Critical Path

Mike was in a seat next him and facing upwards as though he were lying on his back due to the craft’s upright position within the earth, the nose of it pointing up at an eighty-degree angle. Behind him, strapped into a pair of upright stools, the two engineering aliens gripped their tablets.

Hagellan turned to face Mike, wearing an expression Mike thought was mirth. “Ready, human?” Hagellan said.

“As I’ll ever be. Though I don’t know why you insisted on me being here. I don’t know your tech or how to fly this thing.”

“Consider it a gift,” Hagellan said. “A free demonstration of our technology.”

“Right.” Mike didn’t know if he was being sincere or mocking him. “There’s just one question I have, this planet, Tredeya, what’s the atmosphere like? Also, how are Charlie, Denver, and Layla to breathe on the way there?”

“We have full atmospheric simulations on this craft,” he said. “And air tanks to last six months for four humans. The atmosphere on the planet is close to that of Earth’s, so that like my kind here, humans will only need a small apparatus to modify the air. They won’t be the first humans we have taken to Tredeya.”

Mike wanted to know a little more about that revelation, but Hagellan clicked at the engineers, and the conversation was over.

A central podium rose out of the floor in front of Hagellan, and overhead blue strip lights switched on, bathing the bridge in cool blue light.

A rumble flowed through the ship and up through Mike’s legs and arms that clutched at the seat. Mike was never a fan of flying on commercial aircraft, much less an antimatter-powered quantum alien ship.

Still, a part of him, his unending curiosity, reached beyond the primal fear that prickled at the back of his neck and the cold sinking feeling in his guts. He had to remind himself that he was in a position that no other human before had been in.

Putting aside his feelings of the aliens for a moment and focusing on the small details, Mike determined he’d record as much as possible for Charlie and Denver’s benefit.

The rumble continued to shudder through the hull. A high-pitched whine, coming from somewhere deep in the ship, joined the low bass notes. Together, these two tones combined to form the soundtrack of an alien propulsion system that made the hairs on Mike’s arms stand on end and goose bumps break out on his skin.

Hagellan ran his gnarled hand over the podium.

A holographic control cube popped up and displayed a series of alien glyphs and symbols that Mike didn’t recognize.

“What are you doing?” Mike asked.

“Sending the jump gate a message,” Hagellan said, his voice low and rumbling, the sound of which matched the warble of the engine.

“What kind of message?”

“Docking procedure. To ensure it hasn’t been compromised yet.”

“How long will it take to get a response?”

“Thirty of your human minutes. Via the tachyon transmitter.”

Hagellan reverted his attention to the holocube and manipulated the symbols before pressing what Mike considered as a kind of send button. The cube flashed once, and the display changed, showing a 3D landscape, presumably of the surrounding area.

The two aliens behind Mike chattered something, and a five-meter or so wraparound screen at the front of the bridge switched on, showing an ultra-high-definition image of the sky.

After further manipulation of the holocube, the image split into three. The central panel displayed a frontal view, and the two on either side displayed the view from port and starboard. Hagellan adjusted the magnification and grunted. He brought both of his hands to the holocube, hovering his palms over its surface like some kind of alien magician.

And then they were moving.

Slowly at first, the craft easing up from its buried position. Dirt and rubble clattered down the sides of the dart-shaped ship as it continued to rise, inch by inch.

“Well?” Mike said, raising his voice over the sound. “All’s working well with the new parts?”

“You’ve done well,” Hagellan said with a nodding gesture.

He manipulated the controls, and the ship shuddered as though some kind of secondary engine kicked in. It rose faster now, and through the screens, Mike saw the township of Unity slink away, the horizon dropping below the view so that the pink and orange evening sky filled the displays.

His guts flip-flopped, reminding him of days at the carnival as a teenager, experiencing rides that would have never passed health and safety checks. But that was part of the thrill. They knew they were dangerous, but the thrill was too much to ignore.

Despite his feelings about the aliens and this mission as a whole, a smile spread across his face. First because of a job done well, and second because this was just so damned awesome. He was flying in a bona fide alien ship.

The ship leveled off to a horizontal position. An altimeter on the screen indicated they were three hundred meters off the ground, clear of trees or obstacles.

Hagellan made a sharp thrusting maneuver with his hands.

And the craft shot forward like a bullet from a gun.