Original Concept : GῖΦ™
Writer : Kate
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She looked up to see massive spaceships descending from the sky, blotting out the sun. Strange creatures began pouring out and terrorizing the streets. People ran screaming in every direction as the aliens fired bolts of light, blowing up cars and buildings.
Clarity broke into a sprint towards home, her heart pounding. She had to get to safety. Behind her, the local grocery store exploded into flames. Clarity raced across mainstreet, barely avoiding a hovercraft that came screaming past. She ducked down an alleyway, stumbling over trash cans and discarded newspapers.
As she neared her house, a bright flash lit up the alley. Clarity turned to see one of the alien crafts landing right behind her, its engines sending debris flying. She covered her head and kept running as fast as her legs could carry her.
Suddenly, a petrified woman came barreling around the corner and bowled straight into Clarity, knocking her to the ground. She scraped her knees badly on the pavement and cried out in pain. The woman did not stop, just leapt over her and continued fleeing.
Clarity struggled to her feet, limping now. She had to get home. His parents would know what to do. They always know what to do. She emerged from the alley onto her street, which was crammed with fleeing neighbors. Clarity pushed through the panicked crowd, avoiding getting trampled. A few houses down, she spotted her home.
She was almost there when an ear-splitting crash rang out. An alien fighter craft screamed overhead, firing bolts of hot plasma. Vehicles along the street erupted into flames. Clarity ran for cover under a nearby SUV just as a bolt struck the pavement nearby, the shockwave sending her sprawling.
Dazed, Clarity realized she was directly under the SUV. The hot metal burned her back. She tried to crawl out from under it but could barely move. The vehicle had her pinned down. Smoke and ash choked the air. All around her were screams and the sound of the invaders.
She tried to scream but her voice was drowned out. She struggled with all her might, but could not get free. Tears streamed down her face as the sounds of the attack continued. The girl squeezed her eyes shut, and hoped that everything would end soon.
Clarity jerked awake to a hand shaking her shoulder. She opened her eyes to see her father looking down at her, his face grim.
He said something to her but she couldn’t really get what he said.
Clarity sat up, confused and disoriented. For a moment, she thought the alien attack had all been a terrible nightmare. Then she saw the basement walls cracked and scorched, daylight streaming through. The air smelled of smoke and ash.
Clarity followed her father upstairs. Her mouth fell open in shock. The entire second floor of their house was simply gone, sheared off. Clarity moved to the edge and looked out upon the devastation.
At least half the town was leveled. Buildings were burnt out husks. Strange crafts still patrolled the skies. In the distance, a massive alien mothership hovered over the ruins of downtown.
She asked about her mother and her father’s face fell. He put a hand on Clarity’s shoulder.
He then urged her to go on without looking back.
Clarity broke into a run through the ruined house, her father yelling after her. Bursting outside, Clarity skidded to a halt. Across the rubble-strewn street, she saw her mother in the grasp of two insectoid aliens. A third was lowering some kind of blinking apparatus over her head.
« No! Mom! » Clarity screamed. She tried to run to her but her father tackled her, clamping a hand over her mouth. There was a blinding flash and a horrible squealing sound. Clarity watched helplessly as the aliens extracted a pulsating orb from her mother’s head before tossing her lifeless body aside.
« Nooooooooo! »
Clarity jerked awake with a gasp, her heart pounding. She sat up on her bunk, taking deep breaths to calm herself and slow her racing mind. After a moment, she rubbed her face and sighed. That dream again. Or memory, more accurately. Though sometimes she wished parts of it were just a nightmare.
« Hey, you alright Clarity? » came a voice from the doorway. Clarity looked over to see her crewmate and friend Johan leaning against the frame, his brow furrowed in concern.
« Yeah, I’m fine, » Clarity said, swinging her legs off the bunk. « Just had that dream again. »
Johan nodded knowingly. He had been there with her during the invasion 21 years ago. They had lost a lot, but somehow survived together. Now in their early twenties, they were crewmates aboard the salvage ship Retriever, scouring the universe for tech, parts and anything of value to sell.
