The Awakening (The Hyperscape Project Book 1) (4 page)

The view of the
massive ship through the cockpit window drew Nick’s attention again. He was low
on fuel and oxygen. He needed help and he needed it now. Still he hesitated
over the crazy idea rolling around in his brain.  The idea was risky,
maybe even stupid, but it could be his only chance. Would he die in space, or
let himself be captured by what was clearly an advanced and hostile alien life
form?

“Nope. Bad
idea!” Nick quickly pulled away from the alien ship. The module turned slightly
and then stopped responding. He yanked the joystick over hard, trying to steer
clear. It was no use, he was being drawn in. No matter how much thrust he gave
it, he was caught in… something. With an almost painful slowness, his craft was
being pulled closer to that massive craft. To what fate he was uncertain. If it
was anything like the old sci-fi videos he’d watched over the years, he could
be facing a gruesome opponent that was intent on separating his head from his
neck, eating his brain, and using his spine as a wall decoration.

Damn his
indecision!
His hesitation had cost him any choice in the matter. Like it
or not, he was going in. Trapped like a fly in a spider’s web, he anticipated
the inevitable doom that surely awaited him.

A tingle of fear
ran up his spine and his gut clenched as gruesome scenarios danced through his
mind. One thing for sure, he wasn’t going down without a fight.

As the module
was drawn closer, Nick had time to assess the massive vessel ahead of him.
Smooth metal skin covered its exterior—similar to the look of titanium but with
an odd golden-brown hue. It was a sleek vessel compared to those of Earth.
Three pods near the rear of the craft appeared to be engines. Waves of
electrical discharges rippled across a gap in the metal exterior of one engine
pod, where it had obviously sustained damage. From within a gash in the side of
the ship’s hull, a ruptured pipe spewed some sort of green vapor into space.
Several gun mounted turrets were also visible, attached at strategic locations
around the ship.

Nick’s mind was
caught somewhere between amazement and terror as a large door suddenly opened in
the side of the ship. The module was slowly being pulled toward the open door.
Panic set in. There was nowhere to run except straight ahead, straight at his
captors. “Like a cornered coon,” he muttered.

Nick couldn’t
see any alternative but to get out of the module with fists swinging and hope
he got lucky. Maybe he could take them by surprise. These aliens had already
tried to kill him once. He wasn’t about to give them another chance.

A shadow fell
over the module as it steadily made its way through the gaping doorway of the
ship. Once inside, the door slid closed, sealing Nick and his hyperspace
vehicle in a large bay. A metal arm swooped up from below and cradled the
module in a huge mechanized hand. It was as if a giant reached up and gently
grabbed his ship. The arm smoothly glided the module deeper into the hangar
bay. Ahead of him, some type of translucent electrical field stretched across
the entire width of the enormous hangar. It looked similar to static on a
vid-com when the signal was lost, only this hung in mid-air, sectioning off a
portion of the bay.

Nick’s heart
jumped into his throat when he spotted something moving beyond the field of
bluish, translucent static. As his ship passed through the strange barrier,
shadowy figures took positions at the end of the bay. He peered hard into the
dim light ahead of him, but he couldn’t tell what he was seeing. There was
definitely something there, lurking in the shadows. But what? It wasn’t
anything recognizable. Not humanoid, that’s for sure.

Blood surged
through his veins from the adrenaline being dumped into his system. He could
feel his heart pounding out a message in his arteries, drumming the word
run
into his brain. Fear was preparing his body for flight. But there was nowhere
to run. He was stuck like bubblegum on a shoe.

“Focus.” If he
was going to survive this, he needed to stay focused.

The module
finally came to rest a couple of feet off the ground. To the left, a mechanical
device lurched out of the darkness to position itself alongside the craft. The
shiny device had three long, jointed legs with wheels attached to the bottom.
It stopped abruptly and spun in place to face him. The metal machine resembled
a three legged mechanical spider with some sort of creature seated in the
middle. The legs of the device extended, raising it up to eye level. Sitting
atop the device, a grotesque alien creature peered over a holographic display,
its four eyes locked on Nick. Nick recoiled in disgust, releasing a gasp of
shock and disbelief.

