The Trials Of The Hearken (1)
For The Better
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This is The Trials of the Hearken, a mini-series set in the Sandbox Earth Universe and a sequel of sorts to a previous story: “Out of the Black”. While you do not have to read that story to understand this one, it would provide some illuminating context. Similar to the previous story, this one was written under the influence of a song.
Prologue
The starfield wasn’t right. He didn’t know how he knew—the astronometry wouldn’t be available for another hour or two at least. Captain Carlo Harker unclasped himself from the jump harness and ran to the controls, cycling through the viewscreens around the colony ship Hearken. Where was it? That golden star, Riven, it should be bright and close.
There was no sign of the star.
The crew filtered into the bridge, awaiting instructions from the captain. He paced frenetically between screens, barking an occasional one-word command, pulling someone away from a console to enter instructions himself. There was a heavy yet electric silence on the bridge while he moved.
Someone stepped forward after watching for a moment. After clearing his voice tentatively and his footsteps ceased echoing, he asked hoarsely, “Orders, sir?”
It was Matthew, his first mate—Captain Harker recognized his voice without turning around. His second in command, supposed to be his right-hand man. The captain took a deep breath, clenched and unclenched his fists.
He spoke towards the console he was looking at: “Astronometry,” his voice bore a charged coolness that did nothing to dissipate the energy in the room. “Find out where we are. Is the Comms team here?” He heard Matthew shift or gesture at the waiting crowd of crew.
There was an awkward silence.
“COMMS!” the captain shouted. Feet shuffled in response, telling him the crew flinched at his unexpected ferocity. Matthew snapped his fingers.
“Here, sir!” Came a quiet voice.
“Get in touch with the Fleet Control at Riven. Engines?”
A moments hesitation, another invisible gesture from Matthew, then, “Here sir.”
“Get the hyperdrive reset as fast as possible.”
Heels clicked. “Sir!” and the sound of footsteps rushing away.
Matthew spoke again, testing the uncertain waters of the Captains mood: “And…the colonists, sir?”
Captain Harker turned his head to meet Matthew’s eyes for a moment. He rubbed his hand over his face. His mind was racing, his nerves screaming, everything about him wanted to panic. He took a long, deep breath. It’s all on me, now.
“Keep them in their harnesses a little longer. I want astronometry before I give the all clear. Let them wait.”
“Understood, sir.”
“And, Matthew? Get everyone back to work and off my bridge.”
Heels clicked, and Matthew turned, began issuing directives like a traffic-cop. Captain Harker didn’t move until he heard the door close behind him, and silence once again settle over the room. Then, he let himself slump into a chair. He looked out at a large view screen on the far wall, filled with stars—those stars, those beautiful, terrible, infinite stars.
Where are we?
For The Better
Ariel had insisted that she and her boyfriend Omer stay in their jump harnesses until the indicator light turned off. It felt like a long, long time to wait. They could hear people walking down the hallway—people who ignored the light and stepped out to explore the ship. Omer pointed this out to her several times, but she refused to budge. “The rules are for our safety,” she said. “The captain will know the right time to let us out.”
This was, after all, a colonial venture. Law and order had to start somewhere. The culture of the new colony began here and now, with them, on the ship before they even arrived. They would need the structure when they landed in the untamed wilderness of the as-yet-unnamed system in the far reaches of inner-space.
Ariel and Omer made playful conversation, they held hands across the gap between their harnesses. They tried to ignore the discomfort and confusion.
When the indicator light blinked off with a pleasant chime, Omer fumbled frantically with his harness, and climbed out. His foot caught on the straps and he tripped and fell, landing hard on the floor.
“Hey, easy now!” Ariel said, “What’s the rush? We’ve got tons of time.”
“I felt trapped in that dang thing!” he spread his arms out on the ground, pretending to sleep. “Aaaahhh,” he sighed contentedly, “solid ground.”
Ariel snickered, “Alright alright, my turn!”
Omer shot up and helped her with the cage of the jump harness. He held out his hand and she took it gracefully, stepping gingerly out. She pushed into a bear hug, and felt Omer tense and then soften, his arms wrapping around her and his cheek resting on her head.
“No going back now,” she said.
Omer gave her shoulder two quick squeezes in response.
That familiar chime came over the ship intercom, and the captains voice echoed into the ship.
Attention colonists, this is your captain speaking. Thank you for your patience while we go through our post-jump checklist here on the bridge. As I am sure you are aware, the first jump is complete and the indicator light has been turned off. You are now free to move around the Hearken as you please. It is an honor to pilot this inaugural colonization effort for the Jovian Union, and an honor to share this journey with you. We will now cruise on conventional drives for a few days while we calculate our next jump. If you need anything please do not hesitate to reach out to your deck officer or any uniformed crewmembers, it is our pleasure to serve. Thank you.
