CHAPTER ONE
Endless darkness stretched to the horizon, disturbed only by the pinpricks of stars that lay billions of miles away. The deck of the Ares, one of the flagships for the U.T.A. or Unified Terran Armada, glistened against of the red sun of the Kodos system. She was a brilliant ship to behold, whether docked or hurtling through space. From bow to stern, the Ares measured in at seventy-five hundred feet. Numerous fighter squadrons lay dormant inside her belly, ready in a moment’s notice to snap into action. Only the best pilots served onboard the Ares and they were her greatest weapon. Massive combat scarring lay hidden under a fresh coat of paint, a scattered history of battles past. The polished finish allowed even the faintest glimmer of light to radiate into a spectral glow around the ship.
Usually Terran ships were required to stay within the boundaries of known space; however, the spatial anomalies appearing in the Kodos sector were urgent enough to break that protocol. Just days into a much-needed leave, Admiral Nikolai Glovalkov had received orders to take the Ares out to the edge of known space to investigate.
As a member of the Galactic Council, the UTA was bound to the borders set forth by the Ter’Ok’Zhu, a race as old as time itself. An infinitely powerful race, the Ter’Ok’Zhu formed the Council years prior to put an end to the Great War. Traveling so far out pushed one of their sacred rules to the limit, which in and of itself told Glovalkov of the danger that waited them.
The crew of the Ares had become restless. Years of combat had honed them into a fiercely efficient crew and monotony was a foreign concept to them. No colonies nearby meant no communication beacons and thus no direct contact with anyone back home. Messages from loved ones, local sports news and even updates on the dealings of the Council were sent via data pods through the jump gate at Kodos One. The jump gates were built by the Ter'Ok'Zhu, technology so grand and complex that it seemed more magical than scientific. The gates were spread across the galaxy creating a super-highway of wormholes. Those wormholes allowed interstellar traffic to move in a hundredth of the time it would normally take. This grand gift also served as an assurance measure for the Ter’Ok’Zhu as no race wished to lose access to the jump gates.
Malaise had taken its hold on the crew. Caught up in routine they existed rather than lived; save for one individual. Colin Kinison was the son of Arthur Kinison, famed Senator of the Terran Alliance. Arthur was a hero to the Bellat people and yet a tragedy to his own, both revered and vilified for one momentous decision. Years prior Arthur chose banishment from the Galactic Council, taking the unjust punishment in place of his friend Fa’Sham, King of the Bellat. He sacrificed his career, just as it had begun to blossom, to right a horrible wrong. Many humans considered him a fool, but the Bellat adopted him as one of their own. Colin was Arthur’s first and only child as his mother had died giving birth to him.
Following Arthur’s banishment from the Council, he was appointed as an ambassador to the Bellat. The role was unique because few outsiders were allowed on the Bellat home world, yet alone ever permitted to live there. Colin in due course was raised on Bella Prime. For Arthur the duties of an ambassador usually outweighed those of a father, which allowed for a considerable amount of mischief to be had by the younger Kinison. Colin was in no way an average youth; the trouble he sought out always involved the most extreme of circumstances. A handsome young man by any races standards. Short, thick wavy brown hair framed his sharp face. High cheekbones, a strong chin and an angular nose were his most prominent features, though his eyes; as if his entire soul was compressed and forged into those two blue gems, were what seemed to get him in the most trouble. They shone as bright a blue as found at the base of a flame, yet their true spark came from Colin's penchant for mischief.
Days earlier, those eyes entranced a young female mechanic one long day during lunch. Charm radiated off him like the sun would a mirror and within seconds of sitting next to the girl she spilled forth the information he needed for his next bout of tomfoolery. Flight through space meant countless insignificant collisions with space debris and so the hull of the Ares was in constant need of minor repair. That job fell to the C-60 bots. The C-60’s, or Seasicks as the crew called them, were equipped with a powerful magnet that allowed them shoot around the hull of the ship with no risk of being lost to the depths of space. The Seasicks were able to internally increase and decrease the strength of their magnets, which coupled with their high-powered external boosters allowed them to skip from one end of the ship to the other in mere seconds.
