Frawali, Gamma Quadrant

Koga Rinzlo

Aarernium delegate, Insom Dap glided effortlessly though the luxuriously wide tunnels of the space station with his pod of servants and security. Moving though zero gravity was so effortless, one might think it was a Frawali’s natural habitat. The station’s design mirrored that of living coral rock, giant fields of which covered vast expanses of the ocean floor where Insom grew up. Organic angles dictated the shape and layout of passages stretching in every direction imaginable. There was an energized bustle, thousands of Frawali were living and working aboard the station and had been for several orbits. The station was a testament to their ingenuity and creativity as a species, an architectural gem. It was Beautiful, and reminded Insom of home.

Ploma exited the small cave in the ocean wall she called home and swam up and up, her long webbed feet accelerated her through the water like a torpedo. Frawali had short muscular upper and lower limbs but very long hands and feet. As Ploma rose through the strata she began to be more attentive. The Frawali were the dominant species on their planet intellectually, but they still had to be mindful of larger natural predators. Longing for the surface she could taste the stale air she’d been holding on to while she slept. Frawali had been known to hold their breath for up to an eighth rotation using relaxation techniques. She breached the surface with triumphant speed, twin jets of air shot out of her back as she arched through the air. Rich sea breeze filled her lungs before she splashed back into the ocean; she immediately felt more awake. Their star was dipping over the horizon but there was still light left in the sky. Ploma had slept well after the previous night’s work but it was time to get back to it. Stepping up on to dry land she made her way to the local Talcom Corp Mining depot where she kept her gear. As she scanned the horizon, the stormy sea, the majestic mountain, the cool wind and rain whistled past her. It was beautiful, it was her home.

Insom Dap took his place near the base of the prestigious glass bottom room, the view was spectacular. On his right, he could see the docking ring, four enormous generators rotating with a methodical serenity. His planet sat juxtaposed to his left, stormy and turbulent. Oceans dominated the view, at 85% water, storms would often rage across the vast tropical waters and collide mercilessly into cliffs of volcanos and mountains. Just a few generations ago no one would have known this planet was inhabited; not without looking below the water’s surface. How far they had come since then, building settlements on land, reaching for the stars. As Insom admired the view a servant floated gracefully by, offering the delegates appetizers, Insom politely refused. Who could eat at a time like this, he thought to himself. There was however something comforting about the lack of gravity in space, it reminded Insom of the weightlessness of being in water. It was incredibly expensive to transport water into space, so only the richest most important inhabitants of the station could sleep with their pod submerged in private pools. The majority of the workers slept in the communal water rings, enormous spinning sections of the station that kept the water from floating around in zero gravity. The station had been and enormous undertaking, decades of working with the other corporations to achieve something that may finally give his whole planet something to be proud of. The place reserved for the Talcum delegate remained empty, even after numerous persistent invitations. The Talcum corporation had felt taken advantage of early in the project and backed out, preferring to invest in subterranean exploration. This is the future. Insom was sure of it. Space, new worlds, and if one can imagine, new civilizations…

Ploma had recently gained citizenship with Talcum Corp, working in the diplorium mine. She hated it but since the ocean waters had began to warm many natural food sources had disappeared. For most there was now only one way to put food in one’s stomach. Corporations own the oceans and the seas, they own the food and, they own us! She lamented. Diplorium was known to have long-term negative heath effects. Up until recent orbits, it was considered a cursed element with little to no value. In light of recent undertakings in the skies above however, this rare material had become highly sought after. With her long slender hands, she collected her face mask and humidifier that she wore over her breathing holes on her back. Gathering with the others Ploma walked to the elevator that would take her down down down.

In the giant observation bay, Insom and the three other corporate delegates watched with pride as the command module linked up with the main star vessel. Smaller screens around the room showcased multiple angles and views. Corporations made up the five major governments of the planet, each of them constantly vying for power over the others. This endeavour had done much to unite these governing factions. The modular design with universal mounting clamps was essential to co-operative work on the Starjumper project. Each corporation doing its part to manufacture different aspects of the vessel. Test after test went smoothly, each corporation putting only their best work forward as a matter of pride.

