Tales from the Down Volume 1 A planet to die for Issue 1

Tales from The Down

Volume-1

A Planet to Die for

Issue-1

A Captains Foul

Captain Douglas stood on the Bridge of the Aegir, a solemn look upon his weathered old face. It had been a long and hard Journey across the stars, searching for their new home, A Journey that had spanned Generations. Captain Douglas, had been born and raised on the ship, and were all of its inhabitants, the last remnants of humanity, floating thru the void searching for a new home.

He remembered, the old days back in school, watching the histories on HoloDisc, Learning diligently the mistakes of the past, So that they may be avoided in the future. It was Humanities last hope the Aegir, the only colony ship to have escaped the great Flare that erupted from the Earths Sun. They were all that was left, a responsibility that weighed heavier on his soul than it did most.

The solemn look on his face was not however due to any reminiscing or burdens placed on him by his charge. It was something far, far, worse. His pale blue eyes looking over the Data Pad the science Officer had given him, He amazed himself he could even hold back the tears welling up inside. They had slipped into the pull of a black hole, and were slowly being pulled in.

The cartographers, were baffled, having no clue to what they had slipped into or how, having no record or scans of this sudden black hole. The navigator was equally as answerless, and all was left to the engineers to fire up the Light Drives and pull them out of the gravitational pull. The people of the ship were unconcerned as it was long known the light drives were a marvel of their former empires ingenuity. They had no fears they would be sucked in they knew the light drives would have the force required to get them out before they were too far in.

But Captain Douglas and his engineering crew knew better, a secret they had been keeping from the citizens for nearly a year was that the light drives had run out of fuel rods, and they only had basic propulsion. They lied and said they left light space, to do deeper scans, and search for an Inhabitable world, But in truth they had no other option. They were in the hold of the Black Hole, and they were not getting out.

“Captain, The report is clear in its conclusions, and we don't have any options” the science officer nodded looking down over the captains shoulder. Captain Douglas held the electronic pad in his hands shaking just a little bit, his nervousness begging to show.

“200 years” he said Blue eyes sunken and full of despair “200 years of survival, and it all ends on a navigational miscalculation, Everything Finished, The black hole is going to finish the job, our sun should have during the Great Flare” The captain set the pad down on the arm rest of his captain's chair and stood, Casting his eyes out through the Main window into the eternal void

“There was never anything for us out here, we were just postponing the inevitable” he said. The members of the crew running the bridge turning form their posts to the captain with questioning looks

“Is their nothing we can do, no spare rods?” asked the science officer

“Pray” the captain replied a gasp form the crew, he folded his arms behind his back still looking out over the expanse and apologizing to the Captains before him “I've let them all down, all of them, It was all for nothing”

“We have to do something, we have to try!” shouted one of the ensigns from in front of his console, others chiming in, with shouts in approval. Captain Douglas maintained his pose, a single tear falling from his eye, rolling down his rough cheeks and hitting the cold grated metal floor. The bridge was silent apart from the usual bleeps and buzzes, sensors pinging, and scanners scanning. The Captain turned his head to the ensign who had first spoken his eyes bloodshot and welling with emotion

“We have to tell the people, and be with our Families now, there's nothing else we can do” he said “we have finally met the fate we escaped all those years ago; The Universe will not have us.”

“We still have a weeks time before we reach the singularity, if we can somehow trigger the light drives we can still escape!” yelled the science Officer “we have to try, we have to do something, we can't just be consigned to die!!”

The captain seamed to ignore the officer and the rest of the crew yelling and screaming, as he began walking off the bridge in silence, the door closing behind him Fists in the air and disagreements being aired vocally. He seemed to float through it all like it wasn't there, something of his humanity had slipped, it could be seen in his cold dead eyes empty and forlorn by the crew who didn't know yet, passing him in the halls on the way to his cabin.

Captain Douglas entered his Quarters, locking the door behind him. And stood in front of the window watching the empty space one last time, tears rolling down uncontrollably now

“It's all my fault, It's all my fault” he sobbed, removing his service revolver from its holster “Nothing can be done now, but pay for my mistake”

He raised the revolver to his chin, as he heard the announcement come over the ships pa system. He closed his eyes, and pictured the family that had been lost long before, his wife and children. Warm thoughts invade his clouded mind as his forefinger cringed at the apex of the trigger sobbing madly he roared one last time screaming out”I'M SORRY!!!!” before pulling down hard on the trigger, the top of his head splitting open from the force of the large shell ejecting from the barrel. This is one Captain not going down with the ship.