The Shackleton shakes and creaks as it flies through the layer of ashen clouds that dominate the sky. Loy and Simon can hardly see anything as the darkness surrounds them. Simon still feels himself being pushed into his seat from the ever accelerating thrusters. Still shrouded in darkness, with only the faint blue light of the ship’s systems lending itself to the ambiance, Loy looks over to Simon. The blue light illuminates the left side of his face, his pale skin easily reflects the light while his blood, beard and hair capture it like a black hole, and the orange of his eye mixes with the blue and shines brilliantly. His commands to Simon are filled with desperation and fear, “I need you on our radar and scanners, tell me if anything is picked up. I don’t care what it is!”
Simon finds it difficult to lift his head from the headrest, but manages to tilt his head downwards towards his charge. Before him are multiple displays spread out across his control station. The central display, being half a meter wide, showcases everything physical within a spherical radius that can be broadened or narrowed. The leftmost display is the forward fire control radar, and the rightmost is the rear fire control radar. While struggling to keep himself focused amidst the physical strain of Loy’s aggressive flying, Simon exerts himself a little more and answers. “Nothing to report at this moment, the skies are clear.” He then looks over to his left at Loy, but is unable to further examine the wound he bears on the left side of his face. “Loy?” His voice is nearly drowned out by the groaning and rattling of the Shackleton as its powerful thrusters propel them further into the sky. “Loy!” He yells. Simon finally gets his attention when he briefly looks over to him, once again providing him a brief glimpse at the bleeding river that flows down his left cheek. “Are you alright?”
Loy angrily turns his head away, “Don’t waste your focus on me, Simon.” They finally emerge above the clouds and into another world. Dark clouds may have completely covered North America and beyond, but above them are some of the most massive cloud based structures Simon has ever seen. Towering columns of cumulonimbuses surround them in a grand display. Simon looks to his right, and beholds a multitude of sun rays grace the mighty walls of these heavenly constructs of nature. At their bases, they are black with ash and smoke, but as they progress higher so does their shade become whiter; and beyond the very peaks of these immense clouds lies the dark blue of the edge of the earth’s atmosphere. The tops of these mountainous clouds fan out as if holding up the sky, like pillars in a temple dedicated to the beauty of nature. Simon can’t help but stare at these sights as they fly in between them in the clear open portions of the sky. As Simon’s attention is held captive by this painting of nature, Loy looks over to him in silence, and thinks of reminding him to keep focused on his task. As he’s about to speak, another thought enters his mind, and instead he grins and leaves Simon to marvel; while he brings up the radar onto one of his own displays.
“Have you seen anything like this?” Simon asks with a sense of awe.
Loy’s eyes stray from the radar and onto the surrounding heavenly bodies, “My eyes have been blessed with such sights before, yes.” He pauses for a moment and allows himself to briefly think back on his past travels. He then looks over to Simon with a small smile, who breaks away from his trance and looks over to him as he finishes speaking. “But each one brought with it something unique, not found anywhere else; and this is no exception. You have a beautiful home, Simon.” They both remain silent for a moment as they each return their focus to their instruments. Then Loy casually slips Simon another command, “Keep us level for me, I believe we have some time before danger finds us again.”
It takes Simon a moment, but when the realization of what Loy’s asking him to do dawns on him, he protests. “What? No-no-no I can’t.”
Loy pauses himself as he’s half way out of his flight seat, “I understand that you’re a pilot yes?”
Simon turns to the controls before him, “Of passenger transports! I failed to pass my training for the UNSA expedition.”
“You’ll do fine.” Loy leaves the cockpit with Simon nervously shaking as he stares at the controls. He takes a few short breaths and places his right hand on the joystick and the left on the throttle. Immediately he freezes and dares not move any of the controls.
He whispers to himself as the nervousness within him becomes overwhelming, “I’m flying, that’s all, I’m just flying.” His eyes wander as he examines the entirety of the cockpit. The tech that’s integrated into the ship around him intimidates and fascinates him deeply. As a pilot, he begins to appreciate the privilege of being given the opportunity to fly such a sophisticated spacecraft. A smile creeps onto his face as he settles down and tries to enjoy the moment instead of fearing it. All the loss and pain within him fades as he returns to the element that he’s always thrived in the most, at the controls of an aircraft. His mind settles, and in this moment his soul finds something he’s not known since the catastrophe, peace.
