Out Of The Black

A Sandbox Earth Story

Photo by NASA on Unsplash

Your reading experience might be enhanced by listening to this ambience as you read. This story contains very important pieces of Sandbox Earth Lore, as well as distant history not yet explored. Please enjoy!

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Karos Shipyard, 2230AD

Darek Holz, the Comrade Chairman of Engineering, proceeded alone through the elevator which traversed the long-axis of the space station.

The elevator doors opened to a large, high ceilinged room with floor-to-ceiling windows on all three of the visible walls. The windows were filled with the rich, deep blue of Neptune. A workers shuttle passed the windows on the left side of the room, occluding all the windows for a moment while it passed. It flew out and away, towards a large grey ship looming against the Neptunian backdrop. Comrade Holz watched the shuttle as it shrank into the distance, eventually becoming a tiny speck adjacent to the ship it approached.

Holz could see, distantly, the word HEARKEN in white paint against the darksteel hull of the ship. That was the sign—it was ready.

Holz placed his folder at the head of the long table which filled the center of the room, and walked to the middle window on the right side of the room. The space station stretched long away to the right, with a pair of counterrotating wheels in the center. Extending outward, like branches on a tree, were a wide slew of solar arrays desperately catching what little solar radiation made the nearly three-billion-mile journey to Neptune. Triton glistened distantly behind one of the solar arrays, and beyond—the black depths of space.

He watched the elevator that brought him to this room recede, while another elevator approached. The doors opened, and a small crowd of men and women emerged. Each took their place at the table, already known to them from previous meetings. This would be their last.

One man did not take his seat, but instead approached Holz, who had not turned from the window to acknowledge the newcomers.

“Comrade-Chairman Holz!” he said cheerfully.

Holz grunted, until he heard the mans heels click with a salute. He sighed quietly, and turned, and returned the salute lazily. “Comrade Webber,” he said by way of greeting.

“Exciting day isn’t it?” Webber smiled, rubbing his hands together in anticipation.

“The first colony ship of the first wave was exciting. We’ve done all this before.” Holz was unphased, and turned away again to look out the window.

“Ahh, but this is the first colonization of the Jovian Union! Our first chance to put our stamp on the stars. I can tell you, Tsar-Comrade Kazanov is filled with enthusiasm—”

“Perhaps, Comrade Webber, where you see ‘enthusiasm,’ I see ‘determination’. Now that Our Glorious Revolution is won, it stands that we bear responsibility for populating the stars. We have done this before.”

“Responsibility or opportunity? No matter—have it your way, Comrade-chairman. Whether excited or not, Hearken will be the Jovian Unions first shot into the depths of space.”

Holz grunted in acknowledgement, and turned to walk back to his seat, to begin the meeting.

“Ladies and Gentlemen,” Holz began, as he sat heavily at the head of the table. “I have been notified that the colony ship Hearken is ready. I can see that it’s livery is being applied as we speak. This is the Jovian Union’s first colony ship—long delayed, more than a decade after Our Glorious Revolution was won. Tsar-Comrade Kazanov, you can imagine, is eager for this colonization effort to be faultless.”

Holz let that last word linger on the air for a moment. Let it sink in that the margin for error was zero.

“This ship represents the first sojourn of our Union into the stars, the first step of the Revolution beyond our solar home. The Revolution is taking steps out and away, it’s target farther than any system yet colonized. We have innovated new technologies, we have designed new methods, we have refined new materials, to ensure the success of this mission. Hearken will carry more colonists than any colony ship launched before Our Glorious Revolution. Hearken will be the first and most shining star in the constellation of worlds now populated by humanity. I repeat—this colonization effort must be faultless.”

Holz looked one by one at each of the eleven other faces around the room. He made mental notes, who was looking at him, who was avoiding his gaze, who was looking out the window.

