OCCURRENCE: Episode One
by W.R.Edmunds
All Rights Reserved
Copyright 2013 W.R. Edmunds
Cover Art Copyright 2013 El Fedora Design
Stay up to date at https://www.occurrencenovel.com
ISBN: 978-0-9918858-0-0
Table of Contents
Prologue
Interlude
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Epilogue
Credits
March 14, 2073: UNSS Rimor
Sahi Bahai’s thoughts whirled as she pressed herself tighter into the confines of the storage locker she had chosen for a hiding place. Her hands were covered with blood and she could feel something warm dripping down from her ears. What had happened? What were those glowing creatures? Sahi tried to think back to when it started.
The test had been authorized by the science team on L1 Station. The drive was functioning optimally and there would have been no gravitational interference with its operation at the Earth-Moon L1 point. When it engaged and moved them to travel space, everything went as smoothly as a shift from one dimension to another could be expected to go. No, it was after transition that this started.
Sahi had been sitting at the command console, filtering through test data with her comm implant, when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She looked up, triggering a spate of the dizzying perspective changes that came along with being in travel space. Seeing nothing, she was about turn her attention back to her monitors when she noticed a translucent form glowing faintly above Kiko in his acceleration chair. She watched it slowly descend and melt into him as he began to scream, clutching at his head. He started shuddering, his body warping and deforming as it lost connection with its three-dimensional shape before becoming hazy and indistinct. His cries turned into a piercing howl which drilled into Sahi’s brain, causing the bridge to swim in her vision.
She must have lost consciousness briefly, but according to the test timer running in her comm it had been for less than a minute. Then Sahi noticed that the other four researchers on the bridge were gone, leaving only her. She could hear startled shouts coming from engineering and had to stamp down on a rising sense of alarm.
She opened a channel to the engine room using her comm. “Engineering! Williams, report!” she barked to cover her fear.
She received nothing in response to her hails even though wordless cries still echoed down the passageway. Fighting back the faint feeling of nausea that came with trying to move in travel space, she unbelted and pushed herself to her feet in the artificial gravity the alien engine created when it was engaged. Once she entered the hall connecting back to engineering, Sahi saw one of the scientists who had been with her on the bridge curled up just outside the door, rocking back and forth against a bulkhead moaning.
“Dmitriy! Are you all right?” Sahi asked as she knelt down beside him and put a hand on his shoulder. “What’s going on? What happened to the others on the bridge?”
He just stared off in to the distance and mumbled something in Russian, as if completely unaware of her presence.
She gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, glanced toward engineering, and then tried to force a soothing tone through her mounting panic as she told him, “Wait here, Dmitriy, I’m going to check engineering. I’ll be right back, okay?”
Dmitriy only uttered more disjointed Russian as Sahi left him and continued down the hall.
The shouts from engineering were escalating from surprise to terror. She was still unable to make out any words so she tried to page them again. “Robert! Someone respond, damn you! What’s going on back there?”
Receiving no response, she commed a direct message to Robert Williams, the engineering chief, as she walked. ::Robert, seriously, why is no one answering me?::
Just then she saw him come into view beyond the entry to engineering. He was running toward her, waving her off and shouting, “Sahi! Get out of here – stop the drive!”
Sahi saw a glowing form moving beyond his shoulder and she screamed, pointing behind him. Williams glanced back and then lunged at the emergency lock controls which snapped the entry way shut just as Sahi reached it.
“Robert, no!” she shouted as she pounded on the door and watched through the window as the entity sank into Williams. And just like Kiko had earlier, he underwent a reality bending metamorphosis, causing his body to shift and flow into impossible shapes before fading into a fuzzy outline and disappearing.
She froze, staring in shock at the space Robert had occupied only moments before. A moving reflection in the window caught Sahi’s eye and she whirled around to face Dmitriy who was lurching toward her. His body was surrounded by a bright nimbus that was sending off pulsing streamers into the surrounding passageway, as if one of those things was inside him.
“No,” the tortured word escaped from Dmitriy’s struggling lips, echoing as if coming from a vast distance. “No. Not. Belong.”
Sahi was nearly overwhelmed in horror of the thing in front of her and panic shot through her voice as she replied, “Who – what are you? I don’t –”
“Not belong here. Danger. Coming here,” it stuttered in hollow tones as Dmitriy’s body began to lose coherence and bleed into the luminescence around him.
