The Archivist Chronicles: Prologue

        Lieutenant Bask walked briskly down the cold hallway of the space station. A few other officers passed her by, but she didn’t even notice them. Her eyes were locked on the tablet in her hands as she swiped through recent status reports. Bask already knew the latest data wouldn’t provide any hope. The fear and dread really began to sink in. Had humanity finally run out of time? Bask shook her head in an attempt to empty her head of those thoughts. This was not the time to lose focus.

A red warning flashed across her tablet screen. She tapped it lightly and brought up the message: Barrier breached. Impact t-minus 10 minutes. Bask’s eyes bulged in shock. So many questions raced through her head. Shouldn’t they still have a few days left to finish preparations? So many people still remained on Earth, how would they evacuate everyone? She had to get to Admiral Cross immediately. Bask broke off into a dead sprint.  

Outside the space station was a field of enormous steel rings as long and wide as a football stadium. Hundreds of small maintenance ships with workers tethered to them in space suites hovered around the rings making final preparations. The scientists called them Gateways to the Cosmos. The only problem with humanities last hope was the scientists had only theorized about the functionality of the gateways. They didn’t have the time available to complete and test one; they just had to trust it they would work. Earth and humanity faced an impending doom coming at them from all angles. Below the surface of the Earth bubbled a raging storm waiting to explode beneath their feet. Some people felt they could figure out a solution, but even if they did what was heading for them from the dark edges of the galaxy would destroy them anyway.

Above the Earth several massive space stations floated in its orbit; each one housing thousands of smaller docked space ships. In the central station Admiral Cross stood on the viewing deck of the bridge with his hands placed behind his back as he watched the final modifications on the gateways. He couldn’t help but wonder what events had actually brought humanity to this impossible situation. The gateways symbolized a leap of faith. Cross and his team had been persuasive enough to convince Earth’s leader this was the only viable option. There was no way to know if his plan would actually work, but he knew someone had to provide a solution, and he was the only one who stepped forward with a viable, although only theorized, solution. The seed had been planted and nourished by Cross and he had watched it grow until the leaders trusted him. Not all of humanity believed in the danger lurking below the Earth and in the darkness of space, but there were enough people that did, and if these gateways worked, humanity would live to fight another day.

The doors to the bridge opened and Lieutenant Bask ran through the entrance, stopping a few feet shy of Cross. “Sir,” she paused to catch her breath, “we have run out of time.” Cross turned to face her. “Here sir, look for yourself.” She shared her screen with the main bridge display. Cross studied the information on the screen with a look of concern. “This can’t be right? Our intel said we had at least three days to finish.”

“I’m not sure sir, but we have to move up the launch.”

Admiral Cross stared at Bask for a moment. There was no time to second-guess his plan now. It was time for action. Cross whirled around on his heels and barked orders to his crew, “Call back the maintenance ships. If a gate is not ready, notify the ships affected and assign them to the closest gateway that is completed. Send a message to all crews and pilots and tell them to board their ships. Once the crews are ready we’ll advise all passengers to board. Communicate to the ground crews one Earth to ready the remaining ships and have them launch as soon as possible.” Cross knew it was time to take that leap.

Powell watched his monitor to make sure he kept the ship a safe distance from the gateway allowing his crew enough room to work. His intercom cracked with static and a dispatcher came across his headset, “RR-37, pull your crew back in. Debris has breached the shield and is heading our way. I repeat, pull in your crew.” Powell pushed down the intercom button and replied in his southern accent, “Copy command. Reeling them in now.” Powell couldn’t believe it. Even though he had been stuck above the planet for two years working on the gateways he couldn’t grasp that they were about to turn them on and travel where no human being had ever been. His thoughts were interrupted by another communication from command, “Once your crew is on board pull back to the safe point. Once The Maiden has entered the gateway safely, you may then proceed to your designated gateway and order in the line.” “Copy.” He flipped another switch to talk with his crew. “Team, looks like we’re done piddling around. We’re fixin’ to see if this voodoo science actually works.”

