"But I think you already know what you need to know, don´t you?" Asked René grinning and looked into Dudley´s face. A wild mixture of surprise, anger, joy and fear was reflected in the dog´s expression. Surprise that Isaac was really developing a theory about alternative worlds. Fear that this theory could maybe lead to nothing. But then nevertheless joy that there was hope again. And anger because Powers and Isaac just decided not to tell him.
"So, Dudley… I think you owe me something." René meant expectantly but the dog still was preoccupied deciding what he should feel now.
"Give me a minute… I have to summarize that… I…" Dudley stood up and started walking in circles in the cell. Of course with extremely small steps, he was still cuffed after all.
"They hid it from me…" he started mumbling. "I can understand it but they hid it from me… but what now… Can I believe it? Is my homeworld out there what if I…" Dudley started breathing more heavily. "Keswick, mom, the chief, Kitty… Kitty and my kid! But this was 600 years ago!" His breath stopped and looked down at his feet. "They are dead… all dead… DEAD!"
Dudley wanted to make a step bigger than his chains allowed it and fell onto the ground. "DEAD!" He screamed and started sobbing.
"Do you still wonder why they wouldn´t want to tell you?" René murmured more to himself than to Dudley who had started crying. He had completely forgotten about the engineers next to him, otherwise he had never allowed himself such an emotionally outburst during a mission.
"Dudley, could you calm the fuck down?" René meant harshly.
"I can´t…" sobbed Dudley. "I simply can´t… Everyone I loved…"
"Is probably dead, but you knew that!"
"But before that I thought they don´t exist!" He meant and howled.
"I shouldn´t have told you this story." René shook his head and stood up. "Now, please get up… and stop crying like a little baby!"
But Dudley kept on crying, silently though, but he simply couldn´t stop the feeling of loss from stabbing his psych. Also he couldn´t stop this hurt psych from producing mind poisoning pictures. Kitty, what happened to her? How was her life? Has she lived it good? And the kid… it was pure torture for Dudley to imagine how many moments he missed.
"Dudley… you have to get up, I think they´re coming." René was on the wall to the hallway and listened attentively. He was right, two heavily armored guards opened their prison door. Dudley couldn´t see the faces under their helmets but he could swear that they were grinned as they saw him lying in a puddle of his own tears.
Both grabbed him and René and led through the always alike looking shinny white hallways to the ship´s bridge. It was a bridge with the layout of the Leviathan´s bridge. On the captain´s seat sat a dashing looking man with a friendly but very young looking face who turned to them as soon as they entered the bridge.
"Ah, excellent." Meant the man and indicated the two guards with a gesture to leave the bridge. Nodding the men complied and as soon as they were gone the man giggled. "Captain Dudley 'Rocketman' Puppy." He whistled amused. "I´m very pleased to welcome you on my humble ship."
"The pleasure is all yours, captain Farnell." Meant Dudley grimly. He felt ashamed for his obviously puffy eyes now which were eyed very closely by Farnell.
"Little breakdown?" the captain asked immediately.
"Nothing that should concern you." Meant Dudley quick. "So we finally are obtain the honor to get interrogated by you?"
"What? No." Laughed Farnell and started like a satellite trapped in an orbit to walk around them. "I´m just here so I can tell you that your little foolish plan about attacking my ship was unsuccessful like all your efforts in this war."
"What do you mean?"
Farnell just grinned and snapped his fingers twice.
The same two guards entered the room while dragging two man behind them. Dudley recognized Powers´ and Meternagel´s face very quickly even if it was quite hard in this case. Both of them looked like someone had beaten them in the face several times.
"Do you understand me now?" giggled Farnell and also told these two guards with a gesture to leave the bridge.
"Great… good work Powers." Moaned Dudley annoyed.
"Well, it wasn´t his fault actually." Smiled Farnell. "If you and your friend hadn´t given us clues about a planned infiltration of the ship we wouldn´t have caught those two." He laughed a bit and turned to Powers. "It was your stupid plan to take over a giant ship with just 4 people wasn´t it?"
"Hmm…what?" Asked Powers grinning widely. "Sorry, baby face, I just thought about making a play date with my niece Karen for you. She´s 4 so a bit older than you but you two should come along."
"You son of a…" Farnell cursed and rammed his fist in Powers face.
"Uhm… Captain, did you even feel that?" Asked Meternagel also grinning. "I mean baby´s fists are so tiny and soft." Also the pilot received a hit for this remark.