The same chime concluded the message.
Ariel and Omer met eyes. “Ready to meet our new neighbors?” Omer asked.
Ariel furrowed her brow. “Just a moment. I told myself I would say hi to Mom and Dad after the first jump. This is for them.” she walked over to the closet where their bags were stowed, and fished into hers. She found a piece of paper, which she unfolded, and quietly read.
Omer knew this letter—one of several Ariel kept from her mother, her prized possessions. He could almost recite them.
Ariel was briefly transported while she read—oblivious to her surroundings. When she looked up, her eyes were glistening.
Omer smiled, “Say ‘hi’ to them for me. You make me wish I had parents.”
Ariel smiled, a tear making its way down her cheek. “Thank you. For coming with me. I know this is a sacrifice. But my parents believed in something—in freedom. With this colony, we can escape the tyranny of the Jovian Union, we can be a good influence, right here at the start! We can make it so no one has to grow up without parents ever again! Do you see it Omer? We can be the roots of a great tree.”
“Yeah,” Omer said, “I see it. It’s hard, but as you say—it’s for the better. It will be worth it when we get there.”
“We deserve this. We deserve to live free!”
“Yeah. We do,” Omer said quietly. His eyes looked through her, for just a moment, before refocusing. “You hungry? Let’s look around, I’m starving.”
Ariel smiled, and tangled her hand in his. “Let’s go.”
The colony ship Hearken was enormous, and was temporary home to 500 brave souls planning to populate the new planet. The atmosphere on the ship was more like a social luxury cruise than an austere pilgrimage into the unknown. People were relaxed and loud, very quickly drinks appeared in strangers’ hands as they wandered the hallways. Ariel and Omer’s bunk was in Residential Deck Five, and they navigated the maze of efficient and functional corridors, stairways, and elevators towards the cafeteria.
The cafeteria was abuzz with activity before they even saw it. The noise echoed through the sterile hallways as they got closer, a sure sign it was the social heart of the ship, at least for now.
Omer’s demeanor changed immediately upon stepping onto the walkway overlooking the massive cafeteria—he became stiff, Ariel saw his muscles tense. Ariel put a reassuring hand on his back. “We’ll be fine. Just grabbing a bite. These are our new neighbors, you know? Let’s get to know some of ‘em.”
Omer nodded, like he was trying to convince himself she was right. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. Just a bite.”
Ariel grabbed his hand and they descended the stairs into the crowd.
Snippets of conversations, first greetings, old friends, new travelers. It had the atmosphere of a party—maybe it was because everyone looked young. That must have been a prerequisite to be a colonist.
Ariel and Omer sat at an open space at a table. This was an unspoken rule from their relationship. When they were unsettled, they would first get grounded somehow, this often meant sitting somewhere and observing.
Ariel tried to make innocuous observations to Omer. “Look, they are wearing Martian silk, don’t see that very often. What do you think brings them here? Wonder where he got that scar.”
Omer was clearly trapped in his head. “That shirt looks nice,” he attempted, rigidly.
Ariel decided to be the adventurous one. “I’m going to get us something to eat, okay?”
Omer nodded, quietly, and said nothing. Ariel kissed him on the temple and then went in search of where all the food was coming from.
The cruise-ship atmosphere was limited to the liveliness of the passengers and the availability of alcoholic drinks—the food was austere. It was clearly designed to get them through the thirty day transit to the new colony, and maybe a little longer. It wasn’t lavish or luxurious. What they packed onto the ship was it—one and done. Ariel filled two bowls with a…it helped to call it a “chili” even though she wasn’t quite sure what it was. When she brought the bowls back to the table, another couple had sat down opposite to Omer, and Omer was making strained, polite conversation with the other, oblivious couple.
“You must be Ariel!” one of them, a woman, said as she approached.
Ariel smiled. “You must be our new friends!”
The couple laughed loudly, “I like it, I like it!” the man said.
“I’m Teela and this is Roman. We saw Omer sitting here and thought we’d say hello.”
“I’m glad you did!” Ariel said as she sat down and slid a bowl of ‘chili’ to Omer. “How are you enjoying the trip so far?”
Teela giggled, “It’s so strange! It feels so much like a party right now, right? I think everyone is excited just to get there.”
“Hopefully we don’t all get sick of each other before we arrive.” Roman chided with a smirk.
“I don’t know, I don’t think we will. The ship is big enough, it feels like we’ll all just make a home for ourselves, you know? This is a colony effort after all—we’re going to be neighbors. May as well start being neighborly. What do you think Omer?”
