Unbreakable

On the Edge

The unknown spaceship was approaching quickly, heads on to their vessel, on a collision course. The incident seemed unavoidable.

"Where the hell did this bastard come from?!" Captain Gerald Bostaph asked. "Did you try to signal them? What can we do to avoid direct hit?" He turned to Rade Lukic, First Mate. Two of them were on the Bridge, looking at the hazy image of what looked like a spacecraft right in front of them.

"Yes, sir! We signaled them, and they signaled us!" First Mate responded. "I gave the order to the Engine Room to slow down to a full stop. In the meantime, our Navigation Unit is executing a turning maneuver, trying to get out of the way. I am surprised as well. There were no other missions in this quadrant – ever. This is a phantom. A ghost ship. Flying Dutchman."

"Yeah, sure. And it is some deep space Cthulhu race of ghost aliens flying on it," Bostaph shook his head.

"You might be close to the truth, Captain. We explored so much of the universe, yet did not encounter any aliens yet. This event is overdue! This could be our moment!"

"Shut up, Lukic, and get us out of this mess. I am not looking for any adventures here. I am one mission away from retirement, and I don't need any goddamn Cthulhu to ruin my well-deserved time to enjoy myself."

"Aye, Captain! If you remember, we are retiring together. But it will sure be cool to close out our illustrious careers making friends with an advanced alien race!"

"Illustrious careers? Let's hope they don't demote us and put on a garbage disposer as a punishment for wrecking this tin can."

Space Cruiser Unbreakable was on a recon mission deep in the uncharted region of space. They did not expect to encounter anything out of ordinary in this quadrant, the Cruiser was old and was not considered fit for any risky endeavors - notwithstanding its pretentious name, the ship has been broken and repaired numerous times. The crew members were not the best or even middle-of-the-pack performers. For Captain Bostaph and First Mate Lukic, it was one of the last missions before their happy retirement somewhere on the beautiful shores of the Booflonian ocean or in the magical clouds of Ljusalfheim.

Humanity had always looked at the stars and the universe and wondered what is out there. Are we alone? Is the cosmos infinite? What mysteries are lurking in the regions far away from Earth? Progress had been very slow, distances unsurmountable, and challenges abound, yet people had persevered in the quest of uncovering secrets of the universe. Then, about three centuries ago, an inflection point had happened. First, the nature and phenomenon of dark matter and unaccounted-for gravity had been explained. After that, dark energy and the true nature of space-time had been explained. Practical means of wielding the latter had come with the deep understanding of its essence. Space Compression mechanism had been discovered and applied to serve humanity. A new generation of spacecraft, propelled by Space Compressors, had been built. Instead of using propulsion to push vessels through the vast oceans of space, these new, slick spaceships relied on the fact that space itself could be compressed almost infinitely, significantly reducing actual travel distances. This engineering breakthrough had opened up the universe for mankind, and now enormous regions of formerly unfathomable galaxies were being traversed, mapped, and sometimes even settled. People had become explorers and masters of the universe.

"Sir, bad news!" Navigator Leslie Maynard's voice filled the Bridge.

"What else? You cannot turn the ship?" The captain was annoyed.

"No sir, we are executing the maneuver. The problem is the phantom ship is doing the same!"

"What do you mean by that?"

"It repeats all our motions. This is very strange...if I may, sir..."

"Yes, go ahead, for the love of God!"