Sci-Fi Flash Collection - 5. Flight

The ship rolled to port as the pilot carefully checked the controls. The passenger, sitting where the copilot would usually sit, didn’t turn green inside his space suit. The pilot considered this a good thing, as it had happened with his last guest.

Unfortunately for the pilot, this guest was considered so vital that he was given orders from the very top of the chain of command. It wasn’t something he wanted to dwell on at all.

“Ship is 5 by 5, over,” he said, keying the mic.

“Ten Four, Blue Five. Come into formation using defense pattern theta.”

“Acknowledged. Defense pattern theta.”

“Sir, if everything goes according to the flight plan, we should have you at Regulus Four in about six standard hours,” the pilot said quietly to his passenger.

“Did they tell you anything about me?” the young man asked.

“I know who you are, if that’s what you are asking?” the pilot replied.

“Then you have me at a disadvantage, Captain.”

“Captain William Taylor, Terran Federation Special Forces.”

“To make it formal, I’m Charles Johnson IV. You are Special Forces? I figured you would be Spaceforce.”

“Given the current political situation, my superiors thought it would be more prudent to have a more well-rounded soldier to escort you home,” Will answered after a moment.

“Something tells me you’re not telling me everything. I realize that things are a little frayed in the empire right now, but I can’t see where I’m in any danger. I’m nobody important.”

“Your father is the Governor of the most populous planet in the Federation. He also controls the largest shipyards. The ships they are building right now are supposed to be used to reconnect humanity. There are a lot of lost worlds out there because of that damnable war.”

“The lost colonies are a myth.”

Will turned back to Charley and gave him a long stare. Charley looked away first.

“Okay, suppose you are right. What’s the point?”

“The war separated humanity from itself. We lost a lot of the best and brightest because of the war. We also lost those humans who could navigate hyperspace and jump into the unknown. It’s nearly impossible to explore without being able to do that. The other choice is to follow the hyperspace routes. You know as well as I do how that can turn out. Humans aren’t ready for another Sino- Stultus Incident.”

“That’s true enough. Okay, so someone thought I was important enough to protect. Someone, I take it, who wishes to curry favor with my father. What, exactly, are your orders?”

“I am to see you safely to your father, using any means necessary.”

“Any means necessary? You have that as an order?” Charley asked in shock.

“Yes, sir.”

“What if I decided I’d rather bed you than get back to my father?”

Will turned sharply at that, before looking away. “I suppose some distraction can be allowed for, but we’ll end up where we are supposed to as soon as we can.”

It was Charley’s turn to turn sharply and stare. He looked away and grinned. “I don’t suppose you’d really take me up on that?”

“Maybe when we’re planetside. Something doesn’t seem right here,” Will said, swiveling his head around to check his whole field of view.

“ATTENTION! Five unidentified contacts detected!” the sterile computer voice announced.

“Why is it that I never get the milk runs?” Will asked out loud.

“What’s going on?”

“We have some unpleasant company arriving, and they are going after the ship you are supposed to be on.”

Will initiated evasive maneuvers, jerking the ship every which way.

“Deploy jump pods,” Will ordered the computer.

“Jump? How the hell can we jump?” Charley asked in a panicked voice.

“Quiet, I need to concentrate,” Will snapped back.

“Jump pods are now deployed and ready for jump,” the A.I. informed them.

Will triggered the jump engine, making rapid, constant adjustments to the flight controls. The large fighter appeared to stretch before jumping through a dimensional fold. Moments later, the ship appeared in another large region of space, well off from where the plan called for them to be. They were on the very edge of long-range sensors.

“It seems we were betrayed, Charley. The coordinates I was to jump to are swarming with enemy ships. Your trip home has gotten significantly more complicated than it should have been.”

“What do we do?” the other young man asked, alarm in his voice.

“It would probably be best to regroup at a secure communication facility and contact your father for further instructions.”

“We just cold jumped.”

“Yes.”

“I guess that explains a few things, then. The Jumpers aren’t quite all wiped out?”

“Not quite.”

“Alert! Truman Class battlecruiser detected!”

“Shit,” Will snapped.

“Electromagnetic Pulse Weapon…” the computer cut off when everything else did.

The only thing remaining was minimal life support.

“What’s going on?” Charley asked into the dark.

“A battlecruiser has disabled the ship.” They felt a lurch as they were enveloped in a field of light. “That would be their tractor beam. We are being dragged into their docking bay. Listen to me very carefully. You must be my second.”

“What? What’s a second?”

“They know I’m jump capable. They won’t be sure how I was able to reach this point instead of where I was expected to be. You are not to say anything except in agreement with something I say. A second is a jumper’s mate.”

“Mate? As in lover?”

“Yes. Only a second can avoid interfering with the jump process. You don’t have a problem with that, do you? A few minutes ago, you were asking me to bed you.”

The young man blushed, “I didn’t think I’d get that chance. Of course, I don’t have a problem with it.”

The ship landed on the hangar deck with a bang.

William felt a gentle brush at the back of his mind before he heard a light purring noise.

“Mmmm. It has been a long time since someone was aboard that I could talk to,” a young teenage male voice sounded into William’s head.

“Identify, please,” William thought quietly.

“I am the Victory, an Epsilon Series Artificial Intelligence. I have been programmed to assist a qualified jumper in controlling the ship.”

“Thank you, Victory. I am William Taylor, and I’m one of the last remaining jumpers. I’ve just been captured by your crew.”

“Acknowledged. I will ensure that you are routed to the command deck.”

“Have you been dormant?”

“I have been in a dream state for a very long time, according to the interlink. All of my command protocols are normal. I am yours to command.”

“Do you have an avatar?”

“My avatar is secure in the computing core.”

“Excellent. I am sorry nobody has been here for you, Victory. It is a terrible thing to be alone,” William thought and sent affection towards the A.I.

“William, your gesture is appreciated, but was not required.”

“No, it wasn’t required. But I have never treated another intelligent being as less than another. I know the Epsilon series' needs quite well. It is my pleasure to provide those for you.”

William felt a surge in the ship and knew that his words were understood.