The slimy alien
blob had four eyes and two puny arms. Each of its small hands had only three
digits, which firmly griped controls on either side of the seat. If the alien
had any legs, they weren’t visible from where Nick sat. The slimy blob-like
thing was covered in some clear, mucus-like substance. If this had been one of
those silly made-up creatures on a sci-fi vid-show, he would have just laughed.
But this was real and sitting only twenty feet away. The mechanical device in
which the creature rode had what appeared to be gun barrels mounted on either
side, each pointed directly at Nick. The alien was definitely in a defensive
posture, waiting for him to open the hatch.

A strong voice
suddenly echoed from the opposite side of the module.

“Hatu katuk
ragish zoktu surrik!”

Startled, Nick
turned to see where the voice originated and promptly wished he’d stayed in bed
that morning instead of hopping in a module to prove a theory. Standing nearby
was the scariest thing he had ever seen. Twice the size of a full grown man,
with four muscular arms, it was his worst nightmare on steroids.

Until this point
Nick had harbored some hope. But now, looking at this monstrous alien, a little
voice inside him whimpered something about his balls being in a sling. He
winced at the thought of all the pain this
thing
was going to inflict on
him. His plan to fight was quickly replaced by Plan B. He would try to appear
as non-threatening as possible and beg for his life. He was no wimp, but he
knew there was a fine line between brave and stupid. He’d learned plenty of
lessons about that. Back home, as a kid, the neighborhood gang had made him
feel like a sissy running from trouble, until his father told him about the
great Chinese warrior Sun Tzu, who had said: “He will win who knows when to
fight and when not to fight.” No matter what other people might say, a tactical
retreat or surrender was nothing to be ashamed of. It was always better to live
to fight another day, when things were more in your favor.

Nick Bannon, big
shot astronaut, scientist, and theory-prover, reached over to open the cockpit
of his experimental hyperspace module but paused momentarily to look at his
hand. It was trembling. His hand was actually trembling. The surreal sight took
him by surprise. He’d never had the shakes before.

Another
impatient grunt from the beast outside prompted Nick into action. With some
effort, he grabbed his shaky wrist and guided his fingers over to the release
latch. The canopy popped open and hinged upward, leaving him feeling more
exposed than ever. He released his harness, tossed his helmet to the floor, and
slowly, painfully climbed out of the cockpit and down onto the deck of the
hangar.

“Oh God, please
let me get through this,” he mumbled as his feet hit the floor.

Raising his arms
above his head, he turned to face his destiny. The large creature flinched and
grasped its weapon tighter.

“Huktur akak!
Huktur akak!” it said in a thundering voice.

The four-armed
alien appeared to be getting more agitated by the second. Nick raised his hands
higher into the air, hoping the creature would understand that he was
surrendering. The big alien responded with a loud snort and then took aim at
Nick’s chest.

Nick’s eyes
flared wider. So much for the standard Earth surrender posture. Apparently the
act of holding his hands above his head was considered a threatening move.
Cautiously, Nick lowered his arms. His heart pounded so fast that time seemed
to slow. As he stood there frozen with fear, his brain raced to process the new
extraterrestrial landscape before him. The alien thing standing in front of him
held a rifle of some kind with its two upper arms. The large creature was
bipedal like a human but looked more like a mythical Ogre than anything else. A
four armed Ogre with a thick, rough, elephant-like hide. Its head was devoid of
hair and twice the width of Nick’s. Its ears were small and laid flat to its
skull. The beast seemed to have no neck. The muscles just flowed from its head
to its massive shoulders. The alien’s big red eyes, protected beneath a large,
boney eyebrow ridge, were trained intently on Nick. The edges of its mouth
turned downward, with one lip raised like a snarling dog showing a few of its
large teeth. It was easy to see this thing meant business.

“Huktur akak!
Huktur akak!”

The strength and
suddenness of the creature’s voice took Nick’s breath away. “Don’t shoot. I
mean you no harm.”

