In the year 2087, humanity discovered FTL (faster-than-light travel) via rapid transmission between distant locations by using a form of quantum entanglement combined with dark matter reactors.
This discovery exploded the commercial spacefaring ventures, and within decades multiple solar systems, planets, and new spacial phenomena were discovered. As asteroid mining became mainstream, rare minerals prompted a new age of technological development that exploded humanity's progress exponentially. Newly-discovered planets were quickly terraformed, colonized, industrialized and beautified. The new wave of entrepreneurs and innovators, combined with the excitement of exploration, sparked revolutions in every industry.
The medical industry, in particular, had produced cutting-edge bionic limbs and organs, stem-cell regeneration, limb cloning and micro-bots capable of eliminating nearly every ailment known to man. Mankind was nearing its zenith in reaching a true utopia under a united galactic government.
Then came The Terror. A mind-boggling, behemothic alien creature the size of the moon entered the Terra solar system at FTL speeds and immediately assailed Earth with millions of its monstrous offspring. These car-sized creatures ripped through the atmosphere and slammed into the surface, wreaking havoc and slaughtering humans wherever they trampled. This cataclysmic event was met with global outrage and fury. Military counterattacks, long-range bombardment, and close-range combat led to the deaths of billions of humans, on top of the already-overwhelming casualty rate of innocent civilians.
The Terror was eventually brought down by a heroic band of starship fighters strapped with nuclear warheads, and its offspring were tracked down and killed. However, the losses it caused and the widespread destruction it left created a mass paranoia amongst humanity. Military expenditure and innovation skyrocketed, which caused regression in most other industries' advancements. Logistics were heavily disrupted as Earth was the central planet of commerce amongst the galaxy, which led to many colonies and governments being forced to revert to heavily outdated technology. Governments became corporatist and autocratic as the fear of hostile alien life drove regressive policies and mass consumerism.
And on January 24th of 2263, a transport freighter by the name of Tulpar, working its last human shift for Pony Express, fatefully collided with a stray asteroid...
"Captain, Orion speaking. The Tulpar flight path stops here."
Captain Hawkes reached across the multitude of control panels around him and toggled a switch that brought up a holographic cartograph of the transport freighter's flight path. It was true. After 10 long months of travel, they'd arrived at their destination.
"Pull up the far-range scanners and find that damn ship."The Captain radioed in over his headset."When we finish this rescue mission, we're getting a fat paycheck and medals galore. So scour that freighter from top to bottom and ensure no man or woman is left behind."
Captain Hawkes switched comms to EVA and Medical channels to issue further orders.
"EVA Team, make sure you're in gear with plasmas loaded, your time to shine is coming up. Triage team, I want you following the EVA Team if the oxygen in the freighter passes scrutiny."
"Roger that, Cap, over."
"Copy Captain, over."
He switched off those channels and pulled up imaging of outer space from the hundreds of cameras installed on the exterior of the massive military vessel. Nothing aside from distant stars could be seen in any direction. It was fortunate that the far-range scanners could reach up to 2 Astronomical Units away. The Captain turned to his co-pilot, Sammy; a stocky yet athletic-seeming young man with bright, optimistic eyes and a charisma that swayed the whole crew and landed him at the third-highest authority on the vessel in under 2 years.
"Sammy."
"Hey-ho."
"Take over piloting. I intend to board the freighter and assuage the crew."
Sammy's eyebrows furrowed in concern.
"Captain, you sure that's a wise move?"
Another reason why the Captain had taken on Sammy was because he was intensely straightforward. Whereas other crew rarely dared to question Hawkes' decisions and assessments due to his decades of military service, Sammy had no such fear. That brash honesty had come in handy in the past, and it would continue to do so in the future.
"Yes. This I am confident in. And I'll tell you why." Hawkes addressed him, reaching into his coat pocket and removing a cigar box. He took one out and lit it up on the spot, blowing the smoke to the side.
"How long have you been chainsmoking cigars, Captain?"
