literature

Across the Stars

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The Terran stands at the airlock, nervous and reluctant to assume the newly created position of Intergalactic Ambassador for the Terran Alliance.  In all the years of interstellar travel, humankind never met another race.  Not until a crippled medical frigate floated into occupied territory did man no longer think he was alone.  And in less than a year, humans created trade routes and fought in three wars with aliens.  This space station is the result of all the chaos with this young Lieutenant as the sole human aboard.  The construct looks like a giant wheel.  A large central sphere serves as everything with spokes leading out to eight landing platforms spaced around it.  A final ring circles the entire structure, serving as support and holding many of the automated defense systems.

The hiss of the lock door startles the soldier and the sounds and smells of the stations quickly assail his senses.  On the other side stands a uniformed feline biped.  Her yellow eyes stare at the pink male as he steps through the hatchway.  The tiger nods to the newcomer, "Welcome aboard, Lieutenant."

"T-t-thanks."  He pauses and looks around this end of the marketplace.

The tiger smiles, "Have you never seen a bustling bazaar before?"

"We have them all over Earth.  The space stations don't have anything with so much variety, though."

"Then I will give you a guided tour before you meet the station's Commander."  The human smiles at the tiger and falls in next to her, his duffel bag hanging over his shoulder.  An hour passes by easily as the Lieutenant learns of all sorts of customs and histories of the many shops.  Only when the communicator of the tiger beeps does the tour end.  "Time for your meeting."

And the terran finds himself alone in a lift with the tiger.  "You haven't told me your name yet."

The briefest glimpse of surprise washes over the feline's face.  "My apologies.  Arianna."

"Nice to meet you, Arianna.  I'm Erikk."  The trip finishes in silence as the doors open onto a quiet command deck.  A handful of various species tend to their duties.  An eerie silence falls upon the already muted sounds of the deck as all eyes turn to the human.  The tiger moves towards the windowed room at the back of the deck and Erikk hustles after her, grateful for the release from all the eyes.

A snake biped with markings almost like those of a boa constrictor sits behind a desk, feet propped up on the edge and studying a small electronic data pad.  Her eyes only briefly dart from the display as the two enter.  "Dismissed, Arianna."  The tiger nods and leaves the room, the doors closing behind her with a muted hiss.  Erikk sets his bag down and remains standing at attention, waiting for recognition.

With a sigh, the snake tosses the pad to her desk.  "You have a lot of enemies on board this station, Terran."  Her green eyes finally look over the human.  "Your position means nothing to any of them.  And there's no such thing as diplomatic immunity outside this office."  Erikk swallows hard as he fights for control of his nerves.  "Don't expect any leniency from me.  I lost a lot of friends against your race.  You're only here because Command ordered it."  The snake tousles with her hazel hair for a moment before continuing, "Your job is nothing more than to act as a liaison between your people and everyone else.  I hope you make friends easily for you won't find many.  Now get out of my office.  There's an ensign outside waiting to take you to your quarters."  Her hand snatches up another pad and she turns her attention to the next report.

With a heavy heart, Erikk retrieves his bag and leaves.  The blonde vulpine looks at the human without any emotion in her eyes as he steps to her.  She turns before he has a chance to say 'hi' and heads for the nearest lift.  Erikk catches her just as she steps inside.  He turns his head and opens his mouth but she cuts him off, "I don't like you.  I don't want to know you."

He blinks at her for a moment, "You don't have to be so cold about it."  Neither says another word.  Erikk soon finds himself alone in his quarters, the drab gray walls laughing at him.  "Well, guess I need to unpack."  He finds the bedroom and his clothes quickly find their proper place in the closet.

Coming out from the bedroom, he finds a pad sitting on the kitchenette table.  "From Captain Erin Diamondstar.  Lieutenant, as per your position, you will be on an on-call status.  If your assistance is required, you will be summoned.  Otherwise, you have no other duties or functions.  Feel free to acquaint yourself with the station."  He tosses the pad back to the table and groans, dropping himself to the dark-red couch.

"Oh yay!" he moans.  "What did I do to deserve this?"

The only response is a chime.  Erikk sits up and looks around before realizing it's a good bet the chime is the doorbell.  The door opens with the same silent hiss.  Part of him hopes those he sees aren't here to break his bones.  His eyes instantly recognize the tiger.  "Hello, Lieutenant.  May we come in?"  The human quickly steps back allowing the tiger and her companions entry.  Arianna leads a tan female equine, white female canine, and blue male avian.  "David, I want to introduce three of those that are willing to assist you while you are here.  Diana owns the main eating establishment in the bazaar."  The equine smiles at the human.  "Danielle is the Security Chief for the station."  The canine winks.  "And Ryan is the Chief Medical Officer."  The bird shakes hands."

"I understand this to be the usual greeting custom for humans."

Erikk smiles, "That it is, doctor."

"Erikk," the wolf starts, "There's only a small number of people on this station willing to have anything to do with you.  Humans really don't have a great reputation here.  The fact that your race found out about other life is a miracle.  The rumors I heard for the longest time suggested most of those in Command wanted to exterminate your race.  All species know of your history and how violent your people can be.  They didn't want any type of war with you unless it was meant for your destruction."