"Stop it! Stop!" barked captain Farnell. His eyes stared so angry at the two laughing idiots that Dudley feared that they would pop out.
"Oh, look, he´s crying." Laughed Powers.
"Could someone please give him a pacifier?" Meternagel asked with pretended anger.
"I don´t have one… maybe he´s just hungry. Go breastfeed him."
"What? Why I? You are the one of us with more flesh. Ergo, you have the bigger breasts."
"These are just muscles." Powers huffed before Farnell´s fist hit his and then Meternagel´s face again.
"Guys…" sighed René annoyed.
"Shh…" hushed Dudley. "I want to see how many hits they can take."
"I guess his fist gives up before they do."
"That would be wonderful." The dog giggled and grinned towards Powers and Meternagel who fired one stupid pun after the other.
"I should kill you two" Farnell screamed and then, all of the sudden, as he pointed the glowing palm of his glove alternatively at Powers and Meternagel, the lights went out.
Even though Dudley was prepared for this blackout he was still surprised has his chains fall off him. But this was a rather mild surprise compared to the seeing what was the source of the weird gargling noise in front of him that appeared shortly after the lights went out. As the power was back and he saw everything again he also saw the source.
Meternagel was choking Farnell while Powers punched the other captain´s face. Dudley had not much time to wonder what they were doing, he snatched the glove from the almost unconsciousness Farnell and started to shot at the other bridge crew members that were still to perplex to react. For their sake he hoped that the glove´s phaser mode wasn´t switched on killing. He preferred taking captives than making casualties.
"How do you like that? Still not funny?" Powers asked and then said to Meternagel. "Tighten your grip."
"Guys, we need him… probably." René said and detached Meternagel´s hands from Farnell´s throat who fall, without the support they gave, to the ground
"Don´t dare kicking him now!" René meant sternly as Power´s swung his feet back.
"Come on…"
"Enough fun." Meant Dudley sounding not amused. "Time to fulfill our mission."
"Aww, man." Meant Meternagel disappointed.
"Quick now."
"Okay okay." Powers cleaned his throat and got into his usually captain stance with his arms folded behind the back. "Meternagel, on the pilot seat. Dudley, weapons and René, you are the closest thing to a scientist so take the advisor´s seat."
All of them, even Dudley, nodded and jumped onto the seats. Powers meanwhile sat down onto the captain´s seat and started pushing buttons on the holo panel in front of him.
"Calling Leviathan. Leviathan, coming." Said Powers and his voice was full of satisfaction about the perfect working plan.
"Greetings from the Leviathan." I said in reply.
"Good to hear your voice Isaac." Laughed Powers. "It worked fantastically."
"Good, but remember that you just have a small timeframe to reach the event horizon." I explained.
"How long?"
"180 seconds."
"That´s not much." Powers said. "Meternagel, set a course. Maximum speed."
"Aye aye." Meant the pilot.
"Okay, rendevouz with the Leviathan in 150 seconds." Powers meant.
"We´ll be there." I said. "Good luck and over."
"Over Isaac." Powers pushed a button on the holo panel and turned to Dudley. "You heard him. Not even 3 minutes before we lose control of this ship again. Use the internal security system to clear the way to the escape pods. Force fields, internal artillery, just take care that we have a clear path."
"On it…" Dudley said while he eagerly pushed buttons on his holo panel.
"Whoa!" René meant and looked surprised at one of the man on the ground who had moved a little. "Dudley, did you just stunned them."
"Yes." The dog said concentrated. "If the ship gets ever recovered from the singularity, they can be rescued."
"Well, that won´t happen in the near future." Powers said. "And that´s good. A superweapon less against us is something that lets me sleep a bit calmer at night."
"Amen." Nodded Meternagel approvingly.
"Okay, hallway clear." Dudley meant and stood up. "Time to go."
"Great timing, grab their gloves and then let´s go." Powers jumped out of his seat and grabbed the glove of one of the unconsciousness bridge crew members.
"Hit it!" Meternagel yelled as he had a glove and left the room running and screaming his own name.
"Well… not the worst idea actually." René meant and ran after him.
"Dogs first." Powers meant.
"Okay, but stay close, I need to talk to you." Dudley meant and started running so fast that Powers could keep up with him.
"To what do I own this honor?" Powers asked.
"Why did you hide from me that my homeworld could exist?"
