Star Bate Saga: Ribonefta

The ship glided through the galaxy so coolly that it froze the inky drippings of time itself into hardened, solid tears which floated throughout the merciless void that was, the galaxy.

The ship, shaped like a seven pointed star and lacquered to look stannic like a sword glinting in the middle aged sun, was affectionately named The StarBate.

And, lo, the name was ironic, but held true; for the crew who dwelled nervously inside it had just vacated their perch for the first of many times.

Firmament sat rigid at the helm. She could hear her pulse quickening but could not feel it. The only feeling on the tip of her tongue and in the bitterness of her joints was fear. Cold and hard and dead. This fear was not sustained on adrenaline but past knowledge, which, is the cruelest that fear has to offer. For with adrenaline fear, one can see but slightly into the future, and can make inferences on the outcome. But with cruel fear, fear rooted in the past, one can only stare out and rework the scenario over and over in their mind on fire, until they have memorized so much they can be ready in a similar instance. And this is what Firmament intended to do.

Her mind was like a dry and barren forest, and a fire had just been ignited. The fire swirled and cascaded over tree after tree in a tango like dance that left one partner paralyzed and dying. She knew what had happened was not a simulation. At least, not an Earth simulation. It was so vivid and wild and she felt her death and the burn as it scarred her skin and then the splaying of her limbs as she floated and then passed out. She did not expect to wake from that and be fine. She did not expect to wake at all. And so, to wake in a completely white room with white prods and white men naively taking notes, was very sudden and very unexpected.

Just as she was thinking over the sequence of actions that took place next, the mirrored doors slid open and out walked a lengthy figure in a brown leather jacket. The jacket was tied at the waist and buttoned all the way up, but the sleeves were rolled up to the elbow. The woman wore a grey pencil skirt that graced the knees and maroon and gold ornamental boots that rose up, almost meeting the hem of the skirt. Upon close observation, one could see patches of oddly matched skin at her knees. One patch was of a stark white, another was more yellow in tone, and the last upon each knee cap was rather pink.

The woman turned now slowly from her view of space towards Firmament. Her eyes were a vivid gold and looked to be troubled. However, the woman breathed an air of calm.

“Still pondering over the simulation?” said the woman. The way her tongue flicked over the word ‘ponder’ provided a sense of ignorance and triviality, but Firmament knew it was intended to be sarcastic.

Firmament nodded, now shifting her weight to entirely face the women. Her lush, cobalt coat crinkled at the elbows as Firmament went to take each one of the woman’s hands in her own and greet her.

“Chatoyant, you’ve already managed to navigate this ship with ease and I am in awe.”

“I lived the same simulation as you. I feel one with the ship.”

“You did? I thought you were a mere guise that was meant to fool me.”

“No. At the mercy of the academy each of us was required to sign away our consciousness and be a part of any simulation.”

“But why would you agree?”

Here, Chatoyant laughed lightly and chose again to face the front window of the ship. “Fe, I am a blind woman who was all but created in a lab. After my slip as surgeon, my choice of careers was numbered. I took everything and left nothing, and looking out at this beautiful darkness that surrounds us, I’m so glad I did.”

Firmament was silent for a moment. “I died.”

“Who’s to say?” Chatoyant retorted.  “You say you felt death right then and there, but as opposed to what? Living? What do you say living feels like?”

Firmament quirked an eyebrow. “Why, it does not feel like dying.”

Chatoyant laughed. “What I mean to convey is, that maybe you did die. Maybe we all did. Yet, we’re here now, in what one would objectively call a life. Maybe there are more lives after death. Maybe dying only occurs on one platform and we are in the next.”

“So, we did die?”

“You’re over thinking it. Whether we did or didn’t, we are here now. If this be life after, so be it. If this not be, then I hope it is for Captain Carraway and his lackeys because they will pay someday.”

                Chatoyant smirked as Firmament sighed and rubbed her eyes. “So, you expect me to carry on with this assignment, when for all we know we could be dead?! A ghost ship?! How do you expect me to carry this out with the great vivacity of life if I am to constantly assume that I am dead?!”

                Here Chatoyant heartily laughed. “You tell me. You’re doing it right now. Carrying on, that is.”

                “I know we have never really met but you are just like I remember you.”

“I tend to have that affect on people.”

Firmament only rolled her eyes as the doors slid open yet again. Two lower officers and a man wide eyed and green strolled in. Chatoyant abruptly turned and faced the latter of the three men.

“I knew refusing the mandatory shots would land you in hot water, Angel Carraway.”

Angel jumped away, startled at her tone and abrupt closeness. Firmament chuckled.

“I will never understand nor like the fact that you can recognize people just by their auras, Chatoyant.” Angel said rather gruffly.

“That, and the fact that I heard you coughing from the engines to the bridge.” Chatoyant smirked.

Angel only huffed and looked towards Firmament who was smirking in a regal way. “I finished the quarterly inspection of the ship, Fe. Everything seems to be in order. Ribonefta is due north and we’re almost ready to start the docking protocol.”