Taking advantage of the time in the elevator Ploma geared up, activating her humidifier and cooling system. The air was so hot and dry in the mines; she wouldn’t have lasted an hour without the gear. The elevator finally came to a halt, and she stepped out of the elevator with the other workers. “They say the tectonic activity is spiking in direct relation to the recent mining” The two workers in front of her gossiped. There was speculation that the Diplorium itself caused earthquakes and volcanos but controversy over cover-up seemed to leave it to anyone’s guess what was true any more. She could hear the sounds of the mining machines winding down, the bright shift was coming to a close and her pod was just in time to relieve them. The Diplorium mines ran endlessly, a constant race for that next small fragment of lattice.

Insom admired the mural that had been painted on the ceiling of the observatory, it depicted some of the greatest contributors to the Starjumper project. Twenty-three orbits ago a scientist by the name of Eenoom Obla had made an astounding discovery. By directing a tremendous amount of energy through a crystalline lattice he could create what was later dubbed an oblarion bubble. A field of energy in a second state allowing faster than light travel. By manipulating the density of space in front of and behind an object he could control its speed and vector. It had taken orbits to work out the science of sustaining a stabilized field around a vessel. They were still working on a way to create an oblarion field from within the vessel it self. The energy needed was just too great for the size of the vessel, but that was a problem for the future. In this test four Giant oblarion field generators would initiate the bubble and a specialized science vessel, the Starjumper, would sustain and manipulate it. Once a stable bubble was intact the second phase of the mission was to fly the Starjumper around their star and return. A trip that would take nearly 14 orbits with conventional engines was estimated to be completed faster than you could eat an eleven-course meal.

Ploma’s pod took their place on the giant mining machine, the first conveyor belt was hers. As the tons of rock were excavated from the front of the machine the ore was carried away to leave an access tunnel in their wake. The mining machine was equipped with advanced scanning and telemetry as well, once they were close to a lattice structure she and her pod would leave her post to dig it out with tools and claws. The crystals were far too valuable to be dug out by machines. A crew could run into one or two deposits a shift, but in general Ploma preferred when they found nothing. Digging ore by claw was excruciating work.

Insom knew colonization was still a long-term goal, but the idea never ceased to excite him. The biggest factor was the time it would take to deliver enough equipment to a neighboring star system. How long would it take to set up another orbital control platform for a return trip? He speculated. By his best guess it would be many orbits before any return trips were made. But this was his legacy to his corporation, to his planet, to his people and no cost was too high. At 47 orbits old, he questioned if he would live long enough to see his legacy first hand. For Insom exploring the possible, and inspiring a generation was reward enough.

For the mining crew below the surface, the heat was becoming unbearable. As they tunneled near thermal vents and lava tubes the walls would radiate blistering heat. The captain of the mining rig sung an order down to one of the engineers, moment later a fine mist of water sprayed gently over them to keep the heat down. On they pressed into the darkness.

It had taken longer to stabilize the field than in previous tests. One technician cited oblarion interference from the planet which seemed impossible. There was no generator on the planet below that could create these very specific field vibrations. As far as they had observed thus far, oblarion fields never occurred naturally. Once the field was sufficiently stable, and the technicians settled down, the generators disengaged and the Starjumper fired its main engines. In a blink, they were gone. Songs of joyous triumph erupted from every direction. Data was pouring in from every sensor and satellite they had launched over the last six orbits. Servants passed out morsels in celebration, small sea creatures suspended in a fermented jelly. A few warning lights flashed and a couple of the delegates chuckled nervously. But none of the technicians seemed to think anything was funny. The techs flew gracefully around the room in zero gravity, from terminal to terminal diagnosing the problem.

In near darkness, a piercing whistle cut through the crashing noises of the mining machinery and the captain gave the order to shut it down. Seismic disturbances were taken very seriously this far under ground. From the gantry above the scientist aboard the craft nodded to the captain and he in turn ordered them all to take up safety positions. It was Ploma’s second time riding out an earthquake in a miner so she knew the drill, that didn’t make it less terrifying.