Ariel nudged Omer, trying to bring him into the conversation. He was in a staring contest with a spoonful of the ‘chili’. “Yeah,” he said, quickly. “It’s a lot, but—for the better, right?”
Teela nodded. “So true! So true. It’s exciting, it’s new, it’s scary—all at once!”
Roman asked, “So I’m taking an informal survey. What puts you on a colony ship? Given all of this—why do it? You wake up one day, and you decide to fling yourselves into the depths of space. How’d that happen?”
Ariel and Omer exchanged a knowing glance. Omer said, “You tell it, I’m bad at this stuff.”
“So…” Ariel began, organizing her thoughts, “The Jovian Union came to power when I was a little girl. My parents were…gosh I’ve never been this honest before, but we’re neighbors right? This is a new beginning.”
Teela and Roman nodded encouragingly. “Go on!” they urged.
“My parents were in the opposition to the Glorious Revolution. They paid the price for it, and I ended up in a group home on Ceres. I have some letters from my mom, and they were an inspiration to me, you know? I just wanted to get away. To start over. To see if I could help build the society my parents wanted.”
“Wow,” Teela said. “You know, that is so brave.”
“After I aged out of the group home, I took a clerical job at Indira Gandhi University on Ganymede. That’s where I met Omer. When we saw the announcement, I had the crazy idea that we should try for it. Omer agreed—and since we had relatively few connections it was easy to settle our affairs and get on the list.”
“Amazing. Simply amazing. And Omer, what’s your background? Why did you agree?”
Omer shifted uncomfortably. “I came for her. Kind of. I mean, I have my own reasons to come. But I didn’t like the thought of her going alone, you know? And I don’t have roots either. I’m, uh…I was a Protie.”
“A Protie? You mean a Genetic Protocols baby?”
“Yeah. Back before the Revolution, the Genetic Protocols were designed to boost the population of the colonies around the solar system. I’ll never know who my parents were, but in the lab where they mix up the gene pools, I emerged. I was raised in a group home too, and left as soon as I could. I was studying at the University on a scholarship when I met Ariel. The rest is just as she said.”
“And you’re only dating! Isn’t going to space a little…you know, permanent?” Teela asked.
It was Ariel’s turn to shift uncomfortably. “That was a big topic when we were talking about it. We aren’t ready for marriage yet—we didn’t want to rush things just for the colony. But we’ve been dating long enough that, you know, this is our future.”
Ariel reached out and grabbed Omer’s hand, and smiled. Omer said, “Going to a new colony, going there with Ariel—we’re betting on our future. We deserve to be here.”
“Anyway,” Ariel said, “What about you? What brings you to the Hearken?”
Matthew Morris needed a break. Captain Harker was agitated, and he hadn’t let anyone into the bridge for hours. He dusted off his crisp black uniform, and wandered the labyrinthine halls of the Hearken. He just needed to get away. He just needed to be invisible. The uniform didn’t help with that.
His feet led him to the balcony overlooking the Cafeteria, the single biggest space in the ship. Colonists were already buzzing happily, excited and nervous about the journey. He let out a relaxed sigh. At least with the buzzing of the crowd, his mind would be distracted. His brain would be invisible, even if he wouldn’t be.
There were a few other official crew scattered around. Deck officers, identified by the green badge on the breast pocket of their black uniforms, stood around and talked among themselves. A few were pestered by curious colonists. Matthew was part of the flight crew, so he had a red badge on his own uniform. There were fewer flight crew here. Then there were the actual operators, blue badges. They were deep in the engine room keeping the ship running, or hunched over control panels adjacent to the bridge.
But Matthew was supposed to be first mate. The second in command, the one who did the dirty work of managing the staff. Captain Harker was responsible for the ship as a whole—it was strange that he hadn’t included Matthew in whatever’s happening on the bridge.
Suits me, Matthew thought. I can’t fly a ship. No one here has ever been on a colony mission before, so who knows what to expect.
A young couple were climbing the stairs, hand in hand. They whispered together, and Matthew pretended not to see them.
“Hi, excuse me sir?” the woman said.
Matthew stood promptly and faced them, “Hello, how are you doing? Have you gotten to know some of your neighbors?” he asked, putting on his best social face.
“Yes! Thank you! My name is Ariel and this is my boyfriend Omer,” she held out a hand.
Matthew shook their hands with a painted smile. “Matthew, flight crew, nice to meet you. How can I help you?”
“We are heading to the Observation deck, could you point us to it? We’ve had a hard time finding our way around the ship.”
“The Observation deck should be stern of the cafeteria, that way. Follow the blue stripe on the walls and that should take you there.”
“Great! Thank you!” Ariel said, and the couple disappeared down the hall.