« Don’t dwell on it too much, » Johan said gently. « I know it’s hard, but the past is the past. We’ve made a good life out here. »
Clarity smiled appreciatively. « You’re right. No use getting lost in ghosts. » She stood and stretched. « What’s our status? Are we close to Okkler? »
Johan brightened, peering down at his navigator tablet. « Just a few more jumps. Should be there in less than a cycle. »
Okkler was an old military outpost they were heading towards, out on the fringes of the Arctos Expanse. It had been abandoned decades ago but still had plenty of old parts and tech to salvage. They were hoping to stock up on spare engine coils and filtration units for the Retriever.
Clarity stepped out into the main corridor, seals hissing as the doors slid open. The Retriever was an older model star-hopper, but had plenty of customized modifications and upgrades. She may not look like much from the outside, but the heavily shielded ship was perfect for traversing unstable hyperspace currents in the Expanse.
She headed towards the bridge, nodding greetings to other passing crew members busy with their duties. Retriever operated with a small, tightly knit crew. They were more like a family than colleagues after so many cycles working together.
Clarity settled into the captain’s chair on the bridge, gazing out through the viewport at the mesmerizing swirl of hyperspace as they cruised through the alternate dimension. She toggled navigational displays, checking their projected route.
« Gonna be good salvaging on Okkler, » came a gravelly voice. Clarity glanced over as her large alien crewmate, Korvax, lumbered onto the bridge. The four-armed Arcturian always seemed excited about the prospect of tech and profit.
« That’s the hope, » Clarity agreed. An alert chimed on the console – they were approaching the exit point back to real space. « Here we go. Dropping us back into the Expanse in five seconds. »
The ship shuddered as it decelerated rapidly, the mottled sky of hyperspace dissolving away to reveal a field of glittering stars. In the distance floated Okkler, a derelict Outer Colony station, slowly rotating in the void.
Clarity eased them towards it, sweeping sensor beams over the structure. It was an old Kartheon military outpost design, clusters of habitat modules sprouting from a central spindle. Probably home to a few thousand at its peak.
« Picking up some residual energy signatures but she looks dead, » Johan reported from sensors. « No major hull breaches detected. »
« Take us into high orbit, » Clarity ordered. « We’ll start scanning for a decent place to dock and board. »
It took them nearly half a cycle to find an airlock still intact enough to mate with. Clarity, Johan, and Korvax suited up and cycled through, entering the lifeless station. They swept flashlights over rusted bulkheads and drifted through microgravity corridors eerily devoid of activity.
Besides the emergency lights dotting the corridors, the only illumination came from Okkler’s star through narrow viewports. Some sections were completely exposed to space, metal walls peeled open by long-ago explosions or accidents. They traced their route carefully, descending deeper into the station’s core.
According to old schematics, this sector housed main engineering and the power plant. Most of the valuable tech would be here. They passed abandoned crew quarters, dining halls, and laboratories. The station had been evacuated in a hurry based on the signs of daily life left strewn about in stale air.
« Feels like a tomb, » Johan murmured over the comms. Clarity nodded. Places like this always unsettled him a bit. Reminders of how suddenly the candle of life could be snuffed out.
After several hours of searching and scanning, they finally located the primary engine room. A few massive plasma conduits were still intact, along with an array of power capacitors and phase coils. Jackpot.
« Alright, let’s get cutting, » Clarity said, hoisting a laser burner. « Carefully extract what we can carry then start ferrying it all back to the ship. »
The work was long and exhausting, but they slowly stripped the room of valuable components. Each trip back to the Retriever lightened their load and their hearts. This salvage could keep them operating for a long time.
Twenty cycles later, Clarity did a final sweep of the eerie station before closing the airlock. She paused at a viewport, gazing out at shimmering starlight filling the black. So much lost time and history here. But ahead was open space, the future, and hopefully the chance to write a new story.
With any luck, this salvage would help carry them there. Clarity turned and headed for home.
After successfully salvaging valuable tech and parts from the derelict station Okkler, Clarity flew the Retriever back to their home base on New Pacific. This small paradisiac island was all that remained of planet Earth after the cataclysmic asteroid impact that had wiped out most life decades ago. Here, the last survivors continued fighting back against the alien Vinnegains that had caused their world’s destruction.
Clarity expertly guided the Retriever down through wispy clouds towards the sparkling ocean waters surrounding New Pacific. She always felt a sense of peace returning to these beautiful islands, but also melancholy for what had been lost.