"Since before your balls dropped, kid. And I haven't been chainsmoking, wise ass; I'm enjoying the privilege of my position."
"Excessive enjoyment."
"Anyways... around a decade ago, we did a rescue mission similar to this one- a stranded commercial freighter in the middle of bum-fuck nowhere. We docked and I sent in the EVA Team, only to find out minutes later that half of them had been stabbed, shot and beaten severely by the crew. Turns out the crew was full of exotics who didn't speak English, and the EVA leader using the translator was a brash prick. Couple of his words got mistranslated into some very unsavory terms, and next thing you know, a battle breaks out."
"Damn... did anyone die?" Sammy asked curiously. Captain Hawkes seemed particularly offended at the question and flicked Sammy's forehead with his index finger and thumb.
"Nobody died because I acted quickly. That's Rule Number One, if you ever take command. Rule Number Two, is tonevershow favor to any subordinate or equal in times of crisis. That EVA leader I told you about- he was a good friend of mine, over 3 years. After that mission, I canned him. You can't have people that senseless and irresponsible onboard a vessel; they can be the sole unravelers of your entire ship. I've seen it happen too many times, on too many journeys with too many cruisers."
Sammy nodded his head solemnly, acknowledging the Captain's grim background. Captain Hawkes was a near-legend within the Canaris Armed Forces, and a war hero to the citizen populace. His astounding feats at the Battle of Yamilcar and the Siege of Korres were widespread tales, and his list of accomplishments were so vast that even the most ill-informed citizens of Canaris heard regaling tales of his bravery, cunning, and heroism in their day to day.
To be in his ranks and, no less, his Third Mate, was an honor that Sammy latched onto with intense fanaticism. Captain Hawkes was even more magnetic in person- despite his decades of battle experience, he was eloquent in his way of speaking, mixed with occasional layman phrases and speech. It was incredibly endearing no matter if a person were the lowest criminal or the most elite of socialites.
Yet in this moment, when Hawkes spoke that last sentence, his eyes grew foggy and distant. His speech staggered and broke into a brittle narrative, as if he were revisiting haunting memories in his mind.
"I've seen the crew of a medical cruiser slaughtered port and bow across the ship. They'd hacked each other into gore. The surveillance records revealed a young woman had been stoking distrust after their food storage had broken out into flames. She'd deluded herself into believing there was an enemy spy onboard, romanced the Captain to get a hold of his keys to the cockpit- where she locked herself in when the killing started. Turned out she was taking smoke breaks in there, near the pallets of gauze and disinfectant. One carelessly thrown cigarette was all it took. And she was fuckin' ignorant to it."
Sammy saw as his eyes filled with a subtle but brimming rage, as if he were reliving the experience and seeing the perpetrator right in front of his eyes. A nasty grin erupted across his face.
"She was lucky little cunt. She was the last alive, and perished right as we docked with their ship. Found her locked inside those same Captain's quarters, wrists slit and in the middle of pigging out on cigars and emergency rations. And as a final 'fuck-you' to the people who had survived the slaughter, she turned on the ship's disinfectant sprayers and left it on. Everyone else on the ship suffocated to death."
He averted his eyes, shaking his head with a cynical sneer on his face.
"Rachel Gillaby. The lowly sack of shit that doomed an entire crew for no good reason, and the Captain who put his personal pleasure ahead of foresight. Hopes, dreams, ambitions, the desire to survive- all snuffed out in despair, because of onepetty bitchand a worthless captain to boot."
Hawkes slowly leaned towards Sammy, eyes burning with fire and brimstone, his facial muscles stretched in vitriol. In a passing moment, Sammy could plainly see the faint bags under Hawkes' eyes; gray hairs peeking out within his scalp that weren't easily seen.
"You read the same report I did." Hawkes rasped, toggling a few buttons to turn off the ship's primary engines. "The Tulpar's autopilot was overridden, sent on a direct collision with the asteroid. Only the Captain is capable of that. And that means we likely have another Rachel on this ship. So I'm going to board that ship with my own two legs, and I'm gonna find that bastard, and I'm going to make sure he suffers the worst imaginable fate a human being can conceive."
