Hi here's a prologue of a story I'm working on
ALIEN PHOENIX
PROLOGUE
As far as the eye could see there was nothing but rusting towers and old banners with the company logo on them. They stood like monuments to an empire long gone.
At the top of one tower a flying delivery droid hovered down from the sickly yellow sky carrying a large metal case. Gently it placed it on the floor and flew away.
Time passed.Then from an air-vent came a rattling sound. Soon there were footsteps treading quick and light.The distorted sound of an intercom came from the vent .Then the far off sound of a young man's voice could be heard amongst the white noise.
''Hello? Hellooo! Dammit! Where is that Crazy Bitch!?''
"I can hear you Josh" Came a young woman's voice.
"Rebecca! Where are you? We were supposed to to meet at the elevator"
"I'm in the ventilation shaft" She replied.
"What? What are doing there?"
"I thought I'd relive some of my childhood. I'll meet you at the top,bye"
"Childhood? you're 21 years old!"
"The same as you Bye!!" The intercom sound stopped.
She didn't know that the air-vent was was reinforced by steel plating.
"OWW!!!!" She did now."f**k f**k FUUUUUUUUCCCCCKKK!!!!!!!!"A laser bolt blasted the steel into a dozen shards of red hot metal.From the smoke a petite figure stumbled out and sat on the floor.She was dressed all in black,heavy boots,combats,hooded top and leather jacket.She reached into the hood to soothe the bump on her head.'Why me?"She whispered
pitifully.As she pulled down the hood her long blonde hair tumbled about,her elf-like faced grimaced and her angry blue eyes glared out to the decaying industrial skyline.
She touched her head again frowning.Then smiled when she saw the metal case.Hurriedly she opened it. It was filled with neatly packed clothes,provisions and her beloved record collection.She took each one out and methodically checked the sleeves and vinyl to make sure none of them were damaged.
To her left there was the sound of a door automatically opening. She stood up and put her hand by her gun, still warm in it's holster.Out stepped a tall, thin young man dressed in black combat style gear.He sported a short dark mohican.Rebecca still had her hand by her gun,but she had a mischievous look in her eyes.The man looked shocked.Suddenly he raised his arms in the air ''PLEASE DON'T KILL ME.I HAVE SO MUCH TO LIVE FOR!"He pleaded as Rebecca stood still saying nothing"I'LL DO ANYTHING YOU ASK.SPARE MY LIFE AND I'LL NEVER LEAVE THE TOILET SEAT UP AGAIN."Rebecca started to smirk.He got down on his hands and knees"IF IT'S MY TURN TO DO THE WASHING UP I'LL DO IT IMMEDIATELY AFTER WEV'E HAD DINNER"She was trying not to laugh."IF I HAVE TO FART I'LL GO OUTSIDE "
She burst out laughing."Ha ha ha ha.Get up off the floor you crazy bastard!"Smiling he stood up and they hugged each other.
"You stink of garlic!" She said with nostrils flaring.
"I had to cook french food at work, and who are you to complain you reek of booze!" He replied.
"It was sports night at the bar.Why can't anyone watch a game without getting loaded?"Rebecca tilted her head up to Josh's face.
"Some asshole even urinated by the pinball machine!"
"Ahh, my poor princess"
"You got that straight!"
She buried her head back into his arms and closed her eyes as he closed his.
"You sure you wanna live on a spaceship, with me?" She whispered.
"Of course, You're my partner in crime" He said as Rebecca smiled.
"Like Bonnie and Clyde" She said softly.
"The shuttle will be here an hour an hour" she said as she tapped him on the back.Josh went back to the elevator and brought out three cases and some pots and pans. Afterwards he looked at the single case that she had brought and then looked at her."Where's the rest of your stuff?" he asked."I sold it" she replied. He looked surprised
"What about your trophies?" He asked.
"I can still fight without them, besides they weren't made of anything
precious.Now the medal? That was worth something!"
"You sold your medal?" He exclaimed.
"Yes Josh I sold my medal! The fact that a child is still alive because of me is worth more than a small disk of f**king silver!"She replied abruptly.
"Hey don't blame me when you realise you still want the f**king thing!...dearest..Which reminds me ,once we're on the
ship.You might have to watch your language" Josh said as Rebecca had a look of indignant disgust.
