《Red Sun》


 Red Sun

    It was still a few million kilometres away but in the background of the glowing red sun they could see the small black shapes of the two ships through their telescope. It had been a few weeks since they had last heard from them. Under the glare of the red sun, the two ships looked more ominous than ever.


    "Are we too late?" Clair asked Janus with an anxious voice.


    "I don''t know. There is only static in their communication channel. I don''t know what to make of it." Janus sounded troubled.


    "What do you think of the last message of the captain?"


    "I don''t know what to think of it either."


    Janus had been trying to communicate with the ship for days. He looked exhausted. He had adopted the habit of sleeping on the control room floor and Clair was worried about his health. She tried her best to keep him healthy by forcing him to take his meals and get sufficient sleep.


    But she knew there was no way she could keep him away from the control room. He was constantly adjusting communication channels and listening to every wavelength. Even though he did not speak of his fears, she could tell that he has started to expect the worst.


    It wasn''t a surprise for her. She knew his whole family was on board Enliven. He would have been with them if he was not engaged in the evacuation of the mineral mines of Callisto. There wasn''t much Clair could do as she lacked experience in the communication field.


    The ship Enliven''s mission was to transport a group of scientists to the planet Xnex, a planet that revolved around a red sun. Xnes was primarily used as a space station for ships to fuel themselves and restock their cargo in the beginning. But as time passed by Xnex climate and local vegetation picked up the interest of scientists and now there were few hundreds of scientists conducting different researches and more were moving in. On the way to Xnex, suddenly Enliven dropped out of its communication with both Earth and Xnex. When it failed to send its daily routine reports, it started to worry the people at both ends.


    When Janus heard the news about Enliven, his ship, Tristar, had ended its last trip of evacuation. At once, Janus requested his immediate commander to let him go for the search of Enliven but his request was declined as it would take a few weeks for Tristar to get there.


    One man scout ship was sent from Xnex to look for Enliven. It spotted Enliven a few thousand kilometres away from the red sun and it was orbiting the sun. After reporting the location of Enliven, the scouting ship was ordered to dock with Enliven if it seemed safe and report back the findings. The scout marshal reported a successful docking and was given permission to board Enliven. Once aboard Enliven the scout marshal had reported that he was heading for the control room and that had been the last thing that they heard from him and ISC (interplanetary space council) was at a loss as to what to do next.


    Against his commander''s orders Janus took his ship and headed for the red sun and they had been travelling for five weeks, and still they were two weeks away from Enliven. Clair watched Janus grow impatient and worried day by day. But she was afraid of consoling him about his family, fearing it would worsen his condition. So, she decided to keep their communication neutral and professional.


    Janus had asked her to leave the ship when they docked at Europa Shuttle Station to fuel the ship. But she decided to stay on board and she was the only one who could reject his orders as she held equal power about decision making on the ship except in some areas. Janus had ordered everyone else to leave the ship before they left Europa.If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    During last two weeks she watched Janus grow more haggard. He was becoming more and more like a ghost of his previous self, talking very little and moving hardly away from the control room. He had been staring at the two ships through the control room''s viewing panel since the two ships came into their vicinity.


    Both ships were revolving around the red sun. They were dangerously close to the sun but ships'' solar shields had the ability to filter almost all harmful radiation. But the real danger was that the ships were gradually getting closer and closer to the sun. The increasing heat would definitely damage the ships if they were to stay on their current path for few more weeks.


    "Clair, I can see the lights working."


    Janus'' voice was hollowed. It was the first time he spoke after two days.


    "It means their life support work, right?"


    "Yes, but it doesn''t mean much. I don''t see anything moving"


    Janus turned around and looked at Clair, in the eyes. Clair looked at his face. His eyes were sunken in their sockets and he had dark circles under his eyes.


    "Clair, you can still go to Xnex. You don''t have to come with me."


    She studied his face for a while. She could tell that he had come to terms with what he would find onboard Enliven.


    "I know. I''m coming because I want to, Janus. So stop worrying about me. Let us get there quickly."


    Janus waited a few more seconds looking at her face and reached out and took her hand in his, held it for a few seconds before turning back to the controls.


    He entered the final commands to the controls to bring Tristar in line with Enliven. Clair stood behind Janus''s chair keeping her hand on Janus''s shoulder and watched Tristar fall into the orbit of  Enliven.


    It only took them few hours to reach Enliven. Even though the situation was dire, it did not stop Janus from acting as a cautious captain. Once they were within the reach of the Enliven, they got into their heavy duty space suits as they had decided not to dock with Enliven. When they reached Enliven they manually opened an air lock from outside and reported to both Earth and Xnex before they entered Enliven.


