Classified

So remember how I said there was something that I was working on that I couldn't really publish? Well here's a little something from it. It's just a little bit of history for what I'm working on and actually takes place well before the main stuff.

Enjoy!


"Should we really consider ourselves lucky?"

"You still have your life don't you?"

"But... think of what we've lost."

Two young men stand on the observation deck of the C class colonization space vessel, Edict. Beyond the thick glass windows is an incredible view of the planet Fatum. It seemed wrong for a planet to outshine its star, but Fatum did. It was a brilliant blue light that could make your heart ache. Matthew looked toward the sight that currently occupied all of his partner's attention. "Cyril? Is something wrong?"

"I am thinking about everything we've lost," he replied gruffly. "The Maw has chased us to the ends of the galaxy and back. Some of us escaped... some of us didn't. For those that didn't... we owe it to them to keep going. I'm not sure why that old man said this planet was so important... But we're here."

Matthew leaned against the glass staring down at the planet. It was a beautiful sight, but he found it so hard to embrace the beauty at the cost they had paid. "Why do you think this planet shines so much?"

"What would I know? I'm a pilot, not a scientist."

"I guess I asked that wrong... Why do you think this place is so significant?"

"Captain Tyle said it was. He said it was our only destiny."

Matthew sighed. He knew that Cyril would never break a promise to a dying man... but normally Cyril was so certain. Today he felt distant. Matt just wanted to get a few thoughts out of Cyril today. The morale on the ship had never been higher. Having reached the crazy dream of the Captain's they would finally be able to colonize. Right now, they were waiting for the surveyors to come back with the report.

Before the door opened, Cyril had already turned to face it. "What's the report."

Hansen had barely entered the room. He looked flustered, and very nervous. "Sir, Fatum is.. uninhabitable."

Matthew cringed when he heard the loud thud of Cyril's fist against the glass. "Dammit. Why would you lead us here? Where are we supposed to go now?" Cyril was speaking to himself. In his frustration he cursed a few times before the surveyor spoke up again.

"Ah... sir... there was something interesting though.. about the planet," he paused and cleared his throat. "The surface of the planet is highly crystallized... It's formed in a way we've never seen before. The only thing remotely similar is some of the equipment recovered from Consumption sites. We believe that the the material might be useful as a catalyst for fusion and... distortion fields."

"Distortion fields?"

"Yes. Senior Researcher Glannen was excited after the initial analysis. He explained to me, that the formation of the crystal requires forces that we cannot replicate."

Cyril's eyes widened. "I've heard enough. I'll speak with Glennon myself." Matthew nearly had to jog to keep up with Cyril's quick stride.

"Cyril? Cyril, what does this mean? Tell me what's going on?"

He stopped and took a deep breath. "Matthew... do you remember what the Captain always said? He said that to guarantee escape from the Maw, we would need to move through the universe the way it does. He recognized the Maw for what it was... it's not just a hole... a destructive force of the universe. He said it was its own life, and we could see a small part of it. He tried to explain it to me. I couldn't understand him, but eventually he said that to see it for what it is, we would need a distortion field. A week later he was having nightmares... and you know what happened from there."

Matthew nodded solemnly. "So you think that this place might be the key to understanding the Maw?"

This time Cyril nodded. "Even if this place is uninhabitable... we will find a way to live here. Fatum will be where we finally get our revenge against the Maw."

"I'm afraid it will be much harder than that." Glannen had overheard and ran a hand through his silvery hair. "While the material will be invaluable to us... it won't be what allows us to take revenge on the Maw."

Cyril did not look pleased. "Then what will it do?"

"The structure of the crystal, when charged with enough energy, is capable of expanding in a direction we can't measure."

"What does that mean?"

"It's very difficult to visualize, but it can make two points in space that seem very far apart to us be very close."

"So this would be like bending space?" Matthew asks, having a much better idea of the situation than Cyril.

"Yes. Similar to 'bending space.'"

"How does that help us stop the Maw?" Cyril asked, always cutting to the chase.

"It won't help us stop the Maw, but at the least, by using the distortion field as a compass, we can move through space in a different way. We won't have to just push our ships to the fullest throttle and hope it doesn't catch up."

"So we can sort of just skip town on it?" Matthew asked.

The researcher chuckled and replied, "Yes. We would be in front of it one moment, and a million miles away the next."

"If we can do that to ourselves... can we do that to the Maw?"

Glannen and Matthew both looked to Cyril , faces full of surprise. When Glennon recovered he spoke. "I hadn't thought of that. I'm not sure what sort of equipment we would need for that... or how much energy."

"Find out. Even if it takes 1000 years, we have to learn how to stop the Maw."