"I LIKE LANGUAGE!. ALL OF IT!" She defiantly proclaimed.
''Yes I've noticed. But I think they have a more traditional view on curse words.
''I will not be censored!. I CURSE THEREFORE I AM! ..TO BE OR NOT TO BE! THAT IS THE MOTHER-f**kING QUESTION!"
"What if you were ordered at gun point not to say the f word?"
"Then I'll say it in french!"
"Just don't bitch at me when you regret selling the fu... the.. medal!"
"Oh you mean that exquisitely crafted example of military "Bling" as they used to say in the old days. I swear I will not bitch about the medal, not when I've still got this''
She took out a newspaper
cutting.It was the front page of the LV948 News. It had a picture of her aged 14 smiling holding a medal with the headline above that read :
YOUNG CADET AWARDED FOR HEROISM DURING COLONY SKIRMISH. She looked at it with pride.
''The collector who I sold the medal to offered me 5 bucks for the paper. FIVE! . I wasn't born yesterday ..... Hell ! I wasn't even born!"
She opened up the case and rummaged through it to find a container for the paper. A small cardboard box popped up from the clothes .It was wrapped in many layers of sticky tape with the word "Nightmares" written on it in crayon. She placed the paper by the records completely ignoring the box, then locked the door.
"What did you need the money for?" He asked as she turned and pointed to her case.
"Emergency rations, water cleaners and vitamin pills"
'Rebecca there's food on the ship, believe me!"
"I'm not taking any chances and neither are you, ..darling!"
"Please tell me you've got your citizen card" He said holding up a blue, yellow and gold card.
"Yeah it's here"She replied taking a card out of her pocket and looking at it puzzlingly.
''They spelt my name wrong and I've only got the one.......Rebeeker !" She said shaking her head.
"Just keep the card safe and secure ok? They've got our DNA strands on it . They've got all our money on them, everything. I dunno what would happen if we lost them''
"We'd be poor and no one would know who we were. It'd be fun... mostly. "She replied.
Josh finished checking his luggage , then looked at her as she checked the time.
"I noticed you didn't sell the Rolex. I hear they're quite valuable"
"A 576 year old all original, fully working Rolex,yeah they're not cheap"
"You're never gonna sell that are you"
"Never. When I was very little someone sent me this watch. Who ever gave it to me thought I must've been pretty special. Not some piece of shit clone ! " She said as she looked sad.
"Rebecca, It's not a big thing" Josh replied as she turned to him with a look of bitterness.
"There's a serial number written in braille on the back of my neck that says different. It says Hey Rebecca we don't care about the fact that you've got three degrees in Engineering, Particle Physics and Astronomy. We don't care that you were preparing for them since the age of 9 so you could study for them at 13. No!. All your potential does not register with us because we all grew in a womb and you came out of a plastic box!. We've all got birth certificates and you don't even have a receipt ! "
"Hey snap out of it.Your mood is gonna get as black as those high rise events you keep studying" Said Josh.
Rebecca looked at him "They're called Event Horizons you toilet brush head!" She snapped.
"I know ,I know. It's just that when you get like that the only way to snap you out is by pissing you off.
Not that I enjoy it, ....... Much" He said.
"High rise events!." She muttered under her breath.
She looked around at the other towers "I can't see anything it should be visible by now"
"Relax it'll be here" He replied.
Then the sky, lit by a myriad of sodium light shed it's cover of clouds to reveal a billion bright stars shining like precious stones suspended in the dark infinite. Rebecca looked up and all the self doubt, fear and worry fell away from her as she stared at the cosmos with wide eyed wonder.
"What's the first thing you're gonna do when you get on the ship?" Asked Josh.
"I'm gonna go out and see the stars" She softly said as her eyes welled up and tears ran down. Josh dropped what he was doing and hugged her.
"You ok? "
"It's ok Josh. They're happy tears" She replied.
"Happy tears?" He asked as she put her arm around him.
"You should know me by now. Look at it. Just look at it" They were both now looking up to the sky.
"I can't help but be moved by it all. This universe.....It's impossible scale. ......It's mathematical perfection.
