In five seconds, the boosters shut down, the computer and console went dark, the artificial gravity disappeared, and the main lighting deactivated. Within moments, the pair of emergency lights providing dim illumination flickered and quit. At the same time, I felt a tingling sensation moving along my skin, I became nauseated, and I saw lights flashing where no lights existed. I heard Loflin exclaim, “EMP!” Then our little...

After a lifetime of mining gold and silicon from asteroids, the cube is ready. John Sanders, from Intel, flipped the switch. The super-cooled cube hanging in the vacuum of space hummed when the solar generated current pulsed through its paths of gold. The properties of quantum particles vibrate and stand still within its glass walls. The hundred-mile by hundred-mile cube shimmered in the sunlight. What does it do? It thin...

Romero looked at me and said, “This is my bitch to slap. Get to your lifepod. I’ll buy the time you all need.” I waited a moment. “Ensign, get your ass out of here and kiss my girl for me when you get planet-side.” I asked him, “Which planet?” “Any, sir! I have a girlfriend on every one!” Just like a jarhead to have a woman on every planet and station. He was a brave man. We both knew if he remained, he wouldn’t be leavin...

Romero must have noticed my nervousness, because he said, “Don’t worry ensign, you’ll do fine.” I asked, “Aren’t you going to bolster my bravery with some fictional Klingonese battle cry like ‘Today is a good day to die!’then give an evil laugh or something?” He shook his head and replied, “No sir, I’m not. The only Klingon I know of are on my hairy ass. In the deep black, there is only life and death, and death comes qui...

After my conversation with Ibanez and reviewing the computer defense programming , I considered the Captain’s conclusions while walking to my next destination. I contacted the gunnery chief. A standard sized freighter like the BharatBenz carries very little armament and no armor or shielding. Our turrets are the equivalent to a laser pistol against a Bolo class AI tank; give us enough time with our target at close range a...

Then it hit me and I said, “This isn’t a tadar ghost. It’s a ship or probe and it’s getting closer. Is it an EA vessel?” “This is nothing like I’ve ever seen and I thought I had seen everything built, until now. Maybe it’s a prototype or built from scratch. This type of equipment isn’t sold to civilian ships.” I gasped, “You mean pirates?” She said, “I don’t know and remember they’re called bandits now, but they are very...

All the way down the passageway, I heard the laughter and comments yelled after me from the crew’s mess. Today is just getting better and better. As I walked towards the tadar equipment compartment, I heard an announcement on the ships intercom for me to contact the CO. I quickly changed direction and hustled forward to the old man’s stateroom. She doesn’t like to be kept waiting. Captain Leopard was old for the spacefare...

I said, “It appears to be a tadar transmission, but it can’t be.” Pointing at the contradictory information I continued, “See here, the tachyon wave pattern is way off norm. This pattern is completely inefficient. The prototype tadars installed almost eighty years ago operated better than this. The power readings are crinkled too.” As Denton evaluated my findings, my concentration wandered to Carmen. She was attractive, b...

The wake-up alarm sounded in my quarters. That irritating oddly pitched buzz filled my head as my mind drifted into consciousness. They have scientifically created the sound that our hearing and brains can’t ignore. I think it is a combination of a baby’s cry, the sound of a cat whose tail is stepped on, and a nagging wife all rolled up into one sound, and then add a little screech of fingernails on a chalkboard. “I’m awa...

The Earth Alliance explorer class ship EAS Apotheosis cruised through the endless void at speeds unimaginable only a decade ago. The mark III PNP drive (pumped neutrino propulsion) moved the ship almost one million two hundred thousand miles per second, or six point four times the speed of light. With the realization of the PNP drive, humankind had entered a completely new realm of exploration and discovery. Space is vast...

Disciple The room was just what he was expecting – white, pristine and so perfectly sterile. Just what you would think would be inside the monolithic headquarters of the Ashcroft Foundation. He found the light painful – it felt like it was burning something into his mind. Or burning something out of it. The door to the room opened and a woman entered. He looked at her through creased eyes – he was finding that squinting s...