The Mirror

Chapter One

~

Flynn

Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. But if you have an audio receiver, I’m sure your crew can hear you just fine.

I would know. I am one man of ten in Squadron IX of Terra Firma Protection, a law enforcement and investigation agency branch of the United Governing Body of Humanity, or UGBH, who gave our squadron the largest probing mission of our careers.

Imagine waking up and looking into the sky to see another earth. A reflection closer than the moon and more obvious than the sun, like a hologram of our home planet resting in the heavens, staring back at us. That is our reality.

Under the guidance of our Commander, my father, with clearance from the UGBH, we led two, defensive, terraforming-compatible ships into the unwanted, neighbouring orbit. Receiving no assault, we descended into the first layer.

And there it was.

A black liquid covered planet, somehow framed with a blue sky and white clouds. The dark maritime couldn’t contain water though, I was sure.

“Well, feast your eyes on a sea of root beer,” said one of the crew into his receiver.

We chuckled, but our hackles didn't lower.

The surface was eerily uninhabited from our vantage point. And save for the murky cloak of shadowy liquid, the planet mirrored our own.

But as quickly as we came to view the planet, we retreated—that was the UGBH’s way. They didn't like to lose experienced squadrons.

We were cleared to expedite untrained 'volunteers' to descend upon the planet instead, lab rats (undesirables) more or less: though, I can’t say that sat well with my lunch.

My morality aside, we couldn’t predict outcomes with untrained dispatches.

~

Corina

“Why... Why am I here?” I stammered, shakily clambering to my bare feet.

The motion of the ship, quickly tearing through the clouds in its ascent, made my stomach flip the same way seasickness would. I swallowed the watery collection of saliva that gathered at the back of my throat, while searching for, begging for, compassion as I fell to my knees.

But his eyes were ice cold, daunting.

“Your humanity is nothing in this moment. Consider it so and let go of your fears, otherwise, collapse,” he spat, unmoving.

The Commander, his shoulders were doorway thick and his eyes piercing blue, glossing over me, an unwanted growth in a petri dish. I was naked, irrelevant, discardable in his eyes. I covered my breasts with my arms and wanted to peel my skin off.

I felt the tendons in my chest tighten and constrict, four walls closing in. The realization that I was abducted squirmed, a headless viper in the base of my mind. The abducted don’t return to earth. I wanted to hyperventilate.

I closed my eyes, the ship throttled, and I felt tears. If I knew sleeping by a Terra Firma building would see me abducted so quickly, I would have eaten hot garbage and died of sepsis long ago. We all feared them, Terra Firma, and that made it a safer place to sleep. But I knew the stories, the disappearances, and I thought being noticeable, recognizable, would offer some protection. I was wrong.

“It’s easier if you don’t know anything,” a voice whispered, pausing my distress, gently wiping a tear with a thumb.

I flinched and shut my eyes tighter.

"I know your first name is Corina," the voice said soothingly, stroking my hair for a moment. “Be brave.”

I squinted with one eye. It was a man crouched next to me, concern in his face.

He could be the son of the Commander, but I wouldn’t know for certain. His features were the same, but his expression kinder, his face leaner and fresher. ‘Squadron IX’ was emblazoned across the thorax of his wet suit. Yet there I was, a worm writhing on the cold, metal floor, perceived with a mixture of kindness and pity.

I curled into a ball and sobbed.

Soon, a discharge of power and a low, chest shaking hum announced our arrival. I was ripped from the floor by two members of the squadron, and thrown into a decontamination chamber. Hot, sticky substances were washed and rinsed over me, then I was blown dry, not once asked if I was ready. I cried still as they forced my limbs into a wet suit and strapped a perception camera to my chest.

I was to be surveillance for something.

Another member tightened an oxygenated dome over my head and fixed a receiver by my mouth, damp with tears. When finished, the Commander turned from the helm and struck me, the dome, feigning to test its durability, I’m sure. Pain rippled into my skull and I felt needles in my neck, all while his face remained neutral.

He grabbed me by the shoulder, simultaneously opening a chute to the outside world, and tossed me through. I couldn’t even react.

I was already hurling, splitting wind towards blackness, arms flailing as if I could catch something to save myself. I was sure I was going to die. A vast expanse of black water filled my vision. The scream I erupted was guarded from the speed of the air passing around me, and I hoped it curdled their blood. Sheer terror gripped my body.

I was falling into a new world.