THE PLANET THAT LOVED PEOPLE - PROLOGUE (standard:science fiction, 3268 words) [1/18] show all parts
Author: Danny Raven	Updated: Mar 05 2016	Views/Reads: 2215/1555	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
SIX LIFERS FROM THE PRISON PLANET SIRENE ARE OFFERED THEIR FREEDOM BY EARTH IF THEY CAN FIND OUT WHAT LIES THROUGH A CORRIDOR INSIDE A BLACK HOLE.

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Hole waited. 

One space mile into the Hole's atmosphere and the Zenon's speed doubled,
the massive force already pulling it in. Five space miles and it 
quadrupled. Ten space miles and it was streaking along in excess of its 
maximum speed and the hull began to heat up, glowing red along its 
length. 

Fifteen space miles in and the g-force would have wiped out the entire
Bridge crew had there been one. Everything in the Bridge not bolted 
down was hurled backwards to smash against the rear wall. Consoles 
strained on their mountings and instrument panels and desks looked as 
if they were slowly being prised up by invisible levers. A chart table 
couldn't take the pressure and was ripped up and thrown backwards 
against a wall. 

Quarter of a space mile from the Hole's surface and the Zenon burst into
flames, the billowing orange and yellow fire bright against the black 
mass it was arrowing towards. 

A hundred yards out and it started bucking and shuddering again as if
trying to change course but the end was only seconds away and shortly 
afterwards it slammed into the Hole. There was a muffled explosion 
followed by a brief bright orange glow then silence. Cold, empty 
silence and the surface of the Hole continued its malevolent undulating 
as if nothing had happened. 

Then the Zenon's Computer announced, “We are inside the Corridor, you
may leave the Safety Cabin. Repeat, we are inside the Corridor, you may 
leave the Safety Cabin.” 

Inside the massive Safety Cabin which ran half the length of the Ship, a
wave of cheering, whistling and applause immediately rose from the 
three hundred crew. They hadn't known if they were going to make it or 
not and the cheering and whistling were from relief. Relief that they 
were still alive. 

A grinning Captain unlocked himself from his seat and shook hands with
his First Officer, Pilot and Navigator. 

“Looks like we made it into the Corridor, Captain!” a smiling First
Officer said. 

“We have,” agreed the Captain. “We don't know what comes next though, do
we?” 

The Captain allowed the cheering, whistling and backslapping to continue
a little longer then flicked on his throat mike. “Okay you guys, calm 
down,” he announced. “I'm about to drop the Safety Cabin's force-field. 
Then everyone back to their stations. Bridge crew first. All you tough 
Space Marines last.” 

This brought more good natured cheering and yelling. 

The Captain tapped in a code on a small console next to his seat and the
force-field which had surrounded the Safety Cabin was turned off. 

Quickly and calmly, the crew began filing out the Cabin. The Bridge
personnel were first back and they glanced up at the Observation 
Screen, afraid of what they might see on it. The Screen was black, 
completely black and it remained that way but the crew continued to 
stare at it, waiting for something to appear. 

The Captain snapped them out of it. “Zero speed!” he barked. “Damage
reports! Clean up the Bridge! Connect me with Tyler!” 

Glad of the tasks to occupy themselves with, the crew busied themselves
with his orders but they kept looking up now and then, each time 
expecting to see something on the Screen. They had travelled a long way 
for this and all Ships before them had either been destroyed trying to 
enter the Corridor or had simply disappeared without trace. 

“Zero speed not possible,” the Pilot said. “We're being pulled forwards
slightly. Want some reverse Drive?” 

The Captain shook his head and settled into his chair. “Let's see what
comes on Screen first. How close are we to the Corridor?” 

“One space mile,” answered the Navigator. “Either side.” 

The Captain raised an eyebrow at him. 

“Either side,” the Navigator confirmed. 

“Big Corridor,” the Captain said, glancing at the Screen. It was still
black. “Is the forward scanner functioning?” 

“Affirmative,” the Pilot replied, also staring at the Screen. “All that
pure energy in the Hole. You'd think there'd be something. Some kind of 
light.” 

An inter-com on the Captain's console buzzed and he flicked it on.
“Damage reports,” said the Engineer. 

“Go ahead.” 

“Outer hull burned off as expected. Minimal scorching to the inner hull.
Otherwise all systems intact.” 

“Power?” 

“One third. Recharging now. We drained two thirds staying on course for
the Corridor.” 

“Inform me when we're re-charged. You know where to divert power if I
hit the Alarm.” 

“Connected with Fleet Commander Tyler,” the Communications Officer said.


In the Control Room at Fleet Head Quarters on Earth they had waited a
long time for a message from the Zenon. Most had given up. They'd been 
through it all before with previous Ships – the final message when they 
were outside the Hole's atmosphere, entry, then the wait. The long 
pointless wait. 

Fleet Commander Erwin Tyler smiled and lit another thin, black cigar as
he heard the crackled communication. Two surprised technicians bent 
over their consoles, carefully twisting dials and adjusting 
frequencies, trying to fine tune the Zenon. 