"Are we allowed to punish civilians during a rescue mission, Captain?"
Hawkes chuckled slyly, opening a side drawer and tapping Sammy on the head with it.
"You haven't read up on Canaris Spacetime Intragalactic Law, have you?"
"N-No, sir. Sorry, sir."
"I'll simplify. The Discretion Clause under Article Seven permits 'interrogations, up to and no further past the point of severe injury, for suspected traitors, mutineers and corsairs, as long as medical aid is provided hereafter.' As long as they are breathing, coherent and given medical care, we can de facto torture them."
"Captain... is that ethical?"
"I base my ethics on the magnitude of the crime and their truthfulness." Hawkes retorted, finishing his cigar. "I'm sure you would treat a suspect of rape who's lying to your face much differently than an accomplice to petty theft who spills their guts out. Then again, I'm one man. I know how bad this law can be for victims of cruel Captains. But with what our nation is dealing with right now, changing a law like this is probably not at the top of the list. And I sure as shit am gonna use it to my advantage for however long it lasts."
Sammy nodded, this time more fervently, an expression of grim determination on his face.
"I see. Good luck, sir."
The Captain exhaled, patting Sammy on the shoulder as he stood up.
"Don't scratch this beauty even slightly when we dock. It needs to look pristine for the photo ops when we return home."
Sammy smiled, nodding one last time, as Captain Hawkes briskly made his way down to the EVA Team.
"God is with us!" Sammy shouted out, and the Captain stopped in his tracks for a moment. He smiled, and this time it was one of youthful relief.
"God is with us." He mumbled, almost hesitantly. For the last 40 years of his life, he'd been a cynical, grim atheist who considered the universe a cold, dark place that was entirely uncaring of life and its inherent suffering. Less than 3 months ago, he had carried a deep hatred and loathing for religion, what he had believed to be a disgusting false hope to the fearful and dying. Less than 3 months ago, he was on the verge of retiring, finding his home agrarian planet, and blowing his brains out. It had been nothing but despair, rage, and agony. Fordecades, on end.
Now... now he felt...reborn.
(Music: "Ratnik", by Avery Alexander)
"Captain, freighter sighted. Proceeding to point."
"Good, I'm turning off coms for a sec to speak with EVA."
"Copy, over."
Hawkes switched off the radio receiver, looking across the room at the EVA Team gathered in front of him. Outfitted in Roxcorp EVA suits. Plasma cutters in one hand, Hyletta handguns in the other. Hawkes had Central Command to thank for these cutting-edge weapons; they'd approved his recent request for up-to-date weaponry and artillery. This ship was outfitted and his crew rearmed; the Argonaut II was now one of the most powerful military ships in the nation, and arguably within the Lower Quadrant.
Hawkes could be more proud as its longtime Captain.
"EVA Team, last check."
"Ready." "Ready, Cap." "Ready, sir."
"Ready, Captain Hawkes!" "Ready!" "Ready."
Hawkes nodded, looking to the Triage Team. Outfitted in Janil Company space suits, carrying medical bags and cauterizers; even they carried holsters with handguns. Captain Hawkes was taking no chances after that incident he'd told Sammy about.
No more of his crew's blood would be on his hands.
"Form up!" Hawkes barked, and the teams stacked into two column in front of the depressurization chamber. Hawkes flipped on his radio and switched to Drone Control.
"Elise, what are the unmanned drones seeing?"
"The freighter suffered catastrophic damages at the front where the cockpit lies. There's sealing foam covering most of the front, and there are dozens of holes over the exterior and nearly to the back of the ship that's filled with sealing foam. I've sighted two docking entrances, only the starboard side is unaffected."
"We'll be docking starboard, then. Any signs of forced entry or looting?"
