The Scream of Kabroth

“Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say. I say that you can, in fact, hear such a scream. I heard it again last night when I was completing my study of the two moons.

We have artificial moons, so we need to monitor them continuously, making sure that they function just the way the old moon did. But that scream, no one else heard it, but it was agonizing.

I heard it right before the scheduled nightly rain—the ear-piercing screech from the sky. It wasn’t like a broadcast. No, nothing like it at all. The morning broadcaster had a booming voice vibrating your very being with each word.

This was almost innocent. An innocence that would soon be ripped away."

Johanna sighed. It was no use. The board won’t believe me, anyway. They never believe the Other Worlders.

But, perhaps there was another way. She deleted the entry and closed down her coms.

Maybe Skyler could help.

Skyler and Jo became friends when they met at the monthly census a few years back. The census was for Other Worlders, making sure that they were kept in line.

“They used to call this tyranny, slavery, the worst of crimes,” she had heard Skyler say in her many home meetings. “Now, it is our life...”

There were two groups of people on this planet. One group, the Other Worlders, were mostly refugees, fleeing other planets that were at the brink of total extinction, through war, natural disasters, and even asteroids. This planet, Kabroth, welcomed refugees from all over space.They offered life, happiness, and freedom to all those who lost their home.

Or, at least, that’s what the coms said. But when Jo came to Kabroth, reality hit hard.

She was assigned to study and maintain the two artificial moons. A very specific part of the moons. A piece of the puzzle no one could ever solve unless they saw the bigger picture, but the big picture was reserved for the other group.

The True Bloods ruled this planet. They were enhanced with scientific advancements eons ahead of any other planet in the solar system. Yes, their planet was safe, mostly artificial, but it wasn’t a life worth living for the Other Worlders.

The Other Worlders each were assigned a number when they arrived. To keep track of their health, they were told. But in reality, it was all propaganda. Any Other Worlder that made it passed the first week knew that this wasn’t true.

The numbers existed to make sure they were earning their keep, making sure they were putting in more to the planet than they were taking out. “For the Health of Us All.”

It’s how every broadcast ended, a false reminder that everyone was in it together.

The number 45732 was imprinted into Jo’s brain. Sky’s apparently was 45731.

Sky and Jo were forced to stand side by side every month while the moderators scrutinized their every decision. Tallying up their efforts on what they gave “the Community.”

Jo always had a good score, Sky… not so much. But, Sky cared less about herself and more about everyone else. She wasn’t in it to bump up her score; she was in it to actually help the people around her, regardless of what the tally told them.

Sky was part of the team that monitored the moon, but she was the pilot that took care of the surveillance equipment. A space pilot.

The thought of going back up to space terrified Jo. The last time she was up there was when her home world was destroyed. The nightmares still haunted her while she slept.

But she had to at least tell Sky, right? She might’ve seen something on her rounds.

Would Sky believe her? It really shouldn’t be possible. Yet, here she was, at the end of her ropes, having exhausted every other possibility. She even spent a week at the only park on this world. Electronics and any artificial creations were strictly forbidden. She lost tallies for that one, working harder than ever to make up for it. “A trip to nature isn’t very helpful to your community, Johanna,” Her designated Boardleaders had said.

The trip had told her nothing, except that the screams were louder than ever before.

She made up her mind; she had to see Sky. Today.

She threw on her jacket and bio mask and rushed out the door.

The walk to Skyler's was a long one, but Jo kept up the pace. Nervousness always gave her energy.

How was she going to explain a scream from the sky? What would Skyler say? Would she laugh at her just like her neighbors did? The thought of Sky laughing at her was heartwrenching. But she had to try.

When she finally arrived, she pounded on the door, harder than she intended. Skyler answered, a look of concern on her face.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

"I need your help," Jo said, breathless. "I heard a scream last night.”

"A scream?" Sky asked, "From your neighbors? Are they ok?"

"No, no, not from down here," Jo hesitated, "This is going to sound crazy, but I heard it from space."

"Space?"

Uncertainty crept into Jo's face, and she started to stumble over her words, tears brimming in her eyes.

“I know it doesn’t make sense…” She tried

"Hey, hey, it's ok. It's me you are talking to; what's wrong?"

"I-I don't know if I can explain it."

"It's ok, take your time," Skyler said, leading her inside.

Jo took a deep breath and began her story.

I can't believe it myself, but for about six months, I've been hearing a scream at night. At first, I thought it was the broadcasters, but since no one else heard it, I knew that wasn't it.

Then I thought it might've been the neighbors, like you said. But I’ve been with them when I’ve heard it. They didn't hear, and it clearly didn't come from them.

I spent weeks trying to figure out what else it could be, but I keep hearing it, over and over again, like clockwork. It's not in my head. I swear. Have you seen anything? It is all so strange, and I have no one else to talk to.”

"I'm sure there is an explanation, love. We are going to figure it out together."

Johanna sighed a breath of relief. "Thank you, friend. But how?"

"By finding the source. I am scheduled for a flight tomorrow night if you'd like to come, we can start there. In the meantime, why don't you stay here tonight? We can monitor any unusual readings. Just log in to my coms."

She almost sounded excited. Jo smiled. This is why they were friends. No judgment, a willing hand, and a loving heart.

“Do I have to go with you? Now that I have your help, there are other things we could try first, a brain scan, maybe? Flying is such a drastic measure.”

