Glass Stars

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. Yet somehow Captain Aurelia Jorra was still haunted by the screams she had heard on that fateful day.

Aurelia Jorra was young, roughly twenty-nine galactic standard years. Nevertheless, she was a remarkable pilot. Perhaps one of the finest in the entire galaxy. Born on Earth, she was a human of average height with shoulder-length black hair and emerald-colored eyes.

She had witnessed the attack on the galactic space station, Night’s Eye, first hand. Out of the thousands on board that day, she was one of thirty-eight survivors. It was a sight of pure carnage, one that will never be forgotten.

Night’s Eye was supposed to have been a symbol of progress and prosperity, a place where every planet in the galaxy could come together as one. Now it is nothing more than a tragedy engraved in the minds of billions of people who heard the news.

Aurelia had boarded the space station mere hours before it succumbed to its devastating fate. She was there to teach a seminar to aspiring pilots from all over the galaxy. None of the survivors remember much from the attack, including her. It was almost as if all of their minds had been wiped. However, there was one single thing everyone could recall, the screams.

The screams replayed in her head like a broken record. They were horrifying, unlike anything she had ever heard. Screams so loud, they could've shattered stars like glass. The other survivors of that day said they heard the same thing, but no one could tell you where it came from.

Now Aurelia stood alone on one of the lower decks of her ship. Her arms were crossed tightly as she stared out at the endless sea of stars in front of her. Her white body suit hung loosely from her body due to the fact she could barely bring herself to eat most days. She hardly ever slept. Every second of her life had been consumed by memories of the attack.

Many planets were demanding answers, answers that no one could give. A lot is left unknown about what occurred that day, but she was determined that somehow she’d be the one to discover the truth.

“Captain, your presence has been requested in the briefing room on level seven,” a static-laced voice came through the communications device strapped to her belt.

“Copy that,” she replied quickly before turning and heading towards the elevator.

Aurelia made her way up to level seven and paced to the end of the corridor, her white cape barely grazing the cold steel beneath her. Sliding her hand up the door panel, she opened the doors to reveal Kyrin Tommen, one of her higher-ranking crew members, staring down at a tablet.

“Captain Jorra,” he glanced up to greet her with a sharp nod.

The corners of her mouth turned upwards into a slight grin. “You know you can skip the formalities, Kyrin.”

Kyrin was not only a trusted colleague of hers but also an old friend. He was a highly intelligent man and found the universe to be a never-ending source of knowledge. A deep appreciation for space was something they both not only shared but had heavily bonded over for many years.

A deep sigh escaped his lips as he set down his tablet and ran a hand through his pale brown hair. His icy blue eyes had a solemn look to them, something that was out of character for him.

“What is it?” Aurelia’s tone fell flat.

“A small cargo ship carrying medical supplies got attacked in the third sector leaving Alaris.”

She furrowed her brows in confusion. “Well, that’s not uncommon. The third sector has had a problem with pirates for decades.”

Her comment was completely ignored as he reached behind him to grab his tablet. “You’ll want to see this.”

An image of an older human man projected onto the back wall, his face covered in ashes. His cheeks were stained with tears and he had a haunting look in his eyes.

“Captain Marsh Lennox was the only survivor out of his crew,” Kyrin began. “He was one of twenty-four aboard his ship. Immediately following their departure from Alaris, the ship came under attack. Captain Lennox reports he has no memory of the attack. He was piloting his ship and his vision faded to blackness. The only thing he could recall was an inhuman scream.”

Scream. Aurelia’s body tensed up as every corner of it filled with terror. The screams. Those sounds filled her head yet again, threatening to bring her to tears this time.

“Alarian officials were able to salvage the surveillance system from the wreckage. Video surveillance was destroyed, however, the audio surveillance remained intact. However, upon playback, the only sound they heard was the ship being ripped apart. There were no screams.”

“That’s impossible,” Aurelia said as her jaw dropped. "That’s exactly what every survivor reported happening on the Night’s Eye. Not a single one of us can recall visual memories but we all heard the screams."

“I believe you, Aurelia,” Kyrin cut her off. “I’m just telling you what the report says.”

“I don’t understand, what is the purpose of these attacks,” she murmured as her gaze met the ground. She could feel a tear well in the corner of her eye.

The Night’s Eye attack had many unanswered questions. Perhaps the biggest question was why would anyone destroy an unarmed space station? One that was designed for education and expansion. Something to bring progress to the galaxy.

“The motivation behind the attacks remains unknown. However, officials believe they have a clue leading to the origin of the attack.”

Kryin took a step forward as images of the ship’s wreckage littered the wall. Over fifty images of twisted and shredded metal surrounded Aurelia. What could cause such catastrophic damage?

“As you know, Night’s Eye exploded shortly after the survivors were removed due to damage to the main power generator so no physical evidence could be taken in. However, they recovered all the wreckage from this attack.”

“Did they recover DNA from the attackers?” Aurelia’s voice perked up, sounding hopeful at the idea of justice being served.

“No, but one of the pieces of metal had a thick gash in it. They were able to retrieve a soil sample from inside the gash,” Kyrin said as he zoomed in on a piece of the ship.

It looked like a ceiling panel with a massive laceration down the middle of it. The edges of the gash were uneven, and it appeared to be many meters long. The damage this ship endured was unnatural.

“The soil has a rare chemical compound that can be traced back to a solar system in the ninety-second sector,” Kyrin continued as she examined the images of the wreckage that were still on display. “And only one planet in that entire solar system has soil. The rest of them are either gas giants or water worlds.”

Aurelia’s eyes widened as she spun around to face Kyrin. “And what planet would that be?”

“T4-R42. It’s supposedly uninhabited but that’s where the soil originated from. Alaris has sent out ships to investigate and they fully believe they’ll be able to find who’s behind both attacks.”

“Great,” she said, placing her hands on her hips before brushing past Kyrin. “Let’s go.”

Kyrin immediately reached for her arm and pulled her back to face him. His eyes were the widest she had ever seen them. “Let’s go!?” He exclaimed.

“Alaris is in the third galactic sector. T4 is in the ninety-second. It’ll take them over a month to arrive. We’re in the eighty-seventh sector currently, so it will only take us four days.”

“Aurelia, listen to me,” he pleaded with her. “I told you this so you could get closure, not so you’d leave to go investigate. I’m worried about you. You haven’t been yourself since-"

“Since the Night’s Eye attack. I know. I appreciate your worry, Kyrin. Sincerely, I do. But there is someone or something out there wreaking havoc upon our galaxy. They’re hurting innocent people. Thousands died, and I was one of thirty-eight survivors. Thirty-eight,” Aurelia’s voice broke. “I don’t want anyone else to have to go through that again.”

Kyrin’s gaze was sympathetic as he reached for both of her hands. “I know I cannot understand what you’ve suffered, but we’re just a crew of researchers and you’re a pilot. We cannot take down whoever or whatever is behind these attacks.”

Aurelia knew the risks that traveling to this planet would bring, and perhaps Kyrin was right, she wouldn’t be able to stop whatever was causing these attacks. However, she could try. Hundreds of space stations were spread across the galaxy and billions of ships travel every day. If she were able to save just one life, then it was a risk she’d be willing to take.

Pulling her hands away from him, she said, “I know what I’m asking you to do is dangerous, and I will not force you or anyone else on my crew to participate. Continue with our current job and I’ll take one of the shuttles in the hangar to T4. Even if I cannot stop this on my own, maybe I could delay another attack or just gather more information.”

Kyrin just sighed, his face was consumed by a look of despair as he glanced down at his closest friend. Once Aurelia set her mind to doing something, there was no talking her out of it.

“I won’t let you do this alone,” he mumbled, shifting his gaze downward for a moment before looking back up into Aurelia’s eyes. “I’ll join you, but we’re only going in search of information. Nothing more.”

“Information, nothing more,” a small smile graced her face. That was something she’d be willing to settle on.

For the first time in the two months since the attack, Aurelia felt hopeful. It was as if a spark had ignited in her soul once more. The grief that had consumed her heart didn’t seem so big at that moment and the screams that echoed throughout her mind didn’t seem quite as loud.

“Pack anything you may need,” she said as she turned and made her way towards the door. She paused to glance over her shoulder before exiting. “I’ll talk to the rest of the crew and let them know what’s going on. We’ll meet in the hangar. Thank you, Kyrin.”

She left the room, head held higher than when she had first entered. She knew that there was no changing the past and nothing could ever fix the horrors of what had occurred. However, she also knew there was hope that she could help prevent it from ever happening again. Which is exactly what Captain Aurelia Jorra intended to do.