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Just My Imagination: Part 1 - Two Lives by Andrew Williams "Red Alert!" "Incoming missile!" "Make that two… no, three!" "Captain, our shields are fried!" Frantic voices overlapped and merged together into pure discord. Captain Scott stared helplessly into the viewscreen as three bright dots grew bigger, three messengers of death quickly drawing closer. Much too quickly. The flare launcher was damaged, the generator was almost flat and the rocket launcher was out of ammo. "Captain, what do we do?" There was nothing to do. Nothing but die. "Get to the lifepods," said Scott. "Quickly!" As the crew dived for the yellow/black tetrahedrons, Scott remained, watching the dancing lights growing closer, listening to the beeping of the alarms. He closed his eyes, waiting for the end. "Scott!" He opened his eyes, temporarily confused. Where was he? Who was this? As his eyes focused on the clock by his bed, his memories started to return. "Scott, are you getting up or what?" "Yes, mum," he replied, silencing the bleeping of his alarm clock. A strange feeling of fear and despair still lingered in his mind; a feeling of imminent death. Then memory returned. Monday. School. Scott quickly got up and dressed, his neatly ironed uniform crumpling against his skin. School again, and he hadn't done his homework. Too much time spent on that new game. He went downstairs to breakfast and a waiting mother. "Have you got your lunch money?" "Yes," he replied. "Have you done your homework?" "Yes," he lied. She hugged her son, and then they headed to the car. Three explosions lit up the cabin as three missiles detonated in mid-flight. Scott blinked in surprise, temporarily confused. Where was he? What was going on? "Hey there, friend. Didn't think we'd make it, huh?" Scott grabbed the radio. "Mike! Right at the last minute again?" "That's me," laughed Mike. "Let's get those Scarrid scumbags!" Mike's ship, the Warning Forever, shot past Scott's crippled vessel, plasma bolts punching through the darkness. Spiky ships scattered for cover, several hyperjumping away. Scott watched for a moment, then set about the task of recovering his crewmates. Memory had returned now. Scott and his friend, Mike Trenchard, had set off together from Lucifer Station in a bid to find and take out a Scarrid base. Recently attacks had doubled and Military Intelligence were convinced this meant the Scarrid were expanding again. With military forces stretched, a reward of ten thousand dollars was on offer for anyone finding the base - and a million dollars for anyone taking it out. So far they'd only found trouble. These Scarrid weren't the Vampires Scott was used to - they were bigger; Sunblades and Mantises. When he and Mike had split up - promising to share the reward, whoever found the station first - he'd blundered straight into a clan of them. He'd no idea his radio call had got through, but here was Mike. "Any luck, Mike?" "Not yet," Mike replied. "I'd say this is the right direction, though. I've not seen any ships this big before." Scott consulted his hypermap. "Give me a few hours to get my ship patched up, and then we'll try sector [20, 15]," he said. "I've got a feeling about it." "Sure thing." There was a muffled explosion over the radio. "What the hell? Scott, I'm under attack! Where did they come from?!" Laser bolts flitted across the display. Scott looked over and saw a group of saucer-shaped ships. These were no Scarrid he'd ever seen before and they certainly weren't human. He sounded the alarm. "Battle stations!" "Hey, Scott!" Scott jumped. The bell always did that do him. "Oh, hi Mike," he said, watching his friend running down the corridor. "What planet have you been on today? You were barely awake in Maths today." "I've been playing a new game," said Scott. "Found it online. It's called Flatspace II." Mike grinned. "Hey, wow!" he said. "Me too! What are you playing as?" The bell rang again, ending their discussions, calling them back to school work and Double History. Scott winced. He'd much rather be blasting Scarrid, especially since he'd not done his homework. Gloomily they trudged to the classroom. Scott sat down at his usual seat, the droning voice of Mr Davies washing over him. The lack of sleep and the lack of interest soon saw him slumped over the desk, trying to stifle a yawn. "Captain? Are you alright?" Scott blinked, then sat up at his console. "Sorry, Jenny. I must have blacked out there." Jenny smiled. "It's been a rough few days, sir. Perhaps the auto-medic should have a look at you?" Scott shook his head. "I'll be fine," he said. "I just need some coffee." Jenny headed over to the food synthesiser, dialled for some coffee and instinctively grabbed for a handhold as a laser bolt struck the shields. There was no recoil, of course - energy weapons didn't shake the ship like solid state weaponry did. His Security Chief was evidently used to being shot at by smaller ships with basic machine guns. "Here you go, sir." "Thanks," he said, taking a sip. It tasted terrible, as usual. He idly dreamed of the Autochef 3000, a highly expensive luxury for those with more money than sense, whilst he watched Mike's ship on the viewscreen chasing after a saucer. "Engineering - how are the systems coming on?" Engineer Collins' voice crackled over the intercom. "Shields are holding, and main systems are running fine. We'll have the main guns reloaded in about two more minutes." "Make it sooner, Collins, and I'll see about that Warhorse robot you've been bugging me about." "Aye, sir!" Scott could almost hear Collins grinning. "Captain, the Warning Forever is taking a beating," reported Jenny. "Main gun reloaded!" announced the intercom. "Okay folks," said Scott. "Let's get in there!" The