“Good. Has Grayson organized the freshwater that we plan to drop off for the civilization?”

“Last I checked he was almost through with cataloging.”

“Sounds like Grayson. All right. You are relived, Angel.”

“Ahem, Captain Angel, thank you.”

“The more you refer to me informally as Fe, and not Captain Firmament, the less I will be inclined to call you Captain.”

Chatoyant laughed lightly and took Angel’s arm. “You are burning up pretty fast there, dear. Better get you down to med bay.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Angel muttered as he let her guide him out the double doors.

The planet was, in essence, reminiscent of a baked Alaska. From space, there were spots of pure black with colors such as sienna and tan lapping at the edge of the ebony void and spilling out for miles on end. Towards the bottom of the planet were oceans of pure white that very regally only tentatively touched the border of tan and brown. The planet was pretty enough, although diminutive in size and population. Nomadic traders mostly dwelled on the planet; they stationed their families on the planet while they went away to conduct business.  It had taken the crew roughly a month to get here even at top speed. The planet was virtually alone, seeming to be lost in its own dark corner of space and time. Its only companion was a white star a hundred million miles away, providing the planet’s only warmth and hope for survival.

“Grayson and I will suit up for the delivery and we should be out 1200J. Angel will man the helm and Chatoyant will step in my place. Do not hesitate to radio down to myself or Grayson if trouble persists.” Firmament commanded as she pressed her palm up to the wall and a set of doors slid open.  She was wearing a cobalt blue padded suit tucked into a similar colored pair of boots. Grayson was dressed identically.

“Anderson, you will maintain a stable drift and make sure oxygen level is adequate. Aria, you will open communications. I am assured that you alerted the council to our arrival and they are expecting us?”

Aria nodded robotically, her lavender scarf moving softly against her crisp white fatigues. With that, Firrement nodded to Grayson and they boarded a compact pod.

The trip down was rocky at best. Firmament sat stone faced sitting upright in the only seat while Grayson comically toppled back and forth. He had crashed into the store of freshwater a few times before he finally sighed and lied dejectedly down on the ground.

“Just a few more seconds,” Firmament quirked. The pod began to violently shake as they broke through the atmosphere and began their descent onto the planet.  They were to touch down in a small lake off the coast of a rather large settlement of merchant families.

Firmament stood now to look out the small window and get a grasp of their surroundings. She peered out the window and suddenly jumped back wide eyed. Grayson now jumped up and ran to the window as Firmament called out ‘Brace yourself’, for outside the window was an amass of brown dirt, and not, in fact, a large lake.

“We’re going to crash and die!” Grayson shouted as he dove into the throes of the freshwater cargo.

Firmament dashed towards the small callbox and rang for the StarBate. “Mayday, mayday. StarBate, do you receive?! Captain Firmament Corre. Coordinates must have been incorrect. Mayday, mayday we are going to crash.” She fell from the callbox as the pod jostled violently; it was only a few hundred feet from the ground.

Grayson screamed and Firmament clung to the side of the pod as they counted the seconds until to their demise.

The pod made contact with the dirt and instead of smashing due to the extreme force, it burrowed into the ground with a splash.  The pod sunk further into the ground until the light went off in the pod, plunging them into complete darkness.

“…Are we dead?” Grayson breathed shakily.

Firmament breathed heavily for a moment before replying. “No…no we…we are resurfacing?”

“What?!” Grayson questioned as the pod began to slowly rise.

Firmament laughed shakily. “We’re rising. We’re rising! We must’ve hit the lake after all!”

“But, but you and I both saw the brown of land?!”

“I don’t know Grayson, but we’re resurfacing. And we’re not dead. So be grateful.”

Grayson and Firmament tensed up as the pod resurfaced and buoyed up and down a few times before becoming completely still. Firmament opened the door and was greeted with with bright light and a vast expense of brown dirt. 

“How can this be?” Firmament muttered as Grayson popped his head up to look about.

“If this is all desert then how did we-“ Grayson started as he lifted his leg over the edge and attempted to plop down onto the dirt. However, instead of landing firmly, Grayson fell through the dirt and into an expanse of black liquid that splayed up onto other parts of the dirt and then melted back through. It was as if the dirt had swallowed him whole.

“Grayson!” Firmament yelled as she reached down and raked her hands through the dirt/liquid. It seemed to be the lake, only covered with a layer of brown dirt. She reached her hand further into the liquid and suddenly her hand was grabbed. She let out a startled yelp before attempting to pull Grayson back out. She gripped his hand and raised him into the pod. His eyes were wide with shock and he was not wet but slick. He was shaking as Firrement went to get the emergency blanket down inside the pod.

Once Grayson had been wrapped in the blanket, Firmament went back down to the callbox to radio up to the ship.

“Captain Firmament Corre. We have made contact with lake. Are safe and-“ As she was about to complete her sentence, Grayson half-heartedly called out to her.  She poked her head up and saw that a gray wooden boat was approaching them.

“A blue horizon to you!” A woman draped in various blankets called out. It was only upon looking at the woman did Firmament come to feel the coolness of their barren location.