“Nonsense,” was the reply, “a little flying never hurt anyone!”

“It’s hurt lots of people,” Jo said flatly.

“Oh gods, I am so sorry. Of course... I am such a dolt! But you have nothing to worry about. Flying through a war zone is so much different from what I do now. And trust me, I’ve done both. I’ve flown this course a thousand times.”

“A thousand?” Jo said with a sly smile.

“Well, hundreds… at least!”

Jo chuckled.

“Ok, but how am I supposed to get on this fancy ship of yours? You know you are due for a surprise inspection.”

“I’ve got a plan.”

“Already?”

“You know I always have a plan,” she chuckled, “But in all seriousness, I’ve done this before, and it worked well.”

“What do you mean you’ve done this before? You’ve had people on your ship?”

“Not exactly.” And Sky launched into one of her many stories. “You can’t tell anyone this, but it all started with that family, remember? From a year ago?”

Jo knew the family she was talking about. One day, they just disappeared without a trace, and the True Bloods were furious. The family didn’t show up for their duties, so a district-wide search was launched. Doors were broken down, belongings thrown into the streets, and in some cases, they even burnt down dorms and buildings.

When the district search was fruitless, they turned to the entire city, then province, and finally, a planet-wide search. Even some True Bloods were subject to a search, it was, of course, less invasive, but a search did happen.

Rumor was that they escaped, but the Boardleaders couldn’t let that kind of hope rise up. No one escaped Kabroth. So anyone that even mentioned the family was punished, according to the severity of their crimes. Mentioning the family would affect your tally. Spreading the rumor intentionally, however, would get you a week into the dark rooms. Word was that these dark rooms weren’t dark, but they sure made you wish for it. “The worst kind of torture,” was the word on the streets.

Enough time passed that the family could at least be mentioned again. Plus, Sky was pretty paranoid about people listening, so she took measures to proof her dorm from any “Listening Laurens.” That’s what Sky called them; the devices used to spy on the Other Worlders.

Sky went on in her story. The family came to her for help; their daughter didn’t meet the tally for the second time this year. One offense would get you a warning, especially at her age; they were a bit lenient with the younger ones. But a repeated offense? Now that was dangerous.

“They were behind in inspections. I didn’t even have my scheduled one yet. There was no telling when they would flag me down.”

Sky’s eyes were full of life. It was as if she enjoyed the danger she was in. Or at least enjoyed reliving it.

“So I had to come up with a solution that would allow me to get through the inspection cleanly. And guess what? They did inspect my ship when I had them aboard!”

She was beaming with pride.

“Ask me how I did it!”

“How did you do it, Sky?”

“Well, I knew that they were behind, right? So instead of slacking like most folks, I rebuilt my ship.”

“You did what?” Jo was scared and impressed at the same time. “Rebuilt your ship? You could’ve been executed! Tortured!”

Anyone caught changing the tech of the True Bloods was punished severely. They held their secrets close. Rebuilding one of their ships meant that you understood the tech, and apparently improve it, if you were Sky.

“I know. I know. But what is life if it isn’t dangerous.”

“LIVING! Life is living, certainly not wishing for death!”

“Relax, Jo! I didn’t get caught. And I was extra careful. Don’t you want to know what I did? It’s pretty smart, if I say so myself.”

Sky didn’t come up with the idea herself, she confessed. She actually got it when she was performing one of her daily duties.

Each member of a community was tasked with mundane jobs on top of the main task assigned to them and their team. Sky was on guard duty when she saw her opportunity.

“There was a fire a few months ago in the Board Building. It was the perfect opportunity to look at some of the schematics of their ships.”

Jo covered her mouth. Who was this woman?

“Sky,” she whispered.

“Oh, hush. I found something super exciting. Some of the tech I found allowed for wall-less ships! Wall-less! Instead of using precious resources from this god-forsaken planet, they just have shields with a seat in the middle. You can program the shield to look like anything you want, and it will take on the characteristics of said material. So I taught myself how to do it and put it on my ship! And you have a chance to try it out!”

Sky jumped up, full of excitement.

“Oh, my dear friend! I’ve been wanting to tell you this so badly! But I couldn’t risk it, not until now!”

And that is how Jo found herself in one of the most advanced ships in the universe. Rebuilt somehow by this crazy lady she called her friend.

She was still shocked by the story. She knew that Sky had a streak of rebellion, but this? This was treason. It was dangerous, and Jo was stuck in the middle of it.

Sky was sitting beside her in the pilot seat, ready for take-off. She replaced sections of her old walls with the shield. Allowing Jo, and the previous family, to sit comfortably within the walls that were not shield. The sections still looked like thick steel. Unless Sky flipped the switch, then the walls would turn invisible.

From take-off, they needed to go to Spaceward, where all the ships were monitored and cleared for space travel. That is where a surprise inspection was most likely to happen, but it could also happen here on the ground.

Sky waved at her encased friend beside her.

“Ready?” she said.

“Ready,” Jo replied.

Take off in three, two… The ship powered down.

“Ah shit, not again! Those bastards always pick the best times for inspection. Don’t move, don’t make a sound. We’ll be fine.”

Except they weren’t. A thunderous voice came through the speakers of this ship.

“Skyler Hayes, Pilot of the Liberty. Remove yourself from our ship. Johanna Beckett, Head Monitor of Section 2358. Remove yourself from our ship.”