Matthew’s stomach churned. The contrast between the anxious, closed fury of Captain Harker and the open, bright eyed innocence of these passengers. Something is wrong.
His intercom buzzed in his ear. “Flight crew, assemble at the bridge immediately.”
Matthew cursed. No rest for the weary.
On the way to the bridge, Matthew resolved to talk to Captain Harker. I deserve to know, he thought. We are colonists as much as crewmates. I need to know! Matthew’s pace hastened to a jog—he was determined to sneak a word with Captain Harker before whatever this meeting was.
After wending through the halls of the Hearken, he arrived at the bridge. A few of the closer flight crew had already arrived and were clumping awkwardly along the walls. Captain Harker was leaning against a desk console, watching everyone filter in. Matthew walked confidently across the floor. “Captain Harker—”
“Matthew.” He said.
“Captain, what is going on? Things have been tense since the jump.”
The captain’s eyes were fixed on a point on the floor, and didn’t move as he replied: “I’m about to tell you.”
“With respect, sir, I’m your first mate. How can I help you, the crew, or the colonists if I don’t—”
Captain Harker turned his face slowly, his jaw clenched, his expression angry. Matthew stopped himself. “If you could help,” he enunciated with barely contained anger, “I would have told you. You cannot. Everyone will know at the same time. And then we will talk.”
“Everyone will know what?”
“Stop,” was all the captain said in reply. Matthew was more unsettled than before the conversation. He stepped away, and fell in with the crew, all black uniforms and red badges.
The flight crew had filled the bridge with both their mass and their heat—Matthew felt twice stifled. He pulled at the collar of his uniform, while Captain Carlo Harker turned, and addressed the crew.
“Ladies and Gentlemen,” he began formally, “I am about to make an announcement to the whole ship, right here in front of you. You are my eyes and ears on the ship. This is a hard thing we are about to do, and I need your fire, your resolve, and your commitment to the mission. The mission to find a home among the stars.”
That’s an odd choice of words, Matthew thought.
“I don’t want to drag it out, so I will make the announcement, and then we will begin.” He said. He picked an intercom up from the table, and pushed the button.
A pleasant chime echoed throughout the ship.
“Attention colonists, this is your captain speaking,” he said, his words echoing double in Matthew’s ears over the speakers and from Captain Harker’s own voice. “The post-jump checklist is complete and I am pleased to report that the ship is in good condition. The hyperdrive will be charged in about 60 hours if our crack engineers cannot get it done any faster. Almost everything about this first jump went faultlessly.
“As your Captain, and fellow colonist, it is my responsibility to share with you candidly both the good news and the bad news. The bad news is this: our hyperspace jump has not delivered us to our desired location near the Riven system. In fact, we are not quite sure where we are, and are working on astronometry around the clock.
“No doubt this is unpleasant news, and I am sorry to be the bearer. No doubt you have some natural questions about what this means for the mission—for our mission into the stars. There are new problems to be solved, sure. But never forget, we are the crown jewel of the Jovian Union. We are her first step into the unknown! And we now have the HONOR of pursuing a deeper unknown than before. For the Glory of the Revolution, for the fate of humanity, we must now bend to the hard task of completing what we have begun, and fulfilling our mission to spread humanity to the stars.”
Matthew’s hair stood on end, his stomach churned, his head spun. This can’t be real.
“The plan as briefed at the Karos Shipyard was to cruise for ten days before the next jump. That plan has not changed, though our destination, by necessity, has. My crew will work double-time to find a path through the stars and find a place all of us can call home. Please be patient while we work out the details of this new, bolder, braver journey. The unknown has called every one of us to step forth. We are ready.”
The pleasant chime following the announcement formed a discordant tone with the nervous glances being exchanged between members of the crew.
“Now,” Captain Harker said, putting down the intercom and standing up straight to address the crew, “who is ready to do their duty for the Union?”
To be continued…
Thank you very much for reading! I am very excited for this project, I have been working on it for an impossibly long time and it is finally ready to bring to the world. I hope you enjoyed this installment of the Trials of the Hearken, and I look forward to bringing you the rest of the story!
Please consider leaving a like, telling me what you thought in the comments, or sharing this story on Notes. If you would like to read more, please check out my collection of longer fiction at The Volume.
God bless!
AJPM
“Now,” Captain Harker said, putting down the intercom and standing up straight to address the crew, “who is ready to do their duty for the Union?”
Yeah, that's not ominous in any possible way.
Why does it sound like he's about to kill half the colonists?
Since the universe itself moves, does that mean the universe just moved and their ship's computers didn't account for that?
Also, Captain gives me a 'too smart and won't work with others,' vibe, which sounds like good tension with the people in the crew.