Starjumper Had rounded the star and was heading back to the planet, some kind of sympathetic resonance was building in the planet's crust; interfering with the stability of the ship’s oblarion field. They could collapse the field remotely but at current distance it would take orbits for Starjumper to make it home on conventional engines. They only had enough supplies to survive a fraction of the trip. it would have been a death sentence for all aboard.

Rocks and dust fell from the ceiling and songs of panic came from coworkers all around her. A portion of the ceiling gave way covering two work stations in rock and dust. For a naturally aquatic being this was a nightmare, the heat the dust the dry air. A song for help came from under the rubble, but the walls still vibrated and shook. Ploma ran to the aide of her co-worker trapped under the rubble; yes, she was afraid but she hoped someone would do the same if her position was reversed. She bellowed for assistance as she pulled stone from the pile, the songs for help becoming more desperate.

The Technicians had decided to pull the plug, there were safety concerns beyond those of the Starjumper crew. songs of doomsday and cataclysm were being quietly whistled. Desperately they tried to fold the oblarion field in on itself. The field resonance coming from the planet was disrupting the link to the Starjumper. Try as they may nothing the technicians did seemed to have any effect. Panic was filling the room, a security detail sought to whisk the delegates off to safety but Insom refused to leave. Projections filled view screens in every direction, hyperbolic graphs, probability bell curves. The Starjumper was coming in faster than anticipated and there was a real possibility that it wasn’t going to stop. Trajectory analysis projected a 54% chance of colliding with the orbital oblarion generators. As the Starjumper got closer and closer the number climbed steadily higher. 78%, 92%, 98%. Songs of fear and panic echoed and a silent blinding flash filled the room. Tears welled up in Insom’s eyes, his airways cramped with emotion, he could barely breath.

Coughing and choking could be heard below the rubble. As suddenly as the earthquake had started it stopped but they all knew there was still dangerous loose rock above them. Another miner came to her side lifting and pulling at the debris. As they uncovered one of the miners they found him cradling another in his arms, not breathing. It was the scientists that ran the scanning equipment, his skin had turned from a healthy light green to a sickly copper colour. Desperately they dragged the unconscious scientist from the rubble disconnecting his humidifier to expose his breathing holes on his back. Ploma swallowed several gulps of air placing her mouth on the scientists back. A deep belch of air filled the lungs of the downed worker. The other miners pumped the scientist’s legs back and forth, moving blood through his body.

Fiery wreckage filled the sky as Insom opened his tear-filled eyes. Technicians crisscrossed the room from work station to workstation doing damage control. The explosion had sent debris in every direction, and there were several open breaches and the command station. The Aarernium security pod wouldn’t take no for an answer rushing Insom out of the room towards his shuttle, he no longer had the energy to resist. As they rushed him through the halls Frawali scrambled to perform repairs. Once in his personal shuttle his own science team determined that the generator’s obit had already decayed substantially. In roughly 16 rotations Splashdown would flash boil 5% of the world's water killing billions If they couldn’t reverse the trend. Estimates pointed to 26% of the worlds oceans being uninhabitable long-term but that number was probably conservative. The disaster recovery plan would be desperate if it was even possible. Never had his people gone from such a state of elation to desperation in so short a time. Insom Dap was not normally a religious man but he found himself looking from the seas below to the stars above, praying for a miracle.

BBLBLUUUR!! Ploma forced yet another deep belch of air into the scientist lungs. Harmonic encouragement resounded off the tunnel walls as the other miners sang out. Suddenly the scientist lurched violently, Gasp! Cough! Wheeze! The Scientist struggled for breath in the hot dry air, Ploma rolled the scientist on to his back and sat him up pulling the air apparatus into place over his breathing holes. “You gave us a scare” Ploma burped and sang to the scientist. Unable to sing, He raised his hand to her forehead in a gesture of gratitude. It would take some time to get the mining rig back up to speed, with their scientist out of commission the most prudent option was to get back up to the mining depot and make a full report. As the elevator rose the sky opened above them, the rain had blown through and the skies were clear. An orange and red smear lit the horizon like none of them had ever seen before. They found themselves standing in awe, the sky was on fire. It was beautiful, it was terrifying, how long would it be home?