Collected Short Stories

Lost - Part One - A Journey Interrupted

*Blink*

*Blink*

*Blink*

A red warning light was blinking in the empty bridge.

-Alert. Unexpected Object. Diverting course.-

The sound echoed through the long silent chamber, seeming to want to fill the gap as effectively as possible.

-Alert. Unavoidable Collision Detected. Brace for impact.-

After a moment of extended silence, red lights flashing and reflecting off the polished interior surfaces of humanity's first and only ship capable of traveling to the far reaches of the galaxy, a series of loud pops and creaking noises sounded out through the empty halls. Explosions sang out in the darkness searching for ears that could not hear.

Then all was silent.

*****************************************

The octagonal room was light by blinking emergency lights. A robotic voice sounded out through the chamber.

-Flight Crew Emergency Waking Procedure Initialized-

Eight oval pods, one against each wall, began to glow a vibrant green. The opaque walls of the pods showing the silhouettes of the occupants inside. The tops of the pods opened like oblong roses, and white vapors spilled out rolling down and across the floor.

*Cough*

"Hello!"

*Cough*

"Captian! Why are we up?!"

The ship's navigator called out into the foggy room, the red lights filling the entire space with a vibrant glow. It had been a while since he had used his lungs. Coughing was expected.

The captain, still trying to sit up in her open pod, coughed and hacked up some of the synthetic embryonic fluid that they suspended their bodies in for the long journey.

"Ships log! What the hell is going on!?" The captain yelled as loudly as she could.

-Unavoidable Collision. Damage Unknown. Course Unknown.-

"Damn it! Come on wake up guys!" She yelled at her stirring crew.

The captain climbed out of her pod, reaching for the towel hanging on the wall to dry herself off and slip into her flight suit.

"I want the seven of you at your stations in ninety seconds! Move!" Shouting over the sounds of the emergency indicators, the captain bolted to the center of the chamber and ascended the ladder leading to the bridge.

As the rest of the crew followed her up through the hatch in various stages of dress, their understanding of what led to their waking only lessened.

The bridge was dark. Warning indicators offline. The observation point on the forward end of the room had deployed the solar shields used to block larger blasts of radiation. Two chairs occupied the center of the room, spaced front to back about eight feet apart. The pilot's chair, and the captain's seat in front of that. Three more stations lined each side of the bridge with chairs and control panels for each member of the flight crew.

"Ship Status! Full report! Authorization Rebecca M. Harrison!" The captain ordered the ship's computer to get her up to speed on what happened and their current position.

-Status report: Unkown object in flight path. Collision unavoidable. Flight controls operational. Life support operational. Hull intact. Navigation and comm links offline.-