    Janus was standing near the inner door of the airlock hesitating. Clair could understand his feelings. She slowly took his hand in her''s and pushed the open button.


    The door opened to show an empty corridor. Still holding Janus''s hand Clair walked down the corridors heading for the control room. They saw no sign of life whatsoever but the ship appeared to be in good condition. It took them some time to reach control room as they were checking the rooms they passed by. Janus was reaching for the opening button when he felt Clair''s hand tremble in his and he looked at her face. She looked like she was going to faint. Her lips trembled. For the first time since entering the ship, Clair looked frightened.


    "Janus, I don''t want to know. I don''t want to know what happened."


    She let go of his hand and took a few steps back. Janus watched her face for a few seconds.


    "You stay here."


    Janus opened the door and walked right in. Clair looked inside and saw people walking towards Janus and Janus walking towards them with a relieved smile. Clair took a few steps towards the door with great relief to find that Janus staring back at the door and starting to walk towards Clair.


    "Janus they are okay. Why are you...."


    Her words were lost in mid-sentence as she saw Janus disappear at the threshold of the door. Clair started to run back screaming.


    Few days later a second rescue ship was able to bring Tristar and Clair back to Xnex. But the only words they could get out of Clair was "He disappeared."

 Just Another Journey : Part 01

    Just Another Journey: Part 01


    Max looked sick as he stood near the observation window, looking out. Ronada walked to him with a small smile on her face. As she came close, Max looked at her with somber eyes.


    ¡°Go on and laugh. Everyone else does.¡± Max said with a weak voice.


    ¡°I can¡¯t. I¡¯m a doctor, remember. But you do look funny. Is it always like this?¡± her voice carried the warmth of a caring woman.


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t happen when I go to orbit. I think as long as I can see a solid ground, I can do fine. But I hardly had to travel far, so it has never escalated to this point.¡± his voice was cracking with strain and he felt himself sweat. Ronada saw little beads of sweat forming on his forehead and decided that it¡¯s her time to involve professionally.


    ¡°Come with me. I¡¯ll give you something to calm your nerves.¡± she gestured to him to follow her. Slowly but reluctantly he moved away from the window.


    ¡°Doesn¡¯t it help if you sit down?¡± Ronada asked as they walked towards the medical bay.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    ¡°No, I tried. But it makes me more anxious.¡± Max said with a nervous laugh. He wondered what his friends and co-workers would think of him if they saw him now. He could picture Garrion rolling on the floor laughing his fat ass off. He winced as the image crossed his mind.


    ¡°I thought looking at space would make it worse.¡± Ronada said with a questioning look on her face.


    ¡°Oh, I wasn¡¯t looking at space. I was trying to find Xnex.¡± Max said with a small smile on his face, which formed two small dimples on each side of face. His golden green eyes were pure like a child''s eyes. Ronada felt something stir in her mind. She cleared her throat loudly and opened the door of the medical bay for Max. As he walked past her, for the first time, she noticed that he was a foot taller than her and that he had quite wide shoulders. She felt she start to blush as she walked towards the medicine cabinet.


    ¡°Don¡¯t be a fool¡± she muttered to herself under her breath. As she turned around, the lights went out and she felt the ship come to a halt with a jerk. She could hear the hum of the engine die away slowly.


    ¡°Max?¡± she said with a trembling voice as she tried to walk in the pitch dark towards Max.


    ¡°Don¡¯t move. Stay where you are.¡± Max said with a stern voice that made her stop on her track with a surprise. For two seconds, there was an eerie silence. Ronada felt her eyes slowly adjust to the darkness and the first thing she saw froze the blood in her veins. There was a tall figure creeping towards her, with a gun in its hand.

 Just Another Journey : Part 02

    It was Max''s opinion that the Earth looked more beautiful from space, and he was glad that he purchased a business unit in living quarters in Terra Ring; the orbital ring that was built around the Earth. But now he was not in his quarters, and he was not feeling glad at all.


    Two hours ago he had received a message through a secure line asking him to report to his head. Apart from being a successful businessman worth millions, Rohan Maximillian, was an agent of Inter Planetary Police. Usually, all his assignments were confined to the Earth-Moon region, meaning he didn¡¯t have to set his feet in a big ass spaceship that travelled million miles to other planets.


    And now, he was frowning as he went through his case file. He pouted at his boss.


