Fractal
AN EXCERPT
The ship gave a violent lurch. Anna lost her footing and stumbled forward. Varick steadied her, one hand wrapped around her shoulder, while the other rested on her waist. His hands tingled from the light contact.
“What was that?”
“I don’t know, Your Majesty.” He studied the galaxies overhead; nothing but stars and space above him. Adrenaline sped through his veins.
The ship gave another shudder, and then reversed direction around the blue star.
“What is Fayn doing?” Varick took her by the hand and dragged her to the lifts. He tapped the control panel. “Fayn, what is going on?”
“A Netrite attack cruiser is coming at us, or have you been too busy to notice?” Fayn growled.
“What? This isn’t even their part of the galaxy.”
“Tell that to them,” Fayn said before the ship pitched to the side again.
Sirens sounded. “It’s not safe up here. I have to get you to your quarters.” He hauled her into the lift.
“What’s going on? What’s a Netrite?”
“An enemy. A civilization of pirates. They attack vessels in hopes of selling whatever they can take, including passengers and crew.”
Her jaw dropped. Varick didn’t want to frighten her, but he couldn’t lie to her either. When the lift stopped, he motioned her toward her quarters. As soon as she stepped on the platform, the ship rolled, and she fell forward to clutch at the railing that separated her from the hollow center of the ship. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
“Where are Hannah and Brendan?” Anna asked once they were inside her empty room. “Can you have them brought here?”
He touched the nearest control panel and ordered their guards to bring them to her room. “They’re at the training center, which is closer to the bridge. It will take a few minutes before the guards can get them up here.”
She paced, but when the ship trembled, she sat down at her dining table. “Can our ship fight these Netrites?”
“Captain Fayn and his crew will do their best to fight them or out run them. It depends on how old their ship is, and if it’s well-armed.”
“What will happen if we lose?”
Varick paused. He blinked once, slowly. He shook his head. “You don’t want me to answer that, Your Majesty. If I need to take you in an escape pod and leave the ship, that is what I’ll do. I cannot let you fall into their hands.”
The ship spun. Varick almost lost his balance. He grabbed for the table and pounded on the control panel. Fayn didn’t even acknowledge him; he just continued shouting orders to his crew. Varick listened as the tactical officer called out the dropping power supply, the damage to the ship with each new strike from the attack cruiser. His heart pounded in his ears as panic set in.
“I don’t know what they’re saying. What’s going on?”
He met her gaze and whispered. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. We need to leave the ship.”
Varick closed the communication with the bridge and called Hannah and Brendan’s guards. He ordered them to take their charges and proceed to the escape pods.
“Where are Brendan and Hannah going to go? We can’t leave without them.”
“Our escape pods can only hold two people. They have to be small enough to evade the opposing ship’s sensors. Their guards will evacuate them.” He took her hand and headed to the materializer. Ordering two survival kits, he scooped them up under one arm.
“Where will we go?”
“The pods are programmed to look for the closest planet that can sustain life. We’ll see them there.”
He escorted her from the room. She dragged her feet, looking down the hall for Hannah and Brendan. Veering away from the lifts, he placed his hand on the wall at the very end of the corridor, and it disappeared. Hidden in the small room was the Vadana’s escape pod.
Similar to the ship that carried Anna to Earth so many years before, it was an oval sitting on two thin legs. This ship, however, had no seats. Two people could stand in it, but that was all. He helped Anna step into it, and then he got in beside her and switched on the navigation systems. A sickening explosion emanated from somewhere below them in the middle of the ship.
“Oh, God.” She clasped her hands over her heart.
Varick said nothing. With all of the systems online, he opened the door that separated them from space. The escape pod lifted, and they floated in midair for a moment, before he guided the vessel out of the ship.
The Netrite cruiser hovered below him, level with the bridge, firing a volley of fusion torpedoes straight up the hull. Varick slammed on the accelerator, and the escape pod vaulted forward. Within seconds, they were clear of the battling ships and halfway around the blue star. He steered the ship along the navigational path marked out by the computer toward a life-sustaining planet on the other side of the solar system.
