Chapter 17
While trying to find their own tribute, the Red Zetans encounter their mystery involving an alien sphere and the world it now orbits.
Previously: The humans undergo yet more testing to assess their teamwork. Their progress is being monitored by two Zetans, Nurn and Kolvem.
If not for our sensors, we wouldn’t even know it was there,” said Rork.
The red Zetan stared at the screen, which showed a small, pulsing yellow dot positioned some distance away from where they were located, orbiting the planet they had expressed interest in. This was more notable because it was transmitting a continuous signal that they had yet to fully decipher. Now that they had reached the planet, they also detected various alien structures on the surface below. However, as far as their records stated, this portion of space was unoccupied by the other galactic powers.
“Should we send a team to investigate the sphere?” asked the intercept officer.
“We’ll prepare two away teams, one for the surface and one for the sphere. The fact that it’s not even acknowledging our presence is the most concerning part.”
“You think it’s a ghost ship?” asked his commander, Zagrun.
Rork straightened up and stared out into that black void. Other than the sphere, there were no other immediate signs of technology. The world itself was a lush jungle, likely humid and intolerable for long periods. He stepped away from the intercept station and faced his fellow Zetan. “It’s not unheard of. Anything can happen in space. Airborne viruses and compromised hulls. You name it. It can leave a ship as nothing more than a tomb.”
“Then the question is, which team will you lead?”
“Neither, I will remain on the bridge and coordinate both efforts. It is you who will be leading one of the away teams. Pick your poison.”
Zagrun looked surprised by this outcome, but simply nodded his approval and stepped up to join the Captain on the dais. Around them were numerous holographic projections, monitored by their own respective officer. The two that stood out showed what the initial scans had picked up for both the world and the sphere. Only the latter was a blank; its shell made probing nigh impossible. There was no telling what was waiting for them inside.
“I’ll take the sphere. Who will go to the surface?”
“I’ve got some ideas, do keep in mind that once you enter, there is a good chance you’ll drop out of contact. We might not be able to pull you out if things go wrong.”
“Then I’ll be extra careful,” said Zagrun. “I best go round up my men. I’ll try not to be gone for too long.”
Rork watched the man leave before using the console in front of him to bring up communications. Another red face appeared, a little startled by his sudden contact.
“Captain, this is a surprise.”
“I would have thought you’d been expecting this by now, Qax. I have a new mission for you and your squad. You’ll be taking a shuttle to the planet’s surface. I’m sending you the coordinates of where you need to land. “
“I have them; anything in particular you want me to watch out for?”
Rork folded his arms and a signal gesture with his head sent extra details across relating to the ominous sphere. “It’s ignoring our hails.”
“Meaning it’s a dead ship.”
“Orbiting a likely dead world, except our life scans did pick up traces of something substantial, deep below the surface.”
“You think it’s a candidate?”
Rork’s expression looked close to that of a smile. “It’s our best shot, a lot of other tributes were a bust. If these Terrans are as terrifying a threat as our informants imply, then we need something equally formidable.”
“Agreed. I’ll gather up my team and head for the surface.”
“Happy hunting, if you find anything else that’s hostile. You know how to deal with it”
Aboard the small transport, Zagrun stood at front of the craft just behind the two pilots while four other Zetans sat in the trooper bay behind him. The pilot took them in close to the black alien sphere. At a distance, it was difficult to make out its size, but now, up close, the sphere likely dwarfed most other Zetan craft.
“Have you ever seen anything like this?” asked the pilot.
“No,” said Zagrun. “No telling what will be lying in wait for us. Keep your guard up, once we land. If we drop out of contact, or you feel you’re in danger. You need to evacuate and report back to Rork; that’s an order.
The pilot’s black button-like eyes blinked repeatedly before nodding. “Will do, I won’t leave immediately…”
“Don’t hesitate to,” said Zagrun, cutting him off.
The small craft soon got eaten by the alien sphere. It drifted through the narrow crevasse, revealing a strobe of different coloured lights and walkways. The inside of the ship was just as black as the outside.
“It’s scanning us.”
“What if it doesn’t like us?” asked the pilot.
“Then I trust you can navigate a cramped space.”
“Easier said than done.”
Despite this concern, the ship did nothing to deter them and soon they were in a hangar area. The pilot settled the ship down and increased the strength of its headlights. It illuminated the empty bay and revealed an assortment of smaller spherical craft held in place. No one had come to greet them. Zagrun leaned forward and tried to make out anything.
“I don’t like this, not one bit.”
“Nothing like a ghost ship. Stay safe out there.”
“We’ll be fine,” said Zagrun, turning back to face his men. “Look alive, the ship may look empty, but that doesn’t mean it is. Anything could be lurking around the corner, so no slacking off. Am I clear?”
The clicking response of acknowledgement was all he needed to hear. He approached the back of the transport and entered the deployment area. With a single press of a button, the ship’s ramp lowered and Zagrun led his fellow Zetans into the creaking, empty ship. Once outside the transport, the scale again was much bigger than he expected. The aliens that used this ship could very well have been much bigger than them, but the scale alone wouldn’t confirm it. They would have to find living aliens or their remains. Despite the noises of metal clanging and the low hum and vibrations from the ship. It was deathly quiet.