"Negative, Captain. We're in some remote deepspace, so I wouldn't expect it."
"Catastrophes come when you least expect it. Comb it over one more time with the drones then report back."
"Copy, Captain."
Hawkes switched to the Command room, where Sammy was steering the ship.
"Prep us for docking, Sammy."
"Roger that, over."
Hawkes kept his radio on to wait for an ETA on docking, taking one final examination of the two teams in front of him. If there were signs of forced entry into the freighter, the Argonaut II's military garrison would be deployed through first. In this case, however, Hawkes' primary goal was getting emergency aid and rescue to these poor souls. A year stuck in a crashed and floating freighter in the middle of nowhere was no doubt terrifying, and Hawkes didn't want them to feel a second more of that-especiallyif there was a traitorous captain onboard adding to the despair.
"Elise here, drones found no external forced entry into the ship. You are greenlit."
"Copy, Elise, over."
"Sammy here, we will be docking, ETA 3 minutes."
Captain Hawkes tightened his gloves, unslinging the automatic energy rifle over his shoulders and into his hands, cranking the bolt intensity up a notch. If there was even one traitor onboard, he wasn't taking chances.
"2 minutes to go."
Hawkes noted the air was filled with nervousness. No matter the experience, no matter the repetition; nobody was truly and fully prepared to enter an unknown stranded ship unfazed. Any number of things could lie on the other side.
"30 seconds left."
It was up to Hawkes to make sure this mission ended in complete victory.
"We are docking in 3... 2... 1..."
Rumble.
The ship quaked in momentary reverberation as its docking anchors latched onto the port of entry into the ship. The light to the airlock pulsed green as it confirmed docking was successful.
"Get moving!" He barked, and the EVA leader opened the airlock, walking in with the teams and Captain Hawkes. The airlock closed shut behind them. The depressurization chamber hissed loudly as pressure equalized between the Argonaut II and the Tulpar. Hawkes latched his helmet onto his spacesuit, readying his rifle.
The doors to the Tulpar, however, did not open. This was somewhat unexpected by Hawkes; dark matter reactors were infinite power sources, which meant that the Tulpar's reactors weren't maintained and shut down as a security measure to prevent over-stimulation and explosion. That didn't bode well, and Hawkes was beginning to feel a sinking ache in his chest as he gave the next order.
"EVA, do your thing."
His EVA leader, Wally, shuffled forward alongside two others and began searing into the dense metal with their plasma cutters. The process took only a few minutes, and after finishing, Hawkes kicked in the cut-up doors. Chunks of metal crumbled to the ground, and Hawkes prepared for a large wave of suction if the inside of the ship was depressurized. To his surprise, it never came. The ship was pressurized, but out of power, which meant that the auxiliary batteries were still working.
Hawkes walked aboard with his crew, rifle raised as they scanned each part and parcel of the ship's interior.
"What the hell..." He muttered, seeing a host of destruction, dereliction, and blood scattered across this floor of the ship. On edge, Hawkes made his way towards the cafeteria- this was commonly where survivors tended to gather on stranded ships due inherently to its social atmosphere.
On top of the unease, Hawkes was also angered as he made his way through the tight corridors of busted pipes, broken machinery and leaking silos. Having been a captain for over 30 years now, Hawkes could tell by look and instinct alone what state a ship was in.
This one was nearing the verge of self-implosion. He quickly went for his radio.
"Search Teams, we won't have time for salvaging ops. This ship is in a bad state, and I don't trust the next hour. Find the survivors and any bodies, and evac A-S-A-P."
"Yes, sir!" "Roger, Captain!"
Satisfied, Hawkes continued down the winding corridors, and noticed a change in scenery as he rounded a corner-
"What the fuck?!"
(Music: "Temporary Suicide", by Kevin Penkin)
Hawkes felt nauseous as he moved in to clear the room, seeing a horrific display of insanity and gore in front of him. Three mummified dead bodies were sat the cafeteria table, frozen in place like a picture in time. Holding back his horror, Hawkes walked up to the table and inspected the plates in front of them.