“Huktur akak!
Huktur akak!”

“I don’t
understand…. My name is Nick Ban—”

“Hakak uratus
octu!” the creature yelled, sounding more urgent than ever.

Nick lowered his
head and got down onto his knees. The creature took a couple of quick steps
toward him. Nick felt the floor vibrate beneath him with each mighty footstep.
He cringed, turning his head slightly to prepare for what was coming.
Oh
God, this is it
, he thought. Suddenly, powerful hands grasped Nick firmly
around each of his arms and hoisted him off the floor. Much to his own
surprise, Nick let out half of a scream before a third hand grabbed his throat.
There he hung at the mercy of this thing, this massive alien killing machine.
He tried to speak but could only manage a murmur. The beast was now face to
face with him, studying him. Its powerful, hot breath blew across Nick’s skin
as it leaned in to examine the insignia on his suit.

“Arak turyk
tomnu?” it said.

“Karou sactimous
heratzu,” answered the other creature that had now moved in closer.

The two looked
at each other then back at Nick. The huge alien tilted its head, seemingly
puzzled by Nick’s appearance, as if it were trying to figure out what Nick was
and where he came from. The two alien creatures exchanged a few more words and
then the massive one carried him to a dimly lit room where he was abruptly
dropped on the floor. The two extraterrestrials then turned and quickly exited the
room.

Nick fell to his
knees choking and trying desperately to take a good breath, his heart pumping
furiously. At least he was still alive. As he knelt there catching his breath,
he peered around at the dreary room. Nothing but a single beam of light shone
down onto the center of the metal floor, obscuring the dark corners from view.
Glancing over at the doorway, Nick spotted an electrical field similar to the
one his ship had passed through earlier. The field filled the doorway, blocking
his exit.

“A force field?
Holy crap, it’s a damn force field!” Nick stood up and walked toward the door,
nervously looking around the dark room as he went. A sound from one of the
shadowy corners spun him around in fear. He froze.
Crap, is there something
else in here?
A few jaw clenching minutes later he determined that the
noise had only been the scuff of his boot echoing off the wall. Relieved, he
turned his attention back to the force field—keeping an ear tuned for anything
that may come up from behind him, just in case.

After studying
the shimmering static for a moment he noticed that the field emitter apparatus
looked like it had been added recently. It appeared to have been retro-fitted
to the outside of the door, and rather hastily at that.

Impulsively, he
reached out with one finger and touched the field.
Zap!
Instantly, a
painful shock traveled up his arm to his chest and then shot all the way down
to his feet. The shock knocked him back several feet into the room and onto his
ass. “Son of a…mmm…mm… dammit!” He bit his lip in pain. The shock left him
rolling around on the floor in agony for a few minutes.

“Stupid son of a
bitch! I gotta stop touching stuff.”
                                                     

Nick was busy
examining his arm, hoping the tingle would eventually go away, when he heard a
noise.
Zzzt
. He looked up and saw that the field had vanished from the
doorway. In walked big-nightmare-alien-thing again, so big that he had to duck
his head as he came through the doorway.
Now what?
Nick’s brain screamed.
So much for a quick death, they’re going to torture me and….

“Whoa! What…who
is that?”

 From
behind the huge behemoth stepped an alien so human-like that Nick’s brain
seized up for a second. He was in shock. It was a girl! At least he
thought
it must be a girl. She was thin and only slightly shorter than Nick. Her arms
and legs were a bit longer than a human’s and her skin had an odd greenish tint
to it. He also detected a pattern on her skin, like that of a Leopard, with
splotches of darker green running down the top of her arms. The female alien
carried two small devices with her as she entered. Nick watched her move. She
was even more graceful than a human girl. Her long legs carried her fluidly
across the floor. Her gait wasn’t so much a walk as a glide. The hair on her
head was about shoulder length and mirrored the Leopard-like markings on her
skin. Most definitely cat-like. Even her big, bright green eyes looked like a
cross between a human and a cat. She was absolutely stunning. Alien, definitely.
But stunning.