“This is our last meeting. On my authorization, final inspection and testing will begin, and we will begin boarding colonists. If anything—ANYTHING—is not ready for launch…” his sudden severity drew the attention of every eye at the table, “…let us speak now, and not fear judgement but solve even the slightest error. If any atom of that ship is not in it’s proper place, I want to know. And we at this table are responsible for every atom of that ship. I trust you to be my eyes, ears, hands, feet, and mouth. So we will take as long as necessary for me to receive your final reports. Leave nothing unsaid after this meeting.” He made eye contact again with every eye at the table. “Do you understand?”

A chorus responded: “Aye!”

“Very well. Let’s begin. Comrade Ritter, let’s begin with your report on the engine and thruster systems…”

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Transport Frigate Lyre, Montecaas System, 2766AD

Governor Gerhard Dortmund tried reading his book, but couldn’t focus. His mind was troubled with new worries and old: new worries like these odd conspiratorial reports and unverified observations; old worries like politics and elections and economics and public sentiment. The biggest concern, however, was the looming meeting with the Premier of the whole Montecaas system. Once per year—the Capitol planet’s year at least—all the governors assembled for a conference on the state of the system. This Premier had been controversial—promising to expand, to colonize, to raise Montecaas’ stature on the interstellar stage. It worked—the people loved the idea. But with growth comes attention. With attention comes new friends—and new enemies. Innerspace was beginning to feel crowded, and out here on the frontier perhaps there was room to grow, but the wrong kind of attention could draw the central powers, and swat at them like a noisy fly disturbing their fringes.

Worries and troubles.

Gerhard’s reverie was interrupted by a polite knock on the door. “Come in, come in,” he said absently.

It was his aide, Tessa. “Sir, you told me to schedule time to brief you on some news while we were in transit. Is this a good time?”

“Yes, good, please come in. Leave the door open.” Gerhard sat up in his chair, while Tessa took a seat across from him. “I was just thinking about all this, so better to tackle it than worry over it, eh? What have you got for me.” He smiled reassuringly.

Tessa laid out a few folders on the coffee table in front of her. “If you don’t mind, I would like to start with the most interesting first.”

Gerhard opened his hands invitingly, “By all means, please!”

“Astronomers are reporting on unusual activity spinward from our frontier, they are claiming it’s consistent with hyperspace activity.” Tessa opened the top folder and spread out some documents.

“Spinward? There’s no colonies out there, that’s unusual.” Gerhard raised an eyebrow.

“Right. The reports are unconfirmed, but that’s the suspicion. Speculation is bubbling about a couple different options. Aliens, for one—ever since that first human contact centuries ago, aliens haven’t been seen. Maybe we’re close to them now. Another theory is a rival faction staging militarily. Since that part of space is unoccupied, there’d be no one to notice, but what doesn’t add up is it would be years before these hyperspace signatures are visible, at light-speed that would date these signatures at more than a decade old, which puts it before the current Premier even began campaigning for his position.”

“If they have the date, that means they have the distance, too, is that right?”

“Almost, sir. Hyperspace signatures are…so incredibly fast. Nanosecond blips on a very specific wavelength—with so little data, it’s hard to be sure exactly how far away they are. However, astronomers have charted all the signatures and the line that they could reasonably be on.”

Tessa passed a graphic across to the governor.

“Why, several of these intersect with multiple star systems, multiple uncolonized star systems.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Well this is…interesting indeed. What do you think?”

“I don’t know. The closer projections would be reasonable for a faction like Lothian to be staging military assets, but that’s awfully far out of the way, even for them. A more direct approach for them would be to stage over there,” she gestured to a different point on the map, “so it would be deeply counterintuitive for them to stage here. But maybe that’s their style, it’s hard to say.”

“Color me intrigued, Tessa. Thank you. I’m sure if you’re bringing this to me, the other governors may have similar reports and they may be jumping to more hyperbolic conclusions. The Premier will probably prefer something that fuels his agenda and stokes the fires of expansionism. Just to be safe, can you add to your list to put a brief together on our relations with Lothian and anything else you consider relevant? It might be helpful to be prepared for that.”

“Of course, sir!”

“What else do you have for me?”

