Infinity

Approximately 4.25 light years from Earth, in the southern constellation of Centaurus, a small habitable planet called Proxima was discovered. This Earth-like planet rotates perfectly in the habitable zone away from the sun at 1.3 astronomical units. Scans have revealed that the planet has liquid water on the surface, and a clean atmosphere that will support life. With just the right amount of greenhouse gases, Proxima can support the same temperatures as our own planet.  

The discovery was made in the European Southern Observatory on Cerro Paranal in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile. Using the VTL (Very Large Telescope), a group of scientists were studying the light density of surrounding stars in the Centaurus galaxy and came across the planet by accident.  

This happy little accident became our salvation for hope and raised trillions of dollars through a world-wide multimedia campaign. The money was used to develop a state-of-the-art space shuttle that could handle the strain of deep space travel. That ship was the USS Infinity, and was completed in record time. 

A small group of NASA’s finest astronauts and scientists were selected to helm a special exploration mission. They wanted to know if it was possible to colonize Proxima. Together, these twelve brave men and women put their lives on hold to further mankind's quest for this new scientific discovery. The development of hyperdrive technology would make this trip possible. 

The launch was a great success, and the mission was officially underway... 

Coming out of hyperdrive, the USS Infinity rumbled like a small island being swallowed by the sea. The crew sat firmly in their seats and tightly squeezed the arm rests as the inertia reverberated through their skins. Captain Victoria Fry, slowly decreased acceleration allowing the ship to stabilize itself. The crew collectively took a deep breath and exhaled, releasing all of their apprehension and anxieties. 

The crew gazed at Proxima with wonder in their eyes and amazement in their hearts. A beautiful world untouched by mankind. The similarities to Earth were astounding. They could see deep blue seas, vast land masses, and wispy clouds. 

Captain Fry broke the deafening silence with a whisper. “Well… here we are about to fuck up another planet.”

A determined voice sprang to life over the intercom breaking the sudden sense of joy. 

“Attention ladies and gentlemen, this is Commander Steele. Now that we’ve reached our destination, I’m afraid we have a dilemma. I need everyone to meet me in the conference room ASAP.”

A few minutes later, the Infinity crew sat down in the conference room at a big oval table and waited for Commander Steele to begin. He was wearing a white Infinity uniform just like the rest of the crew. His bushy white eyebrows were furrowed as he looked over the transmission logs. 

He slowly looked up from the papers, and uttered, “It seems we have a situation.” The crew looked on in bewilderment as he continued. “We have lost contact with Earth. We haven’t received any transmissions since we went into hyperdrive.” 

Captain Fry brushed back her red hair, and asked, “What does that mean for the mission sir? Should we abort and head back?”

Shaking his head amongst the rumblings of the crew, he retorted, “The protocols are clear. The mission must continue.”

“But sir losing contact with Earth puts this mission in jeopardy,” Fry quickly interjected. “We need to establish contact before we continue!”  

Master Chief Ben Shepard saw the determination in Fry’s green eyes. “It may just be a communication problem sir, but I think Fry is right. We need to wait until we hear something from Earth.” 

Commander Steele exploded in a fit of rage. He threw the transmission papers across the room and yelled through snarled teeth, “We will continue this mission as planned and follow the protocol guidelines! We all have jobs to do and I suggest we get moving!” He paused for dramatic effect, “Do I make myself clear?” 

Without saying anything further, the crew looked at each other to see if anyone was brave enough to speak up. Steele cut into the murky awkwardness, “Good! I’m glad we all understand each other! Now, prepare to board Infinity II for departure! We leave immediately. Dismissed!!”   

Captain Fry and Master Chief Shepard locked their eyes together in acknowledgement as they rose up and left the room. Shepard had a close friendship with Fry, and he had always backed her when he knew she was right. This time was no different.

Slamming her fist against the wall outside, Fry snapped, “This is wrong!”  

Sheppard placed his hand on her shoulder to console her. “I know. What choice do we have? He is the Commander after all.”  

Overhearing, Steele approached them and blurted, “You two will stay on board and try to re-establish communication with Earth. I know you don’t like my decision, but I have to make the tough calls. The rest of the crew will proceed with the mission.” 

“Yes sir!” they said in unison. 

The rest of the crew boarded the Infinity II, a smaller lightweight cruiser that was built to travel from the USS Infinity to Proxima with the greatest of ease. The USS was much too large to enter the atmosphere and was only built to travel through deep space. 

Before boarding the Infinity II, Commander Steele looked at Fry and Shepard through determined eyes. “Don’t worry about us. Once you establish contact with Earth, I want you to take the Infinity III and join us down there. Is that clear?” 