The escape pod was cramped and cold. She shivered beside him. The second planet they passed boasted a small wasteland of craters and steel gray desert. He pointed to a massive blue and green planet ahead. “That’s where we’re headed. A planet called Valtros.”
She glanced at him, her eyes glassy.
Varick searched for a safe place to land that would have a nearby water supply and the potential for food, but he was approaching the planet too fast. He entered the planet’s atmosphere and the ship’s hull began to fade.
“What’s happening to the ship? Is it breaking apart?”
He wrapped one arm around her and drew her head into his shoulder, as he steered with his other hand.
“We’re fine. Just don’t look. Everything will be fine, don’t watch.” He shouted to her as the atmosphere shrieked around them.
The force of gravity hit them with a bone-jarring impact. Anna threw one arm around Varick’s chest and clung to him.
He glanced down at her as he returned his hand to the controls. He longed to comfort her, but he was trying desperately not to kill them both. The ship was traveling far too fast to land safely. He skipped over the coastal shoreline he had been aiming for, and focused every drop of energy he had on decelerating the escape pod and lowering the altitude by degrees.
They reached the center of a land mass. He tried to bring the ship down in a verdant forest below, but had to increase his altitude to avoid a chain of mountains snaking across the land. He passed over the tip of the mountain ridge, just barely.
On the other side, he made a slow descent. The craft quaked and shuddered, as they flew over a red clay desert. The computer found a river not far ahead, and he steered them toward a rocky outcropping beside it.
As soon as he touched down with a soft thump, he rested against the back of the escape pod and took a deep breath. Sweat beaded on his forehead and rolled down his temples. Anna, still clutching the front of his armor, raised her head. She gaped at the desert before them, and the river that sparkled from the two suns shining overhead.
“Oh, my God, we’re alive. We’re alive.” She hugged him. “For a few minutes, I thought we were going to die.”
The ship gave a violent lurch. Anna lost her footing and stumbled forward. Varick steadied her, one hand wrapped around her shoulder, while the other rested on her waist. His hands tingled from the light contact.
“What was that?”
“I don’t know, Your Majesty.” He studied the galaxies overhead; nothing but stars and space above him. Adrenaline sped through his veins.
The ship gave another shudder, and then reversed direction around the blue star.
“What is Fayn doing?” Varick took her by the hand and dragged her to the lifts. He tapped the control panel. “Fayn, what is going on?”
“A Netrite attack cruiser is coming at us, or have you been too busy to notice?” Fayn growled.
“What? This isn’t even their part of the galaxy.”
“Tell that to them,” Fayn said before the ship pitched to the side again.
Sirens sounded. “It’s not safe up here. I have to get you to your quarters.” He hauled her into the lift.
“What’s going on? What’s a Netrite?”
“An enemy. A civilization of pirates. They attack vessels in hopes of selling whatever they can take, including passengers and crew.”
Her jaw dropped. Varick didn’t want to frighten her, but he couldn’t lie to her either. When the lift stopped, he motioned her toward her quarters. As soon as she stepped on the platform, the ship rolled, and she fell forward to clutch at the railing that separated her from the hollow center of the ship. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
“Where are Hannah and Brendan?” Anna asked once they were inside her empty room. “Can you have them brought here?”
He touched the nearest control panel and ordered their guards to bring them to her room. “They’re at the training center, which is closer to the bridge. It will take a few minutes before the guards can get them up here.”
She paced, but when the ship trembled, she sat down at her dining table. “Can our ship fight these Netrites?”
“Captain Fayn and his crew will do their best to fight them or out run them. It depends on how old their ship is, and if it’s well-armed.”
“What will happen if we lose?”
Varick paused. He blinked once, slowly. He shook his head. “You don’t want me to answer that, Your Majesty. If I need to take you in an escape pod and leave the ship, that is what I’ll do. I cannot let you fall into their hands.”