"How do you…" Powers wanted to ask but he just sighed and said. "Who cares… anyway, I hid this from you so that you wouldn´t have false hopes in case Isaac´s calculations lead to nothing."
"So you thought it was smart to lie to me again?"
"First, it´s technically not a lie and second, please, Dudley, I really wish you could forgive me…"
"No I…"
"Oh come on!" Powers rolled his eyes angrily. "I am sorry okay! I promise you to hide nothing from you from now on."
"I…"
"Dudley, please, I had feuds with enemies that didn´t last as long as the one I have with you."
"I..."
"Dudley, what do you want more?!"
"Could you let me finish my sentence?!" Dudley asked irritatedly before he sighed and said. "I thought about burying the hatchet for a while. For about 100 years actually. After all you I have to say, If I were in your position, I probably hadn´t said anything too."
"So is this finally the end of the feud?" Powers smiled expectantly.
"For the start I´ll stop being a dick to you when you´re around… how does that sound?"
"Good." The captain smiled and pointed towards the end of the hallway. "Meternagel and René have already readied an escape pod for us."
"I love well planned missions…" laughed Dudley as he jumped into the small pill shaped escape pod that was coupled with the ship through a hemispherical shaped hatch. Powers got in behind him and they closed the hatch. "Ready to go."
"Hold on tight, boys, that´s going to be a rough ride." Meternagel meant and decoupled the pod which made it shake violently.
Dudley was thrown through the little ships wall but before he could start bouncing like a bouncy ball he grabbed a belt that hung on the wall and wrapped it around him.
"Ladies and gentleman… and Sly, if you look to your left you can see how our plan succeeds."
All eyes turned to the left where the opaque metal of the hull slowly got transparent and they could see how the gigantic ship was devoured with relish by an even more gigantic black hole.
"Oh I definitely don´t want to swap places with the crew now." René said and turned his face away.
"I did this once… wouldn´t recommend, wouldn´t do again." Said Dudley before he also looked away.
"Meternagel, how far away are we from the rendevouz?"
"Just look." Grinned Meternagel as suddenly the hull of a ship shoved itself in front of them from above. A big hatch opened and the pod flew into the loading bay.
A few more seconds passed from the landing, over the pressure compensation to the point they all left the pod and were greeted by me and the tick who couldn´t resist being her and grin.
"Welcome back." I smiled widely and saluted to them.
"Good to be back." Dudley said and got of the pod first.
"Seems like everything worked fine, thanks to my intel." Giggled the tick mischievously.
"I have to admit." Powers smiled as he squeezed himself out of the pod. "It would have went so smooth without you."
"Oh… what honor." The tick giggled and Dudley could swear he saw a blush on her face for a second.
"Home sweeeeee…" Meternagel, who was just coming out of the pod, was rushed off his feet by the ground that shook heavily.
"What´s that?!" Dudley yelled.
"No clue!" I yelled back.
"Quick, to the bridge!" Powers screamed at all of them. Like the devil himself followed them the little group rushed to the bridge.
"Captain!" Alex Casey shouted to Powers as soon as he was on the bridge. "The tractor beam of the enemy ship has captured us."
"What?!" Powers seemed perplexed as he jumped on his seat. Dudley ran next to him a small seat next to Powers' seat came out of the ground.
"Oh no oh no!" Meternagel screamed as he saw the panels in front of his seat. "They dragging us into the whole!"
"Seriously?!" Asked Powers
"I just played with some numbers." I yelled in. "They can drag us long enough to make us cross the event horizon!"
"Oh hell no!" screamed Dudley. "I don´t want to do this again… I don´t want to go through this again!"
"There has to be a way out of this!" Powers meant. "Calm down and think!"
"Can´t we destroy their tractor beam?" I asked.
"No chance, we won´t come through their shields in time." Casey shrieked back.
"Calm down are you kidding?!" Screamed René and to a railing on the wall.
Dudley tried to breath. He knew what would come next and he didn´t like that at all. The pains and then the darkness. Every fiber in him wanted him to run but there was no way out.
He needed an idea. An idea for a situation he couldn´t handle the last time he was in. How could he possibly win this time? 'Dammit Dudley!' He thought to himself. 'Concentrate, Powers is right, there must be a way out!'
"Isaac!" He suddenly screamed as the solution it struck him like a lightning. "What´s with your black whole gate theory?! Is it possible to travel through holes?"