I remember running away from the orphanage to read books in the library. When I read the ones about space....I became intrigued by those intricate equations. When I learned what they meant and how they described the mechanics of the heavens.......my heart filled with warmth..........and I felt a sense of soul"
"So" she continued, wiping the tears away "The ship.Tell me more about it"
"Well, It's got living quarters, it's got food, it's own eco system and a full deck of escape pods"
"I know that! I mean what does it do?"
"It's called a production habitat"
"A production habitat? " She replied as josh continued.
"It's basically a giant floating factory that's also a city. The people who live there were born there. It's like a mini republic in space. They collect minerals from asteroids and process them to be sold to colonised planets. The ship is called the Zirconia, named after an artificial diamond"
"An artificial diamond,kinda like me, So who owns it?" She asked.
"The company" he replied. Rebecca looked puzzled.
"There is no company. Not anymore"
"Word is that parts of the company still exist. One of those parts were bought out by two brothers.They own the ship"
"Brothers? I smell trouble" She said apprehensively.
"We don't have to go you know. If your worried" Said Josh.
"NO WAY!. We can take care of ourselves! I'm just saying we shouldn't get too comfortable, life's a bitch wherever you go!" She replied as Josh smiled.
"You want some hot chocolate?" He asked as he took out a flask.
"Did you make it?"
"No, I took it from a vendor unit . You want some?"
Rebecca recoiled in disgust. "Oh is that the liquified crap you get in those plastic cups?" She asked.
"Yeah, the same stuff I drank earlier which I'm now trying not to vomit up because you've just likened it to excrement. I'll take that as a no then"
Rebecca shrugged her shoulders."I like the good stuff. So you found out where you'll be working?"She asked.
"Well, they told me they've got no need for Biologists but because I can cook they gave me a job as a chef"
"A chef ? you got a promotion! Awesome! free food !! "
"How about you?" He asked. She sighed and looked down at the floor.
"My job involves the handling of very cold liquids"
"like liquid Nitrogen? Your'e working at the Particle Accelerator farm. Right? You run the Zero Point Energy modules? You get to wear space suit.Right?
"No.I get to wear a skirt...some top with my name on it that says Have A Nice Day, these legging things made of something called Nylon and those shitty pump shoes that don't fit properly! I tried all of it on this morning. After I found out my application for the job I wanted was rejected in favour of a guy who's not even qualified!...It all reminded me why people still call the human race Man...Kind. My official title is a Waitress, and I get to travel the great beyond working in a f**king bar!...again!"
she pointed at the flask. "Knowing my luck I'll be serving that shit as well! "
"You won't be working there for ever" Josh said as she looked up.
"No I will not. I'm already working on a plan" As she spoke a shape hovered out from one of the towers.
She spotted it and her mood lifted.
"That's it. That's the shuttle. Type in those codes we were sent so it knows we're here"
"I'm on it"
Josh pulled out a key pad from his pocket. As he typed on it the shuttle gave out a signal and lifted high into the sky as it shone a light down on to the buildings below.
"I think it's gonna need a little help finding us Rebecca"
"You want me to jump up and down and shout ? Hell I can do that"
She walked a few yards and started yelling.
"HEEEYYYY!!!! YOU THERE!!! TAKE ME AWAY FROM THIS RUN DOWN SHIT HOLE OF A PLANET SO I CAN DO SOMETHING AMAZING WITH MY LIFE!!!"
"That's good" Said Josh "Keep doing it" She started waving her arms.
"HELLOO!!!!!!! LOOOKKKK!!!!!!!!! BLONDE HAIRED BITCH AND HER PUNK BOYFRIEND WISH TO LEAVE!!!!!!! HE WANTS TO MAKE SPAGHETTI AND I WANT TO MAKE ........HISTORY!!!!!!!!!"
Josh laughed. "I think you got it's attention" The shuttle slowly started to make it's descent.
"Well I think this deserves a toast don't you?"He said as he opened one of his cases.
"I'm not hungry"
"No. A Toast! The imbibing of an alcoholic beverage in celebration of us finally managing to start out.
Out there!" He said pointing to the sky.
"I'll drink to that" she replied "What is it?"
"Scotch"
"How old is it ? Is it single malt ?
"No it's paint stripper with a teabag in it of course it's single malt ! Only the best for you pumpkin!" Josh replied with a hint of sarcasm.
