A New World

“It is a very sobering feeling to be up in space and realize that one’s safety factor was determined by the lowest bidder on a government contract.” ~ Alan Shepard (Apollo 14)

           It was the year 2035 and the last rocket to launch from Earth before its destruction, was a six-person team of highly skilled astronauts from three different countries. The pilot of the mission was a former American Navy pilot, Commander Calvin Anderson, a twenty-nine-year-old with multiple commendations and citations. He had flown in fifteen successful combat missions before being recruited to join the space program.

           Along with Commander Anderson were fellow American astronaut, Lieutenant Kathryn Sharp, Russian cosmonaut, Sergey Agapov, North Korean, Kim Hak-ju, and Canadians, David Walters, and Bernadette Livingston.

           The mission was to explore the outer regions of the known Universe. Their goal was to reach the planet, Pluto within eight years. From there, they would travel beyond and begin to chart other regions yet undiscovered.

           By the seventh year, things aboard the spaceship began to go awry. Being confined to such a small area for an extended period became too much for both the Russian and the North Korean astronauts. Sergey snapped one tragic day and tried to leave in one of the escape pods. When the Korean learned of Sergey’s plans, he sabotaged the pod, and within five minutes of its departure from the ship, the pod exploded, leaving Sergey’s charred body floating aimlessly among the scattered debris.

           Kim’s actions were soon discovered and the Canadian astronaut, David Walters, attempted to subdue him. Kim retaliated by assaulting David with a blast of liquid nitrogen from the lab. David was instantly blinded, and his face froze to the point where all air was cut off to his lungs. He fell to the floor and his frozen skin shattering as it impacted the hard surface.

           Bernadette, seeing tragedy fall upon her crewman, charged at Hak-ju, and drove a six-inch blade into his back, puncturing a lung. Soon thereafter, the Korean astronaut’s life was ended. Now they were down to three.

           Commander Anderson asked the female astronauts to assist him in removing the corpses, then he called for a meeting. They needed to discuss what had transpired and to determine what steps needed to be followed to prevent similar events from occurring in the future. They decided that regular discussions about each other’s mental state would be detrimental.

           Lieutenant Sharp had more on her agenda than the mission. Her and Commander Anderson had served together before joining the space program, and even back then, she had felt an attraction to him. Now, after working so closely with him for so long, those feelings were beginning to surface once again. Secretly, Commander Anderson had felt the same about her but had never revealed any sort of interest other than on a professional level. It was against the rules to fraternize with crew members unless they were married to one another.

           However, while showering in his quarters, the Lieutenant had entered unannounced, undressed, and joined him in the shower.

           “Kathryn, you know that we shouldn’t be doing this,” he began to say. His words said one thing, but his body said something else entirely as his eyes gazed upon her perfectly toned body. The water cascading over her soft skin had aroused him greatly. Before he could say another word, Kathryn had pressed up against his hard body and began to caress his body with hers. They made love in the shower and then continued back in the bedroom.

           The next morning, Commander Anderson awoke with a smile on his face and an empty bed. At some point during the night, the Lieutenant had snuck out.

           When he cleaned himself up and went up to the bridge, the two ladies were already hard at work plotting the next course. Kathryn glanced over and gave him a sly smirk.

           “Okay, crew, bring me up to speed please.”

           “Yes, Commander,” Bernadette responded. “we are ahead of schedule. I modified the computer’s trajectory, and it will cut nearly six months from our original course. We should be nearing Pluto in less than two months.”

           “Excellent work, Bernadette,” Commander Anderson replied with exuberance.

           Commander Anderson sat at the helm and watched silently as these two beautiful and intelligent women worked tirelessly and efficiently under his command. He felt fortunate that they had survived this far. Without the two of them, he may very well have gone off course by this point.

           ***

           Another month had passed, and the crew’s anticipation of seeking the unknown had grown exponentially as they neared the outer reaches of their solar system. The ship’s computer kept them on course as the crew got some much-needed sleep before they reached Pluto.

           Commander Anderson was awakened by the sound of warning alarms blaring over the PA system. The ship shook violently and tossed the Commander out of his bed. He struggled to his feet and ran out into the hall to check on the other crew members. Both were leaving their quarters at approximately the same time, trying their best to keep their balance as they walked.