The room fell silent as the Captain's tinny, amplified voice said,
“We're in the Corridor. Are you picking us up?” 

“Faintly,” Tyler said above the cheering in the room. “Do you read me?” 

“You and the cheering,” replied the Captain. “How are the pictures?” 

Tyler glanced at the two large wall screens in the Control Room. One
showed the Zenon's Bridge and the other the pictures from its 
Observation Screen, though not as clearly. 

“The Observation Screen's black,” said Tyler. “Is something--” 

“There's some kind of light ahead!” the Pilot interrupted. 

It was a weak greenish glow some distance in front of them. 

“Do you see it?” the Captain asked. 

“We see it,” Tyler answered. “What is it?” 

“An energy source of some kind,” said the First Officer from his
console. “Light producing only. There's no movement.” 

The absolute blackness of the Corridor was now tinged with weak green
light and as they drifted out of the darkness they could see where it 
was coming from – the walls of the Corridor were now composed of 
gigantic, curved, green and purple triangles which pulsed as if they 
were alive. “Pure energy,” the First Officer said, a touch of awe in 
his voice as he read the figures on his monitor. “The energy level in 
just one of those triangles would be enough to power the Zenon back to 
Earth.” 

The light grew brighter and they could see the Corridor was perfectly
circular. It ran straight ahead for a while then curved sharply to the 
left. 

“Are you picking this up on your screen?” the Captain asked. 

“We see it,” Tyler replied. 

Like the technicians in the Control Room, the Bridge crew were having
difficulty keeping their eyes off the Screen. The Captain looked round 
at the rapt faces. All were bathed in the greenish/purplish glow from 
the Screen as was the inside of the Bridge. 

“Relay the Bridge and Observation Screen pictures through the Ship,” he
instructed. 

The First Officer punched some buttons on his console and the entire
Ship's crew could now see what was happening on the Bridge and also see 
the pictures from the Observation Screen. 

“How far to the sides of the Corridor now?” the Captain asked. 

The Navigator glanced at his monitor. “Still one space mile on either
side and there's no sign of it narrowing.” 

The Captain nodded and looked back at the Screen and was just in time to
see the immense object coming round the curve towards them. It seemed 
to fill the Corridor and was rolling silently along the top of it – a 
gigantic, spiked ball, banded red and yellow, easily a couple of 
hundred yards in diameter. It looked like solid steel. 

“Engage Drive,” the Captain calmly ordered the Pilot. “Minimum speed.
Take us lower.” 

The Ship headed lower in the Corridor and the gigantic, striped ball
passed silently overhead. 

“Rear view,” the Captain ordered. 

The Screen picked it up behind them and they could see it whirling along
the top of the Corridor until it disappeared into the darkness. 

“What the hell was that?” Tyler asked, breaking the silence. 

“No idea,” the Captain replied. “It was too fast for scanner reports.” 

Further round the curve the Corridor darkened again, the huge green and
purple triangles giving way to absolute blackness. 

“The sides of the Corridor are now one and a half space miles away,” the
Navigator announced. 

The Captain nodded. “Maintain present speed,” he ordered the Pilot. 

They travelled through the thick blackness awhile then the forward
scanner picked up something moving not far ahead in the darkness. 

“Forward scanners detect movement,” the Pilot announced. 

Then they saw them – large, semi-opaque, brilliantly coloured shapes
which were undulating towards the Ship. Deep greens, rich blues, 
shimmering oranges merged and separated and stretched as they swam 
towards them like gigantic jellyfish. The colours and shapes were 
hypnotic and the crew couldn't take their eyes off them. 

“There's too many!” the Pilot said, his voice rising. “We can't get
round them!” 

“Sporadic laser fire,” the Captain ordered the Weapons Officer. 

Half a dozen blue laser beams shot out and scythed into the undulating
creatures but it made no difference. The laser beams seemed to pass 
through them and neither harmed or stopped them. The creatures rippled 
closer and closer like curious jellyfish then bumped against the Ship 
with soft popping noises. 

“Christ, they're coming through!” the First Officer yelled. 

Incredibly, the brilliantly coloured creatures started nosing their way
through the solid steel hull of the Zenon and into the Bridge. Several 
of the crew drew their laser pistols and were about to fire but the 
Captain calmly ordered the lasers away. 

“Let's see what they do,” he said. 

The lasers were flicked off and as the stunned crew watched, the
creatures passed through consoles, tables, instrument panels and 
everything else on the Bridge. Including themselves. 

In the Control Room they heard someone screaming then the same man
saying, “Jesus, it's going through me! It's going through!” 

On the Bridge, all of the crew were frozen in their positions as the
swimming, undulating creatures began passing painlessly through their 
bodies. 

There was silence for a long time and Tyler thought the inevitable had
happened. “What's going on, Captain?” he asked. 

There was no reply. On the Bridge, everyone was watching the creatures
as they reached the far end and started disappearing through the wall. 

“Warn the rest of the Ship,” the Captain ordered the First Officer.
“Tell them what to expect.” 

“You're still there, Captain?” Tyler asked. 