The ship spun. Varick almost lost his balance. He grabbed for the table and pounded on the control panel. Fayn didn’t even acknowledge him; he just continued shouting orders to his crew. Varick listened as the tactical officer called out the dropping power supply, the damage to the ship with each new strike from the attack cruiser. His heart pounded in his ears as panic set in.
“I don’t know what they’re saying. What’s going on?”
He met her gaze and whispered. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty. We need to leave the ship.”
Varick closed the communication with the bridge and called Hannah and Brendan’s guards. He ordered them to take their charges and proceed to the escape pods.
“Where are Brendan and Hannah going to go? We can’t leave without them.”
“Our escape pods can only hold two people. They have to be small enough to evade the opposing ship’s sensors. Their guards will evacuate them.” He took her hand and headed to the materializer. Ordering two survival kits, he scooped them up under one arm.
“Where will we go?”
“The pods are programmed to look for the closest planet that can sustain life. We’ll see them there.”
He escorted her from the room. She dragged her feet, looking down the hall for Hannah and Brendan. Veering away from the lifts, he placed his hand on the wall at the very end of the corridor, and it disappeared. Hidden in the small room was the Vadana’s escape pod.
Similar to the ship that carried Anna to Earth so many years before, it was an oval sitting on two thin legs. This ship, however, had no seats. Two people could stand in it, but that was all. He helped Anna step into it, and then he got in beside her and switched on the navigation systems. A sickening explosion emanated from somewhere below them in the middle of the ship.
“Oh, God.” She clasped her hands over her heart.
Varick said nothing. With all of the systems online, he opened the door that separated them from space. The escape pod lifted, and they floated in midair for a moment, before he guided the vessel out of the ship.
The Netrite cruiser hovered below him, level with the bridge, firing a volley of fusion torpedoes straight up the hull. Varick slammed on the accelerator, and the escape pod vaulted forward. Within seconds, they were clear of the battling ships and halfway around the blue star. He steered the ship along the navigational path marked out by the computer toward a life-sustaining planet on the other side of the solar system.
The escape pod was cramped and cold. She shivered beside him. The second planet they passed boasted a small wasteland of craters and steel gray desert. He pointed to a massive blue and green planet ahead. “That’s where we’re headed. A planet called Valtros.”
She glanced at him, her eyes glassy.
Varick searched for a safe place to land that would have a nearby water supply and the potential for food, but he was approaching the planet too fast. He entered the planet’s atmosphere and the ship’s hull began to fade.
“What’s happening to the ship? Is it breaking apart?”
He wrapped one arm around her and drew her head into his shoulder, as he steered with his other hand.
“We’re fine. Just don’t look. Everything will be fine, don’t watch.” He shouted to her as the atmosphere shrieked around them.
The force of gravity hit them with a bone-jarring impact. Anna threw one arm around Varick’s chest and clung to him.
He glanced down at her as he returned his hand to the controls. He longed to comfort her, but he was trying desperately not to kill them both. The ship was traveling far too fast to land safely. He skipped over the coastal shoreline he had been aiming for, and focused every drop of energy he had on decelerating the escape pod and lowering the altitude by degrees.
They reached the center of a land mass. He tried to bring the ship down in a verdant forest below, but had to increase his altitude to avoid a chain of mountains snaking across the land. He passed over the tip of the mountain ridge, just barely.
On the other side, he made a slow descent. The craft quaked and shuddered, as they flew over a red clay desert. The computer found a river not far ahead, and he steered them toward a rocky outcropping beside it.
As soon as he touched down with a soft thump, he rested against the back of the escape pod and took a deep breath. Sweat beaded on his forehead and rolled down his temples. Anna, still clutching the front of his armor, raised her head. She gaped at the desert before them, and the river that sparkled from the two suns shining overhead.
“Oh, my God, we’re alive. We’re alive.” She hugged him. “For a few minutes, I thought we were going to die.”