“LEAVE!” The last word blasted out violently from the creature inhabiting Dmitriy and Sahi clutched at her ears to try to protect them from the assault of noise. His body then rapidly deformed across infinite impossible realities before disappearing completely, this time leaving one of the ghostly figures floating where he had stood.
Sahi’s hands came away from the side of her head covered with blood. She knew she was screaming, but she could only hear a loud ringing in her ears. She stumbled and fell hard against the wall while trying to back away from the alien being as it seemed to consider her. In a state of panic the only thing she could think of to do was hide. She dragged herself into one of the storage lockers and then pulled the door shut behind her as terrified sobs wracked her body.
What had happened? What were those glowing creatures? Why did the one in Dmitriy try to warn her about some sort of danger in coming to travel space? She had just enough time to piece together her memories before a faint luminescence infused the air around her. Sahi felt a tingle as shimmering tendrils passed by her, through her, and then her mind exploded into noise and colour.
March 17, 2073: UNSA Headquarters, Houston, Texas
The video stopped playing with a faint electronic sigh, leaving the image of Sahi crawling into the storage cabinet etched in Adrian’s memory. The lights in the council chambers came back up and he turned his attention to the people sitting at the semi-circular desk behind him. The members of the United Nations Space Administration Deep Space Exploration and Colonization council, commonly referred to as D-SEC, were passing nervous looks between each other and fidgeting in their seats.
Chairman Gilles Frontenac coughed and drew all eyes to him, his faint Quebecois accent giving his words a slightly condescending tone as he addressed Adrian. “Well, Commander Daniels. We thank you for coming down from L1 and bringing this to our attention directly,” he said before pausing to steeple his fingers. “How many others have seen this video?”
“Just myself and Lieutenant Yeung, a member of the research team” Adrian replied. “I scrubbed the drives on the Rimor as soon as I made this copy and I brought the Lieutenant with me in the event you wished to debrief her as well.”
Frontenac nodded at Adrian’s response. “Have there been any similar encounters during the other live tests?”
“No, Sir. This is the first time we have had any trouble whatsoever during a live test.”
“And, in your opinion, you believe that we
should delay further testing until we understand more about what happened on the Rimor?”
Adrian nodded. “Yes, Sir. I can’t justify risking the lives of our research personnel without establishing the extent of the danger presented.”
The quiet whisper of the air-conditioning and the shifting of leather chairs filled the room while the council considered Adrian’s responses. The Chairman frowned as he and the council glanced amongst each other, obviously having an animated discussion over their comms. Adrian was beginning to think they had forgotten he was in the room when Frontenac cleared his throat and began speaking in a carefully neutral tone. “Unfortunately, Commander, even in light of the disturbing nature of the loss of the crew of the UNSS Rimor, we are of the opinion that live testing must continue on pace with the current schedule. While this video causes us great concern, the opportunity that the Sorrenson Drive represents to humanity is too valuable for us to risk the negative public reaction that would result if we performed any detailed investigation into this matter.”
Adrian shook his head in refusal, even though it was the response he was expecting. “Respectfully, Sirs and Madams, we lost the crew of the UNSS Rimor through what I can only describe as some sort of extraterrestrial encounter. Further, this encounter culminated in a warning about us venturing into travel space. We can’t put additional research crews, exploration teams, and families,” he paused to meet the eyes of each of the council members, “in this sort of unknown risk.”
One by one, the council members avoided Adrian’s gaze except for Frontenac who replied firmly, “I assure you we have taken that into account in our decision, but delaying our testing and exploration timeline is not an option. Have you watched the news lately? We must move people off of Earth before our impact on the climate becomes critical. The fact of the matter is that the alien drive we found on Mars is capable of transporting a ship across light years in a matter of days and most anywhere in our solar system within minutes. We are also able to replicate it and install it within our own ships. We must pursue the chance this technology offers us, as it is our best option to reduce the population on Earth and expand our civilization beyond the bounds of our solar system.”
Adrian directed a frustrated glare at the carpeted floor of the council chambers before gritting his teeth and looking back up to Frontenac. “If we cannot delay testing, Sir, at least let me establish a protocol for our staff to communicate with these aliens in the event of further contact.”
