KYLIE'S SONG #SciFriday

Chapter 6

Kylie was banned from the bridge, but an hour before they executed the slowing maneuver, all seven officers were washed in their duties. She slipped in unnoticed and moved behind a bank of control panels on a raised platform. From here she could look down on the proceedings unobserved.

Victoreen stood by her side and she forced him to let go of her hand. The last week of the journey she had endured his childhood game of bribery, but that was about to change.

"Do you believe in fate?" she whispered to Victoreen.

"Of course were together aren't we."

"As friends," she reminded gently.

"I believe we were meant to go to Avalon, a planet orbiting Dog Star Reboot ,and make our new home," he said. "We have to settle down and ensure the human race survives, right?"

She looked at the Cheshire grin on his innocent face. She knew Peter was in the brig, tried and convicted of her father's murder, but she was also in love with the voice. Victoreen might serve a purpose, but she was destined to accomplish great things. Now the voice inside her head was louder, more distinct as they grew closer to their destination. And it constantly reminded her how great she was. You are royalty, destined to change nations, she heard it say. She should have told the crew but she didn't. She was happy to let the future unfold naturally.

"Bring the gravity drive on line," screamed Zader, scribbling furiously at the controls.

"It takes ten minutes to complete the systems check," noted Strella at the fatal oversight.

Fiona rolled her eyes and checked the time. "We're fine as long as it doesn't reboot."

Quint did some last minute calculations, making sure every scanner and optical sensor was online. The minutes passed quickly and even Kylie's head was spinning at the activity on the bridge.

"Target gravity drive," intoned Zader, his voice moving into a steady monotone. Now their training kicked in and he flicked the controls like he was born to it. The guide beacon probed ahead for the nearest heavy body. At 2000 times the speed of light, they would have no room for error.

Kylie felt the infinite gyroscope ramp up in the pit of her stomach. The constant whine rose to a fevered pitch and she felt like she was one with the cosmos. She knew this was all for her. Every plan and invention, the bending of technology to the will of man, even the demise of her species served one purpose, to get her to Avalon.

"We have a lock," Zader said in clear monotone. One drop of sweat beaded up on his brow as he eased the throttle control forward. The lights dimmed and every ounce of power was diverted to the solid state gravity drive. The slowing momentum of the ship was amplified towards Avalon and the planet started to move. Darkstar decelerated and the view screen caught photons reversing direction. To Kylie it looked like they were going backwards, then they seemed to stop when they blinked into existence 43 minutes from Dog Star Reboot.

The comm link blazed to life, flooded with radio messages from the planet. Quint watched the data flow across his screen. "We have an advanced alien civilization broadcasting across the entire electromagnetic spectrum."

Strella grunted under her breath, "Military ships are being dispatched," she brought up a holographic display of the outer solar system. "The communication is coming from a deep space outpost."

"Do they have faster than light communication?" asked Marconi.

"Negative, we will reach the planet the same time the message does." Strella paused while everyone held their breath. "They're telling us to stand down or we will be destroyed."

"It's too late," said Zader, "the gravity drive has already pushed the planet out of its orbit."

Fiona, the acting captain realized her mistake too late. The gravity drive had latched onto Avalon and used it to slow the ship. The force behind the inertial braking event had already set the wheels of fate in motion.

"Do the calculations, Zader, bring Avalon into its new orbit and stop this damn ship.

Kylie was wearing her crew uniform. It was bright blue spandex which flared out below her waist and ended above the knees. Her hair was braided back into a thick ponytail, with black slippers and the official crest of Darkstar on her chest.

She moved down from the upper flight deck and glanced at Quint, giving him a wink. They had talked long into the night about meeting an alien race. What would they be like and could humans coexist. Now he saw her as if for the first time, and he shuddered. Those blue eyes cut right to his soul and he was scared for the first time.

Kylie stood next to the captain's chair and watched as they pressed rapidly towards Avalon. "Pretty isn't it?" she said with a twinkle in her eye.

Fiona stared back, trying to figure out what was happening. She didn't recognize the person next to her. There was something familiar yet strange.

"Calculations complete," said Zader. "Initiating sequence."

Fiona felt the gravity drive in the back of her jaw. She clenched her teeth and looked away from Kylie, but her blaster was in her hand.

Lines of force were directed towards the planet which was already moving out of its orbit.

"Reduce infinite gyroscope" chimed Zader. The apparent mass of the ship went from a photon to a feather. They scrubbed velocity rapidly and Avalon moved towards the Dog Star.

"All systems go," said Ariel. Now they could see the planet dead ahead. It was twice the size of Earth, with oceans spread across the surface and the outline of distinct land masses.

"Bring as around the planet, all stop," ordered Fiona.

"I'm getting a history picture," said Marconi.

"Incoming ships of war," added Strella.

"Details please," urged Fiona. She needed a clear picture of what they were up against. "Bring weapons on line."

"They're known as Sadrasitic, best translation. Radio communication started 1500 earth years ago."

"That's why we never heard from them. Their first transmission hasn't reached us yet."

"They have conventional space flight, fusion power, and a strong military."

"Show us what they look like," ordered Fiona. The ship was moving around the planet and now they could see the surface.

"Isn't it beautiful," said Kylie as if she were in a dream. They could see gleaming towers of glass reaching up into space and stretching as far as the eye could see. Space elevators dotted the upper atmosphere and now they noticed tiny blue flames on fast approach. Quint switched to a comm link and a man's face glared back at them. His brown eyes penetrated Fiona's heart and she was caught off guard. She could feel him probing her mind, searching for answers and trying to get past her limited defenses. He had that aura about him, a radiance she'd only seen once in her life.

He looked like Kylie.

Fiona stepped back to get a bead on her but realized she didn't have her gun anymore.

"Sorry, no one will die today," said the blond haired princess. She held Fiona's gun with a subtle grace and the acting captain knew she would use it.

The man on the screen began talking loudly, but a translator soon picked out some words. "You are in violation of Sadrasitic law. Surrender now or prepare to die."

Quint looked at Kylie, then the captain. "It's not an unreasonable request, we did just change their climate by twenty degrees."

"Why don't you surrender, they won't hurt us?" Kylie smiled that cryptic grin, and now Fiona knew she had made two mistakes today. One was coming here, the other was trusting Kylie.

Quint stood in front of her and asked, "Why are you so happy, we're about to die?"

She inhaled deeply, then exhaled. Her eyes blazed with an eternal fire that struck right at Quint's core, then she said, "What's better than death?"