“Still here,” replied the Captain, looking down at his chest where a
minute ago he had watched a velvety blue undulating creature passing 
through him.   “Don't ask what they were,” he said to Tyler, “because 
we haven't got a clue.” 

Before they had time to recover there was a bump and everyone on the
Bridge was thrown to the floor or against their consoles. The Captain 
was up quickly and he glanced at the Screen. A gigantic yellow net was 
stretched all the way across the Corridor. 

“Increase Drive,” he ordered. 

Slowly the Zenon moved forwards. The net stretched as the Ship increased
speed then it burst and they were through, trailing long yellow 
tendrils behind them. 

“Reduce Drive,” ordered the Captain. “Analysis on that yellow net
material.” 

“We've lost contact with Earth Control!” the Communications Officer
announced. 

“After what we've been through recently, I'm not surprised,” remarked
the Captain. 

“Drive power's gone!” yelled the Pilot. 

“Steering?” the Captain asked quickly. 

“Steering's okay but no Drive power.” 

The inter-com on the Captain's console buzzed and he flicked it on. 

“We've lost everything except steering and the forward scanner,” the
Engineer said. “There's no reason--” 

“How about reserve power?” the Captain cut in. 

“We can't divert it. Everything seems to be locked out somehow.” 

“Keep working on it,” the Captain ordered. “Buzz me if you get any
results.” 

In the Control Room on Earth they could still hear and see the Bridge
crew but couldn't communicate with them. They were also still receiving 
the pictures from the Zenon's Observation Screen and they could see the 
view changing as the Ship passed into the next section of the Corridor. 


“The Corridor's beginning to narrow,” the Navigator announced. 

“How far to the sides?” the Captain asked. 

“Three quarters of a space mile all round,” replied the Navigator. 

“Still no Drive power?” the Captain asked the Pilot. 

“Negative, sir.” 

“Half a space mile and narrowing fast!” said the Navigator. 

The Corridor had by now become like the inside of a huge rocky cave,
with narrow tunnels branching off here and there. Ahead, massive 
outcroppings of rock and huge stalactite and stalagmite formations 
narrowed it even further, everything lit up by constantly zigzagging 
bolts of bright blue lightning which forked out from the sides. 

“Five hundred yards all round and closing fast!” announced the
Navigator. 

The Captain glanced at the Pilot who shook his head. 

‘They're not going to make it,' Tyler thought as he watched and
listened. The Captain contacted the Engineer. “Can't you divert any 
power yet?” he asked. 

“Everything's still locked out,” came the reply. 

“Two hundred and fifty yards!” the Navigator said. 

Then they saw it. Another of the massive, circular, spiked balls. This
one wasn't whirling along the roof of the Corridor however but was 
silently coming down the centre towards them. 

“Take that tunnel to the left,” the Captain ordered. 

The Pilot glanced at him. “We don't know how narrow it is inside,” he
warned. 

The Captain nodded at the Screen where the red and yellow striped ball
was rapidly approaching them. “We don't have much choice, do we?” 

The Pilot steered the Zenon round a massive stalagmite and into the
tunnel. They could hear the hull grinding against the sides as they 
entered. 

“Twenty yards and closing!” the Navigator announced, a trace of panic in
his voice. 

The Captain turned to the First Officer. “Prepare the emergency pods.
Take a party and some laser rifles and blow the escape hatches.” 

“Fifteen yards!” 

The Captain relayed himself through the Ship. “As you are all aware, the
Zenon is now trapped in this tunnel. All personnel make their way to 
the escape hatches. Prepare to abandon Ship!” 

“Ten yards!” 

“Abandon Ship!” the Captain calmly ordered the Bridge crew. “Navigator
and Pilot remain at their posts. Everybody else to the emergency pods.” 


On the wall screen in the Control Room the narrow tunnel was lit up by
jagged streaks of lightning. They didn't need the Navigator to tell 
them it was too narrow for the Ship to make it. 

“Five yards!” said the Navigator. 

The Captain turned to his two remaining Bridge crew. “Lock steering and
let's go,” he ordered. 

“Christ!” said the Pilot, standing up and looking at the Screen. 

The Captain turned back and glanced up. The sides of the tunnel were now
almost continually lit up by smaller bolts of lightning which danced 
and ran along the top of it but further down a massive fork had 
appeared. It was several yards thick and was leaping from one side to 
another, blasting into the rocky tunnel. 

In the Control Room they saw the gigantic fork zigzagging towards the
Ship. Nobody spoke or moved and all eyes were fastened on the screen. 
They saw the Captain yelling and pointing but couldn't make him out. A 
few feet away on the right, the giant fork zapped into the side of the 
tunnel, sending huge chunks of rock showering on to the Ship. Then it 
headed straight for the Zenon. There was a blinding, blue-white flash 
on the screen, they heard some brief screaming then there was silence. 

The technicians in the Control Room sat around staring at the two blank
screens, stunned by what had happened. Tyler cursed loudly, angrily 
ground out his cigar and walked out the Control Room, slamming the door 
behind him. 


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