Back to Square One

“Back at Square One” by Al Newton

The spacecraft shot out of the launcher with incredible force, hurtling past the majestic planet rings and towards coordinate 739a. My grip on the armrest tightened as I dug my fingers into the soft fabric, trying to keep myself steady. As I gazed out the window, my vision began to warp and blur. The last clear image I had was her standing in the observatory window of the space station, waving goodbye. Though she wore a brave smile, it was clear that her heart was heavy with the weight of our impending separation. It was as if she knew that I might not return from this mission.

I attempted to wave back at her, but the intensity of the launch left my arms pressed firmly against my sides. I wished I had more time to say goodbye, but the urgency of the message had prompted my sudden departure.

I had prepared Jenna’s favorite dinner, but before we could even sit down to eat, a loud and insistent banging on the door shattered the tranquility of the moment.

I opened the door to find a soldier, his uniform crisp and his demeanor stern. My heart sank as he informed me of the urgent summons awaiting me. I left her and the steaming food to prepare for what would undoubtedly be the most important journey of my life.

As I donned my suit and double-checked my equipment, I couldn’t help but feel a sense of apprehension creeping up inside me. All my other trips were planned weeks in advance. “What could be so urgent?” I wondered.

Leaving her was heart-wrenching. We had spent hours discussing the possibility of starting anew, returning to the very beginning, and working on mending our fractured relationship. I was willing to give it my all, but she remained unsure. The argument was always the same-what if I didn’t return? Jenna knew I was a Portalnaut when we met, and we had moved to the space station, Square One, together. She understood the life we chose but didn’t comprehend how difficult it would be.

A mechanical voice interrupted my thoughts, “Approaching coordinate 739a.” Per my training, I took a deep breath and counted to three before exhaling. I knew from my previous trips that the portal would open seconds after I let out my breath. An unseen force grabbed my spacecraft and hurled it forward at triple the speed I traveled. The force pinned me to my seat, and my skin shuddered from the pressure.

The ship’s thrusters shut down as planned, and the portal winds took control. The roar of the engines faded to be replaced by a louder roar from the portal winds, whipping the ship forward and increasing its speed. The air inside the ship became frigid, dropping quickly, causing me to shiver. I hated this part as the ship compensated for the searing heat of the portal. Still, despite my apprehension, I knew the ship had been designed specifically for portal missions and had safely made this journey many times before.

I prepared myself for what lay ahead, bracing my body. As I was swept through the portal, my ship bounced uncontrollably into a world resembling a goo of ruby and mustard - a sickening pattern that always left me powerless.

This part of the journey always shook me to my core, leaving me gasping for air and my heart pounding like a jackhammer in my chest. It was as though I had surrendered control over my fate, and my ship was now at the mercy of unknown forces on the other side. Despite my attempts to calm myself with deep breaths, I knew it wouldn’t help.

Even though the frigid air inside the ship should have kept me cool, sweat poured down my face and back, sending shivers down my spine. It was as though the sheer power of the universe was crushing me under its weight, and the dread of helplessness was almost too much to bear.

The psychologist on the space station had warned me that these feelings were natural, but it didn’t make them any less overwhelming. All I could do was wait and count - this time, from ninety-nine to one.

When I reached one, I waited and held my breath as the ship leveled out. The jerky movements slowly morphed into a flowing motion, like a raft on a swift river. The goo had changed to a sea of darkness with no lights except those from my dashboard. I unbuckled my restraint and stood up, stretching and sighing in relief.

I refocused on the mission, determined to get the urgent message to Base Station, Square Two, on the other side of the portal. Unfortunately, we never learned how to transmit messages through the portal. That spawned the Portalnaut program to fly communications between the two stations.

I stretched and relaxed my tense muscles, gazing ahead into the infinite darkness of the portal. The portal was beyond description, its depth and vastness defying comprehension. There was something about the vast emptiness that was both eerie and comforting at the same time. I wished Jenna could join me on one of these missions. She always smiled when I tried to explain the portal to her, but I knew that without experiencing it for herself, it was impossible for her to truly understand.

But something caught my attention, a small white dot in the distance. I leaned in closer, my eyes strained on the anomaly. I checked the monitors before me. There was no indication of any unusual activity. Yet, the white dot grew larger, hurtling towards me at an alarming rate.

Instinctively, my hand slammed down on the emergency defense button, causing the ship to shudder violently. The secondary shields engaged with a loud hum, and I braced myself against the armrest.

As the white dot grew, my thoughts ran through my emergency training. However, it didn’t include encounters with other objects or ships in the portal. I had made countless trips and never once saw any other objects. I reached for the communication device and stopped, realizing I could not contact anyone. I was truly alone.

My heart raced as the object approached. I activated the cameras to capture images of the object, and as I looked up, a white ship, long and sleek, flew past, and I couldn’t believe my eyes. I had never seen another ship in the portal before.

“Who could this be?” I thought, a shiver running up my spine.

My eyes were glued to the rear camera, and I watched as the tiny white dot in the distance disappeared. But my excitement quickly turned to dread as I replayed the recorded images. It wasn’t one of our ships, and we were the only inhabitants on the other side of the portal. My mind raced, trying to make sense of this.

I examined the images closely, and then my eyes grew wide. It was a warship. Laser cannons were bolted to each side. And it was heading straight for Square One, where she was waiting for me.

I knew what I had to do. I had to turn my ship around and warn them. But I had never manually flown a ship inside the portal, let alone attempted to turn it around inside. My thoughts drifted to the captain and the thousands of people on that station. A warship was hurtling toward them, and they had no idea.

Determined, I activated manual control and fired the thrusters, causing the ship to spin out of control. My heart raced as I held on for dear life, feeling nausea overwhelming me as the ship rotated like a child’s toy. The ship’s engines growled and stuttered, their strained and overworked state apparent in the sound they produced. It was as if they were struggling to keep up with the demands I had placed upon them.

I fired the thrusters once more, turning into the spin, and then again until the ship stopped, facing the way I had come but still in the pull of the portal stream. My eyes darted across the monitor, looking for any malfunction, but there was none. I straightened up and took a deep breath before making my next move.

The turbulence of the portal caused my ship to bounce around, and

the seatbelt strangled my stomach. But I gritted my teeth and pushed through, determined to save the station from the warship.

I navigated my ship to the edge of the portal path and entered the currents flowing toward Square One. I prepared a message to transmit the moment I was free from the portal, warning them of the warship and the danger to the space station. I only had moments to save them.

My heart pounded as I pushed the throttle to full power. My ship shot towards Base Station Square One, hoping I wasn’t too late

I urged my ship to go faster than ever before, hurtling through the darkness of the portal in search of the warship. My hand trembled on the control panel, struggling to keep pace with the relentless speed. The monitor’s indicators flickered, their flashing red hue casting an eerie glow around the cabin, warning me to slow down before it was too late. But I couldn’t afford to hesitate, not when the space station was at risk.

As I raced towards the warship, my mind raced as fast, desperately trying to formulate a plan. With no weapons at my disposal, I had to rely on my skills as a pilot. Outmaneuvering the warship was my only chance, and my best bet was to use my speed to my advantage. The key was to overtake the warship and exit the portal first, giving me precious moments to warn Square One of the impending threat.

The white speck appeared in the distance, growing larger as I closed in on the ship. As I drew alongside it, I strained to catch a glimpse of the pilot, but the windows remained shrouded in darkness. With my heart pounding in my chest, I pushed my ship to its very limits, determined to pass the ship and arrive first. Suddenly, the warship swerved towards me, threatening to collide with my vessel. I executed an evasive maneuver, narrowly dodging the ship as it passed dangerously close. The adrenaline surged through my veins as I regained control, my heartbeat throbbing in my temples.

I had pulled ahead of the warship with coordinate 739e within reach when I noticed a red glow emanating from the laser cannons. Its weapons were charging up and preparing to attack. My ship’s secondary shields wouldn’t withstand the full force of its lasers.

A green light flashed on the console. The mechanical voice announced, “Prepare to exit the portal.” This was my chance to escape the warship and warn the Commander at Square One.

My ship flew from the portal and into the vast expanse of space. My ship bounced around before leveling off. My fingers slid from the control panel and hit the send button on the console. I transmitted my warning message and hoped it would reach its destination in time. A feeling of dread and uncertainty crept up on me as I prayed for the safety of everyone on Square One.

A blast from the warship clipped the end of my right wing, causing my ship to spiral out of control. The warship whipped past me, heading straight for the station. Its laser cannons glowed ominously, and I gritted my teeth, feeling powerless. I struggled to steady my ship as panic set in. I could do no more to save Square One.

The commander’s urgent voice crackled through my comms, ordering the activation of the shields. I heard Jenna shouting in the background, pleading for them to wait for me to land. My heart swelled with the desire to save her and start anew.

Bright yellow energy crackled from the station, and the shields hummed to life just in time. The warship fired, and the laser struck the shields with a thunderous boom, but they held.

I managed to level out my ship but struggled to fly in a straight line. The warship was still in the distance, pounding away at the shield. But then, a blast of fire shot out from the left of the warship. The commander had deployed the military, and they managed to destroy the enemy warship. I watched as the glowing embers of the warship died out. The military ship escorted me to the station. The shield dissolved, and I flew in slowly and landed, bouncing and scraping but still in one piece.

I had saved them.

The hatch of my ship creaked open, and I saw her running towards me. Relief washed over me, and we embraced. We both knew that we survived and had a chance to start over now that I was back at Square One.