The Retriever settled onto the landing pad at headquarters, turbines winding down. Clarity and her crew disembarked, breathing deep tropical air. Walking across the tarmac, Clarity gazed up at the sleek buildings that housed intelligence, military operations and the provisional government. This was the nerve center coordinating humanity’s ongoing resistance efforts.
Clarity and Johan made their way to the bustling command center, nodding to various officers and officials they passed along the way. Stepping inside, Clarity glanced up at the giant display screens tracking fleet movements, scouting missions, and signals intelligence.
A colonel approached them. « Welcome back. Report to debriefing room 12B, the council is waiting. »
Soon Clarity and Johan were seated across from a panel of severe looking officials in dark uniforms. Clarity recounted their salvage mission to Okkler, providing inventory lists of all the valuable technology and parts recovered. The council seemed pleased.
« You’ve done well securing these resources, » said the head councilwoman. « They will aid our engineering corps in outfitting the new warship models. You have our gratitude. »
« We live to serve, » Clarity replied respectfully. After a few more questions, they were dismissed.
As they exited the building, Johan shook his head in frustration. « They barely acknowledge the risks we take hauling salvage through Vinnegain space. And we get no share of the profits. »
Clarity nodded. « I know. But salvaging is our best way to contribute to the fight. Someday we’ll regain our skies from those alien scum. »
Johan sighed. « You have more faith than me. Seems the council only grows more ruthless and jaded as the years pass. »
Clarity shrugged. She had to admit that sometimes the detached demeanor of the officials here troubled her. But surely they were just focused on survival and victory at all costs.
Clarity and Johan were so caught up complaining that they didn’t notice the tall officer rounding the corner ahead. Clarity collided right with him, stumbling backwards.
« Pardon me, sir! » She quickly apologized. The man waved it off with a chuckle. He had dark hair with streaks of gray and a weathered face that spoke of years in space. His uniform bore the insignia of a naval captain.
« No harm done, » he replied in a gravelly baritone. « I should watch my step. » He extended a hand. « Captain Ahab Bojack, at your service. »
Clarity shook his hand a bit nervously. She had heard of Bojack – supposedly he was some legendary old naval commander who had been through countless battles. His exploits were spoken about in mess halls and bunks across the islands, though no one seemed to know much about the man himself. He had a larger-than-life quality.
« Sir, we didn’t mean to run into you, » Johan quickly added.
« Think nothing of it, » Bojack said amiably. « Walk with me. »
They fell in step with the imposing captain as he continued down the pathway between headquarters buildings. Clarity wasn’t sure what to say – it wasn’t every day one came face to face with a living legend.
« You must be Clarity Jones, » Bojack remarked, glancing at her. « Best damn salvager we’ve got. I’ve read your mission reports. »
Clarity blinked in surprise. « Very kind of you to say, sir. »
Bojack waved a hand. « I call it like I see it. What’s your next assignment? »
« We’ve been ordered to scout an abandoned Vinnegain mining colony, » Clarity explained. « Could be good salvage opportunities there. »
Bojack nodded thoughtfully. « Dangerous region of space. But I know you can handle it. I chose you for this next mission because you’re one of few souls I trust. »
He stopped walking and turned to face Clarity and Johan, his expression now deadly serious. « We’ve detected signs that the Vinnegains are gathering a massive armada. If true, this could spell our end. I need whatever intelligence you can gather on their movements. This is above and beyond your normal duties, but you’re up to the task. »
Clarity swelled a bit with pride at the famed captain’s faith in her. « We’ll get it done, sir. You can count on us. »
Bojack grinned and clapped her shoulder. « That’s the spirit. Watch your back out there. I need good pilots. The gears are turning, and soon humanity will strike back. We’ll retake our skies yet! »
He turned and continued on his way as Clarity and Johan stood thunderstruck. This was the first they had heard about a potential major Vinnegain offensive. The stakes felt higher than ever.
As they walked back to the ship, Johan shook his head in disbelief. « Well that was something. The great Captain Bojack himself, asking us for a favor. »
Clarity smiled thoughtfully. « He’s placed his trust in us for a reason. This could be a turning point. »
She gazed up at the setting sun, her spirit burning with a new sense of purpose. They would gather this intel, and she would do everything possible to help turn the tide. Clarity was tired of just surviving. It was time for them to start taking the fight to the Vinnegains.
Humanity would rise again.
To Be Continued…