"This is fucking sick."He mumbled, coming to the quick realization that there were sliced portions of leg meat adorned on the plates like cutlets. Without wasting a beat, Hawkes activated his radio.
"Hawkes here, get to the cafeteria. 3 confirmed dead. Get 'em to the Argonaut II and clean them up for the Revivifi- Revifiv- Rev- FUCK, The Rev-iv-if-ic-ation Ritual!"
"Copy, over."
Hawkes stared morbidly at the corpses of these three. A young woman, a young man, and a middle-aged man. What a horrible outcome. Momentarily, he inspected each of the corpses, attempting to figure out how they had died. His conclusion was sickening, and only left more questions than answers.
The middle-aged man, whose name tag read 'Swansea', had been shot in the chest and head. Hawkes knew only the Captain had access to a firearm on a freighter like this.
The young woman, whose name tag read 'Anya', had overdosed on painkillers, every orifice on her face leaking blood.
The young man, whose name tag read 'Daisuke', was axed in the face; Hawkes had glimpsed the bloody weapon sitting next to a makeshift bed as he had entered the room.
Sickening. Atrocious. Horror.
Hawkes had seen plenty of terrible, gruesome, and outright barbaric events in his life. But this was certainly up there. He couldfeelthe despair in the environment, the utter hopelessness of this crude vessel. Just by looking around, Hawkes could glimpse the dystopian feel, the uncaring corporatist metal and sinew that only amplified their morbid horror at the developing situation.
This was a terrible death. And morbidly, that gave Hawkes hope. The more terrible the death- the more likely a revivification could occur. What a sick way of thinking, but it was the inevitable changing of the times. He got back on his radio.
"Elise, I need answers for what happened here. Rip open that surveillance station and get a drone to download the records, all the way back to a year ago, if possible."
"Shouldn't be a problem, Pony Express has shit vessel designs but they love to keep records of their employees."
Half the EVA Team and the entire Triage team clambered into the room, cleaning up the bodies and loading them into transparent body bags, before hauling them down the corridors to the Argonaut II.
"Hawkes, Wally here. We found the Cryo room, there's a confirmed KIA inside, gunshot wound to the head."
"Copy, Wally. I'm heading over."
It took a minute to get there, and all along the corridors Hawkes was getting more and more uneasy. They were gambling with their lives, for every second they remained on this freighter. It was in an obvious state of breaking down and he wanted to be nowhere near when it eventually imploded.
He arrived at the Cryo Pod room, only to find Wally using a plasma cutter to sear through.
"Hey, Captain. The door lost power, so we're cutting in."
"Take it away."
Another searing finished, another door kicked in. The team made their way inside, and Hawkes walked up to the cryo pod.
"Holy shit."
Sitting inside the cryo pod was a frozen amputee, wrapped in bandages and covered in seared flesh. A single eye stared out from the cryo pod's window, its eyelid missing completely.
BWOOOM! BWOOOM! BWOOOOM!
The atmosphere changed from unease to alarm as the ship's emergency sirens went off suddenly.
"Warning. Equilibrium disruption in DMRC-3. Dark Matter implosion imminent. Evacuate via the departure pods. Evacuate via the departure pods-"
"Get him out NOW!" Hawkes ordered. "Throw the corpse over your shoulder and haul ass!"
The EVA Team scrambled to open the cryo pod's chamber. It hissed and opened upward, and the EVA Team loaded the amputee onto a stretcher and sprinted for the exit. Wally picked up the dead body and threw it over his shoulder, making exit the same way.
The remaining group onboard the ship ran with terror pumping through their veins. A Dark Matter implosion was an extremely rare event, and often resulted because of low-quality engineering of the safety mechanisms that deactivated reactors when they became unstable.