           “Computer,” the Commander shouted, “update on our current situation.”

           Over the speakers, partially muffled out by the alarms, the computer replied, “We have met with an anomaly, Commander. The ship seems to be trapped in a gravitational pull. I have initiated counter-measures and await further instruction.”

           “Stand by. We are on our way to the bridge.”

           Moments later, the three crew members entered the bridge, and what they witnessed sent chills through their bodies. The ship was being drawn into a massive black hole. They immediately went to their stations and worked together initiating evasive maneuvers which were ineffective. All they could do now is hang on and hope for the best.

           The ship increased speed as it neared the rift in space. The Commander and his female crewmates were strapped in tightly to their seats. As they entered the black hole, time itself seemed to be distorted. They felt their bodies being stretched in several directions at once. It was impossible to tell which was up or down. Then, almost as quickly as it had started, it was over. They had passed through safely and now floated unharmed beyond the reach of the anomaly.

           As the Commander scanned the stars, something seemed out of sorts. The star system was too vast for this part of space.       

“Computer, what is our current location?”

           “Our current location does not appear on any known star charts, Commander. Our trajectory does not compute.”

           Bernadette searched the databases and confirmed the computer’s findings. They had breached a doorway through both time and space.

           “Well, crew, we came to discover strange, new worlds, and it looks like we may get our chance. Lieutenant, chart a course.”

           “Aye, aye, Commander.”

           Long-range sensors indicated a planetoid or moon in the distance, so they plotted a course for it.

           As they neared, Bernadette scanned the surface and was surprised to discover that the atmosphere was like Earth’s, with 24 % oxygen and 75 % nitrogen. The remaining 1 % was made up of an unknown chemical substance. There also appeared to be several lifeforms on the planet.

           “Kathryn, prepare the shuttle for departure. We are going to the surface. Take all necessary medical supplies and weapons just in case the locals are unfriendly.”

           The shuttle landed on the surface in a desolate area just beyond the sight of the lifeforms that they had scanned. As a protective measure, they wore their spacesuits as they exited the shuttle. When they were assured that the air was breathable, they removed the suits and returned them to the shuttle.

           It was a short walk to their destination, but they wished it had lasted longer. The planet’s two suns felt very warm against their bleached skin. It had been nearly a decade since they last felt such warmth.

           The Commander took the lead, weapon at the ready position. Kathryn was second, and Bernadette watched the rear. As they rounded a rocky pass, voices could be heard, but it was a language or several languages that they had never heard before.

           Commander Anderson signaled for the ladies to halt. He edged his way around the corner and spotted a village of some sort. Several alien species walked freely through the sandy streets. The Commander told his crew members to stay put while he checked it out. If it appeared safe, he would signal them to follow. If anything happened to him, they were ordered to return to the shuttle and fly back to the ship.

           He took a deep breath then edged his way out into the street. His appearance brought on several curious glances, though none of these creatures seemed interested in his being there. When he was confident that they were in no immediate danger, he radioed for the ladies to follow.

           Once again, the onlookers looked over these strange creatures with curiosity but did not appear to be hostile in any way. They joined the Commander and traveled together further into this odd little town.

           There were creatures of all shapes, sizes, and colors. One resembled a pink elephant with large, floppy ears and a protruding nose…at least it looked like a nose. Another was covered in long, purple hair-like bristles and bounced around on one leg and a long tail like a kangaroo.

           A large crowd seemed to form outside of a structure at the far end of the street. A strange type of music seemed to be coming from the inside. They gently pushed their way through the crowd and walked inside. The place was packed with a large variety of lifeforms. On the stage stood a motley crew of musicians who plucked away and blew into abstract instruments. A one-eyed baritone belted out a harmonious tune of noises that must have meant something to the crowd because they swooned and cheered the singer on.

           Even Bernadette seemed to be getting into the music because she was swaying along to the beat. When the Commander looked her way, she immediately stopped and turned three shades of red.

           “Please, don’t stop on my account. I think that we all deserve a little R & R after all that we had been through.”

           With that said, the Commander started bouncing to the beat himself, though a little offbeat. Kathryn was never much into music and decided to see what they had to drink instead. She approached what appeared to be the bar and began to speak. The bartender held up his tentacle-like fingers to stop her from speaking and then placed a device on the bar in front of her. She picked it up and began to ask about it.