    ¡°There is no one else, none at all?¡± Max asked with a pleading voice.


    ¡°We need someone with brains, muscles,... and status. Do you know any other agents like that?¡± Ada Aberash, said pleasantly, failing to hide the amused look on her face.


    ¡°Are you by any chance, being hard on me intentionally over the Davinci documents I purchased?¡± Max asked with a surprised look on his face. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    ¡°Maybe I am, maybe I am not.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s so unprofessional Ada. It was within my rights to purchase them.¡± Max said with a hurt feeling.


    ¡°But you couldn¡¯t help showing off. Could you?¡± Ada fired back at Max¡¯s with an accusing voice. Max¡¯s face lit up like the sun, and he scratched his head guiltily. Ada let out an exasperated sigh.


    ¡°You are unbelievable and so obvious. How you became a spy is a mystery to me. Regardless, Adventa leaves in two days, and you will be onboard, whether you like it or not.¡± Ada issued her final order with all the authority she possessed. She was always afraid that she would unconsciously favour him because of the feelings she had towards him. Max stood up and slowly gathered all the information files lying on the table, and Ada watched him discreetly. At the age of 23, he had surpassed all his peers in all possible ways and had made a name for himself, a person known to all and any living human but it was a shame that he disliked spaceships. Ada was getting back at him big time, killing two birds with one stone, as old people used to say.


    ¡°Well, Bye then.¡± Max said with a defeated voice as he finished gathering the files.


    ¡°Think of it as just another journey.¡± Ada said to the retreating figure.


    ¡°Just another journey, my ass.¡± Max muttered under his breath as the steel door closed silently behind him.

 From A Million Miles Away

    ¡°Absolutely not.¡± Katya Khepri said angrily as she stared at her daughter with burning eyes. Ronada stared back at her with the same fierceness.


    The mother and the daughter had been arguing since Katya got to know that Ronada had decided to join the Enliven crew as a medical officer.


    ¡°I¡¯m not letting you keep a foot on that cursed ship.¡± Katya said as she walked towards the huge glass window in her office. Through it she could see Enliven docked at the shipyard like a giant ominous bird and automated machines were preparing the ship for its next mission. Ronada observed the anger on her mother¡¯s face turn into a somber expression. She knew what worried her mother. Enliven had already taken a loved one away from her. Asahi Agawa, her step father had once boarded Enliven, never to be seen by another human being, a mystery that had not been solved to this day.


    Katya thought of the day that Asahi disappeared. Enliven was Asahi''s vision, come to a reality. The ship was designed and manufactured in his factory. Its test voyage was made to Saturn and back within breaking time records. It was and is the fastest and the biggest passenger spaceship ever made. It had made many trips to Xnex. The only exoplanet with human beings. Few years ago Asahi had boarded Enliven bound for Xnex. When Enliven docked at Xnex Asahi was nowhere to be found. Investigation into his disappearance only made people disturbed and worried and Enliven became unpopular among the public. The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Ronada knew the purpose of Asahi¡¯s last trip and it was the reason that she wanted to join the Enliven. But there was no way she could let her mother know the reason. Asahi was on that ship on Ronada¡¯s orders. Ronada knew that the guilt that she felt was nothing compared to the pain her mother would go through if she knew the truth about Asahi¡¯s disappearance. And her mother¡¯s pain would be nothing compared to the horror people would feel if they knew the truth about Enliven.


    ¡°But why?¡± Katya asked Ronada without turning back and Ronada watched her mother¡¯s rigid military pose for a few seconds before reply.


    ¡°You know exactly why¡±


    ¡°Damn it, Ronada.¡± Katya shouted as she turned towards Ronada fast and Ronada looked at her mother with a startled look.


    ¡°You are not a soldier. Heck, you are not even a spy. You are just a scientist and your position won¡¯t save you. What would you do if something happened?¡±


    Ronada looked at a vein dancing on her mother¡¯s temple. She drew a deep breath in and got up from her seat.


    ¡°I¡¯ll see you when I¡¯m back mother.¡± Ronada started walking towards the door, putting her white coat back on.


    Katya watched as her daughter walked out of the room. A tear was trying to force out of her eye but she shook herself out of the trance.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry kid. I won¡¯t be able to save you from a million miles away.¡± She said looking at the closed door.

 On The Way To Xnex

    ¡°Wow. It¡¯s amazing. I can''t believe that we are already halfway there¡± Ronada said, looking out of the control room''s wide front window. There wasn¡¯t much to see except dimmed light of far away stars but Ronada found it fascinating since it was her first time travelling out of the solar system.