“Commander,” Frontenac responded, his words softening to sound almost apologetic, “right now very few people know the truth of what happened. Even if we just kept this internal, telling the research teams the details of the events on the Rimor is as good as holding a press conference. As soon as this occurrence goes public, it will cause a panic and give lobby groups like the Order of Relativity the material they need to pressure Earth’s leaders into withdrawing their support of UNSA. This would result in the termination of the Sorrenson Drive program and likely cause UNSA to lose control of current colonization efforts, rekindling the violent clashes over colonization rights for Mars and the asteroids. After your experiences during the battles above and on Mars, Commander, I cannot imagine this is something you would want.”
Memories of Adrian’s time back on Mars started to bubble to the surface of his thoughts and he repressed a shudder. “Mister Chairman, as you are well aware, that is the last thing I would wish to happen. However, I still don’t see how the situation is so dire that even if we can’t delay the testing, we couldn’t at least extend it until the aliens reach out to us again and deliver a clearer warning.”
The council all looked toward Frontenac who appeared to be considering a particularly distasteful flavour in his mouth as he contemplated Adrian’s question. “Commander,” he began slowly as if giving himself time to be sure of what he was about to say, “given your history with UNSA and because I feel you need to understand the whole of our reasoning to continue functioning in your current role, I am going to be frank. The reason UNSA has been granted so much freedom with this project is not because the drive can offer untold opportunity to humanity, but because it might be the only way to save it. We are not actually trying to move people off of the Earth to lessen human environmental pressure as the media tells everyone, but because it is too late to do so. Whether we move them off of this planet or not, the population on Earth will decrease by fifty percent over the next one-hundred years, due to significant and rapid climate changes. After that, it becomes too hard to predict what the continued rate of de-population will be or where it will stabilize.” All of the council’s eyes were on Adrian as the Chairman delivered his damning prognosis.
“But what about the asteroid arcologies, everyone on Mars...” Adrian trailed off in stunned disbelief.
Frontenac gave him sad smile before replying quietly, “Do you know what the population of Mars is, Commander? It is just over two million and might hit five in the next twenty years. None of the asteroids are self-sustaining yet, but once they are, at most they will support a population of just over a million in that same time frame. Our projections indicate that the truth about Earth’s environmental collapse will become general knowledge at some point within those twenty years. Once the world finds out how bad things actually are, the most likely outcome will be wide-spread panic with the spaceports the first to be besieged. Then, when everyone realizes there is no room in space anyway, most governments will implement plans to save as many people on the ground as possible, completely stopping any off-world expansion. That leaves us with fewer than six million people living very tenuous lives on rocks not meant to support them and unknown conditions on Earth for the next five-hundred to two-thousand years.” Frontenac gave Adrian a moment to absorb this information.
“With the Sorrenson Drive,” he continued, “we hope to increase the number of people transported off of Earth by an order of magnitude at least, not only by moving people faster and farther, but by lengthening the window during which we will be able to evacuate them. The most important thing the drive and our exploration program provide is a tangible vision of hope to the world’s population. This hope should be enough to keep the people supporting UNSA’s efforts even after the truth of Earth’s condition is revealed, allowing us to institute an orderly evacuation process. Once we have enough people and industry established in space, then those off-world will be able to support the population left on Earth. This is currently our best chance to save humanity and we can’t afford to jeopardize this program for anything less than absolute proof it will fail.”
Adrian was completely overwhelmed and stood silently for a minute processing everything the Chairman had just revealed. “So we have no choice. We have to continue as planned.”
Frontenac gave Adrian a bitter smile before he replied, “Yes. Now, is there anything else you would like to bring to our attention before we give our final judgment, Commander?”
“No, Sir,” Adrian responded, struggling to keep his sense of utter defeat from showing.
“Very well, it is the decision of this council that the current drive testing, exploration, and colonization efforts continue on the established timeline. Further, due to the nature of this meeting, its minutes and all evidence of the occurrence on the UNSS Rimor are to be classified. Commander, you are not to discuss any of the information disclosed here with anyone. We also expect you to inform Lieutenant Yeung that she is not to speak of the events on the Rimor and that you will be able to keep the remainder of the research team in line. Any knowledge of this event or the details of this meeting will be strictly disavowed by this council and UNSA. The official reason for the loss of the research crew will be documented as a life-support failure. Is this clear, Commander?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Then you are dismissed.” The Chairman gave him a quick sympathetic smile and then he and the council stood and filed out of the room’s back entrance, leaving Adrian alone with the weight of humanity’s surviva
l on his shoulders.
UNSA Spaceport, Houston, Texas
The voice crackled through the cockpit speakers. "You are clear for takeoff. Good luck, Commander."
"Thanks Houston.” Adrian commed off the link to tower control and stared blankly at the controls in front of him. His reflection gazed back at him from the gleam of the monitors showing a solid face surmounted by closely cropped dark hair that was beginning to grey at the temples. The bags under his eyes were deeper than he could ever remember seeing them.
The sound of a young female voice brought him back to his surroundings. “Engines are hot and I have completed the pre-flight check, Commander.”
Seated in the co-pilot seat beside him, Lieutenant – no, now Lieutenant Commander – Sally Yeung, the head of the research team after the loss of Sahi, shot him a quick look of concern before turning her attention back to the screens. "You’ve been quiet since you got back from D-SEC, Commander. What did they have to say?"
Adrian glanced over at the young woman, her bob of dark hair framing delicate Asian features. Bright green eyes radiated intelligence and hinted at a mixed heritage in her past. The fact that she was a prodigy of quantum and string physics often led him to forget that she was only twenty-six. He barely controlled the growing dismay that had been filling him during the ride to the spaceport from UNSA as he responded, “We are to continue testing as scheduled.”
“What!” Sally punctuated her cry with a jab at one of the screens as the engines started to increase their power output. She continued incredulously, “We have a violent close encounter with some aliens telling us to stay out of their back yard, killing seven of our friends, and we’re supposed to continue testing?”
His comm informed him that the engines had reached full power and were ready for takeoff. He clenched his jaws in frustration. “For the record, Lieutenant-Commander Yeung," he put an emphasis on the title to ensure Sally registered it, "no such thing happened, understood?”
Adrian nudged the throttle up with his comm and began pulling back on the yoke after the craft reached liftoff speed. He could have run all of the controls through his comm, but he needed to do something with his hands to help control the emotional tide that was flowing through him.
Sally’s lip curled in disgust as they started to nose up into the sky. “You can’t be serious, Commander. What are we supposed to tell everyone at L1 about what happened?”
“That the Rimor suffered a life-support failure,” he responded woodenly.
Sally angrily rocked her head back. “No one will believe that, Commander. They’re going to ask questions. And what are we expected to do when those aliens come back again?”
Adrian turned toward the window to stop Sally from seeing the helplessness in his eyes, and watched the parched brown landscape withdrawing behind them. A lone patch of green in the distance outlined the buildings of UNSA’s Houston headquarters. He shook his head and avoided her question by replying quietly, “Look out your window. I remember when this was all swamp; all green. The entire American southwest is turning into a desert and that’s just a single example of how rapidly Earth’s climate is starting to shift. The environmentalists say it will get worse before it gets better.” Adrian swallowed the taste of his lie of omission as he skipped over the details given to him by Frontenac. “You know why UNSA has been given a carte blanche on this program. It’s our best chance to reduce the population and let the Earth recover. If I asked you to command the next test flight, would you really say no? Would any of the team say no, even if they knew we were lying to them?”
Sally opened and closed her mouth before dropping her eyes and shaking her head in resignation.
The gulf coast came into view, framed by the concrete expanse that was the greater Houston area. The green of urban farms speckled the grey with life, but the encroaching brown landscape outside of the city’s confines only accentuated how tenuous those oases were. The dike that had been erected to protect the city from rising waters and hurricane waves formed a sharp transition from grey to aquamarine, arcing off into the distance.
They sat in silence as the plane banked to follow the line of the coast eastward, continually climbing into the deepening sky. His comm indicated they were approaching maximum conventional flight altitude and they spent the next minutes prepping for their orbital burn. Once the large reaction engines kicked in to push them up to rendezvous with UNSA’s transfer station, the crushing acceleration and loud roar gave each of them an excuse to avoid further conversation.
As the sound of the engines slowly drained away and the sun receded behind them, the dark of space pressed down oppressively. Sally turned to him in her chair and broke the tense quiet. “You know that I will lead the next test flight, right, Adrian?”
Her voice sounded small in the confines of the cockpit as he looked out at the line of the horizon cutting a swath of darkness across the expanse of stars in front of them. “Yeah, I know.”
As the station where they would catch the shuttle out to L1 came into view over the Earth, Sally spoke again, fear thinning her voice. “What should I do if the aliens come back though?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know, Sally. I don’t know.”