           “Excuse me, what is this…”

           Before she could finish her sentence, the device started chirping out a series of clicks and whistles. The bartender replied with his own series of noises and the device once again sprang to life.

           “You are holding a translator. It will translate any language into a language that is understandable by its user. Can I get you something to drink?”

           “Yes, please. What do you recommend that isn’t too strong?”

           The bartender whipped together a frosty drink and poured it into a metallic goblet before handing it to Kathryn.

           “Thank you, but I am afraid I don’t have any of your local currency. We are not from around here.”

           “No payment is necessary. We have no currency here. Everyone shares in the responsibilities in place of payment for goods and services. Enjoy.”

           Kathryn nervously sipped at the drink. It tasted wonderful. She then took a bigger swallow. Her mouth felt invigorated with a cool chill that poured slowly down into her throat. The drink had an almost-fruity flavor to it. She could not wait to share her discovery with the others.

           As Kathryn walked back toward the location where she had left the Commander and Bernadette, they were no longer there. She looked around and soon saw them dancing slowly together in front of the stage. Bernadette's arms were wrapped tightly around his waist and Kathryn felt a sense of jealously brooding within her.

           The music ended, and the Commander and Bernadette left the dance floor hand-in-hand. This enraged Kathryn even more. She swallowed back the rest of her drink and threw the goblet to the ground at the feet of her Commander before walking out of the building.

           Commander Anderson followed with Bernadette just steps behind. He called out for Kathryn to stop, but she ignored his request.

           “I order you to stop, Lieutenant,” he bellowed out. Kathryn stopped in her tracks but did not turn around. The Commander circled around to face her then asked Bernadette to give them a few minutes to speak and she complied.

           “What has gotten into you, Kathryn? I’ve never seen you act this way before.”

           “I’m sorry, sir. I thought that after the night we shared, that you felt something for me, so when I saw her holding you tightly on the dance floor, I guess my emotions got the best of me. Then again, maybe it was the alcohol.”

           “Alcohol?” he inquired. “Is that what was in the cup that you threw on the ground? How did you buy a drink with no money?”

           Kathryn explained about the translating device and how the payment system worked on that planet, then she apologized to Bernadette as well and ordered three more drinks from the bar.

           After a few more drinks, they decided to go outside for a little air. As they walked through the street, they came across a marketplace. It had everything from clothing to live animals. One table was filled with what looked like fruit. Kathryn spotted a translator on the table and asked the clerk what she was selling. The clerk called them Malloweese. It was a succulent fruit that was filled with a juicy, pink substance that resembled watermelon without the seeds. She asked for six of them.

           The crew devoured three of the Malloweese fruits and saved the other three for later. A silk-like scarf blew in the wind as if it were trying to wave at Bernadette. Using the translator, she asked the clerk if she could take it, and she was given permission. Bernadette wrapped it around her head and the material had a cooling effect to it. It felt refreshing.

           The Commander approached a table near the end of the marketplace where several metallic dagger-like objects had caught his attention as the sun’s rays reflected in his eyes. He reached down and started to lift one that he had seen with a blade that was nearly ten inches in length and had a serrated edge. Before he could remove it from the table and examine it further, a large, furry hand grasped onto his wrist and held him down.

           Shocked, the Commander shouted out his resentment for the rough treatment. The hairy beast that held him down grunted and howled. Kathryn spotted a translator and held it between them. The hair-covered creature was indicating that the weapons are not for him to take. They are the property of the guards who watch over the town. Commander Anderson apologized to his captor and offered his piece of fruit as a gesture of good faith. The creature accepted his delicious proposal and freed him from his grip.

           The crew watched as each sun began to set in two opposite directions and decided to head back to the ship. They boarded the shuttle and lifted off, leaving behind a wondrous town filled with so much they had yet to explore. It was unanimously decided that they would stay at this place for a good time longer and get to understand the customs of all the alien creatures who gathered there. Perhaps then, they can find out how to get to other inhabited planets as well. Bernadette began reprogramming the ship’s computer to develop a brand new charting system based on the information that they recovered, and over the years to follow, they explored dozens of other exciting planets, each unique in their own, special way.