From the case he took out an old bottle of Scotch Whisky,another flask and two glasses.
"You want some water with yours?" He asked as Rebecca sat down
"Water? with Whiskey?,good Whiskey? I'll have it neat, not too much and thank you... and no water please. You don't dilute spirit. water will just drown.........."
Her face went blank.Slowly she stood up.She was pale.Her eyes were big and filled with terror.Josh poured the drinks with his back to her, unaware that anything was wrong.
"Hey your'e awful quiet. Did you spot a meteor ?,... hey where's that damn noise coming from?..it sounds like a motor burning out....... must be coming from somewhere else... When we settle in I'll cook up a nice dinner for us. They've got an aquatics system with fish, real fish can you believe that?!...... I'll see if they've got any Salmon.I'll make that dish you like.... I know you like the good stuff......Oh god that sound!! can you hear that ?"
He turned around "Hey Rebecca can you hea...... " and he found out what the noise was.
She was crouched tightly on the cold floor in a foetal position, gripping the collar of her jacket shaking like a shellshocked war veteran reliving a bomb explosion.....and that sound, that horrible sound that was now breaking his heart...
it was her..whimpering like a wounded animal.
"OH SHIT!!!" He frantically looked through the opened case and took out a medical scanner and a clear box of silver pills. He rushed to where Rebecca was, switched on the scanner and moved it around her.
"Can you hear me? Can you hear me.?" He checked the scanner screen."Brain functions normal, no signs of organ trauma thank f**k for that!.... Ok.... Rebecca. If you can hear me move one of your hands. Can you do that for me?''
Slowly she prised a hand from her jacket collar.Josh gently held her
hand.It was still shaking."It's ok"Then she gripped tightly on to his hand as she began to quietly speak.
"I remember us talking and then I was somewhere else, like I was living another person's life.I don't know where I was or when but I saw........monsters...I can't think of anything else to describe them....like..... blackened walking Knives of Hate...killing people...and my family....they were screaming in agony and punching their chests and then........oh god!......no....No!!!"
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to"
"Josh I need to talk about it ...now!!.............I remember someone saving me...I thought I was gonna have a new family as I went to sleep and then...........and then..............oh my god NO!!!!"
"Rebecca!! what happened"Josh tried to get through to her but she was in tears talking to someone who wasn't there.
"I'm so ...so..sorry I wish could've to saved you I..... wish I........could............ save.....you........ I.............HOW DO YOU KNOW MY NAAAAMMME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
"REBECCA STOP!!! YOUR'E SAFE! your'e safe....your'e ok.....calm down, easy now... ssh....I'm here, there's no monsters here... just us and a shuttle that's going to get us out of
here.You're going to see the stars and have the time of your
life.It's gonna be beautiful"He said tenderly. She was still huddled and petrified. As he picked up the medical scanner she spoke again.
"Hold me Josh"
'"Let me check your ok I just gotta do.."
"HOLD ME! PLEASE! JUST f**kING HOLD MEEEE!!!" She flung her arms around him. Josh dropped the scanner and held her close as she sobbed.
The shuttle was coming in to land.Josh held the key pad with one hand and typed in new codes with his thumb. The shoulder of his jacket was now soaked in her
tears.As the shuttle landed and opened it's doors Rebecca stopped crying and breathed slowly.
"How do you feel now?" He asked.
"It's difficult to
explain.It's like all my memories were wiped away and someone else's were poured into my
head.It might take a while for me to be able to get on the shuttle"
"It's ok Iv'e set it to go manually there's no rush"
"Will you do something for me Josh? Your'e gonna think I'm crazy"
"Just say it"
"Remind me how we first met? It's all coming back to me piece by piece but I wanna know now...please"
"Err...ok..we started out as friends...I was 9...I think....It was my first day at the elementary school. I'd just left the orphanage, around the same time as you but I didn't know that at the time. I was in the playground and it was a cold september morning. I didn't know anybody. I looked at all the other kids who were playing...and then I noticed this one, scruffy blonde girl all by herself looking at a book.I remember it had pictures of planets on it.The whole playground was full of voices and games of football and skipping ropes but she was in a world of her own, transfixed by this book.Then this big ugly leader of a gang of bullies pointed to her and joked with rest of those assholes and I remember thinking "If they touch one hair on her head I'll beat every last one of them to a bloody pulp!" But they didn't. Instead they pulled out the hose from the school fire hydrant, which they somehow switched on.