“Well, here’s some economic news relating to interplanetary trade from our planet…”

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Karos Shipyard, 2230AD

For the last several days, colonists were boarding the Hearken, while Comrade-Chairman Darek Holz watched from a small corvette. The Hearken was a boxy ship—the most economical design available—and reflected the suns light off one side, and the deep blue of Neptune off the other. It was an odd study in contrasts. Holz was overcome with an irrational desire to reach out and touch his hand to the exterior hull of the ship. If only he could touch it, for just a moment, it would be real.

His heart thudded loudly in his ears, watching shuttle after shuttle drop off hundreds of colonists into the complicated interior of the colony ship.

“How long will it take them?” He asked aloud.

His aide was waiting reverently behind him. “Uh, thirty days, sir, and two hyperspace jumps.”

“Walk me through the process again.”

“Uh, sure.” The aide takes a nervous, tentative step forward. “They will fly on conventional drives for five days away from Sol, before their first jump. The first jump will take them near the colony at Riven, where they will check in. Riven will dispatch the news back to us, which will take another five days, plus or minus. They’ll fly on conventional drives for another 15 days, before jumping near the destination star, JUC-3383. They’ll fly on conventional drives for another ten days to their new home. Astronomers on Theyst are sending an observatory shuttle to monitor for the hyperspace signature to confirm they’ve arrived. All told they’ll arrive in 30 days and we’ll know they arrived 15 days after that.”

“Remarkable, isn’t it?” Holz asked, staring out the window.

“What is, sir?”

“The herculean effort, to spread humanity across the stars. Like scattering seeds on the wind. Every massive redwood once began as a tiny root from a tiny seed.”

“Redwood sir?”

Holz turned around, surprised, and eyed the young man. “Yes, Redwood. Very tall trees, you can find them on Earth.”

“I was born on Mars, sir—I’ve never been to Earth.”

Holz turned back around and smiled. “Remarkable.”

While they were talking, the last shuttle detached and began the return journey to the Karos Shipyard.

The radio crackled to life.

Orbit control this is Colony Ship Hearken, hatches have been sealed.

Colony Ship Hearken, stand by for departure clearance.

Standing by.

Colony Ship Hearken this is Orbit Control—you are cleared for departure, vector 03-280-10K. Safe travels.

Holz watched as the conventional drive thrusters fired to life, and the enormous colony ship, carrying 500 colonists and the hopes and dreams of the entire Jovian Union. It slowly begins to move.

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Transport Frigate Lyre, Montecaas System, 2766AD

Governor Gerhard woke with a start, as his room was filled with a flashing red light, and emergency klaxons sounded throughout the ship.

What the devil…

He got out of bed, and found his slippers. The ship jolted unnaturally, and he stumbled towards the wall.

What the devil!

He opened his door, and black uniformed security personnel ran by, nearly knocking him over. Another one, coming up behind him, shouted— “Get back to your quarters sir and prepare for an emergency hyperspace launch.”

“Don’t you know who I am? I’m the Governor, confound it, what is going on?”

The micro-telephone around his ear buzzed. He answered— “Governor here.”

“Governor, can you get to the observation room?”

“Tessa? Tessa! I don’t know—they said there’s going to be an emergency hyperspace. What’s happening? Someone tell me what is happening.”

“You’ll want to see this. There’s hyperspace harnesses in the observation room—get here!”

Governor Gerhardt, in his pajamas still- fumbled his way down the halls of the ship as fast as he could. The klaxons sounded louder and louder—an announcement came over the loudspeaker: Five minutes to hyperspace jump. Five minutes to hyperspace jump. He had to be fast before the Jump Marshalls came around and forced him into the first harness they found.

There—finally, he pushed open the doors to the observation room. Tessa was in one corner strapping herself into the harness—but the Governor didn’t notice.

Outside, against the depths of space, and above the bright orb of the capital planet, Cassini, a fleet of strange looking ships loomed.

“God in heaven.” He whispered.

“Governor, get in the harness! Here!” Tessa gestured to the harness next to her. Governor Gerhardt ran over to her and began securing himself.

“Tessa, what is going on. Tell me everything you know.”

“I know nothing sir—as we arrived at Cassini these ships were already here.”

