The Dark Ships

By B. R. R. Cannon

I sit alone on the silent space station that was supposed to make me famous. Now, it’s hardly more than a dead shell. The bright overhead lights have been replaced by the red emergency lights behind me. The sun peers around the cursed planet below. I wonder if there are any eyes staring up at me, plotting my demise.

Beep. I nearly jump out of my spacesuit. The image of an approaching object pops up on the screen. I force myself to breathe. It’s just floating debris. It’s not them. Who knew the ghost stories about dark ships lurking in the distance were true? I certainly hadn’t. If I had, I wouldn’t have cheated to get myself here, or lied my way into our last mission.

Briggs was supposed to accompany Torres—our geologist—to the planet to gather soil samples.

“I have a geology background,” I lied. “I’d love a good look at the planet.”

“Of course,” Briggs said. “But next trip is mine. It’ll be nice to stand on real dirt again.”

When I settled into the cockpit instead of Briggs, Torres eyed me. “He decided to let you have the first mission on the planet?”

I smiled. “Ready to make history?”

Torres grinned. When we were candidates for this program, it was the first thing I’d said to her. Shortly after, I convinced her to let me have the top bunk because I knew it had the better mattress.

Once we landed, I followed her to the first sample site. As I shuffled along, I noticed a cobalt glint near my boot. A sapphire. She wasn’t looking, so I slipped it into my utility belt. Where there was one, there had to be more.

“I forgot the trowel,” I claimed. “It’s in the ship. Be right back.”

I slipped around the ridge and started digging. I had twelve sapphires hidden away when a rumble shook the loose stones under my gloves. I hurried toward the top of the ridge but stopped short. A dark, oddly shaped ship hovered above the ground. Two aliens—large, long limbed, spider-like—rushed out of the ship at Torres. She reached for her blaster, but they were faster.

I stood, frozen. If I had run down there, maybe we could have fought them off together. But I didn’t. Her screams chased me back to our ship. I fired up the engines and shot off the surface without a glance back.

Captain Debroux and Briggs bombarded me with questions when I returned, but I never had the chance to answer any of them. The station lurched as the dark ship barraged it. We only caught a glimpse of it out the window before the power failed and the red emergency lights flashed on. The station was dead, and they seemed to know it. For a moment, the com came alive with an eerie wail. A transmission from the dark ship? Then everything went quiet. The dark ship hesitated, then fired a final shot before vanishing behind the planet. They were gone, but for how long?

“We have to abort the mission,” Captain Debroux told Briggs and me.

There was only one problem. The docking clamps were powered down, so someone had to stay on the station to release them manually.

As Captain Debroux and Briggs argued why they should do it, Torres’s screams haunted my thoughts. I couldn’t let them find out what I had done. If they did, they might discover my other lies, including that I lied to win a spot on the space station in the first place.

“I’ll stay,” I interrupted.

They turned their shocked eyes to me.

“I have some engineering and self-defense experience,” I urged. “I’ll do it.”

An intense discussion and fifteen minutes later, Captain Debroux made his final promises that help would come soon. Then I forced the docking clamps open. By the time the ship was free, my arms ached and blood from a gash on my hand had stained my uniform.

Since then, I have been waiting in silence. I hope for a rescue ship, but I dread that they will come back first.

Beep. I hold my breath and check the screen. It’s a ship! I can’t understand its signature. It’s in symbols I don’t recognize. I gasp and look out the window. A dark shadow peers around the side of the planet.

So, this is how it ends. I grab the blaster and rifle from the table next to me. My selfishness cost Torres her life. Now, I’ll pay with my own. Before I do, though, I’ll make this a last stand worth remembering.

As the dark ship rushes toward me, I realize it’s followed closely by three others. The blaster and rifle aren’t enough. If they board the station and decipher the data, they’ll find Captain Debroux and Briggs. They’ll have access to all the information they want about us. My stomach turns as I hear Torres’s screams again. I can’t let that happen.

My cold fingertips enter the code I never hoped to use. The red lights behind me flash, and the alarm blares.

“Self-destruct in T minus thirty seconds.”

The dark ships continue their approach. If my timing is right…

“Self-destruct in T minus twenty seconds.”

My heart races. At least no one will ever know the truth.

“Self-destruct in T minus ten seconds.”

The ships are close. I can hardly breathe. All of my lies have brought me here, to this awful moment.

“Five.”

The station lurches. The ships are trying to dock. I deserve this after everything I’ve done.

“Four.”

The alarm is deafening, louder than the echo of Torres’s screams in my head.

“Three.”

I never meant for it to happen. I never meant for her to die.

“Two.”

I clench my fists and brace myself. This isn’t how I wanted to make history.

“One.”

I draw one last breath.

“Zero.”

Brilliance brighter than the red lights consumes everything.

Silence.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

B. R. R. Cannon has always loved writing and storytelling. While fantasy and sci-fi are her staples, she also dabbles in other genres including poetry and nonfiction. She’s currently working on her debut novel and an inspirational nonfiction work. She has previously published a story with Spark Flash Fiction. When she’s not creating imaginary worlds, she enjoys drinking Darjeeling, finding excuses to wear costumes, and spending time with her husband, children, and cat.

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