“Yes sir!” Fry said. 

“Good luck sir. We will notify you as soon as we make contact,” Shepard insisted. 

“We'll see you down there soon!” Commander Steele smiled warmly and closed the hatch.  

Shepard and Fry walked back to the command station in silence, and watched the Infinity II depart. Fry closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Shepard pierced his lips into a thin line, sensing her frustration. She admired how he always seemed to keep himself composed at all times. Turning away before he could notice her stares of admiration, Fry fumbled through the communication board to start some diagnostic tests. 

He admired her steadfast dedication to her beliefs and wondered what it would feel like to have that same conviction. He sat down next to Fry and smelled Cherry Blossom which mystified his senses. He closed his eyes and felt like he was soaring through the air like Superman. He grabbed a diagnostics manual and flipped through the pages, fearing she might notice his euphoria. 

After several hours of failed tests, Fry grew very irritable. There was no word or signal from Earth. The mounting pressure built up to a boiling point, and she exploded like a bursting steam pipe. She rose up and threw her chair across the room. Sheppard stood up, alarmed and surprised by the sudden outburst. 

“You know what we have to do right?” It was more of a statement than a question.

“What are you talking about, Fry?” 

She paused for a moment, “We need to go back to Earth. I know something is wrong!” 

“What about the rest of the team? We can’t just leave them here!”  

“They’ll be fine! They have all the supplies they need. If something happened to Earth, this whole mission means nothing.”

Shepard scratched his shaved head, and replied, “I understand that, but what if we go back and everything is fine?”  

Fry’s face lit up with excitement. “If everything is fine, then we will just refuel and come back! No big deal…”  

“Fry, do you know how to spell court martial, or mutiny?”

Scrunching her face, she retorted, “I’ll accept those charges. Are you with me or not?”

“I’m with you… but we should contact Infinity II and let them know what we plan to do.” 

“Absolutely not!” Fry snapped. “Commander Steele will never let this happen! We need to go now. To Hell with what the others think!”  

Shepard reluctantly nodded his head. Our careers are over now…

Together they set a course back to Earth and took off with a thunderous sonic boom. Shepard's heart sank deep into his gut knowing that they left the Infinity crew behind. Fry didn’t give it a second thought, it was full steam ahead for her. A deep sense of doom pulled at her motivational strings compelling her to act.  

With the hyperdrive engaged, Fry sank into her seat, thinking about all the possible scenarios that could happen to Earth. The universe is one big chaotic surprise bag filled with devastation and desolation. Billions of people on one tiny little planet in the Milky Way Galaxy, it’s a wonder that something hasn’t happened yet. 

In the silence of the journey, all of Shepard’s thoughts were exposed. He was fidgety and couldn’t sit still. He kept tapping his foot and biting his nails. Fry tried to ignore his behavior, but it was no use. The consequences of her actions were at fault. Swallowing her pride, she shut off the hyperdrive as they approached the Milky Way Galaxy.  

“Relax Shepard, we're just now entering the Milky Way,” she said in a soft warm voice.   

“Be careful Fry, we're about to enter the asteroid belt. I’ll relax later!” 

“I see it… but I don’t think those are asteroids!”  

Straight ahead were several massive oval shaped boulders that were starting to come to life. Shepard fixed his eyes on one as it uncoiled itself revealing two gigantic wings, a mighty tail, and a serpent-like head full of razor-sharp teeth. It had thick black scaly skin that looked like bulletproof armor. The rest of the cocoons soon followed suit. 

“Oh my god!” cried Shepard. 

Fry leaned forward in her seat and gasped, “Space dragons!!”   

The ferocious dragons snarled and spewed forth shards of ice that punctured the Infinity. Shepard was automatically on damage control as he closed off sections of the ship that were breached from his control panel. Fry took evasive maneuvers trying to steer them away from danger. The space dragons swarmed the ship like flies would flock to a rotting carcass. 

Two space dragons latched firmly onto the ship with their mighty claws. Shepard and Fry could hear crunching metal as the dragons twisted the ship from side to side. The fuel line ruptured allowing gas to float all around into space. and alarms started going off inside. The ship was being torn to pieces. 

Shepard looked at Fry who was steering the ship in a spinning motion, trying to shake them off. “This is out of my hands now! I closed the gas lines, but those things are going to rip us apart!” he yelled. 

“Hang on, I have an idea!” screamed Fry.

She reached down and pushed the hyperdrive button, but it wouldn’t come online. “Oh, give me a break here!!” 

In hopeful eyes, Fry punched the button again and the hyperdrive ignited with a deafening roar. The surrounding gas droplets outside exploded into flames and set the dragons on fire. In a ballistic chain reaction, the other space dragons exploded into oblivion. 