Outside of RR-37 the three crewmembers slowly floated back towards the ship as their tethered lines were reeled back in. Without warning a massive piece of space debris slammed into one of the crewmembers, ripping him from his tether and hurdling him into space.

CRACK! Another piece of debris slammed into the command deck observation window. A red warning light erupted, followed by a siren. A spider-web crack quickly spread across the section of glass. Cross barked an order to his crew, “Seal that section before it shatters!”  A metal panel slid down over the broken section. Cross knew destruction waited for them, but even now he feared that his actions were too late.

            From the Earth below an enormous explosion erupted across the European Continent. “Sir!” cried Bask, pointing her finger to the rear-viewing window. Cross spun around on his heals and an expression of horror consumed his face. Even though was afraid they may be doomed anyway, he remained calm and asked, “How many of the gateways are completed?” “Ninety-five percent of them, sir!” Without hesitation Cross moved to the closest control panel. His fingers moved across the hologram keyboard at lightning speed. As he typed in the last key in the coded sequence red warning lights began to flash in every inch of every station.

In the main stations cafeteria small groups of people were gathered around the tables. The red strobe lights painted the room in a grim scene. A look of panic quickly spread across each person’s face. A booming voice sounded across the ship PA system, it was Cross. “Attention everyone. The time has come. Please head directly for your designated ships. All ships will launch in 20 minutes.”

            Back on Earth ships littered the tarmac of Heathrow Airport. The warning lights atop their posts bathed the scene in a red despair. A sea of people poured out from every entrance of the surrounding buildings and sprinted across blacktop towards their waiting ships. In the massive crowd a little boy stopped, realizing he’d been separated from his father. He cried out in terror. A hand reaches out and snagged the screaming child by the arm just before he was trampled by the stampede. It was his father. He pulled his son into a quick embrace and fell back into the flow of the crowd heading to the ships.

The ground shook and knocked everyone off balance. A massive crack appeared and an explosion erupted from below. Several of the ships were swallowed up by the large crevasses created by the earthquake. Several groups of people disappeared into the blackness below with the ships. Screams erupted from every direction. Mass hysteria had firmly taken over.

            Inside the cockpit of one of the ships the pilots flips a switch and outside the engine roars to life. The pilot yelled to his co-pilot over the rumblings of the ground below, “We don’t have time to wait for everyone to board. We have to close the doors now.” The co-pilot shook his head in desperate agreement and closed the doors. The co-pilot pressed down the call button, “We’re taking of now. Hold on.” Passengers in the cabin of the ship dive for any open chair. Some were able to secure themselves into the seat while others firmly gripped their seat. The ship lifted up of the ground and blasted upwards toward the clouds. The surviving ships followed.

            Above the Earth on his ship The Maiden, Cross watched as hundreds of thousands of ships exited the Earth’s atmosphere. He turned to Bask and asked, “How long until the portals are ready?” Bask looks down at one of the monitors and replied, “Only a matter of moments sir.”

Another huge piece of space debris barrels towards a group of ships. Boom! Three ships exploded on impact.

Cross covered his eyes to protect them from the sudden burst of light from the explosion. Quickly recovering he looked back at Bask and snarled, “Get the damn things on!”

            The rings surged to life with electricity crackling inside them and points of energy darting towards the center. As the energy connected the space that was once transparent has become a wall of brilliant white light.

            Cross took one last look at the Earth below. It was a sight to behold. Every continent had been shattered into pieces. It looked like puzzle pieces ready to be ripped apart. He turned away and focused on the gateway in front of him. Cross said a silent prayer, God help us all, before he gave a solemn, last command, “Commence.” The Maiden’s thrusters burst into full force and after a moment’s hesitation, the ship accelerated towards the gateway. The nose of the ship disappeared into the energy field and a bright light exploded, consuming The Maiden.

_________________________________________________________________________________
This is my first time sharing any of my writings and would love to hear your feedback. I'm excited to continue the story of the Archivist Chronicles: Part I. Please make sure to check back next week on Friday, July 13 for the continuation of The Archivist Chronicles with the release of Chapter 1.