEEK.
(girls walk away)
Billy the Kid: Nice going egghead.
Socrates: Ha ha, GEEK.
Frued: What is-a-geek?"
Submitted by Can_Always_Trust_A_Liar (user info) at 2004-06-03 20:25:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome story, I wish I had signed up! I would have wanted to be an Astro-Marine onboard one of the ships. I gathered from your earlier posts though that this has already been completely, written. Too bad, I'll keep reading though.
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2004-06-03 20:20:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I will take your advise to heart, and if it pleases you, i will use your real name... I'll have to revise the character lists, but that should not be a problem.
Submitted by youarsoghey (user info) at 2004-06-03 20:17:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Oh and please use my real name for my character and not Ulrich Sogey or Cody Johnson.
It's Jan Hartigan. Thanks!
Submitted by youarsoghey (user info) at 2004-06-03 20:15:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I just read the prologue and it was absolutely wonderful. One of the best things I have read on here since The Last One by Razor in UberMadness. Remember, DONT RUSH THIS! This one felt like you were rushing it a little bit. You have tons of readers here so you should take advantage of the situation! I love your normal style of slow commentary that hits all the major points and lets us know everything yet wanting to read more. Stick to it, it is your best strength.
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2004-06-03 20:08:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
for the sake of the reader's enjoyment, i will post the ship classes and specs before the second chapter. I will post the "state of the science" in technology. I will post a few character bios to accompany this project so that you can get to know your character, and your friend's character. I will do all of this next week.
stay tuned.
Submitted by gain (user info) at 2004-06-03 20:06:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
if not, that's fine. It would just be nice. You could just stick me as assistant to Hamilton or whatever.
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2004-06-03 20:04:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
gain, i'll think about it... but most of the story is already written in the vast pages of my brain, I will need time to work you in.
Submitted by gain (user info) at 2004-06-03 19:59:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
so? yes or no?
Submitted by youarsoghey (user info) at 2004-06-03 19:59:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This reminds me of that scene in Starship Troopers. I'm sure you weren't trying tip copy it or anything and even if you were it's not problem at all! I'm having a great time reading this. I can't wait to find out where I fit in. Also it's a bit jumpy in some areas..maybe more explanation instead of offhand references? This is a world and lifestyle the reader has to come to gradually I think.
Submitted by Method (user info) at 2004-06-03 19:58:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Wonderful. I really like it.
Submitted by shadow (user info) at 2004-06-03 19:55:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
i'm glad this has been so well-recieved, and i appologize for the delay in getting it up here, been dealing with many issues at home and work.
thank you
Submitted by ohlookasquirrel (user info) at 2004-06-03 19:50:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by cwl989 (user info) at 2004-06-03 19:47:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
That was cool.
Submitted by lojope (user info) at 2004-06-03 19:25:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm game for that Don. Actually, can I be an intergalactic slut? I wanna bang everyone!!
Submitted by Tom (user info) at 2004-06-03 19:20:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
V3G3T4BL3D!
Submitted by SpikeGoddess (user info) at 2004-06-03 19:17:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You rock! This must be hard to write, but you do it so well.
We should hang out sometime. Get my info from Jon or Jeremy, or I'll get yours, or something.
Submitted by Donitsu2002 (user info) at 2004-06-03 19:13:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by lojope (user info) at 2004-06-03 18:56:36 (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome. I am so excited to read more.
By the way, by the time I get in this thing, I'd better be hot and get a sexy interlude with someone.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Namely me, the badass cyborg terrorist.
Submitted by engine13 (user info) at 2004-06-03 19:07:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I used to love sci-fi, haven't really read any in a few years. But, this is good.
Submitted by digsy (user info) at 2004-06-03 19:02:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Nice first chapter
Submitted by lojope (user info) at 2004-06-03 18:56:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome. I am so excited to read more.
By the way, by the time I get in this thing, I'd better be hot and get a sexy interlude with someone.
Submitted by gain (user info) at 2004-06-03 18:52:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
beautiful. is it to late to get in? i'm friends with hamilton, if that helps.
Submitted by Yes (user info) at 2004-06-03 18:52:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeet