The Edge of the Galaxy

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

These were Amylia’s thoughts as she gazed out the viewport and into the dark abyss of space. Floating through the black emptiness were the bodies of her fellow crew, mouths contorted in silent screams as the void swallowed them. Some were still dying while most were already dead, but the fear in their motionless eyes and mouths was universal. Amylia heard the damaged ship groaning under the strain of the breaches blasted into the hull, twisted metal bending and breaking as the vacuum of space tore at the ruined ship. Amylia was powerless to change her fate as she watched the ship around her break apart, knowing that it was only seconds until she was flung into the cold darkness of space. She closed her eyes as the deafening final screech of the ship brought the hungry emptiness of space a new kill.

Amylia shot up from her bed, her heart racing and her sheets covered in sweat. She tried to control her breathing and slow her heart as she tried fruitlessly to forget her newest nightmare. Those dead eyes, with their silent screams, would haunt her forever. She had seen enough death on this long expedition that her mind prevented her from ignoring the grim reality she found herself trapped in. Her body shivered as she stood to escape the constricting sheets. She made her way to the wash basin, hoping that cold water would shock her body out of its newest fear. It did little to help, however, so she settled to gaze out the window above the basin at mankind’s greatest star fleet. From her plainly furnished, small room in the bottom of her assigned ship, she saw once again the fleet that never failed to amaze her, the fleet she had called home for the many years since she had left Old Earth behind.

Dozens of ships of all shapes and sizes occupied a vast swathe of the dark sky, held in a disciplined, perfect formation. At the front of the mass of ships sailed the nine dreadnoughts of the fleet, massive warships equipped with the strongest weapons mankind had to offer and a terrifying sight to any who would dare stand in their way. Behind this V formation stood the Shredder, an experimental weapon that had the capability to launch a single devastating grapeshot to any enemy it encounters, often leaving none alive. Flanking this hulking weapon, which dwarfed even the dreadnoughts in size, stood four significantly smaller-but no less dangerous-bombers, ready to unleash a firestorm the likes of which could wipe out entire armadas at a moment’s notice. Encircling the rest of the fleet were the smallest ships of the fleet’s military, twenty strike fighters that made up for their lack of power and durability with speed, able to easily outmaneuver any enemy the fleet faced. Within the circle of fighters lay the civilian branch of the fleet, a collection of dozens of ships fit to serve all practical purposes of the fleet; agriculture ships, medical ships, commerce ships, education ships where the fleet’s younger members learned of their place in the fleet, scouting ships to inspect the path ahead and investigate new worlds, colonization ships, and population ships, where cryogenic chambers held fully grown adults as well as embryos to be awoken once the fleet reached its destination. At the center of it all flew the Capital ship, an enormous spherical ship that housed the leaders of the fleet and its least dispensable members-the experts that kept everything running smoothly, as well as the High Commander himself. This fleet was a colonization fleet, the last and largest of the fleets sent from Old Earth in search of a new home before humanity’s birthplace became unlivable due to severe climate change. Previous fleets had been sent and yet none had succeeded in finding a suitable replacement for Old Earth. Some fleets were caught in cosmic anomalies and torn apart by black holes or neutron stars, while some landed on planets believed to be safe before learning too late of disease and radiation that wiped out the brave men and women of the fleet. Some ran out of supplies before finding a potentially habitable planet and had to return home in defeat, and then there were those that were unlucky enough to prove humanity’s need for a military branch for its fleets-hostile life forms had torn them apart without mercy.

The thought of making history alongside humanity’s best and brightest members, holding onto hope for humanity’s survival and spitting in the face of a seemingly inevitable demise, made Amylia’s chest swell with pride as she stared in awe at the majesty of the fleet assembled before her. The fear and horror of her nightmare soon gave way to a steely determination that this is where she was meant to be, and that despite the dangers, her race needed her to complete this great mission across the cosmos. The fleet had suffered numerous attacks from alien life forms, each time losing some of its strength and reminding the crew of this vast expedition that space is a cold, dark place that cares little for the ambition or desperation of a young race trying to escape a dying world. Seeing humanity’s response to the threat of the void, at the ships that had gotten these brave men and women halfway across the galaxy, was enough for Amylia to forget, at least momentarily, the darkness of space and grip onto the audacity of hope, at least for one more day. With this conviction in mind, she accepted her early waking and left her room to begin the work of the day.

“Captain Velknyr, you should take a look at this. Radar scans detect multiple signatures in front of us, headed right this way.” One of the crew on the bridge looked up to her captain, awaiting further instructions. Velknyr stood atop a raised walkway of solid metal, arms crossed behind his back as he stared into the vast expanse of space visible from the massive viewport in front of him. From the top and back of the ship, the bridge could oversee the majority of the ship and had control and communication systems for the rest of the massive spacecraft. The ship Velknyr had been given the honor of commanding was the Pioneer, the leading dreadnought and vanguard of the entire fleet. From the control console in front of him, Velknyr could contact the other ship’s captains and lead the fleet from the front. Velknyr was the most well-respected general in the fleet, having seen and won more battles than any other commander, and possessing the leadership, quick-thinking and strategic ability required to command such an immense fleet. A tall, sturdily built man, his stern look and scar-crossed face spoke of a long history of warfare. Though he was older than most of the fleet’s captains, having white hair and with the wrinkles of age beginning to set in, none questioned his judgment or ability as the fleet’s first captain, second in command only to the High Commander himself.

“Prepare weapons systems and move us into battle formation, and inform the other captains to be on guard,” Velknyr commanded his crew. “These bastards may not be done with us yet.” His deep, booming voice commanded the authority of any who heard his words, and the crew immediately followed his commands. Since reaching the newest star system, the most populous race of aliens thus far encountered had constantly harassed the fleet, sending small parties of ships to engage in quick skirmishes, perhaps testing the fleet’s strength before committing a larger force to battle. This treatment is precisely what convinced the High Commander there must be a planet here habitable enough for life, for in the past the aliens had fought a battle and left once they lost, never proceeding to fight in the same spot but simply moving elsewhere and leaving the human fleet alone. This time, however, was different. The hostile race, dubbed “Craggers” by many in the fleet, refused to leave the system permanently, always returning to repeatedly skirmish with the fleet of man despite achieving no noticeable goal. Though no human had come in physical contact with a Cragger, the repeated interactions with them on the battlefield allowed for a general idea of what they looked like-tall, purple-skinned, bony beings with four skinny arms and six sharp, crab-like legs, as well as a bulbed head that housed a series of small tendrils rather than a mouth.

The entire fleet began to move as one into battle formation-a perfectly synchronized and drilled shift that the fleet was no stranger to. The civilian ships drew into a tight circle around the Capital ship, creating a rotating ring of ships, while the three leading dreadnoughts moved out of the way of the Shredder, giving it a clear shot at whatever may lie ahead. Velknyr’s ship flew above the Shredder, while the two on either side flew below it and the remaining six spread out to create an immovable battle line before the rest of the fleet. The bombers took up positions in a square around the Shredder, two below and two above, while the strike fighters zipped ahead to protect the bombers and flanks of the fleet. Within seconds, the perfectly executed transition was complete and the fleet waited with bated breath to see what lay before them, concealed in the dark expanse of the void. Before long, the enemy began to show itself.

At first, only a few ships appeared-ships that were in between the size of a strike fighter and bomber, slower than strike fighters but also more dangerous. These were the ships generally encountered in skirmishes, able to stealthily pass through radar before firing a salvo of shots and fleeing, but it soon became clear that the enemy did not intend to merely skirmish and had brought more ships-many more. Before long the number of these ships grew to around a dozen, and were accompanied by a force larger in size than any encountered thus far. A few long, slender ships of unknown class took position next to the other alien ships, as did thirty-five or forty small ships that looked even faster than the strike fighters and eight relatively large ships that had enormous, clearly visible cannons on their tops, sides and even fronts. All of the enemy ships had the same style; pointed at the front, with a sickly green color and a hive-looking exterior with tunnels and spirals of some strange material built on the outside of the ships. “Shit,” Velknyr muttered as the final ship of the enemy fleet revealed itself; an enormous, rectangular-looking box that had no small amount of weaponry attached to it. “Men and women of the fleet, prepare for war.” As crew members rushed to battle stations and began to load the numerous guns of the fleet, the Capital ship unleashed its army-hundreds of controlled drones left their hangars as they flew toward the front line and prepared to engage the enemy. In response, the enemy fleet opened their own hidden hangars to reveal thousands of one-man or remotely controlled ships. A thick swarm of them filled the void between the opposing fleets, almost concealing the rest of the Cragger's ships. “Steady, men,” Velknyr said as the sight of so many enemies rightly horrified the members of the fleet. “That swarm may look threatening, but it’s nothing the Shredder can’t handle.” Hopefully, he thought to himself. If not, the fleet had little chance of surviving this fight. As the enemy approached, no ship fired its weapons or broke formation-the discipline of countless battles ordering them to wait for the Shredder to unleash the first blow. As it powered up, the enemy fleet grew closer, and the swarm began to fire its laser weaponry at the human fleet despite being too far to accurately aim or deal any real damage. The rest of the Craggers simply followed, unable to fire with the thick swarm in the way.

The massive, forward pointing cylinder of the Shredder began to glow as it spun and energy from its fusion reactors grew in power. The Craggers surged forward, unaware of their imminent deaths and presenting a perfect target for the Shredder. Once the ships were close enough to begin hitting the dreadnoughts of the fleet, the Shredder unleashed its payload.

With massive thrusters pushing forward to prevent the ship from being flung backwards from the recoil of the mighty weapon, a flash of light and an enormous wave of heat shook the nearby ships. Thousands of pieces of scrap metal and space junk from previous battles were hurled through the space between the fleets, showering the encroaching enemy in a storm of death and destruction. Velknyr could only imagine the horror in their enemies’ eyes once they saw the Shredder complete its duty. What had been a blinding swarm of tiny ships had been reduced to only a few lucky enough to escape the blast. Explosions rocked the air, filling the darkness for a brief moment with explosions of light and death, like the fireworks of some grand celebration. The Shredder’s cannon had worked wonders, blasting through the fleet’s vanguard and even destroying some of the smaller ships behind it. Even still, the fight was far from over and the human fleet was outnumbered tremendously.

While the enemy reeled in surprise, confusion and death, Velknyr ordered the battle to begin. “Fire all! Engage!” Immediately the fleet let out a salvo of kinetic weapons fire, the bombers launching rockets and bombs that sailed through space and shook the hulls of many a ship as the dreadnoughts unleashed cannons, machineguns and rockets of their own to devastate the enemy. The strike fighters and drone army surged forward as one to meet the advancing fleet, who had yet to show any signs of slowing. And then the return fire came. While humans had yet to master laser technology for space weapons effectively, the Cragger fleet boasted laser weaponry as well as force fields that blocked much of the initial salvo from mankind’s fleet. The four long and slender ships charged lasers that pierced through the void from a great distance, slicing into the dreadnoughts with ease and blasting many drones from the sky before they even reached the Cragger fleet. The numerous, incredibly fast ships of the Cragger fleet shot outward, beginning to circle around the human fleet in an attempt to both flank the military and threaten the civilian ships. Unfortunately for these small ships, the dreadnoughts and strike fighters had anticipated the move and began blowing them out of the sky with a deadly hail of fire. There were simply too many to stop them all, however, and some began breaking past the line of battle. The dozen or so medium-sized Cragger ships flew with the eight cannon-covered warships to make up the center of the line and began meeting the enemy head on. The dozen had standard laser weaponry, unleashing blasts of searing plasma every few seconds, while the dozen had a machine-gun like pattern of fire, alternating which cannons it was using in short bursts, creating a continuous onslaught of electricity and plasma. All the while, the alien mothership sat back, unable to engage without firing on its own ships and unwilling to risk its leader in a pitched battle.

The battle was brutal. Within the first few seconds of fighting, thousands had lost their lives with the casualty count showing no signs of slowing. Drones were forced to sacrifice themselves, flying between the larger ships and the enemy, taking the brunt of the fire and thus saving their allies from immediate destruction. While the many weapons of the Craggers hammered away at the dreadnoughts and strike fighters, humanity began to see its first glimmer of hope in the battle as the enemy shields began to fall. Some of the alien ships began to disappear in waves of explosions, sending scrap metal and fire to paint across the night sky. Velknyr knew that the enemy would not fall fast enough to guarantee victory, though. Already, one of the dreadnoughts was in critical condition with two more completely immobilized, while one of the bombers had been encircled by a horde of enemy fighters and was frantically fighting to keep itself in the fight. The strike fighters did an admirable job at fighting against the odds, the most skilled pilots of humanity expertly swerving through the chaos and confusion and landing direct hits on several enemy ships. Even they were beginning to be bogged down by the sheer quantity of enemies, however, and their strength was fading fast. Velknyr clenched his hands on the console in front of him, leaning over to stare out the viewport in horror, trying to think of what to do. Is there anything to do? His thoughts betrayed him. Is this where humanity ends?

“Mother Lucience, what’s happening? Why are we shaking?” asked one of the children cowering in the hull of the education ship. While the sounds of battle did not carry through the vacuum of space, the ship shook every several moments as the intensity of weapon fire from the battle extended to the civilian fleet, sending powerful waves of force through the endless night.

“The battle is very big and dangerous; the aliens don’t want us here. But our brave men and women are out there fighting to keep us safe, so don't worry, we’ll be okay.” Lucience felt as though she were trying to convince herself of the very same thing. Despite her inner panic, she had to keep a straight face as she stayed with the children in the hull of the ship, the emergency procedure for when battles broke out. As if being down here will matter when we’re shot down or our military is destroyed, she couldn’t help but think. One of the little girls came up to her, clearly on the verge of bursting into tears.

“I’m scared,” she admitted with a weak voice. Lucience took her hand and brought her face in front of the girls at eye level. “Listen, I know you’re scared, I am too. But we’ll get through this just like we always have-have faith in the Fleet and it will protect you.” Seeing the doubt on the child's face, she took off her blue crystal necklace. “Here,” she said, giving it to the child. “This is a good luck charm that has always gotten me through danger. Keep it close, and we’ll get through this, okay?” At this the child’s face lit up and she held it close, looking deep into the crystal she believed would protect her, imagining what magical mysteries lay within. Better to have hope than nothing, Lucience thought. The girl hugged her and she replied in kind, pulling the girl close and rocking her gently, trying to ignore the battle that could end all of their lives at a moment’s notice as another distant explosion shook the ship’s interior.

Amylia ran down the corridor as emergency lights blared above. She smashed buttons as she went, locking in the cryo-chambers to ensure that none would fall off the wall during the ship’s violent spasms of vibration caused by the battle raging nearby. The cryo chambers began to recede into the wall as massive metal beams locked them in place and Amylia began to disconnect them from their non-essential functions. Tubes and wires that provided sustenance for the silent inhabitants and monitored their vital signs needed to be disconnected in case the shaking of the ship caused a rupture in the attachments or the chamber itself. Amylia also had to reduce the chemicals going into the inner atmosphere of the chambers, reducing the temperature to the minimum required to keep the inhabitants alive. This was to ensure that a leak resulting from the shaking ship didn’t release noxious gasses into the air, as well as preventing the chambers from quickly decompressing and creating a minor explosion. She worked quickly but efficiently, her discipline and experience allowing her to remain calm even as the world around her trembled, threatening to give way at any moment. The embryos were far simpler to secure, requiring only a locking mechanism to keep them in place and a reduction of the coolant entering the containers containing humanity’s future.

Suddenly, Amylia was flung into the wall as an explosion on the ship could be felt and heard by all crew members. The ship violently lurched to one side, sending her tumbling and knocking down the few cryo chambers that had yet to be secured. Bleeding from her head, Amylia struggled to her feet and tried to fight through the shock and temporary loss of hearing from the deafening blast. Limping down the hallway with a twisted ankle, she reached the nearest seat and hauled herself into it as the ship began to move erratically, sent off course by the stray shot. Only once she strapped herself into the seat and covered her mouth with an oxygen supply did she allow herself to admit the likely outcome of her reality: she was spinning through space while a deadly battle was fought nearby and had no way of knowing the extent of the damage caused by the blast or whether the current trajectory of the ship could be altered. She looked on the location radar with sad acceptance as she saw her ship hurtling away from the fleet and the battle-and toward the planet below. She closed her eyes and quieted her mind in anticipation of the inevitable.

“Train all weapons on the mothership, I want that hunk of scrap metal blown out of the sky!” Velknyr commanded as the fleet’s situation grew more dire. Ships were falling left and right, and while many of the enemy’s ships fell, they always seemed to be replaced in short order. Every loss of humanity’s fleet, on the other hand, greatly reduced the chance of victory and further demoralized the desperate crews. The Shredder had backed to wait out the battle with the civilian fleet but had taken some stray hits, while one of the bombers had been destroyed and the others were on the run, throwing everything they had at their pursuers in a desperate bid for survival. Over half of the strike fighters and almost all of the drones had fallen, and for the most part the dreadnoughts stood alone, surrounded on all sides as lasers tore through their hulls and threatened to end the lives of these hulking behemoths believed to be largely unstoppable by humanity. One ship’s weapons systems had failed and was a sitting duck, while several floated through space with no means of controlling their direction, thrusters and movement systems ruined in the fighting. Three were on the verge of being destroyed, but still held on as they made the Craggers pay for any victory claimed here. Most of the Cragger's dozen medium-sized ships had been destroyed, while only five of the eight rotating cannon ships remained. All of the long-distance lancer ships still stood though, laser fire arcing through space gracefully as it flew towards its targets with extreme precision before blasting holes in the sides of the dreadnoughts, which were smoking menacingly and quickly running out of fighting strength. The small, quick ships still stood aplenty in the alien fleet as they darted around the dreadnoughts, searching for weak spots in the already torn-up hulls and swarming those that looked closest to destruction.

