Chariot 3: Conception
Chapter 37 – On the other side

“Sissy, have we been followed?”

“Negative Captain. My readings have not identified any other vessel in the area.” She updated Shoffer with an uncommonly positive info, barely giving him time enough to finish his phrase.

“Status on the ship.” Shoffer was almost doubtful with the fact that they had crossed the black hole without a scratch.

“All systems are operational. The ship is fully functional, Sir.”

“Understood. Run a calculation on the necessary speed to achieve the mission`s required year, then lock course once your calculations are finalized and prepare to immediate re-entry.”

“Affirmative. Flight trajectory calculated. Mission coordinates locked, adjusting speed.” Chariot 3 performed a smooth but almost acrobatic turn once all checks were complete.

V-Nus and Cai Yiu were concentrated, ready for anything that could possibly come across them. But Flumen, in the other hand, could not avoid wondering if they would really be as fortunate as they had been so far when immersing themselves again into DA-51.

At this time, Flumen would not dare to be the one to express his concerns. After all, they had no choice but to try it and they were all perfectly aware of it.

Chariot 3 slowly moved towards the puddle of darkness that lied on space. The ship became fully aligned to its center directly ahead.

The crew took a deep breath and looked all at the same thing, the vagueness of their future and the one of many other billions of Earthians resting within the void.

The blood flowing inside their veins was fevering, they felt the heat increasing in their hearts, their sweat that for many times had dried on its own was dripping again.

The constant adrenaline had become part of them and the fearlessness became part of who they were, even for Flumen. “Let`s do it!” He said, mimicking V-Nus sort of speech.

The Nibirian ship increased its speed impetuously. Sissy simply knew that they were ready. Shoffer and V-Nus did not move a muscle, solely waiting for what would come next.

As Chariot 3 carried on her final approach towards the hole, a disconcerting red light unexpectedly popped on the left corner of their lenses.

“Incoming threat detected” Sissy warned them.

A Grey scouter jumped out of the hole before they realized what was happening. The crash against the stingray shaped craft was extraordinarily avoided by V-Nus` impeccable reflexes as he swung the ship to the side.

“Another one!” Cai Yiu shouted with his raised arm pointing to it.

A third, fourth, fifth, sixth and a seventh scouter appeared in a unique and impetuous wave.

With their thoughts in synchrony, V-Nus and Shoffer avoided the nearly unavoidable collisions that emerged on their way one after the other. Unwavering, Chariot 3 kept its course, moving towards the darkness.

“Are we missing any one?” The Martian`s irreverent tone could not have chosen a more inappropriate occasion for such a sarcasm.

As usual, a fraction of a second was what separated V-Nus from more trouble.

V-Nus had barely finished his words when he watched the inconsistent circumference of the hole expand dramatically, reaching way beyond a mile wide.

“I…I wish something Nibirian came out of it...” V-Nus` sarcasm appeared to be contagious as Flumen finished his hopeless words.

Chariot 3 was about to complete her final approach into the black hole when a wall of dark metal came across their way, slowly emerging from the darkness.

There was no escape.

The massive cloud of metal moving ahead provoked them an overwhelming confining sensation.

Slowly gaining space as she progressively crossed the black hole, for an instant, the dark mothership seemed to be actually part of it, camouflaged within the phenomena.

Moving to any possible direction did not seem to grant them a reliable way out of it. Nevertheless, that was not enough to stop Shoffer from thinking the unthinkable.

The Nibirian Captain took the deepest of his breaths as if it was the last time he would ever do it, and along with V-Nus, he brought Chariot 3 to ascension.

Up they went. Defying the rules of psychics, the skillful pilots started to place the most modern maneuvering capabilities that the space disc was equipped with at proof.

“Imminent impact ahead” Sissy warned them while making a circular ascension just before finally reaching a ninety degrees angle.

Flumen and the others prepared for the worst but all they felt was a slight impact of the enemy mothership against the bottom of the spacedisc.

With his concentration still untouched, Shoffer kept the steady trajectory until Chariot 3 started the most daring looping they would ever experience.

V-Nus observed the unshaken expression of his Captain and wondered if one day he would ever reach that level of coldness. The maneuver simply looked far too extraneous, beyond the unusual things they were used to, even for that Martian.

As Chariot 3 finished the incredible acrobacy and changed its course on a sharp turn, the rest of the crew looked up and saw the enormous piece of metal being left behind.

In ecstasy, they yelled, celebrating the fact that they were still alive.

Shoffer finally exhaled the air left in his lungs. “V-Nus, take over.”

“Sir, incoming transmission.”

“Proceed.” Shoffer`s serious voice replied to Sissy. For the first time his voice sounded as cold as hers.

A vivid image of the Grey leader started to broadcast through their lenses, providing them with the disturbing impression that the hostile caller was, in fact, among them.

“Nibirians, this is your last and final warning. Surrender now and we may spare your lives. Or fight and suffer.” The cruelty of the infuriated voice, telepathically transmitted to the crew, could not be ignored by Shoffer.

“Repugnant” was the Nibirian`s common opinion as they watched the message in silence.

“I`d say we stay and fight. They are not that many anyway.” V-Nus whispered his ‘modest’ words close to the ears of his leader while counting the enemy crafts that slowed down after the unexpected approach, standing a few meters apart from each other.

“We have not offered you any threat and we are willing to establish an agreement so both our cultures can coexist peacefully in this universe. Leave us alone or you shall regret.”

Shoffer ended the transmission right after his words and suddenly turned Chariot 3 around, not planning to wait for whatever the answer for his offer would be. Despite his hopes to not be followed, deep in there, Captain Shoffer knew what was about to happen.

“Sissy, set course to Earth.”

“Affirmative, Captain.”

“Earth?” Enquired Flumen, puzzled.

“We do not stand much of a chance staying here at open sight. But perhaps we can lead them astray around the planet.” Shoffer spoke fast while trying to come up with the rest of his plan. He hoped losing them could be as easy as he made it sound.

Once Shoffer rapidly maneuvered the ship, the crew contemplated the unforgettable beauty of the blue planet laying ahead.

Flumen looked back and stared one last time at their objective, DA-51, becoming smaller and smaller at the distance. He then turned back and with a fading voice tried to make the others wonder. “May…maybe we should wait for their answer. What if the Greys change their mind?”

“There is you answer, Flumen.” After analyzing the grandiosity of the mothership behind them, Cai Yiu finally broke his quietude while pointing to where they had just come from.

Flumen faced the direction where Cai Yiu pointed his finger and swallowed back his painful words down his throat. A hint of desperation took over his spirit. He felt his chest burning hot.

A growing stream of light reflected on his eyes, and as if the one incinerating discharge was not enough, another four followed behind.

Chariot 3 proficiently avoided the deadly impact. But not skillfully enough to save part of the edge of her disc shaped body which once hit, disintegrated immediately, leaving a circular smoky dent on its extremity.

As she achieved her maximum speed, Chariot 3 evaded the other four light beams, leaving them behind along with the Grey squadron that continued their pursuit.