Zagrun led them forward, up some steps. He removed the magnetically attached blaster from his waistband and approached one of the half-circle doors. Upon getting closer, it opened, leading them into an all-white chamber. The door slammed behind them and the room began filling with gas. At first, Zagrun thought it was a trap, and they were done, but not long after the smoke was pumped out and the door ahead of them lowered. They entered a narrow corridor that looked more like a walkway as beneath the mesh, glowing pipes went in all directions. The ship was clearly running at its usual power level, which made it all the stranger that they had yet to encounter anyone.
“I don’t like this, Zagrun. It’s too peaceful. No way a ship of this size has a skeleton crew.”
“Agreed,” he said in response, and soon enough, they reached another door. It opened and gave them the option of left or right. Zagrun led his team left and reached a larger set of double doors. These also opened once they were within range and once inside, they were met by the largest hydroponics room they had ever seen. Except something seemed off about it.
Zagrun approached one of the cylinders that held red tomatoes. They looked fine at first, but each plant had a blackness coating the tomato’s surface. “Don’t touch anything growing here. I don’t think it’s safe.”
“Could this be why we’re not finding anyone? A contaminated food supply.”
“It’s possible,” said Zagrun.
A groaning noise stopped him dead and the five Zetans bunched up together. “That definitely sounded alive.”
“Could still be the ship,” said another Zetan.
“Or it could be our hosts,” said Zagrun.
“I think we should leave. We’re obviously not going to find anything else here!”
Zagrun found himself in agreement that once they were back on the cruiser, he would order his ship to fire on the sphere. Something had happened here, and he didn’t want to remain any longer for it to find him. He tried leading them back the way they came, but the light above flickered until inevitably they were plunged into darkness. Before he could order his men to stay close, he heard their feet bounce off the metal floor. This was deliberate. He primed his blaster and kept moving, following the only remaining light source which was the cylinders containing the fruits and vegetables. A loud clang and screaming broke the silence, and he broke into a run. He soon met the solid metal door that would have let him go, but it now refused to open. He began banging on it as the noises behind him got longer and shots of plasma lit up the room until they, too, fizzled out. A few minutes later, one of his men staggered towards him, coated in a strange substance and dragging their leg behind him.
“Zagrun… you need to…” he never finished his words as he landed face first on the floor, his back riddled with spines that looked like crystal.
The door that he had banged on minutes ago now opened and Zagrun alone returned to the corridor. The ship is letting me go… why? Unless?
He would not head for the hangar area, instead he would explore deeper. Leaving the sphere was no longer an option because that’s what they wanted from him. They wanted to do to his ship what they had done here. He could not allow that. The thought of this scourge spreading to various Zetan worlds terrified him. The only thing that kept him company was the sound of metal groaning and gas bursting from pipes overhead. Now and then he felt he noticed a shadow out of the corner of his eye. He started to suspect the isolation of the ship was starting to play tricks on him. That or he was wandering in circles. The ship had rising and bending corridors that each had the same mesh walkway design. They blurred together. The dark blue light that illuminated some areas also didn’t help.
He soon enough began climbing some stairs and the next room he entered was very different from the last he had been in. At its heart was a massive transparent sphere that inside had energy roiling. A hologram projected itself before him, that of an alien species he did not recognise. It scanned him and, to his shock. It shifted its form to look more like a Zetan.
“I am the A.I. unit, Zepher. I have guided you here to help put an end to the horrors haunting this ship. There is not much time. I will instruct you on how to destabilise the aether core.”
“How did you guide me here?”
“All Sphere AI can interact with the mind. I simply pushed your subconscious.”
“What are those things that killed my crew?”
“The Nevermore. They are the last remnants of my masters ravaged by…” the AI paused. “I don’t have time. You see these consoles close to the sphere. Go to each one and press, blue, red, white, and yellow. In that precise order. Anything else and this won’t work.”
Zagrun did as he was told and approached each console, pressing the buttons in that specific sequence until the strange energy trapped within the sphere began to violently shift its shape and form. It fluctuated between states of solid, liquid, and gas.
“That’s normal. We’re opening tears in reality and letting more of the shapeless in. They are drawn to what my masters became.”
A loud bang rang out that made Zagrun jump out of his skin.
“Hurry! I can’t hold them much longer.”
Zagrun picked up the pace and upon looking again realised the contents now reminded him of a nebula, but just by looking at it he could see it morph. The tendrils along its edges seemed to bleed out of its shell, distorting reality as he saw it. It tugged at something deep inside him. He could almost embrace-
“Zagrun, your blaster, direct it at the sphere and fire!”
Zagrun blinked out of his stupor and directed the blaster at the sphere.
“I’m so sorry it had to end this way. You should have left us alone.”
“Zetans never do know when to ignore their curiosity.”
“My masters said the same…”
Behind him, he heard metal bend and tear and something covering the ground towards him. He pulled the trigger and everything disappeared in a brilliant white flash and for that brief moment, captured within an incalculable second, he saw the universe unravel and reform. He saw life and death, and beyond that, he felt the weight of eternity come crashing down upon his psyche as the ship and the portion of the universe it existed within imploded together. Rendering it all, nothing and everything all at once. By the time things returned to as they were, all that remained were the Red Zetan vessel and the alien world in which it orbited.