Velknyr’s ship ceased firing on any immediate threat or even the distant lancers as all cannons, torpedoes and rockets let loose on the mothership. Compared to the scale of the battle, such a salvo was trivial, the defiant last act of a ship doomed to defeat. Still, such a concentrated fire would surely cause some damage and force the Cragger leader to rethink its plans. Or so Velknyr hoped. As the fire from Pioneer traveled the distance between the two leading ships, all on the bridge could not help but hold their breath to see what impact their volley had. Many meters in front of the mothership, the rockets, torpedoes and cannonfire hit an enormous protective field around the ship, disintegrating along with the ship’s last hopes of victory. A few quick scans showed that this field was too massive to pierce, even with the entire fleet’s firepower focused on it. Velknyr growled a curse as his best idea failed him, but still he refused to admit defeat. The mothership began to sail towards them suddenly, taunting the last of humanity’s great captains, certain in its victory. Which gave Velknyr an idea. “All systems stop firing,” he commanded.

“Are you sure?” asked the head of the bridge. “That’s insane.”

“I’m sure,” Velknyr responded, a mischievous look in his eye that took him back to his younger years, back when he was far more daring and spontaneous. “We’ll need to save the rest of our ammo for when the time is right. Full speed ahead, right for the mothership. We need to get close enough to get through that damned shield. Tell all remaining drones and strike fighters to surround and protect this ship. We need to take out their leader or the battle is lost.”

As the Pioneer began to break formation, sallying forth into certain death, many guns of the enemy fleet turned on Velknyr’s weakened ship. Shaking violently as explosions shook the length of the ship, the mothership grew closer in the viewport until it was close enough to open fire on the quickly approaching dreadnought. The Pioneer groaned under such a deadly onslaught, but the strike fighters and drones did their part to keep the ship moving and absorb some of the damage. When given the option to abandon ship, the crew stood in solidarity with its captain, fully aware that this would be the end of their long voyage together. Once the mothership was nearly in point-blank range and the Pioneer’s hull threatened to break apart at any moment, Velknyr made his move. “Keep moving forward at full speed, but bank starboard as sharp as possible. We’re ramming this thing sideways.” The crew did as instructed, and the great dreadnought passed through the force field to ram the mothership’s massive front. Both ships opened fire from point blank range, weapons all along the side of the dreadnought concentrating on the exposed front of the mothership as both ships trembled from the wanton destruction of the engagement. A deadly conflagration erupted on the decks of both ships, yet both sides continued to fire, locked in a brutal dance of death and determined to see the other’s demise. Velknyr imagined he could see the enemy commander’s surprise at the audacity and stupidity of such a move, as well as the horror of realization that this mothership would not return to whatever planet it came from. As the relentless, violent barrage continued, the tangle of ships was soon consumed in the flames of a hell storm of explosions and fell to the planet below, sinking silently through the cold, dark, endless night. Velknyr died with a smile on his face.

Amylia awoke amidst the ruins of her destroyed ship. She had crash-landed in some desert and had somehow survived. As she looked around to take in her surroundings, she discovered to her dismay that all other crew members were dead. In addition, all of the cryo chambers with adults had been damaged enough to kill their inhabitants-she was alone. As she searched the crash for anything that might give her an idea of what to do, she discovered that she was not entirely alone after all. Many of the cryogenic containers holding human embryos had survived, meaning if she could alert the fleet to her presence somehow, she could save them. Her wounds were relatively minor given the scale of the crash, and she was incredibly lucky to still be alive. Wait, I’m alive, she thought. On an unknown planet. The atmosphere was breathable. Whether something else about the atmosphere would kill her would remain to be seen, but this could be the planet the fleet had been looking for all along. If the fleet sees this-the fleet! The battle! She looked up anxiously, afraid of what she might see in the aftermath of the battle. She let out a sigh of relief as she viewed the outcome; the fleet, though badly damaged and reduced in size, remained intact as the alien ships began to pull away from the battle. Why the Craggers were suddenly retreating when they still appeared to hold the upper hand, Amylia could only guess.

It only took her a moment to notice a massive, burning collection of ships seemingly stuck together falling to the planet she was on. It was far enough away that it wouldn’t land on her, or at least she hoped, and her heart sank for all those onboard all the ships lost in the fighting, including her own. With any luck, humanity might one day build a new home among the stars, a peaceful one that would need no warships or military of any kind-a home that could be on a planet like this, she mused. Searching the rubble, she soon found a distress beacon from the ship that was to be used in case the ship lost power or navigation, and therefore did not rely on the ship’s power supply. She sat on top of the metallic rubble, holding the embryo cases nearby as she watched the burning ships tumble like fallen stars from the sky, where the rest of her race awaited her signal.