Not of This World

One: Sya

My eyes shoot open to a blinding crimson light, and a shrieking alarm screams in my ears. My arms spring out to either side when I realize I can't breathe. They only make it inches from my body before they hit the white metal on all sides of me. I'm contained in a small metal box with no air.

I bang my fists violently above me where the crimson light flashes repetitively in my eyes. Then, below me at my feet, I kick the metal, hoping, begging, for it to open. All of a sudden, in one quick motion, the box slides forward and air is permitted to enter my lungs. I inhale all the air I can, as if it will disappear only seconds after it appeared. I feel my stomach flip and turn upside down inside me, and I am forced to immediately sit up and vomit outside the box to my left.

I cough and relax, breathing heavily, and lift my head up to see the dark hall around me. I remember where I am. The Almada Exploration Voyage. I was allowed to attend for being at the top of my class. I was the only trainee on the mission. This trip was honor to be a part of. But why does the ship seem so . . . dead?

I stand, feeling slightly dizzy. I wait a few moments before walking to the far side of the room where the door is. I run my hand over the scanner to the left of the door. It flashes green and sides open in front of me. The lights in the hallway are dark except for the flashing blue ones on the floor. The emergency lights are on . . . Why? I think.

I start to walk down the hall, following the lighted pathway beneath me. My steps echo around me, making me more on edge than I already was. Why in the world was I pulled out of cryo-sleep? I breathe deeply, trying to make myself relax.

The blue-lighted path ends at a door much larger than the others I had passed. The main deck door. I'm not sure if I even have access to this part of the ship. Nevertheless, I slide my hand over the scanner, expecting it to turn red and beep. It doesn't though. The door in front of me slides open, practically making me jump out of my skin. There must be something wrong with the system.

I step inside and the deck automatically illuminates around me. I hear the door slide shut behind me, and the system controls start to boot up.

"Computer," I say aloud. All exploration ships are programmed with an AI to monitor the ship while all crew members are in cryo-sleep. It can control the ship if needed, and it knows all the crew by name and rank. It may not even respond to me.

"Yes," the steel-sounding voice says around me, "Captain Sya Emmerson."

Her address to me makes my heart skip a beat. Why did she address me as captain? I don't even have an official rank yet. I ignore it, figuring it's just another glitch. One of the technicians will fix it.

"Uh, give me status of all crew members." I say.

"Crew status; awake." She responds.

That can't be right . . . If they were awake I would have seen them as I came here. Something weird is going on.

"What is the number of crew on board?"

"Crew number: one."

My heart skips a beat. That can't be right; I can't be the only person on this ship. This is wrong . . . This is so wrong.

"Number of life signs on board," I say, exasperated.

"Life signs: one."

No . . . It can't be. There's no way I'm alone on this ship!

I take a deep breath, trying to get myself to relax. My hands shake vigorously at my sides, so I put them into fists. I need to keep a level head, I tell myself.

"What is my location?" I exhale.

The screen ahead of me lights up, displaying a planet. The ship must be in its gravitation orbit. The surface seems to be mostly water, so there must be life. Hopefully it's intelligent and not too primitive.

"Seven million cycles away from Reyela," my home planet, "In the galaxy 419539478, or The Milky Way, as referred to by the inhabitants. It is third from its sun."

"Total number of inhabitants?" I walk closer to the screen.

"Roughly seven billion."

"How is their technology?" I stare at the beautiful planet before me.

"Primitive."

Damn it. "Have they achieved space travel at least?"

"No, though they do have space stations circling in their orbit and have visited their moon."

Damn primitive planet. How in the world am I going to explain to them how I got here?

"Ship status." Maybe I can get out of here without them even noticing.

"Damaged, losing power and oxygen."

When? Oh God, could this get any worse? "Estimated time of life support left."

"Three days."

Holy crap. I have to get off this ship or I'm going to die. "Status of escape pods."

"Three left, two damaged, one functional, no life support available."

How the hell am I supposed to get out of here without life support? I stare down at the black suit that holds tight to my skin. I can survive in the escape pod if I turn the life support from my suit on, though I won't be able to get very far. I'll run out of oxygen before I reach the outer edge of the galaxy. I'll have to go down to the planet. That is, if I can even survive on it.

"Will I be able to survive on the planet's surface?"

"The inhabitants' anatomy is rather similar to yours, based on the elements in the planet, it is almost a perfect twin planet to Reyela in its prime." My planet's atmosphere was diminished in a battle way before my time. We now live in pods on the surface that contain the air for us. "In fact, your anatomy is so similar, you could even reproduce with one."

I don't know why she added that, that wasn't even relevant to my request. Perhaps this AI has some sort of sense of humor.

"Prep the functional escape pod," I order before turning on my heels and walking out.

The light on the floor leads me in another direction. The AI must be showing me to the escape pods. I follow her lighted pathway until I reach them. I step inside the one she has opened for me. I look out the round window placed at the back. The planet lies in front of it, even more beautiful than when it was displayed on the screen.

I exhale, focusing on the task at hand. I turn my life support on, turn my suit on, and take a seat, strapping myself in. It's time to go down to the planet.

"Launch escape pod."