The Terran nods, "And that's why we were attacked three times in less than a year."

Ryan chirps in, "The dragons are the only reason the wars aren't still going.  They stick their snouts in from time to time and dictate us younger races around.  They said stop so we stopped."

Chuckling, Erikk looks at the bird, "Throughout our folklore, dragons represented great wisdom and honor.  Guess they do that out here, too."

Danielle lightly touches his arm, "Look, I can't give you an armed guard but you need one."  He smiles at the female.

"If you get a chance, swing by for a bite to eat.  I run the Prancing Unicorn."  Diana winks before she heads to the door.  "I have to get back.  I'm sure the place has gotten into a riot."  The trio of guests leaves the tiger behind with the human.

Arianna smiles as the door shuts.  "I will do what I can to help."

The human smiles and steps to the striped female.  "Thank you," he whispers.  Her eyes widen when he takes her hands in his.  "It sounds like I need all the friends I can get."

"I..." she falters, giving the human a moment.  He takes the chance and kisses the feline with a lengthy touch of his lips.  Her reaction fails to give the male any sign of her feelings towards him.  So he steps back.  "Please don't do that again," she whispers.  Arianna pulls away and the door closes behind her before he can say a word.

"I'm sorry," he tells the door.  Erikk turns back to the couch and stretches out on it, resting his head against the arm as he stares out the window.  After ten minutes of watching a handful of ships come and go, he turns his attention to the computer console on the table.  His fingers tap the keys but the screen remains black.  White letters scroll across, beating him down in his efforts to familiarize himself with the general information on the station.

"ACCESS DENIED"

"Thanks," he tells the system.  His feet take him to the door of his quarters.  The hallway stands empty as he peers up and down the corridor.  "Well, I can't hide like a coward in my quarters for the rest of my life."  And so the human ventures forth from the safety of his room.  Down one corridor after another, turning and following no given path as he has never seen a map of the facility.  Only he finds himself quickly lost in the maze of passages.

The floor of the latest passageway shows little sign of wear and usage.  Even the walls seem to have a thin layer of dust upon them.  Neither doors nor additional routes lead away from the hall and the nerves of the human begin to kick in.  The hall curves and he guesses this corridor to be one along the outermost wall of the station, though without a map, guide, or windows he has no way of knowing for certain.

Footsteps ahead of him startle him and his heart races as they draw closer.  Two creatures reminiscent of ants walk towards the human, clicking and clacking in their native tongue.  Erikk finds himself almost in a state of panic as they pass by, ignoring the alien in their presence.  Now his hands shake as he starts a quick pace.  Only the next group proves more detrimental.

A couple bears, a hyena, and two foxes bar Erikk's route and they begin taunting him.  When he turns to retrace his steps, the foxes easily slip past him and block his route.  "Leaving so soon, pinky?" rumbles a bear as his giant clawed hand grips Erikk's shoulder.  Never has he felt his heart race so hard or fast before.  The blow to his temple knocks the human to the floor plating.  The gathering laughs as the young soldier tries to stand back up.  "I think we should have some fun!" is the last words he hears before the beating begins.  A solid kick from a brown-colored foot tosses him a couple feet into the air before he hits the wall.

Erikk cries out and grabs his sides, wrapping his arms around his chest.  Fists pummel his head and back numerous times as he rolls to his stomach.  Several more kicks catch his side and he spits up blood from a rather forceful impact.  Hands grab an arm and he finds himself standing as the hyena slams a metal bar against his extremity.  The snapping of bone clearly tells everyone of the results.  Then the bar strikes his knee.

The human crumples to the floor before he feels the impact against his hip.  A kick to his face flops him to his back and he looks up through a haze as the metallic bar swings through the air.  His body jerks as the blow lands across his chest.  More blood sprays from his mouth before he lies still.

"Should we let him live?" asks a muffles voice.

"They'll just send another if we don't," comes the gruff reply.

Erikk barely feels the vibrations of the heavy footsteps as the group leaves the bloody mess of a human behind.  He has no way of calling for help as his voice gurgles through the blood in his mouth and throat.  His left arm scratches across the floor as he tries to find some handhold to pull himself along.  The only thought going through the human's mind is, "What did I do to deserve this?"

His vision grows dark as swelling consumes his face.  Blood hangs by crimson strings from his mouth, nose, ears.  His right arm lies at a grotesque angle as does his left leg.  His breath comes in wheezes as he fights to inhale through the pain swallowing his body.  Tears mix with the red on his face and the floor.  White stars begin sparking in his vision as blackness encroaches on the last amount of sight he has.

"So this is it, huh?"  The thought passes through the tormented mind of the human.

A voice echoes after the thought, "This isn't your time, human.  Sleep for now."  And with the last words echoing in his mind, Erikk closes his eyes the rest of the way and falls into the dark abyss of oblivion.
Here's another science fiction story I came up with. Mankind finally makes first contact with others. This story takes place approximately one year after the initial contact. The one and only human ambassador arrives to take on his duties. This is merely the initial chapter of what I hope will be quite a large project.
© 2009 - 2024 Yuri-Bloodfang
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