With the ship creaking and squeaking, Fry turned the hyperdrive off just in time to arrive at Earth. Sweat dripped down Fry’s forehead and her hands were trembling. A dark shadow engulfed the USS Infinity like a destructive hurricane. All the color from Shepard’s face disappeared as he saw an unspeakable monstrosity.  

Hulking right in front of them was a massive black and gold space dragon. This dragon was so big that the earth and moon were hidden from their view. It had two enormous wings with sharp golden tips, a spiked tail with gold trim, and a Godzilla-like face with golden fangs. It was staring directly at the Infinity.

Shepard’s mouth dropped to the floor. “That must be the queen dragon!” 

The queen snarled and roared at them, shaking what little was left of the ship.

A single tear fell from Fry’s eye. Her lips were quivering, and her hands were shaking like a leaf. “Shepard! I want you to get the Infinity III ready for takeoff!” 

“What do you plan on doing? This ship is done for!” he shouted.

She clenched her jaw and her eyes snapped to life. “Just get that fucking ship ready, I have a plan.” 

Shepard wasted little time and ran off to power up the Infinity III. In all the time that he knew her, she never talked to him like that before. He didn’t know what to think, but he knew he had to heed her call. 

With the dragon approaching like a battering ram, Fry licked her lips and quickly entered some commands on the control panel. There was only one thing that she could do, and she knew it. Initiate self-destruct mode. She set the USS Infinity on auto pilot, and quickly ran away to join Shepard. 

The tiny vessel was already powered up as she entered. “What are you waiting for?” she yelled, buckling her seat belt.

“Floor it!!”

Shepard raised the release hatch, and the Infinity III blasted away like a speeding bullet. Fry glanced out the side window and saw the queen dragon freeze the USS Infinity like a giant popsicle. The mighty queen space dragon opened her mouth and swallowed the ship whole.  

At that moment, the queen saw the asylum seekers hiding away in the Infinity III. With a fearsome roar the evil behemoth opened her mouth again and lunged towards them. Soaring through space like a hungry megalodon; the queen suddenly stopped a few feet away from the tiny vessel and rolled her eyes into the back of her head. The USS Infinity exploded deep inside the dragon's bowels as the self-destruct timer ticked its last tock. Like an erupting lava cake, the queen exploded with a big splatter and was no more. 

“Yes! It worked,” Fry shouted. 

“That’s all well and good, but what do we do now?” Shepard asked with a heavy heart. 

Fry pointed to Earth with a shaky finger. “Destination home!”  

“What about the rest of the crew? We left them there, remember?” Shepard uttered through teary eyes. “The ship is gone now!” 

“I know… I know,” Fry cried, wiping her own tears away. “Let’s just pray they have another ship that can make the journey.” 

As they entered Earth’s atmosphere, the world looked like a very different place. It was now a frozen wasteland. The oceans were frozen solid, and there was no sign of life anywhere. 

“What happened here?” Fry asked. 

“The queen dragon froze the whole planet. I’m sure of it,” insisted Shepard. 

They landed the Infinity III in a wide-open clearing that used to be a field and stepped out into the frozen new world. Everything was blanketed in snow and ice and the air was bitter cold. Shepard grabbed some jackets from the ship and put one on Fry.  

She fell to her knees in despair. “Everything is lost and it’s all my fault!” 

Shepard knelt down and placed his arm around her. “It’s not your fault. If we had been here when this happened… I don’t think we would be alive right now.”  

Sniffling her nose, Fry stuttered, “We’re all alone now.” She couldn’t hold back her emotions any longer and cried like God had lost all of his children.  

Shepard pulled her close and hugged her tightly. “As long as we have each other, we will never be alone…”  

She sobbed even harder, giving in to his passion and gentle kindness. “What about the others we left behind?” 

He took a deep breath, and said, “I guess they will have to start a new life there. I’m sure they’ll be ok. They have everything they need for a fresh start.” 

Fry curved her lips into a soft smile and nodded her head. Tears streamed down her cheeks from her bloodshot eyes, and she noticed something in the distance.

Curious, she rose up and ran over to see what it was. Shepard followed close behind. 

Rising from the snow-covered land, stood a defiant purple spring lily. 

“Well, would you look at that!” Shepard gushed. “Maybe this is a sign?”

“A sign for what?” 

He looked deep into Fry's sparkling green eyes and kissed her softly. Then he whispered, “This is a sign that no matter what life throws at us, we will survive. Together.”

Fry’s heart opened that day. 

She knew that he was right. 

She also knew that he loved her.

And she loved him.   

Life and love... will last… forever.    

The End  

Daniel R. Hayes