“Lothian?”

“Not any Lothian ship I know of.”

“Well who the hell are they?”

They watched in silent horror, from their hyperspace jump harnesses, as explosions appeared in orbit—little puffs of decompression as the life of some ship or other was snuffed out.

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Karos Shipyard, 2230AD

Anxious days of waiting. News of the colony ship would not come quickly—not with such a remote colony as the star JUC-3383. And Holz was especially anxious, because the departure had not been as faultless as intended. The alignment had been beautiful, the countdown smooth, and when the countdown reached two, a small thruster fired. A malfunction of some kind. It could have been trivial—hyperspace was barely understood even by the geniuses who engineered it. But his heart told him something was wrong. An error of one percent of one percent, over how many light years, could be the difference between a safe transport and flying into the heart of a star. The calculations were so precise, that firing one second early, or one second late, was the difference between life and death. Holz needed the ship to arrive safely near Riven. Everything hinged on this. Tsar-Comrade wanted things to be faultless. 500 souls aboard the ship needed things to be faultless.

Comrade-Chairman Holz paced up and down the floor-to-ceiling windows as the elevator made it’s long journey across the long-axis of the space station, this time framed by the thin blue crescent of Neptune. The elevator arrived, and the doors to the conference room opened. One man emerged, walking slowly.

“Comrade Webber…”

“Comrade Holz…” His expression was pained, confused. No matter what, Holz knew, this would not be the news he wanted.

“What news do you have?”

“The Hearken is…late.”

Holz laughed mirthlessly. “It’s not late.”

“How can you know?”

“It arrives at the time and place, or not at all. They are either dead or lost. This isn’t a commute, this isn’t traffic. This is science. If everything went—”

“—faultlessly?”

Holz stared at Webber.

“If everything went faultlessly, it arrives on time at the right place, with minimal margin for error. If they’re late, it means we don’t have any way to know where they are.”

“Don’t these ships have astronometry? Surely they can triangulate their position from the stars…”

“How can they do that if they don’t know what their trajectory was? How, Comrade?”

“Well we can model the positions based on—”

“Yes, WE can do that. But can they? What have we done…what have we done…”

“Comrade Holz, surely they will turn up…”

“No, Comrade. They are lost. Lost forever. The trip was only supposed to take thirty days. What will become of them? What have we done!” Holz pounded his fist on the window, and looked out into the black of space—and tried to imagine that none of the stars were familiar. A terror crept into his soul. 500 people, lost to the stars…

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Transport Frigate Lyre, Montecaas System, 2766AD

“What do you mean we can’t hyperspace?”

“Their ships, governor! They’re interfering with our hyperdrives. We can’t jump!”

“Evasive maneuvers then? Get us out of here! We’re under attack! We have to warn the rest of the system!”

“We’ve suffered complete engine failure. We’re dead in the water.”

“Well what am I talking to you for? Find a solution! Get out and push! Don’t tell me we don’t have any contingencies!” Gerhard clicked the micro-telephone on his ear and then ripped it off, and threw it across the room. He fumbled with his hyperspace harness, trying to get himself out of it.

“Sir, what’s going on?” Tessa asked, confused.

“Nothing’s working—whoever these people are, they’ve got us.” He lifted the harness and stepped gingerly out of it. “We can’t run.”

He walked towards the massive screen of the observation room. More and more ships were arriving every second, flashes of light in the distance signaled a giant, synchronized hyperspace maneuver.

A smaller ship approached the screen—approaching the frigate. Slowly, Governor Gerhard felt the ship begin to move. It was being pulled somehow, by this tiny ship, a tugboat he supposed.

One ship of this invader force seemed bigger than the rest. It had an old, martial feel to it, like it had been repaired and maintained of many years. Gerhard supposed whoever it was must be running the show from there.

As the tugboat pulled the frigate closer, Gerhard realized he could see some livery and paint on the side of the ship. He was amazed to find that he could read it.

There, in bright white lettering, unusual lettering but still legible, still recognizable, were the letters HRAKKN.

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Thank you for reading!

God bless you!

AJPM