"You are kidding right?!" I screamed back. "I am not even done with creating a mathematical model for simulation purpose!"
"Just say what we had to do to!"
"Dammit, okay! Shields to maximum and flood the deflectors with highly energized tachyons!" I meant. "But if we die, do not blame me!"
"Oh hell we will." Meternagel yelled.
"Okay, make it so." Powers said with loud and calm voice. "René, go down to the engine room. Isaac, go help him and Meliha down there. Dudley, arm his station."
I jumped out of my seat and ran to the door together with René while Dudley took a seat on my chair.
He tapped on the holo panel and then said. "1 minute until we reach the event horizon."
"Okay, get ready guys, I´ll align the Leviathan to the singularity." Meternagel said and slowly moved the joystick attached to his armchair.
"You know that´s totally unnecessary." Powers mumbled while typing things hectically.
"I know, I just want to face my death." The pilot meant stoically.
"Makes sense." Nodded Powers.
"Guys, we just arrived at the engine room!" My voice echoed from the bridges ceiling. "I am starting the tachyon infusion… See you on the other side."
"Noted. Good luck." Powers said.
"15 seconds." Dudley said and turned his head to the big screen over Meternagel that showed what was directly in front of the ship. The singularity was dangerously close and Dudley would have traded almost anything not to fly into this again and as he gazed into the faces of his crew members he saw that they felt the same.
The ship´s nose touched the singularity and an unsettling vibration traveled through the ship. It wasn´t very intensive. Of course it would have spilled a cup of tea on a table but it was far away from letting the crew bounce around in the ship.
"I don´t like that…" Dudley whispered to himself.
The vibration slowly wore off and left a sinister, almost touchable, silence. A silence Dudley heard too often already. He knew something could happen any second. And with that in mind he tightened up his seatbelt. Dudley took a deep a breath and kept the air inside of him for a bit. After all it could be his last breath, he wanted to extend it as much as possible.
As he was already half way done exhaling the air as his worst premonitions became truth. Choir of warning lights began to cry their gruesome song and bathed the bridge in menacing red. Dudley tried to figure out what´s wrong but the sheer number of warnings in front him was immense that it was hard to decide which he should read first.
"Status report!" yelled Powers but the answers of the bridge crew were drowned by several deafening explosions from the back of the ship. Again the ship started vibrating but this time violently enough to toss a person around. Dudley clang onto his seat and hoped that this time the holo emitter in front of him wouldn´t explode.
But, and that was really weird for Dudley, the vibration faded again. Dudley looked to the big screen. The black whole wasn´t visible anymore, just the usual stars that were spread over the dark canvas of space.
"S..Status…?" Panted Powers nervously, what was even weirder than the end of the vibration.
"I don´t have the slightest clue where we are…" Said Meternagel and looked perplex at his instruments. "Uncharted space…"
"Then scan the surrounding…"
"On it but, uhm, captain?" Meternagel turned around with his chair and looked at Powers.
"Yes, John?"
"Quick question, why do we always almost die on our missions? I mean… it´s getting alarming how often that happens,"
"Destiny I guess." Shrugged Powers and he had a slight smile on his face again.
"Or we are just too stupid to find other solutions." Shrugged Meternagel back grinning and typed more.
"Both would make sense." Meant Dudley and leaned exhaustedly back in his seat.
"Captain, bad news." Casey meant with a more formal but still tensed tone. "Our shields are destroyed and if I see that right, so is our weaponry."
"Okay, Dudley, do you have anything for me?"
"Not much…" Dudley said and started reading what the hologram showed him. "Just..."
"What is it?"
"Strange signals… I better send them to Isaac."
"Good idea. Do it." Said Powers and stood up from his armchair. He walked thoughtfully towards the big screen and looked at the stars outside of the ship. "It looks somehow different and though so… familiar, doesn´t it?"
"Well… just stars… maybe from another universe but nevertheless just stars." Dudley said unimpressedly.
"Dudley are you aware that we could be in your universe?" Powers said surprised by his coldness.
"I´m not trying to think about that." He explained.
"Too much for you, huh?" Powers spun around and walked back to his seat
Dudley just nodded in reply and tried not to think about the planet he left over 600 years ago. Definitely everything had already forgotten him there and the thought about talking with his descendants not just only felt like someone stabbing his chest, no it also felt like someone was twisting the knife. Also, he wanted to avoid another breakdown like in the cell.