In essence, this event was very in-character for Pony Express- that shitty low-tier transportation company. Events like this were so rare that any company, corporation, agency or interest group whose name was on a ship that suffered a Dark Matter implosion event could kiss their companies, livelihoods, and lives goodbye. Regulations on Dark Matter reactors and maintenance, across every nation, were the most strict and scrutinized.
"Elise, make sure you record that ship's activity on the far-range scanners when we're out of blast range. I want evidence to bring down those sleazy Pony Express shitstains!"
"Copy."
The last of the teams shuffled hurriedly into the airlock, watching as the door closed behind them. They practically stampeded into the Argonaut II as soon as its airlock hatch lifted up, and Hawkes fumbled for his radio.
"Sammy, disengage the port and get us the hell out of here!"
"Got it!"
A high-pitched whirling sound emitted through the room as the airlock clamps let go of the Tulpar airlock and retracted. The entire ship began to rumble as primary engines roared to life, accelerating the ship away from the Tulpar at increasing speeds.
"Sammy, we need to be a million miles away before that thing detonates, charge up the FTL and HIT IT!"
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMVVVVVVVVVVVVVVMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMVVVVVVVVMMMMMMMMM-
Hawkes felt existential chills run down his spine. He'd only heard this soundoncebefore in his entire life. It was the sound of microparticles of dark matter getting ready to collide.
It would be annihilation of everything within a 93 million mile radius. This was why Dark Matter reactors were only authorized for private sector companies in exceptional circumstances; they were so destructive if the failsafes failed, that the emergency contingency plans in place for reactors erupting near planets and starsallinvolved some form of death for any crew onboard the ship. The firstmost plan enacted is to use Quantum Positioning technology to 'warp' the unstable ship to an empty area of the galaxy.
This ship didn't have a Quantum Positioning Relay, so the next plan was to get out of dodge.
"Sammy here, FTL drivers are spooling, ready for takeoff in 5... 4... 3..."
Hawkes pulled up an external camera from the back of the ship to check on the state of the Tulpar. His face paled as he witnessed the ship begin to fold in on itself as two giant orbs of pure light spun around each other with intensifying rapidity. The vibration emitting from the dark matter could be felt to the bone, and the entire ship was reverberating nonstop.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK FUCK FUCK!" Hawkes began to panic, seeing the orbs nearing detonation.
"2... 1... Launching!"
BWWWWWWWWWWW-IP!
And just like that, they had entered FTL travel. The reverberation came to a sudden stop, and the crew surrounding Hawkes breathed a sigh of relief. Hawkes, meanwhile, was shaking violently with nothing but after-thought panic on his mind. He and Elise were likely the only ones who knew how close they had been to complete obliteration.
Taking several gulps to bring himself back to reality, Hawkes turned off his wrist holopad and stood up on shaky legs, attracting the room's attention.
"WELL DONE!"
The room erupted into raucous applause and cheers. The mission was done, and nobody had died. That was a victory in his and everyone else's books.
"Where's the amputee?"
"Over here, sir!"
Hawkes walked over to the amputee, who was just beginning to come to his senses from the cryo-freeze aftereffects. His eye slowly moved around groggily, then slowly, gradually...
Clarity.
"Hggghhkkk... Hgggkk! HGGGGKKK! HGGGGGKKKK-AAAAAAA!"
The amputee looked around in wild, frenetic shock and jolted his seared limbs in a frenzy. The agony, the pain, the terror, the despair, the memories- they all came flooding back into his mind.
Almost immediately, the triage team moved in to restrain and treat the slowly-bleeding leg stump that had clearly suffered amputation. Hawkes immediately connected the severed leg limb to the scene he had witnessed at the cafeteria.
"What the fuck is going on here... Kai, get him some anesthetics and haul him to the Operating Room!"
"Yes, sir!"
As they carried him away, Hawkes' eyes, tired but observant, scanned over the corpse of the fourth dead crew member. He flipped him over to read his name tag:
Jimmy
"We'll find out what happened." Hawkes muttered with a grimace across his face. "We'll find out who's responsible. And we'll make sure we get justice."
