Battleforce Chronicles

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say.

You could scream, however, in your EV1 environment suit designed to support you while in space, and through your short-wave interpersonal communicator, the bridge officer of the “Hail Mary” can hear that scream quite clearly to the point where the speaker gives way to static.

The astronaut in question was performing a spacewalk to repair a regulator that would allow the ship to commence the inter-dimensional trip that would take them safely away from the shock wave.

Which is when they witnessed the Earth implode. All matter, land and ocean, collapse in on itself, sucked to the molten core, which hung there, a mini sun, before exploding, sending out an immense shockwave into the universe.

A spectacular sight sure to behold if one was at a safe viewing distance, several million miles away, it would be akin to witnessing a supernova of a star, the only problem being was that the Hail Mary was not several million miles away, in fact, she was most likely about a hundred thousand miles, still within the shock wave perimeter, which this astronaut could see expanding out, inexorably closing in on the ship and her, most likely within minutes.

She continued to scream.

36 hours earlier.

“Max you better check that regulator, we are launching in ten hours” the exasperated scientist Mia Holsworthy exclaimed.

The Hail Mary was all but ready for launch, a joint effort of the worlds most renowned scientists, engineers, and astronauts, of all nationality coming together for the very survival of humanity.

Earth was in the proverbial respite room for the clock was ticking down. Humanity did not have much time left and Hail Mary, a craft designed by the TWA interstellar corporation for inter-dimensional flight, or "IDT" travel, was their only hope of survival.

Over the last century, Humankind had depleted all natural resources, and were required to tap into the Earth’s core for power and heat. However, that interference caused the core to become unstable and rupture. A direct result caused massive earthquakes, tidal waves, and volcanos to erupt the world over, devasting all the major cities and costing hundreds of thousands of lives.

This launch facility was only one of a few remaining that was intact enough to support the construction and launch of the Hail Mary. A ship designated for the ironic purpose that it would be leaving a doomed planet with the only remaining human beings alive, in a desperate attempt to locate and settle on another planet, in another galaxy given there were no other habitable planets in the Milky Way, so Hail Mary in name and a true “Hail Mary” act for the very existence of life.

The ship itself was essentially complete, but time was running short, and the maiden voyage would also be the first voyage. A voyage that these engineers and scientists were working sixteen hours a day to ensure that it did not become the ships last voyage.

Mia Holsworthy was one such engineer with a Masters in aeronautical engineering and astrophysics, at the top of her class of MIT, Mia was handpicked to oversee the final checks and preparations of the Hail Mary. To say she had an immense amount of pressure riding on her shoulders would be an understatement. The survival of humanity depended on her. Thankfully though, not only her. Mia was the Team leader of a group of ten, and working collaboratively together, so far, the project was on schedule.

A schedule however, which was quickly arriving at the deadline. The planets demise was quickening, and they needed to launch within the day, or they may not be able to launch at all. The seismic activity was growing in frequency and intensity. Time was running out. Fast.

The day dragged on, the hours seemed to crawl by, but finally, the simulation projection showed in the green, that all systems were functioning as required and for all intents and purposes, the ship could launch, could leave the stratosphere, and could make an inter dimensional jump to spirit it away from Earth safely. Too many ‘could’s” that would only take one to fail for the project to collapse. However, Mia along with the rest of her team celebrated that last night on Earth. Drinks and frivolity abounded.

When launch day came, the earthquakes shattered the nearby town, many more thousands of people went screaming to their deaths. The world was almost at the end, and only the majestic and sleek ship, standing erect and poised for takeoff gave the survivors a semblance of hope.

6 hours to launch

2am.

A group of dark clad figures quickly scale the fence to the shipyard and pad silently past the posted guards. A byproduct of the world being destroyed included a few select radical groups that formed in protest to fact that the Earth was abused and did not support or believe humans should be allowed to leave and potentially do the same thing to another, fertile world. One such group, which these four individuals belonged to a cult called the “Sons of Gaia”, who were environmentalist saboteurs, believing tin preserving the sanctity of Earth, and devout believers that if the world is going down, we should all be going down with it.

Moving with precision knowledge, they gain access to an outer hatch and move inside the Hail Mary.

Minutes pass, and just as quickly as they entered, the foursome exits the hatch, replace it and pad away silently in the night. One of the posted guards hears a far-off whistle, turns his head, shrugs and resumed his ‘staring into space’ sentry position.

Launch Day – 8am

The launch gimble the Hail Mary is on, is lowered for boarding and securing of passengers and crew before it re-raises to launch position.

All civilians aboard, all scientists and over three thousand hand-picked civilians spend an hour piling into Hail Mary and taking up their assigned seating. Once safely away, they will occupy sleep pods for cryogenic suspended animation for when or if a new habitable planet is located.

Max Dwyer, Mia Holsworthy and the captain of the Hail Mary, Lendrick Kholer, were all in the main bridge deck, strapped in and running the final checks. Lendrick pipes into the communicator:

‘Exciting day for us, gents, even as the world crumbles around us, here we are, a last struggle and defiant “we shall not go quietly into the night” hurrah. Good luck everyone, this is what we trained for, strap in and hold on”.

“Initiate launch sequence, Mia.”

“Aye Captain. Launch in T minus 10….9….8….7….6…5…4…3….2…1…. ignite.”

The Hail Mary’s rocket engines roar to life, the whole ship shaking, slowly, the ship begins to raise.

Extra rocket thrusters now engaged, generating the enormous lift that will be required to propel the ship out of the Earth’s atmosphere.

More Earthquake activity, as if the Earth knows that humans were leaving, and the anger level of the planet rises.

The Hail Mary continues up, all systems working and the rockets doing their intended job,

The immense gravitational forces all on board being subjected to were dulled somewhat with the prototype inertial compensators. These were previously untested, just like the Inter-dimensional drive.

The shuddering started to intensify, when one of the rocket engines burns out, close now, looking out the front viewers, the bridge crew could see the stars ahead signifying open space. Almost there.

A quiet hush sweeps the bridge, the crew all in anticipated awe of leaving the Earth behind, thoughts of “To the Stars….” Flowing through their thoughts.

Success! The Hail Mary punched through the final stratosphere and the anti-gravity system has to initiate. Phase one complete, they were off the planet, a mixture of fear and excitement passes through the crew and passengers. Now comes the hard part

Inter-dimensional travel.

The drive in initiated. Lendrick moves forward in his seat. “Get ready. Initiate”.

Nothing Happens.

A slight panic enters Lendrick voice “Check the drive again, go through the diagnostics and initiate again”.

Still nothing.

Mia speaks up, “Captain, I volunteer to suit up and check the drive access panel, I understand it is an external access point and am willing to take that risk. We have come so far already, I will not give up now, not when we are so close”.

Lendrick pondered this for a moment “If we cannot get this drive working, I fear we will not be able to get far enough away from Earth when she goes. Ok, permission granted, hurry and be careful”.

Mia suited up and entered the air lock, which quickly decompressed and allowed her to activate her EV1 magnetic clamps to assist in her spacewalk.

Heart racing, Mia leaves the safety of inside the ship to the vacuum and sheer maddening never-ending vastness of open space.

The magnetic clamps helped her maneuver out and along the hull, keeping her eyes firmly on the hull so there is no inertia and space vertigo when there is no real “up” and being in a three-dimensional environment can easily confuse and disorientate.

Several minutes of hull-walking, Mia finds the correct access panel and immediately sees that it looks to be tampered with, the outside lock forced and shoved back closed in a haphazard way.

Re-opening the hatch, Mia gets to work in repairing the inter-dimensional drive. It all comes down to this, if she is unable to repair this, the drive will not function, and everybody will die. No pressure though.

Several moments go by, and progress is good, a circuit board replaced, the damaged lock straightened and re-aligned. That feeling of hope starts to untangle the knot in Mia’s stomach right now. Two more switches flicked, and a green blinking light indicates the drive was back online and functioning.

“I did it, Captain, should work now, closing up and about to head.”

“What is it, Mia? We need you back inside before we can initiate”.

A flash of light caught Mia’s attention and caused to her look up, to see the Earth. Staring at it from thousands of miles away in space, it looks so peaceful, still blue from oceans. Then it was gone. Mia struggled to comprehend what exactly she was watching, as the very mass of the planet seemed to shrink at an exponential rate. Mia blinked; the mini sun of the Earth’s core was all that remained Mia looked away.

The Earth exploded.

Mia Screamed.

Getting a hold of herself, Mia closed the hatch quickly, securing it, then, as quickly as the Magnetic clamps would allow started to make her way back to the air lock All the while, the shock wave was approach, fast.

Mia was breath heavy now, relaying what she could through the comms to the captain. “Sir. The Earth is gone…. shockwave…. incoming…moving back to hatch…. must hurry”.

Lendrick replied: “Do not talk, Mia, get your arse back inside, now”.

Mia kept moving as fast as she could, and could see the hatch now, possibly about fifty feet away.

The shockwave was almost upon the ship.

40 feet away.

Mia kept moving, was there going to be enough time?

30 feet away.

Everything depending on this drive, this ship, thousands of lives in the balance.

20 feet away.

If they all died now, that would be it. Humans may as well have never existed.

10 feet away.

Jumping forward, Mia extended her arm out and prayed, her tips of her fingers made it, and in the zero gravity, she was able to grasp the air lock handle and turn. Almost feeling the wave at her back, she dared not waste precious seconds looking around.

Slowly, the airlock opened, Mia squeezed through, then started to close the hatch.

Shockwave 100 kilometers away.

Hatch closed now but the room needed to re-pressurize otherwise she would be torn apart.

Shockwave 50 kilometers away.

Ten second to re-pressurization.

Shockwave 10 kilometers away.

Re-pressurized, Mia frantically activated her comms “Now, Captain, I’m in, the wave is upon us, activate the drive NOW or we all DIE” Mia screamed.

The drive sequence was initiated.

The shockwave was about to touch reach the Hail Mary, when the rift the drive causes opened, the Hail Mary pulled through and at that split second, the rift closes, the shockwave passed.

Mia was on the ground, sweating, eyes clenched shut waiting for the explosive decompression. It never came. A small shudder was all she felt and when she opened her eyes, she was alive, lying in the air lock.

They had made it.

This truly was just the beginning though. The Hail Mary held true to the name, but the adventure was not over yet. Not in the least.

Mia screamed again this time, for joy and relief and proved that yes, sometimes, in a vacuum, your screams can be heard.

So, some say.

TO BE CONTINUED>>