"I understand." Nodded Powers. "Meternagel, news?"
"Well, most of the scanners are fubar, but what I can say with a probability of 100 percent." He stood up and pointed at the big screen over him. "These glowing dots are definitely stars."
"God…" Sighed Powers and buried his face in his hands. "I hate you."
Meternagel laughed loudly and then sat down again. As he had turned back to his instruments the doors to the bridge opened.
"Did you see that!" I said excited as I stormed onto the bridge. "It worked! We are alive!"
"You don´t say." Mocked Casey whose tension also started to yield too.
"Isaac! Status." Said the captain sternly.
"The core is down" I said like it was the best thing that could have happened. "We had to extinguish it."
"Great." Powers sighed and sank down into his seat.
"But that is not important." I meant enthusiastically and walked to Dudley. I typed some orders into the holo panel in front of him and then pointed at the big screen. "A new universe!"
"Yeah, we already know." Said Dudley.
"Let me finish." I meant harshly and typed more orders in his panel. "The data that Dudley sent me were SETI-Scanner data, and you can clearly…"
"Wait, we have a SETI? Aren´t these things totally obsolete since…" Casey stopped in midsentence and sighed. "As obsolete as this ship. Continue."
"Okay… again." I meant gritting my teeth. "The SETI-Scanner clearly says that there is something approximately 1 lightyear away from here."
"Something?" Powers asked.
"Yeah." I said and smiled widely.
"That´s not really certain…"
"Who cares? The SETI never ever found something like that! Let us investigate!"
"And… how should we get there without energy? Our core is down." Powers raised his eyebrow.
"Rowing." Meternagel said drily.
"Yeah… Or we use the rests of our antimatter to get there." I suggested eagerly.
"And then we are there and our antimatter reserves are depleted and out life support system dies and so we." Replied Powers.
"What if…" Dudley stood up and walked to the big screen. "What if we use the antimatter from our torpedoes to power our warp drive to get close to this… something."
"Actually a good idea but what if we get attacked?" Casey interjected skeptically. "Our weapon systems are down, we just have the torpedoes."
"We would not need much torpedoes for one lightyear, actually." I meant. "Just ten… we would have ten left."
"Okay. I made a decision." Powers stood up and ended the lively debate with a cutting gesture of his hand. "We´ll investigate this something."
"Yes." I clapped my hands triumphantly.
"We nevertheless have no other choice. But it won´t be like you expect." Powers tilted his back and said to the ceiling. "Meliha?"
"I swear if Isaac dares to come down here ag… Captain?" Meliha asked caught.
Powers smiled. "I promise not to send him down again but just if you do me a favor."
"Everything." She said rapidly.
"Take a team of engineers and go to the loading bay. Use a torpedo to fuel the shuttle."
"Wait, what?" I asked confusedly.
"As I said, we´ll investigate. But not with the Leviathan." Powers stood up and walked into the middle of the bridge between all the seats. "You, Dudley, Meternagel, one of our engineers and I will take the shuttle, fly to the planet and search for help there. In the meantime you have the bridge Casey. Try to repair the ship as good as possible."
"Aye aye, captain." Casey saluted and ran to captain´s seat and flopped down on it like this was her seat.
"Great." Laughed the captain.
"Hey, Sly, can I make a suggestion for the engineer?" Asked Dudley while standing up.
"Got it, René is in." Powers nodded. "Okay everyone…"
"Whoa, wait a minute, you won´t go without me." Said the tick and built up in front of Powers.
"And why should I took…"
Powers was cut short by the tick´s finger which she pressed onto his lips. "Shh… you know exactly why. See you at the loading bay." She spun on her heels and left the bridge.
"Okay… as it seems we are six." Powers meant surprised and shook his head while everyone exchanged confused glances. "Anyway, let´s roll."
Powers, Meternagel, Dudley and I left the bridge and walked towards to the loading bay.
The time had come for mankind´s first contact to a new species. Dudley walked down the hallways slowly. For the first time ever he hoped that this wasn´t his homeworld. For the first time he hoped not to see his earth´s surface. Because he knew that it would just confirm all his losses. And he didn´t know if he could stand that.
-Okay guys, that was Episode 3. Hope you liked it and I hope you are as excited as I am about the next Episode. I think the name of Episode for will be clue enough to know what it will be about. The name of episode 4: "Return". Until then, have a great time :D -
-By the way, SETI: Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence-