Starsend - Chapter 3: Strange space
The Archer burst out of the wormhole into blinding light. Bertie winced and covered his eyes. After a moment, the light began to fade.
The void of space flickered and shifted around the ship before finally solidifying. An eerie purplish glow emanated from somewhere unseen, casting a pall on the surrounding stars.
As his vision settled, Bertie glanced with uncertainty about him, trying in vain to get his bearings as the Blue Archer moved steadily forward.
He saw nothing helpful or familiar. Every star was new, every sight a mystery.
Bertie moved to the left side of the bridge and found a thick black box hardwired to the surrounding machinery. Faded yellow letters on the box read “Navigatrix 6-S”.
He flipped a thick black switch on the side of the navigatrix and checked its antiquated display. Nothing happened. He flipped the switch back and forth but nothing changed.
Bertie growled, rolled his eyes, and smashed his fist down in the center of the device. He cursed and yanked his stinging hand back, but the screen finally hummed to life.
Bertie cradled his bruised hand for a moment and then flipped several switches on the navigatrix and waited a moment. He flipped several switches on the console and waited a moment.
Out in the blackness of space, a recess opened on the roof of the Archer and a small receiver began to peek out of it. The receiver cranked up and up until it was a few feet above the ship.
Bertie waited a few minutes a checked the display again. The navigatrix made it official: they were in completely uncharted and unrecognizable space. The system could find nothing it could identify.
Bertie slumped into a battered chair near the center console. Reaching up, he pushed a red button similar to the one at the entrance to the bridge.
“Status report. I need all hands to respond and let me know what you see and what you’ve got.”
“What we’ve got,” growled Slurf. “Is a whole lot of nothing. No course, so no way to deliver our shipment, no stars I’ve ever seen before, and no clue what we should do next.”
“Fair enough, Dixon. Just the same, please take any readings you can of this foreign space around us. See if you can find some highs to go with those lows.”
“Aye, Captain Bert,” Slurf said.
“Jak and Jek? What’s our engine and power status?”
“Still functioning, boss,” Jek said.
“All systems normal, boss man,” Jak added.
An awkward silence hung for a moment.
“WHAT?” Jek and Jak said in near unison. “We say nice things sometimes!”
Bertie stifled a harsh chuckle, barely disguising it by clearing his throat.
“To state the obvious, we need to figure out our next move. Slurf, get back to me with that data as quickly as you can. Boys, keep this death trap functional. We’ll meet in the galley in a couple of hours.”
He paused, took a calming breath in, and said
“One more thing; Goz has been sleeping long enough. I’m going to wake him up so he can join us. Bear that in mind.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!”
“Are you crazy?”
“Why the heck would you do that? You’ve got to be out of your F-”
Bertie clicked off the intercom, rubbed his temples, and rose from his chair. He walked to the right side of the bridge and bent down. After a few moments of pulling and struggling, he managed to remove a massive circular cover, thrusting it to one side.
Bertie glanced down into the circular passage hidden below the cover. A thin ladder set inside the wall led straight down. The opening was just wide enough for him to fit.
He squeezed into the hole and made the slow, careful climb down to the lowest level of the Archer. This held an all but forgotten storage area and a secure, heavily shielded cabin.
Bertie reached the bottom rung, turned to his left to approach the cabin, and stopped in his tracks.
“Who the brask are you?”