The sirens blared, sharp and urgent. The blue sky was streaked with red, something was wrong. Sirens were reserved for emergencies. What could it mean this time?
"Meteor shower!" someone screamed, sending people scattering for cover. Greg froze, eyes tracking the sky. A speck, no a ball-hurtled toward him. He bolted, his heart hammering.
BOOM! A car-sized meteor slammed into a nearby building, reducing it to rubble. Screams and explosions drowned out everything, even his own racing heartbeat. No shelter could save him.
FWOOSH. He glanced up. Another meteor, massive and blazing, came straight for him.
BAM!
Greg woke, drenched in cold sweat. Heart still racing, he gasped for air, thankful it had only been a dream.
He rubbed his eyes, straightened his chair, and stepped into the cockpit.For a moment, the roar of meteors still echoed in his ears. But only the steady hum of his starship filled the cockpit. His gaze fell on the dashboard. There, his ID card hung: Greg Hale. Exon Star Command pilot. Human. 22 years. Beside it was an old, faded picture of Earth. The picture was more memory than image now. Its edges worn, colors washed away. Now it hurt more to look at than to put it down.
He sighed. No wonder he'd been having weird dreams: crossing that deadly asteroid belt had him thinking about home more than usual. Five years in ESC, eleven since being moved to the Qest colony in the Hive system… he missed home. And he couldn't wait for his first leave in about two months.
The dashboard hummed. Touch-sensitive displays showed fuel levels, cargo weight, navigation routes, and engine status. Holographic star maps floated above the console. Indicator lights pulsed gently along the edges, signaling life support and cargo bay seals. Greg slid into the pilot seat and swiped the main screen. The date glared back at him: 31st February 157 EE.
Greg was at the edge of the Sapien Nebula. His destination: Galu in the Fringe Nebula.
Fuel was critically low. He had to reach the Fringe Nebula fast to refuel. Luckily, the Sapien hyper gate wasn't far. It would take him to the Torj star system, where he could top up and then make his way to Galu in the Dert system.
He located the hyper gate on his navigation display and tightened his seat belt. His hands ran across the dashboard tapping buttons. He scanned the hyper gate alignment, and adjusted throttle. The Stellar Runner, sleek in blue and silver, hummed to life. Greg steadied his hands on the yoke and blasted off into the dark, empty void of space, the stars stretching into streaks as he aligned with the gate.
Greg eased his grip on the yoke as the Stellar Runner drew closer to the hyper gate. Just ahead, a large black starship loomed, a Darkchaser.
Darkchasers were used by Enforcers for space patrol, guarding hyper gates and manning checkpoints. Greg's heart skipped a beat, the Enforcers were a scary bunch but he kept his hands steady.
A voice crackled through his coms.
"Transmit your ID for identification and clearance."
Greg nodded and fiddled with the main screen.
Good thing he'd renewed his ID just last week. This would have been scarier.
After a few seconds a large hologram lit up outside from his ship. The hologram showed the barcodes of his ship and his ID. A space bot no bigger than a baby scooted over and scanned the codes and the ID.
"ID confirmed. You may proceed."
Greg sighed in relief as the Darkchaser gave way for him. Greg eased the Stellar Runner closer to the glowing hyper gate. Its frame stretched across space like a shimmering silver doorway, tendrils of energy writhing along its edges. The ship's sensors hummed as they registered the field, confirming a stable alignment.
"Alignment at ninety-five percent." the console chirped.
Greg muttered under his breath, tapping a sequence of controls to bring it to full sync. The final indicator blinked green. He exhaled and pushed the throttle forward.
The stars outside twisted, streaking into lines of gold and white as the Stellar Runner slipped into the hyper gate. A subtle vibration ran through the cockpit and in the blink of an eye the ship shot forward, swallowed whole by the shimmering corridor. Greg emerged from the glowing gate into the Torj system.