Choronzon

CHORONZON: INTO THE VAST

EMBARKING

- fragment one -

“I should have stayed behind,” she says barely audible, looking out the huge tinted glass in the Pit. I look at the second commander, Miss Nitchovic, searching her features. She glances at me and attempts a smile, but quickly looks out into the vastness of space again to cover the lack of sincerity in it. The Choronzon is silent as it drifts into position.

“Thanks Dusk,” Evelyn sighs, yet sounds grateful.

She puts a hand on my knee to steady herself up, knowing she has to man her station soon. I notice the paler skin on her finger, a reminder of a broken vow left behind.

“E.T.A. to Escorter lock position: four minutes,” commander Seedwell announces on the speaker system. Harvest they call the old, bald bugger, experienced like a devil in hell, yet this kind of shortcut is new to him as well. No matter, he seems relaxed. Ever since we left natural gravity eleven days ago, he and his old crew’s been calm and focused, even when the 1X refill station was damaged, and we had to glide our way to 6Xb “Praetor” before refilling the boosters. Back on ‘ground floor’ they were loud, drunk and anxious. I guess the vastness out here soothes the nerves. For some at least.

As the rest of the crew enters the Pit, Harvest tells them to get to their stations and strap themselves in.

“Count, Nitchovic?” he looks over at Evelyn, already strapped in her seat next to him behind the large control panel. This vintage dashboard of the 21^st century.

“All eight, all here,” Evelyn responds with an empty voice. I fasten the belts tight across my chest in the seat behind her, feeling my heart responding to the upcoming event. I exhale in anticipation, looking at the others seating themselves, strapping themselves in, just as excited. We all know this is big.

“Vessel check,” Harvest informs, pressing buttons, adjusting levels, before continuing. “Hull and engine, I.O.”

“Weapons lock and safety, I.O., Harvest,” Shelly Kimiwazu looks up from her controls by her seat. Her short spiked hair looks as if it’s been charged with excitement. Her face a big grin.

“Airlocks and sectors, I.O.” Evelyn reports, and the gravity level nullifies. A tingling rises from my toes up my body and through my head. Like all the burdens of the world leaving my body. Weightless.

Draco Batim, the cook, breaks a protein-bar between his teeth in slow motion, “Snacks, I.O., Harvest,” he chuckles and coughs, crumbles drifting out above our heads.

“Thanks for sending your germs adrift, dickhead,” Robin grimace towards Draco.

“Lighten up. You’re a space hazard advisor, not a goddamned doctor. I’m healthy as a fly with AIDS and yellow fever, playing in dung, so shut your hole,” Draco smiles and grimaces back.

“Wash your mouths’ the two of you. We’ve got first-timers, so be gentlemen for once,” Harvest chuckles, adjusting more instruments. “Alright, make sure you’re all wrapped, tapped and strapped, or you might get capped halfway. Baby doll’s in place in one and a half minute.”

Outside the dark green glass the Escorter seems to drift in front of us, instead of the opposite, which is actually happening. This massive ring - capable of generating more energy than the largest nuclear weapons - has the words ‘Welcome to the unknown’ on its upper half. ‘I.C. Escorter ONE’ in larger letters on the lower half of the outer ring.

“Initiate pressure shutdown, seventy seconds…” Harvest looks over at Evelyn, but she seems lost in thought, gazing at the Escorter. “Evelyn…”

“Oh, sorry.”

Seedwell takes a deep breath. “… now!”

“Sir, pressure sequence shutdown I.O., seventy seconds.”

“Okay, folks. You got one minute to say goodbye,” the commander looks over his shoulder with a hidden smile. The enormous wheel outside begins to turn and its inner rings seem to spin in all directions.

“I can’t believe we’re going through this thing, the first ones…” Mira Thornhood smiles at Art in the seat next to her. Fear tearing at her voice.

“We’re second,” Harvest cuts in. “The Pytheacon went through a month ago. Pioneers on the frontiers, those bastards. We’ll show them frontiers.”

Art reaches over to touch Mira’s hand, tightly clasped around her seat buckle. Her tension doesn’t seem to vanish.

“Anything for a photo, right?” Art says.

“A photo that’ll win the UniDome Awards by leagues, Art,” Mira smiles, excited at the thought.

The two photographers and the Roma Nebula, the reason why millions was poured into this project by Igor Vorozky, the Russian billionaire. Ironically, not much was poured on the only Russian here, the bulk of a vessel, a Govob XC model. As modern as my great granny. This amuses me, and I smile, looking at the faces of these people around me.

“Ten seconds!” Harvest almost yells.

The Escorter is turning in a pace I’ve never seen before, spinning frantically. A surge of energy forms a blazing vortex inside. I’ve never seen anything like it. No sci-fi movie as a kid could have prepared me for this. My eyes are wide, my heart pounding.

Amidst this rush of senses I notice Evelyn not really watching what’s forming within the immense ring. She leans her head on her shoulder, away from the others.

“Woooooooh!” Draco exclaims. Others breathe heavily, some holding their breath, like me.

I reach out, without quite knowing why, and touch Evelyn on the shoulder. She reaches up immediately to hold my hand, just as the Choronzon lunges into the sight of a lifetime. The eight of us rushing into the wormhole. Sounds of metal bending. The Choronzon shaking.

Should have stayed behind, I manage to think before images rush through my brain and all turns black.

The format gets screwed up. Hopefully it's readable for you guys. Part II will be up soon.