Loy ventures into the medical bay where he sees to his injuries. He removes most of his garments until he only wears the skin tight black suit he wears at all times. A knocking sound summons his attention. He looks over his shoulder to the door as it opens. Standing in the entrance is the soldier he and Simon liberated yesterday, “May I help.” She wears a tan t-shirt that’s tucked into her green and brown camouflage pants, and wears a pair of brown combat boots. Her red hair is pulled into a ponytail, and her blue eyes shine from the bright lights of the medbay. Loy turns his attention towards the task at hand and gives her a subtle nod. The soldier enters with the door closing behind her as Loy stands before a mirror as he brings a soaked cloth to his face, but the soldier is quick to take over, “Please sit.” Without speaking Loy obeys her and takes a seat upon one of the examination tables. After washing her hands she dips the cloth in more water before applying it to his left cheek. She gently pushes the dripping fabric onto his wound, expecting him to wince or recoil from pain, but he remains motionless as his orange eyes blankly stare into nothingness. She notices his dark long hair is also partially soaked in blood as well. While cleaning the wound on his face she checks for any further injuries he may have sustained within his scalp. She parts some of his hair in search for the other wound, but the level of blackness of his hair makes it difficult to pinpoint where the blood is coming from. Its not long before she finds the wound, and then resumes cleaning the one on his face before moving on. She steps away for a moment to soak the cloth some more before resuming, and turns towards him just as he begins to slump over. She catches him before he falls to the floor, and then helps him lay down on the examination table, “Rest.” She finishes cleaning the wound on his face while he closes his eyes. She then checks the wound hiding amidst his hair, and finds it to be a large gouge. She searches the compartment for any supplies or tools to aid her, and to her surprise finds most of everything to be labeled with english text. She’s able to find the necessary instruments and supplies to mend Loy’s wounds to the best of her abilities. Upon his face she used a medical bandage that is foreign to her in its design, but it proved effective in covering the wound on his face. For the gouge on his head, she used a medical glue to seal it shut after she had properly cleaned the wound.
With her job done, she washes her bloodstained hands while Loy manages to ask her a question. His eyes remain closed while his voice is quiet, solemn, and modest, “Forgive me, I never asked for your name.”
She looks over to him while continuing to wash her hands, “Sarah Feltch.”
“Rank?” Loy asks.
“I don’t think that’s going to matter anymore.” She finishes washing her hands, grabs a towel, and walks over to Loy who opens his eyes as he continues to speak. “Simon is flying us northwest.”
“Simon’s flying?” Sarah asks with concern, “The guy wearing rags?”
Loy grins, “No need to worry, its on autopilot, but he doesn’t know that.” Sarah raises her eyebrows as Loy continues, “As I was saying, we’re flying northwest as you instructed last night, but we’re not out of danger. The enemy I faced will seek us out before we reach our destination. Will your people come to our aid?”
“They wouldn’t risk exposing their position to save one aircraft, no matter the circumstances.”
Loy closes his eyes, “Very well. I’ll do what I can to ensure our safe arrival. When we approach their airspace, will they hail us?”
Sarah places her hands on the edge of the examination table and leans in, “Only if I broadcast I’m onboard. I have someone there waiting for me, so long as he knows I’m onboard we’ll be safe.”
“So you’re our ticket?”
Sarah smiles, “That’s right.”
Loy lets out a slow breath while closing his eyes, “Go and provide Mary some aid, our other passenger, I’m sure she needs fresh bandages. Her room is the one opposite of this one, across the hallway.”
When Sarah enters Mary’s small room, she finds her laying awake on her bed. The clothing she wears is simple and modest. Her shirt and shorts are both made of a light blue thin fabric; clothes provided for her by Loy. Mary sits up as Sarah introduces herself, “The name’s Sarah, I’m the stray they picked up last night. I have some fresh bandages for you here.” She walks over to Mary’s bed and examines the bandages upon her legs, “How serious are these?”
“If not for Loy I would’ve died from them, I’m actually not sure how he did it, but he saved me.”
Sarah begins to unravel the bandage on Mary’s right thigh, “Seems like we all owe him our lives then.”
Mary grits her teeth as Sarah unravels the final layer, “It would seem that way.”
Sarah examines the work Loy had done to preserve Mary’s life, “How did this happen?”
“I was in a crash.”
Sarah brings over the new bandage and carefully places a large piece of gauze upon the wound. Mary winces but holds her own against the pain. Sarah then carefully wraps the outer layer around the wound, “So, where are you from?”