engines fired into life, propelling them into battle. "Scott!" Scott sat up suddenly, his books flying off the desk. Several of his classmates sniggered. He looked up into the lined face of Mr Davies. "I'm sorry if we're boring you, Scott, but you will pay attention in my class, please." "Uh… sorry sir…" "I'll ask you again. Where's your homework?" "Well, you see… I, er…" "Forgot it again?" Mr Davies gave a theatrical sigh. "Detention, here, after school. You'll do it then." Scott scowled, and as Mr Davies returned to his lecturing, he drifted back into his stupor. "Target locked." "Main gun ready." Scott nodded. "Fire at will," he ordered. Rockets shot across the black, a salvo of four. Two shot either side of the saucer as it tried to dodge, but two more thudded home, small explosions blowing chunks out of the armour. "Again," said Scott. Four more rockets blazed through the darkness, three this time finding their mark. Two minor explosions were followed by a larger one as the saucer blew apart. There was a cheer from the bridge. "Nicely done," Mike said over the radio. "How about helping me out with these two?" "No problem," answered Scott. He turned to his crew. "Target the next one, ready the rocket launchers…" Detention came and went, slowly. Scott sat at the same desk, his pen scratching across the school book. He yawned quietly to himself, his mind elsewhere. Life was so boring. He thought about being a captain on a spaceship, dogfighting pirates and aliens. That sounded fun. And yet… when he thought about it, maybe it wasn't. Fighting every day, each trip into space a risk of never coming back. Just earning enough galactic credits to get the bigger ship, the stronger shielding, the more powerful lasers. Scott shivered. Flatspace was fun, but he wouldn't want to live there. Finally, Mr Davies walked up to his desk. "Finished?" "Yes sir," said Scott, handing over his book. "Can I go now?" "Go on then," smiled Mr Davies. Scott smiled back, grabbed his bag and walked to the door. Once in the corridor he broke into a run, bursting out into the late afternoon air and to his mother's waiting car. "You took long enough," she said. "How much homework did you have?" He laughed. "Let's go home, mum." He sighed. "Let's go back, Mike." It had been a fruitless search so far. Large numbers of Scarrid vessels were in the area and they took out any that attacked them, but with only the two of them they could not afford to take unnecessary risks. Many larger vessels flashed up on their radars but so far they seemed uninterested in the humans. Yet there was no obvious pattern to the Scarrid ships, no indication of a base anywhere. "We can't give up yet," crackled the radio. "It's around here somewhere." "I know, I know," replied Scott. "We need the cash. But I need a break, Mike. I've been flying this junk heap for too long." Mike paused. "I know how you feel, Scott. Just this one mission. Just find and take out that base. Then we can both retire." Scott sighed. "Just this one last mission. I know." The radio fell silent. Just a few minutes more, avoiding the patrols, then the hyperdrive would be charged for the next jump. Scott wished he could explain to Mike what he was feeling. Wished he could tell him about the dreams. Though he doubted he could tell anyone about the dreams. His dinner eaten, Scott rushed back upstairs to his bedroom and the portal to another world that was his computer. He quickly booted it up, already thinking of his shiny new Gladius and the pirates he'd be trying it out on. Gladius? Surely his ship was much bigger than that? Scott blinked, wondering where the stray thought had come from. His mouse hovered over the Flatspace icon, but he hesitated. Email first. Mike had promised to tell him how he'd been getting on. He quickly went online and downloaded his messages. Sure enough, there was Mike's name. He opened it. Hi Scott, it started. Soz to here about detention. This game is gr8! got a new ship, wiv turrets on it. Cant wait 2 try them out. Ive found some cheats if ur strugling. Scott was tempted to write a reply, but a quick game of Flatspace first ought to give him more to write about… A flash of light, and the stars changed. Hyperspace travel was very fast but very disconcerting. The hyperdrive batteries began their slow recharge whilst Scott and his crew took stock of the new sector. Scott looked out at the stars. There were no real stars, of course; not any more. Long ago they'd all drifted apart into listless nebulae. The stars he could see were all long dead - just their light remained, travelling through space for thousands of years. One by one they would eventually wink out forever, and then the darkness would be complete. A moment later another flash of light appeared off the port bow, and the Warning Forever materialised. A few frantic minutes took place for both ships as all the systems were checked and any hostiles identified. There was nothing. The radar was empty. "That's weird," said Scott. "You mean the radar?" asked Mike. "I know what you mean. I'm just reading you." Scott asked the obvious question. "So where is everyone?" Scarrid ships had been patrolling wherever they had gone. Sometimes many, sometimes only a few. Yet the Scarrid had maintained a presence in every sector throughout the region. Now here they were in the middle of enemy territory, and there was… nothing. Blip. "Uh… Mike?" "It's on my scanner too, buddy." "What is it?" "Big." "And…?" "Very." Scott pressed the intercom button. "Collins? How's the hyperdrive going?" "It'll be another few minutes yet, Captain." Damn. Not good. If this thing was hostile, they had no means to jump out. "Cover me, Mike. I'm going to take a closer look." The two ships slowly set off towards the unknown object.