As soon as I realised what they were doing I ran as fast as I could to warn her but it was too late. They aimed it right at her face,she didn't stand a chance. The water sent her flying. I was running and I could see there was something wrong because she didn't get up.She was struggling to breathe while those little bastards were still laughing at her.After a while she got her breath back and ran, not to a teacher but to a ladder leading to the roof. I grabbed hold of the gangleader.I was punching that ugly pig as hard as I could over and over.None of the others came to his rescue. When I was finished he was in a puddle of his own piss,tears and blood. Justice was served and then I remembered the girl.....you.. "
"Me?"
"Yeah...you..Then there was a commotion.The teachers were panicking.Apparently special paint was being put on the roof, to stop ships flying too close to the ground. You had climbed the ladder, picked up a brush and started painting graffiti. The Principal was gonna climb after you but you kicked the ladder away.
After you were done you looked down at the school that was all in chaos because of you. You looked so happy...Then you were scared cos you didn't know how to get back down but I did so I waved my arms to get your attention and some how I lead you away from the others to a little stairwell that was hidden, cos I climbed up there all the time. You got down and I.."
"Josh I'm starting to remember!...I got back down and you gave me your jacket because I was shivering...Then we broke into the kitchen and you made me ......"
"Baked beans....I made you baked beans.....Well...I opened a tin of beans, put them in a pan and heated it up, but I was 9...Lobster Thermidor was bit beyond me then" Josh said with a smile as Rebecca tearily laughed.
"Do you remember what you wrote?" he asked
'"I don't remember the words but I remember what they meant to me. That water hit me right in the face, in my nose and mouth.. It must've gone down the wrong way because I was choking. For a second I couldn't breathe....In that moment something changed...Like I knew every second of every minute was the most precious gift anyone could have been given. I decided on that day the words I wrote on that roof would define me,my life and how I choose to live it. Like it was my motto, my tag!... who I am"
"How do you feel now?"He asked.
"Better.....Actually I feel good!" she replied with a beaming smile which Josh didn't expect. Then she thought of something
"I think it was something stress related.I've been under so much
pressure.It's probably something like.....what did they use to call them.... a Panic attack"
"That looked more like Post traumatic stress to me. Now you sure you've told me everything that happened to you. I mean.... everything from your past?"
"My past? I told you everything.21 years ago a test-tube was delivered to a lab with the name Rebecca written on it. There was no way of finding out who sent it, but the embryo inside it was being kept alive.
That embryo....was me " She paused and looked at him.
"I'm gonna be fine. It was probably just a panic attack."
"Panic attack or not if you ever think you're going to have one of those again you tell me ok? If I'm not around you contact me ok?It can be on a holographic com-link,old fashion cellphone,thought projector anything ok? OK?"
"Yeah...Look it was probably nothing"
She kissed him as Josh helped her stand . They took their belongings and carried them to the shuttle.Josh took one last look around.
"If you wanna say goodbye to our old town it's just over there"Josh said as he pointed to some lights in the distance.
"Oh, ok" She replied as she raised her hand in a fist and extended her middle finger at them.
Once they were on board the shuttle closed it's doors,slowly ascended and glided away.
There was no flight deck inside. Just a room with windows and a control panel. Rebecca was looking at it.
"How do you steer this thing?"She asked.
"You just type in the coordinates here.Why?"
"I wanna see something"
She typed in some numbers and the shuttle veered to the left near the the town.On top of each building were lines and specs of brilliant white and fluorescent green.Then some offices,a playground and a school came into view.Rebecca typed more numbers onto the panel to slow the shuttle down.
"Can this thing shine ultra violet?"She asked.
"Yeah sure"He replied as she smiled.
"What do you wanna look at?"He asked.
"I want to see those words, one last time. I want to see the words I wrote for myself...
......My Motto ...My Tag....Who I am!
As the UV light shone down below a piece of graffiti lit up from the school roof like
lightning.It was so bright it caused a lens flare in the glass of the shuttle window.The red,yellow and orange colours blurred into each other.Then the image settled down and formed into the words :
Never Ever Waste Time