Mary lays herself down, staring at the ceiling as she answers, “I grew up in a small town you’ve probably never heard of, which is fine. I appreciated the quiet of the countryside, although my father and I would have fun building model rockets at home; making my mom worry about us as we sometimes let things get out of hand.” She lets out a laugh and elaborates, “One time he had my mom set off one of our rockets, and he rigged it so it exploded paint all over her. She had been painting outside the house already so she chased him around the house with her brush.” Mary laughs again for a moment, still staring at the ceiling, and then remains silent. Sarah looks up from the bandage she’s working on, and notices a tear rushing down the side of Mary’s face. She then brings her focus back to finishing the bandage while Mary speaks again. “Before I left them, before I left the entire world behind, I visited them one last time. We sat together at the dinner table. Enjoying the meal they had both provided, we talked about so much that day. They told me over and over again about how proud they were to call me their daughter. Then we talked about space travel and the things that I might get to see. My father’s love for the country was intertwined with his love for stargazing. He owned a really nice telescope, I think that’s what influenced me the most into making the decisions that lead me here. I told him when I come back, I’ll bring something from another planet for him, and then we’ll talk about all the things I would have seen and experienced. That was the last night I spent in that house. The next morning I hugged them both and told them how much I loved them, and that was it. That was the last time I saw my parents.”
Sarah begins changing the bandage on Mary’s left thigh, and asks her another question, “So, where did you go?”
A few seconds go by before Mary answers, “I was a part of the second expedition to Novus, for the UNSA.”
Sarah stops what she’s doing and looks into Mary’s eyes, “It was you, wasn’t it? You were the one who sent out the distress call, and warned us of the attack. What can you tell me? Please, I need to know more.”
“I would tell you everything, but I will not disclose any vital intel while I’m aboard this ship.” Mary raises her head from her pillow, “Right now, there’s a war being fought in another star system, lightyears from here, and whoever wins will determine whether the earth is lost or saved. This ship, Loy, they both belong to the enemy that fights against us.”
Sarah finishes up the second bandage, “Then why save us? I just finished seeing to the wounds he suffered for protecting us.”
Mary lays back down, “He claims he’s defecting, that’s why he’s been helping us.”
Sarah disposes the used bandages and then walks back over to Mary’s side. “So who’s the enemy? Who or what is Loy?”
“I don’t know what he is, all I know is that he’s from Novus and he’s dangerous.”
Sarah brings up her open hands and closes her eyes, “Wait-wait-wait, Novus?” She opens her eyes and points towards the door, “He’s from Novus?”
Mary insists, “Yes, I know that’s hard to believe. It turns out the colony the UNSA established there was a success after all. All this time they were alive, and now they’re trying to kill us.”
Sarah sits on the side of Mary’s bed, “But why?”
“It doesn’t matter why, the only thing that matters is that we stop them.”
Sarah stands, “I guess we better find whatever military leaders we have left then, because there’s no way they’ll suspect the enemy is from Novus.”
A muffled cry from Simon makes its way through the ship, “We have a contact!”
Sarah spins around towards the door, and then turns to Mary, “Here, I’ll help you strap in.” Once Mary is secured Sarah makes certain there’s nothing left in the room unsecured or loose. “We’ll speak again later.” Sarah makes her way to the cockpit where Loy is just seating himself at the controls.
Still only wearing his black jumpsuit Loy straps himself in, “Secure yourself Sarah!” She quickly looks around and finds the last remaining seat in the cockpit. Its located behind the two pilot seats off to the right hand side. Like the other flight seats, an array of displays are placed before it, but there’s no joystick or throttle for her to control should both of the pilots become incapicated. She promptly seats and secures herself, and then intently watches Loy as he assesses the situation. “Its him, and he’s closing fast. Switching off autopilot and taking control.”
Simon looks over to Loy, “Autopilot? Wait, was that on the whole time?”
Loy ignores him and continues to announce his actions, “Charging the gravitic propulsion systems, and increasing the throttle to one-hundred percent.” Just as he said, his left hand pushes up on the throttle and immediately everyone onboard feels the effects of the Shackleton’s powerful thrusters. The clouds begin to rush by them faster and faster, and soon Loy announces, “Going supersonic, beginning ascent.” He pulls up on the stick and the ship angles itself upward at a forty-five degree angle. Simon and Sarah struggle to keep themselves composed while Loy’s demeanor hasn’t changed in the slightest.
The ship once again rattles and shakes as they ascend above the mighty clouds that once surrounded them. Roaring, the Shackleton’s thrusters effortlessly push them into the edge of earth’s atmosphere. Loy looks to one of the displays in front of him, “Gravitic propulsion systems primed. Switching off primary thrusters.” Silence immediately reclaims the interior of the ship, with only the seldom creaking of the hull to entertain the ears of those onboard. Then, Loy speaks once more before Simon and Sarah witness the unimaginable, “Emergency jump coordinates calculated and entered, gravitic propulsion systems activated in three, two, one.” The earth’s horizon rapidly falls away, and after only a second they are in the black of space. “Successful transit, disengaging gravitic propulsion systems, and post transit checks will now commence before artificial gravity is utilized.” Loy unstraps himself and carefully orientates his positioning in zero gravity before slowly making his way down the main corridor. “Stay in your seats until I return.” He floats out of the cockpit leaving Simon and Sarah staring into the deep black of outer space.