Colin now stood on the edge at the observation deck strapped into his flight suit, a hybrid design that allowed for freer mobility than a full space suit. It still protected its wearer from the harsh vacuum of deep space, though it could not sustain life for an extended period. He looked back at his squadron, fear and admiration covered their faces. His ice blue eyes caught the disapproving glare of Lieutenant Commander Sasha Rogers. The Yin to his Yang, Sasha was just as striking as he was with her flowing red hair and piercing green eyes. Hers was the only look of disgust amongst the squad. Her every thought packed into one angered look. He could feel her thoughts cut into his consciousness having heard them vocalized countless times before. Always showing off. Arrogant. Prideful. Pointless.
Colin simply gave her a nod, wink, and then placed his helmet on. The faceplate was in the shape of a black ebony skull, with bright red eyes. Many men, all leaders of the Reaper Squadron, the most elite squadron in the U.T.A. had worn this helmet, but none with such a blatant disregard for the rules of conduct placed before them. Arthur enlisted Colin in the U.T.A. in an attempt to create some sense of stability in the boy’s life. Always a rebel, it only pushed Colin further in the intensity of his exploits. Colin always pushed his limits, both to test himself and in a vain attempt to draw attention from his father, even if it was negative. That desire allowed him literally to soar past his peers. His bravado, though at times regarded as fool hearty, had become the stuff of legend amongst the younger enlisted. Colin’s daring was both his greatest strength and weakness. In respect to his father, regardless of the result, he would accomplish both of his goals today.
Colin walked through the shield that was protecting the interior of the ship from the vacuum of space out onto the flight deck. The view was divine, as if something beyond mortal had found a way to express itself tangibly. Even a few days in the brig could not erase the vision set before him. The red sun of the Kodos system was gargantuan and its reflection cast a ghastly red glow around the entire ship, as though a red ocean had flowed up and consumed the ship. The spectacle hypnotized him with its splendor.
Days prior when Colin first presented his idea of riding one of the Seasicks, cheers from nearly the entire squadron had greeted him. Sasha warned him of the consequences of such a stunt, as logic and a sense of duty ruled her motivations. “This is stupid. Overriding its control board could cause it to demagnetize and go flying off into deep space with you on its back. Knowing the Admiral he’d probably just leave you out there to teach you a lesson,” she had said.
“What lesson, how to die a cold and painful death? He loves me too much to let that happen, but even if it did, my boots are magnetized. I’ll be fine,” Colin replied.
ZOOM! A seasick breezed by Colin, shocking him back to reality. Now the decisive moment had come. To turn back, Colin would face not only embarrassment and shame from his squad, but he would never hear the end of it from Sasha. He could not bear that fate, so out across the deck he walked to the seasick that had so recently buzzed by him. It chirped in response to his presence. “Hey there little buddy,” Colin quipped at the robot, not that it could understand or respond to his comment, but the simple routine helped calm his nerves.
Colin removed a magnetic strip from his suit. A crude creation put together in his spare time, this small black strip of silicon and steel was Colin’s ticket to glory. In theory the strip would interfere with the Seasick’s primary functions just enough for him to directly interface and take control of the bot. Sasha had helped him design it, as countless failed attempts to dissuade him from his prior stunts had taught her that it was better to help keep him as safe as possible, than see what damage he would cause if left to his own devices. As with most schemes thought up in the middle of the night, this one sounded worse and worse with each passing moment. Colin reached the seasick. There was no predicting how it would react to him jumping on board, yet alone how its system would react to the interference from the magnetic strip. There was only one-way to find out; Colin leapt.
The most agile of leaps it was not, but it was beautiful nonetheless. Colin landed square on the back of the Seasick and made a grotesque thud. The air from his lungs rushed out of his mouth, leaving him mere seconds to regain his composure. The Seasick would be alerting for help at any moment. This was his shining moment and suddenly ego overtook him. Colin’s mind trailed off to the future, of the stories that would be told with such brevity. He looked back at his squad and waved in triumph. Not thinking Colin lost his grip and fumbled the magnetic strip, dropping it to the empty depths of space. All of his glory lost in a heartbeat, in a single act of foolish bravado. In desperation, Colin lunged for the strip. His legs barely hung onto the side of the Seasick as the strip floated further and further away, gone forever. The Seasick’s alarm wailed. His failure was now complete.