    ¡°What I can¡¯t believe is that you have never set foot on Enliven before.¡± second commander Odhran O¡¯Connor said with pure disbelief on his child-like face.


    ¡°Let it go, Odhran. She never liked space ships.¡± Captain Nia De Vries said, rolling her black eyes, showing that she never comprehended Ronada¡¯s dislike towards space ships. Their families have been friends since they were kids. Nia always loved hanging around the spaceship factory that belonged to Ronada¡¯s step father. No one was surprised when she chose to become a captain when she entered the Lunar Space Academy. Since the graduation she had been working in Asahi¡¯s spaceships as a captain and no one found it odd when Asahi picked her as the captain of his new ship but Ronada.


    Ronada found it very odd that Asahi chose Nia over the far more experienced captains. Her eyes followed Nia, who was slowly walking around the control room, checking the ship''s current status on various screens. She could tell that Nia was tensed by her behaviour. Ronad didn¡¯t know whether it was because of her presence in the control room or whether there was something she didn¡¯t know. They had been close friends for a long time but Ronad had been feeling that there was a new barrier between them for a while. When she thought about it, she could trace the feeling back to the time when they had a vacation together in Mars, at Asahi¡¯s guest house in the spaceship factory. She remembered Nia was already there when she got to Mars and that Nia was quite nervous. Ronada also remembered that Nia and Asahi spent a lot of time together in the designing room, looking over Enliven¡¯s blueprints. Whenever Ronada went there to find Nia, they always put away the designs and would spend time talking about different things with Ronada. Back then, Ronada didn¡¯t find anything amiss about the act but now she felt that they always veered her away from anything that had to do with Enliven.


    Nia felt worried and anxious. She didn¡¯t know what made Ronada travel to Xnex but she knew for sure that it had nothing to do with whatever was happening on Xnex and Ronada was not someone who travelled beyond Mars for a vacation. Everyone who knew Ronada even slightly, knew her strong dislike towards spaceships but there was something most people didn¡¯t know about Ronada. Ronada was a prodigy in theoretical physics. Nia only knew this because they had once taken the online advanced theoretical physics exam offered by Lunar Space Academy together. Within half time, Ronada had scored full marks, but she was never interested in theoretical physics. Her major was particle physics and Ronada has been one of the youngest persons to be appointed as the head of the science division in IPSA and now she was onboard Enliven, travelling to Xnex. The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Odhran felt the tension between the captain and her friend. Captain had ordered Odhran to be careful around Ronada and not to discuss anything about the ship''s status around her. He wondered why the head of the science division would be interested in Enliven, still he had been careful not to pull up any reports on to large screens and discreetly checked them on his personal screen. Some of the readings that the ship''s external sensors received for the last hour had been worrying him. He eyed both Captain and Ronada. Now they were sitting together and talking in hushed tones. Sitting next to Ronada, Nia looked small and less tough than usual. She kept messing with her short black hair as she talked. Odhran teared his eyes away from them as he felt the computer send a silent alert vibration to his arm band. He looked at his computer quickly and pulled up a report with a red alert. As he read the incoming data, Odhran felt blood drain from his face. He looked up as he felt Nia standing behind his chair.


    ¡°Finally, I thought she would never leave.¡± Nia said looking at Odhran with a relieved look on her face but when she saw odhran face, she felt a cold streak run down her spine.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong Odhran?¡± Nia asked, trying to keep her voice stern.


    ¡°It¡¯s happening again.¡± Odhran said in almost an inaudible voice. Nia looked at the computer screen and she felt herself go numb as she read the reports. She knew that there was no way that she could stop what was happening. Like before, an invisible force was dragging them into a nightmare. Something that only a few members of the Enliven crew knew, and it was a secret that they had sworn to take to their graves. When it last happened, they had lost one man. And that one man could have been the only person who could explain what was happening.


    ¡°Asahi, what am I supposed to do now?¡± Odhran heard Nia silently talking to herself. She looked lost for a few seconds, then her usul steel look was back on her face.


    ¡°Wake up, Cal. Lock down the control room once he is here.¡±


    ¡°Okay, boss.¡± Odhran said as he started to contact Cal Cruz. Nia sat on her chair looking out of the front window. She could see the red sun on her left side and she stared at it for a few seconds. She thought that it looked more like a dying sun than ever before.


    ¡°You better be right, Asahi.¡± Nia mumbled to herself as she started to input commands to the ship¡¯s control panel.